Birthday Boys!

I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, and they are so stinkin' cute!  I adore these two little boys!  I don't know how I got so lucky!  Don't get me wrong, they sure know how to drive me nuts, but I love them!  We haven't had a whole lot going on here.  Matt and I are trying to get our yard fixed up to where we want it.  It is a bit of a pain, and a whole lot of work, but it is nice being able to just take the boys outside and let them play.  We had to buy a new washer.  We had ours for all of 4 years when the computer and motor both broke.  Just the parts would cost $400, so we decided with our piece of junk that didn't last more than 4 years, it definitely was not worth fixing for that price!  But we found a (hopefully) nice one that fits our king size quilt.  It was our one requirement, because we sure seem to have to wash those a lot!  Matt got a new calling in the ward-employment specialist.  I don't think he really actually does anything with it, but I won't complain about that!  I was in with the Young Women, but just got released.  I'm sad, because I loved working with the girls, but I can also see how much it will benefit our family right now not having me as busy.  Matt is studying to get some computer certifications, and it has been hard with me being gone every week.  Now we can allot that extra time so he can study.  Matt is totally going through fishing withdrawal.   I love to fish, but want to go somewhere where Anthony can crawl around.  He is beginning to take steps, but not even close to walking much.  I may have to suck it up and send Matt without me.  What we don't do for our kids, right?  Well, enough blabbing.  Like I said, nothing much going on our way, so I'll just post my cute kids pics:)

 

 Josh wanted a Spiderman Elmo cake.  I thought I was pretty creative to come up with this!  Found a Spiderman candle, drew a web, and stuck Elmo heads in the web!  Josh loved it!

 Blowing out the candles.  My parents couldn't be there for the actual party, so they came early and we put extra candles in so he could blow them out with them there:)
 

 Birthday boy loved his scooter!  I thought he was a little young for it, but my mother knew best!  He loves it, and rides it all the time!

 Josh talked "Papa" into climbing into his bunk bed with him and Anthony

 Dishing up the cake and ice cream

 Josh got so many cars, he doesn't know what to do with them all.  He is a bit obsessed.

They do occasionally share.

 My big helper.  Love the red nose!

 My mom's dog, Gibby, died on Josh's birthday.  She was 18 years old!  We were all sad, she was a good dog!  Me and my brothers went over to help bury her at my Grandpa's farm.

 Marked her grave with pinwheels.  My mom then made a little headstone for her.  We all miss her, but she was old, deaf, and starting to get uncomfortable.

Cheese!

 My sis-in-law had a Cat in the Hat party, and sent me a couple of hats for the boys.  Aren't they adorable?!

 Loves the PB&J!

 For Valentine's day the boys got monkey suckers.  They were a hit:)

 Easter!  Josh was shocked at all the candy!

 The loot!  Peeps for me, dove truffle eggs for Matt, and a couple bags of chocolate for all to share (which really means mostly Matt, and the rest of us get a little!).

 Easter egg hunt at Kelli's house

 Just to proof Anthony did get a little of the egg hunting action!

 Decked out in the new Sunday duds.  Josh was so excited to have a tie "just like dad's," he was not about to tuck it in the vest!  And, of course, he wouldn't let Anthony, either!

 Grandma just LOVES jumping on the tramp with Josh!  He he he:)

 Anthony was confused when getting buckled into his brand new car seat!

 Then, it dawned on him...I can see everything!!!

 My little snuggle-bug.  He always corrects me and says, "No, Mom, I'm your snuggle boy!"

 Free cake at Macey's for the 1st birthday!  It was the day before his party, and I wanted him to have cake on his actual birthday.

 Loved it!

 Presents!

 Dad, look at this amazing gorilla!

 Gizmo gets tired from all the commotion

 Had to actually go to effort and make a jungle safari cake for the birthday party.  Anthony was fascinated!  I particularly love the hippo in the river:)

 He knew just what to do with the cake this time!

 After so much partying, Dad had to get us all breakfast in bed!

 The boys watching cartoons eating lunch before church.  Best way to keep them occupied while Matt and I get dressed:)  P.S. look at Anthony's long, shaggy, a bit too beautiful hair!

 Hair cuts!  Anthony is no longer beautiful, he is now a handsome little boy!

 Josh loves his dog, and loves the park!

 My sweet little Anthony

 Chillin' on the grass at Grandma's

 Anthony had it with the camera!

 Tackle Mom!

 Josh wanted to wait at the table for all his cousins to get there.

 He looked lonely, so Anthony joined him.

 Josh loves his little cousins, and they all had fun playing piano!  Anthony was a bit sad, he's not quite as big as the other kids yet!

 The three most handsome boys known to mankind!  Yes, I'm a lucky gal!

The latest with us...

Matt turned 36 years old! Yay! His driver's license expired on his birthday, so he took half a day off work to get it renewed. It was wonderful! I dropped the kids off with my mom, and Matt and I spent most of the day with just the two of us. We don't get much time alone, so we loved it! We also celebrated our 4 year anniversary in January. Crazy how fast it has gone! I love staying home with my boys! I didn't realize how much more a financial hardship it would be without that extra bit of income I added! So it has been definitely hard, but so worth it! I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! I feel like I've become a better mom since I quit. Just not having the stress of that work weekend coming up has made it so I have more energy to try new things with the kids, new ways of disciplining, and I seem to have a lot more patience! My boys are just cute as always! Josh is nearly 3 years old! He is so sweet, but also wild and defiant! I tell him not to step one foot past the backyard or he goes in the house, so he will look at me, smile, and jump across the line I tell him not to cross! At bedtime I tell him if his hand crosses past the door, the door is closed, and he will put his hand out right next to it and say, "I'm not past the door!" He's getting so smart! It amazes me how quick they learn! He put some quarters in a slit I have on my piano that has a switch if I want to mute the sound. I was so mad! I yelled and sent him to his room. I went up to talk with him, and said,"I'm sorry for yelling so much, but you broke my piano, and it broke my heart!" Josh said, "Don't worry, Mom! Dad will fix your heart, and he will fix the piano!" It was so cute! Later that day Matt managed to get all but one quarter out, and Josh told me, "Dad isn't done fixing your heart, yet. He still has one more quarter to get out of the piano." He is such a joy to have around! And Anthony is just adorable! He babbles all the time, and is mimicking our words now. His favorite is when I tell him, "Don't bite me!" He will say, "Bite me!" My fam gets a kick out of that one:) He is crawling all over the place! He loves going up the stairs, but will then stop in the middle and try to sit straight back! I guess his mom always catching him gives him a little false sense of security! And he just started refusing to eat baby food. ANY baby food! It was the day we let him eat spaghetti with us. After that, I guess he just decided he was now a big boy, because he won't eat the baby rice or oatmeal cereal, any bottled food, or anything pureed! So I guess it is a really good thing he has 7 teeth, and one on the way! Oh, well, enough of my writing a novel about my family, I'll just do the picture captions, now:) Oh, yeah! Almost forgot! I just had both my kids weighed last week. Anthony is 18 lbs 11 oz or 19th percentile, and Josh is 27 pounds even-the 9th percentile! My tiny little kids! Well, hopefully someday they both grow:)

Matt's birthday cake. It was hard fitting all the candles in, and took 7 matches to light them all!

Of course, Josh had to help blow out the candles:)

Josh helped me pick out his Daddy's birthday gifts, and Anthony loved the card! The dog on it hopped up and down on the pogo stick:)

On our anniversary, we put the kids down to bed, and Matt surprised me with candles lit over then entire room! He hooked our computer up to the tv, and played a video of a fireplace:) We ate food from Chili's in bed, and it was wonderful!

Josh loves helping out with his little brother! He decided while I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth, he would go to his bathroom and brush Anthony's teeth! So the blue on Anthony's face and head is toothpaste:)

Josh is always wrestling and crawling with his baby brother. The other day I was washing my hands, and heard Josh saying, "I'm gonna get ya, baby boy! I'm gonna get ya!" He was crawling after him:)

Matt loves to tickle both his boys, and the boys love it! If you look close, you can see Anthony got fangs on top, and is just now getting one of his center teeth:)

Josh loves snuggling with his "bear blanket" Matt's grandma, Mimi, gave him.

Yes, I'm just now posting Christmas pics:) Matt had a Star Wars Christmas.

I got a lot of random stuff, mostly scrapbook or crochet related:)

Anthony and Josh LOVE taking rides it the wagon Santa got them. I forced Giz to stay in just long enough for a pic!

How cute is he? I love that little grin on his face! He loved his Cookie Monster. Josh got a matching Elmo. It is still taking work reminding Josh that he doesn't get both toys:)

I love the pure joy on Josh's face in this picture! He got a shake n' go McQueen car. He LOVES Cars!

Anthony, of course, had no idea what was going on, but he did enjoy his toys!

Josh loves to get on his laptop while I am on mine:)

Gizmo hates his scarf, but I think it is cute!

I love this pic! Josh is always so concerned about his baby brother! He is pretty rough with him, but sure adores him!

When a loved one becomes a memory...

That memory becomes a treasure.
Grandpa received the gift he's been praying for the last nearly 3 years. He passed away and was reunited with his wife. And just in time for Christmas. We are so heartbroken to lose such a sweet, amazing man. But we are all so happy for him, as well. Because we know he is happy.
My brothers and I were blessed to live next to them while growing up. We went over every day. And many times not just once a day. When we were in school we would stop by on our way to school, stop in for lunch, then go after school to their house. They were our second parents. They were married in 1939. On their honeymoon, they went and visited Grandma's twin sister, Fern. They slept outside on army cots, and Grandpa went fishing with Fern's husband, Jack. I have many fond memories of fishing trips with my grandpa. I didn't get to go as often as my brothers. My mom liked to have mommy days with me and my sis when my brothers had daddy days with Dad and Grandpa. But I definitely had my fair share of fishing trips. We loved going in my grandpa's boat out on the lake! And my grandpa was always tickled when the girls would come with him. The last fishing trip I went on was with Grandpa, David (my older bro), and my dad. It was at Strawberry. I caught the biggest fish, and Grandpa giggled and bragged to everyone for at least the next month that I caught the biggest fish. Grandma hated the boat. She used to tell us not to look at the water cause we'd get dizzy and fall in. She was very serious about it! I'll never forget the sound of her gasp whenever a small wake hit the boat and it would rock. My uncle told us of this happening once, and Grandma got mad at Grandpa for rocking the boat. Grandpa said, "I'm just sitting here breathing." Grandma said, "Then stop breathing!" They were the funniest couple ever! Grandma was always very feisty, and Grandpa was always laid back and easy going. She was always hot tempered, and I think my entire life I've seen my grandpa mad once or twice. But they adored each other, and would do anything to make the other happy. When my family moved to Payson, it was very hard on my Grandpa. We went from visiting multiple times a day to once or twice a week. But we still got to visit once or twice a week. If it was ever longer than that, we would walk in, and Grandma would say, "Well, hello there, stranger!" When I got a new job, I'd always call my mom, then my Grandma. I worked in Spanish Fork for 3 years in my twenties. I was there 3-4 days a week. Every day after work I would go to Grandma's house. I would sit first and chat with Grandpa for the first 15-20 minutes, then I'd go visit with Grandma for an hour or more. Grandpa would always come in and join us after a while. At the time I wanted to be a physician. He would come and tell me all about this "lady doctor" he'd seen on tv. Grandma would pull out her quote book and read quotes. They'd both tell stories of growing up in the depression. Whenever it was time to go, Grandma would say, "Be as good as you are. You're good enough, already." Her saying this made us want to do better. We wanted to be as good as she thought we were. I was there when Grandma passed away. I am so grateful I was. My brother, David, saw Grandpa the night before he died. He was able to talk with him, then Grandpa passed away in his sleep. I am so grateful David was able to see him at the very end. David was one of Grandpa's best friends. Even after Grandpa had his stroke, David would take him fishing multiple times every year. He reminds me a lot of Grandpa. His love for his family, his love for fishing, and his love for BYU football and basketball. Our grandparents adored all of their grandkids. We knew they didn't love some more than others. They loved all of us. Family was their life. They are the ultimate example of what I want to be.

This is David and Justin waiting at the cemetery. The funeral was beautiful. David spoke, and represented the grandkids very well. Justin, Alyse, and my mom sang and I accompanied them to a beautiful arrangement of "Sweet Hour of Prayer." Until I heard the arrangement, I thought of the song as just another song in the hymnbook. I had no idea it was so beautiful. It amazes me how simply changing the music to a piece can make it so it touches your soul.

The pallbearers carrying the casket. David and Justin were involved in the funeral, so Michael and Brian were the pallbearers for my family. A few of my other cousins as well, including Jared, the only grandson to carry on Grandpa's name. He drove 20 hours from his home in Illinois with his kids and Christmas to attend Grandpa's funeral. When Jared lived here, it was always David, Jared, and Grandpa that went out fishing together.

I'm sure Grandpa loved that BYU sent this flower arrangement. He worked there for fifteen years. He loved to tell us about the prophets and apostles he met.

Grandpa's beautiful handcarved casket. My cousin's cousin made it. Grandpa always said to just bury him in a pine box, so it was a pine casket.

On second thought, maybe pine wasn't the best. If you look close, you can see the screws on the handle ripped out of the wood. I will never forget the commotion as it ripped off on the way to the hearse, and the casket went falling to the ground. My aunt has the same gasp my grandma had. She cried out, "You dropped my dad!" Most of us started laughing uncontrollably. It brought a lot of humor just when we were all bawling. I figure Grandpa zapped it to make it fall, and Grandma probably smacked him for it:)

It is still so surreal. It hasn't even been a week since I last talked with him. And I hate when the time comes to say goodbye. 95 years of love and warm memories, then just a moment to stand next to the body of one who was so vibrant and loving. I don't want him to be gone. I will miss him so much.

My family was the last to leave the cemetery. I love my family, I love our closeness, and I love that we are all striving to make it back to our Heavenly Father's presence. All of us are very active in the church, and we all have a strong testimony of the gospel. And I love that we do.

So, Grandma and Grandpa, until we meet again. Not really good-bye. Just see ya later. And it is still so hard. No more calling, no more dropping by for a visit. But we have our memories. We have the love you gave to us. And we will never forget it. We will never forget you. Thank you. Thank you for just being you. I love you.