Happy Birthday Daddy!

It is still Shaun's birthday for a little over an hour, so I'm not too late! It's been a busy day though. Our Daddy is spending his birthday in Arkansas, so the kids didn't really get that it was his birthday today. But we still wanted to send our love to him, because we think he is a pretty perfect dad! We sure miss him and can't wait until we can hang with him this weekend!

 

These kids sure love their dad, and so do I. We are all very lucky to have him in our family!

Happy 29th Birthday!

A Dream Come True

You see those tickets? 

That's what I found in my mailbox when we got home from Sunriver this afternoon! 

I may have SCREAMED 

and almost wet my pants!!! 

Seriously, if I can't be on the show,
this is the next best thing. 

I may have been checking my mail within minutes of the mailman coming each day for the last two weeks.

I just can't believe I actually got some!

I can't believe I get to see the taping of the show. 

I just hope the players are actually good, because I will be frustrated if I get the puzzles before them! Haha!

I.CAN'T.WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sunriver post is coming sometime this week, but news this BIG couldn't wait!

Snow Day!

Spring is playing tricks on us here in Oregon! We woke up to 3-4 inches of snow this morning, and the kids were so excited. We've haven't gotten very much snow this year, and most of it has come in the month of March. But there was actually enough to go out and play in it, so that is what we did.

 First thing, snow angels!

 Second thing, roll balls for snowman!

 Third thing, turn snowman into a snow princess 

(see tiara on head, and wand that Gage is holding!)

 Fourth thing, drive lawn mower through snow!

 Fifth thing, shovel snow into dump truck!

 Sixth thing, make a sled out of a storage bin lid and a luggage strap and sled down the driveway!

Seventh thing, lay on the driveway and splash in the slushy puddles the snow turned into as the sun came out!

We were so excited to go to Sunriver this weekend for spring break and play in the snow! Looks like we didn't even need to plan a trip, but I guess we will still go anyway!

Happy Spring Break!

Gage, oh Gage!

This guy couldn't be more exhausting, but I still love every single thing about him!

 Mid-fit throwing!

 T-ball playing! 

(just signed him up!)

 After swimming exhausting!

 Germ sharing!

 Ride giving!

 Kitchen "helping"!

 Master at coloring!

 Dora loving!

 Van sneaking!

 Pocket finding!

 Big-boy seat sitting!

 Box climbing!

 And hiding!

 Max melting!

And clock sleeping!

I may have texted Shaun earlier today with this, "Why is our kid so weird?"

But these things make him HIM!!!

Love you buddy!

I can't tell if they are more excited that Daddy comes home soon or that they got ice cream tonight!

Dear Daddy

Dear Daddy,

 Are you having fun in Little Rock? I look at my United States puzzle every morning and point out where you are at. We really miss you here. Mommy finally went to the doctor and has a sinus infection AND pneumonia, which means Gage and I are left to fend for ourselves. We are sick of eating chicken nuggets and cereal. Luckily, Grandma came over last night and made us some Mac N' Cheese. It was delicious. We can't wait for you to come home. Bath time and bed time just isn't as much fun with out you here. And mom made me do my flashcards by myself the other night. I accidentally ripped one off the ring, so you'll have to fix it when you get home. Also, it snowed here this week. 

 See! 

The most snow we've gotten all winter.

And Gage has been really naughty while you've been gone. He won't take naps and that makes mommy frustrated because she wants to sleep during nap time.

This is how he fell asleep last night. He won't listen to mommy and stay in his bed. You'll have to relieve mommy of Gage duties when you get home. 

Please come home soon. 

We miss you!

Love Maisey

Out with the old. . . In with the new!

As if we haven't made enough changes around here since the beginning of the year, Shaun and I ventured up to Washington yesterday and we finally bought a new van. It's been a long time coming (like over a year!), but I am so happy with it. I rode home with my heated seats on and eating Taco Bell nachos! Pure Bliss!

 It was a little sad leaving our old van! We brought both our kids home from the hospital in that thing, and it was our first big purchase as a couple. I remember the day we bought it, both Shaun and my phones went dead. We each called our dads a million times making sure we were doing everything right. We couldn't even call them to tell them we ended up buying it because our phones were dead! I remember I was a little embarrassed driving it for a while, because I hadn't even had Maisey yet. But it really was so good to us! I'm really going to miss the two built in car seats, but I'm not going to miss the small crack in the lower corner of the windshield, or the 4-year old BYU parking pass that we could never get off. We've had a lot of memories in that van: the countless road trips, me backing into a poll (twice!), Shaun pulling into the garage with the Christmas tree tied to the top, and Maisey falling out of it onto the driveway and landing on her head. But, we were definitely ready for something new!

 And here she is! Just washed at the dealership, and ready for us to drive away! My favorite features among several: heated seats and power start.

When we got home, the kids went CRAZY!!! They are very excited about the DVD players! 

Unfortunately, I think my cold has turned into a sinus infection, so once we got home, I didn't have enough energy to figure everything out, so the kids haven't even watched a movie in it yet. And, I took a 3.5 hour nap after church today, so all the bells and whistles will have to wait until later in the week to be looked at.

One more thing to check off the mile long to-do list before this baby comes!

Bedroom Transformation: Miley's Room

Miley's room (aka the old play room) before the process started

DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

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Miley's new room!

I don't really have a favorite part about this room, because what will be my favorite part won't come for 8.5 more weeks!

Bedroom Transformation: Maisey's Room

 Maisey's old room before the process started

 Maisey's old room, mid-process

Maisey's new room, mid-process

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

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Maisey's new room!

 My favorite part of her new room are these Ikea storage bins! I took pictures of the toys inside and I'm going to mount them on cute paper and laminate them, so the kids know exactly which bin the toys go in during clean up time.

 Her new dresser is off to the left a little, you can't really see it, but I LOVE it! 

She loves her new room, but her bed is her favorite!

Bedroom Transformation: Gage's Room

 Gage's old room in before the process started.

Gage's old room, mid-process

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

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 Gage's new room!

 My favorite part about his new room is his closet, because I can keep a lot of his toys in there, then shut the door with the child proof handle on the outside, and he can't play with them at night. Plus they stay very organized and clean because he has to ask me to get them out for him!

He sure loves his new room and likes to show everyone "My Room" when they come over!