Happy Birthday Lindsay!!!

Sunday was my little sister's 22nd birthday! We were able to spend it with her at her in laws house for a fun dinner celebration. I love my sis and love how close we are. The thought of moving away from her really does bring tears to my eyes, I'm going to miss her like crazy. Apart from being an awesome sister and friend, she is an amazing aunt to my boys. They love her so much and are so close with her. Happy birthday Linds!!!! Love you!!!!

Here are some pics from the festivities...

On a side note, this is how the boys entertain themselves while I'm in the shower...

Aiden's Birthday Party...

Today was Jackson and Josh's friend Aiden's third birthday and the boys were able to go to his fun dinosaur party! It was their first friend party and they were SO excited about it! They play so well with Aiden, he is their best friend and I am SO sad to leave them! My camera died at the beginning of the party so I wasn't able to get very many pictures but it was a fun party! Josh did great with the pinata, he had great hand eye coordination! He is obviously daddy's boy! =) They were SO excited when the candy came out! Thanks for a fun party Aiden and Justina!

This was the best I could do trying to get the three of them...

The birthday boy with his cool dinosaur cake (good job Justina!)...

This was from last week, they all got so dirty playing at the park so they took a tub together...they were hilarious and had so much fun...

We've really been enjoying the nice weather this past week, it's been between 70 and 80 all week! I can't believe it, it's only March! I'm ready for SPRING but not summer....I HATE THE HEAT! But the boys have been loving the park, we've been there pretty much every day and I got FRIED! My poor arms are bright red! But it's been nice to get out of the house.

Speaking of the HOUSE...all is going well with the sale. The buyers came today for a final walk through, they love the house which makes me happy. We sign the papers on Monday, move out Saturday, and turn the keys over Sunday. I'm SO sad! I love my house and am so sad to leave it, Lehi, and all our friends and family. Stupid job in stupid Washington DC. I'm torn between being grateful (for selling our house AND getting a good job in this economy) and being sad and pitying myself (for having to leave our house and move TWICE-first to a tiny town then across the country where we'll be all alone). I've been pretty negative about everything, I guess I need to change my attitude. I am very much looking forward to spending time with my in laws this summer, and I guess DC will be an adventure. Just a lonely adventure I fear. Anyways, enough of my whining. I don't know if I'll have much time for blogging this week seeing as I have to pack up my whole house! My mom and dad are taking the boys to Oregon (THANK YOU!) so that will help a ton. Wish us luck!!!

Things I Have Learned From My Parents...

I thought it'd be interesting (for personal history reasons, maybe not for most of you to read) to do a post on things I have learned (both silly and serious) over the last 25 years from my dear parents! Hopefully someday Jackson and Josh will be able to make a list of things that I have taught them that they have remembered and consider important!

*LIFE IS NOT FAIR (mostly pounded into my head by my dad, that was his response to pretty much anything I asked) But he really is right, things just don't make sense all the time and you can question it all you want but, in the end, life is not fair!

*YOU HAVE TO EAT YOUR VEGETABLES (my mom, of course) I hated hated eating vegetables growing up and my mom would make me eat them every single night (even rare nights where we would get a pizza-she would still make us eat huge salads before we could have pizza) and I couldn't leave the table until they were gone. I hated her for it at the time but I was SUCH a healthy kid and am now realizing how much better I feel when I am eating healthy like I was taught.

*YOU GO TO CHURCH, NO MATTER WHAT (both mom and dad) My parents were good examples of faithfully attending church every Sunday-they made it a priority in their lives and in ours and I appreciate that.

*THE GOSPEL IS TRUE (both mom and dad) My parents taught me from a young age that they believed in the gospel and that, if lived, it will bring much happiness. I never doubted how they felt about our church, and that provided me much comfort during difficult times in my life where I found myself wondering what I believed.

*IF YOU GIVE SLOW DRIVERS IN THE FAST LANE A NASTY GLARE WHEN PASSING THEM, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY LEARN TO GET OVER (thanks dad!) I totally made fun of my dad for always giving slow drivers "the stare" when passing them, but here I am...doing the exact same thing! Somehow it makes me feel better, even though they rarely even see me do it and probably could care less which is why they're there in the first place.

*ROLL THE BOWLING BALL AS SLOW AS YOU CAN WITHOUT IT STOPPING MID LANE (my petite little mother!) My mom actually took a bowling class at BYU and is a beautiful bowler, but her balls go SOOOO slow! It's hilarious! All her grandkids balls beat hers!

*THE IMPORTANCE OF SAVING MONEY (both my parents) Now, granted this doesn't apply to my CURRENT situation, seeing as we're not making any money TO save, but since I was little my parents taught me how to work for and save money. I had a job since I was 15 and first I had to pay my tithing, then put most of the remainder in my savings account.

*THE YOUNGEST IS THE MOST SPOILED, PERIOD (both) Those of you who know Lindsay, I really don't need to say anything more. =) Love ya sis, but we all know who the favorite is!

*FAMILY TRIPS ARE THE BEST (both) I was SO lucky growing up because my parents surprised us with trips to Disneyland, Disneyworld, Bahama cruise, and Hawaii and we as a family have SO many memories of those trips! They really were the best of times!

*FAMILY DINNERS TOGETHER ARE A MUST (mother dearest!) We had a very hectic life at home with my dad being bishop and all three of us girls busy with school, soccer, swimming, choir, friends, etc but my mom almost always managed to find SOME time where we could all sit at the table and eat together. It was so nice to be able to have even just 30 minutes of time together as a family to talk about our days and bond.

*IT'S OK TO TALK ABOUT "GIRL STUFF" (dad!) Since I had all sisters there was really nothing that was off limits to talk about at my house, which I loved. I think it's mostly a good thing...but sometimes I have to tone it down-like at my in laws!!! I remember when I was at school and needed a tampon...MY DAD BROUGHT IT FOR ME! He drove up to my school with it sticking out of his sun roof, haha, SO mature pa! =)

*APPARENTLY IT'S NOT OK TO TELL YOUR PARENTS YOU'RE STAYING AT YOUR BEST FRIEND'S HOUSE AND GO TO THE BEACH WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND INSTEAD (let's face it, neither parent was thrilled with this) Ah the stupid things teenagers do. Needless to say, I got caught...grounded from my high school boyfriend for a month-then HIS mom found out....and grounded him from me for a month...it was a LONG two months!

*PARENTS WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THEIR KIDS (both mom and dad) I know my parents have made, and will continue to make, huge sacrifices for us three girls. My parents were extremely unselfish growing up and always put our needs first. My dad even dug out my favorite stuffed animal out of the big outside garbage for me! My mom spent many nights up with me during a very rough break up in high school. Those things seem trivial now, but were so very important to me at the time.

I love my parents and know I wouldn't be where I am in life without their support, guidance, and love.

Family Night with Thomas and Friends...

Tonight was a fun night, we took the boys to Thomas and Friends Live on Stage at the E-Center! It was so nice to be able to spend some time together as a family! Parker has been at the library until about 11 every night these past few weeks so the boys and I have been missing him like crazy. The tickets were a little pricey but seeing the boys faces when Sir Topham Hat and THOMAS THE TRAIN came out made it all worth it!

The boys got anxious waiting for 6:00 to come to we took some random pictures to pass the time...

Here we are getting ready to leave...

They had a Harley outside by the concessions, the boys kept asking us to turn it on...We got great seats only 6 rows from the stage...

Jack loved the popcorn...And really enjoyed much needed time with his daddy...The show was really cute...The boys had so much fun and are still laying in their beds talking about it! I wish we had more time and money to do things like this, but tonight was something our family will remember! Thanks Parker for taking a night off for your family-we love you!!!

Jackson's Hair Cut and Playing in the Snow...

I just couldn't stand it any longer, against the wishes of my husband (sorry babe), I cut Jack's hair. He has cute white blond hair that we were trying to grow long and kinda shaggy but it just wasn't looking good. Plus, every morning he asks me to do spikes in his hair like Joshy which I couldn't do because it was so long! SO...this morning I cut it all off! He was so excited to be, "just like Joshy!" I think he'll like it in the summer too, he won't get quite so hot. Anyways...he's not Mr. Cooperative with the camera but you can get the idea...

Joshy had to get in on the action, he actually held Jackson's hand during his hair cut...

Haha, he looks weird in this picture but at least you can see his hair...

The boys had fun playing in the snow today, they were so cute using their doggy ball throwing sticks to make snow cones!

Nothing too new to report, Parker is trying to get his huge paper done and pass his classes so he can GRADUATE next month. All the while we have to move, haha. No big deal. I have my 20 week doctors appointment on Friday where they do the anatomical ultrasound and all that, hopefully all is well with my little guy!

It's A...

Don't mind fussy Josh...it was way past bedtime. During the ultrasound they were both pretty upset about it not being a girl. They kept telling my aunt (who did the ultrasound), "no it's NOT a boy it's a girl!" Hahaha. I think in the end they'll be thrilled to have a little brother to play with. Daddy is happy too, the more sons the merrier! MOMMY on the other hand, not too excited. Oh well.

Update...

Boring title I know, but really nothing all that exciting has been going on around here! We have decided to move to Neola for the summer, that's the latest. Where is Neola you ask? Middle of nowhere! It's a tiny town about 2 hours east of Provo, towards Vernal for those who know where that is. It's where Parker grew up and where his parents still live. His 94 year old grandma had to move in with Parker's parents so her house is vacant...and it was hard to pass up a free place to stay for 5 months! I have mixed feelings about it, it will be SO fun to be able to spend so much time with my in laws, and I know the boys will love every minute of it. I'm looking forward to Sunday dinners with the fam and girl time with my mother in law. It will also be so nice to have her help with the new baby. And, of course, not having to pay rent will be wonderful. I also met my new doctor out there and really liked him. I was able to tour the OB wing of the hospital and it's brand new and looks like a great place to have my baby! That being said, I'm a little nervous about it all. I've never thought of myself as a small town girl, I'm dreading not having a things to do. I mean there's no mall, Walmart or Target, or many restaurants close by. I am also dreading not having any friends or my sister out there with me. I am not looking forward to the extreme heat of the basin and the house doesn't have air conditioning so I think I'll be a grumpy hot prego lady all summer! Another thing I'm super bummed about is having to leave the Golds gym out here. I have loved that gym and the boys LOVE the daycare there! But, I am hoping it will be a good experience. We're moving out there March 28th! I'm SO sad to leave Lehi and my house!

On a PREGO note...we find out what we're having on TUESDAY!!! How strong am I...I went out to Neola on Friday to check some things out and I had an appt with my new doctor and he did an ultrasound! He could've told me and my mother in law what it was but Parker wasn't with me so I told him not to tell me yet! AH! It was so hard! But we'll know soon enough. Here is the ever asked for belly shot...I'm 18 weeks...

And of course no blog entry would be complete without a picture of my cute boys, here they are in their new doggy jammies which they are very excited about...