Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

Last night we got all our Christmas decorations up and decorated our tree. The boys have been SO excited to do this and Parker and I were both having rough days with some drama and what not but we finally got around to it after dinner and it turned out great. We let the boys decorate it so it certainly doesn't look perfect but I don't care. It's always fun to pull out our ornaments that bring back memories. My mother in law gives us an ornament each year that represents something that happened that year, it was fun to see all those. It got me excited for the Christmas season! We are trying to teach the boys about the birth of Christ and I think they are slowly getting it. Yesterday Jackson found a little Santa statue and put it by Mary in the nativity set. I asked him why and he said, "Santa ALWAYS likes to see Heavenly Father mommy." Haha, close enough I guess. =) And can I say how much I LOVE Christmas music!?!? I love this time of year!

Here's Jackson hanging a christmas ball ornament, which by the way was dropped about ten times and never broke! The one Josh dropped DID break and, of course, Jackson stepped in the glass =(

Little poser...Cheeseball...
Tyce was pretty good but got fussy at the end of the decorating...In front of the finished product...They love their stockings, I gotta find one for Tyce though!!!Haha, it's a beauty isn't it?

Thanksgiving Week...

We had a wonderful week with my parents. They flew in on Sunday and went home this afternoon. It was, of course, not long enough-but I'll take what I can get. I feel so blessed that my parents are both ABLE and WILLING to come see us so often. I love them so much!!!

Cute pic of daddy and Tyce...Grandma and Tyce, Tyce really knew Grandma and would smile at her all the time...Grandpa reading Ernie's Big Mess to Jack, I LOVED that book growing up! My dad also does great Sesame Street character voices so he's always fun to have read to you. =)Grandma and Joshy, Josh really warmed up to my mom this trip-giving her lots of kisses...
Tuesday Parker took a half day and we all went to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum. It's like a continuation of the one down at the mall in DC but this one was really close to my house so that was nice. My dad is kinda a nerd about this kind of stuff so he loved it and wanted to spend MUCH more time there but, of course, the boys had other ideas. Haha, sorry dad!Here we are in that big tower thing at the top of the building. It's really close to Dulles Airport so you can watch planes take off and land, which the boys thought was pretty cool. Tyceroo was an angel, as always!Grandpa and Joshy outside the museum...Grandma and Jackson...Wednesday night our WONDERFUL friends/neighbors Shana, Jadeh, and Alexi babysat the boys for us so we could go out to eat as adults! Oh it was so...quiet!!! It was nice to be able to have some time with my parents away from the kids. Thursday my mom made us an AMAZING YUMMY INCREDIBLE DELICIOUS PERFECT Thanksgiving dinner. My mom is such a good cook, I've been so spoiled. Her gravy was to die for, I think I just wanted a bowl of that! Haha. She also made her famous banana cream pie, which made my little sister and her husband jealous! =)

Here is my honey carving the bird for the first time...He was snacking on it the whole time, but managed to save some for the rest of us...

Aside from the delicious food we had a nice Thanksgiving. I asked the boys what they were thankful for:

Jackson: "Going potty and Daddy."

Josh: "Mommy."

It was cute. I am thankful for my amazing family, both immediate and extended. I am thankful for Parker's job (as much as I complain about it taking us out here, we are lucky to have a stable job in this economy). I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for the gospel and my knowledge of eternal families. I am thankful that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and watches over me and who is always there for me.

Mom and dad thank you SOOOO much for coming out. We all enjoyed having you and can't wait until February when you come back! LOVE YOU BOTH!!!

New Jammies from Grandma and Grandpa...

Well my mom must've gotten the memo that the boys all needed new jammies so when they got here on Sunday the boys were able to open their surprise...

They love to cover their eyes while Grandma and Grandpa get their surprises out... All my boys in their matching ball jammies...

They look SO cute in their bear jammies...

We have had a super fun week with my parents here. They go home tomorrow so I'm going to go spend time with them but I'll post more later!!!

Jackson Getting the Newspaper in Daddy's Shoes...

Haha, you have to check out the video at the bottom of my blog, it's hilarious!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!!!

Saturday we decided to head up to the National Zoo in DC. It was the PERFECT day to go, high 50s, cloudy, dry, and not crowded! Also, admission is free! I packed us all lunches and drinks and I (being the awesome driver and parker that I am) found a spot on the road RIGHT in front of the zoo so we didn't have to pay for parking either! Nevermind that it took me three tries to parallel park the van. =) So it was a fun and FREE day, the best kind.

The giant Panda, it was so cute just sitting there licking something...Daddy, Jack, and the giant Panda...Of course they had to play on every rock we saw...

Gotta love our double stroller, with Josh sitting on top it fits all three of our kids!
We loved watching the elephants because they were really interacting with eachother, it was cute to watch.

The boys could've watched the monkeys swing from tree to tree for hours...Taking a break for lunch...
Josh ate his turkey sandwhich faster than he has ever eaten anything in his entire life, I guess the zoo works up his appetite!The gorillas were SO fun to watch! There was a brand new baby one that was absolutely adorable. It kinda creeps me out how humanlike their mannerisms are though...Jack liked riding on daddy's shoulders so he could see things better...This tiger was more exciting for the boys than the real one, haha...Standing above the Tiger pond, the boys wanted to take a swim but decided "it was too dirty." Ya, THAT'S the reason not to jump into a tiger's pond, haha...

Probably their favorite thing was petting this cow, haha...Gotta ride the stone bear...Where was Tyce you ask? He slept for five hours in his car seat like an angel...He woke up just in time for a quick family photo, don't mind my nasty hair, we had just hiked up a HUGE LONG hill pushing the stroller and carrying Tyce...

It was a fun day but it sure wore us all out! Parker is at church right now and I'm home with all the sick kids. Tyce is much better, just the remainder of a stuffy nose and cough. Jackson is probably just at the beginning of it all. Joshy is pretty sick and his poor little voice is so hoarse it's hilarious. Luckily they felt good enough yesterday to have some fun.

MY PARENTS WILL BE HERE IN ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update on the Batman Jammies...

For those who are DYING to know what happened with Jackson's batman pajamas...I cut the feet off and he still loves them. He thinks it's hilarious and doesn't realize what a nerd he looks like...

But a cute nerd =)

Tyce had a rough day yesterday, very tired and congested. He just wanted to cuddle on mommy all day (not that I minded). Today he actually seems MUCH happier and has much more energy. He still sounds horribly congested but is acting pretty much normal. Jack and Josh are both congested and coughing but are also happy as can be. Josh also sprained his ankle last night so he's been limping around. =( Lucky for me, all three of my kids are SO good when they're sick!

Goodbye Batman Jammies...

It's a sad day for Jackson, he has officially outgrown his batman pajamas. Parker's mom bought them for him a little over a year ago and he wears them almost every night (lucky for him I do laundry almost every day because of Tyce spitting up so much). There's a cape on back and he loves to sing the Batman song and fly around the house. But he's a growing boy and his little toes are starting to poke out...

Last night this was Josh's prayer: "Heavenly Father, please bless the holes in Jack's jammies to get better so nothing can crawl into his toes and hurt him. I will put my shoes on and run and scare them away so they don't hurt Jack's toes." Hahahahaha, Parker and I had to try so hard to not laugh because it was so cute and thoughtful of Josh. I am considering cutting the feet off so he can still wear them, but those of you that know Jackson know that he could very well go to pieces if that is not what he wanted. I don't know if it's worth the risk. We'll see.

Things around here are fine. All three boys woke up with runny noses (poor Tyce is so congested he literally cannot eat). It's been SO long since the twins have been sick I guess I thought they were invincible! =) But they're still happy as can be so hopefully this is as bad as it gets. On a happy note, MY PARENTS WILL BE HERE IN 10 DAYS!!! I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving with them. =)

Small Blessings...

I've been having a hard time maintaining a positive attitude out here in Virginia. At most times I feel very alone and being thoroughly exhausted from Tyce's night feedings isn't helping matters. But one thing that has been a small blessing in my life are the girls across the street, Jada and Lexi. When we first moved in they came by to tell us about their dog walking business and we had them take care of Brody when we were out of town. Then they came by asking if the twins would like to walk the dogs with them, needless to say the boys were THRILLED. The walks started out about 10 minutes and now last about an hour. When the weather is bad the girls take the twins to their house or they play with them here at our house. It is so nice to have some help and to get a break. The boys just adore them and I really am grateful for their friendship.

Here they are...

I think the boys have been sensing my depression lately (which makes me feel awful) so they've really been stepping up the charm. Jackson about 10 times a day will say, "Guess what Mommy? I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" Then he'll give me the biggest longest hug ever. It makes me feel so good. Last night Parker was, of course, working late so I was having a hard time getting dinner ready with all the kids needing something and I just broke down and started crying. Josh goes, "Mommy it's too dark right now but tomorrow when the sun comes up I will go outside and get you something pretty to make you happy." So this morning he went out and picked me a flower, it was precious. Also, last night the twins were helping me unload their clothes from the dryer and everything they pulled out they'd say, "Thank you Mommy for washing this! I love this shirt!" or "Thanks Mommy for washing my favorite jammies!" It was a small thing that mean a lot to a stay at home mom. I love my boys so much!

Halloween Fun

Halloween this year was so fun! The boys are at the perfect age for it and my dear friend Becky and her family came from Pitsburg to visit for the weekend! It was so fun having them here.

Friday night we went to the ward Trunk or Treat, which the boys just loved. It got them warmed up for going trick or treating the next day.

They had a costume parade where the kids walked across the stage, the boys LOVED it and waved so big, haha...The cutest cowboy and batman ever...Daddy and his boys...Cheeseballs...Mommy and her boys...Josh LOVED his costume...Jackson's wanted to be batman forever...At the door trick or treating...Checking out all their candy...