Hubers

Enchanted Island

2012-02-16T22:08:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went as a family to Enchanted Island. It's a little amusement park in downtown Phoenix. I bought a family pass through Groupon that was pretty cheap. To be honest I was dreading going a little, it looked really ghetto and I had really low expectations. Surprisingly, it was a really fun, and I'm glad we went!

I had the MOST fun on the tea cups! A little too much fun. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life! I wish we could have gotten good pictures of Mason and Noah on this ride. Their facial expressions were hilarious! They loved it but looked like they might lose their lunch! We were spinning pretty fast!

Callie's first carousel ride. Our next door neighbor Kenzie is holding her. Kenzie is so good with Callie! Love her!

Mason's favorite ride was the parachutes! He loved them!

I love how different my boys are. Mason is my little dare devil always willing to try new adventures and super out going. He is such a little energizer bunny.

Noah is my sweetheart and more reserved child, he's my "thinker". I don't think I need to worry about peer pressure with him. He will NEVER do anything he isn't comfortable doing. He got off of this dragon ride and said "I don't ever want to do that again". Haha

Colter's Birthday Party!

2012-02-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

Colter had his 5th Birthday Party at Golf Land this year! My boys were sooooooooo excited! Everyday last week they asked "Is it time to go to Colter's Birthday party yet?" Finally the day came! When we pulled up to the "castle" Mason announced "MOM! We forgot my swimsuit!" Haha! Yeah a little too cold for that!
They were so excited! I'm such a kid at heart, and I was really excited to go myself. Mostly to take pictures and watch my children experience something fun. Plus, who wouldn't enjoy pizza, cupcakes, video games and golfing?! They had so much fun and were surprizingly very well behaved! Thank you Lindsey for throwing such a memorable night for my boys!

11 kiddos 5yrs. old and under! YEP crazy! But thankfully we didn't lose any kids (for very long anyway!)

Noah even had a little victory dance everytime he got the ball in the hole!

Mason was a little pro. I'm not joking! I was surprised at how he handled the golf club. I honestly think he would beat me at golf. (That's not saying much but still he is only 5 and this was his first experience mini-golfing.)

Brotherly love! Such a cool thing!

Baby Henry has arrived!

2012-02-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

Mike and Deanna had their baby boy!

Monday, February 6th

7 lbs. 12oz
20 inches long (Pretty big baby for my tiny little sister-in-law)

He is sooooo adorable!

Date Night

2012-02-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Ron and I got to go out 2 nights in a row this week (I know that doesn't seem like a big thing but it is!) I really enjoy my children but it was fun to have some time out alone with Ron. Saturday we got to go out to eat at one of my favorite places, Texas Roadhouse! We went with our really good friends Jeff and Lindsey. We have been friends with them forever (Ron and Jeff were high school buddies), but we usually just hang out as families, to BBQ and watch the kids play. So it was nice to enjoy an evening out with them.

Then we got to go to a SUNS basketball game. Which of course was a LOT of fun! Last time I went to a SUNS game was when Ron and I were dating (11 years ago!) It was very entertaining and kept my attention the whole game, I forgot how much fun they are! During the game I thought a lot about Ron's Grandma Mickey Huber (Her name is Mildred but everyone calls her Mickey). She passed away this week and I remember always being impressed with her interest in sports, especially when it came to SUNS games. Her and Grandpa Ken used to sit in their recliners, hold hands and watch sports on their big screen TV. They must have watched just about every game the SUNS played. We are going to miss her but I am happy for her to be reunited with Grandpa.

Grandma Mickey and Callie

Watch out!

2012-02-02T20:06:00.001-08:00

Callie started walking this week! (February 1st she took a couple steps). She is still a long ways from running all over but watch out corners and walls, I'm sure Callie will be running into you soon enough! Her poor forehead is bound to get some goose-egg bruises.

Early morning BOOTCAMP!

2012-01-30T06:01:00.000-08:00

So! I have been going to bootcamp with some crazy women from my ward for the past couple months. We have to leave at 5:10am and drive out to a killer bootcamp session from 5:30-6:30am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. These women are lots of fun and definitely make exercise entertaining! This mornig we drove as usual all the way out to bootcamp and sat in the car waiting for the instructor to get there. Ashlea had the genius idea of ditching and getting waffles for breakfast. So naturally we did! Haha! I know I will be regretting this decision later today when I am exhausted and feeling fat but for now I had a very enjoyable morning!! Thanks ladies!

WOW! Can't believe I am posting thiese pics! I look horid in the mornings! :)

Ashlea and I! Ewww! I look so gross! Yummy food though!

Christi Jensen! Sooooooo photogenic! Even at 5:30am!

The Boys were excited about the hats!

30, flirty and thriving!

2012-01-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

Yes I turned the big 30 last week! And I have mixed feelings about it! I don't really feel different but 30 just sounds so OLD! Since my birthday was on Monday we celebrated it all weekend long. I liked to think of it as a celebration of my 20's, and NOT turning 30! :)

I had a very nice "Birthday weekend" filled with shopping, eating out and visiting with friends. Ron took me shopping (I love shopping with him he's so good at picking out things that will look good on me. Although his taste is a little more expensive than mine but... like I said he has good taste!)

I had a friend ask me what the highlight of my 20's was. That's a tough one. My first answer was getting married! clique! I know. But as I thought about it more I decided that there really wasn't one defining great moment in my 20's but a series of events that just kept getting better and better. Cheesy I know but I really do feel like my life as much as it is changing and progressing it just keeps getting better and better. So that's my answer and I'm sticking to it!

On my actual Birthday I got a sitter and went to lunch with my best friend Lindsey and my sister Maddy! We went shopping and hung out afterwards. I honestly believe that you are are only as old as you act. And judging from these pictures I think we are still 17 years old! I really had a nice birthday and I think am ok with being old and leaving my 20's behind!

ROAR!

Mason made me this birthday card! Such a sweetheart! Our Nanny Brianna helped him and it really means a lot to me! Mason doesn't sit still for very long periods of time, so I know he must have really wanted to make this for me. He was really excited to finally give it to me on my birthday! He kept telling me for days that he had a surprise for me. (And he wouldn't tell me either! I tried really hard to get it out of him!) I love it!

New Year's Resolutions!

2012-01-14T10:03:00.001-08:00

Ok. I figure if I write them down then I HAVE to follow through with them! My New Year's Resolutions are very similar to past resolutions!

1. I want to study my scriptures more (DAILY)! My goal is to not sit down to watch TV or a movie until I have done my scripture reading for the that day! Hopefully that will motivate me a little more. The problem is I don't watch TV every day... hmm maybe I will read the scriptures before I floss or something?!?! haha 2. I really want to focus on a healthy (but yummy) eating lifestyle. With my boys getting older and my children multiplying I really want them to have the best start for life. Since I can't really go back to school right now I have decided to teach myself and study about Nutrition. I plan on studying 1 book on healthy eating/nutrition each month... So far I'm on page 2 of the Book "SUPERFOODS The Healthiest Foods on the Planet". I better get cracking the month of January is already halfway over!

3. I am not very good with home decorating. In fact I'm so bad that I just don't do anything. So I want to work on improving my home a little more. I plan on using and abusing Pinterest and copying others ideas. I have already made this really cute Valentines wreath thanks to a friends' craft night! I LOVE it and wish that Valentines Day lasted all year long so I don't ever have to take it down!

You know you live in AZ when...

2012-01-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's the month of December and your boys say they are too hot!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!! And yes I am as tired as I look in these pictures. Oh well my kids look cute!

I was really surprised at how interested Callie was with the presents and actually unwrapped her presents (with a little help)! She went crazy over this baby doll walker thing that Santa gave her, Ron couldn't put it together fast enough! So fun to watch her play with an actual girlie toy (we don't have very many of those around the house).

Mason and Noah got Just Dance 3 game for the Wii. We had a lot of fun trying it out! ok. Maybe I had a little too much fun!

And last but not least Santa left a trampoline for the boys. When Mason saw it he yelled "It did fit on his sleigh!" They LOVE it!!!!! Even Callie can't get enough of the tramp. She kicks and screams when you take her off of it. The bouncing doesn't scare her at all.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T20:45:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve tradition! Every Christmas Eve my family does a big dinner and some sort of Christmas program. My Aunt Kelly goes all out with beautiful decor and yummy food!

This year we made it a Christmas Eve Pajama party.

And then of course we stopped by the Huber household. Harley and Tanner planned an adorable program with songs and a sweet message. Crazy night but I loved it! Good thing I stayed up until 2 am the night before wrapping presents! That way I did manage to get some sleep.

Hmmmm... I wonder why these dogs LOVE Joyce so much?!

Best early Christmas present!

2011-12-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

Tradition! Every year for Christmas my family does a gift exchange with all the siblings. It has changed over the years as our family grows. The past few years we have been doing our exchanges as couples and we go out for the evening no kids. It's kind of nice to socialize with my brothers and sisters minus the crazy kids!

This year Corinne had me and she surprised me with pictures/framed with shots of my children. She sneekily took my kids and had their pictures taken! I LOVE the pictures and already have them hanging in my home.

Temple Lights!

2011-12-19T20:21:00.000-08:00

For Family Night we went to see the Christmas Lights at the Temple tonight! I love taking my family to the temple no matter what time of year. Something about walking around those beautiful grounds. My children get very excited every time we visit the temple. Noah even asked me who was going to get married tonight. (He knows that people get married in the temple.)

9 months old!

2011-12-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby girl is 9 months old! I can't imagine our family with out her! She is so fun! Being my first girl I have already noticed a difference between her and my boys. She threw her first tantrum last month rolling on the ground and everything! I was laughing really hard.

Callie's 9 month stats:

weight- 16 lbs. 8oz (which is in the 10th percentile)

length- 27 3/4 in. long (average)

She has been waving Hi and Bye Bye for a couple months now. (And I PROMISE has even said Bye a couple times... Maryann is my witness!) Other then that her only words are Ma-Ma and Da-Da.

She lights up when anyone talks to her. I think she just loves attention.

She loves to clap her hands and give high fives.

She LOVES her brothers and wants to do whatever they are doing. Including playing outside! Callie would live outside if I let her. If she is being cranky and I can't get her to calm down all I have to do is step outside and immediately she is happy. When her brothers are outside she stands at the sliding glass door yelling and screaming, as if to tell them "How dare you leave me in here! Come save me!"

She doesn't want to eat babyfood all that often. She wants REAL food. It's really hard! I have to watch her like a hawk. I don't remember going through this with my boys. But maybe that's just because I have 2 little boys leaving crumbs behind for her to find.

She LOVES ice water. It's the funniest thing ever. If you are drinking water she gets really mad if you don't share!

She also LOVES the bathtub and bathroom. We have to be extra diligent about keeping that door shut. Everytime you walk by the bathroom she gets really happy and kicks her legs because she thinks you are going to give her a bath.

Office Christmas Party

2011-12-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

My work Christmas party was this weekend. I have worked at Mesa Dental Care for almost 12 years! (Yes I'm getting old!) I started working here right out of high school. I remember the day of my interview (even what I was wearing!). After my interview I ended up showing up again that same day with MCC class schedules where Marge (the office manager) and I picked out my classes. We did this because she needed a full-time employee. I took classes before work, during my lunch hour and after work. My boss was always very supportive of my education and I was able to both work and go to school full-time. Marge even paid me $10 for every A I got at MCC! I will always be appreciative for her encouragement.

Even when I was in Dental Hygiene school they allowed me to work the days I was off. (Which was constantly changing with my class schedule and lab/clinic times. Then they hired me again right out of Dental Hygiene School. Even though alot of things have changed it's still a great place to work and be myself.

The Dynamic Trio:

I love these wonderful women! Jo Ann and Myrna taught me everything I know about Dentistry. I wouldn't be the same nerdy hygienist with out them and I mean it! Myrna (pictured left) is an amazing office manager and friend. It's really nice to work for someone who apprectiates family values, is honest and is understanding. I really learned good hard work ethic from her!

This is one of our ads from the yellow pages. And yes I used to be blonde.

Jo Ann was not only my mentor but is a close friend. This woman is the funnest, smartest and super tallented at what she does. You have to watch out working her! You are likely to get shot with a rubber band or sprayed with water (and you really have to be careful when she is cleaning the nasty traps! Haha! Her hands go flying! Ewwwww!). She really should have been a dentist. She is literally Dr. Nia's right arm, he'd be lost with out her. I am very lucky to have worked side by side with her for almost 12 years now.

And yes this is a picture of them endulging in CANDY!

Dr. Nia is an excellent dentist and wonderful boss.

Hallelujah!!

2011-12-11T18:25:00.000-08:00

Yay!!!! Callie got her first teeth this week! FINALLY!!!!! I feel like she has been teething since she was 2 months old. Callie has been a very "drooly" baby from the get-go. I guess that's what I deserve when I brag about not have slobbery children! I still think she is absolutely adorable but sometimes the drool is ridiculous!

With Mason and Noah I never knew when they were "teething" it was just like "Oh! Look another tooth!" Kinda nice. With Callie she is cranky, slobbery and tries to chew on any and every object she can get her hands on! It's hilarious!

(Great Grandma Hopkins and Callie!)

Sadly, even her crib has been victimized by Callie's path of chewing destruction! I have NEVER seen this before! The other day when I got Callie after her nap I noticed she had a couple little black flecks on her face and binky. Uh-Oh. Upon further investigation I discovered this:

I have heard of babies biting the crib but come on! She's only had her 2 bottom teeth for a few days now and look at the damage. It's crazy too because Ron and I are kind of wimpy parents. We don't let her cry very much in her crib before we go and get her. She really isn't in her crib for long periods of time. Poor Ron! He spent so much time painting this crib. I'm really nervous for when the top 2 teeth come in! I can only imagine what her crib will look like then.

McCormick Stillman Railroad Park

2011-12-07T15:51:00.000-08:00

We went to the this park as a family last week. We had planned this Family night activity for a few weeks and I had looked forward to taking my kids to visit ANOTHER Santa Clause on the Polar Express, ride a train and carousel. It rained all day Monday! I was really nervous because I had already told my kids about going and now the weather might not let us. My kids really don't forget things either! Well, we decided to go anyways and I am really glad we took that chance! Mason and Noah really enjoyed the train ride! Callie was mezmorized by all the Christmas lights along the ride.

It didn't rain one drop the whole time we were there. Poor Ron, he hadn't been holding Callie too long when he felt wetness! Yep! Her diaper leaked! haha! Parenthood! Gotta love those moments. Then as we were leaving Noah dropped his Hot Chocolate and it splashed all over Ron and Noah! Kinda funny! Despite all the adventure we did have a very nice Family Home Evening.

Must be Santa!

2011-11-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

We went to Bass Pro Shop (or the Fish store as my kids call it) this week to see Santa. Mason told Santa he wants a Trampoline for Christmas, and Noah says he want a helicopter. These are always their answers everytime they are asked! It's really sweet and we are hoping this year their Christmas wishes will comes true!

Family Bowling Night!

2011-11-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

I had purchased a few bowling passes through groupon and we went as a family last week. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. At first Noah only bowled once or twice and then wanted nothing to do with the bowling alley. He found the arcade area and of course wanted to just hang out there. So, when the first bowling game was over I was ready to go. Ron insisted on staying for another game and I'm really glad we did. Noah magically decided he wanted to join us and bowled the whole 2nd game! For days afterwards the boys announced to everyone:

"We went bowling last week!"

Once again Mason proves his excellent big brother skills. He helped Noah and even let Noah bowl for him on some of his turns.

1/2 Marathon!

2011-11-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I ran my first half marathon! Kind of a big deal for me. I have been training for this for a couple months. My main struggle was dealing with shin splints. I get them pretty easy and it's super annoying. My training schedule went as follows: I ran 3 times a week and one of those runs HAD to be on the MHS track (to minimize shin splints). I did my long runs on Saturdays. I really worried and stressed about my up coming race. Not because I didn't feel ready but I had issues with having to stop and use the restroom. Any of my runs that lasted longer than 6 miles I HAD to stop and use a restroom. No choice! So after many experiments and A LOT of praying I attempted the half marathon full of hope (but really just nervous!).

I am happy to report I finished in 1 hr. 57 mins (about 9 min. miles) AND I DID NOT have to stop at anywhere!!!! What a blessing!

My adorable little brother was really sweet and ran with me the whole time (except when I yelled at him to just run ahead because I couldn't go any faster!) He is a really good runner (the type who runs until he pukes! Yeah. I don't do that!) But 2 nights before the race he hurt his ankle. Which slowed him down to my pace so it was really fun to run with him. I really look up to my little brother! He's very kind and thoughtful and just fun!

THE RACE:

We kept a pretty good pace for about 7-8 miles. I think we were consistently running 8:30 min miles. I felt GREAT!!!! Then at about mile 9 I hit a HUGE wall! ugh! so frusterating. I had to slow down. Not sure how describe it but my legs just wouldn't go any faster. Nathan stuck with me until the last mile when I made him go ahead! He finished somewhere around 1hr 54mins?

Ron came with the boys but I didn't see them until after I'd finished. It was really fun to share that moment with my family! And thanks to a friend in the ward we got some pics!

(And yes Ron gave Callie Jamba Juice! haha!)And she loved it!

I am proud of this accomplishment and now I have a goal to beat 1:57 for next year! ANyone want to join me?

Uh-Oh!

2011-11-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when Ron goes out of town!
Seriously! I guess we have officially reached the stage of "if it's quiet... That's NOT good!" I was making dinner and could hear her playing in the front room. She was being quiet but I could tell she was entertaining herself good. When I walked in the front room to check on her I screamed! I didn't know what it was and then saw that she had some pool cue chalk in her hand-mouth! Nice!

The BEST part of this story is I get her all bathed and cleaned up, dressed in her PJ's, and I put her down for 5 MINUTES while I brush the boys teeth... Then she is RED all over again! What the... I had thrown the other piece of chalk away. But apparently there was another one on the ground!! UGH!!!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Halloween! It's one of my favorite Holidays. I'm such a nerd too! I really like it when my kids costumes all coordinate. This is the first year I wasn't able to pick out the boys costumes. They already knew what they wanted to be. Mason wanted to be Captain America and Noah Spiderman (of course). Well, I wanted Callie to kind of match them and I couldn't find anything very cute her size. So I decided to make her Wonderwoman!!!! I am not a very good seamstress so was a little nervous to attempt it. Surprisingly I think it turned out pretty cute!

Now I didn't plan on matching my daughter! But my when my friend Alice found out I made Callie Wonderwoman she asked if I wanted to borrow her Wonderwoman costume! Heck yes I did! And I even talked Ron into being Clark Kent!!!! He never dresses up for Halloween!

Our Super Hero Family!

Mason was really sweet and let Noah be Captain America on Halloween. Noah really likes the Captain America shield. Mason is such a good big brother.

Our Ward's Trunk or Treat Saturday night! Just a few of the AWESOME women in my ward!

Every year my mom throws a Halloween Party. My mom is hilarious! You wouldn't think so but this woman LOVES horror films, scary movies and Halloween! I'm not much into the whole scary movie thing but I think I get my enthusiasm for this Holiday from her!

It's Web-slinging Time!

2011-10-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

For the past month or so Noah has insisted putting on his Spiderman costume almost daily. He wears it around the house and demands that we call him Spiderman, not Noah. The other day I caught him starring at his reflection in the TV saying "What are YOU looking at?... What are you looking at?! I'm SPIDERMAN!" So adorable. He also asked me what Spiderman does. So, I showed him how to "shoot webbing" from his hands. It's really cute to watch him meticulously get his fingers into position and then shoot pretend webbing. I love this kids' imagination!

We celebrated Noah's Birthday last week. I can't believe my "baby No-No" is 3. (Ok I haven't called him Baby No-No in forever.)

I bought him a talking Woody Toy. He LOVES it! Ever since last Christmas I have been racked with guilt over Noah's "broken Buzz Light Year Toy". I bought him Buzz last Christmas. It was a black Friday purchase and I got a really good deal on it. But the Buzz doesn't make any noise or use batteries. I thought that was great, A toy that wouldn't be annoyingly loud! But when Noah opened Buzz he announced that Buzz was broken because none of his buttons worked. So sad! He still loves to play with Buzz but I have felt bad ever since. So, ultimately that is why I broke down and spent WAY too much money on the Woody toy for Noah. Right after he opened the present he went to the toy chest and pulled out Buzz and introduced them. So cute!

Noah is our little angel. SERIOUSLY! He is very easy going and perfectly content to follow his big brother around (as long as Mason isn't asking him to do something too risky or crazy. Noah is a lot more cautious than Mason). He is a big helper around the house, and is usually the peace maker always willing to share. Also a people pleaser, which made potty training easy!

He's very polite and says "Thank you!" and "please!" When you ask him to do something he will almost always reply "Umm sure!" I love it!

Of course he wanted a Spiderman Birthday Cake. (And of course I was smart AGAIN and bought a cake at Sam's club.)

Zoo FUN with cousins!

2011-10-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun this week at the Zoo with Lisa and her kiddos (even though it was REALLY HOT! I think the high was 99?)
Mason sure loves his cousins! I didn't get very many pics because Callie was being a pill and made me hold her the whole time! Good thing I brought a stroller to push around the zoo totally EMPTY!! blah!With this many kids you are bound to get one kid closing his eyes or not looking at the camera. Of course that one kid is MASON but I do love that he's hugging Bryson! :)

Noah was being a stinker and wanted to be on the lizard by himself!

Happy Birthday Mason!

2011-10-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe he is 5 years old! He woke up on his Birthday and asked "Mom I'm 5 now. Can I go to Kindergarten?"

I broke down and finally bought an extra Wii game Wipe Out. He LOVES it! Even days later he was thanking me for getting him the game.

Noah announcing: "This is TOTALLY AWESOME!" I was smart this year and ordered a yummy cake from Costco instead of staying up all night making my own ugly cake. This cake is kinda cheesy looking but he really wanted it!
I don't really do big birthday parties for my kids... YET. So I let Mason pick a friend to take to the movie Mr. Poppers Penguins. (Of course he picked Colter) I think they had a lot of fun. As the credits were playing at the end of the movie the song "Ice, Ice Baby" came on. Immediately all 3 boys ran to the front of the movie theatre and started break dancing! Super cute. And of course my camera wasn't working at that point so I don't have any proof!! UGH!

Thank you Grandma Joyce for going and helping! If I had to choose 3 or 4 words to describe Mason I'd say he is:

Adventurous!

Energetic!

Independent! (Self-Reliant)

Friendly!

Mason is my "go-to guy!" He is very computer and technology savvy. He can't read yet but all he has to do is watch you do something once and he will remember how to get from point A to point B. Whether it's downloading games on my phone, uninstalling games on my phone, googling ironman or pbskids.org... he amazes me. He likes to do things for himself which most of the time is a very good quality. For example it's nice when he pours his own milk and cereal at 6 AM, but not so nice when I'm in a hurry and he won't let me do something for him.

Mason is an excellent older brother. He is always including Noah (and Callie) in games or entertainment. Mason and Noah have always been really good buddies and they play very well together about 90% of the time! (Although playing together also can mean getting in trouble together!) He also LOVES to take care of Callie and play with her. No one can get Callie to laugh as much as Mason.

He is SUPER active. This kid is NON STOP energy! He is very adventurous and will try just about any kind of stunt. i.e. jumping off of dressers, climbs trees, or climbing on TOP of playground equipment instead of through it! Silly Mason! I am SHOCKED that he hasn't broken a bone yet (knock on wood). He loves to camp or explore, with or with OUT an adult. He is very out going, not a shy bone in his body. Because he has no fear I do feel like I have to be extra diligent watching him. He tends to get side tracked and wander to greener pastures. (And yes I did lose him ONCE in WalMart!)

6 months old!

2011-10-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she is 6 months old! She's crawling ALL OVER the place. Pulls herself up on things and walks slowly along the couches. She also waves at people.

She weighs 14 lbs. 8 oz. and is 26 inches long, she's only in the 15th percentile (We aren't used to this. Both boys were in the 90% for weight and height as babies!) She is little but already pretty tough. I guess she has to be with 2 older brothers! Way too often she gets toys dropped on her, or she will flip over and bonk her head on the tile or a cupboard. Rarely does she cry because of these mis-haps. Usually after she gets hurt she looks around to see if anyone notices before she reacts. If I ignore it, she continues playing or crawling no fuss!

When you say "Hi! Callie!" She responds with a vigorous wave! Sometimes that wave is a little delayed!

Today I SWEAR she started to say "MaMa!" Super cute! I even got it on video as proof!

Ok maybe she is just babbling but it really does sound like Mama!

California Final Chapter!

2011-09-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

I think the beach by far was my favorite part of California. The cooler weather didn't stop Mason from having fun. One morning was especially cold (you can see all of us with our sweaters on) and Mason just out playing in the waves, oblivious to the icy water! (I'm not going to mention the fact that we JUST bathed and dressed the kids for the day and decided to take a quick walk along the beach before heading to Sea World... Yeah... we had to re-bath and dress Mason! crazy kid!) Noah spent a lot of time chasing birds!!!! Super cute! But... I kinda felt sorry for the birds.

Callie was mesmerized by the ocean. She loved watching the waves.

Mason tried really hard to get Noah to join in on the fun... Noah is a little too smart for that!

We visited Mission Beach one afternoon. Kind of a mistake... Pretty cold and just messy!

Callie surprisingly enjoyed kicking her feet in the sand.

Mason made up a game were we counted and jumped when the waves came in... what a fun kid.

1...2...3!

JUMP!

And of course we buried Mason.

California Vacation Part II

2011-09-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

While we were in San Diego we also got to go to Sea World! I LOVE Sea World. Something about the marine wildlife amazes me. I also love how family friendly it is! Children of all ages enjoy visiting this park. My favorite part is just watching my children enjoy everything there.

Ron and the boys got to sit in the "soak zone" during the Shamu show. I think they enjoyed it. Noah really enjoyed watching everyone around him get wet. He thought that was really funny until... he got wet himself. He kinda got mad at Shamu for that.

This is our one and ONLY family picture with all of us in it. AWFUL I know! Keep in mind we'd been in the car all day just before this picture! UGH! Poor Noah was not wanting it!

Mason REALLY enjoyed all the rollercoaster rides. He would have riden them ALL day long over and over again if we let him! He has such an apetite for adventure.

Poor Noah. He was so good about waiting for Mason to go on the rides. I think the Dolphins were my favorite! We really enjoyed petting them and just watching them! I love how the shape of their mouths makes it looks like they are always smiling. Super cute.

We even paid to feed them. Very fun!

Poor Noah! This was pretty much him the ENTIRE time at Sea World! About 10 ft. behind us just taking his sweet time getting from point A to point B! Those little legs just couldn't keep up! I'm embarrassed and ashamed to admit we did lose him at Sea World for about 5 mins. Scariest thing EVER! It happened just before we got to feed the Dolphins. When you feed the Dolphins you have to stand in line, it's a 'first come, first served' basis. As were were entering the Dolphin area I could see the line was already pretty long. Ron told me to just go ahead quickly and wait in line and that he'd catch up to me with the kids. Well, I had the empty stroller because Ron was carrying Callie. So I quickly pushed the stroller to the end of the line and waited. A couple mins. later Ron shows up, looks at the empty stroller and asks "Where's Noah?" What do you mean where's Noah? Obvious miscommunication. He thought Noah was in the stroller and I thought Noah was with him! Immediately we split up, Ron back tracked through the Dolphin area with Callie. I had Mason and covered the area just past where we were. My thinking was he might have followed me over to the line area and then just kept walking past where I was... We both had NO luck. As I started looking in my general area Mason pointed in a TOTALLY different direction and announced that Noah went that way. I glanced in that direction but ignored Mason thinking that he didn't know what he was talking about. When I didn't find Noah and Ron didn't either we split up again and Mason pointed AGAIN and announced "Noah went that way". At this point I am PANICKED, SWEATY, and teary eyed! I'm picturing Noah crying, or worse someone stealing him! So I ask Mason "Are you sure?" and I run in that direction. I run with the stroller up and over a HUGE hill... No sign of Noah... I continue around the next bend in the path... No sign of Noah ANYWHERE. I ALMOST turn around to go find Ron (there's no way he made it this far on his own). I'm already planning in my head next plan of action. I need to find some park security and figure out how they are going to help me find my child. But something prompts me to run up the next hill. As I get to the top of that hill I see Noah just ahead slowly walking. He's calm and walking at his usual pace! I can't describe the rush of relief and joy I felt! What a blessing! I offered a quick prayer of gratitude and RUSH to Noah and scoop him up in my arms. I learned a few things: I think I need to listen to Mason more often, Heavenly Father answers prayers (ok I already knew that), and no matter how perfect you think your child is they can still wander off. I never thought I'd lose Noah. He is always right by me and not super adventurous.

All this being said, I am just going to say this once: I think I'm allowed to lose each of my children ONE time and that's it! So Callie you better watch out!

The End!

California Vacation!

2011-09-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

We went to California for a Family Vacation. I don't even know where to start!!!! The trip was super fun, exhausting and memorable. We stayed in a condo just off the beach right near the Village in La Jolla, California. It was AMAZING! Mason kept referring to it as our "new house" and also that he didn't ever want to go back to our old house. Haha! We fell asleep every night to the sounds of the ocean and enjoyed the 75-65 degree weather (hard to come home to 100+)! The first day we got there I got some great pictures of the kids as the sun was setting. The first morning Ron and I woke up at 5:30am to this: Both boys looking out our window marveling at the ocean.

We spent most of our time on the beach exploring and wandering. We found some really interesting little sea creatures including some sea anemones, crabs and fish.

We were very close to the Casa Beach (also know as the Children's Pool). This is a tiny cove protected by concrete breakwater. It used to be a swimming area designed for children to play at but the harbor seals and sea lions took it over. Literally! The beach area is FILLED with seals! We visited this beach our first day in California and enjoyed watching the seals out on the rocks near the shore but none were up on the sand.

Ron and I decided if we lived near the ocean in this climate we would be much more physically fit! It would be easy to exercise in such gorgeous weather with spectacular views. The next morning Ron graciously let me take a BEAUTIFUL jog along the coast I stopped at the Casa Beach to peak at the seals again. I was amazed at the number of seals out on the beach! They must be more brave during the early morning hours when there isn't as many visitors around. I could walk down and be right next to them!!!! I ran back to get Ron and the boys to come see.

Mason of course wanted to go pet them. He is such a brave little curious boy. I wish he could have but of course we didn't let him. Noah on the other hand was really interested in them but wanted to keep his distance.

SIDEWAYS!

2011-09-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Just look at this poor Palm Tree...Yes this tree is growing sideways in my front yard.

Sometimes I feel like this sideways tree! No matter how hard you try sometimes life just seems to keep pulling you down!!

This past weekend Ron took it down. I loved that tree! But I guess we couldn't let it grow into our backyard...

Now what? I want to put another palm tree in but... it'll probably do the same thing!!??

Bearizona

2011-09-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we drove to Flagstaff and went to a drive-thru Wild-Life Park Bearizona. It was a long drive there because of delays and construction but definitely worth it! All the kids thoroughly enjoyed it!

These are some of the smaller animals that we saw in the exhibits that you walk around to view.

My favorite was the baby bears! They were so cute and very close. Callie was VERY interested in them too! She just starred at them.

They had a petting zoo and an AWESOME bird show!

The larger animals were in fenced areas where you drive thru to see them. It was AWESOME!!!! The Bears were up and about. They walked right in front of and next to our car. Amazing! I wanted to open my car door and play with them! (But I didn't of course!)

It was hard to come home. I really wanted to stay in the nice 75 degree weather!

Family Diamondbacks Game!

2011-08-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

We went to another DBacks game last week. This time we THOUGHT it would be fun to take the boys! Yeah... Don't think I'll be making that mistake again any time soon! It was fun but definitely a lot of work trying to entertain the kiddos. Not sure why I thought Mason and Noah would enjoy sitting down for a couple hours! They NEVER sit still.

Even though I didn't get to watch much (ok not really ANY) of the actual game we did have fun. We hung a lot in the playground area and the mini kids baseball field. It was fun to watch Mason and Noah be actual baseball players! They were really cute. There was a "coach" in the kids field helping them at bat. When Mason was up to bat the coach kept saying "Wow! I like this kid!" I think because Mason swings the bat pretty serious!

Overall it was a fun night!

Food!

2011-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Mason gave a talk in Primary last Sunday about the Word of Wisdom. It was really sweet to listen to him talking about things that are healthy for us to eat and how Heavenly Father wants us to take good care of our bodies. My favorite part of his talk is where he holds up an 8 x 10 photo of himself going down a water slide. This is what he said:

"Last summer I wanted to go down the big water slide. But I was too little. So my mom told me if I ate my broccoli I would grow big and strong. This summer I got to ride the cool water slides because I ate my broccoli!"

So cute! He is such an outgoing child, very fun and full of life. Not a shy bone in his body! His primary talk got me thinking about my children's health and eating habits. As a mom there are many things that make me happy. But some of my great mom moments are when I feed my children healthy things (especially healthy things I made). Whether it's when they are chowing down whole-wheat blender pancakes, or whole wheat banana bread with no butter or sugar in it. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when they finish a plate of broccoli or spinach-spaghetti. I know I'm weird but I just imagine their little tiny blood vessels flowing smoothly and free of plaque build-up!

Some of the fruits and veggies Mason and Noah BOTH enjoy:

FROZEN corn and peas (yes, I said frozen and I mean literally frozen. They don't like them cooked!)

baby food (any veggie flavor of baby food, weird I know! But they beg for baby food!)

Broccoli

Noah:

Noah is a little more adventurous than Mason about food. He'll eat almost anything I'm eating. He especially LOVES any and ALL fruit.

Strawberries

Bananas

Blueberries (his favorite!)- The only down side to blueberries is the STAINING!!!! It's everywhere! His teeth, fingers, clothes... I buy the frozen blueberries at costco and they are pretty messy! But he loves it!

Grapes (Only the Red ones)

Apples

Watermelon

Noah also loves Beans.

Pinto beans

Black beans

White navy beans

Honey Baked Beans are his favorite!

He also LOVES Edamame! So cute to watch him carefully squish out the bean.

EVERY morning Noah wakes up at 5 or 5:30am asking (more like DEMANDING) for Oatmeal! It's kind of annoying but also funny.

Mason:

Mason will not touch fruit. Bananas are the only fruit I can get that boy to eat. He won't even try it. Vegetables on the other hand he eats very well. He LOVES his vegetables.

Broccoli (his favorite!)

Spinach in his spaghetti (although I'm not sure that he really knows what it is! :)

Green Beans

Peas

Corn (OK, I know it's technically a grain.)

Bunk Beds!

2011-08-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ron's sister we have bunk beds for the boys now! Thank you JEFF and LISA!

I can't believe my boys are old enough to sleep in bunk beds! We finally got them put up this last week. It's been a little bit of an adjustment. The first night Mason was REALLY excited to sleep on the top bunk. But for some weird reason fell asleep on the Love Sac (Huge Bean Bag) in their room. The Love Sac was Noah's first bed... poor Noah has been sleeping on it for about a year now. Their bedroom is kinda small so we didn't get the toddler bed out, but he really didn't seem to mind. I don't think I would either. I'd love to sleep in a 6ft. wide bean bag stuffed with Lazy Boy foam (oh wait I do! I fall asleep in it putting Noah down for naps or bed all the time! Ha!) At first Noah didn't want anything to do with the top bunk. He wouldn't even let us lift him up there.

Yesterday Mason taught Noah how to climb up to the top bunk. It was so cute he told Noah "Look Noah, you put this leg here and this leg here. Then you take this arm and put it here and your other arm over here..." So last night of course Noah wanted to sleep on the top bunk with his big brother. I was a little weary about letting him because both my boys are notorious for getting up in the middle of the night and coming to our bed to sneak in with Ron and I. I am happy to announce that Mason and Noah were still on the top bunk this morning at 5am when I went to the gym. YAY!!!! So cute!

Although, I should mention when I got back from the gym at 6:30am they were both in bed with Ron! ;)

Is Summer over yet?

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Everytime I look at this picture I laugh! It's almost like Callie is saying "Really mom? ANOTHER picture?" I do feel like I'm at my limit with hot summer days. It's the offical time of year when I am sick of the pool and heat and I'm ready for some nice weather!!!!!

Brotherly LOVE

2011-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Callie LOVES Mason. I think he is her favorite person. Her face just lights up everytime she sees him. He is very sweet with her, always concerned and watches out for her. I strategically put her carseat next to his seat because he is such a big helper! Fusy moments in the car are rare solely because of Mason. Mason is so proud of Callie too! He is always introducing Callie to any and EVERYONE! Even to strangers he'll say "This is my new baby sister Callie". (Although is sounds more like "cow-wee" so cute! We are working on pronouncing L's.)

Noah is very sweet with her as well. He is constantly giving her kisses and informing me of that too! I love it! I am very fortunate that both my boys are such loving children. I know some families worry about sibling jealousy issues but I can honestly say I have never had a problem with that. (Knock on wood!) Mason and Noah both take the job of being big brothers VERY seriously. They love to protect Baby Callie. I think they are practicing for when she's older and will have to scare off her boyfriends! :)

Not sure why Mason doesn't have a shirt on in either of these pictures?!?!

On the move!!!

2011-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ok. She's not officially crawling yet. But she is definitely close! I don't know if I'm ready for that yet! She tries to crawl but ends up scootching backwards. Sometimes she'll get up, lung forward and faceplant into the ground. It's fun to watch. I guess it just feels like she's too young to be crawling but really she's just so little. I'm used to having really big chunky babies. So because of her size to me she is still just 2 or 3 months old!

Lindsey's little girl Sydney just LOVES Callie! She is so sweet with her.

Go Diamondbacks!

2011-08-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ron and I got to go to a Diamondbacks game on July 23. We had amazing seats! I've never sat so close! We were in the 5th row just behind the dugout of the "other" team. (haha! How sad is it that I don't even remember what team we were playing. Colorado?) The Diamondbacks KILLED them! It was very fun to be so close to the players and involved in such a fun game. Although I have to admit I cringed every time a foul ball was hit into the stands! I just kept thinking about the movie Fever Pitch and Drew Barrymore getting hit by a baseball. I REALLY didn't want that to happen to me.

Ok. I just looked up the game information. Diamondbacks vs. the Colorado Rockies. We beat them 12 to 3!

Callie's Blessing Dress

2011-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Since she is now 4 months old I figured I better get pictures in her dress before it doesn't fit anymore!

My sister Corinne had baby Weston 2 weeks before Callie. It's been fun to have 2 babies the same age. So OF COURSE we got them together for pictures! Weston was soooooooo good! Callie not so much! She was a bit of a drama queen! He is so chill it's adorable! How cute is it that he was holding her hand?!?!

Our house guest!

2011-07-19T21:04:00.001-07:00

This week Joyce and Larry went out of town and asked us to watch their dog Rosco for them. Poor Rosco at first kept going back to the front door waiting for Larry and Joyce to come back. He followed me around a lot. He is such a people person dog! I love it! Rosco also really loves Noah and even napped with him. It was really cute! I couldn't resist snapping a pic.

At night I made a bed for him on the floor by my bed. The first day we had himI let him lay down on my bed for a few mins. with me. BIG MISTAKE! Every night after that he BEGGED to come up and sleep with us. It's really hard to say no to this face and he knows it!

At one point we were eating beef jerky and sharing a little with him. Noah gave Rosco a really big piece. After I took it away from Rosco I was explaining to the boys that we needed to be very careful with what we give Rosco so he doesn't choke or get sick. I asked them if they knew what it meant to choke. Mason responded, "Yes. If Rosco chokes then he will go live with Nephi."

Camping!

2011-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

We went camping with the Huber Family this past weekend! It was a short trip but lots of fun! We mostly just enjoyed good food, quad riding, leisure time and nice weather.

No, I didn't let him walk around barefoot. This is Mason's camping feet from wearing croc's.

Mason going for a ride with his 2nd cousins. He doesn't seem to mind the boy-girl ratio!

On the drive home we were very blessed to get home safely. About 3 miles from home one of our tires started losing pressure fast! We barely made it home before it was completely flat. I am very grateful it happened when it did and not half way home from Payson with 3 unhappy children in the car! No fun to have to buy new tires but still thankful for one of many blessings in life!

Swimming!

2011-07-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

This summer I knew I wouldn't be able to spend one on one swim time with Mason in the pool. So I signed him up for swim lessons through the City. He still loves to swim but needs help with technique and form. The lessons are really inexpensive and he seems to enjoy them a lot. His favorite instructor is Ryan (pictured below). During his swim lessons he wouldn't swim to the female instructor when she asked. He only wanted to swim to Ryan. Too funny! He was very proud to get his swim lessons report card that said he could advance to the next level.
Noah is a little less aggressive around the water. He doesn't really seem too interested in learning to swim yet, so we just enjoy hanging out together in the pool. In fact he won't even get in the pool at all unless I am holding him. (He won't let anyone else hold him the water either.) We'll see how the summer goes, I know that once Noah decides he's ready to learn how to swim he'll catch on fast. For now I'm content to just hang out with him in the pool.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

This year for the 4th we thought about going out of town to escape the heat but decided to hand out at home instead. I'm so glad we did too! We invited some friends over ate TONS of food, had a snow cone machine, homemade ice cream, fireworks and rented a water slide.

I LOVE how in every single picture of Mason his mouth is wide open! This kid LOVES to have fun!

I had a lot of fun sliding down this thing too. Too bad I don't have any pics of me... Bummer... (NOT!) We really don't need to see me in a suit right now. You know you are getting old when you play on things like this and your back starts to hurt or your hip gets "tweaked". I had a lot of fun but can really tell my body is aging and not as flexible as it used to be!

We invited all the cousins over. Mason prays for his cousins EVERY night. Seriously! Usually he prays to "play with his cousins at the park tomorrow". Ha ha! He sure loves his cousins!

Ron even joined in on the fun! We definitely will be renting another one of these in the future.

Sadly Noah refused to go down the water slide. Although, that didn't stop him from having fun! He looks like such a ladies man in this picture! It's almost like he's winking at the camera!

How sad is it that I bought the bow FIRST and then figured out the rest of the outfit!

Over all we had a very enjoyable weekend filled with family activities, parties, a neighborhood parade and FUN! I love the holidays!

CARS 2

2011-06-26T10:07:00.001-07:00

We saw CARS 2 with my Dad yesterday! Super cute movie. Loved it. Can't decide if I liked it better than the first one...

3 Months old!!!

2011-06-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she is 3 months old! Callie is so smiley and happy all the time! She loves any and all attention she gets, and has recently started to giggle. Ron is the best at getting her to laugh. I LOVE it!

We have nicknamed her Bubbles. This girl always has bubbles coming out of her mouth!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day Ronnie!

I read somewhere once that a house wife is worth approximately $140,000 a year. This includes the average household jobs that mothers perform; i.e. laundry, day care, housekeeping... etc. I am sure that my husband is worth 10 times that much. Not only does he take good care of us by going to work and providing for us but he performs all kinds of tasks and jobs at home.

His is really good at the "Honey-Do" list. We are very fortunate to have such a talented man like Ron in our home. He is very handy around the house. Whether it's fixing things like removing tree roots involved in a plumbing problem or re-tiling the whole house Ronnie has done it all! (In my opinion!) I thought it would be fun to post pictures of a few projects Ron has done over the years!

We had only been married a couple years when he decided to re tile our home. I remember asking him nervously, "Are you sure you can do this all yourself?" He had never tiled anything before. He just bought a DVD instructional video at Home Depot on tiling and did a little research on the internet and went to work. He is so good at figuring things out.

Tile BEFORE:

AFTER:

Kitchen cabinets BEFORE painting:

AFTER:

BEFORE sanding and finishing:

AFTER:

While I do appreciate the many talents and abilities that Ron has, I mostly admire his character, the person he is. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for Ronnie. He's a wonderful Father to our children (there's a reason they like him better than me!), and an amazing husband. (Oh and he's a great kisser!!! LOL! He is going to die when he sees that I wrote that!)

Seriously, I am so grateful to have such a man to share my life with and raise my children with.

Happy Father's Day Ronnie! We love you!

Faler Family Reunion 2011

2011-06-06T21:49:00.000-07:00

Our annual Faler Family Reunion was last week. We went camping about 50 miles north of Payson at the Moqui Campground.

Callie was WONDERFUL on this trip. I was very nervous taking a 2 month old camping but she is just like her brothers and LOVES the outdoors! She slept great at night and was for the most part a very happy baby! On Saturday afternoon she laid in the tent for almost an hour, totally happy, smiling, and talking to herself. Supercute!

What is camping with out throwing rocks into a lake?! Mason and Noah could do this for days and days!!!!

And YES he almost jumped in!

Mason was fascinated with the water pump thing, and thought it was a great place to get a drink. Thank goodness is was potable water!

Ron's parents were gracious enough to let us borrow their quads. All the kids sure enjoyed riding them and couldn't wait for their turns! I wish I would have taken more pictures on the quads. At one point I was following Ron who had Mason, Josh and Corbin on the back of his quad. All three boys turned and looked at me. Words can't express the COMPLETE look of JOY they all had on their faces! I wish I would've had my camera!!!!! I'll have that mental picture for years.

Cousin Amelia was so sweet to Noah! She followed him around and played with him a lot. She must have pitched the ball to him a thousand times!

My Dad brought his projector and we got to watch Tangled under the stars!

We celebrated my Dad's Birthday. I love this picture of almost all the Grandkids!

To the Man who started this all: Happy Birthday Dad-Grandpa-Uncle! We love you!

The last day most of the Family had already packed up and gone home. We stayed and took a family hike.

I love how adventurous my boys are!

2 months old!

2011-05-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Callie is 2 months old. She is tons of fun. Poor thing, I think I have way too much fun dressing her up and accessorizing! She's probably going to eventually be the biggest tomboy and one day not let me dress her up. So I need to enjoy it while I can.

Callie is a happy baby. She smiles a lot and LOVES to be held (a little too much!) She nurses good. Which is surprising for me. I've never had a baby that prefers me over the bottle. I think that is pretty neat but sometimes it would be nice to occasionally bottle feed her. She can roll over from her tummy to her back. She is really responding to voices and loves when you talk to her.
She's a very good sleeper. Right now she gives me a good 6 hours of sleep a night! (She sleeps better than the boys!) Maybe I'll finally get one child that sleeps in past 5:30am!

Mason and Noah absoluetly LOVE their baby sister. They are constantly giving her kisses and hugs. And they ALWAYS want her to be by them. They also are always showing her things and talking to her. All day long it's "Baby Callie this..." or "Baby Callie that..." or "Hi! Baby Callie." It's adorable. I had the hardest time finding a baby swimsuit. (They don't make very many new born size swimsuits.) Thanks to my sister Maddy we got this one.

I couldn't wait to try it on her.

All Boyz Hip Hop Dance Class

2011-05-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

Ok. I know what you are thinking... Boys Hip Hop Dance class?!?! It was pretty much just a fun way for Mason to burn off a little energy.

My friend Lindsey told me about this class offered through Gilbert Parks and Recreation. All Boyz Hip Hop Dance for 4-5 year old boys. We both laughed about it at first and said that there was no way our husbands would let us put our boys in the class. Well, later when I talked to Ron about the class I kinda omitted the name and type of class that it was. Ron assuming it was some sports class said we could put him in it! A couple weeks later when Ron was playing with my phone he saw an email that was titled "All Boys Hip Hop Dance". Luckily we were in church when he saw this on my phone so he couldn't really get mad! :) After church Ron and I laughed about it, but I think next time Ron will ask for more details. :)

Mason really liked this class. Not only was his best friend Colter in it but he got to run around and be crazy! The last day of the class they had a recital. Each boy got a 15 sec. solo dance, then they had a free style dance with all boys, and last they played the game FREEZE with Adults and children. Noah really liked this game! Joyce (my mother-in-law) leaned over to me and said that maybe I put the wrong kid in the class. I think she may have been right! I should have put Noah in the class (except he wasn't old enough). He had so much fun dancing and moving to the music.

Addison and Mason. She was AWESOME! Tons of patience!

Mason and Colter! The dynamic duo!

We need to work on Noah's "FREEZING" skills! Hilarious!

Callie's Baby Blessing!

2011-05-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Callie was blessed today! What a great experience. It's always hard to time things with nursing babies. Church was at 12:30pm so it was kinda nice to have all morning to get the boys ready and Callie dressed. Babies always seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to feeding time! I tried to feed her at 12 but she didn't eat too great or very long.

When we got to church she was a little fussy. So I took her to the mother's lounge to try and feed her some more. I was thinking I had enough time since they still had to do announcements in church and pass the sacrament. WRONG! Luckily my sister Maryann came with me to see if she could help with anything. We were sitting in the mother's lounge chitchatting while I was feeding Callie and we were listening to the announcements from the speaker system in our room.

Maryann and I talked about how funny it would be if they called Callie up to be blessed and she wasn't even in there. Haha really funny. I told Maryann we had at least 10mins. because they have to pass the sacrament first. Just then we heard "And now we'll have the blessing of Ron and Shelly Huber's Baby. Callie Michelle Huber." Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Maryann and I both froze! I practically threw Callie at Maryann and told her to run. Then I adjusted my clothes and ran after her! Poor Ron was in the Chapel with a slightly panicked look on his face.

Thankfully we made it and Callie was blessed. It was such a beautiful prayer. My favorite part was when Ron blessed her to have a good relationship with her mother! I almost cried. I think it's a pretty common fear for parents to worry that their children might not like them. I know I do, which is why it was really comforting to hear her be blessed with that.

We weren't able to get any individual pictures with her in her dress. But I'm definitely going to have her pictures taken in her dress again sometime soon.

Mason's Preschool

2011-05-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

First day of pre-school!

This year I didn't put Mason in preschool until pretty late in the year. I chose not to for different reasons. Money, time, Baby Callie, and his short attention span. I love this kid to pieces but his attention and listening skills need some tweeking! Lindsey's mom Tricia, and sister Amy are amazing preschool teachers. He LOVES preschool at "Ne-Ma's" house. (He calls Tricia "Ne-Ma" because Colter used to call her that instead of Grandma.)

This week at preschool they did a special Mother's Day program. It was absolutely adorable!

Mother's Day Program:

1st - They asked the kids one at a time: "What do you love about your mom? What does she do for you?" Mason answered that I make him Toast! haha!

2nd - They sang 3 songs to all the mother's. Super cute! Mason did great with all the actions and singing.

3rd - They played the Stevie Wonder song "Isn't she Lovely" while each child took a rose to their mom and gave her the flower and a kiss.

They also drew a portrait of their mom's. This is me:

by: Mason

All the children answered a questionair about their mother's. Mason was asked to fill in the blanks about me:

Your mom is __ 4 __ years old.

She weighs ___ 3 ___ pounds.

Her favorite color is __ blue __.

Her favorite TV show is __ girl show __.

Her favorite hobby is __ lots and lots of things __. (Ha! So true!!!!)

Her best friend is __ Ballerina __.

(??? Not sure who Ballerina is.)

Her biggest wish is __ to make a birthday cake! __.

Overall just a wonderful little program. I had such a nice day because of it! I love having sweet moments like this with Mason. Thank you so much Wiggle Worm Preschool!

Callie's Bedroom

2011-04-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Growing up I had a favorite doll. My Grandma Hopkins sewed these amazing dolls, their clothes and accessories for all the granddaughters. I loved my doll and played with her lots. When I was deciding how to decorate Callie's room I knew I wanted to have my doll be a part of her room. My grandma as sweet as she is offered to sew new clothes to match Callie's room.

The little black babydoll was given to me years later as a teenager when I visited my Grandma in Idaho. Too bad the white haired doll isn't in as good of shape. I played with her hard. Don't look too close at the dirt on her face and the tangled white hair. I love the fact that my daughter will get to play with and enjoy a toy that I loved as a little girl. Thank you Grandma for such a thoughtful and wonderful gift!

This obviously isn't Callie but a really cute picture of my Grandma Maryann Hopkins.

Ron painted Callie's furniture. I'm so glad I have such a tallented hard-working husband.

Can I Hold Baby Callie?

2011-04-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

"Can I hold baby Callie?" This is a question I have heard lots over the last few days. We hung out a lot at Grandma and Grandpa Huber's home this week. All of the cousins wanted to hold Callie. It was a very nice break for me! I could get used to this! (Callie LOVES being held. In fact she demands it sometimes.)

Lindsey and Callie!

Great Grandma Mickey turned 96 years old this week! This is her and Callie at her Birthday party.

CHEESE!

Harley, Emilie, and Callie! The "Blue" girls!

Mason and Noah really enjoyed having their cousins over to play. Noah loves yelling from the swings "Look! I'm flying! I'm Peter Pan!"

Carsen thought it'd be fun to wear Mason's Halloween costume! HILARIOUS!

Poor Tanner.

Happy Birthday Carsen! Carsen was very sweet and shared his Birthday ice cream with Noah.

All the cousins really enjoyed playing musical chairs.

This video clip is really funny! Poor Allie becomes a casualty of the game. But she handled it like a trooper!

Meow!

2011-04-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

Ron - "Mason! Why did you do this?"

Mason - "I was trying to look like a cat?!"

Both boys were watching a movie early this morning while Ron and I tried to sleep a little longer. In our defense we've been going to bed late, plus I'm still feeding Baby Callie every 2-3 hours. Ron got up to get ready for work and found Mason like this. Kind of surprised that this hasn't happened sooner. Good work Mason.

Bye Buddy!

2011-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a hard subject to talk about. We have had Buddy since he was a puppy (he's 5 yrs. old now). For years we have talked about giving Buddy to another home. We love him but with our growing family and lifestyle I always feel guilty that he's outside all the time. I didn't like that I couldn't just let my kids out in the backyard with him (with out my supervision). He's very sweet but HUGE. And he doesn't really know his own strength. So I felt like I had to constantly watch him around the kids to make sure he didn't accidentally knock them over or step on them. So this last week we just happened to meet someone very interested in adopting Buddy. It happened really fast. Tuesday, March 15th (yes the day I went into labor with Callie) they came to pick him up.

When we first told Mason that Buddy was going to a new home he had a total melt down crying and saying, "I don't want Buddy to go away! He's my dog. I love him. Look mom Buddy's sad he wants to stay here." Noah never seemed too upset with our conversations about Buddy moving to California and living on a big farm.
Tuesday at 6:30am they came to get Buddy. I made sure the boys got some play time with Buddy before they came. Mason was a little sad but by now I think he'd accepted the fact that Buddy was going away. Noah was just swinging on his swing as usual. When the new owners started to put the leash on Buddy this was Noah's response:
I was shocked. He full on broke down and was crying, "No! That's my dog. I don't want Buddy to go!" It was really sad. I was surprised because even though I know that Noah has always loved Buddy it was usually from a distance or through the sliding glass door. Mason on the other hand was very quiet as the new owners took Buddy out to their car. Once Buddy was in the back of the car we told Mason to say his last good bye and at this point he said "bye Buddy" with a soft voice choked up trying to hold back his tears. It was very sad to see Buddy go but I think it's for the best. Especially for Buddy's sake. He's going to a home with owners who have more time and resources for him.

He looked so sad and confused in the back of their vehicle.

Good-bye Buddy. We're going to miss you!

Some of Buddy's good qualities:

He was very good with other dogs. Very friendly. At the dog park he would "hang out" with the great danes. Probably because he was practically their size.

He also almost NEVER barks! Definitely a great quality. Even on walks when other dogs would go crazy and bark at us Buddy was always calm and never bark back.

Even though he was a high energy dog he was very good around kids. Or as good as a dog his size could be. (You just had to watch out for his tail, feet or any sudden turns!)

I HATE this picture of me but it shows just how sweet and gentle he could be. He was a very loving and protective dog. When I was pregnant with Mason we would take Buddy to the dog park and he was always very protective of me making sure other dogs did not come around me. He always had to be between me and any other dog that came close and if they came too close he would snarl at them. He didn't always do that, just when I was pregnant. I loved taking him on my jogs (he'd jog up to 5 or 6 miles with me). I felt very safe no matter what time of day it was. Who was going to mess with me when Buddy was around?!

Some of his "imperfections":

He was always getting into something. I couldn't keep ANY food out on the counter. So, I guess it was a good thing cuz I had to have a clean kitchen.

He was very playful but as he grew this became something to watch out for. He would often jump on you to play... not too fun when you're pregnant or just in general.

The new owners sent us this picture. I guess they left their car door open and Buddy just climbed right in! Ha if you knew Buddy you'd be shocked at this. I love all 120lbs. of him but... the dumb dog NEVER got into the car on his own. You always had to lift him up into the car. For a dog of his size and capability you'd thinking getting in and out of a vehicle would be pretty easy. Even my little hyundai accent he wouldn't just step in.

More Callie!

2011-03-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

My mom is so sweet and always willing to come help me out. She is an expert at bathing new borns and loves to (I hate working around the yucky belly button). So Callie's first bath at home was done by Grandma Faler! Callie did pretty good, but was definitely happy when it was all over!

Callie's first "Photoshoot"!

My sister Corinne makes these adorable onsies. She adds ruffles on the bum and a matching embroidery to embellish on the front. Super cute! When I dressed Callie in it I just had to take some pictures! I love it!

3 days old!

Ok! When I dressed Callie up in this I admit I did go a little nuts! Ron said "Enough already!" Later he asked me if I was allowed to play with Barbie's when I was younger. I answered, "Yes. I had a Barbie McDonald's, and Corvette... etc. Why?" He replied "Oh. I thought you were just trying to make up for lack of "Barbie dress-up time" when you were young. And now just taking that out on Callie."

5 days old!

Baby Callie has arrived!!

2011-03-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Callie Michelle Huber

March 15th, 2011

11:33pm

7 lbs. 10 oz.

20.5 inches long

We are so happy to announce our first baby girl! Guess I'll have to change my Blog title "All My Boys". Hmmmmm...
Labor:

My labor this time around was very similar to Mason's labor and delivery. My water broke around 3:20pm on Tuesday March 15th. (Thankfully this time I wasn't at work when it broke.) By the time Ron got home, we got all packed up and had dropped the boys off at Grandma and Grandpa's it was about 8:30pm when we arrived at the hospital. By now I was having pretty good contractions about every 5-7 mins. When they checked me in triage I was disappointed to discover I was only dilated 3 cm. BLAH. Oh-well I decided to get an epidural (which happened about 9:30pm). Around 11pm they checked me again and discovered I was fully dilated and my Baby girl was coming soon! Callie came out with only 2 pushes at 11:33pm. So glad I got the epidural. It definitely helped me relax and let nature take it's course!

I have ALWAYS wanted to name my first baby girl Callie. But when it actually comes down to it... it is really hard to pick a name out for your child. Mason thought we should name her Jesus at first then lately he changed his name to Rapunzel. (We recently went to the movie Tangled) He was pretty adamant too. "No! Her name is Rapunzel!"

Ron really wanted to name her Megan. I like that name I just didn't feel it! We even considered the name Sadie, which I love but in the end Callie won!

Proud Grandparents:

Noah was unable to come to the hospital because he was sick.

Luckily my Dad was able to bring Mason to meet Callie.

He was sure infatuated with her (and also all the buttons and gadgets in the hospital room!)

When we brought Callie home on Thursday both boys just loved to sit by her and pet her head and give her kisses. At one point she started crying and they both ran over to her and started reading books to her to help her stop crying. It was very sweet to watch! (For some reason I only got pics of Mason reading to her. Noah did too! I got a cute video clip of them both reading to her but it wouldn't download.)

That night at bedtime Mason asked if Callie was going to sleep in his room. We of course told him no. He responded, "But I want baby Callie to sleep with me. I will take good care of her." It was really sweet.

The newest addition to our Family!

2011-03-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

No I didn't have my baby yet! But we did recently get this:

Not sure why we didn't get it sooner. Our boys LOVE it and want to LIVE outside! And of course I love that!!

Poor Buddy. Noah won't go outside to play unless Buddy is tied up. Fortunately Buddy is a good sport about being tied up... he's just happy to have the boys out there with him. And Mason is so good with Buddy and can tie him up all by himself, and that is saying something considering Buddy weighs well over 100lbs. Of course that means he can untie him too! When he does let Buddy loose he tells me "But mom! Buddy didn't want to be tied up!" Buddy is a really nice friendly dog but sometimes he's too friendly and Noah isn't a fan of being licked in the face! Noah won't go outside if Buddy isn't on his leash but once he is out there playing he is fine if Mason lets Buddy loose.

Mason of course is all over the place and loves EVERY square inch of this play ground set.

Noah for the most part just hangs out on the swings like this. He has a little rash/scratches on his stomach from swinging like this for hours on end!

Tender moments!

2011-02-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

The other night we were praying as a family. It was Noah's turn for the prayer. This usually consists of him repeating the last word in each phrase that Ron or I say. For instance we'll say "Thankful for mom... (pause)" and Noah responds "mom... (pause)"...etc. So we've been trying to get him to voice his own prayers. Ron was helping him and his prayer went as follows:

Ron - "Thankful for ___________" (repeated over and over a few times)

Noah filled in the blanks with the following: "Mom (I love that I was first! :), Dad, Mason, Noah (yes, he is thankful for himself), Mom (again), Dad, Noah, and Bear!"

At this point in the prayer Ron tried a little harder to change the course of the prayer.

Ron - "Thankful for Jesus"

Noah sweetly responded "sacrifice."

At this point in the prayer my eyes teared up, (they are tearing up now just typing it!). Maybe it's a pregnancy thing because lots of things make me cry now days but I love little tender moments like these with my boys. I feel like it's a great reminder of the power of example and no matter what you think they are listening and sometimes get it! Now of course I know that Noah was just repeating what he's heard Ron and I pray out loud but I still think it's a wonderful phrase for my little man to pick up.

Sleep Issues

2011-02-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

Not sure what to do about my 2 yr. old Noah. He's always been an early riser. The normal sleep schedule for him goes as follows:

Bedtime 8-8:30pm (he probably would go down earlier but Mason is such a night owl that he WON'T go to bed any earlier than this. So we compromise.)

Wake-up 5-5:30am. (SOMETIMES he'll sleep in until 6am) This is way better than in the past. He used to get up at 4:30am FOR THE DAY! Once this boy is up he is UP! There's no getting him back to sleep UNLESS you lay by him until he falls asleep. And even that doesn't always work.

When I get home from the gym at 6am this is what I find:

Or this:

and this:

Poor Ron. He's so good to let me go to the gym when Noah gets up so early. He'll sometimes put a movie on for Noah so he can rest a little more til I get home. Although Noah's pretty demanding in the mornings. Wanting Oatmeal, his sippy, or "ANOTHER MOVIE". His attention span is super short! He wants another or different movie every 10 mins!

Lately when he gets up at 5am or earlier he's REALLY cranky all morning long and falls asleep earlier for a nap. I know he's cranky because he got up too early and didn't get enough sleep.

Mason Goes to bed pretty good, although he has a hard time falling asleep. So he will just lay in bed (or do quite activities like puzzles, look at books, ...etc.) until he eventually falls asleep around 10-10:30pm sometimes even 11pm. I think he just has insomnia. Sometimes I go in to check on him around 10 or 10:30pm and he's just laying in bed starring at the ceiling. It's kinda cute but worries me. He usually sleeps in until 7 or 7:30am so I don't worry about his sleep time. Plus he still takes a 1 1/2 hour nap everyday. I've tried to nix the naps hoping it would help him fall asleep at night faster or earlier... but that doesn't work. As good as he is about the whole bedtime routine he almost EVERY night manages to wake up and come sneak in bed with Ron and I. We wake up most mornings with no recollection of him joining us during the night.

Noah will do the same but he's a lot more vocal when he comes in and asks if he can lay by us. Usually out of exhaustion I just give in. So you can image how packed our little queen size bed is in the mornings!

I'm not sure what to do. Especially with my ticking time bomb baby girl to come any day now. I feel like having a noisy new born is only going to make our sleeping arrangements that much harder.

I can't get the video clip to download that we got. It's a sweet video clip of the boys at bedtime. Ron was being sneaky and filmed them reading the book "Down by the Bay". It's really cute song/book that they love. Halfway through the clip you can hear Noah saying over and over: "Let's lay down..." That's my little exhausted 2 yr. old wanting to sleep. I love moments like this. Even if it happens when they are supposed to be SLEEPING!

Snow Trip

2011-02-21T20:11:00.001-08:00

This weekend we took a spur of the moment trip to the snow. We've been wanting to take the boys for a while now and I'm really glad we did. Mason and Noah loved it! Isn't this gorgeous?!

I couldn't believe all the snow! Beautiful!

Ron and Mason's snowangels!
We couldn't make a snowman because the snow was too fine and not wet enough.
But still lots of fun to dig and play in!

Our poor boys! We don't have very much cold weather gear. So, we improvised with lots of layers! I think Noah looks like he's wearing a helmet!!! ha! I totally forgot his gloves so we just put multiple layers of my gloves on him! Poor guy couldn't really move his hands! But he didn't seem to mind much.

We even begged Aunt Maryann to join us. Noah's favorite part was throwing snow at any and everyone in his path!

Girls Day Out and Nails!

2011-02-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Ok! So... I got to get a pedicure this last weekend with my sisters! Maddy's Birthday was this last week and selfishly I had the idea of getting her a gift card to a nail salon. So Erica, Rinn, and I pitched in. I had this idea because I've wanted a pedicure for weeks now! At this point in my pregnancy reaching my toes isn't very fun or easy!

Erica, Me and Maddy! (Too bad my others sisters and mom couldn't make it!)

Maddy opted for acrylic nails! Isn't the Birthday girl cute?!

TA-DA! The finished product!

Ok this video is hilarious! After our pedicures we figured out we were in massage chairs. Erica's massage chair was more like a roller coaster ride!!!! :) Hilarious!

My toes are SUPER cute! (It's about the only thing that can be cute on my fat prego body right now! :) Seriously!

Urgent Care visit

2011-02-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Noah jumped off the couch this morning and landed on his left arm.

After that, and all day long he didn't use his left arm. Just let it hang by his side. I took his shirt off and didn't notice any swelling or anything. I really didn't want to take him to the doctor because it seems like EVERY time I do there's NEVER anything wrong with my kids!!!!

All day long he played "fairly normal" other than not using his left arm. He kept telling me, "Mom, this arm is not broken (he says while pointing to the right arm). This one is broken (gesturing to the left arm)." I called the Dr. office in the afternoon and they advised me to bring him in. So when Ron got home from work he took Noah to Urgent Care.

His jacket is on funny because they kept having to take it off for the nurses and doctor to check him and it hurt him to try and get his arm back in the sleeve. When Noah was shirtless he'd notice the ID wristband and try to get it off. He kept saying "Take it off Daddy, take it off!" But when they put the jacket on he wouldn't notice it and would stop complaining about it.

After waiting for an hour in the waiting room they brought him back to the exam room, some nurses did initial checks and then they waited another hour in the room for the doctor. They took an x-ray and determined that it wasn't broken but his left elbow was dislocated. So they popped it back in. It's amazing how fast he's back to using his arm now that it's back in place.

Dad told Noah if he was good and cooperated with the doctor that he could get an ice cream cone on the way home. And of course Daddy followed through with his promise of ice cream on the way home!

Ice Cream makes everything better!

Hair Cuts

2011-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

Mason and Noah's hair was getting a little long so of course Ron busted out the clippers. Ron always cuts the boys hair. I don't trust myself with scissors or electric clippers around my active boys! In the end they look like they are ready to join the Marines!

Sleeping Beauty

2011-01-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the poor quality of picture. I took this picture with my phone. Noah lately has wanted to be in the back of the shopping cart when we grocery shop. Which means he usually gets buried with lots and lots of food. Surprisingly, he does pretty good about not smashing things. (Although I don't risk certain items like eggs, glass, and chips. I put those things on the bottom rack under the cart.)
Anyways, at one point I realize Noah's been really quiet. I look at him and he's totally asleep sitting up! He stayed asleep for like 20 mins. in the cart. Even when I got to the check-out and had to unload everything and then re-load the cart, he stayed asleep! Poor Noah. But unfortunately when he decides he's tired it doesn't matter where he is he'll just sleep! I wish he'd be like that at bedtime and JUST GO TO SLEEP! :)

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

We went quad riding on New Year's Day. We drove out to Queen Valley made a camp fire, ate hot chocolate, rode the quads, and did some shooting.

Grandma and Grandpa Huber (and their dog Rosco)!

My 13 yr. old niece Harley even learned how to drive the quad all by herself! She did really good too!

Family in Town!

2011-01-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

Every year Ron's sister Leslie and her family come down from Utah to visit for Christmas. We spend lots of time at the Hubers because we don't get to see them very much. Their kids are really nice to Mason and Noah. They left for home today and I am just waiting for the melt-down when my kids realize they won't be able to play with their Utah cousins tonight.

Mason of course is obsessed with Harley. Constantly giving her hugs and kisses ALL the time! Poor Harley.

Noah and Lindsey!
Noah and Allie!

On Wednesday December 29th for Harley's birthday we made hair flowers! These girls sure are tallented and creative! Noah and Ryan even wanted in on the fun!

Aquarium visit

2011-01-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

Last month we got to visit the aquarium at AZ mills mall with Grandma Faler, Aunt Maddy, cousins Jaren and Baby Kate! It was a little pricey but lots of fun!

Grandma Faler even got Mason to touch a starfish!

They had these cool tanks with bubbles in them so it looked like you were in the tank. We had lots of fun posing for the camera in these.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was lots of fun this year. Mason was happy to see that Santa ate all the cookies he left for him on our "Christmas plate" and left him presents. The boys were very excited to open their presents and play with their toys. Mason and Noah got scooters (which Mason LOVES).

Noah received a Buzz Light year toy. I bought it on Black Friday so I got a good deal on it, plus Noah is ALWAYS saying "Through infinity and beyond!" (usually while he is jumping off of objects or riding on his rocking horse). However... this Buzz toy doesn't make any noise. But I thought "Ooh nice for me! It won't be annoying!" The day before Christmas Ron and I were asking the boys what they wanted from Santa. We brought up Toy Story and Noah kept saying he wanted Woody the cowboy. Ron and I tried to convince him that he wanted Buzz... but he kept saying, "No I want Woody!" Uh-oh! I was nervous. On Christmas morning when he opened Buzz he seemed excited but then asked, "Where's Woody?" Once we got Buzz out of the packaging he announced "Buzz not working! Buzz not working!" I think he thought Buzz was broken because he didn't have buttons on him that made noises. He still loves the toy and carries it EVERYWHERE (he even wanted to take it to church today). But I feel kinda bad that he still informs me all the time that: "Buzz not working."

This is on the way home from Grandma Huber's home.

Mason's favorite toy this year was Ironman! He got about 4 different Ironman toys from family, friends, and Santa. He loves all of them but carries his "big Ironman" around with him everywhere.

Ron was very thoughtful (as always) and purchased me a serger machine AND digital scrapbook software!!!! I have wanted a serger for a VERY long time! Now my sewing projects can have a better finished edge.

Santa!

2010-12-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

I took the boys to see Santa Clause last week. And yes I even paid for one of the ridiculous pictures. Christmas is really fun this year because Mason really understands the concept of Santa Clause. (It's really been nice having that leverage over him too!) I can't wait for Christmas morning to see their faces and reactions! When we first got to the mall and were walking through the JCPenney store Noah suddenly busted out his "excited face" and squealed for joy! I had to get a picture of it! This is what he did the second he recognized the Santa display outside the JCPenney store.

Our Neighbor Lorna

2010-12-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

"Grandma" Lorna!

Our next door neighbor's name is Lorna. My boys just LOVE Lorna. Not only does she have a swing in front of her home but she is always fun to talk to. All day EVERYDAY my boys ask if they can go see Lorna. If we are outside playing or just checking the mail they make a mad dash for Lorna's home and knock on her door. They are constantly wanting to give her "loves" (hugs). Lorna is a very good sport about talking with Mason and Noah. Lorna was Ron's next-door neighbor when he grew up and now she is watching our boys grow-up! We sure are lucky to have such a nice neighbor and appreciate all her love and attention!

Las Vegas Get-Away

2010-12-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend Ron and I got to take a trip just the 2 of us to Las Vegas, Nevada! This was the first time we'd ever done something like this and left the boys. Thanks to my parents who graciously watched boys while we were away. I had a lot of fun on this trip and mostly just enjoyed spending time with Ron.

Vegas is definitely it's own little world! I really enjoyed seeing all the bright lights, architecture (there are some AMAZING buildings), and "interesting" people. Ha! It really is the city that never sleeps. One of my favorite "attractions" was the fountains at the Bellagio. In front of their hotel every 15 mins. or so they have a show of water, and lights choreographed to music.We spent most of our time EATING, walking around looking at the sites, and eating some more. I'm shocked that my pregnant feet survived!
I even convinced Ron into taking me to see the musical The Lion King! I enjoyed it, (but I definitely like Phantom better!) Ron tolerated it... his main comment was, "That was a little too much singing for me." ha! What does he think a "musical" is? Oh-well I'm glad he went with me! As fun as it was to spend time with Ron and just relax, we couldn't stop thinking of the boys. There were plenty of times when we'd say "Oh! Mason would love to see this!" or "Wouldn't Noah just go nuts over that guy in the Ironman suit!" I had lots of fun in this crazy busy city but... can honestly say I don't want to live there. I'm totally a city girl but... I think Las Vegas is a little too much city for me! ;)

Happy, Merry Christmas!

2010-11-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

We actually got all the Christmas decorations down yesterday and decorated. (I am usually not this fast!) Ron hung up the Christmas lights outside, then we put up the tree, and set up the other decorations. As we were setting up Mason and Noah kept chanting "Happy, Merry Christmas! Happy, Merry Christmas!" Too cute.

Mason and Noah found the ornaments box and took it upon themselves to decorate the tree! They put quite a few random things under the tree labeling them presents! :) Here's the finished product:I think my boys have a future in Christmas tree decorating don't you think?
Mason also has been informing us non-stop that, "This is going to be my favorite Christmas EVER!" I only hope that December 25th comes fast enough for him. He's already talking about how Santa's coming tonight... I of course remind him not until Christmas Eve!
I love this time of year. The Christmas music, the Holiday spirit, and especially the celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. My Family has a Thanksgiving tradition every year before we eat we pass a bowl of candy around the table and everyone says what they are thankful for. When the bowl got to Mason he surprised me by saying he was thankful for "Jesus!" What a sweet little reminder of the real meaning of the season.

Happy Halloween 2010!!

2010-11-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little late but... oh-well. Mason was a Cowboy and Noah was an Indian for Halloween this year. Although, if you asked Mason what he was going to be he'd always respond, "I'm going to be Spiderman!" or "I'm going to be Ironman!" Poor Mason has such a mean mommy. I think this is the last year I'll be able to get away with picking out their costumes. BUMMER!

One of the few shots of Noah wearing his Indian Feather headdress. I spent about 30mins making it and the kid wouldn't even keep it on for 3 seconds.

Mason LOVED his "Woody boots" (He called them that because Woody from Toy Story wears cowboy boots). Thanks to his cousin Devin who lent them to us. Not sure why he put the bead necklace on but... that's ok!

Mason and his cousin Owen aka Zorro!

Ron's Hunting Trip!

2010-11-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

Ron went hunting this week. The boys really miss him but we are glad he got a deer (today) and will be coming home soon. This is a picture he e-mailed me from his phone.
It's been kinda hard with the boys and no Daddy. Mostly because both boys are such "Daddy's boys" and really miss their Dad. But it's also been really fun just having lots of Mommy-Son time. We've eaten way too much junk food and fast food lately. Mason is so funny about Ron going hunting. Of course he wanted to go with him but now he just tells EVERYONE we run into that "Dad's hunting! He's going to shoot a deer so we can eat it!!!" It's really funny. He even tells strangers at the grocery store!

IT'S A...

2010-10-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!!!!!!!

I still can't believe it! I'm having a baby girl in March!!!! Due March 20th and can't wait!!
And yes I am doing a dance in the pics above!

I had my official ultrasound appointment this morning. The ultrasound tech was a little interesting but eventually warmed up to me! At first the umbilical cord was in the way but the whole appointment she kept saying "I haven't seen a pee-pee yet! Do you?" It was pretty funny. We finally got some good angles and determined that it's a GIRL!!! I'm just so excited to not call my baby an "IT" anymore. That's the best part. (Plus I've already bought some girl clothes and things... I know I have issues! But come on I kept the tags on them and could always give them away as gifts if I wasn't ever blessed with a girl.)

As we were leaving the appointment Ron turned to me and said "Shelly, Can you give me your debit card?" Ha Ha Ha! No way! I'm soooooooooooo excited to bring on the Bling, bows, flowers and STUFF!!!!!

Noah's 2nd Birthday!

2010-10-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Noah's 2nd Birthday was last week! He kept going back and forth between wanting a Dinosaur or an Elma birthday cake. He finally decided on Elmo! The cupcakes aren't that great looking but are pretty easy to make. I think he really enjoyed it.

Because his Birthday fell on Thursday we were able to do a little mini b-day party for him during the day with friends Colter, Sydney, and his cousin Ella.
(I just happened to be babysitting all these fun kiddos!)
Noah thanking Grandma Faler for his present!
I can't believe Noah is 2 years old! He's definitely not "Baby Noah" anymore. He's talking lots now. (Even has a little attitude sometimes! For example when he says, "Mommy I'm talking to you!") His favorite book right now is Dr. Suess "Green Eggs and Ham". He LOVES to be outside, and his favorite thing to eat is probably blue berries. He's ALWAYS begging for "Boo-Berries". Noah also really idolizes his older brother Mason, and they are little partners in crime! I hope their friendship lasts them a lifetime!

Mason 4th Birthday

2010-10-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ok! Mason turned 4 yrs. old on Tuesday, October 5th!!! He really wanted an Ironman cake but I couldn't find any cake decor that worked. I think he was happy to settle for Spiderman. Please try not laugh too hard at my major lack of cake decorating skills! We did have a little family party for him and the grandparents stopped by with their gifts and hellos! Grandma and Grandpa Huber even brought their little dog Rosco to wish Mason a Happy Birthday! I think he had a good day!

Lindsey watches my boys on Wednesday's. Lindsey is soooooo sweet and threw Mason a little birthday party. Colter's cousins Livvy and Bailey were there too. (Mason just LOVES Bailey!)
They made birthday hats, had birthday cake and presents! I honestly don't know what I'd do with out Lindsey!! She is so thoughtful and very generous.

Lindsey found an Ironman mask for Mason! I looked in like 3 stores for one!!! Thank you Lindsey! (On the way home from Lindsey's house he wore the mask in the car and said, "I need to go get my Ironman gun now." (Grandma Faler got him an ironman supersoaker.)

Family Scripture Study

2010-10-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

For the past couple weeks we've (as a family) tried really hard to read the Book of Mormon every night. Every night we have a bed time routine with the boys of reading books, family prayer and lights out! So Ron and I thought it'd be "easy" to just add our scripture study after the fun books are read. Mason had other ideas. EVERY time we get the book of Mormon stories book out Mason yells "NO! I don't want to read that. I want to pick a different book!" And he usually walks out of the room while we read to Noah. (Book of Mormon stories is a simplified version of the Book of Mormon with illustrations for children.)

Tonight Ron had a great idea. We got a couple flashlights, turned the lights out, and held family scripture study. It was the FIRST time Mason sat and really listened to the story and participated! What a fun success!!!! You can't really tell in the picture but the lights are out and both boys have flashlights. Not sure if this will work every night but I am just glad that we were able to have one successful session of family scripture time!

Our Butterfly Friend!

2010-09-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

On our morning walk today we came across a butterfly!!! It was really pretty and my boys were both very interested in it. It didn't seem to be moving much so I kidnapped it (literally!) and took it home to snap some pictures! I think it was kinda hurt or something because it didn't fly away for quite a while!
The stroller compartment where the butterfly was trapped for about 5 mins:
Beautiful huh?

Kinda makes me think of the Children's Hymn:
"My Heavenly Father Loves Me"
The line that goes "He gave me my eyes, that I might see the color of butterfly wings... For all these creations, of which I'm a part. Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me."

Mason's melt down when the butterfly finally flew away. Gotta love the drama!

Faler Family Reunion

2010-09-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend we drove to Payson (Strawberry area) for our annual Faler Family reunion. This year we camped out around some land that Erica's family owned and had a cabin at. There was horses, goats, and plenty of dogs on some adjoining properties. All of which my boys thoroughly enjoyed playing with and petting! Overall we had fun (even in the 95 degree weather)! All of us except my dad that is. Poor Grandpa Faler! He got really sick and had to go to the hospital in Payson and then go home. We didn't even get to see him the whole weekend. He's doing much better now and recovering.

Monday morning one of the neighbors horses escaped their pasture. Mason and Noah really enjoyed interacting with the horses up close.

At one point Mason got a little too close! He was posing for a picture while bending over between the horses legs and head. He was even saying "cheese!" as I snapped the picture. When the picture took the horse had started walking and kneed Mason right in the FACE!

Mason's face says it all!

Mason, cousin Josh, and Noah making friends with the horses!

And of course what's camping with out getting completely covered in dirt!!!!!

YUM!

Kathy Merkley (Cabin owner) took the kids for a tractor ride at night! They had a blast!

Noah LOVED the trampoline! I don't know if he's ever really jumped on one before, but he caught on fast! And didn't ever want to get off!

Sunday morning as usual our boys were up at 5am! So we went for a drive and took a family hike!

I promise Mason didn't hit Noah here. Apparently they were both playing a game of "let's see who can hit the log the hardest!"

I'm in trouble!

2010-09-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we had our ward camp out. It's sad that there's not really any little boys Mason age in our ward. But he doesn't let that faze him!!!! At one point he found a tent full of girls hanging out. They were really sweet and let him invade their space! What cute girls!

I thought I had a least 10 more years before I had to start worrying about girl trouble!?!?! Uh-oh!

Noah LOVES his ABC's

2010-08-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Noah was playing in the tub. We have foam letters in the tub so I decided that while I was just sitting in there I'd quiz him a little on his ABC's. I knew that he could pick out the letter O, M, and N. I'm always telling the boys that M is for Mason and N is for Noah. As I was randomly picking up letters I discovered he knew A LOT more letters than I thought. In fact almost every letter. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked and excited.

It's fun to go over letters with him because he really likes it. For some reason the letter N he says "Me!" I think it's because he doesn't really say his own name. He always calls himself "Me!" So instead of saying N for Noah he says "N for me!" Too funny. Also for some reason the Letter E he just says Eagle?!? Not sure about that one!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

2010-08-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ron's hours have picked up at work lately. (It's that time again! Ron's mom calls me a Tax widow! :) So in the evenings I try to keep the boys occupied and busy so they will be tired but also get to see Daddy before bed. His job with Insight right now is so much better than his previous crazy job. So I really can't complain about 8 or 8:30pm homecomings. This week on Tuesday night I was trying to figure something to do with the boys. Then it started raining and I came up with a plan!!!!

BEFORE:

The boys were fascinated by the lightning.

Ok... so it really didn't "POUR" rain. But we got pretty wet anyways!

I love playing in the rain, especially with my boys!

Aunt Anna babysitting!

2010-08-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at work I got this picture sent to me on my phone! How cute is this? My boys just love Aunt Maryann! Or should I say "Nana!" (That's what they call her!) Thank you Maryann for watching them while I work. This picture definitely made me want to leave work and come home to join in on the fun!!!!

Ok Mom! I'm ready to go Swimming!!!!

2010-08-05T11:50:00.001-07:00

Eight is GREAT!

2010-08-02T21:38:00.001-07:00

8 years!!! I can't believe I have been married to this wonderful man for 8 years. Time definitely flys when you're having fun! I wasn't too excited about working on our anniversary. I wanted to be able to make a nice fancy meal (when I say fancy I mean something besides spaghetti! :) I also wanted the house to be nice and clean... just little things to be done that I know Ron appreciates that require some time.

But being at work today actually worked in my favor! I got to go out to lunch with Ron AND he had a gorgeous bouquet of flowers sent to me at work!!!! What a thoughtful husband! I really am very lucky to have Ron as my eternal companion. He is so good for me in many ways. I love how he makes me want to be a better person, he's logical (a little too logical sometimes), and really talented!!!! This man is a PERFECTIONIST (in a good way). If he does something he's going to do it right! I am truly blessed.

Thank you Ron for an amazing Eight!

Aren't they absolutely perfect?!?! You can't really see but they have glitter sprayed on the flower tips! Super cute! I love them!

Summer fun!

2010-07-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

On your MARK...

Get SET...

SPLASH!

I've been working a lot more lately and kinda feel guilty about my time away from the boys. So on my days off I try to take the boys out to have as much fun as we can! Lately it's been lots of swimming. Mason and Noah both LOVE the water.

Noah does this OVER and OVER and OVER again. Someday if I ever own a pool I want it to have a beach entry.

Mason absolutely loves jumping off the diving board. I am still working with him on using his arms and legs at the SAME time while swimming. For now he's content on just treading water :)

Hopkins Family Reunion

2010-07-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Every other year we have a Hopkins Family Reunion! My mother's side of the family get together for a few days. This year we went to Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon. It was really good to see family and catch up. Plus the weather was WONDERFUL! We did all kinds of fun activities but what I enjoyed the most was visiting and relaxing with the Fam. What I enjoyed the LEAST was chasing after my children up and down hotel hallways!
It's crazy to see how your family grows, develops and changes. I can only imagine how Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins (my mom's parents) feel as they sit back and watch their posterity multiply and grow! It makes me wonder what my little family will look like in 40 years.
I sure hope it'll look a lot like this:

(My brother Nathan [upper left corner of this picture] has his arm around his wife Erica and little Ella who aren't in this picture.)

The Two wonderful people who started it all!
Maryann and Dale Hopkins:

We went to Snow Bowl and rode on the chair lift. The boys LOVED it!

Mason and Noah kept waving to people on the other side of the lift passing by while yelling "Hi!" Mason also kept announcing to strangers on the lift that he fell and hit his head?!?! (Which surprisingly did NOT happen?) Where do they get this stuff?

At the top we went on a small hike and just enjoyed the scenery.

... YES he did actually use the highest toilet in AZ!!

Back at the hotel we "enjoyed" some FREEZING cold pool time!
My cousin Matt, his wife Shealyn, baby girl Alyce, and adorable baby boy Preston.

The Grand Canyon!!

On the drive into the Grand Canyon I was amazed at the wildlife just hanging out on the side of the road!!! Crazy!
Noah and Ella are best friends! This is how cousins should be! How sweet was Ella to lend Noah her pink doggie backpack? (Of course Ron made me take it off him pretty quick! But still cute!)
All in all we had a wonderful time and I look forward to seeing the whole Fam again in 2012!!

Too young for this?

2010-07-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

NO. We have NOT really started potty training Noah. But... he has been interested in the toilet lately so I figured... why not? Right now I am just doing the "preliminary's". We just sit in the bathroom (he sits on his potty) and we read books. Occasionally he puts his bear up to try the potty out. (Sorry Grandpa the State Farm shirt for his bear is in the wash.)

Thanks Grandma Joyce for the awesome "Big Boy Potty Book" both my boys LOVE it!

I read somewhere that when they have a poopy diaper you should "plop" the poo in the toilet and flush it down while your toddler is watching. Although I think that's DISGUSTING we tried it this morning. All morning long every time Noah saw the toilet, he'd look down in the bowl and say "Bye Poop!" and wave. I thought that was kinda cute!

Tub time!!

2010-06-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Mason and his cousin Ella taking a bath.

When we asked Ella where Mason's belly button was...

this was her response!

(Sorry it's a little blurry. I think I was laughing so hard I was shaky with the camera!)

I LOVE bath tub time. My boys love the water and play forever in the water. They get mad when I tell them it's time to get out. I think dumping water on each other is their favorite game!

Camping Tradition!

2010-06-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

We went camping this last weekend with friends. (The Talley family and Us!) We used to go camping semi-annually with our friends every year. Then we all started having kids... and life just got crazy! Anyways, we had a lot of fun hanging out, (trying to get out of the COLD wind!!!), eating, and watching our boys (and Sydney) play hard!

We camped just outside of PineTop/Show Low area. The weather was nice but really windy!

I wish my scanner still worked. I'd totally scan an old picture from one of our camp outs back in 2001. Jeff, Ron, Me, and Emryn from the original camping crew!

Hammock Time!! Horse shoe fun! After I took these action shots we noticed that Ron and Jeff make the same concentrated face while horse-shoeing!

My favorite part of the trip (besides watching my boys soak up the outdoors) was a "hike" more like a walk I took with Lindsey, Noah, and Sydney. Lindsey and I don't get to talk much (with out being interrupted by the kiddos or braking up a brawl!). I really enjoyed our chit chatting and just leisure time!

Noah and Sydney!!!! I just love those little piggy tails!!!! Super cute little girl!

The boys had so much fun reading with "Grandma Talley". They chose to read in the car with Grandma Talley instead of go on a hike! Mason even fell asleep on her lap!

Noah and "Co-coa"! Both my boys can't say Colter yet... Mason can say it... I think it's just easier to say "Co-Coa"!

Noah spent a lot of his time waiting outside Jeff and Lindsey's tent for "Nee-Nee" (Sydney)!

Yummy! Yummy breakfast that Nate and Emryn made! Thanks guys!

Is this Legal?

2010-06-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

I came out to my car the other day to run errands and this is what I found...

VROOM! VROOM!

What a goof!

Happy Birthday!!

2010-06-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Today is my baby sister's 22nd Birthday! Maryann is such a sweetie. She is so thoughtful and hardworking. I don't know anyone who chooses to get up at 3:30am for work EVERYDAY (who isn't in construction!) and works crazy long hours! Her work ethic is amazing and I really admire her for that.
She gives excellent advice on my personal care. Seriously, I really value her opinion about my hair do or make-up (I'm not so good at all that!) She is definately a fun person to shop with and will always be 100% honest about whether something looks good on you or not. Even if that means telling you "That makes your Faler butt look BIG!! ha!" Ok that's a total inside joke for "kankles!" :) No really though she has good taste and shares her knowledge.

She is very sweet, kind, and SUPER generous. She is always thinking of others (except when it comes to her beauty sleep!) I love that she is perfectly happy just hanging out with family and noisy kids. My boys just love Aunt "Na-na!" I know that someday she'll be a wonderful mommy. Happy Birthday Maryann! I love you!

What is this?

2010-06-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Ok... Well, in case you can't tell it's a...

Toothbrush.

Mason's Tooth brush to be exact.

I know, I know, it looks like Mason's had this thing for years but... it's actually only about 1 week old. We go through toothbrushes like no body's business.

What can I say? He loves to "brush" his teeth or should I say chew his toothbrush! (That's my boy!) My favorite part is the totally bent angle of the toothbrush!

Man he's got some strong Masseter (chewing) muscles!

How to Potty Train Your Monster!

2010-05-29T17:10:00.001-07:00

We've been working on potty training with Mason for a while now. I thought that checking out some "potty" books at the library might help. I don't know if they are helping, but he LOVES the book "How to Potty Train Your Monster". He practically has the book memorized. A couple of weeks ago I took these pictures of Mason reading it to Noah and his best friend Colter! I wish I would have taken a video clip of it! Super cute and fun to watch.

Lil' Luna Crafts!

2010-05-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, if you love crafts you have to check out this blog. Lil Luna. My friend Kristyn is very tallented and has some really good ideas! Here's the link:

http://mylilluna.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Bang! Bang!

2010-05-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

We went to Payson a couple weeks ago for a spontaneous day trip. Our first stop was at the Denny's in Payson! We don't usually take the boys out to eat for obvious reasons, so they really enjoyed it! My boys LOVE pancakes... it is a good thing they had an all you can eat special going on!

We then took the boys to a secluded area to let Mason shoot his 22 for the first time. A couple years ago my Dad (Grandpa Faler) gave us a small 22 rifle for our family. Mason had a blast and kept wanting to shoot it over, and over, and over! Every time it ran out of bullets he'd say "Again! Again!" or "More bullets Dad!" Noah was just happy to be out side and playing in the dirt.

Thanks again dad for the awesome rifle! Mason loves it!

Miracles do Happen!

2010-05-01T16:47:00.001-07:00

My sister Maddy had her 4th baby yesterday! She has 3 boys and decided they would be surprised and not find out the gender of this baby! We were all a little nervous because Maddy REALLY wanted a girl even though she didn't say it much. What if she was having a fourth boy?!?!? Boys are great but... you have to have at least one girl! So, I am happy to...

Welcome Baby Katelynne!

Isn't my niece beautiful?
I got really excited because I got to make her some fun hair flowers! (If I ever get a baby girl watch out! I think I'll buy Ribbons and Lace out! :)

Doesn't Maddy look great?! I'm so happy for you Maddy! You deserve this beautiful little angel!