Three's Company

It's been too long since my last post! We have been having a fun, busy summer.  Matt is working full-time, but he's taking a break from school which means when he comes home at the end of the day - instead of jumping right into homework - he can PLAY! Carly and I have been thoroughly enjoying our extra Matt time.

Our good friends treated themselves to a vacation and asked us to watch their 2 kiddos for the week they were gone.  Of course we accepted!  Their kids are close bookends to our Carly in age, so I knew it was going to be tough, especially with Matt at work all day.  Luckily, their trip was over the 4th of July weekend and there was plenty to do and see! We had a lot of fun and I felt like (a very very tired) Super Mom when we had successfully put all three kids to bed at the end of each day. I only had a meltdown once :)  (It involved poo in the tub...we won't get into it.)

Here are some highlights from that week - now you know who the extra kids are :)

Keeping cool during the heat wave

Making pizza!

Bedtime story

Early morning Balloon Festival

They let you get really close as they fill up the balloons!

Do you spot Steamboat??

They had Darth Vader's back to us, and once he was fully inflated they turned on his music and slowly turned him around :) It was all very ominous.

Then Yoda joined in!

Matt ran in the Freedom Run 5k

Off to the parade!

After awhile into the parade the kids were getting restless and in need of naps.  Matt and I had seen enough too so I started packing up the kids while Matt peeked down the street to see if what was next was worth staying for.  He laughed and said, "Chels, get the camera." Me: "Ugh I'm done taking pictures." Matt: "Ok, but you're going to want to see this." So I join him on the street and squeal "WHERE'S THE CAMERA?" because this is what I see:

It was all kinds of nerdy cool. We decided it couldn't get any better than that and went home. All five of us took a nap.

Carly Update

I'm back! It's a new year and it's time to start up this blog again. After Christmas break, I was so overwhelmed with all the pictures and stories I wanted to share on here. So I just didn't share anything :) Now that I've decided just to skip over Christmas break, I have the courage to post again. (Sorry, Mom. You are welcome to look at the Christmas break pictures when you come visit!)

Carly is growing up! We thought she was fun before, but she just keeps getting more awesome! She loves a good laugh and is a dancin' fool! She only says two words: "Dada" and "Hi", but she speaks CONFIDENT gibberish ALL THE TIME. She is no rush to learn this silly English language.  She also knows she is super cool. She wears her sunglasses whenever we leave the house, She waves hello and goodbye, and she high fives.

 She is brave! More brave than Mom is comfortable with... She isn't afraid of strangers, of bugs, or going down the slide all by herself! (Which resulted in a goose egg on her forehead last week)

Her hair is growing out so nicely! We love styling it in new ways and playing with it in the tub :) She's good at sitting still while I style it, but she has a hard time not reaching up and pulling it out directly afterwards ;)

"Would you guys quit it?!" She loves us...

Daddy is hands-down her favorite parent. But I'm ok with that because he just happens to be my favorite person too :)

Happy Birthday to Us!

November isn't a very pretty month, but it's my birthday month so I love it anyway.  Last year, Carly decided to join us in November, so now I have even more of a reason to love this month! She was born 4 days after my birthday (and a week overdue, I might add. But I don't hold a grudge. ;) I look forward to celebrating our birthdays so close together every year. Maybe we can even share a party every once in awhile if she doesn't mind... I will never mind.

We kicked off my birthday celebration with a little trip to Tucanos! If you live near a Tucanos, I highly recommend joining their birthday club. Who wouldn't love a free meal of all-you-can-eat meat with a Brazilian flair? Tucanos is how I imagine heaven.

This was me last year... It turns out, you can fit a lot more food in your stomach if there isn't an overdue baby in there. I enjoyed myself a little more this time around :)

The next morning (my actual birthday) I got out of bed to go get Carly from her crib. When I came back, Matt had put his presents for me on the bed.

You may or may not know about my love for Wizard of Oz. It probably stemmed from playing "Dorothy #1" in my elementary school's play. Long story short, I saw this old movie poster several weeks earlier in the store, fell in love, then walked away convinced I didn't "need" it. Later on, I briefly mentioned it to Matt when I told him about my day. I'm so lucky to be married to a man that listens! I was shocked to see it on my bed. And so so happy.

"Get DOWN Tonight! Psalms 95:6 ...let us kneel before the Lord our maker."
*Mom-jeans included.*

This next gift was more of a gag gift. It cracks me up every time I see it. Matt and I saw it on clearance while browsing through the BYU Bookstore. It's the most ghastly t-shirt. I can't believe it exists. But it's awesome. And I wear it.

Matt spoiled me further by making me pancakes and bacon. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22.

 

 

My stylish Mom got this gorgeous dress, and we finished the day with chicken curry and pumpkin pie. What a fabulous birthday!



 

We kept Carly's birthday simple (as I believe all one-year-old birthdays should be.) with presents and carrot cake. We filmed her tentatively peel back the paper on her presents and daintily eat her cake. She's a sweet, rambunctious girl and I just can't believe how big she is. When did she grow?? Happy First Birthday Carly bug. Life would be so boring without you!



There's No Buddy Like a Brother

It's my brother's birthday. He's somewhere in the Baltic, so he might as well be on Mars. And I miss him. Let me show you why. Here's just a few of the many Braeden-isms :

 

 "Sometimes during a test, I will tap out the answers in Morse code. I figure I'm doing my part."

"So I was sleeping in Math today. Somebody wet-willied me. For extra credit."

  
"If I was allergic to classy, my whole life would be a sneeze."

"Lady Gaga was not born this way. If she was, the doctor would have said, PUT HER BACK IN!"

"Ke$ha looks like, if you touched her, she'd be sticky."

After working concessions during my high school's basketball games all day, I came home smelling like popcorn and hot dogs. On the way to the shower, Braeden encouraged me to skip it because he promised it would make me more attractive for the school dance that night.

I found this to do list in his room one day:
Write letter
Driver's license
Topple South American government
Build giant slingshot 
Fling enemies into sun

"This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the privilege of spending my childhood with you, Chelsea. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness," but most importantly, it was by far the best sixteen years of my life. Thanks for everything. Keep in touch. Love you, Chels."

Braeden is away from his family for 2 years so the people of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus can spend an eternity with theirs. I'm so proud of him. But let's be honest; I'm counting down the days until I can see his face again!
 

Saying goodbye for 2 years, but not forever!

Happy Birthday "little" brother! Love, Chels