Mario, Dance and Nacho Libre

Can I just say, "It's about freakin' time?!?" February is nearing an end, and so in my mind, spring should be here by, oh, Saturday? Right?

We have been in hard-core blah at our house for the last 2 months. We LOVE our new place, but it'll be nice to get some vitamin D soon. So, this blog post, my friends, is a little compilation of what we have been doing to pass the winter.

Chase has been obsessed with Mario ever since we got it for Christmas. It's a little embarrassing how much he plays. On one hand, I can use it as serious blackmail. He always has his room cleaned, his teeth brushed and his speech done before he plays, but sometimes that is at 9:00 a.m. He's good though. Much better than me, but that's not saying much. My skills haven't improved since the original version of Mario. 

Halle has been going to dance, like every day, I swear. Competition is soon, so extra practices are all the time. We've entered that point where she LIKES dance, but doesn't LOVE dance, so we are wondering whether to try something new next year. Maybe tumbling. Who knows? I think it's hard as a parent to know when to really push your kid, if they really aren't into it. I guess, if all else fails, she can try something new, and always go back to dance if she wants. 

And, Miss Lizzie. Holy cow, this girl has personality. Her new favorite movie is Nacho Libre. She watches it everyday. Sometimes twice. It's not exactly a little girl show, so it's strange that she has such a connection to it. I try to put on princess movies, but all she wants is Nacho. Sam, who used to love the movie, is completely sick of it. I never really liked it, but after having it in the background of our house for the last month, I could probably quote it.

No, Lizzie isn't potty trained. Yet. But, she does love sitting on the 

toilet and wearing Minnie undies. So there's that.

And, that's it. Our lives are terribly exciting. It's a wonder why they don't do a reality show on us. 

Little Miss is TWO!

About 2 weeks ago, we celebrated our little munchkin's second birthday. It's amazing that she is two. She's officially in toddler world now. Our baby is getting big. There's no doubt about it. 

The night before her birthday, Sam and I stayed up and decorated the house with balloons (her only gift request) and lots of Minnie Mouse streamers. When Lizzie woke up on her birthday, she walked into the family room, took a deep breath and said, "Mimmie Bowtique! Mimmie Bowtique!" Awww, girl. She knows how to melt her mama's heart.

We celebrated our two-year-old with two parties. How fitting! At lunch, my family came over and we had a great time. The kids play so well together.

Liz was spoiled. Shocker! She loved opening presents. Especially the clothes. This little gal is a fashionista. She loves to try on new things. "Hmmm... cute," she always says.

And, after presents, we sang--per Lizzie's request--Happy Birthday Cha-cha-cha. Apparently in elementary school the "cha-cha-cha" is added to the famous birthday tune, and Halle taught Lizzie. So for weeks, we heard about "MY BIRDDAY CHA-CHA-CHA!"

Mmmm... Cupcakes are good!

Warning! The next picture includes nudity! Sorry. But this girl has some cute cheeks. And, every birthday girl needs to wear her birthday suit.

After a nap, Lizzie got to have another party! Sam's family came over, and we celebrated Lizzie big time. We ordered pizza, but all Lizzie wanted was cheetoes and cupcakes. Dinner of champions? More or less.

This picture is kind of blurry, but I love it. I love those sweet kiddos of mine.

Once again, this little gal got spoiled. But, then again, how could you not spoil this girl?

It was so fun having everyone come and celebrate Lizzie. She is such a special little girl. Thank you family!

Home Sweet Home

We have been in our house for about 3 weeks now, and we love it! We moved in, threw up a Christmas tree, celebrated Christmas, unpacked and suffered through the stomach flu twice. It was an incredibly busy time, but we are so happy to be here. And, with any luck, we won't move again. This house is it, folks.

Here's the outside... I love the white. You can't really see it in this picture, but our front door is tall. I love it!

Our kitchen...

The family room... Chase was unwilling to get off the couch. He was in a super intense game of Mario on the Wii.

The railing... I am scouring Pinterest to come up with something cool for this wall. So far, all I've discovered is that I need more $$ to do something really cool. So, for now--and the foreseeable future--it's a blank canvas.

The entry way... Picture a cool red table and some beautiful art here. That's what I do! I will be visualizing for a while until I find the right piece.

Mud room...

Master bedroom...

Master bath...

Halle's room...

Chase's room...

Lizzie's room...

Kid's bath...

We feel incredibly blessed to be here. It's nice to be home!

Getting Closer...

 I keep telling Sam that our life now is reminiscent of a Hallmark movie title. Our family could star in a show called "Homeless for the Holidays" or "The House Without a Christmas Tree." Luckily though, it looks like we might have a house for Christmas!

The house is all painted now. (I need an updated picture that doesn't have the paint mess all around. Will Do.) I love how bright it is.

We certainly have a white thing going on in this house. Not only is much of the outside white, I chose white cabinets to brighten the kitchen. I LOVE white cabinets! The countertops and wood floor have been added since this picture was taken.

I just found a picture that shows a little bit of the countertops...

The bathroom tile is done. The vanities are in place. We still need glass on the shower and fixtures.

So, with a little luck, and maybe a Christmas miracle, we will have a home for Christmas! Things can certainly still go wrong--something my pessimistic husband always reminds me, but I really, really hope that we are in by Christmas.

Chase's Birthday

Somehow, I've gotten in the poor habit of reporting on things weeks after the fact. I'd say I'll try to be better, but that'd be a lie. And, since I'm trying to stay on Santa's nice list right now, lying is not allowed.

Anyway, I digress. My sweet, rambunctious, handsome little guy turned 4 at the beginning of November. 4! I love four-year-olds. They are better behaved (mostly), they listen (not really) and they are funny (completely true).

We celebrated Chase by going to Kangaroo Zoo in Pleasant Grove with my parents. He ran and ran for two hours. It was the perfect place to go for his birthday. Halle and Lizzie tuckered out, but not Chase. He could have climbed up those slides for days. 

Afterwards, Chase chose to go to the Purple Turtle for lunch. He heard the name, and thought it was funny, so we went. I know it's like a PG landmark and all, but we will not be returning. Not my favorite. Chase loved it though, and since it was his birthday, we all lived it up.

On Sunday, his actual birthday, Sam's mom made Chase a birthday dinner that we celebrated at their house. Mashed potatoes! He loved running around with his cousins. 

Chase is such a great kid. He loves going to preschool everyday. He is making great strides with his speech, although it is still a work-in-progress. When we look at how far he has come in a year, it's incredible. We can't wait to see how much he improves in the next year.

At 4, Chase:

*loves playing with his best friend, Marcus

*loves Tom & Jerry

*loves yard work

*loves wearing hoodies, with the hood up

*loves going to BYU games with his daddy

*loves pestering his sisters

*loves playing sports

We love you, Chase!

Halloween: At a Glance

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I decided I was way past due for a post about my little ghosts and goblins. Since we are in-between houses, I am finding it hard to be all festive about the different holidays. All of our decorations are stored about 8 boxes deep. But, alas, we tried to have a fun Halloween.  And, what'd ya know? We totally did!

We went on a witch hunt at Gardner Village in hopes of earning a cookie. A cookie! You mean I get to chase my three kids around, keep track of the witches we'd find and all we get is a cookie? And, on top of that, wait in a incredibly long line for said cookie! After an hour of witch searching, I bought my kids off by telling them I'd buy them each 2 cookies later if we could just go home. Sometimes, I totally rock this motherhood thing. 

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Chase had his preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was cold. Like really cold. I am usually so picky about the pumpkins that my kids pick out, but on this day, Chase got the pumpkin he chose. Lopsided, and all.

When Halloween finally arrived, I got to dress my little darlings up in their costumes. Lizzie dressed up as her hero, Minnie Mouse. We got the costume at Disneyland, and she has been wanting to wear it ever since. Check out the shoes! 

Chase, who has a small obsession with Jake and the Neverland Pirates, dressed up as pirate this year. I loved his costume. He did too!

Our beautiful Halle was a Super Girl for Halloween. She is always looking for an excuse to doll-up, so she loved putting on her dance glitter make-up for the occasion.

All-in-all, Halloween was a success! It wasn't filled with a lot of the usual traditions, but the kids had a blast. And, really, I can't really ask for too much more than that.

House Progress

In about 2 months, we are going to be home owners again! It has been so fun to watch our house take shape. We enjoy it so much, that we do the ol' drive-by a couple times a day. Our new neighborhood is right next to Halle's school, and on the way to Wal-mart, so it makes it pretty easy to stalk the guys working on the house. Our new neighbors probably think we are a bit obsessive. We are.

We started out with a lot of dirt.

And then, we got to watch cement dry for about 2 weeks.

Until, finally, we started to see some progress.

And a few days later, a framed house!

And now, windows, doors, and a roof. Love it!

We are so excited to see everything come together. Insulation and sheetrock should go in next week. We are excited!