Summer here we come..

Doug can't stop smiling about Ladd's new haircut.  

And this is Ladd after reading Uncle Potty's comment.

Quick Post of our Little Ollie

Just thought I'd throw up a few pics of our little Ollie.  I love his hair more than anything...Ladd is getting a buzz this Saturday so we'll get some more hair do's on the blog this weekend.

Girls Trip 2010

I was able to sneak away to AZ for a couple of days with my favorite 13 girls in the whole world.  We rented a house in Scottsdale and it was perfect.  The entire trip consisted of some of my favorite things-  laying out, eating out, and lots of working out trying to make up for the two previous favorites.  But the best part was catching up with my family.  I love them dearly and can't wait until our next girls trip.

I love my cousin Shannon (the pregnant one laying down) she is the awsomest 8-month pregnant woman I know.

Sorry for the swimsuit pic, this is the only picture I have with my mom and sisters. 

Huge thank you to Doug and my awesome friends here in Minnesota who made this possible.  I came back revived and ready to tackle..................... new post coming soon.

Bedtime

I just finished putting Ladd to bed and can't stop smiling at how much I love that boy and want to remember this.
Everynight that either Doug or I aren't home to put him to bed he waits to hear the garage door open and then starts yelling so sweetly under his door "Mommy (or poppy)? Anybody? Mommy? Anybody?".  As soon as I open the door he runs and jumps in his bed and commands  "Lay by me." As he's getting under the covers he always asks "Mommy cubirs (covers)?"  I always say yes and then he scoots as close as possible and pulls my arm over him (sometimes his arms around me).  At this point my heart is oozing with how much I love this boy. To top it off tonight he gently rubbed my arm and we didn't say a word the entire time.  I love him to pieces!

So Cool..

We've been doing a little preschool rotation with two of Ladd's friends for the past year.  The kids love it and I love the special time I have to put everything aside and play with them and teach them.  We've done the colors and numbers and now we are starting the 5 senses.  Today I taught sight so we made glasses and went outside "to see what we could see".  The kids were so cute as they acted like they were seeing everything for the first time.  I also loved that they kept them on as they were running around and playing basketball.  How could I not love spending time with these 3 cuties!

Easter

We had a great Easter Weekend. My favorite part was having Doug at home for an entire Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning my friend Camie and I organized an Easter Egg hunt and breakfast with a bunch of friends. Little did we know we'd have nearly 80 people come. It was a huge success, but we wish the weather would have cooperated a little better- it was the coldest day all week.

Here the older kids are taking off.

Showing the goods

Brotherly love

Ladd loved the hunt and was in candy heaven.  Within minutes of finishing he had eaten nearly all the contents of his eggs. Then we rushed home to watch General Conference (if you don't know what GC is click here.) We enjoyed the day in our loft/playroom watching conference on our computer while Ladd worked off his sugar high.  Sunday the easter bunny left Ladd and Ollie some awesome baskets filled with Toy Story, a bat & ball, lot of cars, beach toys, and NO candy.  I love the easter bunny!!  I was also pleasantly surprised at how intently Ladd watched General Conference.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, they were pretty awesome talks.  I love Conference weekend!


Sunday Evening we dressed in our Easter clothes and went to the Christensen's for an amazing Easter feast.

The toddler table (3 best friends)

All of us mama's with our babies.  Love these girls and loved this weekend!

Prayers

These days Ladd says just about all our prayers in our house.  He's always very good about thanking his Heavenly Father for his friends and family.  I love listening to every detail.  This week during the dinner prayer after he'd said the usual "thank you for this day," he continued "And thank you that I have cute hands."

I have to admit they are pretty dang cute hands.

Romantic Getaway...

with this hotty.




We were able to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (a couple of months early) in West Palm Beach. We went with our friends Dave and Maile and couldn't ask for better friends or vacation companions. We shopped, ate, watched movies, and they even indulged me by playing Colors in the pool. We can't wait until our next trip!

(Doug couldn't resist getting in this picture with Dave and Maile)


It was our first time getting away without our boys and the most relaxed I've been in years.





I had forgotten how simple and easy life was before we had children, but I can't believe how much more I love this man now that he's the father or our two rugrats.


It was also comforting knowing that Doug's mom and sister were carefully spoiling our children back in Minnesota.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Change

I get really bored with my hair so I try to style it a little different everyday.  I was really itching for a change this past week so me and Ladd both got haircuts last week.  I can't believe how old my little boy is looking these days.

Before:

After:  (disclaimer: Ladd had just woke up from a nap, hence the bed head)

My before and after can be seen here.  It's growing on me.

Sick- This post is from February

I've turned into the worlds worst blogger.  We've had two bouts of sicknesses (strep throat twice) in the last month and it is hard for me to blog without pictures so here is a random one.

Ladd has been struggling with naps and has been exploring his closet instead of sleeping.  The other day I found him asleep in the baby swing he had dragged out and setup.  The music was even going full blast.

Just like dad

Doug swept out all the dirt and grime in our garage this weekend.  I'm guessing Ladd was watching him from his bedroom window during his nap because the next day I found him sweeping the driveway with our window washer.  Very effective!








Notice the grass peeking out under that mountain of snow- looks like spring is right around the corner. If only we could get the 7 foot drift of snow to melt, hmmm.

Look who's one!

What's new?

Not a lot around here, but both my boys are sorely in need of a hair cut.   We are hoping Uncle Paul will see these sorry looking boys and come visit us with his new FlowBee.

Ollie just minutes after waking up (no gelling or teasing took place).

Ollie's ready for take-off.

Ollie's other mini wing (and new-found binky, he's loving this treasure that has gone untouched for the past 8 months)

Ladd's bangs and sideburns are approaching the "tuck-behind-the-ear" stage- WaY too long

Since we don't have a FLOWBEE yet we have had to solve our problem with hats:

It's a good thing it's going to be cold here for a long time.

Oh yes and while on the topic, I have to mention my awesome early Valentine's present  from Doug (He got them from Here)

Christmas in Utah

We had another wonderful Christmas in Utah.  Some of the highlights were:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

• Brian Family Party
• Nativity
• Lots of laughs
• Racker Family Party
• Decorating Cookies
• Singing carols at the rest home
• Sledding
• Having an adult dinner at Zermont's- yummiest buffet ever
• Grandma Karen's Choir Christmas Program
• Yummy food
• Doug playing basketball with his Dad
• Ladd going to feed the horses
• Darci getting to see all her girl friends
• Eating
• Treehouse Museum - thanks Grandma Rae
• Visiting with Shannon
• Christmas Eve with the Bullard's
• Awesome Christmas program put on by the ever-talented Bullard's
• Waking up Christmas morning with all the cousins
• Ladd's presents
• A Rescue Center (dollhouse)
• Animals (He especially loves Chief and Duke)
• Mr. & Mrs. Books (Mr. Grumpy is his favorite)
• Disney Movies (Loving Cars)
• Spending Christmas with the people we love most!!

A lot to be thankful for

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with some ward friends (Cunningham's, Wilson's, and Bjorkman's). The food was killer good and the company was even better.  We are so grateful to have such good friends especially since our family is so far.

We just uploaded some videos from the last couple of months and thought we would share some things we are thankful for:

1. Grandpa's horses:



2. Ladd's mad singing skills:


not only can he sing his ABC's, but he's really good with numbers too:



3. My family: (WARNING- this video will be lame for anyone not in my family- ):



4. Doug's family: (Ok, this is only a showcase of Paul being awesome, but we love all the Timothy's):



5. Ollie continuing to be the best baby in the world: