Trying to win one of these..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Where Has The Time Gone?

 My sweet Em,

From the very first moment I held you I knew that you were going to change my life.

 You came into this world with your feisty personality already in place.  But equal to that fire, there is a spirit of calm about you.  You know how to soothe me and calm my soul.  You love with everything you have in you, and are a passionate little girl.

 

I love your sassiness and your spunk.  You push me to be a better mother and a better friend.  I love that you give away hugs and kisses so freely.  You are tender hearted, yet you can hold your own in a fight. :) You are beautiful and I can't wait to see the woman you will grow into.

 I Love You Pitter Patter.

Happy 4th Birthday!

DISNEY

Blogger is being lame and not cooperating with my need to organize these pics.  So in no particular order, here are a few of the billion pics I took on our trip!

We are so glad that Kyla and the kiddos were able to join us for the majority of our vacation!  The girls (Em especially) are smitten with The Boy! 

We decided before our trip that we weren't going to spend time waiting in the humongous lines to see any of the characters.. As luck would have it, it seemed like around every corner there was a character standing there.  With no line.  Sweetness! Ariel was the first Princess we came across, and seeing as how she is a fave at our house the girls were star struck.  It was adorable.

  Yes, the girls made Running Man go on the teacups.  Little Man and I enjoyed from the sidelines.

 

 This little boy was a trooper.  He didn't have any meltdowns and I loved getting the bonus snuggle time while he was wrapped up in Moby wrap.

 Our first "tour guide" on Jungle cruise was a little bit insane.  I think the looks on the kids' faces says it all.

It was an amazing trip and we feel so blessed that we were able to go!

P.S.  I hate Blogger.

Beachiness

We started  off our vacation by hitting the beach!  Running Man's sis lives in SoCal and was the perfect tour guide!  She took us to their favorite beach.  It was in Newport and was nice and secluded.  There were little tide pools full of tons of little ocean buddies, and the weather was perfect

 She looks slightly terrified here...But despite the cold water they loved splashing around.  Baby Lo-Lo on the other hand...not so much. 

 One of the absolute best parts of the trip was getting to spend most of the time with my SIL and her sweet kiddos.  The cousins were attached at the hip and quite a few tears were shed when we had to say good-bye. 

 Baby L LOVED his Aunt Kyla.  He has started with that whole separation anxiety business, but would practically jump out of our arms to get to her.  Sweetness.

Spring A Ling A Ling Time

We are so happy that Spring has sprung around here! Except for the no good allergies we love everything about this time of year. Banana has been off track for the last three weeks and unfortunately some sort of nasty sick bug made itself at home at our house. All three kids battled fevers, congestion and all sorts of unpleasantness the last few weeks. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bug has left the building and we're in the clear!

I have so much to post about, but this one will be just about Easter. It was so fun to celebrate with the kids this year. The girls are at an age where they are understanding exactly what Easter is about and it is sweet to hear Banana's sweet testimony and to see Em's eagerness to learn about our Savior. Baby L is such a joy and always brings the Spirit into our home.
Here are the highlights in pics!

On the hunt! We had to battle a family of ducks to keep our eggs safe, and we are glad that all but one egg is accounted for!

Baby L was stuck in the stroller for the hunt because it was a little too windy, so here he is enjoying his spoils on Easter morning.

Growing up my dad always flew kites with us on Easter, and it is a fun tradition I want to keep going with my kids. Of course it was the one day in three months that wasn't windy here, but we were able to catch a few small breezes to get the kites off the ground for a minute. Banana is a pro now at flying a kite, and Em spent most of the time running around and dancing. Running Man said all she needed was the song "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" and she would have looked like the perfect little flower child. :)

My handsome boys all dressed up for church. Melt my heart!My beautiful kiddos. I am so lucky to have such sweet, caring and fun little ones to call mine!

{LOVE} Month

February is always a crazy busy month at our house. Running Man and I celebrated our 8th anniversary, Banana turned SIX and we partied it up for her birthday and Valentines Day!

Running Man and I spent a nice low key anniversary at home. It's hard to plan anything spectacular when you have a nursing/needy baby at home. :) We did escape for a quick dinner a few days later thanks to my awesome friend Bailey coming to the rescue!
The girls got to attend the Daddy-Daughter Ball with Running Man. He took just Banana last year because Em wasn't old enough and Em counted down the days until she was old enough to go this year! I think it is such a great tradition and we plan on keeping it going!


We kept the festivities going with Banana's birthday. She wanted a love themed party and it worked out perfectly because our house was already overflowing with all things Valentines Day.
The spread. We weren't lacking for sweets which was just fine with me!

We were going to play Valentines Bingo, but once I realized there were going to be SIXTEEN kids at the party we changed our minds and took them outside for a way more exciting game! You can't just invite a few people from school, the rule is you have to invite everyone, so that's what we did. I was banking on only a few showing up...um, I was wrong. They were all so well behaved and didn't seem to mind that they were all crammed into our apartment!

Banana and her BFF/cousin Blayr Bear. She ditched us right after this for Disneyland. :(
Keeping the tradition alive...Bday dinner at Red Robin with Aunt Kenna!

We made these Valentines for the girls to pass out at school. I'm sure you've seen them! Punch a few holes, add some lettering and a sucker. Easiest. Valentines. Ever.


To add more to our already busy month, Banana won Region reflections so we got to sit through a very long awards ceremony. She was the very last name to be called up. :)

Not to be forgotten, this little Boy has mastered the pouty lip. Seriously, does it get any cuter? I am still smitten with this little man!
And to prove to you that I am still alive, here is a rare shot of me. And it was taken only because Banana was making me feel guilty that I'm never in any pictures with her.
We love February and we are sad to see it go, but are so looking forward to SPRING!