My 39th Birthday!

I am one year closer to 40 and time is going way too fast. I can't believe I'm almost 40. It's so weird. But my sweet husband and kids made the weekend so fun and relaxing for me and I didn't mind getting a year older. 

On Saturday I had to wake up and go to a meeting to a stake activity I'm helping with. The meeting was at 7:30 am. Miserable! When I got home, I studied for my kinesiology exam. Then I took a nap. I hate having to be awake early on a Saturday. 

After my nap I studied some more and then Chris took me out for dinner. We also did a little shopping for Easter. When we came back I had to work on my Gospel Doctrine lesson. Chris and I also got to watch a little TV together. 

Then on Sunday, Chris woke up early and made me breakfast. He made delicious eggs Benedict. It was so good and the perfect way to start my birthday. 

Then I got the best present ever- I got to teach Gospel Doctrine. Ugh. Not the best gift. But honestly, I really like digging in and learning in preparation for my lesson. I just get so nervous when I teach. 

After church, I took a nap and then the kids made me lunch- I had asked for egg salad and they were so kind to make it for me.  There was also a soda bar set up for me. Chris worked so hard to make the weekend special for me. 

 Then for dinner, Chris made seafood pasta and Tanner made garlic knots. We also had a salad and some steamed broccoli. It was so delicious. 

After we got cleaned up, I got to open my presents and then we had ice cream cake. It was such a great birthday. I'm so grateful for my family and friends for spoiling me. Maybe 39 won't be so bad. 

Life Update.

 I thought it was time for a quick every day life update. We are staying busy! I'm still in school at NWACC and that's keeping me very busy. Chris is busy with work, army and church and the kids are as busy as ever. 

Tucker and Tanner went to the temple together last week and then Tucker turned around and went again with his deacons quorum. 

I recently got to watch Benson's class showcase. It was pretty cute. It had been scheduled in January, but then the snowstorm hit and they had to postpone. It was super cute. They sang a song to the tune of "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" but it was all about learning at Elm Tree Elementary. They did a great job. 

Benson is always so happy to when I get to come to his school and I love seeing his smiley face. It's the best. I'm so proud of him and I'm trying to cherish every time I get to go spend tie with him at school because he's my last elementary aged-kid. 

Bailey and I are still having our monthly book club. It's such a fun tradition and we both love it. I know Bailey just loves the food and new book aspect, but I am grateful for the quality time I get with my girl. 

Also, Nanny and Papa have been coming over and looking at houses. We finally convinced them to move here and we've been helping them look at houses and talk to builders. Well last weekend we finally found a house for them. They signed a contract and the builders will be breaking ground this month. Then come August they will be moving here. We are so stinkin' excited. It's going to be so amazing having them live  here. 

After they signed their contract, we celebrated with lunch and then we went to Andy's. My parents love Andy's. It felt like the perfect way to celebrate.  

Their new house is going to be so gorgeous. Nanny's favorite part is that she didn't have to make any hard decision. This builder has a certain set of options for each floor plan. So Nanny and Papa bought a floor plan and then they were shown the counters, fixtures and everything else the house came with. She was so relieved she wouldn't have to make any hard decisions. 

Papa is definitely sad to be losing his shop, but since his balance is getting worse, it may be for the best. This new house is going to be a single story and a very open floor plan. It's perfect for them. 

Their new house will only be 7 minutes from my house and it's such a great location. It's going to be so amazing to have them so close. I can't wait!

Lastly, we recently went to Benson's Pinewood Derby. It was so cute. There were 23 little boys competing and they were loving life. They were cheering for each other, chanting each other's names and so hyped for each other. It was adorable. 

Benson came in 7th and while he was sad he didn't get a trophy, 7th out of 23 isn't too bad. 

He really just loved eating treats and hanging out with his friends. The Pinewood Derby is always a fun family event in our ward. 

Oh and after the little boys had their race, the Elder Quorum had a derby too. Chris raced Benson's car and he took 4th place. Pretty fun. 

Anyway, that's us right now. We are busy, healthy and happy!  

A Very Special Sunday

     Today, our sweet Tucker gave his first talk in sacrament meeting. He did such an amazing job. I was so impressed with him. He worked hard on his talk and really pondered on what he wanted to share. His topic was "How does the temple help me walk with Him". "Walk with Him" is the youth theme for the year and since Tucker recently attended the temple for the first time, it was a great way to combine the two together. He wrote the whole talk himself and even shared some scriptures. I think my favorite part was when he spoke about how when he entered the House of the Lord, his heart calmed and his mind quieted. Knowing my son and his anxious tendencies, this brought me such joy for him. I love that he found peace being in the temple. His talk was amazing and we are so proud of him. 

Then this evening we were able to attend Harrison's baptism. Harrison and Tanner have been friends for over a year now. They met last year when Tanner started high school and they play in the band together. Harrison has been to our house countless times and they have spent so much time together because of band. But over the last 6 months, Harrison started having lessons with the missionaries and after finally convincing his anti-Christian parents to allow him to get baptized, he was able to get baptized this evening. 

But what was so special was the fact that he asked Tanner to baptize him. It was such a sweet night. The entire baptism program was basically run by the youth.

Both the speakers were youth from his ward  and then Tanner baptized him. The missionaries confirmed him and afterwards Harrison shared his sweet testimony with everyone. It was incredible. He talked about how his life has been touched in different ways by different members of the church and how it all led him to this decision. It was beautiful. 

It was also incredible to see how many youth came to support Harrison. I think I counted about 25 youth that night. Typically the turnout for a convert baptism isn't that high, but the missionaries had to keep adding more and more chairs until the entire room was filled. It was so cool. I know Harrison felt so much love and support and he has a great ward family to continue to support him in his discipleship journey. We just felt so lucky to be a part of it. We love Harrison! 

I'm also just so proud of Tanner for living a life that drew Harrison in and made him interested in the gospel and for being worthy and willing to perform the baptism. It was such a great night! I don't think there are many missionaries that go out on their missions with baptism experience. Tanner is a pretty cool kid!

Valentine's Day Fun!

 We had a quiet Valentine's day this year and it was good. I did get to attend Benson's class party on Friday and we finished his valentine's box just in time. With everything I've been juggling lately, he was worried I had forgotten about it, but I hadn't and Thursday after school we were able to make it just the way he wanted. 

His party was cute as usual and I was glad I was able to be there. He's such a little sweetheart and really enjoys having me at all his school events. 

On Friday we made homemade pizzas and watched a movie together as a family. That was our Valentine's date this year. 

Then today  my sister Laura and my Dad came over to visit. My mom is currently visiting her sisters in Arizona, so Dad and Laura came over without her. We spent the day with them and it was nice. The cousins also came over and we had a little Valentine's party. 

This year I themed the party around "You're my Main Squeeze" and although the kids didn't really understand the phrase, I thought it was cute and I loved the citrus theme. I made a Raspberry Lemon cake and then served raspberry lemonade and lemon cookies.  

Chris and I didn't go out this year but we did order some fajitas for dinner and picked up the order to take home and eat with everyone. 

My Dad's health is declining right now and his hallucinations are really bad, so while I'm always happy to have him visit, he was definitely having a harder weekend and didn't sleep well. I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room with him because I was worried about him. We are in the process of applying for a medicine pump for him that will hopefully help his medications be more effective, so we are trying to stay positive. I was grateful to get to spend Valentine's day with my Dad- that's something that hasn't happened in years.  Happy Valentine's day!

Branson Girls' Trip

I just got home for my annual girls trip to Branson. We've only done this twice now, but it's a tradition we are trying to keep up, so I'm calling it annual. It was so fun. We had such a great time and because it happened on the back end of the snow storm, Branson was more dead and empty than usual- which was nice for us. 

We drove up Wednesday after I finished my class and Erin got out of school and we met Lacey Quale there. We got checked in and immediately went to dinner because I was starving. We tried a new place and it was so yummy. We went to "Guy Fieri's  Kitchen". We ordered massive burgers that came with a ton of fries and it was perfect.  After dinner we drove to get snacks at Walmart and then we went back to our room to hang out. 

We did have a "Favorite Things Party" and it was so fun. We all exchanged some of our favorite items and went home with three new items. We also coordinated our pajamas because what's a girls' trip without a little matching. 

After our gift exchange we watched "People we meet on Vacation" and it was so cute. 

Thursday we slept in and then we went to eat breakfast and do some shopping. We hit up the outlet malls and shopped for hours. Then we went to TJMaxx where I found so many adorable water bottles that it was really hard to narrow it down to just one. I also bought some cute clothes and stuff. 

That night we ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse and it was delicious. We went back to Wal-Mart to grab a few more things and then went to our room to watch a movie. We watched "The Other Woman" and we all enjoyed it. We didn't stay up too late that night, which was unusual for us. 

Friday morning we woke up and worked out together. Then we got ready for the day and checked out of our room. Then we went to get brunch. We tried this new place called "The Mythical Wich" and we all really enjoyed it. Then we went to "Adventure Seekers." We had found a groupon for it so it was a decent price for everything we did. . 

"Adventure Seekers"  is an indoor entertainment complex featuring over 150 interactive exhibits, it combines nostalgic and modern fun, including classic arcade games (like Pac-Man and Atari), virtual reality experiences, racing simulators, photo opportunities, and hands-on activities such as wall-sized Connect Four and a ball pit. 

Its main attraction  is FlyRide®, a four-story-high, motion-based flying theater that simulates flight over 22 iconic American landmarks.  Using a giant curved screen, moving seats, wind, mist, and scents, it delivers an immersive sensory experience that is comparable to Disney’s Soarin’ but with a longer ride time. 

 We had so much fun goofing off together.

We ended out day with delicious crepes at the Landing and then hit up a few more stores before driving home. It was a great trip and I'm so grateful for my sweet friends!

Snow Week!

 Winter has finally arrived in NW Arkansas and we are here for it. We are loving all the snow and the snow days. The winter weather arrived late Friday night. Sadly, Chris got called in for the National Guard and was gone all Saturday and Sunday, but the rest of us just snuggled in and enjoyed the coziness. The snow continued throughout Friday night but Saturday morning we only had a few inches. But then the snow started again on Saturday evening and continued through the night and Sunday morning we woke up to another 5 inches or so. Naturally, Church was canceled so we had virtual relief society. I think in total we got 7-8 inches and it's pure powder. It's so pretty but it's not great packing snow. 

Chris came home late Sunday night but had to go back to the armory on Monday morning. School was canceled on Monday and we weren't surprised. I had my NWACC class virtually and although it wasn't ideal, I'm still glad we were able to meet. It was a little cold but once Chris got home from the armory we all went out to play together. 

We went over to the retainer ditch and went sledding and had a great time. The hills are so fun to go sledding down and we had a blast together.  There were lots of friends there too and the kids had fun playing with their friends. 

Because of the cold temperatures, the snow didn't melt and so the kids were out of school through today. They have kept busy though, Tanner, Tucker and Benson all went out and shoveled driveways to earn money for our Alaskan cruise. Tucker shoveled the most and he earned nearly $200. He was so tired but proud of himself. Bailey made $60 and Tanner made $65. Benson decided he didn't want to work in the cold so he didn't earn any money. 

We had a great week, mostly just snuggled up together. We watched movies and made lots of hot cocoa. It was super nice. Although we are completely off our schedule and school is going to be rough tomorrow- it's only for one day and then it's the weekend. Next week is going to be the real shock to our systems. 

I love snow days in NWA because the whole town shuts down. No one goes into work and we get to all enjoy being home together. It wasn't quite as nice this time because Chris had to go into the armory, but once he was through with the public affairs stuff, he was home the rest of the week with us. Luckily, his boss is totally okay with them working from home. 

I think we would be okay with one more good snow storm this winter. But then we will be ready for spring. But we would be okay with a few more snow days in the future. 

Happy Snow week!