St George

Over Valentine's day weekend we went to St. George with some friends.  On the way down the boys were really good.  I was so surprised that they were so good.  Towards the end they started to get a little grumpy but most of the way they just played with toys and each other.  We had lots of treats which helped and they each had a backpack full of toys.

We made it down to St. George before our friends so we went to Snow Canyon for a while until we could check into our hotel.
Petrified Dunes Trail

After hiking Link needed a nap so we drove around for a while and I took Jacks to see the temple while Jordan sat in the car with Link asleep. The boys are starting  to recognize and appreciate temples and churches.  When we go for walks or drives they always point out the churches and temples.  Jacks really enjoyed walking around the grounds and going in the visitors center.  I wanted to back when Link was awake but we didn't quite make it.

After Link's nap we headed back to Snow Canyon and hiked Jenny's Canyon.  I'd never done that hike before and I really liked it.  It's only about .5 miles and leads to a fun little slot canyon with cool rock formations. Link thought it was haunted.  He kept saying "Scary ghosts" and pointing.  It was really funny. He was a little scared.  Jacks liked it though.  

"Scary ghosts!"

After Jenny's Canyon we went to our favorite place the sand dunes in Snow Canyon and met up with our friends.  

Making sand angles

We love the sand dunes.  Jacks had so much fun playing with his friends.  After the sand dunes we went out to eat then back to the hotel to swim.  The kids had a lot of fun swimming together.  The pool was freezing so we mostly hung out in the hot tub.  The cold didn't bother Link he kept trying to jump into the deep end of the pool by himself.  That kid seriously has no fear.  It scares me to death!  He's my little dare devil.  

Getting the boys to bed at home is really hard and it's even worse away from home.  They were luckily really warn out from such a long day.  We took them for a ride and they both fell asleep.  Jacks was awesome and slept all night and Link was a nightmare.  He was up all night.  I had to put him in my bed and cuddle him all night and he pretty much woke up every 30-60 minutes all night long.

They were so excited to share a bed.  It was just hard to sleep that excited.  Brother love.

The next day the kids woke up ridiculously early. We got up and went to Pioneer Park.  I went there as a kid and remembered it being really fun so I was so excited.  It was just as awesome as I remembered. The boys had so much fun running around climbing all the rock formations.  Link almost ran off a cliff which freaked me out.  Jordan ran after him and caught him just in time.  We had to watch him really really close.  Jacks and Link are opposites.  Jacks was so scared and wouldn't get anywhere near edges.  Link just ran around and wasn't scared at all.  We went on top of the Dixie rock and Jacks was pretty freaked out.  I think he inherited my fear of heights. Link unfortunately did not.  It was  a lot fun but also kind of stressful because Link has no fear. 

After Pioneer Park the boys went golfing and we headed to the Children's Museum.  Jacks had so much fun with his friend Cameron.  

The Children's Museum was a lot of fun.  After we went to lunch then back to Pioneer Park.  The kids love that place.  There are tons of fun places to climb and play.  

After Pioneer Park Kevin and Kelli went home and we went back to Snow Canyon.  We hiked the Butterfly trail.  I really like Snow Canyon because it's beautiful and it's great for kids.  Most of the hikes are really easy and the kids have lots of fun.  My kids are really good little hikers.  I was really surprised how far they can hike.  The Butterfly trail was kind of fun because there were a lot of great views and you could see the red, white, and black rock it was really pretty. 

My boys love the sand dunes and Jacks begged to stop there one more time before we went home.  We stopped for about 15 minutes then headed home.  It was a fun trip and the boys loved it.  We're going back in March and I can't wait.  

Holiday Season 2014

November

In November we tried to move the boys into the same room.  Before Link was born we bought bunk beds and Jacks has been sleeping in one of them since Link was born.  We bunked the beds and tried to move the boys into the same room.  Link isn't quite ready for a big bed yet.  He got so excited being in a big boy bed with his brother in the room that he couldn't sleep.  He just jumped out of bed and played.  We set the crib back up after 2 days.  Jacks has been having nightmares lately so we were thinking that having Link in his room would help but it just didn't work out.

Sleep over. Trial run before setting up bunk beds

This year  for Thanksgiving we had dinner with both families.  We ate with Jordan's family the day before and my family on Thanksgiving day.  Jordan's aunt and uncle were here for Thanksgiving so it was nice to see them.
Thanksgiving day was fun my grandma was there and we even got to see Heidi and Amy.  Sean was still gone on a rotation so he wasn't there but we got see him the following week.  We had a lot of fun and it was a nice day to reflect on all of our blessings and everything that we are grateful for.  I'm so grateful for Jordan and my two sweet little boys. I'm grateful for both of our families and all of the support they give to us.  We had a really nice Thanksgiving spending time with both of our families.

Link's best buddy Amy

December

December is always a really fun month.  My brother Sean and Jordan's sister both live out state so we don't get to see them very often.  They both came during December so it was really fun to see them and their families.

In the middle of December Link got a really bad ear infection and had to go on Amoxicillin.  He had a horrible allergic reaction to the antibiotic and was covered from head to toe in hives.  The poor kid was miserable.  We gave him benadryl every 4 hours and zyrtec every 12 and he was still covered in hives.  On top of the hives he still had a really bad ear infection and had to switch antibiotics.  The poor kid was just sick and miserable for about 2 weeks.

We bought sleds this year which we only got to use once.  We went sledding in the field behind Jordan's parent's house.  They pulled the sled behind their 4 wheeler.  Link doesn't really like the snow.  He refused to wear gloves then got sad when he got snow on his hands.

Christmas

I worked a ton in December.  I got a job at the Center For Change working PRN so I was trying to work part time at Heritage and train at CFC so it was kind of a nightmare.  It was a really busy month so we honestly didn't get to do that much Christmasy stuff.  With the weather being cold and everything else I felt like we kind of missed out a little bit in December.  Christmas kind sneaked up on us.  Jordan and I gave the boys a Jungle Jump A Roo for Christmas.  The boys were driving Jordan crazy earlier in the month with me working so much so they got it a little early.  They love it!

We had a family home evening with the kids to try and teach them the Christmas story.  Jacks wrapped a towel around his head and acted out being the shepherd and he had a lot of fun.  I think it taught him the general idea.  It's so fun that he is old enough to understand things now.  I love that he kind of understood the story.

Jacks and Link were both really excited for Santa to come this year.  Link didn't really understand who what Santa does but he recognized him and got really excited whenever he saw a Santa.  Jacks finally understood it this year and I could manipulate him by telling him he had to be good because Santa was watching.  It worked like a charm I just wish he'd fall for it all year long.  It was really fun seeing my cute little boys so excited about setting up the tree and other Christmas traditions.

We always spend Christmas Eve with Jordan's family.  We eat a big meal, exchange gifts, and do the pajama parade. The boys had a lot of fun this year.  The older they get the more fun they have at parties.   They had fun exchanging presents with their cousins.

On Christmas day I had to work a half shift 12-6.  It kind of sucked working in the middle of the day but it was okay I still got Christmas morning to open presents and then the night to spend with my family.  The boys had a lot of fun opening presents.  Link just kind of ran around but Jacks really got into it.  Jordan and the boys went to my parents while I was suffering at work then I went to their house after.  It was fun except for the whole working part.

Every year my grandma has a Christmas party with all my extended family. We ate and played bunko.  Jacks loved bunko this year.  He sat on Michael's lap for the whole game and helped him play.  Link ran around like a crazy.  It was a lot of fun Jacks had fun with my cousins kids.  

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New Years

My kids had hand foot mouth on New Years Eve.  It's really contagious and they were kind of miserable so we just spent the night at home as a family.