The beautiful Miss Alison got married to the beautiful Bret Hunting!
Alison has felt like another sister in our family and I guess she feels the same way because she asked if our daughters would like to be her flower girls!
Oh! If they weren't so adorable!!
We couldn't be happier for her!!! She looked absolutely stunning and it was an honor to be invited to the ceremony. She had a packed house! The reception that night was full of yummy Mexican food, cut loose dancing and a dessert bar to top all dessert bars! We partied hard!
Tanner was just interested in the salsa. Not so much the chips. The chip was the spoon.
Desperate to find activities for my busy guy, I signed us up for a mommy & me rec class, once a week for six weeks. He dug it the first three times, then he was over it. I tried.
I hosted our annual Lip Sync Battle at our house and made it a big, family Valentine's party!
Brinner was on the menu with pink waffles and buttermilk syrup, topped off with lava cakes for dessert! Whatever the opposite of the Keto diet is, we were on it!
We drew numbers to see the order and Shelley and Casey started off the night with "Stayin' Alive"! Complete with disco lights and a heart resuscitation! Too funny!
We decided to make ours a family skit and did a compilation of songs from N'Sync, Britany Spears, Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilara, coming out individually to dance to our respective songs. I hadn't practiced in my wig, though, and when I tried to do what I had choreographed, it kept falling off, so that was a bummer! Didn't work out quite like I had hoped, but I think the kids had a lot of fun!
David and Abbey NAILED the Christmas dance from Mean Girls. I was ROLLING!!! I love how David is all in when it comes to these things. I thought they had won it for sure!
But then.
But then came Tight Pants.
My dad entered the stage with a feminine swagger, white pants and wig and we.all.lost.it.
I almost couldn't breathe for laughing so hard!!
We kept looking at each other like, "Is this really happening???! Is this really our father?!!"
I don't know if I will ever love anything more than those 4 1/2 minutes of my life.
All three of them brought their A-game and it was lip sync MAGIC.
Bravo to my mom for coming up with the idea, buying the outfits and persevering with making Craig and Dad practice and go through with it!!
No doubt about it, they stole the show and won the contest!! Heck, I think they effectively won the next 5 contests!!
Marcie and Austin did a cute number from the Brady Bunch! I don't know the title but it's the one that goes, "You gotta keep on, keep on, keep on dancin' all through the night!"
Look at those awesome gogo boots!
And check out Austin's moves!! This is the most animation we see out of him all year so it's always so fun watching him go for it!!
Westy Besty turned the big 8!!!
I love this kid so much. He is such a blessing in my life and in our family dynamics. Sometimes I feel bad that he plays seconds to Collin in everything though. I swear up in heaven, if he was meant to come down first, Collin talked him into letting him go first instead. In so many ways I have mom guilt over him being the forgotten, middle child. He does not demand attention, so he floats around, playing second fiddle to Collin, who is the loudest, Olive who is the only girl and Tanner who is the baby. I hope he knows how much I appreciate his easy going ways.
-Since he could talk, he has always been so thoughtful of Collin and loved to share everything he had with him. If he got a treat in Primary, he would save it with glee because he had something he could share with Collin. NEVER thought to just keep it for himself. Well, after years of that behavior not being reciprocated to him and being manipulated and dominated by his older brother, I don't see him doing that much anymore. Sort of breaks my heart. Weston was just meant for a sweeter world.
-He is still a big, ol' snuggler. If I'm near him on the couch, it's not long before he's cozied up on top of me. And when he's hugging me or snuggling in, his eyes close and his face gets all happy like a puppy getting a belly rub.
-Speaking of puppies, he is still an avid animal lover. He has asked me, "How much school do you have to go to, to be a pet shop worker?"
"Well, do you mean to be a veterinarian and a doctor for animals?" I ask.
"No, just to work at a pet shop."
"Oh. None," I reply. "Anyone can do that."
He beams.
-Weston is simple minded and I mean that in the best way. He just takes things for what they are. He doesn't over analyze or stress about things. Happy-go-lucky is a good adjective for him. Or out to lunch!
-He is a TALKER.
You wouldn't know it if Collin is around, because Collin over talks him, but if Collin is gone, Weston will talk up a STORM! And ask a million questions. He'll also talk to anyone, anywhere. I watched in Primary once as he tried to chat up his 70 year old, male substitute teacher all through singing and sharing time. He talked a lady in our ward's ear off at the park once. Had to have been 45 minutes. Didn't know her at all. But she had her puppy with her and I think that was his intro. I was in a conversation of my own or else I would have gone over and rescued her, but bless her heart she was so sweet to him. I think it's his Great Grandpa Jess's genes. If you'll listen to him. He'll talk to you.
-He's getting better about the crying, but if he needs to tell me about something that happened that triggered even the smallest ounce of emotion, his face will crumble and his voice will crack and he'll cry while telling me.
-He is GASSY. How is one small child so gassy!!
-Once at dinner, I had made chicken marsala and he hates mushrooms, but knew he had to finish his dinner to get snacks the next day. All of a sudden I realized, that with zero complaining, he was literally gagging down his mushrooms while almost throwing up. Like, he'd start to swallow, but then dry heave and make like he was going to puke, but reign it in and keep trying to swallow! And did it all with no noise or commotion. I couldn't believe it. What a champ. I have not made him eat mushrooms since. He really likes soft tacos. Candy is his true love. Not really dessert. He'll barely touch ice cream, cookies or cake, but give him candy and that stuff will be gone.
-He is not the tidiest of humans. Ask me how many lectures I've given him about stuffing garbage down the side of his seat in the car!
-He likes comfy clothes and doesn't consider color matching or fashion in any way, shape or form.
-He's taken on this funny laugh lately. Almost a villain sort of laugh in a non-villain way. Like, "mwahaha" but with no malice.
-He is a computer game ADDICT. As in, could play video games for 10 hours straight, no breaks and I'm not joking.
-School is not really his jam. And homework is definitely not.
-Because of his laissez faire attitude, we've mistakenly thought he wasn't sharp, but he's so smart! He picks up on things and surprises us with his knowledge sometimes!
-Weston is friends with everyone and seems to be a social butterfly. His best friend is Benson, but he gets along with whoever happens to be next to him on the playground!
He is such a special boy and I will always thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with him.
I picked him up from school for our birthday date and he chose Red Robin!
Poor guy had to go his music lessons on his birthday, but Grandma stopped by with a present and a hug while we were waiting through Olive's lesson! It was a cold and windy day, so they were all bundled up at the park!
Awww, thanks for the dying rubber chicken, mom! Haha!
He requested Velvetta shells and cheese for dinner and mangos. Don't get between this guy and a mango!!
He has been so excited to get his animal costume/pajamas from Grandpa for his birthday, but by the time it was Weston's turn, all Grandpa had left was the pink striped zebra! What did I tell you about him always getting the middle child treatment?! But he didn't even mind, he just shrugged his shoulders and happily put it on.
We gave him a laser tag set, his own hydroflask waterbottle anddddd the promise of a sandbox!! He lived in our sandbox at our old house so I think this house needs one too.
Uncle Christopher and Jael sent him $8! So thoughtful! The rest of the festivities came near the end of the month for his baptism!
Sure. Rub that applesauce in your hair.
Olivia's birthday party!
The Cactus fields grand reopening gave us a fun firework show one, beautiful evening.
Travis got to go with David, David's brother in law, Max, my dad and Craig up to Telluride for David's birthday, snowboarding trip! I was so glad he got to go! He loves snowboarding and never gets to do anything fun for himself. He took off Thursday and Friday from work and they made a long weekend out of it!
Our last two bathers in the family!
President Nelson came to Arizona to speak at a fireside on a Sunday night and each ward was only given only a few tickets. And the youth were given first priority. So, of course, our ward didn't have any tickets left over. But I wasn't deterred! This was the first time I can ever remember a prophet coming to Arizona and I wanted my kids to know that was important enough to make whatever sacrifice to go. Even if we had to camp out for hours in the stand-by line. They broadcast the meeting to stake centers, but that just isn't the same. Watching in a stake center is no different than watching him in conference. Totally forgettable. I knew that making the effort to see him in person would be something they would remember! I packed a cooler and games and blankets, and found someone to watch Tanner so we could drive to Glendale (an hour away), several hours early. Well, right before we left, we found tickets!! Reddin and Karen's ward had just enough extras for us. Hoorayyyy!!!! I was so grateful!
I have to document this. We played a round of "Heads Up" in the car while we waited in the parking lot for a bit and Aubrey was trying to guess what picture was on her card. She had narrowed it down and was asking questions like, "Am I a hammer? A screwdriver?" And Olive, in an attempt to be helpful said really derisively, "Nope. But you're a tool." Having no idea that the way she said it was just like an insult! We all DIED laughing!! Maybe you had to be there, but it was seriously so funny.
Reddin and Karen's ward to a little cookout before the fireside that we joined.
And guess who we ended up next to at the entrance, among thousands of people?! Oh, just the Christensens! Our old next door neighbors!
The fireside was WONDERFUL!!! There was such anticipation in the air as Pres. Nelson entered the stadium and walked up the platform to his seat. I had tears in my eyes and will never forget that moment, getting to be there with my family. We got to hear Pres. and Sis. Oaks speak as well, but Sis. Nelson's talk was really the star. It was so interesting to hear her talk about their life as a married couple and what it is like for the prophet to receive Heavenly counsel at night. He will go into the closet to take notes or sometimes she is asked to leave. It's incredible to hear intimate details like that and know he is truly speaking with the Lord, receiving direction for the church.
Olive still gets invited to friend's parties from our old ward and she loves seeing her old group! This was Layla's 5th birthday party!
Been doing lots of story time at the library and it's so cute watching him catch onto the routine and songs and actually sit and listen while the books are read! He's at the cutest age and I love watching him learn and grow! We usually head over to the pond to feed the ducks and this time we saw a dog/wolf too, haha! The owner was all about having the kids go up and pet him, but Tanner only loved him until he got close. I would be scared of an animal taller than me too!
UGHHHHHHH.
This day.
Well, I wrote all about this horrible ordeal, then it got deleted when I tried to publish this post, so I'm not going to go into details again. Sufficeth to say, I got the dreaded call from the school nurse that Olive had lice. There had been something of an epidemic in her classroom lately. I heard about a place called a lice clinic that will kill all the lice and eggs for you, guaranteed, in one sitting. What I was NOT expecting was for them to want to check MY head too. And yep, I had gotten it from Olive. I cannot even describe to you what being told that, felt like. So dehumanizing. And while they started to treat my hair, I also had to try and manage a very busy and fussy Tanner. Thank the heavens Tanner didn't have it!!
After being there a couple of hours, we got home right before Collin was supposed to leave for his 4th grade music concert. My mom had come over to watch the boys for me and she offered to take him. BLESS HER. I could not have done it. I felt dead inside. So instead, I started the massive task of washing every sheet, blanket and towel in the house. Vacuuming and cleaning every surface.
Travis had to go straight from work to a mutual activity that was starting early because they were doing a service project. So he wasn't around to help with any of it. My mom definitely saved the day and I was soooo grateful.
Did I mention the next day was Valentine's Day? (Oh, and I was hosting Weston's baptism luncheon at our house in 2 days!) The lice clinic was able to open a little early and check the boys for lice before school. I was shocked when they came through clean!!! I was so worried! I swear it was the only thing that kept me from completely losing my mind. I took them all to school late, then went home to try and salvage something of Valentine's Day. The dark cloud of lice PTSD definitely loomed and I was feeling anything but lovey, happy feelings. My plans of baking sugar cookies all day and delivering them went out the window in favor of laundry and de-lousing the house. I had to joke with my sisters as we all shared over Marco Polo, what we were doing on Valentine's Day. Abbey and David, of course, had a romantic dinner. I told her to enjoy it, because once kids enter the picture, you might be sharing your day with lice instead of chocolate dipped strawberries. In REAL LIFE, amiright?!
I have no idea why I don't have a picture of Olive's card!
Earlier that week I had tried to have the kids write what they loved about the different members of our family, on hearts to put up around the kitchen, and this is what Olive wrote. She's absolutely right... her daddy is soooo good to her mommy.
A day or two later, I saw my friend post on Instagram, kissy pictures like this of her toddler. My grinchy, vermin infested heart, melted. I decided I COULD try and bring some happy into my terrible Valentine's Day, even if the day had passed. So I slathered on some lipstick, kissed all over Mr. Tanner and had so much fun taking pictures of him! He was loving it and we did lots of snuggling and laughing as I felt my spirits rise considerably.
Abbey and David's gender reveal party!!
It's a BOY!!!
The night before Weston's baptism, there was a knock at the door as a box full of warm, delicious cookies was delivered! Marcie was sending some sugar healing my way and I SO appreciated it! Her card was cracking me up! The delivery girl wasn't so sure though, haha! Guess she had never seen the movie, Dumb and Dumber! If was absolutely a week of feeling like our pets heads were falling off!
Baptism Day!!
I was up most of the night cleaning and getting the house ready for his luncheon and
I had the picture from his invite printed big and framed, sitting on the island. When it was late and the whole house was asleep, I was starting to turn off the lights when I found myself just staring at this picture. Mesmerized by his shining face. And somehow this sweet, innocent, 8 year old boy transformed for me, into a sweet, mature, 18 year old man, smiling at the camera, ready to leave on his mission. My heart caught in my throat a little as I could perfectly imagine him at this next stage of life. Just look at the pureness in his eyes. The excitement. A mission suddenly felt right around the corner and my mama heart ached. The days are long, but the years are fast. Stay little, my Weston. I'm not ready for that yet! I am so proud of him and who he is becoming. He is surely a valiant spirit with mighty potential. What an honor it is to be his mother.
It was a stake baptism which was new territory for us. I thought it was at our ward building, so we went there first before we realized it was at a different building! Our stake is so scattered over so many buildings, it's so confusing. Luckily, we got there with plenty of time. There were 11 kids getting baptized and the place turned into a zoo. The entire chapel was completely packed. They did the program first which took almost an hour and then they put on videos for everyone to watch while we waited for our ward's turn. We were the second to last ward to be called out. So we waited in the chapel another 30+ minutes. Travis and Weston got to sit together on the front row of the chapel with all the other dads and kids being baptized and I was off to the side with the rest of the kids and our families. Tanner was all over the place and got a bloody nose! It wouldn't stop! Why?! There were 5 kids from our ward getting baptized and I was shocked when they had us all go together into the Relief Society room! We were all crammed around strangers and scattered throughout the room with many having to stand. It was not the way I pictured things going, but Weston didn't seem to mind. In fact, I imagine it just made things more exciting for him. He is a people person, after all, and there sure were a lot of people to celebrate with him! Almost all of our families came plus his primary teachers, Brandon and Camilla Porter, his best friend Benson Hodges and his mom and Rubi Warner and her dad. There was a LOT of love for Weston going on!
We had a luncheon at our house right afterward with Ned's Crazy Sub, chips, salad, fruit and Mexican sodas in glass bottles which always feels so fancy. I made chocolate chip cookies and mint brownies for dessert! Yum!
Some of the guests!
Snuggled up in his baptism blanket that Grandma crocheted for him!
We've had the craziest winter! So much cold weather and rain! Then, this storm blew in and it SNOWED in various places around the valley! And not just a dusting, but inches of snow! Driving around for a few days with snow capped Superstition mountains was the trippiest feeling! Like we were in Utah instead of Arizona. So strange!
Oh my gosh, this meme had me laughing for DAYSSSSS!!!
Olive had her first dance competition at the Higley Arts Center and Grandma Cat came to watch her! It was so interesting watching how one of these events goes down. This "dance world" is no joke. Girls had huge, rolling suitcases with pop-up garment hangers for all their outfits. Some even had portable dressers with mirrors and lights for their hair and makeup! One studio drove from Colorado! I couldn't believe the time, money and effort that this required. And Olive was only in two dances! We had to be there two hours early and then wait for the awards ceremony after the other dancers in their block went. She loved it though and it really was fun to watch her do her thing on that stage!
Dad and the boys were at Secily's baptism, so we met them at the Neus's house afterward for the luncheon. Then we went straight to Wayne and Paula's house to put Tanner down for a nap so we could drive out to Chandler for a Mud Run!! Aunt Aubrey, Uncle Reddin and Kayda came too!
The kids were CHAMPS. It normally wouldn't have been so cold or wet, but the crazy storm made it so all the mud pits were huge and the water was freezing! When us adults got in, the water only reached to our stomachs, but the kids were swimming through it like puppy dogs! Weston was miserable and a popsicle, but in true Weston fashion, he laughed through it all made the best of it.
We sprayed off before going back to the car, so you don't get to see the real damage done but we were all covered in mud.
Sleeping pictures just steal my heart!
All ready for practice! He couldn't understand why we were giggling. I guess there were no other clean, long sleeved t-shirts. Who says you can't be fancy at baseball?!
Blue and Gold Banquet... Fiesta style!
This was Weston's first pack meeting as a cub scout and he was thrilled! It was cute to see the boys together in their uniforms.
Tanner was enjoying his spoonfuls of salsa again.
I don't think there is more palpable excitement for a kid than a pinata ready to pop!
