It's all good . . .

January Fun

January started off with Arthur, Kevin , and I all getting terrible colds.  And I mean terrible - like the worst sore throat I have ever had without it being strep.  Arthur even had a bad fever with it.  Not a great way to star off the year, and it lasted almost two weeks. Just as I was starting to feel better, I got hit even harder, and so Arthur and I had to miss church for the second week in a row.  Luckily we had "Music and the Spoken Word" to listen to while we rested. Thank goodness we got better :).

One of the highlights of January, was when I got to go have the spa day that Kevin gave me for Christmas.  It was a mini-massage, mini-facial, and a pedicure.  It was just what I needed, especially after being sick. 

Something wonderful that has happened this month, is that Arthur rediscovered how much he loves books.  He had been suffering from too much TV while he was sick, and so I had a few days where I cut it out completely.  That was all it took, and he was back to wanting us to read stacks of books to him every day.  And when we aren't reading to him, he has my mom, or his siblings read to him :).

One of my favorite parts of this month was getting the kids back in music lessons again.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Derek started taking guitar, but aside from that, after searching for months, I finally found the kids a new piano teacher.  Ever since we moved, they haven't had any lessons, and yet I was still making them practice songs six days a week to keep up their skills.  Well, their new teacher is fabulous, and I can't tell you what a huge weight off of my shoulders it is to have them with a teacher again.  And they are really loving it.

Another exciting thing that happened this month, was that Derek started Webelos, since he turned ten in December.  He is loving it so far, and he gets to be with his cousin, Luke.  At one of their den meetings, they worked on an art elective and Derek made this cute clay tiger :).

One night, Kevin had the fun opportunity to accept a special Scouting award on behalf of his dad (who was on vacation in Hawaii).  It was the District Award of Merit, and it was very well deserved.  And they even fed us a pretty yummy dinner, and I got the roses that were meant for Kevin's mom, Valerie.  We were sad that they missed it, but were happy they were enjoying their anniversary trip to Hawaii.

Another January event was my sister, Heather's, birthday.  (Which just happens to be Arthur's birthday as well.)  We had already had Arthur's celebration earlier in the day, and so that night, we had cake with Heather.  And no, there weren't the right amount of candles on the cake - I ran out of room ;).

My sister, Cheryl, came to town, along with her daughters, McKayla and Madeline.  It was so fun to have them visit, even if it was for only a day.  My mom, Heather, Holly, and Cheryl and I got to go to the the temple all together in the morning, and it was so awesome to be there with so many of my sisters and my mom.  After the temple, I made a yummy brunch for us to have together.  It was so great, and I really loved getting to catch up with my nieces.

In the middle of everything, Kevin and I still made time to go out on dates.  One night, I was really in the mood for a Japanese steakhouse, but I didn't think we had one in Twin Falls.  And crazily enough, there is one!  It was really yummy too, and who can beat a meal where the chef sets things on fire at your table and tosses food into the air for your husband to catch in his mouth :).

The weather in January has been just as cold and snowy as it was in November and December, and it has made me so grateful that bought me these amazing Merrel hiking shoes for our trip to Germany.  I have been wearing them all winter, and they are perfect for all the ice and snow.  I sure wish I had had them back when we lived in Colorado :).

January has been the month of crocheting for Kevin.  He learned how a couple months ago, but he has improved so much and so quickly.  And so the other day when I mentioned that I needed a bag to hold all my nursery music stuff, the next day he made me the coolest, cutest little bag for them.  Best husband ever!

And lastly, my parent's living room has turned into a full blown music room, with Derek guitar and music stand, and Arthur's new microphone and stand.  The other day I came into the room and stumbled upon this scene - Kevin playing Derek's guitar, and Arthur singing on his microphone - and no, they were not even doing the same song ;).  Life is good, and January was a great month.

Birthday Balloons and Celebrating Arthur

Monday was Arthur's birthday, and it was a great day.  Before he woke up, I got on the computer to do a couple things, and there was this memory from Facebook - our brand new little Arthur, three years ago.  He was so cute and tiny! 

 

He is not so tiny anymore, but he is still adorable.  We wanted to make his birthday special, and so we had some fun little things planned.  Lily and Derek even had the day off of school, which was awesome.  We stared things off with streamers on the door and a special breakfast.  He was so excited!

The thing that Arthur was most excited about (other than getting to blow out the candles on his cake), was getting to have birthday balloons.  I bought them specifically for him to be able to pop them, since that is his very favorite thing.  He was in heaven playing with them, and miraculously, he only popped one of the balloons on his birthday.

After he played with his balloons, we took him for a much needed birthday haircut.  He looked so handsome afterward, and all set to get his pictures taken later that day.  

As a special treat, we took Arthur to get his favorite food - a Chick-fil-A kids meal.  He even got to have his Grandma Valerie and Grandpa Dennis there, which he loved.

He even got to open his present from them at lunch, and it was something he has been begging for for months - a microphone on a microphone stand.  As soon as we got home, we set it up and he went to town.  I think there will be lots of singing in our future :).

Since Arthur is much happier in the afternoon, than he is in the evening, we decided to have his party then.  He got to open his presents, and he was so funny.  He got Star Wars pajamas from Derek, and he turned to him and said, "Star Wars pajamas!  Just what I always wanted!"  He also got a Scaredy Squirrel book from Lily, and a Paw Patrol matt from us.

And from my mom, he got a recorder, which he immediately started playing.  Although, he did take a second to say, "A recorder! Just what I always wanted!"  What a sweet guy!!

Then it was time for his Paw Patrol birthday cake that he asked for.  He wanted it to be red, and so I made it a red velvet cake ;).  It turned out pretty cute, and he just loved it, which was all that mattered to me.

My favorite part of the whole day, was watching Arthur's face as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  He just glowed with happiness.  Oh, how I love this guy!!!

Almost as cute, was watching Arthur try and blow out his candle.  He tried so hard, got a lot of spit on the cake, and needed just a little bit of help from his dad :).

It was a fabulous birthday for my little guy, and I am so grateful for him.  He can be quite a handful at times, but he is also sweet and loving and cute.  Like on Sunday when he asked me to take a picture with him and me.  I sure do love him, and I'm so glad he had a very happy birthday :).

Arthur at Three

Arthur is three, and I know that people get sick of me saying how it is amazing how the time flew, but it is true.  I am not sure if it seems that way because I am older, or because of the gap in ages between him and his siblings, but when Lily and Derek were that age, it did not go by nearly as fast.  But don't worry, even though the time is flying by, we are enjoying (almost) every minute (He is a toddler, after all.)

Arthur is exploding with personality, and the older he gets the more he shows us.  He is inquisitive, persecutive, smart, and says and does things that leave us baffled.  The other day he said to me, "I am outa here.  I am so angry."  Really?  Since when did I have a fifteen year old living in my house?  What a funny guy.  

He also loves to yell, "Mommy needs me!" any time anyone wants him to stop doing something or have him go somewhere else - even if I am the one trying to get him to do whatever it is.  But my favorite is when he pretends to be a lion and I say, "Oh no a lion!"  He looks at me and says, "I'm not a lion, I'm just a little boy.  To which I will respond, "Okay, you are a little boy."  Then he will get exasperated and say, "I'm not a little boy, I'm just Arthur."  I love it!

Arthur is amazingly determined.  He does whatever he puts his mind to, and if he wants something and doesn't have it, he will take other things and make whatever it is - whether it is a microphone stand, a tuba, or a full conductor's stand, complete with a step :).

Arthur has the cutest sense of humor, and when he gets giggling, there is no better sound in the world.  His excitement is contagious.  He loves to run around and be silly.  He loves to laugh and sing songs with his daddy.  I think Arthur's favorite joke, is to run into the living room, sit on Kevin's favorite chair and laugh because he "stole daddy's seat."

Arthur loves to give hugs and kisses, but only when he is in the mood.  He loves butterfly kisses, and after I taught him about them, he decided to create "elephant kisses," "giraffe kisses," "lion kisses," "pufferfish kisses," and so on.  It is so fun and sweet.

Arthur is also very hesitant.  When I was taking his pictures, I wanted him to stand on the dock, and he was very nervous.  He turned to me and said, "Mom, this is too dangerous.  I can't be here."  Even though all I really only wanted him to do was to stand there and smile, he melted my heart with his cautiousness.  You can see in the picture how he hunched over, like he was trying to stay safe.  What a sweetheart!

Arthur loves to sing, play music, conduct music, and pretend to do it all.  Before we moved, I had him all signed up to start violin lessons when he turned three, but sadly, that will have to wait now.  He'll be okay though, as he doesn't mind playing his toy instruments for now.

We sure do love this boy, even when he is in the midst of a tantrum.  He is our sweet little guy.  He is our Arthur :).

Arthur's Favorites:

Food: Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets, fries and lemonade (or as he says it, "levonade")   

Dessert: chocolate

Color: orange - (I think)

Season: summer

Movie: Keep Christmas With You: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Santino Fontana and the Muppets

TV Show: Octonauts, Pj Masks, and Paw Patrol

Video Game: Mario party 9 (He loves to pretend like he is playing with his brother

Thing To Do: play instruments and conduct the orchestra

Place to Be: The park

Place to Visit: Grandma Valerie's house        

Toy: His toy instruments

Picture Book: Scaredy Squirrel, Two Little Trains, LMNO Peas, anything Curious George, and many more

Singer: Santino Fontana

Song: Angels from the Realms of Glory

Thing to Do with Mom: read and be silly

Thing to Do with Dad: read and sing songs 

Thing to Do with Lily: play pretend

Thing to Do with Derek: chase each other around the house

Scripture Story: The story of Lehi and the Liahona in The Book of Mormon

Wants to be when he grows up: a conductor like "Mr. Wilberg" (Mack Wilberg, the conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

Most excited about for this next year: Starting Webelos

Most Looking Forward to in the Future: going to BYU 

 

Derek the Basketball Player

Derek loves playing basketball, and he was so excited to get to start the new season, especially because his cousin, Luke, is on his team.  With the crazy cold weather we have been having, he hasn't been able to go outside to practice and brush up his skills, and so I signed him up for a basketball camp at Twin Falls High School.  It was run by the boys' basketball team, and he had a fantastic time.  He got a t-shirt, a basketball, and even got to perform at halftime at the girls' basketball game.

Derek and Luke started practice with their team, and have already had a game.  And although I almost had to coach Derek's team again this year, I got lucky at the last minute.  I loved coaching him, but I don't know how I would have made time for it this year.

Their game was a little frantic, like most ten year old's basketball games, but it was all good.  They did their best, and they even won their game by two points.

And one of the best parts, is that I not only get to watch the basketball games with Kevin (since I'm not coaching), but I get to watch the games with my sister, Holly.  So much fun!

It should be a really fun basketball season.

Once There Was a Snowman

It has been snowing off and on since November, but most of the time it was too bitter cold to go and play in it.  However, the snow we got yesterday was perfect, and since it was 30 degrees, it was warm enough to enjoy it.

Arthur really wanted to get out in it, and since he didn't want to wait for his siblings, I used it as an excuse to get out and shovel the sidewalks.  While I shoveled, he rolled around, stomped around, and had a blast.  But once I was done shoveling, we were able to have the real fun he wanted - a snowball fight.  It was that perfect snow, that molding into a snowball as you scooped it up, and he loved throwing it at me, and being hit by my snowballs :).

After the snowball fight, we built a snowman.

He loved his snowman, and was so excited when we added the eyes, nose and mouth.

But as I was trying to take his picture with it, he kept saying, "Now he needs to melt!" and tried to push it over.  I barely got a picture before he knocked the snowman to the ground and demolished him.  I guess he took the "Once There Was a Snowman" song literally - oh well.

We finished off our playing by making snow angels, which Arthur loved.  This boy can be so much fun when he wants to be :).  And I love getting to have special times with him like this.  It was a great snow adventure :).

Guitar Playing Boy

Derek has wanted to play the guitar since he could walk.  He used to watch his dad play his guitar, or Guitar Hero, and would turn things into guitars, until I bought him a toy one.  Unfortunately, the toy guitar broke, but that didm't stop his desire to play. As he got older, he fell in love with the music of Keith Urban, and his new goal was to play guitar like Keith.  (Pretty lofty goal, since Keith Urban is an amazing guitarist, but I thought it was awesome.)  

He begged us for a guitar, and we told him that when he turned ten, and would be sort of big enough for a real guitar, we would get him one for his birthday.  So, in December he got his guitar, and in January, he started lessons.  He loves it, even if his fingers get really sore :).

I love watching him practice each day - he is so serious and happy about it.  And every day, he gets a little more comfortable with his instrument and learns how to handle it a little better.

Derek is in heaven, and Arthur thinks it is awesome.  He loves to pull up a chair and play along on his toy guitar.  It's pretty awesome.  I can't wait to see where Derek will be in a few years as he continues to develop this new talent.

The New Year

The week of New Years started out with a late Christmas present, and an awesome surprise.  Rob, Kevin's best friend, came to visit.  He works as a FedEx pilot, and had a 70 hour layover in Boise.  So, with no urging needed, Kevin drove to Boise to pick him up so that he could play with us for the weekend.  

It was awesome, and the only thing that would have made it better, was if his wife, Angela, could have been there.  I really missed her, especially because we played three handed pinochle, instead of getting to have her as my partner.  That, and she is a calming influence on Rob and Kevin's craziness.  They reminded me of the days back before Rob got married, and he was our 3rd wheel :).

Rob even got to go to church with us, and he helped out in the nursery too, which he loved.  And of course, we had to have Arthur perform for Rob and conduct the music.  (Notice that Arthur even made himself some awesome shoes out of Christmas stockings that were sitting out.

We didn't just have Rob visit, but both of my brothers and their families came for the week.  Arthur and Will, Matthew's youngest son, had a really good time playing, but only for one day, because then Arthur got sick and there was no more playing for him for the rest of the week.

Arthur did manage to have a little bit of fun, in spite of being sick.  He really liked the song that Derek was practicing, and so he pulled up a chair and played along.  It was one of the few times he smiled over the week.

My brothers were going skiing and snowboarding, and so Kevin went along and snowboarded for the day.  He had a great day, and his beard full of icicles was pretty crazy.

My brother, Preston was snowboarding with his two youngest kids, while Matthew took his two oldest kids skiing on the bunny hill to help them learn.  They all had a great time.

And Kevin's favorite part of the day was when he got to have a reunion with one of his best friends from high school, Zach Frantz, who he hadn't seen in over eighteen years.  They both happened to be in Idaho, and skiing, the very same weekend.  Pretty amazing, especially since Zach lives in Canada and is always touring with his band.

With Arthur being sick, I missed out on some of the family time, but I still got to see them quite a bit.  I also helped my sister Holly take down her Christmas tree.  My mom helped out by holding Savannah, Holly's little girl, who was also not feeling great.

New Years Eve was a lot of fun.  My sister Cheryl came with all but her two oldest kids, and I loved getting to see them, especially my niece McKayla, who was home on medical leave from her mission.  And Melanie was there too, and I had so much fun getting to talk to the two of them.  I sure do love those girls!

Another one of my awesome nieces, Eden, turned sixteen on New Year's Eve, and so we had a little celebration with her before she headed off to the New Year's Eve dance.  We had cupcakes, and a raspberry cheesecake pie that my mom made for her.  She is such an amazing girl, and I can't wait to see where she will go in life.

Kevin took care of Arthur (he was happily watching football), so that I could hang out with family and play games for a while.  Katie was my Phase Ten Twist partner, and we almost won the game, but Melanie came from behind and won it all.

I left the party at 10pm, and we watched the ball drop with the kids, and then we went to bed.  Boring, I know, but I was exhausted and was starting to come down with Arthur's cold a bit.  

On New Year's Day, Kevin and Derek went over to watch football with Kevin's dad for the annual "Pig-out."  I spent the day with my nieces and sister, Cheryl, which was great.

Derek was especially taken with his cousin, McKayla, because when nobody else would play with him, she came over and played Mario Party with him.  Arthur, who was not feeling well, thought it was wonderful too, because he loves watching Derek play Mario Party :).  They had so much fun, she even came back the next day to play with him again.

On Saturday, Kevin held a crochet class for my brother-in-law, Scott, as well as some of my nieces, and my nephew, Austin.  It was pretty fun to watch him teach them all, and some of them were doing really well.

Later that day, my nephew, Isaac was baptized.  One of the nice things about being near family, is the chance to get to support them in different events - something we have never experienced living so far from home.

After the baptism, Holly had a big dinner for everyone, and the kids finally had a chance to perform their "recital" pieces for my side of the family.  I had had them practicing Christmas pieces for the past few months, and they had performed them on Christmas Eve for Kevin's parents, but had wanted to play them for the rest of the family. It was fun to have a big audience, and they did a great job.

It was the end of a great week with family, and it left us ready to tackle the New Year, and get back in our routines after all the fun.