Halloween and Thanksgiving

I some how missed posting about Halloween this year (oops!) and also Thanksgiving, but here it is a little late...
Halloween this year was so fun! Preston had a grand old time taking candy from strangers, even though he would take a piece then want to give it back to them ;o) It was so cute!
We went to our ward Truck-or-Treat the Friday before Halloween and went to people's cars to trick-or-treat, had a cake walk, face painting and fishing for prizes. Then we went inside the church and had a costume parade for all the little ones and ate some yummy dinner. It was a lot of fun!!
This year Preston dressed up as a puppy dog because he is in Love with doggies and has a little stuffed dog that he carries around with him all the time and sleeps with every night, so I thought that dressing him up like a dog would be fitting! Alexa dressed up as a Princess because she is such a girlie girl and loves all Princesses, but she decided her favorite was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She loved dressing up in a fancy dress, wearing her high heels, getting her hair done up, and I even let her put some make-up on! She loved it!!
Halloween night we had some friends come over to Grandma and Grandpa's house in League City where we all went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, where we went last year. It's a big loop and just the right amount of houses before the kids got too tired. Alexa's friend Maddie Smith, and Kailee Russell (and their families, including little Derek Russell, Preston's little friend) came with us and it turned out to be quite fun going as a big group!

Trick-or-Treating with Kailee and Maddie

Passing out candy after her Trick-or-Treating fun was over

Family Portrait (Lex had already taken off her Belle costume)

Carving her pumpkin (while seeing and hearing very LOUD Jets passing by, practicing for the air show the next day)

At the Pumpkin Patch

Doggie Preston and his doggie

Lex, Maddie, Kailee and Derek

Pres was lovin' the costume parade!!

 

Ready for Trick-or-Treating!

Now for Thanksgiving... this year we went to my parent's house and it turned out to be very nice and relaxing! My brother Marcus is away at BYU (he went to Washington to see my other brother and his wife for Thanksgiving) so it was my parents, Chris and us. Alexa and I helped make some yummy pies the day before and my mom cooked the turkey this year with some citrus fruits instead of stuffing and oh my Goodness! It was sooo yummy!!! I'm not a huge fan of stuffing anyway, so it really was my ideal kind of turkey!!
After dinner we played some games with Chris, while my mom took Lexi and Preston on a walk :o) So we really enjoyed the time with my family this Thanksgiving!!!

Colorado Trip

Now that the election results have died down a bit, on to more important matters... My friend Nicole Webb went through the temple for the first time last Tuesday night and I was able to be there with her!! She lives in Aurora, CO, so yes, I flew out to Colorado to see her! It was so much fun, and a much needed break! I took Preston with me because he was free to fly, and I thought that the Carney's and my sister's family, would enjoy seeing him too! I was able to hang out with my sister and my neice and nephew a lot while I was there so that was fun! Oh and I didn't tell Karena I was coming, so I just decided to show up on her doorstep when I got there, so that was a nice surprise for her! She was pretty excited to see us! We took a 6am flight (definitely not by choice, but lack of options) and got to Colorado about 7:30am,Monday, November 12th, so we had the whole day to visit....and sleep! (I didnt sleep well the night before we left, and had to get up at 2:30am to leave the house by 3am! It was nuts and I was sooo exhausted but I only had to do that once!)

Jason, My brother-in-law was out of town hunting until Wednesday, so Karena and I got to spend some nice time together while he was away for a few days, (not that it wouldn't be nice if Jason was there, but you know what I mean ;o)... We went shopping at Southlands Mall and I went a little crazy on buying stuff, but hey, I justified it as my early birthday presents to myelf! I bought a cute purse, some nice jeans at American Eagle, a cute necklace and earrings at Charming Charlie, and a cute bag that I will use for my sewing stuff! It was nice to get out and not have any kids since Pat's parents took Preston for most of the day, and Alexa was home in Texas with Nana and Grandpa Reynolds.

While I was there Jason wanted to take Karena and I to the shooting range, and at first I told him that I didn't want to go, but then I realized that I needed to do something fun and out of the ordinary, so I agreed... It turned out to be really fun, even though one of my ears became deaf for a few hours afterward (I guess my ear plug wasn't in properly)! Oh and Jason said I had a pretty good shot! At first I kept hitting the spot right above the target, and I got a little frustrated, but then he said that actually that is really good that I kept hitting the same spot over and over even though it wasn't the exact middle target. Then when our time was running out, he told me to just shoot as many times and I wanted one right after the other...so I did, and I felt a little like Jack Bauer (from '24'). It was pretty cool I will say!!

I flew standby both ways, thanks to Nicole's mom who works for Frontier and let me use a Buddy Pass, and the way to Colorado was no problem getting on...however, coming home was a different story! I was supposed to go Friday at 3pm and everything was looking pretty promising, but just as they were about to give me a pass to get on, 2 passengers came running up and apparently took the last seats, and there were no more flights to Houston until the next day, Saturday. There were 2 flights Saturday, one at noon and one at 4:30pm. So the first time I missed the flight on Friday, I called my father-in-law to come pick me up and I spent one last night in Colorado, (and I also went back to the temple with Nicole for her second time around, which was a neat experience!) Then Saturday I went to try to make the noon flight and got there in what I thought was plenty of time, 1.5 hours, but it was totally packed!! I guess the start of the holiday season... so I was a little more crunched for time than I had planned and security took forever, and they had to completely empty my backpack/diaper bag, because of some liquid they saw on the screen... come to find out it was my travel sized contact solution at the very bottom of my bag, which security didn't catch the day before OR on my way to Colorado which is a little weird, but anyway, then they had to rescreen my bag and I had to restuff my 'Mary Poppins' bag and get Preston back in his seat and ran all the way to the very bottom floor of the very end of the airport to my gate (A62). It was now about 11:50am so there were 10 mintues before the scheduled departure, and just as I reach the gate to talk to the gate agent another guy came running up asking about the flight to Houston, and the lady said, "oh... they changed the gate to A26... if you want to make it I suggest you hurry up".... I was already out of breath from going to whole length of the Denver airport with all my stuff and Preston, and I just about lost it when she said this... A26 is literally on the OPPOSITE side of the airport as I was... I was so mad, but I really wanted to go home so I just booked it as fast as I could to the other end of the airport, and yes, I got shin splints from walking/running so fast for so long with all my stuff (yeah...laugh it up!). So I get to the new gate, and people are walking off the plane, and I was so confused! Then I was trying to get out my boarding pass to ask the gate agent if this was the right gate and I couldn't find my boarding pass anywhere, so I was even more flustered, then I asked the guy in front of me if he was waiting for the Houston fight, and he said yes, this is the right gate but they are just letting people off the plane so it will be delayed... I wish the lady at A62 would have told me that!! Then after all that, I really didn't need my boarding pass since I was standby, which I was grateful for, and there were 2 standby seats open, but 5 other standbys. I was really hoping one of the other standbys would let me go on since I looked extremely flustered and had a child with me, but they went on ahead.  It turned out okay, but I just really didn't want to wait 4 hours for the next flight, with Preston and all my stuff in the airport. Well I was a little nervous for this flight no. 3 but we did make it! I was so glad to just go home! Preston and I were at the airport for nearly 7 hours! UGH! But I survived! All my thanks goes to the greatest invention EVER... my BRICA Carseat transporter (turns your carseat into a stroller/rolling suitcase). Pat picked us up from the airport and brought me flowers which was so sweet! He also let me catch up on sleep the next day and brought me lunch in bed! I slept until about 4pm! Oh and the whole week I was in Colorado I lost my voice, due to laryngitis! So all of this airport business and being sick, really took it out of me, but my wonderful husband took good care of me!

Aunt Karena, Tristan and Preston (he fell in love with Aunt Karena while we were there! He kept wanting her to hold him! :o) So cute

Matching Superman pajamas!!

 

 Superman Preston snuck back to the table for some left over grapes- which he LOVES!!

Little Pat and Little Jason... spitting images of the two??

Watching "Baby Signing Time"

End of The United States of America as we know it

The end is nigh... Obama won the 2012 Election... Heaven can only help us now :o(

Election 2012

Tonight is one of the most important Presidential elections there has been in decades! Barack Obama VS Mitt Romney! I am sitting here on my computer refreshing an election results web page (Foxnews.com) nearly every minute, for over an hour now, to see the details and it is KILLING me!! AHH!! It is so incredibly close, at this point EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS! Mitt Romney was ahead by 30 electoral votes at 8pm Central time, then Obama caught up with him and it has been neck and neck for the past hour or more! Romney gets ahead, then Obama quickly catches up. I can't even do anything productive while waiting for the results! I try, then I am quickly drawn back to my computer for an update. I personally voted for Mitt Romney because I think that he a great man in general, a great role model for our country and will preserve the Constitution to its fullest degree. His plan to create more jobs like opening up the oil in the U.S. and his plan to not raise taxes on the middle class is something that is very important to me.
I know not everyone will agree with me, but I'd much rather Mitt Romney represent The United States of America than anyone else! I haven't agreed with a lot of what President Obama has been doing the past four years, and I really just want him out of the White House. Pat will be in the market for a new job/career in the next year (since he will be finishing his degree next year- FINALLY) and it is really important that he is able to find a good job that he is qualified for and pays decently. The way the economy is going right now, it doesn't look so good. So many people are out of a job, getting government assistance, and not even trying to look for a job anymore because of the frustration they have had over the past 3 years or so. My father-in-law has been out of a full-time since 2009... he is one of those effected by this horrible economy. I definitely am not an expert on the economy or how the government is run, but I really hope that we can get a new president in the White House so he can turn this country around in a positive direction! I will post who wins as SOON as I know!! GOOD LUCK MITT ROMNEY!!

15 months

My baby boy is now 15 months old! It has gone by way too fast! I took him to the doctor a few days ago for a check up and he is a growing boy for sure! 28 lbs (90%) 33" (95%) and head is in the 95% too! He is just an overall big boy! He is also starting to show some "boy" like characteristics like climbing on EVERYTHING!! I will turn my back for a second, maybe two, then the next thing I know Preston is either standing or sitting on top of the table and so proud of himself for doing so! I will pull him off and he just goes right back to climbing on the chair of whatever else he can climb on. Luckily, he hasnt stared jumping off anything yet, which I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time...

Here is our handsome little boy flexing his muscles!! :o)

Kisses

So Preston now loves to give kisses! It is adorable! If you say, "give me a kiss" he will lean in to you and kiss you on the lips! Oh I love it! Sometimes he can get a little carried away though and give you a million kisses until you put him down, or he will start to make out with you ;o) He likes giving open mouth kisses sometimes.... It is pretty cute and funny! Oh and he also will come up to me and Pat, (and his sister and Nana) and just lay his head on our lap or shoulder, and gives us hugs. I love it! He is such a sweet, sweet boy! Oh I wish he could stay like this forever!!!

Sweet boy kisses
 

Making silly faces with Daddy

Preschool

I havent been very good with keeping up my blog but maybe one day I'll get caught up...?
Anyway, Alexa started preschool (Pre-k4) at her new school, Wedgewood Elementary. This school is a lot closer to us than the school she went to last year. We had to drive about 20 minutes each way, twice a day...oh it was awful! This time the school is only about a 5 minute drive there and back, and she takes the bus home so that is also nice! She loves preschool and has made quite a few friends already. They all bonded because they all like princesses, and they play "princess" outside on the playground every day she tells me. Oh and she said she HAS to wear a dress to play princess, so for the past 3 weeks it's been nothing but dresses (except for the first day, when she wore a skirt!) She has TONS of shirts, shorts and skirts but no, it Has to be a dress!

Here is a picture of her on the first day of Pre-k4

Family Reunion

This post is about a month late, but better late than never, right?
We had a family reunion last month (July) at my parents house and had a blast! My sister, brother-in-law, neice and nephew came from Colorado, and my brother and sister-in-law came from Washington. We had been planning this for a few years so it was so nice to see everyone! We hadn't seen my brother Matt and his wife Andrea in about 3 years! They also met Preston for the first time. Oh and we also had a french exchange student, Nicholas, join us in our reunion who was here visiting Texas for 3 weeks. It was a good thing Matt went on a 2 year mission to France a few years and was able to translate a few things Nicholas had a hard time communicating to us. But overall, Nicholas spoke pretty good English! We played card games like every night, OR Kinect, (which Jason my brother-in-law brought with him) :o) We went to Space Center Houston, which was our first time going there even though we've lived here for about a year and a half! We saw a cool diving show with some professional divers from All American Dive Team. We went to the beach, which was also our first time going since we've lived here (we are usually pretty lame until guests come into town ;o) We went swimming in my parents backyard, had a Hawaiian Luau and the women put on a hulu dance for the men, got some professional pictures taken of the whole group, went to see Marcus get his Eagle Scout award, and celebrated Preston's first birthday by going to Chuck E. Cheese and having presents and cake at home! Alexa and Amberly played with each other night and day (seriously), Tristan (2 yrs old) had a weird love/fetish with Preston since he was really the first little boy he's seen his size... he would get this crazy look on his face and grab Preston's skin and say in a weird voice "little booooyyy"...it was sooo funny!!!! Preston didn't think it was so funny but oh my goodness, I thought it was hilarious! We had such a good time and it felt like the week went by way too quickly! I hope we can do it again Very soon!! Here are some pictures...

Tristan getting that "crazy" look in his eye because he sees Preston and wants to squeeze him...

 My brother Matt and beautiful wife, Andrea at our Luau

 Karena, Tristan, Matt and Preston dancing with Chuck E. Cheese

 Marcus getting his Eagle Scout Award

 Tristan and Preston at Chuck E Cheese (again with the "crazy" lol)

 Preston's 1st birthday party and cake

Catch Up

I know it has been quite awhile since I last posted- there have been a lot of things going on in our lives so I haven't had the time to sit down and blog about it all :o) First off Alexa finished her preschool (Pre-K 3) on June 1st! She loved going to preschool but is also enjoying her summer break and counting down until her Pre-k 4 starts at a new school, which is a LOT closer to us (THANK GOODNESS!) Her new school is about a 5 minute drive versus her last school which was about 20 min. drive (give or take a little) each way! Alexa also turned 4 on July 2nd! She had her party the Saturday before and made it Hello Kitty themed. Each friend had their own Hello Kitty coloring book to color in when everyone was arriving, then we played "Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty", then they all "went fishing for hair bows" from the top of my parents stair case. Kids always enjoy throwing things down the banister so this was quite fun for them! I also made a Hello Kitty cake which turned out pretty good considering it was my first cake ever that wasn't in a pan! We wanted it to be a swim party but it was super stormy and raining the whole day, except for a couple hours during the party but her friends didnt plan on nice weather so didnt bring swimsuits. Lexi, Preston and I went swimming anyway after everyone left. Then on Monday (her actual birthday) we went to Chuck E. Cheeses with my family, which she loved!

Preston also had his very FIRST birthday on July 12th. This past year has Seriously gone WAY too fast! Where has the time gone? He is such a big boy now! He walks, runs (more of a fast toddle) loves to eat most anything we give him, none of that "baby food!" but he especially loves bananas, and Angel Hair Pasta (Pasta Roni)! He has 2 top teeth starting to poke through and does this funny chortle when he knows he's not supposed to be doing something and I catch him! LOL it is pretty funny! We waited to have his party until our family reunion so everyone could be there for it. Here are some pictures...oh and he actually ate his cake and Loved it!!! He ate everything and was licking his hand and high chair for more! :o)

Krystal and Eric Palmer

Saturday May 19th was Krystal's (my sister-in-law) wedding ceremony with her husband Eric Palmer. We flew to Colorado a few days before, which was quite an adventure itself: circling around the Denver airport waiting for the lightening strikes to subside for about 20 minutes, then be diverted to Albuquerque, NM because we were running out of gas, then within a few hundred feet of landing, we had to abort the landing because the runway wasn't clear and another airplane was landing from the opposite side of the runway, we finally landed then had to wait at the Albuquerque airport for another 30 minutes or so, then we finally flew back to DIA, which was a ROUGH landing and people were getting sick all over the place (including me). Anyway, the trip was only supposed to take about 2 1/2 hours but ended up being over 5 1/2 hrs- but at least we made it safely to Colorado!
Krystal got married to Eric Palmer (my new breother-in-law) in Morrison, CO in the mountains on Saturday. It was very pretty up there!! We were a little worried about the weather, however, the day before was a gorgeous day so we had hope... but alas, the next day was horribly cold and rainy and overcast :o( then of course Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day as well. But I guess in the Buddhist tradition, if it rains on your wedding day, it means good luck :o)
Alexa was the flower girl, and Pat was a groomsmen. The wedding went well and so did the reception that followed immediately after. After the festivities were all over we got to ride in a H2 limo back to our hotel, which was pretty awesome!! And Lexi thought it was the coolest thing ever!
Also, while we were in Colorado, Karena, Pat, and I (and the kids) went to IKEA, which was my first trip ever and boy- it was an adventure!! There was a kids play land where we could drop off Alexa and Amberly while we shopped which was nice!! (They loved it too) We also ate at the cafe which had these super yummy Swedish meatballs!
We loved our visit to Colorado and cant wait to go back! Hopefully Pat will finish his degree soon so we can look for jobs for him in CO which we would all love!!!

Ramblings to myself...

Im having a little dilemma with myself because since graduation last July, I have wanted to be able to use my degree in a professional setting (I use it everyday with my own children) and be able to get paid accordingly. I would really like to become an assistant Director or possibly even Director of a childcare facility (or preschool), but it would most likely be full-time work. I love to be around children, but actually taking care of other people's children all day then coming home to my own children, I just dont think I would be as patient and understanding with my own children. Being an Assistant Director, I learned during my internship last winter, does some care of the children, but also over sees everything and everyone in the facility, which I think I would do well. Having 2 young children, not yet in full-time school, I have to take care of them as my first priority. I want to work using my degree, but I feel that I would sacrifice some of my children's quality time with me and watching them grow, to help others people's children... so does that really make sense for me to find a full-time (or even part-time) job in a child care setting? I'm also a little frustrated right now about where I work currently, which is Target. I started out as seasonal, but then was asked to stay on. I like being able to get out of the house for 15 hours a week, doing something pretty mindless, but the thing I am really peeved about is that I am getting paid the SAME AMOUNT as this guy that I work with who has NEVER had a job before, and just barely graduated high school, which is BARELY over MINIMUM WAGE!!! It's not like my job is hard, but then when people look at me or talk to me like I'm stupid and have no education, or have no brains because I work as a cashier at Target REALLY gets on my nerves! Is it wrong to feel entitled to get paid more because I have a freaking bacehlor's degree? And yes I am choosing to work there, I just wish my hard work would be acknowledged just a little!!

2.5 weeks until our 5 Year Anniversary!! Crazy

As Pat and my 5 year wedding anniversary quickly approaches, I can appreciate that this is a pretty big milestone in our lives. In a class in college, I learned that statistics have shown that around the 5 year mark of marriage, there is a large increase in divorces. This is when the "honeymoon phase" is over, and "real life" has begun. I have already seen this happening around me. Nevertheless, I am very happy with my little family and where I am right now in my life. I look back at the past 5 years and it was a rough, and I mean a ROUGH start, as everyone around me seemed to glide effortlessly through their first few years of marriage, there were MANY times when I really thought we wouldn’t make it through. But through all the MANY trials that we have experienced the past 5 years I think they have brought us closer together. I am so happy that I can continue my life with Pat and our 2 beautiful children and I hope we can be together for many more years to come!

8 month old boy

Happy 8 months to our little Preston Boy!!!

Grandpa

I thought I'd make a post about my grandpa (dad's dad) who recently passed away at the beginning of February. I wasnt able to go to the funeral because of limited funds and also work, but my mom and dad went, as well as my sister and her family who drove to Utah from Colorado. My grandpa was 94 years old and was a great-great grandpa to some of his children's children's children's children, which is crazy to think about. He was a very gentle and loving man. He loved kids too! He would always talk about how cute Preston and Alexa were when we came to visit, and even after we left he would tell my grandma some of the cute things they did while we were there. Actually he only met Preston once but I'm glad he did at all! I know he's in a better place now but it's still hard to know that it will be a long time until we meet again. Here's a photo of when he and Preston met back in August 2011. We love you grandpa!! R.I.P

Happy Birthday!!

Pat had his birthday this last Tuesday and even though he had to work, it was still a fun day! We met up for lunch at Chipotle, then later that day Lexi, Preston and I went to his work with a bouquet of balloons and some cupcakes to share with his friends at work! Then we spent the rest of the day with just hanging out, and going shopping. We are having his birthday party with my family this Sunday, which should also be fun!! Happy Birthday Patty Cakes!!! :o)

6 MONTHS!!

Preston boy is now a 6 month old baby!! Half way to his first birthday! Wa-hoo! Crazy how times flies! He now weights 20 lbs 6 oz, is 28" tall and has a really big noggin!! lol Height and weight is in the 91st and 93rd percentile, and his head circumference is in the 97th percentile! A big head for a big brain! :o) He is lightning fast at rolling over, likes to grunt and growl, and likes to munch on Cheerios and bananas. He also really likes sweet potatoes! He will pretty much eat any baby food I give him but those are some of his favorites! He is babbling the B sound and likes to show us his lung power by yellin out loud especially when he is bored or hungry! ;o) We love him more and more everyday!!!

Preston with Grandma Nana