New Neighbors

I consider myself and my boys pretty lucky to have experienced so many unique things since moving to Idaho.  One of them has been the exposure to farm life(did I really just type that).  Things you don't get to witness everyday.

Our backyard neighbor got a shipment of baby chicks just a few days prior to inviting us over to hold them.  Who would have known you can get baby chicks sent to you  in the mail? I was weirded out by this concept until I learned that when chicks hatch they have enough food reserves left from the egg that they can go several days without food or drink.  .

When we picked the chicks up they would chirp like crazy.  But the minute you brought another chick close by they both went silent.  It was pretty cute.

I was positive we would be preparing a funeral service shortly after Jace held any of them, but all was well.  They all made it out alive!

Camden was a little nervous about holding them but was an incredible helper when it came to feeding time.

After feeding the babies we got to collect eggs from the big chickens.  Unfortunately we accidentally let them out of the chicken run and had to chase them all back in.  Holding big chickens is a little more nerve wracking than the little ones!

Hockey Game

Dan's work has season tickets to the Steelhead's hockey games.  We have been the lucky recipient of those tickets on several different occasions. 

I'm pretty sure Dan goes because it's something fun to do with the boys.  The boys go because they get good snacks and fighting is encouraged.  And I go to watch and listen to all the people in the crowd.

Tonight the game was extra special.  There were several fights, the boys got dippin' dots, the teenagers behind us were cracking me up, and the Steelhead's won.

It was a fun night out on the town with my men.

Long Weekend

With Dan out of the state, my dad out of the country, and Caleb up on the slopes; this long weekend was bound to be boring.  Luckily my sister's and brother in law had the brilliant idea of coming for a visit.

We ate a lot of food, laughed until our cheeks hurt, and shopped until we couldn't walk anymore(ok ok..it was until I couldn't walk anymore).  My kids were spoiled with love and attention, and they exhausted our guests with all their...energy.  

This weekend was anything but boring.  Too bad it passed so quickly.

Kissing

Do you see those perfectly puffy kissable lips and cheeks on my little man(who by the way, fell asleep like that)?  Well, the little stinker refuses to let me kiss them.  It's been two days since he went on strike.  He claims it is because "kissing grills in sick".

Good thing Camden has my back.

He likes to remind Jace that "not kissing mom's is not choosing the right".

Going Back

Dan took off for his annual golf trip with the guys.  Lucky for him, he flew into Arizona a few days before and got to enjoy a little of what he misses most.  These are a few of the cell phone pics I've received.

Golfing in Arizona winter weather.

Sethers and Miss Tessa

Visiting with friends from school and seeing how quickly time passes(and how fast kids grow up).

 Again, golfing in Arizona with friends.

And of course, Cameron.

Partners

Iron Man and Mr. Skeleton accompanied me on my morning run today.

I try not to bore my children with anything longer than a 5 mile run.  I just sorta feel like it's too much for them.  But I was a little desperate earlier this week; the weather was sunny, my scheduled run was 6 miles, and Dan didn't have a day off because he was going out of town. So I brought them along and they did great. 

Feeling bad for already dragging them along 2 days ago, I decided to run on the treadmill this morning.  About 30 seconds into my run, I was pleasantly surprised when Camden got teary eyed asking why they couldn't go in the stroller today.  

Obviously I jumped all over his enthusiasm for going outside with me, bundled them up, and off we went.  We traveled uncharted territory today and had a blast.

I have a tendency to get bored while I run and have been known to play the air guitar and drums all while singing out loud to myself.  So when my boys come along, we turn the Ipod up on the speaker and rock out together.  I was in mommy heaven when all three of us were singing at the top of our lungs to the same song.  We totally rocked our run this morning!  I sorta wanna do it again tomorrow.

New Laugh

Jace decided to change his laugh up a bit.

Sunday was the first day I remember noticing this new laugh, and I thought it was hilarious. Tonight, the laughing was not so hilarious.  For some reason it just sorta got on my nerves.  But I know I will miss it when it's gone, so I busted out the camera and fell in love with it again.

One Word

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to write this post.  I guess I take choosing my word pretty seriously.  I want to focus on a word that will make me a better person, friend, mom, spouse, daughter, and sister.  Not just something I can pretend to work on.  Something I really want to be better at.

As I was mulling over a few different words trying to narrow them down, I started to notice something about myself that I didn't care for.  It was then I knew I needed to focus this next year on really trying to LISTEN.Listen not to respond but to understand.

Listen to my kids.

Listen to others.

Listen to my body.

Listen to my Heavenly Father.

This year I will try a little harder to listen a little deeper.