Cousin Time

Cute cute cute! Can you believe how much older these kiddos have gotten? It was so much fun getting to have Cole visit us for the weekend.


These boys sure kept us busy. While Ava was away at Preschool, both boys spent most of the time yelling "Jump!" and then proceeding to jump off of the fireplace hearth. Reid did most of the jumping while Cole decided it was just more fun to say the word jumping while staying put.


The weather was beautiful while they were here (which makes it hard to look outside and see snow again). We spent a good portion of our time outdoors. We went to the park, went on a picnic for lunch, and played out in the backyard. Reid was the only child of the group that required a daily bath. I'm thinking it might be worth it to install a shower in the backyard.

One of the days during their visit we loaded up the crew and took them to the farm. Now I know it isn't quite up to par with what they have up in Idaho, at an actual farm, but it sure is fun for us city folk. The boys loved checking out the baby chicks. Good thing my kids can't read yet, because right on the glass there was a sign that said "FREE". Thankfully none of the cute chicks made it home with us :)


I have discovered that there are 3 animals that Reid is not afraid of at the farm. 1} baby chicks 2} ducks and 3} rabbits.


It might look like Reid is enjoying the sheep, but the moment any of the animals made any slight movement, he was out of there. Cole on the other hand was not afraid of any of the animals.


Ava was of course in animal heaven. She wouldn't even stop petting the horse for a picture.


No trip to the farm would be complete without a pony ride. Notice how she always picks the same horse to ride. I know they rotate the horses everyday, but Ava's favorite is always there. Do you notice Cole in the background?


This kid is going to know how to ride a horse way before he knows how to ride a bike!


Reid tried convincing me that he wanted to ride a horse too. His most used sentence nowadays is "Me too!" So I played along and let him stand in line with Ava and Cole. But once one of the horses let out a big snort, that kid split and didn't look back. But one thing he does enjoy is getting to ride on the carriage ride.


My sister and I had plenty of sisterly time. Especially due to the guys being so willing to watch the boys for us in the afternoon...during their naps :) They might have gotten in a nap of their own and gotten to play some Halo. But we really did appreciate being able to get away without the kiddos to do a little shopping.

One thing we did was put together a diaper cake for Jared's sister who just had a baby. She lives across the freeway from us. She loved it of course!


I love love love that we live so close now that we can get together for the weekend. I sure hope that we'll be able to fit in a few more visits before the baby comes this Sept. Ava and Reid have both been asking to go see the horses and chickens up in Idaho.

Not a good month for electronics

A new TV has been purchased and mounted. Yay! Laptop keyboard is now not functioning. Boo! Just waiting for the next electronic to bite the dust. Do electronic deaths come in threes too?

Sunday Snapshot

One of the blogs I frequently stalk (is that what you call it when you read blogs of people you've never actually met?) started taking a picture of her kids every Sunday and then posting it on her blog. Isn't that an awesome idea? Wouldn't it just be a great keepsake to have of your kids. So I'm going to give it a try. Even if I don't get around to posting those pics on the blog each week, I'm going to try and at least take a picture of the kids together sometime on Sunday. So here we go.

We actually had over 10 minutes before we had to leave for church today. I kept having this feeling like I was forgetting something, but everything was ready. I have no idea what we did differently, but we need to do it every Sunday! Since we had a few minutes to spare, I thought it was the perfect moment to sneak in a few pics of the kids together. Especially since they always look so dang adorable in their church outfits.


Oh geez, I sure have a little character on my hands. Click the picture to make it bigger so you can see all the many faces of Reid. I love how at the end Ava starts to pat his back so he can focus and she can stop having to say "cheese".

I couldn't help myself from taking this picture of Ava. When did she get so grown-up? In just over a month we will have a 4 year old in the house. I just love the age that she is at right now. We love getting to have this cutie pie in our family too.

When sister's away, I get free reign

Which means I get to play with baby, purse, and stroller all I want! And yes, I did put him in mismatching socks today. I have no clue where those pairs have vanished too!


Very interesting way to prepare food, but who would even question Chef Reid's methods. He makes a very good cup of tea, that's for sure!

Yee Haw!

Who knew that we had our very own cowgirl in our house. This past week has been Western Week at Ava's preschool. And today all the kids at school got to dress in their western duds. Here's the cutest little cowgirl around.


When she got home she couldn't wait to show me her special cowgirl vest they made at school. Looking good Sheriff Ava.

What we've been up to lately

So I know it's pretty obvious, but I have been slacking on the blog front. Not wanting pregnancy fatigue to take over my life, I've decided to push of the desire to lay on the couch and do nothing and update the blog. Go me! So here we go!

Back in January I signed Ava up for her very first dance class. She goes to class for an entire hour and does 15 minutes of ballet, 15 minutes of tap and then a half hour of gymnastics. By far her favorite part is gymnastics. She can't get enough of rolling, tumbling, the balance beam and the bars. Here she is ready for her first day of dance. Her class is at night which allows Josh is to watch Reid while Ava and I get to go to her class. Don't you love her leg warmers!


Thanksgiving Point in a mere 10 minutes away so we decided it would be totally worth it to get a membership. Actually, we only bought a membership for myself. It just seemed cheaper for a single membership, than an entire family one. Reid is free until he is 3 years old. And Ava only pays the child admission. And since I now have a pass, anyone who comes with me gets 50% off of admission. Just a tip if you live nearby :)

Here we are scared to death at the Museum of Ancient Life.


Reid's favorite activity is splashing and playing with water. The water table at the museum was a big hit.



Now that the weather is finally warming up (thank goodness!) we can take more advantage of the Little Farm. These past few months Ava has become quite the animal lover (as long as that doesn't include dogs). She had no fear going right up and petting the animals this time around.


Reid on the other hand, talks a good game but when it comes down to it is pretty dang scared. He kept telling me that he wanted to see the horsies, so when we finally made it around to the horses, he hid his face in fear.


We haven't made it over to the farm since the fall, so it was pretty funny going around and seeing that a lot of the animals had gotten pretty plump over the winter! Come to find out a lot of them are pregnant and will be having little ones in the next month. Ava can't wait to see the lambs and chicks and fouls.


Of course Reid's favorite part is whenever I let him out of the stroller. He got to roam free in the little village (it's only 2 buildings) and was ecstatic.



We are finally getting the opportunity to use our backyard. Here's Ava practicing her balancing beam skills. The previous owners put in a raised garden. I'm pretty excited about being able to plant a few things, but mostly am just overwhelmed with the idea of actually having to do yard work.


We've spent lots of time kicking balls around outside.


But mostly the kids just want to play in the dirt.


Here's Reid using his snow shovel to try and find buried treasure. I did just pick up some gardening tools from the dollar section at Target. Love it!


Yep, he's licking a rock. Great Reid.


That's better, just show it to me instead :)


Of course it wouldn't be March without some rainy days mixed in with the sunshine. On one of those rainy days we decided to make good use of our empty living room. Pretty sweet right?


It even had a front door.


The kids spent all day going in and out of their tent.


Of course we couldn't of gone through March without getting a visit from the Leprechauns.


We even got to eat green food all day. Ava made her dad taste her macaroni before she would try it. Oh, and Lime Koolaid is totally gross. I felt like I was drinking Lime Jello. Of course everyone else loved it, but I had to add some Sprite to it to make it even bearable.


Last, but not least, we had a visit from our favorite CA relatives. Here are the girls doing what they do best, playing princesses.


Come on girls, seriously. This seriously was the best shot of the bunch.


I got to meet my newest nephew Cayson. Love him!


While at Nana's we got to do sidewalk chalk. Ava put some serious time and effort in her creation. This picture is taken 3/4 of the way through, but it probably took her an hour to complete. She was quite proud of herself.


When we weren't having fun with chalk we were having fun blowing bubbles. Love little Maddie's scrunchy face.


And of course, we spent a lot of time oohing and awing over Cayson. I think a certain little girl is pretty anxious to have another sibling. A certain little boy isn't quite sure if it is a good idea.


Done! I did it! We have a lot coming up these next few months. My sister is coming to visit, Easter, Reid and Ava's birthday, a big trip to Disneyland, and my parent's are visiting us at our new house for the first time. So stay tuned because I'll have a lot of fun things to post in April and May.

In the market for a new tv

Repairs will cost more than it actually cost to purchase the tv.


Ewww is right Reid! Let me get this straight, our brand new tv was destroyed within the first 3 months of use. Is this how long flat screens usually last :) Any tips on how to proof your tv from your overly rambunctious toddler? (We would put our tv over the fireplace but the mantel is almost as tall as I am) Can you ever buy anything nice when you have kids?

What a sweet little boy

I walked into the playroom to find that Reid had replaced Ava's dollwith his own frog and blanket. I have a silly little boy.

In other Reid news I open my computer to upload this pic to find I am missing the command key on my keyboard. Earlier Reid was over by my computer and I thought he was showing me a piece of Kleenex, so I told him to throw it away. Not a piece of Kleenex! Luckily I realized my mistake and found the button unharmed and not covered in any goo :) It snapped right back into place perfectly. Whew! This boy of mine. Can't leave him alone for a second! I didn't have time to shower this morning before Josh went skiing with his dad and brother. Looks like I won't be until he gets back. Would you trust this kid alone while you showered?!!!