A Day at BYU

Last weekend we crossed something off of our Live List and took the boys to BYU's Museum of Art.

The museum has a traveling exhibit and right now it's pieces from India.  It was fun for the boys since Tony was able to tell them about his business trip to India.

 looking at pictures books about India 

 

 Brian Kershisnik's painting of the Nativity

We saw several pieces from one of my favorite artists Brian Kershisnik.  He's the uncle of one of my best friends from high school.  I actually went to his home over Christmas break and I was a little star struck.  He's incredible.

speedy Peter

After the museum we went over to the Wilk for ice cream and races in the ballroom.

 

 

We love BYU! 

A Day at the Dinosaur Museum

Tony's parents always give us the most thoughtful gifts.  This year they gifted us a family Thanksgiving Point pass for Christmas.  Joey has been begging us to go to the dinosaur museum for months!  We love the dinosaur museum!  We went a few weeks ago and had a great time.  Here's some pictures from that day...

 Watching a real paleontologist work on fossils!  

Charlie: "hey Joe, lets be scientists!!!"

 building dinosaurs

 Joey's favorite: playing with dinosaurs in the sand and water

We ended our trip at the ice cream parlor!  A cookie sundae, with two cherries on top, to share?! Perfect way to end a great afternoon.

Thank you, Grandma and Papa!

Joey is a Sunbeam

Joey is now a SUNBEAM!  Yep, he is finally big enough for the "big kid primary" and he was very excited his first Sunday!

He didn't realize that primary = no more toys and sitting in a chair.  He misses nursery a lot and usually cries when I bring him to his seat in sharing time.  Luckily his teacher is wonderful and convinces him to sit down.  Once he's sitting he is great!

I just got put into the primary presidency so it's fun to be in primary with both of my boys!  Well, really 3 of my boys.  Tony is a primary teacher so I usually have Peter on my lap unless I'm teaching sharing time.  It's a family party in primary!

Joey has a class clown personality and does anything to get a laugh from the kids around him.  I cringe when I'm on the other side of the room and can hear his goofy voice.  He has this voice he uses when he's in a super silly mood.  Oh Joey...he keeps us laughing and on our toes!  We love you!!!

2015 Resolutions

Here's a look at my 2015 goals.  Yes, it's almost the end of January, BUT I have had these taped in my planner and am trying my best to improve in these areas!  Whoo hoo for a new year and a fresh start!

Personal Goals

1. Develop an effective morning routine.

I've had over a month to try around with a few different morning routines and I've found what works best for me.  I like to sleep in, but my day goes by so much better when I get up and do what needs to be done!  Here's what seems to be working best:

6am- wake up 

change into work out clothes

morning prayer

start a load of laundry

exercise

put wet clothes in the dryer.

get breakfast for boys that are just waking up.

shower/get dressed.

Fold laundry and immediately put clothes away

It's working great so far!  Some mornings things have to get changed around, but that's just life. 

2. Blog weekly.

I haven't been as diligent in my blogging and I want to be better.  I love reading past posts about our family.  I have a horrible memory so blogging is such a great way for me to remember things that are important to us!

3. Daily scripture study.

There's a reason I haven't had this as a goal the past few years.  I don't want to fail a goal and reading scriptures is something I'm not always consistent with.  This year I want to spend a little bit of each day in the scriptures.  The primary theme for 2015 is I Know My Savior Lives.  Such an awesome theme!  I'm reading in Matthew and am loving the stories of Christ there.  I've been able to use what I read personally for our family scripture reading and discussion as a family.  It has helped our family study mean more when I've spent time preparing beforehand.  

4. Be a good visiting teacher.

I love relief society and I love the visiting teaching program.  I think if everyone did their visiting teaching, spent time praying for and getting to know their visiting teaching sisters then the church would be even better and we would receive blessings.  Everyone needs friends, everyone has something to offer and everyone needs service from time to time.  Visiting teaching is a blessing and I want to do my best this year.  

5. Avoid gossip.  

I have a couple friends that I look up to and one day I realized why I look up to them so much: they never participate in gossip.  If someone is gossiping, rather than jumping on the bashing bandwagon they add something kind about the person, change the subject or try to say something that might shed light onto why the person is, more than likely, misunderstood.  Gossip only stirs negative feelings.  It doesn't answer solutions and is cowardice.  My goal this year is to surround myself with people that speak kind words and encourage me to do the same.  I want to speak kind words and attract those that want the same as myself.

Family Goals

1. Accomplish financial goals.

2. Family games on Sunday.

Our church is now at 1pm so we have the whole morning so hang out before church.  We want to spend more quality time as a family, on Sundays, and have fun playing games together.  Sounds cheesy, but I want to be one of those families that plays games together.  So naturally I make it a resolution ;)

3. Temple once a quarter.

4. 4 Family hikes.

5. Take a camping trip.

6. Take a big family vacation.

We have our hotel booked and we're looking forward to California this spring!  We want to do a big trip before Tony starts school this summer.

7.  Work on crossing off items from our family live list.

We have our list up of things that we want to do in Utah.  We add things periodically and when we have an open day we try to do one of them.  We've done "live lists" in the past and it's a good way to do the things we always talk about wanting to do.  This past weekend we took the boys to BYU's museum of art.  We've wanted to go, but I'm sure we wouldn't have thought about it if we hadn't seen it on our list!

8.  Write and display a family mission statement. 

We have been working on this and it is taking some time!  It's easy to write what we think sounds good, but it's harder to define what our values really are.  I've enjoyed the family time we've had talking about our goals and the time Tony and I have spent time evaluating what important for us.  We want to be a family of purpose, intentional in what we do.  A mission statement may be cheesy, but I think it would be beneficial and fun to have in our home.

Ice cream night to discuss what makes our family special and what we want to be!  

Looking forward to this new year!

Looking Back on My 2014 Resolutions

A lot of thought went into my 2014 goals and I thoroughly enjoyed progressing in each one.  Was I perfect?  No.  This Ben Franklin quote is a great summary about how I feel regarding my 2014 and other past resolutions: 

"On the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet as I was, by the endeavor, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been had I not attempted it." 

Progressing towards a goal brings me so much happiness and fulfillment.  Here's a look at my 2014 goals...

Spiritual
1. Keep the Sabbath day holy by not playing on my phone or using social networking.  
This goal has made a tremendous impact in my overall spiritual and mental health.  I realize that sounds cheesy, but disconnecting from social media on Sundays has let the holy ghost be more of an influence during the most important day of my week.  I feel more refreshed and ready to start each week when I'm not wasting time on social media.  I wasn't always perfect, BUT a lot of Sundays I was and the positive affect this had on me was huge.  I plan to continue this goal from here on out.  

2. Continue reading the Book of Mormon and finish journal.  
I did it!  I finished my Book of Mormon journal.  It took me 2 years, but I read  the Book of Mormon and summarized/wrote notes for each chapter.  I'm so happy I finally finished this goal!  Maybe one day that journal will be something I can give to one of my kids?

Social 
Plan something once a month to look forward to, something just for me. 
I wasn't great at planning something specific each month, but I did make it a point to get out every month and do something fun for myself.  I enjoyed this goal so much that I organized a book group and joined a bunco group for 2015.  I've learned that I need girl friends and feel so uplifted when I spend time with positive women.  I'm working on putting more time into the new friendships that I have here in Utah.  I saw a close Arkansas friend a few weeks ago and it was really emotional seeing her!  It was great, but I was so sad thinking about my sweet friends that are there and how much I miss them!  I realized I have really great friends here and if I put more time into developing those friendships I could have what I had in Arkansas.  Living in Arkansas was hands down a time in my life where I had the most growth and self realization.  

Physical
1. Eat cleaner and transition family into cleaner eating.
Again, are we perfect at this?  No.  Have we progressed?  Definitely yes!  The other day Tony, very sadly, told me that his stomach can no longer handle "the dollar menu anymore."  Ha!  We have felt so much better as we have cut a lot of junk and processed foods out of our diet.  

2. lose baby weight.
Woot Woot!  I did accomplish this goal.  It took me the whole year, but I did it.

Marriage Goals
1.  Accomplish the financial goals we've set for this year.
We learned a lot about financial planning this year.  We did really well.  We learned places that our money goes that we didn't expect.  Our 2015 financial goals will be even more successful after all that we learned this year. 
2.  Attend the temple together 4 times. 
Tony made it to the temple 3 times and I made it 4.  We had planned to go the last Saturday of the year, but then my mom got sick and couldn't watch our kids.  Lesson learned?  Next year we won't put it off until the last weekend.  
I will say I felt we did pretty good this year considering we had a baby and I was nursing almost the whole year.  I'm excited for next year. 
3.  Date once a month.  
Pretty sure we went out every month except June.  We had a babysitter lined up, but Joey got the stomach flu so we had to cancel our plans.  We've had fun making dating a regular habit this year.

Family Goals
1.  Go on 4 family hikes. 
Yep, we did it and loved it.  I know 4 doesn't sound like a lot, but how often do we assume we're going to do something and then end up not doing anything at all?  This goal helped us realize how often we are getting outside and playing as a family.
2. Daily Scripture Study.
I changed the way we do family scripture study and it has been very successful.  We read at dinner time and try to go with a theme for the week.  We read 1- a few scriptures regarding that theme.  Before we were doing a straight read through of the BOM and it just got boring to be honest.  With little kids we weren't able to read long enough to make the timeline understandable.  Reading scriptures by theme as worked great for us.  The past couple of weeks we have been reading scriptures about the Savior.  I'm so amazed by what kids can learn when we teach them!  One day, I was talking about the second coming and asked the boys what we needed to do to be ready.  Joey's response?  "Be baptized in the water!"  I was shocked.  I can hardly get him to answer any question regarding anything.  This was such a testimony builder to me that time needs to be spent in teaching young children gospel principles.
3.  Take a camping trip.
Our ward camp out counted as this trip and it was great!

Looking forward to 2015!

2014 Highlights

2014

 So much happiness.  Our family went from a family of four to a family of five.  Having Peter in our home has made us feel so much more complete.  Yes, a baby brings change and an upheaval in schedule, but the love that he brought with him has almost made my heart burst.  Charlie and Joey happily took their roles as big brothers.  They adore Peter or "Petey" as we sometimes call him. 

We started the year off by getting ready for Peter to arrive.  

Charlie & Joey helped me prep the nursery too.

the day before he was born

teaching the boys how to hold a swaddled baby

Finally he arrived!  

Our Peter was born February 27th- weighing 6lbs 13oz and 18" long

His birth was wonderful and those first moments with him we will never forget.

5 days old in his newborn photos

Bringing Peter Home

These three are together most of the time!  How lucky they are to have brothers so close in age.  They are great friends.  At 10 months, Peter crawls up the stairs and sits outside Charlie & Joey's bedroom if they are in there.  He wants to be with them, and in the action, all the time!  

first couple of weeks at home

Joey was potty trained

It was a family affair with me, Joey, Charlie and Peter in the bathroom constantly.  He did it and we're so proud of him!  Now he has a good place to store his weapons...

Temple Visits

Easter

We had Tony's parents and Sandi's family here for Easter activities.  We celebrated Tony's b-day together, decorated eggs, competed in egg relay races & egg golf. Cousin time is the best!

2014 Birthdays

Tony turned the big 30

We took an overnight getaway in SLC and Peter came too

Joey turned 3

We celebrated with a family birthday party, presents and a car cake

I turned 27

Tony took me to a restaurant I had always wanted to try- The Melting Pot

Charlie turned 5

We had a little family dinner and presents the night of his actual birthday.  He took two friends to Cornbelly's the weekend before too!

Peter was blessed

by his dad and in our home ward on Easter Sunday. 

The majority of our family members were able to be there and it was wonderful.

all of our boys have worn this outfit on their blessing day

Celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary

We hiked Y mountain, Peter in tow, and got waffles at Waffle Love

Family outings to Thanksgiving Point, zoo and the aquarium

4th of July

We spent the 3rd and the morning of the 4th at my parents home.  We went to the concert at the park, watched fireworks and the parade.  On the 4th, we went with Tony's company and had dinner at the BYU baseball stadium and saw Stadium of Fire.  Carrie Underwood performed! The boys, surprisingly, loved the whole show!

Cedar City Weekend

We spent a long weekend with all of Tony's family in July!  We went hiking, bowling, swimming and even saw a couple shows at the Shakespeare festival. We had such a great time!

swimming at the rec center

fun at the green show

Camping

We went on our ward camp out and had a great time!  Charlie and Joey ran around with ward friends and Peter was an angel.    

 Preschool

Joey started in Mrs. Adams class, across the street, and he loves it!

Charlie is in Mrs. Allen's class and is the most popular boy in school.  His teacher says she has to rotate him through all the boys because they all want a chance to sit or play with him.

1st day of school breakfast

father's blessing the night before school started

Labor day weekend

Took a picnic to the Utah State Capitol and even explored inside.  The boys especially loved the cool elevators.  We also spent some time on temple square and the family history museum.

Battle Creek Falls Hike

One Saturday we hiked Battle Creek Falls and had a picnic lunch at the waterfall.  Peter loved being in his new backpack!

Peter started crawling, cut 3 teeth and fell in love with food.

pre-crawling stage

New Job

Different company, new schedule and a really great opportunity for Tony

Halloween

We celebrated with trips to Cornbelly's, class parties, pumpkin carving and trick or treating

Family Photos 

Tony's was accepted into BYU's Executive MBA program

His hard work and studying paid off! He starts this summer.

Thanksgiving

We hosted Tony's family for the weekend and had a great time with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, trip to the aquarium, games, movies, crafts and a family photo

Grandma Messer's Funeral

My sweet grandma passed away and my whole family was able to attend her funeral in Cody Wyoming.

Christmas Activities

We had fun with our friend North Pole breakfast, making treats, Bessman our Elf on the shelf and other holiday activities.

making neighbor treats

North Pole Breakfast

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas Eve at home and did all of our favorite traditions.  Christmas morning we opened presents, played and spent the late afternoon at my parent's home.  

New Years

I don't have any pictures? We spent New Year's Eve at my parents home.  We played games, watched shows and the guys went out for lunch and a movie while the girls hung out.

We're looking forward to 2015!