Livin Pretty Simple

Pojos

2012-02-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Good Ol' Pojos.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has fond, fond memories of that place.

We were on the hunt for something fun to do with the kids.

Pojos won :)

Kids had a blast.

I won a jackpot

And they won a legit prize that they are still playing with.

Woot!

Of course I drug my lil family into the photopbooth for

a picture op.

They'll love me for it one day :)

Our Lovey Day

2012-02-15T15:08:00.001-07:00

What a lovely Valentines day we had. :)

Valentines Day isn't just about Tuck and I around here..

The kids were part of all the lovey day too.

And I'm pretty sure all the pictures show I was pretty

obsessed with my little boy Valentine this year.

Although Arli did get a rose from her Daddy.

Okay well... she didn't.. he forgot on the way home.

But it was the thought that counts!

She'll learn that someday ;)

Date night! Isn't Tuck a sucker for love puttin the heart on my belly.

Beck's Valentines

Kids Gifts :) mini Darth Vader for Beck and a Pug Beanie baby for Arli

Beck signing all his Valentines. (FIRST year people!!! big deal)

Beck was Brin's Valentine this year. :) He done good.

Uhm hello adorable boy! I had to make sure everyone knows he's MY Valentine. hence the shirt ;)

Valentines Lunch. PB&J hearts & Pear hearts. Major hit.

Tuck's Present. he said "I love Idaho!"

In it's new home. Left: Tuck's sewn "I <3 U" on leather many years ago. Right: Anniversary gift 2 years ago. Embroidered love note.

And Tuck has been working on my Christmas-turned-Anniversary-turned-Valentines Gift for awhile now. It is unfinished... and will always be unfinished :) He is making our love story into a book. Complete with detailed story line and cute pictures colored by Tuck himself. I am in love with it! And the fact that it will never be finished. :)

We will have forever to write "our story"

5 years

2012-02-13T18:04:00.002-07:00

Kmart Photo booth our Junior year

Haaaappy Valentines Day... (tomorrow)

With Love day here tomorrow, I realized I didn't even post about our anniversary.
Yeah! It's true.
I honestly am appalled with myself that I didn't post about it.
Tucker and I celebrated our 5 Year Anniversary last month on January 13. (we also welcomed the cutest blondie nephew into the world that day. Gladly sharing the day )
We had a simple nice date night which didn't even end in dessert due to some pregnancy issues i was having. (almost puking up my two bites of dinner into my purse)
But I have to say.. it wasn't a date that was extraordinary.. but I did have the most amazing company.
We really go perfectly together. And ... seriously.. have a hilariously good time together too.
That guy has my heart for keeps.
I'm so thankful for those first hard years. I mean really, they were freakin hard. But we made that choice to get married young so I'm not complaining. I knew it had to be hard to get better.
I'm grateful for the years of growing together. Let alone growing UP together. He has always been an amazing dad.. but I am especially proud of the man he has become.
I love ya sweetcheeks.
And I'm sorry how ridiculously late this post is.
But every year when Valentines Day rolls around.. I feel lucky and happy because to me it's like celebrating our annivesary double time. Which is just celebrating our love.

5 years. Woah! It's still hard to wrap my mind around.
But just wait till 20 :)

.. It's funny while we were on out date waiting for our table we went into the store next door and kept finding things the kids would love. Specifically a football guy set (like army guys but legit football guys) for Beck. Ummmm yes. Let's just say he plays "football" with anything, sugar packets, cars, anything. Hilarious.

TMI Preggo style

2012-02-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Now.. Since the title of this post says it all..
I don't feel bad if you continue reading and think... "Man TMI michelle.. i really didn't wanna know that"
Onward!

Looking like I'm 25 wks.. and i'm only 15 wks. Not cool. I wish I had taken pictures of every week of the other pregnancies just to prove... people.. i swear i'm huge right now.. and i'm not supposed to be. But maybe I should just roll with it. If any stranger asks how far along I am (assuming they decided I wasn't fat) I'm going with 25 wks.

I'm not diggin the layer of fat that is resting on my bebe bump. When I got pregnant, i wasn't running much.. sooo I had a little extra love. And it shows. at least to me. And thats what matters right?

I hate the growing chest. Loathe it. I got quite used to being small and loving it. The clothing options are so much easier. And I'm not saying mine are even what you normal people would call "big". They'll probably get to "average" meaning.. the second letter of the alphabet. hahah. But even that... too much for me. Like I said.. I was at the beginning of the alphabet.. and I like it that way.

Now this isn't TMI .. it's just talk...

I just can't wait to find out what this bebe is gonna be.
When I look at Arli, I smile and hope it is a girl for her sake. Oh the joys of bestie sisters!
But then I look at Beck, and I think.. man this kid needs a brother to throw the football around with!
It is just such a toss up.. Thank freakin goodness I don't have to decide what we are having.
And thank goodness we find out at the end of the month.

Rock Climbing

2012-02-06T09:32:00.004-07:00

Me, bebe, and Tuck. (belly stickin out for dramatic effect) and Ryan and Brittawnia.

Tuck's first climb. My first climb. Spandees totally helped!

This last weekend, my bro Ryan had planned for us all to go indoor rock climbing.. Heck. Yes.
He had been a couple times and was eager to take us siblings. (Don't worry concerned blog reader-I got the okay from the Doc)
We went and we conquered. And I must say.. It was addicting, invigorating, muscle working, and hard-core feeling.
I now want to own my own pair of rock climing shoes and harness. (Some of those ladies up in there had some legit comfy looking ones.. i'm tellin ya!) And after this baby make his/her arrival.. We will definitely be looking into getting a pass. Kinda bad timing on my part to get into this.. But what can ya do.
I took it slower than my brother and sister... they were haulin butt up the higher skilled climbs. But i will say Brin and I were much faster than the boys. I took caution and stuck to the easy ones.. ending on a hard one that had me calling down "where the freak do i go now?" Tuck took his time on the first one. His fear of heights always take me by surprise. But he kept up with me. ;) It's amazing how tired your limbs become. And sometimes.. in the middle of a climb. Ha.

It was seriously so fun. I cannot say that enough! Someday I will graduate from level 5 climbs.

Here's Brin after her first victory climb, throwing the hail hitler.

Woah, brin.

I might also add... The scene there took me by surprise... I guess I don't know quite what I was expecting. But Brin And I def stood out in our spand-ees and probably brown-ness. It was like walking into the Boise Co-Op .. (a place I'd love to shop more really) but everyone was definitely more earthy. Dread locks.. full head of hair and matching full beards. With their columbia comfy outdoorsy pants on. Yeah.. we stood out.
But I liked it.

Feelin Valentiney

2012-02-03T13:57:00.001-07:00

Beck really gets into these holidays now. But I can't complain... It's too cute and we get to make stuff.
We started with his valentines for his preschool class. First can I just say.... This is all new to me. Kid in school type stuff! It's almost nerve wrecking.. Making sure I know what I'm supposed to do and know. But that is a whole other post.
Back to his valentines. I pulled up a couple on my pinterest for him to choose from that we could make. Of course he chose the ones I was least digging. But I tried to be a good mom... And we did the heart ones. Well it didn't go so well. Somehow ours managed to look like valentines from the ghetto. Not okay. I mean really. Staples??? How did that blogger make it look decent? Ridiculous. Needless to say, my child is not taking ghetto valentines to preschool. We will be making another batch next week. .

He was still feelin the love in the air and requested we make Valentine decorations. I thought heck ya dude! We got this. So we have been making yarn Pom poms. When I say we I really mean just me. He got sidetracked just two poms poms in. But alas I will get them done for our little Valentine garland. Because hey... My kid asked for it... And I'm a good mom, remember?

French Toooast.

2012-02-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love a plate of delicious french toast??

It's what i've been lovin lately.

With Gma Silvia's help, Beck and Arli made Tucker and I breakfast in bed this last Sunday.

How cute is that??

Beck was an excellent bread dipper and flipper.

I am guessing Arli just licked sppons. yes, even french toast spoons.

Beck had us close are eyes and they brought in the surprise.

I feel so blessed to have these adorable children.

And blessed that they have an amazing Grandma.

I know my mom is cherishing the time she has left living with them.

Feeding the Duckies

2012-01-30T16:23:00.001-07:00

First can I just say... we had the most lovely Saturday morning this last weekend.
Which included:
Being lazy
watching music videos.
music viedos being our love song list.
coloring spongebob.
jumping on the bed.
giggling.
and simply just enjoying the morning in our little family room. aka our bedroom.

Then after blasting the tunes and singing.. we got ready for our outing with Tuck's fam to feed the ducks at Ann Morrison Park. First of all.. thank goodness Travis and Stacie invited us.. because I have been trying to get Tucker to feed the ducks with us .. for-eh-ver. And you know why he wouldn't? Because he said it is illegal. Yeah, he is a law abiding citizen people. Who knew. But who even knows if that's true! So I was so happy he succombed to feeding the ducks.. even if it had to be by someone else asking him. Lame-o.

It was lots of fun.. even though it was chilly.. and I'm a whimp in the cold(unless i'm snowboarding).
The kids were stoked to go and we had Looooots of bread to share with the ducks. And thankfully, they like whole wheat. The kids had a lot of fun. But towards the end Beck and Bo just started having foot races. And of course the littler kids joined in.

After the ducks stuffed their faces we played at the playground and stuffed ours with lunch. while Tucker made a squirrel friend, who I wanted to make my pet.
The end.

Opa and all the grandkids

My Fav Duo.. Beck and Bo

havin a blast throwing the bread.

Cute cousins! Dax, Ella, and Arli huggin' it out.

Racing! (Dax calling for Ella haha)

annnd Resting. Repeat.

I swear the men were more enthralled with making the ducks slide on the ice.

Cousins on Swings.

Angry Beck

Happy Beck (with a bribe)

Dangling Arli

Can I get some privacy up in hurr?

2012-01-18T13:22:00.003-07:00

Arli is my twin these days. She cannot be anywhere without being with me or knowing where I am and that I am accesible.
Given these facts.. I had to go to the potty yesterday and Arli asked if she could come.
Well heck, she actually ASKED instead of just intruding?? So I thought I was being extra nice and I let her come share my quality time with me.
About to get T.M.I in here.
I, ya know, sat down and Arli started towards the back of the toilet for the show.
I was like "Whoah.... Arli Can I get some privacy?"
She said " What?" (of course, why would I expect her to understand that)
I said "CAN I get some privacy.. go over there."
Arli replied snootily. " There IS no privacy in here..."
Cue her snooty squished nose face..
Then continued, "But there is some toilet paper" and smiled.

Woah Nelly.. I laughed pretty hard.

It is true though... expect no privacy with little ones.

I will find my secret privacy hiding spot one day.

So Fresh

2012-01-10T15:01:00.001-07:00

I'm really diggin' this new year, fresh start dealio. I always have.
But this year especially because
1. I was sick of Christmas.. a month before it came. Literally. Still.. don't even start singin a christmas song.. and I can't even look at christmas pics. (hence no Christmas post) Pregnancy does the weirdest things.

2. Spring is just around the corner. Boooo winter! I decided I hate winter this year. Just looking outside is enough. It just looks so miserable out there. Again... weird pregnancy things. But the upside.. I'm saving a lot of gas!

3. A fresh new start.

This year I do not have many "physical" goals like I usually do. Only growing a healthy baby, not going overboard with "eating for two", and exercise regularly and stretching. Pretty simple. :)

The real thing I love is the fresh feeling of a new year. Re-focusing. Re-evaluating. There are many things I need to work on. And things I want to become better at.
I think that quote sums up my New Year's Resolution in a nutshell.
My ultimate goal is to slow-down, focus, and live in the moment.. but mainly live my days with the real focus in my mind. The things that matter most. My family, my faith.

Family wise that means.. Spending more Full on focus time with my kids. Helping them learn more things and enjoy watching them learn. Play with them more and Let time pass by. It's funny when I do those things, I find the other things get done more happily and is more manageable.

Creative wise to me this means.... Create more freely! Paint, draw, do what the heck ever my little artsy heart desires.. Pinterest is the devil. Okay not really. But I found that these past months the less I'm on it.. the better. It is a great source for ideas that I am on the search for. But not great for a time sucker. Not to mention I feel it was completely sucking my inner creativity.

I'm loving this year already. 2012 is going to be so good to us Botkins.

The Deets..

2012-01-03T16:06:00.002-07:00

Details.
Now that all my family know and the news is seeping out.
It is safe to say... Man... I am freakin exhausted!
I'm about 10 1/2 weeks. Due July 29th. But really hopin for a baby in the "teens" of the month or just wait till August. For some reason I loathe the "twenties" of the month.
Things have been going just as expected and exactly like the other pregnancies.
Morning sickness(puking). Extreme fatigue. Odd smells. A bit moody. Etc.
But I have to say... it's been about 3 years since I did this last.. So I had a rude awakening.
Lukily I have some good days thrown in with the bad days. And some halfsies days that keep it nice and balanced. Ha.

I was kind of hesitant telling the families.. and announcing it at all. I'm not quite sure I want to know what people think of us having our 3rd. Most are openly happy while some obviously have some "Really?? okay....." reactions. But it has been something that I needed to work on anyway. Don't care what people think right? There is a reason we are our own little family.

On a lighter and happier note:
Beck and Arli are so very excited! Since Beck was so little when Arli was born it will be fun to see him this old with a newborn around. I'm pretty sure he's going to be an amazing big brother.. again. Of course Beck is pullin for a boy, while Arli insists on getting a sister. One of them is going to be dissapointed. Arli is just as excited as Beck. Since she is an avid "mother" to her babies around here, that was expected. That will be fun/perhaps scary to see.

I'm so thankful! And beggars can't be choosers, so I'm not bitter about another July baby. Although, I have to admit, I'm only sad that Spring and Summer will be passing me by taking their perfect running weather with them. Rude!

But really, We are really excited. And had been wanting this.. so now we just need to get into full gear of getting ready for bebe#3.
But most of that might have to wait until I get my energy back...

Worst mom ever award goes to me... right here... Yup.. layin in my bed. In my comfy pants.

Little ones

2012-01-02T15:38:00.003-07:00

See this necklace I'm wearing? Ya know.. the cute bird nest one.. with 3 eggs in it?

Well it is now officially true to egg count.

We are expecting our 3rd bundle July 2012.

I had been contemplating how to "announce" or better yet.. not announce it.

But good news travels fast ;)

And the secret is out.

We are beyond excited.

And have a lot to do before the bebe gummy arrives!

2012 Has some chaos in store.

A Vent

2011-12-20T13:48:00.001-07:00

Ready for my Christmas vent?

It is 5 days away and I still have so little done.
This is the first year I've been so behind. Because of a few reasons.
Last year, I did really good and spent barely any money on presents thanks to just handmade gifts.
Did they love them? Well I still wonder. But it's the work that's put into right?
This year I have been totally off the ball. aside from the kid's gifts which I got done in November I have nothing done.
But ... of course, i will manage to get some things made for gifts.
But at the moment and the past few days it just leaves me feeling... stressed.
And I hate that this wrechid feeling has worked it's way into my christmas spirit!
I hate that I feel so stressed to please everyone with gifts.
I tell you what peeps... If I had mula to spare.. you'd be gettin' some sweet things. Promise!!

We don't even get our kids more than 1 present like the "something to read, wear, ..etc" or whatever.
Great idea... but too expensive and much too complicated... especially when it is not about the gifts.
Man.

I guess instead of ranting.. I could just start on my gifts. All 9 of em.

Keepin on

2011-12-15T20:44:00.002-07:00

Hello beautiful random picture of Arli.

Today was a good day! Like holy cow.. good productive day.
Remember my last post? Yeah like over a week ago? Umm.. hate to say, but thats pretty much how life has continued. Give or take a few spurts of productiveness.
But TODAY was good. Got outa bed at 8am no doubt. And was goin non-stop cleaning this house.
Busy Busy! So what better way to end a productive day than a blog post... to complete the productiveness. Are you still with me here?
So my dear Gma Mercedes was my lifesavor angel and deep cleaned the kitchen and made it smell so deliciously clean. I love her. And I love that pine sol.
Why the crazy cleaning?
My parents come home tomorrow!! Woodipitydoo! The kids and I pick them up at the airport tomorrow afternoon. And it will be a nice mini reunion.
Beck is so excited that he has been telling his pre-school teacher the countdown every class.
I'm ready to say the least.

Tonight while Tuck was/is at his CNA class.. the kids and I even did a fun christmas craft.. making reindeer. Only the cutest Christmas animal ever. Arli kept saying.. "I love doing this" yeah.. I've been slacking on the art part of her life lately which she so deeply loves.
We listened to Justin Beieber's Christmas album and colored and cut and glued to our hearts content. I love moments like that.

And holy cow.. only 10 days till Christmas? Please tell me my block countdown is lying to me.
Let's see... what gifts do I have done.. oh yeah. My kids. and 1 nephew.
I have a lot of work to do.

Energy & motivation don't fail me now!

Lazy Day

2011-12-04T19:20:00.001-07:00

Saturday was supposed to be our yard work day.
Which is overrated anyway right? Well... not really.. the yard really does need it. But something came up.

Yesterday was thee most lazy day in all of my life. Aside from illnesses and such.
It was pretty much a mom version of Bruno Mars' song "The lazy song" (which my kids love by the way)
Arli has the rude habit lately of getting up at 7am. I'm not a morning person. I don't just perk right up. So it is definitely not okay (and if anyone has any suggestions to make her sleep longer i'll take it.)
Anyways... back to her rude habit.. so she woke me up at 7am.. on a Saturday morning... after her and Beck were up till 10pm the night before.. how did she not sleep in? why? It was a lovely start to a lazy day.
I literally got out of bed to get the kids breakfast but got right back in bed. Tuck and I were both awake. Though I'd mix in some eye resting and a bit of magazine reading, I was seriously in my bed until 12.
Just typing that makes me feel disgusting. Let me just say here.. that usually every saturday morning. (or every morning) I wake up and clean clean clean. Not even close yesterday.
Once I was forced to get up cause my tag teammate went on a bike ride.. we made some lunch and the kids and I had some great conversations. Beck played wii.. Arli fell asleep in my lap and I put her to bed.
Tucker left to the BSU game then I totally zonked out for a good 20 min while Beck kinda but not really laid with me. And I was a lazy woman on the couch before and after that.
Arli woke up.. and we headed to my room to read some books. And then watch a movie. Before I knew it , it was time to get us dressed to go to a choir concert. If not for that concert.. I gladly would have stayed in my comfy clothes all day long.
And after the double concert (my niece and my mother in law) we went to Red Robin... I don't even know how I was awake and conscious. The chocolate milkshake helped. We got home and I was out like a light.
It was thee most bizarre day ever, spent in the most comfiest christmas blanket ever.
Because if you know me.. I cannot sit still... and be.. lazy. That's Tucker's job. In a nice way.
It felt good.. but it would have felt better if I had cleaned my house before the surprise lazy day.

That is all.

Gettin er done

2011-12-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

My sister is moving back into the Hope househould after this semeseter ends.. aka.. 2 weeks.
While she was away I made good use of that extra room... It being my craft room, Tuck's music room, and our work out room.
But all good things come to an end. I started cleaning it up the other day to get it ready for Brin.
Okay.. when I say started cleaning up... I mean.. I started organizing.. buuuut saw my re-fashion pile and couldn't resist bustin a few of those up. I mean... while its all out.. I just had to.

First I started slimming down some of Beck's jeans into straight/skinny jeans. Yeah.. I'm that mom.
Lucky for you, I won't bore you with before and after pictures.

I sewed up a size 10 skirt (that would have made any 10 year old skimpy) and slimmed it down for Arli.

I was about to sew it to a shirt to make a dress ensamble. Luckily I looked at it again and decided it would be so cute with a white tank top in the summer.. So a high waisted skirt it stays.

I have 2 dresses like these. Flannel ugly collared dresses. I mean. it wasn't ugly.. just not my style. But I loved the flannel print and the main body of the dress. So it only needed a few tweeks.

Off came the choking collar and on came some poof flowers. And I added some of the same black material on the bottom of the dress just to look nicer.

I must say.. it was the simplest fix.. But I am so please with how it turned out. Of course I did not take enough time on photographing these in the better lighting, so you can't see the true beauty ;) Not to mention Arli was ready for bed in the last ones.

It was a good little sewing fix I needed to get out of my system before I tear that room apart.

Thanksgivin...

2011-11-29T20:19:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving went by too fast. But we had a great day!

Though we seriously missed my mother.. we made due without her. Though I am still cravin some of her mashed potatoes that we never got. But I have to be thankful that she is coming home in 2 1/2 weeks!

It was a busy day for us... Tucker started out playing football in the morning of course. I picked up the kids from Kim's house (night before was a fantastic game night with the sibling-inlaws. So fun!!)

(Arli and her cousin's Eden and Bo sleepover has begun!)

I cleaned the house.. cause I cannot start off any holiday with a messy living space. And while I cleaned.. everyone listend to music and lounged.

We headed off to my Grandma's for thanksgiving..

And somehow Sofie made it into the car.

Arli mesmerzied by Great Grandma Hope's tree.

FIlled with Pink goodness!

then to Tuck's Grandmas for the aftermath of their thankdsgiving.

We made it just in time for pies and Arli snagged a lil turkey.

We went home to meet my sister who was all by her lonesome and we played legit Just Dance 3. Brin and Tuck are the main competitors... like seriously it pains me to say this.. Becuasseee i love that game.. and it is MINE from My birthday. Nice.
Brin and I headed off to Target for the midnight craze. And it wasn't all that worth it. Memories. Yes. Actual bought items??? Proably not.

But it's the memories that count ... I love my sister so much..

And she loves me too.. becuase she went with me..

had no money...

grabbed stuff for me..

and stayed in line for me...

and tolerated my indecisive personality.

Here we are... prior to our outing

our faces saying Wooooooo!

This is the Iraqi I was stuck by in line..

Creeeeeeppyyyyy

Friday we went to my Valle family's Homemade Pizza night.. Which is just my style after Thanksgiving food. (it isn't my fav) Really.. I have a blast anytime I'm with my mom's side. I feel so lucky to be born into such a cultural and lively group. My cousins are all the bomb.com

My aunt Danae is amazing with my kids and made them each their own shirley temple.

With speical cups and straws and the whole deal!

Lucky ducks.

This is just me... with my cousin's amazing glasses..

holding the cutest baby Dahlia.

The rest of the weekend was spent on and off with friends! After all that non-stop family time.. a girl needs her friends.. so it was grand!

Kels and I went to visit Jessica and baby Daxton. The visit turned into the boys comin home from the game and having a huge date night. Ha.

Delicious burgers.. great friends.. QUICK game of Monopoly and we were golden.

Arli's first time holding Baby Daxton Doss.

I have a lot to be thankful for. Me and my little family are very blessed.

So many blessings in my life which I try to acknowledge not just on Thanksgiving.. but much more often.

When things get tight... it seems I always see every single blessing a little clearer. :)

Tree Lighting at the Capitol

2011-11-22T20:22:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to the Boise Capitol for the Tree lighting.

It's been on my calendar for some weeks now.. I just knew Beck would love it.

And he did. We all did!

Neither Tuck or I have ever been before either.. so it was a new experience for our lil fam.

Beck on Daddy's shoulder makin our way to the capitol.

The treeeee all lit up pretty!!

We stood right underneath it and looked up into it.

It was pretty magical :) I really took the extra effort to relish the moment and save it in my memory bank.

Tuck and Beck takin it all in :)

The boy loves Christmas... so of COURSE he loves Christmas Lights.

We went inside after the lighting to get some free childrens books, listen to music, and roam the capitol building. Beck loved it! That kid has a appreciation for this stuff.. reminds me of his Pops.

Me and Arli ... proof that yes.. I exist and I was there.

Legit Cookies! Arli didn't know what to do.. she kept trying to peal it off.

And Beck asked "Is it okay to eat this??"

We had fun goin into different rooms.

Beck signed the guestbook for the House of Representatives.

As you can see his "C" is backwards.. that is common lately.

He took his sweet time! It was hilariuos and so cute.

He loved being in those big rooms with all the seats and judges seats. ..(or whatever:)

I was really taken aback how much Beck liked being there and asked so many questions.

President Botkin in the future?? Tucker wishes.

I have to say it was a successful outing to kick off the Holiday season!

And it will for sure happen next year and the next! I can see this being a fav. tradition.

Ya know... since we don't have any of our own as our little family.

So this is a good start!

Good day!

2011-11-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

It is a good day!

And It's Thanksgiving week.. and I have so much to be thankful for!

Like:

This amazing husband who tells me I'm beautiful multiple times a day.

Who is an amazing father to our kids.

The man whom I will be married to for 5 years in Jan. FIVE..

Who really puts up with me sometimes.

Who is hilarious.. and kinda weird. And does the weirdest stuff that I can tease him about.

I think most important right now though.. that he is going to school and getting

straight A's.. since summer semester.

I'm seriously thankful he has a career in mind and we are goin for it!

I"m thankful we have a life plan :)

For my little Beck.

Things get emotional when I think about this one.

He made me a Mother. I'm SO thankful for that.

And I'm thankful for the sweetheart he is and that he still holds my hand.

Thankful he loves school... and even more thankful for his teacher who made it possible

for him to go by trading for babysitting for her.

Thankful for Beck moving on from practicing his name.

haha but he still managed to write his C backwards.

Thankful for my sweet beautiful Arli.

She is a fiesty one. But such a loving and lovable one.

She keeps me on my toes..

And i'm thankful she's been in underwear for 3months now.

Even if she has accidents still.

Thankful for her girlie nature. I love everything about it!

I'm really thankful for my health!

I couldn't be the active involved mother I am without it.

I'm thankful for my car!!! ohhh sweet dear.. old white neon ugly car.

So thankful for you!! It's lasted me 5 years.

and I'll be thankful for it until it dies on me...prob in a couple months. :)

I'm thankful for my amazing family.. my parents, siblings, amazing aunts and uncles and cousins.

And also my awesome in-laws.

I'm thaknful for the growing process.. and I love all my in-laws so much..

And I LOVE their kids who make me an Auntie!

Today it is laundrey day, cleaning day, babysitting day, and much more.. but even better... it's a GOOD day today!

Finally...

2011-11-17T20:42:00.001-07:00

I'm 28 years old!
Or at least thats how old I feel ;)
I am the big 2-3.. its a biggie.. but not really at all.
In my mind.. my birthday can just come around and around. Because I never feel my age anyway. And that will ring true when I'm older.. i'm sure I won't feel old. So there. My brother did call me and say.. "You're a real adult now.. 23 is the age..." I laughed and said "Ryan I've been a "real" adult since I was 18"... He laughed and said "Oh yeah.. you're right."

I've had a grand birthday! Yes it was the 16th, Wed. And yes.. I'ts Friday.. But hey if my kids are still telling me Happy Birthday I'll take it!
But about my ACTUAL Birthday..With my mom out of the country.. The middle of my day was kinda.. just sad in my mind. But I am so blessed with the people in my life who made it extra special to fill the void.

Like a friend from my ward who made these DELISH cupcakes and delivered them to me.

I was so touched that she even thought of me.

7:40 am. Wake up
The kids bombarded me right when we woke up with "Happy Birthday"s, hugs, and their gift. Just Dance 3. :D haha.. I admit.. I love the just dance games!
After some smoochin and thank yous, Tucker headed off to school to study and for tests. ( I don't think Finals week should fall during my bday week ever again.. its just cruel.... Note: not that i'm takin any tests of anythin..)
My amazing friend from my ward surprised with a text asking if she could take the kids so I could have some time to myself.. Wowza! Yes please! They went off to their friends house.. had loads of fun.. And I showered, blow-dried my hair.. weird, ran an errand, and then just wandered and ended up at D.I. sans kids. It was so great. But also a tinge of lonliness settled in.. but then I shook it off immediately.

I scored a lot of skinny ties for my love.$1.00 each.. he was just sayin how he needed new ties.

Elbow patches sweater for Beck.. I was just sayin how I wanted one for him.

The kids returned home, I was praactically waiting at the door, and they were even fed lunch.. Vuutt? I don't even needa make them lunch?!? So i pigged out on chips and dip from my love.

Arli bein a cheerleader.. which i do not approve of.

Later that evening Tuck and I enjoyed a dinner at El Gallo. Which my dinner consists of Fresh Guacamole and chips. That's all it takes to make this girl happy! I want to go back.. Right. Now.

We headed off to get my bday present, picked up the kids, got a netflix, and I ate my cake in bed.
That's a pretty good Birthday :)

And as you can see.. my present is kind of an oxymoron to my dessert. Whatev. It's my bday

Yesterday the celebrations continued.

Beck is awesome and found a candle for me and insist I put it in my grilled cheese sandwhich for lunch. And then he sang happy birthday to me! Arli obviously didn't agree. haha. Seriously.. I was just smitten with that little boy!!

Tonight my siblings took me out to Chilis. Even though their food sucks... its a tradition to get their molten chocolate cake for my birthday. I loooooove that dessert. We scarfed that right up... Though my brothers do not have enough experience as my sister and I so they hardly got any. Live and learn bros.

Brin and Arli.. Arli blowing the "rape whistle" necklace we call it.

And my brother surprised me with these lovely boots I'd been wanting!! ahh love.

And my wonderful Mother inlaw and Father in law gave me a gift card to Target to even get these.

Mis Arli Farli when we got home last night. such a cutie. Her top bun these last couple days have just made me giddy looking at her.

Also earlier this week on Monday.. we had a combined birthday celebration at Kim's (Tucks mom) house for Tucker, Barrett, and myself. It was some good eatin, and even better company!

I have some pretty amazingly cute sweet kids. I'm so lucky.

They were telling me Happy birthday throughout the whole day. And singing to me in the car.

Tucker sang me Happy Birthday on the way home from our date.. And he followed the english version with the family traditional spanish version. It completed my birthday!

Too much?

2011-11-13T20:58:00.001-07:00

lots. of. pictures.

Some might say this is overboard.

I think not.

From Left to right: (if you're still reading this)

1. Last Sunday Dinner Delicious Soup Kelsey made. 2. Arli with her twinner bebe. 3. Arli bein cute

4. Beck's new transformer Thrift find. 5.Beck "measuring" our legs. 6. Sharing earbuds for our show=love

7. Sofie.. wet and cold.. but smellin fresh. 8.Arli pissed at me. Nuff said. 9. Beck being a "Hammerhead shark" on my kitchen floor.

1. Wedding time! 2. Girls lookin fly ;) 3. my hot man date.

4. hot man date with llama tie lookin fly. 5. Beck........ face? 6. Game day, before Tuck went off to the game for Stats

7. Me and Beck played catch for 30 min. Legit! 8. Arli building.. again! and so proud. 9. Arli in the blocks box. nice.

Date niiight with the Pences.

1. Arli getting spoon fed ice cream by Dane (aka her date) 2. Kels and Dane treatin us to dinna! 3. Arli givin Dane a shoulder massage.. see her lil hands?

Best Buy was the next stop.

4. Boys and video games... nuff said. 5. Arli on her date's shoulders. 6. Kels lookin beautiful and preggo!

Annnnd that was the end of my week/weekend..

Life is good. again.

I mean really... with these little two punks taggin along .. it was twice the fun :)

Wait.. I know something thats even better...

Our FRIENDS having babies. :D

The Doss' just had their little Daxton... and Kelsey and Dane will welcome lil Girlie Pence in March.

We are so excited for both them... amazing friends.. and amazing times to come!

And not to mention we started my Birthday week off RIGHT tonight! Yummy.. delicious... chocolate snickers ice cream. Whew. so good. I'ts been a while dear ice cream. I've missed you.

New everyday life

2011-11-06T17:53:00.001-07:00

Well... i have to just come out and confide on here.... or in you... .. (hello :)
For an early birthday present... We got myself a nice shiny iphone4s.
Can I just say how much I absolutely love it?!?
And I mean... I totally deserve this... I've always had the crappy phone. And I dealt with my old one long enough. But not only that... now I can actually get emails and use aps that actually work. Its amazing. It does wonders.
But I think so far my absolute favorite thing is Instagram.
Capturing life has never been so simple. And lovely. Not to mention practical since it'd be ridiculous to carry my nice camera every and break it. And did i mention it takes awesome pics and videos?
Ah.. like i said...
I am in love.. with my iphone.

My weekend. ( & extras)

1. Tucker's bday dinner at El Gallo 2. Arli and Rex-poo

3. Gma Silvia on Skype throwin the peace sign. note the mess kids made 4. Arli at winco & unsure.

5. Beck's finds at D.I. 6. Me watchin kids in disgust with my bad mommness at Mcd's

7. Cute Dahlia at my cousins bridal shower. 8. Kids and Kallie at other cousin's wedding reception.

9. Arli cookie monster.. Get it guuurl 10. Beck and Arli in their fort. Fort=Love.

And Tuck has been in Vegas this weekend for the BSU game. He was doin stats in the radio booth. And apparently was on T.V. my friend in my ward sent me this pic she took of her tv with Tuck on it. HAH. love it. What a studdy stud.

Halloween Mash

2011-11-03T21:23:00.001-06:00

Woa. I've never had such a jam packed Halloween.
It was a lot of fun with these two kiddos!

Friday: Arli on the way home from Paige's Halloween Party

(Arli refused to dress up and Beck was batman)

Saturday: Beck and Arli at the Trunk or Treat for our ward.

Beck "changed his mind" and was Darth Vader (which I prefered)

And I had to shove Arli in her princess dress which she was refusing to wear again. She cried for 10 minutes but then got over it. And acted like nothin happened later.

yeah.. I'm a mean mom like that.

Me and Arli in the disco dancing trailer that a guy did in our ward! So fun!!

Monday Halloween: Off to Kim and Jake's party!

Beck is Batman again. I shoved Arli in the dress yet again.

Beck bobbin' for apples with Dane's help hahah.

And Me and Tuck.

Tucker is a "futre missionary"( get it?) like his tag says (which is acutally Beck's)

I'm a Deported Mexican.

Let me just say.. at first I was just a plain old prisoner.. but Tuck added the magic touch of "Deported" to really take advantage of my browness. Cool.

We had so much fun at all the festivites!!!
Blessed does not even scratch the surface of how I feel. We are so lucky to have not only amazing family.. but made amazing friends who love our kids.

Now that THAT is all said and done...
I'm glad Halloween is over...
I'm not much of a Halloweener... Bring on the real Holidays! Specifically Christmas.... Am I getting ahead of myself?

Birthday Time

2011-11-02T15:28:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to my main squeeze Tucker!

You are my chocolate syrup to my ice cream.

Thank you for choosing to share your life with us :)

Is that too much? Well... its true.

We love you! Way beyond words.

I've been working frantically on his present for the past week and a half.

The goal was to make him cry... he said he almost did. hahah he was really excited though.

Arli spilled the beans about the "bsu blanket" yesterday

Arli to tucker: we made you a blanket daddy!

Beck: but we wont tell you what kind!
Arli: ..it's a BSU blanket
Tuck stares at me....

.. i know.... we were so close!

But he said he was expecting more of a fleece blanket. No way.. I go big or go home. I made him a BSU T-shirt quilt.

He opened it up and looked at each square with a huge smile :) So glad!

And yes.. he still has BSU attire left. Haha.. I actually made him go through his drawer last spring so he had gotten rid of the ones he never wore or was too small for him.. or gross for me to look at. Little did he know, I had saved them for this project. I myself sacraficed a couple of my own shirts too. That's love.

The guy loves Boise State.... Beck picked him out a BSU license plate frame thing. He took some time picking it out, it was so cute. And Arli picked out a Bronco head antenna/key chain right off the bat.

Happy Birthday Babycakes!
We love you so much Tucker love! Thanks for being the funny one, nice one, laid back one, rational one, did i mention hilarious one, and hunk-a-licious one.

Love, Michelle, Beck, & Arli

Craftssss

2011-11-02T15:16:00.001-06:00

What's my favorite Relief society acitivity everrr? Craft night.. duh.

We got to make some aweosme things! I chose to make these:

Christmas Countdown Blocks

A must have with my kiddos! They're going to love it.

The blocks are like dice and have a different number and paper on each side.

I think my favorite is this bird nest necklace.

We had a great lady in my ward learn how to make them and then teach the craft.

It was awesome! And these are so easy to make.. And so cute.

And yes.. I have 3 eggs in my nest.. even though I only have 2 kids.

Right now.. the third one is my dog Sofie. But it WILL represent a baby... someday :)

unless... I have twins.. crap.

Best thing about this.. It only cost me $3.00 to make.. instead of... uhh Yeah $20-$30 to buy. (We bought one for my mom and my mother in law last mothers day)

Loved these great crafts! And I love craft night!

Cheerin up

2011-10-25T20:40:00.001-06:00

I had a rough night the other night.
Sometimes life just doesn't cooperate with your own plans.
And I'm getting better at dealing with this and enjoying the now.
I don't think I'm ready to elaborate any more on that blogwise yet though.

This is what really cheered me up that night.
It is a video of my brother in law Barrett's homecoming from his year in Iraq last month. These sweet little ones are my nephews and niece. And of course, my amazing sister in law (Tuck's sister) Kendra.
Tucker and I were there to capture pictures (me) and video(Tuck) for them.
And this is what came of it :) We had fun making it.

Photoshoot gone semi-wrong

2011-10-21T09:57:00.002-06:00

Kids and I went on a little photoshoot last night with a friend.

The spot was really pretty, I loved it!

But the kids were not so much cooperating.. like. at. all.

Here are the only good ones I got... out of what? 250? yeah.

And here is the jumbled mess of pictures I got... but man... I can't say I LOVE em. they could be better.. lighting .. kids .. or something. BUT they are part of the "good" ones:

And here is a series of pictures I shall cherish forever.

So nice and sweet.. posin for me..

Then Beck gets tired of her. In comes the evil eye.

And a push in the face..

Turns into an eye jab. Really Beck?

Wonderful evening. :)

Crazy Nights No More

2011-10-19T15:54:00.002-06:00

Typical Nose pic, and Arli's go to silly face. hands and all.

The Butt grab and This one is new for Arli.. but I like it.

It's already Wednesday.
that means it's been a whole week since I've blogged. Which is strange.
I'm not quite sure how this happened. But I better end it now.

I feel off lately.
Yesterday was the worst of the off days.
I've had lots of custom orders come into my etsy shop... which is fantastic. and I'm super excited about. But in comes the time management. Yesterday afternoon I had to crochet in a messy room.
Ahhh it was horrible. I cannot even begin to explain how I hate a messy room. I can never do anything in a messy room. Which is partly why it's hard to get so much creating done.. since I'm always cleaning.
It's a vicous cycle.
But yeseterday, I didn't have a choice. I had an order to get finished.. and aww it was painful to sit in the mess.
I decided I need to manage my time better. Or better yet.. just have a routine down.. clean during this time... crochet during this time... of course Children time is worked in there 24/7 :) and bla bla bla.
To top off my "off" day yesterday.. Tuck started his CNA classes. Only 2 nights a week. And really.. I don't have to worry about making a real dinner those days.. But I miss the guy! Not only do I miss him.. but I needa find something to occupy our evening hours during those evenings.
Cause last night our evening went as follows:
Sat outside a bit longer after Tuck left.
Went inside to make cookies.
Kids helped.
Arli ate shortning.
I ate cookie dough.
a lot.
Like ....a wrongful amount.
And then I ate the actual cookies when they were done.
And then we went to my room for a movie party.
Had a dinner picnic on my bed.
Skyped with Grandma.
Beck learned how to take a picture with my camera. Yes. I was that loopy.
Bed time.
Equals Beck scared time.
Watched New Girl... hilarious.
Ran out of needed color of yarn.
Beck comes out of his room. Requests Sofie the dog.
Wasted my time on the internet reading about some matters that don't pertain to me.
Annnnd Tucker came home and brought me my ice cream.. turned milkshake. yum.

While the camera party was fun. (picture above and below) and it was kinda organized chaos.
But yes. I'd say I definitely need a better game plan tomorrow night..
Because if I continue down this dark road.. I will be... well let's just say I'll look like those mexicans that wear too tight of pants and have their gut hanging over because their legs dont grow but their bellies sure do.
yup.
It's the truth.
So I. cannot. go. there.

Routine. yes please.
Better activity options. yes please
Better bed time routine. yes please.
Better food choices.. uhhh Si, por favor.

But really... I stinking love these two. :)
Look at that sweet handsome face. Ahhh i just wanna smooch it!

Oh and can't forget her.... :)

When Daddy Comes Home

2011-10-12T14:44:00.000-06:00

Daddy's girl.

This Arli girl has a thing for her daddy. Which is how it should be :)

I was trying to take pictures of headwraps modeled on Arli for my etsy.

And she was just not cooperating. Surprise.

But once Daddy came home she had a whole new light to her.

All I had to do was snap away while she was still while Tucker talked to her.

And some always loved play time.

The emotion on her face says it all.

and just in color.

magic moment :)

E.T.

2011-10-09T19:49:00.001-06:00

I hate E.T.

Who's with me!?!

Well.. what's a childhood without E.T. though.. (other than a fantastic one?)

Tucker introduced Beck to E.T. probably a year ago. I walked into the family room and there they were all snuggled up on the couch.. and E.T. was on my tv screen. Why!

Beck didn't seem too bothered by it.. more so interested, intrigued, and curious.

All up until the part where E.T. is all bing tested on with the astronaut lookin guys all around them. Yeah that part kinda stirred him... and rightly so!

Fast forward all these months later..

for a few months now Beck has complained about nightmares. He is scared to go to bed. He says he hates his room. Some nights we do the routine good enough that he forgets to be afraid..other nights.. not so much. And when the nightmares first started, I let him fall asleep in my room and then transferred him. I mean.. I seriously felt for the little guy...

In comes the horrible truth: I too suffered from E.T. nightmares.

The kind of nightmares where he chases me down the stairs of my old house.

The kind where its dark and we are outside that creepy house and I'm hiding from E.T.

Horrible! Just horrible terrible nightmares.

Oh and I was age 16+.. don't judge.

So I would ask Beck about his dreams. Tell him to elaborate about how he felt. (Google told me to) And it seemed to help. We explained E.T. was nice and is his friend. (yeah I'm still not buyin' it)

So slowly the nightmares have become less common.

Okay.. insert my point here.

Beck LOVES getting mail. So sometimes we write mail addressed to him.. previously from "Mario" and other friends. He loves it. So last week he was asking if he got mail that day... Tuck was with him and said "I dunno! .... One sec guys.. I gotta do somethin'!"

And lo and behold... Beck received mail that day... from none other than E.T.

I had no idea Tuck sent him THAT^^^^^^I found it that night after we put the kids in bed.

I about freaked. I mean I was freeeaaaked out myself!

I thought why the HECK would he send him that from something Beck is so afraid of!?

Right? I mean... really?

Well, I hate to say it, but it must have worked.

Beck woke up this morning and after he gathered his thoughts, he got so excited and exclaimed..

"MOMMY! I had a dream of E.T.!!!"

me: "Reallyyy?! Woww"

Beck: "Yeah! I did! Me and E.T. played hide and go seek!"

Me: (about to cry of freaked out'dness).....

Beck: "It was so awesome!"

ehhhhh. creepy.

And just for memory's sake. Here is Beck and the legendary E.T.
Beck was just a wee 17 months old.

Me and my siblings do this weird odd thing.

We used to hide this E.T. in random places in the other's bedroom.. like under a pillow or blanket.. or closet. And then the other person would find and just freeak out.

Yeah.. that started at ages 18+

Post-its

2011-10-08T08:39:00.003-06:00

I'm a list girl.

I make countless lists for anything and everything...

Like really..

I have about 3 different types of "To-Do" lists.

And who doesn't love post-its.

Well these new Avery See-through Sticky Notes are brilliant.

I used them for my to-do lists in my event planning notebooks this past week.

But what's even cooler to use this for is school. Yeah. I'm not a college student- (and definitely not a high school student, thank you very much.) But my husband is. I gave him a pack to try out and before he even opened it, he was like a kid on Christmas morning. What a revolutionary idea! Sticky notes... that you can see through. He used them and raved about the convenience of placing them in his textbooks. He could jot things down, circle things, and write things to remember for tests etc.. and place the sticky note right over the information and it was completely transparent.

What a concept huh! He loves them.

And not only that.. but this office product company Avery is doing an awesome campaign to contribute to schools called Avery Sticky Notes Mark the Spot sweepstakes.

Imagine what you cand do with Avery Sticky notes and what schools can do with 1/2 million Box Tops coupons!

20,000 people who register for the sweepstake will win a free pack of the Avery See-Through sticky notes. Five of those winners will be randomly selected to reveive 100,000 Box Tops coupons ($10,000 value) to apply to a school of their choice.

Just go to the Avery facebook page and sign up to win a free pack of Sticky Notes and choose the school you'd like the money to go to if you should win. Simple and a great cause.

Just for readin this great post about the campaign.. Avery is giving away 6 packs of these awesome sticky notes!

Just comment below with you're email address and if you are feeling extra nice become a follower.

Winner will be chosen randomly on Tuesday morning, Oct 11.

Try your lucky out... Odds are good since I don't have a ton of commenters here :)
And..

Because once I restock the Etsy shop.. I will be doing a little giveaway from my own handmade items.

Bath Time Ponder

2011-09-30T14:28:00.002-06:00

Bath time. Arli and Beck- September 2010

I had a great moment last night.

I love bath time. Well let me restate that... I love bathtime when I take the time to slow down and ENJOY bathtime... (rather than the kids whining, "my eyyyyeess", fighting) I love the singing, the giggling, the clean baby smell.

Last night, I got the kids out of the bath, wrapped them up in their towels, and sent them on their way to their dad in their bedroom. I started pickin up all the bath toys left in the tub. I rushed them getting out of the tub, so I can't complain.
As I picked up the letters, numbers, and dozens of baby rubber duckies, a feeling just wooshed over me.
An unconditional love feeling.
Then a kinda surreal feeling.. like "Whoa... I'm 23 (well almost) and cleaning up bath toys .. from my 2 kids" came over me.
Tucker was in the other room getting them in their pajamas.. I could hear them giggle. Bedtime always starts with a ruckus with Daddy.
I thought about the whirlwind it had been to get here.
And that surreal feeling just kept sneakin up on me... not bad surreal.. just.. "wow" surreal.
I'm 22 with 2 kids, 19 months apart.
This is my life...

And I wouldn't want it any other way.
I am so gratefuly I've been blessed with everything falling into place.
Because... those two rascals. I love them.. dearly.
And I love being their Ma.

All the experiences I missed out on in the single adult years... can never amount to the experiences and moments I've had with these two adorable children.

For Babeh

2011-09-29T20:01:00.000-06:00

A gift I whipped up for my neighbor's new babeh.

Okay. not so much "whipped" more like.. worked on in between

childrens' needs and chaos.

Robin' it.

2011-09-26T20:24:00.002-06:00

Today.. I did not get ready.

I got showered after my workout, buuutt that's about it.
Usually these days I at least put some normal pants on.. cause I babysit and see parents throughout the day. But nope. not today. And it did not even bother me that my face was bare. :)
The thing is.. it's not like it was a "bad day" type of not getting ready day. It was a grand day. And I got things done still. Amazing what a woman can do in comfy clothes all day... I had forgotten.

I went to the kitchen to get dinner started. A bit cold for me, I put on my comfiest robe. It's practically a snuggie.
Arli came in the kitchen.. "What are you wearing?"
I giggled.
Oh Arli.... learn you must.
I told her I had a surprise for her. She got all giddy. And we both ran to her room with excitement. Literally giggling the whole way. I couldn't wait for her to see what I had in store for her.
Not one, but two comfy robes to choose from for her to wear.
How's a girl to choose? Hot pink or light pink... Hot pink or light pink?
She chose hot pink.. slipped it on. And we giggled and skipped all the way back to the kitchen.
I continued to cook..And I thought.. oh my goodness. I love this.
Beck came in the kitchen..
"uhhh what are you guys wearing?"

If I had a robe for him... he would have learned also.. But alas he was out of our robe circle. And he pretty much laughed at us. Whatev dude.

I'm pretty much kickin myself i didn't snap a photo of us in our robes..

[insert cute pic of robed me and mini me here]

It was glorious day in comfy, ugly clothes... that made me look fat. Pretty great!
And won't be doin that for the next 10 days (hopefully) My amazing friend Rachelle has put together an outfit challenge that lasts 10 days. Go to her Cents of Style Facebook page and "like" her and check it out if you wanna join me :) I'm secretly looking forward to it! Well.. not so much secretly.

Botkin Moments

2011-09-25T09:18:00.003-06:00

Beck bein cool in front of Old Faithful at Yellowstone back in July this summer

Some moments of late.

Awkward
-Tucker called me 21. He's been forgeting our real age lately... Come on! don't shorthand me!
-Changing my shirt in the car (tuck driving) Not just my shirt... but the g top too. Yeah I have speicific tops for tops. It was quite successful. I created a secret non-flashing way.
-At the pawn shop with my love and lovies. I showed Tuck a ring that i lurved. And said "Man you should have come here for my wedding ring." .... Duh, Michelle!! i coulda smacked myself in the face right then. Duh, I still love my ring you picked out! I imagine pickin out a ring is hard. How's an 18yr old boys supposed to know, ya know?
-Going down the escalator at the airport with two kids and one gets hurt and cries in the echoing part of the airport for 10 minutes. I looked like the worst 16 yr old mother ever.
-Bought the works for my monthy bill at Walgreens the other day. Lady was completely weird and strange. As she continued to ignore me, i grabbed my receipt myself and headed out the door- right as she said "oh hunny heres your couupons.*.and another one. and another one.* repeat 5 times. All i could say was "Really?! Pads and tampons, eh?" Apparently thats the coupon winner this week... Hopefully the line of men behind me could use the tip.

Awesome
-Hearing THEE most hilarious story of my life from Tucker's childhood. And he thought it was totally normal. Those are the best. I can only say... it has to do with behing pantsless. Was the hardest I've laughed in some time. It was like.. more than cry laughing. Beyond that.
-A sweet beautiful baby being born this week. Wishin I had one to cuddle myself. Yeah, I said it.
-Pickin up my dad from the airport and the kids running to greet him. Didn't expect them to.
-Mom sent home some amazing clothes she bought for us in Singapore. I lurve and miss her to the max!
-Beck got the sweetest robot from Singapore and Arli got 3 dresses and 3 of the cutest little dolls i've ever seen in my life.
-Arli knows the whole BSU fight song.. and sings is randomally and pretty often. It's just that little cute girly voice singin it that makes it 10x sweeter.

Tomorrow's a new day and fresh start. Fresh starts a great.
But i'm going to enjoy the rest of my day today... so-o-o much.
I love weekends.

Summer Runner

2011-09-21T16:16:00.000-06:00

This year has been a good one for me fitness and goal wise.

I ran my second 1/2 marathon a couple weekends ago.

And yes. I'm still addicted.. but I think I will enjoy it more once I actually prepare myself. HAH. Oh jeez. Like serioously. I ran prob 3-4 times in the month before the race. yeah.

But I HAD to do this one even though I didn't fully train.

My friend Angela (middle) put this whole race together for the women she had been training and running with throughout the summer. She is amazing. 'Nuff said.

Okayyy not 'Nuff said.. she even is the one who does our legit aerobic workouts during the school year. And she does it all for fwee. in her spare (what spare) time.

I definitely wouldn't have gone out running as much as I did without the whole running group she put together. It was awesome.

On the right is my cool friend Kelli! Who has moved away from the neighborhood.. So this was a special race to catch up and run toghether. HA. But that woman. She is awesome.. and we disocvered she can't NOT be competitive in a race. Which is not a bad thing. So we started running together but she had business to take care of and went off :) I found it pretty hilarious.

Though I did miss my running buddy a ton! My running game suffered.

Thanks Kelli. (don't worry I still like you)

Tuck and the kids were amazing and there to greet me at the finish of a rough course, which included 2 legit hills. Thanks Angela. Like I needed that.

But it was beyond satisfying to finish!

I seriously love that feeling.

Me, Angela, Kelli.

Me. gotta get proof... of my glistening sweaty self.

More? Yes.

This last weekend Tuck and I ran in the Autism Fun Run to support our nephew, Anson.

We try and run it every year. So far only missed one.

It was nice to run with family!

Here's a group pic I stole from my sister in law. :)

Go team Anson!

And we were super happy my Bro-inlaw Barrett got back from Iraq just in time to run!!

Baby Shower for Dahlia

2011-09-19T16:12:00.002-06:00

My awesome cousin Eryka is havin a babeh! Like... Soon. like this week hopefully!

Her baby girl's name will be Dahlia. So pretty.

I helped my aunt throw a baby shower for her earlier this month.

It turned out so great!

My aunt bakes amazing things galore. So she took care of the food.

And of course my thing is more decorating, so I did the decorations.

I think it all fit her perfectly!

Me and my cousin Eryka.

Love you Eyka!!

Now you need to blog, and sell your amazing art on Etsy.k.thanks.

(we are missin brin. sawd.)

Crochet for a Charity

2011-09-15T08:03:00.000-06:00

A close friend of mine works for Scentsy. She is a rockstar! She started to put together an auction to benefit a charity they are doing, Halt the Hunger.

She called me an asked if I'd be interetsed in donating some items to auction off.

Of course! Anything for that girl!

I've been working a bunch on crocheting some new products for the shop.

So it was perfect timing.

I busted these out.

New this season: Toddler adjustable headwrap

and th calssic: Adjustable Headwrap

I put some new and fresh looking flower on this seasons. I'm lovin the look.

I also donated a pair of leather baby shoes I made back in the spring.

They were for sale in my etsy but never sold.

But I stinking love them. I designed the anchor and cut it out by hand.

Labor of love.

Arli girl modeling the toddler headwrap for me. Turned out super adorable. I love it. I can't wait to buy some more yarn and more colors! Good things are coming, I'm tellin ya!

Feels good to donate something to an awesome cause! Now let's just hope someone wants them haha.

Soccer Mom

2011-09-14T13:18:00.002-06:00

I'm officially a soccer mom. Minus the mini van and mom pants.

Beck had his first soccer game this last Saturday. he loved it!

And he really did awesome! He made 2 goals. And he is on another level than the other kids cause he actually passes and expets to be passed to. (Thanks Gma Silvia) But thats not how they play at this age in this soccer league. The coach is not supposed to tell them to pass.

So Beck would go down the field saying "Pass it! Pass it!"

Stinkin hilarious.

Though he'll learn and get more aggressive.

Everytime him or his team made a goal he totally beamed!

He threw his arms in the air and would let out a "woo" or "yess"

At this age.. the game is so entertaining to watch! all those lil dude ... trippin over each other and such.

I love it.

So glad Beck loves it and is doing awesome!

It probably helps that Tucker is his coach. haha.

His first goal!! (I missed the goal celebration of his)

After his game.. he was too cool for school, for any of us! I could not get a good picture of him for the life of me. He would pretend he couldn't hear anyone and look somewhere else (typical Beck) Such a nice way to show appreciation for his family that came, right? Holy smokes.
Good thing theres many more games! He has one every Saturday through the month of October. So expect more pics...

Yay for being a soccer mom!

This kid has advanced my mom profile quite a bit this last month :)

Beck-The Big Bad Pre-schooler

2011-09-13T21:31:00.000-06:00

Beck's First day of Pre-school...

okay.. I lied.

..3rd day of Pre-school.

(mom fail on the first day pics stuff)

But the 3rd is just as good, if not bettery I say!

I told Beck to smile for me. And that first pic on the left is seriously exactly what he did.

What. The. Heck.

Then it hit me. My brother Brandon does this pose. And always tries to get Beck to pose with him, with failure. But, apparently it stuck in his head.. cause that's what he whipped out. Hilarious. I call it the Squat-gangsta-bicep-flex. Yeah.

That second pose is still a typical flexing pose. With added smile requested by moi.

And here are my little two bambinos.
Beck all ready for school... Arli .. well just bein Arli.
The ACTUAL first day, I didn't have time to live in the moment and feel my emotions of "letting go". Arli completely stole the moment with her crying of sadness. So I said bye to Beck and he was just fine!! And has loved it since! But Arli... ooooh Arli. She was heartbroken. Her best friend was taken away, if only for a few hours.
She tolerates it fine now. But last week was rough for her.. It was even heartbreaking for me watching HER. Yeah. Sad.

The best part about Beck in pre-school. (other than the time he gets away from home and learning and such) He comes home just talkin' up a storm about what he did, learned, and all that jazz. It is thee cutest thing ever. And he beams when he shows me all his papers he worked on and colorings. I love it.
I am officially the mother of a pre-schooler.
It's weird.

:)

Daddy-Daughter Date

2011-09-11T09:52:00.001-06:00

Miss Arli had her first Daddy-daughter date on Friday.

This is one of the many things that I longingly envisioned my little girl having. Maybe because I didn't have anything close to this, or maybe because it's just So stinking cute, or maybe cause it is one of the best things a little girl can have.
At any rate, it was seriously the cutest thing ever. Not that I got to witness it all... sadly. :)
Tucker took her to the mall. To go on the "magic stairs" as many times as she wished. And to walk up stairs all by herself. It is amazing what kids love doing when us parents take the time to LET them. Simple things I tell you!

Tucker took her to Claires.... oh my. I took her in there last month.. to cure her frantic meltdown at the mall. Magic. And just like that time, she pointed out things she wanted, which is pretty much everything. I told Tucker to stear her towards the earings. (She was in dier need, and hey if we're gonna spend money.. its gotta be on something she'll need & still love)
Needless to say, she had a blast.
To be honest.. she was hesitant at first to go. The girl is just stuck at the hip with me, like for real. She rarely lets Daddy do anything for her. You can imagine the frustration. So I've been tellin Tuck they need their one-on-one time.
But once she got her shoes on, she was ready to go! And look at that pic up ther^^... The girl is rubbing Daddy's ear. HAHAH She just knows how to play him. It's hilarious. And that smile ^^ THAT is my smiley Arli, which I neverrr get pictures of. Ain't she cute :)

Arli girl in Claires. In girl heaven. She put the purse on her arm and said "Take a picture Daddy!"

That girl is so lucky to have a sweet loving Daddy, whom she has wrapped around her finger at this point. haha. :)

New friend, New craft

2011-09-08T15:34:00.002-06:00

I am lucky to have made a friend :) yes. Lucky. i don't make new friends often. I'm just bad at it.

Before she leaves back to Rexburg, we have been hangin out a bit.

We decided to make this floral frame inspired by this one that I pinned on my pinterest board.

She chose looovely colors :) that seafoam green just gets me!

We spent some of yesterday creating then went thrifting. my fav!

And we then finished it today. I quite love it.

The best part is, it just takes scraps of fabric, and you can make any kind of fabric flower possible.. I even glued some plain old scraps and ruffled them to fill in spots.

And here's Miss Arli.. modeling it for us :)

Labor Day Happiness

2011-09-07T09:24:00.002-06:00

Our labor day weekend was busy... it went fast. And as always it was much enjoyed. We had friends over on multiple occasions and played some serious fun games, and caught up with old friends. We went to the park with my brother&company and laughed at the people around us. nice, i know.

But my favorite thing we did was run errands on Monday. Errands... in the hot hot hot car.
We went to a couple places just for simple things.
First stop, Walmart. Didn't the whiteboard calendar we went for. Tuck took a bathroom break and me and the kids made our way to the board games isle and browsed.
The kids wandered in the surrounding toy isles.. Arli saying "I want this for my birthday!" for just about every pink toy there. And I just say "okay Arli!" and she is very satisfied with that answer.
Beck found the dollar hot wheels.. and I always let him choose one. I find it so amusing to watch him choose just one. He thinks and looks long and hard about it. And then when he finally makes a decision... it is the most random one there. Today he surprised me and chose a semi-normal one. Cute kid.
Tucker came back and the kids of course were excited to show him everything they found.
An old familiar song was playing and when I walked towards Tucker he became my dream man and he danced with me in the isle. Seriously.. I love this man. I giggled like a little girl and we ended our dance with a quick squeeze on the tush. yeah, I said it.
In the next isle Beck did some DJ'ing for us on some barbie turn tables to end our Walmart trip.

Next stop, Offic Depot. ......... Scratch that. $40 whitebaords aren't really our style.

We then went to Shopko, surely shopko could pull through!
And surprisingly they did. (Who knew with how empty that store is) I found Tuck's whiteboard and he was pretty pleased with it, or himself, Who knows. So pleased, he started doin his dance moves down the isle.
This isn't a shocker.. He does these dance moves quite often in stores. I am not sure what provokes it. But it happens. He came back my way, and I knew I had to capture that moment.. I told him I just wanted to look at something in the other isle.. so then he continued dancing, And I whipped out my camera and recorded him in all his glory. It was quite hilarious.
As always, the best part is when he catches me. That kinda embarrased goofy grin. Love it.

And that is why I love my little family oh so much.
The little things :)

And here we are in all our awkward glory. I mean Tuck looks good.. but what's my face doin?

Balloon Night Glow

2011-09-04T07:52:00.002-06:00

We went to the Hot Air Balloon Night Glow this weekend. Is that even what it's called? I have no idea. I just keep makin up new names for it.

We met some friends there and it was so fun! We are so lucky to have awesome kids who like hanging out with our adult friends haha.

I had never been to this thing before.. and yeah.. I totally grew up in Boise. But whateva. It was so much fun though. They were mesmerized. Beck really wanted to go see the balloons in the morning.. and was so bummed when they missed them on their way out of town yesterday morning.

We are definitely making this a family tradition.. and next hopefully we can add the morning part cause, heck, they are up that early anyway most the time.

Family at the Balloon Glow

Amazingness! Kids loved it.. especially with Daddy. Arli couldn't help but pull a classic nose pick.

My hot huz holdin her girlie.. and the happy couple!

Thrifty Finds

2011-08-31T13:36:00.004-06:00

I had myself (with kids in toe) a lovely thrift outing today after Beck's preschool registration.

I wanted to go to multiple stores.. but I knew it wouldn't last long. So I opted for the good ol trusty D.I. as always.

And I came home with some little scores.

Let me share :)

This cute old dress.. Like it must be at least 90's.. so not that old HA but still.

I fell in complete love with it.. imagine it with leggings.. and boots.. and cute lil Arli workin it. Yeah. It's a bit short so will be more of a tunic for her.

I'm a sucker for this color, light blue. I guess I'm living vicariously through Arli's wardrobe becuase I have always wanted a button up like this.

$3. was a bit spendy in my opinion. remember what I said ^^ it was worth it.

Okay this fabric. much cuter in person.. i'm tellin ya.

But I love the tribal/indian look. Maybe some future bags or ipad case.. for the ipad we don't have.. but whatever.

I got 2 yards of each fabric $1 each.

I found this bag of belts amongst the outdoor stuff.

So glad I saved them! I have been in dier need of more skinny belts.. and helloo I got 9 for $1. Take that Forever21!

Happy thrifting!

** I have to add. I'm on the hunt for good courdoroy pants for Tucker. I found 2 JCrew pairs... 2 pairs!!! but alas.. it was not mean to be.. the size was 30/30 and tuck is 30/32.. my life got a little sadder in that moment. I was beyond bummed.

Artsy Arli #2

2011-08-28T21:01:00.004-06:00

Beautiful Arli... Really?!?!? why!?!?

We were JUST getting into the car to leave for church.. and I look at her to buckle her up...

Wowza.

Apparently Arli wanted to be a chalkboard girl... usin up my chalkboard paint...

Not cool.

You cant even see all the damage done. the folds in the dress are hiding her art along with the other side of her arm.

Such a shame too... that dress is too cute. Even Tucker said "its so sad, it was a really cute dress." yes.. it was.

When I pulled her out of the car, I told her to get inside. She immediately said "I didn't mean to Mommmmyyyy. It was an accident."

and continued to proclaim it was an accident the whole way to her room.

Of course in that stinkin cute voice!!

What's a mom to do?!

...

Well other than take a picture....

And the title of this post... should really read "Artsy Arli #316.... yes.. theres been many more occurences of Artsy Arli..

What?

You don't believe me?

Who wants to babysit.....

Bonus story:

We made it to church so late after Arli's wardrobe malfunction.. then I forgot my R.S. invites.

And of course when we got there and sat in the hall, Arli was on my lap and pretty much threw herself on the floor...hard... and balled. And it looked bad... on my part.

And I was framed I tell you! I totally looked like the worst mom ever.

The end.

Splash N' Dash

2011-08-27T14:21:00.002-06:00

Beck did his first all for fun Splash N' Dash kid's triathlon.

How legit is that?

He's been stoked for it, counting down the sleeps. He was so excited to show what he could do.

Here's a picture run through of what went down :)

Beck waiting for the race to start! He was super patient.. and even flexed for me :) Look at that cute number written on his cute buff arm! love it.

After one last flex he made his way up the ladder and down the water slide. he was hesitant to go down the slide.. but not because of the slide itself, because of the dirty puddle of water. The kid hates getting dirty.. weird.

BUT he coquered it! he wanted to cry so bad but toughened up and made his way to the bike transition with Tuck. And on to the bike! it was surprisingly long.. for a 4 yrd old. nothing he couldn't handle, but I was surprised.

Made his way through the bike to run transition and set off on the last leg of the race. Finishing sgtrong!! What a stud!

So proud of this litte boy. He wanted to do it and he did. I was unsure how he would do going out of his comfort zone but he did awesome! I know he felt so accomplished and proud of that medal! And he was excited to see family there supportin him!

The thing is... we didn't force him to do this (forcing is impossible with this one). I told him about it and asked him if he wanted to and he was stoked.

Not only is it freakin cute wathing little bodies do this, it is such a good start on the right path of health and fitness.

Can't wait till next year! Watch out, Arli might surprise ya :)

The Fair

2011-08-24T20:48:00.002-06:00

The Good ol' Western Idaho Fair.

I have not been to the fair since before I had Beck.. so that was 5 years ago. It was about time we went back! The kids absolutely LOVED it. As they should. Beck had been looking forward to it all day. And they did awesome. They really behaved really well, which was a huge plus!

First we checked out the animals. duh! OHmygosh. I had no idea Beck was gonna like it so much. Arli, yes she'd love it, given. Beck also, loved it though!

Then we met up with Tuck's family for some fair rides! What a stinkin blast.. I loved watching Beck experience it all for the first time. And that Arli stinker. Some of the carni's let her on (which they SHOULD she is tall enough) but some wouldn't. So it was hit and miss with her. The rides were so fun for them though, and just a blast to watch their faces through it all. Pure joy for them.

We wore them out, (better yet our tickets wore out) and we got some pronto pups, (dissapointing) and headed back to the petting zoo.

We made it to the juggling act.. which sadly wasn't great. But Beck seriously loved it! He was totally intrigued and it surprised me how much out of his comfort zone he was, just by trying to volunteer for stuff and sitting up really close. Loved watching him more than the show :)

We caught the very last bit of the hipnotism show and decided we needa go back without the kiddos for the whole thing. I have never seen a legit one. The one at my senior party totally does not count (Tuck was fakin it the whole time,, ruined it for me)

We left the fair having had a GRAND time.. Beck is already talking about "Next year" for the fair. Yeah, we told him the fair was closed after that night. One day kid.. we'll do all sorts of stuff.

SO glad we went. We had so much fun. Pleasantly surprised :)

1. Beck gettin his shirt eaten by a goat. 2. Beck lovin and laughin about it.

3. Arli and Dax goin on a ride. She doesn't look happy.. thats a lie.

4. Beck on his first ride with Bo. His face was hilarious. He LOVED it and was hooked.

1. Eden, Bo, and Beck on another ride where you spin it yourself while it goes around.

2. Beck realizing Eden and Bo are super good spinners.. perhaps gettin queasy. loved it!

3. Arli gazin at the fishies at one of the creepy carnie booths.

4. Arli on their last ride. She was thrilled she found one she could go on! Pure bliss. love that pic.

1. Arli recouping from a meltdown after being regected from a ride. Tuck got her happy again and put her up on his shoulders. Just as soon as she laughed, she was crying again.

2. Beck pickin Arli up. Love.

Artsy Arli

2011-08-18T15:23:00.002-06:00

It was a long evening yesterday....

especially for the tv, door, windows, and keyboard.

'Nuff said.

(note

Swim, Bike, Run.

2011-08-14T14:58:00.005-06:00

Tucker's first Sprint Triathlon was yesterday. He did Emmett's Most Excellenet Triathlon.

Tuck did great! His time was 1:22. Which is awesome cause his goal was somewhere around 1:40ish? But the guy doesn't give himself enough credit.

He also got first in his age group! P-rettyy cool if you ask me. He got to stand up on the podium and recieve his medal. What a stud!!

And yes. He's addicted.

I see many more trithlons in his future.

And I love it! 1. It's a great "hobby"!

2. It's just legit.

3. I reap the benifits of his hot bod!

So who's really the winner here?

Exactly.

Here's a collage of pics from the race! Going in order from the Start at the swim and the swim to bike transition. (we totally missed him at the Bike to Run Transition, we didn't expect him to swim so fast.) And then at the finish! I got some rad video of the finish! Including a little spewing. And of course we had to grab some ice cream on the way out! If you know Tuck, he is a hardcore lover of ice cream. He even incorporated ice cream in his training diet. Crazy I tell you.

Let me just lastly say... this guy has wanted to do a triathlon for over 2 years now! Finally this last spring we were able to purchase a road bike for him (thank you Walmart:). And thus his new hobby came alive! He rides to bike/school, runs, and goes to the Y to swim all with his buseh school schedule and hellooo Family time!

He was training pretty fantastically, then summer school started and he got some, but not all, workouts in. I think he did awesome! But he's itchin' to do better.

He was so excited to get this first one under his belt!

And so was I! It was a bit stressful as a spectactor. HA.

Luckily we had Tuck's mom Kim and Mike take the kids the night before and they were a HUGE help with the kids at the race! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'm so proud of my Tuck. I love me a stud.

Arli Pilar Troublemaker

2011-08-12T16:47:00.003-06:00

Arli.

This girl, I like to call my free spirit child.

She keeps me on my toes.

And tests my patience.

But is the stinking darn cutest thing ever.

Recipe for greatness right?

Scenario Uno- Kinda Scary! Arli, in the car. Buckled up in Beck's seat. Both garage doors opened. Easily could have turned into the scariest lost child case ever. But luckily, Arli decided to trap herself in the carseat. Just strange I tell you. I KNEW things were too quiet. Plus. when I grabbed my camera to take pictures she frreeaked out. So I had to just crack the door open and sneak it. And let's just say that now I lock the door leading OUT to the garage. Yes. She's officially caged in.

Scenario Dos- Okay this is just too dang cute.. see the cute side she has! She has 2 doggie beanie babies whom she sleeps with on her chest everynight. Apparently one needed a nap time today.

I tell you.. her and dogs. Something special :)

I stinkin love this wild child of mine.

Oh and whoever said boys are harder: A big "HA" to them. :)

Rough Day Anyone?

2011-08-10T16:24:00.005-06:00

Rough day during grouchy time today. Who knew a quick trip to the bank could be so horrible. Apparently 3 different transactions is 3 too many.

As I walked out to the car with crying kids in arms, I cried too.

I gave in to that failure feeling I so successfully block at times like these, and just let some tears roll.

It felt good.

Probably cause, I know I'm not alone in this feeling... kids acting out... in public...nothing going right.

But man, this motherhood thing... it's hard. But so much more amazing and fulfilling.

But today at 4:00pm- it was just plain hard.

Annnnd its August.

2011-08-06T07:29:00.002-06:00

You see that cute baldy back there? Yeah. That's my new husband. Tucker decided to "reward", that is the exact word he used, to "reward" himself for getting straight A's this summer school semester. What's the reward you ask?? A shaved head. It was pretty traumatic. This guy begs to shave his head.. he would have it like this all year round if he could. But, I'm sorry.. I just find a guys with hair a bit hotter. Well he kept asking and while asking one time he was in the bathroom and totally just did it. I wasn't expecting that man! He buzzed a line right on top. Pretty sure I was like "what are you DOINNNG??" and he popped out from the bathroom, buzzer in hand and said "What?" With a huge guilty smile on his face. Like I said, it was traumatic... for me. It was the shortest possible without straight up biccin' it. Boo! I hated it the first couple of days. But now, it has grown on me. As long as he has some facial hair too, it's not too shabby. Babe, if you're reading this, that doesn't mean you should do it EVER again :) (like THAT is realistic, HAH)

But the guy did deserve something he wanted. I am so pleased and proud of him for gettin great grades last semester. Especially summer school! Just the time and work that takes, and with a family, let alone a little son named Beck saying "Are you done with your homework yet to play with me?" -constantly. :)

We missed him! But now we got him for a couple more weeks before Fall semester starts and we are taking advantage of it. Beck still sometimes asks, "Do you have any homework?" -Just out of habit haha. Oh boy, he'll be askin that for the next 3 years. And then some later on.

The rest of August should be good. We got Tuck's Sprint Triathlon next saturday. We got birthdays, weddings, and lots of summer to take care of.

I know August only just started but I am looking forward to Fall.

Yes, Fall. I'll use up my Roaring springs pass to the max, and then I'm ready.

I can't lie. I'm sick of my tryin to look cute with my non cute shorts. I'm ready for my skinny jeans and 20 cardigans waiting for me in my closet.

Yes, 20. But don't judge.

It's hard for me to part with any of them, even if I don't wear 'em.

So they just grow into a big cardi family whom I love.

Peruvian in Singapore

2011-08-02T13:03:00.003-06:00

Bye Mamasita and Dad.

They offiially are off to Singapore. It's been a brewin' for a while.. and actually going, and an official date was always unsure. But it happened. I took them to the airport yesterday morning. And it was good and sad.

I cried. You might call me a baby. And sure, go ahead. You might think "Man she's pathetic.. I don't even have my parents in the same state as me" And sure go ahead. It's kinda like those long months we were in California.. but not. This time I'll have everyone around me but her. You see, since we live with them, my kids are totally grandma love spoiled. Meaning, she was always playing with them in her spare time. And by playing, I mean REALLY playing. Making up games, singing, dancing, exploring. I don't quite know how she does it :)

I'm gonna miss my mom. Everything we did togethe and the huge help she is. But even more what made me cry, was seeing how hard it was for her and the kids to say goodbye. I could tell she was holding back tears. For my sake probably. But it didn't make it less sad. They were both just sad. Beck especially. Even Arli yelled after grandma when she walked into the airport. When we got home Beck just said, "Nope, Grandmas not here..."

It just breaks my little heart okay?!?! And I think that is allowed.

The good news is.. they will be back by mid December. So in reality, it really isn't all too long.

And life will go along just fine until they return. Although she's missing some holidays and weddings and babies being born, she will be back in time for Christmas. And I think it will be a GREAT christmas this year.

Tuck and I are holdin down the fort. This nice lovely fort they left us. And it will be good.

The one thing I find bothersome.. is when people say "This will be a good experience for you guys." And I'm thinkinnn "what are ya tryin to say?" HA really though. What ARE they tryin to say? We are already adults here.. not like we aren't responsible already.

And then people say "Oh it will be so fun to have the house to yourselves.. be like your own house".... and I think "No. Not even close actually." It is and will be my moms house. it is their decor, their pictures, their... everything. Which is good. Our house will come one day.. and it will be glorious. But everything will be the same here.. just not them in it. Not like we're takin over the master and jacuzzi or anything people.

For the next 4 1/2 months. Skype will be our family's best friend.

I will be jealous of her adventures. And beach time.

And I will miss my mother tremendously.

I am just lucky she is one of my B.F.F's and stuff ;)

I will say one thing... Rex (my dad's german shepherd) just lays by their door waiting. and waiting. It breaks my heart. He knew it was coming though. When we were putting the luggage in the tahoe, Rex totally jumped in the back. And tried again when ALL the luggage was in there.

That pup. He might need some more lovin while they're gone.

I feel like I'm going on and on.. I guess I just miss my mommy.

Yeah I said it, and I'm okay with that.

P.S. If anyone wants to donate $5,000 for me to go visit... I'm down. HA

Sprinkler

2011-08-01T07:48:00.002-06:00

It is 7:48 AM and the chillins are still sleeping.

Very odd. But it has been happening a little bit more frequently. And I am loving it.

They used to wake up at 8am every morning. But once summer came it creeped its way back to 7. So this is very nice. Even though my internal alarm clock wakes me up about 7:15, I love being awake before them.

And since I am awake, I'm gonna share these pics :)

Look at those cute tummies!! I just love it.

After Beck's birthday party (holymoly-2 weeks ago) We had Beck's cousin mister Bo spend the night. Fun stuff for a 4 yr old right?

They had a blast.. they slept on the floor. and even Arli requested she sleep on the floor. They woke up, we had some pancakes and played in the backwyard with the sprinkler.

It was a good time.

Ya know what I love? Beck and Arli having some fabulous cousins. We are SO thankful for the other little ones our kids have the chance to grow up with.

And this whole sprinkler/sleepover thing... will probably be a staple in the cousin life. I hope :)

Beck is 4

2011-07-25T10:05:00.008-06:00

This cute 6 lb. 3 0z baby boy went from this...

to this handsome boy.

Beck turned 4 last Monday on July 18.

My Dear Cute Beck,

You are not cute... you're cool. I knooowww. Got it. Beck thank you for blessing my life in so many ways. I do not know where I'd be without you. Thank you for being the best little boy. You are kinda a perfectionist and like things a certain way. (More than kinda) You have such a intricate little mind. I love your passion for things. You are a GREAT athlete already! And you practice all on your own, all the time. You're dance moves are to die for. And your strength for break dancing is hilarious and awesome. Thank you for still holding my hand, and giving my hand kisses. Thank you for the hugs. Thank you for being a good older brother.

love, mom

Beck age 4 Favorite Things:

Color- Green

Toys- cars, mario toys,

Food- PB&J and Ice cream

Sport- Basketball

Shoes- Nikes (of course)

Best friend- Bo (his cousin)

Movie- Spiderman

This year wasn't too hard on me, as a mom.

Next year will be harder, and I'll shed more than a few tears.

Though I did have a hard time letting the hug go the night before his birthday.

That last hug as a little 3 year old went too fast.

You can check out his birthday party pics here on facebook:

Its worth it :) His Mario cake was a success!

Me time

2011-07-22T11:35:00.002-06:00

Arli loungin with Rex. Typical.

You see.. I don't know what loungin means... not lately anyway.

And today.. My mom (Gma Silvia) and Grandma (Great Gma Mercedes) took the kids out for a fun day. They are gonna hit up Monkey bizness. and other such fun things. I'm sure a happy meal will work its way in there somehow.

And the kids will love it all. They adore their Grandmas.

And today.. I will be kid free.. for hours.

Anticipating this, I already got the cleaning done.

And though there is much I could be doing. Example: sewing, crafting, cleaning some more, and some seirous blog catching up...

I think I will just lay in the sun.

I cannot tell you how much I want to do this.

I gotta go now... I've already written too much, used up too much of my precious time.

p.s. I kinda already miss the kids.

Happy Campers

2011-07-13T16:53:00.003-06:00

Here is my picture re-cap of camping over the 4th July weekend.

Tuck, Beck, Arli and Jessica settin up the tent(duh I had to take pics).

Hilarious Beck sportin his goggles from Jessica.

Along with some flexing moves.

And then bein so distrought from me taking pictures of him, he had to ponder in his chair by the lake.

Beautiful Jessica.

Cutest puppies ever. Jack and Lula.

And daddy takin the kids to see the herd of sheep that came down the road every evening.
Tuck and Adam carryin the kids on 2nd night of Sheep watching.

Arli snackin her heart out.

And downing 7ups. Only when camping.

Arli loooovin swimmin in the lake with Daddy. It was a bit nerve wrecking for me.

Jess and I took the kids to the parade while the boys golfed. They loved it.

Except for the water being sprayed on them, as you can see Jessica consoling a very sad Arli.

Adam and Tucker are the cutest little shoulder ride givers ever. :)

Adam held Arli in a time of need (ya know ... when ya just need a second break from crazy disobeying children) And of course Arli was so peaceful, layed there, and fell asleep in his arms.

Kels and I made a sand castle. complete with a winding moat. yes impressive.

The tradition continues. Well i dunno about tradition.. but we always end up playing it! Monopoly went a bit too long. The boys can go for hours. literally. As you can see in the pic, tucker is looking at his watch. yeah. hours.

And a lovely pic of the happy couple. On a drive to what turned out to be around the whole payette lake. Lovely. No really, it was. Kids fell asleep and Tuck and I had a lil break.

Our friendly happy camper family :)

The Botkin fam, The Pences, and the Doss fam.

Notice Tucker has Jack burrowed in his sweatshirt.

Love it. It made me like him a lot ;)

The boys and the girls had to take seperate pics ... duh.

Camping was so fun. It was especially nice to relax and just be. Well in between tending to kids. But our friends were pretty much their second parents there. They are amazing with our kids. And Beck and Arli talk about them all the time.

We are preeetttyyy lucky to have found friends that we love, and who love our kids. (and don't mind them hanging out with us pretty much most of the time.)

Thank you for the awesome camping spot Doss fam. It was gorgeous.. and the whole weekend was a blast!

p.s. Doss, we are dyin for some of that delicious sausage you coooked for breakfast.

America's Birthday

2011-07-06T10:42:00.004-06:00

I'd say we had a fantastic 4th of July this year. We started with our last day camping.. packed up and made the drive home. Had ourselves a little carwash and such, then went to Tuck's dad's for a BBQ with great family. Kids of course had fun with cousins and good food was eaten.

Tuck came back to reality and did some homework while we played. Then we took our bikes down to the fireworks at Ann Morrison. It was kinda crowded to ride, but we made it.

Along with family, our friends Adam and Jessica (whom we camped with) met us there too.

That Arli girl just loves them. (more to come on that later).

Lots of pictures taken.

Lots of snacks.

And lots of fireworks.

Just lots of Fun.

I feel super blessed to live in this amazing country. And am so grateful for the men and women who serve to keep it free. Especially the family supporting those men and women. My sister in law, Kendra, comes to mind especially. :) We love you Barrett and Kendra!

And I'm so glad my grandparents went through all the trouble they did to come to this country and bring their 6 kids with them.

This country is truly amazing!

After that fun weekend, I'm not even gonna lie. It was hard to come back to reality after a long weekend of awesome camping with some equally awesome friends.

So hard. Lucky for me my reality is still fun, with kids and swimming, just with errands and other motherly duties.

Tucker's reality is a little more brutal haha. work, school, homework, train, work, school, homework, train, onnnn repeat.

BUT even luckier is we leave again tomorrow to Yellowstone for Tuck's Munson side Family reunion. We can't wait!

A camping recap post to come soon. That is, if I get to it. :)

2 More Sleeps

2011-06-29T18:55:00.003-06:00

Our days thus far:

Parades. Swings. Late nights. Smores. Cousins. Family. Friends. Swimming. Playing.

What the kids keep talking about:

We are counting down the "sleeps" (as Beck calls it) until camping! (and the reunion OH and Beck's bday.) Beck asks all the time, How many sleeps until camping?

They're pretty focused on it for the weekend.

I love it.

yesterday Arli was saying literally all throughout the day, "I wanna go camping!"

No matter what we asked her, what she wanted to do, what she wanted to eat. That was her answer. And at some points, her tone got a bit fiesty with some stink eye action.

Lucky her, only 2 more sleeps.

If they ever go to sleep tonight that is.

Man, they are talkin up a storm in there right now.

Our Summer Start

2011-06-24T09:17:00.003-06:00

First week of real summer. Now that the summer weather is here to stay, we spent our week in it's glory. Swimmin lessons past two weeks. Roaring springs, swim lessons, and a pool party all on Monday.

We made our way out to Sandy pointe on Wedensday with my brother and his friends. Which was a blast. but smelly. The kids got used to their life jackets a bit. And Arli was fearless as usual. Beck was timid.. and hated the sand. But he conquered it by the end. (So proud) And they had some fun water wars with one of Ryan's friends. It was so fun.

And today we might hit up Roaring Springs again. but only 77 degrees isn't as inviting as 95 was earlier this week. Man, am I gettin sun greedy already?

I lather the kids up in sunscreen. I do. But you couldn't tell I ever did because of their glorious tanning abilities. My cousin had a good term for this, "Indian Baby" yes. that is what I have. My little Arli is bout as brown as me already after 3 official days in the sun so far. I'll still do my duty as a mom and lather them up though.

I'm so glad summer is here.

This week has been so fun. I'm so looking forward to more fun with family and friends the rest of the summer.

Some things coming up:

4th July weekend (next weekend FYI)- Camping in Cascade with friends. SO excited for this. We have great friends!

The following weekend is Tucker's mom's side Family Reunion. The Munson Reunion in

Yellowstone. So looking forward to this too! Wish it wasn't so far, but all the fun to be had will be worth it. I'm excited for the kids to be in Yellowstone and hopefully they'll think Old Faithful is pretty cool. Cause I do.

Beck's Birthday is July 17th. The kid will be 4. :) I'm not so much sad about this birthday. I'm excited for him to be out of number 3. I think 5 will be a hard one next year.

Following Beck's birthdays are a few fun-filled family birthdays.

Woah, I can already tell July will go fast.

Photo Credits-Ryan Hope : Thanks ryan for snapping these. Sorry my camera had the wrong memory card and only took like.. 5. haha. Next time!

Father's Day

2011-06-19T00:18:00.000-06:00

Happy Fathers Day to my awesome Husband,

my own Dad, both my father-in-laws, and my brother-in-laws!

Woh .. that's lots of awesome fatherness goin on!

To my husband of 4 1/2 years (wowza)...

Thank you for stepping up and being thee most amazing father to our kids.

Thank you for working hard and bringin home the bacon for our little family.

Thank you for going to school (and going back again and again) and studyin your cute buns off to bring home more bacon in the future for our growing family.

Thank you for always being so happy to be home from work/school, and play with the kids, they adore you.

Thank you for having passion about the things you love: sports, music, being funny ;)

Thank you for having a sense of humor.

Ultimately really, for being you, with me,thus being us.

Happy Fathers Day babycakes!

Picture tiiiime:

Kiddos playin with pops in the backyard. Like I said, they adore him.

No one is as fun as Daddy, duh.

And I just had to throw these in. haha

That Arli girl!! the look on her face while copyin daddy was to die for.

That last picture is just me showin off my baby's daddy's honkin tough calfs.

Yeah. See 'em? you can't miss em. They are manly tough. My brother likes to refer them as the ultimate Man-Calves, and talks highly of them. hahah.

I lucked out in the baby's daddy department.

Have a great Father's day everyone :)

Just Sayin'

2011-06-16T22:43:00.004-06:00

I have some pretty sweet kids...

Like Beck, who first pick me some of these pretty peonis earlier this week.

and when those wilted away..

Arli picked me some more.

Everytime I look at them I just have to smell them. Not only are they so so pretty and one of my favorite flowers.. they smell so good. And I'm usually not one too keen on flower smells.

Thank you adorable children.

For being sweet.

For making me smile.

For making little moments in my day more sweet.

... And especially for all the pitter patter of feet I hear all day long.

I have some pretty amazing little children.

Just sayin' :)

My lovley couple

2011-06-14T13:00:00.002-06:00

Say hello to my married friends.

Beck and Arli Botkin (how convenient that have the same last name already).

And Beck really delivered.. look at that honkin diamond ring on Arli's hand.

I was impressed.

They came into my room holding hands, Beck guiding her with his hand on her back, and announced that they were married. It was pretty cute. This isn't the first time they've pretended this.. but it IS the first time with a ring. holy cow ring! All it really includes is some walking around with hand holding, looking all sweet, and hugging. Pretty cute innocent stuff.

What I'm glad is Beck seems to be really observant and I'm glad he's taken from us that marraige is about love and friendship. (and not all the things it shouldn't be)

But really I don't have to read into it so much... haha. It's just plain cute!

And of course.. not even a minute later they are wrestling on my bed.

And I've found they are quite the wrestling team. Beck drags her down and Arli loves it. I need some footage soon. Which will probably be right at bedtime because for some reason thats when the wrestling bug hits everyday. Something about beds....who knows.

I do love my cute little couple o' kiddos.

Wild Things

2011-06-12T19:45:00.004-06:00

Aren't these costumes the best?

My brother Ryan introduced his friend to the D.I. last week. And then they came over to surprise the kids with some amazing prints of drawn animals (bought at an art show) which they framed and Beck took right to his room and set it by his bed.

And then tey followed those up with these awesome costumes. Fit so perfect, total sign it was meant to be. Beck is a sweet raccoon.. of course. and Arli a wee baby giraffe haha.

I love it.

They stayed in them for quite a while (Beck had sweat to prove it). Then they took the roaming outside in the yard. Trying to climb trees and roaring at me.

The pictures just remind me of the boy in the movie Where the Wild Things Are.

I loved watching them sneak around and just totally imersed in their imagination. :)

Kids are so magical.

A Rain Experience

2011-06-12T19:19:00.002-06:00

it has been a glorious month. But, am I the only one that thinks it's going so fast? Seriously.

So I find myself playing catch up right now. All these things waiting to be blogged.

We have been busy with what the weather has to offer, good and bad.

We went to Ann Morrison park a couple weeks ago with my sister, and my brother and his friend. Had us some delicious curry made by them. And then continued to play and swing.

I made Brin lay under my feet while I was swinging. She was royally freaking out with scurriness and it was most enjoyable for me. It was hilarious.

We made our way out to the car just as it started raining. But then it REALLY started raining. My brother and his friend had already made inside his truck, didn't even bother with us. And then it started POURING. and then Hailing! Really and truly. It was ridiculously random! I was fumbling around in my bag for my keys, Brin was screaming for me to hurry, I was laughing and half screaming. Then the kids joined in screaming and scared. haha. It was a sight (at least i'd think so if I had seen that haa)

I got the keys out and Brin and I sacraficed our backs to buckle the kids in. And we got in to go.

I looked around the car and we were soaked and we were just laughing. It was hilarious. I had to document the moment.

And of course, just as suddenly as it had started, it compeltely stopped and was only sprinkling. REALLY weather? really?!

Of course Arli didn't want her picture taken (drraamaa).

And then they were out like light before we even got back on the connector.

Babeh Gifting

2011-06-02T15:07:00.003-06:00

It is baby gifting season apparently :) I'm loving it. I put together this gift for my Aunt Chelsee's sweet baby Naira. Can't wait to meet her!!

Itty Bitty baby shoes.

(Fabric from DI.. total score)

Framed free Printable found here

I printed it on some cute scrapbook paper and pulled out an old frame I had spray painted forever ago. (I have quite a random collection of frames under my bed)

And of course for the sweet babe girl, some handmade hair accessories.

I've got a couple more friends/cousin with babehs a comin. So this could get fun :)

Utah for a Day

2011-06-02T08:59:00.002-06:00

Quick trip to Utah.

We made the drive for my Aunt Chelsea's baby shower. And took it upon ourselves to make it a mini girls trip. So, of course, Arli had to make the trip too! Not a real girls' trip without the most dramatic one, right?

We were a bit late to the shower because of the drive (lets just say I didn't think through the whole gas situation and there was a lot of praying involved). The five hour drive explains Arli's ridiculous messy bun haha. Oh jeez.

My two aunts live just down the street from eachother, so it was fun hoppin house to house to see everyone. My aunt Carie's backyard proved to be a great place for pictures.

It all started with a pink balloon. Which Brittany let fly away, and Arli pointed and cried.

Then we jumped. Cause we can. :)

We went shopping, laughed a lot, and had us some fun.

I have to say, I had to force my sister to come. But once I gave up on convining her, she called and decided to go. Whoa guilt trip huh. haha. but really, we had a blast.

I like us. :)

Ninja Turtles and a Quote

2011-05-26T09:59:00.004-06:00

Oh hey Beck and fellow ninja turtles. This picture sums up my life. And I like it.

Cleaning every day, all the kids' toys and things lying around, I find myself quite enjoying myself. After we put the kids to bed I come to my room and put all the kids toys left in my room from the day's play in a small pile by the door. (more for precaution reasons along with my neat freak tendencies)

Ninja turtles, batman, a golf club, a half-naked barbie, a hello kitty purse, and of course shoes.

I start to think what they were doing that day and a little bit of "what the heck is this doing here".

I love my life.

They pretty much saved me.. and I will never be able to thank them enough.

Specifically Beck.

My little ninja turtle lovin all around boy.

Like I said, I love my life. :)

Now, I have something to chat about. Oprah fan or not, hear me out.

I am an Oprah fan. I loved her show. and for on and off period of times watched regularly.

Whether you like her or not, you cannot deny she is an amazing woman who has done some even more amazing things for others.

Yesterday was her last show. No guests, no music, it was just Oprah talking to her viewers the whole hour. She said her "love letter " to everyone.

I watched while I sewed and played tic tac toe with Beck.

It was pretty great. I was in the mood for some heart to heart so this probably helped. :)

She talked about a previous guest. A woman who was a Harvard educated brain scientist and then had a stroke. It affected left part of the brain that did the communicating. But she was still "there" and wanted her doctors and family to know that. She said she could feel the energy of people that would walk into her room. And if a doctor came who didn't even act like she was there, she then, wouldn't give back to him showing she was there. It was all based on peoples' energy.

Oprah quoted that woman saying: (and even has it hanging in her office)

"Please take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space."

My thoughts:

Wow. What an amazing quote on so many levels.

First.. take responsibility! No matter what your dad did, or your childhood was like, any abuse you recieved, (things that are very common sadly) do not blame that person or what happened for who you are now. Take responsibility and move forward. Be a better person because of those things.

Then onto the next part of that quote, : for the energy you bring into this space.

Your energy, your attitude, everything. This may be connected with the thought "positive attitude" But it is so much more. If you are that good person, (you probably think you are) then let it show through your energy.

Like i said, it is so much more. And I could have a deep conversation about this if needs be.

Lucky for you, not right now.

But,

For some reason, this quote was perfect for me. In so many ways. Though I won't go into detail.

I don't worship Oprah, she is not my idol. But she has done many good things.

I feel perty lucky I heard that quote.

Shop Update

2011-05-17T14:38:00.003-06:00

Trying to put stuff up in the shop... is hard.

Why? It really should be easy peasy..

and it is.. once I get going.

I have more stuff waiting in my container to be pictured and put up..

but for now..

I have some new items stocked in the shop.

Kinda random stuff.

Go take a look :)

and if you like what you see, spread the word.

The Deed is Done

2011-05-14T12:59:00.009-06:00

I ran my first Half Marathon today!

And lovely Husband did too. :)

(well his second)

How it all went down- (I'm writing this for my own benefit, you certainly can skip ahead haha.)

It was surprisingly splendid. let me explain..

some background info...

I've been running this year pretty regularly.. but the farthest distance I had gone was 6 miles. I was just in the beg./middle of my training for a 1/2 marathon.. Then we decided to run the Great Potato.

Then the question came. 10k or 1/2???? Ahh. It was stressin me OUT.

I signed up for the 10k. might as well do good in something I know I can do right?

But then when I looked up the half I was training for.. ummm hello it was not even near me and there was another one but $85! I'm not made of moneh'.

Once we found all that out.. Tuck pretty much decided I needed to run the 1/2. And I wasn't disagreeing. So he changed my race for me.

So- not fully prepared, the furthest I had ran was 6 miles, and add my nerves to that! = recipe for "My goal is to just finish"

But I exceeded my expectations.

At first my goal was to not walk until after the 10th mile. Then once I got there and I was still good, my goal changed to no walking at all. My cardio was good. I was keeping a good pace and felt awesome. I wasn't ever wheezing towards the end like I thought it would be like.

Got to mile 11 and picked up the pace. Then to the last mile, and picked it up more. and sprinted the end.

I felt good. I didn't expect that. My time was 2:03:29 . Which was an awesome surprise! not even a full minute behind Tuck.

Once I found out my time.. it was killin me I could have finished under 2 hours if only I had my watch set right. In the beggining I started it late so the time was off, so I didn't have that to look at and know I was doing so good (I was honestly expecting closer to 2 and half hours.)

It was a blast! I'm so glad I got sucked into doing the half.. if I didn't, I'd still be thinking I wasn't ready for one. So thank you Tucker for that!

And it makes me excited to actually train and see what comes from it. I'm not sayin i'm gonna set records. But definitely personal records. It's a fun new running world for me now.

Thanks to all the fam that supported us on the course! Almost to the finish line there was Travis and Stacie and I could hear them yelling my name and cheering me on. It felt awesome to have that extra push! And Tuck's dad was there also at the end with his handy dandy camera in hand. And my mom and sister came with the kiddos (after I finished - take me telling them i'd finish later and then getting two kids out the doors= them a little late haha)

But it was awesome to have my kids see us in the zone and just have my mom and sister come and support us :) The support brightened up my run. so Thank you all!

Now.. my legs hurt. my body hurts hah. BUT It was so worth it.

I feel so accomplished and proud of myself.

Remember, I've been wanting to do this for a while.

I think it just scared me.

Everyone needs something to works towards :)

Whats next? well the next half that is comin up and affordable is in the fall..

But a 10k mud run is comin up! Anyone else down?

We are totally gonna get a group together for this!

At least I want to haha.

Popsicle Kinda Days

2011-05-13T14:36:00.003-06:00

Finally! Popsicle season is upon us..

This weather is beautiful. Something about the weather warming up outside.. Onto the fun things the outdoors has to offer, is just joyous. It really puts my puts my spirits high. How could anyone not love the warm breeze and sunkissed cheeks?

Definitely popsicle weather :)

And when it is popsicle weather, everyone's happy. And I do enjoy a nice popsicle myself.

so it's a win-win.

On a sidenote:

The ice cream truck comes by our neighborhood almost religiously, its weird. And not fair. I caved the first day it came by.. and bought them their first ever ice cream truck treats. Then once those 2 dollars was long gone out of my pocket, I decided no more. Winco has my popsicle heart.

Oh and I heard rainy weather and lower temp rumors for next week... But hey, that won't get me down!

I love rain too. So there! You unpredictable Boise weather. take that.

My Mothers Day

2011-05-12T07:29:00.000-06:00

I had a glorious Mothers Day here at my household. :)

I woke up to Tucker already out of bed and whispers behind the door.

Those whispers and prep talk by Tuck was the best gift of all.

They came in, Beck happily saying "happy mothers day!" and presented me my gifts.

A drawing/card from each of them. And they each handed me a pair of shorts. Then the big whammy, a nike wristband that tracks all that good stuff for running. And with that a new pair of shoes.

We continued our morning celebration over at Tuck's mom's house to wish her a Happy Day. And then came home and played Donkey Kong until it was time for church. Exactly what I needed. Just relaxing.

At church the kids went up and did their mothers day duty and sang a song. It was Beck's first time to be able to do this. We tried to convince him to go up. and he ALMOST did. But with no surprise he did not end up going up. Arli on the other hand (still in nursery) started walking up the isle while saying "Come on Beck! come on!" waiving her hand towards the front.

When he didn't listen she just went. And stood in the very front right behind that little wall so only her head and little hand resting at her chin were visible. She was awesome. I just kept laughing.. She was doing so good my worries about her freaking out dispersed.

Of course right then she got the jeebies and started crying for "mommy!" I nudged Tucker (kinda hard, he wasn't gettin the memo) to go get her. They came down the isle and straight out the doors to get a breather.

Not ideal.. but it all made my day :) At least one of my kids got up there for me!

Then the men had put together a treats in the gym. Fondue, fruit, cinnamon rolls and more.

It was delish.

The rest of the evening me and my brother made dinner. We enjoyed that steak dinner and ended the night.

It was honestly one of my Best Mother's Days. I mean every year is good. But Tuck really got everything down this year! (Though last year he recorded a mothers day song for me.. which i loooove)

Not only am I lucky to have my own amazing mother. But I feel SO lucky to have my own kids that make me a mother. I love them. I love being their mom. I love spending every day with them. I love watching them grow.

Thank you Beck and Arli, for making me a mother, and teaching me how to be a good one.

I ended up taking back those awesome Nikes.

I always feel so guilty when a lot is spent on me. Maybe its a mom thing?

The shoes weren't ideal for running but were sure freakin cute! But my asics are still in great shape and will do just fine. And I got a little pouch to put on my shoe to hold the sensor for my wristband. In turn I got a couple new running shorts and other gear. It just vamps up my love for the sport!

Wish me luck this weekend ;)

more to come if I'm not embarrassed by how it all turns out.

Babeh' Glory

2011-05-07T18:04:00.002-06:00

I love babehs!

My friend from high school had her baby shower..

And I was DELIGHTED to make some baby stuff!

She's having a boy and her hubs is a Cowboys fan.

Here's the bundle of goodness I made for the baby gift.

A giraffe baby rattle toy , and matching pacifier clip.

Mustache onsie, of course! i love them.

And a Cowboys onsie to please Pops.

And little bitty red leather moccasin baby shoes.

I am loving these mocs! I followed a basic pattern for baby shoes but then added all my own design to make them moccasin inpsired by Freshly Picked. I did what I could with figuring it out on my own. But I love how they turned out. Plus I get the leather from scraps from my Father in law's upholstery shop.. So it is fantastic! He is so generous to let me go in and get take whatever scraps I want.

I have a stack of cut out leather ready to sewed into shoes.

:) possibilites are endless.

Love me some Boys

2011-05-03T12:45:00.000-06:00

that last face is pretty intense hahah. It looks JUST like one of Tuck's faces he makes.

I've been kinda whiny lately. It's true and I'm not even gonna give my excuses why. Because in all reality its called Life.

But my husband hasn't gotten impatient, insensitive, or worse-called me whiny at all.

it's quite amazing in my book. I feel lucky.

And then I see my boys together and I feel even luckier.

I have two handsome boys that love me to the moon and back... times a million. (Beck's fav. number right now)

Beck still loves to hold my hand, do "noses", and cuddle. But he is also so protective of his sister and total Boy, playing basketball, ninja turtles, and whatever else that sweet little imagination comes up with.

And really he is kinda a mini Tucker.. And I like it :)

(i've been babysitting a lot lately, come later this week I will have some stuff up I've been working on for baby showers, the shop, etc! just you wait :)

Let's go ride a bike

2011-05-01T10:48:00.003-06:00

We're a biker family...

In case you haven't heard.

I just love being outdoors with the kids and the husband. I can just feel all the memories that are being made in the little ones' minds. It makes me so happy we are doing things together, active, outdoors, and something worth while.

Tucker sold his scooter and bought a road bike to commute to and from work. Is this sounding familiar? Yeah, he was on the news for their story about gas prices and such. Haha.. i know.. how the heck did he get on the news? Twitter. Yup. He doesn't have facebook or any other internet social things except twitter. Anywho.. he got semi-famous and he gladly let it go to his head. He was even riding home that day and a lady rolled down her window and yelled some grand encouragement at him, like "Way to go!" or something of the sort. He is loving this new hobby.. and he's wanted to do it for so long. So I'm a very happy supportive wife here. Except the one thing I could've done without was the way the news said I was trading in MY car for a bike, even though I'd have to pull the kids. Ummmmm no way Jose. Yes its true, I'm gonna get a new bike.. But certainly not a road bike for my only transportation. HA I laughed. Silly KTVB.

Anyways-

We have been riding around a bit.. Tucker more than us. Because right after this ride that is pictured.. I pulled a goathead out of my tire and it popped. Boo.

This is Beck and the "classic Beck" face he made when we told him to wait to get in the trailer.

PouTY! Bike gloves and all.

And both the kids ready to go. The ride out wasn't bad. They were great! The only problem was when Arli fell asleep and was leaning on Beck, he was so anoyed.

But the way home was a different story. They fought almost the whole way. 4 1/2 miles. Not fun. But they'll get used to it. No choice.

Awh, I just have such great memories of being pulled in a trailer by my dad, all the way to Table Rock. Yes, true story. Pretty crazy impressive. Me and my sister in the back. I don't remember wearing a helmet like I make my kids wear. But I do remember being so hot and sitting there, squished next to my sister, bouncing around and bumpin heads.

It's the simple things in life that make it grand :)

Lazy Sundays

2011-05-01T10:41:00.004-06:00

Best Flexing pose evaaa Beck!

I love our lazy sundays. Our church meeting isn't until 1pm. Though its rather a inconvenient time, we have a bunch of free time in the morning to just hang out.

The kids are watching Caillou (ya know, the bald annoying cartoon kid) and all is well, as long as they get along. I came upon all these pictures I haven't posted yet..

These were from a couple of weeks ago. Even before Easter. The kids just played in the backyard. Arli loved trying to catch the willow tree branches .. and everything was just blissful.

They even worked in some baseball practice with Uncle Brando. :)

Let the Easter rumpus start..

2011-04-23T15:18:00.005-06:00

Happy Easter Weekend :)

Ella(cousin), Beck, and Arli after they OWNED that Egg hunt.

We kicked it off right, starting with a community easter egg hunt.

Pretty great! We are some busy people over here and have a family-fun-filled weekend.

Sometime after the egg hunt this morning, we went to Costco and Beck said "There are like hundreds of people here! So watch out." Said in his cute little wise voice. True that, Beck! Thanks for the advice bud.

Then off to the park we go, for a Easter picnic with Tuck's family. Then maybe a baseball game or egg dying tonight? Time will tell.

Then tomorrow, bust out the Easter breakfast with my fam. Then to the legendary Easter egg hunt at Tuck's dad's with yummy grub. Then another Easter dinner back with my family.

Who knew Easter could get so popularly busy. But it's a blast to spend time with family, and we are lucky all of our family live in the area.

And plus, all these Holidays are fun no matter what when you have kids. More magical, no?

Am I right or am I right?

Arli Shoot

2011-04-22T16:28:00.004-06:00

I am lucky enough to have a friend, Audrey, who is a professional photographer. She has been such a help opening my eyes a bit about photography. She invited me over to have a photoshoot with arli, with her awesome backdrops. And we let the natural light come through the windows. It was seriously fun! Though, I did feel so inadequate. But hey thats just part of the beginner game :) Huge plus, she was A-M-AZING with Arli. So I wasn't surprised when Arli never turned back to look at me again. haha. I was lucky that she was shooting with her own camera too.

These are the goodies I got. Still so cute even though she wasn't looking in my direction.

I knoooowww so many pictures right? Yeah, I'll say. We had this photoshoot on Wed. And I have been trying to pick and edit and put together these for 3 whole days now. So yes, lots of pictures. How can anyone choose just a couple? honestly? Plus I had to throw in duplicates of the different effects. It is just so fun to play around.

I just LOVE the second row of pictures of Arli. She looks so angelic and sweet. And that subtle dimple is to die for :)

She is growing up too fast. It seems ever since she started stringing words together, she never stopped getting smarter and growing that sweet attitude of hers.

It was so fun to get together Audrey! Thank you so much for lettin me bum around and use your drops while I had no idea what I was doing :)

Sweet Arli, I love you so much little girl.

We love Idaho..

2011-04-19T12:11:00.004-06:00

A lot. Can ya tell?

I took the idea off of the popular and trendy state prints with the heart on the capital. Have you seen them? I tried to find a good link, but haven't found it again.

I made Arli one on her shirt.. and then when Beck saw he requested one too. But couldn't put a heart on a boys shirt.. so a mustache it was!

I love them. The shape of the state of Idaho isn't that pretty though,I must say. But the kids pull it off well.

It was a fun quick project and I rekindled my love for t-shirt stenciling.

Thrifted Records

2011-04-12T15:13:00.004-06:00

Beck was completely mesmerized.

He loves listening to records.

And I love collecting them. Especially disney and kid ones.

We have some pretty nifty ones stashed away..

These are my most recent record finds.

I don't always look in that section..

because 1. it takes a while to go through

2. I always want something

But these were must haves :)

Records are only 50 cents at DI.

So, hit it up!

Green Inspiration

2011-04-11T21:26:00.002-06:00

I have this notebook full of torn out pages of decor magazines. Just interior designing that I love! Not all of it, I would necessarily put in my own home, but it is all total creative inspiration. And since I don't have my own home yet, this is what I've resorted to doing, collecting all the things I love in my cute notebook....so when I DO have that home.. I won't waste any time knowing what I want. :)

Today was a glum day.. I was pukey.. (literally) and then when I finally felt better I still had the icky lazy mood stuck with me. One of those days where I just want my own house.. my own space. I found myself looking through my handy dandy notebook.

And this sure looked appealing to my eyes!

I'll start sharing more pages from my notebook.. I mean theres some good stuff in there. Consider it a favor ;)

Major Date Night

2011-04-10T11:28:00.004-06:00

I love when our kids crash our "hot date night" photos.

We had a major date night last night. And someone didn't want me to leave.

Guess who? hint hint^^^^she looks very solemn.

Well she survived and forgot about us bout 2 minutes after we left.. so don't worry.

Tuck won tickets to the Sir Elton John concert.

So we got delish dinner at Donnie Macs and hit up the concert!

It was really good. Not only really good, but amazing. He has some serious talent..

Serious piano talent. I loved it all.

Plus ya know... seeing an icon was pretty cool too.

But the thing that made the whole date amazing was this ^^guy. :)

We went out to Ihop late friday night.. And just had a blast.

I mean seriously.. it was kinda ridiculous.

I was giggly, and on a sugar high (at least thats what our waiter told us)

And Tucker is hilarious..

and I'm not totally all there..

So there were some good times.

Then followed by last night's date, I feel spoiled relationship wise.

I wish I could just explain our awesomeness.

But alas, it is quite hard to pinpoint.

I can only say that.

1. i love laughing. and he takes care of this.

2. i do a lot of random things.. like giving people compliments on napkins..

and he lets me do this.

3. I love eating his fries... and this, he also allows.

4. We both jogged to and from the arena where the concert was, to our car.

I like this one very much.

We both kinda just read each others mind.

And then blew past everyone with our fast legs.

I love him.

Hair Pretties

2011-04-08T14:55:00.003-06:00

Here are the rest of the hair pretties I made last weekend.

I was on such a good run with these.. and now I've been trying to make more.. and I just haven't been in the mood.

I would start and then slooowllyy make them .. which isn't a very efficient way to craft.

Anyone else feel that way sometimes?

So I stopped :) but the weekend is upon us again! And I will try again soon.

I am seriously lovin felt lately. And loving that hot pink felt poof up there.

What do you think? Would you like to see some of these in the shop?

I'm also wantin to get my paints out and finally give those blank canvases some life. Let's hope I get to it. :)

Work it out

2011-04-07T20:49:00.000-06:00

Does anybody else love that song by Kanye- Work it out?

Well I do.

And I've been on a new work-out streak. Except it's not just a streak this time.. hah.

I started Insanity on Monday (plus the husband) and it is quite amazing. Along with the legit aerobics class I do Mon/Wed and running- it is all very invigorating and getting me pumped up for that stomach that I long for.

And maybe if you know me.. you're thinking this is dumb.. "you don't needa workout" sorta eye rolling stuff. I'm not in it to lose a ton of weight.. I'm just wanting to tone up and get a 6 pack.. cause let's be honest.. I want it back.

I have been eating pretty healthy... ya know, no ice cream every night and no treats unless on weekends. One chocolate chip did help me get through the day though yesterday.

And I swear I have already seen a difference in my energy, my attitude, and my mood. Everything just comes together so nicely. Yeah, some may say I shouldn't see physical results yet.. But I beg to differ.

I showed tucker my work and flexed my abs for him.. (some of them are hidden still HA)

This was his response exclaimed excitedly: "You have an innie!"

Wait... What??

Not exactly the response I was looking for.. but I'll take it..

To be honest my poor belly button was a bit weirded out since being preggo twice.

And I'm glad its on its way back "in".

Switchin things up

2011-04-07T09:29:00.003-06:00

I decided that instead of having two blogs to manage.. I am going to merge them into one. So I will now have my creative blog merged with my family blogging.

SO This blog will still exist, since I am merging everything onto here.

BUT I will be changing the url address from michelleandtucker.blogspot.com to probably michellepilar.blogspot.com.

So that means if you have my blog on your sidebar saved under the michelleandtucker url, it will not update any longer. I will post on facebook my new address.

But just note, it will probably be michellepilar.blogspot.com, just in case you are not on facebook.

Thanks friends! Hopefully I'll get this done soon :)

(I should have just done this in the first place.. but I didn't know if people would want to read about my hobbies.. But now.. i don't care haha.. in a nice way. if ya don't want to- you simply don't have to... cause life is grand like that.)

Dear Arli

2011-04-05T15:45:00.002-06:00

Dear Farli- I mean Arli,

I love being your mama.

Your cheesy smile with your scrunched up nose is the best.

But I sure love that sweet smile too.

Also, I love doing "noses" with you.

I love the way you say hello- "Hewwo?"

And hey, why are you already getting a tan?

Stop it...you've only spent 2 afternoons in the sun.

But you're cute tan line from your shoes are to die for.

I love you sweetness.

Love, mom

p.s. Stop growing..!!! You have to wait till you have a baby sibling ... yeah.. talk to your dad about that one. I'm tryin' my best.

T-shirt Headbands

2011-04-05T14:55:00.000-06:00

Have lots of old T-shirts in that donate pile from spring cleaning? This is a great way to use those old shirts!

Just cut a strip to the desired width, create the flower/bow, and then sew/hot glue together. And wala!

I personally love that light blue band with the mess of ruffled-ness on top. :)

I think this style will be super cute on Miss A for spring and summer.

And this definitely doesn't have to be just for little girls, you women can rock these too!

There are so many things to make from old t-shirts. Or any old piece of clothing for that matter.

Re-fashioning and re-purpousing is among my favorite things to do. And you can tell by the large container of clothes I have waiting for me to liven them up.

Oh boy.

more hair accessories to come.. I have found my love yet again with felt!

Hi, Bye Brin

2011-04-01T16:41:00.004-06:00

This is my beautiful sister Brittawnia. or Brin.. okay really its Brittany (but who really calls her that?) She came in last night for a quick visit. And she already left this afternoon back to UOI. Quite sad actually. I tried to convince her to stay for the weekend.. but apparently something better was happening up at school.. (mmhmmm i'm sure)

We went to the park with all the kiddos again today. The weather is just amazing. We played at the park for about an hour.. and got a good little photo session in. The sun was so bright though.. not really ideal. But ideal for the sake of my tanning situation.

The kids love her. I love her. I just wish she lived here. I think my life would be a bit more upbeat with her around :) Can't wait until summer break so she can come back for a few months.

We got home and little Sage (Tuck's cousin i've been watching) went down for a nap.. like a good little girl. My kids refused, so we went out front and they rode their bikes and drew with chalk. We just sat out there for a full hour. My brother joined us and even made up some banana milkshake for Beck. We just lounged. Completely sat there for an hour in the sun. Talked about poor Sofie, and her need for a hair cut. We just laughed at her.. I mean seriously you gotta see this pup. She is one of a kind. We talked about getting our beach bodies ready haha. yes its true. Health and fitness talk is common among us. And it was joyous.

I feel so lucky to have my siblings as my best friends. I'm not sure if its normal, but it's definitely awesome! They are hilarious, so supportive, amazing aunt/uncles, and would do anything for me.

Thank goodness for amazing weather that gives us a sweet break from the slow spring coming in.

Oh and not to mention my feet love me for the wee little tan line acquired today. Though if you asked Tuck, he would stare and say "What tan line?"

Boys.

Baby Nursery

2011-04-01T11:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, now I know its been a whole week! it just went by so fast.. add another child to my own to watch and then a couple nice days mixed in there, we've been busy.

I am working on some new crochet items to add to the shop. I need to take make more, take pictures etc. So in the meantime I want to show you this amazing baby nursery.

Remember the post with the owl plushie? I made it for this gal's sweet baby. And remember how I said I pretty much envied her house? Oh I didn't say that? I didn't go that far then but it's true. :)

And check out this nursery!!

Her name is Lindsey and has a blog and posted the whole nursery on there. With lots of before and after items in the room. My fav! The Damask and hot pink are so cute in there. And plus damask is so trendy of late. Though it's not my favorite, you cannot deny the just total cuteness of this room!

Check out the full room here.

Oh and did I mention we're related? Yeah.. she is my dad's cousin's daughter. I'm not good with titles.. but that makes her my second cousin or some sort. right?

I'll take it.

Outside bliss

2011-04-01T09:26:00.002-06:00

We are all in happier moods when the days are nice.

I absolutely love sitting on the steps, watching Beck-son ride his bike. He goes up and down the sidewalk.. and I've let him venture to the neighbors mailbox and back.

He is getting so big. I find when I consciously put myself in the moment, everything is perfect. Life is perfect, my kids are perfect, everything. Though in my different set of eyes they are not, I love this outlook. And I love spending time outside just hanging out. And lately I am practicing shooting with my camera on Manual. Yes.. finally. It is a whole new photography world, that you actually have to learn and be good at, and I love it. Though the learning is still in process.

Beck had ridden his bike for so long he decided he needed a break. What a perfect photo op.. and perfect stud muffin boy!

Thrift Finds-Girl Clothes Score

2011-03-25T09:45:00.000-06:00

Yes, the DI treated me well yesterday. Crewcuts clothes for miss Arli were a huge surprise find! Crewcuts is the kids clothing line for JCrew. And come on.. you know we all love JCrew.. or you should.

Just to give you an idea of the serious deals I got- Just one little girls shirt from there starts around $30. Yeah. Oh and the cardigans.. range from $50-$60.

So you can see now why I never purchased myself, and just drooled over their magazine.

But I completely lucked out! Some lucky mama did buy crewcuts for her child. (A mama that likes lilac purple apparently) And bless that mama's heart because now I am benefiting from that. She must of had quite the wardrobe for her kids. I can only imagine. And I couldn't help but think, "Man.. I wish I could track her down and ask for her kids' hand-me-downs." But hey, I'll take the lot of cute clothes she did donate. Even if it means I probably didn't find everything she donated. Dang. If only.

And as you can see, form my other (non-crewcuts) clothing finds, the color of the day was purple at DI.

Somehow, Arli got the purple memo. I did not.

Learning to Knit

2011-03-24T15:56:00.000-06:00

Yup! That's right. I'm finally learning how to knit.

And good thing because all those ADORABLE things I find to make, but aren't crochet patterns will now be miiine. :)

if you remember, it is on my to do list for the year.

But I was just not getting around to it for some time because 1. I don't like learning from people face to face. HA. I sound totally rude.

and 2. I didn't want to spend a free afternoon scoping out the internet for a good tutorial.

Well lo and behold... Ashley from Make it and Love it came to the rescue. (and if you haven't heard of this blog.. uhh where have you been. JK, but seriously)

She has lots of fun series on her blog, and thankfully as fate would have it, Learn to Knit is the latest one. She has a gal teaching weekly, in pictures, how to knit. Total beginner style. I like.

Though I had to look at the video the gal recommended, I'm a even MORE visual learner than just pictures haha. It's an awesome video and maybe now that I have the first step down, the next ones will be fine.

The series is only into the 3rd week, so that means the 3rd lesson. So it's not too late to get on the bandwagon. But really is it ever too late? Thank goodness.

If this is on your to-do list.. you must check it out!

And yeah, so far, I am owning this whole thing.