Month of pictures

Oh the frustrations. I've been looking forward to sitting down and doing a really good post about what we've been up to. I've even been keeping notes and reminders of things I wanted to make sure I included. I finally have a bit of time and some quiet (I'll be peace) and of course...I can't find my notes. Double frustrating because I've been working really really hard on keeping organized. Dang. So instead of anything logical or progressive, I give you: my month in pictures.

Here's one of Mason's latest creations. He really enjoys getting on the computer and is really proficient for a five year old. We didn't show him how to use the paint program but he's figured it out.

Oh how the boys love their cousins. One of Sam's favorite words is "Avery". Ask Eli what he wants to do for fun and he'll say "oh, play with Eli and Casey and Clain". Mason looks overjoyed to be learning about catapults with Casey at the library. 

Just as overjoyed as I am that Eli has mastered the Foot Flush. It's easier here at the tiny library bathroom, but he uses this technique everywhere we go. Home included.

Sam is clingier (yes, it's a word) than ever. After having 8 teeth his whole life it looks like he's getting a couple more so maybe that is why. I've been trying to spend more quality time with my treadmill.
Sam doesn't want to cooperate. I finally gave him front row seat and a stack of books and he doesn't fuss as much.

The kids are constantly playing with my phone. Here's is Eli's perspective:

Picture tree!

 Picture tree with suspicious face:

 We've had an awfully mild winter. Here we are, January, short sleeves, hanging out at the park. I say "boys smile" they respond with:

 At least Mason will cooperate:

 Sam love love loves his blanket. A lot. It looks like we need to start leaving it in the crib...

 One day Mason got home from school and pulled this notepad out. He tracked how many kids got on at each stop. We are the first stop and only four got on. And then seven. And look how many at Jaxon's stop! I think the bottom numbers were how many Kindergarteners got off the bus per stop.

 We gave Eli his very own Book of Mormon to take to primary now that he's a big kid. He loves his scriptures. We've been walking the (very very) long way to church to get all the extra energy out. Eli thought he'd just read along the way. His favorite part is the picture of Samuel the Lamanite.

 Speaking of scriptures, here's Joe teaching Mason how to read from them. Mason wouldn't have been that patient with his parents but he stuck with it a long time as Joe worked with him. Mason is learning new words each day and we've been reading the Junie B. Jones books which are delightful even if she says bad words like stupid and dumb.

 Sometimes our house gets hectic. Especially between the hours of 7am and 8pm. Sam is a smart little boy and knows how to find some peace and quiet. In the closet. With a bowl of pretzels.

 And then there was that one magical afternoon when I was reading and Sam was cuddling and he fell asleep. This never happens. So I had to take a picture to prove it. Then I ditched the book and basked in the cuddle love.

 Mason goes to Kindergarten. "and you are home schooled" he tells Eli. We love to do our projects and Eli tolerates lessons most days. Sam is always a good sport especially when it involves paintbrushes.

 Mason is getting really responsible and does more chores lately. He enjoys doing dishes if I will get out of his way and let him do it. He is always helpful with his brothers. Last week he woke up early every morning and got all ready for school on his own. With a twinkle in his eye because he is tricking me and doesn't need my help. Sneaky boy.

 The boys all like to help me cook and bake. Call it "making potions" and they love to get in on the action. The hard part is making sure they don't contribute any extra ingredients. We had a salt incident.... :)

 Sam mimics Eli who mimics Mason. Monkey see, monkey do, NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!

 We've been struggling with our chickens. They had a really rough molt and then didn't resume laying despite hot breakfasts, sprouted wheat, spa treatments, and timer lights. Then after Christmas I found a huge pile of eggs from Free Bird. With in a week they were all getting back into action. Que the skunk attack, some PTSD, some trapping, a neighbor getting sprayed from one of our new "pets", some visits from Animal Control, and we are now- officially- back on track and enjoying our fresh eggs.

 Sam thinks he's a marsupial. I just learned tonight from Mason's reading books that the Tasmanian Wolf was not a wolf or a dog but a marsupial. And now it's extinct. Good story.

Final two with the boys being the fun brothers that they are.

Here's to fresh starts:

Oh, happy happy New Year. I can fully admit that I’m typically more jaded and cynical about this time of year, but fortunately the fresh start of January perfectly coincided with my own attitudes and ambitions. So far, I’m going to label this year a winner. 

I’ve been so torn about how to write. I have experienced things in the past few years that really changed my mind about blogging. I realized some things can’t be posted. And some things, though they do affect me, aren’t my story to tell. I do want a better record of our delightful lives but I’ve yet to discover the perfect format or the discipline to make it happen. I’m still experimenting with journaling for some of those intimate experiences. I’ve learned I love the look and texture of filled pages. Also learned: I hate my handwriting and I am so frustrated that the pen in my hand can’t keep up with my train of thoughts.  I think slower writing could somehow be a good method for processing feelings and something something….yeah; I can’t even finish that thought. It’s time for my fast typing fingers to move on. 

Going through it, I’d say the holiday break was a little rough. A change in routine, combined with holiday treats and threats of a jolly red intruder seemed to wreak havoc on the boys’ emotional stability. Now that we are at the close of the break, I am sad to see it end. We have had some of the most enjoyable family moments in the past few weeks. 

I hope I always remember the movie nights, the ice skating disaster, the delicious fish fry’s, playing “wing wound da whoasies”, and Mason’s endless questions about Egypt. It took about a week but the boys found a new way to relate and interact with each other. In fact, their closeness is surprising. Yesterday I grabbed Mason for a quick library run. I peaked in the backseat to see him curled towards the door…and sobbing. When he finally found his voice he said “I wanted Eli to come.” That comment almost shocked me off the road. Sure they fight and tease and man do I wish I could just get them to respect personal space, but today Mason and Eli walked to primary hand in hand and I had one of those moments that make the rest of it worth it. 

Speaking of church, here’s Eli on his first day of Sunbeams.

I guess today was full of “those moments”. My friends blessed their baby boy in sacrament meeting. I couldn’t keep my damp eyes off that tiny child. I think perhaps it was the contrast between the little infant and my baby, my big buddy Sam, that made me so emotional. Sam isn’t a baby anymore. He’s 17 months old. I remember with the other boys anxiously waiting for them to reach the 18 month milestone so they could go to the nursery during church. But with Sam… I’ve decided that is too young.  I want to keep him with me. Like, forever. 

Sam the Sweet, we call him. Or Jason calls him Barnacle Boy. He loves his dad, his blankey (also named “dada”), and every now and then he will say my name, the little tease. This week he learned the word NO. At first he said it long and questioning like most of his words. Oooooopen? Mmmmmmmore? Nnnnnnnnno? But tonight I asked him if he wanted to go night night and without looking up he quietly whispered it. no.

 I think we could rename him Sam the Subtle, especially compared the ages and stages of his loud and crazy brothers. You have to work a bit harder to get him out of this shell, but when you do he’ll melt your heart and make you laugh your head off. Sam the Shy. That’ll be the one for this week. When people say hi or remark on his darling smile he gets majorly grumpy. It’s almost a pained expression and it’s hilarious. As if to say “Why why would you think it’s okay to make eye contact with me right now???”

Tonight we measured each child’s height on the pantry door. Another of “those moments”. Then we read “Tigers in the Cellar”, had family prayer, enjoyed a comical session of Ring around the Roses (me, trying to teach the boys that the correct words are “Ashley Ashley we all fall down), and then the usual bedtime routine. 

I’m truly sorry the holiday break has come to a close. 

It’s been so good for me and Jase. Of course we are always shocked to realize the school break doesn’t mean anything for us grownups and our real life demands. Still had jobs to go to. Still had dishes waiting. Still had to parent from time to time. Jason did have a few days off which were quickly filled with snowmobiling, ice fishing, and a visit to Richfield. I enjoyed the feeling of a break though. I especially enjoyed sneaking peaks at him lounging in the living room reading. Jason never lounges and Jason never reads. Sure I had to literally put the book in his hands and command him to read, but he got hooked, like I knew he would.

 I think my favorite holiday memory will be Christmas day. The kids were off destroying the house and my husband and I worked together to turn bags of oranges in to quarts of exquisitely fresh orange juice. It’s always the simple things that make me realize how happy I am. 

I guess that’s what life is about. Trying to balance it all and remember why you are doing it. Half the time I’m mighty stumped about what I should be doing.  And my kids befuddle me constantly. Mason can’t stand the feel of socks but wants to know the difference between petrified and mummified and Eli asks me if I’m so happy or so sad and then tells me I’m so beautiful and Sam cries over breakfast and laughs over hiccups and won’t say my name. But if God really wants us to be happy I’m pretty sure this is it.

Green toes, ways to die, and I'm really tired

I mowed the lawn yesterday. Front and back. With Jason protesting the whole time. With each row I alternated between love for spring and the outdoors and hate for who ever thought it was such a good idea to lay so much sod (it was me).

Favorite things about mowing the lawn: Being outside. Moving. Completing a task where you can clearly see what needs to be done, how to do it, witness your progress, and have such rewarding and immediate results. It's not laundry. The lovely smell. And that it makes my feet green.

I know you shouldn't mow bare footed or in flips but it completes the experience. So if you ever hear that all my toes were severed you can say "hm, musta been mowing the lawn silly girl". And if you ever hear I've been in a bizarre car wreck, just know it's because I sneezed. Sneezing while driving is so dangerous! I'm certain this will be the cause of my demise. This is something I think about almost daily. 

I want to be more active and enjoying this wonderful weather. But a little bit more than that, I'm really tired. Really really exhausted. And my back hurts. So do my hips. My abs are pretty much absent for the duration. I'll confess that I wake up every morning conspiring how I can sneak in a little more rest that day.

So why aren't you in bed, one might ask? Because sleeping at night is apparently not what this baby wants me to do. Ever. From the beginning I haven't been able to sleep at night. Then there was the bladder stage. Then the morning night sickness stage. Then the crazy hip pain stage which has lessened considerably. Now we have the "getting kinda big" stage mixed with the "why do I work such stupid hours" stage.

Somebody call the Waaaaambulance, right?

Actually I wanted to write this because I'm really excited for the 3am feeding stage. And then the learning to walk stage. And the copy everything big brothers do stage. And the wrestling and the teaching and the cuddling. And then, with all the kids we'll hit the "I don't need you Mom" stage and I will smile bravely and privately cry a little and still sneak in to peak at them at night. And then someday we'll hit the "Mom, I really need you"stage and I will smile lovingly and privately think "I know" and keep trying to be the best mom I know how to be.

On my mind

Mason (the son) hid the jelly beans from Jason (the father) so he wouldn't eat them all. I know Jase will read this so I shouldn't say it, but it's been so entertaining watching him search for the candy. I honestly don't know where they are and Jason really REALLY wants some jelly beans.

 

Today at the grocery store a woman told me that Eli was so darling he belonged on a cereal box. I guess that is how you know if you are cute, if you make an appearance on a cardboard container for processed/fortified breakfast food. It struck me as funny and I smirked for a good hour. Also, it's hard not to think you have the most gorgeous children when strangers are constantly gushing over them and commenting on their features. All. The. Time. 

 

I talked on the phone with my Uncle Larry for a very long time today. I know, without a doubt, I have the best family on earth. I need to make more of an effort to stay close and connected, but there are a lot of us and it's hard. I'm not joking when I say I have 4 reunions a summer plus two work weekends which are just like reunions but without a talent show. Actually, seeing the skills my Uncles have is pretty much like a talent show. (My dad has a talent for getting tractors stuck. I love that about him. Optimism proven.)

 

I love PB and J sandwiches, but lately just like them with one piece of bread. I went to type "open faced" but I wasn't sure that was a common term. In my family we have some strange terms. Don't worry, I Googled it and it's really something other people say too. So I love open faced PB & J sandwiches.

On another food topic, I heard it takes something like 50 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. I don't know where I heard this but I have been feeling astonished ever since. 

Did you hear the one about the pilot that woke up from a nap and saw Venus and thought it was a plane coming towards him so he dramatically saved everyone on board by dive bombing the plane towards the ocean? (Ironically there was a plane below them and he could have caused a real collision).  This story has fascinated me and I keep looking into it. I now know a lot more about pilot rest regulations and star orbit patterns. Did you know if you are going to nap it's best to sleep less than 45 minutes or more than an hour and a half if you want to avoid a case of the groggies? And every night that I work I look at Venus and smile. Good one, Venus. 

 

I still love Bountiful Baskets. We eat a much greater variety of healthy foods than we would otherwise. This week will be a challenge to use everything we got. Usually there is one or maybe two unusual items. This week we have jicima and beets. Eli and I ate one of the mangoes today. He just kept chomping and smiling. I will eat the three artichokes alone. Poor me. I am SO very sad that no one else likes them. NOT. The pineapple and bananas still need a day or two. 

I need to post this story on Mason's blog but I'll put it here too. The other day we were reheating some stir fry for dinner. Mason started specifying what he wanted in his bowl. "Oh carrots, I love those kind. And lots of broccoli Mom. Broccoli is my favorite. And some protein!" he said, pointing to the chicken. 

 

I finished reading Esther's Children. I am struck by two things. One, I am so grateful to live in a time when we don't have to have the trial of disease with us as prominently as just a few decades ago. There were so many stories filled with typhoid, whopping cough, polio, and many unknowns. As a parent I always have a deep fear that it's something worse when a child gets sick. I can't imagine living with those kind of threats to life and health. I feel like my testimony of immunizations was strengthened! The other thing that I learned was the simple yet divine pattern of faith. Trial, prayer, answer. Tribulation, fasting, resolution. Illness, blessing, miracle. Story after story followed the pattern. 

This is the last night Mason will be three. At bedtime I told him stories about him when he was born and what I remembered about each birthday. He is so excited for tomorrow. He fell asleep smiling. (Then I fell asleep too. I am very grateful for a husband who will find me where ever I've passed out to wake me up so I can get to work on time. ) I could say how unbelievable it is that I have a child this old or how fast time has gone by. Really I just want to say how much I love him. I love getting to know him more each day. I am so excited to get to witness his development and life. I love the gradual growth and the sudden revelations.

And now that all of that is out of my head I think I will sleep a little better.

 

Oh the joy, another BOY!

The third Starr boy will be making his grand entrance in August!

I'm unbelievably  

excited

happy

exhausted

overwhelmed

I only have two hands, so three kids is going to be a challenge. I was relieved to find out we're having a boy, at least we'll be in familiar territory. Hearing the news of "boy" felt just perfect.

I hardly can think of words to describe how I feel about this baby. I feel so aware of him, so bonded already. I wonder what he'll be like since the older boys were so opposite as babies. Can you have a third opposite? All I know is I keep thinking of the three amigos (and the song My Little Buttercup has been in my head nonstop) and how much I desire my sons to be best friends. 

 I love Jason's hand on my stomach pretending to feel the fluttering movement that can't be perceived from the outside. I love Mason's concern (Oh no, I don't know the new baby's name!) and his enthusiasm (daily: I am so excited for the new baby. I can't believe we're having THREE boys!). I love how Eli points out babies everywhere we go. He just about jumps for joy when near his new baby cousins. I feel a little sorrowful as I hold Eli at night and witness his vanishing infancy. I don't want him rushing into boyhood too soon. 

This pregnancy has been so different. I've not written as much as I should have, I am so very tired all the time. But Amigo has a blog of his own that I'll share soon. 

One thing I'm grateful to have learned~

I don't have to worry about having favorites.

I don't have to worry about having enough love. 

I don't have to worry about comparing my kids. 

After One, I learned about all consuming unconditional love. 

After having Two, I learned the infinite capacity of love. 

I can't wait to see what I'll learn with Three.

Pine Grove Adventure Day

We spent the day out searching for a new place Jason had heard about. We explored the Wah Wahs and Indian Peaks and found some fun places to camp and explore. Our objective was to find the Pine Grove reservoir. The canyon is pretty with huge ponderosas and old mining buildings. We stopped there to picnic and climb around.  We drove until we were almost stuck and then tried some more.

We finally found the reservoir on the way out of the canyon.We'd missed it going up because I was pointing to something up on the mountain so we went right by it.

From here we could see across the valley to the Indian Peak mountain range.

(I spy Jason up in the trees)

Mason wants to know "is this cow poop?"

Poor Eli was still not feeling great. He slept most of the time.

Though Jase was hoping for Elk, I thought the antelope were awesome.  

 

When leaving the Pine Grove area Jason noticed one of our tires was low. We drove out to the main dirt road to change it. I was feeling proud of our level of preparedness, we packed extra blankets, food, water, and first aid supplies. One thing we didn't count on was a spare that didn't fit.  The surprise of not having a tire to switch out was quickly followed by the realization that we were really far out. We talked to some guys that drove by and then decided to slowly head out on the low tire. We went home a different way so that we weren't in the boon docks. We made it to the highway fine and it was still holding some air so we continued on. I texted Dad when the spotty cell service came through so he would know about where we were. Jason stopped at a ranch house and we were able to use an air compressor. The tire held all the way home and we felt lucky the problem wasn't worse. Poor Dad. He was all geared up and ready for a rescue.

All things considered it was a wonderful way to spend a spring Saturday.

Getting festive for St. Pats

The basement was finally ready for paint so we went bold and green for St. Patrick's. (These pictures tone down the "spring green" quite a bit.)

Just wait until you see what we paint for Easter!


{I spy Lightening McQueen underwear}

 

 

This is one of my favorite holidays so we had lots of fun getting ready throughout the week. We had company so I decided against the traditional corned beef, red potatoes, and cabbage. Instead we packed in tons of green veggies and had fajitas and quinoa salad. Oh, and spinach muffins but I had to fill them with pudding to encourage consumption.

I searched high and low for green punch. Not just any green punch but the kind from my childhood. It comes in a milk-style jug and tastes like melted popsicles. I've truly been craving it for years. I thought this would be the perfect occasion to indulge but alas, it was no where to be found. As I inquired at different grocery stores I gathered it may have been off the shelves for the years. I was tempted to buy as many green popsicles as I could find and try to recreate the flavor but gave in and just made lemonade. 

I'll blog if you blog

Lindsey says we need to write more. I'll admit I am still catching up from last year and post dating like crazy. I have a lot of work to do. But I also pointed out that she hasn't really posted since returning to the states. Exactly, she says. So we blog.

For the record I hate the word blog. It sounds like a yucky cold symptom. As in "he sounded so blogged up when I talked to him on the phone." Or it could be a description for when you are feeling scrubby. As in "I ran to the store after working out. I looked like a total blog when I ran into an old boyfriend."

As usual though, I am having a hard time feeling inspired with this forced writing feeling. I have some good topics I want to write about, but I'm just not feeling it right now. So what else?

Well, for starters I am writing in the bathroom. (ew, that's so bloggy). Jason and Mason are out exploring in the rhino with the Johnson boys. Later they are all going to a basketball game at the University. I started trimming Eli's hair until I felt regretful and stopped. Now he's in the bath and I'm typing and supervising. Most people would see Eli and be of the opinion that his shaggy hair is still in need of a trim. At least now it's out of his eyes and not past his neck anymore. Eli started hating the bath a few days ago. Today I put him in first and then turned on the water. It seems to have done the trick and he's contentedly playing.

I can always write about food. I made Hawaiian haystacks last night for the first time. I've been craving leftovers all day. Actually all night as well. I worked until midnight and when I got home I had a serious debate with myself about eating again at that late hour. I guess I lost since I went to bed without. Janett and Brady came over for dinner and brought delicious homemade strawberry lemonade. It was amazing. I wonder if it is normal to love food so much.

A while back we had a Chinese dinner complete with chop sticks and fortune cookies. It is fun to have Mason grown up enough to be interested when I show him where China is on the map and to talk about different cultural things. Eli devoured each egg rolls in two bites. He is an eating machine.  Mason earnestly tried to use the chop sticks. He is so determined. They make dinner time entertaining, that is when I'm not pulling out my hair in frustration as Eli stuffs his face and makes a huge mess and Mason eats like a bird and just wants to be done.

*Eli is putting his face under the running water and then looking at me and acting shocked until I laugh. Then he smiles and laughs and does it again.*

Mason's favorite food is Otter Pops. He asks to have two, which I don't let him because one always melts and makes a mess. So now he asks for "two but one at a time". I can be okay with that. He will bring me an Otter Pop, scissors, and a wash cloth. My job is to cut it open and then wrap it up so his hands don't freeze.

Here's a food picture for you. We had extra cottage cheese left over from making stuffed shells. Eli had eaten everything else in the house so I dished some up for him. Cottage cheese is not a food I can eat plain and feeding him was making me gag. Mason offered to help out and cheerfully fed his little brother.

In unrelated news, I decided to give up being a slacker mom for Lent. It's a bit harder to track than other years when I've given up meat or chocolate but it needs to be done. The other day Mason came in while I was reading my scriptures and asked what I was reading about. "Robbers". What are they stealing, he asked. It suddenly occurred to me that he is old enough to read what I read, not just the basic scripture stories that we stick to. So he sat with me while I paraphrased each verse into understandable words. I decided we need to do it together every day. The next day we got to the part where the bad guy is hung in a tree. I hesitated there since that's pretty violent for a 3 year old. Mason didn't seem bothered by it, asked a couple questions, and then asked "then what?"

Mason likes the story of Samuel the Lamanite and will flip to that picture in his scriptures. He will show me the bad guys that are shooting arrows, laugh, and say "but they missed" like it's the biggest joke.

We went out to Three Peaks yesterday. Despite the rough offroading in the rhino, Mason quickly fell asleep in the back. Even Eli dozed off and on. After a couple hours we got out to play on the rocks. I love the cool rock formations we have in this area.

During one of my early psychology classes at college I learned about how Australian aborigines would just take off into the bush. Walkabouts, as they are called, involved few supplies, solitude, and introspection. They were both spiritual journeys and tests of survival. The goal was enlightenment and self actualization. Okay, I don't know how much of this is the white man's opinion on what was happening, but I fell in love with this idea and started planning my adventure. I picked an area out west of town in the desert and planned to be gone 3-4 days. I figured I'd take a knife and some kind of empty water container and that's it. I learned about edible plants, shelters, and how to create a green house effect on desert plants to create enough condensation to get drinking water. I added a plastic bag to my supply list. I spent time thinking about the dangers of rattlesnakes, big cats, and dehydration. I couldn't wait. And then- I didn't do it. I never actually decided against it. I simply didn't do it. I didn't make time for it or schedule it in. (side note: scheduling a walkabout is probably not how it's supposed to happen, but I didn't want to freak out my family, co workers, and roommates by just wandering off). Life went on. I got engaged, married, and then we started moving all over the nation. Had a baby. Then another.

Yesterday I sat on the knobby rock watching hawks float above me while the spring sun unsuccessfully tried to warm me up. I eyed a little indent in one of the rock formations and started planning on how I could turn it into a shelter if I had picked this spot as my temporary desert home. I considered a small muddy section of ground that was moistened by water seeping from the rock and wondered how late into the season it would stay wet. Suddenly I realized that I will never have my walkabout. I will never live alone in the desolation, even for a few days. I will not have hours of silence to think about my life and my purpose. This new life is the adventure I have chosen. And you don't wander away from your family in hopes of achieving some greater understanding of life. You stay in the trenches and grow in ways you never dreamed possible. I have discovered so much about myself by how I handle the 100th time a kid throws food across the room. I see the world so differently just by looking through a child's eyes. I hope someday my family will be interested in doing survival trips together. Until that day, just getting to church on time feels pretty extreme. 

I thought I was done on this topic but there is a little voice in my head that keeps whispering "But you did leave them. You do value your own adventures more than anything, even being together."

I don't know how to explain this, but it's partly true. I do leave sometimes. I didn't intentionally plan it this way, but when each of my babies was around 10 months old, I left. As in, out of the country left. When Mason was a baby we went to Ireland. And a few months back I left baby Eli and when to The Netherlands. Is it any different? I wouldn't say they were abandoned in any way. Both times my mom took the baby and this latest time Jason took Mason to a family reunion at the lake. I wouldn't even say that I "needed to get away". It was more like there was an opportunity that I didn't think would present itself again. Is it any different? Is traveling to the other side of the world any better than walking out into the wilderness? All things considered it might be safer to stay local and camp out compared to so much travel, transportation, strange cities, language barriers,  and sleeping in airports as I tried to get back. Is it any different? I like to think it is. Even though I do leave, I cannot wait to get back. I value adventure and travel, but not more than being together. When my family is not together it physically hurts. I suppose the question is will I do it again?

So there we go. Haircuts and boys. Food and robbers. Rocks and airplanes. That is a pretty good snapshot of my life. 

Three Peaks fun day

Jason got a half day off work. We wanted to make the most of the rare wonderful spring weather so we did our favorite thing: we headed out to explore.

We went to Three Peaks in the rhino. It was still pretty chilly so we did our best to bundle up the boys.  For most of the time Eli dozed while I wore him in a baby sling, covered in a coat and blanket.

When he was up and wanting to be looking around, we found the best way was to squish in the backseat while Jason drove (like a mad man). My job is to make sure they don't smash their melons together. I was surprised at how content the kids are when we are out driving around. Mason sleeps or just hangs out. They do really well. But every now and then they need to run around. After a while we stopped to stretch and we climbed around on rocks. Mason and Jason played Marco Polo and we laughed and laughed as Mason yelled "pollo", pronouncing it like you would in Spanish. By the end of the afternoon the boys just wanted to sit and throw rocks while we loaded up.

love Love Day

Valentines Day will forever be one of my favorite days of the year. Not the dumb commercial stuff or obligatory gifts. We skip that stuff and just focus on the LOVE.  I love it. I love telling people I love them. I have a lot of love going on. And as Mason often asks "why do we have so many families?".  I feel one of our biggest blessings is an abundance of people to love and to be loved by.

Love Mason's pure glee as he got his first class valentines. We made cute "smarty pants" valentines for him but I forgot to take a picture.

Love doing projects with the kids for every occasion. And double love the use of vegetables.

Love how a pad of heart shaped sticky notes is all it takes to 1. make a boy happy and 2. decorate the house.

Love monkeys. Of course.

Love food. This year we went for appetizers and made stuffed mushrooms, twice baked potatoes, deviled eggs, stuffed shells, and grilled eggplant. Some days you just need to use up the produce :)

And love babies in boots. Nothin' but boots.

Where are the pictures of my main man? I don't know. I think I have some good ones of him covered in drywall dust, which is his latest fashion. I'll post them in a bit.

Love to all,
ash