Suns Game

Aubrie's dance team had the opportunity to perform for the Suns half time show last Wednesday. Last year they did the pregame game show, which honestly wasn't as exciting. This time they had a much bigger audience! Aubrie was super excited, and so was Boston, because it gave him the opportunity to go to the game! Funny what one year can do for a kid. Last year, Boston was sorta into the game, but ready to go by half time. This year he was was upset when we left with 5 minutes on the clock to avoid traffic. We let him listen to the game on the way home, and avoided ALL traffic.

Aubrie did great, as did the rest of her team. We had nosebleed seats, but still had a good view of the court. Ethan was more interested in the food and wanting to rest on our laps. Even though we ate before the game, Boston had nachos (his new favorite) and Ethan had this huge cookie, which he was done with after a few bites.

After the half time performance, we thought we could make a quick exit with Aubrie, without Boston figuring it out. We were surprised when Aubrie said she wanted to stay and watch the game, so that's why we ended up staying. Aubrie was getting into the game with the rest of us.

It was a great time! I'm beggining to see the dynamics of our little family changing, as a bigger portion is actually enjoying a sporting event! Spring training games and BYU football here we come!:)

Girls Day Out!

So in the past couple of years I have found a weekend a year to take off with friends. Since life is busy, and time and money is tight, a girls day out on the town was perfect this year. Some good friends of mine put together an amazing day of non-stop shopping last weekend. This was the day the Swing Set was coming. As I was getting ready to go, it started to rain. (Poor swing set guys had to take down and set up the swing set in the rain!) It rained all day, but some rain wasn't about to keep a bunch of girls from tearing up the town!

We started our day at Last Chance, a Nordstrom's outlet store, cheaper than the Rack. I wasn't in the mood to "dig", so I headed over to Marshall's and found some great shoes!

After Last Chance/Marshall's we headed off to some boutiques in downtown Mesa. They were fun to look at, but honestly were not in my price range, and the things that were didn't interest me. The company was fun though, and so was the stop at Sweet Cakes; a local restaurant. I had a great chicken salad sandwich, and some yummy broccoli soup (not as yummy as mine, but it was still good!;). After the boutiques, we hit some fun furniture and home decor stores. I definitely want to take Ben to one of them, The Potato Barn, when we decide to replace the boys furniture, and finally sell our baby furniture and buy Sophia a dresser. Seriously cute, cute pottery barn type furniture for 1/2 the price!

The home decor stores took us till about 5pm. We made a stop at the Chandler Mall, to hit Down East Outfitters. That store is where I hit and surpassed my spending limit (not that I really gave myself one, but it's just a feeling I get more than anything...ha!ha!). I did justify the fact that I was in dire need of undershirts, and summer dresses. There was also the cutest trench coat that everyone was talking me into because it was my size and on sale. Of course, they didn't have to twist my arm too much!

After the mall, we hit a jean party held at some one's house. I scored a cute pair of capris (since none of my old ones fit me...YEAH!) and shorts. After spending way too much time there, we headed off to Cafe Rio for dinner. Though the shopping was definitely fun, chatting in the car and in between stores was my favorite. Life is so busy I feel like there is never really enough time to talk to all my friends very often. What a great time to catch up and remember the things that brought you together in the the first place. One thing I am always giving thanks for is my friends. I'm blessed with GREAT friends! Thanks to all you for helping me feel loved and sane!

Hazard Free Yard....Finally!

So When we moved here, we bought an awesome swing set from Sams. It had tonz of cool features, but we quickly learned that cool features doesn't mean great construction. Wood started to split, and Ben tried replacing a few pieces of wood that ended up creating our "leaning tower". That's what I liked to call it. I knew it was bad when my Dad commented on it when he was here for a visit. I knew it was time to check Craigslist for a used Rainbow set. They are great sets, but much too pricey for me to feel good about buying new. I knew the EXACT set I wanted and started to feel frustrated when I couldn't find anything I wanted on Craigslist. A week prior I finally found the set I wanted, but when Ben drove all the way to Mesa to check it out, we were left disappointed. It was extremely old and full of splinters.

Well, two Friday's ago, my prayers were finally answered. (Is it ok to pray for a swing set? LOL). I had just come off a really long day, and from a night with NO sleep. Ben came home a little early, to let me get a quick nap before our date. As I was trying to fall asleep, something said "Check for swing sets". I brushed it off wanting a nap so badly. Again, something said, "Check for swing sets RIGHT NOW!" I quickly got up grabbed my computer and there it was....the EXACT swing set I wanted and for a GREAT deal. We quickly called the people for availability and they said it was ours if we wanted it. We rushed Aubrie off to Dance, and then headed over to Anthem to look. It was in PERFECT condition. It was only a year old, and had just been stained. We called the swing set "movers" and made an appointment with them to get it the next day! I don't know who was more excited, me or the kids? Ben woke up early the next morning to tear the other one down. Aubrie had fun helping.

When I came home from my girls day out (next post) the leaning tower was gone, and here is what stood in it's place.

Silly as it may sound, I know that Heavenly Father not only hears our prayers for needs, but wants, too. Of course, maybe he could see a hurt kid in our future with the old one, and decided to help us out a little! Either way, I know his hand is in everything!!!

Week of Valentines

Valentines week was pretty busy here. First, Boston had to make his own Valentine box, which was originally my idea, but didn't realize they were going to make it a contest. So instead of me being able to throw something together, I had to be creative. If I was more prepared for it, I could have really got into it, but amongst all my other things, I just didn't have time. Luckily I had this left over wrapping paper, that I used to wrap the kids Valentines gifts with, and Boston glued on these candy hearts (well I did most of them), and he also went through my scrap booking stuff to decorate the rest!

Here are the Valentines presents we put together for their teachers.

My Valentines from Ethan!

This year for Valentines I decided that candy wasn't going to be under our Valentines tree. I went to Tilly's and found some great deal on clothes for Aubrie and Boston, and bought Ethan some legos, and Sophia a Dora Book. I put the gifts out early that week, (without tags) and the kids went through the same routine everyday; shaking the gifts and trying to figure out whose was whose. It was like Christmas again, only on a less stressful scale!

Friday I spent ALL day at the school. I helped out in all the kids classes, and luckily their parties were all at different times. It's funny because I started out in Ethan's class and there were about 7 Mom's in there, and we all stayed busy helping with stations and such.

Cookie Decorating

Bingo

Then when I got to Bostons there were about 5 Mom's there and we basically stood around just watching our kids have fun.

Boston's teacher made the kids these little notebooks where all the student's wrote to each other. Most of Boston's messages included things like, "you are so funny", and "you are so nice". What a great idea to help a child feel like they are loved for Valentines!

Valentine Delivery time! Boston handed out Sports cards and pencils to the boys, and complained that I bought Tinker Bell for the girls. In his own words, "Why didn't you buy Twilight or something Mom?" Do second graders watch Twilight? I mean I know he does, but really?

When I got to Aubrie's class there were only 3 Mom's there, and I spent the whole time talking to the teacher. I kept asking if there was anything I could do to help, and then I was realizing that Aubrie's age doesn't need help like my sweet little Ethan. She was happy to see me and give me a hug, but she just wanted to socialize and have fun with her friends. Not like EThan's class, that NEEDED us! Wow, what will it be like when I'm not needed by any of my kids anymore? I don't think I'll like it!

My Camera died by the time I got to Aubrie's class. Here is what she made in class. It's Arizona if your wondering. Nothing like your kid telling you the night before, "Oh, Mom I need to make 3 different colors of playdoh and have a 12x12 cardboard cut out by tomorrow!"

Saturday Ben and I spent our Valentines dinner with some new friends. Ben and I have realized that most of our friendships are with people from church. While that is good, it's also important to fellowship out of the walls of the church building. We made some good friends through soccer and finally made plans to go out. We ate at a place called the Arrowhead Grill. Honestly, I thought it was like a burger type of joint. Boy was I wrong! It was a high priced restaurant whose head chef used to work for places like Ruth's Chris, etc. I told Ben that was the fanciest dinner I have ever had. He didn't believe me at first, (being he has been wined and dined (minus the wine lol) when he worked for IBM and Microsoft. He realized what a cheap date I have been all these years! We had a great time with our new friends, and the food was delish! (That means the dessert passed my test!)

Valentines Morning the kids were excited to open their Valentines Day Gifts (no we won't be having St. Patty's gifts, too, if that's what your thinking). The kids were all happy with what they got, and they still got candy from Grandma. Most of it eventually got added to Sophia's potty jar! LOL

First ones on the scene! Boston....always the poser!

Ethan isn't quite awake yet!

Think she likes her bear from Grandma?

...or the candy?

Legos for Ethan!

Pullover for Boston..."matches my red skinny jeans!" (He bought them with his own money fyi!)

Hat and a few shirts for Aubrie

Bath and Body for Grandma

.....and a purple tie for Ben that her likes!!!

Did I mention lately how much I LOVE purple? Oh and a pair of Miss Me jeans from Ben that had to go back! Thanks for thinking of me babe!

Oh....and can't forget the heart pancakes for breakfast!

LIfe's Getting in the Way

I wish life would stop getting in the way of my blogging, but sometimes it just does. In a recent lesson that was given in YW, one of the questions asked was, "Why does a task seem to get harder the more you put it off?". I responded that you spend more time thinking about it than actually doing it. I like to answer that question differently now. I think its because the longer you wait the bigger the task becomes. If I clean my house a little each day, or do a load of laundry every morning, I never have a whole house to clean at once, or a days worth of laundry waiting for me. The same with blogging. The more I put off, the more all the events pile up, and I know it's going to take me a LONG time to catch up. Sometimes you just can't stay on top of things...ie, the house cleaning, laundry, ironing, etc, so you just have to take a deep breath and dive in realizing you have to commit your whole day or several hours. So here I go!

So how do I wrap up a month in one blog? I'm thinking I might end up breaking it up. I do admit that I have a good excuse for my MIA status. POTTY TRAINING!!!! I decided that I was not being a good mother by taking the easy route and letting Sophia continue to hide behind the curtains to poop her pants. Of course, I would try to get her to go, and she would resist and run away to find herself a new hiding spot. I would say, "Well I tried", but I needed to try a little harder. A couple of weeks ago I told Sophia that she only had a few diapers left and that she would have to start wearing underpants. Of course, like every other child I have potty trained, I had just recently purchase huge Sams size box of diapers (anyone want to buy them off me? LOL). I put the box away, and took a deep breath and hoped for the best! The second day she pooped on the potty all by herself. It's amazing how excited an adult can get over something like that. I was beginning to see light at the end of a long dark tunnel. A tunnel where all I was thinking about was if she needed to go potty, asking her every 30 minutes, "Are you dry? Do you need to go potty?", and trying to think of creative ways to ask her indirectly since she is so independent and would resist anything else. Finally, I feel like I'm arriving. She tells me when she needs to go, and she rarely has accidents. Of course, when she does they all seem to pile up in one day! Two in a row on Sunday, and two in a row the beginning of last week (while I was getting my hair done of course!). With every kid I feel like time is DRAAAAGIIIING while I'm potty training, and when its over I look back and say, "Well that wasn't so bad"! Kinda reminds me of what I say after I'm done with morning sickness! Another season of my life THANKFULLY done!

So what else has filled up a Pribyl month? This STAR!

We decided to start February off with something that reinforced our Stake theme; Love One Another. We got this service star from church (that was meant for Christmas, but we got ours a little late), and I decided to use it as a way to show love in Feb! The deal was that if you got the star you needed to get rid of it as soon as possible, because you didn't want to be the one left with it by the next FHE! I loved seeing how people served others to get rid of the star. Ethan's most popular service was to turn down my bed and make me little notes! The week we started the star was the week I redid Aubrie's room. (Aubrie worked hard to buy the bedding!)

The boys thought that was what Aubrie was getting star for. By the middle of the week they started running up to their room to see if they had anything new. I felt bad, and finally bought them some small baskets to put by their bedside to hold their scriptures, books, DS, etc. They were so excited for it! I love how my boys are grateful for the smallest gestures. In reality, most of Aubrie's "new room decor" was stuff she already had, just spray painted black! (LOVE SPRAY PAINT) It was all new to her, so that's all that matters! We are still passing along the star, but we have now moved on to bigger acts of service, and no longer is it a race. It's good to mix it up!

The beginning of the month, Boston had his first field trip of the year. It was to see Dr. Slim Goodbody. I wasn't planning on going, but one of them Mom's couldn't go last minute, so his teacher called me the night before. I was lucky enough to arrange babysitting, and was excited to go. I know other Mom's probably think I'm nuts, but I like riding the bus with my kids on field trips. I know its loud and not the most comfortable, but I love watching my kids interact with their classmates, and also seeing who these kids are that Boston talks about, or doesn't talk about! LOL This field trip was right up my ally, being that I LOVE the human body. It was like going to a refresher course, and silly enough, I was excited that I remembered everything he was telling them. ( I should since he is talking to grade schoolers, huh?! ha ha). Boston had a great time, and so did I.

Mean Girls!!!

I've never understood why girls are mean! Guys just get in a fight, and then they move on and forget about it 30 seconds later. Girls backbite, gossip, and group together always leaving someone out. Growing up, I tried removing myself from that Drama as much as possible. I always had a handful of really good friends, and the rest of my best friends were guys. That's pretty much how I lived my life, until I got married, of course. Guys were easy. I never had to worry about whether they were talking to the other guys behind my back when I left. I never had to worry that they were going to try to "one up" me in everything, and I never had to worry that they were going to like the same person I did, and get all offended and jealous if they liked me back! My girlfriends have pretty much been the same as me. I have had a few here and there that are awfully competitive, but besides that, I try to keep my distance from anything drama related. That's required me to pull out of some friendships, some groups of girls, and even some family relationships for awhile. But I have to say that though its not always easy, it'sdefinitely worth not surrounding yourself by the negative spirit that comes with it. Nothing is worth the withdrawal of the spirit. Especially being popular or liked. What does that really matter in the end? NOTHING!

Now, how do I successfully help my sweet daughter to understand all this? Poor Aubrie had the worst week this week. She was waking up ready for a fight, every morning. Of course, she has always been strong willed (a trait that will do her good when she is older), but as her Mother I could tell something was off. Then Thursday she comes home upset telling me how a girl in her new Math class is heckling her. This girl is friends with one of her best friends. She just moved in, and Aubrie said she has been mean to her from the beginning. I'm no fool here. It's so apparent that this girl feel threatened by Aubrie's friendship with the other girl, and so she is trying to bully and embarrass her. Now Aubrie feels hurt that her friend didn't stick up for her. Her other friends were supportive when they saw Aubrie's eyes full of tears as she came back from Math. Aubrie emailed her friend and asked why she didn't stick up for her.

Ben and I assured Aubrie that jealousy was involved, and that the rude remarks were further from the truth. We even practiced the next day how to respond to heckling. I threw out every type of hurtful thing and she had to respond with "So". She started to find it funny. I also had to go over the whole, "do you even care to be their friend. Of course not, so who cares what they think?"

Friday the protective Mom instinct in me came out, and I decided to make a stop at the school for lunch. I brought a dozen Paradise cookies for her and her friends, and bought her some fun erasers she had been wanting. When I got to the lunch room the two girls saw me, and the bully would not make eye contact with me once the other girl whispered to her who I was. The one that has been Aubrie's friend came up and made all nice to me and Aubrie, and tried to sit with us, but the bully was whispering and shaking her head to sit at the other end. Did I really need to go? I don't know! But it made Aubrie's day to feel special as she was passing out cookies to her friends, and the girls definitely got the message that her Mom knows whats going on and isn't happy about it! (Did I mention that I gave her the stink eye!?) Is that bad?! LOL Aubrie has had many of conflicts with friends, but no one bully's my kids around and gets away with it!

"Sick" Snow trip

So after all the record breaking snow Flagstaff got, we decided it was time to sift through our snow gear, fill in the gaps (which luckily was only a pair of boots for Aubrie), and head up North! Sophia was so excited trying all her snow gear on. We were sure she was going to have a blast. The drive up North was amazing! I have never seen that much snow that south of Flagstaff. The trees looked like they could snap, the snow on them was so thick. I think it was the first time the kids ever chose looking out the window over their DS's!

When we got to the exit, that takes us to the awesome spot we discovered last time (by accident), we found that the road hadn't been cleared yet. There were several families sledding right there at the exit. It looked good enough for the kids to have fun, and it minimized our walking, so we decided to park and sled there. The kids had fun. Aubrie and Boston did the sledding boards. Boston was getting the hang of it pretty fast. Usually Aubrie and I are the only ones brave enough to try it out.

Ethan had fun sledding, and eventually started collecting huge snow balls and rolling them all to one spot. After about 15 minutes of doing that, we realized he was building a fort. That boy is always creating something! All of us got in on the action, and that ended up being the funniest thing on every one's list.

On the way home we stopped at Johnny Rockets at the Casino. This time they are a bit older and more aware. They had tonz of questions about the slot machines, and then Aubrie kept asking me, "Do you think that guy gambles?" LOL The kids had fun, and we actually got Aubrie and Boston to get up and dance again, when the employees did their dance. One of the servers saw Aubrie, and came over and tried to teach her the dance. It was pretty funny. I think Boston was glad he sat down before she caught him in the act, too! We left after lunch, and skipped bowling this time. Sophia was sick, poor thing.

She was acting tired in the morning, and she was complaining and falling asleep when we went sledding. That surprised us because she was so excited to go the night before. When we got to Johnny Rockets I felt her head and she had a fever. Poor thing:( She ended up having a fever through Wednesday. She just sat around the house, not having much energy for anything, and not eating much of anything. Last night our snow pictures were cycling on the TV and she said, "I was sick at the snow", in a sad voice. Guess we need to go again! I'm up for it. It was a great family fun! (and we need to get more use out of those snow clothes!)