Easter in Lyman

We had such a fun time in Lyman last weekend. The boys loved playing outside, especially when they went to the river with Grandpa, Kasey, their dad and the dog. They also loved playing with Grandma and were sad when it was time to go.

Cute Dean. Cuddling with Grandma after his nap and smiling over a muffin (he ate several of those).

We colored eggs Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning found some in the house then some more outside after church. They were so cute about sharing eggs with each other.

I love Easter and the feeling it brings. I’m also very glad that Matt convinced me (before we ever had kids) that there didn’t need to be an Easter bunny or presents. They get that kind of stuff enough. We love egg hunts but they know we hid them. And instead of presents we like to fill their baskets with a little candy and pictures of the Savior.

Spring Break and Dean’s Birthday

At the end of our spring break we traveled to Omaha, NE to visit Matt’s brother and his family for their new baby’s blessing.

It was a loooong time in the car but we had a lot of fun there hanging out with family and meeting baby Claire.

We went to the zoo while we were there and Brennen really liked it. He kept talking about the tapir. Dean seemed to like it, too, until he fell out of the stroller and then fell asleep. :)

Brennen gazing at the tapir.
He absolutely LOVES jelly fish! He would have stayed there all day.
We even heard the lion roar!

We went to Winter Quarters to the visitor’s center and went on a great tour then walked the temple grounds.

After the beautiful baby blessing on Sunday we took of for Rapid City, SD where we stayed the night before Matt’s job interview in Newcastle, WY Monday morning.

The kids did pretty well in the car, especially Sunday and Monday and I went to 3 new states, Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. None of them were too exciting but it was still fun for me. :)

“’Cross the wide Missouri!”

My baby Dean turned 2 last week! It feels like it went by so fast but yet I barely remember life without him. He had a fun day getting balloons and having a party with my brother Kasey and lots of Matt’s family. He was SO cute when we sang to him, he was running around like crazy then suddenly got shy and hid behind my legs. But he blew out both candles and talked about his “tractor cake” for a few days after. Every time he opened a present he would give it away to someone.

Eating traditional birthday donuts for breakfast.
Birthday spankings!Giving away presents.

He went to the doc the day after his b-day and she and her nurse practitioner student kept saying how cute Dean was. He is 50% for height and weight and very healthy.

Now we are trying to decide what to do about jobs! Matt has an offer, an interview this week, and a few more applications to places we’d really like to be! It’s awesome to have so many options but it makes it confusing and stressful trying to figure out what to do.

As a side note, he scored a 192/200 on his biology praxis and a 197/200 on physical science! Such a smart man. Wherever we go the kids will sure be lucky to have him as a teacher!

We’re SO excited to see an end in sight and to see all of the blessings coming into our lives!

The Good and the Not-So-Good

The good!

On Valentines Day I was thinking about Matt. We don’t do anything special that day (well, the kids and I make cookies and sometimes make valentines). This year I got Matt a 6 pack of Squirt (his favorite) and he got me a bag of gummy bears (my favorite). :)

But I was thinking that I love him every day, not just one dumb day a year when I’m “supposed” to. He’s a great husband but I’ve come to realize that what makes him a great husband is that he is a great father.

I would be a horrible single mom. Some days I’m too tired to argue with them and let them get away with too much. Sometimes if they don’t eat their lunch I still give them a snack. Sometimes I just choose to tune them out when they fight. If Brennen whines I have been known to just give him what he wants so he’ll be quiet. But Matt doesn’t stand for that. He tirelessly enforces discipline and love. He doesn’t put up with whining and complaining. Without him there would probably be no order in our home.

Yesterday was  my 29th birthday and he was so sweet. He took the boys to get me presents and made a cake and then took me out to dinner. He was super stressed about it all afternoon because he is just so busy. I told him to not make a big deal of it but he did anyway to make me feel loved.

So now for the the not so good.

We’ve had some hard trials so far in our marriage. But I feel blessed to say that right now I feel my biggest trial is that my sweet Brennen won’t behave!

He’s one of the “bad kids” at preschool. He gets in trouble every day. (I kinda get annoyed because I’ve been in there to help and I feel like she singles him out. There are a few other kids doing the same things and she harps on him the most. But that doesn’t change the fact that he IS misbehaving).

He won’t keep his body to himself at the carpet and therefore often has to be removed to sit in a chair. He growls at other kids (just for fun, not when he’s mad) and when he’s mad he often lashes out. Today he got in big trouble because he punched two girls! (not on purpose… she said he was just walking around the room all morning swinging his fists and they happened to be in the line of fire…)

And he doesn’t really have any friends there. I know he gets along with most of the kids but he doesn’t get invited over to play (which I’m kinda ok with…) or to parties but it makes me feel sad for him (and partly that it’s my fault because I’m not friends with the other moms).

And he’s only 3! I feel bad that he has to deal with all of these things already. He is doing SO great and is in the top academic groups (if you can call it academic in preschool). But I’m questioning my decision to put him in so young…

I have shed tears over this and have no idea what to do! He can be SO sweet and behaves like an angel at church. I feel like nothing I try works (at home or school) and that maybe I need to pull him and keep him at home. But he loves it and is doing great and how will he learn to fix his behavior if he’s never around other kids?

Anyway, I really needed to get that out so I guess my blog is a good “venting” place. :)

Recap

For Christmas we stayed here in Laramie. We spent the night at Matt’s parent’s house and the boys had a lot of fun and seemed to like all of their presents! It was just a nice couple of days. Very fun and relaxing. I love that holiday and appreciate the time I spend thinking about the birth and life of Jesus Christ.
On the 27th we went to Lyman to spend a week with my family. On Saturday we all met in Salt Lake and went to temple square (after Mom, Dad, Matt and I went to a session in the Jordan River temple). It was crazy but fun with the WHOLE family (minus Ben’s boys) at my mom’s house. We played a lot of games and had a fun New Year’s Eve and day then we came back home on the 2nd and finished the break here.
While we were in Lyman we celebrated our 7th anniversary! I’m very happy in this marriage and I think it’s safe to say that Matt is, too! And he gets even better looking with age which is nice for me. ;) We left the kids playing with their cousins and went to dinner at a really good Chinese place in Mt. View. The time has gone by so quickly and I feel very blessed to be married to this guy.
Yesterday Matt turned 30! It was kind of weird for me and I really don’t think he liked it much… but he had a good day student teaching and we had a nice dinner that he liked a lot I think. Then his family came over for presents and cake and ice cream.

Baby Matthew!

30 years later

Now we’re on to Matt’s last semester! I have 19 piano students and a recital coming up on Monday so that keeps me busy and my mind occupied! Brennen is still loving pre-school and Dean doesn’t like it when he comes home… Dean is talking a TON and is really smart. We can tell that he knows a lot of things but it cracks me up because he’s hard to understand and Brennen NEVER was. Brennen is a good translator, though.
We’re all happy and are excited to start a new year that I’m sure will bring a lot of changes into our lives!