Easter

We didn't do a whole lot for Easter this year. I wanted to, but it just didn't happen. We did have an Easter Egg Hunt/Play Date at our house where we also colored the window with Easter pictures and played pin the tail on the bunny. It was so fun. Then we went to a Community Easter egg hunt put on by a local church. It was great. The boys loved it. The last community egg hunt we did was in Rexburg Idaho and Ezra only got one egg. Parents were running with their babies in arm grabbing eggs :( This time he filled his basket with no problem. He kept telling me he won!

Waiting for the egg hunt to begin. They were so excited.

"Yeah! We won. High five Makai!"

They also had free snacks and face painting. Of course both of the boys chose Spider-man .

I have never seen Makai so still while he was awake. He barely took breaths while she painted his face. Lol. 

Aunt Dale came with us to join the fun!

The boys got to go to a friend's house Saturday night while I attended a church meeting. There they got to dye eggs with their family. I am so grateful because we just didn't get to that this year, but at least they weren't entirely deprived.

This is Ezra's friend Rachel while they were coloring eggs.

Sunday morning I had intended to take pictures of my handsome little men, but nothing went as planned. The Easter bunny dropped the baskets off late the night before and didn't hide any eggs for us. I think the Easter Bunny just needs an assistant some times. Maybe a nap too.. We opened baskets, played a little and then had a normal CRAZY day. Which is why we didn't get pictures. Our normal days are filled with tantrums, a super tired mommy and grumpy faces. This is the best I got:

One of their gifts from their basket. I figured if they are going to punch each other anyways, why not try to make it more fun?

On the way to church. Ezra was obviously very excited.

That excitement continued into dinner.

Deklan was a handsome little guy:

I can always count on him for a smile.

We had a wonderful Easter dinner at James' mom and stepdad's house and then we all went to bed early. We made an Easter basket to send to daddy, but didn't get it out in time. He got to celebrate Easter about a week and a half later.

I'm planning an update on all the boys as soon as I am able. Including Mr. Tressler all the way in no man's land :)

The Circus

Last month the circus came to town and Grandma and Pop-Pop took us all to see it! It was wonderful.

The boys got a sugar high with a snocone, cotton candy and lemonade.  

On the edge of their seats :) 

And then back for more sugar..

The cats were my favorite part. 

I love the circus. Though there are always some acts that make me cringe. For example, this time they had the "Hair Sisters". They spun on ropes with just their hair and lifted each other up by connecting their pony tails and swinging from a metal right. For someone who is having major post baby shedding, all I could think of was how I'd be afraid to go bald!

Since James left for training before the circus, we had a spare ticket, so we had a friend of ours come along. She had never seen the circus before. I made sure to warn her that it is likely to make her want to join the circus when she grows up. (at least that's what it does for James and me :) I wouldn't mind being a clown if there's ever an opening!!

We all had a great time. Thanks Grandma and Pop-Pop!!

Luray Caverns

Another hurried vacation was to Luray Caverns in Luray, Va. 

Do you see the wooly mammoth? 

This is the best family pic we got. Deklan slept the whole tour and Makai ran most of it.

Catching water

When you touch them, the stop growing, so we had to be careful, but there were some areas throughout the tour that they allowed us to touch and Ezra thought that was pretty cool.

At one point Ezra walked ahead of us while we hung back and took another picture and then they turned all the lights off. I panicked waiting for Ezra's screams thinking he'd be terrified. I ran ahead calling for him and heard nothing. Then they turned the lights back on and he was just standing there, not frightened in the least. Such a brave boy!

Throughout the whole tour we picked out spots that we thought Batman lived in and where we would set up our tent or our rooms if we went down there to live.

Though I can confidently say we will not be moving down there any time soon :)

Great Wolf Lodge

Before James left for training we tried to squeeze in a couple family vacations. We had to take another trip to Great Wolf Lodge since that was our favorite family vacation spot last year. It's not as much fun with a newborn, but we still had a great time!

This is a racoon. He read the kids a bedtime story.

Deklan got to hang out in his carseat most of the time because I forgot my carrier. He doesn't seem too upset about that though :)

It's amazing that all 5 of us slept as well as we did being as close as we were. I can't believe the boys slept in the same bed! Though Ezra did wake me up saying, "Makai keeps getting on my pillow!" lol

My awesome husband who says this is easy. I tried it. It's not as easy as he says. Though Ezra did it twice, so it can't be too bad.

Makai wasn't feeling too well, so he didn't go crazy like I thought he would, but by the second day he was laughing much more. He still can't stop talking about the water "shwides"

When Deklan wasn't smiling, he was sleeping. What a patient baby he was this trip! 

The boys enjoyed themselves. The other day Ezra told me he thinks we need another trip to Great Wolf Lodge next week. haha! If only I could brave it with 3 boys by myself, but... not gonna happen :)

Family Night

We like to have picnics in our living room because we're cool like that. 

After dinner we made what were supposed to be rice krispy treats, but they turned into 3 blobs and one awesome monster:

Guess who made which one. Alright I'll tell you LtoR (Makai, James, Me, Ezra) James likes to  show off when it comes to creativity. All I see is a train because that's what the box tells me, but James looks at it and sees something way cooler! 

And this exact bite is how Ezra got a little candy shoved up his nostril. Thankfully we got it out with no real problem.

And Dekles just enjoyed the fun :)

Going Private

Due to James' new career as a Federal Law Enforcement Agent, he has been encouraged to delete his facebook account and has asked me to do the same. I am sad, but I understand his reasons and the safety of my family is definitely the most important. Therefore I am also making our family blog private. If you would like to continue reading our craziness please send me your e-mail address either via comments or in a private e-mail at joh05011@byui.edu. I am happy to invite any who want to read :)

Hi Y'All

Or should I say Hola?

We're moving to Texas. South Texas. Like, US Border Texas. James got a job with the Border Patrol. He is so excited. He leaves for the Academy this weekend and will be gone for 3 months (we can't join him at the Academy). Then we will join him out there when he's through with training. We will miss him soooo much. But we/I am so excited for him. This is the line of work that he has always wanted and he's good at it.

We had a choice between this job or a County Police job. We applied for BP in August 2011 and have been going through the process since. He applied for the County Police August 2012. He wanted BP, but we didn't want to count on it alone and the County Police was a good second option. We were unsure what we would do if the Police offered him the job first (which was more likely since Federal Government takes forever). Well, he was offered the BP job first. A week after accepting this offer the County Police called to offer him a job. He turned it down.

BP gave him 2 1/2 weeks to get ready to report, so things are moving fast. Everything seems to have worked out to let us know this is right.

It's scary, but we're looking forward to this new adventure for James and our family. Wish us luck!!

Dekle Bug

I have come to hate the term "good baby". I never thought twice about it before Deklan, but now I hate when people ask, "Is he a good baby?" How am I supposed to answer that? How could a baby be a "bad baby"? I always say "yes".

Truth is.. He is not an easy baby. That's why I've come to hate that term. He cries. a lot. But it's okay. I'd cry a lot too if I was new here and couldn't do anything for myself. He likes to be held. A lot. He sleeps up to 4 hours straight at night if he is swaddled, which really is great! But he wakes up for the day at 6:30 most mornings. I'm working on a better schedule, but he's a little difficult. We also currently have thrush. His is a minor case and seemed to get much better with the medicine, but mine is only getting worse the more medicine I use. Not cool. I really do have a love/hate relationship with nursing because no matter what people say, it is not painless (for me at least). I finally gave up after 10 months of pain with Ezra. I nursed Makai for 14 months because it didn't hurt long with him. Hopefully I can get through this time around.

Things I've learned about this sweet baby:
He loves to be swaddled and won't sleep more than 5-10 minutes if he isn't swaddled.
He smiles biggest for daddy and Ezra.

He loves when mommy sings.
He is happy to be snuggled.
If he's tired he won't eat.
He loves baths.

He has eczema.
If he doesn't burp, prepare to be drenched.
He doesn't like to be put down or be left in a room alone for even long enough for mommy to use the restroom.
He still has curly hair (though by the end of the day it isn't so curly any more because I can't get people to stop rubbing it).

He's got very faint dimples.
He has blue eyes and doctor confirmed they will most likely stay that way (this is a "duh" for me since James and I both have blue eyes).
He has a very loud scream that breaks my heart.
He is adorable and doesn't mind me kissing him all day long.

Things are louder here, crazier here and messier here, but heaven is closer here too all because we have baby Dek-o. There is nothing like snuggling a newborn and breathing in their purity. Ahh, I love babies.

Roller Skating

A couple weeks ago we joined a group of friends at a roller skating rink and the boys had a blast! Even Makai got in on the action. Ezra has been once before in Idaho and loved it, but this time was scarier for him. They were able to tighten the wheels at the one in Idaho, but they said they don't do that here, so Ezra had a really hard time not letting his feet roll away from him. Thankfully they do offer little walker things to help the kids.

Such a big boy! 

Why was my camera going so fuzzy? Bummer. Ezra loved having mommy or daddy go with him and push him around. We had friends there so we were able to leave the kids and James and I even took a couple strolls around holding hands like the teenagers do :)

We had a great time! I had no idea my hubby could skate so well. Turns out he was on a roller hockey team when he was younger. That explains it. I felt dumb next to him, but at least he kept me from falling!

They have a tot stroll where they let the littles take their trikes and such and mommy's can push strollers around. I want to try that one next. Though it does a number on your feet blister wise, so make sure to take breaks if you plan on going.