Sunday, January 27, 2013

Words

It feels weird to write a post without any pictures to put up.  I've been debating for the past couple of weeks if I should write something without visuals.  We are still alive and well.  This, being our family journal, would like to give a little run-down on the goings on in the Partridge family.

Brett:  He's been busy at work.  Working at Adobe has been stimulating for him intellectually and challenging in a lot of great ways.  He's been given an opportunity this year to work on a new project that we are really excited to see the outcome of.  He's back to travelling and we miss him when he's gone.  When he's not working he's serving at his church calling as the High Priest Group leader or he's wrestling the boys and being the 'fun parent'.  :)

Hyrum: Kindergarten has been a great experience for our cute little man.  He struggled for a while with staying focused in class, but his teacher now has expressed that he's doing better.  It was a tough decision to put him in Kindergarten with his summer birthday making him one of the youngest in his class, but we are very glad that he is where he is.  We realize that with him being behind some of the other kids, we need to be more patient with his progress.  He has grown leaps and bounds and we are so proud of him.  He especially has a whole new motivation now that we started a point system for practicing flashcards and writing.  He can cash points in on Saturdays to play Epic Mickey or Skylanders.  

Hyrum unplugged:
 On Friday night the boys stayed up to have a movie night.  They didn't go to bed until about 9, which is really late for them. Because of that, on Saturday the boys were really tired and by afternoon Hyrum mentioned that he had a headache.  For a snack, I offered him some chips and he said, "Are these junk foods?" -yes- "Oh, I better not eat them then, because I think eating junk will make my brain angry."  Just after 6 he said he wanted to lay down for a nap so he climbed in our bed.  He was completely out without compaints for bed by 6:30.  Sometimes his maturity is a little mind boggling. 

Noah: Noah has been doing great at Joyschool and his weekly music class.  He has an amazing memory and blows us away with what he retains and expresses. With the new year, he moved up to Primary.  He seams to really enjoy it and we frequently hear him practicing the song Follow the Prophet.  His teachers were certain that he was in the wrong class because of how advanced he is.  He's been having a bit of separation anxiety lately and struggling to be away.  We're pretty sure a big part of it is because of all the recent changes and a new baby on the way.  We've been trying to make an extra effort to give him extra attention.  

Noah unplugged:
I came downstairs and Noah was sitting at the counter in contemplation and he was excited to talk to me as soon as I came down. "Guess what? Heavenly Father is our Father and Jesus is our brother. And guess what? Jesus has a plan for us tomorrow. Jesus' plan for us tomorrow is that we have a family date to go bowling. That will make Jesus SO happy!"

Owen:  He is one rambunctious bundle of cuteness.  He's getting pretty good at following short directions from us like 'Go get your cup' or 'go upstairs for your bath'.  He loves bath-time and he LOVES books.  Today I spent an hour reading book after book.  A lot of times I would read half the book and then he would get excited and grab a different one that he would shove in my hands and insist me to read with his cute grunts and whines.  He's running all over the place and getting into pretty much everything.  Owen is quite the handful, but his cute laugh makes up for it:).

Me:  The kids are my life.  I love being able to teach joyschool to Noah on my rotation.  I also volunteer once a week to help in Hyrum's class with his writing workhsop.  I organized a Freezer-Meal exchange that was a lot of fun to do.  I'm excited to do it again in a couple of months.  Oh, and my pregnancy has been going really well.  I'm in my 17th week.  This is my first pregnancy that I have not had problems with lactose, and I am loving that!  I also am experiencing my first pregnancy that I haven't dealt with being sick (yet).  A couple of weeks ago I thought for sure my typical second trimester sickies kicked in when I spent all night throwing up.  I was oddly happy to find that it was contagious when Owen spent all night throwing up two nights later, and mine ceased.  So, other then being very tired and my body feeling exhausted frequently, I've been doing really well.  :)

That's us.  I'll take some more pictures and post again sometime soon, hopefully.

Oooh, I just remembered I took this picture on my phone.  My cute boys waiting to get their flu shots.  They were champs.  No whining, no crying (except two squeeks from Owen), and no sadness.


Friday, January 4, 2013

Vacation

After our fun filled Christmas we packed up for some time away from everything for more relaxing, family time, and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Rushton.  We rented a cute little house in New Harmony, UT just south of Cedar City, near Zion's.  The boys each got to bring a couple of toys and a board game.    We spent hours every day playing Connect 4, card games, and just enjoying being together.  As we drove down I started to get a little nervous about the trip and weather it would be fun for the kids.  I had nothing to worry about.  

We went bowling, which is always a blast.
When Grandma and Grandpa arrived the boys kept them busy with air hockey and more games.
Brett and Grandpa played in the snow with them and pulled them around like horses.

The vacation landed on our anniversary and it was one of the best anniversaries we've ever had.  We drove to St. George and Brett and I got to do a session at the temple.  That night Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids so Brett and I could hit a double feature at the theatre.  The Hobbit 3D started at 6:30, which was a 3 hour movie.  Les Miserables started at 9:30, and was just under 3 hours.  It was a lot of sitting, but great to see two amazing movies together with free babysitters:) 

On Sunday we drove through Zion's to see all the great scenery and stopped for a few little walks with the boys.  They found a lot of deer and Hyrum decided he wanted to be a park ranger so all the deer could be his pets. 
It was great spending time all together, away from responsibility, and a dirty house.

The Magical Morning


I was so excited about this Christmas.  The boys were so excited about everything and the anticipation was in the air.  I'll be honest, I didn't sleep much at all the night before Christmas.  I was up almost every hour.  I would check the time, get a drink, and try and fall back asleep but I really couldn't wait for the boys to wake up so I could see their excitement.  When the time came they delivered a magical show of excitement, wander, and happiness.  We started with the stockings and then moved on to presents.  Usually I take a lot of pictures and video tape most of the morning, but this year I just wanted to take it all in.  It was a great day.  The rest of the day was spent playing with toys and relaxing in PJ's all day.