February 2013

Back to catching up.  Here's a rundown of February:

 Jilly kept asking to do bubbles one day, but it was a bit too chilly outside, so we decided to blow bubbles inside instead.  She was beyond thrilled.

 We went to Hammond's Candy factory.  Twice in fact.  Once with friends from Vivi's DI team, and another time with friends from church.

We've lived here in Colorado for all these years, and had never been to Hammond's before, and ended up going twice in one month!  Go figure.  I highly recommend the chocolate covered caramel marshmallows.  To die for!

 Jilly never ceases to amaze me.  She's either constantly sneaking into the bathtub and gets the water running, fully clothed I might add, or I'll have just gotten her out of the bath and she manages to find something to get into which ends up requiring another bath.  She would live in the bath if I let her.

 I'm sure I've mentioned Vivi's lists before.  She has a list for everything!  This happens to be my favorite to date.  "When I did snaselspray."  Or in other words, nasal spray.  I just love her so much!  She brightens my days.

 Jilly learned how to call shotgun!  She's heard the older boys say it so much that when we go to leave, she calls shotgun now too!  Makes me giggle every time.

 Preston made a moth for his Valentine's Day Bottle Beastie.  When we first started talking about what type of creature he wanted to make, he said he wanted a dog, a cat, or a dragon, but then he settled on a moth.  When I asked him what made him think of a moth, his reply was, "I just thinked it in my mind."  And what an amazing little mind he has! 

 Colson put his mad sewing skills to use and made Uncle Sean a matching pajama shirt.

 Preston was the ring bearer at my cousin Kiersten's wedding.  He and Trenton got to take a little trip to Utah with my mom and Dustin so he could be in the wedding.  I guess he got a little nervous and was wanting to back out of his ring bearing duties when my brother took him aside, told him to suck it up, and let him know what his duties were.  And Preston did just that.  Then he stood there right in front of the groom for the whole ceremony.  Lol!

He also developed a little crush on the flower girl.  He and Trenton both had a great time hanging with the Utah cousins that weekend.

 Jilly became even more addicted to "Shaun the Sheep".  Some days I don't know how I would get a shower in if it weren't for that show!

Trent's National Sales meeting was at the end of February.  One of the speakers there was Stephanie Nielson, author of The NieNie Dialogues.  He got to meet her, her husband, and their five beautiful children.  He said her speech was wonderful and very inspiring.  He brought me home a signed copy of her book.  

Other happenings in February:

Trent and I took a trip over to Atlanta to do some house hunting.  And we found NOTHING.  We looked at 15-20 houses, but nothing felt right.  We were there over Valentine's Day though, so at least we got a great date night out of the trip!  We went to one of the yummiest sushi places I've been to yet, and I'm sure we will frequent it often once we get moved to Atlanta.  :)

For Posterity's Sake

I was listening to my favorite playlist this morning when the song "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd came on.  And as it always happens when I hear a Pink Floyd song, thoughts of my dad began to flood my mind.  (Pink Floyd was one of his favorite music groups.)  I sure miss him.  And it got me thinking how I wish I knew more about him.  I mean, there is a lot I do know and remember about him.  Like how I know some of his favorite candies were Jordan Almonds and Necco Wafers. And he didn't chew gum unless it was Beeman's or Black Jack.  I know he really liked oranges, but couldn't stand strawberries.  He just couldn't get past the seeds.  (And yet he liked raspberries and black berries.  Thats my dad for you!)  ;)  I know he liked to laugh, and tease us kids endlessly.  And he loved to hear other people laugh.  I know he liked adventure.  Growing up, there were a lot of times we would all hop in the car and just drive and see what we could see.  There were many times my dad was so busy looking at all the scenery, he would swerve all over the road.  There were a few times he nearly drove right off the road!  I remember a few times being in a car that was driving behind him, and we would see his car swerve on the road, and we'd say, "Dad must be checking out the scenery again!"  I know how my dad loved to watch his sports.  There was always football (Broncos fan all the way!), and basketball (Denver Nuggets, unless they were playing the Utah Jazz, then forget it Nuggets), then baseball and hockey came to Colorado with the Rockies and the Avalanche, and that was it.  Sports on TV all year round.  And if there weren't any sports on, a little WWF was in order.  (And that was when I would escape to my room to read a book.)  :)  I also know how much he loved my mom, and how much he was loved by her.  Those are just some of the things I know/remember about my dad, to name a few.  The things I wish I knew are things he would have to tell me.  Like how he felt on his wedding day.  Or what his thoughts were the first time he saw my brother and I.  Or what things did he worry about while my brother and I were growing up?  The kinds of things you never think to ask your parent when you're a kid.  He died when I was just 22, and prior to his death I guess I thought we would have a lifetime with him.  You never think life is going to be cut short, until it is.

Anyway, as all of these thoughts were going through my head, and of course knowing my dad isn't here to ask him or talk to him about these things, it made me want to be a better journal writer.  This blog is my journal.  I do write occasionally, but it is sporadic at best.  We never know when our time in this life will come to an end, and I want my kids to be able to look back at things I have written and be able to know my thoughts and feelings about events in my life.  Or even just the events for that matter.  So I have determined to do better, and to start writing down things I have never taken the time to record.  For posterity's sake.  :)

Airplane

Sometimes you just have to be a kid!

January, 2013

January

Oh man, if I ever get even remotely close to being caught up on this blog, it will be a miracle.  I just can't seem to get my act together.  I guess it could have something to do with the fact that since I have 5 offspring, my life just isn't my own.  Which is fine.  I love them to pieces.  It's just the season I'm in right now.  Or it could also do with the fact that my husband doesn't seem to be in town more than a day or two at a time.  That will soon change though.  In January Trent got a new job.  Same company, new position.  He's making the move to marketing after being in sales the last 8 years.  And while he will still have to travel occasionally, it will be nothing like it has been.  Hallelujah for that.  But with the new job comes new living arrangements. Come May, we will be moving to Atlanta, GA.  While we will miss all of our family and friends here in Colorado, it will be a fun and exciting new adventure!

Alright, on to catching up!  The highlights from the month of January:

I bought this fabulous garbage can, that in no small way has saved a portion of my sanity.  You see, it has a lid that locks, which means that Jillian can't get into it.  I have never known a more gross baby than Jillian.  (You don't even want to know about the episodes she has had with the toilets, trust me!)  On several occasions I found her pulling things out of the garbage can and eating them!  Or I would find things in the garbage can that didn't belong there.  Needless to say, this wonderful, lid-locking beauty has brought me some peace of mind.  At least a little bit.  Now if I could just find a way to keep her out of the toilets, we'd be in business!

The last week and a half of January is birthday central in our family.

 Preston's birthday comes first.  He was so excited to finally turn six.  His siblings were so cute to give him some gifts.  Colson passed along his old alarm clock he doesn't use any more.  :)

Vivi of course wrote him a note with attached gum and candy.  (I love her notes!)

The long awaited for Skylanders Giants.

 Donuts for breakfast!

There was no school the day of his birthday as it fell on Martin Luther King Jr. day this year, so the grandmas came and got him for a special birthday date to Build-A-Bear.  He chose a monkey that of course he named... Monkey!  :) 

Giving monkey a bath.

 That night, the whole family came over for dinner, birthday cake and ice cream.  Preston had been sick several days preceding his birthday, but thankfully woke up his birthday morning feeling 100%.  Thank the dear Lord of small favors.  :)  We were so glad he wasn't sick on his birthday.

 Next up was my birthday, then Steve's.  All the family celebrated together at Janet and Steve's, along with the Salerno's.

 There is nothing quite like my mom's German chocolate cake.  It is out of this world delicious!

 A rare picture of my sweetheart and I.  We need more of those.

 Preston was a little disapointed that we weren't celebrating his birthday again, but he got over it.

 And as always, the balloon launch.

 And what would a family gathering be without uncle Dustin wrestling the kids into submission? :D

The night also wouldn't be complete without a Joker grin from dad.  It was another wonderful birthday!

Poor Viv has had more trouble with her allergies/asthma than normal, so the Dr. sent her in to an allergist for some testing.

 You can't see it very well, but she was pretty welted up from the scratch tests.  This girl is quite allergic to the environment.  Needless to say, they prescribed her an inhaler.  Thank heavens, because between environmental allergies and exercise, this girl has some breathing issues!

And finally, our shining moment of the month... Drumroll please.  Jillian started singing "Gangnam Style".  It was a proud moment for sure.  And here she is, dancing to it. 

January flew by in a wink!  This new year is already going by ridiculously fast.

Happy New Year!

For New Year's Eve this year, mom and dad Stock hosted.  We had a great night of visiting, playing games, and eating, eating, eating!  Almost all of us made it to midnight.  I took a little nap, but woke up just in time for the countdown.  Preston made it until 11:30, and there was no waking him up.  He was out!  And of course Jilly went to bed around 8:00.  There was no way I was going to let her stay up!  That girl goes a day without a nap, or goes to bed late one night, and she is a bear afterward!  Sleep is essential to her happiness.  :)

These two... like father like son.  :)  I swear the older Trent gets, the more and more he becomes like his dad.  That's a good thing though, because his dad is great!

Ice Skating Fun

Over Christmas break we took a day to go ice skating.  Trenton and I opted out.  But Colson, Vivian, Trent, and Preston had a great time!  We also met the grandparents and my brother there.  My poor brother was out on the ice a whopping 10 seconds before he crashed and sprained his ankle.  He had a lump the size of a baseball on it!  Auntie Kiki came and met us so she could see the kids ice skate.

Colson is all smiles.

Nice pose.  Love the Jazz hands.  Ha ha!

Preston kept calling out, "Look! I'm getting the hang of it!"  He was an ice skating champ this time around.  When we've gone in the past, he wouldn't let go of the wall for anything.  This time, he was out in the middle of the rink almost the whole time.  :)

Vivi LOVES to ice skate.  It is one of the things she looks forward to in the.

After ice skating, we all went to Chili's for some lunch.

Jilly fell asleep on the way to Chili's and snuggled right in to her daddy, whom she loves above all others.  ;)

A picture with Auntie Kiki.  We love her!

Christmas Time

It was another wonderful, magical Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we had a special visitor stop by before dinner.  :)  We had Christmas Eve dinner at Janet and Steve's, then had a quick program.  Trenton played "Carol of the Bells" on his saxophone, and Colson played a couple of Christmas songs on his trumpet.  Trent read the story of Jesus' birth from  Luke 2, and Vivian and Preston told us of the symbols of Christmas.  After all of us sang some carols, the kids got to open their Christmas Eve present.

New pajamas!  As always.  With a book and a movie.  I just noticed how holey Trenton's socks are in this picture.  Yikes!

 On Christmas morning, the kids got us up at about 7:00.  We started the gift opening with the stockings.

 Jillian got some new binkies in her stocking.  She was down to one, and it was missing half the time.  We probably should have just let it get lost and be done with them, but she's not much of a sleeper without it.  If she doesn't sleep, I don't sleep.  And I need my sleep.

 Some new American Girl accessories

 Preston's favorite; fruit snacks.

 Lou, trying on Vivi's new hat.

 Once Jillian found some M&Ms, she she wasn't too interested in anything else.

 The boys got lots of iTunes gift cards this Christmas.  They were in heaven!

 Jillian pushed her baby doll in circles around the island dozens of times.  It kept her busy for quite some time.

 And of course Dustin was a turkey about getting his picture taken.  I had to try!

 We got to enjoy the company of my aunt Sylvia, her husband Dean, and my cousin Jesse during the holidays.  It was wonderful being able to see and visit with them.

 It was another wonderful Christmas.  We enjoyed every moment we were able to spend with our loved ones.

Notes From My Girl

My Viv is so sweet.  She is always writing notes for us and others.  Notes of encouragement, notes of thanks, and notes that lift your spirits.

I am so thankful for my sweet girl.  She brings so much joy to my heart.