LUKE' PENNIES

Luke is doing an awesome job reading and spelling out words on his own. We are so stinking proud of him!! The above picture is his drawing of "5 pennies". We had to explain to him how to spell pennies the correct way. We all got some chuckles out of that one!

Another Cake

We have some friends who are moving to Utah this week (sniff sniff). I wanted to do something fun for them and since they enjoy playing Guitar Hero on their Wii (and the fact that they totally ROCK!) ...I decided to do another guitar cake. We'll miss you Nelson family!!

Ashlie's Cake

Ashlie (our niece who lives with us) turned 21 on Feb. 13th! I wanted to make her a fun cake, especially since I'm not good for much these days! I can see way too many imperfections, but, hey, it was my first guitar.

FUNNY BOYS

*These were some hearts Luke made with dirt for Curt and I one day when he was playing out in the backyard. Such a sweet kid.

*Luke told me the other day..."Mom, if you were my same age, if you were 6 too, I would marry you because your face is just so cute! I would Mom. Really, I would marry you." (Obviously I had some explaining to do)

*This is what Ty loves and why...in his own words transcribed by his preschool teacher Ms. Dieu. So cute to hear what goes on in a 3 year-old's head!

RANDOM PHOTOS

Here are some recent pictures including...

** Ty showing off his new bike!

** Jake folding his arms for a prayer!

** Papa and Grandma Debbie's visit!

** Jake's funny face he likes to make!

FAMILY PICTURES!

I have to thank my friend Stephanie for taking these photos of us and Ashlie for coming along to help with kids! Steph did an awesome job and even put together a cute slide show on DVD for us! I really do have great friends. What a lucky girl I am.

Jake was not in any mood to smile, as you can tell. Ty was such a big boy and sat very still (for the most part). Luke was his usual photogenic self and had fun posing for Steph.

And best of all, we survived! The kids were all in one piece when we were through. Amazing.

Jake's 15 Month Stats

At 15 months, Jake weighed in at 26.6 lbs and is 31" long!! He is a tank and I love to nibble on his chubby cheeks. Grandma Holbrook went with us to his dr's appt. because I still cannot lift this kid (dr's orders...grrr!). Jake had to get 2 shots and it was so hard for me because I was there, but I couldn't hold him to console him. That was rough, but luckily he only cried for a minute.

He's usually a pretty happy kid, and is so fun to watch! He's contantly on the go and insists on doing everything his big brothers are doing. He's pretty darn cute, too!

The Latest Happenings

In a nutshell...

* One of my best buddies drove all the way from northern CA to spend a few days with me last week! It was GREAT to see her and I am so bummed that I didn't take any pictures! I miss her...sniff sniff

* My sister Christie also came to see us! She flew in on Friday evening and left again for Ohio that Sunday. Although it was a quick trip, it was so good to see her. The boys loved having her at our house for a couple of days. Hopefully she'll come back soon because almost everyone was crying when we dropped her off at the airport.

* It is our family goal this year to have Family Home Evening every week for the WHOLE YEAR! We're going 3 weeks strong so far! Our reward for reaching our goal......a trip to San Diego!! The boys are stoked to go to Sea World, the zoo, and the beach! Ty prays for Sea World every night (so cute). We may even throw in a trip to Lego Land because we've heard so many people raving about it. NOW all's we have to do is save $$$$ for the trip. That's the hard part.

* Curt got his first "break" from the kids on Saturday! That is certainly worth noting because he's taken on a lot since I've been recovering from my surgery. He spent several hours golfing with some of his buddies.

* My dad and his wife Debbie are coming to spend a few days with us this week! They should be here in a little while and I am very much looking forward to seeing them. They are going to help with the boys so Curt's mom can have a little break. The boys are so excited to see Papa and Grandma Debbie!! Luke keeps begging me to let him sleep with them! Oh brother.

* My first round of chemo starts tomorrow...and I am a bit nervous, to be honest. I'm just looking forward to getting it over with and our lives getting back to normal (if that's possible!).