Logan is three and is officially not a baby anymore. He’s a preschooler now. WOW. I can hardly believe it. I think I do this every year, but seriously, when and how do they go from this


to this

He’s so much fun to be around and he has such an active personality. I love his obsession with trucks and tractors and everything he knows about them. I love listening to him play with his trucks and the scenarios he comes up with and where they’re going and why. He adores his older sister and wants to be like her. He can’t wait to go to preschool next year just like Lindsay and I can’t believe we’re getting to this point already. He knows all of his shapes and colors and can count to at least 30, but I’m pretty sure he counts higher when Lindsay is counting with him. He knows all of his letters and some of their sounds, but the kid just isn’t patient enough to sit long enough for me to teach him the rest. He knows how to spell his name and sings it to the BINGO song. He loves it when we read books to him and especially when Lindsay reads to him. Before they come out in the morning, I’ve learned that most of that time is spent by Lindsay reading books to Logan, curled up together in bed. They are the best of friends and as a parent, that’s what I love to see.

Logan had a fun birthday! As soon as he woke up and saw the presents, he wanted to open them. He got a car transporter (he was so excited!), new playdoh, all of the See How They Go Books, the game Hi-Ho Cherry-O, and a new Booster seat. He loved all of them and wants to play with them everyday. The See How They Go Books are awesome and he has to sleep with ALL of them now. There are about 12 of them. It’s adorable.

After that we had pancakes for breakfast. He had wanted cream of wheat pudding but we didn’t have any eggs, so we had to wait until the next morning to have that. Tuesdays we have story time so we went to that mid morning and read stories about bears. Then after lunch we went down to the Discovery Park by our house and had a blast! It was such a nice day and we took their bikes and stayed for 2 hours! That park is so fun and it never did get boring. They had a blast on the tire swing and riding their bikes around the park. Then we took Lindsay to dance, Logan and I took naps in the car and then we came home to hang out. At about 5 o’clock, our home teacher called and asked if Logan wanted to take a ride on their tractor. They had come over on Sunday and found out he liked tractors and mentioned that he could have a ride if he wanted one. I thought about calling them but then never got around to it. So, he remembered and called ME. I was so impressed he remembered! So, we headed over there and he got to ride on a tractor! He was a little shy at first but once he got going, he was beyond himself!

After a little while, Caleb, the teenager with him, let him drive the tractor by himself. Caleb put his hands up and everything and let him drive and he did a great job! He’s a natural! He rode it for about 25 minutes and then Lindsay had a little turn and then he wanted to ride it again, but it was time to go. Thanks again Wolthuises!

Then we came home and Lane and Kelly came over and we had chicken alfredo for dinner and cupcakes and frozen yogurt for dessert. I found these really cute construction cone candles and he loved them!

It was a fun day. Happy Birthday, Logan! We love you!

Our baby turned 3 today! Wow! He had a really fun birthday and ended it with a bang. More to come tomorrow.

Once again, Niki has outdone herself and has given us wonderful new family pictures! We are so happy with them and feel like they capture our little families personalities so well. Thanks Niki!!!

Remember the post awhile back about how sometimes it can take forever to get the kids dressed in the morning or for bed? This is why.

It’s too much fun to put clothes on the wrong way! Look at those happy faces!

After we picked up Lindsay from preschool on Friday she showed us everything in her bag like she always does and this was in there:

I had no idea they were even learning it so I asked her to say it for me and sure enough, she can do it! I’m so proud of her! I’m glad that I found a preschool where they still do things like this and aren’t ashamed of it. Here she is:

A couple of weeks ago, Logan and I were grocery shopping and we were in the produce section getting some oranges, and he saw the lemons and said he wanted to try one. I probably should have said no, but some people like lemons and he just might be one of them and if I had said “no, they’re too sour”, then I would have made up his mind for him without him getting a chance to try it for himself. So, I got one for him to try. And then I let it go bad so I had to go back and get another one. So, he tried it yesterday. And it was so funny!

For Logan’s special date this year, we took him and Lindsay to see a Monster Truck Jam up in Salt Lake. Jeff and I had never been to one so we had no idea what to expect and there were a few things I had wished we had known ahead of time, but oh well.

The kids were excited all day long, especially Logan. He kept asking if i was time to go see the Monster trucks yet and when it was finally time, he was ready to go. We took the trax up to Salt Lake since there is nowhere to park there anymore, and the kids love going on the train, so it was a two for one deal, train and trucks! When we got to the stadium, they scanned our tickets and then said, “You can find earplugs at portal U if you want them.” Earplugs? How loud can it be? I know these are huge trucks but really, it’s a big stadium, how loud can it possibly get?

We found our seats and sat down and we had our earplugs in our pockets, just in case. Then out of nowhere, this noise, louder than anything I have ever heard before, comes into the stadium. Lindsay jumps like 10 feet in the air and is immediately in tears and Logan is just looking around for the trucks. I quickly get the earplugs out of my pocket and tried to get the earplugs in her ears as fast as I could, but it wasn’t working, so I grabbed her hand and ran up the stairs and she had no problem keeping up with me she was so scared! I calmed her down and spent about 10 minutes trying to put these earplugs into her ears (which is really hard to do for someone else!) and once we got them in, she was okay. She held my hand for the first 20 minutes, but then she really got into it and had a good time. Logan loved it from beginning to end. Jeff was able to get the earplugs into his ears, but I kept fixing them and pushing them back in because I was so scared for his little ears, because it really was THAT LOUD!! It was fun watching those monstrous trucks crush cars, jump over them, rev their engines and basically have fun. I enjoyed the drag racing and the freestyle the most. They also had these little trucks drag racing around and that was fun, too. At the intermission, they had a bobcat and forklift tractor come out and get the arena set up for the motorcycles. The tractors were by far Logan’s FAVORITE part! He was glued to them! He’s so cute. The most exciting part of the whole thing were the motocross motorcycles. Those guys are INSANE!! At least in a monster truck you’re strapped inside a little cage. Those guys are just OUT there, putting themselves in who knows what kind of situation. But it was fun to watch! They do some crazy awesome things! After the motorcycles, the monster trucks came back out and did their 60 seconds of freestyle, which was by far my favorite, and probably everyone else’s as well. And the last truck to go, who was named Grave Digger, the last jump he did ended him upside down and it was exciting! He was okay, but before we could leave, we had to watch the forklift help get the monster truck back on it’s wheels. All in all, it was a really fun time and I would definitely do it again! But I would for sure take some heavy duty earphones for all of us!


Not the best picture, but you can kinda see how he just couldn’t take his eyes off of them.

Monster Mutt is so cute!


Grave Digger. Apparently, he’s been around for awhile.


One of the little trucks.



The forklift and the bobcat.



Look at how high they get! We told Logan he’s not allowed to do that.


Yeah, he’s upside down…INSANE!

Grave Digger about to be upside down…

…and upside down.

Logan fell asleep on the train on the way home, with a licorice in his mouth.

Getting the kids ready everyday can be quite the experience. Sometimes they don’t listen when I ask them to get dressed, going potty takes forever, the clothes I want aren’t clean, toothpaste falls on newly put on clothes, we have like 5 minutes to get ready, you get the picture. But today was a little different. I decided to try something new and get them ready long before we had anywhere to go. Logan loves to get dressed so he was out of his jammies and into his clothes for the day in no time and so then it was just Lindsay left, who tends to sing and dance while she’s going potty. It’s super cute. So that left Logan and I waiting in their room for her to finish up. The boy always has a tractor with him so I just sat down next to him listening to him tell me what his tractors are doing and why. There is always lots of explanation that happens during this time, and it’s fun to listen to him talk about something he loves so much. Anyway, when Lindsay was done she came in and thought that me sitting down next to Logan listening to him play sounded like lots of fun and she wanted to do it as well. Maybe I don’t play with my kids enough anymore for her to think that me just sitting with them sounded like a good time. So I did. We put getting ready aside and played. I watched as Logan shared his excavator with her, willingly with no tears, and then he went upstairs and got a different tractor for himself. If for no other reason, I’m glad I was there to witness that. But there’s more. Lindsay then went upstairs to get a dump truck for herself, so then they both had a dump truck and a digger of some sort, Logan with his backhoe and Lindsay with her excavator. Then they just started “digging”. They pretended to dig big holes with their tractors and then put the dirt in their dump trucks and then drive the dump trucks to a corner and dump the dirt out. And I thought to myself, What do we have that they could actually pretend to dig? CHEERIOS!! So I went and got the cheerios and dumped big piles onto the floor for them to dig. They were thrilled! I got huge thank you’s from both of them and they continued to dig together for a half an hour! And they can’t wait to do it again. It’s not everyday that you get to play with food that’s fallen on the ground and your mom says it’s okay. I’m SO GLAD I ignored the messy kitchen and stayed to sit with them.

As I was making my shopping list this morning, I realized that I have not shopped at a grocery store in the same city I live in for over 5 1/2 years. When we lived in the condo in Orem, we shopped at the Walmart in Lindon. When we lived in Eagle Mountain, we shopped first in Lehi and then in Saratoga Springs and now that we live in Pleasant Grove, we shop in either Lindon or Cedar Hills. I actually drive through American Fork to get to the Walmart closest to my house and it’s only 5 minutes away. The things I do to get food!

P.S. I think it’s funny.

Last Saturday Jeff and I didn’t have any plans to go out that evening. We were running a bunch of errands with the kids and just kind of having a lazy day. At about noon, our friend Brian called and told us about a function that was going on that evening for the Orem Owls, which is the minor league team for the LA Angels and that Mike Scioscia was going to be there. He said someone had canceled and he asked if we wanted to go. Uh, yeah! Jeff grew up with Mike Scioscia playing for the Dodgers and he was one of his childhood heroes. So we asked Laura if she’d watch the kids and we went. Jeff had meant to find a Scioscia baseball card but forgot so when we got there and we were standing in line to meet him, we didn’t know what he was going to sign. We had some gum so I suggested he sign a gum wrapper so we went with that. And that I saw Jeff’s iPhone with his white cover and I said, “Have him sign your iPhone!” YES! It was brilliant! So it was finally our turn and he got to meet Mike Scioscia and shake his hand and take our picture with him. He said it was the first time he’s ever been asked to sign either of those things. We like being original. Jeff asked him if it was alright that he was here as a Dodger fan and Mike said, “Yeah, that’s okay. We won’t give you priority seating or anything, but you can stay.” We shook his hands, which are really strong by the way, and got our picture taken with him.

After that we had a nice dinner and he gave a little speech/talk/whatever it’s called and at the end he took some questions. Someone asked him what his favorite baseball memory/moment is and he said the 1988 World Series. He was a Dodger back then. That’s Jeffy’s favorite baseball memory/moment as well. Jeffy asked him if he ever raced Benji Molina and Mike Scioscia started to chuckle. He said that one time, Tommy Lasorda said that if Mike was in a race with his pregnant wife he’d come in third. He said he wasn’t very fast but he could have beaten Benji. Then a guy in the back of the room with a Yankees hat on raised his hand, and once Mike saw that it was a Yankee hat, he told him to go somewhere else and didn’t answer his question! We all thought he was joking but he never did answer his question! Too funny.

It was fun to be there with Jeffy and to see him meet this man who he watched and knew all of his stats and everything. I love the passion Jeffy has for baseball. I love that I have come to love baseball and everything it represents. I love baseball diamonds and the way they look. I love the smell of the dirt and the smell of the grass and I especially love baseball diamonds at night. The game can be so relaxing to watch but yet so exhilarating at times! I love it! And I’m thankful to Brian for thinking of Jeffy to come and meet Mike Scioscia. It was fun!

For Christmas, Santa brought Jeff a toy that has two handles with velcro on them and a ball to throw back and forth. The kids love playing with it and they’ve both gotten a lot better in the last few days. They both catch the ball differently. When Lindsay goes to catch the ball, she kind of scoops it up, like she’s playing lacrosse or something. It’s pretty spiffy. That girl has a wicked arm, too. If your not paying attention, she’ll get ya good!
When Logan catches the ball, it looks something like this:

It’s too funny! He used to not do this, but I think Uncle Christopher throwing a ball at him one too many times has caused him to start closing his eyes. He does catch it a good chunk of the time despite his closed eyes and he’s always happy about it.

And P.S. Check out his follow through on this throw!

Have any of you ever watched Gilmore Girls? If you have, you’ll know that Lorelai loves the snow. She has a special bond with snow. She can smell it coming and wakes up to go outside and watch it fall. I totally relate to Lorelai because I, too, love snow! Friday night it snowed, and it snowed hard. And I loved every minute of it. Jeffy had to go pick up his laptop at simply mac from getting fixed so when we hopped in the car that’s when we saw the snow. And we both just giggled a little bit because we both love it. Even though driving in the snow can be difficult and scary at times, I love it. I love how you feel like you’re going lightning speed on the road when the snow is coming at you. When we got back home, we just stood in the garage and watched it fall. I love to look up and watch the snow falling from out of nowhere it seems. I love how quiet the world is when it snows. I love the way the trees look when they have snow on their branches. I love the mountains covered in snow. I love how snow gives me an opportunity to be grateful for the beauty that surrounds me. And I love waking up to a white covered world. And I love playing in the snow with my kids.




Logan loves to shovel the snow around with his tractor.

I even love shoveling the snow and Jeffy doesn’t mind it either.

When Jeff was shoveling, he would throw the snow in the air and it would fall on the kids. They loved it!



Jeff’s very first snow angel.

My snow babies.

When we moved into our new house, one of the things that was so relaxing about the whole experience was that I loved the colors on all of the walls so I wouldn’t have to paint. I only painted one wall in the kids room before we moved in and that was just because the color that was there wasn’t really a neutral boy/girl color. Other than that, I love it all. The bathroom on the main floor, which is also the kids bathroom, is a beautiful pale yellow. I love the color but I was struggling with how to decorate it because I just didn’t want to paint over it because I despise painting bathrooms. It’s too much work. Because that bathroom is the bathroom people will use when they come over to visit, and not just the kids bathroom, I didn’t want to make it too much of a kid space. I had a hard time figuring out how to decorate it. We decided on some pale blue rugs and a white shower curtain and it all looked lovely, except that the walls just seemed a little too bare. So I looked at some art at some places but didn’t want to spend that much money. So I went to my fall back option. Michaels.com. I LOVE being crafty, but I love it more when I have a purpose. I found some cute ideas on making my own wall art with fabric so I thought I’d give it a try. I decided to go with a blue fabric to bring out the blue from the rugs and add some white and a little bit of yellow. I found a fabric I liked and then gathered some ribbon, flowers and buttons and figured I’d make it work.

I started with a blank thing of Styrofoam board. I bought two different blue fabrics and then sewed them together. I then sewed some white ribbon over the seam and then added some blue ribbon with buttons and some yellow flowers and I think they turned out super cute!


I’m still wondering if I want to add something else, but I can’t think of anything so I probably won’t. But if anyone has any super cute ideas, I’m all ears!
The walls aren’t so bare anymore and I had a fun time making them!

Lindsay had a field trip with her new preschool on Wednesday and Logan and I went as a parent supervisor. It was a lot of fun! We were there for about an hour and a half and the kids got to see EVERYTHING! They got to go behind the doors that says “for employees only” and man oh man, they thought they were so cool! It was so cute. They took us to the warehouse part where they keep all the pallets of food and Logan asked if he could drive the forklift. Not just ride on it, DRIVE it. Seriously. Tractors are in his future. They also took us inside the big refrigerator, the freezer (BRRR!), behind the meat counter to watch them wrap a pound of hamburger, watch them decorate a cake, the pharmacy, the baker counter to get a free ice cream cone, to see the big oven where they cook everything, and also upstairs to look through the “secret” windows. The last one was by far Lindsay’s favorite. She had a blast and I’m so glad Logan and I got to go with her. Who knew a grocery store could be so fun! Especially being there with all of your friends! So cool!






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The kids have been loving our new big tub with jets. Putting bubble bath in a jet tub makes little bubbles into LOTS of bubbles and it’s so much fun! The kids don’t ever want to get out and they get super clean!