Monday, December 8, 2008

Fun at the Park








So I hate to rub things in, but on this one I have to. Can you beat playing at the park on a sunny afternoon in December? German loves all of his friends here in AZ and is so glad we've been able to meet them all. This afternoon he was playing by himself and imagined that he was having a party for all of his friends where they were eating gingerbreadmen cookies (thanks Treasure!)!

Annie's Bridal Shower

Congrats to Dennis and Annie!



The day after Thanksgiving, Eli and I flew to Boise and helped throw Annie a bridal shower. It was fun to see all the Hallberg Family and enjoy being a kid at home for a day. In case you're worried that German and Joshua got the short end of the stick, put your fears aside. They went out to breakfast, went to the zoo, built train tracks, and ate a lot of pumpkin pie!

Family Pictures



Here are the two best photos from our family photo shoot a couple of weeks ago. They might have turned out better had we actually had someone there taking the pictures, rather than the timer method, but oh well!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving



We are so grateful for our good friends the Ys and the Ns. We sure enjoyed the laughs, relaxing, and of course the food! We sure missed our families and wished we could have joined in their celebrations. Joshua only mentioned about 20 times how he wished he were able to go to the turkey bowl in Boise.

What Else Have We Been Up To?


Blankie Boys
I swore that I would never let my children become accustomed to a particular blanket and boy have I failed. Even little Eli will crawl into his room, stand up at the crib, and yell until someone comes and gets his blanket for him. Then he snuggles up to it with the biggest smile on his face! By the way, we think Eli has two words: car and dog. We could be crazy of course!


Pop Goes the Weasel
This is German's interpretation of a jack-in-the-box. So, I've never raised another 2 year old, so maybe my perception is off, but German is the most imaginative kid ever. He is constantly coming up with stuff to create or making random connections. And he's officially begun the "why?" stage!


It's Still Warm
We're still hanging out at the park and having a good time (this was taken on Nov. 8th). AZ has some definite perks - it may not feel like fall, but at least we can still take the kids outside anytime we want!

Halloween Fun





We like to encourage a little sibling rivalry by dressing the boys in opposing costumes: German - a cowboy and Eli - an Indian. Aren't they so cute! We went to our ward's Halloween Carnival and it took German a little while to get into the games, but the enticement of candy did the trick! Notice in the collage how much he adores his friend Madison!

Where Have We Been???


We moved! We changed apartments and although our square footage stayed the exact same, our new home is quite the palace thanks to new and smaller furniture and a storage unit! Life is much better being on the bottom floor and enjoying hard wood floors.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Our Sports Guy - German

German loves to play sports either by himself with pretend equipment or more especially with his dad.

Friday, October 17, 2008

F.Y.I.

In case anyone is wondering about the future dwelling place of our family - I thought I might make an official announcement, though it be quite uneventful.

We decided that we should stay put in our current apartment complex for the next year and then evaluate what to do next, so no new house for now. The good news is that we're moving to a 1st floor apartment with hard wood floor in the dining area and new carpet everywhere else!

We were hoping that the random shopping cart would still be next to the dumpster - to be our main sourse of transporting our goods. Sadly, it is gone and now we are reduced to neighborhood wagons and strollers. Bring out your cameras this is sure to be a laugh!

Photos of the Week

"German Makes Honey-Popcorn"
German has become such a helper and good cook. Today, when I realized half way through cooking the noodles for mac and cheese that we'd run out of milk, German suggested apple juice or water (next time I think I'll try the juice!) It was also his idea to put honey in our popcorn.

This one I like to call: "Please Don't Tell the Landlord"
Our little Eli loves the dishwasher! Seriously, everytime I open the machine he is right there trying to climb aboard and pull out as much silverware as he can (don't worry, the knives are in the back where he can't reach!).

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Tempe Towne Lake Waterpark



Last week we (a few friends and I) took our kids to the little community waterpark. German had a blast! He was running around and splashing everywhere. He really enjoyed playing with his buddies: Jayden, Dallin, Adam, and Emily. Eli preferred to be held by mom than to be splashed by the kids, but by the end he realized it was just like a huge bath, except better because he could crawl wherever he wanted to!

Call me "Domestic"




My neighbor, Marianne, kindly taught me how to can peaches this week! Things went pretty well - only a few didn't seal, but oh well! Now we can eat peaches like crazy. My kind husband also bought me a new shelving unit at IKEA this week and so I was able to organize our little laundry room and make space for our small food storage. We no longer have refried beans and tomato paste sprawled out on the ground!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

As many of you already know, I really enjoy my birthday! My husband did a stellar job surprising me and spoiling me throughout the day, despite the multiple hints German fed me. It was one of my favorite birthdays ever! German even gave me the gift of time - he took a 4 hour nap that day.


Today is Joshua's birthday and we are doing exactly what he dreams of doing every Saturday: sleeping in, watching college football (his gift was cable hook-up for the weekend! - and hence I am blogging!), and going on a hot date later tonight. We both agree that we have enjoyed our birthdays a lot this year.
This is Joshua's Ice Cream Football - no cake, just pure ice cream!



A special thanks goes out to our parents for bringing us into the world and raising us the way you did. We appreciate all of your past and current support:)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

It's Finally in the 90's!


Yes, you read correctly - we have been experiencing the cool and refreshing temperatures of the mid-90's. Life is good!

Aside from this piece of bliss, life is pretty much the same as always. We are still awaiting news on a couple of housing offers and are now entertaining the thought of renting a house. Whatever happens, we will be out of our apartment by Nov. 3rd (unless something out of my power occurs).

The boys continue to grow and change daily. German is such a communicator and very creative/imaginative boy. This picture is of him posing and trying to convince his dad to do the same.
Eli is our great experimenter! He wants to do anything and everything German does, including: eating anything except baby food, drinking from sippy cups, playing with all toys, and drawing with markers (as you can see in his photo).

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Photos of the Week...


German's New Hat - This was the greatest $5 purchase I've ever made! German loves this hat. He wakes up in the morning and puts on his hat, he gets out of the tub and puts on his hat, he goes to bed and sadly lays his hat nearby, :( but then luckily it's there again when he wakes up!



Eli the Adventurer - Eli definitely likes to experiment with his physical capabilities. He is frequently found under this table, or standing at anything his level, and he has no fear participating in games with children much larger than he is!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Navajo Lake








We had a great camping trip with the Clark Family last week. We enjoyed good food, good fun, but mostly good company.


We arrived late Thursday night, so we didn't get to do much then, but we awoke Friday ready for good times. We went to the lake and German mentioned that he wanted a sail boat, thus began the afternoon's activity. The boat sailed beautifully and if anyone out there is interested in the movie, let me know and I'll email it to you!


Before parting on Saturday we did some hiking and visiting. Good times were had by all, until we stopped at Pizza Hut for dinner. WARNING: Never order the Mia Pizza - it might be cheap, but it's about the most disgusting thing in the world!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Old McDonald Had a Farm???

These are the lyrics to the song that German was singing for us tonight on our walk:

Old McDonald had a sheep,
e-i, e-i, e-i, Boy.
With a quack, quack here
and a quack, quack there
and a quack, quack everywhere.
Old McDonald had a farm,
e-i, e-i, e-i, Boy.

"German is So Talkative Lately"

The title of this post is the words spoken to me last Sunday when I picked German up from nursery. German has never been shy around us, but around other adults he tends to go quiet and observant. So as various friends and teachers tell us how much he's talking we're naturally very proud of his progress. The following is a small sampling of some of the things that German has said to us in the recent past:

"My mommy is a princess." (I think this is thanks to my dad!)

(While talking to Gma Clark on the phone) "I am German and this is Eli."

"No, he's not Eli Clark, he's Eli Britain."

"May I have a snack and a drink of water before my nap, please?"

(While Joshua was rolling up our new tent) "Hey, that (the tent) is a hot dog!"

"Here mom, I made you some lion for dinner on the barbeque and me some frog for dinner." (My plate held a lion puppet and his a toy frog)

So, I realize that these little snipits may not sound very cute or funny to the reader, but in context and at the time they sure were funny little comments!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Our Garage Band!


Eli on the piano

German with the maraca

Joshua on the drums

All I have to say is that my three men are the funnest men in the world!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Camping Fun!

What's better than sleeping on the hard ground with no padding or pillows?
Not much when you're camping with good friends and my 3 wonderful men!


We went camping with our good friends the Niederhausers this weekend and it was a blast!

The Highlights:

Josh and Chris entertained German and Madison with the construction of a log cabin

We all enjoyed throwing rocks and wading in the freezing cold water of the creek


The kids built roads and houses in the dirt for their cars


and of course the food, smores and fireside fun


Eli also enjoyed the dirt and sticks, but mostly he decided that it would be a good opportunity to start waving! He waved first to Jackson from across the campsite and has kept going with his newly discovered talent. (Including today at church while watching the music being conducted!)


Sunday, July 27, 2008

Where has July gone?!




We've been busy the past few weeks, something somewhat uncommon for us! My nine year old brother, Adam, took his first unchaperoned flight from Boise to Phoenix and stayed a week with us. Let me tell you how nice it was to have him here. He always offered to push the stroller, he played with the boys while I cooked and cleaned, and he helped me brush up on my times-tables!

About a week after Adam's arrival, my parents drove down to see us (and eventually take Adam home) and visit for six days. It sure was a treat to have Grandpa and Grandma H here to spoil us! I'm only sorry that it was so HOT, but they knew what they were getting into! We enjoyed seeing the area's sights and a night at a Dodger v. Diamondback game.

Grandma H had to fly home and go back to work, but Grandpa and Adam convinced us that we should continue on their trip with them. So last Tuesday Joshua, myself, and the boys loaded the car and set off for the happiest place on earth! We had a great two days at Disneyland (it was surprisingly not that crowded for the middle of the summer) and one day at the beach. We're all fried and exhausted, but it was a lot of fun and memorable. Thanks again Bumpa for all the fun!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Happy Birthday U.S.A.





Can I just say that I love holiday weekends?! I love spending time with my men; we're only sad we didn't get to spend time with our extended family:(


Our weekend agenda:

We started Thursday night off with a late night swim (okay, late for kids - like 8:00pm). Then Friday we had red, white, and blue baked scones for breakfast and then headed off to the airfield to see some airplanes and helicopters. Our fellow Utah friends (the Youngs) let us crash their BBQ and that was lots of fun (thanks Tiff and Dylan!). We left their house and went to see the fireworks in Tempe. We woke the boys up from their peaceful slumber in their carseats to see the show. This was at first against my wishes, but I gave in when Joshua said that he would let me sleep in the next morning, if we could wake them up to see the fireworks! Nothing makes you feel better than starting the day at 8:30am! Today we've taken it slow, gone swimming, and now we're off to run some errands.
Hope you all enjoyed your fourth!