Kirsten and Mark

Last weekend we had Stake Conference, so the primary planned an activity to tour the temple. The grounds really, since the kids can’t go inside. But there was a lot to see and learn. Though Britton is not technically in primary since he’s still in nursery, we went anyway. Mark’s a teacher too, so we figured that counted as well.

Miss Kaia was supposed to sleep most of the time, but true to her nature she couldn’t miss a thing and woke up just after we got there…and lugged her in her baby carrier to the meeting place. Sigh.

Anyway, Britton had fun looking at Angel Moroni and his trumpet, and studying all the rocks and trees. But, the best part was the end when the tour guide had the children touch the temple.

The tour guide said it is something President Monson did with his granddaughter to help her get a sense of reverence and love for the temple, because once you touch it, it touches you.

It’s true.

Monday we went to the zoo in Colorado Springs with our cousins. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Tricia, and the first time we meet Tate, her youngest who is 6 months older than Britton. It’s built into a mountain, so there are a lot of levels.

Tricia brought crackers for the Giraffes. The kids had a lot of fun feeding them.

They were very eager to get the snack.

He wasn’t afraid at all…it took it right from him.

This one had a super long tongue and was very excited. It was really gross. But Brit liked it.

Miss Kaia enjoying her day.

Britton petting the wallaby. It was really cute.

She landed a bird!

He got one too!

The grizzly bear swam right up to the kids in his enclosure.

Kaia was adored by her cousin A. Kaia liked her too!

We’ll definitely have to go back and explore it again. Thanks for a fun day guys!

I know I’m not overly (ok, much at all) sentimental in my writing here, or anywhere else. I tend to write the facts and a bit how we felt about it and that’s all. But, since getting married and giving up my daily journal writing I really want to get better about sharing things here or else they won’t get shared at all.

So, I am writing for myself how I feel about being a mom and Mother’s Day etc.

I love being a mom. Some days I wonder how I got where I am, because in my head I’m not as old as the calendar says I am, and I don’t feel as mature as I assume a mom should be, or it’s not what I pictured it would be like or something. But, I am very thankful that I am here and where I am and that I have my two wonderful angels. I have been very very lucky in the fact that I had no trouble conceiving or carrying them. I have so many good friends who longed to be mothers for a very long time before they got their dream.

Sometimes it’s very tiring–like when Kaia wakes up every hour at night–but all that is outweighed by the hugs, grins, kisses and laughter that they bring to my life.

I am thankful for my sweet, angel Britton who is so funny and smart and enthusiastic about everything. He is growing into being three with all that implies, but he still has a sweet heart and tries so hard to be good. So, on his off days when there are meltdowns and outright disobedience I really try hard not to get mad and frustrated with him because I know he’s just little. But sometimes I fail. The best part is that he’s so forgiving and 5 seconds later he’s giving me a hug and a kiss and telling me “I need to talk to you,” or “I need to snuggle you.” Though, lately he gets annoyed and acts all put out. “Ugh (BIG sigh), well, I want to…” then he does it again 2 seconds later. Apparently I am exasperating. I’m constantly amazed at how much he knows and picks up on and I know I have a very special guy on my hands that I get to take care of and nurture and help grow.  And not just with the healthy foods that he tells me he needs to eat.

Britton and Addie, good friends

Sorry it’s blurry, we were all walking.

Then there is my sweet Kaia. She is so drastically different than her brother. Very sweet and smiley, but she definitely knows what she wants and is determined she will get it. Sometimes I think she is an old soul who is just trying to figure out this body thing so she can get on with more important things like figuring out the universe. She always wants attention and has to be in sight of me at all times. Even though it’s a big adjustment from Britton who liked doing his own thing, and kind of a pain, it does make me feel good that she loves her mommy so much and  wants me to be with her. Though, unless she’s very tired she isn’t cuddly, so that’s a little disappointing. But I love smelling her little baby hair and getting all the snuggles and kisses I can. I don’t get a lot of things done when she’s not sleeping because she likes me next to her, but I try to relish it.

Me and sweet Kaia

It seems lately that a lot of people my age have been losing their children, or have passed away themselves leaving children behind. I’m sure that it isn’t any more than normal, but in this blogging world their stories are getting a wider audience. I just learned today that a friend from high school lost her 2 month old baby a year ago ( I think the same day I found out I was pregnant with Kaia) to Whooping Cough. So sad! We’ve had that here this year and I didn’t realize how big of a deal it is. I am making my appointment for my booster shot asap.

Anyway, it’s made me realize that things can change at any time and not to take things for granted. I want to just savor each moment the most that I can. I want to play and teach and do activities with the kids as much as I can because I know that it’s the most important thing.

My Mother’s Day this year was just me and the kids. Mark had a work conference in SF, CA. But honestly, I didn’t mind. As much as I LOVE help and to be pampered, I wouldn’t want to “take the day off” from being a mom, because it’s my favorite thing. Don’t get me wrong–nap time is cherished here, and I will cry when it’s over, but I love when they wake up too.

Anyway, this is super long, but…oh, i’m getting a Kaia kiss…I wanted to get this written down so I and everyone will know how much I love my little ones and how privileged I feel to be their mom.

Also–I want to tell my mom how much I appreciate her. She is so giving of her time she often has no time for herself. She is always there to listen and help with whatever is needed. I’m lucky to have her.

My mom with the kids

She adores these guys and I still get guilt trips for moving…even though she sees us more since we moved than she did when we lived there. Thanks mom. We feel loved.

Last weekend we asked Britton if he wanted to go to the park or to the science museum. He picked the science museum. So, off we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It turns out it’s a lot bigger than we thought and they have some pretty cool exhibits.

Britton got to be a moose

I think he would fall over if they were real. We need to bulk him up a bit.

The little princess enjoying herself like a big girl in the stroller

Britton liked the Koala exhibit

What a big guy holding that huge magnifying glass!

We made it through exhibits about animals from different parts of the world, minerals, space/the moon and a fun and interactive one about health where you could do different experiments about the body, and they were recorded on a special card that printed out your results at the end. Like, an ekg and riding a bike, and height vs arm span. Britton liked those a lot. Next time we’ll have to make it to the children’s section!

It was a really fun place and we’re excited to go back to their Real Pirates exhibit. Kaia did really well too and liked looking around at everything–of course.

creative title, I know. But, we were pretty low-key this year and didn’t do much. There was a city egg hunt last week that we went to. It was pretty crazy with hundreds of people and about that many kids converging on a field all at the same time! Brit liked getting his eggs though.

I tried to help Britton learn the meaning of the holiday, but I’m not quite sure how well that went. Easter morning:

He liked his basket.

and finding his eggs and putting them in his basket.

Kaia liked her basket too.

Kaia before church. So stinkin’ cute!

He likes her now. I love this picture!

We had dinner with our friends. The food was great and the kids loved playing together. I am so thankful for Easter and the Resurrection and the promise that we have to live again after we die.

so, like a month ago we drove back from California and stayed with my sister in Utah for a few days. As the slacker that I am, I’m just getting to it…

We stopped at my good friend Angie’s house. She used to live in Cedar City, so we’d stop on our drive. She’s now in Sandy, so it was fun to see her new place (though, they’re moving back now, so yay!)

Lexie and Britton are about 5 months apart.

This one is a bit blurry, but I had to include one of Angie and me, so here ya go. Thanks Chez for taking the picture.

The kids with their GiGi, my grandma. They love playing at her house. She still has lots of toys that I played with when I was little. And visiting is always fun.

At cousin Kaylee’s house. She had lots of fun holding Kaia. She’s a good little helper. It was good to see my cousin Cassie and her husband too.

Yes, all this was in one day. Needless to say, as soon as we got in the car Britton and Kaia were completely out. It was fun though. I love seeing friends, but even with jam-packed days, I still didn’t see many people. I need a longer trip.

I saw my good friend Charlene too, and her new baby Andrea who is so sweet, and we had a great visit. I can’t find pictures from it though, so if I didn’t get one, sorry Char! I love you too!

We celebrated Britton’s birthday with my sister and Dad, so he became Cowboy Brit.

In the gear

Ride ‘em cowboy!

He’s like a pro!

Kai Kai and Aunt Shaela.

We had a really good time. Thanks for taking the day off to spend with us Shae. Hope to see you soon!

The day before Britton’s birthday he took cupcakes to his class at school. They looked pretty cool, and the kids liked them, even though I don’t think a lot of them knew what they were.

Right afterward we headed up to Steamboat Springs, a cute ski/outdoor town a few hours away. We rented an SUV because my car was in Cali, and to hold our stuff (Mark’s snowboard) and in case there was snow. It turned out to be a good idea. There was snow on our way in and would’ve been a little scary in either of our cars.

The next day was the birthday. He was excited to open his presents.

He kept asking for/talking about a magnifying glass (he saw them on Sid the Science Kid) so he was thrilled to get one of his own.

He’s LOVING this present. It’s a PBS Kids game that teaches skills in a fun way with characters from the shows. I’m pretty picky about video games and this one is really good. It explains it’s curriculum areas, what the kids learn from each game and how it expands their knowledge. He’s doing really well with it too.

Then it was off to “Ski”

All bundled up and ready to go.

On his little skis…had trouble with balance, so  it was pretty slow going. He just went on big snow drifts and little hills, not the chair lift. There was no way Mark could do it being on a snowboard. And, he was too young for anything other than all day childcare with a 1 hour lesson for $229! No happening. Maybe next year. Though, I was getting a little sad and wished I could ski, but Kaia wouldn’t do so well with that.

Anyway, he had lots of fun “skiing”  and told us it was his favorite part of the day.

After lunch he was EXHAUSTED! We went back to the condo and he took a nice, long nap. Later, he showed off his other favorite present:

His backpack! He’s been talking about one forever. He picked this one out and loves to roll it around.

The rest of our trip was fun. We went to the mineral hot springs in town (AKA, the local pool) and it was great. Kaia just lay there kicking and smiling. I thought she fell asleep on my shoulder for a minute. I think she’ll be my swimmer.

It was great to get away and spend time with just our family with nothing else to do but focus on each other. We haven’t had that in a while. The town was really cute, and we’d love to go back and explore more. I look forward to next year when I can ski. It’s been way too long.

My little girl loves to see everything that’s going on. So, today when I had to go shopping I knew I couldn’t keep her in her infant carrier without a lot of crying.
I decided we would see if she was big enough for the shopping cart…covered by her Sprout Shell of course.
It was a success!

what age did your kids start siting in the shopping cart? She’s almost 6 1/2 months.
We’d love to see any pics of tour little ones using their Sprout Shells too!

Wow, I can’t believe he’s 3 already! Where has the time gone?

A week or so before his birthday we were watching a video of an Angry Birds cake online that a dad made for his kid. Britton saw it and that’s what he wanted. He was sure. For the next week, whenever we mentioned his birthday he said “yeah, and I’m going to have a birthday cake. An Angry Birds cake.” So

We weren’t quite sure how we were going to do it, or when (things have been a little crazy around our place) but we knew we had to do it. I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant online and we set to work.

Mark is a sculpting genius. I made the shapes, he did all the details. Like, seriously?! He could get paid for it. And he’d probably charge less than the $100 than someone charges on Etsy.

Isn’t it cute! We were really happy with how it turned out. Not quite to scale, but had all the pieces  we wanted. Britton loved it!

We had a few friends over for cake. They were pretty impressed.

Happy Birthday to you!

He’s angry.

More from his actual birthday later…and what he’s up to these days.

Mark’s grandpa Floyd Schwab passed away a few weeks ago. I only met him once, at our wedding reception, but he was a very nice man. We loved getting the birthday and Christmas cards he sent.

Mark was able to go out to the funeral in Michigan and spend time with his family. All 10 of his cousins were there–a first since I’ve known him. They had a good time, despite the sad circumstances.

The cousins…

The sisters…Jackie, Kay, Denise, Lin, Karen

Mark, his mom, Sister Sara, and baby boy (yay!)

We’re sad to have you go Grandpa. We love you!