Our built-in Babysitter

All day, everyday, rain or shine...

I love you trampoline.

Preschool memories

Jace missed kindergarten cutoff by 1 hour(Sep 1- 1am) so we get a whole year of preschool! Jace loves his teacher Miss Jan and his best buddies Ben, Cameron, Kate, Darius, Nathan, Tyler, Adam, and Eliza.

Jace's favorite part of preschool is eating snack, bringing the snack, and planning what to bring for his next snack.

Jace had his first field trip to the Science Museum after studying about dinosaurs.

of course he is the great example--"jump off everyone!!"

Brenna is taking after her brother--she loves snack time too.

Birthday girl

February 21st- Brenna Leigh turns 3!!

Have 3 years really gone by this fast?? Although Brenna spent the whole day telling everyone she was 6. We decided to start celebrating the Big 3 by taking the kids to see Madagascar broadway show. I thought for sure she would love it since she has both movies memorized.

Unfortunately live entertainment just doesnt cut it when being compared to all those high action 3D movies. Brenna was dying to leave by intermission. Thank goodness for the candy distractions.

Brenna was most excited about making cupcakes. She helped me every step of the way. Don't you just love her shirt? It says "Beans"- her nickname all in glitter made by my super talented adopted sister-in-law Vivian.

Small pizza/cupcake/dress up dinner with some close friends- Burgons, Nichols, Barnes families.

First thing Brenna did was grab a spoon and dig into the jelly beans(takes after her grandma lisa!)

Jace wanted to surprise his sister by learning Happy Birthday on the violin. Video coming...

and for some reason this picture is tiny?? We got Brenna a new trampoline since our old one broke and mom was sick of her furniture being used as a replacement. Brenna is our little "jumping bean". Ill always have fond memories of the crazy curly hair bobbing up and down.

Our Favorites List

Since I am totally failing on writing in my journal, I wanted to make sure and write some of our families favorites down.

2010 Favorites:

Chad-(31 in Aug)
1. Fav movie- Eclipse, Glee, and Real housewives of Beverly Hills and Atlanta, Duke winning NCAA, Wipeout
2. Fav hobby- mountain biking,
3. Fav food- stuff on the smoker, Thai food
4. Biggest accomplishment- sold all work trucks and replaced them with vans, biggest Zerorez profit year, help start up Dental Warranty
5. Fav memory- Getting a sweet deal at foreclosure auction on a new house
6. Fav thing to do with Brenna- piggy back rides down the stairs, tingle time, 3D movies
7. Fav thing to do with Jace-go to work, treats at Sheetz,
8. Daily schedule- wake up at 6, morning meeting, prance through the lilies, gym, cook dinner, watch sports
9. Looking forward in 2011- getting skinny 175 lbs, becoming a millionaire, Hawaii


Ashley-(29 in June)
1. Fav movie- The Young Victoria, Real Housewives, Vampire Diaries
2. Fav hobby- Furniture buying/ blogging/lusting
3. Fav food- muddy buddys, Chads smoked brisket
4. Biggest accomplishment- moving into a great house
5. Fav memory- swimming at the Bedford pool everyday
6. Fav thing to do with Brenna- make up and nails,"Tangled" hair time, snuggling, pinky princess
7. Fav thing to do with Jace- practice violin, read books, Articles of Faith
8. Daily news- teaching violin, voice, and piano 4 days a week, choir director, swimming laps
9. Looking forward in 2011- thats for me to know and you to find out ;) and Jace starting school!


Jace- (6 in September)
1. Fav movie-Matilda, Shark Boy and Lava Girl, Up
2. Fav hobby- go to work with dad, reading books, texting, going to preschool, googling spiderman stuff
3. Fav food- smac-a-roni and Cheese, Reeses
4. Biggest accomplishment- reading by himself
5. Fav memory- spiderman mega blaster web shooter from Santa
6. Fav thing to do with Brenna- watching tv in the big bed, puzzles, watching Ipad in the car
7. Fav thing to do with mom/dad- read books like Strego Nona, Woman who swallowed a fly, and Jog Frog jog
8. Daily schedule: wake up before everyone, eat a peanut bar, go to school/gym, team umi zumi, nap, jump on furniture
9. Looking forward in 2011- start Kindergarten!! And get good at violin and golf


Brenna- (3 in February)
1. Fav movie- Tangled, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train your Dragon
2. Fav hobby- watching the Ipad, Zuzie peppers, snuggling, dancing and wrestling with Jace
3. Fav food- Pizza!!!
4. Biggest accomplishment- Poddy trained during the day(working at night)
5. Fav memory- Disney store and going to the zoo in Texas
6. Fav thing to do with dad/mom- lay in the big bed
7. Fav thing to do with Jace- watch movies, drive to preschool
8. Daily schedule- orange juice, color at the gym, ipad/movie time, nap, collect rocks outside, toys
9. Looking forward in 2011-Bedford pool, going to Utah, turning 3, being fully poddy trained

Progress

2 weeks down minus a handful of sick days-- Twinkle Little Star

So proud of you Jace! It is hard to have an intense violin lesson everyday with the meanest teacher around ;) Practicing with you is my favorite time of the day!

Happy New Year!

I have a feeling this year is going to be the best! Jace will finish preschool and start kindergarten. Brenna will turn three and the terrible twos will be a thing of the past. We get to fully enjoy our new house and neighborhood, a few family weddings, Hawaii at Christmas?!
We set a few family goals:
1. Family home evening every Monday no fail
2. Attend the temple twice a month
3. Eat healthier and go to gym 5 days a week
4. Buy my couch
5. Possibly add another member to the family
6. Less time on Ipad/Iphone, more quality time together
7. Chad wants to become a millionaire by the time he turns 31....he promised me when we were first married...good luck with that babe

Quick update of the month so far:

I finally decided to buckle down and teach Jace violin. We attempted a year ago without a whole lot to show from it. Mainly I gave up because it was too hard with Brenna coming in and out. Jace is doing awesome and so excited to practice everyday. More updates to come....(

"shadow bowing"

look at that bowhold! curve your pinky though Jace

"what! I have to practice how many more hours??"

Jace lost tooth #2 thanks to Dad yanking it out this time.

Weekend trip to see our favorite cousins. Jace and Ava are the best of friends

Every trip consists of this....

and ends with this.....

Christmas in Texas

We were excited to be invited back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas this year. Im sure Biscuit had something to do with it ;) We love Christmas in Texas! We always try and stay for 3-4 weeks lounging, laughing, making memories like Fort Worth Zoo, jumping into the freezing pool, Gaylord's Ice Spectacular, Manheim Steamroller, teeth cleanings, the Club, Les Mad, Mega Blaster Web Shooter, Kid Country, Shanny dance parties, Iphone game sprees.
Brett is now permanatly down in Texas attending Baylor Dental School. It was fun to see his apartment downtown. Shannon is 15 almost 16 and seriously the best babysitter in the whole world. Diana came down from Utah where she is almost done with medical assisting school. Great little family reunion!
So I'm not going to say names but someone I know forgot to bring the camera with him. These are just a few pictures I was able to steal from my sisters camera. I'll add more from my cell phone when I can figure out how to do it.

This was us EVERY night.

THE christmas gift. Jace wrote santa twice for the Mega Blaster Web Shooter. He was sooo crushed when all the presents were opened and no web shooter. Santa didnt leave it out with all the other presents. However Jace got a phone call from Santa asking if he was a super good boy. Good thing he was because Santa left a secret gift hiding in a Spiderman bag for him! He face tells it all.

Near the end of our trip, we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was completely vacant! Brenna's favorite animal was the "pink mingos" and Jace loved the big lion.