April 2015

A few months ago, Jacob woke up (maybe 30 minutes or so) after going to bed. I went to see why he was crying and his face was red and puffy and his eyes were swollen. Scary! We called our neighbor (who is a doctor) and he told us it sounded like an allergic reaction and to get some childrens benedryl from the store and give it to him. Fortunately the medicine worked and his swelling/redness went back down and he was able to go to sleep. Earlier that evening I had given him a bite of a peanut butter brownie so I assumed he must have had a reaction to the peanut butter (I couldn't think of anything else new he'd eaten that day). To be sure, we took him to the allergist and had him tested. They poked him with a bunch of different needles and labeled them to see how they would react. It looked painful to me, but Jacob didn't seem to mind, he was just loving the sucker they gave him. Sure enough, he is allergic to peanuts. I'm glad he just had a bite of brownie and that his reaction was a mild one.

Happy Easter! I loved making special easter chocolates all growing up. We had little candy molds (with eggs, bunnies, baskets, flowers, etc) and would melt white chocolate (color some of it) and use toothpicks to "paint" the pictures on the chocolates. Quite time consuming, but so pretty when you finish. Lydia loved helping me! We also made some chocolate covered marshmallow eggs. We like to meet Neal at the bus stop  when he comes home. His bus driver (John) is always very kind and often has something for the kids, so we made him a special plate of easter treats and took it to him.

A few days later, John told us that they were switching routes for him  so he wouldn't be driving Neal's bus anymore. One his last day, he had toys for the kids. An Anna doll for Lydia and a truck for Jacob. He is such a nice person, and we'll miss seeing him each week day. The top picture on the left: Lydia got some money in her Easter eggs this year (from the hunt at Grandma Johnsons). Annie asked her what she was going to do with her money and she excitedly replied, "Buy new underwear!" So I took her to the store and she bought new underwear. She was so happy and proud to show daddy when he came home, that he took a picture of her.

Some neighbors had some little bunnies. The kids loved holding and petting them!

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the kids are sitting a little brick (it sticks out a bit, maybe for decorations?) at Neal's parents house. Top right: feeding the ducks/geese Bottom right: My little dishwasher

Feb/March 2015

February and March (2015) randoms

4 wheeling, listening to daddy play guitar, reading stories, and visiting the Joseph Smith memorial building

My mom always made us big heart sugar cookies for Valentines day and I've carried on the tradition. By the time I remembered to take a picture, the rest of us had already eaten ours, so it was just Neal's left :)

Making marshmallows and playing under the bunk beds.

January 2015

For some reason, Lydia has decided that she likes sleeping behind the couch. Even if we put her to bed in her room, she comes out in the middle of the night and this is how we find her most mornings. Bottom rght: they are always finding something to make a mess with. Today was all the ads that came in the mail. :) 

We went down to the new(ish) Aquarium to check it out. It was pretty fun and we liked looking at all the different animals.

Watching the penguins and fish.

They have a huge rainforest room with tons of birds, a small petting section (with sting rays, fish, etc), a big rope bridge to cross, etc. 

The kids like playing on the giant whales. We  also saw a couple of short movies in their 3-d theater. The had a really cool on about "monsters under the sea" but it was a little to realistic and scary for Lydia. She liked the animated one we saw better. Left: our family in the giant shark mouth. Middle: crossing the rope bridge.Lydia loved it and wanted to go again and again.  

December 2014

December is always busy and goes by too quickly! Just like that, another year has come and gone!

When you have an older sister, you sometimes run around the house in pink fairy wings. :) The kids were having fun playing together: wresting, and doing tricks. 

The kids found a package with this foam forms inside (I don't really know what it's called) and had so much fun with it! It got everywhere though and took forever to clean! 

We love all the family get togethers around Christmas time. I was terrible at taking pictures, so I only have pictures from the Swalberg family party.

We're so lucky to live 15 minutes from downtown Salt Lake and temple square! It's always pretty cold, but the lights are so beautiful!

The candy windows (across the street from the temple at City Creek), and more lights!

Neal decided to make popcorn chains for the tree this year so we popped a bunch of popcorn and got started. After a while, Neal changed his mind because Jacob kept grabbing his string and was eating the popcorn faster that Neal could put it on! Lydia thought she'd put popcorn on anyway, so she grabbed a handful and started decorating.

It was one of those crazy stressful days, and we needed to grab a few last minute things from the store. We loaded everyone up in the car and headed to Walmart. After getting everything and waiting in line, I remembered something else. Neal and Jacob stayed in line while Lydia and I ran to grab it. While I was standing in the isle, a little boy came up and handed me a little bag, then continued on with his mom. I looked down at what he had given me. It was a bag with a five dollar bill inside and a not attached that said, "You've been R.A.C.K ed!!! Random Act of Christmas Kindness" It really touched me and made me stop and reevaluate what was truly important. I had gotten so caught up in trying to get everything done, that I was not in the spirit of Christmas.  I'm so grateful for a mother who remembered to teach her children what the real reason and meaning of Christmas is. I  truly needed the reminder to stop, take time, and look outwards for ways that I could be kinder and serve more. It was a little Christmas miracle to me that I'll never forget.

We spent Christmas Day with Neal's family this year. We were all spoiled by Neal's parents, especially the kids. Neal's favorite gift was the BYU jerseys his parents gave to Lydia and Jacob. :)

Bradley made a snowman with the kids. They loved it!

November 2014

The weather was still pretty good for November, so we enjoyed playing outside a lot.

Raking the leaves so we can jump in them is always so fun!

Somedays you just let your kids out of the house in whatever they put on... even if it is a tinkerbell dress with pink fairy wings. :)  Bottom right: the kids love to make "foamy soap" (just mix a little dish soap and water until it is foamy). This picture is super blurry, but it's the best I had. Middle: Lydia was so excited to make her own funny face pancake. I think we made them for a few days in a row. Top right: Ok, so this one is really embarrassing! I actually went to  work with two different boots on and didn't notice until I had been at work for almost an hour! In my defense, I did get ready in the dark that morning and remember pulling 3 boots from my closet. I thought that I threw the one that didn't match back in, but I guess I grabbed the wrong one! After I noticed, I just wore my socks for the rest of my shift.  

Watching out the window and having fun with play dough.

We're so excited to welcome Mikayla to the family (she is marrying Neal's brother Kevin). We had so much fun going out to lunch with her and her mom. Neal's brother, Bradley also came home after serving his mission in Canada. Welcome home, Bradley! 

October 2014

We love living across the street from the elementary school. We have the playground to ourselves during the summer!

Happy 1st birthday Jacob! We thought it was appropriate to make him a car cake... since he was born in one.

Happy Halloween from Cinderella and Prince Charming

We went to a BYU football game. While we were there, people kept turning around and looking behind us. We discovered that Elder Perry was sitting in the box right behind us! Go Cougars!

September 2014

We love when the weather is warm and we can stay outside all day! Lydia taking her kitty for a ride on her bike. Visiting the llamas, and playing at the splash pad.

Annie came over with her umbrella and Lydia loved it! She had to take it outside right away and try it out. I guess it's time to get her own...

Jacob thought it was so fun to hit and pull Lydia's hair over and over again. Poor girl... she must have been really tired though, because she didn't even wake up!

Our little cougars. Jacob getting into everything (again) and horse rides on daddy!