Caden's Pinterest Success

Major blog slacking alert!!
In the process of fixing that though =)
Here are a few of the Pinterest projects Caden has done(w/ a little help from Mom)

Crayon hearts

Tada!

Jell-o alphabet letters

If you can't tell he wasn't a huge fan of how the Jell-o felt,I don't blame him!

Much better

I love that he is so into every activity or craft I throw his way =)

Summer Lovin'

Summer time= my favorite time of year

& when you have children it makes it 20x better

Since we moved to Maryland my babies have not been swimming in a REAL pool once.....makes me so sad.Caden started swim lessons when he was 8 months old and pretty much lived in water his first two years of life. With their age difference and Brandon's schedule it has just not been able to work, & we don't have a neighborhood pool just down the street from us or a beach less than an hour away from us like we did in California :(

Okay, sob story over, we have made due and just bought them a small pool.,slip-n-slide, and sprinkler. As you can tell, I think they are completely satisfied with it! =)

Love that crazy guy  

& of course we had to bust out the sprinkler

Ready, set, GOOOO 

BAHAHAHAHA

Liam's turn

Aaaaand he loved it.  That child has no fear

It has started out to be a perfect summer and I can't wait to make many more memories during our first summer on the East Coast!

Fishing in February

Since moving here, I've really been tested on my creative ability to come up with indoor activities besides crafts.  Believe me we do A LOT of crafts and while they are fun, Caden is a boy and they just don't cut it sometimes. Since Caden is quite the outdoors man it can be a little tricky.  When it's not raining or freezing we are definitely outside playing in the back yard or on a walk to the park, but those "decent" days seem a little scarce this time of year.

Sooooo we threw on some floaties and decided to go fishing(in the bathtub of course)! Luckily Grandma Georgia had given him a handy dandy fishing game!

Then we of course had to "swim" with the fishies!! 

Simple fun that made Caden's day.

Snow....what's that?

Growing up in the desert in the Southwest, you don't exactly see a lot of snow.  It  probably only snowed 3 times my entire childhood.  So this is all new to us!! I'm not a huge fan, but the joy it brought to BOTH of the  boys smiling happy little faces was enough for me to start to like it....a little =)

Liam was a little skeptical at first, but then he wanted to crawl all over it (like our really cool, put together in 2 minute snow suit?)

We....uhhh don't really have the correct snow attire just yet.  It has been an extremely mild winter (so we hear), so there really hasn't been a need to get any. I'm sure next year will be a different story.

 

Snow pie anyone?!?!

Caden found a nice comfy pot to sit in while Brandon shoveled snow so we could try and make a snowman.

Beautiful!

The last move of our lives.....

Okay.....so probably not the LAST move we will ever do, but that is what we are going with for now.  Brandon says he will live in this house until he dies ;)

The actual moving process is never fun, but this last move was by far the hardest(Even harder than our cross-country move 4 months earlier); keeping in mind we have moved 6 times within the past 5 years.  A 28 month old and 7 month old are not the most easy moving buddies, but rather the can't get anything accomplished when they are around buddies=)

We of course tried to make the best of it.....
Playing in the moving truck was a must!

It just so happened to be one of the coldest days in January and the first time we saw little snow flurries since we got here.  Good thing Caden looks so cute all bundled up =)

When almost all toys are packed and loaded in the truck to be moved to the new house & you have a very bored 2 year old, riding around the old house on the back of the vacuum it is.

Liam was of course soooo laid back and just went with the flow. He loved peeping down at Daddy and Brother from upstairs.

I love these chubby hands

He sure is a "talker"

The first day in OUR  new house we were given a dose of "you are officially a homeowner."  We had several little glitches the biggest one being our dishwasher having a small leak so we just decided to completely replace it with this beauty

So...that is the move in a very small nutshell ;) 

We are finally settled in and are absolutely in love with our new home. We can't wait to make memories in it for many years to come!  We will be decorating each room one by one, so we will definitely have pictures and stories to follow with our new house.

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Twelve Resolutions

I am so extremely excited and a little nervous to start my very first Blog!

In honor of it being New Years Day I though it would be the perfect time for my first blog post =)

I have never really been a fan of New Year resolutions for the mere fact that I have never kept one.

This year I'm changing that.  This year I am committing to TWELVE resolutions.  This is the year for self change.  If there is something about yourself you want to change or something you want to be better at what better excuse than making it a resolution!

1. Start and keep up with my Blog

I have wanted to start a blog for years.So I decided to quit wanting it and actually doing it! So far I'm already doing great on this one =)

2. Take more "me" time

This is one thing I have a real problem with. From the moment I wake up Caden or Liam wakes me up until we put both boys down at night.I have zero time to even think about being me. I think it's healthy for every person to have some personal time. I unfortunately, do not practice what I preach.

3. Read my Bible daily

I have slacked on this so bad this past year.  This will change.

4. Learn more about my camera

This goes hand-in hand with my "me" time. I want to take time out for myself and take a class or just do more research online.I like to think I know a great deal about settings but I'm sure I know very little when it comes to really knowing your camera. I am completely obsessed with taking pictures of my family and it is so frustrating when I miss the perfect shot because I can't figure out what setting my camera should be on....

5. Start school back up

This will happen! I took a little, okay long break from school since I had Liam.  I have about 2 years left.  I can do this!

6. Be a more patient person

I have always struggled with patience.  In every aspect of my life.  Having children has definitely helped a lot, but there is always room for more!

7. Make at least 2 new friends

I am a social creature.  I am just one of those people that loves to be around other people. With Brandon being in the military so many friends have come and gone, but I have made many that are life long friendships that I thank God for every day.  Now that we moved to pretty much a foreign country (that's what it seems like anyways) and with Brandon not being in the military, it's a little harder to meet people.  I thankfully have met some awesome people that I know will turn into life long friends; however, I want to make at least 2 new great friendships this year.

8. Read 5  new books

This also goes along with "me" time.  I always make excuses that I don't have time to read.  Even Brandon has been reading more than me and he hasn't been much of a reader in the past.  I will be changing that this year.  I read one book this entire year (grown up books that is).  I don't think the many Dr. Seuss books, constructions books, toy story books, or even that weird scorpion book that Caden's Grandma gave him counts (Thanks Mom).  Since I love to read, 5 new books is my goal!

9. Learn how to let the little things go

I am a "people pleaser" by nature, but along with that comes wearing my heart on my sleeve and letting every little thing get to me.  So I'm hoping to just let the little things go starting this year.

10. Be more organized

My brain doesn't function properly without organization.  Seriously, I am that person that has to have a daily list/schedule for the days events.  If I don't, I feel out of it all day and end up not getting anything accomplished that I wanted to. With all the moving we have done the past few years it has been very hard to stay organized.  Once we move into OUR house in a few short days (woohoo), that is my main goal.  ORGANIZING every single room perfectly!

11. Complete 2 new DIY projects

Once AGAIN this will fall under "me" time.  I have wanted to learn for years now how to re-finish and re-upholster different pieces of furniture in our house.  I will accomplish at least 2 related projects this year!

12. Lose 10 pounds

I know, I know so original right?!  I'm definitely not complaining being 5 pounds under pre-baby weight with my second child, but what woman doesn't want to tone up just a little?!