We love Papa

My kids love their Papa and they get excited when he comes home from work. He has been so good to play with them while we've lived here. I know they will miss their grandparents immensely when we leave.It took Mazzi a long time to warm up to her Grandpa (4 1/2 months to be exact) but now whenever he is home she wants to sit on his lap and read books or watch the news. She adores him.

My Dad and Ashton have been building an erector set together most nights since we moved here. So far I think they have built four projects. It is a good project for them to do together. Ashton often gets too silly and they have to end the project a little early, but I know he treasures this time with his Papa.

Learning from her sis

Mazzi has been learning a lot about posing for the camera from her big sis. Now any time I get the camera out Mazzi goes right into model character. When I looked at several of these pictures I mistook them for pictures of Tera when she was younger. I don't think the girls look a lot alike, but they definitely have the same dropping the head to the shoulder for the camera pose.

Two?!! Really?

We celebrated Mazzi's second birthday last month and are all a bit in shock that our "baby" is growing up so quickly. She really is huge and is talking more and more each day. She has taken her sweet time talking, but is now getting the hang of it. Today she woke up saying "Pancakes, ho ho ho, cat, meow." That was just within a few minutes of waking up. She is sweet and spunky and she really is my little sunshine. Nothing brings me more joy than little Mazzi opening her arms out wide getting ready to give me a big hug. We had a nice family birthday with a few friends, whom we consider family....



We ate brunch- Nanas cinnamon rolls, quiche, fruit and sausage (yummy). Mazzi's cake was a cinnamon roll and she knew just what to do. She started singing "to you.... to you..." for the Happy Birthday song and then blew out the candle instantly. Then she took the candle out and tried to lick the frosting off of it but accidentally put the wick side in her mouth. Oops. Ashton and Tera were very "helpful" in letting Mazzi know what birthday's are all about....
Presents!

She loved opening her gifts. Her favorites being her stuffed animals and her bounce house. Which lasted three days and then was returned (thanks to Kohls awesome return policy)

And she was glued to Matts lap most of the day. She loves when her Daddy is home and he adores his little two year old. We love to ask Mazzi how old she is. The first time I asked her she said "I dunno. Two?" and then she held up four fingers. She really has to concentrate and have some help holding up two fingers, but she thinks it is the coolest thing. Love this little girl!

Soo close....

With only 5 1/2 weeks left of the academy... I am feeling like the end is in reach. Matt has passed most of the testing, has been gassed, tazed and pepper sprayed and should be on track to graduate January 28th. Please keep him in your prayers as he finishes up as it is never too late to fail out. Not that I think that will happen... but... Last class had a cadet that failed out on the last day of the academy. If something like that happened to us I would probably end up in the loony bin! I am anxious to have my husband back and to be a "normal" family again. While the past five months have definitely had its challenging moments, it has also been a great opportunity for us to be near family and to appreciate each other and really enjoy the family moments we do have together. I know that once the academy is over and we are far from Redding I will miss my parents and extended family a lot. While I have been in Redding I have missed my friends down in Lake Elsinore. I guess you can't have it all. In a perfect world I would love to live near all of my close friends and both sides of parents in a beautiful town and own a home with a personal masseuse. But, instead I will settle for living in a somewhat ugly town (no offense Elsinore-ians- we love it there) with a lot of close friends, with a live-in-husband, in a rental :( and our four visits a year with family.

Fake Santa and a lying mother

Ashton couldn't believe it when he heard on a commercial that Santa was at the mall. He insisted that we go so he could tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. (a wii or xbox or PlayStation) He was equally concerned that Tera and Mazzi tell Santa what they want. (princess games and a talking robot) My mom and I took the kids to see Santa. Before arriving at the mall Ashton said "This isn't the real Santa though right? It's just one of Santas helpers?" (I think that came from a Tim Allen Santa Clause movie) So I agreed. Tera said, "Oh, so this is a fake Santa?" Exactly. For now my kids believe in Santa, though Ashton loves to ask plenty of questions. I know he is going to be pretty angry at me when he finds out is all make believe. He will insist that I have lied to him and will hold it against me the rest of my life... but for now I can't bear to tell him the truth. Ashton loves to remind me of all the times that I have lied to him and I am sure he will add this to the list.
Here are the lies I have told Ashton thus far in his life...

Lie #1. Whenever I made meatballs the kids would call them eyeballs. When Ashton asked if they were really eyeballs I told him they were and that I would go out at night and pluck the eyeballs from cows and then cook them up for them. I assumed he knew I was joking, but he did not. So the next time we had meatballs and I heard him telling Tera that they were cow eyeballs I told him I was joking and he isnsted that I had lied to him. Now whenever I tell him not to lie (which is a lot) he reminds me that I am a liar. (At least we know where he got it)

Lie #2. Asthon and Tera love ribs. One night our friends were coming over late and we were going to make ribs when the kids were already in bed. Ashton heard me talking on the phone about having ribs and got really excited but I told him we weren't eating ribs tonight(meaning as a family) and that we would eat them tomorrow (or the kids would as leftovers)
So the next day when I gave Ashton and Tera their ribs as leftovers he asked why we weren't eating I said because we had eaten ours the night before. Once again I was called a liar....

But here they are with the fake Santa. They wouldn't allow us to take pictures so I had to sneakily take some without the flash.
The real Santa will come on Christmas (lie.... oh no... I just can't stop!)

Mazzi would have nothing to do with Santa but she loved the reindeer by him. As you can see she has learned some amazing poses and smiles from her big sis.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving with my parents this year. Trevor and Sandra were able to join us. Sierra and Bryce were absent because they live all the way in Texas (boo) A few years ago we started the tradition of having a bon fire outside on Thanksgiving (Ashtons idea)

Then we enjoyed the Thanksgiving feast at our adopted grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Wilson. They are some of the nicest, most positive people I have ever met and it is always refreshing to be around them. Tera loves Grandma Wilson and playing with the "marsh mellow fluff" on Grandmas arms.

Since Matt had FOUR WHOLE DAYS OFF (yay!) we were able to get in some good family time together for the first time in five months. (Not really- but our together time is extremely limited) They wanted to try out roller skating so we took them and it was crazy! Let's just say niether of them are natural skaters. Ashton gave up after about a half hour and Tera was quite the determined little thing and I think she would have gotten the hang of it if she hadn't fallen hard and hurt her wrist. It hurt her for several days. I have decided skating once a year is plenty!



We have a lot we are thankful for- our family, beautiful children, good health, wonderful friends, always having food to eat, clothes to wear, shelter over our heads, living in a free country, being safe, an eternal marriage, education, having the gospel, truth and purpose, a beautiful world... and most importantly our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ and their love for us. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Things that make me smile...

Buster

This is Buster- Yoda's playmate/enemy. He is such a cool cat. He is huge and fluffy and has been my parents cat for over 8 years so has had to tolerate each of my children as they have been in the grabbing-cat toddler stage. Another fun thing about Buster is that he loves Cheese; he can smell it from across the house and will come running. Thanks for sharing your house with us and Yoda!

Girls trip.

I was able to meet up with some of my favorite girls for our second annual trip to St. George for some girl time and Christmas shopping (or in my case- shopping for myself) I think I ended up with: 4 shirts, a sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, a hat and a scarf. We literally shopped till we dropped each day and ate yummy food in between. We went to see Burlesque one night, played a feisty game of cards while eating yummy treats another night, and were able to attend the St. George temple. (Which felt odd after having just watched Burlesque the night before- not the most uplifting movie) I left feeling blessed to have such amazing friends in my life and woke up the next morning missing waking up their faces. Love you girls!

Bike ride with Grandpa

Ashton got a new bike for his birthday. He enjoyed going on a long bike ride with his grandpa.

3 musketeers reunite

These pictures make me smile. Ashton could play with his friends Kade and Brandon every day, all day if I would allow it. When they got together when we went down for our visit to Lake Elsinore they were in heaven together. Asthon sat on the front porch of Kades house waiting for the boys to get back from school. When I asked if I could get a picture of them together this is how they posed...