Isaac the Meteor

Isaac played a Meteor in his 3rd grade Space Production. He did a fantastic job.

Isaac the Meteor

Waiting for the program to begin:

Short stories

As Ethan sat down next to me after passing the sacrament for the first time, he leaned over and said "that was much more fun than just sitting here".

Isaac received an A for his Thomas Jefferson report. He had to put together a timeline and give a presentation on 7 facts.

As Ethan & Isaac were getting out of the van to go to scouts & mutual Leo yelled out the door "have a good time and play nicely".

Grace had stuck something up her nose. I tried to pull it out with tweezers, which didn't work. I got an appt to take her to the pediatrician. Once there, I plugged the other nostril and blew into her mouth. As I lifted my head, Grace was screaming. The object flew out of her nose and into her mouth. She started choking, so we sat her up. It flew onto the floor... an eraser from a pencil.

Ethan's poem

Ethan's English class had a poetry slam. They were taught about presenting and then were able to practice in front of the parents. I have a video, but it's not working. Hopefully I can get it working soon. Here is Ethan's poem about the Apocalypse.



The day had finally come,

And now we're all going to run.

Trying to survive our last day on earth

When the earth will crash into the sun.

The sun is coming closer.

We only have 5 minutes left.

We are coming closer to our end;

Everyone is doing theft.

We all brace ourselves for the impact

We all start to say goodbye

Then we all start to cry.

The llamas start to run.

The birds try to fly.

The dogs and cats legs are shaking;

But they don't know that today is their last day.

Everyone is running around crying.

I don't know what to do.

We only have 5 minutes left.

My life is almost through.

I can see the sun coming closer;

I feel the warmth on my skin.

It's finally here,

I lower my chin.

-Ethan Cox





Park outing

Grace with daddy

Ethan and Grace

Isaac and Leo

Washington, DC

We took the kids to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms. It's a huge festival that lasts several weeks. Isaac was doing a report on Thomas Jefferson, so we thought it would be great to see the Monument in person. It's always amazing to see history up close.

Cherry Blossoms

Washingon Monument

Thomas Jefferson Monument

Draft found from June 2010

What can I say?! I'm horrible at keeping up with the kids memories... and now it's worse trying to remember them.

As a family, we love to watch 'America's Got Talent' and 'So you think you can Dance'. The boys love trying to imitate the moves of some of the guys dancing, especially the robot.

Ethan is growing by the minute. He's an amazing help with Leo and Grace. If Grace is crying, he'll go and scoop her up.

Isaac is catching up fast to Ethan. I tell Ethan he needs to make sure he's a good brother to Isaac because one day Isaac will be taller. Last week Isaac asked if we were rich or poor. I asked him what he thought. He said rich and then asked if he was right. I told him no. I love that he doesn't feel the effect of all that's happened.

Leo loves Grace, but also isn't sure of her. He doesn't want to touch her, but he will acknowledge her when she cries. He is helpful when I ask him to get me something. He loves jumping on the trampoline.

Tepanyaki

A couple nights before we left, we decided to have a "special" dinner out with Mary, Reese & their kids and with Christine & Adam.

Nightly rituals

Since the older boys were little, at bed time, I would give them a kiss & hug with a "snug as a bug in a {insert favorite color} rug". It's been at least 7 years since starting this tradition. It has changed to just "snug as a bug" with a kiss & hug. Isaac still comes in asking for snug as a bug. Ethan could take it or leave it, but I still kiss him good night.

With Leo, I lay with him & he will ask me about tomorrow's activities and then tell me that he wants me to lay with him forever. I love that it and I wish he could stay 3 forever!

Grace cracks me up! {smile} Because of her habits of throwing out her blanket & pacifier, I sewed a ribbon to her blanket that I tie down to the crib. Her pacifier is attached to her top. I wind up her musical stuffed giraffe and place it on the pillow. She covers the giraffe with her blanket and lays her head down. She rolls over to turn on her crib attached aquarium music and pulls up her blankets. I bend as far as I can, grab her face and kiss her good night.

Nothing could ever come close to how wonderful it is to be a mom!! It's the most fabulous blessing!

Ethan & Isaac's birthdays

In order for the boys to get their gifts, I make up a scavenger hunt for them with clues. They ask for it every year. I decorate the house with streamers in their favorite color. Ethan asked for 'Better than {kisses}' cake and Isaac wanted brownies. Lots of sugar in the house that week. It was fun & we had a great time celebrating both of them.

Utah for Christmas

We made the long trek of 2056 miles to Utah. Nathaniel and I took turns driving and sleeping. We drove the whole way, stopping for food, potty and gas. We had a great time with the kids. We also couldn't have done it without the DVD player or SIRIUS!! Nathaniel enjoyed listening to a Pearl Jam station. I listened to either the 80's or 90's. We had a great time staying with Nathaniel's brother and wife for a week. We arrived at Adam & Christine's at 8am. We visited for awhile and then we were off to errands. My first order of business was going to the DI. Oh, how I missed shopping there. The kids decorated gingerbread guys. Nathaniel took the boys to buy new church suits. We went out to dinner with Brandon & Jill. We stayed the following week at my sister's in Layton. Christmas night I took Leo & Grace to the Salt Lake Temple to see the Christmas lights. The girls went to Tai Pan and the DI. We took the kids to the Family Fun Center where they got to bounce around. We visited with the Shalvis family. We had a party to celebrate my grandparents 60th Anniversary. We had a great time at both places!

Virginia Beach & Halloween, October

still here

It's been challenging getting to the computer to update our family blog. Our lives have been turned upside crazy (I don't want to say upside down because there really is no "downer") for the past several months. Nine months after moving to Virginia, my parents move. Sounds depressing?! It is. My daddy's position was being done away and luckily was able to find another job... {drum roll} to WASHINGTON .... the state. Friends, sweetly, offered us to move in with them until we could find another home. Several weeks later we find a home 15 minutes north of our old home. Two moves, millions of miles {put on our van}, new schools and we are settled in a home..... far, far away from home [I'm referring to Utah, since that is where our extended families are].

It's been interesting being our own little family. Since Nathaniel and I have been married, we've had someone living with us and several times we've lived with both sets of parents. I absolutely loved having Nathaniel's brother and his wife live with us in Utah {one day we will do it again}. Although we are far from family, across the United States far, Virginia hasn't been bad. East coast living & people are a change from the west, but not bad. Virginia is breath-taking, beautiful during the spring & fall. After growing up in Arizona and moving to Utah, I thought Utah's scenery was lovely... until we moved here.

We are extremely blessed to have sons that are old enough to help with moving. Our friend, Jesse, helped us move into his home. Several weeks later Nathaniel, with the help of Ethan and Isaac, moved again.  (Jesse was out of town).

My children are growing up... growing up fast. I swear that I blinked and Ethan is in 6th grade & becoming a young man. Eeek! I don't feel that old. I know that he was just the sweetest baby in my arms the other day and now he's begging to play Halo Reach or Battlefield 3. {I have to be correct on the games because one day when he reads this, he will correct me}. Ethan is a great kid. I'm saying that partly because he IS my child, but also because many people compliment the kind of kid Ethan is. He is kind and thoughtful. He loves his family and enjoys being around them. He is always happy. He is the kind of example I'm blessed to have for the younger children. He loves his brothers and sister. His mind might be wrapped around video games, but I know his heart is wrapped around his brothers and sister. He is very considerate of me. If I ask him to do something while he's playing his video games, he stops and is right there to help. One night while I was getting Grace into her carseat, Ethan got up to buckle Leo in.

Isaac {aka Jonathan} is a delight in our home. Isaac is caring. He loves to goof around ALOT and can laugh  uncontrollably. Isaac offers to help me clean or will surprise me by straightening up a room. He loves to build forts for Leo and Grace. He gives up his video game playing so that Ethan can play his games. He is sweet and kind to others. He will say he doesn't have friends at school. But if you are with Isaac at school, you will quickly become aware at how well liked he is. He can invision ideas in his head and loves to share those ideas. He has learned that he can use both is arms equally well... throwing, eating. Half way through kindergarten Isaac decided that he wanted to go by his first name, Jonathan. I have always had my suspicions why the change until several days ago I asked. I asked him if he decided to go by Jonathan because of my brother, also Jonathan. Isaac's reply "pretty much". My brother, Jonathan, is in the Army. Isaac was asked to write about a Hero. He chose to write about Uncle Jonathan.

Leo, my little charmer. He is a sweet boy. He tells me that I'm the best mom ever and gives me the biggest hugs. The other night he told me that he loves me so much. I replied back that I love him so much. Next he asked me to buy him a Buzz at Target. He is a smart kid. He will count to 10 in English and Spanish. He knows his letters. He has learned by watching Dora and Super Why. He takes everything in. When I pick up Nathaniel from work, Leo will give Nathaniel the run down of how his day went. Including if we went to a different mall. When I pick up Ethan and Isaac from school, Leo will ask them how their day was. He does this great pouty face... {I secretly think Nathaniel passed it thru his genetics}.

Grace is all girl... she loves to get into my make-up, hair products, shoes, purse, wallet {my bank cards are her favorite}. I've had to replace my mascara because she has taken off with it. She loves phones. She knows how to swipe her finger down the face to unlock it. She will find a way to get what she wants. If she wants to use the computer and there isn't a chair around, she will pull one over. She climbs on and into everything... the coffee table, kitchen table, boxes stacked, my vanity, inside the kitchen drawer, the coffee table drawer, under the sink cabinets. Before I had Grace, people would tell me how whiney girls are. I would always promise myself {and prove to everyone else} that my daughter would not whine. And guess what?! She WHINES. I thought since I had raised boys, I could raise a daughter that didn't whine. But she does. She has this cute way about her when she knows she's in trouble. She will slump her shoulders and put her head down, looking at you through her eyelashes. It's scary to say and my mom prayed it would happen, but I have a daughter just like me!

Several years ago when money was tight, I had the idea to start taking my own school pictures of the kids. Thankfully I had also purchased a nice camera before that.  

I have other pictures that I never posted. I enjoy pretending to be a photographer. It's less money, but very stressful being the lady behind the camera and the frantic mother at once. However, I do enjoy the subjects and love learning new things about my camera and photos. Thanks to 'picnik' for amazing tools to fix my photos.

{Grace ~ July 2011}

{Pictures from the D.C. zoo ~August 2011}




{the large bug is made up of a bunch of bugs}... it was disgusting!

 

{Kids with my parents ~ August 2011}