Taking matters into her own hands...

This is pure Nyah....

Mommy: "Nyah, what ya doing baby girl?"

Nyah: "It's okay Mom, I have the kid scissors."

Mommy: "Where are you going with the kid scissors?"

Nyah: "Outside to cut the grass, Mom!"

Clearly Nyah noticed that we had a few long patches of grass in our yard and decided to take matters into her own hands. She was very pleased with her work which took all of 3 minutes!

This is Nyah,...making one of her messy statements!

Mommy: "Nyah, why are you shredding the tissues?"

Nyah: "Cuz..."

Mommy: Do you realize that you'll have to pick those up? We can't leave a mess like that."

Nyah: "Um, sure but do you think Daddy will be upset or happy that I did this?"

Mommy: I think Daddy loves you and will think you are silly!"

Nyah: giggles....."I love my Daddy!"

I think Nyah was taking revenge on her tissues to be honest. She and Ethan went to the doctor today with pink eye and ear infections. Their noses have been running for weeks it seems. So...this was her way of getting her frustration out! (Be gone tissues!) And yes,....Daddy is their favorite these days! I am the routine,..the constant, the nurse, the teacher and the discipline and right now in their world Daddy plays tea party, battles the evil Zurg as Buzz's (Ethan) sidekick, wrestles, and gives endless horsey rides on his back. He makes silly noises when they hurt which magically takes all the tears and pain away. He is a great Daddy! I love that they adore him!

33...and feeling so loved!

Last Tuesday was my 33rd birthday and I sincerely felt so much LOVE because my sweetheart arranged some pretty amazing things throughout that day. It all began with waffles! Heart-shaped, covered in cinnamon syrup, and a tall glass of milk. Ethan had crawled into bed with me right before Marty brought it up and as soon as he saw Daddy he was awake for the day. It was sweet, to sit with my little buddy and eat waffles together! Perfect start to my day!

Then I noticed a couple of notes arranged by my plate and began to read them. In true fashion, Marty wanted to do something unique and memorable for my birthday and this year was no exception. His first note was super sweet and loving and ended with this....."You are a blessing in my life,...let me count the ways. (33 ways to be exact) Throughout the day I found notes around the house or recieved phone calls from people that I truly love relaying to me Marty's little messages! It was so awesome! I felt so much love and I was so grateful he included family and dear friends as part of my day! Everytime the phone rang, I was so excited to see who was on the other end! Here is what each message said and where I found it, or who in particular gave it to me. Each person's message related to them somehow which was so clever on Marty's part.

Marty counting the ways.....

1~You are my everything (under my plate of waffles) 2~You are the flowers of my life (next to the carnations he bought me a week ago) 3~You are my neverending acts of service and love (by the kitchen sink) 4~You are the syrup to my waffles (next to my plate of waffles) 5~You are the paper towels, to my sometimes mess (on the paper towel roll) 6~You are the light switch to my dark room (on the light switch) 7~You are the track to my roller coaster, constant when I am up & down (bathroom scale) 8~You are the refreshing breeze to my sometimes stagnant uncomfortable life. (ceiling fan) 9~You are Jesse to my happily ever after (toy) story..Yee HAW (on Ethan's Toy Story book) 10~You are my iron rod back to the tree of life (on our picture book scriptures) 11~You are better than the cool side of my pillow (bedroom pillow) 12~You are the teacher of my (life) lessons (in the preschool room) 13~You are the fold to my laundry (laundry room) 14~The captain (driver) that gives my life direction (car steering wheel) 15~The keys to my happiness (key hook) 16~ The love of my life (My sister Nicole called) 17~You are the music to my song (Marty's mom called) 18~You are the victory of my civil war (Marty's best friend Brandon, total history buff!) 19~You are the beat of my heart (Cindy, my YW President I work with) 20~You are the strength in my muscle (My brother in law Matt who is a personal trainer) 21~You are the thoughts of my mind (Heather Sanders, a dear friend, works with me in YW) 22~You are the glory in my forever (Brother Stuart from Marty's work: Romans 8: 16-17) 23~ You are my stick of Judah...being one in Christ (Ezekial 37:19~Brother Hollist) 24~You are the loyalty of our house of God (Joshua 24: 15, 24 ~Brother Palmer) 25~You are my wonder of the Lord (Joshua 2:5~Brother Craven) 26~You are the Emma to my Joseph (D&C 25:2-3, 9-10~ Brother Slaughter) 27~You are the worth of my soul (D&C 18:10~Brother Brown) 28~You are my perfect love (1 John 4:18 My DAD Skip) 29~You are the frosting on my cake (Machelle, my sister, who is an amazing cake decorator) 30~You are the olive to my garden (Heather, my best friend, preparing for tonight's dinner) 31~ You are my Mommy! (Nyah) 32~You are my Mommy! (Ethan) 33~ You are the eternal to my companionship (Marty) His note included the words to Grow Old With Me by John Lennon which he put into the CD player and sang to me. (Awwww!) The last three were opened in our car on the way to Olive Garden. I can't even remember the last time I had gone to Olive Garden for dinner so that was fun!

Here are some more highlights of the day... I went out to lunch with my Mother-in-law and sister-in-law Debi! We went to Cafe Rio which is my favorite. Debi brought me BALLOONS and the kids loved that! While at lunch, Marty ran home and placed beautiful flowers on the kitchen table! So beautiful!

Later in the day,. Marty called along with his seminary class and sang me Happy Birthday!

That night, before we put the kids to bed, Nyah mentioned that we forgot birthday hats! So she ran to her drawers and pulled out underwears! She said those would be our birthday hats! I couldn't stop laughing!

What an awesome day!

Ethan's singing debut....

Oklahoma!

For Chrismtas, Marty purchased season tickets to the Washington Terrace Playhouse! I love the THEATRE! We have already seen Urinetown (hilarious,..despite the horrible name) and just went to see Oklahoma! It was really good. We have seen quite a few musicals in our time but never this one. I loved the character Ado Annie the best! She is quite the character! Sassy, a little ditzy, and charming. Marty liked the Peddler and was impressed by the dancing! Some of the guys had to do some crazy stuff! Out of 4 STARS, I give this one a 2.5! Not my favorite, but a great show! (Some may think I'm crazy,...but I have my criteria ya know!)

Marty and I on our way to the musical!

Ethan & Nyah on their way to their cousins! They love it when Mommy and Daddy go out!

My nephews have been in their production of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol for the past 3 years! My nephew, Austin even had the role of Young Ebenezer! That is a show that I could watch over and over again! The director Jacci Florence and her husband Kim (Scrooge) are amazing! As part of our season pass, we will be seeing this come Christmas time!

Up next......ANNIE! So excited!

That girl is sweet....

"That girl is sweet,...just like her name. Strawberry Shortcake!"

When the twins turned 3, My sister gave Nyah a Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. It became her favorite coloring book and she was so excited when she spotted a Strawberry Shortcake video on top of the $5 movie pile at Walmart. What a find that was, I'll tell ya! There was no question what Nyah would be for Halloween. When I asked her who I should be, she immediately exclaimed..."Orange Blossom ofcourse! You already have an orange shirt, mom!"

Nyah is my sweetest baby girl! She is a tender-heart and has a memory like no other. The other day, I was a little grumpy with the kids and she said to me...."Mom, if you want to go to Grandpa's house, you need to be happy!" Hmmm...I wonder where she heard that before? I LOVE being her mommy and feel so blessed to learn from her everyday!

You've got a friend in me.....

Ethan's greatest love these days is TOY STORY! Back in October, he made the decision to be Woody for Halloween. And.....even more exciting, he wanted Daddy to be Buzz Light Year. So we made some costumes and they were set. When we went trick-or-treating, Daddy and Ethan ran from house to house exclaiming,.."To infinity and beyond!" The kids in the neighborhood were thrilled to see "Buzz" in true form and Ethan was so proud! From then on,...he eats, breathes, and sleeps all things Toy Story. Even his little Woody and Buzz figures snuggle up at night with our little guy!

Daddy and Ethan like to sing the song, "You've got a friend in me" to eachother. It is so cute. It perfectly describes the bond they have. They are best buds and it is such a blessing! They have been that way since the very beginning! Forever friends these two will be!!! I love my boys....

I love to see the TEMPLE...

One of our family traditions is to go to a temple once a week with Ethan and Nyah. We have been doing this for almost two years now and it is one of our most treasured traditions. We feel blessed,..so BLESSED,..to be so close to so many temples!

Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson said..."As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us." "Even young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple." (You can read more about that here.)

Ethan and Nyah LOVE the temple. We can feel their testimonies growing and it is a treasure to us! On one trip to the Bountiful Temple, Nyah brought one of her baby dolls. I noticed that she sat down with her doll on the fountain steps and began to tell her little doll about the temple. It was amazing to hear her.

Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Oh how we hope they will hold on to the temple!

Marty and I struggle to always know what is the best for our little ones. Are we disciplining the best way? Are we teaching the right things? Do we show them enough love? Do they understand the importance of work? Are we being good examples to them in all we do? One thing that I have felt confident about is our attempts to teach them about the temple. It is something we strive to help them understand because we go there often and they get to touch the temple, they feel the spirit, and they are then "touched by the temple."

I love that Nyah had the desire to share her little testimony and knowledge of the temple with her little baby doll. How humbling it is to have her as a daughter.

Once there was a snowman....

We're back! Our blog has been so neglected lately! Life has been busy and our old camera was giving me fits so I found very little motivation to post. Now,..I feel more like it! I have a new camera (YIPPY!) and I feel inspired!

Yesterday, the snow just kept coming! This is April! One wouldn't expect anything less from Utah though. So we took advantage and built our very first snowman! I know,....we might be the worst parents ever waiting this long but the kids loved it!

Nyah's favorite part of it was putting the carrot and hat on. When she woke up this morning she wanted to see if it was still there! Ethan LOVED raking the snowman! (Daddy's idea) It was an attempt to get the leaves off. He was diligent. After we had the snowman totally decked out, Ethan ran inside and got his Dr.'s medicine syringe and gave the snowman a shot. It was hilarious. I guess he wanted to make sure this snowman stayed healthy. This morning Ethan went back outside and continued to rake snow. Hilarious!

When Ethan and Nyah sing "Once There Was a Snowman" it is so darn cute. Daddy taught them his version which emphasizes the "melting" in a slow drawn out kind of way. It actually sounds like a toy whose batteries are dying! m--e--l--ting! In fact, Daddy loves to change songs, now that I think of it! His version of "Book of Mormon Stories" is quite catchy and the kids love it! Our kids might get funny looks in primary though because they add Daddy's special parts.

Tonight I am going to see Oklahoma with my sweetheart after a nice dinner. My sister is having the kids sleep over! Lucky me huh! I think I like this day......