Not so new, but Improved

We have been doing some updates on our house...blinds in the basement, vinyl lettering EVERYWHERE, a table and mini fridge downstairs, a desk for my craft room, Lukas' new room, fixing the carpet (basement leak), a new TV in the loft, not to mention the 90 inch screen and projector in the basement. I was getting so tired of the same old decorations and decided to try and change some things up. I am happy with the results and still have a few things in the works! It's good to document things every now and again. Here is our house as of today.

Mr. Max

Max is getting so big and I haven't really updated what he's been up to. He is almost 5. With his new haircut everyone mistakes him for Lukas. He has quite the memory and can practically repeat word for word any commercial on TV (like OxyClean, Game Fly, and a half a dozen As Seen On TV products). He has a sweet side to him-he likes to snuggle with me, he'll share his blanket or carry something in from the car, give Zoey hugs (BIG time, non-releasing squeezes), have good manners, and he is a great helper when it comes to wiping off the kitchen table. He DOES NOT like to be the focus of attention or to be called anything other than Max. One day he said I could call him Officer Max (he wants to be a cop when he grows up), but if you try to call him handsome or cutie forget it!! He starts preschool next month, so he's been kind of bored at home with Lukas gone all day. He was in Karate for a few months and did really good. We're taking a break so he can be in soccer (which he is actually excited about). He loves having friends come play and every day he asks me, "Mom, what friend can I have come play?" He struggles to keep his hands to himself and sometimes lets his impulses get the best of him. But he's growing out of his "aggressive" stage and starting to make better choices. He is a lover and wants attention and affection. I'm so happy I get to spend more time with him. (I will find a better picture than this! :)

Lukas turns 7

Time just keeps flying. I'll never get tired of saying it. Today was Lukas' 7th birthday. He's getting so big! I made him his favorite breakfast (swedish pancakes) and then took him to school to drop off his share week poster and birthday treat. For lunch Pat and I took him a happy meal and ate with him and all his classmates. It was so much fun, seriously the BEST part of my day. He was SO excited to see us and not embarrassed in the least. I loved seeing what his day is like and meeting his friends. He was instantly popular and everyone wanted to say hi and sit by him. By the time we left, he was out at recess and so many kids were chasing him and wanting to be by him. SO CUTE! I'm so proud of him and how he's growing up. He's got such good manners and so many friends. After school he came straight to the park for his party and seriously 20 kids came!!! I let him invite whoever he wanted and he did!! I loved it. It was a little stressful to have so many kids, but Whitney and Windy were there for me and took Zoey off my hands. Lukas got so many gifts and had a great turn out. Our families came to the same park for dinner. What a great day for Lukas. I hope he feels how loved he is and that he had a special day!

Lukas' New Room

Despite my best efforts to get the boys to share and get along, Lukas has decided that he wants his own space. We took all the toys out of the spare room downstairs and moved his stuff in. It was quite an ordeal. Separating toys and dividing clothes. (They almost wear the same size, so I would just buy for them to share. Big mistake.) We've had some flooding in the basement, so Pat and I took a couple of days to fix the carpet and repair the damage. FINALLY, Lukas' room is complete. We found a cute bedspread online and a bed on KSL. I was really surprised that he wanted to be all by himself in the basement. He does great and loves that he gets his own bathroom. So independent.

Scissor Happy

I wondered if this would ever happen. Max found out how fun it is to use scissors on hair. I found piles of hair all over the kids craft room one day and immediately ran to Zoey to see the damage. I didn't see any and judging on the length of the hair piles I was finding it had to be Max. He denied it, of course. I searched his head and found where he chopped. Then upon closer examination, there were several short spots on Zoey, too. I was so sad. The damage was minimal however, and I didn't see the point of yelling or making a big deal. I just told Max how sad I was and that he wasn't allowed to have scissors for a while. Well, after a bath one night I noticed a HUGE chunk of hair missing right in front of Max's head. Low and behold he had done it again, this time just to himself. This time obvious and very noticeable. I trimmed up the rest of his hair so it didn't look so terrible, but it is still sad. He has the best hair of anyone in the family. I guess we all did this as kids at some point. Mine was because I went to bed with gum and it ended up in my hair and so had to be cut out. Although I'm pretty sure I chopped off some of my own hair, too. I'll have to search my scrapbooks to find proof. **UPDATE** Since I posted this, Max has yet again taken the scissors to his own hair. This time right in the middle of his bangs. It left me no choice, but to get his hair cut. It's short, but longer on top for a that faux hawk look. It's adorable, and he looks so much like Lukas. He is banned from scissors for the rest of his life. :(

Cafe Rio and Sweet Tooth Fairy

There are few things better than good friends and good food. And when you put them together you get AWESOMENESS! Cafe Rio is a favorite amongst us girls. More often than not it can be accompanied by a delicious treat from Sweet Tooth Fairy (they have the best cupcakes, cake bits and cookies in the world). So here's to a million calories and priceless friendships.

Date Night

Pat and I are regulars at Olive Garden. It's our date night favorite. We really should expand our horizons, but why when it's so yummy and so close (and we had a gift card)! :)

My Little Miss Zoey (almost 16 months)

I haven't written about Zoey for the past couple months, and man is she CUTE! She has such a personality and knows just what she wants. When she is walking around the house, she usually has one hand on her hip and has the cutest run. She slaps her feet down so hard, you can hear her coming a mile away. She says so many words, or at least sounds like words. Dada, is her favorite, mama, pepsi, good night, good morning, milk, candy, no no, bye bye, eat, poop. She knows who we all are and will give us "loves" on demand. (Give Dada loves. Give Wolfie loves.) She even lets Max hug her and she'll go sit on his lap if he is sitting still long enough. She still doesn't like her hair to be combed. She eats everything and drops pieces of it on the floor for Wolfie. She loves her blankie more than anything and has to carry and drag it everywhere. She will wrap herself up in it and just walk around. She takes great naps and will often times sleep in til 10 if we don't have to be up for anything. She gets into things and will make a mess faster than I can catch her. She likes to carry her purse and knows just how to do it. She mimics me when I'm doing something, like putting on make up or wiping the counter or sweeping the floor. She is getting more independent, but still likes to be held by me or Pat. She loves Nana and will go to her freely. She also loves several of my friends. She is quite stubborn and will not give up until she gets what she wants, usually with tantrums or screaming or pulling. She loves baby dolls and baby strollers. She'll steal her friend's and push it all around. When I'm making food in the kitchen, she gets excited if she hears the snow cone maker on or the popcorn in the microwave. She thinks she is a big kid and loves running with all the neighborhood kids and being where they are. Or if we are laughing, she'll start laughing like she gets what we're talking about. It's so funny. The boys love her so much and always want to help her or pick her up. She is such a joy and usually always happy.

First Day of First Grade

Lukas is on year-round school, which means his summer is 3 weeks long. It has gone fast, but we did some fun things! He was excited to start and go all day. His first day went well, he wasn't scared to go and he lasted all day. I put a little note in his backpack to tell him I loved him and hoped he had a good day. The next day, he handed me a similar note and told me if I missed him too much, that I could pull the note out and read it. So cute!!! The hardest adjustment for him is probably that he can't stay up so late since he has to get up so early. There were a few kids that he knew in his class from last year, so that has been fun for him. His teacher is Mrs. Foreman, who is so nice, sweet but firm. He has to learn his lunch code, so he can get hot lunch, and he gets to bring a "sneak a snack" since lunch is so late in the day. He goes from 8:55 to 3:55. It is hard for me to have him gone for so long. With just Max and Zoey at home, we have lots of time to play and get things done (or so I thought...it's still so hard to get things done!)

Legacy Ranch Neighborhood

One of our dear friends (Erin) moved out of the neighborhood, so we thought it would be fun to have all the kids get together for a picture. This isn't even all of them!!! It is great to live by so many fabulous families and such fun kids. It can get crazy at times, but we LOVE it. :)

Pineview Reservoir

One fun thing we did this summer is travel to Pineview Reservoir and stay for 3 nights. Papa and Nana treated, and we all took turns with meals. Jared and Rebecca came with their family and we had such a great time. There was a swimming pool in the complex and we had our own hot tub on the deck. There was plenty of room and things to do. We saw David O. McKay's house, went rafting on the lake, saw the quaint town of Huntsville, went to the Monastery (no munks to be found), swam, and played at a fun playground. It was a great vacation! And the drive was only a few hours! The kids had so much fun with their cousins. Papa wasn't feeling great a lot of the time, so he rested mostly, which is understandable. Zoey was a horrible sleeper :( but other than that, a great time was had by all!!!!