Josh's Birthday Party

So, we had an early birthday party for Josh while we were in Utah! We tried to get him to say what he wanted for his birthday dinner but that kid just goes with whatever you say. He isn't too picky on most things so we decided to have a BBQ. We invited all the family, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins out for hamburgers and hot dogs and of course lots of salads. It was all very yummy! Thanks to everyone that came and all his presents too! Josh really had a great time, he said to me: "Everyone come to my party!" He really loved that it was a party celebrating him! This is also my attempt at cake decorating. Not the greatest but Josh loved it, so that's all that mattered. And I'm really excited to try the bags and tips that Ronda bought me, thank you so much for them, I'm way excited! We had a beautiful day for Josh to celebrate his 3rd Birthday with all his family!

Josh is checking out his caterpillar cake and balloon bouquet.

He's getting ready to blow out the candles after everyone finishes singing happy birthday!

Nate is waiting for his cake!


Josh's new bike from Grandma and Grandpa, he loves riding it!


All 3 of my boys, with Uncle Kyle in the back.


You'd think it was Nathan's birthday the way he is opening Josh's presents!


Look at Nate's face he was just as excited about Josh's new swimsuit and clogs. Josh really was excited, he wanted his swimsuit on right then and there and he LOVE, LOVED, LOVED, his new clogs!


Josh in his new suit with his sand toy and Aunt Janae in the background.


Look at my Colton, just shy of 10 months and standing on his own!


No that's not a binky, it's a ring pop! He loved it, we couldn't get it away from him. Uncle Jason was tolerating his touch because he was soooo sticky. (He loved the ring pop so much that I bought one for him for our trip back home, but only as a desperate last minute option.)

Snow Day!

Aren't they the cutest little snow angels you ever saw!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Up, up and away! Josh is flying the mighty skies above!

Colton, Josh, and Mommy on the yellow brick road! (I had to hold Josh cause he was petrified of the displays)

Tilisa and Sofie on the yellow brick road!

Colton is being forced to have his face in the tree!

With Sofie's beautiful, bright eyes, she makes an awesome tree women!

Tilisa and I went to Crown Center and walked around. I had never been there before so she went with me to check it. Josh had a blast at the Wizard of Oz display. It's celebrating like the 70th anniversary of the movie. Nathan was in school when we went and was very jealous of Josh for what he got to do. So, we went back with Nate a few days later with Melissa and Giddeon. They loved it there and wore themselves out. It was a really fun display! A great family adventure!

T.G.I.F.

The clock just keeps ticking away, I don't know why it has to go so darn fast. Can't time just stop for a little bit? I can't believe I find myself at Friday again. First off, I wanted to thank Tilisa and Sofie for coming out and visiting. I hope you had fun and we didn't bore you to much. We are so glad that you came. So, this week I'm keeping this a little shorter than other posts in the past.

1. I am so thankful for a nice, soft, warm bed. I love having a good bed to lay down at night. And nothing beats your own bed especially after you have been on vacation or away from it. I just love the comfort of my own bed!
2. I am very grateful that my husband has a job. I'm glad that we have an income coming in and that we aren't facing unemployment. I am so glad that we have the security of being employed at the FAA.
3. I'm grateful that my boys have each other and are creating brotherly bonds. They were having a special "camp-out" downstairs and even though they were suppose to be going to sleep I could hear them laughing and talking for well over an hour. And I couldn't get mad at them because they were after all in bed. And I always wished that I had a sister to share that same kind of thing with. And I honestly believe that it's things like this, that create those really strong bonds between siblings. So, occasionally I'm all for it. (As long as they don't get up too early:D)
   

T.G.I.F.

Alright, I know, I know, I was bad and didn't make a post last Friday. I was going to but time just got away from me. It really is true that there isn't enough time in the day to do everything that you need to. And there has been even less time for me since Danny has been gone and I've been a "single mom" for the last 3 1/2 weeks. I would never-ever want to be a single mom. I have alot of respect for single mom's, it's hard work, and I don't even work outside the home. So, here's my list of the things I'm grateful for.

1. 
   
   I am grateful for my Mom. She does so much for me and my family. I am so glad that she was able to come out and visit us. It was a lot of fun having her come. It was so nice to have adult conversation, especially at night. I really, really appreciate her taking time off and flying out here to keep me company. I have been blessed with such a great Mom. So, thanks Mom for all you do!


2. 
   
   I am also grateful for an awesome sister-in-law being willing to come out and visit us as well. I'm so excited to have her come out and see sweet little Sofie. I'm so glad that she is coming out and we can catch up on everything. Since I don't have any sisters of my own, I'm so glad my brother's chose awesome women to marry. Janae and Tilisa are so awesome and I'm glad that they are in the family cause now I have 2 wonderful sisters. You guys are awesome!


3. 
   
   Lastly I am grateful books. I love, love, love to read! I don't always have the time to read, especially lately. I finally checked me out a book at the library the other week and quickly read it up. I'm always taking the boys there to get books but I never take the time to find me one. And honestly, I could not tell you the last time I read a book. I think it was before Colton was born and he's now 9 months old. So, needless to say it's been a long time. But did I mention that I love to read and love having books around. I just began Twilight, my mom just brought it out for me. I know, I'm way behind the times but I've kind of been holding out because EVERYONE'S reading it and I don't like to do things just cause everyone is doing it and I really haven't felt like I had that much spare time lying around to just read; but I was finally broken down by curiousity. So I'll have to let you all know what I think of it when I'm done. Anyways, I love to read and having good books around is awesome so if you know of a good one to read let me know.

Colton's 1st Haircut

"Come on let's get this over with!"

"Just cut my hair already!"

"I just want that camera!"

"Hehehe, I got that camera!"

"Look at how handsome I am now!"

"I am so happy, I am all done!"

I forgot to grab the camera before I began the haircut so I didn't get a before shot of him. I did get some during and after shots of him. He desperately need a haircut since we are getting pictures of the boys tomorrow so now he looks more like a little boy! The other two boys didn't get a haircut until after they were one but Colton has so much more hair and it really does look so much better! And as a side note, he did so good sitting on Grandma's lap for his first haircut, I was so proud of him! (Probably didn't have anything to do with the chocolate orange sticks that we kept bribing him with!)

Summer...where are you?

So, I ran out of clean underwear for Josh and thought, "Why not let him run around in his swim suit?" I got it out and of course he adamantly wanted to wear it and then I saw his old one and needed to try it on Colton to see if it would fit. Then Josh asked Nate if he wanted to wear his swim suit which was a no brainer. Then I got them a beach towel out and let them pretend to lay out on the beach. They had fun running around the house all evening in there swimsuits. It was so hard to get a descent picture out of them on their towels because they were just rolling around, waving their hands in the air and kicking their feet so this is what I ended up with but it was a fun, out of the ordinary activity for them. It really did get us in the mood for summer, we are tired of being cooped up in the house all winter long. The Fritz's are ready for summer!

Self Feeding

Colton would not let me feed him last night at dinner, he was fussing and crying and I just wanted to eat me meal and not go nurse him. So, I decided that he likes to feed himself maybe that's what he wanted to do. I reluctantly gave up the reins, knowing full well that I would have a huge mess to clean up but realizing that it eventually had to happen in order for him to learn how to feed himself. So these pictures are the result of last nights first attempt at self feeding. I guess
rice-a-roni isn't the best thing to begin with!

Oooh, I get to dig in myself!

Let me see if I like this!

I need to dump this out and play in the bowl!

It's too quiet in here so I'm going to make some noise!

That was fun feeding myself, I'm just going to be silly now!

T.G.I.F.

Once again, I find myself at Friday. Time really does go by fast especially the older I get and I'm starting to feel old. But that's beside the point. I do have lots to be grateful for so here is my top three for the week.

1. I am very grateful for play groups on Friday's. I really try to make it to most of the play groups so that I can let the boys play with other kids. But selfishly I go so that I can chat with other women and get to know the sisters in the ward since Sundays are way to crazy for me. So I really enjoy play groups each week.
2. I'm grateful for the cell phone that I can keep in touch with my hubby. We talk several times a day and sometimes it's about nothing and even sometimes we just sit in silence. But I like to know that we have that optional to keep us connected to each other. Even though we may we occasionally sit in silence I really think that it's instrumental to make that effort to keep your marriage strong. We have had our share of separations so keeping in touch is so important to me. I love the cell phone that has made it possible to have these silent conversations with my husband.
3. I am grateful for 3 little handsome boys in my life. I love each one of my boys. They are so different and unique, they each have strengths and weaknesses that are different from each other. They are such good boys, I love when I see them being nice to each other and really caring about the other. The other day, Nate was checking the mail for me and Josh wanted to go with but he didn't have a coat on. So, Nate was helping him look for his coat but couldn't find his so Nate found one of his and told Josh to wear it. Josh turned to Nate and said, "Thanks Nate!" Then in turn Nate replied, "Your welcome Josh!" I love seeing them doing such nice things for each other. My little Nate is so helpful to me all the time, Josh just goes with the flow and Colton is so patient and easy going. I am very blessed to have such wonderful boys. Since Danny has been gone I have tried to spend more time with them in the evening. And as I've done this I have come to realize that they are the most precious gifts I have been given. And by putting them first in my life everything else has been so bearable and better in my life. They are growing so fast that I want to spend this time with them because one day they will be grown and really those evening shows really aren't that important in the long haul of this life.
   

Baking with Josh

Uh-oh! I'm dirty!

So when Nate is in school I like to spend individual time with Josh. Today we are going to dinner at a friends house so I needed to make a dessert. So I like to have Josh help me. Well, we had just added the cocoa and I told him to turn it on. Usually he does just fine, and turns it one the lowest level. Unfortunately he just grabbed the switch an cranked it all the way over. So, there was cocoa all over the counter and us. He was coughing because of all the dust in the air. I think we must have lost about 1/4cup of cocoa. It was a huge mess but it's nothing that can't be cleaned up.

Look at what I did!

Playtime

We had a nice day on Saturday and the boys took advantage of the weather and went outside to play. They practically were foaming at the mouth when they saw our neighbors come out. Savanah is Nate's age & they don't come out often, so when they do my boys just become the crazy neighbor kids just dying to play. It's like I never let them out or something, because they just beg to play with them as soon as the appear. They had fun though because when they came back in their hands were black from dirt and their clothes were dirty. Only casualty was one of Nate's shoes that was covered in dog poop. It's still on the back porch because I just don't want to clean it off. Yuck!


Nate, Savanah, & Josh playing together so nicely.

Josh & Savanah

Nate & Savanah playing with baby strollers. There really is something in Nate's stroller that he was pushing around, however, he proved to be a true boy because it was just a basketball.

T.G.I.F.

Well, once again here it is already Friday. This last week flew by so fast. I hope that the next 11 fly by just as fast. Danny left Wednesday morning for some National Guard schooling and won't be home until April 17th. So, I've been a little sad the last few days without him, it's just kind of lonely and quiet without him around. But we've been doing pretty good and hanging in there. After the first week is over, we should be pretty adjusted to life without him. This isn't the first time we've done this nor will it be the last. Unlike last week being kind of hard to come up with blessings, this week I feel completely different. I realize that I have so many blessings in my life.

1. I am so grateful for ward members and friends who have brought me meals and offered me meals while we have been sick and having had Danny just leave. It's been a huge relief not to have to make something for dinner the last few nights. I feel so grateful to you all for your generosity and thoughtfulness, it was so appreciated and very, very yummy. Thanks!
2. I am very thankful for my family and friends who have called or I have called them to just talked. It's really nice to be able to just talk so I don't have to sit in silence with my thoughts straying to Danny and having the tears start rolling. So, thank you everyone for talking to me and putting up with it, I promise it will lessen as I get used to this again. I am so grateful I have such a great family and friends to help me out.
3. Finally, I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who watches out for His children in their time of need. I am so glad that He is there for me and am forever indebted to Him for taking care of me and my family. I feel so fortunate at this time because I know it's through His hand that things are working out how they are. It is His strength that I am leaning on to get through this separation and endure the loneliness. Because, I know I can turn to Him, I know that I can get through this time. With Him all things are possible.
   

Standing Tall

I can't believe that my baby is standing up. He would stand all day if I let him. He likes to hold my hands and just stand, but the catch is he has to be facing me. But now he's starting to pull up on to things. He has started pulling up on his crib rail and standing up so needless to say I have to keep the railing up on the crib because I like to keep it down because I'm short and I need it down to get the babies in their cribs. Anyways, these pictures are of my precious little guys standing up, I'm just not ready for this to begin.

T.G.I.F.

1. The first thing I'm grateful for this week would be modern medicine. I'm so glad that we are fortunate to go to the Dr's office and get medicine that help us get better. I hate seeing my kids sick and hurting so it's nice when they can get prescriptions to help them feel better.
2. I am also thankful food on my table. I always have plenty of food to eat. It may not be crab legs that I so dearly love but I never go a night being hungry. Even when I think my cupboards are bare I can think of something to make with what I have. And I'm also fortunate to also be able to have things around that I can make treats and desserts. So, I'm so glad that I have enough food for me and my family.
3. I am grateful for computers. I love that we have Internet, email, blogs, web-cams. I am so grateful that these wonderful inventions are available to me so that I can keep in contact with my family and friends. It's been so nice keeping everyone updated with our lives through our blog and being up to date on everyone else's lives through blogs and email. Being so far from my family it's so great to be able to see and talk to them on a web-cam, it makes being away so much more bearable.

I had a harder time coming up with my 3 things this week, I don't know why. Hopefully that the more I do this the more I will be able to think of all the blessing I've been given and how much I have to be grateful for. But, I will definitely have more to be grateful for next week.

Do we Live in a Barn?

Brace yourself, this is kind of gross. I was sweeping and was just astounded so I had to take a picture and share it with everyone. Yes, it's a weird post but this is my life. This is the dirt that I swept up in just one day. Seriously, how do they do it? How can 3 boys create such a dirty mess in such a short period of time! It's insane how much dirt they produce. In their defense, they did play with playdoh and little pieces would fall to the ground and of course it's not worth picking up so it just dries up so there is a lot of that in the pile. But still, it's a lot. I think if I were to ask them "if we lived in a barn?" they may very well just respond, "yes, mommy, we do!"

3 Mohawks

So, I gave the boys all a mohawk and had to have a picture. I never thought I'd be giving my boys a mohawk and actually liking the look. I am not a photographer by any means but I try what I can. It is so hard to get all the boys to cooperate at the same time when you are doing it by yourself. I don't have any professional pictures of the boys all together so if you have any cute idea's of what to do with 3 boys let me know. I love the untraditional shots so if you have something like that send it my way. For now this is all I could get out of them.

New Do

OK, here's my new look! I really like being a brunette. Since I've been a blonde all my life I just wanted to go totally different. This is as dark as I've ever been in my life. And this means a whole lot less up keep because I don't have to worry about how much dark roots are showing before hi-lighting it again. Oh, by the way, my dear hubby thought it'd be funny to take a picture of me so close up so that's what I got.

T.G.I.F.

Ok, so I'm going to do a little different post on Friday's. I'm going to have a Thank Goodness It's Friday post. This way I can write a few things each Friday that I'm grateful for that week or day. I think I get in a rut thinking that I have it so horrible and start to focus on all the negative things about me and my life. And I want to be more positive and remember all that I have been given. So here is the top three things this week that I'm thankful for. Anyways, I might as well get started.

1. I'm very thankful that I have found an awesome friend that also does hair and is able to exchange so that we can each have our hair done. I love getting my hair done and actually feeling like I have a style. I'll have to have Danny take a picture of my new darker look and post it later.
2. I am very thankful that I was able to go on a real date with my husband. The last time we had some time away from the kids was doing the Christmas shopping when my parents were here. And I very much needed a break from being Mommy, it was so great to go out and just be Jen. I made the rule that we couldn't talk about kids or work, so I created a list of fun questions that we could go over. It was actually kind of fun. For instance, I asked him that in the event that I die first and you are left behind, do you remarry and how long do you wait? He said of course he would because he needed someone to take care of the boys. Then he proceeded to tell me what he wanted for his funeral. Let me just share with you what my dear hubby would like done; he said he was just kidding about this but honestly, I think he'd love it if I did this. He wants to be buried with his truck. I am to buy enough plots to have him in his truck and bury both of them. He wants to have one hand holding the steering wheel and the other hand holding a Marine Corps NCO sword. I laughed and said no, so then he said to save the money on plots and put his truck in gear and have it sink in the ocean. He's completely crazy! Bit he would love it if I really went through with it. But then it was my turn and we had a really good talk about what I would do if he died. (I didn't really plan on re-marrying just moving back by family and buying my own home and living off of interest earned from his insurance money.) It was kind of a fun conversation on a very serious topic. Summing it all up, I am thankful for good date nights and also a great big thank you to Squires for watching all 3 of my boys for us to go out.
3. Lastly for tonight, I am very thankful to always stay warm. I love the modern convience of heaters to keep you warm whether that's in a car of the home. I'm so glad that I have a nice home to protect me against the elements of the weather and that I'm not homeless. I feel so guilty for having it so good while so many go to bed outside, in freezing weather. And I'm so glad that I have a car to travel in and that it gets warm so quickly on these cold winter days. I'm so glad I don't have to walk everywhere, although I'd be a lot skinnier but I like having a car. Oh, and I guess I'm also thankful for a nice winters coat and that all my family is able to have a good coat.

Winter Weather Retreat

The weather gave us a nice surprise with warm temperatures. It was a beautiful 60 degrees for the month of January. So we took advantage of it and went outside to enjoy it. It was so refreshing to get outside and move around. I think the boys loved it too because Josh kept laughing at everything. I think he was just so deliriously happy to be outside and not inside the house any more that he just kept smiling and laughing. It was really contagious because you couldn't help but smile as well. So, here are some shots of the boys outside.



I have decided that when Colton is happy his tongue is sticking out. I love little boys wearing hats and doesn't he look so cute with one on?

I love this sweet face. It is so full of awe and curiosity. He is watching his brothers play in the tree, wishing he was big enough to be by their side.

Just hanging out in the swing waiting for his Mommy to put the camera down and push him.


So, what do you do with 2 energetic boys on a warm day to wear them out? I have decided that from now on, I am going to get their shovels out and send them to the garden to dig holes. What boys doesn't love getting all dirty and digging, right? So this is what I had Nate and Josh doing for awhile and they loved it. And yes this really is our garden. It has just been over taken by weeds from his past summer because we didn't have the time to plant a garden. And it's still going to have to wait another year before we can get around to actually doing anything with it. So, for now the boys can dig away and have a great time getting all dirty. After they were done digging, Daddy came home and we decided to treat them to a day at the park. And this is were Josh was really so giggly. I love these mild days, not to hot and not too cold. I wish we could have more of them.

Bathing Beauties

Here's my Josh. He couldn't resisit getting in the sink after Colton had a bath there.

Colton is starting to loose that baby look. He looks so much older to me in this photo.

I had to put this photo on here because I just had to laugh when I saw it. He loves to stick his tongue out and this shot just looks like he is giving us some major attitude.

Man Tag

Ok, here's my man tag. I'm assuming that my Aunt Jodi meant me when she said Jenny, because I forget that only my family calls me Jenny. Everyone else only know's me by Jen. So, here it goes.

1. Where did you meet your husband? When he got home from his mission his mom had moved to our home ward so I first saw him there. However it wasn't until about another year before I called and asked him out on a date to a YSA activity.
2. How long did you date before you were married? We dated for 10 days and then became engaged. He left for Marine Corps boot camp a week later. Did his 3 months of training, returned home and we got married like 4 or 5 days later. So, we meet in March and married by June. Crazy us!
3. How long have you been married? 7 1/2 years
4. What does he do that surprises you? honestly, nothing comes to mind. After this long, I know him so well that I can predict his actions.
5. What's your favorite feature of his? I love his smile, when he's really smiling and not faking hit. Like when he's laughing or really happy.
   
6. What is his best quality? I really admire that he's so darn hard working. He always gets things done and doesn't put anything off. He's a real go-getter and he never procrastinates.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Not that I can think of. Oh, he does occasionally call me his WOMAN. I hate it when he calls me that and he knows it so that's why he does it just to bug me.
8. What is his favorite food? He loves, and I mean loves chicken enchilada's loaded with the green chili verde sauce.
9. What is his favorite sport? That depends on if he's playing it or watching it. Football if you are talking about watching it. And, I don't know he was a crazy dodge ball guru in the Marine Corps, he absolutely loved it. They even played at the Staples Center in L. A. for a dodge ball tournament.
10. When and where did you first kiss? It was a week after our first date and it was outside of by parents house by his truck.
11. What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? HHHMMM.....I guess let's keep this G rated, so we really enjoy just sleeping in with no kids in the bed.
12. Do you have any kids? yes, we have 3, yes 3 boys.
13. Does he have any hidden talents? Fixing vehicles and figuring out their problems and what he needs to do to fix them or prevent them. He's really a great mechanic.
    
14. How old is he? 30
15. Who said I love you first? I think it was him but honestly I really don't remember, kind of sad that I really don't know.
16. What is his favorite music? honestly it would have to be heavy metal if I let him listen and if the lyrics weren't so awful he would listen to. So he has to have country be his next favorite.
17. What do you admire most about him? That I can always count on him to help me out, no matter what the circumstance might be. He can help me solve any kind of problem whether it's helping me figure out how to work the pressure cooker, take apart and fix a toy that I broke, or help me and my family fix their web cam over the phone so that we can see each other and talk. He's very good at figuring everything out.
18. What is his favorite color? Black and red! Have you seen his truck then you'd understand.
19. Will he read this? Of course not unless I tell him to.
20. Who do you tag? Michelle, Tilisa, Shelly, Mari
    

All Cleaned Up

Are these not the cutest boys ever! I'm surprised I actually got a good picture of all 3 of them looking at the camera. I had to get a picture of them all dressed in the new clothes that Grandma and Grandpa bought for them. And the funny thing is that what they are wearing totally match their personalities. Nate is totally my social, smarty-pants kind of boy and so his clothes totally match him. Josh is wearing a kind of rock-star kind of shirt and he's very much my stubborn, no-one-pushes-me-around kind of kid. And Colton is my sweet, easy-going, happy baby who looks so handsome and innocent. I love them to pieces. They are so different and yet that's OK. They bring so much life to our house and let's not forget all the work they create for me but even with that they are totally worth it. They are such great boys, I couldn't have asked for better.