CHUCK-E-CHEESES

The one and only Chuck-E-Cheese!


Nate and Josh enjoying a simulated roller coaster.


I loved watching their faces as they went up and down on the roller coaster!


How cute is this with Josh and Colton cruising in the jeep. I love Colton's sweet smile!


Grandma and Grandpa watching the boys have some fun!


Josh is trying his hand at bowling!


This is the closest we can get to a real horse ride for Nate!


It's not complete unless until you have some pizza! (They couldn't play unless they ate their pizza and let me tell you they ate it all and even asked for seconds!)

Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the boys by taking them to Chuck-E-Cheeses when we first got there. This was one of the first things we did because Nate insisted on going there immediately. Which is good we did since things were so busy the whole time we were there. The boys had a lot of fun going from one thing to another. Josh would start one thing and loose interest really quickly so he was all over the place. He had fun just doing things on his own. He didn't really care what it was. Nate on the other hand likes people to be with him so Grandpa was his buddy and helped him spend his coins. And sweet, sweet little Colton was such a great boy the whole two hours we were there. He did so good, not once did he cry or fuss. He's such an awesome, easy going baby. I just love that kid! There was some fun games and things to do at Chuck-e-Cheeses. And it was even better because we went in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. I can't even imagine how busy it would be on a Friday or Saturday, that just seems miserable to me. But the boys had a blast and really enjoyed themselves there, so thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the fun and spoiling the boys rotten!

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.