Flashback Friday- I miss Hawaii

January 22, 2010

Can you believe this is where we were a year ago today?

Walking the beaches, in the winter, just because we could.

I wish we had a couple grand lying around so we could hop on a plane with the boys,

 and enjoy the beach again.  Enjoy the bright sun, and warm breeze. 

 I know they would both be so excited.  Clark doesn't talk about it, but I know he misses certain things about Hawaii.  Sometimes when he gets on his bus for school, he seems disappointed, looking for his other school friends. And he always get so excited when he sees the ocean, he is my little water baby.

As much as I am loving having a real winter here in Virginia, with snow and cold rain,

it is hard being stuck inside so much.  We are not used to it.

I never thought I would be one of those people begging for Summer to come, and complaining about the cold weather, but I am counting down the days until Spring.

So we can go back to the beach.

The Ribbon

Right before New Years our friends from Northern Virginia came down to spend the weekend.

We love hanging out with the Pomeroy's, and Clark adores their oldest Taryn.

It was a fun night of Rockband, and the kids running around playing.  We always have so much fun, and get so busy talking, that I never remember to take pictures :(

When they were loading up to leave the next day, Clark was heartbroken and crying.

He ran to the car window to say goodbye to Taryn, and being the little sweetie that she is, she gave him this little blue ribbon.  At first Clark didn't know what to do with it, so he just carried it around talking about his friend, and his "bee-yu" (which is what he called the blue ribbon).  Finally, I tied it around his wrist so it wouldn't get lost.  He cried when it got wet in the shower.  He cried when his sleeves were too long, and he could see it, or show it off properly.  He loved his "bee-yu" ribbon.  I finally convinced him to take it off, 4 days later, and now it is safety tucked away with his favorite R2D2.

What a tender little heart he has.  He can be so sentimental sometimes.  I love watching his eyes tears up during a sad part in a movie, or when he notices someone is sad.  I love that he is not all boy, wild and crazy all the time, I love his sensitive side.  My favorite time with Clark is hanging out in our big chair, reading a book or watching a show, he always leans his head against my shoulder and links his arm through mine.  Very tender indeed.  It's these quiet, sweet, tender moments with Clark that help me get through the days when he pees on the floor -just cause he feels like it, or flicks a spoonful of mac and cheese on the wall.  

I sure love my Big Tuna.

Flashback Friday- Deimler Family

Yesterday my Gramps emailed me some old family pictures.  Aren't they great?!

I think they were taken around 1987.

 This was our old house in Goodyear, Arizona.  

I loved our little twin palm trees.  By the time our family move away, in 1994, they were so tall.  

I can't get over how much BJ reminds me of Harry, all chubby and cute.

I love this picture.  Left to right, Emma, BJ and April (Me).

If I was guessing, I would say Emma is pouting because she was sad Gramps and Granny were leaving. It was (and still is) always so hard to say goodbye to our grandparents.  I still cry when we leave their house after a vacation, and I am 30 years old.  BJ is so huge, and once again totally reminds me so much of Harry, especially the no pants part, lol.  And there is my always cheesy smile, that never went away did it :)

Freedom!!

We are pacifier free!!!

Harry has been without his for 2 whole days now.

The last couple nights have been a little rough, it takes him so much longer to go to sleep now.

(But, he pretty much has insomnia 80% of the time anyways, so I am used to it.)

I am proud of my little guy.  He is growing up so fast.

Wordless Wednesday-Quiet Time With Harry

This is why I love Harry.

You know that moment of terror, when you realize the kids are being too quiet...

When you try to remember the last time they stormed through the room, or you asked you for something.

I hate those moments. 

They are normally followed by me sending Clark to time out, 
and cleaning up some ridiculous mess, while silently crying to myself.  

But NOT with Harry!

He is never doing anything naughty.  Never.

He is such a good little boy.

Sure, he does bad things, like biting kids in nursery, or trying to climb on the stove to take all the burners apart.  But never those crazy type Clark messes, like poop on the walls, or baby powder everywhere.

Mostly I just find him quietly reading his books.

Today after my workout (yes, you heard that right, a workout) I found that he put himself to sleep, in his bed, all cuddled up with his blankies.  

Sometimes it makes me sad that he is so independent, he hardly acts like he needs me -or even likes me.  Its just his age, I guess.  I mean, I know he needs me, who else is going to wash his sippy cup, and reach the pretzels for him.  I just can't wait for him to love me, or even just like me a lot.

 But how cute is it that he just loves to read all day.  

I love that he loves to read, I love it so much!!!

ps. Oh, I forgot.  Harry does like to do one very naughty thing.  He pulls all my books from the shelf, and bends the pages.  Two shelves of paperback books, all over the floor, 499 times a day.  Some days I don't even bother picking them up, because I know in 30 seconds he is just going to do it all again.  Bad Harry!

Cookie Robots

Making Cookie Robots with Clark.

We've been watching a lot of Despicable Me lately, thanks to Daddy.
I don't mind, it is a really cute movie, and I needed a break from the sob-fest that is Toy Story 3.
(You would think I could stop crying, after the 12th viewing, but that movie gets me every time.  Every. Time.)
In the movie -Despicable Me, Gru makes cookie robots, so he can break into Vector's house.
Well, as you can imagine, Clark is all about cookie robots.  They are two of his favorite things, cookies plus robots, how can it get better than that.  He was so excited to make cookie robots with me.

(Here is where someone would normally post the picture of the finished cookies, but I am so forgetful lately.)
They turned out very tasty, if I must say so myself.

How to make Cookie Robots:
-Follow the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.
We like to use mini chocolate chips instead of the regular size, and sometimes mini m&ms too.
-Make A LOT of boo-bop and beeping sounds when you are adding the ingredients, and doing the mixing.
-Pretend to throw in some screws and bolts, or any other mechanical looking things.
-Bake at 375, for about 10 minutes.
And there you have it, Cookie Robots.

If I was a really good Mom (read- NOT lazy), I am sure I could find something that really looked like little cookie robots, and Clark and I could make those together.  But this was good enough for now, he and I had a lot of fun, and that's all I care about.

Let it snow!

Before and during the holidays we had a few (super-awesome-fun) snow days.

Some days had more snow than others :)
December 16th we woke up to a snow day.  Clark's school was canceled, and Jason had a day off of work.  So imagine my surprise when I opened the blinds to find not a speck of snow on the ground, no ice, no rain, nothing.  I never laughed so hard in my life.  I remember growing up in Utah and still having to got to school when we got a couple feet of snow,
 in fact I don't remember getting any snow days during high school.

The snow did come later that same day, but I don't think we got more than an inch, and the road were still pretty clear.  Clark and Harry decided to follow me out in the snow for pictures, can you believe they didn't have any shoes on! Clark loves the snow, as long as he is looking at it from inside the house, he still isn't too sure of playing in it.
Harry, on the other hand, hates everything about it...and really who can blame him.

The day after Christmas is snowed all day, it was amazing.  I forgot how much I loved to watch the snow fall.  I really think it is so beautiful, and as long as I don't have to drive in it, I am happy.  They canceled church for the day, and most places were closed the next day as well.  I think our grand total at the end of the day was somewhere between 10-12 inches. 

 I love how you can see the buried lights under the snow, and how the curb completely disappears.

See, it's so pretty. 

I love how bright the sky looks when it is snowing, it lights everything up.  I took this pictures close to 11:00 pm, 

it should've been pitch black outside, but the sky was so bright.

I wonder when the winter wonder-lust will wear off...

Everyone pretty much thinks I am crazy, but I am finding all this snow, magical.

After the snow stopped we tried to take the boys out to play.  Clark got off a few snowballs, but he wasn't into it nearly as much as I thought he would be.  Harry was fine as long as no snow touched him, but his poor little hands did get cold after awhile.  We need to get some mittens before the next storm :)

I love Harry's look here, like he is trying to be happy and enjoy it, but he is still kinda confused and cold.

Can you believe this is what we were doing this time last year???
Making sand-men, half naked, at the beach.
The boys grew so much this last year.
(And yes, that is snot dripping down Harry's face, ew.)

Clark and I had a lot fun making a snow angels!

Here is our first family SNOWMAN!  Or more like a snow-ballerina.
We are definitely going to have to work on our snowman making skills.

2010 Top 10, and 2011 Resolutions.

We loved 2010!

So much changed, and we got to experience a lot of fun stuff. 

We (or rather I, cause I do the blogging) decided to make a top 10 list of our favorite things.

In no particular order, and with a little something from everyone.

1.  Going to Nauvoo and Palmyra.  I could very well say our whole summer road trip, but these two stops were the most meaningful.  This summer was a dream come true in many aspects, for all of us.  Clark and Harry got to ride on a REAL train, we got to spend so much time with family, and we made some really memorable stops along the way.
We traveled 6,000 miles this year, from sea to shining sea.  Amazing.

2.  Our 2 weeks (almost free) vacation in Waikiki, or as I tenderly refer to it, the Long Goodbye.  It was so fun to say goodbye to all our favorite places, and spend our last few days in Hawaii laid back, sun tanning, and swimming all day.  I miss living Hawaii so much, like I'm sure I always will, but I will treasure those two weeks the most.  It was a happy time for our family, even though we were sad, and a little scared for all the changes coming, we had so much fun together.

3.  We loved seeing our nieces and nephews this summer, and my Grandparents.  Clark LOVED being with his cousins, he still talks about them all the time.  We don't get to spend time with our extended family nearly enough.  

4.  Clark starting school, twice.  He loves school so much, and I am sure this was probably one of the highlights of his year.

5.  Jason (finally) got promoted to 1st Class this year.  It was a big surprise, even though he had been on the list for awhile.  I was, and continue to be, so proud of him and all the hard work he does for our family.

6.  In April we got a visit from my brother and sister, and both their spouses.  It was quite a houseful, for our tiny little two bedroom in Hawaii.  But, I loved every minute of it, and so did the boys.  I will miss people coming to visit us in Hawaii, it seems no one cares to much for the Boskos in Virginia (I'm  joking).  We did get a fun visit from our dear friends Carol and Eddie, during Thanksgiving, it was so nice to see them after a long year apart.

7.  Harry's Autism diagnosis, while  not a sun-shiny happy highlight, was a big part of our year.  It really helped us understand a lot of the things that were going on with Harry, and put us on a better path to help him.  My eyes were opened, and he changed the way I think about everything.  Some days I still wish he didn't have Autism, most days really.... I wish that he was just like the other little boys his age.  But as easy and ideal as that sounds, I love him so much, just the way he is, and I would take him anyway I could get him.

8.  A new car for Mommy, and new couches!!!!  It is so nice to finally have my own vehicle, so I can do my own things during the day.  It was such a blessing that we were actually able to find one we could afford.

9.  I turned 30!  I am glad I got to spend my birthday with my family this year, I wish I could every year.  Just the other day I had a 20 year old someone, tell me that I don't look 30 at all... I look more like 27, or 28, you know not "THAT" old.
I never really felt old until that instant, LOL. 

10.  This was a fun year for movies!  My favorite movie of the year, Harry Potter 7 Part 1.  I loved it, and I am DYING for the next one.  Harry and Clark loved How To Train Your Dragon, Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me.  Jason loved Knight and Day, and The Other Guys.  Also, Jason and I both really liked Inception.  (I know what you are thinking, and no we don't watch too much tv, that is all in your imagination.)
11.  (And one more just for kicks.)  Meeting Diana Gabaldon in September.  What a surreal experience.  There is nothing like meeting some one you admire, and look up to so much, a "famous" person.  It is like standing outside your body, you can see yourself acting like a total dork, but you can't stop it.  She was gracious, kind, and a delight to meet.  I hope to see her again someday, maybe when the next Outlander book comes out.

We really were tremendously blessed last year.  And I am looking forward to another amazing year with my little family.  Jason and I have been talking about some of the goals we would like to work on as a family for this coming year.  Most importantly, and at the top of our list, is getting out of debt and working towards financial freedom.  We have tossed around the idea of me getting a part time job to help with the bills, so I will start looking and see what I can find.  We also are going to continue to attend church more faithfully, and every Sunday.  We've been doing so well lately, and I want to make sure we stay on the right path.  We are going to start reading scriptures as a family, and make sure we continue having Family Home Evening on a regular basis.  I also want to make sure we have dinner every night as a family, gathered around the dinner table.  It gets too easy to eat in shifts, and most of the time in front of the tv.  I really believe, and have FAITH, that if we do these things, we will grow closer as a family, and closer to the Lord.  Which is all I could ever want for my children and family.
I love the feeling of a New Year, and all the possibilities that it offers us.  A clean slate to work with, a chance to start over and do better.  Better ourselves, better our family.
It's exciting.  Happy New Year!

Primary Bound

Today I was going to write a long sad post about Clark's first Sunday in Primary, as a Sunbeam.  I was going to lament about my little baby growing up too fast, and how I am going to miss him every Sunday in nursery (even though I probably won't).  BUT, due to some changes in our Primary presidency, everything was a bit disorganized, and it looks like I will have him (and the other kids his age) back in nursery for a few weeks.  (They honestly marched the new kids OUT of primary, back into nursery!!!)  It makes me sad.  I was really looking forward to taking him to his new class, and we've been talking up singing time and Primary for months.  He was so ready.  I know it is not a big deal, but it was a meaningful step that I had been looking forward too.  I will be the first to admit that I am overly sentimental, but he is my first baby after all.   Clark and I have been talking about being a Sunbeam a lot lately.  He loves to sing Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam over and over when I give him a bath, besides the Alphabet song, it is his favorite.  I can't wait for him to start learning all the primary songs, and I just know he is going to enjoy his time there so much.  Next Sunday will be better, I know it will all work out, and I am not too worried about it.  I'm just disappointed things didn't go my way... as they always should right, LOL.  (Maybe I need to add, NOT being such a control freak to my New Years resolutions.)

Harry is doing so well in nursery.  Sure, he steals every ones snacks, and he bit a kid today, but it is a great big improvement from what it was last year.  He actually plays along side the other children now, and doesn't whine and cry the whole time.  We still can't get him to sit through Sacrament Meeting.... he immediately starts to cry as soon as we enter the chapel.  I don't know what it is, but every Sunday it is the same thing.  If I am lucky enough to get him to sit with me, he will cry during every song.  He really hates it when we all sing as a congregation, it would make me laugh if it wasn't so annoying.

It makes me happy that my boys like to go to church.  Clark squealed with glee today as we pulled into the church parking lot, "I found it, Mom!, I found it".  I didn't know we lost it.  I guess it had been a couple weeks since we went to church, since last Sunday was a snow day (for reals).  I don't want him to ever grow out of his excitement for church, and learning about Jesus Christ.