Time outside

 

A millions times a day I say to the boys, "Go outside!! It's so nice out there! When the snow comes, we'll be stuck inside!" 

We walked to the neighborhood park after dinner and the boys ran around for a bit while I looked at the mail.

Each night Eli asks me if I'll leave his bedroom light on for a few extra minutes so he can read. (Aaron remembers asking his mom the same thing when he was a kid.) About 15 minutes later, I went into his room to turn out the light and tuck him in and he was already asleep. I teared up watching him sleep and whispered, "I love being a mom." 

I feel guilty most nights that I overreacted about something or I yelled when I didn't need to - these little boys have taught me so much and when I go to bed, I pray that I can help them learn to choose the right and understand at an early age that obedience to God's commandments brings so much happiness and meaning to life. 

When we walked outside this evening, Eli said, "Look at the beautiful sunrise." (He often confuses sunsets with sunrises!) Time outside looking at mountains and feeling the crisp fall air put a smile on all of our faces! 

Mom and Austin date

Eli had preschool this morning so Austin and I enjoyed some one on one time today. We headed to the library where Austin decided he wanted to play instead of go to story time. We then ran to Wal-mart and Sephora before picking Eli up. He had a great time at preschool and the teacher told me he was kind and helpful. I was so happy for his good behavior that we decided to stop by Bass Pro and say hello to the fish before heading home for lunch and naps. 

 

 

 

Ice cream

After church on Sunday, we went up to Denver to stay the night with the Davis kids and my mom. We went to the park and when all the kids were napping, my mom insisted that I went somewhere. Alone. So I went to Target and then King Soppers. I spotted a Coldstone and had a gift card in my wallet to that place so I ran in and got a kid's size ice cream cone. Everyone tells me to take some alone time. I almost stress out more when I have a babysitter. Having a gym membership has been the best thing to allow me to exercise while the boys play - but today was great because I knew the boys were okay and I could stroll around Target and take a few big breaths hoping the next 3 1/2 months pass quickly. 

 

 

Museum tour

The weekends are the hardest for me because I miss Aaron the most. We've been so busy with activities or traveling most Saturdays so this past Saturday when we woke up and didn't have set plans for the day, we decided to check out the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. It was a free day and there weren't a lot of people there so the boys could explore without me being afraid of losing them. My cowboy father would love this place! We grew up going to rodeos and watching bull riding. 

   

  

Eli took this picture! :)

  

   

We came home for naps and then went to see a former Sunday School student of mine open his mission call. He's going to ARGENTINA!!! :) And I'm so excited for him. It was a neat experience for my boys to watch him open his call. We talked often about serving a mission someday and Eli hopes to go to Argentina and Thailand.

 

Eli wears his cowboy boats with shorts. 

 

Saturday night I went to the church to watch the LDS Women's Conference. I loved it. And I'm so excited for General Conference this weekend. 

Eli's Photos

On Saturday morning Eli was on the couch and I heard him taking pictures. That night I looked at the pictures he took and I laughed. These are the best ones. I loved the camera through his eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Time with cousins

 


Eli is working on trying to dress himself. He came downstairs with his shirt all crazy and it made me laugh so hard! Almost big guy, almost.

My mom is watching the Davis cousins as their parents are on a trip. Lincoln didn't have school today so they came down for the day! We played outside with bubbles, watched Zootopia on Netflix, made pumpkin spice cookies, ate Costa Vida for lunch and spaghetti leftovers for dinner. Eli didn't take a nap today so he went right to bed at 7:30 p.m. when Austin did. It's so quite here now. I miss Aaron!! After spending the day with my family, I feel extra grateful that they're close. They make me so happy!

Sunshine

I know cold weather and snow will be here before we know it, so I wanted to go "hiking" today with the boys. We went to Garden of the Gods and we didn't last long because Eli was tired. (We went to bed late last night because we had dinner with friends.) Anyway, I was frustrated that he was whiny so we went back to the car after 15 minutes. 

 

 

 

We drove past this perfect place for a picnic and so I stopped and turned around knowing a lunch outside in the sunshine will be good for all of us. And it was! 

 

 

After we all took naps (me included!), we had popsicles on the porch! 

 

And zoodles for dinner. (Zucchini noodles. They were delicious!) 

 

I was proud of Eli today - the little neighbor girls left their water guns at the side of our house and the boys found them and played with them as I chatted with a friend who returned our cast iron skillets. Eli threw the water gun and a piece of the gun broke off. I discussed with Eli that he would need to speak with the neighbors and tell them what happened - offer an apologize and then ask if he could replace it. (We talked about extra jobs he could do around the house to earn money.) When we knocked on the neighbors' door this afternoon, they listened kindly and were grateful for Eli's honesty and told him he didn't need to replace it. As Eli knocked on the door, he told me he was nervous and I reminded him to be brave and that he'd feel better after telling the truth. 

After we left, Eli was smiling and skipping. It was a simple experience that I hope he'll always remember feeling happy and full of sunshine as he told the truth. 

Smells like Fall

The boys played with edible play dough this afternoon while I made applesauce. Our home instantly smelled like fall!

 

 

It rained for a quick second this afternoon and then Eli spotted this beautiful rainbow that cheered up the gray skies!

 

We completed most of our house chores today so tomorrow we're off for an adventure. I hope Eli and Austin always fight over who gets to scrub the toilet. :) Does everyone in the world have house cleaners? I seriously wonder how everyone keeps up with keeping their home cleaned! 

 

Preschool & Pets

My blog has become a great way for Aaron to see what we're doing each day while he's away so today I taught preschool to Eli and his little friends. The subject today was all about pets - something both Eli and Austin want desperately. The last couple of days we've had a bunny hopping around our backyard and the boys scream with delight and wave every time he appears. Tomorrow we'll name him.

  

I picked up these yellow flowers on our Wal-mart run to bring extra sunshine into the kitchen for the next few days.

 

I had a primary presidency meeting in our home during nap time and then we headed to the gym. The boys get excited about playing with the toys and I always enjoy putting in my headphones and listening to the Mormon Channel as I exercise. After my workout, we headed to the gym so Eli could train for his fun run next month.

 

The boys have needed haircuts for weeks so after dinner I pulled out the clippers and gave them a sucker as I attempted to cut their hair. (I watched a quick youtube video to remind myself how to clip it.) Hopefully I'll get better with practice - Aaron refuses to let me practice on him - so I'll keep practicing on the boys in an attempt to help save money. I think Eli's turned out great, but poor Austin screamed the whole time so it's choppy and he looks better with long hair so hopefully it looks better in a few weeks. Ha! 

 

Saturday

Our flight didn't leave until 5 p.m. so after packing up, we went on one last backyard nature walk where Eli wore his mask. We cried telling the Volks goodbye at the airport. Eli shouted out the airplane window, "Bye DC! Bye Grandpa Volk. Bye Grandma Volk." It was pretty cute. He also looked pretty cute in his little backpack and kept telling me he had his luggage.

 

 

Megan and Max flew back with us and although we were no where close to each other on the flight, it was nice knowing she was close if I needed her. The kids did so great - in fact, the flight attendant made a special announcement and gave thanks to all the young travelers on the flight for doing so great. There were tons of kids - like kids on every other row. Ha!

 

 

 

I was so happy when Austin for a sleep for an hour. He instantly turned into my newborn baby again!!

 

Traveling is so exhausting, but I'm grateful for the memories I have with my grandparents and want to make sure these little boys have as many opportunities as possible to be with their grandparents and know the faithful, gospel living people they all are.

Friday

Friday we went to the Charles County Fair where we saw the animals, ate lots of fair food, road rides, and enjoyed the day! Aaron and I took Eli to that exact same fair two years ago and it's a good one! Friday evening we had dinner with our friends the Amorinos! Grandpa Volk carried in two very tired boys.