A break

Monday was Martin Luther King Day so there was no school and Aaron had the holiday off too. We bundled up and went north to visit Grandma and Grandpa Volks' property. The boys had a blast playing in the snow. It was freezing, but we had warm taco soup and hot chocolate. 

I don't have a lot of pictures from our week - we went grocery shopping and did laundry and I had a presidency meeting for YW. We also went to story time at the library and checked out some new books. One morning, I made my breakfast shake and then ran upstairs to finish getting ready so we could quickly get out the door. When I came downstairs, Eleanor had pushed the kitchen chair over to the counter so she could drink the tiny bit of shake that remained in the blender. She's sneaky! 

I also spent this week organizing family pictures and videos on my computer and I can't believe how quickly the kids have grown up. We all loved watching videos of toddler Eli and Austin. I miss their small voices and chubby cheeks. I want to make sure and take more videos! On Tuesday evening I was able to attend the temple and then help with the temple cleaning. I haven't done cleaning at the temple before. I am impressed with how clean the temple always is! My cleaning job was to vacuum the third floor and I know it had just been vacuumed the night before, but I thought about my own life and how if I repent each day, I know I can start each day with a clean slate. 

On Friday school was canceled due to SNOW! It was a snow day and we spent the day at home together. We had morning school time and watched movies most of the afternoon.  This week I'm registering Austin for kindergarten next year and I keep asking the boys if I can just home school them. They keep talking about how much they love school!! 

Saturday was basketball day. We're working so hard on our family budget and really focusing on paying off our house - Eli's team had team pictures on Saturday and I told him I'd snap some pics instead of paying for them. :) Basketball is so fun to watch and the team is improving!

On Saturday afternoon we went back out to the property so Aaron could continue helping his dad. The sun was shining and it felt so good for my soul. The boys played outside all afternoon. 

Today was a lovely Sunday. Aaron and I sang with the choir - Nearer my God to Thee. I've been struggling with choir. I love singing, but I feel like sometimes the director picks songs that are more advanced than our choir talent. I had a thought today that our director is called and set apart for the calling and she's doing her best to pick songs that she feels inspired for us to sing. I want to do better in supporting her and I was grateful when she asked us today to send her any song suggestions for the choir. I'm going to start searching for simple hymns I can suggest to her. ;) 

Eleanor turns 2!!

I've been watching the Wal-mart Christmas clearance aisle for a few weeks and I finally saw the 90% off sign so I grabbed a bunch of wrapping paper for gifts to give our friends and neighbors next year. They each cost about 25 cents to a dollar and it's quality paper. I love finding sales!

The weather is crazy over here. It snowed and was freezing and then it warmed up so we went on a walk. The kids loved eating and playing with the snow. They also loved throwing snowballs at me.

On Jan. 15, Eleanor woke up and was TWO!! She was so excited to have a sprinkle cake.

For breakfast, we had yogurt with granola and scrambled eggs with sprinkles.

We opened some presents at breakfast before Eli and Aaron had to leave. She loved this new dress and nail polish for Grandma Donna and Papa Joe.

Her cookie present was a hit! 

The balloons and streamers are always a hit.

She looked so cute in her new dress! We went to the Children's Museum for the day and had fun playing together. 

Austin looked like a natural store clerk. He could have played at the register for hours. 

We came home and she took a little nap before her birthday party. We went to Chick-fil-a for dinner (and thanks to coupons the kids got free nuggets) and then we had birthday cake!!

Aaron was supposed to work and so we didn't know if he'd be home for cake. We were happy when his schedule changed and he was able to join us for dinner and cake and singing! 

She loves her brother and her brothers love her!

Grandma and Grandpa Volk gave her two pop books that she loves to pop!!

And she got a new bed!! She feels so big! And she looks so tiny in it when we tuck her in at night. She's been waking up crying several times in the evenings and I've felt frustrated and I want to put her back in her crib. haha. But I know it will take some time for her to adjust and then she'll be fine, right? 

We love Eleanor because she's friendly and the first to say hello. When Aaron walks in the door she says, "Welcome home dad!" She waves with both hands at the bus when Eli leaves and returns home. She loves playing with Austin throughout the day and I'm afraid she'll be devastated when he goes to school. She gives the sweetest compliments (She'll say, "I like your earrings. I like your shoes. I like your nailpolish.") And she's quick to remember to say you're welcome. 

Happiest birthday little one! 

When I took her to her check-up, the Dr. said, "Are you two, but talk like you're four?" She replied yes. 

Eli got new glasses, finally! He wore his other pair tapped for a month. His upper tooth is very lose and will fall out any day now. He also scored 3 baskets at his game this week. He loves basketball so much. 

We also checked out Menards for the first time and we loved exploring it. Aaron was waiting for decades for an online order so the kids and I were happy Menards had so much for us to do. (For the record, Aaron always says something takes "decades" when it feels likes forever.)

This month I've been working on organizing everything in our house. I found this shelf for our spices. Aaron organized this cabinet! 

Colorado Home!

Before I forget, I received these pictures about 6 months ago from our relator (my cousin Liz!) of our Colorado home. These pictures make me miss this home so much. We had the best and hardest memories during our time in Colorado. We welcomed Austin and Eleanor to our family. We were stretched as a family while Aaron was gone for training and then a deployment. We jumped for joy when Aaron returned home. Eli started kindergarten. Austin and Eleanor learned how to walk! I recovered from two c-sections and pregnancy. I nursed my babies in the middle of night. We tucked our children in their beds each night with lots of hugs and kisses. We said millions of prayers together and read the scriptures over and over again. We met the kindest neighbors. We loved our ward family. Aaron's commute to the Air Force academy was minutes away. I felt all the emotions of motherhood. We saw many planes fly over all the time, including the Thunderbirds for USAFA's graduation each year. We hosted dinner groups and play groups and had all of our families visit. 

I pray the new family that lives there is happy and feels loved and taken care of, just like we did. 

Thank you, first home we purchased, for all the memories. We'll never forget you and Woodrock Path!

We didn't do a ton of house projects, but Aaron did paint everything and we added canned lights in the living room. I cleaned for weeks to get the house ready to sell. These pictures turned out so well!