It's a wonderful time to be alive!

Every Winter in Utah I get into a "funk."  I'm not one to easily get depressed, but there is just something about months and months of cold and being stuck indoors that really has a negative effect on me.  I love snow, I enjoy cold weather, but I do NOT like being stuck inside.  Yes, our city does an AMAZING job and keeps our streets well plowed and salted.  I'm rarely nervous driving on the streets unless there is a huge storm dumping snow. Yes, I can go to the store, or the museum, or get lunch at a restaurant.  Yes, I can go skiing or snowboarding or snowshoeing... but all those are hard (and expensive) to do regularly, especially with kids.  The first year we moved here, winter was great.  I was excited to get away from California heat and have a REAL winter.  The next two winters were harsh.  We had record snowfall and days where I couldn't take the boys to school because of icy roads.  However,  This last winter was MILD. We only had a few snowstorms.  There were days that we actually could go to the park, or ride bikes on our street, or just play outside.  I only had to shovel snow maybe two or three times.  However, I still had a hard time this winter.  Everything is hibernating, so all the trees, bushes, grasses, and even weeds are brown.  I LOVE nature, and I especially love when everything is green and colorful.  Being surrounded by a brown world, cold air, and a grey skies put me into a rough mental state.  That being said, now that spring is here and the world is turning green, I can look back on our winter with fondness.   I'm grateful to be alive. I'm grateful to be able to stay home with my children and have a husband that works so hard for our family.  I'm grateful for seasons and for life.  I love this stage  - all my boys are still young, but they are all old enough to really be able to interact with me.  They each have such unique and fun personalities. Even when the world looks brown and cold - there is still so much happiness and so much to be grateful for!





Grandma Burnell gave Blake a new swing for his birthday.  We were determined to use it - even with the snow!

I've focused on different academic areas with each of my kids when they were young.  With Wesley, I was very dedicated to providing a quality in-home education to him before he started Kindergarten.  He knew letters, colors, shapes, numbers, and basic reading skills before he was three. He loved science, and he knew how the world worked.  He loved learning about photosynthesis, water treatment plants, and how to classify rocks.  Wesley had the biggest appetite for learning, and I spent a lot of time teaching him about the world.  Chase was very smart, but he didn't have the same level of intellectual desires as Wesley did.  I went over the basics, but he was behind in language and speech so we focused a lot more on those skills. He was a tad behind academically when he started Kindergarten, but once Chase started school, he progressed very rapidly.  Now in first grade he often gets compliments from his teachers on how smart he is, and how well he is doing.  I have realized that most kids catch up to one another during the Kindergarten years no matter how much knowledge they have coming in.  If Blake had a huge apatite for learning like Wesley did, I would embrace it.  However, Blake is more athletic and prefers exploring the great outdoors.  I do not place a big emphasis on academics with Blake right now, and I know that he will be just fine in school.  Its amazing how much knowledge he  picks up from our adventures vs. sitting at a desk going over flash cards.  Next year Blake will attend a creative arts preschool that focuses on learning through movement. I think he will do amazing in that kind of environment.

One day we were waiting in the church building while Wesley was finishing scouts.  I wrote Blake's name on the chalk board, and he tried to copy me.  I love his sweet little four year old writing.  Soon it will be neat and orderly.  Right now, I embrace and cherish him exactly where he is at!

Jason bought a clean, full sized industrial bounce house to replace our old torn, duct tape covered small one.   We are excited to get many fun years of use out of this!

One of the many things I love about Utah (and my neighborhood), is that my boys can walk out our front door and in one minute they are in nature.  Right next to our street is a nature preserve and trail system that my boys love to explore and play in with the neighbor kids.  I went back there one day and found this fun shelter the kids built.  I would have loved this as a kid!

One of the venues at Thanksgiving Point that our pass allows us to attend for free is a small farm.  It is not very exciting for older kids, but Blake and Addie love it.  They get to ride a horse and go on a tractor ride each time we visit, as well as pet bunnies, cows, pigs, sheep, and other animals.  In the spring they always have baby animals, which Blake loves (evident by the high pitched "Awwwwwwwsss!!  Blake makes any time he sees a cute animal) .  Normally we avoid the farm in the winter, but because this winter was so mild we have been able to attend a few times.

"Mommy!!!  I'm going to pet my horse!!" 

Pretty rainbow we noticed after shopping 

Blake is in the car A LOT for pick ups and drop offs

Wesley made a leprechaun trap for St. Patricks Day, and the boys were excited to wake up to some leprechaun mischief! The Leprechaun took a bath in our tub, dropped gold coins all over the house, left a few little gifts, and put green crepe paper all over our stairs!  It never gets old seeing their sweet reactions to surprises like this.  I'm going to miss their excitement when they get older!