“grandmom’s zoo”, the giraffes

Giraffes are my ultimate favorite animal at the zoo so this experience was just awesome.

to school, or not to school

This entire year I have been debating on whether or not to put Enoch into Pre-K. Some of you will know this because I’ve asked you questions. Well, the start of the new school year has come and Joe & I have discussed this matter of schooling. We have decided that we will not enroll him into any program until January. That way he will get 6 months of Pre-K and then start KINDERGARTEN in the fall.

I’m just not sure how I feel about this, I think a child can be too young for school and you might scar their excitement if they are pushed/rushed/forced to go. Comments are welcome on this, I want to hear from experienced people. I was homeschooled K-12 so I have absolutely no knowledge about any of this.

I found a Brain Quest workbook at Costco last night and I’m pretty excited about it. We are starting that today and Enoch is really excited. I just want to start him out with stuff at home and see where he’s at. Maybe he won’t need Pre-K in January. We’ll see. He knows his ABCs and his numbers. He even notices letters and numbers around the house and when we go out.

Anywho – tips and advice are welcome. Just wanted to put some feelers out there on the topic.

sweet, tender, sleeping moments

I love these moments. And it truly is not because of the quiet or the calm or not having to do something for someone every two seconds.

I love them so much because they are so sweet. I can’t not take a picture when they are just sleeping so soundly and so cute. :D

G’night

August 1, 2010…

…Will forever be engraved in my mind.

 

August 1, 2010 was the day Joe became the Bishop of our ward. What a life changing calling. I was scared, worried this would completely change my Joe and I wouldn’t even know him anymore. I was concerned about the amount of stress and weight such a calling entails and the toll it would take on Joe. I was also a little excited; with such a calling, blessings are sure to follow if its held responsibly and humbly. These were all my concerns and fears, I can only imagine what Joe was and still is experiencing!

We’re three weeks in and life has already changed dramatically. The kids and I hardly see Joe now but when we do, whatever we do is filled with happiness, laughter and quality family time. We were concerned about losing some friends but it seems to have only made the bond stronger. Even with the lack of sleep on Joe’s part, he somehow always finds that burst of energy to pull through to the end of whatever he’s doing. Once he makes it through though, he crashes, and crashes hard. You will often find him sleeping when he has a still moment. The relationship with his Dad has definitely gotten stronger. They have so much in common now and Joe has so much he can learn from Lawry.

The blessings are coming in full force as well. Debt is somehow getting paid off, Joe and I communicate better, Enoch has been extremely successful in potty training! Its been two weeks since he’s had a major accident. You can’t know the extreme bliss and excitement and just how proud we are of him for doing this! In our excitement we bought him a PET! (that post to come soon!) Life is just moving forward and at the speed of light it seems.

I know the road ahead is not going to be easy all of the time, and this will take a toll on Joe but I definitely know and feel that this will help us all grow. There is much to be learned and much to take in. I am so grateful for Joe and his amazing spirit, strength and knowledge of the gospel. I’m grateful for my parents and his parents. Without them, we wouldn’t be the people we are today. I’m grateful for my two beautiful little boys and they’re sweet spirits. I am so grateful for this gospel and the blessings I’ve received in this life. I know this church is true, I know President Monson is a true living Prophet of God on this earth today. I know Jesus Christ is my Redeemer and my Savior. I could not be who I am today without this Gospel and I hope to continue to follow in His footsteps.

-Natalie

 

Thanks to Todd R.(Joe's cousin) for taking photos on his AWESOME phone and also for cutting Joe’s hair and doing an awesome job. I was a dink and totally spaced bringing the camera. The thought never crossed my mind. So enjoy the photos!

Joe’s “Uuuh” face.

 

Chatting with Brother Stevens

Chatting with Brother Stevens and President Dourny

 

Yes, I’m a cheese ball. I’ll admit it. I was shaking with nerves the whole time.

Enoch was sleeping so he missed the family shot ( sad panda, as Amber would say), but I’m glad we got

a family (sort of) shot. :D

wellness checks!

The boys had their wellness checks. I was SUCH a dope and I scheduled them for the same day because Enoch would be 4, the same time Travis would be 15 months.

DISASTER. Joe was supposed to have the day off but holidays sort of screwed up our plans. Oh well.

We survived. The boys got 3 shots each and Travis had to get some routine blood work done.

 

STATS:

 

Enoch – 4 Year Check Up

Height – 40 inches

Weight – 37 lbs

Speech, Motor Skills, etc. – Perfect

 

Travis – 15 Month Check Up

Height – 31 inches

Weight – 24 lbs

Speech, Motor Skills, etc. – Great!

 

They did well. Travis screamed everytime a nurse or Dr came near him, let along touched him. He was happy when it was over.

Enoch LOVES going to the Dr. He’s old enough now that he can answer most of the Doc’s questions by himself.

He even asks the Doc questions. Are you going to listen to my heart beat Dr? Did you want to check my ears Dr?

What about my stomach Dr? Is the cookie monster in my stomach this time?

It has become a lot of fun for Enoch to visit the Dr.

I can only hope Trav will eventually enjoy these visits too.

friends

Well, we have been very blessed to make some new friends. Its not often, once you’re married, that you find a couple you & your spouse just “click” with.

Then you have kids, and then its even harder to find a couple, with children, that you, your spouse, and your children, just “click” with.

It just doesn’t happen very often.

Then, we met the Perry’s.

The Perry’s are in our ward, they live five minutes from us, they are laid back, funny, and UBER nice.

Joe mentioned to me, when they first moved in, that Mrs. Perry used to take ballet. SWEET! I need a dance buddy.

Well, she became much more than that (although, we have yet to take dance lessons together).

We’ve bonded, through good times & bad, and you only meet friends like these guys every once and a while.

Mr. Perry & Mr. Doxey get along like peanut butter & jelly. They just mesh well. Its SO awesome to go on FAMILY dates.

Mr. E and Mr. M are just AWESOME together and they always have a blast.

Mr. E hasn’t had a friend in a while that he could play all day with, go on a hike with(ALL DAY LONG) and STILL want to spend more time together.

And Mr. T, well, he just loves Mr. M. Mr. M is right between Mr. E and Mr. T’s ages. He just fits perfectly with the two of them.

So, this is a THANK YOU to you, The Perrys, for being our friends. We love you guys. And we hope there are many more awesome years ahead of us, together, as friends.

 

enoch’s 4th birthday celebrations

 

 

So, from the previous post, you already know that Enoch has turned 4. On his actual BIRTH day, my parents came over and we did cake and presents at home with Joe’s parents too.  I need to get better at taking pictures of Enoch with everyone.

Enoch was blessed with an awesome swing set from our neighbors a week before his birthday. Their 3 boys had grown out of it so they handed it down to Enoch. AWESOME birthday surprise for Enoch. He loves the thing.

 

 

We opened gifts first.

Enoch got:

Toy Story 3 for PSP – from Grandpa Rusty

A cool monkey shirt, matching shorts, Toy Story 3 book, and a Go Fish Game – from GrandMom Kathy

WhackaMole and cool Dinosaur clothes – from Tutu Bonnie & Papa Lawry

Leapster 2 and Toy Story 3 for it – from Mom, Dad & Travis

Enoch also got the exact same Dinosaur card from both his Grandmothers. :D

And I actually made his cake this year. Its nothing great but he loved it. :D

 

Happy Birthday Enoch!

summertime fun

I love summer – its one of those seasons where you can let your kids sit in the back yard and eat ice cream to their heart’s content. Enoch and Travis got cones the other day…Travis loved the ice cream.

He loved it so much that he even finished Enoch’s for him. Thats why he has two in the lower picture.

   

 

Playing ball with GrandMom

family zoo trip

 

Our good friends Randall & Andrea were in town with their cute little boy Bennett.

So, we hit the zoo. It was a hot day but it was so much fun at the Denver Zoo. I seriously love the fact that we have Zoo passes and we can just pack up and go anytime. I remember as a child, doing anything like this seemed like so much effort. You had to pack everyone and everything up, food for a whole day and drinks, etc. Then you had to drive the great distance to where ever the zoo was.

It just doesn’t seem so difficult anymore. The Zoo is seriously a 15-20 minute drive from our house, we pack up sandwhiches, drinks and snacks. Make sure we have hats, sunscreen and a stroller and we’re out the door. I love the Zoo and so do the kids. Its the best way to spend 2-4 hours (depending on who you go with) one day a week. And its exercise!

 

  

lazy

Sorry, I've been lazy but I have a lot to post about so look for the new posts soon!

-Nati