Lots of Pictures

It drives me crazy to have pictures sitting on my camera that need to be scrapped & put somewhere. Until it's done it nags me. So....here's catching up & its a good feeling:)

Most of these are pictures from my trip to Atlanta. This one is a sledding trip to Rigby Lake before we left.

This little guy was the perfect airplane companion. When Jaden was young I travelled on airplanes a lot & Jaden wasn't the perfect companion. For some odd reason he always wanted to sit on a man's lap (Chris would never be with us) and on more then one occassion the men sitting next to us would offer to hold him because he would keep reaching for them...rather embarrassing. Landon on the other hand....much easier. We even ended up spending the night in Dallas after a missed flight (that was a crazy day) and none of the craziness seemed to faze him.

Landon's little cousin Carter is about 7 months older then him. They got in some play time together....not best friends yet but maybe in the future:)

This page is of some of our adventures including leg wrestling (I WON everyone), bathtime, trampoline time, eating out at delicious resturaunts, and lots of togetherness.

We went to the kids museum. We need one of these. They had everything from mini-grocery stores, banks, resturaunts, police car, fire truck, I can't list it all.

Our inner child came out when we went roller skating. My sister, mom, sister-in-law and me & Landon made the trip to Atlanta to visit my other sister. So...we had lots of girl time.

And what a good feeling it is to be caught up. It was a fun trip & it's so nice to get away. Next time ladies...we should do a trip to Hawaii or somewhere on a beach:)

Guess who was on the front page of the newspaper?

JADEN.

Yesterday they did free ice skating lessons. I had thought about signing him up for regular lessons but I really didn't think that'd he'd like it so this was a perfect way to see. HE LOVED IT!

Can I say this was the funnest thing I've ever watched Jaden do. The next/last ice skating session is on Wednesdays which incidently is when Jaden plays basketball so unfortunately we have to wait until next year.

When Jaden first entered the ice he couldn't stay up at all. The funny thing was all the kids were standing so close together that they'd take each other down. I giggled the entire time. Towards the end Jaden got this burst of confidence & was running across the ice. He was so fast. He wasn't graceful.

At this point I saw a photographer taking a ton of photos of him & keep looking at me. I eventually realized he couldn't tell if I was his mom because Jaden had 3 other friends there & I was rooting them all on. Finally he came over & asked...they have to have permission to use there photos in the paper.

Even though Jaden took a number of spills, he loved every minute of it. It was a blast!

ready to share the details...

We are starting a business. It's been in the works for a little while.

Here's how it started...from the beginning.

Last September we were contacted by a guy in our ward. We knew him very little...our interaction consisted of a party that he invited us to & "hi" as we passed in the halls at church. That's it! He told us of an idea he had for a business & that he didn't have the time to do it (he's a BUSY Doctor with 10 children) but had the money. We were very surprised he contacted us.

In September I was really struggling with balance. I can honestly say I've struggled with leaving the work force. The funny thing is a face reader (there's a fancier name but I can't remember) read my face & told me that I was struggling because I wasn't using my mental faculties. Do not get me wrong...I love my children. I love everything about being a mom. I just had worked so hard to make something of myself only to leave it and feel like my mind was used to determine what to make for dinner, what to do with my kids, ect. I've been fearful that all I had learned, worked for, would be lost if I didn't use it. I've worried if I had to re-enter the workforce for financial reasons that I would have to start at the bottom....work like crazy to get to the top. My husbands in sales and with the economy it's a fear...thankfully we've been so blessed.

The timing of all this seemed to coincide with when I was most struggling not using my mind to figure things out, put together processes, pushing myself. We asked our partner, "why us?" He told us he prayed about it.

Ok.....so are you wondering what this business is and why am I sharing this today since it's been in the works for awhile? We officially received our Auto dealership license today. This isn't a traditional dealership. We've structured it so that the customer decides the car that they want, we find it for them for at auction for a $600 fee. If you are familiar with the markup on cars this is a HUGE savings. PLUS, we will shortly roll out a referral program where almost half of our fees goes to the referrer. This is a huge opportunity for anyone to make extra money. I'll share the details when we are ready to roll out this program.

Since we became official today we received a big book & CD Rom on all the paperwork. I definitely will be using my mental faculties to figure it all out:) We plan to waive our fee on the first couple of cars we sell in exchange for patience in the paperwork. For now, we'd like to keep it simple & sale cars within the state although we do hope to expand nationally at some point. You may visit our website at http://www.mvautobuyers.com/ but please know that it's a work in progress & we plan to make it interactive including the addition of the "initial inquiry form" where anyone can place their wish list & price for a car & we'll begin our search.

I think it's important to mention that these last couple of months I've been so content. I'm not sure if its this little bit of extra brain stimulation. It really hasn't taken up a lot of extra time...I know these next couple of months will be busy as everything is structured but I think in the long run it will be a rather simple operation (crossing my fingers) & won't require a lot of time from my children. I believe it will provide teaching moments & opportunities for my kids...we definitely hope that we can involve them & teach them how to work.

I'm amazed at how blessed our family has been. It humbles me & makes me want to be a better person so that I can be worthy of them. AND thank you to those that have known & been so helpful & encouraging.

Lil' workout BUDDY & more!

I know I talk about Landon & his unique personality a lot! For the first 5 months of his life I couldn't have asked for a better baby. I had such a close bond with him & I wanted him near me all the time. Maybe that is where my little monster came from. BECAUSE after 5 months he had to be in my arms all the time & it definately wore on me mentally.

Thankfully I'm seeing the cutest & sweetest little boy emerging daily! With this he has found a best friend in his older brother. He still won't go to nursery but with his daily progress I have hope that it will come soon.

The other challenge that Landon has created for me was the ability to go to the gym. Since he won't go to the daycare there I'd have to wait until Chris would get home....tops I'd only get to go 3 times a week.

To maximize my ability to get a good workout & take away the stress of getting to the gym, Chris & I have started P90X. So far....fabulous; this is my third week. Besides a great workout Landon is by my side & makes me smile despite the pain. He sometimes tries to do the workout, sometimes drives his truck in front of the TV, sometimes sticks weights on my back (thankfully he can only lift 3's), likes to ride my back while I do pushups, but I'm laughing almost the whole time. I also was invited to a water aerobics group last week and I took Landon along to.. It's at a private pool & they have a kiddy pool right next to the big pool. Landon again was as good as I could have ever expected. The workout is about an 1 hr & 10 minutes & he stayed in the kiddy pool for about 40 minutes. Even though I didn't get to finish I see him making HUGE progress...yay for me!

As I was looking through my camera I found these pictures from our little adventure to the Rec Center last week. They only have open gym twice a week in the morning so I often don't go because I feel guilty that Jaden's at pre-school. But I've been reminding myself that Landon needs these adventures so I called Jenna to see if Gracie & Easton would want to go with us, we met some friends there, & Landon had a great time! Other progress Landon is making....he's starting to make friends & loves to play with others.

I know all these things sound so little for a lot of kids...Jaden was a social butterfly! For Landon, this is huge progress and for me, I'm so much happier. I was never depressed but I definately had moments of insanity because I never got a break from this little guy.

Smiling into the {New Year}

I'm finishing up our family album for 2009 & I'm smiling with happiness. Overall, it's been a great year! I think its a great time to reflect & set goals to improve in the new year. I'm so grateful for the wonderful memories we've had this year & look forward to new ones & more learning & growth in the new year. We have a GREAT life and one of my many goals for this new year is to be grateful & more giving of my time and myself. My list of goals is long & I hestitate to write resolutions because I have so many goals to achieve and I know success in new years resolutions come in a short & simple list....I'll have to work on that:)

One of the reasons I'm smiling is good friends. We wanted to do a New Years Eve party but knew babysitters would be scarce on this particular evening. As I was talking to my friend Jenn she came up with the brilliant idea of hosting the kids at her house (we share a back fence so I couldn't live closer to anyone else) & consolidating babysitters (we found 3). I knew if we hosted a party that included children that we'd have a very small guest list & many interruptions. It worked out perfectly & Jaden had his party which he loved & we had ours.....with great company I might add. Another goal...be a better picture taker. I used to be good but I've been slacking.

Another reason I'm smiling...Landon. This boy is PARTICULAR! He won't wear his coat or snow clothes plus refuses to wear certain shirts & pants. He's spent winter this far in a jacket. Today we were blessed with an enormous amount of snow & I was determined to get Landon to enjoy it. After a screaming/fighting fit while I dressed him in his snow clothes I succeeded in getting him bundled. After a sleigh ride around the block we all returned home to help Chris shovel. Landon couldn't get enough & was the last one to come in. In Idaho, you have to find joy in the snow or else you would be miserable. I'm grateful this little boy found joy in it today. He's such a cutie!