Fall break in Lincoln City. (The Beach!!!)

 First of all we live just an hour away from the beach!

That's right, one freaking hour.

I can hardly handle that.

Michael had a few days off of school for fall break.

He was wanting to spend most of it studying but I was able to convince him that a quick little trip to the coast would be perfect!

We packed up the car for just a little overnighter and wow let me tell you that was quite the task.

I mean even just packing for 1 night is out of control with 2 little ones!

We grabbed a nice DP (dr.pepper) at Mcdonalds (I really needed one by the time we got packed and the kids fed and loaded) and were on our way!

The drive was stunning with all the trees and fall leaves.

We drove right to the beach and spent a while just walking around, playing in the sand, and watching for whales.

There is no better sound than the sound of the ocean and smell of fresh air and salt water.

I would live on the beach if I could.

Maybe someday:)

After playing on the beach we went to dinner at a little seafood restaurant. 

Michael and I got a piece of pie to share later that night.

Olivia and Michael spent a while in the hot tub together.

They are seriously so dang cute together and just talk and talk and laugh and laugh.

For breakfast Olivia and Michael went and picked us up some donuts and then we were on our way.

I'd say our first little vacation with just the four of us went perfectly! 

I can't wait more many many more!

Our view on the way to the beach.

How gorgeous is that ocean?!

Clara's pretty cute too with her little head poking out!

Salty beach smooches.

Love kissing this boy.

I love this picture of Olivia.

She loves the beach almost as much as me I think!

Tanning!

Just kidding, it was a little cold for that!

Sandy toes and can you believe my pedicure still looks as good as it does?!

That nail polish lasts a long time.

At dinner.

Olivia was a bit crazy and popping her head over the back of the seat to see the other people, screaming silly things,  flinging her crayons about, and even accidentally whacking Michael in the face with her plastic cup.

Michael asked if he could switch me places haha and I was like, "No way, welcome to my life!" (Clara was sleeping so I had a very relaxing dinner.)

I sure love this little family of mine.

Playground fun.

One of Olivia's favorite places is the little playground right down the street.

We've had such nice weather the past few weeks that we've been able to visit quite a bit.

Olivia is so good at climbing up and down all the twisty things and going down the slides.

Even the big huge ones.

Maybe one day when we are rich we can buy Olivia her very own playground :)

It is not the safest walk to the park with the busy road and all.

So her leash is a must!

These two had quite the time running up and down the hill.

Olivia kept saying, "one more time da!"

I am definitely the luckiest momma.

Uncle Math.

Uncle Matthew left on his mission October 2nd.

I've put off writing this post because it is hard for me to write about Matthew and know that it will be two years before we see him again.

I try not to think about about it and pretend it's not really happening. Two years is a long time. 

I did this with both Winston and Emerson.

I feel like I have always had a close relationship with Matthew. He reminds me of Michael in many ways. He has always made me feel comfortable and accepted. He makes me laugh and feel like I can talk to him about anything. I am definitely not the easiest person to be around and can be very guarded. But Matthew took the time to get to know me for me.

Before getting married and when I first got married I never imagined that I would care about my brother in laws and love them just as much as my own brothers. But I do.

And I'm going to miss this boy. 

But I could not be more proud of him.

He will be such an incredible missionary and the people of Brazil are so lucky to have him for these next two years.

I can't believe I have two missionary brothers.

Sometimes I get sad when I think of them being gone and missing out on things that I want them to be apart of, but then I think of what they are doing and how blessed I am to have brothers who are worthy and willing to dedicate two years of their lives to serve the Lord.

It strengthens my testimony and makes me want to be better.

Here's to hoping the next two years go by quickly!

We love you Matthew!

(As I was writing this post Olivia came up and saw the picture of her and Matthew and said, "I miss Math. Give him so many hugs.") Sweetest thing ever. She sure loves him.

Olivia's 3rd birthday!

Because daddy had school most of the day we decided to celebrate for a little bit in the morning before he had to go.

Your favorite place is the merry go round.

 So of course that's where we took you!

I was the lucky one that got to ride with you since daddy gets super sick.

I think you could have ridden that merry go round over and over, all day long.

Sadly, I, like daddy have a weak stomach and could only handle it two times.

And even that was pushing it. 

Daddy held Clara and you waved every single time we passed them.

The look on your face was priceless.

You could not have been more excited!

When I was growing up my mom would stay up late the night before my birthday and decorate the table with pictures and things I liked. She would wrap my presents and make my cake and have it all laid out for me to see when I woke up in the morning.

I loved this and want to do the same for my little ones each year on their birthdays.

You got so excited when you woke up and kept squealing over and over, "It's my bitday (birthday)!!"

Here is the banner I made for your first birthday and have saved it to use for all other birthdays.

I put it up the week before so that we were constantly reminded of your upcoming birthday!

A close up of your little cake.

It is a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.

(More on that in a minute.)

I love the little Rainbow dash my ya po on top the cake.

You put it on the cake all by yourself!

After the merry go round we came home and you took a nice nap.

We played and played until daddy came home.

He brought yummy pizza (patz) and breadsticks for dinner since that is your favorite!

After dinner, it was time to finally open those presents that had been taunting you all day!

You mostly got my ya po stuff from mommy and daddy.

And Grandpa and Grandma Mickelson sent you a special big my ya po and some gum and m&ms which are your favorite!

You got a very special card in the mail from your uncle "ah ah shas" (Emerson) who is on his mission.

You got so excited when we went to the mailbox and found it in there.

It was a merry go round/my ya po card.

He knows you well!

Grandpa and Grandma Farr, the twins, and Harrison sent you this super fun package.

You love your new movies and you mostly love all your new animals because you can play with them in the bath as well!

Spoiled little girl!

It's time to blow out candles!

Excuse me and Michael's voices. We are at a awkward stage of birthdays where it is usually only one of us singing to the other. We better have more kids so that our happy birthday song will sound amazing!

That is if they somehow get the gift of a good voice :)

Deciding on which cake to make you was quite the process.

Because I didn't want to do the same one as last year, and I didn't want to do a chocolate cake because then I couldn't eat it (I know a bit selfish but hey I am the mommy:)). So I decided that since your birthday happens to fall during pumpkin season, I would make you a yummy pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting. You generally are not a fan of cakes/cupcakes so I knew I had nothing to lose.

Well turns out it was a huge hit and you ate an entire slice in seconds and even wanted more!

So I think we've found your favorite kind of cake and I'm definitely not going to complain!

We finished the night with baths and cuddle time.

We love you so much Olivia and hope you had the best 3rd birthday!

Dear Olivia.

How has it been three years? It seems like just yesterday your dad and I were on our way to the hospital to have you. It was a long eight hours but that Thursday at 5:13 pm will be a moment neither of us will ever forget. You made me a mother. Someone I had dreamed of becoming for as long as I can remember. 

These three years have been nothing but wonderful. Of course we have had our moments. You are definitely a strong willed, independent, sassy little thing. But I can't blame you. You get it from both me and dad. Some days you test my patience in every way possible, but then come up to me and gently rub the side of my face and say, "mom you so cute." It's moments like those that make everything completely worth it. You are so loving and will gladly share your big hugs and wet kisses as much as we want. I love this about you. I love your smile. It lights up the whole room and makes everyone smile. You are such a silly girl, and are always finding things to laugh at. I love that you can laugh at will. It helps when we are taking pictures and I need a natural smile:) Not a day goes by that your dad and I don't smile and laugh out loud because of something you say or do. You love to dance and sing just like daddy does. You two are so cute together and definitely are the best of friends. I love watching you two together. The first thing you do in the morning is come into our room and snuggle up next to him. It's his very favorite. Everything about you is completely perfect. You exceed every dream, every hope I had about my little girl. I cherish every moment I have with you and feel beyond blessed to call you mine. 

Here is a journal entry dad wrote in his journal the day after your birthday.

Yesterday was Olivia's 3rd birthday! She's such a big girl and is an amazing blessing to me.  The love she has and shows me brings me closer to my Heavenly Father.  Her sweet, innocent, care-free spirit is evidence that we lived with our Heavenly Parents before we came here.  Being a dad carries with a responsibility more tremendous than any other I have ever known.  Through the power of Christ's grace I can excel at being a father.  Olivia is so quick to overlook my flaws I wonder at times if she can even see them.  Is that how Christ sees us?  Through His Atonement our sins are not only overlooked but washed away? I believe so.  Even at this early stage of Olivia's life I feel incredibly privileged to be a part of it.  I know that many great things await her and to be in such a place of prominence in her life brings me more satisfaction than I could ever have known.  Out of all of God's creations how could I have ever known that the one that would bring me closer to Him than any other is my daughter's smile? Perhaps because it's one of His few creations that is mine as well.  Thank you Olivia for giving me that gift.  In return, I promise that for as long as you live I will do everything in my power to ensure your happiness.  In my eyes you are perfect.  You are perfect because you are you.

Happy Birthday our beautiful Olivia.

We'll love you always and forever.

Clara's 4 months.

September 25, 2013

Height: 24 inches (22%)

Weight: 12.75 ounces (11%)

Head circumference: 40 cm (26%)

Here are a few things about you:

*Your height and weight stats are almost exactly the same as your big sister's were when she was 4 months old. She was 12.76 lbs and was 23.5 inches tall. How cute is that?!
*You had to get three shots this month. Oh how my heart aches watching you get them. But I know I would feel so much worse if you were to actually catch one of those awful sicknesses. You seem to get pretty sore and fussy for a few days following. Thank goodness for warm baths and tylenol.

*You slept through the night for the very first time this month. Like over 8 hours. It was heavenly. Although just because you did it once doesn't mean that you continued to do it :) But that's okay, you are growing up way too fast and I am perfectly okay with waking up to feed you.

*You still nurse full time! Yay for us! I cannot even explain to you how much I love our feeding time. I just love knowing that I am capable of giving you all the nourishment you need.

* You are starting to reach out for things and try to touch them You love your little car seat toy that hangs in front of you and dings. You will try so hard to focus on it and touch it. You are a quite jerky about your motions, but hey you are a little baby still!

*You are now an official laugher. Oh my goodness, it is the cutest thing ever! I tickle you under your arm pits and in your neck and you just giggle away. Cutest thing ever!

*You went on a couple vacations this month to West Yellowstone, Montana and Newport Beach, California. You were an angel baby. You loved the cabin and just sat on the beach and slept. While we were in California  I just held you all day on the beach while we watched Olivia play. You even loved it when I smoothed out the sand underneath the umbrella and laid you down to sleep. You were lovely during the long car rides. (6 hours to the cabin, 10 hours to California, and 14 hours back home to Salem.) Thank you!
*You also went to Disneyland for the first time. It was a little loud and crowded for you but you were still a very good baby. You even went on a few of the rides with me!

*You still love your binky and I think you always will. Well until it's time to ween you off of it. Don't worry it will be a while:)

*We are still being thrown for a loop over what color your eyes are. Some think dark blue like daddy's and others think brown. But not dark brown like mine. I guess time will tell!

Here is the video of one of your first giggles. 

We could hear you laugh all day long and never ever get sick of it!

Clara you are beyond precious and we thank our Heavenly Father every day for you.

What a blessing you are to our little family. We couldn't love you any more!

Random pictures from September. (Still playing catchup).

I take so many pictures. Seriously.

But I just can't help it. I want to remember every moment of our lives.

And I just can never seem to put my camera down! 

I feel like I need to admit that at some point in my life I may or may not have been judgmental of the mothers who put their kids on leashes. But holy cow has my opinion changed. I would be dead with out one. My mom bought one for Olivia and it has saved my life. She is queen of darting and never stays by me. But with a leash, she has no choice! So having two babies and a billion bags and blankets to cart around everywhere, it sure is nice to just put this cute little backpack on her and know that as long as I have hold of it, she's going nowhere. Of course we have had a couple of the fits where she flings herself on the ground screaming and crying because she doesn't want to wear it. But after a little training she seems to be doing a lot better. I know I am making her seem like a puppy, and I do not want to compare her to one but it seriously is so funny that just like a puppy we've had to get her used to wearing it, and when we are walking a long and she stops, we just give her a little tug and she keeps moving. 

 I must admit she is by far the cutest little leash wearer ever!

Her hair is finally long enough to curl with a curling iron!

I was making dinner, and when I turned around I saw this.

Good thing Clara is such a good sport!

Eating chocolate off a spoon.

It doesn't get better than that!

Trying to be romantic and all I made Michael and I some chocolate strawberries to share later that night.

Well I obviously need some help in the dipping department, but they still tasted amazing.

And that's all that matters right?!

Kissy faces!

Well hello there baby Clara!

Someone knows exactly how to eat a trail mix :)

Remember my story about the bed bugs?

Well look at her little face.

Stupid bugs.

Thankfully they have healed perfectly but it was sure difficult not to get her to scratch them.

The three little kittens that lost their mittens!

I love this nightgown.

The twins wore it, Olivia wore it, and now Clara wears it.

What the heck mom?!

I love this face.

Beyond excited about the rain! 

I can't stay I felt the same:)

Kisses.

Clara is obviously not thrilled about it.

She's probably hungry or something.

I love this picture.

Olivia is such a good big sister and is so good about taking care of Clara.

I'm so glad we had two girls first.

Sisters are truly the best!

Olivia is quite serious about the way she lines up her "my ya pos."

I find it rather cute.

Stay tuned for more fun!

Oh my gosh, I promise I am never getting this far behind again:)