Storybook Land.

A few of my friends had talked about a place in Albany called Storybook land.

And so since my mom was here we decided to go check it out.

It was darling.

They had little set ups for literally every story you can think of.

From The 3 little pigs, to Humpty Dumpty, to all the princess and disney stories.

We were all freaking out.

And at the end of walking through there is a place to see Santa.

Olivia was beyond excited because she knew just want she wanted to talk to him about.

The line was a little long but with some hot chocolate and cinnamon/sugar covered almonds we survived quite nicely.

I knew Olivia was going to be fine sitting on Santa's lap but Clara... well it was pretty much guaranteed that she would burst out bawling.

But I had to make her do it anyway.

It's all about the pictures :)

Now off to Utah we go!

The Nutcracker.

Olivia has been in ballet since September.

And she absolutely loves it.

So when she found out that she would get to be a snowflake in the studio's production of The Nutcracker, she completely freaked out.

And let's be honest, I did too, because how flipping cute is that?!

So, we practiced a lot at home, went to a dress rehearsal the weekend before, got our tickets, and planned how we were going to do her hair and makeup.

The night of her first performance arrived and I had put sponge curlers in her hair in the morning and planned to take them out right before we left.

Well as I did this I noticed that they were about as tight of curls as you can get. We're talking worse than Shirley Temple tight. Like little spirals completely smashed to her head tight. So when she first looked at herself in the mirror, her face was beyond priceless. She looked so confused and disgusted ha. And was like, "I don't like this." And that was when I completely lost it. I was laughing so hard I could barely get out the words to explain to Michael her reaction when she saw her hair. Being the sweet dad he is, he tried not to laugh so that it wouldn't make Olivia feel bad, but I was dying. And could not stop. But it's okay, because with a little gel we were able to pull them out and loosen them quite a bit. 

I did her makeup and she was so excited about this. She has watched her aunt's and mom put on their makeup and so she was so excited that she was finally getting a turn to wear it!

Her first performance went perfectly. She was as cute as can be.

Michael, me, and Clara all attended that night. I spent a lot of time out in the hall with Clara since I would get to see the performance again the following night. 

But I did sneak in at the end to catch Michael with tears in his eyes because he was so proud of Olivia.

It completely melted my heart.

So my mom drove all the way up here just to see her perform on the second night.

Olivia was beyond excited about this.

So we took our seats and when it came time for Olivia's turn to dance she did so good and literally curtseyed her way of the stage. 

And then at the end when all the performers bow and her little group came on she would not stop curtseying. When they tried to get her to sit down she would just stand back up and keep curtseying.
She probably curtseyed a grand total of 50 times.

My mom and I were dying because it reminded us so much of The Sound of Music.

Watching my Olivia perform was with out a doubt one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

I am so proud of her and so excited that she has found something that she loves to do.

We are looking forward to many more performances to come!

We ordered a dvd of her performance but still haven't gotten it yet, so hopefully within the next couple weeks I'll be able to post her actual performance!

Sick little ones.

Those of you who know me well know that I am definitely a germ freak.

Especially when it comes to my littles getting sick.

Olivia probably went to nursery a grand total of 2 times and Clara, well she hasn't been yet and probably won't ever go.

I hear things all the time, like, "Oh they'll be fine," "You can't protect them from everything,""Germs will help build their immune systems," Blah blah blah.

But seriously I am the mom that wipes down the carts and high chairs we use in public with my disinfectant wipes and mini can of lysol, I carry hand sanitizer around everywhere. We are definitely cautious around other people especially if I spot someone that is sick. It's happened at the playground before and we could not have gotten out of there faster. I NEVER let Olivia touch anything in public restrooms. So I practically make her sit there with her hands in the air ha. I know I may be a little extreme and I am totally okay with that. But when my sweet littles get sick, even with something as simple as a basic cold or runny nose they nearly land themselves in the hospital.

Olivia has been diagnosed with Asthma and Clara is still too young to be technically diagnosed (they wait until 2 or 3) but her pediatrician has been treating her like she has it. 

For those of you who have children with asthma, you know what I am talking about, but it is scary. 

We hardly sleep at nights for fear they will stop breathing, and watching their little chests move up and down with difficulty is so very hard to watch. There are multiple doctor visits with each episode, lots of medications and breathing treatments. It's really a big deal.

And the only time my girl's ever struggle with asthma is when they get any type of cold.

So if I can prevent them from getting one, I most definitely will.

That being said, they don't live in a bubble but we are very cautious about where we take them and who they are around.

Their doctor highly recommended we stay very aware of who is sick, keep them out of day care (which they aren't in) so the equivalent of that is nursery. And on top of that the girls get 4 doses through an inhaler every single day to try and help prevent their asthma from flaring up and strengthen their little lungs. They will be on this medication at least through the end of March.

And despite all my efforts they still of course get sick.

And way too much for my liking. But I can't imagine how much worse it would be if I wasn't protective.

So we are hoping the worst is over this season and that these littles of mine can stay healthy!

One night, around the beginning of December in the middle of the night, I heard Clara start to cry so I went in to check on her. She had had a light runny nose the day before but nothing serious at all. But when I went in there, I could hear her struggling. Her little chest was working so hard. I immediately put her in the car and took her to the emergency room. She was rushed back and given some medication and treatments that thankfully helped her relax. But oh my gosh it was so scary. 

I remember being in the hospital for 1 straight week with Olivia because of a simple cold that triggered her asthma. 

Thankfully we have been able to prevent that from happening with Clara because we know what to look for now and have medication at home to help.

But seriously no more hospital visits!

Of course we all know that when one child gets sick so do the rest.

So here are my littles the morning Clara got home from the hospital.

Boy are we praying that they grow out of this. And fast!

Thanksgiving break.

We spent Thanksgiving with Michael's family in Washington this year.

And as usual we had the best time!

We made it up just in time for Michael to prep the turkey for the following day.

I'll let the pictures do most of the telling but I do need to give a little background on how Michael found his passion for cooking.

He started watching Gordon Ramsey (the chef that does Hell's Kitchen) don't ask me why cause we all know he is a little out there ha but for some reason he just "spoke" to Michael.

Michael looked up videos on how to make a creamy scrambled egg which is 10 times better than just regular scrambled eggs. After he mastered that he started obsessing over Thanksgiving dishes. Mostly the turkey and the gravy. So he was determined to make the turkey and gravy this year.

Let me just say that he definitely succeeded!

I'm not going to lie, his new passion for cooking is definitely going to benefit me in so many ways.

Here are the pictures of our Thanksgiving.

We had such a fabulous weekend.

Michael prepping the turkey the night before.

How cute is he?!

He was very proud of the finished product.

And it wasn't easy, he checked it every 30 minutes so that he could baste it with butter.

Haha I just have to laugh because I never would have guessed Michael had a talent for cooking.

No offense love!

How good does this gravy look?!

The Thanksgiving set up.

Two of the greatest blessings that Michael and I have been given are our Olivia and Clara.

They are our world.

And there just aren't words to describe our gratefulness for the sweet spirit they bring in to our family.

Clara was excited she got to be in a snap chat picture with aunt Rachel!

Playing some games on their tablets.

I love that Olivia is playing a makeup game.

She is definitely her aunt's Sophia and Jill's niece!

Michael and I were able to take Olivia to see the new movie Penguins of Madagascar.

She loved it.

(I loved the popcorn, and Michael loved the pop ha).

Then we got to visit aunt Rachel at work.

She works at a local nursery and they had a little set up where the kids could write a letter to Santa.

Olivia found that play dough castle in an ad and carried it around everywhere so that she could show Santa!

Clara and I helped grandma find a wreath and also searched for some mistletoe. Which sadly, they didn't have yet.

On Sunday morning before church Rachel started practicing some pieces and the girls started right in dancing!

But seriously, I love them so much!

It doesn't get better than a happy Clara in the bath tub!

Most of the things I am grateful for are found right in my very home. I am so grateful for each cute little person in my family and for all the things I learn each day from them. Hope, patience, forgiveness, repentance, kindness, unconditional love, charity, faith, laughter, goofiness, and I could go on. The bottom line is that I am blessed beyond words. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fun times in November.

Since I take so many pictures, I always have those ones that don't belong to any particular post. So I just combine them in to one post that pretty much sums up all the fun we have!

Here are November's.

This is how we get a lot of our house work done during the day.

I love wearing her as much as she loves being carried I think.

Thank goodness for slings!

Just a little afternoon reading.

"God bless us, every one." 

I posted this on instagram with the following description. I couldn't help but share, because we all have "those" days.

It was just one of those days.  Daddy had class late, my littles decided to dump out all my shampoo and fill it back up with water, Olivia was just in her sassy little mood and took most of it out on Clara, making her extremely fussy, and to finish the night off after baths Clara peed on the floor and tracked it all over the place.  Thankfully daddy came home and took over cleaning the kitchen and such while I pretty much crashed. Being a mom is hard work but it is also the most wonderful thing in the world.  I feel so blessed that I get to stay home with my little girls every day and snuggle, play, and giggle because they grow up much too quickly and I want to enjoy every single moment. 

(But I am grateful for a good nights sleep.)

My two squishy littles as cute as can be in the tub.

Toby is back. 

And although he doesn't usually bring gifts, he did tonight because the best way to start of the Christmas season is with a new Christmas movie and book!

Rocking my Clara to sleep.

I am a germ freak (but I'll save that for another post) however, I did manage to let loose just a little and take my littles to the local bounce house so that they could bounce those wiggles out on a very rainy day.

Busting out my Christmas cards during Clara's nap.

Thankfully, I had some chocolate to keep me motivated.

Happy November!

Michael's 28th birthday.

Celebrating birthdays is truly the best.

And this year for Michael's 28th we had a complete blast. Sadly, there are hardly any pictures to show our fun so words will have to do for this one.

Michael and I asked a girl from our ward to come babysit so that we could have a night out on the town.

We put our littles to bed and excitedly rushed out the door to our first stop.

Olive Garden.

It was amazing, especially the slice of pumpkin cheesecake we shared at the end.

After dinner we went to the arcade hoping to find the ninja turtle game, but we had no luck so we spent our tokens having a contest with the bowling lanes, air hockey, and some weird hunting game. 

And since we just weren't ready to go home yet, we decided to head next door and play a game of miniature golf.

I was determined to beat him this time since I have always gotten so close.

And guess what? I did!

(Don't look too closely at the score card because apparently I added them up wrong. So according to the score card it says we tied but there has to be some mistake. So I am still saying I won! :))

The next day (because we like our birthday celebrations to drag on), I made him his favorite chocolate chip cookie bar cake. And thankfully, he managed to blow out all 28 candles so here's to hoping his wish comes true!

Enjoy the 3 pictures we have of his special day :)

If this sight doesn't make you have a happy birthday, I don't know what will!

Fall in Salem is simply stunning, and the Willamette campus...well there just aren't words.

This picture was taken right outside the law building.

We (speaking for our littles as well) are so grateful for Michael.

He is pretty much the best!

Gym

I have been wanting to get a gym pass for quite sometime now and I am pleased to say that I finally did!

Michael and I found 3 mornings a week that I could go while he watched the littles.

So far I haven't missed a day!

Being cooped up in the house all day with two littles and only one car can be pretty tough sometimes, so I am so happy that I get to get out (BY MYSELF) and do something that makes me feel pretty amazing!

Here's to reaping all the benefits of working out!

Halloween weekend.

Halloween was extra special this year because we were able to spend it up in Washington with the Mickelsons and with Michael's grandparents Papa and Nana Brooks.

We started off Halloween by going to lunch at Abby's pizza with the family and then came home to start preparing for the Halloween festivities.

We chose a Cinderella theme.

Well actually Olivia did. She assigned Michael to be Bruno, Clara to be Guss Guss, herself to be Cinderella, and me to be Lucifer. (Haha I'm thinking I be should concerned that I was assigned the mean guy of the bunch!"

For dinner we had little "boo" dogs or mummy dogs, pumpkin pizzas, and chips and guacamole. Dessert was spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and candy of course!

Michael, Rachel, and Sarah took the girls out trick or treating while I pretty much sat in the nice warm house downing milky ways and kit kats.

Clara lasted for a good amount of time and came home with her little bag full of candy which I promptly ate!

Olivia on the other hand was born to trick or treat. That girl brought back quite the collection!

It was so fun having Papa and Nana there. Clara warmed up to Papa pretty fast and would even go up to him so that she could sit on his lap. (He figured out the way to her heart was by letting her play with his phone!)

Michael and I were also able to sneek away on a quick date to get dinner at Red Robin. Which I don't need to go in to details about how nice that was!

Anyway, enough talking. Here are the pictures from our weekend!

Michael Jackson with Cinderella and little Guss Guss.

Heading out to go trick or treating.

Michael carrying on the tradition of going through the littles candy and charging a daddy tax!

Clara and Papa.

This is such a sweet picture.

Olivia loved doing Rachel's hair in an "Elsa braid."

I was sitting in the house and heard footsteps above my head and I knew Michael and his dad were on the roof. But then I heard a little voice...yes, Olivia was up there too. Yikes!

 The girls loved helping Pa pick up all the walnuts that had fallen off the tree into the driveway.

Homecoming weekend was the same weekend as Halloween, and the theme was masquerade. So we got to see Rachel all dressed up for her dance!

She looked gorgeous, and her mask was amazing!

It was a perfect weekend.

We are so blessed to have such a supportive family, extended family included.

Really, we are so blessed.