We Are a Happy Family!

Yes. We are alive, and yes, I have been a slacker at blogging. I will make no excuses, but enjoy these amazing pictures of our beautiful family! My sister took them. She is great! Here is her website: http://cristinelson.com

I am so in love with my kiddos right now! They are a handful, but each one of them has so much personality, and I am just totally enjoying being with them!!

Bradley has been doing really well in school, and he has been such a big help around the house lately. Now, if only I could get him to comb his hair! He wants to look like Harry Potter, "but with blonde hair!" Ha ha ha . . . He is reading the Harry Potter books for the 2nd time now, and he loves them. He also loves legos and his Dad!

Speaking of Wes - I am currently a single wife and mom again. Wes left last week for training, and he won't even be here for Christmas! It is not a deployment (thank goodness). He got a new job as a federal police officer. We are very excited for this new opportunity for our family, but it's going to be rough without him.

What can I say about this little munchkin? He is an absolutely adorably little terror!! Ha ha ha . . . He is almost 18 months old, and I can barely keep up with him. He loves his brothers and his sister. He loves bubbles and balls. He also likes candy, a lot! He hasn't started walking yet, but he is getting there. He started taking a few steps just a couple days after Wes left. :( His favorite things to do right now are throw anything he can get his hands on, and he also likes to grab anything within his reach - not a good combination when Christmas shopping at Walmart. :)

Halley is our little princess. She is also very good at telling everyone what to do. I backed my chair up into Sydney tonight, and she promptly told me that I needed to watch where my feet are so I don't run into people or dogs. She loves pink and purple. She cannot wait for her birthday - which is not until April . . . For Christmas she asked for "a Dora that can go on the ceiling." For her birthday she wants, "a real horse that she can ride on." We'll see. I love this little girl!

Connor is growing up so fast. He is loving 1st grade! He loves to play pretty much any game with Bradley. He still tells me all the time how much he loves me and that I am beautiful. It just melts my heart. He loves to please people. He has made my bed for me three days in a row! I love his positive attitude and willingness to please!

She's my girl!

The boys!

I am so in love with Wes! I kept telling him before he left that he had to stop being so wonderful or it would be even harder when he's gone. I was right!! He was always helping me do the dishes, put the kids to bed, and he always took out the garbage. (I hate that job!) He also has always been so willing to watch the kids while I go to mutual activities or run errands or just hang out with friends! I love my husband!!!!!Sorry for the massively long post, but I just wanted to make sure everyone can see how amazing our family is!! We truly are a happy family!!

An Early Christmas

Wes was not here for Christmas so we had an early Christmas celebration with the kids the night before he left. Looking through these pictures today (Mar. 20) was totally fascinating. I cannot believe how much the kids have grown up in the last few months. Halley's hair is short now so it's weird to see her with long hair!
We got each of the kids one present to open, but for some reason most of these pictures ended up being of Dallin.He got a broom and dustpan. They are still some of his favorite toys!We got Wes a little DVD player to take with him. He uses it all the time!While we were getting everything wrapped, Dallin decided to pack himself in Wes' suitcase. He wanted to go with Daddy to training. :)I had forgotten that Dallin always had his mouth open when he was this age. It was his way of showing emotion.

Total and Complete Randomness

I'm not even going to try to explain these pictures. I think most of them were taken by Bradley on a random day at home in October. Enjoy the craziness of our family!

The end!

Sorry for the massive amount of pictures. I just like capturing all the little moments of silliness we have around here.

That's My 3!!

In the last few months Halley has learned that her name starts with an "H." Since her birthday was a couple weeks ago, we taught her the number 3. Now everywhere we go she says, "That's my H!" or "There's my 3!"
Anyway, so here are the pics from her three year old birthday. The party lasted a few days because we had to do one with Daddy before he left, one with my side of the family, and a few on her actual birthday. We also celebrated with Wes' parents, but I totally forgot my camera!
You will notice there is a lot of pink in these pictures. That's because when I asked Halley what she wanted for her birthday she said, "Pink." I said, "You want something pink for your birthday?" And she replied with, "Yah, 1, 2 pink." Uh, ok. So we did some pink stuff. :)
The first pictures are from her birthday breakfast with Daddy.This is her blowing out her candles on her pink coffee cake.
When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday breakfast she said, "Princesses." Ha ha ha . . The funny thing is, I don't think she really cares about pink or princesses, but her brothers tell her all the time those are the things girls are supposed to like.I love these kids!Here is her pink big wheel that we actually bought on Black Friday last year. She was very excited. I'm not sure if she'll really be able to ride it yet, but we'll see. She is a very determined little girl!
Here are a couple from at my parents' house:My sister got her this cute pink hat. I love that Dallin is in attack mode behind her!And here is her classic picture face the past little while. Gotta love it!
Her actual birthday:Gotta love that face, especially with her nice morning hair!
Here are the boys on their sista's birthday!Opening yet another pink gift . . .
My other sister whose on her mission sent her this adorable little baby. She was so excited!And, last, but not least, singing "Happy Birthday" with Daddy on the phone the night of her birthday.
I cannot believe she is THREE!! She has grown up so much in the past few months. I had a lot of people asking me if she was turning four. I can't wait to watch her learn and grow more over this next year. I LOVE my HALLEY!