Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Finally!



I am finally getting around to posting pictures from our trip to UT back at the end of March. Here are some pictures from our St. Patrick's Day party at the Power family home. They delayed the party so we could all be together, and we really were ALL there. It was a lot of fun. I am sad this picture with Halley and Wes and me didn't turn out! Wes got half cut out!
We were hoping for some nice spring UT weather, but alas, it was snowy and cold most of the week we were there. Here are the kids collecting their treasures from the leprechauns! Kirsten's girls were so cute with the boys. They spent the whole night trying to find that pesky leprechaun who kept messing things up all around the house. It was so fun to see the boys having such a great time with their cousins!
We also got some great family pictures!

THE BOYS!

THE GIRLS!

THE FAM!
This is one of our favorite traditions in the Power family. In fact, I think a lot of Wes' family looks forward to this more than Christmas. We eat corned beef and cabbage! Yum! Then we always play fun games, and we usually watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People, but this year we were too busy having fun and catching up! Gotta love family traditions!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

One of Those Days . . .

Excuse me while I vent! I'll put in a few random pictures from the past little while just to satisfy the needs of people who don't like to read!
So, Wes has been on a little immersion trip the past couple days. This means he isn't allowed to even speak English at all. Hence, no phone calls or contact from him since early Monday morning. He is gone until tomorrow afternoon, and let me say, it's been a little rough!
For some reason, the kids feel it too. Last night each of the boys woke up at least twice! Then, Halley woke up around 5:00. She wasn't crying or anything, but if she's awake, I am usually not asleep. I think she fell back to sleep around 6:00, but by then I was too stressed to fall back asleep.
Anyway, so today was one of those days. Besides being tired, all the kids were a little extra cranky. I attempted to go shopping with Halley and Connor and ended up a basket case - Connor was touching ANYTHING he could get his hands on and Halley was just ready to be home in her crib! Then, Connor decided to shake the cart all over and Halley banged her face on the cart. GRRRRRR . . .
Ok, so can I just continue on my rant? Thanks!
After Halley's nap I attempted to go on a walk. Well, I guess I succeeded, but Connor cried pretty much the whole way. He fell down about halfway through and decided it was all my fault and that he wanted to go home. I kept trying to tell him we were going home, but to no avail.
Ok, so let's see, I'll skip over the screaming and crying during lunch and the trauma of getting them down for naps. I had a parent meeting to go to at Bradley's school. I think that was the only time today that things were calm.

When we got home we all had a nice snack - pretty uneventful. Then the kids played for awhile and talked to their cousin on the phone. Ok, so dinner, goodness gracious me. Bradley apparently doesn't like Tombstone pizza. I am not kidding when I say he screamed and kicked and yelled and cried for about an hour after he tasted the pizza. Connor, Halley and I had long since finished our meal when Bradley came out of his room, and even then, it took another half hour to get him sane. This is not normal behavior for Bradley. I mean, he is definitely sensitive, but this was crazy.
Apparently the kids need Daddy as much as I do!!!
Anyway, I guess Bradley had a rough day too. He said that one of the girls at school was making fun of him. Then I upset him even more because I didn't make a "good dinner" and wouldn't let him play on the computer.

So, I held Bradley for awhile (that's something I don't get to do very often anymore, so I enjoyed it, even if he was exceptionally emotional). Then I got the kids in bed with a few more tears. Although, I think the boys are still awake, but they aren't out here so it's ok.
When Bradley said his prayer tonight he said, "Please bless me to have a better day tomorrow because I had a really bad day today. Did you know I had a really bad day? Well, I did." Isn't that sweet? I think I'll be saying about the same thing when I head off to bed.
Oh, and when I was leaving and saying goodnight, Bradley says, "Mom, you forgot to say something." I was a little confused so I said, "I love you. Goodnight." He shook his head and said, "No, you need to say sorry." He then went on to explain that I needed to tell him that I am sorry he had a bad day and that I hope his day is better tomorrow. Apparently I had a lot to do with how his day went.
Needless to say, we all survived. Although, I am now wondering how I will possibly be able to survive FIVE MONTHS without Wes. Yikes!! I think I'll just be saying a lot of prayers like Bradley.
I am also going to try to focus more on the positive things in life - like the fact that I just got to type this while watching a beautiful sunset over the OCEAN! That is still crazy to me.
I am also realizing more and more each day how special each of our children are. They have such unique and wonderful personalities. Sometimes I get so frustrated with things, but in all honesty, we have amazing children!
And, I got to talk to my sister a couple times today which is always very helpful because I can forget about myself for awhile.
Oh, and Wes comes home tomorrow. I think that's the best part of it all!
P.S. Most of these pictures are really old. I skipped a few events because I was so far behind. They are cute ones though!

Monday, May 11, 2009

A Big Announcement

I know what everyone is thinking - I am pregnant!! Ha ha ha, nope, that's not it!
Here it is - WE ARE GOING TO BUY A HOUSE! Yah, seriously, we are checking the market right now. Wes' sister is an awesome realtor so we are working with her to try to find something that will work for our family. We are hoping to be able to move straight from here to our house, but in order for that to happen, there will have to be a few miracles! The timing and price will have to work out just right!
Because of this new idea to buy a home, the kids and I will be making a trip out to UT to look at some houses at the end of June. Wes will join us for his 4th of July weekend, and hopefully we'll be able to figure something out by the end of our stay!
Shopping for a house online is an interesting experience! So, if anyone out in UT wants to keep their eyes out for us, that would be great!
Anyway, wish us luck! This is a crazy experience that we have been looking forward to for years!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Outside Adventures

Here are some more fun pictures from back in April. This was one of those nice sunny days when we were able to go out and enjoy our yard. The boys love to play on this hill in our yard. They do all sorts of fun things on this hill - from sliding down on their bums to throwing toys down to just running up and down. One time Bradley attempted to give Connor a ride down the hill in the wagon. That just ended in tears all around. :)


Halley was able to get in some good crawl time too. We also examined the flowers, and she went for a ride on our little airplane!


I had to get a picture of her cute feet too. I have been letting her crawl around barefoot when we are outside. My thinking is that it will prevent her from going too far, but it doesn't really work.

Here is a funny picture that I think Bradley took. Connor is pushing Halley on the little airplane. I just love it because it shows Connor's totally dirty face. Every time we go outside, or anywhere for that matter, Connor seems to end up with a dirty face and hands. It's kind of funny!

Coloring Eggs . . . and Hands



So, here are the pictures from our adventure with coloring Easter eggs. We had a lot of fun - Connor especially. Look at the concentration on these faces. They loved coloring on the eggs with crayons and also putting rubber bands around them. I should have taken a picture with their finished projects, but oh well.
Here is Halley hanging out with Daddy. She got bored of playing on the floor.
I love Daddy!
I also love to play this game with Daddy!
Hey, that's mine!
Yes! I got it!
And here is the end result. Connor's hands were very colorful! It took a few baths to get them clean!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Easter Sunday

We had a pretty good Easter. I think the kids enjoyed it. I enjoyed dressing them all up, doing their hair and getting cute pictures. It was actually kind of a hard day for Wes and me. Holidays always make us a little homesick, but besides it being a holiday we had just gotten back a week ago from our trip so we were already missing everyone AND we were all kind of sick!
We had fun though! Here are the kids with their Easter baskets.

Bradley was obviously very excited about his candy!
I love Connor's face in this picture.

We call this a Brother Hug!!

Duh-duh-duh-duh! (Can you hear the music in your head?)
AND NOW FOR THE CUTE EASTER SUNDAY DRESS UP PICTURES:
Yet again there are so many cute ones, I can't decide which ones to post so I'll post a bunch of them!


Just so you know, Halley does have two legs! We just didn't notice she was sitting on one leg until after we had taken all the pictures! He he he . . . She is still absolutely adorable!
Aren't these the most handsome boys ever?
Aren't we a cute family?