The year so far

I didn't think I had much to post about until I saw all these pictures.  I can't believe we are already into February of 2013.  I hate to keep saying that time flies but it really truly does the older you get.  I'm just going to blog about every picture.  

 Xander can really crack us up sometimes.  He is to that age where imagination really takes over.  It's amazing what kind of stuff they come up with.  He put on this hat one day and told me that he was a character from some game.  Jeremiah lets him play games sometimes on his phone and our tablet devices.  We try to keep that limited but it definitely keeps him entertained and distracted so we can get stuff done.  

 Our house has not been immune from all the germs flying around this winter.  Poor Wesley has been dealing with some sickness.  He has wanted some extra cuddles.  This is me taking advantage of cuddle time.  

 Happy 33rd birthday to Jeremiah!  It's tough getting older but it has to happen.  If you aren't getting older it's probably because you are dead?  I have a favorite quote now that helps ease the pain of getting older, "Getting older is a privilege denied to many."  That quote is a great reminder to me that so many are taken from this life too soon and I have this chance to live my life and I feel like I have done so much and come so far.  Jeremiah has also come very far in his life.  I am proud of my husband and how much he does for us.  I know he has greatly exceeded the expectations of those whom he grew up with.  On his birthday we dropped the kids off at daycare so we could have a day date.  We got massages, I looked on horrified as Jeremiah ate a lobster for lunch and then we played like kids at Boondocks.  We have the whole laser tag room to ourselves twice!  

 Up on a mountain snowboarding!!!

 Gorgeous view from the mountain while snowboarding. 

 Some of these pictures are from a trip to Snowbasin.  I love to snowboard and Jeremiah snow skis.  We met my parents up at the resort.  We took the kids up in the gondola ski lift and they got to watch us go down the mountain.  It was a beautiful day to get some "skiboarding" done.  I would love to go more but it is so expensive.  We might try to go one more time before the season ends.  

 I made Wesley a Batman hat because he is obsessed with that super hero lately.  Xander was jealous so I had to crochet him a hat as well.  They look so cute as my two little Batmen!  

We have had a lot of snow this winter.  I made the kids go outside and we had fun making snow angels.  It's so easy to get cabin fever!  I'm just counting down the weeks when winter will go away!  

We have fun times ahead.  In less than 2 weeks we will be in Disneyland.  The month after that trip Jerry and I are flying to Texas to go on a cruise to Cozumel.  I can't wait for these fun trips!  

Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012 came and went.  It is now the ghost of Christmas past.  I knew it would be gone quickly.  It was a good Christmas.  Both Xander and Wesley are old enough to have some comprehension of the holidays and build up some excitment when they come around.  You love the holidays as a child.  They are magical and fun.  When you become an adult they lose the magic until you have kids of your own to share them with.  You get to live through their excitement.  It's a good holiday if they are having a good holiday.  On Christmas Eve we decorated sugar cookies and left a plate out for Santa.  Jerry showed the kids a Santa tracker to let them know he was on the way.  Once they were safely in bed we put out the presents from Santa and filled their stockings.  They  had a good time opening their presents the next morning.  They were upset when they ran out of presents to unwrap.  We assured them that there would be a second Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We drove over there in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day eating food and unwrapping presents.  I did my best to emphasize that we are celebrating the birth of Christ and I hope to do better with teaching them in the years to come. 

I really can't believe it is already 2013.  I aim to make it a good year.  Jerry will be turning 33 at the end of this month.  (What an old man!)  I have no room to speak since I will finally enter my 30's in October.  I'm not prepared to be an old lady!  Where did my 20's go?  Februrary marks 10 years that Jerry and I started dating.  In March we will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary.  We have two awesome trips already planned for the year.  We are going to Disneyland at the end of February!  The kids are super excited.  I think they will both have an awesome time.  If my family pulls through with babysitting in March, Jerry and I will be going on a cruise to Cozumel.  I'm looking forward to some good trips and fond memories. 

I'm still adjusting to my new work schedule.  I work every Wednesday and Friday in the evening.  I think I like it, but I don't like having two days where I don't see my hubby.  I guess we have to do what we can to keep the money coming in and paying the bills.  I do get to spend time with my kids everyday.  I'm with them every single morning.  We always have weekends off together too.  I'm glad I can attend church every Sunday.  I'm finally off the 7on/7off roller coaster.

 Temple square lights

 Christmas lights in Layton

 Our Sugar cookie creations

 Wesley getting sugared up

Santa Came!!!

 Second Christmas

 Mike and Kristen

 

A race and then some turkey

After consuming turkey and skipping nap time

 Hanging out with family

 My little bro ran the 5K and I did the 10K

 Before the race

I knew I would probably be consuming lots of calories on Thanksgiving, so when I saw that there was a Turkey 10K that morning I had to sign up.  One of my New Year's resolutions was to run at least one 10K this year.  This last race was actually my 5th 10K and I am hooked.  I'm hooked on the runners high, the competition and challenging myself.  Next year I will probably make it a goal to run a half marathon.  I'm a little scared about this distance but I know I can build up my endurance for a race like this.  I did really well with my turkey 10K.  My finish time was a new PR, 47:30.  I took first in my age group and got to take home a pie to eat with my Thanksgiving feast.   

 

It has really been a year of races for me.  This last race was my 9th.  I just love the feeling once you cross the finish line.  I have had moments in every single race where I worried if I could finish but I am happy to say that I have finished every single one.  I am very grateful that I have been blessed with this healthy body.  I have always been healthy but now that I'm 50 pounds lighter than 2 years ago I feel so free.  I feel so much better about myself.  I hope to keep up my healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life so I can just enjoy life to the fullest without physical limitations. 

 

I am very grateful for my family.  My kids keep me busy and can be a challenge but I know they are a blessing and there is a reason why I was meant to be their mommy.  I am grateful for my husband Jerry.  I can't believe we have known each other for over 10 years now.  We will be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary next year.  I am grateful to be a member of the LDS church.  Without my faith I feel like I would be so lost.  It was a good Thanksgiving.  I'm so glad I have a new job and I know I will not have to work on holidays anymore! 



Trick or treat

I need to hurry and make a post about Halloween before too much times goes by.  When Halloween is over I know Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before I can catch a breath.  The kids really enjoyed the holiday.  Xander was Spiderman and Wesley was Yoda.  When they were dressed up I could only call them by Spiderman or Yoda, not Xander and Wesley.  They are both old enough now to go trick or treating around the neighborhood.  We took them out for a couple hours in the evening. 

I don't know if it's a saying or a theory, but sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.  This will apply to my career.  I have been seeking a way to go part-time, but it has taken a couple years to find something that works.  It is very difficult to find a part-time job in my field.  I finally found a part-time job with my company.  I will be going from 7on/7off to two 10 hour shifts every week.  I have given up my day shifts for the evenings.  The plus is that I will be with my kids every single morning and that I only have to work twice a week.  I will get to be off every weekend and every holiday that falls during the days that I work.  The real downside is that I will be gone two nights a week.  There will be two nights every week that I don't get to spend time with Jerry.  I'm sure we will find a way to make it work.  I will be training full-time for the next 3-4 weeks and I will be gone every single evening M-F.  I am not looking forward to this.  I really hope it works out okay.  I think this new switch was a good idea but sometimes I have my doubts.  It is kind of a sacrifice because I was moving up in my career and now I'm stepping back.  I'm doing this for my kids though.  Here's to some crazy weeks ahead...

Crochet!!!

 Star hot pads

 Train Hat

 Owl Hat

 Sock Monkey Hat

 Owl and Minnie Mouse Hat

 Angry Birds Hats

For those who don't know, I learned how to crochet when I was pregnant with Wesley and I have been hooked (pun intended) since then.  I'm always looking for fun projects.  Lately I have had a lot of fun making hats for my kids and some friends.  I just recently took a new job at work and will be moving down the career ladder instead of up.  I'm going part-time in hopes of being with my kids more, at least while they are young.  I would love to build up an inventory and start a shop, probably on Etsy just to earn a little money on the side and because this is something that I really enjoy.  If you like any of the hats, or see something you would like me to make then let me know.  Send me an email to jerandelis@gmail.com.

The pumpkin monster rises!

At Lagoon

 Wesley at Black Island Farms

 The kids riding a train

Waiting in line for The Fear Factory

The kids met a friend at the straw maze 

Jeremiah did it again, pulled off another great pumpkin monster.  This all started in Halloween 2010 and he is been creating masterpieces for 3 years in a row.  The day of Halloween is not necessarily the most exciting.  It just means a bunch of children will be stopping by wanting candy.  It's the weeks leading up to Halloween that are fun.  We have done so many fun things already.  At the end of September Jerry and I finally went to The Fear Factory in SLC (http://fearfactoryslc.com/).  I love spook alleys.  I don't know when I started loving them, but it has always been fun for me to run around getting chased by monsters every Halloween season.  We have season passes to Lagoon and have been going to Frightmares (http://www.lagoonpark.com/attractions/frightmares).  The kids love the spook alleys for kids and the monster shows.  I think our kids are going to grow up loving Halloween as much as Jerry and I do.  We have also been out to Black Island Farms where they  have a fun courtyard full of fun slides and the corn mazes (http://www.blackislandfarms.com/).  This last Saturday we decided to check out a straw maze at the Tri City Nursery in Kaysville (http://www.facebook.com/Tricitystrawmaze).  We all had a lot of fun. This maze had tunnels and hidden areas where you had to find all the shaped hole punchers that corresponded to the pictures that they gave you on a card.  I know the weather will soon take a turn for the cold and stay that way, but for now we are enjoying some really fair weather.