My MaSoN

So last week was a big week for my Mason and I... Ryan was out of town for the week and Mason and I just were not meshing, thus there were many disagreements. Whenever I have a week like that with one of my children I try to look back and understand my part in the whole thing, needless to say its usually me that is at the root of the problem. Even though he is bored and needs spring to come I feel like I am not being the positive influence in his life as opposed to being a mommy nag. So this entry is my repentance as I write about 2 funny experiences that happened to him. (and I can regroup as a mom and focus on the positive)! First off he comes home from school one day and says to me, "Mom I hope you are proud of me and not mad." so I say "OK... tell me what's going on." He then explains that his friend Walker was being picked on by a 6th grade girl by the swings so he remembered that Ry and I have taught him to be a protector of those who need help. He also remembers that we have taught him that if he needs help with something to say a prayer in his head for help. So he says a prayer in his head and Heavenly Father gives his muscles extra strength so he can flip this girl over and save his friend. Apparently he was a hero! How do you respond to that? Good concepts were applied but beating up girls, 6th grade or not... well what do you say!!! I think I just laughed and told him good job for being a good friend!
He has had a loose tooth now for about a month and has been afraid to wiggle it for fear of blood and pretty much his whole head coming off. But on Friday night he was eating a carrot and all the sudden out comes his tooth. He comes running in to show me and Ryan... no tears, no blood, no drama! Thank goodness. So the Tooth Fairy was way too generous that night and now he is not so scared for the next time! YAH!
All in all he is wonderful and makes me smile daily, I love squeezing him when he gets home from school and tucking him in at night with lots of cuddles. His freckles on his nose are adorable and his smile lights up the room. And I definitely need some of his energy! I am a lucky mom!

MY VALENTINE

Don't I just have the hottest hubby! I definitely married up. I have to say that it is really not fair that he gets better looking with age and I don't! Seriously, even the gray sparkles in his beard are hot! We had a great Valentines weekend! Friday night Ryan's parents took the kids to a play in Provo called , Go Dog Go!, which they loved and had a great time at. So Ryan and I took advantage of a quiet house and put Claire down a little early and made a wonderful steak dinner just for the two of us, complete with Chocolate Lava Cake! YUM!!! It was so fun and romantic just to focus on the two of us and cook together and laugh and play! It was really nice to be home and send the kids out for a change. On Saturday we had a babysitter in the afternoon so we went to a movie and lunch, he even let me have my choice! So of course I choose a chick flick, Confessions of a Shopaholic! (which applied more to him than me. HAHAHA) He was a good sport and we had a lot of fun! We gave the kids a little Valentine treat and toy and of course had more Chocolate Lava Cake with them and really enjoyed the day!
I love this holiday, I love that we can take a day a celebrate the love that we have for each other. We usually go pretty simple but always sweet and we have a lot of great memories on this day. He always spoils me, and I must admit that I love it and look forward to it! He is an incredible husband! When we got married our sealer told him to "Fuss over me", Ryan has never forgotten that and has always followed that advice. He adores me and I adore him. There is nobody who knows me better, who makes me laugh harder, and who I have more fun with. I am so lucky to have married my best friend! We have a wonderful foundation and are building a wonderful life together. He is truly the patriarch of our home and somebody who I am happy to follow! I LOVE YOU RY! THANKS FOR AN INCREDIBLE LIFE!!!
MAJOR MILESTONES: Claire finally had her first tooth break through. We knew it had to be coming soon, my little drool queen! It was a little rough, but she did great!

What's your sign?

A week or so ago Ryan received an email about all of our signs. It was interesting to read them and be surprised about how right they were in a lot of areas, not all, but quite a bit. It gave us a good laugh and some insight to eachother. And although my kids may be very different in some areas, they all have one thing in common: they have big nice and compassionate hearts!

MASON-GEMINI - The Chatterbox (May 21 - June 20) Smart and witty. Outgoing, very chatty. Lively, energetic. Adaptable but needs to express themselves. Argumentative and outspoken. Like change. Versatile. Busy, sometimes nervous and tense. Gossips. May seem superficial or inconsistent. Beautiful physically and mentally. (:So we aren't quite sure about the change part yet, although he does like to keep busy with a lot of different things and hasn't been afraid to try something new. And the gossip and superficial part we have yet to discover about him. But most everything else is on target)

ISABELLA-PISCES - The Dreamer (Feb 19 - Mar 20) Generous, kind, and thoughtful. Very creative and imaginative. May become secretive and vague. Sensitive. Don't like details. Dreamy and unrealistic. Sympathetic and loving. Kind. Unselfish. Good kisser. Beautiful (:The good kisser part is one we are afraid of! We are not yet sure of the details part and being unrealistic. But everything else is a good description of out Ella!)



CLAIRE-VIRGO - The Perfectionist (Aug 23 - Sept 22) Dominant In relationships. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to. Hard to please. Harsh. Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic. (:Even though she is just a baby I can see alot of this in her, she definitely does not like noise and chaos, fussy and beautiful. But in reading this I didn't feel like it was too far off!)


CAMILLE-LEO - The Boss (July 23 - Aug 22) Very organized. Need order in their lives - like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Likes to help others. Social and outgoing. Extroverted. Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of the themselves. Loving. Doing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive. (:I wish I was organized, its in me somewhere. I try not to be full of myself, so hopefully that's not true and I wish I was more creative!)

RYAN-TAURUS - The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20) Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard - passionate. Express themselves emotionally... Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often.. Very generous. (:Ryan is definitely not boring, he keeps things interesting. But they nailed everything else!)

MAJOR MILESTONE AND QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Parent/teacher conf. was this week for Mason. Mrs Johnson said about him,"That he was one of her favorites! If she gives him a job to do he always does it perfectly!" She is an amazing teacher. we feel very blessed this year to have her. He is on a level 14 of reading (the benchmark is 10), he is awesome in math and science and of course enjoys lunch and recess to the fullest extent! This has been a great year so far in school. Thank goodness for great teachers. We are proud of you Mas keep up the great work!

DaDDy DadDy DAddY!

I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband who totally adores his children! When he gets home from work his way of relaxing and unwinding is playing with his kids! And believe me I really think he is better than I am at doing that! He is really silly, fun, and creative,(maybe thats because I don't think he really matured past the age of 8 or so...hahaha). So a quote I hear a lot lately is, "No, I want daddy to do it." or "When is daddy coming home?" or "When can daddy play with us?" In the past two weeks Ryan and Mason have gone on 3 daddy dates, They have been to 2 movies, and they also were able to go to the open house of the Draper Temple together (Ella and I were sick and couldn't go, but we will). Mason really enjoyed going with his dad, they had a special time in the celestial room and Mason was able to grow closer to His Heavenly Father. Mason's favorite part were seeing the Oxen at the baptismal font. Ryan and Mason love playing cards together (a night time ritual), playing catch in the backyard, video games, drawing, and the list goes on. Now Ry and Ella have found a special thing they like to do together...cook! She loves to help her daddy in the kitchen and he is so patient with her and lets her do all sorts of things that her mom just does not have the patience for. Their favorite thing to make is , of course, CUPCAKES! (Ella's favorite thing on earth). So this last week I think they made them 2 or 3 times! They had a blast. She also loves his crazy bedtime stories and dancing with him! I really am a lucky woman. He is the best daddy ever!



So also this last Sunday was Superbowl Sunday! The reciepe for us to have a good day is, great food, good commercials, family, and a good game! And I think we had all of those except the commercials were sort of lame this year we thought... a few good ones but not enough! But we did have awesome food and a really good game, even though we were rooting for the Cardinals, it was exciting! We had a good fun times, I think I gained 5lbs just that night!

Auntie Ally and Claire


Mason and Ella in the cheetos


Mas and Uncle Seanny


We look tired!


Ry and His Mom
MAJOR MILESTONES: Just a silly one this week but Claire has found her toes, it is so cute! they are her new favorite toy besides watching her bro and sis be goofy!