Random February

We have tried hard to not spoil our kids or make them feel entitled. I think we've done a pretty good job, and then Audrey came along. Not only do we want to provide for her needs (wants) but she also has a big sister that has her own money and insists Audrey needs everything. She keeps buying her stuffed animals that she swears Audrey "needs". This is Peggy Lamacorn that Sarah was sure she needed when we went to Hobby Lobby.

The boys started playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friends, the Crawfords, who live in Lyon France. The time change made it a challenge and they only played three times before giving up.

Audrey loves to take baths and when her big siblings are willing they'll hop in so she can play longer.

Adam decided to dye his hair pink. Turned out pink for sure. :)

My parents came to visit and we took the chance to go skiing with them. It's a rare treat.

Audrey likes to feed herself and it sometimes goes well and sometimes...it's a bit messier. ;)

He's Home!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love having Mike home! We're grateful his deployments aren't long, but even still, five weeks is enough for us. We're glad we can do FaceTime, because Audrey loved talking to him and didn't forget him. When Mike left on a training years ago we took the kids to Build a Bear and they all got to create a bear and Mike recorded a message that was in the bear. Steven's is the only one that still "talks". They played it for Audrey and she would grab the bear and start cuddling it. Very sweet.

One morning Mike noticed that Audrey woke up and started talking to her. She then learned that Dad could talk through the camera. Most times when she wakes up now she stands in front of it saying, "Dada".

Here are some pictures from his trip. We're grateful for his "sacrifice". (It really is, especially since he'd rather be home with us)

Adam's Jr Jazz

Adam started another season of Jr Jazz in early January and Mike was able to be his coach for a few weeks before he deployed. Adam has become a good baller and made one of the first baskets of the season. Adam's friends Daxton and Will were on his team, which made it more fun. Adam says he's going to be an NBA player and buy me a big house, so I fully support his ball playing. ;)

Snow Baby Starley

We had a nice snow storm and the boys took Audrey sledding in front of our house. She was hooked. Her brothers are always so good about taking her outside when they get home. Even though she freezes, she loves to play and eat the snow. One of her favorite treats is eating snow out of the planters. ;)

Audrey loves to be outside. Last year my garden was neglected, since I only had a little bit of free time, but this year is going to be fun since Audrey wants to live outdoors. Not much is as relaxing as playing in the dirt. 

Steven wasn't feeling good, so he lured Audrey into his blanket and snuggled her. She escaped almost immediately since no one can slow her down when she's outside. 

SLC Track Winter series

This year I ran the SLC Winter Series again. It's always cold, but it helps me stay in shape since I have to run. It was a little harder to train this year with Mike gone, but none of the distances were that long. My friend Emily ran it as well, so we got to hang out which made it a lot of fun. 

The 5k was first and I beat my 5k PR by a whopping 17 seconds for a time of 23:40. Not enough to beat anyone, but it was nice to see a little improvement. I plan on training better next year. (Mike isn't allowed to deploy for a while. Says me.) ;) 

The 10k was a couple weeks later. Emily's ankle was acting up from spraining it last year, so I used her as an excuse to just run it and not race it. We had a great time and still managed to get a decent time of 55:45.

The day before Mike was supposed to get home I ran the 15k. I didn't feel like racing it, so I once again used Emily as an excuse to run it and not worry about time. Emily is always faster than me, but since she'd been sick and her ankle hurt, she didn't want to race it. We had a great time talking the whole race. When we finished and noticed our times, we were surprised since we'd actually ran a decent race for a time of 1:24:54. Next year, since we'll both be 40, we plan on racing it. Running these races made me grateful I have a friend like Emily. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We all missed Mike on Valentine's day. Sarah got a marshmallow pillow that Audrey tried to steal, and the boys got cool Mandalorian Lego sets they put together with each other. Audrey got her own Baby Yoda candy apple which we all helped her eat. ;)

I'm the room mom in Adam's class, so Audrey and I got to join in the fun of his class party.

I got to Facetime with this handsome guy. Not the same, but I'm grateful to be a military wife today when I can talk/see him regularly and not need to rely on snail mail letters. (yes, he has awesome bed head since we had quite the time change with him in Guam)