Memorial Day 2013

We had a very nice Memorial Day. We started our morning off by attending our Boy Scouts Memorial Day Pancake Breakfast. They do such a nice job. Not only do they serve breakfast, but they raise the flag, someone performs the national anthem, they have a fly over and a speaker. It's a really nice event for our community that also benefits the Boy Scouts.

This year there were 3 WWII planes that did the fly over. The boys especially loved this. Mason was mad that the planes didn't come back after they flew over a second time to return to their base. He kept telling me that he wanted the planes back.

 The other really fun part about going to the breakfast is spending time with friends. Jensen and his cute friend Taven had a delicious breakfast together. :)

 The boys also got to spend the day at Grandma Brudnicki's playing and doing crafts. We also had a BBQ there with some of their friends as well.

When we came home we had a Family Home Evening about my Grandpa, First Lieutenant Perry D. Jensen, who served in WWII and the Korean War. We read some of his experiences which he recorded about some of his flights. The boys loved the story about how he had to crash land his plane once on a small island beach and wait for a helicopter to pick him up. (This was one of the stories I remember him telling me as a teenager.) We also talked about his mission where he destroyed a bunch of enemy ammunition, in which he was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Grandpa wrote, "Of course there were many other missions, but I felt very lucky to fly 101 missions without ever getting hit. I thank the Lord for my safe return and know my dear wife's prayers were answered." We are also thankful that he returned safely, and lived a long full life with his family.

I Did it Again!

 Yup. I was finally ready to chop off all of this hair. This time it took me 2 years to grow it out. I was a bit more conscientious with my trimmings during this time. And I really didn't have a need to cut it before now. But since Hudson has started getting his hands caught in it, and it was falling in his face while I was holding him, it was time.

 Ahhhh. I feel more free now. :) Mason is a bit sad that he can no longer reach my hair while standing behind me (something was terribly wrong about that) but he seems satisfied that there is still enough to touch when he sits next to me. He keeps telling me that my hair is "tiny" and he wants the "big" hair back. Sorry kiddo. That hair is long gone. And it's now headed off to a better place. 

Hudson also turned 2 months this week! I took him to the doctor on the little boys' last day of school. The nurse was shocked that it was just me and the baby. :) Hudson was weighed, measured, checked and poked. I found it rather hilarious that he weighed 10 lbs. 15 oz. That's only 3 oz. more than what Mason weighed when he was born! Quite frankly, I don't mind his tiny size one bit. All in all, Hudson is healthy and perfect. (But I really didn't need a doctor to tell me that.)

Preschool Graduation 2013

Jensen had his preschool graduation today. While I do find this kind of ceremony silly, it is undoubtedly adorable. I mean, come on, 5 year olds wearing graduation caps, how is that not cute?

Jensen was very proud to have been chosen as the line leader for his class. He took his job very seriously. I had to tell him to smile for this picture!

 After opening remarks, and a cute little song performed by the class, they each got their "diploma" and a bible (because he goes to a Baptist Mothers Day Out program). Then his sweet teachers said a few words about each child in the class. After that, it was time to party!

 Jensen loved the graduation reception. We had ice cream sundaes and cake. They also had several cute photo booths set up for the kids. These were his teachers this year, Miss Penny and Miss Jessika. Miss Penny was one of his teachers last year, and she was wonderful. I hope my other kids will get to have her as a teacher someday. 

And now, off to Kindergarden!!!!

Sedona

This past weekend Dustin and I went to Sedona, AZ for a work related vacation. My awesome mother-in-law stayed at home with all the big boys and we took little Hudson with us. It's been a long while since I traveled with such a little baby. (Which was probably with Carson- who flew at 3 weeks old so that we could go to my brother Eric's wedding.) 

The weather was quite nice and Sedona was really pretty. We were pretty limited to what we could do with the baby, but we ate lots of good food and did a little shopping. I didn't take very many pictures, but I knew the boys would like this shot of a fat ol' lizard that we saw.

 I also made Dustin take a picture with me. I now have photographic proof that everyone is lying to me when they tell me how good I look. 

And I'm sure a lot of moms probably would have appreciated a weekend getaway for Mother's Day, but it kinda bummed me out. We didn't get home until a half an hour before bedtime, so I barely had any time to see the kids. And I missed out on being sung to at church by all the primary kids. It's really all I get on Mother's Day anyway, so it made me extra sad to miss it. The boys did give me some cute presents that they each made at school.

Mason actually gets to go to Mother's Day Out with Jensen for the month of May, so even he got to make a little present in his class. I especially love the card made out of his footprint.

Jensen was particularly excited about his Mother's Day coupons. My favorite was his coupon for a joke. His joke was, "Why did the cow cross the street? So that he could go to the Mooo-vies."

Carson wrote several cute pages of notes for me, but this one was the best. He was quite proud of the last answer he wrote.

And Hudson gave me plenty of cute baby smiles. They are becoming rather frequent, and we are all loving them.

I'm very grateful for my mother. And I'm very lucky to be able to say that I have a wonderful mother-in-law. But most of all I'm very thankful that I get to be a mother. The hours are awful and the pay is even worse, but I wouldn't take any other job.

Hudson's Blessing

One thing is for sure. Hudson soaks up most of my free time now-a-days. Like my free time to update the blog. Or my free time to clean my house. (As my husband so kindly pointed out this morning, "our floors are gross." News Flash Dustin= our floors are always gross, because I hate moping.) 

Thankfully, Hudson also has some awesome older brothers who are willing to hold him and play next to him so that I can get a few things done around here. Like finally updating this blog.

On Sunday, May 5th, Hudson was blessed in church. It was nice to have Randy and Jason join Dustin in the blessing circle. Hudson was very well behaved for his blessing- he slept right through it. We also had a nice dinner with everyone that evening. I probably would have enjoyed it a little more, except I got a clogged milk duct and it made me feel pretty awful. (Thankfully I caught it before it developed into something more serious, but it was still a rough couple of days nonetheless.) Anyway… I hope to have another update soon with news from my Mother's Day weekend and of course, more photos of my beautiful boys.

One Month Old!

Our little Hudson is now 1 month old!!! Even though I know he's getting bigger, he is still so tiny. Especially when compared to our baby friends who are two months and four months. And I'm okay with that. I'm enjoying his little size. 

Since I'm kinda bad at taking baby photos, I thought I'd give a baby video a try. It's nothing exciting, but I know Grandma Jensen will love it.

And this little gem is for my dad. He got a big kick out my boys singing this while they were here, so here's Mason doing a little duet with George Strait. (Sorry it's sideways… what can I say, I'm not much of a photographer OR videographer.)

Finally!

I finally got the minivan that I have been wanting for years. I know there are a lot of people who have some kind of prejudice against vans. And I find it odd that so many young moms refuse to drive a van.
I don't get it. 

When you have a bunch of little kids, why wouldn't you want a van?

I love that in this van, all my carseats and boosters can fit comfortably. 

I love that in this van, I can open the doors with the push of a button (from either inside or out.)

I love that because of the sliding doors, I don't have to constantly worry about one of the kids opening up their door and slamming a car next to us.

I also love that because of the sliding doors, the crazy, strong wind can't blow the door shut on my legs while I'm reaching in to buckle a kid. (Seriously, it happened so many times in my SUV- and it was as painful as it sounds.)

Reason #3 to love the sliding doors is that I'm not constantly reminding my kids to back up so that the door doesn't smack them in the face while I'm opening it for them.

After one day of driving this, I can say its already easier with the kids than an SUV. 

Love it.

Also, Hudson is now 3 weeks old. I was just telling my mom today that he seems to be growing into his own little look now. He really has been a sweet baby. With the exception of a few gassy nights, he's been really good to me.

The boys really love him, too. Carson likes that he's big enough to hold him without my help. While he was holding him this afternoon he started cracking up that Hudson was holding his hands like this. Carson thought it looked like he was saying a prayer. :)

Sometimes our house gets a little bit crazy with all these boys, but it is exactly as it should be. I'm one lucky gal.