April 2020

Well I honestly think April 2020 was the most unusual, unexpected month we have ever had. We were quarantined all month, had to home school, had a high risk baby/surgery, baby spent 20 days in the NICU, Ryan worked from home, etc. We all survived and are looking forward to more normalcy in the future (fingers crossed). 

Before I had the babe, I was the head teacher around here. This little guy is the cutest student around. He has made amazing progress on his letters and writing ability! He still won't hold the pencil right but we can let his kindergarten teacher address that. 

 Weekly zoom calls with his preschool class.

 "Who loves Mommy the most?" Hands and legs up in the air from the kiddos ... they know how to make me feel good!

 Avery the fashion designer ... Griffin was her model.

 34.5 weeks pregnant ... about to meet our sweet little guy!

 General conference Saturday. These two were being cute snuggling on the couch for a few minutes. Hope for more moments like that in the future!

 Griffin loved to hug my belly/his baby brother each night before he went to bed. This was the view from my eyes.

 General conference Sunday morning. Brain flake building.

Snuggles while listening

 Avery wanted to get all dressed up and look like a princess. It was so cute watching her - I could tell how special and pretty she felt by the way she was acting. Little does she know how gorgeous she is without all the extra fluff.

 Griffin has taken off like a champ on his bike! I love watching him zoom around. And then there is Avery and Ryan doing all sorts of tricks on her bike...

 Baby Colson arrives! Blog post to follow.While I spent a lot of hours at the hospital and NICU, the kids had a blast with Daddy at home. Avery ordered some LOL dolls with her birthday money and had fun waiting on the mail each day for them to arrive.

 Easter Egg hunt! I got out of the hospital 2 days before Easter so we did a hunt in the backyard for the kids. I love watching their excitement for things like this.

 Griffin found the dollar egg!

 The Easter bunny found us! But more importantly, we are all so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ and his atonement and resurrection.

 Just found these two watching a show together like this. Love!

 Pretty girl!

 Jaxson has been asking about indexing lately so Ryan showed him how to do it. I think he has indexed over 100 batches since then. Way to go boys!

 Ryan took the kids on a bike ride to the reservoir - they made it to the beach and then said they were too tired and to turn around.

 The meme we copied...

and the photo we created from it. So glad to be in phase 1 and starting to hopefully get back to a type of normal life. We are really grateful for the time we had to spend together in March & April. Honestly, having Ryan home to take care of the kids while I was in the hospital and NICU was priceless and a blessing. Glad it happened the way it did! Now we are looking forward to opening backup and having more freedom again. 

March 2020

What generally is one of our favorite months turned out to be one of the weirdest and craziest months we have ever experienced. It started out great and normal. 

The kids had parent teacher conferences and had great reviews. Conveniently, the kids also had a book fair and begged for things like sequin unicorn journals and world record books. 

I've have been trying to get Griffin more comfortable in the water at the request of his swimming teacher. He loves marshmallows so the longer he keeps his head/ears in the water, the more he gets. 

Avery's friend picked her up (before quarantine) and took her to Boondocks - they had the best time playing bumper boats, laser tags, eating pizza, and playing arcade games.

Snuggling with Daddy during our nightly movie. Most nights lately we have watched about an hour of a movie before going to bed - the kids love it and we have enjoyed all the extra snuggling time.

This is the only picture I took of my birthday. I made a cake - first one since the beginning of my pregnancy when I got really sick. My friends threw a surprise dinner at a delicious restaurant the week of my birthday - it was so fun seeing so many ladies (15) who I love and appreciate and made me feel special. Ryan and the kids were sweet to make my birthday weekend fun with good food, games together, and a cards/necklace.

The kids were let out of school the last day before spring break because of the virus. The set up tents and a play fire in the playroom and had a great time sleeping up there most of the week.

With the shutdown, we have been having our church meetings at home. It has been a blessing to continue to worship at home and see these cute kiddos of ours participate and share their testimonies, talks, and thoughts. Priceless memories!

The leprechaun still found us on March 17th even though we were in quarantine. He dyed the milk green and left a delicious cereal. I loved how Griffin kept calling him an "apricot." I guess the leprechauns played a few tricks at Griffin's school a week earlier.

This little guy learned how to ride a 2 wheeler - all his practice on his balance bike paid off. We have enjoyed having Daddy home because we take breaks during the day and get some fresh air. He is the champ that is keeping us all sane.

Ryan's birthday happened during the quarantine. We ordered some yummy Asian take out, ate key lime pie, and he finished the night shoveling a boatload of snow off the driveway. 

Avery had her 8th birthday a couple days later. This girl was a champ and didn't complain about having a birthday during a no friends time. She was super excited to find streamers and balloons decorating her room and a teal hover board as a gift. We love you Avery! 

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes for dessert. She picked them off of pinterest months ago and was excited for the pink frosting and sprinkles.

Snuggling during one of our evening movies. 

Baby bump at 34 weeks.

Our favorite game lately - genius square. This is how Griffin rolls when he can't put all the pieces in - he uses the dice as a compromise. Love that kid.

Februrary 2020

How is it already March?! This month mainly consisted of a lot of snow and weekend basketball. Avery tried her hand at making vanilla cupcakes with cookie dough frosting - yum!!

 We had SO MUCH SNOW in February. Ryan couldn't get out of the neighborhood one morning (too much snow/ice) and the kids had a snow day from school - it was a win win all around!

 Typical Saturday morning. Who knows what they were doing … lotion on faces, life jackets on … love those crazy kids!

 We made Griffin a giant blue gummy bear with the gummy bear mold he got from his birthday. He didn't like the taste of it as much as the one from the store but he loved making it and was so excited to unmold it.

 Usually the snow here in Denver melts. Not this month. It kept coming and never got a chance to melt.

 This is Griffin's happy face when he does something good at Mario party. He loves that game and we play it almost every day before he heads to preschool.

 Valentine's! These kids are the cutest (usually).

 On our way to go meet Daddy for a yummy Valentine's lunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

 Just another Sunday walk around the park. The kids loved getting dunked in the snow. Griffin loved eating the snow - I have the best video of it.

 It was 40 degrees and sunny one day - so the kids went sledding, wore shorts, and ate popsicles. Living the life!

Avery was stoked to get her molars sealed. She got to watch a movie and get 2 prizes after it was done. Way better stuff than when I was a kid at the dentist office.

 Grif and his dressing up. Cutie boy!

Avery & Jaxson had their last basketball games this past weekend. Avery did great passing like a champ (we are working on her being able to throw the ball high enough into the hoop) and Jaxson tried hard and scored a few buckets. Good seasons you 2!