how we weekend - valentine and presidents day weekend

On Friday the boys celebrated Valentines with their friends at school. This year Taylor had all kinds of plans for a Valentine box. He drew out the plans and found a lot of the material. He was very excited to take it to school.

Friday afternoon we went and spent some time with cousins who will be moving to another state next week. The boys loved playing outside with their cousins.

Valentine's Day I had plans for a special breakfast and spending the day together. When we woke up that morning we changed all those plans and decided to spend more time with the cousins instead. It was so fun to play frisbee like the old days, then go out to eat with the family.

^^ love these kiddos and their grandparents ^^

1. Sunday we made up for missing our Valentine's breakfast.
2. Rudger looked quite spiffy in his Valentine sweater.

Monday was so lovely just being home with our whole family.

five things on a friday

1. This week has been a great week for diving into the scriptures. Rudger loves sitting right next to me while reading his stack of books. 

 2. My new favorite breakfast, but not the boys. Chicken Sausage, shredded sweet potatoes sauteed in coconut oil, and fruit. 

3. The newest way of showing our weekly meal plan. The boys love knowing exactly what we are going to have.

4. Our Valentine decor.

5. And the boys are ready to celebrate Valentine's Day at school. I fear we will have way to much candy this afternoon.

remember the hearts and mailboxes

Every February I try my best to be consistent in making the boys feel a little extra special the first fourteen days of February. When they come home from school there is a heart by their bed with a special message and something fun in their mailboxes. Usually a simple treat.

This year I feel like I have actually been on top of it, but last weekend I completely forgot. I think Taylor was getting concerned that I was slipping back into my old ways of forgetfulness. So he wrote me a simple reminder.

And I haven't forgotten a day since last Sunday. It's a good thing Valentine's Day is tomorrow.

how we weekend - this weather is unreal

On Friday the boys realized that Pepperoni pizza is not the only kind of pizza to have in this world. Barbecue chicken was a big hit. Then, we watched even more Merlin.

Saturday morning was amazing for me. Justin stayed at home with the four boys while I attended our Stake Women's Conference. I came home feeling so inspired and so happy. I love those kinds of days. Corby and I spent the afternoon working on a book report. Then Rudger and I went to a birthday party while daddy and the other boys went to a Pirates Cove. It was lovely to be back together in the evening.

On Sunday we ate blueberry pie and orange rolls. We couldn't decide on one, so we made them both. I got an amazing deal on blueberries and now the freezer is full of frozen blueberries waiting to be made into smoothies, muffins, and plenty of other good things. 

And in between all of this, we spent as much time as possible outside in this AMAZING weather.

how we weekend - a merlin and superbowl weekend {sort of}

Our usual Friday night movie night has been taken over by the BBC Merlin series. I was going to make this the year we introduced lots of really good classic movies to the boys, but we found this series and now we are all just a bit obsessed with it. 

We spent part of Saturday downstairs playing a game of Camelot. There was a castle, knights, dragons, and war. The most perfect game for boys. We also spent part of Saturday watching even more Merlin. Then we decided not to be so lazy and went for a bike ride. We also came home and made Texas Sheet Cake that Justin begged us to make.

We aren't big Superbowl fans, but we find ourselves turning on the television to watch at least a little bit. (but avoided some of the commercials and the half time show) And we have to have Superbowl food. That is a must. Then we headed over to some friends for a treat night. We were probably the only gathering in America that was not watching the Superbowl.

how we weekend - mlk weekend

Weekends at home are just my most favorite thing ever. Although we did actually go out to eat and to the movie. And we took full advantage of the heat wave and spent most of our afternoons outside. So come to think of it, we really weren't in our home as much as usual. Although mornings were spent playing inside and evenings were spent watching movies.

1. Justin pulled out the electrical kit and when Corbin wouldn't let Rudger play, well he was a bit devastated.
2. He was just fine once they let him play.

These faces...

1. Waiting in line at the restaurant. 
2. Coming back from seeing The Penguins from Madagascar. We found it quite humorous. 

1. Corbin making our Saturday night dinner.
2. Playing Father may I. (With dad. He really is the fun parent)

1. The swings are Rudger's favorite. Next to the slides.
2. Levi started feeling much more confident on his bike this weekend.

1. I mean, seriously, this weather was amazing.
2. Feels so good to see blue skies and happy clouds this January.

1. Tree climbing is a must for this boy.
2. There is a school being built not far from our house. This kid is thrilled to see all the tractors. Although they are not tractors, they're 'excamaters'.(excavator) 

This weather really was one of the best things to happen this January. Next to watching my husband playing with our boys.

Then we ended the weekend with a baked treat. We finished it in one seating.

so far this month

With the boys back in school, I decided that Rudger and I should try out story time at the Library. Rudger was not at all interested, so we checked out half the books there and came home to have our own story time. 

All the bonding we did over Christmas break has extended into the new year. They played adventure games and some basketball.

For our Family Home Evening activity, we built towers as tall as we could.

1. Rudger - dad's harmonica, mom's headband, no pants - it's how he rolls.
2. Now that the boys are back in school, Rudger wants my undivided attention. I let him watch Curious George to extend his breakfast time so I can get a few extra minutes to clean up.

Seriously love these men of mine.

Obviously most of my January days are spent with our baby. Even after bedtime when mom and dad just want to lay in bed and watch a movie...he thinks he needs to be there. *sigh*

January has been pretty good to us so far. We are getting used to being back in school and work, having routines again, and having to actually make dinner. January is when I do my spring cleaning. It feels soooo good. I started this week in Corbin and Taylor's room. Maybe if I am on top of it, I'll even show pictures on Monday. Happy January!