corbin turns eleven

It has amazed me to see this young man grow this past year. The older Corbin gets, the more honored I feel to be his mother. He has made choices this year that makes my heart burst. He is deciding what kind of person he wants to be, and I couldn't be happier watching the process.

Corby's birthday was on a Sunday this year. It made me think even more about the day he was born. It was also a Sunday morning. I don't know how cold it was outside, all I knew is how warm I felt holding our firstborn son. I had no idea what having that baby in our family would bring. It has brought more joy than I could have ever imagined.

This year he celebrated with one of his favorite foods, sloppy joes. He got his traditional crepes with chocolate mousse for breakfast. The primary sang to him. He got a real bow and arrow for his gift. His brothers gave him a candybar poster. We had a farewell to cousins/birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Morris' where Corbin chose to have cheesecake for his dessert.

another birthday late nighter

Somehow Corbin convinced me to have another birthday late nighter with a couple of his friends. Taylor also invited a friend over, so I guess it was more like our usual friday night movie night with a couple of extra kids. We had pizza, popcorn, treats, dancing, and a movie. These are totally the kind of parties I can handle.

^^ they were making me laugh so hard with their dance moves ^^

We had a fun night, but Justin and I were a little more tired than the usual Friday night. 

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.