A Recap - January to April!

Ok, so Jake tells me I am the worst blogger ever. I do a great job keeping up my Krafty Blog, but when it comes to the family one I kind of suck! ;) So while he's out enjoying 18 holes of golf with the guys, I thought I would surprise him that I finally got our blog-o updated! So this is seriously PICTURE HEAVY, but so fun going back through everything! Enjoy!

So, recap of the last few months!

January

Brady turned 7 on the 21st!

Brady got a new bike

Skateboard, helmet and pads (along with some clothes and toys)

Brady's actual birthday fell on a Thursday, which happened to be Senior Night for the wrestlers! So, the other coaches arranged for the Cheerleaders to sing to Brady! It was so cute, but he told me he was so embarrassed after! ;) (PS - the one side where its not full is the visiting team, the other side of the stands was packed of course!)

Here are a few pics of Jake coaching that night. Man, he is such a hottie! Love my cute husband!

Then there was the Little League wrestling club the high school hosted. They only did one tournament, but it was sure fun!



February

State Wrestling! Just one pic of the arena Jake took. He was gone for three days and we missed him a ton! They had I think 6 or 7 kids qualify for State, and their Freshman 103 pounder was the only one to place. He took 6th. They had a blast though and are really excited for next season.





Jake had a fancy work party that was a Black Tie Event, so we got all dressed up and had a blast!





Monster Trucks! After State Wrestling was over we took the kids to Monster Jam. It was kind of their reward for being such awesome kids through everything!

I forgot to take a pic (bad me!), but Gwynie did her Science Fair Project on lava lamps, and how they work, and the experiment, etc. She did incredible on it! Her teacher even asked if he could keep her board as an example to show future classes what it should look like! ;) I helped a little, but it really was all her! Just helps to have a crafty momma right? I do have pics though that we put on her board, this is one showing the bubbling. (Oil, water, food coloring and alka seltzer)

March

Disney on Ice! Grandma Deb and Poppa Wayne bought all the grandkids tickets (except for Sydney, she's too little still) to go to Disney on Ice! Gwynie and Hannah did't plan on wearing their twiner shirts, but it was too cute!

Deb and Wayne got Brady a bow for his birthday, so once it finally warmed up he got to practice in the front yard!

April

Snow! BOOO SNOW!!! April 1st - not kidding!!

Easter! The kids love dying eggs, their baskets and egg hunts. Just booooo snow!!

And our doofy dog Bridger. He has gotten HUGE since December! His paws are bigger than Brecken's already! Breck turned 3 this year too, crazy! So our little pup will be bigger than his big brother soon! This is one of his typical positions on the couch, weirdo.

And, I chopped off lots of hair again! ;) Super short, but I'm getting used to it! Gwyn also chopped her hair, I'll have to get a pic of her cut to post soon!

I also started a new job! I wasn't looking to leave, but an opportunity came up at Jake's work, and one thing led to another. Within a matter of a few days I had a brand new job! I gave my two weeks notice, and started my new job last Thursday.

Freestyle Wrestling Club

So the other thing that's been going on is the Freestyle Club. Jake is the chairperson for the club and has been running everything!! Since mid February we've had 3 day a week practices (Tues-Thurs) and then Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon tournaments. Next week is our last tournament, and its State for both Freestyle and Folkstyle. Jake has been coaching not only Brady, but their other kids that signed up. So nice that a few of the highschool kids came and did it, too. They will definitely have an advantage next year! I have a folder where I'm putting all those pictures (and videos). Not counting this weeks tournament, I have 1079 photos!!! I have picked out 25 so far to post to the blog. I have a feeling I will be scrapbooking those for ages. ;)

Speaking of scrapbooking...I have fun news in that area, too!

Kandi's Addiction, erm Hobby

I was so excited to have a some fun opportunities come my way! Not sure if I'd mentioned it or not on the blog before, but I was choosen to be on a Design Team for Skipping Stones Design. I get free stamps (can't beat that), and create cards with them weekly. I LOVE their stamps, so funny and sassy! I've been doing that since December.

Last month I also found out I'd gotten a spot on the Staff Reporter team for Craft Critique! I've had one article published so far, and have a few in the queue. I have assignments based on what I currently have, or plan on buying, to write my articles on. I've also been fortunate enough to be selected to review products, and have them sent to me by the vendors! Woot! :)

I've had a few more cards picked up for publication as well, and have loved seeing my cards in an actual book! It was kind of surreal, walking into my scrapbook store and seeing my two cards and MY NAME in a book! Then, next month I was in Hobby Lobby and saw that months mag with a card of mine. Wow, talk about cool!

And the end...

Ok, well I think that's about it! My plan (HA!) is to get a post ready after next week of all the Freestyle Wrestling stuff going on and a recap of that. After that, well I think we are MORE THAN READY for a break! We felt like we've been going a million miles an hour...wrestling 5 days a week, working, kids homework/school stuff, then just trying to have fun every now and then. ;) Spring Baseball/Softball starts mid May though for the kids (Jake's team starts next week), so I'm sure we will be ready after three weeks of boring-ness and nothing to do. ;)

New Years Eve

Today is MY BIRTHDAY! I'm always asked how I feel about having my birthday so close to Christmas, and especially on New Years Eve. Honestly, my parents made sure everything was kept seperate so I always had plenty to go around! ;) They would even take all the ornaments off the Christmas tree and decorate it with balloons and streamers! That's probably one of my fondest memories of growing up, actually. I knew my parents wanted to make my day special and they always did! They never went out on New Years Eve either, even though I told them it didn't matter to me, haha! My husband also makes sure I'm treated extra special on my birthday too, thanks babe! I always say that everyone celebrates my birthday too...you didn't know it, but really you are! Cause I'm a cool kid, and you're all celebrating that I'm here!So this year I decided that since its been well over 10 years that I've had a "birthday tree" I would do one for myself! ;) Here it is! This one is for you Mom and Dad! :D

Christmas Re-cap

Well the kids got spoiled again this year (as always) and loved every minute of it. I just wish it all didn't pass by so fast!

Christmas Eve the kids got their traditional jammies and of course loved them. Because I'm a good mom and totally know my kids! ;) Gwynie loves penguins (we called her 'Pen-gwyn' when she was little haha) so her jammies were penguins with a little seal friend! Brady got some skull and cross bones fleece jammie pants so he was diggin them! And of course a blue thermal shirt to go with em!

The kids also got a movie and the new Super Mario Brothers game for the Wii. All four of us played their new game before bed and it was a blast! Holy crap we laughed soooooo hard and had so much fun just playing and hanging out together! ;) Man I just LOVE these kids to pieces!!

Cookies and chocolate milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Brady made it a point that Santa HAD TO HAVE chocolate milk this year. Thanks B! ;)

Christmas morning was a blur we just had a blast and I loved seeing the kids faces light up as they got everything they asked for and more. *sigh* I love these guys!

Gwynie with her vanity from Santa! She got little make-ups (from Claires), more jewelery and perfumes in her stocking. I found a hot pink blow dryer and straightner so she was in heaven with all her girly stuff Christmas morning!

Brady with his new tv and dvd player from Santa!

I just love this picture! My Mom and Dad got Jake and Brady some remote control Monster Trucks. Like the REAL ones that are super heavy duty! They were high fiving! :)

Christmas morning we went to Dustin and Erica's and did Christmas with his parents there, too. After that we packed up and headed up to Idaho to visit my grandparents and my Aunts family that made the trip from Colorado Springs. Coming home Sunday afternoon...everyone was worn out and exhausted!

A Puppy Surprise!

Jake had been wanting another dog to be a "friend/brother" to our lab/retriever mix Brecken for the last few months. We'd tried it with another dog last summer (who was almost a year old), but they did not get along at all so we had to give the new dog away. We knew we'd have to get a puppy that would know Brecken was the Alpha Dog, in charge and the boss. I of course didn't want another dog, but I could see Jake's point in Brecken having a friend to run around the backyard with when we were at work and the kids were at school.

This is Brecken (this pic was actually taken in December!) - or Breck, Breckie, Brecko-Recko, or Brekker Brekker One-Nine (you know braker braker one nine), or any of the other nicknames we call him.

So Christmas Eve...Both Jake and I were working a half a day and I get a text from him saying to check my email and look at a link he sent me. It was for a puppy who was also a lab/retriever mix and was 7 weeks old. After talking me into it (and promising that I'd never have to clean up after it) I relented and agreed to get this puppy for the kids for a Christmas Eve present. So Jake left work to get the puppy and after an hour or so I left work and went home to clean up and get ready to surprise the kids. Jake brought the puppy home before he picked the kids up from daycare.

So when they came home we had the kids sit on the couch with their eyes covered and I very quitely placed the puppy between them. Needless to say the kids love him and Brecken and he are really good friends!

Meet Bridger! or Bridge, Bridgie, and Bridger-Ridger (see I have this name rhyming complex I think!)

The cat is not quite sure about him, but now that I'm writing this a month later they play like crazy!

Is this sweet or what?! Brady put his blankie on him after he just crashed after playing with us. One minute he was awake and the next he plopped on the floor and took a nap. Too cute!! ;)

Just to show that the dogs really do get along, here they are "playing"! Brecken let Bridger "play" at first, but now he tackles him and they rough house a lot!