2-day-get-away

this year has been a doozy for us financially... i'm not quite sure how having our 3rd child threw us into a downward spiral but it did. literally, we are strapped for cash. i am working again sigh 3-4 days a week and trevan is doing everything in his power to make things better for us at his job. it's been pretty rough round these parts. things could be SO much worse and we are not poor, we are just struggling a bit. blah blah blah, you don't want to hear it, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT but it's our life in 2011 and i want to remember it. all of that complaining being said, 2011 has been a perfect year for our little family. we are officially a family now it seems, we go to school, we go to games, we have schedules, we have bedtimes, and we enjoy it all. the best part is, besides some added money arguments between me and trevan, the kids don't know our struggles, they are happy and most importantly healthy. the love that we all have for each other, for our family/from our family, and our beliefs have made this year possible. FAITH. i don't ever want to be in this tough money spot again, but if i had to do it all over, i would because the family aspect of 2011 has been perfection.

being in a "tight" spot is hard. we are use to doing certain things, like vacations yearly. they are never huge vacations but they are getaways and they are NEEDED. as the year is coming to an end i realized that what we needed was a a getaway. thankfully, a really bad experience on our anniversary back in august at our hotel in park city turned itself into a good experience when they comped us another weekend of our choice back at the hotel. i choose the first weekend in october and it was delightful. we brought our kids this time, and i fell in love with them, utah, fall, and my life all over again.

oh and how do you vacation on a budget? well, let me tell you how we did it.... free hotel room, dinner at burger king, breakfast from home in the hotel room, lunch at taco maker, and a splurge dinner at bandits. the kids swam 4 times in 36 hours, there was no outlet shopping (ouch), and we couponed the alpine slide. boo yeah, kennan's on a budget! lol.

the babies.

the jude on the alpine slide.

the scenery.

 

greta's turn!

waiting for mommie and sis.

there we are!

happy family.

we followed up our lovely weekend by having sunday dinner back at my mom's. we drove through our future home town (midway, ut.. call me) and then over into cascade springs, up the alpine loop, drove down my favorite place (american fork canyon) and then back through my old familiar roads of highland, ut.  i love going home.

favorite people.. EVER.

daddie, schmez, and the baby bjorn on a sunday walk.

 

this is the house that built me.

and now you know.

to the fair.

we went to the state fair

and in all fairness, 

its about time i post about the fair (1 month later).

i took SO many pictures so instead of lots of cute commentary, epic stories, and step by step details of our night, i will let the pictures speak for themselves... sort of.

 

ANTM cycle 37

my kids loved the pony rides...

minie? not so much.

daddies & daughters v1

daddies & daughters v2

i felt awkward having my doppelgänger there.

best besties ever.

dustin = the original bromance/trevan's missionary/our official third wheel for 3 years/great speller/ceo mba emtB/noBAMA/inappropriate/do-er/giver/perfect best friend/my sisters husband/good times

told you.

 git er' dun.

 

next time won't you join us?

at least, for lil' linda's sake?

thanks.

september.

*i'm behind a bit on blogging so today, we are starting here.

every september i am reminded of how much i really love truly this month....

the brisk mornings, the warm afternoon, and the cool evenings,

the newness of school,

the bright green grass and the changing of the leaves,

the new season of tv shows,

the smell of autumn in the air ,
the state fair (more on that later) ,

and it will ALWAYS remind me of the month 9 years ago that i met my trevan and the night our future began.

september, you're heaven.

this september lent itself to lots of backyard playtime with my 3 kids.

 

judakins, almost 6 (inconceivable!) and still a little boy.

my shadow and best friend,

miss greta pamela.

our 7 month boy wonder

those darn little people and there adorable helping hands will NEVER go out of style at my house.

  for the record... i love little people and aaron neville.

GET.IN.MY.BELLY

we still are virgins to video games in these parts so jude's imagination runs wild and he loves to play... but his birthday wishlist includes a nintendo DS so we are enjoying our last month of video game freedom. it's a necessary evil, right?

gretsie's little tongue is always out during times of concentration.

 

ezra... ugh.
i love him so so much.
and no, you cannot have him.

dear september, 

call or text me. anytime, day or night.

xo, 

me

someone like you.

sometimes the girls rock out to adele in the back of brooke's swagger wagon.

today we got in on film.

tears.


p.s. minie is priceless.

dance magic dance.

 

every parent of a daughter waits for this moment, the day their little girl becomes a tiny dancer.

and

we were no different.

greta started ballet the first week in september.

its a really low key ballet school that we put her in, but its so perfect. greta's physical therapists have highly recommended doing ballet with gaga because of the technique and because greta needs so much strengthening in her feet. i grew up watching my sisters do ballet, so it has a soft spot in my heart already.  (just ask me to do any part from utah regional ballet's production of the nutcracker, you will be amazed... to say the least.) to say that greta loves ballet would be a understatement... she adores it. its all she wants to do, she sings about ballet in her bed, she tells anyone we see about it, and she
leaps and twirls all over the house. 

older brother boredom.

 it's hard for me to watch sometimes because with her low town/coordination she can't do all the things the other girls can... but she thinks she can and that is all that really matters. plus, with her extreme flexibility shes bound to find her niche. i've spoken to greta's teacher about her "condition" and she simply nodded, smiled, and treats greta the exact same as everyone else. it's perfect!

 my own tiny dancer, and tiny she is.

xo, my angel girl.

a kindergartener & a preschooler

the first day and week of school has come and gone.

and

it would seem i am officially a PTA mom.

my kids are growing right before my eyes. how did that happen? (i promise, i never even blinked!).

 it seems the older 2 are kids now, and not babies anymore. 

the thought makes me weepy but i sure like what they are growing into.

jude malcolm

5 years old

kindergarten 

teacher : mrs. cornia

 

true to form... we were LATE the first day, and we weren't even on GST (gregory standard time 15 min late). somehow, i thought school started at 12:30 when really, it started at 12:15. woops! i pulled up all emotional about my baby starting public school and then realized my mistake. jude and i busted our little hineys in the school and barely got a goodbye kiss. it was so insignificant that i felt cheated a bit. however, i think it made it a little less traumatic for both of us.

greta goes to the same school jude does and has been anxiously awaiting going back to school, she LOVES it there. (isn't funny how siblings differ so much?) after we dropped off jude, she realized it was not her turn to go to school she broke out in tears, which quickly turned into a temper tantrum. she did NOT want to be at home with me and ez. obvisouly, she doesn't know how kewl we are. we are, by the way.

little man did it! he was so proud of himself, but anxious to get in the car to see ez-E.

our little station wagon, filled to the brim with our kids.

i think its time for an upgrade...

______

the next day came and FINALLY it was miss greta's turn. jude felt so proud that they were going to be at school at the same time, and in the same hallway!

greta pamela

3 years old

preschool

teacher : miss lindsay

loves this girl and the outfit SHE picked out. 

she's a babe.

jude (day2) waiting his turn....

oh and its a damn good thing i had another baby... or i'd be lonely.

breakfast babies are cute.

OH and you make think to yourself "geez, what does she do with all her free time?" well, i will tell you.... drive to the school 4 times a day. that's right, 4 times.... take greta @ 11:30, drop off jude @ 12:15, pick up greta @ 1:45, and make one last drive thru the parking lot @ 2:50 to get jude. sound fun? tender mercies of having a preschooler and a kindergartner. i know, i know, all you seasoned mom's out there are rolling your eyes but its new to me, new and already getting old.

"i'm a team player... "