First of all sorry that the pictures for this post are not in order of the text I was having issues and sorry about the quality of some of the pictures I definitely need to get some better ones of Hunter doing karate.We were very excited to have a week of no school for Deke. Even though we were still working we made sure to plan something fun everyday. One night we went to Ocean Blue which is the best frozen yogurt place since it is self serve and you can sample every kind. Another night we had a family game/movie night.
One day we got off work at noon and took the kids to Golfland which was so much fun. Hunter actually did really well, better than me. :) Avery was very interested for the first three holes and then she just drug her club around behind her.
It was so cute, she would get upset when the ball went into the hole, we tried to explain to her that that was the point of the game but she didn't get it and kept running over and trying to take the balls out.
One of the holes had a small bridge that you had to hit your ball over and if it missed it went into the stream. Hunter refused to hit it because he didn't want it to go in the water. Deke finally convinced him after ten minutes or so and when Hunter finally agreed to hit it....of course it landing in the stream.
Thank goodness they had a little guardrail at the bottom that caught it down below. It was a lot of fun.
Hunter also started karate this week which was both adorable and hilarious. His exact comment to me on the way was "Mom, I don't think that they will teach me to chop metal in the first class, probably a little later." Upon further discussion with him about what he thought karate was going to be like I realized we needed to have a longer discussion with him because he may have had some unrealistic expectations :) Chopping metal being one of them. :) He did a great job and really enjoyed it, I can't wait for basketball and soccer to start.
We also added a trip up to PV for the weekend with some of our favorite people in the whole world the Grants!!
We went up and helped them move into their new house which has a very cool sunroom and is wonderful because they have so much more space. The kids played and played. We played games, unpacked, visited and laughed until all hours of the morning. I loved getting to mug on this little guy: so far every time they have a boy we have a girl and vice versa which means to things:
our next baby has to be a girl for Logan and we will then increase our odds of having a set of our kids get married :)We just love Kerry and Erin and their family they are such wonderful people. Erin and I left the guys in charge and went and cleaned the old house and just visited for like three or four hours. I would have driven all the way just to go do that :) :) It was such a nice week we ran hard and packed the week with all sorts of fun family stuff and it was a blast.
This is what we like Hunter's room to look like when we ask him to clean up.
However upon Deke and I coming in to inspect the job he did cleaning Deke bent down to pick up a Lego out of the carpet and said, "MeKell look under the dresser." I looked and saw a brown pile underneath it and knew right away what it was. Any guesses, let's look a little closer...
Yes that would be a pile of wood: a combine of woodchips from preschool, sticks, bark and twigs.
So I reached underneath and pulled them out and look at the pile that he managed to compile under there. 
Ever since he turned two Hunter has loved sticks and wood. He collects sticks wherever he is. The last year however it has gotten significantly worse, he has started gathering and hiding. 
At home we have found them in his socks and shoes, under his mattress, in his drawers, underneath his dresser, in my washer, in the bath tub and any other possible available crack, crevice, or hiding spot in his bedroom. 
We realized that he was trafficking them home from school when one of his teacher's caught him lining them underneath the sheet on his bed cot and in his cubby as well as filling his pockets and shoes to the brim. We have in no joke asked them to routinely do a sock/pocket check for wood or sticks before he comes inside from the playground. Admist all my trying to find all the hiding spots he finds more and I can't get rid of the piles of wood everywhere. Not only that but he has an emotional attachment to each one. If we try to weed some out it is always the discussion of "But Mom, this one is so cool because it is shaped like a hook , or this one has neat bumps on it." The other night Deke and I talked about it trying to figure out a solution and we are going to try to designate a spot outside just for him that he can create a "woodpile. I wonder what he is stockpiling up for but I am sure he has enough hidden to support us through an entire winter. I am handling this much better than Deke who as some of you know has very real OCD tendencies ;) :) :) I am trying to look at this as a cute little quirk of his but if any of those piles ever ends up bringing in any crawly critters than we will have to take it to another level. Any other suggestions??????
I was thinking about how grateful I am to have been blessed and entrusted with four beautiful children. How grateful I am for Ethan and Dylan and their perfect, valiant little spirits and the experience of getting to have twins in our family. 
For their perfect tiny little fingers and toes that I can't wait to kiss on. For Hunter, his outgoing personality and comedic relief that he constantly brings to the house. For his love of socializing with me and his quirkness. For his tender heart and yet his energetic look and life. 
For Avery and her sweetness. For her girly mannerisms and her quiet little contented playing. For that big brown eyed innocent look she gives. ( no not that one :) ) 
Greatful for the great love and sacrifice that brought her to our family. About how much I love each of them and how much each of their little personalities add to our family and brighten up our household. How sweet their little relationship is with each other.
I guess just feeling lucky to be their mom and excited at the opportunity to add more to the mix. At first they weren't too thrilled to be involved with my little impromptu photo shoot but the bribe of a lifesaver gummy helped aid in the process. :) :) 
Sorry some of the pictures are blurry :( and her sheets and comforter aren't even on her bed because I was washing them so she is just sitting on her matress...nice. Just so you know she does usually have a bedspread a very cute one actually. Well Avery has really started getting into playing with her baby dolls. She has her little Mermaid baby that goes in the bath with her. She loves to take her other two babies and dress them and feed them and put them in the crib for a nap.
It cracks me up when she comes out of my room wearing a pair of my heels, with her purse on her arm and strolling her baby. 
This particular afternoon she was dressing and diapering her baby so I decided to take some pictures of her. I love watching her be a little mommy. 
I was so excited making them and I think they turned out really cute. If anyone wants to know how to make them it is really simple and a really fun gift to give. All the Grandma's seemed to love them. I wish I had had the time to make some for our work places and my visiting teaching sister's but I didn't quite get there. They were so pretty I didn't want to eat them. :) We decided to give the kids some books for Valentine's day. 
I found these cute books for them, for Hunter I found 3-D Dinosaur and 3-D Reptiles and some cute little cow books for Missy Moo. They were so excited about it which made me happy because we can never have enough books. This year Deke did the fourteen days of Valentine's for me which was awesome. 
I actually got really excited to come home and see what he had waiting for me. Here are just a couple of things that he gave me: 
Every year I feel this way, I can't believe another year has come and gone. Each year I can't believe how big they would have been and how we are learning to live happily and patiently without them. 
I marvel at the progress we have made in healing and the faith we have strengthened. Every year we attend the temple to do sealings on their birthday. 
It is such a sweet reminder to us that our family is eternal. Every year Heavenly Father always provides the tender mercy of some sort of spiritual experience at our temple trips. Some I have shared and some I have not because they are so sacred to me. This year as we were going in the temple President came up to us and introduced himself and asked why we had come to the temple tonight. I felt prompted and so I shared with him why we were there and shared a little bit about the twins. He got this tender look in his eyes as he said "I can understand that completely, many years ago we lost twins boys also their names were Shane and Shawn." He in such a tender way that Deke and I can totally understand shared with us their experience. They had lost Shane and Shawn after only a few hours just like us with Ethan and Dylan. He shared with us their experience and added that throughout the course of their life he and his wife often pause and say "I wonder what it would be like if Shane and Shawn were here." As we talked with him my heart burned with a fire that is indescribable with the spirit. I have met people that have lost children before but he is the first person that I have met since losing the boys that has lost twin boys after only a few hours. He could understand us like no one else could that we have met yet, not to mention having such a strong spirit being the temple president. Our conversation with him was so special and spiritual that the fire comes back to me every time I talk about the experience. It was such a tender conversation. I know that Heavenly Father is so aware of Deke and I and our family and sends us these tender mercies. 
Ethan and Dylan would have been four this year. I have seen so much healing this year for us. I felt so much peace this year and only cried when it was time to leave their grave sites. I cry everytime I leave because it always is hard to leave them when it is one of the places that I feel close to them. I feel so calm and peaceful. I miss them and always will and some days are still unbelieveably hard but over all we feel peace and are starting to have more understanding and acceptance. We both feel that it is time to move forward, we have felt that so strong. It doesn't mean forgetting them or not loving them as much, it means being patient and faithful about waiting for them. It means that we need to continue on with our family here and continue to grow and enjoy them growing. We are excited to hopefully expand our family again and feel the joy of a new little life. We love you Ethan and Dylan so much you can't even comprehend. "A moment in our arms, forever in our hearts." Love Mommy and Daddy
So we grabbed the kids some hats and gloves and up the hill we went. We were so sad to see that there was not a lot of snow and it was really icy so it wouldn't even stick together to build a snowman. That didn't stop Hunter from enjoying it though, he jumped right out there and got busy playing. 
Avery picked some up and then quickly giggled and shook it off her hands. She didn't cry about it or anything but she just wanted Deke to hold her and enjoy the snow from a distance. Hunter cracked us up, he picked up two sticks and would sit on his bum and slide down the hills and use the sticks like ski poles to help scoot him down.
Then he would turn around and use the sticks to help him climb back up the hill. Then of course he and Deke had to engage in a snow fight. I could hardly contain myself as he ordered me to follow him. 
He had us hiding behind a tree then when Deke wasn't looking we would dart to the next tree and hide, making our way up the mountain towards Deke who was also tracking us through the forest in a stealth like manner. He was totally serious as if we were actually on some kind of forest mission. Maybe time to start decreasing the "lego agent" play at home. :)
He had us ducking behind a couple of large boulders and kept giving me orders like, "mom head west east to the third tree base" and "I see the target at 29, 58 degrees...go go go!" Once we finally reached Deke at the top of the hill Hunter red in the cheeks giggling quietly with glee at being within range of getting dad and I panting heavily from my recent lack of practice sprinting through the forest and carrying about five stick "guns" we prepared for the attack. 
It was was such a blast, I love my guys and I love the way they make me laugh. There is always something fun to do with those two around. 
