an update on my sunbeam.

Yesterday we had our “Meet your Teacher Breakfast” with our primary kiddos.  For a Presidency who had yet to do a big Primary party – I think it went pretty well.  I’m VERY glad that we asked one parent of each 2011 sunbeam to join us because my sunbeam looked like this 90% of the party.

I have no clue why he just melts down when it comes to primary.  The only thing I can think of is that he’s intimidated by that many kids and that he doesn’t do well when things aren’t what he expects.  Oh, and that mom isn’t available because I’m doing my calling during primary.  But whatever the reason – Wes & I are hoping he gets over it soon!  This isn’t like him to be this emotional all of the time. [Well, and he got about 3 hours less sleep the night before the party which is never good for anyone in our house!]

Here are a few of the 10% of where Nate was happy!

[nate and his fellow sunbeam and friend, Carter]

[we took pictures of each kid dressed as someone from the scriptures.  Here’s Nate as a stripling warrior!]

 

How did today go at church?  Well, he still had quite the meltdown but actually sat with his class for half of sharing time and all of class time which is a SIGNIFICANT improvement from last week.  But we’re hoping for no tears one of these Sundays.  Sheesh Naters.  You’re killing me.

Ryan and I went in to nursery for a brief moment to help out a little today and Ryan LOVED being with the kids and playing with the toys!  He was already a bully – pushing little Madeline [who is a year older but weighs the same as Ryan] away from the slide.  And then it was downhill from there for poor little Ryan.

I’m really grateful that I’m LOVING our Sunday mornings at home because the actual hours from 1pm-4pm at church are rough . . . but at least the mornings are nice!

life this week with [two little] griffeth boys

Nate & Ryan have been pretty fun this week.  Crazy [life with BOYS is always crazy], but good.

 

. We went to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay with Grandma, Abbie & Daisy.  All of the kids enjoyed it but Nate and Abbie really liked it.

 

. Nate has been a superhero or a pirate since Christmas.  Luckily his friends think it’s pretty fun, too.

 

. A day with Hadley at our house.

This little girl is going to have a baby brother any day now that I can’t wait to hold and cuddle!  We got to have her with us for almost a whole day when they sent Kiley to the hospital for monitoring and it was such a treat.  After the first hour was over, they played PERFECTLY . . . without a fight or tear!  It was fabulous!

 

. One day Nate really wanted to wear his fishing boots all morning [with jeans tucked in like my jeans are tucked in to my Uggs] and then he switched to cowboy boots and his hat.  I wasn’t going to fight that battle on that particular day. 

Are you noticing a trend with his new camera face?

 

. Ryan is a total animal.  The staircase isn’t as exciting anymore [although he still thinks its a fun game to climb them] so he decided to climb the ladder to the slide and go down head first . . . as well as stand on Strawberry Shortcake’s house.  Why do I have a Strawberry Shortcake house?  Because it was my favorite toy growing up so I dug it out of my parent’s garage & cleaned it for the girls who come to play.  My boys like it as Buzz/Woody’s house . . . or Batman’s house.

 

. Ryan is loving all of his new musical toys he got for Christmas.  The boy LOVES music and loves to dance.  And he loves the tool on the tool bench that makes lots of noise.  He’s at such a fun age.  I love sitting on the floor with him and just playing.  He loves it, too.

       

 

. Today we went with our playgroup from our old ward to Anderson Dairy for a tour!  It was so cute.  Our tour guide was fabulous and the Dairy has done such a good job coming up with fun ideas for kids.  And the Griffeth clan will never complain about icecream at the end of an activity.  Somehow, after growing up here, I had never been to the dairy so it was pretty cool!

My PROJECT LIFE – Picture of the Day is going well so far!

“jesus wants me for a sunbeam”

or sunBEEP if you’re nate.

He’s been soooo excited all week to get to go with the big kids to primary.

 

But then he freaks out about being a sunbeam knowing that I’m in the primary room and insists on sitting with me and whining the entire sharing time.  I tried and tried to get him to sit with his class but he wasn’t having it and I had too much to do to continue to fight with him.  So he sat with me in the back.

Then it was time to go to classes and he still wouldn’t go so he continued to sit with me in the back [Ryan was a MESS since 1pm church is his nap time so Wes went right home at 3pm to put him to bed] until he realized that I wouldn’t let him do ANYTHING fun if he wouldn’t go to class.  With about 15 minutes to spare, he told me he wanted to go to class and of course had a blast.

I actually really enjoyed our casual morning at home . . . the kids played well and it was really nice to just be at home without having to rush out the door or get something done right away.

But I’m really glad the church part is over.  The boys were rotten [I don’t blame Ryan for that one . . . poor guy just wants his bed at that hour] and the first Sunday of the year in Primary is slightly hectic.  The highlight of my day was seeing Brityn Smith [our primary first counselor] walk in the building right after sacrament meeting.  She got home earlier than planned from vacation – ran inside and changed clothes – and came to church.  She was my saving grace today [and Aunt Ali for taking Ryan for me at church].

Fingers are crossed for my sunbeam next week.

2010

Another year has come and gone.  Holy smokes.

I love new beginnings.  I love the feeling of a fresh start – of being able to start over and try again or keep going with something that is working.  I love setting new goals & trying new things.  The beginning of a new year triggers something in me – the “i must get everything organized and every project done right away” side of me kicks in.  I’m ready to paint more of the house, decorate, take more pictures, be a better wife/mom, devote more time to scripture reading & teaching Nate & Ryan . . . all kinds of things that I get to do in 2011.

Sometimes it’s fun to take a look back as you move forward.  2010 was a pretty eventful, exciting, exhausting & fun year for us.  Here’s a recap:

. we MOVED in to our new house.  We love our house and our neighborhood.  We have the BEST neighbors right outside our door.  They are pretty awesome.  We occasionally miss the lower bills at our old house but we sure do love where we are.

. We had BABY RYAN.  It’s no secret that babies are hard for me.  This is where the exhausting comes from in 2010.  But what a magical year a baby’s first year of life is.  It’s full of so much joy and change and it’s just great.  I can’t believe he’s so big already.

. We took many trips to the CABIN.  We love it up there.  It’s a nice break from the day-to-day [and heat in the summer] and we continue to make some great memories up there.

. We went to the LAKE with the Griffeths for a week.  One of our favorite weeks of the year, for sure.

. We had some Griffeth visitors from Georgia . . . Wes’ parents in January and Wes’ brother Spencer & his family in April.  Come back soon!  We also had great friends come and visit which we always love.  We wish we saw everybody more often.

. We had our annual long weekend in Utah with the Andrus clan.  Another favorite few days of the year.

. Nate has turned in to quite the 3 year old.  He gets funnier and sassier by the day.  He started preschool this year which has been great to watch him love to learn.  I sure do love that crazy boy.

. We got new callings at church – Sunday school teacher & Primary Secretary.  We are enjoying our new ward but will always miss seeing the people in our old ward regularly.

. We’ve made some new friends and continue to enjoy the old ones, too.

. We had some fun times with the Marz clan in Vegas.  Looking forward to many more in 2011.

. Wes & I both still enjoy our jobs and glad that we both still have one.

Looking forward to a great 2011!  Happy New Year!

POTD

Last year, I bought Becky Higgins picture-of-the-day kit – Project Life.  The idea is to take a picture every day [or every week . . . or whatever works for you].  I liked the everyday concept and really tried to do it but with moving & having a baby – it just didn’t happen and I missed too many days so I just quit.

All of a sudden it’s 2011 so I’m digging the Project Life box out of the office closet and I’m starting again.

A picture a day to document our LIFE in 2011.

Wish me luck.  I may need a photo reminder or two.

Happy 2011!

we heart our aunt sam

Sam graduated from nursing school in August and went for a while without a job [she now is a nurse at Sunrise Hospital].  But going from jam-packed busy to

B O R E D was not an easy transition.  One day she decided she needed a project.  Only an amazing aunt would think of her nieces and nephews first!  She found an idea for a house/tent online and without any real sewing experience, decided to make TWO of them.  One for Abbie/Daisy and one for Nate/Ryan. 

Ours is a pirates cave and it’s AWESOME.  Both boys [and all little visitors] love this thing.

 

Seriously aunt sam, you rock.

[and Aunt Ali sewed us a great crayon holder that rolls up.  We love that thing, too.  Good thing my sisters can sew!]

christmas eve & christmas day

We had a great Christmas this year.  Every year gets a little more exciting as Nate gets older.  He was so fun to watch this year!

CHRISTMAS EVE

We went over to my parents for dinner – a Mexican feast.  We did a mexican feast last year and while that may seem strange – it’s pretty tasty!  Just as we finished up dinner, we heard some bells ringing outside and a knock on the door from Santa Claus.  This is the second year in a row he has managed to squeeze in a Marz visit on Christmas Eve! 

Nate was pretty stoked when he realized who was at the door so he ran to answer it and gave Santa a big hug.

The kids each took a turn sitting on Santa’s lap and Santa gave them each one present.

[a tired baby ryan does not like santa.  he loved him on our first visit to santa!]

sam’s good friend stephanie joined us on christmas eve and for part of christmas day!

We all headed home after dessert to get ready for Santa’s big visit that night.

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

Nate & Ryan gave us a great present . . . about 25 minutes of extra sleep in the morning!  It was great – all of the Christmas Eve fun wore them out.

Nate was so excited it was Christmas and Wes & I loved watching his reactions to everything.

Santa’s delivery to the boys:

our tree on christmas morning.  it was looking pretty bare until a very nice box filled of fun gifts arrived from grandma & grandpa G. on Christmas Eve – that filled it right up!  Thanks Grandma & Grandpa G!

Nate was THRILLED!  He not only loves his stuff – but Ryan’s, too!

It was fun having Ryan this year for his FIRST christmas!

We had waffles for breakfast and Nate played with his toys while Ryan took a snooze and then we went over to my parents house to exchange gifts with the Marz family.  It’s always fun to have everyone around to open gifts together.  We had a yummy lunch and then everyone went on their merry way either back home or to a movie.  While Wes was at the movie Nate and I curled up on the couch and watched Mickey Christmas Carol.  He couldn’t wait for the movie to end so he could play with all of his superhero stuff!

[Something to remember: Nate specifically asked Santa for a tool bench, batmobile & a batcave [and at the end threw in a pretend candy cane and a frog which just wasn’t happening].  He was so excited about everything at our house that he didn’t realize that he didn’t get the Batcave until we were driving to my parents house and he was a little bummed about it.  We kept telling him that Santa can’t bring everything and to be thankful for what he did get.

Well, Nate lucked out and he got the batcave over at Grandma/Grandpa Marz’s house.  His reaction was fabulous when he opened it up.  He was THRILLED.]

Nate, Abbie & Daisy played outside for a while before we headed home. 

                  

   

We really missed at least spending one holiday with all of the Griffeth clan this year.  We wish we lived closer and that the end of December wasn’t Wes’ busy time of the year. 

We have such wonderful friends and family – what a great Christmas season it was this year.  We are very grateful for our Savior and we enjoyed being able to focus on Him in December and look forward to teaching our kids about Him all year long.