My New Adventure

I posted not to long ago and mentioned reasons why I haven't posted a lot lately. I didn't mention one of my big distractions because didn't want to jinx myself and say anything before things were official. Well, now it's official - I'm going to go back to school :). I've decided to become an aesthetician. For those of you who don't know what that is, I'll basically be learning how to do all the fun things they do in spas. It's more than that, but that gives you an idea :). I've always been interested in this industry and now I'm going to get to be apart of it! I got accepted into an aesthetics school in Provo called Acaydia. It's a really really good school and I'm so excited and feel very lucky to be able to go there. I'll be getting my master aesthetics degree and it'll take me about 16 months part time. I'll be going to school everyday, M-F from 5 to 9 p.m. It'll take a lot of my time but I know it'll be so good for me and my family in the long run. JR's been so supportive of my decision. He's so excited for me and I know I couldn't do this without his help. I'll be done before I know it and then I'll have a really cool skill set that I can use in a Spa, in a Doctor's office, or even out of my home. I'm so excited by the possibilities! The crazy part is that I start school in two weeks...TWO WEEKS! It's been a while since I went to college, so hopefully I can still remember how to take a test!

Aside from the obvious extra income reason, there are so many other reasons -more important reasons -why I decided to do this. For the past couple of years I've struggled and had to work really hard to change my mind set of what a wife and mother does. It's amazing how difficult it is to break the mold that society and I created for myself, but I knew I wouldn't be completely happy living my life the way I have been lately if I didn't. I love being home with my kids. It's been such a blessing in my life that I've been able to do that. But I've felt like I need something extra that I can do just for myself that will help me feel more complete and well-rounded. I'm so excited to be able to learn a new skill set that is so diverse and flexible. I'll be able to work around my kids and my family :). I'm so excited about the possibilities that I'm working to create in my life. It's been a truly empowering experience realizing that I can really become anything I set my mind to. I'm excited to start this next phase of my life and prove to myself that I really can do this. It's going to be an exciting adventure! Wish me luck!!!

Thriving Ivory Concert

A few months ago I got introduced to a group called Thriving Ivory. Parker from 1019 was showcasing this group for the second time on his radio show when I heard them. I fell completely in love and they're my new favorite band. The lead singer has such a unique, amazing voice. When I first had JR listen to them he didn't like the singer's voice. He said he liked their songs, but just not his voice. Well, after buying their CD and letting JR listen to it more he's totally loving their music too :). I knew I'd win him over, because the group really is amazing. So now it's great being able to enjoy their music together :).

We got to go to their concert in Murray this Wednesday. It was just a small venue because they're still new to the music scene. But that worked out great for us because the concert was small and intimate. It was SUCH a great concert! They had three opening bands, which was a lot. And it was standing room only so we got a little tired standing that long. But all the bands really were great so it was worth it :). We missed the first band, but the other two were actually really good so it was nice :). The two opening bands we heard were Company of Thieves and State of Shock. They both put on a great show, but I think I prefer Company of Thieves music over the other. I put one of their songs, Pressure, on my playlist if you're interested :).

Thriving Ivory was amazing live and JR and I have a blast at their concert. I love discovering good music and this band is definitely one of my all time favorite discoveries. I have several of their songs on my playlist if you care to listen.

Here's Company of Thieves. You gotta love a girl lead singer :). And she was really really good! JR and I couldn't pinpoint who her voice reminds us of. Either way, the group was really fun to listen to.

Here's State of Shock. They look harder than their music really was. They gave a really fun performance. And, again, you gotta love a girl rockin out on the guitar!

Here's us waiting for Thriving Ivory. Not a great pic, but at least it's something! :)

Here's Thriving Ivory. I wish the camera that I brought to the concert took better pics. I have a better camera, but I didn't want to take it because I didn't know how rowdy the crowd would be. But they were really well behaved, so that made the concert even better - you know, for us old people that can't jump up and down for two hours straight like we use to :).

The lead singer is seriously amazing. And the keyboard player behind him is one of the main songwriters. So of course I love him too because their lyrics are doubly amazing!!!

I had to snap this pic after the concert. Such a great show!

Here's a little video clip of one of my favorite songs - Angels on the Moon. You may have heard it on the radio :). Of course they sounded much better than they do on this video, but you get a sense of the awesomeness :D.

P.S. I mentioned that Parker from 1019 introduced me to this group. He was there at the concert and I got to thank him after the show for introducing me to Thriving Ivory. We had a great chat :). Too bad he's not on 1019 anymore! I miss his show!

I leave JR alone with a pair of scissors...

So Isaac has been needing a haircut for some time now. I was hoping for a trim. But JR decided to cut all his hair off - curls and all! It makes me sad just thinking about it! I'm trying to breath and remind myself that it'll grow back, but I've never seen Isaac without his cute curls and he just looks so different. And he looks so much older. It's hard! He looks adorable, of course, but he just looks so different and I'm still trying to get use to it and not cry :(. I was so upset that JR was cutting Isaac's hair that I didn't get a 'before' pic. But here's two very recent ones that show off his hair pretty well.

Look at those curls! Such a cutie pie :).

Look at all that curly hair in the back!

And here's the after pics. Brace yourself....

Look at how short it is!!!

Look at all that hair! And that's only half of what JR cut off. *sniff*

I know he looks cute, but it's still hard and I miss his curls. But he does look very grown up and handsome. When JR was cutting Isaac's hair I heard Cali say, "Now Isaac won't look like a girl!" What a stinker, she's suppose to be on my side! :)

Well, if cutting off Isaac's hair wasn't bad enough, JR decided to chop off Cali's too. It was suppose to be a trim, but we all know that I can't leave JR with the scissors unsupervised anymore. Again, I didn't get a 'before' pic because I didn't know that the 'after' would be so dramatic! So here's a more recent pic of Cali. Her hair really was getting long.

Sorry, this was the best pic I could find! Here she is with her cousin Brianne :).

And here she is today:

The short haircut really does look cute on her :).

It is at least 5-6 inches shorter. And her curls are gone too!

I do think her haircut is cute. But, again, it makes her look so much older! And to make things even worse I just registered her for kindergarten today. Man, it's hard having your kids grow up! Especially when it happens overnight!

Angelica, Bryan, and Baby Hayward

This weekend I got to spend some time with my BF Angelica. She's ready to pop with her first baby in a week or two, so we figured we better hang out now before the baby comes - because we all know how your free time changes after kids :). JR and I went out to dinner with her and her hubby Bryan and we had the best time! I felt back for Angelica because we were laughing so hard I know it had to be uncomfortable for her with the baby, but we couldn't help ourselves :). They really are so much fun to hang out with. I just wish we lived closer to each other.

The last time we hung out (at Angelica's baby shower) I forgot my camera! Another reason why I haven't posted a lot lately. I keep forgetting my camera so I don't have pics! So I made sure I had my camera this time. I made Bryan go back to our house so I could get it :).


Me and Angelica. She looks so cute and prego :).

Here's us (JR, Me, Angelica, and Bryan) waiting to eat at Outback Steakhouse. Mmmmm such good food!

I'm so excited for Angelica and Bryan to have their first baby. They're having a boy, so maybe our little guys will play together when they're older :). Love you guys and I can't wait to meet your little one! Now you just need to think of a name.... :).

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

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Something to tide you over...

We all know what a slacker I've been lately with my blog. I have SO much to blog about, but I either don't have the pictures or the energy :P. Plus there's something else I've been distracted with, that I'll definitely be blogging about soon, but I can't yet because I don't want to jinx myself :) (And NO I'm not prego :).

So, in the meantime, I had to share with you a funny conversation with Cali. We were driving in the car when some fun dance music came on the radio. I started dancing in my seat and told Cali to dance to the music with me. She replied simply, "I can't mom. I'm chewing gum." Cali couldn't understand why mom was laughing so hard! It was quite the funny moment :). I loved it!

So there you go, something to tide you all over until next time :).

Our Valentines

I had such a fun Valentines Weekend. I love having Valentines Day on a Saturday! I did something for JR and the kids on Friday as a surprise, and JR got to take charge of Valentines Day on Saturday. So everyone was happy :). I decided to have a surprise dinner for my family on Friday night. Cali helped me get things ready and she did SUCH a good job of keeping things a secret from JR. I decided to let JR and the kids have their favorite foods for dinner. Cali had a McDonald's Happy Meal, Isaac had pizza, and JR got sushi. He was SO excited that I got him sushi. It's his most favorite food ever. Usually when I plan a candlelight dinner I just want it to be JR and I. But this year I thought it would be a lot of fun to involve the kids too. They loved it! I think I'll do more things like this as a family from now on :).

JR came home from work early, so I made him stay upstairs while I finished getting everything ready. I really REALLY wanted everything to be a surprise. Luckily JR was really cooperative and didn't peak :). He didn't have a clue :).

Everyone seemed pretty happy about the food :).

JR showing off his lovely sushi. I had a little bit. I just wish I enjoyed it more! But I'm glad JR liked it.

Of course Isaac loved his pizza :). It was even leftovers, but he didn't care.

Cali and her happy meal. She was such a big helper and really enjoyed the fun dinner.

Isaac apparently was still hungry after dinner, so he decided to steal Cali's fries.

Complete with ranch dip. What a little stinker :).

The table after dinner. Luckily there wasn't much to clean up :).

And I had to throw this pic in because it's just cute. Love that kid!

After our fun dinner we put the kids to bed and enjoyed a movie. It was great :). For Saturday JR got his family to watch the kids and we did some shopping. It was nice shopping for clothes without the kids :). For dinner we ate at Applebee's, which was super yummy. We had a great time together, I got an awesome skirt, and the kids had a blast with the Petersons. So all in all it was a perfect day! Happy Valentines everyone! Hope yours was just as fabulous!

Isaac's Night of Firsts

I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. You know when you get in those ruts where you have stuff you could blog about but you don't have the energy too? Yeah, that's where I am. But I have things I want to blog about, so hopefully I'll get caught up soon.

First, though, I had to share with you some pics I took of Isaac yesterday. All of a sudden he's become this big little man! He's still my baby, but he's huge :). He eats more than Cali and I for lunch, and he's loving being able to feed himself. He's so much more adventurous and willing to try things by himself than Cali was. I love his little personality and all the things he says. "Hold you?" as he reaches up to me. I love it! Enjoy the pics of my big boy. Makes you just want to squeeze him!

Last night he would not eat his dinner. So we finally took him out of his high chair to give him some time to calm down, and to see if he'd want to eat after a break. Well, after JR finished his dinner he decided to eat a yogurt. Isaac wanted his yogurt, but JR told Isaac he couldn't have any until he ate all his dinner. So, Isaac went into the kitchen all by himself, climbed up to our table, and started eating his dinner! I couldn't believe it! He ate it all gone! And then he was so excited when JR gave him some yogurt. It's amazing how smart kids are. He's 21 months and he understood exactly what JR was saying and he did it! And that was the first time he's eaten at the table instead if in his high chair. Such a big boy!

When it was time to get ready for bed, Isaac decided he wanted to brush his teeth all by himself. He stood on the step stool like a big boy.

I couldn't believe he could reach the water by himself! He's such a big kid! Doesn't he look so much older than 21 months in this pic? Maybe I'm just biased :).

Then to end the night Isaac went to sleep on his new big boy pillow. I think he really likes it, plus it probably helps him breath better since he's been a little stuffy. Like I said, it's like he's grown up over night! I just love my big little guy :).