More pictures from Finleys Birthday Weekend

* Note these are taken with my phone since the batteries I charged (for a full day) for my camera died after 2 minutes!

 

 He requested a Blue Lego cake

 Vera didn't get enough so she decided to climb out of her chair to get a taste of Finleys.

Guys...Vera is a little on the chubby side. I know. :)  But I love it!

Finley is FOUR

 His smile warms my heart...

Well I think I could write a novel on this boy...as you can tell he brings much joy and laughter into our lives.  I can't believe he is already 4! And that was really all he cared about..turning 4 was the best part of his day. Finley is such a sweet boy and the most curious little boy I know!  He is constantly asking questions on how things work and why...and a lot of times I don't know the answer and I cheat and google or search youtube for explanations for him.  I interviewed him on his favorite things..it was a long interview- he has a story or explanation for EVERYTHING. Here are his answers: He currently loves Target- mainly for the Icee and Hot dogs I bribe them with if they are good.  His favorite toy right now would be his wood blocks..he is very creative and builds some crazy things (and each always has a story to go with it).  He is terrified of self-flushing toilets.  He says he is really good at running so fast and hanging on the bars at the park. He wants to be a batman with a sword or a astronaut when he grows up ( he wanted to be a garbage man last month).  His favorite colors are blue and orange- which makes Luke so proud.. His favorite book is Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-el.  He LOVES the Lego movie and Wreck It Ralph.  His favorite foods are sandwiches with leaves on it, hot dogs, and chicken chilli.  His favorite treats are ice cream, donuts and suckers.  His favorite animals are Cows and Flamingos.  His favorite song is We Will Rock You.

 His Birthday Breakfast:  Sandwich with leaves on it (Spinach) and oranges..his request.  His dinner request was  "worms, but not the ones in the ground" (ramen)  and oranges and strawberries.

(Vera was napping during present time...but when she woke up she gave him his favorite gift- a foam sword from the dollar store-not pictured) This boy was definitely spoiled. But don't let that smile fool you...the boy knows how to have melt downs. 9.28.2014 was also the day of his first primary program.  He has had his part memorized since the day they gave it to him. "Following God's Prophets makes me feel obedient."..However he woke up at 6am asking where his friends were for his birthday..que the crying when I told him no friends were coming- he had a party at school. We then got ready for church which consisted of more crying. He pasted his good friend Dahlia in the hall at church and started crying when he had to sit in the chapel instead of play out in the foyer with her. Then the time came to go up on the stand for the program..he went with a face of anger.  He seriously glared out at the congregation the whole time, until they handed him the mic. He said "No." they tried again...and he collapsed to the floor in tears. I had to go up there and get him so they could continue on. Ha...here's to next year.

Called to Serve

It came! I will officially be a Church-service Missionary on October 1,2014!  I will be the mission nurse for the Nashville, TN mission! I am scared and excited! I really hope I know what I am doing! :)

A Surprise package!

We received a wonderful surprise package in the mail last week! My sister from another mister aka My sister wife aka Kendal send us a box of goodies! (Ps once again these are photos from my phone...sorry they are blurry)

 She sent homemade fig jam and crackers because we ate that with fancy cheese (she left a note that told me to "buy your own damn cheese" as our midnight snack over the summer during our late night hangouts with out kids. She also made me a shirt that says "sister wifey"

She sent the kids donuts- to remind us of Jake since those are his favorite things to eat (which lasted 2 minutes) and shirts as well! Finn's says " Im really a Ninja" and Vera was spoiled with two- "Never grow up" and "Hey Ya'll"

I am so blessed to have an amazingly thoughtful BFF! She's a keeper!

Mountain Goats, Community Apple, and more.

Warning: These are low quality photos from my phone...

 Vera is CONSTANTLY climbing on EVERYTHING! She is our little Mountain Goat.

 She is on and into everything...chairs, stools, tables, sinks...

 And she is pretty proud of it too.

 This Handsome boy was hunting the bad guys all day in his cute get-up :)

 Luke and I got to go out on a date thanks to his school for having free kids care once in awhile! We went to Gabby's for the best hamburgers in town, then Home Depot!

 I took the kids to see animals at Pets Mart...then Finley had a melt down in the bathroom because he is terrified of public toilets and their loud flushes...

 This little monkey stole my apple. And then her big brother stole it from her..hence the title "community apple."

 It's Fall Ya'll! So the weather changed overnight and has been in the 60's-70's all week! Finn has been loving riding his bike. This boy is so grown up. He is always asking questions to explain things...to which I rarely know the answer and feel so dumb. Wikipedia has become my friend as well as youtube. He absolutely loves school. And he likes to know the plan for the week..he always asks "where are we going tomorrow? what about after two dark times?" He prefers Target Icees over an Ice cream cone now...I had to bribe him with a trip to Target instead of Chick Fil A! He's coming to my dark side ;)

 We have been enjoying it with bike rides, walks and park/zoo trips.  This little boy is Rogan.  His mom is in Luke's class and the only other Mormon in the school! I watch him a 1-2 days a week and try to help them out since they are in the same boat as us!

 Vera & I have been getting a lot of bonding time in since Finn is in school T/TH.

Here she is helping me clean up the weeds in the yard...looking like a little hobo.  Just this week she has changed so much.  She now says "Why?" when I tell her to do something! and when I call her name she yells back "What?"...is she serious! she isn't even 2! She still babbles and always ends in a question-like tone...she was doing this on the car ride to church and I said Really?? and she responded "yay!"  Other words: drink, yuck, belly button, eyes, nose, ears, teeth, toes, head.  She is always on a mission and walks proudly around the house getting in to things.  She is definitely a handful.

Vera @ 15 months

She is definitely a growing girl!! 24lbs 30" tall!

 She absolutely LOVES her brother.  She is always trying to wrestle him and kiss him.  They love to make each other laugh by making faces at each other.

 This is her friend Bear (Bernard).  They also love each other.

 Vera loves her food. She loves blueberries, avocados, pizza, noodles, chicken, hotdogs, apples (not cut up- she wants the whole apple) and anything Finley has in his hands.

 She loves to dance and could watch Frozen 500 times a day. She loves shoes.  They are the first things she wants on when she wakes up. She loves books and babies. And of course she loves her mama.  She is my shadow and whatever I am trying to do she wedges herself in between for me to bend down and kiss her.

 She definitely likes to entertain. And I am her #1 fan.

 She tries to keep up with her brother so much and now that Finley started school she SCREAMS the whole way home after we drop him off.

 She runs, jumps, climbs, falls..and can tear the house apart in .2 seconds.  She loves "clean up" and to throw away everything...including bottles, shoes, remotes, books...etc.

She talks a million gibberish words a minute and everyone laughs because she really seems to know what she is talking about.  However her vocabulary has improved to: mama, daddy, finley (in-ee), away, go, shoes, book, banana, apple, drink, bottle, baby,nigh-nigh, bath, hi, bye, no..and thats all I can think of.  She understands most commands and walks proudly to do them- like go get your shoes, go brush your teeth, wheres finley...etc.

Vera is a wild child and so so loving.  She is always wanting kisses. She is miss independent and wants to do everything by herself...especially walk in public...she is no longer allowed to go shopping with me. We absolutely love this girl and couldn't imagine life without her!