Bribery

Bribery is an effective tool. Even for me. I have bribed myself with a few goals. If I keep up with them I get to go buy a new pair of shoes on April 20th. One of my goals is to blog once a week. We'll see if it happens. But, since I'm an adult, I can renegotiate my terms and I will probably buy myself new shoes whether or not I am successful :)

The weather has turned gorgeous. My boys are loving the dirt outside. I think they will be sad when it actually gets landscaped. Jack and Grandma Holly flew kites together. He loved it!


They also made chocolates. Jack was very good about not licking his fingers until they were finished.


Luke's favorite perch is the back of the couch. I can not keep him off of it. No matter what I try. I think he sees it as his throne.


He also feels it is his personal duty to destroy paper towel rolls. We have to keep them up really high.


We had a really fun Easter week! My friend Emily threw a fantastic hunt for the kids. She hid about a million eggs. The boys loved it. Luke caught on quickly watching the other kids. He walked as fast as his little legs would carry him from egg to egg.


Jack got way more than the allotted egg amount. He was quite pleased with himself.


Jack helped me make sugar cookies. I wish I were one of those fun moms that really let their kids get involved, but I am a control freak. I can't handle the cookies not being an even thickness or the dough getting smashed. Poor Jack. I finally had to give him a little bit of his own dough to cut shapes with. Once I did that, he left my space alone. I am going to have to loosen my control a little or he is going to be need a lot of therapy as an adult.


Easter morning was so fun! The boys had a ton of chocolate and we really regretted that during church when they were both a hyper mess.


Jack wanted to share his chocolate bunny with Luke. So sweet!


We should have taken our Easter picture before church. Before Jack and Luke got muddy and before I ripped my dress. So, you just get a regular family picture. Sigh. Next year.

Luke has decided that he likes to kiss. All the time. Everyone. Watch out if you get too close!

The Blog That Wasn't Always Neglected

I think at one point in my life I actually had interests and hobbies. I'm not sure what they were, so I'm just hoping they actually existed. For now, my world (and sleep patterns) revolve around two little blonde boys. They are darling, and challenging, and downright hilarious. Jack got frustrated with me the other day and called my a "poozy caterpillar". I'm not sure what the insult means, but I tried not to take it personally.

Jack has started speech therapy here. He has a class with 5 other kids. All boys except for 1 girl, named Brinlee, who Jack is convinced he is going to marry. Really?? It starts at 3? He is going to be a problem. He is doing great and can finally say the "ck" at the end of his name!! Wahoo!! He can also say "Luke" instead of just "Lou". We are so pleased with his progress.

Luke is a chatterbox. He runs around all day yelling for Jack and begging for food. He has been dying to run now that he can walk which mostly results in a lot of face plants. Good thing he doesn't have many teeth to knock out :)

Jay is loving his new job. We did a 5k with his company 2 weeks ago and had a lot of fun. He likes the people he works with and he loves that they play Ultimate Frisbee during lunch breaks.

We hardly got any snow, but the boys loved the little bit that we actually got.




Jack insists on dressing himself. Some days the results are ok, and some are pretty embarrassing. It's a good thing we mostly stay home.


Jack has started "babysitting" Luke so I can take a shower. I pay him $.27 a shower. Best 27 cents I have ever spent. The other day after my shower, I found them in Luke's room having a picnic on the back of the train. The picnic consisted of Teddy Grahams and Outer Space goldfish.


Luke eats. And eats. And eats. He is always hungry. And he still barely weighs 20 pounds. Wish I had that metabolism. If I'm not fast enough with the snacks, he will go help himself.


I'm glad my boys love each other.


Lehi is apparently a wind tunnel. Two days ago, the wind blew the garage door out. Yikes.


Maybe I was being too hard on myself. I guess I still have interests and hobbies. They just changed to Legos and baseball. Jack just got hooked on Star Wars and wanted me to build him the Millennium Falcon. I've got to say, I am pretty impressed with my Lego abilities. I even put on Stormtroopers. Jack added the pig and Patrick...not sure how they tie in :)

We are Utahns...forever.

Jay got a job! Wahoo!! It is in Provo, so, he is off to Virginia today to bring our other car back here. Which means, he is taking the computer. So, I am doing the fastest blog update ever since he will be gone for a week. I'm not going to lie. It's going to be pretty lame.

A couple of weeks ago we got to go to Colorado to see my family. We got there and then got snowed in! It was wonderful! 2 whole feet! I love Colorado in the snow!



The boys loved the snow and loved getting to play with some cousins.


Don't you love Jack's hair after being in a beanie hat all day in the snow?


Back in Utah, where it doesn't snow, we have been having fun in the mud. Just in case you were wondering, mud castles don't stay up. They turn into cow pies.


Jay and his mom have been busy painting walls. Jack can't keep from climbing up the scaffolding. It scares me and I hope he doesn't fall off.




Luke wants to get in on the action, but he can only do the ladder :)


We got family pictures done in Dec. with Jay's family. I am just getting around to posting these :) Lazy.

And just because it is funny, here is a great video. Luke did this for an hour the other day while I made dinner. It was awesome! Sorry it is a little long, but you have to watch the whole thing.

The Youngest One Bites The Dust

My little brother, the youngest child in the family, got married last weekend. *Tear*. He married a lovely girl named Jill in the St. George temple. Jay and I left our boys with Grandma and Grandpa Durrant and escaped to St. George for the whole weekend....just the two of us. It was divine. It was so fun to be with my family and also to be somewhere just a tad warmer.

Aren't they a cute couple?



So happy for them! Welcome to the Crazies, Jill :) Hope you survive!


I had a great time with all of my sisters. It is a very rare occasion that we are all together.




My beautiful mom :) And some very huge bags under my eyes. Sheesh. Can you tell my baby hasn't been sleeping through the night pretty much since we moved?


Jay's groomsmen tie and my sister's dress matched perfectly. Prom 1991?



In other news, Luke's mullet was getting a little out of control. I hate cutting my boys' hair for the first time. For some reason it makes them look more like a little boy and less like a baby. And then I feel like I need another baby. It is a vicious cycle and I am definitely NOT ready to have another baby. But, it had to be cut.



His hair is so blonde that he just looks bald. Ha!!


Jack got an electric screwdriver for Christmas because he is always stealing Jay's. He is quite skilled with it. Here is the board that he screwed all of the screws into.

Here is a little video of my very talented craftsman.



Luke is really not wanting to walk. He will sometimes, but mostly he prefers to walk around on his knees.

A very Utah Christmas

I am a little behind on the blog and I keep telling myself that it's ok because we just moved, but 3 weeks is probably enough time to get my act together. Better late than never, right?

We had a great Christmas! All of Jay's siblings were able to be in Utah this year. We haven't all been together in 4 years, so it was a ton of fun!

Christmas morning was pretty crazy. 20 people in one room trying to open gifts was insane. But, we loved it!

Can you tell that Jack was just a little excited to start opening?!

Even Luke got into the action. He mostly loved stealing gifts from his cousin's piles and bringing them over to his own. Tricky little thing!


Jack has been wearing this cape and mask pretty much everyday. His self-proclaimed official title is "Big Superman Hero Guy". Thanks to Jolene for the countless hours of entertainment :)



The day after Christmas we made the trek up to Temple Square to see the lights. They were beautiful! So beautiful that I didn't get any pictures of them. Can you tell how happy Luke was to be there?

I had him in about a million layers. He could barely move his arms.


Good things always come in threes. Three of the four siblings in Jay's family had babies all within a few months of each other. All boys. They loved crawling around together and they all liked to pass their toys around, from mouth to mouth to mouth. Yay for germs!!


Aren't they darling?!? (L-R) Truman - 5 months, Henry - 9 months, Luke - 1 yr.


We are loving the new house. More on that later, but this picture was too cute not to post. They were digging up the lot next to us last week and the boys stood at the window for at least an hour just watching. Luke is barely tall enough to see out. He started clapping each time the backhoe got some dirt. It's the little things that count.


During Christmas, we played the most fun game, ever. Just dance on the Wii. I have never really wanted a video game before, but this was awesome, and I really want it. I also got some footage of Jay, which is hilarious, and he is going to be really mad when he finds out I put it on the blog for all to see.

Enjoy!!

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

We have enjoyed a wonderful 2011! We have just made the move from Alexandria, VA. to Lehi, UT. Not the best time to get Christmas cards out. So, here is my half attempt.

Jay just finished his Masters degree in International Affairs at George Washington University. We are so proud of all of his hard work, sleepless nights writing papers and good grades. He is excited to have a little more time to play basketball. He has also planned about 10 different camping trips now that we are back west.

Jack is 3 1/2. He is such a funny kid. He told me today that he wasn't sure he wanted Santa to come tonight because he doesn't want him to eat all of our cookies. He started speech therapy this year and has made vast improvements in his articulation. He is missing his Virginia friends but he is excited to learn to snowboard in Utah. He loves to learn and he loves to play. He asks me for a dog every day and collects hand sanitizer.

Luke just turned 1. I don't think we could have a sweeter baby. He has a charming personality and a knack for destruction. He had a little tumor removed in August and it didn't slow him down for a minute. He follows Jack around all day and can't wait to be able to keep up with him. He loves to eat and he can climb just about anything.

I am still at home with the boys, which is my very favorite thing. I can't imagine a job that would be more fulfilling or more fun. I write for a blog once a week which is a great outlet for me. I am excited to be close to family again, but will miss all of the wonderful friends we made while in Virginia.

I love this season and am so grateful to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Jay, Lindsay, Jack and Luke

Battles and Birthdays

Remember how I have almost become a widow quite a few times? Well, just to keep me on my toes, Jay decided to have a scaffold fall on his head. Luckily he is fine, but he wanted to make sure that I shared his battle wound. It was a lot of blood. Even to me.


In happier news, Luke turned 1 this week! I can't believe how fast it went!! I also can't believe how much cake he ate. He isn't afraid to dig in :) I am sad that he almost isn't a baby anymore.