WALK TO CURE DIABETES

There is a little boy (2 years old) in our ward who was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes back in January. His mom is close to my age and has 3 little ones of her own. Whenever she would talk about “Bear” and his diabetes I my heart would well up and I would start to get teary eyed. Could you even imagine?! Needless to say, when she invited our Relief Society to walk for Bear, I was in. It was a no brainer. I brought Kalea, Mia, and Landen with me. We talked about how this special little boy needs special medicine to keep his body healthy and strong. He has to prick his finger and get shots daily so that he can live a normal life. It was such a great learning experience for the kids and it was such a great opportunity to do something to show support for this amazing family. I can honestly say it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and I felt so privileged to be a part of it.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween was … well … confusing this year. Baity Hill (where we live) did a Halloween Party the weekend before and then lets the kids trick-or-treat afterwards from 6-8pm. They also could trick-or-treat ON Halloween from 6-8. We also had Trunk-or-treat. It was a bit much. We chose 2 of the 3 activities. Next year we’ll probably chose to just trick-or-treat on the actual day of Halloween instead of before. Too confusing. Not that it tarnished the kids excitement. Landen dressed up weeks ahead of time in Mario and Waluigi costumes. The girls were decked out in colored hair spray, make up, and their Monster High costumes. It took me 1 1/2 hours to get them ready. I also dressed up this year as Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get ahold of the picture they took at Trunk-or-Treat yet. I was only able to get the one picture. Alana wore the same Care bear costume that Kalea and Mia both wore at that age. Such a classic!

 

NOTHING FINER THAN TO BE IN CAROLINA

I found some old pictures from earlier this year. Honestly, once school started back up my life became so busy but I am loving every minute of it. Here are some random pictures I found. Don’t judge my non-organized way of blogging. I wish I could hire a professional blogger to document my life with a busy husband and 4 darling kids. Not ever going to happen, so we’ll just settle for this.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Like I said, don’t judge. Yes it’s November and here are Kalea and Mia’s first day for 3rd and 1st grade pictures. I do, however, love how different these two girls are. Kalea is decked out in all white with a little bling on the front of her dress. You can’t see it, but her back pack is COVERED in sequins and it is bright pink with silver stars. She saw it at Justice (totally a little girl’s cult store) and HAD to have it. Mia loves Hello Kitty. She’s much more comfortable in a t-shirt and short/jeans. She doesn’t even like a hair bow in her hair anymore. They are totally different but such best friends.

Christian got a few games to some Carolina football! He took Mia first and they rode their bikes to get there. This was back in September so it was a hot muggy day. They still had a great time despite the weather. Mia’s first UNC game. My kids love to say, “In Raleigh I’m a NC State fan, in Chapel Hill I’m a UNC fan, and in Durham I’m a Duke fan.” I don’t think they quite get how it works.

The girls also started and finished Cheerleading. It was their first extra curricular activity. They had a love/hate relationship. They enjoyed it, but I don’t think they loved it, and by the time it was over, they were ready to be done.

KRISTY IS… OLD

I celebrated my 29th birthday on August 24th. My last year in my 20’s. Sigh. I’m feeling pretty good about this birthday though. A lot has happened, I’m in a good place. I’m seeing my children grow and thrive. I am seeing my husband do something that he is loving. I am happy. I have a lot to be grateful for. Life isn’t all easy. It’s a lot of work balancing a household of 6. Making sure each child hears “I love you” every single day along with a big hug. Making sure that even though they were scolded or sent to time out, that they know that we love them unconditionally. It is all a balancing act. One that I am working on each and every day. I have a husband who adores me and who I adore right back. He has held my hand every bumpy step, every rough patch, every single unknown. He is my friend, he is my eternal companion, he is my biggest supporter. We are each other’s cheerleaders through it all.

This year he surprised me. A GENUINE surprise. What you may not know about me is that I am very hard to surprise. Once I get a whiff of it in the wind I will snoop. I will check mail, emails, and try and be as sneaky as possible to wiggle it out of you. I am relentless. He knows this. He hid it from me well. Deleted emails, acted like he was going to just give me cash for my birthday. His usual disregard. However, he had it all planned out. Aunt Camillia came and picked up all four kids and we left after class. He had me drive so he could study but didn’t tell me where we were going. He set the GPS up and I knew we were heading west. So we weren’t going to the beach. Then I started bombing him with questions about WHERE. My first guess was to Greensboro to see Jason Mraz. He blew that off because we were going past Greensboro. So then I though Charlotte for a show of some kind. Or Asheville. Really, I had no clue. So we just drove and once we got close to Charlotte we were taking and exit and it said “Charlotte Speedway”. Nascar?! And I quote myself, “If we are going to a Nascar race, I will turn this car around and head home.” We kept heading in that direction. I noticed a car full of teenage boys. I repeat, “If we are going to a Nascar race, I will turn this car around and head home.” He laughs. We end up at the Verizon Amphitheatre. We park. Still no clue. Once I get out of the car I hear other cars playing Jason Mraz music. He tricked me! It was so funny and so worth it. I had a great time. Poor Christian knew maybe, MAYBE 2 songs the whole night. But he took me because he loves me and wanted to do something that he knew I would love. He is amazing. Not to mention we didn’t get back until almost 2 am and he had class around 8am that morning. Truly a sacrifice.

{We stopped off for dinner before the big SURPRISE}

{WE HAD 12TH ROW SEATS!!!}

LANDEN IS FOUR!

Our special little man had a birthday on August 18th! It just so happened we had Aunt Candice’s wedding and reception that same day. We celebrated his birthday a little late but it turned out to be a magical one. Why so magical? Because it was full of MAAARRRIOOOO!!

Landen was obviously in heaven. Christian bought every character under the sun. It was so funny to watch Landen pull out each out of the bag. He named them all without skipping a beat. I’m not sure if we’re feeding this unhealthy obsession or just letting a little boy be a boy. I guess time will tell.

Landen is an amazing part of our family. Not only because he is our only boy but he can make you laugh, smile, and crack up laughing. He also has a very tender heart to anyone who is sad or is having a bad day. He will quickly wipe away his mother’s tears when he sees she is sad and gives the biggest hugs. He loves to make his little sister laugh and he loves to terrorize his older sisters. He can play Mario Brothers better than me and has surpassed his sisters also. He has a big imagination, but it usually revolves around Mario of some kind. Even in his drawings of his family… we are all wearing a Mario hat. I adore this little boy (Landen, not Mario). He can be a handful, his tantrums are excruciating and his temper can be fierce. But he is mine. He is my little man who I adore over any other little man out there. He has a special place in my heart that can never be replace.

Happy 4th Birthday Landen

{WE HAD TO GIVE HIM ONE PRESENT THAT WASN’T MARIO.}

SERENITY IN THE FORM OF WAVES AND SAND

Amen to that! Last year we weren’t able to go to the beach. Why you ask? Well, it had a little to do with selling and moving our of our house, a wedding, a newborn, and a big move to Chapel Hill with Medical School involved. It was a huge bummer because our family LIVES for the beach. We have salt water in our veins. This year we were able to go! We were able to go with Christian’s parents, his 2 youngest brothers, and a visit from Aunt Candice and Aunt Crystal with her two boys. It was a super fun trip and we were all able to get our fix. The older kids loved the waves. Kalea hardly left the water until it was time to leave. She like to see how far out she could go… which terrified me (I’m not a fan of deep, murky ocean water.) Christian liked to see how far he could make me go out too. Alana is a TOTAL beach baby. She loved the sand, the water, the waves. She was in her element. It was so nice that everyone had the time of their lives. I don’t think we could handle living far away from the beach. Guess we’re stuck.