So brave

I took Landen to get a blood test done yesterday and he did so good. I was very impressed with how brave he was. When they inserted the needle he complained about it hurting but he didn't cry at all. After they took his blood he did get a little sick, he had to lay down for a few minutes but was fine. They were testing for Celiac disease or any other food allergies. His Doctor called today and said everything was normal. He was such a brave boy. I have been working on getting Landen to eat healthier because he is really bad about eating vegetables. He has been doing really good with that too. I told him I was proud of him for trying new foods and eating more vegetables and he told me he was proud of me too because he liked trying new foods.

Dade is doing really well. He is growing so quickly and talking so much now. He loves to copy what everyone else says. He does such silly things when he thinks no one is watching, but if he catches you watching him he will stop and smile at you. Its hard to catch him sometimes because he doesn't like to be watched doing his silly things. Dade has a lot of energy and can go on and on all day but when it comes to going for a walk or playing out side he is so slow and likes to take his time for everything.

Tomorrow is Drew's Birthday!! He has been so busy with work and school that we will be spending the day just relaxing and doing nothing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETY I LOVE YOU!!!!

We are going to Arizona in a week to look for a house and a job. We are so excited to get to see our family. I am hoping that my next post will be some good news about a house.

Dade is 2!

Yesterday was Dade's 2nd birthday. I have been obsessed with watching Cake Boss lately so I wanted to have fun with making Dade's cake. Well I went a little overboard but it was a lot of fun. I made a two tiered cake for the fist time, used fondant for the first time and made ganache for the first time. I learned a lot and I still have so much more to learn. The bottom tier was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and raspberry feeling. The top tier was vanilla cake with cream cheese and raspberry filling. Dade loves trains so I made a scenic view with a train track and a Thomas train cake topper. I really enjoyed making it but it took a lot of time and I hated the fondant recipe I used. The fondant tasted really good but it was hard to work with. I finished the cake right before we had dinner so it literally took me all day to do. Dade loved the cake, especially the fondant. He took a few bites of the cake then just ate the fondant off it. He got a little train, a blanket made by Grandma Raley, and a saucer chair. We had a really good day, but I just can't believe Dade is already 2.


Here is the cake I made.




The Birthday boy with his cake and presents.


Showing us his new train.


The blanket Grandma made for him.


Blowing out his candles.


Time to eat the cake.

Today is Valentine's Day so I just want to tell my wonderful husband how much I love him and how I am so grateful for him in my life. I am truly blessed for the family I have. Thank you Drew for being such a wonderful eternal spouse. You are so loving, understanding, and supportive. Thank you for being you. I love you! Hope everyone else has a great Valentine's Day!

Christmas crafts

Since Christmas is over I can now post pictures of the presents we made. They were a lot of work but really fun to make. We liked them so much we had a hard time sending them off.

What a wonderful Christmas!

We had a very nice relaxing Christmas. Drew had the whole weekend off. This was the second Christmas since we have been married that he had off. The boys had a very good Christmas this year. I think Landen just wanted to open all the presents so he was too busy going to the next to enjoy the previous. Dade got a Hot Wheels motorcycle from Santa in his stalking. Have I told you how obsessed he is with motorcycles? Well he didn't want to have anything to do with the other presents. He was perfectly satisfied with just his motorcycle. Landen got one too but doesn't get to play with it very often because Dade is very possessive of both motorcycles. After opening presents we were able to talk to Drew's family on Skype. It is so wonderful to have that kind of technology that we are able to see family being so far away. Of course actually being there is way better. I am so happy that my kids are able to get to know and recognize their extended family while we are away from them. The rest of the day and weekend was very relaxing. It was nice to just sit around and watch movies and not feel like we had so much to do. There was one thing I was disappointed in. What is the point of living in Utah if you don't have a white Christmas? We had some snow before but it all melted by Christmas Eve. Then it snowed on Sunday but nothing on Christmas day. Here are a few pictures of our Christmas.


Dad had to make him put down his motorcycle to open his present.


We were all excited about this present. Landen has already watched it about 4 or 5 times.


A very loud and noisy car from Grandma and Grandpa Pease. Landen can't get enough of that car...Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


He was very excited about this one! The back end of that dump truck opens so you can put cars in it. Now Dade has a place to hide the motorcycles from Landen!

Here are some pictures of the boys in there new Sunday clothes.


Dade and his cheesy smile.


I am not exactly sure what Dade was doing here but it looks like he is trying to show off his leg, or butt.


They look so cute and so big in their Sunday clothes.

All Aboard!!!

Here are some pictures I forgot to post last time.


Landen's first time on Dad's new motorcycle. It took him a few days to get the courage to get on it. As you can see he is still a little scared.


Landen's first ride.


By the end he didn't want to get off.


Santa came to visit at our Ward Christmas breakfast. I was very proud of Landen for sitting on Santa's lap.


Now Dade, we had to bribe him to go up to Santa in exchange for a candy cane. He would not sit on Santa's lap but he sure wanted that candy cane. He was trying to pull it out of Santa's had.

On December 13th we went to Heber and rode on the North Pole Express. It was a lot of fun and the boys were really excited to ride on a train.


Waiting to get on the train. It was very cold.


All aboard, waiting to go to the North Pole.


Dade eating his cookie. We also got hot chocolate.


Once we got to the North Pole Santa came on the train to talk to all the kids.


The conductor punching our tickets.

Pictures finally

"Attitude of gratitude."

So, I know it has been a little bit since either Alyssa or I have posted anything on here. I also remember that i promised pictures from Landen's soccer games, which still have not been posted. Alyssa is planning on posting soon so hopefully they will be up within a week or so.

Recently we swapped family picture taking with some friends. That in conjunction with the fall and winter holiday season has brought me to reflect on all that I, and my family, have been blessed with this past year and throughout the almost five and a half years that Alyssa and I have been together. Over the past three and a half years I have been able to attend school full time and work full time to be able to sustain my family. A position opened up and with a recommendation from a lieutenant, I was able to change shifts. Even though I am working a graveyard shift and I am quite tired almost all of the time, I am now able to spend more time with my family. This is where I had been failing the most and it was really taking a toll on us. If I wasn't working I was at school. We did not see much of each other and we are all very glad to now have our time back.

Even though we have been through some tough points, through loving discussion with Alyssa and many hours of prayer and fasting, we had opportunities and choices placed in front of us that pulled us through virtually unscathed, yet so much wiser. I am a worrier, especially when it comes to finances. Alyssa even grounded me from the bank website by changing our passwords. Even so, I have come to trust her so much over the years. It has been her that has kept us afloat even though at times we may have been barely treading the water. I find my self far less worried about our finances now. I have been truly blessed with such an intuitive woman as my wife. I feel so comfortable with being grounded from complete knowledge of our finances because I know that she will never allow anything to upset the situation we find ourselves in now.

I also focus on the little things. Dade hasn't really started talking yet. He is almost two and we were getting a little worried. Then he remembered that he knew how to say mom and dad, and now he doesn't stop. He is picking up some words here and there. What touches my heart more than anything else is to hear his little voice say "hi dadda!" when I call from work to tell him goodnight. He is a true joy to have around.

Landen loves spending time with Alyssa and I. He always wants to play and help me whenever there is some work to be done. The other day I was tyring to take the battery out of my motorcycle to store it inside for the winter. I made three trips back inside looking for the right tool. After the third trip Landen held up a tool and said, "Look at this daddy. See that right there!" I looked at it and said, "Hey thanks buddy. That's the tool I needed." Leave it to the child to find the right tool, which just happened to be one of the tools that came in the tool pouch with the motorcycle. Go figure! He is going to a joy school that a few of the moms are doing in our apartments. He is learning so quickly and loves to go to school. Even though we might get a little frustrated with him some times, it is truly amazing to watch him grow. I must say that I take pride in the fact that he knows which building is the library and he loves to go there. He also knows the church and the temple. Because of a certain addiction that Alyssa and I have, he now knows and loves TCBY.

We are happy and we are growing as a family. We could not ask for more. Although, we are very anxious and grateful for the opportunity to move back home. We truly miss our families and are grateful for the love and support they have given the past...almost four years. We have been blessed. We will be blessed. We are grateful for the Lord's loving hand which we can feel and see in our lives daily.