A day filled with love

Byron made cute valentines for the kids to wake up to in the morning and Grandma Halsey sent some monkey friends for them to enjoy.

 Festive peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast (yes, my kids eat PB sandwiches for breakfast... it's less messy than toast with PB because there's bread on top).

I'm too lazy to flip this picture, but these are the valentines I made SUPER last minute for Lila to hand out at preschool.  I would have had her do something she could have been involved in, but we didn't get home from my parents' until really late last night and she was asleep by the time I got on top of things enough to get started.  The idea came from pinterest: "You're just 'write' for me" with a pencil as the arrow through the heart.

Miles and I went to Lila's preschool party.  All the kids looked so cute in red and pink.

What Lila ate off her party plate: Pink frosting from the cupcake (it looked like she had lipstick on... too cute) and that piece of licorice.  I definitely ate more goodies than she did!  I love having pregnancy as an excuse even though I know it would have been that way anyway.

How did Miles entertain himself you ask?  In a wet, muddy sand pit of course!  It rained all last night, so this sand play area was filled with dirty water and mud.  Miles had a blast but I think the other parents questioned my parenting skills when they saw him absolutely soaked.

Oh well... that's just what little boys do!

I decided to show Byron how much I love him by embarrassing him at work.  I bought ten cheesy balloons at the dollar store (including a lovey dovey frog AND monkey) and made a candy poster (sans poster... I just wrote out the message on a note tucked in a basket filled with the goodies that made up the words) and brought them to him at work.  He had to come out to the lobby to pick them up and wanted to take them straight to his car, but I insisted he carry them all the way back to his office (a LONG way by the way) so everyone could see how loved he was (and so he could be thoroughly humiliated).  Lila and Miles look like they were really well-behaved (running around), don't they?  Notice Miles has no pants on... they were too wet to wear after being in the sand pit.

P.S.--I know Byron loved the attention.

P.P.S.--Aren't I fancy for using the word "sans"... I minored in French : )

Byron wrote me a poem and bought me a bunch of candy and cookies he knows I love.  He definitely knows the way to my heart!  We finished the day off by making homemade spaghetti and meatballs- it was delicious.

Wilderness Park

We spent the past week up at my parents' house since my sisters were in town for Grandma's funeral.  It was really nice to be all together even though it was of course for a sad occasion.  The day we left, we had a fun time visiting Wilderness Park, which is truly the closest thing to the wilderness in Torrance, California.  Ducks, turtles, and koi fish... we were really out in the wild!  Uncle Matt even got a duck to eat out of both Lila's and Miles' hand.  Or should I say, he got Lila and Miles to feed a duck out of their hands... that was probably the bigger feat since they can be a little wimpy about stuff like that at times.  When someone you love isn't around anymore, it makes you realize how special t is to spend time with family.

My grandma

My grandma passed away this morning in a car accident. It was a huge shock. I love my grandma sooooooo much! I had a very close relationship with her because we grew up less than a 5 minute drive from her house, went to the same church, and she was pretty much a part of my daily life when I lived with my parents and continued to be even into my adulthood.

Grandma was one of the most amazing people I have ever known. She was incredibly service oriented and willing to help anyone at any time. If I ever told her I needed something, she would be out looking for it at a garage sale or on some super sale at a department store the next day (she was a huge bargain shopper).

I have so many fond memories of cousin slumber parties at her house, eating popcorn (with cheese powder on it... yum), and watching movies. She also always had a fun new card or dice game to teach us. She was known for never wanting her granddaughters to cut their hair (funny since she always had short hair, even growing up) and always complimented me on my long blonde hair. She loved to hear me play the piano and sing and I always knew that in her mind I was a beautiful, talented person who could do anything. What more could you ask for in a grandmother?

When I went on my church mission, my grandma wrote me every single week. Her letters were always so sweet and encouraging and the fact that she took the time to write them was a true testament of her love for me. She knew that Byron was "waiting" for me while I was gone and she always claimed she prayed us together. She loved Byron and prayed the whole time that he wouldn't find someone else and we'd end up getting married when I got back. She never let me forget that she took credit for keeping us together through those 18 months I was gone. As soon as Byron got a job with Caterpillar, she bought a bunch of Cat stock (investing was another big hobby of hers) and was always trying to get the inside of info on the company's performance.

Since I have become a mother myself, I've loved watching my grandma interact with my kids. She was so hands on with them, going straight to the playroom at my parents house to sit on the floor and play with Lila and Miles whenever we came to visit. She was always on the lookout for toys she knew they'd like at garage sales and they were pretty much guaranteed to get some little gift every time we saw her.

Grandma was talented in so many ways. She was a very gifted artist and created portraits of many of her grandchildren when we were young. I wish I inherited that talent from her! She was a fabulous teacher even though she always claimed to be super nervous and never feel adequate for all of the many teaching positions she held in the church. She had a huge love of the scriptures and was such an amazing example of diligent gospel study. She was known for having the greenest of green thumbs and I swear she could make anything grow anywhere.

I've also never seen a harder worker in my life. She could outwork people decades younger than her, including me and Byron. Last summer she came down with my dad to visit and ended up working out in our yard so long that we had to ask her to stop since we were tired and felt guilty leaving little old grandma outside working while we rested! She pulled weeds, prepared soil, planted, tore out a huge wall of ivy (quite a job!), and tons more. She had a true love of work, something I know I need to strive harder to develop.

The joy of her life was her family and she has left us with quite a legacy. We have a lot to live up to with her memory to honor. I will miss her more than I can possibly express. I know that she and my grandfather, who passed away more than ten years ago, are having a joyful reunion along with their son Jeff who died in his 20's and many other family members.

Grandma had a hilarious sense of humor and one of her classic self-depricating jokes was that when she died, her grandchildren would all sing "Ding dong the witch is dead" at her funeral! That will definitely NOT be sung of course, but I'm sure she would have quite the laugh if we did sing it just to fulfill her request.

Our church children's songbook has a song called "Grandmother" that sums up how I feel about my grandma.

You give me a kiss.

You give me a hug.

You smile when you see me too.

I wish every girl in the whole wide world had a grandmother just like you.

You read me a book.

You sing me a song.

You whisper you love me too.

I wish every girl in the whole wide world had a grandmother just like you.

I'll try to be good; I'll do as I should.

I'll whisper, "I love you too."

I wish every child in the whole wide world had a grandmother just like you.

Thank you grandma for being someone I could always look up to, someone who always cheered me on and believed in me, and someone who was sincerely interested in my life. I always loved your little saying, "I love you the mostest." Miles says it all the time now and whenever we use that saying in our family, I'll always think of you and how much love I always felt when I was around you.

Go #2!!!

Miles turned two yesterday and because he LOVES baseball, we of course had to throw him a baseball themed party.  For weeks in advance we talked about his "bay-ball" party and how he was going to turn two (he still doesn't quite have the finger coordination to stick up just two fingers peace sign style) so he was definitely ready to celebrate.

Here he is already getting into baseball mode as we set up some decorations.

My party-planning assistant extraordinaire

(Ok, so maybe he's more of the financial sponsor and the menial laborer when it comes to events I plan).

We almost managed to get all our party guests to sign this souvenir ball.

And yes, I know it's a softball and that softball is generally for girls, but I figured it was better to give people more room to leave their autograph.

I've been waiting to use those cute Target dollar bin popcorn containers for quite some time and this was the perfect opportunity.  Goodie bags!

Baseball cupcakes were a no-brainer.  And I'm sure you've all been making amazing frosting for ages, but if you're still making the basic butter and powdered sugar stuff I've always made, settle no more.  I found an amazing recipe online that you must try.  It's soooo light and fluffy and just perfectly not-too-sweet but deliciously creamy.  Kind of like whipped cream texture, but it's buttercream!  Mmmmm...  If you're like me and you don't even really like frosting, try this stuff.  I know a lot of you probably already know about this "cooked" frosting, but just in case you didn't, I had to include the link.

Ballpark menu:

• Hot dogs (Miles FAVORITE food... he got some birthday money and when I asked him what he wanted to buy, he said hot dogs)
• Nachos (Who knew that fake cheese from Costco was so pricey and the ingredients are surprisingly somewhat natural... cheddar cheese is the first ingredient.  Can you believe that?  It does have a few chemical ingredients at the end though that I'm sure are the preservatives that make dairy last through the ages without refrigeration)
• Cracker jacks (I bought a ton and not a single person ate any.  I plan to donate them to the church nursery because I don't like them either... I guess I'll just justify them in that they did serve as a cute decoration)
• Peanuts (don't think any were eaten either... another "decorative" food)
• Red vines
• Fruit (felt the need to include a "healthy" option)

 The guests of honor.  Miles and Roro wouldn't sit unless someone held them.  I promise this is the best picture we could get.  This was seriously the best out of five or six.

Birthday song and blowing out the candles.

He smiled through the whole thing and blew away right on cue... what a smart little guy.

 Happy birthday my Miles!

P.S.--How do people manage to beautifully document their events and run the show/participate in them/enjoy their guests?  I definitely still have not figured that one out.  I can either focus on picture taking or enjoying the party, and usually I go for the latter as you can tell by this post!  

Holidays with the Halseys

We had a fabulous Christmas in Maryland.  It was SO much fun to spend almost two weeks just hanging out with the family, even if all the adults (4 couples + Byron's teenage sister) camped out in the basement together.  Actually that turned out to be really fun, especially since Byron and I were the only ones who got real mattresses while the other couples were relegated to air mattresses and camping pads.  I kept intending to give someone else a turn on the mattress... really guys!

PIES...

We started the trip off with some pie-making with the pie-making extraordinaire herself, Mary (aka Grandma) Halsey.  It was funny that Libbi and I were the ones helping her since neither of us is a big pie fan.  It was my first time having pecan pie however, and I must say that it was delicious.

Fancy clothes...

Christmas day the kids looked so darn cute in their Sunday best.  I'm always jealous of those families that have the tradition of a fancy Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner.  Since this Christmas fell on a Sunday we had the chance to semi-fulfill my dream of a fancy dressed up Christmas.

My absolute favorite part of the trip was watching the cousins play together.  I grew up near many of my cousins so I have great memories of playing together often and it made me so happy to see how well the kids got along (...most of the time).  I love that Marianna has her arm around Averett... adorable!  Those two are just a few days apart in age.

Santa knows how to do stockings right at Grandma's house.  These things are HUGE!

 Best buds...


Ok, see why the cousins being together was my favorite part?  Could they be any cuter?  I love that little Hazel!!!

 Sprinkles...

 Nativity...

The kids had a bit of difficulty deciding what they wanted to play in the nativity (they switched costumes about 10 times each), but in the end, Miles was a sheep...

...and Byron and Lila were Joseph and Mary with Averett as baby Jesus.

Must have family shots...

 I have to admit that yes, I was the only one bundled up like that.  What can I say?  I'm a California girl.

Aunt Libbi...

My kids were IN LOVE with the newest addition to the family, Aunt Libbi.  They seriously couldn't get enough of her and I wish she lived near us so she could babysit every day.  I guess that's probably one reason she's glad she DOESN'T live near us.  Look how jealous Miles is in this photo where Lila is hugging Libbi.

Thank you Halsey family for having us for so long and making everything so fun.  We love you!!!

I'm baaaaaack!

Yes, that's right, I'm back to blogging. This must be quite a thrill for the two of you out there who still check my blog religiously only to consistently be disappointed. My father-in-law is one of those two and for Christmas I decided the best thing I could give to him and to my parents as well was a commitment to blog in the coming year.

Here's the little poem I wrote explaining the gift:

(Explanation: I made a Halsey Family Year in Review photo book for 2011 to go with it and one of the pictures was of the backside of a naked little Miles by the lake at the Halsey reunion last summer)

I better get going soon if I'm going to get two posts in for January... and no, this one doesn't count : )

Daily inspiration

I just finished reading this talk by Jeffrey R. Holland (an apostle in our Church) about motherhood and it touched me so much that I thought I should share it in case any mothers out there need a little uplift.

Here's the link:

"Because she is a Mother"

Miss Lila

An impromptu interview with my favorite little girl...

Favorites

• Color: Pink
• Show: Zoo Show (A "Baby Genius" movie that shows scenes from the San Diego zoo)
• Food: 1st Answer-Spaghettio's (me: You don't like spaghettio's silly!) 2nd Answer: Meat (sad but true)
• Friend: Tanner (little boy who just moved away... we love him, but Lila rarely actually played with him because of their age difference)
• Toy: Emily (one of Thomas' train friends)

What do you want to do when you're a big girl?

Play with my friends.

Kids are so funny. I wonder what makes certain things come to their mind first, even if they aren't true at all (aka Lila's favorite show, food, possibly friend, and toy).