2010-2011

I've got so much catching up to do, I'm feeling very overwhelmed. So this is going to be a quick rundown. Ben got home at the beginning of November. It was amazing! He surprised me, which was awesome! It's been an adjustment having him home, but I'm SO GLAD he's home. Thanksgiving we celebrated with some good friends. We had a great time. We had a mini celebration for Ben's birthday. He turned the big 3-0. And he's still hot! We decided for Christmas we would DRIVE out West to his folks' house. We left December 15th, expecting a short drive to Nashville. A 6 hour drive turned into a 12 hour drive due to an accident on I-75. We sat still, not moving, for 7 hours. It was late at night, and kids weren't sleeping. We got into a motel that morning at 5 am, slept for 5 hours and then hit the road again. Over all, the traveling was great. We stopped at my folks' for a day and then headed up to Washington to celebrate with Ben's folks. It was so fun! All the kids were there and it was just great spending time up there. Then we drove to my folks' house and spent time there, brought in the new year. And then started the trek back to Georgia. We had family for a couple of stops, so that was great. I finally met Ben's Grandma Eastman and his "Aunt" Julie. They're great. They live in Omaha, which is where we'll be moving here in a couple of weeks. I'm so so excited, but I'm really really sad. We have so many great friends here in Georgia who've become like family. I will miss the South, but ready to be closer to family, especially with Ben deploying again. I'm looking forward to a great 2011. We're going on our first cruise together in May. We're moving closer to family. It's going to be an exciting year! I'll TRY to post pictures here.......ok....that's a lie....I'm not going to. I've got more important stuff to do.....like getting ready to move. But once we're settled, I'll post pictures......maybe....if I remember..........we'll see.

Family Pics of 2010

My friend April is a fantastic photographer. We went downtown in Augusta and she took our family pictures. I thought they turned out great (even though the kids were not cooperating and stressing me out). Thanks April! We love them!

Click here to see some of them.

My Super Cute Kids

When I was in Cokeville, I had my super awesome, totally amazing sister BRE take some pictures of the kids. And even though she is taking FOREVER to edit the pictures, I still love her and forgive her, and will not mention it again, because I know that she is busy and that she will get them to me someday.

But I just wanted to share how cute the pictures turned out, of course it isn't hard when these kids are so freakin' cute! Here are just a few. You can see more on her facebook fan page. (and feel free to become a fan while you're there!)

Aren't they the cutest? I sure think so....

Disclaimer: this post was NOT written by my super awesome, totally amazing younger sister BRE. BUT...if it was, I'm sure she would want you to know that she loves me and ben, and these super cute kiddos lots and lots and lots, and she thinks that we should come visit her really soon! And she is really glad that Ben is home safe and sound, and glad that I haven't given my children away when they get crazy. (not that she really thinks I would....but still!) And I would not get mad at her for posting on my blog. The end!

Have a great day everyone!

Halloween 2010

We went to our ward trunk or treat Saturday night. There were so many people there and my kids got tons of candy. Then I took the kids trick or treating and got even more candy. Plus, Lilli got tons of candy from her party at school. Tonight I ate 7 pieces of candy. I'm all candied out (for the day). The kids were cute though. Lilli was a fairy, Alex was Yoda, and Aidan was Superman. We weren't going for a theme, obviously. Mom was going for easy. What can I say! When you're by yourself, you do what's easiest. I guess you could say I dressed up as a half marathon runner??

Half Marathon

I wanted to post about this because it's so fresh on my mind. Saturady I ran my first half marathon. My friend Katie and I drove up to Greenville, SC Friday. I'm so glad she came. We had so much fun and I wouldn't have enjoyed myself as much. The kids stayed at friends' houses. Anyway, we got to Greenville at around 7pm and hurried and went to go pick up my packet then we went to Olive Garden. Nothing like stuffing your face with delicious breadsticks, salad, and pasta. We got lost getting back to the motel, but finally made it. I wasn't really nervous. I wasn't racing anybody and my goal was to finish the race. I started at the front of the pack, which now I know, is something you don't do when your a beginner. I got passed so quickly it was a bit discouraging. But then, there were a ton of people who were still behind me, so it wasn't too bad. Anyway, it was pretty chilly that morning and as we were waiting for the race to start, some dude was dancing in a costume to some crazy music. It was weird and pointless. We just wanted the race to start.

It was the longest race of my life. And I really did enjoy it except that my leg was hurting me so bad. I was doing really good up until about mile 5 and that's when my leg started hurting. I had to keep walking and it was so disappointing. But I did it. I don't know that I'll run another one anytime soon, but I probably will run another one. I was in so much pain Saturday and Sunday but I'm not as sore today. I've really enjoyed my running experience, minus the pain and I want to continue doing it. I feel good and I've accomplished my goal! Thanks to all those who helped along the way.

When i got home to pick up my kids, my friend had made t-shirts for the my kids that said Team Mommy and then Team Shari shirts for her and a couple of other friends. It was so nice and so fun to see, since none of them could come up there with me. I had a great time and I'm glad that my friend Katie could come with me. It wouldn't have been as much fun going by myself.

Our lives (in a nutshell)

I'm feeling a bit negative today, so this will be short and to the point. Of course, whenever I start a post (with no pictures) I always say I'm going to keep it short, but it rarely is. But I'll try.

Still don't know when Ben's coming home (thus the reason for my grumpy mood). Sometime here in the next couple of week, so that's good. My half marathon is a week from tomorrow. I'm nervous but just ready to get it over with. It's been fun pushing my body beyond what I thought I could ever do. 4-5 miles is nothing now!

Ben's hangin' in there like me. Just taking things one day at a time, but he's definitely ready to be home as well. 10 months is a long time to be away from your family.

Lilli loves preschool and all her friends and teachers. She's so excited to go everyday. She's getting anxious for daddy to come home and says that they're going to go to a movie in the temple movie theatre (she thinks the movie theatre looks like a temple) and get popcorn. She's learning so much and loves to write letters and spell words and draws awesome pictures. She's a great big sister and loves her brothers. She's taking ballet right now and loves it.

Alex and Aidan are getting so active. They get into everything and constantly pester each other. But also play really well together. My favorite thing is to hear them try to make each other laugh. It's the best! They're growing like weeds. Ben's not even going to know what to do with them. Alex loves to wrestle and whenever I lay on the ground he always has to jump on me. Aidan still sucks his thumb. I'm not too worried about it now. They love to say their prayers and I love helping them. It's too cute.

Well, that's it in a nutshell. I'll post some recent pictures and posts of what we've been up to.

Feeling Sorry for Myself

These past couple of days have been hard. Like "I totally lost it at my kids and cried and screamed at them" hard. After church today I got to thinking about life and how really truly blessed I am. It's so easy for me to feel sorry for myself and my situation. My husband's deployed, I have 2 very active twin boys who get into everything, I have a daughter who is 4 going on 16, I'm selling the house and have to keep it clean. So many things are rough, but so many things are awesome. I have a daughter who can write her name, and even though she decided to write her name on her white door and blamed it on Aidan, I love that she knows how to do it. I'm so proud of her! I have 2 rambunctious, crazy little dudes, and even though they managed to poor the dog's water and food all over the kitchen floor, dump Gatorade all over the carpet, break a big glass bowl within 10 minutes of each other, I'm so glad they are healthy, running around yelling for "mom". I'm grateful for a supportive husband, who, even though he's far away, knows just how to make me feel better and let's me vent my frustration without passing judgement. He loves me unconditionally and is excited when I'm excited, sad when I'm sad, and happy when I'm happy. I'm grateful to be married to him and can't wait for him to be home. We don't have too much longer apart and I'm so looking forward to our reunion. I have a healthy body. I'm running a half marathon! I ran 7 miles yesterday and it was freakin' awesome! I never thought I would WANT to run that much. I have a beautiful house, and even though it's such a pain to always TRY to keep it clean, I'm grateful that we have a place to live. I have awesome friends. They're always helping me out, willingly taking my kids, babysitting them and just helping where they can. I have an awesome family, both Ben and mine. I love them all. And most importantly, I am a member of the true Gospel. I love my church and am so grateful to a Heavenly Father for all that I have. So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to post the many things I have to be grateful for. I'm truly blessed.