Eric's new favorite thing to do

Eric has a new hobby, it's standing up all by himself and quickly sitting back down before his brother can get to him. I'm yet to get a good picture of my big boy standing all the way up but this shows just how close my big baby is to walking. He can walk and has when he forgets that he is doing it but now I think he is getting the courage to take those steps. Josh was nice and didn't push him down once yesterday so Eric is exceptionally happy. My boys just love to play together and it's been fun to watch them grow together.

Josh's first Primary program

Josh had his first Primary program at church yesterday, unfortunately I was not feeling well so I missed most of it but I did pull myself together in time to see Josh. I pray that in the years to come I can be a better Mom to my children and not miss their important mile stones because of health issues. Very few can even contemplate the emotional pain that it cost me yesterday to miss my son's program. I did get some pictures of Josh once we got home so that I can at least document it.

On a good note Jason was released from Elders Quorum President and is now the ward mission leader so our family will have a different set of challenges to work through.

Buddy Walk

As  a family we went down to the annual buddy walk at the Sparks Marina. Two years ago some friends of ours delivered a little girl with down syndrome. She is just now starting to learn to walk on her own and has endured open heart surgery already in her short time. We were part of Team Hailey. Now as a sometimes very preoccupied mom I totally forgot the camera which made me very sad since there was a fire truck and and the Reno SWAT truck at the event and I missed out on taking pictures of the boys enjoying what boys love most Big trucks. oh well when we got home the boys were still wearing their super hero stuff and I was able to get a picture of them at home. The super hero stuff was part of team Hailey's theme. I loved the theme it was Hailey's hero's. She is such an angle and we just love her family.

Glasses

So my wonderful parents paid for my new glasses which means alot to me not to have to wear broken ones anymore so what do you think of the new accessories? And just a shout out to Kirsten she's the one who keeps making my hair look better so if you Reno ladies want your hair done right go to
Kirsten Hanson.

Fun

The boys have been having so much fun lately Eric has gotten very involved in wrestling with his big brother who I keep telling that if he does not eat his veggies his baby brother will be bigger. Anyways I woke up this morning and thought what does my mornings look like? Not me that would be scary I mean my boys. I also was finally able to put a video of my boys online it was fun just don't pay attention to Jason at the  end he had a scab that broke open. Hope everyone else's mornings are as cute as mine hee hee.

These were from last night after Eric devoured a chocolate cup cake.

These were from this mornings breakfast

sorry about the open dish washer in the background.

My boys being boys

Fun Weekend

My parents came and visited us for the labor day weekend and we had soooooooo much fun. First we waited for them to get here on Friday because they took to scenic rout which added like four more hours to their drive don't ask me why they like taking more time to drive that wasn't so much fun but then on Saturday they watched the boys for us so we could go to the temple. Then we went to the Rib Cook off. It was so yummy then my parents decided that Eric's car seat was not good enough. Gotta love parents. So they bought him a new one and it matches his big brother's this messes Jason up all the time now but I love the matching seats in the back of my car. Then we hung out at the house and had ice cream and just relaxed. Then on Sunday we went to church and it was the first Sunday that Josh was able to practice for the primary program. It was really cute to watch Josh speak into the microphone with only his head peeping over the podium. Then after Church we all headed over to our friends house for dinner. Kirsten is such an amazing cook, Gotta love her. Then Monday came and we just visited in the morning before they had to leave on another ten hour scenic route back home. I'm just so grateful to have parents who are more than happy to come visit us and spend quality time with us and the kids. Mostly it's the kids they love to see. I unfortunately did not get a single picture of my parents as they love to hide when ever a camera comes out but I did get some fun pictures of the boys showing off for us.

My kitchen and living room create a circle so Josh decided to push Eric around on a toy air plane. they had so much fun and yes it seems as though Eric never has all his clothes on at the same time. But I promise I do dress him completely at the beginning of the day.

 On Monday we went to the Park and played till it got to hot then we went home and turned on the sprinklers. Jason didn't want to get the grass wet because he was going to mow it later that evening so the boys played on the patio. I think this was even better because they were able to get on their bikes and just go.

Hope you had a fun weekend ; )

First Day of School

First Day back to school. Josh is now started his last year of Preschool he has been looking so forward to going back. He never even looked back as he was walking with his teacher to his class.

Marriage

After Josh was born Jason and I felt not as close as we were before the baby came which happens when a new born is in the home so we started going on weekly dates that did the trick. Then as life happens if you just sit back and let it we got to busy to go on our weekly date nights. So a couple of weeks ago on the day of our sixth anniversary I was reminded that as a couple you are on a ladder. You can not stay in the middle of that ladder you have to either be going up or going down. So at that moment I realized I had been going in the wrong direction. So we got back to going on weekly dates with no kids, praying together and reading scriptures together because eternal marriage is more than just being married to someone it is living everyday with the knowledge that you are going to be with this person for eternity. Just as our Sealer told us on the day we were married. Treat each other as if you are going to be together for eternity and you will be happy. Now you may think that going on a date every week is to much money for your situation. I say you can always go to the temple at no cost, go on a walk together, go on a picnic. Get back into the those romantic fun dates that you did before you were married, you know the ones that did not cost anything. If you work with friends and family our children can be watched after. We do not have family that live close by so we rely on good friends to watch our precious little ones and in return I watch my friends precious little ones so they can go on a date with their spouse. It is something that has brought us as a family much closer. It has brought me closer to my friends. We live in a world that does not value marriage and does not believe in happily ever after. I can say that as we work together happily ever after can and will happen. I felt impressed to share my thoughts with you I pray that you will feel free to share your thoughts with me.

These are pictures that represent some of the happiest moments of my life.

Change

Okay I really needed a change. Jason tells me it's a women thing to all of a sudden get tired of the way you have set up your home and want to change it all up. Well I made a big change in my home, and it did not include a sledge hammer. My boys are now sharing a room and I've dedicated Eric's room to being the toy room. I was told by my sweet husband that I was crazy to have the boys sleep together and that I was being unfair to Josh But I've discovered that my boys love being in the same room together. Josh does not bother Eric and Eric does not bother Josh so it all worked and and now I have a room where all the toys can go and not get lost under furniture. Let me know if you ever get the urge to change your furniture around It's something I love to do it gives you a great workout and gets your house cleaner, and yes I did it all by myself while my husband was at work and my little ones were helping. It was a blast to take apart the furniture and put it back together as well. Maybe that does make me crazy.

 The boys room

The toy room

Someday I'll get around to painting the boys room but till then at least I know my boys like to be together. :)

food and School

I can put everything that really makes Eric happy in one word. FOOD. Anyone who has watched my son knows just how much he loves food. Everything else is wonderful background to food. So this morning Josh thought what better way to make his brother happy than to lock him in a pantry full of food. Well the result was that Eric was not amused by the act of not so much generosity. After I opened the door he was happy. Well he is four months away from nursery now, I'm not counting down really hee hee. Time has just been flying lately Josh starts school again in a week most of the moms I've been talking to are more than ready to send their kids back to school but I'm not. I love having my funny boy at home where he can amaze me by his ability to figure things out and more. Josh on the other hand is so ready every day for the last month he has been asking if he can go back to school. I hope that attitude continues. This is his last year of Preschool. So at least for the next week I can keep him home with me and enjoy our time.

catch up on what we have done this summer

I finally figured out how to show my pictures on this temporary computer I'm using My parents and brother like the Linux program but it definitely takes some getting use too. So these are the pictures we took on our Family Camping trip up to Lake Tahoe. They're actually mostly of Eric but this was his first time camping and I could never get Josh to stop moving he was almost always in the water or trying to help someone.

 We were camping with Jason's Parent's and his sister's family.

Eric is also learning to walk. He is walking by himself as long as he has his air plane or His brother.

We also thanks to my mother in law have some cute fish. These are the kind of fish I can definitely take care of and Josh loves them.

These pictures were taken in my  small and modest bathroom. You tell just how small it is from the picture of Josh. I hope you've also had a great summer.

Josh

So I was messing around on the computer this morning when my four year old walked up to me and this is how our conversation went.
Josh: Mommy I need to talk to you.
Mommy: okay what do you need to talk about?
Josh: Oh ummmmm Pleeeeeeease!
Mommy: what?
Josh: oh ummmmmm can I have a rocket Pleeeease.
Mommy: uhhhhhhh I don't know.
Josh: Mommy I could take care of a rocket really really good it could be a present.
Mommy: how could you take care of a rocket?
Josh: by blowing it up.

Six years

Saturday marked six years of marriage to my very best friend. The funny thing was that our anniversary kinda snuck up on us this year. We have been so busy with summer activities that before we knew it that special day was here. We celebrated by first me going and finally getting my hair done, it was a mess. Then we went out to dinner and had yummy sushi and then went to the temple and did temple work. It is a tradition that we have done every year since our first anniversary and one tradition that has brought us closer together.

Rubadub tub three boys in a tub

Saturday night we spent the night at Jason's sisters house. So while we were there Jenna and I were bathing the boys and decided to just put them in together. It was a lot of fun to watch them play with the bubbles.

A bunch of really happy boys!

Parker's Farewell Party

Well we said our good buys to Parker in person for the next two years as he serves in the Halifax Canada mission. Parker is Jason's younger brother. We enjoyed spending time with the family. Jason's family is extremely tight and to have a member leaving is a bitter sweat moment. I remember when I met Parker he was just a little bit taller than me and just wrapping up his seventh grade year. His advice to us on our wedding day was to stay happy and that Jason would keep being a good big brother. Well the years have slowly faded by and Parker is now quite a bit taller than me and still telling us to just keep being happy. He is adored by all three of his precious nephews. I must say that I'm grateful to the church for this missionary program it allows 19 and 20 year old young men to grow into the men they can become. When we see Parker again he will be on his way to becoming the best man he can be.

It's the Alan Kjar men minus one baby boy. 

Such goofy guys and a lot of fun to be with.

Father and son's together for the last time till Parker comes home.

Jenna and Parker

Brother and Sister

Jason and Parker

I think Parker was getting really tired of the camera at this point.

Josh and Parker

I love this picture of Parker and his nephews. They love him so much. Can you tell?

Josh and Eric are both drawn to the piano because their daddy loves to play for them. This was Josh trying to play us a pretty song while his brother tried to help him. I purposely had them matching I thought it looked really cute. The older Eric gets the more he is starting to resemble Josh. Funny how that happens.