Aspiring Jedi

Brandon and Kimball... what can I say about these two? My little "bedlamites" are aspiring to be Jedi knights. One of their favorite activities is to run around the house playing "Star Wars". One morning Kimball asked if he could listen to Star Wars music, so I went on a hunt through all of my husbands music to see if he had an album. Indeed, my hubby does, and he also owns a DVD called "Star Wars: A Musical Journey." I popped that into the computer, the boys both ran and got their light sabre, and Kimball grabbed his storm trooper gun and they sat through the whole DVD. I got a few good laughs that morning!

What happens when it rains?

Boys will be boys... right?

Family Pics 2011

The day before Mia and Nate left, she was able to use her talent in Photography in taking our Family Pictures. They turned out AMAZING! I love each picture she took and edited... enjoy:)

Kimball's B-day party (i.e. picture mania)

Well, don't tell me I didn't warn you. My sister in-law Mia was awesome and she took tons of pictures at the party. So my last post left off with Mia and Nate decorating the cake, it turned out so well! The Star Wars storm trooper looks great... and it was delicious, just ask my mom:)

We took the star wars theme to the extreme! He wore a star wars shirt, complete with a star wars badge. The balloons were star wars, along with the cake and all the decorations. He even had a star wars game... fun times!

When all of Kimball's friends started to arrive, we played "Don't eat Pete", and the kids of course had a ball because they got to eat lots of M&Ms.
We moved on to other games, Kimball's favorite being the Star Wars game. He had never been blindfolded for a game though, and he wasn't quite sure if he liked that part! He kept trying to peek.
I tried to pick non-competitive games, I really didn't want to send any kids home in tears because they didn't win. Which is why this next game was perfect! I wrapped lots of individual candy and put a big bow around them. Mike made "fishing poles" out of dowel rods, fishing line, and a paperclip. Each kid got to "fish" for a candy. This game was the most popular. They wanted to keep fishing, even though they knew they only got to keep one.


Next up, the Birthday cake! The cake was made up of individual cupcakes, and it was easy to just pull one off. I loved seeing Kimball's excitement when he got to blow out the candles... you only turn 4 once!
For simple cleanup, a sheet under all the kids:) And another simple solution... Capri Sun to drink!
Brandon sure enjoyed the frosting... he never eats the cake portion.
The birthday boy... too funny!
We opened presents next, and Mor-Mor gave him his favorite gift, Star Wars toys!
After the Star Wars toys, our gift was a little anti-climatic. Luckily we didn't pay full price for the scooter, just $10 at Goodwill.
Last, but not least, all the kids got to whack the Pinata that Daddy and Uncle Nate set up.
Here is Brandon taking a go at the Pinata...
Kimball was geared up for a big swing!
But after all the kids had 2 turns, we called in the big guns... needless to say we had all the kids stand far back to prevent any unnecessary injury.
After all the fun had ended, and Kimball's friends had left, it was time to do something useful with those balloons! Thats right, a balloon fight! These two boys had a blast!

After the party and a fun-filled afternoon at the Outer Limits fun zone in Pocatello, what better way to spend a birthday evening than at Mor-Mor's house with cousins? Oh, and who could forget caramel popcorn... delicious!
I asked him a few days later how he enjoyed his birthday, and he told me that he didn't want another birthday! Too much fun in one day I suppose, I'm sure he'll feel different next February.

We love you so much Kimball, and hope that your fourth birthday was everything you wanted it to be.

Mia and Nate visit

Now my boys have learned this one fact: When Mia and Nate are around, there is bound to be lots of fun times ahead! Mia and Nate Matusek, Mike's brother and his wife, came out to Idaho from Florida to visit our family. They stayed from the 15th of February to the 21st. We enjoyed a light snow fall on Wednesday night and on Thursday we geared up and headed to the back yard where we have a mini hill. Mia had never been sledding before, so she was in for a little adventure. The boys had so much fun going sledding with Mia and Nate.





I think Mia enjoyed herself... even if she was a little chilled!
Nate got worn out pulling the boys up the hill over and over.
Mike and Nate went out on Friday and played racquetball together, and later that night he was downright tired... he kinda crashed on the couch.
Meanwhile, Mia and Nate were busy creating a fabulous cake for Kimball's birthday. Nate piped the storm trooper on the cake, and Mia did all the frosting work. I can be credited for making the cupcakes (from a box mix...haha!) I made the buttercream, so delicious.
The next day we enjoyed Kimball's birthday party... that awesome post is to follow soon!

Baby belly

Baby belly pics are cliche... however I have taken a few for this pregnancy. Haha, tonight at work, I had a co-worker summon me to her desk, at which point she proceeded to feel my belly.... awkward:) Apparently, she loves babies, which is cool. It made me laugh.

Mike asked me last night while he was feeling Zachary kick and move if the size of my belly was normal, and according to my Midwife I am measuring on schedule. He just doesn't remember my belly being this big at only 23 weeks with my previous pregnancies. So we are hoping to break the cycle of skinny boys... maybe Zachary will be a big boy??

Am I ready for Zachary to come? Of course not, but we are getting closer. I cleaned up the pack and play today and put it by our bed for a minute, to see if there was enough wiggle room with that set up. It has a bassinet which will be convenient for a nursing baby. I also got the Breast pump cleaned up today. Yesterday I sorted through all my Newborn to 12 month old clothing. I ended up throwing away quite a bit, I don't know why I had even saved these pieces. Brandon's reflux was bad, this I knew, but I guess when I put these clothes away months and months ago that a lot of them were stained beyond repair.

I have spent $600 dollars of my $800 dollar baby budget... I kinda had fun shopping! I got a lot of fun stuff though. We got a great carseat, an awesome swing (which plugs into the wall!), a bouncer, a new breastfeeding pillow, a closet organizer, 2 new mattresses (Brandon's is falling apart) and much more. I still have some things left on the list, so more fun shopping right? I am so grateful for the budget that we set aside to get the things we no longer have from our previous babies.

The boys ask me everyday how the baby is doing, and when they get to meet him. They haven't felt Zachary move yet, but my midwife was awesome in letting them stand by the bed on a chair so they could listen to Zach's heartbeat. They are really well behaved for me when we have to go to my appointments. They feel special when we all go into Zach's room, they love asking me questions about all the baby gear, what it is for and what not.

Needless to say, we are getting more excited for our baby boy number three, what an adventure!

Silly snack time

Snack time and meal time at our house always turns out, somehow, to be very silly. Perhaps its my little silly boys... gotta love them! Case in point, I had my boys and Corey's kiddos while everyone was moving my mom into her new apartment. So I decided to make a fun snack... chocolate pudding. And this is what happened... a kitchen table full of silly kids! They loved the pudding, but loved making silly faces and making messes even more. Then again, me and the boys were calmly eating apples and fishes, and then Brandon started making silly noises, followed soon by Kimball. Following peels of laughter, I knew I had to grab the camera, couldn't miss their cute faces. Here's to many more silly snack times!

Cowboy Brandon

Whats in a name?

Mike and I knew all along what we would be naming our baby if we have a girl... that was the easy decision. It will be Lucy Bianca Matusek, after Mike's Grandma Lucy Bianca Vona. What wasn't so easy for us to decide on was a boys name. So we sat down on Sunday and went through pages and pages online for names. Of all the thousands of names that we looked at the only name that seemed right was Zachary. The middle name came to us in a similar way. We have chosen a family name for both of our children and wanted to keep that tradition. We pulled out our PAF files to peruse all the family names available to us. Of all the family names that we could have chosen Abram just fit, it was perfect. Abram comes from my great great great Grandfather's name, Abram Rufus Moore, whose grave my family has not been able to locate yet. So here it is, Zachary Abram or Lucy Bianca.... dear baby what is your name? We find out on February 3rd at 12:40, and we can't wait!!!

The blessings of the Temple

Last Friday I was able to go up the Idaho Falls and attend a session at the temple. As I was getting ready that morning Kimball was kind of confused. He saw me dressed up and so he asked me "Mom, are we going to church today?" So I explained to him that I was going to the temple in Idaho Falls. My little boys brains started turning round and round, trying to wrap his mind around this. When ever he sees a picture of a temple, he always talks with us about me and Mike getting married there, we've never really talked about how we can serve in many ways in the temple, how many blessings are available to us there. So after thinking for a few seconds, he asks me "Mom, are you going to the temple to marry someone else?" I was taken back, and I took that opportunity to kneel down by his side and re-assure him that mommy was not going to marry someone new. I told him that I was going to the temple to serve someone who has passed on from this life, who can't receive the blessings of the temple otherwise. I explained that in the temple we learn many things about Heavenly Father's plan for us, and about our part in that plan.

I am grateful to have a temple only 45 minutes away, and that I can go there and take myself out of this world for a few hours. It is such a blessing to be able to serve others, and in so doing receive so much in return. I love the peace it brings into my life, how I can take the spirit of the temple home with me. The perspective that I gain through regular temple service is priceless, life would be even more difficult without this eternal perspective.