Wedding Photos

Photos of The Beloved's Brother's Wedding in Central Park -

In the Taxi:

Groom

Bride
Holding their Cute cute son

Walking through Central Park:

Bride's Father
Kindly pushing the children through Central Park

Bride's Mom



I'm too sexy for my cat..
(Song lyrics again:) .



Groom's Mother
aka Grandma

Groom's Father
aka Grandpa

View near ceremony site

Ceremony:

Exchanging vows

The Happy Couple:

 Family Photos:

The Groom hugging his mother... ahhhhh :)

Bride with some of her sisters -

Practicing smiling with our chins down. We heard it was more attractive that way.
 My mother-in-law pulled it off... me - well, not so much.

Why The Beloved is not in charge of taking pictures:

He starts taking booty shots.

But - HA!

I got a booty shot of him earlier on our little walk.

I like it. :)

Here we are -

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

My Kids -

Lou, in order to hide the evidence of his disobedience in not eating his hostess dingdong at the table but really in the hallway, tried to convince me that the chocolate leftovers found on the ground were something different entirely.

"Mom, it's not dingdong...

 Daddy pooped."

Very slowly I state, "Daddy did not poop in the hallway."

"Yes HE DID! Daddy - pooped."

Hmmm... not sure why I'm not going to believe that one :)

The other night I was sitting at the kitchen table with Lou and Ruckus. It started pouring outside and I turned to them and said,

"Do you hear the rain, guys?"

Lou says, "Rain Guy? What's a Rain Guy?"

"No, not Rain Guy. DO You? (pointing at them) Hear the Rain? (long pause) You Guys?

Lou - "I am not a Rain Guy."

Ruckus, shaking his head in agreement, "I'm not a Rain Guy either."

"No. Do you guys hear the rain outside?"

Lou, looking utterly confused- "I'm Lou."

Ruckus - "And I'm Ruckus."

"Oh Never mind."

:)

Oh my tender Little C  -who is currently torn between being his perfect, delightful, sensitive self and acting like a teenager.

The other night The Beloved put in the DVD, The Fifth Quarter, for Little C to watch.

Near the beginning one of the main characters passes away.

Little C was heartbroken and shut off the movie.

He came upstairs in tears and of course The Beloved and I both rushed to his side trying to figure out what was wrong.

After trying to console him, he continued to cry off and on the rest of the night worried that he and others he loved might go brain dead.  

I put my arm around his shoulders and said,

"Are you feeling a little emotional buddy?"

"No!" and then bawling, "What's emotional?"

Ohhh... little sweetheart.

Do you ever get lyrics stuck in your head and then state those sentences to your children at random? Nope?

Weird.

I always seem to have the opening lyrics to a Limp Bizkit song in my head. Which is super odd because I haven't listened to them in probably 7 yrs... but continuing on -

Little C was asking me about how he should start a letter to one of his friends in Illinois.

And I respond,

"You should say,

Yo, got Little C in the house. Fear factory action. Kick off this new joint here for all my homies." (Limp Bizkit lyrics my friends)

He replies slowly, "Yeah, that was really unusual Mom."

:)

I love laughter and a good sense of humor. I am so glad I am surrounded by these amazing little humans who entertain me day in and day out.

Thanks for the smiles, guys!

(p.s. that means you: Ruckus, Lou, and Little C... in case there was any confusion. )

New York 2011

The Beloved and I were able to escape from real life to do a little touring in NY and of course to also witness the marriage in Central Park of The Beloved's brother to his new little wifey.

We stayed in a fun little apt just a few blocks away from Time Square and the first night there The Beloved and I felt like true New Yorkers when we ordered food and had to buzz the delivery man in. We're growin' up :)

So do we look like tourists or what? I think there were a total of two babies in Manhattan - Ours and The Beloved's brother's. :)

Above is a collage of all the wonderful sites we were able to see during our grayline bus tour of NY. During the tour we also viewed various surrounding towns. I didn't take any pictures of Chinatown but The Beloved and I were shocked to find out that probably over half a million Chinese live in this tiny district that takes up only a couple of blocks. They reside in cramped spaces called sardine housing and the majority are illegal aliens. It was sad yet fascinating at the same time because it really felt like we had magically transferred through a portal to a foreign land.

Ground Zero.

The building at the top shows one of the new towers under construction. It will be a magnificent structure. The picture on the bottom right is a glimpse of the 9/11 memorial. You have to purchase passes to enter the site months in advance so we are viewing it from a window in the World Financial Center.

On the bottom left is a fence filled with tiles surrounding a mechanic's shop. After 9/11 children began placing their decorated tiles for the loved ones they'd lost in the fence. The owner of the business never took them down and if a tile falls off he replaces it.

9/11 was tragic and I felt a hole in my heart when it happened. I was angry and sad that our country was attacked and heartbroken for the poor families who had to endure the actual events. But it's a whole different story when you're actually there. I felt like I was treading on somebody elses business - gawking at their despair. I looked around at the employees working around the memorial and at the World Financial Center and realized that this was there life. This happened to them - it affected me - but it HAPPENED to them.

God Bless them.

How horrible would that be?

We found out on a tour that approximately 300 firefighters died that day; 60 of whom were not on duty. We walked by various fire stations and saw the memorials to the heroes who lives had been lost.

I knew this stuff before but to see it in real life was eye opening.

I love America. I wish we could always have that feeling of camaraderie and hope we resonated in the days following 9/11.

The Baby loved all of the lights, busy-ness, and attention. Above, he is completely absorbed watching a show in the Disney store. Below, he is shocked when I alarm him by saying his name and is brought back to real life outside of the television screen.

The Beloved's brother and his family in Time Square.

I took this picture of Tad's Steakhouse for my cousin and her family. You're famous!

On Friday we went on a cruise tour with The Beloved's parents. It was so beautiful to view Manhatten, Brooklyn, Queens, New Jersey, The Bronx, and Harlem atop the water.

Oh - my Lady Liberty! Isn't she beautiful?!

Below you'll also see Ellis Island, Grant's tomb, the tram (like in Spiderman :)), great views of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, and the pier where, if I remember correctly, The Titanic was supposed to arrive but of course, never did.

On Saturday morning we had the opportunity to attend a session at the NY temple. I cannot describe the feeling of walking around a crazy, busy city and then the peace and reassurance that you feel when you look up and see the House of the Lord. The site seeing in NY was grand but truly felt like a distraction when compared to the tender spirit found in the temple. 

Meet the BEST BABY IN THE WORLD! I almost feel guilty - he was so so so so good. The smile you see on his face below made an appearance almost the whole journey, he slept on all of our flights and made parenting feel easy.

The Beloved at the Salt Lake airport feeling exhausted yet happy to be almost home.

Taking a quick nap at Grandma and Grandpa's before we make the drive home.

We loved bonding with this little monkey -

but were so delighted to return home to these little monkeys as well!

Thank you to my parents and dear friend Rami for watching over our munchins!

Next post will be -

The Wedding Photos!

How Fun! :)

P.S. It may take me a couple of days though because the downside to going on vacation is coming home to a full week of dirty laundry. Plus there is an impressive, nasty smell being unleashed from my fridge that I need to tackle. Loooove it!

:(

It Paid Off -

I never thought my skill at being late for everything would payoff -

but today it did.

And thank goodness.

Luckily, instead of having my feet up in the stirrups when the fire alarm when off at my OBYN's office, I was simply only pulling into the parking lot.

:)

Can you imagine?

Say Goodbye -

to those lazy days of summer.

Oh sadness, not quite ready for that. :(

This summer our kids have especially loved building forts.

If there's a blanket and something to hang it on, before long it will become a home to the imagination of my children.

Outdoor Fort:

The Community Lower Level Resting Place -

Lou's new place of residence.

Little C's new abode in the neighboring tree.

Ruckus feeling a little bummed and confused as to why his fort must remain on the ground.

Summer always goes by too quickly and it is always a crazy, busy time, but I love it.

All four of my children are quite expressive and make me equally mental/filled with joy day in and day out.

Little C has started school and is adapting perfectly like usual. He is such a social butterfly but was a little disappointed when he discovered there are only three other boys in his class. The worst part came when he said, "and none of the girls are cute either."

Oh poor, deprived child. :)

Little C is trying harder every day to hide his sweetness, little stinker,  but it still out shines him by accident. My mom told me his attitude should disappear little by little by the time he's 19. I told her thanks for the comforting words :). When The Beloved and I attended his school open-house here is the letter he had written introducing his family:

I am going to tell you about my family. My Dad likes to tease a lot. He teases my mom, my brothers, and people he doesn't even know. My mom is the hugger of the family. At first it isn't that bad, but after a while it gets really annoying. My little brother Lou is so, so so, so so, annoying. He always asks in the middle of the night if I will draw him a train.

I like to play video games, ride bikes, skate boards, and watch TV.

The End.

I think he ran out of time to include Ruckus and the baby. On his brain storming sheet he did say the baby was nice and loving, but Ruckus got a similiar report to the rest of us.

I have decided that except for the portion re: The Beloved and the baby, he must have been copying his neighbor's paper. I happen to know first hand that we are 85% completely enjoyable, 10% disagreeable, and only maybe 5% annoying.

And although The Beloved teases, it should be taken as a sign of his never-ending love and affection. At least that's what I tell myself. :)

Lou and Ruckus are becoming better friends, but still appear to be at war more than play. Often during the day I find myself yelling over and over again,

"Just love each other!"

They are hilarious though, and I enjoy eavesdropping in on their little conversations.

Lately, Lou has been incorporating the words  - really kind of - into his sentences.

For example:

That bug was really kind of scary. I really kind of stepped on it hard though and killed it with my shoe.

When Lou speaks he holds his arms up in the air, pokes his neck out, and shakes his head a little bit. Kind of like he is always trying to prove a point. ;)

Ruckus has been adding the words  -all day - to the end of his sentences.

"Mom, I'm poopy all day."

"I can play trains all day."

"I eat chicken nuggets all day."

Also, imagine those sentences from Ruckus being said in a low, growling voice with roars in between each word. Funny little fellow.

 P.s. he hadn't been poopy all day, he just says that. :)

And, our baby is just still the sweetest dream ever.
 He is big. Big, big, big. But rockin' the cuteness.

He loves to cuddle and have long conversations filled with oooows and ahhhhs.

Farewell Summer.
See you in a year.

We're So Happy -

We could just Kiss YOU!

College Football Season!!!

BSU vs. Georgia

First game of the season-

The first quarter had us a bit nervous...

But we were able to relax and get a little shut eye after BSU pulled off a glorious victory.

Go Boise State!

Me as a cat -

If you want to see me as a cat go here:

http://ciscoanderin.blogspot.com/

Sunday mornings

Sunday mornings are rough.

I am truly my grumpiest on Sunday mornings. It takes me 2 1/2 hours to get myself and my children ready. And even though I experience Sunday mornings once a week, I still STRUGGLE with being on time to church.  Unfortunately my brain is of the mind set, even with this prior 2 1/2 hr knowledge, that everything can be accomplished in an hour.

It took me an hour to get ready when I was simply The Domestic Goddess in Training accompanied by my maiden name. Why in the world would it only take an hour for The married Domestic Goddess in Training, plus four lovely humans, to be able to get ready in the same allotted time?

But TODAY!!! - we were 5 minutes early for church and I believe I only yelled once this morning... maybe twice.

I loved this morning.

And here's the difference. I woke up with the strongest desire to share my testimony of the gospel during sacrament meeting. This task always makes me nervous, so I had a little prayer in my heart throughout the whole pre-church morning. When you're in a conversation with your Heavenly Father for 2 1/2 hours there is little time/desire for yelling. The Spirit was definitely in our home this morning and it was beautiful.

If Sunday mornings are rough, I can promise the first hour of church is rougher for this household.

But today was perfect.

 Even though I did realize a little too late that the finger I was bending down to kiss really didn't deserve my lips attention at all. It turns out my 3 yr old wasn't showing me an owie, just the booger on the end of his finger that needed to be wiped off on a tissue. Great.

But, that was the only minor fiasco.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about if I live what I know?

Am I just a knower or a liver?

I know what I believe. Do I live it?

I give lessons once a month to the young women on various things; daily scripture reading, personal prayer, not being judgemental or gossipy, etc.

I have a testimony of these things.

They are important, they are real, they are essential. 

But do I personally read my scriptures every day? Make sure I say my morning and evening prayers? Do I take the time to teach my children what I KNOW?

Not all of the time.

But when I make an effort to live what I know, I am so much happier. My testimony of the gospel increases, and I can have more meaningful conversations with my Father in Heaven and can receive direction from Him.

Living what I know makes me a better mother. A better wife.

A better me.

I am blessed to know that I have a purpose.

I love the gospel ya'll.

I am thankful for it.

I'll update you on how next Sunday morning goes.

And here's to saying No to kissing boogers. Not fun.