Family Pictures

My whole family was here for Thanksgiving! Since Jack went on a mission we haven't all been together for over 2 years. It was soooo much fun to have everyone here! Very loud and crazy but FUN! Anyway....I will post more about that a little later but I just wanted to have you all check out my sister in law, Kelli's, blog. She took some fun family photos of all of us. She is so talented and we are so lucky to have her.

Check it out at www.francephotography.com/blog We are the second most recent post!

Leaving Boston

(Mt. Auburn Cemetery- down the street from our home in Boston. I would take walks here as much as I could. It might sound kind of morbid but it was simply beautiful in every way and it is so big I could take a different path every time I went. So peaceful and lovely I couldn't help but feel de-stressed after visiting here)

Well Lanny graduated and after looking for a couple months for a good job with no success we decided to leave Boston. The cost of living is insane and Lanny was offered a couple jobs but none of them paid enough for me to stay home with the boys, so we decided it just wasn't worth it. I will miss so many things about Boston...the breathtaking fall, spring, and summer....the history....and most of all our friends! I will not miss the winters, driving, cost of living, and the winters....ok I said winters twice but hey they are miserable!

So were did we move....Heaven! Ok....so not literally Heaven but I think Colorado is close to it. I love everything about Colorado! I love the mountains and have missed them so much. Yes, Colorado does have snow but it is nothing like Boston. It snows here and then melts and the sun comes out. The sun comes out all the time....in fact we have more full days of sunshine than San Diego! So if I love the sun so much why don't I move to a warmer climate....well I love the 4 seasons and the green scenery!

Well since we weren't exactly sure what we would be doing my parents were kind enough to let us move into their basement until we get things all figured out. I love spending time with my family and Ethan and Asher are loving all the attention from Grandma and Grandpa! I do miss having my own place and get embarrassed when I get overly grumpy with my kids or my honey in front of my parents...but I feel blessed to be taken in by family and for now it feels heavenly to be home!

Summer Fun

I know summer is long gone but it seems like yesterday for me. Time flys so fast for the sleep deprived. Lanny worked on his writings and I tried to get out with the boys...but it rained more than the sun shined in Boston this summer! Actually it was the rainiest June since 1901! Oh well we still had fun! My parents came to visit so we had an excuse to get out and explore.

Ethan, Asher and I by the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Bus

Lanny and I - don't we look lovely! Ethan really enjoyed the factory tour of Ben and Jerry's in Vermont....but with free ice cream who wouldn't!

We also went to Joseph Smith's birthplace...also in Vermont. It is one of the prettiest places I have ever been and it is even more beautiful in the fall. (This was our second trip there)

My awesome parents

We went to Cape Cod and it poured rain everyday that we were there....we stayed 3 days and were hoping for one good day. One afternoon the rain let up so we went miniature golfing at a very fun pirate golf course. There were a ton of mini golf courses in Hyannis and this one looked the best to my little boys.

Family pic at the mini golf course.

We also went to Plymouth Rock. This is Asher, my Dad, and I (Ethan in the background) we were standing by the remake of the Mayflower.

Ethan and Grandma posing by "the" Plymouth Rock. But it has a little disclaimer saying this may or may not be the actual rock...but this is the one they built the monument around....funny hu!

Lanny standing by one of his relatives...I know I am lame but I can't read the writing...when we came here with his parents his mother said he was related to this man who came over on the Mayflower...pretty cool!

We also went to Storyland this summer and were lucky enough to get some close family friends to go with us. I can't find my camera cord to download my pics...but it also poured rain the whole day at the theme park. So my pics aren't that great anyway. But on the bright side there were no lines and we got to ride the log ride a million times with out even having to get off!

Lanny's Graduation

Lanny graduated this May with his Master's degree in Near Eastern and Judaic studies with an emphasis in Islamic studies and Arabic from Brandeis University! Whoa what a mouth full. I am seriously proud of him! He worked so hard and got all A's. He even finished his thesis right after he underwent reconstructive knee surgery. This stud is dedicated! He loved school so much he is considering a PHD. I am all for that! I think a professor is one of the sexiest occupations....big brains =good looks....right? Well Lanny definitely has both! Way to go honey, I couldn't be any more proud of you!

Our little family

I feel like this degree is a 10th mine...I had to do all the background work you know!


His pleased parents! We are sooooo blessed to have their love and support. I loved that they got to come out and celebrate this occasion with us! The boys love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa!

Feel the love

Ugh....this is the only shot I got of Lanny receiving his diploma. You try and take a three second shot and chase a 1 year old!

This is one of the buildings at Brandeis. Ethan loves it because it was a castle.



Grandpa Lee asked to go and see Walden pond again. This is one of my favorite places around Boston. I feel instant peace when I walk around this beautiful pond. Ethan ran full speed into the water without asking if he could go swimming. Good thing I know Ethan's tendencies and had an extra set of clothes in the car. Now that I think about it I should have put him in his swimsuit and brought a towel!


Ethan enjoying the pond!


Lanny and his Mommy! We love you Grandma!

Grandpa and Grandma Las Vegas with Asher enjoying the nice spring weather at Walden!

Ethan's graduation

I did Joy school with Ethan this year. I really wanted to send him to preschool but since we

live in Boston the tuition was more than I paid a semester for my undergrad degree....crazy hu!

Thankfully some of the other Mom's in our ward decided they wanted to do a joy school.

For those of you who don't know what Joy school is...it is a preschool that you do in your home.

You buy the curriculum online and then each of the mom's take turns teaching a week at a time. The curriculum is value based rather than academic based. I had fun doing it with Ethan most of the time. Sometimes he thought he had to be a clown and spent most of the morning in his room in time out. Oh well! These pics are from his graduation. We had a picnic with the families to celebrate this fun day!

The cute kids: Benjamin, Aliya, Julia, and Ethan

Stacy made these cute cupcakes ...it was a little warm and the cute hats started to melt.

Yes! I got my diploma :)

Kids and Mommies

I like this picture because you can totally see their personalities. Benjamin and Ethan do not like performing in front of a group and Aliya and Julia love it!

Go Ethan! I love my little stud!

Before Lanny's knee surgery, he received his blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with his good friend Eric Bischoff. He really worked hard to advance to this level, so I thought I would give him some recognition.

Hanging out with my boys

Asher is awesome at building with big Lego's but I didn't know my food storage would keep him entertained. While I was doing dishes he got in the cupboard and pulled these cans out and stacked them all by himself. I was pretty impressed.




Asher is pretty good about smiling for the camera. This was taken on Easter Sunday. I really wish I would have gotten the boys hair cut. Oh well!




Me and my sweet little boys. I love their matching Easter outfits (thank you Grandma Laurie)!!!




Ethan and Asher found Lanny's Jiu Jitsu belts and wanted me to wrap them around them so they could be warriors.



I love this "look" Ethan thinks he is soooo tough.



Just a fun picture of my sweet Asher.




Asher takes only one nap now and it is around lunch time. I try to get him to eat lunch before he goes down but lately he has been falling asleep in his high chair.



We have been trying to get Asher to sleep through the night since he was 8 months old. He is now 21 months and he is finally pretty good at it but every time he gets sick we have to re-sleep train him. He recently got a runny nose and so we had to start again....I decided to let him cry it out and it took over an hour...he would cry and whine then run around his crib and yell at us. When he was finally quiet I went in to check on him and I found this. He fell asleep sitting up in the corner of his crib. Man he is so stubborn.

Ethan's 5th Birthday

I can't believe Ethan is already 5! Time flies when you are sleep deprived...I mean having fun! :) He is such an awesome little boy and I am oh so lucky to be his mom! He told me I am his best friend and I honestly can't think of anything better than that! He is still obsessed with Superheroes. He has branched out a little lately and has gotten into Lego's and video games. I asked him if he wanted a friend birthday party and he said no, just family. I was excited I didn't have to put anything on but then the day of his birthday he asked when his friends were coming over to have cake. AHHHH! We were already having Joy School at our house the next day so we had Birthday cake with his Joy School class mates and he was happy.




Ethan loved blowing out his candles so we did it a couple times. Don't you just love a little spit with your birthday cake? :)




Ethan was thrilled with the Yoda cake but was disappointed that Yoda's light saber was red. I know red light sabers are only used by the sith...but the gel colors were limited at the grocery store and they didn't have another shade of green. Oh well!




I asked Ethan what kind of cake he wanted. He said he wanted a Yoda Cake. I was actually asking about the flavor but I guess I should have been more specific. I looked on-line to try and think of how to do a Yoda cake and they had really cool molds and stuff but it was the day before so I had to come up with my own idea. This is what I ended up doing....I took a coloring page of Yoda and placed a piece of wax paper over it. I then traced it with frosting gel and then flipped it over onto the frosted cake. I gently rubbed the wax paper and pulled it off slowly. It worked perfectly.



Pirate Legos- I actually ended up building the set the first time for him because he was so impatient, but he has since taken it apart and built lots of cool lego pirate things. He has a great imagination.




It is our tradition to open presents right after we wake up, this is why he is in his pj's and sporting the cute bed head hair. He is really into Batman the Brave and the Bold series...this is Aquaman.

New York with Family

Lanny's parents were coming to New York City with his father's job so they wanted to know if we could meet them there. We said yes of course!!! Getting to see family and see New York City...perfect combo!



Sorry I got my pics a little out of order.....but anyway. I have a cousin that lives in New Jersey so I asked if we could see her over the weekend and she came with her cute family and meet us in the city. She was a lovely tour guide and showed us the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, and took us to the Brooklyn Diner. (Very Yummy) [Picture- Laura with her cute kids Kate and Ben (her husband, Brian was taking the pic)...then of course Lanny, Ethan, Asher and I)]




Ethan and I in the Ellis Island Museum. This is actually the room where the immigrants would come to register. Very cool but Ethan and Asher basically were into running around the museum and trying to play hide and seek. Oh well.




Ethan and Daddy in front of the Ellis Island monument/museum.




Asher running around the Statue of Liberty. I love him in this puffy coat (thank you Amber) It is kind of funny, he can't put his arms all the way down...reminds me of that movie...I think it is called A Christmas Story?




Daddy chasing Asher by the Statue of Liberty....I love the picture of New York City behind them. It was a very cold Spring Day...it was just lightly snowing a few hours before.



Lanny, Asher,Grandpa Lee,Grandma Laurie, and Ethan in front of the Statue of Liberty.




Grandpa and Ethan in front of the Dinosaur at the Toys R Us in New York City. It was very life like (Roar and all) and the boys loved it!



The Toys R Us also had a ferris wheel inside the store...how cool is that! Grandma treated us to a ride and we lucked out and got the megablocks car to ride in. (We were crossing our fingers hoping we didn't get the Barbie or Cabbage Patch car) Ethan also got to pick out toys for his birthday from his grandparents since it was only a few days away. He was so thrilled with this, he kept saying I am soooooo happy!



We got to take the subway around New York and Ethan thought is was the coolest. Most of the time it was very crowded but this just happened to be a time when we got the car all to ourselves.



Ethan playing on the subway!

I have to say we had a blast with our family and thought New York was very exciting. But I would just like to warn those of you with small children...not the most children friendly city. Public bathrooms are very hard to find and the monuments were not so exciting for the kids...but it was a great adventure. So if you can come with out your kids it would be a blast...but if you take your small children it will be a wild adventure! (I wish I could have taken more pictures but I found myself chasing my little monkeys more than usual)