You Are My Sunshine

I am totally ready for spring weather! I recently checked out a hula hooping class at Lhotse Yoga with my friend Nichole. We had so much fun that I decided to make my own hula hoop, and one for Karson. Cris, the kids and I went to Lowe's for some supplies (PVC tubing, a connector coupling piece thingy, and colorful electrical tape) and the next day we put together our hoops. Karson decorated his with blue, white, green, yellow and red tape, and I decorated mine with blue, green and white tape. Then we took our new hoops outside and started practicing. We are not very good, but it's one of those things that is just fun no matter what your skill level is. Cris impressed us with a few of his tricks, and Chloe just watched like we were crazy.

 (This is the video that I used for making our hoops http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBreLABeqlI)

After Karson got out of school the Friday before last, we went to Subway and then had a picnic at Settler's Park. I was actually quite surprised to see so many children at the park in February, but it was in the 50's... which feels pretty nice this time of year :) Karson worked on his rock climbing skills, and Cris put him to work doing obstacles across the playground while Chloe and I wandered around. Chloe loved being outside in the sun. Cris tried shading her face and she pushed his arm away every time. After a couple times she just held her arm up to block him... it was pretty cute! I can't wait until the weather warms up and we can spend more time outside! Last summer Chloe was too little to keep out in the sun for very long, so we didn't get to fully enjoy the summer days. Of course, with this being Idaho and all, we had  few nice days and then yesterday it snowed! So crazy...but hopefully it warms back up soon!

This is officially my last weekend of my baylor contract... so no more working every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for me. I'm quite excited to get a break and spend some time with my friends and family :) Speaking of family...Riley passed his massage therapy licensing test! I am soooo proud of him, and can't wait to get some energy work done next time I see him! He is planning on getting certified to teach yoga too, so we will just be a family of yogis... I love it! 

Cris decided to put his desire to brew beer into action a little over a week ago, and had some friends over to help him. They set up camp in the shed and brewed awayHe still has about 6 and a half more weeks to wait, but hopefully it all turns out good so he can experiment with different recipes.

Chloe recently started saying "Dadadadadadada" and it is pretty cute. Some moms are sad when their babies dont' say "mama" first, but I don't mind... I have Karson with his constant "Mom...mommy...mom! Mama! Mom!!! I love you." LOL, so Cris can get that from Chloe haha. Other than that the kids are doing great. Karson is still doing well in school and Chloe is just exploring her surroundings in ways that make me wonder if she is going to be as wild as Karson in her toddler years...but we'll see. Until next time...

"The heart sees deeper than the eye."

                              -Yogi tea bag haha

Happiest Kids on the Block

The weather was finally warming up a little bit (by which I mean 30's and 40's instead of the single digit misery we suffered through for a few weeks) and we have been able to spend more time outside...and then it snowed last night haha. Last Friday Cris, Chloe and I walked to Karson's school with the dog. It was such a beautiful day that I couldn't justify not being outside. Chloe babbled to herself most of the way, and Karson got a little too carried away with his competitiveness when trying to race Cris and Chubbs. He stopped and pouted a couple times and we wondered if he would make it home or not. Thankfully he sucked it up and finished the walk with a smile on his face.

Karson's teacher sent me an email the other day to inform me of how well he has been doing in class lately. It made me smile, and I am so proud of Karson. There are not many things that I want more than to see my children succeed in life. Most days he comes home from school every day bragging about not having to go to the office haha. Ever since we implemented the "make it a good day" technique, he has not gotten into trouble in class (...home life is a different story LOL). We recently switched his room with my craft room and he couldn't be happier about it. Little does he know, there is less room for him to play now and more room for me to craft...but hey if he's happy I'm happy!

On Sunday we went to a superbowl party at my coworker, Brian's houses. Karson played with Greyson and Shyloh all night and we didn't see much of him. Chloe was entertained all night and was her cute little self for everyone to see :) There were lots of yummy snacks there and we had a great time! It's nice to do different things for entertainment.

Chloe is now crawling up the stairs whenever she gets the chance. She of course likes the big stairs the most, which is scary but at least we have a baby gate! She is so fun to be around, she is a very smiley baby and so good natured. I get up with her around 7 on most of my days off, and we just play in her room until Karson gets up. I am not a morning person at all, especially not with my work schedule, but I enjoy spending time with her in the mornings. She has started this little growling thing, which is pretty funny. Too bad Halloween isn't coming up or we would probably dress her up as a zombie LOL.

Anyways... my bestest (yes bestest!) friend Ashley is moving back here from Alabama in a few weeks and I couldn't be happier! She and her husband have been in Alabama since 2011, and before that they were in Portland for a few years while she finished up school. It will be so fun to have her back in town, and I know Karson is going to love getting to spend time with her and Duane :)

This week I had some very zen experiences... both in one day. My friend, Nichole and I went to lunch at Shangri La Tea Room and Cafe. We drank a pot of Matejuana tea which is supposed to give you a sense of relaxation and euphoria... which it totally did! Especially along with the live music. One of the musicians played a guitar and a didgeridoo, and the other played an assortment of flutes and the saxophone... what a cool experience! To top it all off, the food was AMAZING! I definitely recommend checking it out! Later that evening Nichole and I decided to try out a Yin yoga class at Sumits, and it was just perfect! The instructor incorporated essential oils, candles and incense into her class and it was all about holding poses for 3-4 minutes at a time. There were a lot of hip opening poses which are always intense, but feel really good. The class started with orange blossom oil and ended with lavendar...it was just a really nice way to end the day :) The kids and I also ventured over to Bounce and spent about 2 hours there having a great time! So all in all, I'd say I had a pretty great week! Now we're off to wash the dog, and maybe get a treat from Cold Stone...mmmm!

Until next time... Namaste!