Omaha Spring Break Trip Days 1 & 2

Once again this year we decided to take advantage of spring break as a time to make our annual trip to Omaha. This year, we decided to fly instead of drive which was so super nice. Here's a few pics of Day 1-  Travel Day:

The boys had school in the morning, so we took some time to say goodbye to our house guests who had stayed with us the previous night and to do some last minute packing. Once they were out of school, we headed to the airport for our afternoon flight. Here's a pic of Faith with her new baby backpack she had to have to take her Baby Phoebe along for the ride. It was so cute.

We had some lunch at the airport and then headed to our gate. At the gate Zaden came over with a tooth in his hand. He finally lost his first tooth! So we had to keep it safe on the plane so the Tooth Fairy could find him in Omaha.

And then it was finally time to fly. Faithy sat by me and we had a very calm flight for the most part with all of them. She even serenaded the entire plane with the song "Let it Go" from the movie Frozen for the first 15 minutes or so. Here she is all settled into her seat with her tablet and headphones.

Once we arrived, Grandma Braska and Aunt Kari met us at the airport to help with the kids while Mike and I took care of rental car arrangements and then went to Great Aunt Sue's for some dinner and to take it easy for the night.

Day 2  started off with a small road trip into Lincoln with Aunt Kari and Uncle Sean. We went to Morrill Hall to see the dinosaurs and other fun stuff and to walk around by the Huskers Stadium. It was a really fun time and we even had a laugh about the parking warnings we each received as a memento of our time spent there. Here's some pics to share.

Then we had a nice lunch together and headed back to Great Aunt Sue's for a break. Later that night, the kids wanted to spend the night with Grandma Braska and her dogs so they went there and we were able to have some fun with Mike's siblings Go-Karting and having a nice dinner together.

We then got to spend some time just chatting and hanging out in the quiet basement of Great Aunt Sue's house. It was a great start to our trip.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Mike and Becca! 

Movies, Swings, Chefs and Swimmers

What a busy weekend this turned out to be. We originally had nothing planned this weekend, but that changed quickly. Mike came home on Friday with some movies he had borrowed from a co-worker, so we decided to make it a family night and opted to go out to dinner, do a little shopping then come home and make some popcorn and watch a movie together. It turned out really nice. The kids loved the movies and I loved me some  5 Guys and not cooking for dinner.

Saturday morning I was up early. So I got busy and made us some donut holes for breakfast. They were yummy (even if the kids still had to have cereal with them too). Then we were off for a quick errand. We came home and worked on some chores and then took a break to walk to a nearby park and get in some play time.

We came home and grilled some yummy burgers and hotdogs and had a relaxing evening together.
Sunday morning I got up and made some yummy cinnamon roll pancakes. Then the kids were all begging to go swimming so we hit the pool early and got to have the whole thing to ourselves including the slides for about the first 40 minutes. It was really fun. The boys could have played forever. Faith went in for a few minutes here and there. Mostly she wanted to sit on the bench and watch, where she eventually fell asleep. It was a lot of fun.

We came home and rustled up some lunch, then decided to whip up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies with my 3 littlest chefs assisting. They turned out really good and as a bonus, we dyed them green for St. Patty's Day tomorrow.

Not too shabby of a weekend for having "nothing" to do, if I say so myself.

Flippers required

These two boys have been asking for a while now to take swim lessons, but we could never seem to fit it into our schedules. But I'm happy to say, we finally got them signed up for a first round. They started last week and have had 3 lessons so far. The first lesson was a little rough, but since then, they are both doing awesome. We are so impressed with them and all they have learned and are getting brave enough to try already.  I snuck a small camera along with us last night and snapped a few pics. I tried to do it when they weren't looking so as not to distract them and had them stop for one at the end. 

They are so funny and cute to watch and I love how much they are enjoying this. I've never seen them so excited to do any sort of sports activity. They can't quit talking about it and asking about it ever since they started. We've got a couple of little fish on our hands.

She's Here!

I'm excited to report that my new niece made it into the world safely early last week. I was fortunate enough to be able to go down for the day on Saturday and meet her for a little bit. She's so stinking cute! Welcome to the world Miss Bryndie!

5 Going on 6

Only a little over a month left until these boys turn 6! I'm enjoying their last few weeks of being 5 and they are really starting to get the hang of school and asking every day when they get to go to first grade because they want to have lunch at school.

They got to have a superhero day at school for white ribbon week. They of course chose their very most favorite people in the world to dress as. And got to wear them all day at school. They were stoked and to top of that awesome day, they got to have a pizza party in their class for winning the box top contest.  

Speaking of hero's,  Zaric also received an "Everyday Hero" award from his teacher and come home with some goodies and a certificate. He has made such a huge turn around this year from where we started. We still have a ways to go but we are so proud of them both.  Their reading is starting to bloom and numbers are flying for Zaden and really starting to improve for Zaric as well.

They make us laugh every single day and fill my heart when I listen to them play together and really, truly be each others best friend.  It's hard to describe how close these two are. Of course there are times they don't want to be anywhere near each other too. But that normally doesn't last long before they are back at it. 

Zaric has been really wanting to go to McDonald's lately and every day it's been the same story, we don't have time because the tutor is coming or we simply don't want to or we shouldn't etc etc. Well in a desperate plea on the way home as he looked at it longingly out the car window he said, "Mom, sometimes my heart just aches and tells me that I want Hot-Donald's (what he calls McD's) every week." hahahahahaha Well we didn't go that day, but I decided to surprise him the next day and pulled into the parking lot on the ride home to go through the drive up. How could I not make his heart happy once in a while? He was a little bummed that I didn't let them go in to play because sister was asleep in the car and let's face it, I also simply didn't want to.  But that sadness sure didn't last long. He was one happy boy once we got home to indulge.

What a great surprise. What was even more surprising it that later this same night, he was busy wrestling with his oldest brother when he lost his first tooth. Luckily Dad found it since he hadn't even noticed it missing (Mom did when putting him in the bath) and got it ready for the tooth fairy. He happily obliged my request then for a pic in the tub.

I think Zaden is a little jealous that Zaric lost a tooth first. But he'll get his day and I'm sure it will be soon as well. 

We are planning a Disney Planes themed birthday party. Dad is busy working on invites and decor and Mom is busy planning food and cake and details. They can't wait to turn 6 and talk about it every single day as well.

 My little boys are growing up too fast!

Another Niece

I have another baby niece on the way and soon! After the nice relaxing Vday with Mike, we headed to Price to pick up the kids and to have a small shower for my sister. It was just us girls in the family and we had a nice lunch and showered baby with some gifts. We had such a good time and a lot of laughs together which was really needed. Here's a few pics from the day of me and my sis.

Vday -3 day Celebration

This year Valentine's Day ended up being an extended celebration. It all started when the kids got out early on Thursday the 13th. They all reported fun parties at school and came home with tons of little Valentine's and candy to munch on. Then when Mike walked through the door that night he surprised me with my Valentine's early. Some roses and a nice card. Then told me when Papa and Grandma took the kids for the weekend we were going on an extended date, away from home for a whole day and staying a night in a downtown hotel.

Friday came and we started the day off with some gifts for our kiddo's. Here's a pic of Faith's. The boys were up and broke into theirs before I could manage to get a picture of theirs. But they each got a Lego Movie guy and a Skylanders Megablock along with some candy. Faith got some princess nail polish, a small palace pet and some candy.

 And I got them all dressed cute and handsome for the day.

While we were waiting for the day to pass until Papa pickup time, I printed these pics I took of them in their outfits and we made some crafts with them. They turned out super cute. And then of course had to have our annual heart-shaped pizza.

After Dad got home, it was finally time to meet Papa in Provo. We drove down and met Papa who also took the doggy with him and we were all alone to enjoy Mike's gift for me. The first stop was dinner together. Mike tried to take me to one of my favorites, Texas Road House but the wait was too long. We expected a wait on a day like Vday, but a 2.5 to 3 hour wait was a little much, so we ended up at a nearby Wingers and had a good time and some yummy burgers together. Then came home for the night and enjoyed a quiet house together.
Saturday it was time for the all day date. Mike insisted that we get out of the house early and stay away because he really wanted me to relax and not be worried about cooking or cleaning which is what I would do if I were in the house. Does he know me or what? So we were out of the house with our overnight bag packed by about 9. So our first stop was our favorite donut place, Banbury Cross. The donuts were devine as always.
We have been toying with the idea of getting couples tattoo's for a while and I've also had a tattoo idea I've been pouring over for well over a year. So we decided before we left to print out some of our ideas and stop by a tattoo shop to talk about them. So we headed over to Yellow Rose Tattoo in Sugarhouse since we were on the side of town. The guy there was helpful and in the end we decided to go ahead with the idea I've been clinging to forever. And as luck would have it, he was able to fit me in later that same day. So we left with an appointment time and headed out to the mall for some shopping and soft pretzels for lunch. We still had some time to kill so we also hit a couple stores in Sugarhouse where I somehow ended up with 3 new pairs of shoes. It was Heaven!
Then it was time for the Tat. Here's the idea and results. The 4 birds represent our 4 kids. The wording is Latin for "Soar (or rise) with your wings." The anchor (to me) represents me being anchored to my kids while still letting them learn to soar. So that explains the design.  It turned out a really well. Here's a zoomed in pic. It's not quite as big as it looks here.

After the Tattoo, we headed downtown to get checked into the Hotel Monaco where Mike had made the reservations. It was a bit chaotic there and our room wasn't quite ready yet, so we improvised and checked our bags and decided to walk a little downtown and hit the Cheesecake Factory at City Creek for dinner. Another Bad idea! Seems a lot of people were trying to hit it on Saturday night too as an extended Vday weekend like us. Again the wait was too long, so we ended up sharing some fries, chicken and salad at Johnny Rockets which turned out just fine. Then we hit a couple more stores and walked back to to hotel where they were thankfully ready for us. We spent the rest of the evening talking and relaxing and just enjoying each other's company. Here's a silly pic in the animal print robes the hotel provided.

In the morning, we were both up early so we decided to make the most of the rest of kid-free time and went to breakfast together at Village Inn which was super yummy. Then we were off to Price to pick up the kiddo's and have a baby shower for my sister.

What  great and thoughtful gifts. I love this man more than I could ever say. Thank you again honey and thanks Papa and Grandma for volunteering (once again) to take the kids and the added on doggy. We so appreciate everything you guys do for us.

A February Fun Weekend

We've had a super relaxing, but fun weekend here at the house. It started on Friday when a cousin invited us to go to Airborne with her and her son.  It's an indoor trampoline playground. We had never been there before. The boys loved it! They ran around for the entire hour and jump, jumped jumped! We hardly heard anything from them. Little Miss Faith refused to jump, but was pretty content hanging out and just listening to us adults chat. Thanks Mindy for the invite!

After the trampolines, we were off for the planned event of the evening. The boys went to see The Lego Movie and us girls went and did some shopping. The boys loved the movie and Faithy loved shopping with Mom. She was too funny and super good the entire time. Then we snuck back over to a restaurant by the theater and met back up with the boys for dinner out, which was super yummy. 

Saturday morning started out with some grocery shopping and then to waste some time with the gloomy weather outside, we broke out the painting supplies. The kids all had a ball painting their own mini canvas. Here's some pics of the fun.

I had been mulling over painting something for Mike for Valentine's Day for a while, so it was perfect timing. I thought he might like me really trying to do something near and dear to his heart. He made snide comments the whole time I painted. Then at the end I added the initials to one of my trees and explained to him the reason I was painting that picture. He was not impressed and expressed that he didn't want to hang my masterpiece anywhere, especially in his office like I suggested. I was a little heart-broken, but on the other hand, it really is the best thing this amateur has ever painted......ever! So I'm still pretty proud of myself.  One of the down-falls of marrying an artist, I guess-----always a critic lurking over your shoulder. But here's what I managed to pull off.

After the kids' bedtime, my friends Amy and Beth invited me out to do a little dancing. We headed to Club90 and danced for a couple hours. I wasn't sure I wanted to go out, but I'm glad they and Mike pushed for me to go.  I had a really good time, despite the "older" crowd and the not so good live bad that was playing.

Sunday we stayed home and relaxed, watched the Olympics and did a few small chores. We also spent some time getting Valentine's ready for school this week and making cookies.

Life is good.

Year Of The Horse

This last week we got to enjoy another Chinese New Year celebration at the boys school. We watched a video of all of the grades singing and learning Chinese dance techniques, watched the traditional Chinese dragon (or lion) dance, then got to put red envelopes in it's mouth and take a pic next to it for good luck.  We also got to take some pics in front of the great wall of China. Unfortunately it was getting late and since we live far from the school we had to leave to get home for homework and baths before we could get to any of the other activities but it was still a good time.