Time flies. All the time. {13-29th}

 -Grayson had a preschool Valentine's party & program on the 13th.  Beforehand, both boys were so good to play together & watch Charlotte's web while I did my workout.  He was so excited to make & take his Valentine's for his friends and put all the googly eyes on himself {& beckham's ears}, as well as taping the candy to the back.  He's quite a perfectionist, so I couldn't talk him into writing his name on them, but it's a work in progress.  He's such a little stud.  His program was comical, as usual.  He's just a ham {read: class clown} when I show up.  I just shake my head & laugh.  The whole class was adorable & pretty wired from their sugar high.  So glad he loves it so much.  We had a ward party for LOVE day on the 15th that Zac was working through, so the boys & I braved it.  They could not be more opposite.  Before we went in I told them they could not go out of the gym.  Grayson was so good to listen & do just what I said.  Even when his friends ran out & played in the foyer he would stand at the door and watch them, but wouldn't go out of the gym.  Then there's Beckham.  Wow.  That kid is a ball of energy.  I cannot keep him off the stage or from running out of the gym!  I chased that kid, held him screaming {him, not me, although it could have gone either way}, and finally decided we'd had enough. (:

-Had a great planning meeting for my business on the 16th & then a fun lunch with lots of laughing with Tony & Brenda afterward.  Love them.  So thankful that if I have to work {and it is a necessity that I do at this point}, I get to do something I love with people I love for a cause I love.  And, that I only have to leave my boys 10 hours a week with someone who loves them second only to their parents.  Later when we were all home, I worked out in the garage while the littles chased & played with each other.  They even did some sweeping. (:  Papa Newell stopped by to bring some Valentine's love & we cranked up the music so the boys were dancing.  He jumped right in with them and had a great time.  I love his genuine laugh when he's with his grandboys.  So cute!

-We had Jaeger over all day on the 17th while L&K went to the temple.  That was so much fun.  He really is a doll and such a joy to have.  The boys all get along great & then right when they might be getting tired of each other, the two littles go down for a nap & Gray gets some time alone with me.  Then, by the time the littles wake up, they are all happy to play together again.  Toward the end of the day, I took them with me to my folks & locked us all in the treadmill room so I could do my run.  I set up the car mat, the fire house, some toys, and put a movie on and got on the treadmill.  I could tell it was the end of the day & they were getting tired because they were all pretty cranky.  L&K picked up Jaeger about 3/4 through my workout and then shut the door & I got the rest done while Beckham cried the entire time.  The joys of trying to get regular exercise in with children. (:  That night the boys played chef & were so good to bring us delicious food.  {PS: tried the Pirate's booty popcorn sold at Costco and me and the boys LOVED it. A way better snack option than a lot of things, but easily addicting.}

-My parents spent several days in McCall and us kids all missed them.  We invited everyone here for lunch after church on the 19th & had a yummy roast & potatoes/biscuits, but it wasn't the same without Mom & Dad, for sure.  While preparing, the guys were sitting on the couch & Grayson took Talon's hand for a bit.  Totally tender.  After a quick rest, we headed to Cleaver's for Dad's birthday party.  It was a ton of fun.  Everyone was relaxed, in great moods, the kids all got along fabulously, and the entire night was just super enjoyable.  I love those times.  It's not too often we can all get together anymore, so when we do I love that it's such quality time.  The kids were so good and charmed everyone all night.  I got lots of good chat time in with all the siblings & we even skyped with Morgan & Brian in Texas.  We are so grateful Papa Newell was born.  He is an incredible man.  He has the sweetest laugh, is a huge joker, has a big sweet tooth, and is kind & genuine.  He checks on me throughout the week at least a time or two & randomly stops by with a sweet or a card.  We love having him nearby.  He loves seeing the boys grow and is patient with them and with us, as parents.  We love him!

-We had an unexpected and very welcome visit from my friend Sara on the 20th.  She & I are doing a health challenge together & have been encouraging each other through texting.  She came by & brought me a beautiful hat she'd made herself {she's incredible!} and my boys got a gift, too.  Her son, Michael, is growing out of some of his Star Wars toys, and she showed him some pics of how much my boys love them, so he went into his room & found some of his old figures he wasn't playing with much & boxed them up for the boys.  So sweet, huh?  I loved it.  What a great kid.  She is a sweetie & we visited for an hour which was lovely.  Both boys love the figures & line them up much like the ones below.  Uncle Talon cut Grayson's hair after preschool today which is always comical.  Beckham was napping, so they surprised me the next day by cutting it while Taylor had the boys.  I came home to a much older looking Beckham.  They both look darling-thanks Talon!
The boys love playing with Daddy.  A favorite lately {after a long hiatus} is to play Toy Story.  One is Buzz, one is Woody, and one is Rex.  They have a great time.  The boys are so silly before bedtime-they'll do anything to stall & sometimes we find ourselves letting them because they make us laugh so hard.

-Thursday the 23rd, I dropped the boys at Taylor's and headed to my mom's to run real quick.  Got my workout done and went home.  I got in the garage & tried opening the door to the house.  Locked.  The front/back doors were locked.  I was locked out.  Zac was in Boise working, so I called my daddy. (:  He came right over & within minutes had the front door unlocked.  Totally appreciated and afterward I thought how grateful I am to have him so close and that he is so capable & willing to help & save me when I need rescuing, just like he's always done.

-TSFL/Medifast discontinued my favorite product-the Parmesan cheese puffs-so I got a big shipment before they were all gone.  This will last me two months, max, because they are also Grayson's favorite. (:

-Lance went to Washington DC for TEN days so Kels & Jaeger trekked to her folks house for the first week.  We missed them!  Saturday the 25th, the rest of us {sans Doll}, went to dinner at Orphan Annie's and then to fro-yo at Big Chill.  Thanks to Mom & Dad for treating us and being so generous!  It was yummy and fun to go.  Grayson & Bex thought the mascot for Big Chill was Franklin the turtle & were pretty excited about seeing him there.  Late that night {Zac and I have been AWFUL at going to be before midnight}, I was reading & Zac was sitting next to me reading, too.  He wanted some granola, but doesn't like the raisins, so I picked them out for him.  True love, just sayin. {Sidenote: the boys are OBSESSED with popsicles lately.  What?  I guess no one gave them the memo about it being cold outside. (:  And, I am SUPER proud of Zac.  He made a commitment to health for himself this year and has done great at getting his workouts in, eating healthy, and trying to get enough sleep.  He's such a good man!}

-Monday the 27th, the boys & I, and Aunt Taylor {Tay Tay to Beckham}, went to Huls' for a birthday party for Megan.  She had spent the previous ten days with our Fischer's in Minnesota, so I was excited to hear about her trip and celebrate a great girl who has been a surrogate little sister to me practically her entire life.  My boys totally made themselves at home & loved Mickey & Tracy's dogs who were outside.  They stood on the inside of the sliding glass door & talked to the dogs.  So cute.  There were a couple other kids there & they all played.  Beckham was a complete ham the entire evening and had every party guest wrapped around his finger by the end of the evening.  He danced, sang, chattered, played, sat on random laps, and LOVED Mickey.  When we left, he gave kisses freely and when Mickey kissed him with his beard, he belly laughed so hard & went in for about ten more kisses.  So adorable!  I know they desperately miss Ella & Wren so I made a goal to take the boys in at least once a week or so for a quick visit.  Love that family.

-Lately our boys have been having a hard time going to sleep at bedtime.  Sometimes they are in there chatting for over an hour.  Zac doesn't care as long as they're in their room, but of course it bugs the heck out of me + I think they need more sleep!  Anyway, it gets to the point where we say, "Whatever it takes."  For Beckham, this often means giving him his Spiderman or Darth coloring books, which he's obsessed with.  Unfortunately, he's quite a "ripper" and this is often the site I find when I check on him after he falls asleep.  Thank goodness for dollar coloring books!  (:

-Zac went to the doctor the 28th because he's had a cough since he was sick in January & it's been persistent and always worst at night.  We thought it was nothing-maybe allergies-but after he'd been wheezing for a couple days & my mom thought it was something more, he went to see Doc Page.  The verdict?  Walking pneumonia.  Poor guy!  They stocked him up with meds & an inhaler which has been helping a lot at night.  Glad we listened to mom & that he's hopefully on the mend.  One of Grayson's little sunbeam friends, Olivia, is in the hospital right now with pneumonia, so we've been praying for her and hoping she comes home soon.  Scary stuff!  I had the Blue & Gold banquet for scouts that night that I needed to be at and earlier in the day Zac said, "I'm planning something fun to do with the boys tonight while we're home alone."  I love that he was thinking about the valuable time he'd get with them.  They had a rockband party!  The boys LOVED it because 1. they love music, and 2. they love undivided attention from their dad.  They rocked out for the majority of the time I was gone and were enjoying each other when I got home.

-The last day of February {29th}-LEAP day!-was a good one.  Taylor came over {with donuts-dang temptress!} to hang for a while & help me get ready for a book exchange I was hosting that night.  I made delicious looking oreo cupcakes {I didn't try one, so crossed my fingers that they tasted alright}, and covered book journals.  Denise sent me a fun box for my birthday-she's so thoughtful-and Beckham wanted to open it pretty badly. I finally gave in & it was a cute pair of earrings, a fun sign, and a darling demdaco angel.  Thanks Denise!  We did lots of playing/cleaning/getting ready and then the boys got another evening with Zac, this time with Jaeger here too!  I headed into town to the coffee shop where I was having the book exchange.  It was a very fun night with sweet girls.  Kelsey, Taylor, Doll, Courtney Hansen, Jessica Cowgill, and Kim McDowall came.  Very fun chatting, yummy food, fun books to exchange & take home, successful party.  On my way home I dropped the leftover cupcakes to Dad Cleaver and he did his happy chocolate dance, which made it totally worth it. (: