April Fool's!!!

So I wanted to do something funny for the kids for April Fool's. So I took their apples that they had for breakfast and poked holes in them with a meat thermometer, and then stuck some sour gummy worms inside. Then I turned their milk blue. Donovan thought it was hilarious.

Alphabet Award

It's moments like this that melt my heart. Donovan earned his Alphabet Award at school and the smile on his face said it all! It wasn't just the excitement that had him smiling, it was the pride he felt for working hard to accomplish it. Every time we told him we were proud of him he said that that makes him feel so good. As a mom when you see your child so absolutely thrilled and so proud of something they did, it just makes you feel all warm inside. I love the confidence boost that it gave him.

Bootie Slippers

I have a design blog that I post my designs on, but since this isn't my design and I'm not selling them I'll share them on here with you. A friend of mine makes these little baby booties and sells them on her etsy page and blog, but she was kind enough to teach me how to make them and they are absolutely fabulous! I made this pair for Bella. I'm so lucky to have so many friends that have amazing talents.

Turning 30!!!

Well I am "officially" old! I can't believe how fast my 20's went by and I have been married for ALL 10 of them! When I look back I wonder how I even made it this far? I've had some pretty trying times for this early in my life, but everything I have been through has made me a stronger woman, wife and mother. Scott always told me that he was going to trade me in for a younger version once I hit 25 but he's still around so I must be doing something right! Even though turning 30 was a bit hard to swallow it was a great birthday. I had 3 cakes- one from Scott, one from a cute friend who made a "RIP Mindy's 20's", and this one that my mom made. And NO I didn't eat all of them! Probably could have though.

Donovan turns 5

It's amazing how time goes by so fast! It seems like yesterday that we just brought him home from the hospital. I have loved planning his parties every year and this year is the first year that he had a friend party and I think it has been the most fun so far! Boys parties are a bit harder to make really cute but this one turned out pretty good. But if you ever have to find a Batman birthday cake GOOD LUCK!!! We searched EVERYWHERE! And I wasn't about to pay $50+ for a cake, and I didn't have the time or energy to make my own. So the cake wasn't anything special, but he still loved it. The cupcakes on the other hand turned out pretty cute. Scott and I blew up 400 balloons and made a balloon pit in the basement. I MUST RECOMMEND THIS FOR ANY INDOORS KIDS PARTY!!! We hid treasure bags for each kid and they had to search through all the balloons to find them. I left the balloons down there for a while just so my kids could play in them. It was the greatest entertainment and lasted for days! I made "Batman" style carnival games and gave prizes. This turned out to be a super fun birthday. It's hard trying to plan a fun party 4 days after Christmas.

Maddisyn's 6th Birthday

Maddisyn would have been 6 years old! It's so hard to believe that 6 years ago our lives were turned upside down and forever changed. You never think that something like that will ever happen to you. She touched the lives of everyone around her. We were so blessed to have 7 days with her here on earth. She was not even suppose to make it through the first night that she was born, but she was a fighter and determined to give us that time that we needed with her. I didn't get to hold her until after she passed away. As a new mother you imagine what it's going to be like to hold your baby for the first time and to kiss her and snuggle her. I didn't even get to see her after she was born. She was rushed straight into the NICU and then transferred to Primary Children's Hospital where I got to see her the next day. Everything seemed to happen so fast but in slow motion all at the same time. I never let myself believe that we would actually ever have to say goodbye to her. When she passed away I felt so empty. My arms were empty and I needed my baby. It has been the most difficult thing we have had to endure but I am grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and knowing that we will get to have her again some day. Donovan was a true blessing in disguise. He was born the following year on her death date. He was the reason we were able to survive. Every year on her birthday we go visit the cemetery and take balloons and let the kids send off a balloon for each year that she would be turning. After that we take handmade blankets to Primary Children's and donate them to the NICU. We make a special tag for them in the memory of Maddisyn Maree Arnold and her dates. 12-22-04 to 12-29-04.To hear the video scroll down to my playlist and pause the music on the blog. I made this video for Scott one year for Christmas after his mom passed away.

Christmas at the Arnold's

Christmas is my all time favorite holiday to decorate for.... I tend to go overboard but I have been a little lazy the past

couple of years. I have double the ornaments that go on the tree that I didn't even bother with this year strictly because I was sure Bella was going to try to pull them all off! She did pretty good, only had to put a few back in their place. The village on the other hand she just couldn't leave alone... either kid really. They couldn't resist the little people and the cars. This was a village that I inherited from my Grandpa who was an amazing decorator. He was actually featured on the Idaho local news for his outdoor Christmas lights and village setup. I

t was divided up between all the grandkids but I ended up some some great pieces.

Christmas Eve-

We had a lot of fun with the kids making cookies for Santa and "magic" oatmeal for the reindeer. (It's a special treat that help the reindeer fly) And this is Santa's "Special Key" since we don't have a chimney for him to come down. Although I do have a faux fireplace where Santa accidentally dropped a present and left behind.

Christmas Day-

I'm only posting a couple pictures since we took about a MILLION and I'm too lazy to upload them all!

Donovan got a letter from Santa telling him that even though he was on the "naughty list" he still believed he was a good boy but he needed to try extra hard this year to be better. I was impressed that Santa would take the time to write him a personalized letter reminding him that he can see him all the time and he KNOWS when he is naughty or nice.

Batman & Batgirl

This Halloween was lots of fun! Donovan was dying to be Batman and Bella was going to be a pretty princess until we found the Batgirl costume and decided they had to match. The picture of Bella crying is PRICELESS!