Ready for Spring

We were so sad to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa this week! They were so sweet to treat us to Ginger & Baker pies before they left, those are just the best! And they took some books to a market for us in SLC, some books to keep at Ali's house in case our three Northern Utah stores need to restock, and a box to Kindal for some stuff happening in Southern Utah. We're about 2/3 through our inventory and it's surprising and fun!

Michael had a good week at work and got a lot done on Saturday and Wednesday. Our privacy trees along our fence took such a hit during our last blizzard, and he tied them all up with twine. His arms are so scratched up from the not-very-fun job. I'm grateful he takes such good care of things outside that don't cross my mind. The boys love being outside with him. Camden didn't love the time spent up on the ladder since he wants to be right where his dad is at all times!

The boys liked going back to school after spring break. Westin is excited because they're doing a "walk to school" challenge and you earn points for how many days you walk or ride a bike to school. We love our walk to school and I've only driven twice because of errands, so he's got his eye on gold level prizes! He loves things like that. Bennett is starting to want to lead a little more when playing with Westin and they definitely argue more than they used to, but @simplyonpurpose has really helped me view the value of social development from sibling stuff. I also hate it, because... it's the worst. But I try to not intervene as much as I probably would have without listening to her thoughts all about this. But, boundaries still get crossed and those are not fun moments. Overall though, they are absolute buddies and so cute to watch.

I spent three hours on Saturday cleaning Westin's art hoarding in his room. Two full trash bags. Two full recycling bags. It was crazy. He wants to keep every little thing. I love his creativity but it's so hard to know how to manage it as well. It feels so much better in their room now though, and I gave them each a desk drawer that I will never throw something away from and when that gets full they need to choose something to take out to fit something in. The thing is.... that was our same system before the four trash bags and hours of cleaning. Westin would just find boxes and use those to keep more treasures, haha.

On Thursday a few large instagram accounts shared our books that they had ordered, which we didn't even know and we didn't expect! And we had so many orders come in after that which was exciting but unexpected. So we've been doing them through PayPal and Venmo and shipping on the side and I sent out almost 100 orders just the last few days. We're so happy that it looks like they'll arrive before Easter too! But some of ours still haven't arrived from our first shipments, media mail is pretty wacky sometimes. But I'm becoming friends with the mailman and we're getting by day by day!

The temps are warming up this week and we're looking forward to more bike rides! 

First view of our books out in the wild!
This is at the Jenibee Market in SLC. A customer sent us this photo.
She had ordered one on Kickstarter but saw them there and bought more copies before hers came in the mail because she was excited :)

My parents dropped another full box of books off at Jenibee when they drove from here to Utah,
and the market messaged me and said they sold out in 15 minutes. We were shocked!
So they bought another Priority Mailed box that gets there tomorrow.

Grandpa is the best school dropper offer and picker upper because he doesn't rush you at all -- he patiently waits while you rescue every single worm from the ditch with your stick, and put it safely onto the lawn. Even the ones who seem already past rescuing... because you never know.

Grandma picked up a cute book about feelings at the bookstore here,
and Westin was loving it. Heaven knows that kid has big feelings.

Storytime with grandpa before bed each night.
Gotta use that radio voice while we have it in our house!

The squirrels are getting much too.... comfortable in our backyard.

Grandpa picked up a shark mask at the store to make the boys laugh when he picked them up at school.
They hardly took a second glance at it -- they're too used to all his joking :)

This view isn't getting old! I take a picture of every stack of books I think,
I just love that they're going from inside my head to out into the world.

Another Jenibee shot.

I love when these two play together. They have fun on Fridays when it's just them,
while Westin is at school. That's the one day a week that Bennett doesn't have school in the morning.

My shipping assistant!
Child labor is a real thing at Lighten Print.
We pay in cheerios.

Somebody snuck onto dad's lap for second dinner when he got home from work,
and learned how to dip fries.

Bennett's love language has been physical touch from day one. I remember getting ready when he was just barely walking and I'd have to pause three or four times when he come and just need a hug on my lab for a minute or two before going off to play again. He's still the same way, and I try to consciously make sure I hug him until he lets go, and I get some good long hugs :)

Like I said.... I keep taking pictures of every stack that goes out the door!
Makes me so happy!

We cleared Westin's remote school piles and art work hoarding area before our couch delivery, and I just loved this new view of the fun wall in there. House projects are on hold for book projects right now but I'm itching to get back to putting things together!

New couch! Time to buy our first ever coffee table. #grownups

We've been eating popsicles outside to pretend it's spring weather.

Sweet Evie! We love this little dog.

Camden isn't too sure about her but when she doesn't give him too much attention, he can deal with her presence.

Such a cuddly little muppet.

Books, Kindal, and Grandparents!

Books are out the door! Kindal's flight was delayed until Tuesday, and we spent Sunday and Monday shoveling and shoveling, and after we shoveled the driveway we shoveled the road. Haha I was determined to be able to go get Kindal on Tuesday morning!

The boys loved the snow. On Monday they went sledding in our front yard while we shoveled in the road, and our neighbors came and helped us clear a path to the plowed road at the top of our cul de sac. Their kids had fun sledding with Westin and Bennett and it's just the best to live in a friendly neighborhood.

Michael's work was cancelled Monday and Tuesday and he is always home Wednesday, so he had a pretty chill week with us! Which mean his little shadow, Camden, kept a close eye on him and followed him constantly. I picked up Kindal Tuesday morning and her checked bag full of our thank you notes/matching games felt like the final piece to this years-long puzzle. I was just prepping my brain for that bag to be lost because, I feel like there have been some unnecessary hiccups along our way! But... it came! And she came! And all went well!

We just hit the ground running and shipped for hours Tuesday and hours Wednesday. She even had us take a quick break and drive out to a snowy field where she snapped some family pictures for us, and on the way home we listened to Irish accent lessons so we could be fully ready for our corned beef and cabbage dinner. That was..... not my favorite dinner. But, it was appropriate for the day. The boys had a leprechaun visitor who peed in our toilet and left some Lucky Charms. The leprechaun helper had to go to multiple stores to find gold coins, never succeeding and settling for Rolos, which were, it turns out, not individually wrapped in gold. So the helper tore the wrapper of the roll into pieces and haphazardly wrapped the Rolos and made a trail from the green pee scene to the fruit rainbow and Lucky Charms offering. Westin loves holidays... this is what drives those silly things.

My parents got here Wednesday evening and they played with the boys while Kindal and I had one more day to get things done before she left Thursday evening. Website planning, side order packaging, media kits to Costco and Deseret Book and Brigham Distributing sent, signing the books for the people that wanted them signed, and just some general planning together. It's amazing how much more we can get done when we're actually in the same state! She's the best and I was so sad to take her back to the airport... 

We went to Fossil Creek Park and Fossil Creek Reservoir with my parents on Friday and Saturday, and had a Mary's Mountain Cookies taste test (chip-a-doodle was the Cinderella story, chocolate chip always the winner no matter what though), and Michael and I went on a boring grown-up date to a fireplace store and an Amish furniture store (that one wasn't boring though -- prettiest furniture! We're going to get some pretty nightstands because kids never ruin nightstands. I hope those aren't famous last words...). 

On Sunday my parents stayed with sleeping Camden while we took the older boys to our 2pm Sacrament meeting. Usually we switch off since we can watch it online anyway, so it was fun to go together. We've made it through a quarter if the year maintaining nap time with this oh so late church schedule, so feeling pretty good about that.

Busy, happy week!!!

First autograph!

That sneaky leprechaun...

Such a helper!

Bennett probably stuck on 200 shipping labels. So cute.

Can you tell which pictures Kindal takes and which ones I take? Haha. 

First half! Mailman picked this up on Tuesday afternoon.

Sneak peek! She's building our whole website right now but edited this one pic as a little preview of the photo shoot. She's so fast!

Camden loved handing Michael books, one by one.

The rest! Second day's pick up.

This is the "Send me your address!!!" pile. And I have no idea how to get them to send me their address, so.... hopefully someday they do!

Be good to them, USPS!

We love a good taste test.
Also our first use of our bourbon barrel serving tray that Michael's dad made!
On top of the table he made.
He makes such fun and beautiful projects!