Little Routines

 Most of this week's details in the picture captions, but, the rundown:

Temple trip with the Young Women, doctor appointments, volunteering in Bennett's class, meetings for Michael, games with Relief Society, a beautifully tender baby shower for my friend Lindsey (a "mother's circle" by my friend Reesa that was so sincere and sweet), a new commitment to finding a birth therapist,  Denver day trip to play with cousins and picnic at the park, feeding the missionaries (Greek food and light saber fights), a stressed but happy-in-the-end Westin during football playoff games, a beautiful youth devotional on Sunday night, starting an online class with Michael, planning another week of all my food, and really starting to get my mind around what we need for the beach next month. 

Westin is so heavily invested in each and every NFL game and I go back and forth between amazement and admiration for his commitment to exhaustion and confusion as to how and why this came to be such a big part of our family, particularly our Sundays. But I love watching him care. Even little Asher has the cutest way of saying "Watch Foo-ball?" when he sees a game turn on or asks Michael to hike the ball to him while we're watching. Two weeks to the Super Bowl :)

Colorado morning skies have my heart

Once in a while I do the math in my head about how long I've had my smoothie for breakfast. 4.5 years.
But then I told Michael that when I was growing up, I'd wake up and drink chocolate milk first thing. Then in high school it became a chocolate instant breakfast before dance practice. Same thing in college. Then after having Westin I started making it with protein powder and bananas and peanut butter. Then after Camden I learned about Macros and Clean Simple Eats and started making a more balanced shake and adding spinach.
Basically, waking up and drinking chocolate is who I am, but at least I'm growing up a little with it :)

He will NOT miss the chance to push daddy's car out of our garge,
even if we've missed the chance to put a diaper on him first. Sorry, neighbors.

We stopped at Great Harvest spontaneously on our errands, and got some cinnamon chip bread for me to make the boys french toast this weekend (I am honestly enjoying making them things that I'm not eating because I still feel just so free to have zero decisions to make about my food after preplanning it. This has been a huge surprise to me.) Then we got a bran muffin and sat outside while they split it. We shared a few little bits with a squirrel by us and Asher laughed and laughed as it ate. It was such a happy moment. Someday I'm going to run errands by myself, and I'm going to think about moments like this. I love these little buddies so, so much. I won't miss their carseats but man will I miss them.

A stop at the paint store -- they always love picking out a color.
Camden wanted me to pick out the "pretty green that our basement has" so I found him the card of our cabinet color, and then he helped Asher look through the rows and point at one he wanted, then got him the card that he couldn't reach. It was a pretty dark blue. I just love them.

Just gonna bury this here because I am so excited about the book Kindal and I are working on.

C is for Circus day at preschool so this cute guy wore our magician costume and we called it a ringleader :)

I have hit the lowest of lows while on a 10 out of 30 days hormone medicine recently.
I have been absolutely floored by how low it sends me. It truly just makes me want to be dead, and thankfully I am only doing three rounds of it and then never again. But this is here to remind me how Kitty always seems to know when I hit those low lows and finds my lap. I'd forgotten she'd do that so often in residency, when Michael was gone. This is a sweet little cat.

Asher on a balance bike! He doesn't have speed quite yet but it's going to come so fast.

We were so lucky to have such a sunny day to meet up with cousins at a park in Denver.

Worn out after chasing cousins all morning!

Emptying compost is an event around here.

Getting Sundays sorted out for YWs. It's kind of crazy how there's always a Tuesday activity or a Sunday coming around the corner. It's quite a constant calling and the advisor role was more of a fun ride than the counselor role has been, but it really is so fun to get to know the girls more and more.

Back with my Boys

 I came home on Tuesday evening to a slowly warming up Fort Collins,

School was canceled that day due to such low temps, so Michael was alone and stuck inside with the boys from Saturday morning to Tuesday night, but they had a lot of fun together. I was bummed they got hit with that weather since they love being outside together so much.

I came home to the start of full on counting my macros for the first time, which means tracking every bite of food I eat and balancing my carbs and proteins and fats. It's not for everyone and it's not for me forever, but I feel ready to try something I've never tried before and honestly it feels freeing. This has sent me down a whole path of pondering how limits can feel freeing rather than limiting and it's an interesting concept for me right now. So we'll see. I have preplanned every bite of food I'm going to eat for the next 2 weeks and then I'll go from there. We have a trip in February that I'll break for, then hit it again for all of March.

Michael liked Reading Rainbros this week, and his book club name will never not make me smile. We also had fun going on a date to Boys in the Boat. It made me think about my stairs. That makes no sense to you, but I remember what I listened to while painting every inch of my house, and Boys in the Boat is my stairs. The movie was wonderful, the book is even better. 

Westin is constantly asking google football facts and doodling NFL things. Bennett really, really loves listening to his Yoto player from Christmas and would do sticker by number books constantly if I kept him supplied. Camden keeps making us all laugh, particularly when he calls us "sonny boy" which is something he got from Bluey. Bluey also makes us all laugh, and makes me cry. And Asher is mastering jumping and I could watch him practice all day. Except I couldn't because I'm drowning in laundry.

I feel like winter has had some good bursts of sunshine in it, literally and figuratively, and it feels like an accomplishment be this far into January without feeling very bluesy. 

A few hours in La Jolla for our fried brains

One last brainstorming session on the beach

One last kidless meal :)
I love eating meals with them. But good food when you're only feeding yourself really hits different. This is a shrimp and asparagus frittata with whipped feta.

Home to see this boy's creations! Jenga and our train tracks have somehow become connected.

I give a LOT of haircuts. But his is my first bald spot.
Sorry, Westy boy! But we'll try again in 6 weeks so I think it's fine :)

This guy missed out on the last two rounds because daddy wasn't around,
but this time it had to be done. He was actually so good. 
My heart melts when I watch how much my little Asher wants to be like his three big brothers.
Melts? Breaks? Both.

Looking older with his fresh hair.

Does this blow your mind like it does mine?
Every. 6. Weeks. Okay maybe 8, and that's why it's way too much haha.

Sunny San Diego & Freezing Fort Collins

The beginning of this week was Westin and Bennett's first time skiing. They were good sports! Michael took them to Keystone and they stayed with cousins and had their first ski lesson. Their favorite part was the ice fort they got to explore after :)

I met three Rover families this week to try to find a good spot for Luna when we go on trips. I found a couple spots she's going to like a lot more than the kennel we've been using. It's funny to be on the other side of Rover after babysitting countless dogs all through residency.

We went to dinner with some friends in our ward plus their sister/brother-in-law who are in the dental scene in Fort Collins and it was a really fun date. I just am continually grateful that we've met so many more wonderful friends since our ward boundaries shifted when Asher was born. 

Then Saturday all of Fort Collins geared up for COLD. The temps started going down and down and down, so I decided it would be a good time to head out of here... sorry, Michael! Actually Kindal and I had a book weekend planned long before I knew the weather was going to be so miserably cold. Back when I booked it I decided to reserve the shuttle instead of an airport parking spot, just kind of on a whim, and man I was so glad to not drive on the icy freeway that weekend. 

Being in San Diego with Kindal was a breath of fresh air in all the ways. We are just a few illustrations away from finishing our second book, but we really need to get together to just get on the same page. Literally, I guess :) We stayed right by the beach and just talked all things creation and Adam and Eve and life plus caught up on all the things we both carry. So grateful for her. And for the ocean.

Michael took the boys to a stock show in Denver during the freezing temps, and to the church to run around a few times. These four boys stuck inside are quite a bit. They had a fun boys weekend though, and I was really, really grateful to be able to use Michael's long weekend for some book progress. 

Now it's time for me to head back home, now that the temps look like they're climbing back up :) :)

My doctor does home visits but he gives shots pretty aggressively.

First time skiing! 

Ready to workout with us in his sunglasses. Such a cool dude.

Took a picture before getting a video of these two singing, "I used to be young!" because it's my favorite thing.

Hooligans at swimming.

This is my favorite room in my house, this little basement bathroom.
It just makes me happy to see all the little elements I picked out coming together to make a cute tiny space.

Made it to the BEACH with Kindal!

Storyboarding, symbol talking, concept wrestling, photography planning, word weighing...
this book has felt like such an interesting and different process than Savior. Not worse, not better. Just interesting and different.

Tacos and ceviche... the limit does not exist.

Easing into 2024

First week of the year!

Life is moving a little slowly during Christmas break, and we're very ok with it.

We had Westin's bestie and his family over for the Michigan game. Their football obsession has kept them close through third grade even being in different classes. We fed the missionaries, including a Swiftie elder that I feel extra maternal for haha. I knew he was high level Swiftie when he asked which night we went to Taylor in concert here in Denver and immediately knew what surprise songs we got. #iykyk

On Wednesday I took the boys down to Katie's for a half-day cousin party. Trying to fit in some time together before these boys are back in school! Then we ironically both had scheduled all our boys dentist appointments that afternoon, so we weren't together very long. But it was fun to play for a little bit! Saturday was High Fitness and Home Depot truck building and Michael made marmalade because we watched Paddington. 

On Sunday Westin and Bennett left with Michael after church to meet Katie in Keystone for their first time skiing the next day. They were a little nervous but they're going to have fun!

I love that he loves hats.

Michael took the older boys to see Migration and they loved a movie date.

Four Home Depot trucks later... Saturday morning required patience :)

Citrus from Phoenix! So sweet of the Walkers to send us some.

"Mom can you draw me a motorcycle? Just search one up on your phone!"

Camden really wanted me to make a motorcycle out of cardboard. He was happy his brothers wanted to help him color it. We don't have a lot going on during Christmas break, if you can't tell :)

Littlest chef.

I've had two bags of frozen breastmilk in my freezer for way too long. 
It just felt kinda sad to throw them away even though I knew fully well that they would be used for absolutely nothing at this point. So I let them go.

Wearing his cool glasses from the garbage man at the dentist.

Such a cutie when he's worn out in the car.

Sleeps with so many toys... just like all his brothers.

We had a Swiftie Elder for dinner before he left for his mission in Japan, he was just here temporarily. I asked him what he wanted his last American dinner to be and he picked lasagna. 
It's a tough time to be a Swiftie and a missionary... he knows he's missing out haha.

Caught Westin listening to an audio book and sorting through Subway coupons haha

Kindal gave me this art she picked up in Paris and I really love it. When it comes back out after my Christmas decorations I'm always happy to see it on my shelf again :)

I miss this picture when I put it away after Christmas time!

Baby woke up with a New Years Eve hangover attitude. And slept with that headband and wanted to put it on first thing the next morning :)