Friends and Date Night

How awesome are friends? Totally awesome! A while back I kept complaining to Ben that I had no friends in the Burlington area. It was more of a "I have no friends. WAH!" and then I'd sulk. Not like Ben isn't my bestie but sometimes ya just need some girl time. It was probably more my fault than anyone else's because I didn't really put myself out there. So I decided to pray. Well boy were my prayers answered. There have been some awesome families that have moved into our ward (church) within the last year or so and I feel so blessed that I have made some really great friends. Us ladies have had fun getting together for book club and weekly to watch The Bachelor together. It's so fun to get together as girls and just talk and have a few laughs. It's so nice to just get out of the house and forget about being a mom for a few hours. This past Friday we got together at my friends place to make some cute hair bows for our girls. It was a blast! Then on Saturday another friend offered to come over while the kids were in bed so Ben and I could go on a much needed date night. Thank you!!!! Then on Sunday a friend gave me a cute hair clip for Ava to say 'thanks' for showing her how to make hair bows. Then just today another friend dropped off some yummy treats because she knows how addicted I am to them. I answered the door in my sweats from the day before, nasty hair and mascara under my eyes. It was only 4 in the afternoon but who cares, she brought me treats. Haha Then last week when I ordered a bow tie from a good friend from Arizona she threw in 2 more for free! And I am so looking forward to being a bridesmaid in a friends wedding next summer.  I just feel so grateful! My heart is full of love for these wonderful ladies.

So my wonderful friend Maren offered to come hang out at our place while the kiddos were in bed so Ben and I could go out on a date. It was so much fun and I forgot how much fun it is to hang out just him and I. We started off by going bowling. Well let me tell you how much I suck at that. It was fun but I think I have a better chance at beating Ben at a food eating competition than I do at bowling. After bowling we went to Montana's to get our favorite caramel tortilla cheesecake dessert. Soo good! And ended off our night with a romantic trip to...Walmart! Haha You know your married when. Anyway, this weekend was a blast and I'm so thankful for friends and a handsome hunny that allows me to go out and have some girl time!

The End

Cutest packaging from Andrea at Colin's Closet

Cutest little bow ties. Thank You!!!

Ben showing me how it's done.

Date night! Glow in the dark bowling!

Playing hangman while enjoying our dessert at Montana's. Don't tell me dat.

A whopper of a dessert. Deeelish!

Goodbye Susu!!

This past friday Ava said goodbye to her good friend since birth. Her beloved susu (soother) floated away as we waved goodbye. Actually it was a failed attempt of attaching it to some helium balloons. It floated down the road a bit and then I had Ben take Ava inside while I chucked it out in the garbage in the garage. Turns out I don't have much luck with balloons. I don't know who is going to miss it more, her or me. Since Ava is getting to be a 'big girl' now, I thought it was time to get rid of it. I must admit I had to be ready for it to go more than her. It is so easy just to stick the darn thing in her mouth to keep her quiet on car rides, nap time, playgroup, church.....oh no! what have I done!!! Haha She was just looking too grown up to have one. We have tried the whole 'put the soother on the dresser' after nap time or in the morning but I would just cave. Either go big or go home right? She has done pretty well without it, although she had a good cry after we let it go. I think she realized it was really gone. She takes more time settling at night and the other day she didn't nap at all but she's getting there. I can't believe how grown up she is getting. She says the funniest things and entertained the Elders all through dinner tonight singing 'the wheels on the bus.' And the other night at dinner she blessed the food that it would strengthen and nourish our batteries. LOL She only wears a diaper at nap and bed-time and gets upset when I tell her she can't wear her big girl undies to bed until she gives up her 'hot bottle' (bottle of warm water.) That will be the next thing to go.

My 'big girl'

Book Club

Before Christmas, a friend of mine put together a book club with a few of the mom's from our church. I picked a book for everyone to read and hosted book club at my place this past Wednesday. We read "Heaven is here" by Stephanie Nielson. Thanks for the suggestion Lisa! It's a true story about a young mom who is in a helicopter crash with her husband and gets severely burned on 80% of her body. Her story is one of hope and inspiration. She takes you through her romantic courtship with her husband and her almost sickly fairytale life as a mother and wife, to her crash and her painful healing process to her new life as a burn victim. I loved the book for the inspirational message and her strength and testimony in Heavenly Father. I could have done without so much detail in the first part of the book about her married life as I thought it was a little 'too perfect.' That being said, she has inspired me to become a better wife and mother. I would give this book a 4 out of 5.

Here is a video of Stephanie Nielson and her story:

Hosting book club was a ton of fun! We talked a lot about the book and snacked on some treats. When we were finished discussing the book I had a little activity for everyone to do. Every year on the anniversary of Stephanie's helicopter crash, she hikes up to the Y in Provo (a 'mountain' in Utah) with her family and friends and they let off helium balloons. In honor of this, I had everyone write a little inspirational message on a note card and we tied them to some balloons. Well, Wednesday night was cold and windy and the note cards were a little on the heavy side. Haha Needless to say, it didn't work as well as I planned. One balloon popped on a tree, one got stuck on the neighbors fence and some more got stuck in the trees. It was pretty funny and Ben caught it all on video. (Video posted below) I hope the inspirational messages make up for the trash my neighbors might find on their lawns.

Us girlies with our balloons. I know it's pretty bad quality but I love these ladies!!

Our Balloon toss

Can't wait for next month!

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

I hate this virus and I'm not even the one who has it. Yes, this hand, foot and mouth disease has hit us (Ava) again. She had it last year and it was so bad! She ended up passing it on to her cousins last year so we are keeping her away from anyone this time around. It can be contagious for up to a week so she is house bound 'til Saturday or until her blisters go away. She has a huge one on her tongue and she won't even eat her favorite pizza (or pizsta as she calls it) Poor thing. Thankfully it's not as bad as it was last time and Ammon hasn't got it (phew!) And she doesn't have any on her face!!! Yeah! Here's hoping it goes away quickly.

Last year's blisters:

This year:

Happy 2013!

I know I'm a little late on this post but whatever. This year we were home for New Years Eve this year. A family in the ward invited us over for Pizza and snacks with some other families and it was so much fun! We played catchphrase and progressive charades. The plan was for the kids to play in the basement while the adults played games upstairs. Ava was pretty good at staying downstairs at first but wandered back up a little while later. I just bribed her with some cinnamon bun popcorn to be quiet. (It was a party after all) It was a fun night but I regret not taking any pictures.We came home and put our tired kids to bed and I headed off early too. Gone are the days where I look forward to the stroke of midnight. Maybe one day when I get to sleep in again. We didn't do too much for New Years day. I made chocolate chip waffles for breakfast and we stayed in our PJ's most of the day. I tried to take Ava out to make a snowman but she was fighting me tooth and nail to put on her snow suit so I gave up and ended up just watching a movie with her. Ben and I talked about what we wanted to accomplish this year. My resolutions consist of making my house more of a home (painting rooms/pictures/decorating), budgeting, and some other spiritual goals. 2012 was such a fantastic year for our family. 

Ben: Became a qualified life insurance agent and has been busy with work and his church calling as ward mission leader. 

Me: I enjoyed a trip to California in Feb with my Mom and Emily to visit Adam. I gave birth to a handsome little guy. Am happy that I finally have some friends in Burlington! haha (Not that I was a huge loser or anything) Have been having fun playing piano for the primary at church and love seeing the little kids try to learn the songs.

Ava: Turned 2 in Sept. She is a typical 2 year old and likes to see what she can get away with. She has been learning like crazy! She knows her ABC's, can count to ten and can even quote some Sandra Boynton. She's had fun getting together with her cousins and just loves her baby brother. 

Ammon: Joined our family in June. He has been such a joy and is growing too fast as every baby does. He loves to give kisses and cuddles and we love him to pieces.

We hope everyone had a wonderful 2012 and hope 2013 is even better!!

A Jenner/Fuller Family Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year! We left home Sunday afternoon to head up to the cottage for the night. The boys cut down a tree and we played some games. It was pretty funny watching my MIL describe dooey-ya-ya. (Shawn's word for diarrhea.)  The next morning we had a yummy breakfast and I hung around with the girls and napped while Ben had fun with the boys snowmobiling. We had Shawn's name for the Fuller gift exchange this year and it was so fun to watch him open his presents. I'm looking forward to next year because we will be spending Christmas at the cottage and we'll get to see Shawn's excitement on Christmas morning. We left just before dinner on Christmas Eve to head to my parents so we would have time to get the kids in bed and relax. Well just getting off the cottage road was an adventure. We have the crappiest tires and we could not get anywhere in the snow. Ben's dad and bro-in-law ended up having to attach a rope from the truck to our car and tow us out. Ben was almost ready to call it quits and suggest staying at the cottage for Christmas. We did eventually get to my parents but needed some help up their driveway.  Ava is starting to understand what Christmas is all about so she was pretty cute on Christmas morning. We got spoiled with our stockings this year because our family is going on a trip to Florida next fall so there were no gifts other than for the kids and what couples got each other. My Mom always makes Christmas a special time for everyone. I meant to take a picture of all our loot but I didn't want to make anyone jealous. It was a fun morning spent with my parents, Daniel, Olivia and Waverlea, and Nathan and Emily. Ammon just loved his little cousin and was trying to kiss her and hold her hand. Emily, Olivia and I went shopping the next day and it was a blast!!! I saved a ton of money! (I won't tell you how much I spent though) It was nice to get away from the kids and have some girl time. The next day Matthew, Kere and the kids came and spent a few days. Ava had a blast with the kids and Lilah kept kissing Ammon and trying to hold him. Too cute! We all had a blast playing games and sledding with the kids. Later on in the week my Mom, Emily and I went to see Les Miserable. It was great!! Yes, we were the ones that started to clap at the end. Haha! We went to Dollarama and snuck in some treats. We had a good laugh at my Mom shoving some chips under her coat and trying to make it look normal. There was a heart-wrenching scene where Anne Hathaway sings 'I dreamed a dream.' Just after the song, there was silence in the theater except for this sound of rustling every few seconds. I looked over at my mom and said, "Did you take those chips out of your coat?" We both started laughing as we realized every time she breathed, you could hear the rustle of chip bags. Ben and I headed back home on Sunday to get ready for the new year. Plus we weren't sleeping well because Mr. Ammon decided he didn't want to sleep the whole time we were up north. Gah!! We had an awesome fun time up north and are already missing our extended family. I was able to take a step back and look at how blessed I am to have such an amazing family with parents, brothers and sisters-in-law who love my kids as much as I do. I am so excited for 2013 and what it has in store. More on the New Year in the next post.
For your viewing pleasure:

Catching up on a year's worth of sleep!

The tree, before the decorations

Nate and Ava. Too cute!

The cottage was a happening place!

My little sock monkey

Monsieur Ammon

William giving Ammon a hug.

"Hey! He scratched me!"

Some adult time.

My sweetheart. This picture makes my heart melt.

Story time with Auntie Emily!

Story time with Grandpa!! 

Mr. Ammon Head

Athen's turn!

The whole gang. (Minus Adam)

We take after our Mother

All the grand kids

Lilah and Ammon

Maia and Ammon. Soo sweet!

Silly faces with Lilah!!

The girls having fun with Nonna!

Beautiful sunset.

Ammon being a good boy and sharing his toys with Waverlea.

Handsome boys.

William showing Athen how to ride his new bike.

Christmas dinner!!