Bon Voyage!

As I packed Ethan's suitcase I had to take a picture because it was so cute to see such a big suitcase with little clothes, books and toys all ready for a big adventure. I don't know a four year old who has been on so many big trips in their short life as our little Ethan boy. He is quite lucky to make this his second cruise all within a few months of each other. Ethan is very much like me, always ready for his next adventure. I know he will have a great time with Grandpa and Grammy on the Disney cruise to Mexico. Ethan has been very excited for quite some time now. For weeks he will randomly say things like, "I want to save these crackers (there are only two left at this point) to take with me on the Disney cruise in case I get hungry." He is so funny and time and time again I have reassured him there will be no shortage of food on the cruise. They leave this Sunday and we are all very excited!

Pirates, YMCA, Grandparents and books, books, books

 We haven't been up to a whole lot lately. We have been going to the YMCA 5-6 times a week and all really enjoy it. The boys love playing in the kids center while I work out and I love the workout classes they offer. It's a win win! The hour cycling class is quite a workout but I enjoy the class setting and you know you got a great workout once you're done. I have taken other classes such as body conditioning, cardio, cuts and core, and step and sculpt. We have taken the boys to swim a few times and they enjoy their indoor pool. We signed Ethan up for swim lessons twice a week for several weeks starting in April. He's excited and this will be his first time in swimming lessons. We are definitely taking advantage of all the YMCA has to offer us. 

We've had a visit from both sets of grandparents recently and we love those spontaneous visits.  It's always fun to have visitors and the boys can't get enough of their grandparents. I love how comfortable the boys are with our parents. I had that kind of relationship with my Grandparents and I really wanted that for our children and now they have it. The bond they have is already so strong and they are a huge blessing in all of our lives.

We have been reading, reading, reading! Ethan has a contest in his class to see who can read the most books/pages in a month. The winner will receive a $50 gift card to Target to buy new books. I knew I could easily win this so Ethan and I started to read and then I got into it even more once I knew I only had one mom giving me a run for my money. Ethan and I have been reading when Tanner is taking his nap and at times we have read for 2.5 hours straight. Ethan is really loving it! It has come to the point that I have invested so much time that now I can't let anyone else win because we deserve it. :) Pretty fun/ridiculous but we have been going to the library once or twice a day to get more books. They let you take 30 books at a time but mind you I play this game the smart way and find very long books with very few words. We have occasionally run into the mom we are competing with at the library. Give me a break lady! I can't read anymore, it's been fun but becoming painful all at the same time. We have had to hit it much harder than anyone else because Ethan is going on a Disney cruise next week so we have one week less than the rest. I really think we have it in the bag though. Also, we will not be buying books with our $50.  Ethan can pick out a toy or really whatever he wants and I might get something for myself too. :) Books at Target are way over-priced so we will go for something fun instead. After all, we earned it!

Happy Birthday to us!

 Today little baby Elise Lauren Christensen was born! Heather was induced this morning and at 4:00pm she was born. She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and is 20 inches long. She is a cutie! I can't wait to hold her. I see many joint cakes and parties in our future as we now share the same birthday but I couldn't be happier. Great job Heather and Doug!  

This evening we had our own little birthday celebration for my 28th birthday. I had a nice day going out to lunch with a few girls from our ward while another friend had the boys over to play. Once Jared got home we got take-out shrimp tacos from our new favorite Mexican resturant. To top it off Jared got me/us a family pass to YMCA. I have been waiting to do this for some time so it was a nice surprise! Thanks all for a great day!

Blessings

I feel truly blessed on a daily basis for things such as my health, the church, my husband/kids, extended family, to be able to be a stay-at-home mom, and the everyday little things. As I was picking up our couch cushions today I couldn't help but feel grateful for our ugly but very comfortable couch. It's just one of the many reminders in our home of the fact that we are blessed and loved. Our house is full of furniture from many people who were kind enough to just give it to us because they knew we had a need. It is amazing really! It's no secret though that our lovely church couch will be the first to go when we move. The nice thing is we have never felt bad as the boys peed on it while changing their diaper as babies. I don't know if anyone will take it off our hands when we are done with it but we are grateful for all we have been given.

Tanner the Brave

This morning Tanner came up from behind me and surprised me all dressed in this costume and started attacking me. It was pretty funny. Tanner is such a cute and sweet boy but don't let this little face fool you. Lately, he is known for spitting his food and water all the time and anywhere. He loves to throw cups of water over the bath tub, go through the house pushing things off the shelves, and then just sweetly smiles at you. That's really as hard as Tanner gets. He is such a sweet and easy going boy! He is talking a lot and can repeat most things.     

This is Ethan's preschool picture from early fall. Ethan has grown up so much since starting preschool. He has matured a lot and loves to play with his friends at the park. He is very social and when we go to the park without friends Ethan will approach other random children and ask if he can play with them. He doesn't do much independent play at home which is something we are working on. He just loves people and I can't blame him because everything is better with a friend by your side. 

LA's finest

We took the boys on an adventure to ride the Orange Line (part of the LA Metro system) and then switched over to the Red Line to The City Walk at Universal Studios. It was quite an adventure to say the least. The boys loved the bus and metro but I couldn't help but cringe at the smells and tight space we had to share with every shady person in LA. Jared has taken both forms of transportation to work many times and is currently riding an hour to and from work on it to save money with gas prices at $4.50 a gallon! Well getting there we didn't get to sit next to each other because it was so busy so when we got off I had a look of relief on my face and couldn't believe Jared voluntarily rides this thing. Jared just laughed and was glad I got to experience first-hand what he deals with on a daily basis. Now I understand when Jared leaves work and texts me that he is about to go down to the "underground ghetto" and to pray for him. That it is! I can now understand his pain. Anyway, it was quite an experience but the boys really enjoyed it. It was also my first time walking around The City Walk which was fun. As we left Ethan said, "That was a great day. I loved it."

An official drug dealer

Jared is offically able to write prescriptions. He now has his medical license and is officially the real deal! His name is in the bottom left hand corner. Pretty cool, way to go Jared! He has come so far but still has so far to go. :) He is such a hard worker! Right now he is on his Infectious Diease rotation and hasn't had a day off in two weeks. They work him hard but at least he is enjoying it.