#ReliefSociety Day 102

I don't know why it made me smile so much, but the Relief Society has a hashtag.  Perhaps it is because Justin Timberlake came out with a funny hashtag skit with Jimmy Fallon this past week and so lots of people know all about hashtags now.  Perhaps it is because it is an organization formed in the early 1800's....and now it has a 21st Century thing going for it lol.  Either way, I love the Relief Society and am so thankful tonight was the General Relief Society broadcast across the world.

I started off my day for 8 hours at a conference learning all about a really interesting topic.  I love my field of work and I am so thankful I get to help other people.  I was really nice to meet other clinicians today and get to talk about job opportunities here in the Dallas area.  Not this year, but next year I might start looking for a job again and at least now I have an area to look.  We had a nice lunch in the hospital cafeteria (I am kind of partial to hospital food and their ice....hospitals have THE best ice...having been in and out of one MANY times in one year you learn a thing or two lol).

So after my day of learning I headed home and got to spend a bit of time with my boys.  Always fun to hang out with them and give them all hugs and kisses.  Ginger even got some one on one mommy time and everyone was happy!  I got dressed and headed to church!

We had a great dinner before the broadcast and I sat with members from my ward and got to talk with them...always fun!  Then I went and visited with friends whose children are in Connor's preschool group.  I also got to meet a new friend tonight!  She sews and is so sweet and I can't wait to get to know her more!  I got to sit with her and my friend Lanay tonight.  I am so blessed to know some truly beautiful people, inside and out, here in my community already.  I felt so loved and I cherished the talks that I heard tonight.  They were a balm to my soul and very uplifting.  I am so grateful for our wonderful Prophet to leads us in these difficult times.  It was such a happy moment to know that I am loved and that God knows me, Jesus knows me, and they both love me for who I am.  We got to sing such beautiful songs tonight and Lanay is an alto and I am a soprano.  Singing next to someone else who sings well makes you want to sing even better!  It is a lot like how friendships should be as well I think, and I am grateful to be beginning some of those friendships with people!  Have a wonderful night all!  I am off again tomorrow to my continuing education class, but I found a beautiful little chapel just off one of the hallways near us so during our break I am going to go in and spend some time reading scriptures.  Looking forward to happy moments on Sunday.

Day 101

The weekend is HERE!  Happy Friday all!  So tomorrow I begin my two day journey of two days of continuing education in Dallas.  I am really looking forward to learning some new things and hoping to meet some other people in my field!  It should be fun!

Today was a busy day but filled with happy moments!

I got to help out my neighbor and pick her up from a car place and bring her back home.  Always fun to help out another person!

I also got my hair done today!  So happy to have shorter hair and have it all looking pretty spiffy!

Ginger had a vet appointment and after that I took her to the dog park for the first time.  That dog had THE best time running around, chasing balls, and drinking water from a cool hose (and having a great time getting WET from the water lol).  It was nice to see her finding the joy in being with just Mommy this afternoon.  The weather was fantastic as well!  It got super overcast and it really cooled down!

David took Connor to soccer practice this evening so Joel and I got to eat dinner just the two of us tonight.  We had a nice time talking and laughing.  I love having one on one time with my boys.  Being able to hear about their day and getting to hear what their favorite part about school is one of the best things in my day!

Well, it is bed time for me!  I have to get up super early and get to my class.  Have a great night all!

Day 100!

Happy 100 Days all!  Thanks for sticking with me this long reading this blog!  WOW!  So I have been a resident of the Dallas area for 100 days now.  It really does go by quickly once the kiddos start school!

Today was Connor's day off of school so we got to hang out together.  We had lots of happy moments playing and tickling and pretending Ginger was a dragon and we had to protect the castle from her.  Ginger enjoyed being our dragon as well.  This morning I got to chat with a few people on the phone and it was so fun!  I really enjoy talking with people and learning more about them.  Girls used to talk on the phone a lot back in the day to their friends.  Now we have facebook and texting, but having the opportunity to take even just 20 minutes to get to know someone better is such a great thing!

Later on in the morning, we got dressed and went out to Panda Express.  Finding the place today was a real happy moment for me because I thought I was losing my mind and that I only imagined seeing the restaurant lol.  My google map placed it at a mall and I KNEW that wasn't right!  I finally found it and got our food and it was off to Joel's school!  We got to sit and eat lunch with Joel and he invited one of his friend's from church to sit and eat with us.  We had the nicest time and it was so fun!  Joel is making some great friends at this school and I am so thankful for that!  Ok, so during the day sometimes, I find some amazing things on Facebook that I watch or words that I see and it makes me happy!  So I have decided to start posting them on to here...they are happy moments for ALL to enjoy and that way my blog is more than just reading, but you can get something GOOD from it as well!  So here is today's happy moment from the internet...enjoy! http://www.upworthy.com/scientists-discover-one-of-the-greatest-contributing-factors-to-happiness-youll-thank-me

When Joel got out of school we worked on his spelling words and his poem he has to recite tomorrow.  I love music...you can do lots of fun things with music, so we turned Joel's poem he had to memorize into a song.  It has been SO much fun singing it for the last two weeks!  Of course I have Joel recite it as well, but he gets such joy out of singing this made up song we did!

Joel had soccer practice tonight and it was fun watching David work with Connor with a soccer ball and Joel practice with his team mates.  We made some more friends tonight and I am really looking forward to going to more practices and talking with people and watching my boys!

Well, I am off to the happy moment of seeing what my DVR has in store for me tonight!  I am so thankful for being able to have made it 100 days.  The first couple of weeks after moving here were SO emotionally rough on all of us.  I am feeling a lot better and so grateful for all of the people I have met and the opportunities to build friendships in the days to come!  Have a happy night!

Day 98 and 99

So we have a laptop downstairs that both David and I use.  For the lsat two nights it has been his turn to do things like go over our family budget and read emails...he doesn't have a smartphone so the computer is how he does it.  If he goes too late, I can't blog.  But hey, we are budgeting people, so it is ALL good and I just will blog for 2 days.  But tomorrow the computer is MINE because it will be day 100 already!  WHOA!

So Tuesday:
Got Connor off to preschool and did some stuff around the house.  I also got to watch some series premiers without the kiddos around.  Sat on the couch, drank some morning chamomile tea, and watched away....it was awesome.

I picked up Connor and brought him home and we hung out and played pirates and with toy animals for a while.  He loves to be tickled and I really enjoy spending quality time with him.  We walked down an got Joel from school and the boys came home and played with each other.  It is so nice when they get along and have fun together!  They played out in the backyard and got pretty soaking wet from a water gun fight.  Then they came in the house and got dried off and sat and watched some TV with me.  Their favorite movie lately has been Hotel Transylvania.  It is pretty funny and I love watching them laugh!

The boys helped me make a Chinese meal for dinner and we sat down and ate all together.  It was really nice to hear about their day and the fun things they did.  I enjoy our family meals because it really is a good time to get my kiddos talking about their favorite things and have them open up about their day.  They don't talk as much if we are at restaurants or playing.  I am glad we have a dinner table to sit down and enjoy conversation.

Today, Wednesday....well, tonight I am covered in about 14 mosquito bites because we walked around our local pond/lake area tonight.  It was SO much fun and the boys had the best time running around.  We found a crayfish and played with it with a stick.  The boys were all giggles watching it dance around.  We stood on the little dock area and watched turtles bob their heads up and down.  We brought Ginger and she met a friend on the other side of the lake and together, those two Golden Retrievers swam like crazy in the lake!  Such an amazing, happy, family time....so basically SO worth the mosquito bites!

This morning after walking Joel to school, there were white strings flying through the air!  ALL morning tons and tons of spider webs slowly floated through the sky and landed on light poles, fences, and everything else!  It was magical!  It turns out there were many spiders trying to take off with web balloons this morning, but there wasn't any wind so over and over again they shot off balloon webs into the air to try to float away with no luck.  But it made for one interesting morning watching them all from the ground as they decorated trees and houses with very store bought looking webs lol.

It has been a bit of a crazy week and my visiting teachers brought us an amazing dinner tonight.  I feel SO SO SO blessed to live in the area in which we live!  We have met so many lovely people and my visiting teachers are just as lovely.  The dinner was so yummy and it was nice to sit down and enjoy one another and get to talk with the boys again about their days.

Well, that is pretty much it for my day!  Ginger got a nice warm shower after swimming in the lake this evening.  She had the best happy moment out of all of us today I think!  I am SO glad she met another friend tonight and I hope she gets to meet up with her new friend again soon!  Oh, and the doggy's mom is from Laguna Beach!  Small world we live in!  Have a wonderful evening all!

Day 96 and 97

So last night we were up making the boys lunches for a lot of the week and going over our budget....so no time to blog yesterday.  So I will combine the two days and add bullets and keep this blog alive!

• I got to Skype with my parents last night and our friends from Utah were visiting them as well so we got to show off the little bunny and talk for a good long while.  We love those guys so much!  It was really nice to talk with my parents and the White family all in the same room!
• I made Taco Salad last night for dinner and we all really enjoyed it!  Yea for having the energy to make a meal and afterward, Joel helped me load the dishwasher!  He is getting to be more responsible and I really love that.
• This morning I dropped the kids off and grocery shopped at Target.  With my coupons, Target coupons, Target Cartwheel, and Target card, I got over 200 dollars worth of groceries for just 92 dollars!  I was so proud of myself I called our neighbor from California....AND she answered the phone (which was a big happy moment) so I got to tell her about my shopping adventures and getting to buy organic food with coupons!
• I got laundry done today and had a really good doctor's appointment with my rheumatologist.  I feel pretty good about getting off the antibiotics I am on to try to stop my flaring and switch to Humira.  I know there can be lots of side effects, but I am hoping it puts my body into remission...what a happy moment that will be!
• So, some sad news today is that our little bunny passed away.  Rodents can get weird diseases, and he was so sweet and cuddled in my hand as he passed.  Our cat had disappeared out of the garage at about the same time, but it was a relief to all of us to find him about 2 hours later.  I will miss our little bunny, but I am so grateful for all of the wonderful happy moments he gave to us.  He was such a fighter and a little survivor!

Well it is the end of the day and I am SO ready to head to bed and get some sleep.  I am looking forward to Taco Tuesday tomorrow and being able to clean the house and do more laundry.  Hopefully being OFF the medication I was taking will help me not feel so ill all of the time and some of my energy will return now!  I hope you all had a wonderful Monday and I look forward to the happy moments for the rest of the week!

Day 95

Happy Saturday!  It was 68 degrees when I woke up this morning.  I opened the windows and doors to my home and cooled it down with the ceiling fans to 70 degrees inside!  HAPPY MOMENT!!!

Well today we got up early only to find out Connor's soccer game had been cancelled, so he got to go to the Primary activity as well as Joel!  They both had so much fun and I am grateful beyond words to the primary leaders for their hard work on what was a really well planned activity!  The boys were glowing and loved showing me their missionary badges!

We got quite a bit done around the house today and after a while I became exhausted so I went upstairs to take a quick nap....well, a couple of hours later I woke up to find out Joel's soccer game had been cancelled as well!

This afternoon we headed down to a restaurant that just opened that was one of our all time favorites in California!  It has some of THE most amazing food and it all tasted exactly the same!  Two brothers own the 3-4 restaurants with the name and they were both there tonight.  We had a lovely time talking with them and telling them how grateful we were that they opened a place so close to us.  One of the brothers bought us dessert and we also got 50% off our bill thanks to a Facebook advertisement on their page.  We left full of REALLY yummy food and oh so happy!  I posted on Facebook how great it was and one of my Facebook friends headed there for dinner tonight as well.  She loved it too!  So glad to spread my happy moments to others!

Little bunny is getting bigger...we think.  It took a nap on me and on Joel today.  It was so cute to see Joel hold it so gently and watch it sleep.  He was all smiles!

Well, tomorrow is technically the beginning of the new week.  Hopefully this coming week I will get some answers about what is going on with the bumps on my head, and start feeling a bit better with the RA medicine...or else back to Humira I go!  Have a wonderful evening all!

Day 94

Happy happy Friday to one and all!  I am so glad the weekend is here!  What an amazing rainy day it was today!  So far, Connor's soccer game is cancelled for tomorrow so both boys will be able to attend a fun Missionary Primary event going on at church tomorrow.  We shall see about Joel's game.

So today I dropped the kiddos off at school....it was a bit of an ordeal since it was raining like crazy, but both kids were happy they got to use their umbrellas.  Today Connor SAID umbrella correctly!  It is the first time ever and I have to admit, I am sorry to see "bra-lella" go, but it is cute how he says it the correct way now as well.

So I did accomplish some house chores today!  YEA! I got to clean the kitchen, do some laundry, and pick up the toys downstairs.  Of course I did most of it while David had taken the boys to Connor's soccer practice after dinner tonight lol.  I basically stayed on the couch, under a blanket (I did get up to make tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch) and I watched TV almost all morning!  I thought about going to workout, but today was the most wonderful, cold, rainy, day here in Texas and I took advantage of the fantastic weather by doing pretty much nothing lol.

After I picked up the boys, we came home and made popcorn, got out some of our movie theater candy, and watched the first Harry Potter movie.  Joel is old enough to appreciate it now and next year we will start reading the books together!  I cannot wait for that!  It was so nice to be snuggled with my boys and give them kisses and tell them how much I enjoyed watching the movie with them.

The little bunny is growing a bit bigger and growing in our hearts a bit more as well.  He is still SO tiny so I don't see us letting him out into the wild any time soon, but hopefully he will start to like to eat some of the clover and grass in our backyard so he gets used to eating out in the wild.  For the most part today, however, he stayed in doors and even got his playtime in the guest bedroom because it was SO wet outside!  LOL I am treating the bunny even more like a helicopter parent than I do my own children!

I am really looking forward to the weekend and the fun we will have!  I hope everyone had a great Friday or is HAVING a great Friday night wherever you may be!  Time for this girl to head to bed!  Blessings to all!

day 93

Good evening...or good night in just a few minutes here!

• Today was my day with Connor because it is the one day a week he is not in school and Joel is.  We had a nice morning of hanging out and watching Disney Jr.  Then it was off to lunch at Einstein Bagel Company and then ToysRUs!  Now, it might sound like we were spending money like crazy, but I have gift cards to the bagel place and both boys had gift cards to use at the toy store AND they are having a special of 20% off your entire purchase right now.  So the boys got two really cool items all paid for by birthday money!
• Connor  missed his brother today!  Only about every 5 seconds did he ask me if we could go pick Joel up from school.  It made my heart happy to see how much he loves Joel and I always make them kiss and hug when Joel gets off school and runs to us.  SO cute!
• This evening I went to a Relief Society activity about Joy in the Journey and we discussed lots of ways to improve your life, find the joy, and feel better as women of God knowing that we are doing what we can in our personal lives and with our family to be good Christians.  It was a wonderful evening and I got to know more ladies in our ward!  I feel so incredibly blessed to be in this ward!  There are some truly beautiful women who have such big hearts and beautiful life stories.  I am so thankful I got to spend a few hours getting to know people on a deeper level!

Well I am home and I came home to find the bunny very much awake and hopping about its basket.  I don't know how much longer we will be able to keep him with us if he keeps getting better and better at hopping.  He is still SO tiny and I worry about him, but he is a wild animal and we ARE going to have to let him go at some point.  I am just so thankful for all of the happy moments we have spent with that cutie pie!  He is so precious and it gave me a deeper love for God's animals being able to take care of him during this time.  Well, off to bed and time to begin another day tomorrow!  Night all!

Day 92

Good evening!  Hope everyone had a good Wednesday...Friday is coming up!

So today I didn't get done a whole lot.  I had hoped to be able to accomplish some things at home, but I woke up with an RA flare and I had to go get the head CT today...that pretty much wiped me out for the rest of the day lol

It was actually not bad being back at a hospital.  They checked me in and gave me a name bracelet...just like old times! They set up an IV and put some liquid into me to make my blood glow!  The guy was so nice and did a great job getting the needle into my arm with hardly any pain...always a happy moment for me when I don't feel too much pain!

So the CT scan came and went and I find out hopefully tomorrow the results.  After that, I went to lunch at this amazing salad place and had a big old salad and soda.  Sometimes eating alone is nice.  It is quiet and I can think and contemplate stuff.  After that I took a trip to our local Nothing Bundt cake and picked up a couple for myself and the kids to enjoy for dessert tonight.

After the kids came home, Joel and I practiced his poem.  SUCH a happy moment for me because he went along with the song I made up for it lol!  I love making up songs, they help me to remember and so we sang the song of the poem together...goofy and fun!

Tonight I went to my first workout class in almost 5 YEARS!  I had wanted to go before, but I had that whole broken arm thing, had to move, broke my toe, got pneumonia...you know excuses excuses!  So I finally went and had an amazing time!  The person leading the workout was a friend from church and she was finding the joy every second leading that class!  It was nice to feed off of her joy and work my tooshie off!  Yes, it was hard, and I sweat like crazy, but it was fun and it made me happy to be able to do it for an hour and not pass out!

Well, home now and time to get done some of the stuff I had planned to do today but just didn't have time or energy for.  Have a great night all!

Day 90-91

Well, I apologize for combining days lately, but lately my husband has been on the computer until the wee hours of the night and I have had to finally give up trying to blog and head to bed.  We are setting up our movie theater room, making a specific home budget, and he also checks emails so all very important things getting done on here!

The last two days have been a bit of a blur.  I can't believe tomorrow is Wednesday already!  Connor has done two days of preschool and Joel has done two days of school.  This is the first week they have both been in school starting on Monday.  I am finding that I can accomplish quite a bit in the home, dishes, laundry, vacuuming, etc while the kids are in school so that has been good!

I have been busy dedicating time to feeding the bunny.  It is still alive and thriving and SO darn adorable!  I am so thankful for baby animals...they melt your heart with how cute they are!

David has been working a bit late each night, so the kids and I have been together more.  It has been fun helping Joel with homework, playing with Connor, and enjoying some down time with the kids.

Today I went to Joel's school for lunch.  Parents can go every day if they wish and sit with their kids for the first 20 minutes of them eating lunch.  Joel got to invite a friend to sit with us and that was a lot of fun.  He asked me if I could do it everyday...well...I can't, but hopefully I can do this maybe once a week and he can invite different friends to sit with us so I get to meet some of the kiddos in his class!

Tonight was Taco Tuesday.  David was at an HOA meeting, our other neighbors had to work late, and my neighbor's husband is away on business, so it was just me and the kids and our other neighbor, Karen.  We had a great time talking and eating and it was nice to get out with a friend!

I gave the kids a bath tonight and I did pretty well!  SUCH a happy moment, not one moment of anger at all because they did what they needed to do to get washed up and get to bed!

Well, looking forward to tomorrow.  I am having a head CT because I have these weird bumps on the back of my head, so please say a prayer for me.  I am hoping for some sort of answer because it is just too weird!  The kids will be in school when I go so that is a happy moment being at a doctor's office WITHOUT children!  Have a good night all!

Day 86-89 Bunny duty!

Hello all!  No I didn't forget to blog....I just didn't have access to my computer much this past weekend and I have been on bunny duty almost every night!  What a week it has been!  I am so thankful today is Sunday so I can begin a new, hopefully MUCH less crazy week!

Ok so on Thursday Connor and I spent the day together because it is the one day a week he does not have school.  It was nice having just the two of us together and we went to McDonalds for lunch and he got to play and we snuggled at home for most of the day.  During the day, we found a baby bunny in the backyard that Ginger had played with.  So it had passed away.  Later on that evening, I was watering the grass in the backyard when something started squealing at me!  Our gardener had been there earlier in the day and had mowed the lawn.  There was a baby bunny...ALIVE and really mad!  So we read up on what to do and just left it in the backyard.

Friday, the mommy bunny did not return and so we started feeding the bunny and put it in a box to keep warm.  It poured rain like crazy Friday evening, but the bunny was safe and warm in our garage!  Connor and Joel both had school on Friday and I had the day to myself to catch up on laundry and I took a nap that morning.  My RA has really been doing a number on me lately, but I have been able to take it slow and take care of myself while the kids are gone so I can take care of them while they are home.

I can't remember what day it was...it was either Thurs or Friday...I was having a very overwhelming day.  There has been a lot going on emotionally lately and there are only so many hours in the day to deal with them.  I went outside to get the mail to take a break from the boys and at the mail box I offered up a prayer for help.  I asked the Lord to have the mommy bunny return (so it must have been Thursday) and I asked for him to send me some happy moments.  I asked for him to send me someone to just help me make it through the rest of the evening.  Well, as I finished my prayer, I felt peaceful and I was happy to know that God loves me.  I was about to head back in the house when someone drove up and honked the horn at me.  It scared me! LOL It was my neighbors from around the corner and they were headed out to get some ice cream and wanted to know if I would like to tag along.  So not 30 seconds after finishing my prayer asking for someone or a happy moment, the Lord answered me.  It doesn't always happen like that, but I am thankful for that precious moment and the fun time I had driving out and eating ice cream with my neighbors!  I felt very blessed!

Yesterday was Saturday and both boys had soccer games.  Both of them did such an amazing job and my greatest happy moments of the day was watching them find the joy as they played and ran.  We had dinner at one of my favorite Italian restaurants after Joel's soccer game, so it was a good day of being together as a family!  Last night David and I watched a movie for the first time in our movie theater room!  We watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.   It was so nice to be able to snuggle and be in a movie theater environment in our own home!

Today was Sunday and a day of church, naps, breakfast for dinner, Skyping with my parents, and feeling very grateful.  We have such a wonderful Ward and I am so thankful for knowing SO many people!  I can't tell you how many hugs were given today or how many wonderful conversations I had with people.  I am just so very happy and grateful for being in a ward FULL of wonderful, NICE, people!

Well, it is time to get my kiddos into bed, feed the bunny, and get my precious little kid's lunches ready for tomorrow.  I hope all of you had a blessed weekend and I am so grateful I have the opportunity to write down my happy moments and be grateful for where I am and what I have!

Day 85

Good evening! What a busy animal-filled day I had today!

I dropped Joel and Connor off at school this morning and then did some laundry and cleaned the house.  While doing that, I let Ginger out (who was BEGGING me to go outside) and a little lizard ran into the house!  I tried to grab it, but it was so tiny and all I got was its tail in my hand!  Then Ginger was in the backyard playing with a dead rabbit...baby bunny (the happy moment to that is coming...you just need part of the back story).

So I went to lunch and did some grocery shopping...all without kiddos!  It is lonely and enjoyable all at the same time!  I miss my boys being with me but it is nice to be able to hear myself think at lunch as well.  I prayed for them to have good days at school!  Connor had fun making new friends and singing songs to the Lord again.  Joel had an interesting day as I got a call from the Asst. Principal saying that he and a friend were in line and they played a game called "vampire" well...a little boy asked if he could bite Joel and Joel said yes LOL!  So the little boy bit him!  I swear...if I had girls I would never get a call like this and if it had been Connor, we ALL agreed HE would have been the bite-ER lol.  So Joel had an interesting day and made a friend in the process!  They are both nice boys and were just being silly!

This evening as I was watering the backyard, I heard squeaking in the grass.  Well, a baby bunny had not only survived being eaten by my dog, but it also survived the lawn mower since our gardener came today!  We said a little prayer and read about what to do.  We really hope the mommy bunny comes back to feed the baby soon!  Such an interesting animal day and I am grateful for that little bunny and its ability to live!

So thankful for this day and all of the fun family time we had.  I am grateful for my children and their kindness towards the baby bunny.  The kids are making friends and have 2 days in a row of play dates starting tomorrow!  Have a great night all and find the joy!

Day 84

Fun day being back on schedule and back to school!

I walked Joel to school today and he held my hand the whole way.  When I asked him if he wanted to walk the rest of the way by himself he told me no and that he wanted to walk with me....these are the moments I will absolutely cherish because in about 5 years I will be the most embarrassing person to him lol

Connor and I spent the morning snuggled on the couch before his carpool picked him up.  Then I had a meeting with some people to install blackout blinds in my room and in Connor's...cannot wait for that!

I went to lunch by myself today, did laundry, and finished a book I had started reading on the plane.  It is happy being alone and knowing my kids are having a fun time at school but also...well...lonely!  It is just so weird starting this new chapter of my life where my kids are in school more than they are home with me (sleeping doesn't count!)  I feel a sense of freedom but also a sense of loss.  I hope I was able to teach my kids how to be respectful and loving while they were with me all of the time.  I worry about them and pray for them to be good and joyful while they are away!  How I hope they continue to find the joy outside of the home!

I picked up Connor from school and took him to get a haircut.  He got his first shampoo in a sink today and the look on his face was priceless!  At first he was nervous it was going to be like the shower where his face gets wet, but when the girl at the salon washed his hair he had such a peaceful look on his face and his eyes were rolling into the back of his head lol!  That is how I feel when I get MY hair washed....he was so happy!

We had a nice night with our neighbors at our Taco Tuesday restaurant tonight.  I am so happy that we are keeping that Summer tradition alive!  It is so nice to not cook on Tuesdays and I LOVE catching up with my beautiful neighbors!  They are so great and the kids love them as well!

Well, time to head up to bed.  I am so thankful that we are back on schedule and that the boys are loving school.  We are making more friends and the boys have 2 play dates scheduled this week as well!  Feeling very blessed to be where we are!

Day 79-83 California visit #2!!

Yes, we went back to California for another family visit.  I feel like I am weening myself off of the state lol.  It was so good to be back and spend time with friends and family!

We flew in Thursday (we each had our OWN row on the plane!  We felt so lucky!) and went straight to one of our all time favorite Mexican restaurants for lunch.  Then we spent the afternoon catching up with people at my dad's work while the kids played.

Friday we ate breakfast with some of our old neighbors and then went back to their house to play all morning.  The boys have missed their friends SO much and they were ecstatic to get to spend time with their "number one buddy" Ryan!  After spending the morning with Ryan, we met up with other friends at Ruby's diner and spent the afternoon hanging out at the mall and playing with other friends.  THEN after that, David and I went on a date night that night to the Cerritos Center to see STOMP.  It was a fun filled day of happy moments for sure!  I am so thankful we got to go back and hang out with so many amazing people on Friday!

On Saturday we woke up and headed to my dad's work where we had a birthday party for my niece.  My family and my sister's friends all gathered over there and we spent hour after hour hanging out eating great food, watching the cousins play, catching up, laughing, and having birthday fun!  It was so fun watching Joel and Connor run around with their cousins and have fun times.  I remember all of the fun I had with my cousins growing up and the boys were having just as much fun.  I am so thankful we were able to fly out and spend some real quality time with our family!

On Sunday, we had an absolute day of rest!  We didn't go to church because it was my parent's Stake Conference, so most of the day we spent snuggled on the couch, sleeping, and hanging out at home.  We went to Crab Cooker in Tustin for dinner and Connor got his fill of crab claws, shrimp, and scallops!  He loves seafood SO SO much it is so cute!  We had a lovely meal in a fun restuarant!  We came home and the boys went to bed and my mom and I sat and watched some television together.  I am really happy we get to stay at their place and hang out with them when we go visit!

So today we went to the airport and had lunch at Ruby's Diner and then got on the plane and flew home!  The flight was pretty pleasant and went by quickly and then it was home for bed time!  The boys both have school in the morning so I need to get going on getting their lunches prepared and getting them ready for the week.  I am so thankful for our fun family times in the past week!  I am looking forward to this week being able to put our home together a bit more and getting into the school routines for the year!  Night all!

Day 78

What a busy day filled with happy moments today!

• David's dad walked Joel to school this morning.  It was SUCH a big help because I needed to get Connor all ready for his first day of preschool and I was able to get a shower, get pictures of Connor, and get everything packed in the car.  We were sad to see David's parents leave this morning, but it was so sweet how the kids missed them this afternoon.  SO SO many happy moments while they were here and I am glad I got to blog about them!
• I got to go to my first MOPS meeting here in Texas!  What a fabulous morning it was and I am so thankful to have met so many lovely ladies at my new table.  I cannot wait for the rest of the year and all of the fun that is yet to be had with them!
• I dropped Connor off at school this morning and when I picked him up, he was SO happy!  He had an amazing first day and he was so excited to tell me about what he did.  He loved the part where he "got to go to God's house and sing songs!" I am so thankful for the preschool and their religious portion of the day for the kids.  Connor was on a preschool high and I can really tell that he enjoys being in that class.  He even took a nap in there today!
• My coffee table for upstairs was delivered about the same time that the Relief Society presidency from my ward came to visit me.  We had SUCH a nice visit and I was able to share with them a bit about my Happy Blog and the reasons behind it.  I am so grateful that others can find the joy from this blog!

I am so grateful to have this blog and to be able to publish so many happy moments from my days that are filled like today.  Today was full of fun and friendship and it is days like today that help me keep moving forward on days that are not so jam packed with happy moments.  I hope all of you have had at least one happy moment today that you can reflect on to get you into your difficult tomorrows.  Have a great evening all!

Day 77

Good evening!

Today was a busy day with both kids in school, but I made it through!

Connor started the preschool that he is going to be doing with some church friends.  We never got to do this co-op preschool in California with Joel, but Connor needs it so much more if we are going to get him ready for Kinder next year.  He had a really good first day and was really happy to tell me all about his day at the end of it today!

I had a yummy lunch with my in-laws today.  They like the same food that I do, so we go to some pretty amazing restaurants sometimes!  I had some delicious pupusas and they really enjoyed their meal as well.  I wish David could have been with us, because he missed out on one GOOD lunch!  It was so nice to not feel sick during lunch as well!

In the afternoon, I took Connor with me for a trip to Costco.  I love that store!  It was so nice to load up and come home and have my in-laws help me unload the car and put everything where it needed to be...such a happy moment to have help!

We ate dinner all together as a family and then David and I went to Joel's Back to School Nite at his school.  It was the first time David has ever come with me and he really enjoyed hearing about what Joel will be doing in school this year.  It was great for him to meet Joel's teacher as well.  She is such a nice woman and I think Joel is super lucky to have another great teacher this year!

Well, sleepy time tonight but I am looking forward to Connor starting his first day of his other preschool tomorrow!

Day 76

Happy Labor Day!

Today was the first day in a really long time that I had my energy back and I emptied 4 boxes with the help of my Mother in law!  I am SO SO happy I felt more normal today!


We started off our day sleeping in and hanging out in the house.  It was a beautiful rainy morning and the weather was SO nice and gloomy outside!  What better way to enjoy it then hang out in PJs on our day off?!

My mother-in-law and I went shopping today and found a really nice entry way table that I can't wait to set up in my entry way with picture frames and a lamp and other decor!  She also found some apple cider spices that were on sale as well....this was one of the coolest furniture stores I have ever been to people....so we had some really fun girly time shopping!

We all went to lunch at one of our favorite BBQ spots today and enjoyed local fare that included pulled pork, ribs, sweet potato souffle, and biscuits.

Tonight David and I left Joel and Connor with their grandparents and we headed out for some dessert and a movie!  It was a really nice date night and I am so thankful we were able to get out and talk a bit and hang out.  I feel like we haven't gotten to do that too much since getting a new house and moving on in, so it was nice to have some husband time!

Well, I hope you all had a great day today!  It was a nice slow day and it was nice to have a break before I add Connor's pre-school into the mix of things that we have to start doing this week.  I hope we can get everything done by then!  So thankful for all of the happy moments that occured on day 76 here in Dallas!

Day 75

Happy Sunday all!

 Well, today was a beautiful Sunday here in the Dallas area.  We had happy moments and now it is time for bed.  So gonna bullet the moments and get started on my zzzs!

• Woke up this morning feeling pretty good!  First time in a while I haven't felt sick or overwhelmingly sleepy!
• I was able to stay for 3 hours at church today and we had some amazing lessons and I am so thankful I had the energy to go up and bare my testimony about my love for Jesus and his gospel.
• I got my Sunday nap in...enough said
• We went to Babe's Chicken Diner for dinner...that place is just TOO yummy for words and we all ate ourselves silly!  LOVE LOVE that place!  Connor and Joel were cute as they danced to music and I got a cute picture with David's dad and Connor as pirates...Connor still loves his pirate gear!
• We came home and watched a really nice movie and all snuggled on the couch.

It was a beautiful day and I am praying that we get some much needed rain tonight!  I hope all of you enjoyed this beautiful day and that you all enjoy tomorrow if it is a holiday for you as well!