A Beautiful Day at Valley of Fire!!

 

 We were having a rough week.... after more rough weeks.... and life was starting to feel unbearable. When my Mom (whom I rarely talk to these days because she has gone crazy and is abusing substances and basically making my life miserable if I allow her in it) called and asked if we wanted to join her, and Uncle Scott, Aunt Gena, and Grandma Wiegel on a hike out at Valley of Fire!! I instantly said "YESS!!!" because I have been dying for any form of entertainment to take me out of my quarantine hell. Even if it means spending time with my crazy mother... Of course there had to be drama though... because it wouldn't be my family unless there was drama. Briana wanted to go but Gracelynn had a fever/cough/runny nose/vomiting etc. And yet when I told Briana there was no way I was going if Gracelynn was going, Briana somehow took that wrong and started a war! Are we not in the middle of a global pandemic and those just happen to be symptoms related to COVID?!! Am I taking crazy pills?! The drama spread to my marriage because Josh is so sick of my family and all their stupidity, so we got into a huge fight, on top of the fight I was already in with Briana, and I ended up spending two days sleeping downstairs on the floor to prove a point. ANYWAYS.... Briana finally backed down and said she wouldn't go to Valley of Fire and infect everyone, so that Saturday morning, I single-handedly got the kids all ready (while Josh slept in and pretended nobody but himself existed) and took my little family on an adventure to Valley of Fire! Was there drama along the way?! YES. But did I let it stop me from having the time of my life?! NO!! This was my first day out of Henderson in wayyyy too long and there was no way I was going to let anyone's stupidity ruin it! So I soaked in the sunshine while the kids ran around playing and imagining, and Isla ate dirt and munched on rocks (I finally gave up trying to stop her) and we had ourselves a beautiful day! It was really nice reconnecting with Aunt Gena and Uncle Scott whom I don't get to see very often and it is always fun being around Grandma! I laughed so hard when Grandma yelled at me for trying to help her down the steep slope by saying "I don't need your help, I'M NOT OLD!!!" Hahaha!!! She cracks me up and I sure hope I am like her when I grow up. An unstoppable force of nature :). Nobody wanted to go home as the sun started to go down, and even Isla was happy as a clam despite missing her afternoon nap completely :). So I promised the kids we would be back soon, and hopefully this time with Dad. Then we packed up and said "Goodbye" to our loved ones and chatted happily most of the way back home in the car.... until all the kids fell asleep in the back seat ;). This was another moment where I felt so grateful for the little blessings God has provided in my life. The moments that make this horrible time in the world feel bearable. Thank you for that Father.

Enjoying our picnic lunches and chatting happily :)

I loved seeing their imaginations soar as they were surrounded by mother nature and all her beauty!

Isla was obsessed with eating the rocks and sand and there was no point in trying to stop her! She's a stubborn one!

Once she discovered the dog's water bowl, it was game over for her clothes haha! Next she was finding everybody's cups and dumping them out into the mud she was creating as she played happily by herself!

My Mom and I have some serious issues that need to be worked out, but it was nice seeing her and letting the kids enjoy the day with their favorite Grandma. She took them on an awesome hike and they were in heaven!

Aunt Gena lives in Florida and I don't know when we will ever have enough money to fly out there to visit her. But it is always exciting when she comes to visit us!

Aunt Gena was always the funnest aunt because she was always down on our level playing with us. It is so fun seeing her play with my kids the same way and seeing their love for her grow!

Isla surprised us all with her mountain climbing skills (she's only 13 months old!!) She is such a determined child and is always amazing me!

It might have taken her a while, but she finally got to the top of this little cliff and was so proud of herself!!!! GO ISLA!!!

**I have to mention that this was only a week after it was snowing in Henderson!!! How crazy is that?! One week we are throwing snowballs and the next week it is 70 degrees and we are hiking in the sun!! Covid isn't the only strange thing going on this year.....

Snow Day in Henderson!!! Can This Be Real?!

 We woke up one morning to snow!! It was gently falling outside as we rushed to get all of our winter clothes on so we could go to the park to play in it! We called our neighbor friends to come play with us and together we had a beautiful morning!! This was Isla's first experience with snow and I was so surprised that it occurred here in Henderson of all places! But it honestly felt like God was purposely giving us something special to enjoy because there has been very little to be happy about lately and this did just the trick to lighten the mood! The kids had fun playing until Isla decided she was cold and couldn't be happy again until she was back home. The snow melted just as fast as it came and was gone by the afternoon, but we were grateful for this little gift as we sipped hot cocoa and warmed up inside and started homeschooling a little later than normal :). It's truly the little things right now that are keeping us going! Thank you Heavenly Father!!! :)

The snow gang!!

Now THAT'S a snowball!!

Just look at that face! Pure joy was happening here!

I'll take any chance I get to dress Isla up in this adorable teddy bear suit!!

Evie giving Isla a taste of her snowball :)

She crawled around, not sure what to think about it all but having fun being a part of the merriment!

This was Isla's "I've had it with snow" face. hahaha!

LaFeber Life Lately & Isla 13 Months Milestones

 Life this past month has been a whirlwind, as usual, but not in an exciting, it's the holidays and everybody is festive and happy kind of way. It has been back to the grind with work and homeschooling and we have all been feeling the nostalgia for the warm summer days when we have no schedule to follow and no responsibilities to keep up with.... Yes, January has been rough. It has also been hard to wrap my head around the fact that we are going into year 2 of this pandemic and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight!! (Insert dramatic moan here). When Covid-19 broke out, we were all told to quarantine for a couple months and then by summer life would return to normal. But that was a year ago, and they are just now starting to vaccinate people against the virus, however, it has now mutated into multiple new versions that we have no vaccine for and it constantly feels like there is nothing to be excited about because this hell will never end. I have never truly realized how lucky I was to be born into the land of the free until almost all of my freedoms were taken away. Our suicide rate is higher than our infection rate which has a lot of us wondering who is running this shit-show.... excuse my French, but there is no better way to explain what life feels like than that. Oh and this vaccine makes you super sick and has even killed people, but we are told it is necessary to get it so we can achieve herd immunity..... Do you understand my frustration yet?

However, despite the depression and the crying and the never ending hell that is quarantine, we have found our happiness in the most creative ways and for that I am grateful. We have to be grateful for the little things in life because the little things are all we are given and that in itself has been a gift. One of those things has been Isla learning to walk!! She started walking about two weeks after her first birthday (like Evie did) but she would only do it randomly and on her own terms. She would never show off for us like we wanted hehe! Until she suddenly just decided to start walking everywhere like she had been walking all along! She is also babbling up a storm and copying everything we say! Sometimes I can actually understand her babble and when I answer her, she looks at me so surprised because we just communicated effectively!! :) Now that she has discovered her new-found freedom, she is EVERYWHERE!!! She is a tornado of destruction everywhere she goes! We can't turn our back on her for a second! When we are outside, or playing at the park, she is almost running from one corner of the park to the other. She loves to eat the dirt and put everything in her mouth. She is definitely an orally fixated baby! She is also enjoying new solid foods and we are close to no longer needing to buy baby food! Yay!! We are also slowly weaning from breastfeeding, as my milk supply has suddenly plummeted and she is starting to drink whole milk now. But neither of us are in too big of a rush for that. It will just happen naturally, the way it should be. Until then, I still savor our night time routine as she nurses and I rock her to sleep :).

 

Every football game has become something to celebrate as we strive to find joy in the small things.

I am slowly starting to get back into my workout routine, but finding time with homeschooling has definitely been a challenge!

I am grateful for the extra time spent with each kiddo though, as they should normally be in school right now and I will never have this time again.

Evie saved up her Christmas money and bought herself a bigger bike!! We are so proud of her and now she can keep up with Austin! :)

Autumn made it's appearance in January (hello Nevada haha) and Isla loved her first experience with playing in the leaves!

It's the little things in life.... like sitting in the grass at the park with my baby and playing in the leaves that makes it all worth it :).

Austin was giving me a hard time with homeschooling so we took our lesson outside with the sidewalk chalk. It was an instant success!

I have been spending a lot of time remodeling the dining room. I built a breakfast nook in the corner and hung this farmhouse chandelier! It will be a long process to complete while I have a screaming, teething baby at my feet and homeschooling my kids simultaneously, but I am determined to finish this year!

New haircut!! Another little thing to celebrate :)

Austin took this photo and it makes me smile every time :)

We have been keeping up with our FUN FRIDAY tradition and the kids love it!

My bike I ordered for Christmas finally arrived so I spent all day (after homeschooling) putting the bike together and then figuring out how to put Isla's baby seat on the back of it! She loved it!!!

Evie was given the Citizenship Award in school and was so happy to see her picture in the morning announcements!

Austin has been having fun buying magic kits putting on shows for us, along with his trusty assistant! ;)

The kids had the day off school, which means freedom for their teacher/Mom!! So Isla and I walked down to Jolly Beans Cafe and enjoyed some time away from home! The next week, our beloved neighborhood cafe was sold off to some Italian Restaurant and I almost cried! I sure hope they keep the cafe part of it open because my heart can't take one more loss this year!!

When the mornings are particularly rough, I treat myself to a soda at POP. You can never have too much caffeine these days...

Oh how I love this kid and the hilarious things he says! On this particular day, he told me I should join match.com because he heard that it is really successful at setting you up with people you actually like! hahahaha! I guess you could say it is becoming noticeable that I don't have many friends these days....

The kids have been doing chores every morning and Austin added laundry and garbages to his list when he decided to earn money for Coding School! It is an expensive school so he was willing to work for it!

The LaFeber beauties!!

Austin asked if he could create his own holiday and so Pinata Day was born! It was soooo fun and we were all in awe of his creativity! He decorated the house with balloons and banners, and even made his own homemade pinata! He posted games all over the house that he had invented and they all involved candy! Then at the end, he surprised us with the news that the winner of all the games got the joy of being sprayed with Dr. Pepper outside!! It was one of the happiest days we have had in a long time!! All because of this beautiful boy :).

I have been doing my best to incorporate yoga into my days. It doesn't always happen, but it's better than nothing!

Our baby at 13 months!

She's always on the go!

And walking is her new forte!!

Austin's first day of Coding School was a total success! He was in heaven and it was so fun to see all the new skills he learned in just one day! There is no doubt that technology will be a huge part of his future, one way or another...

On Fun Friday we made little apple pies!

Are they cute or what?!

Enjoying the sunshine at the park!

Austin thought it was a good idea to climb into the  baby swing with Isla while Evie pushed them both haha! It was all fun and games until he realized he couldn't get out!! hahahahaa!!

Isla learned that she actually likes bananas if she can hold it and not get her hands dirty. Otherwise, she just squishes it and then cries until she can be cleaned up and let down from the table.

Super Bowl Sunday!! The Buccaneers won! We had an awesome party with the kids! It was probably our best party yet!

I try to take some time during nap time for myself, whether it be exercise, yoga, or curling up with a cup of tea and a good book by the window. It is so hard to find that time, but it is MUCH needed!