Taking a Time Out From Life

The gorgeous view from our cabin!

We got there right after they had a huge snow storm so there was plenty of snow!

I loved everything about the holidays but my energy bank is completely spent! Having Josh continue to be sick doesn't help matters much. He is scheduled for yet another colonoscopy to search for more answers because he just doesn't seem to be getting better! He is forcing himself to go to work each day with sharp abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea :(. We have been trying our best to carry on with life but it has been rough because it all falls on me.

So I worked some extra hours and rented a cabin in the mountains :). Every day I was at work I was daydreaming of cuddling with my family by the fire and drinking hot chocolate while watching the snow fall outside. I needed to seperate myself from technology and from responsibility. I needed to not think about things. I needed to JUST BE. JUST EXIST. JUST FOCUS on what is most important. My family. I was hoping to have more help from Josh along the way and the first day up in the mountains was perfect! Absolutely divine. But he got sick later that night and was in bed the whole rest of the time :(. So it was just me and the kids. But that's okay. I had a couple melt downs when my exhaustion level hit its max from doing everything by myself but we got over it and moved onto snowball fights and exploring for icicles. The kids were enthralled by the icicles....

Austin has been begging to play in the snow for a while now and Evie has never seen it before. So the excitement was high as we drove up Mount Charleston out of the desert and into the beautiful wintry wonderland.

We did everything I wanted to do and more. We played outside and had snowball fights, and when it got cold we went inside the cabin to warm ourselves by the fire and watch a Disney movie or quietly color and play cards. Our cabin had a big jet tub that I loved but the kids didn't enjoy it so much once they realized what happens when you turn the jets on.

There was one absolutely perfect moment that I have to document because it has never happened before I don't know if it ever will again. It had been a long day full of outdoor adventures with snow and exploration. We had dinner at the lodge and then bathed in the giant tub, just in time to cuddle all together in the giant king size bed in front of the roaring fire while we watched a family movie. The kids played in the bed for a while, but soon they were both laying in my arms quietly snoring beside me. As I looked at my sweet Evie girl in the crook my left arm and my one and only Austin in my right, I couldn't stop the tears. It was just too perfect. I laid there enjoying the warmth of the fire and the sweet sounds of their breathing and then looked up at my husband who too was watching the beautiful scene and it was suddenly all worth it. ALL OF IT. Every bad day, every heartbreaking hour. Every minute of sleep lost, and every heart felt prayer for patience. It all came down to this moment. And all I could do was cry.

Every morning we woke up and made hot chocolate which of course got spilled multiple times. And every night we laughed while we watched the kids run around the cabin chasing after each other in play. They make the greatest friends and I love watching them :).

We were all sad to see it end. None of us wanted to go home after such a picturesque couple of days. But I will forever hold the beauty of that long weekend in my mind and heart as a daily reminder that we are doing good. That our children are growing beautifully and we are so incredibly blessed. The pictures are all out of order but so was our days. We were in a constant blur of inside, outside, inside, outside and it was wonderful!

My absolute favorite thing was watching our babies play while I held onto my hot latte and just took in all the beauty around us.

Austin was obsessed with snow balls!

I bought toddler mittens but Evie's hands were still too small so she was always losing them :).

Watching them from inside....

CHEERS!

While Austin was obsessed with throwing the snowballs, Eve was obsessed with EATING the snowballs! Seriously, she thought it was so amazing and her mouth was always full!

Now THAT is how you win a snowball fight ;).

It has been so hard for me while he has been sick but I still love this guy as much, if not more, than I did on our wedding day.

The scenery alone was so healing.

I love this capture of her first experience with snow! Pure Joy!

Oh how I love these two :)

Cuddles in bed in the middle of the afternoon = PERFECTION!

Quietly coloring while she waited for her little mittens to dry.

Austin had his quiet moments as well which was incredible since he NEVER does this! I think the kids needed the peace and solitude of the mountains as much as we did!

Walking over to the lodge for some dinner!

Twinners!

I didn't want to spend a fortune eating out the whole time so I brought meals for eating in the cabin and I am so glad I did because it allowed us to just be alone and not have to socialize. We needed the solidarity to truly feel like we had gotten away from it all!

Austin tried so hard to be a big boy and do everything for himself which was nice in one way, but also resulted in him spilling his juice over all the food we had in the refrigerator.... insert Mom freak out here.... Luckily I was able to salvage most of it or we would have been in big trouble!

His face says it all!

This boy was completely in his element!

I loved our quiet indoor moments a much as I did the great outdoors! Evie quietly coloring by the fire while Daddy and Austin played cards on the bed....

Or snuggling on the bed with Josh while we watched the kiddos play..... again, perfection!

His face! This boy cracks me up!

Eating snow again... hehe!

Austin at 3.5

You have this beautiful passion for life and a big 'ol smile that gets me every time!

Austin you are three and a half! You are the sweetest little terror in the world. We are either laughing or fighting. It seems like you and I will forever be caught up in this power struggle. It all began when you were just a teeny tiny baby..... Your Dad laughs at us and says, "You guys are two peas in a pod." Although it can be rough at times, you are always making me a better person and I love you for that!

Every morning you come down after I finish exercising and we cuddle. I love that small amount of time when it is just us. Such a rarity these days!

You can be such a goof! We have some pretty cute early morning conversations about your dreams and reasoning for why you should be able to eat candy at 6am :).

Hugging Mom and thanking me for taking you guys on a cookie date. You were the whole reason we went on this little outing because you were being such a stinker and I could tell you needed some TLC. Obviously I was right ;).

You love to play with play dough and your imagination is growing!

You really struggle with preschool drop off and bed time when you know we aren't there with you anymore (even if we are just a door away). I have found that books help out a TON with helping you deal with these feelings. My favorite was Llama Llama Misses Mama until I found The Kissing Hand.... It's such a sweet story of a little Raccoon who is scared to go to school and leave his Mama so she kisses his hand and he gets to take her kiss with him in case he ever feels lonely. This is you holding my kiss in your hand while you read the book :). You take it with you everywhere and sometimes even have a panic attack when you think you might have lost it. At night you have me kiss both hands and fall asleep holding onto them. It makes me tear up every time.

Always the first to volunteer to help me in the kitchen! You don't care if it is washing dishes or stirring the batter. You love it all!

Making silly faces at me while we watch your sister throw her millionth tantrum that morning....

I love you Austin, thank you for being my sunshine :).

You officially graduated out of the Nursery at church and into Sunbeams! This was a big day for you! What made it even more exciting is that your Daddy is your teacher! I am super jealous that he gets to see your sweet self singing and learning. I just want to be a fly on the wall so I can see it all too! Dad says you are the most reverent kid in the class and you give very good answers to the questions :).

First day of Sunbeams and someone is pretty excited about it!

You love your Daddy so much and I am so glad you get to have memories together with him as your teacher :).

Always trying to pull your sisters hair.... This time caught on camera!

Milestones: Evelyne 19/20 Months Old

I absolutely adore your little feet! They are still so petite and you are just barely fitting into shoes I bought a year ago!

You are another month older and the "terrible two's" feels like it is just around the corner. You are also still getting your top molars (going on months now) so this could be part of the reason for your irritation. Whatever the reason, you are turning into a true diva! If someone even looks at you wrong you fling yourself to the floor and throw a tantrum. But no matter how long it lasts, you always become worried at the end that I have gotten mad at you so you look up at me saying, "Mummy I wuv yu" and you wait for me to say it back to you which lets you know that we are all good. Then you perk back up and life goes on as usual :).

You love to learn and do whatever your brother does. Your ability to learn by watching is uncanny. You get so mad if we don't let you do everything he does because you just don't understand how small you still are. You are my little shadow everywhere (as usual) but just within this past week you have started going into your room and doing things by yourself. I think that is mainly due to the fact that you see Austin doing that and you are his ever faithful steward. Whatever the reason, I love the peace and quiet it provides! Even if for five minutes ;).

You got your very first hair cut! Your hair was clear down to your little bottom and since your brother likes to pull on it all the time, it was all different lengths and messy. So I took you into the salon and you did so great! You just sat on my lap and took it all in! I was so proud of you and saved your little dark brown locks. Now your hair curls up and makes a cute little bob. You are and will forever be the most beautiful girl I have ever set eyes on! Your big dark eyes are so deep and mysterious, making me always wonder what is going on in that beautiful little head of yours....

Little Rapunzel! Most girls your age barely have any hair and yours is clear down your back! It's truly amazing.

Ready for your first hair cut!

The after picture :). Look at those sweet curls! I took you and Austin out for donuts afterward because you both did so good in the hair salon!

You constantly follow me around screaming "Mommy!! Mommy!! MOOOMMMM!!" and when I finally stop and say, "What Evelyne?!" you reply with a sweet "I wuv yu" :). It makes my whole day! Picking you up from daycare is even better because the second you see me, you come running into my arms screaming, "Mommy! Mommy!" and even after I am holding you and you have wrapped your tiny little arms around my neck you are still chanting "Mommy" in between kissing me. You sure know how to make a person feel loved.

You love your brother more than anything. Well, almost as much as you love your Mama ;). This scene at the grocery store had me in tears!

We had a fun little churro date yesterday and you were a big fan!

Scenes from a recent tantrum. I forgot to mention that after it is over you insist on holding every single doll, stuffed animal, and blanket you own while I hold YOU. That makes it very difficult! No wonder I have back problems....

I included this pic of Austin doing his preschool homework because it explains the next picture. It is the perfect example of you having to do EVERYTHING your big brother does! You would be lost without him.

Doing your "homework" hehe!

Austin is becoming more helpful around the house lately as he too is getting older. I asked him to get you a drink of water and THIS is what he came up with! You didn't mind in the least! (haha)

We have these toy chests in our living room and you love playing inside of them. Well, on this particular day you wanted Austin to play babies along with you so you made him stop running around the house playing Star War so he could feed your baby for you :). He's so sweet with you, even though he is also your constant annoyance. But you are getting him back nowadays so it all evens out ;).

Baking in the kitchen with Mama. These are my absolute favorite memories with you two!

Making us some homemade granola :).

Whenever we get in the car, we have a rock and roll jam session. Austin yells, "Turn it up Mom! Louder!" and you start kicking your little feet to the beat and clapping! It makes me so happy when I watch you two in the rear view mirror and hear your giggles :). This is another one of my absolute favorite memories!

The fact that you are giving the "rock on" sign in this picture makes my heart swell with pride!

Enjoying making a huge mess with Moon Sand on a beautiful rainy day.

Bubbles are your favorite but you make such a huge mess so it is hard for me! You insist on doing it yourself (of course) so I either have to just let you be or suffer listening to you kicking and screaming....

We were having a particularly rough day so I took you guys on a cookie date to Freeds Bakery! It made everyting better :). Nothing like a cookie to change the mood of the day....

You crack me up! Just look at "yo bad self"!

Yet another rough morning for you. Mom did my best to exercise while you cried and screamed around me. Story of our life this past month.....

This is a picture of what you have to put up with on a daily basis... That is your car underneath his. Your brother is so destructive and crazy but you love him for it! It's basically free daily entertainment. When he's not around you don't know what to do with yourself! If he is still sleeping when you wake up you purposely try to wake him up.

New shoes for the pretty princess!

Doing yoga with Mom. I love how hard you try to copy me!

But before long it always ends with you in my arms. Namaste :).

Taking a walk.

You started this horrible habit of playing with your poop while you are supposed to be sleeping. Every day, multiple times a day we were putting you in the bath tub and cleaning poop off of everything (AAARRRGGG!!) We finally started putting you in footie pajamas so you can't take them off to reach your diaper. So far that has solved everything but I'm not sure what we will do come summer...

The poop culprit.... :(

Snuggle day. My favorite!

You started doing this funny thing where you flop over off of your car and lay there until someone comes to your rescue. You're always coming up with new ways to make me laugh :).