Fabulous Quote of the Day!

A beautiful day at my favorite beach - Capitola

We loved having my beautiful mom come visit us last week! She was so helpful and fun!

This is Prince Philip with his "twin" Lady Anabelle. We love her and her mom too!

Ladies, check out Elder Callister's article in the June issue of the Ensign! He says, "Women ought to be praised for all the gifts they possess - including their attentiveness to their personal appearance - that so unselfishly add to the richness of the lives of others." So next time I'm at the spa getting my nails done or spending extra time on my makeup, I will remind myself of what an unselfish good deed I am doing!

Does anyone else have a baby that just loves to be held more than anything in the world? I have to admit that I really love to taxi Philip around everywhere but I have been extra tired lately and unable to hold him all day. So, a little visit to the baby store has changed my life! I have to let everyone know about the Ergo baby carrier. It's amazing because I can hold Philip (he's well over 20 lbs.) on the front, hip or back for over three hours and it doesn't hurt at all (like the baby bjorn.) He loves it and will even nap in it.

Hooray!

Much to celebrate this week... Nick finished his last final Monday and is officially done with his first year of Law School!! Everyone tells us the first year is the hardest so it is wonderful to have it over and for Nick to have done well. Nick is excited to start working at Ellman Burke in San Francisco in a couple weeks. We are all excited to have him home until then!
Thomas and James are loving school. James has bonded with Teacher Katie and Thomas made me a special bead necklace at school this week. The boys were so excited to get a trampoline today. The 11 foot tramp takes up our entire backyard basically but it's totally worth it because we predict it will wear them out each day and make for an early bedtime.
Philip is now 6 months old! He is still very sweet and is rolling all over and sitting up well on his own. He is a strong little guy. He loves to watch his older brothers and they are so cute to play with him and help keep him happy. I finally got around to decorating his room. I love sailboats and had fun decorating his room with a nautical theme. It is bright and cheery and he loves the mobile above his bed.
I got a great job this week as a community advisor at Stanford. I am excited to get involved and plan student events next year.
We are loving our boys at the ages they are at right now and I almost wish I could freeze them at this age because they are so precious. Thomas and James are so clever and are always making me laugh. The other day at lunch I told them they could each have a prune for a treat (my boys are like little French women, no joke). Thomas said "I'm THREE years old. I need THREE prunes." I said, "Okay, you can each have three." Then James held up both hands and said, "But I have TEN fingers. I need TEN prunes!"
Don't worry... I did NOT give them ten!

Happy Birthday Grandma Call!

We all want to wish Grandma a very Happy Birthday!! I had visions of the boys smiling for Grandma in the picture but the boys had a very late night last night after going to a fun party and were very exhausted from preschool. All three went out for a nap within five minutes of taking the picture.

We Love Grandmas and Grandpas!

The past couple weeks have been so much fun for our family because we have been able to have both sets of grandparents come visit us! We feel so blessed to have such wonderful family. Thomas and James loved having sleepovers at the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa, swimming, flying kites at the beach, Easter egg hunting and playing in the backyard. Philip was all smiles because he loves to be held.
We feel so fortunate that Thomas and James were able to start Rainbow preschool at Stanford this month. One goes each day for three hours and I have the other home with me. It has been so great to have one at school having fun and me home having one-on-one time with the other. (Philip usually naps for a good part of that time.) They love school and it makes it extra special for them to get to ride to school on Daddy's bike! Thomas and James now have backpacks to match Nicks. (James even requested a laptop with an apple on it to go in his backpack:) They love these backpacks and are actually wearing them in bed right now. I don't know if that's even safe but I'm happy they are liking school.

Even baby Philip loves our new backyard!
 James loves his new big bed
Philip - 2 months old

My apologies for posting so many pictures but my babies are growing up so fast! After finally getting settled into our new home at Stanford graduate housing, we have all decided that it was worth all the work moving requires because we love it here! The boys love that there is a park in our backyard with many new friends to play with. We went bowling with other grad student families today and had so much fun. Thomas and James scored over 100 and it was their first time! (There were bumpers though.) Baby Philip is still cheery and smiley. The boys still adore him and are so sweet and helpful with him. A couple weeks ago, we noticed James has a little gray tooth and after a couple visits to the dentist it was confirmed that his front tooth is dying. I don't even remember him falling or getting hit. He probably cried and I just told him to toughen up. I have made an extra effort to bond with him over the past couple weeks. He loves to cuddle, do crafts, dance, and take pictures. There is nothing more precious than James excitedly holding up the camera saying "Mommy say cheese!" He actually takes great pictures. 

Thomas and James have a new favorite film... Mama Mia! Somehow they have gotten confused and think Merril Streep is Nick's mom so now they are calling her "Grandma Mia." Thomas has been extremely verbal lately and saying the cutest things. The other day we drove past Nick's law school and Thomas said to James, "James, that's STANford! That's where Daddy lives."

Oakland Temple

We had such a special Christmas! Nick and I were up at six, so excited that we couldn't go back to sleep. At seven, Nick woke the boys up shouting "Santa came!" They were so cute and grateful for every little gift. We are so grateful to have such sweet little boys and for experiencing the magic of Christmas again!