A Day To Be Missed

Yesterday was a very special friend's birthday. Brighton was able to call our dear friend Gracie on the phone and wish her a happy birthday. For those of you who know us, you already know our closest friends are the Meegans. When we get together our girls are the closest of friends as well. Well their little girl Gracie had her special day yesterday and Brighton has been talking all week about calling her up and saying Happy B-day. So she did. And they talked for a few minutes. And she was able to talk to their little girl Alli too. And then Clarissa and I spoke for a few minutes. And then I got off the phone. And this is what I found after the conversation ended. A super sad girl! I was surprised to see her so upset so I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I'm worried about Gracie and Alli." I prodded some more, asking why. Her response: "I'm worried we won't ever live close to them and I love them so much I want to see them all the time." At this point I about wanted to cry because I feel the same way. It's been years since we've lived close to them but whenever we're together it's just like old times. Our goal has always been to live close and one day in the future, we will be neighbors! Just know little G, that some tears were shed for you because you were missed on your special day! Happy Birthday!

Girls (and Boys) Just Want to Have Fun

Both of our husbands were gone tonight so my friend Jenny and I decided to have a girls night. We all got into our jammies and originally planned on watching a chick flick while the kids played, but ended up talking all night (which is what normally happens anyway). We vegged on junk food and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a ton of fun and I got a few highlights of the night on my camera. One of them being that Porter wanted to dress up as Rapunzel (More blackmail photos for the future). Another one being the girls snuggling up together. Also, Porter wanted to hold Jenny's little boy Max, who is about as big as Porter and is only 4 months old. Kind of comical to see. And I couldn't resist how cute little Max was with his new helmet to help his torticollis. Gotta love his sweet expression. It was a fun night and I really will miss them when we both move.

Evie

This is ridiculously overdue, but I realized that after I came home from AK in the summer, I hadn't posted anything about Evelyn. Evelyn is one of my best friends from high school and will probably stay at that status forever. We were inseparable and even though we lived like 30 miles away from each other, we somehow managed to spend every weekend together either making music videos or ding dong ditching every guy we knew. I would be remiss if I didn't include Vanessa in the mix. The 3 of us were always always always together. We were seriously the 3 musketeers. But Vanessa's post will come soon enough. Anyway, this summer Evelyn got married and I was heartbroken that I wasn't able to make it to the temple to see her. Her and Vanessa were both waiting outside the temple on my special day so it was really hard to miss Evelyn's big day. Anyway, she now lives in a small town about 5 hours away from our hometowns so it was difficult to try and see her but she made every effort and we were able to hang out 2 times when we were in AK. We were able to meet her new hubby and catch up on life. It was so nice. I was actually able to go to her little sister's wedding and be in the temple with her which made up a little for missing her own wedding. Well, I was just thinking of her quite a bit lately and really missed her. We have seen a lot of different chapters in each others lives. There have been bad haircuts, silly boys, missions, weddings, tears, laughs, and through it all we have remained the closest of friends. I can only hope to be half a friend to her that she has been to me all these years. I love you Evie! And Happy Belated Birthday!

Spring Time She Comes

Otter Pop weather is closely approaching. We thought we'd celebrate by eating one now.

Cookie Capers

Ever since she was little, Brighton has always been in love with cooking. Anytime she can, she jumps at the chance to help me out in the kitchen. And cookies are her specialty. She's actually pretty helpful too. We normally try to squeeze in the bake time during Porter's nap but today he woke up before we were done and definitely wanted in on the action. The first time I put a glop of cookie dough on his spoon it went right into his mouth! Brighton thought it was the craziest thing (apparently) and Porter didn't know why we were laughing at him. The funny thing is, once he got the hang of what we were supposed to be doing, he was on top of things. We got him a clean spoon and not once did he lick it. He made sure the balls were all the same size and even pushed the dough off with his finger without freaking out about getting messy or putting anything in his mouth. Initially I thought that having them both help would be a headache but it ended up being a lot more fun than I thought. I guess we have one more baker in the family!

The Adventures of Supercrank

When Porter goes without a nap he becomes this evil villain we like to call 'Supercrank'. When Supercrank is roaming the Comin house, you want to duck and cover. Anyway, today Supercrank made an appearance so like always he ended up being stuck in his evil liar -a.k.a. the corner, for doing something villainous. Normally there is wailing and gnashing of teeth in the liar, but today he was quiet. We continued with our dinner for a few minutes and when it was time for him to come out of the corner, we found this tired little wrongdoer passed out on the floor (Yes our timeout corner is in the bathroom. Don't judge.). We couldn't help but laugh at the sweetness that was our nefarious half-pint. Apparently Supercrank's cryptonite is sleep.

What was even sweeter? When we tried to wake the P man up and he wouldn't be stirred, Brighton wanted to hold him on her lap and rub his head to make him 'feel happy' as she put it. Can't get enough of that sweet sibling love.

When I Count My Blessings

We went to the park today. That's becoming a regular occurrence as everyone here believes that winter is over. I'm starting to believe it too. That week was a doozy (I write mockingly). So back to the park. It's funny that the little day-to-day things like frequenting a park or making a lunch or wiping a tear or tucking someone in to bed can remind me of the blessings in my life. I'm so lucky to be blessed with these little spirits. I'm not saying it's easy. In fact, it's always a challenge, but there are rays of sunlight through the rough patches which make it all worth it. I just had a few extra rays shining down on me today.

Temple Time

It was that time of the month again. Time to pack the kids up and drive to the temple. Our temple is so far away that we have to make a day of it so it's always kind a production when we go. We pack snacks, rent new movies for the ride, go out to lunch while we're there, walk around the temple and take pictures, etc... Luckily, the kids haven't gotten bored or worn out with the trips yet. Just another thing that we're excited about when it comes to moving to AZ: a closer temple. But we'll take what we can get now. We should consider ourselves lucky I guess because not too long ago, there was no temple in Lubbock. The people of Midland had to drive to Dallas to go to the temple which is a 5 hour drive. I'll take my 2 hour drive over that any day! And when you get to the temple, it's always well worth the drive.

Oh and Whilst taking pictures around the temple grounds, Brighton was extra careful to be reverent. She made sure to keep her arms crossed (As shown above) the entire time, all the while running and 'quietly' yelling to Porter. It was very sweet although I'm not sure she completely got the point. Also, once Porter heard a train in the distance, he was on a mission to find 'Thomas'. Note the concerned look on his face as he searches through the gate for his long lost friend.

All is Well

All is right in the world again. It's 80 degrees outside. Our winter lasted about a week. What happened to my Alaskan blood? I guess I'm just a summer snob now.

Happy Heart Day

This year Porter was my valentine and Brighton was Kyle's so when they woke up to find little monkeys and valentine candy, they were ecstatic. It took them about 2 seconds to name them (Brighton's is Hannah and Porter's is Mike) and about 5 seconds to eat all the candy. They love their little monkeys and we love our little monkeys!

And what could make Valentine's day even better? Pink heart pancakes for dinner! Gotta love the day for love!

Pre-Valentines Day

So Kyle had to work on Valentine's Day and it was a Monday, so we decided to spend our Valentine's Day on the Saturday before. It was the first time we ever got a young woman to babysit and it was a little nerve-racking but well-needed. Kyle and I haven't gone on a date in a REALLY long time and it was so good go out to eat and get to know each other again. It's easy to forget how lucky I am sometimes when I'm just rushing through life so it was nice to unwind and enjoy our relaxing evening. I've got the greatest valentine a girl could wish for! I love this guy!

Chicken-Leg Chico

My kids have wanted to make serious fashion statements lately. First, Brighton with her coordinating ensembles and now Porter with his daring pants-free look. He is successfully conquering the potty but due to his burdensome pants being in the way, the first time he's on the thrown in the morning is the last time you see him with any pants on. He takes them right off and waits until bedtime to put anything on his lower half. It definitely makes for funny times to see a little chicken-legged boy insisting on putting his shoes to go outside, yet could care less if he's got any pants. Hopefully he'll grow out of this phase before kindergarten otherwise it's homeschool for the pantless wonder.

Miss Match

This is what happens when Brighton decides to dress herself. She finds everything in her closet that has coordinating colors and puts them all on at once. I guess I'll let her wear the rain boots since they do match the dress. It would look a lot worse if she wasn't as cute. Good thing she is!

Bowled Over

Kyle was really excited to watch the Super Bowl with the kids today. We're not really that excited because the Patriots aren't in it but it's just fun to spend time together and watch a little football. The only thing that was missing was Uncle Ty. Ever since Brighton was little, she and her Uncle Ty loved watching football together. She didn't really ever know what was going on but she thought it was so cool that she got to hang out with Ty. Anyway, we were happy to watch the game, but sad we missed the company from our favorite football fan! You were missed Uncle Ty!

A Little Hairy Carry

What happens when Porter is too tired and sick to defend himself from the evils of girliness? This is the result. Brighton couldn't keep her hands off of him. If you can't tell, he's got at least 7 hair clips in there. She loves doing hair and thought that using a live subject versus her many dolls, would be a perfect fit. Sadly, Porter wasn't too upset about it and wore them around for the rest of the evening. I guess this is just the early onset of blackmail pictures that will inevitably forge their way into his wedding video someday.

Cold Colds

So I know I shouldn't complain because most of the people reading this blog live in colder climates than us, but we are still cold! And we HAVE colds! Which make us double cold! We have been stuck in our ice box we call a home (It won't heat up. The hottest it will get in our house is like 45 degrees.) and we are all still sick to boot. We have gotten creative in our ways to keep warm and feel better though. As you can see, Porter's personal preference is the Veggie Tales cocoon (which he is wrapped up in as he is watching Veggie Tales). Brighton's favorite thing to do is heat up her hands with her breath and my weapon of choice is to wear 3 sweatshirts and my winter jacket all together while drinking 2 cups of apple cider a day. I look like a walking marshmallow, but anything to stay warm right? I can't wait to move to a place that doesn't have heating and insulation that was built in the 1970s. And I can't wait for us to feel better again!

50 can Make a Difference

In the course of the hour it took us to run in and out of Target, the weather went from beautiful skies and shorts weather to dismal, dreary and cold. So it was no surprise to us when that night it started snowing! That's right! It went from 70 degrees to 20 degrees all in less than a few hours. It only snows here like once a year and yesterday was our day. The kids woke up and begged to play outside so I suited them up and we were out the door. About 10 minutes later they were cold, wet, and ready to go back in. I guess they didn't inherit my thick Alaskan skin!

(And I just wanted to share the picture below to show the difference. This was taken less than 8 hours before the above pics were shot. Crazy how fast the weather changes!)

Ring of Fire

Ever since the movie Walk the Line came out, Kyle has been in love with Johnny Cash. I don't get the hype. He was a strung out musician who cheated on his wife, but that's besides the point. Anyway, Kyle loves his music and he has passed that affection for the deep-voiced artist on to our kids. The other day I said the word 'love' (which is the first word to the song Ring of Fire) and Brighton spat out the rest of the entire song. Where does she get this from? So we went out to play with chalk and she drew the above circles. When I asked her what they were she responded, "Mom, it's a ring of fire. Like the song". Who is she?

Oh and the picture on the right is Porter's. When I asked what the drawing was he told me it was corn muffins. It made me laugh.