.

Hooray!

2009-07-12T09:58:00.008-07:00

Well, swimming lessons are officially done! Yay! We took the boys swimming yesterday and they showed off all of their tricks. Owen is just so good at swimming and floating now, and he loves it. Noah floats really well, and can swim back and forth between Aaron and me, but not very far. After six long weeks of swimming every day, I'm glad to see how well the boys have done. Owen is starting preschool in a week and a half, and he's excited to go to school. It's only two days a week, so not a lot, but I'm glad he's going to have the chance to be with friends and learn. We had a really fun 4th of July weekend. We spent time with my parents on Friday and then Saturday we had the Tunell side over for a cook out. It was great to be with everyone, and celebrate a special day for our country. Here are some pictures Steve took.

Steve and Mom came to Tucson the other day, and we got to see them and go to dinner with them. It was great to have them here! We've been busy, but things will slow down a little now that swiming is over. We can't find our memory card right now, so no new pictures until we do. Have a great Sunday!

One of those Days

2009-07-01T13:55:00.003-07:00

So last Friday was just one of those days. Owen was having a hard time, he was exhausted, grumpy, and the list goes on. We finally got out the door to swimming lessons, and halfway through his lesson, Owen throws up. The pool was closed down for 1/2 an hour, and everybody had to leave the pool while they sanitized it. Owen's teacher was livid, I was embarrased, and Owen didn't care. He didn't feel bad, wasn't sick, I still don't know what happened. This whole week Owen's teacher has been gun-shy, so we're constantly on the alert. It's funny to think back on, my kid can sure clear out an area :) I wanted to quit swimming lessons right then and there :) Obviously, we didn't, but I'm counting down the days now. I believe there are only six days left, unless the instructor can convince me to go for a few more days. I don't think so though. The kids are getting really good, and I'm glad to feel safer, and glad to see Owen so excited to be swimming. Oma and Opa showed up in the afternoon, and Owen got a lot happier after they came. Aaron and I went out on a date and saw the new Transformers movie. It was fun, but a little inappropriate for Aaron and me. Still we really liked it and had a great time going on a date, plus we got to see our friends Josh and Renee there, an extra bonus. We're looking forward to our long weekend, hope everyone is well!
Here's Owen being such a funny guy. I love his sense of humor, and if you haven't seen Owen transform, you haven't seen anything! Noah is starting to take his first steps, HOORAY!!! He's getting to be such a grown up boy, I can't believe my baby is getting so big :)

Funnies

2009-06-23T13:46:00.003-07:00

I just wanted to remember a couple of things that Owen said this week. Aaron doesn't like grape kool-aid, but the boys and I do, so since Aaron is out of town, we made some. Anyway, Owen said he wanted the "juice that makes Daddy run away" :) I thought that was fun. Today he asked me who lives in Threeson Arizona, since we live in Tucson. What a funny guy. We laughed about that and made jokes about oneson and fourson. We didn't take any pictures at the reunion, too busy, but we'll have some from our family members hopefully. We had a great time at the reunion--thanks Mom and Dad for all your effort, expense and time. You guys made it so nice for everyone. It was fun to see all my siblings and their families, and to see Owen having such a good time with his cousins. Noah wasn't too sure of everybody, but he got used to it as the weekend went on.

My mom said she wanted a picture of the whole family, so here we are. Hope everyone is having a great day!!

And the Days Just Keep Rolling Along

2009-06-15T13:16:00.003-07:00

I can't believe it's Monday again. We've been so busy, and I am not able to keep up! We finished our second week of swimming lessons, it's fun to see the boys learning every day. We're all so tired by the end of the week, we're just too ready for the weekend. We took Aaron out to dinner for Father's Day on Saturday, that was fun, but we always get too much food at Outback. We've had some changes in our ward/stake, so we had extra meetings yesterday which led to two grumpy/tired little boys, not to mention grumpy/tired mommy and daddy :). We took family pictures yesterday in the morning, so here is a picture from the ones we kept.

We hope you have a great week, we're really looking forward to our Holyoak family reunion this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to post next Sunday.

Catch Up

2009-06-07T07:44:00.004-07:00

I always complain when people don't update their blogs regularly, because I love to read about how others are doing. I am now someone I would complain about :) We have been busy here, and traveling and just not getting things done. The boys have started their everyday swimming lessons, so every morning M-F I am with them at the pool. They're not extremely thrilled with their lessons, but they are learning, and it's so cute to see them floating in the pool. Ian had a birthday last Sunday, so we were in Safford for the day, and got to be with him as he was ordained to the priesthood. That is always so special. We were glad to be there. A couple of weeks ago we went to Oma and Opa's house for a visit, and Aaron and I got to go on a date to see the new Star Trek movie. We really enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it. We've been playing outside with the boys in the evening, firstly because it's fun, but secondly because it's too darn hot to play outside during the day. Hope you are all doing well and have a great Sunday!Owen's cheezy smiles :)

Noah gets closer to walking every day, hooray!

Styx!

2009-05-17T08:40:00.004-07:00

Well, it has been a busy week. Aaron was gone most of the week, which always makes it busier for me. Thanks to Chris for coming to help me out, it was nice to have someone here with me. I took some really cute pictures of Grandma with the boys, but then realized I hadn't put the memory card in, so no pictures :( Anyway, Aaron got home Thursday night, and then Friday Mom and Dad Holyoak came and stayed with the boys while Aaron and I went to a Styx, REO Speedwagon, and .38 Special concert up in Phoenix. We really enjoyed ourselves, and really enjoyed the bands, although next time we would rather do an outdoor concert since it was too loud for Aaron and me. Here is Owen's favorite Styx song, and one of these days I'll post a video of Owen singing and dancing to it. Hope you enjoy it!

This is the second time I've seen Styx, and they were really good both times, although there are hardly any original members remaining. Thanks Dad and Mom for staying with our kids. We also went camping last weekend, and that was really fun too. They boys had fun playing in the lake, and Owen loved sleeping in the tent. Noah didn't do very well, but that was expected.

Have a great Sunday!

Grosgrain: Milk Weed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Grosgrain: Milk Weed Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Here's another contest I'm entering trying to win free clothes :) Aaron laughs at me, but it's worth the two seconds it takes to enter.

Cool Web Site

2009-05-08T12:57:00.001-07:00

For those of you interested in food storage, here is a cool web site. It's just what Aaron and I need to build our food storage, especially since we never seem to find time (make time) to go to the cannery. Hope you guys can use this information, I found it on someone else's web site and it made my day!

http://shelfreliance.com/queues/information

We're going camping this weekend, and we're excited, hope you guys have a great weekend!

Dia de los Ninos

2009-05-02T13:19:00.003-07:00

Unbeknownst to us, (or at least unremembered) Wednesday was dia de los Ninos, or kids day. I remember celebrating it in primary the last two years, but I had forgotten about it since it isn't a US holiday. Anyway, we made our (at least) weekly library visit on Wednesday night and they were having festivities-cake and maraca painting. It was lots of fun, and we were careful to let the paint dry, because I didn't really want to do a whole bunch of clean up. So we painted and had fun, and then told the boys they had to wait to play with them. And wait they did. I made sure the paint was completely dry before I let the boys touch them. Here is a picture of the finished product. However, what I didn't take into account was the fact that the paint was washable. That means slimy hands and drooly babies putting things like maracas near their mouths would cause the paint to run and smear...but at least we had fun :)

Happy May!

Fashion Show

2009-04-29T19:57:00.009-07:00

Here are the cute pictures of Noah. Thanks to all of you for his cute clothes.
PJ's from Grandma

Clothes from Papa and GG--notice the naked Owen boy-he's decided he doesn't like clothes.

Clothes from Dad and Kim

Clothes from Grandma

Shirt from Uncle Joe and Aunt Sonia

And I couldn't resist putting in pictures of Owen. He has decided he doesn't like getting his picture taken, both of those are avoidance pictues :)

Have a great day!

Grosgrain: Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-04-28T08:39:00.001-07:00

Grosgrain: Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!
Dress give-away for all of you! Here is a picture of sweet Owen's train. He did it all and did such a good job :)

Hope everyone has a great day!

Feelings of Gratitude

2009-04-27T09:52:00.004-07:00

I know all of us have weeks where we think, I'm not going to make it. Sick kids, screaming kids, defiant kids, husbands who work late, exhaustion-all of these things worked against me last week and I knew if we didn't get to the weekend soon I was going to lose it. We made it though, and somehow the kids were sweeter than ever, and Aaron was so nice, and I remembered that I am so blessed. I've been reading this blog for a long time and it always reminds me how good I have it. Not that she ever complains, but the fact that she doesn't and her life is so much harder than mine. Anyway, if you need uplifting, read that blog :) I'm so grateful for my kids, their happy smiles, their funny personalities, their kisses and hugs, Owen telling me I am pretty and I am a good princess, and Noah tackling me and hugging me for all he's worth. Those are some of my joys every day. Having Aaron home and playing with our kids, and laughing with him. Anyway, I'm grateful for my life and the chance I have to be a stay-at-home mom to my two wonderful boys. I wouldn't trade it even on the worst of days (or weeks). Here is a happy dancing picture of Owen :)
I've been taking pictures of Noah in all of his new birthday outfits, so in a couple of days we'll have a Noah fashion show :) Thanks to all of you who made Noah's and Aaron's days so special. You guys are great!

Sick Kids, Camping, and Giveaway

2009-04-20T09:10:00.009-07:00

So we've had sick kids this week, again! They both seem to have had just really bad colds, and Noah is still recovering, but we are at the home stretch and I am so glad. Sick kids make me so sad and worried and stressed out! Owen kept telling us he wasn't sick because he wanted to do fun stuff, but he wasn't fooling anyone :) We had a camp out with Owen Friday night, a little camp fire on our back patio and Owen and Daddy slept in the tent in the back yard. We had s'mores and played with flash lights, and then sleepy time with Dad. It was so fun :)

I don't know if you can see it, but there are s'mores all over Owen's face and hair :)

Here are some pictures of the boys all dressed up on Easter Sunday. They didn't stay looking that clean and tidy, but at least I have pictures proving that they sometimes look that way!

The site I blogged about last time is having another give away, so here is the link, there are lots of fun things she is giving away. Hope you all have a fabulous day!

The Party

2009-04-11T09:00:00.011-07:00

Well, we had our combined April birthday parties yesterday, and it was a lot of fun. Aaron, Noah, and our sister-in-law Erin Tunell all have birthdays within 1 week of each other, so we just had a big family party and did the Easter egg hunt/picnic as well. Oma and Opa and GG and Papa and Grandma and Uncle Ian and Uncle Sean and Aunt Erin were all here. The boys had such a good time with so many people around, and they were so happy. Thanks to all of you for the gifts and good wishes. Hope you have a happy Easter as well. Here are the promised pictures.
Noah loved painting this egg with Oma and Opa. He just sat there and tried to do it for a long time. Pretty cute :)

Owen painted these eggs all by himself, and he loved it. I think he did 4 of them and dyed some as well.

Noah opening birthday presents with Chris and Ian and Owen helping.

Owen loves Transformers right now. He's never even seen a movie or show, just a 2 minute spot on you tube, but he loves them. He saves up his money to buy them and plays with them and pretends to be a Transformer. It is so fun.

Here are the creative eggs done by Chris and Aaron.

We couldn't find anything better than a pumpkin to collect eggs, but Owen thought it was a great idea.

Dinner

2009-04-09T09:35:00.002-07:00

I love Indian food. I love it. I made a simple chicken curry last night and it was so good, but I don't know that I can ever make it again because my house still smells. Aaron says he doesn't notice it, but I get sick to my stomach at the smell. Our house reeks of curry! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we are NOT moving to Canada. I know, I know, make up our minds huh? Well, we've been trying to work it out with the company, and we keep getting conflicting ideas, but for now we are not moving and I'm glad. I think Aaron is glad too. He'll be able to work on R&D from Tucson, so that's great, and we won't have to leave our friends, family, and comfortable home. Hooray! Wishing you all a happy Easter, I know I said I would post pictures, but next time, I promise.

Home Again

2009-04-07T09:06:00.002-07:00

Well, we're back! Hooray! I missed my kids so much, and although they did awesome and had so much fun with Oma and Opa, I couldn't stand being away from them. Aaron and I got to see Wallaceburg, and find a house we were interested in, so now we are in the process of putting an offer on the house. Hopefully we'll get the house we want, and that will be great! The boys are doing well, and although I am trying desperately to catch up, I'm not making much headway because I just want to snuggle the boys all the time :) Hope you had a great weekend, and I'll have pictures next blog because we're celebrating Noah's 1st birthday this Friday. I can't believe my baby's getting so old :) Thanks Oma and Opa for taking such good care of our boys, house, and cars. Happy Easter!

Here is a nice link

2009-03-30T08:33:00.002-08:00

So I've been reading this blog because I think it is so hilarious, and I'm sure all moms can relate. Today she is having a contest giving away a swimming suit, and if you are like me, you need a new one. So just enter the contest here by leaving a comment. Hope you are all doing well. We're so busy getting things ready to go on our trip on Wednesday, hopefully I'll keep my sanity until then! I'm having mild anxiety issues here having to leave my boys, but we'll survive :) Happy Monday!

Yummy Ice Cream

2009-03-26T08:32:00.002-08:00

Well, Aaron is gone for the week, and we are surviving :). Things are actually going pretty well. I've finally gotten Noah to take a bottle, which means theoretically he can eat with anyone. I say theoretically because so far the only person he will take the bottle from is me, but we're getting there. Baby steps to weaning :) (that semi-quote is for Aaron). Anyway, since Aaron is gone, I like to have fun projects to fill up all my Aaron-less time, which really isn't very hard with the amount of work I have been doing lately. One of these projects was to make strawberry ice cream. I of course used my favorite cook book, Cook's Illustrated New Best Recipe cook book, but I had to tweak it a little because the recipe called for vodka, as do most fruit ice creams. The alcohol keeps the fruit from getting icy. Well, no vodka here, so I had to figure out a different way to keep the berries from freezing. I used corn syrup and butterscotch syrup. The berries didn't freeze, but because I was playing as I went, and keeping two boys from tearing the house apart, I didn't cut back on the sugar. As I'm sure you can imagine, the ice cream was on the sweet side. Despite that, I think we had a successful try, and Owen, Noah and I gobbled it up last night while watching Pinocchio. We are all looking forward to Aaron's return this weekend although we are still having fun.

Flowers

2009-03-18T09:05:00.002-08:00

Is there anything better than flowers from my 3 year old every day? I don't know if there is. He searches all around our yard for flowers (weeds:)) and brings them to me every day, just to say I'm pretty and he loves me. Those are the comments I usually get along with the flowers. What a special boy. I lament the fact that I always have weeds around my house, no matter how often I pick them, but then I remember the flowers I get from those weeds, and I don't mind so much anymore.

Temples

2009-03-17T09:00:00.003-08:00

I just saw this, and I think it is great that my church is trying to give some explanation for our temples. I really enjoyed this, and hope you will too. You can view it at this site. Here are pictures of the boys.

I hope you notice the one mitten on Owen's hand, he dressed himself entirely. What a funny guy.

My Boys

2009-03-04T12:08:00.002-08:00

Here's what I walked in on today.

I love that the boys were playing so well together and sharing, and I love that Owen has such a funny way about him. I just love being a Mom :)

Moving!

2009-03-02T15:22:00.003-08:00

Well, as some of you know, Aaron and I are moving again. We are going up to Canada this summer, and we'll be there for a long time, at least three years, but probably longer. Aaron will be heading up a research and development department, and he's really excited about it, and we are happy to be having a new adventure, and getting ourselves our first home. We have to be up there by July 1st, so we'll be moving the end of June. Wish us luck! We'll be moving to Ontario, a little south of Port Huron right on Lake St Clair.
The town is called Wallaceburg, and the closest city you can see on this map is Chatham.

My Weirdness

2009-02-27T09:19:00.004-08:00

I've always been a little weird. I know this, and am quite comfortable with that fact. Those of you who know me well, also know this. Anyway, this is going to be one of my weird moments. I have to rant about cooking today. I have serious issues with using pre-mixed spices and packaged goods. Not for health reasons, which is why lots of people don't use processed foods, but because I hated not being able to get those things in Mexico, and (here comes the weird part) if for some reason our society goes into a decline and we have to produce all our own food, I don't want to be dependent on processed foods. So, I'm ranting about this because I am always looking at food blogs for more recipe ideas, and I'll see a great-sounding recipe, click on it and start reading, then see that it contains processed foods. I feel so let down! So frustrating. Yes, I know, weird. I have this fear that someday I won't be able to find chocolate. Then I'll be in trouble. I want to learn how to make cheese also. I was deeply scarred in Mexico, I'm sure you can all tell :) Just kidding. Anyway, am I the only one out there who feels like this? I probably am, and I'm okay with that. But anyone who reads this, like 5 people, please help me out by helping me find out how to make my own goods. (Flour, sugar, cheese, chocolate, soap, the list goes on, but I'm determined to know how to make my own) Also, help me out by finding me an early intervention program, before I go clinical :) I'm done with the weirdness now. Here are some recent cute pictures.

Here is a fort Owen and Daddy made, Owen was so proud of it, but he wasn't able to contain his excitement enough, and the fort didn't last much longer than this picture.

Owen loves to go in and wake Noah up when it is time, and although I always warn him to be quiet, he is so excited to see his brother that he gets rambunctious and scares Noah. They are so fun.

FOOD

2009-02-17T11:57:00.003-08:00

Well, I've been cooking a lot recently, since I got so many new cookbooks to play with. Last week we had some really good food, we had Thai red beef curry, (my personal favorite) beef goulash, which Owen loved, tandoori chicken with mango chutney and rice pilaf, so yummy, and Moroccan spiced leg of lamb. It's always so fun to try new things and have them turn out, and I'm really glad we can introduce Owen to different kinds of food. Owen wasn't a big fan of the Thai food :). Yesterday we tried a Chinese dish, sesame noodles with chicken, and Aaron loved that one. It was so easy, which I loved. Today we made some cupcakes, because Owen wanted some and I had buttermilk to use, and they were great. (Thanks Sonia for the cookbook!) Here are some pictures of the aftermath, Owen definitely went to town :)

There is cake all over Owen's legs here, if you make it bigger you can see it. He really enjoyed himself, and I'm so glad, since that's why I like cooking.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T07:50:00.003-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We did around here. Aaron and I went on a date Friday night (thanks Sean and Erin), we went to Outback with a gift certificate, and to the dollar theater afterwards. We had so much fun. Saturday we spent time with the boys and enjoyed time spent as a family. This year's love song is Amber by 311. Sorry I couldn't post it here, and I don't know how appropriate the video is, so maybe just listen without watching? :) I'd love to hear all your love songs this year, even if I am a day late.

A picture of Oma with Noah before we head out to the zoo.

Owen in his Batman pajamas with his Batman action figure. He's so fun :)