...the land that I love...

Okay, it may get old hearing this, but I LOVE the Summer... no schedules, hot weather- which equals the beach and pool. Anywho- as we are getting ready for the Fourth of July, I was thinking back to one of my most favorite ones. It was when we were living in Virginia for the summer. Mattix was 2 and a half months old, Keia had just turned two- Me and my sister Amy took the train to Washington DC and spent the holiday there. We checked in a hotel and watched the fireworks from our country's capital. It was so much fun and I Loved going around seeing the different sites. I am very proud to be an American and feel very blessed to be a free woman who is able to fulfill any dream that I can imagine in this country.

Happy Fourth everybody!! Big shout out to the Troops who have left their families to defend our freedom- we love you!
(Now picture fireworks going off since I just finished my big speech=)

Kindergarten Rocks

It is official- Keia has graduated Kindergarten. They had a really cute ceremony and sang the cutest song, "Kindergarten Rocks". I was really happy with her school and teacher- they were awesome! I am looking forward to my favorite time of year: SUMMER! Going to the beach, the pool, sleepovers at Gran's, and visits to Vegas.

Anywho- We are proud of you Keia!

***Little story- so while all the families were waiting for the kids to come out and go on the stage, and little boy was walking right by the food table and threw up everywhere- it was some chunks mixed with a ton of liquid. We were waiting for the janitor to clean it up, but a girl from outside was running in, Matt actually tried telling her to stop- but it was too late- she slipped and fell hard right in the throw up... disgusting!!!! Kind of funny, but not appropriate to laugh =)

I love Kalli's fake smile here... one proud Daddy!

Teething Camp

I was wondering if anyone worked at a teething camp? It is a place where you take your cranky child, where they are held as much as they want, the workers are patient and find it "adorable" when the babies throw themselves on the floor for a tantrum. They have immense patience for the baby who doesn't want to be held or put down, it is a fun game for the workers! The amazing workers get up as many times as possible through the night to comfort and soothe the screaming baby... anywho- if any of you know of a good teething camp, let me know. Kalli will be sent ASAP- now finally getting her other top front tooth, she will fit right in!

The Chinese Bamboo Tree

As many of you know, our move here to San Diego has been a financial challenge, it can be very stressful at times. Matt and I were reading about the Chinese Bamboo Tree and it helped put everything into perspective:

"After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for FOUR years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the FIFTH year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!" Stephen Covey- 7 Habits for Highly Effective Families

Right now we are working underground and it gets frustrating because you don't always see the fruit of your labors, however I know once we get through the "growth" stage, the results will be amazing. Just remember: if you are going through a life change and it is for the positive, just keep working your roots, and when your foundation is strong, then you will see the results and you will be unstoppable.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde

My son reminds me of this man lately. Without going into to much detail here is an example that happened this week: We were just getting home from Target and Mattix offered to carry up one of the bags seeing that my hands were full holding Kalli and some other things. So thoughtful right... so I tell him yes, that would be really helpful thinking to myself that I have the sweetest little boy. We get about halfway up the stairs and he starts "the whine". The bag is all of a sudden too heavy, so I say he is strong like batman and can do it- the next thing I know he is screaming and throwing my Target bag up and down hard against the floor, eventually throwing it on the floor and walking away.... ummm, what just happened.
The reason for this post is that I was reading in "Love Languages for Kids" and it has a whole chapter on Anger. It said many of today's problems and dysfunctional relationships would be diminished had people been taught while they were young how to manage their anger. To feel angry is unavoidable, it is how we handle our anger that is the key.

The book states: " How your child learns to handle anger will largely influence the development of his personal integrity, one of the most important aspects of character. Train your child to manage anger appropriately and he will then be able to develop good character and strong integrity."
We did a whole Family Home Evening on Anger. I checked out a book from the library to read to the kids and we talked about the appropriate ways to handle our anger.

Let's just say after Mattix's tantrum I taught him the wrong way to handle his anger from my example! At least we are aware and will be working on it so we don't see as much Mr. Hyde around the Huffman House.

Happy Birthday Buddy

Keia had just turned 4 when we moved into our apartment here, and now Mattix is four!!! I freaking love this kid! He is the perfect middle child, he lets Keia get her way 90% of the time, and he is always helping me with Kalli- he is literally the only person who can get her to laugh really hard. Here are the top four things I love about this rascal:

1-He is extremely sensitive, but with that he is super sweet. He will randomly tell me or Keia that we are pretty, or just out of the blue tell me he loves me. He lets me know when the flowers are growing by our door... I know I should expect more toughness from our only boy, but it is too cute! (I guess I should add that he thinks "tooting" on his sisters is funny, constantly poking or pushing Keia is funny, and pretending to pee on someone is funny... that makes him a boy, right?)

2- He can be really easy going- he is not demanding at all for my attention, sometimes our days are based around Keia's schedule, but he never complains. I would take him grocery shopping with me any time- the girls, not soo much.

3-He is ALWAYS the first to tell us to pray, and he gives the BEST prayers of anyone in our family!!

4-He is really smart, he has learned a lot from watching Keia, but holds his own.

We love you sweet boy, even when you test my patience, I am so glad you are in our family.

Opening presents with my fam.
One
Two
Three
Four- at his Monster party with his Joy school friends.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

I could pretty much write one word for Kalli... Happy. First of all, I really can't believe it was a year ago that she joined our family, she has been a dream baby. I don't know if it is me really cherishing every age with her, or if it is her easy going, funny personality. Without over doing it, let me just sum up my thoughts on Kalli in ONE thought (since she just turned one):

You know when you have moments when it seems like everything has gone quiet and Heavenly Father is showing you a moment of how great your life is... Kalli gives me those moments often.

I love you sweet baby.
Kalli's first time having ice cream, and being a girl, it won't be her last!

Earth Day

I love Earth Day because I am a wanna-be environmentalist... each year I get a little better and trying to do our part. I love this day especially because it is Kalli's birthday. She is our Earth Baby- so starting with her first birthday we are going to make a donation in her name. This year for Earth Day, I am pledging to you all that I am not going to use one paper towel on Friday. This is my biggest weakness- I use way too many paper towels! Just want to give a shout out to the Earth and hope we can all make one small difference to do our part.

I love to see the Temple...

We went to the temple last weekend to walk around, and Keia wanted to be our photographer, so all the next pictures are taken by Miss Keia. It was nice to walk around as a family and tell our kids about when we were married there. We saw two brides getting their pictures taken, it brought back some good memories for me and Matt. Except when I kept bringing up things about our wedding day, Matt kept saying he didn't remember it happening... finally he said- I was a robot that day, that I remember! So romantic.....


This next picture obviously Keia didn't take, some elderly lady took it for us and was still looking through the tiny peep hole to take it- you've got to love digital these days ;)















Me and the Robot lived Happily Ever After... (pic taken by Mattix)

That was fun...

Okay so we have had some serious FUN lately... it started with last last weekend with the Featherstones- we went up to the snow- I had a great time, the best part is hanging out with our good friends and getting spoiled by them. Then this past week we started our Spring Break by going to the beach on a beautiful San Diego day, then the next day Matt's mom came out and we took the kids to Legoland for their birthdays and had such a fun day- the weather was beautiful again! On Saturday the kids ran in their first official race- the Junior Carlsbad race. They did awesome! Anywho- I hope the fun keeps rolling in this next week while the kids are off of school. Here are some pics for you to all enjoy =) You can obviously tell the ones Sara took compared to mine- the girl's got talent.


Don't be fooled by this picture- Matt didn't have as much fun as this picture shows, however I LOVE this picture of him- so hot.

Here is Kalli-bird at the beach- I know she wouldn't win a Gerber commercial, but I freaking love this happy girl!

Legoland- loves to have her face painted.

RACE DAY!!!


Mattix didn't want to run alone, how cute holding hands-right?
My little runners... so proud!

I have a six year old!?!

Okay, so today we had Keia's 6 year Dr's appt. It blows my mind that she is six- it sounds soo old. Anywho- the doctor is asking me questions about Keia, and it felt so good to know that she is healthy and excelling in all areas. I know no one cares about how my kid is doing and I don't want to come across as one of those braggy moms, but I am really proud of this girl and here are 6 of the latest things going on with Keia.

1. Keia has now started gymnastics and is a little obsessed. All she wanted for her birthday was leotards- so we went to having one- to six- thank you family. Her week is now based around the day she has gymnastics. It is the perfect sport for her- she is a perfectionist and has always been my monkey- so she is fearless and precise at it.
2. Keia is doing awesome in Kindergarten- I am so proud of her. She loves learning and currently wants to be a teacher.
3. Keia is a great big sister and loves to TEACH Mattix everything she knows (which to her is a lot), whether he wants to know the info or not.
4. Keia is very friendly- we make a friend everywhere we go.
5. Keia is really observant, especially when it comes to others feelings
6. I couldn't ask for a better oldest child- she is setting a great example so far for the others and I love how independent she is- it helps me to work on my control issues =)

I love you Keia, and you truly are special.

Keia winning some awards at school (blah blah blah)

Kind of dark I know, but Keia at gymnastics

Love you baby girl!

I Heart Japan

After watching the footage of the massive Tsunami that hit Japan, I was blown away by the force and power behind the water, to where it could wash away cars, homes, and entire cities! I then thought of a much stronger force and power, and that is prayer. We are praying for you, the beautiful people of Japan.