Snow?

 Please don't tell the landlords that the kids also 'skate' all over this house.  By skating we are really talking about doing a lot of falling while wearing skates. Our garage is a perfect rink but until the skills catch up with the enthusiasm cement flooring is prohibited. 

Playing it cool

I don't see her nearly as much but Katie and I will always be tight.

Family Prayer

 Snow!!  After we had 70 degree weather at the beginning of the month we are now enjoying snow.  I know that it doesn't even show up in photos.  The Utah girl in me wants to laugh but the Oregonian adores the few flakes.

Love is in the Air

 We celebrated Valentine's Day all month by eating tons of treats.  I thought I was getting better at limiting sugar but I really let loose this year. 
I couldn't help myself when I saw these tiny pies at Walmart for 50 cents. 

Delightful

 It's the small things in life, right?

I am trying to teach Rocky how to make all of her favorite foods so that she can cook them and I can snuggle in my bed reading.  My goal as a mom is to make myself useless.  So far she is doing great.  I love to see how smart she is and how quickly she picks up how to do things correctly.

 Galentine's Day.  It's not a real holiday but just a really fun excuse to eat waffles and enjoy being with your best gals.

 The girls got the table all set for our Valentine dinner.   Ike was too busy raiding their cards to sit down and eat. 

I sure love this man.

For our Young Women activity we did cake decorating.  It might have been my favorite activity ever.  I still don't have any skills, but I am pretty stoked about doing more practicing. 

I Heart Bandon

 Every year the Relief Society in our ward takes a trip to Bandon, Oregon.  I love this trip.  I love the break from my routine, the ocean, the shopping and the time with friends. 

Hammock Time

I have been training for a long race which makes for some pretty lengthy Saturday morning runs up and down trails.  I enjoy being out there, and then perhaps even more, I enjoy hanging out in the hammock alone, or with company.

 Some people have nostalgic feelings for their grandma's apple pie, but for me, I realized that I feel connected to the past when I eat a Whopper. This was the first time my kids have ever been to Burger King.  I am going to take them there more often I think, in the interest of sharing my culture with the younger generation.

 The weather has been so beautiful.  There were days in February that Rocky wore shorts to school because it was so warm. 
Ike is either an Oregon kid or a Twilight Vampire because he starts to melt at the sight of the sun.

Sunday Night Casual

 Ike watches This is Us with me and we bawl every single time.  And by that I mean that I cry and he plays with his Legos.

Photo Bomb

Queen of the Swing

 All the running I have been doing lately keeps me busy, and sore.  It also gives me a chance to spend a little time every day enjoying this gorgeous town.  I don't know if I will ever love the actual race day but I sure love the preparations.  Ike is a good sport most of the time and I have had hours of meaningful conversation with incredible women as we have tracked miles and miles of steps.

Mystery Art

 The girls have gotten into the habit of each packing a purse to church.  I didn't realize how much they were hauling around with them until one time Rocky was cutting her toenails in Sacrament Meeting and we had to have a talk about appropriate behavior.  It was kind of reassuring though that if I ever need some nail clippers while I am out and about that she is prepared.  One Sunday morning when they were packing their bags Ike filled his Spiderman mask with toys.  It only seemed right that he ought to have his own bag.

Quick, take a pic before they start fighting!

 On yet another trip to WinCo I made some pretty serious promises to Ike.  I told him that if he could hold it together, even though he hadn't really had any breakfast, that he could get a sugar cookie in the bakery.  It was a struggle, but I could see that he was really trying.  We made it all the way through the store and then, faced the inevitable, no sample cookies. I had no choice.  We had to buy the family pack.
I don't know if this will make my bribing powers stronger, or weaker.  Pray for the former.

 Just about every wall in our place has drawings all over it.  And yes, Ike does ride his tricycle through the house.  The bike helmet is his idea, I don't require it.
It took me almost 3 hours just to clean the walls in his room.

 It is a little hard to see but this desk has a drawing of a little person standing on a hill.  The hill is clearly Ike's work.  It is consistent with his style, but the little person is a mystery.  Who did this?  It doesn't look like the drawings of my other kids.  I wondered if it was an adult...and I think it would be hilarious if it was but so far nobody has confessed. I can't bring myself to magic eraser it just in case it turns out to be worth millions someday.

 While I was out running on Groundhog Day Brandon was at home making chocolate crepes with peeking groundhogs.  I always want to take photos of him while he is cooking.  He looks so cute when he is focused like that.

 We spent the day hanging out at the park since it felt like summer, and then stopped in at our favorite Great Harvest to visit Jess who runs the place.  We never get sick of eating bread and cookies with Sailor and Ruby.

A Little Rant and a Couple of Lovely Moments

 The trampoline park Get Air has toddler time in the mornings and preschool kids can jump to their hearts' content without having to fight it out with bigger kids.  That's the theory anyway.  Ike just thinks it is free reign to jump on other kids.  We made the mistake of showing up when a 'Mom's group' had overtaken the place.  I mean, I get it, mom's need friends.  The reason I'm not interested in these groups is probably because I've outgrown them.  I admit that in my early days of motherhood with Rocky I loved to sit around and discuss the most minute detail of my child's progress, amount of teeth, color of her last bowel movement, what order to introduce fruits in the diet, blah blah blah.  Now when I have a chance to speak to another adult woman I want to talk about EVERYTHING, except anything that has to do with children.  I will talk politics, religion, philosophy, TV, podcasts, movies, books, diet, exercise, you name it, as long as it isn't potty training, and picky eaters.  I'm just over it guys.  I don't love my little Ikester any less than the others, but I have learned that an adult conversation is a treasure not to be squandered.
So anyhow, I was there at the place with my soul sister Nicole, and we were delving into the depths of the #metoo movement, some really great conversation, and I see Ike body slam a tiny curly haired blonde in the foam pit.  She was fine.  Totally fine.  I don't know if she would have even noticed if her mother hadn't flipped out.  Luckily this is Eugene so she took her 4-year-old kid over into the corner to breastfeed and she sat with her group all of them glaring in my direction.  I ignored them all and went on detailing the article I read about Aziz Ansari.
Later on the curly blonde knocked Ike's foam tower over and I didn't even bat an eyelash.
I am sharing this story because clearly I am a superior parent than the others there.
NOT.
I am sharing this story because I am tired of mom shaming.  I mean, even as I write I am doing it myself.  I make fun of helicopter parents at the same time that they are judging me for being more than 10 feet away from Ike.
I am going to try to relax a little on my judging and I hope that the next time my kid tries a semi-professional wrestling move on yours, maybe just give him a pass because whether it is true or not his mom thinks she knows what she is doing.
Also, Ike had a blast.  Also, he is trying to learn how to wink.  It isn't going that well, but it sure is fun to watch.

We headed out to the coast for some nature therapy.
I know I have a lot of good things to be grateful for, but sometimes I just get into a dark place emotionally.  Sometimes I feel like there is an actual weight on my chest.  There is nothing that can pull me out of gloom faster than being outside in a gorgeous place.  No matter how much my kids are driving me nuts, once they are in a lovely setting they become absolutely adorable.
When I stand next to the ocean I can feel the weight of my concerns lifting.
I am not sure how many more times I will get the chance to stand on this Oregon coastline but I sure have loved it.

 Devil's Churn

 Hobbit Beach

 We missed the Women's March while we were there, so the Riglettes had our own.  Ike wouldn't wear his shirt. I am hoping it was because he doesn't like tank tops, not that he is making a political statement. It was too cold to go without the jackets for long so this was about the extent of our rally.

 Have you ever been to a Walmart Market at 8 on a Saturday night?  I have. It is sad.  Super sad.  I mean, I think a regular Walmart might be sort of fun, especially if you were there with some friends, and especially if you are in Utah where everyone is stocking up for Sunday.  But this place, in Eugene, is just a big bummer.  Brandon texted to ask how it was going and this was my response. Also, these photos are making me realize that I spend 90% of my time looking like I just rolled out of bed.  Another reason I love you, Eugene. This is my hot Saturday night on the town look.

 Where is Ike?  You'll never find him now that he owns this camouflage coat.  He won't take it off.  I tried to tell him that it only works when you are in the trees but he is convinced it makes him invisible.

 The Leonards have become like family to us and we went to Zack's basketball game.  It was a perfectly lovely time.  The kids were delighted.  We got to sit with lots of friends and Heather got popcorn for everyone.  Zack played amazing and was super sweet to wave to the girls. I know that a high school basketball game isn't really that big of a deal, but this one was.  The planets aligned to make it a sweet and special moment for our family.