Worth the Wait!

Wow, I'm not even sure where to start! I have terribly neglected our blog! Moving back home proved to be more than we bargained for, and we've been so wrapped up in it I haven't hardly thought about blogging. I'll start at the beginning, and when I get to the end, I'll stop. :)

Well, our trip home was pretty much uneventful. Except for Tristan running off in the airport causing us to flip out for about 10 minutes, everything went well! The kids did great, despite our first flight being 11 hours. Our first week back is a big blur. We slept a lot and didn't get anything done. Justin had his big interview our first week. It was with a company that held the position open for a month so Justin could get there and interview for the position. They strung us along for 3 weeks after the interview, before telling us they were no longer needing to fill the position. The company only wanted to hire if they got a big account they were working for, which they didn't. It was a big let down. Though we knew it was foolish, we were really counting on it. 

Since then Justin has had 2 jobs. One of them didn't give him any hours, the second hired him for 4 days. After that they stopped answering their phone and have pretty much fallen off the face of the planet. Don't take a job you found on craigslist. Justin isn't getting paid for any of his work and they had him driving all over AZ for jobs. 

Justin is now working at UPS doing temporary work until we hear back from Honeywell or Tektronic. He interviewed for both of them and they have said they'll know by Friday who they are going to hire. We've waited 2 weeks so far and have our fingers crossed he got one of them. Either would be amazing, lifelong positions. It's doing exactly what he did in the army, so Justin is excited. He loves what he does.

The kids are doing amazing. I just love everyday with them. Landon is taking some steps and standing up on his own all the time. He'll be one at the end of this month! He is so sweet, by far my most cuddly baby. In the morning and before bedtime, you can find him cuddled up on my lap, head on my chest. It's the best. I feel so spoiled and loved by this little guy. He's getting some pictures done for his birthday soon, I can't wait. 

Tristan is 2 and he's not afraid to show it. He's climbing everything! We're known in church as the family who has to chase their son around during sacrament meeting. Haha He is talking A LOT. We're about the tackle potty training, so wish us luck. 

Tommy is so BIG! I can hardly believe he'll be 5 in a couple weeks! He is so independent and smart. He amazes me with the things he learns by himself. He asks me probably 100 questions per day, and I'm always impressed with how deeply he thinks. I'm so proud of him. He's also experiencing Tristan's terrible twos. He tells me in the morning before I've gotten up, "Mommy! Tristan is climbing the counters AGAIN! UGH! Why is he so NAUGHTY!" Haha! I love him so much! 

My little sister Susannah is living with us and it's a blast. I've never gotten to spend so much time with her and it's been so fun. She is hilarious. She has me cracking up all day long. It's weird that when we left Arizona 5 years ago, she was still a kid, and now she's an adult. That was the case with all my brothers and sisters. It was so weird. I guess when you leave the country, you expect everything at home to freeze and stay the same until you get back. :)

We are loving being back! Speaking English everywhere I go is not something I'll ever take for granted ever again. Though we'll admit, we miss Germany a little bit. :)

Bananas, snuggles and JUMPING!

Landon had his first taste of bananas and he went CRAZY! He loved it and ate almost the whole jar! Our other boys liked bananas too, but not that much! It was really cute. Justin had to hold his hands down to put a bite in his mouth otherwise he would frantically try and grab the spoon to put it in his mouth. He is so funny. He loves food! I'm so relieved he will eat anything. Tommy was a picky eater (and still is) and it's not the most fun thing in the world getting him to eat. Tristan and Landon don't discriminate. If it's food, they'll eat it! 

We brought the kids to Franky land on Saturday and they had a blast. We literally had to drag Tommy out of there when it was time to go. Franky land is pretty much like Jumping Jacks only probably a bit smaller. Adults aren't really allowed to jump on the trampolines, but luckily all the other parents were breaking the rules, so Justin and I did too. I mean, Tristan needed help! I couldn't just let him jump all on his own and get hurt, could I? :o)

Tristan was a bit of a tyrant. 

Tommy kept his eye on me.

Landon took a nap in Daddy's arms.

Tommy loves sitting in my lap. 

I love how Tristan photo bombed this one. LOL

How cute is this?

I love these boys. 

Everything rolled up into one!

 This post is going to be long and probably not in any rightful order, but I'm doing my best to finish before my littlest monkey wakes up from his nap.

I feel like so much has changed this past week. My cousin Jeff Fuller passed away, which I heard about Sunday morning. Though he has been struggling with cancer for about 6 months, it still caught me off guard and I'm feeling pretty depressed about it. It's not only because my cousin is no longer with us, but also for the pain I know his immediate family is feeling. I know what it feels like to lose someone close to you, and I just ache for them. Jeff was an amazing person and I am so blessed and thankful to have him as my cousin.

Though I know it's completely different, it brings me back to those first few months after the passing of my sister Tiffany. I feel peace that Tiffany and Jeff get to see each other now and prepare for us to one day join them. Families are forever and I am so deeply grateful for that knowledge and faith.

Justin and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary last Saturday. Has it really been 6 years?! I can hardly believe it. I don't know why, but I always seem to look back on my life and feel disbelief. Do I really have 3 kids?? Have I really been married 6 years?? I guess I never thought I would be lucky enough to have these things.

Our friends Derek and Miki offered to watch our kids FOR A FULL 24 HOURS as our anniversary gift. When they came and picked up the kids (who got spoiled rotten while they were gone lol) Justin and I were in awe. It was quiet! The tv WAS ACTUALLY TURNED OFF! There was no screaming, no begging for juice or snacks, no one needed a diaper change!
Pretty much unheard of around this house. LOL

 We decided to go shopping first. Justin got some much needed new clothes (it's a struggle every year. The man doesn't want clothes! Someone explain this to me. I don't understand it. lol) I got some new exercise clothes (I no longer have to workout at the gym in my old pregnancy yoga pants!) and I have running shoes!

Then we came home and dropped everything off and went downtown to shop around the Easter Market. We stopped in the candy shop and I embarrassed Justin by keeping my iPhone handy for pictures. I may have lived here almost 4 years, but I'm still a tourist. Plus how could I blog without pictures?? German chocolate is INCREDIBLE. This shop makes all their own chocolate and candies. I'm addicted to their gummy bears and chocolate truffles. Justin and I love their truffle made with pop rocks inside. I will never eat Hershey chocolate again. There is just no comparison.

Yeah, all these pictures are out of order so lets rewind a few days. I made two new ribbon wreaths. One for our friends who watched the monkey's for us, and one just because I love Halloween. They came out cute!

We also had to say goodbye to some good friends. It's part of the army life. We live like gypsies. It's a blessing and a curse. A few days before they flew out, we took the kids to the park to play. They have a 1 year old daughter Addy,  and a 4 year old son Cameron. Our kids love each other and always had such a good time playing.

We joke that Addy and Tristan will one day marry. Who knows, it could happen! And I've promised that if they do, little Addy can wear my wedding dress! I really hope that my future daughter in law has no issues wearing my wedding dress because I insist it must be worn again! (And it's a size 2, so fat chance I'll ever wear it again! No pun intended! LOL)

Tommy commandeered this wagon at the park. I have no idea where it came from. One minute the kids were playing on the slides, the next Tommy was pulling this wagon around the park, all while putting other random kids in it so he had someone to pull around. He somehow convinced this little girl to get in with him on some sort of spur of the moment date. lol


So, back to our anniversary. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, no jacket needed. It was so gorgeous, we walked around and window shopped for 4 hours. It was crowded, but we didn't mind. It was just nice exploring together without any time limit.

We stopped for some gelato, or eis as it's called here. My favorite is hazelnut. Europe really has the best desserts. That's definitely one thing we'll miss when we leave! Gelato here is about 1 billion times more delicious than any gelato you'll find in the states. Who do I have to bribe to get their secret before we leave? Maybe it's the fact that it's organic and made with real fruit and nuts? More than likely.

 I got super lucky and forgot to order my contacts in time, so I had the pleasure of wearing these super flattering glasses! (That was dripping with sarcasm, as you probably caught. lol) Also, the white shirt just loved to poof out and I suspect I looked pregnant. Lucky those pictures were taken with Justin's phone and he's at work so darn! I can't upload those! Haha It was too big. I can't seem to buy the right size. I think it's because of being pregnant and then losing so much weight, I have no idea what size I am anymore! Back in the day I used to buy stuff I never tried on because I knew it would fit. I look forward to that again. Either that or I'll have to continue to wrestle the monkeys into the dressing room with me. Yeah, it's about as fun as it sounds!

Justin looked so good in his new clothes. He hasn't worn shorts since probably high school, and he looked so good in them! I probably told him a million times how good he looked all day. (More compliments= wearing new clothes more often. That's my plan anyway.)

 We found the cutest little toy shop! We've probably seen it a million times before, but never went inside because it looked so tiny from outside. We usually have the kids with us and have a hard time getting a stroller into most German shops because they are so tiny and crowded. So we went in, and I was blown away by how big it actually was. It's nestled into a cute really old building. I think it was originally someone's home (probably at least 100 years ago, everything here is historical.) because the basement looked like it had been a cellar at one time. A lot of it looked homemade. German toys are almost always wooden. They had tons of fairy dolls, books, and poems. I wanted to scoop it all up and send it to my nieces!

 We walked up to the castle and enjoyed the sights from the rose garden. It was beautiful. In the spring and summer, the rose garden is in bloom and it smells amazing. Germany is such a beautiful country. It was quiet and peaceful and I could have laid my head on Justin's shoulder and fallen asleep.

We'll really miss living so close to such a beautiful castle. I never imagined I would live just 20 minutes away from a 1500 year old cathedral. To Europeans, it's totally normal. I don't know how long I would have to live here for me to feel the same!

We had dinner at The Franken Hotel. A lot of restaurants here are part of hotels. This one is definitely one of our favorites. Part of the restaurant is a cave. It was perfect. They gave us our own little nook, I loved it.

         

 We ended the night with a run and Jillian Micheals 30 day shred. Justin and I love working out together and never get a lot of chances to do it. We woke up the next morning and went on another run. It felt good, but my shins aren't agreeing with me. I have terrible shin splints and I don't know how to get them to heal. I've tried everything! I've lost a bit more weight. Almost to my goal!! It's slow going at this point, but I won't complain. I've learned to love exercise and I know I'm healthier and in better shape than I was when I was super tiny.

We were so happy to have the kids back home. It was a wonderful day, but after awhile we just missed them too much. Nothing like some time off to appreciate what you have. If I didn't have them to keep me busy, I have no idea what I would do with my time. I would be lost without them. Plus how could I live without that sweet little face!

I love you so much Justin. You make my life so much brighter. I've never felt so loved and appreciated than I do when I'm with you. I've composed a little list of things that I love about you.

1. You are a hands on Dad and you take care of the kids as much as I do.
2. You wake up with the kids every weekend without complaining.
3. You wake me up with about 10 kisses on my cheek before you leave for PT in the morning.
4. You put up with me. (Not as easy as you might think folks! LOL)
5. Accepting me as I am and never trying to change me.
6. Loving me so much you'll even kiss my feet. (That's true love ya'll!)
7. You gave me a card I made as my anniversary card, watched while I got annoyed, and then gave me my real card. :)
8. Making me laugh no matter the circumstances.
9. Making me feel beautiful, even at 40 weeks pregnant.
10. You continue to buy me flowers and plants even though you know I have a black thumb and they'll be dead within the week. You know I love them while they last.
11. You let me make my own decisions but step in and talk me out of things when I'm a true danger to myself. Haha
12. For religiously reading this blog. I love getting up in the morning and seeing it pulled up on the computer because you read it before work. You are the sweetest.
13. For being proud of me.

Never was there a better person for me. You love me and our children and provide for us. I couldn't ask for anything more! I love you honey!

I know, I'm super mushy. I blame motherhood. I don't think my hormones will ever recover. :)

-Brittney

The Adventures of Tommy

I'd like to start this post off by saying, SPRING  IF YOU DON'T GET HERE SOON WE'RE ALL GOING TO LOSE IT!!! Actually, this winter hasn't been too bad. I just can't stand wearing a coat anymore. And oh my gosh, how I miss my flip flops! I unpacked all our spring/summer gear and now I'm anxiously waiting to use it.

I spent the day with Tommy. I like to take one of the kids out by themselves so that we can get alone time together. Tommy chose to go on a bike ride to the gas station to pick out some candy. He chose a chocolate bar, ferrer roche (spelling?), and some yoohoo. Can't go wrong with those choices! He loved that people at the store asked him if he rode his bike all by himself. (The helmet and knee pads gave him away. lol)

He does  really well on his bike. He stops at crosswalks and waits for me to catch up if he's going too fast. It's a short ride to the gas station so it's perfect. The path we take comes to a fork and Tommy asked me "What path do we take?" He was excited because it just so happens, Dora the Explorer quite frequently has the same problem.

He tells me, "We need to watch out for banana peels!" This kid is literally obsessed with Mario Kart. Or anything Mario, really. It's so cute. I think we need to make his next birthday Mario themed. I've already begun planning. :) The best part? He'll have his family at his party for the first time, EVER. He's spent every birthday in Germany. So many exciting things coming up!

At the gas station (known as the shoppette here on post) we ran into a friend and she was bringing her cute dog Sadie to Engineer Lake to play. So of course, we gladly came along. I never turn down watching a dog run on a lake of ice! Hello! ICE! *

 To say Tommy had fun is an understatement. I don't know who was more tired out, Tommy or Sadie. Lets just say that Tommy is now passed out on the couch from exhaustion. Long day, but he had a good time.

I love the lake. It's so pretty, especially in the summer. They have fun things to do as you walk around the lake. Homemade xylophones and a place you can pump water from the lake up into a little pool contraption thingy. It's hard to explain. lol Next time I'll get a picture.

After the lake, I took Tommy and Tristan to the park to play. When we got home they took a bubble bath, had dinner, and passed out. A mother's dream. At the park the other parents there laughed about how much they look alike. There is no mistaking these two for anything but brothers. They are cute little buddies.

*Sadie didn't actually run on the ice like she did just earlier that day. What a ham.