Life is constantly changing. I am very behind on blogging. But I just made a big ole list of my goals in life and one of them is to get this here blog updated. Eventually I want to print it into a book...a year at a time. I need money for that I think... :)

 Connor putting "gas" in his car!

 Mowing the lawn

 Connor milk!

 Show me your teeth!

 Sweet smiles

Yummy finger! I like to suck my thumb too!

So let me just highlight the goings on in our lives!

Connor LOVES to play outside and spring weather has treated us well. He can play outside for hours. One day I think he was out there from sun up to sun down with breaks to eat and take his nap. He goes out there before he even has his jammies changed into his clothes. He "mows the lawn" with the $1 lawnmower I bought him at a yard sale last year. He picks flowers and stuffs them in his pocket. He drives his car around as well as his bike. He climbs the stairs on the side of the house to his little playhouse and makes "food" which is really sand from his sandbox. His vocabulary has increased exponentially. He talks in complete sentences, and can communicate almost perfectly with us. He sings all the time, to himself and for us. He knows the words to a lot of primary songs, like Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" and "Whenever I hear the song of a bird"...he is a beautiful singer! I hope he gets some musical talent :-) He is hitting that phase where the things he says and does make us laugh so hard! His phrase that is most common is "Oh my heck!" which signifies his Utah upbringing....oh boy.  He knows it's funny so he says it more! He was a crack up on our cruise with all his "oh my hecks"!

Parker is at one of my favorite ages. 6 months old is SO fun! He sleeps better (mostly) he eats solids which means a little less nursing and more flexibility for me. And he is starting to babble! We love hearing his "bababa" and "dadadada". It's so fun! He smiles and giggles and is SO easy going. He has piercing blue eyes that people can't help but comment on when they see him. He's just a beautiful happy fun baby! So far he likes sweet potatoes, pears and apples. He doesn't love bananas too much, and he HATES carrots. Squash he can do..but it's not his fave. I think it's so funny how babies have preferences so young. He also hates taking medicine. He turns his head away and refuses to open his mouth! Connor used to love ANYTHING you gave him and still does! :-)  Parker spends his days taking frequent naps, eating, pooping, playing outside in his bouncer while his brother plays, laying on his play mat and talking to his dangling toys, being held and cuddled by all 8 members of the family and snuggling with his mommy. He is a darling boy and I am so happy to have him! I don't want him to get teeth...his gummer smile is my favorite!

They boys are best friends and are interacting with each other more and more. They make each other so happy and they are both fascinated with one another.  They can spend long periods of time cuddling with each other and talking to each other. It melts my heart!

Benjamin is taking a big turn in his life and pursuing some different avenues. He has an amazing talent and has been taking advantage of it for many years due to some bad experiences in the past. But he has slowly realized how happy it makes him and the denial is slowly melting away. I am rooting him on and hoping he keeps it up. He is taking voice lessons from Brodie Perry and I think he will be able to get Ben's voice where he wants it. If so, Ben may have his name in lights someday! I know he could make it big and his voice is at a stage where he could really be successful. He wants to sing in Operas and I think he would be incredible. Watching him perform makes me get chills and sometimes makes me cry, and in certain settings makes me giddy! He's just TALENTED!!!

I am still doing photography and getting more into it each day. It's not my #1 passion...my kids definitely are.  I love having something to do for myself and it helps make money for my family but I am careful not to get too obsessed and consumed with it. Funny how when I when I had a job before kids all I wanted to do was stay home and take care of a family. And I'm thrilled to be doing that, but I realize I still need to pursue my goals and interests and be a better me so I can help them be better people! It's a hard balance to achieve. As I type this post Connor is "raking" the lawn and I know I could be paying a little more attention to him but I never have time to post! And thank goodness he knows how to occupy himself. Sometimes that leads to mischief however....

I'm grateful for my career because it means I take more pictures of my own kids...for practice and because I love doing it. I find myself taking way too many and have to delete a lot of the dumb ones, which is hard because every single picture is so sweet to me!

Well there's the update and I'll work on getting caught up!

Lemonade!

Here are some fun photos of the boys I took for my mom's birthday present. I want to redo them now that I have a better camera, I was pretty irritated with the whole process...Connor was naughty as heck! He was throwing lemons at me, running down the street and being a full on 2 year old. But I guess after all is said and done they turned out ok! I have such adorable sons!

We have been staying busy lately, and Connor's vocabulary continues to grow. He talks so well now and forms more clear sentences. We understand him 400% better! We can tell him to tell someone something and he'll pass the message along. It's so fun! It makes me sad to see his baby self wearing off more and more everyday, but I have really enjoyed watching him learn!

Parker is in one of the CUTEST phases that I love the most! He is 6 months old and I wish I could freeze him in time! He is snuggly, happy, giggly, and I love watching him grab at things in what looks like slow motion. He is totally in awe of his big brother and loves watching him do EVERYTHING. They are best friends already and Connor snuggles him and kisses him all the time. They laugh at each other and it warms my heart to see their strong bond they already have! I hope it lasts forever.

We moved..have I blogged that? We moved around the corner...still living with my parents but the house we are in now is much bigger and more comfortable for us. We are able to be downstairs all together now, instead of spread here and there in the other house. Connor's room is super cute and fun and has a slide in it. Parker sleeps in the storage room down the hall...which he LOVES. It's dark and cozy and the hum of the freezer in there keeps him to sleep :) We have a nice big room and our own bathroom and I think our living quarters are actually bigger than our townhouse in Cedar was...we just don't have our own kitchen. Which is ok with me...less dishes! :) I have been having fun making dinner calendars and planning our meals a month at a time. Everyone loved looking at the calendar to see what we would be having for dinner that day. It's kept us from eating out too. I have been able to cook up a whole range of delicious meals!

Ben is working at Deseret Book still and it keeps him sane. He mostly works evenings so we have all day together which is fun. He is still applying for jobs right and left but nothing is happening yet. It's harder than I can say to keep trudging along but we are finding ways to stay afloat. Thank goodness for family that helps us!

We love our kids, our home, and are so thankful for the things we DO have in our lives! Happy Spring to everyone!

PIcture Upload!

Looking through the blog I realize how NOT updated I am on photos of Parker...I still take a ton of Connor because he is more mobile..but I DO get some of Parker and I need to post! These are from January!

California 2012!

We went to California last month and I finally organized my photos on my memory card! Which means I'll be doing some back up posting too...I don't even think I posted pics from our family Christmas party yet! Anyway...here are pics from our adventures!

Connor played with Grandma Tyrrel. They picked oranges off the tree and then made a home made bird feeder out of a pine cone, peanut butter and bird feed! Grandma showed him how to eat oranges by sucking on each slice and having an orange smile! Connor has eaten them that way ever since.

The fruit trees in the backyard. I have always been in love with these trees, and the fruit from them is by far the BEST you will ever taste. I think we brought home nine big bags of oranges! They have lemons and pomegranates in addition to the 8 or so orange trees! Connor had so much fun exploring the backyard and picking oranges. It was a little boy's paradise.

Connor hasn't seen his great aunt Jaelene since he was 8 months old! He saw grandma Pat at graduation but was so happy to see her again too! Parker got to meet lots of family as well! Everyone loved seeing our two fun boys! Grandma Pat got nervous with Connor on the trampoline and offered many times to babysit for us so we could go on vacation :) If only we had somewhere to go and money to get there!

We got to meet some new family members as well! I had never met Ben's uncle Alward, and I did so for the first time! They had brought Breanna back from Arizona so they stayed with the Tyrrel's for a couple nights as well. Alward, his girlfriend and her son all stayed so we had a full house! It was fun visiting and it was interesting to meet one of Ben's uncles because I got a glimpse into what he may look like in 20 years! Ha ha...

Grandma Tyrrel had fun laying with Parker on the floor and showing Connor how to play piano. They loved spending time with her!

Beautiful sunset and Connor picking oranges

Our rental van. They overly upgraded us because they didn't have the car we reserved so we got to ride in luxury! It was so fun! It had all the bells and whistles and there were still tricks we discovered at the end of the trip! We could have plugged our phones into the outlet in the backseat..or even hooked up our Wii haha. Connor had fun riding in there, watching movies and then going for rides in California.

It's scary how much he loves to DRIVE! He gets into every car he can! At one point when Ben was cleaning the van out for our return trip home I heard a little voice. I went in to the house and they all said Connor had gone outside. I couldn't see him anywhere but after looking again I saw him sitting in Grandma Tyrrel's car just playing and getting into her gum! Such a stinker!

So that's our trip in a nutshell! I did't get any pics at the Balboa Bay Beach club where Ben and I had brunch but it was beautiful! :)

The simple life

Life has been interesting lately. I have learned a lot of lessons and have felt the crunch of trials hitting me hard. I have been humbled time and time again and really started to feel like a "grown up". Which is hard to do when you live with your parents again and fight with your teenage sisters. It's hard to feel like a big kid. But I am, because I get to deal with big kid things. I am a mother of two wonderful but sometimes impossible little boys! I love it- and I don't like it at the same time.

Let me start with Tennessee. Ben almost got a job there. Almost has become one of our most frequented words. We "almost" have gotten a lot of jobs. But this one was better than the others because I actually wanted to live there. It was a cute town about an hour away from Nashville- called Sewanee. I was excited to live in a part of the country where we'd never even visited. Well it didn't happen. They hired someone not even close to what they were looking for. When that happens we just KNOW it wasn't meant to be. The Lord doesn't want us in Tennessee. So....what now?

So we decided let's just do things on our own. Ben will start consulting and freelancing for non profit organizations, and I am doing more with my photography business. I have booked one wedding so far, and have been doing more family shoots. I am loving it, but still have my days where I wonder....do I really want to have to work while I have these two babies? I mean yes it's part time and very fun- but my kids are so much work and I hate leaving them sometimes. It is a burden to have to leave my little two year old and 4 month old- even if it's with my mom. But I have really pushed myself to progress and I love it a lot. So I'm doing it- just not full time yet. It's VERY part time.

The next thing is-- we went to California a week or so ago. We haven't been down there since Connor was 8 months old..so a year and a half. He LOVED the visit. And so did I! It was relaxing and fun. Connor played with grandma Tyrrel and made a bird feeder out of a pine cone, picked fresh oranges off the tree and had LOTS of space to run around and nobody to annoy! Ben's sister Breanna was only there for the last 2 days so it was just Connor and his grandparents. He had a lot of fun...and we got to have a little afternoon off. Sunday just happened to be the annual Opera Pacific reunion luncheon. The old Chairman of the Board still puts on an annual lunch for all old employees of the opera to come and see each other and reminisce. We've never been able to go- and weren't planning on it- but happened to be down that weekend. So we left both boys with grandma and drove down. Driving around in our old neighborhood made me SO sad. We really had such fun times down there. Our newlywed months were SO fun. Going to Disneyland, working full time and having money to burn, the beach not far away....oh man. I was missing it badly. Then we drove down to the club where the luncheon was. It was called the Balboa Bay Beach club. It was- in a word- FANCY. Like the cheapest thing on the menu was $28- and that was for eggs Benedict. Thankfully we didn't have to pay- it was all covered by Mr. Musco. At first I was almost giddy--excited to be in this atmosphere again. Rubbing elbows with the wealthy high to do people. It was so fun! Everything was so nice- the flowers were real, the drinks were fancy....it was awesome.

By the end of the three hour lunch I was over it. I had sat across from Mrs. Musco and heard her talk about her grandkids, her life--issues that the rich society face. It was exhausting feeling like I had to hang on her every word- because she is rich and was paying for this meal. It reminded me how I actually HATE this lifestyle. Then to my left was Mary- OP's old secretary. She is so SO sweet and very talkative when you get her going. Her life was so REAL. She takes care of grandkids because of wayward children. She is helping out with a grandson who has autism and goes on walks for autism. She rambled for like 15 minutes and I wasn't anxious for her to stop- I was enjoying hearing her talk- over hearing the rich lady talk. It made me realize how much I've changed. But maybe I was always like this.

Having a family has made me appreciate simplicity. Everyone was proud of their jobs and accomplishments. I was proud to say that I have had 2 kids since the opera closed. They were amazed that we had two! We haven't had work in 3 1/2 years. That's a long time....a very long time. But life is so simple. We have hardly any extra expenses. We don't have i-phones, i-pads, or anything very new. We have nice things don't get me wrong...but we live a very simple life. I love it. I love my trials- they have truly made me stronger!!!

Life is really hard right now. I find myself feeling discouraged more than encouraged lately. I have a hard time doing the mundane things- but they somehow get done. People said being a mom was hard but I had no idea HOW hard. It's rough!!! But then I think of others...like my best friend Lauren who has tried for years to have a baby and it just isn't happening. And I hurt for her, and it makes me appreciate these mommy days where I literally pull my hair out. Love you La...and you can take my kids for a week whenever you want! :)

I was walking yesterday and saw my Honda parked in the driveway...and at first thought "I can't wait til we have enough money to buy a minivan.." then I realized people make do with MUCH less and far worse. We have two functioning vehicles...we don't need anything more right now. It made me realize how easy it is to be waiting for the next step in life instead of enjoying the phases we are currently in.

Lots of life lessons at the Tyrrel household...more than I can even post! I have so many pics to post of what's been going on. I feel so behind...I just need to get them uploaded! SO the next post will be all pictures!

We are alive!

I can't believe it's been so long. I'm overwhelmed by what I need to post to be caught up- but I'll use this few minutes of free time I have to post that our lives are good. Ben interviewed for a job in Tennessee last week and it went very well! We will hear the official word in a week...so a long wait but hey we're used to that. He loved it there and we both really hope this one works out. Cross your fingers and say your prayers!

The boys are both doing great. They both went to the doctor last week. Parker weighs 12 pounds and Connor weighs 31 pounds! They are both healthy and strong and doing GREAT! I am so proud of my sweet boys. Connor is talking so much more and has real conversations with me which is really entertaining and fun. He is in love with his Curious George toy which his dad gave him when he was born. He calls it "Gorge" like pronounced like the gorge you drive through to get to Nevada...ha ha. We love him and he is SO funny to us!

Parker is 3 months old now! Man time flies..and goes even faster when it's your second baby! Time went slow with Connor but it seems I can't keep up with life with this second baby! I don't know what I'll do when I don't have the help I have now- but I think I'm pretty well adjusted to what it's like to be a mom of two. They keep me on my toes but I do have time to myself at least a little bit each day! Parker is rolling from tummy to back but not back to tummy yet. Which is nice cuz we can still let him lay on the coffee table on his blankets and toy thing. He is almost giggling, trying so hard to get one out! He smiles A LOT and has the cutest little squint when he smiles. He coos and is for the most part a very happy pleasant baby. He screams VERY loud and has way more volume than Connor ever did! He really isn't a fan of the car and cries mostly when we have to go shopping. But he's a good eater which I am very happy about!

My boys love each other, and it always calms Parker down when Connor comes and gives him a hug and says "A-boooo!!!" to him which is what he sees mommy do. Parker also loves watching Connor play and it is the sweetest thing to see him watching so intently. Connor is a mimic and copies EVERYTHING we say and do. Recently he says "uh up" which is "shut up". We say this to the dogs when they bark...and he picked up on it. My sisters have him saying some other interesting things- but so far no swear words which is great. It's hilarious to hear him copy our every word as we drive in the car or whatever.

So here are a few recent pictures of our litte family! We are staying busy and loving life...one day at a time!

"Ah done"...ok Connor just leave him there. It's fine.

My sweet boys

Poor bubba likes to scratch himself...

Parker has found his hands recently and LOVES to eat them! :)

Family picture

My baby and me! (check out ny hand in regard to story below)

Sweet boy with grandpa.

Looking at his toys

Some days this is all we see of Parker...the cry face. :) Hey we ALL have bad days yeah?

Connor and "Gorge"

Also a funny side story so I never forget...I lost my storage unit keys in my console of my honda. They kept falling further down there...since there is a little hole stuff falls into. Well long story short- my dad was pulling stuff apart and couldn't see them so he was giving up. I stuck my hand in a little hole in the back of the console...and it got STUCK. VERY STUCK. Like anxiety attack because we're going to have to call the fire dept. stuck. I freaked. We said a prayer- my dad said "Yeah I'll say a prayer after I stop laughing"...because it was funny at first. Then sad. Then scary! So in the end no matter what my dad did to get my hand out it made it tighter. So I had to scream my lungs out and just PULL. Well my hand was a hot mess. I should have taken a picture. (I actually just noticed a picture of Parker and me above shows a little of what it looked like) It had a huge goose egg on my wrist, and deep scratches and gouges all over my hand. I think I had an anxiety attack because I couldn't get a grip to save my life. It was sad. I cried three different times last week--thank you stress and hormones. But thank you hand for not having to be amputated! :-)

Ok...THE END.