Some things just don't change...:-)

Like father like son...On this particular Saturday morning, Evan is reading a research paper for school and Sam wanted to join in on the fun. Sam is turning out to be a lot like his dad. It's fun to see the similarities even at such a young age! :-)


Lauren is still cute...She ate rice cereal for the first time today. Even though she's smiling in this picture she didn't like it too much. We'll keep trying. :-)

Sam still is a picky eater...I was so excited yesterday because Sam ate EVERYTHING on his plate for lunch (see the above picture). I couldn't believe it. I really don't remember the last time he did that. However, he was back to his old antics for dinner (see the below picture). Hardly ate a thing on his plate. This is the part of motherhood I think I'm failing. Sam won't touch a vegetable and he's totally finicky...one day he likes cheese, the next day he doesn't. I seriously don't know what to do. Oh well...I'm trying to remember what my good friend Heather always says...Everything's a stage. I hope he grows out of this one soon!


Why is there ALWAYS a load of laundry to wash or put away?!?!?! Can't we ever just be DONE with it?!? Seriously...it makes me crazy!

to be washed...

to be put away...

Scrablle Glory

Tonight for our "date" Evan and I got some take-out (E-Arby's, J-Taco Bell) and came home and played a game of Scrabble. I WON! :-) The reason this is so glorious is I feel like I NEVER beat Evan at Scrabble, but I did tonight. Oh, yah! I was so happy. Well, my cute and sometimes nerdy husband likes to graph things, so while I was thinking of ways to earn big points with my letter tiles he was busy graphing the outcome of our game. I don't think it helped him feel better about his defeat, but it sure helped me feel great about my victory.

Therapy

I recently spent a weekend in sunny southern California with six of my favorite women in the world...my BYU roommates. They are amazing, beautiful, intelligent, funny, and have been such a blessing in my life over the past SIXTEEN years (I can't believe it's been that long!). In the course of those sixteen years we have collectively been through a lot...marriage, babies, divorce, cancer, death, sick parents, and all the other curve balls life is constantly throwing at you. Through it all we have stayed in contact and been an amazing support to one another. I remember when I was struggling with breast feeding Sam I sent out an SOS email to my roommates and got all the advice and empathy I needed at the time and when my mom died they were there for me then too. Not to mention last year when I tore my Achilles tendon, they collectively sent me a five month subscription to Netflix (great idea for the gimpy girl!). Anyway, I love them more than I can express. They have taught me what true friendship is.

We try and get together every couple of years for a reunion and this time was GREAT! Some of the highlights were going out to dinner, a trip to In N' Out Burger, an outing to the beach, all seven of us getting pedicures (oh wait...make that eight...little Aila got one too!), shopping, hot tub therapy, and staying up each night till the early morning because we just couldn't stop talking!

Melissa, Heather, me and Jenni

Tiff and Aila at the beach

Lauren and Aila in the stroller on our shopping trip.

Colorful toes...

Nothing better than a good dinner with good friends.

From left to right...Melissa, Debbie, Heather, Tiff, Me, Noreen, and Jenni

Funny Girl (Noreen)

The cheerleaders in action (Tiff and Heather)

Tiff and Aila getting a pedicure with Debbie taking the picture

Little Cutie Pa-tooties :-)

Lauren is growing and changing it seems by the minute. She just couldn't be any cuter. I know I'm biased, but really...she is super cute! I love her smile...it seriously makes my heart skip a beat.

We continue to go on walks almost every day. Often times we just walk around our neighborhood. Sam still loves it and I think Lauren even enjoys herself (see the picture below...this is Lauren in the stroller from my perspective when I'm pushing).

Sam still loves his books. His new favorite is an animal book I brought home from a weekend trip I took to California for a girls' weekend with my BYU roommates. I left Sam for the first time ever. I cried when I left him (don't worry...I got over it and had a fabulous time with my roommates). Anyway, I brought him a "surprise" home from my trip...the animal book he's looking at in this picture.

Sam recently learned how to dance, thanks to our friends Maddie and Adam Hoopes (friends in our Shoreline ward). I got a video of him in action one afternoon. Too funny...

Here's a cute video of Lauren giggling...

Here's another cute video of Sam...

A Tribute to Big Mama :-)

On January 18th, MaLeesa and John blessed Araceli. She wore a blessing dress my mom had made for one of my cousins over 20 years ago. The dress is a classic "JaNet" creation and Araceli looked SO CUTE in it. MaLeesa and I both commented that Big Mama must have been smiling in heaven the Sunday Araceli wore this dress. What a wonderful tribute to my mom...

Playing Catch-up

So, it's been eons since I've posted anything on our blog...sorry about that. I haven't even posted anything about our holidays. Well, I guess it's time to play a little catch-up. We spent a week in sunny Phoenix with Evan's grandparents while the whole northwest was being pummelled with snow and ice in December. We had a GREAT time visiting Grandma and Grandpa Thacker and all the other Thacker relatives in the Phoenix area. The average temperature was in the high 50's and low 60's and I think the locals thought it was cold, but we were in heaven. It rained a few times, but mostly the sun was shining and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Some of the highlights from this trip were: going on multiple walks around the lakes in Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood, visiting the Mesa temple at night to see the lights, seeing Grandma and Grandpa's old house in Phoenix, visiting Mark and Tammarie in Tucson, relaxing at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Grandma's delicious cooking, visiting "uncle Don" and Lawana in their home, listening to Lawana play the piano, seeing Edwena play with Sam, etc.. It was a great trip...

Because the weather was so bad in the northwest we decided to change our plans and skip returning to Seattle for a night and fly directly to Spokane to spend Christmas with my dad and MaLeesa & John and their family. We had a great visit with them too. There was a TON of snow in Spokane and so the kids (and John and Evan) enjoyed playing in it. Here are some pictures from our week in Spokane for Christmas.

Twinners...

Malachi and Sam holding their babies...

Boys will be boys...

Sam and Daddy Christmas morning...

I seriously can't get over how cute these two little girls are. They're going to be such cute friends when they get older. It's so fun that MaLeesa and I have baby girls a month apart.

Spokane got 5 FEET of snow in the month of December. It was seriously a winter wonderland. Speaking of wonders it's a miracle we were able to get in and out of Spokane with the weather. We had a few delays, but thankfully we were able to go and come without too much trouble. We had a great visit and everyone had lots of fun in the snow.

On Tuesday morning(December 30th) we flew to Portland for another week or so of vacation. We always have a great time visiting Evan's parents. Alan took this picture of Sam with his "Duckie Book" (Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey). This picture is a classic. Sam LOVES his books and we literally don't go anywhere without one of them. For the longest time his "Duckie Book" was his favorite. It still is, but now he's moved onto others...Where the Wild Things Are, Harry the Dirty Dog, Corduroy, and Curious George are a few of his new favorites.

Time sure flies when you're having fun...

Well, the time has flown by since I last posted anything on our blog. We've just been having too much fun, I guess...

Sam is busier than ever and demands about 90% of my attention. We've started "please training" at our house...insisting he say "please" when he asks for something he wants (which is way too often). It's working...most of the time. So now more often than not his demands are followed by a very sweet sounding "pweese" which always makes me smile. This is good because before the "please training" the demands and whines made me cringe and were a HUGE trial of my patience. Anyway, Sam is a happy little boy and all it takes is his cute little giggle/laugh to kill any impatience I might be feeling. This afternoon he and Lauren were giggling together, so I quickly grabbed the camera and actually caught a few seconds of their fun on camera.

I spent a few days in Vancouver with my sister. MaLeesa and I had so much fun just sitting around and talking while feeding our babies. I loved it and it made me wish we lived closer to one another. Gosh, that'd be so much fun! Oh well, maybe one day...probably not, but I can always hope. I should just be grateful we only live 3 hours away. Here's a picture of our babies together for the first time...

We also spent a few days in Portland with all of Evan's family. We were all there except for Brian of course who's on a mission in Atlanta, GA (we missed you, Brian!). Anyway, we had a fabulous visit with Scott, Whitney, Kenzie, and Katie Grace and with Shelley and Kimball. Some of the highlights were...going to the temple as a family, celebrating Kenzie and Kimball's birthday (a few weeks early) and a quick trip to the Portland Zoo. Sam had a great time playing with his cousins, Kenzie and Katie Grace. Again, I wish we lived closer to them and could see them more often.

We blessed Lauren on Sunday, November 30th in our Shoreline ward. It was a wonderful day and Evan gave Lauren a beautiful blessing. Here are some (incomplete) notes from Lauren's blessing:

"Lauren, we bless you that you will come to know your Heavenly Father and your Savior Jesus Christ through your family and other people who you will interact with in this life. We bless you that you will be able to fully express your happy spirit in our family. We bless you that you will always feel the love of your parents, siblings, and other family members. We bless you that as you grow you will develop faith in Christ; that you will learn to repent of your sins; that you will be baptized and promise always to follow Christ; and that you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We bless you that you will receive temple ordinances and marry in the temple. Your middle name, JaNet, is the name of your [maternal] grandmother. We bless you that you will come to know your grandmother JaNet through the stories shared by family members. We bless you that you will possess some of her wonderful qualities, such as the desire and ability to bring joy and peace to other people's lives."

It was an emotional day for our family. I felt close to my mom and knew she was with us for this special occasion. Gosh, I miss her so much lately...especially at this holiday time of year. Here's a picture of Lauren in her blessing dress and a few more family shots from the day.

(Araceli was sleeping when we took this picture)

(I love this picture of Lauren and Araceli...they're so cute! )