A Quick Catch-up

Whoa, I'm a slacker. Not only have I failed to update my own blog, I have no idea what is happening in the lives of my blogging friends. Fail. After I update my own blog, I promise to read yours too. :) 2013 has been great so far and we have lots of exciting things planned for the rest of the year. Hopefully I can keep you all posted a little better.  But in the meantime, here are a few highlights from the past 3 months....

The twins entered Sunbeams at Church. They LOVE it and feel like such big kids.  

We took a trip to the Austin Zoo.

My handsome Josiah. Josiah has recently discovered his love & talent for artwork. This kid can color like a 10 year old...staying in the lines & using all the colors...Check out one of his pages in the photo below...seriously, what other 3 year old kids can color like that?

Miles has been cruising all over the place lately. He has perfected standing alone and can even dance a little while holding onto nothing! This past Sunday he took his first steps alone, and we are just waiting for him to start running after the twins! He has graduated to table food & is transitioning to cow's milk right now. He is solid like a tank and eats as much as his older brothers (or more)! Next week he will turn 11 months old and we just love him to pieces.

My sweet husband and me at Midnight Rodeo Dance hall for my 30th birthday. And my most awesome-est sister in the whole world flew here for the weekend to celebrate with us. It was a great birthday and I look forward to my 30's. Like wine, I just get better with age! (I'm not sure if the wine part is accurate, but that's how the cliche goes, right?)

My sweet friends and sister who came dancing with us! (I seemed to have forgotten to get a group shot with the men included, whoops.)

And who could forget about my sweet sweet Arlo?  Seriously, He is my little buddy and helper with chores around the house. He has really taken a focus on giving service and jumps at every opportunity to help others.  He is such a ray of sunshine - I want to be just like him.

Jason's parents flew here from Florida to hang out with us and we had so much fun!! We went out to eat a lot, the park, yard sale shopping :) and lots of playing at home together. We miss them already!

Miles & Grandpa Thompson

Josiah and Grandma Thompson at Cabela's

Christmas Letter 2012

Dear Friends and Family:                                                     December 2012

Another year has come and gone – and we have much for which to be thankful. We love Texas and have been able to experience a few rodeos, dance halls, and chili festivals. The weather here allows us to be outdoors year-round with no more than a long sleeve shirt – and we love it!

Jason set up his sales marketing company this last year and works hard at it every day. Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming, but he enjoys being his own boss and setting his own schedule. When he’s not working, Jason loves to hang out in his man-cave (the garage) and occasionally finds time for fishing.

Dana officially retired from Bed Bath & Beyond this summer and has taken a new job as full time mother at home. The days are busy with 3 young boys – lots of adventures, messes, laughter and tears. Life is exhausting at times, but much more rewarding than any outside job. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Arlo and Josiah celebrated their 3^rd birthday in June with a Monster birthday party, which they planned for months and they still talk about today. Arlo is very outgoing and he makes friends everywhere he goes. Arlo is eternally optimistic and always has a twinkle in his eye ;) Josiah is our nurturer and totes around his baby doll everywhere he goes. He has a fantastic imagination & plays all sorts of games with his toys. Arlo & Josiah are the best of friends and on occasion, the worst of enemies. 

The biggest event of the year was the birth of our third son, Miles Arthur Thompson on April 18.  Miles is such a sweet little boy who loves to be around people. He seems to always be happy and his dimple will make even the grumpiest person smile. Miles is already crawling & works hard to keep up with his big brothers – in fact, he is almost as big as them!  Arlo and Josiah absolutely adore their baby brother.

During this Christmas season we are so thankful for our faith, family, friends, and the blessings the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ brings into our lives. May we all remember His humble birth, and perhaps most importantly, His atoning sacrifice in our behalf.

Love,

Jason, Dana, Arlo, Josiah & Miles Thompson

Proud Wife

I have to brag because I know Jason won't.  During our Utah family vacation, we were able to attend the end-of-the-year banquet for RSI.  The event was a fun date with dinner & lots of good entertainment. That night, Jason walked away with - TOP SALES REP OF THE YEAR (along with a bunch of other recognitions). Jason was a celebrity there. Jason worked his butt off this summer selling and I am so proud of him - great job babe!

This was the first time we left Miles with a babysitter. A REAL date!

The plaque showed that he has 812 active accounts, but that's no longer accurate - He has added at least 50 more accounts since then. You rock babe! Not only did Jason earn these pretty plaques, but we walked away with a mummy sleeping bag, beef jerky, B&BW soap, jackets, & American Eagle gift card! Awesome night!

The FOX team.

Utah & then some

Last month we trekked out to Utah for a big family trip that lasted nearly 3 weeks. We spent the first week camping in the Uintas Mountains at Lyman Lake. We experienced rain, sleet, snow & a little sunshine in between. Luckily, we had an RV that we could camp in during the yucky weather!We fished, hiked, played cards, shot guns, roasted marshmallows and played in the dirt. Aside from the precipitation, we had a FUN camping trip! After camping, we traveled all over Utah, Idaho & Wyoming visiting friends and family.  We were always on the move and slept in a different bed every 2-3 nights. Towards the end of the trip, Arlo & Josiah started asking when we could go home. I think we all missed our home, bed & toys. Moral of the story: family vacation should not last more than 8-10 days.Here are some of the highlights from our trip....

Miles' first airplane trip. Sunday September 23, 2012 (Jason drove the van out with the twins)

All the kids watching a movie in the RV while the rain came down.

My boy.

We made the kids cook their own dinner!!

The boys' first real fishing experience and they LOVED it!! It didn't take long before they had each caught a fish!

Visiting with the Courtdawg on campus. GO cougars!

My Lisa & Katie, BFFLAB

Playing in the volleyball pit. Cutest thing you've ever seen.

Playing with Aunt Tiffy

With Grandma & Grandpa Burnham

Flying home. It was probably the highlight of the boys' trip. They "went on 2 planes & a train" all in 1 day!!  (We had a layover in Houston and took the train to a different terminal).

We had a row of 3 seats on the plane, so the boys were able to lay down and take naps. Arlo & Miles on the seats....

...and Josiah laying on the floor.

What Matters Most

This past week I have been feeling a little depressed, lonely, exhausted, useless, and overwhelmed with life....like I'm just running on the treadmill of life. Do you ever feel like 24 hours isn't enough time to get things done in a day, so instead, you just sit on the couch and do nothing? That has been me the past week... until this evening.

And I worry about my boys - am I doing everything right? I'm pretty tough on myself as a mother. The first 2 years of life, I just need to keep them alive and healthy; but now.... They are getting the age that I could potentially scar them for life....I have to be SO CAREFUL about discipline, what I say, how I say it, am I hugging & kissing them enough?, how can I teach them Gospel concepts so they understand and want to choose the right?, am I treating all my children with fairness?, etc, etc...

ANYWAYS....I had one of those perfect moments tonight with my family and I wish I could freeze time. Jason was washing the van in the driveway while my boys were running around shirt-less and getting sprayed with the water hose. (note- it's still 80 degrees here) I sat in the lawn chair holding my sweet baby and just enjoyed the moment. I wish I had a camera, but I didn't want to go in the house to get it because I would have lost a minute of that precious experience. Instead of a photo, I want to sear that memory and joy into my heart forever.

It's not about how clean my house is, how gourmet my food is, how crafty I am or how perfect my hair looks (none of which I claim to do, that's just wishful thinking!) It's all about those perfect moments with my children and husband....the memories they will have washing the van with their daddy, playing pirates together, riding bikes to the mailbox, or snuggling together in our bed each morning. My boys will grow up too soon and I don't want to miss these precious years. So, ignore the spit-up on my shirt, overlook my messy house & hair....we've been too busy having fun.

 

Better Late Than Never!

On Sunday September 9, we officially blessed baby Miles. Miles was 4 1/2 months old & BARELY fit into his blessing outfit....the pants were too short & he was popping the snaps, literally. We all joked around that by the time we blessed him, he would be crawling his way to the front of the chapel!! Jason traveled all summer and although he came home some weekends, they were not planned far enough for us to make blessing plans. We had the honor of having 2Pops (Brent) & Michele Burnham and Nate & Presli join us for the event. Jason gave a beautiful blessing for Miles and it was a special day for our little guy. We love him so much.

Presli, Michele, Brent, Dana, Arlo, Josiah, Jason, Miles, Nate

GARNER 2012

Labor Day Weekend - Garner State Park, Texas.

Nate & Kjersti Burnham have an annual camping trip Labor Day weekend and this was our first year going. We had LOTS of fun "building fires," hiking, swimming, dancing, playing in the dirt, roasting s'mores & hobo dinners on the fire and LOTS of hanging out. The boys absolutely LOVED camping and we were all sad when the weekend of fun was over....good thing we'll be camping again in Utah next week!

Josiah & his campfire

Arlo & his campfire

Hiking in their PJs

Climbing trees

During the day, the tent was WAY too hot, so we took the air mattress into the shelter for naptime.

Arlo & Josiah trying out their new fishing poles with daddy

Miles after eating his oatmeal

Arlo & his S'more

At the river

Miles spent much of his time naked to escape the hot weather

We look forward to Garner 2013!!