Officially Homeowners!

Lance and I have been working with a realtor in San Antonio for the past couple weeks trying to compile a list of homes to view when we go down to buy a house. Unfortunately/fortunately, the housing market is crazy down there so with only a few days before our trip most of the houses on our list were already sold.

Luckily for us, one of our top homes was still available. We feared it was going to be sold before we had the chance to see it so we bit the bullet and put an offer on it.

It was accepted!

Yes, we bought a home online without even seeing it in person.

Luckily, our realtor told us that we would be able to back out within 10 days if we decided we wanted to go another route.

We get to see it in person in a few days. We are so excited for a kid-free trip with some of our best friends who are moving down with us!

When kids are mean.

The other day at a play group I was sitting around chatting with some of the other moms when I overheard Haylee and a group of kids behind me talking.

I better start off by saying Haylee is only 2 years old but she is as tall as most 4 and 5-year-old children. Naturally, she gravitates to those kids who are the same size as her which happen to be those who are 2-3 years older.

So here we are at a play group, Haylee is running around with the 5-year-old group when I hear one of the kids say "Haylee, say something", then another "Come on, talk Haylee". One kid then said loudly "Guys, she's not smart, she can't even talk." followed by "Yeah, she's dumb."

When I heard that last comment my heart broke, I seriously was on the verge of tears.  I was so sad and hurt, I wanted to turn around and yell at those kids letting them know that Haylee is smart, she's only 2, she gets shy when put on the spot, and she's learning.   My "mama bear" was out in full force.

As I turned around, I saw Haylee sitting with the kids, and I realized a couple of things. I realized that those kids are only 4 & 5 and they didn't say it trying to be mean and they weren't intentionally trying to hurt her feelings. I also noticed that, luckily, the comment didn't even phase her. All the children promptly got up called for Haylee to follow them and they continued to play like nothing happened.

I sat there seriously choked up because I didn't even want to think about my child being hurt or bullied. I didn't want her to even know the feeling of having being called a name, or put down.  Because let's be honest, it sucks.

You know that saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." It's a lie. Words do hurt, and they can hurt badly.

Unfortunately, in the future there will be bullies, those who intentionally want to hurt my kids' feelings. I wish I could always be a mama bear and be right next to them, ready to jump and defend them at all times. I wish I could be at their side constantly cheering them on, telling them how awesome they are.  But I can't.

I can be their biggest cheerleader, I just have to do it from the sidelines.

I dread the day when they'll come home from school in tears because someone was mean to them. I'll cry right along with them, if not harder.  I dread the day when they start even considering that what other people say is true.

Kids will be mean. Teenagers will be mean. And, unfortunately, adults will be mean.

My goal as a mother is to teach my kids that they are important, that they are loved no matter what, that they are smart, that they can accomplish anything with hard work and determination, that they are beautiful regardless of the "world's standards", that being kind is more important than being popular, and that they'll never be alone.

My role as a mother is essential in helping them build up their self confidence and realizing their self worth, and that's a huge responsibility.

So today I'll tell my kids they're important. I'll praise them when they succeed, I'll encourage them when they fail. I'll tell them I love them. I'll teach them to be a friend and to never ever be a bully. I'll teach them to stand for what is right.

My spot may only be on the sidelines but I can cheer very, very loud.

New Jersey here we come!!

The question of "Where would Lance do his summer internship" has been on our minds well before he even started the program. Landing a good summer internship can give you the exposure and experience needed to land an awesome job after graduation so to say we've been a bit stressed is an understatement. He has had the opportunity to meet and interview with some amazing fortune 500 companies. All the hard work has paid off because he has landed an AMAZING summer internship.

Lance was hired on with Verizon to their Marketing Leadership Development Program internship out in Baskingridge, New Jersey. 

Leadership Development Programs (LDP's for short) our somewhat coveted programs. They are the fast track to upper management and senior jobs within a company. They give you the opportunity to work in various parts of the company so you get an overall understanding of how everything works. That way you are on the fast track to a senior level job. 

So we are packing up and heading out to good old New Jersey  this summer. We are excited for this opportunity and can't wait to see where it leads. I'm excited to finally see New York City! :) 

Bedtime...

The other day we were up in Logan at Lance's parents house and we were discussing bedtime routines.

We had just put Haylee down for bed and after having her run out of the room multiple times we ended up getting a tie-down to tie the door shut so she couldn't escape.

They were all laughing at the steps we had to take in order for her to stay in bed. I made the comment "She's actually pretty good, she usually goes right to bed at home." 

Lance began to laugh...

He then began to list off the steps that we take each night to get Haylee to sleep. Having him list out all the steps I realized bedtime at our house is ridiculous.

No, seriously. RIDICULOUS. The things we have to do in order to keep our wild, crazy two year old in her room each night is pretty extensive.

Each night starts our peaceful with Haylee and Avery having a blast splashing and playing in the bathtub together.

Pajama time is next.  Safety pinning the zipper up is required due to her tendency to become a nudist at night.

We brush her teeth then give her a glass of water because we know from experience that the minute we shut her door she will ask for a drink.

We then go into her room and make sure her room is completely clean. She will not sleep if anything is left out on her floor.

We remove all her "big" toys so she won't play with them. These toys are placed in the hallway outside her door.

After removing all toys and making sure they are out of her sight we go through the room and lock up all cabinets, closets, anything that she can open and get items out of.

Next step... scripture reading, prayer time and kisses and hugs.

Haylee then insists she "makes Avery laugh" for a few minutes. This is a crucial step. This can seriously make or break our night. If Avery refuses to sit still why Haylee does everything she can to make Avery clap, giggle,shake her head, basically do anything, Haylee will throw a fit.

After making Avery laugh we move onto the next step where Haylee makes us sing the  "I Love You, You love me" song. Lance and I have to sing it separately complete with hugs and kisses then Haylee has to take a turn singing it to Avery.

Finally we are ready for bed.

Once tucked in and the lights are off she gets to choose one more song for us to sing. While we sing Lance sneaks down the hall and flips the breaker and cuts the power to her room. Yes, we cut all power to our child's room. We've tried tape and even countless layers of duck tape. She still manages to turn on the light and run around her room. Cutting the power is the only way we can make sure the light stays off.

The last step in our crazy night is to tie her door shut with the door across the hall so she can't open it.

I know that the steps with take are probably excessive but honestly I've adopted the mentality of "Whatever Works". I can either fight her and have to put her back in her room a million times or I can do a few extra steps to make my life a bit easier.

Come 8:30 each night I'm done being a mom for the day and am in desperate need for me-time. If crazy routines are what it takes for me to achieve me-time sooner. So be it.

Christmas 2014

So picture this...Haylee runs into the living room see's the presents gets super excited. Avery is jabbering and super happy. Sounds like a perfect time to get a picture huh?  So I hurry and whip out my camera all ready to take pictures of the present opening extravaganza. And nothing. My battery is dead. Seriously, who doesn't check the night before. Dumb move on my part.

I immediately went to plug my camera hoping to get a little bit of a charge but I pretty much missed all  the picture taking opportunities until after she was done opening. I did get a few on my phone so that is a plus.

Other than the camera mishap we had an amazing Christmas.

Our festivities started on the 18th when Lance got out of school. After an incredibly stressful week of finals it was time to lay back and have some fun.

That night we went to temple square to look at the lights. Haylee once again was in HEAVEN! Avery just sat there like an angel so it was a great night.

The next day we put together some ugly sweaters and went to a party that night with some great friends. 

After the party we headed up to Logan so we could spend as much time with out family.

It was so nice to see friends and family and have a mini-vacation. We had our annual Brown Christmas Eve party where Lance and I were in charge of the Christmas Program. I think it turned out pretty great. We spent the night at Lance's parents, got up opened our stockings, skyped our nephew Jason who is serving an LDS mission in Peru, then headed over to my dad's house so we could open gifts. 

Christmas is a million times better with kids. I loved watching Haylee's expression. Growing up I remember opening presents taking only like 20 minutes. We just ripped into everything. With Haylee it seemed like it took a couple hours. She would open a present, then insist on playing with it for a few minutes until she was ready to open up another one. It was adorable. 

Haylee was spoiled with lots of toys and clothes. She mainly got Frozen stuff and was absolutely thrilled.

Avery was content with trying to eat the paper.  

Here's some pictures of Christmas morning (the moments I was able to capture).

Family pic in our new Christmas PJ's

Haylee and her shopping cart. 

Avery's First Christmas. 7 months old. 

Haylee and I both got new Softball gloves! 

After Christmas we were able to stay up in Logan until the 4th of January. We were able to attend a USU basketball game where Haylee is still terrified of big blue and Avery absolutely loved him. We had lots of fun with family. Haylee LOVES her cousins. We took Haylee sledding for the first time and froze our butts off. Seriously is was brutal. Then we were able to celebrate our 5 year anniversary on the 30th. It was an awesome break and so much fun to spend it with family.

Haylee waiting for the Aggies to make a free throw! She now knows all the moves and most of the words to the Scottsman and the fight song. Wer're raising her right. 

Anniversary date night picture. Haylee insisted on being in it with us. 

One down, three more to go!

On Thursday Lance took his last final and finished up his first semester of his MBA. He is pretty dang excited but I honestly think I'm even more excited. This semester was absolutely crazy. 

They told us the first semester would kick your butt and they weren't kidding. I felt like a single mom because he was always gone or cooped up doing homework. 

Lance will tell you that he learned more in this one single semester then he did all of his years at Utah State combined. He is getting excited for the next stage of our lives. He is getting a passion for entrepreneurship, and eventually wants to start his own company. 

Some of the highlights of the semester:

In September Lance went for 3 days to Philadelphia to attend NSHMBA. He was able to meet some great people and made some important connections.

In October Lance interviewed and was accepted to Nestle's Brand Management Boot camp. Nestle' flew him out to their headquarters in Glendale California to participate. While there he won a case competition and was awarded with some great prizes. 

Lance has been involved with the entrepreneurship club up on campus.  He and 6 other guys actually won the Jump-start innovation competition for their idea to create a new product that would help those growing tomatoes. The product they created is a better functioning tomato cage. They were awarded funding to create the prototype and start their new company. We can officially say Lance has now started his own company called Home Garden Solutions.  It has been extremely beneficial. 

Also with the entrepreneurship club he has had the opportunity to sit in with the board for their "Get Seeded" events up on campus. This program is really cool. It is a program where students and any one in the community can bring their ideas in front of a panel and be awarded funding. It is like a mini "Shark Tank" (Lance's favorite TV show). He has really enjoyed that and comes home with lots of stories about awesome ideas and some really dumb ones. 

He is hoping to be more involved with the club and hold a position on the club leadership next year. 

Lance also applied and was accepted to a ethics competition. The competition is in Colorado. Each year around 20-25 colleges around the country put together a team of 5 or 6 people to compete in this competition. The University of Utah has won it the past 2 years so they are hoping to continue on the winning streak. Lance is excited. It is going to make for a busy February but it will be super beneficial. Plus 20% of the final score of the competition is a ski race. Lance is especially excited for that part.

I was so nervous when he told me he wanted to go back to school, but it has turned out to be the best decision we've made.  He is learning so much, meeting so many people and positioning himself for an amazing future once he graduates. I couldn't be prouder of him. 

Now we get to spend the next 3 weeks relaxing before it all begins again.  

Mobile Baby, Two is Hard.

It's official. Avery is mobile. I both love and hate this.

I love it because it is adorable and so much fun to watch her explore.

I hate this because it means she is getting bigger. And I have once again realized how unsafe my house is. It's crazy how you have to baby proof for each age. I feel like it's on-going process.

Avery has always been a mommies girl and her being mobile only reiterates this. She attempts to follow me through the house like a puppy and whines if I walk too fast away from her. She's adorable.

Haylee is trying to be a little mommy and it's honestly so ANNOYING! It's cute some of the time but she insists on determining on what is and isn't OK for Avery to play with. She is yelling at Avery constantly telling her no. I'm still trying to figure out how to stop this.  I am constantly telling her I'm the Mommy and while I appreciate her help, she needs to ask me and come to me first before she takes something away from Avery.

I'm convinced I'm never having a clean house again. Avery attacks and pulls out anything low to the ground and Haylee climbs and get anything out of reach. It's like they are a team conspiring against me to make it so I have to constantly clean.

I've resorted to living in a messy house and cleaning once they go to bed so Lance and I can enjoy a few hours of peace in a clean home.

I won't even start talking about bedtime with Haylee. I'll sum up our experience with one word. Nightmare.

Having two kids going in two different directions is hard. And having a two year old is plain exhausting.

But, I love it.