The Walkers

McDonald's $1 Cokes The snooze button Ben's Pokemon eyes My pink phone My camel knee boots Using words like "procure" and "postmodern" Getting a "car cart" at Target Getting a "car cart" without broken seatbelts at Target St. George getaways Brad's over-the-pulpit-shout-outs Cotton candy Lagoon Subtle sexual innuendo Quoting movies - and not calling attention to the fact that we're quoting movies The projector Hand sanitizer Jane Austen Justin Timberlake (what?)

January is almost over. Finally. Why is this always the longest month? Is it the letdown after the holidays? Is it returning to work after a long break from the holidays? Is it the monotonous weather and the snow's loss of allure? Is it feeling frumpy in my sweaters? I always find myself getting the winter blues right about now. I know I'll get un-funked in a month or so... but in the meantime I'm going to try to focus on the simple pleasures. I have a list of at least 100 somewhere (Maybe in Alicia's journal? We used to add to it almost every Sunday in the SDub) but I'll try to remember a few. A few things that make Michelle happy... Cold pizza and Coke for breakfast Making fun of Utah hair Watching toddlers fall asleep at the table (check out this recent one of Jake ) Disneyland Getting mail "Starting" when my 2nd baby is 3 months old and I'm worried that my 3rd baby is on its way Watching Brady make Brad laugh A quiet house When my students actua...

I expected more from you.

I'm winding up my first week back at school. It's been a long one. It's been hard getting back into a routine that starts at 6 AM, especially while worrying about Ben, but I feel well. It's kind of nice to walk down the halls and feel a sense of purpose that doesn't revolve around changing diapers or mixing bottles. (The breastfeeding is over - insert hallelujah with a tinge of guilt here.) And while I'm feeling super overwhelmed and I miss my kids, I guess it's good to miss my kids. Because honestly, I kind of wanted to give them back a few weeks ago. I need to give a serious shout-out to my husband, who has stepped up tremendously to help with cooking, cleaning, and playing with Kaiya and Ben. This is especially impressive considering how busy and stressful his job has been lately. Brad Walker, you are amazing! I'm just kind of rambling and I need go get back to work... but before I do, I'm asking you to check out my haircut on that old picture abo...

Okay, so I don't know what RSV stands for, but my little Ben has it. It was pretty scary over the weekend, but he seems to be on the mend. Right now we're just administering breathing treatments around the clock, trying not to cry as we listen to his wheezing and coughing, and praying a lot. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as this is illness typically lasts for a few weeks. The good news is, that during the in-between times, he looks like this :-)

I just got crap from my mom about my month-long absence from the internets. It's been a busy month and I will attempt to summarize it in as few pictures as possible. (Especially since we still have Christmas photos to sort through too.) This is how Kaiya sleeps pretty much every night. It's a little ridiculous; each doll needs covers and a kiss goodnight from us. This particular night, Kaiya arranged everybody on her pillow, then got really worried and asked Brad, "Where do I sleep?" He made her some room. A couple days later, she thought Ben needed a sleeping buddy as well. Here's a photo from the crazy snowy days we had last week. This is the sidewalk in front of our house, and Kaiya is sporting this winter's BeanLee from aunt Megan. I LOVE IT!! We invited the families over for Kaiya's second birthday on the 18th. I can't believe she is already two!! She is getting so big. She got some help opening gifts from her cousins. Between both of our families...

I took the kids to get pictures taken today. I should have booked the whole family to remedy our last fiasco, but I'm not that smart. It turns out my children can turn out a decent picture or two. I guess they're forgiven. Some of these could use some more editing, which I'll get to eventually, but I had to share them anyway. And no - we couldn't get a single shot of the two of them together.