OHIO

I just couldn't be this close to Columbus and not go visit.  There is not much cause for us to make a special trip flying to Ohio and so I begged Taylor to drive us there.  It was really nice of him to say okay, because he has been out of the country and traveling for 2 straight weeks!  What a good hubby, to let me talk him into driving 20 hours for a 48 hour visit is pretty amazing. :)

 9 Hours in the car and they all did GREAT!  Thank Heavens for the dvd player, right?

we headed straight for our home on Nottingham Road.  It's still there, and I still love it.  I realize that I actually did a lot of gardening though.  It was pretty over grown and I was proud that I kept it looking pretty decent. haha, the simple pleasures in life, right?  We were greeted by NORMA!  our favorite over the fence neighbor.  She was so sweet and spoiled the boys with treats and Ohio gear!  I got the cutest little girl outfit for little miss and I'm excited to put her in it for fall football season.

We love Norma and kind of feel like she is family.  She sends my boys birthday cards every year and even sends happy anniversary cards to me and Taylor... how amazing is that??  We are lucky to have her in our lives.  We walked around the neighborhood and played at fancyburg park for a little bit before heading out to dinner.  The feel in Columbus Ohio is just peaceful to me.  The weather was perfect and the grass and trees were so green.  Our street has trees that almost arch over the street they are so dense and it's beautiful, really.  I know why I loved living there so much.

 

 O-H-I-O... my boys aren't totally indoctrinated as OSU fans, but they've got the basics down!  It was the first sentence Luke Learned to say, "GO Buckeyes!"

 of course we had to take advantage of staying in a hotel with a pool for our road trip, and it was enjoyed by all the boys!

 Chicken Fights (another reason you need to have even numbers in your family!)

The best ice cream around is at GRAETERS!  I was just counting down the minutes until I could get my Buckeye Blitz on. :)

We planned the trip around memorial weekend, just so we could visit the city pools!  Devon has the high dive and didn't disappoint.  Even though the water was FREEZING, the kids had a great time.

We are lucky to be friends with this amazing family.  The Cleggs!  I first met Holly in Jerusalem, and Taylor met Brian at BYU playing Rugby together.  How fun was it to find out Holly and Brian were getting married and moving to NYC at the same time Taylor and I got married and moved there.  We have been the best of friends ever since.

Just 10 years ago, Holly and I had both had Spencer and Jake in NYC... now, we are a group of 13 and soon to be 14!  My how we can multiply and quick!  They have 4 boys and a girl just like us. :)

I should have gotten some shots of her boys standing though, because they look like giants next to my boys.  They have got some good genes in them for sure!  We were so glad they made the drive with a brand new baby to see us.. They are in Cincinnati right now and Holly made the comment, last time we met in Columbus, Nadaulds had the Ohio Plates and Cleggs had the NY plates... we reversed this time.  Can't wait till we both have the same state plates on our cars so we can hang out more often!

Brian above showing his graceful swan dive....

Taylor's awesome picture of his gainer... I think I couldn't have timed that one better! haha

We are super lucky to know some amazing families from Ohio.  Taylor served in the Young Men while 2 of these amazing Angelos boys were in mutual.  We are lucky enough that they came to BYU and we can see them every once in a while for Sunday dinner.  The oldest Angelos son moved to Ohio for med school while we were there, and Now, we live just one block away from another Angelos boy in NYC.  We just had to meet and spend time with the 5th son and this trip solidified that they are all super rock stars in this family!  If I were to have my boys grow up to be just like them I'd be a happy mama.

I didn't realize how fun it would be to see all our friends from the old ward.  SOOO MANY people have moved that I wasn't expecting much, so seeing the few I did know was just an extra bonus.  These people are so great! I think I will always love Columbus Ohio because it's where my family really became a family.

One of Taylor's favorite pictures was Sam wearing his BYU Rugby shirt playing Lacrosse.  My boys all want lacrosse sticks now. :)  Yeah, don't hold your breath about that sport in this household.  Nadauld does NOT mix with Lacrosse according to some strong family ties to BYU Rugby!

The boys all got to party at one of Taylor's colleague's son's Bar Mitzvah.  I think they spent something like 30K on the party and ceremony.  It was AMAZING.  The boys were in heaven and got some fun loot to bring home including glow in the dark mow hawks and light sabers.  Everyone got their own signature hat as well... pretty sweet eh?  I am trying to download a couple more pictures from the party.  But it was neat for many reasons to be able to attend this sacred event for a friend.

Street Fair and some other shots

Once a year, the stake puts on a street fair that takes up a whole NYC block.  It's a fundraiser for the youth to help with all the costs of summer camps.  It was a fun day with perfect weather and friends.  Yummy food, cheap second hand goods, baked goods, games and prizes galore!

 My boys of the city.

 Nate playing and doing quite well at the Toilet Toss game.

 Sam and Vivi playing while we listened to the live music.

 Luke and Dave enjoying some free time to hang (we bought a sweet soccer ball for 2 bucks) :)

Jake shooting Sasquatch!  And another reason we needed to buy more nerf guns to play with.

 I think this might be the cutest picture ever!  My boys in a scrum.  Although I really hope they don't want to play rugby or football in college, it's pretty entertaining to watch right now.

 We sure missed daddy while he was in India.  The boys and I have a lot of outings while we are together, but Taylor actually plays with them better than any one I know.  He is such a great dad.

Dad brought home wallets and T-shirts for all the boys.  Much better than forgetting the prize like I did last time we traveled.  They were so happy to have dad back  as you can see below, I put them to work while he was gone.  

 Good thing Trader Joe's is not too far, but it's still a lot to carry by hand.  Luckily, I have 4 strong boys that I force to help me. :)

 So, the best gift ever was dollar store water guns from Aunt Heather.  They have been having a blast with them at the park and in the house (unfortunately for me).  But as I see children going down the slide by themselves, and then see all 4 of my boys running around having the best time shooting each other, I am SOOOOO glad we were able to have all of them and close together.  It will always be fun for them.

 a couple more pictures while dad was gone... Hagan Daas Ice Cream (Free cone today).

 Squished on the Subway and loving it.

Just some Cute boys around here....

 Jake... he just turned 10 and is probably the easiest boy to parent in the world!  Who knows what will happen in his future, but how lucky am I to have a hard worker, loves all things his dad loves, smart, polite, still gives me hugs and says "I love you" regularly.  I sure hope he will always know how grateful we are to have him as the oldest and the example and leader of our boys.

 Luke is 8 and he is great.  I mean, look at his huge personality coming through in just a picture!  He is not as easy to parent because he is not very motivated, doesn't like anything his dad likes, and is as stubborn as his MOM!  He is always bugging his brothers.  However, I appreciate that he is so fun loving, creative, and tender hearted.  There is not another 8 year old in the world that can talk to adults so politely and make friends easier than him!  He has adjusted to life in the big city with no hiccups.  We are lucky to be able to learn a lot of parenting skills because of this cute kid!

 Mr. Sam is 5 years old.  He is READY for kindergarten.  This boy gets a little trickier to parent each year.  He is VERY SHY and doesn't like to be around new situations or people.  But after some coaxing, he fits in quite well.  He loves to play with friends (just at our house) and he loves to learn.  He is a good mix of Jake and Luke's personalities actually.  I am excited to see how his personality grows as he grows.  He is insistent that he is as big as Jake and Luke and tries to do anything they are doing.

This is our baby for a few more months.  Nate is 4 and is just a happy kid.  If he could play electronics all day everyday, he would be in heaven.  He doesn't mind (as much) when the big boys go off, he is happy to hang with me. He doesn't even cry when Sam goes to preschool and he has to stay behind.  He loves to be carried and tells us when he needs a nap.  He is silly and has the BEST LAUGH EVER!  He talks a million miles a minute and has trouble with his "r's" and "l's"  But we know speech fixes that, so we are enjoying the cute impediment while it lasts.

Happy Mother's Day to me!!

Every Year, I have been less than excited for this holiday.  I think it's because I had some big expectation of how wonderful the day would be to just enjoy being a mom, and then for some reason it all turns out that I'm mad at my kids and they are crying and we aren't happy at ALL!!!  But I had a change of heart this year (and last) and now I will look forward to this day EVERY YEAR!

I mean look at these cuties... who wouldn't be grateful to be their mama?

 Mother's day was absolutely beautiful here in the city and we took our morning walk in the park before church...

 Taylor was working in India, so the boys and I just had a lot of time together.  Usually, that would make me exhausted, and put me in a bad mood... but it was really fun to be with my boys.

 The best thing about having kids close together is to watch them have fun together.  Going down a slide is not NEARLY as fun by yourself....

Taylor prepped them all before he left that they had to be extra helpful to me while he was gone.  He was so thoughtful even though he was on the other side of the earth.  The boys were great.  Mother's day started with them making me breakfast in bed.  I loved our walk in the park and then opening all their cute handmade gifts from school and church made me smile.

I documented all my deep mother's day feelings in my journal, but the gist of it was that it is such a trial for me to be a "good" mom.   And it is through our trials that we become refined and strengthened.  Without these cute boys, I would never learn patience, love, humility, selfless service and many other necessary traits to become more like my Savior.  Although it's not all roses all the time (usually just thorny), this opportunity to be a mom is one of my greatest blessings.  I am so far from perfect, and fortunately I have some amazing and forgiving boys that help me to learn and grow.  I hope they don't give up on me... EVER!  Happy mother's day! 

Ladies and gentlemen, we've hit double digits!!!!

 

I have always just thought Jake was SUPER handsome.  For sure I have some motherhood bias. :) He really has been such a joy to have in our lives.  A little throw back picture below of us with Jake in our favorite Sheep's Meadow 10 years ago.  It is fun to be in NYC the place of his birth for his 10th birthday.  He loves to say he's from NY and now, he will actually remember what NY is like. :)

 I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he was quick to tell me the cake the babysitter made them! :)  Yes, I'm that kind of good cook that my kids want food other people make!!!  But, it is a really yummy yogurt cake and super easy, so I was happy to oblige!  Plus we love our Utah Babysitter and miss her so much, it was fun to think of her while making and eating this.

 We took Jake to dinner the night before his actual birthday at Guys American Restaurant.  You would think it would have been awesome food, since that is what GUY does for a living. (tour around the world deciding if certain restaurants are good or not)  But,  we weren't that impressed.  Luckily, Jake got the cheeseburger and said it was the best cheeseburger he has ever had.  So it was a successful night after all.

Taylor left to India the next day but thank heavens for Skype he was still apart of our Birthday celebration.  We sure love you Jake.  Thank you for being our hard working, smart, helpful little boy.  You are growing up so fast.

I will just end with our video of Breakfast in Bed for his birthday...  it won't upload on Blogger so you can get the link here to see it...........Happy Day to Jake

Spring Has FINALLY SPRUNG in NYC.

 Isn't the City just BEAUTIFUL in bloom?  It is really magical.  We started the Saturday out wiht a family run in the park...  Watching all four boys run with Taylor was so much cuter than the picture.  I think we had every person turning heads at our little herd...

 

Since we were all together, we ran around the great lawn and I made everyone stop and take a quick picture it was SO pretty!

 Then we headed down to Brooklyn to see the Botanical Gardens... I think have of the city was there because the blossoms were in PRIME BLOOM and it was also very pretty.

 The gardens had a big Japanese gardens and the boys could have stayed and looked for the fish for hours.  I was more into the blossoms, but to each his own, right?

 Just a random picture below of Luke at my favorite grocery stop... TRADER JOE'S might be a little piece of heaven here in the city.  The workers are SOOO friendly and they love kids.  They had a little booth set up for pictures, just for fun.  Luke is having a lot of fun... can't you tell??

 

I think I've mentioned before that Luke has Karate once a week here at the school.  Today he learned how to meditate, and shared his knowledge with his brothers.  It was really funny to walk in on them looking like this!

I was in my room getting ready for bed and I heard this giggling going on in the other room... I had to have some sort of documentation of this because it melts my heart and makes me smile.  I'm sure you will too, especially listening to Nate.  He has the BEST LAUGH EVER!

Yay for May,  we made it through the winter.