life lately: where in the world is the harrison family?

man, it's been forever hasn't it? i think i've somewhat ignored my blog and started to write a lot more on my instagram. i've just been so busy, especially this summer. after the kids are in bed and i've taken a bath, i usually have an hour to kill before i need to go to bed. and that's when i'm planning my lessons. or facebook stalking. you know, the important things in life. so here's a quick life update before i do life lately.

justin, our resident hero, has been hard at work and enjoying the summer hours his work has [they get off early friday afternoons]. that plus several vacations this summer have really let us hang out with our favorite guy a lot more. it won't stay like this but we're sure enjoying it while it lasts. my preschool is in full swing and i love it! more so then i did summer camp. i compare it to corralling kittens. they're just so excited and sweet but also mischievous and crazy. we have a fun 5 hours together each week. the biggest challenge is teaching porter but hopefully he catches on quickly. i got released from my primary position over cub scouts and got called to young womens. let me tell you, i almost said no. teenage girls frighten me and i get a strong urge to ditch the third hour every week but i don't. hopefully i'll catch on soon. landon started first grade and has told me it's too hard. he is a sweet kid who works hard so i know he'll continue to excel. he's reading like a champ but is also quite aggressive and wild. he's starting soccer and music classes pretty soon. porter is starting his first season of soccer too and i'm already weeping for his coach [me]. he is a little better with landon gone all day. that kid still tries me but also makes me laugh. he is so funny and so snugly. my baby griff is talking so much and is my sunshine. he has developed a lot of his brother's habits [mostly bad] and is just as wild, crazy, and loud as them. he most recently has stopped having me snuggle him before he goes to sleep and i am heartbroken. why do kids grow up so fast. right now we are preparing for a lot of house projects so keep your eyes and ears posted!

 life lately has been full of celebrations for this boy. i seriously feel so sad that my baby is so big! and it's weird that i don't have another baby in his place! i've never had a 2 year old without a baby or a baby on the way. it's oddly nice.

 lately the boys are either best friends [10% of the day] and then worst enemies [90% of the day]. they love to wrestle each other but i don't understand why because it always ends up in tears and fighting. i'm so glad school is back in session.

 i seriously love being a boy mom. i don't like a girl could love me the same way my boys do. they are not snuggly all the time and they'll often wipe their boogers on me or call me fart face, but the love they have for me is so sweet and pure. they'll often fight over whose mommy i am and who gets to love on me. unless i want to be loved on, then they run away from me.

 august and september are huge birthday months for our family. for tanner's birthday [landon's best friend since birth] had his party at the adventurdome this year and we had a blast. it was so fun being with just the big boys and going on all the rides.

 i don't want to write a full blog post on our trip to washington because it was kind of the worst but i am really glad we went because we got to be there when lynsey, justin's sister, was endowed and sealed to her husband and baby blakely who passed away last year. she's due with my first nephew on the harrison side in september [of course] and his name is harrison!

lastly, our life lately has been soaking up the last bits of summer while we can. this is the time of year i love. it's hot but not too hot. we can go to school then swim after [and i don't have to deal with fighting all day]. we can actually go outside at night and still eat popsicles. it's divine. spring and fall in vegas is a dream. until next time!

life lately: boogers, bums, and babies

life lately has been full of it's ups and downs. porter acted like he got the golden tickets when i gave him the full sleeve of ritz crackers. he is a giant cracker monster. down has been a booger monster who is fighting a little bug and some monstrous teeth. down when porter got an owie and though his life was over. up was griffin playing with scarves at storytime.

lately we've been spending all of our time in the car. my poor kids- and this is our first kid! imagine what it'll be like when all of them are in sports/school! here porter is trying to block out the sun. he is seriously so whiney after naptime. speaking of whiney, i've been going through a rough time. hence the afternoon donuts. poor justin got sick on his birthday and only took one bite from his banana cream pie that i worked so hard to make! and griffin, learning how to get down from high places then instantly regretting it.

 life has been crazy fun! september is my favorite month because there are so many birthdays and so many people to love. taylor's pj mask party was so fun! meghan is a fun mom and i aspire to be like her. porter especially loved his jelly shoes but not selfie apparently. and look at my sweet baby bear. he loves to snuggle me like this and i have no pictures of it. so even though my eyes are closed and i'm in my ugly jammies, i still cherish it.

lately we enjoyed one last day of summer. the pool was a bit cold but it was so fun. summer went by so quickly and so slowly at the same time. i love love love having a pool and we really got our monies worth out of it this summer.

lately i've been counting my blessings- one two three. i volunteered at landon's school to bring some treats to his friends and it was so much fun. it made me so glad i picked his charter school and made me love his teacher more. he was so sweet- blowing me kisses and snuggling me. it just made both of our days! oh look, more boogers from griffin. here he is licking them. and then that cute tushie i just love on!

 lately we've been enjoying the outside more. thank goodness for cooler weather! at porter's school, he saw a roller and wanted to take a picture to make landon jealous. it worked. it was eating our first meal at the new kings table. it was griffin learning how to climb in this chair and being so proud of himself. it's been throwing two baby showers in a week and making so many treats. including this yummy zucchini bread.

 life has been visiting grandpa and kristi at their dog tournament and making a sign for toby. it's been learning about missionaries during FHE and making ourselves tags. then eating some chocolate oatmeal and making a big big mess! it's been starting my day off snuggling my three main men and loving being a mom. and it's been the terrible terrible pick ups from school. waking both kids up from naps- them being tired and grumpy and hungry. trying to get them fed/clothes/use the potty and picking up our brother in time. it is no easy feat. how in the world am i going to do this for YEARS?!

lastly, life has been porter taking center stage. he is in a 'class' that's not really a class. more like an organized play group but we love it. he's also taking a sports class and hates it. this kid is not as athletically inclined as landon is. it's been griffin taking big risks and getting so brave. and two brothers who really do love each other, despite the constant fighting/yelling/biting.

life lately: SOS ; sick of summer

life lately has been patriotic. USA! USA! landon had an olympics day at summer camp and made a flag. ever since he's been all about making a flag. although he looks unhappy, he isn't. he's acting serious, like an army man. earlier this month, landon look a test so his kindergarten teacher would know where he's at in his education. that prompted me to teach him how to add and subtract. this homework combined that and his color sight words. i'm so proud of how much he's learned in such a short amount of time. we recently got the best book from the library- called the wearables. this was the mask edition but the have a mustache and hat kind. so much fun! we also got to celebrate landon's best friend tanner at his sport's themed birthday party. we really do have the greatest friends.

life has been a little rough. i love my boys so much but they seriously fight so much! it's non-stop and it's driving me crazy. i've tried different ways to get them to be nice to enough and nothing is working. is this what my life will be like for the next 15 years??! anyways here's griffin getting beat up. he's a good sport. 

 lately we've tried to step up our summer game. i have been so burned out. i'm sick of this 115 degree heat. so i've tried to step up my mom game. that means pizza. that means a teddy bear picnic [which the boys didn't really care about. that broke my heart]. i've been playing with them. we've been dressing up. i sure do love my boys but i'm ready for kindergarten.

life has been happy too. sometimes they like each other. sometimes. not often. landon really loves matching his brothers at bedtime and sometimes when one of them are crying and i'm ignoring them, landon will step up and comfort them. he is such a good big brother. except when he bites/hits/punches. griffin is really my life and joy lately- especially with the constant contention. i made some homemade bread for our special pioneer day sharing time and it was quite delicious. i had to beat people off with a stick at church. i left one loaf at home and nobody touches it. like i said, i've been stepping up my mom game. landon had been dying to do a scavenger hunt and so we did one with his best buddies. at 8am. with almost no nature to speak of at my house- but we still had a great time. we even found a dead bumblebee! very exciting.

like i said, life has been rougher lately. especially when it comes to pooh bear. he is such a stink! walks around complaining all day how hungry he is and begs for a snack. then won't touch his lunch and wants crackers/apple sauce. so frustrating! then he sneaks bananas which i have a hard time objecting because porter almost never eats fruits. or vegetables. and i HATE how he leaves food unfinished- especially fruits. i swear this boy is such a sour patch kid! i sure do love him though. he made me think he was ready to outgrow naps- and then falls asleep at the worst times. and drops legos on the floor for griffin to eat. and then stays up until 11pm! pooh bear, i love you but just stop! like i said, i'm grateful for griffin's love. but in 6 months time, i bet porter will be my angel baby and griffin will be the new terror of the time.

oy vey.

life lately: the chaos that was june

life lately was full of calories. costco pizza - aka justin's siren call. dairy queen ice cream cones for the win. as meghan pointed out, look how messy her kids are and how clean mine are. i don't know how that happened because they almost never get ice cream, especially cones. it's been a yogurt face that i just can't resist and some other things i can't resist. it's funny because i was just telling justin about sprinkle cupcakes and then he came home with a dozen of them. that's $6 a cupcake! they just joined the chamber of commerce and gave a couple dozen away. winner winner melissa's dinner!

life has been hard. i didn't think griffin's surgery would be as hard as it was. he just wanted to sit on my chest for 24 hours straight- which is hard to do when your husband is out of town and it' just  you and three needy boys. poor boy. i just love this guy.

lately, the three boys have been having a blast together. griffin notices his brothers and often tries to join in their games. he's also learned how to give kisses so the boys just line up to kiss him. they especially love playing outside. oh- and that cart picture was at the new ikea store. so cool! would have been a lot more fun without kids...

we celebrated the 4th in style! we made firework crafts, sang happy birthday to america, and swam all afternoon long. we had several friends over, BBQed some delicious food, and watched steven's own firework spectacular. it was a great night!

lately, we've been joyful. lynsey was baptized six weeks after blakely passed away. it was a very special day for their family. i'm so proud of her and skyler. and there was no way that flat grandma would miss her baptism! that afternoon justin and i went on a slurpee date where they had sour patch kids flavor again [his favorite]. it is disgusting, by the way. griffin liked it though. it hasn't all been joyful though - i picked up some virus while at the hospital and got a sore throat/lost my voice for a few days. then griffin got it and his eyes were closed shut with boogies. poor guy can't catch a break.

lastly, life has been in the outdoors. our friends had a play date up at mt. charleston and we had the greatest time. the site we went to had a steam the kids could play in and play with the logs. we had a great time! and it was so much cooler. poor porter hurt his finger though and acted like the world was coming to an end. we need to do that again!

life lately: bird killers annonymous

life lately has been full of tantrums & fits. poor porter. terrible twos have nothing on him. he is a storm of emotions when he's around his brothers but when he's alone, he is just the cutest, cuddliest bug in the world. he was such a great little baby and has since turned into something unearthly. one day i'll get my sweet baby back. hopefully with a whole lot less sass. his favorite things to say now "go away daddy" or "i HATE ____". 

life has been full of new adventures for my griffy bear. he is crawling, he is pulling himself up and he is even starting to stand on his own. his crib has been lowered, his thick little thighs are thinning up. my little baby is disappearing into a big baby and it breaks my heart. and makes me so happy. that little boy is just the best and i'm so thankful i got an easy third child. at least for now. and look at pooh bear- i told you he could be adorable. sometimes.

 lately we've been having a wet spring. so wet and cold we actually got SNOW! it melted quickly but still, it was great! we loved it. and now we've got 90 degree weather, so thanks vegas! we took advantage of the nice weather and made our first check off our summer bucket list. a visit to the 51s games with the irelanders. landon was so excited because he is a "professional t-baller now" and the icing on the cake was it was star wars night. oh and i totally busted my head on my kitchen cabinet. it was the WORST!

 life has been full of sweet moments too. despite porter's fits, he still is such a snuggly guy. his love language is touch by far. he just loves cuddling and often comes in our bed at night. and his favorite person to snuggle is daddy. they really are clones of each other. you think that'd make me more patient when he does naughty things but no, it doesn't. he still is my pooh bear and i love that guy. oh and the bottom pictures- he missed church because he was sick and our musical chorister stopped by JUST to give him his stampy- the highlight of his week. she's aces.

lately i've been feeling overwhelmed. after one particularly terrible day i went to go get a slurpee. then dropped it. i cried and cried and cried. my stick still sticks, ironically. little griffin now has one tooth and the other on it's way. it has not been pretty but he still is adorable. it's been palm trees coming down and a whole nest of birds getting squashed in the process [oops!]. but look at those adorable best friends holding hands! [i'm trying to distract you from the fact that i'm a murderer. well, technically justin is].

lastly, life has been joyful. despite my cranky teething baby and my terrible two toddler, we've had a lot of joyful moments. blasting off to space with a friend. a date night to a fancy restaurant with my two favorite men. an adorable t-ball team and a little brother who can't help but follow in big brother's footsteps. be still my heart.

life lately: expensive taste

life lately has been sweet and sour- sweet suspenders on a sour boy. sour patch kids in the hands of a sour patch kid. sweet rolls on the counter and a sour brother being mean to his baby brother. i took the picture hoping it would be a cute brother/brother pic and instead i got sibling assault.

lately we've been spending a lot of time with our friends since daddy was out of town. we visited floyd lamb park to participate in their horses for heroes program. $5 let us go for a horse ride, jump in the bounce house and visit the petting zoo. pretty sweet. we then had a picnic lunch which consisted of porter screaming whenever a peacock got close. i love taking group pics of my boys with their friends because i know in 10/15 years, it'll be funny to see how different they are.

life has been joyous as grandma shell came to visit us for almost two whole weeks! can you imagine? it was so nice. landon would wake her up in the morning [not me] and she'd let me sleep in [7am! the glory!]. i had someone to watch my kids while i could do the things i enjoyed [baths! exercise! sleep!]. mom, you can come back any time you want. it's been silly times and sunny times as the weather warms up here in vegas. look at that selfie face- so delicious!

lately we said ado to t-ball...for a month. his t-ball coach is pretty fantastic and his wife took these pictures. which are fantastic as well. he gave a little speech about each player when they got their participation trophy [landon's pride and joy] and it melts your heart. he said landon is his strongest player because he can hit/throw/catch. that's my boy! and look, that's my boy scarfing down pizza. and my butt. thanks sam!

lastly, life has been expensive. trips to costco [i took a pic in the bathroom because it was griffin's first time in a cart- lasted 10 min], dentist visits which left half of my face not working, and new baby car seats because the middle child thought it would be fun to ruin the old one. thanks porter. these boys are worth it though. best money i've ever spent.

life lately: tears & tractors

life lately has been visits from grandma shell. she came into town for porter's birthday and then to help get her house ready to sell. she really is just the best. i wish she lived in las vegas again but alas, utah has stolen my mother. 

life has been joyful. spending time away from the kids is a nice recharge, especially since griffin can take a bottle. hallelujah! it's been lots of snuggles from my little piranha. one day he won't want me to pick him up and love on him all the time. when that happens, i'll be devastated but right now, sometimes its too much. porter is the snuggliest little monster and i love loving on him. except when he bites at the gym and gets me kicked out - that is just messed up. oh look how adorable my 3 boys are- feeding griffin, taking a bath together. the cutest. then look at all my self-control. that yellow container has a package's worth full of oreo filling. and i did not partake.

life has been spent at the dentist. landon does so well...until he chose chocolate toothpaste [i should have intervened]. it was adorable how porter laid down and copied landon.

lately i've been enjoying motherhood more. thank you for getting out of my system zoloft! porter loves babies and decided to take one of them on a horsey ride at the irelands. it's been a tired little pumpkin fall asleep 5 minutes before tball. literally 5 minutes. it's been a cute little hat boy - my boys love hats. and it's been spying landon being the best big brother and playing with griffin.

lastly, life has been helping daddy outside. this is why i have boys - to help fix up my house! it's been teaching griffin to learn how to sit up. he does not want to learn. speaking of things he doesn't want to learn, it's how to roll. he'll scream into the carpet for 20 minutes instead of trying to roll. oh, and life is full of tears. hair cuts are the worst.

life lately: moo-tastic times with my boys

life lately has been moo-tastic. landon had his first preschool field trip to anderson dairy. it was hectic with three kids but such a blast. the ice cream is always the biggest hit. it's also been the cutest little mini-justin you ever did see. this picture inspired me to make justin's christmas gift. i put all three boys in justin's outfits and framed it for his work. because his office would make death himself sad.

life has been goofy boys who make my life so full. seriously porter in the shower? eat your heart out. it's been loving grandpa's tractor parked at our house [our home is a boy heaven]. thankfully we have plastic gloves to keep our hands warm. but our throats can be cold. because slurpees are always in style.

lately we've been enjoying some quality dad time. except at church- where mom took all three kids to stake conference solo, sat in the back and wanted to strangle her kids. but luckily porter had his tie on. dad builds the best fires and we love keeping warm by the fire. we also love riding the tractor with uncle josh in the rain.

life has been squishy. i mean, look at those cheeks. griffin, you are the greatest. i love you so much! it's been rides on a fire truck and a fun play date with our main girl taylor. and it's been a safe afternoon with office porter in charge.

lastly, life has been spent on the floor. griffin does not like tummy time, as most kids don't. but this kid will. not. roll. but luckily he will smile at me when he sleeps. be still my heart. but there's another little boy who does not smile at me while he sleeps. but im my defense, i finally figured out how to get them to bed. no nap for landon, he goes to bed alone at 7pm. griffin takes a nap and goes to bed at 8pm after landon is alseep. easy peasy lemon squeezy. i'm a much happier mom.