Chelsea Salomone

The first hour of the trip I told them we were just going to relax, look out the window and I would play DJ for all of their favorite songs. I told them the second hour would be snacks and games, the third a movie, and by then I figured it would be time to stop for dinner. I'm telling you- the boys were PERFECT- absolutely PERFECT the entire drive. We put Everett in the middle carseat, and THANKYOUJESUS, we made it through a road trip for the first time without him throwing up. That alone was a victory. Before I give myself any more credit for this ridiculous schedule I made up, I have to say- they were equally well behaved on the long car ride home Sunday, and I was in total "I don't care what you do back there, just leave me the heck alone!" give up mode. So, I think it's their ages and getting used to long car rides more than anything.

We arrived around midnight Thursday night, with the happy news that Nick and I had a new baby nephew!!!! John Peyon Sledge was born that night around 10:30. Of course, I was dying to see him!!

Friday morning Lisa's kids had school and ours were exhausted. We hung around the house that morning, went to a really neat place for lunch called Blue Moose, and came home so the younger boys could nap (Logan wasn't going for it). That afternoon Lisa, Addyson, Beck and I went to check out the coolest store Scheels in search of a birthday present for Addy's friend. That was the coolest store, complete with a Starbucks and a ferris wheel!

 Von Maur- we picked out the same exact three pairs of shoes to try on



When the boys returned later that afternoon we went to an early dinner at Red Rock Canyon, and Nick and Ryan headed to the casino to play cards (of course).
We came back to the Dwinell's after dinner and played a fun game called Five Second Rule and relaxed. We had promised Logan and Everett they could stay up late and have a camp out with Ben in the guest bedroom on our last night, so they were super excited about that. Once they went to bed they only came out one or nine times to report various offenses like, "He's fake snoring." "He won't stop talking so we can sleep." "I forgot to get water." Etc.




It was such a great weekend! It was just easy- everything about it. The boys were on their very best behavior the entire weekend, everybody slept well, the car ride was relatively easy, and being with the Dwinells is always fun and super easy. Lots of sweet memories with lifelong friends were made for sure!

We got home around 6:00 Sunday night. We ordered pizza, put the boys to bed, and I immediately hopped back in my car and drove to Ft. Worth to meet Peyton! I can't believe JG is a dad!!!

Love this sweet bundle to pieces already. Also can't believe we're 4/4 on both sides of the family with boy cousins. How fun!!
Love this picture of JG diligently charting the diapers and feedings. They're having a pretty rough go as new parents, and as much as I love the three of them, I have to admit- I'm glad I'm not the one in their shoes this time around. I love having a newborn in the family to rock and love on and hand right back to his parents. Welcome to the world, Baby P!!!

I'll be honest, I always thought Wednesday night church was something only Baptists did. (Jaymi is Baptist. Scat is Baptist. I love Baptists.) And then last week we actually started going to Wednesday night church... I'll tell you what, it's just about the best thing ever!

We started going because I signed Nick and I up for a "Love and Logic" parenting class that meets for six weeks on Wednesday nights. I love any kind of seminar/class/learning/chance to be an overachiever and am always more than eager to go! Nick will go along, reluctantly.

First and foremost, on Wednesday nights there's the 5:00 supper. They serve the most delicious (total cheat meal!) dinners for practically peanuts. ($5 adults $3 kids) This is a dinner that I neither have to prepare nor clean up. Delicious/cheap/zero effort = what's not to love? Secondly, it's fun because you see a bunch of people you know- MOPS friends and what not- but without seeing everybody you know and trying to chat in the hustle and bustle of Sunday mornings. It feels more like community.

So speaking of doing wholesome adult things, a couple of weeks ago I helped host a shower for my friend Lauren that I co-coordiate MOPS with. I made a cheese board, and I've never felt more like an adult than I did in that moment. Behold! Fruit, cheeses, spreads, nuts and more for the masses! This felt like an accomplishment of sorts. I am 35 years old, and I can officially make a cheese board. (It's not hard, FYI.)

I'm so thankful it was easy to cancel our plans and just spend a few low key days cuddling, eating popsicles and taking it easy. I really did feel grateful those days.
This is Beck's latest. "SATCH." He will come and fling himself on his brothers (or us) at any given moment and demand a "SATCH," which is code for back scratch. It's pretty adorable. And.. he's pretty spoiled rotten!
Beck puts on the Darth Vader mask from Halloween and breathes really heavy. We all get such a kick out of that trick.
Washing his cars...
Building things...
Bailee kept the boys, and Nick and I snuck out for a date night at Del Frisco's last Saturday night! It was SO good!
Hanging with Hudson and Logan, just like a big kid.
Everett's all about costumes right now- I hardly notice he's wearing them when we're out and about and people comment or laugh about how cute it is. It's just another day! On this day he was using the race track Logan made out of tape to race his monster trucks.

This was at 5 PM. Back to school is hard work! Tonight Everett was asking me about ages of people and I asked him if he thought I was a kid, an adult or a teenager. He said, "You're an adult!" Then he paused for a moment, patted his belly and said, "But if you eat lots of healthy foods then maybe you can grow up to be a teenager!" 
Another one of my all time favorite pictures. Apparently, Everett isn't the only one who likes dressing up. Sweet, sweet BROTHERS!

Logan started back to school yesterday and Everett today. On one hand I was so glad to be back in our routine (and get the house in order once again!), but I also felt really sad. We had such a low key, fun break filled with lots of family time. I'm sad that's coming to an end.
We were basically shut ins for the majority of Christmas vacation which was A-OK with me! We did a few things here and there, but over the course of two weeks it didn't feel like much. We had lots of days at home in comfee clothes. I am so thankful Nick's able to take off two weeks at Christmas, and we both really enjoyed the boys ages this year. We played lots of games with them, and I enjoyed that so much!







Exhibit A: why I'm not sad school is starting back up^^


 We got the privilege of meeting Emilee's boyfriend Drew. She's smitten, and we were too!

On New Year's Day I started a new book and literally couldn't put it down. Our house fell to shambles around me, but it was worth it. I finished the book later that night.
 That night the Vestals came over. It was so great to be back together again! I made lasagna (as they were walking in the door, walking over piles of stuff because Exhibit A/taking down Christmas/my book)- luckily they're good friends and don't mind. The kids played and we made brownies. Everyone was in bed by 10:30.

I don't have any sort of resolutions this year, although the two weeks off (CBL was super slow for two weeks) really gave me some time to step back and refocus. I have struggled so much with balance and trying to juggle everything this past year, and it's been hard. I LOVE doing CBL, I LOVE doing MOPS, but I love being a mom and wife most of all. I don't want to continue at the pace I've been going. I'm hoping we can restructure some things in our business so I can continue to work less than I have been. I love MOPS and my friends there, and so I definitely want to continue that also. It just reminded me that as much as I love working, my priorities right now are with my family and I want my time to better reflect that.

2017 was my best year ever in terms of working out. I started Orange Theory, and I'm so proud of how I stuck with it. I ended up logging 136 workouts (and these are HARD workouts) in 2017, which ends up being about 2-3 per week. I feel good, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I'm happy with my weight. My eating choices haven't been stellar the past few months, mainly due to rushing around, not meal planning and overindulging. On New Year's Day my friend Mandy and I started a five day detox diet called Tone It Up. Lots of protein, fruits and veggies... similar to Whole 30 but way less strict. I'm on day four right now, and I feel so much better than I did when I was eating crap all the time. I hope to keep up my workout routine and incorporate some better eating habits.