life lessons...

I'm so behind on blogging this year. My time seems to be passing by so quickly. Does anyone else feel this way or is it just me? My goal is to start documenting my kids' lives again. We have so many fun events coming up and I don't want to miss a thing. 


I found a great article on Pinterest called "37 Life Lessons for my Sons". I agree 100% with this blogger and plan to implement all 37 simple lessons at some point or another. I'm sure my boys are thrilled about this... ha ha! #1 on her list is....


Don't let a day go by without doing something for someone else.  It's as easy as holding the door for someone.  It makes them happy and makes you happy too.


Love it, love it, love it!!!


Chandler was asked by Madi to the SWEETHEARTS dance at Brighton. We LOVE this girl. She is one of our favorite girls of all time! These two are so funny together. They're more like brother and sister buddy pals than anything else and it's really cute watching them interact.  

Madi picked up Chan Saturday night and they let me take a bazillion pictures before they left. So fun! 

Then they were off to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner... YUM! Love that place.

Next came the dance and then Planet Play till 2:00 in the morning. YIKES!!!!

I love this quote because it applies to both boys and girls. Now the real trick is beating it into their heads. 

 "You need to teach your daughters to distinguish between a man who flatters her - and a man who compliments her.  A man who views her as property - and a man who views her properly.  A man who lusts after her - and a man who loves her.  A man who believes he is God's gift to women - and a man who remembers a woman was God's gift to man... And then teach our boys to be that kind of man."


To me, respect is one of the most important things we can teach our children. Respect for our elders, respecting girls and women, and most importantly, respecting ourselves and our bodies. There's nothing better than a respectful teen with great manners and it all starts in the home. I sure hope Chan was a gentleman last weekend. Madi???


xoxo

Double digits

Mr. Mason is FINALLY out of single digits and excited to welcome double digits into his life. I can't believe he is 10 yrs. old. I will never forget the day he was born and how EASY BREEZY my delivery was with him. The Doctor told me NOT to push... at all! He was out in an instant and I DIDN'T FEEL ONE SINGLE BIT OF DISCOMFORT. Honestly! Not a thing. He was an easy baby. Started sleeping thru the night at 8 weeks. He was healthy and happy 99% of the time. And still is...

Here are T-E-N things I want you to know about my lil' man.


1. He has the sweetest laugh.
2. He is a tender and sensitive boy. He LOVES animals and babies.
3. He worries about our families' safety. He constantly tells me to be careful.
4. He doesn't require or need attention and he loves to please.
5. He loves to snuggle and watch shows in our bed at night and I love that he still wants to sleep at the foot of our bed on special weekend nights.
6. He is SO S-M-A-R-T!!!
7. He is a good, loyal friend.
8. He loves to build things and he's very creative and imaginable.
9. He keeps a journal and writes about his daily life. (It's so cute ; )
10. He is very innocent and I wish I could bottle him up and keep him that way forever.

I'm so thankful for this love bug. He's an AWESOME kid. I can't wait to see what he accomplishes during his double digit adventures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASON!

xoxo

Happy Birthday Grandma Karen

Today is my Moms 60th Birthday. WOW! Time is seriously whizzing by us so quickly. I remember when she turned 40 and I thought she was SO OLD. Ha! Now I'm getting closer to 40 and I've changed my mind. 40 is so young. 60 is also so young. My Mom has great health and looks fantastic!!!! I think 60 is the new 40 and 40 is the new 20. Are you with me?


We had a fun party last night to honor my Mama Seeta. It was really fun. We ate pizza and cake and the kids were thrilled to play with Grandma and Grandpa. What could be better than that? We also watched football and I gave everyone a much needed haircut. 


I hope my Mom knows how much we love her. She is one of the happiest, most positive, kind hearted woman I've ever known. Lucky for me, she's my Mom and I get to be around her sweet spirit often. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA KAREN!!!

 We LOVE our cousins!!!

 Uh-oh! That's a sad face...

 Best buddies

 Asher DID NOT want to go home

 I've never seen a little kid laugh so hard. Asher was full of beans.

 Everyone is happy and clean cut! 

Cheers to many more years of making memories together! 

xoxo

Pias do hard things.... and saying goodbye to 2011

I've noticed a theme around here lately, which is... Pias do hard things. At least that's what I've been telling my kids a lot lately. Bryn started French immersion this year and it's HARD. So when she told me she wanted to quit, I simply said... Pias do hard things.  I've probably told each one of my kids the same thing at different times during the past several weeks.

I want my kids to know that LIFE IS HARD. Really hard and it's so easy to give up. We have a little chant we recite after family prayer where we put our hands together in a circle and say... "Pias together, forever hooray. Pias are 100%-ers today!". It's pretty funny when friends are over and get to join in the fun. We get some pretty funny looks. We've been doing this for several years now and I hope it sinks in before they leave the house. We'll see. 

The other thing I've been saying a lot lately is... BE THE KINDEST PERSON YOU KNOW. My kids simply roll their little eyes at me and say... I KNOW MOM!!!!! But I'm hoping my "broken record" antics pay off in the end. 

So those are our family goals for 2012. Nothing major. Nothing life altering. Just simply... PIAS DO HARD THINGS and BE THE KINDEST PERSON YOU KNOW. We'll see how it goes. 

Here's a look back at 2011.


JANUARY~


Joe and his Brother Max were fortunate enough to hike Orizaba in South America.

Hiking makes Joe Joe a happy boy.

Mason celebrated his 9th Birthday at Classic Skate with friends and family.

 Go Fury. Basketball season started and Mason's team was on fire.

 They WON the Martin Luther King tournament. Pretty cool eh?

FEBRUARY~


Joe and I were lucky enough to spend 10 glorious days in St. Barths. We dream of returning someday, but for now... pictures will have to do.

MARCH~


March is crazy around the Pia house. We celebrate our Anniversary, Berkley's Birthday, Bryn's Birthday, Joe's Birthday and 3 additional baby cousins are now on the March docket. Yikes!


Bryn celebrated her 6th Birthday at the Finishing School. It was a great day.

 Berkley celebrated her 12th Birthday at Classic Skate. My kids LOVE Classic Skate!

Chandler participated in a Lacrosse tournament in Vegas. We had a wonderful time watching him play and enjoying some much needed family time.

 We said goodbye to The Wells Fargo building and hello to 222 as Joe transitioned into his new firm called PADRM (Pia Anderdon Dorius Reynard & Moss). It was a big leap of faith, but they are thriving. Go Joe!

APRIL~


Spring break in St. George. Can't wait to go back this year.

Finished our never ending kitchen remodel.

Prom

MAY~

May was pretty uneventful which is always nice. I coached the Girls on the run and they had their final 5k. That was fun.

JUNE~

Berks and I went to California, with Emotion, for a Dance performance at California adventure. 

 We had so much fun.

JULY~

Joe's Mom got remarried. Cutest couple ever.

 Chan Chan got his Eagle.

AUGUST~

Trip to Seaside with the "B's". Favorite family trip of the year.

Is it back to school time already? Summer flew by this year. 

SEPTEMBER~

Fun at the Cabin with family. 

 Berks got braces

OCTOBER~

Conference weekend at the "K's" cabin. 

 Taking the kids to Fright-mare at Lagoon. Loved and still loving our warm weather.

NOVEMBER~

Spending Thanksgiving with family.

DECEMBER~

We had a fabulous Christmas this year. Not because of gifts, but because we spent a lot of quality time with our Family. It also helped that the weather was AMAZING!!!!!

...And that about wraps up our year. I feel very blessed. I can tell that good things are upon us this year and I anxiously welcome 

2012