Tis the Season!

It is hard to believe Christmas is over for another year. We had a fun holiday season, but kind of glad the craziness of it all is over! I am getting excited to put all the decorations away and start fresh on redecorating!! I have one problem to get figured out before I can put ALL the decorations away though. We have lost baby Jesus! (from the Little People nativity) He has been missing for a few weeks now and somehow I thought we would miraculously find him before Christmas Eve, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe it is just going to have to be a reminder that the search for Jesus in our lives and hearts is all year long, not just at Christmas time!

Here is a recap of the last few weeks events! (Thanks to all the digi scrap sights who have had fabulous freebies over the last month!)


We all experienced bouts of sickness the last few weeks- runny nose, "boogy" eyes, and ear infections. We were all finally healthy again for Christmas morning. I happened to snap a shot of Natalie falling asleep on the bathroom floor while I got ready for the day! You know she is sick when she falls asleep somewhere besides her cribby! Also had to include pictures of some the delicious desserts I made this holiday season. I feel like I baked, and baked, and baked, etc.





























Nick had his little Christmas Program for preschool at Camp Williams. I think the kids were so excited we finally got to go where the ARMY MEN are. Nick was adorable in his red hat and I loved seeing him sing the songs this year. He waved at us every chance he got!



I love to get the kids new outfits to wear to Church the Sunday before Christmas! Here are some pictures of Mckay and Natalie, somehow I didn't get one of Nick! I am the ward Choir director and was a little stressed Sunday morning! The choir did so good and it was a big relief to have it over with. I really do love to help bring the spirit into the meeting with beautiful music!

All of the kids were very excited to have Grandpa, I mean SANTA, take time to visit us on Christmas Eve. It has become a tradition that we all look forward to. They all sat on his lap this year and were anxious to see what awaited them in the big red bag!

Merry Christmas!

The Little Shepherd Girl

This week for family night we were reading this cute Christmas book, 'The Little Shepherd Girl." It is a sweet little story about a girl who wants to be a shepherd with her daddy and brother and the night that she gets to, the Savior is born. As we were trying to read and Mckay and Natalie were being a little crazy, we got to the part where she finds baby Jesus. I love how the book portrays the events and shows a close up of the little girl looking at the baby. It really reminds you that our Savior came into the world just like us. Nate and I both looked at each other and knew that we were feeling the spirit, and so was Nick. Amongst our other wild chillins', the spirit was there. Little Nicko said, "I wish I could see baby Jesus. I wish I was there." We talked about it for a minute how we were probably there as angels and rejoicing that our Savior was born! I am so grateful for the birth of our Savior and that we get to celebrate it this time of year.

My Handsome Stinker!

This is what you get when you have a three year old who is obsessed with the camera! I went to download my pics tonight and was surprised at how many I had to download, until I saw these. More than half of the photos were these fabulous shots of Mckay's eye! What a handsome little stinker I have!

I am OVER-JOYED!

Rebecca, don't read any further! Just know that Christmas Day isn't too far off and you can enjoy all you want! For the rest of you, stop what you are doing and rush to the nearest Target or Smith's. Cadbury has come out with a Christmas version of the Fabulous "purple Easter eggs!" I found them yesterday and had them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desert today. MMMMMM!!! If you have never tried them, you will love them when you do. I have to be careful not to have them in the car with me because it is amazing how quickly I can eat the whole bag- one at a time! So much for shedding the pounds this holiday season. THANKS CADBURY- no really THANK YOU!!!

{nO MoRE kIDs}

A few weeks ago, Nick was telling me that I need to have more babies.
Last night as we were driving to a family Christmas Party, I was telling Nate that I need to buy some more digi scrapbooking kits. Mckay said to us " No MORE KIDS! ( kits- kids? close) We have enough kids mom. Me and Nick are brothers and we have Natalie." I tend to agree with Mckay right now. We still don't need more kids- as of yet- but I have noticed myself looking at babies lately a little more frequently than I have for a while. My baby is going to be 2 soon. WHOA! I am not saying that I am ready yet, but the idea of having more kids might come back to me one day! Still I think I will stick to just buying more digi scrap KITS!

Let it SNoW!

It is finally here!! December and the snow! YEAH!! We ( I mean the boys!) have been waiting for this for a month now. What a way for a new month to start with a huge snowfall. Nate and I were made aware of this in bed this morning by Nick and Mckay. They came in with freezing cold pink feet and wet jammies and said, "come look at all the footprints in the snow!" They just couldn't wait for us to get them all bundled up. Nick has been out there all morning, and Mckay quickly realized how COLD snow really is!! He did take his boots off to jump on the trampoline which he quickly found out wasn't a good idea. What a good little boy obeying the "NO SHOE" rule. He came in and enjoyed a mug of Hot Chocolate. Ohh, this time of year is fun!!

GoBble gObBLe

We had a great Thanksgiving!  We cooked, ate, bowled, and ate some more!  I love this time of year and the reminder it gives me to be grateful for all I have.  I have been given so much and I need to be better about remembering that throughout the rest of the year.  A few quick things that have been in my thoughts this week that I am truly grateful for are:

1. My health and the health of my family.  I know so many that are struggling and dealing with serious illness and sickness and I feel so blessed that right now in my life we are all healthy (other than my usual ear infection/ sinus infection! blahh!)

2. Living close to so much family.  I love it! 

3.  Nate's career change.  Outdoor Lighting! It still has it's ups and downs, but whoa!  So much better! It has been life changing. He is doing holiday lights too(if anyone still needs there lights put up, give me a jingle!  yep, the man who hates doing lights. Go figure!!)

4.  My computer.  I know, sounds worldly, but I could give you lots of fabulous reasons it isn't necessarily a worldly thing.  (All of my fellow bloggers understand!)

5.  And of course, my adorable babies.  Yep, still call them all my babies and they are quick to remind me they are not babies.  I love them and feel very blessed to be there mommy!           

the JOY of music

I have been meaning to post this before now because it means so much to me!  My mother in-law called me a couple weeks ago and asked if I wanted one of her pianos!  I don't know if I was hormonal, or just experiencing such shock and excitement, but I started crying immediately and couldn't respond!  She asked again- "do you want it?"   I got a  "yes" out and a "thank-you!" and couldn't say much more!   We went and picked it up that night, and with the help of many kind souls, we got it into the living room and I have looked at it with Joy and Gratitude ever since.  THANK YOU LINDA!  WE LOVE YOU!!

We have all spent time playing and singing and it is so nice to have the sound of music around the house again.  I love it.  I have love playing late into the night as the kids are sound asleep.  Nick picked out "Listen, Listen" on his own the other day!  If you come to the door at just the right time, you might be unlucky enough to hear Nate and I belting out Phantom of The Opera.  Yep, we sing love songs to eachother while I play.  I can't say it is that romantic because we don't sound all that good, but Nate would make a great PHANTOM! 

I also have to tell my Mom and Dad THANK-YOU for giving me Piano Lessons.  I am thankful to have the gift of music in my life! LOVE YOU BOTH!!

The Birds and the Bees! Yep allready!!

Last night as I was trying to have a nice conversation around the dinner table with my kids, Nick asked me when my tummy was going to get big again! He told me that he is lucky to have a brother and sister but Natalie doesn't have a sister and it's not fair. He told me that next October would be a good time for my tummy to be big again. How old is Nick you ask- yep- he is five now and I guess he wants to be involved in this big decision! Little does he know what a big step it will be to have my tummy get big again- but yes, I will do it someday. So anyway, his next question was " how do you get pregnant mom?" HMMMMM,what to tell a 5 year old. I told him it takes a mommy and a daddy. He said, "but how? Is is from HUGGING?" I couldn't say yes because I didn't want him thinking that next time Nate and I "hug" that I am going to 'get a big tummy!' I told him I would tell him when he gets older which only made him more persistent. Sooo, what do you tell a 5 year old I ask you?!! I told him that Heavenly Father puts a baby in my tummy and somehow that satisfied for now. So hopefully this question doesn't come up again until he is quite a bit older, because I haven't prepared myself for this conversation yet. I swear it was just barely that I had this discussion with my own parents

A Christmas Story! AHHHHH!!

While we are Kangaroo Zoo, Nate decided to take Nat on her first big slide! Can you see the size of this slide? Going down it even made me have to close my eyes. So Nate for some reason thought Nat would like to go down it by herself. As she came sliding down by herself, I had images of the movie 'A Christmas Story' when Santa sends Ralphy down the big slide. Needless to say.........



this is how Nat was the remainder of our time at Kangaroo ZOo! Not a happy Camper!

Party Hardy!

I am finally getting to posting pictures from our fun birthdays! Mckay's party was fun, but I am thinking we will wait until Natalie is 5 to have her first friend party! Mckay loved his "bug mountain" cake, playing the marshmallow game, and couldn't get his presents opened fast enough.



For Nick's party we went to Kangaroo ZOO! We took a couple friends and cousins and let them run wild. I made him a race-car cake that Nate told me would be perfect for his 8th birthday! Love ya Nate! It was a cute cake though!

Happy Birthday Nick-o

My Nicholas turns 5 today. Yep, another birthday with a party, wrapping paper, and friends and family. 2 birthday parties in 3 days, what could be better? What good planning you might say, or is it the lack of planning that created 2 babies in precisely 2years almost to the day?!
I can't believe my baby is 5! For the last few days, he has been telling me how things will be different when he is 5! Now he is going to always be nice- He gets to make all of the rules today- etc! Yesterday, he told me that now that he is going to be 5, he wants to have a dark suit like dad. He said he has been noticing how good dark suits look. (where does he come up with these things?) I asked if he knew someone who had one in primary and he told me who did. I guess he is very observant these days and I guess I need to start shopping for a dark suit for him!
Happy Birthday my Nick-o. We are going to have a blast at Kangaroo Zoo!

HaPPy BiRThDaY Mckay

My sweet Mckay is finally 3! I can't believe how fast time goes by. He is so excited to have a birthday party today with his friends! We invited a couple little kids over to wear birthday hats and play with balloons (those are the parts Mckay is sooo excited for!). We'll see how it goes! I love you my Mckay and hope you have a wonderful day (with a nap!!)

HaPPy HaLLoWeEN 2007

Make your own slide shows and scrapbooks

Yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

This is my new favorite fall recipe. I found it here! I attempted to make it look like it had spiderwebs all over it! I can't say I am all that talented in the cake decorating arena, but I had fun doing it! The kids loved helping me push the spiders into it too.

GTU!

Yes, we actually did go watch Good Things Utah. So we are all big nerds, but it was a good girl's day out! We took Char for her birthday to watch it in the live studio audience. So it wasn't quite as exciting as hoped, but we still had fun. The day we went was a pretty lame show. They had a card-making segment, made a pasta dish, and had a lady on who wrote the book "Farm Girl." Ever heard of it? Nope, I doubt anybody has or ever will again! We had fun going to lunch afterward and shopping at Gateway. A day out without kids is alway a good thing. The ladies were just as pretty in person as they are on TV and were kind enough to pose for our pics.

My sisters and I took the kids to Cornbellys. I wish we could buy a yearly membership and go play here once a week. The kids were entertained from the second we got there until the time we had to bribe them to leave with McDonalds. Natalie was amazed by the freaky dinosaur and couldn't wait to get inside. Little did we know that it was very dark inside with lots of scary noises. She didn't cry while we were inside, but she let it all out once we were back in daylight! The boys did not dare go in. We went on a hayride, trainride, went through the maze, which Mckay said "was a-MAZE-ing!" The kids all sat and were thoroughly entertained by a chicken show with fake chickens. It really was cute! So we had a great time and can't wait to go back next year.

Favorite Pictures

These are a few of my favorites of the pictures we had taken. I can't wait to get them up on my walls now. It seems it takes me so long to actually get pictures framed and then hung. I am hoping to do better this time!

HaPPy BiRThDaY ChaR-kY

Today is my favorite "big sister's" 32nd birthday. Happy Happy Birthday Char! I love you! I love that we live so close to each other and hope that we always do. I have always wanted to be like you for as long as I can remember. I always wanted my hair just like yours, and I tried for a long time (even getting the same hair girl)! I have always wanted to play the piano as good as you could. I remember listening to you play and couldn't wait until I could play the songs you could. I was so happy when I finally made it into your books. What an accomplishment!
I'll never forget the time when I went with you to the grocery store to say "hi" to one of your boyfriends and I peed my pants! AHHHH! I would have killed Linds if she did that to me.
I love the memory of hanging out with you at Snow College. You were so nice to let Ash and I come hang out with you and "the boy" who named you Charky! We thought that was the funnest weekend! .
I guess we have changed a lot from the "curler" days, but I still look up to you and am thankful to have such an amazing "big sister!"
Thanks for puting up with us this morning and letting us surprise you. Thanks for keeping us from embarrassing you at CPK! lol!! It still is making me laugh when I think about it.
Love you Char!

Watercolors

Have you ever wondered if you could paint your hair? Well, Natalie discovered that a little goes a long way when it comes to CrAyOLa water paints. Nick, our blossoming little artist, left out his paints and Natalie went to town painting her hair various shades of blUeS and GrEenS. Luckily it all washed out easily, though I am trying to figure out how I can incorporate this look with Halloween!

"Feel Good Foods" and PuMPkiNs

We had a wonderful conference weekend! I am once again motivated to be better in all I do and say! I can't believe how fast conference goes now that I am older and actually internalize what is being said. I truly look forward to hearing the words of our Prophet and Apostles. I am thankful for them and their words of wisdom we received this weekend.
I love this time of year! I was telling Nate the other day that I feel like eating "comfort foods" everyday in the fall. He asked what is "comfort foods?" So I had to explain what "are" comfort foods to my 30 year old husband. For some reason he has never heard this term! As I was explaining, I realized that most everything is a comfort food this time of year because I love food! Ok, not really, but I did have a pretty good list going. Since we have been home from our trip I have made Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, Apple Crisp, and Peanut Butter Cookies. Yes, I know, so much for eating healthy! Nate keeps asking me "is this a 'feel good' food?" Yeah, I feel pretty good while eating them don't you?!!
I took the kids to a pumpkin patch with my mom and sisters while the guys were at priesthood session. It has become a little tradition and the kids love it. It was rainy and 40 degrees out, but we got some good pumpkins. I had to talk the boys into getting big pumpkins. They only wanted ones that they could carry "all by myself!" 3 little pumpkins on the front porch- doesn't look so good, so I convinced them to get big ones that daddy could help them carve! Hopefully they will appreciate my wisdom when we go to carve them in a few weeks.

There's No Place Like Home!

We are finally home and happy to be here. Thanks to the 8 days away, I am a bit more patient and trying to enjoy the tantrums and whining. Nate and I had an amazing time away. It ended up being a little longer than expected and as we almost didn't get on the flight home my eyes welled up with tears because I needed my babies! We hiked through a rain forest with swinging bridges, hiked down to a secluded snorkeling cove, and laid by the pool enjoying some yummy drinks and reading our books. It was a little slice of heaven! While I was relaxing and enjoying my peaceful bliss, I couldn't help but notice the adorable children all around (yes they were all extra adorable because I was missing mine!), and think what a better mother I need to be. It is so easy when your not in the thick of it to realize all the things on which need I need to improve upon. It was easy to sit back and watch the parents getting frustrated with their little ones being silly or whiny and think- just calm down. They are just children! So I promised myself that I would say the same to myself daily. That is why a week away on vacation in Maui can be so great. I recommend it to every one! Or just some time away wherever it may be! It is good for the body, mind, soul, and your children!

Still on the Island

We are stuck in Paradise! Lucky us!! No flights home!

What A Deal

My friends occasionally laugh at me because of the jOy I find in saving money- while spending more money. But this week I have found some great deals! I love Albertsons and Smiths 10 for 10$! We are enjoying having some extra yummies around the house and all of them cost 1$! What a dEAl! Granola bars 1 $! HoneyComb 1$! Multigrain Oatmeal 1$! and Nate's favorite- Pop tarts 1$! We also bought some dinosaur egg instant oatmeal that the boys are loving. When you put the oatmeal in the bowl, you can see dinosaur eggs. After it is cooked, the eggs have hatched and you have little dinosaurs. So cool! Nate called me this morning and asked if I had time to go get some more deals today. Of course I do! I really do love to sHoP and SaVe and when Nate is excited about it- how can I pass it up?

Rainy Day

The boys had a great time playing in the RaIn over the weekend. It didn't seem to bother them that it is no longer summer and a bit colder outside. The shirts still came off, and so did the pAnTS for Mckay! Okay, really it is a lot colder outside. We woke up to frost on the ground this morning. I don't know that I am ready for this yet!

Family Pictures

We finally had our family pictures done! Yea and it's over! I scheduled them a couple of months ago and I have been stressing out about them ever since. I realized there is only so much I have control over though-like what everyone was going to wear (which I finally figured out around 1:00 this afternoon! AHHHHH! Why do I procrastinate so much in my life?). We got caught in traffic which made us late. Natalie broke out in some rash on her face when we got out of the car. She decided to be a little grump for the first hour until she got to have a tea party! The boys loved the leaves, grass, dirt, rocks, trees, but not the camera! As we were driving down the canyon, Natalie started laughing and playing and SMILING! We had to stop and take a few pics of her happy because I don't know how many we will get with Nichole. So, I can't wait to see how it really all turned out and hopefully she will post some soon here!

Little Shop of Horrors!

WOW! We have the coolest new plant in our home. Right out of Little Shop of Horrors. Okay- not quite human eating, but fly and other small creature eating! The Venus Fly Trap. Yes! It really does eat FLIES. It is amazing. We have had so many flies buzzing around our house this last month. We are all very familiar with the song "Shew fly don't bother me!" Oh the JOYS of summer. I know in a few months when the flies are all FROZEN, I will be missing them! Now, we have left the door open on purpose a couple of times just so a fly will come inside and we can feed it to our plant. The plant SNAPS down on the fly the second it lands on it. It all sounds a little outerspace-ish that a plant can eat something living. It really is amazing!