I Am Lovin The New Looks

We've got some new looks in our home! Take a peek...

Ben's toothless grin. I cannot get enough of it. I want him to talk to me constantly so that I can hear his lisp. Love it!

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Ella has been begging me to cut her hair short for some time. It was hard for me but I finally caved. And she is super excited to be able to donate her hair as well. She's a cutie!!

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One of my goals this year is to really enjoy each stage of my kids' lives. Life is so busy and overwhelming I feel like I am constantly in a glazed over kind of haze. I want to be able to focus on my kids the way they deserve to be focused on. I think I haven't been necessarily bad at this but we can always do better, right? Taking time to stop, and celebrate moments like cute smiles and haircuts is one way I intend to accomplish my goal.

Back To Cali - Winter 2010

On Christmas morning, right after we opened presents, we took off to California. We were looking forward to an amazing Christmas dinner Gary promised to have waiting for us. And boy was it amazing. It was actually beyond amazing. I had no idea he was such a good cook! We relaxed at Nani's with Gary and Christian and the next day we got to see Dave and his cute family as well. We opened more gifts and enjoyed spending time with Scott, Cashton and Mason.

The next day we headed to LA to visit Uncle Leon, and Dave and Kristin. While up there we stopped at the LA Temple. This temple has special meaning to us because Lee and I were sealed here. We have a great story about our sealing. If you'd like to hear it you can ask Lee. He sure loves to tell it and I guarantee you'll be slapping your knee. Anyway, back to the post. We had the kids all touch the temple walls and we talked about how one day they will get to go inside and how fabulous that day will be for them.

It was really nice to be able to spend some time with Lee's family. We miss them and since they never come up to visit us we don't see them very often. Ouch!

For the last half of the trip we went down to see Eric and Julie and the kids. I love love love how the kids play so well with each other...like time stands still when they're apart and picks right back up again when we visit. One of the fun things we did was go down to San Diego to the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center. While driving down I got to text back and forth with my other brother Ryan as him and Cheryl were having their baby. I felt sad that we missed it but it totally felt like we were there with all the texts and pictures going back and forth.

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For those of you who have not experienced the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center, I highly recommend it. It was a super fun experience. I almost felt like we were really there. The interactive tour was very impressive. We even got to pan for gold.

Emma loved holding Troy. What a cutie he is!

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We stopped at the Old Spaghetti Factory for a yummy dinner and took a little detour on the way home to be able to see the San Diego Temple. This one also has special meaning to me because I received my endowment here. It also is by far the most beautiful of all temples, if you ask me.

There is a story behind this picture. In the morning, before any other kids were awake Gavin and Ella woke up and came down to watch TV. There was a huge sectional in a large family room but they chose to sit next to each other in the same chair. How cute is that?

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We also went to a park and fed ducks.

Ben keeps telling me how much he wants a baby brother. I want to cry every time he tells me this but that's a whole nother post. It was so good for him to be around Troy. I think he got his fix.

We also had some pretty wild entertainment thanks to the girls.

There was a really cute little duck with an awesome hairdo. The kids called it Albert Duckstein.


Eric and Julie have a really cute old fashioned candy store by their house. Of course we had to stop there and stock up.



We rang in the new year at their house by playing games and even making up our own...





And if you can believe it we all stayed up till midnight. Everyone but.....






Happy New Year!!!!!


Another successful trip to Cali was accomplished. We sure love our Cali trips, but there is nothing like comin home. Until next time...

Christmas Morning 2010

The plan for Christmas morning was to get up early and open presents and then take off to Cali. We knew we would have to get up pretty early to be able to make it to Nani's for dinner time. Gary was planning and preparing a feast that we just couldn't miss. So that's just what we did. We all got up at 4:15! and headed downstairs to see what Santa left us.

Lala Loopsy, Paper Jams, and Ipod Nanos...the kids scored!

The kids even surprised us with some dang cool presents, like coupon books, cards, ornaments. How do you like Eva's Santa book? Santa looks a little familiar to me...does he to you?

Emma even decided she wanted to buy us all presents with her babysitting money. She is so cute!

The kids made out like bandits. They got a lot of really cool stuff.

DS Games, Wii Games, Nail Polish,
Mighty Beans, Baby Dolls, Playdoh,
Legos, Webkinz...

...Purses, Pillow Pets...I think we will even try Lagoon Passes this year thanks to Nani!

Ben fainted when he opened his Lego Harry Potter DS game.

And we pulled a fast one on Emma by hiding her Justice gift card in a big box full of trash.


After opening presents and last minute packing we were off!

California or Bust!

Christmas Eve 2010

This past Christmas Eve was very memorable for me, possibly the most memorable in a long time. I missed my brother Eric and his family. If they were here it would have been a near perfect night. We decided we would put together a program for the night. This is something we will do every year that we host from now on. I loved that everyone was involved and had a part. It made for a special night that was different from other times when we get together and just hang out.

One of the things that was surprising was that all the girl cousins got together and sang "When Christmas Comes To Town" from The Polar Express. I had a feeling they were planning something, I just didn't know what it was. They were shining as they were singing and they sounded like angels. I loved it!


I don't know what we were thinking putting "open presents" last on the program. That didn't go over well so we moved it closer to the top of the list. As soon as we had dinner we all exchanged gifts and the kids opened their traditional PJ gifts as well.

I asked some of the kids to be prepared to share what the Nativity means to them in any form they want.



Tess presented a favorite picture of hers and why it is so special to her.
Tayli played some beautiful Christmas songs on the violin.



Emma found some poems that she loved about Christmas to recite.
Eva traced and colored a picture from the Friend and read a scripture.

Ella drew a picture of the Nativity complete with wise men, shepherds, stars, animals and of course Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus.

I asked Ben to tell us about the different ways other countries celebrate Christmas. He has been learning about it in his school class. He did a fabulous job. I loved hearing about La Befana, the good witch, who visits Italy on Christmas. I also thought it was cool to learn that in some parts of England they put pillow cases at the foot of their beds to be filled instead of (or maybe in addition to) stockings. My kids totally want to start that tradition.

Given the fact that Ryan was recovering from his double ear surgery and couldn't hear and Cheryl was about ready to pop with a baby, we decided to just go ahead and let Papa read from Luke 2.

I loved how the kids all listened very intently and respectful during the reading. It brought a great feeling into the room.

Christmas Eve just isn't the same without Lee singing his Christmas Songs.

Another special part of the night was when my parents shared some memorable Christmas experiences from the past.

Papa told of one Christmas when he was young that was memorable for the wrong reason. He had a neighbor who had a bunch of exotic birds that were kept in large cages outside. One day Papa decided to go over and open up all the cages. All the exotic birds flew away! He said because of that decision his Christmas that year was not a very pleasant one.

Papa also talked about being able to play Santa this year as the bishop of their ward. They live in an area where there are a lot of elderly people and also very poor and needy families. Papa spoke of people in the ward who would drop off loads of gifts and money to their house, wanting to remain anonymous, and Papa would deliver the gifts and money to homes in need. The generosity of his community moved him to tears.What was really touching was that many of these families who wanted to give were hardly able to provide the essentials for their own families. That's the spirit of Christmas in action.

Grammie had two very touching stories as well.

She spoke of a time when she was really young when her and her sisters played the accordion. Their parents would often make them play and sing for neighbors and friends. One Christmas, Grammies mom and dad told them they were going to play some carols for a neighbor who was old and had been wheelchair bound for many years. The kids didn't really want to go but they knew they had to. They went up to the door and started playing, waiting for this neighbor to open it. Grammies dad went into the home to make sure the neighbor was alright and the girls kept playing. When they finished all their songs they started them all over again. It was taking quite a long time. Finally the door opened and this neighbor stood with a big smile on his face and he listened to my mom and her sisters play for him. What makes this story special for my mom was that she found out later that when her dad went into the neighbors house, he found the neighbor in his wheelchair thinking there was no way he could get up to get to the door although he really wanted to. Grammies dad proceeded to tell him that if he had any faith he would just get up and walk to that door. And that's just what he did. The neighbor died shortly thereafter.

The other story that Grammie told was also of when she was little. Her family didn't have much but she always felt like they had what they needed. Her dad had a really nice watch that he would pawn whenever times would get tough for some extra money. Then he would gradually save the money to be able to buy the watch back. One Christmas Grammies dad, without anyone knowing, pawned the watch to be able to buy a present for his three girls. He bought them each a beautiful, very expensive baby doll. When the time came that he was able to save up enough money to go buy his watch back, it wasn't there. He never saw his special watch again. Grammie showed us her baby doll that she still keeps as a symbol of all the sacrifices her own father made for their family as they grew up.

I am so thankful for the Christmas season when we get to remember the birth of our Savior, His perfect life and His sacrifice for each of us. I am thankful for my family and their examples of goodness to me. I will remember this night forever and the feeling that was present in our home.

Argh...

...so much to blog about and so little time!

30 Random Things About Me

Most of you have probably already read this on Facebook. I just thought that since I view my blog as my journal I would post it here as well. I also thought that this could be important information that my grandkids would need to know one day. Ha Ha Ha!!

1. It is painfully hard for me to think of 30 random things about myself.
2. Every room in my house is a different color.
3. I punish my kids when their naughty by making them listen to John Denver in the car. It doesn't bother me any...I could listen to "Sunshine On My Shoulders" all day long.
4. Ever since I was probably ten I have wanted to get a job at the mall as a gift wrapper. Not that I am any good at it, I just love the idea of wrapping gifts that will go to people and help make their day a little brighter. If any of you have Christmas gifts that you don't want to wrap just bring them on over. I would love to wrap them!
5. I know people aspire to be doctors, lawyers, important people, but along with being a gift wrapper I have always wanted to be a school bus driver. It just seems like it would be so much fun to crank that huge steering wheel and open those bifold doors for all the kids to get on and off. Ha ha ha! I am such a dork! But I really would love it.
6. I am fiercely competitive. It is hard for me to even let my kids win at Uno.
7. One of only a few life long dreams of mine is to be able to run a marathon. Now that my kids are older I am hoping that now is the time. I signed up for the Ogden Marathon which is in May along with my hubby and my dad. I am so excited to have the chance to fulfill my dream with the two men I love more than anything!
8. I have a massive fear of wasps. Every time one flies around me I scream and wave my arms around and make a COMPLETE idiot of myself.
9. I love Indian Food and Sushi.
10. I could totally see myself becoming a cat lady when I am old and lonely...you know the kind that have like 100 cats, and they talk to them and let them sleep with them and all that stuff.
11. Total cheese alert: I don't know how in this world I ever scored such an amazing man. My hubby, Lee is most definitely my better half.
12. On that note, Lee and I were engaged after only 1 week of dating.
13. I LOATHE snow. I am definitely not a snow bunny. We have lived here in Utah for 9 years now and I still have never been skiing or snowboarding and don't really have a desire to go. During the winter I miss HB something fierce, but the other three seasons in Utah make up for it. I LIVE for Summertime!
14. OK, I just cannot deny it any more...I love Justin Bieber! What are you going to do about it? :)
15. Would have to say my most embarrassing moment to date was when we had gone through about a week straight of door to door solicitors harassing us at all hours of the day. The last straw was when two solicitors came to our door during dinner time and Lee had the nerve to invite them in. I went to a dark place I hope never to return to. I went off on those poor men that were just trying to do their jobs. I yelled, probably even swore, yelled some more, threatened to call the police on them if they didn't leave that moment. I slammed the door on them and turned around to see Lee's face ghostly white. He immediately asked me, "Don't you know who that was?" Come to find out it was our brand new neighbor who had just moved in across the street. Lee had made an appointment with him and his partner and had failed to tell me about it. Whoops!
16. I wish I had more musical genes in my body...scratch that...I wish I had even just one musical gene in my body.
17. I actually love brussel sprouts.
18. I love shopping for other people.
19. Don't love shopping for myself. In fact it gives me TOTAL anxiety.
20. I really don't love angry holiday shoppers.
21. My kids crack me up on a daily basis. They are the funniest foursome I know.
22. I probably will not be winning World's Greatest Mother any time soon considering the fact that my 5 yr old, Ella's favorite song is "I Love The Way You Lie" by Eminem.
23. If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be to Greece. The history, culture, and beauty of the country intrigues me. Not to mention the food is divine.
24. I always wonder why my cat, Monte stares at me when I take a shower. I really think he was a creepy pervert in a past life.
25. I come up with the weirdest nicknames for people, ie Lee aka Der, Emma aka Boo Boo Ger Base, Eva aka D'Eva-D, Ben aka My Oh Guy, and Ella aka BeeBee Cal. There is no need to tell me...I already know I have serious problems.
26. Once I had a dream that I gave birth to a pumpkin pie. My mom was SO proud of that little pie.
27. I am really wishing this was a "27 Random Things" list right about now.
28. I have a weird little OCD issue with magazines. I have to read the magazine from cover to cover and cannot skip even one page. If I did it would bug me for years.
29. Have been missing "Highway To Heaven" lately. Where is the good wholesome TV of the old days?
30. I have this huge fear that I will be eaten by a bear one day. Let's just say that we don't camp much as a family.