Happy New Year's Eve

We are enjoying a night @ home with the boys! We are going to play games & snack on honey/brown sugar Lil' Smokies, chips & dip & hot chocolate chip cookies! We have air horns & confetti poppers ready for midnight. Our neighbors are usually out so it is fun for the boys! We'll see who actually lasts that long!

We hope 2008 is a year of good health & happiness for each of you & your families!

Happy New Year!

Random tidbits

A few random things we have enjoyed/experienced in the last few days.

Now that our Christmas cards have gone out, I can share some of my favorite photos from our November photo shoot with our photographer Chris Harder.

Why is it that the day after Christmas I always have this sudden urge to start purging closets, cupboards, drawers, etc...? Maybe it is because all of the new presents need to go somewhere & there just isn't any more room! I have cleaned my closet, the boys drawers, my scrapbook room, the cereal/can cupboard, junk drawers etc... It feels good & I think my house is 200 lbs. lighter.

I did some day after Christmas shopping! I hit Pier 1 & Target. Found some storage boxes for my wreaths, a few ornaments, & wrapping paper that was super cheap. I even managed to pick up two presents for next year.

Carter has FINALLY lost his 3rd tooth. It has been loose for about two months. We have heard about it daily & I have had to wiggle it each day just to "See" for Carter's sake. It has been a big deal for this boy! Lots of drama & tears. He wouldn't just pull it, then he'd get frustrated that it was still there. It is out & we are ALL happy. The tooth fairy came & left him $2.00.

The boys are loving the Wii. Amber,Kenny, my Mom & Dad stopped by for a quick visit last night & brought Tanner his birthday presents. Amber was a sucker & let Tanner open her gift early. It was the BMX Wii game. They have been enjoying that today! Thanks Amber.

Brody has a nasty cold, green snot & all. I know TMI! He does not feel well & you can tell. He is still on the move & into everything but he cries or whines while doing so. Poor baby!

In just about one month, I will be enjoying a scrapbook weekend @ the beach with friends. I can't wait!

Can I just say that I love the people @ Wal*MArt who look @ me like I am crazy & ask if all four of boys are mine. I want to say "No, I enjoy borrowing the neighbor kids when going to Wal*Mart"!

We are enjoying Dreyer's peppermint ice cream with Oreo cookies. It is a Christmas treat that we look forward to each year. Love that we are still enjoying it close to New Years.

We are also enjoying all of the Christmas cards/photos that everyone sent. Thank you! We love the updated pictures!

I was able to scrapbook with some friends last night! These were Friends from Memories! I met them while teaching classes there. I got there late, then it was time for dinner & then some other girlfriends stopped by the store to say hi(Hi Erin, Hi Jan, Hi Morgan). After chatting for an hour & a half, I got to work. I had completed one page by the time I left @ 11:50 pm. I was not very productive but I sure had a good time!

I am glad I started this Blog. It has been our family journal for the last 6 months. I created a Harry Potter page for Tanner last night (yes the one page I completed). They were the pictures I had taken when we went to get the book @ midnight when it was released. For some reason those pictures did not have dates on them. I was able to find the date on my blog because I had blogged about it. I wish I hadn't journaled the layout @ the store. I should have waited & used my blog entry. I had better details in the blog entry. So... if there are some of you who have not started your blog, do it now! I highly recommend it!

We are looking forward to New Year's Eve! We can't believe 2007 is almost over! It has been a great year filled with lots of memories! We hope you have a happy & safe New Year's Eve!

Merry Christmas to All - photos

P.S. you can place you cursor on the bottom part of each picture & the caption will show up & the picture will pause! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to All!

We hope you all had a a very Merry Christmas! We can't believe it's over. Our house says other wise. It seriously looks like a tornado ripped thru our house yesterday. Christmas day was fabulous. We started off @ home enjoying Santa gifts & opening presents. The boys kept yelling that this was the BEST Christmas ever. Everyone seemed pleased with all of their presents. Tanner received some new golf clubs & DS games that he has been wanting! Carter received some new golf clubs & games too! I think Garrett had the best morning ever. This was the first year that he really understood what what going on - LOL! He got a new bike with a new helmet. He kept saying "my new bike, my new bike". John bought him motorcycle PJ's & when he opened them he said "SO COOL". It was so cute & so much fun to watch! The magic of Christmas! Then Tanner commented that the only thing that Santa didn't bring them was a Wii. John & I told him that Santa doesn't always bring everything on our lists. Tanner was okay with that. John started to open his presents & Brody had bought him the Call of Duty 3 Wii game. The boys looked so confused. John told them that Santa must have misplaced one of the gifts. And sure enough, they found a big Santa bag that had the Wii, Nun chucks, & a few games in it. The boys went wild & were super excited & so LOUD! It was so fun to watch. We were on the road by 11 am & made it to my parents by 1 pm. We enjoyed my Moms yummy scones with carmel syrup & her homemade carmels- YUM! Once everyone was there, we had to get all of the family shots. It is becoming quite the chore with 10 grandchildren! We were able to get a few cute shots (at least everyone was looking @ the camera)! Then we opened presents & enjoyed the festivities with Grandma & Grandpa. Our next stop was Great Grandma & Grandpa's. More cousins, more food, & more memories were made.
My Grandma sent me home with her Nativity set yesterday! It made me get all teary eyed. They just don't have the energy to put up all of their decorations each year. They are beginning to down size their Christmas stuff. Receiving her manger scenes was the best gift I received yesterday (along with my license plate frame)! I have always loved her nativity. It is even more special because it was a gift to my Grandma from my Grandpa. I can't wait to put it out next year. It will have to go somewhere high enough that it can be protected :). Our wise men (2 of them) lost hands this season :) due to a curious 3 year old.

We truly hope your December has been a month filled with LOVE, PEACE & JOY. We hope you were able to enjoy all of the sights, sounds & smells that December holds!
P.S. Pictures will be another post!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

And the boys in our house are SO ready for Christmas. They are so excited, they can't stand it!!! I had to laugh tonight. They were so tired that it took them 5 minutes to fall asleep. I remember laying awake till 1 am with my siblings. We would all sleep in one room. We would talk & talk & wonder what Santa would leave us that year. Fun Memories! We enjoyed a great afternoon/evening with John's family. The boys loved the quad rides, frosting the sugar cookies (thanks Auntie Petra), playing with the cousins, & of course opening presents. The Reindeer food has been sprinkled on the lawn, cookies & milk have been left for Santa, & I was able to get all of our yearly pictures in front of the tree. I better get into bed so Santa will visit our house! Merry Christmas to each of you! We hope your day is fabulous & filled with the Christmas spirit.

5 days...

till Christmas! If you have children in the house or work retail, I am sure you are aware of this! My boys are giddy with excitement! Christmas can not come fast enough. My friend Camie gave us this cute picture frame where we can count the days down (thanks Camie). My boys don't let us forget & remind us when it needs to be changed.

A few highlights from the last few days:

-Garrett has learned how to ride a two wheeler @ the age of 3 1/2. I was a t the scrapbook store tonight so there weren't any cars in the garage. John said he found Garrett out there riding his bike in circles ( without training wheels) with a huge smile on his face. He is so excited.

- Garrett went ice skating today on a preschool field trip. He did really well & was skating by himself @ the end of our session.

-One more day of school for the older boys.

-My shopping is done WOOT-WOOT!

-We have lots of wrapping left to do!

- John is on vacation till the New Year.

-Lots of holiday parties @ the school.

Are you ready for Christmas? What's left on your to do list?

Family Christmas Party!

We sure did enjoy our annual family Christmas party with the Shores. Mom & Dad hosted the party this year. It was loud & crazy with all of the kids running around. They sure do enjoy one another. I am grateful that they have the chance to get together & reconnect. The family Christmas parties are some of my fondest childhood Memories. Our family is not known for our singing abilities & it was apparent last night. We tried singing Christmas carols while waiting for Santa. We ended up signing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer over & over again because it was the only one everyone new knew the words to! We are pretty pathetic in the singing department. Santa finally showed up & passed out presents. Brody has already seen Santa a couple of times this season & was totally fine & happy! When Santa walked in last night, Brody began to scream. We think he was just upset because someone else showed up to the party in his outfit :). It was another great party! We look forward to next years.
P.S. I was taking pictures on both cameras, I will add more later!

7 months old today & "do you see what I see"?

Mr. Brody is 7 months old today. I really did think that this last baby was going to stay a baby forever. Boy was I wrong! Do you see what I see in this first picture? Yes, that is Brody standing @ the coffee table. He is pulling himself up on everything (walls, coffee table, the bench, etc...) So here's what Brody is up to @ 7 months:
-he is wearing 12-18 months clothes.
-he wears a size three diaper.
-he is drinking 8 oz. of formula @ each feeding.
-he is doing really well with the cereal & food.
-he likes to grab our faces & suck, eeer I mean kiss our cheeks.
-he crawling so fast & is all over the place. Loves to bee line for the Christmas tree when we aren't watching.
-he sat on Santa's lap for the first time(didn't cry but sure looked him up & down)
-he snorts when he crawls.

-he is very ticklish(especially on the inside of his cute Little thighs!
-he waves when he wants to (does not perform on demand)
-he has decided when he will sleep thru the night & when he will not-uugghhh!
-he now sleeps in a crib that has been lowered as far as it can be due to pulling himself up.
-he saw his first movie in the theatre(Alvin & the Chipmunks) .
-he will no longer be riding in the infant car seat, big boy seat here he comes!

We sure are enjoying this little boy! The little shirt he had on today read "Unbearably cute" & is so true if I do say so myself. We're glad he's ours!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my dear sister Amber. I am oldest & Amber is next in line. We are only14 months apart in age. She is one of my best friends. She is a good soul. Very kind, very giving, very helpful, very thoughtful. She is a great Mom, wife, & sister. She is very talented & crafty! In fact, while growing up our little brother called her the real artist & our Mom was the half artist according to Tyson (mind you my Mom is crafty too). I am sad that the miles separate us on days like today! I wish I could be there today to help her celebrate her big day. So...help me in wishing my sister a very happy special birthday today! I love ya Amber! Wishing you many more!

A SWEET day!

Making Gingerbread houses at school today was all Carter could talk about this week. He could not wait for this day. If gingerbread houses weren't enough... they had a pizza Party too! Carter's teacher is so much fun & always goes out of her way to make everything over the top. I hope she survived the rest of the day. Those children were downing the candy & the frosting (by the spoonfuls). As Carter left for school this morning he said: "can you please bring Brody to school, everyone is asking to see him because he is so cute"! Well okay! Brody & I went to help assemble gingerbread houses this morning. Carter showed him off to each student in the class & even introduced him to each friend. Then Carter & a couple of friends took turns reading books to Brody. It was very sweet. The whole morning was SWEET-literally!

Cookies Anyone?

I hosted a fun cookie exchange @ my place tonight! It was kind of a last minute thing!

I knew I wanted to do it but I just didn't have time to make invites. December is so crazy with all of the festivities but I made it happen. Everyone brought 6 dozen cookies/candy(all the same) to share. In turn, everyone left with 6 different plates of cookies/candy. Everything looked wonderful. Now I can deliver treats to my neighbors & the great thing is that I didn't have to slave away in my kitchen making multiple kinds treats. Happy Baking!

The Festivities have begun!

The first week of December has come & gone.

So far, we have:

-put up our tree(twice)

-decorated our house.

-put the lights up outside

-Wrapped a few presents.

-Finished making a few cards for family.

-Finished addressing Christmas cards.

-A little Christmas shopping with my Mom.

-Worked on the Grandma gifts.

-Enjoyed the Relief Society Progressive dinner

-Hot chocolate while looking @ Christmas lights.

-Christmas music on heavy rotations

I am working on a 31 days of Christmas album & am snapping photos daily for this little scrapbook. Our December has gotten off to a great start. We are looking forward to the rest of the month & all of the festivities we still have yet to enjoy! What are you enjoying these days?

Tagged

I have been tagged by my cousin Shelly.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Going to college at night.
2. John & I had been married for one year.
3. Working full time as a nanny for a sweet family.
4. John & I took a fun trip to Hawaii that I had won from a radio station.
5. Turned 23 that year.

5 Things on my to-do list today (only 5?)
1. Finish making my Christmas cards.
2. Complete the Grandma gifts.
3. Get my scrapbook stuff organized for a crop tomorrow night.
4. Wrap Christmas presents.
5. Finish cleaning the kitchen.

5 Snacks I enjoy
1. Chocolate chip cookies
2. Trail Mix
3. Pringles
4. Sweet & Salty Chex mix
5. Chocolate chip granola bars

5 things I would do if I was a Billionaire:
1. Go to New York City & do all of the touristy stuff.
2. Take care of missions/college for 4 boys.
3. Buy a bigger house with a playroom, pool & sports court for the boys.
4. A trip to Europe to see John's family.
5.Open a shelter for children, a safe place to call home.

3 of my bad habits:
1. being a little too impatient sometimes.
2. saying YES to too many things @ one time.
3. I stay up way too late!

5 places I have lived
1. San Jose, CA
2. Campbell, CA
3. Orem, UT
4. LA, CA
5. current residence

5 Jobs I’ve had:
1. My first job was at an ice cream store called Big Scoop
2. An accounting Firm
3. A nanny
4. Etcetera in the mall years ago.
5. Current CEO of household.

5 Things people probably don’t know about me:
1. I was a gymnast in my younger years! I took 1st place in all the events in my very 1st gymantics meet. I loved to tumble & do the vault!
2. My nick name while growing up was HOOVERINA becasue I liked to vacum.
3. My natural hair color is a light brown with blonde highlights.
4. I can watch the movies Goonies & A Walk to Remember over & over again.
5. I don't like to make the bed.
**This one was realy hard. Am I an open book????

I now tag all of you reading this! (no blog mmmmLISAmmmm ? at least comment on ours)

And the winners are:

We have a couple of winners! The boys really enjoyed pulling winner from the cookie jar. They would have picked each & every one of you! Thank you so much for sharing your favorite traditions & the things you love about December/Christmas. I really enjoyed reading each one of them. I am going to add a few to our already existing family traditions thanks to each of you! Just in case the pictures are hard to see, Julianne, Annie P, & Laurie are the winners. Congrats ladies, I will get your surprises to you in the next day or so.

We decorated our tree this evening. Carter made sure the music was on & they were excited to dig into their own ornament boxes. So much fun! Things are beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I love this time of year.

Nativity Pageant

The Ward Christmas party has come & gone. Let me tell you, it felt like we were forever in the planning process. Then the night comes & goes in a blink. We started the evening with a few musical numbers & then the children performed the nativity. The Primary children did such a great job with their lines, the songs, & they just looked so cute in their costumes. We ended the evening with photos with Santa, a dessert bar loaded with all sorts of treats & hot chocolate & a great time visiting with friends. . I could not have pulled this party off with out Camie. She was the creative brain behind the nativity. Her costume ideas were so cute & the sets she created were fabulous. Thank you so much Camie! Keri was also a huge help. She ran my kitchen crew. Thanks Keri, I so appreciate your help.Tanner was Joseph & Carter was wise man. They had a great time dressing up. John was trying to take pictures, juggle the little boys & then my card didn't have any more room for pictures. I will update with more photos when I get them from my friend.It was a great way to kick off our December. I am looking forward to enjoying each day in December & I hope you do too!

Christmas Cards & A Holiday Give Away

Oh my goodness! We received our first Christmas card in the mail yesterday. My friend Kathy is on the ball. I love receiving Christmas cards with updated family photos. This is ONE of my favorite parts of the holiday season. I stalk the mail carrier-LOL. I look forward to each & every card(this is a BIG hint to you if you are reading my blog :). Don't forget to put me on your Christmas Card list. What is your favorite part/tradition during the Christmas season? Leave a comment & I will have the boys draw a name in the next couple of days. If your name is drawn, I'll send you a surprise in the mail.
Have a great day!

Deck the Halls

Okay, this is the only thing I have decked so far :) & it is not even complete. A few of you have asked to see the stockings I made for my family a year or so ago. These are Primitive stockings, a little rough around the edges. I don't sew, so I am very proud of these (Can I say that?) I even made an extra one, not knowing whether or not we would be having any more children. I am so glad I made an extra one. Now I don't have to stress over making one more. My friend is going to put Brody's name on his & then we'll hang it with the rest. These stockings hang in our entry way & are more for decoration purposes. We have stockings that hang in the family room & Santa fills those. I had my father in law stitch vinyl pockets on the stockings & I have placed pictures of each of us with Santa. Then the pictures can be changed from year to year (or not). Putting these up tonight makes me want to get the rest of our stuff out. One more week! Have you decked your house out yet?