Christmas break

Will and Nate both did a little program at their schools.



Nate looked like he was falling asleep, he kept yawning! he he he

did the wrong actions? oh well....

Christmas eve with the kids as usual... new pjs...silly poses.... We have some great kids!!
Christmas morning....Ethan got a DS (although his favorite toy was a $2 yoyo?? go figure)
Will got a 'dancing' robot tractor. Won't play with anything else.
Nate got a remote control dinosaur.
Emery got a Barbie doll house, built by Santa and Santa's dad! (ya baby)
We had lots of fun with Josh's family, tubing at Soldier's Hollow, dinners, talent show, skiing and boarding!

This is the doll house that Santa made! Pretty cool eh? It was fun making it...uhh...I'm guessing. All the furniture was hand made, very little sewing needed. ;) (These pics are mostly for my mom and sisters)

Snow!

My friend posted this on her blog, it was so funny I had to share. Listen to the word for "snow". Very very funny! Thanks VandCo !

lights, camera .... swimming

My mom and dad were in town and took the kids swimming at the hotel they were staying at. They had so much fun. My dad is a fish and the kids love swimming with him.
Then we took trax down to temple square to see the lights. This time we went with my brother and sister-in-law and their kids. It was so cold!
(and I had my camera on a weird setting the whole time, so all the pics were grainy and didn't know till the very end, gggrrr)

Santa

We had our ward party last night, and the kids had fun. I think being able to run around the church without getting in trouble was novel for them. They did a little nativity skit, sang some songs, ate some dinner and got to see Santa.

Nate said Santa called him, Blake Ashton, so he thinks this Santa was a hoax. LOL It was kinda funny. Will couldn't believe that he got his letter and was just excited. Emery on the other hand is getting older, so I wonder about her. And Ethan, well, he's having fun thinking he is so much older and wiser than the younger kids.

;)

I also had another fun project. I wanted the kids to have fun, personal stockings (that didn't cost me a fortune) So I made these......they actually turned out really cute! They are huge, so they hold a ton :) And the kids love them, that's what counts. And again it was fun to make them, no sewing involved. Me and the hot glue gun are best friends.
The kids are missing Josh. He is gone so much with his new job. He travels about 2-3 weeks out of the month. So in memory of him Will put on everything army he could find! I think he has on 3 different vests.

11 years

It's hard to believe it has been 11 years!

Ethan has the funnest personality...so much energy...
and has some of the best friends...(-1 who had to leave early)
and has turned into one of the nicest kids I know.At the request of Ethan, the cake was plain, no sprinkles, nothing cutesy, nothing fancy.

We got him a new BMX bike and Josh took the boys to play laser tag, and arcade games. They had a blast! (He also got his braces on yesterday, but wouldn't let me take a picture. I'll try and sneak one...he he he)


..........and this is what I have been doing the past couple of days. It it so cute! It is a muffin tin countdown calendar. (I know, I now have 3 countdown calendars. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a cute craft!)

oh and I said I would show you our Halloween pictures...I still haven't gotten them from my bro-in-law.

Halloween

One of my favorite times of the year has come and gone. We carved our pumpkins, had our annual Halloween party (I will post those when I get them, and believe me, they are worth it. he he he), raked some leaves (and yes there are still tons and tons more yet to fall and rake) and took the kids trick or treating with our very cool neighbors.So now we get back to our normal everyday lives.....Josh is gone....again....and this time I'm sick...ugh.

Pumpkins and parties

Carving pumpkins is such a fun tradition.....if only I didn't have to do all the gutting....uuugghhh!

If you can't tell from the picture, Ethan's pumpkin is eating a smaller pumpkin. That kid....



Some friends of ours invited us to their Halloween party this year. It was a lot of fun, and the kids had a blast!

If you can't tell from this picture, Josh sparkles.....LOL that is for all you Twilight fans. He he heEthan has high hopes for the future...If witches can be cute, she's just the cutest..... Reduce, reuse, recycle......Nate was this a few years back......Mad scientist...you may recognize this, I wore this one a couple of years ago...I'm lazy this year...

All the girls....Thanks for inviting us! It was fun!

Legos

What better way to spend a lazy Sunday than building ships with Legos? I don't know who had more fun, the kids or Josh?

Our kitchen

When we bought our house, I knew the kitchen HAD to be re-done! Lovely thinly painted green (over dark brown so you can see through the green) cabinets, a lowered ceiling (I don't know why unless it was to hang the cabinets over the counter, so you have to duck to look at people on the other side) and gorgeous appliances (that heat up so hot that I think the kitchen is hotter than the oven, and don't touch the front our you will burn your hand).

Well, we decided that the house needed windows first. UGGHH!! Who likes spending money on windows?

3 Years later we decide to get started on our kitchen. Knocking down the dropped ceiling! Luckily I have an awesome dad! And a husband that loves destruction. ;)

Kitchen before demolition began.....Kitchen during....and what a mess!!!


Kitchen now....no we aren't quite done yet.
Now all we need is a fridge, microwave, dishwasher, and new cabinets! We got our new stove because Josh stepped on the other one, breaking the surface....oops.....(ya I did a little victory cheer)

Kim and Abe took pics of my kids a few weeks ago and they turned out fabulous!! I couldn't get them to load on my computer because of the size, so I had to steal them from her blog. (Don't sue me Kim he he he) She is such an amazing photographer and I could never have imagined such gorgeous pictures. Thanks again guys!

The truth is OH so hard!

My favorite thing said so far, was from Ethan. He loves candy corn, in fact that is the only reason he likes Halloween. I have a pumpkin jar that I fill every year with candy corn.
Me: Holding up the jar.. "I have something that I can put in this jar, if you can make me a promise."

Ethan: eyes wide... "What?"

Me: "I will put something in this jar if you can promise me you won't sneak and eat some every time I'm not looking."

Ethan: long pause......."Aarrgghh, I can't! I want to, but I know I will break it!"

Well at least he is honest with himself.....he he he (I put the candy corn in the jar, he was just too honest.)


I'm getting my house ready for one of my favorite times of the year! I didn't used to be a huge fan of Halloween, but for the past 6 or 7 years, we've been having an annual Halloween party. We dress up, and go all out with the decorations! It has been so much fun! Every year it is a surprise what our theme or costumes will be. One of these days, I will need to do one for the kids. :(
So if you can't tell from the picture, there is, what is supposed to look like, a body wrapped up in that web.

Alta

I'm really hoping that we have a few more good weekends, but in case we don't, we went for a little hike with the kids to Albion Basin. It was so beautiful! I love Utah! Where else in the world can you drive 15 min and be in such amazing mountains?It started to get dark so the pics are very grainy. Apparently, my camera doesn't do very well in poor light.