Christmas Festivities

We had a very busy weekend.

Friday afternoon Mom, the kids, and I went to some friends' house for a visit and we ended up having lunch there. It was a nice visit and I was glad to have some time to catch up with her. She has a beautiful home and I hope to be able to spend more time with her soon.

Friday night we had big plans to go out to dinner and then ride Trax to Temple Square and look at the lights. However, when we got to the restaurant S and M were both not feeling good. They didn't even order anything. They were crying and laying all over DH. So, we decided to go to Temple Square another night. Plus it was a freezing 23 degrees without taking the wind factor into consideration. When we got home the kids were sleepy and DH started not feeling well. He ended up being sick from both ends. I guess it was a good thing we went home.

I spent Saturday making things. I made some gifts for friends. I took some wooden blocks and painted them black. Then, I had letters to spell out their last name and painted those cream. I then glued the letters onto the blocks. It's kind of hard to explain but they turned out really cute. I also put together our neighbor/friend gifts. This year I made white chocolate popcorn and put it in a cute Christmas cellophane bag. I think we delivered almost 30 bags. It took us a few hours and at 8:30 p.m. we still hadn't had any dinner. So, I took the kids to the store and they each chose a can of soup and we headed home for a lovely dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and soup!

We had a relaxing Sunday. DH and Dad both stayed home, sick. No fun. Church was nice. I had to teach the Sunbeams. I think I sub in primary at least once a month. Oh well, I don't mind. T had a talk, and J had the scripture so I needed to be in there anyways. Afterwards we played games and made our Christmas menu! When the little ones were tucked away in bed we watched the Amazing Race. I love that show! I'm glad the pink goths didn't get out. I really like them.

Now it's Monday morning. I got up and showered with the intention of being ready before the kids. But, I got as far as that. I'm still in my bath robe, sitting in bed, blogging. But, it's been a while. I have every right, right?

Happy 24th!

They Come in 3's

So, I've come to the conclusion that in my life bad things seem to come in 3's.

1. Last night as we were eating dinner my mom got a phone call from my youngest sister who was in a panic. She let us know that she had just gotten in a car accident. She was fine, but the car was totaled. She sounded scared. We were all relieved to hear that she was okay.

2. About an hour or an hour and a half later my other sister Andrea started complaining of really bad pain in her stomach. When she had first gotten to my house she said she wasn't feeling well, but it seemed to hit her hard, and she really didn't feel good. My mom and I took her to the ER and it was a good thing. She ended up having to have her appendix out. She was nervous and scared. She's never had any major thing happen. Luckily the surgery went well and now she just needs to recover. She should be coming home tomorrow.

3. After getting home around 3:15 a.m. and finally falling asleep, I thought all was well and on the mends. I was wrong. As we were getting ready for church S was complaining about a rash. I didn't really think much of it. Then when it was time to go, he was really complaining. He started taking off his clothes and he had a rash everywhere. It was bad. On Friday and Saturday he had been sick off and on with a sore throat and a fever. Now, this morning it was worse. So, DH took him to an urgent care center and he got diagnosed with strep throat and scarlet fever. He got a shot and will hopefully be better soon.

So, there are my 3 things. Hopefully nothing else will happen and we can enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Computer Problems

I'm SO sad. My computer is not working and the only way I am even able to post right now is because our good friends left one of their laptops with us to use for a little while, probably they'll want it back soon though. I don't know what's wrong. I'm a computer idiot. All I know is that my pictures are on there and I want them. The computer turns on but nothing shows up on the screen. And one of the most irritating things is that for about a week I kept telling myself to back up my pictures. But, I didn't do it and now I fear it's too late. This is not a good time to need a new computer. But, I need one. I use the computer EVERY DAY. I do my banking online, pay bills, blog, surf the net, blog, check my email, shop, and did I mention blog? So, I may be gone for a while :( I'll post when I can.

My Man!

Here's my hubby hanging our Christmas lights. We of course picked a day that was freezing to hang the lights. But, we did it while the kids were at school so we didn't have too many distractions.

Now our house is all Christmasy. Lights are up, tree is up, stockings are hung, candles are burning, stories are being read, the spirit of Christmas is upon us!

A Little Prayer

Last night I told T how I thought he was so responsible for doing what he did, and that I thought he handled things well. His response was this:

"Mom, when I got dropped off and you weren't there, I said a little prayer, and then I knew I should walk to Aprils'."

So, that made me want to bawl. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father was watching out for us and that T was inspired to do what he did.

Kid Drop-Off Problem

So, today T went to go play at a friends' house. While he was there, the other 3 kids were off at other places and I was visiting a friend. I left my friends' house to go pick J up from a birthday party. When I got back in the car, I noticed that I had missed a call from my friend April, which is where M was playing. I figured she was calling to ask me to come get M or something of the sort. But, what she really wanted was to tell me that T was at her house. When I asked why, she said that he had gotten dropped off at home and since I wasn't there he decided to walk to her house. While I am SO glad that he did that and had enough sense to do that, I am very ticked that he was just dropped off. Who just drops off a little kid without making sure that they are okay, that a parent is home? Why would you just leave? What if something would've happened? I didn't even know they were going to drop him off, otherwise I would've been home. I am not happy with this AT. ALL. I ALWAYS wait when I'm dropping someone off. You just never know what could happen. I guess I expected the same. So, from now on if T wants to play with that particular friend they are going to have to play at our house. I can't risk something like that happening again. What if I wasn't home and he walked to Aprils' and she wasn't home? Then what?

Sister

My sister Em came to Santa Monica with us. It was nice to spend some time with her even though it was short. She was very nice to be around and I hope she had as good a time as we did.

My other sister also lives in Cali., but sadly I wasn't able to see her. She lives a few hours away from where we were staying. I know she was upset by this and so was I, but with the short time we were there and all that was going on there wasn't enough time. That is the problem with having both sides of family living close to each other. It's hard to split your time and make everyone happy. I wish we would've been able to stay longer so that we could then go down to my sisters' and stay with her for a few days. I hope she knows how sorry I am. Hopefully next summer we will be able to go visit her and spend some time there!

Santa Monica

We went to the Santa Monica pier our first day we were in California. The kids enjoyed looking down at the water, but they would have preferred to be in the water. It was a bit too chilly for that, but I think they had fun regardless. I would've loved to go in the water too. I love the beach! It's one of the things I miss the most about California.

DH and I went to this same spot for our first anniversary, so it was fun to go back 10 years and 4 kids later.

Of course we had to take tons of family pictures. Each family had their individual picture taken, we had big group shots, grandkids, girls, boys, you name it, we did it!! Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you get with family?!

Afterwards we went to the Bear Pit for lunch/dinner. It was yummy food. It's a family favorite and I've always heard a ton about it, so it was fun to actually get to go. Then, we got to hit the lovely L.A. traffic to head home in. It is crazy how much traffic there is there. I'm glad I don't have to drive in that mess every day.

It was a great day for all!

Quick Post

~I have a quick second to do a small post. We arrived in Cali. safely and made good time, only 8 1/2 hours!!

~We've had fun spending time with family.

~We went to Santa Monica pier and hung out there for a while. Then we went out to lunch at the Bear Pit.

~ Thanksgiving dinner was YUMMY!

~Today we've been hanging out around the house, riding the quads, eating, and are about to go play some basketball!

In all the craziness of trying to get packed I failed to mention my dads' birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! My sister wrote the perfect post, so go there because I share the EXACT same thoughts and feelings as her, except for the fact that I'm the favorite, not her!

All Our Bags Are Packed

So, we're headed for Cali. in about half an hour. We're all packed, the house is clean, we're ready to go.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

New Haircut!

J really needed to get her hair trimmed, so I asked my SIL if she would do it. When I told J what we were doing she was so excited and asked if she was going to get short hair like her sister. That wasn't my plan, but she really wanted to have it cut. I think she probably had about 10 inches cut off. She was thrilled and I think the cut looks so cute on her!

Lots Going On, Bullet Blogging

~ Nacho died on Saturday. It was a sad day for T and I felt very bad for him. He really loved that chicken and took good care of her. He buried her in the back yard and made a little grave marker.

~ DH took on a second job. He is stocking shelves 3 nights a week. I feel bad for him; the hours suck, he doesn't want to be doing it, I miss him, his feet hurt etc. I wish he didn't have to do it, but right now he does. I'm so glad that I have such a wonderful husband who is willing to sacrifice in order to provide for our family. Hopefully this isn't something he'll have to do for very long.

~ I'm slowly getting Christmas shopping done. I try to be done by Thanksgiving, but I doubt that'll happen this year. If I can at least be done by the first week of December, then I'll be good.

~ I'm finally losing weight!!! I'm so excited. This has been a struggle for me for quite a while. I lost weight, then had to have a hysterectomy and gained it all back. Ever since then it's been a battle. Now, something in my body finally clicked and I'm losing, FINALLY! I've lost 35 lbs. and 2 pant sizes!! Only 25 lbs. to go!

~ S started Little Hooopsters. It's a program for 1st and 2nd graders to prepare them for basketball. He likes going, but I'm not sure if it's because he's learning the sport, or if it's because he gets to be with his friends.

~ T is doing Basketball camp right now, and loves it. He is my little athlete. He's really improved in the last little while, and I hope he enjoys this season.

~ The girls are busy with dance, and loving every minute of it.

~ Yesterday I met up with 2 friends that I went to high school with. We had lunch and enjoyed catching up on each others' lives. It was great to see them again, and I hope that we'll get together more often since we don't live that far from each other!

~ We've been reading our scriptures really well lately. We've kind of sucked at it in the past. But, now the kids are very interested and love taking their turn at reading. We usually read about 1 page a day, which I know isn't much, but they have lots of questions and I'd rather they understand what is going on than read a lot just to get through it. We have a chart that says, "I HAVE READ THE BOOK OF MORMON". The letters are made up of squares, so that each time we read a chapter we get to color in a square. Once we've finished the saying will all be colored in. This is fun for the kids and they really want to get that chart filled! Some nights they even have to remind us to read.

~ I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately. Last night I made one called King Ranch Chicken (I got it from SIL), so delicious! And, this morning I made Brown Sugar Muffins for breakfast, also delicious! So, I leave you with the recipes:

King Ranch Chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
1 can Rotel
1 onion, chopped
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
corn tortillas
cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine soups, water, Rotel and onion in a bowl. Tear tortillas into pieces and cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer chicken on top, and then sauce mixture. Repeat two more times and then top with cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese melts!

Brown Sugar Muffins

1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
2 c. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter and brown sugar together. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add melted mixture. Then add milk, egg, and vanilla. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!

Driver License

The other day I got in the car to take S somewhere and I had to run back into the house to get my purse. He asked me why I needed it and I told him it was because I had my driver license in there and that I couldn't drive without it. He replied with, "OH, so if you don't have it with you then, you don't remember how to drive?" It was so cute! I sure love that kid!

So Rude!

My good blogging friend, Busy Bee Lauren sent me some good mail. I was so excited to see this envelope in my mail box. However, when I turned it over to open I noticed someone had already opened part of it for me. Then, I read the card. She told me she knew how much I love Edward Cullen so she sent me a magnet. Well, guess what? The magnet was gone. How Rude! Someone stole my Edward. I was glad that I at least got the card and that someone was thinking of me. Thanks Lauren, and boo to whoever stole my magnet.

A Precious Miracle

A few weeks ago I got to go see my friend give birth. I've never been to one besides my own, and have always wanted to. This was her fifth. She had her fourth and fifth at home. When she found out she was pregnant we talked a lot about her home delivery. She told me that if I wanted to, I could come when Simon was born.

I was so excited and went home to tell DH. He said that was cool but she probably wouldn't remember when she was in the middle of labor. So, I told myself that could very well be the case and I might not actually get to go. But, I did!

I got a call at 4:30 a.m. and was told that she was at an eight and that if I wanted to I could come over. I hopped right up, changed, threw my hair in a pony tail, brushed my teeth and I was off. I was so excited.

I was there for about 2 hours before the baby was born. She had a tough time because the baby was posterior. I felt so bad for her. Having gone through childbirth myself without pain medicine, I knew exactly what she was feeling and had such empathy for her. But, she did a great job and it was such a miracle to see this sweet baby boy come into the world.

She was eight days past her due date, so he came out big at 9lbs. 15oz. and 21 inches long. Such a big boy!! I woke her boys (9 and 7) up as the baby was coming because they wanted to be in the room as well. Then, shortly after the girls (5 and 3) came into the room. They were excited to see their new baby. The girls were a little hesitant. The boys cut the cord and helped with Simon after he was born.

I got to hold him just minutes after he was born! There is just something about babies coming into this world. No matter how you look at it, it is a miracle. He is a precious little boy and I am so glad that I was able to share this wonderful experience with their family.

770

770-

That is the number of minutes that I talked to my sister last month. That is almost 13 hours!! DH asks what we talk about for so long all the time. The answer is everything and anything. We talk about what we did last weekend, or our plans for the next few days. I know when her kids have doctor appointments or school functions. I want to know everything about her life, and I love it!

Trick or Treat

When the kids got home from school, they had a snack and then we fixed costumes so we could head out for some trick-or-treating. We met up with some friends for the fun!

After trick-or-treating we headed to the church for dinner and the ward trunk-or-treat. Dinner was a soups and rolls. Simple, but delicious. Some of the boys decided to go play soccer on the stage (behind the curtains) during dinner. T came and found me and told me that he had broken one of the stage lights. So, we had to go tell the bishop and then we had to get a broom and clean up all the broken glass. I was very proud of him for telling the truth when it would've been very easy to just leave the mess. I feel bad for him though because all the other boys fled, so it looked like T was the only one misbehaving. But we got the mess clean and enjoyed the rest of the evening!!

There were 3 wards in the parking lot for trunk-or-treat, it was packed. The kids got tons of candy. When we were leaving T told us that his bag was so heavy and that he wanted to weigh it. He put it on the scale and it weighed 5 pounds. That's a lot of candy, especially when you times that by 4. We are going to have candy forever.

When trunk-or-treat was finished we headed to Grandmas' for a little party. We played Halloween Bingo, musical chairs, and decorated pumpkin cookies. The kids had a blast!! During musical chairs it got down to only DH and S. They were running around the chairs, and S had the biggest smile on his face. He wanted to win so badly. Then, the music (singing) stopped and he was the closest to the chair, so he jumped up to sit on it, and DH pulled the chair right out from underneath him. He started crying, DH was laughing. What a mean dad. S really wanted to win. DH apologized and then they played several more times with S always winning. The next day the two of them were playing around and my sweet husband said to his son (in a playful tone, of course) "Do you want me to hurt you?" S just looked at him and said back, "You hurt me enough yesterday." This made DH feel really bad and he had to make it up to S.

It was a busy Halloween, but we all had a great time. By the time all the activities were done for the evening the kids were exhausted, and so was I.

Isn't she the cutest little kitten EVER?

This is the only kind of kitten I ever want to own!

Rock Star!!

You can't really tell in the picture, but he had a red mohawk with blue hair on the side of his head, and the coolest part of his costume was his tatooed sleeve! It was hilarious and he thought he was the coolest kid.

Miss Hannah Montana!

This was a very difficult costume. There were tears over the hair, and the thought of people not knowing who she was. But at the end of the day most people actually knew who she was, and she decided that she actually DID like her costume.

Arrghh!

T really wanted to be something bloody or scary or dead or some other gross typical Halloween costume. When I suggested he be a pirate he was not so sure. Then, grandma said she'd get a costume for him and when he saw it, he decided that it was cool to be a pirate!

Happy Halloween, a little late

My internet hasn't been working great so I am just barely able to post some Halloween pictures. We had a very packed Halloween day.

S had a program at school that we went to. They sang a lot of cute songs. S loves to sing, and he's pretty good at it.

Six little ghosts that I once knew,

spooky ones cooky ones and shy ones too.

But the one little had a special job to do,

he led the others with a Boo Boo Boo.

Boo Boo Boo down to the haunted house they flew,

in and out round-a-bout through and through.

But the one little ghost had a special job to do,

he led the others with a Boo Boo Boo!

He led the others with a Boo Boo Boo!

After the program there was the school Halloween parade. They paraded through the halls, in the gym and cafeteria, and around the outside of the school. This something the kids really enjoy doing.

Girls Weekend

For my MILs' birthday she wanted to have a girls' weekend. Her mom, sister, and some nieces came from Idaho, and a daughter came from Colorado. It was fun for the girls to spend time together.

Friday night we went out to dinner to Applebee's, which was so YUMMY!! Then we headed to Gardner Village for Witchapalooza! The whole place was decorated with witches and most people there were dressed up as well. We walked around and looked through the fun shops, got candy apples, and took lots of pictures. We had a great time, and plan on making this a yearly tradition! Next year I hope to be able to go a little earlier to enjoy more of the festivites!

After that we headed back to my MILs' for a slumber party. We stuffed ourselves with delicious snacks, played games, and stayed up late talking. I thought for sure Grandma would be exhausted and fall asleep, but she stayed awake with the rest of us, and was the first one up in the morning.

Saturday we slept in!! After everyone was up and dressed we had a yummy soup brunch. Then of us went shopping. I had to go home for a little so T and DH could go to the BYU football game. When the game was over, the girls got back together for more fun!

It was great being able to spend time with family and bond. I will look forward to next year with much anticipation!

Ear Candles

DH has been complaining about his ear. He feels like there is something in there. So, when I was at the health food store I bought some ear candles. I've heard these are great for getting wax out of ears and thought that might be what was bothering DH. We did it last night. It was kind of weird and kind of gross. It definitly cleaned out his ears, but unfortunately didn't help the problem. It was worth a try though.

Not Ready for Winter

I still had these pictures on my camera, and it made me realize that I am so not ready for winter. I LOVE the summer. I love shorts and swimming suits. Pools and reservoirs. Popsicles and ice cream. Sunscreen and picnics. Root beer floats on the porch steps, movie nights in the front yard with neighbors, walks, softball games, I LOVE summer.

These were taken at the reservoir by our house. We went there for FHE with some friends one evening. It was so much fun. That water is probably freezing now. You just can't do as much in the winter as you can in the summer.

I love this picture. S really is a sweet guy when he wants to be. I love when he takes the roll of big brother and wants to help J. It is so sweet. They held hands and walked up those steps and down to the water together. Aren't they some of the cutest kids ever?

Witchapalooza

Go Cougars!

DH went to the BYU football game today with his cousin Stephanie. T was lucky to get to go along too! He was soo excited to go. Stephanie said that he smiled the entire time. The weather was freezing and I thought for sure they would leave the game early, but they stuck it out for the entire game. And, BYU won, so it was all worth it!!

GO COUGARS!!

50 Years

Fifty years ago today my dad came to the United States from France. He was very excited for this day and even went out to dinner to celebrate. I wish I could've been there to celebrate with him! My dad is an amazing man and a constant example to me. Love you Pops!!

Finally, a Good Pack Night!

For a long time I have really been struggling with our scouting program. We haven't had great pack nights, weekly meetings, or anything for that matter. But, recently things have been much better. We got some new leaders who seem motivated to make scouts a positive experience for these boys.

I was having kind of a crazy day the other night; I was tired, the kids were cranky, DH was gone. I got the three younger ones all bathed and T was changed for scouts. I thought I was doing good, until I pulled into the parking lot and realized that it was pack night. So, we stayed, kids in jammies and all. I was actually glad we stayed because it ended up being a lot of fun. T's den sang a song about trains and the bear den did a skit. Then, we built train cars. It was interesting to see each persons take on their train car. Some kids used paint, others markers, one kid wrapped his in string (it was a ghost car), the girls put a feather boa on theirs. They all had a great time. Then, once all the cars were done they lined up and had races. The night was finished off with cookies!

I was glad that it was pack night and that it turned out to be so nice. It made my evening much better, and the kids behavior was much better too. T loves scouts and I'm so glad that things are getting better with the program.

Which Twilight Character Are You?

You're Bella Swan - You are intelligent and kind but not quite sure what you want out of life yet. You have a feeling there's something more out there for you. You're attracted to those who are real and avoid the fake. Sometimes you're a bit accident prone, but your true friends will always be loyal to you and come to your aid when you need it.
Take this quiz!








Quizilla
Join

Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

Sushi

My cute sister and darling neice invited me to go out to dinner with them. We went to Azuka's and had sushi. It was yummy food, but even better company. We all got different sushi rolls and shared. My favorite was the U.S. roll and the spicy crab. Yummy! I haven't seen Dani for a long time and it was great to spend time with her and Andrea. I was so excited that they asked me to go with them. It was nice with just the three of us. I'm glad to have some family living close to me. There is comfort in family and I'm grateful for them.

My Girls

See my Tabblo>

Soccer Boys

The boys both played soccer this year. T loved it, and S thought it was just okay. It's funny to see the difference of the two playing. Watching S play reminded me of when T was that age. They want to play, but after a few minutes they get tired, or bored, or distracted. Sometimes you see boys climbing the goal, wrestling, walking, or sitting. They don't mind if it's their turn to sit, and the best part of the game is when it's over and they get their treat. This was how the season went for S.

T had a very different season. He has really improved since he started playing and even since last year. He is much more aggressive in his playing. There was no walking or sitting on the field. Instead we saw good defense and lots of goals. Boys who didn't want to sit out, but did because they were good sports. T was on the Volcanoes and they went undefeated!! It was much more enjoyable to watch them actually play and to see how they've improved through the years. At the soccer recognition night they got t-shirts and had their picture taken for the newspaper. It was very fun to see how excited they were. Some of these boys have been playing on the same team for several years and they have all improved together! It was a great year! Go Volcanoes!!

Hannah Marie

Hannah Marie was born at the end of August and we are so happy to have her in our family. Her parents had been trying to get her here for a long time. It was hard to watch them as they struggled to become pregnant. They both really wanted a baby so much. They tried different medications, shots, invitro fertilization, but nothing seemed to work. They discussed adoption. It was a very stressful and discouraging time for them and our hearts went out to them.

They finally decided that they needed to just relax and try not to think about it too much. Not too long after that they found out they were pregnant! And it happened all on its own. No drugs, no help, nothing! They were thrilled, and so were we.

Hannah Marie came into the world a happy and healthy little girl. She is darling and her parents are thrilled to finally have her here. I know they will make good parents and can tell that they love her with all their hearts!

I'm so glad that we were able to make it to the blessing. Her dad gave her a beautiful blessing and the spirit was so strong during the meeting. She was a perfect angel the entire time. These little babies that Heavenly Father puts in our care are so precious and dear. I thank him every day for the children he has given me, and I'm sure Hannahs' parents do the same.