Endless playground...

Little Bugs

2009-11-28T22:36:00.007-07:00

So cute

2009-11-21T18:45:00.003-07:00

Norbert Rosing's striking images of a wild polar bear coming upon tethered

sled dogs in the Wilds of Canada's Hudson Bay .

The photographer was sure that he was going to see the end of his dogs when

the Polar bear wandered in.

It' s hard to believe that this polar bear only needed to hug someone!

The Polar Bear Returned every night that week to play with the dogs.

Miss Molly is finally here!!!

2009-08-31T16:18:00.003-06:00

Our little girl was finally born yesterday, Sunday August 30, 2009, 12:23 pm. She is so little and sweet.

Molly weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19" long. So she's just tiny. It's so fun to hold a little cuddle bug again.

The kids meeting Molly for the first time. They were so excited for her to be born. Makayla has not wanted to leave her side, and cries every time she has to leave. Van likes to kiss and "pet" her, but not for too long.

We are so glad Molly is here, she is such a sweet little thing. We are lucky to have her.

Its Mommy Time!

2009-08-30T14:58:00.000-06:00

Little lady was born today... 5lbs 12oz an 19" long

Inland surfing...

2009-08-18T23:10:00.004-06:00

Chad went out this morning with some friends and did a little surfing on Utah Lake. The whole time he was gone, he keep checking his phone to make sure I hadn't called to say were having a baby...He is a little excited and it didn't help that when I text him to say everything is ok, that I put in a typo that really freaked him out..darn T9...

Almost a Mommy again...

2009-08-13T16:49:00.003-06:00

The doctor told Emily on Wednesday that she is ready to go... She is a 2 and 75% efaced!

Well she made it another week and is still having lots of contractions. She is now a 3 and 90% efaced.

Soccer Chick

2009-06-14T14:37:00.002-06:00

Makayla has been playing soccer this season, (her first time.) It's so cute.
She does very well and loves it. Yesterday after her game
I told her, "when your running next to the other team who has the ball, stick
your foot out and kick the ball away from them." She responded
in a VERY Makayla kind of way, "but mom, what if I kick
the other kid in the knee? Would you
like it if someone kicked you in the knee." All my training
is now backfiring.

The coach is constantly hollering, "Makayla and Ella stop holding hands!"
It's so cute, I wish I was a carefree little 5 year old. Life is
so simple.

River Dancing

2009-03-23T16:25:00.001-06:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Pleasant surprise!

2009-03-06T16:45:00.002-07:00

Makayla is the ONLY early bird in our house. Every single day she is up at 7 am. Much to Chad and my annoyance. Van sleeps until 8:30 or 9. And so poor Makayla is left to lay in bed between Chad and I, until we are ready to get up.

But this morning when I heard Makaylas door creak open ( at 6:45) and lay waiting and cringing, for her to come tiptoeing in and poke me in the forehead, she never came. I soon heard her making a commotion down in the kitchen, I assumed she was getting a drink or something. And a few minutes later in she comes with a plate of cinnamon bread and a glass of water for both Chad and I. Then she said, " Well, I guess I better go clean the kitchen." And left. She even "tried" to sweep the kitchen floor and rinsed our dishes. What a sweetheart. I love my little girl.

Stupid Cold

2009-03-04T16:01:00.002-07:00

My poor little family has not been healthy for weeks now. All you moms know how it is, when one kid starts to run a fever, you know your in for it. Poor Makayla started it all when she came down with the flu two weeks ago, then just as she got better she came down with strep throat. Not fair, poor girl. Of course a couple days later Chad had a high fever, aches, chills, cough, sore throat, and horrible congestion. A few days later, me. And now little Van has come down with the same darn thing. It's miserable.

But I can't really complain. Chad was able to take work off for a day to stay home and let me sleep, and then my sister and mom took my kids and even both made me dinner. Thanks Steph and mom you guys are life savers. That's it I can never move out of Utah, I just wouldn't survive without family to help take care of me.

And P.S. It really should be outlawed to get sick while pregnant. There's no good medicine for pregnant girls, so lame.

Having some fun

2009-02-03T14:34:00.002-07:00

We went skiing on Saturday, up at Brighton. Surprisingly the snow was great. At least in the trees, it was. We found some really cool jumps and great tracks. We went with my fam. and had a blast. Does it ever seem like all my posts are about skiing? That's because they are. Sorry, it's what we love to do. And yes, pregnant girls can ski. Jumps however are out of the question. Boo Hoo, for me.

Brian, Chad, and Kimberly at the top of Mili

Chad going off one of those really fun looking jumps.

Kimberly posein it up on a double black. You were quite the trooper Kim!

Brian catching some air off our favorite jump.

Our holiday fun

2009-01-05T22:27:00.004-07:00

Ski Day!!!

2008-12-18T17:14:00.002-07:00

We went to The Canyons on Wednesday, and had a blast. It was sooo fun. It was about 20 degrees out and sunny. We found some pretty cool snow and runs and had some powder.

Chad after we had to hike a bit to get fresh tracks, but isn't the scenery great?

This is me after the hike.
Whew I hate hiking in ski boots, isn't that why we pay $50; to ride the lifts?

Obviously the hiking did me out. The boys had boarding boots on, not fair.

Riding the lifts with our neighbors,
we have a blast every year using our Warren Miller tickets together

Me, showing off my stuff, (ha ha) !!!!

Ward Christmas Party

2008-12-15T13:52:00.002-07:00

We had a blast at our ward Christmas breakfast on Saturday. We had delicious food and the highlight was of course Santa Clause.

Van was so excited to see Santa. He asked for a "skateboard" ???? Oh dear! Santa gave him a candy cane and Van was as excited as if it were a pony.

Makayla thought Santa was "cute and chubby." She asked for "a lot of surprises." What a good little girl.

Makayla and Van performing with the primary.

Christmas Trees

2008-12-02T15:10:00.003-07:00

If the snow won't come to you..... go to it! That's our philosophy. Every year we go up to the Uintah mountains and cut down our own Christmas tree. We have to drive through Wyoming to get there, but the fun and memories are always worth it. We bring sleds and hot chocolate. We even found a frozen pond to "ice skate" on. We had a blast, and it really puts you in the Christmas mood.

The kids excited by all the snow!

V. licking ice off the frozen branches.

All M. needs to be happy in life is snow to lick.

Getting ready to cross the first of 3 frozen rivers. (Husbands) apparently all the "good" trees were on the other side.

My boys, having a blast in the snow.

The 2nd frozen river we crossed.

My sweet boy

2008-11-13T15:18:00.003-07:00

Winter Wonderland

2008-11-07T21:16:00.002-07:00

You have never seen a more excited bunch then our family when we woke up Wednesday morning to 6" of fresh snow. Of course M. had school so V. and I had to wait until 11:30 for her to get home. I was so worried that the snow would melt before we had a chance to play in it, but what luck, it is still snowy in our backyard today (Friday.) Woo Hoo! Although that means Chad can't get on the roof tomorrow and put up Christmas lights as planned. Anyway, we played outside for hours. We even built this ridiculously heavy snowman. I think I am confused about my muscle size, we had to seriously "trim the fat" in order for me to lift the two upper balls. Whew, it was very hard work. We had a hilarious snowball fight, and even the dog got in on it. We saved some "clean" snow and made snowcones too. What fun. I hope it never stops snowing.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T19:45:00.004-07:00

We love Halloween at our house. The kids had a "spooky" Halloween party at Grandma Lenders house and I went to one at our friends home. I also went to "nightmare on 13th (too scary.) We made all kinds of Halloween treats and had scary dinners all month long. On Halloween night we had eyeball tacos, witch finger carrot dip, goblin goo, and witch brew. The kids were so freaked out they wouldn't eat much. My work is done.

Chad took the kids trick or treating for an hour and a half. When they got back they were both dyeing to go back out. So I took them out for about another hour. Needless to say we are up to our ears in candy. We had a blast painting and carving pumpkins. We went to Hee Haw Farms and they took us on a hayride to a pumpkin patch. We got to choose and pick our own pumpkins. That will be a new tradition, the kids loved it. Hope you all had a great Halloween too.

Children of Winter

2008-10-23T21:37:00.003-06:00

My daddio took the fam to the Warren Miller event last night. As you can see we all had a blast.
Although, ski season won't start for at least a month, and now were totally dieing for some of that awesome powder that was all throughout the film. And Brian even managed to win himself a day for two at the Canyons, with breakfast and "first tracks." That "first tracks" thing sounds pretty cool to me. We're all gonna be doin some pretty heavy butt kissin I guess. Anyway it was a blast, thanks dad for the cool evening!

Cornbellys

2008-10-16T21:22:00.003-06:00

We went to Cornbellys the other day and had a blast. We spent a couple of hours playing and having fun, when all of a sudden M. started complaining that her tooth was hurting her. She started crying and was soon laying on the grass sucking on a wad of tissue in horrible pain. She wouldn't even get up to jump on the giant mushroom or pick out a pumpkin. So we finally left and I took her straight to the dentist. He examined her and we found she had a broken molar that had a cavity under the break and it was in her nerve. She needed a root canal. Poor girl. She has to have a little crown. Which by the way a 5 year old girl doesn't think having a "crown" sounds so bad. Anywho, we had an eventful day and Cornbellys was fun while it lasted.

Birthday Girl!

2008-10-09T21:54:00.006-06:00

M. turned 5 on Wednesday. I can't believe I am the mother of a 5 year old, makes me feel old.

She had a friend birthday party on Tuesday. She invited 15 little girls and they played Princess games and had a lot of fun. We had a pinata and "wands," for dessert. It was a blast.

Then on Wednesday she had a party at school. Then her grandma Tree took her out to lunch at Sonic and a very looonngg shopping trip to Toys R Us and let her pick out her own present. M. always looks forward to her Birthday date with Grandma every year. And that night she had some family over and we had cake and ice cream and more presents. It was very busy and crazy but she had a lot of fun, and is officially 5, although she acts like she's 15. We love our little girl and are so proud of what a good girl she is.

Stupid Mut

2008-10-02T13:06:00.002-06:00

Don't let this cute little face fool you. This is the worlds most annoying animal alive.
I have a serious case of "Dog Rage," going on today.

First of all Chloe has dug a big hole right in our grass, annoying.
And her pee makes yellow marks everywhere, way annoying.
She chews on everything she can get a hold of, even the corner of our wooden stairs!
And to top it all off she pooed in her doghouse last night and rolled around in it and smeared it all over the inside. I am feeling murderous.
I asked M. how she would feel if the dog "ran away" one night. I tried very hard to convince her it would be no big deal. But she was in tears at the very thought. Curses.
So I guess I will have to continue to put up with this big dumb animal.
All I can say is she better "grow out of it," very soon.
Sorry, Just a little venting.

Disneyland!

2008-09-28T15:25:00.005-06:00

We just got back from Disneyland. It was the best vacation ever.
We spent 3 days at Disneyland and 4 days at the beach.

Meeting the different characters was definately M's favorite part of Disneyland.
She also loved "Space Tours," and "Soarin over California."
She even went on "Tower of Terrors" two times. She loved it the first time
but the second time she bawled the whole time. It was hilarious.

M. loved meeting the Princesses, and Belle was her favorite. She walked right up
and said, "You're beautiful."

Here's little V. chillin in Goofy's house. He was so cute. His favorite ride was
Buzzlight year. He spent the rest of the vacation pretending to shoot bad guys.
The characters freaked him out and every time he saw one he practically scaled my leg.

The beach was awesome. We went to Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.
Huntington had dolphins all over. And somehow Nick got stung by a sting ray.

V's favorite thing to do at the beach was sit and "poke tracks." The bumps in the sand
made from the lifeguards tire tracks. Weirdo!

This is how we do Beach Daycare. Chad dug a huge hole and all of the kids spent hours
climbing in and out and sliding down the edges.

This is Chad. We bought a Boogie board and it was so much fun. Even M. used it
and thought it was really cool.

We rented a surf board the last day. And lets just say I'm less then coordinated. It's much
harder then you'd ever think, but I still look cool standing by it, right?
Chad did much better however and he spent the whole day on it.

It was the best vacation and we're so sad to be home. I think Utah needs a beach and no Utah lake does not count.

Memory Lane

2008-09-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

I saw this on my sisters blog and thought it would be fun.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together.

It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot. Anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people

leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty fun to see the responses.

If you leave me a memory about me, I'll check if you are playing the game

and I'll come to your blog and leave one to you.

It's easy just try it.

Lake Powell

2008-08-31T15:40:00.010-06:00

We are a little slow in posting these pics but we had such a good time at powell that we thought we should share. We went down the second week in August and stayed for 5-days. As you can tell by the pic we camped on the beach just outside of bullfrog bay. By the end of the trip we were ready to head home and be dry...

M is an animal lover and gets so excited when we got to see a frog up close. She even tried kissing it, to turn it into a prince, but all it did was give her a nasty taste on her lips. (Mom said that is the case with most boy kisses, except for daddy's of course)

Mom and the kids on the cliff with Bullfrog marina in the background

V was all about the water and he even found some killer swim shades..

M loved the water as well but she spent more time playing in the mud.

Em found some bumper boats at Wally World and the kids had a blast bumping their cousins and squirting them down.

We even found time to do a little cliff jumping even though it has be outlawed at the lake.

All in all we had a great time but we wont be ready to go back down for a while. Thanks to the Turner's for inviting us along.

First Day!

2008-08-24T15:19:00.004-06:00

M started preschool last Wednesday. She was so excited she could hardly fall asleep the night before. She laid out her favorite new outfit and had me put tons of little braids in her hair so it would be crimpy in the morning. When we dropped her off V cried and cried, " I want my sissy." It was very cute, and she hugged and kissed him and skipped off to big girlhood.

When I picked M up she couldn't stop talking about how cool it all was, she told me every word that every kid said. I think she'll have a great year and make tonz of friends. She's so sweet and I love being her mom.

Yummy Food

2008-08-23T20:46:00.004-06:00

Pizza, pizza, pizza! Our little family just loves pizza. In fact every single prayer V says he says, "Bless the pizza." Even at bedtime prayers. So I decided to start a Friday pizza party. We make homemade personal pan pizzas and watch a movie together. We've been doing it for a few months now and it's been so much fun. After trying tonz of different recipes and never finding one that met our very picky tastes, we finally found a perfect recipe.

Pizza Dough
3 teaspoons dry skim milk powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (can use more garlic)
2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dry yeast
6 ounces warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil (or use vegetable oil)

1. Place all ingredients into the pan in order, or according to your manfacturer's directions (making certain to sprinkle the dry milk powder over the warm water).
2. Press the dough cycle and start.
3. Check the dough after about 4-5 minutes of kneading to see is more water or flour is needed to create a soft semi-sticky dough.
4. When the machine signals the end of the cycle, remove the dough and knead gently into a tight ball on a lightly floured surface.
5. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes (or at this point you can refrigerate for up to 24 hours or freeze).
6. Stretch into desired size for your pizza pan.
7. *Note* for a thicker crust, let the dough rise on the pan covered with a clean tea towel for about 20 minutes before topping with sauce and ingredients.

Pizza sauce
Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

Cook over medium heat until sauce starts to boil.

Lower heat and simmer, covered,for 30 to 45 minutes or until it is as thick as you like it.

Makes enough for 2 pizzas.

311 in Utah!!!

2008-07-25T22:38:00.003-06:00

We went with Steph and Nick to the 311 concert in June. We had to endure Snoop Dogg opening which was weird but once 311 was on stage it was awesome. We had a blast I can't wait to do it again.

Pioneer Day!

2008-07-25T15:41:00.004-06:00

On Pioneer day we went with Chads fam. out to Utah Lake and played. We tubed and wakeboarded and had a blast. It wasn't crowded at all and the water was pretty good.

The kids and I on the tube. They kept signing faster, faster. I was the one nervous about someone falling in. They have no fear.

We didn't have any seadoos so M. decided to take a ride on Chad.

Chad catching some air.

Exhausted after a long day on the lake.

Maple Canyon

2008-07-25T15:19:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we went camping at Maple canyon with Turners. It was our "climbing" weekend. We parked it and rock climbed the whole weekend. It was so fun and relaxing. Even the kids got in on the climbing. Maple is such an awesome canyon.

Some of the gang relaxing. Later while swinging on the hammock it broke and we ended up with one concussion, two bloody heads and a bloody chin. With six kids there's always drama.

M. loved rock climbinb. She's actually getting pretty good and very brave.

That's me. I made it up a 5.11. It was tough.

V. got sick the second day and slept in late. He's so dang cute.

Chad rigged up a zip line through the trees. It scared the kids but was soooo cool.

Chad showing off his mad skills.

Canoeing

2008-07-17T13:30:00.003-06:00

Our crazy canoe tour guide. Kinda creepy!
A fun family night for all!

V spots his first fish jumping! He was so excited by that.

Even the dog got in on the fun.

We love family night at our house. Last Monday we decided to go canoeing up at Tibblefork. It was a blast we rowed to the other side of the lake and hiked around. We all ended up very wet because of the dog. Good times.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-21T16:25:00.001-06:00

Summertime and the livin's easy.

2008-06-21T14:57:00.010-06:00

We went to the Orem summerfest and the kidos had a blast. We suffered through the parade and ended with the Fireworks.

Backseat driverFirewoman Mick

Fireman Van

Craft-time

Crazy cousins

Fat Mans Misery

2008-06-12T21:58:00.006-06:00

Chad and I just got back from the "Bogley Fest" in Zions. It's a group of canyoneers from all over that met and climbed together all weekend. We had a blast. We got there Friday night and immediately did "Keyhole Canyon," in the dark with only glow sticks. It was way cool and fun to do it that way. The next morning we climbed "Fat Mans Misery." A ten hour hike that has a 3 hour approach and a 3 hour exit. The canyon itself was awesome. We rappelled off trees and rocks, there were no bolts. The best part were the "waterslides." Natural sandstone ones that dropped us into pools of water. Then we hiked the Virgin river for a few miles. On the exit we were so wasted that I seriously didn't think I could make the uphill 3 mile sandstone hike out of there. We could hardly move that evening. Then on Sunday we hiked "Pinecreek," by far my favorite of the weekend. No approach and an easy exit. It had water the whole way and tons of rappells. The last rappell down a 100 foot cavern was amazing, I've never seen anything so beautiful. We spent the afternoon jumping into the bottom pool doing tricks and relaxing. It was an awesome weekend. I love canyoneering.

ZIONS

2008-05-27T22:40:00.005-06:00

We just got back from Zions yesterday. It's the first time we've taken the kids and done normal hikes not backcountry. It was quite fun. We had hardly any rain, and played in waterfalls the whole week. Van and Makayla were in dirt heavan. They just plopped down in it and dug and dug and rolled around. Makayla collected bug friends and Van spent the whole time screaming for help because ants were chasing him. What is going on with my kids. Then Van saw a couple guys walking around in mexican ponchos (souvenirs) and he decided they were indians. So he kept yelling, "Indians, run, run." I have the two most hilarious kids ever. They make me laugh constantly. Anyways we hiked a lot and even went to Toquerville falls (the kids loved it.) I love vacations and my awesome family.

Goblin Valley

2008-05-19T22:33:00.004-06:00

Spring Break was way fun. We took our trailer on it's maiden voyage to Goblin Valley. It was decent weather and we had a blast. We camp by some big cliffs in the middle of nowhere. It's the perfect vaca. No roads no rivers and tonz of sand and caves and hills to slide down. The kids just run and run for miles and hike and hide and we sit in our little chairs and visit. I love it. We went with Stephanie and her fam. which is fun because our kids are all buddies. Little Van and Maddie are so dang cute together. They really have bonded and love to play together on their own, they don't need anyone else. The highlight of the trip was climbing "Dang" canyon. We brought all the kids (6 of them.) and our dog Chloe (4 months old.) It's a big canyon with boulders everywhere. After hiking up Dang Canyon for about 3 hours, we climbed across the top and climbed down "Ding" Canyon. It was definately not a kids hike. We had to rappell the kids down a few cliffs. We had to wade through a pot hole and down climb about five 10-12 foot cliffs. A big adventure for 6 kids under 7 years and a baby pup. A 6 hour hike and we were exhausted. It was so much fun though, and I couldn't have been prouder of little Makayla who climbed the entire thing without being held even once. We all loved it and it's become a tradition every spring break.

Van turns 2!

2008-05-19T22:09:00.004-06:00

May 3, Van turned 2 years old. We had so much fun. He loved opening presents. His favorites were his hot wheels bike, and a little CARS race track. I made him a Lightning McQueen birthday cake. It was hard and annoying but I think it turned out cute. We spent the day at Dinosaur land at Thanksgiving Point, which was way fun. The kids got to dig in the dirt for fossils and play in the mud. What could possibly be better. Van is so flippin' cute. He speaks

really well and says the cutest things I've ever heard. I love this age. He's such a big boy now. And he's all boy. He loves dump trucks, dinos and balls. What else is there. It was a fun day.

Little Dancing Queen

2008-05-17T23:12:00.003-06:00

Makayla had a dance concert on Saturday. She was so dang cute. I will post pic's soon. She danced two songs, and did so good. She is so funny, she doesn't like to watch the teacher and so she's often doing her own little moves. She also sings along to the music while she dances. It's so fun to watch. When I asked her if she was nervous she said, "I'm not nervous, do you think I should be nervous. Who's gonna laugh at me, Grandma?" I don't think she knows how to be sarcastic so it was a serious question, she looked a little worried. So I had to assure her that Grandma would not laugh at her. I don't know if she was talking about Grandma Tree or Grandma Lender, but I'm a little suspicious that one of you has been laughing at her :)
Then afterward we went to Thanksgiving point and got her a giant banana split. It was more then the 4 of us could eat, but oh so yummy. It was a fun day.

Easter

2008-04-08T16:20:00.000-06:00

We had a great Easter this year. The kids did a neighborhood egg hunt and got tonz of candy. We painted easter eggs that night and the kids got paint everywhere. Van even tried to eat a dye capsule. He had a very blue mouth. Most of Vans eggs ended up cracked, but Makaylas were all very beautiful. When they woke-up Saturday morning the Easter bunny had filled their baskets with toys, clothes, and candy. Then they went on an Easter egg hunt here at home. Later that day we had a BBQ at Grandma D's house with the Lender fam. It was fun and of course the kids got even more candy. Sunday the kids dressed their best for church. Makayla sang a few songs with the primary in Sacrament. She looks so cute standing up on the pulpit. She's so small her little white head of hair barely shows over the stand. Then on Monday the Biesinger fam all came over to our place for another egg hunt over at the park, and then we had ice cream. It was all very fun. Holidays are much better when you have children.

Trailer

2008-04-08T10:52:00.000-06:00

We just bought a new camping trailer. It is so much fun. It has room to sleep 7 people, and has a stove, oven, microwave, fridge, heater and airconditioner. We are so excited. It will make camping with kids so much easier. We are planning a trip to Goblin Valley over springbreak, so we wanted to try the trailer out before and make sure everything worked. All the camping places are closed, so we found out Cabelas will let you camp there. They actually have a whole area up above for trailers and RV's. So last weekend we took the kids and camped at Cabelas. (nerdy, but fun.) They even have a horse corral and kennels for dogs. So we spent the night hanging out at Cabelas and playing games and watching movies. It was really fun, until bed time. Van acted like a fool and wouldn't stay in bed. He and Makayla just kept giggling and being silly. So we were up very late. Oh well, we survived and had a great time. So we are all set for Goblin Valley. Yeah!

New Puppy

2008-04-08T10:36:00.000-06:00

So we finally did it. We got a dog. Chad begged and begged and begged for months. He was worse than any little kid. Finally he wore me down and when he showed me pictures of this adorable little lab puppy on ksl.com. After making him promise that he'd take care of the puppy if she woke up at night ( I only do that for my kids.)
The puppy was 8 weeks old and very sweet. Although we've had to teach her not to pee everywhere. But she's very easy to train, and loves being part of the family. So I guess it's okay. Although some days she still drives me nuts. She'll get easier when she's not so young.

ChristmasTime

2007-12-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome christmas this year. The kids were so cute and so much fun. Makayla was scared of Santa and spent the whole month trying her best to avoid him, but finally she met him at Grandma D.'s party and when he gave her a treat she finally gave in and sat on his lap. Van was a little worried at first too, but we told him to give Santa "knucks" and then he was good to go and the treat also won him over. Van points out every picture of Santa and cries out, "ho ho ho!"
Makayla had 2 dance performances in December and she was so cute. She loves dancing, especially performing. She did a great job.
We had tonz of family parties and had tonz of fun spending time with the Millers and Jensens. Their kids are so funny and cute. We have been sledding a few times and went to Temple Square, which is tradition, and was way fun. We love all of this snow, but hate the cold. (hard to please.) I am always sad when Christmas is over, but I am looking forward to relaxing a bit, it feels like forever since we've sat at home. The morning after christmas Makayla said, " mom, why don't you take down all these christmas decorations?" She thinks I'm such a slacker.
Van likes to "dunk" in his new basketball hoop, and Makayla is learning to skate on her new roller skates. So were having fun as always.

Enough Already!!

2007-11-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Is is just me or are the holidays a lot more "peaceful" when you're NOT the mom? I've been racking my brain all week trying to come up with a cute Thanksgiving activity for my nursery class on Sunday, trying to find an original recipe to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, shopping for Christmas presents, decorations, etc, and dragging my poor kids from errand to errand, and all the while trying desperately to keep the holiday spirit. Yet somehow it's still my favorite time of year.

I remember being a kid and thinking it all just miraculously happened. I'm trying to finish my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving, so I can relax and enjoy December. We'll see. Oh well it's all worth it to give my kids those same great memories. Gotta love it.

By the way someone needs to tell me how to add your blog addresses to my "list????"

Hmmmm.....

2007-11-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to say. I don't really know what a "blog" is, but everyone on earth has one and so I thought we should have one too.
We're finally settling in after a very fun and exhausting summer, full of non-stop vacations and outdoor funness. Halloween was awesome and were getting ready for Thanksgiving. Today M. and I made a thankful turkey. Basically draw a turkey and cut it out, make dangly little legs, but no feathers. Every night at dinner we all say something were thankful for and write it on a feather and stick it to our turkey. By Thanksgiving we'll have a whole turkey full of thankfulness. Fun Stuff.