A Visit with Santa...

Wednesday my sisters (Stacy & Jamie) and I took the kids to the mall to see Santa. After last year's experience with Santa I was pretty sure they were going to want nothing to do with him. But I was pleasantly surprised. They were OK sitting by him as long as I sat with them. Maddy was super cute and made sure he told Santa what he wanted for Christmas (Gator Golf, Hot Wheels and an Ice Breaker game.) I don't think Avery was really sure what to think of it all.

I told the kids if they were good and sat on Santa's lap they could go on a ride... they chose the bus and Maddy loved driving (sitting in it pretending to steer while it bounces back and forth) it and was smiling the whole time. I had a fun time doing a little shopping with my sisters and we hit up McDonalds again on the way home. It's a good thing I've been on my best behavior and have been working out!

Whatever Wednesday: Letters...

Dear Snow,

Feel free to hang around until the end of December, but I won't feel hurt one bit if we part ways after that.

Dear Heater,

Thanks so much for keeping me so warm lately.

Dear Steve, thanks for doing the majority of the Christmas shopping and decorating. Oh and feel free to keep being so hot, funny and loveable.

Dear Maddy,

Please stop growing up so fast! I can't believe you will be four next week. Oh and can you make a mental note to never stop giving me lots of hugs and kisses and telling me you love me lots of times throughout the day.

Dear Avery,

You stop growing up so fast as well! Compared to the whopping 1 1/2 pounds you were when we first met you, you are now a giant. Oh and I wouldn't mind at all if your tantrums became less frequent or even completely went away.

Dear Bed,

Nothing has changed with you, you are still my most favorite place in the whole world.

Dear Christmas Tree,

Thanks for lighting up our home and putting me into the Christmas spirit.

Dear Gym,

I don't look forward to our daily time together, but I feel the biggest sense of accomplishment when our time comes to an end.

Dear Scale,
Thanks for giving me a daily reality check so I don't let those extra holiday calories creep up on me.

Dear Blog Readers,

Thanks for reading on a regular basis, but I've been really really really missing your comments. My most favorite part of blogging is the feedback.

Love,

Steph

Fun in the Snow...

We woke up to lots of snow today... Maddy said "Look Mom, it is snowing-is it my birthday?" His birthday is next week and he associates snow with his birthday. We headed out and had some playing in the snow.

YUM!

LOVE this picture of Avery.

Maddy and I had a snowball fight and of course he won...

Weekend...

One of Steve's clients is a train fanatic. On Saturday he was having an open house with all of his trains on display. There were seriously trains in almost every room. We took the kids and they loved it! My favorite was the one pictured above. It is an entire room dedicated to this setup. The details are so intricate and amazing and everything has meaning to the family.

The view at the back where the trains go through the mountain.

Besides decorating for Christmas and going to see the trains we also had a great day Sunday. I went to an awesome RS morning side about the Savior (thanks to everyone who participated-it was very spiritual.) After church I took a nap and then Sunday evening we went to a friends house for dinner and had a great time catching up them (thanks Aaron & Jessica.)

These Two...

... make me laugh! They keep me hopping. They are always up to something. They are really good at playing (and fighting) together. One day last week I was busy trying to get a bunch of housework done and realized they were being too quiet. I thought they were in Maddy's room playing, but it turns out they were in the bathroom (with the door closed.) Avery (in only her diaper-don't judge I was doing laundry) was having a splash fest in the toilet and sink. Maddy was "going to the bathroom." So yes-I'm not sure if Avery was splashing before or after he took care of business (or both) and to be honest I really don't want to know.

Just a couple updates...

Maddy is still not sucking his fingers-although he still has bandaids on them. They were off for a couple days (with no finger sucking) and then I caught him almost sucking his fingers so they were put back on. They were again taken off after another week and he went four days before I caught him almost sucking them again. So they are currently back on but I think the habit will be completely broken real soon.

Avery has been completely off baby food for over a month now. I'm still trying to think of things she can eat that don't require tons of chewing (cause she still hasn't quite figured it out) but she is progressing really well and wants to eat everything. I've also started having her wear her glasses again... kind of got out of the habit. Maybe now she won't be so clumsy.

Christmas Tree...

I've kind of been feeling a little "bah humbug" this year and was really considering not putting up a Christmas Tree this year. I'm not feeling down or anything I just was having a hard time getting any motiviation to decorate, shop, etc. I'm sure being sick for the last few weeks hasn't helped. Well Steve isn't having it so Friday night he brought the tree up from upstairs, decorated it (while I sat and watched while waiting for some pizza to be delivered) and hung lights in some of our trees outside. Saturday he also went and got the majority of the Christmas shopping done for the kids. I must admit I'm warming up and love turning the Christmas Tree lights on and turning all the other lights off at night while I'm enjoying the evening after the kids are in bed. Thanks Steve for your persistence!

Live Nativity...

Thursday my sister Jamie and I took our kids to a Live Nativity in Draper. It ran from 6pm-9pm and we thought we would be smart and beat the crowds and get there at 5:30. Well turns out everyone else had the same idea and the lines were already completely insane when we got there. Factoring in the ice cold FREEZING weather, the kids were not happy campers. After standing in line for one hour (and hardly moving) all the kids (except Lola) were hysterically crying. We made it to the very first display (no where close to most of what was to see-including the manger and all that good stuff) and then left. I thought the kids would calm down once getting into the car but they didn't. Needless to say it wasn't a very fun drive home. Looking back we are now thinking, what were we thinking... but we can at least laugh about it now.

Jamie and kids-the look on Dallin's face pretty much sums up how everyone was feeling (except Lola of course-she was as happy as always.)

This is the only part we made it to.

I took this picture on our way back to the car.

Maddy was so upset cause he wanted to go but he still really wanted to see the animals I had told him we would see. When we were headed back to the car a really nice girl saw how upset he was and offered to take a picture of the camel for us-we were behind the ropes so we couldn't really see. I thought it was a really nice gesture.

The kids finally calmed down after about 15 minutes of driving so we stopped at McDonalds to eat, let the kids play and allow us some time to unwind. As you can see they were much happier.

Yes I know my child looks a bit homeless-she really is taken care of. Claire loved sharing her fries with Avery.

These pictures were taken on the drive up... the drive home was not nearly this peaceful.

This was definitely far from being one of our better outings but I guess you have to take the bad with the good. Thanks Jamie for surviving with me.

Music Monday: Chasing Pirates...

Really liking the feel of the latest from Norah Jones.

Norah Jones: Chasing Pirates...

If you want to see the official music video go here.

Whatever Wednesday: lnspiring Quote...

“Make a radical change in your lifestyle & begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances & yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, & conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, & hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new & different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security & adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning & its incredible beauty.” — Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Found here.

Santa...

On Friday Jamie and I took the kids to see Santa land in a helicopter at the Mall. Maddy is still scared of Santa so I told him we would just watch him land and that he didn't have to sit on his lap.

Avery was happy as long as she had food in her hands, and didn't want to smile for the camera.

Jamie and kids.

The helicopter getting ready to land.

Santa making the rounds.

After we decided to wander the mall for a bit. There was a booth set up for the kids to make snowflakes. Maddy made sure he wrote a "M" for Maddy in the center of his.

After a little shopping, lunch and letting the kids play in the kid area we decided to call it a day. Since it was the day after Thanksgiving the crowds and lines were crazy. We did come home with some cute clothes for the kids however.

Pretending...

Earlier today while getting ready to go return the "Thomas the Train" movie to the Redbox...

Maddy: Mommy I want to keep it.

Me: Well we can't keep it because it's not ours, it belongs to the store and that would be stealing.

Maddy: Well *pause* we could pretend to steal it.

Me: No we can't do that.

Maddy: We could just hide it.

Me: No we can't do that either, we have to take it back.

Maddy: But I really like it and want to keep it.

A conversation about stealing follows...

Thanksgiving...

We had another great Thanksgiving this year! We hosted again and my parents along with all but two(Jen & Stacy) of my siblings were able to come. We had lots of yummy food and enjoyed each others company. Avery was napping when the above picture was taken.

Everyone else (except my Mom.)

The boys being silly as usual.

I had to post this. We were totally laughing and had our mouths full. Lets just say Jamie was pulling out quite the tricks and sound effects to get everyone to smile and as a result had everyone laughing. Jamie you've got skills!

My Mom brought Gingerbread Boy sugar cookies that my Dad made for the kids to decorate. They had lots of fun.

Avery couldn't get the cookie in her mouth fast enough.

This is how the guys watch football... somehow they always manage to catch some zzzz's while the girls are left to clean up.

Music Monday: Happy...

I think this song is really beautiful!

Leona Lewis: Happy...

Swimming Again...

A week ago Saturday Jamie and I took the kids swimming again at the Lehi Legacy Center. Things went a lot more smoothly this time. No injuries or major tantrums.

There is this huge bucket that fills up with water and then dumps and creates a huge splash. Every other time we have been there the kids have been afraid of it. This time however there were a bunch of older boys that were loving it and so Maddy and Dallin have decided to be like them and now love it. It was pretty funny, they would go running underneath it every time. The girls still aren't fans though and run away from it.

A rare occasion... all sitting and not being crazy. It's only because they had food.

Thanks Jamie, Stacy we miss you!

Whatever Wednesday: Grateful...

Maddy made this at school on Tuesday and I just LOVE it! I just adore those little hands of his. I can't believe how much he is learning. He can already spell and write his name without any help.

I have so much to be grateful for. I am truly blessed! I could stay up all night listing everything that I have been blessed with-but instead I'm going to take advantage of one of my favorites... my warm bed. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are able to spend it with your loved ones.

*If you are bright and caught on that Maddy's left hand is on the picture twice (and not his right hand), it is because he "didn't want to get his bandaids dirty."

Music Monday: According to You...

Love this song and think she rocks the guitar!

Orianthi: According to You...

GNO (New Moon-Spoiler Free)...

If you follow my blog you already know Steve hooked me up with four tickets to a prescreening of New Moon last night. I invited some good friends and had lots of fun. We grabbed some yummy food at Red Robin before heading over. It was packed and I'm pretty sure (based on the girl to guy ratio) that most of the people there were going to see New Moon. I really enjoyed the movie and thought it was done better than Twilight. The movie followed the book really closely and there were lots of word for word lines straight from the book. The book was fresh in my head because I just finished reading it yesterday. There were a few minor things that they added that didn't affect the story line. There were a few parts that I wish could've had more screen time but overall felt they did justice to the book. I didn't have high expectations and was expecting the acting to be of the same quality, which for the most part it was. There was also a bunch of the same type of humor that was in Twilight and a couple super cheesy parts. But overall I was impressed and am looking forward to going again for another GNO on Monday. There are some parts I thought were really cool and some characters that I really thought nailed it but I don't want to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it yet so if you have and would like to talk feel free to do so in the comments....

Thanks Brooke, Lisa and Kari for coming-it was lots of fun! We will have to do it more often!

P.S. Of course I thought Jacob looked hot... I'm pretty sure I'm not alone though-and yes I'm still Team Edward :)

I Appreciate His Honesty...

Randomly out of no where while I was watching The Doctors just now...

Maddy: Mom, what's your deal?

Me: Maddy, you are my deal, what's your deal?

Maddy: My deal is that I'm tired of you.

Me: (a bit taken back) Really? Well that kind of makes me feel bad, but I appreciate your honesty.

Maddy: Well sometimes I just get tired of you and I want to watch my show.

Me: Well do you wish I went to work and Daddy stayed home with you all day?

Maddy: (with a big grin on his face) Yes!

Me: Do you think you would get tired of Daddy?

Maddy: No, just you.

Me: Do you get tired of Avery?

Maddy: (with a big sigh and roll of his eyes) Yes!

Me: Well are you glad she takes naps then?

Maddy: Yes!

Me: Well if you are tired of me maybe you should just go and play in your room all by yourself. But thanks for being honest... we always tell the truth don't we?

Maddy: Yes.

*Maddy has started telling little white lies here and there and so we have been really talking to him about honesty lately... I guess maybe it's sinking in and I guess I need to work on being a more exciting Mom.

Super Powers...

I may be speaking prematurely but I think we have kicked Maddy's "finger sucking" habit. It actually kind of all happened without even trying. Last Thursday while I was working out in our basement Maddy was messing around with one of the cardio machines and got his fingers stuck. Before I could get off my machine and over to him he pulled them out and scraped his finger up pretty bad. It is one of the two that he sucks. I washed it up and put a bandaid on it while thinking it wasn't going to stay on long because he would want to suck his fingers. Anyway I forgot about it and a day or so later realized it was still on and he hadn't been sucking his fingers at all. Saturday evening Steve took him to Wal Mart and among other things got some bandaids. He let Maddy choose some as well. He chose Handy Manny ones. I had recently watched "The Doctors" and a tip they gave for thumb suckers was to put bandaids on their thumb and tell them they had "super powers." So when Steve and Maddy came home with their new bandaids I thought what the heck, I'm up for trying anything. So I took his old, dirty bandaid off and let him pick new ones to put on. We told him that his bandaids had "super powers" and one thing they could do was help him stop sucking his fingers. So far it has worked and tomorrow will be a week. I'm so proud of him and am hoping it is going to be this easy. I'm not sure what will happen when he has no bandaids on his fingers but I'm willing to let him wear them as long as he wants if it means no finger sucking.

Whatever Wednesday: Can't Wait...

I've had a GNO planned with my sister and a bunch of her sister-in-laws for Monday to see New Moon for a while now. But... I couldn't turn down the opportunity to see a prescreening of the movie Thurs. at 9:05PM! Yep that's right-even before the midnight showings. Steve has a hookup so I had him get four tickets so I could have a fun GNO. I invited a few awesome girls and I'm really looking forward to it! Thanks Steve!

For those of you that are Team Jacob...

Team Edward...

More from where these two pictures came from here.

Swimming...

Wednesday my sister Jamie and I took the kids swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center. Other then a couple minor injuries(Avery slipped and hit her head before even getting into the pool, Maddy hit his mouth on the bathroom sink and it bled for a while), we all had a fun time...

Maddy loved floating on his back.

The girls loved splashing.


Isn't this the cutest picture of Jamie and Lola!

The kids were starving so before we left we ate some pizza. I guess it wasn't enough for the appetite they had worked up so I had to stop and pick up another pizza on the way home. Thanks Jamie for a fun time! Stacy we missed you and hope you get feeling better soon!

Music Monday: Possibility...

Since New Moon is opening in theaters this week and I'm super excited to see it, here is my favorite song off the New Moon soundtrack.

Lykke Li: Possibility...

More Stories from the Cemetery...

After such an interesting trip to the cemetery last year, my sister's and I decided we had to go again this year. After meeting such a wide variety of characters last year we weren't sure what we would encounter this year. I must say we were not disappointed...

When we arrived there was so much chaos. It seemed to be unusually dark, almost as if there was evil lurking everywhere...

We saw the cutest little clown that was completely beside himself. He had broken down and was sobbing, he said that all he wanted was to have some fun. He wanted to play some games but everyone he came across was out of sorts and wouldn't play with him.

There was another cute little clown. She seemed very distracted and claimed that she must be going crazy because she had her hat when she arrived but couldn't seem to find it anywhere.

There was a cute little caveman that couldn't handle the chaos. He longed for the simpler times his ancestors had experienced. He couldn't even bear to watch what was happening in front of him.

You probably won't believe it but Luke Skywalker was there and he decided enough was enough... he was going to have to gather some friends and fight the evil face on.

Princess Leia was also there and quickly joined the cause and immediately started channeling The Force.

Yoda was there as well and was certain The Force would be with them.

Finally with The Force with them they were able to conquer the evil and there was peace in the cemetery once again. The gloomy darkness was taken over by radiating light and almost instantly all those that we came across were back to their happy selves...

They even played a fun game of hide-and-seek, the little clown couldn't have been happier.

Until next year-may The Force be with you...

Whatever Wednesday: This Is It...

My sisters and I saw this movie over the weekend. I found it very entertaining and loved getting a glimpse at the passion behind MJ's artistry. He seemed genuinely nice and very humble. Of course his talent was showcased and I was also amazed at the talent of his crew. I was also amazed at how much work goes into a production like that. The theater raised the ticket price to $10(even for a matinee) for this movie but I thought it was worth it. I think it has been extended through Thanksgiving-I would reccomend seeing it. My sister's and I talked Steve and Ben(Justin was gone hunting) into watching the five kids(ages 1-5) while we went. They survived(and even got some Chinese takeout for dinner), but claim they are never doing it again... we came home to chaos and a destroyed house. Thanks for letting us go guys!

Music Monday: Two is Better than One...

Such a beautiful duet... love it!

Boys Like Girls(Ft. Taylor Swift): Two is Better than One...