Can't live with 'em, Can't live without 'em

My mom was complaining to me a few weeks ago about the pictures she has hanging in her hall, she has pictures of all of us kids most of them are our graduation pictures. She was saying that she should just take down the pictures because she will never get updated ones. Well I had this grand idea to get pictures taken for her for Christmas. I knew it would be special to her because for 1) all 4 of us kids would be together. And given some family history it's not uncommon for at least a couple of us to not be on speaking terms. And at the time this was the case so it meant some mending of relationships before we could actually pose as a happy family for pictures. And 2) they were taken in my Grandpa's backyard were we have a lot of childhood memories. I was really happy with the results, and I think she was too!

I do love my brother's and think they are so great to be around. I have so many great memories from my childhood with them. But then their are those times when I just want to ring their necks! I guess that's the beauty of siblings...especially all brothers.

Merry Christmas

The weather outside was definately frightful, but that didn't stop us from having an amazing day filled with family and fun. We decided to have a very quiet and relaxing Christmas Eve this year. My mom and Kenny came over and we had a nice dinner and we decorated Gingerbread houses and Gingerbread men.

Kade had his cookie decorated and then completely eaten within 2 minutes. They had a good time. We gave the kids new jammies for our Christmas Eve tradition and then sent them off to bed nice and early (7:30.) We did this in hopes we could get a few things done and then get to bed early ourselves, it didn't really work that well. Kaylee was so anxious she couldn't get to sleep. Brayden and Kade both went to bed right away but by 2:30 Brayden had already put in a full nights sleep. Since the wind was so bad he couldn't fall back to sleep so he laid in my bed for the rest of the night asking when we could open presents.

FINALLY, at 6:30 we let the kids get up and open presents. It was so much fun to see Kade's excitement with every little thing. His favorite thing throughout the day was his Diego bandaid's he got in his stocking. We are always so spoiled and so blessed by each of our families.

Even though it makes for a crazy day, we are so lucky to be close to all our parents and get to visit them on Christmas day. We didn't let the snow slow us down. We hopped in our big red beast of a vehicle and we were on our way. We were surrounded by so many loved ones all day, it was great!

Here's Grandma Sonia (Mike's mom) with all the Grand kids.

Two of my brothers. Paul and Ryan

My Dad with Kade and Brayden.

I can't believe that 2008 is almost over, this year has just flown by. I am looking forward to this upcoming year. My kids are at a great age I am thoroughly enjoying them. Their has been a lot of reflecting of this past year going on. I have either had to eliminate things that make me unhappy or re-introduce happy things into my life that had become lost to me. Mike and I have dedicated this next year for organizing and preparing. This economy is just so scary and you never know when you could be hit with a tragedy. It seems like everyone I know has been affected in some way.

I pray you all had a Merry Christmas and Hope for a happy 2009 New Year!

Kaylee's Kindergarten Program and a little note

Kaylee had her Kindergarten program on Friday. She has been so excited about and been practicing so hard. They have only been in school for 2 weeks so they haven't had long to work on their songs. I was quite impressed with how well they did. They also did a little dance to "Jingle Bell Rock." It was really cute. Kaylee has been asking ever since, "So, how did you like my program?" She loves being the center of attention.

Also, this last Saturday we celebrated my Grandpa's 80th birthday. My mom put together a scrapbook for him. In it we had a page from each person in the family and a letter from everybody. So I had my kids write a letter to my grandpa and then I put some pictures on a scrapbook page for him. Here is what Kaylee admires about my Grandpa:

If you can't read it it says,

Grampsy,

You are a good Grandpa. You are just like Jesus because you are a good carpenter. You are talented at making wood things. I love you. Kaylee.

Her picture is a picture of him with a saw in his hand a log on a table. It also has a pig because I was telling her that he used to raise pigs.

It's funny the perspective of a 5 year old. Because if you knew my Grandpa he has a lot of qualities that emulate Jesus Christ. But Kaylee admires that he is a carpenter. She is a little obsessed about figuring out people's talents since we talked about it in primary a few weeks ago. Gotta love her. (and she just saw these pictures that I was posting and she say's, "Oh, I love those pictures of me."

What we've been doing...

You know the saying, "If you can't say anything nice, Don't say anything at all." That explains my long absence from blogging. We experienced a LONG off track time during the whole month of November through the beginning of December. We spent ALOT of time together:) There were moments when I would step back and think to myself, "When did I totally lose control? The kids have taken over."

Well I am happy to say the kids have been back in school for 2 weeks now, and things have been SOOOO pleasant. I am so happy with the way things are in my life right now. They will be back off again tomorrow for another 2 weeks but Mike will be off for a majority of that time. At least he will be able to assist me and help me with my sanity.

Since Kaylee get's out of school early her and Kade have been able to have some bonding time. They have become the best little buddies. It's cute to see them play with each other. This is how I saw them the other day after I turned on a Christmas movie for them. Kaylee had just curled up on Kade's lap.



We have continued to stay busy with Brayden's soccer. They are playing an indoor Futsal league right now and are ranked #1. Even if all the kids they are playing against are a foot taller then them...and some are girls.



Sometimes I can't get enough of this face. I love his chunky cheeks and big brown eyes. The kids have had fun playing in the snow. Brayden enjoys walking to school everyday. I do offer him a ride but he refuses, even today when it was coming down hard. Kaylee on the other hand insists on a ride. The other day I bundled her up and had her walk, and she told me she cried the whole way to school. I guess I won't do that again, I'm a horrible mom.

They have had fun trying to shovel the driveway before Dad gets home. They also enjoy doing our neighbor's driveway who is a single lady.

Every year I feel so guilty getting neighbor gifts because I'm so behind I don't have time to get any out. But I can proudly say I did get a few out this year! So it has been a joy to receive such fun gifts from my neighbors this year. Here are just a few fun things I have received.

Look at these cute wooden ornaments, she also gave me some yummy cinnamon almonds.

I got a wonderful appetizer book. I don't know if you can read it but on the cover it says: Appetizer: A food or drink that prefaces the main meal. Just as Christ's birth is really just the appetizer to his wonderful life, example, & atonement.

And sad but true, this pot is empty. Because once I received it my whole family was eyeing it and I didn't want to share it. So I took it with me into the bathroom (I also received some yummy bubble bath and I have had a bubble bath for 4 nights in a row. Love It!) I got into a bubble bath and ate the whole thing, it was that delicious. And I have craved it ever since. So I am going to make some more tonight. Here is the receipe if you would like to make some for your family (way better then carmel corn):

Corn Curl Crunchies (a.k.a. Puffy Nummies as my kids have nicknamed them)
1 c brown sugar
¼ c corn syrup
1 cube butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp baking soda
5 oz corn curls (Barrel of Fun Corn Pops—you can buy them at Macey’s and I think I’ve seen them at Harmon’s—they’re usually on the chip & snack isle. The super size bag is 15 oz and makes a triple batch).

Bring brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter to a full bull, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and continue to stir for two minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Pour over corn curls in a large bowl and stir until well coated. Spread corn curls onto a cookie sheet. Bake in oven on low (200 degrees) for 15-20 minutes. You can bake longer for crispier curls.

You don’t want to store them in an air-tight container (if there are any left over to store that is!), because it makes them sticky and gooey).

My goal this year was to be completely finished with everything by last friday, and I accomplished that goal. I'm glad I did because the weather hit hard. It has been nice to be able to enjoy the warm inside weather, eat yummy warm soup and enjoy the kids. I even finished with the kids teachers presents. I got this idea from studio jk vinyl. The reason I am documenting all of this is because I sit back and wonder what has come over me this year. I am actually on top of things this year, that NEVER happens. I am usually a frazzled mess. I am just grateful for this feeling that I am able to feel and the joy I feel in my heart this year.

I was just watching the Grinch Stole Christmas with the kids and at the beginning it shows Cindy Lou Who covered with presents. There is a lot of hussle and bustle going on about.

The Dad uncovers Cindy Lou and she say's "Dad doesn't this seem like a bit much?"
And the Dad say's, "This is what Christmas is all about. Can't you feel it?"

I'm glad I'm not having to feel the hustle and bustle this time of year. I'm glad I'm able to sit back and enjoy my family and think about the Savior. This feeling I have in my heart right now, is what it's all about.

Bloggled

A friend is launching a new website today and to get people excited about it, they are giving away prizes every 2 hours (including a Cricut machine and an ipod touch!) I've been really excited for this website ever since he told me about it and it's finally up and running. Head over to Bloggled.com and check it out.

Q & A- For All Those People That Have Ever Sent This To Me

I receive this exact email all the time. The funny thing is everybody puts me down as the one who is most likely to respond. Sorry to you guys because I never do. I thought I would finally respond and just put it down on my blog. Don't worry I won't tag you and ask you to do one yourself. But if you do feel like you want to, you can copy and paste the questions and either post it on your blog or send it in an email.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30

2. Diamonds or pearls? Definitely Diamonds, even though I only own one and it hangs on my neck. One day I may sport a big rock on my finger. I’ve now been married 8 years and never had one, but hey, a girl can dream.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Twilight, Bolt, Twilight, Twilight. Loved them all. I think I saw more movies last weekend at the theatre then I saw last year combined.

4. What is your favorite TV Show? Amazing Race, Grey’s Anatomy, (it’s starting to get trashy though and starting to bug) The Hills.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast ? Either a bagel, a piece of toast, or some Cheerios.

6. What is your middle name? don’t have one.

7. What food do you dislike? Mushrooms, beans

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Josh Groban Christmas songs

9. What kind of car do you drive ? Chevrolet Tahoe

10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey, or Chicken Salad

11. Characteristic you despise? dishonesty

12. Favorite item of clothing? MEK Jeans I also like comfy sweats with warm fuzzy socks.

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Well, right now I want to go somewhere warm with a beach and lots of relaxing. Maybe Hawaii with my hubby.
14. Are you an organized person? Not at all. I really try but I don’t think I was built to be organized. I try but it doesn’t last.

15. What if you got abducted by aliens? What a weird question??? I get really homesick so I wouldn’t do well with this.

16. What was your most memorable birthday? Each year is great. I love birthdays. What could be better then a whole day dedicated to me (and an excuse not to do anything!)

17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Go to bed

18. Farthest place you are sending this????

19. Person you expect to send it back first? I’m not going to answer this question. People always put my name down for this but I never get around to completing them. I hang on to the email forever and then forget to do them. So this is for all those people that have sent this to me before and expected me to respond.

20. When is your birthday? 5-30

21. Morning person or a night person? night

22. What is your shoe size? 6

23. Pets? Just my kids. And lately they are PLENTY!!

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? no

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher.

26. How are you today? I’m just fine. Glad it’s the end of the day and the house is now quiet.

27. What is your favorite flower? Gerbera Daisy

28. What is a day on the calendar to which you are looking forward? The whole month of Dec. I love the whole season of Christmas, there are so many fun parties and activities to go to

29. What are you listening to right now? Absolutely nothing.

30. What was the last thing you ate? A Pina Colada Salad from Zupas. We had a GNO tonight for Kristin’s birthday.

31. Do you wish on stars? Only when my kids want to try and get money. They do this with my mom and she leaves money under their pillow from the “wish fairy.” They think it’s a little weird that the wish fairy doesn’t ever visit our house. I tell them she only knows where Grandma lives.

32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink or white

33. How is the weather right now? Cold!

34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mom

35. Favorite soft drink? Dr. Pepper

36. Favorite restaurant? So many to choose from! I’m not picky I just love food and if I don’t have to cook it…even better. I love Texas Roadhouse, The DoDo, PF Changs.

37. Hair color? Natural light brown. This last time I got my hair done I went a little darker but still have the blond highlights.

38. What was your favorite toy as a child? I loved playing Barbie’s and dolls.

39. Summer or Winter? Summer

40. Fish-Fresh Water or Salt? Not really a fan of fish.

42. Coffee or tea? Neither

43. Do you want people to send this back to you? I would love to hear from people.

44. When was the last time you cried? Sunday.

45. What is under your bed? Who knows?? Nothing much can fit under there but I’m sure it’s collected a few items.

46. What did you do last night? Laundry and watched TV with Mike.

47. What are you afraid of? Spiders, Heights, being trapped in something. And this crazy messed up world we live in. I’m scared for my children and what life is going to be like for them.

48. Salty or sweet? Usually sweet.

49. How many keys on your key ring? 1

50. How many years at your current job? 7 years of being a mommy

51. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

52. Do you make friends easily? No. I am an introvert. I have a hard time putting myself out there to meet new people.

53. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? absolutely

CBSC- Warning to All!

For the last couple of days I have been receiving a phone call coming from an unknown name, and an 800 number that I didn't recognize. So I of course haven't answered it. Well tonight they finally left a message that left me a little paranoid. The message stated:

"This is Lynn, I'm calling from CBCS. Please return my call this is an attempt to collect a debt. You can reach me toll-free at 1-800-498-2223."

I for one have never dealt with a company by the name of CBCS, and two, I have no idea what this debt collection would be. So I promptly called "Lynn" back just to receive a recorded voice. It asked for my phone number so it could access my account (one of which does not exist) and then the last 4 digits of my Social Security number. It then says I'm sorry we're having troubles finding your account we will transfer you to an agent. It then hung up on me. I called back a couple times just for it to do the same thing over and over. I started to get frustrated because I wanted to know what this debt collection was and if they were even calling the right person, because not once was my name ever used. I decided to Google this companies name and the only thing that it pulled up were websites warning you about this company. Things like rip-off, scam, fraudulent, and suspicious.

So, after reading a few peoples opinion on this here is what I have come up with, in case they call you.

Don't call them back. They are trying to get as much information out of you, like your social security number, name, phone number, address, etc. They are trying to see how many dummies they can get to actually pay these non-existent bills. It looks like they have been able to really effect some peoples credit with these non-existent bills as well. So Good luck if they call you.

Something Meme...

Something in the news from yesterday:

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died at his Salt Lake City home late Monday night. He was 91. I loved listening to him speak, especially his last talk given in conference. I love his advice, "Come what may, and love it." Sometimes it's so hard finding joy in the journey but if we remember: " The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable." I think a lot of people will find comfort from his talk as they are mourning his passing. They will be able to remember the happiness and the joy that he brought through his journey here on earth.

Something you ate yesterday:Meatloaf with Veggies. I know it doesn't sound too appetizing but I really like meatloaf and my kids LOVE it! Afterwards we went and got some ice cream. I just had a few bites of Mike's Oreo milkshake. Blach! Something about soft serve vanilla ice cream just makes me sick. Also it just didn't settle well. I don't know if it was the fact I didn't like the taste or if it was something my stomach just didn't like!


Something you did yesterday: Ran errands, cleaned, (just a little though. I get really bored with this so I quit way before I should.) I started decorating for Christmas. We even got the lights on the outside of our house working. I am so excited! I bug Mike about putting them up every year but it never seems to happen. This year he actually was ambitious and put them up. When he went to plug them in they blew a fuse and then we couldn't get them to work. Yesterday we were able to fix them (Thanks Papa Kenney!) and they are beautiful! I also got to go pick up our family pictures. Yeah!


Something you're looking forward to: I answered these questions on someone else's blog to try to win a contest. No, I didn't win, but I'm just going to copy and paste my top 8 answers...I might change them a little though.

1. Getting decorated for Christmas
2. Finish my Christmas shopping early...hopefully this happens.
3. Going to see the lights at temple square and all our other family traditions.
4. Seeing my kids on Christmas. It's always so much fun!!!
5. Brayden's baptism coming up in February. Can you believe he is almost 8!!!!
6. Walking through the Draper temple. And the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.
7. Wednesday night GNO
8. Monday the kids go back on track. I love my kids dearly but it has been a long 4 weeks. I think their teachers miss them:)


Something fun you've done this past weekend: I loved last weekend. Anytime we have a long weekend that Mike is home with us, it's fabulous. Thursday was great Thanksgiving fun. Friday we had a great day getting our pictures taken and then we took the kids to Pizza Factory. They have the best salad bar! The kids had a sleepover that night with their cousins and it ended up being a great night. Kaylee went and slept over with her cousin Avery, and we had her brother Josh over at our house for Brayden to spend some time with. They had a good time. Mike and I were able to spend some good time with Kade playing "Kerplunk" over and over and over. He was insistent that he beat us every time. Saturday was a good day of shopping. We were able to get a lot of our shopping done. We started the decorating process and hopefully today I can get it finished up and everything put away. We just had a lot of great relaxing time and good quality family time. Gotta love that.

Family Pictures

We finally went and got some family pictures taken. I don't have a group shot of the kids since Kade was born. Thanks Julie for the awesome pictures, we love them! The kids loved having their pictures taken, they kept finding different places and ways to pose. They even cried when it was time to go home. Here are a few of our favorites....

Our favorite picture of the whole day was this one of Kaylee. At the very end as we were leaving Mike suggested we stick her in this corner. It turned out awesome!

Give Away Today

Do you like winning things? Here is a fun new website that a friend is launching that will be giving away fun prizes. The more people that visit, the more prizes they will be able to give away. Go to Give Away Today and enter to win, starting with a $100 gift card to Target. I have also linked the button on the side of my blog. I would wish you good luck in the drawing, but that would lessen my chances of winning:)