Tag Your It...Christmas Edition

Everyone can blame Heather Ward for this one! She emailed it to me but I thought I'd blog mine instead of emailing to here goes...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I enjoy OPENING paper but prefer WRAPPING in bags, so I split it 50/50 cause the kids like the paper better.
2. Real tree or Artificial? My Artificial 9 ft PRE-LIT tree that I bought at Costco a couple of years ago. I really love the idea of real trees but we're rarely home for Christmas and they do pose a fire hazard. As for the smell of real trees we have a lovely pine candle so we don't miss out.
3. When do you put up the tree? Sometime after Thanksgiving, depending on my mood, but no later then December 1st or 2nd.
4. When do you take the tree down? The day after I walk in the door from our Christmas Holiday.
5. Favorite gift received as a child? Don't remember. I do remember my parents always telling us that we would never remember our gifts. As a child I thought YEAH RIGHT but it seems they knew what they were talking about!
6. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I have a couple but my favorite is my fisher-price Nativity. Its so cute and my kids love playing with it!
7. Hardest person to buy for? The Dad's. My Dad and Big T are next to impossible to shop for.
8. Easiest to buy for? Natalie. Its difficult to restrain myself, actually. Good thing her birthday is 3 days after Christmas.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? I mail them. If you don't get one from me this year don't x me off your list...I'm just not doing them due to the recent craziness of my life and the fact that I just sent out Reecey's birth annoucements.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Refer to number 5
11. Favorite Christmas Movie? I have too many to count! We love Christmas Vacation and watch it every Thanksgiving night. I also LOVE watching Elf with my kids. Jackson's got it memorized. Polar Express is also a favorite of mine in addition to Home Alone. TJ and I enjoy Family Man but I think my most favorite of all time for grown ups is While You Were Sleeping. Shannon, Angie and Jocelyn know why!
12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Can't say that I have.
13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love all the cheese balls and dips but my mom's fudge is up there along with LouLou's carmelitas and slush! YUMMY!
14. Clear lights or colored on the tree? My pre-lit tree is white but I saw a tree the other day with colored and thought that maybe next year I'd do a "formal" tree with white lights and a kids tree with colored. Just call me Janet.
15. Favorite Christmas song? Clay Aiken's "First Noel" is great and I love Harry Connick Jr's Christmas CD. I also enjoy "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" and Holly Jolly Christmas. Alan Jackson sings a song called "Let it be Christmas" that is awesome and Matt B. introduced me to Carol of the Bells performed by the Trans Siberian Orchestra!
16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel since we live away from everyone but starting next year we're staying home!
17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? There's Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? RUDOLPH!
18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open PJ's Christmas Eve...and then the rest Christmas morning.
19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? "Happy Holidays" and Holiday Trees and that kind of crap! Whatever happend to Merry Christmas? I don't know about you but if a Jewish person told me Happy Haunukkah I wouldn't be offended. I like to think that if I accidentally told a Jewish person Merry Christmas they wouldn't be offended either.
20. Favorite ornament theme or color? My tree is kind of a peppermint candy theme. Every year I wonder if I should change it but then I get it up and decide I LOVE it.
21. Favorite for Christmas dinner? The traditional
22. What do you want for Christmas this year? My house to sell

TAG...the usuals...you know who are Lindsay, Shannon, Jocelyn, Heather E., Marilee, Ali, Erin, Kacey, Ego, Libby, Jeni, and I'll tag Angie, but I don't know if she'll do it! If anyone else would like to do it then I'll be happy to read!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Jackson the Academic

As some of you know Jackson got glasses! I had been thinking for quite some time that I needed to get his eyes checked due to some things I had noticed when we would read and hooray for Mother's Instinct cause sure enough, his eyes needed some help. So here he is. The little "Academic"

BEFORE

AFTER

Turkey Day Weedend

So over a week later here I am doing a quick update about our Thanksgiving! We had such a fabulous time with the Christofferson's (my sister Marilee's family). They arrived late Tuesday night and on Wednesday we woke up, had yummy breakfast casserole and then Mar and I took off to run some errands. We then met the guys and the kids for bowling and then we went and had authentic Chicago deep dish pizza at a place called Lou Malnati's! It was delish! Then Thursday our friends Chad and Alaina and their 2 girls came over and we had a fun day of cooking, playing, chatting and finally EATING!!!! The dinner was so yummers and we had a great time. Friday we were gonna go downtown but figured it would be a zoo so we went and saw Enchanted instead. It was such a super good movie. Then we went to Red Robin for dinner (of course we did) We had good intentions to go into the city on Saturday but after we polled the kids it was decided that we wouldn't go. Instead we took the kids to Benihana's, which they absolutely LOVED, and to a super nice mall to walk around. The mall didn't last too long due to cranky children but we had fun anyways. That night TJ and Adam headed out to see a crappy horror flick, and Mar, Alaina and I headed out to see a fantastic chick flick...Dan in Real Life. If you haven't seen it I HIGHLY recommend it! Sunday we went to church and came home to watch the Bronco's game. They played the Bears and since we dislike all things Chicago the loss to the Bears stung that much more. Monday mornig Mar and Adam left super early and we were all left feeling very melancholy and blue that our fun weekend was over. We will see them at Christmas though, so we can't feel too bad.

Annie and Jack before Thanksgiving Dinner

Don't ask


Logan and Reecey having a snuggle.

G-Man and Reecey. Her patience was up, however, due to her lengthy snuggle with Logan

Me and Brady at Benihana's

The bigger kids at Benihana's. They all felt very cool cause they got their own table.

The tree at the mall with all the kids, except Reece,

G-man and Brady. Handsome boys!

My kids before Church. They all looked so nice!

So that's about it. I just realized I have no pictures of Spencer. Sorry about that. Its not cause I don't love him!

Thanks to the Christofferson's for making the trek out here. It was very much appreciated and we miss you soooooooooooooooooooo much!

TAG

This one's about me and my hubby!



What is his name? Torrey Jay Nelson Brinkerhoff, Jr. Hence going by TJ
How long have you been married? going on 10 years May 29th! WTH??? How did that happen?
How long did you date? Tough question since we didn't really date. We were long distance and the most consecutive days we spent together before our wedding was 10. We kept joking that we knew we loved each other and we really hoped we LIKED each other. Turns out we did! But to answer the question we started "dating" in January, got engaged in March and married in May so that's 5 months. I'd known him for a year prior to that though.
How old is he? 31 Hehehe. He's getting old.
Who eats more? I probably could but I try not to so we'll go with him.
Who said I love you first? TJ
Who is taller? TJ
Who sings better? I'd say him but he'd say me. He auditioned for American Idol a few years ago if that's any indication.
Who is smarter? TJ all the way!
Whose temper is worse? Probably me
Who does the laundry? Ummm for sure me. He's willing but my OCD doesn't allow it. He might shrink the clothes
Who does the dishes? Both of us.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If we're laying in bed he's on the right.
Who pays the bills? Mostly me, except we discuss credit card bills together.
Who mows the lawn? TJ for sure. Our lawn is huge. He needs a ride on mower.
Who cooks dinner? Me...TJ acts like a fool idiot in the kitchen.
Who drives when you are together? Mostly TJ. I feel weird when we're all together and I'm driving.
Who is more stubborn? TJ all the way.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Probably me. TJ will admit eventually, but it usually takes a few days for him to admit it!
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine.
Who proposed? TJ did in the Denver airport with a huge audience!
Who has more friends? We're probably even but I actually keep in touch with my friends.
Who has more siblings? I do if you include my non-biological sibs. TJ does if you don't include my non-biologicals.
Who wears the pants in the family? I'd say him, he'd say me, which is probably an indication that its pretty even.

Tag: Lindsay, Heather E, Heather W, Mar, Libby and Jeni

Jackson's 8 and our Weekend in Denver

This past weekend we went to Denver where we had a FABULOUS time with family and friends. We went there so Jackson could get baptized with his cousin Annie and so we could bless Reecey poo. It really was such a special weekend and I felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many family memebers. We appreciate the effort every one made to be there to share those special events in our lives and in the lives of our children. It felt so wonderful to "escape" for a few days and to feel some peace. My life lately has felt so noisy, cluttered, chaotic and worriesome, that it was great to be immersed in gospel ordinances, family and fun!

I did one extended montage but seperated Jackson's birthday portion from that of our Halloween and weekend fun. I know you all have seen some of the pictures in Jack's montage before but my favorite posts to do and to look at are the birthday montages. They always bring a little tear to my eye!

ENJOY!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

GAME DAY

GO BRONCOS!!!!!

For those who don't know, we are Denver Broncos Fans and today is GAME DAY! Thanks to Grandma LouLou for the outfit and Auntie Lindsay for the bow. And of course to Auntie Ali for delivering the bow.

Check below for more posts!

Happy 8th Birthday!

Jackson turned 8 this past Saturday! We're so proud of him and excited for him to be Baptized this next Saturday! We had a great day and it was a lot of fun to have Auntie Ali here to celebrate with us! Happy Birthday Jackson! WE LOVE YOU!!! (more about Jackson's birthday will be posted after his baptism!)

BAD HAIR DAY

I remember when I was a little girl my mom telling me to NEVER EVER fall asleep with gum in my mouth. Well, inevitably it happened one day and I woke up with gum all through my hair. I don't remember what happened after that but I'm guessing it had to be cut...in fact I may have even cut it out myself to hide what I had done!

Along those same lines I have also had a round brush stuck in my hair. Not as serious as the gum but I do remember the brief panic that set in when I realized I may have to cut the brush out!

I even have a friend who got a round brush stuck in her hair when she was like 16 and actually had to hack her hair off to get it out.

What about when I was home for the summer from BYU and ended up with BRIGHT ORANGE hair after a trip to the salon? The next day I went back to get it fixed and ended up with FIRE ENGINE RED hair. I believe the day after that I ended up on the phone with my sylist from Utah in tears asking her what I should do. The next thing I knew I was at the drug store on a Sunday evening with Jenny and Julie buying some BLACK hair dye to cover up the mess that my stylist at home had created.

My point is this...girls and hair can be very very emotional. Whether its a bad hair day, gum stuck, a bad cut or color or facing the prospect of having all your long hair cut off due to a stuck brush, its a very emotional thing.

Now picture this...Friday evening Alison, who was visiting for the weekend, and I returned home from picking up pizza to find my precious Natalie with a round brush stuck in her hair. She was terribly upset as her daddy tried to untangle it, due to the pain, embarassment and emotional trauma the whole situation had created!

After a good half hour to fourty five minutes of Daddy trying to loosen and untangle her hair we reached the conclusion that the hair was simply wound too tight around the brush and would have to be cut out.

As you can well imagine no daughter of mine will ever get her hair HACKED off by anybody but a trained professional so I jumped on the phone and tried to get a hold of my stylist. Unfortuately her salon had closed so I racked my brain and called every "good" salon I could think of. I reached one, but they had no appointments available that evening but did take the time to ask if I wanted to schedule one for the next day. Ummmmm, let me think. I just told you that my 5 year old has a round brush stuck in her hair. YES!! I do think it can wait until tomorrow! Could you please schedule me an appointment? People are stupid!

Finally I decided that a Salon specifically for children was my next best option and there happens to be one right around the corner from where I live so I called over there and they told me to come on in! I must admit even I was emotional as I thought of my beautiful little girl having to get her hair HACKED off, but then the woman on the phone told me that the brush may not even have to be cut out!!!!

Poor little Natalie sat so brave and true as the stylist messed with her tangled hair. Ali had told her she could get a treat when the whole ordeal was over if she was really brave, so Natalie did her best and sat as still as can be while Kathy, the stylist, worked out the brush.

Natalie was also a very good sport as I snapped pictures in her time of trial. Since I'm apparently 72% addicted to blogging I of course immediately thought what a great posting this would be.

SUCCESS!!!! Nothing a little detangler and the pointed end of a comb won't fix. Hmmmmm, why didn't I think of that?

A much happier girl getting a snuggle from Auntie Ali.

And last but not least, the evil brush had to be thrown away!!!

It was a very traumatic evening for poor Natalie Rae. I think the embarassment and the thought of having to cut her hair off was a little devastating to her, since she absolutely sobbed when I told her the brush might have to be cut out. Her father, not understanding that hair and emotions are connected, was completely fed up and impatient when we got to the hair cutting suggestion point, and had no compassion for little Natalie. Don't worry though, Ali and I calmly explained that hacking ones hair off unexpectedly is an extremely upsetting thing for girls, big and small!

Random Happenings!

So not much has been happening at our house lately, hence the lack of postings lately! I was even bored with my last post so I thought I'd just put some random pictures on here. The first one is of Brady and his "punkin pie" mask that he made at school. So funny!

I thought this picture of Reecey was so cute! She's just totally OUT!

Another priceless one of Reecey. She'll just jam whatever fingers she can find into her mouth. Usually its her index and middle finger, but she'll take anything she can get!

Reecey and her Daddy. Now I know some of you are probably sitting with your jaw dropped to the floor because TJ's wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat. Yep...he's no longer a Broncos fan cause they suck so bad this year! JUST KIDDING!!!! They do suck but we are not fairweather fans!! He is wearing the Cowboys hat cause that's Jack's football team and he's a coach!

Okay...this one is for Heather. You need to look closely but TJ's hair was so awesome in this picture. He has since cut it due to a job interview next week, but it was as good as its ever been in its rock-a-doodle state. The heating pad was cause he had a major tension headache. Hmmmmm....stressed much?

And last, but not lease, Brady INSISTED that I take a picture of him doing his Blues Clues puzzle today. I just love this kid. He cracks me up!

Kodak Moments

This week is Homecoming week for all 3 high school's in our town. All the fun and festivities trickle down to the middle schools and elementary and they all celebrate Spirit Week! So each day is themed, like pj day, sports day, backwards day etc. Well, Tuesday was crazy hair day so when the kids got home from school I had to snap some pictures. In the first picture Brady had to jump in and show us all his new toothbrush. It also looks like he was celebrating crazy face day!
Jackson's faux hawk.

Front view of Natalie. Not too crazy you say???

Check that craziness out!

Brady and his toothbrush, again.

Brady's awesome shirt!!!!

A close up of the awesome shirt. Hehehe. I got this at Old Navy. I love it!

Reecey Roo hanging out in her bouncy seat. She's finally thinking its not such a bad thing to be able to sit up and see what's going on.

Reecey hanging out in her boppy.

Full view of Reece. I love this little outfit. Can you believe its a 3-6 month???

Addiction!

72%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

I Was Tagged...AGAIN!

I always enjoy a good Tag. Thanks Sharn!

A- Attached or single: attached
B- Best Friend: TJ, my sisters (in-laws included), WSH, Brooke and Alaina
C-Cake or Pie: I'm always in for a good piece of cake!
D- Day of choice: Saturday's are so fun! Love watching the kids play their sports!
E- Essential Item: right now its Reecey's soo-soo. I don't leave home without one!
F- Favorite Color: I don't have a favorite. I like all colors!
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears. Yummy.
H- Hometown: I grew up in Calgary. I for sure don't claim this as my hometown but at the current time I live in Plainfield, IL
I- Indulgence(s): Too many to count!
J- January or July: July all the way. January is way depressing cause Christmas is over.
K- Kids: Jackson, Natalie, Brady and Reece
L-Life is Incomplete Without: Family, friends, vacations, the gospel
M- Marriage Date: May 29, 1998
N- Number of Siblings: 7! 3 Biological and 4 non-biological
O- Oranges or Apples: I love both but have a hard time picking good oranges. Any suggestions?
P- Phobias or Fears: spiders and of course the totally illogical fear of being buried alive (shiver, cringe)
Q- Quote(s): I have too many. The first one that popped into my head though is from Dodgeball. "I sure do love pumpkins Cotton." and of course, "Beneath the clothes is the man, beneath the man is the nucleus." Nacho Libre (make sure to think it in a spanish accent)
R- Reason To Smile: I've got too many reasons to count. What can I say? I'm a happy girl.
S- Season: I love fall. The only bad thing is that winter is next and I don't think I can handle another mid western winter.
T- Tag Three +: Lindsay, Ali, anyone else who feels so inclined.
U- Unknown Fact About Me: My life is an open book. Anyone who knows me well know I've got nothing to hide so I don't think there is one???
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Animal of course
W- Worst Habit: TJ says my worst habit is leaving tags from new clothes out on the counter but I'd have to go with cracking my knuckles.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds cause most of the time if you're getting one its for fun!Y- Your Favorite Food: I always answer this one the same...if it has the potential to make me fatter it is probably a favorite of mine!
Z- Zodiac: Scorpio!

Brady's First Day and the Ribbon Cutting

I'm a little late on this posting but hey, better late then never right? Anyways, last Wed was Brady's first day of pre-school. He was so super excited to go to school and has been asking for weeks when he starts. Finally the day arrived! He loved every minute of it and I think it will be so good for him. He's such a social little boy and so eager to be a big kid like Jackson and Natalie so I think he felt rather awesome that he gets to do a big kid thing.

Here he is at home right before we left.

Walking down the hall to get in the car with his "Light-ming pack-pack"

Trying to get his pack-pack hung up on the hooks. "Is ree-ey heavy mommy." (There was nothing in it)

Waiting for the other kids to arrive whilst playing with Mr. Potato Head. We had to get there a little early to fill out paper work.

Last night was the ribbon cutting ceremony at the kids new school. Natalie was chosen to be one of the ribbon cutters which was very exciting. Here are some pictures from that. Unfortunately the lighting was really really bad for pictures once they actually lined up to cut the actual ribbon. I wish I'd had my other camera there because the pictures would've been better but I worked with what I had. Besides that, TJ got it all on video!

Here she is sitting in the special chairs for the ribbon cutters. There were only 2 from each grade but I have no idea how they chose who would do it.

Here is the principal giving his opening speech. Sorry about the noggin in the way.

Here she is with her scissors ready to cut! When they actually cut the ribbon a bunch of kids jumped up to see so I didn't get a shot of that. But you get the idea right???

That brings us to today. Reecey had her 2 month check-up and boy is she just a little peanut. She is 23 inches long and 10 lbs 8 oz, a full pound less then what Natalie weighed at 2 months a full 5 lbs less then Brady and a full 3 lbs less then Jackson. She also had to get 4 shots and an oral vaccine and boy was she mad. I felt so bad for her! They're so trusting and happy and then all of a sudden...BAM...they're shot with a needle and burning medication...4 TIMES!!! So sad. I know she's totally worn out and traumatized because right now she's K.O.'ed in her bucket and she never sleeps in her bucket. Poor little girl.

Crazy, Busy Weekends

Now that its September our weekends are going to be crazy busy! Every Saturday until October 27th we'll have a soccer game for Natalie and a football game for Jackson. Poor Brady and Reecey will be dragged to and from the games and in and out of the car and I'm afraid it won't be very fun for them. As for me and Teej, we just think its so much fun to watch our children doing things they love! We're so proud of them for their hard work and commitment. Its fun to see them learn and improve and I just can't help but feel that this is what being a parent is all about!

Here's Natalie on the soccer field. She's not the most aggressive player but she has shown a lot of improvement just from the Spring.

I think her coach was trying to get them lined up. They're starting to learn about positions, even though they don't really get it yet.

Another one of Natalie waiting for the action to begin. Like I said earlier, she may not be the most aggressive but she sure is fast!

She also won player of the game this past Saturday and she scored a goal! Go Purple Dolphins!!!

Alright here's Jack's game. Go Cowboys. He's the QB, by the way.

One of 3 passes he threw during the game. Unfortunately none of them were complete but this one in particular was really close. It hit the receivers hands but he just couldn't quite grab on!

A closer shot of Jackson the Quarterback.

Here he is after the hand off. No fumbles for him on Saturday. Woo-Hoo!

Running through the spectator tunnel after a win! Final Score Cowboys 20, Dolphins 6!

Here's Reecey. Obviously she is very unhappy

A few seconds later...still distressed and trying for dear life to hold on to that soo-soo

A few minutes later. As you can see the soo-soo is gone and unfortuately this little cherub didn't sleep for long. She sure is cute though!

And last but not least, for those who don't know, our house went up for sale this past Sunday. TJ is in the process of trying to find a job in Denver and we figured we'd better get a jump on selling our house since we don't want to be stuck here for forever once he does get a job in Denver. We'll see how it goes...wish us luck!