Snow Fort

We had a nice Christmas. I think it was great, but poor Jacob was sick. He started throwing up at around 2pm on Christmas Eve and it took him until the next day to really get out of bed. It was basically me and the kids doing all of the fun things. We watched the Nativity, we read books, set out cookies, etc. etc. I made a nice dinner with all of the trimmings......and then enjoyed it myself because Jake couldn't eat a thing and the kids were full of treats that day. Oh well, it really was a nice dinner. Over all, it was great to spend some quiet peaceful time with the kids and see how sweet they are about the holiday. They had such a great time on Christmas morning. It was all squeels and delight from them. Here is a picture of Abigail in her new Tinkerbell costume. I think it is her favorite gift. She hasn't taken it off for three days :)

It was a white Christmas. We have had so much snow here, I don't think it has been like this for at least a few years. Our kids are in heaven playing in the white fluff, but I am freezing! Luckily, they have a great father who still lives in some of his childhood fantasies. One of which, is building the biggest and best snow fort ever. He has spent three days straight out there with the kids making this thing great...and it is! It is complete with tunnels, a great slide, and a whole "living area" with benches and chairs. The kids really don't know how lucky they are. For Jacob's sake I am hoping the sun stays away for at least a few days :)

Festivities

We have had a great Christmas season so far. Here are some of the things we have been up to:

We went up to Temple Square to see the lights and met our cousins up there. We road Trax up...the kids loved that.

We have been baking like crazy. We have had work parties, preschool parties, Ethan's school performance (so cute!), we have also been to the Energy Solutions Arena for the annual "sing along" that Larry Miller puts on. It was actually really fun. We loved the music, and the kids loved the free hot dogs and soda. :) Ethan and Abigail sang at the top of their lungs when they knew the songs.

We have been up to visit my mom to celebrate with her early. She is flying south for the Holidays and will be on a beach in Mexico in a few days. We had a nice time with her. We have also been singing every Christmas song we know, making snow forts, watching Christmas movies, etc. What a fun time of year!

Here is my adorable crew. They make all the hustle and bustle worth it :)

It was nice to stop and see this statue on temple square. This was good for the kids to talk about the whole reason we celebrate this wonderful holiday. We have had such a good time reading some nativity scriptures each night from a cute kit that my sister put together. The kids have really been interested in the whole story this year. I love to focus daily on Christ amidst all of the other traditions that take our time.

Here are the kids with their cousins, Elle, Grace and Tate. Jade really adores aunt Sarah and won't leave her side when she is around. They are waiting for the train to take us over to the Gateway for dinner and hot chocolate.

Ethan also celebrated his birthday this last weekend. He turned 6! He didn't have a friend party this year, but we did take him to the Mayan restaurant, opened presents, and then when we went to my Mom's we had cake and ice cream and sang to him. He requested a Power Ranger cake, which I really didn't want to take a picture of up close. It turned out hot pink instead of red, and the face looked like a hoola dancer in a bra. . . don't tell poor Ethan. He thought it was pretty sweet.

Nana made him special initial pancakes in the morning. It surprised him and made him smile :)

Ahoy There

Thanksgiving was great. We spent the week up at my Mom's house in Smithfield. My sister Amanda and her family were here from Phoenix. It was a real treat for the kids to play with their cousins non-stop for several days. We had the traditional dinner with my Mom, Sister, Brother and his wife, my awesome Grandfather, and a neighbor friend. Aside from the main dinner we had lots of fun. We went to a few different parks to play, we played games, we decorated a gingerbread house, we celebrated Mom's birthday, we went to Novemberfest to see my sister-in-law's booth, we gave each other massages, we had a pie making contest, etc, etc. etc. It was way too fun.

Here is my cute younger brother, Eric and his wonderful wife, Jessica.

Here is us giving "Nana" breakfast in bed on her birthday. She really enjoyed the meal made by the grandkids and we entertained her the whole time. The kids performed songs and dances, and she laughed so hard she almost spilled her tray. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here is a picture of my eldest sister, Amanda. She is about 7 months pregnant, and looking oh-so-cute! She wanted her back in this picture, though :)

Here are the kids dressing up as pirates. They were really cute. In stead of playing hide and seek, they hid gold coins around the house and the others tried to find the "buried treasure".

And here is our finished gingerbread house. I baked the pieces from real gingerbread. It was hard to get all the pieces just right, but it was worth the effort. You can't tell from the picture, but it was really big. All of the kids helped and they did a fantastic job. My kids are still drooling over it every day :)

My Life May Seem Boring...

I am a boring blogger! I am so busy with the little things in my life, that all my creative energy is used up by the time I have a second to think about blogging. Whenever I have a free minute to post, my mind wanders to my bed and how I am sleep deprived, or else I am interrupted my twenty different things.

My life really ISN'T as boring as it may seem :) However, once again, here is a little random update on the kids. They are my joy and I am SO THANKFUL for them...especially in this season of giving Thanks.

We took Abigail's preschool class to the firestation on a field trip. They liked the trucks the best. Who doesn't?

We had fun the other day making leaf "stained glass". We got contact paper and made leaf designs in the middle of two sheets. They were so pretty with the sun shining through them. Now they have faded a bit in the last two weeks, but I can't stand to take them down yet. It was fun to see how each child has a different artistic streak. Jade wanted hers all in a row. Ethan wanted as many colors and leafs as he could fit on there, and Abby took her time placing them in just the right place :)

We took some family pictures casually the other day while on a walk by the pond next to our house. The sun had just gone down, so none of them turned out great, but I think we might have been successful in getting one good family shot for some Christmas cards (that is if I get Christmas cards out). Here Ethan and Abigail look like the best of friends.....funny. They have been fighting like cats and dogs lately. From the time they wake up until they fall asleep they bug each other on purpose. Have any good advice for me? I sure have tried everything. Some days are great, and then the next they are at each others throats again.

Sickly Birthday

Our sweet Abigail turned 4 today. She sure had a fun few days over her birthday and Halloween. The day before Halloween we threw a "friends" birthday party for her. She was so excited to decorate and help me make all of the treats and party favors. Then, during the party she seemed kind of sad and I couldn't tell why. She still participated in all the games, and activities. Then after everyone left I noticed that she had a fever and felt terrible. I looked in her throat and sure enough, her tonsils were swollen with sores on them. I took her to the doctor that afternoon and she had strep. Poor thing. I felt doubly bad that she had friends over that day and I had no idea that she was sick. Anyways, she finished the day off with pajamas and television and she couldn't eat a thing. I sure hope no one got sick from that party. It was a blast anyway. Then, after she had been on antibiotics for two days and we were sure she wasn't contagious anymore... the day after Halloween (her actual birthday) we went up to Clinton to celebrate with her cousin, Elle, who also shares the same birthday. It was fun to see family and sing happy birthday to her. I even made another cake because I just wanted to :)

She specifically asked for a Care Bear cake. Here is my attempt, which actually turned out pretty good. I didn't even eat a bite though after too many sweets in too few days.

These were the party favor bags for her friends. Super cute brooms.

These were just one of the snacks we made for the party. These black cat cookies were actually really easy to make. We had fun making them, although Ethan burned his arm on the pan.

Abigail, I am so glad that you are in my life. You make me want to be a better person and a better mother. You have such a strong spirit. I forsee so many good things for you. I hope the best gift you got on your birthday is the knowledge that your family and so many people love you! Happy Birthday!

BOO!

Well, I am sure the blogging world is flooded with all the little cuties in our lives in their Halloween costumes. I can't resist anyway :) My kids had a great time this Halloween. They really got into the spirit of things this year. Even Abigail who was sick on Halloween didn't complain once and would not hear of staying home from Trick or Treating.

Here is our little Forest Nimph...

Our cool Power Ranger...

and our pretty kitty.

We carved the kids pumpkins and then ran out of energy that night to finish Jake's or mine :) I think my pumpkin might turn into dinner this week.

Facepaint and Fun

My kids ask just about every day when Halloween is, Abigail especially. I should have not even mentioned the subject until about a week beforehand. Oh well. I have been trying to keep them excited with fun projects. For FHE this week we did some fun crafts that my mom (Nana) sent to the kids in a package. She is so great about sending a fun package every year. We wish she lived closer to actually do the crafts with the kids, but they wanted to post some pics for her to see :) The kids colored their wooden figures, made pictures with the Halloween stickers, etc. For the treat, we made cornflake crispies that have red food coloring in them to look like a pile of fall leaves (thanks for the idea, Melissa).

Abigail is obsessed with having her face painted. About three times per week she asks Jake to paint it. I sometimes say no, but then I remember that childhood goes too fast, and usually give in. Luckily, Jake is more artistic than me and always does a great job with the paint. He does flowers, vines, all sorts of animals, etc. Since she wants to be a cat for Halloween, he thought he would practice a fun "cat" face. This picture is at the end of the day when a lot of it had been rubbed off, but you get the idea, anyway.

During General Conference a few weeks ago, I let the kids have "Costume Conference". They thought it was cool to get dressed up and play "Conference Bingo" while they listened. They actually stayed put for about 4 or 5 talks. I think that is a record at our house!

And this last picture is just because. I was looking at Jade today in her little jeans and she looked very grown up to me. I mean, relatively of course :)

Humpskunk and Buttermilk

This one is for all you cousins out there :) About two years ago, my mothers side of the family put together a family cookbook, titled "Humpskunk and Buttermilk" (hard to explain, but means a lot to each of us). I just have to say that I LOVE THIS BOOK! I use it about three times a week. It is the best book I own. I have had fun trying all the "oldies" as well as trying all of the fun new recipes from those who have married into the family and brought their own great recipies.

I have had fun in the kitchen lately. I got to stop in Brigham City on the way home from Mom's a few weeks ago and pick up a half bushel of tomatoes. Combined with those from my garden, I was able to can quite a few bottles of homemade salsa. Now, not to toot my own horn, but SERIOUSLY it turned out great. I love my recipe (I have used it two other years) and there is nothing better than the smell of simmering salsa on your stove all day. Jacob is basically drinking it straight from the bottle...who needs chips? I also got to can a bunch of blueberry syrup and blueberry jam with my mom a few weeks ago. It turned out great, but a little too sweet for me. Again, Jake loves it :) Thanks, Mom!

One of the things I love about cooking is that I get to wear the adorable apron that I made last year. My sister, Marisa has a great pattern for this gathered top apron. I made it reversible and I just had to make it in some retro prints. It just makes me feel connected to prior generations cooking in the kitchen. Fun.

Cousins

It is so nice to have some cousins close for my kids to play with. They are the best of friends. I wish they all lived so close, but we are glad for what we have. On Jacob's side, they are mostly in-state. On my side only one cousin is in-state.
Elle and Ethan are especially close. We spent a few days at Grandma Teresa's while Jacob had some flights, and the cousins had ample time to run around, make snowmen, yell at the top of their lungs, and play, play, play.
Here is a picture of them with grandma Teresa a few months ago, and another with them all cuddled on uncle Kolby's bed for a little quiet time. We can't wait to get together with Caleb, Jeremiah, and Emelyse next month!

Been Awhile...

Just an update:
The quilt show went well. It was so beautiful to see so many quilts gathered together in one place. Truly awesome. It was fun to try out Kristin's long arm quilting machine. I will definately have to rent it out sometime. I loved seeing all my friends (especially Erica from Houston), and just had a great time. The only down side is that we had a poor turn out. There really weren't very many people that came, but it was still worth it just for ourselves. Anyways, here are some of my favorite quilts...

The kids are doing very well. Ethan is loving Kindergarten. He is really cute about everything they are learning every day. He cares about his work and always wants to do his homework. I have been able to volunteer in his classroom once a week, and it is fun to watch the little kids just soaking in the knowledge :) He gave a nice talk in church last week and didn't need any help from me...amazing. He has shown more patience with his sisters lately, and I can tell that he is pushing past the me, me, me stage.

Abigail is enjoying her preschool group. I do a combined preschool with some other moms. We rotate who teaches, and keep it small. So far, I have loved the way it is going. The kids she is with couldn't be cuter, and she is feeling pretty cool to have her own backpack and have her own things to take home and learn, etc. She also has had the chance to spend some one on one time with me every day while Ethan is at school and Jade is napping. I can tell that this has been good for her (she already shows middle-child attributes) Anyways, she is doing great.

Jade just got a cute haircut. She is still her ever-smiley self. She is talking in full sentences now and throws out these big words that shock me almost daily. She thinks it is fun to pretend to be a kitty, a baby, or a dinosaur, and spends hours each day doing a little of each. She loves to feed our new fishes and watch them swim. She keeps telling me about the one that died. Over and over again!

Jacob is working part time at the Ogden Airport flying for Whirlybird Helicopters. He is so glad to have the flight hours! He is loving it, but still needs a job on the side that provides benefits. Time is out for him to look anymore, and he is cracking down :)

I am still working at New Haven about 3 nights per week, I am still running, I just got called back into Young Womens as a Beehive advisor. I am glad to be back there. I just have a great love for the youth. I can tell that this will be a fun group of girls and leaders to be with. I am excited to put together my latest quilt, and I wish I had more time for hobbies :)

Quilt Show

For a few years now I have been a part of the Loch Lomond Quilters group. We have now exchanged blocks for 5 quilts. It is such a fun hobby and I feel lucky to be a part of something so great. The women in this are so talented and inspire me to be creative and artistic. We decided for our September exchange to turn it into a Quilt Show open to the public. It will be held outdoors in Lehi, weather permitting. We just wanted to show ourselves and others what fun it is to do something like this. Anyone within driving distance is welcome to attend. so please come and share in the fun, food, prizes, etc. There won't be many of my quilts there to show because I am the slowest of the group. Most of my quilts are sitting with their tops peiced together, and I haven't had them backed, quilted and bound yet. Someday :) I mean that. There are some ladies in the group that are like robots and they turn out several finished quilts per year. I hope to one day have the time for such a fun hobby. Hope to see you there!