Merry Christmas

A couple days before Christmas I asked Ammon if Santa was coming to his house and he told me that Santa had already come and brought him a present. He thought that when Santa came to visit at our party that was it. Christmas morning it took him a little convincing to even want to go see if Santa had made it. I’m glad we got this picture. This will probably be the last Christmas in this house. It will be fun to look back and remember what our Christmas looked like here.We spent the rest of the morning opening presents and playing with the new toys. Santa didn’t go too crazy which was nice. Those boys already have way too many toys! Ammon got an airplane and Rheddik got a bus. They both got new jammies and a white shirt for church. They are so stinking handsome in their shirts; however, they are of course a bit on the small side so they won’t last very long!If you can see through the bad picture, they were both very happy to get new Christmas books!And this was pretty much how they felt about getting church clothes!Brett got new jammies and robe and a soccer goal net. I got the beginnings of a new nativity (I collect those, in case you ever wonder what to get me for a present ) and the “Forgotten Carols” book with CD. It was a great Christmas. I loved that it was on Sunday. I wish they would do a church program every Christmas Day. It was really nice to stop the rushing around and the present exchanges to worship the Savior. I loved being with all our family that day, and especially talking to Landon and Grant on Skype. I miss those boys!!

An Adventure

We took the train down to Salt Lake last night to go to Temple Square. It was a good trip BUT before we do it again I want to remember a few things to change in the future:

*The train ride is about an hour. TAKE SOMETHING TO ENTERTAIN THE BOYS!!
*If you’re not going to take the whole diaper bag at least take a diaper and wipes (Rheddik was soggy before we even really got started..oops).
*Take a stroller..or be prepared to carry the baby AND the 3 year old.
*Don’t go to Crown Burger for dinner. That was a very crowded restaurant!
*Start earlier. We left Ogden at 5:30. Next time, we’re going to aim at being on Temple Square no later than 6:00. Tired, grumpy kids+Tired, grumpy parents=4 people that don’t want to take as much time enjoying the pretty lights.

It really was an adventure; a fun, challenging adventure. I’m glad we did it!I had to add this proof that I don’t ban my kids from dipping. Ammon just never wanted to. Rheddik dips everything. Here he is dipping his french fry in Brett’s strawberry shake. Mmmh-mmh. Yummy!And of course the best part about going to Temple Square to see the lights is take a brief moment (since that’s all Ammon will give us) and explain about the temple and the nativity. It’s great to show him that Christmas isn’t just about Santa Claus.

Daily Living

My boys, all 3 of them, crack me up! I live with some nutty budders, that’s for sure.

One day we had a family “let’s learn how to sweep the floor” moment. This picture captures the moment right after I taught them the proper way to do it.And Rhedder Fredder taught Ammon and I how to relax while waiting for dinner to be ready. Unfortunately, this was a one night thing. He doesn’t relax anymore. Now he is teaching us how demanding he can be.

Also as part of our daily life, Brett accepted a new job position. I’ve got lots of questions that just can’t be answered, yet. Like: When? Where? How? At least we’ve got the “Why?” and “What?” figured out!

The Welch Family Knows Parties

Woot Woot! Such a fun, fun day! Saturday was our annual Christmas Party. We almost had everyone there. We missed Grant and Landon. Maybe one day we will all be in one room at the same time.

The morning started with breakfastOf course it’s my kid eating on the floor..Then we moved on to gamesAnd exploring the Christmas decorations and singing carolsAnd then Santa himself paid us a visit!!Then it was time for playing and making faces After the exciting morning we, the Allreds, dropped the kids off with Brett’s parents and continued the day by starting and finishing all our Christmas shopping. Done in 4.5 hours. I definitely think we deserve some kind of reward for that!

Then, it was time for the No Children Allowed dinner. This is the Christmas gift we siblings get for each other. It is always a good crazy time and I look forward to it every year. Dad got us a “reservation” at Chinese Gourmet and I’ve got to say that besides the Chinese food it was the perfect spot! And okay, the food was pretty good, too.This is Kirsten’s Sunday. It was overflowing into her hands but no worries because she licked it all up. I should have gotten a picture of Brett’s Sunday. You can tell who has more experience dishing up their own ice cream!Here are 2 of the attempts of self-family-portraits. Maybe I’ll have to learn how to photo shop heads in the future!

We ended the night with the wild Cranium game. The boys won, but only because they cheated. We changed the rules a bit so next year it will be more fair. At least the teams were even – 6 girls to 5 boys, then 4 boys and 1 on the phone, then just the 4. Amy and I had a really hard time counting. That’s fine.

We really missed Landon and Grant. We were able to get Grant on a “lifeline” phone call. It was great to hear him hum for us. I’m looking forward to when he will be here to act out “Claw Foot Tub”. Maybe the boys will guess it right before time ends. Thanks family for the fun. And thanks Shanna and Dennis for keeping my crazies for the night!

While Mom is Away

The Children will play!This particular day Rheddik was being towed by the tow truck.That same day Ammon kept taking my small make-up mirror out of my bathroom. After like the 10th time of taking it away from him, not as nicely as the first 9 times, he started crying that he needed it. When I asked him why he needed it he said it was so his tow truck could go backwards like Mater. Silly me for not being sensitive!

The tow truck adventure was a great use of Ammon’s imagination. The next day, however, I wish he had used it in some other way besides trying to make Rheddik a snowman.In case you can’t quite tell, the baby was sprinkled with Baby Powder. Can you just imagine what his room looked like? Especially after I tell you that the full powder bottle was completely empty?? Oh the mess. Luckily Brett got most of it cleaned before I got home. There was still a mess (I think the powder was in the air and just kept settling down) but I didn’t feel I needed to seriously injure Brett

Decisions, decisions

When you look back on the decisions you have made doesn’t it amaze you to see how you got where you are today? For example, if Brett hadn’t decided to take a driver job with Alpine Home Medical he wouldn’t have been promoted to Respiratory Tech. If he hadn’t accepted that position he wouldn’t have applied to be Branch Manager. If he weren’t Branch Manager he wouldn’t have been fired. If, instead of accepting the first job offer after Alpine, he had continued looking, he wouldn’t have taken a job with Rentmeister Heating and Air, and wouldn’t have been laid off. Then, after almost 7 months of unemployment if he hadn’t taken the job as a pizza delivery guy with Domino’s he wouldn’t have been promoted to Assistant Manager, then General Manager or been invited to the training program. And if none of that had happened, he wouldn’t be applying for jobs that would take him outside of Utah.

So..were they good decisions? Probably. Do I want to move? Not necessarily. But I am kind of excited to see what happens in the next couple weeks. Brett has worked way too hard not to be given some kind of a reward. And if the reward is a better job, then I guess we will leave Utah for it. And hopefully future decisions will lead us back here someday. Or, maybe “home” will end up somewhere else?

A Blustery Day

I grew up in South Weber at the mouth of the Weber Canyon and because of that I have always loved the wind. It is by far my favorite weather element. In Argentina the wind would blow and blow. All my companions cringed and hated it but I loved it. You can see snow and rain fall, but you can’t see the wind. You can only feel it and that to me is awesome. However, the wind can be quite destructive. I was amazed to see my parents’ huge (50 plus feet tall) pine tree blown over. They lost 2 other trees and a lot of shingles, but not their power. Go figure! Brett was out of town for this storm and I am so grateful me and the boys were able to go bunker down with them!

Ogden Christmas Parade

The Christmas Light Parade in Ogden is something you should definitely try to get to next year. Brett and I went our first year married, before we had kids, and this was the first time we made it back. Ammon thought it was pretty cool and Rheddik liked the lights and horses so it must have been cool for him too. My favorite part was watching the boys’ faces as they watched the lit up floats and the fire truck turned gingerbread house. Way fun!!Of course, Santa arrived on the last float, but we were too busy cheering him on and waving that we didn’t get a picture. Let the Christmas Season begin!

The Last Park Trip

Thanksgiving morning we went to the park to Turkey Trot before we ate all day. It was a really good idea and one that hopefully makes the “tradition” list. The kids enjoyed playing at the park and Brett and I felt better going into the Thanksgiving feast after a bit of exercise.

PlayMates

It’s not all the time, but it at least once a day that Ammon and Rheddik play nicely. It sure makes a momma happy!(This was laundry day..ignore the clothes on the floor!)Their new favorite game is pushing Rhedd in any kind of basket they can find. Rheddik laughs and laughs and thinks it’s the best ever. I love it!