Cadillac Oxen

Last night we went to see the lights at the temple. The kids loved seeing all the lights. We made our way around to the manger (by following the star like the Wise Men). After that we saw the shepherds watching their flocks. H commented that she saw a "Cadillac" in the stable. I thought I heard her wrong, but then she said it again.

In the car on the way home I asked her about it and she said that it says "Cadillac oxen first welcomed Him there" in the song The Nativity. We had a good laugh because it actually says "cattle and oxen".

Spaghetti Night

We love spaghetti at our house. These pictures were taken last week, but could just have easily been taken today.

Christmas 2009

Well, we had a good Christmas.

Last night we read the Christmas Story from Luke and we also read a book about the First Christmas in the Book of Mormon. We put our cookies, carrots and apples out. We spread our reindeer food on the driveway and we checked the Santa tracker one last time before going to bed. The kids went to bed amazingly well. They might have even all been asleep before 7:30!

Sometime in the middle of the night Santa came.

At 5:00 am I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned for another hour before waking N up (I know, I am a nice wife for letting him sleep that extra hour). After some last minute prep we woke the kids up. Technically, H was already up--she didn't know it was morning! I'm pretty sure M was up, as well. K, on the other hand, was still out cold. We woke him up and got R out of bed and went downstairs to see what Santa brought.

H was first. She got this.

Yep, Santa brought H her very first pet. A fish she has named Spirit (after the horse). She has already commented that taking care of a fish is a lot of responsibility, but I think she is up for the challenge.

K was next. He got this.

A Cars slot car race track. He likes it, but he has a little trouble getting the cars to stay on the track. His dad likes it, too.

M and R are next. M got the football on the ground behind him and R got the hippo toy-thingie that M is playing with.

I forgot to mention that Santa's Elves visited our house on Christmas Eve and left us pajamas. H got Hello Kitty, K got Lego Star Wars, M got dinosaurs and R got purple with hearts. Though you'd never know it looking at this picture. She wet her bed and had to change out of them.

Later in the day Grandma and Grandpa W came over for a visit and to see all the spoils. Then we got ready and took some chips and salsa to the fire station down the street. After that it was on to Christmas dinner at Grandma and Grandpa E's house.

We all had a great Christmas and can't wait to do it again next year. Well, maybe just a little.

(Oh, in case you were wondering, N got a TiVo from Santa and I got a toothbrush and a laundry sorter.)

Stomp Rockets

(K trying it out)

(H jumping from the playground equipment onto the air pumping thing--dad's idea)

(M's turn. Actually, he would stomp on it anytime someone stepped away from it. So, if K stepped away to get a good jump M would stomp on it.)

(N giving it a whirl)

(R watching the other kids have fun)

For Christmas, my parents got K a stomp rocket. The kids have been sending various toys over the backyard fences lately so I was a little leery of letting them do the rockets in the backyard. Today, since N was off work this morning we went to the park and tried it out. I didn't have anything to worry about. It goes high, but not wide.




H loves the video of M and likes it when I put it on a loop so it just keeps playing over and over again.

H on the Monkey Bars

Christmas Cookies

So, I've been baking. I though it would be nice if N could take some cookies to work for the people he supervises. I made gingersnaps, spritz and sugar cookies. I was going to make chocolate chip also, but N said he thought we had enough cookies already.

Last night N, H, K and I stayed up and frosted 77 sugar cookies. Then we packed up half of the cookies to go to work.

(These are some of the beauties that didn't make the cut for work. That green mass of sugar in the bottom left corner is the snowflake that H decorated just for me. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.)

(These are the cookies that we packaged up all ready for N to take to work that are still sitting on the counter...yep, he forgot to take them!)

R Turns One!

R turned one today. She has been such a good little girl (hopefully that doesn't change). We are so happy to have her in our family.

Grandma and Grandpa E came out today to bring R her birthday presents.

Then we had lunch and cupcakes.


Hey R, whaddya think of those cupcakes?

Family Christmas Party

(K with Bumblebee)

(H with Littlest Pet Shop)

(M with Blocks)

(R with clothes and a book)

We had such a good time with everyone. The kids loved their presents.

Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday. We had dinner and then a little program and then Santa came. The kids had a great time.

(Side note: check out Santa's black bustier)

H and her Christmas Present from Grandma and Grandpa

Anyone who has known H for any amount of time knows that she LOVES horses. She has loved them forever.

When she was two we were at a family reunion in Pinedale at my Aunt and Uncle's ranch. There was a horse in a corral and H was completely enamored with it. One day, N and I were in the house playing cards with my family and someone came running in yelling, "H is in the corral with the horse!" We all jumped up and ran out. I guess she climbed over the bars of the corral to get in. I don't think she was in any real danger. I'm fairly certain the horse was a nice old horse. But still. After that we had to make sure someone knew where she was at all times.

She has received something horse related for every birthday and every Christmas ever since that reunion.

This year was no different. My mom and dad got her a toy horse. Not just any toy horse, though. This thing is pretty big and she loves it. She named it Rain (after the girl horse in her favorite movie: Spirit). She loves it so much she had to bring it to the table when she ate breakfast and when I reminded her that we don't bring toys to the table she said, "That's okay. I'm not really hungry" and left the table.

Kids Christmas Party

N's work holds an annual Kids Christmas Party for the kids of their employees. Santa comes and gives the kids presents and they usually have some type of craft/project for the kids to do. They always have a great time. This year was the first year none of our kids cried while sitting on Santa's lap.

H's Door

H has a club. It meets in her bedroom. She has signs posted on her door to keep the riff-raff (aka M) out.

This one originally said "Girls Club Only". It was edited not too long ago to say "and 1 boy. it is k"

Wishful thinking?

"Dear New Club Members, This club is verey fun. I hope you like it."

This one just cracks me up.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Our Backyard

N has been working really hard this summer and fall to make our yard less of a desert and more of a place where the kids can go play. He fixed the sprinkler system and installed a timer. He seeded a summer and winter lawn and has been mowing (thanks to Heidi and Rob) pretty much weekly ever since there was anything to mow. I think the lawn has turned out great and the kids love it.

Halloween (finally)

Here are my little trick-or-treaters:

H as Eloise (as in the 6 year old girl who lives at The Plaza Hotel). It is one of her favorite books.

K as Luigi (as in from Mario Kart). He loved playing Mario Kart when we borrowed his aunt's wii.

M as Mario (as in from Mario Kart). Since K was Luigi we thought M should be Mario.

R as a mushroom (as in from Mario Kart). It just seemed to fit with the boys.

We couldn't convince H to be Princess Peach. She was dead set on Eloise.

I Made it with Gorilla Glue--Candlesticks

I decided to join the Gorilla Glue Party at Shanty 2 Chic (great blog, if you've never checked it out). Unfortunately, I decided after I made these candlesticks, and therefore, do not have any before or process pictures. This was my first time ever using Gorilla Glue, but definitely not my last.


Here's the basic process. I got 2 end table legs from my sister. I cut the part off that would normally attach to the table top (I only did that because it had a flat side and holes for attaching). Then, I Gorilla-glued the leg to an upside down terra cotta saucer. I used a different shape saucer for the top and Gorilla-glued that on. Finally, I spray painted the whole thing with Krylon Brushed Metallic Satin spray paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze.

I probably should have done some sanding or priming or both, but I was too anxious to get these done. I am working on a third to add some visual interest (rule of threes, you know). I am pretty excited about how I can change the decorations out for the different holidays...Christmas balls, Easter eggs, some kind of heart for Valentine's Day, apples for back to school...the possibilities are endless. I suppose I could even top them with candles if I wanted.

K

Yesterday I was in the kitchen waiting for some water to boil. I was leaning against the counter and K came over and leaned into me, his back to my front. After about a minute he turned around and said, "Your tummy is almost big enough to have a baby!" I said, "Thanks." He started nodding and said, "It is."

Guess I need to get more serious on my morning walks.

New Jessica Sprague Class

Truthfully, I'm not sure what all this class will entail, but it should be good and it's FREE! Click on the picture to go to her site and register for it.

H's Prayer This Morning

It was H's turn to say the prayer this morning before school. We've been working with the kids on thinking about things we are grateful for and things we need help with. H has been asking for a while now that K and M's owies get better. This morning she added one more person's owies to the list...MINE!

After her prayer she explained that it was the owies on my face (the one on my forehead in particular) that prompted her prayer.

New Stuff Around the House

Our new ceiling fan:


New candlesticks that I made from a couple of table legs and the bottoms of some terra cotta pots (Yes, I know the pumpkins are a little small. They are place holders until I can get to the store to get bigger ones. Also, I'm going to make a third one that is a little smaller.):


And, while the boy in the picture is not new, the thing he is doing is:

Reading Under the Stars

This picture cracks me up. When I took it, it was pitch black so I wasn't really sure what I was going to get. Their faces are so funny to me.

I'm not sure why H is so sad.

Last night H's school held Literacy Night. It was called Reading Under the Stars. We got dressed in our pj's; packed up our pillows, blankets, snacks and books; and headed to the school to get a spot to have a little reading session. When we got to the school H asked me where the flashlight was. Yep, I forgot it. Luckily, a family from our ward was there and they had one we could borrow.

We didn't get much reading done, but it did get me and the kids out of the house for an hour. Thankfully, the weather was nice.