Holiday Pictures

My great friend Ginnie took these great photos of the kids. I can't believe how fast they are growing up! To see more of Ginnie's work check out here photo blog here.

Merry Christmas from us to you..

Kate's version of "Merry Christmas." We have been working hard to help her know that Halloween is over and that it's Christmas. I think she has finally got it!

1 Day...

We Wish You a Merry Christmas...

2 Days...

Up On the House Top...

3 Days...

Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer...

4 Days...

Jingle Bells...

5 Days...

I'm the Happiest Christmas Tree...

We're on the...

Countdown to Christmas. 6 Days! Enjoy Zach's pre-school class singing Peppermint Stick.

7

Fieldtrip to the Fire Station...

A week ago I took Zach to the Murray City Fire Station for a little tour. He was so excited, but did not want to try any of the gear on, which surprised me. He did however, want to act out the role of a fireman...going down the pole, except trying it from the bottom up, driving the fire truck, etc. He was in Boy Heaven! Aunt Paige and Uncle Patrick came along too. They were in town to see our nieces, Maddi and Lauren, perform in Ballet West's Nutcracker. They are so fun with the kids. Probably because they don't have their own yet, so they know at the end of the day they get to say good-bye. Isn't that how it works?

For Grandma...

Who sent some early Christmas love our way. We love you!

Need Christmas Gift Ideas...

So if you have a five year old, or I bet even up to 9 year old, and you need a great idea for a christmas gift...this is it! Zach got this for his birthday. Between pretending to be Bumblebee and Buzz Lightyear, he has thoroughly been entertained.

Won't You Guide...

My sleigh tonight! Isn't he cute? I made them for the girls in my scrapclub and card class. Just wanted to share a little of what I have been up to. To see more click HERE.

Happy 5th Zach...

Yesterday was Zach's 5th birthday. He was so excited to have friends and family over. We ate pizza, opened presents, made gingerbread houses and had cake. Zach begged and begged for a "Toy Story" birthday, and of course the Disney Store is all the way in Provo. Thank goodness for the internet! I printed off "Buzzler", as Kate calls him, and Woody, and came up with a few little decorations, and got blue and green paper products, trying my best to pull it off. The hit was the cake. Zach's eyes popped out of his head when we went to Smith's with me to pick it up. They were the only store in the entire valley that still made a buzz lightyear cake...I am telling you the things we do for our kids. The boy could hardly wait! He had a great birthday, and Justin and I had a fun time putting it together. It was so fun to see Zach so excited. After every gift he opened he replied "YES!" Needless to say he was so thankful for all his new toys. He has been playing non-stop all day. I am surprised I was able to get him off to school. We love you Zach! Happy Birthday Bud.

Loving Us Some Lady Gaga...

Yes Lady Gaga is a little crazy when it comes to the performance side of her, but she is pretty talented. Check out her SNL performance on You Tube...just her on the piano, no other band members, dancers, etc. Click HERE to see it. The best comes in at about 2 minutes. Pretty darn good. Kate is loving her too!
Unfortunately she also is liking Miley Cyrus, who I think has not so much talent.

Ever Wondered How...

Thanksgiving was born? Zach will tell you how...enjoy!

What to Do With the Extras...

After I finished my quilt last spring, I had a little bit of fabric left over, and wasn't sure what to do with it. Until now! Last week I had a couple girls, from my new ward, over for a craft night. They had brought some patterns to make aprons. I originally wasn't going to make one, but by the end of the night I was cutting out my fabric. After the week was over I made this little half apron. I spent most of the time on the mock flower on the pocket, made from scratch(no pattern). I guess I am a little proud.

And I Thought...

Having only one car was bad...

Today I attempted to go visiting teaching. Attempted, because right as I was supposed to be leaving, Justin got a call from the hospital needing him to come in. I called my visiting teaching partner to let her know that I wouldn't be able to make it. Here is my dilemma though. Who am I to say that I wasn't going to be able to make it because Justin needed the car, when she doesn't have a car and walks everywhere, which included walking to our visiting teaching appointment this afternoon. Don't assume that I am rude because I didn't offer to give her a ride, because I would and have. It's just that she has her four little kids with her. It's simple really, my little accord barely fits my two car seats. And who breaks the law when you are off to do something right or good? Anyways, so I was feeling so bad telling her that I wasn't going to make it, when I knew full well that if she could walk, so could I. The only difference was that she was already there(because she had left an hour earlier) and by the time I could get myself and the kids over there by foot, she would most likely be finished with the visiting and the message. But, boy did I feel horrible for telling her that I couldn't get over to our appointment because I was out of a car.

I am sure more people than her live without a car, but with four kids, really? I guess I really admire her.

Now for the rest of the story...Justin returned home fifteen minutes after he left, telling me the hospital didn't need him after all. Well of course I hurried myself right over to our appointment. And of course, I had missed everything, but made it just in time to witness my partner getting her 5,4,2 and almost one year old bundled up in the stroller in preparation for their walk home that would now be in the dark. Knowing that I still only had my accord, and couldn't fit them all safely, I felt like a total loser!!! I could show up late and then I couldn't take her and her kids home? Seriously helpless. Luckily the lady we were visiting offered to drive the half that I couldn't fit in my car back to their house. In the end it all turned out good, but it really got me thinking.

I don't really complain about only having one car, in fact we have lived with one car for the last five years, so really it will be weird if we ever get a second car. I have gotten used to asking for rides or even having to borrow some one's car. I made sure that we moved near TRAX, here in Utah, so that Justin would be able to get to and from work without the need of a car. But now I see that having just one car is quite the luxury.

I Never Thought...

The girls/wives I met while our husbands were in Dental School, would mean so much to me. I think the friendships we made are so unique. I can't believe we managed to keep the girl drama, that normally surrounds big groups of girls, out of our lives to allow us to get so close. I could say that we became so close because we were all going through the same thing for four years, but it is more than that when you find yourself happy for their successes and find yourself in tears for their struggles, as if you were going through them yourself. I love that when we get together it is like nothing has ever changed, even though tons has. Almost all of them have another child, or are pregnant with a new one on the way. Their husbands are now working in the "Real World", or they themselves have started a career of what was once a hobby.

We met up this past weekend in St. George, UT for TOFW. I think we have all decided that three days is just not enough, and that having something to go and do is not a necessity. We were all happy to just sit and talk for hours. This isn't all of us, and we missed all who could not be there. There will always be next time though, as this was the first of many trips to come.



As for the TOFW part of the trip, Justin would like to think that I was inspired by the speakers on how to be a better wife to my husband. Unfortunately that wasn't on the line-up. But who couldn't love this sweet, young, stud! I don't need a speaker to tell me how to do that.



I have been trying to find a reason to post this beauty up on the ol blog, and I finally got my chance.

Happy "Ween"...

This year Zach was a SWAT Police Man and Kate was his Prisoner, or our little Jailbird, to make it sound sweeter. I am still in shock that I got Kate to wear this costume and manage to keep the hat on. It is so fun to have the kids' costumes coordinate or compliment each other.

Zach had a pre-school program at his school. They sang songs and had a costume parade, followed by their Halloween party. Zach's friend, Jack, dressed up as Gene Simmons, from KISS. I thought Zach was going to die! He could not keep his eyes off of him for several minutes, just trying to put it all together in his mind. You could tell he was just making the connection between the song, "I wanna rock n roll all night...and party every day!", and his friend's KISS costume. I was the room mom for their Halloween party and was glad I was there to see all the kids and their cute costumes. Zach is in the back left of all the videos by his friend Ian. The little girl he has a crush on is Lizzie, dressed as the black cat. Apparently they have already planned to get married. Zach tells me all the time that she is "beautiful". She is pretty darn cute!

We spent Halloween night with our good friends the Broadbents. Zach and Kate love Ellie and Gracee. They had so much fun trick-or-treating. The weather was perfect, and they got just enough candy to satisfy their little hearts. Kate's new saying is "Candy Now". She caught on pretty quick! At every door step she would greet them with a "Happy Ween", take several minutes to decide what candy she wanted, and then would say "Tanks" and "Bye" to everyone. She's pretty sweet. If only we could freeze her at this stage. She is making Justin baby hungry for another girl...

From Our House to Yours..

The Pumpkin Patch...

With our great friends the Broadbents.

They ran...



They searched...



They found...



We loaded...



Now if we can just find the time to carve them...The celebrations around Halloween seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year. Almost bigger than Christmas it seems sometimes. Going to the pumpkin patch last weekend, going to the "Spooktacular" this weekend, and Zach's pre-school party, ward party and the actual holiday itself, all to come this coming weekend...I am not sure if I can keep up! Anything to give the kids an opportunity to dress up in their costume right?

Kate Turned Two...

We celebrated her birthday this year with family. I was feeling kind of bad because I didn't really make a huge effort and go "all out", but seeing how satisfied she was with the first gift she opened, as if it was the only one, and getting more than enough attention from her cousins, aunts and uncles, made her special birthday moment just enough. I did make her a little crown to wear...




Here are a few things about Kate at this age...
She refuses to drink her milk out any container except her bottle. I have got to ween her from this one.



She adores her big brother "Zach-ery", as she says it. We love that she calls him by his full name, and wonder why just "Zach" didn't stick.



She is obsessed with her neckless and bracelets. She will not take a nap or go to bed without them on, so much that if she accidentally drops one outside of her crib, she will scream until you come in to get it for her. She won't even take them off to get into the tub. They are on AT ALL TIMES!



She can be so sweet, giving loves, saying hello and good-bye to everyone and everything she sees and meets.



She is an expert squeeze giver.



She loves music and loves to be apart of what all the bigger kids are doing.



And last but not least, really starting to talk, a lot!

Getting Ready For...

Halloween! Last weekend I made Kate this little "Jailbird" costume so that she can be Zach's prisoner, who will dressed up as a SWAT Police Man. It still needs some finishing touches, but I am excited to get them all ready for Trick-or-Treating.

I can't wait for the pictures, and I already have a scrap page layout ready for them. This is just one of the layouts I designed for this month's scrapclub. To see the rest, check them out here.

Clayton's Peak...

Justin and his good friend Adam climbed Clayton's Peak last Saturday, at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The colors are starting to change on the mountains here, especially over in Midway and Heber City. This is our favorite season in Utah.

Graphic, You Were Warned...

I should be more self conscious than this, that I know. But for the sake of the history of my mouth, it just has to be documented. This is my gum graft that I voluntarily underwent this afternoon. YIKES!!! and OUCH!!! Thank heavens for pain medicine. Justin did this to me. And to think I still love him. We'll see after all the swelling, bleeding, and healing is over with. Who knows why my gums decided to recede so far down to necessitate a graft like this. Justin laid the flap, and took some tissue from my hard palate to use for the graft, then sutured everything all up. It took an hour and a half. I was numb so I didn't feel a thing, but three hours later...WOW! It is over and done with now, and I just pray I don't have to go through another dang thing with this mouth of mine...besides finishing the bleaching of my front tooth(which happens to be dead, and still has a temporary filling in it due to having started the bleaching process at Temple) and braces, but hoping for invisalign, to close the gap in my lower teeth(which occurred from not wearing my retainers after getting married, teeth still move darn it). If I can just survive my first night, I think I will be okay...

Justin's 30th Birthday...

Justin is officially 30! His birthday started off on Saturday with the BYU vs. Florida State game down at the Y. His friend from work and his wife have season tickets and invited us to come with them. We had a great time, minus the fact that BYU lost. But I finally got to experience the Cougar Tail(a two foot long maple bar, and oh my was it ever good). Then on Sunday, his actual birthday, we had friends and family over for dessert. The theme was to let Justin's Youth RIP, because turning 30 is a big deal and all right?