Christmas!!!

Well, we lived through it! Ha! It was a fun Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We made a snowman on Christmas Eve since it had just snowed. I bundled up the kiddies and out we went - Hunter refuses to wear a real coat (I think he gets that from my brother Scott), and I was rolling the snowman balls with garden gloves on (I am a retard - obviously from AZ) - Tye wouldn't keep his gloves on, so his hands were red and freezing cold! But, nonetheless, we had fun making him. He's still out on the front lawn.

Christmas day was fun. We made it to bed around 10:00. Hunter was up at 11:30 with a bad dream and so I went and laid with him for a few. Then at 1:15 he was next to Travis' side of the bed going "Dad, Look What Santa brought!" Travis was delirious. I marched him back to his bed and told him not to get up until there was a "7" as the first number on the clock. Lo and behold at 2:30 I look in the hall and all of the lights are on. I went into the family room, and there's Hunter on the bean bag with his Stocking watching cartoons. I was so mad....I marched him again back to his room and told him he would get it if he got up again. This time we made it until 7:30. So, Travis and I were so tired on Christmas morning, but it was still fun.

Hunter loved his pocket knife (courtesy of his dad) and lost it later in the day at Grandma's. We are going to keep looking - but there's not much hope of finding it out in the rocks in the empty field. He was devastated.

Gwendalin got a bike and rode it through the house a few times. She loves it! She also got a little digital camera that she loves!

Tye got a little ride on bike that he wouldn't let us get put together - he just sat on the frame while we opened presents. The minute he wasn't on it or watching it - my dad nabbed it and got it put together.

Some other family favorites were the games Elefun, Wack-A-Mole, and the Fort that Santa brought to everyone. It was lots of fun to be together and see the kids have such a great time!

Most Random Post Ever

In this post you will find: some pictures of my kids with santa at the ward Christmas party, some cute things they've done or said lately, and a recap of the past week.

So here is a little list of cute things my kiddies have said and done recently:

Gwendalin:
At the drive thru at the bank:
G: "Mom, roll down my window"
M: "OK"
G: "Yes, I'll have a diet pepsi but nothing for Hunter or Ty, that should do it, ok thank you."

With her birthday microphone in the family room:
G: "Mom, I'm going to sing this song with the girl on the TV, I need my microphone."
M: "Da da da...." (Whatever the song was, I started singing it...)
G: "Mom, you can't sing - you don't have a microphone...STOP IT!"

Hunter:

Got out the umbrella I got in London yesterday and tried to fly then got a grocery bag to use for a parachute to float him down.


Tyler:

"ook! cheee" and points to the Christmas tree.


Not a whole lot has happened this week. Gwendalin was trying to be helpful on Monday morning and smashed Tye's finger in the cupboard where there was a child lock...his finger is really sore and banged up. Hunter finished up school for this half of the year and Gwendalin screamed anytime he entered the room just to see if she could get him (Hunter) in trouble. So, so fun!

I started taking some of my Chirstmas decorations down yesterday, because they are driving me nuts. I did leave up the Christmas tree ( I was tempted to remove it). I can't stand the clutter. :)

Tricia had a friend who's child passed away of SIDS on the 19th. She was asked to sing at the funeral yesterday. It was beautiful - she did a gorgeous job. Even though it was not an LDS funeral - it was upbeat for the most part.

6 Random Things...because my sister tagged me.

So here are a few random things about me:

1. I am a NEAT FREAK. I clean my house constantly. It's really a bad habit...I should sit down sometimes, but I never do. I get upset with my kids, not when they make messes, but when they don't clean messes up. I am trying to be more laid back.

2. I am COLD ALL THE TIME. I think something is wrong with my circulation. Literally! Even growing up in the Phx I was in blankets and coats constantly. I hate being cold. My husband hates it too, because even in the summer we get in bed at night and my feet are freezing.

3. I LOVE MATH! Not sure why except that in school it was the only subject where it was cut and dry. I loved that there is a definite answer to each question. What I don't love is being confused by not knowing how to get that definite answer. I am not like a math whizz or anything, but I do enjoy it.

4. I love to SLIDE ON SLICK FLOORS. I do this at my own house. I wear socks and then whenever I need to go down the wood hall, I run and slide. I love it. And I think it's good for your legs.

5. I always feel prettier when MY EYEBROWS ARE WAXED. I don't keep it up myself very well, so I love getting them waxed...something about pain in my eye area is very nice.

6. I have a horrid fear that something BAD WILL HAPPEN to my kids or someone I love, so I play things out in my mind hoping I won't ever have to actually live through it.

Now I tag Marie, Heather, and Gretchen.

Happenings!

Not a whole lot happened this week....I got some presents wrapped and carefully stored in Santa's "storage shed" on the side of my house. It makes for less work on Christmas Eve. I have spent as much time as I can wearing socks in my house without shoes so I can run on my wood and slide...(honestly, I think there is nothing better than that.) So much fun.

Gwendalin cracked her face at the neighbors this week and busted her lip open...she cried a little but then wanted to play again. She is so female. :)

Tyler spends as much time as he can wearing only a diaper and Hunter is constantly trying to spell words....It's fun to watch the wheels in his mind working as he is learning.

We woke up to a little bit of snow on the ground ....nothing too terrible, but I took the picture out my window so you can see the image of my tv in the glass. You still get the idea.

ABC's

A- Attached or Single? attached - my sweetheart Travis
B- Best Friend? - once again my Travis
C- Cake or Pie? ! Pie
D- Day of Choice? Sunday
E- Essential Item? Running Water
F- Favorite Color? green
G- Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms? either but they have to be the black forest brand
H- Hometown? Gilbert, AZ unless you could the first 12 years of my life then it's Gallup, NM
I- Favorite Indulgence? Cold Stone Creamery and Panda Express
J- January or July: July - i love the summer
K- Kids? 3: Hunter, Gwendalin, and Tye
L- Life isn't complete without? Laughter - mullets are a good source
M- Marriage Date? 11.27.99
N- Number of Brothers and Sisters? 2 and 2
O- Oranges or Apples? apples
P- Phobias or Fears? failure or death of a loved one
Q- Quote? Real Faith in God, therefore, includes not only faith in Him, but in His timing. One of the most difficult for us to have faith in. -Neal Maxwell
R- Reason to Smile? listening to kid conversations when they don't know you are.
S- Season of Choice? Spring/Fall
T- Tag three friends: I tag Tricia, Lynn, Scottie, Mom, Marie, Dianne, Debbie, Dana, Melissa, Lindsey, anyone who wants...it's fun.
U- Unknown Fact About Me? I am a little bit obsessive compulsive....okay maybe a lot
V- Vegetable? broccoli or cauliflower
W- Worst Habit? diet soda
X- X-ray or ultrasound? i tend to like ultrasounds cause I can see my babies....I've never had an x-ray
Y- Your Favorite Food? sweet potato with spray butter
Z- Zodiac Sign? aries

tis the season....to be - tired!

Today was a visit to the dentist for both Hunter and Gwendalin. Hunter loved every minute of it, while Gwendalin wanted me to hold her the entire time. Lucky for me Tye was home sleeping so I could hold her. (Thanks to my mom for sitting at my house while he napped....you're the GREATEST!) Anyway, they both came away cavity free! Wahoo!!!! Now from the whole ordeal I guess it wiped them out because they are both asleep - Hunter on the chair and Gwendalin on the floor...

This last week was eventful. Everyone was sick at least one day with some sort of flu. It was so bad that Travis missed a day of work...which he never does. And I must say I have had my fill of cleaning up puke that came out of someone else. Not my favorite thing. We got the Christmas decorations up, and the tree up, and some of the packages wrapped.




You may have noticed I loved to wrap pictures on the walls....It's a cheap way to make it look very festive. I did the picture of the Savior this year and opened it a little bit...I love how it turned out. I also wrapped my kid's pictures on the mantle......I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Hunter tested for his Tiny Tiger Red belt in Karate and got it...next he goes to black ! He is pretty excited. Travis took the dogs and did some bird hunting....and I did a ka-trillion loads of puke laundry.

Happy Anniversary!

So, my Travis and I have been married now 8 years today. It seems so short and yet so long. All good of course. I would write a lot more, but we have had a family of sickies and I'm not feeling too swell. So, here's a few pictures.

Single Mom Week

I am glad last week is over. My husband was gone all week to a job site out of state and thus I was the single parent. The only upside to this event was that I got to hang out with my sister and her cute kids more than usual...and thus, my cute kids played with hers and life was much better than them nagging at me. :) Any how, my man is home now and life is much better with 2 parents around.

I thought these pictures of the kids were cute...hunter loves his little "ipod" it's from the dollar store a little radio....saved me loads - Tyler got the potty top stuck on his head, I got the picture just before he broke free.

We are gearing up to trek the long 16 hour drive to see Travis' family for Thanksgiving. It should be a fun/exhausting road trip with the little ones, but we are excited.

Last night we were able to visit with a few of Travis' cousins and the kids played with their kids. It was fun to see them all and hang out for a little bit. We used to (before we had kids) visit and play games and go on trips to see them and hang out...Now we all have kiddos and we still have fun getting together.

I am so shiny and blurry in this picture...oh well, I'm still nice.

So, as it is thanksgiving week, I thought it would be appropriate to make a list of things I am thankful for. Now, you may be thinking - whoa! she has a freaking long list (50 - I was going to do 100, but I didn't have time)...however, in my opinion you can never be too thankful considering what you get in return.
So, I am thankful for-

1. My Husband
   
2. My kids
3. My Parents
4. My Husband's Parents
5. Sisters
6. Sisters in Law
7. Brothers
8. Brothers in Law
9. My friends
   
10. My neighbors: Nancy and Bill
11. Church / Gospel
    
12. Sunbeams
13. Nursery
14. Seasons
    
15. My House
16. My functioning vehicle
17. My health
18. My bathtub and hot tub (I tend to have a sore back a lot)
19. My Chiropractor
20. My Digital Camera
21. My cleaning supplies
22. Scrapbooking
23. Mine and My husband's jobs
24. Washer and Dryer
25. Trash Day
26. Panda Express
    
27. Dating my Travis
28. Vacations
29. Mint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks or Moxie Java
30. Weight Watchers
31. Turbo Jam
32. Tae Bo
33. Reeses Pieces ( I am not sure how to spell that exactly)
34. A 5th Wheel to camp in
35. Service
36. Challenges
37. Toilets
38. Lysol
39. Computers
40. Piano
41. Good music (Chopin tends to be a favorite)
    
42. Hot Shower
43. Random Dancing (in the car, in the kitchen, with my husband, with my kids)
    
44. Kindergarten
45. Preschool
    
46. Hawaii
47. Flowers
48. Gardening
49. Smell of fresh cut grass
50. Modern Medicine
51. Diet Soda
52. Dairy Queen

Fun Adventures

My sweetest Gwennie girl is not feeling so well today. We went to the fabric store to get a few things this morning and she kept saying her tummy hurt and she needed to poop...so we got the key to the bathroom like 4 different time to try to poop, but to no avail. Anyway, we make it out of the store and into my new car (lucky for me it's leather- so it wiped up easier) and she puked all over. It all made sense now....her tummy hurt....she puked....ugh! So, I exhausted the supply of wet wipes in my car to clean up the mess - she drove home in her underwear and socks. I put the blanket over her to keep her from getting too cold. She rode home with a bag close by in case she needed to puke again.

We got home and she started eating some Pringles and then got out a plastic grocery bag and said she needed to do it again. I tried to tell her to go to the toilet, but she said no, the bag was better. So here' s a picture of her literally 3 seconds after she puked....she's eating again. I love that little kids are so innocent...she knows she's sick - but not quite sure how it works.

I am including a few pictures of the new ride....(which by the way is much easier to get my kids in and out of with the bucket seats). So, yes, I am now the "suburban" driving mom....except it's not a real suburban. :) I like it though.

And just so they aren't left out, here's a few of Hunter and Ty. Hunter looks like he's ...I'm not sure, but he doesn't usually look like that. He's cute anyway.

SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL . . .

Recently I became aware of a movie called Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Hunter wanted to record it and watch it...so we did. Tyler fell head over heels for the show and now I can turn it on and he won't move. He's like a porcelain doll. Tricia came over and almost stepped on him once because she thought he was a doll. It's nice because I can get a bathroom cleaned or dishes done etc. and he won't move. I have tried to capture it on film, but it doesn't do it the justice it deserves...here's an idea though. And just fyi...it's good like the first 21 times, but it's definitely on the 22nd that it gets old- the movie that is.

Life's Little Surprises.

So, there are no pictures for this post, but more of an emotional release for me. I just found out yesterday that one of my dear friends has cancer on one of her kidneys. I don't know all of the details except that the recommendation is to have the kidney removed along with several other spots that are present on her lungs and liver. As I sat and listened to her say this I cried with her on her couch and wondered ( as I always do when life throws these things at us) why there is so much pain and suffering. However...she is so upbeat and positive about everything and there are so many things to be grateful for that pain and suffering can't really be the focus. I haven't known her very long and we are at total opposites of the spectrum of life. I am 28 with 3 small children and she is retired with 2 grown daughters and 5 grandchildren. But of this I am certain - we were friends in the pre-existence. I love her and I pray for her daily. The one thing that killed me, other than that fear of the unknown is that she was concerned about not being able to watch my children grow up. She is not a member of the church, but such a good person! So, today as a tribute for November and being thankful- I am thankful for life's little surprises that make me grateful for things I often take for granted. I am especially grateful for her and her upbeat positive attitude on life - why can we not all be that way?

Halloween!

So, we had a good halloween...trunk or treat saved us from doing any houses (except our neighbor's Nancy and Bill) and the kids scored a ton of candy! Hunter was a trash can - he's been waiting all month. Gwennie was the cutest little pumpkin you ever did see. And Tyler was a bumblebee that didn't want to bee anything....get it "bee"...ha! Here are a few pictures....there is one of Hunter and Gwennie with Nancy and Bill....