I Am Old

This Christmas season I can honestly say I only went to the actual mall one time. There were many small reasons that had kept me from going to the great and spacious building, and I was able to find what I was looking for at places I needed to go to anyway.

Christmas was approaching and my mom had sent me some money to buy the kids some clothes from her. I had found something for the boys, but I still had not found anything I liked for Emily. So the Tuesday before Christmas I finally went to the mall. As I looked from store to store I realized that one of the reasons I was not finding anything is because the 80's are back. While There has never been a better decade for music, the clothes should never be seen again, and lets not even mention the hair. Needless to say I started to feel a little old.

I ended up finding an outfit that I though Emily would like and headed back towards my car. Suddenly the cheap tacky jewelry store in the mall caught my eye. Emily had started wearing a few pieces of jewelry and I thought she would love a few more pieces. She is 10 so tacky is very in. I walked around the store and picked up a few things, but I was not really sure what was "in" right now. The bangle bracelets and slap bracelets were in many different colors and places in the store so I picked up a few. I also found a really cute bead bracelet.

Then I saw a girl who looked like she was Emily's age shopping with her grandma. She looked like a nice girl so I asked her how old she was. I was right, she was 11 and in the 6th grade. So I showed her what I had picked out and asked her if she would like to get any of them for Christmas. The look she gave me had confirmed what I had been thinking this entire shopping trip, "I AM SO OLD"

She pointed to one of the bracelets and said, "If those are the things I have to choose from I would want that one." I knew then that all of them were wrong. So I said "If you could have anything in the store what would you want?" She then took me to some bracelets and said "these." The shop keeper had caught on to our conversation and told me that she was having a hard time keeping those bracelets in stock they were so popular.


Then I noticed another bracelet that I liked and I asked the girl if she thought my daughter might like it. She asked me what grade my daughter was in. When I said the 5th grade she said, "Yeah a fifth grader would like that, but a 6th grader wouldn't." She then suggested that maybe I should just get a gift card. Not wanting to get anything that was out of style I put it back and bought the bracelets the girl had shown me.


Then I walked back to my car knowing I was old and way out of touch with the teenage world.

I was so happy when Emily opened the bracelets on Christmas morning and loved them.

At least she still thinks I know what I am doing.

Christmas Highlights

We started off our Christmas celebration at Ryan's parent's. After a yummy dinner and our Christmas program,
The Mysterious Stranger stopped by and left pajamas on the porch for the kids.

For some reason the feet in Joe's pajamas were too short. Grandma came to the rescue and cut them off for him. He was sad about it at first, but by Christmas morning he was over it.

After the kids were in their pajamas we went for a ride in the car to look at Christmas lights and then headed for home. (We got home just before 11:00pm) Emily, Joe and Josh were all tired and went right to sleep, but Valerie was so wound up from all of the festivities that she was wide awake. So she stayed up to help Santa. Santa left at 1:30 and Christmas was ready, but Valerie was still not sleepy.

(This picture was taken at 1:36 am)

Ryan Valerie and I finally went to be at 2:00am.

At 5:30 am the kids came into our room to tell us they were ready to open presents. We stumbled into the living room ant started the fun.

Emily received an Ipod and I have not seen her without it since it was opened.

She told me that this was her best Christmas ever, because she loved every gift she got. Joe looked at her like she was crazy and asked "Even the clothes?" She told him yes, because they are all the style she likes. I think Joe still thinks she is crazy. He did not like getting clothes.
Joe had asked Santa for a Castle and for the DS game Starfy, My parents had given him the game for his birthday so he told me on Christmas Eve that he hoped Santa was going to bring the castle. Lucky for him he did. Joe was so excited.

Because Joe had asked for a castle ,Josh did too. So Santa brought him a different kind of castle. I knew Josh didn't really want the castle, but he always wants to be like his brother. I was right because Josh spent the rest of the time unwrapping his presents and wondering where his Geo Trax Airplane was.

He had never asked Santa for it, but we saw it in the store one day and he drooled over it. I had already bought it for his birthday that is a couple of weeks away, and I was tempted to get it out for him, but I felt like he

already had enough.

He ended up loving his Castle and that night he, Emily and Joe all had a sleepover in it.

Valerie loved Christmas. She loved the party's and all of decorations, but she didn't really get the present part, and I didn't expect her to. She was not too interested in what was in the wrapping paper, but she sure liked to eat it.

My favorite gifts this year were the board games we received. I have had lots of fun playing with my kids and reintroducing them to things that don't require a controller and does not make lots of noise so you can talk to each other While you play.

It was a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas Spirit

There are a lot of funny things my kids say. I find myself laughing an awful lot when I hang out with them. Some are things I can share on my blog, and some I have to keep to myself and teach them that it is not nice to say things like that, as I try as hard as I can not to laugh.

Like most parents around Christmas time, I have been using the old tactic of telling my kids they need to be nice and have Christmas spirit or Santa won't come, in order to get them to do things and behave. I never expected it to turn on me................

About a week before Christmas I had bought a couple of grapefruits for us to have for breakfast one morning. That afternoon the kids came in and told me they were hungry. I told them to get and apple or an orange from the fridge for a snack. As they were heading towards the fridge I remembered the grapefruits were in there and I knew they would want to eat them, but I was saving them for breakfast. So before they could even ask I greedily said, "You can't eat the grapefruits. Those are mine."

There was a little bit of complaining because like I suspected they would have asked to eat the grapefruits, but they got their apple or orange and didn't mention it again.

The next few days breakfast was a whirlwind as I rushed the kids off to school for their last couple of days and I headed out to do a few last minute Christmas errands. The grapefruit were completely forgotten by me and my kids. Then on Wednesday Joe came home from school and was getting ready to go sledding with his friend Charlie. I wanted him to have a snack before he left so I told him to eat and apple or an orange before he left.

Joe went to the fridge. Then he came out holding a grapefruit and said, "Mom, why don't you get some Christmas spirit and share one of these."

I went into the kitchen to cut up the grapefruits and we all ate them together for a snack.

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank You Secret Santa

I remember a Christmas when I was 7 or 8 when one of our neighbors did the 12 days of Christmas for our family. Every evening the doorbell would ring and we would find a small package on the doorstep. I can't remember all of the gifts, but each gift included an ornament for our Christmas tree. I remember the anticipation every night waiting to see what came. I also remember trying to look out the window to try to catch who was bringing the gift. The 11th night my older brother was peeking out the window when they came and he was spotted. So on the 12th night the Allred family delivered the package in person. The following Christmases as we hung the 12 days of Christmas ornaments on our tree I would always think of the Allreds and how fun that Christmas was.

This Christmas will also be a Christmas I will always remember, because of the thoughtfulness and generosity someone has shown to us. Unfortunately I do not know who they are, but from the very generous gift they left on our doorstep last night, I know that they know us well and might even read this blog.


Thank you Secret Santa I wish I could tell you in person how thankful I am and how your gift has made our Christmas even more special with the knowledge that we have friends like you.

We hope you have a Very Merry Christmas.

Love

Hillary, Ryan, Emily, Joseph, Josh and Valerie

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

I received a new camera for my birthday last week and wanted to take a few practice shots before Christmas so I can make sure I have the settings right. Valerie is willing to model for me, but it does not take the boys very long to figure out when I am taking pictures and they always try to get in on the action.

My little Elf

Last Thursday Josh was an elf in his preschool Christmas program.

Josh was a little embarrassed to be dressed as an elf, but when he saw the other kids were dressed as elves too he was okay with it. He also warmed up to the idea a little more when he saw that his Aunt Tracy was there to see him.


It is always fun to watch 3 and 4 year old kids perform, and this program was not lacking in the entertainment department.


The entire preschool performed in the program so the teacher called the two groups by their ages. At one point she told the threes to stand up. Not many of them did so she called out "Where are my threes." Then suddenly you heard the little voices saying

"I'm three."

" I'm three."

" I'm three too!"


Then in the middle of the program one of Josh's friends announced as loud as he could that he needed to go to the bathroom. Don't worry he made it.

Josh was pretty shy during the breaks between songs, but when it was time to sing and do the actions he would really get into it.

At the end of the program Santa came.

It was lots of fun.

I love my little elf.

Christmas Train

It is starting to look and sound a lot like Christmas at our house.

We decorated for Christmas the day after Joseph's birthday.
The kids all have ornaments of their own and love finding the right spot for them. Josh has moved his quite a few times since and has even taken one or two off the tree to show people when they stop by.

Valerie did not really understand what was happening, so she just supervised. She did act a little worried when we moved the furniture around.

I love getting out all of the decorations and remembering where we got them. Many of our ornaments have some special memory that goes with them.

Three years ago Ryan went to Home Depot to buy Christmas lights, and came home with not only lights, but a Christmas train too. Josh was just under two and Joe had just turned four. When Ryan walked in with the train you could see the excitement in both of their faces. Suddenly Josh came running forward and yelled, "That's Mine." as he pushed Joseph out of the way.

Towards the end of October, Josh announced that he no longer liked trains. He said this because Joe told him he no longer liked trains. I knew this was not true, because when we get out the Geo-Trax Josh will play all day, and he about died with excitement when we got to ride on the Polar Express.

As we started getting out the decorations I was not surprised that even before he saw the train Josh started talking about it.

"When are we going to get out the train? I get to be the one who controls the train. When are we going to set up the train?"
For a little boy who does not like trains, he has sure spent a lot of time playing with our Christmas train. The first day he barley left the tree. Now he is busy with other things, but at least once a day I hear the train turn on and find Josh sitting right next to it. I even catch Joe playing with it every now and then.

I don't know if little boys ever really stop liking trains.

5 Months Old

Valerie is getting stronger and more playful all the time. Now when we set her in her chair instead of laying back she sits straight up. We have to make sure she is always buckled in, because she also rocks back and forth, and kicks her legs when the boys start running around. I don't think it will be too much longer before she is scooting around with them.

Happy Birthday Joseph

Joseph was so excited for his birthday today.

All day he went around telling people that he is now 6 years old.

We celebrated by inviting his friends over for a monster party.

We started off by making monsters. I made the bodies ahead of time and then the kids used pieces of sticky felt to give their monsters character.

I was amazed at how creative they all were.




Then we played a game like red light, green light, but if you were caught moving you got sprayed with silly string. After the first round it was more fun just to spray everyone no matter what. So we gave them all their own can of Silly String and let them go to town on each other. Don't worry it cleaned up pretty easily.

When the kids ran out of Silly String we sang to Joe and had a piece of his monster cake.


Joe had wanted a pinata, but it's December and a pinata indoors just does not work. Don't worry though, we figured out something even better.
For the final game the kids popped balloons and inside were prizes for them. This was perfect, because what little boy doesn't love to jump around and pop balloons.



Joe spent the afternoon playing with his new toys and video games.

Then we met Grandma and Grandpa at Joseph's favorite restaurant, Raphael's, for dinner.

Before we went into the restaurant Joe told us that he was going to tell them it was his birthday, and he did tell everyone he saw. When they came to sing Happy Birthday to him, he was so excited, and to make it even more fun, he got to shake the maracas while they sang to him.

After dinner Joe, Emily and Ryan played a few games of the connect four game that Ryan's parents had given Joe. Joe beat dad once on his own and once with me helping to make sure dad didn't cheat by taking his piece back out and putting it where he "really meant" to put it.

It was a fun day. I loved watching Joe and how excited he was to be 6, and somehow he did seem just a little older today.

Happy Birthday Joe!

Santa and Mrs Clause

Every December Santa and Mrs. Clause make a special trip to Grandma's office. When he arrived he came in and talked to the whole crowd. Then Joe was chosen out of the crowd to help him ring his bells while we sang Jingle Bells.

We love to visit Santa here, because he always spends lots of time talking to the kids and making sure he understands what it is they are asking for.


This year Pete (Joe) and Repeat (Josh) were in action. While driving to the office, Josh kept asking Joe what he was going to ask Santa for. When the time came Josh waited for Joe to go first and then Josh asked Santa for the exact same thing........even though I don't think Josh knows what it was exactly.


All three of them asked for a video game of some kind. After we left I told them that they should ask Santa for the big gift they want. Joe explained to me that Starfy (the game he asked for) came in a small package, but opened up a giant world when you played it. I guess he got me there.

After our visit with Santa, Valerie hung out with Grandma,

while the other kids enjoyed the games and activities.

(To keep everything sanitary they used surgical masks for the blind folds. Each child got a fresh one. I was surprised that you really couldn't see through them. I will have to remember that.)

Now the kids are ready for Christmas, and I have one more item checked off my list.

Thanks for inviting us Grandma!

Happy Birthday Ryan

You're The Best!!

Thanks for working so hard, and for being such a great husband and dad.

We love you.

A Ride on The Polar Express

Monday night the kids and I were given tickets to go for a ride on the Polar Express. The only catch was we had to leave right away. I knew the kids would love this, so we hurried and got in the car and headed off to Heber City. When we arrived we met up with our friends.

We had to wait a little bit before we could board the train. The boys were so excited that I finally took them outside to wait because they were sure the train was already boarding, and they were going to miss the ride.

On the train Santa's Elves were helping everyone find their seats. One of them took the time to sit down and have a picture with the kids

The kids were all excited to be going to the North Pole and they could not wait to see Santa. As we were traveling, Mrs. Clause and the elves served us cookies and hot chocolate. The elves were friendly and Joe loved them because they told us some jokes.

What did one icicle say to another?..............are you hanging in there?

Joe thought they were hysterical.


Valerie didn't really know what was going on, but she was happy to go along for the ride.


After the Hot Chocolate was done they passed out books for everyone to look at as they read the story of The Polar Express. This got Josh even more excited. Every time we turned to a picture with the train on it Josh would excitedly say "We are on this train!"

Then as we arrived at the North Pole we saw Santa standing outside waving to us, and off in the distance we could see the buildings of the North Pole.

We sang Christmas songs as we waited for Santa to come to our car. The kids sang as loud as they could. Valerie did not really like this part because it got pretty loud, but once I wrapped her in her blanket and covered her ears she calmed down.

Luckily by the time Santa got to us she was happy again. She even let Santa hold her for a picture without crying.

(Unil now, I have never had a baby not scream when I handed them to Santa. )

Santa took a picture with each of the kids and gave them a bell from his sleigh as a gift.

After Santa left we sang more Christmas songs as we rode back to the station. The kids rang their new bells the whole way.

It was a magical night for them, and a perfect way to start off the Christmas season.

I am so thankful to my friend Susan for thinking of us.

And yes, I can still hear the bell ring............Can you?