Last Day

You know the Nickelback song "If Today Was Your Last Day"- LOVE IT.  I hear it all the time on the radio.  Today I saw the video for it and wanted to share.  It's so cool!  Since today is our last day this year I thought it fit perfectly. 

Check it out HERE

"NOW"

Let me start this post by saying that we got the kids a Wii.  A Wii that I haven't wanted to get for several years.  So why now- why this year?  Because this year Jeff played Santa.  Jeff has never helped, nor have I ever wanted him to help with any of the gifts for the kids- other than keeping me inside our budget...ha.  This year however I think he could see that I was starting to lose my Christmas spirit with all the other things I had going, so he volunteered to do it all.  I am so glad he did!  At first it was very hard for me to give up control and to stop worrying about every little detail, but he came through just like he said and the kids had one of the best Christmas's ever. 

Back to the Wii.....We decide to hide the Wii and just give the kids the accessories.  The very first gift opened was by Ethan and it was Lego Star Wars for the Wii.  Seeing his face was priceless.  The look of devastation that some horrible mistake had been made- that Santa had made a huge mix up and brought us the wrong gifts.  Jeff and I could almost not contain the laughter.  I know this all sounds so cruel- but as each accessory was opened and they grew more concerned it made it all that much more worth it when at the very end they opened the Wii and the room erupted into great expressions of glee.  Clapping, cheering, laughing, screaming.  It was so worth it.  They had no clue- despite the fact that Santa had brought other things in between that we had wanted.  I wished that I could wrap it all back up and do it over and over- so that I could some how capture the feeling of that day.  I realize that all too soon that magic will be gone.  They will be gone all too soon.

This leads me to my post today.  2010 is almost over so I have been thinking about what I want my 2011 word to be.  Last year I chose a word that I wanted to focus on all year- to represent what I wanted to work on for the year.  Last year it was MINDFUL.  This year I have chosen NOW.  NOW because Christmas reminded me that time is my worst enemy- I can't stop it, I can't ignore it, I can't change it, I can't catch it and I can NEVER get it back.  Recently I Read This.  It reminded me why I think I desperately need to choose the word NOW this year.  My oldest is 9- that means she is half way to the age of a legal adult- half way to being able to leave my home and make her own decisions, choices, build her own life (I secretly hope she chooses to wait till closer to 30).  Her sister and brother are not very far behind. 

I have spent far too many days wishing for time to hurry up so they would be able to take care of most of their own needs- make their beds, take their own shower, make their own breakfast, etc.  Wishing their infancy away- wanting so badly to hear them speak, to see them walk and finally be potty trained (that one I'm not sorry I wished for).  So many times I found myself saying "Just as soon as they aren't little kids any more".....NOW I wish that I could get some of that back- to live in the here and NOW a little bit more. 

I am always thinking of the future- which is a good thing, but not when it makes you completely skip the NOW- TODAY- HERE- THIS MOMENT.  One of my favorite writers is Anna Quindlen and she once wrote about her own experience as a parent and said:

"  But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us



make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This


is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only


in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them,


sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on


a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what


we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how


they looked when they slept that night.


I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next


thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing


a little more and the getting it done a little less."

People tell you that all the time, but you don't believe them until it's too late.  It's also one of the hardest things for me to do because I feel like I have to always be one step ahead to keep order in our life.  But I also know that she is right- The time to enjoy your kids is NOW.

Our Family Top 10 in 2010

10. Hiked, Hiked and Hiked some more

9. Our Niece and Nephew graduated from High School

8. Amanda went to Denver for her Dad's wedding

7. Nana and Papa left to the Marshall Island's for three years

6. Planted our first garden

5. Brody's 1st birthday (I know he's not our kid- but we love him like he is)

4. Ethan got to see Big Foot in person

4. Park City Vacation

3. Hiked the Y

2. Ethan lost his first two teeth

1. Whitney's Baptism

We have loved sharing our lives with you!  Happy Holidays- and Best Wishes for a wonderful 2011!

The Matching Tie Guy

I found the best little gem of a store online.  It's called The Matching Tie Guy.  They sell ties in all sizes from  newborn baby to XL adult.  Ethan thought it would be cool to buy matching ties for him and Jeff to wear to church and I couldn't resist!  We just received our order today.  They were super fast.  Great to work with even after I changed my mind on my original order and wanted to switch to a different tie.  The one we got for Ethan has the coolest design I have seen in a little boys tie- it has a zipper- you pull up on the collar to unzip it to fit it over your head and then pull down on the back tie part to tighten to your exact fit.  I am really happy with the quality and you can not beat the price!  Thank you Matching Tie Guy- if you have boys or are planning an event like a wedding, family picture, etc. where you want to match you will love it!!  They also sell matching hair ties for girls and matching pocket squares.   

Traditions

My kids are on B track at school which means that they get the entire month of December off- YEAH!!  I love not having to wake up and take them to school during this chilly winter month.  This year has been a little hard because I'm not as organized as I have been in the past, but we have managed to make time for a few of our favorite Christmas traditions.

New Ornament- Each year we buy a new ornament for the tree- one that will help us remember this year- things we liked or did, etc.  Here are the ones for 2010:

 Dad- This is so cute because it definitely reminds me of Jeff- He's a really easy going happy guy.

 Mom- I love birds- they just make me happy and hopeful for good things to come.

 Ashtyn has started to love polar bears this year- this little guy is so cute.

 Miss Whitney is our animal lover- dogs specifically- she begs for a dog daily.  She is also our allergy sufferer- so this little guy is as close as she will get.

Ethan loves gingerbread boys!  In Kindergarten they did a big gingerbread activity where they baked a boy and then he ran away and we asked all of our out of state friends to send in a post card with a gingerbread boy sightings- Ethan LOVED this and and loved these little guys ever since.

Gingerbread Houses- We decorated a gingerbread house and train this year.  It's one of the kids favorite things to do and they start asking to buy a kit as soon as they see them in stores.  One day I'd love to try baking our own gingerbread.  My favorite is seeing the bits of candy start to disappear mysteriously every day.

Temple Square- I love living in Utah so we can do this.  There is no more beautiful place than at the temple.  We love to see the christus statue, all the beautiful lights, the nativity scene and all of the lanterns and nativities from around the world.  This year Ashtyn wanted to do something for all of the homeless people you see sitting on the street down town so she made several homemade Christmas cards with a hand written note from her inside.  Then she asked Santa for money to give to the homeless- so we gave her a bunch of $5 bills that she taped inside each card.  We also bought several reusable hand warmers that she wrapped up. ( we didn't actually hand these out because after experimenting with one at our house we found out that they only hold heat for a couple of hours and then they turn rock hard and to reuse them you have to boil them on the stove- which wouldn't have been the most convenient thing for a person with out a home to do.)  It was so touching to see her hand out her cards and see how happy it made the people.  I was really proud of her for thinking to do this all on her own.  She has such a tender heart.

Scavenger Hunt Cards

Photo from Blynkenandnod

My cute cute neighbor is so incredibly talented and designs and sells playground scavenger hunt cards on her Etsy site.  I wanted to share this because I bought a set for my kids and I think they are adorable.  Plus I love to support local artisans.  These cards are so darling and enchanting.  They hold hours of fun and imagination for little ones.  Check out her site here

Oh Christmas Tree

Why we LOVE real trees- also known as Why we pay tons of money for a real tree each year:

1. The smell- LOVE IT!- It's not the holidays till my house smells like pine.

2. Tradition- Our family loves to get all bundled up and search for the perfect tree.

3. It is a living breathing thing- that absorbs CO2 and fills the room with oxygen.

4. There is no plastic, metal or small pieces that can break.

5. 100% Renewable.  Their death brings life to other plants because they are recycled into mulch, fertilizer and compost.

6. Three trees are planted for every one harvested

7. 100% American made

8. I don't have to store it in our basement.

9. We get a different tree each year so each is unique.

10. It's imperfect.

I'm not opposed to fake trees- one day I'm sure we'll end up with one out of sheer convenience-but for now I'll keep my real tree tradition for as long as I can.

I love when I turn on the camera and find...

Just a few cute shots I found on our camera today- I love when this happens.

Ch Ch Ch Chia

If you google Chia you are going to find two things.  Chia pets and Chia seeds.  Wouldn't you juts love to have Obama's head sitting on your windowsill??  I actually think the Chia animals are adorable- you know the original little bunny- so cute.  In fact I've always wanted one, but recently I have discovered Chia seeds- the super food.  Chia seeds are in fact the same that are used for Mr. President (don't eat those kind because they aren't FDA approved- stick to the kind you can buy at any health food store.), but they are also one of the best things in the world that you can eat.  They are tiny so you can add them to any food.  They are packed with really great things for your body- read this and this or this and that is just three of the billions of articles containing information on these little gems.

I first heard about them from the Green Smoothie Girl- I don't drink the smoothies but I am constantly on the look out for healthy treats to make for my kids.  Treats has been on my mind lately because I feel like as a society when someone is sick, lonely, sad, in need, it's their birthday or some other celebration we tend to give treats- I know I do- I LOVE to bake and give treats.  In fact I really really love sugary treats- I will never pass up a donut. 

I think treats can be great and they do make people happy, but with so many people now developing diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and numerous other health issues- maybe treats should be the minority and non-food gifts such as flowers, cards, time- be the majority.  We could all use a little more health in our lives.  I know that Christmas is the worst time to start talking about this- with all the baked goods I find on my porch and at parties.  We will not be giving up treats all together- maybe just finding more that are a bit healthier than what I am use to baking. 

I found a great one called Snow Balls on this site .  This cute girl is associated with the Green Smoothie Girl.  We made these the other day and they were awesome!  They tasted great and have a lot of great things in them- including Chia seeds.  I am always on the look out for subtle ways we can make changes in our health for the better and I think Chia seeds is a great place to start.  Check them out. 

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

I LOVE a good flash mob!! It's my goal to do this one day :)

What can I give....

"What can I give Him,



Poor as I am?


If I were a shepherd


I would bring a lamb,


If I were a wise man


I would do my part.


Yet what can I give Him?


Give my heart."

That is a poem by Christina Rossetti.  This year in our ward and primary we have been talking about service.  I love that poem because that is the only gift we can give to Christ at this Christmas season.  The small acts of kindness that we perform for others is the greatest gift we can give him.  Our family made a service advent box.  Inside it are several small slips of paper and written on each is a simple service you can do each day until Christmas.  Once we do them all we will put them back in the box and place it under our tree as our gift to Christ.  I found a star shaped box and we Mod Podged pictures of Christ on it.(Speaking of Mod Podge- I can never use it right and I always get bubbles- if you have any tips-pass them this way:)  I hope that it will help our family stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas now and all year long.

Wonderful Things

I have read some very enchanting books lately and here are some of the "Wonderful Things" I've read..........

 In the book Simple Abundance- A Day Book of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach there was a quote from Melanie Beattie author of the book The Language of Letting Go- "Whatever we try to control does have control over us and our life."  Hmmm makes me think about what I really have control over in my life and I decided the only thing I really control is me- my thoughts, my attitude, my actions.

I found several beautiful old books at DI one day.  Among them was a children's book called Wonderful Things! by Zhenya Gay.  It was written in the 50's.  Inside the front cover was written in colored pencil Third Grade 1955 and under that Billy Damron 2nd owner From Sissy 4-24-97.  I just love that- I love to think about who might have read this book first and did they find it as wonderful as I do.  It's the story of a baby horse and all of the wonderful things he discovers at the beginning of his life- things like his mother, her smell, his new legs, all the sites and sounds of the farm, the grass and running.  The first page is what I love the most.  It says "The first wonderful thing that happened to him was to be born."  Isn't that the first wonderful thing to happen to us all- to be born- to have life and the rest is up to us.


The next book wasn't a book at all but rather a wonderful talk by Richard C. Edgley.  One paragraph stood out to me...
"Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today’s world, I wish to suggest a single choice—a choice of peace and protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice is faith. Be aware that faith is not a free gift given without thought, desire, or effort. It does not come as the dew falls from heaven. The Savior said, “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28) and “Knock, and it shall be [given] you” (Matthew 7:7). These are action verbs—come, knock. They are choices. So I say, choose faith. Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear, choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose faith over pessimism.  Then he says...

Yes, faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith. We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours.  Love that too.

The last book we got in a box of Cheerio's of all places.  It's called All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon. 
It goes through all things things that are the same all around the world- things like how all the world is wide and deep, all the world is old and new, all the world is cold and hot, all the world is you and me and all the world is all of us.  The illustrations are gorgeous too.

Conversation with a 6 year old

Ethan: (During scripture study tonight) "Mom after we are done here can I watch dad play Indian Jones on the Play Station?"
Mom: "No Buddy you are grounded from the Play Station."
Ethan: "But you didn't say I was grounded from watching the Play Station..."
Mom: "Ethan please be quiet and listen to the scriptures and then we will talk- besides when we are through it'll be time for bed."
Ethan: "Mom quit changing the subject."

He's one funny kid.

Can't think of a title for this post

My weekend list:

1. Got the ceiling in our kitchen painted to match our woodwork.  I love how much it lightens up our house- the rest of the ceilings in our house are scheduled to be painted too- can't wait.
2.  My dad was in town for a visit- so we took the kids to Gardner Village to go on an elf hunt.  It was very windy and cold- but we persisted and found all the elves on our list so we could win our prize.  You can do this too here.
3. Saw "Despicable Me" for the first time- SO SO SO SO cute!
4. Found the perfect curtains for my french doors.
5. Found out that the tiny leak we couldn't figure out under our kitchen sink- was actually a BIG leak and caused a lot of damage to the wood floor of the cabinet. :(
6. It was our Primary Program.  I am in the Primary Presidency- so I got a first hand look at all the work that goes into one of these.  Our kids did FANTASTIC- I have never seen more reverent children.  I felt so proud of every single one of them.  I love every single child in our ward like they were my own.  GREAT JOB!!
7. Watched Ethan beg to go outside and sled down our driveway Saturday night.  I've never seen a kid more excited to see snow.  All the kids wanted to help Jeff shovel the snow on Sunday morning and were more than thrilled to get to eat snow with syrup again.
8. Yummy roast and mashed potatoes for Sunday dinner.
9. Read Harry Potter with Ashtyn.
10. Was reminded again why I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to the man I am.

Ethan making a snow angel

Jason Castro - Let's Just Fall In Love Again (Video)

Love It This Week ;)

"Together We Can....."

Ashtyn and Ethan decided to enter the Reflections Contest this year at school.  The theme was "Together We Can.....".  Ashtyn decided to draw a picture of a piano and call hers "Together we can make music".  Ethan chose "Together we can build" and drew two men building a house.  I am very proud of them, but at the awards ceremony they learned pretty quickly that the effort they had put in was not nearly enough to compete.  It was a great lesson for them in doing your best, in going above and beyond what you think the judges will expect and in giving it a lot of thought and attention.  Next years theme is "Diversity Means..." and they have already begun to work on what they want to do. 

Tooth Fairy Dreams Come True

Someone has been waiting to lose a tooth.  Someone has been sad that every one of his friends has lost a tooth.  Someone just got his wish X4.

One day last week when I was inspecting Ethan's mouth I found that a permanent tooth had come in and another one was making it's way up too.  So Ethan got to get four teeth extracted this week to make room for the new teeth.  Man was he thrilled!  He did so great during the procedure until on the way home when he asked me how long his lip would be numb and I told him possibly several hours.  Then he bawled his head off.  It was all better when he realized that he'd be four dollars richer the next day. 

UP

I adore- no let me stress that a little more- ADORE the movie UP.  Remember when I mentioned this?  It is by far my favorite Disney Movie- right along with Meet the Robinson's, Snow White, Toy Story Three- OK let's face it- I love Disney.  The only thing I don't love is when these wonderful movies go back into the vault for years on end. 

The story of UP means so much to me.  I love how much in love the couple is.  How hard they work and save for a common goal.  How they take care of their needs before their wants.  How even though life doesn't turn out the way they had hoped- they discover in the end that their life together WAS their greatest adventure of all. 

I really need to buy this movie don't I!  Well every time I see something UPish I melt.  This last weekend we were invited to an awesome Halloween party at my in-law's work.  It was so so so fun.  They had crafts for the kids to make, trick or treating, pictures, food, music, creepy things to touch and even a coloring contest that my darling little Whitney WON!(Ashtyn was so happy for her and not the least bit sad that she didn't win as well- it made me so happy to see her cheer her sister on) 

As I sat guarding our table while all the cousins were taking pictures in walked this couple:

  I begged them to let me take their picture.  Their costume is so cute.  What a great idea.  I just adore UP!
I had written half this post this morning and then I had to take Ashtyn to the doctor(Yeah- guess who has strep- at least we made it through October.)When we walked in the door, Up was the movie playing on the TV- coincidence- I think not :)

Here is a picture of all my spooks at the party with their Auntie and the little darling Willow.

The Big Fork and Spoon

It all started with my friend Alisa- She has the coolest big fork above her door.  I love things like that- things that are bigger than they are suppose to be or things that are really really tiny.  Well then I saw these at Hobby Lobby

They reminded me of Everybody Loves Raymond.  Am I the only one that watches that show?  If you do too you may recall the Baggage episode.  You can read a little synopsis here.  You'll note that our fork is higher too...:)  They are hanging in my kitchen.  LOVE THEM!

Halloween

Halloween is...

My sharing time
Keep the beat- "Yea come unto Christ and be perfected in him.."
Fall Festival- Finally
Dinner with Jen my friend
Kathryn's  butternut squash soup that was so good- but had quite a surprising flavor
Wow butternut squash is hard to cut
The "Chick Magnet" at Harmon's
Spaghetti squash
Pumpkin spice bars
White chocolate popcorn
Trick or Treating at Great Grandma's rest home
Cranky old people
Apple and cranberry crisp
Homemade bread
Toilet paper witches and ghosts
Rain
Full size candy bars- not from us- we are the cheap o house of candy
Hobby Lobby awesome finds
50% OFF
Greg bringing over the last of his stuff to store
School parades and parties
Pumpkin bowling
Costumes, makeup, hair three days in a row
LOADS of candy
Giving away TONS of candy
Jeff mad at me giving away the good candy..LOL
COLD
Strobe lights in the pumpkins
Trick or treaters coming really late after we had our kids in bed- we didn't answer
Lots of rowdie kids at church
Candy corn
Making it through the whole month of October with out getting sick- this NEVER happens

Pumpkin Carving

We held our annual Pumpkin Carving FHE last night.  So fun.  We have had our pumpkins in the garage waiting for some artistic vision for a week.  I was hoping that our own pumpkins in our garden would be ready- but they aren't even close- so we are going to let them grow a little longer.

We do this every year and every year I forget how messy it gets.  I use a spoon to scrape out the inside and these pumpkins were so weird- every scrape didn't make them cleaner it just made more stringy pieces of flesh brake off.  I was so intently scraping that I accidently smacked Ethan while he was drinking a class of lime Crush- so talk about an even bigger sticky mess. 

I carved Whitney's pumpkin and Jeff did the other two.  They turned out pretty cute.  We can't wait till all of our Halloween festivities begin on Thursday. 

Poppyseed Projects

I just made this gorgeous picture at our Super Saturday.  This image doesn't do it justice.  It is really beautiful and big- 33" X 27".  The company that you can make them through is called Poppyseed Projects.  If you have ever wanted a picture of the temple in your home I highly recommend scheduling a class.  They cost $50- I actually paid $58 because when I was done making it I took it to Roberts to have a wire hanger put on the back.  That is still less than any of the pictures I have seen at Deseret Book or even Costco.  They offer several different temples to choose from.  I was torn between Salt Lake and Oquirrh Mountain- both are special to me, but in the end I chose Salt Lake because that is where I was married.  The whole project is easy to make and doesn't require any special skills.  It took me about three hours to make including drying time for the paint.  If you live in Utah you can schedule a class too.  Check it out.

Blood

I found out something very interesting this weekend.  On Friday our Stake held a blood drive. I LOVE giving blood- I think I have made myself believe that I have gold running through my veins..ha ha because I have O negative blood and so I get called all the time to come and donate blood. ARUP is always calling saying "Please come in you are a perfect match for a sickle cell patient at Primary Children's. Please, we are running out of your blood type and we desperately need you to come in." I am sure they say these things to everyone- but it really had made me think that I had a responsibility to give blood.  I'll admit it makes me feel great knowing that they need my blood. I know that sounds so vain..ha.

Anyways I had taken my kids to my moms to spend the evening and I had to drive back to my neighborhood to the blood drive. It took about twenty minutes. I have given blood my entire adult life. Like I said I love doing it. I love that even if I can't save the world I can save a life. I had brought along my donor for life card so I could get it punched.  There was no one waiting ahead of me.  It was so routine, just like the billion other times I had donated.  Well to my complete shock- My iron level was one percent too low. It is NEVER low. In fact it is almost always at the very top of the range, which for a woman is about 38%-46%. I felt SO dumb- I know that sounds stupid because it's very common for someone to be turned away with a low iron level- but NOT me.

First I was ticked that I had driven back for nothing and then I felt so bad- almost to the point of crying because somewhere someone needs my blood.  I was completely in shock and feeling ashamed like I had let the entire state of Utah down. It was even worse because I know most of the phlebotomists that work there and they know I come in all the time.  It totally sucked having to walk back out past them all.  None of them gave me any grief- it was so common of an occurance for them- they just said see ya in a couple of weeks- feel free to grab a drink and some cookies.  I was the only one making myself feel horrible.

The point of the story is that I found out that exercise can lower your iron level if you are a woman. They did a study of females in the military and a large percentage of them had lower iron levels than civilian women due to their vigorous exercise. The entire week of the blood drive I had been running. I ran that morning and had worked out with my neighbor. This is certainly not the case for all women- but it made perfect sense for me. I had not done that much exercise on the other weeks I had donated blood.

I have been reading a lot of articles this weekend that talk about the effects of exercise on the female body. Exercise is obviously really really good for you- but too much or too vigorous exercise for an extended period of time can lower hormone levels, cause gastrointestinal problems (which was my problem in high school trying to run cross country- I still can't run more than three miles with out having major stomach problems), lower iron levels, joint problems, etc. etc. It is really interesting. The amount of exercise that can cause these problems totally varies from woman to woman. So you have to be aware of your own body's limits. I can try and donate again in two weeks.  Besides my iron levels, now I  have to figure out a way to get my ego levels back up so I will be brave enough to try again. :)

Stake Conference

We had Stake Conference this weekend and I wanted to share a funny story one of the speakers told.  It was about a young mother who was driving home from a church meeting with her children.  She was very frustrated and upset because her children were awful during the meeting.  They were loud and out of control and no matter what she tired they wouldn't listen to her and she wondered why they had even gone to church in the first place.  From the back seat her daughter spoke up and asked mom have you tried praying and asking Heavenly Father for help?  The mother said yes.  She had prayed the whole time that Heavenly Father would help her children to behave. The daughter replied you know mom sometimes Heavenly Father says no to our prayers.

This made me laugh because I have been that mother and of course Heavenly Father can't control our children.  They have their agency just like we do and sometimes they are going to use it in the opposite of what we want them to do.   I always tell new moms to remember that they didn't just have a baby, they had a person- one that comes with their own thoughts, feelings, personality and desires.   Maybe you just had to be there..LOL.

Train Wrecks....

Train Wrecks & Cat Fights from The Girls With Glasses on Vimeo.



Love these girls :)

Lies

This is a note that Whitney wrote.  The note says:

" UPS Companey you brang us the wrog box from the chridrens place we ordered pink/brown boots and we did not get boots we got the wrog thing please send us- look on the back- the boots (Our address) South Jordan Live on dead end (our phone number)"

We placed it in an envelope and addressed it to:

UPS
100 Box Road
SLC, UT 84111
(Not the real UPS address)

We then proceeded to mail this note.  This note is a lie!  This note is based on an even bigger lie.  Which is called SANTA CLAUS.  My two youngest children love that man.  They write to him, they talk about him, they can't wait for him to come, if he had a phone number they'd call every day in the weeks before Christmas.  Let me start this story at the beginning......

This month I ordered two packages from the Children's Place.  One package contained boots that my girls will need this winter.  The other contained two gifts for my girls from "Santa".  The girls were fully aware of the first pkg because I had measured their feet and they picked the boots out online.  They were not and are not suppose to be aware of the second pkg.  Every day they would run home from school and ask "Did our boots come?"  Which pkg do you suppose came first?  The WRONG pkg.  The gifts came yesterday.  I wasn't home when they came and they were left on my doorstep.  Whitney upon coming home from school found the pkg addressed to me from the Children's Place on the doorstep.  She came running in with delight that her boots had come.  I took the pkg and proceeded to open it cautiously knowing that this may be the gifts and not the boots.  Sure enough.  There I was dumb founded like a deer in the headlights.  Both girls waiting for me to pull boots out of the box.  "OOOPS there must have been a mistake," I said.  "They sent us the wrong things."  The girls are begging to see what was sent.  "Oh it's not for us- we'll have to send it back."  Whitney burst into tears.  She was very distraught that UPS had sent our boots to another little girl and that we would have no boots to wear this winter.  I quickly took the box and put it up in my closet.  Came back out and tried to divert the attention of two little girls to something else. 

This morning is when I saw the note Whitney wrote.  She said we need to let UPS know that they made a mistake so we can get our boots.  So we mailed the note.  Not really- I slipped it back out of the mail. 

So Mr. Claus I told yet another lie on your behalf.  Another lie to keep you alive and well in your chilly North Pole home.  Another lie to keep the magic alive for two little children (Ashtyn knows that Santa is not real :(- She was just a little too smar this year to believe all the lies and so we let her in on our little secret.  I think it made her a little sad- even though several of her friends had told her he wasn't real.  She was very excited when I told her that now she gets to play Santa with me then  she said to me "Well I guess next you'll tell me that the Easter Bunny isn't real either."  "Nope")

What's the most elaborate lie you've had to tell your children for the big guy? 

At what age did you stop believing in him? 

How do you decide how many gifts to get your children from him?

Swimming

My girls can finally swim- We've taken lessons and practiced and they made great strides this weekend.  I am so proud of them!  This is a video of Ashtyn jumping into the deepend.  The one we took of Whit didn't work :( But she got the hang of it too!  Way to GO!!

Thankful

All three speakers at church today spoke about gratitude so I am going to write about my weekend in the form of a thankful list....

I am THANKFUL for

1. My sister came to town

2. My sister and I took the kids to Leatherby's for the best ice cream around

3. My sister and I took the kids to The Crazy Corn Maze- it was their first experience and they loved getting lost in all the corn.  We also loved trying to find all of the numbered posts in the trivia contest so we could win a prize

4.  Cheese pizza for the kids and combination pizza for Jeff and I

5.  A staycation in Park City

6. That Park City is a very short drive so the kids don't get bored

7. Staying in a hotel where someone else makes the bed

8. The coolest sky lights ever at the hotel pool

9. Having the pool all to ourselves the first night

10. The Tanger Outlets and finding some great deals on clothes for the change of season

11. Wendy's new half salad- just the perfect portion for me

12. A water heater that never runs out of hot water

13. The pickled marshmallow heads at Walmart

14. Red Vines

15. The nicest Southern checker I've ever seen at Walmart she made me want to stay there

16. Not feeling one bit anxious on this trip- Even when I realized that while trying to be not so anxious (I get crazy travel anxiety) that I forgot a ton of things

17. Hiking at the Canyons- And Ashtyn telling the kids the funniest story about an African Orphan she adopted and is now raising

                                             

18. Jeff holding my hand the whole hike down

19. The Rail Trail

20. A very cool art gallery

21. Not being made to feel stupid when I asked the receptionist at the art gallery is she was the artist for all the pieces

22. The gorgeous colors of fall still full even this late in the month

23. How cute Jeff is when he is buying basketball shoes

24. The playground in the middle of the outlets for when the kids get tired of looking

25. Not forgetting to bring my own pillow

26. The girls making huge strides in their swimming abilities and being able to finally swim alone in the deep end(we were in too- they just weren't clinging to us)

27. Ethan falling in love with the steam room (that kid loves to be "warm and cozy")

28. Me loving the steam room (I think I would love to live in a nice hot and humid climate- I love that feeling)

29. Watching Jeff turn around and around every time we pulled in somewhere wrong and neither of us getting upset about it

30. Jeff keeping our gallon of milk that had been in our hotel fridge, but when we checked out had sat in our car all day and him still drinking it (grosses me out- but it's one thing I love about him how he seldom wastes food if it's still in OK condition)

31. Traveling in safety

32. Helping my brother move and having a big enough basement to let him store things here while he builds his house

33. Watching Jeff reading- he loves to read and I love to watch him enjoying a good book

34. Today when the second speaker spoke watching her get all choked up about the blessing of being a mother and the two children she has

35. Dinner at my sisters

36. Really great tortellini and salad and bread

37. Watching Brody entertain everyone and make us laugh

38. Coming home to start a brand new week- I love Mondays!                                          

A Little Randomness

Here are a few bits and pieces from our life...

On the 9th we had the opportunity to go to our nieces baptism. Man did she look beautiful all dressed in white.  It was a Stake baptism- so there were other children present as well.  It was so fun to see it from the other side.  We have the two oldest kids in the family so they always hit the mile stones first.  And I love when it's someone elses family's turn.  I remember the day our niece was born.  She came suddenly and earlier than anyone thought and we were so excited for our two little princesses to have a cousin so close in age.  When we went to the hospital to see her I loved every minute- it was my turn to just show up and ooze in the sweetness with out feeling all the tired, out of it, over whelming feelings I had when it was me there in the hospital.  She was the tiniest baby alive.  Whitney was two months older than her and when we layed them next to each other Whitney looked like a king kong baby compared to her.  Now eight years later Cee is a whole head taller than Whitney.  They are the best friends in the world- the three girls.  I love getting to see them all grow up together.  I wish so much I had had my camera to take their picture. 

This baptism also made me think about how spoiled we've been to get to have our girls have private baptisms- just them- where we got to choose every detail of the programs and who would attend.  Despite all the stress one of those caused- I feel lucky that this important day in their life was all their own.  Now I just have to figure out how to make that happen for Ethan...hhhhmmmm perhaps a trip to some distant island with a gorgeous ocean and two smiling grandparents.  It would be delightful....hhhmmmm.

PINEWOOD DERBY TIME!!!  This year our girls were invited to participate in the Pinewood Derby.  At first they showed no interest at all so we didn't start work on our cars right away- or even later- or even the weekend before the derby, but then all of a sudden the day before they had a sudden change of heart and desperately wanted to make a car to race.  So what's a mother like me to do when I have a husband at work all day, two grandpas that live very far away and absolutely no power tools to our name....get out my trusty hack saw, a screw driver, hammer, sandpaper and steak knife and go to work.  I widdled away on those things all day and well at the end of the day when they still looked like big bricks of wood with a few carvings up front- I couldn't help but pat myself on the back and let the girls go to town painting them.  We ended up with a bus and a monorail train.  The girls had a blast.  They were a little sad that their cars were slow- but now we know for next time(if there is a next time- we had quite a bit of controversy and lots of male ego's up in arms if you know what I mean..LOL)that if we want a chance at winning we'd better put a whole lot more work into those cars.  I was proud to say that my girls did a lot of the work- not the cutting of the wood- but they painted most of the car themselves and they were proud of them. (Ashtyn wasn't feeling well in the picture above- I promise she was much happier at the church)

 

Lessons I learned in the garden

A few months ago I posted this about starting our very first garden.  The mere idea of having a garden filled my head with all sorts of romantic ideas and fantasies.  I didn't have any expectations and I decided to do some research, plant some seeds and learn as I go.  Well boy have I learned.  Here are just a few of the lessons I learned in the garden....

1. There is a time and season to all plants (people too- but that's a whole other topic).  Certain plants must be planted early if you want them to produce and want the fruit they produce to taste good.  This would include- Lettuce, spinach,peas, beans- basically most green vegetables.  The rule of thumb that my good friend uses and that payed off for us is to "Plant Green Plants in March around St. Patrick's Day".  This worked well for our garden and we had a high yield of lettuce, spinach and peas that was really good until it started to get hot.

However- After my green plants were through producing I waited too long to plant my pumpkins.  Pumpkins are best planted in April if you want them to be ripe by October.  We planted in May and now I have two big pumpkins that are very green and so I have my fingers crossed that they will ripen by Halloween so my kids can carve them. 

2.  Flowering plants need bees.  I HATE bees.  So when I would see a bee I would shew it away.  Pumpkins NEED bees.  A pumpkin produces both male and female flowers- therefore they need pollination- which you can do by hand I found out- but bees do a much better job.  It's a wonder we even got two pumpkins with the number of bees I scared off. 

3. Pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelon and cantaloupe(these are the only plants I can speak for because it is what we planted)are all vines.  They grow out and out- so they need lots of space.  Our garden is planted on top of our retaining wall on a four foot by four foot square.  This we have found out is not enough space.  All of those plants have grown down the wall and into our yard.  The pumpkin has especially taken over and is starting to grow down into the window well too.  We also have fruits hanging off the retaining wall and as they get bigger I think the weight of the fruit will be too much for the vine to hold.  We planted our watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumbers together and now they are all intertwined so I don't think any of them have the space they need to thrive.  They are all producing fruit- but I think it could be much better if they had more room.

4.  All of the plants we chose are mostly made of water- so they need TONS of water.  We have done OK here- but there have also been days when I forgot to water them- next year I think a drip system is in order.

5. I have a LOT to learn about gardening.  Next year I plan on trying totally different plants so I'd better start researching now.