I'm A Man

The boys were bored the other day while I was in the shower... I came down to find them mopping the floors. There were literally puddles of water ALL over the house from the bathrooms to the kitchen to the living room, they were busy little bees. I couldn't help but laugh and follow behind them with a huge towel to clean up the water before Jack decided to get another head injury. As I was doing this, I made the comment to Sam about him being my Little Cinderella.... he said, "No Mom, I'm a MAN!" Take note men, this is the MANLIEST thing you can ever do!!

Snow Days

We got our first snow storm of the season and it was perfect. We got about 1 1/2 feet of snow and have been playing in it every day this week.

When I go out with the kids I feel like I have a hard time just standing there and watching, so we made good use of our time, because there a list of things you must do in the snow
#1: Snow Fort#2: Throw the snow#3: Sledding - (Sam was such an awesome sledder, and surprisingly Jack didn't want anything to do with it. I took him down once, he seemed to like it, and I asked if he wanted to go again, and he said no. He preferred swinging on the swing set.)#4: Burying Yourself in the snow - or in Jack's case getting stuck. Snow is such a hard thing for little kids to manuever in, and poor Jack got stuck a lot.#5: Snow Cones - I think Sam decided snow is his new favorite snack. I know many of you are appalled at me letting him eat this snow, but heck I did, I'm still alive right?#6: Snowman - WHen we weren't outside, we were making hot chocolate, playing the Wii, boxing and watching Lyv boot, scoot and boogie all over the house. She is amazing. She hasn't started crawling, but she manages to scoot all over the place. I'm amazed at her flexibility, she literally folds in half, and can do a mean set of the chinese splits. She's so funny to watch.

This picture is so funny because Jack is in huge purple socks and nothing else, and because he locked himself in the swing.... I think I found my new favorite place for him!!!

Just like Mahammad Ali!

Christmas Day

Christmas is such a magical holiday, and I'll be so sad when my kids grow out of the excitement of Christmas morning.... the anticipation was nearly killing Sam this year! One thing about getting married is that you united two different sets of holiday traditions and try to mesh them to form your own unique celebration. Christmas morning is one of these things for Shawn and I. I grew up with Santa wrapping EVERY gift, and being able to go down and snoop around before my parents and older siblings finally woke up to open gifts. My younger brother and I used to get up around 3 a.m., go through our stockings, shake some boxes and fall asleep under the Christmas tree waiting... Shawn's gifts from Santa were always open and ready to play with, and he and his siblings waited very patiently until 7:00 am until their parents went down to check and see if Santa was here. So our compromise..... Sam yelled for us as soon as he woke up (scaring Shawn so bad that he nearly fell out of the bed!) Then we escorted (like the FBI) our kids down to see Santa's gifts (half opened, half wrapped)... Shawn filming the entire event like Spielsberg!

It was wonderful though... the kids got exactly what they wanted, and more. We have tried to limit it to 3 gifts from Santa, and then with all the friends, cousin, and grandparent gifts the kids get all their hearts desire. Sam got a crane, a Buzz Light Year Pack, a tank and a cowboy hat and vest (from Jack). Jack got a new Bullseye and Woody, a remote control bus, and a car transporter, and an airport - but he being true to the Jack-O he is, was mostly interested in his box of swedish fish and candy treats. Lyv got her first baby doll, new bows, and a music table.... I think the boys like it more than her. She LOVED the baby doll though, which I thought was adorable, she mostly liked to chew on her arms and legs, but she instantly grabbed it.

Shawn got me the BEST surprise ever.... tickets to Wicked on Broadway!!! I can't wait to use them. I got Shawn a new Brian Regan download, which always a great idea for Shawn. I love listening with him because he laughs so hard... thanks Brian Regan!

We also started a new tradition this year in giving a gift to Jesus. We each thought of something that we could give, wrote it on a piece of paper and put it under the tree. We'll keep these and hopefully be able to look back and see how we did with those gifts.

Sam - help Jack pick up toys

Jack - money (so Jack)

Mom - PATIENCE! I really need an added measure of this.

We had a wonderful morning, followed by a HUGE breakfast with all the trimmings - what my mom calls the Idaho Breakfast, and then played with our toys. I love Christmas morning, being in your pjs until the afternoon and being able to enjoy family. We have been greatly blessed this year, and recognize that all of those blessings come from our Father in Heaven. We are so grateful for the gospel, and for the peace that comes in the plan of salvation. We look forward to a great 2011.

Christmas Eve

Since Shawn was on call this year, we had our own family Christmas. We actually really enjoy being able to be together as our "little" family and do our own thing, but we do miss being surrounded with family. Shawn was gone the entire day, but was able to be home from dinner on . . . so this is how we celebrated!)


First BIG Christmas Dinner (just a quick note- Crab Legs instead of Ham? Why you might ask... we got invited to go to our Bishop's home on Christmas Day for a dinner, and we volunteered to bring the ham there, so we splurged and got to Alaskan King Crab Legs..YUMMO!) I also made a killa pumpkin pie with a gingersnap crumb crust... seriously I don't think it could have tasted any better than that! Shawn was being a Grinch for the picture... he has a great angry face!

Then the reading of the Christmas Story from Luke, and acting out the Nativity Story. Sam was the producer and director of our Christmas scene this year: Cast is as follows:
Shepherds/Wisemen - Sam, Jack
Angel - Lyv
Mary - Meg
Joseph - Shawn

Baby Jesus - baby doll

Sam did a great job of getting us suited up for the parts and was very helpful corralling Jack at the right moment.

Christmas Jammies - a must at our house. They boys LOVED their new jammies complete with Shark bathrobes. Super Cool. We watched Home Alone and snacked on "popcorn, popcorn" (Jack does the popcorn popping on an apricot tree actions when he requests this snack); made our cookie plate for Santa, and sent the kiddos to bed.

That is when the fun began for Shawn and I, the elves busy at work.......

8 Years of Marital Bliss

I only have eyes for .........

YOU Love: the profoundly tender or passionate affection toward another
For the past eight years, Shawn and I have been very happily married. Here in NY amongst Shawn's coworkers our family is somewhat of a novelty, given our age, the number of children we have, etc. I've come to truly appreciate the beautiful comfort and companionship that is found in marriage. We are not always in "best form" toward each other, but overall we are very content and happy in our marriage - which we've found is not always the case. I think that I would chalk it up to this kind of love: we try to hold the best interest of each other first and foremost. I am so lucky to be married to such a selfless man.Happy Anniversary Shawn! I love you more than my luggage!

Eskimo Noses and Gingerbread Houses

Last Friday we had some friends over and the kids made Gingerbread houses... okay they ate candy and threw a couple of pieces of graham cracker together to make a lean-to! I love making these and eating the candy!

Another fun thing for the boys, we had our first snow- it was more of a tiny dusting, but they were determined to sled and make snow angels. One of my favorite things is the cold, red cheeks and noses that occur after being outside. These boys are so much fun! Jack might be revealing some leftover chocolate chip experiment from his nose...