Looking back and now forward

Yes, I am one of those bah humbuggers that takes Christmas down before the New Year. It is kind of a sad process taking it down and packing it away but then it's so worth it after it's all done. The house now looks so much cleaner and bare. It's wonderful. Granted the corner that housed the Christmas tree does look kind of funny. I'm sure in a day or two we won't even notice the bare spot. Ethan and Anna were not too happy and kept asking why I was taking it down. I think now that it's gone though they are just fine.

Do you get the January blahs? I often do and I have to admit I am fighting them pretty hard. I keep telling myself that feeling down about this new month and the winter ahead isn't a very good attitude of gratitude. I continue to remind myself that in not too long, okay well about 3 month my 200 tulips will be budding from the ground. I absolutely love that time of year when you start to open the windows just a tad to let the fresh air in and all the winter bugs out. I love the crispness of the air and yet the frigid winter air is passing. So...as I look to 2009 instead of focusing on all the things I wanted to do or get done and didn't I am going to focus on all the we were blessed with and continue to be blessed with, which was much.

Those most important were Randall landing a very good, secure job and loving it. My Mom making it through her 2nd round of Cancer and chemotherapy. Buying our first home together after 9 years happily married. Our children continuing to be healthy and happy, and much more. On New Year's Eve it will be 14 years since Rand and my first kiss and 10 years to the day that we decided to marry. Who knows what could happen this new year's. Here's wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

It's offical I am...

a soccer Mom. We bought a minivan today. We have been thinking about it for some time but with the end of the year deals we thought we'd look into it a little further. Well we drove home in one. We got a great deal on a used Sienna with just 17K miles on it. Ethan calls it a "mibivan" and I guess since it has DVD Anna calls it a "movievan". Ethan has been wanting one for some time. I have been wanting a Sequoia. We also found a sequoia today that I was in love with, but I did the right thing and made a wise decision economically, environmentally etc. I have to admit When the kids jumped in themselves and buckled in (except Kate of course) I knew I had made the right decision. I guess I'm really not very cool anyway so why not drive a minivan? Oh, and it has AWD a nice plus in this lovely winter wonderland.

Falalalala

Tis the season to be sickly, Fa la la la la la la la la
Some with strep throat, some are pukey Fa lalalalalalalla
Don we now are gloves and clorox falalalalala
watch out Big guy and your reindeer else you might get sickly too.

We think we are now on the mend and are preparing for Christmas. I can't believe that it's almost here. I am loving the snow. I am just glad we don't have to go anywhere far. It's supposed to snow Christmas day and I sure hope that it does. It will make it feel so much more cozy and Christmas like. The kids are gearing up to go outside and play in the snow which mean I get to gear up to mop up my kitchen floor...again.

We were hoping to go see the lights at Temple Square yesterday but were still not quite up to it. Hopefully we can fit it in this week. We made and decorated sugar cookies yesterday. The kids are anxious to help measure, mix, roll out and cut the cookies. It's a fun age to have them so excited to be involved. It's always a mess but worth it in the end.


And while most of you are counting down just 3 days til Christmas I am counting down 11 until Randall and I get back on the Weight Watchers wagon. Who can say no to cinnamon Santa's?

Well If you haven't received our Christmas card yet we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year!

Christmas Cleanse

When I say cleanse I'm not referring to "the Garth Brooks juice diet", although that might not be a bad idea either. I am referring to the illness that has come about our home. I took all the kids to the doc today and Ethan has strep, Kate has an ear infection and the jury is still out on whether Anna has strep. The quick test came out negative so we are hopefully in the clear.

The problem with strep is that Randall is a huge strep magnet. If anyone has strep within a ten mile radius he gets it, and gets it bad. Last Christmas Day he awakened with strep and was so sick that he didn't leave his bed all day. He could barely make it to the potty. Maybe it's good that he's out of town. Hopefully that means he hasn't been exposed and wont' get it. Maybe he should just stay out of town until Christmas Eve and that would up our chances for a happy holiday since the year before last he was in bed with stomach flu. Are you seeing the pattern here? I have since Clorox wiped every doorknob, light switch and phone. Everyone's sheets have been washed in hot with bleach so hopefully we'll ward off any other illness.

I opted for the shot over the 2-3 doses of antibiotics a day for Ethan and it wasn't an option with Kate so I just lay her in the choke hold and give her small doses in her cheek until she has no choice but to swallow.

My car broke down yesterday too. The good in all of this is my Dad is lending me his car while mine is in the shop and he has a way sweet ride and it makes lots o noise when you accelerate. I'm sure I'm the envy of the neighborhood by now.

Oh, and the snow. I guess I wanted a white Christmas and it's looking like that will most likely be a reality. The bad in all of this is that I am stuck at home, and staying up late eating all the treats people keep bringing by. Juice diet, here I come.

our little turkey

Ethan had a school project around Thanksgiving where he was given a bare turkey and was asked to disguise him as something else so he wouldn't be eaten for Thanksgiving. I thought that was pretty clever. We brainstormed many ideas and he was certain the turkey needed to be a cowboy. My only question was seriously how can a kindergartner disguise a turkey in a way that would be recognizable as something completely different. So what's any self respecting mother to do? Do it herself. Ok, I did some(most) of it and then had him color it and make it is own.

He decided to dress up just like the turkey himself. I thought it was pretty cute.

just a mess

This is what you get when you have your kids "help" you make cookies. The molasses was dripping down the front of the cabinets and Kate stood below it licking it from the drawers it was pretty cute. Although I'm not a huge fan of a sticky kitchen floor.
This was the first time I put Kate up on the counter to watch the cookie dough mix. Not only did she love to watch it mix but even more loved to taste it. Doesn't she look happy?
I had put Kate in her high chair to run next door to borrow an egg. I thought that would keep her safe and out of danger. When I opened the door this is how I found her. Standing on top of her high chair tray. She had climbed out and was trying to climb up on the counter. I couldn't believe it, but like any good mother I had to take a picture. I did have Anna standing close to make sure she wouldn't fall. I guess no more keeping her in the high chair.
It's a good thing they clean up so well. Aren't they cute. I had just gotten them ready for church and they were too cute not to capture. We sure love our cute girls...and boy.
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuI3cIQgvpaOhdDQu_8fLRwUqLLKZXS3l5B9zmfFTv0ylSgk-IO-V56vQ7YqD2ROhyphenhyphenjsQpUfBxRwTNrUZoKxy0pc0sXlsZYmwG0YoQORfzb44kMwaTB5x846bzL3kpASkiE3B3uUh542M/s1600-h/DSC01376.JPG">

Thanksgiving- Finally!

For a family vacation/Thanksgiving this year my side of the family spent Thanksgiving weekend all together at a cabin in Heber. Admittedly I was a tad worried at how well things would go with 12 kids under the age of 13. All was well and we had a great time. We really don't get all together as families all that often and it really was a special time to spend together. As time progresses and with my parents health it's times like this that I really cherish. I just don't know how many opportunities like this we will have as a complete family in the coming years.

Each family brought food for Thanksgiving as well as snacks and another meal to share. We ate and ate and ate. I gained weight and it was great! When it came to pies we were set. We had apple, pumpkin, peach, lemon, apple streudel, as well as a fabulous peppermint dessert. We watched movies, and did crafts with the kids. One of the favorites of the kids was putting together Christmas scenes with foam stickers. That was my contribution and as usual I took it up a notch. I tend to be a tad competitive and while it was initially intended to be an activity for the children I became rather involved. Suddenly my two oldest nieces and I was doing out best to out do each other layering sticker after sticker to make them as dimensional as possible. They were the most elaborate scenes you could ever imagine. Needless to say it was a lot of fun, and yes the kids enjoyed it almost as much as the "adults".

The day we arrived there was no snow. The first morning we awoke to snow! It was absolutely beautiful and made the setting and the weekend all the more cozy and enjoyable. The kids had a blast outside sledding in the freshly fallen snow. Even Kate got in on the activities. She thought she was such a big girl to sit up to the table and sled down the hill. When we took her off of the sled she would just scream.

My kids were counting the days until "the cabin", and now every day Anna asks when we are going back....

We had a great time and were thankful to have such a fabulous Thanksgiving.






(don't stop here, most updates to follow)

Sundance, a family tradition

Each year as part of our Christmas gift my parents take all of my siblings and their spouses to Sundance for a nice dinner. Thursday we went up and had a great time. We don't take the kids and it's a nice to sit and catch up with one another. This year was no different. It's always an entertaining time since all of my brothers are crazy and overly sarcastic at all times. Rand always get a good kick out of listening to my family be the way that we are. It also reminds him where I get my honesty, sarcasm, and teasing ways. My Dad every year claims that he doesn't know where we learned to be like this and we weren't like this when we were living at home. Ya, right.

I really look forward to going every year not only for the company and the great meal but it is such a beautiful setting up in the mountains. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and cozy. Last year sadly I came down with the stomach flu the morning of the dinner so we couldn't be there so it was nice to be back with the family this year. I really appreciate my parents for providing this opportunity each year. My Dad tells us each time that this is the thing he looks forward to most each Christmas. I enjoy the closeness I feel being with my siblings and their spouses at such a beautiful time of year.

My oldest bro and his wife

Us
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5rQlz3CSRV_VR4Mn5DUIQEQY0smA6hsJjz2rpTq_kdntRx5FUT98Gf2RvgPqcjCLJowGX1jma15Z8eN-nlIrw45IyD7OCvVEb69yQU55_SDLvyseRk0nZUJa2i1zBkrg7lDNVR3ykzs/s1600-h/DSC01392.JPG">
2 years ago

Christmas Party

Last night was Randall's Christmas work party. Continuing with tradition they hosted and provided tuxedo's for a very nice black tie event at The Grand America. I was really worried about going up with the snow storm that had come in but thankfully the roads were completely clear.

It's always fun to get so dressed up and remember the good old days of Jr. and Sr. prom and of course our wedding day. Yes we go way back. In fact the anniversary of our first kiss is coming up Dec. 31 I think 14 years ago. Randall looked very handsome and I didn't look half bad myself. I will post the pictures we took though none of them were that great. They did have a photographer take pictures of each couple at the event so I will post that later.

The food was really good and The entertainment was fun. It was a dance group called "Latin Fusion". Some of the dancers had even been on "So you think you can dance". It was pretty good. Awards were given and as tradition goes we played rock, paper scissors as we do at all work events and as usual we didn't win anything. We didn't come home empty handed though. Since the theme was a Brazilian something or other we were given gift bags with Brazilian chocolates as well as a nice black picture frame. The things that impressed me most really about the event was in being sensitive to the economy and all the company not only cut their event budget by 40% but with each prize that was given out it included a large cash donation to the food bank. I thought that was very appropriate and thoughtful. You never would have thought there was such a cut in budget because everything was still very nice. I'm very grateful that Rand is with such a great company and that they are doing so well as a company despite the economy. Here are the pictures we did take. (If you are wondering why I don't ever mention the name of the company, that is because if you do your blog ends up in the inbox of all the managment at Randall's work. I know since last years post about the Christmas party ended up in Rand's boss's inbox and Rand got an email from him saying he had just read our blog)

Let it snow,

I keep wanting to update about Thanksgiving and all that's fun and festive, but I am just too crazy. In fact today I took Anna to school and didn't even realize she wasn't wearing her glasses until I gave her a kiss goodbye. Whoops. The only thing that makes me feel better is last week I did the same thing but it was the teacher that asked her where her glasses were. I hadn't even noticed. After this week of many fun festivities things should slow down a bit.

The great news is we found a great dress and I'm excited about it. Randall's reaction was so typically Randall like um, ya, I uh like it. I had to go to another friend's to get reassurance. I think we are good. Rand's funny that way, you could buy him something he has wanted for 30 years and dreamed about (although I can't think of anything to even give him for Christmas other than "The Office" episodes) and with straight face he would then say...thanks. My Mom always says he's calm and that's good because he balances me out.What do you mean? I'm not calm? :) At times I wish he would be a tad less balancy, but I love him just the same.

It finally snowed yesterday! I was so excited because I have had a really hard time feeling Christmasy despite my festively decorated home. I was sad though that it wasn't more and didn't "stick" but hopefully more will come. Not too much but more for sure. I can't remember the last time we had a true "White Christmas", which by the way I watched that movie yesterday as I folded load after load of laundry.

Well here's to you and your December festivities whatever they may be.

I'm sa proud

Rand is on his way home from Brazil, yeah! We are all anxious to have him home. Anna keeps asking "is today Thursday". Allow me to be a proud wife for a moment. Rand has been working so hard and is doing so well at work. He was recently promoted and then was also asked last week to be a team lead. I'm really glad that he is being recognized for the very bright, hardworking, well educated, handsome man that he is. OK, I'm done now.

Now for the stress behind the work. I thought that with the economy they would cancel the black tie Christmas party. No such luck, so...I need to find a dress ASAP. It's next Saturday and I just found out today. I don't want to spend a fortune but I also want to look GOOD! Help me! Jordan come on you've got great taste where should I go? I thought since we hadn't heard it wasn't going to happen and I haven't been able to go to the gym this week with Rand gone, I guess I shouldn't have eaten all those chocolates and thanksgiving pies etc etc, etc.

Poop or peep?

That is what Anna asked me today as I changed Kate's diaper. I thought it was pretty funny. Things are busy with Rand out of the country, PTA meetings and RS stuff to do. Thanksgiving was great and I will post about that with lots o pictures when I get the time. Happy Holidays