Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thanksgiving 2008
Thanksgiving was so much fun!! I feel bad for only getting the pictures posted until now, but better late than never, right? (I also apologize in advance for the amount of pictures, but I thought they were all so good). And many thanks go to Granddad for always being ready with the camera.
My entire family was here for Thanksgiving. It was awesome!!! We played Rockband like crazy, watched Burn Notice every night (except for the night we watched Agent Smart and laughed ourselves silly), and had just plain old fun with everyone. We're so glad that we had 2 big playrooms for the 10 kids to run around in (mind you, 4 of them are 1-year-olds, and the oldest is 6. That'll paint a picture for you). One night the Corless kids went out and saw Twilight. Always fun. And then a couple nights later, the guys (and my mom- someone had to keep them in line) went to see Transporter 3 while us sisters giggled and ate cheesecake while playing silly board games. What fun!
What? What did I do?!?
Princess Rocker
Aunts are awesome.
The kids eatin' their big turkey dinner.
The big kids eatin' their turkey dinner. (Jeromy just told a really funny joke, can't you tell? :)
Cuddlin' with Grandma. Aaaw.
Some serious concentrating going on.
NOBODY told this kid you don't need a golf glove to play Rockband?!?!?!?
My Grandmother (91) stopped by for a visit. Back: Jacob, me, Shelly, Laurel, Heather. Front: Grandmother, Grandma, one of the twins (can't tell here, sorry), Kailey, Audrey, Kierra, and Abby. (Don't you like my sister's foxy new hairdo? I convinced her to see my gal and now I think she looks like Alice from Twilight, only blond. Cool, huh.)
I love my boy!!
We also went up to Temple Square via the train system to see the Christmas lights. It was beautiful and oh so fun.
This is in the children's section of the Church History Museum. The kids loved it.
This is at one of Temple Square's Visitor's Centers.
Emily? Ashley? No, wait, it's Emily, I'm sure. Right?
Making a wish.
We were trying to take a nice family picture, but some bum walked up and ruined it. AND THEN he started begging for money. Sorry John, I'm totally broke.
Stranger problem taken care of.
We hope you all enjoyed your stay, cuz we sure enjoyed having you! Love ya lots!!!
My entire family was here for Thanksgiving. It was awesome!!! We played Rockband like crazy, watched Burn Notice every night (except for the night we watched Agent Smart and laughed ourselves silly), and had just plain old fun with everyone. We're so glad that we had 2 big playrooms for the 10 kids to run around in (mind you, 4 of them are 1-year-olds, and the oldest is 6. That'll paint a picture for you). One night the Corless kids went out and saw Twilight. Always fun. And then a couple nights later, the guys (and my mom- someone had to keep them in line) went to see Transporter 3 while us sisters giggled and ate cheesecake while playing silly board games. What fun!
What? What did I do?!?
Princess Rocker
Aunts are awesome.
The kids eatin' their big turkey dinner.
The big kids eatin' their turkey dinner. (Jeromy just told a really funny joke, can't you tell? :)
Cuddlin' with Grandma. Aaaw.
Some serious concentrating going on.
NOBODY told this kid you don't need a golf glove to play Rockband?!?!?!?
My Grandmother (91) stopped by for a visit. Back: Jacob, me, Shelly, Laurel, Heather. Front: Grandmother, Grandma, one of the twins (can't tell here, sorry), Kailey, Audrey, Kierra, and Abby. (Don't you like my sister's foxy new hairdo? I convinced her to see my gal and now I think she looks like Alice from Twilight, only blond. Cool, huh.)
I love my boy!!
We also went up to Temple Square via the train system to see the Christmas lights. It was beautiful and oh so fun.
This is in the children's section of the Church History Museum. The kids loved it.
This is at one of Temple Square's Visitor's Centers.
Emily? Ashley? No, wait, it's Emily, I'm sure. Right?
Making a wish.
We were trying to take a nice family picture, but some bum walked up and ruined it. AND THEN he started begging for money. Sorry John, I'm totally broke.
Stranger problem taken care of.
We hope you all enjoyed your stay, cuz we sure enjoyed having you! Love ya lots!!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Silly Boy
Jacob was being so funny during lunch the other day. I just had to get the camera out. And, of course, he wasn't near as funny as before I got the camera on him. Oh well, maybe next time. He's still so unbelievably cute!
Christmas 2008
Hope you all had a great Christmas! We had a nice wintery Christmas day, complete with a 2-hour power outage while we opened presents. It was so nice to relax and stay in our pajamas all day and just focus on our kids. We were hoping we'd get snowed in (it'd make a good story, you know), but alas just got ice and wind. The kids were so excited for Santa to come that they fell asleep right as soon as their heads hit the pillow. And Audrey says she heard Santa on the roof ;). So fun!!
Santa brought Audrey an easel complete with all sorts of art supplies.
Her first drawing on her first easel.
Santa brought Kierra a playhouse,
and a Cinderella dress.
What an adorable princess!!
Jacob got some little boy stuff.
Hope you all had a pleasant holiday too! Have a Happy New Year!!
Santa brought Audrey an easel complete with all sorts of art supplies.
Her first drawing on her first easel.
Santa brought Kierra a playhouse,
and a Cinderella dress.
What an adorable princess!!
Jacob got some little boy stuff.
Hope you all had a pleasant holiday too! Have a Happy New Year!!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Moon Sand Mess
Today's message of the day from our Advent calendar brought us Christmas colored Moon Sand! What fun! The girls played with this for almost an hour, it was great. Audrey said, "I had so much fun, Mom. It was an amazing time!" Well cool kiddo. Glad you had fun.
Parental Note: They did play with this for over a half an hour, but then I spent the next half hour cleaning it up! At the store I thought, "Hmmm, this looks cool, and it says it cleans up really well, better than play-do. Hmmm, this sounds fun." So yes, it cleans up well, but after the kids get it EVERYWHERE (it is sand after all), you end up wiping all the counters and chairs, sweeping the whole kitchen, changing their clothes, and then wiping out the laundry hamper for a tablespoon or two of stray sand. I suppose I should probably vaccuum now too. Was it worth it? I suppose so, they did have an "amazing time." But I don't think we'll be getting it out again for awhile. :)
(This is the mountain where the Grinch lives. We have one in our backyard now too.)
Parental Note: They did play with this for over a half an hour, but then I spent the next half hour cleaning it up! At the store I thought, "Hmmm, this looks cool, and it says it cleans up really well, better than play-do. Hmmm, this sounds fun." So yes, it cleans up well, but after the kids get it EVERYWHERE (it is sand after all), you end up wiping all the counters and chairs, sweeping the whole kitchen, changing their clothes, and then wiping out the laundry hamper for a tablespoon or two of stray sand. I suppose I should probably vaccuum now too. Was it worth it? I suppose so, they did have an "amazing time." But I don't think we'll be getting it out again for awhile. :)
(This is the mountain where the Grinch lives. We have one in our backyard now too.)
Jeromy's 30th!!!
Yup, Jeromy turned 30 this past week. I don't think he was all that thrilled about it, but we tried to have fun (I'm just glad that he'll always be older than me- he he he). He got a $30 gift card to iTunes since he's 30, and a $40 gift card to a sporting goods store to look forward to the next decade (and so I wouldn't have to go pick out sporting goods :). For his birthday dinner, he picked Eggsaroneous (boiled eggs, mashed up, inside a white sauce, on toast). I find it very funny that that is his favorite, but that was his request so I made it. He's so funny. And then we had Pumpkin cake for dessert! Yum!! Hope you had a good one, hon!!!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Today's Highlights
What a day. Here's some highlights:
-Jacob played in the toilet water. That's a new one. And I'm sure it's another first for weird things boys do.
-Got the Christmas stickers out for the message of the day. Some were the kind you color yourself. Girls loved it.
-I found a mysterious medium sized puddle underneath my washer and dryer. Uh, not sure what to do about that. Or how to clean it up.
-I overheard the kids playing "Mary and Joseph" today. I heard Audrey say, "Come on, Joseph, it's time to go!" Too cute.
-I didn't get a shower till 2pm today. I guess that's not totally unusual. Oh well.
-I braved the storm to go help set up the church for our ward party tomorrow. On the way home, we stopped by Sam's Club for some milk and to eat pizza. YOU TOTALLY NEED TO GO TO SAM'S THIS WEEKEND!!! They are doing some kind of holiday sampler party or something because there were a TON of taste tests! The plan was to get a couple of things, taste a few foods, and then get pretzels at the deli. We were so full when we were done that I didn't even need to feed my kids dinner! Woohoo! Free dinner!!!
-On the way home, I thought how exhausted I was and glad that I could finally go home. Wrong! I then remembered that I totally forgot to get a Sub For Santa present to bring to the Ward Party at 9am tomorrow. Oops, turn around and go to Target!
-I found fresh coconut at Target! I've been looking all over for it for a certain recipe and I finally found it!! Woohoo!!
-Surprisingly, the kids were so good at both stores! Well, maybe for Jacob, he was getting a bit cranky and wiggly towards the end, but that's to be expected for a one-year-old.
-On the way home, I was prepping the girls. It was bedtime and my first priority was to get Jacob in his bed. So I asked the girls if they could be super big helpers and put themselves to bed while I put him to bed and put groceries away, shoveled snow, etc. And then I promised to read to them if they waited patiently in bed. To my astonishment, five minutes after we got home and I was still wrestling Jacob, Audrey came down in her pajamas, with her teeth brushed, had gone potty and everything!!! WOW!!!
-When I went to shovel the driveway when we got home, I noticed that someone did it for me! What a wonderfully nice surprise!!
-The kids were so tired from all that shopping, that they went right out. (sigh) If only that could happen every night. :)
-I got to do the dishes tonight listening to a new CD in a dark house with only the kitchen light and the indoor Christmas lights on (that is my FAVORITE Christmas decoration- to have that rainbow glow on the walls. Maybe I'll have to take a picture so you know what I've got going on.)
-Jeromy just called and is almost home from his business trip. He was only gone one night, but that's one night too many. He's my best friend, my anti-anxiety medicine, my sounding board, my problem solver (hey hon, what we gonna do about the washer?), my go-to guy.... I miss him.
OOh, he just pulled up. Gotta go.
-Jacob played in the toilet water. That's a new one. And I'm sure it's another first for weird things boys do.
-Got the Christmas stickers out for the message of the day. Some were the kind you color yourself. Girls loved it.
-I found a mysterious medium sized puddle underneath my washer and dryer. Uh, not sure what to do about that. Or how to clean it up.
-I overheard the kids playing "Mary and Joseph" today. I heard Audrey say, "Come on, Joseph, it's time to go!" Too cute.
-I didn't get a shower till 2pm today. I guess that's not totally unusual. Oh well.
-I braved the storm to go help set up the church for our ward party tomorrow. On the way home, we stopped by Sam's Club for some milk and to eat pizza. YOU TOTALLY NEED TO GO TO SAM'S THIS WEEKEND!!! They are doing some kind of holiday sampler party or something because there were a TON of taste tests! The plan was to get a couple of things, taste a few foods, and then get pretzels at the deli. We were so full when we were done that I didn't even need to feed my kids dinner! Woohoo! Free dinner!!!
-On the way home, I thought how exhausted I was and glad that I could finally go home. Wrong! I then remembered that I totally forgot to get a Sub For Santa present to bring to the Ward Party at 9am tomorrow. Oops, turn around and go to Target!
-I found fresh coconut at Target! I've been looking all over for it for a certain recipe and I finally found it!! Woohoo!!
-Surprisingly, the kids were so good at both stores! Well, maybe for Jacob, he was getting a bit cranky and wiggly towards the end, but that's to be expected for a one-year-old.
-On the way home, I was prepping the girls. It was bedtime and my first priority was to get Jacob in his bed. So I asked the girls if they could be super big helpers and put themselves to bed while I put him to bed and put groceries away, shoveled snow, etc. And then I promised to read to them if they waited patiently in bed. To my astonishment, five minutes after we got home and I was still wrestling Jacob, Audrey came down in her pajamas, with her teeth brushed, had gone potty and everything!!! WOW!!!
-When I went to shovel the driveway when we got home, I noticed that someone did it for me! What a wonderfully nice surprise!!
-The kids were so tired from all that shopping, that they went right out. (sigh) If only that could happen every night. :)
-I got to do the dishes tonight listening to a new CD in a dark house with only the kitchen light and the indoor Christmas lights on (that is my FAVORITE Christmas decoration- to have that rainbow glow on the walls. Maybe I'll have to take a picture so you know what I've got going on.)
-Jeromy just called and is almost home from his business trip. He was only gone one night, but that's one night too many. He's my best friend, my anti-anxiety medicine, my sounding board, my problem solver (hey hon, what we gonna do about the washer?), my go-to guy.... I miss him.
OOh, he just pulled up. Gotta go.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Up To Date
So here is the post where I dump all the pictures taken recently in order to get caught up on the blog. So sorry. Is anyone else going crazy with how fast December is going by??? There's so much more I've been wanting to do, and it's halfway over!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaahhh!!!!
Side note: In an effort to do something fun with the kids each day, I stole Mindy's idea and made an advent calendar of activities/fun things. Not hard since my mom just gave me the one we used when I was little. I just put a message in each one that says things like "Read the Polar Express" or "make sugar cookies" or whatever. We don't always have time for the Message-of-the-Day, but the kids don't let me forget.
Monday: FHE. Decorate the tree. Decorate cookies. Audrey: Can we stop all this picture-taking nonsense and make some cookies!?!
Kierra: Mom, shouldn't you be paying attention to how many sprinkles I'm putting on my cookie instead of worrying about having pictures for your blog?
The result:
Tuesday: Dad and kids go to Cabella's to meet up with Grandpa and have fun looking around at the free (stuffed) zoo. Mom goes shopping by herself since it's her only chance of the week.
Wednesday: Go to Thanksgiving Point to look at the lights. We got a mailer coupon for $2 off, so it was only $5, and well worth it I thought. The kids had a lot of fun looking at the lights, and got to see real reindeer at the end. After the light portion they had a section of just pictures of the Nativity and a poem that went with it. I was SO glad they did that since we've been trying so hard to spend equal amounts of time talking about Baby Jesus as we have Santa.
You can sense in this picture what our ears went through during this trip. Audrey belting out Christmas carols (well, carol really, she only knows Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer well) at the top of her lungs. We love ya, sweety, but please just sing, thanks.
Looking at the reindeer.
Up close. (Factoid: only female reindeer still have their antlers during the winter. Hmmm.)
It was FREEZING! And none of us really came prepared (ok, the girls were, the guys weren't) to go outside since we didn't know the reindeer would be there. So we just had to stop at the cafe and get some hot cocoa.
Hot cocoa can be very thought provoking, don't you think?
My cutie.
Thursday: Debate all day as to whether or not to go to the crummy Enrichment party. I'm still undecided if it was a good idea or not. The activity: drive around to several sisters' homes and look at all their cool Christmas decorations, like Parade of Homes at Christmastime. Woohoo, that'll really invite the Spirit of the Season. Sign me up! I want to go to the sister's home worth 2 million dollars (actually it could be just 1 mil but what's the difference, really) and see how she can buy all new decorations every year and has her own movie theater in her basement and yada yada yada. That'll get me in the Christmas mood. I know, I'm bitter and clearly have issues. But what happened to the good ole' Enrichment Christmas dinner where there's such a great feeling of comraderie? Oh wait, wrong ward, my bad. Sometimes I feel like an outcast in my ward. I know 2 sisters fairly well (no make that 3 of late) and none of them came that night so I just wandered around pretending to be interested in this or that cool decoration (I wasn't feeling too out-going as you can tell). After introducing myself to a member of the R.S. presidency for the THIRD time since we've moved in, and hearing for the FOURTH time that night, "Oh, you've lived here for 7 months? And I'm just now meeting you? Oh I'm so bad!" all I want to say in response is "Ya, this ward isn't really big into welcoming people, are they?" I didn't say it out loud, mind you, I can mind my manners! Overall, there were some good treats that night (like fudge and chocolate frosted cream puffs!) and I got to know one of my neighbors a little better. So I guess it wasn't a total waste. Still. Okay, rant over.
(Oh, and since I was still in kind of a bitter mood from Thursday night, I thought it was interesting that our R.S. lesson on Sunday was on unity. I almost had to stifle a laugh. "What is unity?" "Um, the 11th ward? Pam Watson? Kaylynne Lhorke? I give up. What is unity?" Ok, ok, I'm really not as bitter as I'm making it seem (or am I?;), it's just that I'm really missing my friends right now, so it's hard to walk into a small R.S. gathering and not compare what I used to have with what I have now. I'll get better with time. I hope.) Wow, sorry I've tainted this happy Christmastime post with my shallow, petty, selfish issues. I'll try not to do that again! Yikes!
Friday: Wait for friends from Canada to visit, only to be interrupted by a storm. Rotten luck! I hope you guys have fun at Disneyland! And hope you can stop by on your way back through!
Saturday: Brave the mobs at Costco (for what? milk? we're crazy!), and have a McDonald's picnic in the living room and watch a rental movie. Oh, but first, help Daddy shovel the driveway. Too cute!
Can't forget our messy little boy!
Sunday: Only Mom and Audrey made it to church just in case the rest were still contagious from our little cold. Audrey sang a couple of songs with the Primary during Sacrament meeting, but she decided too late to change where she stood and ended up behind all the big kids. I couldn't see her at all except for the couple of times she leaned out really far just to make sure I was still looking. So cute.
Monday: Drive around and look at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. Kids went ape over this idea. We might have to do it again before Christmas.
Wow, you're an allstar friend if you made it through this whole post. Just wait for the Thanksgiving one that's bound to show up soon! :)
Side note: In an effort to do something fun with the kids each day, I stole Mindy's idea and made an advent calendar of activities/fun things. Not hard since my mom just gave me the one we used when I was little. I just put a message in each one that says things like "Read the Polar Express" or "make sugar cookies" or whatever. We don't always have time for the Message-of-the-Day, but the kids don't let me forget.
Monday: FHE. Decorate the tree. Decorate cookies. Audrey: Can we stop all this picture-taking nonsense and make some cookies!?!
Kierra: Mom, shouldn't you be paying attention to how many sprinkles I'm putting on my cookie instead of worrying about having pictures for your blog?
The result:
Tuesday: Dad and kids go to Cabella's to meet up with Grandpa and have fun looking around at the free (stuffed) zoo. Mom goes shopping by herself since it's her only chance of the week.
Wednesday: Go to Thanksgiving Point to look at the lights. We got a mailer coupon for $2 off, so it was only $5, and well worth it I thought. The kids had a lot of fun looking at the lights, and got to see real reindeer at the end. After the light portion they had a section of just pictures of the Nativity and a poem that went with it. I was SO glad they did that since we've been trying so hard to spend equal amounts of time talking about Baby Jesus as we have Santa.
You can sense in this picture what our ears went through during this trip. Audrey belting out Christmas carols (well, carol really, she only knows Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer well) at the top of her lungs. We love ya, sweety, but please just sing, thanks.
Looking at the reindeer.
Up close. (Factoid: only female reindeer still have their antlers during the winter. Hmmm.)
It was FREEZING! And none of us really came prepared (ok, the girls were, the guys weren't) to go outside since we didn't know the reindeer would be there. So we just had to stop at the cafe and get some hot cocoa.
Hot cocoa can be very thought provoking, don't you think?
My cutie.
Thursday: Debate all day as to whether or not to go to the crummy Enrichment party. I'm still undecided if it was a good idea or not. The activity: drive around to several sisters' homes and look at all their cool Christmas decorations, like Parade of Homes at Christmastime. Woohoo, that'll really invite the Spirit of the Season. Sign me up! I want to go to the sister's home worth 2 million dollars (actually it could be just 1 mil but what's the difference, really) and see how she can buy all new decorations every year and has her own movie theater in her basement and yada yada yada. That'll get me in the Christmas mood. I know, I'm bitter and clearly have issues. But what happened to the good ole' Enrichment Christmas dinner where there's such a great feeling of comraderie? Oh wait, wrong ward, my bad. Sometimes I feel like an outcast in my ward. I know 2 sisters fairly well (no make that 3 of late) and none of them came that night so I just wandered around pretending to be interested in this or that cool decoration (I wasn't feeling too out-going as you can tell). After introducing myself to a member of the R.S. presidency for the THIRD time since we've moved in, and hearing for the FOURTH time that night, "Oh, you've lived here for 7 months? And I'm just now meeting you? Oh I'm so bad!" all I want to say in response is "Ya, this ward isn't really big into welcoming people, are they?" I didn't say it out loud, mind you, I can mind my manners! Overall, there were some good treats that night (like fudge and chocolate frosted cream puffs!) and I got to know one of my neighbors a little better. So I guess it wasn't a total waste. Still. Okay, rant over.
(Oh, and since I was still in kind of a bitter mood from Thursday night, I thought it was interesting that our R.S. lesson on Sunday was on unity. I almost had to stifle a laugh. "What is unity?" "Um, the 11th ward? Pam Watson? Kaylynne Lhorke? I give up. What is unity?" Ok, ok, I'm really not as bitter as I'm making it seem (or am I?;), it's just that I'm really missing my friends right now, so it's hard to walk into a small R.S. gathering and not compare what I used to have with what I have now. I'll get better with time. I hope.) Wow, sorry I've tainted this happy Christmastime post with my shallow, petty, selfish issues. I'll try not to do that again! Yikes!
Friday: Wait for friends from Canada to visit, only to be interrupted by a storm. Rotten luck! I hope you guys have fun at Disneyland! And hope you can stop by on your way back through!
Saturday: Brave the mobs at Costco (for what? milk? we're crazy!), and have a McDonald's picnic in the living room and watch a rental movie. Oh, but first, help Daddy shovel the driveway. Too cute!
Can't forget our messy little boy!
Sunday: Only Mom and Audrey made it to church just in case the rest were still contagious from our little cold. Audrey sang a couple of songs with the Primary during Sacrament meeting, but she decided too late to change where she stood and ended up behind all the big kids. I couldn't see her at all except for the couple of times she leaned out really far just to make sure I was still looking. So cute.
Monday: Drive around and look at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. Kids went ape over this idea. We might have to do it again before Christmas.
Wow, you're an allstar friend if you made it through this whole post. Just wait for the Thanksgiving one that's bound to show up soon! :)
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