A Very Disney Christmas

When Santa makes arrangements in July for a trip in December, he cannot see the future weather and/or the potential sicknesses contracted before said trip. We left for or Disneyland trip on December 17th with a short sleep over in SLC and a trip to the doctor's office. Earlier that week Caleb displayed some very impressive distance barfing skills at the RS Walmart. He was feeling better by Friday, but we stopped in at the dr.'s office for a quick check. Her words, "he can be miserable here or at Disneyland" So we were off!

The weather didn't cooperate much either. Rain, rain, and more rain. Usually, I believe it's a crime to wrap your kids in plastic, but this time it was for survival. I am happy to report that despite the unexpected...we had a great time. The kids were especially thrilled, and seemed very unaffected by the adverse weather. I have many many more pictures to post, and several bits of hilarity from our vacation that I would love to document for posterity, so stay tuned!

Green is the New Black

After checking my blog and seeing an apron I made last Spring for Carter's pre-school teacher, my friend Ashley asked me if I would make six aprons for her to give as Christmas gifts. I picked up some really great green, gray, and black fabrics and went to town. Each apron was a different variation on this theme.

I thought they turned out very cute, but more importantly, so did she. So, if you want to get your hands on one of these, I suggest you make friends with Ashley...she give great Christmas gifts!

It Must Be Genetic

I don't know if it's nature or nurture {I could provide a pretty compelling argument for both}. However, regardless of the origin, this kid has a love of all things Oreo. He knows where they are, he knows how to get them, he knows how to pull back the sticky tab and open them, he even knows how to writhe in pain on the floor if he can't find them. This day, as you can see, he found them!

Deck the Halls

And with muscles like that, Cali just may deck you! Good grief look at those guns!

We decided to put our big tree downstairs this year, and decorate upstairs with some smaller trees. I am happy to report that, for the most part, Caleb has not caused any damage to himself or Christmas decorations.

Christian set the tree up on Saturday night, but we got distracted from our decorating duties by Ralphy and the leg lamp. That show NEVER gets old, and is ALWAYS funny! We finished up the decorating on Sunday night before the kids went to bed.

And by "we" I mean, they. I took Caleb upstairs to get ready for bed, and when I came back down...The tree was DONE! That's Santa's helpers at work. So, I made them pose for these obligatory pictures, and even staged one of them fake hanging ornaments.

Getting in the Christmas Sprit

It's no big secret that Carter is full of spirit. Which spirit? Well, that depends on several factors, but spirit, nonetheless. Right now he's filled with the Christmas spirit.

Last week when Christian returned from working in Utah he brought the kids their own little Nativity set, courtesy of Grandma Vicki. We started putting up our decorations little by little while he was gone, so the kids were very excited to have their own Nativity. Cali set hers up right away on her desk, Carter on his bookshelf, and Caleb tried to eat baby Jesus...so we put his where he can't reach it.

Christian overheard a little fight between Cali and Carter because she didn't think it was fair that Carter got two lambs in his set, and she only got one. Christian told them that there was a Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, one lamb, and one cow. Cali argued and insisted that Carter got two lambs. Christian went into Carter's room to stop the arguing, and check on the lamb situation.

Sure enough, Carter's Nativity had two lambs...and no Baby Jesus. Christian offered to put the whole set back in the box and see if Grandma Vicki could get him a new one. To which Carter replied, "No, it's fine, Jesus is the Lamb of God, so I'll use this lamb for Baby Jesus."

There you have it. It's as simple as that!

Caleb's Signature Face

Totally My Daughter

It's interesting to see little glimpses of myself in my daughter. In some ways Cali and I are so different, in other ways...so similar. For example, this Saturday at our ward Christmas party Cali opted not to sit on Santa's lap. Her exact words {as if they were my own}, "I am fine with the idea of Santa, and I really like the Christmas spirit, but sitting on an old man's lap, not gonna' happen".

She saw smiling children holding their goodie bags and asked, "Do you have to sit on Santa's lap to get a candy sack?" Yes, I told her. To which she replied, "Let's go, we have plenty of candy at home."

This girl is totally my daughter!

Shutterfly is My Favorite

Over the past few years I've used Shutterfly to make Christmas cards, photo books, posters, calendars and movies. This coming year I think I am going to try out their birthday cards too.

I love the quality of their products, and the user-friendliness of their website. They also have great customer service. One year for Christmas I ordered my in-laws a video I made using pictures from our vacation. When the DVD arrived it wouldn't play, I called the customer service phone number. They sent me another DVD that day, no questions asked, and it still arrived in time for Christmas.

Shutterfly is my favorite! Earlier this year my mom was looking for some photos for her scrapbook. When she realized she didn't have any pictures from some very important family events, I browsed all my uploaded Shutterfly photos, made her a picture CD and had it sent directly to her. So easy!

Our family has changed quite a bit over the last two years, but what hasn't, is me making Christmas cards using the Shutterfly website.

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009
So, what will our Christmas cards for 2010 look like? We already have our new family photo, so the hard part will be picking only one of Shutterfly's great designs.

In the past I've used the flat photo card. But, I'm really liking the new designs for the folded Christmas cards this year.

Check out their website, it will surely be one of your favorites too!

Mom and Tot Swimming

We've been having a great time in our mom and tot swimming class. Caleb has no fear, and would prefer that I don't hold him at all. He's been working on blowing bubbles, back float, and big arms. He is dying to dunk his whole head under the water, but not until I get those ear plugs I ordered online. Those pesky {yet blessed} ear tubes.

Carter takes his real swimming lesson before our class, and then joins us for the mom and tot class as well. We're hoping that all this exposure to swimming and water will help him overcome his irrational fear of having someone, {his words} "more than three steps away" He is a great "helper" with the tots.

The results of a successful swimming lesson. You know you're tired when you fall asleep mid-chew.

Rub My Balls For Luck

Bowling is so fun. We don't do it very often, and I'm not very good, but when we do we have a great time. On Saturday evening we went with Brittany and Vicki to the Helper bowling alley....Ahhh the memories!

This was Carter's first time bowling and he took it very seriously. He also insisted on rubbing my ball for luck before each of my frames. He would watch intently as the ball rolled down the lane, lean to one side, jump up and down, pump his fists, and encouragingly clap for himself.

Cali, on the other hand, was less serious. She was happy to roll the ball and then dance to the music, most of the time she didn't stick around long enough to see if she hit any pins or not. She just loved being there.

Caleb was confined to his stroller, so we all took turns entertaining him between frames.

I try to make Christian pose for pictures all the time, the results...well, he's not that impressed. But I had to snap this picture since many of our dates when we were engaged ended up at this very bowling alley in Helper, Utah. Now look at us!

Carter was thrilled with his performance and his score. He can't wait to show those bumpers who's boss again very soon!

More Holiday Family Bonding

Hope you family bonding this holiday season is less violent than Carter's and Parker's

Let Us Give Thanks

My sister Bethany who was kind enough to hold Caleb so I could eat. Note. They are both wearing bibs. Very necessary when attempting to feed Caleb.

A lot of delicious food to eat. And great conversation while eating it. Please note, Christian has his own 2 liter of Thanksgiving Coke.

Fancy glasses.

Very healthy, happy, and easily entertained children.

...And Thanks

Technology, which my sister Dory stood in line for two+ hours to obtain at a discounted price.

My sister Dory who I haven't seen in for-ev-er. But with her new smart phone we can keep in touch even more!

My parents. If you think I'm hilarious...You should meet these two. Really.

My mom. She cannot keep her eyes open during a picture. We could fill albums with her pulling this exact same face. However, she can see, and that's about all we care about.

...And More Thanks

11+ years with this handsome man.

Tiny sisters that make me look and feel like a giant. Which always came in handy whilst picking and beating on them as children.

$30.00 high chairs from the local Alco store, and random army men which contained and entertained.

I Like To Move It Move It

Here are some of the ways I've been movin' it lately. On Wednesday night my friend Andrea and I hosted the First Annual Pre Thanksgiving Turkey Burn Extravaganza of 2010. Two straight hours of Zumba infused with Kick Boxing intervals. Can you tell which one I taught? It was quite possibly the most fun ever! We are hoping to do another one soon. Maybe a pre-Christmas...or kick off the new year?

No sooner had I recovered from the Turkey Burn {and I was burnin'!} Bethany taught me some killer Hip Hop Hustle moves. Not many showed up for her class Friday morning, but the ones that did...DID NOT regret it! It was so fun. I got my groove on, and showed my sister a move or two! Thanks Bethany.

I nice leisurely walk around Castle Dale on Friday afternoon.

Some killer bowling with the Pollastro's on Saturday night. I WON {the battle of the bumpers}! And we finished off the weekend with some Just Dance 2. But, that talent deserves a post all its own...maybe later!

The Christmas Card Preview

My very talented friend Aimee was kind enough to take some time out of her Thanksgiving weekend to shoot a few family pictures for us. It was cold and the kids were squirrelly, but I love how they turned out. She strikes such a great balance of posing and personality.

Can't Beat 'em...Join 'em?

Christian brought the kids home these Notre Dame shirts from his trip. Cali was thrilled to have a pink football shirt. Caleb was...well, indifferent and cute. However, Carter was quite upset. He pouted, cried a little, and threw the shirt on the floor... then {my favorite Carter line, lately}, "I don't even like this team!"

Apparently the years of indoctrination backfired. Christian tried to explain about the fighting Irish, the history, the "coolness" of being there. Carter still unimpressed, "The only thing I like on this shirt is this C on the arm {champion logo}." Christian trying really hard to explain that you don't have to like the team, but the shirt is cool, came up with, "JP and Derrick have one too!" That helped.

He wore his shirt the next day, and asked tonight if it was washed so he could wear it again.

It Was the Best of Times...It Was the Worst of Times

Christian and his friend Josh drove to South Bend {wish I had some pictures of that} last Thursday and Friday to attend the Notre Dame v. Utah football game. They were joined there by Josh's wife Becca {thank you for the pictures Becca} and Josh's uncle. As you can image, it's a little hard to be a Utah fan the last couple weeks. My trash talking, PAC 10 taunting, and BSC bashing talk has been cut down to zero.

Unless you've been in a hole, or don't watch sports, you know that Utah was not victorious on this one. However, Christian had a great time {with the exception of the score} on his trip. He loved the atmosphere of Notre Dame and declared upon arriving home, "I would send all of our kids there in a heartbeat". It must be his Catholic heritage talking.

While in South Bend they visited the college football hall of fame. {If any Utah players want to make it there...they are going to have to step it up...A LOT} Pictured here: Josh, Christian, Josh's uncle.

Touchdown Jesus.

Becca, I take it this picture was taken pre-butt kicking. Regardless, they had a great time soaking up the atmosphere, making Rudy references, and just being on the historic campus.

Getting My Sew On

It's no big secret that I love to sew. Sometimes I make promises to myself like, if I get all my homework done...I can sew something. Or if I clean the kitchen I can get out my sewing machine and alter some clothes.

I really need to round up my latest projects and do a post, maybe later. For now. Here's a flower that my mom taught me to make a couple weekends ago. No machine involved. Just a few stitches and a safety pin. I had to post it because at the time we were making it she kept asking me, "are you sure you'll wear this color".

So here I am, and here's how it looked with a drape neck shirt. It actually kept the extra fabric in place, and dressed it up quite a bit. Coming soon...A whole bouquet of these using my extra fabric, in a vase on my piano....But only if I get the house cleaned and my homework done!

Loose Screws

In an attempt to decorate my home {I know we've only lived her two years...} I screwed some cute hooks into the wall across from the garage door entrance into our house. I was pretty sick of picking up book bags and coats, and since we don't usually come in our front door...the coat closet wasn't really convenient + it's hard for kids to reach hangers.

I put these hooks up over a month ago, but they kept getting loose. I think it was the constant tugging and pulling on the coats and bags, but at least the kids were hanging up their stuff. I got this bright idea one day that if I squirted some hot glue down the screw holes, THEN screwed the screws into the wall it would hold tight. It worked! For a while...until the glue hardened...and the screws were still loose.

Apparently squirting hot glue into holes is not the correct way to tighten something to the wall. Although my father in-law wasn't very impressed with my solution, he was more than willing to fix it...correctly. There was something about Home Depot and anchors, and pounding, and chipping the glue out of the holes. Carter was a big help and now has more knowledge about walls, holes, and screws than I have managed to obtained in my 30 years.

So, now they are tight. The right way. And they've stayed that way for days now. Carl was very confident in his and Carter's craftsmanship, so I am not expecting any problems with my hooks from here on out. They are even strong enough to hold my purse {aka dumpster on straps}.

Some people have duct tape...I have hot glue.

Baby Shower Ideas

So, right on the heels of all our birthday celebrations I helped a few ladies throw a baby shower for my friend Holly. Holly and I met at the rec center when I first moved here, later that year we were both looking for a way to work out when the rec center cancelled daycare for the summer. We got to know each other by switching off watching each other's kids in exchange for work outs. The rest is history. We became great friends. Here are a few cute things we did for her shower. {P.s... look at Renee in the background of this picture, it looks like she won the lottery}

I made these, but can't take credit for the idea. I saw this done at my friend Emma's baby shower, and had to try it. It's just two paint samples from Home Depot, stitched together with silverware, napkin, pen, and party games tucked inside. I made them in blue, green, and yellow.

Holly's friend who I was collaborating with chose some train inspired napkins and plates, so I made these candy trains as party favors. Also, not an original idea. In fact, my mom used to make these for her preschool when we were growing up. She used a roll of lifesavers for the body of the train, but I used mini-candy bars.

And the worst/best party game I've ever played. My friend Tanya melted 10 candy bars, one in each diaper. Then, the person had to open the diaper and guess which candy bar it was. Whoever got the most correct won the game. Here's Andrea trying to figure out the difference between a melted Kit Kat and a Twix. It was truly funny and so gross. We both agreed that looking inside of a diaper is a little too close to home for those of us with un-potty trained kids!