Spoiled, Spoiled, & Spoiled...

You know your kids are spoiled when you walk through the toy section and see that they own just about every toy available and more (excluding an entertainment system which we will hold off on as long as possible) ! Not only have our kids been spoiled with Christmas gifts this year, but from love and attention of grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We were lucky to spend Christmas at my parent's house with my siblings and their wives and enjoyed playing with them while they all had vacation from school and work. It was a wonderful Christmas as we carried out family traditions of Santa pictures, the nativity play, and of course seeing people open gifts and receiving them. Santa brought the boys snowboards, and loved having their Uncles take them out on the "bunny hill" they built in the front yard. They also loved the basketball hoop they got from their grandparents and are enjoying plenty of exercise from shooting hoops. But, of course it's not about the gifts. My whole family has been "spoiled" this year with blessings of good health, happy kids, and most of all the gift of our Saviour Jesus Christ. We have had additions of two wonderful sisters/aunts, Miss Alanna, and a couple of cousins for our kids.

Only the beginning...

We have had steady snow dumps since Wednesday afternoon around here. I don't love the snow, I like it for Christmas, but if it all melted the day after that I wouldn't mind at all! Instead we live in a place that is known to snow from October to June (like last year). I have all of my major Christmas shopping done, I just need a few little stocking stuffers. My motivation to go outside, or even put on anything but sweats to go shopping is non-existent! We had great plans to go sledding Friday night, but it was too dangerous for our guests to even make it here. So, we watched movies and cleaned the house this past weekend. Uggh! This is only the beginning of winter! At least we have the holidays to look forward to for the next couple of weeks. Santa is supposed to bring snowboards for our boys this year, so, unlike their mother, maybe they will develop a love for the snow!

Always Fun Family Pictures...

All I want for Christmas is a decent family photo session. As you can see, it was a minor disaster! We got the kids ready for church early (a major ordeal alone) and I had Alanna fed and happy. I guess she just doesn't like to share camera time because as soon as we sat her down with her brothers she flipped out! The boys wouldn't look at the camera, Paul wouldn't keep his feet down, and they both were distracted by the Christmas tree. I won't even post the pictures we got with James and I in them. You may have noticed that James ruins every picture he is in, on purpose! He claims he doesn't know how to smile for pictures! I even threatened to take us all to a professional photographer if he couldn't make a decent face for the pictures. We just may have to do that!

Alanna did do pretty well on her own, although she wasn't as smiley as she usually is. Maybe she could sense what was on the horizon. The best shots usually come unplanned when you least expect them. Maybe I'll have to take some of those and paste them all together to get the "perfect picture"!

Comfortable????

My kids really don't seem to like their beds! The boys have been sleeping on the floor - inside their fleece pillow cases. My mom made beautiful bedding for Alanna, and we are almost done decorating her room. We are missing the key element - Alanna. She only likes to play in her crib during the day, at night she has to be in bed with mom and dad!

5 Months Old!!!!

Miss Alanna is 5 months old today. Where has the time gone? We love having a baby girl sooo much. James was a little nervous about having a girl, but he admits she has a special place in his heart. I can tell she has him wrapped around her finger - just as I suspected she would! Alanna is rolling over, grabbing everything she can reach and shoving it into her mouth, and squealing with delight every opportunity she gets. We are so blessed to have such a gorgeous, joyful, and healthy daughter!

Breakfast with Santa...

I'm sure Alanna and Pyper are thinking "give me some milk please!"

Jackson asked Santa for a nerf dart gun. Paul was too scared of Santa to sit on his lap, but he was willing to eat an orange roll!

Tag...

I have seen these questions going around, but I haven't answered them yet. My friend Tanya tagged me, and for anyone reading this who hasn't been tagged yet, please post...

8 TV shows I love to watch...
1. 24 - It's so annoying to have to wait until January for the rest!
2. American Idol - I don't know why, but I'm soooo addicted!
3. Bones
4. House
5. Numbers- Sometimes, haven't been watching it regularly
6. Oprah -If there is something good on like Dr. Oz!
7. The Office - One of my favorites!!! Why did Michael and Holly have to break up?
8. Ugly Betty - just started watching this season, I'm hooked though!

8 Things that Happened to me Yesterday...
1. Got an amazing email about my brother Paul who passed away 2 1/2 years ago.
2. Washed about every dish in the house after making neighbor Christmas goodie plates.
3. Read Christmas scriptures with our boys and they are actually understanding the stories
about the life of Christ!
4. Found that my husband had hacked into my blog and posted a very embarrassing picture of
me - thank goodness I checked it and deleted it before bed - hope nobody saw that!
5. Took a much needed but interrupted nap after a late night downtown watching the Symphony.
6. Enjoyed hearing Jackson read his beginner reading books.
7. Watched James clean up the bathtub after Paul pooped in it!
8. Almost walked out of the mother's room at church (after nursing Alanna) with the whole back of my shirt up! Luckily there is a mirror and I caught myself before leaving - close one!

8 Favorite places to eat...
1. Leatherbys - best ice cream ever, and so many great memories from growing up, and it James went there as part of our first date actually.
2. Cafe Rio - the salad!
3. Ruby Tuesdays
4. Wendy's frosties
5. 7-11 Slurpees
6. Subway
7. Quiznos
8. Where ever I can get candy!

8 Things I am looking forward to...
1. Christmas - I am giving some really exciting presents!
2. James to be done with overtime!
3. Paul being potty trained
4. Summer weather - long time away!
5. To be done with nursing - also a long time away!
6. Our backyard being finished!
7. The New Year!
8. After Christmas sales

7 Things on my Wish List...
1. More time to exercise, some time for myself in general!
2. Finished basement/backyard
3. Perfectly behaved children!!!
4. A stress free holiday season
5. Something to put in my wall cutouts in my family room (hint hint Andrew and Luke!)
6. Continued health and happiness for my family and myself
7. Wish to run a 1/2 marathon this spring

Poppy's 60th Birthday!

The day after Thanksgiving was my Dad's 60th Birthday. We decided to kidnap him for lunch. I had the pleasure of driving him around blindfolded, and he was pretty confused as to where we were going. We took him to a local diner that he loves and had a great time trying to stuff in a meal after Thanksgiving!

Later that night, we went bowling. Our boys have been bowling on the Wii, so they were really excited to try out "real" bowling. Luckily the Uncles stepped in to help the boys, because I am not the best bowler- I do good to break 100! Paul actually got a strike with bumpers set up. He also realized that he could slide down the lane, and towards the end he kept doing it on purpose!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

for Thanksgiving at the grandparent's house! Although my boys kept asking why we weren't making a treacherous journey through a river and forest, I was more than happy for the very short holiday journey! We had several fun filled activities this past weekend, and the boys were not ready to come home...not even to see J-dog! They cried and fussed and begged me to take them back after we went to church in our own ward. As you can see, they get so much love and attention from their grandparents and Uncles, it's easy to understand why they want to stay forever!

Uncle Caleb made a "gingerbread car"

Uncle Luke helped Jackson make a traditional gingerbread
house. Of course, Jackson was much more interested in eating the candy than constructing the house! What could we expect laying bags and bags of candy out on the table? It's every kid's dream come true!
Uncle Andrew's creation, no doubt inspired from his recent travels through Ecuador and Peru!
Uncle Andrew brought these hats from Peru, and they are
made of llama hair! Alanna also got a matching sweater
and gloves to go with her adorable hat. I got a beautiful
llama hair scarf, and James was given a tricky cube puzzle
to solve. Thanks for the souvenirs!





These candy turkeys are the only "turkey" my boys had
for Thanksgiving dinner!