It's Gonna be a White Christmas!

It has been snowing and snowing and snowing! It stopped just long enough for me to shovel the driveway, and then it started up again as soon as I finished. Now, as I'm typing this all my work is being covered by snow again...bummer. It sure is pretty though!
Haley loves playing in the snow! Morgan, however, doesn't have the endurance that Haley does. She starts out strong, but it doesn't take long for a glove to fall off making her hands cold or she gets stuck in deep snow and soon becomes frustrated. About every 5 minutes I have to go and rescue her or hunt down a lost glove, making the whole shoveling thing 10 times longer then it should. She finally gave it up and sat on the porch with her milk.

I just got Haley new gloves...they look huge! Now, I've got to get her some snow boots. She's been getting by with her yellow rain boots for the time being.

After snow play...hot chocolate of course!!

Morgan prefers the dipping method using her fingers...weird.

New Pictures

I decided to update the pictures on my blog. Our family picture is now revealed! I know, I know, super exciting.

It broke my heart to take off Cassidy's picture, but the time had come. Boy, do I still miss her...I think about her everyday. So even though she's off the site, she's definitely not forgotten!

"Frosted the Snowman...

was a very jolly snow!" That's how Haley likes to sing it!

I have the radio in their room set to a Christmas station, and I have it on pretty much all day. Just today I was changing Morgan in their room singing along to some random Christmas song, and I'm almost positive Morgan said, "Stop it Mommy, stop singing." I was like, "Did you just tell me to stop singing?". Her reply, "Yes". Great, I already embarrass my two year old daughter! That reminds me of when my brother, Jeff, was little, and when my mom would sing he would cover her mouth with his hand. So, as you can see we are not singers in this family! Our own children don't even want to hear us!

Today is a cold, snowy day...a sweatsuit day, as I like to call them. In fact, it's not only a sweatsuit day, it's a no make-up, hair not done day. I'm gonna be a real prize for Ryan when he gets home from work! Well, he may not have a hot wife today, but he'll have frosted, sprinkled sugar cookies waiting for him!!

Finally feeling the Spirit!

We had quite the snow storm this morning. It makes me very thankful we decided to keep the Jeep...the 4-wheel drive was a necessity as I took Haley to her Preschool Christmas program. It was one of those mornings you just want to hunker down with a certain nice hot drink (ah-em) and not do a thing! But, the show must go on!! In snow and everything! And we made it in perfect time! Haley did a super job! It took a while for her to finally find me in the crowd (it was stadium seating so it was a little easier for her to spot me), but when she did she had to hugest grin. And of course we did little cutesy waves to each other, back and forth...ah, just brings tears to my eyes! She got to dress up like a reindeer for the song Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer...so cute!

After lunch the girls played in the snow while I got a pretty good workout shoveling the drive and walkway...gotta say, I do enjoy a little shoveling every now and then! With the snow in the morning and a bit of baking in the afternoon, I would say I'm getting into the Christmas spirit! It's about time! Winter hit us fast this year, that's for sure! With all the grumbling I do about the snow, deep down I do love this season. We have the big pile of snow stuff by the front door to prove that Winter is indeed here: boots, jackets, snow pants, gloves, hats, all sitting in a big puddle of water. Yep, they'll be there for the next few months so I better get used to it!

In other news, Jeffy flew out this morning back to the LBC for Christmas. And I know I'll be seeing him next week, but I gotta say, I miss the guy!

The big huge Penguin

A while back Haley was looking through some toy catalog. I told her to tell me if she finds something she wants for Christmas. Well, on the very last page they had a picture of a stuffed penguin which happened to be about two feet tall, and that is what she said she wanted. Well, I figured she would forget about it and move on to other things...because quite frankly, I do not want anymore stuffed animals in this house! Well, I was wrong! She hasn't stopped talking about that penguin since! So today, I gave in, and bought a pretty comparable penguin from the one she saw in the catalog. I can't believe we're going to haul a big huge penguin all the way to California for Christmas morning, just to haul it all the way back to Provo! Yes, I know, we have to do that with all their toys, but it just seems weird with a big huge penguin. She better love it!
This is not the actual penguin...but hers will be very similar.

Sneak Peek Picture

So I've been tagged by Megan, and of course I never say no to a tag...well, haven't yet anyway! The idea of this one is to post your eighth photo in your eighth folder on your computer. I think that's what she was trying to say. Well, recently my computer lost all files that I had saved (I know, bummer). So I don't have eight folders of pictures anymore, I only have four saved so far. So, I posted the eighth photo in my fourth folder. And this is it...I know, pretty thrilling. This is actually a reject from our Christmas photos this year. Etta was not cooperating in this photo, actually neither were the girls for that matter. The whole process of getting a good picture was extremely frustrating. It's funny when you see family pictures...everyone looks so happy and loving, but you know half the time everyone is sick of each other by the time that photo was taken. Or maybe that's just my family.

This is about the majority of what I said while we took our pictures:
"Haley...LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!!!!"
"GET YOUR FINGER OUT OF YOUR NOSE!"
"Morgan, SMILE!"
"STOP FIGHTING!"
"PUT YOUR DRESS DOWN!!"
"STOP JUMPING...BE STILL!"
"I'll give you some candy if just please cooperate!"

So I know I have a smile in this picture, but I was probably ready to scrap the whole thing at that moment! If we didn't have a picture for every year we've been married, I probably would have...but I can't break tradition! So anyway, here's a sneak peek at our yearly Christmas picture. Enjoy!

I'm not going to tag anyone else. Last time I tagged people The Mop was the only one who played...funny, because he was the one person that I thought wouldn't. He proved me wrong! Anyway, if you're reading this and want to play...knock yourself out! I always love pictures!

My dentist visit...grumble, grumble.

I left Jeffy in charge of the girls while I went to my dentist appointment this morning. I had to leave around 9:15 and Jeff wasn't up for the day yet. So I had to drag him out of bed to hopefully keep an eye on the girls. He didn't have class today, so he was trying to take advantage of some extra zzz's...lucky him, he got to watch my kids instead!



Have I mentioned that I HATE going to the dentist? Well, I do! Very much!! I hate the scraping part I think worst of all. It's like nails on a chalk board to me!! I hate how your spit pools up in your mouth and then when they take the scraper tool out a big string of spit follows. I hate when they spray the water and it goes all over, drenching your entire face. Or how the toothpaste stuff flies out of your mouth, and later you find crusty dried up paste on you skin or in your hair. Today they "painted" my teeth with this type of fluoride that supposed to stay on your teeth for the entire day. The tech lady was like, "It's going to feel really slimy and funky, but you can eat and drink normally, just brush it off before you go to bed." OK, that stuff is AWFUL! It feels like you constantly have food in your teeth, and it looks like there's chalk all over in your mouth...GROSS! Plus, it has this fruity flavor that stays in mouth (even if you eat something) it just made me sick to my stomach. The lady said the fluoride stays "active" for 6 hours...well, I lasted about 30 minutes. I tried, but failed. So anyway, bottom line: I HATE the dentist! Too bad to, because everyone is so nice in that office.

The good news: No Cavities...yeah, for me!

And let me just add, Jeffy isn't too bad at watching the kids. When I walked in he was helping Haley get her coat on to go outside (granted, he let her put flip-flops on in 30 degree weather, but whatever). And he even made them eggs for breakfast! We'll forget the fact that he served them on little plastic lids, instead of actual plates, but they do look an awful lot like plastic plates in his defense. A job well done! It's kinda nice having him around!

Christmas Shopping

I went out last night for some evening Christmas shopping. I waited until Ryan got home so I could go without the kids....Hallelujah! The only real bad thing is that I'm so super tired by that time, the last thing I wanted to do was get in the car and go to some crowded store! But I sucked it up, went out into the bitter cold and shopped for a few hours. Those kids better appreciate what I'm doing for them!! Unfortunately, when I got home I realized that one of the things I bought for Morgan was opened and some items fell out...great, just what I need! So I had to go back today to exchange it with Morgan in tow (did I mention the gift was for her). Luckily, I don't think she noticed what I was doing, and I did a pretty good job at covering the toy. Then I did some more shopping at the Disney Store...again with Morgan (Haley was in preschool). So anyway, I would see something I wanted to get for the girls and then I would tuck it behind the register when Morgan wasn't looking. I did this constantly for a good 30 minutes. After a while I had quite the pile of goods behind the register. I'm sure the workers are used to that...there isn't really any other way when you have a kid with you. I would say it was a successful morning.

The girls made a Gingerbread House this afternoon. Gotta love these kits they sell now...it can't get any easier!!

My Goofy Girls

Some of you may know that I've had to send my camera in to get repairs on more then one occasion. And every time I bring it in they always ask, "Do you know if the camera was ever dropped?" (as they look over at my two children). Of course I never rule them out, because they very well may have when I wasn't looking. But this time I caught someone red handed!


If you are not sure...those are Morgan's little toes. And I did NOT take this picture! Mystery solved! I was wondering why she tucked herself in a corner and was saying "CHEESE" constantly...now I know what she was up to!

My girls love "getting dressed" by themselves, they always come out of the bedroom in something weird! These are a couple of their latest fashions.

Haley picked out some Valentine pants, good choice for December. And yes, those are Haley's panties that Morgan decided to wear on the outside of her PJ's. I think she was going for the super hero look. Her favorite plate right now does happen to have Spider Man on it...a gift from her boy cousin.

They got into the Winter bin with all the scarfs and mittens the other day, so this is what they came up with. I want to point out the princess tiara that Morgan put on top of the Winter hat...too cute!

It's never a dull day around here!

Getting into the Spirit...at least trying.

Yesterday I got a neat surprise...Ryan has today off!! Yeah! He actually had no idea himself until an hour or so before he left work. So pretty nice surprise for him too!

I tried getting into the Christmas spirit this morning by taking advantage of Ryan being home and doing some Christmas shopping. I didn't do as well as I had hoped, I pretty much felt like crapola all morning. But at least I can say I started, which is a start.

So anyway...Christmas tree shopping maybe this evening, and who knows what else is in store for the weekend...good times I'm sure...at least let's hope.

It's December...

where is my Christmas spirit?! Usually I love this time of year, but these past few days I'm feeling anything but merry or jolly. In fact, if I read another happy, happy, everything's perfect family blog I may just hurl!! (No offense happy family blog people, you know I'll still read your blogs...I'm a glutton for punishment!)

It seems when bad or stressful things happen around here, they happen all at once...and this time it's happening during the so called "happiest" time of year! My poor Jeep Wrangler isn't doing so well and needs the engine replaced...swell. I've been calling around looking at prices, yadda, yadda, yadda. In the meantime I'm still driving it while it makes a clanking noise everywhere I go. The car guy said it's dohicky that's in the whatcha-ma-callit broke. (OK, he used the real words, but I can't remember everything). Anyway, so basically the poor Jeep will give out at any given moment. I feel like I'm driving in a ticking time bomb! And what exactly is going to happen when it does give out?! Will the car just stop in the middle of the road? Will the engine break up and then fall out of the bottom of the Jeep. Then I'll be standing on the side of the road like an idiot holding my children next to my broken up car while everyone drives past staring and pointing fingers at me..."Hey, look at that idiot!". OK, that hopefully won't happen, but you never know! So I've got to figure that out.

Then there are stresses with Ryan's work (yes, us wives also stress about our husbands jobs). I'm not going there, but lets just say it's hard times right now. There, I'm done!

So those things on top of other daily stresses is making me feel anything but in the Holiday mood. I haven't even started my Christmas shopping yet!! And quite frankly, I have no desire to! To be perfectly honest I haven't been the most fun mama lately. This morning was no picnic! Here it is, Polar Express Day at Preschool, it should be pretty easy morning since Haley gets to go to school in her PJ's. That saves like 30 minutes of getting ready time. But are we on time...NO! I'm still running around the house like a crazy lady! "Get into the car!!! GO, GO!" But it still seems my kids are always in slow motion where ever they go, at least when you need them to go fast. And by all means...Haley CAN'T be late on Polar Express Day!!!

Yes, I'm very thankful for my family, my wonderful husband, the roof over my head, my poor crappy jeep that makes a lot of noise...blah, blah, blah. But I'm entitled to have grumpy days, I'm entitled to get angry or stressed and write a post about it for the world to see! I'm entitled to be a scrooge right now and have the urge to punch the bell ringer in front of the grocery store! I know it won't last, and I'll come back to my happy go-lucky self! But in the meantime...you may want to stay away from me!

Thanksgiving Update

I kind of went crazy with the pictures, and really there are so many more I wanted to post! But I resisted the urge, and left it with these.

Anyway, we got back from Sedona last night, after a fun filled week with the family! These pictures are way out of order...but whatever, just hang in there with me.

I was able to go mountain biking a bunch while we were there...I LOVED it!!! Ryan said my skills had improved since my cross racing action...maybe a little, but I definitely have a long way to go! Ryan's sister, Beth, and her husband, Chad, rented bikes and joined us for one of the rides. That was way fun!!! Thanks to Grandma for watching the kids!!

Let me just say how impressed every single hiker was with Ryan!! It seems that everyone we passed commented on his cross bike. "Wow, he's doing these trails on a cross bike?! That guy is CRAZY!" "Look at that guy...did you see how skinny his tires were?!!" I know...he's pretty awesome!

Here are the girls with Grandma and Grandpa. This was taken right before we headed out Sunday morning. Morgan refused to be in the picture at first...she was having one of her many grumpy episodes. Anyway, we finally coaxed her to come somewhat close to where they we standing and then she got down into her "don't touch me" squat position. So the three on them inched their way closer to her, trying really hard not to set her off (it worked)...hence the funny poses.

The day after Thanksgiving we went on a hike to Emerald Rock (I think that's right). And right before we turned around we discovered a tree swing! So of course all the kids (and some adults)and to take a swing before we headed back.

I love this picture with Ryan and the girls hiking because it's so typical of my girls. Ryan is hiking of the normal part of the trail and the girls take the alternate way, and of course it's the harder way. They always have to take the "other" route...for everything!

Sandy and Ken (that's grandma and grandpa) wanted to make a cover for their hot tub and had this brilliant idea to have the kids decorate it. So before the hike we spread out the tarp and the passed out fabric markers and the kids went to it! I think they really enjoyed it! Now Sandy and Ken can look at their master pieces all year long!!

This was the official kid table at Thanksgiving. All the cousins finally together...Parker, Haley, Brandon, Liam, Megan, and Morgan. Now that's a crew!!

Every year we take a picture of the four cousins on the couch in their PJs. And every year it seems to get more and more challenging to get them to cooperate...I guess that's what happens when you're trying to work with 4 and 2 year olds! So this is the best picture I got!

Grandma and the forty pound turkey!! OK, not really...but the thing was huge!!

Chad and Parker Peanut.

Beth and Brandon Bear.

And now that we're back I know it won't be long for our next adventure to Long Beach for Christmas...I love this time of year!!