Since Christmas...

we DID make it to Idaho finally on Saturday. Had a fun visit with my parents and my siblings that live in that town. I sure do miss them! I can't wait for our campout this summer!!!

Mike and I even got to sit down with my parents and play a couple games of Pinochle. It's been forever since we have done that. We had so much fun! My mom and I were one team and Mike and my dad were the other team. We won a game, and they won a game so it turned out semi-fair!

We got home Monday afternoon and I have been busily trying to catch up on the laundry and other household stuff that got neglected because it was Christmastime and then we were gone. I am happy to report that I am one load away from being done with the laundry! Hooray!!

This morning Mike vacuumed out the dryer vents. It took him about 2 hours, but he got a lot of Crap out of them! No wonder my dryer wasn't drying things very well! It works great now! I should've taken before and after pictures, but some things are just too gross for even the internet! Now he is busy at work changing out the water (and properly building platforms for them) from our 50 gallon barrels. He loves having time off during this holiday season and I just love that he is home and getting little odd jobbies done for me!

The Day after...

We were supposed to go to Idaho to visit my parents, but the road was closed because of the big storm we got. So instead we hopped onto FrontRunner and went to Salt Lake to see the lights and stuff. Sidney is a big ole copycat. She saw Mike holding onto the strap while we were on Trax and so she had to do it. It was so funny!!Rachel didn't make a very good Christmas list, so Santa (at the last minute) gave her a gift card to spend at Build-a-Bear. She picked out a bunny. Here she is with the chic that works there (who was completely UNfriendly, btw) watching her bunny get its guts put into it. I didn't get a good picture of her kissing the heart and putting it inside which is a bummer because she was so cute about it.

Here is the finished bunny. Her name is Suzy. Rachel even got a pair of glasses for her to wear so they could match. The best part of the whole thing is that the store was so busy that they gave a $5 coupon to everyone standing in line, so Rachel had even more money to spend. The other kids were so enthralled by the whole process that they have all proclaimed that it is what they want to do for their birthdays!

Then we went over to Temple Square to see the lights. It was too freaking cold, so we didn't last very long, but I did manage to get this great shot!

Christmas Day...

I'm pretty sure that I ToTallY scored with getting this hat for Mike! I think it was his favorite present.

The ONE time that Sidney actually wore her cape. At least she kept her Elmo slippers on.

Jonathan spent the day putting his Lego and Bionicles together. Seriously. One of the things he got was this Lego Mars Mission ship thing. It was for ages 7-12. He is 5. It took him 3 hours, but he stuck with it and he got it built.

Most of the other pictures I took were fuzzy or dorky. Sorry. I was having too much fun watching the kids open their presents!!

Christmas Eve...

is all about TrAdiTionS!! Every year Mike makes homemade pizza. He makes whole wheat dough (yum!!), and throws it in the air... and then the kids get to put whatever toppings they want onto their own personal pizzas. This year Mike made a ton of dough so the pizzas were quite large. That's okay by me though, since it meant LEftoVErs!!This was my pizza. It's the only time that I actually get to have peppers on my pizza. No one else likes them, so others times when we get pizza I can't have them. See how nicely the kids are sitting waiting for me to stop taking pictures and let them eat!

Then we went to look at Christmas lights. This was our favorite.This was not. If you read my blog at all, I'm sure you know why we didn't like this house's lights!

And last of all we came home to eat cookies and drink hot chocolate and open one present. Here are the kids posing with the jammies that I made them. I finished up Rachel and Meghan at about 3:00. I am the world's BEST procrastinator!!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 10th to Meghan!

Happy 10th Birthday Meghan!!

I can't believe she is 10! Wow! Her childhood is going by so fast. I wonder if she feels the same way? The highlight of her birthday was the ice cream cake from Cold Stone (no picture- sorry! It was all blurry), and getting the Taylor Swift CD.

She is such a young lady, I almost feel silly being a mom to someone who likes the same stuff that I like. (Does that make me weird?)

Here are the top 10 things that are great about Meghan:

1. She likes the color purple and so do I.

2. She is very crafty. Her latest obsession is weaving. She has made 6 scarves for the homeless and is almost done with another.

3. She likes all the same music that I do.

4. She is smart like her dad.

5. She has beautiful handwriting (when she takes her time...)

6. She makes yummy Mac n Cheese.

7. She is a great helper around the house and usually does her chores without grumbling.

8. She is a girlie girl through and through!

9. She likes CHoColAte!!

10. She is very pretty and fixes her own hair EVERYDAY!

LOVE YOU MEGGY!!

Flashback Friday to 1986

Christmas 1986.

I got a new coat which I was very excited about. But apparently I was NOT near as excited as Amy was about the cassette player/walkman she got! Oh yeah baby! Hello, we were in the 80's!

Don't mind our messy hair either. We would get up as soon as the clock said 6:00 to go check out our pressies and wake mom and dad. Seriously. Every year. One year we tried to get up earlier and Mom told us we had to go back to bed and stay there until 6:00. So at 5:59, we were climbing out of bed so we could race into the living room at 6:00. We weren't about to wait a second longer than necessary.

The cape

A couple of years ago I bought this fun double-sided "hero" cape for Jonathan from a craft show. He has loved it and wears it (still) all the time. When he was three (and 4) he would seriously wear it EVERYDAY. Many times I had to give up the fight and just take him to Walmart with the cape on. He loves it that much.

As you can see, it has a Batman side and a Superman side. Perfect for little boys. I have purchased a few more of these capes over the years and given them as gifts to other little boys and they have loved them also.

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Sidney also likes to wear Jonathan's cape. She runs with it on and it flies out behind her. So, I let her wear it if she wants to. Sometimes this causes fights. But, a couple of months ago, I was at a craft show again and they had this same cape, but in girlie colors. It was so cute and I almost bought it....but then I thought, "hey- I already have ONE. I can make a pattern from it and do this myself."

So I did!

It turned out great and I was so proud of myself! She is getting this for Christmas and I just know she is gonna love it!

Just call me Becky Homecky.

*If you want one....order it from me and I will make it for you for $10. (the craft show was selling them for $15)

Wordless Wednesday

Flashback Friday - Christmas Edition #1

Christmas 1982. I got a Peaches & Cream Barbie, and some Strawberry Shortcake lotion, lip gloss, and nail polish. Good times. When I showed this picture to Jenny , she got very excited and said, "WOW! They had Strawberry Shortcake when YOU were a kid?" Yah. Hard to believe, huh? Every year my family would frost cookies and make different candies to take to all our neighbors and friends. I love seeing these pictures of us doing things together because THAT is what I remember!

Wordless Wednesday

Read the sign, Buddy, READ THE SIGN!

I was sitting in my rocking chair trying to take a power nap and there was a knock at my door. Thinking it might be someone who actually needed me, I got up and went and answered it. I don't have a peephole on my door, so I have to actually open the door to see who is there.

I pull it open and a paper is shoved in my face my a twenty-something man who immediately starts some speel about carpet or something like that. It took me about 10 seconds to recover and I said to him while pointing at the "NO SOLICITING" sign next to my door, "Did you not see my sign?" To which he responds, "Well, you don't have to BUY anything, it could be free."

"It's still soliciting for you to even knock and BUG me" I said as I shut the door in his face.


Really. What part of NO SOLICITING did he not understand?

Flashback Friday

Why is it that having a chubbybelly is only adorable on babies?

Wordless Wednesday- don't feel so good...