Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was great.  The boys came downstairs to a Rescue Hero set from Santa.  They were pretty excited about it.  

Then they got some Leapsters....which they have played with non-stop.  I love them for the fact it will keep them quite for awhile when I need them too & they learn things too.  

The boys & Kevin gave me an apron from flirty aprons. He was going to pick one out but it was out of stock....so he thought he would let me choose my own.....I picked the same one he picked!

Last year I spent time making cinnamon rolls which was dumb....I should have made them the night before & then they didn't turn out because the yeast I used was old.  Lovely!  This year I just made Rhodes into a Christmas tree.  I'm all ready for next year though......I have a recipe for overnight cinnamon rolls & will be better next time.  I think I am a pretty good cook I just need to improve my baking skills ! 

The boys & I gave Kevin some Ute stuff....a mug for work & a flag.  I didn't get a picture of them but took these cute pictures of Jackson giving him hugs & kisses!

The best present Ethan said he got was a Dolphin pillow pet.....which was from us! I was glad it was that instead of what Santa gave him :)  At the last minute on Christmas Eve I thought we should get something that was on their list.  We had gotten the other gifts long before the lists came out.......so.......I was one of those crazy people out on Christmas eve buying the last minute gifts.  I swore I would never do that.  Well....I am sure glad that I did!  Ethan LOVED it & Jackson not so much at that moment.  He had asked for a frog one but since it was the last minute I couldn't find one so I got him a Penguin.  He opened it & said

"hey I wanted a frog!" but it soon blew over & was not big deal!  I can't believe I gave into all the pillow pet hoop-la & the price for them was ridiculous......but the memories are priceless....right??? :)

Then we all got to open our stockings.  It was a great Christmas!  I love being lazy & spending time with the family.......when all you know you have to do is just be with each other.  

Christmas Eve

Yes! I'm finally to Christmas....we had an GREAT Christmas this year....but what Christmas isn't great?  I love Christmas time & everything about it.  We have an advent calendar we do during the month of December & each day they get to pick out of it & we do some sort of activity or a treat.  Go see the lights at temple square or make gingerbread boys or watch a Christmas movie......etc.  It has been really fun.  I love traditions & making new ones with my little family.  

On Christmas eve the boys wrote notes to Santa and the Reindeer & they left them some cookies and carrots.  I thought it was kind of weird leaving cookies out for Santa that were a replica of him!  We don't have a chimney so the boys told me to leave the door open & they would leave the notes on the door.  

The boys get to open a present on Christmas eve.....which is pj's every year.  I love that tradition.  

It was cute too.........Kevin's mom made all the grandkids a pillowcase for Christmas.  They LOVED it.  

They both got CARS Christmas pillowcases.  

I love these pictures of them......It's totally how they are ALL day every day.  They are very active & keep me going all day....which I love keeping busy!   I also love my Kevin in the background.  Thanks for the fun memories! They are growing way too fast.

NEW YORK BABY!!

In November Kevin told me he gets to go to NY for a business trip & asked me if I wanted to go...........ummmm....YES...who even needs to take a minute to think about that question??

In December we left on the 9th & came home on the 15th.  THANKS to Jenni, Stacie, Julie & my mom!! They took our kids while we went & played!  I was really excited just about going on a plane!! 

I love to fly & find it exciting to be at the airport.  

 We invited my sister to come along since Kevin would be at work for a few days & I could have someone to hang with.  We left about 4 days early,  so we could do stuff & the Kevin would go to work the last part of the trip.  We stayed at a Sheraton by Time Square in the Theater district.  It was fun to go there & see it in real life.  There were LOTS of people & it was FREEZING COLD!!  We found the Letterman show, Hello Deli, an Indian like in Seinfeld, toured NBC studios, went to Bubba Gumps....

 We took a 3 hour boat tour around Manhattan .....it was fun to see all the buildings & learn some history about it.  All the bridges were cool & the tunnel that they built under the water & to see where they film TV shows.  

On the boat ride it took us by Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty! It was awesome to see it.  I thought it would be a lot bigger......it was cold as you tell by out getup but very AWESOME!

On our tour of NBC we saw the set of SNL & Kristen Wiig...who is a cast member.  After that we went to the top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.  It was cool to see the city at night.....I'm sure it would have been cool also to see it during the day too.  My sister wanted to go to Serendipity to have frozen hot chocolate....we got there & it was an hour wait....SERIOUSLY......so Kevin & I went to walk around & found a home depot! It was funny to come across something like that........ because here it's a HUGE department store on it's own & in NY they are all crammed together & you have to really be on the look out if you are trying to find a place.  Well, it took only about 25 mins to get in.  Then we came across Dylan's Candy shop.  I saw this on TV once & we stumbled upon it.  Dylan is the daughter of Ralph Lauren.  It had 3 floors of sugary goodness.  IT WAS FUN!

 We got to see Rockefeller center & the HUGE Christmas tree & the famous ice skating rink.  It was a HUGE line to skate there....there were LOTS of people there.  We got to see a proposal on the rink...it was cute!  I also love seeing cathedrals in the middle of all the buildings. 

 One of the days we went to Central park....Lincoln Square......there were all these people walking around dressed up as Santa, reindeer, elves, gingerbread.......Kevin asked what was going on they said on the 11th of Dec they all dress up and go to Bars all day.  It was fun to see them all! We went & ate at Gray's Papaya...the famous hot dog place......it was alright nothing too spectacular.  We went to a lot of places that we have seen on TV or tourist spots. We tried to eat at places you don't see here....no McDonald's for us....just for the bathroom.  

 When Kevin had to go to work we moved to a hotel down in the Financial district.  It was fun to see Wall Street...the bull....NY stock exchange.  We went to dinner at a pizza place called Lombardi's....good stuff!! Then Kevin saw a Rice to Riches place that served nothing but Rice Pudding.  They had 20 kinds that you could choose from! It was fun...the signs in there were pretty funny!  We also went to a cupcake place called crumbs.....talk about HEAVENLY!!  While Kevin was at work for a few days my sister & I went shopping on Canal Street......I LOVED IT!!  I got a few present for the girls that took care of our boys.  We had fun shopping for purses...watches...it was great....people taking us in back alleys! Jami met up with one of her friends & they went to Jersey & I meet up with one of mine from work who lives in Brooklyn now. 

 It was fun to see her!

 One of the days Kevin & I went to the temple in Lincoln Square.  It was fun! They have everything in one building.  Then we went to a Farmer's Market....which I LOVE to do. Some of these pictures are random but most of them are by Central park....which I thought was a lot bigger but it is not too bad you could walk, run or bike around it ...no problem.  It's cool on the weekend........ they block it off to cars.....so you can just wonder in there without cars bothering you.  That would be fun to live by there.  

We also went to a Knicks game at Madison Square! It was weird to come up out of the subway & to find Madison Square built right on top.  We had to take 7 escalators to get to our seats at the very top.  

It was FUN!

We had SO much fun there.  I love NY! I would love to got there again when it's not so cold like in the fall.  I can't believe how cold it was.....when I got home......I was like ahhhhhhh.....& it was still winter here...but the cold didn't stop us.  We just put on layers & went out.   We rode in a taxi about 4 times....the rest of the time we rode the Subway & walked.  No wonder everyone is so small in NY...they walk everywhere.  If I lived there...I would walk everywhere to...it's easier......a little confusing where you are but you get use to it.  

I think everyone should go to NY at least once......there was so much to do & we could have stayed longer.  The things I wanted to do but didn't have time ......see a Broadway play......tour Yankee stadium....empire state building....walk on the Brooklyn bridge....Long Island...........I am sure there are others.  You could spend a while there.   Overall it was a great trip! I loved every minute of it.  

Temple square

 During Christmas we always make it down to Temple Square to see the lights.  We take Traxs down & walk around in the cold.  It is fun & i love being downtown.  I love this picture with my cute boys!

 We asked some people to take a picture of us & Jackson was SO MAD! He didn't want his picture taken...... I guess.  I wish the people would have taken a close up of us.....but I didn't want to ask them again because Jackson was being crazy!  I love Christmas time with the lights!

Gingerbread house....sort of

This year for Christmas I wanted to make my own Gingerbread house from scratch instead of store bought....but as it goes life gets busy & I never set aside time to do it.....so I decided why not a rice krispie house?? WELL....that didn't turn out so hot.....I needed to make them much thicker.  SO.....we improvised & I laid down all four walls & they got to decorate rooms......which turned out to be great for the boys....they loved it.  Ethan made a soccer field with gummy bears doing headstand on the field.  Jackson made a bedroom for Santa so he could sleep after delivering all those presents.  It was cute! The boys didn't seem to mind at all that we didn't make a house......they are pretty easy to please when you give them frosting ...sprinkles....candy & let them go at it!

CAROLINE......Liney

 Kevin's brother & his wife moved closer to us & I couldn't be happier!!  I love them a lot & love that I get to take care of their cute girl......since we most likely won't be having one in our family :(  That's ok.....we have 6 nieces & 8 nephews.....so I can steal one of the girls every once in awhile.  I got out my dolls & girlie stuff that I have from when I was little.  She is fun to hang with & my boys love her!  You are welcome ANY time LINEY.......she calls herself that. ......it's cute

SNOW!!

 On November 21st we had a lots of snow fall down! It was crazy.  The boys had fun all day playing the in the snow.  It is crazy how long it takes to get them ready to go out in the snow.  It always reminds me of Ralphie in Christmas story.....can't get up.....can't get up!!

Halloween 2010

I LOVE Halloween! It is my favorite holiday.  I love the colors...fall time...dressing up...all of it! I try to do different things....festive things for the meals we have that day.  For breakfast we had pumpkin waffles....they were pretty good.  Don't you just love my AWESOME table cloth?  We go it as a white elephant & I kept it because I love how it just wipes off & I don't have to throw it in the wash after every meal.  I guess I should just break down & buy a cute one.  

 At Ethan's preschool they had a Halloween party & the parents can come the last hour of the class.  It is fun to see all the kids in his class & see what they do! Ethan was a dinosaur this year for school.  They had homemade root beer with dry ice.  Ethan was NOT wanting to drink it.  I finally convinced him to drink it & he LOVE it & wanted more....silly kids!

 This year for dinner we had Mummy Dogs like we usually do....the only time we usually eat hot dogs.  The kids love it!  Then we had orange Jello cups with ghost on top.  I love cooking for holidays & making it festive!

 Jackson this year was a cute Lion & Ethan was Darth Vadar....in case you didn't already know.  We did a costume exchange in our neighborhood this year.  It was fun to have some new costumes & not have to go & buy some.  The boys loved it because the had a few parties to go to & had different costumes to wear.  

 It was fun going trick or treating with them.......they stayed out forever!!  Kevin took them out & then I took the 2nd shift.  I dressed up as a witch.....just a hat....because I was cold! The boys had fun & got a lot of candy.  I realized I STILL need to take more pictures of Kevin & I.  I don't think we exists.  

Field Trip to Wheeler Farm

 Jackson had his field trip to Wheeler farm on October 12th.  Ethan is still going to Preschool with Jackson...which I love & the boys love! I get 4 hours a week without my boys for ME time:)  

I like going to wheeler farm.  It's just a fun place to go & see the animals & very laid back.  The boys had fun feeding the ducks.  

It is fun to be with the boys & see them interact with the kids in their school.  

Bucket Head

My CRAZY boys keep me on my toes ALL day & here we are having another one! :)

Jackson came downstairs with a Lincoln log bucket stuck on his head.  I couldn't stop laughing while he was a little stressed....nice mom huh?  He had red marks all down his face from trying to pull it off.......mom to the rescue!   I got it off without traumatizing the boy & without breaking the bucket.  

BOYS ARE FUN!!

Baby number 3!!

Well here we are having baby number 3.  It took a while for me to decided whether I was ready to put my body through this ordeal again.  After Jackson's pregnancy I wasn't too sure about getting pregnant again.  Also, I was just getting use to the idea of 2 boys.  

So......we finally decided to take the jump.....took out the IUD & here we are on August 1st at 7:40 on a Sunday morning taking a test.  

 Now here we are on November 15th........ultrasounds looks great! Cute little bug!

Do you see what the baby is?? It kind of is obvious right? Is that proportionate???

So here we are......we are going to be the parents of 3 boys! WOW......crazy life.  All I could think about was......we have to pick another boys name.....I was hoping to change it up a bit.  I am sure we will be in the hospital the last day with still no name!  AHHHH

At least we have all the stuff for a boy.  Around April 16th he will be here.  This pregnancy has been just like my 1st....pretty good! Let's pray all goes well when he gets here.  He is really active at night & keeps me up....living on no sleep is great & I have NO brain.  Not like I had one before but it is totally gone.  I

 miss you brain :(

Can't wait to hold you buddy!

Jackson's first day of preschool

 Jackson started preschool this year.  There is a neighbor that teaches in her home.  He was all excited to go, wear his backpack & ride his bike to school......but when we got there & it was time for me to leave that was a different story.

 He wan't took happy about it...as you can tell from the pictures.  It is cute,  there are 5 kids that live right by us that are doing to school with him this year....but that doesn't seems to help.
  Every time I would drop him off it would be an ordeal.  He would cry & the teacher would have to pull him off of me.  

It was REALLY bad the school day before Halloween, when they got to dress up.  From the time he got up until we got there it was......... non-stop crying & not wanting to go.  It is really weird because I thought he would go better than Ethan but .........not the case.  Ethan was really good at going,  he just wanted me to walk him in the door to school every time, but he would go.  

SO......I stayed in the class for awhile because he would not leave my side & kept crying.  Then the teacher said ....you can leave Ethan here with Jackson if it would help.  She has had Ethan the past 2 years.....so he knows his way around.  I finally said OK & Jackson FINALLY  let me leave.  

WELL....now Ethan who is 5 goes to preschool with all the 3 year olds.  She told me that I could have Ethan go to class from now on if it would help Jackson go.  Now???.......no problems. He goes with his brother just fine.  THE PLUS.......I get 2 hours without kids 2 days a week!  YES!! I just hope next year when he has to go by himself, he will go.  Silly boy!!