Merry Christmas!

Dallin surprised me with this little snowman he made at school for me and Kirt. It was really one of my favorite presents this Christmas. I get all choked up looking at it knowing the effort he put into it even wrapping and hiding it under the tree--so cute!
We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Just our little family here in Arizona. It was great just hanging out in P.J.s not having anywhere to go. We opened stockings first and then took a break for breakfast and to put Brigham down for a nap. Then the kids went to town on the other gifts. It is so fun to watch them and see what really captures their attention. Taft got a bit carried away and opened a gift of Elaine's (it was a princess set) and says, "Oh wow!"

This was taken Christmas eve as the kids were getting anxious for Santa to come later!

Brigham was quite mellow, I think in awe of all the excitement. The kids loved helping him open his gifts.

Taft was so excited to get his very own scooter to ride on just like his older siblings! Mom and Dad almost forgot about it until an hour before bedtime--oops!

Dallin and Elaine opening their 'big' gifts from Mom and Dad. A transformer for Dallin and a Fur Real tiger that hiccups and burps and purrs for Elaine.

A shot of Christmas morning in action.

Daddy just playing with another of Tafts favorites; a train!

Taft showing Mommy how his new excavator works.

Gingerbread House Fun

(Life has been so busy latelywith Holiday preparations and activites. This is the first chance I've had to blog in weeks. Enjoy!)
Grandpa Dye sent the kids this fun gingerbread house kit. It actually took them a couple of days to complete, but here is the yummy oh so sugary finished product. Dallin added a note to ask Santa to please not eat it--he is so silly at times. An interesting side note, we put cotton candy for snow all around the bottom and over the last couple of days it has deflated and is turning back to solid sugar. Craft project and science experiment all in one!

The kids in action. Taft true to character was eating the candy quicker than Dallin and Elaine could decorate with it. You can see his little hand reaching into a bag of goodies here, such a little monkey :)

Ho Ho Ho!

Dallin quote: "Mom, he's not the real Santa. It's just a guy in a costume who ate too much McDonald's food.

We went to Tempe Town Lake to see the boat parade saturday night and found this jolly old Santa there, too. It makes such a fun picture to have at least one little one crying with Santa. I was at the mall the other day (I'm never going back--too crazy, noisy, chaotic) and people line up forever and have their kids all dressed up and pay $25 for a Santa pictures. What?! Don't get me wrong, I love Santa and all the fun, but I don't go out of my way to get a shot of the big red guy, let alone pay for it :) Anyways, this one was free, convenient and maybe the kids look a bit windswept, but it makes for a fun memory. We'll invest in a nice family picture after the holidays :)

Thanksgiving Trip

We spent Thanksgiving this year in St. George, Utah with Kirt's parents and his brother Andy and his family. It was a nice time, but a bit too chilly for our thin Arizona blood. Kirt's parents are serving a mission there so we stayed at an apartment across from the St. George Temple and had a beautiful view out our window. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast, hiked around Zions(brrr), went to the temple, saw some Christmas lights, got in a little shopping and just relaxed. On our way down we stopped here to stretch our legs while walking across a bridge spanning the Colorado River, just north of the Grand Canyon.

Dallin, Elaine, and Taft posing for a quick shot after crossing the bridge. We'd been in the car about 5 hours by this time, so I think they were just happy to get out!

After stuffing ourselves at dinner (and on a tasty apple pie Carissa and I made :) and then doing some crafts with the kids, it was nice to just relax in front of the TV for a bit. I think they were switching between a game and The Incredibles. (I was busy flipping through the black friday ads.)

The day after Thanksgiving we went to Zions National Park to hike around a bit. I was surprised how busy it was there actually. But, we found a place to park and walked up to Weeping Rock and The Narrows a bit. It was really pretty, but I was kind of a whiner as it was cold and we weren't prepared to go hiking. Next time, proper shoes, baby backpack, gloves, and warmer clothes for the kids. I am glad though Andy encouraged us all to go, it was a fun excursion!

Strolling around Zions with the cousins takes on a whole new meaning with all these little ones in tow. Dallin, of course walked, but was being goofy here while his little cousin was out on a potty break.

The kids had a great time visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson! And Taft loved his Good 'n Plentys he got from grandpa for the trip home (which he was such a pill until about 10 minutes from home when he finally fell asleep--nice timing). The kids are typically quite good little travelers for the most part. 8 hours later we arrived back in Gilbert with fond memories of our little holiday trip.

Oh Motherhood!

Being a Mom is great, but boy do these little guys keep me on my toes. I can barely find a moment to blog :) Actually, while writing this Taft dropped a glass on the tile downstairs and I've had to barricade the staircase to stop Brigham from plumeting down them. If I didn't think they were so cute I'd have probably sold them to the gypsies awhile ago--not really, like even know where the gypsies live. Anyways, I just wanted to take a moment and document them as they grow too fast. (I'll blog Dallin and Elaine next time.)

Taft is only 2 but got himself his own cereal the other day. This wasn't the first time he did that. He got a bowl out of the dishwasher(it was clean--not always the case, though), poured the cereal and milk without a spill and proceeded to dig in. This is how I found him one morning. He is constantly climbing things and finding stools to get higher--one day he even dragged his porta potty out as I'd hid the stools and used that to get on the counter--too smart for his own good. He can actually hold on to the edge of the center kitchen island and walk his feet up it; no idea where he learned that. He gives me gray hairs but he's fun!

Our little Brigham is just growing too fast. He army crawls like this all over the house, just full of energy. (Very motivating to keep my floors spotless.) Typically he has a ball or other small object in his hand at all times. He's fast, too. The other kids try to crawl like him and he beats them, its funny to watch. He is so happy and the kids love to make him giggle. He's been a bit fussy lately as he's teething again. 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom now with more on the way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Birthdays are good for you.
Statistics show that the people
who have the most live the longest.

I must be getting old as I don't want to admit exactly which birthday it is I'm celebrating today. (34). So far so good. Kirt and I went out to breakfast with Taft and Brigham after Dallin and Elaine went to school--shhh. Anyways I reach for my water and somehow dump the whole cup over which gets on Kirt's pants and everywhere else. As I'm cleaning it up Taft says, "Daddy, I didn't touch it" Too funny. Typically he's the one dumping water everywhere--daily. It has been a nice day though. I got a card(and some moula) in the mail from Kirt's parents and phone calls from my family. We'll do a little presents and dessert later tonight with the kids and then Kirt gets to finish painting the bedroom--that was part of his gift to me. Nothing too fancy, but the little things mean the most--so, thanks all who remembered and made me feel a little special today :)

Halloween Fun

We had a great time this Halloween! I was able to help out with both Elaine's and then Dallin's class parties as they were at different times. And who could complain about trick-or-treating in 75 degree weather. It was great strolling around and chatting with our friends and neighbors. (and of course, stealing a few pieces of the kids chocolate in the meantime--oh come on, you all do it :) Elaine who's greatest wish is to have a kitty, dressed up as a 'black panther' as she called herself. Dallin wanted to be a ninja so he donned his karate clothes and added a sword. Taft pictured here was Clifford for trick-or treating, but was Buzz lightyear for Elaine's school party. Brigham of course, was a bunny. All my babies have worn this little outfit for their first halloween.

Elaine and Taft enjoying a treat at her kindergarten class party.

Taft with a mouthful of candy alternated walking and riding while trick-or-treating. It was his first time and he was loving it--candy, candy, candy! He was so silly by the end of the night. Brigg just enjoyed the ride.

Dallin excited to go through all his loot. Elaine counted hers and said she had 114 pieces--coincidentally that is as high as she can count, so maybe she even raked in more than that--yum!

Crafting Bug

I have been in the crafting mood this past week. I think it all started with our enrichment super saturday. I made the neatest blanket all silky on one side and then soft/silky furry on the other. I just love the textures. I also made this beautiful Christ themed picture frame. Then this past week I completed 4 scrapbook pages and made 2 more silky blankets for Christmas gifts. I also squeezed in tidying the house from top to bottom, cleaning out the flower bed and hosing off the back deck and furniture. Brigham just turned 9 months so I know I'm not 'nesting', guess its reverse spring fever as the weather cooled down a bit lately. This is my first time just blogging something random, but I wanted to share pics of my fun blankets--first time using the sewing machine, too! This one is mine. It's hard to tell here but its a soft cream fur and I love the fun patterned fabric. Its fun to cuddle up with--a teddy bear for grown-ups :)
Although it'll be tough to part with I made this dark brown and floral one for my Grandma.

And this 'Hello Kitty' white fur and oh so silky print is for Elaine. I wanted to surprise her, but had her pick out the fabric at the store she liked. Then I went back later that night to get it. Normally, she is out cold by 8pm at night. Of course, thursday when I was downstairs pinning it together at 9:30pm she comes down for a drink. She never does that and she'd been in bed silent for over an hour! I was so disappointed she caught a glimpse as I wanted it to be a huge suprise on Christmas. Although, she hasn't said anything about it since, so maybe she thought it was all a dream--agh!

Camping

One of the highlights of fall break last week was going on the ward campout. And yes I went and slept in a tent and stayed the whole night! (Kirt was telling his Dad about our excursion and he was laughing and didn't believe I went). I guess I can't blame him as I've had issues with camping in the past. But, really it was a great time. I was a bit nervous about the idea of camping in the desert. (Although where else could you camp in October and really only need a sweatshirt and jeans after the sun went down.) But, no scorpions or rattlesnakes attacked. We did hear coyotes howling in the distance, which sounded so cool; I say that in retrospect as at the time I didn't know how distant they really were. So, I woke Kirt to walk me to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Hey, I'm working up to this camping stuff :)

Our families first camping adventure together! Kirt's been aquiring gear little by little as he's been wanting to camp together for awhile. I loved the tent--it's huge. All 6 of us slept in it with plenty of room for our bags, a playpen, and 2 more people if needed. Good find Kirt!

An after dinner sunset--amazing colors!

Brigham taking an early morning peek out of the tent. I woke to find him bundled up in Kirt's sleeping bag with him. He thought his little hands were getting too chilly in the playpen.



Dallin took this picture of Elaine and me at the cactus. He kept telling her to lean up against it for the picture--ah siblings.

Train Park

The kids were starting to get a bit antsy after a couple of days of Fall Break. So, I was so excited when Erin called to invite us to check out the Train Park in Scottsdale with her. We had a good time. . .and more importantly it helped the kids expend some of that extra energy that'd been building up.


(for some reason pictures from this adventure are not loading---stay tuned)

Ahoy Mateys!

Layton held a company picnic this saturday at the park just 2 miles from our house. It was a pirate theme. The sharks behind Kirt make me laugh. You can't see in this picture, but they are part of a this huge 20foot slide. You enter here and climb up these ropes in the back. Elaine is pretty fearless and loved going down the slide, but was so afraid of these little puffed up sharks, she had to gear herself up and then run past them really fast. It was just funny :)

They had all these large pirate themed blow up activites for the kids. (And I took a ride down the 20ft slide). They enjoyed bouncing, climbing, and sliding down them all. This was a smaller one that even Taft could climb up inside.

Enjoying a sweet treat-Cotton Candy!

Taft took one bite of his and surprisingly didn't like it. Guess it all has to do with texture.

Dallin and Elaine had fun on this bungee game. They tried to put footballs on to the velcro, but as they ran they could only get so far before they were snapped back to start. It was fun to watch!

Autumn?

The last couple of mornings Dallin has asked what day it is and then tells me how many left until Halloween. Which amazes me that it's around the corner. I just can't get into fall yet, when its still 95 degrees out. I saw some scarecrows outside of Michaels today which reminded me that I have one and some fun fall decorations. I've just been waiting for the "chill in the air" before setting them out. It has though gotten too cold to swim (as the pool heats to the nightime low), yet not cool enough to hot tub yet. Guess, we'll just ignore that part of our yard for a bit. I'd post a picture of the kids in the leaves, but yah. . .

Blogging

Hi, thanks for checking our families blog. I am so new at this and as you can tell I am still figuring out how to align things and size pictures right. As time goes on I hope to get more adept at this, but enjoy my ramblings for now. Send me an email or comment so I know it's all working. Have a super day!

Back to School

Dallin and Elaine were excited on their first day of school. Elaine (once we get her out of bed in the morning) is almost overly exuberant about school. One friday when I picked her up she excitedly told me it was friday and "you know what that means?--only 2 more days until monday and then I get new homework!" I hope the enthusiasm wanes a bit so she can save some for the teenage years. Dallin is doing super and just loves reading and is very good at it. There are 5 2nd grade teachers at his school, so he only knew a couple kids in his class as they all got spread out, but he makes friends so easily it wasn't a big deal. I drive Elaine as I have her going to a different elementary in order to have 1/2 day kindergarten. I could go on for pages about my thoughts on full day Kindergarten. Dallin walks or rides his scooter with a friend two doors down who is also in 2nd grade. There is a pathway from our neighborhood that backs up to the school so it's a short distance.

Vacation

In the Rainforest at the Omaha Zoo.

Monument at Winter Quarters.

Loading the wagons!



At the airport-yeah!

Kirt joked that this wasn't really a vacation, but 'paid time off' as it was a trip to visit family. We all had a fun time in Nebraska to celebrate my Grandma's 80th Birthday--way to go Grandma! While there we went to the Zoo and Winter Quarters. The airport was a highlight for the kids, of course. It was great to reconnect with relatives I hadn't seen in 10-20 years--ugh I'm old.

Brothers

Taft and Brigham are so fun to watch play together. They adore each other. Although, Taft usually ends up getting too crazy and tickles just a bit too hard. Lately, he's taken to biting Briggs on the hand or toes, so play time is ended abruptly with a piercing cry. Brigg though is quite forgiving and loves to laugh at Taft who is more than willing to be silly or make noises to get that happy reaction.