Sledding, Tubing, Snow Boarding

We decided to try and enjoy all this snow we've been getting so the Saturday after Christmas we headed to Spanish Oaks golf course with my parents, Jac and Elle, (Kelly stayed back at my house with Phin) and our good friends Chris and Stacie Lewis. We all had so much fun. The only thing that would have been better is if we would have had a few more sleds and if my mom and dad's giant tube wouldn't have stuck to the snow. It amazed me 'cause Ally showed no fear whatsoever. We walked up to the top of the hill and she just jumped on her sled and went down the hill. She got mad when she had actually had to stop going down the hill long enough to let somebody else have a turn. She and Elle started just sliding down on their knees and stomachs. It was a great day for everybody. One of the most entertaining events of the day was watching Jim and Chris trying to go down on the tube (that stuck to the snow so they went really slow and not very far), they tried out the sleds together and then Jim hopped on Chris' back and they snow boarded down the hill. It was quite entertaining. And yes, Stacie and I do worry about the two of them every now and then. Everybody around us was cracking up.
We then went back to my house for Two Jack's pizza and games on the WII. We all had a blast! At least we can somewhat enjoy the mountains and mountains of snow we have been receiving.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Every year around Christmas my friends from high school and I get together for lunch or dinner, just the girls. It's always so much fun to get together, catch up, and just talk and laugh. This year we really missed Trish who wasn't in town yet (hopefully we can get together again while she's here (hint, hint Trish)) and Brooke who needed to finish Christmas shopping. When we get together it makes me realize how much I miss these girls. I really wish we could do it more often. They are the best!!

Merry Christmas

So, with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, I kind of got behind on updating our blog. We hope you all had a very, Merry Christmas. We sure did. Since I got behind on the blog, I thought the best way to update by sharing some of our Christmas traditions.

Tradition #1 - New Christmas Clothes
Yes, I am one of those geeky, obnoxious moms that gets my kids new church clothes for the Sunday before Christmas. I also buy them new clothes for Easter Sunday. It might be a little geeky, but look how cute they look.


Tradition #2 - Letters to Santa

This year we were a little late in writing our letters to Santa, we wrote them the Monday before Christmas. I started getting a little nervous when Jim and the kids started their lists and only Andrew had one thing on his list that Santa was bringing to them. Here's a sample of the lists...
Ally - Dora house with Diego and Dora
A toy hair dryer
Camera
Play food
Plates

Andrew - WII with Mario Kart
New Mars Mission Legos
Gloves
Star Wars the Clone Wars movie
Star Wars Legos

Jim - Surround Sound System
BluRay Disc Player
Sony XBR6 TV
Computer
Desk
Car mats for car
Shopping spree in Park City
Blankets
Couches
Clementines
(Yes, Jim's is a dream list mostly so we can furnish our basement we finished this last year. Although, he did get the TV for Christmas)

Candace - Mirror for downstairs
Shopping spree in Park City
I-Pod (that works (my screen is only blue))
Couches
A nice lounge pants and jacket set
(Jim saw my list and told me I hadn't been good enough this year to get what was there (namely the I-pod)) (I forgot to put on here earlier (thanks for mentioning it Liz) that apparently I was good enough this year because I did get a new I-pod and a gift card for an I-home docking station).

Tradition #3 - Cookies for Santa

On Christmas Eve we decorated cookies for Santa. It was a lot of fun but the kids were disappointed when they woke up Christmas morning and Santa only ate 2 1/2 of the 6 cookies they left out for him.

Tradition #4 - Christmas Pajamas

The kids get new pajamas every year on Christmas Eve. I just give them the gift to open but saw a thing on TV this year to do a scavenger hunt to find the pajamas. I think we might try that next year.


Christmas morning was a lot of fun filled with much excitement. Even though the kids didn't get everything they requested , they were not disappointed. Andrew did get his WII and Jim got the Guitar Hero World Tour band kit so he and I have become neglectful parents. We enjoyed our day at home and then went to my grandma's for dinner with my family. They got even more spoiled there so they were even happier. The day ended with snow surfing. Yep, I said snow surfing. Kelly's husband Jac has his surf board up at my grandma's house. He broke off the skag and surfed down her front yard. He took their little girl Elle a few times and then Andrew wanted to go so he took him. Andrew loved it. I think we have the makings of a snow boarder.
As you can see, we had a great Christmas and hope you all did too!

Cutest Kids in the Whole World

How can you look at these pictures and not think I have the cutest kids in the whole world? Okay, so every mom thinks that, and I am a little biased because they are my kids but still, they are pretty dang cute.

The First Snow of the Year

Saturday was our first official snow storm of the year (okay we did have a skiff about a week ago, but when there is less than 1/2 an inch it doesn't count, right??). The kids were so excited. They wanted to be out first thing. Unfortunately for them I had a pretty bad head cold and kept telling them they could go out later. Finally I gave up. We bundled them up in their snow clothes and sent them out. They had so much fun making snow angels, snow piles and even played on the playground at our park.



The fun was followed up with hot chocolate and yummy blueberry muffins (thanks to our great friends Sid and Gigi).


About an hour later they wanted out again. Jim was going out to snow blow the snow so they bundled up and headed out for more fun in the snow. I finally had to make Andrew come in at 6:30 because it was so dark and cold. I'm glad they enjoyed themselves and as bad as it is, I am somewhat glad I was not feeling well because I could avoid being out in the freezing cold. Besides, with the weather they are forecasting, there will be plenty more times for me to be out 'enjoying' the snow with them.

Family Pictures

Every year Jim's brother that lives in Portland comes to Utah for Thanksgiving. Since it's pretty much the only time of year everyone is together we do a large family picture and we also do our individual families at the same time. I like it because it's a good way for my little family to update our pictures each year. In the past we have done it at the amphitheater by Mount Timpanogos temple but this year we went to Murray park up in Murray. There were so many great spots for pictures, we loved it up there. We got together Friday morning (after Black Friday shopping of course (I had been up since 3:30 a.m.)) for pictures then we went to lunch and a couple of movies. It's always a fun day spent together with family.

Tutu's

To prove that I am not a total idiot at crafting stuff, I had to post this. My sister Kelly and I made some adorable tutu's for our girls. They are just like the ones you can buy at the mall, but since we made them, they were much, much cheaper. This is how grandpa thinks you should wear them...


And here is Ally showing him that he had it on wrong...

My First Attempt at Sewing

I volunteered to make 10 chair pockets for Andrew's class. Okay, I am not a sewer, I have not sewn since 8th grade home ec class but I figured my mom or mother in law who are great sewers could help out if I got stumped. I ventured out and bought the material, I could handle this out on my own, right? Wrong!!! I even washed and dried it like the instructions told me to do. My mom came over a few Saturdays ago to hang out with me and the kids while my dad and Jim went golfing. I asked her to look at the chair pockets and see if my idea of how to do them was correct. I started pulling out the material and my mom's eyes got huge. I couldn't figure out what was going on. She asked me how much material I got. I told her I got the 13 yards the lady told me to get. My mom couldn't believe how much material there was for the ten chair pockets I was supposed to make. This is what it looked like...

(it's hard to tell by the picture how much material is really there)

Well, come to find out I got 90 wide instead of the 45 wide I should have gotten. Now I have enough material to make curtains for Ally's room and few other rooms in my house. I have learned that I shouldn't even buy the material for projects like these without somebody who knows what they are doing. The good news is that my mom helped out by making the pockets (I was quite frustrated with the project) and they turned out perfect!!