Red Rock Taylors

Preschool Valentine Party

2012-02-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2012-02-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

Our heart tree is missing a chunk from the inside. Hopefully it will be standing next Valentines Day.

Pre Valentines

2012-02-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

These are the "before" photos for the valentines. I think that these are better than the valentines themselves. Cooper insisted on doing a kissy face just because the girls were. We just went with it. I love the way they turned out.

The Twins or are they?

2012-01-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

As you most know we have 3 children very close in age.
2 of them are so close that they are in the same preschool class
and their birthdays are just 2 weeks apart.
When I get asked if they are twins the easy answer would be to just say yes. But I always feel like I'm not really truthful
when I give that answer so I say, "no, but their birthdays are two weeks apart."
Then they usually give me some odd expression and walk away.
It's okay. I just smile and move on.

So, my point is, they are not twins. In fact they are quite opposite in everything they do.

Yet, there is some magical connection between these two.
To say they are best buddies doesn't quite cover it.
I have a good example of something that happened the other day that does though.

We have bar stools at our counter that don't have any
backs on them. They are called saddle chairs and are one
of the most un-kid-friendly items in our house.
Every single kid has fallen off these chairs, backwards, multiple times. You would think they would learn to sit on
their bums, but no. They are always sitting on their knees, standing or in some other dangerous sitting arrangement.

On Sunday, Izzie was not following the proper seating rules and fell, hitting her head really hard on the wood floor.
It brought tears to our eyes just watching it.

Jason quickly scooped her up and checked to make sure she was ok.
She was screaming quite loudly.
Cooper, wide eyed, didn't quite know what to think.
Shortly after Jason got Izzie, Cooper's lower lip started to quiver and he too burst into tears.
I picked him up but you could tell his heart was breaking because his "little buddy" was in pain.

It was quite the scene.

Everyone is fine. Cooper I think has a constant lump on his head from falling, but his sister is okay and life is good again.

No, they are not twins, but they are connected at the heart and
meant to be together.

Preschool Party #2

2011-12-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party #1

2011-12-15T20:49:00.001-08:00

Tis the season for preschool parties. Today was Izzie and Coopers magical day. They even got to meet the "big man". Izzie specifically asked for Barbies. Cooper asked for toys. Easy enough.

Christmas Dance Recital

2011-12-12T20:39:00.001-08:00

Last weekend the girls had their Winter Dance Recital. It was the Nightmare Before Christmas. And what a production it was. We were gone most of the week prior to the recital so we missed several rehearsals and I was wondering if the girls would perform at all or just stand there in shock. Their dance was relatively short and they had an older girl performing along with them so they did great. The whole recital was AWESOME! Cooper even sat through 3 hours of rehearsal and 2 nights of the recital and didn't hardly complain. I am wondering now how they will ever top it? I didn't do a great job of video taping. I should have gotten the whole stage. Live and learn. Their little number pales in comparison to other ones, but they are 4 and 5. I think they did great. Plus, I only taped their part so you can't compare.

Maui

2011-12-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

Preschool Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to caught up all the events I have missed posting in the last couple of months.
Addie had an awesome Thanksgiving party at preschool. They even
dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians.
Addie wasn't too excited about wearing her hat, and even less excited about
meeting the mountain man. I tried to get her to stand by him
to take her picture but that was more than she could take.

The Polar Express

2011-11-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

Last year we were all packed. Reservations had been made. Car was gassed up. We were as ready as ready can be to head to Durango to ride the Polar Express.

Unfortunately, there was a change of events. Terrible things happened the night before we were supposed to leave. We almost lost one of our dearest friends. We cried, felt helpless and prayed harder than we ever had.

And luckily, a miracle occurred.

This year, we tried it again, hoping that this weekend would bring happy memories to go along with the memories of the past.

It did not disappoint!

The train pulled up with it steam blowing wild, there was music in the air, the kids were jumping up and down with excitement, and it all brought tears to my eyes. The only word that could describe it is, "magical."

Watch for yourself.

Ms. Pam's Halloween Bash

2011-10-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

Halloween preschool party #2 was today.
This morning I dressed 3 small children in their halloween best and we
headed to the party.

Ms. Pam's is only 2 blocks away but it was so cold outside that we
drove the car. Seems silly, I know. You do what you have to do to keep
everyone happy.

Addie was sooooo excited that she even got out of bed happy and ready to go.
Oh how I wish this is how she was every morning.
We just are not morning people, but we try.

Cooper, Addie, Wendy Witch (Ms. Pam) Tatum and Hope

Jayde, Addie and Brynlei

Addie playing pin the nose on the pumpkin.

Wendy witch making a batch of witches brew.

Just look at that yummy food.

Addie getting to touch the insides of the monster Ms. Pam found
down by the river. She put him together with parts she could find, guts
brains, eyeballs, fingernails, everything you need to
make a good monster.

Rock Tots Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today was preschool party #1
Izzie and Cooper's preschool was hosting their preschool party
and I decided to tag along to help control the chaos, (Cooper).

Izzie was the cutest Big Bird I have ever seen, and Cooper
was Thomas the Train. Not my first choice of costumes, probably my last,
but he happily put it on this morning and even wore the hat during
most of preschool. (He may have been slightly disappointed when
we showed up and there were 2 spidermen in his class. Maybe he will be
spiderman for preschool party #2 tomorrow.)

Addie's 5th Birthday Party

2011-10-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

A birthday party for a 5 year old. Easy right? Well, it should
have been. I may have gotten myself in over my head. I have pinterest
to thank for all the craziness. I had fun making all the stuff and Addie
had a wonderful time at her party, so it was worth it.
I may never do it again though.

We played "Pass the present"
Colored Hello Kitty
Make Hello kitty bracelets

Played pin the bow on the kitty
Ate lunch
Blew out candles
Ate cookies and cupcakes
and finally unwrapped gifts.

AND ran around the backyard like crazy people.

I was very grateful for a trampoline and swingset.

Happy Birthday Cooper!

2011-10-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our little man is 4.
He tries my patience every day.
He loves Thomas the Train.
He drinks rice milk by the gallon, and it only comes in quarts.
He is happy to play with girls, but tends to drive them crazy when he runs
over their dolls.
He tests his preschool teachers patience but can melt her heart with a signature, "okay Ms. Deb."

We love him more than we can say and wouldn't know what do without him.

A month of birthdays...

2011-10-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Our first birthday of the month is our sweet Izzie.
It's hard to believe she is already 4.
She is still our little mini girl but she eats like a horse.
It's nice not to be forcing her to eat and sneaking pedia-sure in her milk.
She LOVES Barbie's and when I say LOVE I really
mean obsessed.
I guess she will never be lonely because she constantly has a friend in her hand.
She even drags them to church and half of the time they are naked. Oh well.

Here she is all dressed up for preschool.

and the cupcakes that I rushed to make at 10 pm. Nothing like forgetting you
need to have a dozen cupcakes ready at 9am.

Hee Haw for Mary Poppins

2011-09-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Oh what a weekend we had. On Friday we headed up north to attend a performance of Mary Poppins. We purchased our ticked many moons ago and I was very excited. Jason on the other hand was just coming along to appease me. On our way up we got stuck in traffic due to a very serious car accident. After waiting an hour and a half a girl who was closer to the accident drove up in her car and told us it was going to be another 2 hours. At that point we decided to try our luck on some of the back roads and see it we could make it around the accident. After 30 minutes of driving on extremely dusty roads, following 2 of the slowest cars in history, we made it through to the other side. Yea! To our dismay they had already reopened the highway and were letting cars through. Just our luck. (I guess the lucky-ness is the fact we weren't involved in the accident. It was about a 1/2 a mile ahead of us, and this happens to be the 2nd fatal accident we have come across in this same area.)

We finally arrived in Springville to find that my mom had the stomach flu and had decided that she wouldn't be able to sit through Mary Poppins. So, with an extra ticket we talked Addie into going to see Mary Poppins with us. Matt and Cindy took the little kiddos for the night and we jumped into the car to head to Salt Lake. We added a trip to Target to pick up a dress for Addie and changed our dinner plans to something a little more kid friendly, Zupas, which happens to be one of my favorites anyway. I have to say, it was so much fun to Addie along with us. Mary Poppins wasn't as cute as I had hoped and it was late, but our little Addie stuck through it all.

The 2nd half of the show was much better. I loved the "feed the birds" number and the chimney sweeps tap dancing was awesome. Mary Poppins even flies over the audience at the end. Addie loved that.

We had a great time hanging out with just Addie. We need to do this with our other kids too.

Our drive home from Salt Lake was not quite the same happy experience. We once again ran into traffic, at 11:30 at night, and we didn't make it home until after 1am. We were exhausted! (Plus we had a little girl who desperately needed a potty break with nowhere to get off the freeway.)

The next morning after dragging ourselves out of bed, we picked up the other 2 kiddos and headed for Hee Haw Farms. Cornbelly's isn't open yet and so I thought this would be a fun alternative. All I am going to say is the $8 a person we paid was way too much!

This little girl is the main reason we went to the farm. I knew she would love the animals and she was the first person to run into the animal pen.

When we left, the kids were carrying corn in unmentionable spots.

Talk like a pirate day....AArg...

2011-09-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Miss Pam's preschool is awesome! Monday was "talk like a pirate day", and since there is no preschool on Mondays, they are celebrating today.

Everyone came dressed in their best pirate attire.

Addie and her good friend Jayde, and Jayde's bloody hook.

Pirate snacks

Group photo shots.

Could they be any cuter?
We just love that Miss Pam.

1st day....

2011-09-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Today is the day I have anticipated, dreaded, and everything in between. They are all in preschool. I was slightly worried about how the drop off would go.

Would Addie be clingy and unsure?

Would Izzie start to cry and not let me leave?

Would Cooper have a rerun of our 1st months of primary and completely melt down
when I dropped him off?

None of the above.

The drop off went great and my back up (Jason) sitting in the car was not even needed.

Now what do I do for 2.5 hours before I pick them up?

Hummmmmm.........
(Pray for the preschool teachers, they will need it.)

Taylor Family Reunion 2011

2011-09-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

I am trying to play a little catch-up on my posting.
For Labor day this year we attend the Taylor Family Reunion!
To say we had a great time would be an understatement.
In fact, I had such a good time I didn't even pull the camera out.
So, the photos we have are courtesy of the other reunion attendees,
(for which I am very grateful.)

The weather was beautiful. We took the inflatable kayaks down the
river, through some pretty awesome rapids.
We took the paddle boards up river and enjoyed the calm
float back down, along with all the other people in their tubes.

We ate wonderful food, played games, watched movies, but mostly we
just enjoyed hanging out with family.
We stayed for 3 days but it wasn't nearly long enough.
We didn't have time to ride motorcycles or take the rhino out hardly
at all. So we planned another trip to come back about a month
later. More on that trip to come.

Thank you Sydney for planning such a wonderful family reunion.

Halloween.....I'm not ready

2011-09-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

On Facebook last week it showed me that 1 year ago, I had already ordered the kids halloween costumes. This year I have yet to even decide what the kids should be. My big dilemma is with Cooper.
I want him to be this...

Or even this....

He on the other hand wants to be this.....

He is obsessed with Thomas. Do I give in and let him be silly Thomas the Train or do I force him to be the garden gnome that is soooo cute. Help!

Aaahhhh.....

2011-08-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

It has been one crazy and busy summer. We were finally
able to pack everything up and head for the hills last weekend.
It was a glorious couple of days spent sitting in lawn chairs and playing in the
water.

We even got the chance to paddle board. It was the
best. It's almost like snorkeling without getting wet. In the morning when the sun
is shining at an angle in the water, it makes the fish sparkle and
the green plants growing up from the bottom look magical. I was glad to be
skimming along the top though and not have that stuff tangled around
my legs.
It was a great weekend, other than the slight damage to the truck.

And just look what we spotted on our way home.
The Mystery Machine. Scooby-Doo is BIG at our house
right now, so they were pretty excited
when we came across this. You wouldn't
be able to tell from Izzie's face. You can tell she is thinking,
"my parents are making me stand out
in front of this stupid van in my underpants."
Cooper on the other hand is thinking,
"this is AWESOME! I am standing in front of this
van in my underpants!"

Needless to say, the summer of potty training was a success.
But, not so much on long trips spent in the car.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

Addie is always the first to let me take her picture.

Then I get her to round up the other two.

Can you see any relation between these two girls?

We hope your 4th of July was as happy as ours was. We shaved ice at the park, rode mules, ate cotton candy and hot dogs, made home made ice cream, ran through the sprinklers, enjoyed the craziness of our block party, and ended the day with some fabulous fireworks. Does it get any better?

Riding the train

2011-06-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

In the Taylor family we have little boys that are slightly obsessed with certain disney characters. The favorite among most of them is Buzz Lightyear. While Cooper thinks that he is okay, he doesn't really show the excitement for Buzz that the other Taylor boys do. Cooper on the other hand gets really excited about trains. While we were up doing the whole carnival/parade weekend, I decided to slip in a trip up to Heber and ride the Heber Creeper.

I remember going to summer school and one of the field trips we got to go on was the Heber Creeper. We brought our sack lunches and it was one of the most memorable trips of the summer. I wanted my kids to be able to experience the same thing. My brother Matt came along for assistance and we had a great day.

Along the way the train makes a stop and some robbers run aboard. They shoot their guns, crack their whips and accuse everyone of hiding the money box. A girl robber happened to be in our car. She must have seen the terrified faces and whispered to the kids that it was just play. She quickly exited our car, but Izzie was traumatized for the rest of the day. She kept asking about the robbers and wondering if they were going to come back.

Art City Days Carnival 2011

2011-06-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are carni-rats. It's hard for us to pass up a good carnival, and the city of fun is one of the best! Maybe it's just because I can remember when the carnival would pull into town and the excitement that it brought, but I make it a point to visit every year. The kids had a blast and even our little Izzie enjoyed herself on a few rides. Nicholas talked me into riding something that turned around and went upside down. It made me a little sick but it sure was fun. We ended the trip with some AWESOME face painting. Our Coop-man even climbed up and had his face painted too.

She climbed all the way up the slide and slid down all by herself. She had a smile on her face the whole time.

Getting ready to ride the crazy upside ride.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Izzie. I love it!

A typical picture of Izzie. She's put-out that mom felt the need to take more photos.

We love parades

2011-06-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Even if it only lasts 10 minutes.

Graduation

2011-05-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Graduation day has finally come. She still has another year of preschool but this is her last year at Rock Tots. She has had a love/hate relationship with school. Getting up and getting ready, she hates. Coming home and leaving her friends, she hates. Preschool and friends, she LOVES. Addie has made some terrific friends this year that I hope will last a long time. Luckily, a few of them will be transferring to her next preschool. Isn't that what preschool is all about? Making friends, learning to get along, and realizing that being away from mom for a couple of hours each week is a good thing. I think she passed.

Our typical Addie, refusing to sit in her chair. Yes, she sat on the floor the whole program.

Post graduation party at the pool with her friends Ean and Maizee.

First and Last

2011-05-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

At the Carwash

2011-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Black cars are always dirty. We happen to own one. It looks beautiful when it is clean but with all the rain we've had lately I don't think it has been sparkly since the day we bought it. With three kids and the endless amount of energy they contain, we decided it was time to put the minions to work. We now have a sparkly, clean car. At least for the next 5 minutes.

Signs of summer

2011-05-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

I love these two freckled noses. They are one of the best parts of summer.

When Daddy's away....

2011-05-18T11:18:00.001-07:00

they creep in, one by one.

Sunday....a day of rest

2011-05-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Sundays wear us out. Today was rough on all of us. Cooper crashed at the counter while eating dinner. His hand was still in his bowl. We moved him to the couch and the 2 girls climbed up with him. Within 5 minutes all 3 kiddos were asleep. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now it is 10:30 and Cooper is still wide awake.

Correction, we actually have 2 awake. Will I ever get to go to bed?

White Wash 2011

2011-04-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting around to documenting our Spring trip camping at White Wash Sandunes. What a wonderful weekend. Jason took the trailer, Izzie and Cooper out on Wednesday night and Addie and I drove out Thursday afternoon. (She was having an Easter party at preschool and didn't want to miss it.) Wednesday was the only really windy day we had so I didn't feel too bad about arriving a little late. Overall, the weather was beautiful! We couldn't have asked for anything better. By the time we left I had a pretty good tan going and had successfully spent most of my time in a lawn chair soaking up the suns rays. The kids had a terrific time playing with all the other kiddos. Only Cooper escaped, but we quickly found him dragging his toboggan with his trusty Maggie in tow. What would we do without that dog. This is the second time she has accompanied an escapee and stayed with them until they were safely home. We had balloon tying, sand tobogganing, rock hounding, atv and motorcycle riding, and time spent enjoying the company of family and friends. We all came home with smiles (once we were through the sand dune trench and safely atop the the rocky hill which takes us to the main road. This is always the worst part of the trip.) I am already thinking about where we can go next. Any suggestions?

Pirate Izzie

Bubbles anyone? Tastes good.

Taking a break on the long ride to see the petroglyphs.

Hottness?

The escapee

Addie came dancing out of grandma's trailer with this balloon flower. Happy as can be. 5 min. later she tripped and fell skinning up both knees. A sad ending to a happy day.

Cheese

2011-03-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

Just a little bit of cheese for your Thursday evening.

President's Day Weekend

2011-02-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

I am still trying to recover from last weekends festivities. I think part of the recovering is getting back into the routine of every day life. I'm not liking that part very much. We had the opportunity to travel up north and spend the weekend at a cabin at Strawberry. You have to snowmobile in and out so getting everyone up there along with all the "stuff" that we couldn't live without took many, many trips. By the time we were all unpacked and snuggly warm in the cabin, we were ready for bed. The next couple of days consisted of incredibly windy and snowy weather, tubing, eating, watching movies, eating, snowmobiling, playing wii, and to top it all off more eating. The kids had so much fun playing together and they LOVED the tubing. We finally got Addie to put her helmet on and Jason took her for a snowmobile ride. She laughed the whole time. It was wonderful to get away from everything and relax for a couple of days. Thank you Matt & Cindy for a terrific weekend. Can't we go back tomorrow?

Gambling anyone?

Homemade princesses

Finally, ready to ride

Nicholas got a little bored of being inside and spent the afternoon
building a snow cave.

Hannibal sticker

The craziness was starting to set in.

Look at those "sweet" moves.

Bacon anyone?

Happy Valentines Day Y'all

2011-02-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day has quickly crept upon us. Usually I am slightly prepared by taking the kids v-day photo a week or so in advance so I have time to get them printed and mailed. Not this year. I finally got around to it on Saturday afternoon. Slacker! So here's our cute Valentine Card for 2011. It was freezing outside but at least the ground wasn't covered in snow. Hope everyone has a lovely day. I am sure I will. A dozen roses were just delivered and I have an evening filled with popcorn, a movie and alone time with the significant other. Isn't life good?

Does this make you smile?

2011-02-09T12:27:00.001-08:00

An afternoon in Arches

2011-01-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

We needed to get out of the house and burn a little bit of energy so we headed up to Arches for some car napping and short trail hikes. (Plus, it's always fun to do something when the Grandparents come to visit.) It was a bit chilly but it was soooo nice to be out in the sunshine. Our family is finally at the point where everyone can get themselves around and we can go on short hikes without anyone needing to be carried. It is wonderful! It was such a nice afternoon that we are planning on heading back out tomorrow.

Here's a clip that shows the spunk-e-ness of our Izzie-bug.

Christmas Holiday 2010

2011-01-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

The day after christmas we loaded everyone up and headed up to Springville. Here are a few photos of our Christmas Holiday spent with family and friends.

New Years Eve

2011-01-19T15:52:00.001-08:00

For New Years Eve we decided to brave the cold weather and head up for some tubing at Soldier's Hollow. Addie came with us a couple of years ago and loved it, but it was a first time trip for Cooper and Izzie. Addie had such a good time last time that I was sure the other two would love it too. As we pulled into the parking lot the thermometer in the car read 5 degrees. I began to question whether or not this really was a good idea. We bundled everyone up, loaded up their pockets with hand warmers (thanks to the Lawrys) and decided to give it a try. Everyone was happy and smiling as we put them each in a tube and they were pulled to the top of the hill. Even at the bottom of the hill after the first run everyone was smiling, Addie was even giggling. (My hands were numb from trying to video while we went down, but I was still having fun.) As soon as we mentioned that we were going again both girls broke into tears. I think they thought it was a one time thing. We tried one more run, and by the time we were at the bottom, they were frozen. Cooper of course smiled and laughed the whole time. We decided that the girls would go inside to warm up and Grandpa Doug, Erin, Jason and Cooper headed up for one more run. After being inside for 20 minutes the girls were warm and happy eating Cheetos. The boys came in after their 3rd run to warm up too. Cooper was still smiling, until his hands and feet started to thaw. Then he burst into tears and was super sad until he finally got warmed up too. Erin the stalwart girl of the group went down about 6 times. It was just too cold for everyone else.

After the tubing incident we loaded everyone up and headed to "the home of the train." They have awesome shakes and hot food. Plus, they have a train that runs around the ceiling of the restaurant. Cooper jabbered the whole time about the train and wanted to make sure everyone looked multiple times at the amazing train. He almost burst with excitement. Watching him was enough entertainment for everyone.

We were home by 7 or 8. The kids decided they wanted to sleep at their grandparents so we had the evening to ourselves. We even stayed up until midnight. We had a great New Years eve. It may have been cold but it will be an evening we won't forget anytime soon.

Everyone "tubed" up and ready to go. Look at those smiles.

Post 1st run looks after I told them we were going again.

Dance Recital Jan. 2011

2011-01-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

We "survived" the dance recital. Hurray! Cooper was so terrible during rehearsal that I thought we would have lots of tears during the recital too and he wouldn't go on stage. To my surprise, he ran across stage several times and smiled too. I left him in line to go on stage and ran out front to watch. All the kids came across and he still hadn't come out so I ran backstage and couldn't find him. He had escaped back to the band room. I scooped him up and brought him back onstage and he ran happily across. So I ran back out front again to watch, and once again he never came back out. I ran backstage again and again he wasn't there and was back in the band room. I brought him back and stayed just off stage to make sure there were no more escapes. This is how most of the evening went. I was exhausted by the time the evening was over, but it was so much fun. There were a few tears from the girls, most of which came from slipping in tap shoes and landing on their patooties, but they did such a good job. Thank you Nancy, for coming and helping wrangle the little ones. Three is just too many to control. I need one extra arm. And the kiddos loved having grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the audience. We had a wonderful weekend.

Saturday...

2011-01-08T14:27:00.001-08:00

It has been one of those, accomplish nothing, kind of days. I have done a couple loads of laundry but they have yet to be folded, and I dusted a few shelves. It has been freezing outside the last week and I feel like we haven't left the house at all. Wait, that might be true. I did finally manage to get dressed about 2pm but now I am kind of wondering why I even did. Well, I decided today would be a good day to introduce a 3 yr. old boy to the magic of Star Wars. It started off great. Super sucked in, but 35 minutes into the show he was out cold. After a quick cat nap he was drawn back in and watched 3/4 of the show before his attention span had worn out. Not a bad for a first try and I think he loved watching something new that didn't involve princesses, fairies or Barbie. The girls even really liked Jabba the Hut. They ran around screaming and yelling, "snake!" A little bit of entertainment for a dull afternoon.

Snow day!

2010-12-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

Riding the train

2010-12-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

With 3 little kids to entertain over the holidays, we were in search of kid friendly entertainment. We went and saw Tangled on Christmas Day, which was very cute, but halfway through everyone was asking if we could go home. I figured we should try something a litte bit more active. We heard that the train at the mall was fun and decided to drive on over and give it a try. The kids loved it! We even had the "nanny" along for the trip and Jason was very glad to give up his seat when Grandma Nancy showed up.

Christmas in Moab

2010-12-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

We decided that it was so nice to spend Christmas in Moab last year that we did again this year. We frosted cookies Christmas Eve, opened Jammies and put the kids to bed before 10pm. We even managed a movie about the birth of Christ and read the Christmas story. Santa was at our house a long time assembling and wrapping so he was exhausted by the time he fell into bed past midnight. It's fun to see the excitement that Christmas morning brings. We laid around in our jammies most of the day and finally got dressed to go see a movie. Addie had been to the theater once before but for the 2 youngers it was their first time. They all did pretty good. About 1/2 way through the movie everyone was saying "let's go home", but we stuck it out. I am sure that I enjoyed the movie more than they did and I wasn't going home until it was over. As soon as we got home we re-jammied and started packing to head up north the next morning. It's never fun to pack for 3 small ones plus yourself, so that kind of put a damper on the evening but I must say, overall, it was a pretty magical day.

Hawaii Video

2010-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a little video I put together. Isn't that turtle awesome that we are snorkeling with? Also, Matt had his camera out the window on the "drive to Hana" part. It looks like we are closer to the edge than we really are. But, it is still a crazy drive.

Maui

2010-12-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

At the end of November we were lucky enough to take a trip (minus kiddos)to HAWAII. It was wonderful. There was sun shine, tropical fish, an abundance of turtles and complete relaxation to be had by all. We enjoyed every single minute of it. Matt and Cindy invited us to go along with them and the Grandparents generously provided 24 hour daycare. I think the kids enjoyed themselves as much as we did.

Jason caught himself a Granny Snapper, I think that's what it's called.

The black sand beaches were amazing.

This was a bamboo forest we went through on our hike to the seven sacred pools.

Jingle Bells

2010-12-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Wow! Was my last post really Halloween? How the time does fly. An awesome trip to Hawaii, thanksgiving, and a terrible injury to one of our close friends has all contributed. It was good that I bought most of the kids Christmas in October online, one day of shopping over the weekend was all I could do. I didn't even get everything that I wanted, but you finally get to a point where you stop and think, "Do I really need that? Will Christmas still be as good without it? And why am I putting myself through this?" It was at this point that I declared that I was done and headed home. Sadly I put myself through more of the same today by making reindeer pops for 12 four year olds. I needed to take the time to sit down, take a deep breath, look around and remind myself of all the miracles that have happened around us. We have been extremely blessed and I would hope we all take a few moments to thank our Heavenly Father for all we have been given. And then I take a few more deep breaths.

Anyway, to finish off the day we had some wonderful caroling by 3 sweet kiddos. I thought you might enjoy it too.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that Oct. is quickly coming to an end. We started today by attending the annual Pumpkin Chuckin Festival and closed it with some quick trick or treating. It was a long, fun day for all of us. Cooper really got into the trick or treating this year and just kept saying "trick or treat" over and over. Addie loved that she could help give out treats. She kept saying "Here comes another customer", then after she closed the door she would say, "that was a nice customer." I guess we go to the grocery store a lot. Izzie ate 1/2 of her candy before we even got home and was extremely sad when I put it up after she ate a snickers, reeses and almond joy as fast as she could chew and showed no signs of stopping.

We LOVE preschool...

2010-10-16T14:39:00.001-07:00

I may like it a little bit more than Addie, but she does ask every day if she is going to school today and is happy to go. I love to ask her a million questions when she gets home. Who got in trouble, who was mean, who brought snacks, did you paint, color or draw today? Some days I can tell she has had enough after the 50th question or so, but most times she pleasantly answers all of them.

On Tuesday I went to pick her up and their classroom door was closed. They must have been running late because all the parents were waiting out in the hall when I arrived. Slowly the door opened and little heads peeked out. Most kids were just holding their artwork but not Addie. She bravely stepped out with her super cute spider hat right on top of her head. It may have been upside down and glued into her hair but she was definitely the cutest kid there.

Birthday Girl

2010-10-07T20:24:00.001-07:00

Today it was this SWEET little girl's birthday. She talks like a mouse and moo's like a bull. She makes our life a drama and we love every minute of it. We can hardly believe our little pop-it has turned 3. Happy Birthday Izzie-bug.

Little green bike

2010-09-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Remember this bike? Well, look at her now. It turns out that green is an okay color after all.

Camping at Strawberry over Labor Day Weekend.

Cooper and the toy catalog

2010-09-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Our newest item of entertainment is the Fisher Price Toy Catalog. Today Cooper spent the afternoon oohing and aahing over everything. Actually, it goes like this. Cooper: What's this? Mom: Thomas. Over and Over and Over, with some serious pointing going on. It kept him busy for almost an hour today. Who am I to complain?

Preschool

2010-09-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today was Addison's first day of preschool. I may have been a bit teary eyed as I left my sweet, marshmallow baby at school. Remember those chubby cheeks and legs? Where have they gone? It's was only for a couple of hours but it was pretty quiet around our house without her spunky personality ordering her kiddos around. I am so proud of her. She didn't cry and was happy to say "goodbye mom". How did time go by so fast?

New shirt

2010-09-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I buy kids new clothes?

Dancing Girls and Big Boy Shoes

2010-08-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Camping

2010-08-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

We planned our 2nd annual camping trip to Don's Lake. Everything was packed and we were ready to go. It was almost 2pm and the kiddos still hadn't had anything for lunch. We decided to grab a quick lunch before heading up the river road. Hopefully we would eat fast and get there before the storm hit. Unfortunately, I think we may have taken too long eating lunch and by the time we hit Big Bend we could see the mess that lay ahead. Huge gushing, muddy rivers were pouring off the canyon walls. The road was a mess, full of boulders and thick brown mud. We plowed through and I was very glad that I was not in a vehicle towing a 5th wheel trailer. I was happy to be in my Yukon with 4 wheel drive. Jason got out at one point and helped our friend Glen clear rocks out of the road so he could get his UPS truck through. Jason, being up for adventure figured that if Glen could make it so could he. I just watched him drive through the mess and was very happy when we were all safe and sound on the other side. I get too worried about everyone else and imagine the worst possible outcomes. Jason thought it was fun.

After making it to our camping destination, the rain subsided and we enjoyed the cooler temps. and the wonderful smell of the mountain. Plus we had some of the biggest marshmallows to roast that I have ever seen. Happiness.

This is the best picture I could get. My good camera was in the back and I had no desire to get out and wade through the mud to get it.

Froggie

2010-08-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago Jason was out mowing the lawn. Along the fence in our backyard it gets really mucky from our neighbors sprinklers. We call it the bog. As Jason was mowing that part of the lawn a lucky little Froggie jumped out of the way of the mower. The girls wouldn't even come near it, but Cooper LOVED the little froggie. He wanted to hold him and toss him in the air. He giggled and giggled. We let him "try" to hold the froggie several times and then we let the little lucky froggie hop on his way.

Can you see the frog in the picture above?

Lake Powell

2010-08-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

We were invited to Lake Powell by my brother and sister-in-law or maybe I invited myself, I can't remember. Anyway, we decided that we drive to the lake early in the morning and drive home that night. That way we wouldn't have to worry about anyone sleepwalking into the lake at night and we could be home and happy in our own beds. It was a long day, it rained most of the time we were there, and we enjoyed every bit of it.

Fire at the park

2010-07-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

Our swimming pool has been closed for the summer so they can construct a new one but in the process has left us with no where to go to escape the heat. On Tuesday afternoons the fire dept. has been graciously coming to the park to spray the hot masses of children with their fire hoses.

Our little party pooper. "I don't like spray."

Dinosaurs

2010-07-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

The day after Payson pool we threw in one last activity before driving home. We drove to thanksgiving point and went to their dinosaur museum. I was amazed at that place. It was a little bit crazy with 7 little kids (most of them boys). A few of them had been there before so they knew the best things to see and basically ran through the place to get to them. It would be nice to spend a little more time there next time. The kids did pretty good. Izzie had her typical melt-down but we have come to expect this, and yes that is a leash on Cooper. It works great and I don't care if people think I am mean. I would rather take my child home with me than loose him.
We stopped at JCW's on our way home and had some terrific hamburgers and amazing shakes and fries. We were starving and this hit the spot. I think Jason is still a little bit jealous that we went there without him.

This was our attempt at a group photo. Notice how Sydney's kids all line up and sit where they are told. Izzie is throwing a fit and Addie ran away. Don't I have good control over my children?

The pool....again

2010-07-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

After a busy day at Lagoon we decided to treat us to a cool afternoon at the pool. We can't stay away from this place. It could be considered our "happy spot". Easy to get to, not too expensive and everyone leaves exhausted ready for bed. Really, does it get any better that that? (Maybe when the pool is finished in Moab and we don't have to drive 3 hours.)

Lagoon

2010-07-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

Summer just doesn't seem complete without a trip to Lagoon. It can be a little stressful when you have three kids to hold on to and only two hands, but luckily we had lots of wonderful assistance. We had so much fun. I figured that we would be back in Springville by 6ish but we were having so much fun that we didn't make it home until almost 9. The kids did great. Cooper and Addie giggled themselves silly. Even Izzie who doesn't seem to care much for carnival rides was enjoying herself. She LOVED the train and carousel would have been happy to ride them all day.

Summer Evenings

2010-07-06T21:06:00.001-07:00

The evenings in Summer are the best! The temperatures cool enough to allow us to go outside and enjoy running around without feeling like we are melting. We pulled out Jason's Fathers Day gift tonight and enjoyed an evening of roasting marshmallows and making Smores. The munchkins have yet to learn the art of roasting but they are pretty content to watch their marshmallows burn to ashes. They seem to prefers theirs unroasted anyway.

Block Party

2010-07-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July our neighborhood held a block party. Lots of kids, too much food and tons of illegal fireworks made for an evening of fun. We had a great time shaving ice and hanging out in lawn chairs enjoying the beautiful weather.Our crazy neighbor lighting fireworks with a blow torch.

The Living Waters Aquarium

2010-06-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

I tried to have an activity planned for everyday that we were gone. The kids seem to do better if they are busy. We have tried to make it to the aquarium up in Sandy several times but never got there. We finally fit it into this trip. It was really fun. They have all kinds of fish, you can even touch sting rays and starfish. They also have some really cute penguins. They were my favorite. It was fun to watch them dive and swim in there tank. The kids loved it and the temp. inside was wonderful on a hot afternoon. We heard on the news later that day, that just before we arrived the power had been off. The workers at the aquarium had spent the morning trying to keep all the fish alive and even had to put the penguins in a deep freeze to keep them cool.

Trying to touch the stingray.

Addie and her best friend Easton.

Payson Pool

2010-06-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

This has to be our favorite spot to visit when we go to Springville. We went there twice during this visit and I am already planning our next trip.

Hermana Taylor Part 2

2010-06-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

The next day we did just about the same thing. It kind of felt like we were in that Ground Hog Day movie. We tried to break it up a bit and went to Walmart on our way out of town instead of Del Taco, trying not to have a repeat of the previous day. We made it all the way to the airport this time before finding out that her flight had been delayed again. Luckily it was just an hour, but we now had 6 children under the age of 5 to entertain for an extra hour. We were glad that Grandma Nancy had brought plenty of noise makers; the other people at the airport were not. It was so fun to see her come down that hallway, dressed all extra frumpy for us. The spirit there was amazing! We are so glad to have her home but I am sure the people in Kentucky (actually Indiana) were sad to say good-bye. She was a wonderful missionary and many people have been blessed to meet her and found the gospel through her service. Erin we love you!

Hermana Taylor Part 1

2010-06-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Jason's sister Erin has FINALLY completed her mission to Louisville, Kentucky and I decided that we would drive up to the airport with everyone to welcome her home. The morning was spent cleaning and sprucing up the house, getting everyone dressed in their cutest outfits and stopping at Del Taco to feed the munchkins and burn off some excess energy. We were just past Lehi when we got the call. "Turn around. She's not coming." Her flight was delayed due to weather and she missed her connecting flight. She couldn't get another flight until the next day. So, we turned around and sadly headed home. With a whole afternoon free I quickly figured out something else we could do instead. My brother Matt had offered to take us boating earlier that day and he was kind enough to let us reconsider his offer. We had a wonderful evening cruising around Utah lake and celebrating my mom's birthday. So we were sad that we had to wait an extra day to see Erin but the trip to Utah Lake made us all feel better.

Yesterday

2010-06-18T10:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I should have cleaned my house, folded laundry or mowed the lawn. Instead we did this...

Rodeo

2010-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

The kids are now great at getting places on their own and we decided we would attempt the Rodeo. We showed up 45 minutes early and the place was PACKED! They have no a/c at the arena and it was slightly sweltering inside. We made our way to our some seats and we were lucky enough to end up sitting close to the front with easy in and out access. We lasted about an hour and that was enough for everyone. Cooper has an unending source of energy and it was a fight to have him sit any longer. I let him run around up front for a few minutes and by then we had all had enough of the arena and needed some fresh air. A small carnival had set up front and we decided that a few rides would be fun before heading home. It had to be the cleanest and brightest carnival I have ever seen. The kids had a great time and as we drove home Jason even admitted that it was one of the better parenting times.

Butch Cassidy Days

2010-06-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning to a phone call from Jason reminding me that it was parade day and that it started at 10am. We are not morning people (meaning the 3 munchkins). They usually don't get up before 9 so getting everyone dressed, fed and in the car by 10am was a rush but we did it. Moab's parade is definitely of the small town variety. There are horses, usually tractors (it lacked these this year) girl scouts, smoky the bear and policemen. If you blink you will miss it. It seriously lasted all of 10 minutes. We didn't even make it last year. I can't remember why. It may be the fact that it isn't advertised and if you don't put it on the calender nobody will remind you. The kids loved it and the fact that it was in the mid 90's by 10:30 made us all grateful it was a short one.

Not quite sure what Cooper is doing with the donkey but he is having a good time. Who doesn't enjoy a donkey wearing a shirt and pants?

Jason's Birthday

2010-06-05T15:20:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jason's birthday on May 27th with lots of cake and friends. Is there any better way? He had plenty of help blowing out candles and unwrapping presents, and he got some awesome new party lights for our next camping trip. We are all hoping that we get to try them out soon.

Spring Dance Recital

2010-05-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Miss Raelynn helping the girls during rehersal.

Yesterday was Addie's Spring dance recital. She was not a happy person getting ready and even told me several times through tears that she was NOT going! A couple of days earlier she did great at the rehearsal, so I knew once we got her there with all the other girls she would love it. And she did. I think they had only practiced their first dance with the umbrellas a couple of times so they were kind of confused, but it was still pretty cute. In her second dance she did awesome and she may have been the cutest one there. We couldn't have been prouder parents. Be prepared for next year when we may have two dancers and one tumbler showcasing their talents for us.

Addie and Aspen

The Fix

2010-05-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Lack of parental supervision

2010-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy and crazy week for us. Jason left for Deso. on Wednesday and will be gone on and off for a lot of the month of May. That leaves me as the stay at home parental supervisor. Today I left the girls outside while I decided to try making a new bread recipe. They were out on the back porch with the door open so they weren't too far away. It was at the most 10 minutes later when I was prompted to go and check on them. Izzie held in her hands a pair of Jason's EMT scissors, you know the ones that cut through anything. I had them outside earlier to cut some tubing for the sprinkler system. So really, you could say it was my fault for leaving the scissor within their reach or not paying closer attention. I took the scissors from Izzie and walked back inside. I didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary. But, I was again prompted to go back out and check out the situation again. It was then that I noticed the piles of hair ALL OVER the porch. Poor Izzie got the blunt of the cutting. I assume that Addie started the whole thing but I caught Izzie with the scissors in her hands, so I am not sure who did the most. We all have had a valuable lesson today about hair cutting. Earlier in the week I took all the kids for haircuts and I forgot to push the idea that we only cut hair at the hair cutting house (that's what Addie calls it). Here's what she looks like.

Tomorrow we are heading to the hair cut house again for some slight adjustments.

Hair stylists

2010-04-25T20:32:00.001-07:00

Why is it when I spray Cooper's hair with the squirt bottle he screams and cries the whole time but when Addie and Izzie do it he laughs and giggles? Maybe it's because they thoughtfully wrap a kitchen towel around his shoulders before they begin.

Car Show 2010

2010-04-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

Car show weekend is one of our favorite times of the year. We enjoy walking through the park looking at the beautiful cars, but our favorite event is sitting on main street watching the cars cruise at night. There are cars with crazy lights, fun horns and the occasional flames. We love the cars with cool suspensions that tilt, make them bounce and lower them to the ground. We hear lots of tires roasting and have a fun time watching it all. The kids were a little out of control this year so I think we did more chasing around then actual car watching but it was still fun.

For dandelion removal give our Izzie a call. I think she cleared the whole lawn. She also threw a fit when I made her throw them away.

This has to be the biggest camp chair ever!

I think we saw it all this year, including a man riding a wheel down the street.

Our friends Randy and LynnAnn sporting their flashing apparel.

Todays adventures

2010-04-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

We tried a new hairstyle on Addie. It's kind of cute. She needs more hair. After wearing a bike helmet it no longer exists.

We have been looking at bikes for Addie. We found one online a couple of days ago. At the UTV rally today they had a booth selling the exact same bikes. Addie said that she wanted pink. I bought green. What was I thinking? She won't ride it.

Spring camping at White Wash

2010-04-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

It was finally that time of year, and we were able to head out for our annual Red Neck Weekend. Addie has been asking for months when we were going camping in Addie's trailer, and she was beyond excited when we finally pulled it out. Getting ready was a nightmare and I was seriously doubting whether or not the work would be worth it in the end. I was almost to the point of saying, "lets just stay home." I think the first trip of the year is always like this. Well, we finally got on our way and hoped for the best. We were not disappointed. Is is grammatically correct if I say that our weekend was brilliant? Because that describes it perfectly. We had amazing weather, the kids were unbelievably good and we enjoyed ourselves more than I ever expected. White Wash is such a fun place to camp. Sand for the kids to play in, lots of trails to ride, cool rocks to find, and Indian artifacts that topped off our trip. It was just what we needed to welcome in spring.

Winter Dance Recital 2009

2010-04-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

I know I am late getting this posted but I just barely was able to get our video camera hooked up to the computer. I wanted to post video and pictures at the same time. I was quite unsure how this night was going to go. She at least went on stage during rehearsal so I just hoped that the crowd would not scare her. It was a fun night and Addie seemed to have a good time. The first dance I think she was a little overwhelmed with the crowd, and the second dance she seems to think the dance is over a little sooner than the rest of the girls. (I was sitting just off stage which may have been a bad thing.) Her next recital is coming up next month and hopefully she will actually do a little dancing. Either way I am sure she will be the cutest dancer there!

Kisses, lawnmowers and brides to be

2010-04-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Always kiss with your eyes closed.

My solution to our lawnmowing dilemma did not work.

"I'm getting married."

Sunday Photo

2010-04-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

We rushed getting ready for church so I could get a picture of everyone in their Easter best. We made it just in time. The pictures aren't so great, but at least everyone is looking at the camera and what can you expect for a first try and 5 minutes.

Jump-o-line

2010-04-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, we got us a trampoline! According to Addie it is called a jump-o-line, which actually makes more sense. I took all of the advice I was given and hopefully got one that was sturdy, safe and will hold up to hours of use.

I was glad that I bought a heavy one. Last night in a crazy windstorm our neighbors trampoline was picked up by the wind and flew over their fence. Unfortunately, it did not survive.

Easter Egg Hunt 2010

2010-04-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Each year the city of Moab puts on a Easter egg hunt. We got up bright and early and made it in time. It was nice to have a few extra hands to help us out this year. Cooper and Izzie were in one age group and Addie was in another. We just don't have enough hands to keep hold of everyone. Next year will be nice because they will all be together in one group. Everyone ended up with plenty of eggs and happy faces were all around. I think Addie had about 3 big pieces of bubble gum in her mouth at once and made for some very interesting pictures.

Checking out the loot.

I think most of the candy was eaten before we even made it to the car.

How many pieces of gum do you have in there?

Today is the day.....

2010-03-18T10:39:00.001-07:00

....we broke out the shorts.

Happy St. Pattie's Day

2010-03-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

All dressed and ready to go to the St. Patrick's day primary party. We had a wonderful time running around and eating green snacks. Green apples, green grapes, celery with peanut butter, and green pudding with vanilla wafers, my kids thought they were in heaven.

Here is a shot of Cooper dancing trying his best to get his groove on.

Snowmobiling at Strawberry

2010-03-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

In March we loaded everyone up and headed north. The kids were dropped off at Grandma's for the weekend and we headed up to Strawberry reservoir for a couple of days of snowmobiling with friends. We stayed at the lodge located at the marina and had a wonderful weekend enjoying the snow and spending time with friends and family. My brother Matt and his wife have been doing this trip for the last 10 years and we finally got the opportunity to go with them. They were nice enough to let me borrow Nicholas' ride and Jason got to spend some more time on his new sled. I may or may not have tipped my sled on it's side multiple times, and there may have been some unconfirmed yelling at my husband. Overall though, we had a great time. The weather was beautiful, naps were allowed in the afternoon, and we enjoyed having some time away from the kids.

This is me. All bundled up snuggly and warm.

We spent the evening eating dinner at the lodge, hanging out with friends.

Lazy Town

2010-03-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen the show Lazy Town? It has just recently become another one of Addie's favorites. (Secretly Jason and I used to watch it Saturday mornings even before there were any kids at our home.) There is a cute little girl in the show named Stephanie. She has some pretty amazing pink hair. Today in my closet Addie came across a pink wig I had from Halloween and declared it "Stephanie hair."

Rainbow Cake

2010-03-06T15:34:00.001-08:00

Every afternoon the 2 smaller kiddos take at least a 2 hour nap. It is wonderful! While they are asleep it gives me a chance to spend some one on one time with Addie. Sometimes it is hard to keep her busy if I have other things to do, so I am always looking for quick projects that we can do together. Today we decided to try a rainbow cake. She loves cooking and had a great time mixing all the colors. I tried a recipe using a white cake mix and a can of sprite to make the cake. It was okay but next time I would just follow the regular recipe. For the frosting I used a tub of cool whip and mixed in vanilla pudding. Again, not my favorite. White frosting with a few sprinkles on top would be easier. It was pretty simple and next time I think we will try cupcakes. If anyone has any ideas about keeping a 3 years old busy in the afternoon please pass them along.

Here are all the different colors that we mixed up. Use the Betty Crocker gel coloring. It make the colors really bright.

Pour the colored batter in small batches.

Here is what it looks like once it was baked. I love how the colors stayed so bright even once it was baked.

Valentines Day 2010

2010-02-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

We had one of the most amazing Valentines Day Weekends. We were able to go up to Zermatt Resort and spend the weekend without the kiddos. It was the best gift anyone could have given us. We ate way too much food, had one of the best days snowmobiling, hot tubbed, steamed and had a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

We snowmobiled up to Cascade Springs and came across a mother moose and her baby.

In front of Zermatt they had built an ice village. On Sunday the weather was beautiful and we strolled around the village. At night they have it all lit up but the sunshine made it look pretty amazing too.

Valentine 2010

2010-02-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

Snow Angel

2010-01-30T10:46:00.000-08:00

Addie loves the show Max and Ruby. She is convinced that her little brother is named Max and her sister is Louise. Anyway, in that show Ruby is able to make the perfect snow angel, so Addie being the Ruby she is decided that she needed to make some herself.

Outdoor fun

2010-01-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we loaded everyone up and headed North. If the family wasn't going to come to us, we decided we had better go to them. It's was a lot of work dragging 3 small ones to activities while we were there but this one was worth the time. We bundled everyone up and went to my brother Matt's house. This is the second year we have done this, and people may call us a bit redneck, but we love it. Matt puts his fire pit out in his driveway, we set up lawn chairs and we enjoy roasting brats and drinking hot chocolate. He has a huge field across from his house and he pulled out a couple of snowmobiles and towed us around on his boat tube. Basically, it's fun chatting and eating and playing outside without worrying about being too cold. Cindy even topped off the afternoon with putting together a ton of banana boats and throwing them in the fire. It doesn't get much better than warm sticky goodness on a cold afternoon of fun. Cooper even loved riding the snowmobile, which is kind of surprising due to his aversion to lawnmowers. You would think they make similar sounds but it's probably just the awesomeness of the snowmobile versus the lameness of the lawnmower.

A little pre- lunch tubing.

Throwing snowballs at Grandpa.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-27T10:29:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Jason's sister Chana and her husband Fred made the long drive from Phoenix to spend Christmas Eve and day with us. It was so fun to stay at our home and celebrate the holidays together. We ate yummy honey baked ham on Christmas Eve and decorated cookies for Santa. I hope Santa liked sprinkles because the cookies had more sprinkles than frosting. Christmas Day brought smiling children and yummy treats. We loved spending the day in our jammies and not having anywhere to go. It was fun watching the excitement of 3 little children and the wonders of Christmas. It was a Christmas that will not soon be forgotten. Addie still asks daily where Santa is and when he will be returning.

Waiting to open jammies on Christmas Eve.

Decorating cookies with Aunt Chana.

Just look at those squirrel pj's. Check them out here.

Excitement over pez. Isn't being a kid great?

Blizzard

2009-12-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

We got dumped on again today. Usually our snow melts before getting another round but we still had several inches covering everything and we got about 3 or 4 more today. It's fun having lots of snow down here at Christmas. I know it can be hard to drive in and endless when it lasts for months but it's a treat for us. Usually we see the reddish-brown snowmen with leaves stuck to them due to the lack of snow. Not pretty, but this is not the case this year. We could have built us a whole family. Jason was going out to shovel the driveway and of course 3 little ones wanted to follow. We bundled everyone up, pulled out the sled and had a fun 30 minutes out in the snow. We even started up the Rhino and drove around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights.

Eating snow off of the bumper. Yummy!

Santa Vs. Elmo

2009-12-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

We had a busy couple of days last week. We went up to see Elmo Live at the e-center and while we were there we made a trip to the mall to visit Santa and buy everyone a new ornament for our tree. Picking out ornaments was total chaos in the Hallmark store with the 2 years olds. Izzie loved them all and Cooper wanted to throw boxes everywhere. Jason corralled them out in the hall while I finally got them all purchased and then we headed to visit Santa. Luckily he showed up shortly after we arrived and only waited in line a few minutes. Everyone either sat on Santa's lap or stood near-by. Cooper cried when we first sat him down but that quickly turned into a smile. Everyone LOVED Santa! After pictures with Santa everyone rode the train including Jason. Just look at that good Dad!

By the time we were done with Santa everyone was starved so we decided that Red Robin was close and with 4 adults it should be okay. I wish I could go back and make a different choice. I somehow dropped my wallet walking through the door and luckily someone nice gave it back to me. Sitting down I emptied the entire contents of my purse underneath the table. We happened to be sitting in a booth with a ton of people sitting around us, which left us with 2 highchairs at the end of the table and not enough room to move around them. Dinner went okay until the end when Cooper gaged and puked his whole dinner up on the table. A few people around us were very nice, but I couldn't get out of that place quick enough. Yes, I was the mother stripping my sons shirt off in the waiting area and hoping that nobody noticed that he only had a coat on. It may be awhile before we attempt eating out again.

The next day was Elmo. The show was at 10:30, a perfect time for munchkins. We got there slightly early and parked right up front. We then loaded the kids up with bug-juice and popcorn and headed to our seats. We were lucky and had seats right up close. When the show started I am sure that there were less than 200 people in the whole e-center. 1/2 the floor was empty and only a few people were in the stands. It was great! We had isle seats so we could get out easy and the kids could run if they needed to. In fact Cooper thought that he needed to be on stage several times and made it pretty close. I have to say, that I thought it was wonderful. It was bright, fun and the characters came down where we were sitting to dance by the kids. Addie didn't want them to touch her but Izzie and Cooper liked it. I think Izzie sat in my lap the whole show and didn't hardly move an inch. If your kids like Elmo, please take them when he comes to town next time. They will love it. Even Jason will admit that it was a good time.

So, I would have to say that Elmo wins out over Santa this year. Maybe next year if we skip Red Robin it will be a closer race.

Saturday evening Jason and I even got to spend some time without the kids and went to see the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program with Natalie Cole. It was awesome! It made out trip perfect and if you ever have the chance to see this event don't pass it by.

Our Christmas season is passing quickly and we hope to have some more fun events before the holiday is gone. Spending time at home in Moab as a family is topping our list.

Happy Holidays!

Dentist

2009-12-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

Addison had her first dentist appointment today. I was pretty sure that she wouldn't open her mouth but to my surprise she did. Not open wide like we had practiced but wide enough for a few instruments to enter. And just look at that smile. I see a very expensive orthodontic bill in our future.

Electric Light Parade 2009

2009-12-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

We have tried to get pictures of the kids each year before the light parade, all bundled up ready to go. It's getting hard to get them to hold still but here is what we got.

It was freezing so we had them dressed like marshmallows. Addie was all set to ride on the float for her dance group. She didn't seem too excited but we decided to give it a try. She had a light up tambourine to shake and she finally sat down once we started to move. It starts at the park and it is a couple of blocks from main street. By the time we hit main she was completely asleep. She slept through the whole parade and woke up as we were walking back to the car. What can you expect from a 3 year old?

Winter Sun 10K

2009-12-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

My husband had this crazy idea to run a race. Most people train for months before something like this. Not Jason. He went jogging a couple of times before the race. So this morning when we woke up it was 17 degrees. Oh my goodness, it is was soooo cold. Jason left bright and early to help shuttle people to the race, which left me with 3 things to get bundled and ready to meet him at the finish line. We got there early and were able to see the first people complete the race in 35 minutes. I figured that we would see Jason about 30 minutes later. When he showed up at 55 minutes I was wrangling a little boy with his gloves and not prepared with my camera. I did get a quick shot though of him about to cross the finish line. Wow! He did such a great job. Congratulations Jason you are amazing!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing Thanksgiving this year. We stayed home and Jason's sister Sydney and her family came to visit. We had a fun morning making turkey shirts for the kids and lounging around. Unfortunately our turkey cooked faster than anticipated and it turned into a race to get everything else done. We did not use our time wisely. Too much lounging, not enough cooking. We eventually pulled it all together though and had a wonderful dinner. It was fun to cook the first Thanksgiving dinner at our home. We usually go to one of our grandmother's and show up 15 minutes before everyone sits down and the feast begins. I learned this year about being thankful for the people that have fed us over the last 30 or so years. It is a lot of work! We loved having our house busy with little ones and the time we got to spend with family. Thank you so much to everyone for traveling to our house. We enjoyed having you and hope to see you all soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!