Christmas 2013

The Christmas season this year for me was a very stressful one.  Normally Tony's out of school this time of year, but this year he took a couple classes which made things a little more difficult.  I'd be lying if I said that part of me is a bit glad that all the Christmas celebrating is done, and we can get back to our normal routine.  But meanwhile the kids loved all the activities, goodies, and of course presents.  So I guess all the stress paid off.  Christmas eve was spent with Nathan, Maegen, and their boys.  We had yummy breakfast for dinner, new p.j.s, the nativity, and singing Christmas carols.  After the kids went to bed and Tony went to go watch the BSU game, I watched White Christmas to help me get into the mood a little better.  Carson was up by 5 begging to wake everyone else up.  I held him off until 6 when he fell back asleep until 7.  By then I finally let Carson go wake everyone else up.  The morning was full of excitement!  

Everyone showing off their loot

 Alaina: Dress, Doll, Horse, Doll Cloths, movies, string art, books,watch, barbies, games, girly nerf gun.

 Charlie: Tie, Transformers, Planes toy, trucks, cars, movie.

 Carson: legos, nerf gun, watch, hobby car kit, tie, games, movies, books, watch.

 Dad: Tie, flashlight, movie, led sled, collective coins, BSU car magnets, BSU blanket.

 Mom: Silhouette, vinyl, towels, movie, calendar, long underwear.

Family: Fish tank and everything to go with it.  Even certificates for the kids to go pick out their own fish.

The rest of the day for Tony and the kids was playing with toys, playing games, and watching movies.  I spent the day preparing our Turkey dinner.  Which was delicious!  After dinner we went sledding and then came home for pie and treats.  Also delicious!  All in all the holiday turned out pretty good and we all got some pretty cool stuff.  Merry Christmas everyone.

Getting our Christmas on

I don't know why but it seems this year I'm feeling super overwhelmed with Christmas and I have so much to do and not enough time to do it all!  So although we got a tree and decorated it over a week ago I'm finally getting around to posting about it.  Tony and I have yet to figure out why tree lots don't exist in our part of the country but they don't so we got our tree at Lowe's while we were in Idaho Falls.  I won't go into the details of the fiasco of getting the tree, but all you need to know is that some employees at Lowe's got an ear full from their manager.  We put up the tree on the 8th after church.  Tony wasn't feeling well so I got to enjoy the experience of hauling in the tree, sawing off the bottom, and making sure it stood straight.  It was a lot of work.  After stringing the lights I let the kids go at it decorating the tree.  Usually I'll supervise the decorating and even re-decorate the tree after kids go to bed so that the tree is evenly decorated with ornaments.  Not so this year.  I guess I decided it really wasn't that important and just let the kids have fun decorating the tree. 

 Charlie making sure the bottom of the tree is well covered.

 Alaina hard at work.

 I never thought of hanging ornaments from ornaments.

 Carson's getting so grown up!

The finished product!

Elton Family Pictures

When we were in Boise for Thanksgiving I took family pictures for my brothers family.  Here's a collage I put together of the best shots.

Baby Gifts

So I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew coming in December and another nephew coming in March.  So I've been busy sewing away gifts for all these sweet babies that will be coming soon.  Now that said gifts have been presented I can share with all of you.

First baby that is due is Jana's baby girl.  This is her first baby.  Originally I had crocheted a blanket for her to find out that Jana really didn't care for pink all that much so I whipped this blanket and burp rags for her.  The blanket has the baby's name stitched into it.  And each of the burp rags is slightly different.

The next baby that is due is Maegen's baby boy.  This is her second baby.  To say that Maegen is pretty well set for this baby is an understatement.  She had enough boy cloths to cloth both Mack (her oldest boy) and Charlie!  So I was at a bit of a loss of what to do for her.  Then I hit a stroke of genius (that I found on Pinterest) to make Batman and Robin capes for Mack and the baby.  Turned out super cute and I'm told that Mack already loves his cape.

The next babies that are due are Melissa's twin girls.  These are babies 5 and 6 for them and girls number 4 and 5...yes they'll have 5 girls!  I figured that by this point some of Melissa girl cloths may be a bit worn out and she could use something new.  Also who can resist matching dresses for twins?  I had this skirt given to me awhile ago that I used to make these two dresses and bloomers with flowers for the headbands.  I used white accents one one outfit and blue accents on the other.  I loved how these turned out and can't wait to see the twins in these!    

The last baby due is Collette's baby boy.  This is her 4th baby and second boy.  She said she needed boy cloths and since I have yet to master the art of making boy cloths  I wimped out and bought her an outfit at Walmart.  I promise it was cute and Collette seemed to like it.

On top of making all these baby gifts I also made 3 Christmas gifts for family members.  I'll post pictures of these after they have been opened from said family members.  I'd been working pretty diligently to have all of these done before Thanksgiving so we could take all the gifts with us so I wouldn't have to pay to ship them.  I managed to finish them all in time and now I can enjoy my days being lazy...oh wait I have my own family to get gifts ready for!  Dang it!  ;)  

Playing Cars and Trains

Over the last couple weeks my couch and T.V. stand have turned into Charlie's place of play. He literally spends his whole day playing with his cars and trains, well actually most of the cars are from when Carson went through this same phase at this same age.  The first thing he asks to do when he wakes up is to play with his cars.  Anytime we go anywhere he has to take some of them with him.  I have to say that I'm thoroughly enjoying this phase.  Charlie entertains himself for most of the day which makes my job much easier.  Love this kid!  

Cars

When Carson was 2 the movie Cars came out.  To say that he loved that movie is a major understatement.  He wore out the movie he watched it so much.  Recently Charlie has become equally obsessed with Mater and McQueen.  He watches Mater's Tall tails on my Ipad almost daily and more if I'd let him.  When he's not watching Mater and McQueen he's playing with the toy versions.  Tony and I had planned on replacing our copy of Cars for Charlie for Christmas this year.  Last night at we were at Walmart and I saw the movie with a Bluray, DVD, and digital copy combo...score!  I pointed it out to Tony, but not discreetly enough.  Charlie got hold of it with no intention of ever letting it go.  So we bought it.  To the major disappointment of Charlie I made him wait until this morning to watch it.  I sat down and watched it with the kids and remember how much I actually enjoy the movie.  The good thing is we have multiple copies this time around, ,maybe it'll last us longer.  Here's to raising another car loving boy.

Carson Turns 9

For our kids we alternate between party with friends or activity with a friend (movie, bowling, etc.) for their birthdays.  Honestly I prefer the later.  It's easier, less expense, less time and planning, and not nearly as exhausting.  But I do it because I love my kids.  I'll say that I will most likely never throw a party like the ones you see on Pintrest with banners, matching candy bowls, matching water bottles, pre-posed pictures of your kids etc.   Carson and I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of party stuff and planned the party around that, race-cars.  Carson had 5 boys over.  We played the typical party games along with a bunch of races.  Then had pizzas and cupcakes.  I think the boys enjoyed themselves and that's what counts.    

 Getting ready for the party.

 The birthday boy.  I know I say it every year, but I can hardly believe how big he's getting.

 The boys

Birthday party means no extravagant cake on mom's part.  Sorry.

Halloween 2013

I've always wanted to do coordinating costumes for my kids.  This is the first year we did and it was the first year we didn't buy the worthless costumes from the store.  I made Alaina's cheer-leading costume.  I altered a jersey of Tony's for Charlie.  Carson's jersey we bought last year on sale.  We borrowed the pants and helmet and used grocery bags for his padding.  I think they all looked so cute.  Too bad the weather was less than ideal so the kids really didn't get a chance to show off their costumes.  Oh well.  I'm still pleased with the way it all turned out.

 Our two football players and cheer leader.

Mack the mighty hunter came over to trick or treat with our kiddos.

Crazy Hair Day

Last week was Red Ribbon Week at school.  Thankfully this year the school did doable dress up themes.  Last years were weird and hard to do.  Monday hat day, Tuesday Crazy Hair/Pajama day, Wednesday mismatched shoes, Thursday Halloween Costumes, and Friday Spirit day (wear school colors).  Crazy Hair was hard to do with Carson but Alaina I'd say we were pretty crazy.

Pumpkin Carving

Yes, just like everyone else we carved our pumpkins last night for FHE.  

 Alaina actually cleaned out her pumpkin for the most part this year.  

 Carson did his own pumpkin this year.  The only thing I helped him with was tape the pattern on his pumpkin.  He did a really good job.

 Charlie painting his little pumpkins.

 The finished projects.  My "Boo" pumpkin.  Carson's "Happy" pumpkin.  My other, er I mean Alaina's "Spider" pumpkin.  And Charlie's little painted pumpkins.

The kidos showing off the pumpkins.

I have to be honest that I have mixed feelings about carving pumpkins.  I enjoy the time with the kids.  But I don't enjoy the mess or trying to meet the demands of three excited kids.  I'm glad they're done and now onto the excitement of Halloween and Carson's Birthday/party.  I'd say that I'll be glad when it's all over, but that just means moving onto preparing gifts for 3 little nieces and a nephew to make their appearances in December.  Along with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I don't know why I ever think I'll catch a break...because once one thing is done it's time to start another one.  Ahhh, the life of a wife and mother.

True Love

True love is going to the store to buy one can of "Princess" chicken noodle soup for your girl whose been complaining about a yucky tummy all morning for her to only take three bites of said soup.

                                 

Alaina's Halloween Costume

I know this may seem as a surprise to many of you, but this is the first year I've made the kids Halloween Costumes.  I finished Alaina's BSU cheerleading costume today, complete with pom poms made from grocery bags.

The boys are going to be BSU football players. Carson already has a jersey...I'm trying to think of a way to make some pads to under it.  I'm thinking pillows, or garbage bags.  I cut down a jersey of Tony's for Charlie.  I've always wanted to do coordinating costumes for the kids.  I can hardly wait to see all the kids together and dressed up!

Fall Carnival

Each year the school puts on a fund raiser in the fall.  We purchase punch cards and the kids go all over the school playing games, getting treats, face painting, and crazy hair!  Of course the kids along with all the other at the school loved it and us the parents along with all the other parents could hardly wait for it to be over and out of there!  Ah, the things we do for our kids!

 Alaina's face paint.

The kids crazy hair.

Alaina turns 6

I know it's like a month later, but I'm still trying to catch up from being gone.  Anyway Alaina is now 6 years old!  She's a spunky little thing, whose constantly driving me crazy and pushing me to my limits but I love her anyway!  This year for her birthday she got her ears pierced, some earrings, and some art supplies!  Instead of a party I took Alaina and her friend over the beauty school to have their nails none.  Alaina's such a girly girl and absolutely loved it!

We are the Glue

As many of you know I recently spent time serving on a jury.  I had been selected for jury duty once before years ago when I was pregnant with Alaina.  I never got called in and it was for the month of February so I didn't even have to call in that much.  Back in March Tony got jury duty, but he differed because he was in school full time and working.  So come September Tony and I both got called up for jury duty for the month of October.  I found it slightly amusing that we both got jury duty at the same time.  Then the last week of September Tony and I both got letters in the mail.  We both had been selected to come in for jury selection.  Again I found this slightly amusing.  This was not only jury duty selection, it was for district court which is in Pocatello, about an hours drive from Rexburg.  Of course Tony was totally stressed out about the prospect of going.  He would have to miss a day of work and classes, which meant catching up on projects at work and homework.  For me I thought "Hey, some time with my husband without the kids and on the governments dime!  Sure, I'll go!"  Tony's cousin volunteered to take the kids Monday night and Tuesday so we could travel to Pocatello the night before.  Again an evening with my husband without the kids on the governments dime...I'll take that!  Tuesday morning came, we reported to the court house and became the talk of the place.  The judge himself said that in 50 years he's never seen a husband and wife be called up at the same time.  Throughout the entire selection I really didn't think the court would choose us, but lucky us I got selected.  First thought that came to mind was, "Cool a few days off from my responsibilities at home."  Second thought that came to mind was, "Crap, what are we going to do about the kids!"  Even though Tony's only going to school part-time this semester his schedule is still stuffed to the brim.  In comes Grandma to the rescue!  I called my mom pleading for her to come up and take care of the kids while I stay in Pocatello for court.  Even though my parents had just barely gotten home from a trip to Iowa she traveled over to stay with kids and hold down the fort while I was gone.  Thankfully the kids were on harvest break from school.  So with my worries settled I actually looked forward to my time serving on the jury.  Let me tell you right now that my time away from my family didn't turn out the way I expected.  The first day of proceedings was an interesting novelty.  My first night in the hotel was nice.  I got to watch whatever shows I wanted on TV.  Have the entire bed to myself.  Have the room at whatever temperature I wanted.  Etc.  Well the novelty of all this wore off pretty quick when I kept having dreams of people trying to break into my hotel room.  The next day was more of the same.  Meal times became lonely.  I must say I thoroughly enjoyed not having to cook...and I was able to get my food and eat it in 20 minutes!  It's amazing how quickly meal times go when your not feeding a child, telling another child to stop talking and eat their food (Alaina), or chasing another child around the restaurant.  Though it's weird to sit alone at a restaurant.  Anyway each day began to drag and I was really ready to be done!  Imagine my annoyance on Friday when after 4 days of proceedings I would have to come back on Monday!  Grandma went home on Saturday morning. I really enjoyed my weekend home with the family, but Monday came too soon!  Early Monday morning I left Rexburg for Pocatello and left the kids with my sister-in-law.  After a long day of deliberations.  Like 7 hours being locked in a room with 11 other people arguing your point becomes old really fast.  Imagine my extreme annoyance when I would have to come back the next day for more deliberations!  At this point I seriously wanted to cry and almost did a few times!  This was no longer a slight inconvenience, but a major hardship!  My mom had gone home.  Tony was super stressed out...I mean more than usual.  The kids harvest break was over and were to start school the next day.  How could I possibly rope someone into not only babysitting Charlie all day, but get Carson to school, Alaina to school, and pick them both up!  Thankfully my visiting teaching partner agreed to help us out.  So again early Tuesday morning I left Rexburg for Pocatello for hopefully the last day of deliberations.  Again I spent almost all day in a room with 11 other people arguing.  Well after 5 hours of talking, discussing facts, opinions, going over instructions from the judge and such we were at a 11 to 1 split.  We were a hung jury and could not come to a unanimous decision regarding the case.  Again I wanted to cry!  I was tired of being away from my family.  Constantly worrying about them.  The thought kept going through my mind, "This is never going to end!"  Thankfully the judge excused us and dismissed the case!  I could finally go home!  When I got home I don't think I've ever been so happy to do the mundane chores around the house and the constant driving family members from place to place!  Let me tell you right now that that has worn off very quickly!  But I have learned a really important lesson.  Ladies,  we are the glue that holds our families together.  We may not realize the importance of doing the laundry, the dishes, cooking meals, picking up the house, bathing children, and driving family members from one place to another multiple times a day.  Doing all this and more with little to no thanks can and does get very mundane and I often think "Why?".  It's easy to fall into a pity party thinking of all your mundane responsibilities.  But would I want someone else to be there when my kids come home from school each day?  Would I want someone else to be there to comfort a sick child in the middle of the night?  Would I want someone else to have dinner with my family and hear about their day?  No!  Yes, the life of a stay at home wife and mother of a very busy family is exhausting.  But our role is important and without us and our seemingly minuscule place in our families, our families would fall apart!  Let me say it again ladies, "We are important!  Our roles as mother and wife is important!  For we are the glue that holds it all together!"        

Baby Girl Dress

This afternoon I worked on a baby shower gift for a friend who is having a baby girl.  I used an old dress of my sister-in-laws.  I made a dress,bloomers and a headband.  The dress went up quick and easy.  The bloomers on the other hand were a pain!  I almost gave up on them completely, but I'm glad I didn't.  I love how hey turned out and they really made the outfit.  I'm almost tempted to keep it, just in case I have a baby girl again.

                                  

 This is the dress before I got started.

                              

   All that's left after cutting out the pattern pieces.

                                  

   The finished product!  So cute!

"School Pictures"

Tony and I don't buy the overpriced school pictures each year.  Usually they don't turn out that great anyway!  So, last night for FHE we went up to the gardens on campus and captured our kiddos' pictures.  Be warned there are some pretty cute ones!

 Charlie, what a clown!

 Alaina, adorable!

Carson, so grown up!

Project Dress from Button Up Shirt

I have plans to take the kids pictures tomorrow after church and realized that there wasn't really anything I liked for Alaina to get her pictures taken in.  So thus started another project.  This is a woman's sized pink gingham button up three quarter length sleeved shirt.  I went about it the same way as the polo shirt dresses I've been doing.  It took a bit more work because I made a sash for the dress, and had to gather the sleeves to make them fit.  I was super please with the sleeves.  They were the perfect length to make a girls long sleeve!  I had to do some finagling to get the back of the shirt to match up with the front,  but I think it turned out super cute!  Unfortunately, Alaina's already in bed so I can't try it on her until morning.  Oh we'll, it'll make you all more anxious for the real reveal and the kids pictures.

                              

                              

Back to School

Today was the first day of school for our kiddos this year.  I'd be dishonest if I said I haven't been counting down the days until it started.  Carson started 3rd grade and Alaina started Kindergarten.  Carson was up and ready to go before I was this morning.  Alaina had a heck of a time waiting until school started for her.  She has afternoon Kindergarten.  I hardly got a goodbye hug from Carson this morning and didn't get one at all from Alaina before she darted into her classroom.  It's a good thing I'm not one of those crying all over the place moms over the fact that my babies are growing up too fast, or I would have felt cheated!  I rode my bike to and from the school 3 times today between taking Carson to school, taking Alaina to school, and picking both of them up.  This will not be a regular occurrence as I feel my kids are big enough to ride their bikes without me as long as they stay together.  They both had great reports about school and are excited to go back tomorrow.  Alaina especially enjoyed her day at school.  So here's to another crazy, busy school year!          

Vacation Cont.

Day 3: Driving

We spent the night in Pleasant Grove with my sister Becky and her family.  After some time visiting we continued with our trip and drove down to Hurricane, which is outside of Zion National Park.  We had reservations at the KOA and had planned on camping there.  When we arrived it was 107 degrees outside and the camping sites were tiny, with no grass and no table.  We asked for a refund and got a hotel room in St. George (about 10 miles down the road).  This was an unexpected expense.  We ended up hauling all of our camping stuff and food down there for nothing,  but were glad for the air conditioning and the comfy beds.  And the kids loved the pool.

Day 4: Zion National Park

I had been to Zion National Park when I was a kid, but it was very different than what I remember.  They now have a shuttle system for all the tourists.  You park in town and take a shuttle into the park and then catch another one that takes you to see all the sights.  We really liked it.  

 Riding the shuttle

We did two hikes with the kids.  The first was Weeping Rock.  It was a short, but very steep trial up to a rock that water seeps out of.  It feels like it's raining when your up there.

 Getting ready for the hike.

 Charlie actually did really well in our baby backpack.  I wasn't sure if he'd still like it, but he didn't mind it one bit, and it made things easier for Tony and I.

 Daddy and the kids

 Mom and the kids

The other hike we did was Riverside Walk.  It's a trail you take to get to the Narrows.  The trail as you would assume follows the Virgin River at the bottom of the canyon.  At the end of the trail there is a great place to play in the river.  The water is a light green color and was cool and refreshing.

 Alaina enjoying the water.  She later would go all the way up to her shoulders.

 Daddy

 The Canyon was beautiful!

 Carson who eventually went all the way under.

 Mom was less adventurous and just got her feet wet.

 Charlie loved gathering rocks and throwing them into the river.

 All over there were signs to not feed the animals.  There is a $100 fine.  Well, these animals were fat and were not afraid of humans in the least bit...so I'd have to say that they were used to being fed.

 Alaina playing in the sand.

We had planned on going to see the Emerald Pools too, but we were all just too tired and hungry.

After some rest and food in our bellies we took a drive up the canyon to the 1 mile tunnel.  I forget what it's called.  It was built in 1930 and was really cool to drive through.

Day 5:  Long Drive Home

We left St. George around 11:00 in the morning and ended up home in Rexburg around 7:30 p.m.  The kids did amazingly well.  I will attribute our success to naps, treats, drinks, and Ipads with movies uploaded to them.  I think back on all those long hours in the car as a kid with my siblings and think my parents must have been saints to endure those long drives without the modern conveniences we enjoy today.

We had a great time but are glad to be home.  In a cooler climate, in our own beds, and real food (fast food gets old after 5 days).  Now to to get the kids ready for school, which starts in a little over a week!