Christmas

We had a great Christmas and Christmastime this year. We especially loved having Ashley involved in our lives this Christmas. Ashley and I spent some time with her family on Christmas morning. We then rushed back here to greet the kids coming back from their Mom's house. We focused a lot on the real meaning of Christmas this year. We also talked about families who have to do without a lot of things, and how blessed we are. It seemed to really set in with the kids this Christmas. They seemed to be very excited about giving to others and especially helping those less fortunate. This kind of focus always makes Christmas better. We loved just spending time together and relaxing with each other as well. It was really nice to have Christmas on a Friday this year.

First we went to see what Santa had left the kids. Santa left McQueen a huge electric race track. It came with two Ferrari's and two Formula 1 type race cars. We all enjoyed competing against each other as the cars would zing around the track. Santa also left him a Lego Star Wars spaceship, and some Star Wars and Spider-man underwear.

Tinkerbell got a whole bunch of the Littlest Pet Shop toy figurines and villages. She played with them relentlessly and loves them so much. She was so excited for them. She also got a huge carrying case for all of them. One of the things that seemed to most excite her was her new Princess and the Frog panties. She liked the Hello Kitty ones as well, but not as much as The Princess and the Frog panties.

We then opened stockings to each find toothbrushes (Wolverine and Hello Kitty), little toys, candy bars, an orange, and an apple. Ashley and I gave each of the kids pajamas (Hello Kitty and Star Wars), a DVD (UP and Monsters vs. Aliens) a game (Guess Who? and The Lady Bug Game), some books, and some clothes.

We had a great Christmas playing and visiting with family. Most importantly we sought to remember our Savior and those less fortunate who we can help each day. We are grateful for the gift from both The Father and The Son who make it possible for us to be redeemed and forgiven. We are grateful for the season and the time we can spend as a family.

Fat Cats

My Brother's family came into town for Thanksgiving weekend, and so they could be here for the BYU v. Utah game. We had a lot of fun with them while they were here. All the kids could not seem to let the Wii ever turn off. They kept challenging each other to game after game. I thought the console was for sure going to start smoking. On Friday night, my parents took everyone to Fat Cats for pizza and bowling. It was a lot of fun with all of the kids. They also gave all of the kids some tokens to play the games. McQueen definitely loves this Speed Boat game, he can't get enough of it no matter where it is. He is actually quite good. Tinkerbell just loves any game that she thinks is going to give her lots and lots of tickets. Despite our bowling scores, we all had a lot of fun as a family.

What Matters Most

I found this video on the church website. I love that the church has started doing these videos, and I especially love this one. What a great message from our Prophet. I hope all the people in my life (whether they see this video or not) know that they are "what matters most" to me. I will strive to show it more convincingly in the future.

Sunday at the Conference Center

This Sunday, our Stake (as well as many others) was invited to the Conference Center to hear President Monson speak, for Stake Conference. It was a great session and it was so neat for all of us (especially the kids) to hear, and be in the same room, as the Prophet. Most of the various speakers talked about the Temple and Temple attendance.

Grandpa and Tinkerbell
McQueen and Grandpa

After Conference was over, we took McQueen and Tinkerbell over to the huge reflection pond in front of the Salt Lake Temple. They saw coins in a smaller fountain and wanted to know why they were there. I explained that people throw a coin in there and make a wish. They wanted to do it as well, so we made sure to take them to the biggest and neatest spot. They thought it was so neat to see the reflection of the temple in the water. I really think it is neat to throw coins in these fountains, because from what I understand, the church takes the coins and donates or uses them toward humanitarian purposes.

They also thought the waterfall built into the Conference Center was neat. This is them on the inside of the building as the water pours down just on the other side.

McQueen wanted a picture of the temple (one which we took with our very own camera!) to hang in his room. Ashley took this great shot, and it will now be printed off to hang in his room.

A Baptism

Tonight we were able to go to my nephew's baptism. He really surprised me by asking me to say the opening prayer. I was really touched that he thought that much of me to ask me. His baptismal service was great, with wonderful music and talks. One of the highlights of the evening was seeing him, pretending to be a rock singer on top of one of those plastic cars, when we went back to their house for dinner. The kids were really excited to see their cousin get baptized and cannot wait for their day to come. We are really proud of the decision he has made and what a great example he has always been to them. Being able to see a couple of recent baptisms has been especially great for the kids. It is such a neat thing to watch the Gospel take root in their little hearts.

Grandma

My 95, yes I said 95 year old Grandma came from Colorado for a visit. We had a huge picnic in the park with a bunch of my cousins and other family. When I say huge, I mean huge. My Grandma gave birth to and raised 11 kids! Many of them had big families as well. I have 50+ first cousins on that side alone. Needless to say she is a remarkable woman. Eleven kids would have killed me off by age 50, easy! She also is an amazing poet. She has written at least 500 poems in her lifetime. My Mom is currently working on the time/expense of having a book professionally published. It won't be available to the general public or anything, but all of us will have that keepsake. These are amazing poems too, not the dribble that one would read on my blog!
Grandma also has an amazing sense of humor. I always remember her laughing about something or another. I am sure it has contributed greatly to the length of time she has been on the earth. She has hundreds of these funny glasses. Usually she has a shoebox or so that she brings with her to any gathering. Whenever you get a picture with Grandma, you always have to get another one with the funny glasses. We wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, many of us have talked about how fitting it would be for each of her descendants to wear a pair of her funny glasses to her funeral. I don't think she would have it any other way, and she probably even has enough glasses for all of her descendants to wear a pair. Unfortunately the kids couldn't come because they were with their Mom that day. They did get a chance to talk to her on the phone though, and they were pretty excited about that.

5 Posts in 1

CAR REPAIRS

I started off this weekend Thursday night. As we were leaving the Oquirrh MountainTemple open house last Monday, my window regulator broke. It has been half broken for a year and a half because someone broke the window to break into my car. The other half finally couldn't take anymore and gave out. I got off work really late at night and went straight to work on the window. I got everything all finished and put back together at about 1:20AM on Friday morning.
Just in case anyone is wondering, this is what your car door looks like underneath it all.............as long as you have the same year, make, model, and color as my car.

BOATING....FINALLY!!!

We have not even taken the boat out until this week....for the first time this year! The weekend weather in June was much more like the weather one would expect in April. For the first part of July, I was still recovering from the surgery, so it didn't go out. I went with my brother and the young men from our ward on Wednesday night. It was a great time, but I elected not to do anything because there were so many people and not enough time for everyone.

Friday morning, I made sure I was up by 6AM to get the boat ready for a day on the lake. We had a really great time. We went boating from about 8AM until about 4PM. Afterwards, we of course went to the Dairy Keen (Train Station) in Heber City for shakes. I love water skiing, wake boarding, and getting beat up on the tube. Even with it being a holiday, the lake was not too crowded. That didn't stop people from driving like idiots and me circling back to get between someone in the water and a speeding boat a few times though.

The first run of the day, I was cutting pretty hard on the slalom ski. I WRECKED HARD! I hit a wave just right at almost 30 MPH and it sent me rolling across the water. Because my big feet don't come out of the skis as fast as another person's feet might, the ski rolled with me. That caused my ankle to twist faster and differently then the rest of my body. I was in pain, but I continued to ski and wake board multiple times afterwards. I even went on the tube for quite a while. It was a manageable pain. By the time we got to Heber, my ankle was throbbing. By the time we got from Heber back to the gas station in Salt Lake, I could barely walk and my ankle was at least three times its normal size. I was feeling the pain! The above pictures were taken four days after. I now have just mild pain and some bruising. This is the first time I have ever been hurt boating, even though my parents have had a boat since 1980. I am convinced the only reason I got hurt is because I just turned 30 this year!

THE RODEO

Each year, we go to the Days of '47 Rodeo with my Dad and Mom. My Dad is like an in-the-closet cowboy. It is really about the only thing he asks of the family the whole year long. We always have a great time and it is quite the family tradition. Above is a little monkey named Whiplash. He rides atop a dog, and together they herd sheep. It was quite the entertainment in between the buckin' broncos, barrel racing, bull ridin', etc. The one thing I have to say about the majority of people at the rodeo is, they all seem to be true patriots who love their country. They seem to have so much more respect for the flag and what it represents, then say the average crowd at a sports event. It really is great to see that from so many people.

Above, the kids are wearing their new cowboy hats. They love them.

This K-Bull 93FM, bull was standing tall as we were driving into the parking lot. Suddenly McQueen and Tinkerbell were standing there and it appears it had been tipped. I don't know how I feel about my children engaging in cow tipping. :)

BIRTHDAY

Sunday after church, we went to a little get together to celebrate our friend's birthday.McQueen seemed to get frosting from the cake in just the right position to become "The Joker" in the next series of the new Batman movies

STAR WARS

Lately the kids, (surprisingly, even Tinkerbell too) love Star Wars. McQueen in particular, loves Star Wars. We went to play at our friend's house on Monday. They happen to have all the ORIGINAL Star Wars toys. These things are like classics. You could probably make thousands of dollars on e-bay with all of the stuff they have. Needless to say, the kids were in heaven as they played with the toys for hours.

Seven Kids!

This weekend I watched five of my nieces/nephews, with Tinkerbell and McQueen of course. Yes, if you can count fast, that is one me, with seven kids. That means if you take my height in inches, then divide it by the number of kids, each one gets a little more then ten inches of me. Luckily all the kids are really good kids, and we had a really fun weekend.

Friday morning, before we went to watch the kids, McQueen and Tinkerbell helped me clean up the boat and wash and wax it. We had a lot of fun. They grabbed the spray gun and thought it was so funny to spray me. I just looked at them like they were in trouble. They quickly handed it to me. I then laughed as I sprayed them and made them run away laughing. I love those two little twins so much! The boat looks great and everything is in working order. I haven't even taken it out this year because of the April (June) weather we have been experiencing, and the tonsillectomy recovery. I am planning to go out this weekend though.

Saturday, we mostly just played around the house. In the early evening, we went to a big family picnic in the park. We had a great time, and the kids were exhausted afterwards. The boys all started out in sleep positions in beds and sleeping bags. When I went into their room to turn off their bedside lamp, I found them all like this. It was too classic not to take a picture of them all practically laying on top of each other with all their legs entangled.

Sunday we went to their ward. I was so worried that we would be really late, especially considering there were seven kids. We actually were 15 minutes early, and all the Primary aged kids got gummy worms from the Primary for being on time. I swear that I was being scrutinized the whole time by their fellow ward members. Maybe, I should say that my brother and his wife were being scrutinized. Let me just say that I know that I am not the "typical" babysitter for a weekend. I mean what kind of a freak has a divorced Dad watch their kids for a weekend? I was actually pretty complimented that they would trust me with their five kids, while bringing my two with me. After church, Grandpa and Grandma invited us over for dinner. Grandpa always cooks Sunday dinner, and is quite the amateur chef (among so many other things). Who can resist an offer like that?

Monday, we went swimming at our friend's pool. We got Little Caesar's Pizza and some soft drinks and had quite the time. We stayed there for a couple of hours and really enjoyed it.
McQueen and one of his cousins hanging out in the pool.Tinkerbell is getting some help from this really good looking girl, who let us come swim at her pool with her. She also hung out with us here and there throughout the weekend. :)My nephew flying through the air, to what I can only imagine would be a belly-flop. This is my cute 1 1/2 year old niece. She is so sweet and funny. She is so good and cute, but doesn't let anyone push her around. If she wants something, she is not afraid to push anyone out of her way. After a little while of swimming, she decided she wanted a drink. We gave her a Capri-Sun, and she sat there happy as a clam for quite a while.

After the pool, we got cleaned up and then took McQueen and Tinkerbell back to their Mom's house. My five nieces and nephews seemed to be okay with the two and a half hour drive down to her house and back.

When the weekend started, I was worried how things would go with me and seven kids. I certainly was tired at the end of the night, but it truly was a great time. I think it was great for all the cousins to play together, and we did a lot of fun stuff. All of the kids were really great and it was a lot of fun. The very next time my sister-in-law turns 40, and my brother wants to take his wife to San Francisco for the weekend, I would be not even think twice about watching as many kids as I possibly can. :)

July 4th Weekend

FRIDAY

Friday we did a lot of various activities. On a sad note, we first went to a funeral for a four month old baby girl. It was a very touching/heart-breaking funeral. It was filled with many messages of hope and of eternal families though. I of course cried like a baby throughout most of it. I think that as sad as this is, it is a better reminder for all of us to hold close those we love. It does not matter if the person is a new baby or an 80 year grandparent. Everyone's time here on this earth is limited and I think we all need to show our love while we have time, rather then regret the time we wasted.

My brother's family was in town this weekend from Maryland. Grandpa and Grandma took the whole family (that was here) to Boondock's Fun Center. They have bumper boats with water cannons, fast and slick track go carts, golfing, video games, laser tag, and a kids area. We had a ton of fun and stayed WAY later then we thought we would, but we all had fun. Pretty quickly, the kids and I figured out that there was a go-cart that was faster then the rest. It seriously just seemed to have a bigger engine or something. In true "Herbie the Love Bug" fashion, we were passing almost every other go-cart on the track at least once (in the 5 or so lap course). After Boondock's we came home to a pizza dinner and then headed off to bed.

SATURDAY

For the 4th of July, like we have for several years, we went up to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon to the town of Brighton. They have a huge/inexpensive fundraiser breakfast in an amazing setting. It has been a lot of fun for us to do this with my family. After breakfast, there is a miniature parade with lots of people tossing lots of candy. We all had a great time being together and having fun. After breakfast, the parade, etc. we just played around for a little bit. Then, in the early evening, we went to my brother's house for a BBQ and some fireworks. Apparently, his neighbor across the street spends around $500 on fireworks every year. It is quite the display. He also lights all of them with a blow torch! He really couldn't have been outdone.......until the guy two houses away started lighting the illegal fireworks he bought on an Indian reservation for $20! We had a lot of fun that night as well.

This little girl is smiling after a nice, filling breakfast.

Here the kids are cheering on the parade.......okay, maybe they were just yelling for candy. It is hard to remember these things in my old age.

Here are McQueen and Tinkerbell playing with sparklers for the very first time in their lives. Poor, deprived kids. They loved them...and were very safe with them....well, other than someone burned a hole in our blanket, but other than that, they were very safe with them.

Here is McQueen chilling out at the fireworks show with a couple of his male cousins.

I am sure you have heard of the Stadium of Fire. That is nothing! Check out the all new "Aluminum Ladder of Fire!!" that my brother's neighbor can do.

SUNDAY

Sunday, we went to church as usual. We only attended our own ward ONCE last month. Illness or other circumstances required we didn't go, or went to a different ward. Either way, hopefully we are off the inactive list......at least until next Sunday.

MONDAY

Today we mostly ran some errands. I had an early morning follow-up appointment for my tonsils. I didn't want to wake the kids earlier then I had to, so I brought them in their pajamas. McQueen told me how ridiculous it would look for them to go somewhere in his pajamas. Although he couldn't even walk himself out to the car and was sleeping on my shoulder, he put up quite the verbal fuss. I told them that it is a new fun game. They seemed to get over it quickly and we came right home to change them afterwards. The rest of the day seems to be a blur of running errands. Before taking the kids back to their Mom's, I surprised them by taking them to the Kangaroo Zoo. They have filled their good deed jar and so they earned it. At the Kangaroo Zoo, they require socks. I had forgotten this and had to pay $4 for a pair of socks for each of the kids. That is what you get for only wearing flip-flops. All in all, they had a great time.

McQueen is a jumpin'

Tinkerbell is getting eaten by this alligator thing

Starting off with the really big slides

McQueen loved this baseball game, Tinkerbell didn't like it so much. The ball is floating on air, just waiting for the hit, a swing and a miss! I shouldn't say he missed. He just didn't hit the ball. He instead hit his sister, who was standing in the wrong spot. He also was not paying attention. So, a swing and a hit means McQueen saying sorry and Tinkerbell having a little welt on her arm.

Pictures!

• The kids were drinking some apple juice the other day. McQueen commented about how yummy it was. Tinkerbell then said, "yeah, and it helps you have soft poops too!"
• Anytime I ask McQueen to do something like clean up his toys, his response is: "BOOOORINNGG!"
• We were playing "Go Fish" yesterday. Tinkerbell asked McQueen if he had a card. He happily responded, "yes I do, but it is NOT for sale."
• We were leaving Target today. There was a woman in a wheelchair who had lost her leg. She had a prosthetic leg in its place. The kids asked what happened to her leg. I told them that she somehow must have gotten it cut off. McQueen then said, "well it is a good thing she didn't loose her foot too, or else she wouldn't be able to wear shoes." I thought that was pretty funny. Then Tinkerbell was bold enough to go up to the woman and tell her that "it is okay, you will get your leg back in the resurrection." There are not many situations where you can be completely mortified of your child and proud of them at the same time. This was definitely one of them. Fortunately the sweet lady responded, "yes, that is right!"
• Tinkerbell had a scab on her knee. I asked her what happened to her knee. She said, "well, we were playing outside at Mommy's and I really wanted some potato chips, but she wouldn't let me have anymore. McQueen told me to sneak in the back door and get some, so I did. The fifth time that I did it though, I fell down and scraped up my knee." Nothing like a brother to teach you stuff like that, huh?
• Tinkerbell asked why I hadn't mowed the lawn. I told her that it was too rainy. She asked why I didn't do it on one of the sunny days. I told her that I didn't have any time on the days that it had been sunny. She somberly said, "oh, I wish we had a cow so that it would at least eat our grass normal."

Merry Christmas!

The kids came home from their Mom's house last night at around 10PM. They went right to bed fairly easily (as soon as we laid out cookies and milk for Santa) in hopes that Santa would come. Santa came in the middle of the night of course. I ended up being really surprised because when I was a kid I am sure I would be awake by 4AM on Christmas morning. I kept anticipating, and waiting for them to come bouncing out there. They both slept clear until almost 9AM! Way past the normal 7-8AM wake up time! They are still little and above all else, I am sure they were totally exhausted from the last couple of days. It was so much fun to have them here first thing in the morning this year, and to be able to relax and spend all of Christmas Day with them (last year they spent all morning with their Mom and then came here in the afternoon). Santa certainly spoiled them. Santa usually brings one big present to each of the kids, fills their stockings, and then brings a few odds and ends. I always give them a couple of presents as well. Santa gave T a huge remote control Hummer H3. He loved it and was so excited the moment he saw it. He drove it quite a bit today. Santa gave A this really cool art table that connects to a TV or a computer. She also was so excited and instantly recognized it as an art table. It takes pictures of people or pictures of whatever you lay on its table. You can then add funny accessories, distort the picture, add borders, add graphics, make greeting cards, or draw stuff on them. It also gives you the option of playing games or just drawing and having what you draw appear as well. You then can save and e-mail things for people. It is right up A's alley, and she loved it.

I gave A the Let's Go Fishing game. The kids loved playing it, but fished by color more than anything else. Heaven forbid A get a blue fish and T get a pink one!

I gave T Operation. They had quite the time trying to keep it from buzzing and lighting up when they were performing surgery today.


Here the kids are opening presents. T gave A a Littlest Pet Shop Ostrich. A gave T a Lego jet. Besides the games, I also gave the kids "Kung Fu Panda," and Horton Hears a Who." Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids puzzles as well as some cash to spend. From their cousins they received a Scene It? Disney DVD trivia game. In our ward, our home teachers gave the kids "The Legend of Frosty the Snowman" DVD. There were also a few couples with grown children that brought by little treats and things just for the kids.

Santa had just stopped by! Even though this picture shows the Hummer taking up half of the love seat, it still does not depict how big this thing is. It is at least half as big as either of the kids.

VIDEO: I made this ramp for T to drive his new toy up and down. He was having a blast. Here are a series of driving school mishaps that were hilarious. It is a good thing that Santa got a protection policy for this thing in case it quits working for whatever reason. Most of the time T drove it pretty well though.

Overall, it was a great day. Christmas with kids is so much better than it is with just adults. I love seeing the excitement and light in their eyes. We truly are so blessed and fortunate to have all that we do. The presents are so fun and exciting, but at the end of the day, the blessings from our Savior are so much greater. I loved that the kids continued to refer to the Savior throughout the day. I was so proud of them. They were so concerned with giving to others and remembering the Savior's birth. It truly is the reason for the season. I hope that each of you also had a very Merry Christmas, and that you felt the loving warmth of the spirit of his birth this year.