{Christmas Day}

Our kids were so good on Christmas Eve, they went to bed at 8 pm and didn't wake up all night. Last year they woke up every half hour or hour until Christmas morning. The girls woke up around 6 and couldn't wait any longer to open the presents. Kyler was still sound asleep, so the girls opened their gifts and then we all waited and Kyler got to open all of his by himself. He was sure excited this year. He ripped open the packages, with lots of help from his sisters. I think they had more fun helping him that opening their actual gifts.

{Christmas Sunday}

We dressed the kids up extra nice for Christmas Sunday. I couldn't get a good picture, they were too restless and just uncooperative so this is the best out of 36 trys.....

Here's Kyler he's already lost his tie and someone fed him skittles in his nice clothes....Who could that be, Josh??

KYLER, 15 months

KAMRIN, age 4


KELSIE, age 6

All things considering they turned out pretty cute, don't you think??

{Cookies for Santa}

On Christmas Eve afternoon my girls informed me that we HAD to make cookies for Santa or they would not receive any presents from him. So considering we hadn't made any this season (So unlike us!!) we whipped up a batch just for Santa!!

The girls helping roll out the dough...

Kyler watching patiently from his seat.............

The messy after pics, flour all over their jeans.....



We didn't even get them frosted, but we got 10 dozen sugar cookies rolled ,cut and baked! That's pretty successful to me with three kids and limited time!

P.S.( I heard that Santa thought they were great even without the frosting!!?)

{Mini-Cheer Camp}

The girls participated in the mini-cheer camp at the high school this year. It is a fundraiser for their program and the girls always enjoy it. (They come home cheering for weeks afterward.) They spend most of the day learning a dance that they perform with the cheer squad at a girls basketball game later that same day. This year Kamrin got to go with Kelsie and they had a lot of fun together.

Kyler was so excited to watch, can't you tell??

The girls getting ready to go into the game....


The performance:

{The bucket List}

The Bucket List

Copy this into a new post, place an (x) by all the things you've done and remove the (x) from the ones you have not. This is for your entire life!

(X )Been to Europe
( ) Been on a cruise
( ) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico (no desire to)
(x) Been to Florida (Disneyworld!)
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Been lost (too many times)
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
( ) Gone to Washington , DC
(X )Been to the rainforest (White water rafted through it in Costa Rica)
(X) Been to Vegas (No desire to really go again..)
(x) Climbed a lighthouse (Seen a bunch on Martha's vineyard, I guess never really climed to the top though..)
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Rolled in the snow
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Seen the Cherry Blossoms in Washington , D.C.
(x) Played cops and robbers
(X) Been present in a confrontation where guns were pulled (I used to work for felony probation and parole, unfortunately this situation became just another day at the office....)
( ) Been in a knock down drag out fight
( ) Flown a plane
( ) Owned a boat
(X) Watched grandchildren grow (Not my own, but other peoples grandchildren..)
(x) Recently colored with crayons (Me and my kids... we color)
( ) Been to the Kentucky Derby
( ) Been to Key West
(x) Been to a rodeo (um... I live in Idaho... it would be weird if I hadn't)
( ) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't (all the time!)
(x) Accused the family dog of flatulating
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose (OJ, on a school feild trip)
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Clause
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Had a near death experience
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
( ) Owned a convertible
(x) Been in an outside hot tub when it was snowing

1. Any nickname? Not really
2. Mother's name ? Mom
3. Body Piercing ? Ears
4. How much do you love your job? Yep, I'm a mom!!
5. Birthplace? Idaho
6. Been to Hawaii ? Nope
7. Ever been to Africa ? Nope don't even want to
8. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner? Yes!
9. Ever been on TV? YES, just the news! :)
10. Ever steal any traffic sign ? No, i'm to scared to do things like that. The most daring thing I've ever done was put bubbles in the mortuary fountain.
11. Ever been in a car accident? only a couple...
12. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle ? 4 door
13. Favorite number? never thought about it
14. Favorite movie ? The Guardian,PS I love you, and Harry Potter
15. Favorite holiday ? Christmas or Thanksgiving
16. Favorite dessert? Hm... dessert too many too pick from!
18. Favorite food ? pasta, steak!
19. Favorite day of the week ? Saturday
20. Favorite brand of body wash ? The Body Shop Satsuma, ummm
21. Favorite smell ? Salt City Cinnamon Vanilla Candle
22. How do you relax? Read

{Christmas Time Chaos}

It seems like the past few weeks have been crazy around here!! Last week I had three basketball games that the dance team danced at. After the last one, on Wednesday, Kyler was breathing really heavy. Of course it's 9 pm and the doctors office is closed. It was much worse than usual though so we headed for the ER. 6 and a half hours later we are home. Kyler had pneumonia and they had to give him breathing treatments and shots of anti biotic. So, we stay inside for about 5 days. This put me behind finishing Christmas shopping. I finally caught up and got everything finished though. We were supposed to take Kyler to an appointment in Salt Lake before we head to the doctors in Iowa, but the roads have been closed due to bad weather so we stayed here instead. I was able to finally send my Christmas cards today, better late than never. Especially this year..... I am glad that we aren't going anywhere this year and can finally just relax and enjoy this time of the year. I have been thinking about all of the things I love about this time of the year. So, here are a just a few....
1. Bobs peppermint melt in your mouth puffy things ( Not sure what they're really called!!)
2. Sugar cookies
3. The song "O Holy Night"
4. The chocolate truffles from Costco....
5. Watching my kids get accited about giving to others.
6. Receiving Christmas cards
7. Harry & David pears....(A subcontractor that we've used for years always sends a box and they are so, so good!!)
8. The Salt City Christmas Trimmings Candle

So, what are some of your favorite things about Christmas??

{Merry Christmas}

{The Nutcracker}

Kelsie auditioned for a part in the Nutcracker in October. The Eugene Ballet company brings their professional dancers and has local kids play the smaller parts. She made the part of a mouse and was able to perform with the company. She attended practices through November and had the performance last night. She did such a good job and had a ton of fun!! Here are some pictures of her in her costume.

{Getting ready for Christmas}

My brother came to help us get ready for Christmas and of course Kyler was trying to help...
We worked on decorating the tree...

The girls came with me to ride on a float in the light parade. It was a lot of fun!!

{Kyler on the treadmill}

Kyler goes to physical therapy because he is having a hard time walking due to his vision problems. This past week they started putting him on a treadmill to get his to help lift up his legs and take steps. He loves doing it so I had to pull out the camera and get a picture of him on the treadmill. It is hilarious to watch!

{Christmas Recital}

The girls had their dance recital this past week. They are getting so big and learning so much. We love to watch them perform. They have quite the personality on stage.

The girls before they performed....

{Watch out world, Here I come!!}

In the last few days Kyler has turned into a little monster!! He can't even walk and he is into everything, climbing on things, and spilling things....I can't remember my girls ever getting into this much trouble!! Here are some pictures that I took following him around for about five minutes...

Climbing on the fireplace.....

Opening the dishwasher....

Spilling his sisters cereal all over the floor.....

I can only imagine what will happen when he can walk, let alone run!!!