Build-A-Bear

My cousin, Carolynn convinced me that Emily needed a Build-A-Bear, and since they are only $10 right now, and I had a $5 off coupon (thanks Kim!), I decided to do it. When we got there, Jon fell in love with the puppy dogs, so Carolynn insisted he build one, too, and she would pay for it as a Christmas gift to me.

We had never been there, but it really is a fun process where the kids get to help build the bear along the way. Here Emily is pushing the peddle with her foot that makes this machine shoot cotton into her bear's body, so it can be soft and fluffy.

And then she picked out a heart to be put inside of her bear.

Then they gave their bear and dog a bath, scrubbing it's fur and everything.

Then Emily picked out a Snow White costume for her bear to wear and Jon picked out a Utes t-shirt for his dog to wear.
Thanks mommy and Carolynn. I can't wait till Christmas when I get to play with my bear!

Let is snow! Let it snow! Let is snow!

Being a St. George girl all my life where snow is uncommon, I always get excited with the first snowfall here in Salt Lake. :) Before heading to Emily's preschool party last Monday, we had to stop and enjoy the falling snowflakes. The kids were so cute sticking their tongues out and trying to catch snowflakes in their mouth.

Then this morning, I woke up and looked out the window and this is what I saw. Our backyard was covered in beautiful white powder!
And this is the street we live on, a winter wonderland. Isn't it just gorgeous? Later this morning, we drank hot chocolate and watched Joy to the World as a family. Emily was quite concerned that the Innkeeper wouldn't let baby Jesus stay there. She looked at us and exclaimed, "We need to find a place for Him!" That's a powerful thought coming from a 3 year-old. It's true-we ALL need to find a place in our lives for Him. :)

Reality Check

Just in case you ever thought my house is always clean and that my children are always happy, and that I am always a sexy lady (well that part is true)...haha...I want to steal Jodi's idea and give you a Reality Check of my life.


1. I recorded The Office tonight, but I am patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for Wade to finish a final test at school, so that we can watch it together when he gets home. What's bad is that I'm tempted to watch it without him and act like I didn't!


2. While Wade's been up studying for his finals, I've been reading Breaking Dawn every night this week (oh my gosh, I can't even put it down!). Because I've been up so late, I've slept through my alarm 4 days in a row and haven't worked out a bit. And that cookie dough I keep sneaking into isn't helping my guilt either!


3. The kids and I ate cereal and yogurt for dinner twice this week. It's hard to be motivated to cook a nice, hot meal when Wade's gone. I'm going to be so glad when he finishes his last final next week, and I can cook Salmon and Rice or Spinach Lasagna for the whole family again. (I promise I'll send that recipe soon, Janese)
4. More of this needs to happen at our house. I put the kids to bed without brushing their teeth more than I would like to admit. Sometimes it's just such a hassle because they want to do it themselves, and we both know I have to help them, so the brushing is effective, and they're not just sucking the toothpaste off their toothbrush. :) When Wade's home, it happens. But at least we always read stories and have family prayer. That I am very proud of.


5. I get stressed really easy. I think about my two sisters all the time and worry about them because they're so stressed with life, but I get the same way. Sometimes I have so much going on, that I'm in my "go" mode, racing around the house, trying to accomplish what I need to. And then I often spill something or forget something later. I think I just need to slow down.


6. I haven't swept the kitchen and wood floors in over a week. It's a good thing you're coming for dinner on Sunday, Elaine, to celebrate Warren and Wade being done with school, because it gives me an excuse to sweep and mop and maybe vacuume, too. We'll see...


7. I attended Enrichment last night where we ate a fantastic dinner and listened to an amazing program (I even got to be a part of it and sing a musical number). But then, I didn't want to go home. Is that awful? I helped clean up afterwards just so that I could continue to visit and hang out with these cool older ladies. Because I serve in the primary, I don't get to know some of these other women as well. The night before in practicing for my musical number, it was the same thing, 30 minutes of practice, and another HOUR of just talking with these two awesome girls from my ward. I knew the longer I stayed at the church, the more likely the kids would be asleep in their beds when I got home, and that Wade would have already done the dishes, so that I didn't have to.

8. I secretly laugh when Jon cries like this. He's just so dang dramatic (you better not be thinking "just like his mom!") He's such a sensitive little guy, and he comes to me crying all the time over the littlest thing, like when Emily takes his toy horse or if his yogurt is all gone, and he wants more. It's pretty funny, until it goes on and on...then it's just obnoxious.

Twilight

I finally saw Twilight on Friday. I went with my cousin, Britni, and we both loved it! For the last year, my friends and family have been telling me I have to read Twilight. I finally read it a few months ago and I couldn't put it down because it was such an exciting read! However, right after I finished reading it, Wade and I discovered the show, The Office, so every night, we would watch one or two shows of season 1-4 to catch up. Hil-ar-i-ous by the way if you've never seen it! So it took me longer to read New Moon and Eclipse because I only read while the kids were taking their afternoon nap. Plus neither book is quite as thrilling as Twilight, when Bella first discovers she's in love with a vampire and another vampire is trying to kill her. That's intense.

I just started reading Breaking Dawn and so far, I really like it. Anyway, I don't know if I've ever seen a movie as good as the book, but Twilight came awful close because it was so amazing! And when asked the next day if I thought Edward was smokin hot, my response was, "I think WADE is smokin hot, but yes Edward is pretty good-looking." Wade was happy to hear that I'm more in love with him than an actor. ;)

Gingerbread Men

Last Tuesday, I met up with Traci, Tavi, and Brynn so that our kids could attend a special story time at the library and decorate gingerbread men afterwards. Brynn brought her newborn twins, and we were all so excited to see them!spreading the frosting and adding candy to the gingerbread men

Jon's messy face: proof that he did more than just decorate his cookie! Emily saying "cheese" and showing me her finished gingerbread man
Emily and Etta reading a story together
Little friends holding hands: Eston, Elle, Emily, Etta, and Sammie

(and Jonny running away from me...yes, it's true, that's how I've been able to keep the pounds off...chasing after him!)

Talk of babies

With many of my friends being pregnant or having had a baby lately (or two babies in Brynn and Darcy's case), there's been a lot of talk about babies in our home. Emily is obsessed with babies!

Whether she's carrying her baby doll around the house...

nursing her baby...

or stuffing a baby doll up her shirt and telling me she's going to have a little tiny baby soon...it's just funny how much my little girl loves babies! She's even started asking us when we're going to have another baby.

So you can imagine how happy Emily was to find out we were going to visit our friends, Carlos and Janese, and their baby boy, Orden. We drove down to Provo a couple weeks ago and brought some homemade Spinach Lasagna for all of us for dinner, and then we all admired little Orden. What a cutie!
My baby boy, who's now 20 months old, is hardly a baby anymore and was climbing on top of the furniture and running around the house...because that's what he does best. :)

It was fun to see Wade holding a newborn again and both of my kids so intrigued by this little one. Thanks Carlos and Janese for such a nice evening and for sharing your son with us for a little bit. We really enjoyed it.

Who's influencing who here?

Wade and I feel pretty lucky that Jason and Kristal Joy have moved to Salt Lake right by us. They have been such good friends to us since we lived next door to each other in St. George four years ago. A couple weeks ago, we watched their girls for them while they went on a date.
The funny part about it was that Jonathan and Sophie were influencing each other the entire time! Within five minutes of Jason and Kristal being gone, Sophie climbed up onto the kitchen table and Jon was right behind her. But then a half hour later, Jon was the one in the lead, climbing onto the coffee table and using it as a springboard to jump onto the couch over and over again.

Then Sophie climbed into Jon's crib and Regan, Emily, and Jon followed her example. What funny kids!

How can you not love these smiles? Happy day!