Mom your a Funsucker!!

This kid is a crack up!! She makes me laugh so hard...even when she is driving me completely crazy! Her dad has taught her how to say "Mom you a funsucker"!! And she says it to me all the time. And the bonus is she knows exactly what she is saying. If I tell her NO she says, "aaah, you a funsucker mom!!" I am not really happy about her dad teaching her that. I have tried to get her to say something bad about her dad, but she just won't. She loves him too much!! But I have taught her how to say, "I have ADD!" Bob tells me not to teach her that because she is going to tell everyone. My thoughts are.....a least they will know what they are dealing with.!! LOL! Love ya Karli!

Ugly Sweater Party!!

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What a fun Party!! If I do say so myself! We had about 40 of our friends attend and we had a night full of food, visiting, laughing, dancing, and did I say laughing already!! We ate yummy soups, salads, breadsticks, and dessert. Then we played minute to win it and each couple got to have a least one turn to make a fool out of themselves! What a blast! We played the white elephant game and the best gift was the bathroom sink! The couple that ended up with it didn't actually take it home. They secretly put it in an unlocked party goers vehicle. We ran out of time and didn't get to do much of Just Dance, but those who stayed had a ton of fun!! I think I am going to make this a yearly tradition! And maybe the more I have it the more creative people will get with their outfits!

Santa Came!!!!

Merry Christmas!!! At the stroke of 7:00 am the girls came busting in the bedroom and the frenzy began. The girls always get to go through their stocking first and open anything in there..then after that we take turns opening each gift from youngest to oldest!! Karli was a blast this year! She just kept saying "Santa came, Santa came, open presents". I missed this so much last year. Disneyland was a blast, but it just didn't feel like Christmas! Santa overdid this year again! But I think that all the girls were happy! Except Karli...she got Play all day baby and she hated it. She said "I don't like it, take it back"! So that is what I did! Karli did get some things she liked....a little grand piano, a tea set, and some fun blocks.

Makena was most excited about her piano, loved her microphone (she loves to sing), and couldn't wait to play with all her Princess barbies.

Here is Lexi's reaction to opening her real electric guitar. "WHAT?" She was so excited!! We are planning on trying to find a teacher so she can learn how to play. She also got a blue La La loopsy, a blue tennis racket, and the Furry Frenzy play land

Shelby also got a guitar! They are both excited and can't wait to learn how to play. They have been making up their own songs all day. She also got some Paris stuff for her room, a new bedspread, and an art set!

We spent the rest of our day listening to guitars strumming, paper jamz jamming, piano's playing, and some awesome singing. The girls had a blast...we didn't even get out of our PJ's all day. No where to go, nothing to do, but be with my girlies and hubby. We played all kinds of games..Uno moo, Toy Story kerplunk, Don't break the Ice, and Headbanz. And I nearly collapsed playing Just Dance 2 with Shelby. We ended the day with yummy pancakes for dinner and we watched Despicable me. It was a great day!! I love Christmas

This is us playing Headbanz!! It is really fun! Karli is hilarious! She puts the card on her head and says, "What am I?" . Her dad is just as hilarious playing this game because he is so technical. Questions like "Am I manufactured?" We had two full days of family game fun and I am sure there are more to come.

Please don't Figgy Pudding us!

Christmas Eve day started no different then any other Christmas Eve.....with the girls whining to and begging....and begging and whining to open a present. And this was at 8:00 am!! So I figured I would let them open a present that would keep them busy ALL day long! It also drove MOM crazy all day long! They got to open their presents from Grama Sindy which turned out to be guitar paper jamz!!! They were so excited...we got them open and they all started jammin!

Shelby has got the tude and the moves to go along with her heavy metal paper jam!

Lexi's rockin out to her country jam....she is even jammin on the ground!

Makena even got into the action! Even though I can't see this sweet little one jammin! After a crazy, loud house all day we got started on our fondue dinner...after dad made a last minute trip down the canyon to get something Mom forgot at the store. The girls didn't eat much of the main course...meat and veggies. But they were all smiles when the chocolate came out. Karli got chocolate all over her in the first 30 seconds. Then she decided to just eat the marshmallows.

Yum, yum, everything was delish to me!!! Especially the chocolate! After dinner we finished off our cookies for Santa and set out our yummy carrot and apple wreaths for the reindeer!! They also got to open one other present from mom and dad....new PJ's!! The last thing we did before bed was put Jesus in his soft manger and sing Happy Birthday to him. We all gave presents to him..Dad's was to be more patient, mine was to read the Book of Mormon next year, Shelby's was try to be nicer to her sisters, Lexi's was to stop whining so much, Makena's was to be nice, and Karli's was to get off naughty watch. Then we watched the Nativity! So much Fun!This is Karli giving baby Jesus a kiss before going to bed!

The other fun thing we did was watch Santa's progress on Norad. It showed where Santa had been and where he was going. This kept the kids on track for getting to bed on time. We made it in the nick of time. When the girls went to bed he was in Arizona and when I went to bed he was in Cedar City!

The girls all had a sleep over in Kena's room and the cutest thing happened when Kena was saying her prayer. There is a program that aired on ABC called Prep & Landing. It is about these elves that go inside everyone's house and get it ready for Santa. They go to one house and had a lot of problems...so they were too late for Santa to come to that house. The wording they used when Santa could not go to a house was Figgy Pudding. So in Kena's prayer she prayed that we would not get figgy puddinged!! So cute! Christmas is so fun when you BELIEVE!!

Now off to dream about sugar plums!

Bye Tinsel...we will miss you!

One of our most FAVORITE things this year was Tinsel!!! He is one of our new traditions!! He was delivered to our house, sent by Santa himself on December 1st. He is our special little elf, whom we named Tinsel. He watches the girls every day and at night he goes to the north pole and reports to the big man whether they have been naughty or nice. Then when he comes back he hides in a different place. So every morning that was the first thing the girls would do....is look for Tinsel. Some days he was easy to find...and other days not so much. The first little girl to spot Tinsel would show each of their sisters when they woke up in the morning. When Tinsel came to us he was sent with a book that we read which stated there was only one rule they had to follow. That rule was he was not suppose to be touched or his powers would go away. Because we have a mischievous 2 year old in our house, Tinsel always hid in high places far away from chubby little hands. But there was no need for that...one day my mom came to visit and give the girls their gifts. The first thing Karli wanted to do was show Tinsel to gama sinny. They walked over to where he was hiding and she said, "No touch gama sinny" and Grama said "Why?" and she said "His powers go bye bye". Today being the 24th of December the girls all said their goodbyes to Tinsel because he was going back to the North Pole with Santa. We are definitely doing this next year !!! So much fun!

The other fun thing was after we sent our letters to Santa this year he sent them a message. Their own PNP. The message was personalized for each child with their name, year in school, and included pictures of what they did this year. Imagine the excitement they felt when Santa said their name and showed pictures of them in his file. Most of the girls got told they were good little girls. But there was one that her message was a little different. Karli got told she was on naughty watch. And she reminded us about every other day..she would say "I on naughty watch". She is so funny. I love Christmas!

Once there was a snowman...

This is only the girls 2nd snow day since the Nov 21st. It was a great way to pass the time the day after they got out of school for Christmas break. They got up and right after breakfast they put on their snow clothes...pjs and all. They made this awesome snowman and an even more impressive fort!! With a little help from dad! It was so warm that day they were wanting to come in because they were too hot!! Which didn't make very good weather for their snow things to stay up. The fort fell the minute they came in the door. Their snowman stayed up though..until some little punks came and demolished it along with all the other snow men in the neighborhood. They even stole one of our brooms. Why I ought a!!!

After the girls got cleaned up we headed into town to pick out our ornament. We were on the search for a uhaul truck or a moving box, but unfortunately we didn't find one. So we went with the rock star Santa. Which will be appropriate after the girls open their gifts on Christmas. We went out to dinner which is one of the girls and I would have to say mom's favorite things to do. Then we hit some last minute stores. I know, I know, I am usually way more prepared than this, but this year somehow just snuck up on me. I am sure it will turn out great!! Cross my fingers!

Christmas Traditions...old and NEW!

For the month of December we have Family night every night!!! There are books that are wrapped and numbered under the tree and when the girls do the advent calendar it tells them what number to unwrap. Along with the book we also have an activity! It makes for a lot of late nights, but more important a lot of fun!! Some books are fun Christmas stories, but most of them are about our Savior and what the true meaning of Christmas is.

We kicked off December with the "The Last Straw". It is about a mom who is fed up with her kids and their fighting so she decides to make a gave out of them getting along. They make a manger for Jesus and every time they do a good deed for someone they get to put a piece of straw in the manger. The object is to make a soft bed for Jesus on his birthday and the bonus is to have a peaceful household. We have been working on this all month and our manger is pretty full! We have two more days to try and make it especially soft! We have read about 20 books and the girls look forward to it every night.

Some of our activities have been cook s'mores over the stove, make snow globes, go shopping for sub for Santa items, go to Temple Square, and deliver our sub for Santa. Today we get to go look for an ornament that try to sums up our year and we are having a family slumber party in the front room. Tomorrow we are going to start a couple of new traditions! We are going to have a Christmas Eve fondue dinner and I hope the girls will have fun and cross my fingers.....eat their dinner. We are going to make a birthday cake for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday to him and each of us will give him a gift that we are going to work on this upcoming year. Followed by the opening of one present.....NEW PJ'S my favorite and then off to bed to wait for SANTA!! We have had a ton of fun this month! I am going to be kind-of sad when it is over. But maybe we can all get caught back up on our sleep!!

You shush mom!!!

To say my little two year old is a spitfire is an understatement. She is going to give me a run for my money that is for sure!! She is so strong willed. There is no reasoning with her!! And I only see it getting worse! I have told several people that if she was my first child, she would have been my only child. I don't know if it is because I'm older or because she is my 4th, but my patience goes quickly with her. She is not afraid of speaking her mind. Like today..we were in church and she was being loud. Imagine that!! So I told her to shush!!! She looked right at me and said "you shush mom"!!! What a kid! I laughed so hard.

But on the other hand...she is definitely my most loving child. I don't know how many luvs and kisses she gives everyday. She kisses my cheeks, chin, nose, eyes, leg...pretty much anything she can get a hold of. She loves her daddy and smothers him with hugs and kisses every day. And she gives the best hugs...like wrap her arms around your neck and squeeze kind of hugs. I love them. Now I am not sure if that is making up for her being so naughty. She may be smarter than I think she is. No matter.....I'll take them whenever she wants to give them. Love ya little love bug!!

Pink Balloons

December 14th....Crystal's Birthday!!! I miss her so much..don't get me wrong I am so happy for her and that she is not hurting anymore. She was so strong for so long and fought so hard. I look up to her and the strength she had every day. That through all the trials she had she just kept going. Like the energizer bunny!! She would have chemo on Friday, flew home on Saturday, and went back to work on Monday!!! I always told her I didn't know how she did it. And she said you would too!!!

I am going to be brutally honest here...but I am not a fan of visiting teaching. (luckily no one who visits me or I visit has permission to view this). I know it is important and it is here for a reason...I have just had too many bad experiences with it. From someone calling me the end of the month just to get there number in, to others bringing their children with pizza in hand to eat at my house, or those same children having an "accident" and not telling me about it and letting me find it later. I have had many who I have never bonded with or had nothing in common. And I would never call them in a million years if I needed something. So what is the point? Well, there are some few and far between that actually work out. I met Crystal through visiting teaching....I was her visiting teacher when her cancer first started. At first it was just my responsibility to make sure they/her were taken care of. I kind-of forced my way in because you have to with Crystal's strong personality. But that visiting and responsibility soon became a very good friendship. Mostly long phone conversations and visits at her house. And hoping every time she went to get news that it was good. And tears of sadness when it was not...mostly on my part because she was so strong. She would always make me smile and laugh even harder. I miss those conversations and visits. I wish we had more time. The regret of things that I should have done. I miss her!! I can't even drive by her new house without crying. Our last goodbyes...when we told each other what a great friend each other was and Crystal saying exactly how I felt, "there is just too much to say". Those are the awesome blessings that come from visiting teaching. I understand now!!

She has helped me to put my life into perspective. What is important? My husband, my kids, the things we do and time that we spend together. I kept thinking the whole time after she came home with the news that she had about 4 weeks left....what would I do, what would I say. That alone would be so hard. I am so sad for Chris and the kids. I can't even understand how that would feel. I would be devastated even now if my mom were to pass. But they are being strong just like their mom!! For her birthday, we met at her graveside and sent our message bearing balloons up in the sky. Happy Birthday Crystal!

Hard lessons learned..

I have now decided that I need to start posting just everyday, not so magical moments so I can remember them. This was definitely one of those moments. So we were in the dollar store yesterday and by the end of our shopping excursion Makena ended up with 4 non-blown up balloons in her hand. I asked her where she got them and she said at her friends house. I didn't pick her up from her friends house so I had no idea if that was true or not. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt and we left the store. On the way home...her story changed from getting them at her friends house to finding them on the floor at the store.

So Makena and I had a little chat. I told her to tell me the real truth this time and she started crying and asked if she could tell me a secret. She said, "I took them out of the holder and threw them on the ground and then I picked them back up, so I kept them". After a lot of begging for me not to get mad at her...I told her I wasn't mad just not very happy. I gave her the 'We don't take things that we haven't paid for discussion' and told her she was going to take them back to the store and explain what she did, say sorry, and pay for them with her own money. She is definitely not excited about that, but I hope she will learn a valuable lesson. I am really hoping I don't have the making of a klepto on my hands.

But what made me Smile was in her prayers that night she prayed the Heavenly Father and Jesus that she was sorry!!

Missionary Man!

What an Awesome day for an Awesome kid!!! We went down to Jake's mission farewell today! I really love this kid! He has always been such a loving caring kid! I met Jake when he was 7 years old and we have had a great relationship ever since. He is so sincere and he really feels like a part of our family! The girls love, love, love him. He did such a good job today! I was so nervous for him because really has a hard time having a conversation and I have never seen him speak in public before. I was picturing him standing up saying, "What up? I think the church is cool dude!" I was pleasantly surprised!! He was very smart and poised. I got a little nervous when he quoted something from the 'Lord of the Rings' at the very beginning of his talk but he did great!!
Everyone else feels the same way I do about this young man!! He had so much support! He is going to the Washington, Everett Mission. He is entering the MTC on 12/15/10 and is excited to spend Christmas in there. I think he is going to be a great missionary!

Festival of Trees!

Look at these beauties!!! On December 2nd these two got to perform at the Festival of Trees. They were so excited! And they both did a great job! Lexi is a pro on the stage..dancing and smiling!! She is awesome!! This was Makena's first time performing..and she did Fabulous! She did her dance and smiled big...I was so proud of her!!

After performing we got to go have some fun!! We saw Santa and the girls told them what they wanted. Then we went to the play area and they made some purses, went fishing, talked to the Elf on the phone, and so much more!! We had so much fun we didn't even get to look at any trees. Until next year!! BTW do you think I take too many pictures...look at all my girls striking a pose!

Karli just jibber jabbered to the elf on the phone and the elf probably didn't understand a word she said!

Makena talked to her and told her she wanted a piano, a guitar, and what ever else she could possibly think of.

They loved it though!