Christmas Day

Travis got a Tonka Bounce Back Racer (G&G Carey), dinosaurs, Guess Who?, some Super Hero action toys, and books! It was kind of funny, because I had used a big box of famous Amos cookies to wrap one of his gifts so when he ripped the paper off he said "I GOT COOKIES!"











Travis got Moon Sand from Santa Claus. I think if Santa had known that Moon Sand makes a big mess and had thought about all the sweeping Mom would have to do---he might not have brought it! hehe











Caleb is very excited about his ipod. I know, I know he is only 7....but he loves music and is always singing and so I figured what the heck...an ipod is really just the same as the walkman I begged my Mom for growing up. Haha





Caleb got an RC truck from Santa. He also got walkie talkies (from G& G Carey), Mega-rig Space Shuttle, ipod, light saber (A. Kathy), and some other things I can't remember. Too much stuff!!




Can't waste anytime-- Martie set up a tea party for her new babies on her new table. She's so sweet! Although at first she wasn't too fond of the boy baby doll. She kept saying "Mom I don't want the boy one, yours is the boy one."
Martie Jo with her Christmas gift. When she came out into the living room she was so excited--she squealed, pointed at the tree and said "ooooh Santa brought me babies!" She also got a baby playset to go with her dollies, barbie clothes & case, teaset, table & chairs (from Grandma & Grandpa), and a Little Petshop Playhouse, clothes (A. Kathy), & Hat/gloves (Grandma & Grandpa Pete). She loved it all!

Blessed!

One night, a few days before Christmas, I was sitting in my living room (all snuggled up and warm) with the kids tucked into their beds. As I watched the clear bright lights of the Christmas tree twinkle, I had a feeling of such thankfulness overcome me. My life is blessed---I am deeply indebt to my Heavenly Father who has given me so much. These are just a few of the things that ran through my head that night...
1. My children (crazy, happy, feisty, and oh so sweet!)
2. My husband (loving, kind, funny, and faithful in the gospel)
3. My extended family (parents, in-laws, sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts & uncles)
4. My Grandmothers (no one could have been given better role models)
5. My Savior (with Christmas fast approaching, my thoughts were more in tune with the great debt I owe to him, with the wonder of His life and His love for me.)
6. For a home warm and safe from the snow.
7. For food to feed my family.
8. For presents under the tree.
9. For the little things everyday (clean water, a van that runs, ...)
10. For health (I am so grateful to have a healthy body and healthy children)

So, as I watched those little lights sparkle and shine, I determined that maybe this Christmas I could make a determination to shine a little brighter. Too work a little harder at showing how grateful I am for my blessed life.

Sledding Fun!

Getting so excited for Christmas!

Well, it's hard to believe Christmas is almost here already. It seems like I was just planning out all the fun things to do this month and now its almost over. The kids have done suprisingly well at leaving the presents alone (after a few warnings)! Martie has been having lots of fun lately and it seems like in the span of two weeks she's gone from being my baby to my little girl. She always gets into the closet and puts my shoes on and then goes and plays with her baby doll. Today I caught her putting her baby in time-out and telling her "No you sit in time-out and be nice." Sounded kind of familiar! Haha. It's funny when you see your parenting techniques acted out by your own children. Jeff is done with this semester of school and it is really nice to have one more out of the way. He has had some extra time to spend with us and that is always fun--no one is funner than Daddy. We took the kids sledding the other day and it cracked me up because little Miss Martie just hopped right on and went on down the hill. Travis is a little more cautious and of course, Caleb has been doing this for years--so he is a pro. Well, that's about all we've been up to lately. Caleb's Christmas break starts tomorrow and so this will be great to have some family time.

My sister Jenny took some family pictures of us the other day, and they turned out really good so I thought I would post a preview. For the others you will have to wait until you get your Christmas cards!! Hope everyone is doing well. I love the holiday season!

Crafts and Baking!

I don't know about other Mom's, but for me the longest hours of the day are from 4:00 to 6:00pm. Everyone is hungry, tired, and "bored". So, I like to entertain the kids with little crafts to make. Fall is the perfect time because every month there is a new theme. We made these turkeys using our footprints and handprints. I think they are pretty cute and they make my home look so festive hanging on the fridge.

I attend this recipe club once a month and this month was holiday breads. I tried this new recipe for a Danish Kringle (added some marashino cherries and almonds) and it turned out so pretty--and Delicious!!

Trav's Birthday

So Travis is turning 4 years old and it is so weird because I feel like we have had him forever, but its only been 4 years. He is just the best kid in the world and so funny. He makes me laugh all day long and he always tells me..."you crack me up Mom!" So cute! One day we were watching a cooking show and saw this really awesome volcano cake and so Travis picked this for his birthday and I was more than happy to make it because it was so fun.

Trav's vtech laptop (which he hasn't played with even once) when you scroll down you'll know why!

The making of the cake. I used two box cake mixes (one red velvet--one chocolate) and made 4 round cakes and then cut them down to size. I crumbled the leftover red velvet pieces for my lava rocks. The rest was just frosting and icing! Oh and of course, I cut a whole out of the top and inserted a votive candle holder with some dry ice in it-so it looked like the volcano was erupting. The kids loved it and thought I was magic! It's always fun when you can impress your kids.

Travis asked me if it was "really exploding?"

My cousin Kevin made this "super homemade" card for Trav's birthday! If you look close you can see it says..."more chips" --Trav's favorite phrase.

This is why Travis hasn't touched his laptop toy. He loves LOVES his Batcave!

Trick or Treat!

Trick or treat smell my feet...and so on... This is the night of our ward party! The kids had so much fun getting dressed up and this year was perfect because I didn't have to fight anybody about wearing their costume (except Jeff)! On Halloween, Jeff's parents came over to spend the holiday with us and take the kids trick-or-treating. We enjoyed having them here and it made our Halloween even more fun than usual.

Travis the Pirate! Aaargh Matey!

Caleb the Skeleton!

Martie is Super Girl!

The whole gang!

It's our Halloween tradition that we carve pumkins every year, so on Sunday we made donuts and jack-o-lanterns. For some reason my jack-o-lantern every year seems to end up looking kind of goofy and a little slow. Travis saw mine and said "Oh, is it sad?" That pretty much said it all. Martie's is suppose to be Scooby Doo, but it's hard to tell. Travis' is the most scary, Caleb's is the one with the little nose, and Jeff did the skull. I think they turned out pretty good! I've also been having lots of fun making fun foods for the kids to eat. My mom always sends me little cookbooks with fun recipes in them, so this year we've Monster Mouths with Ghostly Mashed potatoes, Cheesy Bat Biscuits, Yummy Mummy Calzones, and R.I.P. Brownies. The kids love it! Well, i hope everyone is enjoying Halloween as much as we are.

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch and got to do all sorts of things...face painting, feed the horse, corn maze, and pick a pumpkin. The kids has tons of fun running through the maze and of course, Caleb kept running ahead of us and I was worried we would lose Martie. The kids also got to feed corn stalks to a horse and they thought that was pretty cool. We searched all over the pumpkin patch for the perfect one for Caleb. (who know he would be so picky about a pumpkin)!

I offered to carry it for her but, Martie insisted on carrying her own pumpkin and only dropped it like 3 times!

Travis is getting a bat painted on his face. Martie got a frankestein kind of thing and Caleb got a pumpkin on his hand.

Trav showing off his BAT!

Caleb looks good in corn--I think he was meant to be a farm kid!

Kiddos

Caleb is humoring me. I discovered that as he was getting older, I was taking less pictures of him and I together. So recently I've been making him take pictures with me. What a good sport!

So I also noticed going through family pictures that Jeff isn't in very many of them. I asked him why he thought that was..."because I'm never around." Exactly. So I decided to make him take pictures with me too!

Sometimes you have to make your own FUN!

Today we had a rain storm and of course the kids got excited because they like to ride their bikes through the ditch. I know, GROSS, right? But, hey I figure it's rain water and it's moving pretty fast, and it's not like I let them drink it! Travis was really mischievious because he would ride his bike to where Caleb or Martie were and then purposely spray them with his back tire. Anyway, on boring Saturday's you have to make your own fun.