Reason #538 why I love my Mom...

She knows just what I need and when I need it!

I received this card in the mail the other day...right after I walked into the living room and found Ethan cutting away at one of our blankets with a pair of scissors. 

I don't know about the "excellent" part, but the confidence and encouragement is very much appreciated!

Love you, Mom!

Ellen

Guess who got to go to a taping of Ellen today?!

It was so fun!  Ashley, Carrie (who scored us the tickets), and Emily were my Ellen buddies for the afternoon.  Cameras weren't allowed into the studio so we had to make due with a few shots in the holding area.

While we were waiting to be taken to the studio a few workers walked around and grabbed groups of people and took them to another area.  Our little group made it.  Hooray us!  From there they took 9 into a separate building and somehow I found myself among the few.  They asked us a couple of questions about ourselves and about the show and then told us that we may be asked to participate with Ellen during the taping. 

Whoa!  Say that again?!

On today's show they were planning a game.  It could involve just one or up to four of us and they were going to pick from this group.  Sweet!  All we had to do was show lots of enthusiasm.  They had us "practice" our reaction to being called down by "Ellen" or rather an intern pretending to be Ellen.  

"Enthusiasm", they said, "give us enthusiasm and a lot of excitement, but NOT fake, we don't like fake."

Uh.  Okay.  I'm ready to fake show a lot of enthusiasm as Intern Ellen calls my name.  Pretend, don't fake.

Wait, how are those two things different?  Oh, it's my turn?  Okay...ready...go!

So I jumped up and down and screamed a lot.  I even pretended the girl next to me was one of my friends and I hugged her but in the end they went with two 19 year olds that (in all honesty) were a lot better at faking showing enthusiasm than I was!  The real bummer is that the two girls the real Ellen called down ended up winning tickets to the Grammy's this weekend.  How amazing would that have been?  But it wasn't a complete loss; I won an Ellen T-shirt for my dance moves!

Seriously, it was a blast!   Ellen is hilarious, her staff is incredibly friendly, Josh Duhamel and Matthew Bomer are about as good looking as it gets and I was with great friends!  Watch for us tomorrow, Ashley danced in the aisle with Ellen so you should be able to see us!

New Year Snow Day

New Years Eve ended up being one of my favorite days in Utah this year.  Everyone put on their snow gear and we played outside for hours.  Snowball fights, snow wrestling, four-wheeler rides, snow angels...we did it all.  Nothing says family togetherness like a good white wash!

A Cookie Monster Christmas

After the chaos of Christmas morning we packed up to celebrate with Joe and Dawn, the original Cookie Monster Family, at their house.  If the boys thought the day was over they were mistaken.  There sat another Christmas tree loaded with presents for each of us.  Ryan received many games that have already been put to use, and Ethan loved his Elmo microwave.  (Just now he attempted to microwave the cookie I gave him as a snack using the Cookie Monter setting!)  Kris was surprised with Beatles Rockband and I received a beautiful painting of Mary and Jesus. 

I only wish we could have given as well as we received.  Thank you!

My favorite Christmas

When I was younger my parents told me that their favorite Christmas memories were from when we (my brother, sisters and me) were little. I didn't really believe them. I still had vivid memories of waking up Christmas morning knowing that Santa had come the night before and nothing in the world could touch my excitement at that moment. I thought it was a nice thing to say, I am one of their children after all, but I didn't see how watching someone open a present could be better than opening a present. Well, as usual, they were right. I just had to become a parent to realize it. This year has to be the best Christmas I can ever remember. I don't know who was more excited for Christmas to come this year; Ryan or us!

Weeks before Christmas we received a Target toy catalog in the mail. While I was doing dishes Ryan sprawled himself out on the floor and proceeded to tell me all the things Santa was going to bring him for Christmas. I "hmm hmm'd" as the list went on and on, but then came the words that I would proceed to hear at least 20 times EVERY day until Christmas Eve:

"Santa is going to bring me a Dragon Castle!"

After about a week of this I did what any parent would do. I called my mom and asked her,

"At what point did you feel like you had to buy me whatever I asked Santa for that year?

 And she, being the good mom she is, laughed at me.

I guess that answered my question!

But then, she decided to play Santa and bought it for him. (Thanks, mom!)  Let me tell you, I have never had more fun than watching Ryan find his dragon castle on Christmas morning. He was so excited he screamed that it was just what he asked for and gave it a big hug.

Cue melted heart.

Ethan was old enough this year to get into the action as well. Santa (Grandma and Grandpa) was especially good to my boys this year. Ethan lounged around on his new leather sofa and opened present after present. His favorite was probably the shopping cart that was just like the one his twin cousins have.

Sometimes being a parent exceeds all expectations. Christmas is definitely one of those times.

(more Christmas to come....)

Happy Birthday...Everyone!

December is a big month for birthdays on my side of the family.  Tayler and Dave share a birthday on the 4th, my mom celebrates on the 12th and the twins turned 1 on the 20th. 

Here's all of our celebrations in pictures.  I hope everyone had a fun birthday!

The picture above is the best shot I was able to get of Hadley and Kennedy on their birthday.  Unfortunately they were sick for their big day.

Breakfast with Santa

Usually every Christmas my side of the family has an adult dinner at The Roof restaurant in Salt Lake.  I love this tradition.  It's always a fun night and one that I look forward to every year.  This year, however, we didn't go.  We did something even better.  Instead of leaving our kiddos behind we took them to breakfast with Santa at the Little America Hotel. 

They loved it and we loved it!  Thank you mom and dad for a great morning.

Disneyland Thanksgiving

The amount of time Kris gets off for Thanksgiving isn't quite enough to make a trip home worth all the effort.  We decided to invite his family to stay with us and spend Thanksgiving at Disneyland instead.  (Not a bad alternative, eh?)  I'm so glad they came.  We had a great time with them, both boys loved dragging Grandpa Joe on all the rides. 

It's a rare treat for us to both ride with one of the boys.  We usually have to split up.  Here we are together with Ethan in the Haunted Mansion.  He's keeping a wary eye out for Jack Skeleton!

The whole gang preparing to ride Toy Story Mania.

l-r:  John's wife Emilee, Dawn, Kris' brother John, Ryan, Joe, Kris, Ethan

My favorite part of the day is when we stopped to take a rest in California Adventure and ended up taking in a little show. They asked for volunteers and before we realized what was going on Ryan had raised his hand and was up on the stage. He did a great job! I loved the proud look on his face when the audience applauded for him! I didn't get a picture of it, but to thank him for participating they gave him a signed pencil drawing of Woody which if one of his favorite characters.

The classic Splash Mountain picture.  Ryan is in the very back with his Grandpa, but he was smart enough to use his Dad as a shield!

Ryan and Jesse.

It's a Small World decked out for Christmas, love it!

Thank you for coming everyone!  What a fun way to spend Thanksgiving!

Don't take your frustrations out on a candle....

The candle will win:

Holiday Open House

I've been itching to attempt selling a few of my creations at a craft fair or bazaar, but I'm a little shy when it comes to being a saleswoman.  (Not the best start, I know.)  I decided I'd start small with my first venture so I invited a few crafting gal pals to join me in hosting a Holiday Open House.  We set up shop at my place, invited a few friends and had ourselves a great time!  For being thrown together in a couple of weeks I'd say it was a success.  I sold my pepper perch goods and a couple of quilts (hooray!) and everyone else sold things as well.  I gained a little experience, a little cash and lot of excitement to do it again!

My "Booth":

Merrilee of Tuesday Mourning fame:

Paige from Page by Paige made the cuuuutest calendars and handmade books:             

Shanell made adorable flower pins:

Jenny made custom everything!  Stockings, onesies, T-shirts, purses:

Carrie's hats were SO cute:

Autumn and her sisters contributed all things girly:  headbands, bow holders, purses and skirts:

All the crafters before the event:

Paige, Me, Merrilee, Jenny, Autumn, Shanell, Carrie, Lorraine

(why do I not have a photo of Lorraine's stuff???  I don't know, but her hand-dyed onesies and handmade cosmetic bags were adorable.  I should know, I bought one!)

Ladies, thanks for helping me get over my fear of being a saleswoman.  I say next year we go all out!

Date night is back!

Kris and I do a babysitting exchange with some friends of ours and therefore get a date night every weekend.  That's right, every weekend.  We love it! 

Last night we did this:

I'm telling you, it never gets old.

L-R: Chris, Jenny, Ashley, Kris

I LOVE the face Chris is pulling and the fact that he was screaming just as loud as I was!

Tonight we are doing this:

L-R:

Carson, Ethan, Ryan

(little Ethan was already asleep)

Popcorn?  Check 

Movie?  Check. 

Fort made out of a quilt frame?  Check.

Loving this babysitting exchange/date night every weekend???  Triple Check! 

Play-doh Party

Kris whipped out the play-doh and we had ourselves a little play-doh party.  At one point (as with all things, it seems) the play-doh became guns and there was a shoot out.  What is it with boys and guns???

Kris teaching Ethan how to make "snakes". 

My best creation:

Kris' best creation:

The End.

Disney Halloween

Kris and I were "bad" parents and didn't take our kids around the neighborhood to go Trick-or-Treating.  In our defense, by the time Halloween finally rolled around we were all Halloweened out!  The boys got a super deluxe Trick-or-Treat experience this year at Disneyland.  We bought special tickets and they were able to get all dressed up and run around collecting candy at California Adventure Park and meet-and-greet their favorite Disney characters.  Ryan was in awe of everyone's costumes and Ethan was the big hit in his shark costume.  Everywhere we went we heard people commenting on the "cute little shark".  One Disney worker even told us that in all the Disney Halloween parties she had worked she had never seen a shark costume.  So there you go, dress up your kids as a shark next year and be the hit!

I apologize in advance for the terrible photos, naturally since we paid extra money for this once a year special experience I would forget my camera's memory stick and have to rely on my camera phone.  Argh!

Speaking of "Argh!" Ryan was a little nervous about meeting Captian Jack.  Can't you tell?

I spy Mickey.  Do you spy Ryan?

Happy Halloween!

Pictures from our Ward Trunk or Treat.  There were so many creative costumes!

Quilt Challenge

I'm learning I sometimes need a deadline in order to get things done. My sister called last night and said there is a baby shower next Saturday for an extended family member and did I think I could get a quilt done and put in the mail to arrive in time? Um, let's see!  My machine is back from getting repaired and working great.  You'd think I'd get going on finishing all those quilt tops for the shop, but I instead find myself catching up with all the Project Runway in my Tivo.  This challenge is just what I needed to get sewing again. 

I finished piecing the top today and I'm really loving the color combo and the simple design. I'm excited to quilt it and send it off.  Hopefully the new mom-to-be-loves it too! 

I'm so proud of all my hard work.....I think I need a reward.  And since Kris just finished midterms I'm declaring tonight date night.  Dinner and this movie is just the ticket!

LA Arboretum

I'm in love with all these free days that are offered at the local museums and parks. It sure makes exploring easy and guilt free. Today we made our first trek to the Los Angeles Arboretum where we walked, ran, played and overall enjoyed the beautiful gardens and wildlife. Wildlife at the Arboretum consists of peacocks, geese, squirrels, turtles and koi fish.  And I guess if we are being technical I should include these two:

There was a little bit of peacock chasing.  Sorry peacocks!

We also played in a big stick house, seriously people, they have a big house made of sticks...very cool!

And my favorite, the waterfall.