Sing with me now

Bringing you some Christmas cheer... two of the three (soon to be four) hooligans. Put your hands together for: Hunter & Bailey!!! *This one's for you Grandma! ;)

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone had as joyous a holiday as we did! The old adage is true: it IS so much better to give than to receive! I can't even begin to explain the excitement I felt in proxy for my kids this year.. I may have been more excited than they were! :)... okay, maybe it was a tie... Either way, it certainly made for a GREAT Christmas morning!!!

And what's even better is that for the 2nd time in our 5 1/2 years of marriage I was actually able to surprise Brandon! (A combination of him being nosy and be being a lousy liar I guess..) Enjoy the slide show - hopefully it brings you at least a fraction of the happiness it brought us! ;) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Bribery

Why is it that children never want to perform when the camera is on? I mean, don't they realize we NEED these precious moments in our permanent databases?! My mind can only remember so much on its own!

Well, here's proof to all my distant, more than 24 hrs drive away, family (that's pretty much everyone these days) that Landon is in fact walking! He was happy until he realized with every step forward he took, I took one back... what kind of sick game is this mom?! *You (or at least your wife), will thank me for it someday bud. ;)

Take two.. BRIBERY! And although he isn't completely thrilled that the game isn't yet over, he at least finishes his part of it. Good job Landon!!! :)

*Truth be told, he took his first steps in November, but he is still more than content to get around by speed-crawling! It's about a 50/50 mix as of yet.

Seeing Angels

Today was our big preschool nativity production! Bailey was the angel, and Hunter was supposed to be a shepherd (after he took one look at all the people, and decided he preferred to be a member of the audience... next year maybe!).
The kids did a GREAT job! Bailey's line was "Then Joseph took sweet Mary, and to the stable went. They used the straw to make a bed, it was heaven sent.". I had a proud mommy moment when she said it without needing any encouragement! *sniff ;)

And even though we did it with 1/2 the class size I'm used to, they really pulled it off! Great things happen when you've got a GREAT group of kids!!! ..and Bailey did make a very "natural" angel! ;)

Sugar High

It takes a lot.. no really, a LOT of sugar to make me sick. So, exactly how much cookie dough did I consume thus far today? Lets just say, "enough". Enough to satisfy both mom and baby (who has been somersaulting with excess energy for about 2 hours now!).

Bailey and Hunter were quite the little helpers today, never leaving my side. Of course I'd like to think it's because they love me, but maybe it had a small something to do with the free reign of goodies that came along with the job - don't judge, it's Christmas!! ;)
Bailey was the most intent "sprinkler" I've ever seen! Good job honey! :)

As dad and Landon tried to rest in the other room, mom may have given the thumbs up to tackle dad amid their sugar high... ;)

We visited with Santa on Thursday as part of our preschool field trip. He was probably the best Santa I've ever seen... must be a grandpa!

And of course the kids got to play in the first snow yesterday, despite the 14 degree temperature outside!

Parents on Ice

This past Tuesday at Bailey's skating class, parents were invited on the ice for the last 30minutes. Bailey was SOOO excited to show me her new moves, and I was excited to test my new Christmas skates early - thanks Bailey, I LOVE them! :) She kept reminding me not to fall because I would hurt Peyton (I wonder where she got that idea... Brandon??). It was comical to see the roles reverse as she "mothered" me! It's a good thing there were no incidents because she probably would have taken responsibility for it.. or put me in time out indefinitely! ;) It was a LOT of fun even though I am quite rusty - has it really been 6 years since I did this last?! Shameful...

It's a...

GIRL!!! We are SO excited to be having another girl and level the hormonal playing field around here!:) Bailey is beyond thrilled and can't wait for "Peyton Bre" to arrive - I have to say, I'm pretty excited myself.. can't wait to dust off all of my little girl clothes! ;)

Nick Jr.. this one's for you!!!

What do you do when you have 3 young kids and an abundance in costumes that have been worn once?? Why, recycle them of course!!! This year, we reused Bailey's monkey costume to make Hunter "Boots", we got Bailey a Dora costume, and thanks to AAA's maps, converted Landon into just that! :) Dora, Boots and the Map.. it doesn't get any more economy friendly than that! Who knew cheap could look SO darn cute?!
And just to make sure everyone knew, we inscribed Landon's new identity to his newly elongated upper half! :) Happy Halloween everyone!

The Big Cheese

It's official.. my baby is no longer a "baby"! :( Landon turned the big O-N-E yesterday! I think Bailey and Hunter (okay, and mom!) were more excited about the festivities than he was! Even the beautiful cake Bailey and I made didn't get as much love and recognition by his belly as it did by the floor.. odd, since literally EVERYTHING else has seen the inside of that squishy midsection! lol. For all those who see a resemblance to mom here, I'm here to testify to you that it stops at the exterior... I would NEVER turn down a mountain of chocolate!!!

THIS, was literally the worst of it! Of course the day he's allowed to make a royal mess he chooses not to! ;P ..but seriously, can anyone get mad at that face?! Happy birthday buddy! :)

3 Cheers and a pink sparkly doughnut!

Okay, bare with me for a mommy minute.. :) Bailey has had 6, 30-minute skating lessons now and I am SOOO proud of her! They split the class into two groups, the one's that need a little extra help, and the ones that are stable enough to get more advanced instructions. Today, she was bumped into the advanced group and I could have cried! lol, she is doing so good.. leaps and bounds already over that 1st lesson just a few short weeks ago!!! After her lesson, we went out to celebrate and she picked out doughnuts - a pink "sparkly" one for her, and a blue sprinkled one for Hunter of course! :) GO BAILEY!!! :)

Spicer Orchards

We went on a field trip to Spicer Orchards yesterday for preschool. The kids LOVED it!!! We went on a tractor hayride to the apple orchards and each kid got to pick their own apples.. these were no ordinary apples either - they're like large grapefruits! and SOOO good! :)

Here are some of the kids from my class this year - GREAT kids!!!

We then rode over to a pumpkin patch where they got their own pumpkins. Hunter was more than thrilled with his choice! ;)

Bailey took a while to find the "perfect" pumpkin, but alas she did! :)

As if that wasn't enough we then had hot dougnuts and freshly made cider.. no words.. :) They also had a HUGE play area which the kids loved as well! Overall, a GREAT day!!!

Pumpkins AND a package!

One of our local grocery chains (VG's) had a "FREE PUMPKINS" promotion for kids 12 and under who would color a Halloween picture to be posted in the store. They insisted that Landon "color" a picture too so he wouldn't feel left out which I thought was pretty cute! ;) The kids were MORE than willing to color - which they would have done without an added incentive - for a pumpkin of their choice! They carried them in their car seats (minus Landon) the entire way home. Once we pulled in, we noticed a package on the doorstep from Grandma De Groot which was filled with presents for Landon's upcoming birthday, and Halloween goodies and shirts for all of them. Bailey and Hunter were besides themselves, "Hunter.. can you believe it?! Pumpkins AND a package?! Isn't this a great day?? This is a really great day!" "Mommy, can we wear our new shirts and take a picture with our pumpkins to show Grandma? It would make her SOOO happy. She's my special girl, and she misses me SO much!" ...how do you say no to that?! So, this one's for you Grandma! ;)
My word... I think I have trouble in store with this one! Look at that face!!! Welp, time to invest in a shot gun for Brandon... ;P

Hunter wasn't all that into sitting STILL for a shot yet again, so.. this is the best we have for now! :) ..I don't know about you, but I still want to just maul these two with kisses!!! LOVE boys I do!!! :)

Color Me BROWN

Not sure what a "brown" mood is, but I must be in one today since I unconsciously dressed all 3 of my kids in it! ..and when a crazy coincidence like this happens, it's only natural to snap a few shots in the yard right?? ;) It's too bad Brandon and I aren't in these.. and Landon's pants don't match.. because I would totally use these for our Christmas cards this year!
Not completely, but I can almost see why people ask if they are triplets sometimes.. lol!

Look at this little cheeser! I told her to do a silly face and her reply was, "Mom, princesses know how to smile beautiful for pictures all the time." lol, well okay then! ;)

I couldn't get Hunter to stand still long enough to get a real smile out of him...

He thought it was more fun to chase me around the yard trying to kiss me! I love this kid! :)

..and then there's Landon. Quite possibly the EASIEST kid ever to photograph! I only needed one shot and this was it! :)

Call me baised, but my word these kids are cute!!! ;)

Ice Princess

Bailey started taking ice skating lessons! It is SO fun to see her learn from someone other than me - every once in a while it's nice to just be the cheerleader! ;) I've got to give it to her... she's pretty darn tough! :) Here's a video of her last session (not bad for her 3rd time on the ice!). I love how every time she notices me she stops and looks shyly down.. as if I believe she's shy!! ;P

Going Digital

I have entered the world of digital scrap booking, and just finished our 2007 family book. After many months of trying to figure out what I could do to improve it, I am finally turning it over to the public (aka YOU!). I am terrified to print it, just sure that there will be typos or those dumb "little things" that you never notice until after the mulah has been spent! Lol. So, for all of you with nothing better to do, you can click on the link to see my scrapbook and give me your feedback before I take the dreaded plunge!!! ;P Drum roll please... here it is!

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=811273&productId=11&projectSponsor=215084

Road Trip

Brandon and I decided to pack up the family and head out for one last hurrah before seminary and school started. We drove to Syracuse NY to visit my Grandparents and had a BLAST!!! We stopped at Niagara Falls on the way and due to the size of the crowds, whipped out these babies.. "harnesses" if you will, made by a sheer genius! Bailey was the puppy and Hunter the monkey, and our lives were SO much easier!!!:)
Niagara Falls was cool and all, but it had nothing on this place.. now that should be one of the 7 wonders! Mm mm :)

Bailey and Hunter were fascinated by Great Grandma and Grandpas gardens. Grandpa gave them both a flower and they were in child heaven!

Landon was hamming it up and winning hearts as usual! He is getting SO big!!!:(

We took the kids to the State Fair, and saw Aunts and Uncles that I haven't seen in 9 years! It was SO much fun and we look forward to going back soon!

Confessions

Brandon bet me that I couldn't last until October, and me with my pride challenged him that I could. I should have known... I'm WAY too excited!!! So, here you go, this is me "giving in"... I'M PREGNANT!!! :) ..and only 6 weeks at that! I never did understand how people can have the patience to keep it to themselves for 12 whole weeks - well, I made it 1/2 way! ;) Baby #4 is due mid-April, and if you can't tell I am VERY excited!!! Bailey is insisting that there are TWO babies in my stomach, a boy named "Gavin" and a girl named "Leslie". Lol, time will tell I guess. :)

Weight Limit

How often do we pay attention to the "weight limit".. I mean, they have about 1,000lbs of give or take on that right??...

I probably shouldn't be complaining. I mean, it could have been MUCH worse in many respects... the shelves could have fallen when someone was in the laundry room, certain to bury them in the debree. The paint could have been a less neutral tone (I'm thinking anything that is incorporated in my preschool rooms!). Heck, there could have been a REAL robber in my house causing all the loud ruckus that caused my heart to skip a few. That last one is debatable though, as it may have been easier to talk a robber out of our home than to clean up this fun and very unexpected event of my afternoon!:P

EXHIBIT A: This is the space on my wall where the shelves SHOULD be.
...and this is where they obviously wanted to be... shelf #1:

and lets not forget shelf #2:

This is the point in which I started laughing... maybe a smidge in hysterics... (yes, that was a FULL GALLON of paint. Emphasis on "was"!) The measure of it's destruction isn't fully shown in this picture as the majority of the spill is covered with your typical laundry room attendants.

I'm not quite sure how the paint got all the way over to this wall...

But alas, to every story there is a silver lining. So before you feel too sorry for me, here's mine:

1 - Hunter was down for a nap (if you know how "hands on" my son can be, you'll know why this was my #1!).

2 - As I scooped and scrubbed the seemingly endless paint off of the floor, walls, and door, I knew I was building character! ..and when the rather LARGE spider decided to get stuck in the paint and wouldn't stop wriggling, I actually felt kind of sorry for the little bugger... you can contribute that to all the previous "character building" acquired, or the fact that we watched Charlotte's Web yesterday.. your choice. ;P

3 - The looks I received from my teenage neighbor boys as I hosed off all of my paint covered items were quite priceless. Yeah, I never thought I would work that hard to save a few containers of bleach either!

4 - I prefer to wax my eyebrows as it takes much less time and effort than plucking. My poor neglected tweezers were once more shown the love and attention they deserve as I used them to de-glass my feet from the shattered light bulbs.

And last, but certainly not least, it brought me back to the good 'ole days.. I'm thinking January 22, 2009... previous blog post "...and how was your evening??". Priceless. So I guess the moral of the story is this: If you're on an elevator that is overly crowded and most likely over it's limit, GET OFF - people can make bigger messes than a can of paint.

Pack it up

We recieved a package this afternoon and the kids were beyond thrilled! Whether it was from what was in it or getting in it I don't know... How many Hooligans can you fit into a box?

After the box was torn to shreds (literally), the kids got their second wind when I showed them what the greatest part of the package really was... You can't tell me every time you ever saw a roll of bubble wrap as a kid - and maybe even now? - that you didn't just yearn to do this!... *FYI: I had no idea my camera was on a time-lapse setting (or even that it had the ability), hence the lack of commentary and speed of the video. ;)

Once Upon A Time...

Better late than never right?? I finally received all of the pictures from my brother Michael's wedding to my new sister Trisha!:) They were married on my birthday (May 22nd) and it was a BEAUTIFUL day! The next day, Brandon, Landon and I drove to Michigan for our big move, leaving Bailey and Hunter with their Grandma De Groot & Grandma Roberts for the week. I flew back to Utah the next weekend for my best friend from high school's (Breanna's) wedding! Two gorgeous brides in one weeks time.. it was a busy but GREAT week! I was so blessed to be able to be a part of both of their special days. Enjoy the slide show!!!

Ships Ahoy!!!

So after a brief intermission I decided to continue in our decorating escapade! Here is the boys' room.. FINALLY!!! ;) Brandon isn't a HUGE fan of vertical stripes (he prefers horizontal), but I like them..

I took what was for me a BIG risk and painted the closet and door.. once I started there was no turning back! It COMPLETELY changed the whole look of the room!

Now I know what you're thinking.. Landon is only 9 months right?? Yes, but someday we'll probably have another one (and NO, I am NOT pregnant!) and he will become a "big boy" in need of a bed... I like to be prepared!;) Until then, he is in a crib in Bailey's room, the LAST room on my to-do list!!!