Merry Christmas!

We spent Christmas in Blackfoot with my family. My entire family was together, every single brother, sister, spouse, and child. It was wonderful.

My girls were fascinated by all the presents under the tree.

They were also fascinated by my brothers dogs. They love Chihuahua dogs, thanks to the previews for Beverly Hills Chihuahua at the beginning of their favorite movie.

On Christmas Eve, my dad put on his Santa hat and read Christmas stories. My girls were fascinated again.

They were so excited, it was difficult to get them to bed. Until Amanda saved the day. She told Camryn Santa was almost to our house, and if she wasn't in bed he would pass us by. I have never seen that child so anxious to get in bed. She went right to sleep.

Christmas Morning

I hope everyone had a Christmas as wonderful as we did.

Snow

Some may have heard me complain about cold winters here in Idaho. I need to clarify a bit. I love the snow. I love a beautiful blanket of white. I love the brisk cold air. I love to play in the snow. The problem is that it snows, but the freshly fallen snow does not last. Most of the winter does not seem white, but instead seems brown, wet, cold, and windy. This I do not like.

Well, we have been lucky. It has snowed a lot this week. This is a view of some trees in our backyard from my girls bedroom window (it shows about half of our backyard). I love the white blanket of snow. It is so refreshing and beautiful.

As pretty as it is, we could not leave that snow undisturbed. Out came all of our cold weather gear.

Ryan and Camryn made a snow castle. When they were done playing in the snow, they wanted a Blizzard.

I would have thought hot chocolate, but I didn't argue. We just had both.

Snow is here. We are going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Thank You!

Someone out there is oh, so sweet, kind, and giving. I just came home to a box full of treats. Not like a shoebox, a BOX full of goodies. Inside was also a $50 gift card to Fred Meyer. I don't know who did such a sweet thing, but I hope they read my blog. Thank you so very much. I can not tell you how much your generosity means. Really.

To remember our Lord and Savoir, Jesus Christ, and to give to others, that is the true meaning of Christmas. Thank you for being such a great example of this.

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, it is so much more fun to watch someone tear into, especially my little girls.
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. I don't feel bad about taking it down and throwing it away. Less mess. I miss the scent of a real tree, but artificial scents are getting close.
3. When do you put up the tree? Early, this year I actually put it up a couple days before Thanksgiving. I LOVE decorating my tree.
4. Do you like eggnog? I probably like it too much. That rich, creamy goodness, yummy. I make an eggnog cheesecake that is hard to resist too.
5. Favorite Christmas gift received as a child? When I was in 4th grade I got a cherry red bicycle and my first porcelain doll. I still have the doll. Who knows what happened to the bike?
6. Hardest person to buy for? Dad. He is pretty simple in his wants, and has most of it. He always wants almond rocha, but my mom usually takes care of that. My brothers and sisters have started going together on a bigger, nicer gift for both of my parents, which makes it easier.
7. Easiest person to buy for? My girls, they want everything, though nothing specific.
8. Do you have a nativity scene? I bought my first set about 9 years ago. It is a ceramic set I planned on painting. It is still wrapped in newspaper in a box in my basement, unpainted.
9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail, though I seem to be late getting them out each year....that reminds me, I still need to...
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Have you ever heard of people recycling wedding gifts? Well, one year at Christmas we got back a gift that we had given as a wedding gift the previous summer.
11. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life
12. When do you start shopping? Usually November
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, I know how I felt getting a recycled gift, both as the original giver and receiver (at the same time).
14. Favorite thing to eat a Christmas? eggnog
15. Lights on the tree? Lots and lots of white lights
16. Favorite Christmas song? I have lots, but O Holy Night gives me goosebumps.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Either, it's all about being with those you love.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course I can sing them, but I don't think I can spell them.
19. Angel or Star on the tree top? I've done both, but I like a star better.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Morning? One present Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning after Santa comes.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The commercialization of Christmas.
22. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Umm...nothing particular.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? To relax and spend the day with those I love, and food storage.

Music at our house

I will tell you a little something about me. I love piano music. I have always wanted to know how to play, but never learned. I wanted to take lessons, but never did. I remember telling myself a few years ago that if I had not yet taken lessons, I would take them with my kids.
Lately, I have been feeling like Camryn is ready to get involved in something. I have gone back and forth between dance and music. She loves both. I have been leaning toward music. So I started looking for a piano. I found one, on craigslist.

Check out our new piano! It is an old 1930s beauty.

How much do you think a piano like this would cost?

I admit I don't know much about it, but I sure thought $100 sounded like a steal. The left pedal has come off and is inside the bench. Other than that it works beautifully.

I tried to take a picture with my girls in front of the piano with the keys closed. As you can see, my girls don't always like each other and didn't want a picture.

So now, Camryn and I are going to take piano lessons. Wish us luck in this endeavor.

My girls love music and dancing. One would try to play the piano while the other danced.

My girls!

I sure love 'em.

Too much!

My girls like our Christmas tree too much. They often rearrange the ornaments, which has only caused slight frustration. It has now gone too far. My girls were eating the ornaments. I don't know if the dried apple slices were noticable in the picture, but my girls sure know about them. I caught them eating them. "They taste yummy!" they told me. I think I will dry some more for the tree, and I guess I will have to make some to eat too.

I love Christmas-time!

There are so many things I love about this time of year. It all starts at our house with the decorations. It means Christmas-time is here!

The most important Christmas decoration is, of course, the tree. I change my tree every year. I just buy things after Christmas when everything goes on clearance. I think I could fully decorate 5 trees with my collection. The trouble is picking a theme.

My girls loved helping with the tree. They thought all the decorations belonged on the tree. They were busy hanging ornaments (from the tags that were not yet removed) while I was still busy deciding which ones to hang. We finally got it all figured out.
Yes, my girls are in their pajamas, we started first thing!

Kendra's Tag

Thank you Danielle, I had been wanting to post some individual things about my girls, and this was the perfect opportunity. Here are 5 things about Kendra at the fun age of 2 . 1. Anyone that knows Kendra knows that she is a mommy's girl. She is always content when I am holding her. If I am not there, someone else holding her will suffice. She just loves to cuddle. I get busy doing things, and the most common words I hear her say are "mommy, I want chou." I am a softee. I am going to miss this when she gets bigger.
2. Kendra is pretty easy going, until she gets mad. That little girl can throw a fit. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, look out! You might need your ear plugs handy too. And oh, the big tears roll down her cheeks. Her face turns red. She is pretty dramatic about it all. It is hard not to laugh (unless we are in public, that happened once).

3. Kendra does not need much discipline. If she does something bad, I take her to time out. The second she knows she's in trouble, those crocodile tears come up. She sobs, "mommy, be good. Be good, mommy." Her attitude immediately changes. I don't think I even leave her in time out for a full minute, and her bad behavior stops. She always says sorry, and hugs who ever she hurt or offended. If only big sisters wanted to be like their little sisters...

4. Kendra loves learning words. She often asks what something is or repeats what you say, almost sounding like it's a question. This morning for example, Kendra says, "what's this?"
Me: concealer
Kendra: con-see-ler? con-see-ler?
Me: yes, for mommy's zits
Kendra: mom-my's zits?
(I'm sure that word will come in handy)
Or she just repeats the last part of a sentence you just said.
Me: We are going to have spaghetti for dinner.
Kendra: spe-ge-ti dinn-er?

5. Her favorite toy is a baby doll. She has her favorite baby at home, but she will pick any baby doll over another toy any day. She loves to cuddle her baby, push it around in a stroller, change its diaper, and just mommy the little doll.

Kendra is my sweet little girl. I am lucky to be her mommy.

People I tag: Sage (Morgyn), Vanae (Violet), Bethany (McKenna), and Jill (Chani). If I tagged you last time, you can pick from the two tags.

Tribal Paint

Camryn painted Kendra with zinc oxide diaper cream. What are they trying to tell me? I was thinking maybe they want to move away and join some Aborigine tribe. Or maybe Camryn knows that zinc oxide is a good sunscreen and was trying to protect Kendra from getting a sunburn (on this chilly, overcast, November day in Idaho). Or maybe Camryn was trying to tell Kendra she thinks she is a big butt.

Underground Caves

There are some really neat things in Idaho. For my brother, Jonathan's birthday, he wanted to go hiking through some underground caves. Part of my family had been to these caves before, but he never had, and neither had I.


So we pile into two trucks and head out. We misjudged the amount of time it took to drive to these caves. They are out in the middle of no-where. Somewhere in the Arco desert. One truck was getting very low on fuel, so we all got to pile into the other truck. Did you know you can fit 9 adults in a truck? Look at the love, what a big happy family.

We arrive and get ready to head in just before the sun sets.

In photo; me, Mickell, Dad, Nicole, Mom, Jonathan, Dane, and Montey (Travis' Dad), Travis is taking the picture.

Don't forget your flashlights. There is no light down there. We turned all the lights off at one point. I don't think I have ever been in dark that dark. Absolutely no hint of light.

The caves were amazing. In most places you are maneuvering around these big rocks.

In a couple places the caves really open up, in others it gets a little tight. There is one spot you have to army-crawl to get through. There are a few small climbs, and a couple ladders.

Oh yeah, and there are bats. They were sleeping when we came upon them. Just little guys. So close, you could have reached out and touched them.

So you hike in about a mile, then turn around and come back. Here we are, about to come back out. A big goofy family, Mickell, Dane, me, Nicole, Montey, Travis, Dad, and Mom (Jonathan is taking the picture).

It was a blast!

Thanks Dad, for taking us all out.

Happy Birthday Johnny!

I got tagged!!!

I'm a little slow getting to this stuff. OK, here goes...

8 TV Shows I love to watch
1. Lost
2. Good Eats with Alton Brown
3. X-files
4. What Not to Wear
5. Untold Stories of the ER
6. Divine Design
7. John & Kate + 8 (makes my life feel less crazy)
8. Oprah
This was really hard. I don't even have TV service right now and I don't miss it. But these are some good shows =)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. The Garden (in Twin Falls)
3. Any GOOD sushi place
4. Subway (the place I eat at most often)
5. Tony Roma's
6. Papa Murphy's (not a restaurant at all, but it's good)
7. Chilis
8. Papa Kelsey's

8 Things that Happened Yesterday
1. Bought a new cell phone on ebay (1st thing in am)
2. Took my girls to daycare
3. Went to work at Dick's Pharmacy
4. Told patients about their medicine
5. Answered doctor's questions
6. Made grilled cheese sandwiches for my girls
7. Camryn spilled a drink in the kitchen, Kenrda spilled one in the hallway (at least it was just water this time)
8. Camryn watched Ariel's Beginning for the 300th time
It was a regular weekday.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to
1. My next day off work (Friday)
2. Going to Arizona this month to see my good friends and family
3. No more diapers! (Kendra will be potty trained someday)
4. Putting up Christmas decorations (already looking forward to it!)
5. Winter being over
6. Hearing my girls say "I love you mommy" or "mommy, you're the best" (my girls are sweet, sometimes =)
7. Amanda staying with us for a few weeks
8. My new phone coming in the mail

8 Things on my Wish List
1. Having a clean house for longer than a few minutes (I swear they are messing up the room I just cleaned while I am cleaning the next)
2. Being able to work less and be home with my kids more
3. Go on a cruise (something I've never done)
4. Being able to go scuba diving with my family (requires getting certified 1st)
5. My bathroom being finished, and the rest of my house for that matter
6. New kitchen appliances
7. Warm weather all year round (no, Arizona is not the answer, that is not warm all year round, it is scorching hot a good part of the year, though sometimes it is appealing)
8. Knowing which is the right choice to make

8. 8 People I'm tagging
1. Nicole 2. Amanda 3. Sage 4. Tenille 5. Vanae 6. Bethany 7. Crystal 8. Heather
(some of you will be posting on myspace)

Halloween is for the kids

I thought I had it made this year, no costumes to buy. You may recognize Camryn's princess dress from her birthday party. When I asked her if she wanted to be a princess, she enthusiastically agreed. Why not use this nice dress we just bought? For Kendra, I thought I could use the costume Camryn wore at her age. It is an adorable white tiger costume. So I thought I had it made.

On Monday, I get out the tiger costume for Kendra to try on. It fit and she looked adorable. I was excited! Of course, Camryn wanted to try on her costume too. So we get out Camryn's costume. As soon as Kendra saw her she pulls at her own costume and says, "off, be princess." When I did not respond, "off, mommy, off. Princess!"

I stewed over this for a couple days. I could just make her wear it. I wanted Halloween to be fun for her, so what do I do? It is now 2 days before Halloween and costumes are slim picking. But Camryn's dress was a dress-up outfit, and guess what, still fully stocked at Target.

So here is Kendra, in her matching princess dress.

They had their Halloween party at daycare today. My girls loved being princesses.

Here is Camryn, with her good friend Mailei at their school party. The kids went out front and waved at passing cars. Lots of cars were honking. They were all so proud of their costumes. It was so cute!

Kendra makes such a cute princess, look at that wave!

Going to the school party, I got to observe my girls. The children were told to go sit on the blue rug and watch cartoons while individual pictures were taken. Camryn goes right to the front and finds her friends. Kendra goes to the very back and sits against the wall. Then, when they go outside, Kendra stays to the back while the rest of the children inch forward. Is this something I should be worried about? I was a shy girl too, and may have acted in the same way, but I can't help but be a bit troubled. Am I not providing her with the confidence she needs? Any suggestions?

Pumpkin Carving

We went and picked out pumpkins today. I was considering painting them this year, but Camryn had been asking to get pumpkins and make faces and put lights inside. So pumpkin carving we did.


Camryn and Kendra helped as much as they could.

Camryn said she wanted to make a scary face.

THE END RESULT!

They are pretty proud of their pumpkins!