Adventures in Winter-land

So it snowed here and since the last time it snowed was right before christmas and David and I were the walking dead, we were bad parents and didnt take them sledding. So needless to say that we HAD to take them this time. Ethan refused to walk on the plowed side walks and because of this kept falling over in the snow trying to walk. It was pretty funny. I have put up a couple of videos that are real short but kind of funny. Enjoy!

He is walking....I'm in trouble

 So he only started doing this like 5 days ago but as you can see, he is already becoming a pro. He also has really started to mimick a lot and so I will have to get some good videos of that. If you move your head back and forth and kind of "groove" then he will do it back and then bust up. My baby is getting so big!!!!

Making Do with the Not So New: Build A Bear for $1 - Cute Gift or Slumber Party Activity

I think this might become one of my new fabulous "Favs" Her blog has tons of cute little DIY projects with junk you got lying around!!! I can't wait to make the snow suit out of an old wool sweater!

Making Do with the Not So New: Build A Bear for $1 - Cute Gift or Slumber Party Activity

Happy New "Ears" Everybody

So begins another year. 2009. Never thought we'd make it. Just kidding. With as fast as 2008 went, 2009 was inevitable. We started the year as Texans and ended being once again Utahans, but lots happened in between. January brought my 25 birthday. It is not looking good for me when I hit some god-awful age of like 30 or something because I seem to have midlife crisis every five years starting at 20. Who knows if I will even make it to 40. (Starting to sound like Dad, eh?) But I had some friends and their kids fly in and it made me feel loved. Plus being HUGE, FAT and pregnant, Mom made me crab legs for my present. I mean is there any better present for a preggers than food??? As always, Mama knows best. Spent February wondering if this baby was EVER going to come, but being in San Antonio and the average temp being like 75-80, it was tolerable. Went to the park everyday and walked ALL THE TIME. Thought gravity might take its tole but never the less March came before our beautiful baby boy blessed us with his presence. Caleb was born March 4th at our home after 18 hours of labor. He likes to take his time with most everything. I should have known then. My littlest sister was married just 12 days later at my parents house at a small but very nice wedding. It was pretty hard seeing my baby sister getting married. I still think we are kids but I suppose having our own kids now, we are kinda...not...anymore. I was the bouncer/MC/"I'll tell you where to go if you don't do what I say" person. I fell into the role nicely I think. I like think my present to her was the gift of fertility as some 9 months later she received a belated wedding present, my niece, Riley. Had Easter with my parents and the kids LOVED the Easter egg hunt. So much so that Ethan found some plastic eggs a couple of months ago and they have been the bane of my life since. Ethan turned 2 the first part of May and pretty much became a man. Time goes so fast that for all practical purposes that is what happened. Turn 2, start driving, get married. Might as well kiss him goodbye now. But one blessing that came from growing up was that he potty trained himself so I guess that was nice. Somewhere between 2 and college he potty trained. I am a lucky mom. That brought us to June when we decided to head back to Zion as many things in life were leading that way. It was a really hard decision as we had fallen in love with Texas and made a couple of really good friends. Plus leaving Nana and Pa-pa was really hard. I really miss you, Mom and Dad. So July we headed back and spent the 4th of July in our time honored tradition of Sugar house park. They have some of the best fireworks ever. About 2 days after that David went to New Mexico for a couple of weeks working for TNT fireworks and although we had to live without him for the freaking LONGEST 2 weeks of my life, we got, pardon the expression, a really "kick-ass" display of free fireworks. I don't know what the street value of the stuff was but it had to have been upwards of $1,000 worth of stuff so needless to say, Daddy had some good fun with good buddy Steve setting up several pretty good shows. Davids baby sister got married to a pretty all right kinda guy, Adam, in August. It was a really fun wedding and I think it was the first time I ever saw a bride wearing high top sneakers, getting down with her bad self and doing the splits in a wedding dress. It really was a blast. David started working back at Great Harvest bakery in Holladay and I followed there as well a couple of months later. They are truly great and generous people to have put up with us for going on 5 years. David turned 29 in September. I think it was harder for me than him, because next year my husband will be 30. Can you have birthday crisis for your spouse too??? So anyway, with one foot in the grave (just kidding baby) we celebrated my wonderful husbands birthday with a casserole dish that I got off of my best friends show (Rachael Ray) when Jessica Simpson guest starred. It was fabulous. September quickly turned into October and of course, Halloween. We came up with what, I thought was an adorable idea, Goldilocks and the 3 bears. We dressed E up in a really cute dress and as he hadn't had a hair cut in a couple of months his hair was in pigtails. Everyone was really apologetic when we told them he was actually a boy when they said "She's so cute" I thought that dressing our little boy in a dress meant if you thought he was a girl we did a good job on our costume, but everyone was really embarrassed. Oh well. We had Thanksgiving with David's extended family, and it was really nice. All the kids ran around having fun and we stuffed ourselves...what could be better. December was a little more eventful. With both of us working at the bakery we had to be creative when it came to schedules the 2 weeks before Christmas. David was working over night and I was going to be going from 9-12 hours a week to like 40. So we got some babysitters (Thank you!!!!!Rachael, Erika, Truls and Blissy)We spent Christmas eve with la familia Maxwell where the kids did their rendition of the first Christmas (baby Jesus/Erika and all) and the paper fight that Poppy started caught all us parents by surprise. Christmas day was nice and easy. Ethan had received nothing but games and art supplies so we spent the day teaching him the fine art of Memory, Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. They have been a daily event ever since, of course. And finally bringing our year to an end, we spent New Year's eve at David's brother's house. David had told Ethan that the next day was New years and E started freaking out saying New "ears!!!" He apparently thought his ears were just fine as he covered them up and refused the new ones he was apparently supposed to receive the next day. All in all its been a pretty good year. The kids have gotten huge but that's what kids do, we have gotten older but that is unavoidable too, so as we start this new year, know that even though I don't call as often as I should or pictures are not updated as much, that we love you all and think of some of you fairly regularly ;0) Until next time....Love you all----David, Olivia, Ethan and Caleb

I am tired

This last week I have been working everyday from like noon to 6 and then going and picking up the kids at the sitters coming, eating dinner and then going to bed and although that sounds like I haven't been doing a whole lot... I am exhausted. David has been working the night shift at the bakery (just for the holidays) and so he has been gone from about 10 in the eveing to sometime in the morning. Yet another reason I am tired. I just don't sleep well when he is there and I am the one on night patrol with both kids. Oh well. Just a couple more days and then it Christmas.

I am super excited to give the kids their gifts. We got some gift cards to target at a christmas party and decided it may be cheating but that is what we are using to buy them some gifts. Since Ethan can't read and nobody really reads this I feel I can sya what we got him. Target had a bunch of classic games for like $5 so he got candy land, memory and chutes and ladders, and then they had a bunch of cool puzzles on sale so he got a couple of puzzles as well. Then it was off to the dollar store where they have paints and paper and sunglasses all sure to be a huge hit. I love him being so young and innocent. Something like paints from the dollar store is going to freaking make his day. Caleb is kind of getting the shaft this year. He is getting an orange and apple (which he goes nuts over) and we are going to see if we can talk Ethan into giving Brother his sippy cup. We'll see how that actually goes. Anyway Ethan is wanting attention and since I am shipping him off today...I need to pay some to the poor kid

The Extent of my "hippy-ness" has just reached a new level

I didn't quite think it could happen either but, I think it might have. I have been wanting to make my own butter for a while (I recieved a kitchen aid last year for christmas) and so I honestly don't know why it has taken me so long but I just made my own freaking butter. From cream to my modern day convenience (kitchen aid aka "i love as my 3rd child") to butter. Next step is to invest in butter churn, long paisley print skirt and a bonnet.

Sigh of relief

I just paid $1.29 a gal or gas. I was on half and "topped her off" for $8.57. It was wonderful