Temple #5

Draper temple is so beautiful. I had a chance to go to the open house for it last year with my young women's beehive class. We joined a group and did sealings today. I love that my grandma has done so much genealogy and we can now do the temple work for her.
Kim to the rescue again, and she watched all the boys while we went, Sophie was at her dance rehearsal all day from 3-9. It was so windy when we got out of the temple that my skirt kept blowing up in the air! How embarrassing... We enjoyed a scenic drive in the neighborhood behind the temple to see all the mansions. It is so sad to see half of those huge and beautiful homes falling to pieces because the owners couldn't afford to finish building the homes. And I wouldn't do it because the homes are so large they fill the lot, and there is no yard at all.
It was a wonderful day and we are one temple closer to meeting our goal this year!!!

Just Thinking

I keep opening up my blog, and nothing comes to me. It's like I am totally stuck and don't know what to write. I love blogging, but it is so low on my priority list right now that even when I get here I think "i don't have time for this" and end up doing something else.
What have I been up to?
-putting some old and awesome music on my mp3 player.
-running more - to my music! - I am up to 4.5 miles, yeah!
-loving all 3 of my massage classes
-switching the kids rooms around, why did Sophie have the bigger room any way?
-watching what I eat more, it's a lot easier to do since I am exercising again
-reading and playing with the kids
-keeping the dishes clean and the laundry folded
-wishing we could have a second car. It's been so nice to use Rich's parents car this last month that they have been out of town... dreams...
-reading a little, my guilty pleasure. I love escaping in a good book
-taking a few pictures here and there that never seem to end up on my blog fast enough
-trying to get some sleep in there
-wishing to have more date nights
-looking forward to summer, already...
-loving cutting flowers or branches in blossom to put on my table, ah spring!
-endlessly taking kids to soccer, play dates, dance and on my errands too
-finding happy time with my family every day
-learning the articles of faith as a family, again.
-wanting to get together with friends for lunch or girls night out, but never being able to find the time
-enjoying netflix instant streaming on the wii. I can watch all the old seasons of The Office any time at all, without commercials
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Debate

Do I let Max go to church with underwear on or not...

He's been doing really well. I love potty trained kids! I have noticed a huge difference this last few weeks in diapers and wipes I buy!! But I guess they are traded up for M & M's! I thought this day would never come!!! Yeah Max!!

And if you get a chance to see "How to Train Your Dragon", you totally should. It was a really cute movie, we saw it yesterday. We saw it in 3-D and the kids loved it, and so did we.

Temple #4

We hit the Mt. Timpanogos temple today. It was a beautiful day, and the kids were really excited to spend some time with their cousins while we were gone. We were short on time (again) so we only did initiatory work. But they were even really busy in that department. Come to find out the temple is always a busy place. But that is a good thing. Rich ended up leaving his names at the temple, and they had to mail them back to us.
Today also happened to be a super fun day because we had free passes to see How to Train your Dragon, in 3D. The kids all loved it!! We left Gavin at Kim's for a nap and took Sam with us. We had to drive down to Provo, after the temple, but it was worth it, and it was such a fun day:)

Unders

Max is wearing Unders for the first time today... Wish us luck!
He was dry all last week except for 2 accidents. I think we are ready :)

Fun Day

-It was Saturday and we got to sleep in!!
-We started swimming lessons today!! The kids have been looking forward to this for weeks. We are all in, Sophie in level 2, Peter in level 1, and Rich and me with Max and Gavin in the parent tot class. We had so much fun and can't wait to keep going week after week.
-Rich made a fab lunch, perfect for the yucky weather. Tomato soup with french bread open face cheese sandwiches, we couldn't get enough!
-We got to ride the train!!!
-We rode the train to see Disney on Ice! We love going! This is the 4th one we've been to. Even from the nose bleed section we had such a fun time! Pictures to come!
-We got to go out to dinner. A treat for all of us, and no dishes to do!
-The kids were so worn out that they went to bed SOOOO easy... Ahh...
-and we are now in the middle of making, and waiting for cinnabon cinnamon rolls :) Yum yum!
-We can now sit back and relax to a netflix movie and spring the clocks forward an hour...
-What a happy day :)

Clone of a Cinnabon
Ingredients
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Funny Quirks

Ever wonder where the funny quirks your kids have come from? I do all the time. My kids always make me laugh and I wonder where they get it from. For example, Max loves to act out his sentences instead of just saying it straight out. I always thought it came from the fact that he had such a hard time learning how to speak. And although I still think that is a big part of it, I caught myself doing it the other day in a conversation with a friend. I totally felt silly in the middle of it when the realization came to me... Was I acting like Max, or is Max acting like me? I was not nearly as dramatic as Max, but all in all, I had to laugh at myself.
This was what Max acted out yesterday.
We were in the garage getting ready to walk over and pick Peter up from Kindergarten. I was getting Gavin in the stroller as Max was wandering on the driveway. He came running back to me and said "Mom, baby spider do that..." as he proceeded to make his hand look like a spider and then he calmly layed on the garage floor and kicked his hands and feet up in the air and got up and said "...do that..." and he ran back and pointed to the spider. It was dead and on his back and crumpled up with his legs in the air. It was so funny!
And last night eating cookies he said out of the blue, "me cookie monster..." and started eating a cookie like cookie monster, with wild hands, crumbs, and a lot of 'yum, yum's.
Seriously, words don't do that kid justice. Gotta love him.

American Girls

I am so proud of Sophie. She and I have been reading the American Girl books for the past 15 months. We have only gotten through the first 3 series, not being as faithful at reading as we have been recently. We have read Samantha, Felicity, and as of tonight we have also finished Rebecca. Sophie actually finished the last 2 chapters on her own tonight because I had school, and she ran down when I got home to tell me the good news that she finished the book! I was a little jealous that she did it without me, so I guess I'll have to read the ending on my own. I have told Sophie that after we have finished reading all 6 books for all 10 American girls that she can get her own American Girl doll. We will be starting Addy tomorrow. I try to have Sophie read the first few pages and then I finish the rest of the chapter. She does really well and only gets stuck on the biggest words. I love reading with her every night we get the chance. She is such an amazing girl. Our reading time turns into talking time, and she and I are so alike. She is the best daughter I could ask for, and I know that we'll always be mother and daughter, but I also feel like she and I will be the best of friends.

Stuffies

This all happened a few months ago, before Christmas, but I thought I would blog it front and center...

We have been collecting stuffies for the past seven years. We have bought some, inherited some, made some and have been given some. This is what it all adds up to...
I was cleaning up the kids room and was grumbling under my breath at all the stuffies...

I thought 'I bet they would never even notice if I packed up a garbage bag of stuffies and shipped them off to DI.' So I packed a bag, but wasn't satisfied. I thought 'what will they learn?'

So I combed through the house to locate every big and small stuffie I could find. I organized them all out and counted each one.

The whole family needed to SEE exactly why I was always complaining about picking up the stuffies, and having too many stuffies.

And I told the kids for each one they wanted to keep, they had to get rid of one.

Of course there were a few off limits for getting rid of. So right off there were several they had to get rid of.

The process started out painful, but got easier and I was pleasantly surprised at how many the kids were actually willing to get rid of. It turned into a game.

I didn't get an after picture, but I think the before pictures speak pretty loudly themselves. And so do these numbers...

12 webkinz

22 dollies

101 beanie type babies

6 carebears

5 monkeys

32 random stuffies

58 disney characters

22 bears

31 I bagged up before the games began

-----

289 STUFFIES in my house

we narrowed it all down to...

(drum roll please...)

122 stuffed animals

Still may seem like a lot, but it is less than half, and it is much more manageable now...

But we have definitely learned our lesson...

Never again.

Max the Chef

I was almost finished folding a load of laundry when Max comes stumbling up the stairs with the bag of 30 tortillas in one hand, and the 2lb pound of cheese in the other. He made his way up to me and said 'ta-teee-ya cheeeeese'. It wasn't lunch time and I knew he wasn't starving. All I needed was 5 minutes to finish the load. Just 5 minutes... So I said 'not yet Max. Please wait 5 minutes for me to finish folding the laundry... He was surprisingly calm about the whole thing and turned around and went downstairs. It was the reaction I wanted, but didn't expect. I took it as it was and finished the laundry. And all seemed well when I was finished folding so I took the liberty to put the folded laundry away. Just 5 minutes more... That is when Max came back upstairs... Empty handed... And looking confused... He said 'my ta-teee-ya all gone?!!!' I was so confused at the statement, but it isn't the first time I've been confused by Max. So I went down with him and fully expected to make him his tortilla with cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds and roll it up so he could eat it after blowing on each bite so it wouldn't be hot.
That's when my nose started working, half way down the stairs. I smelled smoke and my brain added things together pretty quick. He ran ahead to the microwave where the bar stool had been pulled up to and said 'see mommy, my ta-teee-ya all gone!!!' Sure enough you couldn't see it in the microwave because all you could see was black smoke billowing out of the microwave and spilling into the kitchen and leaking through to the rest of the house. When the smoke finally cleared, you could see it all. Max made himself a tortilla because he apparantly couldn't wait for me. There was cheese sprinkled all over the counter sitting beside the opened bags. In the microwave was a black lump in the center of the turntable. No plate. He missed that step I guess. The turn table was so hot I had to use a hot pad to take it out and dump it in the sink. I scraped and wiped and cleaned the microwave and turn table and it still stunk and had black marks. I tried so hard to get all the tortilla cheese mess off of the turn table. It was stuck hard. How long did he cook that thing????? He was so worried about what he had done. It was kinda cute to watch, if he hadn't just ruined the microwave!!!

The good news is that it is just a temporary microwave we have been using on the counter until we could replace our over the range microwave. The bad news is that I don't think we will be using this microwave again, it was pretty bad. The picture doesn't do it justice, and you can't smell it... So we are microwaveless for a little while. We can get by without it, right?

Conference

We had a special stake conference today. Elder L. Tom Perry was our guest speaker. I have been looking forward to this for the last two weeks, knowing that hearing him speak would fill my cup of spirituality up just a little more. Even after I found out Rich was singing in the choir and would not be able to sit with me and help with the kids, I was still optimistic that I would have a wonderful day at our stake conference meeting.
Uhh... Things didn't turn out exactly as planned. And I don't remember much of what was actally said, except that Elder Perry kept commenting on the boys sitting on the front row infront of him, and I was so glad that we weren't sitting in those seats. Max wet his pull-up and it leaked out on his pants so we had to leave and take care of things in the bathroom. Gavin didn't want to share books or goldfish and let everyone around us know with his shrieks. Peter insisted on leaving for a drink because he was 'getting sweaty' because he was so hot. I insisted that he sit still and wait till the meeting was over, and this conversation between the two of us went on and on... And Gavin kept throwing his water bottle to the people in the row in front of us, over hand. I was so embarrassed.
And my spiritual cup was not filled.


On a side note. Last night I gave all the boys hair cuts. Starting with Gavin. I ended up just buzzing his hair. And Max came in just as I was finishing it up. He was so worried and upset saying "what? Put his hair back on mommy!!!" Then he realized it was his turn next. "No, No, No!!! Not my cool dudes!!! Don't take my cool dudes off!!!" He seriously so worried I was going to buzz his head and he couldn't have his mohawk cool dudes anymore! Poor boy. I managed to convince him I wouldn't, I just wanted to make his cool dudes shorter. He said ok, as long as daddy held him. He still doesn't like Gavin's short buzz, and has told me like a thousand times today.

Saturday

Seriously, today is a beautiful day...
It makes me want to pack up all the winter coats and mits and gloves and boots that take up so much room in my mud room. It makes me want to pull out the bikes and picnic baskets. It makes me want to but popsicles. I am ready for shorts and sandals and for the grass to green up so we can sit on it. I am ready to spring clean my basement too... Maybe next week...
Bring Spring on...

thursday thankful thoughts

What I am thankful for today.
-time to clean my boys room - those closets can cram a lot of stuff behind closed doors
-that I don't have a test at school tonight, so I didn't study at all
-thatthe Ensign came. I always read the Latter-Day Saint Voices before anything else, I love to hear other peoples stories about the gospel
-tha t my kids had a happy day. No break downs or major tears
-that my laundry is at a managable level, not all done, but not really behind either
-that I did the dishes last night. The night before I was sick and did nothing in the kitchen and then one of Linda's piano students had to wash her hands first thing in the morning in my kitchen sink (why not the bathroom???) and she was totally grossed out. Rich sort of left most of the dinner mess... I was mortified to hear this story...
-that my kids can walk to and from school, and that I have a little walking carpool system to get Peter from kindergarten.
-that my kids have good friends
-that I get to see my wonderful hubby every day for lunch
-that I am happy
-what isn't there to be thankful for?

Running Errands

Must have been a 24 hr thing because I was back on my feet today.

So Max got to come with me to run errands today. I just love that boy, especially one on one. His favorite hair do is a mohawk that he calls 'cool dudes'. Because he looks like a cool dude with his hair like that! Anyway, everyone kept commenting on his cool dudes and he would get all shy like and snuggle close to me. We had a great afternoon, just the two of us.
It is days like this that remind me how much I love being a mom. I am so lucky to have my beautiful children. Sure some (a lot) of days are hard, but then I have these refreshers and it totally motivates me to keep going and to smile a little more about my calling in life of being a mother, nothing holds greater joy.

And keep scrolling down. I have added a bunch of posts clear from dec 31st to present. Yeah me:) I am catching up:)

sick day

I was sick today. And the kids took full advantage. Didn't do chores, and hired a tornado to run through the main floor. Max was still dry all day. And then I had to pull myself out of bed and drag myself to school. I did shower. When you take classes that are 12 weeks long you really can't miss, plus we had a test today (in kinesiology) that I really couldn't study for because I couldn't concentrate. I still passed. I really like school, just not when I'm sick.
I hope I get home in time to watch Lost tonight.

ps

ps- I am adding blogging a post to my chore chart, maybe that will help me keep up on blogging...
by the way the chore chart is going pretty well. Not perfect everyday, but it is a great motivator. And I need that extra reminder often...

past pictures

I'm trying to post past pictures by the month. So far I have December. The rest will come, but it takes a little longer than I thought. So the rest will come later.

potty training fun

So it's super duper fun to potty train our kids, right??
Well for those of you who really know the dark side of Max, you can understand why I don't really have a desire to step into the world of potty training. I've made some great excuses like a road trip to Canada, and let's wait till he turns 3. I'm out of excuses now... But I have been taking him in to go potty when he wakes up in the morning, and that has turned the idea in his head. Now he WANTS to be potty trained. And he is doing it all on his own with minimal help from me. It's great because there are no fits, which is what I was sorely afraid of. I let him wear pull-ups, and that is something I swear against when I potty train my kids. I think they are too much like diapers. I like going straight to unders. But not with Max... Pull-ups work for him. He is usually dry almost all day long. He will stop playing, watching a show or eating and say "I have to go potty!!!!" and then we will run upstairs and he will talk to himself the whole way saying "don't pee, don't pee, don't pee....." and I help him take his pants off because he is a little slow, and he goes!! I have to brag about him here for a minute and say that since he had his first poop on the toilet he hasn't pooped in his pull-up!!!! HAPPY DAY :) :) :) He has even stepped up in a restaurant, and at church saying he has to go potty! Of course we have a little reward system. A little m&m machine. He gets to turn the handle once for pee and twice for poop. And out comes a handful of m&m's. It's great. And the best part is no stress. And here is the worst part...
The other night we 'tucked the boys in bed' and they weren't asleep. Rich and I went downstairs to settle in and have some alone time and watch a movie without kids. When it was time for us to go to bed we went around turning lights off that were mysteriously turned on while the boys were 'asleep' and I found this image. And no, I did not take a picture. The boys room was empty and the covers were all messy, they decided to get out of bed and sleep in our room. And on their wall??? More than two dozen finger marks off poop!!!!!!!!!!! ON THE WALL!!!!!! Yeah, you heard it right! Peter was actually still awake and I asked him what happened in my sleepy not so nice mom voice!!! He said that Max (the independent) went poop on the potty. Peter was proud of the fact that he helped him take his pants off. (they didn't call me?? We didn't even know they were out of bed...) I asked him who wiped his bum (sorry to be so graphic) and he said Max did it all by himself!!! Uhhhhh, what??? How did he get from the bathroom to his bedroom with poop all over his bum and fingers??? I was so grossed out... And had to stop right there and clean the wall off with disinfectant. And some of that poop was chunky and dried (graphic again) and had to be scraped off of the wall... Ewww sick... And the potty was in the same shape. Just beyond words.
I then proceeded to check on my sleeping potty training angel from down under. His hands appeared clean. He is actually meticulous about washing his hands really well with soap and water after he goes potty. Thank goodness. So I didn't wake him, because that would have been a battle in and of itself. But thorough cleaning was done again in the morning, just to be sure.
So in Max's quest to potty train himself, this is what I get... Yuck...
Just wanted to share the joy of potty training Max.

Temple #3

LOGAN

It was a fun day today especially because it was Sophie's birthday, but also because we got to add another temple to our list. Steve and Cyndi were supposed to go with us, but Steve ended up being on call and it was just the two of us. This was the first session I have ever done in Logan. It is a beautiful temple. But we could only see it up close today, the fog was pretty bad. Especially on the drive up. But Rich should be used to driving in fog after our trip to Canada at Christmas.

When we were done we got to share Sophie's birthday cake with Cyndi and Elise who also have February birthdays. It was a fun night.

The Birthday Haircut

She wanted bangs for her birthday. That was an easy request.BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

A new post!

It's been a month - again - since the last time I've posted. Pictures are waiting to go on, but it hasn't happened yet. Even the ones from Christmas are still waiting...
In fact I'm having a hard time with my chores too. I made these fun octopus chore charts for the kids a few months ago. The legs are the chores and they get to put them on the octopus when they do the chore. It worked pretty well. And it was an easy visual for the kids to see when they were finally done and could play with friends or something. But the novelty of the new chore chart has worn off, so I made new ones again. This time they are bingo chore charts. They are cute. Little clip art pics that we each colored, and we made cute magnet bingo pieces by finding little things like beads, jewels and ribbon flowers and hot glued them to little magnets. And I decided to make one for me and Rich too. Does that seem too silly to make a grown up chore chart for a 30 yr old?? Well I figured it worked so well for the kids, that maybe it can work for me too. And I can see an end each day, so I'm not thinking I need to be doing chores all day long. Here's to a new chapter in my life. A chore chart!!

So you may be wondering what our chores are?? We each have 9.
Sophie/Peter (they alternate some chores according to odd/even days)
alternate-empty 1/2 dishwasher (top & bottom)
alternate-empty basket (we have one that goes upstairs, and one that goes downstairs and they fill up fast)
homework/reading
make bed/clean room
alternate-pick up the floor (hard floor or carpet)
serve others
help the baby
help mom (with anything I ask like set the table, put clothes away, go play downstairs)
practice piano (Sophie) / empty upstairs trash (Peter)

Max
pick up toys (even one counts sometimes)
dishes (again, even one dish counts)
play with baby (nicely!!)
be happy (most important chore!!!)
wash face (this is always necessary, what does he do to his face all the time???)
read with mom
pick up floor (kind of doubles with pick up toys, but hey...)
help mom
go potty (maybe he will get potty trained before the summer!!!)

Me
dishes
laundry
read scriptures/write in journal
homework
daily chore (something silly I made up a year or so ago: Mon - mop/deep vacuum, Tues - toilet room, Wed - walls & windows, Thurs - thoroughly dust, Fri - food room, Sat - special project)
exercise (I need to get back in action)
play with kids (sometimes I need that extra reminder to stop everything else and just play)
prepare and make dinner (I've gotten out of the habit with school, my poor family...)
mail (mail and papers are my enemy - they piles up so fast!)

Really I am just letting you know to make myself feel more accountable in life and to find routine and order again. So wish me luck!!!

January Pictures

Sophie got to bring 'spot' home from school for a week and write in his journal. She is loving her new elementary school. It may not be as academically challenging, but she is so happy.

Our little diva "take a picture of me and my prizes mom!!"

Rich and never get our picture taken together. Sophie is a great photographer.

Max had a few requests for his birthday. A train cake, chuck-e-cheese, and a lollipop from chuck-e-cheese. It was easy to fill his list this year. If only they could stay little and want little things...

Oops, its sideways. But Max loved his cake:)

Gavin thought it was a great day at chuck-e-cheese. Can you see the balloon strings behind him? We tied balloons on the back of his pants for the times we knew he would wander away from us. We could still see the balloons bouncing around and then he was easy to locate. Great idea!

I love wac-a-mole. Especially if it gives you tickets. It was out of tickets today.

Chucky is a little less scary when you don't actually have to look at his face.

What do you see in this picture??? A sad boy? Yes, and look at his foot... Yuck. He is walking on his wet diaper like a shoe. Eww. This is what happens sometimes when Rich watches the kids while I am gone at school. Poor guy! - Gavin, that is.

We got this awesome train table on KSL for only $5!!!!! We were so excited. We got it a few weeks before Max's birthday and he knew about it, be we kept saying that it was for his birthday. He really was so patient and waited till the day:) And the presents on top of it were like icing on a cake! He ripped into them with gusto! He loved it all:)

We all shed a tear...
Rich and I painted pottery when we were newly married (great gift idea) and we made a family birthday plate and a family birthday goblet. It is something the whole family looks forward to using on our birthdays. It makes us feel extra special... We had the table set for breakfast and Max was so excited. He sat up at the table and the place mat slid and the goblet tumbled onto the floor and smashed into pieces. Oh he felt so bad, and was really upset. And Sophie was really upset too because hers is the next birthday and she won't get to use the cup. Poor girl. So we took a picture, not to remember the sad incident, but to remember what it looks like. We want to remake it as soon as possible, and try to make it look as close to the original as possible.

This was a fun and easy cake to make for Max. The hardest part was driving all the way to Zurcher's to buy the candy rocks. Good pick Max:)

Happy Birthday to me:) We had our good friends the Horsley's over for dinner. Since we didn't get to have our traditional fancy New Year's Day dinner on New Years, we had it today. It was so yummy, and now I am officially old.

Sophie and Mrs. Buchholz.

I could write a whole post on this picture. We sent Sophie to a charter school this year. We loved everything about it. She was able to advance and excel where she could, and split up for things like math (she actually went into the 2nd grade classroom for math) and switch rooms for a higher reading group. She had great friends, challenging homework and I loved that she had a dress code/uniform that she needed to wear everyday.

But...

Over Christmas break it hit us pretty hard that Sophie wasn't able to actually play with her great friends from school. They all lived too far away. And it was really hard on me to try and load up all the kids to drive Sophie 20 min one way to play for 2 hours. That would be 80 min of driving for me (and all the other kids loaded in the car) and 120 min of playing for Sophie. So it didn't happen. We tried to arrange things for her to play with her old friends from kindergarten, but it didn't work out very well. Rich and I talked it over and then we asked Sophie if she wanted to go back to school at her old kindergarten school. Where Peter goes. That's another story. It didn't work out for them both to go to the charter school. So they were at different schools... Not fun for me. Anyway, her whole face lit up at the suggestion and the rest is history. She was sad to say goodbye, but excited for the new fun ahead back with her old friends.

Turns out I didn't take all that many pictures this month. Where have I been. or better yet, where has the time gone??

Temple #2

OGDEN

Yes, we are hitting the easy ones first. We had to do 2 this month and thought we would do the easy ones. And I just found out that they are doing a major remodel on the Ogden temple starting this year and it will look totally different, so we were glad to get our picture in front of the 'old' Ogden temple.

So this is how the day went down. Karolee came to watch the kids today and we even arranged time to go out to lunch after. Yeah, a date!! Well, the temple went along well and then we headed to the restaurant that we had a gift card for. It is an Ogden only restaurant and we thought this was the perfect chance to use it. Well, on Saturdays it only opens for dinner, starting at 5pm... We couldn't just sit around and wait for it to open so we tried again. The next restaurant was also closed, for lunch!!! Hello - that's what we wanted!!! And the third one we stopped by only opened for dinner too... AAAHHHHHH!!!! We ended up eating in Layton at Famous Dave's. I love BBQ!!! Sorry Rich, he'll get his restaurant next time.

But the day was a success. Temple #2. Done.

Temple #1

BOUNTIFUL

One of our main goals for this year is to go to all the Utah temples, and take a picture infront of each one. There are currently 13 Utah temples, and I think 1 or 2 more announced. So we sat down and planned out our year around these temples and the trips we will need to take. We are actually so excited about this goal.

So we started it off with our tried and true, favorite temple. This is where we were married 8 1/2 yrs ago and where we go when we go to the temple. It was your typical temple day. We went at our usual, in the middle of the day on Saturday so Gavin will be sleeping while grandma and grandpa watch the kids for us.

Can't wait for the rest of them!!!

December Pictures

So, here are our December 2009 pictures from end to beginning - well end till Christmas time anyway. Too many to make individual posts out of. At least they are getting on this way.


Fun brothers on New Years.

Rich and I sipping our bubbly to bring in 2010.

All our plastic cups set out ready for the ball to drop.

Rich was grateful to be able to tune out the kids with the MP3 player on our drive. Especially in the fog. It was so thick you literally couldn't see 5 feet in front of you...

We were packed so tight on the way home. All those extra presents fit in somehow, and the kids had some great foot rests.

Me and my mom packing up for the big drive home. Too bad we had to do all that big packing on Chrsitmas day.

Me and Mike. I have the best brother. We had such a great time together over Christmas. Thanks for letting us take over your house Mike!!

It was hard for the girls to say goodbye to each other. Hopefully we can get them together again soon.

Gavin would NOT sit on GG's lap for a photo. He'll regret that later! What he really wanted to do was chase the cats around with Peter and Max.

The girls kept stamping down the wrapping paper for recycling, but we still ended up with 3 HUGE bags!!

Merry Christmas Grandma! I'm glad we could all sqeeze into my mom's basement for the festivities.

What could this one be??

Presents are so fun!!

Max thought every present was his and proceeded to open any present he could get his hands on. Sorry everyone!!

Digging through the mountain of gifts was fun for everyone!

Gavin loved Christmas this year and was caught up in the excitement of everyone else that he didn't get to open many presents. But no worry, Max helped him out with that.

Wow!!! The presents kept going and going and going!! You can buy a few more I guess when you aren't worried about the cost of shipping everything to another country. Everyone did way too much in the gift department this year.

Santa surprised us all by leaving us with a Wii for a combined family present, and a Wii game in each of our stockings. Peter couldn't have been more thrilled. And so were the rest of us. I am sort against video games, but Santa thought it would be fun for everyone. I guess he is right.

Sophie and Sam loved having a sleepover every night on the top bunk of Sam's bed. They were the best of friends. Like they were together all the time.

Christmas Eve gatherings. They sat like this while we tried to get ready to read the Christmas story.

Christmas Eve dinner at Mike's club house. It was the only place big enough for all 10 of us to sit together around a table. My family of 6 sure makes the family grow!! Dinner sure was good:)

Max and Rich all bundled up for the live nativity pageant that my ward puts on for the community every year. It is one of my favorite parts about Christmas in Canada. Do you love our new Canadian touques??

Yummy hot chocolate after the nativity.

At the movies on Christmas Eve. We saw 'Where the Wild Things Are'. We had the whole theater to ourselves and the kids got to sit all alone way up at the front and they thought that was awesome!!! Max kept running back and forth between us.

Rich hard at work peeling potatos...

The girls loved making the stuffing with grandma Cananda and GG

Mike took the kids for a ride on his scooter. Sophie loved it, Peter was a little unsure about the whole thing.

Can you see the 'excited' face Peter has??