Monday, December 28

Aunt Jean called for a nail appointment. After running some errands, she came over this afternoon. While I was working on her nails, she was telling me how much leftover food she had from Christmas and how she didn't know how she'd ever eat it all. She invited our family over to her house for ham, turkey, chips & salsa, crackers & cheese ball, candy, cookies... It was so yummy but even more fun to spend the evening with Aunt Jean!

Tuesday, December 29

It has kind of become our tradition when Simon takes the week off between Christmas and New Year's to go see a movie. There is a really cute movie playing right now called The Good Dinosaur so we loaded up the kids and Dave and saw it. I love going to the movies - especially with my family!

Wednesday, December 30

Another fun annual tradition - making Swiss Bratzeli's at Grandma Howard's house. We had a big crew with Jenni's kids, my kids and hubby, dad, and Grandma Howard. After all of the cookies were made, we went over to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. This is one of my favorite traditions of the year!

Thursday, December 31

We had a very busy New Year's Eve. Simon has been working non-stop on home projects. He put our new bar stools together, hung the chandelier in Ricki's room along with her new curtains and her name on the wall, and today he worked on painting my pantry door! I LOVE having him home!! This evening, our family went for a walk down memory lane. Some friends from our home ward when I was a child moved into our old house. They allowed us the amazing opportunity to walk through our old house and check it out! It was amazing!! So many things are exactly the same as they were when we lived there! It was just so fun seeing it all and taking my own kids through the rooms that I lived in until I was 9. SO FUN! After that, it was off to my parent's for our usual New Year's party. We played Rock Band, the Logo Game, and ate treats. Goodbye 2015. Hello 2016!

Monday, December 21

I volunteered at Nick's Christmas party today. It was so fun and, as always, I love being in his class! I can't think of a better way to spend my days!

Tuesday, December 22

I just had to post pictures of Ricki's first-ever ponytail! Her hair is now long enough to pull all of it together in the back. I love having little girls! Tonight, I went to dinner with Candace and Melanie. Candace has been going through a lot and we really just needed a girl's night out to talk about all of it. I'm glad I have these two by my side. I love every minute I get to spend with them!

Wednesday, December 23

My neighbor gifts have become a source of frustration and tears in my life. I tried to order soap bottles a month ago for neighbor gifts and ended up accidentally ordering white bottles rather than clear. To remedy that, I went to the dollar store and purchased another 43 bottles. Nick, Amie, and I sat on Sunday and peeled off all the labels just to find out that they didn't come clean off. I didn't think it would be a huge deal. My plan was to use a little adhesive remover to clean them. Well, I tried a $5 bottle of Goo Gone, a $4 bottle of Oops! Remover, soaked them in the sink for over an hour in hot water (which is what this is a picture of), then tried WD-40, cooking oil, and peanut butter. NOTHING WAS WORKING! I finally had to take a break from it. It was making me crazy! We went to dinner with the Pearson's and while I was there, I had a moment's thought that maybe I should try rubbing alcohol (divine inspiration?). It was my very last option before I gave up and just threw all of it away. What do you know? My $.77 bottle of rubbing alcohol did the trick! The bottles came out beautifully clear! It took a little time and some elbow grease but it came off pretty easily. I stayed up until 2:00 am cleaning all of the bottles off. Even though the deadline was quickly approaching, I was so thrilled to figure out what to do, I may or may not have cried a little again!

Thursday, December 24

It's never too late to say Merry Christmas to your neighbors, right? I finally got all of the soaps done by noon on Christmas Eve then the kids and I ran them around to all 41 neighbors! I am so thankful that they worked out and that I am done with them!! 

Tonight we had our traditional prime rib dinner at the Muffett's house. Seriously, it is THE meal of the year! Grandma's prime rib is better than any restaurant. I always wish my stomach was bigger so that I could fit more of it in. I love it so much! We also opened adult gifts which is a special treat. Couldn't wait to see how late I was going to be up finishing everything or what Christmas Day would bring. 

Friday, December 25

Merry Christmas!!! These little loves of mine helped make this a wonderful Christmas. I love the magic and excitement of the kids on Christmas morning. Even Ricki was deliriously happy and I don't think she even knew why. Between seeing their sweet faces light up several times, spending the day surrounded by all of our family that we love and adore, and the news that Gary & Ali gave us, it was an amazing Christmas! One I won't ever forget! I am so thankful to have the gospel in my life and to understand that Christmas is a special time of year. If Christmas hadn't happened, Easter wouldn't have happened. I am thankful for the Atonement and the part that the birth of the Savior had in that plan. I hope this spirit carries with our family all year long.

Saturday, December 26

Our poor girl was sick again. She seems to get sick and throw up a lot. She and her health issues scare me a lot. She has sat on the couch all day and moaned, whined, and thrown up all day long (until 2:30 am). That is not normal. I think she may need to see a specialist.  

Sunday, December 27

Trevan's Christmas present from my parents got stuck behind their tree and no one noticed it until yesterday. Poor T-man was wondering why his grandparents hadn't given him a present when all of the other grandkids got one. So sad! Tonight, we had dinner at the McCullough's then Trevan got to open up his gift. We also got to meet Kenny's new girl, Avrielle. She sang a few songs for us after dinner. She has a beautiful voice! She seems like a really nice girl.

Monday, December 14

The weather outside has indeed been frightful - and the kids wanted to play in it! They had a blast shoveling and playing in the mounds of snow we got! Ricki thought Nick was absolutely hilarious when he would throw snowballs at the ground around her. :) I also got my 2014 blog book in the mail! No time like the very end of the next year to order and receive a book! Now I will get to preserve these precious memories forever!

Tuesday, December 15

Our family had the wonderful opportunity again to go see Voice Male. Jenni is able to get us really good tickets because she does the online shipping for this group. They are amazingly talented and so entertaining to watch. I am glad we are able to go do things each year that really brings the Christmas spirit into our hearts and minds. I can't wait for Christmas!

Wednesday, December 16

We got to go to a mini personal showcase tonight for Kendra's gymnastics. She is SO flexible (as you can see in these pictures). Her teacher says that she is advancing very well but she needs to work on strength. She has the flexibility to do amazing tricks but she's just not quite strong enough. That may have a little something to do with the fact that she is so skinny! She's just skin and bones. No room for muscle or fat! :) 

Thursday, December 17

This was certainly a proud mamma week! Between watching Kendra's gymnastics performance, watching Zack in his preschool program, then seeing Nick in his 4th grade program, I was beaming at the joy my children are in my life! I am so thankful for them and for those that support us!

Friday, December 18

Happy birthday Grandpa Jim! Our family met up at Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Jim's for Little Caesar's dinner then cake, ice cream, and presents. We are so thankful for this wonderful man in our family and for all he does for our grandma. We love you Jim!

Saturday, December 19

Gary and Alexis got in super late on Friday night so that we could have breakfast as a family the next morning. While we were sitting around visiting, a knock came at the door. Viv brought in a package that had a cute poem about pregnancy and then she opened the package to find this picture of Gary & Alexis. They are expecting a miracle baby in June! As if that wasn't information/emotional overload enough, they also announced that they knew the gender. We went outside and everyone sprayed Silly String at the same time to reveal that...IT'S A GIRL! My heart about burst when I found all this out. Our family has been praying for them non-stop with everything they have been through. This truly is a miracle and a huge blessing. We are SO happy for them!

Sunday, December 20

Sunday dinner tonight was at my parent's house. Amie joined us and as I imported my pictures from my phone, I found this selfie gem of Amie and Nick. :)

Monday, December 7

Herriman City puts on a Santa Sing-Along every year. We have gone in the past but not since we've lived in Herriman (I don't think). I thought this was the perfect idea for family night so Simon came straight from work and Dave & Viv met us over there too. I was worried about my kids having a chance to see Santa this year but this was the second time they sat on his lap in a week! My sweet technologically-advanced son (Nick) asked both times for a MacBook Pro. Sure buddy, Santa will make you a $1,000+ gift in his workshop...

Tuesday, December 8

 Ahh, to have a toddler in the house! My darling Ricki keeps bringing me surprises from off the Christmas tree. I usually catch her, tell her no in a stern voice, and then have her help me put the ornament back on the tree. However, I didn't get to her fast enough this time so she threw it to me. Unfortunately, it was Kendra's special Grinch ornament she made me for Christmas last year. I may need some help getting through the holidays with this baby!

Wednesday, December 9

My cute neighbor, Julie Lattin, had a few friends over today to hang out and let the kids make gingerbread houses. Zack was so into it! He made sure every detail was in place. Ricki and Bridget got a little upset at the same time and I was right by them so I picked them both up. Even though there is only a 2-month age gap, they are definitely not the same size! Bridget is so tall and weighs a little more than Ricki. I was lopsided here but had fun holding them both for as long as my unconditioned arms could take it!

Thursday, December 10

"Some people just get me!" This is what I posted on Instagram about the Diet Coke ornament mom gave me. I LOVE it! And I kinda love Diet Coke too!!

Friday, December 11

I was already having a super crazy day so, as I was preparing for a Scentsy party, I was not thrilled to find this. The stupid 'Bath Smoothie' Scentsy gave me at convention had leaked all over a few of my warmer boxes. To stay in compliance, you cannot sell a warmer without the box. However, I feel like I will have to deeply discount the warmers since the boxes are damaged. It hardly seems fair but I called Scentsy and there is nothing they are willing or able to do to help me out. Lovely. In better news though, Penney Thomson's party was AWESOME! So no complaints there!! 

Saturday, December 12

This was a very eventful Saturday! We started our day off at our ward party in the morning then ended the day at Simon's work party. I witnessed something I never thought I would see - Simon doing karaoke! It was a different but fun holiday party. 

Sunday, December 13

As our family was pulling out of our driveway to head to Dave & Viv's for dinner, this was the sky view over the mountains. It was beautiful and reminded me of the wonder that Heavenly Father made for us to enjoy here on Earth. It was breathtaking!

Monday, November 30

I was fed up with a line of yellow tape on the wall for a couple of months so I finally set aside my day to finish painting the stripes on Ricki's wall. Next step: finishing Ricki's wood letters to hang on this cute wall!

 

Tuesday, December 1

Ricki needed to help daddy figure out what was wrong with the oven. Together, they figured out that the ignitor went out. *Sigh.* Now we have to wait for the part to come before we can do our holiday baking.

 Wednesday, December 2

We went to a really amazing fundraiser tonight. Our friends from the ward, the Earnest's, helped organize it for a friend that was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He is having very expensive brain surgery and needs all the financial help he can get. Their goal for this fundraiser was $13,000 and they actually raised $26,000 - double the goal! It was awesome!! My kids had a blast and loved talking with Santa. He was so great with them!

Thursday, December 3

Although I kinda hate this picture of me, I had so much fun running into an old friend. This is Kim Wright. She was in my parent's ward when I was in high school. She was my young women's leader and she even did my hair for a school dance! So fun to see her!!

 

Friday, December 4

The event I wait all year for...the Olson's Ugly Sweater Party!! It was SO.MUCH.FUN! We had treats, played Christmas family feud, exchanged white elephant gifts, and laughed...a lot! Seriously, so fun!! Thanks Jeremy and Marisa for hosting!!

Saturday, December 5

First of all, HaPpY bIrThDaY jEnNi!! 34 years old!! :) We obviously had a busy day. It started out with me riding Trax downtown by myself to attend Jami & Greg Glines' temple sealing. It was so beautiful and her kids were so very sweet in their whites! I got home, changed into jeans, and Simon & I left to head back downtown for Jenni's birthday dinner at Rodizio Grill. Ah man, SO good!! :) We were supposed to go back downtown yet again but it didn't work out with Simon's family so we decided to stay home and decorate. We all worked on the tree and then I finished up the rest of the house. Needless to say, we were exhausted by bedtime!

Sunday, December 6

We celebrated Jenni's birthday at Sunday dinner. It was lots of fun being there with the family. Mom has a new Sunday tradition of putting naked Ricki in the sink to "help" her with the dishes. How cute is that little bum?!?