Funny Kids

We were driving in the car during a rainstorm. After a flash of lightning Emma said, "The lightning take a picture of me!!"

We were at Fry's Electronics and there was a man in line ahead of us with an eye patch. Michael tugged on my shirt and said, "Mom, why is that guy a pirate?"

Michael was playing with some sticks, and I overheard him saying in a deep voice, "We are the trees. Alligators, you can't take our monkeys and snap them up! We are protecting them." (like the song "Five Little Monkeys Swinging in the Trees")

Katelynn was upset with me about something and she said, "You have to be a nice mommy or we will call Grandmas & Grandpa and they will come down and get us and we will go with them and you and Daddy will come home all alone and stay here in this house forever and we will stay with Grandma & Grandpa!" Ouch! Then, when I told Scott about it, he said his response would have been,"Then get the phone & call 'em!". I couldn't do that. I was too shocked.

Katelynn & I were blog-surfing and we came to my sister-in-law's blog. Katelynn looked at the screen and exclaimed, "Hey, why'd Oakley (her cousin) get big?!". That's just what happens, kid.

When I tell the kids they can't have something & they say, "But, I *want* it!", I sing to them "You can't always get what you wa-ant." (ever since the last episode of Glee ;)). A minute ago I heard Katelynn in the other room singing ,"You can always get what you wa-ant. But, you have to say ple-ease."

The Zoo in the "Winter" with the Winters

During Scott's break from school at Christmastime we went to the zoo with our good friends, the Winters. It was a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect. Plus, we were able to check-out some culture passes to get into the zoo, so that was sweet.

Here's another thing that is sweet- Michael & Katleynn holding hands in the car on the way there. No, I did not pose them this way. They were just sitting there like that, so I turned around and took a picture.

"Mom, take a picture of me on this dolphin!"

The girls in the kangaroo pouch. Or should I say the "kids"?

"Sorry, I'm not home right now. I'm walkin' in your spiderweb..."

Feeding the ducks. Much safer than the last time we tried that!

Katelynn brushing a goat. They both look happy to be there. Well, who knows about the goat. They're so hard to read sometimes...

Michael showing Joel the goat-brushing ropes.

"We can take a ride on my big, green tractor..."

All three goofballs. Is it just me, or does it seem like they just became kids all of a sudden in the last couple of months? Wowzers!

After the zoo we stopped by a discount food store. You can always find such interesting stuff in there. Katelynn & Emma wanted me to take a picture of them under this umbrella. Like Katelynn's winking skillz?

 

It was a fun trip to the zoo. Thanks for meeting us there, Rob & Kristen!

New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, first we went to the park. That's one of the perks of living in Arizona. "All you need is a light jacket..." (name that movie)

The exposure on this picture turned out so weird. Michael looks like he's being erased from the picture like on Back to the Future. "Where's my Delorian..."

Here is Emma on the swings. "Woo hoo!!"

Katelynn & her big eyes.

After the park we went home, had pizza & 'dragon's blood' (fruit punch) and made party hats. We made the same ones last year, and they were a big hit, so we made them again this year. 

After we ate we watched a movie together as a family, "Meet the Robinsons". It ended about 15 minutes before midnight, so we got ready for bed, then ran outside at 12 and yelled, "Happy New Year!!"

Christmas 2009

(I know this post is VERY late. I'm sorry.)

This Christmas we stayed here in Arizona. Christmas morning is so much fun with little kids. They get really excited about everything. We actually didn't get up and start opening presents until 10 o'clock!! That was nice, considering how late we went to bed the night before! 

This year we had the kids use their allowance from doing their jobs to buy presents for each other. It was fun to help them pick out the presents, 'help' them wrap the presents, and see their excitement as they watched their gifts being opened. Here is a picture of Michael opening a present from one of his sisters.

And here is Katelynn showing off the Cinderella slap bracelet that Emma gave her.

Remember how I said that Emma loves pink piggies? Well, she finally got one!

 

The kids were excited to see a Play-Doh activity table, which included a bunch of tools and different colors of Play-Doh. Oops..looks like I forgot to take off the price tag before wrapping it. Good thing they aren't old enough to notice or care! Ha ha!

While we were at Disneyland, Katelynn was obsessed with all the Baby Minnie and Baby Jessie dolls in the gift shops. So, we decided to get one for her as a Christmas gift. When she opened it she said, "Why did you get this for me?" And we said, "Well, you like it, don't you? Want us to take it back?" "No, no, I like it!!"

While in California we also picked up these dress-up dresses (I guess that's kind of redundant...) for the girls. They are actually nightgowns, so they were a heck of a lot cheaper than the actual 'dress-up' clothes. But, the girls don't seem to care, and they wear them all the time.

 Another Disneyland purchase was for Scott. I got him 2 cute little ornaments. It's kind of a tradition to get some kind of Disney figurine or something for Christmas.

Scott got me something from Disneyland, too. He gave me this gorgeous Lenox figurine of Mickey & Minnie having a picnic, called "Recipe for Romance", because the story "Mickey Mouse's Picnic" is special thing at our house. He used his birthday gift certificate from Disneyland to buy it. What a sweetie!

image from Lenox

Here is Michael playing with one of his favorite presents, a box full of dinosaurs! He has such an active imagination, and now has to take a dinosaur almost everywhere with him.

I {finally} gave Scott this picture frame! I have been "working on it" with my friend Jenn for months (she has a vinyl cutter & basically did it for me, 'cause she's cool like that). It was originally going to be an anniversary gift, because on the mat are the words to the song "Eternity", which I wrote for Scott & sang to him at our wedding reception. When I didn't give it to him for our anniversary, I planned to give it to him on his birthday in November. Still didn't happen. I was, like, "Sheesh! I *have* to give it to him on Christmas, or he's NEVER going to get it!!" So, here is the elusive anniversary/birthday/Christmas gift.

 

Here is a video of the kids opening their "big" gift- roller blades! You can't hear it very well in the video, but when Michael first starts opening his, he said, "What the heck is this..." Hilarious!

After presents we made the traditional Eggs Benedict, then went with the Stringhams to see "The Princess & the Frog". Later that evening we went over to my Aunt Cecelia & Uncle Jack's house for dinner with my aunts, uncles & cousins. It was fun to see everyone, and they couldn't believe how big the kids have gotten. It was a lovely Christmas!

Funny Kids

The kids have a nasty & irritating habit of stealing food from the pantry and hiding it in their bedroom or playroom. They will take the food in their rooms, open it up & eat it. Their favorite "hiding" places are their bedroom closet, under their beds & under the train table.

This habit of theirs drives me bonkers! It makes everything a mess, spoils their meals and wastes food. We will try different punishments and will think we have eradicated the problem, only to find hidden food in their rooms again.

The other day we found under the train table a tin of Danish butter cookies, which had originally been stored on the top shelf of one of the kitchen cabinets. Today I was getting a cookie out of the tin, and guess what I found nestled next to the cookies??

A CTR Ring!!

"Uhm, you guys remember what CTR stands for, right..."

Ha ha ha!

Christmas Eve 2009

For Christmas Eve we had our friends, the Stringhams, over to make sugar cookies & eat Papa Murphy's pizza (which we drove to Surprise for!).

Then, after they went home we opened our Christmas pajamas. (Sorry, you get the red eyes.)

Next we laid out cookies & milk for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer.

 

Here is a picture of the tree with  all the gifts around it and the stockings filled. I didn't go to bed until 6:30, I think. I really should wrap some of the presents *before* Christmas Eve next year!

Not much to report

I realized while trying to catch up on posts from December I haven't done a post about anything that has been going on with us. Well, that's because there isn't much going on with us!

Scott started school again on the Monday after New Year's. So, he's just been studying up a storm. And speaking of storms, we had a pretty crazy one the other night. We had several days in a row of rain, which is really, really crazy! In the last few days we received about as much rain as Phoenix usually does in a YEAR. So all of the parks are flooded, because all of them are designed to catch rainfall during monsoon season. It was fun to see the rain, though. Michael kept saying, "Ooh! I'm so excited that it's raining . I love the rain." Hopefully he keeps that attitude if we end up back in Oregon in a few years.

Let's see...what else? We've gotten together with friends a few times for dinner, which is always fun. For Christmas Scott got me a gym membership, so I've been going to the gym. The kids love it in the kids' club there, so I can just go to a class or walk on the treadmill without having to worry about the kids.
Fun for kids + Mommy break & exercise = win-win situation.

Hmmm...I've been stressing out lately about kindergarten options for the kids. They start Kindergarten in the Fall! There are just so many things to consider when deciding. Public or charter school? If you do a charter school, which one? Full-day or half-day? Yikes! So, it's stressful because you want to make the absolute best decision for your kids & their education, but it's also stressful because you start to realize how fast they are growing up. What am I going to do when they are gone all day? I know for the first little while it will be exciting, but then what? And, if we don't have any more kids, I'm home alone all day forever now. While thinking about it, I realized that if we don't have any more kids I will be an empty-nester by the time I'm in my early 40s!! Huh?! Time is flying by too fast! What is happening here?! I feel like I need to start shopping for walkers and Ben-gay. Ooh, and I'd better pick up some Metamucil on the way home! Good thing Scott's going to be a podiatrist. Then maybe he can get me a good deal on some orthopedic shoes. It's all very strange. Very strange, indeed.

So, that's about all that is going on with us right now. I signed the kids up for a little soccer class, which was supposed to start today, but was postponed because of the weather. I think that will be a lot of fun. One of their best friends in their Sunbeam class is in the class, too, which I think will be a good thing. Michael is really excited, because he was playing soccer with some boys at the park a couple weeks ago and having a blast.

That's all I can really think of right now. Hopefully I can get caught up & get back to writing more frequently, and posting stories that are more interesting.

Temple Lights

This was the second year in a row we went to see the lights at the Mesa Temple. Must be a tradition now! The lights are always so beautiful, and the spirit can always be felt there. The lights at the temple are definitely my favorite light display at Christmas. It is so beautifully done, and it's always fun to look at the displays of the nativities from around the world.


Hi, Emma!

All three goofballs.

"I love to see the temple..."

Michael hammin' it up.

Katelynn warming up inside Daddy's coat. Yes, it does, on occasion, get cold here in Arizona.

 

The pretty lights.

After visiting the temple we stopped at McDonald's for hot fudge sundaes. Although, it looks like Michael has 'see food'. Har har har...

Christmas Party

Before Christmas we were able to attend a Christmas party with some friends. It was fun to get together. I brought Frosty the Cheeseball (from December's Family Fun magazine), and everyone loved it. We did a white elephant gift exchange. But, I am insane and left our wrapped gifts at home!! So, Ashley wrapped up some random stuff so the kids could participate (a mini box of Wheaties, a bag of candy corn from Halloween and...what was the third thing?). The kids ended up choosing the gifts Ashley had wrapped up. It was too funny.

This is the only picture from the party that turned out okay, but I think it's a good one. So sweet.

After the party we headed to our stake center where they were having a Christmas open house. I was singing in the choir, and while I was doing that, Scott & the kids spent their time outside at the live nativity scene petting all the animals.

Inside the building there was a lot going on. There was a room where they were showing "Luke 2", a room with nativities from around the world displayed, and a room where the kids could dress up as characters in the nativity and do crafts.

Katelynn dressed up as Mary.

Emma as a pink piggy. (She loves pink piggies)

 

 

All three in the nativity. Michael was dressed up as a dog. There were dogs there, right?!

It was a fun activity. A lot of hard work was put into it. Everything was set up really well. I'm glad that we went, even though we got home really late.

Mini-Golf

A while back Scott & I had the opportunity to go on a date. We had some passes for mini-golf at Castles-n-Coasters, so we decided to do that. Man, I haven't been miniature golfing in forever! We had a lot of fun, though. We were able to do two rounds. Each of us got at least one hole-in-one. But, on the flip side, I think I was at 15 or 16 strokes on my worst hole. Yikes! There's a reason I went into Music. That whole eye-hand coordination thing is not my forte! That's okay. We had a lot of fun.

Scott concentrating on his shot.

 Jillian getting ready to swing.

Say cheese, Scott!!