Holiday Traditions

For our family it really is all about the traditions that make the holidays so special and magical. I started a new tradition this year. We seem to have hit a bit of bad luck where everything is breaking and Murphy's Law has been in full effect.
We are all happy and healthy which is all that really matters. However, I was watching the Today Show and they were decorating a tree. The designer said that it is believed that a bird on your Christmas tree is supposed to bring luck. Sooooo I decided I had better pick one up ASAP! I found this pretty little peacock and he will be dawning our Christmas tree from here on out. Mason has been loving him and pets it everyday.

Family shopping night. The boys were soooo excited when I told them we were doing family shop night. It always consists of a nice dinner out, picking out presents for each other, and riding around looking at Christmas lights.

Me, Conner, and Zack paired up and when we entered the electronic game section Zack got so excited he started to shake and was stuttering when he tried to talk. Conner and I were laughing so hard! Can you tell that kid is a gamer? The boys were so cute running around picking things out. They kept asking me, "Do you think he will like it?"

The boys didn't want to pose for a picture. They just wanted to get out of the door for family shop night. We found some cool lights again this year. One house in particular was fabulous. Mason is still talking about it and asking to go back to the "dancing house". It was all set up to music and simply spectacular.

Gingerbread houses have been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I think it is one my mom started when I was in the 3rd grade! The boys love decorating their houses. Conner is even getting more into it and took forever to get his done!

Victor always picks me out the prettiest centerpiece for the kitchen table. This year he won one at his work Christmas party! He did have his pick and I love the one he choose!
And then there are the sugar cookies! I swear we really do have the best recipe. My sister Jennifer posted the recipe on her blog if you would like to try it.
Zack was totally into the decorating. He was getting so upset with Mason because he was making a mess. He would say, "Mason! Stop being goofy! We are decorating so make it look good!"
Naturally Mason was all about good stuff. Can you blame him?
And the very best part of decorating cookies. . . why eating your creation of course!
Well Christmas is only a week away and we are looking forward to more fun family traditions. Merry Christmas to all!

Elf On Our Shelf

Meet Candy Cane, the new temporary member of our family.

Last year Victor and I heard about a thing called Elf on the Shelf. Christmas was only a week away so we planned for it this year. For those of you who not familiar with Elf on the Shelf it is a little elf that is sent to your family from Santa. Each night the elf flies home to report if the children have been naughty or nice. You are not supposed to touch the elf because he will lose his magic to fly. Every morning when the kids wake up the elf is in a new spot.

I wrapped it all up and snuck out to set at the door and when Victor arrived home from work he found a package at our door delivered to the boys from Santa! (Naturally Victor was in on the plan).

The boys hurriedly unwrapped it to see what was inside.

We read the book that explains everything to the boys and they picked his name. Originally they wanted to name him Conner :) but we told them we already had a Conner in the house so they had to pick something different. The boys settled on Candy Cane.

We have had a lot of fun finding Candy Cane each morning. One afternoon I found Mason with a chair pushed over trying to get the elf. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "My going to get Candy Cane". (The boys always say "my" when they refer to themselves instead of me or I). I asked why he needed Candy Cane and reminded him we are not supposed to touch him. Mason responded, "My going to hide him". I asked why on earth he was going to hide him and he said, "For he no tell Santa my be naughty!" I laughed and asked him if he had been naughty to which he replied, "Just little bit".

We also got a huge amount of snow this week! They even cancelled school. We are snow people and love every inch of it. The second the boys see a snowflake they are begging to get outside and play. We had a fun snow day and are looking forward (wishing, praying, dreaming) to more
just like it.

Our cute little nephew came over and spent the day with us. They were outside ALL day!

Victor and I just got some new snowshoes. I thought he was kidding when he said he was going to go out and give them a test run. Guess he wasn't kidding!

Mason happy to be along for the ride with dad.

I had to share this picture. I always try to convince Victor I really am an angel. Do you love my light halo? hee hee We were headed off to our first of very many Christmas parties. We love them and look forward to them all.

Thankful For

I feel like we truly have a blessed life and there are so many things that we have to be thankful for.

First and foremost I am thankful for my wonderful husband. He really is my best friend and loves and supports me and the boys in all that we do. Victor is such a hard worker and has a huge heart, no wonder he is loved by everyone.

I am extremely thankful to have three happy healthy and beautiful boys. I don't think we have ever left the house without someone telling us how adorable they are. They are each so different but full of personality and bring so many smiles, laughs, and giggles to our home. They sure do keep us on our toes but I would not have it any other way.

I am so thankful to have the best parents in the world who would do anything for us (and they do!). They are a HUGE part of our lives and I don't know what we would ever do without them. We are also blessed with the rest of my and Victor's family members and so many wonderful friends who we love and appreciate dearly.

I could go on forever but I will stop after this one. I am also thankful that Victor and I have wonderful careers. We are not just in jobs to get a paycheck but are in careers that we love.

To me, there is no other way to celebrate the day of Thanks than with family, much like every holiday that we want to be surrounded by those we love. Our normal four hour drive to my parent's house took us eight this year.

The roads were horrible. In fact the worst roads I have ever driven on. I watched the snow plow driver close the road right in front of us, literally. He closed the junction to Utah and we had to take the long way around. I was happy to be in a big ol' SUV and we just kept trucking along. The kids traveled like old pros and Victor probably had a brown spot in his underwear by the time we arrived to our destination after some of our experiences. :) Conner kept asking if I could see the road or if we were even on a road. Not sure about the second question, we may just have made our own route there. But am left wondering, what on earth did we do before we had a TV in the car?

The winter wonderland we arrived to.

We all had a wonderful time at Poppa and Gram's. I even brought stuff to make a little Thanksgiving craft with the boys. They read books, did puzzles, watched movies, played games, and played in the snow with Gram. They also managed to do some shooting (a lot of shooting!) with Poppa.

The little oreo turkeys were so cute!

Dinner was fantastic as always with the best deep fried turkey in world cooked up by Poppa! Naturally Mason could not be far from the two favorite men in his life, his dad and Poppa, and had to be part of cooking the turkey.

Is that a picture perfect turkey or what? My mouth is watering!

Victor and Conner did some more hunting with the Poppa, Jake, and Triston while my mom and I took the boys to meet my sister and her kids and go see the new movie Tangled. (Victor was a little concerned about this, however it looks like a little cute adventure move and not just a girlie princess movie so I thought it was safe).

Everyone else in Logan must have had the same plans because the movie was sold out all day! So, we had a change of plans and we to play at Camille's house and the kids didn't seem to miss the movie at all. In fact, the just enjoyed the heck out of each other! Then we even got to squeeze a Logan favorite of mine, Fredricko's!

Now we are home safely and the kids are begging to go back to their Gram and Poppa's. Mason has even called them to ask them to come and get him. ha ha Thanks so much to everyone for a wonderful Thanksgiving! Certainly worth the long eight hour drive!

SnOw!

We finally got our first good white wash of the season. I try to make sure the boys have all of their snow gear by the first part of September. We never know when we will get snow, but I dO kNoW as soon as the fluffy stuff arrives my boys want to be outside and playing in it more than anything. So it is always good to be prepared.

The boys were up at 6:30 am and begging to go outside and play in the sNoW at 6:45 when they noticed all of the accumulation. They were outside all morning! The snow was pretty "wet" so they were soaking by the time they came in, but they were the happiest kids in the world!
And what is best thing ever after a sNoW dAy? Why hot chocolate of course! EvErY time I use our cocomotion I think about a funny moment that took place with that cocomotion and my sister Jennifer and brother-in-law Howard. When I am taking the cocomotion out the pantry I get a huge goofy smile remembering. Victor will look at me funny until he sees the cocomotion then he is laughing and smiling right along with me! Funny how certain items or sayings can instantly bring back good memories.

So HoWaRd, this cup of cocomotion is just for you. . . . and in case you were wondering, it is just the right tEmPeRaTuRe. ;)

A Birthday AND an Anniversary

Victor just turned the big 3-2! It was also our 13 (holy crap!) year anniversary a few days later so we just threw the events into one big fun weekend!

My mom came up to watch the boys ALL weekend. Thanks mom!

We showered Victor with gifts and love his birthday morning then he and I took off to get started on some Christmas shopping! Funny how different it is to be in a store and actually be able to look around without chasing the little ones!

Then what we had been looking forward to for weeks! A day of pampering at the spa. We went to our favorite spa, Two Rivers. We normally try to make frequent "dates" to the spa, I don't know what has been going on but it has been wayyyyyy to long since our last visit.

The pedicture and manicure stations overlook the river. It is so pretty and was so much fun to watch the ducks and animals!

Part of our spa day included a 90 minute peppermint aromatherapy pedicure. I opened my polish book to pick a color and on the first page they had a picture of a woman's toes painted the beautiful colors of BSU, blue and orange. I laughed and dared Vic to do his toes up like that and guess what?????? He DID!!!! The ladies loved him! They thought he was coolest and super fun for painting his toes. ha ha Only my Victor!

Pretty toes! The boys on Victor's upcoming man trip are going to love that. I am sure he won't be teased at all. ;)

We raced home to have some birthday cake with the kids and then down to dinner at another one of our favorite spots, Chandlers. Oh and the food was divine! I could have eaten my life away that night! And I think I did!

I know the bottom two are not very good pictures, but I have had to give Victor a hard time. Look at how high the flames are and how much smoke there is after he blew the candles out! Man, he must be getting old!

The next day was a full day of nothing better than Boise State football! Fun tailgating with friends and a dominating game when we beat Hawaii! After the game we went out for dinner and to the movie Megamind with the whole family.

The game was a blue out. Every section was supposed to wear blue.

It is hard to believe it has been 13 years! I think our best decisions have been getting in the military, getting out, and finishing our education. I am very thankful for Victor's time in the service and the experiences we had and friends we made. However, I am more thankful for the choice to expand our horizons and get out. I am sooo pleased we decided to better ourselves with an eduction and move on and didn't stay stuck in the "military box". I can't describe how it is to have a husband that is home every night with our family and is an active part of their lives and not deployed for months on end.

Just for kicks we looked up to see what Victor would be making if he would have stayed in, considering his time in service and the rank he probably would be. It was laughable. Even if he went in as an officer he would be making far less and giving up more. Thanks so much to all of our military members who I feel are CERTAINLY underpaid and under appreciated. Be sure to thank a vet on Veteran's Day!

And here is to another 13 years!

Trick-or-Treat 2010

Naturally as kids get older they are into all things scary. Conner was very excited about his phantom costume!

Zachary loves all things Super Mario and Victor and I thought he was going to die with excitement when he saw this Mario costume. He was even more thrilled to volunteer Mason to be his sidekick Luigi. There was no talking him into any else!

It was a special year this Halloween. It was cousin Casey's first time to trick-or-treat! He is the same age as Conner and is a type 1 diabetic. His mom, Victor's sister Maudi, had just always taken him out to dinner and a movie. We tried to talk her into letting us take him last year, but were thrilled to be successful this time around! Victor and I went to the store and filled a bag with sugar free candy and surprised him with a trade for his bag at the end of the night. Every kid has to have the chance to trick-or-treat right???? He was a cute little gangster.

The kiddos patiently waiting at our neighbors, Kurt and Barbie's door. Their first house of the night! They couldn't hold still!

Good times to be had by everyone this Halloween!

Halloweenie Party

I hurried and posted pictures just for you Mom!

One of the doctors that works with Victor throws a fun Halloween party every year. We went and picked to costumes only to realize we were not going to be able to attend it this year. Victor came up with a solution. . . we would just throw our own mini little Halloween party!

We had our closest best buds over, enjoyed some fun Halloween festive food, played games, and just had a WONDERFUL Halloweenie good time!

When we picked out costumes Victor joked, "Nothing says Halloween like a white Indian and brown cowboy!"

I asked Vic to add a few small pieces of dry ice to the witches brew. He added huge chunks! Needless to say we had a little bit of a mess to clean up.

Me and one of my Madmen besties striking a pose. Don't worry, she isn't really smoking. The cigarette isn't real!

Our little crew from left to right: Cleopatra and King Tut, AKA Karen and Dave; Me and Vic; Madmen, AKA Jeff and Rebekah; in the back Hula Girl Mary and Village People band member Kyle; up front Hitler, AKA Maudi; Waldo and Wanda, AKA Tiffany and Brendon; Cat Woman and Batman, AKA Paula and Chris; and Kristen.

I think we have started a new fun tradition to look forward to each fall!

We also got the boys to the pumpkin patch this week. What's more fun than picking your pumpkin from the farm field???

Sisterly Shopping Weekend!

The girls in my family have had a tradition 11 years running now! We, my sisters, mom, and sister-in-law all get together and spend a few days in SLC Christmas shopping. No kids and no husbands, well there have been a few nursing babies who have joined us in years past, but just a fun girlie weekend! Normally we go a little closer to Christmas. However, schedules were booked this year so we got a bit of an early start.

My sister Jennifer and I booked our flights to arrive at the same time. I quickly booked it from my terminal and made it to hers just as she was deboarding her plane. I was so excited to see her and get our fun weekend started!

Greeting Jen @ the airport

My cute little momma picked us up and we hit the ground running! It is funny how many times we hit the same stores. I think we made our way to Nordstrom about 6 times in our 3 day span we were there. Funny how you find things you missed the first few times around. We hit Park City for some shopping as well.

My sisters are foodies along with myself. We are getting my mom on board, but we are thrilled to get her out of her box. We not only made this trip about shopping but about yummy food and new restaurants as well. I was tickled pink to get back to Lone Star Tqueria again for their delicious fish tacos!!! We also hit up Bombay House, Market Street Grill, and Windy Ridge in Park City. No complaints about any of these places except that I don't live close enough to eat there more often!

Mom and Jen with mouths full of yummy food @ Lone Star

Camille, Erin, Mom, & Jen @ Market Street Grill

I was most thrilled to get my sister up early in the morning to squeeze in a quick workout at our hotel gym to before venturing out for the day. That way I can eat what I want and not feel so guilty about it or gain 10 lbs! Thanks Jen!

Jen, me, & mom on our last day :(

Our inside joke from this year's trip- my lips are sealed. . . . except when I am laughing about it!

Jennifer's and my flight also left at the same time. Boy was I ever sooooo grateful to have her there to help me pull off my big ol' boots in security. The TSA guys were laughing and joking with us but there is no way I could have done it without Jen! It was also so nice to sit and BS with my sis before our flights left. I don't get to see her that often or spend as much time with her and her family as I would like so I was thankful to have the time that we did.

Thanks so much to all my girls Millie, Mom, Erin, and Jen for another wonderful sisterly shopping weekend! And a special thanks to Howard for our hotel. I can't wait til' next year. . . in Houston!!!!!

And a BIG HUG AND KISS my little hubby. I don't know if he really missed me or was just bored, but there were several texts, calls, and pics of the boys sent while I was away. I also came home to spotless sparkling house. You are the best babe!