Silent Night

Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

I don't know why but I cannot hear or sing those words without emotion pouring out of me. It happened today as I was singing along to some wonderful Christmas music and it was in front of the kids (which is always embarrassing). I had a really wonderful opportunity though to bear my testimony to them because they were asking me what was wrong. I told them how happy the birth our Savior made me. And how I feel so blessed to have the knowledge being a member of the Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints brings me. And I feel so full of love and thankfulness for a Heavenly Father who loved me enough to send His Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ my Savior and Master. I was grateful for that opportunity today and didn't want to forget about it ever. I hope all of you remember how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you and how much They just want our happiness.

First Snow

We had our first snow about a week ago. Lindsay loved making snow angels and Brandon loved shoveling and he actually did a really good job (YIPEE!) I love snow storms... especially in December. I hope we get lots more!

Random Fun!

The day after Thanksgiving we went to this park where there are all these industrial sculptures. It was really interesting and the kids loved playing with all the musical instruments. Best of all it's free! When we were finished there, we went and saw BOLT. The kids had a lot of fun with their cousins and we had fun with the aunts and uncles! :)

Logan's cousin Justin and their twin hair cuts!

Thanksgiving

We had a really fun Thanksgiving this year! Shane sisters came and it was so great visiting with thier families! We are grateful that they took the time for traveling to come and see us!

Sydney and Logan enjoyed some beaters! Nothing beats home made whipped cream! YUM!

Aunt Linda brought some crafts for the kids to work on while we got dinner ready. It was a great idea! It kept them busy and out of our hair for an hour!

A GIRL!

For those of you who haven't heard we found out about 3 weeks ago we are having our 2nd baby girl! We are so so excited about it! Shane thought for sure that it was going to be a boy but Brandon and Lindsay were convinced otherwise! I have to say I am glad the kids were right this time! And no, we don't have a name picked out yet! If she were a boy, the name would have been chosen a year ago, but we are still searching..... I was hoping for a cute profile picture, but alas she wouldn't cooperate. So this is the best one we have to share! And as far as they can tell she is a healthy little girl!

On one of the last warm days of the year (Logan's birthday) we were lucky enough to be at the park as a family with the camera. Here are some pics.

Lindsay loved pushing her dad! It sure was funny if she got bumped though! The smallest bump sent her to her rump!

Brandon didn't want to miss out on any fun and tried giving Dad an under-dog. Better hurry and get out of there, son!

I love this picture. Not sure why... it's a personality picture for sure! I love my girl to death!

For a few minutes (not sure why) we couldn't get Logan to get off the bench. He just liked watching and drinking his water, I guess.

I learned something about Brandon today. If I want him to be excited about getting his pictures taken, take him somewhere where he can show off all the cool things he can do. I think we took about 20 pictures of him alone today and 90% of them were because he was screaming, "Mom! Take my picture!"

My Logie's TWO!

Logan turned two a while ago! We had a really fun day. One of my favorite things about birthdays is you don't have to go to a lot of work to make it super fun for them! They just love being played with! Logan loved all his presents, his cake and going to the park!

yummy cake face!

the loot (enough cars, yeah?)

Some of the things I don't want to forget about Logan right now is how happy he is! He is content to play with himself for long stretches of time, but he also LOVES to played with and will stop doing whatever he is doing if it means he gets to be with mom or dad or his brother and "sissy". He is learning how to say prayers right now. Mostly they consist of "Hev Fader.... some gibberish mixed in with "happy" "fud (food)", "famy" and then "Jeez Cwise A- (held out forever of course) MEN" He still has a very healthy cars obsession. Although it seems to be broadening to anything with wheels. I am so grateful Heavenly Father sent Logan to our family. He is such a blessing to us and we all love him very much!

Friends

Our dear friends are leaving tomorrow morning for Utah. Change is hard, but inevitable. I want to thank Corinne and her family for welcoming ours to this area. Corinne and I have had many good times together and our kids have had wonderful times together. In fact we sort of had a family melt down in the car on the way home after Kaedon and Brandon had their little good-bye. If there is any comfort in this move is that they are moving to Utah and so the good-bye is not forever... just a see you later!
To the Apeztiguias: we love you, we will miss you and we hope all goes well as you get settled into your new home. Good luck and we will see you soon!

Cute Trick or Treaters

We had lots of fun trick or treating this year with a ninja, Princess Leia, and a puppy dog! The kids were very excited... Logan LOVED all of the candy and has since become somewhat of an addict. He looks for it everywhere, asks for it all the time and when he's told no, throws temper tantrums! The only downfall of our Halloween evening was our stroller broke! Thank goodness for good friends who helped carry tired Logie and even ending up doing a patch job for the stroller! It was a lot of fun, but I am glad it's over! We had a busy week with LOTS of Halloween parties, but the kids had fun which is what it's all about!

Pumpkins Pumpkins Pumpkins!

Brandon's spider, Logan's face, and Lindsay's headless horseman

We had fun decorating pumpkins this year! Shane and I swore we were'nt going to help as much, but in the end we just followed the directions the kids gave us on how to carve their pumpkins (again)! No one liked cleaning them out... especially Logan, here is a video of what he thought of that part! Of course they all got smashed that night and when the kids got up to check their pumpkins Sunday morning, Lindsay began crying and Brandon swore he was going to hunt them down and smash THEIR pumpkins!

Fun with Vampire Teeth

Lindsay and Logan both really enjoyed their teeth. Logan was "roaring" all morning trying to bite anything that got in his way!

Lindsay's Field Trip

Lindsay took a field trip to Anderson Farms with her preschool. There were a lot of activities for them to do. They went on 2 tractor rides, picked pumpkins, fed farm animals, went through (and on top of and over) mazes, learned about squash and sugar can, rode the barrel train, and rode the trike track. She and Logan had A LOT of fun! No one wanted to leave when it was time to come home and she kept saying, "We have to bring Dad and Brandon back here!" We didn't get a chance to take Brandon and Dad, but went to Fritzler Maze with them instead where we also had a really good time, but sadly no pictures of that one!

This is as close as Lindsay would get to feeding the goat. The poor goats were just reaching as far as they possibly could to get that food, but Lindsay just wouldn't get close enough! She managed to feed one goat one time, but other than that, just had fun watching mom do it! (Logan thought he wanted to try too, but quickly found out that he didn't really care for feeding the goats either)

Lindsay and her friend Zoiee have fun riding horses in front of the bunny town.

Logan chose a great pumpkin! And getting ready for a ride on Oliver the tractor

Making sure to find the best pumpkin!

Because I love you!

My gorgeous little sister, Steph, tagged me and I am HORRIBLE at answering tags but since it was her first one and I adore her, I thought I would try to get this one answered!

So, it's all about your spouse and so here's our story.

1. Where did you meet? We were set up by Shane's sister-in-law about a week after he got home from his mission..... yea you heard me, a week!

2. How long did you date before you got married? Like I said he had been home a week... we didn't really hit it off needless to say. But about a year later he happened to be visiting his brother during spring break and I had canceled a trip with my room mates to come home due to some unexplained irrational intense feeling of homesickness. He asked me out again... I didn't want to go, but for some reason couldn't say no and so we went out, had fun and were married about 5 months later.

3.How long have you been married? 8 years

4. What does he do to surprise you? He brings me flowers and the makings for delicious smoothies. He takes the kids to the store or park or out to eat when he can tell I need a break. And every once in a while, it really does surprise me how funny he can be when in the right mood!

5. What's your favorite feature about him? I like his lips and his calves.

6. What is your favorite quality about him? I never ever have to wonder if he loves me because he tells me and shows me CONSTANTLY. Also he is THE MOST honest person I have ever met!

7. Does he have a nickname for you? "Sweetie" all the time... sometimes it surprises me when he calls me by my name :)

8. What's his favorite color? Red.

9. What's his favorite food? He really likes a lot of stuff, but way up there on the list is lasagna, tiny spicy chicken and nachos.

10. What's his favorite sport? Depends on the season. No, he really likes basketball and college football, but really he will watch almost any sport.

11. Who said I love you first? Shane

12. When and where was your first kiss? In the basement of his brother's house. I was very nervous because I knew he wanted to kiss me and I had a rule that I would not kiss a guy if I didn't know his middle name. He kissed me and I had to stop him and ask what his middle name was... then we continued.

13. Do you have kids? 3. Brandon, Lindsay and Logan and one on the way and what an awesome dad they have.

14. What is a hidden talent that he has? Doing an awesome runway walk... yes, really!

15. How old is he? He will be 31 in December

16. What's his favorite type of music? He really has a wide variety of things he listens to. One of his favortie groups ever though is Red Hot Chili Peppers

17. What do you admire most about him? Like I said, he is super honest. He is smart and funny and lives to make his family happy. He is very devoted to the things he loves.

18. What's his favorite past time? Well, we like tv and movies, but his hobbies are camping, fishing, and hunting.

19. Will he read this? Eventually when he does his "catching up" on the blog! Love you Shane!

Some of my Favorites

Shane's niece, Chelsea, took some time out of her busy schedule and to take some pictures of our family! She always does a really great job and working with my uncooperative children is NO picnic! These are just a few of the 150 she took! Thanks Chels, we love 'em!

Not to excite your anticipation....

I know many of you have been waiting for me to get a new camera so you can see pictures of your grandchildren and niece and nephews... well, last night I got a new camera!!! It's a really simple point and shoot, but that's all I need!  So, hopefully this weekend, I will be able to do some posting with pictures!  (I just need to have time and figure out how to use it first)

To Do List

Brandon created a "To Do" list for Shane and I.  Shane's is:

1. Wake up

2. Go to work

3.  Come home

4. Give Hug

5. Spend some time

6. Go to sleep

And this one is mine:

1. Take care.

I asked him, "take care of what?"  He said, "Us."  

Sounds good to me.

Things I can't live without right now...

Naps.

Toast.

Peanut Butter M&Ms.

Saltines.

A working vacuum. (I used it 4 times yesterday)

Doritos.

My water bottle.

Massages.

Cereal.

If you ask me, way too many of these are FOOD items.  And not healthy food items either  Maybe that's why I have already gained 

12 POUNDS!  *sigh*  Excuse me while I go cry (after a handful of M&Ms)

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Yep..... that's exactly what it means!  We are expecting our FOURTH child on April 5th!

sniff sniff...

How does one lose a camera?  I can't find mine.  It has been gone for about a week, and I am really really at a loss as to where it could be.  I have questioned all three suspects (Brandon, Lindsay and Dad) and all PROMISE they didn't touch it.  There is one suspect who just stares at me blankly when questioned, perhaps he is the culprit.   I feel very sad about not having it.  On a postive note... I've wanted a new camera... maybe I will have to get one now.

New Calling

Well, yesterday I got a new calling in our ward. I am the new Primary President (eek!). Right now I have many emotions flowing through me... none of which include adequacy or confidence, HOWEVER at least I know things won't always feel this frantic and disorganized... just give me a few months and I will be feeling much better! :) Other than that there is nothing really to report just yet. Lindsay had her first day of preschool. It went very well... she just LOVES preschool! It's amazing to me the difference a year makes... the kids are just so much more mature than last year. And it's nice because they are all going to kindergarten next year.
So, hopefully more interesting things will happen so I can post again soon... with pictures!

2nd Grade!

Brandon was very excited about his first day of school yesterday. He got up at about 6:30 to get ready, he got himself dressed and brushed his teeth and then was chomping at the bit for the next 2 1/2 hours to "get going". He had a really good day and he is excited about his teachers.

Aquarium

for my birthday we decided to go down to Colorado Springs and check out their zoo, but the weather was so bad we went to the Aquarium instead. It really was a lot of fun!

Just what I wanted...

This was the exact result I was hoping for from the All-Around competition. They all did so well, it was SO fun to watch... I think my favorite event of summer Olympics. I can't believe it's already half over!

It's my birthday!

Happy Birthday to ME! I thought since it was my birthday I would write a little bit about me since many of you didn't know the younger me.

I was born 28 years ago in Salt Lake City, Utah. I mainly grew up in Tooele, Utah. I have wonderful parents who have been really good examples to me especially since now I am married and have kids. I am the oldest of 5. I have one little brother (who, is NOT "littler" than me) and 3 little sisters (who actually are NOT "littler" than me either). I was a pretty good student, and usually did what my parents told me to do... maybe that's why a small part of me craves rebellion because maybe I didn't feel like I ever got to rebel or something. After graduation I went to Snow College for a couple of years (some of the best) and during spring break of my sophmore year, I met Shane. We were married that summer before school started. I went to Utah State after marrying Shane. Now I love Logan but when I first moved there I really really hated it! I graduated with my BS in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Psychology.

I love fairs, parades, traveling, my family, my church, music, movies, painting, Christmas, summertime, eating, sleeping, reading, going out, staying home, blogging, teaching my kids, teaching primary, being outside, being inside, feeling like I am important to someone, the scriptures, our prophet and apostles (especially Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin) the smell of rain, getting to know new people, listening to stories, being organized (which I'm not), pretending to be a Broadway Star and singing as loud as I can to an awesome musical, a clean house (which I don't have), when you can smell flowers before you can see them, dancing, growing things, making something better than it was before.

My hopes for my 29th year are to be more intune to the Spirit, to be a better mom, a better wife, to treat my loved ones in a way they KNOW I love them. I hope to be more organized, to get food storage completed, to be smarter with money, to be more confident, to be less of a procrastinator, to learn how to make tarts, to be a better and more thoughtful neighbor, friend, mom, wife, daughter and sister.

My dreams are to go to New York, to go Paris, to become independently wealthy so Shane and I can do whatever we want whenever we want, to be a world famous cook, or singer, or dancer or doctor or all of the above, to move to a remote island for a year with all my family, to become a real artist with painting and to always have an immaculatly clean house with never having to clean it myself.


So, happy birthday to me and anyone else I share this day with!!!


this is one of my favorite baby pictures,
I am not sure why... maybe the hair?

another favorite of my and my younger
brother, Robert. He's just SO CUTE!!

One of my funnest and most memorable
events was going to Phantom of the Opera
with my mom and grandma. It was the first
big time play I'd ever been to. And I LOVED
it!!!! It started something I LOVE to this day.
It was also the first time I ever wore high heels

CARS OBSESSION

Logan LOVES cars. For the past month or so, he has been carrying all of his little "cars" cars around the house and always asks to watch the movie. He wants to read all of the books we have on cars and he has been known to sleep with the movie case! It would be REALLY annoying if it wasn't so cute!

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?