Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward Christmas Party on the 17th and had a good time visiting with friends. It just so happened that my Aunt and Uncle from Coeur d'Alene were on their way through to Park City and stopped to stay the night so they came with us. This year we had soups and chilis with cinnamon rolls and desserts. It was sure yummy and tasted so good on a cold night. Of course the evening wouldn't be complete without a visit from Santa Claus. The kids were so excited when he walked through the door. Paige was especially excited and couldn't wait to go and sit on his lap. I had forgotten the camera and sent Matt home to get it really quick, but the kids didn't want to wait. I tried to hold off as long as I could and then before I knew it it was their turn to sit on his lap and Matt was still not back. Just as the kids were about to get off he showed up and snapped a few pictures. I didn't hear what the kids told him they wanted but one of my neighbors asked if Parker was going to get what he asked for. I said depends on what he asked for. She said he asked for an AX!! What 5 year old asks for and ax!??? He had seen an add for a medieval nerf set that had a shield and a toy ax and I think that is what he was meaning when he said it, but still...my kids has a fascination with weapons and it is beginning to worry me!!

Paige asked for "Lots of toys". This should be an easy one to fulfill. She wasn't even specific in what she wanted so she should be happy with whatever she gets! Although she did mention that she wanted a Pink Barbie Car and some Barbies... I think we can handle that request!

Sad Sad Day

(This is what the ornament looked like except it was green and had my kids picture on it!)


I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day last Saturday. Parker was really being a little stinker last week and Saturday was the last straw. Early in the week he had written on my dresser with a pen, leaving deep engravings in it. I was pretty upset about this because this is my last piece of nice furniture that Matt and I have. The kids have ruined all the rest, so I was mad at him for doing that, but I was able to look past it because after all it is just a piece of furniture. We had the talk of choosing the right and how it makes you feel and also how to know if something is wrong and the feeling you get right before you make a choice. I don't think he understood any of that conversation!! Then on Saturday morning the worst thing (remember I am pregnant and very emotional) for a mother that can happen. Let's rewind a few years back to 2008 at Christmas time when as a gift from Parker (and a little help from grandma Yancey) he gave us an ornament with a recording of him saying "I love you daddy, I love you Mommy, Merry Christmas, Love Popper" (how he said his name at the time) It was one of the best gifts I have received, I even cried when I listened to it. It was precious and invaluable. We have enjoyed putting it on the tree each year and listening to it on and off throughout the holiday. Well back to the present, we of course put the ornament on the tree this year and Parker has loved hearing his sweet little voice on it. I have told him not to play with it and that if he wanted to listen to it that I needed to help him. On the bottom there is a button for "off", "Play," and "record" and I didn't want him to hit the record button and erase the message so I told him over and over again not to touch the ornament. Well on Saturday guess what he did!! He was trying to listen to it and I grabbed it from his hands only it was too late! I pushed the play button and heard NOTHING. NOT A SOUND!!! He had erased the sweet little message from when he was 3 years old!! Immediately I burst into tears, sobs really, and was hysterical. I ran over to my parents house to cry on my mom's shoulder. I was so hysterical that she thought something had happened to the baby. I am overly emotional right now, and that just was my breaking point. I cried and cried for over an hour and couldn't even look at Parker after that because I would start crying. I couldn't talk about it to tell Matt what had happened and it pretty much ruined the rest of my day. I know, it is a stupid thing to get so worked up about, but it was so priceless, and now it is gone. I am really sad about it and still a little upset, but I don't think he really realizes what he did and how much that meant to me. So I had to write about the incident so I can remember just how much that ornament meant to me and maybe I will still be able to hear that sweet, little, innocent voice in the years to come. Kids!!! Good thing I love him!

Gingerbread Houses

Another tradition that I want to make sure my kids enjoy and remember is putting together Gingerbread houses. I remember doing this occasionally when I was younger and I remember it being so fun. Paige is still a bit too small to do this, so was Parker, but with my mom as a helper we managed to get 2 houses built. We invited Parker's friend Hunter over and the boys had a good time letting their imagination take over. They both ended up with quite the houses! Paige lost interest and just enjoyed eating skittles, so I had quite a fun time decorating her house! You are never too young to do gingerbread houses!!

Christmas Cookies

I think my kids are old enough to start remembering Christmas Traditions so I decided that I want to start some fun traditions with my kids. So througout the month of December we will do fun things that will only be done at this time of year. 2 weeks ago we all made sugar cookies with different colors of dough. They mostly ended up being tye-dyed looking, but were fun to make! The kids loved rolling out the dough and picking out different colors to play with. We had a good time and it kept us all entertained for over an hour!! Yay for that!

Ornament Exchange

I went to my annual ornament exchange on the 1st and once again came home with a basket full of cute ornaments. I look forward to this every year and enjoy getting together and having a fun girls night out. I need to get on the ball and think of a cute idea for next year and get it done early so I am not trying to get them done the week before. This year I made little snowman out of paper mache boxes. They turned out pretty cute and didn't take me as long as I was excpecting. Now I just need a bigger tree to put all the ornaments I have recieved on!

28 Weeks & Counting

I went to my monthly Doctor's appointment on the 1st and everything was looking good. My blood pressure was lower than it had been and there wasn't protein in my urine (I know TMI) so the aspirin and calcium regimine the doctor put me on last month must be helping. I was glad to hear that! So I am 28 weeks and 3 days here and have officially started my countdown in days. I can't wait to have this baby here and to be able to sleep on my stomach again. What is also interesting is I can't wait to go back to the gym! I never thought I would say that, but I miss it! I have had no energy with this pregnancy and a horrible gagging reflex so I stopped going to the gym in October and I do miss it, so hopefully I can still have the desire to go back after the baby gets here and get some of this weight off quickly. I have bags packed for a boy and a girl all ready to go, the car seat is washed and ready as well. All I need to do is get my back packed and we will be ready as soon as the baby decides it is ready to come. My next appt is on the 22nd and after that I will be going every 2 weeks, that means it is really getting closer!! We are still unsure of a boy name...with a P so any suggestions are welcome!!

Snow is Fun

Now that the snow is almost melted and it is feeling like Spring, in December, what is wrong with that sentence???!! Where has all the snow gone? I hope that it gets here before Christmas, there is nothing like a white Christmas and the feeling it brings with each and evey snowflake. Plus the snow sure kept my kids busy while it was around. When we had a good foot or so they were out 2 or 3 times a day playing in the snow with each other. I was loving it, less TV, more physical activity for them, and they seemed to get along better. So for my sanity, even though that means more laundry, would the snow fairies please come and deliver more snow in our front yard!!!!