Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas Pics

I got some great Christmas pics of my kids thanks to Zoie, who I met at our GNO Twilight night. She is awesome! (Check out her blog link on the side.) I've definitely found a long-term photographer to photograph all of our future family picture needs (or wants, heh, heh). No more JC Penney or Kiddie Kandids for us! And get this, all of these pictures were taken in natural light; she does not use ANY lighting equipment. Did I mention that she is awesome?

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I do both.

2. Real or Artificial: I love the smell of a real tree, but that's about it. I hate the care & clean-up involved with a real tree. Next year we are definitely doing artificial.

3. When do you put your tree up? Whenever I feel like it. This year I've been feeling like crap, so it didn't get put up until the second week in December.

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever I feel like it. (Usually sometime after New Year's Day).

5. Do you like eggnog? No. (Do you know how many fat calories there are in that stuff?)

6. Favorite gift received? Probably my first Cabbage Patch doll.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My kids.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. It's a Willow Tree set from Deseret Book.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.

11. Worst Christmas present ever received? I can't really remember being truly disappointed with a gift I received from anyone. I'm not that ungrateful.

12. Favorite/Worst Christmas movie? I like "Elf" & "The Muppet Christmas Carol." I can't think of one I don't like.

13. When do you start Christmas shopping? Sometime after Thanksgiving. I always think I should start earlier, like in September or October, but it's hard to get motivated about Christmas shopping then.

14. Have you ever recycled a gift? Maybe once or twice.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas time? Anything chocolate-y, caramel-y, and/or peanut-y...and my Mom's cheeseball.

16. Lights on tree? White.

17. Favorite Christmas song? "Joy to the World," especially when it's sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

18. Travel on Christmas or stay home? Traveling to Lehi this year.

19. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer? Yes.

20. Angel or star on top of tree? Star.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve? Yes, just one. Usually, they're pajamas from Nana and Papa.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The cold & the snow.

23. Favorite ornament? My S'mores ornaments. (The marshmallows make snowmen engaged in different activities and each one is sitting on a piece of chocolate bar and graham cracker.)

24. Favorite food for Christmas Dinner? Spiral honey-baked ham & "funeral" potatoes (eaten in the candlelight).

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? For my family to be healthy & happy.

I tag Mom Wilson, Sarah, Karen, Becky, & anyone else who wants to do this.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Belly Picture!

Okay, I'm posting a belly pic to appease a certain one of my friends who, for some reason or another, is obsessed with pictures of her pregnant friends' expanding waistlines. Here's my belly at exactly 18 weeks. (Sorry, I'm not going the naked belly route...maybe later.) I find out what the little runt is on Thursday, the 18th. I'm pretty dang sure it's a girl, though I will be pleasantly surprised if it's a boy...

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Twilight Tonight!

La, la, la, la, la, la, tonight is Twilight Night! I'm going to a GNO (girl's night out) with 55 other girls to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then to the Twilight movie at midnight tonight. I am SOOOOOOOO excited!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Halloween '08

Here are our Halloween pictures, finally!
Kylie had lots of fun in her class Halloween party and was the star of her class play. She played the smart ghost who knew how to pull the pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch.
For all you Twilight fans, Mr. Plott, Kylie's teacher was dressed as Jacob Black. He said he was a werewolf (currently in human form) and he had on a hole-y t-shirt that said "I love Renesmee" on it. Funny stuff!
Trick-or-treating was lots of fun. Cooper got the hang of things pretty quickly. He kept saying, "doorbell," like "darbell." He knew that each time we rang the doorbell, he was going to get candy. Smart kid! He would go get a large fistful of candy, come put it in his bag, then go back to the person handing out the candy, wait until he got his or her attention, then wave and say "bye!" in his cute little high-pitched voice. Adorable! I didn't think to take pictures of the kids actually trick-or-treating. I know I should have.
So, that was our Halloween this year. The kids got way too much candy, so we're still eating it!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Cornbelly's Corn Maze & Pumpkin Fest

I just wanted to let you all know that, in spite of having a very sick mommy, my kids did get to have a little bit of Halloween fun last month. I'm just now feeling somewhat well enough to post this and some pics. I decided that I needed to do it now, before it becomes REALLY old news.
So, I took the kids to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point one Friday afternoon. My sis, Jill, was so good to come with me and help me play with the kids and take pictures. I couldn't have gotten through the day without her. Thanks, Jill!
The first thing we did was go through "The Haunted Creature." It was this big inflated animal that made all these different scary noises as you walked through the "maze" inside him. At the end, it "farts" you out of his behind. Ha-ha! I don't know if you can tell from the pic, but Cooper is crying and Kylie is clinging to me. They did not like it at all! Thankfully, from here on out, it was all fun and games.Next, we jumped on the giant pillows. It was very bouncy! We didn't have to do a whole lot of jumping ourselves. All the crazy kids already on there were making it plenty bouncy.Next we pedaled karts around a racetrack...Kylie playing in the playhouse in Kiddie Courtyard.Jill, Coop, and Kylie sitting in the Pumpkin Princess' pumpkin carriage.We listened to the Pumpkin Princess tell a story about Spookley, the square pumpkin.Taking a picture with the Pumpkin Princess.We spent a lot of time in the Kiddy Courtyard. We played with the water pumps, pumping ducks across the pipes..."Milked" a cow...Played in the corn kernel pit...Played on the wooden train...Played on the slides...And "worked" in the country store...Next, we went through the kiddie corn maze. There were all these black and orange plastic eggs along the way with little prizes in them. Kylie found one with vampire teeth in them--she thought they were so cool.Next, we watched a little bit of the chicken show, where some animated chickens sing songs, tell jokes, and share interesting facts about chickens.Riding the cow train was a highlight. Cooper couldn't wait to get in and go. He kept saying, "In, in, in, in!" Aunt Jill was a good sport and took him, while I stayed out and took pics, of course.We then had dinner. Kylie and Jill went over to play on Cornbelly Mountain, while Cooper and I finished eating. Then we went on the hayride, where Jill and Kylie proceeded to snap "goofy pics" with my camera. (Yeah, we can clearly see who's the wacky one in our fam. And she's passing on her talents...)Of course the night couldn't be complete without a balloon hat from the balloon man, some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch (sorry, no pictures; my camera started to die), and a final picture in the giant Cornbelly's rocking chair.