Christmas 2007 and Beyond

Christmas Day was wonderful and relaxing. Those two usually don't go in the same sentence. Usually we are rushing through our presents so we can rush over to Ben's parents, to open presents. Then we are rushing home to clean up and get started on all the dishes we plan on taking over to Ben's parents....you get the idea. This year I wanted things to be more simple. So I decided that we would take our time opening our gifts and have a nice breakfast and go over to Ben's parents when we were ready. It really doesn't matter if we are there when everyone else open gifts, b/c we all get the same thing anyway. Even with us taking our time, it still ended up that we got there about the same time everyone else did. After opening gifts, we came home and relaxed. I made dinner simple this year; the raspberry chipotle dip for starters, then a ham, mashed potatoes, my Shoepeg casserole, sweet potatoes and store bought rolls for dinner. We were all in charge of making something, so I didn't spend all day in the kitchen. It was actually the perfect amount food! We filled our day watching the Christmas Story, the Testaments and the kids played with their toys.

The kids had a great Christmas. Boston was excited to get his Nintendo DS. I swear he had DS radar. We put his gift behind the tree so it would be the last gift opened. The next thing we know Boston is in the middle of opening it. I don't even think their was a name tag on it! He also was happy to get several games to go with it! His other gifts included some Star Wars Legos, Magnetix, some Wii games and clothes. I never have seen a 6 year old BOY so excited to get clothes!

Aubrie enjoyed a new shuffle loaded with Hannah Montana and High School Musical. I feel like I have a teenager, her beboping around and not being able to hear anything I tell her. She also got a jewlery box, a lot of clothes from Justice (one of her favorite clothing stores), a baby set that included a high chair, pack and play, stroller and swing. She has been wanting that for a long time. She also got a handful of other things, like the rest of the kids!

Ethan's favorite toy was a cleaning cart. I found it at Ross and instantly knew it was for him. It has mops and a mop bucket, and broom and "pretend" cleaning bottles, and sponges etc. All Christmas day he was going around cleaning all the rooms. That's all he did for the next couple of days. Moon Sand and a Nerf gun was also high on his list! All the kids also got Razor scooters from Santa. They didn't touch those much, until they made it through all their toys and ventured out front! My Dad also bought them digital cameras, the cheap kid kind of course. That was also a favorite! Ethan took many pictures of his cleaning cart!!:)

Sophia didn't get much, of course. She doesn't even know what's going on and she has plenty of toys and clothes from the other kids already. Her favorite thing was eating the wrapping paper!

Ben surprised me with a trip to see Wicked and a new Camera, and Ben enjoyed a new shuffle and some work out clothes. We also bought ourselves an early Christmas present, a generator! To bad preparing spiritually can't be as easy as preparing physically!

We ended our Christmas day starting a 750 piece puzzle. My Mom bought it for Aubrie, only looking at the picture and not realizing the amount of pieces. I should have known better than to start it. I love puzzles, and also can't stop once I get going. Aubrie did a pretty good job helping and finding pieces I just couldn't find. She has an eye for puzzles! My Dad joined us around 10:00 pm and Aubrie, my Dad and I finally went to bed at 12:30!

The next day we woke up and finished the puzzle. It took us about 7 hours, total, to finish it. I had to leave that one sitting on the dining room table for a few days! It hurt to finally break it down and put it back in the box.

Later that day my Dad and I enjoyed some Daddy/ Daughter time at Red Robin. That evening my brother Joe came over to spend time with my Dad, and Ben and the kids and I went to see the movie "Enchanted". It was a cute movie. The kids really enjoyed it and kept going over their favorite scenes on the way home!

Thursday morning my Dad left, with tears in his eyes (mine were a little watery, too) and then Ben and I rushed to Home Depot to get paint for the kids bedrooms. We picked out a nice blue for the boys room, and Aubrie picked out a bright pink for her room. It was way too bright, and I couldn't convince her on a lighter pink, so instead of fighting her I just switched the paint chips when we had them make the paint. Good thing, b/c the lighter pink is still quite bright! Luckily the white bead board in her room softens up the color a little! Of course, the bead board is still only half way done, so Aubrie has been sleeping in our room the past couple of days!! Why do we start these projects?! LOL

Friday Ben went golfing with a friend while I stayed home catching up on 20 loads (not really but it sure felt like it!) of laundry. I also cleaned out the boys closet and the kids craft cabinet! I feel like after hours of work I didn't even make a dent in all the organizing I still have left to do! Later that night we finally finished all our returns. We had a few at the mall and somehow we left that place spending more money than we got back. After returns, we grabbed some dinner at Uncle Sams, a pizza/ hoagie place we hadn't tried yet. Their pizza was yummy and their is a new hoagie that I am already addicted to! (Chicken, mushroom, cheese toasted and served w/ honey BBQ sauce for dipping. YUM!!!)

Pictures we took at Uncle Sams!

Saturday I met up with Ben's Mom and the Sister-in-laws for lunch at Chilis. Aubrie wanted to go to Pets Mart afterward, and convinced Krista to come along. Krista ended up getting a tabby cat that looks like our cat Simba. Aubrie insisted we visit her and her cat later, so after dinner Aubrie and I made a trip over there. When we got back the family played Aubrie's new High School Musical game. It's pretty fun watching the kids do the dancing and singing parts! After the game, Ben headed off to his "Fight Night" get together...still don't understand the appeal of watching that stuff! Anyway, while Ben was gone Aubrie and I enjoyed some alone time.

Sunday we were running a little slow. The kids have been waking up later, and so we forgot that we had to set our "real" alarm clock! We made it to the last two meetings which were really good. The Laurels were in Relief Society, so Erin and I got to go to RS, too! We sat in the very back w/ our babies. Sophia, of course, didn't want to fall asleep so I passed her off to Ben so I could enjoy the lesson. It was on supporting our leaders! We spent our afternoon playing Disney Scene it with the kids. Sunday night we had dinner over at Ben's parents. We had a ham dinner and I brought my yummy Seven Layer Salad. I have to remember to double the salad next time. It went fast and everyone went for seconds only to be disappointed that there was nothing left. They brought out the Ninetendo 2 for the kids, so that kept them busy while we all visited. After we got back, Ben's sisters came over for games and visiting. Aubrie wanted to stay up w/ us and play games. So we played 10 minutes of Disney scene it? and one round of Hide and Go Seek. After we got her to bed, we played Chicken Feet (a domino game) and Ultimate Spoons. I have to play that game with the YW sometime. They will love it!

Well, that's a wrap of our 2007 Christmas and Beyond. Now it's time to take down the Christmas decorations (outside is actually down already), make new goals for the new year (working out and consistent scripture study are always a winner) and preparing for early school mornings and endless activities (our new additions are voice lessons for Aubrie and Karate for the boys)...Heaven help me and give me strength! Only 4 1/2 months till summer!!! My Mom took Ethan out on Saturday. This is what he came home with!:)

8 days of Christmas

Isn't it ironic how when you have the most memories to write down, you don't have the time to write them all down. I've accepted this as a basic truth as the Holidays have quickly closed in on me. There have been so many times I have thought, "I need to make sure that gets recorded on the blog", and I now I won't even scratch the surface on writing them all of down. So here are my "8 days of Christmas"!

Monday night we spent with Ben's parents and sisters, Amber and Krista. We met for dinner at Top Shelf (a Mexican restaurant close by) and then went to look at Christmas lights. There is a house nearby who goes all out. They have it set up where you can park and walk around their yard and they have a popcorn machine going for "their guests". Sometimes Santa is there, but this time we missed him:( The kids still had a great time.

Tuesday I finally committed to baking. It has been haunting me on my "to do" list, being pushed over day to day for a few weeks now! It was my Mom's day off, so I figured I could enlist her help. I went simple this year, Almond and Peppermint Bark and Peanut Butter Cup cookies, one of the family favorites. I put together 20 containers....whew!!! After dinner, we took the kids and we delivered them to families in the ward, who we hadn't already received a gift from us. The kids had a great time taking turns delivering them. We were glad they were excited to do it, since it was a little chilly that night!

Wednesday Ethan had his Christmas "party" at preschool. We basically showed up to help them decorate an ice cream cone like a Christmas tree and Nutter Butters like snowmen. It was a very cute idea, I think I will do that next year w/ the kids. He had a hard time icing the "tree" but he had a great time decorating the whole thing with M&M's, his VERY favorite candy! After school, the kids had a late piano practice w/ some of the other students to prepare for their recital. After that practice, it was determined that Boston and his friend Thomas were not allowed to sit next to one another at the recital. LOL Ok I just realized they had their practice on Tuesday...that's what happens when I get behind on things. Wednesday night we capitalized on the Soft Opening of Jumba Juice. They were giving out free drinks from 4-6, on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Of course, we went both nights. Ben can't ever pass up a good deal. In fact, he spent about 20 minutes calling different families in the ward to let them know. We saw several people from the ward while we were there. I don't' think anyone in our family will be wanting a Jumba Juice for a few weeks!! Wednesday night was the joint Young Men and Young Women activity. They used the firetruck, that brought Santa in at the Ward Party, to carry a trailer (with hay of course) for Christmas Caroling. Erin brought her two oldest girls and I brought Aubrie. They had a good time and so did the youth. The 12 year old boys were a little troublesome, giving me a glimpse of what I'm hoping I won't have to deal with in 6 years! Our first stop was Ben's parents (who are now in our ward). Aubrie was so excited, jumping off the trailer and running into Aunt Amber's arms. Too bad I forgot my camera:( Our youth are so spoiled! I'm glad I can be a part of it! Hee Hee!:) Later that night Krista and Amber came over for cards.

Thursday I had to finish up some Christmas shopping. I usually NEVER put my shopping off to the last minute, b/c procrastination gives me panick attacks! But my Dad called and said he was coming for Christmas, so I had to run and get him some gifts. Then to top things off, Lorraine's gift wasn't working. I made her a huge clock and the time piece was broken. So I had to run and get her something else. Luckily I found a beautiful Star Diamond Pendant for a GREAT price! Mother-in-laws are sooooo hard to shop for. Anyone else agree? Luckily there were no crowds at Kohls (that's where we went), but things were still CRAZY! I had all the kids w/ me and both Aubrie and Ethan wanted to push Sophia in the cart. Of course, I wasn't about to let Ethan push Sophia! Things got a little dramatic, until I told him he could push Boston in a cart. Luckily Boston was a good sport about it! As soon as we got that figure out, they all had to go to the bathroom. After that, Ethan started pushing Boston all crazy, and as Aubrie was looking at Ethan and yelling at him to stop she wasn't paying attention to where she was pushing Sophia. Sophia was holding on to the front bar of the cart, and Aubrie pushed her right into a center display, crushing one of her fingers. Sophia started to wail and then Aubrie started to cry hysterically b/c she hurt her. I then told everyone we should just go home and asked them to take the carts back. Then Boston and Ethan started fighting over who was going to do that. I sure gave everyone in the store a good show! Amazingly, I somehow regained control and walked out of there with all the Christmas presents I needed! Whew! That night we did our grocery shopping for Christmas dinner. Walmart was a MADHOUSE!! Luckily Ben was with me so we were able to divide and conquer....although sometimes I think the kids do better when it's just me. Why is that? Ben mainly comes in handy with loading up the car and bringing the groceries in the house!!

Friday was probably the craziest day of them all! It started off normal, getting the kids off to school. The only difference was that I had to make sure Aubrie's hair was "performance" ready for her recital. They were able to have a few hours at their school Christmas parties before we had to pull them out for the recital (their school was the only one in session for that day!). Both Aubrie and Boston did a great job!! Neither one missed a single note and their timing was awesome. Finally they were able to see the "fruits of their labor" ! After their recital Ben went golfing w/ his Dad and a friend from the ward, while me and the kids hung out at home. We then went to see the new National Treasure Movie, "Book of Secrets" w/ the kids (minus Sophia) and Ben's parents and sisters. It was VERY good. We saw several people in the ward there. We Mormons can't resist a GREAT Disney family film! After the movie, Krista came over and we (minus all the kids) watched Disturbia. It was a great scary movie, but I have realized I am getting too sensitive to scary movies. Even "I Am Legend" was too much for me. I have always liked a good scary flick....what's happening to me?!

Ethan and one of his friends, Andrew (Thomas's brother..see above) at the kids piano recital!

Saturday Aubrie went to The Nutcracker with Ben's Mom and the Sister-in-laws. They said she kept them entertained, jabbering on about anything and everything. That is my Aubrie..the jabber jaw! Boston had a fun time at a Birthday party for one of his school mates. It was held at one of those "Soft Play" centers. The place is about 20 minutes from here, so Ben just took him and got some shopping done while I worked on my YW lesson. Luckily I was able to finish it up before my Dad arrived, around 2:30. Then I took my Dad out to get some shopping done...ARGH....it was a MADHOUSE!! On the way home I made my life easier and picked up Sonic. Then I made a gingerbread house with the kids. Boston made a small gingerbread house at school and he said, "Mom my gingerbread house can be like the playhouse to the big one"!

Sunday morning was crazy as usual...I can't wait for the new block...11:30!! Luckily Ben's parents went early, since the girls are in town, and saved us a seat! Sophia did alright, until the last 10 minutes, so I was able to enjoy most of the Christmas Sacrament Program. Aubrie was a little upset b/c she went to one of the practices for the Christmas Program and so she thought she was going to be singing. Things were too crazy for me, and I feel bad leaving Ben with all the kids during sacrament, especially with Sophia being so demanding, so I stopped going. Aubrie was a little crushed when the the little kids had their singing part. I ended up doing my lesson on the Three Wise Men and the Star. I talked about the guiding stars in our life that can lead us back to the Savior. It was a good lesson for me. Funny how that always works out! Sunday afternoon my brother Joe cam over to visit. He ended up staying for dinner and then we played a little Guitar Hero and visited. After Joe left and the kids were in bed, Ben's sisters came over for some games. We had so much fun! We played Scattegories, Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture, Scene It? the Second Edition, Ultimate Spoons (my new favorite), and finished with some good old fashion Hide and Go Seek! The first time I crammed myself under Ben's Bathroom sink. I was so uncomfortable. They couldn't find me fast enough!! Finally, I started making noises to help them out. Another time I hid in the Linen Closet, and they couldn't find me, again. I was much more comfortable wedged between blankets instead of towels and Ben's mouth wash, etc, so I waited a bit longer before I made noises. All those games made me feel like a college kid again, except when I pulled something in my leg as I was leaping over Amanda for a spoon! I had pain all night, and realized that I wasn't as young as I used to be. We didn't finish games until 1:45. Amazingly I haven't been tired all day!!!

Today started off like the Movie "Jingle All the Way". Boston has been wanting a Nintendo DS for Christmas, and Ben has been putting off getting it for him. Well today he realized why I kept harping on him to get it. I spent all morning calling stores to see if they had it. I was to the point of tears, knowing how much Boston deserved it...being he is so good and it was the ONLY thing he really has asked for! Luckily Costco came through for us, at a HEFTY price. I guess Ben had to learn the hard way! After we got that resolved, I sang (Christmas songs ) as I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped (sound familiar?). It is very unlike me (seems to be a theme this year) to not wrap my gifts as soon as I buy them. It was quite overwhelming to have so many things to wrap. So, unlike me, I wasn't enjoying the wrapping and my wrapping wasn't as artistic as I like to make it!! After all my wrapping, I played outside with the kids until it was time for our Christmas Eve plans. We started our evening taping Ethan "reading" his "Cookie" book. He has the thing memorized to a "T". The first time he did it Aubrie was in awe, thinking he learned to read. Anyway, it's really cute to watch. Then we recorded the kids singing Christmas Songs. After that we watched the church DVD "Finding Faith in Christ". I then gave a condensed version of my lesson on the Wise Men. After that, the kids made cookies while Ben went to pick up the Pizza (my new Christmas Eve dinner tradition I have decided to start!:). After pizza, we let the kids open up their Christmas PJ's. After baths, we made reindeer food and they spread it out on the lawn. Ethan dumped his bag in one spot, Aubrie quickly ran around the lawn and dumped her's in several spots. Then there was Boston, slowly and methodically sprinkling the lawn a little at a time. When Aubrie caught on to what he was doing she said, "How did he think of doing that? Boston is so smart!" After reindeer food, we prepared Santa's plate. Then Boston said, " Don't' you think Santa will get a tummy ache?", referring to all the cookies he would be eating. I told him that was smart thinking and asked him if we should leave him an apple. Now there is one sugar cookie, an apple and 9 carrot sticks...for the reindeer, on the plate! The kids then wrote a letter to Santa, and then wrote their Service gifts. These are like "service coupons" that they put in one another's stockings. After they got everything ready, Ben's family came over for dessert. Now they are gone and we are watching our all time favorite Christmas movie, "Christmas Vacation"! All the gifts are wrapped, whew!, the house is clean and now all I have to do is fill the stockings and eat the food on Santa's plate:) Hope that I get some good rest so I can enjoy tomorrow. I can't believe another Christmas is almost past! What a wonderful season. I love how it softens every one's heart to serve and show compassion and love. If only this spirit could always remain all year! One day:)!!!! Merry Christmas EVERYONE!!

Boston's teacher was so great with the Christmas Holiday. Boston came home everyday for the past week and a half with some Christmas art project. Here they all are!

Aubries gift to me, that she made at school!!

What happens in this family when you aren't reverent during sacrament prayers! Boston got them, too! Sweet boy did them first thing when he got home. I cut his in half!!!

Snow in Phoenix?!

Saturday was the ward Christmas Party. It was during the day this time, which we thought was a little different. In the flyer's for the party it said there would be a special surprise. We all assumed it was Santa Clause, who graces us with his presence at every ward Christmas party. Well this year something else gave Santa some competition. The party started off in the cultural hall with a spaghetti lunch and some socializing. They then directed us outside toward the Ramada. They had 8 tons of snow pumped out on the grass area while we were all inside eating. The kids and adults had a blast. I think the men had more fun than the kids did. I know that Ben wasn't making friends that day. I just kept hearing people yell his name, and then could hear him laughing. I was holding Sophia, so I had to stay out of range after getting pelted a few times. The kids had a blast, especially since they didn't have to deal with freezing temperatures! Then to add the cherry to the whole occasion Santa came riding in on a firetruck. His costume was the worst Santa costume I have ever seen, but fortunately the kids didn't notice. Aubrie did ask us why Santa had a pillow stuffed under his shirt. YIKES!! After the ward party the family just chilled at home and I finished up some Christmas Shopping. I found a great Nativity Set at Kirkland's for a steal of a deal, so I bought one for each of my sister-in-laws that have a home of their own. We draw names in Ben's family, but I couldn't resist the deal. I love spoiling people when I get the chance! Last night we had the Frandsens over for some pizza and hanging out! It was a fun day. Aubrie stayed up late and made Snowflakes with me while with Ben and I and watched old family videos.

Here is a picture of Sophia's newest favorite past time thanks to Aubrie's creativeness! That's one way to get the floors clean!LOL

"I love you!"

***First I must start by giving credit to Aubrie for taking the picture of Sophia, eating her first sucker (see previous blog entry). Aubrie and Boston are always fighting over the camera, and Aubrie loves to go around the house taking pictures w/ an old digital camera we gave her. We might have a professional in our midst! With that said...

There are stages my children go through where I wish I could literally push a fast forward button to rush them through to the next scene, i.e. teething, conquering stairs, potty training. Then there are those times where I wish I could hit the pause button and continually enjoy every second of those sweet and tender moments that make it all worth it. Ethan is giving me those moments! I have to give a little background to understand why this new phase is more sweet and precious to me, than it typically would be. Ethan has been a Daddy's boy FOREVER. From the time he was about 15 month, he hasn't been one to show me or anyone else, but DAD, much affection. That was very hard for me, him always running to Dad for everything, and treating me like I didn't exist! No matter how hard I tried, he didn't want much to do with me. Because of that, I didn't' feel very connected to him. Sounds so bad,huh? I remember praying to Heavenly Father that I could have my sweet cuddling boy back (he was the sweetest, cuddly baby!). Since Boston has gone off to Kindergarten, I have noticed a huge change in Ethan. It has been gradual, but it has come. It started w/ him not wanting to leave me, to go to preschool. Then it migrated to him letting me hold him and give him affection. The past few weeks Ethan will randomly, and quite often, come up to me and say "I love you". (He also is sure to tell family he loves them as the leave to go somewhere.) He is always so thankful, too! Whenever he asks me a question and I give him an answer, or I offer him any help he is quick to say "thanks, Mom!" He is also quick to say sorry, and he says it with meaning! He is my new "buddy"! With this I have realized that whenever I see something in my kids that I believe is slipping away or has slipped away, not to give up hope. The continuance of love and prayers will bring them back! This realization will probably give me strength in the teenage years!!

Rain or Shine

Time to catch up again. This Christmas season is keeping me busy and away from my blog Hopefully I can remember the important stuff!
Friday was a busy and rainy day. (My prayers were answered!!) It started off with a guy coming to tack my carpet down. He brought his son and daughter, and while his son was finishing things up, I saw him reading the Proclamation to the Family. After he was done reading it, he said "This is very nice". I asked him if he had heard of our church and he said he had. I was scrambling to find a Spanish Book of Mormon for him, but I couldn't find that or a Family Proclamation anywhere. Something told me to just give him the framed one on the wall. At first I ignored that , thinking how silly that was. But finally I did it, and he was very grateful. Hope it makes the difference. Then when the tile guys came back to finish things up, Ethan and I were watching "The Testaments". He asked me if that was the kids version of "The Passion of the Christ". I told him it was a movie about Christ put out by our Church. When he thought I was out of the room, I caught him watching it. He knows we are Momorm, we disscussed it a little the first day he was here. I'm hoping that will plant a seed!
Friday night the YW didn't have to camp (yeah!), but we still met at the White Tanks for the Standards Night Program. The Bishopric went through a lot of work to set things up. They strung up tarps around the ramada's to shelter us from the wind and rain, and prepared a huge bonfire . They also got there early to prepare us a nice Mexican dinner. They also set up a projection screen for the program. They always go the extra mile when it comes to our Youth. When we got there we had dinner first and then the program. Erin gave a great talk, followed by Tyson Hintz (the YM president). Then they showed a short movie with a good storyline, but it was so “Utah cheese"! It had one of the actors from the Testaments in it, which was cool since I had just watched it. After the movie, we had cobbler for dessert and then headed to Becky’s where we hung out w/ the girls until midnight. I didn’t get home until 12:30 and wasn’t in bed until 1:00am! Ouch, that sure hurt me Saturday morning. I can tell I’m getting older!

Saturday was Aubrie’s night at Glendale Glitters. It’s held outside in the amphitheatre, so we were all a little worried when it poured rain all day Friday. Fortunately, Saturday was clear (but still cold) so she was able to perform. She was dressed in a Santa Dress and performed to “Santa Can You Hear Me”, by Brittany Spears (sounds like her anyway). Aubrie did a good job, but she could have memorized it a little better. I caught her looking to her friends to see what move came next. That is unlike her, b/c she usually has the dance nailed and everyone is looking toward her. She missed a few days of dance, so I’m sure that didn’t help. She pulled it off pretty well, and still did a good job and looked so cute. Afterward we let her pick a place to eat, and she picked Ah-So (a Japanese Steak house). She loves going to those places. She was so well mannered and VERY attentive to the cooking “show”. She ordered the steak, of course, and picked the mushrooms out of her vegetables. She had a good time. When we got home we put the kids down, and I worked on my lesson. I decided to talk about being financially prepared.
Sophia wasn’t feeling well Saturday, we left her home with my Mom Saturday night, and she still didn’t seem well Sunday. So Ben stayed with her and Ethan while Aubrie, Boston and I went to church. The lesson went well, but as usual, I ran out of time.
Sunday morning Aubrie was so grown up. As I was getting ready for church, she put a church video in and made breakfast. She didn’t just make any breakfast. I came downstairs to scrambled eggs and toast, and she made enough for everyone. It’s hard to believe that she is old enough to do that type of stuff. She did a great job, and for once my stomach wasn’t growling at church!:)
Monday was just the normal chaos that it normally is….I can’t wait till this year of dance is over!!! Having an activity on family night is very stressful. This time I dropped Aubrie off and Ben picked her up. That seemed to work better!
Today I got a lot done. I did laundry, finished up most of my Christmas shopping (and wrapped those gifts) and dropped goodies off to the neighbors on our street. It was a nice chance to meet the families we hadn’t official met yet. We have really great neighbors!!!
Poor Sophia is still not feeling well. She is very congested and has the worse cough. I hate when my babies are sick. Sophia did have some "firsts" this past week. She had a sucker (see picture), drank from a straw, and started to Army crawl (well that was last week). Once she is feeling better I’m sure we are in trouble!

Ethan being his goofy self!

The Crime is Worth the Punishment

This past summer my friend told me how she would give her boys Apple Cider Vinegar when they used bad words. She told me that its actually good for them, but they don't know that;) Lately, we have been trying that on Ethan. We don't have the problem with words, but listening is a challenge for him. When he does something I have repeatedly told him not to do, or hurts someone intentionally, he gets apple cider vinegar. He is usually so good about taking it. His only request is that he has a glass of water waiting close by. Ben and I are convinced he actually will start liking it here, soon! The other day I kept telling him not to touch the bulbs on the Christmas tree. There are two right by one another that, when hit, bounce off one another. To his defense, for a 3 year old that could be pretty entertaining! After several warnings not to touch, I finally told him if I saw him do it again he would get the vinegar. Well, two minutes later I look over there to see him touching them, again, as he is looking in my direction:) So, I run over there and scoop him up and tell him it’s time for “the vinegar”. He starts crying for water, as he always does, but this time he kept saying I want “my” water. I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, "my water"!? Finally we figured out he had poured himself a glass of water and had it right by the Christmas tree. Apparently he decided that the punishment was worth the crime and had already prepared himself.

This week has been quite crazy. Monday I was scrambling to make dinner for a neighbor, watched my friends kids (that was the easy part), and had to juggle Aubrie's two hours of dance class in the middle of it all. For FHE we took the kids on a car ride and pointed out the road signs and stoplights and asked them why they were there, and what would happen if we didn't obey them. (I'm sure you know where we were going with that!). Yes, we then told them how we have been given road signs in our life; scriptures, church, prophets, prayer, etc. If they didn't obey them their life could become a "wreck".

Tuesday the guys started our tile work in our kitchen/family room. There was carpet right in front of our glass sliding door, and so that carpet was getting very worn. Come to find out the tile in the hall way didn't align with the tile in the Kitchen, so they have to do a border in between the two. Not the look i was going for, but the only other choice it to redo the kitchen tile, and that is not going to happen!!! The next problem of the day was my car. I was sitting at a stop light and my car started jerking ALOT! I said a quick prayer I could finish my errand and make it safely home. The car finally settled down and we were able to get an appointment for that day. We now have a rental. The rest of the day I was trying to keep kids off the tile area. That is an impossible job, so I scrapped my dinner plans and we went out to eat. They weren't able to finish up, due to some uneven floors, so they are finishing up today. Hopefully it will be done by the time the kids are home from school. I still haven't gotten much done since I have people in my house. For some reason it's hard for me to do much when people are hanging around my house.

Tomorrow Aubrie has a Dr. Appt. with a Pediatric Urologist, so Ben is taking her and then taking her out to lunch, etc...for a Daddy/Daughter time! Friday is our YW Standards Night camp out! Yes you heard me right, camp out! It sounded fun in October, but it was pushed off till now and I am a baby when it comes to being cold. I'm praying for rain, but just for Friday. Saturday Aubrie has her Glendale Glitters Dance Performance, outside, and it would be a shame if that was cancelled. Hopefully all works out:)

Christmas Party IV

Yesterday we had our 4th annual Christmas party. This tradition actually started in North Carolina. Back then the party was held at our friends, the McGee's, b/c the rest of us didn't have houses big enough to host such an event. When we moved here we knew we had to carry on the tradition. The party is such a great opportunity to mingle w/ all our friends from the ward without the interruptions of the little ones! The gift exchange is also fun. All the dynamics of people taking gifts from another, or hoping their gift would be taken, or what surprises will come when they open a gift, is always fun. It was quite interesting the year someone brought lingerie! The husbands were fighting over that one!

This year was a little crazy getting things done. Usually we have the kids stay the night w/ Ben's parents so we have a few hours to get the house put together, etc. This year the kids stayed here and my Mom watched them upstairs. So it was a little hard getting things cleaned up with little tornado's running around the house. If the backyard wasn't like a pond it would have made things easier. Luckily I didn't have the stress of making the food. After two years of making all the food I finally resorted to getting Olive Garden. It's definitely worth it! All I have to do is make a few appetizers and some punch and voila, I'm done!

The gift exchange was fun as always. I ended up w/ a ring that was way too big for my finger, and no one wanted it. My Mom saw it today and said she liked it, so at least it will get some use. Ben ended up w/ a gift certificate to Victoria's secret! We bought two games for the exchange, Battle of the Sexes and Urban Myth. Those were a hit....actually Ben was hoping to get one of them. I told him we should have just kept it if he wanted it that bad! After the exchange a few people played Scene it while we served up dessert. My friend suggested Pizookie ( undercooked cookie dough served w/ ice cream) and offered to make it. It was Yum!!

Lucky recipients of a Cold Stone gift certificate and a casserole dish

He got the pink autographed boxers by the famous "Sheriff Joe"

The back massager!

A game of Sequence anyone?

The last of last guests left at 11:00 and the kids were still up. So by the time we got them to bed and cleaned up it was midnight. I was still very wound up, so I didn't' get to bed until around 2:30!

Surprisingly, I wasn't tired this morning. I popped out of bed and got ready for church....not like me at all!!! I couldn't say the same for the rest of the house. They all slept in....why couldn't they do that on Saturday? To make things more crazy, Ben got an emergency work call so I had to fly solo with the kids today. Sophia actually did very well, so I was able to get all of Sunday School in and most of Young Women's. The craziest part was rounding the troops and getting them all to the car. Besides that, the rest of the day was very relaxing. We just relaxed in the backyard and enjoyed the weather. When Sophia woke up from her nap, we took the leftover Olive Garden to some friends who were unable to make it b/c their daughter was in the hospital. There was so much left over I was able to keep some for us, too. How relaxing that was to not have to worry about dinner. This evening we went out front and strolled Sophia around. What a great Sunday!