With all our activities that take us every which way, almost every day, we definitely make the most of our down time at home. Here are a few things we like to do!
Backyard Play
Front Yard Play!
Dance Time!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Christmas Party 2010
So I can't really believe that the tradition from North Carolina still lives....the Gift Exchange Party! The past few years I dread it come Sept! Its not because its hard to put on (we just order Olive Garden & I have given up on cleaning my floors before a party! Whats the point?) It's because after going through 3 ward splits you get to know a lot of people. People that have come to previous ones and you want to enjoy in the fun! I wish I had a HUGE family room and plenty of seating for everyone, but I don't, and the exchange could take all night that way! Every year as I make up the list, I say to myself, "This is the Last!" Then we have an amazing time, and I can't wait till the next one....until around Sept! And the cycle starts over again! This year Ben and I decided it was time to invite new couples and mix things up a bit. We liked how that turned out and will do it again. Its a great party for fellow shipping! That's our goal! This year we had more than ever before (I couldn't widdle the list down) and we actually ran out of food! 
This years best gift was a gerbil (or was it a hamster?)...any how, who cares! The idea was BRILLIANT!!! It was the best gift in all these years! Kudos goes to the Despain's for bringing that one! I can't wait to see what they bring next year! 
The Justin Beiber doll was surprisingly a hit! 
I walked away with a cute Christmas apron (that I was just thinking earlier that day I needed) and I can't even remember what Ben got! See what happens when you blog a month later!
Getting Christmas Up!
The day after Thanksgiving, Ben was up early putting up lights and all the other outdoor Christmas decor! He was done before I was up. I think I didn't want to get up because I knew what laid before me....the indoor decorations. I don't know what happened to me, but for some reason I haven't enjoyed decorating the house for the Holiday's these past couple of years. I remember when I was pregnant with Sophia I couldn't get enough of it. I finally dragged myself out of bed and got started on the grueling task. Luckily my Mom is here, and LOVES to decorate the tree. She and Ethan did that together and had a great time!
Ethan, being the little creator that he is, had a wonderful time putting the tree together. He also helped Aubrie and Sophia decorate the kid tree. 
I spent most of my time putting up the garland, nativity sets, etc. We were finally done a little before dinner. I wasn't in the mood to make anything for dinner, and I was also ready to get out of the house. We decided to go to Mesa for the lighting of the Temple lights. The Mormon quarter back for the Cardinals (Max Hall) had the honors of the initial "lighting"! Boston sure perked up when they announced that! Ethan couldn't get over the lights there. He kept showing me different bushes and trees, and telling me that he wanted to go buy lights and decorate our house. He kept going on and on the whole time about ideas he had! Aubrie was excited for the hot chocolate stand across the street, and Sophia liked seing the navitivy sets! So there was something for everyone:)
After the temple, we made a dinner stop at Cafe Rio! It was a nice way to end the day, and start the Christmas season!
Thanksgiving 2010
This Thanksgiving was spent with my twin brothers and my Mom. Ben started the morning with a Turkey Bowl at the nearby park. The boys and Aubrie went with him.
I took Sophia and hit the gym. After the gym, I came home and got started on a few dishes. I made most of them the night before. Then I prepared the Turkey and got it in the oven! This year Ben fried a Turkey and I cooked one, trying a new recipe. I took two recipes off line and combined what I thought to be the best parts. Mine took about 2 hours to cook, and it came out so savory and juicy! I will be using that recipe from now on! As for Ben's; we were a little nervous at first to fry one, because we heard all the horror stories about fires! Ben followed the directions and the Turkey was done in 45 mintutes and tasted AMAZING! We had nice spread, and enjoyed a wonderful meal! We had all the family dishes; sweet potatoe casserole, shoe peg casserole, my Mom's amazing stuffing, mashed potoatoes, and Strawberry Jello Salad.
We also went around the table and said what we were thankful for while we ate! Billy and Joe were responsible for the pies. They came through with some Marie Calendar pies, that none of us have room for. I don't know why we have make or buy dessert for Thanksgiving! Of course, we made room later! Whats left of my Turkey after Ben got done carving it with the nice electric knife he got from my Dad for Christmas last year!
Ethan's Thanksgiving Program
The fun thing about having Ethan follow in Boston's footstep (meaning being in 1st grade at West Wing) is that I get to see him do the same programs and activities Boston did, and see how he experiences them different. One of these is the Thanksgiving Program or "Harvest Program". Ethan either had a serious face with no emotion as he sang, or he sang with a goofy look on his face. There is no in between for him!
I was lucky enough to have a front row seat, because I volunteered to come in early and help the kids get ready. So I got some great video and pictures! When it was Ethan's turn to say his line, he drew a blank. He sat there for a about 10 seconds, which I'm sure seemed like an eternity, until he remember them. Once he got out his line and passed the mic, he let out a big "Whew" as he wiped his hands across his forehead. He got a huge laugh from the audience. I'm still debating to send it in to funniest home video. That's one thing I can say about Ethan, in every show he is in, he always keeps the audience laughing with his moves, or expressions! What a character!
Back to the Fair (2010)
So the following posts will be my pathetic attempt to play catch up for the past two months. I HATE, HATE how when I need to be blogging the most, life is so busy that it keeps me away from the computer. I know I'll miss some crucial (and my crucial, I mean all those cute sayings from the kids) things! Maybe that should be my goal for 2011, BLOG November -December! I think I'll put that on my goal sheet right now! Ok, I'm back and here are some pics from the fair. Since me and Ben's first year in North Carolina, we started attending the state fair every year. I must say that the NC state fair is much nicer, and I think its the cool weather that helps. The Arizona state fair is typically in October/November, which anyone not from here would think would be great weather, but no so. Still we took our family every year, until 2008, when Disneyland got in the way. So we finally picked things back up and went. It was in November this year, and we thought we would catch a break on the weather. Well we didn't, and we all were melting by the time we went home. I must say that it was more enjoyable now that the kids are older. No strollers, diaper changes, chasing after little ones, etc. Sophia was content to sit and watch!
I'm really looking forward to Disneyland now! Aubrie and Boston had fun on all the older rides!
Ethan rode the in between rides, and some of the rides with Sophia.
The most favorite rides for the kids weren't really rides at all. They were those silly houses/mazes! They all had a great time on them, and even went more than once on a few!
We didn't try an of the outrageous food. We got the traditional things; cotton candy, fresh squeezed lemonade, hot dogs etc. We did all have Gelato. Ben and I couldn't get enough when we went to Rome, and thought we would give it a try. The kids all loved it! 
Overall, it was a good time!
Overall, it was a good time!Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Two from Forty
Today started off like any other day, EARLY! We were all up for scripture study, but as soon as we finished with our last verse, we all started singing "Happy Birthday" to Ben.
Then it was off to our normal routine; kids off to school, Ben off to work, and me getting ready for his birthday, mingled with organizing Sophia's closet. I was pretty surprised that I had his cake in the oven before the kids were off to school. It was a good thing, because I was busy all day, which I originally didn't anticipate.
Today couldn't had been a better day for Ben's birthday. The kids had NO activities (actually I just remembered Ethan's Karate was moved to today...shoot! There goes that), and NO homework. The kids had fun playing with Ben outdoors, until dinner was ready. For dinner, I made one of Ben's favorites; Italian Chicken & Rice Dinner. After dinner, we sung to him again, and he opened his gifts. This year he told me what he wanted, and that's exactly what he got. A practice putting green for indoors, and a gift certificate for a massage. After gifts, we all had cake (lemon with orange frosting of course) and ice cream. During dessert, we all went around the table and told one thing we loved about Ben. We started off doing the game where you have to say what everyone else said, and then say yours, but that died off quickly. Everyone did have to say something original, and we went around the table three times. There are so many wonderful things about Ben, but here are the things I can remember were said.
Boston -Plays football with me, Takes me to Tilly's & Coaches my soccer team
Aubrie- Landscapes the Yard, Makes Funny Voices
Ethan- Watches me at Karate, Plays Football with me, Buys me things
Sophia- Goes to Work, Reads to Me, Swims with Me
Me- Puts his family FIRST, Honors his Priesthood, He is funny
Billy- Provides a good living for his family, has Integrity
My Mom- Is a hard worker, Is a Great Dad, Is a Great Husband to her Daughter
Happy Birthday, Ben! We LOVE YOU!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Teaching Moment I've been waiting for!
I read a lot of "Mom" books from LDS authors. There are always these stories where the Mom has this great spiritual teaching moment. While I love the scriptures and know the stories, I'll never be able to pull out a verse to go along with whatever the kids are going through. My memory doesn't work that way! I can relate stories or Gospel principles, but even then I feel like they don't have the "WOW" factor like I see in those stories. Well FINALLY I feel like I had that WOW factor, where even I learned something. This is how it all happened.
Today, when I picked up Sophia from preschool, she looked a little sad and showed me that she had a red stamp on her hand. It was her first of the year, and you could tell she was feeling a little sad and ashamed. She handed me the note from the teacher, and once she got settled in her car seat, she kept looking down at her hand. After dropping off her schoolmate, that carpools with us, I spoke with her a little bit about why she got it, and how she needed to correct that behavior so it didn't happen again. (She kept getting out of her seat in class). She sadly said , "OK" and was still mopey
When we got home she pulled a movie out of the car to watch. Typically she watches a little TV after school to unwind before her nap. I told her there wouldn't be TV today before nap time because she got a red stamp. She actually took it pretty well, and found a book to occupy herself. She then brought it over to me to read to her, and she asked again if she could watch TV. I told her no, and she looked at her hand again. Then I was INSPIRED to use it as a teaching moment. Last night our FHE lesson was on repentance, and knew the perfect way to show her what it was all about.
I asked her again how she got the red stamp, and we discussed how she made a mistake. I asked her if she was sad because she made that mistake, and she said yes. I asked her if she wanted to feel happy again. Of course, she said yes. I told her that she could feel happy again. I told her that she could say a prayer saying she was sorry and that she would try hard to be better for her teacher. After she prayed, I washed the mark off her hand. I told her the red mark was gone and asked her if she felt happy now. She got a big smile on her face and said she was and that she wanted to say sorry to her teacher. I told her that Jesus is what makes it possible for us to feel better when we make mistakes, and she said, "Yes he does Mama!" (I love how she calls me Mama btw). She then asked if she could watch a movie now, and I told her that she still had the consequence to her mistake, and that tomorrow she could start new!
Of course, she is only three and I don't know how much of that she will grasp, but I know that it will stick to some degree. Even if it doesn't, I definitely got a new perspective on the atonement. When we sin its like the red mark she had on her hand. Its always in our face, reminding us what we did wrong. She could cover her hand with her jacket (like her friend did, ha ha), or put her hand in her pocket to hide it, but it's still there. Not until we repent can that mark of sin go away, and not till then can we receive the peace of it not being there anymore. As I was rubbing the stamp off her hand I had to rub pretty hard to get it off. I was thinking how uncomfortable that had to be for her, and how it might sting for a bit. As I was doing that, I related that to sin and repentance. If we sin, repentance will heal us, but the process stings and hurts. It will take awhile for that to go away, but eventually we are good as new! What an amazing miracle the atonement. I'm so grateful for our older brother, Jesus Christ, who suffered all he suffered so we could learn and grow here in this world! I hope my children have a great appreciation for this all of their lifetime and that I'll get some great teaching moments with my older kids!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Boston's NINE!
Wow! It's amazing to me how each year passes me by more quickly than the one before. It's seems like yesterday that we baptized Boston, but it was just yesterday that he celebrated his 9th birthday! He said to me, the day of his birthday, "my teacher said I am taller". LOL I'm not sure if that's true, but he is taller in so many other ways! He continues to amaze me, and brings me so much joy! He is a great kid! He is my only kid who wakes up in the morning and turns around and makes his bed. He is the only kid that does his homework the first thing when he walks in the door, without being asked. He is my only kid who I don't have to follow up on when I ask them to do something. While he has always been like that, it amazes me to see that he doesn't grow out of it! Of course, there are many things that have changed about him. He didn't use to care what others thought so much, but know I catch him asking me not to give him so much affection in front of his friends. He also made sure that we didn't decorate his party with streamers and balloons, because that is for "little kids!" But I still catch him grabbing my hand when we go out, when he isn't paying attention, and occasionally wanting the toys in the happy meals! While each new year means new milestones and things left in the dust, Boston continues to be a loving, spiritual, responsible child!
This year was a great birthday for Boston. We wanted to make sure that we didn't have a recurrence of last year's party. That broke my heart, and I totally take the blame. It was an awful time, and invitations went out late! I told Ben he could be in charge, and so he helped Boston make and send out the invites. The decided to do a football party, where they would play a football game, watch part of one, and play Madden 2011. They were also going to eat pizza, candy, etc. and swim in the hot tub. We decided that a Saturday party would be a better turn out, and since it was his actual birthday it worked out perfect!
His birthday started like every birthday in this house... waking up to streamers in his doorway. (Well it actually starts the night before by telling him his birth story) He then opened our gifts before his soccer game.
Aubrie was so sweet, trying so hard to get him something he would like, that was affordable. She got him those under armor sweat bands, and a bag of snickers.
My brothers gave him cash! My Mom gave him money and he got a Tilly's gift card from Ben's parents. (Sophia a little excited over the gifts!)
We bought him NCAA Football 2011. I wrapped it in a big box and put some bricks in there so he wouldn't know what it was.
He was thrilled with all his gifts! After gifts, we headed out to his soccer game.
This season has been a non winning season for Boston's team. They couldn't find a coach, and Ben stepped up to a team of boys who mostly have never played before. It has been amazing to see how much they have improved. Yesterday they played the first team they played of the season, who beat them 8-0! Before I knew that, I prayed that Boston could finally have a win for his birthday. When I found out who they were playing I quickly downgraded my request to a goal! LOL I shouldn't had lowered that expectation. They came out winning, 4-2! I was so proud of the team, and happy for Boston.
After the soccer games (we were 3 for 3 ) we grabbed lunch at McDonalds. We then had a nice relaxing afternoon, until his party started.
As the time neared I was praying that it would be a great party! Eight boys had RSVP'd, but boys just kept showing that never called. Boston had a GREAT turn out! They started off playing in the backyard. They boys had fun on the trampoline, and playing tether ball, etc. When everyone arrived they walked to the park for a game of football. Then they came back for pizza and swimming.
I figured they would only sit in the hot tub, but they started daring one another to swim, and before I knew it they were in the pool, going down the slide, jumping off the waterfall, etc. They had a great time swimming. Where else can you have a swim party in November?
After swimming, we sang to Boston, had cake and opened gifts.
WIPED OUT from all the fun!
Boston got a lot of Tilly's gift cards, and football stuff! After gifts, the boys went in various directions; to the game room, and in the back yard. We sent each kid home with a big box of candy and a pack of football trading cards! Boston had so much fun. He was smiling so much the whole time. When his party was over, I asked him if he had a good party, and he got the hugest smile on his face!
A little later that evening he went to the movies with me, Aubrie, my Mom and my brothers. He was sitting next to me in the movies, and I just sat there for a moment staring at my boy with a Patriots football jersey and cap on, thinking...."where is my boy who dressed up in Spiderman costumes pretending to shoot webs from his hands, or the boy who memorized the Darth Mal, Obi-wan light saber fight?" He is still there, he's just now a 9 year old , sport loving, Tilly clothes wearing, athletic sweetheart!
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