Sledding

Today we took the kids sledding. They had so much fun! And I had fun watching them squeal with glee. Spencer was a little ice block by the time we were done; that is why he was crying in the last picture. It was fun. I finally finished his stocking today!! However, there is no time to get his name embroidered on it - that will have to wait until after the holidays. We are just getting ready for our big exodus to California right after Christmas. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!!

Christmas Portraits

It's beginning to look a lot lot Christmas.....

Well, it has been a good day. Sean had the day off, so we have had a lot of family time together. Needless to say I am fed up with the kids! We have done a lot of little Christmas projects as a family today, so the girls are finally in front of a movie and my day is on the downhill. I couldn't stand one more chorus of "uh-uh"...."uh-huh" from the girls. Anyway, here is what we did today. We dipped pretzels for Sean's home teaching families.


Then after Emma got out of school we made a gingerbread Christmas tree.
Last year we did a gingerbread house and I wouldn't let the girls eat it until after Christmas. The tree is already half gone tonight (let's just say it didn't look as good as last year's).
Oh well, the kids had fun. We made a gingerbread person as part of Emma's homework: she wanted it to look like her. Except for the green eyes it is pretty close!
My back hurts because I have been up on my feet all day; delivering VT routes, going to Walmart, picking Emma up from school, etc. Thank goodness for leftovers, huh? Tomorrow we have an adult Christmas party at church (yikes, the ADULT part sounds bad, but it is totally innocent, I assure you). Then Saturday we have a family Christmas breakfast at church and are headed down to Dionne's after that for her daughter's birthday party. Busy weekend already, and it's only Thursday! I had a relapse of my Walmart spending sprees today. I haven't bought any extras for 2 weeks (and that is saying a lot for me). A couple weeks ago I set some goals for myself regarding finances. Today I went to Walmart to get a birthday gift for Dionne's little girl and some pullups for Kenna. I turned down the DVD isle to see if they had any Harry Potter movies on sale (my parents for Christmas, since they don't have any of them) and found 2 care bear movies for 5.50 each. Care Bear movies, you say? But wait, there's more. They were the Big Wish Movie and Journey to Joke-a-lot Movie. I have been looking for them for ages and haven't seen them anywhere, not even for like $15. We had both on our DVR when we lived in Cal, and lost them when we moved. So to find them for that price, I couldn't resist. I felt like an alcoholic who had slipped up and had a drink. How sad. I wish they had SA meetings somewhere. Heather, for some reason that whole thing made me think of you. Oh well, Kenna will be happy come Easter.

Peanut Butter

Last night Kenna started singing this song she learned at preschool and I cracked up laughing - I have never heard it before.

OH! My aching teeth

This is the face of today.
When will it be over?? On the upside, he is sleeping better at night. Crying it out is finally working for us. Anyway, this is pathetic, but I put a picture of our neighbor gifts on here.



I was going to give boxes of assorted fattening Christmas naughties, but honestly I'd rather save that for me. Costco had the 4/$10 sale on the Stephen's, and the peppermint sticks were 88 cents at Walmart. We call that 'the chipper chicken'. I have done little else today, besides the neighbor gifts, other than yelling at my kids for not eating, complaining about what they're eating, peeing on the floor (ALL OVER THE FLOOR) at least once, etc. Oh, and I did make red beans and rice for dinner AND I saw a grumpy bear sweatshirt I wanted at Walmart, and turned my nose up and went the other way. (Sean knows that is a VERY big deal for me). At least I get a little break tomorrow - I get to go spend 2 1/2 hours with about 20 3-year olds, instead of just my 3 kids. And then I get to go visiting teaching. Oh, AND I just got a new calling - Cub Committee Chair. What the HECK is that? The bishopric member couldn't really explain it to me. I think it means I am in charge. OY. Well I better turn this around and end on a positive note. After Mackenna peed on the floor for the last time I was going hoarse from yelling all day. Sean had just walked in the door and took one look at me. Then he said "just go. Leave and don't come back for an hour.....but make sure you don't HURT yourself." Now I have a hot bubble bath running upstairs and the kids are all asleep. Some days I honestly don't think we will all make it through unscathed. Anyone feel that way?????? By the way, it snowed here today!

Santa's Helpers

Well I have not done this in a while! Just busy with holiday stuff, I guess. I am finally finished with some projects I was doing for presents this year. I am about to start Spencer's stocking and the kids' PJ pants (yes, mom, I decided to do them after all. There is a whole group of women in my ward who is getting together to make them at the church). Anyway, I thought rather than having another cookie today (that would make about 10) or having another piece of fudge out of my fridge from my neighbor (darn her) I would blog instead. Let me just say that all day I am thinking about Christmas baking. English Toffee (thanks, Heather), penuche, russian tea cakes, sugar cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, etc., etc., etc. I can't stop thinking about it all - and I am definitely going to gain all my pre-parasite weight back unless i exercise for 3 hours a day or limit myself to like 2 bites of sweets a day. HOLIDAYS! And speaking of Holidays, my kids had the stomach flu the day after Thanksgiving. I swear. It's at least a quarterly occurence for Mackenna. The kids and I have been decorating for Christmas and the girls are always wearing their Santa hats.

They keep saying "Merry Christmas, Emma (or Kenna, or Mommy, whoever is talking at the time). Pretty funny. As for Spencer, I just wish his top 2 teeth would come in already. He takes 20 minute naps twice a day and cries the rest of the day, whether he's being held or not. He cries, I pick him up. He keeps crying, I put him down. He cries harder, turning his nose purple and running out of breath for at least 20 seconds. On the other hand, I am excited for his first Christmas.
Not so excited to see my tree bare from about the middle down as a Spencer precaution. Well, hopefully I will blog again before Christmas!

As Promised

I told my sister-in-law I would put pictures of the girls' hair cuts on here. Here you go, Amy!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU......

Starship Pulsipher


Obi-Wan/Yoda


Padme


Princess Leia



Yoda


Leia & Yoda


Ewok



Tomorrow I am going to hunt for next year's Halloween costumes on clearance!

A Blogging Draught

It has been a while. Let's just say that, at first, I didn't think I could say anything interesting enough to top Hawaii. After that I got busy with projects of a terminal nature (aka Halloween Costume Hell). Let me just say I am very glad that I started making all these costumes in August. I saved the hardest one for last, unfortunately. I have learned a few valuable lessons from Spencer's EWOK costume. #1: NEVER NEVER NEVER buy faux fur again, no matter how cute, soft, fuzzy, or cuddly you think the wearer will look in it. #2: Take a sewing class before trying to sew pants with feet in them (I couldn't figure out the directions, and finally ended up cutting the toes off and just hemming them like pants). #3: Make sure you are sewing the right part of the pants to the right part (back to front, not side to front, etc.). By the time I was done with the bloody costume I decided not to care about the fact that I pinned one front leg to one back leg, which ended up being the whole front. The pants ended up looking like they were peeled off of a very furry bull-legged cowboy. Oh well. At least Spencer isn't going on the catwalk or anything. He is going to sit at the trunk-or-treat and help Sean pass out candy anyway. I am so tired of sewing I may decide to actually BUY halloween costumes on clearance in a few days for next year. I am also seriously considering my dear ambition of sewing Christmas PJs for all the kids. Well, the costumes are all finally done and I am in a better mood now. It is pretty bad when you get excited that you can clean and do laundry (viewed as free time) instead of sitting back at the machine for your sentence in sewing. In latest news, Spencer is now pulling himself up on everything.

I forgot that stage where you have to move everything off coffee tables and lower book shelves. OY! To top it all off Spencer managed to lock my cellphone keypad AND enter a lock code, which I have no idea how to decipher. I never locked it or set a code before, so I have no idea what to do.

MAUI DAY 5-8

Looks like I lost my groove! We are back home now, and maintaining a fairly zombie-like comatose state, all of us. That's what happens when your flight is in the middle of the night! So to bring this up to speed, day 5 we did the road to Hana and the Oheo Pools Falls. It was absolutely beautiful! I have always had a bit of a waterfall fetish, so it was right up my alley. The road was pretty challenging - at least Sean's mom and the kids and I were all pretty car sick by the time we got there. But it is so lush and green over on that side of Maui (pretty brown on the side where our resort was). We hiked to the Oheo Pools and took a million pictures of the waterfalls!

It was very windy that day, I was afraid the girls might blow away!

The following morning Sean and his dad went on a deep-sea dive. Sean's mom and I took the kids to the Aloha Festival where they had all kinds of booths with art, jewelry, clothes, etc. They had a live band there and hula dancers as well. Some of these dancers were little girls who were about Mackenna's age. Unbelievable that, at that age, they can shake their hips just as fast as the older dancers. We got lunch together in Old Town Lahaina after the boys were done diving, and then Sean and his dad took the kids back home with them. Believe it or not, the girls actually went shopping and got a bit of pampering in WITHOUT THE KIDS! We went to Hilo Hattie's to get the girls their Hawaiian dresses
(took the others back) and then found a little place to get a manicure/pedicure. It was so nice. Sunday morning we went to sacrament meeting at the Lahaina 1st ward and then it was back to the room to checkout. We had to move rooms, so we were in another room for just one night. Spencer loved the window as it went clear down to the floor, and it looked right down onto the pool.
He spent most of that night and the next morning putting his fingerprints/lip/noseprints all over the glass. Monday dawned and it was the first morning that any of us had slept past 6:30 a.m. I guess we were finally all on Hawaii time. I was sad knowing it was our last day, but anxious to get the kids back home to our own routine (the last 3 days at least were full of Mackenna's meltdowns over everything from food to swimming. "What do you want for lunch, Kenna?" "A hot dog!" Five minute later: "I don't like hot dogs!" followed by her dissolving into a fits of weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth). We had to be out of our room in the morning, so we spent most of the day at the pool watching the kids swim. We hit the beach for a little bit and then showered and went to dinner at Leilani's. It is a beautiful restaraunt right on the beach. We doped the kids up good with Benadryl and embarked on the 5 1/2 hour flight to Phoenix; then changed planes and finally made it home! I was relieved to find everything safe and sound when we got back. The cat was still in the back yard and the house was still standing. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I just uploaded all the pics to Costco and there are 175 of them. Now I get to focus on starting Spencer's ewok costume!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA! (Maui Day 4)

Well, I am sad to say our trip is half over. It has been wonderful and I hope the last half will be as good as the first half! Mackenna is pitching more and more fits and Emma is also getting whiny, although today I think she was trying to live up to the fact that she is 6 now! Today Sean and his dad went golfing and his mom and I took the kids to the Maui Ocean Center (aquarium).
It was pretty cool. After lunch Sean's mom and I left the kids behind (all of them.....YES!) and went to the mall for a couple hours. Then the boys picked us up and we went to BJ's Pizzeria for Emma's birthday dinner. We were in 'old town Lahaina' for dinner and there are tons of shops there, it's kind of like an outdoor strip mall. Sean finally found a Hawaiian shirt and I decided it makes no sense to buy Spencer one. When we get home it will be too cold for it, and if I bought him one he could wear next summer it wouldn't fit him now. So he got a hat. Tomorrow we are headed to some waterfall that is on the road to Hana. I am a little worried; I kept seeing t-shirts today that said "I survived the road to Hana" - apparently it is very windy (like winds around a lot, not like wind blowing), and also a long drive. Hopefully we survive it with the kids!! Also I think my cold is finally lifting. I can breathe for the first time in about 3 days.

MAUI DAY 3

Most of the day was devoted to visiting the volcano, Haleakala. The girls were freaked out when we told them we were going to visit a volcano, so Sean's dad told them it was a sleeping volcano. Last night as the girls were going to bed Emma said "Mom, are we going to sleep in the volcano?" I asked why she thought that and she said "Grandpa said it is a sleeping volcano." Anyway, it was quite a long drive, but well worth it.
Unfortunately I didn't think to put sunscreen on Spencer and he is pretty rosy-faced tonight. We hiked around the volcano a little and then went to Ruby's Diner for lunch. We took a walk over to the mall where I was feverishly searching for little Hawaiin print dresses for the girls. We had to carry Emma out of one shop crying crocidile tears and yelling "I want a pink dress!!!!", as they didn't have the right style/size/etc. Finally I did find dresses for the girls - green with pink & purple flowers for Kenna and red with pink flowers for Emma. I also bought them each shell necklaces. After the mall we came back and hit the beach right outside our hotel again. I have a horrible cold, so I didn't feel much like swimming. Sean's mom and I laid on the grass while the boys and the girls played in the ocean. Emma's newest hobby is collecting coral now. She had quite a pile by the end of our beach outing. Spencer wasn't sitting too well by himself, so we decided to take a little walk down the beach to the hammocks. I thought he would like the swinging, but he didn't. When we got back he ate about 3/4 of one of those huge jars of baby food - I guess he was just hungry! Anyway, I hope I can get over this cold soon, it is making me miserable. And I don't want to miserable during the vacation of my lifetime!!

MAUI DAY 2

Well Spencer was awake around 4:00 a.m. and never really went back to sleep. Around 6:00 a.m. we gave in and let the girls get up and watch t.v. - since it was really 10:00 a.m. their time. I figured I might as well get up and get showered. After I got ready Sean and the kids and I went for a walk on the beach. It was so beautiful - I spent most of the walk snapping pictures. When we got back it was almost time for our Hula lesson. There were probably 15 little girls there. They give them little grass skirts to wear and put fresh flowers in their hair. It was really cute. Then we came back to the room and changed into swimming suits and headed for the beach. Sean and his dad snorkeled and boogie boarded and Sean's mom and I tried to keep Spencer from eating sand (not so successfully, either). Emma tried the boogie board but Kenna was too scared. After the beach we took the kids back to the pool. This place has like the coolest pools ever. There are several. One is a salt water pool and it has tons of waterfalls. It also has a cave, a couple smaller water slides, and a hot tub. Then there is a regular pool and another pool with a big water slide. Emma is swimming pretty much on her own now, so she is having a lot of fun. In the salt water pool area there is a kids' pool with a big pirate ship in it that has slides and all kinds of stuff. After swimming we came back for lunch and then got shaved ice. Today I decided I could live here forever!