Every Girl's Crazy 'bout Some Sharp Dressed Men!

ZZ Top had it right. Every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man or in this case some sharp dressed little men. The boys loved the See's candy suckers they got after their visit with Santa. Candy always makes long lines worth the wait.

Santa's back on the nice list...

Ok, so usually we get our Santa pictures done nice and early before the crowds set in, but this year we procrastinated so we had to wait in a long line. I was amazed at how well the boys, all three of them, waited in line for over an hour to see Santa. Considering how long our wait was I am surprised no one left in tears. I am glad to see that our brainwashing tactics to convince Aidan and Ezra that Santa is really a nice person paid off and they are no longer afraid of him. Gabriel seemed fascinated by his beard and kept looking up at him trying to figure out if he knew "this guy" or not.

It's a Christmas Miracle!!!

For all of you who monitor my page and know how pathetic I am at updating here is a Christmas Miracle! A new POST!!! I love this time of time of year. I love the Christmas spirit that fills the air. I love the beauty of Christmas. The sparkling lights and magical displays. I love the excitement and anticipation of what Christmas can bring. I love the idea that all around the world people are coming together for a brief moment to look beyond themselves in order to do kind things for others. I am saddened though that it is getting harder and harder to find Christ in Christmas. I know we all the true meaning of Christmas and that we are celebrating the birth and coming of our Savior to the earth; yet, during this time as I look around there is not much that truly pays homage to our Lord.
I wanted to find a nice book to read to the boys about the real reason we celebrate Christmas and as I traveled from bookstore to bookstore there were only a handful of these books. I found books about snowmen and reindeers and this and that and some that still had very nice Christmas messages, but I found it hard to find very many books telling about the birth of our Savior. I know it is something that seems so small, but it really hit me about how important it is for me to really be able to teach my boys about true meaning of Christmas and about the coming of Jesus Christ to the world. I still want them to enjoy Christmas and all its fun and festivities and there is nothing wrong with that, but I also want to start to instill within them the idea that Christmas is about giving of yourself and serving others and doing the things that will bring them happiness and make them feel loved. So, I hope that anyone who reads this will take just an extra moment of your time this holiday season to help someone less fortunate than you. It doesn't have to be anything big...maybe an anonymous note telling someone they are loved and appreciated or leave a little sweet on someone's doorstep who might be lonely. Just do something that will help the Spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ come alive in your heart and then maybe that small little act will perpetuate into something that will last the whole year and by next Christmas we will all find ourselves in a closer and deeper relationship with our Savior.
Finally, I just wanted to mention how grateful I am for my beautiful family. I love my boys so much. They are each so unique and funny. Aidan is my silly, imaginative boy-always embarking on some kind of adventure with Superman or Batman, Buzz or Woody, or his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or his pals Lighting McQueen or Mater, or whoever the lucky toy of the day turns out to be. He also loves to make and pick a character for each member of the family. I am grateful that Ezra is usually willing to let Aidan be the main character and doesn't mind being whoever Aidan chooses for him. Ezra is my technical genius. He knows how to operate the tv and dvd player and has in just a few tries master the computer mouse. He loves anything methodical like puzzles or building robots. He loves his alphabet and counting. He loves to tell everyone all the letters he recognizes whether they are on your shirt, in ads, billboards, etc...he also likes to tell you what sound different letters make at the beginning of words. Like he will say, "B-bird buh-buh-buh". Both of them bring us so many laughs and are growing up so fast. And then there is my little angel baby, Gabriel. He has been such an amazing addition to our family. I know I wanted a girl this last pregnancy, but I can't imagine having anyone other than Gabriel in our lives. He is so small, but he brings so much joy to us. I have to add how adorable he is and often I am unable to stop myself from literally "munching" on him because he is just that cute! And finally Brant. He is one of my heroes. He works so hard going to school full time and then working full time on graveyards so that I can stay home and raise our family. I admire how well he has done in school. He is a great father, a great friend, an amazing husband, and my best friend. I am so grateful to my Savior and Father in Heaven for blessing me with such a wonderful family. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

P.S. Hopfully, if you managed to read this entire novel a post you will enjoy this little reward of our more than humorous past pictures with Santa...we hope this year will reignite a love for Santa!!!

Santa, Naughty or Nice???

Gabriel, our little angel boy...

Here he is our newest addition! Yes, he is blond! No, he is not adopted! Apparently, Brant was a blond baby. I guess we will just have to wait and see if he stays blond or not. Regardless, though, I have to such he is freakin ADORABLE!!! (No, I am not biased in the least because I am his mom!)

Mother's Day Tribute...to my MOM!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Mommy Tag! This is my first tag!

Lindsay tagged me...

1. Typically, what time do you wake up?

That depends on the day. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I am up by 4:00 am so that I can be to work by 5:00 am. All the other days depend on what time the boys wake up...usually no later than 8:30 am.

2. On a good night, what time are your kids in bed?

That also depends on what you count on "being in bed", but we usually try to get them in their room for bedtime by 8:00 pm.

3. How long have you been a mommy?

3 years! Wow that goes fast!

4. How old were you when you became a mom?

24...wait a minute...is this tagging just a trick to reveal our true age???

5. What is your favorite kids T.V show?

Hmm...that would be a long list of shows including Curious George, Word World, Super Why, Thomas the Tank Engine, Sesame Street, and anything involving the Justice League.

6. What is your least favorite kids T.V. show?

Definitely Thomas the Tank Engine...all the trains are so whiny...

7. What is your favorite chore?

Vacuuming, just like Lindsay, except I don't like winding the cord up when I am done.

8. What is your favorite meal to cook?

Steak and Mashed Potatoes...well, that's probably my favorite meal to eat too...

9. What meal do you cook most often?

That depends on what supplies we have on hand...it varies a lot.

10. What is your kids favorite meal?

"Sammies" which translated mean sandwiches usually PB&J or Bologna.

11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids?

Takes them outside to play or reads to them from his comic books.

12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you’re being a mom?

When the boys tell me what color things are and they get it right...we have been working on our colors. When Ezra wants a bite of something and opens his mouth and points inside as if to help me from trying to put the bite in his eye or his ear or some place other than his mouth. Whenever my boys want to snuggle with mom. When my boys tell me they love me. When my boys are asleep and actually look like sweet little angels.

13. If you could take your kids anywhere, where would it be?

Definitely Disneyland so they could meet all their favorite characters! It would be so fun to see how excited they would be and how big their eyes would get.

14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? On Saturday.

15. What is your favorite pastime/activity to do with your kids? Taking them to the aquarium to see the "Fish-ees"

16. Name one thing you said you would never say as a mother?

Hmm...I don't know...

17. Name one thing you do, that your own mom did?

Sing to my kids.

18. What is your favorite quality your mom has?

She is so loving and willing to do whatever she can to help her children.

19. What is your favorite kids book?

Guess How Much I Love You.

20. What is your favorite advice for new moms?

Don't try to be too perfect...you are a success as long your children are fed, clean, and loved!

21. What is your most heartbreaking moment as a mom?

Whenever my boys get sick and all I can do to help is to hold them and give them loves.

22. What is your most joyful moment being a mom?

Whenever my kids voluntarily say they love me or miss me or show me that they are actually learning something from me...like the first time they recognized a picture of Jesus.


23. When was the last time you told one of your kids, “I Love You”?

A few minutes ago while we were eating dinner.

24. When was the last time you were told, “I love you” by one of your kids?

Right after I told them I loved them.

I tag Melissa and Lisa.

Fishes!!!

So, not to long ago we decided to get a year pass to the aquarium or as Aidan and Ezra call it "the fishes" pronounced "fisheees". Now everytime we go outside Aidan gets really excited and says, "We go OUT-side, we go see GRAND-ma" and then I say, "No, we are going to see Grandma" and he says, "We go OUT-side, we go see 'FISH-ees'.

We don't go see the "fish-ees" everytime we go out, but we have been three times already and everytime they love it. Although, I don't know how much they really love to see the fish so much as they love running all around the exhibit. Ezra loves to run back and forth between the jellyfish and "Nemo" tanks. He always likes to double check to make sure they haven't moved away or gone anywhere.

It is fun taking them to see the fish-ees. They even noticed the billboard showing seahorses that we see driving up to Sandy...

This has been a really great investment and it is so fun to see h0w excited they get everytime we go. I took some pictures of the different displays that you can see at the aquarium...it is kind of sad...I have a much easier time photographing the moving fish through the tanks than my wild and rambunctious 3 year olds...

Cheeseball anyone???

So, the other day I made sandwiches for lunch and then got distracted doing something for a minute or two and then came out to check on the boys. Aidan was sitting nicely in his mickey mouse chair watching a show with superman in one hand and an orange ball in the other. Now I bent down to look at his ball because I didn't remember us having an orange ball. Upon closer inspection I found that this new orange ball was no ball at all...it was our block of cheese that had been gnawed on until it was formed into a round orange ball.

Aidan was sitting there just content like nothing was out of the ordinary at all. He was just eating his block of cheese, watching a movie with his superman. It was really funny. I love my kids they do the funniest things on a daily basis.

What's New or Old in 2008...

Ok, so I know my track record of blogging isn't the greatest and normally I would say that starting with this post I will try and be better, but I think I would be lying if I made that statement. I am not sure that I am turning over a new leaf, but I will try to post more like maybe once a month or so.

So far this new year we have tackled the huge obstacle of potty training Aidan and Ezra. We actually started around Thanksgiving, but since I haven't posted since October I thought I'd let you know. The boys are doing awesome with the whole potty training thing we are just trying to get the whole night time staying dry thing down. They love wearing all their character underwear and often during the day like to change from Cars to Thomas to Cars then back to Thomas.

Hmm...other updates...Brant is still working for APX alarm and going to school. He will hopefully finish by next April...YEAH!!! I am still working for Provo 9-1-1 and doing Mary Kay and staying home with the boys which I love most of the time especially when I don't have to yell, "don't hit your brother", "don't jump off of the couch", "put the knife down", etc...

Aidan and Ezra have a definite love for Batman and Superman and all the Justice League characters. For those of you who aren't familar with the Justice League they are a group of superhereos consisting of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hawk Girl, Green Lantern, John the Martian, and the Flash. The boys also love to watch Elmo's Alphabet Jungle and are learning their ABCs.
Well, for now I think that is about it...hopefully, I will post again soon...nudge...nudge...wink...wink...