Groundhog Party

The girls and I decided to throw a groundhog party. This winter has been super cold and snowy and we wanted to have a party with our friends to brighten our spirits and we thought maybe a groundhog celebration could nudge the little critter into bringing us an early spring.  :)

 
As our 22 (yes I'm crazy) guests arrived we had them tell us what their favorite winter and summer activity is. Then we went to Groundhog Weather School courtesy of a library book.  After which each child got to pick whether they thought Phil Groundhog would see his shadow or not on Saturday and then we tallied the votes.

Snack time with our special groundhog snacks was next (the idea we saw for this treat used pudding cups, but Ellie said, "I don't like pudding. Can we use brownies instead?" I loved that she provided a solution to the problem and accommodated her request--they were delicious).

Then off to play.  They could go downstairs and draw their shadows with chalk or go upstairs to the toy room. 


Ellie and Lila each helped make the snacks. They have been so excited about the party! Ellie would ask me every day to see our online RSVP count. Lila told everyone about our hog party and how if he saw his shadow it would mean more Christmas. :)

Life can get super crazy sometimes, but I'm so thankful that I was prompted to do this party and followed through. These memories with my girls are so special to me and hope they will out shine my not so brilliant moments. It was a fantastic time and we are so glad that so many could come and we could get to know one another better! Now hopefully Phil agrees and will bring us an early spring. :)

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

Today as I was doing the girls hair for church and I told Lila that I thought the heart barrette Grandma Moore sent for Christmas would look cute with her dress. She said, "Oh yeah." And then kept digging through the barrettes. I asked her why not the heart barrette and she said, "Because you said it would be cute and I want to be pretty." Oh my! Fortunately, a quick grammatical change and she was wearing the heart barrette. :)

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

So our dishwasher broke a week ago. I have never really liked the thing, but couldn't stomach buying another appliance after buying several major appliances to move in. I noticed it getting worse so I was basically washing the dishes before I put them in and then last Friday the dishes came out dirtier so I started shopping. Saturday it really gave up the ghost and we ordered a dishwasher that couldn't be delivered for 10 days.  Hmmm . . . several people suggested paper plates, but that doesn't help with the dishwasher full of already dirty dishes so I took the opportunity to show the girls how to wash dishes (and we have been washing by hand ever since--just never made the transition to paper). They thought it was pretty cool to have a sink full of bubbles and scrub-a-dub-dub. Well, last night I went upstairs to find them washing their kitchen dishes in the bathroom with the nice OnGuard soap that Mimi gave us. Later I put the correlation together of me teaching them how to wash dishes and I felt bad that I got upset because they had used up most of the soap. Good thing kids are so forgiving when you tell them you made a mistake and don't mind them washing dishes just not to use the nice soap.

Here they are drying and putting away. :)

My Artist

Ellie tells me every day I need to be sure and sign her up for the summer art classes again. :)

Update: I picked Ellie up from school and asked about the library and what book she got. She was so excited they opened a new section to her class--non-fiction and she got a 'how to draw' book. ;)

New Year's Goals

We had our New Year Family Home Evening where we set goals and Steve gives us blessings. It was wonderful! I love how excited the girls get to receive the blessing. Lila was practically falling asleep on my lap and then as soon as Ellie was done she hopped up in to the chair, folded her arms, and bowed her head, ready. It is a wonderful time to feel our Heavenly Father's love and with renewed strength set goals to be a little better. It is encouraging to set goals after Christmas when we celebrate the birth of His son Jesus Christ and have a faith and a desire to be more like Him. Steve and I have made our own personal goals but here are the goals we made with the girls.  Ellie was our scribe.

Can't seem to fit the whole page on with my scanner--the numbers to the left kind of got cut off.

Jake's Married

Wahooo! It was a wonderful day that warmed our hearts from the inside (since it was 12 degrees outside). Marcee's grandfather Brother Woodbury performed the sealing and it was wonderful. We had a nice luncheon afterwards where they were patient and indulged us in giving advice and playing a game. Now they are off to Park City to spend some time alone as Mr. and Mrs. Buckley. LOVES to them!

Sisters

Yesterday Lila came into primary--we were all so excited for her to graduate from Nursery and join us in primary (this may be the only time our whole family is in primary, both girls are in junior primary, Steve is teaching in senior primary, and I'm the primary president--we just need Steve to transfer to junior primary and we would be all together for an hour of church--hehe). During sharing time a game was played where they were asked what they were grateful for and Lila said, "My big sister and my family."  Then today after we dropped Ellie off at school, Lila yelled at me from the back seat, "Momma, do you miss Ellie?" Yes I do!  "So do I." Think she is missing her sister after having her home to play all of Christmas break.  So cute!

Happenings

We rang in the New Year with some friends. They were sweet to have us to their house and we played games, ate, and visited. We were there until 11pm when Lila showed signs of weariness and begged to go home so we came home and Ellie said she had a headache, I'm sure from being tired they never stay up that late. Then Steve and I finished the Narnia movie we had been watching all week (I'm notorious for falling asleep during movies and known to pick a movie based on length hence the reason it was a week long project). The movie finished just in time for us to kiss at midnight and watch some fireworks out our window. The next morning we had our traditional New Year's breakfast of Aebleskivers and just had a nice final vacation day full of relaxing and playing. Then it was back to school and work and I tried to get the house put back together. 

Last night we decided to have our first Family Fun Night of 2013. We took the girls indoor miniature golfing, and Ellie got two hole-in-ones. Lila may be a sport lefty, we kept setting her up right-handed but she kept going back to a left hand position--only time will tell. We picked up pizza afterwords and I asked the girls to finish eating their apples they had grabbed as a snack on our way out the door. Lila handed me a stem and I said, "Where is the rest of your apple?" She looked at me confused and said, "I ate it."  Yes, she at the whole thing seeds and all. :)  After pizza, we made cookies, and watched a movie by the fireplace since it was 9 degrees outside. It was a great start to our 2013!

Below is how she ended up golfing the last nine holes when she was done with our help.

The Perfect Storm

Well our company has left, the Christmas decorations are put away, and the winter storm is here. We woke-up to snow this morning and it hasn't stopped. Steve was beginning to wonder if his purchase of a used snowblower was wasted money, but he has put it to good use now since over a foot of snow has fallen and more is forecasted for this weekend. We're glad everyone traveled to their destinations safely.

I love that we are still slowly taking a few things out of their packaging and letting them enjoy playing with their new stuff including a few rounds of Monopoly Jr.

We did venture out in the storm to do a bit of after Christmas shopping and we took the girls to eat at Cafe Rio. They thought it was the best to eat at a restaurant.

Unwrapping Christmas

We had a nice lunch with everyone on Christmas Eve.  The girls helped me make our traditional birthday cake to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

After which we did the adult present exchange.  Before starting we let the girls open their present from Jake & Marcee, Tinkerbell and Periwinkle dolls.  Lila found a picture of these dolls a few days earlier and really really wanted them she came to me insisting we call Santa. She explained that she didn't know what she wanted until now (which is true she didn't put anything on her list earlier when we did our letters to Santa). Jake told Lila that Santa Claus and he were good friends since our Polar Express trip last year and he told Jake what to get the girls.  Just look at her face. She says her favorite present is the fairy sisters.

This little one just wanted to eat the wrapping paper.

We do a group exchange where everyone buys a present and then you pick from the pile and presents can be stolen or trades negotiated. Steve scored this awesome popcorn popper which is pretty awesome since I've been in the market for a popcorn popper (I have popcorn, and a kernel separator just not a popper). I scored gift cards to movies and dinner.  It was fun, but the real excitement came when I noticed a letter sitting in the tree and asked what it was. Jake retrieved the letter and read that Marcee was given temple clearance for them to be sealed so they are going to call the temple as soon as it opens on Wednesday and set a date and time. We are so excited for them, but my Dad . . . the picture says it all.
 
























The girls shared Ellie's bed on Christmas Eve, but Lila got up and snuck in to snuggle with Marcee. Then when we went to wake-up Ellie she pulled the sheets over her head until she realized it was Christmas morning (it was 7:30 too not super early--guess she has adjusted to sleeping in on school vacation).

Here they are checking out what Santa left. Ellie got a shrinky dink maker and kits. Lila got her own Leapster with case and game. They each got new art supplies in their stocking and the family got Monopoly Jr and the movie Brave.

Here's the crew as everyone opened presents.

  















A few funny stories: Mom got a new cell phone that started ringing under the tree; Marcee got an Ipad and you can tell how excited she is--it never left her view; Dad got a watch heart rate monitor and Jake told Mom that she needs to get one so when they start agitating each other they can tell who is winning by the elevated heart rate; when Dad went to setup the heart rate monitor for some reason it was registering his heart rate incorrectly it was down in the 40s so Jake ambushed him a couple of times really getting his heart rate up.

And as tradition we sent the girls on a scavenger hunt. They opened a big tub of legos together and then were given their first clue and at each station there was another set of legos to open.  They ended up in the playroom with the lego table we built.

Towards the end of summer I happened to notice that Walmart was clearancing all their Lego Friends so I bought several kits knowing the girls love these.  Then I found this idea online to build a lego table so I found this old end table at DI (which I love because they can store the legos inside) and we ordered some baseplates and Steve cut and glued the thing together.  Even though I have had all the pieces for a couple of months it didn't get completed until Christmas Eve.

Jake gave Steve a surprise for his garage. He saved a part from the Datsun when we were moving from Tucson and made a frame to match.

Ellie said her favorite part "was seeing Mimi, Grandpa, Jake, Marcee, Nate, Venessa, Izzy, and Siena." Her favorite present was the dream lite from Mimi & Grandpa (which she may or may not have seen me wrapping the week before--oops).  Life is good and we feel very blessed this Christmas.

A Rudolph Christmas

This is just a quick explanation of why we have red noses and a box of kleenexes close in all of our Christmas pictures. We have had all kinds of crazy illnesses here, starting with Ellie throwing-up then having a nasty cough, Lila got a mild fever and cold the following week, then that Saturday Ellie started a fever and still with the cough so I took her to Urgent care and they gave her amoxicillan for bronchitis, then Sunday Lila got a fever and started wheezing on Monday so took her to the doctor and he gave her an antibiotic, steriod, and prescription for nebulizer, we had a few really rough nights then, Thursday before Christmas I started to get it so I went to the doctor got an antibiotic and I'm so glad I did because I was miserable Friday and Lila was still needy, then just as I thought we turned a corner Ellie broke out in hives and her face got all red and itchy--we went back to the doctor on Christmas Eve and turns out she is allergic to amoxicillan which I find ironic because I know she has had it before.  Meanwhile Steve was slammed at work and working longer hours. I was planning on everyone arriving the Friday before Christmas to start the festivities, but plans changed and my parents went down to Orem to help Jake and his fiance with some moving and wedding plans, then they spent Sat/Sun with my Sister and everyone came here Christmas Eve--so glad the festivities didn't really start until then because I was not feeling well and I was/am still really tired from the illness.  That is the long and short of it.  A benefit was I didn't feel well enough to do too much so we enjoyed lots of relaxing moments one of which was working on Grandpa's train set and building this family of snowmen.

Joy to the World

What a joyous year we have had.  We have really enjoyed getting settled into our home, getting to know our wonderful neighbors, starting new hobbies, traveling with family, watching our girls grow, and much much more.  Here is our top 12 for 2012:

* Steve starting a new hobby.  He picked up a road bicycle and did the cycling portion of 2 triathlons this summer.  His team which consisted of Steve, my Dad (Stan), and Jake's fiance (Marcee) placed 1st in their division in the Spudman and got a very unique potato trophy. :)

* Steve completing 2 National Instrument certifications and 1 training course for work.  He enjoys his job and the guys that he works with.

* Steve buying a new car.  We finally sold his 1990 Honda Accord and bought him an Audi A4, which brings him joy.

* Ellie learning to ride a bike this summer.  She loves having her friends come knock on the door and ask if she can come play.  I enjoy watching her ride her bike or scooter down to their house and all I have to do is call and have them tell her to bike or scooter home when it's time.

* Lila and I participating in a joy school with some wonderful neighbors.  Lila has truly blossomed and is learning a lot.  I love to hear her call her friends names when she sees them around the neighborhood--she even recognizes all of the Moms who are participating.

* Ellie reading like crazy.  She loves reading and for a family activity one night I got each of the girls a mini copy of the Book of Mormon and we showed them how to use them.  She loves having us tell her scriptures to look up and then reading them to us.

* Ellie starting piano lessons and loving it!  She memorized 4 Christmas songs and started teaching herself another Christmas song this week.  Lila also loves to play the piano and sings non-stop much to the annoyance of Ellie who is always saying, "Be quiet Lila, you're annoying me."

* Having family and friends visit us in our new home (we love that we are in a location that provides us the opportunity to see family so much more and a convenient spot for friends to stop off.)

* Britney leaving the girls with Steve for her first girls' weekend.  She met up with dear friends from Tucson in Phoenix to attend Time Out for Women.

* Traveling to this beautiful remote location in northern California to celebrate Carole and Russ's 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a wonderful trip, full of lots of memories.

* Flying to Seattle for UEA weekend to be there when Jake proposed to Marcee.  We are so excited for the two of them and love the dynamic they bring to the family.

* Going on a Disney Cruise with Carole and Russ.  Our girls loved every minute on the boat with Mickey and friends and the special time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Nothing brings us more joy than sharing the message of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I can testify that He lives and that this is a wonderful time of year to celebrate His birth and life.  "Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King!  Let every heart prepare him room."  May your heart be touched by His love and may you have joy this Christmas season and throughout the new year.

Love,
Steve, Britney, Ellie, & Lila

Lights, Camera, Action

We have been busy over the last few days doing some fun Christmas activities.  First we took the girls down to Temple Square Friday night to see the lights.  We parked at the City Creek Center and grabbed some dinner and then walked around and saw all of the beautiful lights and the great nativities on display.  We even saw President Uchtdorf.  There was a group in front of us taking some pictures and I didn't really pay attention until I heard his voice and then I quickly pointed him out to my girls.

Then on Sunday we got together with some friends to put together our gingerbread kits.  It was fun to visit while we did this.  The kids loved decorating and eating all of the candy--it went something like this, one for decorating, one for me, one for decorating, one for me.

Monday night we went to see the Layton city lights with some other friends who invited us back for donuts and hot cocoa afterwards.

The girls loved all of the light animals. Ellie loves unicorns and Lila loved the mermaid by where we parked.

The girls loved all of these adventures and we are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family to share special moments with.

Christmas Excitement

The girls helped me decorate the tree Saturday night.  Here is what it looked like when they were done (nothing on the top--Lila kept grouping the ornaments in families two big ornaments and two small ornaments really close together if you look you'll find a couple of ornament families :).

I have been searching every where for a new star for the top of the tree because we took my old one and placed it outside on our decorative pine with some lights--the girls love it.

Here is the finished product.

I love having the train as a border around the tree and the girls love playing with it.  It also provides a designated area for our kid friendly nativities (notice the Magi are riding in style in the train with a lot of food for their journey :).

Ellie finally completed her letter to Santa: