A Visit From Santa

We were visited by Santa at our ward Christmas party on Saturday. The kids were so excited. First the Grinch came out and a lot of little ones were screaming their heads off. Reece was a little scared, and she didn't want to leave my lap. I was wondering how she would do with Santa, but she just climbed right up on his lap without my help. She didn't smile or talk, but she sat there very quietly while he talked with her.

Josie was so excited to wear her new Christmas skirt for the first time. Too bad you can't even see it in the picture. We went shopping on Saturday, just the two of us, to find shirts, shoes, and new pants for me. (I no longer fit into my regular pants very well.) Josie really was born to shop!! Since we were already at the outlets, we went to Bath and Body Works to use a gift certificate that I got for my birthday. Josie was in heaven in that store!! She loved all the lip gloss, and smelly lotion. She wanted to buy just about everything that she saw. I finally ended up spending my gift certificate on her. It is really hard for me to say no to her sometimes. I told her she would have to share with Dallin and Reece, but I really knew that never happen. Oh, well. She looked so cute carrying her tiny bag around the outlet mall.

I asked Dallin what he told Santa that he wanted for Christmas. He said that he didn't tell him anything, because Santa didn't ask. He said that Santa probably already has his present. I think that he is right!!

Mrs. Claus Boutique

It's that time of year again!!! Time for your holiday shopping!! This year you can find stuff made by yours truly at the Mrs. Claus Boutique in Sandy, Utah. Here are the details:

December 4th, 5th and 6th
10 am to 6 pm
Jessup's Gym
2600 E Creek Road
Sandy, UT 84093

The items that I am selling include: Crocheted Newsboy Caps, Fabric Flower Clippies, of course my famous Headbands, Baby Booties, Aprons, and Scarves. What more could you ask for?

It should be a lot of fun with really great handcrafted gifts made by over 40 artisans. Please check it out. It will be worth the drive. Last year there were a lot of great and affordable items. It was hard to decide what to get!! There will be a drawing if you bring a flyer. Just send me your email and I can send you a flyer. Thanks for your support!!!

Wrestling

Dallin competed in his first wrestling tournament today in Fort Collins. It was really fun watching all the little kids wrestling. Most of them are really good. They were decked out in their wrestling singlets and special shoes. Dallin did a great job, especially considering that he has only wrestled in our living room and outside in the front yard before. He fought really hard and never gave up. He won one match and lost two, but the two that he lost, he fought to the end and was never pinned. He only lost in points, which I think is really great!! He are a few highlights from his best match.

Reece's Birthday

Yesterday Reece finally turned two!! We were all so excited for her birthday. We have been trying to teach her how to hold up two fingers. It took a lot of concentration to get it just right, but she finally got it!!

Watching Elves Dance

This video is in response to watching a video on Brad and Lauren's blog. The kids loved watching it and Reece kept saying, "Again! Again!" After she took her bath this morning I found her sitting at the computer. She just looked up and said, "Again, Mommy!"

BYU vs. Airforce

Dallin and Jerry attended the BYU Airforce game last weekend. They had a great time, except that it was very cold once their seats were shaded. These are a few pics from the game.

Dallin devoured a footlong hotdog and a footlong corndog!!

Snow Falling All Around

Today was our first real snow storm!!! The kids were so excited when they woke up. The first thing they wanted to do was to run outside and touch it. Josie said that the snow made her feet "burst." Somehow, they talked me into going outside. It was cold, but lots of fun!!

Last year Reece hated the snow. She did not want to go outside at all. This year she just kept running through it, laughing, bending down every few minutes to make a snowball to throw at me. I couldn't catch Reece running through the snow, because everytime I held up the camera she just smiled and said, "CHEEEEEEEEESE!"

Dallin and Josie were so excited to have a snowball fight. They spent the morning planning just how the snowball fight would go. They never ended up throwing snow at each other, but they decided it would be more fun to just throw all of their snowballs at Reece. Isn't it great to be the little sister? Lucky for her, she won't be the littlest for too much longer.

Happy Birthday Dallin!!

We had Dallin's birthday party last night! It was a lot of fun! As you can see, we went with the Halloween theme this year. These are a few of my favorite pics!

Our group shot!!


Don't you love the braids?!

Dallin and his three best buddies all working on the candles.

We started out with mummy dogs for dinner (hots wrapped with dough like a mummy), goulish cheese dip with bat wing chips (blue corn tortilla chips), and pasta salad (I was going to cut up olives to look like spiders for the salad, but I forgot.) To drink we had witches brew with bug ice cubes. The witches brew was so cold, the ice cubes never melted, so no one even made it to the gummy bug in the center.

We played fear factor (eating worm pies), monster mash (stomping on balloons filled with bugs), and candy scramble (Dallin's idea of dumping candy on everyone and trying to pick up as much as you can!) Dallin actually came up with all of the games. We had a lot of fun planning the party together.

By the time we had dinner, played fear factor, and had the candy scramble, everyone pretty much had a stomach-ache, and they didn't want any cake. Dallin hasn't even tried a piece yet! In case you can't tell, it's supposed to be a haunted house!

We had a great time, and we can't wait for our ward Halloween party tonight!

My Little Pumpkins

(Notice Dallin's missing tooth!)
We visited the pumpkin patch this week. Can you believe that some of the pumpkins actually cost $25?!!! CRAZY!! We picked out some great average sized ones, ($5). The kids had fun hunting for the perfect one.

(The kids pretending to dig out pumpkin guts.)

Then we went home and carved them. Our kids are total whimps when it comes to pumpkin guts. Everytime Dallin touched the pumpkin slime, he ran to the bathroom to wash his hands. Josie used the usual excuse that she uses everytime she doesn't want to do something (clean, eat, sleep, run) "I'm too little." Jerry and I did most of the scooping and all of the carving while the kids sat back and watched.

They were pretty excited with the end result, though. They were especially excited when we put the candles inside. We are all looking forward to Halloween!

Way behind....again!

So I haven't blogged forever, but instead of catching up first, I am just going to start with now and do August later. So we did have a really great August with lots of visitors. My mom and dad visited at the beginning of August, then as soon as they left my best bud Jessie and her son Bode came to stay with us for a few days. A week or two later, my sister and her family came in town on their way moving to Utah. It was a great month, and in fact a great summer.

But back to the present.... So I have been trying to come up with a new way to display my headbands for my etsy pics. (By the way, if anyone has any great ideas that will boost sales, you will receive free merchandise. So start thinking!) Etsy sales have been slow, and I think I need something that is eye catching for my display. Anyone, one idea was to have JoJo model the headbands for me. She was so patient while I took a million pics. I actually made her wear 15 different headbands. (Reece wouldn't even stand for one pic. Dallin on the other hand wanted to take turns, but I tried to explain to him that while his offer was very sweet, I needed a girl to model the headbands. He was disappointed. I gave him the job of keeping Reece out of trouble during the photo shoot.)

Anyway, these are some of my favorites.

Together Again!!

CHEESE!

Reece

My Guppies

Dallin and Josie just finished their swimming lessons for the summer. They both did really well floating on their backs and kicking their legs. We still need to practice their arm strokes, but they did awesome!

Dallin's First Day

- First day of preschool. - First day of kindergarten.

Today Dallin had his first day of school. Can you believe it? I know this sounds cliche, but I swear he was my little baby boy just yesterday. I tried to be strong, but I got a little misty eyed as I walked back to the car. He didn't seem to be scared or sad, just really, really excited. It fact he woke up at 6:30 am (which is extremely early for Dallin,) and he came into my room and shouted, "Today is my first day of school!!!" He has afternoon kindergarten, so it felt like an eternity waiting to leave. As soon as we got home from swimming lessons he took a bath, got dressed, put on his backpack, and waited by the door. That was 10am. He doesn't start school until 1pm. He just couldn't wait to get there.

When he got home he said that he made two friends, but couldn't remember their names, learned about allergies, and had teddy grahams for a snack. His favorite part was the bus ride home. He said, "It was so cool!!" He can't wait to go back to school tomorrow, and he said that he wants to leave earlier so that we can be the first ones waiting in line outside. I love him so much!

Dallin wanted to show off his new Spidey backpack!

A Yummy Dessert!!

Light Lemon Cake

1 pkg. lemon cake mix
1 pkg. (1 oz.) instant sugar-free lemon pudding mix
1 3/4 c. water
3 egg whites
3/4 c. cold fat-free milk
1 pkg. (1 oz.) instant sugar-free lemon pudding mix
1 carton (8 oz.) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, lemon pudding, water and egg whites. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Pour into a 13X9 inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 23-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool. In mixing bowl, combine milk, lemon pudding mix. Beat on low for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cake. Store in the refrigerator.

More Visitors!

The Romrell Family came to visit us this weekend! Allen, Sheralyn, Mike and Rachel, no Chris because he is on his mission. It was so great to see them. They went school shopping with us yesterday, then went to church with us today. After church we all had dinner together and shared funny stories. I didn't share any stories, because I'm just not that funny, but Mike and Jerry are great at funny stories. Anyway, we had a really great time with them! Dallin especially loved wrestling with Aunt Sheralyn. He talked about it all day yesterday! Here is another cousins picture.

Our First Colorado Camping Trip

Last weekend we went on our first camping trip in Colorado. It was a last minute plan that I cooked up Friday morning, and I had everything packed and ready to go by the time Jerry was home that evening. The only problem was "where should we go?" After a lot of rain, we hopped in the ran and followed the map to the closest little tree symbols that we could find, and we found a place to stay. Wet, but a campsite none the less. We didn't have a fire, because all the wood was wet, too, so we just went to bed. The night was a little rough, 5 people in a 2 man tent, but we woke up bright and early and started our day off with a hike. It was beautiful. We had a great time. We were going to go camping again this weekend, but it was raining again, so we decided to postpone our next trip. I think it's time to get a new tent, too!

The Blacks in Colorado

Josh, Julie, Caleb, and Taylor came to our house on July 5th. We were so excited to see them! We met them at the Denver Zoo on Saturday. The kids had a lot of fun checking out all of the animals. The adults were just trying to stay out of the heat. After the zoo, we cooled off at the pool. It felt really good to go swimming after a long day at the zoo.

They were able to stay two nights with us before heading back to Utah. It was a great visit, but way too short. We always have so much fun hanging out with their family. Thanks guys for coming to our house!

My camera was not working, so I stole these pictures off of Julie's blog!!

Fourth of July

We arrived home from our vacation just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations. We had an action packed day full of friends, food, and fireworks. Very festive!

First, we went to a bike parade and carnival at the park just down the street. We were supposed to decorate our bikes, but we didn't have time because I was so busy making patriotic headbands for us to wear. Oh well.

After the bike parade, we waited in line for about 40 minutes to go in the bouncy house. It seemed like it was about 120 degrees, and by the time we made it inside, the plastic was so hot it burned our feet. We we were done the kids begged, "Can we go again?" No way!!!

We then had a snow cone and posed with Uncle Sam before heading home.

That afternoon, we went to a block party in the neighborhood of some our friends. The local fire department came over and turned on the fire hose to spray the kids. They had a blast playing in the water! Except Reece, of course. She doesn't not like any water to touch her face.

We ended the night with neighborhood fireworks. It was one great night!

Flying Home

The kids rode on an airplane for the first time. Actually Dallin rode on one when he was six months old, but he can't remember, of course. They were so excited about the planes and the airport. They were especially excited to eat a Burger King, while we were waiting for our flight.

When we were looking out the windows we saw a plane take off. Josie's comment was, "That's insane!" That made the people around us laugh. When we were waiting to take off, the kids kept saying, "5,4,3,2,1, blast off!" At first that was funny, too, but after about 20 times and we still hadn't blasted off, I made them stop. From then on, they were glued to the TV until we got there.

We had such a great time in Utah, but we were really excited to see Jerry/Daddy again. We missed him so much!

Friends and Family

While we were in Utah we were able to visit many friends and family members. It was great to see everyone!

Camping!!!

We planned a camping trip while I was in Utah to my all-time favorite camping place. It is at Hades Campground next to the North Fork of the Duchesne River. It is so much fun there, and very beautiful! It was a really family event, because not only did my Grandma Joan go with us, but my Aunt Susie, Uncle Ron, Brad, Lauren, and Spencer. My Grandma and Grandpa Hardcastle were at their nearby cabin also.

We had a weekend full of smores, dirt, and more smores. We went fishing, and I even caught a fish with Reece riding on my back. Very exciting! I am a mom who can do it all!

Look really carefully and you can see my HUGE fish!