Say Cheese!

I finally realized that probably the reason why Makenzie does not smile very often for pictures is because she didn't know how to smile on cue. We finally worked on it for several minutes and this is the result.... a beautiful smiling child!!! This is Makenzie playing in a box with the styrofoam peanuts. It was a mess because the peanuts clung to everything!

Ice Storm

So we have been in the news with the weather! The ice storm plastered everything for 2 good days. Tyler had school canceled for one day, even though we didn't think it was that bad. Maybe I'm use to Utah where school was never canceled. We were quite lucky, as we never lost power. We stayed warm through the whole thing. It did make me think, "OK, are we really prepared if the power went out for days on end?" I'm glad to say that we probably are. We don't have any trees on our property, which is a bummer in the summer. But for these ice storms, there have been major branches that have fallen all over. The picture is from a bush in our backyard.

Here comes Santa Claus!

Santa Claus came and visited the kids at Tyler's school today. Makenzie was so excited! Once she actually sat on his lap, she wasn't so sure. Jordan was fascinated in all that white stuff on his face. Makenzie told Santa she wanted toys for Christmas. I think we got that one covered.

This is the wreath I made at Enrichment night last night. I'm on the Enrichment board. I guess we had major money still left in the budget, so we splurged on the supplies.

Tag, Your it!

OK... I don't even know how this "tagging" thing ever got started with blogging, but it is going around.  I've been tagged twice now, so now I'm suppose to share 6 random things about me.  Here we go...

1.  I have an ear fetish.  Have you ever had your ears massaged?  It feels so good to have them rubbed, tugged, and pulled!  Also, ear wax is so disgusting!  My family has the cleanest ears in the neighborhood.   I make sure of it!

2.  I'm double-jointed in my thumbs.  They automatically bend back to a 90 degree angle.   It's good for thumb wars.

3.  I am a VERY picky eater.  I must get it from my dad.  I'm a "plain Jane" and am famous for eating my hamburgers plain--meat and bread.  YUM! YUM!  I feel like I have opened my taste buds just a little since I've been married.

4.  I went to Stanford swim camp for a week in my junior year in high school.  Swimming was my life and I loved it.  The best I did was placing 6th in the state of Utah for the 100 Free my Senior year.  I have not been back in the pool doing laps since my kids have come.  The other week we took Makenzie swimming at the city pool.  They had some lanes open for lap swimming.  It was tempting and it brought back some many memories. 

5. I have never dyed my hair (unless you count a few highlights) and never have gotten my nails done and never have "faked-and-baked"!  I find it is a waste of time and a waste of money.

6.I lived in the same house my whole entire childhood.  My parents are still there.  I love my neighborhood and have many many memories growing up there!

Christmas Countdown

As a little girl, one of my favorite Christmas decorations was the holiday countdown. There was an ornament for each day of December that we got to put on the tree. I remember how us siblings use to fight over whose turn it was for the day. We also use to trade the ornaments around, so our favorite ornaments would be on our day. My birthday is on the 21st, and I always got to put up the ornament on that day. What memories! I decided to make a similar one for my growing family. Makenzie probably isn't as excited as I am with doing it, but it will only take time!


We got our first good snow storm this week. Makenzie was soooo excited to play in the snow. When I finally let her go out, it lasted just 5 minutes. The snow doesn't stick like the "greatest snow on earth" does in Utah, so it wasn't much fun after kicking around in it for awhile. Her favorite part of the whole thing was coming in and warming up with some hot chocolate!

Video of Jordan!

I finally figured out how to download videos. Enjoy! I will post a few more this week.
P.S. You have to turn off the website music to hear the video. Click on the volume piece on the slideshow to turn off.

Winter Wonderland!

We have woken up to our first ice storm of the season!  There is a thick layer of ice on everything!  The ground of course is so slippery.  The trees crackle with the breeze.  Tyler had to chip away at the car.  He rolled down the window and the ice covered the window area as if the window was still up.  What a different adventure.

Last night the school put on a Winter Formal.  Tyler was against going for the longest time!  I finally convinced him everybody was going.  The dance also included a dinner and babysitting all for FREE!  Who could pass up a free date?  Tyler just had it in his mind that it would be like a high school dance, which obviously weren't his favorite.  (He took me to 2 of those high school dances, so I gave him a hard time.)  It all worked out in the end.... We didn't even need to dress up too formal, just church clothes.  We enjoyed the dinner and socializing.  I got to meet many more of his classmates.  The music did bring back some memories of high school, but it was fun.  Tyler wouldn't dance though.  He danced a slow song with me and then we called it a night.  I have to make up for "dragging" him to the dance by watching a football game with him today at his friend's house!