So Disappointing

On Friday, we took a little road trip to Salt Lake with Ty's parents. Ty's cousin Ben whom Ty hadn't seen in nearly 14 years get married. We left the house with time to spare. It was a fun trip with the parental units and us talking and laughing and singing along with the Christmas music on the radio. Then we hit the Utah border. We also hit the biggest snowstorm ever.
Ty had to slow down significantly to navigate the icy roads and crazy Utah traffic. We pulled off the freeway to the Salt Lake Temple at noon. When was the wedding? Noon. We raced into the temple doors and tried to convince the man at the front desk to let us in. These things never start on time, so it should be okay, right? Wrong. The Nazi at the desk wouldn't let us go in.
We were disappointed to miss the wedding, but we would see Ben and his lovely bride at the ring ceremony and luncheon to follow. The most disappointing part was missing the man who preformed the sealing. It was the Prophet. Yes, President Thomas S. Monson did the sealing! Can you imagine? Sitting in a room with the Prophet? Listening to him speak on such a personal level? Wow! I guess he was quite a cut-up and had the small assembly laughing several times. He had several stories about Aunt Ann and times when she used to be his secretary so many years ago. *sigh* Such a disappointment. Aunt Janet was furious when she heard how close we were and that the man wouldn't let us in. She said we would have been in plenty of time. Oh well.
I feel bad for the couple, too. Their wedding pictures are gonna be a mess. The snow was dumping and the wind was howling. Not exactly the best setting for pictures. Honestly though, they were so giddy in love with each other, they probably didn't notice. The guests, however, were freezing!
We had some time to kill between the wedding and the ring ceremony, so we walked over to the Conference Center. A nice man inside offered to give us an abbreviated tour, since we only had 40 minutes before we had to be at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the luncheon and stuff. That place is beautiful. And HUGE! It can seat 21,000 people. The stage/pulpit area was all decorated for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas program. It was so pretty. The artwork in that building is amazing as well. Gee, I wish I could create beauty like that.
The ring ceremony and luncheon were so nice. It was fun to get to talk with Ty's family that he hadn't seen in years. I loved seeing the way Ben and Donna looked at each other. It brought back so many memories from when Ty and I got married. All of this took place on the tenth floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The view, when we could see it, was amazing. The problem was, it was snowing so hard, at times we couldn't see the buildings next door! At one point, I was sure we would have to get a hotel room and wait out the night.
We decided to risk it and try to get home. We figured, we could always stop along the way if we had to. The trip home however, was fine. The worst thing we had to deal with was SLC's rush hour traffic. The snow was light, the roads were clear, it was a beautiful trip home. If we'd had that weather on the way down, we sooo would have made it to the wedding. *sigh*

My Dog's So Smart

It's really cold here. Really cold. And Mayzee has no undercoat, so she gets cold when she goes outside. So, we got her a coat to wear when she goes out.
The other day, Mayzee rang the bell on the back door, letting us know she needed to go out. When I opened the door, a blast of cold air hit me and I looked at the thermostat: 3 degrees. So I said to Mayzee, "You want your coat?" She stopped on the porch and looked at me, cocking her head to the right. "You want your coat?" She tilted her head to the left. So I grabbed her coat off the counter and repeated the phrase. She started like she was gonna run to me, so I leaned over and repeated the phrase one more time. She raced up the porch and into the house, stopping right below my hands so I could put the coat on her. As soon as the coat was secure around her waist, she went trotting outside to do her business.
She is so proud of her coat.
Another smart thing she does, and has done since we first got her at 12 weeks, is: if she has found something to chew on and is chomping away, or holding it in her mouth, preparing to chomp and we say, "Drop it!" she will spit it out immediately and trot off to find something else to do. She's done that since the first time I said it to her.
She amazes me. She's such a smart puppy.

Gingerbread Dreams

Sometime before Thanksgiving, Ty went out to pick up a few things from the store and came back with a Wilton gingerbread house. I stored it in the back room until there was a little more room in the house (a.k.a. my parents went to Texas) and then promptly forgot about it. Then, all my friends started posting on their blogs about the cute gingerbread houses they made, so I got it out for the kids and I to decorate. (Of course, my friends are much more creative and actually made their gingerbread, but I'm just not that good!)
I was kinda grumpy when the activity started, but after a few minutes of playing with my kids, I was having just as much fun as the kids. It was so fun to see what ideas the kids had and how creative they are. We were very limited on candy pieces, but the kids came up with wonderful designs with what they had. I'm pretty proud of icicles hanging from the eaves!

The Killer Dog

My dog is simply ferocious! She is terrified of the vacuum cleaner. From the first time we got it out, she has gone ballistic at the simple sight of it. She even knows that it belongs in the hall closet and if you act like you are going to open the closet's door, she will start barking like crazy.
When the vacuum comes out, she begins growling and nipping at the wheels. She makes the strangest sound and completely freaks out. Maybe we're bad "parents" but we can't help but laugh hysterically at her. She seems to have an instinctive fear of all cleaning implements. The first time we brought out the shopvac to clean the stove, it hadn't even been turned on yet and she went nuts. Then, yesterday, I got out the mop and broom to do a little cleaning up and she started lunging and biting at the broom. I think she hates cleaning even more than I do!

Zach is 6 (can you believe it?)

I can't believe that my baby is already 6 years old. He is such an amazing kid. He is very funny, he always has us in stitches. He loves to make faces and silly little voices. He is still my little cuddle-bug. We often spend time in the morning just snuggling on the couch. He is so warm and I love wrapping my arms around his little body. He is also very sensitive to others and their needs. He looks out for everybody's feelings. He is also very creative and enjoys drawing and creating projects for us to admire.He is an incredibly grateful kid. He is so excited about everything that he is given. As you can see, he was very happy about the train from Grandma Marsha and Papa.
He does love his GeoTrax.

Saturday after his birthday, we had a little party at Leo's Place with a few of his friends and his cousin.

I guess he gets his wish! I know I got mine when he was sent into my life.

Happy birthday, baby. I love you!

The Christmas Program

On December 10th (Zach's bday), the kids' school had their Christmas program. They did it in a different way than I have ever seen done before. They sent home a program beforehand so that the parents knew when their kids were going to preform. That way, you didn't have to sit through 6 grades of singing to see your child's class do their thing. As it was, I still had three to watch, but it was worth it.

I'm always so proud when the kids do anything. I turn into such a blubberbutt because I am just so proud of the kids doing their best and having fun. (I have even been known to cry when kids I don't know perform! - hello America's Got Talent)

Zachary's class was the first to go after lunch. Zach was so funny cuz he insisted on wearing his "Christmas Sweater" for the program. I had to extract a promise from his teacher htat he would not be allowed to wear it to do anything else. I could just see it covered in green paint!

The kindergarteners were so cute when they filed in. They were so excited an dproud of themselves. They were all grinning ear-to-ear. Zachary kept looking at me and mouthing, "Take my picture!"Zachary even smiled as he sang.The kids all had little actions they did to the songs. "He sees you when he's sleeping..."This was the only good picture I got of Samantha because, when they stoop up, the girl in front of her practically blocked Samantha from view. *sigh*

Tristan was too cool to smile for the camera. This was as close to a smile as I got. I was so proud, yes, I cried a few times.

Okay, disclaimer, I know there are more pictures of Zach here than the others. I couldn't help it, those Kindie-gardners are so dang cute!

Spirit of the Season

I love this time of year. I love the music, the weather, the lights, the Spirit. If you were to ask me to name one person who exemplifies the Spirit of the season, I would have to say...
The bell ringer at WalMart. Surprise you? She is the most awesome lady. She is there every day. And if I'm right, I think she's there all day! She sits out there in her brown, insulated coveralls, ringing her bells, and singing at the tops of her lungs. I swear, she knows every Christmas song. She is not a great singer. Heck, she's not even a good singer, but that doesn't stop her. She smiles her huge smile and calls out "Merry Christmas" to everybody who passes her. I am there waaaay to often, but every time I see and hear her, I feel warm inside and can't help but smile. It's my hope that I can keep that feeling with me throughout the year. That I will remember that sweet lady and the love she obviously has for her Savior and her courage to show the world. I hope that I can be more like her!

Zachary's New Sweater

My Grandma Jensen makes beautiful sweaters for all the great-grands. She gave Zachary one for his 6th birthday. Honestly, when I saw that it was a sweater in his gift, I thought Zachary would be disappointed. You know, he's only six, he expects toys and "fun" stuff. Just take a look at the pictures to see his reaction...
He LOVES it! He calls it his "Christmas Sweater" and insisted on wearing it for his school Christmas program.

He's So Clever

My hubby cracks me up. He signed up to bring the yams to his work Christmas party, so he was making them the night before. He decided that they needed to be whipped, not just mashed. However, my parents don't have a hand mixer. Ty needed to whip those yams, so he improvised.
Yes, that is a cordless power drill with a mixer stuck in it!
He's so proud of his ingenuity.

The Lucky Ones

Last Saturday, Ty and Tristan went to see a new ski movie. Ty was really into Warren Miller movies when we were first married. On a side note, I liked to watch them to see Glenn Plake's hairstyles, but I digress. (If you want to check out some of his hairstyles, check out www.glennplake.net and enjoy.) Anyway, a friend of Ty's at work couldn't make it, so he sold Ty his tickets. Tristan wasn't sure he wanted to go, but he tagged along to check it out.
I guess the movie was quite an event. They had a raffle and a silent auction. Ty made a couple bids, but he was outbid as soon as the movie started. So, Daddy and I were watching a show on TV when the front door opened and Tristan walked in with a huge snowboard! Ty may have been outbid in the auction, but that didn't stop him from winning the raffle.
Tristan commented, "This is pretty much the best day of my life!" The boy doesn't even know how to snowboard. I guess he'll be learning this winter.
Now they're just being silly.

It Doesn't Take Much

It's funny what kids will play with. Sometimes, you can't entertain them with all the toys in the world. Then, sometimes all it takes is a fabric grocery bag.
The INL had a health fair and Ty came home with a lot of free goodies. My favorite was information from The Sleep Institute. He found out that because it had been so long since my last sleep study, I was eligible for a new sleep study and a new C-Pap machine. (The new ones have technology that will let you know if the pressure is off or if there is a leak at some point in the system.) The kids' favorite goody was the two cloth shopping bags.
First, Ty stuffed Samantha into a bag. I remember when I was that small! But I digress... Let me tell you, those straps are STRONG!!! Ty carried Samantha from the living room into the kitchen where I was making dinner. She was giggling like a madwoman.
Then, Samantha had Zachary squish into the bag so that she could carry him around the living room as well. It just goes to show, you can spend hundreds of dollars on toys and games for your kids and all it takes to entertain them is a freebie grocery sack from a health fair!

Best of Friends

You would never guess it, but Mayzee and my mom's cat, Gabby, are the best of friends. They got off to a rough start when we first moved here. There was much hissing and spitting as Mayzee tried to play with the only other critter her size.
Before long, we realized that the hissing and spitting cat didn't seem to want to get away form the playful, energetic puppy. They often chase each other around the table and chairs in the dining room. It's so funny, watching them run and chase. Watching Gabby bat at Mayzee's head while Mayzee goes in for little kisses on Gabby's nose.
Sometimes, the hissing and spitting gets so loud that we can't hear the TV over their noise. They run up onto the couch and go nuts. We spend a lot of time laughing at those two characters.

Twilight Frenzy

Well, last night was the long-awaited Twilight date. We figured that since we already had tickets, we didn't need to go and stand in line for an hour. We got to the theater 30 minutes early. Hey, with all the commercials that precede the movie these days, plus, it was showing on 10 screens, that should be plenty of time, right? Wrong. We ended up sitting far closer to the front than I would have preferred. You know how they have the first four or five rows waaay up front and then there's a walkway and then the stadium seating begins? Our theater has a row of seats at the back of the walkway and that's where we were. On the plus side, there was a wall to our back and not some inconsiderate butthead kicking our seats!

As I said before, I was a little nervous that the movie would be disappointing after reading the books and being so excited about the movie for so long. I was not disappointed. I think the setting was amazing. My SIL has been to Forks, so I will have to ask her how accurate it was. I disagreed with a few of the choices of actors. While he had his moments, Edward was all wrong. Not nearly hot enough. Same for Rosalie, although Ty really liked her in her baseball pants. lol Bella, Charlie, Jacob, Billy, Mike, Carlisle, Alice, Emmit, and Jasper were perfect, IMHO. I also thought that Edward's skin in the sun was all wrong, although I have NO idea how they could make it look the way it did in my imagination! I LOVED the baseball game and the ballet studio fight. I really enjoyed the inside jokes that were rampant throughout the script. I think that made it real fun for those of us who read the books. I also thought it was fun to see Stephanie Meyer make a cameo appearance, she's so cute. All in all, I really enjoyed the movie. And I hope they make a cubic boatload of money off of this one so the next (Please let them make the rest of the books into movies) will be even better. Better special effects and all that.

I asked Ty if he liked it as we were leaving the theater. He commented, "I can see why there are so many groups of girls here. But there was just enough hunting and fighting to make it good for guys, too." I guess that's a good review. What do you think?

Now I think I want to read the books again. Just as soon as we get all our stuff out of storage. *sigh*

I Got Tickets!!!

I am so excited. Ty got us tickets to see Twilight on Friday. All but one of the shows that day are sold out and ALL the Saturday showings are sold out. I'm lucky I have a friend who's manager of the theater who warned me that the tickets were going fast. (Thanks Debi!) Ty's not nearly as excited as I am. Actually, I think he couldn't care less, but he knows I want to see it badly, so he's ready to see it, too. Now, I just hope it isn't a dud. You know how you work things up in your mind and then, when it happens, it's disappointing? I really hope it isn't like that.

My Baby's 12!

Today, my oldest turned 12 years old! I can't believe it. I just looked at my watch and exactly 12 years ago, to the minute, I was pushing and trying to bring my first baby into this world. That's just crazy to me. It seems like it was just yesterday that I first held him in my arms.
A few of Tristan's friends came over and we took them over to Leo's Place for pizza and playing.
The kids had one table and the adults had another. That way, we could at least pretend to be sane.
The boys played in the fun equipment, played a game of laser tag, and in general, acted silly. They had such a good time.
The football cake was a big hit. The players' jerseys were even the right color, green and white. Notice the expression on my dad's face? The singing was less than stellar.

It is so strange that my baby is twelve years old. Tomorrow, he will be ordained to the Priesthood! Then, the following week, he will be passing the sacrament!!! How is that even possible? I look at him and see that baby I held so close, not a young man. Today has been a little bittersweet as I am not quite ready to let my baby grow up. I love him so much and I am so proud of the sweet young man he has become. He is very helpful to his little brother and sister. Zachary absolutely worships him and tries to copy his every move. It's so cute.
Happy birthday Tristan! I love you so much!!!

Clean Up

With five extra people living in my parents' home, conditions get a little crowded. One of the biggest problems is that we went from three bathrooms down to one. The bathroom counter was so covered, you couldn't even see it. One day, Ty couldn't take it anymore and he had an epiphany. He came home from work with an over-the-door shoe hanger and went after the bathroom with much gusto. I wish I had taken a "before" picture, but at least I got the "afters".
This is the counter after his clean-fest. Doesn't it look nice?

Look at the shoe hanger. Can you believe all that stuff was on the counter? I have the best husband ever!

The Toothless Wonder

It's funny how things all happen at once. One day, Zachary had all his teeth (except the one the dentist had to remove) and then, within a matter of two weeks, he lost 4!
He's so funny cuz it freaked him out each time that the tooth got loose enough to come out. It would be hanging by a thread and he wouldn't let us pull it. Ty tied a bit of floss around it so that Zach could gradually pull it and even that made him nervous. Finally, Ty attached a vitamin bottle that Zach could drop when he was ready. Ty "accidentally" bumped him, he dropped the bottle, and the tooth popped right out. Zachary was pretty excited after that.
He looks so cute with all his missing teeth. We had a mishap with the school pictures. Tristan and Samantha's came out great, but Zachary's never even showed up, so we had to sign him up for retakes. His teeth all fell out between the two picture sittings, so his school pictures will show him with all his missing teeth. I can't wait to see them.

Halloween Fun

I love Halloween. It marks the beginning of the holiday season for me. And it's awesome to be home in Idaho to celebrate this year. There's a slight bite in the air. The leaves are falling out of the trees. My parents have two huge maple trees in their front yard and the kids are having so much fun jumping in the huge piles of leaves.
Since school was closed on Halloween, the school had their parties and parade on Thursday. I worked in Zach's classroom for his party and it was so much fun.

I was in charge of the pumpkin bowling. The kids had so much fun rolling the pumpkin down the "alley" to knock over the Lil Jugs

The parade started in the kindergarten and as the kids went through each of the classrooms, the next class would add on to the end of the parade. Every time Zach went past a group of parents or teachers, he would put up his hands to show off his skeleton fingers. He made me smile.

The only picture I got of Tristan in his costume was in the parade. He was way too cool and too busy to pose for any other pictures.

Zachary was an adorable little skeleton. He had so much fun at the trunk or treat. He loved going from trunk to trunk. It was fun to watch him.

Samantha was a Gothic sorceress. She was very pretty. I don't think we'll get many more pictures of her either. Why do the kids have to grow up so fast?
The trunk or treat was very popular. It was unlike any other we have done. It wasn't as organized as others we've been to, and nobody decorated their trunks, but the kids had a blast. One of the trunks was full to overflowing with stuffed animals! I think they must have owned one of those crane games that you see in the doorways of shopping centers. It was the most popular trunk there.
Afterward, we went out to Ty's parents to show off their costumes. All in all, it was a great night.

Pumpkin Carvin'

Today was pumpkin carving day. We had planned to carve them on Saturday, but life happens and we ran out of time. While Ty and the kids were at church (I stayed home sick), my mom was kind enough to clean the pumpkins out. So, when they got home from church, the pumpkins were all ready to be carved.
Zachary kept his nice and traditional. The small tools made it very easy for Zachary's small hands.
Samantha's was like a carved Picasso. Very abstract.
Tristan went artistic with his pumpkin. It took him the longest to carve his. I think he did awesome.
The pumpkins turned out great and the kids had so much fun carving them. I don't think they even bickered once! Now that's really saying something.

Wii're Fit

My mom was looking for a was to get in shape and have fun doing it. She decided that Wii Fit was the way to do that. It was funny to watch her waiting to get it after she ordered it online. She was checking her tracking number every day. Sometimes, a few times a day.It's so much fun to do. The kids even like to get involved. Zachary even has favorite Yoga poses. His favorite is Warrior Pose.


I think this pose is Sun Salutation. Now the kids and I are asking for a Wii for Christmas and I want Wii Fit! It's like having your own personal trainer, without the embarrassment of weigh ins! Actually, the Wii Fit board "character" has quite a devilish sense of humor. The worst is when it tells me to step on and then actually says, "Oh!" when I do. I wonder if it will still be so sarcastic when I've lost some of my weight?

The Snowman

Back on the 13th, I posted about the first snow. Well, the kids (mostly Tristan) went out on that Sunday morning and built the first snowman of the year. Ty took these pictures while I was sleeping. (Hey, it was Sunday, I had to sleep in.) I didn't even know the pictures had been taken until we carved pumpkins, so that's why it took so long to get them posted here.

Mayzee helped a little.

The kids named him Goofy.


Tristan found another use for all those plums! That's what made up the snowman's face. It warmed right up the next day, so Goofy only lived for one day. Oh well, I'm sure he'll be back soon.