12 years closer to eternity

The day after Christmas, Ben and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary.  Can you believe it!

We had planned on being in Boise on this day, but circumstances changed, and we found ourselves home for the next few days.

Ben amazingly found a babysitter for that night, and we were able to try out a new grill here in Heber.

It was fun to be with Ben and to reminisce about the past 12 years, and hope and dream about the next 12 years.

I am so happy that I married Ben, and I love him more than I ever thought I could love someone.  He is my best friend, my soul mate, my rock, and my eternal companion.

I am a very, very lucky girl.

christmas "break"

Christmas afternoon, during all of the hustle and bustle, one of our big heavy bar stools fell, and it fell right onto William's toe.

 

William screamed and screamed.  It was the kind of scream where, as a parent, you know something is broken or really wrong.

 

Poor William cried on and off the rest of the day, and we figured his toe was broken.

 

The next day, we spent 2 hours in the after hours clinic to try to help out poor William and his toe that looked like a plumb.

 

The doctor confirmed that the toe was broken, most likely in two places, and then he said that he would need to poke a hole in the toenail to relieve the pressure.

 

Poor William freaked out, and it was miserable to be the one to hold him down while they poked, or burned, the hole.

 

Sure enough, blood flew all over, and William did finally get some relief.

 

Lucky for William, he doesn't have to have any kind of cast or splint.  He just has to let pain be his guide.  As of now, he can finally get a snow boot on, but he is still limping.

 

Poor William.  Poor toe.

 

christmas...part two the "special gift"

As the kids were sitting together smiling at Ben who was "taking a picture" of them, I went into our bedroom and let the "special gift" out.

Their reaction was priceless.

Mary saw the puppy first, but she was so shocked that all she could do was point and stutter.  The boys had no idea what was going on.

 

Finally, Mary grabbed the puppy, and all of the kids erupted into smiles, laughs, questions and joy.

 

And then, Molly grabbed the puppy.

 And she was squeezing it by the neck.

 So we took the puppy away, and she BAWLED!!!

 

It was way to funny to be sad.  The kids the rest of the day taking turns snuggling the dog and asking over and over again if she was really ours.

We spent a long time picking a name, but we decided on Maggie.  

Maggie Trixie Maynard to be exact.

 Maggie is a miniature Shih Tzu.  She is 9 weeks old, and is the cutest puppy in the whole wide world.  She loves to be snuggled, and is working on crate training and potty training.  We love her so much already!

Welcome to chaos Maggie!

christmas...part one

Christmas morning arrived bright and early.  I heard Mary coming in the room around 6:30, and knew it was time for the awesome day to begin!

The day was beautiful!  We had a white Christmas.  It had been snowing all week, and we had tons of snow!  I love white Christmases!

The kids came charging down the stairs, and when they saw that Santa had come, their jaws dropped.  It was a great sight for a parent to see.

We spent the morning exchanging and opening gifts.  It was so much fun!

Mary got her gymnastics mat that she had been asking for.

Sam got his Traxxas Rustler that is all he has been talking about for a year!  He was thrilled!

William got beyblades, which was the only toy he had his heart set on.

Luke got a tool set and a big firetruck.  He was happy and playing with these for the rest of the day.

 

 

And Molly got a rocking horse that makes noises and moves.  She was just happy to be a part of it all and to eat tic tacks.

When all was said and done, Ben told the kids to sit down together so he could get a picture of them.  Little did they know, that their "special gift" was going to make it's appearance.....

christmas eve

Christmas Eve has always been my favorite day of the whole Christmas Season.  There is so much excitement, tradition, and joy.

 

We started off the day with the best French toast breakfast in the world at Kneaders.  When we all got of the car to go into the restaurant, I saw the William was wearing this.

Haha!  We just went with it. 

 

Believe it or not, after stuffing our faces, I went to the gym.  Let's just say my stomach was all sorts of mad the whole time, but it was so worth the yummy breakfast!

 

Ben took William and Luke Snow skiing in the afternoon (another budding tradition), while the older kids and I stayed home and made treats for our Christmas Eve party.

 

That evening we went over to the Dyers for our Christmas Eve party.  This tradition started three years ago with the Dyers and the DeLoreys.  We all get together, eat Nachos and other finger foods, play games, and hang out.  We rotate houses each year.

 

The party was fun and burned some of the kids excited energy...some of it.

 

We came home and the kids opened their pj's.

 

We set out some cookies for Santa, and carrots for the reindeer, read the story of Christ's birth in the bible, talked about the true meaning of Christmas, and then the kids "went to bed" in a fort they made in the boys room.  They were bursting with excitement and anticipation.  Oh, to be a kid at Christmas time!

Ben and I waited for a while before doing our "duties" of the night.  I drove to Midway around 10:00 to pick up our awesome surprise gift.  The snow was falling and the whole town was lit up with lights.  It was such a wondrous feeling driving through such a peaceful scene on such a special night.

I brought our special gift home, and we spent the next hour getting everything else set up.  And as usual, I got zero sleep because I was so excited to see the kids joy and excitement the next morning. Our special present may have contributed to the no sleeping as well.

mary girl turns 11!

Mary turned 11 this year.  She is growing up to be such a great girl.  She is becoming one of my best friends, and has a way of cracking me up all the time.  She is athletic, creative, funny, determined, and loving.  It blows me away that she will be 12 next year.  Where on earth has time gone?!?!

 

My kids have Birthday parties when they turn an even number, so we kept it low key for Mary this year.

 

All Mary wanted for her Birthday was a guinea pig.  She did the typical Mary thing, and spent months making a guinea pig obstacle course, learning about them, watching videos of them, and looking a pictures of them.  At least I can say she is plenty prepared for a animal when she wants one.

 

We have had guinea pigs before, so I was a little surprised that she wanted to go that route again.

 

The morning of her Birthday, we went to Petco and picked out her guinea pig.

 

I have to admit, she is adorable!!!  Mary named her Buttercup.

 

 

Obviously, Mary loves her!

 

 

She and her best friend Lydia got their nails done later in the afternoon. They picked Christmas colors.  It was fun dropping them off at such a cool Spa.  They felt pampered.  :)

 

 

That evening we let Mary have 3 friends over to watch a movie and eat pizza.  She invited Jett, Lydia and Eden.  They had a lot of fun playing with her guinea pig, teasing eachother, laughing and hanging out.

 

We also ate Mary's "cake" of oreo truffles and let her blow out the candles.

 

Overall, it was a great day for a great girl.

 

I will interview Mary later today, and post her Birthday interview when I can.

 

We love you so much Mary!  Happy Birthday.

 

 

 

christmas prep

Getting ready for Christmas is usually around a 3 month endeavor for me.  For the most part, I really enjoy it.  It is all part of the season, and it is fun for me to try to think of the perfect gift for a family member or friend, to go shopping with all of the Christmas excitement in the air, and to make yummy treats to take to neighbors and friends.  

 

The last two weeks before Christmas can usually be a little nuts though.  Remember, we have a certain someone's Birthday in there as well. :)

 

Poor Molly would feel a little neglected at times, with her mommy running here and there, and when I saw this, my heart melted! Molly LOVES books, and was following me all around one day begging for me to read to her.  I was in the middle of baking treats, and when I looked up, this is what I saw!

Sammy is such a kind hearted brother. 

 

This was the last big shopping trip of the season.  This precious girl was done!

 

During one day of running a lot of errands, Luke was watching a guy at a store refill a toy machine.  Luke was right next to him, checking out the mechanics of the machine.  The guy looked at Luke, and then handed him this stuffed Christmas toy.  It made Luke's entire day!  He squeezed it like this the whole way home.  I love nice people!

 

Mary requested oreo truffles for her Birthday cake again this year.  It is also the treat we take to teachers and neighbors.  This year I made 300 truffles.  And if that isn't already a lot, my mixer is broken and my blender couldn't blend the oreos.  I mixed ALL of the truffles by hand.  I had arms of steel by the end of the day!

I wish so badly that this picture wasn't blurry, but oh well.  This is what Molly did while I was baking.  She loves to sit in small containers, so she pulled out this Tupperware and looked at a book.  She is the cutest bookworm ever!