Merry Christmas

 

O' Christmas Tree!

This is a little late but it is a favorite Christmas tradition of mine so I had to post it. At the beginning of December every year my family makes the annual trip down to Sanpete county where our family owns some land. Every year we get all the kids dressed in their winter clothes and hike up the mountain to find the perfect Christmas tree. Now we have done this since before I can remember so the perfect trees are getting low in numbers. This year I was very excited for a couple of reasons: first this would be Isabelle's first Christmas tree hunt and second the last two year when we lived in Las Vegas we didn't have a tree at all. Well this last weekend came and along came the first big snow storm of the winter. My family was all a little hesitant but I didn't care, I wanted a tree! Saturday morning came and there was a lot of snow on the ground and the roads were bad and it was still coming down. We made a family decision to wait until noon and then see what it looked like. All morning things weren't looking good and I was really not very happy. At noon my mom called and said be ready in 20 minutes we are heading down. We grabbed our stuff and headed out. For the hour and half drive down we were wondering if we had made the wrong decision as it was a blizzard out and the roads were not good. We finally all made it to the dirt road and good thing we have a four wheel drive truck which made it up the cabin. We got all the kids in their snow clothes and headed up the mountain. We walked and walked and hiked and hiked and had our eyes open for the five perfect trees. Todd found one for us right away and cut it down. Then I was super woman and carried/dragged it down the mountain all by myself (I was quite proud.) Then I headed back up to find the rest. After what seemed like along time and a lot of hiking in foot deep snow we had the trees. My feet were cold, my lungs were burning, my throat hurt from yelling from one ridge to the next and my arms hurt from me and my sister trying to saw down her tree with just the two of us....but we had the trees! We made it back to the cabin fed the kids some hot dogs and then jumped back in the truck to head out before it got too late and we got snowed in. Overall I think we were a little crazy but we made it out with five great looking trees. I was so excited as one of my favorite things is to smell a fresh cut Christmas tree when you walk in the house. So our tree is finally up and it might not be the perfect shape, or the tallest or the fullest but it is what I wanted!

Isabelle stayed in the cabin with grandma while we ventured out in the blizzard so this is when we got home! Next year she will get to hike with us!

Las Vegas, BABY!

This last week we had the chance to go back to Las Vegas. We lived there for two years and haven't been back since we moved away. It was really weird going back. For two years we called that home and then to go back and see where we lived was really weird. When we first moved down to Las Vegas I was not excited. I was happy that Todd was going to school and I tried my hardest to be supportive but moving away was not easy. We found a great place to live and had heard great things about living in Henderson/ Las Vegas. Everyone told me that it would be great experience and that the time would go by quickly. I didn't believe them. I will have to admit now that it was a great experience and time really did go by fast. It was great for our family and I learned and grew a lot. I was actually really sad when we moved, mostly because of the great friends that we had made. So I was so excited when we decided to go back for a quick visit. Todd had a conference this last week and so we went along for the ride.
We had such a great time, after the 6 hour drive. Isabelle actually did great on the ride. We visited our buddies that we use to see and play with everyday and had fun going to McDonalds and just letting the girls play. We had dinner with some old friends and stayed up late every night. Vegas is known for the great shopping so of course we had to go to the outlets and spend some money. We went to the chocolate factory and then saw the Christmas lights at the cactus garden with some more great friends. It was so fun to meet back up with good friends. When we lived down in Vegas we didn't have family around but I feel like we made friends that became our families. We had a quick fast trip but it was well worth it.


Isabelle and Jalena playing on the slide!

Isabelle at the cactus gardens

Isabelle- Leah- Addie

Happy Thanksgiving- a little late!

I have a lot to be thankful for this year and I am feeling bad that I haven't had the chance to right it down. So I guess even though this is a little late it is better now then never. As I have looked over the last year I have realized that I am so blessed. I am so grateful for many things in my life. First off I am so grateful for my wonderful husband. He works so hard and I don't thank him enough for all that he does for us. I am so grateful for my beautiful Belle. She teaches me so much and I love being a mother and having the opportunity to stay at home everyday with her. This year we are back in Utah with our families and I am so grateful for that. I am grateful for this free country that we live in and for all those who are sacrificing right now so that we can live the way we do. I am also grateful for the gospel and for the spirit in my life. I am so grateful for my life and for all the wonderful blessings that I have received.
We had a great weekend that began with a great morning watching the famous Macy Day Parade and then followed with a wonderful turkey dinner surrounded by my extended family. We then had a fun evening playing games and visiting. The next morning I decided to do a first for me, go out on black friday! I ventured out at 6:00am to go to the people packed stores with my list in hand. I was surprised but I got everything that I went for and only had to stand in line for 40 minutes. I love this time of year and I love being in the hustle and bustle of the season. I ended up doing a little more shopping with my mom and sisters later on. This holiday season is wonderful and I hope that we always remember how lucky and blessed we are.

I wasn't very good this weekend and I didn't get any pictures:(

Heidi In Real Life

This last week me and Todd went to the movie just the two of us. We haven't done this for at least two years. When we lived in Vegas it was to hard to find a babysitter and we were just to busy. Now that we live back by family I said it is time for just the two of us to go. We dropped Belle off at my parents and went for the night. It was so nice to just go with each other and not have to worry about a little one (I love being a mom and wouldn't change that for anything .) Once we got to the movie theater I remembered another reason why we don't go to the movies very often, they are so dang expensive. Todd gave me a $5 dollars to go and buy a treat and I couldn't buy anything with that. My husband is great and said that I was worth every penny that he paid to get the big refillable popcorn and drink. We went to go see Dan in Real Life with Steve Carell. In our house The Office is a show that is not missed and so when this new movie came out we knew it was a must see. Anyways this movie was great! I loved every minute of it. These days it is hard to find a good family show that you are not ashamed to say that you saw. Me and Todd were laughing so hard but then it could also be considered a chick flick- the perfect mix. I don't want to ruin it for anyone but it is about a single dad raising three girls and just the trials and experiences that he goes through in his every day life. It made me think about my every day life and compared to his at times, my life is a dream. I love my life and am so blessed in every way possible. Everyone has their own disappointments, struggles, and changes in their life but we always need to remember how good we have it. Lately all I can think about is how I just want to know what are future holds for us. Right now because of our situation that is a mystery. One line in this movie (which I can't remember exactly) said something like, If you can't plan your life then plan to be surprised. I totally needed that line. I love to plan everything out and know exactly what is going to happen but right now I can't do that so I am trying to plan to be surprised! I know that everything will work out and what happens is supposed to happen. So here I am trying to be Heidi in Real Life.

Crazy 8's

There are other games going around like this but I thought this one sounded fun. I wanted to do this because it might be a little challenge for me to think of these things. I love reading others blogs and finding out more about other people. So hopefully someone will find this interesting.

CRAZY 8'S

8 Things I am passionate about:
1. My wonderful, intelligent husband
2. My beautiful, caring Isabelle
3. My family
4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
5. My friends
6. Scrapbooking
7. Taking pictures of my family
8. Being outside
8 Things I want to do before I die:
1. Ride on an elephant ( I know I am weird )
2. Swim with dolphins
3. Go to the Macy day parade in New York
4. Travel all over the world- Europe, Caribbean, Australia, Africa, etc.
5. Own my own photography business
6. Visit as many Temples as I can
7. Go back to school and get my bachelors degree
8. Be in a Broadway production (again I am weird)
8 Things I say often:
1. Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!
2. Have a good day
3. Do you need to go potty?
4. No, we don't get treats until after lunch
5. I love you!
6. Are you alright?
7. Isabelle, come here please
8. Todd can you help me do .... Please!
8 Books I have read recently:
1. The Eclipse
2. New Moon
3. Twilight
4. Ensign (does this count?)
5. If You Take a Mouse to School
6. My Puppy Play Time
7. Tails
8. I Love You Forever ( I know, I am a little pathetic, but remember I have a two year old)
8 Songs I could listen to over and over:
1. I Love To See The Temple
2. I Am A Child of God
3. Wicked sound track
4. Inside Your Heaven- Carrie Underwood
5. Bless the Broken Road- Rascal Flatts
6. Military Taps
7. I Need You- Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
8. Sunny Day-Sesame Street
8 Confessions:
1. I often sleep in and take naps
2. I sometimes don't shower until after noon
3. I don't like chocolate that much
4. I definitely have OCD, and I drive my husband nuts sometimes:)
5. I watch way to much tv (thank goodness to Tivo)
6. I am horrible with numbers
7. I am a terrible speller
8. I want a bright red Volkswagen beetle
8 Things I am afraid of:
1. Bad guys
2. Being robbed or mugged
3. Raising my children in this scary world
4. Losing someone I love
5. Being asked a question and I don't know the answer
6. My house burning down
7. Big ugly bugs
8. Losing my memory
8 Things I have learned this year:
1. I need to have faith and everything will work out
2. How hard it is to potty train a 2 year old
3. Sometimes Heavenly Father gives us something that we don't want but it is what we need
4. I have no excuse to not go to the Temple often
5. I am very blessed to have the wonderful family that I have
6. Moving away from your family is a great experience ( I never would have thought I would say that)
7. Sacrifice only makes us stronger
8. My attitude can change everything!

I hope some of you do this on your own!

I'm a CHICKEN!!!

Isabelle was so excited for Halloween this year. We couldn't decide what she should be. At first I thought she would be such a cute cowgirl with her new boots, then my sister had a darling Dorothy outfit with the red shoes- which Belle loved and wouldn't take off, but then I found a great deal at Old Navy for a cute chicken costume. So she ended up being a chicken! I figured why she is this young and doesn't really care what she is I wanted to pick it out. In a few years she will pick out her costume and it won't matter what I think. Anyways she made the cutest chicken ever! On Halloween we went down to my sisters house so Belle could go trick or treating with her cousins. She was so excited all day and kept asking when we were going to get the treats. At every house she would walk up with the kids and say "Happy Halloween and Trick or Treat." Towards the end she was getting tired and her pumpkin bucket was getting a little too heavy for her. The whole night she walked around and would say bak, bak, bak but the later it got the more tired and slow the bak, bak got. Now all she can think about is all of her candy. The first thing she says in the morning is, " Can I have a Halloween treat?" She made such a cute chicken don't ya think?

The Chicken, Superman and Davy Crockett!

Another fun thing we did before Halloween was we went to see the witches at Gardner Village. Gardner Village is a place where they have all kinds of little shops and a restaurant. All around they have tons of witches that are life size and very fun. We walked all around and the kids loved it.

Halloween Fun!

For family night we carved pumpkins! It was Isabelle's first carving experience. She picked a face and then Todd helped her take all of the seeds out. She wasn't sure about this part. She is such a girly girl that she didn't want to get her hands dirty. She was amazed that there were seeds inside. Then me and Todd carved the face and we put a candle in it and turned off the lights and Belle loved it. We also recently went to Cornbelly's cornmaze with grandma and grandpa and cousins. The kids had a blast with the train ride, slides, giant pillow, pig races, hay ride, and of course the corn maze. Belle has so much fun with her cousins, we are glad that we live close so we can do fun things with them.
This was the cool giant bouncing pillow!



Belle and her cousin milking the cow!

Belle and Cason in the Maze!

Cowgirl Princess!

Having a two year old around the house is so much fun! One night Belle was playing in her room and she came out to me and Todd and said I am a cowgirl princess! Take a picture of me! She has such an imagination lately, I love it! We just bought her some new boots from Target and they are so cute and she loves them. Two year olds are very demanding but very entertaining. Last week me and Todd had to speak in our new ward. I am not a big fan of talking in church so I thought that Belle could help me out a little. Since she loves to sing and she knows a few primary songs I thought that would be perfect. We practiced all week and everyone kept saying to me that they didn't think that she would sing in front of everyone. She was very excited to sing in the microphone. The key to two year olds is to prepare them and tell them everything before hand. So on Sunday morning she was very excited and during sacrament meeting she couldn't wait. When it was my turn she went right up and sang the whole song of I am a Child of God, all by herself! I didn't have to help her once. I was so proud of her:) After she went down and sat with grandma and kept saying that she wanted to do it again. She totally stole the show and everyones heart melted! I am a very proud mom! This week Isabelle has had a bad cold. She woke up one morning and the first thing she said was,"I have boogers in my nose!" You have to love how honest kids are. I love staying home with my cowgirl princess!

Summer is Over!

We have had so much fun this summer that we are sad to see that it is already over. One of the highlights of our summer was when we took Belle to the Zoo. She absolutely loved it. She was so excited to go that she could hardly stand it. We took her in her stroller but she couldn't even sit in it. She ran from one animal exhibit to the next and would say, "whats next mom, whats next!" We saw the white alligator, which was really cool, the elephants, the new baby monkeys, zebras, giraffes and everything else. After a fun day and we were ready to go home we decided to stay to the bird show. We are so glad that we stayed because Belle loved it. We saw talking birds, falcons, eagles and Belle actually gave the bird a dollar out of her hand! She thought that she was pretty cool:) We have taken her to the zoo before but this year she really enjoyed it. It was so fun to see her so happy! For days after we went that is all that she could talk about. We are excited to go again next summer.

First Time for Everything!

So, lately I have visited many blogs and I have come to really enjoy them. I think that they are a great way to keep in touch and to keep track of what is going on in my busy life. I have never had a blog and I get a little nervous about doing something for the first time but I am excited to start. So here goes....

Well a little review of our lives over the last couple of months, we moved back to Utah from Las Vegas in May. We enjoyed Las Vegas but was excited to come back to the beautiful Utah. Todd is currently in his 4th pharmacy rotation and I am still trying to potty train Belle. She is quite the 2 year old, and I love every little bit of her. She keeps me very busy and never stops talking. She loves to sing and has quite the variety of songs that she knows. She has a very stubborn side to her and is going through the independent stage at the moment. She is teaching me patience everyday. This summer we have enjoyed many family reunions, campouts, bbq's, going to the zoo, trying to take Belle swimming, four-wheeling, and just playing outside. Belle is at such a fun age and everyday is something different and new. She keeps my life hopping and I enjoy every minute of it! Here are some fun summer pictures!