Broken camera

I went all of Christmas with a broken camera. I took a few pictures on my phone, but this computer isn't cooperating and allowing me to connect my phone up to it so I can get the pictures. So this will be a pictureless post. Darn technology.

I finally took my camera in to get fixed and it's going to take 4-6 weeks until I get it back. Great. We have a baby and a baptism coming up before then.

Cassie had a birthday before Christmas and I really wish I had pictures of it. They are stuck on my camera from before I realized it was broken. She had her first friend party and we made gingerbread houses. I was smart and had the houses all set up so all they had to do was frost and decorate the outside. Worked perfect. She was thrilled about the bike she got and the few arts and craft things too. She loves to create things. Cassie is such a little blessing in our family. She is our giggly little girl who loves to sing, read, mess her room up daily, and stay awake for at least an hour after we tuck her in at night doing whatever it is she does. (Read, play, write notes to us and her friends, etc.)

Christmas was very relaxing. Candace and her family came and spent the whole break with us. Our husbands took turns working and we just hung out and enjoyed a quieter Christmas this year. Jason took all the kids to a couple of movies. And I ate a lot of food. Too much, actually. The kids all played really well too. We broke down and got a Wii and have had some fun family time on it. We also got one of those indoor double player basketball arcade games for the basement. That has been really fun as well. The girls enjoyed a Christmas of mostly barbie stuff. I can't believe how much Claire loves barbies. She'll play quietly upstairs with them for hours. Oh, and there was a ski day in there too. I love that Dylan loves to ski so much. Cassie, not so much. But she was sick that day anyway and stayed home with me and the little ones.

Dylan has been playing basketball again and LOVES it! He has really improved this round too. I think it helps that he knows most of the team so he is a little more aggressive. It's fun to watch him steal the ball and then go make a lay-up. Plus or minus a bit of travelling and double dribbling. =)

And in other news, I left the valley yesterday! Amazing eh? I think it has been at least 6 months since I have been out of the valley. Oh wait, we did go to Disneyland in the Fall. But besides that, there hasn't been anything to leave for. Thanksgiving was here, Christmas was here, the Folsom Christmas party was here, family visits were here, etc. etc. etc. I am a home body, so it all worked out anyway. Nate finally had a full weekend off and as we were driving home from basketball games at noon yesterday, we decided it was time to leave the valley. I ran in the house, grabbed a change of clothes for everyone and we left. We visited some of his family and stayed at Candace's. And.... I did a much needed Target trip. Although it was a very quick Target trip, it was still a few minutes in my favorite store.

This pregnancy is going good. I was really starting to hurt a lot so I stopped exercising last week and I feel better now. It's nice to have an excuse to not work out for a little while. =) The doctor thinks I'll have this baby early, but I'm not too ready yet. I'm actually a little nervous, it's easier to take care of this baby when it's inside of me. I'd much rather do the end of the pregnancy than the beginning. Yuck, I hated that part! Although I am excited to see what he looks like and have him be a part of our family. If only there was a name I loved. Any help there?

December

December is a little crazy with so many things going on. I think I've had a headache for a week straight, but now that I've got most of my shopping done it is going away. So many parties going on and just little things to worry about. But I love it all! We wanted a real tree this year and when I was driving down main a couple of weeks ago I saw a sign that read "Christmas trees grown from Kalispell, MT". So of course, we had to get our tree there. I'm a pretty simple decorator, but I love our tree! Now if only I could take a decent picture of it...


We also have a visitor from the North Pole who is magical. His name is Christopher Pop-In-Kins. He watches the kids in the day from a high spot where he can't be touched. He leaves during the night only to return to a different spot in the morning. He loves to show up in random places and the kids love trying to find him everyday. He will report back to the North Pole a few days before Christmas on the behavior of our children. Not sure if he is making a difference in their behavior or not. =)

Dylan woke up one morning to a herd of deer in our back yard. He took a picture of them as they were leaving and then came and showed me in bed. We love seeing all the deer around here.

I had a birthday on Sunday and enjoyed the day with family. We went to dinner and an Aggie game earlier in the week and pretended that was my birthday. It was a good week.

This pregnancy is going well. I am 29 weeks and people are finally brave enough to ask if I am pregnant. Being in a new ward, they must of all just thought I was getting fat. This is when I really start to grow. I get contractions easily though, so I've had to quit zumba and running. But I love my recumbent bike. We spend a lot of time together.

Disneyland

We went on our 2nd annual trip to Disneyland in November and this time we coaxed my parents, Lani, Jesse, Chad and their families to come with us. It was So. Much. Fun!! Seriously, what a group we had. Lots of laughs and memories made. Lani and I missed out on some of the big rides since we are both growing a child (or in Lani's case, I should say "children") inside of us. But it worked out great. We would watch the younger kids, get lots of stroller passes so that everyone could get right back on the ride, and then navigate so we knew where to head next. The weather was perfect and we got lots of exercise as it seemed like we were walking all day long for 3 days straight. It was kind of funny because Claire was just barely tall enough for most of the big rides. Finally, a year where my kids can all go on the rides, and I couldn't. But I was just happy to be there. I love Disneyland!!! Nate and I were really hoping to go on a trip with out kids, but in the end, we both wanted to go to Disneyland. I didn't even take my camera, so the few pictures that I did take are with my phone (and of a computer screen on top of that). So not the best quality. I'm sure my family will appreciate most of these pictures.

Girls

Cassie loves to pose with Claire for pictures. Sometimes Claire likes it...




Sometimes she doesn't...

Basketball

Dylan finished basketball at the end of October and really loved it. He will start up again in January. He plays every day at recess and has already worn through 2 pairs of shoes this school year. At least he is having fun!

Family pictures

Thanks to the lovely Kristen Wilkerson for lasting through this shoot.

Random

We've had our ward carnival already and I thought I'd put these up in case I procrastinate blogging again.

I was trying to capture the Fall colors behind our house...

Cassie wishes so much that she had long hair. She taped her blanket on her head and insisted on us calling her Rapunzel. Notice the tape? I distinctly remember putting towels and blankets on my head too. Poor girl, she'll probably never have long hair, thanks to me.

Claire, on the other hand, was blessed by not having my hair. But hers only looks this cute when the aunts come to town.

I wish I'd gotten a better picture of this, but notice her whole right leg plastered with band aids? This is a frequent occurrence at our house. I think she "bumped" into the couch. And I really don't mind buying band aids every month because I was able to cook a whole meal while she applied these.

I am not crafty or into creating things in the least, but I was very proud of myself for putting together this huge magnet board. And it really is huge, like over 3.5 feet by 5 feet. I really needed something for that wall in the back entry. It works perfect for all the kids' projects and random papers. The lockers, a bathroom, the laundry room, and a drinking fountain are all back there too. I love it!

Cassie lost her first tooth a couple of months ago while she was eating a frozen gogurt. She lost a 2nd one a couple of weeks ago while wrestling with daddy. My kids have learned that if they leave the tooth, along with a paper boat and a candy in the boat, all under their pillow, then the tooth fairy will bring them an extra quarter with their dollar. The tooth fairy will only do that once though, even if they keep trying to come up with new ways to get money from her.

And finally, I was so proud of my kids as they finally ventured out of our dirt yard and up the hill for the first time after living here almost 3 months. You see, there were big rattlesnake scares here this summer, especially in this area. But fortunately, we never saw any. The ER usually sees 2 bites a year at the very most, and this summer they had 7 bites. Gross! And man, were my kids (and myself) freaked out to even be outside. They would close the garage door and ride their bikes inside the garage. And when they did play outside, they sometimes played baseball and they would make Claire go get the ball up in the field when it was hit up there. Silly kids. And to make things worse, our neighbors have seen cougar tracks in their back yard. Someone said they even saw one. Scary! Where did we move our family to?? So yes, I was very proud to see my kids venture out a couple of weeks ago. (Only because rattlesnake scares are over right now. I think. And the cougars supposedly come out at dusk). You can barely see them, but they are there...