Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Oh Christmas Tree

The first weekend of December we headed up on the mountain to find our perfect tree. And its a good thing we went when we did. It started to snow a little while we were up there, but by the next day about a foot of snow had come down at our house, so I can only imagine what it was like on the mountain. Jeff and I hardly ever get pictures together so Adrianna was there and she took our picture in front of the lucky tree that got to come home to our house. (and yes that is my belly sticking out because I cannot zip up my coat)

Ashton thinks he is so big. He is always wanting to help do everything. He helps me bring in firewood, and we got a little kid snow shovel this year. He would stay outside forever shoveling snow if I would let him. So of course he had to help daddy pull the tree up to the car.

And here are my two little men. They love being outdoors and doing things like this. I hope that we can keep up this tradition for many years to come.

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

Yesterday the boys were finally able to have a real holiday tradition come true this year. We didn't get to go trick-or-treating. We had Thanksgiving all by ourselves. And...we won't be able to go to see the lights at Temple Square in SLC this year. Thankfully last night we had our ward Christmas Party and Santa was there.


You can tell that they both were a little stand offish, but there was no crying or screaming. Dallen had a wonderful conversation with Santa and even smiled for me.

I think Ashton told Santa everything he wanted and even added some that mommy had never heard before. On the ride home we explained that Santa doesn't bring you everything on your list :)

They picked people to act out the 12 days of Christmas. It was really cute and the kids really enjoyed it. Dallen was part of the Ladies Dancing, Ashton was a Pyper Piping, I was a Lord A Leaping, and Daddy didn't get his picture but he was a bird of some kind. He didn't get his picture because he was in the front, which is unfortunate because he had a beak on his head.

The Primary performed "Picture a Christmas". It was so cute. You would have thought that Ashton had a solo the way he positioned himself right up front and center. He was so cute, he wouldn't hold still and he only sang part of the time. I was so busy watching Ashton and taking pictures that I didn't even notice Dallen run on stage. He went in front of all the kids so he could stand by his brother. He even tried to sing along with everybody. Needless to say they were a hit.



The priesthood did "Silent Night". It was so pretty. And of course I had a hard time holding on to Dallen. He felt like he needed to join the men. The Relief Society and Young Women did numbers too, but I told him those ones were for "grils".

We had a lot of fun.

~Thankful Tree~

Last week for FHE we made a Thankful Tree. It was so much fun and reminded us of all the things that we are thankful for. We let the boys tell us the things they were thankful for on their own. Here are some of Ashton's: Wii Games, Red Shorts, Grandparents. Some of Dallen's were: Jesus, Pizza, and Cake. They were so cute and we weren't suprised at all by what they said. Today I am thankful for 6 years with my eternal companion Jeff. This year's anniversary is a far cry from last years, but I am thankful for it all the same. Dallen has been sick all week, and he has graciously shared that with Ashton and Daddy, who are now sick. (So not even an anniversary date :(, maybe next year.)
Year 6 has brought us a wonderful Christmas filled with the Savior and a love for a close family. Kidney Stones that stayed with me for almost 3 weeks and allowed for us to be thankful for family once again taking care of us. It brought us our last pregnancy and a great suprise that she is a little girl. It brought us a 2nd birthday and a 4th birthday of our wonderfully rambunctious little boys. The 6th year has definitely been one to remember, and I can't wait for the next one.

Awww....It's a Baby

Today Jeff had the day off so we had wonderful Aunt Sel show us what the baby looks like in 3D. The boys absolutely loved it. They sat on Daddy's lap the whole time totally interested in everything that was going on. She also made sure little baby girl had all her parts. As far as she could see everything was happy and healthy. Yeah!!!

She wasn't totally cooperative, but we did get some decent shots. Here is a little profile.

Here she is peeking through some gunk :). She looks a little squished.

This is her precious litte feet resting together.

(Thanks again Aunt Sel for squeezing us in today. Love Ya!)

Halloween 2009

This year I decided to get the flu the week of Halloween so instead of going to State Volleyball to cheer on Aunt Jamie, or going trick-or-treating, we decided to stay home and keep our germs to ourselves. Luckily the boys didn't mind. We let them wear their costumes and they trick-or-treated to Jeff and I. He had a bowl and I had a bowl. They even knocked on the doors. And of course we had a photo shoot. Here is Optimus Prime (From Transformers for those of you that don't know.) He has been wearing this costume everyday since Halloween. He absolutely loves anything about Optimus Prime and Transformers.

And here is the cutest dragon ever. He was supposed to be Bumblebee from the Transformers movie, but unfortunately we never found one small enough for him. He loved being a dragon though. Luckily my mom had this costume. It was first worn by Uncle Casey and then I think AD and Ashton when he was 1.

It was so hard to get a pic that wasn't blurry, but here they are showing how tuff and scary they are.

These two have so much fun together. I am so happy they have eachother and that they are such good friends. They didn't even realize they were missing out on anything.

Who doesn't like to win stuff?

There is an awesome giveaway going on at my sis-in-laws crafty blog, Miss MacMurdy's. You can click the button on my side bar to enter for yourself. Here is what they are giving away:

Here's the deal:
Leave a comment, become a follower and announce this giveaway on your blog and you can have up to 3 entires in the contest.
What you can win:
The first name drawn will win a FREE custom designed Christmas/Holiday card. That's right- you get a design that will be all your own. Send me the pics and information, let me know your style and colors of choice and I will work with you to create the perfect card for you!
The second prize is for a FREE design from my etsy shop. You pick it, send me the images and information and it is yours to print where and how you wish!
The third prize is for 50% off any design from my etsy shop.
GOOD LUCK!!!
(Please note that these prizes are for design ONLY. You will be responsible for printing and distributing your cards.)

It's just that easy and you won't be disappointed!

Family Portraits

Ashton came running in to show me his latest picture and when I first looked at it I noticed there was something a little different. He is always drawing pictures of our family, but this is the first one that included his baby sister, (Awwww). I immediately said, "Don't erase it, I have to take a picture." I think he was proud that I wanted a picture of his drawing. He is such a sweetheart. Just this morning he saw one of the jammies that we already have for the baby and he said, "Aww, mommy I'm so excited to see the baby." This is a fun and easy Halloween craft that you can do with any age. We did this for FHE. All you do is trace everyone's foot, cut it out and then decorate to your hearts desire. It was a little hard to trace the little ones feet, they thought we were trying to tickle them. It took two of us to work on Dallen's. Jeff decorated his all on his own, I think he did a great job. The boys both got to pick everything on theirs as well. Ashton was very specific. He wanted a scary mouth and a tie like Daddy wears. I think they turned out way cute and the boys love them.

"I looked out the Window and What Did I See"

Well it wasn't popcorn....It was something better. "Uncle Ronnie", came home from serving his mission for a little over 2 years. Most of these little cuties were babies, or not even born yet (Kinsey). Ashton and Livi were the only ones old enough to remember him, but you wouldn't have known that. All of these kiddos were excited to see him. Aunt Mandy even made everyone these cute matching outfits. They were the best looking kids around. :)

And there he is stepping off the plane. We were all so excited to see him. Uncle Ronnie was in every one of Ashton's prayers from the day he left to....well...he still is. There were lots of hugs and some happy tears shed. It was a great weekend and we are so glad to have him home safe and sound.

They are Soooo Big Now

This was a big moment for me as a mom. We went down to St. George to pick up Jeff's little brother Ronnie from his mission. We stayed one night in a hotel and up until this trip we have had a portable crib in the room with us. This time we decided to let the boys share the bed. This is the first time that they have ever shared a bed and they were so cute. I was worried about it, but it turned out great. They snuggled up to eachother the whole night and no one ever woke up. It really brought a tear to my eye.

~Happy Birthday Mom~

Happy Birthday Mom and Grandma! What would we do without you? You are always there for us when we need you and the boys absolutely love ya. You're the best! We hope that you have a great birthday.

It's A.....

GIRL!!!!

Many of you probably already know, but for those of you who don't, we are expecting our third little baby. I am 20 weeks along. When we first told Ashton and Dallen we were having another baby it took them a while to get it. We told them we were getting a new baby, so Ashton thought we were getting rid of Dallen. He did not like that. Once he finally got the concept we asked Ashton if he wanted a Girl baby, or a Boy baby. At first he went back and forth, but after a couple weeks all he wanted was a brother baby. So when we found out the baby was a girl we knew we would want to capture his reaction. It's all in the facial expressions. Enjoy!!!

A few weeks ago we decided to go golfing as a family with the Parsons'. It was kind of a stormy day, but it turned out all right. The kids had a blast so what more can you ask for.

These two were the actual golfers. Well Jeff is kinda new to the whole thing, but he likes it.

All the kids ended up in Mandy and Kalen's cart. That was fine with Jeff and I. Although they were pretty crowded.


I love this picture. We kept trying to get all the kids to look and smile at the camera. Dallen and Kinsey weren't having it and Ashton just kept smiling bigger and bigger.
Most of the holes ended like this. All the kids running around while the boys were trying to finish up.
Ashton loves golfing and they give him this little club in the clubhouse. He was always asking when it was his turn.

And not to be left out Dallen had to get in a couple of puts. They were all so cute and it is always good to get outside and do something different.

Check This Out

I have some super talented sis-in-laws. They have started a crafting blog that I think is great. If you like to be inspired by others crafting and get great ideas you should check them out. They also have Etsy shops where you can purchase the things they are working on.

These are some dolls, I mean Action Figures that Sally sent Ashton for his birthday. They are super cute and the boys love them. She also makes princesses and does custom families or whatever you would want....(I think).



My other sis Mandy does the cutest invitations and announcements you will ever see. If you have a party, wedding, or announcement coming up you should definitely check her out. She does a great job and has reasonable prices.

So here are the sites you need to go to:
The Blog: http://missmacmurdy.blogspot.com/
Sally's Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7435702
Mandy's Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7450543

You are Never Alone

I was really moved by this video today. I felt like I should post it for someone who may not have seen it otherwise.

I want everyone to know that they are never alone. I know that there are always going to be hills and valleys, we can't prevent them. We can surround ourselves with good people that we know will always be there to cheer us on. I hope that I can be the kind of person that is a good "cheerleader". So to everyone, keep going, you are doing great, I know you can do it, and if you ever need a helping hand let me know.

Who is Watching These Kids Anyway

Apparently it is not me. First I heard rustling in the silverware drawer so I yell into the kitchen that they better stay out of that drawer. Still I heard no voices. So I figured I better go see what is going on. I see them pouring this...... into their cups.

Ashton needed a spoon for his.

Dallen just drank his powder right out of the cup. You can't really tell in this picture, but he has a chocolate powder mustache.

Suprisingly the mess was minimal. Crazy kids. Guess thats what I get for not putting lunch away fast enough.

Quick Camping Trip

We went up to Wolf Creek Camp Ground on Friday July 31st in the afternoon and left Saturday morning around 9:30. Jeff didn't even get to the campground until after 10:00 on Friday night because he had to work. Even though it was a very short camping trip I am so glad we went. The boys had a blast and we got to spend some time with my Aunt Rene and most of her family and my Aunt Debra and most of her family.

This was Dallen's very first camping trip and it didn't take him long to start doing this....
Which turned into this..... And later this.....

The boys were so happy when my cousins showed up. They are my cousins, but my boys will probably claim them as their's. Ashton and Riley especially had a great time. They were fighting ghosts with these sticks running all over the place.
We ended with a nice breakfast. They must have been hungry because they actually sat still for a few minutes to eat.

He's My Man and I'll Brag if I Want to.......

Ha Ha...., but really it is Jeff Birthday today and I wanted to share his talent with all of you. I really think he is the greatest. Ashton, Dallen and I (along with many others) can listen to Jeff sing all day. But today he has to listen to us sing, "Happy Birthday".

Today is Jeff's birthday and as many of you know when you become an adult your birthday's just aren't the same. Toys turn into electronics and motorized things, hey I guess that one isn't bad, is it Jeff ;). You have to work all day, and your mom isn't there to pamper you. Instead you have a 4 year old that remembers your birthday all year and the first thing he wants to do when he wakes up is call you to wish you a happy birthday. And a 2 year old that talks a little but one of the best things he said today was happy birthday. (It really was one of the cutest things.) Oh and you have a wife to pamper you instead, (Yeah Right, is what he is thinking, but hey I will try.) I guess being an adult isn't so bad after all.

We love you Jeff. You are the best Daddy and Husband. I know a lot of other people think you are the best Son, Brother, Son-in-Law, Grandson, ect.

Happy Birthday!!!

Ashton is 4!!!

Ashton's birthday started on Saturday because Granpa Jimmy and Grandma Kathleen were out for UBIC, but unfortunately couldn't stay for his birthday and weren't going to see him on his birthday so he got some presents on Saturday night. When he woke up on Sunday he said, "Mom can I open my presents?" I of course said no honey you have to wait until this afternoon when we have cake. Then he said, "No mom my presents from last night." He was so cute. He was excited for primary because they were going to sing to him. Sunday morning I made his cake. Those spoons were full of frosting. It is kindof a tradition around here.
I should have had my camera on action shots because all my pics were blurry. There is just to much excitement when it comes to birthdays, the same thing happened with most of Dallen's pics.

This is the only present that Ashton asked for. It is called "Helmet Heroes" and he loves it. He was really spoiled this year. He loves everything that he got. Thanks everyone for helping to make a happy 4 year old.

And how could we have a birthday with out a cake face from Dallen. Gotta love him!