Our Merry Christmas

We have had a fun, long weekend. It began Friday. Danny finished his las final by noon and then we were off to have some fun. (3 semesters down, 1 to go!) We went to the Church History museum to see an exhibit just for kids called "I am a Child of God." They had a lot of fun hands-on activities for the kids and they enjoyed them.We then had some dinner and then a quick stroll through temple square to see the Christmas lights. I say quick because it was 20 degrees out and we were freezing. It was a fun time nonetheless. I am always amazed at the amount of work that goes into the light displays. They were beautiful.Saturday was spent relaxing and then Sunday was quiet as well. We spent most of Christmas eve day getting together the last preparations for Christmas and then we had a really nice evening. We made our own little pizzas for dinner (Jesse didn't like his-big surprise!) , the kids got their first presents, new jammies, we read the Christmas story and then watched Santa Clause 3 while having root beer floats. Next we read "Twas the night before Christmas" and then rushed the kids off to bed so that Santa could come.
Christmas day was fun. We opened presents, had a surprise visit from Umpy, had our neighbors over for brunch and then finished the night off with dinner with Danny's brother and family. It was a very pleasant day. I would have like to relax more, but we had fun and I think the kids had a great Christmas...and that's what it's all about! Now I can use my massage gift certificate and get real relaxed. That will have to wait until after our trip to California. We leave tomorrow. Now after putting this stuff all down in writing, I am tired! It's a good tired, though!We hope that you had a wonderful day, too.

Quick update

Danny had a second phone interview with Amazon yesterday and they promptly responded and invited him for a flyback and another round of interviews. If that goes well, the next step would be a job offer...keep your fingers crossed!

How much...?

My blog is worth $6,774.48.
How much is your blog worth?

My friend's was worth over $16,000, I think I got jipped! I'd take the $6000, though just in case you were wondering!

Slow week (well sort of!)

OK, so it's been a slow news week, but I wanted to post something anyway to keep myself in the habit (Sorry, no pictures of interest!)
Job front update: We have still not heard anything from Honeywell. The last we heard "they are working on something!" Meanwhile everyone else that flew back for interviews with them has received offers, yet they repeatedly told Danny that he was the most qualified of all the applicants that they interviewed that day...go figure. I'm starting to believe that words aren't worth a whole lot. We are still waiting to hear from Walmart and Ford. We haven't gotten the "although you have an impressive resume..." letter yet, so we figure we are still in the running. However, with the holidays upon us, I am sure that we won't hear anything until after the 1st of the year. One bright spot in the job hunt is that Danny got a call from Amazon.com this week and had a phone interview that went really well, he was even asked for a second phone interview, so maybe something will come of that. We shall see...is it too much to ask where I will be living in 4 short months?!?!? I'd like to start making some plans. Patience is a virtue, I hear...so I will wait, what else can I do.
We are nearly prepared for Christmas, I have a few homemade gifts that I am working on. Other than that, we are just waiting for Danny to be done with finals so we can go play. He has his last one on Thursday (yeah! and then 1 more semester and we are done with school!!)
In other news...I've been having dizzy spells for the past 4 days and so decided that maybe I should see the doctor. I went this afternoon and after taking my blood, it was determined that I am anemic, have low blood volume and my body is trying to compensate by making too many red blood cells and there is only so much oxygen to go around. Sounds complicated, eh? Not really, I just need to take a multi-vitamin daily and drink more water and I should be right as rain! or I could have a virus affecting my inner ear. Medicine is not an exact science. I always seem to get these strange, non-life threatening symptoms that there is usually no answer for. I am glad to know about the anemia, maybe I won't be so tired all the time once I get it fixed...or maybe not. Now if we could only find a cure for my itchy ears...I won't hold my breath!
Sorry...that was a lot for a slow news week. Sorry for rambling and thanks for sticking with me.

A BIG Thanks!

I just wanted to publicly say thank you to my good friend, Shayla, for the awesome new background. I love it! You're the best!

Through the years!

I know I am full of blogs today...well, it's a snow day, so I needed something to pass the time. I recently met up with an old friend of mine that I have not seen in years. We've known each other since we were 4 years old (that's 30 years-yikes! can I be that old?) Well, she sent me some pictures from over the years and I thought I'd post a few.My, have we grown...and I think we just get better with age

A little Elfin Magic!

Check this out for a little fun!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1240806503

Silly Dyl!

Look at this goofy grin. Dyl's started to know when to smile for a picture and he sure knows how to ham it up!I just can't get enough! He's also started to cling to blankies and stuffed animals. It is so cute when he grabs a blanket or stuffed animal and snuggles up to me. These are the moments that make it all worth it!
Along with the cute habits, he is developing some not-so-cute ones as well. He is becoming quite the hitter/scratcher/pincher/grabber of his brother and sister. It is daily now that they come crying to me that Dylan has abused them in some way. He has also learned "uh-uh" while shaking his head. He says it to any question that you ask. I think it's cute, but I'm sure it will get old.
Gotta love 'em for better or worse!

Look what I did!

OK...I know that we are not supposed to boast and I am really trying not to, but I am just pretty pleased with myself on this one! I participated in a thing called Pink Christmas. A lady that a friend of mine knows started it last year where you sign up to send a gift to a "girlfriend" that you do not know from anywhere across the United States. (You can read more about it at www.pinkchristmas.blogspot.com) The rule is that it has to be home made. They posted pictures of the gifts from last year and they were really good, so I began to get a little intimidated (most of you know how crafty/artsy I am...Not!) Anyway...I envisioned what I wanted to do, designed it in my head and then faced the challenge of actually having to create it in reality. Here is the result:I made one for myself that I am going to use as a necklace holder. This one is going to a lady named Cristin in Mississippi. I got it in the mail today (phew!)
I am so excited about this. I had so much fun doing this. I designed it, cut the wood myself (on a scroll saw...that was awesome and now I want one!) and even bought a Dremel to do the edging and such. I always dreamed of doing wood work stuff and now that I have had a taste of it, I am hooked! As soon as I have a house, I want to start collecting the tools.
Anyway...Just wanted to share in the excitement that I have had the past couple of weeks. I hope I didn't come off as bragging or being prideful, I just wanted to toot my own horn for a minute...and it's my blog, so I guess I can!

More pics

Go to the following link for some pics from Nov and today.
http://picasaweb.google.com/PoppyThatcher/RandomPictures1107?authkey=PIfSizuAiAg

Ready for Christmas and The First Snow Day

It's amazing how the world can change overnight. We had our first official snow day today and Jesse commented that it had snowed
because it was now December. Good observation!







Dyl's first real snow day! He loved playing outside with the kids and Daddy. I was surprised that he didn't pull off his hat or gloves.








The Widdisons built this snowman with the kids. It turned out so cute. They had so much fun. They are definitely the funner parents!




Last Sunday we decorated the tree. We just have a little tree because we have a little house. It is a very festive tree, however and it was so quick to set up and decorate. The best part is that the lights are already on it. That is definitely the way to go!






We even got to see Santa. Jesse and Grace knew that he was the REAL Santa because he had a real beard...Jesse touched it!







They also got to ride on the little train.







Our fun, creative neighbor, Emily, painted a snowman on her window in preparation for the holidays, so Jesse and Grace decided that we needed a penguin on ours. And here you have it. You may know that I am not an artist in the least, but my kids are my biggest fans, they make me stretch and do things that I would never attempt before. And to tell you the truth...I think that it turned out pretty cute. One more blessing of having children, they keep us reaching and being able to accomplish things never before thought possible. I know that this is a silly example, but they keep me on my toes in many ways that end up making me a better person (at least I hope!)
I hope you all are having fun preparing for the holiday season. I think this is the most fun that I have had in a long time! It's great to have kids old enough to get you in the Spirit!

Thing that I love!

I have been thinking about my life and my kids lately and decided that I spend way too much time focusing on the things that I don't like about my kids (their whining, complaining, messiness, etc, we can all come up with a lot of those) and not enough time thinking about the things that I love about them. So here are 10 things that I love about each one:

Jesse
1. I love that he is so smart
2. I love that he still likes to give me hugs, snuggles and kisses (how much longer do I have?)
3. I love that he is so sweet to his brother and sister (They have their moments, but when he's sweet, he's the sweetest!)
4. I love how he gives Grace and Dylan hugs and kisses before he leaves for school (Grace doesn't let him leave without it-again how much longer?)
5. I love his smile
6. I love how he is so concerned about doing the right thing
7. I love his energy (and wish I had some!)
8. I love how he is so helpful
9. I love how he is so responsible (as much as a 5-year-old can be!)
10. I love my big boy


Grace
1. I love that she is my little princess
2. I love her hugs and kisses
3. I love how she tells me that she still loves me "as much as ever" (quoting Strawberry Shortcake!)
4. I love how she can play by herself for hours at a time
5. I love her crooked little smile
6. I love how her eyes smile with her
7. I love when she sings
8. I love how she knows when she does something that makes Heavenly Father happy (and sometimes sad!)
9. I love that she is so bright
10. I love that little girl

Dylan
1. I love his goofy grin
2. I love his long eyelashes (and secretly covet them!)
3. I love his giggles
4. I love to kiss and tickle his cheeks, tummy and toes
5. I love how he sucks his little left thumb and snuggles under my chin
6. I love to just watch him
7. I love that he is starting to understand when I talk to him
8. I love when he wrestles with Grace and Jesse (it's so cute!)
9. I love his little lion cub growl
10. I just love that little boy!

What do you love about your little ones?

I've been tagged!

I am so excited that I got tagged for the first time by my friend Shayla. I am supposed to tell a few things about myself that you may not know. So here goes...

1. I am a wannabe woodworker and handy man!
I want to build my own furniture someday. I can never find exactly what I am looking for and if I find something close, it costs waaay too much money...so I decided I will just build my own. How hard can it be, right? My first project as soon as we are out of school will be a dining room table. I am hoping to be able to find classes that can help me learn some basics. I would also love to design and build my own house someday (with professional help, of course!)

2. I love to sing!
Many of you may know this, but I secretly would love to perform in a concert of sorts some day. I would have loved to try out for American Idol, but I was too old. I think that is age discrimination, maybe I have the makings for a law suit! I may never get to sing, but maybe I could get some money out of it!!!

3. I would love to live in a hut in Tahiti or somewhere else tropical.
We had a missionary in our ward in California and he was from Samoa. He said that they lived in a little hut on the beach and when they wanted a coconut, they just climbed a tree, if they wanted a fish, they just jumped in the water with their spear and caught one. It sounded so simple and uncomplicated. I would really love to live a simpler life like that. Who knows, it may get boring, but I would like to try it for a little while at least.

4. I bet I'm the only person you know that has been tied to a dishwasher with an extension cord!
When I was a little girl my grandparents lived with us. One day, I was supposed to empty the dishwasher and my dawdling got too much to bear for my grandmother (GG)....so she just decided to tie me to the dishwasher with an extension cord long enough to reach the cabinets. I was horrified and ended up kicking and screaming for about an hour. I wonder if that was better than the dawdling...at least I was happy doing that. Well, I'll tell you, now I can understand GG's feelings. I am tempted to pull out the extension cord with my own daughter. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you'd find her picture next to the definition of Dawdler! GG got her pay back!

5. I would love to go skydiving one day.
I really just should have done it before I had kids, now I have too much responsibility. Someday, though, when my kids are grown, I hope to do it. Who knows, I may get too old and chicken out, but as of right now, I would like to do it sometime.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope you enjoy reading. Let's see...who to tag? Shannon, Joanne and Sabrina. Go for it!

The joys of Fall and Halloween

At any given time we can have any number of neighborhood kids at our house raking and jumping into piles of leaves. We have the only good-sized tree in the neighborhood. They have so much fun and it is fun to watch them enjoying themselves. Now if only I could get them to pick them up!






Now...on to Halloween! Can I first just say that I am sooooo glad that it is over! It seems like we just do marathon holidays! We have been "Halloweening" since Friday night and I am just ready and glad to be done. Although a fun time was had by all.

This is at our neighborhood party. Can you believe all those kids! And that's just about half of the kids on our whole street!

The many faces of Jesse! How many costumes can we fit into one Halloween?

This is Grace with her buddy Katie (she lives across the street and they have become inseparable!) at the ward Halloween party. Oh and Grace insisted on doing her own make-up, Lovely!

Dylan with his pal, Luke (he lives next door.) Dylan absolutely loved going trick or treating and he carried his bucket the entire way with a "death grip!" Wo unto the individual who tried to help him carry it!


Our three little trick or treaters

Having fun in a shopping cart with neighbors, Emily, Isaac, Luke and Kyle Widdison (he's are pushing the cart) They're so much more fun than us!!

Last, but not least, these were our Jack-o-lanterns carved quite expertly by Danny.

We hope that you all had a fun and spooky Halloween as well.

Beach House 2007

 

That pretty much sums up our annual Beach House Trip!
My mother rents a house in Carpinteria (15 mins south of Santa Barbera) every year and this was our annual trip. The weather could not have been more perfect and sunny. On Tuesday, it was actually a little too warm, but we enjoyed the sun nonetheless. We were not looking forward to coming home to cold, but luckily it is a nice warm day today to adjust us back to Utah weather before it really starts to freeze.
We are sad to be home from the beach, but always glad to settle back into our own routines and sleep in our own beds. I love vacationing, but sleep is usually not the best when you have little ones. Dylan was up between 4:30 and 5:30 am everyday of the trip and then I was faced with keeping him quiet until 7:00 so everyone else could sleep. Oh well, that's life with babies! I did, however, get to sleep in today because Danny didn't have school. It was great, but still not enough. I don't know when it ever will be.
Just to catch you up on Danny's job hunt...He's had interviews with Honeywell, United Rentals, Union Pacific, Ford and Orica. They all seemed to go well and now we just wait to hear if he makes the next round of interviews. It's kind of exciting to think of all the possibilties that lay before us, but on the other hand it sure would be nice to know what we were planning for and where. These companies are located all over the United States, so we are just looking forward to knowing where we will be headed after graduation in April. Heaven only knows!

Family Photos

I had set an appointment a few weeks in advance to get some family pictures done (very unusual for me as I am normally a "last minute" type!) However, I was trying to work around all of our busy schedules. Well, I got the right outfits and my hair done and was all set to go. I even found the perfect setting. The time arrives and it all looks like it is going quite well....Then as we were hiking (walking up hill a little way) Jesse says that his tummy hurts. I thought that he was just hungry because in my haste to get everything ready for the pictures that day, I had inadvertently forgotten to feed my children lunch. Anyhoo, I told him that we would be done shortly and then we'd get something to eat. We no sooner began shooting the pics when Jesse says that he has to throw up...and he did (poor guy!) Good thing we were outside! Anyway...this is the results, they're pretty good considering.







How did I get such cute little kids and such a handsome hubby!!! I am blessed.

So I thought I would be someone more care free and romantic!

Take the Quiz here!

September!

We started the month off with our 7th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by going to The Roof restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake. It was beautiful. It overlooked temple square and we had a front row seat as the sun set over the Great Salt Lake. Afterwards, walked around Temple Square and took some cheesy photos. All in all a very nice way to begin our 8th year of marriage. I am grateful to be married to such a sweet, good man. I am indeed blessed.
The rest of the month has been somewhat of a blur...
Dylan goofing around on the stairs. He loves climbing up and down, especially if someone is chasing him.He is an "official" walker now and keeps us all pretty busy trying to keep up.Jesse and Grace had a little fun painting one fine afternoon!Yesterday we celebrated Grace's birthday at Preschool with some flower cupcakes (thanks Jamie, I get all of my best ideas from her!)Grace turns 4! She got a princess umbrella, a trunk of Princess dresses (which she was so willing to share with her brothers! Dylan especially loved it!) and a set of Princess shoes (do you sense a theme?!)We also celebrated by going to Build-a-Bear Workshop where the kids got to choose and make their own friends. They had a blast and it was fun to see them enjoying themselves.
I'd say a pretty good ending to the month. I am going to try and update this more often to avoid the marathon posts!

Oh, I almost forgot...

I just wanted to add one little thing... We love being home and the kids (and I) are mostly just enjoying our yard, swingset and trampoline. Especially Dylan. The first thing that he wants to do every morning is go outside and swing, ride bikes or jump on the trampoline. He is such a nut...he can't walk yet, but he will jump on the trampoline...go figure!

Go to the following link to see a video of Dylan:
http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1086704

Enjoy, but please don't mind the lame narration, I hate the way I sound on tape!

Time to play catch up!

I have been so busy since we got back to Utah that I haven't posted in a long time and now there's too much to catch up on...here goes:

We had a great time in California visiting with family and friends. These are our friends that came to visit us all the way from England. Sally (far right) lived with our family when I was a little girl. It was fun to see her and her family, we had a blast.

We got to play at the beach (one of our most favorite things to do!)

We also went on a Fairy hunt for my niece, Maddie's (far right), 4th birthday.

We got back to Provo on August 13th and hit the ground running!

We went with our wonderful neighbors, the Widdisons, to their family's cabin up in Provo canyon.

Jesse started Kindergarten at Edgemont Elementary (go Eagles!)

And he even gets to ride the bus! (What a big boy! *sniff*)

We celebrated Dylan's 1st birthday (a little late, but better late than never!)

On Labor Day we went up to Park City to ride the alpine slide, which was so much fun. Later that day, Jesse learned to ride a two wheeler. He did it on his very first try! Great job, Jess! To round out the week, both Danny and Grace started school and life is in full swing. I will post pics of Grace's first day of school and Jesse's first bike ride as soon as I get them from my wonderful neighbor, Emily. (my memory card was full!)

So that is what's been happening with us. You should be all up to date now!