MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all! We love this time of year and the time we get to spend with our family and thinking about the birth of our Savior!

This girls was made for hats!

Getting ready for the Nativity play!

Park has the best reactions to presents! Everything he opened was like this.

You know Park's red pants? Well he has some blue shorts too, that he absolutely loves. The kids got new PJs and Park got all excited when he opened them, when asked if he wanted to put them on? "NO!" He agreed to the shirt but wouldn't put on the pants.

Most of the grandkids with grandma and their new hats.

Mister over stimulated cranky pants! He makes a cute cranky pants, though, right?

Getting into the Holiday Spirit!

It finally got warm enough for the snow to make a good snow man. We decided to make a girl.

Last night for FHE we made a gingerbread house and train.

Park wanted the train and Annicka the house.

Aren't they beautiful?

And of course I had to get a bathtub picture of Indie in. He gets so happy and crazy in the tub.

So, Annicka and Park got some crayons and coloring books from Aunt Maureen. I thought they were coloring in their coloring books. Apparently not. I went into their room and saw this on Annicka's sheets. I called Annie in and asked her, "What happened here?" her response?..."Park did it." "Annicka," I said, "Park, doesn't know how to write, let alone spell your name. What really happened?" I'm sure Park may have contributed to some of the coloring, but really? Your name? Part of me wanted to giggle at her very sorry attempt at lying. She came clean and her consequence for lying was that I didn't read "A Series of Unfortunate Events" that night while they were going to bed. Thankfully they were washable crayons and all I can hope is that she is always this terrible at lying.

Happy Birthday, Park!

For Park's Birthday we decided to go bowling. This was Park's first time actually going (you know, besides Wii bowling) and only Annicka's 2nd. We had a GREAT time!

We had someone in our ward who is trying to start her own cake business makes Park's cupcakes, they were delicious and it was totally perfect for Park!

Can you tell that Park liked his cupcakes?

And for his birthday he got a carpet to drive his cars on, along with a few new cars.

Happy Birthday, Park, we LOVE you! You are so happy and cuddly and you always make us laugh. You are so mellow, except for that stubborn streak, don't ever stop being stubborn! Use it to learn to be stubborn in good things. We are so happy you are part of our family!

Hallelujah and Praise Be!

As many of you know, Indie is not a good sleeper. He was sleeping through the night by the time he was about five months, and then he started teething. We then went on a trip to Arkansas, which really threw him off and then I had to go to Girls Camp about a month later and when I'd come home at night all he would want to do is nurse all night long, which just ingrained his bad sleeping habits. I've spent the last three months trying different sleep training techniques, none of which have worked. They worked for Annicka and Park, but not for Indie. I finally got desperate enough to let him cry it out. Last night he slept for 10 hours! From the time I put him down at 8:20 until about 6:20 this morning! HALLELUJAH!This is my favorite Indie face, he makes it quite often and it cracks me up!

Indie also took his first few steps a couple days ago. He's far from an official walker yet, but he is getting there.

Park's favorite thing to do with his pants is to roll them up to his knees so they are like shorts. He has a favorite pair that are red with elastic ankles. I hate them, he LOVES them. He can push them up himself without relying on mommy to roll them up. Well, today, like most days he kept asking me if he could wear his red pants. They are dirty and in the laundry at present. I've told him so several times already. Right now I can hear him calling, "Wed pans, where ah you?" (red pants, where are you?) in the same sing-song voice he uses when he's looking for Annicka when they play hide-and-seek. !Ay de mi!

Happy Birthday, Annicka!

Yesterday was Annicka's fifth birthday. We can't hardly believe that she is five years old already! We started the morning out with a trip to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. We had free passes, otherwise we wouldn't have bothered driving that whole way.
The kids loved all of the dinosaur statues and the playground they had there. They even got to feed the fish and ducks in the pond.

After the dinosaur park we stopped for lunch at McDonald's and then we stopped to see Grandma and Grandpa Minson in Layton on our way home.That evening we had cake and ice cream with family that was close (Grandma Chamberlain, Rob and Lori's family and Ross and Emily) and the next door neighbors.
Annicka was so excited for her cake that while we were waiting for everyone to get there she just sat and stared at the cake, even though there were plenty of cousins and friends playing all around her.
Park had a good time, can you tell?

And of course we had to include the funny picture of Aunt Lori. HA HA HA HA!

Annicka was especially pleased with her Tinkerbell outfit from Grandma Copple and Papa Jim.

All in all it was a great day! Annie, we are so glad you are part of our family. We love you and your smiles and silliness and we wouldn't be complete without you!

Indie's First Haircut

Indie's hair is quite blonde and let's be honest, you can't really tell if he has any from a distance. But, since I can see him up close and can run my fingers through his hair, I deemed it necessary to give him his first haircut today.

Before.

After.

Also, besides this being an after shot, Indie decided a couple of weeks ago that it is time to stand. He is already pretty stable. We expect him to be walking before Christmas. And because I just put that into words and wrote it down, he won't.

Happy Halloween!

So, for Halloween this year Annicka and Indie got to be on the news! Park, who was there, absolutely refused to get in the shot and just stayed in the background with daddy. The weather girl for channel 2, Lindsay, is in our ward and she gets to broadcast from wherever she chooses and she wanted to be around for her kids on Halloween and so she broadcast from in front of her house and invited all the neighborhood kids over to get in on the action. Here are some of the pictures Scott took.

It's a CRAZY life!

Well, the last few weeks have been quite full for us. Scott's brother, Ross and his wife Emily both went through the temple a week apart and were sealed on Saturday (congratulations!), Scott's grandma had a stroke and subsequently passed away (we miss you grandma Adams!), we had her funeral the day before the sealing, family pictures with the WHOLE of Scott's family (those pics coming soon), as well as time spent together. We've all had a 24 hour stomach bug (except for Annicka, she somehow managed to escape it) and somewhere in between I managed to finish my Humanities class and take the final for it. All while doing my best to keep up with the house and keep Annicka at preschool. This is a shot of me after Indie threw-up all over me immediately after nursing. The joys of motherhood!

These are just some cute pictures of my boys that Daddy took one day while I was out grocery shopping with Annie.

And our pumpkin that we carved for FHE on Monday. I figured we should start off the basketball season on the right foot. GO SPURS!

FHE

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am already tired of telling Annicka how many more "go-to-sleep-and-wake-ups" until Halloween and subsequently her birthday. So for Family Home Evening this week (after our lesson) we decided to make a chain that spans from now until Halloween, their birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was VERY long, but now she can count for herself and I don't have to keep telling her!

Crawling, Haircut and More Soccer

I got a new haircut a couple weeks ago. This time I went REALLY short. I had to try it really short at least once. I've found how much I like it. It's really easy and I think it looks pretty good on me. Maybe I'll grow my hair out again once I no longer have babies pulling on it.

Here is Annie and Park on the sideline waiting for her turn to go in. Annicka has really surprised us with playing soccer. She has been so tough and hasn't cried at a single game. She loves to chase around the pack of kids who are following the ball around and every once in a while she even gets her little foot in there for a kick.

I was checking on Indie during one of his naps. Apparently he fell asleep sitting up.

Indie has finally started crawling, but only after he could pull himself up to standing.

Once he figured out that he could move it has only ever been to places that he can stand up on. I guess this kid just wants to walk.

Where were you?

I don't usually do cheesy reminiscences because, well, their cheesy. Today I feel a little differently about it. Last night the Scouts were coming around putting up flags for 9/11 and Annicka asked why they were putting up flags again, they just put them up on Monday. This is the first year that she has been old enough to ask such questions. So I tried to explain by telling her that some really bad men flew airplanes into buildings and a lot of people died and so we are remembering those people and the people who tried to help them. I guess I was taken aback, I didn't expect to be so moved by her asking. I remember the day very clearly. I had just started my Freshman year at BYU. I had a 7am Spanish class and after it got out I was actually getting a permit for my bike when I started to hear people talking about planes and the World Trade Center. I rode my bike back to my apartment and turned on the TV just in time to watch the second tower fall. It felt like watching a movie. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I remember the fear and panic I felt. The sinking feeling of loss. Then when Scott got home from work today he turned on the news and we saw some footage from that day. He called Annicka in so she could watch it. They proceeded to talk about what was happening on the screen. He was explaining that a lot of people died, that even the bad men died. Then Annicka responded with, "but they'll be resurrected one day." Out of the mouth of babes. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation and the hope it brings in the midst of despair, for a Savior who was willing to make that plan possible. Even though life can be really crappy, and it will be crappy, our Savior is there to succor us, to give us comfort and strength, especially during the 9/11's in our lives.

An Amusing Day

So today was just a normal busy day, with grocery shopping and freezer jam making, but I have some funny stories to share.

This morning while I was doing my workout on the Wii Fit I gave the kids some frozen go-gurts. They took them outside to eat. After I was done I went outside to go take a picture for my neighbor, Summer. On my way across the lawn to her house Annicka stopped me. "Mommy, the sun is warming up my brain." I think she had gotten an ice-cream headache from eating it too quickly.

Then we went grocery shopping after Indie's morning nap. On the way from Costco to Wal-mart Annicka was sitting in the very back of the van and asked me to turn the air conditioning up to three. It was on one and so I put it to two. She asked, "is it on three?" Not seeing any need to argue about whether it needed to be on three or two I just said, "Yes!" Then Park, who was sitting in the middle where he could see everything going on outed me. He said, "No, mommy. It on two!" What do you do with a two year old who knows all of his numbers and letters?

Soccer

Annicka has started soccer practice and she loves it! Here she is running laps.

Listening intently to coaches Cameron and Nate.

What a kick! Look at that extension!

Scott told her to look mean.

Proud of her first battle wound.