A Very Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, and I think Pete was even more excited than the kids this year (which is unusual as he will tell you himself he is a bit of a Grinch), that is because he got the boys a pet snake! This took some major convincing to get me to agree - I'm still a little nervous around her and refuse to be present when they feed her (frozen mice) but she is very pretty and the boys (including Pete) think she is cool. Logan came up with her name - Genesis, there is a girl in his class with that name, but it is rather appropriate for a snake, lots of "s" sounds. Other than the snake, we all made out pretty well. My parents were very generous this year and bought each family a Wii - which we haven't stopped playing since - I'm hoping to get in shape with the Wii Fit. I now understand all the hype as it really is an entirely new way to play and it is more fun with multiple players which makes it great family fun.

We celebrated Kylie's 2nd birthday the day after Christmas. We always have our Bangerter Family Christmas party (my Dad's side of the family) on the day after Christmas, so this year and last we've just met back at my parent's house afterwards for cake & ice cream and presents. It is very low-key but Kylie seems to enjoy herself, I'm sure as she gets older we'll have to do something different, but for now this works well. I can't believe my baby is 2 already - but she has been acting like a two year old a lot more lately. Her favorite thing is to flood the bathroom by unrolling the entire roll of TP into the toilet and then trying to flush it, oh it is going to be a long year. It's a good thing she is so cute!

We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year! Oh, and Go Utes!!!!!!!

Christmas necessities

For me, there are a few necessities for the Christmas season:

1) black Friday shopping with my Mom - living 2 hours from any real stores, I try to get all my Christmas shopping done over Thanksgiving weekend and it is fun too (most of the time).

2) music, I LOVE Christmas music - that is what really gets me in the spirit - but I refuse to start listening to it before Thanksgiving - though I may cheat and play some on the piano before then - favorites: Kurt Bestor, John Denver & the Muppets, David Lanz, Enya, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

3) lights, preferably on a tree (and some years that's all there has been on our tree) but on the house is good too - I love to sit in a quiet room with only the tree lights on, it is so peaceful.

4) gingerbread cookies - thanks to Pete - he makes the dough, cuts them out, bakes them, and makes the frosting, he also does most of the decorating, though I try to help a little. They are very yummy and there are some friends and co-workers that have insisted he make them every year or else!

5) classic/favorite Christmas TV shows or movies:

*Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a nostalgic favorite - I use to watch it every time it was on TV when I was very young and cried every time it was over, now I get to enjoy it with my kids.

*It's A Wonderful Life - in B&W, not the colorized version

*Elf

*A Christmas Story

And I hope to re-start a tradition this year with my own family that we did growing up - listen to "Don't Forget the Star" by George Durrant. We prefer to listen to it rather than read the book, as the narration by the author and the music really bring it to life. It is nearly impossible to find on tape/CD, but I was able to find a downloadable version online at LDSAudio.com so I've got my own copy now.

For any of you who want to see Pete's "manly man garage" I refer to in our Christmas card, here it is (it's huge!):

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

Out with the girls

I had quite the fun and busy weekend. It started with going with my sister and sisters-in-law to the midnight showing of "Twilight" Thursday night (technically Friday morning). We had a great time getting amped up with caffeine before hand. The movie was good, not great, but then movies made from books rarely hold up to the high expectations set by the book. It was definitely worth seeing though, and we had fun. Friday night we went to Chuck E. Cheese for my nephew's birthday - hadn't been there before, and now I know why - CRAZY! But the kids had a blast. Saturday my sister Ally & I helped my Mom watch my nephews (and my own kids) while everyone else (except my Dad who was working) went to the Utah/BYU game, while we tried to watch the game on TV. (I'll try not to rub it in how awesome it was, and how poorly BYU did since I know there are some BYU fans out there who read this. hee hee) Ally & I then abandoned my Mom with all 7 kids and went to the Coldplay concert. It was totally awesome! (whoa, just went back a decade or two) They are a great live band, great sound, cool lighting, two large screens so those of us in the nose-bleeds could actually see what was going on, etc. The only negative is that it took them forever to come out on stage - 1 hour and 45 minutes from when the concert started. But it was well worth the wait. I enjoyed just hanging out with my sis, just the two of us, it isn't something we do very often. I love being able to get out with the girls and do things without kids or husband sometimes - and appreciate those who allow me to do so!

lions, tigers & bears, oh my...

Ok, so there were no lions, and we couldn't see the tiger, but we did see bears and other creatures at the zoo yesterday. An odd place to go on a Tuesday afternoon in November, but I had been promising Logan all summer that we would go to the zoo and it just never happened. So when I had some time off from work that I needed to use, and the boys had a day off from school (Veteran's Day), I decided it would be a good time to go. It was a little cool, but with jackets we were fine, and luckily there was no rain. And it certainly wasn't crowded, we practically had the whole place to ourselves. Grandma, Aunt Darci, Aunt Kerianne, and cousins Jace, Brighton, Cael, & Bode (and a neighbor girl Aunt Darci was babysitting) all came with us - more kids = more fun. This was Kylie's first time and she absolutely loved it - she loves all animals and enjoys making animal noises all the time. Logan had a good time, but was a little disappointed he didn't see a lion. Trevor was anxious the whole time to get to the reptiles and scorpions (such a boy).

I just tried to keep up, taking pictures in less than ideal conditions (glass and fences don't make for good pictures). All 3 kids fell asleep on the drive back to Grandma's - proof that a good time was had by all.

As a side note, I remembered to post the picture of our house with the new stucco job. We are thrilled with how it turned out. Now if only we could get some landscaping done... maybe next spring.

Krazy Kooks!

Ok, I vow here and now to have a calm and maybe even boring Halloween next year. This year was absolutely crazy - fun, but crazy! We spent most of the day in Bountiful at my parents' house. We drove in the night before - and we didn't have time before we left to even carve a single pumpkin. I got up early and worked for a few hour while Pete took Logan to another dentist appointment (am I just cruel to schedule cavity fillings on Halloween???). The boys didn't have school for Nevada Day (only Nevada would have their statehood granted on Halloween). We then got the kids in their costumes for a family party - this was the fun part of the day. I love it when we get all my nieces and nephews as well as my cousins and their kids together - it is total chaos but always a lot of fun. The kids tolerated having pictures taken, then enjoyed jack-o-lantern pizzas, pumpkin sugar cookies, pumpkin bowling, and just running around in the backyard, then had a mini trick-or-treating session amongst the adults there.

I then packed everything up and waited for Pete to return from running some errands, and waited and waited... The biggest frustration is he didn't have his cell phone with him so I couldn't call to find out when he would be back or to hurry him along. We had originally planned on leaving by 2:30 pm so that Pete could attend a friend's wedding back in Wendover at 5:00 pm (why anyone would choose to get married on Halloween is beyond me). Well we didn't leave until almost 5:00 pm - and then got 15 minutes out and realized we forgot something important and went back (in rush hour traffic no less). By the time we got back to Wendover it was almost 7:30 pm. I quickly got the kids back in their costumes while Pete wrapped the wedding present. I took the kids out trick-or-treating while Pete went to the wedding. After only a half dozen houses Logan started crying that he wasn't feeling good so we went home. Trevor went out with some friends to do a little more, while Logan helped me hand out candy, though we missed the big rush. I got Kylie & Logan to bed and crashed completely exhausted from the crazy day. So we had fun at the family party, but hardly did any trick-or-treating, never carved a pumpkin, and I didn't even get any photos of the kids on our front porch. I'm going to try to do things different next year - I definitely won't split the day between two towns 130 miles apart.

Twilight, stucco, dentist, and musical beds

I feel I've neglected my blog lately even though it has only been a few weeks. I blame it on my sister - she had been hounding me to read Twilight (the book everyone and their dog has read and loved), so I finally borrowed her book and started reading. Let's just say I haven't done much else since. It is awesome (but all of you who have read it already know that)! I've hardly touched my computer (except for work of course) -- I almost forgot to adjust my fantasy football lineup this week, my email inbox is overflowing, and none of the files from our old computer are getting moved over to our new computer.
I was hoping to be able to post pictures of the new stucco on our house by now but it isn't done yet. I've threatened it better be done before Halloween or else - since right now our pumpkins are sitting in the middle of our front yard, and it might pose a risk to have trick-or-treaters trying to get around/under the scaffolding to get to our door.
We all spent the day on Thursday in Bountiful. I had my usual once a month staff meeting when I go into the office to work. Logan and Trevor had dentist appointments to get cavities filled - Logan's first time, he did beautifully but he was in a lot of pain afterwards poor thing. We got in the night before as we typically do since there's no way I'm getting up at 4:30 in the morning to drive in the same day. It was a little chaotic at my parents' house - my brother Chuck and his wife and 2 boys are living in my parents' basement for a few weeks while they wait for their house to be finished so they can move in. We usually sleep in the basement when we are there so it meant an adjustment in the sleeping arrangements. Pete and I took my sister Ally's bed, she slept on the living room couch, the boys slept on the couches in the family room as they usually do, and Kylie slept in the bed in the playroom upstairs. Kylie did not do well, the different room and the freedom of a bed instead of a crib meant she was crying or wandering most of the night. I thought I finally had her to sleep around 11:45 pm but I later found out that soon after that she pitter-pattered downstairs and my mom was up with her until 3 am (thanks mom). Both my mom & I were up with her screaming at 4:45 am, at which point I just laid down with her and we both slept. She then woke up for the day at 6:30 am - I have no idea what she was running on with so little sleep, though she did take a good long nap that afternoon.
The kids sure have fun at Grandma's house especially with their cousins, and it is nice to be able to spend more time with everyone now that they aren't so busy with the farm.

punkins

We went on our traditional outing to my Dad's fields in West Farmington to pick our pumpkins. By the time we got there on Friday evening it was almost dark, and the mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen, but we were able to get a few good photos (the kids were very cooperative for a change) and some great pumpkins. We had to beat the stormy weather that was coming on Saturday so it was our only chance.

In other news the crew we hired removed the vinyl siding from our house and began the preparation for stucco, I'll post of picture of the finished product once it is done.

The boys finished up soccer and are getting excited for Halloween, with costumes selected and anxiously awaiting being able to wear them.

Kylie turned 21 months, is saying new words nearly every day, and is keeping us entertained.

ahh...peace and quiet, if only for a moment

Ok, I don't know what forces of nature were at work yesterday afternoon, but I finished up working, and came out to find this....All 3 kids asleep at the same time in daylight! Whoo hoo! Unfortunately I had to get ready to go out for the evening (not that going out was unfortunate, that was good) so I couldn't take a nap too. Kylie had a short and early nap so she needed another one, Trevor has been sick so it wasn't surprising he fell asleep, and Logan, well I think all-day kindergarten is wearing him out (better start getting him to bed earlier).

The peace and quiet was nice, especially since Kylie has been quite the mess-maker this week. Her favorite game is to take off her diaper which usually results in pee somewhere (floor, couch, etc.). But she has also taken a liking to dumping out every toy container in the family room, practically emptying a new box of Kleenex, and undoing multiple rolls of toilet paper. I can see she is getting closer to 2, it is only just beginning. Good thing she is so cute!

Ya gotta love kids

So I'm getting ready for church this afternoon, and Pete had just come home from work for lunch when I hear him yelling at Logan. I came out to discover that Logan and Kylie had been writing and drawing on the kitchen floor with markers (washable thank goodness). At 5 years old you would think Logan would know better, but he did it anyway and then let Kylie do it too. We made them clean it up and then it was time to leave for church. I'm just happy they didn't have any marker (or at least nothing too noticeable) on their church clothes. Ya gotta love em!

My first blog

Well I may be late to the party, but I'm ready to finally join the blogging world. I figured as a scrapbooker I need to have an easy way to document the happenings in our family, so when I get around to scrapbooking them I'll have a one-stop resource to find some good journaling tidbits.

I just have to say how much I love Fall - it isn't officially Fall yet, but around here it has felt like it for the last 2 weeks. I love the warm (but not hot) days and cool nights, the kids back in school and all of us back into a routine, and one of my favorite things of all - FOOTBALL! This year I'm playing Fantasy Football for the first time with my brothers, sister-in-law, and her brothers. I'm having a blast so far, even though I lost last week. But I'm smarter now, and I predict a win this week. And I'm lovin' cheering on the Utes (ranked #22) as usual.

The boys are in the middle of their soccer season, another great thing about Fall. Trevor is doing well, he is one of the youngest on his team, but can hold his own and his team is really good. Logan is playing for the first time, and like many his age has moments on the field when he spaces out - picking up leaves, sticks, or grass or pulling his jersey up over his head, etc. Then he has times where he will run around with the pack. He is having fun, and that is what matters.

Kylie is keeping us entertained and on our toes, like a 20 month old should. One of her favorite tricks this past week has been to take off her pjs and diaper when left in her crib too long. She asks to take walks in the "lo-lo" (stroller) daily. And monkey milk (our strawberry syrup bottle has a monkey on it) is the only way she'll drink milk.

Pete has been busy working on his garage/shop. His dad is here this weekend helping put the shingles on. It may actually get finished before winter - hooray!