Merry Christmas

We've had such a great holiday season. I can't believe all of the snow we have received so far this year. This morning we woke up to almost a foot of snow in our driveway. Why can't it stay in the mountains?



Last Saturday night we had our annual party with Mark's family. It was a small gathering due to the fact that Ryan (Mark's brother) is in England serving a mission and Kim and her family moved this past June to Kansas.

After dinner and a movie, we opened presents in their basement. Kim sent a framed picture for her parents. Nothing unusual about that, but there were packing peanuts in that box and the kids found it. They had a great time making a huge mess. The packing peanuts were everywhere!







The kids were having the time of their lives and we couldn't help but laugh. The peanuts were stuck to our clothes, up the walls, drug upstairs...everywhere! We had to get out the shop vac to tackle the job.

Christmas Eve was spent at my sister Karyn's house. We were lucky enough to visit with Jon's parents who were up from Arizona for the holidays. We had a delicious dinner of steamed clams, prime rib, shrimp and potatoes. My brother in law Jon is such a great chef. It is always fun to eat at their house!

Who needs a fork?

Don't you just love Charlie's crazy hair!

Mark and grandpa Dick.

The chaos!

Steve and my mom gave these great teepee's to each family. Will and Ben are going to sleep in their new sleeping bags from them and the teepee tonight.


Thanks everyone for all the nice gifts and great company!

Christmas Day

We told our kids that they couldn't wake us up until eight o'clock and they were great. They showed up in our room earlier and we sent them back to bed. At about ten to eight, they showed back up, anxious to begin the unveiling. We slowly made our way downstairs. Will and Ben had already sized up their packages and everything in their stockings. I think they knew what they had received even before they opened their presents.

I left my camera at my sister's house the night before. So, I was bummed that I didn't get any pictures. My mom and Steve braved the snow to venture out to everyone's house to see what the kids got from Santa. They even ate a little french toast at our house to hold them over until brunch with my grandpa.

We didn't make it to Mark's parents to be able to talk to Ryan, who is serving in London. If I had known we could call him from home like his sister did, I would have pressed the issue. It sounds like he is doing great, busying himself with the work. After missing Ryan's call, we headed to his grandmothers house for a little get together with the Cannon side of the family.

We were all pretty anxious to get home. The kids really wanted to play with the toys they had received for Christmas. I was also able to swing by my sisters and pick up my camera. After all, I needed to take some pictures of my cute family on Christmas Day!

A little naked rock band anyone? Luckily Max was the only one naked!

Merry Christmas!

For DeDee

DeDee, this one is for you!
I had the best job a few years ago. It was perhaps the best, funnest job ever. I went part time after I had Will and quit when I had Ben. I worked at a small, local mortgage brokerage named City Mortgage. I made a great friend there named DeDee. We would totally goof off when the boss was away. We had so much fun. Our boss, Bob would frequently head up to Jackson to fly fish, and well, while the cat is away...you know the rest.

We worked with the funnest group. Just a bunch of people my age and we had such a great time. Brandon Burbidge did the worm. He was really good at it, too. He would catch air! Our other friend Brandon Woolston wore his mission shoes every day, even after being home from his mission for over a year. I finally had to confront him one day, it wasn't pretty. On Fridays, you'd find us in the conference room playing Rook most of the day. There are so many great and fun memories I could share!

My friend DeDee went to a Stake Dance and was dancing with this guy that did the craziest dance to this song. One day at work, DeDee played this song and mimicked his dance without hesitation. I nearly peed my pants! I was reminded of this dance tonight and had to call her. I think she should get her kids to video her doing the dance and post it on her blog. I challenge you DeDee!!!

(I can't believe they played this song at a CHURCH DANCE! After listening to the song in its entirety, I realize now that it is all about doing Cocaine.)

50 Things

50 Things You Didn't Know About Me Until Now

Thanks Stephanie!!!


1.What color is your tooth brush? Purple
2. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Eating a tuna fish sandwich with Max
3. What is your favorite candy bar? Don't really eat candy bars...Mint Milky Way
4. Have you ever been to a strip club? No
5. What is the last thing you said aloud? "Max - GO TO SLEEP"
6. What is the best ice cream flavor? Chocolate & Vanilla
7. What is the last thing you had to drink? Diet Coke with fresh lime
8. What are you wearing right now? sweats and a sweat shirt
9. What was the last thing you ate? lunch
10. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Yes - 3 Gap sweaters
11. When was the last time you ran? ran? what is that?
12. Who was the last person to send you a message/comment on your blog? My cute friend Michelle from the Gap
13. Do you take vitamins daily? Prenatal vitamins
14. Do you go to church every Sunday? Yes, mostly :)
15. Do you have a tan? no way
16. Do you like Chinese food over pizza? That is a hard one. Maybe pizza.
17. Do you drink soda with a straw? only when I am at a restaurant
18. What does your last text message say? That my Verizon bill is ready - yipee
19. Are you someones best friend? yes
20. What are you doing tomorrow? Going to dinner with friends!
21. Where is your dad? who knows!!!
22. Look to your left, what do you see? A clock
23. What color is your favorite pair of shoes? burgundy patent leather ballet flats
24. Do you use chap stick? every night before bed
25. Whats your favorite thing to do in your free time? facebook, blog and read
26. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? drive-thru - those places are nasty!
27. Do you have a dog? no way! Been there, done that, not again! I tell my kids that they can when they have their own house or that Max is our little puppy!
28. Last guy you talked on the phone with? Mark
29. Last girl you talked on the phone with? My mom
30. Any fun vacation plans soon? nothing yet. Waiting for status on Mark's job.
31. Do you dye your hair? Totally!!! Darker than my normal.
32. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Never tried
33. Do you have a maid service clean your house? Every other week. Couldn't live without her!!!
34. Are you jealous of anyone? No
35. Do you love anyone? Many!
36. Do any of your friends have children? Most of them.
37. Do you use the word Hello daily? No, more of a "Hi" girl
38. Do you like cats? No way!
39. Have you ever been to six flags? Nope.
40. How did you get your worse scar? I don't really have any scars.
41. What is your favorite smell? Clean baby
42. What is the last DVD you watched? Get Smart :(
43. Have you ever been to Disney World? Yes
44. What is your favorite number? Don't really have a favorite.
45. Do you toast your pop tarts? Don't buy pop tarts. Are my kids neglected?
46. Have you ever waited tables? No
47. Where did you have your first kiss? On a cruise when I was in 9th grade. Some boy from Virginia. haha
48. What should you be doing? Folding laundry. Lazy day at home :)
49. Do you enjoy wasting time blogging? Love it, but love facebook more!
50. Who do you want to tag? Anyone that wants to.

Bye Bye Love

I am a big believer in binkies. All of my kids had them and adored them. Will often had to have one in each hand and one in his mouth before calling it a night.

Each one of my kids had special names for their loves. Will affectionately referred to his as his "Muh", Ben named his "kiky" and Max's was "kikers". They loved them!

There is a window in which you can take them away and I think we waited too long with all of them. Partially because we weren't ready for the heartache that was to follow. When we would put Will to bed after he was in a twin, we often had to lock him in his room. Well, to torture us, but it only hurt him, he would slide his out underneath his door. It was the funniest thing!

Thanksgiving Eve was the last time Max got to put a kikers in his mouth. He didn't even get to say goodbye. We always left them home, only letting him have them in his bed. Well, after he threw up on the way to dinner, he fell asleep on Mark without his love. That night, after returning home, we laid Max in his bed without a binky. He lovingly asked for one, but I plainly told him that he couldn't have one. All he said was "okay mommy." What an obedient child! He's napped great without it and slept at night without it. He has been a dream. Today he's been a little ornery and he asked for one before church. I graciously declined. So, tonight I'm going to throw them away.

I'm very excited for the extra space on my shelf all those "kikers" have been taking up. I'm also excited for that ugly rash to disappear around Max's mouth. He's had that rash for weeks and it won't go away. Now it will!!

GO UTES!!

Last Saturday Mark and I left the kids with his parents and ran away. We went to a late lunch at Happy Sumo with Sarah and Kevin to help them celebrate their 12th anniversary.

Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know that we were there. We were at the best game of the season. We have season tickets and have for three years. It is so much fun to go to the games. Last year we bought tickets for everyone in our family, but this year, we upgraded our seats and just got two. Mark was able to take the kids on a little date night with dad. They loved it! Will went to the TCU/Blackout game and Ben went to the Oregon State game. I was able to go to the rest of the games. The kids really wanted to go to the BYU game, but I got to choose. And, because the weather was nice and not snowy, I chose myself. They were a bit disappointed, but they got to go have a party with everyone and watch the game in a warm house!



The game was AWESOME! And, I usually don't watch too much of the games. I like to watch the people - they are so much more interesting.

Too bad Mark can't leave work for year end or else he'd be in New Orleans or Arizona cheering on his Alma mater. GOOOO UTES!

He's watched the game in HD at least twice times since the game. And, he won't let me delete it off Tivo because he plans on watching it again. Tonight he is watching clips on You Tube. The kid is obsessed!

The Rack

Nordstrom Rack is opening a new location in Sandy, just East of South Town Mall!!! I am so excited. Check this out.

Raingutter Regatta Hijinx

Lisa couldn't bring herself to write about this event - so you get me (Mark) instead. The annual(?) Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta was tonight. Over the past few days, Will and I worked together to craft his vessel. He particularly enjoyed using the electric sander to smooth out the hull and painting it five or six different colors.

He christened his craft the Pokemon Ship and we were off to the event. As the heats unfolded, it became apparent that we had chosen a somewhat unorthodox (and apparently illegal) design. I was a bit surprised to find this out since I had specifically called the Scoutmaster to find out if there were any rules a few days ago. At that time, he suggested we sort of just go for it and so we did.

Since this was our first crack at the Regatta, I did the obligatory Google search and discovered some very serious (insane?) Regatta enthusiasts out there. Some have devised their own super-secret designs for dual-hulled Raingutter Catamarans and other offered custom regatta kits and plans for sale. Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming.

Ultimately, I fell back on lessons learned during my three-year run of undefeated Pinewood Derby cars from my time in Cub Scouts. Back then, I learned that you wanted as little resistance as possible, so Will worked very hard to sand and shape the boat to glide through the water easily. I also recalled the concept that it was best to have the weight in the back, so we pushed the metal keel as far back as possible. This changed the balance of the boat and kind of made it plane on the water rather than nose dive into the water as many of the other boats did.

The last improvement was what ended up being the most controversial. I figured that the key to winning was stability. So we skipped using the mast and glued the sail directly to the boat causing it to stand up in a semi circle, perpendicular to the hull of the boat. This created a nice little pocket to catch the air and since it wasn't so far up in the air, the boat didn't tip like the others. It was also very firm. So as Will blew, the sail didn't really bend.

So..... the result was that most of Will's heats ended up with a margin of victory about like the one in the photo below.

Fortunately in the end, they really didn't make a big of a deal about who won or lost, and everyone had a great time. Will went home very happy after having won every race he ran.

So now... I am "that guy." The guy who takes it all too seriously, or something. I guess I'd better get working on next year's design. I have a reputation to uphold.

Cookie Anyone?

The germs will cook out, right?

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween. Monday evening we went to the Garden After Dark at Red Butte Gardens. We went with my sister Karyn and Jon and their kids Charlie and Lily. My brother Kenny also went with Camden and Emerson. The kids had such a great time! It was perfect for them, not scary at all!

Max, Charlie and Camden playing in the Children's Garden.

Making grass monsters - Ben, Max, Will and Lily in the beautiful yellow wig.

Black light - the kids loved this part, our teeth looked crazy yellow, just like Lily's wig!

Will and Max with their spider hats.


So, with my kids being off track, we sometimes go to my mom's school for the Halloween parade. So, this year we obliged and headed to her school Thursday morning. All of her kids were so anxious to meet Will and Ben. They'd heard so much about them!

Will and Ben even got to stay for their class party! My mom was a fly-fisher woman, walking around in her whole get up that Steve gave her while they were dating.

We've all been a little sick around our house the past couple of weeks. A flu bug that bugged us all, but not Mark. He lucked out! Unfortunately, Will came down with it on Halloween afternoon. He didn't feel much like dressing up. He wouldn't even let me paint his face. He was the "Skull Reaper", Ben was Batman and Max was an elephant and Winnie the Pooh. He decided to change halfway through the night.

As you can see, Max was a little tired. Once we got some candy in his system, he was good to go!

Will managed to get semi-dressed and Mark took them around our neighborhood. The night was so nice. I sat on the porch, reading a book and handing out candy. It was great!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Election Map Fun

The election map part starts about 1 minute in. Just a little somthing to make you laugh. I know you'll all be thinking of this skit tonight as we watch the results!

End of Season

It's official, Will's first football season has come to an end. They had a great season and really learned a lot about the game. Mark was Will's coach and loved every minute of it. I wasn't silent about not liking the time away from the family. It was hard. They were gone a lot and it kept us grounded at home. Practice started the end of July, and just barely stopped.

Mark is planning on coaching next year, this time with both Will and Ben on the team. He hasn't admitted it to me yet. I think he is keeping it secret so he can have a good holiday/spring/early summer with me!!! Is that bad?

It was a great bonding time with Mark and Will. And, I loved watching the games (when I could). Max wasn't really interested.

Now.....on to basketball! (I NEED A GIRL!)

Eight

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. Greys Anatomy
2. Desperate Housewives
3. Dr. 90210
4. The Hills
5. The Office
6. Good Eats
7. Lipstick Jungle
8. News

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Big City Soup
2. Caputo's
3. Happy Sumo
4. Dodo
5. Pistol Pete's
6. Red Butte
7. Tarahumara
8. Red Iguana

8 Things that Happened Yesterday
1. Ben trowing up down the side of my car
2. Celebrated my grandfather's 84th birthday
3. Had THREE closings :)
4. Went to the Zoo with my sister
5. Went through the car wash to was the barf off my car
6. Hugged one of my mom's friends that just had passed gas and had to sit through it - hello pregnancy sensitivity to smell - YUCK!
7. Went to Shivers for the first time in my life
8. Got my shift cut at the Gap :)

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to
1. To find out the sex of my baby
2. Will's last football game on Saturday
3. Mark's 2 week vacation that starts on Monday!
4. Spending time with my kids while they are off track
5. Spring
6. Christmas
7. Halloween
8. Thanksgiving

8 Things I Love About Fall
1. Cooler weather
2. Beautiful color in the mountains and valley
3. Halloween
4. Fall clothes - sweaters and socks!
5. Fires at home
6. Soup
7. More home time
8. Halloween candy

8 Things on my Wishlist
1. Healthy family
2. Mark retaining his job
3. Economy to turn around
4. Vacation
5. Gas prices to go way down
6. Grocery prices to go down
7. Not to gain too much weight with this pregnancy
8. Paid off house

Thanks for tagging me Stephanie!!!

Afternoon Delight

There's nothing quite like a caramel apple after dinner on a nice fall afternoon!!!

Payson Canyon

A few Saturday's ago, my mom and Steve planned a little family outing for everyone. We left right after Will's practice and drove down to Payson. Steve told us it was about ten miles up the canyon. So, we started at the bottom and headed up to meet them. They said their car would be easily to spot off the side of the road. Well, after driving almost fifteen miles up and not seeing a dang thing, we decided to drive back down, thinking surely we must have missed them. That didn't work, so we headed back up. We were getting so frustrated! I kept trying to call both of their cell phones, but we couldn't get anyone to answer. Finally, I noticed I had a voice mail, and it was Steve. He said it was actually about twenty miles up, and that my mom would be waiting off the road for us.

So, we finally found them! We were about ready to head to Nephi and eat dinner there.

We decided to take the four wheelers for a little spin before it got dark. It was a lot of fun. Max and Ben kept telling me to go faster and faster. The kids loved it!



Steve made the most delicious dinner for us.



Ben helped make the cherry chocolate cake. Well, he helped lick the spoon.




Mostly everyone participated in the egg toss. Even my 84 year old grandpa. Then, the kids turned the eggs on the cows that were grazing nearby.



We had a roast filled with crab meat and covered in sauteed mushrooms and peppers...



and delicious cheesy potatoes. Everything tasted so good.



After dinner we sat at the camp fire and roasted marshmallows and made smores. We also ate our cherry chocolate cake. As always with my mom and Steve, they are never short on food. Everyone was so stuffed!

Steve entertained everyone by telling some scary stories around the camp fire. They also entertained us by their lovely jump suits.

Thanks Mom and Steve, we had a wonderful time!