When dad's away, we MUST play!

Scott gets to go on a lot of trips without the rest of us. There are 2 "baseball conventions", the in season Baseball trip (which is 8 days)! A golf trip at the end of School (this was only last year. I'm not sure it will happen again this year) and hunting in Oct. We don't have to pay much for any of these trips but still. So...I decided that when he went on his trip the beginning of Jan we would play as well. We got off to a rough start as someone rear ended me on the way to the hotel. Luckily there wasn't much damamge (only scraped paint) so we just went on our way.
Jade LOVES staying in hotels. LOVES it. So we went to a hotel that I have been wanting to visit. We got off to a rough start as someone rear ended me on the way to the hotel. Luckily there wasn't much damamge (only scraped paint) so we just went on our way. The hotel pool was awesome. Unfortunately Jade wasn't tall enough to go on the big slide, but she had fun just the same. Brand went with us and we all had lots of fun.

Jade at the pool. She loves NOT wearing her life jacket. It's crazy how well she can swim after only 3 weeks of swim lessons. But....she only does it with the goggles. They are a must for her

Jax loved this little kid area!After we went swimming we headed down to the arcade and little snack stand where the kids ate hot dogs and fries for dinner. This is Jax running down the hall to go play games!

The kids hanging out getting ready to watch a show. So cute!

Jade fell asleep around 10:00 and Jax decided he would try to bug her and wake her up! Didnt work!

And finally.....around 12:30....he decided he would sleep as well. YAY!!!!

The kids were excited to go down and eat Breakfast...one of Jade's favorite parts of the Hotel.

Jade was happy with the scrambled eggs, cereal, yogurt and cinnamon buns. But then....Brand spotted the hard boiled eggs and she was SOOOO happy! She thinks this hotel is the best ever!

We had lots of fun on our little trip. The kids were both sooo good the entire time Scott was gone. Jade is convinced that we should get to go to a hotel every time daddy goes out of town. Gee...I think that's a great idea! :)

Pear Sauce....

I was going to a wedding with my mom and dad the other night. We got talking about food storage and canning. I said that I wished that we could still can and buy pear sauce. Jade was so sad when I told her I couldn't but it anymore (too much of a need at the bishop's storehouse). My mom mentioned that she had some in her basement that we could have! I forgot to tell Jade about it until about 10:00 that night. I was doing dishes and when I turned around she was standing there with her shoes on. I asked her what she was doing. "I'm ready to go get the pear sauce from grandma's!" She was soooo excited. So-we went and got the 6 cans from my mom. As soon as we got home she dug in.....at 10:30 p.m. Thanks mom! She LOVES her pear sauce!

Apples

Try to be the good mom and set fruit out where the kids can eat it. The other day I went to grab me an apple. These are what I found in the bowl. Fantastic!

Uh.....

She did her makeup and "haircut" (use the spray bottle, comb, and hair supplies). Scott started singing "Hope you had the time of your life" (think Green Day) and I said she just had a little goth in her. No worries.....I didn't let her go anywhere like that. Wait...maybe I did (Roberts, Payless, Old Navy, Children's Place) She looked.....Awesome? Scary? Whatever...she liked it!

Resolutions!

This year I am going to do things a little different. I am going to set goals each month. I will try to continue with the goals I did the month before as well. Soooo......Here is to Jan (10 days behind)

1) Be in bed by 11:00 to get up at 5:30 to work out (ph)
2) Read Scriptures every day (sp)

The next one is going to be HARD.....can I do it?
3) No gas station drinks except for Gas Station Friday. (h/F)

That's it. They seem small but will help me in many ways. We'll see how it goes!

Things we saw a lot of over the break

A few random things we saw a lot of over the break:

Sleeping: Jax has always been a random sleeper. Never in her bed-usually on the couch, floor, or my bed. Jax-on the other hand-has always slept in his bed. Over the break-with our weird schedules and lots of days off, we got out habit. We would all be up late and I would let him stay up too. So.....I ended up seeing some of this:

This one made me laugh....

He has had an off scheduled for awhile now though. This past week we started back to our schedule of putting him to bed between 8:30 and 9:00. Every. Single. Night. he has stayed awake until at least 11:00. Usually 11:30. I am hoping it is just a phase. The good thing is that he doesn't cry or anything-just plays in his room. Hopefully it gets better next week.

Makeup:

Jade used some of her money for Christmas for a makeup set. She LOVES it. The first time she put it on it looked like this:

As the days went on it started to get a little bit more extreme:

Dressing up:

She came out of her room many days of our break being VERY "fancy"

Crafting:

Jadyn's Grandma Carla LOVED scrapbooking. She had A LOT of stuff. While we were on break we went over to the house and packed a lot of it up and took it to our house. Scott's family was all ok that we were going to let Jade use it. Even though it will probably be used for making crafts and other special things-and not scrapbooking-I'm pretty sure Grandma Carla would be ok with that! Jade's favorite things we brought home are the stamps and HUGE book of stickers!

Christmas Day!

(Santa Made it)

We had a great Christmas! Jade was so excited this year for Santa to come! Jax didn't know much about Santa coming but he loves presents so it was so fun to watch him too! Some of the favorite things we all received are:

Family: Wii (let's be honest- I think Scott likes it best. We have been saving our change all year and finally had enough to but it!)

Jade: Luv Sac and baby doll

Jax: Luv Sac, Cars legos, Hulk toothbrush

Jade picked out some awesome gifts for Scott and me. Scott got 2 shirts. One with Cookie monster and the other with Teenage Ninja Turtles. Nice? I got these fantastically huge silver earings and a silver BIG heart necklace. She was so excited to give them to us. I love that. Scott and I both were her gifts that day! Jade thought that was great!

We had a great breakfast and my mom's and visited with family at Scott's dad's house. We then had a relaxing afternoon at home, had dinner at my grandma's and then Scott's sister and brother came over that night.

It was such a fun day and nice to spend it with so much family. I love living so close to everyone!

Thanks to everyone for all we were given, but even more importantly, for all of your love and support to our family!

P.S. I do realize there are not many pics of Jax. It isn't because of less love.....he was not in the picture taking mood this day....at all. :)

And the parenting award Goes to.....

Eh-definitely not to me!!!!

Story #1: Christmas night we went over to my Grandma's house. When we pulled up there were others getting there as well so we talked to them and walked in. About 10 min after we had been there we were getting food and Scott asked where Jax was. I told him he had gone downstairs to play. He went down to get him and came back up and said that Jax wasn't down there. Scott went outside and then came back in and said "Al....I need the keys. We left him in the car and it's locked!!!" Gosh, even as I type this I feel so bad. He was ok and just wanting to go in, but yeah....not my finest parenting moment!

Story #2: Two days later we were having dinner at my mom's house. The kids were super crazy, running around, and just being loud. When we were getting ready to leave I went in to my mom's room to tell Jax we were going. I didn't see him so I started saying loudly "Jaxon! Where are you? We are going home!" Then I heard his little voice "I outside by da door! I cold!" I was confused because I had seen him run into her room. Well....he had gone out her bedroom door on to the deck and then couldn't get back in! Again....I opened the door and felt so bad because he was so cold! He had asked earlier if he could go outside and I had told him he couldn't because it was too cold! Crazy kid!

So there ya go....looks like I have some work to do before I get any award! :)

I've got her fooled!

Tonight while Jade was eating dinner she said "Mom! You are the Best. Cook. Ever!!! You really should teach other people how to cook. And Aunt Brandee!" :) YES!!!! I've got her fooled! So what fantastic meal did I cook for her? Eggs and cinnamon and sugar tortilla. Yep...best cook ever! :)

Top 5: 2000-2009

A good friend of mine posted these questions on her blog and asked others what ours would be. So....Here we go. I didn't take long with these so these are off the top of my head. More to come on 2010 Resolutions:

Top 5 best moments/memories:
1. Getting married and then enjoying 5 years without kids.
2. Having Jade and Jax
3. Buying a house and becoming "responsible"
4. Becoming a fan of working out/running. Couldn't live without it
5. Vacations (Washington, Disneyland, Lake Powell, San Fran, San Diego)

Top 5 hardest Moments/Memories:
1. Having kids- less sleep, less time, less energy, adjusting to a new way of life
2. Becoming a Responsible adult (money, church, work, parenting, wife)
3. Worrying about jobs
4. Worrying about family members
5. Pregnancy: infertility issues, miscarriage, stress with Jade's tumor

5 Things to look forward to:
1. Completing our family
2. Watching my kids grow up (though not sure I look forward to the fact that they will be teens)
3. Creating new memories
4. More schooling? (S.L.O.W.L.Y.)
5. Pushing harder in Fitness. remember-the 30's are the new 20's!

Contest

I entered this contest and get to be entered twice if I put this on my blog. There ya go

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. I actually had to work so Scott was on parenting duty most of the day. The kids and Scott started by making gingerbread men/women and a gingerbread house.

During my lunch break I went with the kids and Scott sledding. Now....I am against sledding. I've just heard about too many accidents so I have never taken my kids. That said, there is a small park by our house with little hills and so I thought I would be ok with that. We were only there for about 45 min but the kids had a good time. Actually, Jax only lasted about 30 min and then decided he would rather wait for us in the car! Crazy kid. We had a good time blasting our new found Christmas song "Dominic the Italian Donkey"

Snow Angels that Scott and Jade made:

We went home and I finished working while Jax slept and Jade and Scott shopped. Afterwards we headed over to my dad's. I LOVE Christmas Eve. It has always been the most fun tradition that I can remember as a kid. We always went up to my Grandma Warner's and had a party. My dad has continued that tradition and we love it!

So....Jade was dressed up in the cutest little outfit. I asked her to put on her dance shorts under her skirt. She did....but as soon as we got to my dad she took off her vest and skirt and ended up in this attire. Nice.

Jade getting ready to "run the money"

The kids helping with the $2 bill White Elephant game.

Cute Boys

All the grandkids that were at the party in their new jammies

Crazy kids!

Me and my cute Niece

All the girls at the party

Grandpa Steve with my kids

We came home and tried to have a little family time with the kids to think about gifts we can give to the Savior this year. The kids were wild and crazy and too excited. Jade came up with "I'll give my heart and mom..... you can give your blood" Jax was running everywhere and so the only thing Scott and I could even think of was "Patience with the kids" So....let's just say it didn't go as well as planned, but I realize doing it with little kids I can't expect too much more.

We all had a great day!

The end of our Vacation

Tonight ends our vacation. We have loved having the whole family home the past 2 weeks. I think we could have enjoyed it for at least another two! :) But-there are bills to pay and things to be learned so we will go back to work and school. Here is a quick overview of the last week of our vacation

Mon (Dec 28th): Dr visit day! Jade had been dreading this day for a LONG time. She knew she needed her kindergarten shots. To say she was nervous would be an HUGE understatement. The appointment went well until it was time for the shots. Jade needed 6 and Jack needed 1. The whole time we were back in the room Jax kept saying "It not my turn. I sit on the chair" Then he would say "It's JJ's turn. It's daddy's turn. It's not my turn. I sit right here" Most of his visits there have been for well checks and he must remember they involve shots. Jade insisted that Jax go first. As soon as we told Jax it was his turn he started screaming and crying. It took both Scott and I to get his pants off. At that point Jade bolted out of the room and started crying herself. I held Jax down while Scott chased down Jade. Jax was quickly done and since he was still crying I had Scott take him out. Jade was now hysterical to say the least. She was crying and said "I"m going to Scream" to which the nurse said "You can scream" (not sure why she said that) Jade took it literal and screamed at the top of her lungs. Then started screaming things like "I HATE THIS DR!!!! I AM NEVER COMING BACK!!!! Please only two!!! NOT SIX! " still crying. At this point I take to laughing because she was being so irrational. I finally get her on the table and she is saying "Mommy just wait...just let me talk to you....I don't want to lay down!!!" I have to lay over her arms and then the nurse started. She of course cried through all six! When it was over I think she realized the anxiety of the whole situation was worse than the shots themselves. The nurse walks out the door saying "You don't have to get shots for a LONG time now!" Lame....she has to go back in 4 weeks for the second half of her flu shot! We walked out in the waiting room. Everyone stared-I think the building next door heard her! One lady said "Gosh- those visits are so hard!" Here's hoping to when we go back things go a little smoother.

She wanted to go to Ikea afterwards to get her swing and then we all went home to rest! Scott's family came over later for dinner. Lewis and Scott ate deer meat. Gross....The rest of us did not! Afterwards we had cake and ice cream to celebrate Scott's mom's birthday. I left around 10:00 to go with Ashley to twilight. Good movie though there were some pretty lame parts that I actually laughed out loud about.

Tues (Dec 29th): Scott had baseball in the morning. Brand came and watched the kids while I went with my mom to the temple. Brand took the kids to the mall for lunch and spoiled them by taking them on lots of rides! They loved it. We all took afternoon naps. Scott was having a friend over to watch a movie so I decided to take the kids shopping and then to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. The last time I took Jax to a movie was in June and it was a nightmare so I was nervous but he did so good. I didn't have to take him out once! It was a fun night with my kids.

Wed (Dec 30th) : SCott was at baseball again and so I decided I would take the kids to Backyard Adventure. Jade wanted Zach to go and then we just decided to take all 3 boys. So-I traded my sister cars and we were off! Unfortunately when we got to BYA we found out they are closed now. For some odd reason I decided I would take all 5 kids-alone-to Jungle Jims. But....I needed to do some grocery shopping done and dinner started first. I was worried about shopping with all 5 kids but it went amazingly well! We ran home, I got dinner started, and then we headed to Ikea for lunch. Sounds like a bad idea to most but they had free kid meals and Jade loves eating there. (We got all the food below for $5!!!)After all 5 again being VERY good we headed to Jungle Jims. Scott was nice enough to come and meet me there after baseball. We stayed for about an hour and a half and the kids all had so much fun! I am amazed at how well the day went!

Our neighbors came over for dinner that night. It was so fun to sit and chat. Their cute little girl and our kids just played as we ate and talked. The best part of the night for the guys was finding out they both worked at the same place-at the same time-and didn't even know it! After that little realization they spent the next two hours reliving their past. It was pretty funny.

Thurs (Dec 31st): Scott and I went to the temple in the morning to do Sealings. It was pretty neat to do the sealing of his grandparents-even though we know the work was already done, it wasn't showing on the new program so we were told to do them again. Thanks to my mom for watching the kids.

My dad came over and helped hang Jades swing and we spent the rest of the day just hanging out-and taking naps! :)

For New Years Eve we headed over to my sister's. The kids had a ball playing with all the other kids there. The night consisted of Rock Band:Movies:Jax playing alone in Seth's room for at least an hour with his large collection of Bakugan's:a little Wii:Eating, and just hanging out. It was fun. We left around 11:45 and got home in time to see in the New Year-minus Jade who had fallen asleep on the way home

Friday (Jan 1!!): We all slept in until 9:30. Loved that!!! We ran and grabbed some breakfast and then did nothing the rest of the day.

Sat(Jan 2): Spent 3 hours at the gym and then headed home. Scott spent the day at the movies (4 shows-11 hours) The kids and I ran errands, grabbed lunch, and went swimming. For some reason I was on edge that day and the kids were both driving me a little nutso. By the time we were done swimming it was 3:00-Jax had missed his nap and I was hoping at that point to just keep him up and put him to bed early. I decided we would head to the mall. Jax stayed awake until the second I put him in the stroller and then he was out! He slept in the stroller for over an hour! He woke up looking sick, coughing, and ended up throwing up while we were in line at Victoria Secret. Needless to say we headed home after that!

Sunday (Jan 3): Previous post pretty much explains the day: a whole bunch of Star wars. I had to teach so it was really nice to go to church alone! We are going to church at 9:00 now. Since both the kids stayed home it was really nice, but getting us all there at 9:00 is going to be interesting!

So there you have it. The rest of our vacation. We had so much fun the past 2 weeks. We usually have that time off together and call it the calm before the storm-seeing how baseball starts tomorrow!