"I knew he'd come!"

Like any good parent of young children (maybe parents of older children do this too?) we use Santa's coming as the ultimate threat for good behavior. For example, "If you keep hitting your brother Santa's not coming..." or the ever popular, "If you can't do what we ask the first time we ask, then Santa's not coming..." the list goes on and on. I guess it got overused because poor Brayden woke up this morning ran into the living room and saw presents and said, "I knew he'd come!" and I was thinking, "Wow, did we really instill that much doubt?"

This is the first year that we have had Christmas in our house all by ourselves. It has been a lot of fun to establish our own traditions (although they are basically a mix of mine growing up and Ryan's growing up). One big plus has been not having to haul all of our gifts for each other, just to turn around and haul them back. We are planning to head to Salt Lake tomorrow though (with a quick pit-stop in Boise) and join in the family festivities, assuming weather doesn't get the best of us.

Lastly, for those of you who are feeling cheated because you didn't receive a Christmas card from us (it's ok to admit it...) please feel peace in the fact that NO ONE received a Christmas card from us. It all started about a month and several photo shoots ago, and the kids were just so awful to try and get a good photo of, I just decided to forget about this year. They were pretty good last night though in their Christmas jammies (well, as good as I could possibly hope for at this point), so just consider the picture below our Christmas card for the year.

We send our love to each and every one of you. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our lives - even if it may only be through the blogosphere. May the spirit of the Lord be with you in the coming year. Merry Christmas!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

I didn't realize it has been so long since I have posted! As I'm sure with many of you, things have just been so crazy-busy at our house I haven't hardly even turned my computer on the last little while. However, today is mine and Ryan's 6 year anniversary so I thought I would do a little celebration post by trying to come up with 50 things about Ryan. This list took quite of brain-power to compile, so, for those of you who don't know Ryan very well, enjoy learning a bit more about the man I call my husband.

1. Ryan was born and raised in the Salt Lake valley in Utah.
2. Ryan is now 29 years old.
3. He was 2^nd of 6 kids and is surrounded by sisters.
4. When his mom was expecting #5 he told her if it was a girl to not bother bringing the baby home.
5. As a little kid, he used to have a cabbage patch doll named Bancroft Sampson. This has been something I tease him about relentlessly.
6. He also used to play with a Ken doll. I’ve met his old Ken doll and I was a bit reassured when he was missing one leg.
7. Ryan LOVES the outdoors. He goes backpacking in the Uinta mountains yearly with his dad and brothers.
8. In the summer he is always planning some mountain biking or hiking day trip for us.
9. He also loves horses and hopes to own a couple someday.
10. He is an Eagle scout.
11. This DOES NOT mean he is a nerd…he is however very resourceful. J
12. Ryan served an LDS Mission in Brazil and still enjoys speaking Portugese when the opportunity presents itself.
13. Ryan is a great dad – he loves having two little boys to play with and teach to play sports and ride bikes.
14. This includes playing football in the house, which, as you can imagine, I am just thrilled about. (please note the sarcasm)
15. He is a softie when it comes to his daughter…he calls her “princess” and “little dolly.”
16. He loves to read.
17. He is a WWII buff. I swear he has read every non-fiction WWII book out there, and if he hasn’t read it yet I’m sure it’s in the pile of books on his nightstand.
18. He is a music and movie aficionado. He has the most eclectic taste in both music and movies of anyone I have ever met.
19. He is always up-to-date with current events.
20. He watches NBC Nightly News religiously.
21. If he had the time, he would read The Wall Street Journal from cover to cover everyday.
22. He’s a night-owl and can function at his peak on 6 hours of sleep.
23. He is extremely competitive.
24. He works hard.
25. Ryan is hilarious! He has this incredibly funny, sarcastic sense of humor that can always crack me.
26. This is a side of Ryan that not too many people outside his tight circle of friends know.
27. Ryan is extremely loyal. Once a friend, always a friend.
28. He’s had the same best friend since high school.
29. Ryan is quite reserved in social situations.
30. He is content sitting back and listening to others.
31. He is the laid-back parent in our household.
32. He is addicted to slickdeals.net, and other such deal websites.
33. He is thorough and always follows through.
34. Ryan is a bit of a “neat freak.” He is always re-organizing his stuff – dresser and nightstand drawers included.
35. This also includes his car. It is always spotless.
36. He wants to trade his spotless Honda Accord for a spotless BMW 5 series someday.
37. Ryan appreciates a clean and well-kept home.
38. He also notices and comments when this actually happens.
39. He loves football. Watching, playing – you-name-it. He loves football!
40. He loves exercise in the form of athletics, but has a hard time working out at the gym.
41. Despite his lack of athletic opportunities and sporadic gym visits, Ryan has been the same size since his freshman year in college.
42. He is a great gift-giver.
43. He is also a great gift-receiver – he is always surprised and pleased by any gifts.
44. He is a “hot sleeper.” It could be freezing cold in the house and he would sleep with no covers and be sweating.
45. Ryan loves candy, but he’s not much of a chocolate person.
46. He could eat an entire movie size box of Mike N’ Ike’s in one sitting – easy.
47. Ryan’s favorite food is steak and lobster…together.
48. His favorite restaurant is El Gaucho in Portland.
49. Ryan makes THE BEST scrambled eggs. He doesn’t really do anything special per se, but they are so yummy and fluffy!

And saving the best for last…..

50. Ryan is a wonderful husband. He treats me like gold and always asks, “What can I do to make you happy?”

So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RYAN! I LOVE YOU!

All in a day's work

I wish I could say that today was markedly different than most days at my house, but truth be known, today was so typical. I had a neighbor woman in her 70's ask me what I do all day at home. There was no malice, I really believe she was curious to know what exactly I do all day. "Aren't you terribly bored?" she asks. "No," I reply, "Not bored at all." This led me to think about exactly what I do all day so I thought I'd keep track. I tried to pick a random day when I didn't necessarily have anything special to do. So, as I'm sure we all sometimes have days like this, I am leaving this completely un-edited. Enjoy this lengthy summary of my day:

5:45am - Ryan leaves to catch an early flight at the airport. Seconds later I hear Brayden scream from his bed, "Daddy! You didn't say goodbye!" I sprint to his room, swing the door open, and drag Brayden out before he wakes Landon. Brayden, obviously traumatized by my sense of urgency and Ryan's departure, cries all the way down the hall to my room.

6:30am - After a lovely 45 minutes of Brayden mauling me in bed while I try to get a couple more minutes of sleep, I hear Charlotte. Oh my sweet teething baby. Ever since those darn teeth started coming in she thinks she's allowed a 6:30 milk call. I'm not amused.

7:00am - Landon wakes up, goes into the bathroom and announces that he has wet his bed. I begin thinking that if I was going to have to deal with a child wetting the bed I should have at least been able to sleep until 7. Sheets and clothes go into the laundry and showers follow. Yes, showers plural because if one boy gets a shower, suddenly the other boy must have one too. After all, we like to be fair at my house.

8:00am - Breakfast - FINALLY! I am absolutely starving! Although instead of opting for my favorite sugar cereal (because come on - it was just one of those mornings) I decide I would rather have a peaceful breakfast of cereal equality with my boys rather than one filled with cries of, "I want that cereal too!"

8:50am - I am doing a babysitting swap with a friend and she should be here in 10 minutes. Do I have time for a shower? I decide "yes" and actually get 10 minutes to myself to shower while Charlotte naps and the boys quietly read. I peak into the playroom to see Brayden "reading" to Landon. Maybe this will be an ok day after all???

9:00am - 12:00p - Friends arrive and the boys are distracted momentarily from teasing each other relentlessly. We play games, run "the lap" around my couches, color and draw, and play with play-doh. I change laundry and try to fold what's already clean. Thinking I can escape for a few minutes to make some phone calls, I dial, only to hear children screaming at the top of their lungs behind a closed door. Trouble. Tackle football is going on behind closed doors and the older boys are telling Landon he's too little. To prove them wrong he hauls off and full on drops Brayden to the ground and pins him WWF style. Of course the other boy joins in...thus, the screaming.

12:00p - I sneak mini candy bar after mini candy bar (oh blessed sugar rush) while I make noodles and peas for the kids. Lunch turns out to be a success, although it gives the kids way more energy than I realized it would...repeat above.

1:00p - Is it really naptime?! I get all 3 kids down for bed (ahhhhh) only to have Landon consistently get out of bed and go to the bathroom a million times. After all, in his little genius brain he can't get in trouble if he's just going to the bathroom, right? I knew letting him sleep in a "big-boy-bed" was a bad idea. I try to fold laundry and pick up the house between bouts of telling Landon to "Get back in bed!" Charlotte's up, we feed, and play. Oh I love laughing, giggling, baby playtime.

3:00p - Everyone is awake and I realize I'm down to the last quarter of my day. 4 more hours until bedtime. The home stretch. I realize we could go to the bank and the post office and do drive-thru for both. I'll put a book on CD on in the car and the boys will stay occupied and maybe I can have some peace and quiet. I hurry to get my stuff in the car, everyone gets packed in, and a mile down the road, you're never going to believe who has to go to the bathroom...Landon. So bad in fact that he's going to pee in his carseat. "Please no!" I plead with him. We get to the bank and I decide that surely they have a bathroom my son could use. I pull everyone out of the car and into the bank only to find out they don't have a public bathroom. The woman I ask looks at me like I'm crazy and as I look at us, I realize I would probably think the same thing. In my haste to get out the door, I didn't realize that Brayden was wearing shorts (he had changed during naptime), rain boots, and his winter coat and Landon has noodle sauce on his face from lunch and serious bed hair. I am no better, sporting my black workout pants and brown leather shoes (remember, I thought we were doing drive-thru) and no makeup. Charlotte looks fabulous though in her cute faux-fur coat and definitely doesn't fit in with our little group. I decide to stay in the bank and finish my transaction and while I stand in line the boys run around terrorizing the bank. I "quietly" yell at my children to stay by me and hope the tellers at Wells Fargo will be able to find wherever the boys placed the handfuls of deposit and withdrawl slips they had in their hands. I finish my transaction and ask another woman if there is PLEASE a bathroom my son could use. She says ok, but it's in a "top secret" place so he will have to go by himself as I'm not allowed. "Of course he can go by himself" I hear myself say and silently pray - HARD - that he doesn't get preoccupied with the multiple toilet paper rolls and cool powerful toilets. She takes him back and I wait what seems like an eternity before he finally emerges. He did it! All by himself! Good boy Landon! Maybe all of that practicing during naptime is helping you...

5:00p - Dinner is thankfully un-eventful (leftovers will do that to you) and I bribe the boys with "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" if they can get their pj's on and get ready for bed. This way I can get dinner cleaned up before bedtime. That would be wonderful. My little plan works - at least for Brayden - and I eventually end up saving Charlotte's life at the hands of Landon, dishes aside for now. I knew it was too good to be true to have the kitchen cleaned up before bedtime. I make some phone calls trying to locate a babysitter for a couple of hours tomorrow thinking I could sneak in a trip to the gym. My efforts fail. The sheets get back on the beds (again, equality - if I'm washing one set, I might as well change all the beds - it'd been a full week after all...) and Landon and Charlotte get ready for bed.

7:00p - The movie ends, we sing songs, say prayers. 2 down, 1 to go. I rock and talk and cuddle with my precious girl. Bedtime. AHHHHHHHH. The day is done, well, except for the cleaning up part, which for tonight, may just have to wait until tomorrow. :)

O Christmas Tree

Our tree is up! I never realized how hard it was to decorate a Christmas tree with so much "help." In years past Ryan and I have always decorated the tree after the kiddos are in bed, but last night for family night we decided that we would decorate the tree as a family. Besides the fact that I yelled, "No! Not that ornament! That's fragile!" about 100 times and we had to keep Charlotte from chewing on the branches of the tree, we had a great time together. So great a time that maybe next year we''ll have to have 2 trees - one for the kid's ornaments and one for my "fragile" ornaments. :)

One of my favorite things about decorating the Christmas tree is all of the nostalgia of the various ornaments we have. So, I thought I would share some of my favorites:

I have a bunch of these angel ornaments that came from my wedding reception. We were married at Christmastime (which means there is an anniversary coming up....) and these angel ornaments were decorations on the tables. They were meant to be taken by those in attendance, but many people didn't take them. I think about the day our little eternal family started every time I hang one of these angels on the tree.

These Santa Clause ornaments are some of the most gorgeous ornaments I have ever seen. They are hand carved and the detail is so exact. There are 12 different designs. These are made by Tony Rigby - a man in my parent's ward - and are just a side hobby that he does. 

This ornament is from our trip back east last Christmas. We left the boys with Ryan's parents and went to Boston to visit our good friends and see Boston and then to New York and Times Square for New Years Eve. It was a wonderful break from normal life and the crowd on New Years Eve was unbelievable and so much fun!

This last ornament is my newest ornament sent from Boston by our good friends Jodi and Jesse Aldous. They remembered that we try to collect a new ornament each year and sent this to us. This ornament will forever be a beautiful reminder of the friendships that we have and the wonderful associations we are so blessed to have.