Party at Grandma's!!!

 Grandparents are great.  I missed out on the joys of having a grandmother around when I was growing up.  Both of my Grandmother's passed away long before I was born.  I never realized how neat it is to have them.  They love their grand kids and want their grand kids to love them back...so they do crazy stuff.  Like inviting them to all sleep over and have a party at Grandma's house.  I think the count was 10 kids this year.  We dropped the kids off at Grandma's Friday night and then went out to finish our Christmas shopping.  I was so grateful.  Nate and I were able to finish up everything and still have a little quiet time when we got home.  The kids went to Mcdonald's with Grandma and Grandpa.  80 Chicken nuggets, 4 large fries and 10 drinks later they were full and ready for a movie and bedtime. 

 Now you would think that was enough but there was more.  Each of them got a gift card to Build a Bear.  Ok...these older boys actually just got treated to something from toys r us...but the little kids all got to go to Build a Bear and enjoy.  So, after a night of kids and chaos my parents woke up and did it again the next morning.  And, despite all the work that it was, I know that each kid felt loved and special. 

 They do all kinds of unusual things there to make sure your bear has everything it needs to be a happy loved little animal. 

 Then they fill your animal up with stuffing and tie them up good in the back so it doesn't fall out.  All the while they kids are just happy.  After naming their new animals, dressing them, and making sure they have a good bath you can finally take you new pet home. 

 All the kids had fun and of course, ice cream at the end was a big plus. 

 I am so grateful my kids have two loveing and fabulous sets of grandparents in their lives.  It is special and wonderful and I know that my kids really love them.  HIP-HIP-HOORAY for grandparents.  :)

Christmas is Coming

 A lot happens during the month leading up to Christmas.  We decorated the tree on Thanksgiving weekend.  It's always a fun activity and I love getting out the ornaments and remembering where we got them or why they were given to us.  Nate is a decorating fool during Halloween and Christmas.  We had our lights up that weekend too...but we were not the first on our street so he was disappointed.  We were among the first though.  He was also excited because we got some of those new fangled LED lights for the house.  It's been his dream several years in a row.  The kids had a great time climbing on the roof and helping him out while I stood down below biting my nails and yelling at them to be careful. 

 

We also had a fun cousin get together for a Monday night treat.  We all climbed into my parents old motor home and had a party while driving to the Spanish Fork lights.  Oh my.  That was crazy.  Very, very loud.  Sarah did not want to sit down and was a little bit of a pill during the ride.  However, the kids all loved it and the lights were awesome.  Spanish Fork had great lights.  It was worth the effort and loss of hearing due to the extreme decibel level in that motor home.   I always love to see the kids have a great time together and make memories.

We got the tiniest amount of snow a couple of weeks before Christmas so the cute people got on their snow gear and headed out to play.  This was really Sarah's first time in the snow.  She loved it.  Mostly, she loved eating it.  The girls had a good time until Ben brought his buddy over to through snowballs at them.  Poor little girls with big brothers.  Teasing is just part of the life. :)

I also had the chance to watch Rachel put on a little play for her class.  My pregnancy brain put me there a day early...I thought it was the 18th but it was the 19th.  However, they were practicing anyway so I got to watch the entire thing start to finish 3 times.  I loved it every time.  They learned several songs and had parts to say.  It was a lot of work for Rachel's teacher and I was really impressed. 

It has been a fun month.  We still have more to come. 

My Brag Blog

So, this month included a couple of things that I wanted to lay down and remember for myself.  First off, I finished a blanket for Sarah.  I have been meaning to do this for awhile but just haven't gotten around to it.  Then my sister-in-law, Allyson, suggested we have a girls night and tie quilts for our babies.  Once the ball was really rolling in my mind I had a great time planning out and putting together Sarah's quilt.  I shopped several hours and several fabric stores to find just what I wanted.  Nate helped my lay out the design and dimensions for it.  I told him what I wanted to do and he helped me make it work within the space I was going to have.

 

I was really happy with how it turned out.  Instead of tying the quilt I tried ditch stitching.  My stitches are definitely not as straight and nice as they could be but no one can tell unless you really look close.  Anyway, I gave Sarah her quilt for Christmas.  She loves the doggies and chants doggies, doggies whenever she sees it. 

My other claim to fame this month is that I sang a solo in sacrament meeting.  No, it was not perfect.  I did not sing like an angel.  I am hardly anywhere near professional.  However, I conquered.  I had several bouts of anxiety before hand.  I almost backed out a couple of times.  The night before I had a wonderful dream that the talks went to long and there was no time left for me to sing.  At last, the time came.  I walked up on the stand and sang that darn song.  I am more proud of the fact that I conquered my fear than anything else.  And, I wasn't that nervous while I was actually up there.  The pre-anxiety was one hundred times worse then actually carrying out the duty.  Thanks to my husband for telling me I could do it and putting up with my middle of the night fears.  Thanks to my sister in law's good advice to her children that I just happened to read on her blog the day before I was going to call up the choir director and back out. "If you start something you should stick to it all the way until you are done."  Thanks to my little primary kiddos that I lead in music each week.  I thought about them and there courage to do things in the sacrament meeting program.  One little girl played the violin.  Emily, my own little girl, sang a solo at the mic with the senior primary singing behind her.  My little neighbor who was so scared to do her part she didn't even go through with it at the practice.  But, on the day of the program she did it.  They all gave me a reason to follow through.  And, of course, Thanks to Heavenly Father who listened and answered my prayers.  Glad it is done.  :)

Thanks for Family!

This year it was a Baxter Thanksgiving.  With Nate's parents on a mission the bulk of the job fell on Heather, Nate's oldest sister.  She set up an awesome dinner.  Lots of Cousins, lots of family and lots of food.  What could be better. 

Nate even carved the turkey.  Look at how proud he is.  The Turkey King.  :)

Sarah and I enjoyed for a couple hours...until the inevitable nap time hit and I had to take her home for a snooze.  I have to admit...I enjoyed her snooze time since it meant quiet time for me with no work to do.  We happily joined everyone else after her nap.  The kids and Nate stayed and partied it up.  We all laughed when we were all gathered around the black Friday paper looking at deals.  We were just to relaxed to get out the games or make any other exciting thing happen.  Looking through the paper and talking was good entertainment. 

On a side note, my sister and I did make it out to Black Friday...on Friday...at 8am.  To say the least, there were no deals.  We tried to avoid advocating the Black Friday on Thursday night but apparently everyone else partook and we were just way to late.  HAHA.  We had a nice breakfast and drove up to the new outlets at Traverse Mountain.  We had a nice time but we did miss seeing all the crazy people.  I guess next year we will have to give in and see the crowds on Thursday night.  Boo. 

BYU of BUST!

What would you do if...you arrived at your cherished BYU game expecting no snow...we didn't have any in American Fork...but instead you found your seat occupied by a foot of snow?  That's what happened when sweet little Emily had her chance to attend the BYU football game last night with her Daddy. 

Emily smiled big and enjoyed every minute. Dad bought her hot chocolate and popcorn. She got to sit on his lap during the game so her backside stayed dry. She had lots of touch downs to cheer for during the game and they left at half time. Maybe not the most die hard of fans...but they had a great time. Emily came home so happy. It's all about being with Dad.

Nate said Emily couldn't wait for the popcorn with the sugar on it. She asked for it right as soon as they got in the car. Then kept asking for it until she got it. And, since it is their special time he has to comply. Plus, he felt pretty bad that their game was so cold. She got stuck with the coldest game last year too. Emily really didn't seem to mind though. Next year maybe I will get to go to one. :)

Cars and Keys

I breath in a huge sigh of relief. My van...the one I only bought last December...no longer sounds like a piece of junk. Did I ever mention how Nate and I tend to get excited about things and lack the necessary self restraint to wait when we should wait. Well, last year when we decided to buy a new van (new used)we thought we had found a great deal. A nice, newer Nissan Quest with all the bells and whistles. Heated seats, two tv's, great sound system, automatic everything. I love the automatic doors. :) And, it was a good deal. At least a $1000 less than we had seen around. So, we test drove it twice. It was really nice. We thought about running by a mechanic...but it was so nice. We didn't bother. We bought it. Literally the day I brought it home I noticed a little clicking sound. Very quiet...only made the noise at start up. At first I thought I was just paranoid. We didn't take the car back...probably should have. 6 Months into it the sound had gotten significantly louder. We saved up a little money and took it to the mechanic we like in town. He returned it to us and told us to take it to a dealership. The noise was in the engine and he didn't pull engines. After a little more investigation we found several youtube videos of Nissan Quests making the sound. We also discovered that it was a timing chain issue. The engine was going to have to be pulled out. Anywhere from $1500 to $3000 were the quotes we saw on the net. It was really disheartening. So much money for a car we had only owned 6 months. So, we just kept driving it waiting to amass a large sum of money to get it fixed. Last week we took it in to a mechanic who thought he might be able to fix it without pulling the engine. He kept it for 5 days and returned it to us telling us he couldn't do it. So, finally, this week we broke down and sent it to a dealer up in Bountiful who quoted us the lowest price to pull the engine and do the job. After actually pulling the engine his quote went up by $400. Three timing chains, a cracked cover and a bunch of tensioners later we got our van back. And you know what, even though it was a huge hit to our pocket book...I am so happy to have that weight lifted off. We don't have to worry and plan for that problem anymore. The van is running great and I don't have to be embarrassed about driving it around anymore. When Nate called me to tell me it was done I felt light as air. It was great. Now we can move to our next problem. Nate bought a nice, gas saving Toyota Prius over the summer. It only had one key. We...well technically I was the last one to have the key....lost the key. It has been missing for over 2 weeks. $600 to get the car towed, buy a new key and reprogram the car to the key. I know that key is in our house somewhere. I know the sweet little baby girl has hidden it. We have turned the house upside down looking for it. We have prayed and prayed and prayed. But I know it is here. I know as soon as I shovel out that money for a new key I will find the old one. Please...please...please key. Show yourself. I will take you right down and buy you a friend so that we do not have this problem again. Just return to us. Poor Nate has had to return to using his beat up truck. At least we still have it. However, it is so sad to watch his nice little car just sitting in the drive way everyday. KEY, WHERE ARE YOU?!!!

Halloween!

October is always a fun time of year.  Halloween finally came and went.  I was surprised how excited those kids were for Halloween Day.  It might as well have been Christmas.  Anyway, they are getting older now...and don't want to trick or treat with mom and dad.  It's kind of sad for me.  This year Rachel wanted to go with a girl friend.  She had plans with one friend but they didn't work out.  We tried another friend who was also not available.  She was so disappointed.  We were in the middle of dinner and she started crying.  I felt awful...she had been so excited for the prospect of trick or treating with her friends and she did not want  to go "with the boys".  Well, after a bit of work we cheered her up and she was planning on hanging with Emily and I to trick or treat.  Then the boys showed up to pick up Ben and suddenly she was gone. I guess she weighed her options and decided the boys would be more fun.  :)

Emily and I went around the corner and picked up one of her friends in the neighborhood (Emma).  Good thing Rachel didn't go with us.  These girls were so lax and just wandered from house to house in no hurry.  They would not have been able to keep up with that wild group of older kiddos.  Ben and Rachel collected about twice as much candy as Emily....but Emily, Emma and I had just as much fun.  I was just glad I had one more year to enjoy watching the magic.  Poor Nathan stayed home with Sarah, keeping her entertained with our cackling door witch.  For some reason she loves that thing.  She says  "Boo" to try and make the witch cackle.  So cute. :)

At the end of the day we were all super exhausted...another successful Halloween.