Princess and the Frog

On Saturday Karen had a special Princess party. She and I went over to a friend's house and had a princess tea party and then went to the movie The Princess and the Frog. It was so fun, all the little girls dressed up like princesses and had a lot of fun together. We had Karen use her bride dress from Halloween and she dressed up like Belle getting married. It was fun to hear comments as we took her to the movie, most of which were "what a beautiful princess". It was a cute movie. Karen got scared in some parts, but she was brave sitting on my lap. Here are a couple of pictures. My little poser.

Christmas visitor

On Saturday our ward had a Christmas breakfast at 8:30 am. We didn't quite make it on time, in fact we got there quite late and found only a few mini muffins and hot chocolate left. It wasn't much but it tided us over, our own fault for being late. Then they had a dance contest which we also missed, but we made it in time for a special visitor.

Due to scheduling conflicts the real Santa was unavailable and we had a very skinny substitute, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Michael was very enthusiastic but surprisingly Karen was very scared and didn't want to go see Santa. She's been the one that has been begging me to go to the mall to see Santa and so I thought she would be excited, but she was definitely NOT excited and very scared, she made sure to keep her distance.

Michael on the other hand was very excited and surprised us by sitting right on Santa's lap and not crying or anything. Though he didn't want to look at him, he definitely wanted to tell him what he wanted for Christmas. We were very surprised when Santa asked Michael what he wanted and Michael said "Everything". Santa was surprised to and asked if he could be more specific. Michael didn't understand and thought Santa wouldn't get him what he wanted. He told me later that Santa had put him on the naughty list. I couldn't help but laugh and try to explain what "specific" meant. Aren't kids cute.

Anyway, here's a cute picture of Michael on Santa's lap and another of him trying to peek up at Santa.

8 years

Today I have been married for 8 years. My wonderful husband has started it off great! As I left to take Karen to school, Karen pointed out that I had a note on the door that said Jen. I recognized my husband's writing and was a bit surprised because lately it's been my daughter writing me all kinds of notes. I wondered what it could be. Obviously it is our anniversary, but I also thought it might be a note reminding me of some appointment or something he needed at the store. I also considered it might be a treasure hunt of some kind and maybe he had gotten me a present or something. But what I found was infinitely better. When I got home I opened the note and found a long love letter. Thankfully it was typed so that I could read it all easily, but it was the first love letter he's ever written to me. It was so beautiful and eloquent, I never realized how good a writer my husband is. It was so sweet it made me cry, in a good way of course.

I've always been sentimental and kept notes and letters from some of my past boyfriends and it's been true with my husband too even though he hasn't written much to me, usually just cards or quick notes or something. This is the first real letter he's given me and I love it and will keep it in a special place.

December

I love the month of December. After Thanksgiving I really get into the Christmas spirit! This year we were able to put Christmas decorations up the day after Thanksgiving. This being our first Christmas in this house, I've enjoyed figuring out where to put all our decorations and seeing everything in new and different spots somehow makes them seem new again. I especially love listening to the holiday music and hearing all my favorites again. The Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel and Lifetime are also fun and make me happy.

Traditions and parties make the season complete. Seeing the lights at temple square is one of my favorites, though it's also the coldest. On Sunday we had the opportunity to go downtown and hear Neils' mom sing at the assembly hall, which was beautiful. We went a bit early and walked around looking at the lights and the Christus statue. I actually took the camera this time and got a few pictures though we look a bit silly all bundled up in coats and hats. The kids really enjoyed it and didn't want to leave.

The only thing I don't like right now is that I pinched a nerve in my neck and I don't know how. I can't look to the left and it hurts to move in certain ways. It was so bad I went into the chiropractor and got an adjustment and found out more about it. He says it could take a couple weeks to a month to heal and that I can't drive for at least a week (since I can't turn my head). He gave me a neck brace and it's a pain in the neck (pun intended), though I don't have to wear it all the time gratefully. When I don't have it on, the kids love to pretend their neck hurts too and they like to put it on their neck. It's cute. The biggest pain is that I can't drive. I have so many little errands and things I usually do during the day while Neils is at work, I never realized how convenient that is until now when I can't and have to wait til he gets home or have him do it for me. Oh well, keeps me humble and grateful that I do have that convenience when I'm well. And it makes me grateful for a wonderful husband who will help me out and do all those little things for me.

Busy November

November has come and gone so quickly I can hardly believe it! Yet we were very busy this month. Karen and Michael both got haircuts.


Don't you love their poses. I cut their hair myself, but it didn't turn out so great so we went to "the haircut store" (as Michael likes to say) and got them fixed. I tried to let Michael have a bit longer on top, but he didn't like it on his forehead and scratched so much he scratched sores on his forehead, so we had to cut the front short again. Oh well, he still looks cute.

The next picture just turned out so cute I had to share. I love his beautiful brown eyes that look so much like my mom's.

We got our first real snowfall this month and so had to get out all the winter wear. Karen found her beloved earmuff and decided to model them for me. Isn't she cute?

We then got ready for Thanksgiving. We did a few homemade decorations. It was fun to see the kids have fun. Karen also did a reenactment of the first Thanksgiving in her kindergarten class. It was really cute and I totally forgot my camera (uh duh!).

It was our first time hosting Thanksgiving at our home. We weren't sure if everyone would fit or how it would turn out, but it turned out great! Things were a bit tight, but dinner was delicious and we had a lot of fun playing games and talking. I'm so thankful for my sisters and their families for making it such a wonderful holiday. And again I forgot to take pictures, oh well.

That weekend we were able to get all the Christmas decorations out and put up the tree. We had a lot of fun and the kids were so excited to see everything. They found two french horns and started blowing in them with all their might. We had to explain that they were just for decoration and not real. They had fun tooting away anyway. Michael also found some Christmas stockings and decided they were great new socks and put them on (you can see them on his feet here). It was so funny but he looked so cute!


Well, we are excited for Christmas this year. I've nearly finished the Christmas shopping and we just finished planning all the fun things we are going to do this month for the holidays. Hope you all have fun plans too!

Halloween 2009

Halloween was very busy and fun this year. We started on Friday with a Halloween party at Karen's school that me and Michael were able to attend. After which we packed a lunch, grabbed the pumpkins and headed to Neils' work for some trick-or-treating and lunch with daddy. After that we tried to get the kids to nap before the ward Halloween party, emphasis on the word "tried". We had a fun filled day and we were all very exhausted at the end of it. Saturday was much more relaxed until the evening when the kids went trick-or-treating with daddy and I stayed home to hand out candy. When the kids pumpkins were filled, we headed over to my brother-in-law's house for some Ute football (which they won! yay Utes!). Gratefully, this holiday is over for another year and now I have to find a way to eat all the candy I can before the kids start to notice. j/k

Karen was my beautiful bride this year. I figured it was the only time I would have a say in what her bride dress would look like so I went all out and got a bit carried away making it. But it was fun and turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. She also loved the gold glitter spray we used in her hair and the make up we allowed just for halloween. I didn't get great pictures of just her so I hope this works for you to get a good idea of how beautiful she looked.


Michael was my scary ghost with white spray painted hair and painted face. I also made his costume this year which was a thousand times easier and quicker than Karen's, but just as fun. He loved looking scary and saying "BOO" to everyone.


Neils dressed up as a graduate and I went as the mad scientist. I forgot how horrible spray painted hair is. ICK!


These rows of pumpkins were at a house just up the street from us. I was so impressed that there were so many I had to get a picture. Karen said, "I wonder how they were able to carve so many so fast!" My thoughts exactly!


Hope everyone had a fun filled Halloween this year! Now on to Thanksgiving.

Severed Fingers

So I've had a few requests for the recipe for my cool looking severed fingers. Well here's it is. I used pretzels, sliced almonds, jam (raspberry or strawberry) and a peanut butter chews recipe. Here's the recipe:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder
• 1/4 cup honey or corn syrup
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together and knead thoroughly with hands.

Take a pretzel (I like to used the larger pretzels so they are more like bones) and mold some of the peanut butter mixture around the pretzel to form the finger. Leave a little bit of the pretzel showing at one end for the bone. Make lines around the knuckles, add a sliced almond to the end for a fingernail and jam around the pretzel end as the blood. Pretty simple and very effective. Have fun and Happy Halloween! :)

Pumpkin Painting

We have a cute pumpkin patch just down the road from us, so we decided to take the kids and let them pick their own pumpkins this year. It was quite fun and the kids loved looking at all the pumpkins and finding their favorites. Luckily they chose small ones so it didn't cost us an arm and a leg. We decided to let the kids paint their pumpkins instead of carving them. (Lots less messy and no chance of getting cut).

Karen wanted a scary face and this is how it turned out. I outlined the face and she painted it in. She did a really good job I think.

Michael had fun mixing all the paint together and didn't really do a face, but he had a blast anyway. I went back later and painted a face over what he had done. Neils says it looks like a hobo face, but Michael thinks it's silly which is just what he wanted.

We had a lot of fun. Now to finish their costumes and we'll be ready for Halloween! We also did a little Halloween treat, a practice for our ward Halloween party. They are called severed fingers, they look pretty good eh?


Since I haven't blogged for so long I did three just tonight. So keep going down to see them.

Ute Cheerleader

We love the Utes and have taught our kids to love them too. Michael loves to put on his Ute shirt to be "just like daddy". It's so cute. Karen has sadly grown out of hers and I've been looking for a new one, but when I saw this cheerleader outfit I just couldn't pass it up. It's got a separate shirt and skirt so she can wear just the shirt if she wants too. When I brought it home and showed her she immediately wanted to put it on. She looks so adorable!

Michael saw her and told her she looked like a princess and asked her to dance. They danced around the dining room for several minutes while Michael sang "dancey dance, dancey dance, dancey dance....." It was really cute and had to share.

Hair Dressers

My kids got bored one day and asked if they could do my hair. I said sure. They got the spray bottle and the brush and comb and both started pulling them through my hair and getting me and everything around me wet. I quickly took the spray bottle away and they decided that they now needed clips to go in my hair. They went and got the box of Karen's clips and they proceeded to put every single one of them in my hair. We took pictures to remember the fabulous job they did on my hair, which they were very excited about. Fun eh?

Herriman Beach

A couple weeks ago a few of our friends from West Valley came out and we all went to the new beach front in Herriman. It's little, but big enough. It was a quite day at the beach and not very many other people there, but perfect for our little group. The kids had a blast! They loved the water and learning how to build sand castles. The water was quite cold but the kids didn't mind much as the weather was quite hot and it cooled them down.
Michael would go into the water and get the wet sand to build the sand castles. Then bring it back and dump it out. It was so cute to watch him. The sand on the beach was never good enough for him, he had to go get it out in the water. They loved that the water was shallow and that they could walk around in it by themselves. This was the first time for them at any beach.
We had a blast with all of our friends. I wish we had gotten more pictures. This next one is Michael "posing" for the camera. He thought this was a cool pose.Here's Karen's pose for the camera.Thanks to our friends for coming out and having a great day with us at the beach!

Getting Better

So after 2 days of Michael not eating anything and then not even wanting to drink anything, Neils decided that enough was enough. He decided he would be the bad guy (cause I just couldn't) and force fed our son. He took a medicine dropper and some juice and teaspoon by teaspoon squirted juice into Michael's mouth and, after a couple times, Michael decided that he could do that and he was hungry/thirsty enough to tolerate it. After a day of that, we tried to give him some soft foods like broth or pudding. He didn't want to do that, he was so afraid that it would hurt his mouth. So after a while of him playing with the pudding (his favorite chocolate) and not getting any in his mouth, I sat down with him and persuaded him to open his mouth a bit and try some. After the first bite Michael decided it didn't hurt and that it tasted really good, he asked for more and more and more. After this hurdle things changed drastically and a day later he was eating just like before and trying to make up for lost time. Now he is doing just fine and you can't even tell that anything is wrong. The sores in his mouth are healing, though they are not gone yet. Hopefully by next week he will be completely over this. Thanks for everyone's concern and prayers, I know that it helped.

Life

Karen has been in school for a week now and she is loving it. She is able to sit by a couple of girls from her primary class and has started getting to know the other children sitting near her too. She loves her teacher and we were surprised to have her tell us that Karen is ready to start reading. She gave us some would parts to have her start sounding out. It's amazing to me that she is able to do it on her own. We checked out a website that her teacher recommended and it has simple stories with a focus on certain sounds. She did a really good job and loved it! She didn't want to stop. We are really proud of her and her desire to learn.

Michael got sick this last weekend. He's got a virus that causes sores in his mouth. I've never experienced anything like this before and he's having a really hard time. He doesn't want to eat or drink or speak or anything. He just lays around all day, which is very much unlike our energetic little boy. It will last for about 2 weeks and until he's better we need to keep him hydrated. Poor guy. We'll be keeping him quarantined for a little while til he's feeling better.

Kindergarten

Karen started Kindergarten today. She was very excited to start school and a little nervous. I wasn't too worried since she's had preschool for a year. They asked a parent to come with the child for the first hour of school so daddy stayed home this morning to watch Michael so I could be with Karen at school. We all went together to see Karen off and take pictures, then Daddy and Michael walked home while mommy stayed at school. Here's some fun picture in front of the school.

They have a cute playground just for the kindergartners separated from the rest of the school by a half wall all the way around. It's really a cute little playground. Michael loved it too and wanted to get in on the picture taking.
They line up along the wall of the playground when the bell rings and the teachers come out to get them to take them into class. (I blurred faces for safety)
Mommy was able to help Karen with a few "get to know you" activities in the classroom. She was excited to be able to sit by two girls that she knows from primary. There is also a little boy from primary that she knows too. There are 24 in her class and she's excited to make new friends too. I know she will love school. As I was driving home suddenly I felt a little sad. I didn't expect that, but I guess it is a big deal after all. I no longer have a baby girl, she's growing up so fast.

(P.S. I'm so excited to have a camera again!)

July

Well, July has been eventful and has kept us quite busy. The first weekend and week of July we had a lot of plans. We had something to do nearly every day, going to a couple carnivals, a parade and fireworks. We had a lot of fun (for details see Neils blog). But I lost my camera at one carnival and I've been bummed about it cause I lost some really cute pictures. Oh well, now I get to buy a new one. But I haven't had pictures to post so I haven't blogged.

Then we all got sick. The kids had diarrhea and gave it to me too. Neils luckily didn't get it. Lucky guy. That took the better part of nearly 2 weeks for us to all get better. Then we packed the kids off to grandma and grandpa's house last week and had ourselves a "stay-cation". We didn't do much, just a much needed break from the kids. It's amazing how fun shopping is without the kids. We also went to a movie, The Proposal. Can you believe Neils took me to a chick flick?!? It was a cute movie but had 2 very drawn out, very inappropriate parts in it. Definitely not for kids. We also got to go see Herriman's performance of "The Music Man". That was fun. We even saw Cindy and Zac there, that was a treat. My favorite part was going to the Salt Lake Temple. We haven't been for a long time since it takes longer to get there and it's not in our district. But since we had the time we went down there and made an afternoon of it with lunch and a session. I'd forgotten how beautiful the temple is and how fun it can be to move from room to room. It sure does put things in a different light. I also cleaned out my car! I think it's been over a year since I did a good job of it and I did a really good job of it, I even pulled out the vacuum and got all under the seats and everything. It's amazing everything I found. It was so nice to get the inside clean we decided to clean the outside too. Amazing difference and how clear the view was (though I think the wind swept out the smog that week so...).

Now it's back to being a parent again. I love my kids, but I think this is going to be a tough year for Michael. He's 3 and wants to be so grown up like his sister age 5. He wants to go to school like Karen (she starts next week), he repeats what she says and does what she does. It can be really cute, but there are something he's just too little to do yet. Then there is the other side where he doesn't want to do anything for himself and wants me or daddy to do it all for him and still be the baby. He also doesn't want to potty train. His temper tantrums are worse too. Though I hope as Karen goes to school and I have more time with him one on one that things will start to get better. I hope this is just a stage he's going through. Pray for me.

Karen's Preschool Graduation

Tuesday was Karen's preschool graduation. It was fun and short which was just great for all those little bodies. There were a dozen in Karen's class, 5 girls and 7 boys (though one of the boys couldn't make it). They started by doing the cute little rhyme "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" while they each took turns putting the letters on the coconut trees on the wall. It was really cute and they all did a good job.
Then they did a cute little dance called "Beat in Your Feet", more of a rhythm type thing. Karen's in the back left corner.

Then the teacher did a little spotlight for each of the students telling a little about their favorite things and what they liked best about preschool. Karen said she liked snack time best. You'd never know to look at her that she really loves to eat. The teacher also said that she was able to pick up on the sight words very quickly and really enjoyed learning. After the spotlight, each child got their "graduation certificate".That was it. Short, sweet and to the point. We all went in the backyard and had some refreshments and chatted while the kids played on the trampoline or the swing set. It was a very enjoyable evening, especially since Michael was with the babysitter and he couldn't interrupt any of the proceedings. We are so proud of you Karen and everything you've learned.

Dad/Michael Day

Yesterday we celebrated Father's day and Michael's birthday. It was fun and busy. We started out with me actually getting up early so that I could make French toast for Neils' breakfast in bed. Church actually went better than usual. Then we had lunch and presents.


After naps we went to Neils' brother's house for dinner with his side of the family and had more presents and birthday cake. Michael was ecstatic and really enjoyed his Wall-E cake. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a wonderful day for both Neils and Michael.

Neils Birthday

On Tuesday we celebrated Neils' birthday. We had a few presents which the kids helped him open.

Then we went out to dinner. The kids always find interesting ways to entertain themselves in restaurants. This time it was with a cylindrical ad on the table.

At the end of the dinner as we were getting to go boxes, Michael decided he wanted to help. This is how he helped. I thought it was cute and very funny.

Caught in the Rain

The kids were begging to go for a walk today. With the inclement weather we've had I was a little hesitant, but after dinner it was looking like it would be okay to go out. It was beautiful for a couple minutes and then suddenly the wind kicked up with a cold nip in it. I looked up and saw some very menacing clouds and said that we better not stay out too long cause it looked like it would rain. By the time we got to the corner we started feeling a few drops and turned around to go home quickly. Before we got home it had started raining and a minute later there was a cloud burst and a full deluge. We were lucky to get home before the downpour. The storm moved so quickly that 15 minutes later it was over. What luck to chose the few minutes of rain to take our walk.

Karen Turns 5

My little girl is growing up so fast. Yesterday was Karen's 5th birthday! We had a lot of fun. We went to a couple yard sales and bought a few things for the kids and the family. Jessica came over and helped us with Karen's birthday cake, face painting, and the park. We really appreciated Jessica coming over while Neils was up in Wyoming for the morning to help his brother with his basement. Karen really missed her daddy. After naps we had presents and then went to Karen's favorite restaurant Chick-Fil-A, although she calls it the cow place. It's not that she likes the food, she just likes the play area there. Then we all went miniature golfing (Karen's choice rather than a friend party). Cake was the last thing before bed. We had a really fun day and Karen is really excited to be 5 and be more grown up now. Happy Birthday Karen.

Star Trek XI

The new Star Trek movie came out this week and Neils scored tickets from work so that we could see it today. I've been very skeptical of this movie ever since I found out that Sylar (the bad guy on Heroes) was going to play Spock. I just didn't think he fit the role and was very disappointed with their casting him. Then I saw the previews and it looked so violent and not like the Star Trek TOS (The Original Series) at all. So I wasn't very excited to see it, though I did "have to" see it since I've seen every Star Trek movie and nearly every episode of every Star Trek series they have had. Well today was the day and I wasn't expecting to like it at all especially after some review that I read that said that Trekkies that like the original series didn't like it much and since I'm in that category I didn't have much hope. But by the end of the movie I was all smiles and I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it so much. I especially liked Leonard Nimoy's appearance in the film. In fact I like it enough that I actually want to see it in the theater again (which is saying a lot since I don't see a movie in the theater more than once). Anyone who is wondering whether or not they want to see yet another Star Trek movie and a prequel at that I suggest you see it, I think you'll be suprised.