The Keddingtons

Natural History Museum

2012-02-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

I went to the temple last Saturday with some of my girlfriends, and while I was there Brock went with his parents, Brett and Kallie, Natalie, and the kids to the new Natural History Museum at the U. They were there for hours, and then went to lunch. Brock did a good job at getting a bunch of pictures, and told me that Jace took a bunch too. He said that there we tons of awesome dinosaurs to look at, but they didn't get any pictures of that.

Grandma was helping Leila with her 3-D glasses.

The boys listening to some Indian languages.

Jace had to get a few pictures. Here is one of daddy listening intently.

And Kallie taking pictures.

Griffin

Brock looking hot as usual.

Daddy and Nixon catching some rays outside at the weather station.

The kids with Aunt Natalie looking at a sand storm.

Cute boys.

Grandpa had to come check it out too.

Lindsey is 30!!

2012-02-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well, all of my cute high school friends are taking their turns turning 30. I just can't believe it! And I'm next! AAAAAAHHHHHH! Lindsey just moved back to Utah, after being in Denver, and Seattle, and San Francisco for the past several years. We are all so glad she's back, and that we get to see her all the time now! She turned 30 on the 26th of January, and invited us all to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. I love these girls so so much, and am so glad that we still see each other!

Shandra, Lindsey, Jenn

Alisha, Talitha (always having more fun than everyone else!), me, and Heather

Out of this group of ladies, Shandra and I are the only ones NOT pregnant!

Spaghetti Dinner

2012-02-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

I love Spaghetti night at our house. Maybe because that means that Brock is in charge of dinner. Whenever we have spaghetti, I make Brock do it. I have never been a fan of spaghetti. I never liked it growing up, and we almost never had it. But, ever since I tried it at The Spaghetti Factory, with browned butter and mizithra cheese, I love it! Luckily, our kids love it too. I just had to get some pictures of the mess it is though. I should have taken pictures of the table and floor after dinner, but I didn't think about it.

He was trying to be funny for the camera here. He doesn't always take such big bites!

Leila is Getting So BIG!

2012-02-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

Well, we FINALLY decided it was time to get rid of the backward facing infant carrier Leila has been in since she was BORN! Our pediatrician told us that they are now recommending waiting until your child is two years old before turning them around, and Leila never really minded being backwards, so we didn't turn her around. Well, the last month or so she has just cried and screamed and thrown a fit every time we try to get her in there. Not to mention she's too big for it, and could hardly fit anymore. Daddy surprised her last week with the forward facing big kid seat. We've put her in Nixon's seat every once in a while, and she loves it, but of course, she wasn't having it when we got her her own. She cried and threw a fit anyway!

Then she finally decided to be happy. Here is the arrangement we have now. We usually have Jace in the 3rd row, but a while back we had to use the back to take something somewhere, and he's been up with the others ever since. He likes being in on the action. Brock and I threaten to move him back just about every car ride because he and Nixon love to bug each other.

I thought I should try pig tails in Leila's hair, just to see what it looked like. I have to admit, I thought she looked so dang cute! She pretty much takes bows off as soon as you put them on, and rips ponytail holders out after a while too, so I took this picture before day care the other day. They were still in when I picked her up, but by the time we got home, she had ripped them out.

One of our favorite things that Leila does right now is points at things. I know that sounds silly, but she does it so cute-ly! Her hand is kind of in a fist, and she brings it right up by her face and points to something. Usually it's when she's mad and wants something. It's one of Brock's favorite things, and he always tells me he wants a picture. I tried the other day, but by the time I had grabbed my camera, she wasn't doing it anymore. I tried to make her do it, and this is what I got.

Love her!

I Have Silly Kids

2012-02-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

Lately my kids have been into having "sleepovers". They do this wherever they find a nice little nook in our house, like Leila's crib, or Jace's bed, or the bathroom, or the pantry. They all get their pillows and blankies and turn off the lights and lay down and talk. I just love it. I've never gotten pictures, but when they went into the pantry, I grabbed my camera and got a few. These little ones sure make me happy.

Jace and Nixon were pretending to be asleep. Leila didn't quite get it.

Jace loves to just lay in the bath after the others have gotten out. He laid there like this for like a half an hour one time. If the water just stayed warm, and we didn't make him get out, he could stay in there like this for hours. I loved watching his hair. He would go down and up in the water so his hair looked so cool!

After baths is time to get dressed of course. Well, Leila thought Jace's underwear made a cute hat. Then Jace had to try it too.

These kids love playing hide and seek and Leila has even gotten really good at it. She stays super still and quiet and gets so excited when you find her. Whenever I'm getting ready for the day, she has to be by my side, and whenever she notices my closet (a favorite place to hide) she starts saying "Hi! Hi!" I say, "Do you want to hide?" She says, "Uh huh!" and then I start to count. She does it over and over, and never gets bored. Another favorite place to hide is under the kitchen sink. She fits right in there, and the day I grabbed my camera, Nixon squeezed in there too!

I sure love my crazy, silly, fun kids!

Nixon's Forehead Wound

2012-02-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

The other day the boys were running around our living room and I told them to stop before someone hits their head on our TV stand. Well, what do you know? Literally, within 30 seconds of me saying that, Nixon tripped and slammed his head right into the corner of it! He grabbed his face so fast and was crying and I just knew he had cracked it and was bleeding, but when he took his hands away there was no blood. Just a nice big purple dent. I grabbed him up and as I was holding him I saw it start to fill with fluid. It became a huge goose egg in a matter of seconds, and looked awful! I took a picture on my phone and this is what it looked like a few minutes after the hit.

I have taken a few more pictures since then to document since it's now been almost 2 weeks, and he is still bruised.

This was a couple of days later. It looks great! Practically gone.

Then a couple of days later we noticed his right eye started getting black.

Then it went into the left eye as well, and kind of started getting green.

Poor kid. Luckily he wasn't in pain for too long.

Winterfest

2012-02-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

Some of the cute girls in my ward invited us to Winterfest at the Southtown Expo Center. The kids had so much fun! There were fun bouncy slides and they got to jump and run and play. Leila fell asleep on the way there, and slept until about 20 minutes before we left. I love that my kids can sleep anywhere! I only had my small camera so the pics aren't that great.

When we first got there Jace was holding Maddie's hand. It was so dang cute, but Lynette and I couldn't get our cameras out fast enough! He's pulling her towards the bounce houses.

Jace and Nix had so much fun trying to tackle each other on the way down.

Nixon and Jace always have to bend the rules. Nixon started climbing up the walls of the thing, so then Jace had to, and then every boy there had to. It was pretty funny.

Earlier in the day Nixon had slammed his forehead into our TV stand and had a huge goose egg. I wanted to get a picture of it, but you can't really tell here. It was awful!

They needed a rest after all the jumping.

Then it was time for face painting. Jace wanted this creepy snake creature, and got it. All of the girls were afraid! Nixon wanted to be Spiderman.

She was afraid of getting paint into his wound, so she painted around it.

All of the little girls that we came with were butterflies, and Jace was running around chasing them saying "I eat butterflies!" They would all scream and run away. It was so funny. Then Nixon got in on the chasing too.

Madelyn was his favorite butterfly. He caught her and was pretending to bite her!

Here is the whole group with all of their faces painted.

We told everyone to hug each other, and naturally, these two went for each other. Love them!

Me and my cute kiddos.

A Date With My Boys

2012-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to get to take my two favorite boys on a movie date the other day. My boys watch Disney channel pretty much constantly around here, and they had been promoting Beauty and the Beast in 3D. Jace knew what day it was coming out, and said all week that on Saturday we were going to go see it. Well, as usually happens, he got his way. We couldn't justify spending $40 so that the whole family could go, so I ended up taking them. Brock was pretty heart broken. He did get to spend a fun afternoon with the little miss though, and that is pretty lucky! I only had my crappy little camera though, so the pictures aren't very good.

They've got their snacks and their glasses, and are ready!

I started taking pictures right as the previews were starting, so Nixon was never looking at the camera

At least he's smiling even though he's watching the previews too.

I sure love these two!

Discovery Gateway

2012-01-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Lynette and her girls invited us to spend the morning at Discovery Gateway on Monday. We had a blast, and thanks to my friends, I was able to get my whole family in for free! Bonus! We took the kids to two classes. One where they got to color a almost life size body, and one where they did some fun spin art. Thanks for the invite! We had so much fun!

All the kids coloring

I am so glad I got Jace's tongue out in this picture! He always sticks it out when he colors!

The final products

Jace doing the spin art

Great Grandpa Sanders

2012-01-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

We got to go visit my grandpa, my dad's dad, Grandpa Sanders the other night. We took him dinner and he watched our kids run around and play. He is 92 years old, and we feel blessed to still have him with us, and living so close. He is one of the greatest men I've ever, and will ever know.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve started out with Leila being sick (refer to previous post). Then at 9:00am the boys had their beginning of the year- meet your new primary teacher activity. I can't believe Nixon is in Primary! He'll be just about the oldest since he turns 4 in February, but I still can't believe it! I had to wake Leila up at 10:00 to go pick the boys up since Brock was out running. Nixon seemed a little sad, and unlike himself, but I just figured he was nervous around all the new people. He ate his donut and orange juice, so I didn't think much of it. We came home and played Rayman on the Wii for a while, and then Grandpa K came over to watch the Utes play in the Sun Bowl. What a game! I fell asleep and woke up with 1:34 left in the game and we were down 17-24. My heart immediately started racing, and didn't stop until it was over! Luckily we scored right away, and then went into overtime. The Utes pulled it out when Georgia Tech only scored a field goal, and we got the touch down! YESSSSS!
We went to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa K, the Handys, the Miners, and Grandma B. Spaghetti Factory, yum! It was great except for the fun half hour or so of Nixon being sick (again, refer to previous post). We then came home, changed the kids into their pj's, and headed up to Grandma and Grandpa K's for games, treats, fireworks, and lots of fun ringing in the New Year.

Leila and Griffin

The boys doing poppers

The adults played fun games while the kids were downstairs doing who knows what

The kids love playing with my new Ipad

We played some Wii

The boys all got these jammies for Christmas, and just happened to all wear them! Leila wanted to be in the picture, and I tried to cut her out, but she snuck in too close. Good thing she's cute!

Watching fireworks from the warmth of the house

Then it was outside for noise makers! They were so loud!

And silly string

Sparklers

Some more poppers

Cheers!


New Year's Kiss!

This year has been really great for our family. Brock has a job that he really likes, and I was able to work most of the year as well, and now am enjoying being at home with our kids. Brock is still serving as Gospel Doctrine teacher in our ward, and is excited about getting to teach the Book of Mormon. As is true with all callings in the church, he feels that he learns more than he is able to teach. He does such a great job, I am glad that I get to attend his class. I am still the Beehive Advisor, and love working with the young women. They make me so happy. Jace started Kindergarten, and his first year in the French Immersion Program. He has really amazed us with all of the things he is learning, and when we had Parent/Teacher conferences, Brock and I got to listen to him converse with his teacher. She spoke completely in French to him, and he understood and replied! It is truly amazing, and we are so grateful that he got in to the program. He is a great reader, and is learning more and more about math, and other things as well. All I ever hear about is what he did at recess though. It seems to be all he cares to remember about his day! He is such a good big brother, and rarely does anything he's not supposed to. He is Leila's protector (mostly from Nixon), and truly loves and takes care of her. Nixon is in his 2nd year of preschool, and loving it. He goes to Woods Cross preschool with Shauna, and we feel blessed to be able to take him there. He is so so sweet, and just loves to give hugs and kisses. Most of the time though, he is starting some kind of fight with Jace or Leila. He is just at that age - that age where he wants to be independent and not do anything his parents or brother and sister want him to do. So fun. We keep telling ourselves it's a phase, and it will be better when he's 5! Another year! (Please let that be true!) He went to primary for the first time today, and I just can't believe he's getting so big - old - he's still tiny! Leila has been a joy to our family this past year. We now have a house with babies, and pink, and dolls, and bows! She is so quick to smile and wants to make sure everyone is happy. If one of the boys gets in trouble (even if it's for hurting her) she goes to him in time out to keep him company. She is a doll, and we love having her in our family. We have been so very blessed this past year, and look forward to 2012, and all that it will bring.

A Bunch of Sickies!

2012-01-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is this holiday season, but somehow I have had sick kids all the way through! First, they all took their turns with a day of throwing up a couple of weeks ago. Then, Nixon got Pink Eye somewhere. We had to give him drops 3 times a day for 5 days. NOT FUN! On the 5th day, his other eye was goopy and pink. GREAT! 5 more days. The next day, Leila woke up with it in one of her eyes. Lovely. Now it's drops for 2 kids 3 times a day. Then, Christmas Day Nixon was so sick throwing up again! The fun wasn't over yet. On Leila's last day of drops she woke up with the other eye all yucky. Are you kidding me??? More drops. At least that all seems to be over now. (knock on wood) Okay, so then two days ago Leila has awful diarrhea and throws up. Yesterday, New Year's Eve, she still has diarrhea, and poops all over her pajamas and bed. I bring her in bed with us around 7:00am. She starts dry heaving and I run her to the bathroom. She throws up. She then sleeps until 10:00 when I have to wake her up so that I can go get the boys from their Primary activity. She's tired, and just wants to cuddle. We get home around 10:30 and she falls asleep again. We eat lunch, and neither she nor Nixon is interested. She sleeps most of the day until 4:00pm. We went out to dinner with Brock's family at the Spaghetti Factory, and Leila now seems totally fine. She's eating, playing, back to her normal self. Now Nixon won't touch his food. He says he feels like he might throw up. I don't believe him because he says that to get out of eating, and he was just sick a week ago, he can't be sick again right? He says he needs to go to the bathroom, so I take him. He's in there for EVER! Diarrhea. Awesome. Then, as soon as he's done, I go in to help him, and he looks at me, and I know! I turn him around and he pukes into the toilet. A lot. WHAT THE HECK!!! Sick on another holiday?!?!? I get him cleaned up, and he now wants all of his dinner. He and Leila were both fine the rest of the night, and still seem perfectly okay this morning. I hope this is the last of the sickness for the season at the Keddington home! I am so sick of changing sheets, clothes, diapers, and watching my children suffer!

Winter Swimming

2012-01-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

My friend Jenn invited me and the kids to go swimming at the Herriman Rec Center. It was a bit of a drive, but worth it! You could tell that my kids hadn't been swimming since summer, because they were in the water from the second we got there until the second we had to leave.

Jace on the slide. He and Nixon must have gone down it a hundred times!

Leila loved walking around and splashing

Leila is behind Nixon deciding if she wants to go. The spraying water at the top of the slide made her decision. She climbed back down the steps.

Nixon likes to go backwards on his belly

Leila would watch for the boys to come down

Here is Jace, Nixon, and Zoe. Cohen is walking away.

I think he was bummed that his mom was making him leave.

I KNOW she was bummed! She wouldn't stand by the kids for a picture, but I got one of her anyway.

The Next Day

2011-12-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

WOW! Our house looked like a bomb had gone off! For some reason, for me, the minute Christmas is over I just want to get it all cleaned up. It's so strange, we start listening to Christmas music months before, we decorate, and have parties, and treats and go shopping all throughout December, and then the day comes and is gone just like that! I woke up around 9:00am, and got started on the cleaning. It took about 4 hours, but all the decorations are gone, the presents have somehow been given a new home, and it was just back to Monday - Laundry day. Nixon asked if he got a chocolate from his advent calendar. I told him sadly no. It's over. He asked how many more days till Christmas Eve Eve now? I said oh, about 362. He said, that's a lot. Yeah, it is.

Shot from upstairs

Shot from the kitchen

A few hours later.

This is one of my favorite things. These stay up year round, so that I always have my friends and family close!

Christmas Day!

2011-12-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

Long Day = Long Post
Unfortunately for poor Nixon, our morning started around 6:45am with Nix throwing up. I was so mad! Our entire family just went through this bug a couple of weeks ago, and we thought we were so glad we had gotten it out of our systems before Christmas. We were wrong. He threw up again before we went downstairs. It wasn't horrible, just a little bit of clear liquid. He seemed to perk up a bit, so we gathered the kids and they all headed down the stairs together to see if Santa had come.

He CAME!!!

He even took the time to thank us for the yummy treats!

Leila was still pretty tired, and not sure she wanted to be awake for this.

Jace thought bringing her a present would wake her up. He was right!

A doggy!

I finally have a child who loves getting clothes! She held on to these and hugged them, and didn't want to let them go! It was quite a proud moment for me!

Aunt Julia came and spent the night with us so that she could witness the special magical time that Christmas morning is for kids. At one point, Nixon got really quiet, and had a sad look on his face. We asked what was wrong, and he said, "I never got to tell Julia that I'm sick." So he walked over to tell her.

I was so excited to give Leila her first baby doll.

I was so glad that she loved her baby!

This is the big box from Granny and Grandpa in Malaysia.

Brock surprised me with an IPad 2!

Jace got just what he wanted from Santa, Pirates of the Caribbean for his DS. He had to play it immediately.

Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa K's for some more spoiling. Nixon took a turn for the worse at this point. It was so so sad. He could hardly move, and just wanted me to hold him the whole morning. As presents would get passed his way, he would turn his head to watch me open it, and couldn't even get excited. We had to get up about 4 or 5 times so he could throw up some more. It was truly awful. There is nothing worse than being sick on Christmas. He was so weak, and could hardly stand up at the toilet to throw up. Then, he gave in and fell asleep amid all the craziness of everyone else opening presents, and all of the excitement and fun. We saved the rest of his presents for later. The rest of us, however, had so much fun, and got SPOILED! Since I am the one who usually takes all the pictures, and I was busy holding Nixon, we didn't get many pictures here.

Such a cute purse!

The boys all got Utah helmets, but of course, Nixon didn't want to put his on.

So so sad.

Leila was so excited about all the new clothes she got! She wanted to carry them everywhere!

I can't believe it, but I actually surprised Brock! I got him this metal Utah sign that he can hang in his office. It doesn't look like it in the picture, but it's super heavy duty. It's really heavy, and good quality. He loved it, and I'm so glad!

The boys all got these bow and arrow sets, so Jace had to take his out to play with it.

Luckily the weather was perfect for playing outside! No white Christmas this year!

We had to show off our pj's.

Then we had our delicious breakfast of scones, hash browns, and bacon. I think I could eat scones with honey butter all day. They are so good! Nixon was still feeling sick at this point, and wouldn't eat. He threw up one more time, and then seemed to perk right up! He started eating, and then when he saw his pile of presents still sitting there, he got so excited to open them. Brock and I were so happy that he felt better!

Then we had to head home to get ready for church. Julia was singing in my parent's ward, so all of the Sanders kids minus Nolan went to their ward for church. She did a great job, and we went to Dane and Annie's afterwards for lunch and more presents. Here are the kids all dressed up in their Christmas church clothes. Nolan and Treo weren't able to make the trip up from St. George because they're in the middle of moving, so they were busy packing, and doing other things. They were missed, as were Granny and Grandpa. This is their last year in Malaysia, and we're so glad we get to be with them on Christmas next year!

Our festively dressed family at Dane and Annie's. Nixon started feeling sick again.

At Dane and Annie's we had yummy sandwiches, with lots of snacks, and salad too. We played board games, then opened presents, then went downstairs to play Wipeout on their new Kinect for the XBox.

Playing games

Jace and Leah

Justin and Maria

Leila got a present from Dane and Annie's girls

Jace and Nixon got one from the girls too. Nixon had thrown up again, and gotten it on his sweater, so he's just wearing his under shirt. He felt better after a nap.

All the cute girlies opening their presents from our kids.

Brock and I had Julia this year. She got a cute new cardigan and some shoes.

Julia had Justin and Maria, and got them a gift card.

Justin and Maria had Dane and Annie

He had filled the box with random items like this blanket that we all though was for them, but no. This is their blanket. The real gift was Wipeout for the XBox.

The kids minus Aria who was napping.

We went downstairs to play Wipeout. It was pretty funny.

Uncle Justin teaching Leila how to spin.

Leila just thought everyone was dancing, and joined in

Then she needed to take a rest

Julia and I had to give it a try

More of silly Leila

I'm trying to climb up something. Don't judge.

Bella

There were lots of things downstairs to keep Leila occupied.

We were glad we were able to see my family on Christmas. Then it was time to go back to Grandma B's for dinner and yes, more presents! It never ends!

Leila loves Grandpa K!

A huge Toy Story blanket!

Jace was the deliverer of all of the presents

Ooh, Leila got a Princess blanket. Her first Princess thing!

She loved this pretty skirt! So did I!

Uncle Randy got a rake and wheel barrow

Shauna, Dale, JR, Chloe, and Steve

Leila had fun playing Peek-a-Boo with Nixon's blanket

Then came baseball with wrapping paper balls

Tess, Randy, Grandma B, Brock, Me, Leila, and Jace

Such a long day!

Christmas this year was filled with so much JOY! There just isn't any better time of the year for me. I love all the parties with friends and family. The eating, the treats, the cards and presents, and the stories of the Savior. What a wonderful time of year. I can't believe another one has come and gone.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was really fun this year. We woke up and went to see "Arthur Christmas" at the theater with Grandma and Grandpa K, Brett, Kallie, Beckett, and Griffin. It was pretty cute. Then we came home, ate lunch, took naps, and pretty much relaxed until it was time to head over to Brett and Kallie's for dinner. We always have salad, steak, baked potatoes, and garlic bread for Christmas Eve dinner. It was delish as usual.

Then it was time for old home videos from Christmases past. It was fun to see everyone twenty or so years ago. In a couple of them, Brock was playing Christmas songs on his trumpet (while sporting his sweet mullet, no less), and Leila thought it was good dancing music.

Here is everyone enjoying the movies. The TV is right about where I'm standing.

You can see Brock on the TV. Leila is dancing.

I thought it would be fun to try pigtails. I thought it was so cute!

Cute piggies.


Nixon loves this dog. You put your hand in it like a pu	ppet, and it barks Christmas songs.

Then it was time for the reading of the Christmas story by Brock, and the reenactment by the kids. It was pretty funny. Leila looked so adorable as Mary, Jace was Joseph, Griffin was an angel, and Nix and Beckett were sheep. Baby Jesus was played by a stuffed turtle :) It was hard to get a good picture because they each took turns wandering off!

The next part of our tradition is poppers! Each one has a toy, a joke, and a paper crown inside. We always have to get a picture.

I wanted to get a picture of my cute kids before they opened their Christmas Eve presents. I just love these 3!

Grandma K took a minute to read a book to the kiddos.

Then it was time to open some presents! Brett and Kallie were not going to be there when we opened presents with Grandma B and the Miners, so they exchanged presents this night. They thought that our kids might feel left out, so they brought a couple for them to open too. And of course, Brock and I gave them their Christmas jammies.

In their new pajamas

All of the Keddington grandkids

Leila got some other jammies from Grandma B. And a cute new outfit!


All of the grandkids opening presents


Natalie, Kallie, and I even got new pj's from Grandma K!

We went home and had to leave a treat for Santa. We just happened to have some peanut butter rice krispie treats lying around, so Jace thought we should give him one of those. But just one since we only had 2 left, and Jace wanted one. We also left him a coke, because we figure Santa might get sick of just milk. Jace wrote him a nice note too. It is such a magical time, and so much more fun with kids of our own!

While Jace was writing his letter, Leila was trying to get a penny off the table with her mouth. I had to get a pic

This is after I took the rubberbands out! Still has little piggies.

I asked Jace if he wanted to write anything else, like thanks for the presents, or be safe tonight, he said no. Then it was off to bed so that Santa could come!!!

Leila's "Comfy" Position

2011-12-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

Any time Leila lies down to watch TV, she puts her arms up behind her head. Brock snapped a picture of her doing it the other day. Don't mind the nudity!

Game Night

2011-12-23T13:34:00.000-08:00

Last night we had our friends the Watts over for dinner and games. It was so fun! We made homemade pizzas, and they were delish -if I do say so myself! Then the adults sat down and played a few games while the kids ran around like crazy people!

Jace took this picture, so it's from a low vantage point. Here we are with Lynette and Joey.

Nixon actually slept for the first couple of hours they were here, but then woke up, put pajamas on (another post), and joined in on the fun. Here he is playing XBox with Maddie.

All the kids. Jace, Maddie (both 6) - Nixon, Leila, and Izabel (2)

It's too bad Leila hates cameras and never poses! ;)

Thanks for coming over to our crazy, loud house Watts! It was so much fun!

Jazz Game

2011-12-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Julia and her group "Mountain Blue" were chosen to sing the National Anthem for the first home pre-season game of the year. The NBA has been in a lock-out until just recently, so their first home game wasn't until Wednesday. Anyway, Spring Mobile, where Brock works, has a table in the Executive Suite, and though we knew it was a long shot, he asked if we could use those tickets if no one else was. Well, we got them! We decided to invite Dane and Annie so that they could see Julia sing also. It was really fun.

Julia and her group are on the right on the front row by the Jazz players just waiting to go on.

Here they are after the teams came out to the court.

I got much better pictures on the big screen.

I turned around and saw this. Dane and Brock recording, and Annie enjoying.

I so wish I had brought my long lens!

They really sounded so good! It was so fun to get to hear them in such a huge Arena like this. I even gave my signature "WOO!" at an awkward time so that Julia would know it was me! She did! Love it!
In the Executive Suite, it's like a restaurant. You start out sitting at a table, and even have someone waiting on you bringing you drinks. You have to be 21 to go, and you can't wear jeans or tee shirts. It's so fun to get to dress up, and enjoy a fun night with Brock - and see the Jazz play to top it off! You then go to the buffet where they have all kinds of salads, and rolls, fruits, cheeses, crackers, crab claws, and shrimp etc. for appetizers. Then you go back for the main course.

My delicious dinner. Don't worry, my meat was dead.

Dane, Annie, me, and Brock at the table.

You can then go down to some seats to watch the game if you want, and at half time they bring out the desserts. Again, it's a buffet, so I tried a little bit of a bunch of things!

Strawberry cake, eclair, sugar cookie

Then we moved back down to our seats to watch the rest of the game. Yeah, I need glasses in this kind of situation.

It was such a fun night, and we are so glad Dane and Annie got to come enjoy it with us! Great job Julia, and Mountain Blue! You rocked it!

Annual Ladies Christmas Party

2011-12-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

This year we got together at Talitha's house for some yummy soups, salads, bread bowls, and desserts. I just love getting together with these girls. I hope it's obvious by the pictures that it was an ugly sweater party! I won for the worst sweater! Thanks to my cousin Melanie who took it from her Grandma solely for ugly sweater parties! Back Row L-R: Lisa, Mindi, Alisha, Talitha, Shandra Front Row L-R: Lindsey, Jenn, me, Steph.

We played Pictionary, and it was so fun. It's even more fun because none of us can draw!

Alisha

Steph

Mindi

Jenn

Then, when all of the pictures had been drawn and guessed, we put them back in the bowl and thought it would be fun to act them out like charades. It was hilarious!

Talitha

Shandra

Alisha


Me being a caroler. People always tell me I have a big mouth. I always thought it was a figure of speech, but nope. I literally have a huge mouth!

Steph

Mindi

Talitha

Alisha

Lindsey. This is actually the 3rd round when we decided to try the words again, but this time you can only say one word. It was pretty funny again, but as you can see, the pictures weren't very entertaining!

Ogden City Lights

2011-12-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

We went to see the lights in Ogden again this year. It was so so cold! We were all bundled up with lots of layers, but still, winter time is just too cold here! I have to admit though, if it doesn't snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I will be a bit disappointed, and it's looking like it's not going to. We'll get it in June to make up for it though, I'm sure. Jace had so much fun, but Nixon had fallen asleep on the drive there and was kind of grumpy and didn't want me to take his picture. Leila was so funny. She was so bundled that she couldn't move. She would start tipping over in the stroller and couldn't sit upright on her own, so she was just leaning most of the time!

Leaning Leila.

Mad face.

The whole family.

Kindergarten Class Party

2011-12-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to get to help with Jace's class Christmas party on Tuesday. I was the story reader, and thanks to my friend Jules, I read "The Polar Express", and I had made necklaces for all of the kids with a bell on it. They loved it! I just loved seeing Jace interact with all of his friends. When I got there he was outside at recess, so I just sat at the window and watched him. Every day when I ask him what he did at school, pretty much all he tells me is that he played soccer at recess. I finally got to see him in action! It was so fun to watch him play, and laugh, and having so much fun. I tell Brock all the time that I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch him at school. When they came in from recess he saw me, and ran over to give me a huge hug. I had to soak it in because I know this won't be his reaction for much longer! Anyway, they had several stations. Some with games, some with crafts, one where they got to decorate a cookie, and then story time with me. It was really fun. I tried to get a picture at all of the stations, but since I was reading, I missed a couple of them.

This is Jace swinging his necklace around after story time.

I read to Jace's table first. This is the orange table with their necklaces.

Here he is playing Bingo

And his empty plate where his decorated cookie was before he ate it!

Kisses!

2011-12-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

I have caught Leila kissing the wall a few times before, and was so glad I had my camera close by when she started doing it the other day. She is so funny! I don't know why she does it, but it makes us all laugh every time. I guess she's just practicing! Love it!

Oh, I'm so funny!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-11T15:56:00.001-08:00

We went to Brett and Kallie's house on Friday night to decorate gingerbread houses. It was lots of fun. Grandma K had brought empty milk cartons for the kids to make their own with graham crackers, and we made homemade pizzas for dinner. I love homemade pizzas. We are just loving all the fun Christmas activities!

All the boys hard at work.

And me. I don't mess around.

Jace did his all by himself! (Notice the lack of hair in his eyes!)

Beckett's. He had a little help from Brett.

Nixon's. He had help from daddy.

Mine.

Hair Cuts

2011-12-11T15:43:00.001-08:00

As you could see from earlier posts, Jace was in desperate need of a haircut. I decided to get all of the kids haircuts. My cute neighbor Angie has a salon in her basement, and the boys love going to their house to play. They have kids Jace and Nixon's ages, and they are usually lucky enough to stay and play for a couple of hours after they get their hair cut. This time though, I even wanted to trim up Leila's hair. I know what you're thinking, "What hair?", but the little hair she did have in the back was pretty much just a thin little mullet, and it drove me nuts! It looks so cute now! Okay, she pretty much looks exactly the same, but I can tell! I only took "before's" of the boys, because we know what they look like after. This post is mostly for my baby girl's first hair cut.

Oh, and Leila is OBSESSED with chapstick and lip gloss. If she ever sees me using it she HAS to have it. She likes to put it on her lips, but she also likes to put it on the rest of her face, her neck, and even in her hair. So pretty!

See her cute little mullet?

She was a little nervous, but once she noticed the animals on her cape, she was occupied.

Sad face.

She had a few random long strands here and there too, so I had Angie trim up the top.

Yay! No more mullet! It's strange, but the back looks so much thicker now. Okay, I guess I shouldn't say SO MUCH, but thicker anyway.

After! She looks so different right? Ha ha!

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-08T17:01:00.001-08:00

When we got out our Christmas decoration boxes, Jace saw our Christmas cookie cutters, and has been wanting to make cookies ever since. We finally had time for it yesterday, and made the dough, but the recipe said to let it refrigerate over night! That was not good news for the kids. I told him we'd only let it sit for a couple of hours, and then, since I was baking other treats ALL DAY, I had used up every ounce of flour in my house. We needed some to roll out the cookies, but I wasn't able to borrow some until like 9:00 at night, so we had to wait until today to actually make the cookies. After about half of the cookies were done, Beckett and Griffin came over with Grandma K to decorate with us! It was lots of fun, and I have definitely found the perfect recipe for soft, thick sugar cookies. Delish!

Yesterday afternoon. The kids were so helpful making the dough.

Okay, well, Jace and Nixon were. Leila pretty much just wanted to help lick the spatula clean.

Don't judge that Nixon and Leila are still in their pajamas at 1:30 in the afternoon! I was too!

Okay, this was from dinner last night. This is how Nixon eats bread. His face was covered with butter when he was through. It's really bad when he has cinnamon toast for breakfast!

This is today. Making shapes out of the dough.

Now on to frosting and decorating.

P.S. The kids are getting hair cuts tomorrow :)

Just kind of excited to be alive.

YUMMM!

Nixon just wanted to lick the toppings off after he decorated his.

Jace's first masterpiece.

Leila just eats the frosting.

Cute Griffeys liked his without any frosting at all! That's how good this recipe is!

Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-12-08T16:51:00.001-08:00

So, from the last post, you know that our tree is pretty dang tall. We got it home, and even trimmed off some more before bringing it in. When all was said and done, it measured about 12.5-13 feet. I just love it! We had to borrow a ladder to decorate it, and it was a little nerve wracking, but it looks great. I should have probably bought some more balls to hang, because it's kind of sparse, but I still love it!

Dale and Brock bringing it in the house.

Look how tall it is!

Brock stringing the lights. This is big, because he's really afraid of heights.

Jace always likes putting the star on. He got this high, and then said Daddy can do it!

I had to get a picture first!

Putting the star on.

The kids loved having the ladder in the house for a couple of days. Brock and I, not so much. They all made us a little nervous.

Jace got braver and braver.

This isn't the best picture, but here it is all decorated. All the kids ornaments are on the bottom, so it looks a little funny, but I just love it!

The Cabin

2011-12-08T16:12:00.001-08:00

We went to the cabin on December 2nd to find a tree. We woke up on Saturday, ate breakfast, and when Brett and Kallie got there we went to look for our Christmas trees.

Getting ready to go

Leila really didn't like being put down.

Ah, much better!

One tree down.

Brock and Brett hauling it down the mountain.

Trimming it a bit with the axe.

Working the chainsaw.

This one's next.

Look how tall it is!

TIMBER! You can't really tell, but it's falling in this picture.

Grandma stayed back with the kids.

Leila finally warmed up to the snow.

Our 3 cute kiddos.

While the men were still working on tree number 3, the kids had fun sliding in the snow.

Even Leila got in on it. She loved it!

All the boys do the whole time is eat snow. Leila thought she had better give it a try.

She didn't want to close her mouth once she got some snow in there! Every time she would just stick her tongue back out and spit it out. That didn't stop her from doing it 20 times though. Lick, spit, lick, spit, lick, spit.

The third and final tree took forever to cut through.

But it finally did fall.

Lugging the trees down to the trailer.

We realized that even to get them on the trailer we had to trim them down a bit.

Then it was back to the cabin for some lunch and games, or for me, a puzzle. Jace and Grandpa decided to have an arm wrestle.

The next day it was back out into the snow for some sledding. The kids all had a blast. Leila loved it! She would laugh and yell Yee Haw all the way down. It was so fun.

Gotta love swinging!

The boys wanted to ride the sled behind the snow mobile to the sledding hill.

Yay!

Jace is fearless.

And pretty cute!

Nix too. He wanted a big push from daddy.

The big boys wanted to go down together.

Mommy and Leila again.

Daredevil Jace.

Daddy and Nixon.

Now it was getting to be about nap time, so again, if we put Leila down she cried. Actually, if she was doing anything but sledding down the hill, she was crying.

Our cute boys.

I love a cute bundled baby! Leila and Griffin.

For some reason, Leila did NOT want her picture taken with all of these boys.

Jace thought he was pretty funny with snow on his face.

She was so sleepy! Sledding wears this girl out!

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-08T16:06:00.001-08:00

December 1st was our ward Christmas Party. We had dinner, then the Primary sang a couple of songs, we had a fun singing group perform, and then Santa came!

Jace is on the right behind cute Addison in the red.

The whole primary on the stage.

While taking pictures, I noticed Nixon up there. (striped shirt, front row, kind of in the middle). He's not even in Primary yet, but he thought it looked so fun to be on stage. He didn't know any of the songs or actions, so he pretty much just stood there!

Leila was fine for about 1 second when Brock put her on Santa's lap, and then she turned around and saw who was holding her. She pretty much had a melt down.

The boys were loving it! Leila, not so much.

She was happy to take candy from him though.

Festival of Trees

2011-12-07T10:07:00.001-08:00

Brock's mom, sisters, aunt, and cousin go to Festival of Trees every year, and most years I decline their invitation. I don't really like crowds, going out in the cold, or driving all the way to the South Towne Expo Center, (Scrooge, I know.), but this year, I decided that I should get out of the house for the kids sake! It was really fun. There was only one or two times where my anxiety kicked in, but other than that, it wasn't too bad. The trees were so fun to see, and we even went to the kids area to let the kids have some fun. We got a scone, and some yummy treats too.

This was the first tree I saw, and I said it was my favorite. By the end of the night, it was still my favorite. I want my tree to look like this. (minus the teddy bears)

Jace thought it was more fun to walk backwards with his hands and feet.

A cute "Tangled" ginger bread house

Jace and Nixon went fishing for prizes.

Yay!

Leila got a fun elf wand

She's thrilled!

Jace wanted to try the huge bubble.

He blew and blew...

And made a bubble!

Aunt Natalie got all the boys a balloon sword. Here's Jace with his sword in front of the super hero tree.

This was probably the boys favorite tree since there were pictures of Batman, Spiderman, and Superman next to it.

Uncle Justin

2011-11-23T11:07:00.001-08:00

I know I do a post practically every time Justin comes over, but we just love when Uncle Justin comes to play. The kids just have so much fun with him!

Justin and I were loving Leila relaxing in his nook with her foot resting on her other knee.

Playing some "Go Fish"

Leila just loves Justin

Huddled

2011-11-23T11:04:00.001-08:00

I saw a funny video that someone posted on Facebook, and Jace wanted to see it since he heard me laughing. He watched it a couple of times and was laughing his head off, so Brock wanted to see it. Jace had to watch it with him, and then Nixon and Leila had to join. It was so funny seeing them all huddled around my tiny phone, so I had to get a picture.

I love that you can hardly see Brock's face!

Decorating Cookies with Friends

2011-11-23T10:47:00.001-08:00

Jenn invited us over to play and decorate cookies. I love any excuse to see my friends, and to let my kids see their friends, so we drove out to DayBreak for the day. Jenn let them do everything from cutting the shapes out of the dough, so putting them on the pans, to frosting them and eating them. The kids had a blast, and I just love chatting for hours - 4 hours to be exact! Sorry we kind of took over your house Jenn!

Around the table is Leila, Jace, Cohen, Nixon, Claire, Mila, Ivy, and Zoey.

Jace took this very seriously.

Nixon would put a little frosting on, then lick some, then put more on, then lick some more.

He wasn't messing around! Look how thick that frosting is! He frosted the whole thing, and then realized there were other colors, so he re-frosted it with all the colors.

Ivy was pretty much just eating the frosting by the handful!

And Leila was a huge fan of the sprinkles!

Jace's second of four cookies he made - and ate!

Nixon's second cookie. He needs a little help frosting I think. The sprinkles, however, are piled super thick!

Bundled

2011-11-23T10:44:00.001-08:00

It snowed again the other day, and I just love the way my boys look all bundled up in their snow gear. I had to snap a few pics.

Leila had to watch from inside again. I guess I know what she needs for Christmas!

Playing Around

2011-11-23T10:30:00.001-08:00

Leila just thinks it's so fun to get into baskets or bowls, or whatever she can squeeze herself into. One of her favorite things right now is to get into the empty laundry basket once I'm done folding the laundry, and making me take her for a ride. I tip it back and forth, and side to side, and spin it all around. She could do it forever, and usually has quite the fit when I decide to be done. Before that happens though, Nixon and Jace usually need turns too. One at a time, two at a time, and sometimes even all three in the basket going for a ride. I don't have any pictures of that because we only do it while I'm doing laundry, and no one else is around to be taking pictures of us. (Maybe I should look into hiring a photographer to just follow us around all day to capture these fun little moments!)
I did, however, capture this. I recently had to buy a bigger toy bin for our front room, since the kids toys were pretty much overflowing this tiny basket and had overtaken the corner of the room. Once the small one was emptied, you can bet Leila was trying to take it for a ride!

Usually once one kid does something that looks fun, they all have to try it. Nixon was next.

Jace asked me to take a picture with him in it.

And then Jace had to squeeze himself in. They all wanted a "ride", but I didn't want to break the basket, so no rides this time.

Jace doesn't quite fit.

Loving these special fun moments with my kids now that I'm home all day.

Leila's First Manicure

2011-11-12T16:16:00.001-08:00

I decided to paint Leila's toes yesterday, and she was so excited. She doesn't say "yes" yet, but says "uh-huh" and I just love making her say it. Leila, do you want me to paint your toes? Uh-huh! Leila, is this a pretty color? Uh-huh! Well, when I asked if she wanted her finger nails painted too, she said uh-huh, so I decided to try it out. I've always been hesitant because she obviously doesn't get the concept of drying time, but I decided to see what happens. She thought they were so pretty! She just loved it, and wouldn't stop smiling. There were a few mishaps, but nothing too big. Brock and I went out last night, and when we got back half the nails had no polish on them, but it was fun for a minute. I guess it was pretty crappy polish! In case you can't tell, I just love having a little girl!

Ooh, so pretty!

Her shadow in this one is making her head look huge!

I think it looks so dang cute!

She was pretty fed up with me taking pictures after the first few. Mommy! Just hold me!

HGTV Commercial

2011-11-11T16:46:00.001-08:00

So Julia is represented by Stars Talent Agency, and saw a listing for a man, woman, and 5 or 6 year old child. She sent in our family picture from last year, and they called us! We went in for an "audition" (we went in, told them our names, they took a picture of us, and sent us on our way). They called about a week later when we were in St. George for UEA, and said that they wanted Jace for a call back. Woo Hoo, except they needed him the next night, and we were in St. George. We told them we were so sorry, but we couldn't make it. We figured it was over, but then about a week later they called again saying they still want Jace, and to come in to have another "audition" (same as above, but with faux parents). They called us the next day and said Jace got it! Woo Hoo! About another week or two went by, and they called Brock asking if he was available to shoot on November 9th and 10th because there might be a problem with the "dad". He said he was, and they'd said they'd let him know. Well, the next day they called, and Brock got it too! We were so excited, and thought that this would be so good for Jace to have his real dad to act with on his first shoot. Anyway, the big day came, and it was so much fun! Jace only had to shoot Thursday, so Brock went alone Wednesday, and did a bunch of different scenes. He said it was so much fun. Again, we were glad that Brock had to shoot first so that he could get the hang of things, and help Jace feel more comfortable when he had to shoot. Jace and Brock's call time was 8:00am on Thursday, so we woke up bright (dark) and early and got all ready, dropped Nixon and Leila off with Shauna, and headed out to Midway. This commercial is the promo for HGTV's house giveaway, and the home this year is in Midway. It's really beautiful.

Here is Jace on the drive there. Grandma K was so sweet and gave him two books to read, and one that was full of writing exercises. He finished the two reading books before we even got to the house!

When we showed up, Craft Services had breakfast waiting for us. All kinds of things. Fruit, donuts, and even all kinds of hot food. Jace got eggs and a quesadilla, and Brock got a steak breakfast burrito. I had a donut. It was FREEZING, so we headed to the garage of the house to get warmed up. We headed in the house, which was packed with people, all kinds of equipment, and beautiful furniture. We made our way upstairs to make-up and wardrobe. I have to admit, I was jealous at this point!

Here they are wearing their booties. You couldn't enter the house without them on.

Brock and Tatum with Cathy, the wardrobe/makeup/hair lady.

Sitting in the make-up chair.

Ooh, so pretty!


No make-up for Jace. He's a natural beauty! Cathy is just making sure outfit number one looks perfect.

Then we heard over the walkie talkies "We need Jace down here." We all got excited and headed down for his first shoot. In this scene, they are mostly trying to show off the rug, so they had Jace lay down and play with some toys for a while. He loved it! We thought he'd get distracted by the camera, and the 15 or so people who were watching his every move, but he didn't even seem to notice. It was really fun watching him.

Getting direction from the director.

That's the director. He's showing Jace what he wants him to do.

Camera dude.

This is the monitor. We got to watch it and see what it is going to look like on TV.

All the important people making sure they get the shots they need.


More guidance from the director.

The next scene was Jace playing with Brock, and in walks mom with some popcorn. They must have done it about 15 times. It was pretty fun. Jace just thought it was fun to get to play with Daddy. At first, she just walked in without anything, and they thought she needed a reason for coming in to watch them, so they said, "What if she is bringing them popcorn?" Within about a minute they had a bowl of popcorn. Talk about on demand! It was pretty cool.

Here she is before the popcorn idea.

And here she is with the popcorn getting some direction on how to enter.

As soon as these shoots were over, Jace came up to me and quietly asked "Did they give you the money?" He has been so excited for Cars 2 to come out on video, and we told him that he would be making some money for doing this job, and he could buy it with his own money. He has been counting down the days. He was bummed to find out that he wasn't done for the day yet, and that no, they hadn't given me any money yet. We told him that we'd have money when the day was over, and we could get the movie on the way home.
After the living room scenes there were several with just Tatum, and the boys were on a break for a couple of hours. Luckily, we whipped out the book Grandma K brought for Jace, and he was entertained the whole time.

Then they called us down for lunch. It was delicious! These people know how to do it! We felt pretty big time. Our choices were grilled chicken with some sauce, pork loin with applesauce, or catfish. Then they had all kinds of sides to choose from. Mashed potatoes and gravy, squash, broccoli, and others. There were also several salads and toppings to choose from, rolls, and apple pie with ice cream for dessert! Wow! They took good care of us! We had to eat outside though, and it was pretty chilly. They didn't want us messing up the house before anyone even lived in it.

I love the background in this shot. This is in front of the house.

That's the house they're giving away.

Jace proving you're never too full - or too cold - for ice cream!

And I make my debut to this post! Me and Jace in front of the house. They are also giving away that black SUV. Brock had to shoot a few scenes in that car on the first day.

Nice hair. It was windy.

Then Jace started dancing. He was having a pretty good day.

Then it was back to work for Brock. He got into outfit number two, got his make-up touched up a bit, and headed outside for a "muddy boot" scene. We hung out upstairs, and got pictures from the balcony.

It always takes forever to get everything set up just perfectly.

In this shoot, he had super muddy shoes that he just takes off and sets to the side.

In between every take, they would some over with a water bottle and a bucket to wash off his hands. It was so cold! They probably did this shot about 10 times.

During the day, if we ever got hungry, we'd just head down to the heated garage to the snack table. There was licorice, all kinds of chips, candy bars, granola bars, candy, every kind of gum you've ever heard of, coffee, sodas, water, all kinds of stuff. It was crazy! I don't know how real actors stay thin!

The last scene for Brock was with Tatum in the kitchen doing the dishes. They're showing off the faucet. It's one of those that you just touch to turn it on and off. So Brock would hand Tatum a plate, she'd put in in the dishwasher, he'd wash his hands, touch the faucet, and they'd both walk off together. They did it like 10 times, but man, it took forever to get the lighting perfect for this one!

Waiting for the crew to get everything just right.

The happy couple :)

The last scene of the day was Jace again. He got to wear cute jammies in this one. They're showing off the faucet again in this one, so Jace had to cover his hands in toothpaste, and then play with it. Then in walks mom to help him clean his hands off. He had a little bit of a harder time with this one. He thought it was so gross, and didn't really understand that he was supposed to be having fun with this. We kept telling him to smile, but he didn't very much. Good thing he's cute anyway!

They got him dressed down to his feet, but only showed his face and hands in the shot. I wish we could have kept the clothes!

Getting ready for the shoot. I couldn't get a very good picture.

This was one long day, but we all had so much fun. I would love to do something like this once a month or so. Ha! Wishful thinking! When it was all over, we told Jace that they paid us, and headed to Walmart to get his movie. I haven't seen him that excited in a long time! It was so much fun! He gave the woman the money, and jumped up and down when she put it in the bag and handed it back to him. He was so excited to get home to show Nixon and Leila too. He deserved it! Good job buddy!

Mobile Uploads

2011-11-11T16:29:00.001-08:00

I was saving the pictures that I took on my phone and posted to Facebook to my computer so that I could blog about Brock and Jace's commercial (next post), and I came across these gems. I had to post them to the blog so that they'd make my 2011 book. Enjoy.


This was when I first cut my hair into an asymmetrical A-line

On Beckett's Jeep in his backyard.

Nixon fell asleep in Nursery one day. I didn't have my camera, but luckily I had my phone.


I had to snap a quick pic of Leila asleep with her legs crossed.

Jace's first lost tooth


Jace fell asleep on my lap at church, so I did what any good mother would do. I braided his hair. Again, glad I had my phone.

Here are some of cute Nixon at soccer practice.

It was probably 100 degrees, so his little cheeks got bright red!


And he's all sweaty!

Jace's first day of Kindergarten. He is seriously so dang handsome!


What a stud!

Headed out the door to the Utah game.

Waiting for daddy to come to a different Utah game.

I just love holding my babies while they sleep.

Now 2 teeth lost!

Me and Jace at yet another Utah game.

This was when Leila smashed her fingers at school.

She was playing on the rocking chair and it tipped over onto her fingers with all of her weight on them!

So so sad. This was day two. It looked even worse!

The inside was so swollen and bruised.

This is Leila's first ponytail. It's only about 5 hairs, but come on! She's almost 19 months! I had to do it!

And with a bow and a smile. These were taken 11-9-11

Well, there you go! Those were fun to look at!

SNOW!

2011-11-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground. The kids were so excited! So after breakfast we bundled the boys up and they headed outside. They were out there for about an hour. Leila wanted to get in on the fun too, but since we don't have any snow clothes for her yet, she only lasted a few minutes. Just long enough for me to get a few pictures.

She mostly just wanted Daddy to hold her, but she insisted on being outside.

Of course, the first thing Nixon did was eat the snow!

Then it was time for a snowball fight. Jace and Nix against Daddy.

Leila wasn't too happy about watching the boys have all the fun.

Then the boys went to the front yard for a while. They came and knocked on the door, and showed me their snowman that they had built! There really wasn't a ton of snow, so Brock had gathered every inch of it to make the snowman!

Adding the finishing touches. Some acorns for eyes, M&M's for the mouth, and straw for hair.

Notice how bare the yard is.

Then they remembered Brock's top hat that he wore for Halloween, and had to add that!

I am not a fan of the snow at all. If it was up to me, it would snow Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, and then never again. But I am glad that my kids enjoy it, and that they have a nice daddy who will play in it with them!

Halloween

2011-11-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

This year there was no school on Halloween, and with me no longer having a job, that meant sleeping in! My work was having a party though, and wanted me to bring the kids in, so I did. That was at about 2:30. It was fun to see everyone dressed up, and say bye to everyone. Then it was back to our house for dinner before we went trick-or-treating. The boys wanted to go with the Andrews across the street, so we waited until about 6:30 before we started. It was the most beautiful night I've ever seen on Halloween! The kids didn't even need to wear jackets!

Here they are before they went.

While we were waiting, and trying to eat dinner, the doorbell must have rung 15 times! The kids loved answering the door and handing out the candy to all the kids.

Then it was finally time! Brock stayed back to give candy to the kids and I walked around with our kids. My legs were still so so sore from the race, and I thought it would be better to walk around, than have to get up and down and up and down a million times to hand out candy. We ended up going with about 7 or 8 other kids. It was a little crazy. They had a blast, but the bigger kids wanted to run to each house, and the little kids were taking their sweet time, so there was a lot of yelling for people to wait, and others to hurry. It was fun though. We were only out for about an hour, and when I asked the boys if they wanted to keep going they both said no. I was just fine with that.

We came back and got in jammies. Our latest trick-or-treaters came at about 8:15. I can not complain about that. It was a pretty good night. I had to get a few pics of Leila in her Halloween jams. They glow in the dark, and are so cute! Maybe next year I'll get them for all three kids!

Leila

2011-11-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, the 30th, I had to put Leila in her cute Halloween church outfit. I just love it, and had to get one more use out of it before October was over. This was also the first day I have tried to do anything with her hair. I just did the curled mohawk. It's not quite ready for a ponytail, although it is long enough on top, and in back, it's still too thin. Anyway, here she is looking all cute!

She's getting so big!

Halloween Half

2011-11-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a runner. I don't like it, I'm not good at it, and I don't do it...ever. Well, Spring and Summer seem to be race season here in Utah, and pretty much everyone I know is racing. Either running, or swimming, or biking, or all three! And though I am not a runner, I am a competitive person. Brock has always been a runner, and he has run many races including a couple marathons and Ragnar relays. He has always told me that he knows I could do it. I just need to try. I have always told him that no - this is just one of those things that my body was not made for, and I am okay with that. Well, in about June, I started thinking if all of these people can do it - I can do it. I decided to make a running schedule, and then, depending on how it goes, I'd find a race. My first day of running was Monday, the 4th of July. I literally probably ran a mile and a half (and stopped at the park half way for a drink). Talk about out of shape! I started running on my lunch breaks at work, and started with 2 miles, and then got to three. After about a week, I found a race I thought I could do. The Provo Halloween Half Marathon. It's a lot of down hill, and it was almost 4 months away. I called my sister Julia to see if she would be crazy enough to do this with me, and she agreed! She's pretty much like me in the running mentality, so I was happy she decided to do it. I gave her my running schedule and we began training separately. My first Saturday long run was 4 miles, and I had to walk a few times, but I did it. Then it was 5, and then 6, and by the time I got to 7 I was running the whole time. Since I had such a long time before the race, I was doing each week of training twice, so
I'd run 4 miles for two Saturdays, and then 5 mile for the next two, and so on. By the time I got to 8 miles, I was wanting to run with someone, so I asked Julia to run with me. We woke up early one Saturday, and headed 8 miles up Millcreek Canyon. It was great! We ran at about a 10 minute pace - our fastest yet! (I know, we're kind of slow). We moved up to 9, 10, 11, and then finally 12 miles! We ran our 12 in 2 hrs and 3 minutes which we were so so proud of! And it felt great! Only three weeks to go until race day. We were ready! Well, those 3 weeks flew by, and it was now the day before the race. I had seen these cute necklaces on Pinterest, and wanted to make them for me and Julia, and I thought they turned out great!


The big one says 13.1, the small one says J & J (for Jennie and Julia), and our parents sent us each these shoe charms from Pandora.


And here it is on.

We picked up our friend Andrew Warner, who decided to run it with Brock, and then picked up Julia, and headed out to Orem. I gave Julia the necklace on the way. She loved it! We first went to University Mall to get our race packet. The line was practically the length of the entire mall, so we went to dinner first. We decided we had better carb up, so what better place than The Old Spaghetti Factory, right? We all got spaghetti, and it was delicious. When we headed back in to check out the line, we were pleasantly surprised to find the line gone! We went right to the front, got our race bibs and shirts, and were out in 5 minutes! Here we are at dinner.

Me and Julia sporting our cute necklaces


Brock and Andrew

Then we headed to the hotel to hopefully get a good night's sleep.


Before we went to bed we were all checking out our phones. It was pretty funny.

The morning of the race, we got up nice and early at 5:30am, and got ready. We headed to the mall again where the buses were going to pick us up. We met up with a bunch of my girlfriends and waited with them. It was FREEZING!

Stephanie and Alisha dressed up as Forrest Gump. At least their faces and heads were warm!

Finally on the bus.

Me, Jules, and creepy Steph waiting in the warmth of the tent.

Jenn, Steph, Alisha, Me, and Julia waiting for 9:00!

Then the race began. I kissed Brock goodbye because I knew I wouldn't see him until the end, and we were off. The first 4 or so miles was pretty good downhill. We were going at a little bit better than a 10 minute pace. Then it evened out, and even went uphill a bit. At mile 5 Brock passed us. It turns out he had to wait until the late start because he and Andrew were waiting for another friend of theirs. So he started 20 minutes after we did, and passed us at 5. It was at this point that I was not feeling very good. Not sick or anything, but just kind of discouraged. I didn't say anything, and kept pushing forward. At around mile 7, I could feel my calves really starting to get tight. They'd never done this before, so I wasn't sure how to "treat" it. Should I slow down, should I stop and stretch them, should I just run through it? Anyway, at mile 8 there was a drink station, so I stopped to get water, and both of my calves flexed up and froze, and I fell to the ground. Literally. I yelled for Julia, and she rushed over. She tried to stretch them out, but both of my legs were frozen. My calves were flexed so hard, and I could not move. We didn't know what to do! Eventually they eased up a bit, and she was able to flex my foot to stretch my calves, and because of lack of any better ideas, we started running again. I was so mad! I had never experienced this before. Not even on our 12 miler, and why was my body doing this to me now??? We still had 5 miles left, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen from here. After that, we literally had to stop about every quarter mile or so to either walk it out or stretch again, as they kept charly horsing. I could even feel it happening in my toes as we ran. It was awful, and most of all, I felt bad that I was slowing Julia down. I told her to keep going, and that I would be fine, but she never left my side. Of course she didn't. This is Julia we're talking about. Best sister ever. One of the best people ever. Anyway, we finally made it to the 13 mile marker, and I started crying. We grabbed hands and ran the rest of the way to the end. When we crossed the finish line we hugged and cried, and hobbled off to the side. I never even saw Brock or the kids! I asked where Brock was, and Julia said she had seen him taking pictures of us on the home stretch. I am glad there are pictures to prove I did it, because I am NEVER doing this again! Okay, well, not for a long time. Here are those pictures.

Can you believe how narrow the race way was?? People were like right on us as we were running by. It was crazy.

Yeah, I pretty much felt how I look here.

I swear we're not walking!


Almost THERE!!!

Then we met up with Brock and Andrew, and saw Dale and Shauna. They had brought our cute kids to see us finish. Little did they know they were going to have to wait a whole hour after Brock finished!

Chatting about the race. Miss Leila needed a hug. (So did I!)


Brock and Andrew. Brock's official time: 1.39.05 Talk about amazing!

Here we are with the other guy Brock works with. I wish I would have seen some of my girlfriends!

Me and Brock

My official time: 2.35.20


Julia's official time: 2.35.18

One of my friends made these capes for us. There are purple J's on each

I was glad my family came to support me...oh, and Brock!

This is something that I am glad I did, but it's like having a baby. It's too soon to talk about doing another one! It was hard, and as I think back on it, I am just so disappointed with how things went. I think I figured it out, and it was from having too much caffeine, and not enough water. I was dehydrated. It's the only thing I can think of, since we had run 12 before, and nothing even close to this happened. Anyway, I finished, and I accomplished a goal that I set out to accomplish 4 months ago. I worked hard for it, and I did it. I am definitely happy about that. I am happy that I got to do it with my sister, and that she stuck by me when things got hard. That's just her though. She's the best. I am grateful for my husband for always believing in me. And I am thankful for Brock's parents who are always there for us when we need them. They were happy to take our kids for the night, and drive all the way to Provo to see us finish the race. I think more than anything though, I am glad it's OVER!!