Thanksgiving 2012

What a great Thanksgiving week! This was an interesting Thanksgiving to say the least. This year Lori and Rudy decided to have a Thanksgiving breakfast since everyone had other plans for dinner. Our plans were to head up with Rudy and Lori to their cabin in Lava Hot Springs for the weekend. However, Lori had a major disaster happen when her flowers froze for a huge wedding the next day. After breakfast we headed to the cabin with Rudy, and Lori stayed behind to deal the the flower catastrophe. We got to the cabin around dinner time and the kids were hungry. I tried to come up with something that we could throw together that was halfway decent. After all, it was Thanksgiving. Rudy grabbed two boxes of Macaroni and Cheese out of the cupboard, and assured me that we would be just fine to eat that for dinner. He was right. We didn't need anything fancy to eat.

Hailey commented that she was sad we weren't having a Thanksgiving dinner, but she quickly got over it when Poppy had her sit up on the counter to help him make the mac and cheese. It was fun watching them. He let her read him the directions, and had her guide him through what he needed to do. When we sat down to eat Rudy taught Hailey to pour barbeque sauce on her mac and cheese. She thought he was crazy at first, but she really ended up liking it. I think that's a fun memory Haily will always have of her grandpa.

Lori was able to come up Friday to spend the rest of the time with us. Hailey cuddled up with her grandpa the whole time, and spent every second by his side. Hayden spent most of his time shooting the nerf guns that were up there, and Katelyn spent all of her time mauling the dog. The whole weekend we pretty much did nothing but relax and play with the kids. It was great! I made the comment to Lori that it's nice to not be home because when I'm home I always feel like I need to be doing something. At the cabin I leave all of my worries behind, and focus on spending time with the ones I love.

On our way home we stopped at my Grandma Joyce's in Farr West to have a Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's side of the family. It was a nice halfway stop so the drive didn't seem so long, and you can imagine how excited Hailey was to finally get her Thanksgiving dinner. It was nice to see a lot of my family and cousins that I haven't seen for so long. However, the time spent there was short lived. The kids were all running around like a bunch of crazies, and at one point Hayden stabbed Katelyn in the neck with a fork (he didn't break the skin fortunately). I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone without getting interrupted by the sound of one of my children screaming.

Tonight we got all of our Christmas decorations out, and set up the Christmas tree. I let the kids go crazy on decorating it, which is where I have to let my anxiety of having perfection go right out the door. I remember my parents never let us decorate the tree. I understand why too. They wanted the tree to look perfect, but as a kid I always wanted to help so bad. I want my kids to have the experience and memories of helping decorate for Christmas. Who cares if 90% of the ornaments are at the bottom of the tree, right? I did my fair share of rearranging when the kids weren't looking, but mostly I left the ornaments where they put them. We had a really fun time, and even brought the holiday spirit in by singing Christmas carols. I love my family. :)

I took this because this is a rare scene. Hayden and Katie playing nicely together :)

This is a picture I took earlier in the week when I had Skylie all dressed up. My 3 month old little girl.

Better Late Than Never

Wow! I guess it's pretty pathetic that I haven't blogged for over a year now! Maybe that gives a little insight into how crazy this last year has been. To sum it up I started a business, I went back to school and had another baby. Yes, a lot has happened. I will have to go back and blog about everything that's happened this last year eventually, but tonight I will start by pretending I have a clean slate.

This week was filled with many events. The first event of the week was not so happy. A few weeks ago our beloved cat Daisy, who is only 2 years old, peed on our mattress. I was of course annoyed, but I know sometimes cats get confused. However, this peeing on our mattress episode continued day after day, which means our mattress is completely ruined. Ryan and I discussed getting rid of the cat, but we didn't want to break the kid's hearts. We've been wanting to get a smaller bed set for our room anyway, so I told Ryan we would get a new bed to see if that would solve the problem. On Thursday morning I woke up to cat pee all over Skylie's room. Unfortunately when cats start peeing like that in your house there's no stopping them. Ryan and I made the hard decision that the cat would have to go. When I got Hailey from the bus I told her the sad news. She was devastated, and it was awful! We got home and let Hailey say her goodbyes and Ryan took the cat. I sat with Hailey, Hayden and Katelyn in my arms on the couch and we all cried. That was one of the worse things I've had to do as a mother!

We told Hailey she could get a couple of hamsters, which I really am not excited about, but I know we have to sooth the pain somehow. I told her we could go Monday as a family. She's really excited, and keeps saying how bad she wishes it was Monday. The last few days I've been questioning whether or not I did the right thing by getting rid of the cat, but every time I lay down on my bed and can still smell a hint of cat urine I KNOW I DID! Not to mention, Hailey's allergies will finally get better. The poor girl would wake up every morning in misery. On the bright side for me, I get a new bed for Christmas.

Thursday night Ryan left for South Dakota with his Dad and Jeremy to go pheasant hunting. Why anyone would drive 11 to 12 hours to go shoot a bunch of birds is completely beyond me, but they had a blast. Ryan was really excited he got to go this year. He missed out two years ago when they went, and I know he was pretty sad about it. Normally I whine and complain about him leaving me to go hunt, especially now that we have 4 kids, but this time I was very supportive because I knew what a big deal it was to him.

Ryan, Rudy and Jeremy with their pheasants.  

 Hayden wanted to be like his daddy. 

This is his pheasant that he shot (I guess the hammer is his gun?).

To keep ourselves entertained we spent Friday night at Cortney's house. Cortney got a couple of babysitters, and we went with Lori out to dinner and to a boutique. After we went back and attempted to get the kids settled for bed. The next day Cortney watched the kids while I went grocery shopping and to a little boutique that Lori got me a gift card to for Christmas. They had the cutest clothes! I have always been a tee-shirt & jeans kind of a gal, and every time I attempt to dress in style it's a big fashion disaster. Lori meant up with me, and helped me pick out some really cute clothes. I am so grateful for her, and her willingness to spend time with me.

One of my new outfits that Lori helped me pick out.

Today I took all 4 kids to Church by myself. I contemplated skipping Sacrament, but we were all ready in time so we ended up going. It went really good until the last 10 minutes when Katelyn started throwing crayons, and yelling, "Yo mean mommy!" I practically had to drag her into Nursery. I couldn't carry her because I had Skylie in my other arm. She was screaming and hitting me. The nursery leaders weren't there yet so I had to stay. A sweet girl named Ashley offered to take her for me. I was so grateful for her help so I could get the other kids to Primary. I swear Heavenly Father sends angels just when you need them!

Told Katie to come down stairs to get ready for church. She came down in this and said she 

didn't want to go to church because she was going swimming. :)

Oh dear... I really don't know what to do with Katie. She has been so hard for me to deal with lately. I know a lot of it is coming from having a new baby around, but the majority of her attitude problem is just her personality. There isn't a night that I don't pray for her to get easier and for me to have patience for her tantrums. Unfortunately, there also isn't a night that I don't go to bed feeling guilty, and like I'm the worst mom. It doesn't matter how hard I try. I end up loosing it on her. When I'm nice she just gets worse. When I flip out she usually shapes up. She's right! I am a mean mommy, and I hate that! Oh please let the terrible twos end soon. Please!

Happy Birthday Week Hailey - 5 Years Old!

Tuesday was Hailey's official birthday. She woke up to a room filled balloons, and her mommy standing at her bed with presents in hand. She was excited to see that she got the movie, "Tangled", which she has been begging for, and a Hello Kitty backpack for school.

Hayden thought it was great to wake up with balloons everywhere

For her day activity I took Hailey Classic Water Slides. We met up with Talitha and Mila. Later that night we had a little birthday party for Hailey. Talitha, Mila, Grandpa Gary, Aunt Heidi, Tia and Austin came to celebrate. Hailey was so excited to blow out the candles on her cake. When she did, we asked her what she wished for. Her reply, "I can't tell you, or it won't come true." Pretty smart little 5-year-old I must say!

All the day of her birthday Hailey kept asking when her "friend" party was going to be. I felt so bad because I hadn't planned a friend party. She said she wanted to have a slumber party, so on Friday night we ended up having ALL of her friends for an hour to have cake and ice cream, and to open presents. The boys left, and the girls stayed to have a sleepover. In a nutshell, it was a little chaotic, but they all had so much fun!

My Attempt at Hailey's Hello Kitty Cake for her Friend Party

All the cute kids (notice Katelyn screaming in the background)

Hailey, Addie, Mila and Elena

Abi and Abby
All the crazy kids

Hailey opening presents

Slumber Party Time!

Neighborhood Birthday Party 2011

Since there are so many kids in our neighborhood we celebrate everyone's birthday on the same day. Hailey had been look forward to this party, and was so excited. The morning of the party our internet was down so I couldn't see my email to double check on the time. I was about to text one of my neighbors, but I thought, "No, it's got to be at 11am...All the other activities are". Well...we showed up at the park right at 11am, but the party was already going on! Oh great! It was at 10am! I sent Hailey and Hayden down to join the other kids. Unfortunately, they were on their last activity. Hailey came up to me and said, "Mom, I thought this party was going to be longer". I've never felt like such a failure as a mother. I secretly broke down in tears to one of my neighbors. Luckily Hailey's real birthday is this coming Tuesday. Hopefully I will be able to make it up to her.

Back To School Night

This week Hailey got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Telford, and to see her classroom. I have to admit, I got teary-eyed watching my little girl sit at the table with all her little classmates.

She is so excited for this new adventure in her life. She asks me every day when she will get to go to school. I can't believe that day will be so soon!

Mila and Hailey (with a bunch of candy in her mouth)

Hailey was excited to see there was an apple with her name on it

The Ni-night Game

Katie has been playing this silly game we call the "ni-night game". We say, "ni-night", and she closes her eyes like she's asleep. She's such little goofball.

Here's Hailey and Hayden getting in on the action...

Lately Katelyn has also loved pointing at the light fixtures. Here she is showing me the light over our kitchen table...

Herriman Lake

After hearing for some time now about what a great lake they have in Herriman we finally were able to go check it out. We love it! We love it so much that we've gone there 3 times in the last 2 weeks. It has the perfect sand. The kids could seriously spend hours there, and not get bored. The best part is that it's only about 20 minutes away! It's a great place to go on a hot day.