Christmas Morning!

We spend the week prior to Christmas in Colorado with our families. The time went by too fast and we wish we could have stayed longer! We flew home on Christmas Eve just in time to catch Santa! The kids must have been good this year because they got exactly what they had asked Santa for. Ethan asked for power rangers, Olivia got a Barbie (but not before Brian and I had a argument over it, he didn't realize that they Barbie's don't come with very much clothes.), and Kai got his perfect gift a football. It was a great day!

Preschool Christmas Party

The preschool Christmas party was great fun last year and once again was tons of fun this year! They had different stations set up around the room for the kids to color, make ornaments, do crafts, and decorate cookies. My kids of course spent the whole time decorating cookies. I was able to get Ethan and Olivia away to make an ornament for the preschool tree, but Kai just ate cookie after cookie, then gave up on making cookies and just started eating the icing strait from the bowl! We then went in the Sanctuary and the kids sang Christmas songs to us that they had learned from the Pastor! (The kids go to Silverdale Lutheran Preschool) What a treat! We look forward to next year and eating more sugar cookies!

Ward Christmas Party

Our Ward Party was a WHOBALATION which turned out to be such a success. Brian was asked to be the Mayor of Whoville and had a great job playing up that role. The Grinch is who stole the show though. Ethan and Kai LOVED him and Olivia and I ate out in the dark hallway because she was so afraid of him. She warmed up enough to get a family picture but was not happy the rest of the time. We had so much fun and it is all the kids talk about now!

Murder Mystery Party

At the end of November Brian and I went to our friend Shama's 30th birthday party. It was a murder mystery, Brian was the North Sde Mob Boss " Notorious Nick" and I was his girlfriend Molly Mol. Brian got really into his character and people that didn't know us thought he was a hired actor. It was a blast and I can't wait to go to another one.

This post is for Jackie Potter! Sorry it took me so long to get the pictures up. I wish you would have been there! We miss you guys!

Winter Wonderland

It's SNOWING! We got a couple inches of snow today and it is still coming down. The kids were so excited when they saw the snow, and wasted no time getting their gear on. Ethan was the first one out the door and being a crazy man in the snow. Olivia had a blast with the snow this year, which was great since last year she wasn't too impressed with it. She was out for the longest and had a great time goofing around. Kai was so excited to get out in the snow, until he got out there and realized it was cold. He was only out about ten minutes before he came in and just went to take a nap. Our friends Jaxon and Korbin from up the street came over and played for a while which added to the fun. I am so happy it snowed. I love the snow and I love to watch the kids play out in the snow. We came in to soup, grilled cheese, and hot chocolate. I couldn't think of a better day!

"I POOP"

Kai has been going in the toilet off and on for a few months now, but the past week he has been telling me a lot more and when we get to the bathroom he has a dry diaper. I am going to start working with him a lot more this week and we will see what happens. In Sacrament on Sunday he said "I poop" so I got a diaper and wipes and we were off to the bathroom, however he didn't poop and he had a dry diaper, so I put him on the toilet and he went pee. I am so proud and excited for our family to be a no diaper family! Go KAI!

The Day After Thanksgiving

Well, since Christmas is my very favorite holiday I wasted no time getting my decorations out and put up around the house. I am so grateful that I was able to get my very favorite tree this year and decorate it exactly how I wanted it! THANKS BRIAN!
The kids were very big helpers and were patient with me wanting it to be perfect. Brian was a trooper and put the ornaments on as I directed and moved them around until it was just the way I liked.


Olivia was too busy trying to get into every picture, I only think she put two ornaments on. She is a wild one but we love her.
This is the kids tree that we put up stairs. It has colored lights and all their wonder decorations, and they were able to put things where ever they wanted. All the ornaments are in one spot on the tree!

We finished up with the little tree by the front door. The kids were more then done with trees by that time so I finished up the rest of the inside decorations while they played!

The Perfect Family Pictures!

Well this was more then I think anyone had anticipated. We spend a over an hour just trying to get a picture for our Christmas cards. That does not include the time it took to rearrange the furniture, hang the backdrop, get everyone dresses and ready, and get dressed and ready again after Kai spilled on his only white shirt ( so we all had to change so everyone would coordinate with Kai), and the camera set up. It was not fun at all and the kids were tortured the whole time! I still get frustrated just thinking about it!

This picture really sums up the experience. Kai just got up and left!

My First French Braid

Today, since everyone got up early I thought I would try something new with Olivia's hair. I have attempted to french braid her hair before, but each time was either unsuccessful or it was only a half braid half pony. So today I though we should go for it. I am so proud although it is a bit bumpy in spots and the part isn't perfectly straight. So, THANK YOU to Olivia for standing still even though it was only for the piece of candy I promised her, and a thank you to the boys for playing nicely and not making any huge messes while Olivia and I were in the bathroom.

Happy Halloween!

Finally, the day the kids have been waiting for arrived. Yesterday Olivia wasn't sure if she could wait another whole day for Halloween. I think it will be the only day they are ever excited for it to get dark. They painted the pumpkins they got from their field trips last week. Then we had a special "Halloween Feast" which consisted of steak with body parts on it, orange mashed potatoes with creepy crawly bugs, and blood juice with a long worm crawling in them. The kids thought it was pretty special and we had fun with it. Then we got the kids dressed up and off to trunk or treat we went. Ethan was a transformer, Olivia was Mulan, and Kai was a boxer. They had a great time and got tons of candy.

Olivia's Field Trip

Today we spent the morning with Olivia's preschool class at Pheasant Farms. She had a great time and didn't seem quite as concerned with the smells as Ethan was. She enjoyed all the animals and it must have been because they were all fenced in. The little girl with blond hair is Olivia's best friend at preschool Kayla and they were inseparable the whole time. As we entered the corn maze she was a couple ahead of me and not to far in she turned around. I of course thought she was looking for me, she wasn't, she was looking for Kayla. I am glad she has such a great little friend in school with her. At the end Olivia picked her favorite pumpkin which only had a little bit of dirt on it. It was another great day!

Ethan's Field Trip

Today was Ethan's Field Trip to Pheasant Farms which was quite an adventure. We went through a corn maze, saw different animals (including a turkey duck), saw the hen house with 275 hens laying eggs, and of course picked a pumpkin from the patch! Since we do live here in the beautiful pacific northwest we enjoyed some rain off and on to add to the experience. Ethan has come to the conclusion that he doesn't want to live on a "working farm" which is how they referred to their farm whenever any of the kids said it was stinky . So I guess that means he wants to live on a broken farm, I don't know! It was fun to get to go just me and Ethan. He is really growing up to be such a sweet kid.

Ohh..Crazy Sundays!

Today after church the kids decided they wanted to try their hand at photography. So , Olivia took pictures of Ethan and I, and Ethan took pictures of Olivia and I. They thought it was great and it helped burn time while Kai was napping. Olivia has quite a talent for it and I was quite impressed. Ethan on the other hand had some pretty interesting pictures of our legs and the other photos on the wall. Another fun Sunday activity to try again!

Remembering our fun Summer

We were lucky enough to spend the first few weeks of Brian's deployment with my parents in Colorado. The kids loved playing out in the back, going to the museum, and just being crazy. However, their favorite thing to do was go on my dad's boat. The kids loved tubing and jumping in the water whenever they got the chance. Kai was a trooper and just played on the boat most of the time. He considered getting into the water until he felt it and realized it wasn't a warm bath. We had such a great time!

Ethan's First Primary Program

Since Primary Program practice started three weeks ago Ethan has insisted that he will not be doing it with his friends because it is "TOO BORING!" So I have dreaded today and having to force him on stage, but he woke up this morning, got ready, and practiced his part until it was time to go. His part, a long with the other 15 sunbeams, was to hold up a picture of their family and say "I love my family." To say the least I was thrilled about his new found excitement to participate in the program. Well, it is over now and he did great! I only saw the back of his head, since I am in primary and was sitting with my class, but it was even great from my view. Olivia and Kai were great listeners as I watched them from the stand. And Ethan was very happy to perform for my mom who came out just for the program. It was a great Sunday, and I wish Brian could have been here for it!

Ethan & Olivia's First Day of Preschool

I don't know who was more excited for preschool to start, me or the kids! Ethan is so happy to be back at school with his friends and his new teacher Ms. Nancy. Olivia who begged and begged to go to preschool last year is finnaly getting her chance. She ran right into her class yelling "bye" to us. They weren't super excited about getting their pictures taken before going to school and only gave me a few smiles but mostly wierd poses. Since they have been at preschool I have been able to go to the gym which has been so wonderful. It makes me so sad that Brian missed their big day, but I know it will make the first day he picks them up from school so much more special.

Children's Museum

Rene and Angela got to come visit us for the weekend and we decided to go into Seattle for some fun. We took the kids over to the Children's Museum and the kids had a blast!

Kai loved this hat. He carried it around and played with it for the longest time.

Ethan is of course much more serious and taking care of actual business. He worked on building with Brian for quite a while. I was board quickly with this station and encouraged the kids to explore something else!

The theater room! It was love at first sight! A stage just for me!

On to the grocery store which was a major hit as well!

The cutest fire fighters around!

It was a great day!

Ethan's First Prayer in Primary

Today Ethan gave the prayer in Primary for the very first time, and he did a great job! When he first got up to the microphone he did great and said "Heavenly Father" all by himself. However I think after he heard his voice so loud over the speakers he got nervous, and started to shake a little. I helped him and told him the rest of what to say until "in the name" and he finished by himself! He did such a great job. Brian and Ramona stayed in to listen to his prayer, and I know he LOVED that they were there just for him!

It was a great Sunday, and I am so proud of Ethan and how awesome he is. He always uses good manors, he is so kind to others, and just a neat kid.

Doctor Appointments

Today was crazy, and started way to early for my liking. The children all had doctors appointments at the crack of dawn. Although it was good to get them all out of the way, it was exhausting.

Kai and Olivia had to get shots. Olivia did TERRIBLE! She was screaming the whole time and didn't stop screaming after it was done.

She kept saying,

"That guy did it to me!"

"That guy hurt me"

"I have an owwie"

I felt so bad for her, and so did everyone else in the waiting room.

Kai however did great and didn't cry at all. He had a sad face when he came out but no tears! He has been limping around a little bit since we got home though.

By the time we got home and Olivia had calmed down a little bit she expressed that she was most upset that "that guy" didn't say sorry to her. She has a very tender little heart!

I am so glad shots are over, at least for a little while.