A Few Hours Well Spent

My dad was in Vegas this week for some meetings and had some extra time yesterday, so lucky for us he rented a car and came for a few hour visit.  He told Kylie she could pick any place she wanted to go eat and then to suggest somewhere fun to play. She chose Chili's for lunch and Jumpin' Jacks to play.

 And we had a BLAST!!

 The slides were definitely our favorite part. We climbed up and went done them about a million times, in about every position we could possible think of. 

Grandpa was such a good sport. We had him squeezing through tiny places, climbing up walls, sliding down huge slides and he certainly made the kids laugh and laugh. I wished so much the whole time I had my video camera with me!!

We were entertained for hours and kids came home completely exhausted. We were to glad Grandpa took the time to come see us. We LOVE anytime anyone will visit. We were sad to see him go and wish it could have been a longer visit, but we took advantage of the time we had and loved every second of it!!

He'll be a STAR

Jase has some serious talent in the singing department. Not really sure where he got it, but I think he has a future. I mean if this video isn't proof, I don't know what is. You should also hear him at church. The second a hymn starts playing he puts down anything he is doing stands up on the the bench and "sings" his heart out. He is so full of personality and he makes us laugh constantly. 

He only sings the first part of the song then gets distracted, and says cheese becuase he wants me to take his picture.  The song is a song I found the other day for Kylie and I did't think he had even listened to it all that much, so I was really surprised when he started singing it yesterday down stairs without the music.  Kylie and I got a good laugh out of it and he thought he was pretty funny also!! 

The Coolest Dad Ever

These two kids have the COOLEST Dad I know.  Not only does he take them to McDonald's and let them get happy meals and ice cream and play in the play place. He also takes them to the movies and brings their friends along with them too. 

He let them play "the chair game," makes cookies with them, buys them piggy banks and teaches them about saving money and paying tithing. 

And the best part of all he is even pretty good about taking pictures of it all also!!

Copycat

What good is a little brother if he doesn't do or want to do everything you do??

Kylie has learned real quick just how important it is to be a good example to a little brother who wants to be just like her. Usually if there is a Kylie there is a Jase close behind!

Yesterday I came into Kylie's room to find them both sitting nicely coloring in their books. Jase isn't much for sitting and doing something quietly, but I think he was willing do it if it involved his sister. And of course the matching stickers were a must.

Sometimes they fight and something they get frustrated with each other, but for the most part they are pretty great friends and I only cross my fingers it stays that way. 

Baby, It's Freezing Outside

The last few days have been insanely (OK, insanely might be a bit dramatic) cold around here! I have told a couple of my friends that I don't suffer through blazing summers to have to live through freezing winters...it's just not fair! 

On Saturday night, I got a call from one of my friends telling me her husband and just driven past our house and could see water spraying out of one of our pipes. Jeremy was gone, so I was very grateful when they agreed to come down and turn the water off. When I went out to look I couldn't believe how much we had flooded our backyard.  I told a bunch of neighbors that we were going to let the water freeze over night and then open up a skating rink the next day, but for a small fee because we now have to pay for a new pipe. 

Kylie was super excited to try out the skating rink. She was a little disappointed we couldn't go out and buy real skates, but she was willing to settle for her boots and try it out. She didn't make it real far before  hearing a few cracks and getting nervous, but I did get a few twirls out of her. 

Here is a little bit better picture of a lot more of the "skating rink"

THEN

This morning, I had a four year old come bouncing into my room saying, "Mom, Mom, look outside!"

 When I looked out and saw this...

 some serious snow!! I didn't know it knew how to snow like this in St. George.

Kylie was in love! She was so excited to go to school and then come home to play.

And "Snowflake" was the product of our play. The snow was perfect for packing and I think we used up just about every bit of snow we had on our lawn.

As you can see by the look on Jase's face, he hated every second of it!! We're not necessarily equipped for weather like this and his shoes were soaked and his poor little hands and feet were freezing. 

 Our goal was to have Snowflake still standing by the time Jeremy gets home from work so we can show her to him. She leans backwards a little bit, but Kylie has checked on her about a million times  to make sure she is OK. We're keeping our fingers crossed!!

It's the Beginning of a New Year

I am so excited for a new year, a fresh start and a good excuse to start over. I have some new goals in mind and I am excited for  a change.

Today was also the first day of new primary classes. Kylie moved up to CTR 5 and came home super excited about her new teacher. She also loved that she could remember what CTR meant. Jase is now in the Senior Nursery which Jeremy and I can hardly believe. He barely made the cut off and still seems so little, but we are very happy to report that he actually loves to go now. He walks right in and makes himself at home. He has some awesome leaders who have been so patient with him and we are so grateful.  We're excited for what this year has in store and can't wait to make the most of it!

Happy New Year

New Years was great this year. My sister Ashley and her husband David came from Arizona to hang with us and we loved having them here! We're not great entertainers, but they were awesome to hang with the kids and put up with our nonsense. 

On New Years Eve they treated us to Fondue and it was a blast. We had a ton of food and it took us about two hours to eat. Kylie thought it was the greatest thing she had ever done. We were all completely stuffed and sick when we were done, but we loved it.  The rest of the night was spent trying to digest our food and watching the Ball drop on TV in New York. We're real party animals, I tell ya. I woke Jeremy up when there was about 10 seconds left of the count-down and I think he fell right back to sleep after it was over. 

We also learned a very valuable lesson that night; Stonewear is not stovetop proof. We thought we were  being smart by melting cheese in that and then setting it on our electric burner to keep it warm. Didn't work so well. I went to pick it up and only the top half of the bowl came with me. It was pretty funny! And I was surprised that the bowl cracked in a straight even line all the way around it at the exact level the cheese was at.

To keep with tradition we went bowling on New Years day. Kylie had her own ball and did pretty well for herself. In fact she finished only 7 behind Jeremy.  Jase was our cheering section and loved the fan on the ball return. 

But, to be fair to Jeremy, non of us really did all that well. It must have been a really off day, I guess!! We also did a little shopping, Jeremy (and sort of David) made a really neat picture frame for them to take back and hang on their wall. We also spent a lot of time just hanging out and sleeping in...well, actually Jeremy and I did the sleeping in while David and Ash were bombarded by excited kids early every morning!

It really was so fun having them here. I loved that they come all the way just to hang with us for the weekend. The kids loved them and Jase is for sure David's #1 fan. We were sad when they left, but we're excited to see them again at Disneyland!!!

We're headed to the Happiest Place on Earth

We are officially in countdown mode with our "Mickey Mouse colored" chain, as we look forward to our trip to our DISNEYLAND the first part of February. The tickets were my parent's gift to us for Christmas. We have actually known and have been talking about it for months, but it's now only a short 38 days away and we can hardly wait!! 

Christmas 2010

Christmas was so fun this year!! They say Christmas is fun as a kid, but I am here to say Christmas is even better as a parent!

Christmas Eve started off with the traditional "Breakfast with Dad." We went to the Egg and I and Jeremy's parents came down to join us. As we were getting out of the car Kylie says, "I am going to order hot chocolate, just like my other grandma would." So that,s exactly what she did and chugged it.

Grandma and Grandpa Felix followed us back to our house and we opened the gifts from them. I swear  we have had a marathon of present opening this month! Jeremy and I were excited to receive a new outdoor gas grill and the kids got clothes and books to go along with the Zhu Zhu pets they opened a few weeks ago. 

That evening we headed down to Mesquite to spend Christmas Eve night with Jeremy's brother and his family along with some of their friends. We ate dinner, the kids sat in a circle and passed their gifts either left or right depending on a what story that was being read said, the adults played an entertaining white elephant game with gifts including, but not limited to a jar of "pet fart" and a plunger. Later we watched a couple videos about the birth of Christ and then opened the traditional pajamas. 

Cousins: Logan, Ty Alayna, Jase, Kylie and Kurt

Christmas morning finally came and Santa sure found our house. Kylie was worried all the way home from Mesquite thinking Santa would come, see that we weren't in our beds asleep and would skip our house. She was very pleasant surprised with Santa did in fact make it home in time for him to come.

We, of course made them wait at the top of stairs while we ooo'ed and awww'ed over all the presents. Something my parents did when I was a kid, and it drove us all nuts. Now I see why they did it!

  Kylie was so excited about all she got. She must have been a good girl this year because she had a  pretty good pile. She didn't seem too disappointed.

Jase enjoyed his loot also.  He flew down the stairs when we finally let them down and came running as fast as he could. I think knew what was up and was excited.

Later in the day we headed up to Cedar to spend the day with Jeremy's family. Jase wouldn't part with Elmo or Handy Manny and Kylie was excited to show her cousins and her grandma and grandpa her pillow pet and she brought her new earphones and Jeremy's old disc-man for the ride. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening visiting with family, eating good food and enjoying Christmas.  We must have seriously worn out the kids because they fell asleep on the way home at about 7, we were able to put them right in their beds and they slept unit about 9:00 this morning.  I'm not sure why they were so tired. We didn't even get up until about 8:30. I had my family calling before the kids even got up to ask had it all went and I had to tell them we hadn't done it yet.  Too much excitement, I guess and it exhausted them. 

We really had a great day  and I was actually really sad too see it and the whole season come to an end.  I love Christmas and the spirit that come with it. I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who sent his son to earth for us. I hope my children are starting to understand that that is the reason we celebrate. We are truly blessed and I couldn't be more grateful!!

The Festivities Continue

On Thursday Kylie had a special preschool day where they were surprised with a visitor. Santa came to see the kids and he was definitely one of the cutest Santas I have ever seen. One of Kylie's little friends jumped off his lap and said, "Mom, I am pretty sure I just met the real Santa."  She was relieved to get in one last visit with the old man so he really knew exactly what she wanted! 

Last night all the kids from her school hopped on the back of a trailer and went caroling down the strip mall parking lot.  Kylie had been practicing the songs for weeks and she was super excited to sing! I am sure we were a sight to see with a tailer full of kids and a mob full of parents walking right next to them videoing their every move. It was a fun night though and I am sure Kylie will be singing those songs forever!