My Top Ten List- Why I Love Christmas

10. Wrapping Presents.. Kind of pathetic I know, but I actually like to wrap presents. I love how pretty they look in the end.

9. Christmas Cards...I love getting Christmas cards every day..I especially love ones with photos. I love to see every ones adorable families.

8. The Church Christmas Program... Every year it is wonderful. If you are not yet in the holiday spirit - you leave with the spirit overflowing.

7. Classic Christmas Specials... I love watching all the cute Christmas specials I watched as a kid with my children. It brings back so many memories of when I was a little girl.

6. My kids excitement for Santa... There is something so sweet and pure about my little ones excitement for Santa to come... Nick says something about it almost every single day- it is priceless.

5. Roberts' Family Party... Every year on the 23rd or 24th we have Bryan's family party- It is always loads of fun.. We have dinner. We play games.. Laugh way to hard and Santa ( Bryan's dad) always makes an appearance with a few gifts for the kids.

4. Christmas lights, decorations and music... I absolutely love Christmas decorations, they are beautiful. My favorites are the lights and nativity scenes. Christmas music is so beautiful. I love listening to it and singing along (scary with my voice). The Christmas Hymns are my favorites.

3. Christmas Stories about Our Savior, Jesus Christ... I love reading stories to my children that teach about the true meaning of Christmas. I hope they will remember to try to be like Jesus.

2. Grandparents... I am so grateful that Bryan and I both have parents that like to come over early on Christmas morning and watch the kids open their gifts and help us with any assembling that may be required. It is very special to have them come share in the excitement and fun, and start the day off with gratitude for family.

1. Watching my kids open their presents Christmas morning.... Santa spends a great deal of time getting just the right gifts for everyone and I love watching my kids reactions when they open them.

I am reading!!

Yesterday morning as we were driving Alex to school, Kate was looking through her "Barbie and the Diamond Castle" book. Alex was trying to tell her she missed a page, I quickly reminded him she was only two and it didn't matter.
Kate began to read " Once upon a time...."
Alex says, "Kate, you are in the middle of the book."
To which Kate responds, "I'm two, Leave me alone!"

Delicious Cake!

Sunday evening we were going to Bryan's sisters house for her birthday. We had picked up her cake from Sam's Club the night before and Kate wanted a piece so bad. Bryan told the kids to get their shoes on because it was time to go to aunt Brenda's.
Kate looked at Bryan and said, " yeah! And eat the delicious cake!"

It was priceless!

Adventures with Kate Part 1

One week ago in nursery (at church) Kate had a little run in with one of the leaders. Kate has an issue with climbing, ( she climbs all over, worse than the boys ever did- go figure) and was doing so in nursery. Ryan, one of the nursery leaders, had asked Kate to stop several times.
Finally, Ryan said, " Kate, if you don't stop being naughty I am going to have to tell your mommy and daddy!" To which Kate said, "You stop being naughty or I am going to tell your mommy and daddy!" I got to say that girl is getting a little to much spunk in her. She is definitely going to be strong willed - of that I am certain.

Precious Little Girls!!!

" I'm a bad guy!"

Kate trying in the Barbie Cinderella slippers!

Adorable!

Kate's pretty painted toenails!

"They are beautiful mommy!"

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am thankful for so many things: family, friends, health, and so much more. Not to say we haven't had trials this year- we have and do- but I know that Bryan and I will get through them stronger. Thanksgiving makes you think of all the things you do have to be thankful for and that, I can say, is plenty. Thanksgiving is a great day to spend with family, relax a little and reflect on all our blessing.

We have had a fun day of family, delicious food and great company. Tonight some our good friends are coming over to visit, play games and eat some more dessert. What else could you ask for on Thanksgiving.? Hope you all had a great day! You all are a blessing in my life and I am thankful for all of you.

Hello out there!!

Sorry, I have kind of been out of the blog loop for a few weeks.. Life is busy and I just haven't felt like blogging in a while. I have missed out on taking some great photos of Alex playing flag football and my two little ones playing everything.

Kate's still being a bossy, girly girl. She got a very old Barbie from me and a gently used Barbie Castle and Cinderella Barbie carriage from her cousin Nicole. Lets just say it consumed her for close to a week and you seriously could have passed it off for Christmas!

Nicklas is way into playing with friends.. He loves to play with his friends Caleb and Rhett. Almost daily we have to make the calls to find a playmate. The nice thing is that at five, it requires very little parent intervention- they play fabulous together. Of course I must admit that Nick, Kate and Caleb decided to drink sand water that had been sitting in the sand box for close to a week. Luckily for me- no one has gotten sick yet. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Alex is just busy with school, cub scouts and friends. He is doing great in school. He loves scouts and he also likes to play with his friends on a daily basis.

Happy Halloween!!!!

What a fun day it has been so far. We all got to go to the Halloween Parade at the elementary school. Then Grandma Evie babysat Nick and Kate while I got to go help with Alex's class Halloween party. They ate Nachos, made spider cookies and played fun games like Bingo, I Spy and Pumpkin Bucket toss.

Later Aunt Emilie came over with the cousins and we took some cute pictures. It has been a load of fun so far. Tonight we are looking forward to our chili dinner with grandma and grandpa, a little trick or treating ( my kids last about 30 min. ) and then we are going to watch a movie- "Nightmare before Christmas".

My little Pumpkin, cute Ninja and cool Football Player.

All the cousins getting a photo together.

Nick, Jordan, Preston, Alex, Kate, Hayden and Max.

Alex's School Party: ( What a bunch of great 3rd graders, The kids were all so good- I was really impressed.)

The kids with their carved pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!!!

I Love Fall!

Precious and Priceless!!

This one is my Favorite.

This is towards the end and Kate was very disinterested by now!



Handsome Alex.

Cheesy & cute Nick!

Hamming it up!

I absolutely love, love, love fall. It is probably my favorite season. I love the leaves changing all those beautiful colors, I love the pleasant weather, I love fall decorations. I just love just about everything about fall.

So I decided to take my cute kids over to Gardner Village for some cute fall photos. We enjoyed walking around looking at all the fun witches decorating the place and got some real fun pictures in the beautiful fall colors. My kids were cracking me up. Nick and Alex were trying to help out with Kate, but Kate really does have a mind of her own. She only cooperates when she wants to and no one can make her do anything. Despite her stubbornness I got some adorable shots of all of them. I am so grateful for each one of them and the different blessings they add to our family. I love fall and I LOVE my sweet children.

Firestation Field Trip

Nicklas' preschool went on a field trip to the Fire Station this week and Kate and I went along. It was so much fun. We got to see a firefighter with all his firefighting gear on and we even got to take a short ride in the fire engine. Kate, Nick and I had a wonderful time and I'm glad we had the opportunity to go.

Soccer Season!!

This fall Alex decided to dump Karate and try something new. He played organized soccer for the first time, and I have to say he loved it. He was such a hard worker when he played and always seemed to have fun. I am so proud of him for that. You always want your kids to be involved in things they love and for Alex that is not hard, the hard part is keeping the passion for it there. I am just so glad he had a great time, played for a great coach, and found something he likes to work hard at. Way to go Alex!!

Thanks!! Grandma and Grandpa

This is a quick little shout out to my fabulous folks. My parents have been the best this last week and I just didn't want the opportunity to pass without me thanking them for all they do for me and my family. Thursday, my mom graciously took my sister and I and all our kids to the zoo. The kids had a great time and the adults were good and tired by the end. Friday, my mom came and babysat while I went to lunch with some girlfriends and then she came back that evening and babysat-had a movie night with my kids while Bryan and I went to dinner with the fabulous women I serve with in Young Womens.
To top all this off, my mom and dad met us at Murray Park Sunday afternoon and my dad took some family photos for us. I just want to say " Thanks for being the best, Mom and Dad. I love and appreciate you so very much."

U of U Football

Bryan, Alex and I had a fabulous time Saturday afternoon at the University of Utah Football game, much thanks to our great brother in law who gave us three of his season tickets. Alex absolutely loves sports and he loves to go to games, so what a great opportunity this was for Bryan and I to get to spend a little one on one time with him. Of course it doesn't hurt that the Ute's whipped Colorado State or that we had totally awesome seats on the 45 yard line about 10 rows up or that the weather was wonderful. We had a wonderful time and I am very glad I got to spend some time with two of my favorite guys.

It's All About Pink!!!

So I don't think it is possible to be any more girly than Kate is. She has been cracking me up this week so I just had to share.

First off, yesterday my mom, Kate and I had a girls day. We went to lunch and then we went to our favorite jeweler and had my rings cleaned and my mom had to get her ridiculously small size 4 1/2 wedding ring resized (after 36 years of marriage). While we are at the jewelry store Kate saw a ring with a very large and pretty pink stone on it and decided she would tell her daddy to go buy it for her. Ha..Ha.. Ha. But is that so funny or what.

Secondly, we are outside last night while Nick and Kate were riding scooters. As Kate is riding her scooter she sees a little neighbor girl on her bike. Kate stop, yells across the street a cute "Hi" and then yells again "You have a pretty bike". The bike of course was pink and I laughed my head off. I think Kate thinks if it is pink, it is pretty.

Last but not least, today Kate earned a little pink and purple Hello Kitty notepad for her potty training successes. Shortly after I gave it to her she said to me in her little voice, "It's so pretty, it pink". It was simply priceless. Who would have guessed a cheap little potty prize could bring so much joy to a sweet girly girl.

I Canned Peaches!!

So I happen to be very amazed at my homemaking skills at times. A few years ago a dear neighbor taught me how to can salsa that I absolutely love. Last night, my dear friend and neighbor Michele taught me how to can peaches. It was so fun and now I have all these lovely jars of peaches to show for it. It always makes me very happy to have something so pretty to show for the work (I must say it wasn't to much work- but hey that makes it even better) and to know that my kids are going to really enjoy them. In a week or two I will share my picture of the salsa.

Thanks Michele- you are an awesome friend.

Time with Grandma and Grandpa!!

My parents were kind enough this past weekend to watch our kids while Bryan and I went away for a night for our anniversary a week ago. They even planned a fun activity for them to do: they took all three of the kids to the AirShow in Wendover ( a little crazy I know, but aren't they awesome to do that!!)









The kids had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. The boys told me all about the cool tricks the airplanes did. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for entertaining the kids for us- We love you!!

Camping Fun!!!

We went camping last Friday and Saturday with some Bryan's family at Wasatch State Park. It was quite an adventure to say the very least. First, I am not much of a camper if you can believe that (HA, HA). This was Kate's first time camping and it was all she could talk about all week. She was invited to stay at a cousins while we went and Kate said, "No, Me go camping." We got up there on Friday night, set up camp and roasted some hot dogs. After our little ones went to bed, we had a great time laughing around the campfire. The only draw back to the first evening was the very limited amount of sleep most of us got. Unfortunately, we had a few inconsiderate campers close to us, they decided to sing into the early morning hours. ( pretty sure they had a little alcohol in them). Luckily our kids slept well.
The cutest thing was Saturday morning. Kate was sleeping between Bryan and I, the boys had woken up and were putting on there clothes when Kate woke up. She looked around and then with a huge smile said " Good morning !" We all just started laughing. We had a fun time over by the pond with Bryan's sisters family and my in-laws until around lunch when they headed for home.
Bryan and I took our kids over to Strawberry Reservoir where they had the Salmon spawning and our kids thought that was pretty awesome. Saturday night we went to the park amphitheatre for the Insect show and Alex got to dress up as an insect ( sorry, didn't have my camera with me, bad mom). Sunday morning we packed up and drove over to Cascade Springs- took the little hike and then drove home through Provo Canyon. All in all I must say it was a successful camp trip.

Grandpa, Bryan and Kate

At Strawberry Reservoir looking at the Salmon.

The Salmon. (Kate called them the Pink Fish)

Alex and I!

Alex and Nicklas being goofy.

Kate and her precious pink ball Alex found and gave her.

Feeding the duck.

Kate tried to feed them out of her hand. (not a great idea)

Golf ball hunting. ( A favorite activity at Wasatch)

The kids and I at Cascade Springs.

Happy Birthday Nicklas!!!

My sweet little Nicklas was born 5 years ago today, and I still can't believe it has been that long. I still remember the day I came home from the hospital without him ( he had to stay in the NICU for 9 days because he was 4 and 1/2 weeks early). Talk about some emotional turmoil. It's like it was yesterday. He is a great little boy, he is smart and funny and likes to tell me stories. Last night we had a fun gathering with family and today for the big day he had his first friend party. Luckily for mom, it was a small group of four well behaved boys, and of course Kate. They had a wonderful time.

Here are the little pirates getting ready for the party to start.

Say Aarg!!

Pinata time!!!



Lots and Lots of candy!

Alex's First Cub Pack Meeting

Last night was Alex's first Cub Pack Meeting. He got to say the opening prayer, which he was a little distraught about, but he did a fabulous job. He earned his Bobcat along with some belt loops from Cub Country. I think he thought it was pretty great. He has really been enjoying his time at scouts so far and we are looking forward to helping him complete his wolf badge.

Alex and Zach getting welcomed into the Wolf Pack.

Alex, Grandma Ruth and Nicklas.

Labor Day Weekend in Blackfoot, Idaho

We went to Blackfoot, Idaho this weekend with our good friends and neighbors, Pat and Michele Lindsay and the boys ( Gabe, Calvin and Josh). It was a blast. Not only did we get to experience life in a small town, we got to go to the Southeastern Idaho Parade and the Fair. We had a great time eating and seeing all the farm animals being shown at the fair. The kids had a wonderful time and we look forward to going again some time if Pat's mom can bear it. They feed us way to well every meal and had a very enjoyable time.




Here are the kids waiting for the parade to start.

These are some of the pictures from four wheeling. The kids absolutely went nuts about this and it was pretty cute. Kate continually told her dad to go faster and the rest of the kids could hardly stand to wait for their turns. I can finally see what the draw is to own one of those fun toys.