Snowed In!!!!!!!

When I woke up yesterday morning I noticed that it had started snowing. I didn't think much of it, but it never stopped. It is still snowing, and we are pretty much snowed in. I don't get this weather. What happened to Global Warming? School was cancelled today, and I assume it will be tomorrow also. I'm so glad Eric is home, because he braved the snow, shoveled the driveway, and fixed the furnace. We woke up this morning to a very cold house. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. He went to Walmart to get a new filter, picked up some chains for my car and almost didn't make it back. After the new filter didn't work he remembered we had an air intake outside that allows air to get into the furnace. He went outside and cleaned all the snow out of it, and then our heater worked. I would have never thought of that. Now it is kind of fun being snowed in. Eric picked up some movies on his adventure, and now we are set for a few days of family togetherness. I should clean up the house a little. I was so cold this morning that I drank hot chocolate in bed and watched tv while my husband worked hard and was our hero.

Last night Ben and Taraka came over for dinner and helped us make our ginger bread house. Olivia had been bugging me forever to do it, so I thought I would call in reinforcements. Ben is quite the house builder and Taraka is an awesome decorator. Carter, Olivia and Tucker are really good at eating everything off the house as we decorate. There was a coat of frosting and candy balls and gumdrops throughout the house. The kids had the greatest time, so it was all worth it. It turned out to be a very slobbery and not that gorgeous house, but it was made with love!

Carter is constantly pushing the barstools around the kitchen to get to whatever he wants to get up on. I tried to push this one back, and this is him scolding me.

Last Thursday Olivia had her Christmas dance recital at the nursing home. She was so adorable and actually did her dance. It was quite an improvement over last spring when she got on stage and waved at me the whole dance. The whole recital consisted of 3 songs and lasted 9 minutes. Now that is my kind of recital!

After the recital we headed to the Christmas Family Fun Night at the kid's school. They had a really fun dance that all my kids got very into. They also had math games, Santa and a bookfair. Jackson won the game where you guess how much money is in the jar. He won like $27. It was the best day of his life.

This is Hayden with his teacher Mrs. Barnes. She is the greatest teacher ever! Jackson had her too, and we are very attached.

Hayden's Baptism

I'm so proud of my cute little Hayden! I can't believe he is 8 and just got baptized. He wants to be so good and follow Christ. He does a great job!

It was a really good baptism. Eric baptized and confirmed him, his grandpas gave the talks, his grandmas gave the prayers, and all his cousins did the musical number. MaryBeth played the piano, Devey, Jon and Chris did the strings, and the rest of the cousins and Hayden sang "When Jesus Christ was Baptized." He had every cousin from both sides there--except Andrew since he is on a mission. It was probably the loudest baptism I have ever been to, with all the twenty something kids. Eric made a really nice video of Hayden's life so far to show while they were getting dressed.

Eric's outfit was straight from the 70's. He thought it was cool, so he picked it.

This is all of Eric's family that was there. I haven't got a picture of my family from my mom yet.

Thanksgiving Day

Isn't this outfit HOT?!!!! Thanksgiving morning Olivia got herself dressed. She came downstairs looking like this. We all got a good laugh. Now that is some sense of style!

We got up early Thanksgiving morning to get breakfast and all our day's cooking started. Then Lindsey, Anita and I went on a walk to burn off a few of the calories that were coming that day. Eric, Parker and Jeff went to the Shock practice center for a pretty intense Turkey Bowl. We all went to watch. Parker told us they were going to play until they all had injuries. Jeff got a minor one and sat out for a minute but was back in soon. Parker pulled a hamstring and was out for the rest of the day. Eric didn't get any injuries, but he was complaining for days about how sore he was. After the adult games, the boys got to play, too. They all had a great morning. Jackson told me he got an interception, a hail mary catch and a 20 yard run.

Johnny wore this t-shirt to the Turkey bowl. He said he found it in the lost and found in High school like 8 years ago. Evidently he didn't bring home any tshirts for the weekend. We had to tease him a lot, but I think he liked it.

Malik, Rhys and Jorie got to come with Eric's parents. It was so fun to have them. Corey and Brenda were moving last weekend, so they got a few days to unpack kidless. I hardly knew that Malik and Rhys (or my boys) were even there. They were down in the basement playing the whole weekend. Camden, Owen and Olivia were down there playing, too. They all get along so well. My kids favorite thing in the world is to be with their cousins.

We seriously had the best Thanksgiving feast ever!!!! It was totally non-traditional. We had no turkey. Aria was the only one that was sad--sorry Aria!! We had crab legs, prime rib, salmon and halibut instead. Everything turned out awesome. It was beyond tasty! The Pypers came over, too. It was great having them with us, and all the Enloes loved them. Taraka's dad caught all the crab, so she brought the crab tools and knowledge that we lacked. Her dad gave Eric all the crab in exchange for some shock playoff tickets. We definitely got the better end of the deal. We had never cooked prime rib, but Lindsey got some recipes off the internet. Hillary contributed all the yummy fish.

This picture was taken at the end of dinner. Parker would not have been holding Leif until at least 45 minutes into dinner. That would have interfered with him shoveling the delicious food into his mouth and groaning in happiness. Parker was the first one at the table eating happily way before anyone else got there. He told us he didn't think he could have Thanksgiving at his house, because there is no way he could patiently sit and cut the prime rib for everyone like Eric did. Ben got all the crab legs out of the shells for us. By the time we got all the kid's plates ready, Parker was ready for seconds. We think Parker is pretty funny, but I'm not sure Aria thinks he is that funny.

We had all the adults in the dining room and the kids in the kitchen. We were in such bliss we didn't even care to know what kind of mess the kids had made in the kitchen. There were 11 of us adults and 11 kids.

Can I just tell you how much I love Eric's family! We have the best time together and get along so well. It didn't even seem crowded or overwhelming having 19 people stay at my house for the week (including our own family.) I just love all my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law tons. It was the best going shopping, having lunch, getting pedicures and seeing a movie with you. We missed you Brenda. It wasn't the same without you!!!

Thanksgiving Fun

The week of Thanksgiving was completely crazy and so much fun! My brother Mark's family came in the Sunday night before Thanksgiving. My kids still had school, but they were on half days so we still had lots of time for activities. They couldn't handle being away from Austin, Braden, Chad and Hadley, so we stayed up at my mom's for a few nights. Monday we went with my whole family to Triple play and went to the indoor waterpark. My poor nephew Braden had a broken arm, so Hayden stayed and did arcade games with him while the others swam. After dinner the kids did laser tag. We even hurried home in time for a girls late show of Twilight.

Tuesday we did our big Costco run while the boys were at school. Mark took Olivia with him and his boys to Cabelas to entertain them while we shopped. Then we all headed to Bolt in 3-d. We all loved it. It was even fun for the parents. Austin, Braden and Chad got to spend the night, and my boys skipped school on Wednesday. We all went to Jump and Bounce. The cousins were all so cute as they laughed their hearts out tackling each other, boxing and going down the slides in trains. We went to lunch after and met Eric's family as they drove in from Utah. It was then time to say goodbye to the cousins on my side. My whole family was headed to the lake for Thanksgiving. It was so sad to not be able to be with them, but we were really excited for all of Eric's family to be here!

When I was in Arkansas last summer I did my neice Hadley's hair everyday. For some reason she always wanted me to do it and would sit still for me better than Heather. When she got here she wanted me to do her hair again. I got in the hair mode and got ambitious with Olivia's hair. This day Heather thought I better take a picture of it!

Jackson's 10th Birthday

A couple of weeks ago when Jackson turned 10, I had a crazy reality check. I HAVE BEEN A MOTHER FOR A DECADE!!!!! How is that even possible? The next thought came into my mind that I am really old. I still catch myself looking at the cute young married girls in my ward, that have husbands in law school, and thinking that they are my age. It is sad when I realize that I have 4 kids, and I'm not young anymore. Time goes by way too fast. Jackson is already more than half way through his time at home with us. I want him to be Carter's age again and do it all over again. He told me this morning that he just realized that in the "olden days" that there was color. He said he just always imagined it in black and white. I had to chuckle. I had parent teacher conferences for the boys on Friday. I love going to parent teacher conferences. I get to sit and smile and nod while their teachers tell me how great my boys are. It makes me so happy! It is really great to be a mother.

Tonight Mark and Heather's family will be here and then Eric's family will be here on Wednesday. Next time I blog I will have so many great things to share from our week of fun, Thanksgiving and Hayden's baptism. I figured I better post Jackson's birthday party before it got lost in the shuffle. He wasn't even supposed to have a party this year. I told him he could have 1 or 2 friends spend the night. He couldn't decide on 2 friends. Then we thought of having flag football at the shock practice center since that would be free and he is obsessed with football. I put on the invitations-- no gifts, but he got so many gift cards that it was the "greatest day of his life" going to spend them. He just kept telling more and more little boys about the party. There ended up being 35 boys there. Eric got 3 Shock players to come and run a mini-camp and then coach the teams. It was every little boys dream come true. I don't know if we could ever throw a party for the boys that was better!

My Random Addictions

Ever since I got through birthday season--Jackson's party was the last and it was over a week ago--pictures to come soon--I started watching Lost. I had 2 seasons on my dvr and hadn't started watching them. I got through the first episode and wasn't that enthralled, and then about halfway through the second episode I got really into it. That is all I want to do now. I have a little crush on Jack and I want the body of Kate. Something tells me that sitting on my butt watching Lost and staying up too late to want to excercise the next morning isn't going to help me ever get a body like Kate's, though. I'm so into all of their lives it is like they are real people or something. I have a serious problem.
Today at church they talked a lot about gratitude, and it got me thinking a lot. I'm so thankful for everything I have in my life--most of all for my Savior and my family. Eric started a new job consulting, and he has been gone for all but 4 days in the last month. It has really made me appreciate him even more and treasure the time we do have with him. I know this is not a permanent thing having him gone so much, so that is how I'm surviving. My babies are the sweetest things in the world, too!!!!
Jackson has grown up so much lately. He has really stepped up and helped me since Eric has been gone. I'm so proud of him. He is so incredibly thoughtful and kind! He is just cute. We haven't finished the sports court in our yard yet, and Jackson really wanted a basketball hoop to practice on. I told him maybe we could get our hoop back from our old house and put it on the slab outside. This morning he asked me if the Nelsons were "mentally attracted" to the basketball hoop or if they said we could take it. (We left it when we moved since we didn't want to move it or store it while we were at my parents.) I figured out he had heard me ask Danna if they were "emotionally attached" to the hoop. Tonight I asked him what the phrase was that he had used. He told me and then asked, "mom, you aren't going to put that in your blog are you?" He thought it was just too embarassing, but I told him it was cute.
Tonight I was so done with Olivia not listening to anything I told her. I kneeled down and grabbed her face so she would have to look at me when I talked to her. I asked her,"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Hayden was watching us and said to me, "I think Olivia just made a self to self connection." I asked him what the heck that was and he acted like I was crazy that I didn't know what that was. He then went into a long explanation of all the different connections. I didn't understand it all. 8 year olds today are for sure smarter than I was. He is growing up so much, too. The other night I came upstairs to tell the boys that they needed to get the garbages and recycle bin stuff collected and out on the curb. Hayden told me that he had already done it, and that Jackson hadn't even helped. I looked around and saw that he hadn't missed any of the garbages around the house and the big garbage and the recycle bin were out on the curb. I was proud of him for doing everything by himself and before I even asked.
Olivia is so darn cute, but she has been a challenge for me lately. I keep on asking her not to do things and she tells me that Carter is doing it. I can't get it through her head that he is 2 and she is 5. Most of the time I am squeezing her and telling her I'm so happy that she can be my daughter, but sometimes I am telling her to just please stop talking and asking questions. Everything she asks me is so random and unanswerable. It makes my head want to explode. I guess with her the highs are higher and the lows are lower. One day Carter ripped the leg off of her paper dog. She screamed for an hour that he had ruined her life. The next day we had some left over chicken, and she told me that she didn't want any. Later she came back and wanted some. When she was told it was all gone she screamed, "If I don't get some chicken I WILL DIE!" A little dramatic?
Carter is getting a little easier lately. I just don't want him to grow up. He is the most adorable little thing you will ever see. I just want to kiss and squeeze him all the time. He loooooooooves my mom more than about anything in the world. He calls her Bama and asks to see her at least 3 times a day. If we are anywhere near her house and don't stop he throws a fit. He is finally starting to talk a ton. He is so funny. He will not call Jackson by his name. He always calls him Hayden and he calls Hayden, Hayden. When we try to get him to say Jackson he tells us, "NO! HAYNEN!!!!" It is so cute how much he loves Olivia, too. He gets very worried when he doesn't know where Olivia is. Today at church he started screaming during the prayer, "Where IA? Where IA?" She had gone 2 rows back to sit with her teacher. I think it is cute how he stills calls her IA even though he could say her whole name now. He just loves his IA!

Why am I always on the front row?

Jackson told me the other day how terrible it is that he has to stand on the ground in front of the risers. "Why am I always on the front row?" Well, he is on the front row because he is one of the shortest kids in choir. I like it, though, because it is always easy for me to see him. Yesterday Solar Energy sang at the Veteran's day assembly at school. Jackson sang in a solo group on one of the songs. They sounded really good, and he was so cute! I guess it is worth taking him early to school 2 days a week.

Halloween

I'm not sure which alternate universe Harry Potter and Bob Marley hang out. On Halloween night, they hung out at my house........until Jackson was too cool for us and went trick-or-treating with his friend Travis.

Carter didn't want to have anything to do with putting his costume on. I decided he could just wear his skeleton shirt. Eric was out of town, and I was so tired!!!!! I had been working like a crazy woman to get super saturday ready. It was the next morning. I was okay with whatever was low stress to get me through the night.

I'm pretty sure Olivia was the cutest witch out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood or any neighborhood for that matter. We went over to my friend Kristi's house for dinner and then went around the neighborhood together. It was such a nice night! It was our first year in our new neighborhood. It was awesome. People go all out. It was so much fun!!!!

We finally got Carter's costume on to go trick-or-treating. He loved the idea of running up to people's doors and getting candy. He is so stubborn. I couldn't get him to say Trick-or-treat. He would just go up and yell, "I want some!" or "have some tandy!"