Merry Christmas

Santa stopped by our house the Saturday before Christmas just to make sure he knew what everyone wanted and to remind the children to be good. Mitchell loved him, I thought for sure he'd freak out.

All dressed up for church the Sunday before Christmas. The primary kids sang two songs in the program. Ava usually stills the show with her animation but, this year it was all Ashton when he picked his nose, looked at it for half the song, then ate it. Ben and I were so proud!:)
On Christmas Eve the kids got to open their new pj's and a Christmas book. We had a great time remembering the true meaning of Christmas.
The boys were so excited on Christmas when Santa came through. They finally got the Playstation and Guitar Hero they've been begging for.
Christmas was so much fun this year. The kids are at the best ages to capture the magic of the season. I loved being with family and friends and eating good food and sharing memories. (Although I don't want to see a ham or funeral potatoes until Easter).

Holiday Festivities!

December has flown by, I can't believe I've gotten so behind on my blog. I've been sick since the day after Thanksgiving and finally went to the Dr. on the 22nd and got an antibiotic. Despite the sickness I managed to pull of a great Christmas ( just patting myself on the back a little). We've had lots of fun enjoying all the wonders of the season. Here are a few pictures of our month.

McMillan Elementary does a production of the Nutcracker every Christmas. Peyton was a Pennywhistle along with his best friend Jake. He had such a great time practicing and performing. The first grade also went to the Capital theater to see Ballet West's Nutcracker.

Ava and her dance class after their Christmas recital. She also had a performance at the Festival of Trees,

We had the best time making gingerbread houses. Mitchell couldn't wait to get his hands on the candy the next morning.

Peyton, Ashton, Cole and Carter showing off their new hats that Grandma and Pa Taylor gave them for Christmas.

Snow Day

The first major snow of the year is always so much fun. Ben and the kids stayed out there for hours. I think this was the first time Mitchell had played in snow, he didn't last long, he wouldn't wear his gloves so his little hands turned into Popsicles.

Mitchell had a blast playing in the snow.

Peyton posing for the camera.

I love this picture of Ashton just feeling the snow hit his little face.

Ben on Peyton's snowboard trying out the little hill they made.

Giving Thanks

This year our little family is so blessed. We realize that we have so many things to be thankful for. We're thankful for each other, for our parents, grandparents, our home, our health, and so much more.

We had two Thanksgiving dinners this year. Ben's family came over to our house and I cooked my first turkey. Everything tuned out great. We enjoyed lots of yummy food and good company.

On Thursday my Mom did her first Thanksgiving dinner. She did a great job. The tables were beautiful and the food turned out so good. Better than the food I made the night before. My Dad was so impressed with the way it all turned out. I loved spending time with my parents and siblings and the kids had fun with all their cousins.

Bread Pudding

Once a month I get together with a group of friends from my neighborhood for a dinner club. We enjoy amazing food and great conversation. We take turns hosting the dinner and we usually have a theme. Last month our theme was Soup, Breads, and Spreads. I like to try recipes that I've never made before. If any of you have been to Porcupine Grill at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon you know their bread pudding is amazing. Well, I found a recipes that's so yummy and easy and rivals Porcupine.

1 Loaf french bread
2T Butter
4 Eggs, beaten
2c Milk
3/4c White Sugar
1t Vanilla

Optional (I don't use)
Raisins
Nuts
Cinnamon

Cut the crust off the bread, break into pieces. Place in a 8x8 baking dish. Drizzle with melted butter. Mix all other ingredients and pour over bread. Bake 45mins @ 350 degrees.

Carmel Sauce

1/2c Brown Sugar
1/2c White Sugar
1/2c Whipping Cream
1/2c Butter

Melt in a sauce pan, bring to a boil for 3mins. STIR CONSTANTLY
Spoon over Bread Pudding and top with fresh whipped cream. This recipe can be doubled. You won't need to double the sauce, it makes plenty. ENJOY!

No More San Francisco!!!

All day the kids have been chanting "No more San Francisco, No more San Francisco" .... We picked Ben up at the airport this afternoon for the last time. Ben has been working in San Francisco about 50% of the past 14 months. Wells Fargo put him through their management training program which has been like getting a second MBA. I don't know how he did it, I'm very proud of his hard work and dedication. The kids are so excited to have a full time Dad again. Although this year has been challenging it has reminded me how blessed I am.

One weekend when I went to visit Ben we rented a tandem bike and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge. We had such a great time, covered a lot of ground and saw some great sights. We had no idea it would be so hard. The bridge itself was easy, it was getting there that nearly killed us. I couldn't walk for about a week afterwards.

This is a picture of Alcatraz taken from a beach across the Bay.

Happy Halloween!

I get just as excited for Halloween as my children do. I love helping them decide what they want to be and planning the costumes. Of course, I procrastinate and end up working on the costumes into the we hours the night before. I always love Ashton's costumes, he lets me help him choose what to be and I usually make his. I think the homeade costumes are the best. I was so glad Ava wanted to be a butterfly, she's been a different Disney priness for the past three years. Peyton loves to go to the Halloween stores and pick a costume, he always wants to be something grose and scary. The skeleton was as scary as I'd let him be for 1st grade. As for Mitchell, I was just impressed he kept the costume on all day. The skunk costume was warm and fit his personality perfect, he's such a little stinker!

We has a crazy day. Three different Halloween parades, a dance class party, school parties and our tradtional Halloween party at Grandma and Pa's house. The kids had so much fun running house to house with their cousins collecting candy. Looking back the day is a little blurry. I do remember my children having tons of fun and I guess that's what it's all about. So now all fun is over, my house is over flowing with candy wrappers, and I have a major halloween hangover. Can't wait to do it all again next year.

HELP!!

Mitchell(18 months) is now climbing out of his crib. Of course Ben's out of town whenever I have these type of problems and I have to deal with them on my own so, I thought I would look to my fellow bloggers for advice. I found this crib enclosure online that you put on top of your crib, it looks like a little tent. I can't decide if it seems mean to trap him in there like that. So what would you do........? I just don't think he's ready for a bed and I'm concerned for his safety and my sanity!!

Caught in the act!! I grabbed my camera after nap time and told him to show me his new trick. He's such a hand full but so irresistible. I think it's funny that he takes the bottle with him. (I know, I know it's time to kick the bottle habit.)

Little Cheerleader

Ava and her good friend Meg Soffe got to be cheerleaders for a night at the Murray High Football game. She had the best time, I don't think she stopped jumping around and waving her pom poms all night.

A Trip to the E.R.

Ashton had a bad wreck on his scooter and spent the night in the Emergency Room on October 12. Luckily he only had a minor concussion and some bad road rash. I have a feeling we'll spend many more nights in the emergency room with our three very active little boys, especially Ashton. That boy has no fear.

He was so brave at the hospital, all the doctors and nurses fell in love with him. This picture was taken a few days later when all the swelling had gone down. He had a big fat lip for three days. He's had to stay off his scooter, bike, skateboard and trampoline for a week, which has been so hard for him.

No More Tears

About a month ago my friend April posted on her blog that if you put a match between your teeth while cutting onion you won't cry. Well, it really worked! My eyes did sting a little but they stopped watering the second I put the match between my teeth. So enjoy this bit of info, try it and pass it on so we can end the onion tears.

Summer 2007

As Summer '07 comes to an end I thought I would post some of our favorite memories. With Ben in San Francisco most of the Summer we were unable to take a family vacation so we kept busy watching the boys play soccer and baseball, swimming, visiting family, and playing with our cousins and friends. Peyton spent a lot of time at the skate park, Ashton mastered the Razor scooter, and Ava learned to ride her princess bike. Summer Ended with Peyton starting 1st Grade and the twins going to preschool. And best of all Annie and Gary gave us our new cousin Lydia Anne Cannon.