HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Goodbye 2008, you were a good year and I will miss you. You went way too fast, I feel like I blinked and you were over. We had our 12th wedding anniversary, Elora was born, Degan turned 4 and started preschool, and Tyler turned 8 and got baptized. That is just a glimpse of all that happened during your time with us. Again, we will miss you.

I hope you all have a wonderful new year, I can't believe it is 2009. Make the best of this new year and cherish it. Time flies way too fast.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Daily Life Happenings

Just thought I would post some of the daily activities that happen around here.

Degan, our little gymnast, has been doing the splits for several months now so Daddy thought he should try it against two walls. Yesterday while holding onto the Wii remote control he did a one handed cartwheel. He is amazing.

Elora is pulling herself up to everything and is getting hurt more and more often. This was right after she busted her lip on a chair. Thank goodness for Popsicles.

She loves getting into the fridge. Whenever it is open she rushes towards it. It is ALMOST as fun as the toilet. I don't have a picture of that one because usually I am running her to the bathtub to clean her up. It has happened 3 times, once while there was pee in the toilet and she grabbed the toilet paper and was splashing it everywhere, YUCK! Jon found wet toilet paper on the wall and the sink. The new rule in our house is "SHUT THE DOOR!"

She just looks so sad, I think this was the night she was sick.

My little helper. Usually she tries to put the dirty clothes in the dryer when I am transferring the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Lovely, we've probably been wearing dirty clothes. Oh well that is life with a 10 month old.

Just looking adorable. She loves George, Curious George. We got Degan one when he had his surgery and she fell in love with it. I got her one for Christmas but was forced to give it to her early. Degan hated his all slobbery everyday.

And where is Tyler in our daily life? He is there but he is usually playing the Wii, Xbox or on the computer. I think we need to limit his use with these things. I don't have a picture of him. Sorry Tyler. I love him and he is such a good kid. He is always there when I need him to watch his sister or help his brother. We are so lucky to have him. We are so lucky to have all of them. I really couldn't imagine life without these guys, even though life would be easier, it would be awfully boring.

Christmas 2008

Christmas around here wasn't so great. Poor Degan got sick on Christmas Eve and all day on Christmas then the next night Elora threw up in her bed and the next day Jon was sick all day. We weren't able to go to Jon's parents house for dinner like we had planned but other than that and being sick it was a good Christmas. Santa was very nice to the kids this year even though according to Degan, Santa didn't get anything on his list. I think Mom and Dad were pretty nice too. I thought Elora would have gotten into the groove of opening presents but she really didn't care about them. She just wanted whatever the boys opened. We are so very blessed to be able to celebrate and give gifts to our children that we know they will love. We have tried telling the boys that there are a lot of children who don't get very much and that we are lucky. We actually were very practical this year. They got clothes, Jammie's and socks besides a few toys and movies. That is probably why Degan was disappointed. Santa spent the big bucks and got the boys a Wii video game system. Tyler was thrilled and has been playing it quite a bit since Christmas. Tyler was so sweet and got me a new pair of flannel Jammie's and Degan got me an electric griddle. Jon told me to go buy some new shoes and clothes before Christmas and he was able to get his Progressive ammo reloader. We also got him some Cd's of a radio show called "The Shadow" from the 1930's and 40's. He remembers listening to them when he was little, no he is not that old so I don't know where he heard them but he has been wanting them for a long time now and he was very happy to get them. Overall I can't complain, we are all nice and healthy now and can enjoy our gifts and our time together as a family. Just a few more days and it is time to go back to work and school, ugh!

Christmas morning, you can tell Degan isn't feeling too well.

Elora opening her gift from Santa, a big Tinker Bell doll.

Tyler and Degan opening their gift from Santa, the Wii.

I love Tyler's face, he was so excited.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

White Christmas

We woke up to a wonderful snow storm today. We had been wanting the snow to come and this storm wasn't even in the forecast but our city got hit hard with a good foot of snow. I sent the boys outside to play and then I went out to help them sled down our side yard and somehow stayed out for about an hour playing with them. Our side yard is perfect for Degan, not too steep. I think Tyler was trying to find every way possible to go faster but he still had a lot of fun. I even made a snow angel and Tyler made sure to put the halo on top. He is so cute. We had a snow ball fight of course which Degan wasn't too fond of but Tyler loved getting me and tried several times to get me right in my face. I showed him, don't worry, I picked him up and threw him in the snow(it was very soft and powdery). By the time we were done I was soaked but we had so much fun. I am so glad that I have 2 little boys that love to have fun.

Tyler making a snow angel and Degan just getting comfortable. He wasn't too sure what he should do at first.

SNOW!!! Our neighborhood is covered in so much snow.

Full Moon

The other night we were able to see this beautiful full moon outside. The picture doesn't do it justice but I thought I would post it anyway.

Cutie

LOOK....One hand!! She loves her new (used by Degan) hippo walker. She is getting so big. She actually stood up for a second or two today on her own.

I just love this picture of Elora sleeping. What a cute bum sticking up. She is not the greatest sleeper so I don't really have a lot of pictures of her sleeping.

Grandma and Grandkids

My mom was able to come for a quick visit the weekend after Degan's surgery. It was a very nice treat for Degan and all of us actually. I just love how no matter how much time passes that we don't see her, the kids just love her and don't forget how much fun they have with her. Thanks for the visit mom. We love you! I know you said not to post the picture but I think you look great and I want it in my blog book. Sorry:(
While Grandma was here Elora learned a new skill. She figured out how to climb the stairs. She went all the way to the top on her first try. Since then she has snuck up there once and was playing at the top of the stairs, yea I know, where was I??? Jon thought she was with me and I thought she was with him. Now we have a gate. I guess I need to teach her how to come down. She is so proud of herself. She is clapping in the above picture.

Our Silly Boys

Ever since Halloween, Tyler and Degan have had to sleep in the same bed together. They drive us crazy because they are always scared. Tyler is always afraid that there may be spiders in the top bunk (he found a black widow in the garage) and Degan just thinks there may be monsters and Tyler would be able to protect him. So one night I went in to check on them and make sure they were asleep and this is what I found. I thought it was pretty cute, they were totally out and didn't even wake up when I took the picture. Brothers......gotta love'em.

Degan's Surgery

Today Degan had his first surgery. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He has been battling swollen tonsils and infections for quite some time now but after our Disneyland with strep Dr. Deny's decided they should come out. We were very honest with Degan and started telling him about his surgery a couple of weeks ago which I think really helped. He didn't even seem too scared. He was more excited about being able to eat all the ice cream, Popsicles and pudding that he wants. The surgery took less than 1/2 an hour and he didn't even cry once. The nurse was very impressed and couldn't believe that he didn't even want meds. Degan has the throat of steel. We were able to come home withing 2 hours of his surgery and by this afternoon he was ready to play. Kids are amazing. I had to keep telling him that he will heal faster if he rests but he was feeling pretty good. I could tell a couple of times that he was in pain but when I asked he still refused to say it hurt. He has been drinking and eating LOTS of pudding pops and by this evening he had to have a piece of chocolate from his Advent calendar and McDonald french fries. I just hope that he continues to feel good. He has been such a trooper, I expected the worst and so far it has been really good. I am so grateful he is home safe and sound.

(before surgery)

He thought the hospital gown was funny because it looked like a dress.


Silly socks. The nurse gave him these sock that were just silly to him.

(after surgery)

Not too happy, thank goodness we got him a new teddy. Curious George saved the day. Still recovering. He did not like the IV. Tyler thought it was crazy when the IV bag ran out and Degan's blood started going up the tubes. I tried not to make a big deal of it so Degan wouldn't freak out.

Starting to look himself.

Tyler's 1st Pinewood Derby

Tyler had his first experience at the Pinewood Derby. He and Jon worked on his car which started out at first just as a rectangle piece of pine. They did a great job and Tyler was able to file and sand the wood, attach the wheels, and stain and varnish his little car. Jon did a lot of
work too but they had fun working together. Sad thing is that it didn't do so well. In all 6 races his little car kept getting 5th or 6th place. That's OK, Jon is already working on a plan for next years race so that Tyler will win. He did get an award for best craftsmanship. Good job buddy and better luck next year!

Splish Splash

Elora loves bath time lately, now that she takes them in the big kid tub. Whenever the boys are taking baths or showers this is her new thing. She stands next to the tub just waiting till I put her in. I love her cute little bum.

She gets me soaked because she thinks splashing is the coolest thing.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving at Jon's parents' house. There was so much yummy food and the kids just love getting together with their cousins. I am thankful for all of my wonderful blessings. My children and husband, our home and neighborhood, health, Jon's job and the ability to stay home with my kids, extended family, knowing the gospel, living in the USA and our freedoms, good food always at our table, and friends. My list could really go on and on but those are just a few that I am so grateful for.

I just wanted to post this picture of Grandpa holding Elora on Thanksgiving. Notice she is sleeping, she never lets him hold her without totally screaming. She wasn't too happy when she woke up. Such a rare picture I thought I better post it.

Christmas is coming!!!

I am so excited for Christmas to come. I love this time of year. I love the decorations, the music, the goodies and the smells. I was really trying to wait to change my blog until after Thanksgiving but, oh who cares, I AM READY FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

Reflections 2008

Tyler entered a contest at school called Reflections. It is put on by the National PTA and there are several different areas that you can enter in. Tyler chose to enter the Visual Arts category and submitted a drawing. The topic had to be WOW! To me that was a hard topic to draw but he came up with this picture all on his own. It is a picture of a Navy ship and on the back he wrote..."Wow!, my 89 year old Great Grandpa served in the Navy during 3 wars. WWII, The Korean War and the Vietnam War." His drawing was chosen for his age group from our school to move on to the district level to compete with all the schools in our district. I am so proud of him and his very special talent. He loves to draw and now he is showing his friends how to draw ships. What a sweet boy. He is growing up too fast.

Chemtrails

This topic has been bothering me for weeks now . These are Chem trails, really I am not sure what they are for or what they do but I do know that it is strange and definitely not normal. Here in Utah the air quality has been awful and it is usually the day after I spot these chem trails. Believe me they are completely different than just contrails(water vapor from engines). We have seen airplanes leaving contrails fly right after the airplanes leaving chem trails and the contrails dissipate quickly, the chem trails don't. They last all day, I noticed one for 8 hours. After a few hours they look just like clouds. What in the heck are we breathing. Below is a link that shows other pictures of chem trails and talks about them too. It makes me sick and I thought you should know.

http://imageevent.com/firesat/strangedaysstrangeskies?z=3&c=4&n=1&m=-1&w=4&x=0&p=14

Our Growing Baby @ 9 Months

Elora is 9 months old today and she is just turning into the cutest, sweetest little girl. She so much fun and is learning so much lately. She crawls, pulls herself up, says DaDa and MaMa and my favorite is when she claps her hands. She weighs only 15.3 lbs (10%) and is 28.5" in length (75%). She is long and lean but a very healthy little girl. She is our little angel and we are so grateful to have her.

Already loving books.
Just too cute!

Are these all MY toys?

Disney on Ice

Our good friends, The Kendell's, won tickets to Disney on Ice(100 Years of Magic) and were so nice to share them with us. We had tons of fun especially since we just got back from Disneyland a couple of weeks ago. The best part was that we were in the second row and were able to see everything so well, one reason why I took so many pictures. I just love everything Disney right now and I am so glad that my kids will have these awesome memories. Thanks again Sumer and Kevin!

Aunt Becky's visit

While Aunt Becky was here visiting from California we all went to the Provo Canyon. We had a good time until Tyler jumped in the water after a toy and got soaked. I of course didn't bring extra clothes since it is winter and who would want to get in the water? It figures that Tyler would be the one. We decided to stay because Aunt Jen had an extra pair of sweats and water shoes so it was still fun and we didn't have to leave.

In front of Bridal Veil Falls

Grandpa and the cousins monkeying around.

The boys didn't want Becky to leave so they came up with this plan to tape her to a chair so that she had to stay. Jon is the one that gave the boys Duct Tape.

The day before this, Degan told Becky that he wished that she could stay forever then after a couple of seconds he said..."he'll miss you"as if she was going to stay, Becky asked..."who will miss me?", Degan then said..."Uncle Sergio". It was pretty cute.

We do miss you Beck, it was fun having you.

Helena and Antonio

The newest members of our family came in October. My Aunt Cookie had Antonio on October 23 and my sister Amy had Helena on October 29. They are so precious and I am thankful they are here and healthy.

Antonio
Helena

We just found out the other night that Jon's sister Tara is pregnant. That will make 10 nieces and nephews. We can't wait.

Halloween 2008

What happened to October? It came and went so fast. On Halloween morning, I found Elora standing up in her crib for the first time. She seemed so proud of herself so I had to go grab the camera.

I did it!!! I'm a big girl now.

Tyler the Clone Trooper, Degan the Lion (he was supposed to be the Power Ranger that I bought him) and Elora the Ladybug. It was smart that Degan wore the lion costume. It was way warmer.

Degan and Elora

We decided to have Elora be a bug for Halloween because of the pic tails that we could stick straight up to look like antennae. Our friends the Kendell's let us borrow this cute ladybug costume. Thanks guys.

This is Tyler with "Frankenstein". Our neighbor is about 6'7" and on Halloween he wore these shoes that added a few more inches. Tyler is a pretty tall 8 year old but he looks so tiny next to Mike. What fun neighbors.