Cruisin'

The girls received scooters from Santa. With the park just across the street, we have a great place to practice.

And, they're off!

Is it just me or if she's old enough to be ridin' a scooter, isn't she's way to old to be usin' a paci?!?

It's a proven fact that sticking your tongue out like this makes you better at difficult tasks.

See? Worked like a charm.

That dang thing just won't steer itself. Must be one of the wheels.

Abandon ship!

And to restore the confidence, some time on the swings.

and the slide.

Super fun.

The End is Nigh

A Long Time Ago

We made a trip to the Oakland Temple to see the beautiful Christmas Lights.

We strolled around taking in the chill night air and enjoyed the views.

The sky was crystal clear and we could see across the bay to San Fransisco.

Grandpa Bob doesn't live too far away. He met us, we had dinner and then spent the evening together.

The place is always packed this time of year as the Temple is known for it's Holiday decorations.

We wrapped up the evening with snacks and drinks. Everyone had a really good time and slept great that night!

Ponder This

If a mute child swears, does his mother make him wash his hands with soap?

Just Checking

Lexi comes around corner: Mom?

Me: Yeah, Lex.

Lexi: So, um, pee is #1, right?

Me: Yup.

Lexi: And, um, poop is #2?

Me: Yeessss.

Lexi: Well then I just went #3.

Role Reversal

I've had some friends and acquaintances ask me if I've been riding lately.

With 3 young kids? Are you kidding me?

I'm the one who's saddled now.

Bad Hair Day

Today, where I live, the humidity is 90%. NINETY.

In New Mexico, it's arrid and dry. Humidity? Like, 25%.

You're probably wondering why this even matters.

I have naturally curly hair.

Suddenly, this all makes sense, doesn't it?

Humidity = bad for curly hair.

Arrid, dry = awesome hair.

New Mexico hair = every day is a good hair day.

California hair = a hot mess.

In case you're not quite sure what this all boils down to, here's some visuals:

New Mexico

California

New Mexico

California

New Mexico

California

Thinking of Having Kids?

Do this 11 step program first!

by Brenna Gray Foster 

 

Lesson 1 

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

 

Lesson 2 

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

A Mighty Plague Descended Upon the Land

1. And they were afflicted with many types of maladies:

Bronchitis

Strep Throat

Ear Infections

Laryngitis

Pink Eye

Runny noses

Constipation


Diarrhea

and

Vomiting (which led to the revelation that the babe in the family had ceased to continue thriving and would thus require many doctor visits and tests of various sorts).

2. And not a soul would be spared.

3. The end.

And Again!

We went over to Gma and Gpa Riddles in the afternoon. There were 17 of us. It was busy. And crazy. And the kids had a ton of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get all of the pictures I wanted with all of the commotion.

Gma and Gpa opening some presents.

Christmas definitely had a different feel to it this year. We had the perfect blend of quiet time at home and time with family. We were incredibly blessed to be able to give and receive many a gift this year. We were most blessed by the gift of once again being near our good friends and family.

Where ever you are and however you celebrate, we hope everyone got to feel that special spirit that accompanies the Holiday season!

And We Did It Again

Grandpa Bob, Grandpa Tweet and Cousin Scott came to celebrate.

For those of you who don't know Grandpa Tweet, that is a look of complete joy. I'm being sincere. He got presents and was with little kids all day. I think he might be happy.

Miss Emily

Addie is Gpa Bob's biggest fan. They are inseparable. I mostly think it's because he does whatever she wants.

The big box that kept everyone guessing all month long.

A super nice kitchen from Gpa Bob.

Yay! Let it be mentioned that the kitchen has not looked like this since this picture. I took this for posterity's sake knowing that it would be perpetually decimated by little hands and creative minds.

We had ham and all of the fixings. There were naps (mostly by the adults of the male population) and visiting and happiness.

We Did Christmas

We made cookies for Santa. We had to taste test, of course.

 

Looks like we had a visitor.

"Look Mom! Cookie bites!" He does exist.

There were scooters.

And sleeping bags. They needed to be put to the test on the spot. Passed.

"Underpants?!?"

The most cherished gift of all: the toothbrush. That Santa. He knows exactly what the kiddos really want.

It was the first Christmas for the baby of the family.

Much was given.

That is a look of sheer pleasure!

The best gifts in life aren't things.

 Merry Christmas!