And they lived happily ever after

They met at institute 2 days after she arrived in the Chattanooga TN area.






They were married Dec. 30, 2004



Five years later...

Christmas

Okay, so I didn't even take my camera out this year. I don't know what I was thinking but my check list included, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, snacks, drinks, chapstick, and wallet. I didn't even think about my camera. Oh well. On Wed. the 16th, we had the ward Christmas Party. It was fun. The primary put on the nativity story and we had a diner. Last Santa came in. One of the girls in my ward, 4 years old, was so excited she was tearing up. It was really cute. Cole was kind of excited but kind of nervous. All of his friends were jumping on Santa's lap though so he decided it was okay. Sage would have none of that though.

Thurs. the 17th was the extended family Christmas Party. We normally have it on Christmas Eve but a few of the Aunts wanted to change it to a different time (I was all for that). Not many people came though because of other events going on. Hopefully next year, it will work out better.

Christmas Eve we spent with Will's parents. That was fun. We decorated sugar cookies and had a dinner. We had a surprise visitor, Santa. Cole was excited and said hi but was a little hesitant to sit on his lap. He did and would talk to him but refused to look at him. He won't make eye contact with someone who makes him nervous. Sage was forced onto his lap (not by me) and cried the whole time. I got her off and when asked to talk to him or sit by him she gave a very direct, "NO". Then, we went home and did a few new William Blevin's family traditions. (That is what I really wanted. The traditions will become more games and stuff as the kids get a little older.) Then all the kids were in bed by 8 and asleep by 8:05 (no naps that day). Well, they were alseep by 8:05 but starting at 10, the two girls were up every half hour. We ended up sleeping with them on our bellies because they wouldn't sleep any other way. Both were congested and both had fevers. I slept sitting up because Mckelle couldn't even breath if I were laying. Will and I got maybe an hour and a half of sleep.

Christmas morning 7:30, I woke Cole, Sage, and Will up to open presents. Cole ran to the kitchen to see if Santa had eaten and drank his cookies and milk. He had. (I was doing dishes the night before and not thinking, washed the milk cup. Will caught this before he went to bed and hurried and made a new one.) Cole was super excited about that, then he ran to the window to see if Santa had left him a Trampoline. Of course he had, Cole had been such a good boy this year. The kids loved their gifts. Cole's favorite TOY was his truck and Sage's favorite gift was her tooth brush. We went to Will's parents and there they got big wheels, kids karokee machine, baby and stroller and other stuff. Cole got everything on his wish list except for a train track. He got the train but a little elf told Santa that the track would just sit there and never get used. We ate lunch and then all went home for some much needed naps.

I love the holidays but like everyone else, I am glad when they are over.

before...after

Gingerbread house

We decided to make a gingerbread house. I was going to do the real thing but when I got online and saw how much work went into it, I decided gram crackers were a better fit for us. I was trying to get the roof to stay up in a point at the top but Cole wanted to decorate. After a few times of me saying, "stop! wait! not yet!" I decided that this activity must not be very fun for Cole and getting yelled at is not the point of this activity. So, we made it flat and let him have at it. It was fun and the kids loved to eat the frosting. I remember when I was little and making one with my Mom. I wanted to eat all the frosting too and she kept telling me that it was not good frosting. Now I agree with her but then I did not. So, I let my kids pig out on the frosting and we had a jolly time.

snow, snow, snow

We woke up one Sat. morning to discover snow on the ground. It was a fun surprise. We hurried and ate and got dressed. We were outside to play in it no later than 8:30
we knew it would all be melted by 10. We first had a snow ball fight (got the snow from the cars) then we went to the deck to continue our snow ball fight and to make a snow man. The yard didn't have enough snow to do anything with. After the snowmen, Will and Sage went inside (obviously Sage didn't enjoy the snow very much) and Cole and I continued our winter wonderlan experience. We had more snow balls, we made a snow angel (mostly a mud angel), and put our face in a mound of snow as long as we could. I was going to white wash him but I decided to wait until he was older for that. I'm turning into a softy. It was fun while it lasted.

Thanksgiving

We were lucky enough to get Wes and Lindsay at our house this Thanksgiving. We started the morning off with the yearly Turkey Bowl. Wes and Will were on the same team so thier wives didn't have to be split chearing. Cole brought his t-ball set he got for his birthday so the kids had fun playing that. Then, we went to Will's Aunts for a traditional Southern Thanksgiving. Not to be confused with a western thanksgiving. We went home and my family had a nap but Wes's kids were not sleepy so that didn't work out too well for them. Later we had a western thanksgiving with stove top stuffing mashed potatoes, and left over turkey from the other meal. Later that night we played hearts (which I won although Will thiks that the Winsor way of playing is cheating. He doesn't know what he is talking about though.) It was so much fun. Fri. Lindsay and I went black friday shopping (my first time ever...if you don't count working one). It wasn't too bad because we didn't get up early and we didn't really care what we got so there was no stress to fight for things. We got some good deals with out having to throw a punch. ( was ready though :))

Happy Birthday Cole!!!

Cole turned three on Nov. 25. We had a birthday party for him at the park. It started at 5 and ended at 6ish (because it gets dark so early). All of his friends were there and they all had such a great time! His best friend (Caroline) is the one sitting by him in the cake picture. They were chasing eachother all over the park. I think he was glad when it ended though because he was getting cold. Not only that but the party didn't end because he got to have his cousins spend the night at his house. He was able to stay up as late as he wanted and at 10:30 he grabbed his blanket, and marched into his room. I was surprised that he was able to make it so late. Wes was laying on the couch and a few minutes before he went to bed, Cole went up and cuddled up next to Wes. I thought it was soo cute. We love him very much and feel so lucky to have him in our family.

Serena's wedding

This wedding was really fun. Serena is such a creative person (even though she doesn't think so). She had a spider in her hair, ghost chair covers, a head stone cake that said, "here lies my single life", and the cutest halloween food ever!!! She had cartoonists to draw all of her guests and then her sister made a copy of each persons drawings for Serena's own guest book. I didn't get a chance to get mine done because the line was so long and I had to leave early with Allie. It was a beautifully haunting wedding. I loved it and am soo glad I was able to go. Thank you York!

More family pictures

Here are a few pictures from my UT. visit.