Gingerbread houses and snow...

It's finally starting to really feel like Christmas! I spent the week making cookies, gingerbread houses and quilts AND it snowed so much that we went sledding everyday this week- in our front yard. :) Hurray for the Holidays!

We also got to go to Hyrum's school Christmas program and hear his class sing "I Want a Hippopotomus for Christmas" and "Must be Santa." He did such a good job! The funny thing is that when Zach and I got married, we went to Roswell for Robby's graduation and got to go to Cindy's kindergarten program- now I have my own kindergartener! Crazy! Here is Hyrum in the blue shirt and tie- spiffy!

This is my little gingerbread house complete with snowman and christmas tree...

House Up-dates

The roof is on, the framing is done, windows and doors are on and the dry wall should be done today- is this really my house? I can't believe it is going so fast! We bought the cutest light fixtures and all the cabinets the other day and I got really excited for my kitchen- and space to put things! The other exciting news is that we got a new camera finally so I don't have to borrow one and I can finally get out a Christmas letter!

This is the Master bedroom full of dust particles from the dry wall- at least it has walls!

This is the outside notice the little molding around the windows and doors? Cute, huh!

Weston's Birthday!

I decided this year to have Weston's party EARLY so he wouldn't get birthday squished with Christmas which usually happens... So last night we had a Mickey Mouse birthday party at the church (did you know you can use the church for birthday parties? It's my favorite thing!) We had a cake walk, mickey cupcakes, lots of balloons and all of our family- that's what makes it the most fun! Weston's real birthday is Dec. 22nd and then he really will be three- he is so fun! I just love age two because they have so much personality and when they get mad, they are still cute enough that you can't really be angry with them... I sure love my Weston!

Here are all the crazy friends and cousins- you can't have more fun than a gym and a bunch of balloons!

Latest Thought by Weston: Mommy was in the kitchen making dinner when Weston walked in and said "Mommy, lets have hot chocolate!" Mommy said, "Why? Are you cold?" Weston said, "I don't know, let me check my arm pits. Nope, they're hot."

House Up-dates

Here are some of the latest pictures of our house- the walls are almost all up, the stairs to the basement are done and the roof goes on tomorrow. Wee who! Wednesday the shingles are being added to the pile too and then we can officially say that we beat the weather. Lucky for us, we have had NO SNOW. Needless to say, it does not feel like Christmas to me no matter how much shopping I do or how much Christmas music I listen to because the smell is just not right! But, soon as the roof done, let it snow!

Here is Seth (Zach's brother who is building our house) and Zach helping to put the garage frame up.

And this is the front of the house... see the front door and the windows that will have cute shutters next to them?

Buy Books!

So it turns out that books are not like other merchandise- if a store can't sell a book, it sends it back to the publisher and the publisher is in big trouble. With the economy being bad, books are being sent back all over the country and publishers are cutting back on jobs, books published and new authors ( can you see where I am going with this? ;) SO, buy the book of their favorite movie, the cook book of their favorite food, the book of their favorite TV character, the book about their favorite sports star or actor... Read more books! And check out Goodreads if you haven't already- It's my favorite spot!

Here's a picture of my cute little family- can you tell who the ham is? :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We woke up this morning to rain and a leak in our roof- which is hard to do when you are living in the basement... How does that happen? But, OUR house is fine and it really is almost a house! They got the walls up yesterday and tomorrow the trusses will be on and next week is the roof. It's a house! Wish me luck on getting all the bargin shopping done tomorrow... I think I do it more for the thrill of getting up at 4:00 to shopping with my sisters than for the deals themselves :) I love the holidays! Here's a picture of our little turkeys Hyrum and Weston and I made for place setters this year...

It's really happening!

SO we really are building a house- how cool is that! The weather has been so great that things are progressing smoothly and so fast! Next week we, well, not ME but the worker guys, will start framing- the lumber is already there... Soon we'll be picking out paint and carpet and all that stuff. So fun! Hyrum decided we should just leave the big pile of dirt in the back yard- it really makes for hours of good clean fun- though not the boys are not clean at all:). While Zach is most excited for the sky light in the kitchen, Hyrum thinks the coolest thing will be the fact that there are THREE bathrooms, and then if three of us have to go to the bathroom at the same time- we can! He also decided we need a fire pole for when we are in a hurry and now Weston is very excited for that! We went to look at the progress one day, while they were digging the hole and Weston asked me "But where is the upstairs for Grandma to live?" He doesn't know any different since we've been under Grandma his whole life! Poor kid! Anyway, here is pictures of our triumphant sold sign, Hyrum on the dirt hill and the foundation all done!

Reading!

So if any of you ever go on GoodReads.com and look me up, you will know that I am an avid reader! Sometimes I read a book a day- it's easy when Hyrum's at school and Weston plays so well by himself... Anyway, I was pleased to see it rubbed off when I found my boys at different times of the day, yesterday, just reading to themselves or to their animals. Like Shannon Hale signed in my Princess Academy book "Yeay for mommies and readers!"

Boating...?

We did our duty today and went to vote. I took Hyrum and Weston and went early, about 7:10 am, so we were there with all the old people :). They all thought the boys were so cute and glad they were being taught to vote so early in life. But, as we left the school, Weston started crying "But where's the boat? How come we didn't go on the boat?" No matter how we explained it, he still didn't understand why we didn't get to go on the boat... come to think of it, I think we had the same discussion with Hyrum last year... I guess I need elocution lessons!

Falling down, gently down...

Happy November! Rain is falling, leaves are falling, the temperature is falling, gas prices are falling- it is a GOOD time of year! We had a successful Halloween full of costumes, trick or treating, candy, family, friends, more candy... Hyrum found two awesome costumes this year at Savers so we Had to get them because who would get more use out of them? He wore his "Dash with Muscles" costume to school in the morning and Spider man for the rest of the day. Weston started telling people he was going to be a black cat, and then a pumpkin, and then a black cat, and then a black cat pumpkin... so he was a black cat pumpkin! He is a two year old with an opinion, like my dad says! This is Weston, Hyrum and the lovely Grace Wilcox- their princess cousin

This is Weston and Hyrum and their cousins Jordan and Jessica- where do they get such wierd poses?

Here's me and my silly boys- aren't they so cute?

The Opera!

So for Zach's sister's birthday we all went to the opera! Zach and I, Kobi and Dave and Giff and We dressed up fancy, ate at the Olive Garden in Salt Lake and then went to the Capital theatre to see Madame Butterfly. What a tragic story! I cried through the whole third act and still, when I try to tell someone about it I just get choked up- never will I see THAT again! Too tragic for me and my motherly instinct! But, it was a fun event... My camera is broken at the moment but as soon as I get our pictures from the opera I will post them. We just look so grand!

...My camera worked for a minute so I took a picture of my outfit that night- isn't it lovely- and downloaded the saddest picture of the whole opera- when Madame Butterfly says goodbye to her little son...tragic!

A cute picture...

I found this cute picture of me and my sister Wendy and I said " love my sisters!" I had so much fun with Cindy while she was in Utah for three weeks- I can't believe how tall she is! I am always so glad that Kristi lives here- close enough that we can get together to make treats, have parties, babysit, and just play- and she has the cutest little baby girl you have ever seen. And I love talking to Wendy on the phone- it's a way of re-living my favorite time of life. :) Back at EAC when I was carefree and becoming who I am today... I loved those two years! And now Wendy is having all the fun I had and more so it makes me happy to talk to her and hear all her fun dates and adventures. Aren't sisters fun?

Weston's a big boy!

Weston is working so hard on potty training- and almost succeeding! Yesterday we ran errands all day and he wore undies and never had any accidents. Today, we were home most of the day and he had a couple problems but the potty train is on it's way!

Dizzy hates running

Hyrum and his cousin were spinning around in their swings and getting really dizzy. Every time he stopped, Hyrum would jump up out of the swing and run as fast as he could around the swing set, even though he was so dizzy. Finally, he came over to me and said "Mommy, I think dizzy hates the running because it's like when I'm really dizzy and I run the dizzy gets right out of me." What a clever boy!

Surprise for me!

I just got home from a day at Utah Lake and Zach had himself locked in the boys bedroom...acting verrry mysterious. The boys and I finally went grocery shopping and when we came back- surprise! Zach bought me a lap-top that actually has internet access and all the cool things my old one didn't have! He even downloaded everything onto it for me, hooked it up to the printer and got me my own jump-drive- yes, I feel like I've come out of the dark ages and into the modern era!

Silly boys!

So, the other morning I was still in bed and heard Hyrum get up and go into the bathroom. A minute later he came out laughing and said "Mommy, my tummy just talked! It said "Hello" in a really crusty voice!" The next day, we were making muffins and came to a point where I needed to do it. So Hyrum sat down and said "Okay, Weston, what should we talk about? Let's talk about muffins. Once there was a muffin maker who made a batch of muffins. And then he made another one, and another one and ANOTHER one. And the last batch of muffins turned into a muffin man!" He finished the story with Hyrum and Weston coming to the rescue and eating the muffin man all up. I loved the story so much I had him illustrate it- I'll probably turn it into the Reflections contest:) Maybe he'll be a writer like his dad!

Loan approved!

We were approved on Monday for our loan and now we are in the process of building a house. Yikes! It's exciting and scary at the same time... fun to have our own place, hoping we will have a good experience and stay within budget. The lot is in Orem, UT right by the mall, behind Best Buy (two dangerous places), so close to UVU and lots of bus stops so getting Zach to school will be so easy to do. Gas expenses will decrease dramatically!

Dancing, dancing, dancing

SO Zach and I are taking a American Social Dance class together- how fun is that? His sister, Kobi, and his brother, Giff and their spouses are taking it with us so every Thursday night for six weeks we have a fun outing. :) Well, we thought it would be like a date BUT come to find out, we have to change partners the whole time- oh dear! The girls had to dance with Kyle, Shane and Kurt and the boys had to dance with Rhonda, Yolanda, and Susan. But already we are professionals at the basic swing step- even doing a little turn...I love my husband!

School is cool!

Right now our favorite song is "Choose, choose the rule train, it's coming down the track. Eyes that are watching, ears that are listening, mouths that are silent, hands that are still, feet that are quiet. Choose, choose the rule train, it's coming down the track!" Hyrum sings it in his class, obviously :). Yesterday he said as we were walking home "Mommy, I don't miss playing with my toys, or swinging on the swings, or jumping on the tramp, or playing with my friends while I'm at school. School is so fun! I get to play with friends and on the swings and with toys at school!" It just makes me happy that he likes it so much- he has always been a question asker and now Weston does the same..."Mommy, what are peaches good for? What are zebras good for? What do Hungry Hippos do?" It is fun to dicover what the world is all about. Two days ago we went to the BYU duck pond and fed the hundreds of hungry ducks that now know that people mean food. They climb over your feet and eat right out of your hand even if you don't want them to. We watched the baby ducks and the turtles and even found a snake to follow for a while- the earth is amazing and I love sharing it with my boys!

The Mother of a Kindergartener?

It's crazy, but Hyrum started school yesterday... He came home saying "school is cool!" and told me all the rules of the playground. I love it! He likes to learn new things and I'm so excited to have so many new things to learn about. I just hope he makes friends at the same time...Meanwhile Weston complained all the way home from taking Hyrum to school saying"when do I go to school? Where is Hyrum? Is he coming home?" BUT, when we got home I said "Weston, now you can play with any toy you want all by yourself!" Okay, he was fine after that!

Hey! I finally got back on this site! Maybe I'll figure out what I am doing... I spent all day today making cupcakes, an Olympic medals plaza cake, and decorating the house for Hyrum's birthday. I can't believe he is going to be five! We also have a "meet the teacher" tomorrow with his Kindergarten teacher- so fun! I really can't wait for him to start school just because I think he will just love it... we'll see!

Hey Ya'll! I have no idea what I am doing with this yet- just thought I would give it a try... Sharlee :)