Our One-of-a-Kind Zach

So, Rhett and I were getting ready for church today when Zach came into our room. "Mom, Look at me!" he said. I did, to see that he had added some accessories to his church clothes. He had on two basketball headbands, one on his head and one around his neck. He then had taken his new Christmas markers and had drawn "tatoos" on his arms, face, neck, and all the way around his head. He also had on two different gloves. Rhett and I tried as hard as we could not to smirk or laugh - he gets really embarassed when we laugh at him - but as soon as he left the room, we couldn't help but chuckle. He knew he was in trouble considering we were leaving for church in five minutes, but I had to take a picture. This was the best he would let me get:


Needless to say, I was thankful the markers were washable, and baby wipes gets them off really fast. And he's banned from using the markers for a while...again....

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas! Ours has been wonderful. We started Christmas Eve on the Annual Albuquerque Luminaria Tour. Some of the neighborhoods close to Old Town put luminarias (brown paper bags filled with a bit of dirt and a lit candle) all along their yards, driveways, walkways, sidewalks and all over. The streets and lined with them - some even put them on their roofs! The public is able to walk or drive through the neighbohoods to see all the lights, so we decided to get bundled up and check it out. There was also a balloon glow at the neighboring country club. Afterwards, we had our traditional Christmas Eve "program", complete with opening the present of new pajamas.

Christmas morning was fantastic with opening presents, complete with breakfast of warmed cinnamon rolls. I wish Christmas day wouldn't go by so fast - I love being home with my family. Usually we travel to California the day after, but this year we are staying home. I'm looking forward to relaxing and hanging out with my kids.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Gingerbread Houses

We decorated a gingerbread house and cookies Sunday night. The boys had a blast decorated for a lot longer than I thought they would. Zach's goal was to see how many cookies he could decorate; Porter decorated a few then he was done. Andrew loved the available candy the best - and got quite upset when we finally started telling him no.

The rest of my trip...

Here are more pictures of the rest of my trip to D.C. I had such a great time - especially hanging out with my dad. Wednesday I spent the day at the Archives, the Capitol and in the Air and Space Museum. Once I met up with my dad, we walked over to see the White House, Ford's Theatre, then went to see the Washington D.C. Capitols take on the New York Rangers on one heck of a hockey game. I've always loved hockey, but it's really excited when your three rows from the glass!

One more picture of the Temple - just because it's so beautiful!

The first page of the Constitution
The Capitol Building
The artwork in the Rotunda in the Capitol
Apollo 11 - the first one on the moon
Ford's Theatre (Where Lincoln was shot)
Kermit the Frog

Dorothy's Ruby Slippers

In front of the White House

The White House

Alas, I did have to come home and be mommy again. All was well at home - Rhett did a good job taking care of the boys. I think they were actually sad to have me home - they have a lot more fun when I'm gone... :)

Now it's a scranble to get everything ready for Christmas. Most of the shopping is done - just a few odds and ends left. The only problem is I still have things to ship - do you think they deliver Christmas Day??

Guess where I am??

I am currently in Washington D.C. with my dad. I spent today seeing the Memorials and Monuments and loving every minute! It's a bit cold ( the sun never came out today), but I am having a blast being here. Here are a few of the pictures I took today. More later when I get home!

This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Washington Monument and Reflecting pool

The Korean War Memorial

The Washington D.C. Temple

Happy Birthday, Porter!

Porter turned six years old today! He had a great day - at school he got to wear the big, fuzzy birthday hat that has candles on the top of it. Zach and I brought in cupcakes to share with his class. I made him a Transformer cake which was , by his standards, "cooler than he thought it was going to be." One of his presents was a big Optimus Prime helmet which makes the transforming sounds, Optimus Prime phrases, or voice changers that make you sound like Optimus Prime. It was cute to hear him go around the house saying all the O.P. lines. He had a fun day!

Our Honor Student

Porter's school had an honor assembly the other day to recognize those students that have completed certain milestones in their learning. Porter received three award certificates: for being able to recognize the numbers 0-20, for being able to recognize his alphabet, both lower and upper case, and for knowing how to count to 100. He was the only one in his class to receive all three awards and one of 2 or 3 in the whole kindergarten to receive all three. He is doing so well in school. I had a parent/teacher conference a week ago and Mr. Ortega (his teacher) had nothing but good things to say about Porter. Porter is getting really good at sounding out words and his teacher is going to get him reading. Porter is already reading some at home and can write sentences - but the cutest thing is how he spells words because he spells them phonetically. I always knew the english lanuage had some weird rules and exceptions, but I'm finding out it's really out of control; I have to explain a lot about silent this and sounding like that as I help Porter spell and sound things out. But we are sure proud of him and hope he always keeps up the good work.

Andrew had his 18 month well check today. For being my biggest baby (which isn't saying much considering he was only 6 lbs. 4 oz.) he is sure a tiny, little person. He is finally over 20 lbs. - he weighed in at 21 lbs. and is 31 inches long. But for being so little, he has one of the biggst personalities I have ever seen. He is always moving, screaming, talking, or doing something. One of his favorite things to do is draw with the crayons or markers and he loves to sweep. He's also one of the most observant children I have ever seen. He picks up actions and can know how to do something after watching only once or twice. And he's my most helpful child - he loves to help put the clean cups away or put things in the trash; I just wish that would rub off on my other boys....

Zach is well, Zach. He has to be my most interesting child. He can be so tough and loud (!!); yet he hates louds noises and scary situations. Today the boys got their flu shots and after watching both Porter and Andrew get theirs without crying, I was hoping that Zach would be brave. But he was so scared of it and cried and cried. I tried to explain that yes, it would hurt, but only for a couple of seconds and then it would be all done. The nurse was so patient as I tried to talk Zach into laying on the table so she could adminster the shot. But he wasn't going to have it and I ended up having to force him down and hold him down on the table. He's definitely one of a kind.

Anyways, the weather is cold here in Albuqerque. It's like the weather all of a sudden just turned on the cold. Which means it's the end of being able to hang out outside. I guess I better start finding all my inside activities...

Happy Thanksgiving

I know it's a day late, but I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. We spent it here in ABQ by ourselves and it was quite nice. K-Mart had a sale on their board games, so Zach and I picked out a couple and we played them together as a family, did some crafts and watched Star Wars. Dinner was great - the turkey was done on time, nothing burned and everything was cooked and ready to eat as scheduled. Our neighbors came over for pie - all in all it was a very blessed day. I am so grateful for all I have and while I try to remember to be thankful most of the time I'm especially grateful for having a day set aside where that's what we focus on.

Let me give you an update on everything (since I'm awful at updating my blog). My craft fair turned out to be a dud. I spent the three weeks before busting my behind to get everything done - all the hooded towels, the baby blankets, the lullaby books, the fingerplay books, and then a number of cards. But the fair just didn't generate the traffic it usually does and I sold maybe $100 worth of stuff. The worst thing was having to bring all of it home. I'm going to list a bunch of it on CraigsList to see it I can sell it. It was quite disappointing.

We got our first snow here in Albuquerque last night. And no more than 30 minutes after it started, they were announcing breaking news on TV that the freeway was closed. Rhett and I just laugh - ABQ just doesn't know how to handle snow. It's quite hilarious at the panic this town goes into after just an inch falls.

They boys have been into heroes lately. We got a book a couple of weeks ago about a dog that wants to become a hero, so he works out and gets a outfit and everything, then goes through town doing his hero acts. Porter told me the other day his dream was to be a NASCAR driver and to be a hero. He and Zach get all dressed up in their outfits - usually consisting of basketball headbands, armbands, swords stuck down their pants and the back of their shirts, gloves, and hats. Zach's hero name today is "Headband" (in honor of the headband on his head) and Porter's is "Tony" (in honor of Tony Stewart). They don't really fight any villians, but just strut around the house looking cool in all their gear. Oh, to be a kid again...

Anyways, I guess since Thanksgiving is over, it's time to be getting ready for Christmas. It sneaks up on me every year. Some year, I'm going to welcome it with open arms...not that I don't look forward to Christmas, but I get so wrapped up (no pun intended...) in the stress of getting gifts and treats and such that I forget to enjoy the lights and the songs and the joy on my kids faces as they enjoy the Christmas season. And not to mention the joy of the birth of our Savior. Maybe I'll work on making it this year...

We survived!

And we didn't even have to starve! Going a week with only what we had on hand was quite an eye opener. We actually ate pretty well - we had enough cereal to make the mornings, bread and peanut butter and jelly for lunches, and decent dinners. It did deplete most of the food we had, so I was greatful that I could go to the grocery store on Saturday and stock up again. Although, I did shop with a different mindframe. I'm definitely going to work on my food storage now - I have a goal to have a month's worth by the end of the year.

Here are the lessons I learned:

1. Powdered milk (the kind that the church puts out) isn't that bad (and the kids don't know the difference!) .

2. I normally waste or throw out a lot of good food that could be used for other meals.

3. Yeast, cheese, and eggs are additional necessities - I can make a lot of things if I have those three things.

4. That while a year's worth of food is great to have, we really need 72-hour kits in case we had to evacuate or had a disaster.

5. We need to stock up on canned or frozen fruits and veggies for variety.

6. I really need to utilize our church cannery.

7. It only costs a few dollars for a bag of flour, bag of sugar, beans or rice, etc. and a little bought each week helps build the storage.

I have to say, though - it was so nice to get a gallon of milk at the store. Even though I didn't mind drinking the dry stuff, it was nice to not have to worry about mixing milk the night before so we had cold milk in the morning. I'm sure you all know about the Church's website that helps with food storage: www.providentliving.org. I love it because you can plug in your family numbers and it calculates how much of the basics you need. I now have a new testimony of how important it is to be prepared. I challange everyone to try going a week with what you have right now - your eyes will be opened, too!

Are We Prepared?

We got a call from our home teacher this morning. Our Stake President wants everyone in the stake to live for the next week on whatever is in our pantry and fridge right now. We are meeting the challange and am happy to say that we are pretty prepared! We're a little skimpy on the milk, but I do have some powdered milk and we don't have eggs, but other than that, I think we'll be o.k. The nice part is that it eliminated my need to have to go to the grocery store today (I hate to grocery shop!). And it's already opened my eyes as to what we need to be prepared should any catasrophe happen. I'll let you know how we did at the end of the week!

Halloween

O.K. - so I couldn't not post our Halloween pictures - they are just too cute! Porter was the black Spiderman, Zach was a Ninja Turtle, and Andrew was a tiger. And I couldn't let the boys have all the fun, so I joined in as well - you'll see in the picture. :) When Porter got off school, they got in their costumes and we visited Rhett at work and trick-or-treated around his office. Then it was back home for a dinner of meatloaf shaped rats and green, mashed-potato snakes (yes, I tried to get everyone to eat dinner...). Then it was off to the church for a trunk-or-treat, then back home for some good ol' fashion trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Rhett and the boys went with our neighbors and had a blast as well with coming home with tons of candy. It may take us til next Halloween to eat it all!

Updating

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a while. And it may be a while until I post again. I have been working on my items for the craft fair I signed up for in November, which is three weeks away, and since the only real time I have to work on them is at night, I'm having to limit my internet time. It was looking like I was going to get everything done on time, but then my Grandmother passed away Oct. 18 and so we were in Utah for her funeral last week. But it also meant I wasn't home to work on anything. So now I have three weeks left and A LOT of work to do to get ready. So sorry for all those that live to see what new things I have posted...just take me off your "check daily" list for a while. I'll have lots to talk about when I have the time!

More balloons...

A few more pictures of the balloons -

Balloon Fiesta!

This past week we had Rhett's parents and sisters and their families and my parents and little brother and sister in town for the balloon fiesta. We got up early to see the mass ascensions and no matter how many times I see them, the balloons are amazing each time. No matter where you look, the sky is filled with balloons - and then you turn around and there's more! We had a great time with the family. Everyone is welcome next year!!

Hunt Tricks

Today we spent the morning at the park. It was a beautiful day - the sky was clear and blue, the temperature was just right and it wasn't windy at all - something that is very unusual for Albuquerque this time of year. It was so pleasant to be outside. The boys were playing on the playgrounds and having a great time. As I hung around the playground to help when needed (especially Andrew), each of them discovered a new "trick". Porter went across the monkey bars by himself, Andrew learned how to go down the slide by himself, and Zach learned to climb up the "web" to the top of the jungle gym by himself. As I marveled and celebrated their achievements, I couldn't help but feel saddened at the reality that they didn't need me any more. Rather than being a helping hand, I had merely become a spectator. Even though I love their independance, it's a sign that my baby boys are growing up. Maybe it's time for another one...

It's finally done!!

Our backyard is finished! It only took 700+ square feet of sod, 9 sprinklers and 120 feet of PVC, 5 cubic yards plus 10 bags of compost, 200 feet of wood, 3 flower beds, a 12x12 slab of 3 inch thick concrete, 3 tons of rock, and 54 plants (including the ones that died and I had to replace!), 1 sandbox, and LOTS of work. But it was all worth it! We love to just be out there - I do my "flower and garden walk" every morning to make sure everything is growing right. We have the greenest backyard on the block and am proud to say, except for the concrete, we did it all ourselves! Come visit sometime - we'd love to show it off!