Okay so I just wanted to write a quick post about my day today. This may seem long and lengthy, but it was really a long day. I think I'll feel better if I can write about it. It started with going on some errands first thing this morning. I luckily had my Mom come with me so that she could wait with the kids in the car while I ran into the Ogden Cannery where we had some ground beef canned and ready to pick up. I've been there before so I thought I'd run right into it.....WRONG. Somehow I managed to get turned around and couldn't find it. We drove for about 15 minutes until finally I got a hold of Dan who gave me the address. When we finally got there you'd think it was the last place on earth that had food. There wasn't a single parking spot so I parked on the road. I go in and they tell me that it will be a two hour wait in line to get my cases of beef. I want to get our food storage, but I don't want to get it THAT badly. Waiting two hours with three kids was totally out of the question, so strike out on the ground beef errand. I was told that they'd hold our cases for up to a month so I'll have to try back later, maybe once we are back from our trip, and when the older kids are in preschool. Then I headed to Costco. Kirk who hasn't been feeling well fell asleep in the car so thank heavens my Mom was with me. She sat in the car while I ran in with Kate and Benjamin. I needed a few more items on my grocery list for our road trip. I also picked up a cute Easter dress for Kate. FYI anyone with a little girl should check out Costco they have some really beautiful dresses for only $15.00. They are really good quality too. I had a hard time deciding which one to buy because they were all so pretty. Then it was of to Dillard's I sat in the car while my Mom ran in to get some shoes she was watching to go on sale. Then we stopped at Kid to Kid to get Kirk some comfortable shoes to wear in Disneyland. I scored and found some great shoes for Disney, and also some barely worn Nike's he can grow into in the fall. Then I dropped Kate off at my Mom's, Kate's preschool is right down the street from my Mom's house so she said she'd take her for me. I ran home to feed Kirk some lunch and make his Valentine's for his preschool class. (Since we are going to be out of town we made them early, their teachers will hand them out for him at his class party). Then it was back into the car to drop off his Valentine's, and go to the doctor's office. Benjamin woke up in the middle of the night last night with a temperature, and Kirk has had a bad cough for the past few days. It turns out that Benjamin had an ear infection, and Kirk most likely just has a cold. The doctor put both of them on an antibiotic to be on the safe side since we are leaving town. I then ran to get the prescriptions filled. While those were getting filled I ran into Target to get some more infant Tylenol for Benjamin, and also just a few more last minute things for our trip. I gave Benjamin the Tylenol then ran back to get the antibiotics. I'm really glad that this ear infection manifested before our trip. It would have been miserable for Benjamin to get sick in Disneyland. Not to mention were do you find a doctor you can trust in another state? I finally made it home just in the nick of time for the shower guy to come and work on our leaky shower drain. I'm feeling so exhausted. It's been quite the week. If I can just finish packing, and get the car loaded tonight I'll finally be ready for this trip. I feel like it's been the never ending saga trying to get ready for it. I'm not complaining really, but after so much preparation I'm ready to get going. Hopefully the kids will be feeling better soon!

New Haircuts

Here are some photos of Benjamin's first haircut. I really didn't want to cut it. I feel like he's growing up way to fast. He was beginning to get tangles in his hair, I say when you have to start using detangler in your sons hair it probably means it's a bit to long! So here he is. He looks so adorable with his new do. While I was in the cutting mode I also trimmed up Kirks hair as well. It should make things a bit easier on our trip if the boy's hair is nice and short and easy to style. Only a couple more days till our trip to Disneyland. I'm so excited for it. I've totally turned into a kid again. I was looking at the park map last night planning out what rides we should go on first. I think I'm just about as excited as the kids are! It's going to be alot of fun. We are taking the baby, and so far my attempts at trying to train him to skip his morning nap, and take a long afternoon nap have backfired. He's upstairs asleep right now. Let's hope that the excitement of the rides at Disneyland will be enough to keep him going in the morning. We are planning on going back to the hotel around 12:30 to let him nap, but that's still a couple of hours later than he's use to.

New Years Resolutions update.

Well I know that it's mid January and it's alittle late to be reporting resolutions, but I thought publishing them onto my blog would help me stay focused. I'm really quite terrible about keeping resolutions, but this year I'm hoping that'll be different. The different approach that I've decided to take this year is baby steps. I'm not doing an overhaul on my life right up front. I'm just making small changes every week. For example this week I just organized my computer station, and coat closet. Keeping my house organized isn't my strength, but by just doing a small space each week, I hope to whip my home into shape. Having better organization will hopfully extend into our food storage system. I'm hoping to get going on upping our food storage, and starting a rotation system. Alot of the food storage that we buy ends up going bad because I forget it's even down there. Finally I've registered for the Ogden Half Marathon. I've actually been training for it since November, but it's just been in the past few weeks that I've gotten really serious about it. To be totally honest I'm scared to death. So far the longest run I have done is only five miles, so 13 is going to be a serious stretch for my athletic abilities. Kate actually made an observation tonight on my physical fitness level when we were all sitting on the couch shortly after splurging on ice cream for dessert. Kate says to me "Mommy why is your tummy so big?" I responded as I grabbed hang over flab "this is left over from you, and this is from Kirk, and this section is from Benjamin!" It's funny how life is, because I remember saying the same thing to my mom, when I was a kid. I just think there's somethings in life that are never the same after pregnancy (that is with out going under the knife). I think I'll go do some crunches now!

Christmas 2009

Christmas this year has been so much fun. The kids have been bouncing off of the walls. They've been so excited for Santa to come on Christmas eve. Christmas eve began with making cookies for Santa. We set out the plate of cookies before we took off to Grandma Mower's home. At grandmas house we had a delicious prime rib dinner, and then acted out the nativity scene. We exchanged gifts, and then the grand kids all opened up their matching p.js. Christmas morning the kids were so excited to see all the toys Santa brought them. Kate got some princess Polly pockets, and a castle for them to play in. She also got a bed for her American girl doll. Kirk mostly got Star Wars toys. He also got a batman car. Benjamin got a baby toy that spins and plays songs, though he mainly enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper. The kids also all got Disney stuffed animals in their stockings. We announced to them that we will be taking them to Disneyland in February. The kids have been so excited for the trip. It will be nice to have something to look forward to as the long winter wears on. We opened presents, and them my parents stopped by to visit, and see the kids toys. We all ate our traditional quiche breakfast with poppy seed muffins, and orange juice. Then the kids played all day with their toys. Later in the afternoon we went to my grandma Woolsey's house. We saw many of my cousins, and aunts and uncles. Over the weekend we took the kids to the movie, and enjoyed carefree days of staying in their p.j.s and playing with their toys all day. It's back to reality now, and routine. We've enjoyed the holidays, but it's nice to have everything back to normal again. I just took down the Christmas decorations. It's been nice to return to normal routine.

My sister's get away

At the beginning of December me and my sister Kristen who lives in Colorado flew out to visit my sister Karyn who lives in Hawaii. It was a total relaxation vacation. We shopped for jade jewelry in the open air markets, went to a chic flick film, and had a few relaxing days at the beach. It was nice to enjoy a few days without any worries, responsibilities, or cares. We had such a great time. It was really nice to have some girl bonding time. I love my sisters so much. They are my very best friends. Here are a few pictures of our trip.

What a fun filled Thanksgiving weekend!

We just had such a fun weekend. We had Thanksgiving at my Parents house this year. My sister from Colorado came in to visit, and it was so much fun for my kids to be able to play with their cousins. They really love seeing their cousins from out of state. Dinner was awesome. My Mom is a great cook, and the turkey was so moist and Delicious. We also had my favorite sweet potatoes. They are so terribly unhealthy that I'll only eat them once a year on thanksgiving, but they totally melt in your mouth, they are a dream. I found myself salivating just thinking about it right before we ate. I had gone for a 4 mile run in the mountains that morning so I was starving for Thanksgiving dinner.

After dinner we all stayed and visited for awhile. We always love to just stay up and talk for hours with my family. Then of course we had to get out the ads. I'm a black Friday shop-aholic.

I love getting the deals. We needed a new camcorder. Our old one had broke, and poor little Benjamin hasn't had any baby video taken of himself since his birth. I had done my homework, and knew which one I wanted. It was on sale at Best Buy for 69$ off. They open at 5:00am. I decided that I wasn't going to stand in the cold for hours, so I got to the store five minutes before they opened. There was a line that stretched around the entire building. I was doubtful that I'd end up getting one. They usually don't carry very many of the door busters, but I decided to still stay and see. I actually got the last one on the shelf. I was totally excited! Then I went to Joann's for a new Christmas tree, and then target for some toys. At target I wanted to get a remote control car for Kirk, but they had been long gone for quite awhile. As I was walking out of the store I spotted one randomly sitting to the side, like someone had changed their mind and just set it down. I snatched it up, and bought it. I was really excited about that. It's such fun when you get a good deal like that!

Then Friday we went to SLC to see the christmas lights with my sister and her family. We decided to ride trax down. Our kids have never been on trax before, and they we really excited to try it out. It worked out really well, we were able to sit and visit on the way down, and the kids got to spend some extra time with their cousins as well. We really enjoyed seeing the lights, and the afterwards got some dinner. It was a really fun day!

Then Saturday I took Kate to see Ballet West Nutcracker. We went with all of the girls. My sister in law Shauntel and her daughter Alexandra, and my sister Kristen and her daughter Caroline. Kate loved it! All of the girls were able to pick out an ornament. Kate picked a ballerina one. She has named her Clara. (By the way if anybody knows of a good ceramic glue clara's arm as broken off, and needs reaparing).

Then that night we went to Dan's parents to decorate gingerbread houses. That is a family tradition that we do every year. It's been alot of fun.

So as you can see our weekend was chuck full of fabulous memories. It's time to get back to reality now, I've got some laundry to catch up on!

What we are thankful for

Tonight for family night we talked about what we are thankful for. It's amazing to think of all of the bounteous blessings the Lord has bestowed us. I'm so greatful to have been born into the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel has brought so much peace, and joy into my life. I'm so blessed to live in this country, with so many freedoms. I'm so blessed to be able to have three healthy beautiful children. I am so grateful to be married to Dan. He is such a good person who truly motivates me to be better each day. I'm so grateful to be able to stay home with our children and be there for them every second of every day. I also am grateful for Dan's job. In the economic times that we live in I'm so grateful that the company Dan works for is still pressing forward, and doing well. These are a few of my thoughts, here's what the children said:

Kate:"I'm grateful for the whole world. I'm grateful for flowers, butterflies, and rainbows. I'm grateful for my family, cousins, friends, toys, and Christmas."

Kirk:"I'm thankful for the Pilgrims and Indians. I'm thankful for my knights, Grandma and Grandpa, Dinosaurs, show and tell pass".

I'm no sure what a show and tell pass is but I think they do it at his preschool.

Dan reported that he was thankful for his family, Christ's atonement, the gospel, sports, and food.

If Benjamin could talk I'm sure that he'd say that he's grateful for his binkie, his bottle, and of course a mom who wakes up at 1:00 am to feed him every night.

This time of year I hope we can all thank God for our many bounteous blessings which have come from his hand. May we all have a wonderful thanksgiving with our friends and family.