Santa

Good ol' Santa made his way down from the North Pole to come to the 2nd ward Christmas Party...isn't he a gem? Well, Mason and I didn't even stand in line, we just waited for Cody and Addie while they did. Mace has a little stranger anxiety...so we didn't even attempt. As you will notice from the picture below...he DID make it up onto Santa's lap. After staring at him for 10 minutes and inching closer, Santa finally held out his hands and Mason jumped right in his lap without hesitation! I was shocked. There were a few disgruntled kids who had been patiently waiting in line...but Mason was quick and wouldn't speak. He just sat there with a big grin on his face!

I just HAD to throw this next pic in. Mason is obsessed with my feet and legs when I have pantyhose on and he loves the feel of them. I accidentally left my knee-highs on the fireplace...and this is what out little man did. I'm sure he will NOT thank me for this picture when he is 16!

"Once There Was A Snowman, Snowman, Snowman..."

Well...we got a little snow (now that's an understatement!) this weekend....perfect snowman building conditions. The kids and their dad took full advantage of it. Here are some pics of the creation of our new winter friend!

P.S. Mason didn't actually want to walk in the snow ,he just stood on the freshly plowed driveway and sidewalk and supervised!

Tinsel and Such

Like most of you...we have been doing alot of Christmasing around here. We went to some gosh-forsaken place in the dark to get a tree....but oh, how beautiful it was when we finally got to see it in the light! Cody got the lights up early...despite his small fear of heights, and I got our other decorations up..and my favorite? My mantle. I love Christmas time!

"Oh, Christmas tree! Oh, Christmas tree..."

My mantle...I love it!

Dad's little helpers

Don't they look good? Good job, honey!

Lazy Bones

I know, I know...I have been so bad at posting lately. Even my Mom said "Wow, Am...it's been a while since you wrote on your blog!" I SWEAR, I have no idea what I have been doing....other than feeling ridiculously lazy! It seems like I get more tired and even more sore with each pregnancy....(so I hear, thats just how it goes).
Addie has been busy with Pre-school at Teacher Melanie's and LOVING it. Mason keeps me on my toes, especially when I notice his little mischevious grin-which has been popping up ALOT lately-and then I have to crack his code and figure out what he did or destroyed!
I just finished up playing on a comp volleyball team...which was good timing. I absolutley loved it...but it really did a number on my pelvis. I have also been giving a few Flu shots here and there...just enough to make me feel that I still have a semblance of a professional career, outside of being a professionally clueless mom.
Cody is still crazy busy at Orbit Irrigation...but he keeps insisting that living in Morgan is well worth the drive to North Salt Lake. So, I'll take his word for it-because I love living in Morgan too!
We have been getting ready for Christmas early around here...which is unusual for us. I have NEVER had decorations, lights, or a tree up before Thanksgiving. This year we have blown that mold out of the water. House lights are on, Christmas decor is up, and tonight we went up to Porterville and got our tree (cheap, fresh-cut, and beeeeutiful...I might add). I guess having little excited children change the way EVERYTHING is done...so here we are, celebrating early! There are pics to come...just a little to lazy to download them tonight (surprise!)

FHE

For Family Home Evening last night we learned about Daniel in the Lion's Den. Actually, that was the lesson TAUGHT, I'm not sure how much was LEARNED. But we listened to lots of songs from the Children's Songbook cd's (my kids favorite part of FHE ) and then we decorated Halloween cookies. It was so much fun and the kids had a blast. Mostly, Cody and I decorated cookies, Addie and Mason were trying to eat as many cookies and as much candy as possible before Mom cleaned it all up. We then took the finished product to "Drama" Russell, "Trampa" Russell, and Great-grandma Russell. I think it made them very happy!

Notice the striking resemblence between Cody and the cookie he made! (If you can't tell, the sprinkles are the cookie's goatee : ) )

I'm frosting as fast as the kids are eating!

Eating...not decorating

"More cookies, please. I've ONLY had 5."

Aren't they lovely?

Pull-up Hats

I'm a little behind on updating you on what has been happening in our lives. Keep scrolling down for ALL the new posts!

While we watched General Conference this is what my kids were doing. I asked them what they were doing when Mason came wandering down the hall pushing a baby doll stroller and Addie pulling it looking like...well, you will see below. In Addie's words "Their pull-up hats, Mom." Duh...I shoulda figured : ) How inventive kids are when they are bored out of their mind!

Addie all ready for the trip to Grandma's in the rain. Doesn't she look smashing?

FSU vs. BYU

My dear hubby has been a die-hard Flordia State fan ever since he was little and his parents brought him home a Florida State hat from one of their vacations. So...when he heard FSU was playing BYU at BYU he started drooling. We were able to go to the game and our niece, Amanda, came with us. It was such a fun experience and Cody was in HEAVEN!
Here are some fun pics.

Petting Zoo at School

Teacher Melanie had a Petting Zoo at school and all the kids got to bring a pet from home. Mostly there were dogs...but someone did bring puppies, a frog, and a fish. Addie had such a fun time and was so proud of her dog, Diesel. Diesel was an excellent, well-behaved boy to top it all off!

Diesel

A very proud owner

Checkin' out the itty-bitty frog

Little brother was highly entertained too!

School Time (Yikes!)

I feel a little behind lately. I feel like I have been busy...yet I don't know what the heck I have been doing looking back on the last month! Here is Addie's first day of school. I only had the thought to snap a picture AFTER she came home and by then she was tired and wanted a snack. She finally cracked a smile on the second picture. Oh, my little moody, dramatic Addie! I just can't believe my baby girl is in Preschool!

The Doc's Prediction...

Since there was a bet riding on this....Dr. Bierer said he would take extra long and make extra sure we knew what this little baby in my tummy was. In his words he is "very confident" and " 95 % sure" it's a .....girl! I have thought it was a little girlie all along and Cody just figured it was a boy. So we bet that if it is a girl, I get a weekend away- by myself- at Andy's and if it was a boy, Cody got new shoes....so sorry sonny! You shouldn't question a girl's maternal instinct!

The Good Ole' State Fair

When I was growing up it was a tradition for our little family to go to the Utah State Fair EVERY year. And I loved it! I want to start that tradition with my own little family, because I have such good, fun memories of being together and having such a fun time when I was little. In the newspaper last week there was a schedule of what would be happening on the opening day of the fair and it also said that admission would be only $2 for adults and free for kids under 5--snap! Tickets are usually $8 so I thought there couldn't be a better day to go! I am lucky and have a hubby who loves to do stuff like this too. So we went for the evening and we had such a fun time. There is something so enchanting about watching your kids see things for the first time! We ate and ate and ate. We looked at ALL the animals, went for a pony ride, watched the clown make balloon animals, rode the carousel, and OF COURSE rode the big yellow slide. It was so much fun and the kids had an absolute blast. It all ended with a GIANT Addie melt-down...but she played so hard and had so much fun that it was totally worth it! Here are some pics of our glorious time.

Have you ever seen a kid having a better time?

Big yellow slide: Mason LOVED it, Addie did not

Happy kids!

Mason was utterly FASCINATED with the clown and his balloon abilities

Addie and her pony "Nephi" (religion AND fun all in the same place!)

Gramps and Mace

"Baa, baa"

Baby piggies (the kids spent FOREVER here!)

Still lookin' at the baby piggies!

Peering Eyes!

This morning I sent the kids downstairs to play, turned on some music, and got in the tub. For some reason it sounded so good to me. So I slid on in the water and just rested my eyes for a minute. I soon felt I was being watched. And sure enough when I looked up there were 4 little peering eyes and 2 giant grins! My kids LOVE music and it attracted them up from the basement...I should have known better. It just made me giggle to see them so happy and it made me so happy I am their Mom. Of course, you give up ALOT to have them (like...umm...PRIVACY!) but it's so worth it. No more dropping everything to go on a short trip, no more just "running" into a store, no more having your own drink without floaties in it, no more trips without the staple items-diapers and wipes, no...none of that. Not to mention that if they even sense that you need to use the restroom and you make your move...everyone makes a MAD dash to accompany you! But it makes it all worth it to see their crooked little smiles, their sparkly eyes, and to watch them develop their funny odd little personalities. I can't think of anything else that has ever made me happier in my whole life! (Well...Cody is a darn close competitor!)

3 Candles

My poor kids...this is basically what they have looked like the last 2 months
Just watchin' ANOTHER movie!

My anniversary fruit bouquet

Addie showing us how old she is
The favorite gift

Strawberry shortcake birthday cake...yum, yum!

Focus on Addie...not horribly haggard me...PLEASE!

Oh...good times

So...I know I am way behind...aaahh! I feel like I have just come out of hibernation. I have felt so crummy that I really haven't even had the desire to leave my house. The other day I went outside, and I felt like a vampire...the sun was so bright! On Saturday I finally started to feel pretty good. Ever since then I think I am gradually getting better. My evenings are still a little rough, but in the mornings I almost feel like a real person! I am so happy I could just cry. Anwhoo....I wanted to fill you in on Addie's 3rd birthday. It was quiet and just our little family celebrated (sorry Addie, next year when I feel good we will have a CRAZY WILD party!) She got a backpack, some cool crayons, a compact mirror (she LOVES mirrors), and some Tic Tacs. Orange Tic Tacs. Candace got her started on them. So her favorite? You guessed it...the 99 cent Tic Tacs. I just wanted her to love her Kai-lan backpack since she is starting pre-school next week...but nope. I told Cody to help me remember this in 3 months when I am helping Santa go overboard on Christmas presents. Addie could care less!

We also had our 8th wedding anniversary...which was boring. We did NOTHING. We decided to celebrate when I was feeling better, so I wouldn't come home after a date and yack up a $50 meal. Cody did get me a lovely fruit bouquet....but I was so sick...I didn't even taste it. Oh well..... hope you enjoy the random pictures of our lives the last few months!