Halloween 2013

 This Halloween was a lot of fun because Terry went all out on our costumes. The girls went to a party at the beginning of October when their costumes weren't quite ready so Terry made them these shirts to wear.

For Halloween the girls wanted to be characters from the movie Wreck-it Ralph.

                        Presenting . . . Taffyta Muttonfudge

                                   
                                    Vanellope Von Schweetz

 and . . .

                                     
       Fix-it Felix and his dynamite gal, Sergeant Calhoun

We won the prize for best family costume and my costume won the prize for best individual costume at our ward party. We were all pretty excited. Also it was strange getting so much attention. I guess blondes really do have more fun. On Halloween the girls got to go trick-or-treating with their cousins and they kept up with them a lot better this year. It was a lot more fun now that they are a little older and can do more themselves.

Hope everyone else had a happy Halloween!

Halloween 2011

Tato very much wanted to be a princess this year. Olie wanted to be whatever Tato wanted to be.
The girls got to go to the ward Halloween party with Roger and Cassie while Alice and I were celebrating our anniversary.
I had to work on Halloween night so Alice and her mom took the girls to Jill's house to go trick or treating with their cousins. They told me they had a lot of fun.

4th of July Vacation & Other Mischief

I guess it's high time I updated the blog. Here is what we've been up to.

Olie got caught coloring on the wall.

I made sure the punishment fit the crime.

Tato got her first haircut ever!

Before

After (I haven't gotten a very good after pic yet)

We went up to my hometown for the 4th of July weekend. It was pretty exciting since I haven't been back up there in 6 years. We did lots of things while we were there. Alot has changed but my favorite Chinese restaurant was still there so we got to eat there. Yum yum yum! I got to see a few people I used to work with at the Albertsons.

I got to see my best friend from High School and Tato and Olie got to play with her kids.

We got to walk around the greenbelt and Tato got to feed the geese.

Tato enjoyed every second of the walk.


Olie not so much.

The night of the fourth we got a really great seat for the fireworks(or what we thought was a really great seat) on the lawn of someone in my dad's ward.
We had fun with the glow bracelets and necklaces that Roger, Cassie, Dad and Ginni all bought.

And then here is some of the debris we got hit with. The first 5 minutes of the show were spectacular; best seat ever. Then Terry mentioned that he thought he got hit with something and I kind of shrugged it off. Then I got hit about an inch below my eye with something moving really fast and the rest was pretty much ruined for me. I didn't want my babies getting hit (and for heaven sakes I didn't want to get hit again), so I spent the rest of the show covering my children and my eyes. I got hit a few more times but not in the face again so it wasn't so bad. A guy a few feet in front of us got hit with a piece that was still on fire. After he put the fire out he laughed it off. I guess I'm just not that adventurous. I'll sit further away next time, thanks.
Hope everyone has had a great July so far!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! Er, 4 days ago. Ever since getting Photoshop Elements it takes so much longer to blog. I feel compelled to edit all the pictures. : ) Thanks to Terry's parents we were able to go on a date sans kids. It was wonderful. We ate at Texas Road House which has the best ever mashed potatoes and gravy.

Tato got her first Valentine from a boy. Her friend that moved across the country sent her a little package with candy, stickers, balloons and a card. It was the cutest thing ever. I would say I was more excited than her, but this time I don't think that's true.

Thanks guys for the cutest Valentine ever. Hope you're having fun getting snowed on out there. : (

That morning I whipped up a batch of pink pancake batter and Terry cooked us some heart shaped pancakes.

To be honest Terry and I don't usually do much for Valentines day but this year we had so much fun! Some holidays really are more fun with kids. (I don't think the heart shaped pancakes would have happened without them ; )

Christmas Times Three

We did so much this Christmas season that blogging about any of it seemed daunting, but I figure it's now or never. December 19th we had Terry's sibling Christmas. It's pretty much the only time we get to see his sister and her kids all year, so we really look forward to it. Of course Grandma and Grandpa spoil the heck out of everyone. This year especially. Tato got lots of clothes, a book and a cute talking tea set. Olie got clothes too, a book and an octopus that blows bubbles and sings in the tub. They also got teddy bears and the cutest little hat from the Wilders. I got the sweetest gift ever: Emergency Essentials Readywise 1 Emergency Kit. That sucker has everything. And Terry got a Wii! We have been having the biggest blast with it. Wii bowling and Wii Tennis are sooooo fun. And even though I suck at Mario, it's way fun to play that with Terry after the girls go to bed. It was so great to see all of Terry's siblings and nieces and nephews together in one place. We had so much fun!

Here is Tato enjoying a cup of tea with her new bear. And a brownie. I believe the bear opted for a lemon torte.
"Yes it is fine weather we're having today Teddy Bear." And yes, she named her bear Teddy Bear. . .
That night after we got home the girls got all comfy on the couch and watched Garfield Christmas. They cuddled so close to each other the whole show. It was dang cute.

On Christmas Eve we went to Terry's extended family party and Tato had a blast. All of his cousins happen to have little girls her age so it was perfect for her. She kept coming up to me and saying, "I play with my friends." I couldn't even get her to hold still for a picture.

After some running around and visiting, Santa showed up!!!! Tato was pretty excited this year. Still a little hesitant, but once she saw the present and the candy cane, she was his best friend.

Olie on the other hand . . . "Hey where did Daddy go . . . and who is this guy?" Then she burst into tears.

We opened their traditional Christmas Jammies that Santa brings them every Christmas Eve. Then we had a delicious dinner with ham and Turkey and rolls and potatoes and sweet potatoes and pie and . . . hang on let me wipe my drool off the keyboard. . .

Christmas morning we had a nice quiet time with just our little family. Tato was excited to see that Santa had left her a little notebook and some pencils. He also left her a My Little Pony plush animal and some M & Ms (or as she calls them, M's). From mom and dad she got a magnedoodle, a memory game, an ornament and a book. From her friends Knightley and Mason she and Olie got a bus full of blocks. From Olie she got counting flashcards, and from Uncle Nate and Aunt Jill, she and Olie got the Little People Doll House. Whew, spoiled . . .

Olie got a toy cell phone and a plush flower from Santa. From mom and dad she got Fisher Price Baby's First Doll (Chewy's Sister), an ornament and a book. From Tato she got a basket of plush vegetables, and of course all the dual gifts that Tato got.

Ok look really hard at the above picture and guess what I got . . . I'll give you a hint . . . my skin isn't usually that clear. Yeah I got Photoshop Elements 9!!! Yippee! I don't know completely how to use it yet, but I'm learning quite a bit. I also got jammie pants from the girls. From Terry I got photoshop, the new Golden Sun DS game, a pair of jeans, a really cute apron, and an ornament. I got an outfit from Nate and Jill. And Santa put a ton of tea tree oil stuff from The Body Shop in my stocking. Whew, spoiled . . .

Olie hugging her plush flower. She is such a cuddly baby.

From me Terry got a new cell phone, a pull up bar, an excel instructional book, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts and an ornament. From Nate and Jill he got a sweater and a t-shirt. And Santa brought him slippers and a pair of pajama pants.

After we opened gifts Terry and I cooked and baked. It was really fun. We made rolls, stuffing and a weird dessert I found in a magazine. Then we took it over to Roger and Cassie's house for a Christmas feast. Cassie made the best mashed potatoes and . . . ok I have to stop blogging about food or I'm going to do something I regret . . . like ordering and eating a whole pizza. We got to play Roger's new Kinect he got for Christmas. It was really funny. We played games and ate. The girls were pretty ornery though, and I'm not sure why. Maybe they both had teeth coming in or they were a little sick or something . . . cause they were baaaaad. And they usually are pretty sweet. Uncle Roger and Aunt Cassie got the girls some really adorable outfits, and two big stuffed animals. We played the funniest game of Taboo I've even been a part of. At one point Cassie blurted out naked bear suit . . . We had so much fun.

Tato in her Christmas Jammies.

Olie in her Christmas Jammies, hugging Chewy's sister.

All in all it was a fairly secular Christmas for us, which makes me feel bad . . . I need a nativity decoration or something other than Garfield Christmas for the girls to watch so I don't feel so worldly . . .
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We sure did. I can't wait til next Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving

I didn't get the camera out much on Thanksgiving because we were too busy having fun and eating way too much, but this is what the girls did on the way home. Thanks Nate and Jill for a great meal and lots of fun games! The girls had so much fun they wore themselves out!

May the Force be With You - Halloween Edition

I figured it was high time I got our Halloween pictures up. I have a remarkably talented husband and he made all of our costumes this year (except mine which I "made" ie: ordered off the internet). Even though we didn't win best costume for Tato at our wards Trunk-or-Treat, we did get a lot of comments from people who were excited about it. Lots of closet Star Wars nerds out there . . .

The person who can guess who we each are wins a prize! The ability to continue to view our blog!!! I didn't say it was a good prize . . .

Christmas Morning

So clearly in this picture Santa hasn't come yet. I just forgot to get a picture of the tree with all the presents under it. But here it is right after we decorated it. Christmas morning was great! My Mom was in town helping me with the baby so she was there, and my brother and his friend came also. Even Terry's parents came over! It was so much fun to have so many people there. Sometimes I wish I had a bigger place because I love to have guests!

Here she is in her Christmas jammies that Santa gave her.
Tato is pretty funny about gifts. She thinks toys are ok but when she opens clothes . . . well you can't really see the look on her face in this picture but I'm telling you, she loves opening clothes. She also likes to strut around the house with a long sleeve shirt draped around her neck like an early 90's preppy. Man it cracks me up.
She also got a dolly, a train, some blocks, a cell phone (we just had to get her a toy cell phone because she always wants to play with ours), books, lots of clothes and shoes. She walks around the house all day on that dang cell phone. I guess it's just preparing me for when she's a teenager. ; )