Christmas Time

As usual the month of December has kept us pretty busy.  Since we are in such a little place this year, we didn't get out any Christmas decorations except for the tree (which I actually considered not putting up this year - how grinchy of me), and the favorite advent calendar quilt.  I felt bad that last year we didn't really do many of the activities on the quilt because I was so sick, so I decided that this year we would do a little better, even if our living quarters aren't really conducive to it right now.

Here are a few of those activities and a few other things that we have done this Christmas season. . .

Visiting Salt Lake City while we were in Utah.

Decorating sugar cone Christmas trees.  The boys love this annual tradition.

We made these easy, minimal mess angel ornaments.

Decorating gingerbread men.  I did not want to do another activity that involved decorating something sugary with frosting and candy, but Jack begged and begged, so I finally gave in.  My boys also decorated gingerbread houses at the ward party and I just found out that they will be decorating gingerbread houses tomorrow night at my mother-in-laws house.  If they didn't actually eat all of the candy that they decorated with, it wouldn't bother me, but I am seriously starting to worry about their health and teeth. ;)

Christmas gifts for Jeremy's faculty and staff.

Slow cooker hot chocolate.  I make this once a year and it is delicious.  I tried the recipe with the sweetened condensed milk, but it was way too rich and sweet for us, so I made up a new one.  We love it.  It is still rich, sweet, and super creamy, but you can actually get through the entire cup.  Still - - it is a once a year indulgence - - definitely super calorie laden.

Finally, Thomas singing in the Elementary school Christmas program.

And Jack singing and playing the drum in the program.  They both did a great job!!

I didn't get a picture of Dallin singing in his program, but he did a great job too.  His was held first thing in the morning, so by the time I got myself and the little boys out the door, I was worried about being late and ran off without my camera.  I don't have a reserved seat by the principal at his school the way I do at the elementary school :).

We are grateful for this time of year and all the fun that it provides.  I am also super grateful that this year I was healthy and could enjoy the season with my family.  Most of all, at this time of year, we are grateful for our Savior.  We are grateful for His birth, for His life and example, and for His sacrifice for us.  Merry Christmas everyone!!

Favorite Things 2014

I am a little late getting my favorite things post for this year up.  I like to post about a few things in my house that I love each year during the week of Thanksgiving, but this year we went to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in ten years, so I didn't get around to it.  When I got back I put it off, thinking that maybe I would just skip this year, since we are living in our little rental property and I am having a hard time thinking of very many things that make me happy in this house.  Upon further reflection, I thought of a few things that I definitely love and am so happy that they are part of my life this year, so I decided to put up a favorite things post after all.

First up, Burt's Bees tinted lip balm.  I have several tubes of this.  I keep one in my purse, one in my church bag, and one with my make-up.  It is a little pricier than regular lip balm, but I love that the ingredients are all natural and I feel like it does a much better job of moisturizing my dry lips.  I also love the tint.  It has just enough to add some subtle color, but it still looks natural.  My favorite color is the red dahlia, but they have several different shades to choose from.  I would not be without this stuff.

Second, my Speed Queen washer.  A few years ago my trusty old Maytag died and I replaced it with one of those fancy front loaders that everyone has.  It looked great and for the first few months I was fairly happy with it, but it didn't take long for me to notice that our clothes just didn't look or smell as clean.  I was also completely irritated that it took an hour or more to wash one load of clothes.  I do laundry for seven people.  I do not have an hour per load, and I need them to be clean after the first wash.  So I started to look for top loaders again. During my search, I found that almost all top loaders have gone high efficiency too. - meaning that you cannot wash with truly hot water, and that you only use about a gallon per load.  I'm sorry, but I wash for six boys.  Hot water and plenty of it are a must.  Finally I ran onto the Speed Queen - (cue angels singing).  The reviews on it were terrific.  It turns out that I was not the only person that is unhappy with their spiffy looking high efficiency washer.  There are lots of people out there who want to use hot water and to actually have their clothes come out of the washer clean and thoroughly rinsed in twenty minutes.

It took me forever to actually pull the trigger and buy this washer.  It was expensive and my other washer still worked - kind of. ;) Last summer I finally decided that enough was enough and broke down and bought the washer.  When the washer was delivered the delivery man said to me "You have a front-loader don't you?"  I told him yes and then he said "You would not believe how many of these washers I have delivered to people that hate their front-loaders."

I have not regretted this purchase for even one millisecond.  My clothes are clean and fresh-smelling and I can actually get through a lot of laundry in just a few hours now.

Well that turned into quite an epistle, but I wanted you to know why this truly is one of my most favorite things in my house (and life) right now.

Third, our house plans for our new house.  Every once in awhile I just have to get them out and look at them and remind myself that living in this little place will be worth it in the end. They give me hope that by this time next year we will be living in a place that is three times the size of where we are living now.

We are still in the planning/bidding/financing stages for this house, but hope to break ground in the next month or so.  I plan to document the progress of the build on the blog - so stay tuned for that.  I am so excited!!!

(sorry about the blurry picture)

Finally, my favorite things in the world are the six people in this picture with me.  They keep me busy, but they also make life worthwhile.  I love you guys!!!

Soccer

My boys just finished their soccer season.  Here are just a couple of pictures to sum it up.

This is how Jack wanted to spend most of his season.  If he wasn't playing goalie he just wasn't interested.  He was actually a pretty good goalkeeper, but he said that he thinks that fishing is going to be his fall sport from now on.  : )  Jeremy coached Jack's team and they had a good season.

Tad spend most of his season like this.  He loved going to the soccer fields and watching his big brothers play.

Thomas had a good season.  He was an asset to his team, kicking some goals and providing some key passes that resulted in goals for his team.   He played all positions during the season, but was mostly a midfielder and forward.  It was nice for him to have a good season, since last year his team really struggled.  This year his team only lost one game and they were the team with the best record when the season ended.

Dallin had another great season.  He has been really fortunate the last couple of years to be drafted by coaches who put together great teams and provided really fantastic coaching.  Dallin was a key player on his team.  He scored goals in the double digits and provided great assists and defense when needed.  He also proved himself a real clutch player, pulling off key penalty kicks during tournament games.  He spent the year playing forward and sometimes midfield.

At Dallin's level they have a tournament at the end of the season.  His team was the top seed going into the tournament.  It was double elimination, but they never lost a game and won the championship.  Way to go guys!!

It was a good season and we will miss watching our boys play.

Drake is Five!

Drake just had his fifth birthday!!

He had a fun day starting with a breakfast out with Mom and Dad, moving on to chocolate cupcakes and presents, and then ending with the ward trunk-or-treat.  He also had a quick visit with GG and Granddad and a phone call from Grandma and Grandpa.

We love having Drake in our family. He is super smart and fun and he is also very diligent about doing what he should.  He absolutely won't go to bed at night until he has changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, said his prayers, and given Mom and Dad a hug and kiss goodnight.  He is a fantastic little boy and we are so glad to have him in our lives everyday.

Happy Birthday Drakers!  We love you!!

Disneyland

Well, here it is - - the promised post on our Disneyland trip.  I really don't like Disneyland, and this trip reminded my why.  I just don't like such crowded conditions and waiting in lines - Ugh!!  It makes me kind of crazy. Luckily the week we went was not too bad, I guess it got WAY worse after we left.  I have a hard time understanding people who want to go to Disneyland for every vacation.  It is just too expensive in my mind and the geographer in me feels that there are so many places and things I would like to have my kids experience rather than having the fake Disneyland experience over and over and over.

Regardless of my feelings about the place, I still felt like my boys should experience going to Disneyland a time or two while they are still kids.  Ultimately, they had a good time and I think it was worth the expense - at least this once. ;-)

My mom and dad, and my sister and her family met us there, so it was a little mini family reunion which made it a lot more fun - especially for my kids.

So, here you go, a few pictures of  my kids and their cousins at Disneyland and California Adventure.

The older cousins at the little water park area at the hotel.

We also spent a day at the beach.  We took the Ferry out to Balboa Island and it was perfect.  The weather was just right, the waves were great and it was not too crowded.  We had so much fun there.  It was the perfect escape from the craziness of Disneyland.  I think my kids had at least as much fun there as they did at Disneyland.  Here are a few pics . . .

Good times all around!!

London Bridge

Last week we finally took our boys to Disneyland. It was a trip we had saved for for two years and I will write more about it later, but I wanted to post first about a little side trip we took on the way.

 Before I was a resident of Arizona I had no idea that the London Bridge was located in Lake Havasu City.  Not just a replica, but the actual historic London Bridge - from London, England.  Ever since I found out about it, I have wanted to see it, but it is about 4 1/2 hours away, so that doesn't make for a very easy day trip.  As I was planning our trip to California, I discovered that if we took I-40, rather than going through Phoenix, the difference in time was only about 30 minutes, but it would allow us to take a little side trip to Lake Havasu City to see the London Bridge.  Decision Made!!

I am so glad we took the time out to see this bridge and learn a little more about it and how it ended up in Arizona.

This is the actual bridge that spanned the Thames River.  It was built in the early 1800's, replacing the rickety old wood bridge that had been there since the 1300's.  The bridge was so busy that in the early 1900's it was widened to accommodate the heavy London traffic.  Unfortunately, this caused the bridge to start sinking.  In the 1960's it was decided that the bridge would need to be replaced by a new modern bridge and the old bridge was sold at a silent auction.

The winner was American oilman Robert P. McCulloch, who founded Lake Havasu City.  In 1967 the London Bridge was dismantled and each piece was carefully labeled and numbered and shipped to Arizona.  The reconstruction of the bridge was completed in 1971 and successfully turned Lake Havasu City from a spot in the road in the middle of nowhere into a successful tourist attraction and retirement destination.

The stonework on the bridge is really beautiful, so I took a bunch of pictures to really appreciate it.

Jeremy and the boys on top of the bridge.

The boys in front of the bridge.

The whole family at the fountain in the English Village at the bridge.

We also took a short side trip to see the Parker dam.  Who knows if we will get out that way again, so we decided to take a look.  Pretty interesting.

The Colorado River at the Parker Dam.

This was a fun side trip that broke up our long drive.  It is something definitely worth a few minutes drive out of your way if you are ever in the vicinity. and if you decide you would like to stay awhile, Lake Havasu has beaches to play on and small working lighthouses that are fun to see, plus lots of shopping and restaurants.  It would probably make a good vacation destination.  We enjoyed our time there.