Christmas 2010

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year!! This year we really wanted to focus on the true meaning of Christmas more then we have in the past. We taught our children about why we celebrate Christmas, and The story of our Saviors birth. We often caught Marshall telling others why we celebrate Christmas and it was so wonderful. We were able to do some secret service projects for others in need and feel of the spirit as we helped others. Our children still got presents and were still excited for santa to come, and that was okay, I just wanted to make sure they understood why we had Christmas and why Christmas was so important.

On the 22nd Of December we celebrated Kambria's Birthday and a bunch a friends from High School came over and had a get together. It was a lot of fun!!! There were several people that thought it was weird we were getting together (I won't name names) or that it was a fake party, but it wasn't. I had a great group of friends in High school, we hung out most every weekend and we all got a long very well. Though our lives have all changed and we have all moved on in different ways and different paths, that doesn't mean we are not friends. I can honestly say that I care for all of them. I am interested to know what they are up to now, what the future holds for them, and to get together was such a fun thing. So thank you to Nate for planning it, it was great. My neighbors were all surprised by how many cars were in the circle. And each after explaining it was friends from High school would comment how they maybe have kept in touch with one friend from back then. I'm glad we have all stayed in touch. I truly had the best friends in high school. They were and are all great people, with good values and we always stayed out of trouble, and all that have gotten married have married such great people, that when I have met them, it seems as we have been friends forever also.

On the 24th we went to Jake's parents home and did our Annual Christmas Eve shin dig. We have fondue, exchange gifts and just talk and have a great time. This year we also did a white elephant exchange. It was so hilarious and so much fun. We always have such a great time with Jake's family. We got some fun gifts and had a blast singing Christmas songs and talking.

Christmas Day was just wonderful. I slept like crap because I was so excited for my kids to open there presents. (yes I know I am pathetic) I knew they were going to love it all, and couldn't wait to see there faces. So when 8am rolled around and I was already out of bed and they were still sleeping we woke them up :)

Our Tree after Santa had visited!!
The kiddos walking down the hall

Kambria opening up her first gift ... the biggest one!

Maverick having a jolly old time

Marshall opening his main present .. he didn't expect it at all ....

Kambria was so stinkin excited for her pillow pet, her reaction was so cute!!

Marshall was super excited for his Army guys in a bucket!!!

Standing in front of their loot!

Afterwards we went to my Grandma's house to visit and eat some snacks.

Then off to my Mom's house ... I didn't even pull out my camera (Dangit), we opened a few gifts, ate some delicious food and chatted.

Then off to Jake's grandparents house we went. We haven't seen them in a few years (shameful I know, but not my fault.) Jake's Grandpa is 92yrs old and doing okay, but we aren't sure how many more Christmas' he has, so we wanted to make sure to see him. They are the cutest, nicest, best examples ever. They have been married for 65 years. The kids took a while to warm up to them, but once they did, they gave hugs!!!

Grandpa even was able to pick up Kambria and give her a big squeeze, it was pretty cute!!!

And she told Grandma a pretty cool story!!!

With all the family we were able to see and visit, it sure made for a super fun Christmas Day. Our kids and us were very spoiled. We have the best family ever!!!

We tried to save money this year, so Jake and I got Utah Jazz tickets, headphones, and a Jazz shirt. However my Mom spoiled us as she always does and gave us a family night out box with gift cards and such in it ... so we have lots of date nights to do. I also got a new temple dress, temple bag and a super duper nice straightener for my hair. A beautiful clock, an electric frying pan from my parents and a gift card from Jake's parents. Jake also got a video game, electric toothbrush, and more.

We are so thankful for the holiday season and most of all for the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are thankful that he was born, that he came to earth and taught us how to serve and love. That he bled in the Garden of Gethsemane for our sins and that he died on the cross. We are ever so grateful for the Resurrection of our Savior, that we may follow his example and return to live with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and our family again someday. This is truly the best gift we could ever be given. It is wonderful to have the gospel in our lives and to know that Our Savior knows our pains, he knows our struggles, he has a plan for us, he will guide us, he will never give us more then we can handle. He will lift us, walk with us, carry us, and be there always for us. I am thankful that I have a testimony of the gospel, without the knowledge of our Saviors Plan, death would be pretty scary, but it doesn't need to be!!! I am thankful that I will live with my family for all eternity!!!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that you had time to reflect on the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Kambria

I can't believe my little girl is 2yrs old. Let me tell you just how much we love her.

She is the cutest little thing ever and has so much personality. She is sweet, sassy, crazy, happy, wild, and into EVERYTHING. She is talking very well. We can communicate with her about everything. Some of the things that crack me up when she talks are:

*While watching TV, anytime a commercial comes on ... loudly she yells, "I WANT THAT!"

*She would throw her sippy cup at me and say "Milk in BOTTLE" However we finally threw all bottles in the garbage and she is happy with sippy cups, now the binky needs to go.

*Come here mommy, No mommy, stop it Marshall, love you Maverick, Marshall was mean, Marshall go to time out.

*She can say all words. It surprises us some of the things she says, we wonder where did she get that from.

*If she wants something, she will grab your hand and pull you while saying come on mom, I want _____. And if you don't immediately oblige, she throws a fit!!

*She says 30 times a day ..."I want a snack, or I want cheese!"

*Kambria is finally sleeping through the night, and it is sooo wonderful.

*Kambria still loves her blankets, she won't go anywhere without them. She is also attached to her binky. I am horrible and can't break her!!!

*Kambria LOVES to be outside.

*Kambria LOVES the water. She loves to take a bath everyday, and she is crazy. She gets on her tummy and goes back and forth as fast as she can, she doesn't even care about the water in her face.

*Kambria does not like to be held and likes to walk and does not like to hold hands. We have screaming fits every time we go to the store, because she has to hold a hand in the street :)

*Kambria refuses a high chair or booster seat. She wants to be a big girl and sit like all the other kids.

*She finally enjoys movies ... Princess shows, Toy Story, Dora are her favorite. She loves the part in The Little Mermaid, "We're out to discover" and will yell it so loud while watching it.

*She loves dancing and loves to be tickled

*She knows 90% of her body parts.

*She is learning the animal sounds and colors.

*Kambria loves her babies. She loves to put them to bed, feed them a bottle, give them a binky, and dance with them. She has about 5 babies in her crib that she sleeps with :)

On the rare ocassion now when she wakes in the middle of the night, I will go tuck her back in and she will say, Mommies room, please! But I have never given in as much as I want to. It is the cuttest though.

She wants to be just like her brother. She follows him every where and does everything that he does.

She enjoys nursery. You ask if she wants to play with her friends and she says yes, and snack!!! Nursery will be much better with 9:00 church, right now we are fighting nap time.

We are so thankful to have Kambria in our family, we are grateful for the joy she brings to us. Her and Marshall are best buds! I don't want her to grow anymore, but since she is going to, I am excited to see her personality come out even more and see how much she learns. I sure love being a MOM!!!

She is so full of personality, we just love Kambria to pieces ... our lives truly would not be complete without her in our family.

Happy 6th Birthday Marshall

Can you believe Marshall is 6yrs old ... I can't.
We had the kids birthday party early at Fat Cats.
Marshall is changing so much. Some of the things about Marshall are:

He loves school.

He loves to learn.

He loves to count. All the time he will be like, "Mom 10 plus 10 is 20 or Mom 20 plus 10 is 30 and on and on.

He loves to create stuff. He gets paper, glue, my paper cutter and goes to town.

He is a master at building with legos and is so creative.

He loves to help Kambria. He loves to teach her.

He enjoys video games.

He is already a gentleman. When we go places he ALWAYS runs to the door and holds it open for me.

He loves his Daddy and wants to be just like him. he will repeat things often that he has heard Jake say. It is so funny and I love it!

He loves making new friends. He has really enjoyed that at school this year. I was informed recently while getting Marshall from school that he is now part of a club. The "J" club. when asked why J, he said because we all had jackets on and Jacket starts with J. It is Marshall and 3 other boys from school.

He loves books and is getting so good at reading. He can sound words out really well, and is really good at his site words.

He still says the cutest things, that just make me smile so big. He really is an obedient child. He is stubborn and has his moments, but once he realizes what he is doing and stops the stubbornness he is great. We only have a few moments when he has to be in timeout.


He is learning from other kids at school and is starting to act out a bit more. Like when I asked him to please not do something to his soda can and just throw it away ... he went ahead and did as he was, I said Marshall, he replied "I do what I want with soda cans", and then chucked it in the garbage can all rudely! But it is mostly my fault, I really need to be more consistent with discipline and I know if I am it will fix the problem quickly.

I love seeing Marshall grow up, it brings back so many memories of my life. I love that he enjoys school, and that he is making so many friends. I love the stories he comes home with. He loves his life right now, and I love that. I love when he tells me he loves me, or that I am a great Mom, or just gives me a hug. He is learning so much, what a fun time in his life right now is!!!!

We love Marshall, we are so thankful that he is in our family. He is a great kid and our family would not be the same without him. I truly am thankful that the Lord saw a need for him to join our family and be here on earth with us to enjoy our earthly journey. He is truly a blessing in our life, and our little miracle.

Family Christmas Party

Every year for as long as I can remember my Mom's entire side of the family has gotten together for a Christmas Party. We have a large family so we always have it at a church.

This year all the aunts made soup and there were rolls, and lots and lots of treats. We eat and chat and then we allow the men to play basketball until they are so dead tired. We then play a few games and then Santa comes.

Marshall sat nicely on Santa's lap and asked for something he already has, but wants another of, and he isn't getting one. But its okay, because what he really wants is always something different from day to day.

Kambria .... well this is about as close as we could get her. And then for the next 5 mins she cried hard in my arms, and made me feel like a rude mom for making her get a picture with Santa. Thanks to my cousin for holding her up for me :)

Afterwards we played tornado. Let me tell you a secret. Jake bought me so shape-ups for Christmas, and gave them to me early. I wore them this night. They are not great shoes to play basketball in. The next morning I could barely get out of bed I was so sore, and while playing I almost face planted it several times!!!!

Also, my Cousins children who are 14 and younger are Basketball stars. They would make there first shot 98% of the time, so If I missed, I was out!! I really think the parents are having them play so they can have a nice retirement, because they are going to be good when they get done with HighSchool. I think I might have some family that will one day be NBA players :)

It was a fun party, I look forward to it each year. I love my cousins and their spouses that have joined the family, and all of there adorable kids. I am thankful that we are so close and get to see each other each year if not more.

Marshall's Friend Party

Marshall has not had a friend Party so this was his first one. I let him pick which of his school friends and neighborhood friends he would like to invite. There were a total of 13 he really really wanted to invite. I figured being so close to Christmas and not many of the parents knowing me, that we would be safe. I honestly thought if 6 or 7 kids come that will be perfect. All but one child came to the party, so including my own there were 14 kids 6 and younger and the party. There were only 4 girls and 10 boys. Yes 10 5-6 year olds. It was so crazy and loud. But it was fun!!! I forgot to take a picture, but we had the party in the basement (the bat cave), so I got some paper and painted the entrance of the batcave and hung it on the door to the basement. We then played Batman, Batman, Boomerrang (Duck, Duck, Goose). The kids were so crazy with that game. As they came they were all given bat capes to wear. Thanks to my Mom for helping her not so talented daughter out :)

We then played pin the bat on Batman. That was rather funny. As you can see there was a long line, so some kids were in the playhouse sticking out the window and one of the bats would have been stuck to his face had I not directed the bat the other direction :)

Next we played Riddlers Relay. They had to put on a pair of Jake's pants, a hoody, a hat, and two boots. Walk down to the other side of the room, stack legos (which were a bomb), and bring it back to the next person in line. It was so funny. Kids could barely walk in the boots, the pants were around their ankles. It was a fun time.

Then it was present time. Marshall has some very generous friends. He got a lot of presents and all the cute kids were so excited when their present was opened. Thank you for the gifts!!!

Next was cupcakes and Icecream. I had made the HUGE cake for our family party, so for this party I stuck with cupcakes!

The girls were smart and teamed up at there own table to get away from the noise and burping going on at the other table.

I have learned that 2 hours for an inside party is WAY TOO LONG. 1 1/2 hours would have been perfect. So what do you do for 30 minutes you ask??? Get out all the nerf guns that we own (which is alot), and send the kids downstairs. They shot those guns and were so happy for the 30 mins.

Happy Birthday Marshall!!!

Hamburger Anyone?

It was my brother in laws Birthday Party today, he turned 40 ... man he is old!!! Lisa and I wanted to make a cake for his party. He likes Hamburgers, and they make them big and thick, so Lisa came up with the idea and we went to town. I cooked 6 - 9inch circle cakes. Leveled the top and middle, put fudge filling in the middle, frosted the outside with buttercream and Lisa made the fondant. We then met up and made some toppings and buns and frosted our hamburger, then covered it in fondant. I think it turned out amazing if I do say so myself :)

Natalie did a great job putting the whole thing together. It was a surprise party and I would have to say he was surprised!! Thanks for a fun night!!

PaRtY TiMe

We celebrated Marshall and Kambria's Birthday a month early this year. Jake won a Bowling Party to fat cats at a silent auction for an amazing deal and the gift card expired end of November. We figured since their birthdays are Dec 20 and 22nd it would be easier to celebrate them a bit before Christmas anyway, and they were obviously excited about it!!

Us and 30 Family/Friends went to Fat Cats and were able to bowl and eat Pizza for 2 hours. It was a lot of fun. Of course with so many kids we didn't bowl but 1 1/2 games, however it turned out to be wonderful.

We wanted to make them a fun cake as we do each year. I have been learning how to make fondant cakes and Jake and I both watch Cake Boss. We thought it would be fun to try making a double sided cake. So one side was the bat cave for Marshall and the other Dora's Castle for Kambria. We make the people out of molding chocolate. It was ALOT of work. It seriously took 10+ hours. I had to make and bake 9 - 8x10 cakes. 3 double batches of buttercream frosting. I had to make 6 boxes worth of rice krisipie treats and another double batch of buttercream. 3 batches of fondant and then the molding chocolate. The cake was 100% edible, however we didn't eat the rice krispie part, but could have if we chose to. I think it turned out great. I know my skills will only get better :)

--Just a side note. Before when I had made fondant I was very frustrated because it didn't seem to work correctly. It was very hard to work with and just was sticky and a weird consistency. It was so irritating, because I had other friends that had worked with MM fondant and they had no problems. Well I figured it out ... it calls for 16oz of Marshmallows, so I measured 2 cups of marshmallows when really it was calling for a 16 oz bag of marshmallows which is a huge difference. So using the correct ingredients it turned out so wonderfully!!!!

We love our kids and are so thankful for them. Another post near their birthdays about there progress this last year. Also thanks to our family for coming and supporting them. We are so blessed with wonderful family. Marshall and Kambria both were spoiled with gifts, I don't think they even need a Christmas. They were so delighted and I hope they thanked everyone, because they are so thankful!!

Family Pictures

Today we went over to Wheeler Farm and took some family pictures. It was a beautiful morning. Here are a lot of my favorites!!

Here is me and hottie Jake!
(Marsh took this picture of us :) )

Here are some pictures of Marshall. I can't believe that in 2 months he will be 6yrs old! Such a good boy, we just love Marshall.

Marshall and Kambria just love each other. I didn't even pose them, they just sat by one another. I love my kiddos.

And here are some of Kambria. I may be bias, but I think she is the cutest little thing ever. She is sassy, crazy and adorable!! It is hard to believe that she is almost 2 Years Old. Slow down, I don't want you to get any older!!!!

This is my most favorite of her!!!

And our family shots. What a cute little family. I am so lucky to have married Jake. And we are so blessed to have our 2 adorable kids who make us so so so happy!!