Our First Carriage Ride!

Last Friday was such a fun day! We decided to take the boys to Temple Square to see the lights and while we were there decided to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride. Too fun! However, it took us about an hour to find a parking place! We weren't aware that it was the night of the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert, but quickly found that every parking place between Sandy and SLC was taken! :) It was crazy busy and EXTREMELY cold (around17 degrees!!), but so much fun. The boys loved the lights but really had a blast with that horse! Our driver's name was Mindy and our horse's name was Bart. The ride lasted about 30 minutes, but after walking outside for so long, Ben and I decided it would be best to get Noah out of the cold. So half way through the ride (as we got close to our parking place) Ben and Noah hopped out and ran for the car. They were very glad to get into a warm car! Matthew, Isaac and I finished our ride, but Isaac was REALLY upset that Dad left. So after about 5 minutes of crying, the carriage that had been following us pulled up to the side. It turned out that Mindy's husband was the driver of that carriage and came up beside us to offer Isaac a candy cane! It was SO sweet! He just said, "It sounds like someone could use a candy cane!" and reached out his hand. I jumped up as quickly as I could to take the candy from his hand as they zoomed past. How nice was that? Then as we road down the street we passed about 5-6 college students all dressed up as Santa. They had stockings full of candy canes and chocolates. As soon as they saw my two boys in the carriage, they ran along side us until they pulled out candy canes for them. Matthew and Isaac were in heaven! As we approached the end of the ride, our carriage drove north on Main Street and we saw the most beautiful view of the Salt Lake Temple. It was the most amazing night... even though it started out so frustrating with the traffic and parking, it really was a great experience to be able to enjoy the holiday season together. How lucky am I to have this sweet family to share it with? As Rev Run would say, "God is good!"

Here are some pictures of Temple Square, and a LO I did for our first carriage ride!


Wow! A photo with the whole fam! Thank you, kind stranger!


Look at that cute little bundle!


I think I took 186 pics just to get ONE where they were both looking at the camera!


This is one of my favorites. It's taken from across the reflecting pool...


Here is the LO I made. Find full credits here.

New LO!

Ok, so it's been too long, but I do have a new layout! :) It's my first page dedicated just to Ben. Ahhhh... Cute! Anyway, Britt designed this rockin' kit called "Snowbound" and I'm in love with it. This is the first page I created with it... Enjoy!

Credits

What's that? A HUGE Sale at Scrapmatter.com?!

Grandpa Texas

Brittney designed a little elements kit called "Thankful for Stamps" that inspired me to do a "Thankful for..." layout. This is the first one of many - Hopefully!! Anyway, I'm grateful for wonderful Grandpas for my kids. I couldn't have picked them better myself! :)

I've Been Tagged - TWICE!

Ok, so I was hoping to avoid it, but I was DOUBLE TAGGED! Both Megan and Brittney tagged me, so I guess I have to give in. But I'm not doubling my answers!! Ok, here it goes...

1. My favorite thing to do as a kid was play "office." I would gather all the paper I could find, get pens and crayons and note pads, and go into my room to set up my office. I loved pulling my dresser away from the wall so I could have a little area behind it all to myself. I also loved pretending to be a cashier. I loved playing with play money - making change, counting it, pretending to sell things! I've always kind of wanted to be a cashier, if only for one day! So now I really love doing the self-checkout thing! Weirdo, I know.

2. I am SOO happy when my house is clean. It just gives me energy, if you can believe it. I get a little bummed when the house is a mess, and I just can't get motivated for anything. But if the house is clean, I'm a new woman!

3. I love watching movies with Ben. I know it's kind of simple, but it REALLY doesn't happen that often. If you've got kids, you know that your time is no longer your own. So if and when Ben and I are at home at the same time AND the kids are in bed AND there is nothing else pressing that must get done, I LOVE watching movies with him! We watched Ocean's 13 last night and it was so fun just to be with him and do NOTHING! :)

4. My favorite time of year is fall. Not only because of the weather and the leaves changing, but because it means the holidays! I adore Halloween! It's one of my favs. I also like Thanksgiving and who wouldn't LOVE Christmas! I love all the activities that the holidays bring. Trick-or-treating with the kids, building snowmen (when there is snow), seeing the lights at Temple Square, going shopping the day after Thanksgiving, feeling the anticipation of the kids on Christmas Eve... Its all so wonderful!!

I was able to go to The Savior of the World performance at the Conference Center over the weekend and I walked out of it a different person than going in. It was remarkable. If you ever have an opportunity to go see it, PLEASE don't pass it up! I want to try to take Ben with me next time. It puts things into perspective better than anything I've ever experienced. It was amazing!

5. I love rice crispie treats. The store bought kind, not homemade. It is such a guilty pleasure! :) I've gotten over the obession stage. I don't need one after every meal anymore, but I still crave them! Mmmmm.... Wish we had them in the office!!

6. I can't wait until I can be a stay at home mom. I know a lot of people that have been able to stay home with their kids and are now itching to get out for some time on their own! Not me, I want to be at home. I've spent the last 18 years working and now I just want to be home with my kids. It's heartbreaking to hear your 3 year old ask, "Mom, you done wiff work? Can you stay wiff us now?" Can't wait for the day when I can tell him, yes, Isaac, I'm done.

Baby Noah

I was inspired by a new mini-kit that Brittney designed, so I pulled this favorite picture of Noah and created this new LO. Hope you like it!

TINKERBELL!!!

Yes, it's true. We actually saw Tink at the castle! Just check out this picture. Matthew was completely amazed when I showed him this picture. "I didn't see here there, Mom!!" Too cute!

More Great Nicole Hill Photos

Here are some pictures from resent photo shoots with Nicole Hill. Isn't she amazing?!

This is Noah's very first hair cut, ever. They gave him a
sucker to bride him, but he was an angel the entire time even without it!

The gorgeous hair stylist is Nicole's mom, Kathy,
who also happens to be married to my boss! :)

I can't believe how happy he was, and this was at 5:00 pm
after NO afternoon nap! He's the happiest little guy!

How cute is he? Am I biased? No, he's adorable!!

Matthew caught every pass Ben threw, and he'd never
even tried before. My little sports star! And what a nice
little Isaac sandwich! :)

And finally, the entire fam and a candid shot of me with Noah.
After some pictures in the studio, we went to a nearby park.
On the way, Noah fell asleep so I was just holding him while
the boys took pictures.

Seriously?

How has it possibly been almost a month since my last post? I'm so sorry to the 2 of you that read my blog! :) I promise to do better. I hope to have pictures from Disneyland up in the next day or so, but until then I have a great quote for you from President Eyring:

"To know His will you must be committed to do it.
The words 'Thy will be done,' written in the heart,
are the window to revelation."

Two New Layouts!

Here are my latest... Enjoy!

You Are My I Love You

Thanks to brilliant Britt, here is my second layout. Isn't that boy just the cutest little thing!?!? I just love him! :)

My Very First Attempt at Digital - Be Kind!!

Here is the very first layout I created as a "digi-scrapper." Brittney has been trying to convince me to switch from paper scrapping to digital, and I've been a little hesitant. So after much soul searching and contemplation, I decided to give it a try. This is my first attempt, so please be nice! :) I have a few more things to do (Britt told me about shadowing this morning - never knew you could do that!), so it isn't final yet, but it's a start! :) If you look, PLEASE PLEASE leave a comment on anything you think it needs or changes to make it better. I've never done this so any secrets or tricks-of-the-trade you'd like to impart would be SOOOO appreciated! THANKS! :)

Changing of the Leaves

Ben's parents were in town last week for Angie and Jeremiah's wedding. So we decided it would be fun to drive the Alpine Loop with Rosalinda to see the changing leaves. It was beautiful!

It was so great to have his parents in town. My boys ADORE them! Grandma was so great to watch the boys so much while I was at work or when Ben and I ran an errand, and she makes the BEST food! And Grandpa is just too much fun! In fact, the night before Ben took Grandpa to the airport, Matthew cried because he didn't want Grandpa to leave. Ben and I both wish they lived a little closer than Texas! But it was great to see them for a while. They've been here 3 times already this year - we feel blessed! So here are a few pictures for you! Enjoy!

I love how dramatic this picture looks.
The canyon was actually gorgeous this day.
I took this picture just by sticking my hand out
the window and pushing the button. Lucky, eh?

Aren't the colors amazing? I LOVE the fall!!

I love the vibrant color of the single red tree.
It's a little blurry, but I still love it!

This is the temple where Angie and Jeremiah
were married. The Manti, Utah temple.
It was the perfect day! Not a cloud in the sky.

If you look closely, you can see one of the
multitude of bees buzzing around these flowers
in front of the temple.

Grandpa and Noah inspecting the flowers...

Three heads are better than one!

We were so lucky to have Grandpa stay with us
for a few nights this trip. The boys had a blast!
I'm not sure what happened to the pics of the boys
and Grandma (she stayed with us too!), but I'll
post them when I find them!! ;)

Bowling with the Fam!

Ben and I took the boys bowling a few weeks ago. Matthew and Isaac had a BLAST!! It was so cool to see how excited they got when the pins actually fell down! But I will say this, one game is enough when you're bowling with the boys! :)

Come on, knock 'em down!

Nice pose, Dad. At least Noah's
smile is real! :) Cutie!

Matthew learned to pose from Dad, yeah?

Sweet-awesome bowling ally pizza. Yum!

Nice teamwork, boys!

What the?...

I know what you might be thinking, it looks like my children were in a no-holds-barred brawl in the backyard based on Isaac's mouth. However, this is just Isaac being Isaac. He decided that it would be more fun to fill his mouth with the bright red drink and then slowly let it trickle down his face, than to actually drink it. Why, you ask? That would be a question all mothers of 2 year olds would like the answer to, but alas, you'd have to understand the mind of a 2 year old to figure it out. And of course, that is impossible. So there you have it, folks, my "bloodied" little Isaac.

Our New Car

Ben and I have been living for over a year with only ONE CAR. Let me tell you, trying to get people to work, school, the babysitter, to big boy school, home from school, from one babysitter to the next, back to work, etc. etc. etc. is no easy task with only one car. So now that Ben is finally done with school (YYYEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!), we broke down and bought a new one. One that we all actually fit in legally! :) All the kids are in car seats now and they're safe!

Here is a picture of us picking up the new car at the dealership. Ben laughed that I asked them to take our picture, but they said they do it all the time! We LOVE our cute little Pilot!

Not the best picture in the world,
but at least you can tell what it is!

Noah's Photos

Nicole just gave permission for me to steal Noah's photos from her site to post here. Yeah! So here they are! Aren't you just in love with him?!

Our First Visit from the Tooth Fairy

August 25th, 2007. This is the day that will go down in big boy history as the day Matthew yoinked out his own loose tooth! Matthew came to us to show us that his front bottom tooth was loose. He worked on it for days! Eventually it was just ridiculously loose, so I thought about the dental floss and the door knob trick, but knew he would never go for it. So I just casually mentioned that if he pulled on it hard enough, it would probably just pop out. By the time I finished explaining that, he'd tried once but the tooth slipped out of his fingers. I started to say that it might bleed a little, thinking I would get him prepared, but it was too late! He had grabbed that baby tooth and pulled it straight out of his mouth. He just looked at me, then looked at the tooth and looked at me again, just a little stunned! He couldn't believe it! He asked if it was bleeding (and at this point I thought he would burst into tears at the thought) and it was a little. No problem! He just went to the bathroom to get some tissue and that was it! Way to go, Matthew! He was spoiled a bit by the Tooth Fairy. He was given $2: One for the tooth and one for pulling it out all by himself! :)

He's so proud!

Sometimes it takes a kid....

to do a man's job! Isaac has been begging for a lawn mower for weeks, so Ben and I finally got to the store to buy him one. He decided that the MINUTE we walked in the door that he needed to march straight through the house to the back yard, stripping his clothes off as he went (it's hot out there ya know!), in order to get right down to work. Obviously someone had to do it, so why not him! I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of the boy hard at work. Better watch out, Dad! He's coming for your job!

Look at him all hard at work.
Don't get lost in that jungle of a lawn, buddy!

I'd like a drink now, please.
This is hard work!

Sweet-Awesome Photo Shoot

We were lucky enough to have Noah the subject of a Nicole Hill photo shoot today! (nicolephoto.com.) Nicole is an incredibly talented photographer/chef/designer and she asked if we would let her photograph Noah for her company, Rubberball. Of course I said yes immediately! I have always LOVED the photos she takes, especially of kids. How lucky are we?!? Click here to view a few of the pictures from today. I adore them!

Being Selfless

"At the heart of the message of the Savior of the world is a single, glorious, wonderful, still largely untried concept. In its simplest terms the message is that we should seek to overcome the selfishness we all seem to be born with, that we should overcome human nature and think of others before self."

--President James E. Faust

My Sweet Noah!

Ben and I were truly blessed with Noah. He is the sweetest, most mellow child and I adore him! He always has a smile for you and wants to laugh at everything. He is so happy!

I am especially tickled with him today. Why, you ask? Well, from the time he was born, sweet Noah has never slept through the night. However, last night we fell asleep at 11:00 pm and he didn't wake up until AFTER I did at 7:00 AM!! I could not believe it! He actually made it through the night without a bottle, without being burped, without a change of diaper, without any extra help from me! What a blessed event!!

To commemorate this occasion, I have decided to post some cutie petutie pics from his first big boy bath with Matthew and Isaac. What a wonderful day it is today, don't you think?! Could I possibly be in such a great mood simply because I got some sleep? Who knew?!

Seriously, the happiest kid ever!
"Thanks for drying me off, Mom!
For that, you get this humongo smile!"

A little blown out, but check out his eyes.
I still can't decide what color they are -
They're always changing!

Look at those dimples! Ahhh! I could just gobble him up!

Isaac just loves to pull faces. I wonder
where he gets that? (BEN!!)

Am I a lucky mom or what?
I'm probably biased, but I think they
are the cutest boys ever!!

Matthew's First Day of First Grade

It was a big day for Matthew last Tuesday. It was his first day of First Grade! He has been so excited to ride the school bus TO and FROM school, so he was anxious to get out the door. After taking the required photos (I'm a sucker for pictures!), I walked him to the bus stop. I was "welcomed" to the bus stop by the other moms as we waited. Just before the kids got on the bus, I told Matthew to turn around as he climbed on so I could get a picture, but he didn't and I didn't get the shot in time, so I just climbed on the bus and took one of him on the bus! The bus driver, who lives right across the street from us, offered to let me ride in with him, but I had to get to work. So off he went! I cannot believe he is old enough to go to First Grade! Time is amazingly fast, you know?!

This is Mom, trying too hard to "pose" the shot.
I just told him to turn around and look at me, and this is what I got! :)

Say goodbye, nerdy Daddy! Ben thinks I take too many
pictures, so he thinks it's funny to make weird faces. Goofball!

Walkin' to the bus stop.

All the kids at Matthew's stop.

The "on the bus" shot. Will I stop at nothing
to get a good photo? I might be obsessed.

Bye, Buddy! Have a great first day!!