Kangaroo Zoo 2011

My in laws take the kids to Kangaroo Zoo for Valentine's Day every year. This year we decided to go the Saturday before, so the kids had enough time to play and we didn't have to worry about school. On Friday one of Krissi's daycare kids came in the cutest tie-dye heart shirt. So, Carol decided to make them for all of the grandkids. They turned out so cute and it was so easy to spot one of our kids. We tried taking Keira on a couple of the larger slides but she wanted nothing to do with them. Finally, I grabbed her and climbed up and went down with her. She was ok once we got down but she fought me the entire way up that ladder. The boys had fun running around with their cousins and sliding and jumping on everything they could.

Carpet NO MORE!!

For a very long time I wanted to get rid of the carpet in the front room of our house. It was old, gross, and I hated it. Travis kept saying that we would have to finish the basement first. I don't know what changed his mind but it changed and we put in wood floor laminate. Friday night we ripped out everything we could without waking up our kids and finally went to bed about 1 am on Saturday morning. We got up about 7 and finished up what we couldn't do the night before. When Cory got to our house we were pulling nails out of the floor. By the way, that part sucks! After we had a smooth floor we laid down the thin foam paper stuff and started laying out the laminate. I was actually surprised how fast it went down.
It took longer when you had to go around vents or into closets but we got the living room and dining area done in one day. We did the kitchen the next weekend. With new paint and new floor the upstairs is going to look just as new as the downstairs. I just need to get my baseboards back up!

Alex's Birthday Party

Alex decided he wanted a Mario Brothers birthday party this year. Well, at first, he wanted a Luigi party but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find enough of just Luigi so he graciously consented to a Mario and Luigi party. We had his party the Saturday before his birthday. We had games set up for all the kids we had Yoshi egg races (with a fair amount of cheating) and then I made Travis be Mario and the kids got to be the fire shooting plants and try and hit Travis with a ball. I also had blocks and question marks through out the room and when it came time, the kids all ran around and tried to get the most points. I found a website that sold little question mark boxed and star power boxes so that's what the prizes were. We also had our Wii set up for the kids to play Mario Brothers. Alex got to choose the ice cream and he chose play-dough. I had never had it before but it was brightly colored and fit in well with the Mario land we were creating. After having tried the ice cream I don't think I'll be buying that kind again. Alex wasn't really a fan of it either. The cupcakes were super cute though. I made red and green frosting and then topped them off with a few white chocolate chips that were upside down. They looked like "bigs" and "1 ups". On his actual birthday he got to open presents from us and then we took Keira to my parents house and took the boys to Trafalga in Lehi. We played mini golf and went Laser Tagging twice. They also climbed the wall, went on all the rides, and had ice cream. We picked up Keira and on the way home both of the boys fell asleep in the car. I love when we tucker them out!

Christmas 2010

Like everyone else the holidays are super busy for us. We are so lucky to have our families so close so we can see them on Christmas . . . and all the other days. Both of our families have traditions over Christmas so that makes Christmas Eve through the day after Christmas a marathon event. I work Christmas Eve and I've been lucky enough to work the morning the last few years. As soon as work is done I meet Travis and the kids at his mom's Christmas party. This party is a huge deal to our kids. They have lots of cousins to play with, have great food, Santa Claus comes, and we go on a caroling hay ride through Main Street in Lehi. As soon as that party ends we head over to my parents house to watch a movie. We used to go to a theater but with all the little ones it's just easier right now to veg in my parents theater room. After the movie ends my dad reads the Christmas story from the Bible and then we head home. We let the kids open their Christmas Eve presents and then send them off to bed. We are usually up by 6am on Christmas morning so that our kids can see what Santa brought them and open their presents before we head out to our families. We've been going over to my parents house pretty early the last couple of years so that we can talk to Kevin, my brother serving a mission in Peru. This year Trav's parents came out to our house so it let us relax at home a little longer. The next day it's off to work again completely exhausted and ready for a vacation!

Christmas Programs

We had a lot of fun at the Christmas Programs this year. Keira and I went Austin's because his was during the middle of the day. He did a great job singing all his songs and doing all the actions. I love watching all the kids get up because for at least the first song they are trying to find their parents.

Alex did his Christmas program on a Friday night. I am helping Krissi with Preschool this year so it was a family affair. We had made reindeer headbands and each of the kids had a red clown nose. I don't know if they'll do that again, it looked cute but the noses kept falling off or the kids would play with them. I guess that's to be expected with 3 and 4 year olds. All of the preschoolers looked so cute and festive. The last song they sang was Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Near the end of the song Santa Claus came out. After the program ended we had treats and the kids got to sit on Santa's lap. Austin already knew what he was going to ask for, he had it planned for weeks. Alex had to think for a minute, and Keira wanted nothing to do with it.

Every time I see this picture I laugh out loud. It's priceless!

Vegas Baby

The first part of December we went to Vegas for the NFR (National Finals Rodeo). My in-laws rented a vacation home so that everyone could stay together. We had a lot of fun shopping, shopping, oh and more shopping. Travis was such a good sport! He can't complain though, he came home with a whole new wardrobe. We went to two different outlet malls and I got my newI guess that's what happens when you start loosing weigh. We went to Fremont St. while we were there as well as Gold and Silver Pawn. If you've ever seen Pawn Starts that's the pawn shop they film in. It was really fun to walk around, but it was so crowded. We had a lot of fun at the rodeo and ate yummy nachos. That is one of my favorite parts of rodeos; burger and nachos. Travis knew a lot of people who were competing but I can't remember their names. . . . so I have no idea who this picture is of but he got trampled. Don't worry, he's ok :).

Halloween

I think the boys changed their minds about 5 times each before they decided what they wanted to be this year. First they wanted to do peter pan then wizard of oz. I told them they didn't have to match so that helped make their minds up.

Austin went as Harry Potter, he was so excited! We bought him a Gryffindor robe, a wand, and Harry Potter glasses. His favorite part though was dying his hair black, or spraying it rather. He told me we HAD to change his hair color because everyone would think he was Ron, not Harry.

Alex went as Superman and this came as a total surprise to me. I didn't even know he liked Superman that much. If any of you have listened to Jerry Seinfeld he does a bit on Halloween. He talks about how his costumes looked more like his superheros pajamas rather than the real costume. This is what I thought of Alex's costume, but he absolutely loved it.
Keira went as a flapper!! I wanted to find something that you wouldn't see on every other girl. I searched the internet for weeks before I decided her costume. She looked so cute. She had sequins on the top with a printed necklace that was knotted and of course the fringe on the bottom. It also came with the cute headband and we added the cute little boa.
We had Grandma Gray's Halloween party a couple days before Halloween . Her theme was Redneck and it was so much fun. We had to throw ping pong balls through a toilet seat and then play beer pong (sans beer). The kids got to eat doughnuts hanging from a stick and this year we had a huge marshmallow fight. My mother-in-law made marshmallow guns and the fight was all over the house and outside. The adults may have had more fun than the kids. We also did Trunk-or-Treat Halloween night before Travis took the boys out around other parts of the neighborhood. Keira and I stayed home and answered the door. The boys were already planning what they were going to be next year. I have a feeling that we will be matching, Austin is so set on it.