Cold Play

Santa Harker

Harker did Santa a favor and took Katie's Christmas wish list.
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Santa's Back in Town

So Grandpa Santa got to come home from Florida early and as soon as the mall here heard about it he was back to work. We couldn't resist one more visit. Everyone thought it was great except for Nathan. Surely by the look on his face he was really trying to tell the others, "Lame! Don't you guys know it's just Grandpa!!!"

Momma Mia!

Katie visited the Rachael school of Pizza today and we all enjoyed the results. She is a natural! Isn't that what Christmas is all about? Two sisters getting together and baking up a pie or two?? Or three???

Aunt Katie Is Here!

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Snow Day x 4!!!!

How do you get three weeks off of school for Christmas vacation? Back up FOUR snow days to your normal two weeks. Yes, we are on snow day number three and they have already cancelled school for tomorrow. The boys have mixed feeling about it. They love staying home but they are missing the Christmas lunch, their class parties, and Harker cried when he found out there would be no performance of the program the whole school has been practicing for several weeks now. I don't mind having them home, more people to keep Natalie entertained and I guess that means more hands on deck tomorrow to get Aunt Katie's room ready for her arrival Saturday!

Snow Day!!!!

The boys are home for their first snowday of the school year. They have been complaining of sore throats so I would not let them play outside. The next best way to pass the day was Spongebob Monopoly. We lucked out and Natalie took a superlong nap so we were able to play for quite a while. The boys had no idea it was my sneaky mommy way of practicing their math and reading. It is amazing how much faster they can add the dice than a boring old problem on paper. Hyrum couldn't read the "chance" cards like Harker could but he always wanted to look at the card and take a good guess. He would say things like, "Oh, man, this is going to be bad news" or, "Looks like this is my lucky day!" Today they learned that owning property is good, taxes are bad, payday is great, and you can buy your way out of jail.

Christmas Lists

My kids (or at least Harker and Hyrum) are banking on having been good this year so they sat down recently to write Santa. They basically want the same things:

Bakugan Arena
Bionicles
DS Games
Robots
Light Sabers
and "Lots of candy would be nice!"

I asked Natalie what she wants for Christmas and she said "toys."
Nathan wants diapers. Shouldn't be too hard this year.

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday. We were asked to be a part of the program so we made up our own version of the 12 Days of Christmas, instead of "my true love gave to me, it was, "A Mormon Shared with Me." We made volunteers come up and hold all of our props and Brad's cousin played the piano for us. Nothing like delegating!

The link to Mormon.org
2 Missionaries
3 Hours of Church
4 Books of Scriptures
5 Pass Along Cards
6 Jello Salads
7 Effective Habits
8 Church Publications
9 Hymns on CD
10 Generations
11 Hours of service
12 Months of storage

Chandelier?

Ok, this picture serves multiple purposes. First of all, it helps fulfill the many requests for more pictures of the house. Secondly, it allows me to say how happy I am that I had room enough to seat 12 comfortably for our most recent family gathering. Thirdly, it opens the door for decorating ideas. I have never had a dining room before hence the bare walls. The gingerbread people were a gift and even they will have to find a different home after the holidays (if they survive the kids that long!).

Balloon Rally!

This last weekend was the annual Red Rock Balloon Rally. We were in Albuquerque most of the weekend but we were able to attend the balloon glow Friday night. It was really neat and the kids absolutely loved it. This is a shot I got Saturday morning on our way out of town. I will be able to get much better shots next year when I actually get to go over to the park. The balloons are so beautiful against the red rock.


At the balloon glow one of the pilots let Harker get in the basket. Hyrum opted out.



The pilots get free propane during the rally so they had no problem giving us a show!

Nathan enjoyed the ride and body heat from his father.


It was a cold and windy start but the winds eventually died down and the flames helped keep us warm.

Big Boy

Mommy's big boy (No, not Brad- Nathan) is 5 1/2 months old and so much fun. He is really starting to use his vocal cords and loves to "sing" to me, especially while he is nursing. He is drooling like crazy and beginning to get the hang of actually swallowing his cereal instead of spitting it all out. He is a big hit here as he is the exact opposite looking of all of the Navajo babies and he is also the ONLY baby in our ward. He is very patient with his siblings (even when Natalie "helps" him roll over) and loves to laugh at their crazy antics.

Bad MaMa Gom Mas

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We had a yummy dinner at Great Grandma's house with lots of family over. We also had friends from Omaha arrive that night and spend a couple of days with us. While they were here they were evaluated by a Tai Quan Do Master. It was really cool to see them all dressed up in their gear. Harker and Hyrum were quite intimidated by the black belt girls!

Hyrum's Library Card

The kids are out of school this week. Yes, WEEK! Since when do they get the whole week for Thanksgiving? I was robbed! Anyway, our field trip today was to the the Children's Library. Hyrum was soooo excited that he could get his very own library card (you have to be five). He walked around the library very carefully selecting his 10 books. He even checked them out by himself and loaded them all delicately into his backpack making sure to thank the man who helped him after every single book. His only disappointment was that I took his card back for safe keeping.

Barney Fever!

Ok, I thought both my boys liked Barney when they were young but Natalie's obsession with the purple dino makes their fondness seem more like a mere tolerance. When she first wakes in the morning she asks for juice and Barney. When she gets ready for bed she asks for Barney. When I am sitting at the computer she asks to hear Barney (hence the barney songs on my playlist, all for the blue eyed blond to sing and dance her heart out. You know, I really don't mind sitting down to a good Barney episode with her. Better than Dora or those Wonder Pets with the speech problems.

Mission Accomplished!

Ok, so I only had to make sure doors were unlocked, supply drinks, make a few trips to Home Depot and write the checks but hey, it is done and it feels like a major accomplishment.

Happy Anniversary!!!!!

I just wanted to wish my parents a very happy Anniversary and let them know that I love them I ton. I just have one question? What did you do?.....................









O'Well, you can't win them all!

Let the Games Begin!

The concrete has set and after a couple of long hours at the Home Depot, we are ready to go! Soo excited!

While They Were Away

The boys had a half day of school today and afterwards they were invited to a friend's house to play. Natalie, Nathan and I decided to make cupcakes. Natalie is a frosting lover as you can tell and hardly touched the cake. Nathan watched in awe, no doubt anxiously awaiting his turn, poor baby, he was denied. We had fun together and all the mess was worth the enormous "TA DA!" that announced Natalie's finished creation.

Home Makeover Brad Edition

We are in the middle of what seems like a million projects. The biggest two right now include the sun room and the porch. We have a contractor working on the sun room floor and Brad is working on the porch. Saturday he ripped down the old siding, replaced both windows and put up new siding. The kids thought it was so cool to hang out of the big hole that used to be the old window.

Bye Bye Santa!

Yes, it is a little early for Santa but when your Grandpa is Santa you have to share. Grandpa Santa has to leave for Florida today to report very soon at a mall where he will fill his days delighting lots of little boys and girls. As such, Grandpa will be gone until after the Holidays. We had a special FHE last night to say goodbye and get pictures taken with "The Best Santa!" We were all very spoiled as we even got presents!

Halloween Night

Note to Self: Do not leave Nathan alone with Natalie!

Trunk or Treat

Pictures of New

New House


New Neighborhood

Hooked Up!

I am happy to say that after two months of no computer I am back in business. It has been a wild ride and I must say I am stronger for it. We have had so much change and excitement in our lives. Now all I have to do is find my camera! Oh, and for those of you that got a card with my new phone number disregard it. The phone company gave me a number and then ended up changing it.

Not Dead

No Katie, I am not dead. I am living out of boxes and I have no idea where my computer is. It will be awhile until I get it back and hooked up to the world. We should be closing on our house this Wednesday. It has been a long wait but we will have a new roof, new electrical, and a weedless backyard!

We're Here!

We made it to Gallup safe and sound. Ok, maybe not sound. I am exhausted to say the least. It still blows my mind that only a few weeks ago I was oblivious to what was about to happen. We made an offer on a house and it looks like we may have bought our first home. Crazy! Brad is going to be training this next week in Albuquerque and I will be trying to get the kids in school.

Happy Birthday Brad!

Brad turned the big 31 today!

Where's Nathan?!

Can you take too many pictures of such a handsome little guy? Nathan is such a kissable little guy and takes his mommy's need for smooches very well (unless he is starving and would rather nurse). Nathan sleeps in a co-sleeper between Brad and I and this morning when I woke up he was not there! "WHERE'S NATHAN?" Brad's response of looking around the room was less than comforting! "Oh, he's right here." Brad had apparently forgotten his need to snuggle with the little guy in the middle of the night and he was on the other side of him, sound asleep. I guess the abrupt awakening by a very concerned mommy had prompted a lapse of short term memory.

p.s. That is a good rule of thumb for co-sleeping. Once they are too big to get lost on your bed they are outta there!

Missing My Buddies!

Natalie is missing her brothers! They have only been at school a few days but it is bumming Natalie out. She just doesn't think Nathan and I are much fun. After coming home from running errands she says "Harker at school, Hyrum school." Then she will go make herself at home in Harker's bed and suck her thumb for a while (two year old therapy). She is more than happy to go pick up Hyrum before lunch and she is already learning that right after her nap it is time to get Harker.


Thought I might as well sneak in another picture of my littlest guy. He is not so little though, yesterday was his two month well baby. We weighs 14 pounds already! Natalie was not to be outdone, she is 97% for height and weight. Yes, she had her 2 year well visit at the same time. It wasn't too bad, except for when Nathan threw up his rotovirus vaccine.

Are you sure this is a good idea mom??!!

I took this picture just minutes ago and I just have to share as I love the look on Nathan's face!

Kindergarten Rocks!

Hyrum was dressed and ready at 6:30 this morning and it about killed him to have to wait til 7:50! The Jo county overachievers greeted the Kindergarten crowd with a nicely decorated table with cookies and chilled bottled water (see, you get what you pay for!). We took pictures, got him settled in, and Hyrum was ready to start. A "bye mom" and I knew he would do just fine. When I picked him up he informed me he liked Kindergarten and he would in deed do it again on Monday.


Look closely and you will see:
Hyrum is a little nervous.
Day two for Harker and he thinks he rules the school.
Natalie is holding a "backpack" to be like her brothers (good thing they gave her a cookie or we would have had a fight getting her out of there.)
Nathan has his belly full, is sleeping, and couldn't care less.

First Day of Second Grade

Today was the day! Harker woke me up by telling me he had read 3 books already (one non fiction, found his new shoes, and that he had had a bowl of cereal but could he please have some fish because, "it is brain food!" Hyrum was so jealous because Kindergarten does not start until tomorrow. He prepped Harker by asking him a bunch of questions like, "Do you remember that you do not get to eat lunch today because it is only a half day?" And, "Did you remember that ruler thing you are supposed to take? Harker tolerated the badgering better than normal as he was so excited. When I picked him up I knew he had had a good day when I saw him give his teacher a goodbye hug. He jumped in the car exclaiming, "Yep, today was great! Mr. --- (no need to give too much info but I must say he is easy on the eyes!) is great, and I can't wait for tomorrow!"

Weekend Pictures