New Years Goals and Things I want to have happen in 2009

It's that time of year where we get to set goals once again. One advantage of being pregnant is that I don't have to put down lose weight!

Here it is:

1) Have a baby girl, and decorate her room, and buy tons of stinking cute pink stuff!

2) Read my Sunday school and Relief Society lessons beforehand

3) Catch up on scrapbooking

4) Finish garden pavers

5) Actually grow something in my garden

6) Let my kids see Yellowstone (because it's so far away you know)

7) Have my hair be in a pony tail

8)) Learn more about Photoshop

9) Write more

10) Make Birthday cupcakes that I am proud of and don't cringe when I look at pictures of what I made.

(Here's the cake that made me decide to switch to cupcakes! Uggg! )

11) Cherish the moments with my kids more

12) Fully finish the basement (cabinets and drawers on computer table, tile in bathtub)

I know it's not too ambitious, but these are my goals for this year. Hope you have a great year!

Christmas Snapshot

A few photos of our holiday:

Opening presents at Grandma Carols:

Whitmill Party:



Christmas Eve Party at our house:

Decorating Christmas Trees

Rudolph Relay
Christmas Eve Pj's


Christmas AM



Hope you had a great Christmas!

The Nativity

A couple of years ago in Young Women, Mirinda Taylor told me about how perfectly the song Breath of Heaven go with The Nativity movie. We showed it our girls before Christmas and I show it when it is my turn to host the Christmas Eve party.

It's amazing how perfectly the words and song fit with this video.

Enjoy if you have time!

9 Happy Years

Nine years ago today, Tristan and I were married in the Idaho Falls Temple for time and all eternity. In some ways in seems fast and I can't believe it's been that long.

In other ways it seems like we have been married for longer than that. We actually met in the 7th grade. Scary, I know!

He asked me out at a 7th grade dance, but I had to tell him we were too young. We were kind of distant friends for a while, and then he asked me out again when I turned 16. We dated a few other people, but were mostly together ever since.

We got engaged on September 11th,1999 (two weeks after he got home) and married on December 17th 1999.

Things I love about Tristan:

1)He works hard for our family even when he hates his job during tax season.

2) He spends quality time with his family and comes to all games, performances etc.

3) He is a very sweet and attentive to me and supportive of my hobbies.

4) He honors his priesthood and is very faithful in his callings.

5) He has a terrific sense of humor.

6) He takes care of our money and makes me feel secure. He is frugal when he needs to be, but also doesn't mind spend spending money on trips, etc that help build family memories.

I love you babe! Can't wait to spend the rest of our lives and eternity together!

First dance with Josh. Whe knew we would live 2 houses down?

Last dance, Senior Commencement in a Limo
He was pretty hot with a tan after umpiring all summer. (He's still hot with his Mormon dad tan!)

Wedding

One Kid

2 Kids

3 Kids

No Kids!

A must see this Christmas (if you live in Idaho Falls)

So, we were substituting for Russ and Joy in nursery on Sunday and Mike Belnap told us we had to go check out his parents house. It is one of those houses that coordinates with Christmas music on a radio station with amazing lights.

There is another house around here that does that I guess, but I've never done it. His parents started doing it a few years ago.

I'm telling you that you have to go check it out this Christmas! It is absolutely amazing. It seriously rivals a lights show you would see on Disney property.

And it's not that far. You take Crowley Road, turn R on Iona, then look for Iona Elementary. Then you take a Left on 55th East and you can't miss it. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!

I guess that was our blessing for subbing in nursery.

We also tried to go to that house out by the airport that has all of the Christmas trains. The news story I found on the Internet says he is open every night except for Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. We drove all the way out there for a Closed sign.

Probably cool, but I guess you should call first!

My first real digital layout

So, I have been interested in digital scrapbooking for a while now but never really started.

Here's a layout I just completed. Now, I have no idea how people afford to print these, but I still had fun. Do you print them yourself, do you take them somewhere, use Shutterfly or Winkflash? Sharon and fam are missing because I couldn't get a photo of them to work.

Now I better stop ignoring my children.

Christmas Exchange

Every year, we get to about this time of year and Tristan and I say to each other, "We really should let the kids draw names this year."

But, then we think we've already spent too much already, we should really do that next year.

This year the same thing happened, but we decided just to save one gift each for their Birthdays and let the kids draw names.

Giving gifts is really one of the best parts of Christmas. There is nothing like anticipating watching someone open that gift that you thought so much about.

So, we drew names. I took Tyce to buy Brandon's while Creighton was at preschool. Since he is still clueless, it was easy.

But, tonight I took Creighton with visions of him lovingly thinking about Tyce dancing in my head.

It is definitely a learning process for both child and parent. It is their present, even if the recipient would never play with it, or it is something the giver would want, or for $1 more you could get a way cooler thing, it is their decision.

Maybe next year the kids will be thinking more about what their person would want and mom can just let it go.

It's not the end of the world.

Do you exchange gifts at Christmas? Do you give suggestions or just let them go?

Visiting Santa

All I want for Christmas is......


World Peace
Star Wars Stuff

Kota the Dinosaur (keep dreaming!)

50 Things

My sister Diana had this on her blog. It looked like more fun than putting my kids to bed.

50 things you didn't know about me until you read this...


1.What color is your tooth brush? yellow and white
2. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? shopping at Sam's Club, again
3. What is your favorite candy bar? Snickers
4. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope
5. What is the last thing you said aloud? Go get your pajama's on
6. What is the best ice cream flavor? I just mixed crushed up candy cane in my ice cream. It was pretty tasty.
7. What is the last thing you had to drink? Water
8. What are you wearing right now? Yoga pants and a sweatshirt
9. What was the last thing you ate? Candy cane ice cream
10. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No
11. When was the last time you ran? I don't run. I prefer other methods of exercise.
12. Who was the last person to send you a message/comment on your blog? Kristen Gourley, my friend from high school
13. Do you take vitamins daily? I do when I'm pregant
14. Do you go to church every Sunday? yes
15. Do you have a tan? Good one
16. Do you like Chinese food over pizza? Not usually
17. Do you drink soda with a straw? Don't really drink soda
18. What does your last text message say? Tyce is getting ear tubes. It was the first time I really texted. Tristan was at tax conference in SL and I was bored. He wasn't too happy that I texted him.
19. Are you someones best friend? Tristans
20. What are you doing tomorrow? Cleaning, going to a ward party
21. Where is your dad? Probably home
22. Look to your left, what do you see? Star Wars toys and Brandon
23. What color is your favorite pair of shoes? The ones I weart the most are blue. I need some new shoes.
24. Do you use chap stick? I just bought chapstick for the first time in forever at Sams Club. My kids eat and lose chapstick.
25. Whats your favorite thing to do in your free time? Read a book or be creative
26. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Not at a lot of either, but more go in I guess
27. Do you have a dog? no thanks
28. Last guy you talked on the phone with? Tristan
29. Last girl you talked on the phone with? Jessica
30. Any fun vacation plans soon? not in the near future
31. Do you dye your hair? I do like my highlights, but try not to when I'm prego
32. Can you say the alphabet backwards? No
33. Do you have a maid service clean your house? Sure, It's me!
34. Are you jealous of anyone? Not at the moment.
35. Do you love anyone? Yes, lots of people
36. Do any of your friends have children? Duh
37. Do you use the word Hello daily? I think so, it's one of those words that you don't think about
38. Do you like cats? no, not really a pet person
39. Have you ever been to six flags? no
40. How did you get your worse scar? If you count stretch marks as a scar, being prego
41. What is your favorite smell? Chlorine and sunscreen
42. What is the last DVD you watched? Get Smart
243. Have you ever been to Disney world? Yes
44. What is your favorite number? Who has a favorite number?
45. Do you toast your pop tarts? I guess.
46. Have you ever waited tables? Yes
47. Where did you have your first kiss? My parents driveway
48. What should you be doing? putting rugrats to bed
49. Do you enjoy wasting time blogging? love it, but i don't count it as wasted time, because I keep up with friends and family this way
50. Who do you want to tag? Anyone who wants to do this too!

Kid tolerance and ear tubes

Sometimes I wonder if how our family works is "normal" compared to other people.

One of the things I wonder about is kid tolerance. How much do you let your kids get away with? How much mess do your tolerate? You go to some homes and you wouldn't even know they had kids and I don't think they own any toys.

Then there is families like my dear friend Zshanae who has a permanent mattress going down her stairs for a slide. It keeps her kids happy.

When I was little I hated convention. I wanted the couch pushed up and facing the wall so I could have a boat. I wanted me and my sisters beds to line up head to head so we could do someraults in one continous line. It was our house, why did it have to look normal. I also wanted trampolines for floors.

I guess I fulfilled those needs as an adult by having a slide in my basement, one bedroom made out of two, and walls that aren't all tan.

So tonight, my kids wanted to build a fort. I'm not much a fort maker so I decided to let them push the couches together to make a pirate ship. They promised to help clean it up. We shall see.

But, even though it creates an instant mess in the house I was trying to keep clean all day, you are only a kid once.

And since we don't have Wii, what else are kids supposed to do on these cold winter nights?

Also, today we found out that Tyce is going to need another set of ear tubes. So, in January he is going in to get those and also get his adenoids taken out. I hate surgery, I hate general anthesia.

Poor guy. He has some bad ears. My ears are good. I wonder where he got those from.

We are still blessed and know things could be much, much worse.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the John home

I decided since we spend so much time buying, storing, and decorating for Christmas that you are the lucky people who get to appreciate it. Aren't you glad you checked my blog?

Last year we decided to collect ornaments for souvenirs when we went places.

This is a fun way to remember all of the places we've been and the kids love reminiscing.

I used to have a "theme" tree of purple and silver, but kids just like a fun collection of ornaments. Maybe someday...

Disneyworld with no kids:

St. Maarten:Disneyworld with kids:

Dreamcatcher from the Grand Canyon:
It doesn't have to be an official ornament, you can hang most anything. This toy

we got canoeing in Island Park with my parents. "Norway" at Epcot Center:



Nativity Collection: Not as big as my mother-in-laws but we are getting a few.

We got this for our wedding. One advantage of getting married in December.

Wouldn't my Beehive leader be impressed that I still have this!



Gift from my visiting teachers last year:


When Brandon was a toddler and kept wanting to play with my nice nativity, we

decided a toy one was a must. Plus, I have small obsession with Little People.

We have the Little People Thanksgiving, this, the Easter Parade, and we just

ordered the Christmas Parade and Birthday set. Gotta love decorations kids

can play with.


Julie gets crafty. I bought the snowman and Santa from Old Navy a few years ago

and didn't want to get rid of them to have matching stockings, so I made the rest.

Got this on 40% off day at Roberts. Love it!
Fun solar-powered snowmen I got on clearance after Christmas last year.




I decided that now that my basement is finished that I might want to open presents down there. So Tristan got this deal on Black Friday. The bright lights are seashells to match my beach theme!


Well, thanks for humoring me. What does your house look like for Christmas?

Save the drama for your mama

Camera found!

Thank you for everyone to listening and caring about my sob story. (I'm pregnant, I'm allowed to be dramatic)
My dad found my camera. I don't know where.

I'm glad Heavenly Father cares about me and my lost camera.

Back in blogging business.

Lost camera

Well, I was going to document all of my Thanksgiving weekend and do a big post.
The last time I had my camera was at my parents house, and I remember taking a picture of all of the grandkids right before we ate.

I set in on the counter and that is the last I remember. My mom hasn't found it (and I'm sure she has cleaned 10 times since then), it's not in my car.

The only other thing that happened was Tristan was dropping me off in front of Albertsons to check out a Redbox and I tried to get out too fast, caught my leg on my bag, and almost fell on my face. Maybe the camera was in there and fell out. I called Albertsons and they didn't have it in their lost and found.

I still believe that most people who live in IF (and especially Albertsons shoppers) would still turn in a camera if they happened to find it.

I hate losing things. I know money is just money, but I've only had that camera since last Christmas, plus the cost of the rechargable batteries, camera bag, etc. It makes me sick inside.

Plus, my husband has mastered the art of being dissapointed in me instead of yelling. Sometimes that is worse than being yelled at.

Who has the money to buy a new camera at Christmastime anyway. I feel naked without it.
You have to a camera!

So, as I am a very visual person, my blogging might slow down if I can't blog without pictures.

Please come back little camera. I miss you.

The amazing Ritz cracker...

Does anyone else think that Ritz crackers are amazing? You can make everything from
Faux Apple Pie to Girls Scouts Mint Cookies.
My sister-in-law Pam signed me and my other sister-in-law Megan up for a free
candy making class at the Sugar Shack.
It was so much fun. Just to put in some free advertising they have everything you need to make your own chocolates and candy. I thought they sold candy, not candy making supplies.

Anyway, she taught us how to make the Girl Scout Cookies out of Ritz. You just melt your chocolate, add creme de menthe flavoring and dip your Ritz in, then stick it in the freezer. They taste just like grasshopper cookies.

It was so excited I had to try them at home this afternoon with the boys and the Hermanson girls. They loved helping and they were gone in about 30 seconds.

Plus, I had a new ephiphany about birthdays. I hate frosting with a passion, but I decided I could make cute chocolates and put them on cupcakes. The molds were only $2 and they could go pick out whatever they want. Brilliant!

Random thoughts for today

1st Random thought: Do men appreciate the fact that their size basically stay the same all month, all year, year to year? Give or take adding an inch or two a year to their waistline, they can pretty much count on being the same size.

Not so much for me (or women in general). Yesterday I decided to be efficient and put all the pants that weren't wearable up high so it wasn't taking up usable space and put the pants that fit at reachable level. So up high I have a wide range of sizes from everything to that great year where I was starving all the time and lost some weight and was loving those jeans to much, much bigger sizes.

This is what I came up with.

And this is what works at that awkward 12 weeks along stage of life. Not a whole lot going on here.

Which leads us to:

My 2nd Random Thought:

I should really think of these body shifts as a blessing because I can have healthy children.

Yesterday was my second appointment. They thought they could probably hear the hearbeat, but it might be too early. They couldn't find it on dopplar, so I got to have another ultrasound.

Everything was fine and normal and it is always amazing to see how much something so small and new is wiggling and moving all around. I didn't feel too nervous when they couldn't find it, but you could tell that the ultrasound lady had seen enough bad news ultrasounds, that she wanted to deliver good news.

I'm so blessed that I got some!

Random though number 3:

Should you really have to tell your kids not to stand up in a wagon on gravel, with your unstable 2 year-old-brother around?

This is the result of that decision!