Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve with our good friends the Stewarts and the Laws. Michelle hosted a beautiful dinner with a multi-course meal on china with food that was absolutely delicious. Here is the kid's table-of couse they spent more time giggling and talking than eating any of their food.

Then each of the kids got to play a part in the Nativity. They did such a good job and looked so cute together.

Later that night, we set out our plate of cookies and sprinkled some reindeer food on the roof.

Christmas morning brought lots of excitement and fun for all three kids. This was Ryan's first Christmas. He loved playing with the paper more than opening or playing with any gifts.

One of Natalie's favorite gifts was her new tea set. She loves to dress-up, so this is a perfect addition to all her princess playtime. She also got a Tangled Rapunzel doll and dress.

Curtis was in heaven with all the new tools he received. He boasts that he has more power tools than his own dad. Another favorite was his Buzz Lightyear. We will forever hear "to infinity and beyond!"

December

December kept us just as busy as November with putting up our Christmas lights,

lots more playing in the snow,

several visits to see Santa Claus,

and Natalie's Nativity program at school.

Natalie attends a Christian preschool, and each year they put on a big Nativity with costumes, songs and dancing. All the girls were angels and the boys were a mix of shepherds and wisemen. The cutest part of the program though had to be when Mary and Joseph were at the inn. Joseph said, "Do you have any place to stay? My wife is having a baby tonight." The innkeeper replied, "Tonight?! Your wife is having a baby tonight?!" The kids did it with such animation, it was priceless.

November

November is the beginning of the holiday season for us. One of the highlights was Natalie's Thanksgiving Feast at school. They put on a little play and sang some cute songs. Then we ate some great Thanksgiving stew provided by the teachers. Natalie's part was, "We'll show you how our villages got to be strong." Here she is with her friend Rebecca, her mom, and Curtis.

November also means the start of snow. we got a lot of snow this year and the kids took every opportunity to play in it. Yes, they are in their jammies. They couldn't wait to clothes on to play in the first snow of the year.

Here is a picture of our sweet Ryan. He moved upstairs to share a room with Curtis, but would still take naps in our room for some peace and quiet. He also learned to crawl this month. Once he figured that out, there was no stopping him. What a cruiser!

Halloween 2010

I am finally getting around to posting because our computer crashed and we have been getting it fixed. Halloween this year was a success! After two months of going back and forth about costumes, I decided on a western theme. Natalie was a cowgirl; Curtis, a cowboy and Ryan was our little cow. They were the cutest in their costumes, and we had lots of chances to wear them. The kids favorite part about their costumes was to tell everyone, "Have a rootin' tootin' good day."

Our Thomas the Tank and Snow White pumpkins.

With Halloween on a Sunday and no trick-or-treating, I planned a special spooky Halloween dinner. We had candy corn pizza, goblin mouths, bones and blood bradsticks and glow in the dark lemonade. To make it extra special,we ate under a black light. The kids thought it was great to see their clothes different colors and eat extra spooky food. We can't wait for next year.

Natalieism

On Saturday, Jon took Natalie and Curtis to run some errands. One errand was looking for a new pair of slacks.
Natalie: "Dad, what are slacks?"
Dad: "They're dress pants."
Natalie: "So why don't you just call them dress pants?"


On Sunday, Natalie learned about being kind to animals at church. She brought home a picture of a rabbit with cotton balls glued to its body.
Dad: "Natalie, I see you learned about animals today. Do you like to call your picture a rabbit or a bunny?"
Natalie: "Dad, it's a hare."

She always keeps us laughing.

For Book Lovers Alike

My friend and I were talking several weeks ago about different books we read recently. We both mentioned how we wish there was a site that would rate books similar to sites that rate movies for bad stuff.

While I like Good Reads, I can never find if there is objectionable material in a book I want to read. Over the weekend, I came across a site that does just that. It's called Rated Reads. The reviewer gives a brief description of the plot, then rates it according to what is in the book. I checked through several books I have read and mostly agree with how they are rated. I also like how there is a place to suggest a book to be reviewed. Hope this helps to find a great book for the long winter evenings that are coming.

First Day of School

Natalie's first day of preschool was on Wednesday. She was so excited to go, we were ready 45 minutes early. Her teacher's name is Teacher Shelley and we couldn't be more happy with her new school. She has a few friends from our current and old ward in her class. Natalie told me her favorite part about preschool is recess. We are looking forward to a fun year of learning and growing.

Summer Vacation

Our family trip this summer was to Utah for the Hunter family reunion and Ryan's blessing. We love being in Utah and seeing lots of family. Here are a few of the highlights:


We spent one day with my family at Heritage Park and Temple Square. Some of our favorites were the train ride, learning to wash clothes by hand and see the new Salt Lake Temple cut-out display.

Since we were going to be in Park City on the 4th, we decided to have our own fireworks show. Jon was the master lighter. Unfortunately, the sparklers weren't cooperating, but the rest of the show was great.


The rest of our trip was up in Park City hanging out with cousins and grandparents. Some of our favorite parts of the week were swimming in the hot tub, going shopping at the outlets, going to see Toy Story 3, swimming with cousins, having family pictures taken, going to the temple, and swimming. We can't wait for the next reunion.

Natalieism

Curtis and Natalie were running down the hallway and Natalie bumped into the wall. Then she came crying to me and said "Mom I bumped my head and hit the roof of my bum."

The roof of your what?

Ryan's Blessing

We made our annual summer trip to Utah this year and blessed Ryan while we were there. It was a very special day for us. We were lucky enough to have most of Jon's side of the family there since we had a family reunion that following week and my family came up from Arizona for the blessing. Fortunately, Ryan was quiet and happy through his blessing for our special day.

Ryan- 2 months

This has been a busy month for Ryan. He had lots of visitors come to meet him, more moving and unpacking, and lots of growing. He also just started smiling. It takes a little work, but is such a cute smile when it happens. He wakes up once or twice during the night and the biggest challenge is managing is eczema and acid reflux. We hope those go away soon. We love our little guy and love watching him grow.

Curtis turns 2!

Curtis turned two on June 26th. We had a pretty low key day doing some of his favorite things like mowing the lawn and playing in the backyard. The kids helped me bake and decorate Curtis' dinosaur cake. They loved putting the m&ms on the cake and then sneaky Curtis ate more than half of them when I was out of the room. Oh well, I guess it is his birthday.

Curtis had an all-boy birthday with lots of trucks, legos and a car ramp. We had to open every toy and play with it for a few minutes before he would open another present.

A few stats about Curtis:

Weight: 26 lbs

Favorite food: meatballs, pb & j sandwiches, treats of any kind, cold cereal

Favorite color: blue

Favorite toys: trucks, dinosaurs, books, blocks

Favorite Books: How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight and How Does a Dinosaur Eat his Food

Favorite things to do: help Dad mow the lawn, go for rides in Dad's truck, play outside, give lots of hugs, help mom mop the floor, play with mom's pans and kitchen utensils

Curtis has the funniest personality. He is a teaser and says the funniest things. He is always smiling and loves to give hugs and lots of 'love' to his little brother Ryan. He loves his big sister and wants to do and be wherever she is. He is finally starting to say more words and put sentences together. Some of our favorites are:

mm-mm Dada- Dad's truck

nilk- milk

hun nu nu nu- lawn mower (like the sound of a lawn mower starting)

Natalieism

While Kathryn and Anna were visiting, we were talking one night about Kathryn's mission. We asked Natalie where she wanted to go on a mission when she got older. Her reply was, "McDonalds."

Nothing like talking about the Word of Wisdom over a Big Mac and fries.

Does He Think This is Comfy?

This is how I found Curtis sleeping one night. Maybe there is too much stuff in his bed.

More Visitors

Getting two visits from family in one month was sure fun for us. It meant more park time, hanging out, swimming and lots of laughter. We love it when Kathryn and Anna come to our house!

Swimming at the wading pool

Hanging out at the park together (photo courtesy of Natalie)

Playing at the splash park

Dancing Queen

This year Natalie decided to try out ballet. She had the three cutest friends take it with her and they had a blast. I loved hanging out at ballet and chatting with my friends. At the end of semester was the dance recital. We were lucky enough to have Grandpa and Grandma Amundson come all the way from Utah to see her recital. She danced to "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid. She did such a good job and we can't wait to do it again next year.

Part of the routine was for each girl to curtsy. Notice Natalie's concentration with her tongue sticking out.

Rebecca, Meg, Natalie, Abby-all of her dancing friends

Graduation

This year Natalie participated in playschool with 3 other friends. We each took a week focusing on letters, numbers and shapes. Natalie looked forward to going to school each week and learning-although I think her favorite part was playing with friends. We look forward to many more graduations with this bright, fun girl.

Natalie waiting for her name to be called for her diploma.

Natalie with her friends Emry, Tyler and Kye. What a cute bunch!

Ryan-1 Month

Ryan is such a joy to have in our family. He is a great little baby. The kids especially love to hold him and talk to him.
This is Ryan's one week birthday. He was asleep for most of the party, but the cupcakes were sure great.

We didn't have a washer a dryer after we moved, so I spent days a few days a week going back and forth to get laundry done. I put Ryan in the laundry basket so I could finish up and he promptly fell asleep. Doesn't he look cute?

Hooray he takes a bottle! After struggling with Curtis for so long to take a bottle, I wanted to teach Ryan to take a bottle right a way. He was a pro right from the start. I don't feed him a bottle very often, but when I do, Natalie loves to be my special helper.

Ryan also learn to smile this month. It takes a little work, but he has the cutest little toothless grin. we love our little buddy!

A New House

We finally became home owners! We closed on our house May 13th. We started moving in right away. We love the smell of the new house and cant' wait to make it our home. When we have a few more decorations up, we'll post some pictures. Our walls are still pretty bare because we are trying to finish going through boxes.

Our kitchen-this is my favorite room in the house since I know I will be spending a lot of time in here.


The upstairs toy room and family room-I love all the extra space for the kids to keep their toys and play.

A Busy Summer

It has been a busy summer for us with a new house and adding a new baby to our family. We have had lot s of fun with visitors, playing outside, vacation and swimming. Catching up with take a little time, but we will get there.