16 Days of Christmas

Living away from family during the Holidays is hard for us... way more for me than for Mike.  Last Christmas seemed stressful and somewhat chaotic.  We ended up coming home with a car load of gifts that forced me to fly home with two kids, just from the lack of room, while Mike drove the 600 miles to Spokane alone.  So we decided that the next year would be spent in our own home with visits to family for the New Year.  Then... I'm not sure what happened.  Mike mentioned at the beginning of December of returning to UT for Christmas.   (I found out he had alterior motives... which I'll explain in a later post.)  But, those few words were all it took for me to refuse any other option.  

We started our drive to UT... and it was a miracle we made it out of Spokane.  We were hit with a 30 hour snow storm which covered everything in 28 inches of new snowy powder.  So we stayed halfway in Dillon for the night.  Oh, and why is it that hotels are always more exciting for kids...

When we first arrived, Grandpa Hyer had reconstructed his old electric train set... just for Aidan.  Later we came to find out how much work had actually taken place in order to have this ready by the time we arrived.  I think my dad may have even lost sleep over this... but only due to pure excitement.  

We also spent time before Christmas... fourwheeling, sledding, building snow forts, and snowmobiling.  However, all our snow wear was borrowed, EXCEPT for Mike's beanie. 

We had a great Christmas.  There was lots of family, food, music, and gifts.  Some fun memories:  Aidan loves, loves, loves "Imagination Movers."  His favorite Mover, Scott, wears red Woggle Goggles.  They let him see all sorts of neat things, and even light up.  We found some online... but of course, no lights.  Aidan put them on Christmas morning AND, was he excited?  Well, he just took them off and said, "These are just fake ones, Mom."   And seriously, it was probably the gift I was most excited to give him.  But he was grateful and excited about everything.  Jack... ate dry fruit loops all morning.    

The New Year was spent with the Sampson family.  His brother and sisters came with their families for good food and lots of games.  Mike's Mom, despite her recent surgery, ventured out with me and kids for a visit to the Book Table.  For any of you not familiar with this store in Logan, it is the absolutely best place to buy any Melissa & Doug toys.  

We had such a wonderful Christmas.  We always feel so welcome at home... we hope to see you soon.

This is how you put on your coat

This is the easiest way Aidan could figure to put on his coat.  We've worked on in - but it always seems like we're in a hurry to leave and I end up putting it on for him.  So after preschool, he showed me how he taught himself.

                   

                       Smart kid, huh?

Thanksgiving Weekend

Once again we were blessed to have family visit for Thanksgiving weekend.  My parents came with my youngest sister, Stacy for shopping, good food, and good company.  I truly do get homesick during the Holidays...  so they were muchley needed and appreciated.  

We had non-stop fun, which made our time together pass much too fast.  I'm lucky to have a mom who loves being a grandma.  She's always willing to play with my kids while the rest of us enjoy more time out of the house.  So with that, we went to see "James Bond" their first night, while grandma enjoyed watching "Frosty The Snowman" at home.  (It's another good thing my mom L.O.V.E.S. Christmas - some people might find Christmas movies before Thanksgiving a little annoying... Mike.)

Thanksgiving was perfect.  Spending the Holidays with family is the greatest.  It was sweet and homey.  

And of course there was "Black Friday" shopping.  However, we did try to wait out the crowds until 9AM.  Stores and traffic were still crazy.  I love shopping when it's girls ONLY.  Thanks Mike and Dad for giving us our time without kids.  I was very pleased to get a lot of Christmas shopping done, whew!  We were even treated to Red Lobster that night.  For all of those who don't know, I'm definitely NOT a seafood fan, but it's not for lack of trying.  Believe me, I wish it tasted as delicious as it looks.  But... Mike told me if I learned to like seafood we could move back to UT - which was said purely for the benefit of my mom who's been asking that question for three years now.  So... I tried it... LOVED the coconut shrimp, does that count?

Our last day came too soon.  We finished it off with a trip to the downtown mall to visit Santa.  They have the largest, most amazing Christmas Tree on display.  As we waited in line I noticed all the boys dressed nicely in slacks and sweaters while the girls looked pretty in their dresses... and as I looked at my own kids in sweat outfits, I was thankful they could be comfy.  

And before we knew it my family was on their way back to UT.  We had so much fun.  Thanks mom for giving Mike and I a night out, Dad for taking Aidan to Cabelas... even though we had a minor accident :), and Stacy for entertaining the kids whenever they had had enough.  We miss you all... see you for Christmas.

THANKSGIVINGS

           What are we thankful for this year...

FAmiLY

We were so grateful to have my parents and sister 

with us this year.  Thanks for making the trip from UT.

FrIEndS

We are continually blessed with the company 

of great friends here in Liberty Lake

OppORtuNitIEs

We are thankful to raise our children in the gospel... 

a temple marriage... happiness

HeaLTh

SnoW

My mom was especially excited... she's our Christmas fanatic

FOoD

Aidan and Stacy made our yummy Turkey Party Favors.  The 

Sorensens provided, along with their company for Thanksgiving, 

a moist turkey and the ever flavorful Honey Baked Ham.  

Our Thanksgiving Feast tasted excellent.

CHRISTmas TrEE 

Aidan decorated our perfect Christmas Tree.  The 

ornaments are expertly placed in the middle... not too 

high out of Aidan's reach... but not too low so Jack could 

reach.  He even fell asleep underneath it.

DaLLas CowBOYs

Thanksgiving apparel IS Cowboys 

apparel.  Good win Cowboys.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Weekly Summary

This week, as it seems every week since fall, has been another busy one.  Here's a look at some of our highlights.

Jack is now a toddler.  It's so strange to call him that.  It's amazing how in only a couple of months they grow from a baby to a fully active walking toddler.  For some reason toddler toys are not appealing... but thank goodness for kitchen drawers.  Jack is drawn to them.  Our fun cycle consists of Jack taking everything out (and by everything I mean mixing bowls, tupperwear, placemats, everything), then me put everything away after he seems to have lost interest, and of course Jack rediscovering how fun it is to pull it all out again.

Aidan has learned to manipulate the computer mouse and can entertain himself with games forever.  It's super convenient to have a computer upstairs in the main living area.  Aidan's favorite sites are:  peepandthebigwideworld.com and disney.com   I love Peep because it's great at teaching kids patterns, mixing colors, memory, and much more.  The sites are so kid friendly too, so Aidan can switch up games by himself.  

Mike unfortunately has been home sick part of the week.  Mike gets bored taking it easy so I know he struggled.  Thanks to ESPN though he did get the rest he definitely needed (I know because  I even saw him get a nap in... which rarely happens).  

As for me, I've stressed over family pictures long enough.  I don't like the hassle of getting kids dressed, keeping Mike happy (I've never met someone who dislikes his picture taken more), and struggling to get the kids to cooperate.  Yes, Jack wanted to walk around and play in the sand rather than sit still, and Aidan may have given the biggest "cheesiest" smiles (but a good sport all the same), and Mike, well, he was fabulous at entertaining the kids and not uttering a word of complaint.  So, thank goodness they are now done.  And all in time for the Holidays. Our photographer seemed great and I'm excited to get pictures back next week.

And we are all definitely looking forward to this weekend - Thanks Mike for treating us to a night at Silver Mountain Lodge... stay tuned.

Lost & Found

It's unexplainable.  We have always been prepared for any imaginable series of events... with what you could call an-over-the top, cushy amount of pacifiers.  8 to be exact, I know how embarrassing that is.  But, Jack has always taken to them.  And life for him seems, well, more "relaxed".  But, for the past couple of weeks I have found myself SEARCHING for those little things before leaving house, before naps, and at bedtime.  I had H.A.D. enough of it.  So... I went on a paci search.  I checked under couches,  beds, cribs, furniture, and cars.  I checked old diaper bags and any jacket with pockets.  What did I come up with?  2!  (Technically 3, counting the one left with friends)   I couldn't understand how this was possible.  Yes, I know my toddler is walking now, exploring, and taking things apart to find new places to hide them.  But honestly... 2?   Maybe it's to hint to me as a parent that I should limit paci(s) to sleeping time... BUT I just don't think Jack's ready... I know I'm certainly not.  So for now, the paci search will just have to continue. 

Walking and Waving

Here's what Jack's been up to for the past 2 weeks!

Best Day/Worst Day

It takes a historic event to get me to come anywhere near a blog let alone write one, so all of you reading this are in for a real treat.  I've had reason this week to reflect back on the past 12 months of my life and do a lot of analyzing.  I looked back through the past year and tried to figure out my best and worst days.  Amazingly enough, they turned out to be the same day (Thursday, November 29th)  Let me explain the good first.   

I came home from work one day in October of last year and Aidan handed me a football that had a picture of a Dallas Cowboys helmet and a Green Bay Packers helmet on it.  I had no idea what this meant until he said "Daddy, would you like to go to see the Cowboys play"?  Amy had arranged for me to go see the Cowboys and Packers play on a Thursday night game in Dallas along with my brother, two sisters, and my parents.  We are all huge Dallas Cowboy fans, some more than others (myself and Kelli).    It was a whole package deal that had us flying in on Tuesday and attending pregame interviews with the players, a tour of  Texas Stadium, and of course the game itself.  I still tell Amy that it was the greatest thing she has ever given me aside from my two boys.  We had a fantastic time and it was good to be back together with my family once again.  The Cowboys won the game and I got to go down on the field and catch a TD pass from my brother and pull a T.O. on the star in the middle of the field.  

Now the BAD.... As soon as the game was over, I turned on my Blackberry and saw dozens of messages and e-mails regarding my company's logistics center in Seattle.   Now I need to give you a little bit of background about what I do so this makes sense.  I work for Cardinal Health which is a medical supply and pharmaceutical distribution company.  My company supplies everything you would see inside pharmacies from brand and generic drugs to gauze and OTC products.  I provide a consulting service to the pharmacies that buy from my company on how to run their business a little more smoothly.  My customers count on daily deliveries for all of their patient's needs, especially critical care meds like narcotics.  Anyway, the messages I received were that the DEA had come into our facility and locked up our narcotics vaults and suspended our license to distribute all controlled substances.  This completely turned my world upside down for the next 11 months.  Instead of getting these critical meds next day from Seattle, the had to have them come from Sacramento and the lag time was 2-3 days.  Needless to say, all of my customers were upset and looking to take their business to my competitors.   The reason for the suspension was that we didn't have enough safeguards in place in our center in Seattle to stop pharmacies from selling controlled substances illegally on the internet. 

After implementing many new programs, safeguards, and paying a fine of 35 million dollars, the DEA has now reinstated our license to ship controlled substances.   Friday will be the first day that we resume shipping from Seattle.   This has been the most difficult 11 months of my professional life and I know it's had a very taxing effect on my family.  I give all the credit in the world to my wonderful wife for putting up with me working crazy hours and not being there as much as I should have to help with the kids.  I don't do a very good job at externalizing my problems and tend to try and deal with them all myself.  Amy has helped me immensely through this and I couldn't be more appreciative of her.  She is definitely the glue that holds our family together and I am so blessed to have her as my wife and the mother of my children.  I don't write this to get sympathy, because I know everyone goes through trials and problems, but I write this in appreciation for Amy and all that she does for me. 

HaPPy HalLoWEen

We had a great Halloween this year!  Aidan made a great Cowboy and Jack stayed warm in his fleece turtle costume.

  

Aidan's preschool party was filled with bean bag tosses, Go Fish, and pin the nose on the pumpkin.  After making bags, they filled them full with lots of prizes.  I was able to enjoy lunch with friends.  Thank you Meghann and Happy Birthday!!

After dinner we made our way out Trick-or-Treating.  The trunk or treat was perfect for our little ones who were getting tired out with all our door-to-door walking.  We kept ourselves warm with yummy apple cider.  

After all the candy gathering fun, we put the kids to bed at Jess and Aric's and enjoyed scary Halloween movies.  

Some of my favorite things about this year:

- helping with Aidan's preschool party

- pumpkin scones from Starbucks

- Aidan refusing to wear anything else except the 2 sizes-too-big cowboy boots for his costume borrowed to him by his preschool teacher.  But, thank you Miss Teri.

- celebrating a friend's birthday

- Jack's sticky hands and face after taking taking his sucker all the way down past the tootsie

- Aidan calling a compliment to a skeleton costumed boy walking by, "I like your bones."

- our trick-or-treaters/"CUSTOMERS" as Aidan calls them

- crazy fire Jack-O-Lanterns provided by our neighbors, the Hunters

                                                            HaPPy HalLoWEen

finishing out family vacays

We tried FOREVER to take a good picture of all three kids.  This is all we got, but I love it because it shows how hard Aidan was trying to smile at the camera and keep the kids next to him at the same time.

My younger sister, Athena, came to visit this week with her 11 month old son, Dax.  She and I are only 15 months apart, so although we may have fought a lot in high school, we love each other to pieces now.  We had a great week and spent time together shopping, talking, and entertaining kids. 

Here we are at Harvest House.  Mike was great to take Aidan swimming while Athena and I took the youngest kids to the fall festival.  Really, I can't complain about going there twice because the pumpkin doughnuts were seriously initiative enough. 

Mike also bought tickets to Phantom of the Opera before Athena booked plane tickets, so now Mike and I are totally indebted to her after babysitting for us while we went.  

I'm so thankful to have a wonderful sister and we are all grateful she could visit.  She is such an example of kindness and patience.  Living away from family is challenging, so any time with them is priceless.  Aidan loves all his cousins, and loved being a big brother to Dax too!

PS  We missed Scott, Athena's husband, but we'll see you soon!

family filled 2 weeks

We love when family visits.  Mike's parents started it all off by visiting last weekend.  Aidan absolutely adores his grandparents.  I was excited they could see beautiful Spokane during fall.  

It was a very suspenseful wait with a 2 hour delayed 

flight... but they arrived at last!  We started 

the weekend off with shopping... for G.A.R.Y.  You see, my 

mother-in-law, Liz (how we love the fun she brings to our family) is determined to trend-up her husband.  So, we went jean and shoe shopping.  Next, comes the "Matt Lauer" haircut.  That would have to wait for another day, we didn't want to over stimulate the soon to be retiree.  We decided to treat Gary, for all his shopping patience, to a steakhouse dinner (his favorite)... but he actually ended up treating us.  Did I mention he was a great guy?  

Saturday was celebrated at Harvest House (see post below).  Wow!  Can I say the fresh, warm pumpkin doughnuts were unbelievable?  We also enjoyed hay mazes, clydesdale pulled wagon rides, and apple cider.  After Harvest House... a much needed nap for everyone... except the guys.  Our late night was filled with Game Show Network and The Cosby Show (which I forgot is pretty funny).

Sadly, their vacation came to a too quick end.  But, thanks for all the fun - We Miss You!

PS  Thanks grandma for the Halloween Paper Chain!!

Stay tuned for more from Athena and Dax...

I Am A Child Of God

The theme this year in primary is, "I Am A Child Of God."  Our primary introduced this theme to us through their primary program on Sunday.  As first time parents with a child in primary, we were so excited and  proud to watch Aidan perform.  He sang great and memorized his speaking part, "I can obey my parents and teachers."  We love to see how Aidan has grown this year, and we're thankful for his teachers and leaders.  

What's great about HarVesT HOusE?

Green Bluff Farms is great year round.  During fall, Harvest House hosts a pumpkin festival. We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Sampson join us for the festivities.  AND, I'm glad we celebrated in the AM because by 1:00 cars had a VeRy, VeRy long wait before gaining entrance. 

We made it... and had a great time.  Here are a few of our highlights...

Pumpkin Doughnuts

Hay Rides

2 Trips to the Honey Buckets  :(

The Live Christian Rock Band

Pumpkins...

... and more Pumpkins

Corn Maze

Fresh Apple Cider

And, Of Course, My Child Who Eats Anything, Enjoyed EatInG Hay

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for having fun with us!  We're so glad you were here!

...hold your fire

Looking for fall table decor?  Good Housekeeping magazine has a great idea.  Just snap the stems off munchkin pumpkins and position a votive candle in its depression.  Cover with a clear glass hurricane shade and insert floral U pins to hold the shade in place.  Voila!  

Happy 1st Birthday!!

Jack, he's our...

- good sleeper, blue eyed, sweet talker, peekaboo, burrito baby, full of smiles, "paci"loving, easy going, snuggler, spoiled rotten, tantrum thrower, toilet paper unroller, willing to eat anything, almost walking, big front toothed, sweet gerber baby!!

                   1 mo                                                 2mo

                       3 mo                                                     4 mo

                 5 mo                                                  6 mo

                     7 mo                                                        8 mo

                                                                                                   

                9 mo                                                            10 mo

                     11 mo                                                   12 mo           

    

HaPPy BirThDAy!!

Jack we love you.  Thank you for making life sweet and fun.