Merry Christmas!

Just waiting to open our presents.

Kade's New Love

Since we're going to Idaho we let Kylee and Kade open their presents last night for Christmas. Kade fell in love with a present I never thought he would really like. He just lights up and smiles and starts jumping whenever he sees his big stuffed dog. Funny boy!

Christmas Lights

This year we did not put up any lights on the house, but when you have this house as your neighbor is it even worth it? How can you equal this? They even have a Christmas ferris wheel that spins by their front door. My pictures do not give justice to this house.

Capturing the Moment - I Wish I Had!

So I totally WISH that I had a video or at least pictures of what happened this past Friday night.

We invited a family over for dinner Friday night. They have two kids close to Kylee's (almost 3 yrs.) and Kade's (3 months) age. Anyways....we were all sitting at the table when the friend's oldest son had this worried look on his face. Not too much concern there, but then....he suddenly climbed onto the table AND then started crawling through all the food to get to his mom and dad. Thankfully his knees missed the butter and bowls of chili. The only fatalities were a cup of water and the little guy's pride. Everyone was so astonished and shocked about what was going on that there was delayed reaction to grab him. I was the first one up and grabbed him as he was kicking. Oh poor guy. Later that evening after they left I just could not stop laughing. These are the kind of moments you see on television, but you never expect them to really happen.

Lesson Learned: To always sit this little guy next to his parents, not across from them. And, it was nice for once not having one of my kids being the culprit of doing something embarrassing that I have to apologize for.

11:00 P.M. and this is what I am doing

I am not sure if boredom or easily entertained will explain these upcoming pictures. Probably a mixture of both. So what does any normal person do during a snowstorm at 11:00 at night? Go outside and take pictures of course! (I was supposed to be going to bed, but I got a little sidetracked.)

An icicle has been forming off our back porch and I was going to knock it down, but never got around to it.

 

If I had, I would not have been able to show how big it has gotten. It is more than half way to the ground from the roof.

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to take a picture of snowflakes falling?

Well after last night I can answer that question.

 Just for kicks and giggles: It's snowing inside!

*WARNING: The author of this post never acts her age.

Catching Up

So I have been slacking off on posting blogs over the last month. So what has been going on?

Kylee started sleeping in her big girl bed the day that we moved to Colorado. Before moving she got to say goodbye to her crib, which would become brother’s once we moved into the new house. Kurt and I were nervous at first about the transition, but she passed with flying colors. She has tested the limits with me a few times, but most if the time does great. (I guess the makes up for the failure in potty training we had about two weeks ago.)

 

Kade has started eating food. Yeah for me! This means a little less nursing. He took to food like he had been eating his whole life. He loves most everything, but is not a big fan of peas. (If he is hungry enough, he will eat them without too much complaint.) I am still surprised everyday how different he is from his sister.

Kurt’s job is still going well and he is still learning new things all the time. The drive down to Dulce has not worn him out yet, but I am sure in a few more months he is going to be liking it less. 

Christmas Presents

After spending about 4 days and who knows how many hours, I have finally completed the Christmas present for my in-laws and parents. Hallelujah!

Check it out on the link below:

Christmas Book

Christmas Tree

So the original plan for Christmas Tree hunting was to go up in the mountains, find one, cut it down, and then bring it home. The kids and I even went to the local Ranger Station and purchased a tree permit earlier this week. We made plans to go tree hunting Saturday after Kurt ran his errands. Well, after Kurt had ran his errands he called me to say he saw some really nice trees at the local hardware store and would like to purchase one of them. Well, this is what he came back with. Not a bad tree at all, but we are still going to have to cut one down sometime.

This was Kurt's and my first tree to decorate as a family. We were always going to Idaho for about 2 weeks while he was attending dental school so it was never worth the time or effort to put a tree up before. Thankfully I received all of my mom's decorations so we did not have to purchase all new ones. The rustic country theme works for here, definitely would not have worked in D.C.

 A little bit of a winter wonderland out in our backyard.

Yes, this picture was taken a few weeks ago. (No snow on the trees like in the picture above.)

Black Friday Purchases

So last year I woke up early in the morning in Virginia to join the rest of the crazy crowd in front of Kohls to receive some really good deals on a few items. There were tons of people, but I did get the luggage set I was looking for, even after going on a goose chase throughout the store to find them.

This year I got up at 3:00 AM to partake on another Black Friday special. This one was at Sears. My competition: only 12 other people, but in a small town that can be quite a bit of competitors. I was the first one there and instead of standing in a line to freeze your butt off, everyone stayed in their car until 10 minutes before opening.

So what super great deals did I come away with? I do not know if they can truly be titled "super" deals, but I did get my Christmas shopping done for Kurt. He has a 55" television, a stand to put it on, and a barbeque on its way. At least I know that he is going to love his present this year (he told me what he wanted.)

One other random splurge that Kurt was not too thrilled about: a kayak. I know, really random, but when you take in account that I have a lake right across the street from my house it is not too crazy. You should have seen the look on his face when I came home with a kayak strapped to the car's roof. (Priceless) I will have you know that I loaded, strapped it, and unloaded it all by myself though.

And We're Off...

Tomorrow will start our 12 hour drive to Colorado. I know 12 hours is not that far but when you have Kylee, Kade, a cat and me going, the smallest destination can take forever. (Once this summer a usual 3 ½ hour drive took 6 hours with all of us, minus the cat.) We are only traveling to Spanish Fork, UT tomorrow so we can spend the night at his sister’s house.

Along the way we are making a few stops: Ikea and random dude’s house. Kurt is so excited for the stop to Ikea to purchase a hamper and bookshelf; he can barely contain himself. It is a fair trade though because I am going to be waiting with two kids while we stop to have his Xbox modified….AGAIN!

The rest of the drive is planned for Wednesday. Anyone want to watch my kids Thursday so that I do not kill them after an 8+ hour drive Wednesday? I have the feeling that Wednesday is going to be one LOOOONG day. (Expect the worse because anything less will seem wonderful and like a walk in the park.)

Happy Halloween!

We originally planned to be in Colorado for Halloween but we made a last minute change in plans. Instead, Kylee and Kade were able to spend a last day hanging out in Rexburg with the family.

Kade wore his Halloween pajamas with a little pumpkin hat while Kylee dressed up as a cowgirl; horse included.

Now before you start thinking too much, I did not choose Kylee's costume for her. I actually thought she was going to be a ladybug. After sifting through her cousin's old costumes this is what Kylee chose. I will admit to being ecstatic about her decision though.

Along the way we stopped at papa's shop where Kylee enjoyed trying out every single snow machine, dirt bike, and motorcycle. That took awhile.

Kade was dragged along with Kylee to go trick-or-treating. Poor guy can't eat any of the treats. (However, mom was given a few treats for carrying brother. Score for mom!)

After trick-or-treating we had a little party for all of the cousins. Kylee was thrilled to see everyone's candy and to have a final good-bye until Christmas.

How many faces can Kylee make in 30 seconds?

1) Happy hands

2) Upset and drama is coming

3) Expressionless

4) I call this the "Kent Stance"- she looks just like her Grandpa

This is what happens when you ask Kylee to smile or look at you for pictures now. It is impossible! But you can see how our household can be very dramatic with this 2-year-old. (Thank goodness Kade is a boy!)

Sneak Peek

So I know this outfit did not take a lot of thinking or creativity, but it is pretty darn cute. Kylee's baby tiger costume is hidden in a box somewhere so I had to come up a with a Plan B for Kade.

Kylee is still trying to decide what she is going to be. We have a costume that she chose herself. However, the question is will she wear it?

Snow

About 2 1/2 weeks ago we had our first snowstorm. I do not say this with excitement and delight, but rather with grief and astonishment. I definitely had a rude reminder of what weather is like here in the west. (I do miss Virginia's nice long and warm falls.)

 A rain storm quickly turned into a snowstorm and by the end of the day, we were greeted by 2 inches of snow. Kylee loved playing in the snow, but quickly realized if she touched the snow too much, her hands became numb.

  Kade was not too sure what to think of the whole situation at hand.

Three Months Old

Some people, who will remain nameless, have commented on how behind I am on taking up-to-date pictures of Kade.

Well, here are two pictures I took yesterday.

You can't get much more up-to-date than that. Ha! :)

By the way, Kade is 3 months old now. Big accomplishment for such a little guys: he has survived me, his sister Kylee, and his 9 cousins.

Park City

Kurt's family has the tradition of going to Park City every fall during Conference weekend.

 

Jan's family always stays at the same condos every year.

 

Kade was enjoying himself with all of the attention and so many people to hold him.

We always listen to conference and then go to the outlets for shopping afterwards.

This has been the first time we have been able to join them since Kurt has been attending dental school in D.C.

Kylee loved playing with all of her cousins. They took turns rolling down the hills and everyone made a pile of leaves that Kylee and Cooper played in.

A few cousins: Emilee, Cooper, Paige, and Jane

Funny story: when Kurt and I were first dating his family invited me to Park City. After the first session of conference I decided to go exploring. I did not tell anyone where I was going because I did not have a certain spot in mind. Well, I ended up being gone for over two hours and made it to the backside of this mountain by just following a trail. Kurt's family teased him and asked him what he had done to make me mad and disappear for so long. Oops, I was just curious where the trail would take me and lost track of time.

Kade...Better Late Than Never (right?)

So this is a little overdue in coming, but better late than never.

 Here are some pictures that we had taken when Kade was about 2 weeks old.

 This was the true side of Kylee for about the first 3 weeks of Kade's life. She did not realize how much bigger and heavier she was than Kade and could not understand why he kept crying every time she smothered him.

 Poor guy. He was a good sport though.

Fall, Apples, and Horses

I have LOVED having my horse right in the backyard. It is great to just walk right outside and be able to mess around with my her. It was so hard for me to wait until I had recovered from my c-section before I could ride Sage. (Maybe this is why I started riding 2 1/2 weeks after I had Kade - everyone was gone at Bear Lake...oops:)).

Kylee has enjoyed visiting Rebel and Sage on a daily basis and giving them treats: apples and corn husks. This little girl has no fear and will sidle right up next to the horses to pet them, will ride them bareback, and feed them treats. (Maybe I have a little horse buddy in the making?)

We have been enjoying the apple trees in the backyard and Kylee enjoys making regular trips to pick her own apples to eat and share with the horses.

This was Kylee's reaction when we told her she was going to have another brother or sister in a few years. Just kidding. Talk about perfect picture opportunity. She bit off a little more than she could chew.