Crazy Times!

Well, I relize it has been quite a while since I have posted something, but I am here now, so grab a snack and sit down and read on...
The Summer consisted of many pool trips while very pregnant and then we ended the summer with having our sweet baby boy Matthew in August. He was so cute when he was born. He had a lot of blond hair which was very different from his sister. She was a baldy. Ha! While I was still in the hospital, Grace, Dave and my sister Lauren were visiting. Grace was entertaining herself by counting some coins and while the rest of us were talking. Then al of a sudden I see Grace become quite silent and I turn and say, Grace Elizabeth, did you swallow those coins? She replied, umm yeah momma. SO luckily since we were in the hospital Dave took her down to the ER and they took an x-ray. Sure enough there was a coin. The doctors told Dave well just keep an eye out when you change her diapers. Yikes! Luckily Lauren was able to help out with that. I still owe her for that!
At four weeks he was starting to smile and has brought such a wonderful spirit into the home and I feel so fortunate to be their mother. Now he is four months and rolls over, and is getting his first couple of teeth in. Why must kids grow up so fast? Can't they just stay tiny forever?

Halloween was a lot of fun. We blessed Matthew that weekend and had many family and friends come and support our growing family. Grace was Belle and Matthew was a monkey. So cute! Grace quickly grasped the concept of trick or treating. It was such a fun night. Trick or treating, movies, family and candy sorting. What more could a kid ask for?

Well among all the holiday's and craziness my husband studied and took the GMAT. He scored very well and is now applying to 6 schools. They range from California to Boston. He has had a couple acceptances and is now waiting to hear from the last few so we can make a decision. Hmmm, ASU, BYU, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and MIT. Where should we go? Waiting for answers from these schools is so hard. I don't know how Dave stays so calm. I am like, ok, when can we knowwwwwwwwwwww????? But one thing I do know, is we are excited and up for a new adventure. Dave is a very smart man and I can hardly wait to see how he will progress in the two years to earn his MBA. Go Dave!

This Thanksgiving was just as fun as any other previous Thanksgiving. Family, lots of food, and of course the occasional nap (napping mostly done by the kiddos). My sweet in laws had everyone over to enjoy a wonderful spread. I was in charge of bringing mash potatoes. But if anyone knows me, they know I love to cook and I can't just bring plain old mashed potatoes (not that there is anything wrong with that). So I came up with a recipe with sauteed leeks and bacon and other creamy ingredients. Some people ask me, what is my secret to my mashed potatoes? I reply...butter. If you add butter to just about anything, I guarantee that you will end up with an excellent result. So, now you know the secret; however it's not that big of a secret, is it?

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches...
This year our family went with some friends to cut down our own tree. What an experience. I had the baby strapped in the carrier, and Grace was walking but kind of scared of slipping in the snow. Well the women decided to stay with the kids while the dads went off to find and cut down the tree. Dave was wearing his vans, which had no traction and were missing parts of his shoe strings...thank you dogs. He refused to wear some boots I had...even though they looked gender neutral, he was going to tough it out. What a man! Well, he found the tree cut it down and was making his way back to us. Meanwhile I was taking Grace potty in the forest. When potty training a child and deciding to take a trip in the forest area, be prepared for some emergency potty breaks. All went well though, wheeeeeewwwww! When we met up with Dave and got back to the car, I asked so I saw the tree but I couldn't tell how tall it was. He said, oh maybe seven feet. Umm, yeah, we got home and it was at least 9 feet. It was so funny. We just stood there and laughed. What a fun memory we made.
During the begining of December my Grandma passed away. She was such an inspiration and I am so honored to be her granddaughter. She worked hard her whole life and lived with great integrity. My family and I traveled to Arizona for the funeral. My sister and I sang a duet and I was so grateful for her support. It was a beautiful service and I was so honored to be a part of presenting a lovely service. We shared memories of how we were all effected by her love and kindness.

Christmas day came so quickly. We enjoyed spending time with Dave's family. All of his sibling's were able to come and it was so nice to visit. Christmas eve was spent flying toy helicopter's or watching movies, or sneaking delicious treats. Christmas day was so much fun to watch the little one's open their gifts with such amazement. Grace got a dollhouse, barbies, and princess toys. She was so happy with the dollhouse it was hard to get her to open up any other presents. What a sweetie! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of roast beef and twice baked potatoes; followed by delicious cakes and pies, and then a couple rounds of card games. I am not very good at playing but I enjoy spending time with everyone.

Well, as you can see I have been very busy as I am sure many other people have been. But I am happy to begin a new year. I hope I can follow through the new goals and challenges I have set up for myself. I am now looking forward to seeing what the new year will bring.