Happy Birthday Daddy!

Well, Stetson turned 3 this year, and Kenny turned 33 - pretty cool, huh? I was so excited for Kenny's present this year, because I knew it was something he wanted/needed, and it was actually going to be a surprise! I had his parents pick it up while they were up north a few weeks ago, and they have just kept it in their shop. Kenny did see it in there, but he didn't know it was for him. He took a load of cows to Pheonix Tuesday night, so I had his dad bring the gift over then. I tied a big bow on it, and Stetson and I made some signs and blew up some balloons. So, when Kenny got home the next day (his birthday) he had a big surprise! It was probably as fun for me and the kids as it was for him. And here it is in all it's glory, a pressure washer for him to use to clean out his bull wagon - now he won't have to borrow his dad's. Thanks mom and dad for helping me out with this surprise!

That night I made a yummy lasagna dinner and a rice crispie treat cake (as per Kenny's request). You probably can't tell from the picture, but the candles actually say HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Both of our parents came over to visit and bring gifts. Then we dipped some pretzels in carmel/chocolate - even sugar free. What a fun day! Happy Birthday Honey!

The most Wonderful time of the year!

This is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. For me, Christmas is more than just one day. It starts at Thanksgiving and lasts clear through until New Years. Everything about this time of year is wonderful, the lights, the music, the food, the gifts, the magic, being with family, and just the overall feeling of Christmas. The magic of Christmas is not something I can describe, but I know that it comes from the spirit of Christ, whose birth and life we are celebrating. I pray that each of us can keep this magical spirit with us all year long!

This year we went to Kenny's parents' property at Devil's Canyon to find our Christmas tree. This was the first (and only) really good tree that we saw. But we had a great time driving around looking, and just being together. Decorating the tree was another adventure we enjoyed together as a family. Lucy chewed on ornaments and Stetson organized the balls into colors while Kenny and I put up the lights and tinsel. Then Stetson helped hang the ornaments. It took a little will power from mom to leave Stetson's decorating alone, as I am a little obsesive/compulsive, and he hung all his ornaments in one little spot - good thing it was a strong branch! The tree looked great until we woke up one morning and it was laying on the floor - not even Stetson's fault, I guess it was just a little lopsided - but we didn't hear a thing. We set it back up and I tried to put it back together, but it just didn't look as good, oh well!

DADDY'S BIG HELPER

DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER

NOTICE ALL THE ORNAMENTS JUST UNDER STETSON'S HAND? HE DID A GREAT JOB!

I did manage to get some lights up this year, thanks to my little helper. Stetson was quite the trooper, helping me hang the lights out in the cold. He was so excited when it got dark and we turned them on. His comment, "it looks beautiful!" That made it all worth it!

This year we built and decorated a Gingerbread house. Stetson was so excited, he was even good for his haircut so that he could help! We had fun decorating it, but I think the highlight for Stetson was that it was sitting on the counter all month, and he would walk by and grab a candy or two whenever he felt like it. Yes, I let him - hey, it's the holidays!

Our Christmas season was dampered just a little by our whole family getting sick - not fun! Because of the sickness, we missed out on our ward Christmas Party, my work Christmas Party, and the Search & Rescue Christmas Party. I did make it to the Drill Team Christmas Party, though I wasn't much of a party animal because I still wasn't feeling too good. The best part was that we got it over with before Christmas, and aside from some coughs and runny noses, we were all fairly healthy for Christmas.

Again, thanks to the sickness, our Christmas shopping kept getting delayed, so I did most of it online - I LOVE Amazon!!! The kids did their shopping at the annual Tree for All, where they also got to see Santa! Stetson was so excited to tell Santa what he has been wanting for months, a choo choo train. Neither of them were scared of Santa; I wasn't sure how Lucy would be, but she was so interested in his beard and the candy cane he was about to give her that she didn't even notice that she was sitting on a stranger's lap. We did finally get to go shopping in Farmington the Saturday before Christmas, and it was CRAZY! Too many people! Thanks so much to Suzie for tending Stetson, I probably would have had a nervous breakdown trying to keep track of him in those crowds, and I certainly wouldn't have gotten any shopping done!

My mom invited everyone over for a Christmas Party the eve before Christmas Eve. We ate yummy haystacks, and acted out the nativity. Beautiful Lucy got to be the baby Jesus for the first scene; when the wise men came her older cousin Aspen stepped in, as Jesus was a little older when the wise men finally arrived. I was Mary, Kenny was Joseph, and Stetson was a little shepherd boy. After that we played a fun Left and Right game with white elephant gifts while my mom read the Left and Right Nativity story. Lucy enjoyed chewing on each present as it passed by, but I think Stetson got a little frustrated, he didn't like the idea of having to give each present away after he had received it. Finally he just sat back and put his hands in his lap, and I had to pass the presents for him. It was a lot of fun - thanks mom!

So finally the big day arrived, and of course I was WAY behind! It was Christmas Eve and I still had gifts to wrap, goodies to deliver, some last minute shopping to do, desert to make, and worst of all . . . my house was filthy! I honestly don't know how I let it get this bad, I guess I have just gotten caught up in all the holiday activities that I let it go. So, I regret to admit that I was a little grouchy - sorry Kenny and kids! Thankfully Kenny was on hand to help me out, what a great guy! Still, we were about 1/2 hour late to the Black family Christmas Eve festivities, which made me even more grouchy - sorry everyone! However, we did something a little different this year, and it changed my mood completely - thanks mom for coming up with this idea! We went up to the nursing home as a family and sang a bunch of Christmas songs for them - it was beautiful! As I looked around at all of these people, most of them alone for the holidays, my heart reached out to them. The Christmas Songs brought tears and smiles to many of their faces, and I noticed several of them singing along with the familiar tunes. My soul was filled with the spirit of Christmas, and I pray that each person there felt a little of it too. I hope we can do it again next year, it was one of the greatest Christmas gifts I received this year.

Then we headed over to Kenny's parents' house for a delicious candle light dinner, complete with the traditional layered jello that I absolutely love, but have not yet figured out how to make. The kids acted out the nativity, with little Bronx as the baby Jesus. By now Stetson was pretty good at being a shepherd boy, and knew exactly what to do. We had a little program where the kids, and even Grandma shared their talents - way to go everyone! Everyone played a fun Christmas game while Kenny and I mixed up the frappe for desert. After desert we got to open gifts! Jody and James gave me serving dishes - yay! Lucy got bibs, Stetson got a snow shovel (hope it snows soon so he can put it to good use!), and Kenny got a tape measure and an offer to help on the house- thanks guys! We had Kenny's parents, and were excited for them to open the grill we got for their camp chef. It should come in real handy when we are all out on the mountain this summer! We went home and each opened one gift - jammies! Yes, even Kenny agreed to wear jammies for Christmas Eve. Luckily the kids were so tired that they fell asleep quickly, and so did I!

STETSON, JUST WAITING FOR THE FEAST

THE BLACK FAMILY IN JAMMIES!

The night was cut short however, by the sound of a train running in the living room. Santa had set up Stetson's new choo choo train by the Christmas Tree, and Stetson spotted it on his way up to ask mom for a drink at 3:45 am. He quickly forgot his thirst and ran over to play with the train. My only regret is that I wasn't there to see his face when he saw the train for the first time, I'm sure it was priceless! I got him a drink and put him in bed with us, and luckily he fell back asleep until about 8:00. Lucy, however, slept ALL night - a first for her! Way to go Lucy!

Words can't describe the joy and excitement of Christmas morning when you have a 3 year old and a 7 month old. Santa must have found our house, and we must have made it to the nice list this year, becuase we got a new TV, and lots of new movies! Yay! Stetson got his choo choo train, as mentioned above, and Lucy got a cute little glow seahorse that plays soothing music. Our stockings were full to the brim with all kinds of goodies - even mine, I think I now have a years supply of sugar free candy! Then, under the lights of our beautiful Christmas tree, in our newly remodeled upstairs living room, we opened gifts, played with toys, tried on new clothes, laughed together and enjoyed a WONDERFUL Christmas morning as a family. I tried to make yummy blueberry muffins for breakfast, but there is something wrong with our oven, and after over an hour of trying to get them to cook, I finally threw away the hard, doughy lumps and we had german pancakes instead. I guess everything can't be perfect, right?

OUR TREE ON CHIRSTMAS MORNINGAND THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG BY THE 'WINDOW' WITH CARE . . . MAYBE SANTA CAME THROUGH THE WINDOW?MERRY CHRISTAMS! OUR NEW TVSTETSON WITH HIS CHOO CHOO TRAINLUCY AN HER PINK GLOW SEA HORSEMOMMY IN HER NEW WINTER COAT AND SLIPPERS - YAY!DADDY GOT A NEW CAMP CHEF!STETSON GOT SOME TOOLS SO HE CAN HELP DADDY 'WORK'I DID DO SOMETHING CRAFY THIS YEAR - I MADE LUCY THIS HOODED TOWELKenny's parents and Jody and James and their kids came over to visit and see our loot, and then we headed over to the Grover house for more gifts, food and festivities. We ate a super yummy lunch and then opened name gifts. It was so neat to see how excited each person got as they watched their family member open the gift from them. I like the idea of name gifts because I feel like it brings people closer together as they think of the person they have and pick out the perfect gift.

JD AND STETSON ENJOYING OUR CHRISTMAS DAY FEASTMy brother J.J. called from Guatemala, where he is serving his mission. It was great to hear his voice. We will get to see him in person in just 5 weeks! Yay!!! My mom gave all the grandkids cute little toothbrush holders that she had made herself, maybe someday I could be that crafty?

THE GROVER GRANDKIDS And, my parents gave us a family home evening book and cute blocks to determine who has what responsibility for family home evening.

HANGING OUT WITH GRANDPA GROVER - NOTICE LUCY'S BOWSWe tried out my parents' new Wii, and were going to watch a movie, but opted to just go home since both kids were asleep, and I wasn't too far behind. All in all, it was a really great Christmas! Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Thanksgiving and the Stet-man

This year for Thanksgiving we had ALL of Kenny's family together! That is pretty good considering that there are seven kids in his family and they are all married and have kids of their own. There were about 39 people in all, and his parents fit ALL of us in their living room. We had delicious food, and lots of good company. It was great to stop and think of ALL the wonderful things we have to be thankful for. And Lucy got to see her cousin Levi. Okay, they weren't super excited to see each other, but it was fun to get them together. Levi is just one month younger than Lucy, and they are about the same size. Little Levi and his family had the furthest to travel, and we were so glad they were able to come!And here is a picture of two of my greatest blessings (the other one was asleep).
The day before Thanksgiving we got together and made the cutest place setters ever! These cute little turkeys are completely eatable, and Stetson was WAY more excited to eat THIS turkey than the yummy one baked in the oven.

My contribution to the WONDERFUL feast was a yummy fruit salad that included fresh pineapple. Stetson was pretty impressed with the top of the pineapple, and decided to make a hat out of it - so cute!We also got together with my family for a yummy Thanksgiving breakfast. Kenny missed out as he was working on Andy and Alicia's new garage with all the other guys - you should see it, it looks great. When the Black family gets together, amazing things happen. Anyway, I didn't get any pictures of my family, but we did have a great breakfast and a great time! Thanks mom and dad! We love you guys!

The two days of vacation I had after Thanksgiving I spent trying to potty train my 3-year old. After a lot of accidents, tears, and frustration from both of us I realized that the saying "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" is very, very true! I tried everything I could think of and used all the tricks and advice I had received from other moms, and it just didn't work. I guess he is just SUPER stubborn, and not quite ready. Maybe we will try again over the Christmas holiday:)

I really do love this stubborn little guy, despite the messes, stress and frustration he creates in our house. Stetson can be the sweetest little guy ever. A couple of weeks ago when I was super sick, he just sat by me on the bed and rubbed my forehead, then he held my hand for the longest time - it definately melted my heart. Stetson LOVES to help out, in fact I think that is what he THINKS he is doing when he makes MOST of his messes. He usually gets frustrated when I get mad at him and says, "mom, I'm working!" I love him to pieces!

Here he is with McKady's dog Percy - he loves animals!

Always "helping", but at least this time it was constructive! Always has a smile on his face, even in a tight spot. I love you Stet-man!

Lucy is 6 months old!

Lucy Mae is happy and healthy at 6 months old . . . has it really been that long? She loves to eat and is super chubby, you should see her thighs! My favorite though, is those cute chubby cheeks, I think they get a million kisses every day!Lucy is usually happy and content unless she is hungry, stinky, or hurting. She loves to be held and talked to, and will usually reward you with a beautiful smile.It's all about the bottle these days, I wanted to nurse at least six months and that is all I got, but am grateful I was able to do that. Lucy has also started eating cereal and baby food, and so far will eat anything I feed her (so much different than Stetson!). Check her out, she can even hold her own bottle!If Lucy is tired, you just wrap her up tight and rock her or put her in the bouncer with the vibrater on, and she will usually go right to sleep. And this is how she usually wakes up, cute little eye balls peering out from the blanket.And she is mobile! Lucy loves to be in the walker because she is up and can see what is going on. She can barely reach the floor, but has figured out how to move the walker backwards.
She loves to play with toys, but this day, she was just too tired!And Lucy's latest trick is sitting up by herself.I think it makes her feel big.But she is still not super stable. She was sitting up chewing on Stetson's frisbee, and she fell over. The frisbee caught her nose and ripped off some of the skin. Stetson came in, "mom, Lucy has a bloody nose." Luckily it was just a scrape, and she doesn't seem to mind, but she does look kind of rough. I thought you weren't supposed to get battle wounds until you were learning to walk, but I guess sitting up can be just as dangerous!