Our family zoo... Free admission

Well it is over. I can't believe it. This year went by so fast. I wasn't fully ready for Christmas and now it is almost New Years. We had a great Christmas though. On Christmas Eve we visited our families and had some good food. Then we came home and opened new pajamas, we sang carols and had hot cocoa then off to bed leaving Santa cookies and milk, and carrots for the reindeer. The girls woke up promptly at 4 am! They were told to "go back to bed" for a couple of hours, I don't think Ashley slept at all. We then got up at 630 and opened presents. The girls got pretty much everything they asked for. They didn't ask for much this year, we were a little preoccupied. Kaitlyn got her cars and Ashley got her Barbie. Santa also left two new sleds that we tried out later. They had so much fun opening everything and Kami even got in on some tearing action. The girls got a V motion for their big gift. I know, I swore we would never own a video game system. This is like a kids version of the wii and requires physical movement to participate. It really was a good Christmas, and was quite different for us this year. We were busy with some service we were doing and that took the focus off of the materialistic part of Christmas. So, this year we focused more on Christ and what he did for us and how we can be more like him. I think we all enjoyed the change. We had such a fun afternoon sledding out front, Kyle made a huge hill with the tractor and we had a ball sliding down on the new sleds. We had such a wonderful relaxing day. I hope they can all be like this. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

I haven't posted for awhile and thought these pictures might sum up a little of what we have been doing. As you can see it has been crazy around here!

We spent last weekend in Utah for Anna's blessing. We decided to leave Friday night and beat the storm. Travis and Sabra were so nice to offer their Tahoe, especially after all the issues we had the previous Tuesday. I don't ever like to borrow anyones stuff, so I was very hesitant. In the end Kyle convinced me and we didn't have to worry about the truck and hope it was the fuel pump that was the issue. I loved it and am convinced more than ever that I want one before next winter! Anyway, we had a pleasant drive down. I think the girls all fell asleep around Ogden! After settling in we had a nice visit with Devin and Julie until 1am! We then opted to get up bright and early for breakfast with Santa. We then spent the afternoon visiting and waiting for everyone to show up. At about four we headed for SLC to see the lights. With a not so quick stop for dinner, we were off. This is where it got real fun; the roads were icy, there was a Mormon tabernacle choir concert, and oh yeah the Jazz were playing! After about an hour of driving around the boys dropped us all off and parked about 100 miles away! We then split up and enjoyed the lights. I noticed that there were not as many as in previous years, but still beautiful. The girls loved it and I had them bundled up good, Kaitlyn could barely walk. We then had a wonderful journey home. We managed to leave when all the other activities were letting out. The roads were blocked off and Kyle had quite the time picking us up! We had a long slick ride back but did so safely. Sunday was the blessing. It was so neat to see that big circle up there. I enjoyed what I could hear. That was the exact moment when Kami decided to blow raspberries in my ear! We had a good time at church then it was back to pack. We had lunch at Lael's and off we went. A fun snowy ride home with a quick stop at Briant and Missy's to pick up a few things. The bums are headed for Costa Rica today! And then a stop for the dog. It took us about 8 hours to get home with all of our stops, but we made it. The house was so cold. I think next time I will leave the heat up higher! We had such a fun trip. Anna is so cute and has so much hair. We wish we lived closer and could see them more often. Did I mention how much I loved holding a tiny non-squirmy baby! We had fun and can't wait to see them this summer!

So, I have been meaning to post this since last week. Last Tuesday is the day in reference. Wow! Kyle left for work as normal, but on his way he had a little car problem. He tried a temp fix and it worked. He was on his way again, but later more car problems. We were told that it was probably the fuel pump. Well, fuel pumps are $800 so we started small. Kyle tried the fuel filter and that didn't work. So, he decided to fix it himself, tons of work but worth the money. He started about two and it took him over five hours to fix it and put it back together. I should mention that in the meantime the water heater in the house went out. We were at a loss of what to do. We just replaced the elements this past summer. After unsuccessfully attempting different things we decided a new water heater was needed. Back to Kyle, he changed the fuel pump and put the new one in. He was hoping to run to IF and grab a water heater and come home and install it. Well... the new pump was defective! He had to start all over with a new pump. He was beside himself. He called Chris, and Chris came to the rescue. In the meantime he called Brody to say he would not make YM, and typical Brody called everyone in the ward! Kyle got endless offers of help. Thankfully, Travis and Brett didn't take no for an answer. They drove to Rexburg and then offered to run to IF to pick up a water heater. While Kyle and Chris worked on the truck, Travis and Brett went and got the water heater and came back to install it. By the time Kyle got home it was pretty much in. Travis, Brett, and Brody gave up their evening and came over to our scary basement and gave us an awesome Christmas present- hot water! Poor Kyle he was so exhausted the whole time, and what an awful day. He did say "it started out as the worst day ever, but turned into the best day ever." We were so impressed how quickly and how many people offered to help. I wanted to publicly thank Travis, Brett, and Brody for all their help. I don't think Kyle could have done it without them. We are so blessed to have such great friends. We did find out that the water heater had shorted out and the wires were completely melted. We were very lucky we didn't have a fire. We are also blessed that it happened when it did and not when we were in Utah. Which is why this post is so late. We have been very busy. Kyle said he prayed for a miracle, I guess Travis, Brett, and Brody were his miracle! Thanks guys!!!


A weekly wrap up:
Sunday- Kaitlyn's birthday
Monday- ornaments and gingerbread houses with Mahon, Cindy, Chris, and Chantelle. So much fun and the crafty cute ornaments were Chris' idea, who knew!
Tuesday- fuel pump and water heater- enough said.
Wednesday- "adult" Christmas party at the barn. So fun. Thanks Travis and Sabra. The presents were hilarious!
Thursday- girls night for me. Thanks Cindy I needed a break!
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday- Utah. I will post more later.

I am now working on laundry and Christmas cards, and oh yeah shopping- almost done! I could use another week before Christmas!

Kami is eight months old today. She weighs 16.2 lbs. and they have her at 27.25 inches. I think she is taller than that though. She is still not crawling but she can stand by herself and loves to cruise in her walker or hold your fingers and walk. She has seven teeth and has two more pushing through, including a molar. She is a good eater! She loves real food, anything we are eating is good to her. Pancakes are her favorite though. Today is a special milestone. Today we are in Utah at Anna's baby blessing. This is also Kami's first time out of state. Kami did very well on the way down, thank goodness for soy! We also think Kami may be a lefty. What are the odds that we would have tow lefties? Only time will tell. She really is getting so big and fun. We enjoy her so much. It is sad to think she is growing up so fast but we really do enjoy every moment of it. Happy eight months Kami!

Today was Kaitlyn's fourth birthday. I am surprised she is already four, it seems like we brought her home yesterday! Kaitlyn keeps us on our toes. She is always on the go and there is never a dull moment with her around. She was so worried about her birthday. I don't think she quite knew what to expect, but she said "it was the best birthday ever!" She woke up bright and early requesting to open her presents. I found a great little toy train online and she loves it. The train plays music as it goes around and you can rearrange the notes to make different songs. She also got more cars, which she loves. Kaitie is into cars and now trains, she isn't as girly as Ashley. Kaitlyn picked pancakes for breakfast, of course. Then it was time to get ready for church. At church they sang to her and she loved it! When we got home we had chicken strips and french fries. Honestly I didn't know what she would pick for dinner, she loves everything. We had all our family over tonight and had fun opening presents and eating cake. I think all in all it was a very good evening. I am so glad she had such a good day. At one point I don't think she knew what to do with all the attention. We love Kaitlyn so much. She really is such a joy to have around. She is such a sweet loving spirit. She just loves everyone so much. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn! We love you!

We had our ward Christmas party tonight. Boy am I glad that is over! All day I had to listen to repeated questions from Kaitlyn "how is Santa getting there, where will he park his reindeer, maybe he needs a ride and we should drive to the North Pole and get him". She was driving me crazy!!! She is so cute though. They were so excited to see him and I couldn't hardly keep Kaitlyn in line. Even Kami did great and sat for a photo. It was a fun night and I am glad our battery allowed us to get a shot in. Kaitlyn is starting to understand things this year and Ashley is just way excited. Now the fun begins: Christmas Shopping! I order mostly online- helps with the stress. The rest of it I prefer to do childless, and that is a challenge.
On a side note, We finished the Book of Mormon tonight as a family. Ashley now wants to read church history. We are still discussing this.

We broke out the advent calendar about two weeks ago, but today was the day. The girls put up the first ornament this morning. They could hardly contain themselves. I think for Kaitlyn this helps her count down to her birthday. Ashley is just excited to put them up. Sigh... I guess Christmas is really coming.