Best. Valentine's Day. Ever.

Oh Silver Mini Van, you have been our faithful servant for nearly 10 years now.  You have driven us to Utah, Montana, Idaho and up and down the State of California many times (not to mention the millions of trips to school, church, the grocery store and kid's activity locations).  You've never left us stranded on the side of the road with a break down.  You've protected our family and never put us in an accident.  You have been a wonderful family car.  

But...

It is time for an upgrade.  Sadly, you have been bumped, thumped and dinged by other cars in countless parking lots.  We've never replaced your timing belt.  Your front bumper has been held on with black duct tape almost since day one.  You need a fair amount of work (and money) to keep you road worthy.  We decided to send you off to pasture instead.  You have been a wonderful family car and we have been thankful.

                                          

So, last weekend Will said it was time.  Time to trade our old mini van in for a brand-spanking-new one.  

                                          

I spent Saturday cleaning out the old van.  It was a little sad.  I remembered that this van had safely brought two children home from the hospital.  I remembered trips to the beach and to the snow.  I remembered all of the little "fixes" I invented to make the van more comfortable.  Like my "custom" center console (a plastic tub with plastic cups screwed into it--plenty of space for all of the crap I like to have in the car).

                                          

I remembered all of the things that I loved about this van and all of the memories made in the van.  I've been wanting a new van for a while.  But when it came down to it, I was sad to see it go.  

One hundred and thirty thousand miles--not to shabby.

I was sad to say good bye to the memories made in this van but I was not sad to see all of the embarrassing dents and dings go.  Did you know our drivers side mirror is held in place by bathtub caulking and twigs? Our rear fender was smashed twice in a parking lot by two hit-and-runs.  One side was ground along a parking barrier when Will was driving and tried (successfully) to avoid a car that had wandered into his lane in a parking garage.  Oh and the tail gate doesn't close properly ever since I left it open while taking groceries in one day and it got clipped by the mail truck.  The peeled up front licence plate--I cannot remember how that happened.  We never had head rests for the back row of seats.  The sliding side doors never gave out (although Will swore they would be the first thing to break) but they were starting to creak and bang when we opened them. 

Honestly, there were a lot of cosmetic problems with the van but it was a great car.  I don't want to come off as complaining.  Sometimes I even felt good about our humble looking van.  Just last week, at Kindergarten carpool a couple of Adell's classmates came over to the van to walk all around it and ask me where each and every ding came from.  They were a little astonished at how crappy our car looked...and that it still ran.  

Whatever sadness I felt at saying good bye to our old mini van--evaporated as soon as I saw the new mini van.  It is so LOVELY!  It has enough bells and whistles to be fun but isn't overwhelming.  The ride is smooth and it doesn't smell like feet (win!).  

We all fit inside the new van very comfortably.  There is a built in DVD player (what!).  There is an extra seat in the middle row so the back row kids aren't so squished.  There is dual climate control!  I could go on and on.  

Good bye old reliable, hello black beauty.

                     

Birthing a baby...

No, not in our immediate family but in the extended family.  

Last week I sent a text to my sister-in-law, Heather, she is due with their third child this month and I wanted to offer to help.  I said something to the effect of: can I pick up some groceries for you, or come clean up your house, or take the kids for a weekend so you can get some rest?  Heather responded that one of those options would be nice and she would get back tome.  Wednesday last week I got a new text from Heather, she had a check up and needed a long follow up scheduled for Friday.  Could I take her kids for the weekend so she didn't have to juggle them during and after the appointment.  I agreed and made plans with Will to bring her kids home after work.  

Fast forward to Friday morning.  I got a text from Heather, her water had broken and she and Alan were headed to the hospital to have a baby!  So our weekend plan was sped up a little bit.  I made arrangements for my kids at home and headed over to Alan and Heather's house to collect their older children.

We packed their weekend bags, picked Luke up from TK and had lunch with Will before heading back to our house.

We had a lovely weekend with Luke and Hazel, building lego creations, playing games and having cousin sleepovers.  

                                          

The biggest perk, I got to take Luke and Hazel into the hospital to meet their new baby sister!  

                                         

It was a fun weekend.  It was nice to be on the helping end of bringing a child into the world--instead of being on the birthing side.  

This was the scrap paper where I jotted down all the notes and plans in the scramble to make arrangements Friday morning.  It was a little crazy--but mostly fun!

                                          

New year new things

                                        

                                        

We upgraded a few things at the start of the new year.  First up, Lorien got a new bed for Christmas--sort of.  She got a new headboard and some new blankets.  We agreed, when she moved into her own room that her room would also be our guest bedroom.  We could accomplish that by giving her a bigger bed and new bedding.  But the actual realization of that promise took a while.  This month, Will and I finally got a new mattress and moved our old one over into Lorien's room...classy.  

The other big move in the New Year also had to do with Lorien...completely.  Around Christmas, Lorien started talking about chopping all of her hair off.  Very pixie, very short.  I wanted to give her some time to really love the idea before chopping all of her hair off.  It takes forever to grow your hair out once you cut it off (I know) but it does grow so...  Last week I took her to a friend's house who cuts hair and Lorien got a brand new do.

                                                     

Lorien loves her new hair cut.  It is fun and much easier for her to style in the morning.  She is adorable.  And she has eyeliner skills I'll never have.

Stuff my three-year-old says...

Colter says funny stuff all the time.  I need to try and get him to say it on a video recording.  I don't have enough video of the funny stuff he says.  

He has an adorable love of Lorien.  It really grew last year when Lorien was homeschooling.  He got to spend a lot of time with her.  Sometimes she would take him on bike rides or walks for "PE".  Sometimes she would take him to Panda Express and when they got there she would say "We made it to Panda!"  Now every time he sees a Panda Express he says "We made it to Panda!" just like Lorien.  A few weeks ago we decided to take the kids out to eat.  When I told the kids we were going to a restaurant for dinner Colter called out "I want Chinese!"  I'm pretty sure I didn't even know that Chinese was a kind of food when I was three-years-old, let alone knowing I wanted to eat it.  Anyway, last year Colter said Lorien like "Wee-nan" now he is trying his hand at better pronunciation and her name has morphed into "Warren".  Cute and funny!

One day Will was drinking a soda and Colter asked if he could have some.  Will poured a little bit into a cup and told Colter he could have it once he finished eating.  Will left the kitchen and Colter and I stayed at the bar while Colter ate.  After a few minutes he asked for his soda, without thinking I slid the cup over to Colter.  He downed the little bit then said "Oh no!  I was supposed to eat my cereal all gone!"  Then he hid the cup behind his back and said "Quick, pour some of yours soda in de cup!  Just a yiddle bit!"  I obliged.  When Will came back into the kitchen Colter told Will the whole story.  So maybe he wasn't trying to be sneaky or dishonest?

We hired a sitter for a date night.  We usually have Lorien babysit.  (Wyatt was at a boy scout camp out and Lorien was at a friend's house.)  When we got home we asked how the night went.  The sitter said everything went just fine.  She said that Colter got out of bed once saying he and Wyatt had switched beds and Colter was "supposed to sleep up dere" (on the top bunk).  Will left to bring the sitter home and I went into my bedroom to get ready for bed.  When I walked in I saw this:

                                                   

Apparently Colter had gotten out of bed more than once.  He was sitting in my room, quietly playing with a pirate ship toy in there.  When I walked in he was pretty startled.  I texted Will and told him to get our money back from the sitter.

One night this week Will was helping Lorien study for her finals.  Will always does bedtime at our house.  I clock out at bedtime.  So the kids were up late and I was in our room folding laundry.  Colter came in and said he was "soooo tired" I asked him if he wanted to snuggle in his bed.  He declined but said he'd like to snuggle on my bed.  So he went out to find his Nokie blankie.  On his way out he heard the sound of Will putting a bottle of milk in the microwave for bedtime.  Colter said with a sharp intake of breath "Oh I think Daddy is making a warm ba.  We better hurry!  Hurry, quick!" and he ran back into my room.  He hid under his blankie telling me "I'mma hide, you stay right here."  When Colter heard Will calling out for him, Colter responded under his breath (and blanket) "I'm not in here."  When Will came into our room I said "I don't know where Colter is.  Have you checked in the bathroom?"  Colter was barely containing his laughter next to me.  Finally Will said, "Well I better just take Nokie blankie back to bed so it is there when we put Colter to bed." and he scooped up the blanket and Colter in one lump.  As they walked down the hall Colter pulled the blanket off his head and yelled "Here I am!".  Will proceeded to act startled by mock yelling and saying things like "Oh man, you startled me!"  To which Colter busted out in the best baby belly laughs.  He thought it was so funny!  He laughed and laughed and laughed.  He couldn't stop.  Even when Will was tucking him in Colter was laughing and recounting the clever way he startled Daddy.  This whole episode is all the funnier because about 40 minutes earlier Colter was sitting on the floor playing a game on my phone when Clare came in and startled him (on purpose).  And Colter freaked out, throwing a fit and yelling at Clare for startling him.  I guess he needed some experience on the other side of the startle to know how fun it is.

Last story...as long as we've lived here when we get into the gate we let the kids take off their buckles and stand up in the van until we get home.  It is about 300 yards from the gate to our home.  We call it "Surfing Time".  As we sit at the slowly opening gate the kids yell out "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT'S SURFING TIME!"  Dragging out the "it's" until the gate opens and standing up as we pass through the gate saying "surfing time".  Colter is a big fan of this little tradition.  Recently, Will has decided to up the dangerous ante and lets Colter stand up through the sunroof in Will's car.  Colter loves it and hollers out "hello" to any person who is out walking in our neighborhood.  

                                                   

S-N-O-W

With the lack of precipitation around here we haven't had a chance to make it out to snow for the last couple of years.  This year promised to be more fruitful in rain and snow and so far, the year has kept its promise.

We decided on a day trip instead of an overnight this year.  We drove east for a couple of hours to a little town called Arnold.  We parked, geared up and headed out into the snow.

The kids were so excited to be going to the snow.  This was going to be Colter's first time in the snow.  (Unless you count the time we drove home from Utah a few weeks ago and we stopped at a rest area after it had been snowing on our drive.)  

                                                    

                                                    

We went sledding for about an hour or so and then stopped to try and make a snowman.  Sadly, the snow was too dry for sculpting.  It was perfect for making snow angles.  After a bit of snow play Colter, Adell and Clare were shivering cold.  Clare had a headache (we think from the altitude and exertion) and Colter kept losing his mittens.  It was time for a break.  

We all headed back to the van for some sandwiches and snacks.  Thankfully, I packed a change of clothes for everyone.  Once we were all dry and comfy again I stayed in the car with the youngest three and Will took Lorien and Wyatt back out for some more sledding.  

                                                    

                                                    

                                                   

                                   

                                   

And then disaster struck, on their last run down Will and Wyatt hit a bump and when they came down Wyatt's foot got caught under the sled.  Will had to carry Wyatt back to the car.  Wyatt was in a lot of pain.  We improvised an ice pack with some snow and an empty ziplock bag.  We tried to make him comfortable with extra coats for warmth and headed back down to civilization.  

                                                   

                                                    

Dave and Angela had also brought their family out to the snow.  We weren't able to meet up for snow games but we did have dinner together at Applebee's (thanks to Grandma Judy for the gift cards).  

Wyatt ended up just jamming his toe,  no broken bones anywhere.  He got a walking boot to wear and a note to skip PE for three weeks.  

Thank you El Nino for the rain and snow!

                                                    

Turns out my kids have created an independent economy based solely on the exchange of fruit snack flavors.  As part of our "car pic-nic" each kid got a package of fruit snacks.  As soon as they could get them open the chatter started "I'll take three peach for three raspberries. I have raspberry but I want orange.  Any blackberry, any blackberry?"  It was like the New York Stock Exchange opened up in the middle of my van.

                                                    

Christmas shenanigans

This is how we do it.

Celebrate the Christmas season.

Get a tree, usually right after Thanksgiving (check).

                                                    

Play a variety of games (check) 

Here we are playing dreidel for the first time.  Wyatt has been asking to play since he learned how in Kindergarten.  It has taken me five years to find chocolate gold coins and actually play.  As we were playing this round, I learned (via Wikipedia) that you can play with anything: pennies, candy...even raisins.  Adell learned about the dreidel game in Kindergarten from a Jewish classmate.

                                                   

Deliver 12 Days of Christmas stuff to our Secret Santa families (check x 12)

                                                   

Make gingerbread houses (check)

Every other year I make real gingerbread or use gram crackers.  This year I made gingerbread...and just like the other years I made it...this year I swore (with real swear words) that I would never do it again.  It is so much work.

                                                    

Participate in the nativity and have an awesome Christmas eve party with Dave and Angela's family (double check)

                                  

Do the Christmas day thing (check)

                                                    

                                                    

Enjoy the wonder of Christmas and feel the love and joy in our family (check--a million times check)

                                                    

The one time a year I dress up to make small talk.

Ah, the annual work holiday party.  Yeesh, this thing gives me a whopping case of the stress outs.  I usually have to secure the babysitter, find something appropriate to wear, get myself looking presentable and get myself over to the party location.  THEN I get to spend a couple of hours making small talk and feeling like a jerk when I cannot remember who I've met previously and who I haven't.

Basically, it is awesome.  

Will gives a great run down of how the company is doing.  I always like hearing that.  However, this past year has been full of more challenges than successes so I wasn't super psyched to hear the speech this year.  He still did a great job with the speech and hopefully 2016 will be full of more successes than challenges.

                                             

After Will gives his speech there is usually a few fun games and white elephant style gift exchanges led by Dave.  One of the games was to pass your phone around the table and take a selfie with everyone's phone.  These were the pictures on my phone:

   

You can see, we sat with some awesome people.

We did some more small talk and then danced for a while.  It was a lovely party.  

               

I love to see the temple

Lorien and Wyatt had a birthday earlier this month.  Every year, they have the gaul to get another year older.  

For their birthday, Grandma Judy sent the kids some ancestor's names so Lorien and Wyatt could take the names to the temple.  Wyatt turned 12 so this would be his first trip to the temple.

When I was growing up our closest temple was in Washington DC.  It was a whole day's drive down and then a whole day at the temple and a third day to drive home.  Needless to say, temple trips didn't happen more than once a year.  I think my kids are pretty lucky to have the temple just 30 minutes away.  

Grandma Judy came out to visit this week so we made plans to go to the temple with the kids.  Uncle Alan, Aunt Heather, Aunt Emily and Uncle Kenny also came to the temple.  It was a really sweet family event.  Uncle David and Aunt Angela watched all of the other kids so we could all go.  I am sure we will repay the favor in a few months when Evan turns 12.                                               

                                                

                                                               

Homecoming...

One of my oldest nephews came home from his mission to New Zealand last weekend.  Wyatt had his championship soccer game at 1:30 Saturday afternoon.  We watched, cheered, played and coached (depending on who you were) until the game was over.  Wyatt's team won (yay!) and we had a little trophy ceremony...then it was straight into the packed van for a drive to Utah.  

We rolled into town very early Sunday morning (good thing they had late church) and showed up for Keaton's homecoming.  Keaton gave a great talk.  He shared some excellent stories and his testimony.  I was so glad my kids got to see him and hear his testimony.  

After the homecoming part at church we went back to my brother's house.  My kids think Uncle Chris is pretty cool.  They think his house is one of the funnest places on earth...they are right.  Uncle Chris let the kids play video games and then busted out his WWII jeep.  

Uncle Christ took the boys out for a drive...and then ended up letting each boy "drive" the jeep, including Colter.

Keaton was a trooper and played fun rough house games with the kids.  Colter got some excellent cousin time.  My other brother, Caleb, drove down from Idaho with his five boys.  Caleb's youngest two boys are Colter's age.  He played the most with Sam, they kept racing a little truck across the living room floor. 

                      

We had to leave the next morning.  Will had a breakfast meeting in Salt Lake and as soon as he was finished we hit the road.  It was a very short trip but very much worth it.  We loved seeing family and on the drive home we drove through snow!  So...a pretty great trip!

Sunday hike

We are trying to make our Sundays more of a family day.  We always stay at home together...but most of the time we are all off in our separate corners of the house, doing our own things.

We decided every Sunday we would have:

A family meal

A family activity 

and a little alone time

This Sunday we let Lorien lead the way on a little walk/hike.  We walked around our neighborhood then Lorien showed us where this hill was with a killer view.  Getting home ended up taking much longer than we anticipated but watching the sunset with killer views in every direction was totally worth it.