SANTA!!!!! I know him, I know him!!

We are so blessed. We have two wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, healthy and loving children. We live in a wonderful, be it humble, home. Erik has a wonderful job with a fantastic family-friendly company. We live in a free country. And we have an amazing support system made up of family and great friends. Not to mention we have the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We feel truly blessed this Christmas season! And we hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and an amazing New Year! Bring on 2010!

On Christmas Eve we had the Rigtrup's over for some prime rib steaks, then headed over to the Peterson's for dessert and the Nativity. Good times!!

It wouldn't be Christmas without some sugar cookies! The stage for the Nativity. Isn't that awesome?! Thanks again Petersons!
Mary really needed a cow nearby. At least in Brooklyn's mind.

Work it Hyrum. lol

Singing some songs during the Nativity. Brooklyn was really into it. And Troy was too, as you can tell. lol (He's in the red and white striped sweater in the background)

A little sugar cookie frosting for Santa's plate.

Mid-bite.

Love this picture of these two sweet girls.

Ummm, Brooklyn, maybe just put some sprinkles on your plate instead of drinking them out of the container?!

Umm-numm-numm-numm

Erik was being camera shy

Santa even made a SPECIAL visit to give Brooklyn and Troy some pajamas Christmas Eve.

You ugly!

The kids had a fun play-group this week, decorating cookies. And WE had an awesome "Ugly Sweater Party." So much fun! There were some sweet lookin' sweaters. I wish I would have taken more pictures dang it. But here are a couple of our beautiful sweaters.

The girls getting ready to decorate, aka eat the frosting .

Numm, numm, numm!!

Jenna and Troy played while the older kids frosted cookies.

Oh ya baby. That's the stuff!!

Popcorn, stockings, and parties OH MY!

We have a new tradition in our house. Or more like a new obsession. Popcorn. The kids LOVE it and ask for it every night. I know, I know, total choking hazard, but we watch them very closely. So we pop some corn a few times a week, and I get to vacuum twice as much. But it's totally worth it.

Troy and Brooklyn, like a lot of kids, enjoy wearing the Christmas stockings on their feet. Troy learned fast that there isn't any traction on the bottom of them though. Poor guy.

Erik's work Christmas party/get plowed in front of your bosses was this past Saturday. It's always fun to get really dressed up and hit the town. And to watch everyone make fools of themselves from drinking too much. But we ate good food, played some "gambling" games (they have play gambling tables), and enjoyed a much needed date-night. Our good friend Stephanie watched the kids for us. Our day was pretty packed that day, so needless to say my house/kitchen was a DISASTER! I was so embarrassed. But coming home was a great surprise! Stephanie had cleaned the whole thing!! She always goes above and beyond. I am so lucky to have such a great friend!!! Another great friend of mine, Toni, helped me take in the skirt I'm wearing too. It was harder than we thought it would be! Thanks again guys!

Brace yourself for a host of Christmas party posts...all month long!

December is a month when we like to cram in as many festivities as possible. No wonder we are all exhausted after the holidays! That being said, we started off December with a bang this year. The first weekend of December included 3, count 'em, 3 Christmas parties. Friday night we crashed the Maplewood Height's ward Christmas dinner with the Rigtrup's and Bakers. Santa even made a stop! Of course I didn't have the camera, but Brooklyn was in Heaven! And they even sang her favorite "song of the moment," "Jingle Bells." Saturday morning was OUR ward Christmas breakfast. Santa couldn't make it (his sleigh was out of commission), but Baby Jesus was there. Brooklyn was the most beautiful little angel (and no, I'm not bias, just honest). Then Saturday afternoon Erik's work threw their annual Kid's Christmas party. Santa's sleigh must have gotten fixed, because he showed up with LOTS of presents!! (Have I mentioned how much we LOVE Erik's employment? Such a GREAT family-centered company). The kids had a ball, and were exhausted by days end...and so were the parents to be honest. But it was a great start to a great Christmas season. More parties to come this weekend! But the ADULT kind...YEA!! Now if only I could get motivated to get our Christmas decorations up...oh and to finish the dang advent calendar I'm making!

Resting up before the parties. Like our "molding" around our window? Ya, someday we'll fix that!
Pretty little angels.
Brooklyn made her entrance a little too early. I guess she figured the Sheperds needed some "guidance." I have to say though, she is a theatre professional in the making. No stage fright at all! That's my girl.

Having a little conversation with Santa. When he walked in, she ran up to him to give him a hug.

She couldn't open her new Mermaid bath doll quickly enough.

Troy wasn't too sure about the strange guy holding him.

Troy got a dump truck!

So there you have it. Listen, I know you all just can't wait for me to post hundreds of pictures of my adorable children. It's ok, I understand the nostalgia. But these will have to do until the next posting. :)

Aww, and the holidays begin!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We decided to stay put and stick it out here in good ole' Seattle. Our good friends, the Rigtrups, invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. I only had to make the rolls, green beans, yams, and lemon meringue pie (which I opted to just buy instead...SOOO much faster!). It was wonderful! I felt so relaxed. Erik headed out early for a little rolling in the mud, aka. The Turkey bowl. I even got a quick little "this will make me feel less guilty for the 1000's of calories I'm going to consume run." The kids were excited all day...so excited in fact, that they hardly took naps. Lovely! Anyway, we ate dinner, then ate some more, then had pie, went home, and had some more rolls. Perfect. Thanks again to the Rigtrups for a perfect dinner!!

Stephanie and I braved the stores the next morning (not too early though 6:30ish) and came away with some great stuff. It was my first time ever shopping on black Friday, at least early in the morning! I am definitely NOT a morning person. But it was very fun, and I think I'm in for next year too!

The rest of the weekend we just relaxed and played. We took the kids to the Fun center Saturday because we were all going a little stir-crazy. Now we're just trying to gear up for Christmas! I haven't gotten my decorations out yet, still waiting to get our tree this weekend. But the Christmas festivities begin this weekend, starting with our ward Christmas breakfast, followed by Erik's work kid's Christmas party. Should be a fun-filled weeken! Hopefully we can wear the kids out enough to sleep in past 7. Crossing my fingers!!

Brooklyn and Ella before dinner.

Troy and Bailey

The famous cooks! (Stephanie, her mom, and Hyrum)

The beautiful table

Our idea of a family picture lol

Making the traditional apple turkeys.

Another trip to B-town

We took another trip to Boise a couple weeks ago. And it was too short of a visit, yet again!! The day we were supposed to leave, Troy was "diagnosed" with croup. Lovely! But luckily we got him in to see the doctor, she gave him some steroids (Erik was a little worried this would affect his college football eligibility, but the doctor reassured him the steroids would be out of his system by then), and he was good to go! She actually said the colder weather would be better for him. So we were on our way. Erik sat with the kids on the plane and I read my book, it was wonderful! :) So, we got to Boise, and it was my turn to get sick. The first couple days we (the kids and myself) just stayed around my parents house to try and kick the dang colds. But Saturday I felt a tad better and Erik and I left our kiddos in good hands (my AWESOME sister Melanie!) and headed to the game in the Ball's "new" Boise State motor-home. Sweet ride!!! We had a fun little tail-gate, then headed into the stadium to freeze our little tushes off. Finally at the start of the 3rd quarter we went and grabbed some hot chocolate and donuts (Yummy!). We warmed up a tad, just in time to leave the game. We won, of course. In fact it was a blow-out, so kind of a boring game. Luckily Katie and I just gabbed the whole time (much to our husband's demise). We finally made it back to Mel's to grab the kids (only about 8 1/2 hours later!!). Troy gave Melanie 4 fun surprises in his diaper, which is I'm pretty sure a record for him. Thanks again Mel, we owe you BIG TIME!! It was a fun date day.

The rest of the time in Boise was pretty uneventful (minus the usual family gatherings, etc.). At least until Monday. My dad took our kids out in the wagon to go feed the cows. While out there, he decided to get a few more hay-bales down off the truck since it was supposed to storm the next day or so. So there he is, standing on a truck of hay-bales, about 10 feet up. His glove got stuck under one of the bales, he lost his balance and fell back, right on the lip of the manger. Flat on his back. He couldn't move, all he could do was groan and moan in pain. He tried to tell Brooklyn to "Go get your Daddy!", but he said she probably couldn't understand him. Plus she can't get through the fence without his help. So there he was, unable to move, but trying to knowing his 2 little grand kids are there watching him, helpless. Meanwhile, Erik and I were in the house thinking, "They must be having a lot of fun out there. They've been out there a while." Nice. Finally I hear the door open, and Brooklyn runs in saying, "Grandpa fell! Grandpa's hurt!" In stumbles Grandpa, barely able to walk, let alone lift my kids. So...long story short, he broke 2 ribs. He's lucky he didn't break his back. The doctor said his spine is the strongest spine he has ever seen on a cat-scan. He said he could tell he was a very hard-worker because of all the calcium build-up around his vertebrae. Of course my dad was very proud of that! :) So anyway, now both my parents have to breath into these machines 10 times per day in order to expand their lungs. (My mom had lung surgery a few weeks ago, so she's still recovering from that). But it was pretty comical, so they had me take pictures of them both using their little machines. It's so fun getting old!

So the trip was eventful, and fun. Although I didn't get to see most of my friends, which was a bummer. So hopefully I'll catch you all next time! It's good to be home now, and I'm just trying to get ready for the busy holiday season like the rest of you. We even already went and saw Santa's reindeer this past Saturday! Brooklyn can't WAIT to see Santa, and has been asking me none-stop to go see him. I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving!!

The SWEET motorhome.Erik is a tad jealous.Katie and I in the motor-home. It is seriously awesome! She made the curtains in the back-ground. So talented! (not sure why I have my hand up like that lol) Erik's job was to get the cheese ready, hence the cheese in his hands.

Troy making the patties. DELICIOUS hamburgers!!

At the game, trying to stay warm. Troy had a blast playing with the toy hair-dryer at Aunt Carrie's.

B painting cousin Paige's' toenails

Our old Seattle friends...Codi and I.

Sweet snuggie!!!

Aren't they so cute?! Too funny. And don't you LOVE my mom's cute red sweat-suit and hat? We managed to squeeze in a little shopping.

Trick or treat, smell my feet!

Aww, the Halloween festivities are over. Time to move on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!! Yipee!! Halloween was jam-packed and very fun this year. We went to a fun playgroup at the Wi's (thanks again Kristina!), went to our ward party, gave some blood to the "vampires," (just Erik and myself), had a fun pre-trick-or-treating dinner with friends, then headed out for some goodies! Brooklyn and Troy were EXHAUSTED from all the activities. Short naps + late nights + early mornings= grumpy, tired children!! Needless to say, Brooklyn had fun trick-or-treating, but certainly didn't last as long as she did last year. Troy rode in the stroller up to each house, then would get out, and proceed to try and enter their houses. The dogs in people's doorways were of course huge hits with both kids. All in all it was a great Halloween. Brooklyn has asked me every day since if we are going to a party to get candy again today. Who knows B...maybe Grandma and Grandpa Hill and Paternoster will let you trick-or-treat at their homes next week.

Some of my pictures won't upload, so you're missing our sweet playgroup party costumes. The kids wore their BSU football uniforms and I wore my jersey.

"Umm Brother Mortenson, WHAT are you doing?!" He's the 2nd counselor in the Bishopbric. And he's awesome. The cute nurse is his wife. Erik went as the Yankee's bat boy. We kind of put our costumes together at the last minute...like always. Don't want to break tradition!!

The kids before trick-or-treating

Aww, the fam. Don't the kids look thrilled?