The Rest of the December Fun! (now let me sleep!)

Christmas is a marathon. It's getting more so with every passing year. I spent today focused on my studio and it was really quite nice to not do something "Christmasy"

We made reindeer root beers for the kid's friends.

Macy has discovered dress ups.

We went to our white elephant party with our friends. I won't put the pics on the blog. Wouldn't want to incriminate anyone....

But during the party, we fell victim to the Santa Head. This Santa head has been swapped mysteriously from our house and our neighbors. Well, somehow they got inside and left this in my bedroom. Scared me to DEATH.

We did something new! My mom and I took the kids downtown to the Grand America to a penguin treasure hunt. Really, really cute and they loved it. It ends is "Joux Joux", an adorable new toy shop.

Bill and I took the kids to the Temple Square...aka Sardine Square. I hate crowds, and it seems to be getting worse. It's almost not worth it anymore. The gingerbread maker in Deseret Book was fun, though.

Bill's sister's family came to Christmas Eve dinner. Really nice. Macy hops into her seat for dinner 20 minutes before it's ever ready.

Our neighbor gave us luminaire materials. It kept Emi busy, which is always nice. Growing up, we did this and I really liked it. Too bad there was no snow. I can almost guarantee we'll have snow for Easter!

I'm so in love with my new stockings. I've been searching for good ones for years now. I love the classiness of these. Simple. I should have been smart and named my kids Noah, Olivia, Edward, and Lori so that it would have spelled NOEL. Too bad. Bill and I have the stockings too, but when I bought my holders, I never dreamed I'd have 4 kids.

Quinn was very determined that we got just the right cookies for Santa. Yes, that is a Diet Coke for Santa. My kids don't even question it anymore.

Once again, no snow. New sled. Lame!

Macy would not take off the Elmo backpack from her cousin. She even took a nap with it.

Emi made Quinn a really big scarf.

Santa gave Quinn a REALLY big race track. I think Santa really wanted it for himself when he saw it at Toys R Us, but decided to "give" it to Quinn. What do you think?

The Hustle and Bustle of December

I have to admit that I have been a bit "Scroogey" this year. I really was not excited for Christmas this year, mostly because it is such a HUGE amount of work. And it is, but I'm finally feeling a bit better about it. I'm more focused on the meaning after a great lesson today in Young Women's. Even though I've been a Grinch, this didn't stop us from the crazy, busy-ness of Christmas events. And I didn't even take my camera to many of the things. I'm tired just reading this.

Gingerbread boys with Grandma. Big Newman tradition, and my kids are great at it.

We were so lucky to tag along with my dear cousins on the trolley around Thanksgiving Point. Thanks Brooke for arranging it. We loved it.

(the wind was blowing...hence my hair)

Pics with Santa...YEAH! No one cried!

Christmas jammies and tree decorating. Here is where my cold Grinch heart got a bit colder this year. The very well strung lights on the top of my tree completely shorted out last week. It took me 1 1/2 hours to undo the top and restring. Lame. (Somewhere out there, my mom is having a heart attack that Macy is that high up on a ladder. Sorry mom)

Emi's Pajama Party. It involved oodles of snack food, 13 girls, Phineas and Ferb, Twister, and decorated pillow cases. And a LOT of estrogen.

Parker and Quinn were in the cutest nativity ever done at our church. Parker is the wise man and Quinn is the shepherd holding the crook. I should also mention that Bill was roped into the being the star at the last minute. You can sort of see his hand at the top of the pic.

17 mini dance recitals....done!

Duso the Dolphin, the pre-school class pet, came to live with us for a week. Let's just say that Duso is GREAT at hide and seek.

Emi was a mouse in the Nutcracker this year. This part was made for her. Her last scene was her crying because the Mouse King had died. Academy Award worthy performance.

Quinn loves to sing. He shined in his pre-school program.

Gingerbread house

And, I'm basically caught up now. Except for the fact that dinosaurs have taken over one of my nativity sets. Maybe there were dinosaurs abiding in the fields.

May I just please explain this picture?

The fall is a busy time in my life. I never think to get a decent family pic for my Christmas card, and I end up screaming at my kids to sit still in front of our tree. I thought I was so awesome for actually scheduling an appointment the Monday after Thanksgiving. It was a nice thought. Except Quinn had the bug of all bugs and he was coughing up a lung. I refused to re-schedule. He was trying so hard to be happy between coughs, but it was kind of miserable on all involved. We were lucky to get any somewhat decent shots. But darn it....I paid for them, I'm using them.

That, and I just noticed on my last 10 Christmas cards that Macy had erased a whole line on my Christmas newsletter. So now there is a crappy pic AND I sound stupid. I'm batting 1000 these days.

Emi.....9 years old

Emi turns 9 tomorrow... this is totally beyond comprehension to me. 9 years ago I became a mom to a daughter which is one of the coolest things to be in my opinion. This is a picture of the PJ party last Friday. Wow. Funnest (and loudest) group of girls on the planet.

A few things I love about Emi right now:

1- She is crazy responsible. I've been busy with mini-dance recitals this week, and she just gets going on homework and her other projects without any assistance. She also babysat Macy while I was downstairs. She probably could have whipped up dinner given the chance.

2-She loves soft, fuzzy stuff. Pillows, blankets, fur vests, sleeping bags, bathrobes, new towels, etc. Emi is all over it.

(age 2 1/2)

3. Emi is a crack up. She's kind of quiet in a crowd (except with girlfriends), but does pull a zinger or two when it really counts. She's so funny, and in a smart way.

4. Emi is all girl. I love this. She is great to shop with, decorate with, and her new thing is that she loves to help me get ready for parties.

5. She is a good and loyal friend (most of the time). She loves her friends dearly....no matter what.

6. Emi is super sister. I cheer when Emi is done with homework because I have someone to occupy my babies. Which she mostly loves. Everyone has their breaking point.

7. The poor girl throws up on every trip in the car, but she is such a good patient. You don't hear a word of complaint. Love her.

8. Oh yeah....she's gorgeous!

9. She is the sweetest girl ever. She leaves me notes on my computer or pillow that say "I love you, mom". Nothing beats that. Love my sweet, gentle, mousy, intelligent, beautiful, and righteous daughter. Happy birthday, baby girl.

No post for you!

I've had all sorts of parties and Christmas fun to throw on the blog, but my pics won't load. A sure sign that I should go to bed!

Merry Christmas to all....and to all a goodnight.

Happy Thanksgiving...here are my Halloween pics.

Yeah...November hit and every type of sickness came with it. Stomach flu like you can't believe! So I'm a bit behind. Here is Halloween, as if any of you possibly care since Christmas decorations are on everyone's brains. Parker was Dr. Doofenshmirz, Emi was a BYU cheerleader (so, so proud), Quinn was Mike Wazowski, and Macy a bunny.

The bishopric went full make-up this year. 2 years ago, they were KISS. Last year, the 3 Amigos. This year.....Blue Man, complete with tubes that played music and launched candy.

Can you say blue make-up all over a white bunny? She finally warmed up to him.

Gardner's Village.

Anyway....now that's done. Onto Thanksgiving.

My "Grateful" list"

4 healthy kids

1 super husband

An amazing job I love

A week off of the amazing job I love

My home

Great parents and parent-in-laws

Super friends who will do anything I need

Slippers

Costco

A new Crate &Barrel and H&M in my midst. Utah is becoming awesome!

My heating pad that I sleep with every night

No homework for 6 days

A healing toe after a trip to the podiatrist

Drive-thru anything

And because every Ying has it's Yang.......

Things I'm NOT GRATEFUL for:

Coughing children who cough for days

Those stupid State Farm jingles that get stuck in my head

Leafs to rake

Certain parents of certain students

People that are rude about doing a favor

My back....OOHHHHHH my stupid back

A mile long to-do list

Poopy diapers

Poopy children

Thanks for indulging me. It's been a rough week. Happy Thanksgiving to all you wonderful people.

Yet another Park City weekend

Well, I had so much fun the first weekend in Park City, why not take family and grandparents there the very next week? I actually had planned this awhile ago for UEA, and had a wonderful "fall-a-licious" 3 days with my family.

1st stop...the Olympic museum. It's weird to think that I only had one kid when we had the Olympics. It really seems like yesterday. We met up with our dear friends, the Hoppers (minus David) and toured around. Quinn like the old luge.

I really want to ride in one. It was hard to jump into this. I have new respect for the bobsled team. I also seriously want to try the ariel ski track into the pool. They have camps. It's on my bucket list.

I love the condo we stayed at. Right on a golf course and access to grass. We stayed in these a lot as a kid and I always loved it.

I could have put tons of the leaf pics. So fallish. I love it.

Monika invited us up to the perfect pool for my kids. A gigantic hot tub. Perfect.

Bringing grandparents is always a smart idea. They do projects!

Macy has such a special place in her heart for Grandpa. He nearly passed away when I was pregnant with her, and I'm convinced that he decided to stick around for his last granddaughter.

Emi took this pic at the Glenwood Cemetery. She submitted it for a school contest...what do you think? All by herself.

How cute are they? My mom is almost mended from her knee surgery/femur break. What a year she has had.

I hadn't pulled the plastic off my new iPhone for this pic. We biked along the scarecrow path, which was great. Emi biked 4 miles! Go girl.

We also hit Main Street, restaurants, and watched many movies. Park City is so beautiful in the fall. Spending time together was super. We are so crazy busy that it is nice to get away from our house, even if it is just for 3 days.