Gingerbread House Contest

Last night was our third Annual Ginger bread House Contest with the Owens family. It is interesting to look back at all three and remember what each one was like. The first year, we had just moved into our house here in Georgia and we met the Owens, who live around the corner from us. She was a few months pregnant with Benjamin and we just had Brody. Their first house turned into a gingerbread jail and they were so unhappy with the way it turned out, they just left it on our car on their way home. We left it on their porch with a blue ribbon on it, not realizing that they had gone out of town and it brought a lot of ants to their front door. Oops, okay?

We got to know each other while making our first houses and then last year we decided to have a rematch. They had Benjamin who was 6 months old and I was REALLY pregnant with Bridger. After completing our houses, we emailed everyone and asked them to vote. After deciding who the winner was (it was us, but I don't like to brag!) they made us dinner.

This year we had two kids (who luckily were asleep during the construction of our houses) and they had Benjamin here. Poor little guy- he was tired and all the candy on the table was so tempting for him. This year we are going to post our pictures on our blog and we are asking for you all to comment on our blog and let us know which one you like best. Whoever wins gets dinner from the other couple!

Motherhood At Its Ugliest

This week has been pretty ugly, as the title of this blog suggests. I'll just jump into explaining why. Sunday morning Bridger woke up early and wanted to eat so I nursed him on the living room couch. About halfway through he started gagging and before my brain could register what was happening, I had projectile vomit in my MOUTH and all over me and all over the couch. And I mean ALL OVER. I have often wondered how so much stuff could come out of such a small body. Anyway, I ran into the bedroom and woke Adam up (which I kind of felt bad doing since he had gone to bed at 3 because he had worked the night before and was adjusting back to his weekend day schedule). I immediately went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and cleaned myself up. That morning was the beginning of a very gross week with lots of dirty laundry, lots of runny diapers, and not so much sleep for any of us. Today is Thursday and I am still cleaning up puke and other not-so-pleasant bodily fluids that kids have when they are sick. Adam was really sick from Monday to Tuesday but is feeling much better. I am really grateful that I haven't gotten sick but not so grateful that I'm not going to complain about everyone else being sick. Today I about lost it. I have really been trying to be patient with the boys when they are whiny and needy and smelly but today was day #5 and I am so over it.

On Wednesday morning the boys took a break of being sick and tricked us into thinking that they were better. They woke up happy and they ate breakfast and all was fine. So we decided to take that opportunity to go to the mall and get their picture taken with Santa. I have always been against the mall Santas but the other chance we had with Santa was taken away when Santa's camera wasn't working and Brody loves talking about Santa so we just gave in and went. I can't believe how expensive it was! We got the 2nd smallest package (only because the smallest was 3x5 pictures- what do you do with a 3x5 picture???) and it was $20!!! I wanted to crawl into Santa's fake little house and cry. You better believe I am downloading that picture and using it in every way that I can think of. Brody was really shy when he first got on Santa's lap. He actually covered his face with his hands so Santa couldn't see him. Bridger just sat there and stared at him. No one was behind us in line so they just chilled with Santa for a while. Did they both smile at the same time while looking at the camera? Of course not but at least they aren't screaming, right? Also, Santa's eyes aren't really as creepy as they look- it's just the glare on his glasses.

On to other things.... as Brody said in his blog about being tagged, he likes to take his jammies off while in his crib. Then I have to go in before I go to bed and redress him so he doesn't freeze all night. Well my friend Hannah gave me a really good idea to put a t-shirt on over his jammies so he can't unzip them and take them off. So I did it and it worked...for a couple of days. Then he figured out to just put his hand under the shirt and unzip the jammies and just take his legs out and leave his arms in the sleeves. What is with that? Oh well. It is now only every once in a while that he gets out so I guess it's worth keeping the t-shirt on.

Bridger is now saying "Uh-oh", waving bye-bye, and taking up to 5 steps at a time.

Brody is now saying "Why not?" whenever I say anything (even when I say "yes"). Today I was on my way to the UPS store to mail a package that I had printed out a label for and I saw a UPS truck stopped at someone's house so I just stopped and gave it to him. Brody asked "what" that man was, meaning who he was and I told him he was the UPS man. When we got home more than an hour later, he told Adam that he saw a "U...P...S...mailman".

Also, here are some pictures of the boys playing at the park and of Bridger's cute haircut. That's about all for now. Any of you who are actually still reading this, thanks for sticking around and letting me vent!

Freak!

I was told by some birdies that I have been tagged - like everyone else and their dogs. I don't think I have any really abnormal traits so this should be pretty darn short.

1) Lets just get all the gross stuff out of the way first: I pee in the shower. I pick my nose and sometimes wipe the goobers on my pants. After I blow my nose I always have to look to see what marvels I produced and sometimes when I'm in the shower I blow right into my hands. If the mood is right when I burp or expel other unwanted gaseous odors I like to make sure some one I love knows it smelled real bad. If all those lovely quirks turn you against me, you can stop reading now, but if not I'll keep trying.

2) I like to randomly slip into various accents when I'm trying to be funny. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes I only make myself laugh. Sometimes I wish I were in that shower so no one could tell I just peed my pants.

3) I have an extra bone attached to my spine that makes me walk funny and throws off the balance of my whole body. For instance, the left side of my body grows more hair.

4) Jess claims I don't ever smell bad. I can go work in the back yard in the blazing sun, or exercise all day and come in smelling like I just walked out of the shower. BO is not my friend. We don't hang out. Sometimes we catch up on good times, but that's about the extent of our relationship.

5) Opposite of most people I know, I feel like I have to order something new at any restaurant i go to. I almost never order the same thing because i always want to try something new.

6) Jess calls me the "Good Idea Guy" because I come up with ingenious ways to do things. For instance, I make my hot chocolate hotter than normal and then add a scoop of ice cream. Try it and you'll never go back to normal.

7) I am a super efficient cleaner and can make the whole house look clean in half an hour.

Reading back through my list two words come to mind - disgusting and lame. So if you have a better idea for my list, please feel free to make suggestions. In the meantime, you can feel disgusted and lamed.

Adam's Family (do do do do snap snap)

Okay so it's been a while since I've posted but Audrey hasn't posted in like a month so I'm good (hint to Audrey). We have had a lot happen this week and I still haven't posted about Adam's family being here so here goes...

Adam's mom, dad, brother Hyrum, sister Faith, and her husband Allen came to stay with us Thanksgiving weekend. They drove through the night 12 hours to be here on Thanksgiving day. Adam prepared the meal and it was delicious. He brined the turkey overnight, made crock pot mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, etc. He even made a white chocolate mint Oreo cheesecake that was really yummy! I didn't have to worry about anything except setting the table. How great is that? The Livseys came over for dinner and they brought the yummiest rolls and stuffing, more pie, and I think some other things too but it's been a while, okay? It was a good day.

Friday morning Adam and I left the kids with the fam and went Christmas shopping for a couple of hours. We just hit Target, Michael's and Old Navy. We got some sweet deals, but I have never seen anything like that parking lot. It was before 8am when we got there and there was no where to park! It was insane. The line at Target was wrapped around the whole store, but they had a system that worked well so we were only in line for about 10 minutes.

Saturday night we went to Lights of the South. You go on a hayride pulled by a tractor through the trees and there are light displays and characters and you ride through it all. It is amazing. Then you can go to Mrs. Claus' kitchen and get hot chocolate or marshmallows to roast over the fire and you can go see Santa. We wanted to see Santa so we went and waited in line and after every person Santa had to get up and help the lady with the camera. Apparently he can make reindeer fly and deliver gifts to everyone in the world in one night but can't fix a camera. After waiting for longer than we wanted and seeing that the line wasn't progressing we left without seeing Santa. It was sad because Brody actually wanted to sit on Santa's lap. We are going to have to find a Santa to let him sit on.

The rest of the weekend was pretty much just hanging out, playing games, and putting up the Christmas decorations. Brody had so much fun with everyone. He took a particular interest in Hyrum and Allen because they would wrestle with him and throw him around like his dad does. He never was lacking attention and he was in heaven.

So other big news is that Bridger has started to walk. I say walk, but what I mean is take a few steps. Last Wednesday (the 29th) he took his first step and since then the most he has taken is 3 steps before falling. He is getting really good and standing up on his own but he is hesitant to take off. He has a lot of weight he has to balance!

We are getting excited for Christmas to come. It is such a special time of year. It is so easy to feel the Spirit during this time when our focus is on Jesus Christ and the amazing things He has done for us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so I know I am a little late for Thanksgiving but we have had family in town since Thursday and have been super busy so this is my post for Thanksgiving. In keeping with the true spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to tell you all what I am most thankful for.

I have three boys in my life that mean the world to me. I met Adam in 1996 when I was 13 years old and had a monstrous crush on him. It took a while for him to notice I was alive (granted, I was
13 and he was 16 at the time) but he did. Skip ahead a few years and we got married and he has been my best friend through out these years. He is so supportive and service-minded. He makes me laugh every day and is so fun to be around.

Brody is my 2 1/2 year old. He is so full of life and energy and is so smart. He amazes me. When he isn't driving me crazy, he is making me laugh and wanting to play and wrestle. He is an awesome big brother and takes good care of Bridger, even if that means trying to boss Bridger around so that he obeys mommy.

Bridger is my little baby. He is almost one and he is such a sweet baby. His smile melts me and his laugh takes away all ill will. I think that if terrorists and world leaders could all get together and just stare at him, we would have world peace. His thighs are yummy to munch on and his eyes are like bright blue stars.

My three boys make my life so rich and fun and sometimes very loud. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father trusted me to take care of them and to be their mom (and wife).

Toddler Tag

Hi all, this is Brody but my dad is helping me type this out. My mom tagged me too, so I guess I will have to tell you 6 of my dark secrets. Here goes nothin!

1) I pick my nose. I like to pick my nose. My mom says my finger is in my nose all the time, but that's simply not true. Sometimes its in my mouth, like after I pick my nose. Boogers just taste good. You should try one sometime.

2) I know all my letters of the Alphabet, but not in order. Dad wrote the alphabet under the table, and I have magnetic letters and we read 2 books every night. I think I'll be able to spell some words soon! Like honorific­abilitud­initatibus. That was coined by some guy named Shakespeare.

3) I like to drink my bath water. I don't think it tastes any better than real water, but I figure since it has all that soap in it maybe it will help me wash my insides.

4) I also like to pee in the bath water.

5) I love my best friend Hayden. We play together all the time; we push each other, hit each other, steal each other's toys, make each other cry and sometimes Hayden pulls my hair. Its so fun. I cry when I have to leave Hayden's house.

6) I prefer to sleep disrobed. After my mom and dad put me in my bed I secretly take my jammies off and then sleep with my hand in my diaper. While I'm asleep sometimes the magic naked police put my clothes back on.

I could go on about all my special features, but I think you get the idea. Also, my mom is hotter than your mom, and my dad could beat your dad up.

I've Been Tagged

So I was tagged twice and didn't do it and now I feel bad (sorry Tina and Julie) so I am going to respond to both of my tags in one post. How does that sound? The rules are that I have to say 6 things about myself that people may not know and then tag 6 people to do the same thing. So here goes:

1. I am a really picky eater. I don't try new things and I have rules about eating. For instance, my vegetables can't touch my other food. That is gross. I just like my food a certain way.

2. I met Adam when I was 13 and he was 16. He was my older brother's friend and didn't even know who I was but I wanted to marry him so bad. He was so dreamy. One time he and my brother Zach were going to the movies and I begged Zach to let me come so he did and he sat in between Adam and me. I know- what's with that? Anyway, we all shared a big tub of popcorn and since Adam touched it, I took it home and cherished it for a while until it got kind of gross and then I threw it away.

3. This one is kind of creepy. Whenever my hands aren't busy doing something, my fingers are spelling words out in cursive. I have been doing it since I can remember being able to write cursive. When we are watching tv I am usually spelling out what people are saying in mid air. Don't ask me why. Sometimes when my hands are busy, I spell with my toes. I know. It's creepy. Can we still be friends?

4. I was born with a large bump over my left eyebrow. When I was still a small baby, my mom took my brother Zach, my sister Eliza and I to the laundromat and Zach got jealous that my mom was paying more attention to me. He sat on my face- I don't know if he was trying to kill me or just hide me from my mom but either way, the bump popped and now I have a small hole where the bump was. Take a notice next you see me. It's weird.

5. I love Josh Groban with all my heart. He has such an amazing voice. Adam got me tickets to go see him in Vegas when we lived in California and then found out he couldn't get off work to go with me so I invited my dad to go instead. Poor Adam. It was awesome. Josh Groban has a new Christmas cd out called Noel if any of you are interested. In one of the songs, he sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

6. I may lose some friends over this because some people consider it disgusting but if you don't want to be my friend because of it, you're not that great of a friend anyway so here we go. I love popping zits. It is fun and is a great stress-reducer. Adam is really nice to let me torture him all the time. If only he had more acne. I miss having my brothers and Adam's brother around.

So that's me. Pretty LAME if you ask me! Now I am tagging Hannah, Eliza, Audrey, Ingrid, Heidi and Anita.