My Silly Kylee

The other night, I went in to check on the kids and this is how I found Kylee. She goes to bed at the same time as the boys but she likes to play around. That's why she and Drew could never share a room. Drew goes straight to sleep, and Kylee plays around for an hour. Sometimes I walk in on some pretty hilarious sights. This happened to be one of those nights. I don't even know how she is comfortable enough to fall asleep. Don't you love the mess she made too!

Drew Lost 2 Teeth!

 Just after school started back up from winter break, Drew realized 2 of his teeth were loose. One tooth was really bothering him. He was in tears one afternoon, so I asked him if I could look at it. I got a Kleenex and pulled his tooth out without him even knowing. He started wailing because apparently it hurt super bad and then the blood freaked him out. I asked him if he could feel his tooth, and then he realizes it is missing. Oh my dramatic 6 year old. After my little trick, he wouldn't let me near his other loose tooth. He just kept wiggling it for a few days till I asked Ryan to pull it. This time Drew knew what was going on and didn't cry. He was so excited to get 2 visits from the Tooth Fairy.

St. George Trip

 A few days after Christmas, we headed up to St. George to spend some time with Ryan's parents and visit his sister's family. The kids were really disappointed that there wouldn't be any snow like there is in Provo. We got lucky that a huge storm rolled in on Christmas Eve. Ryan promised the kids he would take them sledding in Cedar City. His sister said she knew of a really great place to sled. So one morning, Ryan took Drew and Kylee to find the snow. Bryce wasn't feeling well so I stayed home with him. Well, right when they got there, Kylee got out for 30 seconds and then decided she didn't want to play. She was too cold. So she went back to the car and stayed there the rest of the time. That's why there isn't any pictures of her. Silly girl. Drew had fun till he crashed. He was done after that. So moral of the story, no snow activities when we go to St. George.

Ryan trying to make a snowman for Kylee. That's all she wanted to do, but wouldn't even get out of the car to help.

Drew had fun sledding with Aunt Aly's help.

Christmas 2012

 Christmas was a lot of fun this year. We started out the Christmas season with our annual Christensen Gingerbread Houses. The kids loved putting all the candy they wanted on the houses, plus eating lots too. It was quite the sugar rush.

 On Christmas Eve we went to my parent's house for dinner. After dinner was the annual devotional, gift exchange, and walking our favorite cul-de-sac in Chandler. Just helps bring out the true meaning of Christmas and sets the right tone. Then we came back for dessert. We headed home and put the kids to bed so we could set up for Christmas morning. It was another low-key Christmas this year, but I love it that way. There wasn't any big gift to give the kids this year so we got a new TV for the family room. Everyone got a new sword so we could have a friendly sword fight. I think that was the highlight of Christmas morning.

 I had to include this picture because I absolutely LOVE Bryce's face. I am so glad I remembered to get the camera out. I am horrible at taking pictures. Ryan at least remembered and took a picture of each kid.

 Drew got lots of Mario and Angry Birds stuff. He is opening his Cars art pack. I love where he is keeping his sword in this picture!

 Kylee got really spoiled this year with Cinderella dolls and Lalaloopsy dolls. She also got her Dream Lite that she has been begging for a while now.

 Bryce was so excited to get swords for Christmas. He really didn't care too much about anything else. He loves his new Jeep he got and is all over the backyard in it.

 This year we got extra spoiled by some sweet neighbors. They left each child some toys to open up on our doorstep and made the kids feel so special. They gave Drew a flying helicopter that Ryan has to operate and that was probably his favorite present. What a wonderful Christmas we had. I was so happy my kids were happy. It was nice to spend the whole day as a family.

Winter Sing

 Drew had his first Winter Sing. He has this amazing music teacher that does so well with these kindergarteners. At home, Drew refuses to sing, but as I was watching him during his program, I realized he was singing every word. He knew every song and did all the actions. I was so proud of him and got teary eye even. Just last year, in May, Drew wouldn't sing for me at his preschool program. Come to think of it, he never would sing at any of his preschool programs. So for him to get up there, in front of an auditorium full of people he didn't know, was just awesome. That speaks volumes to his music and kindergarten teacher. My little boy is growing up so fast and for once, I LOVE it!

Drew is 6!

 Oh man was it a countdown to Drew's 6th brithday. He was so excited and happy when the day finally arrived. On his actual birthday, we stopped at Circle K after school to get his favorite donut and drink. We went to Joe's BBQ for dinner and got a big slice of cake from Liberty Market. It was one yummy birthday.

After dinner, we Skyped Grandma and Grandpa while Drew opened his presents from them. He was so excited to get Super Mario Bros and a BLACK Wii remote. It's all he has been wanting for 6 months now. To say he was excited, was an under statement. The next night, we went to McDonald's with 2 of his friends. I was suppose to let Drew have a party last year, but it never happened. I really wasn't in the mood this year, so when I suggested McDonald's he was quite happy. It's not hard to please Drew. We had cupcakes there and I didn't have to clean up. Best ever! Then on Sunday, we celebrated his birthday one last time at my parents. He got his little Angry Birds to fling, Mario PJ's, and a Fire Mario stuffed doll that he really, really wanted. It had to be the Fire Mario and not the regular one. He is kind of picky when it comes to Mario. It was a fun birthday. I can't believe he is 6 already. Here are some things about Drew:

Favorite color is black

Loves Mario and Angry Birds

Is my best helper

Loves to play the Wii or Daddy's tablet

Goes to sleep the best...usually asleep by 8 PM every night

Still picky on foods, but getting better

Starting to love salad, but has to be the white/yellow part, doesn't like the green part (LOL)

 Loves play fighting with anyone who will play with him

Happy Birthday Drew!

Thanksgiving

I don't have any pictures of Thanksgiving but just wanted to write a little bit about it. Ryan doesn't have any vacation/sick days nor does he get paid for holidays, so when it comes to major holidays, we just bite the bullet and loose pay for the day. It was kind of nice having Ryan around Thanksgiving morning. I let him sleep in while I took the kids to my Mom's for monkey bread. Then we just chilled at our house till it was time to head back over to my Mom's for Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, we cleaned up quickly, and I headed out with my Mom and sister to go Black Friday shopping, even though the sales started on Thursday. I got my iPad so I was completely happy. Not as fun as past Black Friday shopping trips, but I got what I wanted/needed and it was nice to be in bed by 1 AM. This year, we had so many things to be grateful for, but most importantly, we were grateful for Ryan finally getting a job so I could be home with the kids. It took longer than we expected, but we were prepared and were able to get through the hard year in one piece. :)

Halloween 2012

 Do you know how hard it is to take pictures of three kids?? It is nearly impossible with a 2 year old. And then Kylee has issues with smiling and likes to give me lots of silly faces.

 Had to include this picture. I love how Kylee is leaning into Drew. They really do love each other.

We had a great Halloween. The kids got to dress up in their costumes 3 times. Drew was a Death Eater, Kylee was Wonder Woman, and Bryce was a frog. The first activity was with my parent's ward at their carnival. That is definitely a highlight of Halloween. We love the yummy food and the kids loves all the games and bounce houses. Then we had our ward Trunk or Treat which is always fun for the kids. The don't care about the chili or hot dogs, they just want to ride on the train and play with friends. Finally, we had Halloween, which we kept kind of low-key. Ryan doesn't get home from work till 5:30 so then we headed straight to my Mom's house. We met up with the cousins and walked a few half streets. We had so much candy by the time Halloween night came around, I really didn't want more. So the kids helped Nana and Papa pass out candy after trick or treating a few houses, and then we headed home. This was one of our best Halloweens.