Winter in the Wild Wild West

We took the plunge of flying with all three kids on a 7AM flight to go to UT.  You are probably thinking, "That doesn't sound that early, buck up, get over it."  I will inform you that arrival at the Philly airport two hours early could be considered cutting it close.  And then you have to add the two hour drive to the airport.  Add to that 30 minutes to wake up, dress, load truck with luggage and cranky kids.  We were up at 2:30 in the morning; it surely was a plunge to leave so early in the morning.  We arrived all in one piece in UT and then had the drive to Orem before the festivities could begin.  Whenever we went anywhere during the trip Charlie would ask in a tone of dreading the change of location if we were getting on a plane or if it was far.  He was not ready to repeat our 10 hours of travel that it took us getting to Utah.

We visited Tom & Jan at their home first.  We opened presents all together and the kids loved the toys they got.  

We visited Ashley's family.  Charles and Annette went out with his sisters to Cracker Barrel and surely loved it.  Charles played racquetball.   Annette saw the 3rd Hobbit.  Showed the boys BYU.  It was a dream come true for Charlie.  We bowled there, also.  Annette celebrated the commencement of her life.

http://youtu.be/ahTse-rojm4

http://youtu.be/Kx0gunpZYM4

Elizabeth is in her new Christmas outfit with her new doll.

Everyone came over for Annette's birthday dinner.

Here's Annette's first photo as a 25 year old!  She still forgets how old she is.  She says she doesn't feel a day over 21.

Charlie learned  how to play CandyLand with Grandma.

Here are the kiddos in their new BYU sweatshirts.  They love them to pieces.

We drove to Grantsville to visit Sandra & Larry.  There was a huge accident on I-80.  So it took 45 minutes to go 1 minute's worth of driving.  Charles and Annette went to the Nutcracker.  Charles enjoyed the ballet more than he thought he would, but still not enough to go back to see another ballet.  Annette enjoyed it immensely and would go to another ballet for sure if the opportunity presented itself.  We spent the time in Grantsville with Annette's siblings.  All of the cousins had a blast playing with one another.

Sterling and Elizabeth were highly confused on who their mom was and had no problem going to their aunt.  It was so stinking adorable.

Gideon was so good with Lizzy.  Don't mind that her pants look like shorts :)

We hit Temple Square which was absolutely freezing at 7 degrees after the wind.  Don't we look so good with seven kids?

Lizzy and Sterling had lots of fun together.  Sterling made sure he drooled all over Elizabeth everyday.

Charlie and Henry had lots of fun with Gideon who is right in between their ages.  The three of them will surely be as thick as thieves soon enough.

It was such a great Christmas!  The boys are always talking about their grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and their cousins.  I am glad that they can have good relationships with their extended family.  It was a blessing that we each were able to grow up with our extended families and hope that our children will continue to have the same opportunities with their extended family.

Our Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we reenacted the Nativity.   Our cast was as follows...

Elizabeth - Mary

Charlie - Joseph

Henry - Sheep, Wiseman

Annette - Angel, Donkey, Wiseman

Charles - Inn Keeper, Shepherd, King Herod

Book - Baby Jesus

Here we are after the Nativity.

http://youtu.be/K-2uF7GuKhE

It was delightful chaos to teach the children.  We had reviewed it plenty during the month so they did pretty well.  Elizabeth was a beautiful Mary and she was surely the star of the show.

It was fun to set out Christmas for the kids.  I felt like this was our first real Christmas by ourselves where the kids kind of knew what was going on.  They didn't get many presents because they have plenty of toys.  We are also basing their allotted cash amount on their age so it will increase as they get older.  To help curb potential sickness through the holidays we gave snack food in their stocking instead of candy.  All of the extra sugar through flu season has got to wreak havoc on any good immune system, so we are trying to avoid it as much as possible.

Christmas morning was lots of fun.  The boys love their tractors and emergency vehicles that they got.  Henry calls them his birthday toys.  Lizzy enjoyed all of the commotion and trying to eat all of the stuff that she shouldn't.

Merry Christmas!!!

A few videos I'm sure grandparents will love.

http://youtu.be/AkmQuV6ZEM0

http://youtu.be/_7AF7axscRA

http://youtu.be/s5UdnHY0lMs

Before Christmas we had Charles' work party out in King of Prussia (KoP) which is outside of Philly.  It was fun.  For the kids there was a Santa passing out presents and a magician.  The kids were a definite favorite among Charles' coworkers.  They were all amazed at how well behaved they were.  Elizabeth was the bell of the ball and had a grand ol' time being passed around among all of them.  We got to stay at the Marriott for the night which was fun.  Elizabeth enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with herself in the mirror while there.  We used their pool in the morning.  Annette was in heaven to be able to do laps.  Charles played with the kids in the jacuzzi which was surprisingly not too hot, just perfect for the kids.  

 

http://youtu.be/lFH8JlG1N3I

Elizabeth loves water more than anyone in our family except perhaps for Annette.

Henry was super cautious, especially after falling into the 3 foot section.

 Charlie still loved it even after falling in over his head in the 3 foot section.

Silly Little Elizabeth

I finally got my little puppy.  Elizabeth loves to hold her tongue out and breath.  She scrunches up her face while doing it.  She make the silliest faces all of the time.  Sometimes she looks kind of mad when doing it.  

http://youtu.be/VzvAFTmL-6w

http://youtu.be/nPknX6qigwQ

But, here is a photo of her keeping her tongue in and sleeping quietly.

But if you wanted a photo of her cute and awake here it is.

If you wanted girly cuteness multiplied by three, here it is :)  Can you say blackmail?

http://youtu.be/HQezRwbx3mo

Christmas Train Ride

Last year we went on a train ride with the BYU Susquehanna Valley Alumni Chapter.  It was pretty darn fun so we went again this year.

All of the kids loved looking out of the windows most of the time.

I think Elizabeth had the most fun out of all of them.

Here are some cute videos for your viewing pleasure.

http://youtu.be/9YIIG_KsrVE

http://youtu.be/BwCPd3wH0F4

Santa came on board and gave everyone a bell from his sleigh like in the book Polar Express.

Yea!  Another fun train ride under our belt.

Our Christmas Card!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This year has been exciting!  We continue to figure out all the little nuances of central Pennsylvania.  We visited Washington D.C., Gettysburg, Lancaster to see the Amish, Hershey Park, Philly, New York City, Connecticut, Boston, and all of the places and states between those destinations.  We textured and painted the rooms of our house.  We installed ceiling fans where no overhead lighting existed.  We loved having both sets of grandparents at our home after Lizzy was born for a little visit.  We had some of our friends live in our basement bedroom during the summer.  It was great to have free babysitting!  We went camping twice.  Charles and Annette had their five year anniversary and went to the Pocono Mountains (with Lizzy) and saw the Bushkill Waterfalls.  We spent a lot of time at the park as well.  We enjoyed having the Elders and Sister missionaries at our home at least once a month for dinner.

Elizabeth 8 mo

Her big event this year was that she was born!  Since then she has learned to crawl, stand, climb up things, wave, clap, and eat solids.  She has five teeth and is a lightweight at about 16 lbs.  

Henry 2 yrs

He spent most of the year beating himself up and getting all sorts of bruises and gouges.  Henry really learned to talk through the year and now he doesn't stop talking.  He progressed from the beginning stages of learning to use a spoon to knowing how, but still preferring to use his hands.  Henry progressed from cuddling with my hair to loving used dryer sheets.  Henry has been potty training for about a month and is doing pretty well.

Charlie 3.5 yrs

He learned to potty in the toilet after nine long months of practicing.  Charlie bit his tongue half open this year as his big injury.  Charlie learned the alphabet and how to spell his name this year with "school time" we had at home for a few months.  Charlie enjoys throwing away diapers for a penny each.  Henry joins in at times, but still isn't motivated enough.  Charlie loves Sleeping Beauty and loves slaying the dragon to save the princess.

Annette 24.9 yrs

Her greatest accomplishment for the year was that she was pregnant and had a baby, that was a big accomplishment for Charles, too.  She enjoyed growing an herb garden this year and using it in her cooking.  Annette's scriptures ripped apart and has been in the large process of transferring all of her notes and markings.  Annette did a lot of sewing of clothes for herself and Elizabeth and home things.  Annette was the Compassionate Service Coordinator and is now a Relief Society Teacher at church and substitutes one of the two youth classes every week.

Charles 34 yrs

Three days after Elizabeth was born he changed jobs to a medical manufacturing company out here through a guy at church.  Charles went from being in the Young Men's Presidency to being the Sunday School President.  Charles bought a truck which Annette uses most of the time.  He has been doing most of the home projects of texturing and painting.  Changing knobs, outlets, carpet and floorboards.  Re-finishing the basement bedroom and deep organizing all of his tools in the basement and shed.  Charles has also done an excellent job taking Annette out on lots of fun dates this year.

Little Lizzy Learning & Her Brothers

Lizzy has this little Johnny Jump Up we got for free.  She loves jumping.

http://youtu.be/S1loztm8EdA

Lizzy has learned to wave and to clap.  It seems way early for her to know real tricks like that, but I'll take it.

http://youtu.be/wYrmV7rbZqc

Elizabeth got caught red-handed taking all of the diapers out of the bags.

But she is as cute as ever.

A kind of long movie, but she is so cute.

http://youtu.be/8w_ZZfrcx6A

Elizabeth pretty much hasn't had an official bath forever; I just kind of clean her up as needed.  She totally loved her bath.

Heres a little movie of her crazy splashing.

http://youtu.be/d67K-lsLYDs

I love Elizabeth's huge eyes.  She had just crawled across our little hall.

Here she is crawling across it.  This movie isn't that old, but she sure has improved since then.

http://youtu.be/6mqgLCIfmNU

The boys and Lizzy love brushing their teeth.  Here Henry is demonstrating the proper techniques.

I was trying to get a video of Lizzy crawling, but instead I got a great shot of what looks like Henry swallowing a toy screwdriver.  It is just after the 5 second mark.

http://youtu.be/TqIABHD7Ucw

I remember as a child climbing into our bathroom cupboards.  Henry is now enjoying the same adventure.

Charlie enjoys it, too.

Here is a little movie of it.

http://youtu.be/quNCs7DlbZw

And last, but not least, here is a super cute photo of Charlie being excited about something.

In Charlie's prayer one night, when he was listing the things he was thankful for he said, "and Mommy who's grumpy, and Charlie who's happy (he always refers to himself in third person while praying), and Daddy at work (he was at a church meeting)."  Those were the really cute things that stood out to me.