Sick of the Snow!

I was trying to think up a good title that would best summarize the whole month of January and that was the best I came up with. I am very literally, DONE with the snow. It has snowed more this winter than I think all of the past two winters combined. Right now we have at least a foot of snow, probably more, sitting on our yards. It it like, piled up four feet high in some places where Josh made the piles as he shoveled. I am ready to spend my winters in Hawaii from now on. Someday… someday….

Speaking of Hawaii, there is a SMALL chance we may be going to Hawaii with Devin and Charm… in February of 2017. That is still a long ways away so it remains to be seen, but the hope is that we can use their grandma's timeshare for a week long trip there. We will see if it actually happens or if the aunts revolt and end up yanking away our dreams at the last minute.

What else? Avery started back up at the BYUI preschool a few weeks ago. We weren't sure if she would get a spot since her application somehow got lost or something. But she did get in right before it started. She is also still doing the Burton elementary preschool the other two days of the week. She loves them both, but is still her little diva self now and then and has her moments where I wonder "If she is like this now, how will we survive her teen years?!"Help me.

Caleb is busy working on his presidential report and display board for "Teddy Roosevelt." I remember having to do this for Gabe. Gabe had Benjamin Harrison, who wasn't really a prominent person. So Teddy Roosevelt is a little more exciting, but also more work since there is so much information! Caleb is really liking the stories though, especially how the Teddy Bear came to be! Caleb is also playing basketball on a little rec league team. At his last game, he made six baskets! (He was motivated because Josh told him if he made four baskets he would take him to the new Super Walmart and let him pick out a toy with his tooth fairy money! haha He finally lost his second front tooth! As we watched Caleb score basket after basket and make eye contact with us and smile, Josh laughed and said "See? All he needs is a little motivation.")

Gabe is also on a basketball team with the fourth and fifth grade league. Josh somehow got roped into coaching at the last minute because they were desperate. So he has Gabe's team that he is trying to make men out of. He honestly has some very inexperienced players. :/ Gabe is one of the best, and this other kid named Tyke. They score the majority of the points. Their third game was this last Saturday, and though they didn't win, it was a good game and the teams were pretty evenly matched. Gabe's team led pretty much the whole first half, but the other team must've drank their Gatorade at half time because they ended up coming back and winning in the end by about six points. Gabe is also busy trying to finish earning his "Bear" badge in Cub Scouts. I am the Cub Master (why they called me into something outdoorsy/boy scout related I still am not sure…) so I have been trying to help push him along with it. He really does enjoy it, it's just finding the time with regular homework, sports, playing outside with friends, and everything else in out lives!

Josh's work schedule is ever changing as usual. He has been working a 12 hour night shift for the past few months. He will work two days on, two days off, two days on, three days off, etc. kind of in a pattern. But they just redid everything and now he will be working 4 days on, 4 days off. I swear I have erased the calendar work days and rewritten them so many times… good thing I used a pencil. Plus with SWAT team, teaching an Alive at 25 class, K-9 duties, and other "mandatory meetings", it seems like he never really has a full-fledged "day off"! Luckily my Etsy shop hasn't been very busy this month, so I haven't been super mad about it!

As for me, hopefully my shop will pick up a little in the coming month because I DO like extra money. I know in the past I have started to get busy with wedding things in the Spring, so I am somewhat expecting that to happen again, however it seems like more and more shops have decided to start selling the same silhouette wedding programs that I created, so that's not too cool. I wish there weren't so many copy-catters! In the meantime, I have been trying to help Rachel with some Save the Dates and wedding invitation planning, and also organize our upcoming Cub Scout Blue and Gold "Lego" themed banquet. (Hence the picture of the baby food jars painted like Lego heads)

Well that's about all I can think of for now! Oh yeah! And at church - Avery started Sunbeams in January! She is officially done in nursery! :( I will never have a nursery kid again! That's pretty crazy. She loves her Sunbeam class. Our ward also just got new boundaries so we have lost some great people, but hopefully it will all work out and we will figure out the new callings and everything soon!

Here are some picture!

Christmas 2015!

Well another Christmas is in the bag and another year is almost over! I can't believe how fast the time flies by. I am making it a goal to go through all my old videos and get them organized somehow… (not sure how…) but it's gonna happen!

Here is the recap of Christmas this year!
It didn't even snow until about mid-December. The boys had a birthday party at their friend, Michael Boyter's, house (they are living in the Meadows now and waiting for their house to get built) but Michael had wanted to go sledding and there wasn't enough snow! Then all of a sudden it started and now it's like it doesn't want to stop! It snowed a TON the week of Christmas. We probably got at least eight inches in the Wednesday and Thursday before Christmas Day (Friday.) I was glad we weren't planning to make any big holiday travels! We did go to the Ashton church on Tuesday night for the Rhodes family celebration, but that was before the big snow started luckily. On Christmas Eve day, we actually did something crazy and drove to the sand dunes and went sledding! I was glad we didn't get stuck!

For Christmas, the kids got WAAAAAY too many presents. I am deciding right now that next Christmas, we are taking the kids on a trip with the money instead. (We will see if I hold myself to that.) It is looking like 2016 is already going to be a year filled with travels to Wisconsin in August for Rachel and Jake's wedding (they just got engaged a few weeks ago!) and we are also planning a little Utah/Zion's/Vegas trip in March! So why not a trip in January 2017 as well? ;)

Here is some of what the kids got for Christmas:

Gabe - LOTS of Legos, including a Lego police truck, helicopter, Star Wars guy ; lots of clothes ; new Nike shoes ; Minecraft books, and more.

Caleb - More Legos, Ninjago one, Bike transporter one, etc. ; some Rescue Bots ; some Star Wars stuff (Star Wars is EVERYWHERE right now. There is no escape from their merchandising efforts since the latest one just came out. Don't ask me what number it is…. sheesh… like 7? I dunno…)

Avery - Princess Magic Clip dolls, Sofia Bath toys, clothes, Peppa Pig Car, Cinderella Carriage, "Pink Picnic basket" (she was so excited for that and kept asking every Santa for it), and lots more.

Like I said, my kids are spoiled.

So now it's the 27th and I am catching the "get organized" bug that seems to hit everyone this time of year! It's like, your house is in total disarray from the holidays and then in January you are like, "Why do I have all this freakin' stuff?! I need to de-clutter!!! And also lose the ten pounds I gained over the holiday!" (So that's about where I am at…) lol

I will probably also re-open my Etsy shop in January. I have been enjoying the break from it though! But I also enjoy making money… so…. I should probably get back on the horse! I know it sounds crazy but we really have a goal of getting out house paid off in the next five years… which sounds like a totally lofty and unattainable goal that sometimes it's like "Why even try?" But I really want to and I can be pretty persistent when I set my mind to something… so we will see!

Here are some pictures!

Almost Christmas!

I wanted to quick write a blog update before the craziness of Christmas sets in! What have we been up to this past month?

First, Gabe had his science fair (yes he did one in third grade too… why do they have them do it two years in a  row? I'm not really sure…) But this year we did an easy experiment that tested "Are dogs' and cats' mouths really cleaner than humans'?" Josh actually came up with the idea. We had Kitty lick a piece of bread, and Piper lick a piece of bread, and Gabe lick a piece of bread, and then had one that NO ONE licked. We put them all in plastic baggies and watched them over the course of three weeks. Kitty's grew mold the fastest! Ewww… But hers and Piper's both got waaaay moldier than the other two. Therefore, do NOT let your pet kiss you. Gross.

What else? Avery finished up her Fall BYUI semester of preschool. In some form of paperwork error or sheer carelessness, somehow her application was "lost" for the Winter semester, so she may or may not be having a place again starting in January. Stinkin' people over there. We can't all be an organized and perfect as me. ;) We are hoping she gets in since she is "first one the waiting list" (they say) but who knows. Maybe she will be home with me on M,W, and F mornings. She will still go to the Burton one across the street though on Tues and Thurs. She also finished her little gymnastics class and even got a little "gold medal" on the last day. If she doesn't end up doing the M,W, F preschool again I may sign her up for a regular weekly gymnastics class. She tried dance for a few months, but I ultimately decided she wasn't quite ready for it and pulled her out in November. She just stood there half the time so I figured I would save myself the $30 a month! But I DO plan to try it again with her next Fall! A highlight for Avery as well was going to ride on the city Carousel for one night that Santa was there. She LOVES the carousel but it has been closed since labor day for the winter. So she was completely elated to actually be able to go ride it again for one night! (She couldn't have cared less about the Santa part)

What can I say about Caleb? He is still our little funny Caleb with his Eeyore attitude sometimes. He is so picked on. (sarcasm) His second grade class did their yearly "Wizard of Oz" Christmas play (it's kind of weird…) and the funniest part was that he was cast by the teacher as Toto. He is the biggest kid in the second grade and yet he was playing the little dog. haha

We have had a TON of snow the past week so the kids have really enjoyed that. They have been off of school since last Friday (today is Wednesday) and they are already bored I think. My Etsy shop has been closed since the 14th so I am pretty bored too! haha But I am enjoying the free time! It has been another successful year! Our goal is to get our house paid off as soon as possible. ;) Josh is still at the police department and people seem to be dropping like flies (quitting…. not dying thankfully…) so maybe he will move up faster in the ranks than we had originally planned on! hahaha He talks about quitting too, but in all reality he is probably a "lifer." I always tell him he's the future chief. ;)

Tonight we are going to the Ashton church for Josh's family's little Christmas shin-dig. We will do a white elephant exchange for the adults and then a separate kid gift exchange. We are also doing breakfast for dinner. It's hard adjusting to other family's weird traditions but oh well. ;) At least my mom sent us her Christmas cookies in the mail! Maybe some day we will go back home to Wisconsin again for Christmas!  Or, if I had my way, to Hawaii…. ;)

Okay, here are some pictures of the past month!