A Very Merry Christmas

We had a fabulous Christmas this year and hope that everyone else did too. I will apologize in advance about the pictures in this post. I got a new point and shoot camera for my birthday and while it takes pictures much more quickly than my old one (which is why I wanted a new one in the first place) I can't seem to take a single picture without blurring it. I'll have to work on that or stop being so lazy and just pull out the SLR camera instead.


Here are the girls making the annual batch of sugar cookies. This is usually only an annual event because it is such a hassle! So many things have to be done at the same time and it stresses me out. But the girls loved it and I loved the results (trust me...I ate more than my fair share!)

We bought a gingerbread house kit for the first time this year and the girls had a lot of fun putting it together. I thought it would make a lovely display for the holiday season but it only lasted one day before Abbie couldn't take it any longer and started eating it.

Christmas morning highlights included a Nintendo DS for Carly and Abbie, an over the range microwave for Drew and Wendy and a water baby for Savannah.
Savannah with her baby. She is a very good Mommy. She has also started saying "baby" very clearly in the last couple of weeks and it is so cute. We love her sweet little voice!The girls also each got a Zhu Zhu pet. Santa must have gotten caught up in the frenzy of the retail world this year...after all, those little babies were hard to find!

And in parting I leave you with a snipet of the Maxfield family Christmas Eve celebration of playing Lego Rock Band. What a talented group!

Disneyland & Halloween

We've been planning a trip to Disneyland with Drew's entire family for several months now but we kept it as a secret from the girls until the morning we left. They thought we were loading them into the van at 6 AM to go get pumpkins but then when we got to grandma's we told them where we were really going. They were as excited as my children get (no squealing and jumping up and down like I'd hoped for) but excited nonetheless.

Carly, Savannah & Abbie in their ears

The cousins waiting in line to meet Minnie Mouse

Our family in the must-have photo location for Halloween time. One of my favorite parts was that you could go and meet the Disney villains in addition to the usual characters and princesses. We saw Jafar, the Queen of Hearts, the hag from Snow White, the Queen from Snow White and Captain Hook.

We spent a total of five days in California and were at Disneyland most of the time. We were with Scott and Kelley who are pro Disneyland attendees and they taught us a few good tricks like staying at a hotel across the street and going to grocery store to stock up on Lunchables, snacks and drinks to save some money in the park. While there were opportunities to rest and wait while others went on rides, during meals and shows, etc. We still did a lot of walking around and as you can see from the picture below it wore us out!

Thank goodness for double strollers!

We had a great time with Drew's family. I'm hoping it does not spoil the girls too much that we went two years in a row. I've told them several times that we will not be going again next year and that we are very lucky to have been able to go with the Maxfield family this year.

As for Halloween we had a great one this year. We went to a couple of parties on Friday night so Drew and I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. I'm not really one for making costumes so I let the girls pick theirs out early in the month and told them that there could be no changing of minds. Luckily they were still happy about their choices by the time Halloween rolled around.

Carly the devil

Abbie the angel

As for Savannah's costume, I did put this one together and I'm not sure that was such a good idea. It caused more stress than it was worth. She is supposed to be a peacock in case you can't tell. She had a little tail which does not really show in the picture. But she did look very cute. Too bad that feathers were flying everywhere as the costume slowly fell apart that night!
I love this picture! Drew had been testing out his mask with Savannah for a couple of days and she would never go to him when he was wearing it. She did get to the point, however, that she would push his nose in. I guess that was her way of tell that Big Bad Wolf that he wasn't so tough!

We have a 7-year-old!

Time certainly seems to be flying by these days. I remember the first time I held Carly in the hospital and thinking "It's a little me." Now she is 7! She was very excited for her birthday. All the family came over to open gifts and have cake and ice cream. Since Carly is very much into all things girly, we decided to do a purse cake this year (thanks to inspiration from my amazing cousin Becky). I think it turned out pretty well. At least it wasn't falling over...that's an accomplishment. With each cake I make I learn something new and hopefully I'll have the process down one day and it won't take me an entire afternoon to put one together.
With this cake I also decided that I ought to try and make it tasty too. Usually it is just a store cake mix and I focus all my attention on the outward appearance. So Carly's cake was chocolate pudding cake with cream cheese and raspberry filling covered with a THICK layer of yummy chocolate buttercream. Delicious if I do say so myself!

Something's missing and television debut

Wow! Three posts in the month of September? I'm on fire! So much to tell....

After weeks, possibly months, of wiggling and wriggling Carly finally lost her first tooth! She was so excited. She kept asking how it was going to fall out and Drew would tell her that she needed to push and pull on it until she heard snapping and it hurt. I always quickly jumped in and told her that that was not necessary and the tooth would come out when it was ready. By the end of last week it was getting ridiculously loose (wasn't even sitting straight in her mouth anymore) so I recommended that she eat an apple. Sure enough, a couple of bites into it she exclaimed "My tooth just came out!" She proudly displayed her bloody little fingertip but there was no tooth. "Where is the tooth?" I asked. "Oh it fell out on the carpet somewhere," she responded rather nonchalantly. Luckily Drew found the tooth. So we were going to tuck the tooth into a little pouch to put under her pillow that night but got too busy and forgot. Fortunately she had put the tooth in an empty mason jar on the kitchen table for safe keeping so Drew suggested that the "Tooth Fairy" just leave the money there. The next morning Carly was pleased and surprised to find a dollar in the jar instead of her tooth. She later told us "I think I heard a jar opening last night" which of course was not true because she was sound asleep but I thought it was kind of funny anyway.

And now on to GTU, which for those of you who are not avid watchers stands for a local show called "Good Things Utah." I record this show every day and have for at least the last six and half years. I never miss it. Last week they did a call out for anyone who needed help finding jeans that fit to go shopping with Alicia Richmond from Chic on a Shoestring. So I sent her an email complaining about my flat butt/small gut problems. Much to my surprise I was one of the ladies picked for the segment. I met with Alicia at Fashion Place mall for a rather rushed and not quite as informative as I had hoped shopping trip. She basically just picked out a few pairs of jeans for me to try on for her and then went out and pick a top to go with it. I did get to help a little with the selection of shoes because I had to make sure she did not choose peep toes. That would have had viewers flipping channels for sure! My toes are HIDEOUS! So it was a semi-fun shopping trip. Unfortunately she picked out $178 jeans, an $80 cardigan, a $20 tank top, $38 earrings, and I don't even know how much the shoes were. So needless to say, I did not purchase the outfit. It was just on loan.

Alicia was going out of town and so we filmed the segment on Tuesday even though it will not air until tomorrow (Thursday the 17th 10-11 AM on channel 4 for those of you anxious to watch). Being on the set was a lot of fun. After watching the show for so many years it was crazy to see how small it actually is. Things definitely look bigger on camera...including people. The hostesses are all stick skinny! So I can't wait to see how big I look...probably cow or buffalo sized! They did not give us much direction on what to do like whether we should smile, hold still, keep our hands down, etc. I was wearing pretty high heels (which I do not do very often) and so my legs were shaking a little when I tried to hold still for the camera. I could see them panning down on my legs and I just hope that you can't see them shaking!

All in all it was a really fun experience. It was something I have never done before and will probably never do again.

Music!

I'm trying to distance myself as far away from my kitchen table as possible right now. My sweet little Abbie thought it might be a good idea to carve a picture into our kitchen table using metal scissors. These marks aren't coming out folks. SERENITY NOW!

As per usual, I am about two years behind when it comes to technology and have just gotten around to creating a playlist. This means (for any of you further behind than me) that you get to listen to some fab tunes whenever you read this blog. So enjoy!

And here's a quick tip for any of you struggling with storage space as we do around here. I just went to Wal-Mart this weekend and bought a few low-profile boxes to put toys in and store under the girls' beds. I know that some of you may already be utilizing this often overlooked space but if not than I highly recommend it. Now the shelves in the toy room are only moderately crowded. (sigh of relief)

The Big 5 and Back to School

The last few weeks have been quite busy at our house. Abbie turned 5 and she got to have a friend party this year. Since I didn't really want to make two separate cakes or plan two separate parties, we combined friends and family with a birthday carnival. It was a lot of fun but unfortunately it was also a scorching 100 degrees! I don't think the kinds minded too much but I have to give a big shout out to all the adults that helped with the "booths." I know it was way too hot to be outside so we appreciate you! My dad did the bean bag toss, Scott did Spill the Milk, Hailey did Plinko, Linda and Kelley did face painting, Cindy did popcorn and the fish pond, Mike and Andrea did sno cones, and my sweet Drew made balloon animals (most of which popped a few minutes after due to the heat...poor guy!) Thank you everyone!

Abbie embracing her new number!

The carnival in full swing. Abbie is in line for her balloon animal.

Face painting

Mekenzie playing "Spill the Milk". Knock 'em down Kenz!

The Birthday cake. Cake by me, horses by Drew.

And for those of you who have anxiously been awaiting the results of the Barbie house remodel.....

'

Ta dah!

I put this vinyl on the back so it wouldn't be quite so plain. The house used to be bright yellow and we changed it to a more subtle green. You can't see in any of these pictures but we also recovered the roof with soft black shingles, added black shutters and window boxes complete with pink roses.

The living room complete with sectional seating so that Barbie and Ken can entertain friends and family.

The kitchen. Everybody wants stainless steel appliances and wood floors right?

The master bedroom. The delux bed coverings are courtesy of my mother the seamstress...thanks Mom! You can't really tell but the "artwork" on the walls are actually pictures that Drew and I took on our trip to Europe a couple of years ago.

And finally, the bathroom. Take note of the wainscoting and moulding detail. Every room has crown and baseboard but this room got a little extra.

It is also back to school time. This year I sent both girls off to Parkside Elementary...home of the Panthers!

Carly at her big first grader desk. No more tables! Poor Carly doesn't have the best of luck on her first day of school though. Last year she got lost trying to find her classroom (luckily a cute little girl from our ward found her and helped her). This year it was the bus that caused problems. Her teacher told her what bus number she was on but she forgot and didn't not know which bus to get on. The principle tried to help her out but her old bus driver ended up bringing her home on a different bus. Poor Carly! She told me later that she got pretty scared and almost cried. I bet she won't forget the number 87 anymore!

Abbie has had absolutely no reservations about going to kindergarten. She has been excited from the start. I'm glad that she has Carly to ride the bus with her in the mornings. It's nice to have a big sister to look out for you....I speak from experience! :) (Thanks Rachelle for letting me sit on your lap on the bus ride home so many days. I know my "butt was bony." That's love.) Since Abbie's birthday was the first week of school she gets to be the student of the week this week. We made a poster with all her favorites that she got to present to her class and she gets to do all sorts of other fun activities this week.

That's about it for our family. Three of us have been fighting off the plague of a nasty cough and even bronchitis for poor Drew. I'm just counting down the days until Carly and I get it. I also spent a day in the kitchen doing some canning. I did pickles this year, which is a first for me. I also did peaches. We just love those peaches!

And for any of you keeping tabs on my driving record you'll love this. After nearly 14 years of driving I finally got pulled over for the first time last week. But don't worry...I only got a fix it ticket for my brake lights. No points...no fees...nice! Unfortunately I can't brag about my spotless driving record any more...or can I? It doesn't really count right?

Giving up!

So today I have decided to give up two things. The first is my terrible cola habit. I am truly addicted at this point and Drew and I have both decided to give it up. Perhaps in the process we can lose a few unwanted pounds and save a little money too! I just think it is silly that I am drinking a minimum of one a day (usually more like three) and that my kids seem to think they need if with every meal now. Growing up I only drank soda on special occasions like holidays, eating out and of course vacations! One of the greatest things about vacations was that the fridge was always packed with soda and we could drink it whenever we liked. Fond memories! And so today I bid my farewell to Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and countless others. I'd like to say a few words in their honor if I may:

"Sweet, sweet Coca Cola...you have been such a dear friend to my taste buds over these past years. Our parting is a bitter sweet sorrow for me. I will always look back on our time together as joyous and carefree . When I drank in your rich, dark refreshment I was filled with not only a cool beverage but also a sense of familiarity and belonging. You never judged me. You never betrayed me. You have always been there for me. But now our time together must end. I have to think of my waistline now. It's not you Coca Cola, it's me. Don't ever change...not ever."

Thank you for indulging me.

And secondly I am giving up shopping. At least shopping with this little monster:

Sure, she looks sweet enough. But in the recent weeks Savannah has taken up the habit of impersonating a screech owl. She makes the most ear-splitting, blood-curdling screams you have ever heard from a creature as small as she. She seems to be at the top of her game in a shopping and/or church situation. Today I went to three stores and found myself cupping my hand over her mouth so many times that we had to eventually just give up and leave them all. So Savannah my love, I hope you have enjoyed your time out of hte house to this point because I'm not sure how much more of the outside world you will get to see until we can break you of this habit!

And my parting shot today is of little Abbie. This picture was taken just a few minutes ago after we discussed the fact that she is far too old to be throwing one major tantrum every day and it has to stop or she will back on a daily napping schedule. What do you think? Will she hold up her end of the bargain?

Weddings, birthdays & other assorted celebrations

So a lot can happen when you don't blog for two months! A big congratulations go out to my brother Ryan for getting married on May 30th! We love Lara and are so glad she is a part of the family!

The Bride & Groom (obviously!)

Our little family...yes, the dresses got put to use again.

The Olsen's: My mom, sister Rachelle, brother Ryan, moi & Daddy-O

Another big milestone to come and go was the last day of kindergarten for Carly. She is now an official first grader on summer break. We attended her program the last week of school and it was really cute. They sang several songs including one about a donkey, one about friendship, the alphabet backwards, and "Start Spreading the News" (with chorus "I want to be a part of it...first grade! first grade!) Carly has done an awesome job in school this year and we are very proud of her.

Last, but certainly not least, my baby turned ONE! The poor little thing was slightly sick and spent most of the day in bed napping but was very happy for the party. She was actually quite good at opening presents, especially the bagged ones. Her cake was an over-six-hours-of-working-on-the-dumb-thing disaster so it will be not be pictured here. Mostly because my hand was too busy holding it up from falling over rather than taking pictures. But it seemed to taste okay and Savannah enjoyed it one little pinchful at a time. She is so sweet. Happy Birthday baby!

Isn't she beautiful?

And for my parting shot, I leave you with the image of a Barbie house that I picked up at a yard sale this weekend for a mere $15. I realize that it doesn't look like much now and it is a terrible picture (I am as we speak brushing off the insullation all over my back from leaning against the laundry room wall in an effort to obtain this picture poor as it may be), this is my new project that I can't wait to get started on! Hopefully it will be ultra fabulous in time for Abbie's birthday (please don't show this blog to Abbie as it is a surprise) and I will post the new and improved photos when that comes to pass. Unit then...au revoir!

Easter Dresses

I love to have the girls be matchy for big holidays like Christmas and Easter, but this year was a little more tricky. This year I have one in girl's sizes, one in toddler sizes, and one in infant sizes so it complicated things a bit. It is not entirely impossible to find matching dresses in these sizes but it can get very expensive. So I decided to sew their Easter dresses this year and here are the results:

They are each a little different pattern but made of the same fabrics. I think they turned out pretty good (don't look too closely please). Be sure to take note of the flowers too. I have started selling these flower clips for a company down in Utah County but unfortunately they did not have any that were quite the right colors so I had to make those too. And the final touch is their little pearl bracelets. All together they are pretty stinkin' cute little girls doncha think?!?

Another Quotable Quote

The other night the girls were asking Drew if they could do something (I can't remember exactly what) but he told them no. This was Abbie's reply:

"I think the word you're searching for is yes."

We got a pretty good laugh out of that one. I also couldn't help but chuckle when I asked Abbie to put a few little toys away tonight and as I was walking back to the bedroom I caught a glimpse of her shoving them under the couch. I had to quickly clarify "not under the couch Abbie!"

The nose doesn't lie, she really is a little piggy!

A new year...A new look!

I tried to "fancy up" the blog a bit by creating a new background. Sure, it took a few attempts and an hour or so to get the job done but I think it turned out okay. One of these days I'll have to get around to making a header that matches but I've obviously spent too much time on this thing for one day!

Not much is happening around our house. Carly and Abbie are glad to be back in school and Savannah has discovered a new favorite toy...the wipe package. It just makes such fascinating crackling noises!

Savannah and Bullseye intently watching the latest episode of "Man vs. Wild" with Mommy and Daddy. Did he really just eat that spider? Ugh!

Carly reading "It is Ann." These may not be the most well-written books but they seem to be doing the trick. Carly has learned to read so many words now and is doing really well.