Christmas with my family

We spent Christmas afternoon/night with my family! We got together at Lindsay & Mark's new house and had a great time.

We read the story of the Savior's Birth and although it was hard holding the kids' attention, it's definitely something we're going to start doing every year. As you can see in the picture, even Hollie helped with some of the reading! That was special in and of itself.


Everyone was spoiled as usual! I love spending time with my family, and I'm very grateful that I have such a close-knit family!

What a surprise we had when we looked outside...snow EVERYWHERE! Needless to say, my parents and Chris ended up staying the night at my house. Although they weren't prepared with any of their stuff, the spontaneity of it made it rather fun, and of course the kids were ecstatic!!!

My brother, Dad & Mom

My brother-in-law Mark

My cheesy sister, Lindsay

How shocking that we might find Kambri with a baby...

And of course, we can't forget their dog Scruffy.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was a lot of fun with the kids! I was so overly prepared this year to catch the moment, and borrowed my dads camcorder. Well, after we opened all of our presents and everyone went their own little ways...I realized we videoed a good majority, but completely failed with the digital camera. So needless to say, all I have are a few after pictures of the girls playing.

We bought a Wii several months ago to give as a family gift. Taylor has been wanting one forever and I just couldn't justify giving him a Wii for himself (we know of course who will get 95% of the use out of it, but it's still the principle of the matter). I've been thinking of how to give the Wii because we bought Hollie a game and Taylor various games and what not for the Wii, but obviously needed to have the Wii opened first. Long story short, I tweaked this cute scavenger hunt for the kids to go on in the house to find it. It was a lot of fun and we did that before we opened any presents. And, it made the excitement last a little longer. After running around the upstairs and downstairs with various clues, they finally found the present wrapped inside the stove! :)

This was a Hannah Montana year for Hollie. Yes, she's a little obsessed with her. Reminds me of my New Kids on the Block year. Anyone remember that year? Holl got a scooter, Baby Chou Chou, clothes, V-Smile Pocket and numerous other things.

Kambri got a table and chairs set, a playhouse (I'll have to take pictures it's darling), and various other things as well.

Taylor of course got a bunch of Wii games (can we say 'expensive' for the games?), books, CD's, and that was the majority of his stuff.

And of course Shaun and I were treated quite nicely too! :)

Although Christmas is a lot of fun, I'm glad it's over. This year seemed quite stressful with all of my projects I made. But next year I'll be done sooner... last famous words! :)

Christmas Eve with the Bess's

I worked very hard this year for Christmas making crafty gifts for a lot of the family. I made these shadow boxes for my mother-in-law. I had so much fun with them and felt like they turned out darling! (I wanted to keep them for myself, if the truth be told.) I also made several vinyl tiles and magnet sets. I definitely have found something I'm enjoying and will continue on with this re-discovered crafty addiction! :)

Taylor got the new Harry Potter book, a Wii game (so sneaky...my mother-in-law told him if he didn't get a Wii from Santa that they would take it back and trade it for a different game) and other fun things in his giant stocking! He was such a trooper this year with realizing that his presents cost 3-4x's the amount of one present for the girls and therefore his looks like less.

Hollie and Kambri's stockings were much alike, only Hollie's was done in Hannah Montana stuff and Kambri's was done in Disney princesses. They got pillows, blankets, roll-up bags, umbrellas, bags, bath and body stuff and a ton more!

Shaun and I got a lot of fun things as well. Amongst many things we got books, money, games, bath and body stuff, shirt, etc.

Kambri had so much fun pulling her presents out of her giant stocking and unwrapping! She even helped some of the rest of us.

My mother-in-law, Taylor and my niece Lacie in the background. My mother-in-law, Brenda, always makes things so much fun for us! I am so grateful to her and all that she does for our family. We had a yummy dinner and enjoyed ourselves just spending time together!

Hansen Christmas Party

We had a great time at our annual Hansen Christmas Party. Despite being late due to Shaun having to work overtime, we made it in time for Santa and Mrs. Claus's appearance!

This was the only time all evening that the kids sat so still and relatively quiet! My cousin Brett and his daughter Alexa were Santa's chosen elves!

Kambri, Taylor, my niece Hadley and our cousin Marlee.

My sweet Hadley with Santa and Mrs. Clause. I was impressed that she didn't freak out like all my kids did at that age.

Kambri wasn't going to have anything to do with Santa's lap, but she compromised with Mrs. Clause!

Hollie asked for a Nintendo DS.

Taylor asked for a Wii.

And my sweet Grandma told Santa she couldn't tell him what she wanted without crying. I'm sure it had something to do with my Grandpa. Even Santa got teary eyed. Although the party was a great time, I still thought about him a lot while we were there and missed him!

I enjoyed visiting with cousins that we don't get to as often as we should. The kids had a great time running around playing, and we even had a talent show.
I've come to the realization that it's high time I get Taylor and Hollie learning to play the piano. It's ridiculous that I play and have a piano, and they still haven't been taught. That's one of many goals for 2009!

Our silly silly Kambri

I went to the store the other night and Kambri found my fuzzy socks and decided she needed to wear them. Shaun said she carried them around for quite a while and finally insisted that he put them on her. She went to bed with them on, and when I saw her I couldn't resist a picture!

Kiddos are so precious when they're sleeping.

Arrow of Light & On To Boy Scouts

Taylor advanced from cub scouts to the Boy Scouts at this months pack meeting. It's hard to believe he's already done with that part. I remember when he first entered into scouts. They put me in as a den leader at the same time. (Don't laugh...I know what you're thinking. And yes, I knew nothing about the program and am still pretty much ignorant to it all.)

Anyways. We make it a top priority to not make a real push of the scouts each year until the end when we are up against a tight deadline to earn his badge for that year. And we succeeded again this year. I must say, this year was a harder one to leave until the last minute with some of the things we were trying to do. Alas, we did it. And, he earned his Arrow of Light award which is the highest award you can earn in cub scouts and the only award that you take with you to Boy Scouts.
I am very proud of Taylor and look forward to being the proud mama again when he earns his Eagle Scout!

Taylor and his scout leader, Sister Sharp, presenting his many awards. She was an essential part in Taylor finishing up the tail end of it all. We couldn't have done it without her.

He's looking awfully enthused about receiving his arrow from Brother Smith.

Crossing the bridge...he's now a Boy Scout!

Pictures from Taylor's B-day

Yes, I know. I've already posted on Taylor's birthday, but I didn't include pictures. Here are some pictures from the event. :)

It was a bit of a wild crowd at times, but they had a good time!

Taylor's cousins Austin and Colton and of course, Kambri and Hollie. They tried being as much a part of things as was allowed. Which of course, wasn't much! Boys will be boys!!

Dr. Phil's Personality Test

Your Result: The Shy Worrier -

People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything. They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.
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I can't believe that this is what my personality test came up with. Sheesh. I guess part of it might be true. :) However, I don't consider myself shy. Sometimes quiet until I get comfortable in a group, but not necessarily shy. As for the decisions, I was might fast making my decisions today on the font and color for my vinyl being cut. I was extremely proud of myself! :)

Christmas festivities in full swing

Well, it's that time of year! I've been busy working away frantically on Christmas projects for gifts. I've actually had a really fun time doing it. But, I need to really kick it into gear with my shopping. I feel totally unprepared this year and am lacking that 'perfect' gift for everyone. What can ya do?

Tonight Hollie and I had to run to Ogden to run some errands. We had a great time spending some one on one time. She acts so grown up most of the time. We were taking some Mary Kay to one of my customers there in Ogden and I can never remember exactly where she lives I just sort of find it. So as we're looking for her house in the dark, my spunky Hollie blurts out, "I knew I should've brought a compass." I just laughed and laughed. She is becoming quite the sassy little gal but she makes me laugh with her spontaneity.

In the midst of all the Christmas parties I have scheduled for next week, I'm REALLY wanting to go and do a session at the temple. Anyone up for it with me? It's only my 2nd time and I'm still pretty nervous, but really want to make it through again before Christmas.

We got our yard decorations up and our outdoor lights, but we need to buy another outdoor extension cord before the lights are officially in working order. Maybe by Christmas Eve I'll have that done, that seems to be how things have been getting done.

Saturday night Shaun and I went on a date with Lindsay and Mark. We had a great time. We flew down to Toys r Us looking for the magical Christmas doll, only to find they were out of stock. Then we flew back to Melina's/Bella's in Farr West for dinner. We had the fastest dinner I bet anyone has ever had there. But, we had a strict time line to make it to Twilight in time. Twilight was fabulous! I can't wait for the sequel. Shaun liked it alright, said it was a little slow going but that it was alright.

While we were out on our date my mother-in-law took the grandkids to go see Santa. I have pictures but would need to scan them in. We've got Kambri with the usual screaming fit, trying to jump off Santa's lap. She's at that age. It's hilarious.

My kids are being big thinkers this year. Taylor would like a Wii, Hollie wants a Nintendo DS, and Kambri wants a baby. Hmmm...we'll have to see what Santa gets creative with, especially with the economy effecting the North Pole as well. Haha! Now, I must explain that Hollie's wish list from Santa is changing on an almost daily basis. Gotta love kids! :) I suppose she comes by it honestly, I can't make a decision to save my soul.

So, again, no pictures...but soon, I promise!

Some crazy times

Well, Thanksgiving came and went, and in all honesty, it wasn't the greatest. Without boring you with the details, I was sick with the flu and have been quite hormonal since Kambri and the puking troubles. We had dinner at Shaun's grandmas and then later went to the inlaws to celebrate Taylor's birthday a few days early with them. Plus, the kids decorated gingerbread houses. I want to create a visual for you here. Imagine an 11 year old and then 5 kids under the age of 7 in a kitchen with frosting and candy everywhere. Yup, good times! :)

Lindsay and I went shopping on Black Friday and I was beat from only getting 1 1/2 hours of sleep, and STILL sick. It was quite the sight to see the two of us cruising down the road swigging on a bottle of Pepto and popping Imodium pills. It ended up being one of our shortest shopping trips yet, and looking back on it, we should have just gone to Wally's and called it a day. Needless to say, I still have quite a bit of shopping to be done and I can't believe it's only 22 days until Christmas! Time to kick it into high gear.

Saturday was Taylor's 11th birthday. I can't believe how big he's getting. We had a friend party (I will post pictures later) for him, and luckily we only had 9 show. We had been battling over how many he could invite, I'd originally told him 8, then I gave in to 16. He comes home from school and this is how our conversation goes:

Taylor: I kind of got guilted into inviting a few extra people in my class.
Me: Define a few..
Taylor: Umm, maybe 4 or 5.
Me: Is that really all? You'd better tell me honestly how many you invited so I can plan
accordingly.
Taylor: Maybe 10 or 12.

Ok, seriously, how can you get overly mad at the kid?! I was frustrated and got a little edgy with him (mostly just envisioning 25+ kids running around my house), but I had to find humor in it.

So, even with the 9 kids that did show up, it was PLENTY. I swear their parents gave them a good dose of sugar before sending them, they were bouncing off the walls. All in all, it ended up fine. They had a good time (even though the one boy comes up and says he's not comfortable with the swearing on the show they were watching...yep...Taylor turns on good ole' Jeff Dunham's Christmas episode or something when they HAD been playing the PS2). At any rate, I concur with my mom only letting us have a friend party every other year as kids.

Then on Sunday we went up to my parents house for another turkey dinner (yum yum) and to celebrate Tay's birthday with them. The kid ended up a lucky boy, his birthday ended up being a 3 day celebration!! He didn't complain too much. :) It was good to get together with my family, we don't get to do that often enough. My mom is so busy with school and work, so it was nice to spend time with them!

I've been in a bout of depression (since the Kambri puking troubles) that I can't seem to kick out of. I'm SUPER paranoid of anyone else in my family getting the pukes now (although none of them are even acting sick), and I just keep freaking out over it. I'm truly beginning to think I need to see a shrink. Blah. I am starting to feel a little better about everything, but again, I'm worried that it's the calm before the storm and that we're going to break out with more of the flu garbage. Pray for me, is all I can say!

On a brighter note, I got my Christmas decorations all up except for the outside decorations. Unfortunately there won't be presents going under our tree until right before Christmas, due to my little Kambri.

Well, rather long winded, but that should catch things up to speed now.