Merry Creeesmas!

It seems that the older we get, the faster the holidays are here and gone. My tree is down, decorations reboxed and all my 50% off Christmas wrappings are tucked away for next year. This was a stellar year as far as the "magic" goes however. Mc was mesmerized by the empty cookie plate & the nibbled carrots. She loved opening presents, was excited to whack the pinata at the Ellison party and ultimately, made me stop and think, about how much longer we really have until she no longer believes.

 

Kingston cared more about Mc's toys rather than his own. Learned to say "I don't want to" over the break and went to his first official Sunday solo, in Nursery. While Mc wasn't much for separation anxiety, we fear, Kingston has mastered the art of the body cling when we try to set him down and leave. He cries every time the door opens and usually ends up on the leader's lap.

 

Mark and I both had the week off of work and we decided to spend some time remodeling (more on that to follow). I got a facial, Mark got some quality garage time, we stayed up WAY too late watching Harry Potter and lounging in jammies, saw Les Mis, went to breakfast with Grandma Cookie & Grandpa Donut and soaked up the time not rushing to work.

 

We are truly blessed. We have so much. We were spoiled by family and again, are so grateful to live so close to those that love us most.

 

My fans await.

It was awesome to get to see Mc perform formally for the first time in her life. She did a great job with her preschool Christmas program. At first she was nervous that everyone would "laugh at her" (said in the most exasperated, Starlet tone of voice) but she was SO excited once she was there with her friends.



Pre-show. I love that she has pulled her pants up ALL the way around her knees.

Papa brought her a flower for doing such an awesome job.

Mimi, Papa & Alex came to support her.

This year of her being in school has been pretty fun. She loves it! Her teachers are sweet and loving and God bless them for having the patience to teach 12, 3-4 year olds. I love being able to watch Mc learn new things, make friends and see her talents and abilities (mainly chatting it up with ANYONE-I see a repeat of my childhood) develop.

in the details.

This past week has truly showed me the divine power of the Lord in my life. I have been serving in the Young Womens for my church (we get the privilege to work with the girls ages 12-18 every Wed & Sunday) for almost 3 years and have loved it. I was first an advisor- teaching every other week. Then I was called to the Presidency to serve as the Secretary. I took on more responsibility- birthdays, newsletters, and ensuring that we had scheduled meetings monthly. I loved the women I worked with. A few of the women I had been diligently serving with had been working with the girls for 4 years and with a new Bishop, I knew changes were bound to happen.

When I got the call on a Sunday to meet with the Bishop on Tuesday, the wheels starting turning. Would I stay in Young Womens? What about Relief Society? Mark and I sat across from the Bishop and as he challenged me to have faith and issued my call as President, I kind of had to replay it in my head. I almost cried as the, "I knew it was coming" spewed out. In that moment, I was given the sacred privilege and stewardship over these girls. They are mine. Their salvation at this pivotal point in their lives turns to me, my advisors and counselors as their mentors and examples.

Then came the true testimony building. I knew I needed to select valiant women to help me keep this program moving and who would love and devote all they had to these girls. The Bishop wanted to make the changes fairly quickly which didn't give me much time to select the women I would be serving with- like we are talking 24 hours. That night, I prayed, fasted the next day and sought guidance from the Lord. Clarity came as it never has in my life.

I knew one of the women, my first counselor, who was currently serving with me, would stay. She works with the youth for her career and has an amazingly empathetic and uplifting demeanor. There was no question I needed her.

My second counselor was a woman I had never met. She was new to the ward and I knew very little about her. I knew her name and that she had served at Brighton camp, served a mission and that was pretty much it. Her excitement to be with the girls was undeniable and her "I will be here EVERY week", sealed the deal for me.

The girl woman I chose for secretary is a mere 22 years old. I also knew her name but for some reason she was on my radar.  She had been assigned as one of the sisters I was to visit teach and I had heard her speak in church about her degree program (same as mine) and that she did some sort of event planning. As I heard her bare her testimony Sunday about helping the girls "find your Prince Charmings" and "build relationships with your moms and dads", I knew that she would have the power to reach the girls the way no one else could.

I was supposed to find two advisors as well. One of them, a sweetheart that is currently still teaching. Her lessons are powerful, current and no nonsense. She gets it. She was a keeper.

I struggled with the last advisor's name. I had a list that I had made after scrolling through the ward directory but nothing was really standing out. I prayed about it. Kept thinking about a few names the Bishop had shared and I just wasn't feeling it. Then, as I was sitting there one day during work, I got the feeling to call "Jessica's roommate". I had seen her at church maybe once but I knew that I needed to call her. I sent the Bishop a text (plainly stating "What about Jessica's roommate?) and the call was made.

As I met this final woman I had called tonight, there was no doubt in my mind that I had made the right choice. She shared with me that she had served as an advisor four times in the 15 years she has been in a family ward. She had served a mission and she was excited to serve.

I learned again, that the Lord is irrevocably in the details. He knows these women. He knew that they would have a massive impact on these girls and could help uplift and support me in one of the scariest things I have done. He knew before I did whom he would call and I am honored that I could be the instrument.

I was sad to lose our sweet President. She was a rooter for the underdog. Always saw both sides. Constantly striving for the positive  with an unshakable testimony. My beloved friend, the previous 2nd counselor was the yin to my yang. She has taught me so much about service. I have never met someone who was 100% willing to give and do anything that was asked of her despite her own needs and family. Our previous 2nd advisor was a true woman of faith and perseverance. An exemplar mother who made a mean hand out and was good with the bribes.

I only hope that I can help mold these girls into the types of women I have been able to serve with. I am indefinitely the one that is the most blessed by being surrounded by these stalwart women and beautful girls.

Ether 12:27
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto mean weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for it they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Sandy Claus

I seriously love this Santa. I have mentioned before (last year Christmas post), this is the same Santa that I remember when I was younger. He has been "Father Christmas" at the Dickens Festival since it opened. He is definitely no mall Santa. Real beard. Real chuckle. As real as it gets.

Kingston wasn't too sure how he felt about sitting on his lap and in typical Mark fashion- remained emotionless in the face of uncertainty. Mckinley is almost identical to last year- hands neatly clasped in her lap and the cherubic smile gracing her face. She was pretty funny when it came time to tell Santa what she wanted. She has been telling me & rehearsing for weeks what she would say when Santa asked her the BIG question. She seriously drew a blank -think "Christmas Story". Just as she was about to be taken off his lap, she hurriedly shared her desire for an Ariel doll, jammies and a Sleeping Beauty doll. Santa took the time to clarify she wanted an Ariel with a tail and that she had to leave him some cookies on Christmas Eve.

Sure love these babies and love getting the chance to see them get just as excited as I did to talk to Santa.

Get on your bikes and ride!

Mark restored this Trail 90 for me almost three years ago for Christmas.  I was so excited & kind of nervous to ride it. Truth be told, my brain can't wrap around the concept of a clutch. It is too much for me to think about switching gears, turning, changing radio stations- hence why a stick shift car is out of the question. Anyway, I take the bike out Christmas morning, feeling confident in first gear, headed out to a road behind our house and crashed. Bike was ok but I ended up in the ER with a bone contusion. So really, that was the end of me riding for a while.
This last week at work, they asked us to submit a New Years resolution. We all know right where your brain goes- lose weight, eat less, watch less TV, shower everyday...you know, the biggies. Well, frankly, I think this year, I need to do something a little scary. Something that makes me a little uncomfortable. I want to get my motorcycle endorsement. I want to learn the "feeling" that apparently naturally comes when gears need to be changed  plus, the "cool points" from the Hubs would be a bonus. So keep an eye out- this hot momma is ready to get this boss hog back on the road.

Shenanigans

Having two kids is always an adventure. Let's be honest, having a partner in crime or someone to blame  (especially someone that can't talk) always makes it more interesting.

 

 It doesn't seem that long ago that Mc was the one digging in the garbage, the toilet and that the fridge needed to be "locked" to keep her out. Kingston has slid into the "terrible twos" and joined the ranks of all things menacing. I guess these are the things that one day when we are old we will look back and laugh or those little gems that make it into the wedding video.

 

KINGSTON:

We had a full out wardrobe change 10 minutes before church after a brief dip in the toilet on Sunday.

 

The garbage is now the best place to find anything that you think you have lost.

 

Binkies are lost two at a time (check the garbage)- you have to have one in your mouth & hand at all times.

 

The Christmas tree is the bane of my existence. Ornaments are not safe at any height.

 

MCKINLEY:

You have entered the "hiding" stage. If you think you will get in trouble, we hide it.

 

14 pages a day MINIMUM, full color,  are found printed on the printer from nickjr.com. I have no paper and no ink.

 

You have to wear shorts every.single.day. We are in the dead of winter and despite where I hide them, you will find those too short, too small, plaid shorts.

 

 



 

 

Baby powder. This one Mc decided it would be fun to open the bottle for Kingston and then see what happened.



Bath time is made that much more fun in your jammies. After you already had your bath. And you were ready for bed.

hALLoWEeN 2012

What a fun Halloween! The weather was so delightful (reminded me of Arizona!) and Mc learned the delights of trick or treating. She & Brynlee only went to a few houses in Mimi's neighborhood but Mc was amazed that you could knock and people freely gave you candy. We visited Grandma Mary Ann, Mimi and Papa & Grandma Chris (she brought the kid's toothbrushes which was better than any candy as far as Kingston was concerned).

Mark missed all the fun this year as he & his dad, Tony and brother Mike were in Vegas @ SEMA. I am pretty sure that next to our wedding day and birth of or children, that was the best 3 days of his life.

The kids were darling and the candy was plentiful.

Sleeping Beauty (see previous post about no naps..now we just always fall asleep in the car).

Our Little Gnomeo.

Princess Aurora




at Mimi's. Brynlee (Dorothy) not looking @ the camera & "Toto" asleep next to her.

The Running Dead

A few peeps from my ward & I decided we would take our chances among the dead @ The Zombie Chase 5K. We were all ready to scream our faces off and leave mortified however, we were kind of disappointed. The zombies were cheesy, the obstacles-lacklustre BUT all in all the company was good. We had fun shooting "Zombies" with paint balls, crawling through rusty pipes and rocking it Gangum style.

 

Shirley, KarenAnn, Keith, Trina, the Zombies, Kelly, Tricia & Tony

After- we remained uninfected.

Kell & I read to get our race on.

 

Exit Sandman

Mc has always been a superb napper. As a first child, and with an extra cautious daddy as her caregiver, she was given noise free, unadulterated naps whenever she chose. She was trained to be a napper and we fell into a routine of naps that continued up until last week.

I was one of the lucky ones. My THREE year old would snuggle up every day @ 2:00, story, smooch and she was out until 5:30 on most days. During those few hours, especially before Kingston was born, I was able to read, hit the treadmill, clean the house, take a nap myself and even...shower!

Naps started to slip once we hit preschool. She would lay in there for an hour and then decide that she was "not tired". I was the mean mom that wanted to still hold on to "quiet time" but that quickly became play time and has also gone by the wayside. There were still days when she would fall back into routine but she was becoming increasingly more ornery after naps than if she had just not taken one.

It really was nice while it lasted. Kingston still isn't a great napper- having an "active" sister really doesn't make for ample nap conditions. So, bedtime has been moved up to 8:00 pm to compensate.

With this, we said good bye to those precious, sanity-giving naps and wait for the days of comatose teenagers that sleep until noon so I can have my "few hours" of mom time while the kids sleep.

Mickey Do Times Two

Our baby girl is four! Mckinley's birthday yet again seemed to turn into somewhat of a birthday "week". We had the Williamson family party where she was spoiled beyond belief with all things Princess, Squinkie & the gift of the century, a Dream Light (thanks G & Chris).


This picture does not even do the Dream Light justice. Think Pillow Pet with a light that shines on the ceiling. All of the little girls disappeared right after to hide in the recesses of Mary Ann's guest room to sing the catchy commercial jingle ("dream light sleep tight") and watch the lights. I am sure any other gift this year will not be able to compete.

She then got to celebrate as the Birthday Helper at preschool complete with crown. Her sweet teachers sent her home with a HUGE bag of bracelets, candy and all things Oriental Trading.

 

She was spoiled by Alex with Play-Doh & a sweet Rainbow Dash shirt. She also got the royal hair treatment as Alex painstakingly hand curled her luscious locks.

 

 

 On her actual birthday, we decided to give her the present she had been asking for for months! Due to the clever advertising on all the channels she frequents, we were destined for Chucky Cheese. We pulled in to the parking lot and surprised her & she loved it! It was cheap, not crowded and we all had a surprisingly good time trying to win tickets for worthless toys the didn't even make it home. The Animatronic Band didn't disappoint and we will probably end up going back.

 

 

 





And since Mc shares a birthday month with Mimi & Uncle Brayden, we also got to celebrate with the Lawrence side of the family. More presents, more cake, more setting the bar REALLY high for future birthdays.

 

Miss Mckinley at F O U R:

-you love to play pretend and can entertain yourself for hours.

-Preschool is the highlight of your week! You love your friends, Miss Sally & Miss Jessica and that you get to color and make crafts.

- you are so excited for your part in the Primary program "I choose to follow the Prophet by paying my tithing"

- Gangum style is your new favorite song

-You still have movie star hair and mom can't bear to cut it...even though it might really need it.

- You love calamari, chicken nuggets and juice boxes

- You have graduated to showers & haven't looked back because you love to "go crazy" before we get you out.

 

We love that you are so social. That you love friends, your "sister" Kiley, your real brother Kingston,  going to church, saying prayers and playing outside. We think you are the most darling, and sassy little girl. We love you Sweetie Swirl!

Julaugtember



Summer is gone. I blame it on instagram. Seriously, my phone is chuck full of pictures that I took all summer long and I just didn't want to forget that summer 2012 actually existed- hence the collage of random.

 It really was a great summer. Things are still so new and exciting for my kids & I love that.



Daddy's motorcycles. Always a hit & Kingston LOVES LOVES LOVES being in the garage with daddy. Mc always gets up in the action too.



Helping Papa mow the lawn.



A Saturday night cruise.

 

Chatting it up with the Polar Bear @ the Zoo.

Although summer might be over, the Fall in Utah is unforgettable. It just wasn't the same in Arizona. The nights didn't have that crisp fall smell and let's be honest, trick or treating in 100 degree weather doesn't scream Halloween. We headed up the canyon on Sunday for a drive and the colors were amazing. I love jacket & boot weather and it's upon us.







The Land of Disney 2012

One vivid vacation memory I had as a kid was the our trip to California when I was in 2nd grade. I remember opening my suitcase on the first day to all new clothes. My favorite outfit was a mock neck, sleeveless, speckled blue shirt (with matching skorts) that was covered in a neon, puff painted Arizona desert theme- complete with cactus & snake. Pretty sure some hipsters would rock that today. Anyway, we drove to Cali in the back of my Dad's truck- carpet kit, no AC, just Tyler and I. We were there for a pretty long time from what I remember because we visited the beach, Disneyland, Seaworld, the wax museum and Universal Studio. The point of this story- all I really recall of Disneyland was the rain and my souvenir- a plastic cube filled with sweet tarts. I don't remember being wooed by the magic of Disney.



The look of sheer excitement behind LA Gears & sweet denim jackets? The tidal wave bang did not survive the rain either.

The Tea Cups Then

Fast forward to 2004. Mark & I decided to visit our friends Dave & Aish as they lived in Cali and it was again, another opportunity to go to the happiest place on Earth. We got trapped in a mob of people, didn't really enjoy ourselves and vowed we would not return until we had kids. So when the Williamson family decided to plan a Disneyland trip, we were skeptical but knew Mc would LOVE it. The third time really was the charm!

We got up early Wednesday morning and made the drive to Anaheim. The kids maybe slept a total of an hour the ENTIRE drive. The Desert Palms hotel was really nice and we opted for the room with the suite which was smart. The first night we swam, had dinner and chilled before our big Princess Breakfast the following day. Mc chose Princess Aurora to be her costume for the day- it lasted maybe an hour. The breakfast was so great because we didn't have to wait in line to see the Princesses and they came right to our table. I would gladly do it again.



The King

Kingston flirting it up with Princess Aurora

Mc & Belle twirling.

 

This was Mc after the first day as we were leaving the park for a much needed nap. She thought we were never coming back & had a meltdown.

We did end up in Disneyland while there was record breaking heat- 108 & 103 degrees Friday & Saturday. We all went back to the hotel and took naps & went swimming every day- which Mc didn't mind one bit. Saturday we did our Magic Morning and started in the park by 7:30 which made it a lot better. The park wasn't crowded & we got ont to the rides relatively quickly. The coolest part was Thursday (our first day) it was regular Disney and then overnight, the park was turned into HalloweenTown from Nightmare before Christmas. It was awesome! Our kids did SO well & we had so much fun.

 

Highlights:

•  Kingston loved the Small World ride. We rode twice- mainly for the air conditioning.
• Mc's favorites were the Teacups, Little Mermaid (at least six times) and Pirates
• The Dole Whips
• Complaining about our 10 hour drive and then talking to a lady from Israel who flew THIRTY hours to get to there.
• Mc's face when we saw the Princesses
• G crying @ the Princess Breakfast
• The Tower of Terror- my first ride, it was so great!
• Spending time with my two babies who thought everything was real, had no idea that any of it cost money, that the lines were long or that it was hot. They just soaked it all in.

 



Kingston was  a champ and even though it was hot, took a little snooze.




Mc wanted to ride the Tea Cups SO bad! This was our 2nd attempt (after being broken the first time) and it broke again after we got off.

 

Mc chose the baby Pegasus from Hercules as her souvy.