Our week

Paul was home all of last week. And will be home all of this week and half of next week too! We've been trying to do a fun thing or two everyday. Here's a few things we were up to last week.

On Wednesday, we headed down to The Grove in LA for a little shopping at The American Girl Doll Store. The girls had a blast. We got lunch at the Farmer's market and went over to Barnes and Noble to let all the kids pick out a book with their gift cards from Uncle Dan and Aunt Alicia. 

On Thursday we had the Tait kids over for a little while during the day so their mom and dad could go to the movies. The kids had a great time playing together. It was a bit chilly but that didn't stop any of them from getting on the electric car.

Even Carter took it around for a spin. Luckily it's pretty slow moving. Especially so that day because I think the battery was running low.

On Friday Ashlyn had a playdate with a friend all day, so Paul and I took the other three kids to Magic Mountain to use our passes one last time before they expired. The kids had a blast and I'd say Carter is really starting to LOVE that place. He's gonna be sad we can't go their anymore.

Funny story, I've been taking the kids here all year and have never gotten to go on an adult ride. So Paul told me to take advantage of having him with me and go on one. I couldn't pass up the chance, being a big roller coaster lover and all. I got in line for "Goliath". The sign said 10 minutes, but I soon realized it was a bit longer than that. I texted Paul to tell him. He said he'd take the kids to the gift shop to occupy them and he told me his phone was almost dead. I sent a text telling him to take them to the kids area and that I would find him there, but I could tell it didn't go through....which meant his phone was definitely dead. Well, the line ended up being MUCH longer than 10 minutes and 1 HOUR later, I come strolling off the ride (SUPER FUN by the way). I didn't see Paul so I walked over to the kid area. Nope, not there either. Hm....so I went back to Goliath. This went on for four rotations with a short stop at Goliath to "sit and wait". Still nothing. Thirty minutes go by and I'm really wishing Paul would ask to borrow someone's phone so he could call me. I couldn't leave the park. I had no money, no passes with me. Just my phone. And I was HUNGRY! Darn it.....Finally, about 40 minutes later (in total), I get a call from Paul's phone, so I know he went out to the car to charge it. We had a good laugh about how dependent we are on cell phones, he picked me up in front of the park and we headed to Wendy's for a very late lunch. I'm sure Paul was more frustrated than me since he had the kids with him, but he couldn't be TOO upset.....it was his phone that died after all. LOL! 

So, was the hassle worth it....ABSOLUTELY(well for me anyway)! Goliath was awesome. I only wish I could have gone on a few more, but I wasn't gonna press my luck.

Later Friday night Paul and I met up with some friends to go see "Les Mis" in the theaters. Such a good movie. Totally loved it but was glad I knew the story beforehand. Quite tragic. This version was excellent though.

Saturday of course was my birthday.

Sunday, we spent a lot of time doing this....relaxing from our week. Watching movies. Chatting it up. Reading to the kids (well, I read to the girls while Paul wrestled with the boys).

In all, it was a fun week. Excited for New Year's Eve tonight. Celebrating at home with the kids (East coast time). Got some fun games online to play. Gonna pop popcorn, watch a movie and toast with some sparkling cider. Tomorrow we are headed up to the SNOW at Frazier Park (there better be LOTS of it).

 So glad to have Paul home for a bit longer. Hope he's glad too!

I love these four kiddos! 

Happy birthday to me!

I honestly can't believe I am 35! Like seriously.....how did this even happen? I mean, obviously I know how it happened. But I just can't believe it has happened to me, and so fast! I'd say I've been kind of depressed about it this whole month or two leading up to it, but now that it's finally here, I think I am okay. I think. At least I am trying to be okay with it. Getting older definitely has its perks. And some things make me really happy to be 35. Other things make it hard. I do have a lot to be grateful for. I have a wonderful husband, four wonderful children and a home I love. And that's just naming a few. So don't get me wrong. I am very grateful. And I am especially grateful for my health. But still....Getting older just kind of stinks. I'd like to say I'm one who will get older with grace and be fine with it, but really I'm having a hard time doing that.

So I'm going to just try my best to make the most of it. Because honestly, what else can I do? And make a commitment to really take care of myself, so that I will FEEL young for a long time to come.

I did have a great birthday celebration, that actually started last week. Last Saturday Paul and I celebrated our December birthdays together at a nice steak restaurant. It was delicious, but I don't think I could have brought myself to go to it if it were not for the very generous gift card that my cousin gave to us for some art work Paul did for her earlier this year. It was honestly the best steak I have ever had though. And it was definitely a fun restaurant to be at.

Today I was woken up by two of my wonderful friends who surprised me and took me out to breakfast. Then I got to go get a pedicure with another friend later today. I got to relax and enjoy being with my family. We ordered pizza and got a cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory (well SAMs club Cheesecake Factory but still). It was a really nice day over all. And I am very grateful for everyone who helped me feel special and loved today. I even talked to everyone in my family in the same day. That hardly ever happens.

So even though I'm not too terribly excited to be another year older, I am grateful for all the blessings that have come to me with age. So here's to an awesome year.....with many, many.....many more!

2013 resolutions

Someone, who shall remain nameless, told me I was "very honest" in my last post about my resolutions and I'm not quite sure if they meant it in a good way or not. So, hopefully I didn't sound too braggy or anything. I wasn't trying to. Trust me, I have plenty to work on.

So perhaps I should keep my new resolutions to myself, but oh well....I guess I'm not that smart. So here we go.

2013 New Years Resolutions

For me Spiritually:

* Oh Relief Society manual, you haunt me. Year after year I resolve to read you, and year after year I fail. But alas, you are going back on the list. I have a renewed determination to do it! Wish me luck.
*Re-Read Conference talks after Conference. I always re-read some, but I never re-read all.

For me Physically:

*  I have gotten into a pretty good routine of exercising 4-5 times a week so I'm determined to keep up with that. What I really need to work on is the way I eat. Because let's be honest, I can exercise all I want, but if I don't watch what I eat, that scale is never gonna go in the direction I want it to go in.  So, I'm going to resolve to eat no more than one treat a day and to not eat after 8 pm (unless I'm out on a date or something). That might mean I have to go to bed hungry some nights, so that will be tough.

For me Personally:

* Complete one blog book with bonus points if I get two done.

* Get my address book organized into one book. It was a huge mess trying to find addresses for my Christmas cards this year with addresses on Facebook, on my phone contacts, on my online book, in my paper book. They're everywhere.

For me as a Mom:

* READ to my kids more. Even to Ashlyn. I love reading books to my kids but I sometimes find it hard to make myself sit down and do it consistently. So I want to work on that this year. Plus, it gives me good interaction time with them.

* Involve my kids in more decision making. As far as chores and such. Not sure how I'm going to do that just yet, but I'm tired of hounding them so I'm gonna try and work together more.

Home improvements:

* Not sure I even want to make any of these this year. There's tons I want to do with the house, but realistically I'm not sure if I will get many done. I would like to finish the kids bathroom though. We've left the cabinets unpainted since we moved in almost four years ago. So that's my main goal for this year.

* Oh and the girls need curtains in their room SO badly. That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish, right?

I think that's a pretty good list. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew. So wish me luck. I'll see ya on the other side. Of 2013 that is. 

Resolutions in Review

As the year draws to an end, I have started thinking about the resolutions I made this past year and how well I've done keeping them. When I look back on what I wrote in January, I can honestly say I did pretty well. But that definitely doesn't mean I don't need to continue to improve. There are a few resolutions that I totally rocked...some I did pretty well and others that I pretty much dropped the ball on. Here's where I stand (in yellow):

For me personally:

  * Keep up with the Relief Society Manual lessons. Meaning, read them even though I haven't been in RS for so many years I have lost count (I'm NOT complaining. I LOVE primary.) ***got released the end of May. I'd say I read a handful of lessons before I got released and while I did better after getting released, I in no way read the lesson every week.***

  * Keep up with my blog (it's totally my children's scrapbook) and finish two blog books this year. ***Rocked this one. It was easy though. I love to blog. Oh and I did make one blog book. But not two. Oops. Forgot about that second half.*****

  * Utilize my 18 remaining spin classes before they expire and do my aerobics DVD at least twice a week.****Rocked this one too. In fact, I'd say I'm doing pretty darn well in the exercising department.**** 

  * Drink more water, LESS soda (I didn't say NO soda. Haha)****I did okay here. I don't drink TOO much soda, but I still have 4-5 cans a week. I think I need to work more on my sugar consumption in the coming year than anything else.*****

  * Read 6 books this year. *****I would say I did awesome at this because I did read 6 books this year, BUT they were all read in January and February, and I haven't done much reading since. So I'm not sure I can say I rocked this one. Although I guess technically I did read 6 books.*****

For me as a mom:

  * Continue monthly one on one dates with each of our children.****This got fuzzy as summer hit since I was doing so much with the kids, but I would say I did pretty well even if I didn't do each of my kids every month. Paul and I traded off.*****
* Pray for patience and the ability to yell less (I hate yelling. I hear myself doing it and it makes me sick. I can only imagine what my kids are thinking.) ****I'd say I yell less....but I think that has more to do with not having a baby (which means more sleep) than it does with anything else. So I will give myself an "okay" on this one.*****

  * Play/read/interact with my kids more. I'm really good at taking them places and doing things, but when we get home I go off and do my thing and they do theirs. I need to work on taking some time to interact with them at home more. (Well, I guess I'm talking about the girls more. The boys still demand quite a bit of my attention. Haha). ****I think this one has been easier too as Carter has gotten older. I still need some improvement, but I wouldn't say I did awful. Plus my girls are getting older and are so fun to talk to these days.*****

  

For me as a wife:

  * Go on at least two dates a month with Paul. ****Rocked this one. But that was another easy one.****

  * Be more patient with his calling. (That's gonna be a hard one at times.) *****I did pretty well here too I think. But it's another one that is a work in progress.*****

Home Improvements:
*Replace the kids closet doors with new mirrored ones. *****Dropped the ball here. Life is expensive and it was never at the top of the priority list. I'm going to rethink my "Home Improvements" in the coming year.*****

Stay tuned for my 2013 resolutions. Some might look quite similar. Others I've got to change up. 

Christmas Came

I think this might have been one of my most favorite Christmas Seasons yet. I'm not totally sure why, but it was just really great. I didn't feel stressed or rushed. I got things done early and feel like I really got to enjoy the season. We focused a lot on the Savior and really got to do a lot of fun (yet simple) things together as a family. I feel very blessed.

My favorite line of the day though was at breakfast where my kids opted to actually eat breakfast together BEFORE opening their gifts. I was thrilled. We had cinnamon rolls with bacon, fruit and OJ. Leah was sitting at the table enjoying her bacon and all the sudden says, "I was thinking about baby Jesus, but now I'm thinking about bacon". I about died laughing. I love that girl! She's got some spunk.

We had a nice morning together as a family. Then headed over to my brother's house for dinner around 3:30. We had ham and turkey with potatoes and salad and rolls. It was delicious. I definitely indulged on quite a few treats today, but it was totally worth it. I'll work it off tomorrow.

I LOVE my tree. So glad we were able to get a new one this year.

Leah wanted to make sure Santa remembered what she asked for. Too cute! Santa was nice enough to respond to her....with a little encouragement to be extra good this next year. 

Gifts from Santa.

Santa was good to Leah, that's for sure. 

And he's always good to Ashlyn too!

Easiest Pinterest find EVER!

A new science kit for Ashlyn.

A power rangers sword for Brandon.

And I think Carter is going to turn this into his own personal pool this summer. 

Leah's already decked out in her new attire. My mom sent her a keepsake book with pictures from her life. Ashlyn got one for her birthday so Leah was overjoyed when she got her own.

My boy and his bow. He couldn't be happier.

And as many of you know, Ashlyn is all about teeny tiny. So these squinkie zinkies are just about the coolest things ever to her.

Well, except for new accessories for her American Girl dolls. She was SO happy to get the "dreamy daybed" she was hoping for.

She disappeared into her room for hours this morning setting up her dolls own little corner space. I love her imagination.

And of course Leah is all about being fancy. Press on nails, make up, necklaces, perfume, headbands, a fancy fan. That was just a few of the things that made this girl happy today.

Ashlyn finally got a "moon in my room" that she has been wanting for a long time too.

This girl is just about the most fun person to have around on Christmas Day. She gets overjoyed for everything. It was so much fun to watch her open gifts. She even did it for other people's gifts too. You never have to guess how this girl is feeling....good or bad.....she always let's you know.

Guess I should get in at least one picture. Brandon took this shot. I was actually surprised it turned out.

Wish I would have gotten a group shot at Ty and Heather's. But aren't the girls just adorable in their little santa outfits? They're such sweeties too. It was fun to go hang out for a few hours with them.

 "Here I am"! 

Aunt Heather always picks out the cutest clothes for the girls. They couldn't wait to put them on.

Merry Christmas everyone! Is it too early to start the countdown for next year?

Christmas Card 2012

SO..... I was a little bit ghetto this year. Almost didn't send out cards at all, but I love to so much that I couldn't help myself. So even though we didn't get any nice family photos this year, I thought a quick snapshot was better than nothing. I took the photo to Paul's work and had these cards made up at their photo center (FOR FREE). The coloring looks a little weird in this picture, but probably because it is a picture of a picture.

Below is the little "Newsletter" I added with the picture. Just a few little things about our family this year. 

But what makes this most ghetto is that AFTER I stuffed, addressed and stamped all the envelopes, I realized I had a typo in it. At the very bottom. Last sentence even. What I meant to say was "May you have a blessed 2013". What I actually typed was "MAYBE you have a blessed 2013". BAD, I know....but what could I do. I wasn't going to waste all those stamps and envelopes. So it was either send them out with the typo, or don't send any at all.  I opted to send them and hoped that not too many people even read all the way through the little letter. Or if they did, that hopefully their mind read it the way it was suppose to be. Next year I vow to do better!

Ashlyn- Turned 9 in August and started 4th grade. She continues to be busy with girl scouts, activity days, and piano. She started ballet and plays the flute in her school band. She is sweet and helpful and the peacemaker of the family.

Leah- Will be 7 in February and is in 1st grade. She took a few classes of gymnastics and continues to cart wheel and somersault around the house constantly. She is learning to read and doing excellent in all subjects in school. She is spunky and fun and loves playing with her baby brother. 

Brandon- Will be 5 in April and is in preschool three days a week. He tried out soccer for a while, but decided he didn’t want to do it anymore. He is all boy though. Loves swords, guns, action figures, building things and wrestling with anyone who will wrestle with him. He is rough and tough, but thankfully has a soft spot for his mom.

Carter- Turned 2 on Halloween and is talking a ton. He pals around with mom all day and especially loves to come to exercise class with me so he can play with his friends. He loves all things outdoors and in good weather can be found on the swing and jumping on the trampoline. He asks to go to the park or the beach just about everyday. 

Paul- Is going on seven years at Dreamworks Animation and still loving it. Currently he is working on “How to Train your Dragon 2”. But he has also worked this year on “Turbo” and “Croods”. He is still serving in the Bishopric in our ward and enjoying it. 

Amber- I’m still enjoying being a stay at home mom. Life continues to gets busier and busier as the kids get older and I love it. I’ve been blessed with wonderful friends and great opportunities to volunteer in my girls classroom and work with the Activity Day girls in Primary. 

We are grateful for this wonderful time of year to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are also grateful for you: Our wonderful friends and family! May you have a blessed 2013.

Merry Christmas EVE!

Well it was another day of unexpected changes in family plans (remember Thanksgiving Day), but it was still wonderful none the less. It started out cold and drizzly today. Perfect Christmasy weather. I went off to an early morning exercise class while the kids stayed with Daddy. When I got home, we had breakfast and watched "ELF". Hilarious movie. Steve was suppose to come up for the day, but a good friend of his (that has been staying with him) got out of the hospital last night and Steve didn't want to leave him alone. We were sad to not get to see him, but hope to see him sometime next week. 

While it would have been fine if it had just ended up being us, I really didn't want to be all alone with no friends or family. I knew Beth's hubby was caroling today until early evening, so I texted her to see if she'd like to have Christmas Eve dinner with us. She did and I was so excited. We kept it simple. Had taco salad for dinner. The kids ran around and played. And then we acted out the story of the nativity. I totally messed up and forgot my script for the nativity. It still worked out okay but next year I will make sure to be more prepared. I also forgot to sing christmas carols. I don't know what I was thinking. After Beth left, the kids opened one gift, finished watching their Christmas movie and then headed up to bed. They are SO excited. I love seeing the excitement in their eyes. Makes Christmas even more fun than it already is. 

Hanging out watching Christmas movies.

Dinner with the Tait's

Daddy makes an excellent donkey.

Carter made a really awesome Joseph

And Ashlyn was the Inn Keeper

Audrey knew her lines before I even told them to her. What a good "Angel". And Tyler opted to be a shepherd. Brandon didn't want to be in it at all, so I was really glad we had some friends to help us act it out. Cole was a great baby Jesus!

Paul with all 7 kiddos!

Me and my little Leah

Then Ashlyn jumped in

Paul's the popular one with kids

(might have something to do with the IPad's he got out too)

Leah practicing her photography skills

Carter got a superhero lift the flap book

Brandon got a boomerang, which was awesome because I think he really forgot that he even asked for one. He was pretty excited when he realized what it was.

The girls opened roll on perfume. They're getting so old.

We got all ready for bed and then Leah goes, "WE FORGOT TO SET OUT COOKIES FOR SANTA!" What were we THINKING?! Good thing Leah remembered. She also made sure to leave a little note reminding Santa of what she asked for....JUST incase he forgot. I love these four kiddos! Can't wait for the morning!