Doug going 70's Style

Tonight Doug is going to a business meeting where the theme is 70's.  He wanted to stand out. This is what he came up with. Do you think it'll do the trick?  I can't wait to hear how it goes.

O'ma and O'pa Visit

We just loved having Jay and Kathy visit for several days. How nice it was to visit, do some catching up and just be together. I felt like I was in heaven when Kathy would help the girls with piano, listen to little readers, and practice ABC's so I could get dinner on. And for some reason, they don't complain for her:)

I know you both are so busy and have a lot going on . . . Thank you for coming and please know you are always welcome.

In Honor of Crazy Hair Day at Quail Hollow

We miss these girls!

Grandpa Visits

My Dad was in town on business and stayed with us Friday night. It was a treat to see him and have him stay with us. It is always so nice to have family come for a visit. We look forward to our next visitors later this week. O'ma and O'pa are coming!!!!!

Monday Memory

One of the family vacations we love, is our beach trip to Carpinteria. We don't make it every year because getting a beach site can be tricky - - they fill up fast. This year we got one and we are headed to the beach in August with my family. This is a vacation full of fun, memories, sun, sand, and family. What I love about any family vacation is just being together with the family, these times come far and few between and I look forward to them and treasure them.

Happy Birthday Sissy

Wish we were there to celebrate this special day with you.

Monday Memory

This picture was taken on the 4th of July when Doug and I were engaged. It's a funny thing growing up. When does it happen? For a long time people would see this picture and make a comment about how cute it is, or how we look just the same. But lately, it's "look how young you two look"!  I have decided that it's the magical age of 30 and probably long hair, or in Doug's case any hair at all.  I'm sure it's also a combination of responsibility, experiences, concerns and definitely trying to raise a family. At any rate, I am grateful for where I am  and for all of life that I've enjoyed up to this point. I am living my dream.

A confession . . .

I have received several complimentary comments on the darling pics of my kids on my sidebar. I wish I could take credit for them, but the credit goes to my friend Kelly who took our family pictures last fall for our Christmas card.  I have been so blessed to have met Kelly and to have her as a friend. It is so fun to share a common interest with someone and be able to share information (although I don't have much to offer). Kelly runs her own photography business and has  so much knowledge that she willingly shares with me and answers my many questions. Check out her website at  http://www.kellyphotographyonline.com/  Here are a few more of my fav's.

Monday Memory

The Chicken Place

I will always remember my days of working at Meiers Chicken with fondness. It was so fun to be able to work with my friends and to be a small part of this family business.  I learned so much from the Meier family; their strong work ethic, the beauty of a family working together to make things happen, and hard working kids that rarely complained. No, this definitely was not a glamorous job, I was stinky and soggy when I was done with my shift, but is was a great place to be.

Funny about phone numbers

I don't know why, but I have this weird issue with phone numbers. When Doug and I were engaged and setting up our new phone account, he called me at work and told me what our phone number would be. I quickly told him that the number wouldn't work. We needed an easy number so that when we had kids they would be able to learn it and remember it easily. He laughed at me and called the phone company and got our new number: 944-2443. I loved this phone number. It was a sad day about six months ago when I had to call and discontinue this number because we were moving-it was our number for 10+ years.

I was quite picky about our new number. As a matter of fact, when setting up my new cell phone number, I called back several times until they had one I thought would work. The Verizon people were very patient and spent many minutes on the phone with me going over different numbers. Finally, she said if you hear one you think will work, we will have to snag right away because we may not be able to get it if we wait. Anyway, we did come up with a number that would do, but I really miss 944-2443 and 673-0002. I think these will always be my favorite numbers.

Mitchell's "one year old" photo shoot

a few of my favorites . . .

Bag Tagged

I got "Bag Tagged" by Carrie E.

So here is what it is...

1. Show a picture of your bag.

2. Show a picture of ALL the contents of your bag - No cleaning out first!!

3. "Bag Tag" five people.

So this is my fun bag . . . a birthday gift from my mother which I have loved carrying around.

Inside my bag . . .

*my planner

*phone

*lip gloss

*pens

*Dramamine (left over from a trip)

*keys

*"Stampede" tickets from Saturday night's game with the fam

*emergency items (goldfish & sanitary needs:)

Not too exciting -

All right get ready,

Melissa C.

Sarah B.

Kelly F.

Katie N.

Valerie C.

Tag! You're it.

Monday Memory

"Sometimes looking deep into the eyes of a child, you are conscious of meeting a glance full of wisdom. The child had known nothing yet but love and beauty. All this piled-up world knowledge you have acquired is unguessed at by her. And yet you meet this wonderful look that tells you in a moment, more than all the years of experience have seemed to teach"  -Hildegarde Hawthorne

This is one of my very favorite little girl pictures of Abigail.  

What a darling, sweet little girl ... and a wonderful gift to her mother.

Monday Memory

This is the time of year when I start dreaming about the warm sun, the smells and sounds of the beach, family vacations, relaxing, no schedules, flip flops, and shave ice. When I came across this picture of Doug, my brothers, my mom and sister it made me smile. Fun memories.

FYI

I was dreading our new church schedule from 3-6pm. But I am happy to say that I don't mind it and actually like it. When church is at the end of the day, it is easier to be doing Sabbath appropriate things for most of the day. I also like the fact that my little one's can get a good nap in before church. It's working for us :)

Not much of a challenge, I know.

Monday Memory

Name that Baby. . .

Saturday: Carter's day to do his own hairstyle

Monday Memory

This is me and my little brother Joe in the Woolworths photo booth. My sister and I used to love to make the photo booth at Woolworths one of our stops when we went to the mall. There was a carousel of glasses right next to the booth which was very convenient as we would use different pairs of glasses for our photo shoot. Here I have made my little brother a subject as well.  When I look at these pictures, it's almost like I'm holding my little Nathan. There is definitely a strong family resemblance.

Happy Birthday Nathan

We celebrated Nate's fourth birthday on Saturday. Thanks to my brother, Nathan loves playing pirate. He took a trip to the Red Balloon with his Grammy and picked this pirate set for his birthday. The black vest has already been reinforced with duct tape. 

Here he is saying, "Arrr, I'm Captain Hook"

We love birthdays at our house!

Holiday Fun

What an awesome holiday season it was. We loved our Christmas here in Boise, and enjoyed relaxing in our jammies all day. We loaded up the car the day after Christmas and headed to Salt Lake to bring in the New Year. I enjoyed lunch dates with girlfriends, shopping excursions, jazzersize, but most of all the family time. I always hate to see the holiday season come to an end. The kiddos are back to school on Monday, which means we are back to business. Here are a few pics of our fun in the snow.

Happy Birthday Mitchell

Our Christmas baby turned one. One fast and furious year. Mitchie is...fun, loud, stubborn, the center of attention, busy, rough, a buddy to the brothers, and a show and tell for the sisters. What would we do without our little Mitch.

A Visit With Santa

So the boys and I went to the mall yesterday to visit Santa Claus and take the morning to be part of the Christmas hustle and bustle. We got an early start so the line would be bearable. Right when we got there Nate ran up to the little fence that encloses Santa and started calling his name and waving with a big grin and eyebrows raised like they are long lost friends. After waiting in the line it was finally the boy's turn to tell Santa their wishes. This Santa was a very cute Santa, he had a nice little visit with the boys asking them specific questions. He took the time to get out of his chair and walk over to Mitch and I and talk to Mitchell and hand him a coloring book. Then he had remembered Carter and Nathan's names and gave them a big hug.

Well, after the Santa experience was over, I couldn't resist walking into Willam Sanoma (risky with the little ones). We have wanted to get one of those fancy ice cream scoopers with the anti-freeze for a while. After several don't touch just look comments, we made it to the check out line with our scooper. While waiting in line, Nathan accidentally knocked over a display holding two big jars of scented oil. There was a loud crash, glass breaking and oil splattering all over a lady's nice dress pants. Nathan turned white and was apologizing to me as I was to the employee's. I purchased my item and couldn't get out of there fast enough. We were all quite embarrassed. As I was walking away, I knew I needed to go back and apologize specifically to the lady with the ruined pants. So we turned around and I had Carter and Nathan wait on a bench outside of the store while I went in real quick. I found the lady and told her how sorry I was. She was a bit irritated which is understandable and said that the store had offered to pay for the dry cleaning expenses. I offered my name and number and to replace her pants, but she declined and told me she understands. I started crying and told her that I really am sorry, she said she could tell and that she appreciated the apology and to enjoy Christmas with the children . As I was walking out of the store, an employee followed me and gave me a hug and told me not to let this ruin my day. I am so grateful for understanding, compassionate people and for my little people who keep me humble and on my toes :)

It wasn't until we were in the car on the way home (at least 30 min. later) that Nathan's chin started to quiver. I asked him what the matter was and he said he was sad because of the whole incident. I am always learning new things about my kids, and what I have learned about Nate, is that he doesn't ever want to show emotion in public. He kept that all inside of him until he was in a safe place. I love being a mom.

Monday Memory

Bratzlies are a Swiss cookie made from balls of dough pressed in a hot waffle-like iron. After they have been pressed, they are removed from the iron to cool on a rolling pin which give them a curved shape. The cookies are very thin and crunchy, almost like a chip.

Bratzlie making is a Carter family tradition at Christmas time. My father made these Christmas cookies with his grandmother and the tradition carries on with my family and the families of my married brother's and sister.

I loved making bratzlies with my Dad. My Mom rolled out long snake like pieces of dough which she then cut into individual balls to be pressed. My Dad's job was the pressing and my job was to place the dough on the iron. This is a job that cannot be accomplished without an occasional burn. My goal was to get the ball of dough in the exact spot so my Dad wouldn't adjust them with his wooden spatula. Even if I did get it right in the middle, it seems he always had to to a little adjusting.



The smell of bratzlies cooking bring feelings of warmth, family, Christmas, joy, and love. I am so grateful for this family tradition and find so much joy in continuing the tradition with my family.

:)

Last night as we were praying at the dinner table, I peeked (I get this from my Dad). What I saw was Nathan waving at Mr. Peeps up in our wreath with a cute smile on his face. Doug and I got a chuckle out of this. Christmas is magical at this age. Nathan is definitely our Christmas boy.

As Doug was tucking in Carter last night he asked him if the toothfairy had come the night before. Carter said that he had (in our house the fairy is a he). Carter continued to say, "Dad, I think that you are the toothfairy, and Santa Claus, and the Halloween Witch too." Doug dismissed the idea with a tickle, a hug and kiss. I think the tip off might have been the Halloween Witch candy that was left under his pillow!

Toothless

Thanks Grandpa for the help. Doug has been working on this tooth for the last week and when we were in Salt Lake my Dad sent him home with the perfect tooth extraction tool called "Dr. Slick". Needless to say, the toothfairy made a visit to our home last night.

Mr. Peeps Update:

This is our first year with Mr. Peeps. He didn't move last night because somebody touched him and his magic fades with each touching, but he is keeping a good eye on our behaviour. We like having him around :)

Mr. Peeps

Christmas is approaching, and this is the day,

Santa has sent Mr. Peeps to your house to stay.



He sends this small elf to your house and mine,

The day after Thanksgiving. He must be on time.



Mr. Peeps has a purpose. His purpose will be,

To whisper to Santa all the good that he sees.



Soon after he gets here, he moves only at night.

To high places, low places, he stays in plain sight.



In the kitchen, for instance, he sits high on a shelf.

Mr. Peeps can sit anywhere, for he is an elf.



He holds very still when he thinks you are watching.

His magic is precious, it fades with one touching.



He sits in the tree on Christmas Eve day.

He knows that Santa is soon on his way.



He waits and he waits without making a noise.

He waits until Santa arrives with the toys.



So you better be nice and mind what you say

because Mr. Peeps will tell Santa when he comes with his sleigh.



Once Christmas is here and Santa has come,

Mr. Peeps must leave, for his job is well done.



But, he will return next year on the very same day,

To watch your behavior as you work and you play.



-Sharon Reynolds

Dressed in White

We enjoyed a quick weekend trip to Salt Lake for Grace's Baptism. It was so neat to be able to have the baptism with her cousin and so many family members with us. It was an added gift to wake up to the ground covered in snow with big fluffy flakes falling throughout the day. What a special way to start out the month of December.

What a fun surprise to have girlfriends brave the storm to be with us. We love these girls and can't wait to get together soon. Thanks for coming :)

Monday Memory

Today, I am looking back to this time last year. I was big, uncomfortable, anxious, and excited to bring a new little spirit into our home. I was also totally prepared for Christmas. This time last year I was wrapped and ready to go; this year . . . I am just beginning. I never wanted to have a baby so close to Christmas, (Mitch was born on the 19th). It is such a busy time as it is, without adding to the chaos with a birthday, but I would have to say that last year Christmas was a sweet and memorable one for our entire family. The spirit that this new little baby brought into our home was so abundant. I am thankful to have been given this gift.

Christmas Eve

Chtistmas Morning