put the kids to bed, sit down... and relax. You are going to need more than 5 minutes. It's a long one!

So it has been awhile. It is funny, really, how often I get on to look at other people's blogs, but don't update my own. Just so we wont have the hugest update ever... i will hopefully be brief explaining what we have been up to the past few months.

NOVEMBER

In November my sister and my mom and I threw a baby shower for my sister, April. She was due at the beginning of December and having a GIRL!!! We were all so excited since there are not many girls in the family. It was a fun weekend, with lots of pink and bows!

Later that month was Thanksgiving. Since we had been with my family last year, it was Jaromy's family's turn. Well, due to some things that Jaromy's mom had to do in Utah... she was unable to make dinner. Therefore- I made my first Thanksgiving dinner.. complete with Turkey, rolls, pies, salad, potatoes and stuffing. It was a fun experience. The hardest thing, I thought, was to make everything and somehow keep it warm while something else cooked or finished or whatever... i don't like cold food! I was a little proud of my pie crust I made so i took a picture.
Too bad the pie didn't taste that great. The flour I used had gone bad.. therefore so did the crust. Sadness. It was a fun Thanksgiving.. Jaromy's parents decided they wanted to remove their wallpaper that weekend. So, needless to say, it was a busy weekend. On a different note.. we had no hot water that whole week before and after Thanksgiving making showers (and making dinner) not as fun as it could be. I truly gained a great appreciation for hot water and what the early pioneers went through. I know they went through a lot more than just cold showers, but that is something that just adds to the list of their hardships.

A few days after Thanksgiving, my sweet little niece was born (early). My parents and my sister and I headed over to Twin Falls Sunday morning to see the baby and the new parents. It was a fun trip and great to hold baby Claire. I got a new camera on my Black Friday adventures, so there have been a lot of pictures lately. Claire was the first recipient of this great new hobby!

Here are some other random shots from November. Chase and Carter continue to be such buds. Chase is getting to smile and show the cutest personality. He started on formula this month and really chunked out! There are times that he really resembles a bull-dog with his cheeks! We love it.




DECEMBER

December was lots of fun. We had family come into town from Phoenix that we don't get to see all that often, so everyday was a party. :) Layne and Lindsey even got to stay with us at our house for a few days after Christmas. It was so fun to see how Carter reacted and played with his cousins that he doesn't know too well. While they were here we went to a place called Jumpin Jungle. It is a place that is filled with bounce houses- Basically heaven for any 5 year old.. and Jaromy. It was lots of fun. When we first got there, Carter only wanted to play on the toy car.. the exact same toy that Stephanie has next door. But once he saw how much fun everyone else was having, he joined right in. The time there was cut short at Lindsey sprained her ankle. This injury seemed to just add to everything else that week. My boys had the flu, Kierra got strep the day she got here along with both kids the following two days, Lindsey sprained her ankle, Christmas Eve Steph's kids got the flu bug and two of them couldn't even join in on the festivities.. they were too busy puking! HOW FUN! :) But through it all, we did enjoy the holidays.

For Christmas, my mom does the 12 days of Christmas for each family. It is a lot of work that I know she puts into it, but it is also very fun for everyone. We tried to take pictures of each gift. The most popular gift- voted by Carter- was TOY STORY 3 or the giant candy cane. Jaromy's sister, Holly had her baby Dec. 22. This meant that his family went to Utah that day and spent all of the Christmas holiday down there. It was very different not to see them on Christmas day. We definitely missed them. It was nice, however, to have our own Christmas morning with Carter waking up telling us that Santa came and gave him toys. While we opened up presents, he thought that everyone (mine, dad's or Chase's) was Carters- in fact he still thinks that. To this day... you ask him where he got something (something simple) he responds with Santa. Wow, Santa really made an impression on him this year. The night before Christmas was fun and very traditional. We did our talent show, white elephant game, reading of Luke 2, and eating breakfast burritos. It was packed with lots of people, but we all had fun. Our family's talent this year was .... SOMERSAULTS! yes, we are a very talented family! IT was a very busy Christmas holiday and i found myself caught up in that, rather than the birth of our Savior. I loved the aftermath of Christmas and that Sunday right after was still celebrated with Christmas music and lessons. Here, I was reminded of our Savior's love and the real reason behind all the craziness.

JANUARY

let's see... not too much happened this January. Babies got bigger. Boys grew up a little more. Since I had been working a lot right before Christmas, I found myself not wanting to take any sub jobs, so this month, the boys and I had a lot of fun. We traveled to Utah for Baby Becca's wedding. It was so fun to see her and what a great mom Holly is! The main thing to report is that Chase has started to eat baby food more and more. He loves it! He loves his high chair. I can just tell, he feels apart of everything as we go about our day and he is in his chair. :) I started a diet this month. January 10th! I am just working out daily and counting my calories, allowing myself around 1200.

FEBRUARY

The holidays are over, therefore there is less to report on. However since this month is still in progress, my memory is a little bit better. This month we went to Twin Falls for Baby Claire's baby blessing. It was great fun. Steph's family, my family and my parents all slept at April's house. It was a crowded house, but it was a fun weekend. A few weeks later, one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world got married. We were able to travel over to Idaho Falls and be there for her sealing. It was beautiful and very spiritual. Jessica looked amazing and couldn't stop smiling! While there we saw Crystal and took Senior Pictures for her graduation coming in April!
To Date- I have lost 16 lbs. on my diet and lost 2 pants sizes! YAY! Lots more to go, but it feels great!

OKay... there it is. The low down on us for the last 4 months. I more than likely missed something great... we have been very busy and loving life. I noticed that there are random pictures in here with no caption or explanation- those ones I put in.. just because!