Ward Christmas Party in December
In December I took this picture of a huge storm coming our way. When it hit, there was lightning and thunder and hail. Then it turned into snow.
That same day I was in downtown Spanish Fork taking pictures for my brother at a duplex that he owns and while I was there it was snowing like crazy! It was crazy. I was supposed to pick Noel up from school and had 30 minutes but it ended up taking me 45 minutes to pick her up where it normally would take about 10 to 12 from where I was. The storm caught a lot of people off guard and there were a lot of spin outs and so many people were stuck in the snow. It was insane! Luckily I was able to call the office and have them get a message to Noel that I'd be late in picking her up because of the weather and she waited in the office for me to come get her.
We then went to CA the week before Christmas to spend time with family. We had a blast and of course time flew.
Morgan went deep sea fishing with his Dad and brother Brian. They brought home a bunch of cod and crab. They had a great time.
Opening up gifts.
Brian and Tobias (Brian's fiance).
Tobias and his Brony shirt:)
Morgan opening up his Tron poster.
We were only able to stay at my parents house one night because there was a huge storm coming in. But we still had a wonderful time. The kids love the spa.
Noel pulling on Sam's leg. Typical big sister picture right here.
I had to take a picture of this pic of Morgan when he was younger. This pic was on an ornament on Mary and Gary's tree. I love this pic and I can't believe how much Sam looks like his Daddy.
We traveled through the night and got home in time for Christmas Eve. While shopping at Costco we came across this delicious sight.
We had Christmas Eve at Chris and Kareena's. We had the traditional Christmas Program of singing and reading the Christmas story in the scriptures. My parents came to UT to spend Christmas there.
Ty and Libby and Grandpa singing.
Noel and her cousin Henry were Mary and Joseph for the little Nativity.
Sam was a shepard.
Evelyn was Baby Jesus because her cousin Remi was busy eating.
The Cox boys singing.
We later went home and opened up the traditional Christmas Eve pajamas.
New pajamas for our 3 cuties.
Bright eyed on Christmas morning.
Just before going downstairs to see what Santa had brought.
We were lucky enough to be the ones who had Grandma and Grandpa Watkins at our home for Christmas morning.
It was definitely a white Christmas. Wow. There was A LOT of snow!
Ultimately we measured about 14" later on that day after it snowed some more.
Morgan, Noel and Grandpa shoveling.
Jumping into the snow in the backyard.
Cute lil' Evelyn at almost 5 months old.
For Christmas Dinner we went to Chris and Kareena's again to celebrate.
My mom and dad opened some gifts there from the fam.
My dad got 2 weed whackers! He was obviously supposed to get one which is what was ordered and for some reason the company put in a 2nd one. It surprised us all including my dad and we all had a good laugh. It was pretty hilarious!
Over the course of the next week we played with cousins. Morgan and Ben built a sled ramp/fort in our backyard.
Watching the Secret Life of Pets.
Noel with her lego puppy she got for Christmas.
On New Year's Eve we were at Ems and Ben's. We had 2 countdowns. One for the kids a little earlier between 9pm and 10pm.
Mmmmm. Sparkling Cider.
This was January 2nd. We got dumped on again!
A neighbor had the right idea pulling his kids on a sled behind his quad.
For some reason we decided to go out as a family that day and there were spin outs and accidents all over the place.
This one was on the freeway.
I can't remember what Morgan said to me on this particular evening but because of it I told him to go stick his head in the snow (jokingly) and what does he do? Haha. This guy makes me laugh all the time.
On the 1st day back to school after the break which I believe was January 3rd, school was delayed due to many more inches of snow. So the kids played in it while Morgan shoveled.
Evelyn making cute faces:)
Another day. More snow.
Something cute Noel wrote in her notebook for school.
Silly Sam.
Another day. MORE snow!
Snuggle time.
We've had some pretty cool snowdrifts in our backyard.
This particular morning on the way to take kids to school it was really windy, hence, the snowdrifts.
More pics of the snowdrifts.
The snow is especially pretty when the sun is out.
Evelyn has been doing way better with tummy time and pushes up now.
We woke up to this one morning. It was so windy the night before while it was snowing and it created bigger snowdrifts than before!
Evelyn and her toupee.
Noel loves her little sister and does so well with Evelyn.
Playing out in the snowdrifts against the back of our house. If you are wondering what that thing is in the snow at the bottom of the pic it is sparkling cider. The snow is so convenient sometimes:)
After feeding Evelyn early one morning, I laid her on the bed in front of me and Morgan was in the bathroom getting ready for work and she was watching him in this silly position.
Sam loving his sister.
Sam's starting to read!
More pics of Evelyn being loved by her sister.
Mid-January or so we started giving solids to Evelyn more consistently. She does pretty well with most of the solids we've given her so far.
So we got a Golden Retriever puppy in January. We had her for only 4 1/2 days. This is something I'm not proud of but I'd like to document because this blog acts like a journal for me and my family. We named her Ginger. She was so fuzzy and adorable. We were all so excited to get this dog (including myself) and had been planning on getting her for about 4 or 5 weeks. I did SO MUCH research on Golden Retrievers and how to house train a puppy and such. Mid-January we went all the way to Pocatello, ID to pick her up. It was a fun trip. Ultimately what happened was I didn't realize how much work a puppy was. I also didn't realize I wasn't as much of a dog person as I thought and hoped I could be. Our home also isn't very ideal for having a puppy. Her crate was next to the dinner table and her space to roam was the kitchen and dining area. As cute as she was I couldn't get past the fact that she was peeing and pooping in the same area I had to eat and prepare food. I am very conscious of smells and I didn't realize how much a puppy could smell. Having a baby that is on my hip almost literally all day long and needs my attention all day long (Evelyn doesn't take naps people, it drives me crazy! but that's another story), it was WAY more than I could handle. It was hard enough to get things done with having a baby and adding a puppy into the mix made it more than I could bare. I was trying to potty train Ginger one handed and as I would see her cues that she may need to go outside, I'd put Evelyn down (who would be screaming as I did) and Ginger would have already done her business. I was constantly cleaning up Ginger's messes and trying to get her to stop chewing on everything including my kids. There were many cute and sweet moments too but the fact that I was not a happy mommy is an understatement. So I did one of the very hardest things I've ever done and decided to return Ginger back to the breeder. Like literally, I feel like this decision is up there with having to leave my 25 week baby at the NICU that first day. Morgan and the kids were SO attached to her and she was part of the family and I felt like I was getting rid of a family member. That was a very depressing and heartbreaking day or 2 after that decision was made. I felt like the worst mom in the entire world. Noel and Sam and even Morgan were devastated, but Morgan supported me because he wanted his wife and the mother of his children back.
She was too stinkin' cute.
The first couple days I took her with to take kids to school and to pick them up so that she could get as much attention as possible and so I was putting her in her crate as little as possible.
She had a good day of play with Morgan and the kiddos while they were outside building an igloo. It was fun to see Ginger out there running around with her ears flopping around.
The kids inside the igloo.
We miss Ginger. I hope someday we will be in a situation where it would be more doable for me. Maybe in a different house under different circumstances where I can focus more on the puppy when things aren't as chaotic here at home.
Sam and I playing Crazy 8's. I love that our kids love to play games.
Noel's school celebrated 100 days of school and she was supposed to decorate a shirt with 100 things. I got her some puff paint and she decorated her shirt with 100 100's.
A sweet note from Noel on Morgan's whiteboard.
Noel and Sam got really sick. Morgan and I got it more mildly and then poor little Evelyn also ended up getting it. Poor thing. It was her first sickness. She was miserable. Night time was the worst. But she got through it.
We tried out a new Chinese food place and got a kick out of the take out box of our Orange Chicken that was labeled "Olange". You know it's authentic Chinese if they are giving "Olange" Chicken.
I got this text from Sam's teacher at preschool. He drew a boat and labeled it, spelling it and sounding it out all by himself. He's doing so well. I'm so glad we decided to hang onto him for one more year before sending him to Kindergarten.
Evelyn sucking on Morgan's arm during FHE.
This is the day Evelyn turned 6 months old.
I've noticed the last little while that Sam's eyes are more green/gray/hazel than blue!
Sam likes to play with my phone while I get out of the car and get Noel. Silly guy.
Evelyn has found her toes.
A picture Sam drew for Morgan and I at preschool.
Evelyn discovered the art of blowing bubbles from her nose while she was sick.
Sometimes Sam and I will play the Wii when Noel is at school.
We've had much warmer weather the last 2 weeks or so. The picture below shows when it started to finally melt. It was so warm the kids were able to play outside with chalk without any jackets on! It's all melted now! There is no snow is sight! What a difference!
Sam being silly picking him up from preschool.
Homemade pizza night!
Noel drew this at school. She said she drew it just by looking at a picture of a chihuaha. I was so impressed!
For Family Home Evening a week ago we went to the Riverwoods in Provo and met up with Ems and Ben and their boys for the Fire and Ice Festival. It was a Fantastic Beasts themed Festival. We enjoyed "Ice Fishing", an animal show, decorating wands, looking at ice sculptures, and watching fireworks!
A cool ice sculpture.
Sam's wand he decorated.
Awww. Kissing my man behind a cool heart ice sculpture.
Noel and Sam with their cousins.
Fireworks in February.
Valentine's Day. Thanks Debora for the Valentine's outfits!!
Ok. So I had to share all of these pics that I took of Evelyn. I got some good ones of her smiling. She was too cute in her Valentine's outfit.
The next few pics are from my new camera. Such better quality.
Going out with my man on Valentine's Day. We went to Ruby River Steakhouse. Yum!
Sam, the day after Valentine's Day brought home this love note from his friend Taizyl from preschool.
Poor Sam last Friday started coming down with a sickness again. We ended up taking him into an Instacare Saturday Night before they closed because his fever was just over 102 degrees and he was getting worse. He was complaining of his head and neck hurting and his throat hurt. The doctor did a strep test but it came back negative but he said he was so sure it still was and prescribed him with some antibiotics. He's improved in some ways but his nose is SO stuffy still and has to blow it so much and he still looks unwell, although he is acting mostly normal.
The Young gals of the fam.
Happy Evelyn.
Playing games with the kiddos.
Yesterday we took the kids to see Moana! The BEST movie ever! Loved the movie. Loved the music. It was SO GOOD! We saw it in 3D at the cheap theater.
One more pic of Evelyn from today just because. She is growing up too fast. She'll be 7 months old in a week! So crazy. She is eating solids now once a day (mostly). We'd be giving her more per day but she became backed up and struggled with harder stools so we had to give her a liquid suppository. It helped a little but her system has slowed down a lot so we temporarily stopped on solids and hope she'll get back to normal. She babbles and laughs a lot. She goes to bed between 9 and 10pm every night and I'd say 60% of the time she'll sleep through the night. The other 40% she'll wake up here and there. Sometimes she wakes up at 6am in the morning and she'll be up for good. But usually she'll wake up between 7 and 8am or so. For some reason she doesn't take naps. If the stars align right and we happen to be in the car when she's really tired, she will fall asleep in her car seat so when we get home and put her in her room, still in the car seat and she'll take a decent nap. Otherwise, nada. It's been rough. But she is wonderful and fun and cute. She rolls over a lot and is almost sitting up on her own.
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