Here we are in FLORIDA!!

Here I am in Florida with my sisters!  Our first night on our "Sister's Retreat"!

We found this "Stargate" ring portal thingy!   We got a real kick out of this.  Had to take a picture.

It's my first night away from kids.  Boohoo.  I miss them!  But, it's beautiful here, and I'm so excited to be here with my sisters!

Okay, it was SUCH a long day flying to Orlando.  I had to first fly to Boise, then onto Seattle...then another 5 hours on the plane to go from Seattle to Orlando.  By the time I got to Orlando I had a huge headache.  But, after some advil, dinner, and laughing it up with my sisters...it was gone.

Rob's birthday

Rob turned 37 this month!  What an OLD man!!

We had a small little family party for him.  I made his favorite cake...German Chocolate, with homemade frosting.  He also got some of his absolute favorite ice-cream...Chocolate/Peanut Butter from Baskin-Robins.  We generally keep our birthdays pretty simple for each other.  The kids and I all made him some home-made birthday cards, and we got him his newest favorite movie IronMan.

Sweet and Simple.

Hair in Rags

When I was a little girl my mom would put me and my sister's hair in rags.  While our hair was wet, and right before bedtime, she would take sections and roll it up, and tie the small strips of cloth (rags) in a knot.  The next morning you'd take the rags out, and have nice curly hair.  It's the old-fashioned way, the way they did it before curlers were invented, I guess. 
Every once in awhile I'll do it to Addie's hair.  I haven't done it in a long time, and then the other day we were watching Little Princess and the girls in the movie had their hair in rags and Addie really wanted it done.
Here's the before pictures:

Here's the after pictures:

OMSI

Okay...okay...this is my last Christmas post.  After this I'm all caught up on what we did over the holidays.  I know...I'm slow.  But after this I'll need to catch you up on what we have done this month.  Rob and Addison both had birthdays in February.  So, that'll be my next post.

While we were in Oregon we took the kids to OMSI (Oregon Museum Science Institute). The kids LOVED it. Parker remembered it from the last time we were in Oregon and begged us to go again. Besides, my parents got us a year family membership to OMSI for Christmas...so we had to since it was free.

There is fun for all ages at OMSI.  Garrison's favorite was the toddler section.  They had lots of balls...and he loves balls.

It is so funny to look at these pictures of Garrison because these pictures were taken before he got his very first haircut.  He actually got his haircut shortly after this because all the people around us at OMSI kept calling him a girl.  Hello!  Does he look like a girl??  I didn't think so, but his hair was quite long and curly.  So, now with his new do...he definitely looks like a boy.

Garrison also ventured into the lab for a few minutes with dad.

Addie loves to play in water...she spent a long time here.

Addison also loved the toddler section.  Here she is doing spin art with one of the workers.  We still have her picture on our refrigerator at home.

Parker also enjoyed the toddler section...but that didn't last long.  He was onto bigger and better things pretty quickly.  He loved the science lab where he got to do actual experiments with chemicals.  I think he loved it the most because he got to feel like Harry Potter in Potions class.

If you are ever in the Portland area with your kids...you've got to take them here.  It is fun for all ages.  They did so much more than what I have pictured here...but I can't make this too big of a post.

NOISIEST KIDS!

Sometimes I feel like my kids are the loudest kids in the world.  Seriously, my kids are SOOO loud!  Rob and I have learned we cannot even have a conversation together until the kids have gone to bed.  We just end up, practically, yelling to hear each other over the kids, or we are getting constantly interrupted.  The only problem with that is...because of old age, we generally have forgotten what we needed to talk about by the time the kids go to bed.  So, we end up vegging out in front of the T.V. both too exhausted for conversation.  Well, that might be a little of an exaggeration...but not by much.

Here some pics of our wild and crazy, loud kids! 

This one is almost a little scary of Parker.  He and his cousin were goofing around and pulling their pj's as far up as they could.  What goofballs!

Don't let this boy in a yeti hat deceive you!  He may seem innocent and quiet...but he is a SCREAMER!

His squeal is the loudest of them all...well sometimes Addie can beat him.  The best is when we are in the van and they think it is hilarious to have a screaming/squealing contest.  It's a miracle I haven't been in more car accidents.

Parker's picture was disturbing me because he had such a funny face, so I had to throw in a better picture of him.  Of course, now Addison looks horrible...but she is a girl who likes to cry a lot...so this isn't too unusual to see her like this.

Thinking about Paige today

So, I have been thinking a lot about Paige today. Our little girl who died at two weeks of age...for those of you who didn't know that.

She died July 2003, it's been about 5 1/2 years. I have to say that time definitely helps heal. Anyway, the reason why I was thinking a lot about her today is because I went and got me legs waxed today. Yes, it was painful. But, anyway, me and the aesthician (sp) got to talking and I ended up telling her the story of how we lost Paige. And as I was telling her about it I found that I had forgotten a lot of the details. I don't generally go into a lot of detail when I talk to people about how we lost her and I hadn't realized I'd forgotten so much. Which means I've been able to put it behind me.

The thought came to me, that although it was so difficult losing her....that I really look forward to the day that she will be with me again. I've heard, or read in the scriptures somewhere that there will be an oppurtunity to raise her in the next life. Won't that be something? To be able to raise a child in a place where you NEVER have to worry about them? I am constantly worrying about my kids here on Earth. What would it be like to raise a child in heaven, where there is nothing to worry about? That thought alone is such a blessing and comfort.

Sorry, I'm just rambling today...but thought I'd share my thoughts...and a picture.

Parker snowboarding etc

Parker and his dad got to go snowboarding a few weeks ago at the local Kelly Canyon Ski resort.  Parker went for his first time last year, but they got to go again this year.  Parker loves it and thinks it's really cool.  We put him in lessons last year, but he prefers to just go with his dad instead of doing lessons.  Rob says Parker his crazy and just likes to go straight down the hill super fast.  He's not very good at turning yet, and usually crashes when he tries to practice turning....hence the helmet.

On a side note, Parker is also on a ballroom dance team.  This is him at his very first performance.  Here he is doing the Samba with his partner Alayna.  They are soo cute.  They have another performance/competition next month, they will be doing the Samba again and also the Waltz and the Cha Cha.  I know you can't tell in this picture(probably because he is concentrating), but he really enjoys it and plans on doing it again next year.