Goodbye 2014!

This year's New Year's celebration was a marked improvement over last year. Last year I threw up more times than I could count, and Darreck was so deliriously sick he ended up sleeping in a closet. I kid you not. This year, the only one sick was Darreck, and he really only lost his voice, which in some ways was kind of nice. The guy needs some motivation to be quiet from time to time; it lets me catch up.

However, because Darreck was sick, we opted out of the church party and stayed home instead. We swung by the store and got enough junk food to feed a third world country for a week. There were pizza pockets, chips with dip, and cupcakes galore. I thought the boys' eyes would pop out of their heads when I kept throwing mounds of junk food in the cart. This is not usual behavior for us, but we certainly all enjoyed the little break from routine eating. We watched a movie as a family, and we got the boys to bed on time. Boring, but no need to throw us out of sync for the remainder of Christmas break. Darreck and I stayed up until midnight watching the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. If one can say anything for Darreck, the man really does love those turtles! I don't mind them much either...

New Year's day, for the most part, was a very laid-back affair. We slept in and lounged around the house all morning. The sloth behavior was primarily motivated by the freeeeezing weather we've been experiencing. After a glorious fall, winter has settled in deep. We went over to my parent's house for chili and Gram's amazing cornbread for dinner. Perfect ending to a great day.

Now we're sending Max back to school and preparing for the new year. I'm not going to sugar coat it- 2014 was rough. Between Luke's allergy diagnosis, getting rid of Tana, and going back and forth about selling the house, last winter wasn't a highlight in my life. It doesn't help that I'm not a huge fan of being pregnant. While this pregnancy was easier than being pregnant with Luke, it's still not a memory I'm looking to relive with regularity. Jack's birth, however, was certainly a highlight in our year. We love that squishy little munchkin so much! Things are looking up this fall, and I'm certainly optimistic going forward into 2015.

While I'm morally opposed to sweeping resolutions, there are some things I'd like to accomplish before 2016 dawns. Most importantly, I want to re-read both the Book of Mormon and New Testament, and attend the temple at least three times. Temple attendance is one area where we need serious improvement, but it's just so dang hard with the littles! Maybe someday we'll live closer to a temple, but for now we'll do what we can. I'm also trying to read 50 books in 2015, and I want to see my blog readership grow. I've really enjoyed writing, and I still can't believe my career is doing so well. It astounds me anyone wants to read what I write, but over 5 million people read something I wrote in 2014. Crazy! Seriously crazy! It would be cool to keep it going.

As a family, we're looking to make some great memories together. I love the ages of my boys right now, and I want to enjoy every minute with them. That won't happen (I am human after all), but I'll settle for as many good memories as I can fit in. We also want to continue to get our financial affairs in order. It's important to us to give the boys a secure today and a solid future. And lots and lots of good memories. This is the only 2015 we'll ever get, and I want it to count!

Sledding

We're continuing the Christmas break awesomeness around here. This morning we rousted Kayla out of bed, and we went out sledding. It was Luke and Jack's first time, although Jack slept in the car (under careful watch, of course) so I'm not sure it counts for him. We went to our usual spot at Verde park, right across the street from where Grandma-Great used to live. Luke took awhile to warm up to the idea, but Max dove right in and had a total blast. Darreck tried out his new snow skate- you can always count on him to take an activity to the extreme. I got in a few good runs in between watching over Jack. The weather was perfect, at about 25 degrees. The snow, however, was really icy, which made sledding fun and wrecking even worse than usual. Luckily for us, we all managed to hold it together well and really enjoy the time together.

Christmas Day

We continued our amazing Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, starting with Santa presents and stockings first thing in the morning. Max got the Skylander's video game he's been wanting, and Luke got a motorcycle toy he's had his eye on. Jack's presents were pretty simple- some baby food and a stuffed lion- but we figured his wants are few right now. After opening our presents, we joined my family for even more presents and a wonderful breakfast. I love our leisurely Christmas mornings at my parent's house!

We ran from mom and dad's over to Darreck's family, where it was decidedly less leisurely. With the three young kids in their house right now, it was noisy and crazy and fun. They got me a canner and dehydrator, Darreck snowboarding goggles, and the boys matching RC cars. The kids played great together until Luke got into a peanut butter cup wrapper and had to be rushed home for medicine. Silly kid! This is the second time this week he's been gotten into something with peanuts. The holidays literally might do him in!

After a brief rest at home, Christmas dinner was held at Grandma Great's house, where we had pork loin and all the traditional side dishes. The food was spectacular, of course, and everyone enjoyed sitting around and talking. She also made fleece blankets for the boys, which were a big hit! It was such a thoughtful, handmade gift. Gram also got me a cast iron dutch oven, so pretty much all of my culinary wish list was checked off today. I'm going to have fun cooking over the next few weeks!

In between Hale's and dinner, I also took our traditional Christmas portraits in front of the Christmas tree. Wonder of wonders, Luke actually cooperated! Talk about your Christmas miracle!

I love celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior with our family. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I'm so grateful for this season of giving. Our traditions mean so much to me, and I hope that the boys feel the love that surrounds them always but especially this time of year. I want their childhoods to be magical, and I think yesterday and today came pretty close.

Christmas Eve

We witnessed a Christmas miracle today! It snowed!!!! Normally, I don't wax sentimental about snow, but we live in Montana and who's ever sung of dreaming about a brown Christmas? We spent the morning assembling gingerbread houses and making chocolate trees. It was the perfect project for the kiddos, even if the results were less than perfect. So long as everyone had fun, I'm more than happy. Mostly, it was great to have a family activity that kept everyone interested all morning and didn't involve a screen. Love it!

During nap, I went to help my sister make sugar cookies at my parent's house. It was fun getting to talk with her for awhile, uninterrupted by three screaming boys. Once they woke up, we had our traditional appetizer dinner, along with mom's spectacular clam chowder. We watched Christmas Story as a family, Kayla read the boys Twas the Night Before Christmas, and then we went to look at a few lights. The roads were bad, so the light show was short. However, we saw some really spectacular displays, and the boys were happy.

As is tradition, we opened our family presents and made a fire before bedtime. The boys got new pajamas, and there were lots and lots of books. I also got Darreck an antique mother-of-pearl ship. At least those were the highlights. I love warm and cozy Christmas Eve's with my boys!

Darreck and I capped off the evening watching Christmas Vacation and went to bed much, much too late. Unfortunately, Jack has a slight cold, so he was up almost every hour last night. It was long, but I'm not in a position to turn down snuggle tie, even at 2 in the morning. All that was left to do was wait for Santa!

Recitals All Around

This week has been full of music, as any good Christmas season should be.

Last Thursday, I hosted my studio recital at the church, and my kids did great! I had 17 students performing, plus Max. Two of my students- Mary and McKenzie- play both violin and piano. I finally feel like I have a good rhythm when it comes to recitals. I give the kids enough time to polish sufficiently, and I've gotten better about picking repertoire that highlights their strengths. However, I always still feel like a chicken with my head cut off on recital night. No matter how much I prepare ahead, I'm still always running around like a mad woman trying to get everyone in the right place at the right time. I swear, it never goes smoothly! Someday... maybe.

I wasn't originally planning on having Max play for my recital, but he was determined to earn himself a spot. The kid looks forward to performing, bless his heart. He did not inherit that from me! He did a great job playing Russian Folk Song and Up on the Housetop. His introduction was perfect, and he played the best he's every played. It's still too soon to tell, but I'm thinking he got Darreck's poise when performing. I'm so proud of how fast he's progressing on piano. The kid certainly has natural talent, and I think we caught him young enough to where he won't push back too much about practicing. Actually, he practices like a little champ. Love that guy!

Next up was Max's studio recital for Lynette Graff on Sunday. It was held out at our friends house, the Parrish's, and it was a nice cozy atmosphere. He played Up on the Housetop again, and even managed to stay on track when a little kid turned the lights off briefly in the middle of his song. It made me smile to see how nicely he recovered. His group music class also sang a traditional English Christmas song, and Max got to play the role of the pig. Too cute!

Now we're spending these precious days off together preparing for Christmas. I'm sure there's many, many more pictures to come!

Max's Holiday Program

Tis the season for lots, and lots, and lots of Christmas programs. The first in a our long run took place on Monday. Yeah, I'm a little behind. Max's school program was Monday, and he was glorious. Wide-mouthed singing, full-out actions- the kid was a sight to behold. I love kindergartners because they get really into it. There's no self-consciousness or holding back. They are in it to win it, and Max won. Until he fell off the risers, that is. Luckily for him, he recovered gracefully.

The songs were... um... interesting. There was a Hanukkah number and a song about how us parents should spend more time with our kids. I kid you not. The rest of the songs were about non-offensive winter topics. No Christ laying in a manger for this crowd. They sang a song about snow pants that featured grand arm motions, and I was a little surprised (and perversely disappointed) no one got taken out during the number). The big show stopper was a diddy called "Snow Cow". I'm still not sure what it was about, but the kids were definitely feeling it.

It was sweet. It was also mercifully short. We'll be back next year.

Jack at 5 Months

With the holiday season, I'm behind on posting about Jack's five month birthday, but let's be honest- the monthly milestones aren't as big of a deal right now. We'll make a big deal for his half-birthday next month.

He's become such a sweet, happy baby. He's so smiley, and he's learned the fine art of babbling. I love baby chatter! It's so sweet how he thinks he's having a conversation with me. In terms of sleep, he's still not doing great. He cat-naps in the morning and evening, and I'm trying to help him take a good afternoon nap, if for no other reason than so I can get something done. Jack is still waking up three or four times each night, and he's still sleeping in our room. Part of me loves having him there, but I also think it's time to get him in his own room. It would be nice to have him in his own space, but I'm also sure I'll miss him at night once he's gone.

Jack is still eating his oat cereal once each night, but he hasn't tried anything else yet. He's a champion nurser, and takes a bottle once or twice a week while I teach lessons. He's almost rolling over, but still not sitting on his own for more than a second or two. Just this month he's started reaching for toys, so we've been scrambling to pull out all the infant toys and attach them to anywhere he sits. And, in true baby fashion, everything goes directly in his mouth.

We're so lucky to have our wonderful Jack-a-roo. Everyone in the family is totally in love with him, and he's the perfect completion to our little family.

Partying With Santa

This week Luke started speech therapy at Scottish Rite, a free language clinic for preschool aged kids. He's only had one session so far, but it went extremely well, and they had a Christmas party for all their kids today. I was reluctant to go at first, since we're such a new family, but it turned out to be really fun. There were cookies and punch as well as coloring and a Christmas craft. After pictures in front of the tree, Santa came and each kid got a chance on his lap. It was hilarious to watch mellow little Luke with Santa. He didn't fuss or whine, but he wasn't exactly over the moon excited either. He took it all in stride, true to form.

The only downside to the day was Max. I made the mistake of telling him about the party before he left for school, and it led to a meltdown. He was incensed to miss the fun, even though he likes school. We'll have to give him a chance to sit on Santa's lap at some point this year. Unfortunately, without a formal ward party, I'm not sure when it's going to happen. At least I have cute pictures of the littlest two.

Nanook (aka Luke) and Dad's Birthday

I had to get a picture of Luke this morning. Lately he'll only wear one of two things- shorts or full on snow gear. There is no in-between. And, the only shoes he'll wear in general are his snow boots. I'm thinking it's because he can put them on himself, but it's still inspired us to start calling him Nanook (as in, Nanook of the North). I know people probably think we don't know how to dress our kids, but he's just so gosh darn cute with his snow boots, backwards bibs, backwards ball cap, and too small coat. Then, he upped the cuteness even more by putting on Darreck's snowboard boots and sitting in them. Such a stinker!

Today was also dad's birthday, and we celebrated his 54th year at our house. We had cake and presents after mom, dad, and Gram went out to dinner. I'm not the least bit surprised they didn't invite me and the boys. My idea of a good birthday dinner out doesn't include three screaming monkeys either. Seriously, though, Kayla is at a speech and debate meet in Helena and Darreck was working, so it was pretty low-key. I always struggle with what to buy dad, considering he already owns everything a man could ever want, but we got him a WWII themed birthday- movie and two books, including one specifically on modern military aircraft. I think he liked it. I hope. He always plays it pretty close to the vest.

All in all a good day. We love Bryan/dad/papa a ton, and any reason to celebrate him is worth it.

Finally Trimming the Tree

Getting the house decorated was more of a chore this year than in years past. While we normally decorate the Friday after Thanksgiving, we decided to wait until Saturday because the weather was horrible and freezing. Might as well stay in when the high is -2. However, once we got everything out, we realized that we have no lights for the tree anymore, and of course, it was too cold to go out and buy them. Dad assured me we could have their old ones, but it took until today to finally get them. So, we changed our plans and baked a bunch of cookies instead. We also watched Elf as a family, and it was a great way to spend the remainder of our break together.

(Check out the Jack in the Box. hehehe...)
So, finally today we got around to the tree. The bigger boys had a blast putting on the ornaments, and everything went great until I tried to take pictures. One of these days I'm going to get a good picture of all three boys at the same today. I'm determined. It felt a little rushed tonight, but the lights on the tree look great. The boys are happy, and I couldn't really ask for anything else. It's going to be a great Christmas season!