Little Ears Are ALWAYS Listening!

I haven't realized it but I guess I have been talking about getting into shape a LOT lately. I like to first talk about it for what Josh says is FOREVER before I actually do it. My dad did always say that first you think it then you say it then you do it! I have just had a little bit of trouble in the past on getting to that third step...anyway my sister Cory and I started going to Yoga at the Pleasant Grove Rec. Center, (Well lets be honest we went once, but then the holiday's came and we haven't been back, but we have nothing but good intentions on starting up again...man this post is not making me look too good..oh well) So there has been a lot of Yoga talk, because of course following my dad's rule I first thought about it for a long time then I started talking about it for a few months. Well Elizabeth has noticed that I haven't been going to yoga with Cory so she decided to set up her own yoga class! It was so cute. She had us ALL (including my mom) sign up on her sign up sheet to commit to a time for yoga this last Saturday. My mom got her yoga done in the morning while Josh and I took our class in the afternoon. The class started out with us all sitting in small chairs in a classroom forum in front of this white board.

She first wanted to teach us to art of yoga! After we did some stretching exercises followed by jumping on the little tramps for 4 minutes doing everything she told Josh and I to do. I really wish I had seen the morning class with my mom because she made her do all of this too. So apparently we are ALL signed up for Elizabeth's WEEKLY yoga classes. She has told us that she still has new moves to teach us and she is going to get us ALL in shape!
Side Note:  We have been planning a family vacation for in January and as a family we were talking about when we would be gone and going over dates. Elizabeth noticed that we would be gone 2 Saturdays and said with all seriousness, "Oh man I am going to have to get a sub for yoga....well maybe Nana can do it on her own....No I will find someone!" So if there is anyone out there that would like to be Elizabeth's Sub you know where to call!!! 

Snow Day

It has been snowing here so much that the girls couldn't wait to get outside to play in it! They were outside for hours building snow houses and piles of who knows what. They would come in for a little bit to recharge and get some hot chocolate and then they would run back out to the cold!

They are already talking about going out again tomorrow and building a snowman. 

Christmas 2012

On Christmas Eve we made our Christmas Train that my wonderful in-laws sent to the girls. The girls were SO excited. Josh and I made the train and the girls decorated it! Thank you Mark and Trudy for always sending us such fun activities to do! After, the girls got into their new Christmas PJ's and went to bed early. Elizabeth planned it ALL out that they would go to bed at 7:30pm so that they got rested and so that Santa would come!

Christmas Morning came a bit fast for me and a bit early...I tell you having early risers in this family is getting real OLD! But Josh and I got up and went upstairs to find Celeste and Bryce already here ready to watch the girls open gifts. Elizabeth said that this was the best Christmas EVER...of course she does say that every year, but it was a good Christmas. My Uncle and Grandma came up to visit and were with us, it has been nice to spend the day with family. That night we had a very yummy Christmas dinner with everyone.

I love newlyweds! When you are first married you can get your new husband to do almost anything. That dies after a while for most of us! Celeste got Bryce a special gift and he opened it up with us and then we made him try it on. It is the bunny outfit from the movie The Christmas Story! Love it! Thanks Bryce for making our Christmas that much better, and for letting me take pictures of you in it!!!

I hope that every one had a Merry Christmas!

A Cole Christmas

This year Cory and her family are going to be gone for Christmas so we decided to have our family Christmas Party tonight. And even though Bryce couldn't be there and Celeste didn't get there until later we had a wonderful dinner together and then went upstairs to where the Christmas tree is in the toy room. In our family at Christmas time we have a tradition that before we celebrate Christmas with presents we celebrate by sharing our testimonies with each other. As a kid this was not always my favorite part, but as an adult with children of my own I have to say this is my favorite part. I love hearing the kids each take their turn and share with us what they believe in. Then I love sharing with my children what I truly believe in!
After we gave the Ludvigson's their Christmas gifts and they gave to us. 

A Christmas miracle happened.....Josh actually gave a GOOD hug to someone other then me!

Before the Ludvigson's opened ALL of their gifts from Nana we had a special visitor show up....SANTA! Santa took the time out of his busy schedule to come visit our kids!! They each got to sit on his lap and say what they wanted. He knew each of their names and a little something about them....sort of! It went pretty well, except Elizabeth didn't want to sit on his lap and sort of started to cry (however she was already having a tough time before he even came so it might not of been him so much as that she was tired and just wanted to be left alone!)

After Santa came and went the Ludvigson's opened the rest of their gifts and then we all had dessert! It was a fun filled night and the girls just can't wait until Christmas when they will open up their gifts! Abby tells me that Santa along with the elf that wrote her a letter says that she is on the nice list (So of course she feels that she is getting everything that she asked for!!!)

A Day At The Movies

My mom and I took ALL the kids to the movies today to see The Rise of the Guardians. The kids were So excited and I have to admit I was too... I love to go to a good movie! If anyone has ever been to a movie with my girls knows its a lot of going in and out for the bathroom! Well it was a Christmas miracle.... no one had to go out throughout the WHOLE movie!! It really was a cute movie so if you are looking for something to do during this holiday season go see The Rise of the Guardians with some kids!

Little Girl Book Club!

The book has been read and the girls were ready for their book club! The "Little" Andersen's hosted the little girl book club this time. They picked the book Charlotte's Web so they hosted. Amy all I have to say is you AMAZE me! We started off with a giant web filled with little papers on it. Each girl took turns to pick a piece of paper that had a discussion topic on it. Then we discussed the question, or topic. It actually went really well. Each of the girls had something to say about the book. It ranged from their favorite part of the book to what they thought made Charlotte a good friend! Next we made sparkly webs out of glue and glitter! Then, we frosted these cupcakes into pig faces! They turned out SO cute!!! Then of course we ate them. My girls LOVED their book club so much that Elizabeth asked if we could get started on the next book as soon as we got home and asked if we could finish tonight so that we could have another book club tomorrow! Abby chimed in before I could even give an answer to Elizabeth by saying, "Sister, we have to wait for the little Andersen's to finish the book too!" I love that I have gotten even my kids to call the Andersen's the "Little Andersen's"! As for the little girl book club I think that it was a Major Success! So well done Amy I think you should put together all of our book clubs!!!

The Girls Christmas Parties

Today was everyone's Christmas Parties down at the school! Thankfully the girls parties were at different times so that I didn't have to choose which one to go to I could go to both! First up was Abby's Party! 1st graders are so cute and just so happy about anything we do for them. The mom in charge put together a really cute party. They decorated cookies, made reindeer feed, made ornaments for a gift for parents, played Christmas BINGO, and made a snowman bookmark! Yes it was filled with just about EVERY activity you could think of for kids! When we got there they had just had a letter delivered to them from an ELF! I guess they wrote letters to Santa earlier that week and today they got a delivery back with letters to each of the kids answering all of their questions they asked and written by one of Santa's Elves, to each kid personally! It was the CUTEST thing I think that I ever saw. The kids all started just jumping up and down SO excited that Santa got back to them. I heard things like, "I told you Santa is REAL!",and "Yes! I'm on the Nice List", to name a few! Every child in that class felt so special...I just love that!

Right after Abby's Party was Elizabeth's! I made each of the kids an ornament with their picture in it that I of course found on Pinterest! The picture of the ornament is one that I made for one of my friends kids, but they all looked like this. At Elizabeth's party they played a lot of games, they made ornaments for their teacher as a Christmas gift and they decorated ice cream cones with frosting and put candy on it to make Christmas trees. At the end they had a gift exchange game that they played and then they all got a gift. As I was sitting there watching Elizabeth play the last game I noticed that she had food ALL OVER her face and hands! I just don't know how to get it through that kids head to think to wash her face!! Oh well I hope that some day she will figure that out!Oh and by the way the cotton on Elizabeth's nose in EVERY picture is just that cotton colored a little bit red because she wanted to be Rudolf! I don't know where this kid comes from!

Both parties were lots of fun, but I do have to say I am sort of happy we are done with them...At least now I have a few months until the next party!

Lindon's Christmas Sing

Yesterday was Lindon's Christmas Sing. This is where all the kids sing their Christmas songs for the parents. The gym was packed full of people! This picture is of Elizabeth she is in the very middle smiling. I couldn't get a good one of Abby she was at a bad angle from me. It is hard to try to figure out where to sit to try to see two kids in different grades! My sweet mother came with me and our poor ears from the NOISE....wow! On top of that I am sick with a head cold, so the pressure in my head was magnified! But it was cute to see all the kids sing their Christmas songs, and I am truly grateful to be able to come and support my children and see the smile on their faces when they find me in the crowd of people and wave.

Christmas Piano Recital

Last night was Elizabeth, Isabelle, and Conrad's Piano Recital. Elizabeth was so nervous on the way over. I think this was her best recital.She worked so hard to learn the two songs that she performed. Josh worked with her at practicing them. He would sit upstairs listening to her play it over and over again.

I videoed it for Josh because he couldn't be there he was in California for work. This first one is of Elizabeth's first song. It is Away in a Manger.

This second song is The Holly and the Joy, and it had Elizabeth, Emma, and Isabelle playing it. They sort of didn't do too well the first time so the teacher made them do it again for everyone while she stayed up there with them. Elizabeth said after that it was SO embarrassing! But they got through it and it sounded better the second time. The last piano player was this 17 year kid that has been taking from this teacher since he was like 7 and he was AMAZING! I should of videoed that but I didn't. After, Elizabeth came up to me and told me that, that last kid was ten times better then they were! I couldn't argue with that and said yes yes he was...but look at what you can become!!! So until the next recital... here's hoping she will practice more!

Some Homemade Christmas Gifts

This year for Christmas I made something I got off of Pinterest! Yes I know predictable. I made these Grinch Pills for some of our friends for Christmas. I saw them and thought they were cute and kind of funny! I like things that make me laugh it just makes life more interesting....don't you think?

The girls made this reindeer for their friends. It is a chocolate candy bar wrapped with paper to make the reindeer. I cut out all the stuff and they assembled. They are getting to an age that they wanted to get gifts for some of their friends and I just didn't want to go buy toys, so I thought that they could make a gift for their friends instead. They liked the idea and liked making them. Oh and I bet you can guess where I got this idea off of!!! I do wish that I was creative enough to come up with this stuff on my own...but since I'm not thank heavens for Pinterest!

Book Club Christmas Party

It was our annual Book Club Christmas Party Thursday night! I have been in this book club for about 3 or so years now and I LOVE it. I love this group of eclectic women, and I so enjoy each and everyone of them! I love reading different kinds of books that I don't think I would of picked up if it weren't for these women. Now I don't always enjoy the books some of them have been painful to get through but by the end I am happy I finished them, and can say I have read them and give my opinion. And you can better believe I give an honest opinion!
At our party we did an ugly sweater contest, which Cara won, her sweater was awesome...it had a dancing Santa and when she moved with it...too funny. We had a white elephant gift exchange, which is always fun. We ate and talked late into the night. Here are some pictures of the night....

I made more bookmarks as a gift to the ladies in my book club. They got to pick out what one they wanted. It really is addicting to make these they are so much fun to make, and what is more perfect as a gift for your book club ladies then book marks! The two owls are for the little girl book club next week. The girls picked out these two for Maddie and Kate to have. They just looked like little girls to me! I am kind of sad though now that I don't have anything else to make these for, they are so much fun!

Excuses and Results!

Today I finally unpacked my last Bathroom box. We moved into my mom's house about a year ago and I still have not unpacked everything. For many reason's I have been putting this off and off and off. Mostly because I just don't feel good. When you have only so much given energy in a day you really pick and choose what you are going to spend that energy on. And some days are less then others! I have gotten rid of most of my stuff just simply because I didn't have the energy to go through them all and because my mom was getting sick of all of our boxes stuffed into here and there. Now unpacking this box is not the last of my boxes, but I am feeling pretty proud of this accomplishment right now. You see I put this box in Josh and my bathroom to unpack like SIX months or so ago, thinking that if it was in the place it was needing to be unpacked that I would get to it sooner rather then later! And Josh has been patiently stepping over it and pushing it aside. He has asked me a few times when I was going to get this done...bless his heart! Today I came home from picking up the girls and I got it done! Yeah me! I even cleaned the bathroom while I put things away...I know big day for me! Now let's be honest...is anyone feeling better about themselves right now! I know that my dad is just looking down on me right now shaking his head and wanting to tell me to be a better wife, and I know that he is right. He would always say that there are excuses and there are results, and the excuses don't mean anything! Well here is to getting some results done today! And I just can't wait to see what Josh says when he comes home and finds that he doesn't have to step over any boxes in our bathroom! Maybe tomorrow I will tackle the storage room!

Feeling Our Indian Heritage!

We had Isabelle over yesterday and the girls were outside for most of the morning. They were first going to make traps to trap a raccoon but they quickly discovered the art of making bow and arrows out of sticks and string! This is one of them and I think they did a pretty good job!

Josh teased them that they were just going back to their roots! Leave it to Josh to throw in an Indian joke. I think even my dad would be impressed by their bows!

The PAIN of Yoga!

So I have been reading in my many arthritis books and they all seem to agree that yoga is an excellent form of exercise for me to do, and I am ready to try anything. I have been asking around to all my friends to see if anyone would be willing to go with me....yes I'm like 4 years old and don't want to go alone! I really couldn't get anyone to go or to show up so I have been putting it off for months. I think I am driving Josh crazy because I just keep saying, "I want to start Yoga!" and he doesn't understand why I just don't go start already. What he doesn't understand is that these things take time!!!
A few weeks ago I saw this video on facebook that came from youtube that pushed me over the edge to be motivated to finally start! You have to watch it, it made me cry. It is on youtube and is titled, Never Ever Give Up Arthur's Inspirational Transformation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448 here is the link! After watching I thought if he could do it then maybe I could. And after going to my VooDoo doctor and she said that this guy is for real that she contacted him to make sure he was for real...you just can't always trust everything on the internet, I asked Cory my sister to go to Yoga with me. Cory is the person you go to if you want something done. I just love that about her, I just love getter done people, maybe it's because I wish I was like that and had the energy that she does! We decided to go to the Pleasant Grove Community Center for a Yoga class this morning at 8AM!! For those of you that really know me 8AM is still night time for me I HATE mornings with a fire like passion! It might come from the fact that my body doesn't move when I want it to in the mornings and I have pains that no person of my age should have in the morning, or it might just be that I really am not a morning person!
I don't think that Josh thought I would get up...but I dragged my butt out of bed and drove to pick Cory up and we DID IT!!! Now of course I didn't finish the hour class but I hung in there for at least a good 45 mins! Then the pains started, if you have never done Yoga and you think that it is just a bunch of stretching and it is easy...you are SO wrong it is hard!! And I'm not just saying that for someone who is out of shape it was hard when I was young and in shape!!! After today I don't think Cory expected me to want to do it again, but as I dropped her off I asked ok you want to do that again. Like the good sister she is she said yes. So wish me luck on my new exercising program of Yoga!

Gingerbread House Making

I was in charge of one party for Abby's class and it was the Gingerbread House Making Party. Now this was the party to be in charge of. Abby's teacher is amazing she had made ALL the houses before and I had all the kids bring in candy, all I really had to do was make the frosting for them to decorate with. We had SO much candy that even the calm kids were bouncing off the walls! Poor Mrs. Hernandez was left with a bunch of kids that were, last I saw were talking a mile a minute and jumping up and down! I really do love going into the classrooms of my kids, it takes a lot of energy and I am in bed right now writing this with pain going through my whole body, but I can't resist the smile it puts on my kids face!

Our Little Old Lady!

Abby keeps having teeth fall out but none seem to be growing in fast enough to keep up! She just lost another tooth last night while eating dinner, and she has another one loose on the top. Already the poor kid has to eat to the side! We can see her two front one's coming in but they just are taking their sweet time! Pretty soon this kid will only be able to eat soft foods. Well I guess it will be good practice for when she is really old and doesn't have any teeth! Now lets just hope I remember the toothfairy tonight! It didn't come last night because she wanted to take her tooth to her class today so it gave me an extra day to really forget to put the money under her pillow!

World...Meet Bernard!

About 3 or 4 years ago I had heard about the book Elf on a Shelf, and the elf that went along with it. I thought that it was a brilliant idea, but I did not want to spend the money to buy this, I thought, very expensive elf. Yes I know I am a bit cheap at times! So my mom had this little elf that we used instead. His name is Bernard and he is our elf that comes at the 1st of December and reports to Santa every night about how well the girls have been acting! This whole idea is just genius I think. For one month the girls do pretty much everything asked without too much arguments because of the fear of this elf going and reporting their actions to Santa! He moves around the house each night and is in a new place in the morning. The girls run around looking for where Bernard is. Josh LOVES this, the other day the girls had candy that he wanted and he would keep asking for candy while sitting under where Bernard was at and when they didn't really want to give him anymore he would just look up to Bernard and they would rush to share with him! You may ask, "Is this wrong of us to manipulate our kids into being good for one month? I say no way, if you have found a way to get your kids to listen I don't care if it only lasts for that one month that tradition is a keeper! And so Bernard will keep coming as long as the girls keep believing!