Christmas

This was Hazel's general opinion of the whole Christmas thing. She just wanted to go back to bed.

Soren got so much cool stuff. He is now well equipped to be a superhero.

And Victoria just LOVES Joe Jonas. (someone help me)

The kids really had a great time. They were very cute.

Snow

It snowed in St. George!!!! We played in it.

Gingerbread Trains

The kids made these for family home evening this week. They did a good job and we had a lot of fun.

This is Victoria's train. She thought it would be funny to have Santa making a little "yellow snow"

This is Soren's truck (he did not want to make a train). He liked the mini candy canes and put them everywhere. So Cute!!!

This is Mariah's train. She wanted it to look like candy land. I think she achieved it.

Oh Christmas Tree

This is a picture of some of the things on the kids tree. They decorated it themselves. It is cute.
This did not look as blurry on my camera. but you can see Hazel helping decorate the tree. You can also see it is giant. Nathan is standing on a step stool on the second step and I still cant get all of the tree in the photo.

Thanksgiving

sooooo, I am the biggest lame-o. We went Christmas Tree hunting and stupid me, I forgot the camera. I have no pictures to prove it but the kids looked pretty cute in the snow. We found our tree and it is the most beautiful one we have ever gotten. Hazel was puzzled as to why we were bringing the forest home with us and she is amazed that we have attached lights to it that she is not allowed to touch. I promise I will post some pictures of both of our trees when I get them both decorated. Oh and we had a lovely Thanksgiving with the Sargent's this year. It was nice to escape the drama for a day or two.

Nathans hard work

I thought there might be some interest to see what Nathan has been so hard at work doing. This is a picture of a building that they have been working on recently. It is really big. It is some kind of industrial building. The block is looking really good these days. I am really proud of him even though secretly (or not so secretly) I have been wishing we could run away and start a new life. It has been hard to watch him turn down viable job offers but, he is so determined to make it work.
He brought beautiful red roses home to me yesterday. When I asked him what they were for, he just shrugged and said I was a wonderful wife and that he loved me. How did he know I had a rough day?? I don't know. (I know you are all envious and will poke your husbands and say "why don't you do that??")

For those stuck in Paradise

It is a tale of woe that can only be understood by those who have experienced it first hand. To attempt an illustration of its doldrum would be my own undoing. So to keep its inhabitants from mortal peril, some photo's to uplift.

If you look close, you can see she is splashing wildly..

And blowing raspberries!!

Yesterday was Nathan's birthday!

He is finally joining me in the ripe old age of 31. We had a few festivities. His family made phone calls or sent text messages wishing him well. My family came over bearing gifts. We had a party at our house and I made his favorite cake. (Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake! It is a Paula Dean recipe so it lives up to its name.) It was a quiet affair and I think that is how Nathan prefers life. He is still working two full time jobs. I wish sometimes he could have just one day to rest, but alas, no rest for the wicked. I am too, working and trying to raise these three kids that seemed to arrive from out of no where. I feel, often, like a single mother again. It is a creepy feeling. (like deja vu) But, when he is home, he is a great dad and that is awesome. So we tried to have yesterday be all about Nathan. The kids wrapped some books we had purchased for him. I should have gotten a picture because they looked so great. The baby was, as usual, such a daddy's girl and I just told him how much I love him and think he is the best. It's no firearm (which was my gift of choice for his b-day in the first few years of our marriage) but, I think the love was felt all around.

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!

Halloween

Here is the scary troop. Mariah is hardly recognizable playing the part of death on this Halloween night!!

Soren was an alien warrior!!

Victoria was a Gothic Fairy.
(sometimes she is so much like me it scares me)

I officially hate blogging and no one reads it anyway.

Hazel's costume

She is a Pumpkin Fairy
(whatever that means)

She was so tired when we took these photos

aaahhh if you look closely, you can see Nana's bling.

We have been busy this month already. The kids did a great job decorating for Halloween. (inside and out) This picture makes me a little sad because, just after it was taken, the truck in the background (which is the company truck and is used for all the deliveries and has all the tools in it) broke down and is going to cost six grand to fix. Bummer.

Soren was so cute he and Victoria made the yard look extra spooky. It is interesting, I did not feel like decorating this year, (we don't get trick-or-treaters anyway) but the kids insisted on it. I am glad they did.

Hazel was cute as usual.

We are having fun despite all of the drama in our life. I hope when my kids look back on this phase of our lives they won't remember that anything was out of whack.

Fleet's Birthday

I made this candy cake for the party. Fleet likes them. I made one for him last year with bags of un-popped microwave popcorn as the "cake". He is not that in to popcorn, so this year I made a support system out of cardboard and filled the interior with more candy and zingers. I think he will like this one better. Although he wont know what is inside until he takes it apart. Very festive if I do say so myself.

I cant quit taking pictures of my little one. She is always doing something so cute.

I feel so blessed. My kids love each other so much. They really are cute together I catch them all the time just having fun.



Tooth number two has come in and it came complete with fever and grouchy baby.












Today is my spin class. I love to go to the gym. It is the only thing I do that is truly for myself. I love it.
The

We are going crazy.

All of this year has been so crazy. I just wanted a place to vent and all of my friends and family want to see pictures of our little ones. So here is our new blog. I will try to be consistant in my writings.
Hazel thinks she is a model. We think so too. She is so happy and lovely. I hope she stays that way. She just cut her first tooth and is working on a second and third. She is crawling and climbing and in to everything.
Victoria is doing so well in school. She is also in show choir and has a performance next month. She is doing a solo. We are so proud of her.
Soren is loving Kindergarden. The principal of his school has fallen in love with him and comes to his class almost every day just to chat with him and take him to his bus. He is busy making friends and learning to read.

Nathan and I are sooooooo busy. I am babysitting two boys three times a week and I got a job tracking foster children. I have three girls right now but they are going to be giving me more. Its a fun job but a lot of work. Speaking of work, Nathan now has two full time jobs. He is still trying to salvage something from the business he and his late father started but it has been hard because we have not had the funds to replace the man hours his dad put in. On weekends Nathan is working at the Walmart Distribution Center. He works three twelve hour shifts from 3 in the morning untill 3 in the afternoon. Our schedule has been uprooted to say the least. But, for now, we are keeping our chins up and our noses to the grindstone. Wish us luck.....