My Christmas Tree

I can't take it down! I love my Christmas tree so much. It's not so much the tree itself, it's everything about it. The first Christmas Chris and I were together, I was so amazed at his mother's Christmas tree. Her tree wasn't the type you would see in a decorators catalog. It wasn't covered in sparkling silver and gold. The ornaments weren't all the same with matching garland. No, his mother's tree was covered in memories. I loved hearing them talk about all the places they got each ornament. There were ornaments his siblings had made in elementary school. There was the silly stuffed pink elephant everybody wanted to be the first to put on the tree. Each ornament had a story. I wanted my tree to be like that.

The first year Chris and I were married, we were soooo poor. We couldn't afford any ornaments, so I made them. I got old Christmas fabric, sewed them in squares, and stuffed them with potpourri. That began our ornament collection. The next year, we had our first child. I made ornaments impressed with his foot and hand prints out of molding compound. In the years after, we created the tradition of giving each child an ornament for Christmas. We picked it out and gave it as a gift. Sometimes it may be a cartoon character they really like or a sport they have really enjoyed that year. Over the years our collection has grown. When we moved to Blanding, we discovered that our local pharmacy has the best ornaments, so we buy several from them each year. When we travel, I always buy an ornament. Most tourist shops sell ornaments throughout the entire year. A few years ago Chris started giving me several ornaments each year for Christmas. It makes me feel so good knowing that he cares about me enough to take the time to pick ornaments out he thinks I would like. Now after all these years, OUR tree is full of memories. When we decorate the tree we reminisce about the trips we took or Christmases past.

A few years ago I bought a pre-lit tree, and it is beautiful. I love my tree. I don't think I'll take it down for a few weeks. These pictures don't even show half the beauty of my tree, but enjoy anyway!

Christmas

I love Christmas! I know EVERYBODY loves Christmas, but I really like Christmas. I could do without the weeks leading up to Christmas. Christmas day, and the days after are when I really start feeling the Christmas spirit. I can finally relax. I don't have shopping, delivering, parties, or baking to do. I can just enjoy my family and especially my husband who has several days off.

We have several Christmas traditions, but one of my favorite is our Christmas dinner. We always make homemade spinach pasta, a huge yummy salad, Martinelli's, and cheesecake. It is sooooo delicious. This year we had Chris' family here to enjoy it with us. It snowed so much on Christmas day. It was my first actual white Christmas. I LOVED it! We played in the snow all day. Chris' dad and brother shovelled our carport off. There were over 17 inches of snow on it, and we thought it may not hold up! I even let Braxton and Calvin jump off the roof into a huge snow pile. They thought I was the coolest mom on the block!

This is Roy rockin' in his aunts boots!

This is a double pic, but I can't figure out how to get it off. Here is Calvin and Anden sitting on Chris' sister Meagan's lap. Anden clung to Meagan all weekend long. He is in love with her. She was such a good sport, and spoiled him with all her attention. Thanks Meag!The city of Blanding does a really good job of keeping the roads clear, especially for all the snow we've been getting, but it cracks us up every time we see the John Deer coming down our road to plow. I guess you do what you gotta do!

Chris and I jammin out on Guitar Hero.

Yay!

I found my cord, so here are some pictures from the last couple months. I seriously think I'm getting Alzheimer's. Chris said I am getting Youngheimers. I forget where I put EVERYTHING. My brain feels like it's mush in my head. I sometimes forget my own friends NAMES. It makes me feel like an idiot.

The cord was exactly where it was supposed to be. I had organized my computer desk and put all the cords together. I do that alot. I organize things, then forget how I organized it. If it's not thrown where I usually toss it, then I clearly have no idea where to look for it. I can only imagine what old age is going to be like. Yesterday I lost my wallet, so I had to use Chris' debit card. I'm always loosing keys, important lists, and everything else. The most funny thing about this is that I had the best memory as a child. If my mom had lost anything, she would always ask me where it was because she knew I'd remember where I had seen it.

The Last 2 Months

Andy finally got to sit on Santa's lap. Braxton and Calvin weren't having it, though. They said Santa already knew what they wanted because they wrote him a letter. Their friends were there, so I think they thought they were too cool for Santa. How sad!


We went to a concert with my whole family and here are the boys after.

We got soooo much snow. We played in it a ton. I was afraid to let Roy out of my sight because if he would have fallen down, I wouldn't have been able to find him. We got 13 inches in just one storm, and several more in another. It's snowing again today! I love the snow. I'll never complain about it.

Chris and I ran a race in Moab. Chris did fabulous. I, on the other hand, need some serious work. I don't think Hepworth's were made for running.

Braxton LOVED the pinewood derby. He designed, made , and painted his car by himself. When they drilled holes in the bottom of his car to add weight, he was in tears. He would rather keep his car the way he made it than win. He's a sensitive little kid. His car did awesome, though, especially for being a triangle.

The Last 2 Months part II

We love putting puzzles together on Holiday's.

Calvin wouldn't let me or Chris touch his loose tooth. It's been loose for over 6 months. Finally, while Chris was brushing Calvin's teeth, he wacked the loose tooth with the toothbrush. The tooth was DANGLING there. We thought it was coming out for sure. Nope, Calvin wouldn't have it. He'd barely wiggle the dang thing.

Finally, the next day at school, he was playing kick ball, and the ball hit him in the face. The tooth popped right out! He was one happy kid. The tooth fairy left $5 since it took him so long to loose it.

Chris had a birthday, and is now officially OLD. Just kidding...I'm right behind him, but he is 37 now, which just sounds so close to 40.


This picture cracks me up!

Shopping

Guess what?! I did almost ALL my Christmas shopping online, and I'm feeling pretty proud of it. I'm not one of those girls that loves to shop. I think I've gotten so used to living in Blanding and not having many stores around, that when I do finally get to civilization, I get sooooo annoyed with standing in lines and stores not having what I need.

Online shopping is like having Christmas twice. First, you get to pick out and get excited about all your stuff. Then when the packages come rolling in, you get to open them and see what you actually bought. My most favorite thing about shopping online is reading reviews about the things I am shopping for. You can tell if it's really a good product by what other consumers say rather than what the salesperson tells you.

Seriously, I can't think of anything I bought at a store this year besides stocking stuffers.

On a side note, while we were in Provo last weekend I learned that Calvin, my 7 year old, LOVES to shop. He and I left everyone else at grandma's house and took off to find some jeans for him. He is VERY picky about what he will wear, so I didn't dare pick them out without him there. We had the best time together. It made me not feel so deprived about not having girls. Now I can just take Calvin with me whenever I get that shopping urge. I love that kid!

BTW- I still can't find the cord to my camera :(

Surprise, surprise

This will not surprise you all who know me well, but here's the scoop. I have several pictures from the last month or so I've been wanting to post on my blog. Well, time is short, so I haven't been able to find the time to post them. Well now I have the time, but guess what? I can't find the cord to my camera so I can't transfer the images over. No, this is not a surprise to me at all. This happens all the time. I have looked everywhere. I think it grew feet and walked away!

Oh well, to put it in a nutshell: Calvin lost his first tooth, we had an awesome Thanksgiving, the kids did tons of cute things, and we had a huge snowstorm. There ya go.

Let's just hope my memory card doesn't fill up before the cord decides to come running back.

Kitchen Craziness

I haven't posted in a while because we've had house guests. Chris' dad is roofing a house in Monticello, so we're entertaining him and another worker. I have tons to write about and tons of pictures to share, but it'll have to wait until later.

The kitchen craziness is coming in the form of a 2 year old thief. Roy loves my kitchen utensils. His first choice were the nutcrackers. Since I don't really use the nutcrackers, I succumbed and let him carry it around. He carried it everywhere as his prized possession, pinching everything at eye level...my rear end is at eye level :) He wouldn't even put it down to go in the grocery store.

Now he's figuring out what the "valuable" kitchen utensils are: the beaters, spatulas, and wooden spoons. I'm going crazy. They are strewn all over my house, and he refuses to fork them over;)

I know what you're thinking, "put a child lock on the drawer, silly lady." And to that...the kid knows how to break them. Yes, you heard me right. Since he was old enough to walk, he figured out that all he had to do was pull the drawer in and out as hard and fast as he could and SNAP. Oh well, maybe I'll have a future cook in the family. That might not be such a bad thing!