Time Out for Woman

Last weekend several friends and I attended a wonderful conference in Minneapolis. It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad that I was able to attend. I heard wonderful speakers, beautiful music and felt the spirit and was able to spend time with some wonderful friends.


This is at the end of the conference with some of the wonderful presenters. From left to right: Breanna, Deanne Flynn, me, Mary Ellen Edmunds, Kim Nielson, Janus, Brent Top, Yukie, and Karen and Shelly in front.


I love these women.

Me and Breanna, we have too much fun together, even when we are suppose to be quiet and listen.

Having lunch with the Midtovne women. Such a good time.

The majority of time was spent with these two lovely ladies.

Ahhh, cute Shelly and Janus. We had so much fun.

Me and Michael Mclean! I have loved his music for years. The messages in his songs have touched my heart many times. I could listen to the Forgotten Carols cd over and over, so good. Also, the song "From Gods Arms, to My Arms to Yours" had always been a favorite too. He sang a lot of his songs, but in addition to the previous mentioned song, "Lullaby for Me" really moved me. We were all crying through out a lot of his presentation, including him. I really enjoyed meeting him and talking to him. It was one of the many highlights of the weekend.

The music from Cherie Call was great also. Come to find out, her dad is from Star Valley. What a small world. I learned a lot over the two days. I really enjoyed how real all of the presenters were. There wasn't any pretext of perfection and that life was easy. One thing that has really stuck with me was from Kim Nielson. He was talking about how we treat ourselves, that inner dialog we have in our heads. Now if we saw a mother talking to and treating her child like that, would we think she was a good mother? We need to be a good mom to ourselves. I hadn't really thought about it like that before. Also, have fun. Laugh, and laugh some more. I know I need to do this more, especially with my kids. I feel like I have to be so serious as a mom. Boring! Also, enjoy every moment, they don't last long. I got so much more out of this, but I'm not that great at articulating it. All in all, wonderful!

What's been happening lately

Here an update on what's been happening at the Burton house.

Kaden
One of Kaden's goals this year has been to be taller than his mom. Practically every day he would come stand by me on his toes boasting that he was taller than me. On our trip out west, that goal was achieved. Now he is just waiting to pass up Phil. I really think he has grown like 4-5 inches over summer. When looking at the Florida pictures, he was shorter than I, now he is several inches taller! How can a kid grow that much! Oh, I know, he eats ALL of the time! When we visited my mom out in Wyoming, I bought a bunch of food at Wal-mart before we left SLC. I knew that she wouldn't have her house stocked to sustain a growing 14 year old. She really thought I had lost my mind and was a little frustrated because she didn't want me to have to LEAVE all the food at her house that we didn't eat. Well we didn't leave ONE thing, not one. It was all consumed, much to my mom's surprise!
Kaden also started high school this fall. Holy cow, I have a high schooler. Shocking! And even more shocking is going to the high school and learning about the kind of environment he is exposed to everyday. So much different that when I was going to HS. I have been volunteering quite a bit and have really enjoyed it, it is really nice to get a feel for what is going on to help understand all the pressure kids are under these days.
Kaden has also ran on the cross country team for the 2nd year. Let's just say it hasn't been the best season for him. His first race he totally stressed himself out because they bumped him up to JV. He could totally do it, but just worried himself sick, literally. And it didn't help that several days before that he got his braces. Poor guy couldn't eat much because he teeth were so loose and moving so much. So he went to his first race under fed and worried. Not a good combination. The next several races went well, then he was sick for two more. His last race yesterday didn't happen, because once again he worried himself sick. Hopefully we can figure out a way to help him work through his anxiety so it doesn't stop him from doing things.
Over MEA Phil took Kaden suit shopping at several of his favorite stores in Minneapolis. They found an awesome suit for him. He looks so grown up and handsome in it. It has been such a joy to watch him grown from a boy to a man right in front of our eyes. He is anxiously waiting for the pants to be altered so he can wear his suit to church. The jacket will be a little big on him. . . but not for long with the way he is growing.
Another big adjustment for him has been starting early morning seminary. My nice husband volunteered to take him everyday, which is so nice. So they leave the house at about 5:45 a.m. He has a good group of kids in his class and is learning a lot about the scriptures. It is a wonderful way for him to start his day. He has had a really good attitude and gets up without any problem. So some of his days are very long, especially if he has a meet. Cross country will be over soon and he won't have such long days.
Wow, that is a lot of stuff happening in Kaden's life. The other kids haven't had THAT much going on.

Kauri
Kauri started 5th grade this year and it really growing up in many ways. She can spend countless hours figuring out new hair styles, painting her nails and doing art/sewing projects. She has continued to take piano lessons and is progressing very nicely. She is going to compete again this winter and is already working on her piece. She really enjoys it and is learning a lot. She is so musically talented and can hear music and play it by ear on the piano.
She still LOVES school and doesn't really care for the long break in the summer. And it's not about the social scene at school, she just really loves doing her school work. It is so nice to not have to worrying about her staying on top of her school work. She is a wonderful student. She especially enjoys projects. She will spend a lot of time making it look artistically nice as well as lots of information. She has done a wonderful job so far this year.
She played soccer again this fall, but is thinking that she would rather put on some dancing shoes and hang up her cleats. So I am currently looking into some options for her.

Kambrie continues her campaign for adding a pet to our house. We let her continue with that project. . . us parents just aren't ready add more craziness to this house! She continues to be the girl that our neighbors call when they need help with their dogs. She makes sure that she meets any new neighbors and advertises her business. She is a walking encyclopedia of animal facts. Her choice of tv channels is animal planet, her dream is to meet Victoria Stilwell from It's Me or the Dog." She uses her training techniques are our neighborhood dogs when she is asked to take care of them. I really wish I were more of a dog person, but I'm not. . . eventually I might become one.
Kambrie played fall soccer again. . . but had a horrible season. During her first game as she was doing a fantastic job defending the goal, her foot was stepped on, well stomped on, by a much larger girl. The girls cleat went right between the bone of her big toe and the next one. It was very painful for her and she was out of soccer for a couple of weeks. Then she was sick some, so she didn't play several of the games. And one game was cancelled, which I thought was great, due to the cold. I'm not sure why they don't do that in the spring!
She continues to take piano lessons, which is good some weeks, and not others. She announced to me one day that she just feels like crying sometimes for no reason. Welcome to the world of hormones Kambrie! Another mom told me her girl had said the same thing. I'm not sure if we are ready for this!


Kyson is now in first grade! This was a huge adjustment for him, but after the first week he has absolutely loved going to school. The first little while was hard for him due to getting up earlier than he had all summer. We have adjusted his bedtime and he is doing really well. He is excited about learning and just loves to do his homework. Wish that would rub off on a couple of his siblings! He thinks his teacher is the most awesome person ever and can't stop talking about her. I just love it.
He played soccer this fall as well. Yes, this fall was CRAZY! We are glad the soccer season is OVER! He had so much fun. He had two wonderful coaches that were amazing at keeping 12 7 year old boys entertained. They would play really fun games during practice that would teach them skills and give them plenty of exercise. The games were really fun to watch. They only had four from each team on the field at once. He isn't quite sure if he wants to do soccer or baseball in the spring. I would say soccer.

He is still all about playing with friends and can't quiet understand why he can't have a friend over every day of the week. On several occasions parents and teachers have told me about how considerate Kyson is of others. One day at school when they were playing color tag, the little girl he was chasing fell down. Instead of tagging her, he waited for her to get, made sure she was o.k., then started running after her. His teacher was very touched by his thoughtfulness. Another mom told me of how Kyson helped her daughter at church by showing her where the library was so she could get some scriptures. He even held her hand the whole time. What a sweet boy.

Well, that is just a little summary of the last little bit.

The importance of blogging

As many of you have noticed I have been an absent blogger for quite a few months. The other night I decided to visit my poor neglected blog and read it for quite a while. Much to my surprise I had forgotten some of the events that had taken place. It was really fun to read and remember precious things that have happened in our family. After reading I decided that I really need to continue blogging so that our sometimes crazy family history can be documented. I used to live under the delusion that I will remember everything that happens. Not so, as reading my blog proved. So I will slowly catch up, but more importantly, continue with documenting our lives.

Orlando!

I started the post forever ago and stopped because it seemed overwhelming to capture our trip on here. After months of taking a break, I decided to not by so picky and just post it. So there is a slide show, not ALL the pictures from the trip are on there, but enough to capture the fun that we had.

We spontaneously decided to go to Orlando when airfare was $130 round trip. That was the cheapest part of the trip! This is the first time we had taken a "real" vacation with the whole family. It turned out great and we have many wonderful memories of the trip. Here are the highlights.

Spending 6 fun filled days together as a family

Playing so hard that we were all completely exhausted (who knew having so much fun was so tiring?)

Enjoying the fabulous Florida sun

Experiencing the fun of Disney with the kids

Watching the Lion King show

Meeting up with old friends from Rochester

Spending an entire day at the beach (everyone was sunburned, except me)

Watching Phil play in the ocean for hours

Learning that if we don't feed the kids, the turn into monsters!

Celebrating Kaden's 14th birthday at Outback Steak house (his favorite place to eat)

Phil and Kaden getting to ride the Manta at Sea World before it officially opened

The Shamu Show

Learning that our kids melt in high huminity

Getting to go back to Sea World for free the next day

All of our travel went off without a hitch

It was a wonderful vacation. We really enjoyed every minute of it!

Enjoy the slide show.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Official Odd Man Out

Kyson has officially made me the odd man out. I am now the only one in our family that has not had a CAST. They all have, every one of them. . . some of them twice (Kaden, Kambrie). So Kyson decided that he shouldn't be left out and fractured his arm by jumping off a stack of couch cushions. Just after I told him I didn't want him to do it because he might get hurt. . . .
At first he was very excited to get a cast. . . that lasted about an hour, then he was GRUMPY for like three days. And I thought "man this is going to be a LONG three weeks." But he finally adjusted and had a good attitude.

Healing bones makes a boy tired.

Kyson was so excited to get his cast off. He pretty much ran into the Dr. office and jumped up on the table.

And it's off! That is one happy kid.

And the next day we leave for Florida!

Fashion Designer

Kauri has always had a love of sewing and designing clothes. Several years ago Grandma Burton got her a Baby Janomi sewing machine for Christmas and she has LOVED it. Also, while my mom was visiting for a month she got some free material for her humanitarian projects. After she went through material she had plenty to leave for the girls to play with. Kauri had been anxiously awaiting for a day when she had time to sew. So on a Sat. after her soccer game she cut and sewed a dress and little jacket. No pattern. . . just doing what she wanted. She just loves doing it.
I love the fact that I captured her concentrating with lip out and all.

Here is the finished product.

Kaden Turns 14!

April 24th was Kaden's 14th birthday. I can't believe he is 14, wow, time has gone by so fast. He wanted his "big" gift first thing in the morning, which meant I had to get up at a decent time because he gets on the bus at 6:55 A.M! He was very excited about his new camera and off he went on the bus.
He wanted to have cake and ice cream and open the rest of his gift after all the kids were home from school and BEFORE he left for yet another camp out with the scouts.

About the time we were getting ready to do the whole cake singing thing, Uncle Jeff skyped in and so the Burton's in Idaho and Phil's parents were able to participate. I love technology. It was fun to have them here with us.

In addition to his camera Kaden got chocolate, shirts and money. What more could a 14 year old want. Look at all that smoke from 14 candles. Yes, I'm still adjusting to the fact that he is fourteen!!!!!!

Our tradition is that the birthday person gets to choose where we eat dinner. Kaden had his placed picked out for months, probably at least about a year. Outback Steak House. But we couldn't go Friday because of the camp out. So we planned for Sat. When Kaden got home Sat. he was soggy and cold. It had rained the entire night and their tent leaked. He pretty much didn't get much sleep. BUT with his new camera he documented the entire experience, 118 pictures tells the story. Needless to say he was one tired boy. By the time we were ready to leave, he didn't feel like going out to dinner. He was feeling a little sick. The other kids were all looking forward to it and were waiting in the car. . . so we left the poor birthday boy home and went to OUR favorite place El Curumba's and had Mexican food. We felt a little guilty leaving him home, but everyone was hungry and I hadn't planned on cooking (that really isn't such an unusual thing). But he had a great attitude and just needed to rest and get warm. Thankfully he didn't get sick with our trip to Orlando coming up the next week.
He is a great kid.

Bloggers Block

I have tons of things I want to blog about, but just can't seem to do it! I will return, hopefully soon, with updates from the last month or so!

Skiing/Snowboarding Adventure

Last Friday the entire family embarked on an new adventure. We decided to try skiing and snowboarding. Kaden has been snowboarding quite a bit and is good. He has expressed a desire for the rest of us to learn. A great friend of ours organized a group ski at Coffee Mill, which is about an hour from here. The rates were very affordable, so off we went.

Kambrie and Kauri decided skiing was their interest, Kyson and I attempted snowboarding. Part of the rate included some instruction. Kambrie and Kauri just took off on their own. . . participated in the lesson and were ready to go up the lift. Kyson and I were trying to figure out the whole snowboarding thing, it isn't as easy at it looks. Just as we were about to go up the lift, it broke. . . I'm thinking this was a good thing. Kyson was very frustrated and not having a very good attitude. I'm thinking he was just really tired from having Strep since Wed. He went in the lodge to hang out with Phil (who by the way wasn't up for either sport). I really wanted to learn to snowboard so I found my way over to a little hill that had a rope tow. . . where there are jumps and other obstacles to do tricks on. I was just hoping to get a feel for what it was like to actually go down the hill . . . and I still don't know:) I finally had enough courage to grab hold of the rope and just prayed I wouldn't fall, that took tons of concentration! I found a place to let go and immediately fell down. Kaden was trying to be very patient with me. . . but he couldn't understand how come I can't just snowboard like him. He has always been able to and so he doesn't know how to help someone like me. So the next trick was to actually get back up. . . and that was impossible. For some reason I wasn't able to launch myself forward then stand up WHILE the snowboard was starting to go down the hill. I don't think I would have been able to even if it WASN'T sliding down the hill. So down I sat again. Two sweet 11 yr. old girls (who I know) were really trying to help me. They are just tiny petite girls trying to LIFT ME. . . I'm sure it looked really funny. They finally got me on my feet and I went about 3 inches and fell again. At that point I was very tired and I know my limits. The cute girls said "well, you have to make it down the hill". Which wasn't really that far down. . . and I said "nope, I'm just going to walk," So I unstrapped and walked the few yards down the hill and into the lodge.

The chair lift to the easy hill was still down. . . but Kambrie and Kauri were finding plenty of places to practice their new skill. Kauri went over to the hill that had just defeated me and practiced for a long time. She really got the hang of it quick and didn't mind falling that much. Kambrie practiced on the flatter surface. Then our friend took both girls up a big run and helped them down. Well, she helped Kambrie.

About 8:30 the chair lift was working again. . . so I decided to trade in my snowboard for ski's. It had only been about 23 years since I had been skiing last. . . but I really thought it would be better than my previous choice. And I had a great time. I actually could ski and only fell about twice. It was so fun skiing with Kambrie (Kauri was to advanced for us). Growing up close to the Tetons one would think that I would know how to ski. . . but after having a bad experience as a teenager I had given it up. So this was just the boost I needed to try again and find out that I can actually do it. We all had a great time and are committed to going more next winter.

A Sweeping Performance

This is how Kambrie makes sweeping the kitchen more fun.

Not What I Was Expecting

The other day I was cleaning Kyson's room in anticipation of my mom's visit. His room is by our room, which leads into our master bathroom. The kids are all entertaining themselves and Kaden has a couple of friends over. My radar tunes into the sounds coming out of my bathroom. There is laughter, statements like, "maybe if you use hair spray", or "you need to get your hair thinned out." I'm finally curious enough to venture into my bathroom and this is what I find.

Three teenage BOYS. Notice MY straightener? Kaden's friends were helping him do his hair. I would expect this from the girls and their friends. . . but the boys? It was just funny. I don't mind that they were doing this, it just made me chuckle. I love Kaden and his fun friends, even if they use my hair stuff.

One Crazy Night

We finally had Kauri's birthday party, just over a month AFTER her birthday. She knows that right after Christmas is not a good time for a party. . . so we had talked about the end of January. Well. . . with me being sick and then playing catch up for a couple of weeks after that, it was Feb. 20th before we held the festive party.
She had 7 friends over, so with her and Kambrie that was 9 nine/ten year olds . . . and man was it crazy. I cannot believe how loud and silly they all were. Wow. . . was I ever like that. . . yes I was.
We had pizza and root beer for start with. Then on to making necklaces. Opening of the presents if always tons of fun. Kauri friends gave her some really fun stuff like a camping set with a pink tent, a scrapbook kit, Little Pet Shop animals, chap stick, candy, and some other craft type things which she totally loves. That was followed by a movie. . . Kung Foo Panda, paused to have root beer floats then end the evening acting out the movie and being completely crazy. When the house was finally quiet at 10:30 after they all left. . . we went to bed exhausted.

It was nice when they were calmly singing while making their necklaces.

This was a fun little thing they did while waiting for the party to start.

Grateful

This last week I have learned to be grateful for good health. I had a battle with a nasty kidney infection and I seriously haven't ever felt that sick in my life. I'm the kind of person that doesn't surrender to being sick very easily. So I kept telling myself that I was getting better and that I would be fine. This mind over matter talk had been going on for several days. . . then Sunday morning I decided that something was really wrong and that I should be seen. Although again I downplayed how I felt and decided that I could go to Mayo Express care and not have to wait FOREVER at the ER (which I felt was overly dramatic for my symptoms. . . it wasn't life or death!) Thankfully the Dr. at express care looked at my paperwork and saw me right away. She pretty much told me to go right to the ER and she would call and tell them I was coming. They couldn't treat me for something I had already taken antibiotics for (I had a UTI earlier and was on antibiotics for that, tests later show the bacteria I had was resistant to that ONE antibiotic)
At the ER we proceeded to wait for a while. I was MISERABLE. I had the chills and just wanted to curl up and sleep. Finally they put my in a room and began to solve the mystery behind my illness. While I was laying there WAITING, I started feeling super hot. I called the nurse in and she checked my temperature and it was a mere 102.7. Apparently this causes a lot of alarm. Next thing I knew I was being told they would keep me overnight and they immediately started pumping fluid and antibiotics through my veins. This was not what I had expected. . . but at that point I just wanted to feel better so I was glad they were finally doing something for me.
I sent Phil home at this point to be with the kids and get them taken care of for the day. His brother was also in town. . . and I was just laying there feeling yucky. . . no need for him to be there. They put me on a floor that usually just has patients with either strokes or brain bleeds, so to have a patient that was coherent was very exciting for the nurses. And. . . it was a very nice room, for a hospital. Flat screen t.v., own refrigerator, temperature control from my bed. It was nice. If you have to be in the hospital, this was the place to be.
Thankfully, my hospital stay was very short and I was home by about 1:30 p.m. on Monday. I went straight to bed and didn't emerge for a long time. Slowly this week I have started to feel a lot better. I have slept more than I ever have and pretty much haven't ventured out of the house. Thankfully friends brought in some dinners and Phil's schedule was such that he could do a lot of the after school running around for me. He would get the kids off to school, then I would sleep the rest of the morning, so unlike me. I'm so glad that I am getting better and this wasn't anything too serious and the antibiotics are working. I always take for granted that I'm normally a very healthy person. . . and I am very thankful for that. I can't wait to get back to my normal routine and do things. I've been sitting/laying around LONG enough.

Kyson Stories

Last weekend Kaden went to a friends house for a sleepover. After he came home Saturday he gave us a brief update on what they did. It wasn't until we were driving to a fireside on Sunday that he told me that he entertained the group by telling them "Kyson Stories". So I had him share a few with me and this is the one that just made me laugh so hard. Our cute Kyson, there sure wouldn't be as much laughter in our house without him.
Apparently one night (in the middle of the night) Kaden got up to use the bathroom. As he turned the light on he sees Kyson sitting on the toilet in the dark. Kyson squints at Kaden (due to the light just being flipped on) and says, "do you need to use the bathroom too? I could scootch over." Kaden nicely said no thank you and found another unoccupied bathroom. Oh that makes me laugh. What a nice little brother willing to share the toilet seat with his older brother.
Then today he sure hit the nail right on the head. We had purchased his Tamagotchi and he was so excited to start raising it. For those of you who are Tamagotchi clueless like I used to be. They are little hand held electronics that have a little pet inside. Once you activate them, it hatches and then you have to take care of it. That is a very short description, but hopefully will help to understand them a tad bit better. Anyway, when you buy them you don't know if they are going to be a boy or a girl when they hatch. Well, Kyson's happens to be a girl, to which he says, "I really didn't want a girl, girls are MUCH harder to raise." What a smart little man. And our comic relief.

Change of Plans

The last few weeks have been testing our fortitude for enduring long cold winters here. The kids had two days off last week due to the cold. And it was COLD! Minus 45-50 with the wind chill. Crazy. When it's that cold I have to remind myself why we like living here. . . the good out weight the bad.
We decided that we should go do something fun since the kids were out of school again today for a teacher work day or something. We planned on going to this big indoor water park by the Mall of America. All week the kids have been excited and were bouncing around last night in anticipation of today. Well. . . at 4 a.m. Kyson yells from his bed. . . so I stumble to his room. . . he informs me that he if not feeling well. I feel his forehead and it is HOT. I give him some Motrin and tuck him back in bed. I know that our plans are going to have to change. Phil and I decide that he would take the non sick kids and go as planned and I would stay here with Kyson. Kyson and I were both disappointed, but what can you do. . . when you are sick, you are sick. So here I sit with my sick little boy. . . I'm so glad we didn't decide to try and take him, he just isn't feeling well at all. He and I did venture out for a bit to buy him a Tamagotchi that he has been saving up for. . . glad I had that trick to pull out of my hat. It has helped him to not feel quit so glum about missing all the fun.

Locks of Love

About a month ago Kambrie decided she wanted to get her hair cut short and donate her hair to locks of love. Personally I would love for Kambrie to keep her long hair. . . but how can you argue with a good cause like that. She was so excited to get her hair cut and to get bangs. So in addition to all the fun activities on Saturday, Kambrie finally got her hair cut.


One last picture of her long hair.


Looking at hair styles with dad. . . I just had to take this picture to remember how LONG it used to be.

Nervous and excited to get started

It took several cuts to get through all the layers of her hair.

She was excited about her new look.

Look how much hair was cut off!

She waited until she was in the car to really freak out. . . in a good way. She is very happy about her new short hair and at this point wants to keep it this way. Or maybe she will grow it back out and donate again.

Honk, Screech, Scratch, Boom!

The girls had a chance to try about a bunch of different instruments today. This helps them to decide what or if they want to play something before they reach middle school. Kauri has always said that she would love to play the flute, but after today she really wants to play the violin/viola. Kambrie wanted to play the violin, but now the trombone is her instrument! They had a great time and we plan on going again next year to see if their taste remains the same.

The Golden Birthday

Today was Kauri's (Becca's) 10th birthday and her golden birthday. We decided to have a fun day doing activites and have a party later in the month. So the festivities started first thing this morning. I'm not quite sure who was more excited about her birthday, her or Kambrie. Last night I got all her presents wrapped and had them sitting on the table, along with some balloons. She wanted blueberry pancakes and started to open some of her presents. I thought it would be fun for her to have 10 presents from us. So I wrapped several small things so it wouldn't be to much. She got two pair of earrings, a mechanical pencil and highlighters (from Clairs), a skirt, crocheting hooks, yarn, crocheting how to books, a HSM bag, and a American Girl doll kit that you can make jewelry for them, learn how to do their hair and a scrapbook for them. She loved all her stuff. Kambrie and Kyson both gave her a new Littlest Petshop Pet and a Webkinz clothes.

Both girls really wanted to go to an activity called Honk, Screech, Scratch, Boom. This is where they can try out a lot of different instruments so they can decide what, if any, instrument they want to play when they are in middle school. This activity will have a separate post with pictures.

After that, Kauri went to spend some time with Aunt Pat. Pat had some presents for her, but due to surgery on her foot, wasn't able to leave her house to join our fun. She had a great time spending some one on one time with Pat. She is so great with the girls and spoils them rotten.

After some time at home, we headed out for dinner at Red Lobster. Not because she loves fish or any sea food for that matter, but their mac'n cheese. Kaden, however loves the fact that she likes to go there because that is his favorite place to eat because of the crab legs. Everyone had a great time and ate lots of yummy food.

After returning home, we then had cake (a giant cookie from Sam's) and ice cream and called it a day. It was a wonderful day celebrating a wonderful girl's birthday. I just can't believe that she is 10.

My new love

I was first introduced to this new found love when our friends came to visit and their little boy had this. Poor guy really didn't get to use it AT ALL once I discovered this seemly magically warm blanket. I don't know what it is about it, but it is so warm and cozy! Well our friends were leaving and I really was not looking forward to NOT having my cozy friend with me. Shelly told me she had found it at Kohls, so pretty much as soon as they left I headed to Kohls. After quite a bit of searching I found it! There was only one left and it was red, perfect for me. And it was on sale, even better. I was so excited and have just loved it. This new found friend will certainly help me make it through the long cold winter. I love it so much I wanted to send a few as gifts, but they are not available anymore. So sad.

Home Classics® Micromink Throw Blanket

Christmas Break re-cap

2 Hour Adventure at the Mall of America
The girls really wanted to get more clothes for the new American Girl Dolls. I made the mistake of telling them that there is a store at the Mall of America. . . so that's all I heard about for days. "When are we going to GO!" They are smart and know that the Mall is only about an hour from our house. A drive they were more than willing to make. I decided that Monday would be the best day and found a place for the boys to go play. I knew they wouldn't really want to go to the doll store.
We arrived at the HUGE mall at about 11 a.m. For some strange reason I thought there wouldn't be that many people at the mall that day. Man was I WRONG! There were WAY too many people there to make it a pleasant experience for me. I hate crowds and waiting in line and that was pretty much what we were in for.
We immediately found the much sought after store and joined about a million other people in that smallish store. The lines were HUGE and the layout was weird. BUT being the good mom I am, I swallowed my irritation at the whole thing and helped the girls shop for what they wanted. They FINALLY made their decision and we then waited in the long line. It actually went faster than I thought it would. YEA!
There were a few other stores I wanted to check out quickly have lunch and leave. The girls were very patient and played with their dolls while I did some shopping. We then decided we were VERY hungry and hunted for a place to eat. The restaurant they wanted to go to had a wait of just over and hour, too long for our hungry stomachs. Kambrie however found two stuffed animals she wanted to buy (like she NEEDS any more) and we continued our search for food. We went up to the food court and quickly realized that we wouldn't be eating any time soon if we stayed there. I told the girls we could just leave and hit the McDonald's that was on the way. . . it would probably take us just as long to find food and find a seat there. Thankfully they were all for that idea so we left. Whew. . . I was pretty happy to be out of there. And I must say that is the shortest amount of time I have EVER spent at the Mall of America. It is usually an all day event. There were just too many people there and the girls were pretty much done after they had been to the American Girl Doll store.

The New Year Activities
Every year I have grand plans about New Years. . . and like most, I decided I don't want to do much. The Johnstons (just Shelly and the kids)were going to come down and that was party enough for me. I knew the kids would be entertained and Shelly and I don't have to try too hard to find something to do. We also had a friend that was going to be alone that night, so I suggested that Phil go do something with him and Shelly and I would hang out at the house. I dropped the 13 year olds off at a party at a local church and then spent the rest of the evening watching movies and eating chocolate with Shelly. The rest of the kids were having fun playing, Kyson and Logan went to bed about 11 p.m. and the girls made until just after midnight.
The next day Shelly and I decided the hit the local and much smaller mall and we had a great time shopping and having lunch. We had to end our day a little early when Kaden decided to lop part of his pinkie off with a sharp knife while cutting bread. Thankfully we have a friend (thanks Aric)that was home and he took care of him so we didn't have to waste tons of time in the ER on a Holiday! I really don't know what we will do if we ever move from here, we are so spoiled to have so many friends in the medical profession that can help us out instead of the ER.
I think that most of the time Shelly was here we pretty much shopped, watched movies, ate and played on the computer. You can check out her post here. We continued to eat and play our way through the time they were here including breakfast with more friends. It was a great time and it was bitter sweet to see our lovely break from our normally crazy routine come to an end.
Now it is just time to play catch up after taking so much time of my normal duties. I had a great time playing with the kids and spending more time with Phil. Also, I had a chance to spend some time with friends that I don't normally see a lot of.

Christmas Day

A few days before Christmas, Kambrie and I were out delivering some treats to our friends. We had a lot of fun time to talk and laugh and listen to Christmas music on our drive. At one point I asked Kambrie what she was looking forward to most about Christmas. I thought she would say which item she was really hoping to get. Well she surprised me by saying this, "I'm most looking forward to that joyful feeling, you know the one that fills your entire heart. Everyone is just so happy Christmas morning, I just love that feeling. That is what I am looking forward too." O.k. wow. . . not what I was expecting, but it just made my heart melt. I just love her and her perspective.

I think our Christmas day was great and I hope it was all that she was looking forward to and more. It started officially at 6:30 a.m. A few kids had been up before that peering into our room at the clock to see if they could wake us up. Like I was asleep. Then at 6:30 they all woke up Kyson and begged us to get up. We were all huddled at the top of the stairs getting ready to go down. I just love seeing how excited they all are, it's just cute. I think that is part of the feeling that Kambrie was talking about. We all had to wait, including me. . . that was new. Phil went down to get things ready. Then we all walked in, with Phil filming.

Kyson was excited about his new bike, webkinz and video games.


Kambrie and Kauri are so surprised to FINALLY get American Girl Dolls.


Kaden got the noisiest thing of all, an electric guitar and amp. I really don't know what Santa was thinking!

Oh and I got my new toy, which I'm using right now. I love my new lap top, I've really been wanting one for a long time. Phil is has mixed feelings about it now, he feels like he has been replaced.

Kambrie loves all her new Webkinz.

Phil was doing a good job capturing this on film. I still need to watch it.

Kyson was just so happy about everything. Such a fun picture of him.

Kaden checking out just how loud his guitar can get.

Kyson playing Lego Batman.

The girls playing with their new Barbies.

It was a wonderful day. We just played all day. Had breakfast around noon and pretty much stayed in our p.j.s all day.

The next day the girls and I kept up our tradition of going shopping the day after Christmas. They had been saving up their money and then got more for Christmas so they wanted to go shopping. They had a great time and got some fun things. They budgeted their money well because they wanted to buy more clothes for their dolls.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve day was filled with so much adrenaline from the highly anticipated next day that I had to come up with some extra activities. Weeks ago I found some fun ornament making kits at Fleet Farm (you can pretty much find ANYTHING at Fleet Farm), One was a wood one where they painted the ornaments, and this one was the stained glass one. This took up several hours of of the day that they wanted to go by fast. They couldn't wait for night to come so that they could go to bed. Why can't they want that everyday?




Kaden and Kauri working very hard on their ornaments. They did turn out pretty.


Kambrie and Kyson concentrating on their ornaments.

This was a fun activity for the kids. I will have to remember to get stuff like that again for them to do. They were all excited to see how they turned out and immediately put them on the tree.

For dinner we decided to stick with our tradition of having Mexican food for Christmas Eve dinner. We had enchiladas, carnitas, rice with black beans and chips with Phil's very yummy salsa.

After dinner we had them shower and get in their p.j.'s and then settled in to watch a movie together. After the movie we had them open a present, which is a new tradition for us. They all got new p.j.'s and changed into them. Next year we will let them do this before the movie, this got them a little excited. However, they did go to bed quickly and seemed to fall asleep rather fast. Phil and I were still "helping" Santa at this point, but finished up around midnight. We told the kids they couldn't get up before 6 a.m.