Merry Christmas 2008

Santa definately didn't forget our house this year! The boys ended up with Vtech laptops, leapsters, Curious George animal with book, match box trucks, learning books, pj's and new toothbrushes. Santa was smart and brought 2 of everything! Makes things nicer in our house with two boys who want what the other brother has! LOL!

I got Troy a new grill for our counter. Also a DVD cleaner (much cheaper than replacing our DVD's), a new belt and boxers. We have an anatomic clock as well, but Diesel ate the sensor at our old house so it no longer tells us the outside temperature, so I got Troy a new one. I didn't know you could just replace the sensor until after the gift was bought so now we will have one for the trailer too! I wanted some turtlenecks so for the first time in years, Troy actually went shopping! I got some beautiful turtleneck sweaters, a nice pair of comfy jammie's and new house slippers! One for inside and one for outside. He is tired of me stealing his each time I need to run outside really quick!

We got hit with a really bad snow storm so unfortunatley, my parents or Troy's mom didn't made it for a visit. Grandpa Lane and Leann made it though! It was really nice to have some one on one time with them. Leann made a cool candy book. She got tired of looking in this book or that book for a certain receipe so she collected her favorites and put it in a binder. I was lucky enough to get a copy! Thank you Leann. I look forward to attemping to make candy next year! She and Lane also gave us a movie gift card. Make note Nichole and Mindy for our date night in January! No excuses from Troy now that we can't go! LOL! The boys got books, trucks and pj's too. Thanks Cathey and Makiya for sending the boys presents!

Aunt Nic and Uncle Clint got the boys gift cards so I did some shopping and put the gifts under the tree. The boys were excited when they got Kung Fu Panda and Horton Hears a Who. With the gift card I also bought the boys underwear. Hunter has been asking for boxers like he dad and at the moment it is all about Transformers in our house. TJ loves Thomas the Train so hopefully that will be more incentive for him to go potty more often in the big boy potty! Thanks Aunt Nic and Uncle Clint! You are loved more than you will ever know!

Bryan, Kristi and the kids came over in the afternoon for dinner. The kids spent the day playing their DS's and leapsters. Towards the end of the night I got a cute picture of all the kids sitting on the couch in their pj's playing their games. Hunter wanted to play in the snow all day, so once Tori and Dallas arrived, they played outside for a bit. When Hunter was done, he was a snowball front to back. His snow pants and coat were soaked, they weighed as much as he did! LOL! Bryan brought over the Hulk movie. Hunter and TJ thought it was awesome! At one of the fight sceens, TJ was funny he kept saying "scare me" as he was laughing at the TV. Goofy kid! We, the adults, spent the night playin Skipbo.

It was different not having my parents here for the day. We did enjoy the day though and I think we had a really nice Christmas. We missed having Travis this year, but we talked to him last night on the phone. Sounds like he had a really nice Christmas too! We look forward to his summer visit! Now the fun begins on taking the holiday stuff down, putting all the new toys away, hanging up the new clothes and hopefully getting the house back in order! I am one that usually likes the tree up through the New Year, but tomorrow is Hunter's birthday party and our living room is really small. I thought we should take it down today, but Hunter wants it up for his birthday, so we will see who wins! LOL!

Love to all and I hope everyone had has wonderful Christmas as we did!!!!

Christmas Eve 2008

Troy and I had to work on Christmas Eve, but we were lucky enough for the storm to hold out so we could make a trip to Ogden. We started the evening out at LaRue's for dinner and presents with Melissa, Jeremy and the kids. Hunter got the the airplane set for his Geo tracks, TJ got a new little people's racing set, Troy and I got a canning pot. LaRue thinks I can learn to cook salsa and do some canning! She forgets I can't cook, I can just bake. LOL! It will be fun to try and learn new stuff. Troy and I are excited! We all got pj's from Grandma too! Melissa, Jeremy and the kids gave Hunter a SpongeBob plug and play it and TJ a new tractor. LaRue collects Nutcrackers and a few years ago the Wizard of Oz Nutcracker's came out so we gave her the Tin Man. Last year I couldn't find them so this year she got two. We found Dorothy and the Scarecrow. They are very cute. It was a nice visit. Before we left the boys had to put their new jammie's on. Kung Fu Panda for Hunter and Lightning McQueen for TJ.

We headed to my parents next. Since a storm was brewing they didn't know if they would make it up Christmas day so we decided to take presents to them just in case. We all made out like bandits. The boys got new clothes, fish crackers, fruit snacks and new drink cups. Mom and dad stocked our freezer for our Christmas gift! That will last us 6 months or more! Thank you and we love you!!! We never know what to get my parents because they always tell us "nothing". I had little signs made for all the kids and came across one that said "No Whining at Grandpa's" and just knew dad needed that since he always says that. We got mom a really pretty pink pearl necklace and earring set. Then I found a cute "Grandparents" picture frame and put a picture with them and the boys when Travis was here in the summer.

Grandpa really liked his new sign, we had to take a picture with he and the boys!!!

Just thought I would show you, I wasn't kidding when I said my parents stocked our freezer for our Christmas gift!!!

Presents with Lisa and Gracie . . .

Thackeray 2008 Christmas Party . . .

Carolyn and I have been friends for over 10 years now. In the summer we have our annual Bear Lake Trip and in December we are included with their family Christmas party. We look forward to each year because there's great food and the boys get to see Santa. Unfortunately we missed the dinner part since the freeway was closed last Saturday due to idiots who couldn't drive in the snow . . . but we made it in time for Santa! We always have a chat with Hunter before hand to remind him that Santa is not scary and that it is okay to sit on his lap. No hesistation this year!

TJ freaked last year when Santa called his name, but not this year! The second Santa mentioned treat, he was off. That's all he cared about was the treat, he could have cared less about the present! The second picture is my favorite. I love how he is holding Santa's hand and just looking up listening. So precious!

Hunter got a new Spider Man game! Thanks to Aunt Lisa and Lindsay for helping Santa get that present. Kinda a little history about that present . . . last year Aunt Lisa gave Hunter a Spider Man game. He played it constantly. While we were packing and moving this summer we had a neighbor boy stop by and play with Hunter. Well the boy ending up stealing the game from our home. I confronted him and his parents but they stood their ground. I find it very interesting that a 10 year old would have the same game that is intended for 5 year olds, but whatever! So since then Hunter has talked non stop about asking Santa for a new game. I had looked everywhere. I finally told Lisa the story and she was able to look back through her stuff and get me the name of the right one. Lindsay, a friend I work with, ordered it for me through her account on Amazon. So thank you very much Lisa and Lindsay for helping make Hunter's visit with Santa extra special this year! He was so excited when he got the game!!!

TJ loves magnics. He has the ABC's and animals. So now he has the car wash one that has a train, a boat, a plane and car that makes all sorts of noises and sounds. It's cute to watch him play with it now. He is getting too big too fast!

As we are getting ready to leave I realize we didn't have a family Christmas picture yet so Carolyn took one of us. Of course being the end of the night Hunter was ongry, but oh well at least we got one this year! Now that I am back on Weight Watchers hopefully next year I won't have 14 chins! LOL! I just love ALL my boys, they are the cutest!

Grinch Hair . . .

The boys and I went to get our haircuts on Saturday. Hunter boy wanted colored gel in his hair so Kellie added green and yellow. TJ wanted to be just like big brother! LOL! They went all day telling everyone they had Grinch hair. It was cute! I need to find some hairspray (non colored of course!) that lasts like that crap . . . the boys still had green spikey hair on Sunday and it took 2 washings to get their hair back to normal! It was worth it though, they loved it!

We are going private . . .

I have decided to mark our blog as private. I will be changing our blog this weekend. If you are family or a friend who doesn't leave a comment but just likes to see what is going on in our lives please leave me a comment or send me an email so I can give you permission to view our blog. You will have to then log in to view our blog. I will be adding all my fun blogger friends so if by chance I miss someone please send me an email. Love to all!!!!

Happy Birthday to Troy!!!

Today is my cute hubby's birthday! Yes he is the old guy of the family! LOL! Troy is 38 today, which by no means is old but he will always be older than me (and yes older that Nichole too!). She likes to make that point with Troy often. She sent him a cute birthday card that said "Thanks . . ." and then she wrote on the side "for being older than me!" Nothing like family love!



Troy had to work this past weekend so the boys and I made him his favorite cake yesterday. The boys were cute, they loved poking holes in the chocolate cake before we poured on the sweetened condensed milk and carmel. Then of course they had to have a spoonful of each! LOL! The cool whip got all over their noses while trying to lick the lid. They weren't too sure about the toffee bits until I made them try a taste and then they wanted more!


Troy was in desperate need of a new winter coat so my parents went in on a Carhart coat with me and the boys. Of course I gave it to him a week ago because he was hanging Christmas lights and didn't have a warm coat, sucker I know! Saturday we stopped and Smith and Edwards to get the hat that goes with it. Now he is all set to work in the freezing temperatures at work and will be toasty warm when the snow hits and he is out playing on his 4 wheeler.

Thanksgiving 2008 . . .

It has been a nice relaxing day here at home. After enjoying blueberry pancakes for breakfast Hunter wanted to play Twister . . .

We watched the Macy's parade and the dog show. Later in the afternoon my parents came up for the dinner. Before the feast was ready, Grandpa and Hunter enjoyed a game of golf . . .
Troy did a wonderful job on the turkey, it was delicious!!! Thanks to my dad for making the gravy. That is his specialtity so we were glad he jumped in so I didn't take the easy way out making gravy from the package. LOL!Thanks to my cute mom who helped feed the boys and of course put the kitchen back in order. My mom and dad made wonderful pies for dessert, pumpkin cheese cake and apply pie. Hunter is not much of a dessert fan, but he devoured Grandpa's apple pie. TJ enjoyed the "punkin pie".

Just before bath time TJ had to read his favorite story . . .
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday as much as we did! Now I need to get busy and get ready for Christmas. Hunter is excited that his dad will be putting the lights on the house this weekend. Santa will definately be able to see our house once Troy get's finished. LOL! Love you all!

Birthday wishes and a trip to the dentist . . .

We want to wish Aunt Nic a very happy birthday today! She is a wonderful person and a very great god mother to our boys. We love you!!!!

Happy birthday to my dear friend Kate. She will always be older than me! LOL! Unfortunately after 20 years of being friends I forgot to call her on her birthday. I shouldn't have forgotten because she shares the same day as my parents anniversary. Bad friend this year! Know that you are loved Katie and we miss you guys! We are looking forward to a fun boat ride next summer at Bear Lake! Glad that our friendship hasn't changed over the years, despite our busy schedules and distant of travel to see each other.

Also I want to send birthday wishes to my great Angie! She and I have been friends since we were kids. We grew up clogging together. We don't get together as often as we both would like, thank heaven for our kids birthday parties. LOL! That's when our paths tend to cross. Ang, I love ya dear and truly appreciate your friendship!

Yesterday we took the boys to the dentist. We have been preparing for weeks, telling the boys that is a nice place to visit, reading SpongeBob's book about his trip to the dentist and just talking about what to expect. It really went quite well. Hunter went first and sat back in the chair and let the hygentist clean his teeth. He thought the suction hose was so funny! He thought the flouride was delicious. When the dentist came in he wanted to count how many teeth Hunter had. Of course he counted silly and Hunter kept correcting him. Once Hunter got out of the chair, he looked right at me and goes"I was so brave huh mom!" TJ was a little hesitant at first but once the hygentist gave him a new tooth brush and he got to brush his own teeth he was set. For the dentist to look in TJ's mouth, TJ had to help hold the mirror and look at a book. LOL! Our dentist was so sweet with the boys, we will definatly go back to him. All in all the boys teeth are healthy. TJ still doesn't have his 2 year molars, poor kid, I thought we were done with teething! Hunter has a little yellow spot on one of his front bottom teeth that the doctor wants to remove. We go back next month, should be a real treat, Hunter on laughing gas! LOL!

Happy Anniversary, some more great deals and our cute boys . . .

Happy anniversary to my cute mom and dad yesterday celebrating 33 years! Unfortunately my mom has had the flu for a week so she spent the day on the couch. We usually do dinner on Sunday with my parents, but she was still too sick today to come up. Dang it! I hope you get feeling better soon mom! We love you!!! LaRue came up for the afternoon and the kids had a fun day with their grandma.

Lisa and I went shopping Friday night and I got some killer deals. The steamer veggie packages were $1.27 at Wal-mart. They actually rang up $1.08 and Lisa had ten $1.00 off coupons so I got them for .08 cents a piece! She didn't think I could beat the .27 cents she paid earlier in the week, but lucky for me I did! Lisa also shared her deodrant and kids toothpaste coupons, final price for deodrant was .17 cents and kids toothpaste was $1.75. She got several feminine products for free after using her coupons, I think we made out like bandits! Smith's was still having their mega deals so we both saved and stocked up there too! Lisa you are a god send and I appreciate your help with getting me going on saving money with my coupons! I was really hesitant to start the coupon cutting with pinching your pennies, but after saving almost $300 this month I am hooked!

Glad I could save money on groceries because a light bulb went out on our big screen TV Thursday night. The dang thing was $200 to replace! Oh well, not something we expected, but needed to fix. Unfortunately we had to cancel our date night with Nichole, Clint, Mindy and Shayne with this added expense. Good thing we have great and understanding friends. I look forward to rescheduling!

Happy birthday to Nichole on Thursday! She threw herself a birthday party Saturday, it was fun to get out and have lunch with the girls! While I was in Ogden Troy was home with the boys. TJ was suppose to be taking a nap . . . RIGHT!

Unfortunatly those are not washable markers and the poor kid has to wear the stuff off! LOL! I tried to scrub off what I could but there are still faint lines on his cute little face. He knew he was in trouble the minute I opened the door. Hunter boy had left out his Spider man markers and TJ decided to help himself. Sorry the pictures are blurry I am having issues with my digital camera. GRRRR!

I know this is a long post, but it's been a week and alot has happened. Last night Troy built a fire in our fire pit. While the boys and I were inside for a minute Troy raked the coals. Well the rake broke and we walked out just as Troy put down the metal piece of the rake. Not knowing what had just happened and before Troy would say "don't touch" Hunter went over and grabbed it. Holy crap he made an awful scream! The poor kid had black plastic burned into his skin. I wish I would have taken a picture but that wasn't the priority last night. We brought him in the house for a cold wash cloth and ice cubes. He cried and shook for almost an hour. I felt awful, Troy felt even worse and blamed himself. After convincing Hunter that the aloe vera plant wouldn't hurt, Troy cut off a small piece and laid it on the burn. It helped immensely! I thought for sure this morning Hunter's hand could be blistered, but there is only a tiny blister on his index finger. Thank goodness because it could have been alot worse! Hunter has learned he does not touch anything by the fire without asking first!

Thanks a ton . . .

to my cute friend Lisa! We went grocery shopping today with her shoe box of coupons and she was nice enough to share. I have been dragging my feet on this whole pinching your pennies thing, but after what I saw today, I need to get started!

Thanks again Lisa, you are a true friend and I love you very much!

All is well here. Troy is working this weekend. Brianna and Brittnay came and watched the boys for me so I could grocery shop and get my nails done. Troy brought home crates of wood so he can build a deck in our patio area. That will be nice and plus it will get rid of the mud that is there now. Troy completed most of the fence repairs that we needed done to contain the dogs. We just need to find that magic money tree for gates. LOL!

At the boy's daycare they have been talking about having an emergency plan in case of a fire, earthquake, etc. and tonight before bed Hunter was telling me how important it was to have a fire alarm so I showed him where ours was. He thought ours should have a big light on it, like the one at school, I just smiled and said it still works the same, it will make a loud noise if there is a fire. He also told me about calling 911 in an emergency. I just amazes me how fast he is growing up!

The other day I was empting out my purse with change and got out the coin jar. I gave the coins to the boys to put in their banks, it was the first time that TJ actually wanted to participate. The boys sat at the table and put coins in their banks for almost an hour. It was cute. TJ's is a big pig and sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Every once in awhile TJ would turn the pig around and kiss it on the nose. It was funny! Hunter's is a cow bank, every so often each boy would say MOO MOO. While I was making dinner Hunter was teaching TJ the words to the song. Just another great memory to add to the file box when they are fighting and crying. LOL!

Diesel has finally realized that if he is not so rowdy in the house he gets more time inside with us. With the weather turning bad I have been trying to work with him on his house manners. LOL! I am still struggling with the counter surfing though, Drives me crazy!!! He is just such a big dog, like a bull in a china cabinet. I feel guilty leaving the dogs out all day and half the night until I go to bed, but this little house isn't big enough for two busy little boys and three rowdy dogs. We still have a lot of work ahead of us with Diesel, but these little steps makes things a tad bit easier. We have been spoiled for so long with Jake and Charli, we hardly know they were around because they find a corner and sleep, but Diesel, hell he's an area rug in a room!

Happy Halloween . . .

Hunter has recovered from Wednesday. THANK GOODNESS! Here are the boys out on our front lawn just before we headed out trick or treating . . .

Of course TJ wanted to take a picture by our spider after they stood by the pumkin . . .

How can you resist this cute little dragon?! Then of course, it's all about Transformers at our house . . . Hunter as Bumblebee . . .
We had a fun night. We were invited back to our old neighborhood for a party at the park. It was kind of like a trunk or treat, but instead everyone was in lawn chairs handing out candy. The kids had fun and Hunter enjoyed spending time with his old friends for a bit. The weather was nice and since we haven't done the time change yet, it was fun to be out before dark and not have it so cold!

Small world, we ran into Troy's friend Christopher. He is dating a girl here in Tremonton and just happened to be at the same park party. We haven't seen him since last summer. After trick or treating we came home for a warm bowl of chilli. I have to say it turned out quite yummy for my first attempt at making it from scratch rather than opening a can of Nalley's. LOL!

Christopher and his new friend, along with Kami and Lindsay (cute girls I work with) all joined us to finish out the night for a fire at our fire pit.

My poor Hunter boy . . .

Is home sick today, DANG IT! He woke up this morning at 3:30 complaining of a tummy ache. I told him to go potty and I would get him something to make him feel better. He came running into the kitchen screaming that his tummy hurt and he was going to throw up. I tried to get him to go back to the bathroom but he wanted a bowl instead.

To give you a little history on the bowl . . . since Hunter was one, at least once a year he gets the flu where he throws up constantly every 30 minutes, on the dot practically! When he was one he didn't fully understand that you had to get to the bathroom to throw up, so instead we gave him a bowl so we didn't have to clean up the mess every 30 minutes. Thus he is used to the bowl, and it's far more convenient than running to the toliet every 30 minutes. We just made a little bed on the floor in our room, that way I can get up with him as he needs and he isn't waking up TJ.

Poor little guy. I feel so bad for him. I know I have to keep give him sips of water to keep him hydrated, it's just sad to see it come right back out 30 minutes later. Here in a little bit when TJ wakes up I will go and get some Sprite and with any luck he will be able to keep that down.

Not that I wish my kids sick or anything, but I am glad that it happened today rather than on Friday for Halloween. He has been looking forward to wearing his costume and his little heart would have been broken if he had to stay home.

Loyalty . . .

You can't buy loyalty, they say
I bought it though, the other day
You can't buy friendships, tried and true
Well just the same, I bought that too.
I made my bid and on the spot
Bought love and faith and a whole job lot
Off happiness, so all in all
The purchase price was pretty small
I bought a single trusting heart,
that gave devotion from the start
If you think these things are
NOT FOR SALE
Buy a brown-eyed puppy with a wagging
tail!

This was included on a dear friends funeral announcement and I loved it so much I had to share it with all my dog loving friends!

Vintage Photos . . .

The boys had their pictures taken a few weeks ago at daycare and I have to say that they are the cutest boys ever!

6 quirks . . .

I was tagged by my cousin Nichole to list 6 quirks that I have . . .

1. I would rather be late than leave the bed unmade, sad but true!
2. I always have a piece of gum in my mouth unless I am eating or sleeping.
3. I need to watch my tone of voice a lot of the times when I talk to people because I mean one thing and my tone comes acrossed as something totally different.
4. I need to hit the snooze button at least 3 times before I get out of bed, so therefore I set my alarm clock 15 minutes fast.
5. I am obsessed to have a tidy house before company comes over.
6. I don't mind doing the laundry or even folding the laundry, but I HATE to put it away. Lazy I guess. LOL! In my dream house my laundry room will be on the main floor so I don't have to haul it up and down the stairs.

I tag Jenny, Sherry and Shawn.

TJ's 2nd birthday party . . .

I can't believe that TJ will be two on Friday . . . boy how time flies. Troy is working a new schedule and has to work the weekend of TJ's birthday so we had his party a few days early. My friend Jenny Moser (who used to watch the boys) decorates cakes for fun and here is her cute creation for TJ . . . TJ needed a new winter coat, so of course Grandma Sue and Grandpa Steve took care of that! Socks are a borrowing gift, but always a much needed one. LOL!TJ didn't care too much about opening presents, it was cute though, with each gift he kept asking "open it"
A little boy can always use a big dump truck! TJ likes to sit in the back of it and Troy pushes him around the house. As you can see from this picture he made out like a bandit . . .
Aunt Cathey and Makiya got TJ a really cool gift, it's a Thomas the Train flash light! It was the next best thing to the dump truck. It will come in very handy next camping season.

Troy and I learned real quick that our living room is really small in this house for such a family function, but it was fun and so worth the time. I just can't believe my baby is two!