Play Hard III: Stuntmen - Grounded

It's episode three and those crazy knuckleheads are pushing it to the limit as they risk life and limb in an attempt to chicken fight on a wobbly swing set.  Finally, their mother's pleading reaches their ears and they stop short of maiming themselves!

Flying is fun, but they just had to try a ground attack.

Will our heroes survive until next time?.......

Play Hard II: Stuntmen - Airborn

In this episode, we follow these crazy fellows next door to Mark's back yard where they really put the pillows to the test!

Play Hard I: Fat Men Dancing

In this episode, would-be stunt men Ken, Mark and Nick think they can appease their mother's fears by using pillows to soften the blows.  As a "warm up" they start with a dance off...

Young Garrett looks on with a mixture of embarrassment and... maybe... a hint of admiration?

Quick Trip

I wanted to get these posts published before Christmas so I wouldn't get behind... again... but... yeah... you know!  Anyway, a couple weeks ago, we finally made it to UT.  It was a quick trip, but Ken really wanted to go.  It was driving him crazy that we were so close and hadn't been there yet!  Friday night, we had been invited to a Christmas party for couples at our friend's the Atkinsons.  We had a GREAT time!!  It was so fun to meet so many people!  After the party, we headed out for Utah!  It was so cool that we could do that and still get there before 11:00pm!  In the morning, we went with Ken's parents and Mark & Alicia to their ward Christmas breakfast.  There was some YUMMY food! 

They also had paper on the tables so the kids could color.  Our kids (especially B) had so much fun with that!!

Grandpa Ned let Taysum wear one of his Christmas hats.  When you push the button, it plays music, lights up, and dances around!  It's quite the hat!!

And of course we had a visit from Santa Claus!  Taysum asked for a hammer.

And Bailey asked for a hammer for Taysum!  (Sweet girl)

Hayden was too nervous and didn't want to sit with Santa. :)

Grandpa Ned and Grammy Penny's Nativity scene

Bailey loved the kazoo she got from Santa!

Uncle Ken and little Lizzy

We went over to Uncle Mark's to play and ride horses.  Bailey really loved the swing... until she started fighting me when I tried to slow her down to get her out.  She did a face plant right into the ground.  She had a bloody nose and lip... it was pretty sad! :(

It wasn't enough to deter her from riding horses, though!!

Bailey's favorite was getting to ride Copper!

That night, the grownups stayed up late watching movies and the cousins crashed, too!  It was a quick, fun-packed trip!!  We were so glad we went!  It's a lot easier to only have to drive 3 hours instead of 9!  The next few posts will be about Ken and his brothers and all the crazy things they did... yes... they are so crazy, they needed separate posting! :)

My Sweet Girl

I've written before how my sweet Bailey will just randomly melt my heart and say, "Mom?  I love you."  Well, this morning, she said that and then she continued, "You know what I love best?  I love all my family be safe so I don't be scared."  That little girl has so much love inside her and it is such a blessing to have her in our family!  She always talks about how she loves all her family.  Whenever she plays with a toy, she tells me how it's a part of our family now.  My favorite was when she told me baby Jesus was a part of our family now.  Whenever she draws (which she LOVES to do) at least one of the pictures is of our family.  She's such a precious reminder of love! :)

Update: 1/1/12  Last week I had the stomach flu.  Ken said she was pretty worried about me.  They came up to visit and B said, "But Mom, you have to make us dinner!"  Then she crawled up next to me and patted my arm and said, "Don't worry.  You always be our Mom, ok?"

Weekend Silliness

Last Saturday (12/3) started out pretty silly at our house!  Somehow, Taysum and Bailey came up with the idea of doing an Angry Bird Christmas Puppet Show!  Ken helped them create a puppet theater and puppets.  Then, they put on a show featuring Christmas songs! :)

Behind the scenes!

The audience

"Angry Bird Lake" (Swan Lake)  and "Anger of the Birds" (Carol of the Bells)

"B" -hind the scenes

The cast!

Hayden put on a couple performances of his own! :)  He LOVES to wear shoes... especially if they are someone else's!  The bigger... the better!

He also started doing this funny thing at dinner that night where he'd take Ken's hand and look at it very closely and point at it... it look just like he was reading his palm or something!

I love relaxed, fun, imaginative weekends like this one!! :)

Ken's Substation

Just wanted to brag on my hubby a bit!  One of the biggest projects he was in charge of when he was working for Western Engineering was a new substation for the Four Corners area.  The first substation he was in charge of was in Basin, WY.   He had never worked with substations before and he just kind of had to learn along the way.  He designed, requisitioned parts and workers, and oversaw the building of the substation.  He went to town meeting after town meeting to meet the requirements and debate countless issues.  He had to talk to land owners, some of them multiple times, about right of ways.  He had to work out problem after problem and delay after delay!  We could spend hours recounting the stresses, frustrations, and successes of this endeavor, but many of you lived through it with us!  

Well, here are the fruits of his labor and success in the Four Corners area!! :)  These were taken back in September.  I'm so proud of him and all his hard work! He stuck to it and saw it through to the end!  I'm so proud of you, hon!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

So, it was just barely a few days after Thanksgiving, I don't think we were even completely finished digesting the succulent meal, and we dove right into Christmas!  I always love it when our house is decorated for Christmas!  I love the lights and colors and warmth it all brings; the Spirit of Christ.

After 11 Christmases, we broke in a new tree!  Our first tree was given to us by Ken's sister and was a beautiful little tree for us for over a decade.  A couple years ago, my sister gave us a larger tree, so we decided to try it out this year.  Also, we retired our beautiful star!  It was very beautiful, but falling apart more and more each year and it was getting harder and harder to get it to stay on our tree.  So, we have also been enjoying our new star this year!  It's been a beautiful Christmas season so far, and I pray the true Spirit of the season with grow in my heart a little more each day... even beyond Christmas Day!

 

  

Hayden was very excited and curious about all the commotion.  He grabbed a Santa hat and sat down in front of the tree, cute as could be, and I just had to grab my camera...

... and of course get everyone involved! :)

A few days later (I know it's the same clothes, but they are clean!) Bailey and Hayden were enjoying some popcorn and a movie in the bean bag.

Then, our little friend Jacob, who visits often from next door came over and joined the party!  :)  Let the holidays and festivities begin! :)

Giving Thanks

For Thanksgiving, we went to Lovell.  It was really hard to leave Lovell to move to Rock Springs and we were all a bit homesick; so it was nice to be able to go back and visit for a few days.  We were so impressed with the kids!  We only made 1 stop the whole trip... which, for us, is unheard of! :)  Our stop was for dinner at McDonald's in Lander.

The kids were so excited for Thanksgiving and wanted to help as much as they could!  Bailey helped Grandma with the pies and made some yummy pinwheels with the leftover crust!

Meanwhile, Taysum was helping Ken put together some shelves and fix a curtain rod for my mom!

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents, my grandparents the Lindsays, Nick and Lindi and also the sister missionaries!  It was so good to be with family and enjoy their wonderful company! :)

For a couple years now, I've wanted to start a Thanksgiving tradition with the kids, and I finally did it this year!  I thought it would be fun to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving while eating snacks from Charlie's Thanksgiving Dinner: Toast, Popcorn, Pretzel Sticks and Jelly Beans!  It was a big hit with the kids and I'm hoping we'll be able to do it again next year with the Cutler crew! :)

Even the adults sat down to enjoy the show...

The biggest hit, by far, for the kids was Grandpa's iPad; they had so much fun with that and with Grandpa!

It was fun to be with my Mom and sister over the weekend!  My mom and I worked on some crafts for Christmas.  The three of us also went to watch Breaking Dawn: Part I.  We've seen all the movies together, so far, and it was fun to be able to be with them again for that!

I love this time of year when we are given extra opportunity to remember all the many, wonderful things our Father in Heaven and our Lord, Jesus Christ have done for us.  The greatest gift being, the Gospel and our family!  "Both sides" are just perfect for us and feels more like one big family!  We have three beautiful, loving children who bring joy and meaning to our life.  I've been so blessed to have my love, my friend, my husband by my side, as I am by his through this wonderful life!  I could never express the depth of my gratitude for these treasured blessings!!