SUCCESS!!! 
According to our kids this was the best Christmas they have ever had!

It was so nice to hear them say that because this Christmas had a pretty small budget and I stuck to it!   Just goes to show(to me anyway) that with careful planning, shopping, and effort, wishes can come true even on a small budget.  Seeing how happy they were and still are with Christmas was the best Christmas present for me. 

For the last couple of months Cam has told me that he wants his very own can of Cashews for Christmas.  He was quite pleased when he unwrapped them!  He also loved the Star Wars Lego sets and the remote control car and the "how to make paper airplanes" book.   I won't mention that later in the evening he flooded a bathroom and half the basement when he forgot he was filling up the sink to grow his "growing thing."  It was a good excuse to use the new Shop Vac that Mark got for Christmas!

Hayden was just excited because everyone else was excited!  He also thinks he is pretty big when he stands on his stool and gets to play with the new Air Hockey table that GMa & GPa Heap gave the kids.  When he's not playing Air Hockey he is cooking us up some food with his new microwave and pushing around his shopping cart.  He sure is fun to have around on Holidays!

Colby was a little disappointed that he didn't get the 6 NFL Jersey's he asked for until he opened his TEXAS Longhorns T-shirt and the Diary of A Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself book!  It's three days later and I can't convince him to take the shirt off so I can wash it!  And I don't think I have seen the book out of his hands except to build his new Star Wars Lego sets. 

Marks parents and sisters and new Bro-in-law wanted to be at our house to watch the kids open their presents so as soon as the boys woke up, which wasn't until 7am, we called them and they headed over.  Waiting that 10 minutes for them to get here was like waiting and eternity for the kids!  It was fun to have them here though.  It's not really like Christmas without kids around is it?

Later that day we got to talk to Marks youngest sister Hilary who is on a mission at Palmyra, New York.  We also had our friends, the Hamans over to watch a movie and let the kids play. 

Overall this Christmas was really great.  We spent Christmas Eve with Mark's family and his mom and Emily over did themselves with a huge Christmas Dinner.  The kids got to open a few presents that were Gorgeously wrapped by Kristy and Jordan, and GPa told some stories from the scriptures.  When we came home we opened our Christmas PJ's and read a few stories.  By 9:30pm the kids were asleep and by 10:30 Mark and I were all done with preparations for the morning.  I'm pretty sure 10:30 is a record for us for the earliest time being done on Christmas Eve! 

Now we get to look forward to a FUN New Years Eve with more good food and fun! 

Missing Christmas

I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love. Even more than I usually do. And although I know it's a long road back, I promise you.... I'll be home for Christmas.... If only in my dreams. ~my current favorite version of this song by Michael Buble'. Give it a listen, it's great!

Every year that I don't plan on being at home in Arizona for Christmas I have a good attitude about it and don't get too sad. Until Christmas is actually here and I start thinking of all the things I am missing by not being at home. This year has been especially hard, I blame it on pregnancy hormones, but hard none the less.

When I was a growing up Christmas was hands down the best time of the year. My family had so many traditions that started right after Thanksgiving and lasted all month long. Maybe it was the fact that all 17 of my Heap cousins lived in St. Johns and that we gathered at Nana and Papa's house pretty much daily. Or maybe it was that Grammy and Papa came up from Phoenix to spend the holidays and we went there daily as well. Either way, the Holidays were an awesome, Magical time. We were never alone, always had family around, and that's what made the Holidays the best. In my world there was no other way to spend Christmas except surrounded by lots of family, food, and fun. I am pretty sure that my memories and feelings of Christmas as a kid are what makes it so hard for me to be away from home during the holidays. I feel so bad that my own kids are not experiencing Christmas like I did. I feel like they are missing out on so much and it makes me sad. Yes I know that I chose to stay in Utah for Christmas, Mark would take us down right now if I asked him too. And at some moments in the day when we are alone in our house with no other family around, I am ready to head down the road despite the long drive.

Despite my longing for HOME, I am excited about Christmas and I really do hope that I can somehow make Christmas as meaningful and fun for my kids as it was for me. And to my brother Kent who is also so far from home for Christmas, we love you and hope your Christmas is Wonderful. I'm sorry to say brother, but it does make me feel a little better knowing that I am not the only one who is missing out on Christmas in AZ!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from The Davis'

This is how I felt this morning when I woke up to TWO VERY SAD BOYS.

Yesterday Colby and Cameron both lost a tooth. Both of them on the same day, how often is that gonna happen? You would think that with the big deal that was made about it that it should have been easy for the Tooth Fairy to remember.


SHE FORGOT!!!!!

Colby had even left her a note taped to his door. He was asking for more money this time because he lost one of his molars, not just a tiny little tooth! He also wanted a note in reply written in cursive.
Poor Colby, he was SO SO SAD.
He says he will leave his tooth under his pillow for as long as it takes to get a note and more money from the Tooth Fairy.
If she forgets again tonight she should be fired from the job forever!

Cameron didn't really let it bother him too much. He actually took it pretty well!

The Tooth Fairy felt bad all day.

The funny things they say

Today I was at Wal Mart with Hayden and our friend Kathy. 
Hayden refuses to sit in the cart anywhere we go, he prefers the freedom of walking down the isles and being able to stop and look at whatever catches his eye. 
Today, he was in rare form though.  And he was copying everything he heard come out of anyone's mouth.

This is what I hear from my two year old, as loud as he can talk;

Hayden:  MOM! Come over here, I show you something.

Mom:  What Hayden?

Hayden:  Look at this!  OHHHHH....I LOVE IT!  I love it mom.  I put it in the basket? 

He did this multiple times with different items.  It was so funny!  He is only just barely two but sometimes I think he is closer to four!

Love this picture!

Well, the SNOW has arrived. We can plan on NOT seeing the ground until at least April.
For the first two days the kids were excited about it, but have already started complaining about how long it takes to get dressed and all the gear they have to wear. And I am complaining about wet floors and Mark is complaining about having to snowblow the driveway.
If you can't tell, WINTER is not our favorite season of the year.
It sure is pretty though and as long as we get some sunny days in between the snowy ones we'll make it through the long months of Winter.

Happy Birthday Dear Brother

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!

Seriously the cutest baby ever, and a really great brother.

Aaron and Brant

Aaron and Kent

Aaron is the middle child in our family and ACTS like it most of the time!  He does things his way and in his time.  You'd have to know him to know what I mean.  I think he got the stubborness of the Heaps and Mineers combined!  He is also a big softy and would do anything for anyone. I always knew if I needed anything that I could ask Aaron. 

We were so happy when his stubborness wore off a little and he decided to get married.

WE LOVE JODI and now LOVE their little one Maci. 

I'm excited that they have recently moved to SJ because that means we will see them everytime we go there! 

Happy Birthday brother.  Love ya.

My Baby is 2

I really can't believe that this little boy is already 2.
He looks 4 though and weighs as much as a 4 year old too.
Hayden's stats at 2 years old:

Weight- 38.9 lbs
Height- 38 inches
Is it any wonder that my back hurts? I get to carry this kid around everyday. The Dr. even told me that I should not be lifting him while I am pregnant. But yeah right. How am supposed to not lift him?
One of these days his size will pay off. We are hoping for a BYU football career followed by some time in the NFL!!!
Boys with Guitars.

Besides Hayden's love for balls, he also loves guitars and music. So we got him his very own guitar for his b-day. He and Cam have some great Jam sessions. You should see the facial expressions that Hayden makes. SO GREAT!

Hayden's b-day lunch from Mc Donald's!

Rock on Hayden!

It's hard to get a picture of him when he is not making this face. When he sees the camera he automatically says "cheese"!

No other cake would have been appropriate for this 2 year old.
He loves BALLS! Footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, you name it he loves it. He will shoot hoops and play catch all day long.
Because I am cheap and he is only 2 and didn't care I made a sad attempt to make a basketball cake. Hayden knew what it was supposed to be and that's all that matters right?! He was actually more interested in the rubber bouncy balls used to decorate the cake than actually eating the cake.

Missing our family

My kids and I LOVE when we have family come to visit.  If you have ever lived far away from your family you know what I mean when I say that having family come is SO SO AWESOME!! 
I used to be really good at taking lots of pictures of when family's in town but somehow my picture taking has slowed down.  I did manage to get a few good pictures though and thought I would share so the other family members who were not here could see.

Can a boy make a better "cheese face"?

Cam and Jacob making cookie Turkeys.

Hayden and Caroline playing the DS.  Since when do 2 year olds know how let alone care to play video games?

Caroline in her NEW RED coat.  So darn cute!

This picture really needs a post of it's own, but here's the story. 
Thanksgiving Day at Gma & Gpa Davis's house.  I went down stairs to check on Hayden and this is what I see!  Hayden is chowing an apple and Nathaniel is very dilligently building a lego ship.  When I asked Than who made the mess he matter-of-factly said "I did." 
I asked him why he needed to dump out every toy box in the closet and he said, again matter-of-factly "because I was looking for this piece." 
I guess when you are 3 and need to find the perfect Lego piece it doesn't matter how big of a mess you make!!

Gma & Gpa Heap helping Colb and Cam decorate thier Gingerbread house.

The rest of the pictures are of the family members that I WISH could have been here with us for Thanksgiving.  We really don't see each other very often and it makes me sad.  I guess not to many families are lucky enough to have grown up in the same town as their cousins and grandparents on both sides of the family like my family did. 
I will just have to find other ways of making sure that my kids and their cousins get to know each other. 

Maci baby. 
She is such a good mix of her momma and daddy!  So darn CUTE!

Bayli and Kendall
Bayli was baptized and Kendall blessed on the same weekend in October. 
My mom made the blessing dress, it's Gorgeous.  So far she has made blessing dresses for all 6 of ther granddaughters.

Jaden, so grown up. 
We haven't seen this kid since Easter and can't believe how BIG he is.

 Maison and Kendall.
Can't believe that Maison is almost 6.  She is still just the littlest thing and such a girly girl.

Look at the cheeks on that baby too!  I didn't know Lisa and Kent could have a chubby baby!

The LAST DAY!!

I DID IT!!  I made my goal of posting every day in November! (I cut it close though because my super nice neighbor called at 5:00pm and asked if Mark & I would like 2 tickets to tonights Jazz game that started at 7:00pm.  Lucky for us Marks mom could watch the kids so we could go.  THANKS SO MUCH Chari for watching the kids & Valerie for the tickets!)
I can't believe it is actually the last day of November but it is and I am excited.
Bring on Christmas!

Today was actually a very nice suuny day.  This cute little boy was able to shoot some hoops while I hung up Christmas lights outside. 
Hayden LOVES basketball and could "shoot it" all day long, longer if someone will "shoot it" with him.  I don't know what I will do with him when he can't go outside and "shoot it".  He even cheers for himself & says "good shot" when he makes it or "oh, I missed" when he misses.  He really is the cutest thing I have ever seen & heard. 

Thanks for staying tuned to my month long posting marathon.  I think I will take a few days off now.
I have to make my house look like Christmas and that takes lots of time and effort!!  And I do it all for my dear husbands enjoyment.

Adios Amigos.

Thanksgiving Weekend

 A few days ago I borrowed the movie Mary Poppins from a friend.  My kids have never seen it and I think they should see it.  So this evening when the boys wanted to watch TV I told them they could watch Mary Poppins!  I did not get very happy responses and it took the first 20 minutes of the movie for them to stop complaining and actually watch the movie.  Colby actually told me that he was trying to go his whole life without watching any old classic movies, especially musicals! 

Where did he get an attitude like that? 
Certainly not from me.
Dad maybe??????

We had a great weekend and LOVED having my parents here.  All of us are always so sad when they have to leave.   It was nice to see Ryan and Julie and kids & Emily too. 

Some highlights of our weekend:
1. Cameron lost a tooth and got $4 from the toothfairy!  Grandma said that the toothfairy pays DOUBLE when grandma is here.   (Colby tried his hardest to loose a tooth too while GMa was here!)

2.  Colb and Cam went with the Davis' too see the movie Blind Side.

3. My mom and I braved Provo on Black Friday.

4. Cameron & Jacob made lots of BUGS in the bug maker.

5. Colby, Mark & GPa Heap went to watch a BYU basketball game.

6.  Mark and they boys went bowling with Mark's family.

7. My Aunt and cousin came down from Ogden and my mom and I got to go out to lunch with them. 

8.  Colb & Cam got to play lots of Wii bowling games with Gma Heap.

9. Hayden decided that he needs to wake up at about 3am every night and scream for mom to let him sleep on the couch.  I only fell for it the first night.  The rest of the nights he had to cry himself back to sleep.  Luckily he only cries for about 15 minutes.

10. Mark, Ryan, Emily & Ron went to a Jazz game and had seats right behind the visiting team.  We could see them on TV everytime the ball was on their end of the court.  The kids thought that was sooo cool. 

11. Aunt Emily made train cakes and let the kids decorate them with LOTS of candy!

12. My mom brought me some of the most darling clothes and blankets/quilts for the baby girl!

13.  BYU beat Utah in an awesome game. 

14. The fall decor has been replaced with CHRISTMAS and I LOVE IT! 


For some reason there is no spellcheck, I hope there are not too many misspelled words!!

YES!

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Cougars did it!
They beat Utah in an awesome game.

Kinda sad for the Sun Devils though. 
They almost had UofA beat. 

 

BLACK FRIDAY
Is PURE MADNESS!!
Mom and I braved the crowds this morning and actually got most of the things we went for. 
WoooHooo, Christmas shopping is almost done!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Thanksgiving Eve

I am THANKFUL that my parents are on their way to my house to spend Thanksgiving with us.
I am also THANKFUL for my friend Kathy who called and asked if she could bring over her dinner to share with us.  Thanks Kathy.


Cameron:  I am THANKFUL for bananas.

Colby: I am THANKFUL that our friends are letting us borrow their Wii for a couple of weeks.

A Couple of Things

I am THANKFUL for funny kids!
The other day Mark asked me if I had seen the note that was taped to Cameron's wall. I had seen it and laughed really hard at it. I also made a mental note to tell Mark about it and take picture of it.
Apparently my mental notes slip from my mind really quickly and Mark saw it before I remembered. There really is TRUTH to saying that pregnancy kills brain cells, I have a hard time remembering anything at all these days.
ANYWAY... back to Cameron's note.

Here's what is says, in big people language just in case you can't decipher the six year old spellings.
"Tell mom in the morning that Colby kicked me in the pinkie!"

I guess when you are six and you are not supposed to get out of your bed unless you want to be in HUGE trouble in the morning, this is what you do to remind yourself of your brothers transgressions against you. Isn't it the goal of every younger brother to make sure that the older brothers get in trouble for every misdeed?
What's even more funny is that Cameron just happens to have tape in the drawer by his bed! And, he never remembered to tell us that Colby kicked him in the pinkie!
I really love the funny things kids do everyday!

Another thing I am THANKFUL for this week is the phone call we got on Sunday from Kristy, Mark's younger sister, telling us that she will be getting MARRIED in January!
After graduating from BYU in 2006 Kristy moved to Washington DC to attend George Washington University for a Masters Degree in Interior Design. She graduated from GW a year ago and decided to stay in DC and then earlier this year finally met "the one".
We got to meet Jordan this summer when he came to Utah with Kristy and we all liked him a lot. The kids really liked him and hoped that he would be their uncle. Jordan is from Virginia so there is a HIGH likely hood that they will always live back east but that gives us reason to get out there every once in a while!!
We are so excited for Kristy and Jordan, she is the first of Mark's three sisters to be getting married. We hope that soon we will see some little Kristy's,(no pressure though guys)!

Cameron: I am THANKFUL for Family.

Colby: I am THANKFUL for toilet scrubbers.

I told them to think of anything to be Thankful for and at least Colby is being honest. One of his chores is scrubbing the toilet once a week and I guess a toilet scrubber is better than a toothbrush or something!

Thanksgiving Week

Today I asked my kids what they are "thankful for" and here's what they said

Cameron: I am thankful for my family.

(He picked the picture above that includes some of his most favorite family members.)

Colby: I am thankful for my cousin Tuff.

(above picture; Colby & Tuff, July 2005)



And they both wanted their font color to be pink because it's their favorite color.
Really boys?
Pink?

I am Thankful for three great kids. They truly are a blessing.