Merry Christmas

We started out our Christmas at a great Christmas Eve party at Micah's parents home.  Every year this is my favorite time because the kids are so full of excitement.  The anticipation is almost too much for them to bare.  We play games, eat, eat, and eat some more.  Then the evening always ends with one last sit on Santa's lap for any last requests.  I love it when the kids come up with something totally random that they must have just thought of.  It happens every year and makes for a good laugh. We always leave their house in new jammies and a fun Christmas Eve present from Santa.

This is the first year that Abbie had no hesitation to sit on his lap.  She would do it in years past but would never sing with Santa or really have a conversation with him.  This year on the way to the party she was really concerned that she would not get to ring his bells and sing a song with him.  Luckily her wish came true.  

Avery is our very shy little girl.  This is where she was all night to insure that she wouldn't have to sit on his lap.  I was informed to tell him she wants a roll over puppy, but to please not make her sit on his lap.  She was attached to me until Santa left.

Aliza really surprised us by sitting on his lap without screaming. Afterward Micah informed me that he kept telling her that he had a present.  That must have been the key.   Avery has learned from past years that you still get the present no matter what.  Aliza hasn't learned that yet.  She looked terrified the entire time.  I always laugh when we head to the mall to see Santa each year and there is always a few screaming kids.  Why do we do this to our kids?

Christmas morning was so much fun.  Luckily the girls didn't get up too early and everyone seemed pleased with Santa's picking of toys.  Aliza would just ooh and ahh over each gift she unwrapped.  She would have to get it out of the package and play with it before she would move on to the next.  Abbie wrote Santa a letter which she had asked for a bell from Santa's sleigh.  He responded back telling her that she couldn't have a bell because it would throw the balance off on his sleigh.  She was really disappointed.  (I would love to talk to the Santa writers if anyone knows them).  After all the trauma he did leave her a special bell from his sleigh.  Both sets of Grandparents made a visit that morning  and then we were off to visit family for the rest of the day.  We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.

Once There Was A Snowman

Yesterday we were bombarded with ALOT of snow.  In fact, Micah and I couldn't remember it ever snowing that much in one day since we moved in 7 years ago.  Luckily we really had nowhere we had to be, so we could sit home and watch it pile up all day long.  Our front yard has turned into great sledding ground for the neighbor kids.  

I had to take a picture of Aliza in her snow gear.  It was way to big on her, but she was dying to get out in the snow.   While I shoveled the snow Aliza would try to walk around and then fall, with all that padding she would just giggle.  She was unable to get up by herself so she would patiently wait for one of us to pick her up, and then she'd do it all over again.

Our Fabulous Snowman!

Let it Snow!

The snow is officially here to stay.  The excitement is so great that my girls can't get enough of  it.   I'm sure there will be a puddle on my kitchen floor until spring where they remove all their snow gear.  I can't complain because they are having so much fun.

Abbie and Avery have been arguing over who gets to shovel.  I can't complain about that either.

My snow angels.

We have the perfect size hill in our front yard for the little ones to sled down.  The only downfall is that our driveway is a hill too.  Whenever it snows and I need to drive I literally slide down the hill into the road.  It still scares me after all the years of living here.  

Temple Square

I am always so grateful for opportunities to head to Salt Lake and see Temple Square.  Every year Abbie and Avery get to play at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building the first Monday in December.  (I'm slow I know)  We stayed and made it a whole family night seeing all the sights and lights of course.  This is the only picture I got of them with their violins that wasn't too dark.  

Temple Square is always so peaceful and beautiful.  I was so glad we had the opportunity to start out the Christmas season thinking of why we celebrate this time of year.  Our girls were just fascinated with the nativity scene.  Abbie kept asking to watch it over and over again.  With President Hinckley doing the narrating who wouldn't want to stay and listen to it over and over.  

Avery was closing her eyes in all of the pictures so I told her to keep her eyes open wide.  That was the wrong thing to say because when I looked at the pictures that evening I realized she now looks like a deer in the headlights in almost every picture.  Oh Well..... I think she's cute either way.

Dad and his girls.

It was a beautiful night.  I can't wait until next year.

Aliza's Surgery Day

We are so relieved today to have made it through Aliza's surgery.  We are so grateful that everything went well and our little one is feeling better today.  For those of you who were asking questions, Aliza had a small surgery to remove a  epigastric hernia.  It really wasn't a huge deal but to all the moms out there you know that whenever it's your child it's a big deal.  I didn't realize how stressed I was about it and how obvious it was until after the surgery.  Micah and I were laughing last night about all the phone calls making sure I was okay.  When we got to Primary Children's Monday morning Aliza of course was very hungry.  An hour later when they finally called us back to prep her for the surgery I think she could tell something was up because she just screamed.  They had to give her a quick acting sedative before they even took her back to the OR.  We had to leave her screaming which didn't help the situation.

This is Aliza one minute before the next picture.

Is that fast working stuff or what?  That sedative kicked in so fast.  The poor little thing.  When we were in the waiting room Aliza became very attached with this Elmo coloring book.  We couldn't get it away from her.  Needless to say when she came to her first word was Elmo.  That tells you where we stand.  We even had to bring it home with us.  I promise we will replace it when we go back next week for her follow up appointment.

In the recovery room all of the nurses were laughing at her relaxed pose.  She kept putting her hand behind her head like she was sitting on the beach.  They had to keep her other hand covered because she wanted to rip out her IV whenever she got a glimpse at it.

We made it through and are so grateful that we have healthy children.  After being in the hospital for pretty much the whole day it sure makes you think about how lucky we are to be healthy and well.  Aliza is doing amazingly well today.  In fact I expected her to just want to sit around all day taking it easy, but no way.  She has been running around trying to keep up with her sisters.  Every once in a while she will stop and say "owie," but it's not slowing her down much at all.  We are glad to have this all behind us.

Thanksgiving Beauty Shop

On Thanksgiving day my girls and their girl cousins decided to open up shop.  The Snarr home became the holiday beauty shop.  As you can see they did a great job in the makeup area and gave great massages.  Over the course of three days of family get togethers they successfully massaged and made over everyone in the family.  It started out as just makeup but ended up as a full service salon.  I'm sure they went through several bottles of lotion and lots of play makeup.  They had a great time!  We owe you big time Michelle.

I'm so glad I remembered my camera to get these glamor photo's.

This is Aliza with her fabulous makeover and her Great Grandma Joy.

Thanksgiving 2008

Our Thanksgiving was so relaxing and wonderful.  This year we spent Thanksgiving day with Micah's side of the family.  My parents decided to go an a cruise to Hawaii for a few weeks. (How nice would that be?) We missed them but I'm sure they are having much more fun.  We had a wonderful meal at Micah's sister Michelle's and the kids really enjoyed spending time with their cousins.  The night of Thanksgiving Abbie and Avery spent the night at Grammie and Gramps (Micah's parents) home because Aliza was suppose to have had a small surgery at Primary Children's the next morning. Needless to say for the second time we have scheduled our lives around this little surgery and it was canceled again.  The first time it was canceled due to the doctor being ill (understandable) but this time she somehow just didn't get on the schedule, which doesn't make sense because they called us to reschedule.  They are not going to be talking to a happy mom when they call in the morning to schedule AGAIN.  Anyway we ended up spending "Black Friday" at the movie theaters with our kids and later went to a birthday party for Uncle Mark and Aunt Emily.  We were expecting to be at home with Aliza so we really made no plans which made it really relaxing.  Saturday was spent putting out all those wonderful Christmas decorations. It is always such a mess but so enjoyable when it is all done. If we can just keep Aliza from pulling the decorations off of the tree we will be in good shape.  

Twilight

Yes, I am one of those crazy people who was just ecstatic to see the new movie "Twilight." Micah's sister has a friend who rented out the whole theatre Friday night and filled it full of "Twilight" fans.  She made everyone gift bags with great "Twilight" souvenirs, topped it off with drawings and trivia before the show.  We made a whole girls night out trip of it starting with dinner before the show and desserts after.  We all screamed and cheered through the whole movie.  Isn't that just crazy to have grown women carrying on like teenagers.  We all had a great time.

All night I really wanted to get a picture of everyone  in their "Twilight" apparel (12 of us) but with the crowds and chaos it never happened.  This is Emily (left) and Michelle (middle)  right before the movie.  Sorry I didn't get more of you in there Tessa.  

I had to take a picture of  Myndi carrying these folding chairs through the theatre. She had volunteered to bring them to put in the hadicaped spots to fit more into the theatre.  I just thought it was funny because we all took turns carrying them accross Gateway and through a packed movie theatre.  Of course we didn't get there soon enough to get a decent parking spot so we really traveled with these folding chairs.  What we won't do for a good seat.

Mom and Dad Quiz

I have a bad habit of looking through everyone's blogs even if I don't really know them.   The other day I found this quiz and thought it was fun.  I had fun reading theirs and was curious to how my own children would respond.  So here it goes.

Mom Quiz:

1.What is something Mom always says to you?
Abbie: Great Job Abbie!

Avery: Do that. Do that.  (I guess I should watch that one.)

2.What makes Mom happy?
Abbie: Helping her

Avery: Us being good.  

3.What makes Mom sad?  

 Abbie: When I disobey.

 Avery: When we are crying.  

4.How does Mom make you laugh?  

 Abbie: When she tickles me.

 Avery: When I say something funny. 

5.What was Mom like as a child? 

Abbie: Cute, funny, and weird.  (nice)

Avery: I don't know. 

6.How old is your Mom?  

Abbie: 31

Avery: 31 (They tease me all the time about being old so thats why they remember my age.  Do  you remember when 30 seemed ancient?)

7.How tall is your Mom?

Abbie: 46 inches

Avery: I don't know.

 8.What is her favorite thing to do? 

Abbie: Spend time with me. 

Avery: Hug me. 

9.What does your Mom do when you are not around? 

Abbie: Go out shopping.

Avery:  I don't know. 

10.If your Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

Abbie: Kenzy the Violinist!

Avery: I'm not sure what that means but she would be good on TV.

11.What is your Mom really good at?
Abbie: violin (Does she realize I never play my violin anymore other than at church maybe once a year?)

Avery: Bathing us.  

12.What is your Mom not very good at?  

Abbie: Sports

Avery: Wrestling 

13.What does your Mom do for her job?  

Abbie: Clean up.

Avery: Cleaning (I must clean too much.)

14.What is your Mom’s favorite food.

Abbie: Taco's

Avery: Chicken (Two meals that I don't necessarily like but we have way to often.)

15.What makes you proud of your Mom?
 Abbie: She loves me.

Avery: She lays by me to read books.

16.If your Mom were a cartoon character who would she be?
Abbie: Bat Woman (We just recently watched a movie I made in high school with some friends.  It was titled Bat Woman and Cat Man.  Do any of you remember it? Abbie just  laughs and laughs at her silly parents in high school.)

Avery: Super Nanny (I didn't realize she was a cartoon character.)

 17.What do you and your Mom do together?  

Abbie: Scrapbook

Avery: Puzzles 

18.How are you and your Mom the same?  

Abbie: We both have the same eyes.

Avery: Our nose.  (poor girl) 

19.How are you and your Mom different?

Abbie: I have freckles but not her.

Avery: We have different eyes. 

20. How do you know your Mom loves you?

Abbie: Because she cares.

Avery: By giving us a hug.

Dad Quiz: 

1.What is something Dad always says to you?

Abbie: I love you.

Avery: I love you. 
2.What makes Dad happy?

Abbie: I cheer him up.

Avery: I don't know.

3.What makes Dad sad? 

Abbie: I hit him.  (Wow, I didn't know we had that problem.)

Avery: He never feels sad.

4.How does Dad make you laugh?

Abbie: He tickles me.

Avery: By tickling me.

5.What was Dad like as a child? 

Abbie: Funny, wild, and loving.

Avery: He had funny hair.

6.How old is your Dad?

Abbie: 31

Avery: 31

7. How tall is your Dad?

Abbie: 49 inches

Avery: He's short like me.  (I think this is my favorite one.)

8.What is his favorite thing to do?

Abbie: Ride bikes

Avery: Wrestle

 9.What does your Dad do when you are not around? 

Abbie: Go to work.

Avery: Rest on the couch.

10.If your Dad becomes famous, what will it be for? 

Abbie: Football Player

Avery: A Comedian (so true)

11.What is your Dad really good at? 

Abbie: Loving

Avery: Spinning wrestling but then I get him.

12.What is your Dad not very good at?

Abbie: Karate

Avery: Wrestling

 13.What does your Dad do for his job? 

Abbie: Work! Work! Work!

Avery: He always eats.

14.What is your Dad’s favorite food.

Abbie: Tacos

Avery: Popcorn

 15. What makes you proud of your Dad? 

Abbie: He cares.

Avery: He hugs me.

16. If your Dad were a cartoon character who would he be? 

Abbie: A Scientist

Avery: Captain Huggie Face

17.What do you and your Dad do together? 

Abbie: Ride bikes

Avery: wrestle

18.How are you and your Dad the same? 

Abbie: We are both good at math.

Avery: Same eyes

19.How are you and your Dad different?

Abbie: We don't have the same eyes.

Avery: Not the same nose.

 20. How do you know your Dad loves you?

Abbie: He cares

Avery: By hugging us.

Last weekend we were able to take a fun, short vacation to St. George.  It was so fun to get away for a few days and do a few fun things together as a family.  Micah just happened to be between classes so we were able to go for the weekend.  Micah's  brother and wife had just moved to St George a few weeks back.  We were dying to see them and their new place.  We owe them big time for letting our crew stay at their new home.  Thanks again you guys!

Abbie and Avery showing off their muscles.

Scary.... I tried hard not to look and let the men have some fun.  

Of course hiking these huge red rocks was a highlight for our girls.

Abbie's new home.

Well, I'm still learning how to post these pictures so they are the same event in two different posts.  While we were in St. George we hit a few of the Museums.  This picture is of Abbie and Avery looking for animals in the wildlife museum.  

At the wildlife museum they have a hands on room full of fun things for the kids to do.  I actually missed this picture because I was asking Aliza to come and pet the cat. She was so excited she gave it a great big kiss on its face.  It was funny, but really grossed me out at the same time.  Thanks again Emily and David for a fun weekend. 

 Your new home is gorgeous!