January 25 through 31

Sunday, January 25

Natalie LOVES bandaids and requests them for every little hurt or "owie". Before going to bed, she told me her lip hurt and needed a bandaid. I tried to explain it wasn't really a good place to put a bandaid but she insisted and then brought me the biggest one in the box! She wore it long enough to snap a picture and then took it off..."no need this more."



Monday, January 26

We attended the open house for the new Draper Temple today. It was so beautiful inside and out and it was a great experience to take the kids to their first temple open house. They were really reverent and enjoyed it as much as we did. We loved showing them the mirrors in the sealing room and they were very impressed with the Celestial room. There wasn't a place to take a picture at the temple site but I snapped this picture of them in the parking lot holding their "maps" of the temple. It was a beatiful snowy day.



Tuesday, January 27

Today was Ben's last day off track so we went on one last adventure. We went to the Living Planet Aquarium then out to lunch to Sweet Tomatoes...or as Ben and Natalie would say "Sweet Potatoes". Our favorites at the aquarium were the sea horses, "Nemo's and Dori's", and the jelly fish. Kids favorites at "Sweet Potatoes"...mac and cheese and ice cream!




Wednesday, January 28

Back to school for Ben! He wasn't so sure he wanted to back to school but I went with him to volunteer in the classroom and we're officially back in the swing of things. Bryan took the picture for me. This was the second one...the first one had more somber faces so he made them say cheese to try to brighten it up a bit.



Thursday, January 29

Natalie has recently taken an interest in helping me clean. She's not too interested in putting away her toys (Ben's better at putting things away) but she loves to help scrub toilets, clean the fishbowl, sort laundry, and most recently...help iron. We're off to a good start!



Friday, January 30

Did you celebrate the Chinese New Year! Ben's Kindergarten teacher used to live in China and has been teaching them a little about Chinese New Year. Today they made these fun dragon masks and got a rice cake snack.



Saturday, January 31

Ben and Natalie love playing with the laundry baskets and pretending they are their own little houses or other hideaways...dog houses, Batman caves, etc. I love Ben's expression in this picture with Natalie tucked away in the basket. Everyday fun.

January 18 through 24

Sunday, Jan. 18

"I'm ready for church, Mom!" Natalie (and Ben) love wearing my shoes, especially Sunday shoes, around the house. They call them "noisy shoes" and love clomping on the tile. Needless to say Dad loves it as he tries to sleep in a little!



Monday, Jan. 19

Can you see what Natalie filled her cereal bowl up this morning? Mike and Ike's candy. Nice and healthy, right! She also chose some yogurt to balance it out! It reminded me of one of Bill Cosby's routines about feeding his kids chocolate cake for breakfast. His kids convince him it's a good choice because it had eggs, flour, and milk in it. The kids chant: "Dad is great, he feeds us chocolate cake!" Ha, ha!



Tuesday, Jan. 20

Instead of staying home to watch the historic inauguration of Barak Obama, we chose to go on an outing to the Monte L. Bean Museum in Provo. We had a good time checking out the taxidermy animals on display. The kids hesitated at the door when they saw the first animals, but then they were able to enjoy it after I reminded them that the animals we stuffed...just like teddy bears! Afterward, we bought a treat the the candy counter in the BYU Bookstore. (Just FYI, I DID watch the inauguration over the web later.)



Wednesday, Jan. 21

I love little kids artwork...especially my own little kid's artwork! Ben has been really into Batman this week and drew this picture of Robin at his friend Tyler's house. Each week I try to showcase one piece of art from school, church or home on the refrigerator gallery.



Thursday, Jan. 22

We have a new toy at our house...one that I have a love-hate relationship with. It's a new PS3 (Playstation 3). Bryan has been shopping for one for several months and finally found a deal he was happy with. Ben has been in heaven playing Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones (Bryan likes it a little too!). We're on the hunt for the new Lego Star Wars. I know it's a boy thing to love video games and all but I just don't get it...oh well I know they don't get what I love about crafting. To each his own hobbies I guess! Natalie likes to play the "paystation" a little too, but she's like me and can only stare at the TV for so long. Cute picture though of them snuggled up together on the couch.



Friday, January 23

More cookie baking...we just can't get enough cookies at our house. It seems like when one batch is gone it's only a matter of days before we get out the chocolate chips and are at it again. My waistline is definitely absorbing the effects of such habits. I need to start looking for low fat recipes!



Saturday, January 24

We're all getting a little anxious for Spring around here...Natalie asked me for a snack today and after a little searching through the pantry she decided she needed a snowcone! I couldn't convince her it was too cold for such snacks, as you can see. We hope the groundhog has good news in a few weeks!

January 11 through 17

Sunday, Jan. 11

No photo today...I'm still trying to get in the habit of taking pictures everyday. Love Sundays though...church, naps, visiting family.


Monday, Jan. 12

Natalie is my little shopper...she loves to run errands to the store with me. It can be exhausting though as you can see she fell asleep on the way home!




Tuesday, Jan. 13

We've had some sunny, warmer days this week so we decide to see what the park looked like after some thawing. It wasn't too bad...it was nice to be out in the sunshine...I even took off my coat!





Wednesday, Jan. 14

Again...no photo. I'll keep trying!


Thursday, Jan. 15

We are trying to find things to keep busy while Ben is off-track for what feels like forever! Today, we had a fun day (for the most part)at Jumpin' Jacks. They have lots of bounce toys. The kids managed to find a few things they like but shyed away from the big slides. Lots of people from our ward came and it got pretty busy and Ben and Natalie quickly got overstimulated and I think we were the first ones to leave! Oh well...it was nice to get out.



Friday, Jan. 16

Ben's 6th Birthday! We had a little party with a few friends...Indiana Jones was the theme. We had a treasure hunt, ate cake and ice cream and watch some movie clips. Ben loved it!



Saturday, Jan. 17

Seconds on Birthday fun for Ben. We had a family party today...more presents and a repeat of yesterday's cake and ice cream! Ben loved showing off his Indiana Jones hat and satchel from yesterday's party. As people arrived and saw his costume, they asked "hey, is that Indiana Jones?" Ben, so cute, took off the hat and replied: "No, it's me, Ben...see?" So funny!

January 4 through 10

Sunday, Jan. 4th

We made the first batch of cookies for the new year...Cake Mix Chocolate cookies. Easy recipe - yummy cookies!

1 chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup or so of chocolate chips

Mix and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Enjoy!




Monday, Jan. 5th

Despite Christmas decorations and wrappings being put away for a week now, Ben decided to wear his striped Christmas socks today...Natalie wore hers yesterday! We need to look into getting some Valentine's socks otherwise they might be wearing their Halloween socks tomorrow. They love holiday socks!




Tuesday, Jan. 6th

Library Day...I forgot to take the camera to the library so I'll have to do that picture another time. But here's a pic of our findings. We love our little local library. They don't have the largest selection but we love the close location and the kids think the bean bags and little couches are great! Ben recently got his own library card and loves checking out his own books and movies.




Wednesday, Jan. 7th

Lunch time! On the menu today, for Ben - "hot dog on bread with ketchup, no mustard and a brownie and chocolate milk" and for Natalie - "peanut butter sandwich cut in a heart and a brownie and apple juice".




Thursday, Jan. 8th

We ventured out to the neighborhood skate park with some friends. Ben brought his scooter and Natalie brought her Big Wheel. It was a little overwhelming for my anxious two but they managed to have fun running around with their friends and going down the "bunny slopes".



Friday, Jan. 9th

Looking at little messy faces and sticky fingers reminds me of this wonderful quote:

"Be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."
~President Thomas S. Monson





Saturday, Jan. 10th

Just a regular Saturday...cleaning house, errands, cleaning the building, pizza for dinner. The kids relaxed and enjoyed playing with their Christmas toys.

January 1 through 3

Thursday, Jan. 1st

We have 2 new additions to our family...Goldy and Red. A few months ago, Ben started asking me if we could get a dog. Well, if any of you know him you would laugh just as I did because he jumps in my arms if we get any where near a dog! Anyway, we went the rounds with why not and I ended up suggesting maybe we should try a goldfish for a pet. He liked that idea but we never did anything about it and I just put him off. Well, 2 weeks ago we got this book from the library called "Dogfish". A really cute story about a boy who wants a dog but just has a goldfish. I highly recommend it...such a well-written, cute story. So the book rekindled his desire to have a goldfish and New Year's day we ventured out to Walmart and came home with a fishbowl kit and 2 pet goldfish. They have affectionately been named Goldie and Red. The kids love them!




Friday, Jan.2nd

Since our huge snowstorm on Christmas Day, the kids have been asking to play in the snow. We have lacked some snow gear though and it's not very fun for long without such luxuries. However, thanks to some after Christmas sales, they are now the happy owners of new snowpants and boots and have enjoyed tumbling around without having to endure wet and cold jeans and soggy shoes and socks! Yeah! Bring on winter!



Saturday, Jan. 3rd

Ben and Natalie spent "the BEST day" with Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Sissa today. Bryan and I traveled to Preston, ID for a friends funeral and the kids spent 12 wonderful hours with my parents. They played, went to a movie (Disney's Bolt), visited cousin William, and went out to dinner! My parents were troopers to take them so long but the kids had a wonderful day. Thanks Mom and Dad!

(Picture to come)