Road Trip

Don't worry, all the wonderful pictures of Christmas are coming soon (only 500 to go through), but first the fun of getting to Denver . . .

Snowy roads + One small jeep + 3 kids + Lots of presents, etc =Loads of fun for mom and dad

The day before we left

So much fun to be so close to brothers

taking a break from the road

Colton's first road trip! He actually did great!

Party, Party, Party

Church parties, work parties, family parties, book club parties, birthday parties and even a wedding - all in the first half of December.

Corbin and his buddy Jimmy waiting to see Santa at the ward party

The kids table at the Mendenhall Christmas Party

Playing games with second cousins

Colton had plenty of kids to watch

Telling Santa what he wants for Christmas the the Fire Dept Party

Colton's first time meeting Santa
Cody refused to sit on Santa's lap, and Santa insisted that mom should just come too.

Maybelline and Marcus

My date for the wedding
Just part of the awesome wedding entertainment, we left at 10:30 and the party was just getting started

Sorry, no pictures of the two book clubs I hosted at my house or the super fun party at Jungle Jims playland (my camera died!). Thanks to all our friends and family for making this such a fun and busy holiday season!

Highlights of 2008 - Misadventures of a 2 yr old boy

One of the great memories of this year will definitely be cleaning, lots and lots of cleaning. Cleaning toothpaste out of the carpet, cleaning a vaseline-coated stuffed monkey, cleaning baby powder out the bed at 10pm, cleaning marker out of the curtains . . . I could go on and on. Yes, this has been the year of exploring for Cody. It is cute to say that my kid's favorite thing to do is to make a mess, but it is quite another to have to clean it up. It's a good thing I am not a fussy housekeeper - I do not make my kids eat in the kitchen, there are pen and crayon circles on several walls in my house, and when my kids spill, I generally just tell them to get a towel and we move on. But right after I had Colton, I started to wonder if I would ever be able to leave Cody in a room alone without coming back to a little (or big) surprise. Some of his favorites included rinsing my wall with an entire bottle of spray and wash, cleaning the infant carseat with toothpaste, putting lotion all over his body (without bothering to take his church clothes off first), feeding salt to all of my plants and any other surface where it might look cool, putting a sandwich in his bed to "save it for later", dumping entire boxes of cereal onto the pantry floor, seeing how bum cream tastes and then deciding it was better rubbed on the skin and clothes, washing his hair with the water from the fish tank, and . . . I'm pretty sure I blocked the rest out. It's been fun, but I do hope we are out of that stage (at least until Colton starts discovering fun things too).

Christmas Elf

Corbin had a "Little Elf" party today for their last day before break. I remembered at about 11pm last night that he was supposed to dress up like an elf today and all I could think of while I was at Wal mart at that time of night was bells. So I had to get my butt out of bed this morning and get creative. So here's what we came up with. Corbin was pretty happy and I thought he was a pretty dang cute little elf.

Everyday, really?

What on earth was I thinking when I said I would post something everyday for the month of December? I can barely do once a week sometimes and that's not even when I have a hundred other things on my plate and something going on every night! Really, my husband has only been home one night this month when he was not working or we had some party or something. That was back on the 9th. Luckily we decided to take the boys to the light festival that night or we probably would have missed it this year! And now, my husband is gone at work for three days while I try to finish Christmas cards, neighbor treats, shopping, wrapping everything, laundry and packing for Denver. He will get home Monday morning when we will host his parents for breakfast/Christmas presents, etc. and then we will pack the car and leave for Denver the next morning. It seems like everything I need to do is something that is much better done when my boys are sleeping, so needless to say I have had alot of late nights. Anyway, long story short I have given up on the "everyday" thing and you will just get what you get. (It was really more for myself anyway, since I never scrapbook anymore and I just want to keep track of everything before I forget!) Hope everyone else's holiday preparations are going smashingly . . .

Highlights of 2008 - so many "firsts"

Of course since we have a new baby, this year is all about "firsts", but the other boys had a few as well. So here's the rundown with a few pics, too. :)

First time holding their new brother

Colton's first bath

Colton's first rice cereal. Yum

Corbin's first lost teeth (yes, they were already growing back by the time I took the picture)

Cody's first stitches (see the whole story here)

My first child in elementary school

Colton's first time in the pool

Our first slip n slide

Corbin's first time in baseball and soccer

Colton discovers the Christmas tree

The other day while I was washing the dishes, Colton was cruising around the kitchen in his walker. Next thing I know, I'm looking for him and realize he has made it out of the kitchen, through the living room, past the computer to the front room where our Christmas tree is. He was totally enthralled. Luckily its fake so he didn't get too poked, and since I already have to worry about a two year old, I don't really have ornaments that I can't live without. For a few minutes, Colton was totally intent on getting this little santa snowman . . .

getting closer . . . "If I grab the tree, then maybe I can get him."

"Ah-ha. got it!"
"Now for the taste test . . ."
"Oh, no. I've been caught!"

I figured it out!

So I finally found the right cord to hook up my video camera to the computer, but then, since I've only done it like one time - I couldn't figure out how to get it to compress to the right size so I could actually post it. Ahhh! But alas, I think I have figured it out. It's not the best quality, but you get the picture. So enjoy. (If you missed this post a couple days ago on Corbin's Rodeo Debut, click here.)

Star Student

Corbin was the "Star Student" in Kindergarten last week. He (and his mom) made this awesome poster that told things he likes to do etc. Actually he picked most of the pictures and what he wanted to say and then his procrastinating mom stayed up until 1:30am putting it on the board. Don't worry, I am not setting any precedents here, I will not be doing this for the rest of his school career - really, I promise.
The Star Student gets to be the teachers helper all week. They also get to choose whatever else they want to do. Corbin had me come in and read a Christmas story, his dad went and did a firefighter thing, and on Friday he took treats for the whole class. He loved telling every one about his poster and certainly felt special when his parents came in. Love you, Corbin!

Highlights of 2008 - Bear Lake

There's not much to explain about this, since I already posted a good amount of pics when we went back in July. Click here to see. But if anyone is interested in learning more about Bear Lake itself you can check out this site. It really is absolutely gorgeous and the lake is huge. I think it is something like 1mile wide by 11 miles long. If you are into boating, etc it is great because you can go out and have your own little part of the lake without others bugging you. We usually camp, but one year we went with the Maxwell fam and stayed in a big condo and that was awesome too. Bear Lake is as close to "going to the beach" as my kids get and they think its great (plus no salt water!).

So I wanna know, anyone else have experiences at Bear Lake?

Highlights of 2008 - Corbin's Rodeo Debut

For about the last year, Corbin has been set on this thing that he wants to be "everything" when he grows up. At the rodeo in Denver in January, when we were watching the bare-back bronc riding, he leaned over to me and said, "I want to be everything except that". I couldn't agree more. Fun to watch, but no way I want my kid being thrown around like that. Fast forward six months to a warm summer night where I sit in the stands getting ready to video tape my kid as he bolts out holding on for dear life to a fuzzy little sheep. I was so proud of him! I'm still not sure whether he liked it or not, but at least he can say he did it.

I have been trying to find the cord to my video camera, so I can post the little cowboy in action, but its still missing, so you'll have to live with pictures for now. Hopefully I can post the video sometime soon. Check out the pics from the original post here.

(Yes, I missed a day of posting our "Highlights", but I have to stop cheating and going back. I already did that once. Plus I kind of have an excuse, besides hosting both of my book clubs the last two nights, my mouse was broken! I still used my computer, but it was such a pain!! I was trying to finish our Christmas cards and got so frustrated I could not do anything else. Oh well, I'm sure you all will understand.)

Highlights of 2008 - School

I feel like somehow I have advanced as a parent now because I have a child in elementary school. It is like a whole new phase in our lives. Corbin was so excited and talked about it for months and months. I was sad though because I loved his preschool and just hoped that he would like kindergarten just as much. Corbin was lucky enough to go to the BYU preschool and he LOVED it! It was such a good environment, with very caring teachers. I also liked the fact that they had observation booths so I could wach him without him knowing. It was really fun to see him interact without mom hovering over him. It was a small challenge, because it was about a thirty minute drive each way, but I think it was worth it. I am already debating whether or not to send Cody there. It is hard for me to go anywhere else when I know it is so good!Corbin in the "treehouse"; they have the awesomest classroom and outdoor play area

Corbin and his head teacher, Mr. Brad

Corbin and Dorie, the other head teacher, our long time friend, and our "in" at the BYU Preschool

It turns out that Corbin does love Kindergarten, so far anyway. This week he is the "star student", which means he gets to be the teacher's helper all week. We made a poster all about him, I got to go read to his class, and he got to have his dad come and do a little firefighter gig. Tomorrow I am taking treats for him to give to all of his friends. He has a fantastic teacher - I just hope we get this lucky every year! For pics of Corbin's big first day of kindergarten, click here.

I should also mention, while I am talking about school, that Russ has loved going to school this year as well. He is studying computer programming and his fire dept is paying for it! Doesn't get much better than that! He has been taking just one class at a time (since he does have two jobs as well), so finishing the actual degree will take f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but soon he will have enough skills to start doing some work and some real projects (and hopefully someone will pay him for that.) But the important thing is that he loves it. And he is lucky because he can do alot of his homework at work.

Grad school for me is still floating around, but probably not next semester like I had hoped. What's one more year, right? Maybe by then I will actually be getting more sleep and have my brain back.

HELP Story of the Month

Remember the organization I work with - HELP International? Well, here's our little PR story for this month. I don't know if this story will have he same meaning for you as it does for me, but after having worked at this orphanage several times over a few years, I feel like I have seen some of these kids grow up and it just drives it home that they really will spend their entire lives in this institution. I am so glad that we have volunteers there year-round now. I have seen the difference it makes! Enjoy this little feel good story . . .

While most newlyweds are saving up for their first house or spending money on extravagant honeymoons, just four months into their marriage Sam and Laura Webb spent their summer volunteering at Hogar del Niño, an orphanage for disabled children in El Salvador with approximately 140 residents. Not only were they not paid for their work, but they also funded their own travel and living expenses. “It was worth the money,” Sam says. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and this was the perfect time to make that sacrifice.”

Sam and Laura spent three months living in a small house on the orphanage property, teaching classes and playing with the children. Every day was filled with planning and activities. Though the activities may seem simple, Sam and Laura put thought and effort into every activity. “The hardest and most stressful part was the planning,” Laura says. “We had to come up with new and fun activities all the time.”

They planned multiple activities each day. In the mornings they played games with children with severe disabilities, afternoons were spent teaching classes to children with only moderate disabilities and every night was play time. While working at Hogar del Niño, Sam and Laura organized talent shows, glamour shots, a trash bag fashion show, a hunt for Bigfoot and pirate day—just to name a few. At first Sam and Laura were worried about coming up with new ideas, but soon realized the children did not care if they repeated activities. They were happy to have people to play with them. As Sam and Laura soon learned, a little love and attention went a long way at Hogar del Niño. For instance, something as simple as a hand-me-down bicycle is all it takes to make the dreams of a child come true.

For Roberto, a resident of Hogar del Niño, the nuns found him a bike for his 16th birthday. Although he did not know how to ride the bike and it was pink and purple, he immediately named his it the Speed Racer 6,000 and refused to let it out of his sight. He spent all day walking his bike around the grounds. Eventually training wheels were added to his bike so he could ride. He announced to everyone before pedaling away, “Watch out, I'm going to increase my speed!”

“You'll never meet more fun kids,” Laura says. “They are well cared for, but the orphanage is understaffed so the children rarely get personal attention.”

The Hogar del Nino Orphanage in El Salvador was founded in 1986 by a Catholic priest named Padre Vito Guarato. It currently serves as a home for 138 persons with physical and mental disabilities. Residents of Hogar come as babies or young children and stay there for the rest of their lives. Unlike many orphanages in Central and South America, the Hogar is a safe, clean, and loving environment for the residents. However, the orphanage caregivers have their hands so full caring for the physical needs of the residents, that they cannot plan activities or spend time with individual children. Before HELP International partnered with Hogar, many of the residents spent all day every day sitting in their wheelchairs. For this reason, HELP International teamed up with Hogar del Niño in 2006 to send volunteers to live and serve in the orphanage.

“I gained a love for people with disabilities and more understanding of a whole different culture and had fun doing it,” Sam says.

To read more about our work at Hogar del Niño visit their blog at http://hogarproject.blogspot.com/ or click here to learn more about the program and how to get involved.

Highlights of 2008 - Birthdays

Besides Colton's actual birth-day, Corbin and Cody had fun birthdays this year as well. Because I was feeling way pregnant and not inclined to spending alot of time planning and preparing to be frazzled by a bunch of small children running around, I went the easy route. Cody had his party at Chuck E. Cheese's, which of course he loved, and it was perfect for inviting families with different ages. Corbin had his party at this place called Jumpin' Jacks. It has all those blow up type bouncers, slides, etc. The kids disappeared and it was all I could do to get them to come in for food and cake. It was great! All in all, kids were happy, parents were happy - I'd call that successful birthdays.

Oh, and of course I had a big one this year . . .check it out here and here. It was actually really great and I am so glad not to be a "twenty-something" anymore. I have definitely moved on in my life and am much more mature than that. :)