January Catch Up...

Here are some pictures that pretty much sum up what we've been doing so far this January.

We have been eating icicles...of course. And, we have to have the biggest, coolest icicles! Brielle originally claimed the biggest, but she traded it for something of Brookes. I can't remember what, but hers ended up being pretty little since I wasn't willing to put on shoes to get a bigger one...don't tell Charles.

I finally got pictures of my girls in there new matching Christmas outfits. Not great pictures, but you get the idea.

Jacob has been busy playing with his dragons. He's pretty much in love with this dragon, and wanted a picture of it.

This is random, but I thought it was cool. And yes, I took a picture of my tv screen. Awesome...I know. I'm pretty sure all 59" fell on Caleb's birthday.

Brielle lost her 5th tooth, and Charles is now calling her "toothless" like on How to Train Your Dragon. She loves it. She has 2 or 3 more loose ones too. Anyone else struggle with this stage, or is it just me?

And...we started 1 o'clock church. Which...to put it nicely...really bites. Caleb officially sleeps from 1-4 every single day. Along with every other nursery kid, I know, I'm not alone. We were sitting around at about 7:00 on Sunday evening and Charles said, "Where's Caleb, it's too quiet..." Brooke found him asleep on the basement floor. Great.

Then yesterday Jacob fell asleep on the bean bag downstairs. Wouldn't it be great to have a bean bag that much bigger than you!?

And this was today...Lemonade and all...

And this just in, Chuck's truck died on University Ave. in Provo this morning. Hopefully he'll have it back tonight after a new fuel pump...and $599. Ouch.

It's been nice to have  a few weeks to get back into the groove of normal life. I love Christmas, but it is hectic. We have a lot of fun stuff coming up, so it was nice to have a rest. Coming soon, a trip to St. George, 2 cabin trips, and eventually...a Caribbean Cruise!!!! Can't come fast enough!! Stay tuned!

New Years Day..It's 2011!!

We had a great New Years this year...totally low key. New Years Eve, after Charles got home from work, we went shopping in Park City. Then we had yummy snacky foods for dinner, watched tv, and played games. My girls thought they were in heaven when we put the boys to bed and let them stay up to play more games, watch the ball drop, and watch the fireworks from the front porch.

New Years Day we pretty much just chilled. I didn't even make a fancy dinner like usual. I figured a ham and a turkey on Christmas were enough. So...we snacked some more. We tried to wait for it to warm up so we could go sledding...it didn't warm up. Still hasn't, for that matter, but we went sledding anyway. There is a perfect sledding hill at the new high school, by the football field. Not too big, not too little. We had a great time.

Here is Brooke trying to pull dad back up the hill

Brielle...probably hauling Jacob's sled up for him. He made her every time.

My boys

Spinning in circles

Seriously...don't I live in the prettiest place ever?!

Pulling the sled up backwards

Brooke

Me

Dad and Caleb.

Here is Caleb trying to get Chuck to take his gloves off. He didn't want them on, but as soon as they were off he cried. Vicious cycle.

Charles got his old radio flyer sled from his mom and was planning on fixing it up. We decided to try it out, and it is awesome. The girls never wanted to use it, but Jacob absolutely loves it. He still tells me how much he likes it every time he sees it in the garage. I'd buy him a new one if they weren't $80!

Lazy Days

Our week has calmed down and we finally got around to breaking the wishbone. I'm still not sure who won, but they had fun anyway!

And here is my mini Charlie. Someday I'm going to scan in a picture of Charles at this age. Caleb looks just like him!

Baby Blues

And, Brielle lost her 4th tooth on Thursday night. She worked and worked to get it out. Once it was out she started working on the one next to it. Charles finally had to make her stop because it was making him queasy. Pretty soon she will be missing her two front teeth. Not a phase I am looking forward to!

He's 2!!

I'm going to have to figure out a good system for this "birthday right after Christmas" thing. I was scrambling! I had to work Monday and Tuesday, and Tuesday night Charles and I had to dive. So, I woke up Wednesday, Caleb's birthday, with nothing. No presents, no cake, no plans. So, we ran around town in 2 feet of fresh powder, sliding all over the place. That afternoon I dropped my kids off at the neighbors and  we headed back to the crater for more diving. My car was stuck in the parking lot when we were finished. Insane snowstorm. We got dumped on! Finally, in the afternoon, I got to spend some time with my birthday boy...only, he was asleep. I woke him up at 6 when grandpa and Suzanne showed up so he could open his presents and eat his cake. He didn't even seem to notice how unprepared I was! How many more years of that do I have? Luckily young womens was cancelled because of the snow so we could relax and play with his new toys.

I bought him a snowman cake...appropriate huh? And I pretty much dropped my camera into it trying to take a picture of it in the snow. Brilliant.

He was funny. That kid knows what to do with candles. I would just get them lit and he would blow them out. I wanted a video so I just kept lighting them. Finally, I moved the cake, lit the candles, turned on the camera, and then gave it to him. And he still wanted "mo."

And this is Jacob, wild and crazy 24 hours a day.

That night we skyped grandma so she could watch him open her present. Love skype.

Caleb has been so much fun to have in our family. He is adorable. He is finally starting to talk and I am loving it. He shows his affection by smacking you in the face, and he scratches your face when he thinks you are playing with him. He loves tackling his daddy, and giving kisses on the cheek. We love you Caleb!

Christmas Day!

We had a fantastic Christmas this year. I absolutely LOVE everything about Christmas. Charles and I woke up early, like 6:00ish. We showered and tried to not be quiet. Caleb woke up first, and eventually everyone was awake. Brielle and Brooke slept in Jacob's room so once one was up they all were. We took some pictures in our new pjs before heading downstairs to see what Santa brought.

This is the basement before it got torn into:

Brielle got the jewelry box she asked for

And Charles pretty much just got clothes...poor guy...

 

Caleb was so excited about his new pillow that he had to try it out with the plastic still on it.

Brooke is still a little disappointed that Santa didn't bring her the polly pocket cruise ship she asked for, but she seems to like the easel he brought instead.

This was my lame attempt to get a picture of the boys in their matching outfits. I totally forgot to get one of the girls. I was just too excited about my own presents. Brielle is still making it very clear though that Santa gave that iPad to all of us, not just me...

 After presents, Grandpa and Suzanne came over to check out our loot, and strangely there was a present here for grandpa to open. We visited with them for awhile, had breakfast, cleaned up a little, and played with our toys. In the afternoon Grandma and Grandpa Balch, and Joe came up. We exchanged more presents and then deep fried a turkey for dinner. We had a nice evening hanging out with them.