2008 Christmas Memories

It is sad that Christmas came and went so fast. We had a wonderful day and are now loving the calm lazy days that follow. Our biggest and best gift was having the basement project complete! Ryan also got a new plasma with a bigger cable t.v. package so he no longer will have to miss a Jazz game. Mandi got new leather couches for upstairs since the sectional got moved downstairs.

Ethan decided he needed to be extra good to ensure that he got his scooter from Santa so the day before Christmas Eve, he was bossing Stockton around and they magically got their room cleaned together without me knowing or helping out. Even though the scooter that Santa brought was not the one Ethan had in mind - he has decided it is pretty awesome. Ethan also got a V-motion game system with games to share with Stock. Stockton was excited (Ethan too) about his train set. The boys have been entertained for hours! He also now has his very own twist and go car so Ethan no longer has to share his.


We enjoyed continuing family traditions - Smith family Christmas Eve
where the white elephants get crazier, the yummy potluck of food, fun games, visit from SANTA, and the unforgetable box game (which Adam won this year)! And the kids get to wear their new pjs.

The Bartholomew family Christmas day lunch was delicious as always with Dad's specialty potatoes, and the prized Honey Baked Ham shipped from Alabama (Thanks to the guys at Homeland Vinyl). It seemed that gift giving never ended since we were all spoiled. Dad got emotional - thanks to Landon.

The day ended with a short visit back with Ryan's parents. The kids got more toys and we are now set for camping with our new camp chef and cooler. The rain that was coming down when we got there quickly changed to snow. Sitting inside the house looking out made is seem like we were in a snow globe with the snow swirling all around. It was a magical way to end a special day!

And this is what we woke up to the next morning. The biggest snow storm in years! Thanks to our great neighbors who helped get the snow cleared from the driveway!!!

The Tree is up, Stockings need to be hung...

I put the tree up just before Thanksgiving and am now slowly getting everything else out in preperation for Christmas. This is the first year in a long time that my shopping list hasn't seen a dent. With all the focus going into the basement project I have been too busy spending time at Home Depot instead of my regular stores. Hopefully at the end of this week I can get back on track since we need to have everything done for carpet. YAY!

The boys are eager for Santa to come and their lists keep getting longer with each toy ad that comes in the newspaper. I just hope they are happy with their new rooms...

I am thankful for windows...

Just this week we have had 2 instances with broken windows. On Sunday, the driver's side window on the truck fell into the door when the door was slammed shut. Apparently the support broke so there was nothing to hold it in place. So our family froze as we rushed out to Wellsville for the night. Luckily Jordan and Ryan were able to rig the window to stay up until we get professionals to fix it and we enjoyed a warm ride home. Then on Monday, my nephew, threw a rock which accidentaly cracked one of the windows on the front of our house.

It is funny how little things like windows don't mean that much to you until you have to fix or replace them. It just goes to show that WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN MUCH!!

May you remember the "little things" to be thankful for this holiday!

Love - The Green Family

Tagged...

Thanks Francine for tagging me!

Rules:
1- Post the rules
2- Answer the 6 "8" items
3- Let each person know that they have been tagged


8 Favorite T.V. Shows
(in no particular order)
1- Amazing Race
2- Private Practice
3- Worst Week
4- Grey's Anatomy
5- Survivor
6- The Office
7- One Tree Hill
8- Ugly Betty

8 Things I did yesterday
1- got Ethan off to school
2- went on a wild goose chase looking for "one step" - it does not exist Dad!
3- Help Jess tile my fireplace and bathroom floor
4- babysat
5- went to a meeting
6- swept the basement
7- earned a cruise - that I can't go on but will take the cash!!
8- watched "One Tree Hill" (Peyton better not be killed off the show!)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1- Costa Vida / Cafe Rio
2- Cafe Sabor
3- Blackstone
4- Coppermill
5- Pizza Plus (especially their cheese bread!)
6- Red Lobster
7- Applebees
8- Bluebird (because they have iron ports!)

8 things I am looking forward to
1- the basement being done
2- Thanksgiving with family
3- Holiday parties
4- Christmas Eve with Ryan's fam
5- Christmas with the kids and family
6- warm weather again
7- done with pregnancy
8- a fun vacation

8 things on my wish list
1- painting to be done
2- carpet to be in
3- a good deal on a t.v.
4- new couches
5- done with sickness
6- Christmas shopping done
7- car problems solved
8- happy, respectful kids

8 people I tagged
Bethany Burr
Kaleena Anderson
Mom
Melanie Rust
Jessica Smith
T.J. Green
Laura McGinnis
Aubrey Kekauoha

Happy Birthday Ryan!

This is a little late but wanted to share that Ryan is another year older. We are so grateful for the wonderful Husband and Daddy that he is! We Love You!!
Here are some pictures that capture his true spirit!

Back in Time...

Here is a fun thing to do. Create your own yearbook photo from 1950-2000. Go to www.yearbookyourself.com
Ryan is circa 1956 and Mandi is circa 1966.

It's a ...

GIRL!

Look at the Savings!

Okay, so I feel like I hit the jackpot. I have been saving money on groceries using GrocerySmarts.com and love it when there is a WAY GOOD deal going on. Right now Albertson's has a promotion that for every $30 you spend on participating products they give you $15 in coupons to use on your next shopping visit. With the help of my sister, Melanie I was able to walk away with over $281.00 in groceries for just $44.11! (that's 55 cents an item!) PLUS I still have $20 in Albertson's store coupons to use on my next visit!! I tend to stress out trying to get all my coupons in order and figuring out the best deal possible but it is well worth the rush I get when I see all the discounts coming off my total order.

Here is a list of what I brought home:

4	All Small & Mighty 2X det. 32 load, reg $6.49 ea.
5	Best Foods Mayo , reg $3.99 ea.
2	Betty Crock. Cookie pouch, reg $2.89 ea.
2	Betty Crock. Frosting, reg $2.29 ea.
6	Betty Crock. Potatoes, reg $2.19 ea.
2	Chex Mix, reg $3.29 ea.
1	Breyers ice cream, reg $6.39 ea.
2	Corn Chex cereals, reg $3.99 ea.
2	Wheat Chex cereals, reg $3.99 ea.
9	Wish-Bone salad spritzers, reg $3.49 ea.
10	Total Whole Grain, reg $4.49 ea.
2	Knorr Sides Plus veggies, reg $2.50 ea.
2	Yoplait mulitpack yogurt Trix 6 ct, reg $3.49 ea.
8	Lipton rice or pasta sides, reg $2.00 ea.
4	Ramano's Mac. Grill Dinners, reg $5.49 ea.
4	Skippy peanut butter, reg $3.29 ea.
10	Ragu jar pasta sauce, reg $3.39 ea.
5	wacky mac pasta, reg $1.99 ea.

We want to suck your blood!

Our family of Vampires and Stockton the Bat
With a week full of parties and festivities, I am happy to finally be putting all the Halloween stuff away. This year we dressed up for:
2 parties
1 nephew party - put on by Jess and Josh which was so creative and fun for the kids (they said it was the best party EVER!!)
Ethan's school party
Trick or Treating down Logan Main Street
Trunk or Treating at the Church
The "Doughnut Lady" (thanks Aubrey for the tip - they were delicious!)
AND we all braved the "Scary House" -these people must LOVE Halloween! It is the most decked out house I have ever seen and is here in Millville! It is even spooky walking through the yard but well worth the trip to see all their imaginative decor. The yard was complete with a cemetary, life size gorilla, huge snake, gigantic spider and lit up skulls lining the walkways. They invite you in and the inside is a complete "haunted house" without all the scary stuff - very kid friendly. Ethan didn't last long but at least we got him inside this time. We can't wait to see what they come up with next year!

Family Outing

It has become a tradition to visit the Pumpkin Walk in North Logan. We timed it perfectly this year and were able to see all the great displays without having to wait in line or deal with traffic. There were some pretty creative scenes put together this year. Stockton loved looking into the lit pumpkins trying to figure out how they "glowed". Ryan even became snow white for a few seconds...


/>

Mandi's New 'do!

I have the most fabulous hair stylist! She tells me how it is and has pulled my hair out of "ugly". I love going to her place and letting her make all the decisions. Wow! What a change this time... I guess I am too old to be a blond and my stressed and damaged hair had to be removed. It is definitely something different and will take some getting used to but it is fun to try something new. It's only hair - right?

My Kids Sleep ANYWHERE!

I don't know what makes my kids so special, they aren't attached to their own beds and can sleep anywhere. Here is the proof!

Ethan had a fantastic idea to build a "fort" out of couch cushions and pillows. I thought it was cute and wanted him to clean up but he informed me that he was going to sleep in it. He crawled into his fort and closed it up tight. I didn't think it would last very long. He would have to get bored in such a small area and want to come out and watch T.V. with me. It hadn't even been 10 minutes and I went to check on him. He was sound asleep!



I was busy working in the basement and Stockton had been playing upstairs. It got quiet so I went to investigate. What I found made me laugh! Stockton had climbed up on the counter and had been eating sugar out of the sugar bowl and fell asleep. He had sugar crystals around his mouth and on his fingers.

Prized Cantaloupe

Of all the things to plant in a garden Ethan wanted Broccoli and Cantaloupe. Since the watermelon plant didn't fare too well we traded it for the cantaloupe and I wasn't sure if we would have a long enough growing season for it. I hate even the smell of cantaloupe so it was purely Ethan's responsibility to water and care for it. The plant didn't look very promising but just before the frost we found one small lonely fruit. When it was picked it was ripe and ready to eat. Ethan wanted to save it forever and was upset when I cut it. Stockton and Ethan had it devoured in less than 5 minutes. We weren't as lucky with the broccoli...

Ryan's new calling

Ryan has been serving as the Young Men's President for the past 2 years. He has loved his calling working with the youth, just feeling like he was getting into the swing of things and getting to know the boys personally. It was a shock when they called him to a new position in the ward. You may have a hard time reaching us by phone since Ryan will be spending a lot of time on it as the new Executive Secretary.

It is going to be hard for him not doing the scouting thing anymore but he is excited to be working with Bishop Taylor, Bro. Duffin and Bro. Floyd (two of which he previously worked with in the YM)

Now that the Ward Cookbook project is almost complete, Mandi worries about what might be in store for her next...

What we do for a Toy...

Ever since Ethan saw that McDonald's had the batman toys he has been wanting to go. I hate spending the money on a Happy Meal when all that he eats is a 99 cent Hamburger. The Fries go untouched and the drink is rarely finished. All he is after is the stupid toy. McDonald's is a good bargaining tool however. Since I opted to have Ethan's school pictures retaken and he didn't want to do it, I had to pull out the bargaining chip. Luckily we got a good picture after much struggle and negotiating. As promised we headed to Micky D's for lunch. The kids ate their usual mini burger, leaving the fries for me and set off for playland with the coveted Batman toys.
Unfortunately the story doesn't have a happy ending. A while into their playing another mother mentioned to me that one of the kids had a huge "blow-out". I went to check on Stockton and lucky me - I was the winner!! I have never seen a mess so bad. (I wish the weather was warmer outside so I could have sprayed him off with the hose to eliminate the mess inside the house.) Not to mention the embarrassment of the other parents pulling their kids out of the playland and telling them it was NOW time to go home and having to report the "incident" to the workers. I am sorry to be the mom of the child who caused the playland to be closed for cleaning. And to think - this all happened because of a TOY!!

Do I Keep it or Get Retakes?

This is my first year dealing with School Pictures and I was disappointed when I got Ethan's back. When I showed him the picture he told me that the lady told him to say "candy". Apparently Ethan tried to be a ventriloquist when saying it (He does this when he gets nervous or is in new surroundings)because they did not capture his true smile. So do I keep the picture as a memory of Kindergarten and Ethan's persistent shyness or do we try again?

I Love Fall

My favorite time of year is here! (well officially on the 22nd) How can you not fall in love with FALL? Here is my top ten reasons to love Fall:

* Choosing Halloween costumes
* Caramel Apples
* Cooler weather
* Corn Mazes
* Sweaters and Hot Cocoa in the morning
* Trick or Treating on Downtown Main Street
* Halloween Candy
* Playing Boardgames
* Leaves on the ground
* The Beautiful fall colors

When we lived in Vegas I remember missing many of these things. I am so grateful to live in beautiful Cache Valley where we can enjoy the changing seasons.

There is life...

So being the worrier that I am, thanks mom for giving this gift to me, I was worrying about my first ultrasound. You hear all of the bad things that can happen or have happened to other people and you are sure it will be the same for you. I am happy to let you all know that we are having ONE baby and everything so far looks normal. The baby is measuring a week early but they are keeping my due date the same which is March 31.

We will be finding out the sex of the baby around the 10th of November. For you wise all-knowing people out there - take the poll on the right - do you thing we are having a Boy or a Girl?

Special Delivery!

I guess it is time to fess up so people stop looking at me funny. Yes I have gained weight - mostly in the belly area and no, it is not a tumor. We will find out if we are having one, two or five babies on Tuesday, Sept. 10th.

Since this may come as a surprise to many of you reading this please note - it was a definite surprise to us! This was not in our plan but must have been in someone else's and we are trusting that all is going to work out for the best. (we are mostly concerned about Ryan's back and My anxiety) A lot changes with a third child. Hopefully we will be up for the changes - bigger vehicle (Ryan still doesn't believe me that 3 car seats DO NOT fit in the backseat), more bedrooms (hence the push for the basement completion) and having your routine shaken up - will we ever get to normal??

So there you have it - my clothes don't fit, I am nausiated, I am sucked of all energy I would like to have, my dishes don't get done for 3 days, my kids wonder why I have to lay down to rest 4 times a day - good thing this only lasts 9 months!

Now you can all be apart of our 9 month journey!

On Labor Day...We LABORED.

Finishing the basement is something we have been planning to do for the past 2 years. Now is the time to finally get it done. We have selected a completion date of Dec. 1st as our goal.




With AMAZING and AWESOME help of Dad and Landon, and with Travis and Colby stopping by for a while we saw great progress! Our Food Storage room is framed, sheet rocked and partially mudded (who knew it takes 3 coats??) The 2 bedrooms are framed and the bathroom is framed. It is neat to see the progress. There are a lot of decisions still to make but I am excited for everything to come together.

11 years later...

Ryan and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary this past weekend. A lot has changed including our looks but we are still in love after all these years. It was nice to go out just the two of us to a restaurant that did not have burgers and fries on the menu. Ryan, you are my best friend and I love you! - Mandi

Happy 31st Anniversary!

Being born on my parents 1st anniversary has allowed me to share their special day each year. Mom and Dad, may you look back and remember the happy memories and be proud of who you have become because of each other. I love you! - your daughter.

The CAKE

So, Melanie had this cute cake picture on her blog and I jokingly told her that that was the cake I wanted for my birthday. Her and Jessica really out did themselves on making it absolutely perfect. I love the sparklers on top and everything! It was definitely a LABOR of LOVE! Thanks for the amazing cake and all your help with the party - it was a BLAST!

Kids say the darndest things...

Ethan was outside entertaining himself and when I went to check on him he was playing in ice that we had dumped out on the lawn. I asked Ethan what he was doing and he said he had a "pinch bug" (earwig). He had it buried under melting ice cubes. His next comment made me laugh. He said, "this is his baptism". Wow! he must be paying attention in primary. Kudos to his great teachers!


Stockton had a funny too. We were at Ryan's parents house enjoying yummy cake. The kids ran off to play and grandma had cleaned up a bit. Stockton came back to the table ready to finish his cake and it was gone. He said "Dang It!" We quickly found him a piece to eat. Who knew a 2 year old had that kind of language? I guess we aren't very good examples...

Last Days of Summer

For our end of summer treat I took the boys to Cherry Hill. Since we were busy getting wet we only have a few pictures to share. Gratefully, Landon came to help. Ethan was terrified of the water and only wanted to hang out in "pirates cove" Him and Stockton loved the small slides and splashing in the kiddie pool. We did get Ethan on a tube in the lazy river which he seemed to enjoy until the water started dumping and spraying. Stockton braved the water slide with me and Landon and I had a blast on Cardiac Canyon.

Oneida Narrows, Idaho

Another fun adventure. We headed off the beaten path and camped with family at the upper campground next to the resevoiur. Boating is always available when you camp with the Smith clan but this time we also took our floating devices to the river. What a thrill it was with just the right amount of whitewater! Ethan got worried going over the "bumps" and Stockton started to whimper a little when I struggled to manuever our raft around the rock obstacles. We made it down with out getting too wet and enjoyed a second run. Those on tubes seemed to fair better - except for SueAnn who was on too big of a tube to be able to reach the water to paddle or kick. Camping was nice with plenty of shade and the water near by. The toilet even had an unexpected smell - baby skunk (according to the camp hosts, a baby skunk fell into the toilet and had to be put out of its misery) instead of the regular aroma.

Play Group - alone

Our weekly playgroup activity was at the Celebration Centre. We were the only ones who showed up and Ethan had his heart set on playing mini golf so we stayed and played! It ended up being a fun day with my 2 boys. When we were given our clubs and balls the worker failed to give us a score card. Later I decided it would have been pointless to keep score since EVERY hole we were over the 6 stroke maximum. Stockton got pretty good at putting into the hole but would never start at the beginning. Instead he would carefully place his ball 6 inches from the hole and exclaim with excitement when he would get it in the hole on the first try. Ethan got so exited that he hurried on ahead of us to the other holes. He wasn't paying attention to the Hole #'s and didn't understand why when he it his ball into the last hole (#18) why his ball disappeared. I had to surrender my ball so that he could play the holes he missed.


After the adventurous 18 holes of golf we went inside for a yummy lunch and the boys earned tickets playing skee ball. Even though it was just the 3 of us. We had a blast!