Christmas at Cabelas

We had to choose the last Saturday before Christmas to go to Cabelas. Kellen had to go because his perfect Christmas gift was there. While he was busy at the gun counter, I was trying to keep 3 small children happy and content in the store. We started by looking at the deer, then the fish, then the bears and other animals on the mountain.By the time we made it over to the elephant, lions and rhino, everyone was fussing. And I was starting to run out of treats. We discovered Santa and this gave everyone a needed positive boost. Avez and Bubba went and sat on Santa's lap and then they wanted to decorate ornaments. I turned to help Avez place a sticker on her snowman and turned to look for Bubba. He was nowhere to be found. I began calling his name and looking but after 5 minutes was in full panic mode. An employee saw me looking for something and asked if she could help me find something. I said, "Yeah, my 2 year old." She sprang into action calling in a Code Adam. A discription of Bubba went out over the store and we began to go to the front of the store. I called Kellen and he began helping as well.
As we reached the front an employee was standing there with Bubba in her arms. A wave of relief swept over me. I grabbed him and she said that he was found in the men's room. She then said we should wash his face and hands. Apparently, he was trying to get a drink from one of the urinals and was licking and trying to drink the water. As much as that grossed me out I was just happy to have him back. He was happy as can be, none the wiser that he caused a panic. He was just happy to have gotten a chance to go where he wanted and be free.

My shopping trips are over for the year.

Family Photos

We had family pictures taken a few months ago. Our good friend, Michelle, took the pictures and had more than a handful to deal with. Bubba wouldn't hold still and screamed every time we tried to make him. Avez was more concerned with the leaves on the ground.

This was one of the only pictures where Jackson wasn't screaming.

Aley was just happy all the way around.
Ava looked adorable and had so much personality.
Bubba just wanted to run around and play.

A happy Daddy and his girls.

Hamming it up for the camera.

Getting him to hold still was impossible.He ran with lightening speed and never fell down.

Aley just looked angelic and happy.

I think our favorite picture of the day is the picture at the top of the blog. It sums up the entire experience and is a completely candid shot. Kellen and I just kept smiling through the screaming hoping that one photo would work.

Milestones

This has been a great year. Crazy and full of amazing events in our family. Here is a rundown of some of the ones I can think of on the fly.
Aley was born. A perfect light in our lives.
Avez potty trained. She can sleep through the night in panties.
Bubba learning some words, some we can actually understand.
Aley beginning to walk.
Kellen having a great job and getting a promotion.
Us living in a wonderful area in a fabulous ward.
Bubba turning 2
Upgrading to a nice minivan.
Bubba moving to a big boy bed.
Avez and Bubba sharing a bedroom. And they even go to sleep at night.
Getting family pictures taken for the 1st time.
Taking 3 kids to the store and getting the shopping done.

Some of these may seem simple and even trivial to some but for us each of these is important to our family. Things are changing so fast as everyone gets bigger. I personally am trying to get smaller, but everyday Avez asks if she is getting bigger and what that entails.

Little Boy Blue Just Turned Two!

My Little boy is two years old. We are still working on getting him to speak. But he says the important words like cake, truck, car, apple (sounds like ahole) airplane, chicken ,star and potato and Jesus.
One of my favorite Bubba-isms is when he spontaneously folds his arms and wants to say a prayer and the most random of times. So we say a short prayer saying thanks for our "good boy". Another thing I love is when he wants to give me a kiss. He turns and gives me the most precious peck on the lips. And if he wants one he will not stop until the kiss is given.

He loves airplanes and we always have to find them in the sky when we hear them. So for his birthday cake I had to make an airplane. I knew it would just be for us but I still had to make a big cake. Call it sentimental, but I grew up with cakes like this every year and have great memories. No cake mix used for this cake. I did it all from scratch, even the frosting. Just call me Betty Crocker! Avez was so into it that she picked out two cakes that she wants for her birthday.

All in all it was a great day and he knew it was all for him and was grinning from ear to ear that it was his special day. Hot dog dinner and all.

Halloween...BOO!!!

Halloween came this year and all I heard was, "When do I get to get candy?" And when we had candy keeping Avez and Bubba off the counters and out of the cupboards was a full time job. i would put Aley down for a nap and come down to find trouble brewing. But we did have a beautiful princess, a silly monkey and an adorable cheetah.

The one with the eyebrows is Avez award winner. What you can't see is the art work all over the outside.

We finally caged the monkey!

He had fun trick-or-treating. But he did think that you went into the houses and had several people chasing him down. I wasn't going in after him!

Isn't she cute?

Avez loved the glitter and everything about it. She waited in her dress for 2 hours before it was time to go because she was so excited.

Our trick-or-treating posse. Avez best friends Aria and Tajes went with us adding to the fun.

Summer Fling

Kellen's family came to visit this summer for a very quick week. We tried to pack as much as we could into a single week. A trip to the zoo, a day in historic, downtown Philadelphia and a couple of days at the Shore. It was so much fun to see the kids play and spend time with family!

Aley had her first chance to play with sand and she loved it!

Ava got a little too carried away in the sand and became a sand MONSTER.
Our future lifeguard in training.

I Love to See the Temple

"I love to see the temple. I'm going there someday To feel the Holy Spirit, To Listen & to pray.

For the temple is a house of God, a place of love & beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young; This is my sacred duty."

"I love to see the temple. I'll go inside someday. I'll cov'nant with my Father; I'll promise to obey. For the temple is a holy place Where we are sealed together. As a child of God, I've learned this truth: A family is forever."

I went to the temple to the sealing of my cousin, Kurt. I love sealings. I love seeing the love of the couple getting married and remembering my own sealing almost 5 years ago to the day. I also love to hear what each sealer says to the couple. That little nugget of wisdom to take with you to aply to your own marriage. One of the stand out thing for me was the 4 C's of David O McKay: Constant Courting, Constant Communication, Constant Compassion & Constant Compromise. It was another first to have the power go out while in the temple. It was a great day and wonderful to see family. The day was beautiful and Aley was a dream the entire day. I couldn't asked for better.