Happy Birthday Granny...........LOL!!!!

Happy Birthday Granny!!!!!!!!! I couldn't resist this one! My sister Amber is 30 today! This picture is so fitting don't you think?!? (this is her Halloween picture....she set herself up). On our B-day's we call the B-day person and say Happy Birthday Granny........It is from some show we watched years ago.......anyway we are a bit lame I know but it is silly to us. : )

Seriously now, I am so grateful to have such a wonderful sister. I am happy that the two of us live by one another so we can go/do things together and with our kids. Amber is such a great person and even though she is my little sis I look up to her in a big way. I learn much about cooking, mothering, caring, compassion, spirituality, kindness and giving from her. She is a great mom and my boys love that she is their Aunt. I am thrilled that she is my coupon, talking, adventure, crazy moments buddy. She and I have been through all kinds ADVENTURES together!!!! Thanks Am for being who you are! Thanks for all that you do for me and my family, you are truly a great person and I am truly blessed to have you in my life. I love you ! Kim

Watch out sugar bugs.......

Yesterday the boys ate a bunch of their Christmas candy. I tried my best not to buy but a tintsy bit......but Great-grandma Salmon knows what they like, SUGAR!!!!!!! You can see by the size of the massive suckers what kind of day we had yesterday......can you say crazy bouncing off the wall boys!!!!
But........then, the crazy dental assistant in me comes out and after a treat like that we brusha, brusha, brusha!!!!!!! Which leads me to today. We ventured to Salt Lake today for the kids Dental visits. They think it is so fun going to the dentist. They always are nervous that they will have "sugar bug houses" (cavities). But, once again no cavities!!!!!! I don't know what they/I would do if they did find one?!?! After the dental visit they get a token to ride on this cute merry-go-round.

Keaton was being a great big brother and took Carter along with him. We couldn't get the seat belt to work for Carter to ride on his own.

I wish I had that much fun when I was a kid at the dentist. I cried every time I knew I had an appointment. Lots of great Pediatric dentists to choose from now days : )

Christmas 2008

We had a very nice Christmas. The kids didn't even wake up until 7:30 a.m. Wow that was sure nice! They were all excited to see that Santa had brought them the special things that they asked for. It was so fun for us to see how excited they were. We let the kids go at their own pace on opening gifts this year. It was great......they actually took a long time to do everything. They played with the Santa gifts and then opened the other things..........they took their time playing/ looking at what they got. Santa brought Keaton a digital camera (he has been Mr. camera man), Talon got a Bumble Bee transformer, and Carter got a little keyboard.

Here they are checking out what Santa put into their stockings. Carter couldn't figure out what was going on with all of us.......he had a good time though. Rick decided to take his own picture.

We gave Keaton a Batman house (he was crossing his fingers he would get this), Talon got

Gorilla Mountain (he was screaming......Gorilla Mountain, Gorilla Mountain, Gorilla Mountain!!!!)

and Carter got a cute little bike (he had more fun walking with it than riding it). Rick is sporting hi Super Hero comic jammies.The older boys made Rick and I gifts at school. Keaton made a wreath ornament out of puzzle pieces that were painted green. Talon made us a self portrait. What sweet little gifts, they are always my favorites!!

Rick's parents also came over to share Christmas breakfast with us. We had a nice visit with them.

Christmas Eve

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...........Rick has a tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas to the boys on Christmas Eve.

We get a new family game to unwrap and play. This year the game was Cootie. We invited our neighbor Mae over to share Christmas Eve with us. We ended up staying up much later than normal........she was enjoying herself so much that we just continued on and had fun.

We also have a tradition of getting new Christmas jammies. The boys are sporting theirs. Before playing our new game we had hot chocolate and I told the story of our Savior's birth with our nativity set. Then we talked about why we celebrate Christmas and what it means to us.

Before heading to bed the boys made sure they took good care of Santa and his reindeer. They left out yummy gingerbread cookies, hot chocolate, a carrot, and letters. We had a great night : )

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone!

I am so excited for Christmas! I just finished making a breakfast casserole, a swiss cheese ball, and some lasagna. Whew! That was a marathon of a morning. Rick and the boys are downstairs watching Star Wars. Talon is always begging Keaton to watch it again and usually he says how about another time.....but.....since he is trying to be extra good because Santa is coming he said SURE!!! It would be nice to pull out the Santa card everyday wouldn't it : )
Well, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for being so wonderful!
I couldn't resist posting this picture of Talon (typical of him isn't it, always being a little ham!!).

Carter's new snow hat.

Rick just loves how cute Carter looks in his new snow hat from Aunt Amber. Carter has so much fun trying to put in on/off his head over and over again.

What a sweet little boy!

The kids have had so much fun playing out in the snow. We have been getting lots of it! : )

Holy Toledo...................

Holy Toledo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been a busy family lately. I am playing catch up on my blog so tonight I have a ton of things to post..................happy reading : )

My whole family is finally feeling well. Yippeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Can you believe Christmas is only days away..........crazy isn't it.

What we did today.............

This morning Talon was able to open his gift from our Christmas party last night that he missed due to being sick. (from Grandpa and Nanna) He was so excited!!! He is feeling better today. Yeah!!!! Then I put together Carter's gift also from Grandpa and Nanna. Isn't that the cutest little rocker ever. He loves it!


Then, tonight I made some cookies for the neighbors. When I was done I let the boys make sugar cookies. They had a great time. We get to decorate them in the morning. The kitchen looked like a bomb hit once we were done with our cookies!!! Messy but fun!

After we ate dinner tonight we met up with some neighbors for our annual Christmas Caroling night. We all had to bundle up extra well since it snowed a ton this morning. Talon was so happy to be out of the house and play in the snow. After caroling we went to our neighbors and had hot chocolate and doughnuts. We have such great neighbors in our area.....I just love them!

Sunday evening.......

On Sunday evening we had a family Christmas party at my parents house. We had such a great time! Poor little Talon missed out on the parties on Sat/Sun due to being sick : ( We sure missed him.......Daddy was a sport and stayed home with him so that the rest of us could go.

We had a great Mexican dinner and then we had a program. The kids were all so good and didn't even ask about the presents.....they had a great time playing together. For my talent I used my moms nativity set and told the story of Christ's birth. It brought such a great spirit into the home and the kids loved it. I debated on whether doing it or not....I am so glad that I did, it turned out so well for the kids.

Then later on we opened gifts. The kids were all so appreciative of the gifts that their Grandparents gave to them. My sisters and I gave our parents home made cards that said they are invited each of our homes for a meal with our families. I think liked that since they have everything.
Thanks mom and Dan for the great night that you created for us. This was my favorite Christmas party ever. I think that all of the kids will treasure the night also.

Saturday night/ Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Saturday night my parents put on their annual Christmas open house. Keaton was old enough to be an elf this year and he was so excited. He did such a great job. They sit outside in their driveway all suited up for anyone that would like to stop by. The give out toys to all of the children and ask that people bring donations for the Utah Food Bank. It is always such a great night for our family. I think they are so great and generous to put this on year after year.

This is picture of all of the elves that got to help them out this year. Keaton is in the middle. They are in charge of greeting guests, directing them to the guest book - cookies- drinks and choosing age appropriate toys for the children. At the end of the night my parents present each of the elves a nutcracker. Keaton is so excited to have his very own now.

What we did on Saturday

On Saturday we celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday. We had the yummiest layered Chocolate cake. The kids all got to eat cupcakes. The kids that picked the blue cupcakes had blue mouths from the frosting....it was a hit! Wow, I can't believe my dad has hit the 60 mark. It just doesn't seem possible. My sisters and I gave him a card that said we would take him to dinner and set up a time for us to have are picture taken with him. I think he is happy that we will be getting a photo taken since the last one that we have of him I think I was 12 or so.....anyway, many moons ago!

Then....we had our family Christmas party at my Grandparents home. This year we decided not to exchange gifts and put on a program instead. The kids had a lot of fun. We had a good time watching them. We even got my Uncle Brent to sing (I think that was my favorite part).

Later on we just hung out and talked. Carter enjoyed being "passed around" all night. He is such a sweet little guy. Some of the cousins played with a little Smurf set that my Grandma has had around for years. They hadn't seen it before and thought it was the coolest toy ever : )

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Chistmas Tree....

The kids are out of school now for Christmas break. They both had parties at school today and said that they had a great time. My shopping and wrapping of presents is all taken care of so now we can sit back and enjoy the holidays. I still can't believe that Christmas is next week. This year has flown by so quickly! We have a tree in our basement that I will have to post later but this is the "pretty" tree that has all of my nice ornaments that I have picked out over the years. I get so excited to decorate it each year......it is my chance to have something extra sparkly/fancy and girlie in the house!
I found this super cute advent calendar this year for us to use. We usually do the chocolate countdown or the chain but this has been so fun! I put little ornaments inside all of the doors and each day the boys trade off opening them. Then they get to hang them on the tree (new for this year also....I love it!) It has been exciting for them to see what is behind the door!

Talon's Winter Sing.

On Wednesday Talon had his Winter Sing at school. It was so fun to watch him and all of his little buddies perform. I get so teary eyed whenever I watch my kids in programs. I am not a person that cries for much of anything but I tell you what......watching my kids in programs does it for me every time!!!

What a handsome little guy. He was hamming it up the whole time!

Then...they got a surprise visit from Santa.

Talon was thrilled to get a candy cane. He is so excited for Christmas this year. He has been asking so many questions about Santa, the North Pole, the sleigh and so on and so forth. It is so fun to see his excitement.

Holy cow!!! The boy next to him has older sisters that are twins....and then he is a triplet!!! Can you even imagine???? They have the cutest mom and she always seems put together.....I need to know her trick!!! I have trouble keeping it together with the boys that I have!

All of the cute girls...

Here is the picture we had taken for my moms Birthday. It turned better than we thought it would considering the crazy lady that took the picture and the morning we had leading up to it. We are just happy that all of us were able to get together to have it taken. I love my mom and sisters very much. They mean so much to me and I am thankful to have them all in my life. I am glad that my boys have great women to look up to and trust. Thanks guys for all of your love and support throughout my life.
Also, thank you for letting me talk your ears off when I get the chance : )
Love, your daughter and big sis : )

Flashback Friday on Saturday : )

Well, it is Saturday but I didn't do my Flashback Friday post and I haven't been good at taking pictures this week so here it is...............Flashback Friday on Saturday : )
This is a picture of Keaton taken at our old house when he was 3. He was hanging out with his "guys" in his new big boy bed. His all time favorite stuffed animal is the black and white dog that is pictured. It's name is Spot. One time when my mom and her friend Suzy were babysitting him, they took him to the store and he fell in love with it. My mom said she tried ditching it off in the store but he through a fit. She ended up buying it for him and to this day it is his favorite. Who would have thought. He says that he will keep it forever!!!

Look at how chubby and squeezable his cheeks used to be. I love it!

Happy Birthday Keaton!!!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Keaton, happy birthday to you! Keaton turned 8 today! Tonight his Nanna, 2 Aunts, and his cousins came over to celebrate his special day. He didn't ask for anything for his gift, he told us just to surprise him. We got him a drum set. He was so thrilled when he saw it. He has wanted one since last year. It is even blue, his favorite color. It was so fun for me to see the excitement in his face when he got it.

He decided that he didn't want a cake this year. He asked for mint brownies and cookies and cream ice cream. Hey, that was easy for me : ) It tasted so yummy too!! He had such a great time hanging out with his cousins. He just loves them so much.

Keaton has been such a joy to have in our lives. He is a great boy and is willing to help out with things that need to be done when asked. He is excited to get baptized next month. I am so lucky to be his mom!!!

Carter and Liam had fun tonight too! They hung out in the shoe/coat closet. They had a great time opening and closing the door. What cute cousins they are.

Robbers!?!

Tonight I was on the phone and my boys came upstairs in the silliest outfits. They said that they were robbers. It cracks me up to see the goofy things they put together. They love playing dress up. Talon has on a magician hat and has a bone in his hand. Keaton is sporting a Batman cape. Ok robbers.........sooooooooooooo scary LOL!!! Oh and look how they have their eyes covered almost all of the way. Goofy kids!!!! : ) I love em'.

Choir performance

Last week Keaton had a Christmas choir performance at school. It was fun to watch all of the kids sing and do the actions to the songs. Keaton and his friend Gavin got so embarrassed when they sang the part " kiss her once for me" from the Holly Jolly Christmas song. They are so cute! Keaton has been in the school choir for 2 years now and really enjoys it. Every Wednesday before school they have choir practice. I hope that he will continue on with the choir as he gets older. My mom, his Nanna was able to go to his performance. Keaton was so happy that she came. He loves his Nanna sooooooooo much!!! The have always had a special bond.

Homemade pizza

Tonight I let the boys help me make homemade pizza. They love to help out in the kitchen. It was fun to see how they put the toppings on their pizza's. Talon said he made a balloon with his olives. Keaton put his olives around the outside. Talon put his meat all in the center. Keaton put his spaced out under the olives. They of course sampled everything as they went along. Gotta' love the look of the dough : ) They said they had a lot of fun.

Flashback Friday!

I was looking at some of my older photos and I saw these of Talon and they made me smile! Now Carter wears those jammies that Talon has on! This picture was taken at our old house. Talon has always loved books.
Here are the early stages of him playing "Evil Canevil". Look at his cute tummy!
This is one of my all time favorite pictures of him. He was the same size as his little buddies. He also loved wearing his Daddy's hat whenever he got the chance.
When I look back on photos like these it reminds me how fast time goes by. I need to do a better job at taking time each day to cherish the little moments I have with my sweet boys. Mommy loves you Talon!

Survivor

Yeah!!! Tonight I got to watch Survivor. I am not much of a t.v. person but I sure do like watching Survivor. Anyone else? I thought the crafting of the 2nd fake idol was such a crack up! I am not sure where Bob gets all of his supplies?? Anyway,it gave me some entertainment for the night.

Keaton with his Reflections picture.

Awhile back I posted about Keaton's drawing that he entered in the Reflections contest. I finally got a picture of it! Here is what he conjured up in his brain! His is one of five that got picked to move to the next level. We are so proud of him! Way to go!

My awesome November tally for groceries!!!

Well it is that time again. I get excited to check out my end of month freebies. Here is what I was able to get last month for FREE!!!! I love free stuff!

8 3 packs of razors
8 packs of Wrigleys gum
4 Vaseline lotions
2 loaves of french bread
10 mini Ben and Jerry's ice creams
1 Chick-Fil-A sandwich
6 Buddie bar soaps
2 large boxes of Pampers baby wipes

For dirt cheap I got 48 cans of Campbells cream of mushroom soup for $7.xx, frozen veggies, shampoo, cookie mix, and so many super great deals. It was a good month. I was able to stock up on tons of things and my total spent for the month was $270.25

I have done so well with getting my grocery bill down by less than half that I could justify purchasing a Shelf Reliance shelf for my canned goods. Oh my heck can I just tell you how nice and tidy everything is and how awesome it is that my cans rotate as you pull one out!!!! Love, love, love it! Hum.......saving $ on groceries has never been so fun!

Carter got his first real hair cut on Thanksgiving morning. I had a bunch of things to distract him with and he did just fine. He had been sporting the 80's tail for quite sometime and when he would sleep it would turn into a rats nest. The dudes back in my time would have loved to have his look, they spent a long time trying to pull this look off LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Tah Dah! Here is his new look. Much better. We just love this little guys so much. What a sweet-heart he is.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we went to my moms. My mom and sister Stacey did most of the cooking for our dinner and they did an excellent job!!! Thanks guys for all of your hard work. Everything tasted so yummy. It was nice to be surrounded by family and to be able to enjoy one another's company. After dinner my mom surprised all of the grandchildren with a super fun activity. She got them all sorts of cookies and candy to make a train. They all had a lot of fun and each one made their own special creation. (Of course they ate tons tons of goodies while making it too!!!!)

Carter was laughing so hard at his Grandpa. Nanna was holding him and Grandpa kept putting the cup on his head. Carter would lean over to make it fall off and he would laugh the biggest belly laugh over and over again. He thinks his Grandpa is the coolest! He was even saying "Gampa", sooooooooooo cute!


We also got to see the FABULOUS lights on my parents house. Each year after Thanksgiving dinner they turn the lights on for the holidays. Dan does such an awesome job with is lights. All of the grand-sons have a gingerbread man with their names on them. The grand-daughters have angels. The kids get so excited to find their name each year. I just love all the lights!!!!!

Thanksgiving Eve........

The boys both had Thanksgiving feasts at their schools. The teachers had food for them to try and they got to make some Thanksgiving crafts. Last night we watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving specials as a family and the boys kept cracking up at little Woodstock. It was so funny to hear them crack up. I remember how I would look forward to watching the Holiday specials each year with my family while growing up. Today we made the Turkeys that you see above. My mom asked each of our families to bring a centerpiece made by the grand-kids to Thanksgiving dinner. The boys had a fun time making ours. I can't believe that it is already the Eve of Thanksgiving. Where did 2008 go?

Silly boy faces.........

I've been a slacker on my posting lately.....but I am back! We have been busy with all the kids activities and then the past few days I haven't felt well. On a brighter note......I am happy to say that I am about 95% finished with my Christmas shopping! YEAH!!!!! Here are some pictures of the boys : )