Happy Birthday Hoo Hoo!

Hadlie, I can't believe you are one! We had such a fun day with you. Thanks for going with me shopping this morning, it was fun picking out a toy with you. I also liked going with you and dad to the Auto Expo. When grandma Lori brought the other kids home from their sleepover, we had fun playing in the toy room with you and getting the house ready for your birthday party. All of your family loves you so much, and we giggled watching you play with your cake. Cuckoo liked putting frosting on your nose, and you look cute as can be. You certainly proved you are one today when I caught you in the bathroom with all the toilet paper. You make me laugh! I loved listening to you sing and even caught you singing on the camcorder. You are so beautiful and full of life. You have powerful lungs! A strong will! And you know how to get what you want. Although we had some rough times this past year, I loved so many moments. I love holding you at night, and I love your little toes squeezing their way under my legs to keep warm. I love watching you in the bath tub, you love the water. I love seeing the mischievous look you get when you are rummaging through cupboards or the pantry or my purse. I love your giggle and your cute dimple in your cheek. I love giving you tickles when you are naked baby. I laugh everytime you decide you are done eating and start chucking your food on the floor. I love your beautiful dark eyes. I am so glad you are my daughter. I love you Hadlie Hoo, Hoodie Hooders, Hadidilidee, HooHoolicious baby!

Ryllie Lost one of her Pirate Teeth

Ryllie has had several tooth problems and a couple of years ago (during the Pirates of the Caribbean excitement) she mentioned to me that her teeth were like a pirate's because she had cracks in teeth, some teeth missing (due to an extraction), and gold teeth (caps on her root canals). Well, this past Sunday as we were visiting Grandma & Grandpa Hansen one of her pirate teeth was so loose that she could flick it back and forth with her tongue. All of us starting getting involved wanting to help her get that tooth out. It got pretty entertaining. I started out in the bathroom with her gently trying to loosen the tooth, then grandpa comes in and says, "Let me have a try, I pull my teeth out every night!" I couldn't stop laughing after that. Casey, finally takes a turn and tells her to count backwards from 10 and that when they got to 0 he would pull it. She was distracted and on 7 he pulled it out. It was a very climactic moment at the Hansen's. We had a great time cramming 4 adults and 4 kids in their bathroom to witness the tooth coming out. Grandpa gave her $3 as an added bonus. Ryllie left the tooth in the most darling envelope that she had colored on and wrote "tooth faery" on. The tooth fairy wanted to keep that cute envelope so she stuck it in my purse so that Ryllie would not see it. The next morning Hadlie found my purse and pulled out the envelop. Ryllie: "Why is my tooth in your purse?" Mom: "Uhhh, uhhh, I'm not sure, that's wierd, maybe the toothfairy wanted to let me keep your envelope because it is so cute". Ryllie: smiles at the compliment and says, "But my tooth is still in it. I guess I'll try it again tonight." That night the tooth fairy remembers to take the tooth (and throw it out), and keep the envelope only. Ryllie seriously doesn't catch on though, Phew!

Hansen & Whitaker Sledding Adventure

Last Saturday we went with the Whitaker's up past South Fork to go sledding. The weather was perfect, and we met up with these forty year old Park City yuppies, oh wait, that is just Kenice & Adam. Doesn't Kenice look like one in her red coat, sunglasses, and multi-colored scarf? The kids were having a blast, and one of the runs had a slight jump at the end that landed on the ice in the parking lot. Everyone had gone on it, so I decided it didn't look bad, so I went down it and hit my tailbone on the ice and laid there feeling broken and annoyed that Casey hadn't run to my rescue. Okay, so within a couple of minutes I was fine, and I learned an important lesson.... It really isn't that cool to be a drama queen. The rest of the sledding was fun and good ol' Kenice who seems to ALWAYS be prepared pulled out hot cocoa to warm us up before we left. Thanks for the good times Whitakers.

Hot tub Hotties

Happy Birthday Casey Gene!

January 2nd was Casey's birthday, so my mom was kind enough to let us leave our kids with her (my first time leaving Hadlie overnight), while Casey & I spent his birthday in Las Vegas. We stayed at Trump Towers again, which is amazing. We had such a great time, shopping for Casey's first pair of "trendy" jeans, eating at the "Steakhouse", watching the new volcano at the Mirage, sitting in the jacuzzi tub, eating cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory, walking the strip, and about peeing my pants on the New York New York roller coaster.

Here is 31 things about Casey:

1- He is a hardworking son of a gun.

2- He is dedicated to living the Gospel.

3- Freaking awesome & fun dad.

4- Loves to take pictures (he takes at least 200 everytime we go to Manti for our anniversary)

5- Use to play baseball for BYU and is a Red Sox fan.

6- Served his mission in Boston with Dale Murphy as his mission president.

7- Use to go Disco Skating at Classic skating every Saturday in High School, and would win the dance contest. He is still good on those skates too!

8- Loves Christmas lights, and thinks people who don't put up lights are anti or something. He just doesn't like taking the lights down.

9- Loves to be center of attention, and yes, dares to cross the lines with his jokes, watch out!

10- Loves going to movies, mostly for the popcorn.

11- Will deny it, but he knows all the songs to High School Musical (and has seen the movies too).

12- Likes golfing when he golfs well, hates golfing when he sucks.

13- Likes to invest in gold & silver.

14- Likes to camp, and be outdoors.

15- Generous to those less fortunate, (gave $5 to a homeless guy, and watched him go in the gas station and buy beer with it, doh! and he still keeps on giving).

16- He knows how to plan sweet trips, and romantic getaways.

17- He loves Christmas and is a serious mall rat during this time of year. He will roam the malls not buying anything, just enjoying the hustle and bustle.

18- Likes to surprise people, I have had some sweet Christmas surprises, my favorite was when he bought me a mini van and hid it from me for 3 weeks.

19- Casey is extremely honest, which is one of the reasons he does so well in the mortgage industry. People love him for being honest.

20- Likes expensive cars.

21- Favorite TV shows are "Everybody Loves Raymond", "ESPN", & "American Idol". Hey, he's versatile.

22- Very well rounded man. Will be playing sports or hunting one day, and with me at a play the next.

23- Casey is never intimidated by others, although others can be intimidated by him.

24- Casey is a germaphobe.

25- Picky food eater, and very particular about how you salt and pepper his food. It is hard to find any querks about Casey. I know this is a stretch.

26- Best friends with his grandpa Hansen

27- Still likes to get to the gym for a good workout.

28- Is an occasional sleep talker, and does not like being woke up in the night.

29- Casey can do a mean Simon Cowell impersonation.

30- Can play the piano beautifully by ear. (He doesn't read music, but can play incredibly).

31- Is still after 9 years extremely good looking!

Thank you Casey for all you do for our family. I love you!

New Year's Eve Weekend

Our family went down to St. George to spend New Year's and Casey's birthday. It was such a fun weekend, here is a little recap of what we did. We drove down on New Year's Eve and hung out playing games at my mom's house. The Whitaker's and Smith's also came down for the weekend so my mom had a full house and was a wonderful and generous host to all of us. By 10:00pm, Casey was nearing his bed time so we went back to the hotel. The girls stayed at Kaysha's with the girl cousins, and Hadlie and Casey fell asleep at about 11pm. I have always loved New Year's Eve, I love the excitement and the staying up late, but since I have been married and had kids, I am almost always the only one awake watching Ryan Seacrest or something on TV at midnight. Lame-O. Last year Casey took us to the Hilton in Salt Lake for fun and he and the girls tried to stay up till midnight, but again, I was the only one watching Salt Lake City's fireworks out the window of the Hilton. It was hilarious because when the fireworks got loud, Casey jumped up and was like, "What's that? What's going on?" I just started to laugh and said, "It's fireworks! Happy New Year!" He went back to sleep. So, this year I decided to take Cy with me to St. George's First Night, and we had fun listening to a band, and walking around, and watching fireworks. So this year I finally got a New Year's kiss.

On New Year's Day, Casey & I went golfing. I seriously rocked at golfing that day. I haven't been golfing in a looong time, and I was so proud of myself, I even made an impossible putt (it was purely luck), but it was AWESOME! You will have to ask Casey how he golfed that day. :)

That night we had a wonderful dinner with ham, sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, salad, etc... Thanks mom again for being such a wonderful host, oh and a wonderful mom, grandma, friend, etc...

My mom gave each of the girls one of her old pieces of jewelry and they still think that it is the coolest thing ever.

Happy 5th Birthday Maddux! and Happy Birthday Grandpa Mike!

Maddux turned 5 on December 29th and Grandpa Mike turned 35 again! I can't believe that 5 years has passed since I had my darling Maddux Christine. When she was a baby we called her Maddie Moo Moo and when she turned about 2 and would try to say her name she couldn't get the D's right so it sounded like Max. So she is now called Max way more frequently than Maddie, but the name fits her like a glove. Maddux has always been our family comedian, she doesn't even have to try, she is just naturally funny, kind of like her dad and her Aunt Waynsh. She loves playing with her friends and asks to play EVERY DAY! She is starting to read beginner books, and just began piano lessons. I am so proud of her. She is a sweet girl, who just says the funniest things. Tonight I told her not to whine (all my kids are good at that) and she says to me, "but it's so easy to whine". LOL! She is so much fun, and I am so grateful for her. And although I think her birthday lands on a crappy time, right after Christmas, I think she enjoys sharing her birthday with her cool grandpa. I was really sick on her birthday so Casey took her & Ryllie to the movie. She had a friend party just a few days ago and we went to Classic skating. A bunch of her friends moms came to help me out at the party and we had a great time.

Christmas is Over

Christmas continued...

After my little family finished our morning, we got ready and headed over to Grandpa Mike's and Grandma Lori's. They spoiled the kids giving Ryllie a Pogo Stick, Maddux a new scooter, Cy a Little Tykes Basketball hoop, and Hadlie a mini piano. The breakfast was delicious and I am determined to learn how to make cracked wheat now. It was soooo good, reminded me of something grandma Allen would make. After all the fun there, we came back to our house to have Christmas with Cuckoo and Christmas dinner. She also spoiled my kids giving Ryllie Camp Rock drums, Maddux a cupcake maker, Cy a remote control Lightning McQueen, and Hadlie a toy rocking horse. Their grandparents are all so good to them. My mom also gave them jammies and slippers which they wear ALL THE TIME. I am grateful for the love and generosity from each of the grandparents. Well, Christmas did feel a little hurried, and the time just flew, but we enjoyed every minute of it. I was able to call and talk to my family later in the afternoon, I always miss my mom on Christmas, but I am grateful for my own little family and the traditions I have been able to keep and pass down. I love Christmas, I am like a little kid full of excitement. I also love feeling the Spirit, and feeling such strong attachments and love for my family.

CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Eve was a little different this year. In years past, we have a Christmas Eve dinner at Cuckoo's house and open gifts with her, and then Casey & I take the kids to the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork. This year, Marshall had family coming into town so Noelle asked if we could change Christmas with Cuckoo to be on Christmas day. This was fine, the only draw back for me, was that now I had to cook Christmas Eve dinner! I don't love to cook at all! I guess I don't like the whole production when I know my kids won't eat half of it, but the dinner ended up being great. I cooked my first prime rib and it turned out delicious, (granted, we bought it preseasoned). After dinner we drove out to visit grandma & grandpa Hansen and there we let the kids open their annual Christmas eve jammies. Now Cy is convinced the jammies are from them and not us. I told him they were from mommy & daddy and he keeps arguing with me saying that grandpa got them for him. It is pretty funny. We then drove to Festival of Lights and of course the kids loved it. On the way home it was snowing, and the car was warm and outside was beautiful, and it was just cozy and nice. We got home around 9:30pm and the kids went right to bed, except for Hadlie who was wired for a while and crawling around the Christmas tree being hilarious. At about 1am Santa had come and mom & dad were lucky enough to see him leave. After he left, mom & dad went and sat in the hot tub. Casey decked out the deck. I didn't mean to pun there, but it just worked out that way, ha ha! He put Christmas lights all around the deck and in the small trees, so it was beautiful sitting in the hot tub, with the Christmas lights on and the snow falling..... until, a little face was looking out the back door... RYLLIE! GET BACK TO BED! I jumped out and followed her back to bed. "Did you see that Santa already came?" I asked. "Yes" she smiled excitedly. "Did you see him?" she asks. "I sure did, just as he was leaving. We heard something in our room and came out just as he left, we were so excited we decided to sit in the hot tub." I know, I know, what in the world was I telling her, but hey it worked, okay? I told her she needed to go back to sleep, and that we couldn't open the gifts till the morning. She went right back to sleep. After the excitement the next morning, Maddux also revealed that she had gotten up sometime in the night to go to the bathroom and saw all the gifts too. Sneaky little girls. Christmas morning is always fun, and Casey let me open my gift first, a new camcorder! So I have footage, but I haven't figured out how to work everything and how to attack video to my blog, so when I figure that out maybe I'll put some clips up, in the meantime, here are some pictures. Family favorite gift= Polar Express Train.

Happy Birthday Noelle & The Allen Christmas Party

Happy Birthday Noelle! My kids love their Aunt Doodles, and I love her too. She is the best sister in law, and we always have fun together. Hope you have a wonderful birthday. Noelle's the one in the middle, I don't have a picture of just her alone.

Every December 23rd we have our annual Allen Christmas Party at the church by Aunt Jeannine's and Uncle Lavon's house. Our extended family on my mom's side is ginormous! We always have a great time getting together for dinner and the talent show. This year, Grandma Allen asked Casey & I to be in charge of putting together the talent show. We had so much fun doing silly skits like Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite, It's a Wonderful Life, and the Little Mermaid. The "real" talent segments were great as well. Here is Casey telling a Christmas story to the kids. Aunt Nanette and son Jay, Kurt or Devin? Ha ha, I always get them mixed up! Casey as Ariel singing Part of Your World.

Not fair that everyone in the Thomas family can sing so well. They ought to go on "America's Got Talent"!

That's what I'm trying to tell ya! Uncle Kenn can play! And Aunt Patrice can stand there looking pretty as always.

Brave Kiana. Only 3 years old and on stage!

I caught you a delicious bass.

Cousins, Tennyson & Tanycia, yes, they are white, dancing the waltz.

The Tolman grandkids performing the Nativity. In the corner is my cute cousin and former roommate Natalie!

So, I don't have footage yet of the Smughes family lip sync to Sleigh Ride. It was hilarious. Mitsy or Kaysha may have it on their blogs, if you want to check theirs. I know Kaysha filmed it.