Our Favorite Things

I am going to have my blog made into a book at the end of each year....why not take advantage of it and have a cool little journal to keep? So, here are our favorite things because I think it will be fun to see how the kids change, and what they like from year to year.

Kylie's favorite....
Book - I Will Always Love You
Food - Gravy
Color - PINK!!!
Song - Anything by the Killers
Toy - Dolls
Place - Disneyland
Movie - Barbie Movie
Thing to do - Paint
What do you want to be? Teacher

Matthew's favorite....
Book - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Food - Broccoli
Color - Blue
Song - I Am a Child of God
Toy - Cars
Place - Disneyland
Movie - Cars
Thing to do - Play video games
What do you want to be? Daddy

John's favorites....
X-Box, WOW(video game), Cheese, Cars(where do you think Matthew gets the obsession?), Mountain Dew, IT crowd, Earl......he's a simple guy, give him food and video games and he's happy.

Ang's favorites.....
my 2 adorable kids, gardening, making cards/scrapbooking, earrings, warm cocoa with whipped cream, games(the box kind not the video kind), my ipod, rain, a clean house.

Open Wide

The kids had their dental check-ups and cleanings yesterday. They are still cavity-free enough to love the dentist, and think it is great fun everytime they go. I'm afraid that is all about to change for Kylie. Apparently she has inherited my ridiculously tiny mouth. We have been referred to an orthodontist, and the dentist said she will most likely need to have eight teeth pulled as a temporary solution - until the ortho can have her jaw widened. My poor little girl.....I remember having a few teeth pulled at her age, and I am told that I actually bit the dentist. I still hate going to the dentist.

It Was Very Merry

One of our little traditions on Christmas Eve night is laying out our 'Santa quilts.' We all put our baby blankets (yes, John & I both still have our blankets from when we were babies) around the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is usually crammed full of presents from Mommy & Daddy and Grandma & Grandpa & aunties, etc, so Santa leaves his presents on our quilts. I've found it's also a great excuse not to wrap everything from Santa:) Matthew's quilt is hiding behind the tree, but you can see his video game bike peeking out. Santa was very good to us this year.

I love the cute faces Matthew makes over each and every present.

I have the sweetest little girl.

John enjoys being a little boy again on Christmas.

At Christmas time I want everything to be the same every year, there's just something comforting about following tradition. Yesterday was a little different than normal. We usually have a big dinner at John's parent's house every year, and hang out and play games afterward. John's dad is in the hospital right now, so instead we hung out at the hospital for a little while. It was sad to once again realize things can't stay the same forever, and a big reminder to savor every wonderful moment we all have together. Here is a picture of my kids with one of their cute cousins. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas yesterday!

Temple Lights

Tonight we went to see the lights at Temple Square. Oh man was it freezing!
But, it sure was beautiful.

Jungle Party

Matthew went to his first "boys only" birthday party today - which meant it was the first party he was invited to without Kylie. He was so excited that he slept holding the invitation the past 2 nights. It was a jungle party - Matthew came home as a lion. He is one happy boy tonight :)

Kylie's House

I helped Kylie's class make Gingerbread houses today. I help in her class every Wednesday, and today was my favorite. The kids had a blast getting all gooey and sneaking bites of candy. Oh, and the marshmallows on the side of Kylie's house are a Mr. Snowavitz in the backyard. On a side note, has anyone else gained a million pounds from all the Christmas goodies from your loving neighbors?

Rolo Cookies

I do more baking in December than during the rest of the year combined. I am so happy that Kylie is old enough to help me now. And I'm happy that she loves it as much as I do. Today we made a fast and super easy (but still yummy) cookie. It is John & Matthew's favorite. They literally eat about a dozen each as they come out of the oven.
My mom asked for the recipe - that is why you are now reading this post :) Here you go Mom...

1 box devil's food cake mix

2 whole eggs

1/3 cup oil

Mix together. Now take 1 tsp. of the mix, flatten it in your palm, place a Rolo in the middle and roll it into a ball. The dough should cover the Rolo. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Tree Time

We had a naked tree for 3 weeks, but it is finally decorated. We are officially ready for Christmas.

Tubing!

We went tubing at Gorgoza Park today. If you hate hiking back up the hill after tubing down, this is the place for you. It has one of those tube lifts, and let me tell you, us lazy people LOVE it. The hills are also nice and groomed so you go super fast. Kylie was very cautious at first, but she loved it.
Matthew has me worried - he is already a little daredevil. The boy has no fear. Oh, and he is Mr. Outgoing, had to say hi to every single person there and ask them their names too. He kept telling people he was "tooting." He has a hard time saying tubing, so it sounded like he was telling everyone he had gas.
As the world's most paranoid mother, sending them down the hill alone was painful, but they miraculously survived.

Ice Capades

We had TONS of fun ice-skating today! We normally go to a cute little outdoor rink, but it is closed for the week. We were kinda bummed.....until we found this awesome place. They have these neat little things called "trainers" for the kids. John and I normally have to carry the kids around the rink for the first hour, but no more! I think they should make them for adults too - I'm always a little wobbly the first few times around :)
Matthew still wanted me to carry him around for a while - he wasn't too sure about the "trainer" at first. I think we might buy year passes to the rink by our house. Ice-skating seemed to be really good for Matthew's coordination and might be a big help with some of his delays.
I think this was the boys' favorite part - the penalty box. Matthew thought it was some sorta cool hang out.

I didn't have my video camera, so this isn't the clearest video ever - but the kids were so cute on the ice!

Park City

We are now in Park City for the week, our yearly date with the snow. We had plans to go ice-skating today, but the rink was having trouble keeping the ice frozen or some crazy story. After they turned us away, we thought we'd build the perfect snowman, or Mr. Snowavitz according to Kylie. The snow was too dry, so we ended up making snow angels and having a mean snowball fight. Let's just say the snow was freezing parts it shouldn't have. I will have to remember to zip my coat ALL the way up next time.

Look at my cute snow angels

Making the perfect snowball

We ate lunch at Dairy Keen in Heber. Matthew insists we go here every year just to watch the little train drive around the ceiling. He loves it - I'm thinking we should put one in his bedroom. It would keep him quiet for hours!

Dairy Keen always has interesting things in their kids meals. Last year it was ukuleles, this year sunglasses. Doesn't Matthew look cool?
Kylie fell asleep after the rough snowball fight.
Tonight we found a park next to our condo. The snow made the slide fast and slippery - the kids loved it and squealed and giggled the entire hour we played on it.

Welcome Home Daddy!

The morning after we came home from visiting my family, John had to leave for Arkansas for the week. Whenever he travels for work the kids miss him like crazy. They have a little tradition of coloring lots of hearts and making a "welcome home" surprise. They put it in a new place every time (we're running out of places!). This time it was on the gargage door coming into the house.