"...a lot of birthdays..."

Tyson (now 5) has been having fun saying, "Mommy, this is the first time I ... since I was 5." ... means anything he has done: gone to the store, walked to school to pick Trevor up, gone to Mattawa, been to a specific spot such as church.... It never ceases to amaze me what he picks up on. One day, as he was being contemplative he said to me, "It will take a lot of birthdays to make me old!"

Christmas with the Hebdons & more

We finally bought our first artificial Christmas tree. We have been waiting and watching for one of two particular trees to go 50% off at Lowe's. They finally did and we went as soon as time allowed. There was only one left of our second choice (first choice gone) so we got it. We brought it home and set it up but didn't have time to decorate it as we were getting ready for other festivities. As I was busy getting ready, Tyson and BriAnn decided to make some of their own decorations and hang them on the tree. Too cute a moment to pass up!

Here we are with the Hebdons...

Samuel the Lamanite prophesying of the Savior's birth.

Joseph and baby Jesus

our little angel

Our little angel and our Wise Man

The Nativity Group.

Graham Cracker Gingerbread houses...great fun for everyone!

Other activities included games, cousin and sibbling gift exchanges, mom's craft (we made earrings), eating (lots of good food!) and gaming (X-box and wii).

Savvy Mom Saves

It is official. Savvy Mom Saves has posted a give away on her site. What is she giving away? One of my Kozies. Check it out: http://savvymomsaves.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-giveaway-4-kristi-anns-kozies.html.

Actually, Crystal posts multiple give aways a month (sometimes multiples in the same week). She also gives wonderful ideas of crafts and projects to do with kids. I have really enjoyed following her site and getting random tips, as well.

Just thought I would share the excitement of getting my name out there. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Fun visit!

My cousin dropped in yesterday to visit. We haven't been able to visit for awhile. The thing I love about good friends and family is you can pick up where you left off. It isn't strained, forced or anything. You can just be yourself around them. I sure miss having you close, Valine! Isn't her baby just adorable!! He was all smiles until we got the camera out. Thanks for letting me use your baby as a model! I'm working hard in spare moments (which are few) to get my etsy site ready for a review by Crystal (savvymomsaves.blogspot.com) so will have more pics and product on my site before Christmas, schedules permitting. Check out her site for a chance to win a free Kozy or other product of your choice. She will also post discounts for my site for SMS readers. Happy Holidays, everyone!

The Old Cannery and Ward Christmas Party

This past weekend my parents were in town to go to Kory's Army Christmas Party. When they weren't there, we were able to enjoy them. We went to the Old Cannery in Sumner where the line to see Santa Claus was at least a two hour wait so we decided to test out the furniture instead. We also went to our Ward Christmas party were Tyson was one of the wisemen and Trevor was going to be a shepherd but ended up going home early not feeling well.

Saturday morning started out at the Dr.'s office with Trevor and BriAnn both having double ear infections and sinus infections. BriAnn is doing better but Trevor has had a really hard time with stomach problems on top of the ear and sinus infections so we ended up at the Dr. again after a very sleepless couple of nights. A prescription of Zantac and a really long nap are helping him feel better today.

The Book Fair went well. My goal was to sell $2400 in books and we sold about $2600. We were able to put books in classrooms and our school library as well as make a bit of cash for the PTA.

Gingerbread House

Tyson and I decided it would be fun to make a gingerbread house.

We bought as I don't remember making one from scratch before.

This is what ours ended up looking like because...
...of this...

...and this...

...and this.

We sure had fun doing it. It didn't even dry before we were all eating it.

My models and a chance to win!

I would like a chance to win free graphic design help for my etsy website logo so I am making this post. I also wanted to show you how cute my little models are! They were good sports to help me get some pics on my etsy site. More product and pics coming before the end of December. Family discounts apply if you purchase from my site. Just e-mail me and let me know what you want or come by and take a look at my product stash that hasn't made it to the website yet.

April Showers Blog Design is having a HUGE giveaway and celebrating her OPEN waiting list that starts January 1st! April not only does blogs - but also invitations, announcements, calendars, cards, business cards, custom illustrations, and so much more! Just by pasting this paragraph on my blog I'm a winner! www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com

April's site is really cute, fun, upbeat...would recommend taking a look: http://www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com/

Trevor's Thanksgiving Turkey

The turkey was made using pastels and water. Trevor was so excited to tell me about the process. I love the bright colors! Attached to the turkey was the "I am thankful:" list. I love his creative spelling!

I'm Thankful for Happy Children

For some reason, the kids love to pile into this green chair that is over 30 years old. Trevor and Tyson, from the time they were little, have always loved being in this chair together. The other day they were sitting in it and said, "Mom. This is a cute picture. Get the camera!" I came around the corner to see Trevor and Tyson sitting there being nice to each other. I remembered a picture of them in that same chair 4 years earlier so ran for the camera. When I got back, BriAnn was part of the picture, too. (She lives in her pjs these days, by her choice.) They wanted her to be part too so there they are. A moment of sharing, love, happiness and kindness captured on camera. We live for those!

Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra

Jason and I are now season ticket holders to the Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra where Alison, Adam and Emily are musicians. We really enjoy going to the concerts!

Kid Sayings:

"Thanks" - BriAnn

"Do you know what my favorite thing about the rain is? You can drink it!" -Tyson

"Mrs. Gary is the best principal ever. In fact, I think she is one of my best friends!"

-Trevor

Stake Baptisms and a Bazaar

November 7th was the first Stake Baptisms I was in charge of coordinating. It was also the first Stake Baptism with 5 children from 5 different wards getting baptized on the same day in over 3 years. Keeping everyone reverent and the flow moving was a bit challenging, but it all went ok. Glad to have the first one done!

Saturday was also my first and only Bazaar for the 2009 Holiday season. I'm a bit sad, but reality is, there just isn't time to do more! My sales for Saturday were $157 so I am happy. As Jason and I discussed, I am making just enough to support my hobby. It has also paid for 10+ baby gifts this year.

I will continue sewing for my etsy shop (kristiannskozies.etsy.com) and I have a few follow-up calls to make. People wanted gender-specific Kozies so are waiting to find out what they are having. In preparation, I purchased a bunch more fleece and am in love with it all. I am adding ones for the Huskies, Mariners and Seahawks. I've also added some Debbie Mum fleece (didn't even know it existed until this week and I love Debbie Mum!!!). I'll post some pictures as I get more done and have live models that are willing and ready for a photo shoot.

Tyson's Birthday

Pin the Rank on the Soldier

BriAnn, Trevor, Luke, Daisy, Emma, Trevor, Addie, Jordan

Doing P.T.-Physical Training
At the end of the Land Navigation Course
Shawn, Olivia, Addie, Emma, Luke, Trevor, Daisy, Tyson, BriAnn, Jordan

Singing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy

For some reason, they all wanted to salute the cake.

Tyson invited 5 friends to his birthday party (one for each year of age he is) and we had some extra helpers, as well. Physical Training consisted of jumping jacks (Side Straddle Hops in army lingo), windmills, push ups, sit ups, running in place and a couple other items. BriAnn got quite involved in everything, as well and was absolutely adorable. The land navigation course included handing out Oriental Trading compases and helmets along with home made maps of our house with numbers in certain locations. They had to follow the map to find the numbers where a treat was located to put in their goodie bags. It was a lot of fun and I think a big success. The newest saying around our house: "Attention! Exercise!"

Halloween

Prep work before carving pumpkins

The actual carving of them.
The finished product

All dressed up for Trunk-or-Treat at the Church

At the Church after getting the loot and some hot cocoa or spiced cider

Notice Trevor is always standing at attention in the pics. That was part of his costume, so he said. Halloween morning started with Trevor being a scarecrow and Tyson being the army man. As the day wore on, they changed their minds several times and this is what the final decision was: Trevor the army guy and Tyson the frog. He has been the frog several years in a row and it was about 4 inches too short and a bit snug in the back, but he decided he just had to wear it one more year.

Cute Stuff

You can't really tell from the pic, but this is BriAnn asleep in her closet. I heard her banging around in her room when she was suppose to be taking a nap. When it was time to pick Trevor up from school, I opened her door carefully as she is usually asleep right in front of it. She wasn't there. She wasn't on her bed. The closet door was closed so I slowly opened it and this is what I found.

The other day we were coming home from picking up the day-old bread and were stopped at a light. There was a homeless man standing there so I reached into the baskets of bread and handed him a loaf. He was grateful! I couldn't help but let tears of gratitude fall as I realized just how blessed we are. We have a warm home to keep us dry from the rain. We have food, clothing, each other, love, a job...the blessings are endless. The kids picked up on the tears and asked what was wrong. So, I explained to them. Tyson's response was: "But mommy, he can come live with us." We read Matthew 25:40 "If ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" for family night that night and talked about helping and serving others. It was one of the best family nights we have had in a long time. The kids were actually listening and Jason was playing an active role as mediator between the kids instead of instigator. Tyson also kept calling the homeless man the "hopeless man". May we never lose hope in these times of trials!

SPEEA day at the Museum of Flight

We took the kids to SPEEA day at the Museum of Flight. Jason and I decided it would be much more fun if we went on a date without kids. They wanted to go as fast as they could through the museum. We would get to a part that we wanted to read and actually learn new facts and the kids would say, "We are tired of waiting. This is boring." So, thankfully we didn't pay to get in but we did enjoy the outing out.

Primary Sacrament Program

Our Primary Sacrament Program was Sunday and both boys did really well. They both knew their parts but when standing in front of the congregation decided they needed a little help from the prompter. They said their parts nice and clear and loud. It was fun to watch them with their big grins. They also sang the songs with their hearts. Tyson knew most of the words to all the songs and did a really good job singing. Trevor was a little distracting watching the audience. When he wasn't distracted, he sang really well, also. I'm so glad to be their mommy!

The PTA Fall Family Fun Night was a success. Jason was a great help keeping track of the kids while I was busy with the event. Hopefully I will have some pics soon to post for everyone to see how cute the boys were playing soccer and making their Klutz Build-a-Book kits.

The camera has been found!

Where? In the van. Tucked deep into a little black hole in the back of the van. I keep the van pretty cleared of unnecessary items but do keep water bottles, first aid kit, chains, emergency kits, etc in the back. The camera slipped in amongst these items causing it to be easily overlooked when unloading the car from the last trip across the mountain. So, here are the pics I promised.

Cute Derek sporting one of Kristi Ann's Carseat Kozies :)

BriAnn, Kenzie, Tanner, Trevor, Tyson, Bryce at the candy display

Marilyn Monroe picture made out of jelly beans.

The Tractor Pull. Trevor advanced to Round 2.

The traveling circus with the bengal tiger. The horse was amazing, too. BriAnn wasn't content to just pet the horse, she wanted to ride it. Didn't happen so no pics.

Jason had the kids all line up to listen to instructions on how to play a game...hide and seek in the straw maze.

Who needs sand when you can use corn? It is easier to clean the kids up after playing in, too. Just don't know what would happen if left in the rain. Would we finally have a crop of corn?

Kenzie with her little dance class. They were so cute!

October-so far

We spent time with my side of the family over Conference weekend. Once I find the camera, I will post some pictures. Trevor was in a tractor pull at the Central Washington State Fair and made it to the second round. We watched Kenzie dance on the stage there, had fun eating cotton candy and greasy Fair food, didn't have so much fun feeling broke after leaving the Fair grounds but felt it was all worth it for a fun day with family.

This week the washing machine died (literally fell apart), the computer crashed so badly I had to call Microsoft, and I came down with a yucky cold (again!). The good news: I'm feeling better. We get a brand new washing machine. (No more front loader for me! I missed the ability to let things soak as soaking in a front loader is different than soaking in a top loader.) My husband is employed to be able to pay for the new washing machine. Our computer is running faster and better than before the crash and we didn't have to pay a penny. The kids are not sick (hopefully they will stay that way). We have one less fish to clean up after (Cheddar died).

Cute sayings:

BriAnn - "Diaper tape" aka duct tape

Tyson - "I'll do it!" If it has to do with BriAnn, he is one happy helper!

Trevor - "The love in our family never runs out!"

Three Amigos

The kids have had so much fun on the trampoline this summer on a daily basis that I just had to add another picture of them playing happily together on it. They don't even sweep the pine needles off before using it, anymore. They also play a game with the balls. Not sure which one of my little leaders developed it but do know that they all had fun giving their input on the rules.

"Bolles Bucks" reborn

When Jason was a child, his mom made up what were called "Bolles Bucks" to encourage the kids to work around the house and for them to learn to save for things they wanted. Why not use real money? We found that the kids just left their money lying around. If we hid it up high, they would ask for it so they could "count" it and then somehow it never got put back in it's proper place. Computer time/game time has become a big issue in our home so Jason suggested we use the Bolles Bucks idea. Here is our current list of prices:

To earn money-

Clean up toys-$5

Clear dishes from the table-$2

Put clothes in the dirty clothes hamper-$2

Get dressed by your self-$2

Homework-$5

Wash window for 20 minutes-$5

Clean up yard toys-$5

Take out trash-$5

Eat dinner-$2

Be good at Church-$10

Say prayers-$2

Brush teeth-$2

Read Scriptures-$5

To spend money-

Computer/Game time (20 minutes)-$10

$50 Bolles Bucks = $1 cash (they are always asking for toys, candy, gum...)

It is so nice. "Mom, can I play on the computer?" "How many Bolles Bucks do you have?" If they don't have it, they don't get to play. They usually get busy trying to earn Bucks so they can play.

This is our starting point and I'm sure it will evolve. I don't want to be paying a 10-yr-old to say their prayers. The goal is to establish a good habit, then add another one later. So far, the boys have been really good about brushing their teeth twice daily, putting their dishes in the sink and getting dressed on their own. When reminded that they earn Bolles Bucks for putting their dirty clothes in the hamper, they quickly respond. I am happy with the progress because before, it was like pulling teeth to get them to take care of their clothes. Do I like that we resorted to paying them for simple things? Not really. However, I do like the results it has generated thus far and I do like that the value of a Bolles Buck does not equate one dollar in the real world.

To blog, or not to blog?

I've been mulling this one over for a week now, wondering if I'm brave enough to document the occurrence and finally decided I needed to because some day I will stop being grossed out and think it is rather funny to remember. So, here goes:

Last Sunday BriAnn was suppose to be taking a nap when I heard an unusual sound in her room. Upon further investigation, I found a happy little girl with no diaper and painted walls. I had heard of this happening and thought smugly to myself that it would never happen to me or my children. Much to my chagrin, my little GIRL was the one who did it! I decided it was a one time offense and not to worry about it after talking to her about how gross it is. Not so. The same thing happened on Monday. Needless to say, she is now amongst the group of children who run around with duct tape on their diaper to keep them from creating master pieces with their own bodily wastes. (Aren't you glad I didn't post pictures!?)

Follow-up on Trevor: He went to school on Friday and called home about 9:30 am with a tummy ache. Jason told him he was fine and to go back to class, which he did. After he got home from school I asked him how his spelling test went. He replied, "It didn't. That's when I went to the office." Any suggestions on how to calm a nervous test-taking tummy?

Eye Doctor Visits

BriAnn had her first eye doc visit last Friday. Her pediatrician felt it was time to get the "freckle/wedge" checked out to make sure it wasn't anything serious. It wasn't. Just a birth mark. She did really well at her exam.

I went to the eye doc yesterday as it has been several years since my last one and my glasses have a chip in them and just needed some TLC. While there, I asked the doc to do a Lasik surgery assessment, as well. No surprise to me I am NOT a good candidate for the surgery. My prescription is too far gone (I'm farsighted with astigmatisms in both eyes) to have a successful surgery. In fact, he has seen patients with similar prescriptions come out of surgery worse than when they went in. So, we talked about contacts. Acuvue has a new one out for astigmatisms that are way better than anything I've tried in the past. I wore them for three hours yesterday and get to wear them for four hours today, gradually working up to a full day. I'm kind of excited. Not that I want to have to wear corrective lenses the rest of my life, but since I'm going to have to, I'm glad contact lenses have improved enough that I can wear them again. The other bad news (besides not being able to have Lasik surgery): my right eye is getting worse. I am well over 30 and have officially recognized my body starting to fall apart! Why can't my body stay the same age I feel my mind is at? Say, 20 would be nice!

"School is Cool" Party

Trevor came home from school yesterday planning a "School is Cool" party complete with a cake and candles, games, banner and something yummy for dinner. Well, life is a bit busy around here so we only accomplished the cake while the kids "practiced playing games" on the trampoline. The cake is actually zucchini bread muffins with candles and sprinkles. The boys didn't care because they love zucchini bread and I didn't care because it got a veggie in them! This may become tradition. We will see what next year brings.

I was very grateful he wanted to have such a party because he was having tummy problems on Friday. He was anxious about how school was going. This week, however, has gone really well. We will see what happens on Friday as that is the day Trevor goes to school, but Jason does not go to work. Trevor somehow thinks Daddy and Tyson play computer or Sega games all day and wants to be home with them.

Side note: I promise that I do clean my kitchen. Jason cleans the kitchen, too. It just seems to always be messy when the perfect photo shoot opportunity arises. :}

Kent & Kids

My brother Kent and his kids spent Friday night and part of Saturday with us while my sister-in-law went to see Wicked. It was a crazy, fun filled few short hours. This is the only picture I got. We went to the park for a picnic lunch and to the Old Cannery Furniture Store and Fudge Factory in Sumner to see the trains. We ended up getting a free ride on in the parking lots on a small John-deer-powered little train. The kids had a blast! Kory was here, too, for his Army Reserves weekend. We can't wait to see everyone again. Hopefully soon...at Conference time?