Happy 6th Birthday Lincoln!

I say this all the time, but time goes by so fast!  Everyone says it....but it's true!  I can't believe that I have a SIX YEAR OLD!?!  What in the world?!  I am too little and scrawny to have six year old already!  Sheesh!  Nevertheless, I have one, and we celebrated hard core yesterday!  We were actually able to have his birthday party with his friends on his VERY DAY!  That was SO much fun for him.  Although if anyone can tell me how to make it easier and not feel so bad when everyone in the world does not get invited, please let me know!  There were a few kids in his class that we were not able to invite (I can only make so many gift bags and the line has to be drawn somewhere!) and I believe that they were crushed.  NO matter.  I will just have to get over it I guess.  The kids probably don't even realize that they weren't invited. Whatever.  Get over it Mom! 
      Anyways...we had a wonderful time!  I spent all the live long day making the flippin cakes!  Why do I do this to myself ! I had all of the stuff- I should have made them cakes the night before, but what can you do.  I live and learn (well, actually, I guess I don't learn- because I do this every time!) But the cakes turned out wonderfully, and Lincoln and all of his little buddies were very excited about them as well! 
     For the theme this year, Lincoln decided to go with LEGOS since he is all but obsessed with them!  It was such a fun theme!  Very easy to find generic stuff to go along with it too- I just used the primary colors and green for everything, and it worked out swimmingly!  I was smart and have been preparing for the party for the past few weeks which made things SO much easier for me!  Seriously!  So that wasn't such a stress.  We did some fun stuff.  Lincoln REALLY wanted to build some LEGOs for his party.  I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of having to buy each child coming to the party a set of legos!  They are expensive!  Luckily, we have a LEGO store right by us, and they have the COOLEST thing there!  Their back wall of the store is covered with bins (about 50 actually!) that are filled with all sorts of different kinds of legos that you can build with.  Just the generic stuff- bricks of all sizes; 2x4, 1x8, 2x8, 2x2, 1x4, wheels, axels, windows, windshields, flowers, clear, all colors, etc.- you get the picture.  So Lincoln and I (and Payton came as well!) went into the store, and Lincoln created a car with about 20 pieces, and so we got 11 of the same set of pieces for 11 different cars, and the kids were able to make their own cars and we raced them for the party!  It was so fantastic, because I really didn't have to do much planning for games and stuff!  We spent part of the time at the party building the cars, and then the kids raced them!  We even had prizes for the fastest car (no worries...everyone got one eventually!)  The kids had a BLAST!  At one point, one of the kids said to me "Wow!  I think this is the FUNNEST birthday party I have EVER been to!"  Stuff like that makes it all worth it doesn't it?!  I will say this...this might just have been one of the LOUDEST birthday parties that I have ever been to!  The boys were all screaming the entire time!  What was funny- Morgan was the only girl that was there at the party (our one other girl- Stella- decided that she wasn't able to make it!) and she actually did GREAT!  She was yelling and screaming and being crazy right along with all the boys!  It was so dang cute.  But really- it was loud.  There was one little boy that had to sit out for a bit because he was too overwhelmed with all of the chaos!  I don't blame the poor little dude!  I wanted to curl up in the fetal position for most of the party as well! 
     After the car races, we served them pizza and boy can those kids eat!  They almost polished off 5 large pizzas!  I think that we are in major trouble for when these boys turn into teenagers.  They already are eating me out of house and home!  I don't think I know what i've got comin' for me! 
     After the pizza, we all convened (after some chanting from the boys- "Presents!  Presents!  Presents!") to the couch area where they watched Lincoln open up his gifts!  It was so hilarious.  Lincoln got some REALLY generous and great gifts and the boys gave the GREATEST reactions to all of the gifts that were given!  Link was- of course- in heaven!  He was having so much fun.
    After the presents were all opened and put away so that no little pieces would get lost- we reconvened back at the table where they consumed massive amounts of cake!  Sheesh!  The cakes were so much fun.  The boys thought they were pretty cool.  But the best part of the night was when someone (I think it was actually Lincoln that started it) started smearing frosting all over their faces!  pretty soon, we had colored faces on all of the boys!  Silly boys.  They sure enjoyed the cake though!
    All in all, it was a very successful party!  A successful day.  Lincoln got a new bike that he was pretty excited about- but the LEGOS he got, of course took the cake.  He is a buildin' fool!  I tell you what!  Lincoln is such a great boy. He is SO smart, and is very good at anything that he sets his mind to.  He is very passionate, and loves the spotlight!  He doesn't have any problems with everyone looking at him and watching what he is doing, and I LOVE that about him.   He is still a pretty picky eater but assures us that he is getting better!  ;)  We'll see how that turns out.  He is starting to play lots better with his brother Payton, and absolutely LOVES his sister Morgie!  For the most part, he is a great helper around the house, and he is a joy to have around.  We love you Link, and can't believe that you are 6 years old!  STOP GROWING UP!  Seriously!  We're SO glad that you are part of our family.  We don't know what we would do without you!  Happy Birthday Buddy!

This was his reaction even BEFORE he knew what was in the package!  When he saw that it was 2 keychains...he was even MORE stoked!  LOVE the great reactions!

The coveted LEGOS! 

Yes...a necessity.  He was pretty stoked about them though!

Here's the LEGO Stud cupcakes!  I think they turned out pretty cute!

Dont' know where the big pic of the other LEGO cakes went, but you can kind of see them here.  Best if you don't look to closely though!  Pretty shoddy craftsmanship!  Yummy to eat though!

Cutest face waiting EVER so patiently for her cupcake!

Lincoln and Owen building their race cars!

Henry giving it a go!

Payton's not much into the building, but he had a great time racing! 

Hayden hiding under the stairs until the big reveal of his car!

Again with the waiting!  BLAST that waiting!

The favor bags.  They were arranged cuter- I promise!  This is after the boys all were getting in and out of them all night!  Inside was a lego coloring book that I put together, some crayons, a big punching ball balloon, LEGO block candy that you can actually build with (so coooool!) and the legos that they built during the party.  Pretty fun bags!

Sorry for the blurry picture, but each bag had the childs name in the lego font.  Cute.

Lincoln and Owen East getting ready for their race!

All the boys and our homemade track!  Worked great!

Payton and Tate getting ready to give it a go!

A few of the cars before the races started.  It was fun to see all the different stuff the kids came up with!  Oddly enough, Paytons car ran the straightest out of all during the night!  Whodathunk?!

Payton and Owen Metz gearing up!

Hayden and Lincoln- covering their faces. What is up with that?!

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Pizza Time!

Other side of the table

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lincoln's face in this one (and the next one!)  he is SO genuinely excited and surprised by the gifts he was getting!  The boys were literally on TOP of each other trying to see what Lincoln was getting, and no amount of coaxing from me would get them to sit down and watch!  Forget it!  The closer the better!

Ah!  Finally!  Success!  The cupcake is MINE!!!

He got 2 of these General Greivous masks and was SO excited- so that Payton could have one to play with too! So nice!

Sorry for the picture upload!  Mostly for my parents who live far away. :)  Happy Birthday Lincoln!  We love you and can't believe that you are 6!

SNOWSTORM OF THE CENTURY!!

We have had the HUGEST snowstorm the past couple of days!  HOLY SMOKES!  It has been SO much fun!  I love extreme weather like that.  We have probably had about a total of 2 feet or so!  Cole and I were talking, and we think that it has been the MOST snow that has come all at once since we moved here over 4 years ago!  School was cancelled on Friday, and we had a blast just chillin and doin fun stuff!  Cole and I were even able to go on a date which is ALWAYS a welcome/blessed event!  I LOVE that guy!  Any little bit of time that we can spend together I love love love!  He has been SUPER busy with a work project for the past couple of weeks and is always busy with Bishop stuff, so it is nice when we can just hang out together and decompress and talk the night away!
     ANYWAYS....the snowstorm.  It was so fun for the kids to play in the snow!  Lincoln is a HUGE snow bunny.  The other 2, not so much.  But we made the most of our time in the snow and even took the chitlins sledding!  Payton and Morgan always dig it majorly when we sled plus I brought some Hot Chocolate in a thermos, and they thought they had died and gone to heaven!  Love when I get "Mom of the Year" award for something so small!  Payton and Lincoln went crazy sledding!  Morgs did too, but she is pretty much happy and content to hang out on my lap/hip/general vicinity, so after 3 or 4 sleds, she was done and just wanted to sip her cup of hot cocoa. :)  Silly girl! 
    Needless to say, the snow was fun.  Cole's back is sore from all the shoveling, and my arm is sore (strained a muscle!) from trying to throw snowballs at him while he slaved away!  That's what I get I guess.  So I guess that darn groundhog was right!  We'll see how long it takes for this snow to melt this time.  It's not usually that long here in blessed Denver, but this much might take a few more days!

The MASTER shoveler!  This was before we even got all of our snow!  He even bent/broke our only shovel in the process!  Don't worry...he McGyvered it back to working order.  What a stud!

Sorry this pic is sideways...too lazy to turn it the other way!  This is the silly dog who, when Cole and I arrived home from our date on Friday was sitting on TOP of the garbage can!  Yes, the garbage can you see behind him is OUTSIDE of the fence!  Silly dog.  At least he didn't run away!

DANG IT!  These were the CUTEST pictures, but it ever one (I took about 7!) someone was closing their eyes!  NUTS!

The cutest little pinky you've ever seen!

Best Buddies!

These two little dudes are quite the buddies!  They have a fun time together.  Payton loves to tease her, but is actually quite nice to the little lady!  Morgan has found her voice and will LET YOU KNOW when you are doing something that you dont' want her to! Just ask all the folks in Sacrament Meeting each week!  She's a screamer!  Don't mess!  But she adores her older brothers and is constantly following them around- when she is not attached to my hip!  She loves me. :)

Every time Morgan sits down by Payton, she insists that they get their picture taken! Who am I to decline?!

Another instance of wanting her picture taken...this time, Link was home from school to partake as well!  LOVE my kids!

BOO to the sickies!!!

     We have been a bit sick around here as of late.  Not fun...I can assure you!  I always feel SO bad for my children when they are sick, and this last time was no exception!  Payton and Morgan went in for a well-child check up this last week, and it just so happened that NEITHER of them were quite as well as they should have been apparently!  Payton's Pulse/Oxygen levels were really pretty low and they were really worried about him- we almost had to take him to the hospital!  I begged to have them do everything that they can while we were either at the office or at home, and they were so nice to humor me.  Luckily for us, his levels went back up after some Nebulizer treatments, and he was able to skip out on the hospital this time! 
     Morgs didn't have any problems when we went to the doctor on Thursday, but the day after, she took a turn for the most definite worse!  She was absolutely awful!  I felt so bad for the poor little peanut!  She wasn't eating or drinking anything, and wasn't sleeping very well, and she would NOT let me put her down- heaven forbid!  So it was a bit of a long week.  She started to feel a little bit better by the next Wednesday or Thursday, so we didn't take her back into the doctors, but on Thursday night, we noticed that her ear was draining fluid REALLY bad, so I took her in the next day when Payton was scheduled to get his shots (which was SO sad...Why do shots have to be so sad!) and found that the poor little peanut has a ruptured ear drum. :(  Needless to say, we got her on some antibiotics and some ear drops and she is on the up and ups!  Right now- 8:35 (an hour past her bedtime!) she is sitting in Cole's lap eating a muffin because she was STARVING!  My kids are boycotting dinner at the dinner table.  It is COMPLETELY against the rules to have any dinner after dinner time if they don't eat (I know- mean mom!) but we know that she will just be up all night long crying with hunger pains if we dont' feed the poor thing- so she is quite enjoying this time with her daddy!  Little stinker pot. 

On to the second bowl!

Sleep face much?!

Happy Birthday Morgie Porgie!!!

So....my baby girl is two.  {Sniff}  I really don't know how it happened, but the day came and went, and she is a big girl now!  We weren't going to have a party for her or anything, but the day after her birthday (when her present that I REALLY wanted to give her, hence we waited to open up her presents until the day AFTER, didn't come) I decided to make her a few fun Sesame Street cookie pops and got carried away and made a TON!  SOOOO....we improvised and invited a few friends over!  Nothing fancy- just some cookie pops and ice cream and opened presents!  We had a great time!  But we can't believe that our little sweetheart is 2, and that she is such a great little baby girl!  A bit whiny at times (okay well...most of the time!) but she LOVES to cuddle, and loves to be right by me (or her dad will do- in a pinch) at all times!  She is REALLY into sesame street right now, and loves to read books about it.  She isn't thrilled about watching Sesame Street for too long, but will play with her dolls (Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster) for quite some time!  She hasn't really ever been into dolls or anything like that, but for her birthday we gave her a metal grocery cart (which she (and I) LOVE) and she thoroughly enjoys putting her baby in the front part where the babies are supposed to sit and pushing it all around the house!  It is the cutest thing ever.  She was LOTS more excited about her birthday presents then she was with her Christmas Presents, so we were very excited with that. 
     We love our little sweetheart, and are SO glad that she is part of our family!  Happy Birthday Morgie!  Here's to MANY MANY more!

Here she is on her ACTUAL birthday- which was on Sunday!

These babies were SO fun to make!  Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Zoey.  She loves them ALL!   She made sure to sample each and every one that we would let her try.

Notice all the different cookies in the bowl!  Cutest little babe. :)

CHEESE!  Happy Birthday baby girl!  It sure is hard to EVER turn down those big brown eyes!

blog dump

So- there's like 3 posts on the "older Posts" page if anyone is interested!  Enjoy the monthly purge!

Christmas Vacation

    Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year (which I LOVE by the way!) we decided to get the kids up a little early to see if Santa came so that we could be on time for church!  Cole didn't have any meetings- just had to go to church a tich early for an interview- so we had him all to ourselves that morning!  It was so nice!  We then headed to church- which was a disaster!  The program was LOVELY, but the kids were a disaster!  They were so tired, and just wanted to play with their toys- but what can you do!  It was nice to be able to focus a little bit on the Savior on the celebratory day of his birth!  What a marvelous time!  Anyways...after church, we rushed home and frantically packed and cleaned the house and got out of there and headed to Utah for the week!  We had SUCH a wonderful time spending time with everyone, and it was hard to come back to reality- that is for sure!  The kids were in HEAVEN being able to play with their cousins all the time, and they never wanted to leave!  It's nice that we don't live TOO far away so that we can come and play for little bits at a time like this.  We did some travelling back and forth from Richmond to Bountiful, but it was all worth it to be able to spend so much time with family! 
    On the 26th, we had a party with each family!  We were in Richmond for Cole's family gift exchange in the morning, and we had so much fun!  We were able to have a fun lunch, go on a hayride with everyone, open presents, and just hang out and play/chat!  What could be better!  The kids got the CUTEST hats from Grandma and Grandpa Smith, and were most definitely spoiled by their cousins with their gifts!  Cole and I were spoiled as well- of course!  We LOVE being up there on the farm!  The kids are always in heaven! (Not to mention Gus.  He goes CRAZY when we are up there!) 

Not the best picture of either of these two, but I wanted to show that Morgan was ALWAYS wanting to either be in the sled, on the four wheeler, or in the tractor ! This girl is on the MOVE!

Funny that this picture turned out like this with Payton....TALK about being on the move! 

All the Grandkids in their hats before our annual hayride up through the fields!  SUCH a fun tradition! My kids love it!  Poor sleepy Payton though fell asleep while he was sitting up!  He almost fell off the trailer for heavens sake! 

Morgs and I snugglin a little bit.  She is my snuggler!  For a minute anyway! 

That night we headed down to my Aunt Sibbers for a VERY fun and festive Progressive (where we actually didn't do any progressing, but what can ya do!) Dinner!  Grandfather and Wendy were there, and it was such a treat to be with them, and the Webster and Helsten families!  We had a DIVINE dinner, and a really great time decorating Gingerbread Houses, and had a great program after!

At least a few of the Miles family that was there!  We are missing quite a few to different countries right now!  Sheesh!

Cole and I enjoying the program....looking rather pensive wouldn't you say?!

The rest of the time we were in Utah was just spend hangin with fam!  We didn't do much- just lazily spent our days catching up and hangin out!  It was SO much fun!  We did travel back up to Richmond for a few days, then back to Bountiful for the rest of the time- including the New Years Holiday, and we had a great time!  It's hard to travel- especially around Christmas Time- but it is worth it when we get to spend so much time together with our families!  We love you all- and are so glad that you let us spend our holiday with you!  Merry Christmas- until next year!

Merry Christmas!

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas this year ! Santa most DEFINITELY came, and we are So glad that he did.  He left many wonderful gifts for us all, and we had a magical time!  It was SO much fun to try and focus on the Savior more this year, and the kids really took to it.  Every time that anyone would ask them what they were asking Santa for for Christmas, they were sure to let whoever it was they were talking to know that the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas is for the birth of our Savior!  So cute! 
    We were able to have some of our friends over for Christmas Eve dinner that just had a baby, so it was GREAT fun to have them with us to celebrate with our fondue dinner. The kids LOVE this dinner- mostly the jell-o, but who's counting anyways?!  It's fun to see them excited about traditions that we have started together!  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! 

Christmas Eve Jammies ! This is always the LAST thing I put in the "Box" for the year, and the kids love it!  Not pictured are the cute slippers they got too!  So fun. I used to get jammies and slippers when I was a kid, and LOVE giving them to my kids!  Usually I try to make them- that was NOT happenin this year! 

We also read all of the "Christlike things" we did each day and put into one of our Advent Calendars (thanks Mom and Dad!  We absolutely LOVE it!).  The kids thought this was pretty fun to remember back through the month the things that they did that were Christlike!  I LOVE this new tradition!

Cole then read to us the Christmas Story from Luke 2.  The kids were very enthralled.

Woah!  Out of order!  Sorry...here we are with the Hansens just getting ready to start the Fondue Dinner!

Lincoln's coveted Ninja Lego Sets!  This kid is a maniac when it comes to Legos ! He LOVES them!  He put this entire castle together all on his own!  He might have had a LITTLE bit of help, but he pretty much did it all alone ! What a stud!

Payton got lots of ninja stuff as well- just not legos.  He's not much into building with Legos yet.  He likes to destroy them though!  We is REALLY into figurines, and Santa found him the perfect stuff!  Way to go big guy!

Morgan hit the JP with a SWEET kitchen set from Santa!  She even got loads of food as well!  She loves it, and can often be found in her room talking on the little phone that came with it! So cute!

She's also really into Sesame Street, so she got a few little figurines and stuffed animals. She now sleeps with Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster each night!

WE LOVE CHRISTMAS!  A Merry one to One and All!