Wolverine's Half Time Show...

The UVU Wolverines half time show turned into a family affair.

Jade had fun following around the Wolverine. I don't think he's ever had so many cute little girls following him around.

Just before half time, the cheerleaders asked the audience if they would volunteer for the chicken dance. Ivy got very excited and followed the cheerleaders down to the court. I couldn't get a good picture of her because other kids were always in front of her, but she was pretty darn adorable. When it was over, she was beaming and came running back to us.

Several of the dads set up the mats for the girls' performance. So, I was the only one of our little foursome that didn't participate one way or the other.

Jade and the other girls did a great job. I really think they all did better during half time than they did during the Candy Cane Classic. They all had big smiles and no one was shy. I was so proud of Jade for focusing, smiling and doing her best.

"I'm 3 in January"

This year, Ivy turned 3 on the 3rd. Emily said that that is her "golden birthday." I had never heard of a golden birthday, but I think it's really a fun thing to focus on to make that one time in a lifetime special.

For Ivy's birthday, we had Scott's family and my family over for Sloppy Joe's and cake. We had to do it fairly early in the day because Jade had a gymnastics performance in the evening. The kids always play really well together and it's nice to get to visit with the family.

I couldn't resist putting two pictures up of the Birthday Girl and her gifts. She is such a little princess.

Ivy was so cute opening each and every present. Every gift was followed by a very sweet "thank you" and "can you open it?" She really loved everything she received- the baby dolls, the kitchen set, the dress ups, the puppy dog, the games and the color wonders. Every one of the gifts is played with over and over again.

Have you ever seen a cuter princess? I love the cone princess hat. When I was little, my mom made me a green one and Kat had a yellow one. We were almost as cute as Ivy, but not quite.I purchased the fantastic "Build-A-Bear" cake pan from Williams Sonoma, but I had a little incident when I was making it. See, it's a really really good pan. One of those pans that when it says "no-stick" it means it. I was taking the cake out of the oven and it slipped from my hand. It came crashing down and bounced a few times, nicely chopping the cake into little pieces. But, the pan was such a fantastic pan that there wasn't a single crumb left in the pan.

Although the cake pan was great, my spirit was de-flated and she ended up getting a two layer cake with a hand drawn princess bear on it. She loved it! And that is really all that matters. Both girls helped me sprinkle it with glitter and they loved watching me do it.

She had a difficult time blowing out the candles, but eventually I was able to help her and I'm sure all of her wishes will come true.

Happy Birthday my little three year old!

The boys and Brighton...

On January 2nd, Scott took my nephews and our friend Austin to Brighton. The night before, they gathered all of their gear, some was rented from Park's Sportsman, and prepared for a day on the slopes. Dax and Scott went grocery shopping and the boys agreed to eat whatever Scott and Dax picked out. Then the three of them spent the night at our house. There was a lot of XBox playing before Scott decided 1 AM was a reasonable time to call it a night.

7 AM came quickly and the boys awoke a little dazed and slow. Eventually, they got moving and were out the door- with full bellies and cold weather gear.

Austin has boarded for years, Dax spent three days boarding earlier this season and Mac had a half day lesson last year. So, the foursome headed up the mountain and decided the first run should be a difficult one. Dax and Austin ended up having a great day. Scott did something to his foot and Mac wasn't up for many runs, so the two of them took it a bit easier.

Scott got some fun video of Dax and Austin. I've taken some still from those videos and posted them here.

I hope the boys had fun. Scott always has a good time playing with the boys. Dax has made huge improvements from last year- it's amazing what a little confidence and practice will do for you. I mean, come on, the kid bungee jumped off of one of the highest bridges in the world!

The first picture is of Austin helping Mac with his bindings.

Dax is in the turquoise and Austin's landing was too good to pass up.

Some cute members of my family...

While the boys were snowboarding, my dad and brother came over with the littles. I decided to take a couple pictures- as long as I had a backdrop up. I know, I should have moved everyone about a foot forward and the background would have been less obvious, but oh well. That's how we learn.

First is Asher, then Kieran, then Tom and then my dad. Pretty handsome bunch, if I do say so myself.

Tooth #5- It's a good story to tell...

Jade called me New Year's morning and said, "Mom, my tooth fell out. Harrison kicked me in the face."

Now, I know that it was an accident but it was fun to call Kat to tell her she needs to get her son, the "bully", to behave. Kat and Jon got a kick out there little guy knocking out her 5th tooth.

What happened was innocent as could be. The kids were playing in the play room. It's their favorite place on earth. There is a slide and they will climb up and slide down over and over again. On the morning of new years, Jade was climbing up and Harrison was sliding down- just like always. If someone is coming down and someone is going up, the one going down typically wins. Even if he's little, a light weight and as sweet as they come.

New Year's Day craft number 2

Tom directed the other craft. Each of the kids made glycerin soap. It was a very fun but difficult craft. I think they expected it to be a little easier. The soaps smell fantastic and they made a pretty nice display.

Here is Tom and his group of little crafters.

New Years Day was full of crafts...

The week my brother's family was in town, my mom kept all of the kids busy with lots of fun crafts. My favorite craft was homemade "Ugly Dolls".

When we went to Disneyland one of the things we gave them on the drive was an Ugly Doll. Mom and I thought that they would be very fun to make on our own. I had thought about doing them as Christmas gifts, but time ran out. So, mom got all of the stuffing and felt to create them after the grand kids sleep over.

They started out by making patterns and then each cut out their own ugly dolls. Then they glued and decorated their dolls. Mom and I sewed them together and the kids stuffed them. One of the things that Jade did, that I think is absolutely sweet as could be, was put a heart on the inside of her doll.

Here are the girls with their adorable Ugly Dolls. Jade and Luke are both holding their younger sibling's dolls. Ivy originally didn't want to be part of the picture and Harrison was asleep.

Here they are... I bet you can guess which ones were bought and which ones were made. I have to say that they are all pretty darn fun.

Below are Jade and Ivy's dolls. Ivy's is the pink one with the heart on the outside and Jade's is the black one with the heart on the inside.

This was a great activity and one that I think we should do again.

Hopes for a new year...

My hopes for this year are anything but simple.

I hope to do a better job of balancing work and family. I hope to do more crafts and spend special mommy-daughter time with my girls more often. I hope to be a better wife/mom by doing more to meet Scott's needs and the girls' needs. I hope to live every opportunity to the fullest and not miss a chance to make a memory. I hope to spend more time building our family spiritually.

Last year, I managed to document life with our family. I improved my attitude in areas that benefit me and my family. I let some of my responsibilities at work go to other people so that I could spend evenings with my family instead of my computer. I had a calling in church that I loved and looked forward to every month. Sadly, I was released on Sunday. I learned a great lesson of patience, tolerance and humilty while I nursed my foot for the last 5 1/2 months of the year.

Thank you for joining me this past year. I look forward to sharing with you in this new year.

What would you like to see more of in 2009? Less of? (MY FOOT?- I would like to see nothing of my foot in 2009).

Welcome Welcome 2009!

New Year's Eve is typically spent at my parent's house. During the evening there is game playing, craft making, munchies eating and friends visiting. I truly love New Year's Eve.

What I don't love about New Year's Eve is that for the past 3 years, I have spent it working. My company ends it's year with the calendar. Not fair to the sales force. Last year, I worked right through the magic hour. This year, I was able to finish up around 10. Of course I was tired from working late the previous two nights and early each morning, but I was able to be with the family on New Year's Eve, and that is what's important.

The crafting this year was some of the best. The kids decorated cookies. We all made crepe paper flowers. The kids embellished and pom pom-ed scarfs. It was very fun see how well they all did on their scarfs and how different each one is. I'm addicted to the crepe paper flowers. Sometimes it is a good thing I work, or my addictions would take over my life.

To bring in the new year, Uncle set off fireworks by Jade, Kieran and Fiona's snowman. There was a little tension for a moment- the life of the snowman was threatened. Fortunately, all turned out fine and the fireworks were spectacular. I really liked the addition of the fireworks to our festivities. Even if it was FREEZING cold.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for hosting a fun evening.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Christmas with the Andrus side

Odd but I had such a difficult time capturing Christmas with the Andrus side this year. Odd, because typically my mom, my sister and my brother are all snapping away through the whole event and this year no one had their cameras out.

The only pictures I managed were of the girls in their robes. Adorable and cute.

We had a very nice evening. Tom made a yummy roast that was the size of a small child. Tom definitely got the gift of cooking meat from Dad and Doc. I don't know, maybe it is a skill more than a gift, but either way, he's good at it.

I love Christmas. I love thinking about what would be a perfect gift for each sibling and family. I love agonizing about it year after year. And I love receiving the gifts from them that just as much thought went into. This year, Kat made me a fantastic apron. She picked really fun fabrics and I feel very spiffy in it. Hmm, that's a picture I should have (besides the one of me on the bike). Kat and Jon gave the men a new Joseph Smith book. I think I'll be borrowing it from Scott. Tom and Anne gave us a Shabow Shabow bowl set. Shabow Shabow is the Japanese form of fondue. I'm very excited to try it. A friend of mine suggested butter instead of broth, mmmm, the possibilities.

We got Tom and Anne a great big red platter. Anne mentioned to mom that they didn't have any good serving pieces. I hope that piece will add a fun flare to their tables. For Kat and Jon, we did food storage stuff- not fun, but useful.

The kids enjoyed Christmas and were very grateful for all of their wonderful gifts.

Supergirls!!!

This year, Miss Kim made the girls adorable capes for Christmas. The girls love them and have a blast running around being "Super Ivy" and "Super Jade." Thank you Miss Kim for being so thoughtful and taking the time to make capes for the cute girls.

The Andrus Family has arrived!!!

I love when my brother's family comes into town. It's fun to sit on the stairs and listen to Dax play his guitar and McKane is so adorable with the littles. He sat and held Baby Z for hours. Jade and Ivy were so excited to see all of the kids. The night before they arrived, Ivy informed us that she loves Mac but he "fires babies" and she still loves him. (During the summer, Mac likes to buy dolls from the dollar store and put fireworks in them. It was very traumatic for Ivy). She also said that she loves Dax and he doesn't fire babies. It's always interesting to find out how much little kids understand and notice.

Here are some cute pictures of Baby Z and his people.

Kieran is able to entertain the little's in some pretty creative ways. While the adults were busy doing something, Kieran put together a picnic and played the part of a server and chef. It was adorable and very fun to see them playing together.

Merry Christmas and a Spinning New Year!!!

This year, my parents decided that all of us need to get in better shape- so they gave us each a Spinning cycle. I am so excited to start working out on it. Mom and Dad got one for themselves as well. We'll have to see who gets skinniest the fastest. My goal is to shed 10 lbs- hopefully I'll have better luck with my "get fit" program this year than last year.

See my cute apron? Kat made it for me. I absolutely love it.

Here's the bike- fun huh?

The Busy Christmas Season...

Christmas time is such a wonderful time of year. It is so fun to do all of the activities that we try and fit in during such a short period of time.

The season starts with the Johnson family Christmas party. Every year we go up to Uncle Dale's church for a family dinner, carols and Santa. There are always a couple families that don't join us, but for the most part, everyone tries to come as often as possible.

This year, Scott and I were able to host the Sanford family for Christmas eve and Christmas day. Scott and I both had to work during the day on Christmas eve, as did Kristal and Mike, so we kept the menu very simple. We had two kinds of soup, Cream of Potato and Chicken Noodle. (I'm sorry, no recipes to post because I didn't measure anything and just added to taste. Next time I make them, I will do a better job of measuring). Theresa brought really yummy mini BBQ bacon wrapped wienies. I'll have to get the recipe from her, because they were a definite hit. Kristal brought her crab dip- which is always very good and quickly devoured. I believe I do have that recipe already, so I'll see what I can do about posting it with pictures. Grandma and Grandpa brought a smoked salmon and a veggie tray. There was more than enough food and no one spent their whole day in the kitchen.

As I already posted, Scott's family video was a hit. The girls have watched it a number of times since. After we finished watching the video, we all sang carols. Ivy started asking if she could go to bed around 8:00 so we didn't keep the party going much beyond that. Which meant no Nativity re-enactment, no reading of the "Night Before Christmas" and no desserts. (We saved those for Christmas afternoon).

After everyone went home, Santa dropped off the girls PJ's, I read the "Night Before Christmas" to them and they hung their stockings. For some reason, I felt very rushed trying to get the girls to bed, and I don't enjoy feeling rushed. Pretty much, what it meant was that I didn't get a good picture of the kids standing together holding their stockings.

In the morning, we took the traditional on the stair picture, and started with their Santa presents and the stockings. The girls got the Madame Alexander Girlz dolls that they asked for. They also got an outfit to go with it. They loved it and had a great morning. Finally they asked if they could open up the rest of their presents.

They had a great time opening their presents and were very sweet and grateful for everything they opened.

Over Christmas eve, we got about 5 inches of snow. Scott spent a while blowing the snow, and we waited for everyone to arrive. We knew the roads would be rough so we planned on everyone being late. Just before Trevor and Theresa arrived, we got a phone call from Mike and Kristal, they were stuck in their driveway and had been spending the past 45 minutes trying to get out. Scott and Trevor headed over to help them but by the time they got there, Mike and Kristal had arrived at our house.

We had Puffed Pancakes and I had to take a picture of them before everyone arrived, so that they could see how they looked straight out of the oven. Kristal brought really yummy eggs and Theresa brought fruit with a sweet dip. Both recipes I will get from them and post soon.

The cousins all exchanged gifts and spent the next half hour playing with their new toys. Jade got a cupcake maker from Grandma and Grandpa. We heard about it every hour until we let her use it and make cupcakes. Ivy got a play doh ice cream maker and she constantly asks to play with it. Ivy is so easy to buy gifts for- play doh, dress ups, or dolls.

We had a great Christmas day and loved everything we got. I can't wait to play the new game called Righteous that Trevor and Theresa gave us- but I'm afraid of losing. Bob and Janet gave us a beautiful bowl and platter, and a crescent wrench set, among many other things. They way over did. Mike and Kristal gave us my shampoo and conditioner- I love it and I feel very pampered.

The day after Christmas, we headed up to see Grandma E and Grandpa Wayne. It is always so good to see them. They are so strong and such troopers. Grandpa is 95 years old and drives himself everywhere. Grandma E has had a very difficult past couple of years, but she continues to be a fighter. She had bypass surgery and had some infections. For Christmas, they gave our family a train set. The girls and Scott are very excited about it- I like it too.

While they were setting up the train set, Grandma E and Grandpa Wayne shared some cool family history with us. Grandma E's mother wrote the pageant that they do every single year at the Golden Spike Anniversary. That was cool history to learn, but even cooler was that Grandpa Wayne has performed in it every single year since it debuted. This year, we will have to go up and watch him. He gets all decked out in a vintage tux and a top hat. I am going to have to start doing some investigative reporting to find out other neat things about the Sanford/Johnson history.

Thank you, everyone, for a wonderful Christmas Season!