Christmas Magic

We just finished writing our letters to Santa. They were fun filled letters full of dolls and dinosaurs. Now what to do with them? Santa 's helper needed to think of something special. . .a magic mailbox was at the top of my list but we don't have one and we all know that regular USPS cannot be trusted. Then I thought of the tooth fairy? Why not! if the tooth fairy can do it why not Santa. My kids have yet to have any experience with the tooth fairy so when that does come around they are going to think that she stole the idea from the big guy. . .besides in my house we always put our teeth in a cup of water on the fridge and that is how she did her magic.

So I told the kids to put their letters under their pillows and that Santa would magic them to the north pole. The Rock wrote a letter too, magic works for adults as well. The kids wanted to go to bed right then, but there was no settling down Nidnid. He had a firm grasp on his letter under his pillow wanting to be sure that he didn't miss anything. I gently reminded him that Santa would only magic them away if they were asleep, and that he better loosen his grip otherwise it might not work. They finally settled down and were out.

3:00 AM

Nid comes bounding into our bedroom and jumps onto the bed.
"MOM, MOM it worked, it's gone!! Santa magicked my letter away!!"

THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS!

In the morning we all went to look at this miracle that had occurred. And in the place of the missing letters hung two candy canes on the bed. WOW!!

"Did it work for you Dad?" "Yep!"

"But not for you Mom. . .you didn't get a candy cane 'cause you didn't write a letter to Santa."

That's okay, this was even better then a candy cane!!

I love Christmas!!

Yahtzee

We all know how Rocky loves to play games. In fact during the last week or so he has played Risk, Axis and Allies and now his current favorite: Yahtzee. Over the years we have battled to get the top score on our little hand held yahtzee game. I have held it for five straight years with a top score of 527 that I earned during an epic round robin tournament between myself, Rocky and our brother-in-law Gary over the pacific ocean on our way to Hawaii. Amazing!! We go through times when we don't play it for months and then someone picks it up and starts a new battle. Right now he is holding it up in my face and saying "HA HA I have got over 250 everytime. . .who is the king, I have gotten 7 straight games over 250 and 4 over 300. . .don't mess with me sweety!" " I am not going to stop playing until I get a game less then 250, that is my rule."
This game is very addicting, as you can tell. It is fun to battle back and forth, it is even more fun when you are on a roll, like he is Right now!!
"Hehe, my seventh yahtzee" again he is waving it in my face. . . WHAT!! "my 9th yahtzee in 15 minutes"
As he is playing he is singing "Funky town doodoodoo Funky Town", to the music of a Funky Town toy that a friend gave our kids. The kids are all wandering around singing it too. I am never going to live this down. The worst part is that I started it yesterday, and I never got over 200!
"Over 300 again!!I just can't help it, I have never seen anything like this...this is unreal!"
"I'm DONE!!"
"Okay, I am just going to get in the shower... I could go all day like this"
I love my husband so much, it is a good thing that I have gotten over my competative nature otherwise when he gets in the shower I might try to top him. . .Besides I still have the top score!!

As I type he is counseling with the kids "you guys let me tell you something . . .your father is a world class yahtzee player."

Easter in Logan

Easter is one of my favorite times. We have been able to spend it at Grandma and Grandpa Bray's for the last few years. This year we did the Easter-egg hunt at Uncle Billy's mom's house. Grandma made a fun Hive and bumble bee cake for dessert, that I got to help decorate. The kids had fun on the "jeeps" and feeding the horses. Nid is taking over where his dad left off, playing checkers with Grandpa.

The Big Day!!

Life has gone by so fast this last month. Rock has done so much and accomplished so much. It has been a long road however one that has lead to a graduation from BYU!! I am so proud of all that he is and who he is becoming and what he has done. The road has not been easy he has had to balance so much. Work, school, family and church. Raising and providing for three children, loving them, spending time with them, teaching them!! He has had a hard road to graduation and a long road still ahead. But we are going to enjoy the next few months until. . .Law school, which will be the next step for our little family. It will be fun to see what the next three years bring us.

Some Fun Picks of the Weekend, Graduation, Bowling, and Swimming

You tell Me?

I had been working out in the kitchen and there was a silence. . .when that happens Mothers ears become even more keen and sensitive to all noises. I went back into the kids room and found this. Nid was up on his bunk watching a movie and Little Miss Muffet was watching as well. . .or so I thought!!!

This is what I saw when I walked into the room (besides the toy bomb that had exploded on their floor)

As I circled around I realized. . .

My Little Muffin was ASLEEP!!
I thought I could sleep anywhere. From the looks of it she was just too tired to get all the way up into her bed. She was overcome mid-crawl. Looking around the room it looks like they had been having a pretty fun time. However, this even looks too uncomfortable for my taste.

A Wonderful Surprise!!

We had been without a microwave for about 2 months. It is amazing how much longer it takes to do everything!! A couple of our friends came over the other night and brought some microwave popcorn!!
It was so nice of them and we were so excited to have it. . . I felt bad saying that our microwave was broken, but maybe we could try to pop it someway else. They laughed!!

A few minutes later I noticed that one of our friends had left and I asked if he was okay and his wife replied he was fine he just had to run out for a minute. A few minutes later he came back with a microwave that worked!! What an amazing gift and gesture. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends!!

Thank You!! Gracias!! Merci!! Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!!
Needless to say we have had plenty of popcorn and a lot of other yummy things lately because of it!! We love our Microwave and hope to have it for many years to come!!

NeverEver Time

It is time I talked about my littlest munchkin. . .He truly is a VERY HAPPY boy and is growing-up faster then the other two I think. Time is speeding up!!

NeverEver Stats:

• Age 8 months


• Height 26 1/2 inch.


• Weight 21 lbs

Toothless, crawling, standing and even walking while he pushes the kids step stool around!! He is always on the go, BUT never to busy to give a little snuggle to MOM!! Lucky Me!

Like I said before he is the happiest baby and always smiling. . .Of course unless he is scowling the "Steele Scowl" (which ALL my kids are famous for). The smile he gives away always makes me feel better. Always trying to please.

Never's Favorites (from what I can tell)

• Food: Paper. . .if you can count that



• 2nd Food: Oatmeal

First Meal

He didn't like the Green Beans!!

• Activity: Crawling around and eating every single little thing he can shovel in his mouth SCARY!! I know, I found carpet in there the other day as I heard him gaging!! Motivation to keep my floors clean.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Playing: Likes to chase balls, balloons, toys around the room as he pushes them and Of Course all the while (when he catches up to it) trying to shovel it into his mouth
• Toy: Right now it is a "Don't Worry Be Happy" Yellow smiley face Balloon Nid got for his Birthday
• Defence: Pinching, he doesn't do it maliciously yet but MAN!! it hurts.
• Person: MOM!! of course only when he wants something. I love it when he follows me around and when he finally catches up I can feel his little hands trying to climb up my legs!!
• Brother: Nid, although he has a hard time when Nid holds him he loves it when he plays with him
• Sister: Muffet, he laughs the hardest when he is playing with Muffet, she loves him so much and she cracks him up


• Dad: Daddy, is everyone's favorite
• Song: "I love you and You Love me. . ."
• Book: Just likes to eat them
• Game: This is the way the Cowboy Rides, Patty-Cake,and Here comes the Bubble Bee
• Movie: Watching his brother and sister

We love our little NeverEver and our grateful he is a part of our family, He helps me want to be a happier, better person because he is so good and (I can't think of a word that means happier then happy) JOYOUS!! (maybe).

The Fishes thoughts on turning 4

(I wrote this year's ago, almost five years to be exact, and never published it.  Nid wants me to so here you go) 

      Fish woke up the morning of his birthday and came and crawled into bed with us. I don't think he even remembered what day it was. I started singing him the Birthday song and his face lit up. YES!! He remembered it was his birthday. "I'm not 3 any more I'm 4." He was right, He wasn't 3 anymore he was a big 4. He layed with me for a couple more minutes and I sang to him and tickled him a few more times until he had had enough of me. I knew what was waiting out in the kitchen and front room for him and I was excited to hear his reaction as he walked down the hall to discover his party decorations and games. He started chanting "I'm 3, I'm 3" I could hear the pounding of his feet as he jumped up and down and then he stopped, paused for a second and startedup again "no. . .I'm 4, I'm 4, I'm 4" I couldn't help but laugh. He then discovered the "Pin the dinosaur" game with the mask and exclamed "Muffin its a mask for me." His little sister was just as excited as he was. . .you see in her mind it was her birthday too and all of this was for her as well. I got out of bed knowing all the preperation I had left to do. As I was doing my thing the kids were almost too overwhelmed with emotion. Nid knew that his friends would be there for him any second. I had prodded them to get dressed and to please clean their room. Rock was trying to help them along with the toys but he had to leave for work and still make it back in time for the party and final preparations. Nid and Muffin were back in their room doing the best they could. Everytime he heard anything "are my friends here for my party" He kept running up and down the hallway trying to clean toys and still look out the window every chance he got. As Rock returned from work the kids ran to hide, Nid's and Muffin's tradition everytime their Dad returns home. Muffin covered her hands over her face and burried her head in my legs, this was her usual form of hiding, you know I can't see you so you can't see me. Nid has refined it a little more, he just hides in the same place everytime and calls out "I'm here." Rock love this game and the kids get so excited to hide everytime they know Dad is coming home. After this normal ritual and the last minute rush to pickup the guests did arrive. Nid was excited to greet his friends and exclaim "It's my birthday, I'm 4" and Muffin would shout out "I'm 2, my birthday's in August". Whenever anyone would ask Nid how old he was before his birthday he would dutifully hold up 3 fingers but then he would say "but on my birthday I will be 4" again holding up the appropriate amount of fingers.

Our Nid is now 4!!

It is true, our Nid turned 4!! I can't believe it. Of course since I have 2 other little ones it would make sense that he IS finally 4. We went out on the 10th to hand out all of his invitations. We planned a dinosaur theme, since he loves dino's AND my wonderful friend gave us dinosaur invitations (love her!!). He was so excited to invite people to his party but a little less excited to give up the dinosaur invitations. . .of course he was thrilled when he realized that I had saved one for him!! He read it over and over again.


The Plan:


Nid's party was going to start at 11:00 am at Our house where we would have Homemade Pizza, Play games, like pin the "Dinosaur" on the picture, hot-potato etc. then we would open presents and head up for cake at Chuck-e-Cheese.


I was going to have EVERYTHING done ahead of time. So I started the night before (I am a notorious procrastinator so this was early for me). I made the cupcakes and left them out to cool, put up the decorations and hung the dinosaur game. I sat down on the couch and decided that cupcakes was not enough, Nid would want to have a Dinosaur cake with gummy worms on it(he had picked these out for his cake specifically). Even though I was putting gummy worms on the cupcakes I got off the couch and got on the Internet to find a EASY dinosaur cake pattern or at least something that I could do without cake decorating tools. I found one on Howdini. It is now 11:00 pm. Rock got home from basketball at 11:30 and I decided I better get started on the second cake. I got them in the oven and out again at about 1:30 am. I am still feeling good at this time. I climb into bed with Rock and say in my mind that I am going to get up at 8:00 and finish everything else. Pizza dough, toppings and baking the pizza's, wrapping presents and cleaning up the house, kitchen, kids room, (luckily I had done the bathroom early, even though I still had clothes out on the dryer not to mention the unfolded clothes that were out on the living room couch),and no one ever sees my bedroom. . .thank heavens.


The Party:



Of course I ended waking up an hour late, giving me only 2 hours to prepare everything that I had planned to do in 3 hours. Oh well! I take Nid's cooled cake out of the fridge and cut the pieces to make it look like a dinosaur, prepare the green butter cream frosting( I almost had to run to the store for some more powdered sugar but I found a miracle bag that had been given to me from another last minute birthday scramble from the same wonderful friend that gave me the invitations. Again, love her!!) While I waited for the crumb layer to finish I started on the pizza dough. 10 minutes for the yeast to set, I hurried and got breakfast for the kids and told them to clean their room and get their clothes on (they are 2 and now 4, I would have told my 7 month old to do it but he just learned to crawl. I got Nid's cake out and started the final frosting, but there were still too many crumbs, put it back in the fridge to chill, finished the pizza dough and set it aside. Started cleaning the kitchen mess, even though I knew that I would be making more of a mess in a couple of minutes. Time is winding down, there are still clothes on the couch and on the dryer. Surprisingly the kids did a great job at cleaning their room, not perfect but I figured it would be a disaster again in about 20 minutes. Rock gets home to try and help. . .he is a great quick cleaner so I was not worried. . .only a little about where things would end up. . .usually on our bed. The last 30 seconds it was a mad rush getting the last little odds and ends picked up and the table cleared off. Of course the pizza wasn't done (however I did get one cheese pizza cooked and ready to eat by the time the guests arrived) And my wonderful friend came in, put her baby in the Mobe and does what she does; EVERYTHING! grate more cheese, cut up the olives and frost the undecorated cup-cakes, etc. She is the greatest.


Of course I wasn't going to have it all done before everyone got there, that is how ALL my parties are but lucky for me I have the best friend in the whole world who always helps me pick up the pieces when they fall and helps finish up all the loose ends that are always undone!! THANK YOU!!




It turned out wonderful, we were extremely late and the party lasted for a VERY long time, but it was worth it. Everyone had fun, even Muffin and our little Chloster got along the majority of the time.




Below are some fun pictures of some party happenings:





Nid closing his eyes (while his friend watches) for the big surprise that Rock was getting out of the car



And there it is, his nice new shiny red Roadster "BIG TRICYCLE"

The great Birthday Smile before the traditional blowing out of the candles and biting of the cake ( I finally finished frosting the cake and decorating it 45 minutes into the party!!)

After the biting of the cake (it was hard to bite this one it was too close to the pan) Look at that great decorating job!!

Nid with Chuck-E-Cheese, who they lovingly call Chuck-E (scary name!!) I can always tell when he has had a great time because his cheeks turn rosy!

All in all the party was a success, everyone had a great time and Nid only took on the "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" mood a couple of times. I truly love my little boy, he is a light in my life and always makes me smile. Rock and I joke that he is like Brutus on the movie "The Ugly Dachshund." He is such a big kid but still loves to curl up on my lap like a baby and and have some Mommy and son bonding time (as my legs slowly go numb). He had a Dr.'s apt the other day and he was 45 lbs (almost 46) and is almost 43 inches tall!! 95 percentile for both height and weight. My BIG boy is growing up as he tells me everyday, I just have to remember that someday he won't want to curl up on my lap and give me hugs and kisses and with say with an impish grin, "I love you Mommy!"

Magic Clothes

My kids got a package from my sister this week that had these adorable outfits in them (along with some other yummy treats)!! She is in Germany with her family and got these for her kids but the sizing was all wrong, lucky us!! Yes I did say Germany, these obviously are not traditional German Dress clothes, they were made in China. Size 10 and 6 are what the tags read, their sizing in China must be a little different then ours since my kids wear size 4 and 3. They call them their "Magic Clothes" and were so excited to wear them to church on Sunday. Rocky was a little leery about sending Nid to church in his outfit but Nid insisted since little Miss Muffet was going to be wearing hers. Bishop said that Nid looked like a samurai ( I think that is what Rock was afraid of, maybe more the acting like a samurai then the actual looking like one.) We received so many compliments for my two cute kids. We love them. Thanks Kris!!

On the way home?

Another acceptance, this one closer to home!! We are so proud of Rock and all his hard work. He was offered a "Merit Scholarship" (AWESOME!!) and of course that will play a role in our decision making process. This is such an exciting and unsure time for our family. We have been so blessed to be 3 for 3, but it does make the decision a little. . .a lot harder. I say "We" because even though it is Rock who will be attending law school he does have to be followed by his loving kids and doting wife. I am excited to know where we will end up. There are so many things to think about. It would be fun to head out east and live in Pennsylvania, the history and adventure that would await us. Then again what can be greater then moving home again. We will continue to keep everyone updated. We have six weeks left to make our final decision and we are still waiting on a few more law schools to get back to us. Fingers and toes crossed!!

Who'sWho

One of these kids is not like the other. . .

Everyone says how much our kids look alike, and it is true. This picture of our little miss Muffet is not the most similar I could find. It is funny how they can all look the same in some pictures. But this is all three of them crawling at around 7-8 months. NeverEver is getting better and better, although like Muffet it is hard to learn to crawl on slippery and hard surface in the winter. It is too cold to keep them in just onesies so needless to say he is slipping and sliding all over the place. I do let him be free at times but then his little knees get sore from the rough rug. So the only thing to do is crawl on your and hands and toes and that is just what he does. Of course that is little Nid the fish in the middle, His hair is more blonde than Never's, I think that is the only way I am going to be able to tell them apart in pictures as they get older and of course Nid didn't have any siblings so that could help give it away (oh and Momalutay's different hair styles:)

Law School Adventure

The last few months Rocky has been working tirelessly at getting his applications done and in for law school. It has been a long hall but his hard work is paying off. He has been accepted into Creighton School of Law (with the leardership scholarship) and Penn State (they have not yet allocated their scholarships). These are the only ones he has heard from, so he is 2 for 2 and is waiting on the others. We are very excited and anxious. The first thing Rocky does when he gets home...(after he has given me a kiss and found the hide-n-seek kiddos of course) is goes and checks the mail. He is sitting a little easier now that we have gotten in somewhere, not that Penn St is just anywhere, it really is a very good law school. We will keep you updated on any new developments and of course where we actually end up for the next few years of our life.