Holiday Prep...

Although these pictures are coming a couple weeks after the fact, we definitely did not slack on our Christmas tree setup this year. Just like always, the first week in November Christmas starts at our house. Because we were both terribly sick, however, it took about two days to just get the boxes out of the garage then another day to open them. So glad we are over that.

When we were first married we bought a six-foot, $20 tree at a Family Dollar store. That was our family tree for five Christmases until last year when we finally got a 'grown-up' tree. So this Christmas, we deeded our six-footer to the kids which will be home to all their ornaments over the years. They banked three ornaments each last year from us and a couple friends so the tree is definitely off to a good start.

You can see how engaged they were in the setup process... Let's hope they become more helpful in the future. :)


Wondering what Zachary is sitting in? We have a two-part papasan chair and the kids play in the top which is why it's not pictured but often times Zachary likes to hang out in the base of the chair. That day he looked like a hamster in a wheel...


For the kids' ornaments this year, we are just going to make them. Clark has some pretty cool homemade ornaments from when he was young so now we're just brainstorming to come up with a good ornament activity we all can do come Christmas Eve.

We let them choose their stockings before we put them up. That probably won't be the best activity in future years because of potential fighting so the stocking they chose is the one they will have forever. Caleb chose the reindeer, Leah the polar bear, and Zachary the Santa. I'm sure there is no significance to their choices but it was interesting nonetheless.


Ok, enough about Christmas and the fact that we've watched six Christmas movies so far and that I've practically memorized Justin Bieber's Christmas album. Enough about that.

We recently visited a local jump house for an activity one afternoon. A friend recommended it from a website and it looked so fun that we went the next day. The main appeal of the place was that it had a toddler ONLY area for kids three and under with toys and bounce houses that were suited to fit them. I've been struggling to find activities outside the home that are good for the kids' age. Since two of them still crawl and they still stick everything in their mouths, I can't seem to find things to do. Even going to the park is stressful because Zachary is running far and fast while the other two are eating the wood chips. So lately it's been either playing in the backyard or running errands. So this was the perfect activity to break up the monotony. It was $3 per baby, which is a steal in my opinion, for two hours of jump time. There was a kitchen, a log cabin, corr poppers, rocking dog, and of course two large bounce houses.


Who wants to play in bounce houses when there is one of these thingamajigs?


Caleb is our smarty pants and typically passes on all the fun stuff to do more challenging activities. I had to force him in the bounce house because he wouldn't tear himself away from this toy and the kitchen.

Zachary was all about the bounce house. He just loved running around and falling without getting hurt. The little entry slides were quite the hit as well...




At one point all three were in there with me and we were having a blast! I couldn't wait to get Clark there because this is right up his alley. We did all end up going a couple weeks later and like I anticipated, Clark loved it and went home to measure our living room to see if we could get one to fit. :) We were exhausted and the kids were totally zoning out on the way home. I think we all slept pretty well that night.

We are currently preparing for a Thanksgiving trip...in the car...26 hours...with three one year olds... This should get interesting. So I'm signing off until we get back in December! I'm sure I'll have lots of crazy stories to share.

Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Sickness Blah...

Well a little sickness bug crept it's way into our home this past weekend. Fortunately for the kids, their symptoms aren't nearly as bad as mine or Clark's. We seem to have been hit the hardest. We were glad it was the weekend so we could tag-team with the kids. One person would play and entertain while the other would sprawl out and be lazy on the couch. Considering the kids have managed to avoid any sickness up until now, we can definitely handle a few head colds as opposed to everyone having the flu or something more serious. Too bad the babies didn't take advantage of an extra hour of sleep to help fight their colds! Clark and I managed to be in bed at 8pm and got a nice ten hours of sleep though.

As a result of all the snotty noses, we decided to cancel the multiples playdate we were hosting (sad) and lay low instead. So this weekend was uneventful, to say the least, but surprisingly enjoyable! I felt like we spent a lot of quality time with the kids making sure we focused on each one individually and doing an activity each enjoyed. Zachary really needs one on one attention and behaves so well when you give it to him. Mostly because the other two aren't crawling all over him.

Here he is with some serious bedhead after a nap. He's wearing Clark's baby pajamas! Fit him perfectly!



Although sick, I was thrilled to finally receive some books in the mail that I'd ordered! My new year's resolution for 2011 was to start, finish, and order a baby book for each baby from their birth to their first birthday. I knew if I didn't do it during their first year, I wouldn't remember things and would eventually be so overwhelmed by the project I'd get discouraged to even start. So after ten months of working diligently and having to totally rework each book at month nine because of a sizing issue, they are finally finished! Hallelujah! With over 215 pictures per book as well as 80 pages per book, they were certainly worth the time and effort and I hope the kids will treasure them once they get older. I won't do individual books for them beyond these (just being realistic with myself) but will continue to do family albums for all of us.




These next pictures are old news from the BYU/TCU football game last weekend but I wanted to share anyway. Our friends invited us to the game with some tickets they'd received from a family member and when we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised when the seats were on the front row! Best seats we've ever had for a football game! Unfortunately we lost but ESPN got a few good live video shots of our section (these pics were taken off of TV screens and texted to us from family and friends during the game). I guess if this is the way I get my 15 minutes of fame, I'll take it. :) This was Clark's fourth quarter angry face...



The next shot was the first quarter when BYU still had a chance so the crowd was full of energy. We're on the left side of the shot...


Lastly, I took this video for the Calhoun cousins to show that the kids are definitely learning their alphabet from the Fridge Phonics birthday gift they were given!



Clark thinks it's a fluke that they say the 'A' sound but I think it's legitimate. Now on to 'B'! We have a long way to go...