Christmas

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Ours was oh sooo fun! The day just goes by way too fast. We went over to my dad's on Christmas Eve and hung out and had a nice dinner that night...that I cooked!! (with a little help from Cort!) Then the kids and Cort and my dad went out and sat in the hot tub. I tell ya there's nothing better than sitting in the hot tub while there's snow on the ground. Taylor and Chase think it's the coolest thing ever! It was all planned that we were going to sit in it on Christmas Eve and Taylor had been talking about it for weeks. Then we came back home to sleep and wait for Santa. The kids had a blast opening their presents and between Santa and their Grandparents they got pretty spoiled. But I hope that they caught the real reason for Christmas. We talked about it and about what gifts we could give to the Savior. Taylor is so sweet she told me that she could get him some frankinsense and gold. But I explained to her that those aren't the kind of gifts he wants, although those are nice too. Then she thought about it and decided that being a good listener to her mom and dad and being nice to her brother would be good gifts and I of course agreed! We sure wish that we lived closer to our family in California and in Arizona, so that we could of been with them as well, but they were in our thoughts. Family is the best! What a wonderful time of year this is, I always hate when it's over because there's something so magical about it. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for his life, sacrifice, and example. One of my New Years Resolution is to strive to be more like him in the every day craziness of life. That will be my gift to him.
Happy New Year Everyone!

a boy and his ball...

Ever since Chase was a baby he has been OBSESSED with balls! Whenever he sees one his face lights up and it's like nothing else matters. So, while we were out in California last month Cort's brother gave Cort one of his homerun baseball's from high school and Chase thought it was the coolest thing ever. Anyways, Chase was giving Cort a hard time the other day about taking a nap. So, Cort had himself an idea and told Chase that he could sleep with the baseball if he stayed in bed and went to sleep. Chase said kay and that was that. He was out like a light! Now he asks for it almost every time he goes to sleep. He absolutely loves the thing. It's quite cute. So, then yesterday when I walked in his room to check on him while he was napping, I couldn't help but smile when this is what I found; Chase fast asleep holding his dad's baseball! I love it! That kid just melts my heart!
PS On my last post I tried (several times...UGH!) to download a video of Tay's dance, the cutest little dance ever! Anyways, for some reason I couldn't get the thing to work, so if anyone has any advice for me on how I could get it to work, I'd appreciate it. It really is a must see!

Dance

Taylor's Christmas dance recitial was on Monday. She is taking two classes this year, a jazz class and a ballet class. She really is enjoying it and having lots of fun! We taped her Jazz dance performance and we can't help but want to show her off! She did such a great job. Good job, Taylor! We love you!

Snowman

The kids got up the other day and where SO excited about all the snow we have gotten! And when I asked them if they wanted to go out and play in it, they could hardly contain themselves. So, we got all bundled up and headed out. Cort was actually home that morning and he decided that he was going to help and show us how it was done! It was a lot of fun and I think that we did a pretty good job.

Preschool Christmas Program

Taylor has the cutest preschool teacher in the world! I believe this is her last year teaching and I don't know how we will ever find someone as good as her! She is amazing and Taylor just loves her! Taylor was so excited for her part in the program this year. She came home a couple of weeks ago from preschool all excited and told me she was going to be the "golden girl" this year in the program. I knew what that meant, but I asked her what she meant and she told me that she was going to be the one who brings the gold to the baby Jesus. I love that she knew that! And I love that they are talking about the Savior and his birth in her little class. It was the sweetest thing ever to see all the kids in their costumes gathered around this little manager acting out the birth of our Savior. And Taylor, of course did a marvelous job. Her class also sung three Christmas songs for us. Taylor had been practicing them around the house over the past month or so. She just LOVES to sing. She always has. I remember when she was only 18 months old and she could sing word for word "I am a Child of God," as well as some others. She just loves it! And we most definitely love her! She is such a doll and did such a great job with her program. It was a lot of fun going and seeing what she has been doing and learning in her class. We are so proud of our Taylor. She is such an important part of our family. Here are some of the pics we took during the program. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

OK, I know that this is a little late. But I haven't had a lot of time to really sit down and post anything.....until now anyway. So, here are a couple of pics from our trip to Grandpa and Grandma's house in California for Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun. All of Cort's family was able to come, so we were altogether, which hasn't happened in quite sometime! These first pics are of the kids on Grandpa's Rhino. Cort took them out for a ride and they loved it. Taylor kept raising her arms like she was on a roller coaster. I'm not sure who liked it more Cort or the kids. It was a lot of fun!

Cort's sister Tori is about seven months pregnant here and does not look it at all. I always get big EVERYWHERE, it's just not fair. Anyways, I took these shots of her while we where out there and I am so happy with the results. I really think they turned out great. I hope she likes them as much as I do. It was a lot of fun taking them.

And here's one of Talan and his cousin Caden. They are only two months apart and sure to be great friends.

Cort's mom found a bunch of Cort's and his sister's old toys for the kids to play with. Remember the fashion plates where you'd trace Barbie in all of her many outfits? Taylor thought that was the coolest thing ever. I should of gotten a pic of that.

Chase watching his beloved "go-go." He is so into Diego these days. It's about the only thing that he will actually sit down and watch. He totally knows the song and does whatever Diego tells him to do. He is definitely hooked!

And last but not least, here's one of me and Cort hanging out in the hotel room. Taylor actually took this one of us. Our family has so much to be grateful for. Mainly, for the Savior, the gospel, and each other. Along with the rest of our family, our health, our friends, and much more. We are so blessed. As my brother would say...."This is the life!" I couldn't ask for anything more than what we have!

3 months old already!

Talan is now 3 months old....Hard to believe, but true. The past couple of nights he has been sleeping like a champ!...6 to 7 hours at a time. It has been heavenly! He also is starting to coo and talk to us a lot more and he is always so happy. He will smile at just about anyone he comes in contact with and it doesn't take much to get him to do it. He's such an amazing little guy. I can't even remember what life felt like before we had him. We love him more and more every day.

Best Friends

These two...they really are the best of friends. Of course, they have their moments...but Taylor absolutely adores Chase, she aways makes sure that he is taken care of. If she gets a treat, she makes sure he has one. If she is doing something fun she wants Chase to do it too. And Chase is absolutely in awe of Taylor. He totally mimics her, and always wants to be doing whatever she is doing or wants to have whatever she has. It is sooooooo fun to see them together. You can just feel the love!

The boys

Last week while Taylor was at preschool, me and the boys had to run some errors. We had to stop at my dad's to drop something off and Chase decided that he wanted to play in the leaves again. So, fortunately I had my camera and we got out and played and I took a couple shots of them together. I just love them to pieces! When I look at pics of them together I can't believe how much Talan looks like Chase did as a baby. And I can't help but imagine them in the future laughing and playing and just being the best of friends! Brothers ROCK!

Trimming the tree

We put our Christmas tree up the other day. We usually wait til after Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't wait!...I figured that we might as well enjoy having it up longer than just in December. And the kids had soo much fun decorating it. Chase picked out one little ornament that he kept moving around the tree. And Taylor was so excited for the whole thing to be done, so that she could put the star on top.
It was a lot of fun.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Amber Moleff.
The rules when you are tagged:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.(So WATCH OUT - You MIGHT be tagged NEXT!!!)

1. OK so here goes...I have been married to my best friend Cort for six years now. And there are still times when he walks in the room and my heart skips a beat, or as my grandma would say I "hear bells!" He is an amazing man and provider, who works so hard to provide for our family. He makes me so happy and there is no one else I would rather spend my time with then him.
2. I am the mom of three amazing kids! Who are a great reminder everyday of how blessed I am. Taylor is 4 and a half. She is our little girly girl, and she is the sweetest little thing ever. I wish I could take credit for that, but she definitely gets that from her dad. She hates contention and avoids it at all costs. Chase is my two year old and he is a ball of energy. He is curious about everything! He loves anything that takes some figuring out. I just know he is going to be our little fix-it man. Talan is almost three months, (I swear that can't be right, but it is!) and he is amazing, so laid back and happy almost all of the time. Like all my kids, he really has a very special little sprirt. We call him our little Bry, (my brother) because like my bro he seems to have that special something that people are just drawn too!
3. I love to organize things. Now that doesn't mean that my house is all that organized, unfortunately. But I do love to it! I seriously get all excited inside when ever I have to opportunity to organize a closet or the storage room. I really need to invest in a label maker, cause I think I could have a lot of fun with that!
4. I love to run! Or just exercise in general. It makes me feel so good and I tend to get a little OCD (obessive compulsive) about it. I rarely miss a day! Even though it does get hard to find the time these days with three kids. As a result, I have started to do a lot of workout videos and what not, and I love it when my kids join in with me. I have one video that is the Core Secrets (infommercials got to love them!) with the ball, and they get their little toy balls and do it along with me! It's always a good time!
5. I love to stay up late! I always have. I really think that it is in my blood. All of my family is that way, except my one little sister. I remember when I was growing up and pulling some all nighters with my brothers. We have some crazy memories! I also enjoy getting up early, which is not a good combination. I really wish that my body didn't require so much sleep. Because every night it seems like I tell myself I'm not going to stay up late or that I'm not going to sleep in. (If getting up at 8am is sleeping in) but it never works. I am definitely a creature of habit!
6. I love to shop! Pretty much for just about anything. Although, shopping for my kids is my all time favorite, especially for their clothes. They have some way cute stuff out there!
OK, that was fun. Now here's the people that I am tagging:

Leslie Walker
Lynette Hafen
Whitney McKell
Audrey Buchanan
Sandy Beck
Jodi Goodman
Lindsay Sawyer

Two month check-up

Talan is now two and a half months old. He went in last Tuesday for his doctor's check up. I was so excited to see how big he'd gotten and to compare his info to Chase's. He was in the 60% for height and weight. He weighed 12.75 lbs and he is 23 and a half inches long! And for head size he was in the 50th. He did pretty good with his shots too....poor little guy. He only cried for a minute and then on the way home he fell fast asleep for a couple of hours. He reminds me a lot of Chase as a baby, he just goes with the flow, very easy going! Ohhh....I just love him!

Fall is the best time of the year...

So, this past week we went over to Grandpa Bryce's and played in the leaves. It is always such a good time! The kids love it! They really get into it. I love watching them play with each other and have a good time, it always makes me smile. The little guy with Chase is his cousin Holden. They are sure to be the best of friends. They are only six months apart. The little girl is Taylor's friend Kaylee. They always play so good with one another. Taylor adores her...as she does all of her friends! Making memories like these is what life is all about.

Blessing

We also blessed Talan today, it was a very special day. Cort did a wonderful job and Taylor actually bore her testimony in sacrament for the first time. She has been asking me to do it for quite sometime and I just kept thinking that she would back out so I kept telling her she could at home during family home evening or something. But for some reason today I agreed when she asked and she did a great job. What a sweet spirit she has. She is always such a delight to be around. Talan was amazing today too. He wasn't fussy at all. And the spirit was so strong! We are so blessed. Our kids are just amazing and we are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends. Life is good!

Happy 2nd Birthday Chasers!

It's official Chase is now two! I can't believe it....where does the time go! He had so much fun opening present, he was so animated. He had the whole room just rolling. Everytime he opened a present he would oooh and ahhh, and state what it was and then move on to the next one. It was a lot of fun. He is a great little guy. We sure do love him!
He sure loved his cake too, it was a BIG hit...but, of course Costco cake always is!
Happy Birthday Chase!

Happy Halloween!

Here's a pic of our Halloween graveyard cake that we made the other day. The kids loved decorating it. But I think if you asked them they would say eating it was the best part! Happy Halloween!

Talan

I was just going through some of the pictures of Talan that we have taken and I came across this one. I think that it is one of my favorites of him. I can't believe how much he has already changed! I think that he is about two and a half weeks old in this one. I look back on that time and I feel like it's such a blur, it went by so fast, as time tends to do these days. Anyways, I had to share it with everyone, he just looks to cute not too. Don't ya think?

Our handsome little man.....

Our little Talan is now officially 8 weeks old! And in a couple of days he will be two months. I can't stand it. Last week he actually rolled over from his stomach to his back. We couldn't believe our eyes. I'm not ready for him to be that big! We all just can't get enough of him, he's such a blessing for our family.

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it over to the Pumpkin Patch the other night. The kids just love that place. For some reason they were really digging the white pumpkins, so we got a couple of those. But, the highlight of the night was for sure the little corn maze they had there. We went through it at least ten times...if not more. By the time we got through it the last time we noticed that we were the only ones left in the patch, so with that we decided it was time to go! Talan was such a trooper, like always...(he's so easy going!) He just slept in the wheel barrel the whole time. Good times.

Halloween

This year I decided to do a theme with the kids Halloween costumes, since this is probably the last year I could pull something like this off, being that they want to be what they want to be for Halloween and not what I want...go figure! Anyways, part of my reasoning for doing this is because I thought it would make a great picture of them all. So, on Friday we ventured over to the photo studio, can you say NIGHTMARE! After over a hour of trying to get Chase to want to do pics, Taylor to stop playing with Talan, and trying to get all over them to look at the camera at once, (let alone smiling), the photographer informed us that her next appointment was there. I was sooo discouraged! Well, we left and I decided that the kids punishment for not cooperating was that we were going to go to Grandpa Bryce's house, and that's right take more pics! I thought that maybe I could get lucky and snap a shot that I just loved. Yes, I was very determined. So, here's some of the pictures that I got of them that day. My kids are the best!