Guilty of Blog Neglect

We've had such a fun-filled and busy holiday season, I know you'll all forgive me that it's January 4 and I haven't posted nary a picture OR changed my background to reflect that the holidays are, in fact, OVER!

Ya know that Verizon commercial where the guy turns off his lights and looks about to cry? That's normally 100% me when I'm taking down my Christmas decorations. But not this year. This year we headed up north to spend Christmas with my family, and boy oh boy did we have a WHITE (and coooooold) Christmas! So by the time we got back to the mid 50s and sunshine of Arizona, I was more than ready to get it all cleaned up and on with my new year. Ready and actually doing it, though, are two different things. So today I sit, still in the glow of my festively lit home, and gear up to do it tomorrow. I promise.

Instead, tonight I'll chronicle the last couple of weeks of unabashed holiday fun.

It all started Sunday before Christmas with the Curtis party at Grannie Annie's house. Grannie, as always, regaled the kids with the perfect gifts, all of which were immediately packed into bags for the long trip to Utah the next morning.



We couldn't have picked a worse day to travel. Between a nasty snow storm, four kids under eight and two newly potty-trained twins, it was a doozy. For those familiar with the drive, I'll summarize: It took us 13 hours to get to Nephi, when we decided to pack it in and get a hotel room -- the last one in town. We had reached Kanab in normal time with no complaints. In the two hours it took to get from Kanab to Panguitch (normally less than an hour) we hit a nasty storm and saw a semi and another car slide right into the ditch. At Panguitch miraculously the clouds lifted and the roads were dry enough to cut over to I-15. We thought we were home free. As we continued north it only got worse and I began to get concerned that we'd slip into the ditch and my four barefooted kids would have a rude welcome to a white Christmas! We were traveling between 20 and 30 mph on the freeway and once the sun went down we were done for. Poor Jarad had white knuckles, but was amazingly coolheaded. We decided to exit in Nephi and followed the signs to the Best Western. As we slid past the parking lot entrance we noticed the "No Vacancy" sign on and I was about to cry. But as I looked away, Jarad looked back and saw the "No" flicker off, then on again. The side door to the hotel front office opened and the woman working there was waving us in. They had just realized they had one room left when they saw us trying to pull in. The woman beckoning us in couldn't have looked more like an angel! It was truly an answer to our daylong prayers that we arrived in safety.

After a nutritious vending-machine feast of Pop Tarts, Ritz Bitz, peanut butter cookies and soda we tucked it in (three of us snuggled together in each queen-sized bed) and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's the next day. We didn't move the car for four days after we got there.

We spent the next week visiting, eating, Christmasing and playing with my parents, my sister and her kids and my niece and her little family. Can you believe my mother, who grew up in Salt Lake City just a few blocks from the Temple has NEVER been to see the lights at Temple Square? So we spent our last night there at the Museum of Church History and strolling around the temple grounds enjoying the lights. We even got to hear the pin drop in the Tabernacle. Well, SOME of us got to hear the pin drop. Right as it was about to drop my phone started ringing, and as I tried to silence it Case was yelling "I want to talk! I want to talk!" So anyone sitting near us probably did NOT get to hear anything but the acoustics of my son's voice.

In all, our visit went by way too fast! Even after all the drama of getting there, I can't WAIT to go back!

Emma has said many times that this was the BEST Christmas ever.

The kids and their snow fort.

I got doused with Fisher's snowball after this one was taken...The girls in their matching jammies on Christmas Eve.Case with Grandma and Grandpa reading the story of Christ's birth.

Case and Trent ham it up.Santa brought Emma a karaoke machine. Clearly it was a hit with ALL the kids (I didn't get any pics of the adults, but rest assured, the BIG kids had just as much fun!)

Case and Tess have a Buglefest on Grandma's counter with Ethan.I think they'd do just fine pushing a handcart, don't you?
The crew at Temple Square.

Feeling Blessed

Today was our church Christmas program, which is hands down my favorite Sunday of the year (yes, even more than the Primary Program. Sorry.) It was so awesome. There is nothing like the spirit you feel when listening to songs of worship, and today did not disappoint. We have a ton of talent in our ward all year long, but we are extra blessed to have a family who has their own theatre in Branson, MO come to Gilbert to winter every year. They always arrive right before Christmas, and they are always willing to share their talents with us during the Christmas program. As I listened to the combination of the choir, the solos/duets and other instrumental accompaniment, the narration, the Duttons' awesome performance and our Bishop's testimony at the end, I was so grateful to be there today. I don't often get to pay much attention during church with all the commotion going on with our kids, but today everyone cooperated and I just felt blessed.

Thanks to those who participated in the program today for helping an often-crazed mother feel the sweet whisperings of the spirit.

Quote me on this...

So a couple of weeks ago I got an email from a friend asking if I would talk to a reporter about a story he was working on about telling your kids this Christmas may not be as gluttonous as Christmases past. I had just been talking with Emma that morning about how there are moms and dads out there who aren't able to buy as many (or any) gifts for their kids, so Santa may need to give us less so he can give those kids more gifts this year. We also wanted our kids to learn the joy of giving, so we did a few small secret santa gifts to a family.

So I tell this to the reporter, and he took a few liberties. IE I never said this family was "needy" or "disadvantaged." LOL If you were our secret santa family and you happened to have seen this story, please don't take offense!

Anyway, here is a link to the story. It ran yesterday (Saturday) with a couple of pictures, which don't show up online. If I'm feeling adventuresome later on, maybe I'll scan it and post it, but for now, you can read my eloquence and wisdom here (misquoted though I may be... the good stuff is all me!).

I love your tongue

So every night as I tuck the twins into bed I give them kisses and say "I love you tons!"

Case tells me back "I love your tongue too, Mommy."

A quest for recipes

Jarad and I are jonesing for some desserts we had at recent ward activities, so I have two questions:

1. Does anyone know who made the sinful and delectable chocolate-mint cake that was at Enrichment night on Thursday? I must make it. If you made it, or know who did, please tell me!

2. There were these tiny frosted pumpkin muffin/cakes at the Christmas party on Saturday night. I will go down in history as the BEST WIFE EVER if I can find this recipe and make them for Jarad. He especially loved the frosting.

Thanks in advance if you have any clues for me! I'd be willing to share my fudge recipe :).

It takes a village...

Forget about raising children. It has taken a village to get the stink out of my twins' bedroom, and I am indebted to those who have helped me along the way!

Morning #1: Wednesday
I opened the door to the twins' bedroom in the middle of the night to get Tess back to bed. ooo-whee was there a stANK in that room! I figured Case had pooped and I was NOT waking him up to change that thing. But it didn't smell like poop. That's because it wasn't. They were both dry when they got up (hallelujah potty training is coming along nicely!) I opened up the window in the hopes it would air the room out. I also went on a half-hearted search for the smell-causing culprit under furniture, in toy buckets, etc. Nothing seemed to be causing it so I thought maybe it was just stinky-kid-in-the-morning smell and the room would air out. When it was time for bed the smell seemed to be gone, so I shut the window, tucked in my littles and went happily on my way.

Morning #2: Thursday
In my blissful night of sleep (hint of sarcasm here) I had forgotten the smell. The next morning I opened the door to the twins' room with reckless abandon, only to be socked in the nose with it. Maaa-aaaaaan that was a bad one. And it had morphed a little. It was almost sweet and yeasty. I was convinced Tess had carried a piece of bread or a tortilla in there and tucked it away for a night time snack. It became my mission that day to FIND THAT STANK! I took everything out of the room. I put the mattresses outside to air them out. I washed all linens and stuffed animals, bleaching whatever I could. I was on hands and knees sniffing the floor for any hint of the malodorous spot. Again, I opened the window and aired the room out. After dinner I put the room back together and headed off to Enrichment night, where I got the best advice EVER. Of course, I had been obsessed with stink-abolishing for two days, so I brought it up to the ladies I was having dinner with. One of them (I'm pretty sure it was Betsy) suggested using a blacklight to look at the carpet (hello, CSI watcher anyone?). Genius! If it was in the carpet, it would surely show up! I returned home with a strengthened resolve to git 'r done.

Morning #3: Friday
First thing I phoned my friend Tara who has a steam cleaner. Then I called my friend Cheryl to see if she had a blacklight. Both came through for me. Last night when it got dark I stuck Cheryl's black light bulb into the kids' lamp and scanned the carpet. I started in one corner and diligently went over every INCH of the blasted room. Nothing. I had almost given up hope when I found a glowing green spot about, about 4 inches in diameter. I lowered myself to the floor and stuck my nose in it. EUREKA! Something (if I were a betting woman I'd say milk) had spilled in the corner by their closet. I now had a target. But I had no carpet cleaner. All my cleaner bottles were empty, probably from last summer when I was trying to get the stink out of my van after I left a gallon of milk in there for a week.

Morning #4: Saturday
My first errand today was to buy carpet cleaner. I was not letting anything get in my way. Now I can say the smell is ALMOST gone, but apparently I'm the only one who still smells it. Perhaps it is burned into my olfactory senses, and I will never smell anything quite the same again.

But to the village of ladies who helped with this traumatic time in my home, I say THANK YOU. There is nothing we can't conquer if we do it together!

Black light. GENIUS!!

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!

I suppose I should give a report about how much fun and joy we had on Thanksgiving (we really did!), but the weekend was such a blur and I've been reeling so much in the madness that I'm just now getting things back to normal. Unfortunately I didn't tote my camera around much, or I'd just give you the week in pictures, but my words will have to do.

Tuesday my dryer broke. In the middle of a batch of jeans and towels, with another batch waiting in the washer.

Wednesday morning by 8 a.m. I had paid a guy $50 to tell me I needed to buy a new dryer.

Wednesday afternoon I dropped a cool $100 on doctor visits and medications for my two boys: one had an ear infection, the other strep throat. Nice (he didn't even complain!!).

Thursday was amazingly relaxing. We ate a late dinner with Jarad's family, so we spent most of the day parade watching, pie making and sweet potato cooking. Oh, and removing stiff jeans and towels from every surface imaginable in the house. Thanks Cheryl for allowing me to use your dryer so I didn't have our underwear hanging all over the house as well. Jarad's only brother who lives out of state was here with his family, and we spent all weekend just hanging out at Joe and Wyndi's house, chatting, eating, letting kids play. It was great!

Friday I was forced to go out in the Black Friday mess. To buy a dryer. Woo hoo. I hate crowds. And I really didn't want to spend that money on a DRYER. For the love!!

Saturday the dryer was delivered and Jarad told the kids "Merry Christmas kids. This year you get DRY CLOTHES for Christmas!" Fisher, in his most sarcastic tone: Oh THAT'S great! We spent the day decorating for Christmas (mostly me griping at the kids to leave that stuff in the box until I'm ready to get it out! Don't break that! Nice Christmas spirit, right?).

And on Sunday, we rested. Ahhhh. Monday, though, I did about a million loads of laundry to catch up on what didn't get done last week. I wish I had taken a picture of the MOUNTAIN of clothes that covered my king-sized bed. If I'd been thinking, I would have done a Family Home Evening lesson on work and given the kids the "opportunity" to do a group laundry-folding sesson. Oh well.

So today, I'm back on top. And what do I choose to do with my first free moment? You're looking at it!