'Tis the Season

There are so many things that I just ADORE about this time of year. All of them have to do with being around FAMILY.

We took our annual trip down to Temple Square to see the lights. I LOVE the lights! They are so pretty, and really put me in the Christmas mood. We took TRAX downtown so the kiddos could ride the train. It was convenient to avoid parking, but sure did take a while to get to and from...

Here is a shot of us.

The little buddies, Derek & Hailey

I LOVE this picture of Hailey & her Papa (Dave's dad). Hailey loves spending time with Mimi and Papa :)

One of my favorite traditions is going to see the Forgotten Carols. I love to hear the carols about the Savior, and especially I love feeling the spirit so strong.

At our trip to the mall to see Santa, Jenna & Derek were most excited with the Carousel :)

We hosted my family's Christmas get together this year. We had our traditional Mexican fiesta, rice pudding (Cami- my niece got the almond), our gift exchange (everyone draws a name prior to Christmas, and that's who they give a gift to, AND -- the family nativity. This year, Hailey was Mary, Derek was a wise man, and Jenna was an Angel (She was very sweet, but had moments that were more representative of hell's angels...:))
I love doing the nativity with all the kids, it's so special for them (and us) to take some time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

THIS, is a captured moment that represents a FAVORITE part of the holiday. I love "catching" my kids doing nice and sweet considerate things for one another without being asked. This morning, I caught Hailey sitting and reading stories to Jenna (Her favorite activity (next to singing)). They sat up there for quite some time, Hailey reading one book after another. It warmed my heart to see the love she has for her little sis.

There are many, many more things I love about this season -- baking, singing (and more singing), visiting with friends old and new, and hearing updates of the lives of people I love.

I hope you all have a very Merry CHRISTmas :)

Awesome Christmas Cards!!

Okay, so I know some of you who already utilize the wonderfully simple way of doing online Christmas cards. In the past I have done all sorts of methods -- made cards, bought cards, had cards printed etc. But this year I am going to use Shutterfly, so I can get all my cards done without having to go ANYWHERE! And better yet -- there is a sweet promo going on right now.

So - if you haven't checked their holiday stuff out -- here are some links to their products:

For Christmas cards:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

Calendars:
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars
*** I LOVE doing calendars for family members who are far away, and I include pictures of my kids, so they can look at them all year! You can also put in pictures of people for their birthdays, this is my favorite thing! The relatives LOVE it!

If you're having a Christmas party or event that you want to send out invites to -- they've got those too:
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations

This promo they are doing, you get 50 free cards. That about covers the majority of my Christmas cards for the season! I hope you all go check out their website, and score the same awesome deal too! I love a free deal... it's the best kind.

Hurry and check it out, because it is only available for another week or so... here's the link for the promotion :) http://bit.ly/sfly2010
Happy holidays!

Hailey is TWELVE!!

It's so hard to believe that Hailey has turned 12! She seems so grown up, overnight!
I love many things about Hailey. She has always been very responsible about things - even from a YOUNG age she would set her own alarm clock so she could get up & ready in the morning. She is the craftiest girl I know! Her mind is constantly conjuring up things she can create or invent. Her room is living proof of her creativity :) I'm pretty sure I've heard that the creative type are not the clean & orderly type :). She LOVES music, and is a very talented singer. She also has an amazing ear for music, and has taken up the Ukulele this year, and continues to play the piano by ear well too. She is such a great big sis, and loves to love on her brother & sister. She is sweet (literally) -- because of all the treats she likes to eat! She is a determined gymnast, and has improved so much -- and has been invited to join the competition team! Yay!
Hailey's dislikes are: chores (especially dishes or vacuuming), bedtimes, dinner w/o dessert, being woken up by siblings on weekends.
Likes: Music, treats, playing games, baking, crafting, creating, computer games, hanging with friends, jumping on tramp, and family.

I love having Hailey as my daughter! She has been so wonderful, and it makes me sad to realize that she is growing up, and will be around less and less.
Here's Hailey's friend party :)

The Birthday girl!

Hailey w/ her 2 BFFs, Ashlynn & Megyn

The group -- candying up :)

They spraypainted their hair & did makeup to look like rockers! Then they had a just dance competition. It was VERY funny to watch.

SO terribly behind!! Derek turns 5!

Well, to keep current with only being a couple months behind, I have to start doing September's post... yes, I'm a slacker.

SO - DEREK TURNED FIVE!!! I can hardly believe my little guy is so big! He is such a joy in my life. Some thing I love about Derek are:
Him cracking jokes, only not knowing for sure if what he says is funny, so he'll say it, then chuckle and ask "is that funny?" hehe
The "I love you infinity" game we play... whoever says it first each day wins.
Singing & dancing in the car
Watching him geek out to any & all of the Lego games on the Wii
Snuggling with him
Him being my baking buddy -- he's always the one wanting to put in the ingredients and and turn on the mixer
Reading books together
Playing games
Holding his little hand (this is one of my favorite things with my kids, and I know it's going to be gone before I know it -- sniff, sniff)
His smile
His face when he gets sad or disappointed, his eyes get big and tear up immediately and he has a big frown, like his heart has broken
Watching him play with his sisters -- especially when he entertains Jenna
His crane kick & round house
How he always wants to have a friend to play with (talk about social butterfly)

I really could go on and on, but these are just some of the things I love about my Derek, aka: little D, smooshie, shmunkins, Derico Consuelos Gonzolez

Now - onto the pictures.... Every year Dave shoves the cakes in the kids faces. This year, he must have gotten the perfect angle, because it went straight up his nose. I must have captured the incident at the perfect timing, but look how sad the poor guy is!

Pre- cake in the face

Derek was EXTRA excited that he got the two-sided General Grievous light saber for his birthday

D's birthday party w/ friends this year was a star wars theme. They did Jedi training -- so of course, they had to practice with their sabers (swords), and what better way to practice than to have a target (Dave) to go after.

They also did balloon tosses to work on their Jedi coordination... this wasn't quite so successful, but very fun to watch. Derek is so lucky to have so many great buddies so close by to play with!

This is where you'll find me...

Yesterday Derek and his buddies were playing, so I turned our front room into their fort. As you can see, it was a pretty good size. Well, I have made a command decision to keep the fort up. The fort will now be known as Her Majesty's Getaway.

So -- If you come looking for me, and can't find me... this is where I'll be (just don't tell my kids) :)

Jenna turns TWO!

First - some of her 2 year old pictures -- Thanks to my sweet friend Brenda for doing such an AMAZING job!!! They turned out absolutely perfect, and totally captured her little personality!

My little Monkey has turned TWO! I can hardly believe that Jenna LaRille is so grown up!
Here's her bday celebration recap....

We celebrated her 'actual' bday just at home -- and she was SO excited to blow out her candle that she singed her bangs over the flame! YIKES!

Breakfast consisted of her favorite -- DONUTS!

She was attacked in the morning with balloons -- The little thing she's holding, Derek had made for her :)

For her birthday with the extended family, I made her cake -- I thought it turned out so cute!!

A couple days before her big day, we went to the children's gardens at Thanksgiving point -- she had a great time playing w/ her siblings.

So I know this post is getting a little lengthy, but I have to mention my notable things about Jenna...
She sings songs constantly, and is totally musical! She has quite the repertoire, and often at night after we've put her to bed, we'll hear her in her bed, singing to herself.
She likes to dance, and has a funny little booty shake.
She is POTTY TRAINED! Yay! She did so good! Occasionally has a few accidents, but overall -- we're thrilled to have her out of diapers
She lives off of fruit, cheese and crackers. She eats next to no meat (minus the occasional chicken nugget)
She loves to be outside, and is often found sprinting down the sidewalk to go to the park and "sween" (aka swing).
Despite our concerns about her lack of verbal communication, she does speak and has a lot to say -- and gets extra ticked off when we can't immediatly interpret her babble.
She can't let family members leave without "kisses and lubs (loves)".

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is -- I'm so glad Jenna is in our family. She is such a doll, and is loved by all of us.

San Diego Catch-up

I only found half of our pictures from our trip in July to San Diego (Yes, I'm slacking on blogging that much)
On our last full day there - we met up w/ our friends at the beach, it was fun :)
Here's Derek & Tavin buried in the sand

Fuzzy Shamu. Sea World was fun, but not my favorite.

On the deck at our rental - Hailey & derek enjoying a little lounge time

Derek & Jenna got their faces painted at Sea World. Derek is JOKER, and Jenna kept touching her forehead saying "pincess" (i.e. - princess). They both LOVED their looks

Ascent to Mount Olympus - 2010

This hike has special meaning to our family because my Grandpa was one of the original mountain men who helped mark this trail back in the old days. If you're ever driving along Wasatch Blvd, right in the parking lot at the base of Mt. Olympus is Pete's rock, which climbers from around the valley use as a practice bouldering rock. It's named after my Grandpa Petersen.

That said - the last time I hiked Mt. Olympus I was 10 - yes TEN years old. We hiked it as a family, and I just remember how HOT it was, so I was anxious to have a do-over and not start in the heat of the day.

SO - on July 5, 2010 4:00am - I met up w/ my brothers Steve & Dave and my niece & nephew (Britt & Ben) to begin our hike. It was still rather dark, though there were lovely stars in the sky and a bit of moon, so we needed our headlamps as we began. We took a few refueling stops but mostly kept on treking until we made it to the top. We made it to the summit at 6:30 am, and it was absolutely beautiful!!

Here's Ben, Britt & I taking a brief break.

Me, Dave, Britt, Ben
Me, Britt & Steve

On the way back down, had to hit up the pic w/ the Mount Olympus sign.

Brittanie & I making our way up the last scramble. The last part is all boulders that you have to manuever your way around to make it up to the top. But the top has the most beautiful views, and the old school mail-box that hikers put little notes in. It's really cool.

Twin Peaks in the background on the Southeast side of the mountain

Ben, Britt, Steve & I enjoying our hike well done.

For any of you hikers out there who have not made this hike - I recommend! Your quads will kill (especially if you opt to run down instead of hike/walk) - but it's absolutely beautiful. About 5 or so miles round trip - it's a beauty! Start early though :)

Phoenix Trip

Blogging catch up...
The end of June, Jenna & I flew down to Phoenix to visit my friend Natalie & her cute family. Originally our plan was to hang out for a few days, then drive back up to Salt Lake with her & her two little ones.

Natalie planned some fun activities for us while we were down there... We hit up Saguaro lake and I had my first venture at wake boarding. It was fun until my foot slipped out & the board hit me in the back of the head -- lol, no major injuries though.

Here's Jenna loving the sunshine!

Here's me & Nat on the boat

All our fun plans changed... Thursday when we were literally loaded in the car & ready to go, we took the kids to get in one more swim so they'd be nice & tuckered out before the drive began... and sneaky Jenna got off of the cool deck area and stepped on a super hot stone. Her little feet blistered up instantly, so we headed to Gilbert hospital. Poor little Jenna was screaming the whole drive, but the hospital staff were SUPER FAST! I was so grateful. They gauzed up her feet and poured lots of sterile water over them, and gave her a shot of morphine. They told me it would take effect right away, but 10 minutes later when they came back in to check on her, she was still crying. I mentioned how I wished the pain meds would kick in faster -- and they said they already had, but that she was probably just in that much pain. :( That broke my heart for her... poor girl!

SO - the Dr's there recommended we go to Maricopa hospital in Phoenix to the burn unit just to be on the safe side. When we got there - they burst her big blisters (more crying), and got her all wrapped up. After picking up her pain Rx, I talked to Dave & could hardly handle the whole ordeal... so, instead of us driving home as was planned, we flew home. I didn't have any idea how Jenna would react to the pain etc, so we opted to fly.

The next day we hit up the burn unit at University hospital, and they were great there as well. I will say, that Jenna is a little trooper, and she did so good! The scrubbing of the feet was- I think - more traumatizing for me than it was for Jenna. I will be scarred a little for life from all this! I am VERY glad that she has been recovering so well. It's been a couple weeks since this happened, and although her little feet are still a little pink & raw, they are by far better!!!

Here's me & Jenna in the first hospital

This was a day later at University hospital. Left foot

Right foot

Saratoga Tri - 2010

A week ago, I was able to participate in the first Saratoga Springs Triathlon -- it was so fun!! We started out the swim in Utah Lake. I tried not to think too much about the fact that I was swimming in that questionnable water, and just kept kicking. I was in the first wave of swimmers, and I was out of the water pretty early on -- maybe in top 7 or so. It was fun to hop on the bike for the hilly ride down Redwood Road. Amber cruised past me a couple miles into the bike -- little speedster. :) The run was pretty brutal for me as my leg kept cramping. So, my run was slower than I would have like. However, I still ended in a reasonable time -- around 1:27. I ended third in my category and won a whopping prize of 15$ :) Can't beat that!
It was a gorgeous day for a great race w/ friends :)

Kudos to the folks who put it on -- it was SO organized (especially for a first time race), and they had TONS of yummy fruit (and Paradise cookies, lol) at the end. I will definitely make this an annual tradition. Here's some photos...

Do we look HARD-CORE or what? (LOL!)

Comin' into the finish! Getting ready to give high-5's to the kiddos

We started our swim just on the other side of the dock. The kids had fun dangling off the dock after the race. Can you believe how calm that water is?! It was great!

More of St. George

On our trip to St. George last weekend, we really had a fun time with the kiddos! We played in the pool (mostly Derek & Hailey did), and we went on some hikes with the Fosters. We got to hang out with our friends, Tearsa & Jose while we were down there.

Here's me & the kids on one of our hikes. -- and, Can I just say that I LOVE the weather in St. George? It's so divine!

Amber & I & Jenna in tote (we are totally matching which is funny because it wasn't even planned) :)
Double Trouble

Derek & Hailey taking pictures underneath the blankets, instead of going to bed.

Hailey wearing my bra - LOL!

SPLITS!

@ Tearsa & Jose's they have a huge sand area, Jenna was in HEAVEN! She played so happily in it, making a mess everywhere! (Doesn't she look like a total rag-a-muffin??!)

Me & Tearsa!

Derek preferred the "hot pool" to the regular pool at our hotel. :) Hailey tried everything to bribe him to get into the big pool to play games with her. He would get out for a minute, but always went back.

Hailey & Jenna... Jenna didn't like the water -- it was too chilly for her.