The joys of being the little sister

Austin grabbed the camera the other night after he saw the "beauty parlor" in the girls bathroom. Kate was excited about the "complete makeover on Jane!" as she called it. Jane was a good sport just to sit there and take it!

A logical question

A casual conversation

Mom: "Kate, where did you put your money you got from the tooth fairy last night?"
Kate: "I put it in my stocking."
Mom: "Why did you put it in there?"
Kate: "I don't know. I just did. I think I'm going to go get it out though because I don't want Santa to think that's his tip!"

What we've been up to

I've been horrible at blogging lately, but it's time I get on the ball and get caught up. Thanksgiving was great this year. We had my sister Allison and her family fly in from Washington to celebrate with us.


We ate our feast at my mom's house with my other sister Natalie and her family. I was in charge of the famous Abney sweet potatoes! We had a nice dinner, followed by a singing performance from the kids and Gramy Ruth, a juggling act from my brother in law, Dave, and an Italian magic trick performed by Austin. It was a great day!




My birthday was on the 9th of December. I had lots of calls, cards, well wishes, etc. and it was a great day! My parents gave me tickets to go see the Broadway show "Little House on the Prairie" at Gammage Auditorium, so Austin and I grabbed some In-and-Out burger and enjoyed a night out with no kids! I've been wanting a GPS forever, so luckily, my birthday is close to black Friday and cyber Monday, and we were able to find one on a great deal for my big birthday gift!
We were sad to hear the news of my Grandpa Christensen's (my mom's dad) passing on the 6th of December. He was 94, and although we were sad to lose him, we were happy to know that he was finally relieved of his earthly pain, and was able to live such a long influential life. My grandma offered to fly all my cousins in for the funeral from out of state, so we were able to have my sister Allison come back again from Washington, and my brother Joey and his family come from Utah for a few days. I got to meet my new neice, Fiona, and Kate couldn't get enough of her! Jane however was not so sure about having a new baby around. :)


(Most all my cousins on my moms side)


(The table showing all the things that represents my Grandpa)

Our next exciting news is that we got a new addition to our home!! My mom so graciously offered to buy Kate her first PIANO!! We found a beautiful antique piano on craigslist, and after hours of shenaggeling, my dad and his painters managed to move the 800 lb., 106 year old piano from a storage unit into my office!! Kate was beyond surprised, and can't get enough of practicing!






Besides that, we are just gearing up for Christmas around here! We had an elf named Edward show up on our doorstep the other night and he is here on special assignment from Santa himself to watch if we are all being naughty or nice. He reports back to Santa nightly, so we are trying really hard to be on our best behavior! More updates to come after the holidays! Merry Christmas to everyone!!

A good laugh

I know, I know...highly inappropriate, but you have to admit, it's pretty funny! :) I found Jane playing on the stairs this morning with one of Austin's hats. He reps a company at work, and yes, their real name is Big Ass Fans. They gave out free hats the other day, and of course Austin jumped at the opportunity to have one. Pretty funny when it ends up on your 17 month old!

Happy Halloween 2009!

We had a great Halloween this year! First of all, I loved that it was on a Saturday, and we could have the WHOLE day together as a family. Awesome. To make it better, I didn't have to work Saturday morning, so we got to sleep in! :) Austin decided he was going to make pancakes for us all, so he cooked some pumpkin spice whole wheat pancakes. He called them "ghoul pancakes" for Kate because he baked sprinkles into the top of hers. Cute.
We spent the day cleaning up the house, and doing odd jobs around the house together as a family. Then we ventured out shopping looking for a new lawnmower, and some furniture and decorating items we want for the house. We came home with nothing. :)
Austin and Kate carved a pumpkin while I cooked green chili enchiladas, and then we headed over to my sister Natalie's house for dinner and trick or treating!









We had a mexican fiesta dinner, followed by pumpkin chocolate chip cookies my mom made (yum!). The kids got on all their gear, and we trick or treated the neighborhood for at least a good hour!







Even Jane's bucket was full to the top with candy! (She sat in the stroller eating a green sucker while I said "trick or treat" for her!). The kids had a blast, and we had fun just being together out in the beautiful weather. Another successful year of Halloween fun!!




(This is at our church trunk or treat party. Jane and Kate did the cake walk. They both won! Don't mind her lion suit riding up.)




(Austin and I dressed up like BYU football fans in honor of the BYU/TCU game that night. I know, I look retarded....no need to comment.)


(Disappointed after a thrashing from TCU. Guess the "beat TCU sign on my forehead didn't work.)

Kate's Fall break!

We got a call Sunday night from my cousin Jennifer, and she invited Kate to go along with them and their little girl Teagan to DISNEYLAND for 4 days over fall break!! Kate could hardly believe her ears! She and Teagan (and their other cousin Mckenzie) are like the three mouseketeers! I dropped Kate off Tuesday night, and Wednesday they left for California. To say that she had the time of her life would be an understatement. She is still wearing her Minnie Mouse ears EVERYWHERE we go. She even tried to wear them to church! She was spoiled rotten from my cousins Jen and Ben, and came home with those mouse ears, a tinkerbell t-shirt, a huge swirly sucker, and even an autograph book with REAL signatures! Kate was most excited about showing me that!!
There are so many cute pictures taken from their trip, but here are some of the cutest! Thanks Jen and Ben for inviting her. It will be a trip she will never forget!!







(They even slept in their new hats!)



I
(I love this picture with her getting his autograph.)


($6.00 suckers, and probably worth every bite! :))

October Boutique!

Just wanted to let you all know of a super fun boutique coming up this Saturday, October 17th! I will be there selling my bows, headbands, flip-flops, bow boards, etc. There will be tons of vendors there including...

Sassy Class Bows (me :))
Scentsy
Greeting cards and invitations
Southern Living at Home
Vinyl Decor
Pampered Chef
Gold Canyon Candles
Aprons and Bibs
Cookie Lee Jewlery
Purses
and lots more!

To get there...

Go to Elliot and Ellsworth, and follow the boutique signs posted! It's from 9 am-2 pm.

Please come! And tell you're friends to come too. There is a raffle, and you get an entry just for coming, PLUS tons of ways to earn other entries! Also, door prizes are being given away, and free food!! Come support us crafty moms! Thanks!!

Yard Work!

Dear grass,
Please grow in soon. My kids are filthy!!!






(How do you like them hippo teeth???!)

Utah Trip!

We went up to Provo, UT this past weekend to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. Most of my siblings all flew in for it, and we got tickets for the BYU vs. CSU football game. We arrived Thursday night and stayed with the Abney's up in Clinton for the night so they could see Jane. (Kate drove with my sister and didn't arrive until Friday). We were able to see Jared and Jamie and their cute kids for lunch on Friday, and then we visited with Grandpa Maughan and Virgie before heading down to Provo.

(Swimming at the hotel)

When we got to Provo, we met at the BYU bowling alley for my nephew Dallin's 8th birthday party. Austin, my sister Allison, and I played, and I got killed! :) Allison choked under the pressure on her last turn and Austin took a "come from behind" victory! After bowling, we walked around the BYU bookstore for a while, and then headed home to drop the kids off with a babysitter. All the adults then went to dinner at the famous Brick Oven Pizza and we had a blast!

Saturday was a blast. We woke up and headed over to watch my nephew Tyson's flag football game. He played great, but unfortunately his team got killed 53-0. Oh well. We then headed back to BYU campus and walked around to see our old campus we all went to. It's such a beautiful place and I love re-visiting the place where I had such great memories. We were hoping to go by the gym and see my old coaches, but we ran out of time. Next time.

(Most of the group walking around campus)


(Dave and Austin)


(Sportin' our football shirts for the game!)


(Alli and I)

After a quick bite to eat at the "Cougar Eat", we walked over to the stadium for the game. It was pretty hot outside, and the sun was bright. The kids were pretty good troopers to be so patient.

It helped that Poppy and Aaron bought 6 huge snow cones for all of us to share!


(Isn't my dad handsome at 60?!)


(Two of my favorite people!)





(Aren't I a great mom to let my kid run around the stadium with no shoes? :))


(Getting a good look at the players)


The game was awesome. The cougs played great and it was so fun to be back in Lavelle Edwards Stadium! They of course won 42-23!

(The BYU marching band after the game marching through the stadium)


(Just in case you can't tell....it's a "Y" :))






(My brother Joey, all the kids, and my mom at the end)

(Joey doing the "The 3rd down conversion dance", and Aaron filming his booty shaking on his camera behind him! :))



After the game, it was back to the hotel for greek food and to bed. Sunday was our long drive home....11 hours! It wasn't too bad though beside the puking incident Kate had in the back seat. :) Other than that, the kids were great, and we were happy to get home.
It was so fun to be all together to celebrate my dad's birthday with him. He's one of my greatest hero's, and I'm so honored to be able to call him "my" dad! I think he was able to have two of his favorite things in the world this weekend....together! His family, and BYU football! :)