Top 12 of '12

Well, I'm finally getting around to posting our "Top 12 of '12" post. Actually, I almost forgot to post my year-end recap, but I'm glad I didn't because it was an awesome year for us! Since this past year was '12 & there are 12 months in a year, I decided to pick the highlight of each month. So, in chronological order, here are our "Top 12 of '12"...

1) RESOLUTION TO TAKE OUR KIDS ON ONE-ON-ONE DATES EACH MONTH

 

This was seriously the best new years resolution of my entire life!  We all had a great time together & really got to see our kids' personalities shine through when they were all by themselves.  Sure, not all the dates went perfectly, but lots of them did.  And, I think these dates have really strengthened our relationships with our kiddos!  We've continued them into 2013 as well--and we've even branched out a bit by going to the Dinosaur Museum this month.  I know--we're super adventurous!  Not sure if I'll post about our dates each month anymore because they probably get boring & monotonous to all of you, but just know that they are continuing & we are loving them!

 

2)  GRAVES DISEASE DIAGNOSIS

 



 

In February, I was diagnosed with Graves Disease.  The name makes it sound a lot worse than it really is.  Basically, my thyroid works way too hard, which in turn makes the rest of my body work way too hard as well.  My doctor told me that my heart was beating as if it was running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  No wonder I'm so skinny!  My doctor wanted to instantly take my thyroid out & then have me take synthetic thyroid hormones for the rest of my life.  Usually, I'm the kind of gal that says, "Okay, you're the doctor, you know best."  But, not this time.  I didn't feel right about having my thyroid taken out.  Everything in my being was telling me it was the wrong way to go.  So, I told my doctor my concerns & he agreed to put me on an anti-thyroid drug that basically blocks my thyroid from producing so much of the hormone it produces.  The problem with this drug is that it weakens your immune system & it's recommended that you take it for no longer than 12-18 months.  He told me that we'd see if my body would correct the Graves Disease on its own during that time (a very slim possibility), but if it didn't, my thyroid would have to come out.  Well, I have good news to report!  I've been on the drug for 11 months now & my thyroid seems to be correcting itself!  At the beginning, I was taking 2 1/2 pills a day...now I'm down to only a 1/2 pill a day and my thyroid is doing great!  In six weeks, my doctor expects me to be off this medication completely!  I can't tell you what a blessing this is!  In cases of Graves Disease, only 5% of cases resolve themselves on their own.  The other 95% are stuck with it for life & have to have their thyroids removed.  I am so lucky & blessed to be in the 5%!!!  Seriously, it's a blessing straight from heaven!  I'm so glad I was prompted to not have my thyroid removed & that this disease seems to be correcting itself!  It's just amazing to me!

 

3) TRIP TO NASHVILLE FOR KIMBER & SCOTT'S WEDDING

Last spring, Mike & I were able to take a trip out to Nashville for his sister's wedding...all by ourselves!!  It was a great four days!  Not only were we able to see Kimber & Scott get married, but we got to do some sightseeing as well.  We went to Andrew Jackson's plantation, experienced the Grand Ol' Opry, visited the Opryland Hotel (Amazing!), and of course eat at all sorts of awesome southern restaurants.  It was so much fun to see all of Mike's siblings & the place they call home (Mike is the only sibling that doesn't live in Nashville).  We had a great time--and a huge thanks goes out to my parents, as well as Kristin & Dan, for watching our crazy kiddos so that we could go!

4)  DOING MY GRANDPARENTS' TEMPLE WORK

In April, we were able to go to the Salt Lake Temple with most of the extended family on my Mom's side to do the temple work for her parents and some other ancestors as well, and then be there as she & her siblings were sealed to their parents.  It was an awesome experience!  It was the first time I had been to the Salt Lake Temple for a session.  And, it was even more special to be there doing my grandparents' work.  I love them to pieces & miss them everyday!  I hope they accept it.

5) VACATION TO DISNEYLAND

At the end of May, on the day the kids got out of school, we headed to Disneyland with my parents for 10 days of fun! It was awesome! The kids were at great ages to go this time around. In fact, it was our first trip to Disneyland where we didn't have an infant that needed bottles & baby food. That made it so much easier!  Two of the days we were there were super busy because they were the only two days of the summer that the cheapest yearly passholders were able to come, but the rest of the days weren't bad at all.  Connor loved it because he was finally tall enough to go on every single ride, including California Screamin' which he's been dying to go on since he was three-years-old!  Not only did we go to Disneyland, but we also drove down to Carlsbad to go to our favorite beach & we spent a day at Fashion Island too.

6) SURPRISING OUR KIDS WITH TICKETS TO BIG TIME RUSH

Connor & Aiden love Big Time Rush. They love to watch their show on TV, and always sing & dance to their music. So, when we found out they were coming to Salt Lake, Mike decided it would be fun to buy tickets & surprise the boys. They had no idea where we were taking them. Even when we pulled into the amphitheatre parking lot, they were still confused. It was so much fun to finally tell them & see their faces light up! We all had a great time!!  But, unfortunately, our kids will forever & always have to say that their first concert was to Big Time Rush--something they probably won't be so proud of in a few years!

7) CONNOR'S TRIP TO SAN FRANCISCO

This past summer, Mike's parents decided to take Connor on a trip *all by himself* to San Francisco.  They were gone for five days & had a great time!  They went to Fisherman's Wharf, Muir Woods (Redwood Forest), drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, went to all sorts of fun & cool museums, and Connor even got to sit in the cockpit of the airplane with Grandpa (major perk to having an airline pilot as your grandpa).  He had a great time & loved having his grandparents all to himself for a few days.  They are already planning his trip for next summer--this time to San Diego.  The other kids will get their own individual vacations as well when they get a little older.

8) MIKE COMPETES IN LOTOJA FOR THE FIRST TIME

My dad has competed in LOTOJA (Bike race from Logan to Jackson Hole--206 miles total) for over a decade!  Every year, Mike has watched him do it & wanted to do it himself.  Well, this year was the year!  Both he & Poppy competed & they did great!!  It was fun to watch Mike accomplish something like this!  He trained a lot over the spring & summer, and it all paid off when he crossed the finish line!  Way to go both Mike & Poppy!!!

9)  WEEKEND MORNING SHOW GOES BACK ON THE AIR

Back in June of 2009, the weekend morning show that I had been a part of for five years was cancelled, and I was moved to the weekend evening shift.  Well, this past September, management decided to bring the show back & they asked me to do weather & co-host it--along with my weekend evening duties.  It has been an adjustment getting used to the long hours each weekend, but I love being a part of the show again.  It is a really fun show & I love my co-anchor, Amy Nay, which makes the 4:00 am wake-up call a little easier.  The show is doing great so far, we already beat our competition in the first ratings book (November) and are planning on doing the same in February.

10) TRIP TO ST. GEORGE

In October, our family & my parents headed down to St. George for a long weekend.  It was our one last hurrah before winter settled in.  We hiked, shopped, swam, ate yummy food & just hung out for four days.  It was a great weekend & a fun getaway!

11) FINISHING OUR BACKYARD

At the beginning of November, we officially finished our backyard--a project we've been working on for the past 2 1/2 years. We love how it turned out, especially the big firepit in the corner that Mike did all by himself.  Now, we just can't wait for the 2 1/2 feet (Yes, I said *feet*) of snow that's back there to melt so that we actually enjoy it!

12) WRESTLING CHAMPS

And, finally, at the beginning of December, our boys proved again what awesome wrestlers they are!  Connor won his final tournament of the season in his weight division (which makes FOUR straight tournament wins for him) and Aiden got 3rd in his division (against some seriously awesome wrestlers).  It was another great wrestling season!  This was Connor's last year to do city league.  Next year, he'll start with a wrestling team & will be practicing over 6 hours during the week with tournaments on the weekends.  Basically, I'll be living in my car driving him back & forth.  Good times!

So that was the highlight from each month of 2012!  I love doing these recap posts because it makes me realize how blessed I really am.  Sometimes, in the day to day grind, you can get discouraged & only see the negative things that happen.  But, posts like this, where you lump all your best moments from the past year together, make you realize how blessed you are to be given the awesome life that you have!  I am so grateful for 2012 & all that it brought with it.  Here's to hoping that 2013 is just as great...or maybe even better!  --Lindsay

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve was pretty low-key for us this year. Ummm...we have four young kids--obviously it was low-key!  My parents were watching Ashlee's kids for several days while she & Greg went to a wedding in Oregon, so we decided we should just all get together & have a big kid party!

We decided to do fondue & it ended up being really fun! Mike & I made three fondues--a chocolate fondue to dip strawberries, pound cake, marshmallows, gummy bears, etc., a swiss cheese fondue to dip crusty bread, and a "hot dog fondue" which was basically a slightly spicy cheese dip for hot dog slices that had a pretzel stick in them. Each of the fondues were really yummy...

After fondue, the little kids played with toys while the adults & older kids played Pit.  Ashlee introduced us to this game on Christmas Eve Day when we were all hanging out, and we've been hooked ever since...

Then we rang in the new year with the East Coast at 10:00.  Yep, we're party animals like that...

Then Nana & Poppy took Gavin, Ty & Ella home.  On his way out the door, Poppy couldn't resist giving a sleeping Cohen a kiss on his head...

Cohen has been in the faze lately where he will wipe kisses off the second he gets them. Since he was sleeping and was totally unaware of the fact he was being kissed, he couldn't wipe it off. We had to take a picture to show him the next morning that Poppy had snuck in a kiss that had actually stuck.  After we showed him, he wiped his entire face to make sure he got that kiss off.  Silly boy!

After everyone left, our little family (minus Cohen who was already asleep) decided to see if we could stay up until midnight.  I thought Connor would make it, but I was pretty sure Aiden & Viv would fall asleep.  Boy was I wrong, when the clock struck midnight, Aiden & Vivvie were both awake (and wired, to say the least), but Connor was zonked out!  We tried to wake him up to tell him it was 2013, but he seemed pretty uninterested & quickly went back to sleep.

So, that was our exciting New Years celebration this year!  Hope yours was great too.  Happy 2013 everyone!  --Lindsay

Jr. Jazz

Well, I'm a failure. I haven't updated the blog in weeks! I just can't seem to keep up with everything lately! Between work, church callings, helping with homework, trying to keep a house clean, attempting to keep up with the copious amounts of laundry this family produces, running kids to their various activities and sleeping a few hours every once in awhile--I just can't keep up!  So, the blog has taken a back seat in recent days.  So, let's rewind back to November & December for a minute & talk about Jr. Jazz.

Our city has so many kids that play Jr. Jazz that they had to split it up into two different sessions this year.  Kindergarten through 2nd Grade played in November & December, and the older grades are playing right now.  Aiden was the only kid that wanted to play this year, and that was just fine by me.

Aiden had a great coach & team this year!  We only knew a couple of kids on the team, but we had a blast anyway.  Here's Aiden's official pictures for the season...

Other than that, I don't have any pictures of him actually playing this year.  Slacker mom, I know!  But, Mike & I were too busy chasing after a very independent diva & her runaway four-year-old brother to ever take pictures.  I kept thinking, "Next game I'll take some."  And, before I knew it, the season was over!  Aiden had a great season though!  He really tried his hardest and usually made at least one basket a game.  But, he was the king of rebounds!  This kid got at least 10 rebounds a game!  And, if another kid & he both got the rebound at the same time, he would fight until he got the ball--probably a little rougher than needed at times, considering this was 1st Grade Basketball.  Can you say "foul?"  His weak point was forgetting to dribble down the court.  He'd take 5 or 6 steps in between dribbles.  Mike & I were constantly yelling, "Dribble Aiden!  Dribble!" all game long.  It became the joke of the season.  All the other parents got a kick out of it!

Despite the lack of action shots, we did manage to get a couple blurry pictures of Aiden receiving his participation award & trophy from his coach at the end of the season...

Our little rebounder (and elbow thrower)...

It was a fun season!  We are currently in the middle of a sports lull right now, which has been nice (and badly needed).  Next sport the boys are playing is spring soccer in a few months.  Ahhh, spring--just the word brings a smile to my chapped face!  I'm so sick of winter already!  --Lindsay

December Dates

Well, for the first time in my life, I have officially kept a New Years Resolution for an entire year...without screwing up!  Yep, sadly, I'm pretty sure it is really the first time.  As I'm sure you all know by now, Mike & I made a New Years Resolution last January to spend more one-on-one time with our kids (mainly the boys since Viv is still so little) by taking them out on "dates" once a month.  And, we actually did it...every single month!  So, since I've done a recap every other month, here's what we did for our December dates...

Connor went out with me this month.  And, like usual, just wanted to go to the fun center to do a little rock climbing.  This kid loves doing this...

After climbing 5 or 6 walls, we did a little glow-in-the-dark miniature golf & took a bunch of random pictures...

It was a fun night.  Connor & I had a great time!

Aiden went out with Mike this month.  They decided to go to Scheels.  Yep, Scheels.  But, it looks like they had a blast.  Aiden took a ride in this jeep thing...

And they came across some smelly skunks...

And took a dive in the lake (coat & all)...

And then finished with a ride on the ferris wheel...

Boy paradise, right there!  Good times were had by all!

Cohen & I went out together this month.  And, yep, we went to the fun center again.  Why do they always want to go with me there?  We went miniature golfing...

And then he played on the playset for awhile...

My super cute date...

Then we finished our date with a few rides on the lovely Frog Hopper...

So, there you go!  Twelve months of one-on-one dates with our boys.  We did it!  And, we're going to continue to do it in 2013 as well.  But, we're going to try to get our boys to expand their horizons a little bit & get away from the fun center from time-to-time.

We have loved this new years resolution.  It's awesome to see how each of their little personalities comes out & shines when they are all by themselves, as opposed to being part of a group of four kids.  I think it has made our relationships with each of our kids grow stronger.  Definitely one of the best resolutions ever...and one that I actually kept.  If you're looking for a good (and fun) resolution for 2013, I highly recommend it!  --Lindsay

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Christmas 2012 will go down as one of the best for our family. Everything about it was perfect! If I could go back & experience it again, I would do it in a heartbeat. The kids were at perfect ages for enjoying everything about the holiday. Here's a brief recap of everything we did:

On the Sunday before Christmas, we did our annual tradition of opening an early present...

The kids always get so excited to open a present early that they almost forget their early present is always church clothes.  I guess a present is still a present, even if it is just church clothes...

Here they all are--ready to go to church in their festive clothes.  Isn't Vivvie's dress so stinkin' cute?  It had a little petticoat under it so when she sat down, it ballooned up around her...

Mike & I finally finished wrapping presents on the morning of Christmas Eve.  Next year, I swear I'll be totally ready for Christmas by December 15th--but I'm pretty sure I said that last year, and the year before.  Maybe one of these years, I'll actually do it.  Anyway, after wrapping the last present, I took a picture of the tree and all the presents in all their glory before they were ripped to smithereens that night & the next morning...

That afternoon, we headed over to my parents' house for the annual Christmas Eve party.  We broke from tradition this year & played Bingo before dinner, instead of after.  We decided we actually liked it this way better.  It helped the evening not feel so rushed.  For those of you that don't know, we play Bingo every Christmas Eve for silly little presents.  This is a tradition that my Grandma started when I was probably around Connor's age, and we've done it every year since.  Here's all the Bingo-playing action...

Sweet little Viv & Ella.  These girls have to stick together in this family full of boys...

By the way, we're adding another little boy to this family too!  I can finally announce that my sister, Kristin, is pregnant!  Baby Landon is due June 1st & we're super excited to welcome him to the family!  You can see her cute little preggo belly in the picture below of the girls next to the food right before dinner started.  I'm not sure why Ashlee isn't in this picture.  She was there, but wasn't in this picture for some reason...

After dinner, it was time for the annual Christmas talent show.  My Grandma also started this tradition.  Aiden & Gavin sung "Frosty the Snowman" and did actions as well...

Cohen sang "Pretty Dolls" (a song from his Preschool Christmas Program) and "Jingle Bells..."

Vivvie (along with Ella, although she's not in this picture) danced to some Christmas songs.  It was so cute & funny to watch them perform & eat up all the attention...

And Connor made up his own song called "The 12 Days of Minecraft."  He used the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas," but made up his own words to go along with his favorite computer game, Minecraft.  It was very creative.  I didn't get any pictures of it because I ran out of space on my memory stick, but Mike recorded it.  Then Ashlee, Kristin & I finished the program with our annual singing of "Jing Jing-a-Ling."  Not sure when this tradition started, but my Mom makes us do it every year.  It's quite lovely--I sing in my "baby voice," Ashlee sings in her "opera voice," and Kristin sings in her "British monotone voice."  As I'm sure you can imagine, it was pure awesomeness!

I don't have any other picture of the night because my stick was full, but we opened presents & then finished off the night with the reading of the Christmas story from Luke 2.  After that, we headed home to go to bed before Santa came.

The next morning, the boys woke up about 7:45.  Viv was still asleep, but the boys were about to explode from all the excitement, so we let them loose to see what Santa had brought them without their sister.  Here's the annual picture of them getting their first glimpse of their Santa presents from the bridge...

Aiden was overjoyed to find out that he had--in fact--made it on to the nice list (just barely) and Santa had brought him his coveted Nintendo 3DS.  He was so overjoyed that he collapsed onto the chair ottoman...

Cohen also made it on the nice list!  Santa brought him the Imaginext Castle he had been hoping for, plus the Ogre, Dragon & Cannonball Launchers that go along with it...

And Connor got the Ninjago Lego set he had been hoping for...

A few minutes later, all the commotion woke Princess Viv up.  She didn't know what to think when she saw that Santa had brought her a dollhouse...

Then it was time to go through the stockings to see what little presents, candy & fruit Santa had left in there.  Aiden was pretty excited about his grapefruit & orange...

But, he was still way more excited about that 3DS.  He wouldn't let it out of his hands...

Vivvie couldn't be bothered with looking in her stocking.  She just wanted to play with her dollhouse...

Until she realized there was candy in the stocking.  Yep, she is totally my daughter...

Next we moved on to opening presents.  Get ready for picture overload...

As you can tell, this was a common pose for Aiden all morning long.  He did this anytime he opened any present that had to do with his 3DS...

Vivvie got the cute Little People Princess set, as well as the castle & a couple carriages.  She loves those things & played with them and her dollhouse the rest of the morning...

Here I am with some of my gifts, and my cute little shadow...

And Mike with one of his gifts...

Oh wait--the box is empty!  That's because Mike had already taken his gift out of the box & had been using it for several days before Christmas.  Little stinker...

The boys got a big joint present like they usually do each year.  This time, it was the new Skylanders Giants game...

Plus, a bunch of figures for it as well.  They were super excited...

Vivvie was just excited about all her new little dolls & princesses...

I told you she played with them for the rest of the morning...

I love this picture!  Such happiness...

After that, we ate breakfast, got dressed & headed back over to Nana & Poppy's house to eat all the yummy leftovers from the night before & hang out for the afternoon.  I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any pictures--but we had a blast.  We had fun playing games, watching movies & just hanging out.  Mike's parents met up with us there as well.  We had a great time all being together.

That evening, we headed back to our house along with Nana & Poppy and Grandma & Grandpa so that they could see everything the kids got earlier that morning.  Grandma & Grandpa also passed out their gifts & the kids had a blast opening even more presents.  As if they needed any more...

Then everyone left & our little family just hung out for the rest of the night.

It really was a perfect Christmas!  I loved every single second of it.  I love this time of year.  I'm so grateful for my cute little family & for how much happiness they bring into my life.  And, I'm especially grateful for that little baby in a manger who lived a perfect life to be an example to all of us & then died so that we could return to live with Him & our Heavenly Father.  Hope all of you had a Merry Christmas as well!  --Lindsay