long post

...about nothing.

There have been some "blogworthy" events since our last post...ie. catching the worst stomach bug I've ever had and having it run its course through the fam {i'm sure you want more details on that;)}. Or my thirtieth birthday {which included Avavtar 3D IMAX.FINALLY, Big Papa's BBQ, and Cafe Rio this week with girlfriends}. And a great playdate to the aquarium to see a sneak preview of the "Barbie A Mermaid Tale". I'd just rather post about random stuff mixed with a lot of side notes.

First our craft of the day. Mclayne saw this on TV and has been wanting to do it for a while. Side Note: Nick Jr. is always advertizing all sort of dumb crafts in between shows. They're like, "Have your parents [if they love you] go to Nick Jr. dot com [right this second no matter what they are doing] and download the [way too complicated] instructions on how to make this [worthless] craft." Don't they realize the kids are watching TV because we don't want to do crafts with them. Well I finally caved and helped Mclayne make these Moose and Zee pals. Side Note: Mclayne added the extra triangle flower and mouth eventhough there's already a beak, made the necklace, and decided Zee needed a tag with an "M" so no one would steal it. And I have to admit, Mclayne LOVES her Zee doll. You win this time Nick Jr.

Side Note: Ryan loaded Windows 7 and now Photoshop doesn't work (along with a lot of other things). And bighugelabs.com is now charging for there services. No thanks. So this was plan C...kind of crappy.

And now video of Cole. A few days ago I caught some of Cole's emerging imagination and vocabulary on video. He's so not a baby anymore. Side note: This video is kind of long. Side Note: Thanks to The Office I was just forced to type out "this video" instead of using "it."
Side note: I should have made sure video would upload before writing intro. I guess it was too long.

This video of cole dancing was also on my camera. His move looks almost normal on top of a stool, but when he does it in the middle of a room it's pretty funny.

L.O.V.E.

Right now I am loving that I am finished speaking in church and teaching the YW lesson-yay. Oh, and my family isn't too bad either.;)


I decided these random pictures I took on our walk to the park the other day would make cute valentine's for the grand + greatgrand parents.{side note - I know Mclayne's hair isn't done. And if you're wondering why her chin looks a little funky it's because I didn't do a very good job photoshopping out a HUGE bandaid.}
Happy Valentine's Day!

and more birthday...

isn't January over yet?!





Cole trying out the whole princess thing.




Mclayne got some GREAT gifts this year. A NASA ant farm, electronic venus fly trap, flannel/crocheted doll blanket and burp cloth, stuffed pig with book, Nemo leapster game, crafts, and clothes. But this was maybe her favorite {way to go dad!}...

Birthday, Birthday, and More Birthday

Cole turned 2 last Thursday. It was VERY uneventful...poor kid. Though I must admit it's more his fault than mine. He just wasn't into it. If we mentioned his bday was coming, he'd say no and swat his hand. Didn't want to be sung to. Barely wanted to open presents (unless we told him what it was before AND it was a car or truck.)He did want to go swimming, but with single digit temperatures I wussed out. We'll make it up to him sometime. Maybe next year. Maybe when he's five.
Side note: Not sure if it's being sick or just two, but cole is no longer our sweet obedient boy. Doesn't like to get dressed, get his picture taken, eat, or anything else we ask him to do. Which leads us to the ONE picture I have to post of him....



Now on to Mclayne. She turns FOUR today! She is very excited to go see Princess and the Frog with 3 friends tonight and see Walk with the Dinosaurs next week. Here are the latest pics of our little four year old...





Going to dance, playing her Leapster, and today with her pre-school birthday treat (brownie lollipops).
Besides cute Princess Mclayne and my messy house, I found some other notable things in the last picture...

Christmas

This year our Christmas included...
Christmas morning a week early in Colorado
Flying to Utah (and a couple more visits from Santa)
Cole decorating the house with goldfish while we packed
Zhu Zhus and Zoobies
Everything car, truck, and train for Cole
Lunch with great friends...and great gifts (thanks again!)
Christmas IMAX movie
Lights at Temple Square
Han Solo/Chewbacca playing in the snow
Ryan and I finally seeing The Blindside
Mclayne wanting to be a donkey in the "Jesus Show"

I'm sure most of our Christmas festivities were captured much better by other cameras, as I once again slacked at picture taking. But, I {and Ryan} was able to snap a few.......


These are the pictures we gave the grand parents and great grand parents for Christmas. They {and I} loved them.















The kids waited a long time to sit on Santa's lap...50 kids to be exact. Cole of coarse asked for a choo-choo and car, and Mclayne asked for EVERYTHING...including what the girl before her wanted. It's been long enough now that I can say it was worth it.:)

People of Walmart . Utah edition

I'm a huge fan of PoWM. So, I thought I'd share some of my home state's finest...

Darling Pinky

Dude, why are you dressed like a 7 year old at gym class? More importantly, where did u find pink frilly lacy socks in your size? Alright, maybe that’s not more important, but i’m still curious.
Utah


Diggin’ For Gold

I’ve got 4 to 1 odds saying she smelled her hand after she pulled it back out.
Utah


Guns Don’t Kill People

Mullet? Check. Stupid drinking t-shirt? Check. Proud of it? Check. Armed? Heck Yeah!
Utah



Not So Tighty Not So Whitey

I guess he thought he could roll his underwear over his pants and use them as a belt…didn’t work.
Utah

Thanksgiving..and a little before

I'm so behind I'm going to lump the last few weeks in with Thanksgiving. First there's this...
This is Laynie's self portrait. Got to love the art at this age.


We were also able to get some sledding in before we left town. It was a hit with the kids{and I quite enjoyed myself also}. Too bad the dads missed out! We definitely tested the limits of the costco sled. I'm sure it is not rated for a grown woman and three kids at the same time, but we did it anyway. The best run had to be when Sarah and I sent all four kids down...alone. Looking back on it now, sending four kids under the age of four down a steep hill with little jump on the end could have ended terribly. But the kids loved it.













And finally Thanksgiving...we headed to St. George and spent the holiday with Grandma + Grandpa Stewart and Uncle Seth + Aunt Susan. My mom set a beautiful table and the meal was delicious. We ended our five day stay with a trip to Zions to hike Angel's Landing. I don't know if it's because a woman fell 1,000 feet to her death the day before or I'm just getting old, but I didn't make it to the top. Maybe next time. I did take some pictures of Ryan and Seth starting the last leg to the summit...the pictures don't do it justice. It was pretty terrifying.


















Mclayne also taught herself a new trick in honor of turkey day...


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Life as a single mom...

Last week Ryan was in Singapore, so we tried keeping ourselves entertained with lots of shopping, eating out, trips to the park, play dates, dance, a trip to the aquarium, and a birthday party.
Hope, Jane + Mclayne having a halloween candy tea party.










Mclayne took her friend Rylan to the aquarium. We got a little lost on the way and ended up touring some of Denver's not.so.nice areas. {For those who are reading this and live in the denver area and are wondering how on earth you get lost going to the aquarium...good question!? especially since i've been there at least three other times...drive much?)



and finally, cole and his new favorite winter garment this year. he even had to wear it to bed over his pajamas one night. with his long flowing hair-do and this sweater, Cole will be staying warm this winter!

More Halloween...

Last week we got A LOT of snow, so eventhough it's more of a Christmas thing, we decided to make a snowman. Mclayne has so much fun doing it, I'm sure we'll be doing it a few more times this year.








{1}Mclayne decided to give Frosty ears this year
{2}And you thought I was kidding about her LOVING to build snowmen.









TriCk Or TrEatInG
The only picture I got of cole looking at the camera...












he was too excited about his new boots, the jack-o-lantern....and showing his new boots to the jack-o-lantern.
*Disclaimer-I did have a shark costume for cole that is a little less "drag.queen.in.training," but he didn't like it...so flounder it is!







Mclayne was just a little excited too

I'm too lazy to post the pictures from after trick-or-treating. But just imagine the pitures from above, still not looking at the camera, but now covered in chocolate and gooey dum dums.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!