ChRiStMaS....

Christmas was a lot of fun this year! I love how excited the kids get, and how almost every night starting after Thanksgiving, Kayston asks if Santa is coming that night!
I love being able to use the excuse that "if you're not good, I'm going to call Santa and tell him not to come!" (a little mean, I know, but whatever works, RIGHT?)
I love buying and wrapping presents and watching the kids shake them and try to guess whats inside! I love all the yummy food that's associated with it, I love everything about it!
This year was pretty much the same as every year! Except, on Christmas Eve, we decided to start a tradition to have my family over for a turkey dinner. (my parents used to take us to "The Roof" on Christmas Eve but we started feeling bad about spending that much $ on one dinner.)
Anyway, so my parents came over for dinner and then after, we watched the Nativity! After that was over, the kids got to open a present from Gramma! Probably the same present every other kid gets to open on Christmas Eve...Jammies! Kayston got Bakugan jammies and this year, she added a new pillow and skeleton pillow case for Kayston. Bry got her "pretty" jammies and a new book! (sorry, no pics of dinner) Christmas morning was so much fun! Santa got the kids each a tent and then had put all their other presents inside! The look on their faces was priceless! Brylee LOVED the baby stroller she got and I think if that were the only thing she got, she would have been perfectly happy!
The only thing Kayston really wanted this year was a skeleton head! I know, kind of strange but ever since Halloween, he has been obsessed! So, luckily Santa got the message and was able to find him a pretty cool skeleton head.I have to admit, I was pretty spoiled this year. Preston surprised me with a new pan set, plus new baking utensils, new cookie sheets, he made me a couple of signs and picture frames that I have been wanting and last but not least...a brand new digital camera that I have been wanting for quite a while! Him on the other hand, well he got 2 new books and new G's!
Don't you just hate that feeling where you're opening up your super cool presents and you're thinking to yourself "boy, I sure wish I would have gotten him A LOT more stuff than I did?!?" That's what I was thinking pretty much every present I opened! Sorry babe! After we were all done opening presents we packed up and headed over to my parents for our yearly Christmas breakfast and to open more presents! My dad made the little girls cribs for their babies and they turned out SO cute! The girls LOVED them! Then my mom made bedding to go in them and also matching hats for the babies! SO CUTE! Kayston got a case of Bakugans that he absolutely loves! Not sure if a lot of you know what Bakugans are but they're pretty weird! He doesn't even play the game he just like the little figures! (I guess I didn't get a picture with his Bakugans...Sorry Buddy!)

We had such a great Christmas and we feel so blessed to be able to spend it with the ones we love!
We hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas too and we wish you a Happy New Year!

(P.S. Sorry my posts are so long but I consider this blog to also be a journal/scrapbook, so bare with me!)

Post OVERLOAD!!! ......sorry!

All I can say is.....WOW!

Today I had the AMAZING opportunity to join my hubby along with some of his co-workers to go shopping for Toys for Tots! (Some of you probably remember me writing about this last year so sorry if it sounds like a re-run!)
So, every year around Christmas, the company that Preston works for (Wadsworth Brothers) makes a HUGE donation to Toys for Tots! Last year was Preston's first year going and after I heard about how amazing it was, I couldn't wait to tag along this year!
Our first stop was Walmart! At first, I really didn't know what to expect. I mean, people were telling me to just grab things, but for me, being a person that won't buy something unless it's on sale, it was kind of hard to look past the price and just throw things in. Well, it only took me a few minutes to realize that they meant what they said! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! They had extra workers there just to take our filled up carts to the front and to hand us empty carts! They had like 9 check out lanes that were just for us!
And the stuff we were getting wasn't the cheap stuff either! They were throwing in digital cameras, bikes, Ipods, movies, huge doll houses, clothes, shoes, guitars, just about everything a kid could want. Just at Walmart we filled up a Semi truck and a huge trailer.
Our next stop was Costco! They opened early for us and had everything ready. They even had doughnuts, muffins and drinks waiting for us! =)
They had all the big orange carts lined up ready for us to SHOP! We pretty much cleared out Costco! We were grabbing books by the stacks and clothes by the piles, tons of diapers and wipes, boxes of toys, coats, shoes, movies, basketball hoops, sleds, dolls, EVERYTHING! You know the racks of dresses they have in the middle? Well, that was empty by the time we left! People were just standing around staring and thanking us! It was hard to fight back the tears! It felt so good to be a part of such an amazing thing! Even if it wasn't my $!
After we finished up at Costco, (and over $150,000. later) we drove all the toys up to the U to drop them off at the army base! (I finally broke down and cried pretty much the whole way there) I thought it would take FOREVER to unload but with all the marines and workers it didn't take long at all!
I am so proud that my hubby works for such an amazing company! This really is what Christmas is all about! =)

Walmart shopping
Costco Shopping

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Temple Square....

We decided last minute, to take the kiddos up to Temple Square. We have been wanting to go for a while but it has been SO cold lately. We're glad we waited cause the weather was perfect! We took Trax up and the kids loved it! Well, for about the first 15 minutes then they started to get bored after that! The lights were pretty but it seems to me that there weren't as many this year. Anyone else feel the same?? Anyway, we still had a great time! We went in to see the statue of Jesus! Kayston had never seen it before and I couldn't help but tear up when I was explaining to him about the holes in His hands and feet. I felt the spirit so strongly in there, I could have stayed all night!************************************************************

Sugar Cookies and Friends

We had some of our friends over the other night to make sugar cookies! The kids loved decorating them and seemed as if it were a contest to see who could get the most sprinkles onto one cookie!

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SnOw FuN!!!

We had gotten a lot of snow over the past few days and the kids were DYING to get out and play in it! Kayston, being the trooper that he is, hopped right back on the sled behind the 4-wheeler! Crazy kid! The sound of it made my stomach turn! Bry preferred the front with daddy!

After sledding, they decided to build a snowman! Bry was pretty much done at this point, but Kayston has so much love for this big fella made out of snow! He looks at it everyday and gets sad to see that he is starting to melt! I was the picture taker, warm, inside! =)

A visit from Santa!

Last night we invited some friends over for a movie night since Daddy was out of town. As we were sitting there we heard a noise outside. It sounded like a "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!" The kids ran to the door and sure enough...Santa was standing on our porch! He came in and had the kids sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. My friends daughter ran right over to him and said she wanted "presents" and Kayston said he wanted a "skull head" and "Bakugans"! Bry was a different story, as soon as the door opened and she saw this strange man, she dove into my friend and clung onto to her for dear life! I put her on his lap but she wanted nothing to do with him!
After he was done he gave us all a candy cane and left on his magic sleigh! We are so lucky that Santa Clause made a special trip just to come see us! All night Kayston kept saying that he was his most favorite Santa. (I wonder why?) =) And now, all I have to say to Kayston is.. "you better or else I'm going to call Santa!" It works EVERY time!!!
Thanks Santa!! (AKA Grandpa)


This only lasted for about 10 minutes and then everyone was up running around and dancing! This is the look Kayston gave me after Santa told him that his "elves" have been watching him and that he needs to listen to Mommy and Daddy better! Not quite sure what she was pointing at but she definitely wants PRESENTS for Christmas! Ummm, Yeah! I think Brylee would have given up all her presents just to get away from him! =)
P.S. A word of advice to Santa....WEAR GLOVES!!! Ha Ha! (notice his middle finger, I'm surprised Kayston didn't notice!)

Merry Christmas from our family...to yours!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

P.S. Don't hate us because we're BEAUTIFUL!!!

you can scroll down to the bottom and pause other music!

O' Christmas Tree

So, I'm a little behind on blogging due to my new obsession with the Twilight series so bare with me. =) We put are Christmas tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving this year. We used to do it Thanksgiving weekend but it always seems to go by way too fast. This year was a lot more hectic than usual. Kayston wanted every ornament to be his "treasure" and Brylee just wanted everything! So, I started decorating the top half of the tree while the kids decorated the bottom half. And then I redecorated the bottom half after the kids went to bed. =) Kayston wanted a skeleton tree!
I'm almost regretting our decision to put it up so early. These kids can't leave the thing alone for one second. I've already had a few of my favorite ornaments broken and it seems that everyday more keep disappearing. (which reminds me, I need to go search Kayston's room!)
Besides that, I LOVE having the Christmas tree up! I love this time of year. However, (I might regret saying this later) I do wish it would snow soon. It just doesn't feel the same with all this nice weather we've been having!

This year, we decided we would go to Idaho for Thanksgiving. Even though it wasn't our year to go there. We had a good time visiting Preston's parents and eating a lot of yummy food! This year, I decided I wanted to brave the shopping. I used to work in retail and I swore that I would NEVER be a part of Black Friday!!! Well, I guess all I really needed to change my mind was a good sell! =) So, Thanksgiving night my mother-in-law and I decided we were going to go to Toys R Us at midnight. But first, she wanted me to go with her and my SIL to see New Moon. Well, all of you who know me well know that I had NO interest in all in this vampire crap! I hadn't read any of the books nor had I planned to. So, I was just going to stay behind and meet up her later. The last thing I wanted to spend my money on was a movie I had no interest in seeing. Well, she told me she already had my ticket and to lets go. So, I went! And I loved it! And, I read the first book in just a couple of days (witch explains my blogging absence) and, I am now reading the second book and, I just watched Twilight today. I know, I am just as shocked as any of you! So, thank you to my Mother-in-law for talking me into seeing the movie! I have to admit, I have never enjoyed a book like I have this one. I've never really liked reading at all since I have ADD and it usually takes me 3 times to read one sentence for me to realize what I have read. Not this one! So, if any of you are like I was, take it from me...it's good! =)
Back to Toys R Us. When we got there at 11:45 the line was wrapped clear around the parking lot. But, we decided we would give it a shot! The first 25 minutes or so were fine. We moved quite fast through the line and it wasn't too cold. Well, when we were about 3/4 of the way through, the line seemed to just stop for about 45 minutes! By this time we were FREEZING! So, my MIL brought her car around and we took turns warming up. We were about to leave then we decided to wait just a few more minutes. I'm glad we did cause about 10 minutes after that the line started moving and we were able to get in. We were able to get most of the things we came for. They had one more thing of what I wanted most and it was misplaced so I lucked out there!
After Toys R Us we were going to head over to Walmart but there were cars lined up on the street just waiting to pull in, so we bagged that idea! Overall, it was a fun night! Thanks to my MIL for standing in line with me in the freezing cold for almost 2 hours! And also for introducing me to Edward and Jacob! Ha!
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of our Idaho adventures. I am getting so bad at taking pictures! Ugh!!!
Anyway, sorry, this ended up being way longer than I had intended! We hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! Love you all!

Putting up the Christmas village! (yes, I know it's probably not a good idea to have our son lifted up while on a chair while he has a fractured skull! )
I don't think she can cheese it any bigger if she tried! But, isn't she so cute?!?
Kayston's skeleton tree!He even put the lights through his eyes!

Feeling better...looking worse!

Kayston is pretty much back to his old self again! Fighting with his sister, being sassy to mom and dad, whining a lot, and bouncing off the walls. We're glad to have him back! (I just didn't think it would be so soon!) He is pretty restricted as to what he can do though. No recess, (which is killing him) no contact sports,(which means no wrestling with Daddy) no jumping on trampolines/beds, and pretty much everything a 5 year old boy likes to do. Luckily, he has started to like coloring a lot more than he used to. He likes to mostly draw skeletons and scary things and cut them out.

Even though he is feeling better, to me, his face looks a lot worse! The swelling has gone down but the black eye is now, purple, red, blue, yellow, and green. And bruising has shown up around his other eye and down his whole cheek. Not to mention when he opens his eye all the way it looks all bloody inside. Ewww! I get chills just thinking about it. He has been such a trooper though. Tuesday night, he told us that he was ready to go back to school. I was kind of surprised considering that almost every visitor that he had, he would hide under a blanket so they couldn't see his eye.
So, I decided that I would go with him to school and sit with him for a while to just make sure that he would be ok and to maybe take him home early if it was too hard for him. As we walked into the class he pulled his hat down over his eye so the kids couldn't see. I went over and talked to his teacher explaining his situation and he ran over to his seat and started cutting out that mornings project. I went over to him and asked him if he was ok. He said yes and told me to go home. I told him he couldn't keep the hat on all day cause it would be a distraction to the other kids. He said "OK" and took off his hat. Of course all the kids started coming over to check out his big colorful eye and face. He didn't seem to even notice. I asked him again if he wanted me to stay and he told me again to go. I gave him a kiss and left his class. Before the door even shut I could feel the tears building up in my eyes. I couldn't believe how brave he was! And the thought of all the kids staring at him with that look of "ewwww gross" in their faces broke my heart.
As a parent, you want to protect your child from everything, especially getting hurt, physically and emotionally. I realized that even though I wanted so badly to stay there with him to make sure he would be ok and make sure he didn't get hurt or made fun of...I couldn't. He has to do these things on his own. And he did! And it was fine! And I am fine...now! =)
These kids just amaze me! If it were me that this happened to, I would still be laying in bed thinking I was dying! I just can't believe how fast these little ones bounce back. Just thinking about all the MANY Angels that are watching out for these kiddos makes me emotional.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for your love and support! We couldn't have made it through this without you! This is a picture with ALL the cards the primamry brought over! Kayston LOVED them!

The worst night of our lives....so far!

This past Saturday night turned out to be the worst night of our lives. It snowed that day and Kayston was DYING to go out and play in it. It had been really windy and cold all day and since our kids just got over being sick, we were mean parents and didn't let him go out to play in it. Well, later that night, around 6:15, we were waiting for my parents to come over for a movie. The wind had calmed down and so we told Kayston he could go out and play until Grandma & Grandpa got there. So he and Daddy bundled up and headed out while me and Bry stayed warm inside. Well, they decided to hook up the sled behind the 4-wheeler (as they do every year) and go for a ride. Kayston LOVES this! He is always asking to go faster and higher off the jumps. Yes, he is crazy and he has NO fear!
At first everything was great. They went around the yard and into the field. As Preston was coming around on the grass (slowly), he turned around and gave it a little gas. I was in the family room and heard the 4-wheeler rev up a little and then a HUGE bang! My first thought is that the 4-wheeler ran into the house. That's how loud it was. I ran to the front door to find Kayston laying there on the porch screaming and kicking. I was freaking out! I hadn't realized that the bang I heard was Kayston's head and face slamming into the rock wall on our house. We hurried and took him inside and I was searching frantically for blood. And then I saw his eye! It was blue and HUGE within a matter of seconds. Not only did I go to EMT school but I watch enough of those reality ER shows to know that it was a sign of head trauma.
Again, I was FREAKING out! I knew we had to get him to the hospital FAST! So I ran Bry over to my awesome neighbors house and asked them to watch out for my parents that were on their way over to our house.
You never realize how far you live from a hospital until you have to get to one fast!! I was running red lights (carefully of course) honking and flashing at people like I was in my own ambulance!
Half way to the hospital Kayston was trying to fall asleep. I knew he couldn't so we were doing everything we could to keep him awake. We finally made it to the hospital and I dropped Preston and Kayston off at the ER and I went to park the car. When I got in there, Preston was sitting there with Kayston filling out paper work. I also hadn't seen Kayston's face since we left the house and his eye was triple the size and his whole left side of his face was bruised, scraped and swollen. I flipped out! Why in the He** wasn't anybody looking at my son? Could they not see his enormous eye and face? They finally took him back but still didn't seem to think this was much of an emergency. I kept telling them that he was trying to fall asleep and that he needs to see a doctor NOW!!! Well, after about an hour after the accident happened, they finally ordered a CT scan. So much for the "critical hour" huh?!? The CT scan showed that he had a depressed skull fracture, 2 small fractures above his eye and a concussion. The 2 fractures on his eye were straight brakes so they weren't too worried about them. The fracture on his skull moved about a millimeter. They said that if had moved any farther, it could have caused bleeding to the brain and he would have had to have surgery. He also was complaining of his tummy hurting so they took X-rays of his ribs and did an ultra sound of his tummy to make sure there was no internal bleeding. Turns out his ribs were bruised pretty badly but luckily no breaks.
Kayston's mental state was still not normal so they wanted to monitor him over night to make sure that there was no bruising or swelling on his brain. It was long and scary night but
the next morning Kayston was acting more like Kayston! =) He had another CT scan and it showed no change so we were able to come home.
It turns out that what happened was, when Preston turned around on the 4-wheeler and gave it some gas, the snow was more like ice and Kayston went way faster then he should have. Poor Preston turned around and knew what was going to happen and couldn't do a thing about it. He watched his 5 year old son slam into a rock wall face first. (It was funny/sad...in the hospital Kayston told Preston; " I didn't let go of the sled did I daddy!" and he seemed so proud!)
I can't believe how tough our little guy is! After realizing that what I heard was Kayston's face, I am truly surprised that he is even alive. Somebody was definitely watching over him that night!
I am so grateful for all the people that were praying for us and for Preston and my dad for giving Kayston a blessing. I truly believe that that is the reason he is going to be ok.
Thank you to everyone who visited, said prayers, brought cards, called, and brought meals. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing and caring people. We love you all!! ♥

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to grab my camera before we left for the hospital so most of the pictures are on my phone. I will post them as soon as I figure out how to get them off my phone.

This picture was taken right when we got home from the hospital. I do have to say, that it doesn't do justice for what his face really looks like!

HaLLowEEn 2009....

I think Halloween keeps getting better and better as the kids get older. Kayston is at the stage where he tells me what he wants to be and he gets SO excited about it. He loves everything scary...as you can tell by his costume! Brylee loved being a pretty butterfly too! And her favorite part...carrying around HER pumpkin with all HER candy in it! She thought she was such a big girl!
Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! We sure did!! =)

This is Kayston before school on Friday. They had their Halloween party and parade but they weren't allowed to wear masks....I think he still looks pretty scary though!
Our sweet LiTTle BuTTerfly and our totally CrEEpy SkElEtoN ZomBiE!!!
SCARY!!!
Off they go!
We had great weather and got lots of candy! Oh, and Kayston only tripped twice this year!!

The Haunted Forest....

Last week, Kayston was able to earn 4 smiley faces at school. I'm pretty sure it would have been 5 but there was a sub one of the days and he didn't know about the smiley chart. So, for his "reward", Kayston decided he wanted to go to the Haunted Forest. I had asked some people and I heard that it was pretty scary and that it might not be a good idea to take him. I told him that it was super scary but that seemed to only get him more excited about it. So, last night we took our 5 year old to the Haunted Forest. Well, I ended up just taking him since it was going to cost $40.00 for just Preston and me. And since Preston's not a big fan of haunted houses anyway, he was happy to volunteer me to be the one to take him. Which was fine since I have always liked haunted houses. I was more worried about how Kayston was going to do and just hoping he didn't want me to carry him or something like that.

Well, he ended up LOVING it!! There was only a couple of times when he said he was scared and that's only because it was pitch black. He was so funny, there were some creepy clowns that were taunting us and Kayston was just laughing and telling them that he hated clowns and he wasn't scared of them. Even when they tried to chase us with their chain-saws he just laughed. Then there was this big sasquatch thing that was pretty scary looking and Kayston called him a "big stupid monkey man"! He would ask all the characters "who are you?" I couldn't believe this kid! I know that he doesn't get scared easily and that he LIKES scary stuff but I honestly didn't know what to expect with him going into this.

I had such a good time with my BRAVE little guy!! Thanks for being so brave and protecting mommy!!!

31

Today we celebrated Preston's 31st Birthday! WOW! We are getting old FAST! Anyway, I have been asking him what he wanted for his Birthday for a while but he would never give me a serious answer. I don't know why but this guy is hard to buy for. Probably because all the stuff he likes/wants is too expensive. So, he ended up getting season 5 of The Office, a big fat chocolate cake from Costco and some cold hard CASH!!! =) I also asked him if he wanted to go out for his special day or stay home. He opted to stay home and carve pumpkins with the kiddos. Can he be any cuter?? NO!! So, I invited my folks over and I made him a nice dinner with roast, potatoes(thanks mom) rolls and corn. One of his favorites.

Last night he told me that he wanted a turkey dinner.

HA! I wouldn't even know what to do with a turkey if I had one.

Sorry babe!!

This cake is DELICIOUS!!

Oh, so good!!
Really? Can you ever be serious? =)

After my parents left we carved a couple of pumpkins and the kids loved it. Bry was a little afraid of the inside of the pumpkin but Kayston dug right in. I just love my little family!

Happy Day of Birth Babe!!! We love you SO much and we

are so lucky to have you!!

Kayston with pumpkin "guts" on his hands!

It's just a little scary mommy!

The fished product...and yes, Kayston's pumpkin has a slight cleft pallet.

heeeeeee haaaaawwwssssss!

We took the kiddos to Hee Haw Farms over the weekend. They both loved it! Bry loved all the animals and wasn't afraid to chase or touch them. She kept barking at all the animals. (that's her favorite animal sound to make.) Kayston loved the big slides and the swings. Before we went home we went to the pumpkin patch and each picked out a pumpkin. Another fun night with the family!

Kayston sliding down the slide on his stomach....of course!

Ummm, Daddy, I think you might be too BIG for this slide???Bry loved the piggies. Only if you could hear her snort. Cutest thing ever!Kayston feeding the sheep

You can just tell she wants to give this donkey loves!

Petting the donkey...and lucky for him(the donkey), he didn't get poked in the eye with a stick!! (Remember Britney?? SORRY you had to see that!!) Seriously? Can this pig get any bigger... and grosser?My cute little farm animals!Big brother taking his little sis on the choo choo. She wasn't as happy when they came back! =)He loved these swings even though they were pretty slow.She looks so grown up in this picture. It breaks my heart!Hmmm, I'm wondering if this choo choo has a weight limit??Unfortunately, my camera battery died before the pumpkin patch so here is a picture of our pumpkins. How do you like Kaystons? He thought it was perfect and so did we! We like to call it the "special" pumpkin. In fact, the lady wasn't even going to charge us for it cause she said nobody else would want it. =) Little did she know!!