Merry Christmas

A very merry Christmas from We 5 Kings! Whew! Here’s a holiday review of what happened at the King’s castle…………..

Snow!
	Don’t you just love the snow! We’ve had so much fun playing outside, slipping around the highways and shoveling our drives and walkways. My favorite part? The dagger icicles hanging from our roof. It doesn’t get better than a white Christmas!

Christmas Eve we spent at Rich’s parents’ house with the grandparents and our BFF the Knoxes. Most of you know that Eva and I have known each other since birth (our moms were pregnant at the same time) and we really love spending time together with their family. We ate yummy food, exchanged gifts, played games, sang carols and had a wonderful time. We have a family tradition of drawing names to give a homemade gift on Christmas Eve to each other (not with the Knoxes, just the grandparents and we 5 Kings).   The gift MUST be HOMEMADE. We all really look forward to this simple gift tradition and its always fun to see what Garrett gives (a hand-painted photo frame to Grandpa D). Cassidy sewed Ben a hat, scarf, and pillow out of Dodger-printed fleece; Ben made his Dad a treat box out of popsicle sticks; I made Garrett koolaid playdoh; Rich gave his mom a picture of Garrett; Grandpa D gave Cass a photo frame with pictures of her in it; Grandma C cheated this year and gave me a printed t-shirt that said “Baby King under construction”; and Grandma B gave Grandma C hotpads that she made. Did you want to know all that? It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve!

	Hooray! It’s over!

Christmas Day was a blur of ribbons and wrappings! Santa had come and that was all that mattered. We stayed home and the grandparents came to us, winter weather and all. It really is so much fun giving gifts to the ones you love. Even Baby King got two gifts! Now if only he would get here……………

Snow cone, anyone?

My shopping is not done.
The house is hopeless.
Nothing is wrapped.
There's no plan for dinner tonight.
R is out of town.
I need a haircut and color in a bad way.
And I look like I swallowed a giant pumpkin.

But....
I did manage to dress G from head to toe in snow gear AND also myself and go outside with him and make snow salad (snow dumped in a sand bucket) and play snow games and take a few pictures that really didn't turn out that well (anyone know how to compensate for the "blue" effect of snow pictures?). I also made G hot chocolate when he came in (the first time) and helped him get dressed several subsequent times throughout the day. Does that count for anything?

Cass is an amazing singer and she sang Saturday with the LCC up at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was fun to drive up there in a blizzard (not) but we love seeing her perform. She has a real talent for memorizing lyrics (she gets this from me) and we look forward to seeing her this Wednesday in her big Christmas concert. As for the other picture, well, that's what you get when you ask a complete stranger who evidently doesn't know how to ZOOM in to snap a nice tight shot of our family. Maybe its better this way. Maybe I don't look quite so chubby (nice thought).

And one last thing: A friend of mine randomly stopped by my house today with a yummy cinnamon roll from Lehi Bakery for me and a donut for G. It made my day to be thought of and it was super delicious. Now, who can you take a cinnamon roll to?

People for the ethical enjoyment of "Christmas Shoes"

Okay really. I love love love Christmas music. From December 1st through Christmas Day my car radio is set to FM 100 and my CD player in the car is filled with all my Christmas CDs. I have just one teesny weensy complaint---EVERY SINGLE TIME I GET IN THE CAR AND TURN ON THE RADIO I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THE CHRISTMAS SHOES SONG. There, I've said it. Oh I know, it's a lovely , touching song about the real meaning of Christmas and blah blah blah. Once a season, maybe twice would be fine. But playing that song on the airwaves once every 12 minutes is a little overkill, don't you think? It used to be I'd break down in tears everytime I heard it, but now it just grates on me. Serial repetition will do that to a person. Am I a Scrooge? Nah, just a good complainer....Sir I wanna buy these shoes...............for my momma, please.......

Gobble Gobble

A very happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there! I, for one, am very thankful for the three turkeys pictured above. We gobbled till we wobbled ( and then some!) at Grandma's house and spent the day doing jigsaw puzzles and playing Scrabble and Boggle. Here are some of the highlights of Thanksgiving.....and a few other fun photos...........

Make sure you take this photo BEFORE they eat pie........

Olives, anyone?

Eating turkey is really helpful when you're trying to loose your 2 front teeth. We'll have to think of a new nickname for her instead of "Snaggletooth Princess".


Scary picture, I know, but Rich and I just celebrated 11 wonderful years of marriage. I asked Ben to snap this photo and to try and not get my "chubs", as Garrett calls them. Only prob is that when you are 32 weeks pregnant you would have to literally be out of the picture to not show your chubs. Also, pay careful attention to the Harry Potter mark I've got going on my forehead. Voldemort...you ask? Naw, just me wielding my straightening iron. Let's just say it was a rough week last week...but it ended happily as I spent the weekend with my favorite Civil Engineer in the whole world as we celebrated our anniversary. The weekend consisted of a few of my favorite things....spending time with Rich, sleeping in late, presents for Kelly, eating out at various restaurants, and seeing Twilight with BC friends. It might have been the perfect weekend....

Seven

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to our wonderful seven year old princess! Truly she is all that anyone could ask for in a daughter and brings much joy and happiness to our home. We love you Cass!


To celebrate the occasion Cassidy had a tea party with a few of her favorite people at Dear Lizzie's in Highland. The girls had such a great time, all dressed up and drinking raspberry lemonade out of dainty china cups and munching on buttery-soft sugar cookies piled high with pink frosting. Their favorite part seemed to be browsing through the store, drooling over everything glittery and pink: bejeweled staplers, feather-topped pens, sequined calculators, monogrammed tissues, and sparkly Christmas ornaments. Opening gifts was also a hit!

Mall Rats

Some of you may already be aware of this----secretly, my life's ambition is to be a full time mall rat. I want to shop shop shop, finding the best deals around and rotating my meals through the myriad offerings of the food court. However, some of you may have noticed that I am usually accompanied by an entourage of short people calling me "mom". My entourage is not usually mall-friendly. They are usually averse to anything not revolving around them. They have no time for picking over clothing racks and strolling from store to store. They want action---Kung Fu Panda action, if you know what I mean.

But tonight that all changed. With Rich in Washington, the three short people and I headed to University Mall for a night on the town. I could feel the adrenaline kick in as I deftly maneuvered a pristine parking place near the mall entrance. With my mother's death-like grip holding onto two of the little ones and the other one gamely trudging behind me, we entered my beautiful, sparkly world of bling. First things first--we headed straight to the food court. The little ones were drooling over the choices, and having the high standards that they do, they quickly decided on TACO BELL, which would have been my choice too if I were allowed to make choices in their presence. After feasting on nachos and tacos (and of course taking both C and G to the bathroom) we headed out to do a little shopping. The kids were amazing! I'm serious! We wove in and out of stores, up and down the mall, with nary a complaint. I graciously bestowed some of my vast mall knowledge, showing them how to head straight to the back-of-the-store clearance racks. We stopped at See's Candies for a free sample and made the whopping purchase of 4 vanilla suckers. I gave them each a quarter (hey, big spender!) which they deposited in a gumball machine and loved watching the gumball descend its roller coaster-like track. They took their time examining merchandise (Garrett--The Disney Store, Cassidy--Bed, Bath and Bubbles or whatever, Ben--Gamestop) and told me exactly what they want for Christmas. They asked questions about all the weird teenagers there(Mom, why is her hair like that? Moooooom,He had an earing in his nose!Moooom, I have to go to the bathroom again.)

To sum it up, we had such a fab time at Kelly's Happiest Place on Earth. I just might do it again! And next time my friends will be ready for lesson number two: Strategic Mall Planning: How and when to use your Mall FAST PASS to get the most out of your shopping expedition. I can't wait!


P.S. Any other Mall Rats out there? I know its taboo and worldy and all that, but the first step in recovery is admitting your skill (I mean problem) right?

BC

This is my friend Ilene. She is smart, funny, cute, a great listener, and a million other wonderful things. She is holding a diaper cake, didn't you know?

These are my wonderful, fantastic, amazing, and stylish friends from my book club, fondly known to us as BC. From left we have Tiff, Erin, Ilene, (me), Heather, Kandice and Steph. These women are so amazing---I can't even begin to tell you how much I adore them. Each day I'm amazed that they let me associate with them! Originally we were all in the same Lehi ward together and somehow we started a book club, and now, more than 5 years and 60 books later, we're still going strong. We meet once a month to "discuss" our book (read: eat and gossip and share our joy and pain---it's way cheaper than therapy although some of us still need that , too). Between us we have 21 kids! In this photo we were together last Saturday for a baby shower for wonderful Ilene, who, after two boys and countless years trying to get pregnant is due to have a GIRL any day now. We were so excited to throw her a shower and watch her open everything pink.

I'm just so thankful for friends. I truly do love people. I love meeting new people, although I'm always sure I come across like a dork (my Dad always told me to find something I'm good at and stick with it. Thanks, Dad.) I never get tired of talking to people, learning about their life, asking their opinions/advice, and especially doing things together. Without sounding whiny (whiney?) I only wish I had more time and means to play with more people out there! Thanks to all my friends out there, old and new. Thanks to all of you who look beyond my NEON flaws and insecurities and bad fashion choices and still are so nice to me. And here's to making many, many more friends in the future! Wanna come over and play?

Pumpkings (a play on words, not a typo)

We are a true pumpkin carving family! We love to use patterns to trace intricate designs and this year Ben and Cassidy carved their own with very little help! Ben was especially proud of his BYU pumpkin, and every year Rich and I have been married we have always carved one that says KINGS. Garrett tried to get in on the fun by first carving the dining room table and then carving his own hand. We were not amused, but evidently he was.

The kids had fun (big surprise) trick-or-treating. I sent them out with only one goal: Do not return without a Mr. Goodbar. They failed their mission but still returned with lots of other goodies that I shouldn't eat but did. We've trained our children to pay the PARENT TAX upon their return from trick-or-treating. Rich and I each take our pick from their booty, and they are actually really good about sharing with us. I feel good about doing our part to keep the world's dentists in business. It takes a village.....

Pirates, Goblins, and Scarecrows--Oh My!

Sorry for the hiatus--blame my network administrator (aka Rich) for the technical difficulties we've been having lately. But I digress....


PIRATES
Happy 4th Birthday Garrett! Our little G-Dawg turned 4 on October 19. We celebrated at home with orange rolls for breakfast and various festivities throughout the day (think fruit snacks and piggy back rides). That night we had Skor cake (Garrett loves chocolate) with Grandmas and Grandpa and opened presents (the big hits were the Teeter-Totter, various toy weapons, and a Lightning McQueen laptop). Garrett also had a small party with his best buddies earlier in the week. They had so much fun being pirates, slaughtering a pinata, and looking for hidden treasure (chocolate donuts). It was a fun birthday week. I hope G had as much fun as I did! We love you Garrett! You make us smile and laugh each day and we love your spirited personality and that movie-star smile.

GOBLINS


During UEA we took a one-day road trip to the official MIDDLE OF NOWHERE otherwise known as Goblin Valley State Park. We had sooo much fun! For those of you who have been there you know what I'm talking about---acres and acres of surreal Goblin-like rock formations, endless blue sky, 75 degree weather, and plenty of room for our family to run, climb, hide, seek, and get dirty. The drive wasn't bad--about 3.5 hours, and the kids were great. The rock formations are so amazing--I wish I could post all my pictures but I'm sure you're glad that I can't. Fun fun fun!

SCARECROW FESTIVAL



On Monday of UEA we went to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I can't recommend this event enough--everyone should plan on attending next year. Free passes from the schools make this really inexpensive (Hey V, don't worry I found some more passes and got everyone in for free!) They had TONS of inflatable jumpy things, carnival games, pedal cars, a climbing wall, and the BIG HIT with the King children was the BUNGEE JUMPING. (Picture a harnessed version on a small frame--not like from a bridge or cliff or anything). Garrett was hilarious--he barely weighed enough (imagine) to keep himself going up so the carnival worker (is that the politically correct term?) kept pulling on his legs like a sling shot and letting him shoot higher and higher into the sky. Ben and Cass were laughing so hard seeing who could go higher. It was sooo much fun and almost worth the HOUR WAIT in line. Ah well, we made some good memories.

Once there was a snow pumpkin....

I think perhaps the weather was confused by all the CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS in the stores and adjusted accordingly. Can't we just have Halloween by itself before we head into the holiday rush?

For all my devoted readers out there (ha ha) you'll be happy to know I have been doggedly working on THE LIST. I have made progress on G-Dawg's birthday, and halloween costumes are all but finished. Of course, I still have the other 732 items to get to, but it did feel good to cross these two things off! And I couldn't resist snapping this picture of MY three little snow pumpkins on their way to church this morning. Don't let the smiles fool you---I had been (spiritually) yelling at them all morning to get a move on it, so we could definitely feel the spirit at our house this morning. I won't say which spirit we felt, but we felt it all right. Maybe next week I'll be nice......

25 Weeks and Counting

Whoo hoo! 25 weeks pregnant and counting! Only 105 more days to go! Here's my list of the best/worst things about being pregnant:

Pregnancy Bests

1. Having a valid reason to carry around extra weight

2. Having a valid reason to EAT MORE

3. Feeling the baby move

4. Connecting with other moms who are also pregnant

5. Planning and dreaming for and about your new baby

6. Collecting baby names

7. Setting up the baby's room

8. Shopping for the baby

9. Wearing stretchy pants (oh wait, I do that year round)

10. Finally having cleavage (did I just say that?)

Pregnancy Worsts

1. Having your 3 year old call you "chubby"

2. Knowing that the above statement was an understatement

3. OB appointments involving small paper cups

4. Scales of any size or shape

5. Feeling sick and tired of being sick and tired

6. Not being able to sleep on my stomach

7. Bathroom breaks at 2 am

8. Everyone you know having a girl when you are having a boy but wanted a girl

9. Trying to get your husband to talk about names

10. Having to actually get the baby out

What are your favorite/least favorite things about pregnancy?

Did I mention only 105 days to day? Maybe I should actually get started on THE LIST.

Lists

You may or may not know that I have totally unrealistic expectations in life. This is the source of nearly all of my stress. I've tried (and continue to try) to learn ways to relax more, expect less, be more laid back, etc.----but for the most part I remain over-stressed and uptight and focused on being productive,productive, productive. I live by the principle that if I just try harder I can get everything done. Any ideas to help me?

Today I made THE LIST. You know, the LIST OF THINGS I MUST ABSOLUTELY GET DONE BEFORE THIS BABY IS BORN. Here's what I jotted down:

• Buy baby clothes, bottles, and other baby gear
• Buy a stroller
• Buy a carseat
• Buy a crib
• Paint the baby's rooms
• Paint Cassidy's new room
• Paint the boys' new room
• Buy bedding for B & G
• Plan G's B-day party
• Plan C's B-day party
• Anniversary?
• Fall yard clean up
• Fall family pictures/Christmas cards
• Neighbor gifts
• Teacher gifts
• Clean out garage
• Plan halloween craft for Ben's class party
• Preschool calendar
• Clean all blinds in the house
• Fix sliding glass doors

Then here I had to start a whole new list, the dreaded WHAT I WILL BE MAKING AND GIVING TO EVERY PERSON I KNOW FOR CHRISTMAS LIST, followed by the FUN FAMILY ACTIVITIES TO DO FOR HALLOWEEN, THANKSGIVING, AND CHRISTMAS LIST, followed by the DECORATIONS TO GET OUT FOR EACH HOLIDAY LIST, followed by the HOW TO SIMPLIFY MY LIFE LIST, followed by the THINGS I SHOULD BE DOING WITH THE KIDS LIST, followed by the.......Get the picture?

Of course, this all was just a rought draft. Over the next several days I will think everything over and begin revising, adding more and more to THE LIST. And you know what? I actually think I will be able to get everything done! I figure I only need about $5000 and 7 years or so and I could probably do it all.

Any words to the wise out there? Any medication anyone wants to share? Or better yet, any LISTS you want to share? I love lists.......

IT'S A BOY!

No doubt about it---we will be adding anther BOY to our family come January. The US showed everything healthy on our little guy---what more could we ask for? Hope he doesn't mind that Cass and I dress him in pink from head to toe. I'd like to pretend that my heart didn't break that this "he" wasn't a "she", but I'm just not that good of a liar. Don't think me shallow---of course I am so very thankful to be having a baby at all and to have him healthy on top of that is the best news. But oh I wanted Cassidy to have a sister! Anyway, please don't offer me your condolences (nobody died) and don't tell me "we'll love him anyway " (of course we will!) But do tell me all the reasons why boys are wonderful and why you love your sons! Maybe that will pull me out of this funk I'm in!

Grotto Falls

We spent a fabulous day at Grotto Falls up Payson Canyon. (Thanks to BFF Vicki for the great suggestion! She is an awesome travel agent and always has good suggestions on fun places to go.) The weather was PERFECT and the hike was just right for our family---a short, completely shaded trail. The trail follows a creek for about half a mile that ends at the falls---a beautiful 25 foot waterfall that drops into a shallow pool surrounded by huge boulders. The boulders rise so high on each side that you feel as if you are inside a cave--a grotto--with your own private, magical pool. The water was FRIGID but that didn't stop the kids from getting in the pool and exploring the crevices and caves surrounding the falls. After the falls we stopped to picnic at Payson Canyon Park before we headed home. Thanks to Ben for making the lunch and trail food (Cub Scout achievement) and to everyone else for making it a great day.