I did it!

Well I actually did it last night. I voted for American Idol. Does this make me a true American now or does it make me a true fad follower?? I have never really been much of an American Idol fan and sometimes was actually annoyed at all the hype about AI. I have watched it here and there when there was nothing else to watch, but this season it is different. Maybe it was the writers strike that turned me into a follower or maybe it is because this season there really are some really talented people. I gave up last season when some of the people that really sucked kept staying on week after week, but this season it seems different. All the people that I didn't love are gone and most of the ones left really are good. I won't tell how many times I voted last night, but I did vote for more than two people.
Chip was in the other room studying and he heard me dial. I was caught!! I was slightly embarrassed when he was laughing, but oh well--I am embracing it now!!! When I was watching it will Mia she said "Mom, when I sing on TV someday will Dad get to be there?" Watch out AI, Mia is already getting ready!!
Go American Idol!! Can't wait for the results tonight. I hope I did not vote in vain!

Underwear Snatcher

This little girl is crazy. Everyone told me that I was in for it with my next child since Mia was so easy, but I didn't believe them. I really thought Mia was a good kid because I had taught her to be. Laugh--HA HA! Jada is sure sweet but she is crazy busy. She will climb anything, empty everything, rip anything and stir the toilet water anytime she sees the door open. Her newest trick is turning on the sink in the bathroom and then emptying all the drawers into the sink of running water. She has also developed a fascination with Mia's underwear. I moved them down into a bin where Mia can reach them, so this also means that Jada can reach them too. Bless her heart, she thinks they are hats. This is what I walked in on one night when we were getting ready for bed!!

From this to this!!

This...

to this... Notice the dear that have decided to make our yard their home...

they better not eat my tulips again

As you can see, we recently returned from a week long cruise to the Caribbean. I am still having a hard time adjusting to reality, but it was worth it. Thanks to our great friends who are "DO'ERS" all 10 of us were able to plan this trip kid free. We had a ton of fun and made lots of fun memories. Cruising is a great way to travel with a group like this. We experienced some great firsts...karaoke, parasailing, endless food and pina coladas, and sea sickness. Since I had all this time on my hand I gave into my friends' urging me to read Twilight and was soon hooked. Of course I got home from the trip with mountains of laundry and two sweet girls who wanted to spend time with their mommy, and all I could do for two days was read. Now I am having cruise withdrawals and Twilight withdrawals. Not a good combination, but I am getting through it. Actually coming back to the snow is a help. I got myself and Mia up to the slopes and skiied for the first time this year!! Love it. I have to say that although I love the beach and the sunshine, I would never trade it for the mountains.

Plumbing Woes

Last week we had some drain problems in our kitchen sink. We were doing the dishes one night and all of a sudden the disposal started backing up. Since I like to think I am a self-made handyman I pushed Spencer aside and started unscrewing pipes underneath. This had happened to me once before and I had managed to fix it all on my own so I guess that is were I got my ego boost to think that I could handle any plumbing problem that came my way! Ya right! Two days later, one trip to the plumbing store, two doses of a potentially fatal sulfuric acid, a house that smelled like rotten eggs, and 3 attempts at snaking the dang thing, Spencer finally told me he was calling the plumber. Can you believe that he didn't have faith in my plumbing skills?
The plumber came the next day and I gave him a play-by-play of what I had done so far. He had a super snake and gave it a go. He couldn't get any farther than me at snaking it so he had to go down stairs and open up the pipe. Thanks to me he had to wear a garbage bag to protect himself from the acid, and I had to clean it up off of my laundry room floor. It took him about 1 hour and the drains were all running great again!
The best part of the whole experience was Mia's involvement. In the beginning she had great faith in my skills as a plumber. She kept opening her door (when she was supposed to be in bed) and asking "Did you fix the pipe yet mom?" That was the first thing she said when she woke up the next day and asked me that every few hours for the next day and a half. When the plumber was here she wanted to watch him the whole time. When he was downstairs working with the acid filled pipes Mia said "Mom I think that plumber is handsome." Who is this girl? She has never said that about anyone before and here she is saying it about our plumber who is probably 35 or 40? After I told her that he had fixed our pipe she went on to say, "Mom, I think the plumber is smarter than you."
Moral of the Story:
If you want your kids to still think you are the smartest kid in the world and that you know everything--Call the plumber!!
If you can't fix it in 10 minutes--Call the plumber!!

What we love about Christmas

FYI...Unless you want to know about our whole December don't read this post. I only wrote it for fun documentation purposes.

Christmas came and went in a flash. It is hard to believe that it is already the new year and I haven't updated this blog for over a month. Between Mia's birthday, shopping and getting ready for Christmas and all the fun parties we have kept quite busy. We always have fun in December and try to take advantage of all the fun.
Getting the mail everyday and opening up all of your fun Christmas cards was a highlight everyday. I love to see all the different and creative styles that everyone comes up with. Our favorite card this year was the Nielsons!! It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't make the annual trip to see Santa. Too bad Cottonwood Mall was closed this year so we had to go wait in line at Fashion. Of course Jada cried, but Mia just ate up. When we were leaving the mall Mia asked "Where do you think Santa parked his sleigh?" Our annual trip to the Christmas tree lot turned out successful. When we got our tree home it actually fit perfectly this year. Last year (and the year before) when we got our tree home it was about 2 feet too tall and 4 feet too big around. Despite many malfunctiong Christmas lights, we had fun decorating it too. It was fun to see Mia really start to understand the true meaning of Christmas. After watching her cartoon nativity movie she came upstairs with scarf on her head and one of her dolls and said "Look at my baby, his name is Jesus." Then she instructed me saying "Mom now you're supposed to say 'I know this child.'" She loved being a wiseman in primary and really enjoyed giving a gift to Baby Jesus. Jada's favorite thing of course was to destroy any decoration she could get her hands on. Although our tree started out pretty balenced it ended up naked until about waste up. We had some fun Christmas parties this year that were all fun, thanks to all our great family and friends. Thanks to all our fun friends, family, neighbors and work that hosted and entertained us this year--Bingo, Bowling, White Elephants, Chip and Dale, The Diamond Way, Sub for Santa, Crazy Magician, Silent Football, and Z$--Memories we will never forget!
Christmas Day this year was the best yet. Early that morning (around 2 am) I was sitting on the couch aranging some presents when i heard some faint sleigh bells--no joke! I thought I was losing my mind when I thought the Christmas lights were making that noise until I looked out the window and saw a man running down the middle of the street in a Santa hat shaking the bells. I could not believe my eyes, not to mention that it was dumping snow. Mia loved everything about the whole day. She could not believe it in the morning that Rudolph actually ate half of the carrot that she left him and that Santa ate all of the cookies. Santa listend when Mia told him, and everyone else that asked, that she wanted Dora Mermaid for Christmas. She was so excited to open up the last present to find her. We are already on the second doll that has broken, but oh well. Jada was sick on Christmas Eve and kept us up half of the night, but when she saw her car when she woke up she didn't care about anything else. She didn't even want to drink her bottle and threw a tantrum when we had to get her out to get dressed. Spencer surprised me with some really thoughtful, unexpected gifts, but the highlight of the day was watching the girls excitement as they opened their gifts. Thanks to our wonderful parents for the great presents and wonderful hospitality. We loved spending the day with our siblings and the girls of course can't get enough their cousins. I can't end without mentioning all the great Snow Storms. We just couldn't get enough of the snow and hope we have more and more storms the rest of the winter. We had a wonderful Christmas season and now we are looking forward to a great New Year.

Our Favorite Pics!

Christmas Eve

Mia with Dora and Jada loving her Car

We love the snow!