Merry Christmas 2009

Here is our 2009 Christmas card for all those who I missed!



‘Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the year
The Blads have been busy
Having family cheer.
The kids keep on growing
And getting so big.
Zach is now 7
And a 1st grade big-wig.
Parker turned four
Has a mind of his own.
Alivia is 1
And has really quite grown.
Gus went back to school,
To follow a hunch.
And Melanie is still
Taking care of this bunch.
This year has been busy
We traveled a bit.
Took a plane ride to Seattle
And saw the Mariners get licked.
So with the kids all nestled
Snug in their beds
With visions of Transformers
Dancing in their heads,
We remember our family
And our friends so dear
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year!

12 Ways of Christmas

I know I should have posted this a while ago, since 5 days has already gone by! There is an amazing lady, Andi, who has an amazing blog called LDS Creativity Corner. For the 12 days of Christmas, she is doing the 12 'ways' of Christmas. Each day different bloggers have come up with ideas, inspirations, lessons, scriptures, and stories to help us draw closer to Christ this Christmas. She invited me to present a day, day 7, through my other blog LDS Handouts! I am super excited to be part of this wonderful thing. I have been posting all the days on my other blog. You can go here to see the amazing stuff that these ladies have come up with. Have fun and remember to be sure to check out Day 7 from yours truly!

Parker turns 4!

Where does the time go? I was just looking at Parker the other day and thought 'he looks so big'. Now he is 4! I can't believe it! Four years ago I took a nice slip on the ice and I swear that's what sent me into labor that night. Easiest labor so far.

Here is the little munchkin with his cake. It's Optimus Prime if you can't tell! We live and breath Transformers around here these days. Gotta love that smile! I think he was trying to make himself smile. Oh well, that's Parker! We had family and friends over for cake and ice cream. Mamoo, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, the Manglesons and the Reinholts were all here to celebrate Parker's special day. We are so grateful that Parker is part of our family. He is a very unique and special little boy and we love him greatly!

Halloween

I have to admit that Halloween is my least favorite holiday. I think teaching absolutely ruined it for me. Anyway, Gus tells me I have to forget myself and do it for the kids. We carved pumpkin out at Grandpa and Grandma's this year. Zach designed and cut his own, which was a vampire.

Parker (Gus mostly) made a Transformers Autobot head. Surprise, surprise.

Alivia didn't like the inside of a pumpkin, so she just hung out!

On Halloween we went to our Trunk or Treat. I was just getting over bronchitis and did not feel well. Then we went out for Chinese. It's a tradition we have. We then made it back here for doughnuts and cider. Wow, what a sugar rush!! Zach was Megatron this year, Parker was Bumblebee and Alivia was Dorothy with pink slippers instead of red! I'm glad we had decent weather and not snow!

Girls Night Fun

Last weekend we had our semi-annual girls night. Yes, this just so happens to coincide with the semi-annual General Conference, but that's just the way it is! The Blad girls get together and have some fun! It has been a tradition since the beginning of time (at least 39 years-inside joke). We used to go to Ladies' Night at Deseret Book and dinner while the guys were at priesthood session, but that got too crazy finding babysitters for more and more kids. This year we went out on Friday night to dinner while the guys watched the kids (we missed you Janet and Darlyn). Then on Saturday we CRAFTED!!! Yay! Bonnie rented a Cricut and that thing never stopped cutting!!! The guys cut us blocks of wood to make fun decorations. Here is some things that I made:

A cute Halloween sign:

A Harvest sign for fall:

Vinyl saying for Alivia's room:

And some blocks of the Young Women values: (I thought this would make a cute centerpiece for YW)

We had so much fun that we all want a Cricut! The possibilities are endless! I have some very talented and crafty sis-in-laws! Until April!

Gus Turns 30!

Okay, so I forgot to grab the memory card for my camera this weekend. Of all the lousy things to forget! Gus turned 30 on Sunday. We spent the weekend in Island Park with my family. It was nice and relaxing and probably the last nice weekend we'll have of weather!! We went to West Yellowstone and also played in the river by Big Springs. The kids had fun and it was nice to get away. Gus is so old now!(As old as me) Happy Birthday Gus!

LDS Handouts

In all of my spare time (haha) I decided to start a new blog. Yeah, I like blogging and wish I had more time. No, this blog is where I am just posting my handouts that I have made for Young Women lessons on Photoshop. I wanted to share them because our girls love them. We have Sunday Journals and these handouts that I've made fit nicely inside. I like to have them printed as a picture at Walgreens but you can also put them into a Word document and print them off at home. Anyway, for any of you that are interested the blog is LDS Handouts. If I don't have something posted that you would like, just let me know!

Seattle

It seems lately that I have only been blogging about trips lately, but in reality our normal life is actually kinda boring. Last week we took a much needed vacation to Seattle. We haven't been on a real vacation for a long time. We had this planned back in March. Gus' mom and dad went with us. They are so much fun to go on vacation with. (This will probably be a long post, so if you want to skip all my journaling, then you can just look at the pictures).

Monday we flew out of Boise. We got great prices on tickets and figured that it would beat spending the time fighting the little ones in the car for 12 hours or so. Zach was so excited to be on a plane; Parker not so much. He sat next to Gus and gripped the armrests. Gus asked him if he wanted to look out the window. No. Gus asked him if he wanted to see the tires. No. Gus asked him if he wanted to let got of the arm rests. No. It was quite comical. He didn't like the turbulence that much either. Alivia fell asleep with Grandma.

We arrived safely in Seattle and had most of the day to do what we wanted. We went to the Space Needle. This became Parker's favorite attraction in Seattle. Everywhere we went he had to spot it. Here we are on top. Sorry the picture's bad and you can't see the city.

After that we had to get food. We were staying in a condo and figured that we could get food for breakfast and snacks at a grocery store. Finding a grocery store in downtown Seattle is not an easy task! Driving in downtown Seattle is a nightmare. My advice to anyone wanting to drive in downtown Seattle is to buy a good map with one ways on it! We eventually came to a Safeway...but not just any Safeway...a Safeway with a parking lot in a parking garage. We had to go up the elevator and back down with our cart full of food. I've decided that I take our nice spreading landscape for granted!

Tuesday we got to go to the Museum of Flight. This is a way cool museum filled with all kinds of airplanes, space stuff, helicopters and pretty much anything that flies. The kids loved it. Well, Alivia spent most of her time strapped in a stroller and it wasn't much fun for her. She was a trooper though.

After that we had to take in a Mariner's baseball game. They played the Chicago White Sox and lost. We had really good seats, thanks to Gus. We were right down by the field. Zach and Parker had a blast. They really got into it. Zach loved the game and Parker loved all the snacks!

Wednesday we went to Pike's Market and on a harbor tour of Seattle. The tour guide was talking about Safeco Field and said that they have to heat the grass during the winter with heaters that run under the ground. So crazy. I wish that I could go to Pike's Market every day and get a bunch of fresh flowers for my house. They are only $5 a bunch and so pretty. I love the smell. You can walk along and smell beautiful flowers, then the next thing you smell is fish from all the fresh fish they bring there. It's pretty amazing.

Thursday we visited the Science Museum. This place is amazing. Five buildings that are dedicated to science all for kids. We visited dinosaurs, a butterfly garden, watched stars in the planetarium, and watched a 3D movie about the oceans. The most interesting exhibit was called Grossology--the study of gross things. The kids learned all about gross things from their body and from animals. They learned what different animal's poop looks like. Pretty cool. I bought the book. All gross things so if you ever want to know anything gross, just contact me! I won't post the picture of the fake poop in the toilet! This picture is in the butterfly gardens with butterflies on the plate eating the juices of a fruit. I promise that's what it is!

Thursday night we were hooked up with awesome tickets for the Mariners vs. Yankees ball game. We were in the All-Star club suite. This allowed us to watch the game in a suite and have service to a fully stocked buffet. It was amazing. The seats had a table in front of them where you could watch the game and eat. The service was awesome. They took good care of the kids and kept them entertained and fed.

Friday we toured Safeco field and they got to stand on the field and sit in the dugout. Then we went to the Seattle Aquarium that was on the pier. The boys loved the octopus and Alivia loved watching all the fish. We saw otters and sea lions and sharks. So much fun.

It was so sad to leave. I love Seattle and I loved spending time with my family. We had so much fun and were so busy all the time that I kinda feel like I have nothing to do now! This will be our last major vacation for awhile. Gus is starting his Master's program so we will be broke for 2 years!! Oh well. One of our very favorite vacation sites for sure!!

Spontaneity

Last week I was drinking a beloved Dr. Pepper when I happened to read the back. On it was a coupon to get a free ticket for Hogle Zoo in Utah. I quickly drank up another (against my will, I'm sure) and we headed down to Utah the next day with little prior thought. Besides, we got two free tickets.

As many of you know, I absolutely adore Utah (I don't know how you can get sarcasm into type), but we wanted just to get away. We spent the morning wandering around the zoo. I really do love that zoo--no sarcasm this time. The animals are great and the kids were excited and also well behaved. We then went to Hobby Lobby, my new favorite store. It is amazing. Then dinner at Olive Garden. It was a great day and I love spontaneity!! Here are some pics from the zoo:

4th of July fun

I realized that I take the same pictures for the 4th of July every year. The only difference is that my kids get older. We spent the day in Menan for some good old fashioned fun. I love the small town atmosphere. We went to the parade, the park and the fireworks. Gus got some new sunglasses, that's why he's pointing to them in the picture. The kids were hot and tired at the end of the day, but it was fun. I'm so grateful that we live in this country. I'm grateful for our freedom and the choices that we have to make. I'm grateful for my family and the opportunity to have my kids grow up here. We are blessed!

Alivia turns 1!

Alivia turned one on Saturday.Where did this year go?? It just seems like yesterday that I was so miserable being pregnant! She is such a great addition to our family. She loves her older brothers and is such a girl. We love having her in our family. She is walking all around and wants to be involved in everything. She really hasn't said her official first word yet, but I'm really thinking that it is going to be 'mama' for sure!!

While I was at my mom's, I found this picture of me in the yellow dress when I was 8 months old. Does it look familiar??

We had cake and ice cream at the Blads on Sunday and, of coarse, we had to do the cake thing. Alivia really didn't get as messy as the boys did. She just dipped her finger in the icing and licked it clean. Her brother and cousins were trying harder to get her dirty! She had a great day. We love you Alivia!

Oh to be 7!

Zachary is seven today! Holy cow, where did that time go?? This is one of the few digital baby pictures that I have of Zach before we got our camera. Crazy to think that we didn't have digital cameras back then!

Seven years ago Zach was born at Bannock Regional with a full head of red hair. The nurses combed a part down the middle and smoothed it over. It was so cute! He was such an easy baby kinda like he is today.

Zach got to have a friends party this year at Outer Limits. He didn't get one last year because I was just praying that Alivia wouldn't be born on his birthday! He invited friends from school and friends from our ward. They played and played and had a blast. It was fun. Here is the little cheeseball now (he's red from playing):

We love you Zach. Happy birthday!

Memorial Day

This weekend we got to go up to the Blads cabin in Island Park. I'm not much of an outdoor-sy girl, but we had fun. We went into Yellowstone Park on Monday and saw lots of buffalo and elk. The boys loved it! We saw Old Faithful (which wasn't as big as I remember it) and spent lots of time with cousins. Zach earned his 'Junior Ranger' badge by completing activities throughout the park. We hiked around the Paint Pots. Then we called it a day. We were tired and sunburned, but we had fun. It's nice to get away and spend time with family and just relax, but sometimes
relaxing just makes you more tired!

First steps

Well, it's official. Alivia is walking. Kinda crazy! I can't believe that she is old enough to walk! She looks so little toddling around. She is in to everything and is about driving me crazy. She's learned how to go down the stairs, which is great. No more tumbles. She's so much fun and we love having her here!

Life

Well, life is finally getting back to normal. We are still in a mess downstairs since we got our carpet. I haven't made my way through everything yet. I got my computer back so I can finally post pictures, and I am done teaching Kindergarten. I did have a blast doing that. I miss teaching, but I love staying home with my little ones. It's hard working and keeping up with housework, callings and everything else.

So, here is my Mother's Day present:


I was so impressed with Gus. He hasn't been the best Mother's Day giver before (he has totally not gotten anything for me from the kids before), but I forgave him for his mistakes. I woke up and saw these cute pots on the table. The poem reads:

For Our Mother

In these pots you can see

Is some dirt and a seed like me.

So feed it, nourish it, and care for the seed in here,

And soon you will see the potential that lives in there.

So protect it from insects, bugs and bees,

So it can bloom where it is planted, just like me.

Gus had each little one paint a pot and then put their handprint on it. Gus said he then planted a whole pack of seeds in each one. They are so cute. The first thing I asked him was what blog he got the idea from! He totally wrote the poem himself (with a little help from his mom). I am so proud. The kids still talk about painting their pots. So cute! I'm so proud to be their mom!

Happy Anniversary Gus! (and me I guess)

Today marks our 8th anniversary. People say that if you make it past 7 years, that you are lucky! So I feel lucky. We like to do presents to tie in the theme of whatever year it is. The 8th year is pottery/bronze. Gus took me to a ceramic shop here and we had the brilliant idea to do a bronze finish on our projects. I chose to do a frog, of coarse. Gus did a little nativity set because we collect them and this is one with a great memory behind it! I think they look like real metal!

I'm so lucky to be married to Gus. He is an awesome father and husband and I couldn't have asked for anyone better. I love him more today than I did 8 years ago. We've had good and bad times, but I wouldn't change them for anything in the world. I love you Gus!!

Thanks Uncle Sam!

Yay! We have new carpet!
Okay, so I haven't been blogging for a while for two reasons: 1)we really have been busy with school and projects and life and 2) my computer crashed and we have to use our old computer and it won't read my memory card. I'm using my mother-in-law's to blog real fast.

This year with our tax return we decided to get new carpet. Well, I guess it really was my choice. I said since we got extra money for having the baby this year, I got to get what I wanted. Anyway, we got it throughout the whole upstairs. It's so nice to have the same throughout. The carpet in the bedrooms have never been changed since the house was built. The pad was so thin and worn that it was disintegrating and it was so bad. Here's pictures of the kids' rooms before and after. I'm so happy not to have blue carpet in Alivia's room anymore! So, thank you Uncle Sam!