Jade's dragons

I just found a few dragon pictures she forgot in my art room. These are some of the drawings she takes to school and sells. (I mentioned this in the next post)

Some old random Jade art

I love the details of the trunk
She got into drawing Thestrals for a while...

Still doing silly quick drawings to get funny thoughts out of her head, (but those thoughts keep coming!)

The kids in her class asked her to come up with different animals. This is one page, I wish I had the others. The kids were asking her to draw all sorts of animals, some I do not think I have ever seen before. :)

A crazy looking something.....

This was the bookcover for a book report she did on Eldest.

She has been drawing SOOOO much over the last month, once the kids in her class started making requests, AND paying her quite well for them, (in school money), she has been drawing more and more, but takes them to school the next day to sell. She has a really awesome collection of dragons, and a bunch of silly comics. I need to remember to have her bring some of them home so I can scan them. I would be thrilled to death if she follows in her Aunt Lindsay's footsteps.

Another set of Random

I think the highlight in this picture, is the little red helper in the background. We found Josh a little show shovel, and he LOVES helping, he is so darn cute all bundled up and working so hard. ( he actually creates a little more work for me, but I just love having him out there with me!)

And it was not so fun that I developed a "snow cap" since I didn't take the time to put on a hat.
Eddie is SO cute! I just love it!

Jade having fun testing out her new paints.

Pics from a Christmas visit.

For those of you I grew up with, you might remember the Redfearns. John and Janice Redfearn they came up from St. George for a visit while my parents were here. We were all really good friends growing up. We have not seen each other in YEARS, it was SO much fun!

We met up at Justin's house for dinner, he, Jodie, and I are all within 30 mins of each other. It was a really great evening. Between Jodie's son, Justin's kids, and mine, all the kids had someone to play with, I hope we can do this again every so often!

Did you know, the average Home Depot associate walks 8-10 miles a day?

Ok, I didn't want to look too cheesy, but I kind of wish I had an "action" picture instead of a posed one. So this is where I work. I was going to teach art lessons in my home, but changed my mind. It may pay better to teach, but I did not want the added stress. (I know, I'm a wimp) But I really have too much stress in my life as it is, and planning lessons, finding students, advertising, finding child-care, etc, felt like too much for right now. Believe it or not, aside from having to rearrange my sleep schedule a bit, I have found I feel a little more happy with my break from motherhood 5 nights a week. :)

I actually LOVE my job, it's super close, in the shopping center a few blocks from my street, perfect hours in the late evening, M-F, at a super cool store I love to be in, a new store so it's really clean with great people, it's a break from the house, and it's an active job so I get a bit of a work-out as well, and it's a fun job for me to do.
Alyse gave me this necklace to go with my new outfit for work. I went to Plato's Closet, it's a really cool consignment shop with pretty trendy clothes, and I stocked up on comfy shirts and jeans. It's kind of like Buffalo Traders in Vegas, but not as punk. (Lindsay, if you have never been there, I am taking you next time you come.) So I do not normally wear this much jewelry to work, but I thought, what the heck, why not be a bit "sassy" at work once in a while. (while I drive a forklift!) :) Thank you Alyse, once again, for the inspiration!

I plan on doing this job until Bill is a bit more established career-wise, the kids are all in school, and then I want to head back to school myself and study art. That's my plan. So for now, this is me, a happy full-time mom with a part-time job I love. :)

Christmas Newsletter

I changed out Christmas letter to a post since it came back to me that some people didn't realize it was just at the top and current posts were continueing below. Sorry about the confusion.



Happy New Year!!!

Like most people we are chanting, "this year has sped by SUPER SPEED!". Most of you already know our highlights from my emails earlier this year, and from our blog. I will sum up most of it anyway. :)

JAN-FEB: we were getting ready for new baby, Bill in his last term for his degree, and getting ready for big changes this year.

MARCH: Edmund Cole was born on the 12th.

APRIL: Bill took off for a 3 week trip to China for his final school project.

MAY: Kids finished school, Bill graduated with his MBA, the kids and I moved to Utah.

JUNE: Bill finished his duties with the Air Force, joined us in Utah, and started a new career 2 days later.

JULY: Bought a house and moved in, family reunion in CA.

AUGUST: Kids started school (Jade in 4th, Josh in K), and we are all trying to adjust to a new life.

SEP-OCT: Another family reunion in CA. Still adjusting and getting settled, Bill spent any spare time studying for new tests and certifications for his job. Jade is on a swim-team, Josh is in soccer, and I am trying to get the whole "mother of 3 and functioning" down......... hasn't happened yet.

NOV: Bill passed ALL his tests, went to NY for 2 weeks, and is now in "production", everyone else is busy with "normal" life and holiday stuff.

DEC: Family from CA is here, we are all counting our blessings from this (almost past) challenging and AMAZING year. We are excited for another wonderful year, (with less changes!), and we pray that you and your families are well and happy.

Best Wishes and Happy New Year!!! :)

For a laugh.... Velvet Mitt

I have mentioned, just a few times, my neighbor Alyse. She is the incredible gal who lives 3 houses down, is truly my kindred neighbor, also my interior decorator, possibly a co-wedding planner for Mica's wedding, my emergency contact for the kids, mother of my kids best friends, fellow "period film" enthusiast, a determined and creatively inteligent mind, among other things. That's just to set the stage for this whole story.

So she and her husband, Eddie, (he happens to LOVE our little Eddie and they are two of the few people our Eddie likes), they are, shall we say, quite humorous people, sometimes in a subtle way, sometimes, not so subtle.

For Christmas, Alyse tells Eddie that all she wants is a Velvet painting of Mitt Romney, she simply can't think of anything better in this life, than a velvet Mitt to place in a prominent location of her home. If you had any idea what her home looks like, just know she is a professional decorator, and gets paid quite a lot to decorate and stage the "rich folk's" homes. That is what makes this whole comment funny.

So Christmas morning, Alyse calls me in hysterics, (laughter actually), and sends me to this website her husband created. http://www.velvetmitt.com/ He honestly commissioned the first Velvet painting of Mitt Romney, and a Channel 2 News crew are coming this friday for it's arrival. Another thing to add to the comedy of it all, she is not a die-hard Romney fan in the least bit, even though the site makes her seem like it, she is not even a Republican! :)

I absolutely LOVE having her as a neighbor, we are so fortunate to be surrounded by awesome people, this is not a dull street is any way. :) Check out her site, I sure enjoy it, and feel very honored to soon be in such close proximity to this truly historical portrait. :)


oh...and for the record, we like Barak Obama in 2008.

One of the coolest Christmas gifts!

Another brilliant Lindsay Heinzen creation. She started this a few years ago, and my kids were some of the first to be drawn, so Jade and Josh look a bit younger than they do now, but we still know it's them, and this is the whole gang, up to date. :) Isn't she amazing?

Mica and Matt!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!
May 31st is the date so far, in the Oakland Temple in CA. We are all so excited, and I FINALLY get to be a bride's maid, even better, I'm the Maid of Honor! but enough about me, it really is all about them. :)

These are pictures I stole from my sister-in-law's blog. I will post more when I get them.

A bit of Christmas

Well, this is just a bit of our Christmas. SOME people in my family have ALL the pictures from our Christmas, and have YET to mail them to me, so I had to resort to blog-stealing, shameful! It's not really my fault that my dad has the nicest camera and therfore, we took ALL pictures with his instead of ours. :) SO I stole these from my sister-in-law's blog. It will do for now.
Early morning, and they woke everyone up too. EVERYONE slept over at our house, Enos, Lindsay, Mica, Matt (her respected "other"), Ira, Joseph, and my parents. It was fun!

Eddie has a serious phone fetish

Jade received art supplies, and 4 books, the first 3 Leven Thumps, and The Candy Shop Wars. She has completed 3 already, (in just five days!)

Josh was excited, really, it just came out later as he was running around EVERYWHERE with this gun, and about killed ANYONE who so much as looked at it.

School pictures

Christmas stuff

My girlfriend shared this idea with me several years ago, and I have been keeping it up ever since. I bought a fun red photo album, put one of my favorite Christmas cards in the front, and I fill it with all the pictures I get from my friends and family around this time of year. I also add wedding announcement photos and place the newsletters that come with the Christmas photos right behind them in the book. I keep the book with my Christmas decorations and pull it out when I decorate. It is SO fun to look back at all the pictures, remembering times spent with dear friends, and see the changes families have made through the years. My friend Jamie is brilliant, I thought I would share her idea. :)

The kids had a cute Christmas musical presentation at school last week. Josh was SO excited to sing "I'm gettin' nuthin' for Christmas"
Jade's grade sang "We're goin' for a sleigh ride". I have to say, I love her style too. :)

Here are more bookmarks from orders I have taken. Thank goodness for "word of mouth". It has kept me busy, but the extra green stuff is nice to have this time of year. :)

My list of "JUNK" and a few pictures

1. I decided to pass on 95% of my Christmas gifts and cards this year, I am only giving to my assigned family members, and I still feel overwhelmed with just that little bit. I really do miss making and giving gifts, but this is just one of those years when it's simply not going to happen.

2. I am going to do something I swore I would never do, send out an email Christmas card instead of "real" cards. I know it's a tacky thing to do, but again, it's the best I can do right now.

3. I am really starting to feel "at home" here, and so are the kids, they tell me how this place feels like a home, FINALLY, and they do not want to move again, but just travel around the world on vacations. :) That's easy enough.

4. I have been busy selling some of my crafts, and I got a part-time job in the evenings, I'm actually excited about it. It just means I will be even more busy. But the kids and I have come up with a saying to help us avoid the beast "stressed-out". If we see any of us getting all worked up and bogged down with stress, we just chant; "remember the chub-chubs in the google-tree forest....poor little things". I know it sounds odd, it is just some random phrase we came up with to remind us to smile and not let stress keep us from feeling joy. :) I'm sure you can imagine the voices that go along with such a phrase.

5. Bill and I went to his work Christmas party on Friday at the Grand American Hotel, and it was such a HUGE change from military banquets, but I still liked it. VERY stimulating conversation to say the least. (and a FABULOUS dinner)

6. My very brave cousin, Jon, babysat for us while we went to the Christmas party. He changed a horrible diaper, I think he said it was the second one in his life. He deserves a medal for doing such a kind thing for his bossy cousin. (a cute girl he is dating came over to help him, she showed up right on time to miss the diaper trauma, but I think he got major kudos for it anyway) :)

7. Saturday was busy, we started out with our church primary nativity play, Josh was the most amazing donkey I have ever seen, and Jade was as beautiful of an angel as they come. :) That was followed by Jade's first basketball game. (we took her out of swimming just for the basketball season, she found another sport she loves) After the game we went to the "Happy Sumo" for a sushi dinner. (THANK YOU ANDREA!!! that was the COOLEST gift!!!) Followed by a movie treat to "The Golden Compass". Overall, it was a really fun night as a family.

I had Eddie in the wrap, and I used my scarf and sweater-wrap to add extra warmth for him. It's kind of fun to get strange looks from people. I think more moms should "wrap" their babies to themselves in all forms they can. This picture was right after dinner. I'll tell you, there are very few meals that make my kids happier than sushi.

8. I will close my long rambling "list" with some brilliant words of wisdom from my neighbor Alyse, (the one who helped me decorate my house). She has a check-list of qualifications for "Super-Mom". If you can check these things off, then you too are a "Super-Mom".

*1* Has the bleeding been stopped?

*2* Have all unintentional fires been extinguished?

*3* Has something healthy been offered?

And that's it! I love it! She is a blessing to have as a neighbor and friend. I will need to devote a long post just with "Alyse-wisdom". She has some great ideas for being a functioning mom, and has sure been a big support through our adjustment here. Hurray for "Super-Mom's"!!!

Big-Boy Eddie

So my little baby is officially a "big boy", (at least in my eyes!). He is 9 months old, and his doctor told me to feed him whatever we eat, as long as he doesn't choke. He LOVES creamy herb sauce pasta, pancakes and yogurt (shown), and marshmallows. Stinky diapers have taken on a whole new meaning! :)
He is bit below average with his weight and height, it concerns me a bit, but I'm sure he will catch up to expectations. And if he doesn't, and my short little grandparent's genes hit him, he will still be adorable either way! His head on the other hand, is in the 80th percentile!

Jade is the best big sister in the WORLD!!! She is right there whenever I need an extra hand with Eddie. (Josh is ALSO a BIG help, I have to remember not to forget him when I am praising Jade. He gets pretty sensitive about that, they are both wonderful siblings to Eddie, and I feel SO blessed to have them!)

Goodbye Wayne Sushi!!!

Last night Wayne went to a new family, they have no children, and another cute little white dog whom Wayne loved to play with. He is in a better place with not babies to bite. (He bit Eddie's hand a few days ago, and that was it, we no longer tried to sell him, we just gave him away to the best family who called)
The kids said they will miss the way he looks out the window as we drive away like he wishes he could come with us. We love the way he greets us with his happy face and wagging tail, and how he goes crazy in circles after a bath. :) He was a super loving pet, just content to lay on the floor in whatever room we were in. What a sweetie!

We still love him, he can't help his nature, he was my baby before Eddie came. Josh took this last picture of my Waynie cuddle bug. We will miss him, but at the same time, we won't. Eddie is better!

Poor Josh

First off, this is just a silly picture of Josh. He took the hat off his very warm snow jacket, had his flip-flops by the door, and tried to convince me he was ready for school on a snow day! 5yr old crack me up.
I had to get over my "bad mom" self-talk with this one. He just had two visits this last week to the dentist because of my neglect over the past 6 months, he tried to be as brave as he could.

This picture shows his true concern over his situation. It just broke my heart. I am going to be on top of his oral health from now on. And after this whole ordeal, I think he is going to be as well.

One thing I am grateful for, his dentist is his best buddy, Josh N.'s dad, as well as his soccer coach, and an overall nice and dynamic guy Josh gets to see every sunday at church. That really helped a lot with minimizing his fear of dentists.

***SNOW***

Well, this is the second day of snow. I went out several times each day to shovel the walks, (I had fun too! Bill was out of commission due to minor surgery, just so you don't think he was wimping out on the job). Wayne liked the snow, had fun eating it. :)
I love how quiet it gets when in snows.

More snow came after these pictures, we ended up with a pretty good amount of the stuff. It's supposed to snow again tomorrow and Sat. :)

It's hard to tell, but it's over a foot deep on the grass and roof, and piled almost as tall as Josh where I was shoveling. I don't know if the romance is going to wear off or not, but I really am liking it here, so much more than I imagined I could. :)