Avatar!!!

I have to rant and rave about the new movie we went to go see the other day. AVATAR!!! Brad and I really enjoyed it. It was pretty long, but the story line, special effects, and everything else about it was really wonderful. I would definately put it up there with Titanic and Pearl Harbor (some of my favorite epics). Its a must see everyone!

Christmas Time

Christmas time was great! We spent the morning at our house opening presents with the girls and then we went over to Green River to spend some time with Sally's parents, and two sisters and their families. The girls got so many great things including Awesome matching puppies, walkie talkies that look like phones, sleds, sticker books, coloring gadgets, and microphones. And you can't forget the Smurf houses that went along with the smurfs Bella got for her birthday from Aunt Marisa. Thanks everyone for a wonderful Christmas.

Kelli, Ryan, and the Infamous Maestro

Kelli and Ryan came to Green River for Christmas and brought something really fun for us to play with... their little dog, Maestro. Ivy, of course, couldn't get enough of Maestro. She was its little shadow all weekend. We really enjoyed watching the two of them together. Brad loved playing with him, too. However, Bella was less than thrilled to have the dog around, but hopefully she will get use to the idea of dogs.

Pulling Taffy

So when we were younger, we remember making Taffy with mom. Kyla wanted to relive her childhood a little, so asked mom if we could make taffy. Mom is the greatest, so of course she says yes. It is quite the process. It has to cook on the stove for quite some time (Paul stirred the whole time) and then you add some flavoring to it. We chose Root Beer and Cinnimon. Then you have to butter up your hands really well and take the taffy and stretch it and pull it. It was a lot of fun and brought back some great memories.

Fun with Kyla and Paul

MaKendree's first time sucking on an apple... She loves it!

Kyla and Ivy... She loves her Aunt and Uncle.

Bella, Paul and MaKendree....

Entertaining MaKendree

Bella's Christmas Program

Bella's preschool class put on a very cute Christmas program this year and Bella was so cute. She loved being up on stage with a microphone...

Mason and Bella kept telling each other secrets during the program. It was the cutest thing!

The Big Dog!

So my Big Dog (Brad) got a big dog (coyote) this weekend. Brad and I went coyote hunting this weekend and had a blast. We got two and decided to take a chance on one of them getting Big Dog in the tournament in Riverton. Sure enough... it was the biggest. We also got 4th place out of about 60 teams. It was Brad that made the shots, but I am also saying I was his good luck charm. :) What a great time!

Its not so bad...

So, I have been working with Ivy on the thing I've been dreading the most... potty training. I DO NOT LIKE to potty train. It was not my favorite thing potty training Bella (probably because I was pregnant at the time) but she eventually got it and all was good. I started potty training Ivy the week after she turned 2 and she refused to go in the potty. It was a week of doing nothing but peeing on the floor or the bed or the couch- not in the potty. So we gave up. But, after a few days recently of her taking off her pants and diapers and peeing on the floor--we knew it was time to try again. Clearly. So, we started training again and sure enough... she is determined to do it on her own. She won't go potty if you ask her to, but when she knows for herself that she has to go potty, so goes into the bathroom and goes herself. WOW!! She has been dry for 3 days. She never ceases to amaze me.

My Grandpa...and my Family!

My Grandpa passed away the day before Thanksgiving and it was sad, sudden news. However, he lived a long, wonderful life and we knew he wanted to be with his Sweetheart. It was a good time for me to sit back and reflect on my life because when my Grandma (his wife) died, Brad and I were just dating and he offered to come with me to the funeral. He was even asked to be a paul bearer. It was then that I realized I wanted him in my life for a very long time. And now, 9 years and two children later, I am so grateful that we are still together for this next funeral. It was a sad time for all, but there were quite a few shining moments since we got to see family that we haven't gotten to see in some time.


My sister, Marisa and her family drove down to Boise and it was great for Bella and Ivy to be able to spend time with their cousins. They all fell asleep in Grandma and Grandpa's hotel bed while waiting for the rest of us to get back from the viewing. It was such a sight to see them all cuddled together. (Way to go, Paul, for getting all those girls asleep!)

Most of my cousins were able to come up to the funeral, so we had to do a family pic. I can't remember the last time we had one.

We got to see Sarah- Marisa's newest angel. She is so precious!

My other sister, Kelli and her hubby Ryan also came up for the funeral. I have to hand it to Ryan... He may not be a dad yet, but he sure knows how to handle a bunch of giggly girls. He lined them all up in a row and got them to play "the quiet game." I am impressed. Especially if you can get Ivy to sit still.



See... Uncle Ryan still has the touch!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at my parents house this year. We ate lots of great food and played a little Guitar Hero. Bella was the queen of the microphone (of course) and loved to see Michael Jackson's "Beat It!"

I am getting old...

So... I have had a funny few days of feeling old. Yesterday at church, one of the teachers in Young Women's was talking about a beauty model with a distinctive mole... does anyone know who that is. None of the young women could guess... So I guessed Cindy Crawford and got it right. No one knew who that was. What??? Am I that old?

Then... Really cool Aunt Marisa sent the neatest birthday gift for Bella... Smurfs. However, Bella wasn't quite sure what they were.... again, I am feeling old. But they are so fun for me to play with and the girls are able to watch some old episodes online to see what the Smurfs are all about. Thanks Aunt Marisa!

Bella turns 5!

Happy Birthday to Bella. She turned 5 on Friday and it was a great day! We had lots of fun that day and then Grandma and Grandpa Haslam came over and brought two surprise guests.... my Aunt Valerie and Uncle Bruce. They were coming through and happened to show up in time for dinner. They brought a cute birthday balloon for Bella (which ended up being a bigger hit than they could have imagined.) She got lots of cute stuff and loved her Ice Cream Cake I managed to make. She sure is getting big!

A Little Diva

So... I am so proud of our little Bella. For our church Primary Program, they asked Bella to sing a song all by herself. She said no problem, of course, but I thought it might be a little difficult. Sometimes Bella struggles with pronouncing words correctly, so we worked and worked on her song. She got up to the pulpit and sang the song with NO problems at all. She did such a wonderful job and I wish it was something I could have recorded for all to hear. It literally brought tears to my eyes. Good job Bella!

Beautiful Girls

The girls were in matching dresses today for church, so I just had to take some pictures.

T

Halloween!

So... Here is scary Bella being the vampire, Bella Swan. She wanted to be something a little scarier for Halloween and I thought that was great. She loved being scary! Ivy, of course, had to wear something pink, so she was a cheerleader. We had a good time at the ward Trunk or Treat. The girls got SO much candy. Bella and a friend of hers kept going around and around to all of the cars serveral times. Ivy went with Brad and just asked everyone for "A Bite" or "More Dees" (more please). She loved the idea of getting candy from everyone.

Here is the greatest babysitter, Jenna, and her mom. They are the funnest!

There is Sierra, Bella's friend. She wanted to be a "sad" clown.

Bella's Halloween Party

Here is Bella at her school Halloween party as a ballerina. Ivy went as a ballerina, also, but she wouldn't let me take any pictures of her. They both looked so cute.

Candy, Candy, Candy...

Its not even Halloween yet and Ivy has already had her fill of CANDY. She loves it. She got into a chocolate bar today and it got all over her face and hands. Can't wait for Halloween.

My Cake!

Check out this cake... Yes, everything on it is edible- even the shoe. Charlotta Sorensen is the greatest and made this cake for me. It was so good. She is truly the best cook I have ever seen.

Misc pictures from our trip

Here is our family picture down in Arkansas.

We went to the park one day and I got lots of pictures but thought this one kind of summed it up! That's Bella and her Uncle Brent.

Yes, Ivy had a rough night.