Santa!

Andrew and Olivia got to visit with Santa the day after Christmas because he was just too busy flying around on Christmas Eve. Haha. My grandpa has been one of "Santa's helpers" in Duchesne for as long as I can remember so I asked him to dress up for Andrew and Olivia. This was the result... Olivia didn't blink an eye. Andrew wouldn't open an eye! Hahaha.
We finally got him to whisper to Santa what he wanted. "Choo Choo train" Andrew then ran to the toy room to show Santa exactly what he meant... See the trains in Santa's hand? After that him and Santa were friends.
And Olivia just didn't want to let go! I made up a caption for this pic... "Hand over the presents and no one will get hurt!" Haha. I crack myself up.

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe Christmas is over! Sad! I got my decorations out a little late this year so I was especially sad to see them come down so soon. We had a wonderful Christmas in Duchesne with our families. This year we spent Christmas Eve with Ben's family so we talked them into adopting one of my family traditions and they bought a prime rib for Ben and I to cook up the way my grandpa does. It was heavenly! Then we played Christmas games which kept us laughing out loud and we read the Christmas story in the scriptures. Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas PJs! The next morning, Ben woke me up at 4:30 and said, "Hey should we get up?" I said, "NO WAY! Go to bed!" He then laid back down for a whole half hour and at 5:00am decided to wake the whole house up without consulting me. It's interesting to me that I had to wake Andrew up for Christmas, shouldn't we be enjoying the sleep while we can? Haha. Oh well, I couldn't sleep well anyway. Andrew went CRAZY for all of his toys while Olivia slept. I think Andrew's favorite was actually Olivia's doll. Haha. After presents, we lounged around and made omelettes for breakfast. We then surprised my family by showing up to open presents with them a day early. I was SO excited to see what people thought of the gifts I got them, especially my grandma. All of us grandkids got together over Thanksgiving and pieced together a quilt for my grandma. Every grandkid got one square that they picked out and they all had to be pink (breast cancer awareness color). You know it's a good present when the recipient opens it and cries. It was wonderful! Andrew loves to read. He is pretty good too!I learned this thing is not stable standing on my hands after it jumped at me! Andrew loved this Elmo though. He even tried to get it to play Hungry Hungry Hippo with him. Andrew got Thomas underwear! Time to be potty trained! Wish me luck.

We spent the next few days playing with all our gifts, sledding with family, and lounging around. It was a wonderful break from the usual hussle of life. I think I dressed in pajamas for three days straight almost. Haha. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too and Happy New Year!

All the mothers out there...

I am seriously feeling this.... Everyday.

Being a mother has helped me gain so much patient. I was talking with my sister and cousins at our girl's weekend about how seeing screaming kids disrupting church and my romantic dinner used to be annoying. Now it is a relief to me to see someone else's child spilling water on the person sitting next to them or throwing a fit in the middle of sacrament meeting. Honestly it is like a little piece of Heaven to watch someone else chase their child through the store. I am not alone! Olivia just loves people! It's cute and wonderful that she loves to be cuddled but what about my laundry laying all over the floor? I think it's an age thing. Hopefully it will get easier as she gets more mobile. Andrew is entering a new phase of life also. He used to be so cautious and I would have to worry about other kids beating up on him... Now the tables have turned and he just finds it hilarious to hit and play rough with people. I am totally up for suggestions on this matter... :) Seriously. What a crazy world it is with children. I just have to remember to cherish this time, "take joy in the journey", and stop worrying so much. This will make for good laughs in the future, actually it makes for pretty good laughs right now.

Tis the season!

Well it's almost Christmas so I better get on here and show off our Christmas decorations while I still can! It always depresses me that I can't keep them up for longer. It seems there is so much excitement and then its gone and you have to start over. January and February are my least favorite months. Maybe because it takes me two months to get over the fact that Christmas is over! :) Anyway- Here's what we have so far...

Our lovely tree! I went with fake again this year because I am just too afraid of my house burning down to cope with a real one! Maybe next year.

Andrew and Olivia's first Christmas ornaments! So cute.

I love these cute candle holders and I got a really sweet deal on them last year! I think I will keep them up till February!

After 3 years of collecting, I finally have all the pieces to my nativity set! I can't stop looking at it, it is so pretty. Andrew can't keep away from it either and actually has already broke two pieces... sad. But I fixed them! You can't even tell.

And after all the wonderful suggestions of stockings... this is what I came up with. Hahaha. Lovely huh? Seriously though, they are coordinating right? :) I actually found some that I really want so I am going to wait until I have all my children or at least most of them and some more money and then I will have matching stockings! I might actually try making some after everything goes on sale this year and use them next year. We will see. I was inspired by my friend Wendy with "no sewing skills." :)

I am so excited for Christmas this year! Andrew is getting old enough that he understands more and I can't wait to see his face when he sees his presents. He is so easy to please. In fact he went crazy over the doll I bought Olivia. It snowed up here and Andrew hasn't seen snow since last year so I think he barely remembers... this was his face. He was so frustrated that his bike wouldn't move in the snow...

Well I hope you all have a Merry Christmas too and post all about it! I am still trying to recruit some friends to the blogging world... ie, Keri, Wendy, Lindsey... come on guys! Happy Holidays!

Stockings?

Does anyone know where to find cute matching/complimenting stockings that aren't super expensive... and no I am not making them. I don't have that creative gene quite yet. :) Help me out here!

Thankful

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. We went out to Duchesne and spent it with my family this year. My family is so wild and crazy, it's always a good time. I made such beautiful looking treats that I almost didn't want to eat them. This year I made a pecan pie (which is basically just for Ben because no one in my family really likes it), pumpkin pies, and a pumpkin roll. YUMMY! There are so many things I am thankful for, but this year I am most thankful for my family. I have the best family in the world. Ben is such a great husband. He is truly my best friend. He is always inspiring me to do better and keeping me happy and optimistic about life.

Andrew is such a fun kid. Today we played hide and seek from "rawrs" (monsters) that were apparently in the ceiling fan because that's where he was shooting his gun. Olivia is such a good baby. She almost sleeps through the night now and is always smiling and laughing at me. I love being around the rest of my family too. They are always so supportive. They show up for everything... baby blessings, baptisms, football games, drill team competitions, etc. etc. etc.

I feel SO SO thankful to have such great relationships in my family. I have a million different people I can call if I am ever in an emergency. They are always so willing to help me out in any way possible. I don't know why I am so blessed, I certainly don't deserve it, but I thank God everyday for the wonderful people I get to share my life with!

"Just sit still and SMILE!"

I don't usually get my Christmas tree out until after Thanksgiving... however, snapfish was having a sale and I really needed to get Christmas pictures for my cards this year. Haha. I didn't have anyone to take the pics, Andrew was being a stinker, and Ben had just barely walked in the door and was about to leave again. So... I got out my lovely little tripod and this is what happened next...
Hmm... I think we are missing someone...

Trying to get Andrew's toy out of the picture...

Ben kept yelling "cheese!" Thus the cheeeeesy smile. :) I grabbed Andrew at the last second for this one...

This is by far my favorite... Hahaha. Ben is always trying to lighten the mood for us. Well we finally did get one picture that I think is going to work out but you will just have to wait to see that in December! If I don't have your address, send it to me. Merry Early Christmas!

New ward

We finally got to go to our new ward today. It was quite the experience. It's so hard for me to start over and get used to new places and new people. I remember our first week in 23rd ward. I was about 8 months pregnant with Andrew and feeling huge and miserable. I didn't even want to go to church... ever, hahaha. That was the day I met one of my best friends Keri, who was also 8 months pregnant and feeling huge and miserable! I remember meeting our bishop and telling him that I was freaked out to start over in a new ward. He essentially told me that if I would come every week, get out of my little comfort box, and try to meet people, that I would make friends that I would have for a lifetime. I didn't really believe him (I was pretty bitter and ornery) but I went ahead and tried it anyway. To make a long story short, I met some really really awesome people in 23rd ward who I still love and plan to stay close to for years to come. As I was listening to the teacher in Relief Society, (It's a miracle, I got to go to an adult class! Hahaha.) she mentioned that she went to the temple. I started thinking about that and realized that she probably was in the Logan temple, the same temple I go to, she probably did all the same things I did there at the temple. She probably even sat in the same chairs I sit in. Even though I didn't know her, or anyone else for that matter, it made me realize that we all had at least one thing in common. It was fun to look at everyone and make my first little impressions of them and it will be even more fun to see in a few years what I think of them then. I am so grateful for the gospel. I am so grateful that I can go to any LDS church building and hear basically the same things. I am so grateful for all the friends I have, LDS and non-LDS, old and new, that have helped me along and made me want to be a better person, and I am hopeful for the future in this new ward.

PS- these pictures have nothing to do with my post, but my kids are so cute I have to show them off! :)

Oma

Well my grandma starts her chemotherapy treatment tomorrow to fight her breast cancer. I am so grateful that they are already starting to work on it, especially since she just found out two or three weeks ago that she had it. Watching her go through this and thinking about all the things she will be facing in the next year has made me think about what a wonderful person she is. So I have been pondering and decided to jot down some of my favorite things about her.

1- She has the patience of a saint. So many things just drive me crazy and she doesn’t bat any eye. She is always telling me to, “take a chill pill”. Haha. The whole house could be burning down and she would probably just be standing there thinking, “well, now what?” I will never forget when I got black permanent marker on her brand new CREAM colored couch (mind you I was 20, not 2) I was so afraid to tell her! She is so good at thinking before acting. I need to work on that!

2- She is giving. She puts everyone before herself. She donates so much time and effort every year for her family, friends, and complete strangers. She will always sit back while everyone else dishes up their plates or while everyone else opens their gifts. I am amazed at how she treats my grandpa. She dishes his food, draws his bath, and helps him with his garage. My grandpa teases Ben that I need to be trained because I don't do all that for him. Haha. She likes to see everyone happy around her.

3- She is so much fun to be around. She keeps me laughing and I mean hysterically. Hahaha, I am laughing just thinking about her. Only she would understand this but I crack up every time someone says, “I need a nap.” I will never forget watching her knock Jennifer off the corner of the couch, hahaha, or wrestling at the girl’s night. I am always teasing her about “embracing her age”, letting her hair go grey, etc. etc. She thinks I am nuts. We have the same eye color, but she calls it hazel and I call it grey. Hmm… still don’t know who is right on that one. Watching her laugh just makes me laugh. She is so funny.

4- She gives great advice. I have to go to her for everything. It’s a little pathetic on my part but I don’t know what I would do without her. Honestly I think I would jump off a cliff if she really thought I should. Haha. I always call her whining or crying about something and she is one person that just gets to me. She doesn’t always tell me what I want to hear and I love that. She can make me feel so much better. It’s that special grandma magic I guess.

5- She is a peacemaker. My family gets so uptight sometimes. Haha. That Park temper is a real thing! We all love each other but someone always has to be offended or frustrated or griping about something. Drama, drama. I guess that’s what you get when 50 people get together. Anyway- my grandma has this way of cooling everyone's nerves. She can fix almost any fight, even if it comes to sitting on the porch and holding hands. :) She teases my grandpa as he goes to city council, "play nice with the kids, Clint."

There are several other memories and traits I could talk about, but I would rather not share those with the world. Suffice it to say that my grandma is the greatest woman I know and if anyone deserves a break, it is certainly she. Please pray for her to have the strength to carry this burden. I love you grandma!

I'm back!

I'm back and happy as ever to have internet again! I was feeling so detached from life that I ordered the newspaper just so I could see who won the election, no just kidding. I am not that lost. But I did order the newspaper for the coupons. :) Anyway- we are now completely moved and out of our old place, I have never cleaned so much in my life, I better get that whole deposit! We love the new place. I am finally posting a pic. I am sure I will post more later, for now this will have to do.

We had an awesome Halloween. Andrew was an elephant and Livy was a ladybug. They both looked so adorable in their costumes. Andrew loved getting candy but was pretty freaked out by all the people in scary masks. He held onto the back of my leg for a good part of the trunk or treat, it was amazing. Sometimes I wish more people would wear masks so he would run away from them instead of me. Haha. After the trunk or treat, we went out to dinner at Cafe Sabor. Yum!

The same weekend as Halloween, Ben got to bless Olivia. It was really exciting and a little nerve-racking for him, but he did a great job and gave her a wonderful blessing. Olivia wore the dress I was blessed in and she looked like a little angel. She is such a beautiful baby.

Well that is a little bit of our life in a nutshell. Hopefully my next few posts won’t be so crazy. See ya later!

Feeling a little detached...

Hey Everyone! I haven't dropped off the face of the planet, just so you all know. Haha. Maybe none of you have noticed, but I notice and I feel very detached from life right now. Okay that's a bit of an exaggeration. We are into our new place, which is amazing. I will post pics later. It is so big and so clean! Yippee! Try as I might I just never felt like our old place was clean, maybe because it's 50 years old. Anyway- I have no internet or tv, and I live 15 minutes from town so I am feeling pretty bored. Also- my phone is a piece of junk and will only let me have one conversation of about 10 minutes before it dies. I am now at Lindsey's house using her internet. Well I hope to get internet soon and then maybe I can get back on here and keep you all updated on our exciting life. :) For now, we are alive and well and loving our new place. Talk to you all later! And Happy Halloween... tomorrow.

Our trip to "God's Country"

We just got back from our trip to Yellowstone to celebrate our anniversary. It was quite depressing coming back to life. We had such a good time staying in our friend's brother's cabin. Haha. Yeah we have connections... or maybe just our friends have connections.

Either way, we spent three days up in Yellowstone, saw lots of buffalo and elk (I think the elk depressed Ben a little) and pretty scenery, including the famous Old Faithful. We also got to go see a movie at the imax theater for free... more connections. :)

On the way home, we stopped in Idaho Falls so Olivia could meet her great great grandmother! I feel so lucky to have five generations still alive and well! My great grandmother is one of the greatest women I know.

Anyway- It was fun to go spend a worry-free weekend with Ben. It hardly seems real to me that we have only been married three years and have two kids. If you want to get technical though, Ben and I have been attached at the hip for SIX years. Six years and he is still my absolute favorite person to be around. I say that's pretty good. I love you Ben! Happy Anniversary!