So many things, so little time...

So it's been a crazy month and I haven't been good about posting, so I've now done a ton, we did our tradition of the scavenger hunt on Christmas eve-eve tonight. I took the kids out to run some errands and while we were gone Ryan put together the hunt with all the clues. He likes to send them up and down the stairs and outside and all over so they are panting and tired when they finally get the prize. This year it was a dvd for the family to watch together. Tomorrow we will do the hunt for the pickle on the tree and whoever finds it gets an extra present to open before bed. I love this time of year. We spend so much more time together doing fun stuff...

Gingerbread houses every year, we all get our own! Aaron made it snow all over his and covered the whole roof with frosting. Fun times at the Memmott house, the floor was a mess of candy that kept falling off...

So many things, so little time...

My sister and her baby Keenan came to visit for a week. Man I LOVE it when they are here. I miss them terribly, Keenan will be 2 in March but is already talking in sentences, he reminds me of Kyle when he was little. Strong willed and a bit naughty. But instead of being frustrated, I get to laugh and laugh...

I guess all that laughing she did when Kyle was little is coming back around, I reall dig payback ;)

So many things, so little time...

We finally got our dinner with Mark & Kaylene in, this is the icecream we had on the way home. Mark almost finished it AFTER he had dinner...

So many things, so little time...

We did our annual Chistmas angel night, we go to the mall and pull a couple of tags from the Angel tree, buy what's on the list, and donate it. We always try to pick one boy and one girl, this year the little boy was 4 and wanted everything to be green, how cute is that?? Green clothes, green toys, it was fun trying to find everything on his list in green...

this is a pic of the kids in front of the tree at the mall

So many things, so little time...

Ryan took me to the Coldplay concert on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He said he had to punch a corner on his man card for even going. It was all for me, what a sweetie!! Here's my awesome t shirt. We went with a few of our friends, the Jensen's, the Bradfords, and the Barrett's. Ryan actually like the show (because it was AWESOME) and then said he had to punch another corner of his man card for liking it and only has two corners left now, what to do what to do...



.

Not a great picture of the shirt, but it was the best one Taylor took so....

Ryan putting up the star

Deck the Halls

We decorated the tree Monday, our tree is kid friendly with decorations that are all mismatched, but we love it :)
why can't I have a picture of myself that is at least somewhat flattering??

Santa

So it all happened yesterday...
I was driving Kyle to school listening to Christmas music on the radio.
here is the whole conversation:
He innocently turns to me and says,
"Mom, is Santa real?" (now he has asked this question before, and always asking him "what do you think" and having the answer "I think he is real" has been enough. But this year he was adamant...)
"Well do you think he's real?"
"Mom, just answer me"
"I want to hear what you think first"
"I think Dad and you get up really early and wrap the presents and write from Santa on them"
"Hmmmm"
"I'd like to think he's real, but I think you and Dad do it"
"well then just keep believing"
"but I really want to know, I want you to tell me"
"tell you what, when you get home from school, we'll sit down and you can ask Dad the same question"
"but I want to know now"
"after school, ask Dad"
"ok fine"
Nothing like throwing your spouse under the bus huh??
Needless to say after dinner last night he sat down with us and asked again. Ryan kept telling him there are some questions you don't really want the answer to, so you should stop asking the question. But he said he would rather know even if it meant that Santa wasn't real. So Ryan told him, and he was a little sad but ok with the whole thing. We told him not to talk about it with anyone and not to ruin it for anyone who may not know yet. He said we could still pretend that he was real. Now I just hope he really doesn't say anything at school...

Game Time again!

Ryan and Kyle went to the Sun's game again, and Ryan called ahead and scheduled Kyle to be a high five kid. That means before the game they take them down on the floor and let them shoot some baskets, they get to hang with the group that does all the entertainment during time outs, ect. and they get to meet the "Gorilla" who is the mascot. Plus they got to high five the starting lineup as they were announced to come on the court. They gave us an 8X10 picture and a DVD as well. All for free!! Kyle loved every minute of it. Ryan also got 2 extra tickets to the game so he let Kyle's friend Brayden and his Dad Kory go to the game with them. It seems like Kyle gets to do all the fun stuff but honestly Aaron isn't into the games and Taylor is impartial. Ryan is just happy he finally has a "sports" kid.

Temple Sealing and "honeymoon"

So it's official, our family is forever and the kids will NEVER get away! On November 8th we were sealed as a family in the Mesa Temple. I, of course, cried and cried so most of what I saw was a blurry mess!! My dear friend Ruth made my dress and Taylor's dress as well. She decided a week before to tackle this amazing project and stayed up all night for several nights to make it happen. They are absolutly beatiful and I will take a picture and post it. We also have a few pictures of us in our church clothes before we went to the Temple, but it's only because our wonderful friends Chy and Cara took some before we left, after it was dark so those are the only pictures we have. I will get them from Cara and post them asap. It was a wonderful experience and I will never forget all the people who came to support us. Thanks to Starr and Kory, and especially Starr who helped us out at the distribution center =). Thanks to Clint and Ann, who did the classs with the whole family and put up with us! Thanks to Ruth and Shane, Ruth your dresses are amazing, Shane I'm sorry you lost your wife for a week so she could make our dresses. Chy and Cara, for coming all the way from Utah and helping us get ready that morning and for being our dearest friends for 13 years. Bruce and Nancy, they made the trip from Utah and flew in during the middle of the night, all because they are awesome. Scott and Ondrea, you are the best, Scott thanks for being a great Home Teacher. Mark and Kaylene, it means so much you would come just for us. My bro. James and sis Ashley, you guys came from Globe, and I know Ashley missed a trip to be there, family is the best! Mom and Dad Memmott, thanks for all the support and encouragement. Mom Parker, you came from Utah to be my escort, it means the world you were there. Dad Parker, you drove all night to get home after, thanks for your willingness to be there for us. Monica and Kara, you guys are such awesome women. I am blessed to be working with you and love that you came to share this with us. I am amazed at the love and support that all of you showed. Now I'm gonna cry again so enough with the mushy stuff...
So we went back East for our trip after, it was beautiful even though most of the leaves had fallen already. We went to the Poconos, Niagra Falls (US and Canada sides) Palmyra, Lancaster, Washington D.C., and New York City. It was busy and there was a bit of driving but it was an awesome trip! I was cold the whole time however...
thats what happens when your blood doesn't circulate, mine just so happens to be congealed, don't ask, it has a lot to do with eating twinkies

Halloween a bit late!

So here's our pumpkin carving! We had a friend of Aaron and Taylor with us for a few days while her parents were out of town so she got to carve too! And the picture of my friend Starr and I needs explination I think. On Halloween some of us ladies got together for lunch to celebrate Ruth's birthday. While at lunch we got to talking about dresses worn to weddings and how "special" the dresses were. Since it was Halloween and we were getting together to trick or treat and have dinner Starr and I wore our dresses for a minute. We took them off after the picture though!

Kids Pictures

So I finally got the kids pictures done. Aaron and Taylors pictures from school wern't great so I needed to get some for the official "school year photo" and then of course Kyle wanted some of just him too. I won't post all of them because there are like 40, but I'll pick a few of the best... I need to figure out how to put in a slide show, help JaNae & Kristi!!

Here Kitty Kitty

Poor Kyle, when I got up this morning to take the kids to Seminary I glanced in Kyles room. All I could see was the cat lying on his pillow, so I took a closer look. The cat had kicked Kyle off his pillow and taken over. He has a bunk bed and sleeps on the top. The cat climbs his ladder. It's hilarious. You can see his little head to the right of the pillow in the picture...

Those Vampire Books

So I finished the Twilight series, and I bought a t-shirt, for me, and Taylor, and Ryan rolled his eyes, alot. And we talked about the stories at dinner. Because even Aaron has read them. And Ryan rolled his eyes, even more. And soon Kyle was asking questions and wanting to know about the characters. And Ryan rolled his eyes so hard they got stuck up in his head for a few minutes. Then we started talking about the movie, and watching the trailers. Then we talked about going to the midnight showing. Even though it is on a school night (Taylor's grades are awesome so we decided it's ok as long as she still goes to Seminary and school, without complaining) and Ryan (being sweet again) said he would take us. He said this with a straight face so I bought him a ticket. I think I forgot to mention that he took Taylor to get the book when it first came out. He went to Barnes and Noble at midnight with her and all the teenage girls and mom's. He was the ONLY dad there. There were 3 teenage boys there with their girlfriends, or I'm sure he would have been the only male, I'm still not convinced he was the only one there without expecting some sort of "appreciation" or maybe those teen boys are just whipped? Anyway, I found a t-shirt online that was perfect for him. I bought it, and he laughed, and wore it. I'm so proud...

Kyle and Ryan go to the game

So Ryan splits season ticket to the Phoenix Suns with his parents. Since I am such a lover of Basketball he often has the opportunity to take someone else to the games. Out of all the kids Kyle is the one who loves the games best. Taylor likes to go and Aaron thinks it's ok. I can handle 1 or 2 games a month but any more than that is more than I need. So at the end of last season Ryan promised Kyle that he would take him to the first game this season. Kyle has been waiting and waiting, sort of patiently, for this day to come! It was on Monday night, and it started at 7:00 I think. It was a good game I guess because it went into double overtime. Yup I said double... Ryan said Kyle was cheering for a triple overtime but the Suns pulled it off and won by 3 in the second overtime. Needless to say they got home REALLY late, and I let Kyle sleep in until the very last second Tuesday morning before I had to get him up for school. Ryan got less than 5 hours sleep because he had to get up and take the kids to Seminary Tuesday morning. I asked him if he wanted me to drive but being as sweet as he is he got up at 4:45 and did carpool. Then last night (Tuesday) he went to the Metallica concert with his brother. He was supposed to take Aaron but as I stated earlier, Aaron is grounded from everything he knows and loves, so he was unable to attend. Again he got home Really late, even later than Monday. I imagine he's going to be super tired. Again. What we won't do for our love of sports and rock bands...

Kyle's Specs

So I get this letter from the school 2 weeks ago, turns out Kyle can't see. Who knew? I took him in for an exam (I only had to hold him down while they put in the eye drops, amazing) and I let him pick his own glasses out. He's been asking every day since if they were in. You'de think he'd won the lottery today when I checked him out early for the fitting. I think he did a pretty good job with the frames...

September

Well, we are officially into the school year, Aaron is grounded again for not doing his homework. We go through this routine every year. He spends 80% of the school year grounded in one way or another. I would love it if we could get him to do his work without taking everything else away, but never fear, now that there is nothing to distract him he'll be back on track. Or we'll put him up for adoption on ebay...
Tayolr is doing great if we could get her to stop reading the Twilight book series for the 50th time we might even be able to talk to her again. The binding on her books aren't even holding together anymore. I guess if she has to have an obssesion this is a good one, she's even got me reading them now. (I say reading but what I mean is listening to the audiobook on my ipod, at least I can do that and still get everything done I need to) At least her grades don't suffer. Unless you freak out over getting a B like she does...
Kyle is back to his old self. You know the one where DANGER is his middle name. He's back on the trampoline, playing sports, and driving me nuts in a way that doesn't include me having to carry him around or letting him play WAY too much playstation. He's decided that arguing with me about everything is a good way to go. "Testing his limits" I've been told. When do I get to test my limits with him?? Ahhh the joys of children...

Ryans Birthday

So Ryan is 34, finally as old as I am, because yes, it's true, I am 7 months older than he is. Man that was alot of fire on his cake...

Kyle's football game

So Kyle is playing flag football. I tried to convince him soccer would be better, but he's nothing if not stubborn so here we are. Then the coach puts him as a lineman. All 50 lbs of him...
I wouldn't be as worried if it weren't for that whole broken femur, external fixator thing. But he is actually doing ok!

Just some random pics...

I thought I'd better put some pics of the kids up and at least give everyone an idea of what they look like now. Especially if I lose one of them at the mall...

The mess with Kyle's leg

Just in case I refer back to this I thought I'd better post about Kyle's leg. Back in March while on sping break there was this incident...
I won't go into too much detail about it but Kyle broke his femur in the trampoline, he broke it up really high so they had to put on an external fixator instead of a cast. Basically it's 4 pins put in through the skin into the bone and barely out the other side of the bone, they stick out of his leg and attach to 2 bars running parallel to his leg. He had this on unti july 1st. He was just released to full 7 year old duty on Aug 8th so a new trip to the emergency room is imminent...

Jumping on the band wagon

Well, I thought I'b better get started blogging so I didn't feel so left out! I've been meaning to for over a year but that explains how big of a procrastinator I really am, I will try to catch everyone up on whats been shakin' here in Surprise!