New

Happy New Year 2011. It is still strange for me to write that, even 2 weeks in. I made many resolutions for the new year, some that I am already not doing great on. Among them are to: be less judgmental of people and try to look for the good in everyone, work at being more patient with the boys-lose my temper less, use my time more effectively at work--which includes exercising and reading scriptures here each shift (and I have done that one, yea!), the typical weight loss, eat healthier goal, etc. I also determined that the only way to accomplish them all is to sleep less and considering I average less than 6 hrs as it is, it hasn't been easy. But I can rest when my kids are grown I guess. I am sure I will miss some things we have done, but here's my best recap of the past 2 weeks.

New Years Day we did our traditional sledding trip and thankfully Hillary was able to get us into the Gardens again this year even though she doesn't work there as much any more. Rob's girlfriend and her little boy joined us and it was a lot of fun. Seriously one of the highlights of my whole year, I just love it. And my camera died! But luckily Michelle had hers and Robbie has sent them to me and now I can't find where I saved them, trust me there are more good pics.

C, Davis and Carter heading down the Hill-we piled a lot of people on this sled at a time. The boys did the most ups and downs--they were having a blast. My whole immediate family was there minus my mom who stayed home with Claire Bear, it was a very chilly day.
My little family there, I just love this backdrop (it's where the waterfalls are usually flowing if you are familiar with the area)
And my 5 sibs, yea!
So the week after New Year's the big kids were back in school but my boys had another week off so we took advantage of it by going to visit places that are normally busy. Hillary was in between trainings for her new job so we got to play with her a bunch too. :)
Davis modeling Hillary's headband--such a pretty little thing isn't he? This was after Hill watched the kids so Lowell and I could go see Red New Year's Day, not sure if I mentioned that in the last post. We really liked it, the plot kind of fizzled but with that many great actors, how could it not be a fun movie?
My dress up dolly
Who loves to smile for her Daddy
Davis loves his sister and she really does love him too, regardless of the face! She will laugh and smile and just light up around her brothers in a way unique to just them. So fun to watch them grow up together (and so glad there hasn't been any jealousy).
I picked up a cheap bumbo on ksl and Claire has enjoyed being able to sit up and be closer to us all. She didn't mind the bouncy seat, but prefers to be sitting up (or standing if possible).
One place we ventured to was the Dinosaur museum (after the dentist that day I recall, as usual the boys just charmed the ladies there who love them, and their teeth looked great. A little wear the dentist noticed, but nothing unusual. So glad they haven't had to learn yet that the dentist is not always a pleasant place to visit).
I got my order of hats/flowers/headbands from Hong Kong (ebay) in the mail. Way too much fun! That day the boys also got teeny solar powered cars from Hong Kong as well and we had lunch with grandma and grandpa at Chik Fil A and then grandma helped me run errands (thanks mom).
Claire bundled up for the zoo with her dolly Baby Kate. She snoozed for part of it but did enjoy watching the animals while she was awake (arm care of Hillary)
The boys had fun too, a good way to burn some energy and they made some friends with the monkeys--they had one yelling back and forth with them.
They have also been having fun with their Tag readers thanks to leapfrog.com's way too good to pass up sales.
And out of the blue they decided they wanted to do the dishes--and worked hard at it for 30 minutes! I had to rearrange them in the dishwasher but hey, I was loving it! They still will if I don't mind the water mess. I love my Davis--I told him thank you, and he said he was happy to do it for me.
Meanwhile, I was trying to keep Claire up until daddy got home, and well, that failed.
Sleepy babies are so cutie to me! Oh somewhere in the middle there we also went to Classic skating with Reva and her boys and had a blast again. Such a fun place for the kiddos (if you have a good coupon).
This week the boys were finally back to preschool--but they were sick. Oy! 4 weeks off (while they were healthy of course) and when they can finally go back they are sick. Sheesh. So we took a sick day and went to the farm--it wasn't busy at all and was outdoors so we weren't likely to share our germies.

And check out the germies! Yikes! Sinus infections that spread to Davis's eyes (like he was blowing his nose through his eyes, it was horrible, I had to wipe them out every 10 minutes [and then frantically wash my hands]) and Carter's did his eyes and his ears which won him a trip to the after hours clinic Saturday. Hib ear and eye infections, amoxicillin--they both are pretty well mended now). The above pic is Carter getting up in the morning, the below after I wiped his eyes out--and no, this was not even close to the worst of it.
So in the midst of the sicky boys (it was such a lousy week!) we went to go visit Lowell's sweet grandma who had a stroke and was not doing well. We were still optimistic she could pull through but we wanted to take the boys to see her anyway just in case as it had been a while since they saw her and she hadn't met Claire yet. She lived 2 hours away in Redmond, UT and 10 minutes before we got to her house we found out she had just passed away. Isn't that horrible!? The boys could not understand why they couldn't go see grandma but we thought it better that they didn't. Lowell was there with most of his family and lots of extended family and he said it was a really good experience for him though he wished we could have seen her sooner. I took the boys to play at a park in the meantime and then we made the long drive home. I regret that we didn't get to spend more time with her but I am happy for the good memories I do have. She was just a tiny little women but so sweet and a little fiesty--after 9 kids, the last 2 being twins I think you'd have to be. Saturday we drove down again for the funeral and I quite enjoyed learning more about her. It was a very nice service though still quite sad. I am trying to get copies of the talks given so the boys can learn more about their quite amazing great-grandmother.
Breaking up the tension of the week, Davis picked out a balloon tying kit as a prize (and then I had to order more) and we have had fun making a variety of animals and hats. Not surprising in the least, Lowell is way better at it than me (he volunteered at a library on his mission making them). We got a couple magic kits from the dollar store too--so I guess we are ready for the circus or something?
And we have a thumb sucker, and since she is only 3 months old, I think it is dang cute.

Sunday we took the boys over to see great-grandma's grave, opting not to have them at the funeral or graveside service. They were sweet there and very interested in all the tomb stones. It hasn't been easy for them to understand but they are starting to get it. They'll tell you that great-grandma's body is in the ground but that her spirit is with great-grandpa and Jesus and that it is okay to die because you go to heaven. They don't entirely get that you can't come back from heaven though.
And another couple of pictures of this cute girl just to cheer myself up
Dress care of grandma D
and cutie outfit from my friend Kristina.

So this week the boys finally are both back in school and happy about that. Yea! We had Lowell home from work for Martin Luther King Day yesterday (he took the kiddos to the park to play) and then again today he was home sick coughing coughing coughing. I've so enjoyed having my boys and Lowell home, tomorrow may be odd just sister and me for a little while. I have a lot to accomplish at home though (another resolution) so we'll certainly be busy no matter what. Ooh and tomorrow is mom's night out, yea! And I have been busy making bows myself for Claire. So, more to share another day. Loves!