Burrrrr!!

It is seriously freezing cold here!  The first day we woke up it was a big 5 degrees outside!  This cold weather isn't stopping us though.  We have been sledding, getting sled rides behind the quad and playing fun games in the snow.  I can't imagine having to dress my kids for the snow everyday in the winter, it is quite the ordeal!! Hope you are all enjoying some cold weather fun with your families too!!

The kids getting ready for sledding behind the quad.

Hunter 7, Brody 6 1/2, Case 4 1/2, Katlyn 4 1/2, Ledger 2 1/2

And their off! I found this fun game on my friend Sara's blog where you freeze colored water in ice cube trays and then hide the ice cubes in the snow.  The kids loved finding the colorful ice! It was like Easter in the winter!! 

Brody found some colorful ice cubes in the frozen flowers!

Counting the ice cubes.  23 total!

Case had a hard time picking up the ice cubes with his gloves on!  Not only that but the snow is so deep it's hard to walk!!

Ledger can only handle a few minutes of the cold before he is ready to

 head in to the warm cabin!

Jim and Ledger drove the quad while the others slid behind it!

Here they are!  Sled rides behind the quad are the best!!

Bye little snow kids!!

Greetings from Pinetop

The Gang.  

Ledger, Hunter, Jadon, Case, Katlyn, Brody, Berkley, Taylor, Ava, Hunter

Case, Brody, Ledger and Sugar watching Night At The Museum II and eating popcorn.

Case the builder.

Hunter, Katlyn and Case watching a movie on Katlyns new DVD player. About an hour after this picture was taken, Case threw up all over Katlyn.  

So we are all here at the cabin enjoying the 2 plus feet of snow that is surrounding us.  It is freezing cold and snowing as I type.  The kids are having a ball playing and building everything from Legos to forts under the stairs.  We have been sledding twice already which was quite interesting since Jeremy is not here and I took all three boys by myself.  Talk about a workout!  I was sweating and it is 25 degrees outside!!  Is this my sign that it is time to start the workout program again? I think so!  Hope you are all recovering from the Christmas craziness and enjoying time with your families.  Stay tuned for more cabin fun in Pinetop.  

The Felstead's Christmas 2009

What a Christmas season this has been!  We have been out of our minds crazy and I was a little worried that 2 days before Christmas I hadn't even bought a single gift!!  Somehow I managed to get it all done and we had a wonderful Christmas Day.  So let's start with Christmas Eve.

Berkley looked absolutely adorable in her hot pink Santa onesie, white and black polka dot leg warmers and hot pink tutu I made her.

 (yep, I'm a tutu addict!!)

Big Jake, Brody, Ledger, Cole, Case and Connor

We headed over to Pam and Ron's for dinner and gifts.  The boys love hanging out with their cousins since out of the 8 total grand kids, 6 of them are boys.  Actually there will now be 10 grand kids because my sister in law Missy got engaged and she is marrying a man who has 2 older boys himself.  It was a fun evening for the boys!  Enough said!!

New Christmas Jammies, so warm and soft!!

When we got home from Pam and Ron's, Jeremy and I stayed up till about 1:00 am getting things picked up and put together (wink wink).  We were exhausted and ready for bed by time it was over.  One thing I don't like about doing Christmas Eve at the in laws is that we get home really late.  The kids are beyond exhausted and all they want to do is bathe and go to bed.  Because of this, we forgot to leave cookies and milk along with reindeer food out for Santa.  We were actually surprised he came to our house!!  Poor Santa!!  Hopefully next year we can convince Pam to do Christmas Eve on the 23rd instead of the 24th!  That would help so much!!

Santa definitely stopped at our house!

And their off! 

 Since Brody was the first one up, he was more then ready to see what Santa brought!!

On Christmas morning Brody was the first to wake up.  At 7:15 he came into our room asking if he could open presents.  Like the mean parents we are, we made him crawl in bed with us and wait for the others to wake up.  At 8:00 Case came stumbling in and about that time I went and got Ledger out of bed.  We made all 3 boys hang out in our room until we turned on the Christmas tree lights and made sure Santa came.  The boys came barreling down the hall and tore into their presents.  

They all got what they wanted which was a good thing!!  Sugar Claus arrived at about 8:30 with more gifts and Skidder Cars.  Boy was it fun for to ride them around the house. G.G. and G-Pa came for breakfast and craziness around 9:00.  After breakfast, Santa had one more surprise in store for the kids, a TRAMPOLINE! They were super excited and spent the rest of the morning jumping.  We all layed down for a nap in the afternoon which felt awesome! Sugar came over for dinner along with grandma and grandpa which worked out great cause we didn't have to leave our house.  It was a perfect Christmas for us all! 

Case loved all the Legos Santa brought!

Ledger zoomed around the house on his new skidder car.

The boys with the Legos Santa brought them for Christmas.

The trampoline was a hit!  Santa is the best!!

Friends

This is Katlyn.

 She and Case were born one month apart.  They go to preschool together and often play together at Sugars house.  Case notices every new outfit Katlyn gets and is always telling me what she does at preschool. Katlyn says Case is the husband of her baby doll Bella Ryce.

 They are very good friends which is why when Case leaned over the bunk bed last night and threw up Kanks homemade spaghetti and meatballs all over her, she in return, threw up all over herself.  After we got them all cleaned up and realized Case has the stomach flu (yep, all night long!!) Katlyn said, "Case threw up and then I threw up cause I'm his friend and I didn't want him to feel bad."  

Friends...they are the best!!

Arriving December 26th...

...My Christmas cards!

It's never too late right?  I'm mailing mine tomorrow morning which means you won't get them until the day after Christmas.  Now that you already know what they look like, you won't need to rush to your mailbox to get them!! If I forgot to send you one I apologize.  If you want me to send you one next year, let me know.  Reminder to self... START THIS EARLIER NEXT YEAR!!  Good Night...I hope !! 

4 Hayrides, 3 Christmas Parties, 2 Days Left To Shop, And A Boy Home Sick With The Flu!

To say we've been a little busy is an understatement!  In the past week we have hosted the Relief Society Dinner, A Sears Family Party, A Felstead Family Party and A Sunbeam Hayride.  That doesn't include a YM/YW Hayride, class parties and LIFE!  Would you believe it if I told you that I haven't even started my Christmas shopping?  You heard me right folks, I haven't even bought a single gift.  Oh did I mention I haven't sent out my Christmas cards yet?  Let me rephrase that, I  haven't even received my Christmas cards in the mail yet!  I'm just a little behind wouldn't you say?  But don't worry people, I'm not giving up.  I'm gonna hit Toys R Us this afternoon and grab whatever is left.  I'm gonna stay up late to address my cards when they arrive, I'm gonna get my primary lesson ready for Sunday and pack all my kids and myself for the cabin. I'm gonna wrap my gifts for family, friends, and neighbors while feeding a little cutie every 3 hours.  Oh did I mention that Brody threw up all over his bed and down 2 hallways last night?  Good times I tell you, good times!!  I'm exhausted and ready for the big day to be over!  I'm ready to head up to the cabin and not do a dang thing!!  I'm ready to get back to the hum drum of regular life (is there such thing?) I'm ready to go to bed at a decent hour. Wish me luck as I fight the crowds tonight.  Wish me luck that no one else gets sick around here!  

Just WISH ME LUCK!!

Wanna See Why I Can't Get Anything Done?

Look at that smile!! 

This little princess is 13 weeks old today and her little personality is in full swing!  She is so happy and sweet!  I seriously can't get a dang thing done around here because all I want to do is hold her and talk to her.  She is cooing and babbling which is fun!  She is about to roll over which is frightening!  How could she be old enough to do that?  I am crazy about this little girl and her sweet smile!

Jipped!

Jeremy with Brody and Case on the tea cups ant Disneyland

Jeremy and Ledger at Jump and Shout.

Jeremy and Berkley at the hospital when we FINALLY decided on her name.

(it took 2 percocets!)

Jeremy celebrated his birthday yesterday.  It was his 37th!  I always feel so bad that he celebrates his birthday in December, the busiest month of the year!  I feel like the worst wife when it comes to celebrating his birthday.  He's lucky if he even gets a birthday dinner out.  And a gift, forget it.  I haven't even given him his birthday cards yet.  It's horrible!  I always have good intentions but somehow with all the parties we throw, the Christmas decorating and shopping, not to mention the hustle and bustle of daily life, he gets jipped!  Hopefully when things settle down around here we can find time to celebrate as a family.  Happy Birthday Jeremy!

Santa Claus is Coming To Town

Here we all are with Santa!

Brody asked Santa for Legos and A Batman DS Game.

Case asked Santa for a Lego Airplane.

Since Ledger speaks his own language half the time, we're not sure what he asked Santa for.  He kept repeating the same thing over and over like we knew what he was talking about!

Berkley looked too cute in her Christmas outfit that Libby let me borrow!

Yesterday we went to the annual Santa Cookie Party at the John and Sheena Rang's house.  Santa stopped by and guess what...No one cried this year!  You heard me right.  Everyone of my kids sat on Santa's lap without crying and told him what they wanted.  It was great!  There were wonderful cookies and candy everywhere so needless to say, my boys took full advantage!!  It was a fun morning for these kids!

Hey look!  A picture of me with my baby girl!  

Cousins!  Case, Brody, Berkley, Ledger and Presley

Sugar and Miss B

A Sisters Birthday Bash

Aunt Hilma tuned 90 yesterday and Grandma turned 86.

It has always been tradition for my grandpa to give everyone celebrating a birthday one dollar bills for their age.  Grandma received 86 of them last night.  It took forever to count them!!

Aunt Hilma loved her 90 one dollar bills!!

Christian, H, Grandma, Grandpa, Hilma, Me and Sarah.

My Mom did a great job decorating the tables for the party.  Of course no party would be complete without cupcakes.  90 cupcakes that is! And lots of old pictures from the past!

Last night Jeremy and I had the opportunity to attend the birthday party of my Grandma Cecil and her sister Hilma.  They were born on the same day 4 years apart.  My Aunt Hilma turned 90 yesterday and my grandma is now 86.  The party was at Mesa Country Club and was attended by the aunts, uncles, and cousins.  It was fun to hear my grandma and aunt talk about life 60 years ago.  One story in particular caught my attention.  At 18 years old, Hilma had the opportunity to go to New York to study opera singing at the Metropolitan Opera House.  At the time, auditions were not allowed and the only way you could study there was to be personally invited.  She was invited as long as she could pay her air fare to New York.  Her room, board, food, and education would be taken care of while she was there.  Can you believe that at the time, her family could not afford her air fare and she did not get to go.  That seems so hard for me to believe.  Today, friends and family would be doing fund raisers to help her get there to pursue her dream.  

Another story that I thought was funny was one told by my grandma.  As a young child, she wanted to take dance classes.  Her mother said no because she wanted her to take piano.  Her mother signed her up for piano lessons and paid for them each month with the little bit of money that they had.  A few months into the piano lessons, the teacher called my grandmas mother and said, "I thought you were going to sign Cecil up for piano lessons." All along my grandma had been ditching piano lessons that her mother thought she was attending each week.   Needless to say she got in big trouble!  

I love hearing stories from my grandparents.  They have such great memories of growing up in Mesa and their childhood.  I hope in 10 more years we will be getting together to celebrate Aunt Hilma turning 100 and Grandma turning 96.  

Missing:

Brody's Front Tooth!!

Last night as the Mountain Vista Ward Relief Society were arriving at my house for dinner, Brody comes running in yelling, "Mom, Madi just pulled out my tooth!"  That's right.  Our cute neighbor Madi pulled Brody's front tooth out.  The one that was barely loose.  After he lost it and then found it in our plush carpet, the tooth fairy brought him $5.00.  Now if he looses that other front tooth before Christmas we can all sing, 

"All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth!!"

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Does anyone out there HATE getting family pictures taken?  I do!  Let me tell you all the reasons.  First off, what to wear?  It's hard enough picking out my own outfit, but to try and dress the other 5, it makes me CRAZY!!  Oh and Yes I said 5 because the husband counts in all of this!!  Second, where to have the pictures taken?  If I dare try and attempt going someplace beautiful and wonderful I run the risk of some chump getting a grass stain, torn shirt, spit up (that one would be ME!)  or some other ugly thing all over their freshly pressed outfit.  Not only that, but I guarantee you that one member of this household would show up to the picture taking destination without shoes on!!  It's just way safer to do the pictures at my house.  Third, why is it that on the day you have scheduled to have your yearly family photo taken, someone gets some type of weird growth, bruise, or cut ON THEIR FACE?  Seriously...every time!!  Fourth, why is it so difficult to get 6 people to look at the camera and smile...at the same time?  I don't get it!!  Not one picture has everyone looking at the camera EVER!!  It's frustrating and annoying!  JUST LOOK AT THE CAMERA!  There is nothing else to look at...we are at our own house for heavens sake!!  Finally, why do I wait till the last minute each December to take on this task?  I'll tell you why.  Because for some weird reason I feel that if I take the picture any earlier then December, my kids won't look the same come Christmas time.  It's dumb and ridiculous, I know but I do it every year!  So here they are, some of the funny pictures sweet Miss Ashley took last week.  When you get my Christmas card this year just remember this little post and be ever so happy I even sent one out!  

I actually LOVE this pictures of these 3 monkeys.  Even though they are not looking at the camera, I love the way they are looking at each other and laughing!!

Poor Case, he practiced his smile all day long but when it came time for the photo session, he couldn't remember which smile it was that I liked!

Seriously boys!  Like I really want a picture of you wrestling each other!  Actually this would be the perfect family photo because this is our life.  Wrestling, scratching places we shouldn't, chewing with our mouths open.  Good times, Good times!!

Is this the best we can do family?  Stay tuned to see which picture we actually chose.