Mimi and Grandpa in da house!!

Mimi decided that the first thing we had to do was go to the Anthropology sale. I will never understand how she gets so excited about Anthropology when she practically has her own Anthro at the Children's Hour. She loves a good deal and everything was 50% off. We had a ton of fun just the two of us shopping downtown and at the Paper Source next door. Mom's a shopping machine. She could go all day!! I'll never forget the exhausting trips I would take with her to New York or L.A. for buying trips. She totally wore me out!!

 Mimi also insisted that we get our nails done and invited Sadie to come along.  A girl's day at the salon!  Sadie was in heaven.  I tried shellac for the first time and they lasted forever!!  I finally had to peel them off because they weren't going anywhere.  

Sadie didn't get shellac.  She waited patiently with a book while Mimi and I were beautified.  Her outfit kills me!  She's all fancy with her headband, all comfy in her sweats, and ready to mount a horse in her boots.  Such a silly fashionista!!

We couldn't leave the boys out entirely so we decided to go to Hamilton Pools.  Little did we know the water was so toxic with ecoli they had a woman there telling everyone NOT to touch the water.  This was very hard for the kiddos.  Normally they would want to swim in it and couldn't even put their hands in there. 

We still had fun throwing rocks.  

I was a little bummed Austin couldn't offer my parents warmer weather than the lower 60s.  They didn't mind the chilly weather and were just grateful to be out of the SLC smog that plagues the valley all winter long.  We ventured out anyway hitting Sandra Bullock's bakery downtown before a quick visit to the state capitol. 

We had heard a little bit about the new Austin Aquarium and thought we'd check it out.  It ended up being a Petsmart on steroids. It was literally in an old Petsmart location.  Kind of hilarious.  I ran into some old friends from my Cedar Park days too which was great but reminded me how much more I like SouthWest Austin.  Such a better fit for us down here.

Chase and I made the observation that most of the parents looked really bored, but the kids were all thrilled to be there.  Maybe we need to be more like the kids and expect less from everything.  My kiddos had a blast and that's all that really matters. 

Petting stingrays!

George was particularly thrilled every time one swam by.

We all loved feeling the birds too.  They REALLY liked Sadie.  She was trying so hard to be brave even after all the birds in the cage swarmed around her like a fresh piece of meat.  She stole the show and all the other kids wished that many birds were on their arms and back. 

 

 

Poor Grandpa was a little sick while he was here.  He still tried to be the best grandpa ever and be everything and more to our wonderful chiddlers.  He was even kind enough to humor George and his tedious obsession with flags. He eventually got strep and after going home realized he had pneumonia.  He also was limping the whole time because his knee was giving him grief.  It kind of breaks my heart to see my strong dad all of a sudden feeble and sick.  It reminded me of the time he broke his nose.  He had tripped and in an effort to save his broken (and taped) glasses, he fell on his nose.  Dad was always my hero (still is) but as a little girl, it was so strange to see him laying in bed with bandages all around his bloodied nose.  It never occurred to me then that one day my dad would really get old. 

 

This was the first year I really started to fear the day I will ever have to say goodbye to him. It was the "limping" that really got to me. That's what "old people" do. Not my dad. My dad could never be "old." Old people eventually die! I know there is much more beyond the grave but that doesn't make it any easier to live here on earth without him. He's always been here. Dad is and has always been everything to me. I know it's just a limp and it better just be a limp for a long time to come.

 

We have far too much fun when he and Mimi come around!

Merry Christmas 2013!!

Another fantastic Christmas has come and gone.  We anticipate it all year and prepare for it in a hurry and then it's all over in a couple of hours.  It was a pretty fun couple of hours though.  We could hear the kids screaming from upstairs that they were ready to come down (having a master bedroom downstairs is very inconvenient during the holidays). It took us a minute to prepare their breakfast.  We knew they needed something in their stomachs because there was a slight scent of Reeses PB cups drifting into our bedroom from the stockings next door.  We made Santa Pancakes to fill up those little tummies.  Jack just ate the whipped cream, George ate the his strawberries and Sadie gobbled hers up in hopes that we could retreat to the living room as soon as possible. 

We made them eat upstairs to eliminate peeking.

George was growing restless!!

Santa gave Sadie a Rainbow Loom (it's so hot right now:-) and Jack got some new playing cards.  Santa thought it appropriate since he could play Uno all day and has from time to time.  George got a new car!!  He spent a lot of time just getting in and out, making sure that door opened every time.

I love watching them open their gifts.  Jack has a one track mind when he opens them.  He can't move onto the next present until he has fully examined the first.

Sadie was absolutely thrilled about her new toy horse stable!  As long as it has something to do with horses, she sold!! 

Amidst all the holiday chaos, I made Chase a new beanie.  His older ones didn't seem to cover his head.  Can't have my main squeeze getting cold during the craziest winter Austin has seen yet.  It's been so cold!! I think he likes it even if it does leave little round indentations on his head from being a little tight. 

After they opened their gifts, they played with them ALL day.  Literally.  By the time we went to retrieve Grandpa and Mimi from the airport, these chiddlers were still in their pj's and still totally interested in their new treasures.  Jack was pretty excited about his new legos, Sadie with her horses, and George with his Baby Einstein toys. 

He spent at least an hour pounding those balls into their respective holes.  Give a little boy a hammer and he's happy for an entire afternoon. 

It was a wonderful Christmas.  Chase and I gave each other 4 new toilets and a fireplace log.  Very practical but exactly what this house needed.  Chase installed them all himself and did a phenomenal job.  He also saved us a phenomenal amount of cash we would have had to pay a plumber. We spent the rest of the afternoon curled up with the fire blazing.  After we picked up Mimi and Grandpa, we had some Christmas ham and stuffing, pumpkin cheesecake and let the kids open more presents from their doting grandparents.  Such a wonderful day!!

Christmas Eve Festivities

The Lunt's invited us over for Christmas Eve and it was so fun!!  I love that a portion of the night was dedicated to sharing with everyone something you had worked on that year.  It was a mini talent show and everyone had something wonderful to share!

Sadie was able to play Away in a Manger.  She worked so hard learning it so I was happy she was able to perform it more than once.  Of course she sounded wonderful!

 

Melanie asked Chase to bring his cello, so we played We Three Kings. Mel was hoping to get Easton fired up to play the cello as well. 

Everyone brought something delicious to share.  There were five different soups, lots of rolls, and tasty desserts.  George was VERY excited about the puppy running all over the place and made it a point to follow him everywhere. 

After dinner we all piled in the back of Craig's truck and trailer for some "Texas style" caroling to all the neighbors.  We pretty much sang Jingle Bells over and over again because it was the only song all the kiddos knew.  I invited the sister missionaries to come along too and it was great knowing they weren't home alone and keeping busy on Christmas eve. 

Unfortunately, one sister started feeling sick so they went home after we went back for dessert.  I guess they needed a blessing that night so even though I just wanted to hog my Chase on such a special night, he went over there with Brady to give them a blessing.  He helped me put George to bed and we opened our pajamas before he took off.  The kids LOVED them!! 

It's hard being away from home during the holidays so hopefully Chase and Brady were able to give the sisters some comfort.  I wasn't thrilled that he left but we had fun anyway spreading our reindeer food and reading books until he got back. 

 

 

He got back right after Jack fell asleep on the couch.  Christmas eve tuckered the little guy out!!

We put the littles to bed and cozied up around the fire.  It was time to play Santa and we did a pretty good job, all before midnight.  It was a fantastic evening with family and friends.  It makes not going back to Utah for the holidays more bearable.  We love our Texas family!!

You better not pout!

 

 Truth be told, I'm getting pretty sick of Santa.  I'm tired of the kids always wondering whether or not they are pleasing Santa, whether or not he will bring them this or that, and whether or not he's actually real.  I know it's fun for them but I want them to worry whether or not they are pleasing their Heavenly Father.  Not some made up being.  I tried to really focus on Christ this year in our home.  We watched little clips every night about Christ's life and read the correlated scriptures.  The kids got excited for it every night and I was happy that they were learning more about Him.   

 

I switched things up this year.  I told them Santa would only be giving them "something you want, something to wear, something you need and something to read."  They were fine with that and I was happy to be giving Chase and me more credit for the gifts they get on Christmas morning. 

 

Santa's great, don't get me wrong.  Christmas is magical and exciting and I was thrilled to have Santa at our ward Christmas Party.  This saved me the time I would otherwise spent waiting in a line at the mall.  I gotta get my "Santa pic" after all (even if I am a little "over" old Saint Nick as of late.

 

I didn't know Santa would be at the party so my kids showed up looking a bit homeless.  This is why they are photographed wearing winter coats. This was an attempt to hide the P Terry's ketchup all over their sweatshirts.  It worked!! I braided Sadie's hair by the stage and teased Jack's wild mane and rat's nest into a ridiculous comb over. A mother can try.  I know how beautiful they can be, and that's all that matters. 

Besides, if we want to talk about appearing homeless, take a good look at Santa. 

Doesn't really matter, because all I ever wanted was a hysterical picture of George.  It's a personal goal of mine to have a picture of every one of my children terror stricken by Santa.  It gives me great pleasure and joy and I'm being completely serious here.

George was far too pleasant last year when we took pictures with Santa.  It was his turn to be terrified.

 

  He really, really, really hates candy canes (and Santa too...I guess:-)

 

And here are the cute primary kids making us jolly with their sweet caroling. We love our ward!! 

Drowning in December

I'm pretty much convinced Austin had the plague this December! Everyone and their dog was sick! It started after Thanksgiving when EVERY family that ate at the Hurst's home got the stomach bug. Coincidence? I think not!! Sadie got it first, then George, then Jack, then I got strep, then Sadie got strep, and to top it all off, Chase got the stomach bug AND strep. It was KILLER!! We had this long list of fun activities for our holiday advent and after this year I've decided to just fill the advent with candy.  That way the kids will stop checking what activity they'll inevitably miss out on because someone is too sick to go.  We did manage to do a lot of fun things and pretty much crammed them into the few weeks and weekends we were healthy (or on antibiotics:-).

 

 
We got our lights up!  Chase hung all the lights on the day he took work off for strep.  He was feeling great after his antibiotics kicked in, so we put him to work!!

 

I still can't get over the fall leaves arriving two months late in Austin.  They were especially beautiful this year because of the frosty low temperatures.  It was COLD!!

When you're sick and stuck inside because it's 20 degrees, you get a reindeer template and make garland.  That Santa sleigh was tricky!!  The whole thing took me close to three hours to cut.  Geez!!  Good thing George takes a long afternoon nap (sometimes:-). 

We made it to the Wildflower center to see the Illuminations and hear the fun music.  We loved all the crafts inside too.  I also loved watching Jack concentrate while using scissors.  A true Etherington always opens his mouth while doing something tricky. I was laughing with the woman across from me when she pointed out that I did the exact same thing when I was cutting up my snowflake.  Chip off the ol' block!

 

George thought it was fun to throw dirt on all the candles.  We had a lot of fun trying to stop him.

 

Another fun event happened while making our Sunday nachos.  The oven started sparking!  We feared an electrical fire and called the fire department.  It's not everyday that shiny red truck shows up to your very own house.  The kids were amazed!!  The top oven is not obviously broken so Sadie put a note on the front saying "DO NOT USE! Oven was on FIRE! Coution: do not put stuff in oven under age 19."  She's looking out for us all.  There's also another note on the oven that says "I love you Mom, even when you're frustrated."  Thanks Sades.  

We decorated our tree putting all the soft, unbreakable ornaments on the bottom for our Curious George.  Also whipped out our gingerbread house.  I obviously have control issues when it comes to making and decorating Christmas treats.  In my defense, I let them put the candy on (after I told them where to put it....).

 

And because of my control issues, only I can bake, frost, and package the neighbor gifts.  I say this every year but TRULY, I am not doing the 4 different cookies again next year.  It's too much work and when the cookies break in their bags, I cry a little inside.  It was easy in the Etherington home because we had an assembly line going on over there.  We all did a different cookie and all helped decorate.  This is NOT a one woman job.  Next year the neighbors are getting Martinelli's.

 

I did have a pretty fun time delivering some of them with the scooter.  I felt a little like the Jolly Postman!

 

The wonderful and talented Macy Robison took our family pictures this year.  They turned out great!  I should have made it a New Years card because that's about what time some recipients got them.  Oh well.  Better luck next year.

 

Jack's preschool program was fantastic!  I love having him in a private Christian preschool where it's not against the law to celebrate Christ and his birth.  They sang the sweetest songs and did such a great job in their little beautiful vibrant costumes.  I was also pleased as punch that they put my little Jack front and center on stage.  It was very "wise" of them:-)

We were brave enough to hit the Trail of Lights this year.  We avoid crowds as much as possible but this seemed too good to pass up.  SO glad we went.  It wasn't too crowded and the lights were spectacular!!

 

 

George giggled every time the flash went off for a picture.  It was hilarious.  I love the Austin skyline in the background (and my cute little reindeer:-).

 

Sadie wowed us all at her piano recital!  She was the only student who had memorized her pieces. I love that they perform at an assisted living center every year.  On the way there Sadie mentioned that it would be ok if she made a mistake during her performance because "the old people won't care."  It's great to see Sadie learning to serve others at such a young age. She held it together even when the cute little ladies started singing along as she played Away in a Manger.

 

Lights, lights and more lights.  We love driving around Austin to see all the beautiful (and tacky) Christmas displays.  George especially loved one house adorned with model trains.  He kicked his legs with excitement!

 

George was a trooper through it all.  He managed to survive all the Christmas shopping and found a few friends along the way. 

The hardest part was trying to keep him awake on the way home.  Sometimes we just gave up and so did George.