Christmas Joy

      As I was driving along today with the sounds of Christmas ballads pouring out the speakers, I caught a glimpse of two very happy little ones swaying to the music in back seat and I felt surprised. I wasn’t surprised to see them enjoying the music; they are always back there dancing to the tunes on the radio when I drive. I get a lot of requests from Hudson to turn up the volume of the music so he can dance. What surprised me was the fact that I realized I was enjoying the Christmas music just as much as they were.
      I would not call myself a fan of Christmas. It could easily be my least favorite Holiday. We barely get done with Halloween before the Holiday is forced down your throat in every store, on the TV, and the radio.   
      Don’t get me wrong, I love Jesus and all. I’m more then happy to sing praises to him. I love having opportunities to think of his love and celebrate his birth. So what is my problem? Thinking back on Christmas’s as a kid I was always left with feelings of sadness. My parents always did their best to make the holiday everything it is supposed to be with lights, treats, and more presents then I’m sure I deserved. But Christmas is a day to be with the people you love and when your parents are divorced this just isn’t possible. No matter who I was with, I missed the other parent. If I was having fun and feeling happy I seemed to end up feeling guilty, as if it wasn’t fair to the other parent that I could be enjoying my Christmas with out them. However, I have realized that this year I am excited for Christmas, very excited in fact. Childhood scars that I should have let go of a long time ago have been healed by a silly little three year old boy.
      Every Christmas light, fake Santa, and Christmas song sends Hudson into a fit of excitement and anticipation that radiates pure joy in my heart. The part that warms my heart the most is that his excitement if not for the presents he will be opening but of the fact that he knows this Christmas he gets to go see so many people he loves back in Utah. So in primary this week as we sang of the precious gift of a baby; I couldn’t help but think of how grateful I am for the gift of my own babies. I know my Heavenly Father loves me because he not only sent his son here to save us, but he also gave me mine.



This is our countdown until Utah chain.  Hudson loves to take a ring off everyday.  Its getting really short!



Just when I think Ellie can't get any sillier she seems to learn something new that makes me laugh even harder. She is coming up with new ways of communicating with us everyday.  My favorite one today is that barns are called "Yie Yoes" as in "Old MacDonald had a farm  E I E Yie Yoe" 



The end of the semester is upon on us and Jake is really busy.  He tries to make the most of his time though. I cant believe that we are almost 1/4th of the way done.  I really cant believe Jake has learned to multitask!



Turkey Pox

Monday morning we awoke to find our little lady had come down with a case of chicken pox.  On top of that the rest of us came down with head colds.  So, we have had to spend the week in exile. It has been a long long week. Our family has a hard time sitting around the house.  We tried to make the most of it and had some fun doing a few crafts.

Gram Andrea sent us these to put together.  Hudson was so excited to have a Christmas tree, it is amazing the things that he seems to remember from last year.  Hudson said that he little ginger bread character was named "Ginjo" and we have been hearing short stories about Ginjo and his ginger bread house. The activity really helped us get through an afternoon trapped inside. 

We tried to make a few trips to the park and go on walks everyday, but the kids didn't ever last very long. The combination of sickness and cold limited the amount they could handle.

We were sad to have to cancel Thanksgiving dinner plans with friends, but we made the most of the Holiday by making and eating enough food to feed five families.

Ellie learned the word "BITE" today.  When she spotted pie she would go crazy demanding "bite, bite, bite."

The longer you are trapped in the house with a bunch of sick people, the more you begin to scramble for things to entertain you.  I was strangely excited to make pilgrim and Indian costumes out of scraps around the house.  Jake was instantly sent back in time to 4th grade and was sweet to indulge my crazy by making Ellie and my Indian costumes.  

We have so much to be thankful for...

Simple Joys





Love




Little Things



Entrapment

     As I was cleaning up breakfast, Hudson devised his plan. It all started with the sound of Ellie crying in her room. Upon closer inspection, I found her inside her room with the door locked. All of the doors in our house have locks, and the locks cannot be unlocked from the outside. There is no way to push a pointy object into the end to release it; and the trim around the door eliminates the possibility of accessing the lock with a credit card. So, that left the task of using a screw driver to very slowly remove the entire door knob from the door. Add a screaming baby to the time consuming task and let’s just say I was less then pleased. So once Ellie was freed I got her dressed and ready to go. I headed for my room to get myself put together for the day, only to discover, my own room locked from the inside. Yea!
      About halfway through the first screw, Hudson notifies me that he needs to go potty, and guess what…..ITS LOCKED TOO! Heavenly Father decided to cut me a break and I was able to gain entry before Hudson created another mess for me to clean up. I’m sure you wont be the least surprised to hear that when I went to open Hudson’s door, it was locked as well. Now, this is the not the first time that he has locked one of the doors from the inside, however, this is the first time he has locked ALL of the doors! So, today as I removed each of the door knobs and reversed them all so that the locks are now on the outside of the door, I must tell you that I have a renewed sense of joy and peace with in me that only another enslaved parent could understand. However, it’s very quiet at the moment and I fear that can only mean one thing….Hudson is planning something.

      Sadly, the funniest and most shameful part of this story is that not two hours later, I happened to be vacuuming in Ellie’s room; when I heard the door slam and giggles echoing down the hall. I didn’t even have to try the knob. I knew I was trapped with no cell phone and no screw driver. I forgot to mention that Ellie’s door has a child’s lock on the outside door knob so that Hudson had no way to open it when she naps. Thirty minutes later I still had found no way to pick the lock and the window was not an option either. I ended up pleading with Hudson through the door to go get a neighbor to rescue me. Asking this of a three year old is just about as reliable as Timmy sending Lassie for help, but I had no other choice. Thankfully Hudson proved to be just as reliable as the famous collie, when he and a neighbor did in fact come to my rescue. I guess I have to chalk this up as another win for Hudson.

 
    This week, the kids got to go to the doctor and get shots.  Ellie had to have SIX and it hardly seemed to bother her. Hudson had ONE and he got so upset he puked all over the doctors office, and then he spent the next three days walking with a limp!  He is such a funny boy.  Speaking of being a boy, since we moved here all of his friends are girls.  We got to go to one of their birthday parties and Hudson was very excited. The only problem is that it was a princes themed party. Just look what happens when you are the only boy at a princess party...

                                                            What mom wouldn't be proud!
 
      I'm excited to say Jake and I finally finished our family tree project. I'm really excited about it, because Hudson loves to see the pictures. He loves to tell me who each person is and then we end up talking about stories he remembers from each person. 

     
 
 
     I took some pictures at the play group we go to at the library.  They really enjoy it. Ellie loves to climb anything she can find.  She is all over the place these days.   Of coarse when  Hudson isn't planning my demise he is playing with trains.  The boy is obsessed. Ellie is even learning to play them with him.  We taught him to pretend she is a dinosaur who is attacking the station so that its a game when she messes up the track.  We call her Elliezilla.  The crazy thing is that is actually works!
 

 
 

Thanks to these two, my life is never dull!

Its fun to go to the YMCA

   This week I decided to broaden my horizons a bit by taking up a new hobby.  Three days a week I wake up at five thirty A.M. to spend about an hour recreating with some sweet senior citizen women from our community. Now, before you start thinking that I'm some sweet "good doer", let me explain. 
   We recently joined the local YMCA near our home.  Along with our membership they offer a wide variety of classes. I signed Hudson up for a Gymnastics and swimming class, and he is loving it! He is the youngest kid in the class and it is truly hilarious to watch him participate. He definitely wins the prize for the most enthusiasm.  I'm sure every kid and observing mother knows his name already due to the fact that his teachers are constantly saying it, in a effort to keep him on task. He is such a funny guy!
    As for myself, I signed up for a class called cardio dance, thinking it would be a fun way to get some exercise.  When I showed up for the first class I found that I was about two generations younger then all of my classmates.  I stood there worried that I had made the mistake of signing up for a class that was going to be well below even my low level of fitness.  Imagine my surprise when hip hop music started blasting through the gym speakers.  We immediately dove right into the first of a dozen choreographed dances set to modern music. So, imagine me dancing with a dozen women the age of my grandmother to hip hop music. Now imagine that I am the one who is red faced and stumbling over my own feet, because although I'm ashamed to admit it, that is the reality. The old gals can really move! They are really sweet and even take time to offer me tips and bits of encouragement like, "your doing great honey, don't worry you'll figure it out."  The grandmas have to encourage me!!! It is a lot of fun, challenging, and very humbling!

Aside from the YMCA, the kids have been really happy and good.  We have even had some nice warm days at the park......



It all started out so innocent.




Things took a turn for the worse.



Eventually I gave up on her clothes all together.

She fell face fist into the mud.

 

 This is what Ellie's bad influence can do.

Tick or Treat

Happy Halloween Everyone.  I was pretty heartbroken I couldn't bring my little ones to knock on all your doors, so I tried to re-create it for you.  As you can see in the pictures and videos we had two little dragons this year. Hudson had his heart set on being a dinosaur though, so we let him believe that he was one.

Due to a home football game this weekend, State College decided to celebrate Halloween on Thursday.  I was so excited to take the kids and watch Hudson's excitement upon realizing that all he had to do was knock on a door to receive a sugary treat.  To my great disappointment, Ellie had a bad night from what I think was teething. After a continuous hour of crying I put her to bed and sent the boys out to the tasty wonderland without me. They were able to pair up with some of Hudson's friends, and had a great time without us.  Hudson was quite timid at first, but quickly got into the spirit of things leading the group of neighborhood children as fast as his little "Dragonsoarous" feet could carry him. After each door he would turn to Jake and say "Just one more house?" He was so excited even late that night as I was falling a sleep I could hear him laying in bed talking about all his candy.

 

    The next night was the ward Trunk or Treat.  Ellie was in better spirits thankfully because she looked so cute in her costume it would have been a waste if she hadn't gotten to use it. Hudson was thrilled to be able to get even more candy.  We had a lot of fun.  We certainly had the cutest kids there! *Wink*

   
   
    For all those back home who have been participating in the deer hunt you will be surprised to know that I also decided to participate in the deer hunt this year.  In fact, I snagged myself a pretty good sized one, an eight point to be exact. Well... eight legs anyway.  I found a DEER TICK... IN MY HEAD!!! Not cool considering they have Lyme disease out here. We had never experienced this before and were a little unsure of the best way to take it out.  We received lots of advice about putting alcohol or ointments on it to make them suffocate and pull out or burning their butts so that they pull out.  We called the clinic here and they said I needed to come in and get an antibiotic going due to the Lyme disease. So to set the record straight all this advice is wrong. The doctor told us you are just supposed to slowly pull it out with tweezers. He also informed us that when you try these other remedies it only aggravates the tick and makes it vomit into the womb. I'm still so creaped out!!! Not to mention I still run a chance of having Lyme disease.  So I have found one thing I don't like about Pennsylvania.

Where has all the free time gone?

First thing first.....we have a niece!!!! Hudson and Ellie have a cousin! Congratulations Nate and Kim! We couldn't be any more happy for you.  We cannot wait to see Morgan. We love her already!

I can't believe I haven't had any time to sit down and update this blog for two weeks.  I don't know what happened to my free time.....well, retract that last statement.  I know exactly what happened, it got swallowed up by a clingy one year old and a three year old who has decided to let me prove my love for him.  For some reason turning three has meant that Hudson must test every limit. Nap time has become a battle, so the time that I once enjoyed by myself has been replaced with the crusade of trying to get him to stay in his room and sleep. I have to admit that I usually lose. He has also been very home sick for all things Utah.  We have had quite a few cry sessions because he wants to get on a plane and go visit all the numerous people he misses. It has been very hard on me and I didn't realize why until I was writing my Grandma Mabel a letter. I realized that it reminded me of being a little girl and always missing someone no matter where I was. It is hard to not have the people you love when you want them. I'm not sure if Ellie senses that Hudson is trying my patience or what, but she has decided that she needs to be held every minute.  It is not that I hate this, in fact I love that she wants me, but it definitely makes it hard to get anything done. 
    Despite the kids new behaviors, we have continued to stay busy and have lots of fun.  We have become fully immersed in all things Fall.  One day the long lost sunshine decided to make an appearance.  We decided to go explore a new forest. I was really excited to get out and hike on a beautiful sunny day. However as we drove into the forest we noticed that all the people we came upon were dressed in bright orange.  We completely forgot about hunting season!  Having no orange and not wanting to get shot by the many hunters we passed on the dirt roads, we decided we had better modify our adventure. We found a new lake on the map and headed for it.  When we got to the "lake" there was no water to be seen.  Just a valley with small boats beached in the dry dirt.  This years drought had drained it.  Disappointed again at another set back to our adventure we loaded back into the car and headed in the direction of home.  However, redemption came when we stumbled upon a small town fall children's festival.  We had a lot of fun and even got to go on a little Halloween hike.  I went to take pictures but my camera was out of batteries; so I can't fully share our not so adventurous day.
 

More Fun:

We got together with some friends and make "haunted houses".  The houses weren't too scary but the way we felt after eating our houses and the extra candy was enough to frighten anyone.







Another night we got together with our friends and made huge caramel apples. Once again we had sugar overload!

You can see what part of the apple Hudson liked.

We had a pumpkin carving party one night as well.  The kids loved it. We saved the seeds and roasted them in the oven. They are sooo yummy, and maybe the only food item we ate all week that wasn't full of sugar!

She may look extra sweet but don't be fooled!





This is what Ellie does when she isn't in my arms.....She is into everything ever minute of the day. I can't keep up with this little busy body.

Eating markers or crayons or whatever else she can get her hands on.  She is a handful, but at least she keeps me from getting bored.  We just can't help but love our little girl.

    Another high point this week was being asked to speak in church.  This is not something I enjoy by any means, in fact, it was enough to keep me from sleeping well for nearly a week. However, it truely was a great experience and I am always surprised by this. I am truely thankful we had this opportunity.  We had so many new people approach us afterwards and make us feel welcome. Not to mention the number of people who had Blanding connections, and that is always fun!  It seems like the longer we are here the more great people we get to know. 



Milk Chocolate & Intercourse

   We had a fantastic week! Hudson turned three and we had the very first, of I hope many visitors from Utah. Gram Wendy came to be with us for Hudson's birthday.  Since she had never been to Pennsylvania before, we tried to see some of the sights the state is known for.  Two of which were, Hershey's Chocolate World and Intercourse PA, one of the most famous Amish townships in the state. I had fun thinking of a few inappropriate jokes to go along with what I could promise any visitors from the west, but decided I would only end up embarrassed, so I will let you do that for yourself!

Who wouldn't love a place called Chocolate World?!
Everywhere we went some one was giving us chocolate.
 I will admit I was not feeling too well by the time we left!

Which one is sweeter?

We took a fun trolley tour ride through the town of Hershey and learned all about the great man who
 invented magical milk chocolate!  The street lights are even in the shape of  Hershey kisses. 
Ellie looked so cute being a big girl sitting on the seat all by herself.

The kids loved this ride! They sat entranced as they were serenaded by singing cows and taught about
 the milk chocolate process.
Actually, Hudson has asked me everyday since to take him back to Chocolate World!
I think the biggest factor in his new love for Hershey PA isn't just the singing cows, it  is all the free chocolate!

 In Amish Country...

We did not purchase a tee shirt! But, we did laugh about all the people we would love to send one too!
Ha Ha







We enjoyed an Amish buggy ride through the country.  Of coarse Ellie loved the horses! I thought their way of life was so fascinating! I was actually a little jealous. It honestly appeals to me. The driver took us to farm where a girl was selling lemonade and :"whoopee" Pies. More inappropriate jokes come to mind.

  We really enjoyed having Gram Wendy come visit. We especially enjoyed having someone entertain our kids for us!  Thanks for making the trip out to see us! We love PA but we do miss our families, Hudson especially.  He talks about when he is going to see everyone almost everyday.  Hopefully we will get some more visitors.  We would love to show anyone the sights. With this kind of excitement, who wouldn't want to come!?!