Decorating the tree

After we set up the tree, we let the girls put up the ornaments.

When I went to check it out, this is what I found.

You've got it...all in one place, right at the bottom of the tree.

Here are the designers themselves.

So proud.

It stayed that way for a day or two, until I secretly moved more to balance the tree. For safety reasons of course, we wouldn't want the whole tree leaning to one side! ;)

It's fun having them get excited for the holidays! It helps that they have each other to get excited!

Frosty

This morning, Devin was outside shoveling the snow. So we thought we'd join him. I told him I'd come and help him. We live on the corner so we've got extra sidewalk to shovel as well as a driveway that curves. The snow was so slushy and wet. Which was SO heavy to shovel, but perfect for making a snowman! So after I shoveled for 10 minutes, I thought it looked like more fun to play in the snow! So I did!

Here's the girls all bundled up! I swear it takes 20 minutes to put on every layer, make sure Paityn has gone to the bathroom (so we don't deal with that issue right after she's bundled), put the right fingers in the gloves then finally switch to mittens...then to play in the snow for 20 minutes, to then de-bundle them! Oh well, all in the fun of snow!

Here's our snowman with pig-tails and all! Paityn said it's name HAS to be Frosty. But can Frosty be a girl with pig-tails?? Oh well. This snow man is gender confused.

Let's hope  she/he/whatever it is  stays up for a few days so we can watch her outside our window!

Sister Sleepover

The girls have been asking to have a

SLEEPOVER

almost every night this week.

So we attempted it almost every night and every night it ended with Presley crying while we took her to her crib.

The attempts were cute; you'd hear lots of laughter and moving around, until it had been 30 minutes (or longer) and LOTS of chances; we decided it was TIME FOR BED!!

Well. Tonight was a different story. I said they only had a few chances (few to them meant at least 10). The last attempt, I heard silence and then went in and saw this:

Not sure how I'll find them in the morning, probably one of them (I'm putting my money on Presley) will be on the floor. In fact, I might have to do some secret moving so no one gets hurt!! I'm afraid they might ask to sleep like this every night!!

Math Equation

This

- 

THEM

=

US

DATE NIGHT BABY! DINNER, JAZZ GAME WITH FRIENDS, STARBUCKS APPLE CIDER (CARAMEL APPLE IN A CUP)!

PERFECT NIGHT!

Halloween 2009

Time to catch up on the Halloween Festivities!

My Aunt Sherri & Grandma Lindsey threw their annual Halloween Party so they could see all the grandkids dressed up! We ate yummy soup, played fun games, and got to visit with the family! It's always fun having an excuse to get together! {thanks Sherri & grandma}

...This year the Ollertons {Seth & Abbie} hosted the Annual Friend Halloween Party...

With that said, costume ideas are kept an absolute secret, some even decided months before, until we arrive at the party! That way, there's even more "SHOCK VALUE" (as my husband would say) I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! SOOO FUN!

While walking in, Abbie set the mood with these bags that were lit up saying "I'd turn back if I were U!" (Leave it to Abbie to remember ALL the details)

Alright, so here are our friends in their Halloween best...

GUNS-N-ROSES: AXL ROSE & SLASH

JUNO & BLEEKER

SCAREY HORROR DUDE (FORGOT HIS NAME) & CUTE WITCH

FRED & WILMA FLINSTONE

MICHAEL PHELPS (IN THE MIDDLE)

WITH HIS WIFE: THE HIPPIE 

DANCING WITH THE STARS 

OSAMA BIN LADEN

GOLD DIGGER & PIMP (AKA SICK OLD MAN)

So we told everyone we were just Bronco Mendenhall & his wife (BYU) when we arrived, boring right?? Not typical for this kind of party! So then....

Low and behold...Devin is Michael Phelps as well! And me, well, I opted for his swim coach with an American flag! (yeah right, I wasn't going to get into a swimming suit just for the heck of it) It was hilarious because like I said, NO ONE tells what they are going to be. So it was so funny that both Devin & Matt showed up as the same thing!! And yes, my husband is in MY swimming suit bottoms!! So embarassing, but all in the fun of Halloween!!

 

Thanks Seth & Abbie! What a fun night! I'm laughing all over again, going through the pictures! I'm still craving the hot chocolate bar!

HALLOWEEN NIGHT WITH THE GIRLS

This year I thought it would be fun if Paityn & her cousin Ben (who lives across the street) could be something together. So we tossed around a lot of ideas and came up with Thing 1 & Thing 2. And Presley was a ladybug.

LITTLE LADYBUG

THING 2
Before we went out, we went over to the Birds for a delicious dinner. Also, my parents and Abby came down to see the girls trick-or-treat and wanted to pass out donuts & hot chocolate to the trick-or-treaters. (Perfect considering the weather was BiTTeR cOLd) I thought it was a great idea so that's what we did as well! It was a great Halloween! Now onto the other holidays on their way!

Mi Familia

{I heart all these people in this picture}

My brother asked for us to send him an updated family photo! So we snapped a quick photo to send to him on Sunday! I can't believe that he'll be home in a little over 5 months! I can't believe how fast time flies by...although we'll be very happy to have him around! Paityn literally blesses him in every prayer she gives, and even if she isn't the one saying the prayer, she reminds that person (in the middle of the prayer) to 'Bless Kramer!' It's so sweet! And with Presley's personality, I think she'll be happy to have a new friend to play with. (When Kramer left, she was only 4 months old.)

I'm curious to see what he thinks when he gets the picture.

The Y

Some of the Bird family got together to hike the Y.

It's such a fun hike and I wish we'd do it more often.

But I'll be honest, it's straight uphilL!

So I was so proud of all the kids for hiking it all by themselves.

Paityn and I walked together the whole way (lots of stops/drinks...but I didn't mind, I quite needed them myself), while Devin booked it with Presley on his shoulders!

. . . This is at the start of our hike . . .

. . . this is the view going down . . .

There's nothing like being outdoors, doing something active!

Then not to mention the view you get to experience when you've made it to the top!