The Russell Family Journal

Happy Birthday Levi!

2010-04-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

You are the coolest kid in town!

I know I'm behind on blogging, so I'll have to backtrack later because today my baby turns 2! He is the light of our home. We were all so excited for him to get up this morning and see his balloons. When I went in his room he said "balloons, pop it." I didn't really know what he meant, but when he came downstairs saying scissors, I knew what was going on. He got the child scissors out of the drawer and popped all the balloons on the floor - such a funny kid!

I love this age, and Levi is such a great kid. I laugh at him all the time, and he is always making me smile. He is always telling everyone that he loves them - sometimes yelling it. He just walks around happy most of the time (no kid is ever happy all the time). I love having him in our home.

the late family...

2010-02-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder why that late family couldn't make it to church on time at 11 o'clock? It is probably not that they slept in, but that maybe their 1 year old locked them all out of the van.

Levi was so excited to go to church because he was going to take the treat bucket to nursery that I let him get in the van while we were finishing up getting ready. Big mistake. After a while I realized that it was a mistake, but didn't do anything about it until we all went to go get in the van. He had managed to lock all the doors (they don't all work electronically, so he had to do at least one manually)and all the keys were inside the van. We had to use a package of fruit snacks to lure him into the front seat to try to get him to unlock the door. He doesn't actually know how to unlock the doors, because that takes a little more motor skills, and his fingers are not strong enough to pull up the lock. We tried to get him to get the keys and just push the button on them, but he had already put them in the ignition and they were where they were supposed to be. After about 15 minutes he pulled the door handle open just enough to pop the lock and we were off to church. We were actually going to be on time, but were now 10 minutes late.

We laughed and laughed.

I love this look - it's the "you can't get me to open the door" look.

(re-enactment photos)

Crafty Girls

2010-02-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago my cousin Ashley, my sister-in-law Lorisa, and I got together for a little craft day. It took us all day, with children running around everywhere, but we finally had something to show for it.

They turned out so cute - good job girls.

Fun Sunday

2010-02-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Sundays are sometimes a lot of fun at our house. This particular Sunday, the girls did my hair and make-up, and I did theirs. We got some silly pictures while trying to play pictionary with the kids. It was so much fun. They were supposed to draw movies, so we would be guessing all these movie titles, couldn't get it, and then Charity would give us a two minute explanation about what it was - yeah, now we get it? Our kids are so much fun.

If you look close at the video you can see a nice streak of blush down my cheek.

Don't forget that the girls did my make-up.

I was trying to make a silly face with Seth,
but he was making me laugh too much.

Paint the house...

2010-02-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

So the real reason I felt that I needed to blog today was because I found out someone actually reads it! Thanks to Grandma Whitney, I am actually updating the blog. So, on with the blog....

After a few days with the plastic, noise-making, toilet flushing dollhouse, we decided to trade Santa's gift for something we (meaning me) thought would be more fun. Now Sadie is the owner of a wood dollhouse. I am excited about this dollhouse because of all of the possibilities. All of the furniture, and walls can and will be painted. It came with a lot of furniture and accessories and will be so much fun.

First off, to paint the outside. Sadie of course chose her favorite color - green. Charity and Sadie helped with the painting and it looks fantastic. (If I do say so myself)

Sleeping in the box.

2010-02-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

We got a new table and chairs, and the boxes were the perfect beds for the kids. They slept in the boxes in the front room.

Just pretending to sleep....

Now they are really asleep.

Christmas with the Cupsas

2010-02-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

For Christmas dinner we went to our good friends the Cupsas. We had a great time, and later the girls did a program for us. Iana and Alexandra dance and sang - it was so much fun.

Alexandra, Sadie, Iana, Charity, and Levi.

Silly girls.

This wasn't just random dancing, it was coordinated, rehearsed, and hilarious.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful, peaceful Christmas day. We of course got up VERY early and had a great time opening presents from Santa. We love to take our time and play with our new fun toys. It was such a wonderful day.

Our first Christmas picture. Everyone's presents from Santa,
and the traditional box of Trix.

Ammon rips his present open.

Sadie's turn to dig into her stocking.

Charity helps Levi open a present from his stocking.

Ammon got a new racetrack.

Charity got a Leapster and some new games for it.

Levi wants to play with the racetrack too

Ammon and his new Bakugan.

Daddy has fun with Sadie.

Levi got some fun new trains.

Sadie and her new dollhouse (it gets exchanged for a better one later).

Levi got a new scooter from mom and dad.

Sadie gave charity some new doll clothes.

Charity looking through her new photo album.

Sadie likes her photo album too.

Everyone looking at the new games.
(Every year I am going to make sure there is a shot of the top of Seth's head - as you can see, there is not that much left.)

This is Levi's tv watching spot - he's wathcing his new Thomas movie, and wearing his new Thomas pajamas over his others.

Christmas eve

2010-02-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

Every Christmas eve we try to act out the nativity . This year Sadie was Mary, and Ammon was Joseph. Charity did not want to participate so she pouted on the couch. Every now and then she would try to make an effort. Sadie was glad, because she got to be Mary.

Jospeh and Mary on their way to Bethlehem.

Jesus is about to be born - Sadie loved pretending she was pregnant.

Charity pouting in the chair.

First Snow

2009-12-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Our kids love the snow and especially love eating it.

Happy Birthday Ammon

2009-12-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Ammon turned 7 this year and to celebrate we took him and two friends (Kaleb and Vanessa) to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving point.

going 3-D

Cool glasses

Getting out the cupcakes

Happy Birthday Ammon!

Levi loved playing in the snad and water.

Vaness going for a ride.

Ammon and Vanessa on a dig

Roar!!

Back at home and time for presents.

A new batman racetrack.

The race track was a big hit.

A Batman cake

Yummy

Happy Halloween

2009-12-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-12-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

My birthday gets bunched up with so much else going on, but I had a great day. Seth took us all to dinner, and then we cam home, opened presents, and had pie.

I am always breaking my mirrors, so Seth got me a new one - very thoughtful.

A new calendar.

I'll admit it - 31 candles.

Pumpkins for sale.

2009-12-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

We grew pumpkins in our garden this year and ended up with quite a few pumpkins. I told the kids we could sell them, so we did. We put up a sign and after only a few customers, our pumpkins were sold. I told Charity that if I sat there, then I got the money, but that if she sat there, she would get it. She was afraid to leave them to even go to the bathroom. She did a great job, and they earned $21 which they will use to buy Christmas presents for each other.

Carving pummpkins...

2009-12-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

Ammon and I worked on one together.

The girls just painted theirs...and painted and painted....lots of paint.

We got ours finished before Seth.

He worked hard on his pumpkin.

It looked great!

Real Salt Lake

2009-12-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

As part of the soccer season, the kids receive vouchers for Real Salt Lake tickets. This year we took our good friends the Cupsas with us. We had a great time. The team won this time, and this game led to the playoffs and then to winning the MLS cup - sweet!

Charity turns 5!

2009-12-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

Charity had a fun birthday. We let her open one present early in the day - the one from Ammon and Sadie. That was definitely a fun way to start the day.

For her party with her friends they painted a play house.

What a beautiful girl.

Charity's friend Elowen was the most creative painter.

Iana and Alexandra get in on the painting too.

Charity and Miranda.

Opening presents is so much fun.

Charity with her new doll - soon to be named Sarah Lynn.

The birthday cake!Make a wish

Charity loves her new doll.

Fall soccer

2009-12-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well, it was soccer time again, and Charity and Ammon played again. Charity was one of the best on her team, and regularly scored goals. She could keep up with the boys and take the ball away from them too.

Ammon gets better every season. He played this season with the same coach and with some of the same players, so that was nice. He still is pretty flaky, but is really starting to get the idea of the game.

In the end they both had a great time, and that's all that matters.

Farewell to Grandpa Hirschi

2009-12-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

Well, our summer trips ended, but then we made an unscheduled trip to the funeral of my sweet Grandpa Hirschi. Grandpa had a stroke and passed away on September 10. My grandpa was one of the most wonderful people I have ever known, second probably to only my husband. He will be missed by everyone that knew him.

With so much family coming together to celebrate my grandfather's life it was like a family reunion and we really enjoyed getting to see everyone again.

The grandchildren at the viewing.

A rose for every great grandchild - 48.

Grandpa plays soccer in the backyard with the kids.

Grandpa's garden

Mike and Uncle Dean

Grandma and Michelle

Brent and Joanne

Julie and Big David

Dad taking pictures too

Milo, David, Lynne and Kacey

Grandma getting some food - there was so much food thanks to the Othello 3rd ward.

Uncle Brad, Ashley and her family, and Aunt Lynne

Brent and Grandma

Levi and Mickey

Jen and Mallory

Michelle, Ammon, Wyatt, and Joanne

Ella Marie and her boys

Brent, Jen, Janae, Mallory, and Grandma

Joseph and his Grandma

Amy, Paul, Jen, Lynne, and Ashley

Brad, Mallory, Lynne, and Brynn

Blessing of Mallory

2009-12-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the summer is over, but we are still on the move. This time to Las Vegas for the blessing of Joanne and Mike's new baby girl, Mallory.

Cousins Isabelle, Sadie, Charity, and Kacey

Everyone after the blessing

Mother and daughter

The Belka family

First Day of School

2009-12-15T23:33:00.000-08:00

Ammon started first grade this year. Isn't he handsome? I love it when they get to the age that you can actually get them to give you a real smile for a picture.

Camping

2009-12-15T23:23:00.001-08:00

Our last trip of the summer was going camping with Jason and his family. Seth got camping supplies for Father's Day and we finally put them to use. We stayed for three nights and had so much fun spending time together.

We spent a little time at this little playground. It was so hot we just couldn't stay long.

Charity is driving the wagon. Everything is horses with that girl.

Playing in the dirt.

They were all little dirtballs - especially Sadie.

Sadie is always making such funny faces.

Beauty salon.

2009-12-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

Something I love to do is to have the girls play with my hair. I don't care what it ends up looking like, I just love to have my hair brushed, and I am constantly begging the girls to do my hair. Seth especially loved this hair-do and had to take my picture.

Preschool

2009-12-15T23:10:00.001-08:00

Charity and Sadie both started preschool in August. Charity goes in the morning and Sadie goes in the afternoon. Here they are on their first day of preschool. They are such beautiful, wonderful girls.

Last stop...Lava Hot Springs.

2009-12-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

This year my family took a trip to Lava Hot Springs. Almost everyone was there and we had a great time.

Hanging out at the pool.

This was the coolest kitchen set-up. The men did most of the cooking outside, and then we all ate outside - even for breakfast. It was fast, easy (for me at least), and quick clean-up. Thanks to dad for most of the good food.

Poor Levi was sick while we were at Lava.
I can't help but take a picture of a cute sleeping baby.

Eliza

Floating the river was so much fun.

It doesn't look like we know how to steer.

We took everyone miniature golfing. It was very run down and deserted looking, but we tried to have fun.

Golfing ended with both of my girls getting bit by wasps. Sadie got bit twice, but Charity threw the bigger fit, of course. We tried to cool them down with some otter-pops.

Still on the road...

2009-12-15T22:36:00.001-08:00

We move on to the next stop to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hirschi. Grandma did not want to get her picture taken, but I told her she had to anyway. I am so glad that I did - these pictures are very special to me. This would be my last visit with my special grandpa.

Camping with the Russell's

2009-12-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Next stop - Lake Wenatchee with the Russell family.

Everyone wanted a turn in the boat.

Even Mom and Dad went for a paddle.

Kem was actually helping with the cleaning, so I had to take his picture. He didn't just pose with it, he actually used it too.

Clebrating 60 years!

2009-12-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

Next we went to Wenatchee where I was able to join in celebrating my Grandma and Grandpa Hart's 60th wedding anniversary.

Uncle Jack and Michelle smile for the camera.

Rachel, Chris, David, and Fenton

(Graham,) Mom, Aunt Val, Jaya, Aunt Carla, and Aunt Nanette

Mom, Aunt Val, Jaya, and Aunt Carla

The guests of honor - aren't they sweet?

Melanie, Fannie, Uncle Brent, and Andrew

Uncle Randy and Melanie's baby - Cohen.

It was also my crazy Aunt Val's birthday.

Playing foosball at Great Granma Hart's

Charity threw this huge tantrum, and I just had to take a picture - you know, for posterity.

Levi just loves grandpas - any grandpa. He thinks they are just supposed to hold and love him.

Cousins Madeline, Jaya, and Sadie - just a couple months apart

Freezing on the ferry.

2009-12-15T22:04:00.001-08:00

We took the ferry from Sequim and boy were we freezing.

Next stop - Sequim

2009-12-15T21:48:00.001-08:00

Our next stop on our road trip was to see Seth's Grandma and Grandpa Whitney in Sequim.

While we were there we visited the Olympic Game Farm and had a fun time feeding some of the animals. Some got a little too close for comfort and slobbered on the van.

Blowing bubbles at Great Grandma's

Posing for pictures.

Cannon Beach

2009-12-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

This year we took a little tour of the Northwest for our family vacation. We started off in Cannon Beach, Oregon for a few days with just our family. It was quite cold, but we had a good time just being together.

Our first night in Cannon beach, all lined up in bed.

Our first day at the beach.

Playing at the park.

Going horseback riding.

Checking out the tide pools, and finding lots of starfish.

Fourth of July!

2009-12-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

This year we spent the 4th of July in Las Vegas with my sister Joanne and her family. We had a yummy breakfast at church and later watched fireworks at one of the casinos and then more fireworks that the neighbors set off. We had a great time.

Hangin' out with daddy

Everyone got a turn riding the 4-wheelers.

Swim lessons.

2009-12-15T21:11:00.000-08:00

All four kids took swim lessons this summer. I got to swim with Levi, and he turned out to be quite the little fish. He would even go under the water and try to kick to me. The other kids are getting better but still have a long way to go.

Father & Sons

2009-12-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

Seth took the boys on the ward father and sons campout in the sand dunes. Apparently it was very windy and sandy, but they had a good time anyway.

Where are your manners boys?

Levi's first haircut

2009-12-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

Well, it was getting to be time, so we finally gave him a big boy haircut.
He was really good, but he didn't know what to think of it.

Now he looks so big!

Fishing with Grandpa!

2009-12-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

In May Ammon got to go fishing with Grandpa Hirschi. Ammon loves going out with grandpa, but he wasn't too excited about cleaning out the fish, or holding it. I think he just likes to be with his grandpa and eat all the treats grandpa likes to buy for him.

Sadie wasn't afraid of the fish at all.

Levi loves to hang out with his grandpa.

Fun outside

2009-12-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

One of the things that we looked forward to most when we bought our home was our children being able to play outside more. Now they have a lot of area to play, and they love playing in the dirt!

Charity's sad tale.

2009-12-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

Charity is so funny, and is always wanting to write stories. I don't remember what she was supposed to be coloring, but she ended up telling this sad tale.

Seth turns 33!

2009-12-14T21:01:00.000-08:00

I like that with men it's okay to admit how old they are and that most of the time they don't even know. Not so with women.

Anyway...here is Seth celebrating his 33rd with a broken leg. That is a lemon meringue pie (only for him would I go to that kind of effort) with a little wax.

Levi turns 1!

2009-12-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

We love our little guy. He is such a fun, sweet boy.

Good morning birthday boy!

Breakfast time.

Bath time.

We love naked wet babies.

Birthday trip to Discovery museum.

Daddy feeds the birthday boy dinner.

Time for presents.

Levi got a new swing

He loved it.

Since bath time is one of Levi's favorite times of the day, he had a bath tub cake.

Dig in, buddy!

Spring Soccer

2009-12-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

Charity's first season of soccer - she was actually pretty good.
She was one of the only players that would
actually go on the field and play, so she played a lot.

Ammon was a little less flaky than last season and had fun on his team.

Easter 2009

2009-12-14T15:29:00.001-08:00

Finally updating....

2009-12-14T15:01:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I have updated our blog, that I don't even know how to do it anymore. I had to call Seth to get the password even. I am not sending out any info in our Christmas cards this year, so I thought I better update this so that you could have a little peek into our year.

When Seth broke his leg, it turned our world upside down - or mine at least. All of the work landed on me, and I no longer had any free time. I eventually got my free time back, but never got back to the blog. So, here is our year in review

Caught wet handed

2009-03-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I noticed Levi was wet. His sleeves were wet and his pants were wet. I asked the kids if they knew why he was wet and Sadie said he was playing in the toilet. I have never had a kid play in the toilet (though I am sure it is about my turn) and didn't really believe it coming from Sadie.

But today, he was caught in the act. The funny thing is that he even had the toilet brush in the toilet and was scrubbing away. I wish I had gotten a picture of my little helper!

Ice Skating

2009-02-28T13:59:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday we took the kids ice skating for the first time. We went with our good friends the Cupsas and we really had a great time. I was worried that the kids would hate it because I knew they would have a hard time learning, but they had fun and Ammon and Charity were getting much more confident by the end of the night. We took our camera, but of course we were too involved to take any pictures.

We did get this picture taken later that night though.

Notice the smaller bone (fibula). You may have to click on it to get a better view.

Apparently someone needs to teach Seth how to skate. I guess it'll be a while until we go again.

Just missed it

2009-02-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

I just read about the new stimulus plan (as if it's going to work), and found out that first time home buyers in the year 2009 will receive an $8000 tax credit - that doesn't have to be repaid.

I guess we bought our house just a few months too early. grrrrrrrrr

Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

I feel bad not commenting on Valentine's Day, so here goes, with no pictures to share.

Seth and I had a nice night on Friday night going to dinner and a stake dance (really, but for adults). Seth brought me flowers and candy - points for him. We haven't danced in years. Most of you know we met at a dance, so it is always so sweet for us to get to go dancing. There was someone there taking pictures, so maybe we will end up with a picture of the night someday.

Dinner was nice, but we are terrible at picking new restaurants. Anyone in the area - HELP. We tend not to go to chains with just the two of us, but we always seem to strike out when we pick on our own. The menu listed lemonade as "lemon aide." Aide is what this place really needed. Seth ended up tipping $1 - not typical for us. We were full by the time we were done, and we enjoyed our time alone, so it must not have been all bad. Thanks to Grandma for watching the kids.

After dancing we went to Target to get some Valentine's for the kids - I never even got Seth a card. It was somewhat of a long week for me. I never was feeling 100%.

Saturday we had a nice breakfast with the kids complete with heart biscuits. After breakfast we took the kids to the movie. We came home and made cookies for Grandpa, and ended the night with homemade individual heart shaped pizzas. Not too adventurous, I know, but I had been sick that week.

Sadie turns 3!

2009-02-17T20:18:00.000-08:00

Sadie is such a wonderful little light in our home. It's hard to believe that she is just 3, it feels like she has always been with us.

Aunt Elaine came with Mason and Isabelle to spend the weekend with Sadie. Aunt Janae and Josh came too. We had yummy waffles in the morning and just played in the morning.

Sadie loves to go sledding, but our snow keeps melting, so she decided that she wanted to go swimming instead. Uncle Jason, Aunt Lorisa and Brogan joined us at the pool.

Daddy's girl

I can't believe I am putting this picture on here, but all of the ones of Levi are with me. He was pretty scared when we first entered the pool - it is just so loud. It didn't take too long, and he fell in love with it. I am not too surprised since bathtime is his favorite part of the day.

Here's most of us just hanging out.

I had to put this one in. Ammon was trying to avoid getting a picture of his rear taken, but he didn't know it was this bad. I especially love Charity in the corner laughing.

After swimming we headed back to the house for pizza, presents, and cake & ice cream. Our good friends, the Cupsas, joined us at the house.

Time for presents!

Cake and Ice cream

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Life goes on

2009-02-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say that I did end the vacation and just put our treadmill to good use. The "maybe" should be erased from the other blog.

Beauty

2009-02-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

We were playing after church on Sunday (having so much fun).
And by magic I got some great pictures.

That day Levi got spoiled with chocolate chip pancakes.
He ate every bite!

Star Student

2009-02-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

Also in January, Ammon received the star student award at school. He had a little bit of a rough start at school, but things smoothed out quickly. He is doing a great job and learning so fast. We are so proud of him.

Dr.'s Russell

2009-02-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

In January LDS Hospital had an open house after their renovations were complete. We had a fun time exploring the hospital.

First we headed off to surgery.

Levi's cap was a little big.

The kids got to perform surgery.

They were really just picking up gummy bears with surgical tools, but they liked the prize.

We got to try out the pressure chamber.

Everyone had a great time, but we most likley do not have a doctor in the family. Ammon got uneasy a couple of times (so did I) and the girls were not that interested in anything but the treats.

Vacation from life

2009-02-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

So, our fall and December were crazy, so I took a month off. (plus a little more) My house has been somewhat clean, my kids somewhat neglected (my husband too), I have ready many books (I am out of ideas for books, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated), and of course the blog has suffered. I thought it was okay because we really haven't been doing much. But, it is time to quit taking a break and get on with it. Yesterday I started with the taxes, and today I am even going to exercise. Maybe. At least I am blogging again. I even played with Levi until he got bored with me. He is a very independent kid. Just like me I guess.

The vacation is over....for now. We'll see if I can really get back in the swing of things.

Kisses

2009-01-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

Levi loves his daddy and as soon as Seth walks in the door Levi reaches for him. Last night Levi went straight to daddy and later Seth realized he hadn't gotten his welcome home hugs and kisses from me. Seth and I were kissing with Levi in Seth's arms staring at us. I looked down at him and he looked like he wanted in on the action too. He leaned in and gave Seth a great big kiss. (He didn't want to give me one.) He really is glad when Daddy comes home!

Haircut

2009-01-08T13:19:00.001-08:00

The girls and I went and got our haircut together. Sadie had never had her hair cut, and Charity had only ever had her hair cut at home. We had a great time together. I wish I had gotten an after picture, even though I was the only one with a visible difference.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

We were so happy to celebrate New Year's with some of our good friends from Santa Cruz. We started off with the afternoon and dinner at the Matesen's, and then went to the Nobis home to celebrate with more friends and ring in the New year. We rang it in early at 10pm.

Friends Lindsay, Emily, Sunny, Amy, and Amy.
Babies Chase, Malia, Levi, and Tyson.

All of the kids

Charity, Rachel, and Lily

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2009-01-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

While we were in Idaho we got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. All day he would would say a different age, but he was turning 54. We sent him to dinner at Outback with the boys, and then waited to surprise him at the house. Each grandchild had a balloon for him. We waited in the dark for him to get him and then the kids jumped our and yelled surprise. They were so funny while they waited for him to come home. The kept telling each other to be quiet, and could not contain their excitement. It was so much fun.

Wedding in Idaho

2009-01-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we were off to Idaho to be there for my sister Janae's wedding. We were supposed to leave early Friday morning and be there at the temple that morning. Thanks to our beautiful Christmas snow, that didn't happen. After getting off the freeway on the first exit after we got on, we went home and waited for the snows to get plowed. It was such a mess. We left again after lunch and the 3 1/2 hour trip took over 9 hours. We are just grateful that we made it safely and in time for the wedding.

Janae looked gorgeous, and poor Josh was sick. The Hirschi home was full of sick people, and Josh was worried that Janae was going to be sick. He could barely stand while getting ready to be married. By the end of the day he was feeling quite a bit better. Janae looked so beautiful, he just couldn't stay sick for long.

Josh and Janae Rose were married
in the Twin Falls, Idaho Temple

on Saturday December 27th for time and all eternity.

Lunch after the wedding.

Pictures before the reception.

Janae and Josh

Seth and Levi holding on to the flowers for Janae.

Josh's turn to hold the flowers.

Ammon and Mikey

Mike.....I tried to get a picture of him, but he managed to evade me all night.

Dad did not believe that David was taller than him. You can tell that he is a little shorter than David, and he was even cheating in this picture! I guess you lose Dad.
Levi loves his Grandpa.

Dinner at the church before the reception began.
We managed to get a table in the kitchen for the kids.

Janae with a mouth full.

Everything was beautiful and I know everyone was glad when it was finally over!!

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

2009-01-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Our kids must have been good this year because Santa came to our house.

Here are the presents before they got ripped into.

Ammon got a Leapster with a Sonic game and a batman game.

He also got a Power Ranger movie.
He just couldn't believe that Santa would know that he wanted it when he never told him.

Charity got a huge horse.
(Who knows where are are going to put the thing,
for now it is a another piece of furniture in the living room.)

Charity also got some other fun stuff in her stocking.

Sadie got a jogging stroller for her dollies.

Sadie got some yummy candy too.

Levi's first Christmas! He is so cute. Merry Christmas Levi!

With babies opening the presents and ripping the paper is the best part.

Daddy picked out a fun little toy for Levi. Push the bird and it rolls along.

We should have just given him a box.

Levi got some balls and some yummy baby snacks -
no candy for him.

I got all of my favorite candies in my stocking.

Seth got his traditional chocolate orange.

Both of the girls had fun on the horse.

After opening Santa's gifts, we opened the ones from each other.
Ammon got a Dinosaur game from Charity.

Sadie opening her new photo album.

Levi and Dad having fun.

Sadie and mom put together her new scooter.

We had such a great day together. It was a beautiful snowy Christmas.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve we had a nice quiet Christmas dinner
and then our little family performed the nativity.

Charity played Mary

Joseph was played by Ammon

Sadie was the angel. Here she is "smiling" again.

Mary swaddling baby Jesus.

Dad was the shepherd and Levi was the best sheep ever.
He crawled all over the floor and followed the shepherd.

Here is our cute little cast!

Levi's Favorite place to play

2009-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

Like most babies, Levi loves to play with anything that was not intended to be a toy. The dishwasher is a favorite. The other day he was trying to play in it, so I closed it. I needed to open it again for just one more thing. He waited hopefully, but I just opened it a crack. He reached up and tried to get it before I closed it again, but he was not quick enough for me. We always have to hurry and take out anything sharp before he climbs on.

We like that you can see his two little top teeth in this one.

Romantic

2008-12-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

I am a cuddler, and while Seth and I were cuddling this morning, the girls were climbing all over us, covering us in blankets, and using us as a trampoline.

While we were playing Sadie asked us "why do you have a candle?" I told her so we can be romantic.

Charity asks "what is mantic?"

I say "what is romantic daddy?'

He says "ugh, I don't know what it is either."

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

Before we took our beautiful children to church, we took some pictures of them all dressed up for Christmas.

Levi did not want to get his picture taken.

Sweet sisters

Levi was much happier after church.

The boys

The girls

10 years together....

2008-12-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

We were lucky to be able to spend a whole 24 hours alone for our anniversary.
After over an hour of dangerous driving in the snow, (it should have taken 25 minutes) I made it downtown to be with Seth. I picked him up at our hotel and we went to the Joseph Smith Memorial building to have dinner at the Roof restaurant. Seth surprised me with 10 beautiful roses, and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. The dessert is especially delicious.

The real reason for eating at The Roof, is the amazing view. We had a great table and had a wonderful time enjoying our time together.

We spent the night at Little America and had a delicious breakfast there. It was a nice quiet morning there. Then we spent the afternoon at the temple doing sealings.

Thanks to Aunt Lorisa (and Uncle Jason) for taking care of our crazy kids.

To my love

2008-12-19T08:56:00.000-08:00

Today is our 10th anniversary, and I would like to tell my sweetheart how much I love him. Thank you Seth for all that you do for me and for our family. Thank you for our four beautiful children. Thank you for working so hard and providing for us so that I can stay home and be a mother. Thank you for being worthy of the priesthood and being a leader in our home. Thank you for putting up with all the crazy and silly things about me. Thank you for the way that you look at me, and for always wanting to be close to me. Thank you for loving me. I can't imagine how wonderful forever will be with you.

All my love,
Amy

Charity

2008-12-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

It is time I posted about Charity. She is such a wonderful little girl. She is always helping me take care of Levi. Levi likes to crawl over to the stairs all the time. I can not even count the number of times that Charity has saved him from tumbling down those stairs.

Charity just turned 4 in October and she is our resident horse lover.

Charity is also always saying the funniest things. A couple of weeks ago she was copying Ammon. Ammon really doesn't like it when she does this, so he complained. I asked him if he knew why she copied. He said "because she loves me," like it wasn't a good thing. Charity chirps in "no, because he's so cute!" What a laugh.

On they way home from our visit with Santa at the mall Charity asked, "where does Santa live?"
"At the North Pole," I say.
"How did he get here, did he walk or drive?" she asks.
"His reindeer pulled the sleigh here," I answer.
Then she asks, "where are they?"
"They're on the roof," I say. "That's where they park."
"oh."

We have the funnest conversations with Charity.

Ho Ho Ho!

2008-12-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight we took the kids to visit Santa Claus. Charity wasn't too worried about it because she had actually mailed a letter to Santa. Sadie had a print out ready to show Santa what she wanted, and Ammon wanted to just tell him what he wanted.

Levi was the first to sit on Santa's lap. He just kept staring at Santa. We wanted to get a picture of him looking at Santa, but Seth just kept missing it. Levi didn't mind sitting in Santa's lap at all.

Sadie's turn was next, but she did NOT want to get near him. It was all we could do to get her to show him the picture she brought. Needless to say there is no picture with her in Santa's lap.

Before going to the mall Charity told me that she was not going to be shy. After last years tears, Charity was ready to be brave. She walked up there, told him what she wanted, and sat in his lap. I was so proud of her.

Ammon was last up. He has been pretty sick, and has lost his voice. He wanted Seth to tell Santa what he wanted, but we convinced him that Santa was magic enough to hear him whisper.

After they all had their turn we gathered them up for one more picture with Santa. (Sadie thinks she is smiling. We have a lot of pictures just like this.)

Thanks to the Fashion Place mall for allowing us to take our pictures ourselves every year.

The stockings are hung.....

2008-12-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

We received Levi's stocking in the mail yesterday. Now we are ready for Santa's visit. Thanks to Ann for making these wonderful stockings for all of us. We love them so much.

The lights are brightly shining....

2008-12-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

We finally have a house, so to make it complete, we had to put up Christmas lights. After 7 trips to the store and hours outside, our house looks very festive. Seth did a great job. He was even pickier than I was about how they looked.

Our Little Devil

2008-12-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Levi has really completed our family. We have had so much fun with him. He just got his fourth tooth, he crawls around everywhere, and the kids just love him. He can pull himself up on things, and that is his new favorite thing. He is not always very smooth when he gets down.

For Halloween he dressed up as a clown (for our church party), and then as a little devil on the day of. He was our "little turkey" for Thanksgiving.

Silly Sadie

2008-12-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

We are always laughing at Sadie. She says and does some of the funniest things. Most of them are forgotten (because they weren't written down), but this one I found in a notebook we keep in the car.

One day after lunch, I was getting them all in the car. Sadie had something white hanging out of her nose, and I tried to just wipe it out. It didn't come, so I tried a little harder. I got some, but there seemed to be a lot more. Then I realized what it was - tortilla. I got a tissue, and made her blow. Out came a huge ball of tortilla. I guess she missed her mouth!

What did he say?

2008-12-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

Today I am going to write a few posts - to give you all something to look at - if you're looking.

One reason I really wanted to start a blog was because I need to start writing down the funny things the kids say and do.

Here are a few things Ammon has said..............

Several months ago I was trying to explain to Ammon what a cattle-guard was. I told him it was slits in the road, or just paint, that it made it hard for the cows to walk on. He didn't quite understand, so I kept trying. Ammon thought about my explanation for a few minutes and then said "ohhhh, like a force feild!" I was laughing so hard and ended up calling my dad - I knew he would get a kick out of that.

This came from a little notebook that we had written a couple funny things in. We were in the car and Ammon randomly says "mom; you're going to be in the world for 100 weeks."
I say "What? What does that mean?"
Then he says "I asked the black ball and it said yes." He was referring to Seth's toy Magic 8 ball.

When we were kids my dad would always tease us that the boys were going to kiss us. When Ammon started school, I was teasing him that he was so cute that all the girls were going to kiss him. After a few days I asked him if all the girls had kissed him, and he said no. I asked what he needed to do, and he said that he needed to wear long sleeves. I had just bought him a couple of long sleeve shirts because it is getting colder. He was thinking if he wore his new clothes, then they would kiss him. Funny kid. They never did kiss him though.

Our House!

2008-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today we tried to get a picture outside of our house for our Christmas letter. Ammon was sick today, so he didn't want to, and all the kids wanted to be held. In the end I am just glad we got one. We have been trying to get one for a couple weeks now, but Seth always gets home just before, or after it's dark. Is there such thing as a perfect picture with little kids?

Keeping memories

2008-12-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most wonderful times in our lives, and in an effort to make a record of it, I am finally starting a blog. This is more for our children than anything else. Every year I wish that I had kept a better record, written down the cute things that they say and do, and then I forget those things. Hopefully we will make many postings, and keep our memories here to look back on.