Christmas 2012

Dec 21

I flew into Dallas at 4:30 pm and waited for the kids to get there about 8:00pm. Our plane didn't leave until 11:00pm. I was checking them in when Trey came up behind me and gave me "free spankings" as he calls it. We made it through security and to our gate with about an hour to spare. Shelby and Lizi slept the entire 3 hours of the flight while Trey slept the first two and then woke up and stayed awake for the rest of the flight. Because the flight was into Las Vegas, we didn't get home until about 4:30 in the morning of the 22nd.

Quote of the day: Driving home from the Vegas airport at 3:00am. Shelby: "Everyone should be asleep right now."
Lizi: "Well everyone except daddy cuz then he might crash into the leaves or something."


Dec 22

Shelby was the first one up and came into to snuggle with me in the morning. We had Mickey Mouse pancakes, potatoes and eggs for breakfast and then the kids looked through all their presents under the tree. Shelby and Jenna gave Chewy a bath. Trey and Lizi went out to play in the snow left over from a few days earlier. Shelby Jenna and I went out to join them. Then we rode bikes and hit golf balls in the yard. I had to go to work for 3 hours so while I was getting ready, Jenna and Shelby pulled every single present out from under the tree to count how many presents each person had...and pulled the tree over in the process. After I left for work, they ate hot dogs and macaroni and cheese and worked on a present for me, or so I'm told. Shelby and Liz made cookies while Trey and Lizi took all their toys into the bathroom and played in there. Trey played with his cars on the car mat and Lizi and Shelby played with horses and babies. Liz played hide and go seek with Trey and then with Shelby and Trey. Then Trey and Lizi had baths. Then Trey and Shelby played with their blocks to build a tower as high as they could while Lizi played with the doll house. The kids surprised me as I came home from work. We had soup for dinner and watched "Small One." The kids and I wrapped presents that I got for them to give to the older kids. Then we played around the house before we read books and went to bed.

Quote of the day: Shelby: "Dad I think you need to get a new car cuz your head is almost touching the ceiling."

Dec 23

When I woke up at 7:00, Shelby and Trey were already up and playing with their toys in Trey's room. I got ready for church and had cereal with Shelby. I had to go early for choir practice. After church, we watched the Vikings beat the Houston Texans and had spaghetti for lunch. We played foosball for a while, the kids had a web chat with Keri, and Trey and Shelby went out to play in the sand box. We went to Hurricane Heritage Park for family pictures. After the pictures, we came home and used the nutcrackers to crack almonds and Trey and Lizi played with the play-dough machine while Shelby played with the doll house. We then watched "Ernest Saves Christmas." After the movie, we went for a drive to look at Christmas lights. When we got home, we read scriptures and went to bed.

Quote of the day: Shelby "Mrs. Liz, I tried this cake and I don't really like it, but Lizi will eat it." Then turning to Lizi, Shelby says, "Here Lizi, this is so good that you will die! You have to try it!

Dec 24

Shelby came in to our bed room about 6:30 because an alarm clock woke her up. We had pancakes for breakfast about 8:00. Trey and I put a 3-D Nemo puzzle together while Shelby and Jenna played Checkers. Trey, Shelby, and I played foosball. Then I had to leave for work at 9:30. While I was at work, Liz, Holli, Alley, Jenna, Shelby, Trey, and Lizi went shopping until about 4:30pm. One of their stops was Dick's Sporting Goods where I taught Shelby, Trey, and Lizi how to putt. It was fun to see them at work. I got off work at 6:40 and met everyone over at the Arscotts for "Jesus' Birthday Party," a really cool tradition they do where everyone brings a present for Jesus, in the form of a talent or story. Shelby played "Mary had a Little Lamb" on the piano and Trey, Lizi, and I sang the song they like me to sing to them for bed time every night - "The Stars are Out." Shelby said she wanted to sing with us too. It was a great experience. When we got home, the kids opened their Christmas pajamas and we set out cookies and milk for Santa, read our scriptures, and went to bed.

Quote of the day: Shelby: "I'm not telling Lizi if she got a scooter or not." (for Christmas)
Lizi: (in a frustrated, correcting, 3 year old voice) "I don't have a scooter."
Shelby: Well, you will see, Lizi...you will see on Christmas..."

Dec 25

Trey came in about 7:40 and excitedly told me that Santa came! I asked him how he knew and he said, "Because the milk is gone and the cookies are gone!" Shortly after, Shelby came in and said the same thing. So I got up with them and checked on Lizi who was awake in her bed. We went into the living room about 8:00 after just about everyone was up and as we headed in there, Shelby said, "Ooh, lets see what's in our stockings!" That was perfect since we do a "Green Beard" tradition, where a pirate named Green Beard comes and send the kids on a treasure hunt around the house with clues to find their stockings. When they noticed that the stockings weren't there, there were a couple of audible, "huh?"'s. Then they saw the note and the treasure hunt was on. It was so adorable to watch the kids open their presents. Lizi's "Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!" as she was opening a Cinderella Carriage play set will always be remembered. Shelby's loom when she saw the Barbie Jeep out side the back door (from Santa). And Trey getting so excited about baseball cards that I put in his stocking - great memories, all. We finished opening presents about 10:00, had some breakfast and played with toys for pretty much the rest of the day. Trey immediately wanted to go out side and play with his remote control Mater, even though the temperature never reached 50 degrees. Shelby and I rode our bikes to see "Small One," a small donkey that lives down the street that resembles the donkey in the Disney cartoon. Just before we were going to leave, Kathleen "Buggy" Wheeler from 2 houses down came over and played for an hour or so. While we were on our bike ride, Holli played with Lizi and ended up putting in The Little Mermaid II movie. Shelby and Lizi spent most of the time playing with the new Disney Polly Pockets they got. I helped Trey with his Transformers. Trey and I bowled with a bowling set he got while Lizi and Shelby played with a bean bag toss that they got from the Arscotts. The Arscotts came over about 4:30 and we played a little Uno with Matthew. The kids were so excited to see him and play with him. I heated up some leftovers from Christmas Lunch for dinner for the kids and then we cleaned up, read scriptures, and went to bed. Favorite toys: hmmm...Trey: Remote control Mater. Shelby: Disney Polly Pockets. Lizi: Disney Polly Pockets.

Quote of the day: Lizi:  (pointing at some writing on her bib) "What does this say?"
Me: It says, 'Hottie'"
Lizi: "What is that?"
Me: "It means that you're cute."
Shelby: "Daddy, you're a Hottie!"

Dec 26

Trey and Shelby came in about 7:30 to wake me up. I put on a video with Disney short Christmas cartoons while I got ready for the day, then came out and watched the last 3 with them. Lizi was up by that time. It was fun to listen to Shelby and Trey's giggles when Donald Duck or Pluto would do something funny. We ate some cereal for breakfast and then we watched Mickey's Christmas Carol, another Christmas movie I wanted to watch with them. When the movie ended, I looked out side and there were small flakes of snow falling. All the kids were excited about the little snow that was falling down. We went outside for a little bit to take some pictures with the snow falling down. When we came back inside, I played basketball with Trey and then with his cars while Lizi and Shelby played with their Disney polly pockets. We had grilled cheese sandwiches with chicken noodle and tomato soup for lunch. Trey and I then played with a little basketball hoop we hung on his closet door and Trey, Shelby, Jenna and I took turns playing with the putting mat. It had been steadily snowing harder and harder since we went out in the snow earlier in the day, and after lunch, we looked outside and saw that there was a good inch of snow covering the ground. We all got our jackets on and went outside to play in it. We, along with the Wright kids next door and Millie and Gracie went sledding, made snow men, made snow angels, and had snow ball fights for a couple of hours. Shelby and Trey especially had so much fun - Shelby rolling up large balls of snow to use for the snow man that was almost as tall as her, and Trey with the snowball fight. During the snowball fight, the Arscotts came over and Matthew participated in the snowball fight too. After we were finished playing in the snow, we came inside so the kids could web chat with their mom. While we waited, we played foosball and Shelby started on her gingerbread house. Trey saw Matthew making a football stadium and decided that he wanted to do the same thing. Shelby and Lizi made cute houses. We had pizza and oranges for dinner, then read scriptures and I tucked Lizi and Trey into bed. Shelby asked if she could stay up and watch us play Settlers, a board game we like to play with the Arscotts, so I told her yes. It was a great decision because she had a great time with Jenna and Jenna's friend Gracie playing foosball and painting nails. It was so neat of Gracie and Jenna to include her like they did.

Quote of the day:
Shelby, in a motherly tone: "Guys, I'm not kidding! Someone left me a surprise in this bathroom!"

Dec 27

I woke up in the usual fashion - Shelby and Trey coming into the room about 7:30 to wake me up. I played checkers first with Shelby and then with Trey. Then they started playing with a Santa that reads a story and has music to it. They enjoyed dancing to the music. We then had pancakes. After breakfast Shelby and Trey looked through their files I keep for them and we played Pac Man and Pole Position video games for a little while. It was funny to watch how excited Shelby got when she would eat the ghosts and how anxious Trey was when he was getting chased by the ghosts. We then played foosball and  then decided to watch Star Wars: A New Hope - the first time they ever watched Star Wars. Matthew Arscott came over in the middle of the movie and watched it with us. After the movie was over, Shelby, Trey, Matthew and I played Chutes and Ladders while Lizi played with her Disney Polly Pockets while singing Little Mermaid Songs to her self. Matthew, Trey, and I went out side to play baseball. Shelby came out towards the end and took a few swings too and then we all went in and had chicken noodle soup for lunch. After lunch, we watched Robin Hood. When Robin Hood was over, Matthew went home and we all played with the Disney Polly Pockets and then colored together. I read a Star Wars book with Trey and Lizi while Shelby played with the princesses. Jenna, Shelby and I played foosball. We then had hamburger hash for dinner, and then read scriptures and went to bed. I let Shelby have a late night again and watch us play Settlers at night.

Quote of the day:
Me: "Shelby, would you like any P-I-E?"
Lizi: "What's that?"
Shelby: "It spells pie."

Dec 28

Trey came in to let me know that Lizi was crying at about 8:00 but when I got in there, she was playing just fine with some toys on the floor. We played for a little bit then had some cereal for breakfast. I raced cars with Trey while Lizi and Shelby played right next to us with the Disney Polly Pockets. Then Trey and Shelby asked if they could watch the next Star Wars movie (The Empire Strikes Back) so we watched it. They liked it and were already asking if they could watch the next one. After Satr Wars, Shelby and Trey went to their rooms and started looking at their Disneyland "Maps" while Lizi played more with the Polly Pockets. We then cleaned up the toys and I started traping the kids with my legs as they walked by me on the couch. After we played the "trap game" for a while, lunch was ready - we had mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and fries. We got lunch all cleaned up and then drove to Canyon View High School in Cedar City to go sledding. We had so much fun! Trey was off down a steep hill before I had a chance to even get over there! It was fun to watch them jo off the little jumps too. We sledded for about an hour and a half and then had some hot chocolate that Liz had made for us. We drove home, got changed and then headed over to the Arscotts for dinner where we had Ham, mac and cheese, apples, cheese, and crackers. After we ate we played headbanz and the kids had fun with that. We came home, read scriptures and went to bed.

Quote of the Day:
Shelby: (As we got to Cedar City to go sledding) "Wow! It really snowed a lot here!"
Trey" Yeah, kinda like the Artic!"

Dec 29

Shelby came in to wake me up about 7:30. I walked with her over to the kids rooms to check on the other kids and we saw that Trey was sitting up in his bead. When he saw me walk into his room, he got a cute smile on his face. Lizi was still asleep so Trey, Shelby and I all crawled up onto Trey's bunk bead and read 2 Star Wars pop up books that were mine as a kid. We then got a parachute man out (that Trey got for Christmas) and took turns dropping him off his bunk bead. By this time, Lizi woke up so I put on a Jake and the Neverland Pirates for them while I got ready for the day. The kids all wanted to watch "Star Wars six" (Return of the Jedi), so we ate cereal and then watched Star Wars. After Star Wars, the kids all started playing with their Polly Pockets Princesses with the doll house. The doll has a door bell so I thought I would have some fun and ring the door bell and show up on the front portch of their doll house with a Darth Vader action figure. They laughed when they saw who I had and when Darth Vader asked if he could go to the ball with Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Then Lizi started playing with Darth Vader and, in a comical moment, had him riding around in her Strawberry Shortcake car. After playing with the the doll house for a while, we got everyone dressed and their hair done and went to Wal-mart to pick up a few things. After Wal-mart, the kids got to eat 2 pieces of candy off of their ginger bread houses. Shelby and Lizi played dress up while Jenna, Trey and I played golf outside. Buggy came over for about 45 minutes and played dress up and polly pockets with Shelby and Lizi and she and Trey looked at the fish tank for a bit. Trey and I then played Lego Star Wars on the WII game system, which he loved. We gave the kids baths, had dinner, gave Trey a haircut, read scriptures, and went to bed. Shelby stayed up an extra hour and played UNO with Liz and I.

Quote of the day:
Trey: (looking at the jetted tub in the bathroom) "Did you know that my mom has those holes in her bathtub? (the jetts)"
Me: "She does?"
Trey: "Yeah, they're rain gutters."

Dec 30

The one morning I had to get up early for church, all the kids were still asleep! So I went in to wake them up. Trey was just sitting up in his bead and when I walked in, Lizi heard me so she got up too. I went in to wake Shelby up and she was just getting up too. By the time I went back into Trey's room to get their church clothes ready, Lizi and Trey were both up in his top bunk looking at Lizi's bead neclaces. We got dressed, and ate cereal for breakfast (their favorites are apple cinnamon chex, cherrios - regular and sticky, their name for honey nut - and Kix). We went to church where the kids were really good. For the first 45 minutes they sat quietly with out any books or coloring books or toys. When church was over, we watched a little football while playing with the Disney Polly Pockets. Then we ate lasagna for lunch. After lunch, Trey and Liz played foosball. The Vikings game came on so Shelby came and sat in my lap to watch the first quarter with me while Trey was in and out watching it and Lizi was still playing with the polly pockets. It was so fun to get so excited with Shelby as the Vikings were scoring. She LOVED cheering for the Vikings. During the end of the second quarter and half time, Trey and I played foosball. He was feeling a little sad because he slipped on a pillow while sliding on it on purpose - which I had asked him not to do just 5 minutes earlier. When we finished playing foosball, he came and sat on my lap for the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter of the game. The kids had a web chat with their mom during the third quarter as well. Trey had a great time watching the game with me too. Matthew Arscott came over for the fourth quarter and we all watched together as the Vikings kicked a field goal as time expired to beat the Packers to make it into the playoffs. After the game, Shelby, Trey and I played football where one of the kids hike the ball to me, we run across the house turn around and then I throw them the ball. Then they do the same thing with me. After football, we had dinner which was pizza, salad, and peaches. After dinner, I read Goofy's big race to the kids, one of their favorite books, and we read scriptures and went to bed. Shelby had a late night with us again and watched and rolled the dice for me while we played settlers.

Quote of the day: While Lizi and Trey were in Trey's top bunk thismorning playing with about 6 bead neclaces of Lizi's.
Lizi: "You can pick whatever you want to. One or two, or three, or four, or five, or six, or seven, or eight...but not 100 because that's all of them."

Dec 31

I had to work all day today, so I woke up, got ready, and went into the kids room. Trey was already awake in his bed and he wanted to play so we got a Cars puzzle and started putting it together in the front room. Not long after we started, Lizi came in and sat on my lap as we worked on the puzzles. Then Shelby got up and came and joined us and helped me put together a Curious George puzzle while Trey worked by himself on a Nemo 3D puzzle. After puzzles, we ate some cereal for breakfast and then I had to leave for work. While I was at work, Shelby and Lizi played dress up while Trey read the Star Wars pop up book. Then Liz put in Mickey's Christmas Carol while she got ready for the day. After the video, they all cleaned out the fish tank, then made a blanket fort. Liz played polly pockets with them in the fort. Trey then played lego Star Wars on the WII while the girls kept playing with the princesses and Lizi with Darth Vader too. Then they had chicken nuggets and lasagna for lunch, and then Shelby and Lizi went back into the fort and Trey did puzzles. Shelby and Alley made brownies since Shelby was in charge of the treat for Family Home Evening, while Trey and Liz set up a ramp for his cars and Lizi played with the Polly Pockets. When Shelby was done making brownies, she went into her room where Jenna and Gracie were talking and they all talked and played for a while. Then Jenna came out and painted Lizi's nails and Gracie and Shelby played foosball. Lizi went back to playing Polly Pockets and Trey started playing with his airplanes by making an airport by the car ramp. Liz then read three stories to all three kids that Aunt Melinda gave them for Christmas. Shelby wrote a thank you letter to Aunt Melinda and Trey played lego Star Wars again on the WII. After the letter was done, Shelby went over to Gracie's house with Jenna and Trey played with his airplanes some more and Lizi was dancing around the house as she sang her ariel song, under the sea. When Shelby came home after 45 minutes, Liz played hide and go seek with Shelby and Trey while Lizi played dress up. After hide and go seek, Shelby started playing with the cars and Trey played with some toys in his room. Shelby and Lizi had some oranges for a snack and Trey played the lego Star Wars game on the WII again. Shelby and Lizi went to play on the couch while Trey was playing the Star Wars game, immitating what was happening on the game. Lizi then colored for a while Shelby and Trey were wrestling around. Shelby then played the WII Fit and Trey and Lizi read books. Lizi kept looking at books and Liz played hide and go seek again with the kids. Right before I got home from work, Trey played with his cars again, Shelby played the piano, and Lizi was running laps around the house to get exercise. Liz had each of the kids pick out a book and she read again to them before dinner. They had rolls, apples and peanut butter, and brocolli for dinner. After dinner they all did exercise by jumping rope with the vikings scarfs that Sister Arscott made for the kids. That's when I got home from work to all the kids running up to me and giving me hugs. I ate dinner, then we did family home evening, read scriptures and went to bed.

Quote of the day: A funny sequence of events when Liz was playing Hide and Go Seek with Trey and Shelby. When it was Trey and Liz's turn to hide, they ran into Shelby's room but Trey couldn't climb to Shelby's bed fast enough so he ran back out into the living room and said, "Wait! I'm not ready! Count to 20 again. I'm going to hide in there (pointing to the bed room)," and then cupping his hands around his mouth and in a whisper said, "And Mrs Liz is in Jenna's bed." So Shelby came in and lifted up the covers to spot Liz right away, and Liz asks, "Shelby, how did you find me so fast?" Shelby said with a smile, "Trey told me." Then Trey sat up and waved his arms and yelled so that Shelby would know where he was.

Jan 1

We were awaken thismorning to Shelby coming in telling us that Lizi was crying. She had a stomach ache. Liz went to take care of her and Shelby came back in to sleep in our bed with Liz and I. We got up around 8 and went into Trey's room. He was up so we played a little in his room and waited for Lizi to get up. When Lizi got up she said that she was hungry so we all went in the kitchen and had cereal. After breakfast I put in a Jake and the Neverland Pirates for them while I got ready for the day. When I was finished, they all asked if they could watch Star Wars episode 1, so we did. First I had them change into their warm play clothes for sledding later, and then put the movie in. They are facinated with when Anakin Skywalker turns into a bad guy and when he dies. When they play polly pockets with the Star Wars action figures they'll say things like, "At first I was a bad guy, but now I'm a good guy," referencing the last episode when Darth Vader turns into a good guy again. It's fun to see them so excited about something I like so much. After Star Wars we had tuna sandwiches and tuna helper for lunch and got our gloves, boots, snow suits, and jackets and went sledding in Cedar City again for a little over 2 hours. We had races where we saw who could go the farthest. Shelby won 5 times, Jenna 4, Trey 3, and me 1. Alley and Liz didn't win any. We had so much fun, eventhough our hands and feet were frozen by the time it was over! Liz had hot chocolate ready for us when we were done, just as she did the first time we went. We got home from sledding, changed into our pajamas and Shelby wrote a thank you letter to Grampa Hubert for clothes he sent her for Christmas. Trey worked on a work book that Aunt Melinda had sent him. And Lizi was playing in her room. At 6:15 we went over to the Arscotts for Dinner. We had soup, apples, and crackers. After dinner we came home, read scriptures and went to bed. Shelby stayed up a little longer and watched Jenna, Liz and I play Settlers.

Quote of the day: While having lunch the following cute conversation took place:
Trey: "Daddy, can we do our hike down to the river?"
Lizi: "It might be slippery"
Trey: "I will be the leader."
Lizi: "Why?"
Trey: "Just because I'm brave."

Jan 2

Shelby came in to snuggle with us at 7:30. I went to go take a shower at 8:00. By the time I was done, Shelby was still in bed with Mrs Liz so I got her up and we walked into Trey's room and he and Lizi were playing. Shelby spotted Chewy laying on the couch and sat by him and started petting him. They said they were hungry so I started making them some blueberry pancakes. After breakfast, Trey and I started working on an activity book that Aunt Melinda gave him. We worked on rhyming words today. He picked it out to do by himself! He loves learning. Then Shelby, Trey, and I played the Star Wars lego game on the WII, each taking a turn blowing up the Death Star. Lizi sat and watched. We all went on our hike down to the river and spent alot of time at the river watching rocks splash as we threw them in it, skipping rocks, looking at foot prints, learning about where to camp, etc. The kids love that hike and asked if we could do our "canyon hike" tomorrow. When we got back, we played UNO and then we had hot dogs, mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets for lunch. Then for quiet time, we watched Ernest Goes to Camp. The kids loved the turtle paratrooper part! After the movie we played hide and go seek and duck duck goose. While we were playing hide and go seek, Gracie and Clohee came over and played  a WII dance game. Then I gave the kids baths. Lizi and Clohee played with the doll house and polly pockets and Shelby did too a little bit at my prodding so she could get to know Clohee a little bit. Then Shelby played the dance game with Gracie and Jenna for a little bit. Before we had Navajo Tacos for dinner, the kids had a short web chat with their mom. At first the kids were not sure how they would like the tacos but I asked them to try a little bit and sooner than I knew it, they were asking for more. After dinner we read scriptures and went to bed.

Quote of the day: Trey: "Can you stop it?"
Lizi: "I'm kissing you."
Trey: "But my cheek is turning red."

Jan 3

I woke up about 8:00 and decided to go see if the kids were up since no one came in to see me in the morning. All of the kids were still asleep, although Trey was moving around a little in his bed. So I stood by his bed and watched him wake up. When he woke up, climbed up into his bunk bed and we chatted for about 10 minutes until Shelby woke up and then we started playing with cars. Lizi heard us and came to play with us. Trey got his nerf gun and we tried to shoot the light switch on in our bedroom. We then ate cereal for breakfast. After breakfast, Shelby, Trey and I raced back and forth from the front door to our rocking chair. After our races, we played foosball with Liz, 2 players to a team, and Lizi watched. After foosball, I went in for a shower and put a Jake and the Neverland Pirates on for the kids. After the show, the kids came into the bedroom and pulled out all my exercise equipment and started doing exercises. It was so funny to watch! Trey and Liz went out to play some more foosball, Lizi went to play the piano, and Shelby and I stayed in the room and looked at Star Wars figures. After they got done with foosball, Liz and Trey played dominoes, and then we all played the board game perfection. After the game we went on our hike up the canyon by mollies nipple. It was cold, but the kids had fun collecting rocks for their rock collections. When we got home, we washed Trey's rocks and played with Smokey with a bead necklace. We had leftovers for lunch, and then went to the curch to play basketball, volleyball, soccer and frisbee. When we got home, we Shelby and Trey rode bikes for a little bit and Trey played a little in the sand box. I stayed outside with Trey while Shelby went inside and sat around a little with Alley's friends and Lizi played in her room with toys.  When we came inside, Shelby, Trey and I played foosball while Lizi would retrieve the balls and keep score. Then we had peaches and pizza for dinner. After dinner we did our Galapogos Turtle where the kids get on my back and I crawl around the house. Then we read scriptures and went to bed. As I was tucking Shelby in, she wanted to look at our Disneyland pin lanyards so we did.

Quote of the day:
Shelby: "When I'm 14, how old will you be?"
Me: "About 45."
Shelby: "Will you be even taller then?"

Jan 4

Trey and Lizi were both awake when I went in to check on them thismorning. Trey got a big smile on his face when he saw me walk in. Trey and I read "The Three Little Pigs" while Shelby and Lizi played with Smokey. Then Shelby and Lizi hopped up on the bed to read another story - "The Grasshopper and the Ants." After the stories, we went in to eat breakfast and had cereal. Shelby and Lizi then played a little with polly pockets and Trey strummed on the guitar. I put on a Jake and the Neverland Pirates for the kids while I got ready for the day. Then the kids gave eachother golopagos turtle rides and Trey gave Lizi blanket rides while Shelby played with polly pockets. Then I gave the kids blanket rides and we pretended we were on Thunder Mountain. I also gave the kids Galopagos turtle rides. We then sat down to write thank you notes and draw pictures for Carolee. After the letters, I gave the kids piggyback rides. Trey, Lizi and I played foosball and they Trey played the piano and Shelby did a page in her "numbers" work book. After that we took the big tote of blocks out and built a tall tower and a play area with them. For lunch we had quesadillas and hamburger helper. After lunch the kids went back to playing with the blocks and the play area they built. Buggie came over and Trey took her to see the dead fish that had died earlier in the day. We took out a couple of design play mats and all the kids played together with farm animals and cars on the mats. Shelby then came and helped me wash off the rocks she collected yesterday on our hike for her rock collection. After that we took the kids across the street to Buggies house to climb trees. We then came back home and rode bikes and the kids took turns riding in Shelby's Barbie Jeep. We then went out back and Shelby, Trey, Jenna and I played baseball. The kids had just as much fun pitching to me as they did hitting the ball! We then played with the kitchen set they have outside and they pretended to make dinner for me. We went in because it started to get really cold after the sun went down and Alley had Tarzan on, so the kids and I finshed watching it with them. We went in to play foosball after the movie was over, then had pizza for dinner, had baths, the girls had their nails painted by Liz, and then went to bed. Shelby was very emotional today because she doesn't want to leave. Trey is excited to go back to Texas to open his Christmas presents he has there waiting for him.

Quote of the day:
During blanket rides as Trey was pulling Lizi -
Trey: "Now wasn't that fast?!?!"
Lizi: "Yeah...it was a little bit...like this big (making an inch sign with her fingers)...fast."

Jan 5

I went in to wake the kids up so we could make it to the Airport. They got dressed, we ate cereal, and headed on our 2 hour and 15 minute drive to the Las Vegas airport. The kids travel so well. Only one time did any of the kids ask, "How much longer?" They love driving under the train over pass - in fact there was a train going above us that thrilled Trey! They also love seeing the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas because it looks like a castle at Disneyland. We got to the airport and waited for Keri's plane to get there. It ended up being delayed - so much so that she didn't make it in time for them to make their flight. We ended up driving back to Hurricane. I had to work, so Keri took the kids over to Heather Wright's house where she stayed. Shelby and Lizi decided that they wanted to stay at my house and Trey decided that he wanted to stay with Keri at Heather's. When I got home, Lizi and Shelby were asleep. When Liz went to check on them before we went to bed, Shelby was in the bathroom so Liz told her that I was home and she came to see me. I told her that she could sleep with Liz and I and she was so excited!

Quote of the day: While looking at the fish tank:
Trey: "Lizi, your fish never swim to the top of the fish tank."
Lizi: "Yeah....maybe they can't swim that high."


Jan 6

I woke up to the cutest thing. Shelby, just waking up, still half asleep opened her eyes and looked at me and said, "You're the best dad ever." and then drifted back off to sleep. We both got up a short time later and went to check on Lizi. She was up and just as we got checkers out to play at about 8:40, the door bell rang and Trey was at the door, wanting to come back over. So we played checkers - me against Shelby, although I had Trey play for me about half way through, and Shelby won! After checkers, I put on "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" for the kids while I got ready for Church. When I was done, I put another one on and watched it with them. After the show, Trey, Lizi, and I ate pancakes while Shelby ate cereal. We had to borrow church clothes from the Wheelers and Neilsens since the kids Sunday clothes were on the back that made it back to Texas. It was Lizi's first day in Primary and she did pretty good. She wanted "Mrs Liz" to take her to her class. Trey and Shelby made it to their new classes fine too. I love the time when church is over and my kids see me in the hall and come running up to me with such an excited look and a huge smile on their face with a paper in hand and show me what they have made or done in class. We got home from Church, got changed, and Keri wanted to spend time together with the kids so we all went to the park. I had so much fun playing with Lizi on the playground, with Trey and his remote control Mater, and with Shelby playing volleyball. It was so heart warming (although that doesn't come close to doing it justice) to see Shelby wanting so badly to impress me in volleyball. She listened so well and tried to do everything I was coaching her to do. It was definately the highlight of my day to be able to work with one of my kids with sports. After the park, Keri wanted to take the kids around to see her old friends in the area so they went to see Jen Iverson and some other friends. Keri brought them back to the house at 8:30, an hour before we had to leave for the airport. I played foosball with Shelby amd Trey while Lizi came in to get the balls for us once they went into the goal. Then Trey played foosball with Keri, while Shelby and Lizi looked at coins and cleaned up their polly pockets. After looking through Trey's toys with him and making sure he brought everything he wanted with him, it was time to go. We loaded into the van - I sat in the very back with Lizi while Trey and Shelby had the captains seats and Liz and Keri were in the front. We read scriptures by flashlight as the started off  then the kids took turns reading disney books with the flshlight. Soon they were all asleep. We got to the airport and got their tickets and took them to security where it was time to say goodbye for 2 months. Shelby and Lizi really had a hard time. Lizi started crying and Shelby wasn't far from it either. They got through security and we waved to them, blew them kisses, and watched them go find their gate.

Quote of the day:
Shelby, just as she was waking up. "You're the best Dad ever."