Finally some sledding!

Eli had this last Monday off for the holiday so we finally got the kids loaded up and went sledding. They have been wanting to go down the HUGE hill at Smith Park so that's where we went. It was so much fun. I still can't believe how much energy they have. It was super icy so they were getting some good speed. They were so happy and have been waiting "all their life" to go as a family. It was definitely time well spent. There is a new house being built across the street with a huge dirt hill from the foundation...they sled over there almost every day, but it was so fun to all go together. I think they would have gone all day, but me and Eli were pooped so we finished it off with a trip to Craigo's for some pizza.....definitely a day well spent!

The boys and their serious air! It was deadly!

Just an update for Alexis. She is growing so fast and doing new things all the time now. She has started reaching out for things...especially her brothers faces and dad's beard. She can roll over both ways and loves to spin in circles on her back. Her favorite thing to do lately is blow bubbles and spit between her lips. She is such a fun little girl, we just love her more and more every day!

Surrounded by her toys.....what a happy girl!

There is nothing sweeter than watching a baby fall asleep, so sweet!

Eric's baptism

Two weekends ago, we were able to be a part of a pretty special day. Eli's (ex)step-brother was baptized. He moved here from Vermont a little before Thanksgiving hoping he could find some direction in his life. The missionaries started coming over and teaching him. We weren't able to be a part of any of the discussions, but after talking with him a few times it is so neat to see the changes he is already experiencing. His life is turning around and he has such a testimony that it is because he has the gospel in his life now and the direction he was searching for. It was especially neat because Eli was able to perform the baptism. I'm so blessed to be married to a man that upholds his priesthood. I'm so proud of him, that he was able to do such a wonderful thing. That is the second baptism he has participated in over the last 6 months....here in little old Rexburg. What a blessing. (He's already passed the baptism numbers from his mission!) I have thought a lot about those baptisms, and a lot about my own. I hope we never forget the examples that we are, even to people we may not know are looking. When we do what is right, we are promised happiness. Other people see that happiness and want it for themselves. Congratulations, Eric! We are so excited for your decision and are thankful we could be a part of it!

Why we have kids

Things are finally winding down so I thought I would take a second to load some pictures of the kids from the last couple of weeks. They have been so funny lately. Alexis is really growing and starting to act like a big baby, not a newborn anymore. I'm excited for all that she is doing but it is breaking my heart at the same time. I just want her to stay small, I know it won't be very long before she doesn't think she needs me anymore. Zach has turned into a super-tard. He is the goofiest kid I've ever seen. I can't explain it, hopefully the picture will help. He is also turning into a little stinker. I'm pretty sure the only phrase he knows at this point is "I can't." Somehow in the last few weeks he has forgotten any skill that he has been taught over the last 3 1/2 years, must be some new form of amnesia that comes after a sibling is born. Tyler has been a little turkey lately. He is such an independent little boy. His personality is so different from mine and Eli's and I have to keep reminding myself that one day, hopefully, his independence will be a strength and good quality. Right now we are at war with his temper and trying something new. The boys get to earn 2 ctr points a day for making good choices and being obedient. After they earn 20 points, they get a toy (which we had them pick out). The toys are sitting on our fridge so they can see them each day and remember how bad they want to play with them. So far it is working. It might just be a miracle in progress.

Tyler getting rocked after playing Zach-in-the-box with his brother and Grandpa



Zach was so worried about our newspaper being in the driveway that he put on his dad's snowmachining boots to rescue it.

The happiest baby I've ever seen.

Allie has found her thumb and it tastes way better than her binkie!

Two rosy cheeked little boys and the sister they can't keep their hands off of.

Catch up for Christmas

Ok, finally I'm getting caught up on Christmas, now that it was two weeks ago! Things started out for us on Christmas Eve. We went to my Aunt Bev's for my Grandpa's birthday. It was really nice. The kids had stayed at my mom's the night before and when they showed up I could tell Zach didn't feel very good. He had a fever and his tonsils have been huge so I tracked down his doctor at the hospital. He was so good and called in a prescription for us so he would feel better for Christmas. We picked it up and headed home when he told me that his tooth hurt. I took a look and sure enough, his tooth was loose, his gums were purple and things didn't look good. So much for the sore throat. So I spent the next 4 hours trying to track down a dentist on Christmas Eve...no luck. I finally got ahold of one that called in some penicillin to start fighting the infection until we could get him in on Monday. What a bad time to get hurt! Lucky enough, Christmas morning came and he was ok. (He ended up getting it pulled on Monday. Poor kid, now he really is toothless). I think all the trucks he got helped a little. We spent the morning at home just with our kids. It was so nice and relaxing. That afternoon we went over to Eli's grandparents for Christmas dinner and more presents. Each year we cut back on what we get our kids and it seems like each year they walk away with more and more. I guess that's what happens when you're the only grandkids/niece/nephews on both sides of the family. All in all it was a perfect day. Zach is already asking when Santa is coming back!

Goodbye 2008

A few weeks ago I tried blogging all about what had been going on in December but my pictures were all messed up and after an hour or so of trying I got ticked off and quit trying to get it to work. So here I am, already a week into the new year and so far behind. For memories sake, I'll do the quick rundown of our December....then next we'll do Christmas. Things started off a little slow for us....then once we got to the middle of the month it started picking up. Tyler turned 6 on the 18th, but not before losing his first tooth late the night before. I honestly think it might have been the most exciting thing that has ever happened to him. I think he prayed for his tooth to get loose and fall out for over a year. His birthday was great. We had a very last minute party thrown together for some of his friends. It went pretty good until the last minute or so when he decided to throw down one of the neighbor kids WWF style and bash his head into the ground because he doesn't bring suckers to school anymore...seriously, the kid looked like he'd been hit in the head with a bat. The family all came over for cake and ice cream and to shower him with every present known to man.....what was left for Santa to bring???? The kid even has more money than his old man now. That weekend we headed to Utah to see the lights at Temple Square. It has been so long since we've been down and we couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect. It started snowing HUGE flakes right before we went. Everything was covered in white...it was so pretty. The boys were more excited about sliding on the slick sidewalks than the lights, and Allie thought it would be a good time to scream because she wanted held, but other than that it was great. Spencer brought his ended up coming with us and proposing to his girlfriend so that made it even more fun. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with cousins and swimming at the hotel. Even Alexis got to take a dip. The pool was extra warm so she was in heaven. We got home just in time for our annual family sing-a-long at Eli's grandparents. We dressed Allie in a little Christmas outfit that my grandma gave her and I think she stole the show. Her brothers kept saying she looked like Santa (even though I'm pretty sure Santa doesn't wear a dress). Santa came and talked to the kids and everyone had a great time. It got us all in the mood and ready for the big day to come.

I am a Child of God

I know I just posted a long old thing, but I did not want to forget this. Last week we had family home evening and Eli did the lesson on having a new baby in the home and how it is a child of God. It was such a great lesson and at different parts he had the boys sing her the verses to "I am a Child of God." The boys couldn't sing without holding and hugging and kissing Alexis. She just laid there and stared at them the whole time. They love their little sister so much and she loves them right back. It was so nice to have some time with just our little family to be reminded of how blessed we are and that our children are the most important thing to us. It is amazing how much easier it is to realize that when they aren't throwing mud at the neighbors house or throwing the cats off my dad's deck.......somewhere inside of the little devils are sweet little angels.

Our lucky & loved little girl. She looked so cute at the wedding.

Ok, this is exactly what I mean when I say little devils. I think Tyler is morphing into one right now...

Another great self portrait of Tyler and his sister, I'm starting to think I don't ever pay attention because I never see him with the camera anymore and everytime I turn it on there are at least a dozen of these.

And last but not least, Allie got to take a big girl bath with Zach the other day. I usually have her in the tub, but this time the water was pretty deep and she loved it. Her not so little belly makes her look like a frog and she was right at home in the water kicking her legs and smiling.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Peña

Last Friday Eli's brother Jared got married. It was such a busy week but everything turned out so great. We got to have their rehersal dinner at our house Thursday night too, so we have had plenty of good food, friends and family over the last few days. It got a little chaotic a couple of times (but it's a wedding, right!!) but everything was worth it. The ceremony was beautiful and their bishop had such great words of advice. I'm so excited for them to start their life together, and to have another member of the family. Jared and Maquel are both so laid back and seem like such a good match. Good thing for co-ed softball or they might not have ever met!! Anyway,

we had a lot of fun. Eli was in the line and Tyler got to be the ring bearer. He was so cute...and so well behaved. We need to put that boy in a tux everyday! You could tell he knew he was important and it was so cute! I do have some handsome boys (and a man) in my family. How did I get so lucky!! Zach was so excited before things got started that he couldn't sit still. I don't think he knew what he was excited for, but he knew it was a big day. I think most of all, he was excited for his pink tie. Somewhere along the line during the last few weeks he decided he had to have a pink tie for the wedding. I ordered one from some crazy place in Canada that took my money, said it was on it's way and then disappeared. Every day he'd ask me about his tie. It showed up in the mailbox 2 days before the wedding and saved me from a bucket full of tears. He had to show it to everyone at the wedding. It was so funny. The best was at the reception after the happy couple had their first dance. They played another song and everyone else started dancing. We had each of our boys grab their grandma's to dance with, and about halfway through the song Zach dropped my mom's hands and ran across the gym, found the 3 yr old flower girl and started twirling her around. It was so cute! Sorry mom, but he had to get his moves on! It was so funny because he is usually shy. This little girl is packed full of personality too and obsessed with Cinderella. After the song she went up to her mom and said....."I think I found my Prince Charming!" What a fun night. Now that it is over, we are on to the next big adventure.....Thanksgiving at our house. We got the vote to do it here again with both of our families. I know, I know....everyone keeps telling me I'm crazy. But this is one of my favorite holidays, and I am an anal freak when it comes to the turkey. I love to cook it and have issues with letting anyone else. It really is a problem. If any of you watch Everybody Loves Raymond and you've seen the episode when Deborah cooks fish for Thanksgiving. I would be the annoying, overbearing character of Marie (Raymond's mom). Even though dinner is taken care of she makes and brings a turkey anyway...... Oh yeah, and I'm a loser because the only pictures I have of Jared and Maquel are when they cut the cake. What kind of photographer am I?

Our happy little family

The extra-handsome ring-bearer

Prince Charming and Cinderella at the ball

And this was too good not to post. Eli's Grandpa Phillips. The best thing about this picture is that this was the day before the wedding, when we had the rehersal dinner. Even better is that it is before anyone else had shown up, before the dinner even started. Check out the glasses...now that is a good nap. We love you Grandpa!!