Already gearing up

Well since I am theming my blogs I have already themed up for Valentines Day. I put all my songs to be love songs and changed the background and all. I still need to post about Christmas but the way I have to import my pictures is so time consuming that I have been slacking about it. I will get it on here though. Tonight is New Year's Eve and I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year.....see ya next year.

On the tenth day of Christmas the elves brought:

Fruit rollups again....come on elves, you need to get a little bit more original. Only one more night of elves and then it will be the big guy in red.

On the ninth day of Christmas the elves brought:

Garrett and Connor got a matchbox car and Kylie got a ring pop. Connor is such a treat-a-holic that he asked me if he could give Kylie his car and take her ring pop. Only three days left!!! Tonight I am excited to go see New Moon with some awesome ladies from my neighborhood. I can't remember the last time I had a girls night out. I am so excited.

On the seventh and eighth days of Christmas the elves brought:

On Sunday the elves brought little coloring/activity books (perfect for keeping them entertained during Sacrament meeting. On Monday the elves brought ring pops...a favorite around our house. On Sunday the boys told me the elves brought them a stupid book....(ouch). I told them that the elves wouldn't come anymore if they didn't like or thank the elves for what they brought but at church during Sacrament they were having a good time with them and said they really liked them (that's better). I can't believe Christmas is in only 4 days....I'm pretty excited. It is so fun to watch the kids be so happy on Christmas.

On the sixth day of Christmas the elves brought:

Fruit rollups. These are a big favorite at our house. They kids loved it. Connor didn't think he was going to get anything because he thought he wasn't being good enough but really he was pretty good yesterday. He was excited that he got something. (I think he just wanted to get a letter from Percy like Garrett did). We told him it was a bad thing if you got a letter. Tonight we have the Martinez Christmas party (Chelton's Mom's side of the family). That is always a good time.

On the fifth day of Christmas the elves brought:

Disney Pez....Kylie got Donald Duck, Garrett got Mickey Mouse and Connor got Goofy. The boys loved the candy and Kylie loved to play with the pez like toys. Tonight we are celebrating our anniversary and going to Temari (japanese restaraunt) for dinner and then finishing up our Christmas shopping (like we do every year). Thanks to my sister Mandee for watching my kids. All we have to do is get stocking stuff but I am excited to feel completely 100% done. I can't wait for the restaraunt either. It is awesome.

On the fourth day of Christmas the elves brought:

Airheads....they each got two in their shoe. Airheads are Connor's favorite treat...he was super excited.

9 years later

Well today me and Chelton celebrate our 9 year anniversary. We have gone through a lot in our 9 years of marriage. We have lived in 11 different places since being married and built 2 houses of our own. We have had 3 great children, many ups and downs in jobs and income, gone on some great trips including visiting Disneyland four times. We were married on a sunny (but still pretty cold) day back on December 16th of 2000. We were married in the Ogden temple. We had a luncheon at Chelton's parents house in Huntsville and then had our reception at our church house in Roy. It was a wonderful day. I am so lucky to have had the privilege of being married to the best man in the world for 9 years. I have been telling Chelton for a long time that for our 10th anniversary next year I want to go on a cruise so I guess we only have a year now to plan and pay for it. We really can't celebrate our anniversary until the weekend so we plan on going out on a date on Friday. Happy 9th Anniversary to us!!!!

On the third day of Christmas our elves brought:

Utah Jazz matchbox cars for Garrett and Connor and fridge alphabet magnets for Kylie. Garrett also got a letter from our elf. He was kind of a stinker yesterday and Dad had to call the elves and tell them not to come. He was better the rest of the night so he got a letter from our elf (who we found out his name is Percy). He told Garrett that if he didn't start acting better he would be on Santa's naughty list and that he couldn't bring anymore presents to his shoe. Hopefully Percy's letter helped and Garrett starts acting better.

On the second day of Christmas our elves brought...

Well the elves brought some push-pops. Funny story because when Connor woke up (uncharacteristically early) there was nothing in his shoe. I told Chelton (I mean the elf) to make sure he put them in their shoe before he came to bed but he fell asleep on the couch. I told Connor that dad had shown me what was in their shoe and forgot to put them back in. I went in the drawer and put them all in their shoe and then after they got their push pops they told me Kylie got glue. I guess I had grabbed a glue stick instead of the push pop and put it in her shoe. I told them that I had done that because again dad took them out to show me what they got and when I went to put them back I grabbed the glue instead. Well they are happy with their push pops and can't wait to see what's in their tomorrow.

On the first day of Christmas our elves brought:

So Chelton's family had a tradition in their house when he was younger that he loved and that we have adopted into our own tradition. 12 days before Christmas the kids leave a shoe under the tree and if they are good that day the elves will leave a small present or treat in their shoe the next morning. Now we have to tell the kids this is something special that parents can sign up for so that they don't make all their friends feel bad that they don't get the elves come to their house.

So last night was the first night that the elves came. This morning the boys jumped out of bed (which is a rare thing...usually I have to drag them out of bed) and raced down to the tree to find what was in their shoe. Garrett and Connor had ninja swords and kylie had a my little pony type (well the cheap all a dollar brand anyway). The kids get so excited for this and I have enjoyed getting them so excited for Christmas and also I must admit I like hanging it over their head that if they are not good their shoe would be empty. Well I thought I would count down every day telling what the elves brought.

Happy Birthday Kylie

My baby girl turns 2 today!!!! Happy Birthday Kylie....we love you.

I have so much to be thankful for

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought it appropriate to make a list of some of the things I am most thankful for. Of course what I am most thankful for in this life is my husband. He is so wonderful. If I were to make a list of everything I think makes a perfect guy it would fit him to a tee. I am so blessed to have such an amazing guy to call my own. I am also thankful for three beautiful children. Garrett is so smart. Connor is so loving. Kylie is so sweet. They truly make me happy. I am thankful to have the gospel in our lives and centered around our family. It truly makes us more happy. I am very blessed to live in Plain City, Utah and have such wonderful neighbors to call friends. We absolutely love living here. I am thankful to have such a supportive extended family. My mom and dad are my rock...I rely on them for so much and they are truly amazing. I am grateful to have my in-laws live so close by and be able to be close to them. They are wonderful. I have many brothers, sisters, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, neices and nephews who I also adore and look up to. We have so much to be thankful for this year and I am glad we have a day set aside each year to celebrate that fact.

I guess I'm lucky after all

Well we went to the Lexicon Movie Event and saw New Moon (for the second time) and walked away with some pretty cool stuff so I thought I would share what I got. Everyone that went got a Forks tote bag filled with a few things and then they had a drawing and out of like 500 people and only 50 prizes I actually won something...yeah for me...it kind of made it worth it. I took some pics of the stuff I won...


This is the tote bag everybody got filled with new moon stuff.

This is a bookmark and pencil that was in the goody bag tote.

This is a Volturi 2010 calendar to hang on the fridge we got in the goody bag.

Here is a wolf pack key chain that came in the goody back.

And finally we got this necklace in the shape of a moon in the goody bag.

And finally here is the wolfpack tote bag that I won. It is signed by:
Alex Meraz: Paul
Chaske Spencer: Sam Uley
Kiowa Gordon: Embry Call
Bronson Pelletier: Jared
Tyson Houseman: Quil Ateara

Sure wish it had Jacob's signature to finish it off.

All in all it was a fun day and I loved the movie.

We made it

Well we finally made it to November 19----I thought the day would never come.... The picture above is literally me because I live at my computer for my job so that is me right now---I am very excited for a fun-filled weekend. Tomorrow (Friday) after I have to go to the doctor (yuck) and then take Garrett to the eye doctor we get to enjoy the New Moon weekend. Friday night after dropping the kids off at my sister's house (thanks Angie) me and Chelton, my mom and dad, David and Alyssa and Alyssa's mom are going to see New Moon. Chelton tells me I am obsessed but I like to think he is excited to see the movie (doubt it but I will still think that). On Saturday morning me, my mom and my sister Halley are going to South Jordan to see New Moon (again) for the Lexicon Movie Event....keep your fingers crossed I win something cuz I have the worst luck and never win anything...I should have made by brother go to this cuz he always wins everything. Thanks to my sister Mandee for watching my kids for this as Chelton will be at the BYU game (unless it is snowing, then he will be out earning some money). Later that night we are getting family pictures with the Spendlove side of the family (fun to see everyone but I hate myself in pictures). Sunday I have absolutely nothing planned (besides church of course) and am very excited about that fact. I'm excited for next week too. I won't have very much work next week so it will almost be like a week off. With the kids out of school half the week maybe we can fit something fun in there. Kylie's birthday is in two weeks (Dec 4th---wow--she will be 2) so that is something fun coming up. I will post about it.

Get your New Moon Lexicon Movie Event passes

Giveawaytoday.blogspot.com is giving away 6 new moon prizes including two tickets to the Lexicon Movie Event....hey if you win we can carpool. They are giving away jewerly and ski passes too. Today is the only day to enter and they announce the winners tomorrow. I am kind of sad at Utah....they posted the Lexicon Movie Event in Nashville and it sold out fast and they are having trouble selling all the tickets in Utah. Well maybe that will leave more prizes for me to win.

Halloween

Here are the pictures of our halloween this year. We had a lot of fun visiting Grandma's and Grandpa's and going trick-or-treating. Kylie even got into trick or treating but her favorite thing was when the trick or treaters would come to our house. She would run to the door and say hi to everybody and when they left she would run over to her aunt Angie and tell her that they got their treats. She did this every time someone came (and they came nonstop at our house). Garrett was a power range, Connor was Doopliss (a ghost off of paper mario the video game) and Kylie was Winnie the Pooh. They all loved Halloween and especially loved the candy.

The part that makes me depressed.

"I promise that this will be the last time you’ll see me. I won’t come back. I won’t put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I’d never existed."---Edward Cullen, New Moon.



Ok so my post today is about when Edward leaves Bella in New Moon for her own good. Everytime I read this part of the book I get depressed. I just got done reading this book a few weeks ago and when I got to this point Chelton asked me what's wrong and I just sighed and said "Edward just left Bella." So of course I got teased a little bit but I hate the part when he leaves. The first time I read New Moon I searched to the end of the book just hoping I would find Edward's name and some indication that he comes back. Maybe I would've stopped reading the books if he hadn't come back...who knows.

Countdown to New Moon

I decided to theme my blogs based on holidays and such. In honor of New Moon coming out this month I decided to theme my blog twilight style. I've even put my favorite songs from the New Moon soundtrack and the Twilight soundtrack on my playlist. I'm really excited for the movie to come out. I am going with my husband on Friday the 20th to see the movie and then going with my mom and sister to the Lexicon movie event in South Jordan on Saturday the 21st. They are having a drawing for 50 autographed merchandise and you get a goodie bag filled with twilight stuff. I've posted a movie above of the event if you are interested in getting your tickets. I just got done rereading the books again. I am going to post something about the movie or books that I like every day...up until the release of the movie. (I know I'm a little obsessed but it is fun to get into to something).

On another note, we had a great Halloween. I will post some pictures as soon as I get them loaded on my computer. My laptop died on me and that is how I used to get them on so now I have to figure out how to get them on to my computer. We are excited for Thanksgiving and the kids are already talking about Christmas. I swear it comes earlier and earlier every year.

That's what you get for having two older brothers

Well Kylie has been started to talk so great. She is starting to say sentences and is just so smart. Well she sure learns a lot from her two older brothers. Her new thing she does is tell me she has to "go to the bafroom." She especially does this right before she takes a bath. She then proceeds to go stand next to the toilet and pretend she is going (standing up like the boys). She wants to "go to the bafroom" every time I change her diaper but she just stands next to the toilet and pretends she is going like the boys. It is kind of hilarious. Guess its time to get the potty chair out and teach her to sit like girls do. She absolutely loves her brothers. She can say Garrett really good and calls Connor, Nonner. So of course we have all started calling him Nonner now.

Garrett and Connor are doing great too!! They just got done with their soccer season and Garrett is excited to start playing basketball soon. Connor absolutely loves school and is really doing good. He is really starting to get his letters down and is starting to tell me what letter every word starts with and ends with. He should be reading pretty soon. They are super excited for halloween. Garrett is going to be a power ranger, Kylie is going to be Winnie the Pooh and Connor is going to be Dooplis (some ghost guy on Paper Mario video game---he is essentially a ghost wearing a birthday hat---he is adament that that is what he wants to be---) Oh my cute little stubborn Nonner. At least it was the easiest costume to throw together. I will have to post pics when I take them.

Scraps of Simplicity Fall Market

Post this on your blog or website and leave a message on their blog and you will be entered to win a prize from their fall market.

Connor starting preschool

Well I know it is a month late but I thought I would post about Connor starting preschool this year. He is going to Frog Pond Preschool across the street from our house. He absolutely loves it. He came home on his first day of school and was bummed because he didn't know how to read yet. Thought he would be reading books after the first day of school. He is such a super smart kid. He is doing great with his letters and is exceptionally good at counting. He counted to 1200 on our vacation this past summer. He just can't wait to be in the same school as Garrett next year. (I can---they grow up too fast). Here are a few pictures of us walking him to school and one of Kylie because I can't take one of Connor and not her...she loves smiling for the camera.

New Moon Trailer

Why can't it be November 20th right now!!!!!

Family Pictures

So we just got our family pictures taken. My sister-in-law Shauna took them and did a great job.

Yellowstone/Island Park 2009

Well we do the yellowstone trip every year and this year was no different. We had a good time. We went with my mom and dad and my sister Halley and her daughter Brenna. We had to "rough it" this year though and sleep in a tent. It was the only year too where we had major rain storms and lightening and thunderstorms. There was a night or two that got pretty scary but we survived. It is nice to have the experience of tenting it with the boys too. We did one day of Yellowstone and saw a black bear and cub and a wolf among other things. We did a day of driving and went to Cave Falls which is the southern part of yellowstone that we have never been through. You actually get through it at the bottom and it is not connected to the major roads through yellowstone. It was nice to see something different that we have never seen before. It has the widest waterfall in Yellowstone. We also took a day and did a drive up by Quake Lake in Montana. That was a pretty place too. It was a nice week to spend time with the family and get away from the every day worries. We may actually do something different next year but we'll see.

AMERICAN IDOL CONCERT

So thanks to my brother David and his wife Alyssa, me and Chelton were able to go to the American Idol concert last week. We had pretty good seats too. I have been a big Kris Allen fan from the beginning of the season and was pretty excited about it. I left my camera in the car and so at intermission I ran out to the car to get it. Then my memory card was full so I had to try to hurry and erase pics on my camera. Then my battery was not charged so I would only get a few seconds of video and my camera would die on me. That plus the fact that I am not very great with the camera and had a hard time focusing in make these videos not the greatest but I got a few that I will post here. I thought all the idols were really good but Kris Allen really took the show. I will definitely go see him again if he comes to town. If next season is as good as this year I might have to make Chelton go again with me.

AMERICAN IDOL PICS

7-year-old Mario Birthday Party

So it has been over a month but I thought I would post Garrett's 7th birthday party. He wanted to have a Mario Party. (He never picks anything easy). We started the party with an obstacle course where the kids had to crab soccer a big ball, go across a Bowser balance beam, make a shot in the Mario hoops and then do the Daisy hula hoop three times and cross the finish line. We timed each of the kids. After that we had a mario baseball throw. We had cut out pictures of different mario characters and taped them on blocks of wood and they were each worth different points. They had to stand behind the line and throw bean bags and add up the points. After that we played a balloon game. I blew up balloons and stuck pictures of four different mario characters. We played three rounds and each round they had to choose a balloon and pop it. They got certain points depending on what character was in their balloon. After each game the kids got a yoshi egg (green plastic easter eggs) filled with plastic coins (just like the coins you collect on the video games). If you won one of the mini-games you got an extra egg. All the eggs had different amount of coins in them. After all the mini-games were played the kids got to pick a prize. The one with the most coins got to pick and so on so all the kids got a prize. After that we did a Bom-omb pinata and then we had a Mario cake (made by my talented husband) and opened presents. It was real fun for the kids and Garrett loved his Mario Party.