I guess we're moving?!

I was talking with Brooklyn today and she had some strong feelings about this topic. Just thought i'd share some great insight into a three year olds little brain. Our conversation went like this:

Brooklyn: "Mom, I want to move!"
Mom: "Why?"
Brooklyn: "Because, I don't like this house anymore!"
Mom: "Really? What's wrong with our house?"
Brooklyn: "It doesn't have anymore good snacks or cereal!! So I want to move somewhere else!! So can we?"
Mom: "I'll definitely talk to dad and see if he will move. OK?"

The Maiden Ski Voyage!

Most of the schools around here are on a year-round school schedule. That means the kids go to school for 9 weeks, and then are off for 3 weeks (generally). We are currently "off" track for 3 weeks. Usually that means lots of boredom, wining, crying, fighting and calling the few friends who are also "off" track, to see who can tolerate them another day, because I definitely cannot!

Fortunately, McKay and Makenna are in 3rd grade and that means they are now eligible for SKI SCHOOL!! Yea! Ski school is an all-day, 8am till 4pm adventure up to Snowbird Ski Resort where they are bused up and back, fed lunch, and given ski lessons until they can't keep their eyes open, or feel their extremities (which ever comes first) anymore. The best part about it is they LOVE it! Mom loves it too, because not only are they gone all day for two days of the week, they can hardly move when they get home. It's a dream come true for everyone!

It is their first time ever skiing and so far it's a success! Our kind neighbor who shares in our joy took some pictures of the kids the first day right before loading the "big" bus with the t.v.s. They get to watch "Planet Earth" on their 45 min ride up/down the canyon, and they couldn't be happier. Unless of course they are sleeping!

Sledding

I have been waiting to post for a while because we got a new computer (it's a Mac and I love it!) and I have not been able to transfer all the pictures from my laptop I have been using for the last 2 1/2 years, to the new computer. I wanted to post all the pictures from our fun new years in Cedar City with Tyson's family, but I'm tired of looking at the same post every time I go to our blog, so I'm going to do them out of order.

On Martin Luther King day, we had a pretty good storm here in Draper, so we FINALLY took the kids sledding. We went to a park not too far from our house with a small to moderate hill (for the little kids). It was going rather smooth in the beginning. I sat in the car feeding baby Cooper with some friends, and the husbands were out helping the kids on the hill. I want to point out that I have been the one all winter wanting to take the kids sledding because I actually like to sled myself! Somehow, each time we think we're going to do it, something more important (on Tyson's list) comes up? So, when we finally make our move and follow through, I get banished to the car with the baby! What is that? Turns out, it wasn't a bad gig after all, because when Tyson was peer pressured into actually going down the hill instead of pushing everyone else, he managed to go off a jump and dislocate and break his coccyx (or tailbone, but coccyx is more fun to say)! The poor guy has been in some serious pain ever since. He even gets to carry around a very attractive, red plaid doughnut to sit on. I have a feeling Ty will be hanging out with Cooper in the car next time. I don't know that he'll be celebrating Martin Luther King anymore either? He He! But, the kids had a blast despite the frigid temps and we got some cute pictures out of it too.

Our Christmas Story

So, as you know..
Christmas has come and gone and all the hustle and bustle is over. What a relief!! In keeping up with this years theme of being the last one to get my stuff done, I am just now going to share our Christmas story.

We had so much fun this year. Having a new baby in the house made everything just a little bit sweeter, and a little bit crazier! Santa did not disappoint at our house this year, (except maybe the golf clubs he brought Makenna? I don't think she asked for those, but when we were able to find a new home for the ones Santa brought, and got her new pink ones, thinks looked up.) Watching our kids Christmas morning just keeps getting better every year. There is nothing like having a 3 year old treat every gift she opens like she's been waiting all her life to get it! And the wonderment of the others trying to figure out just how Santa knew all of their favorite things, even if they didn't ask him for them. It was our best Christmas yet. Getting everything I hinted about from my personal angel might have helped too!

With the extremely generous help of family,(my parents) friends,(the Wards)and lots of neighbors,(Rideouts, Saxtons, Haseltons, Enghs, and VanLeuwens) we were able to help a family with their Christmas this year. We had gotten away from this tradition lately and it was so humbling to get to do it again. It reminds us of how blessed we really are and how important it is to remember what this time of year is really about!

Cooper is one month already!

I can't belive how fast time flys after you have the baby! I was taking some pictures of Cooper for his birth announcement and thought I'd share a couple that didn't get picked. Is it just me, or is he soo cute?

Tagged....25 Questions for 25 Days of Christmas

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Definitely hot chocolate!..egg nog is for fairies!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Both..Tyson likes to wrap them all..I like one or two big ones unwrapped..but Tyson usually gets his way.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
We have white on the tree, but none on the house..It's actually a sore subject..Tyson is scared to get on the roof, but won't pay to have someone put them up..McKay actually asked Santa last year for lights on our house so mom and dad wouldn't have to pay for them..isn't that so sweet!! and we still didn't get them! We might be the only ones in the neighborhood not lit up! Agggghhhh!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Are you kidding??.We do not need to give Kate anymore excuses to try to kiss all the boys!!She already won't stop kissing the singing Santa without mistletoe!

5. When do you hang your decorations up?
Sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas..

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Honey baked ham!!, breakfast casserole, and candied yams.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Waking up to see my brand new boom box I had asked for sitting under the tree, only to find out it was for my little brother who did not ask for it?..My mom swore she didn't make a mistake..but my brother and I were both confused? But I did love waking up every year with my two brothers and sneaking into the living room at 2 am to see if Santa had come yet..we only got caught once, that I can remember?

8. This question is reserved for those who do not have computer savy children at home, so if your really curious, email me and i'll let you in on the question and answer.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Tyson and I don't, but the kids open pjs from grandma Hintze..I sorta forced that tradition on her a few years ago!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We have a "Santa" tree in the living room, and a tree for the "kids stuff" in the basement.

11. Snow? Love it or dread it?
I love it for the entire month of December, but by Jan 5th, I hate it.

12. Real tree or fake tree?
One of my favorite things about Christmas time growing up was going to pick out the real tree and then getting hot chocolate at Dennys! so we decided to get a fake tree for our family so our kids would not get to have that experience?? I don't understand it either?

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Nope?..

14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Doing something charitable..and trying to teach the kids that it's important too.

15. What is your favorite Holiday dessert?
Those chocolate truffles at Costco!..and now the pumpkin desserts from my neighbor Sarah..

16. What is your favorite tradition?
We have had clam chowder on Christmas eve since I was born, and even though it's not my favorite thing to eat,(unless it's from Market Street) I love that we have been doing it for that long..Tyson tries every year to get rid of this tradition, but to no avail..Tyson and I started reading the birth story in the scriptures with our family on Christmas eve about 4 years ago, and I really like that one too.

17. What tops your tree?
Depends on the tree. Santa on one; whatever the kids want that year on the other..

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
I'm not going to lie, its fun to get stuff, especially when it's a surprise, but giving is way more satisfying, especially when it's a surprise!.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Gotta be "O Holy Night"!..I secretly want to sing that song with a baptist church choir, where we get all soulful at the end of it..

20. Candy canes, yuck or yum?
Yuck!!! Unless they're made of chocolate.

21. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Christmas Vacation, and A Christmas Story!

22. What do you leave for Santa?
Milk and Homemade chocolate chip cookies.

23. Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?
We do the DowDell traditional picture of the kids on the stairs before they can come down to the tree, and breakfast casserole with the Hintze (my) family.

24. Do you prefer to shop on-line or at the mall?
Neither really..I'm not a big shopper, but at Christmas time when I have to, I prefer the mall..but I am getting more confident with on-line shopping. I did all the shopping for baby Coopers room on-line.

25. Christmas letter or Christmas card?
We have only done the card, but I love getting the letters from others as long as there is a picture with it!!! So please send us one!!

So, thank you Darci for tagging me. It was my first tag ever! I now tag Megan, Lesa and Jamie Stevenson. Have fun girls!

Cooper Benson DowDell

Our little boy is finally here! Cooper Benson DowDell arrived on November 3rd, at 3:08 a.m. He weighed 7lbs, 6oz and was 19 inches. It was such a bitter sweet moment for us, because it was so incredible to finally meet our perfect little baby, and know he was healthy, (and cute) but also sad in a way that this would be the last time we would be doing this!! There is absolutely nothing in this world that compares to having a baby! The entire process from start to finish is truly a miracle and we have been so blessed to be able to have five kids, all healthy, happy and beautiful. How could we want to never have that feeling you get meeting your little one for the first time again? This, a question I currently don't have the answer to. Trust me though, I have been savoring every moment with my baby Coop! I can't get enough of him. I've even earned the nickname "baby (or ball) hog" by Tyson and our friends. Life with a newborn is as rough as I remember, but I wish it could last forever!