Happy birthday to me!

Since my birthday was so close while we were still visiting Utah, we decided to celebrate it.  (Well, not “we”, I told everyone I was fine not having a birthday party, that way Kolby and Julie could have their own, since they always have to share with me).  But my Mom and Sue Mom insisted.  So, we went to church with my parents on New Year’s Day.  It was fun seeing people from the ward I grew up in, though it’s changed a lot.  Then we went and hung out that afternoon and helped to get dinner ready.  Then Amy and Kolby came.  It was Kolby's actual birthday, he's a News Years baby.  Right when they showed up, Cal started throwing up, breaking out in hives, his body started swelling, including his lips.  He and Mark and Emma were eating nuts and we think it was the Brazil nut (or possibly the hazel nut).  Now we knew he was allergic to peanuts, but he’s always been fine with walnuts, cashews, and almonds, so we figured the others were fine.  The doctor said just to let him try them in small quantities, and just see.  But he must have an awful allergy to those.  We have an appointment to get him tested.  And, we were going to use the Epi-pen it was so bad, but it was expired (Mom of the Year award right there).  So my Dad and Marko ran to the store to get some Benadryl.  He threw up again and where he threw up, he broke out again, so this allergy is very severe.  We gave him the Benadryl, and Dave and Kolby gave him a blessing.  Then he started feeling much better.  It was super scary though, the worse allergic reaction we’ve seen from him.  So after this fiasco, we had dinner.  We ate yummy island pork loin, with garlic mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, yummy rolls, and cheesecake instead of cake, of course!

Cal getting better.  Nothing a little game won't fix for this boy.  He's a total gamer!  Emma helping him and watching out for him. 

Luce with her Uncle Kolby.  Who doesn't love Uncle Kolby?

Singing "Happy Birthday" and getting ready to blow out the candles.  Lucy was fascinated by the candles, as you can see!

Make a wish!

A picture with all of the girl (and Marko...)  But this picture is so cute.  I love it!

 

I had a birthday party with Julie.  Thanks, Julie, for sharing your party with me!  You’re so cool!  (:  We had dinner, though I can’t say I remember what we ate…  Then we got to blow out the candles together.   There were a ton on there, but luckily all of the kids were there to help!  We had cheesecake and red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.  Lucy was mesmerized by the candles and we sang our crazy version of happy birthday and then just hung out the rest of the night and talked and said our goodbyes, since we left the next morning bright and early.   

Again, check Lucy's face out.  He he!

Making wishes!

Okay Jerry, you can stop now!  It ain't over until the [Jerry] sings! 

On my real birthday, we celebrated by having a sleepover with the cousins.  All of the kids had fun with that.  We made crepes for breakfast, played, and played some more.  And I was in the mood to clean and organize, so that’s what I did.  I got some phone calls from my Mom and my in-laws, and Amy Lou.  Thanks for calling!  Then, we got ready, and my Aunt Suz watched the kids while Dave and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes (Mellie gives it 4 stars, I loved it!).  Then we went to dinner at Red Robin.  It’s so nice to get away without the kids.  School has been so busy, we’re lucky if we get a date night once a week!  It was very nice just to talk and just have it be us.  So thanks, Suz, for the babysitting and for always being there!  Then we came home and watched a movie with the kids, Peperli brought some yummy cinnamon rolls over, and the kids and I and read lots of books and snuggled. 

This year, I wanted to make my own cake, since I found this recipe months ago and have been waiting for a particular occasion to use it. I decided my birthday would be a perfect one! Cookie dough? Chocolate? Cheesecake? Yes, please! I made this (http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/07/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-cheesecake.html) chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake (are you seeing a common thread here? Ha ha! 3 birthday celebrations, 3 cheesecakes. My name is Melanie and I’m a cheesecakeaholic). Happy birthday to me! It turned out well and was one of the best things I’ve tasted! 

I also got lots of sweet cards in the mail! They were all so nice, thank you to all who sent them to me! I love snail mail! I felt loved also when I checked my Facebook account that night. Aw, shucks! Thanks to everyone who sent nice things my way! 

 To top things off, we got snow that evening, after a long dry spell!  I can’t be let down! (; It always snows on my birthday.I think there have only been 2 or 3 birthdays my whole life where there hasn’t been a large snow or small snow storm.It was a nice day! 

New Years, New Goals

Happy New Year!  A lot has happened in the past year.  I gave birth to my third, and adjusted to three, we moved to Washingtno, Dave made it through his first semester of school at Washington State U, Emma finished half of her first year of school, Cal is close to being potty trained, and Lucy is now almost 1!  I can’t believe how fast time flies, and how little time I have to myself when there are three little ones and a husband to care for.  We are down in Utah right now, today is our last day here.  It’s been so great to spend time with family and friends!  I love them all!  As for New Years Resolutions, I’m going to report on my experiences with last years resolution first.  Last year, I tried to make “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus” my motto.  I tried to think more about him and be more like him.  I did try my best to do that, but I’m no where close to actually being perfect like He is.  That is a lifelong quest, and I’m trying my hardest, but still have a  long way to go.  I like to write my goals down so I'll follow through and check up on myself.  This year, I’m going to focus on a few things:

1)      Focus more on the positives, not the negatives.

2)     Enjoy my children NOW – they’re only little once.

3)     Be more patient - with everyone, including myself.

4)  Give a little time to myself each day to do what I want. 

Those are the things I’ve been thinking that I need to do lately.  I hope this will add to blessing the lives of those around me and myself!  Here's to a happy 2012!

Still more holiday fun...

The week after Christmas was just as fun!  Monday morning, we headed up to Monte Cristo to go snowmobiling, courtesy of Amy and Kolby, with the whole Stoddard family.  We were worried there wouldn’t be any snow, but we had enough, barely.  It was such a fun day!  

We all took turns snowmobiling!  It was fun.  Dave also loved Kolb’s new sled.  It was fast!  Even Grammie got on, which doesn't surprise me.  She's a tough granny ("Don't call me "Grandma".  That sounds too old and wimpy!"). 

We sat around and talked and played games when we weren’t on the snowmobiles.  I don’t know if people had more fun playing or saying “Farkle”!

Lucy slept a lot, and got passed around.  She stayed nice and warm in her snow suit, which is 0-3 months and still fits her.  It was way to big for her when she was born! 

Cal hates the cold and wanted to sit in the back of our car the entire time.  I made him sled down the hill for a minute and go on the snowmobile with Amy once.  He just hates the cold.  But everyone was surprised how well he entertained himself and how happy he stayed.  He colored, stamped, read boks, and played with some cars I brought him.  I thought he’d come play more.  Usually when we go outside to play in the snow, Cal is ready to go in after five minutes or so.  But I thought he’d do better than that.  But at least he was happy.

Emma loves the snow and the cold, on the other hand!  She loved every minute making snowballs, sledding with me, Aunt Amy, and my cousins, and especially Snowmobiling!  She had to wear her pink Fox racing shirt so she’d match Aunt Mamy. 

My parents went snowshoeing, my mom got them matching snowshoes for Christmas.  I thought that was a cool idea since they used to go cross country skiing a lot.   

We had some lunch, we had chili and cowboy soup, crackers and hot chocolate.  We also surprised Kolby with a birthday cake from Costco, his favorite kind. 

Marko and my Mom, awww!  Love them!

And of course, lots and lots of sledding!  So, so much fun!

It was a blast being with everyone! We really have the best family!  Me and my BSE (Best sister ever!), Amy Lou!  I love you!!  Thanks for all of the good times!

I forgot to tell about this time in my previous post.  Monday night after we got to Utah, we went with my parents, Marko, and Amy and Kolby to see the lights at Temple Square.  These pictures were taken on Dave's EVO phone, but they still turned out pretty well.  The lights were so pretty and it was so fun being with my fam.  It was so exciting to see them for the first time!  Amy and Kolby brought 7-11 hot chocolate for everyone.  Helped to warm up our hands and our insides.  Our hands were cold, but not our insides.  They were plenty warm thanks to the warm feelings of love we have in our family.  It's so true that "Distance makes the heart grow fonder."  It does.  Emma was so excited to see Amy (and Kolby, too!). 

Ev

One morning, my Dave and I and my parents went to the Bountiful Temple.  We did a bunch of family names my mom has found.  We did baptisms, that was cool, since it’s been about 5 years since I did that last.  Dave baptized me for the women, just like the good old days, and my dad did the male names!  Then we did the confirmations for those names.  My mom and I and Dave and Dad did initiatories after that.  I always love doing that.  Then we finished things off with an Endowment session.  It was a spiritually uplifting morning serving in the House of the Lord.  I’m grateful for the Spirit there, what I learn, and that I can help others and myself through that great work.  And it was nice being back at the Bountiful temple, which just happens to be my favorite!  (;  Though they’re all great, it was just nice to be at the one you grew up with, helped to bring about and got married in. 

We went to Zoo Lights at Hogle Zoo onee night with the cousins and Grandma Sue.  It was so cool, way better than I even thought!  It was worth going to, if you can!  It was awesome to see some of the more nocturnal animals, like the big Cats that always are sleeping and lounging around during the day, up close and personal.  The tiger came right down to the glass and was roaring at everyone, it was pretty cool!  And the lights they’ve put together are spectacular!  And, it was so warm the kids wanted to all take off their snow stuff.  The kids had a great time, as well as the adults! 

We took Kaison one night and Emma went up and slept over with Tayla.  The boys are just crazy, but fun.  Going to the park to play was probably the highlight.  It was such a beautiful day, it was 60 degrees outside!  We saw two butterflies, heard the birds chirping.  I think the animals, insects, and plants are going to get confused with this weather.  We played on the playground, in the sand, chased each other, and rolled down the hill.  We had a blast!  It was so warm, the boys took their jackets and shoes off.  I was floored that the weather was like that!  But I'll take it!

On New Year’s Eve, I went to hang out at Hlee’s house with my old friends.  We had a girl’s spa day.  We did pedicures and Hlee cut hair.  The best part was just catching up while we snacked on some yummy things.  I love those ladies!  Then we had my Grammie’s side of the family Curran party.  It’s always the Saturday after Christmas and like always, had fun talking to some we don’t get to see at all except for at this party, had a yummy lunch, and played games like basketball, keep away, football and dodge ball in the gym.  Then our family went shopping for the afternoon, went to Chick-fil-A (oh how I’ve missed you!), then to Christie and Rex’s party for a while where we snacked on appetizers, played the Wii, played Scattergories & Slamwich, and played with the kids.  Then back to the Ryerse’s for fireworks.  We went earlier that week to a firework stand out in south Salt Lake, which had a huge selection, and we found a lot of great things.  They even had a train ride for the kids, which was cool.  We got some cake fireworks, our favorite was the Ladybug one, it was awesome!  And after years of searching, this stand had the Friendship Pagoda firework, my favorite one growing up!  We did that, and then just hung out the rest of the night, watched the ball drop and then watched a movie, though I don’t remember which one. 

A picture of Emma and her friends from my phone.  It's so cute when they get together!

A picture Emma took with my phone of Hlee, me, Ashley and Stacie. 

We were able to celebrate Tayla’s 6^th birthday with her.  What a cute girl, Emma just adores her!  Emma and I went up for her friend birthday.  She had a Unicorn party, everything was so cute!  The kids played Pin the Horn on the Unicorn, then we had a Unicorn piñata, had magic rainbow unicorn cake, and then we did some impromptu games.  It was fun to see them all and Tayla and Emma and the rest of their friends had a blast!  Then that night, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for Tayla’s family birthday.  Oh man, do kids (and the big people) all love Chuck E. Cheese!  They played all of the games, went on rides, played on the play place, watched Chuck E. Dance on stage, ate pizza, sang to Tayla and had more rainbow cake!  We got so many tickets, the kids actually were able to get legit prizes. 

We also celebrated my birthday with my families since we were down.  I’ll do a separate post for that, so look for it!  (:

Some of my favorite moments were just hanging out with the grandparents at their houses. Playing, talking, watching movies together, games, and just hanging out. It was so nice to be home with them and see them again! I love them all so much! Thank you, thank you! 

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas would really describe the kind of Christmas we had - a merry one!  We started things off at Aunt Lois and Uncle Keith's for our family dinner and program. It was fun to see everyone and talk to everyone!  Here's Emma, she loves all of my younger cousins, and they are so cute with her and Lucy and Cal too!

We had Prime Rib for dinner, it was yummy!

Cal was watching Daren play games on his phone, he's such a little gamer!

Then we had a little visit from the big man himself, yep, Santa Claus!  Lucy was intrigued by him.

I love this one of Emma!  Daddy's listening in on what she and Santa are talking about. 

Cal with "Ho Ho", which is what he calls him. 

Then we have our program.  Here are some shots around the room of everyone.  I love my family! 

Santa, baby!  Christie and her Santa!

 
Marko helped Emma and Amber (Mark's friend's daughter) sing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer".  It was cute!

Cal went on the piano and just made up a little song for his talent.  Go buddy!

Emma played "Jingle Bells" on the piano with Grandma Di.  She's really enjoying piano lessons!

We stayed for part of the program, we got to stay for Grammie's talent, she talked about Light and the Light of Christ.  She gave us little battery-operated tea light candles.  Luce wanted to hold it the whole way to Grandma Sue & Grandpa Dan's, and fell asleep with it in the car.   

Then it was time for Brian's birthday.  I like this picture.  This year the pinata was Spiderman. 

As per tradition, the youngest goes first.  So here's little Brody trying his hand. 

Then it was Lucy's first time as well, with a little help, of course! 

Cal loved whacking it!

The kids were so cute and were cheering and clapping for everyone.  They'd chant "Go Julie Go!", or cheer for whoever was having a turn. 

The birthday boy!  It took about two turns for everyone before we broke Spiderman open (we duct tape the heck out of it, of course). 

Candy!!

Spider-Emma!

The kids with Brian - Happy Birthday Uncle Brian!

The babies with Aunt Julie, we all love Aunt Julie!

Then we had cake and ice-cream and played and then we got to open our new jammies.  Cal got Monster truck ones, and slippers!

Emma got doggy jammies with a bathrobe, and Lucy got WSU Cougar jammies.  I got some Paul Frank giraffe ones, and Dave also got some Wazzu P.J.'s. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...sort of! 

We read a few books to the kids, then got them to get to sleep.  Stacy is such a great, cute, super awesome Mom and Aunt, so glad she's in this family!  Then the adults stayed up really late and played games.  It was so much fun and we had a lot of laughs.  That night, Kaison was sick and threw up, Callahan was crying all night, and Lucy was up all night too due to teething.  It was a LONG night.

 In the morning, Jeff and Shirley came and woke everyone up, we were all still sleeping.  We hurried and opened a few toys from Santa.  The kids were so excited!  I'm so grateful for Christmas miracles!  My sister (yet again, going about doing good) called about a month before Christmas and said they needed one more family to help for Christmas at her job.  Her boss always likes to provide Christmas for three families.  At first I was hesitant, because we've never been helped out like that, and I don't like accepting help.  Sure I'll help others, but I'm too prideful sometimes.  But then after I got off the phone with her, the thought came to my mind that I've been praying that we'd make it since Dave was only able to work one month, because his graduate program is so much work and so time consuming.  So then I got the impression that this was an answer to prayers.  So we accepted, we wrote our letters to Santa, and Santa delivered!  I'm grateful to those who helped and care so much for us that they would do that!  For my sister and her boss and to all of the good people out there, there is so much good in the world!  The kids were thrilled with what they got!

We made egg nog French toast for breakfast, along with bacon and sausage, and Christmas potatoes.  It was delicious.  We also had church early in the morning (10 a.m., that's early when you only got a couple of hours of shut eye the night before and when it's Christmas).  We went to Church and it was a beautiful program!  I loved going to church on Christmas, it really helped to keep the true spirit of Christmas in remembrance.  They had some beautiful cello music, harp songs, flute (and she was really good!), a string quartet by the youth, primary choir, and the normal choir.  It was nice, but very long, which the stake leaders weren't very happy about. It went way over time.  But as I see it, it's better to be there, thinking of the Christ child, than anywhere else.  My favorite number was by the Primary "Oh come, little Children, oh come one and all". 

O Come, little children, O come, one and all
To Bethlehem haste, to the manger so small.
God's Son for a gift has been sent you this night
To be your redeemer, your joy and delight.

 After church, Cal fell asleep.  I think he was sick too.  He slept a long time.  I felt like sleeping too, I was so sleepy, but didn't.  I played with the kids all afternoon, until it was time to go to my parents. 

At my parents, we ate first.  We had a ham, garlic mashed potatoes, orange rolls, salad, jello and trifle for dessert.  Yum!  Lucy at her first Christmas dinner. 

Emma, amy and Kolby ready to eat!

Everything my mom bakes or cooks or makes looks like it belongs in a magazine.  Wow!  She's good!

Cal with Uncle Marko.  The kids loved playing with him again.  The shirt Marko is wearing, Emma and Cal picked out for him. It's him who introduced them to Angry Birds, and they knew it was exactly what Mark had to have.  He he!

After dinner, we opened some presents.  Here are the kids playing with their Christmas toys!  Cal wanted a train and a truck for Christmas, and Emma asked for an ice-cream shoppe and a cardboard house. 

Making some ice-cream with her ice-cream shoppe. 

Then we watched "17 Miracles" about the pioneers, which was one thing my parents got for Christmas.  It was so touching, and I'm so grateful for the sacrifices that the Mormon pioneers made.  When I read, watch, or think of their hardships and sacrifices, it makes me less prone to whine.  I'm grateful my kids have never been hungry or cold or sick like those honorable pioneers.  I'm thankful for their sacrifice, they gave everything they had to God and never gave up.  I hope I can do the same in my life. 

After the movie, we got in our jammies and had a sleepover all together at Grandma Di and Grandpa Scott's.  We played some games and talked.  Then we went to bed.  I slept like a rock that night!  We had a fun time!  Merry Christmas to all!

"
Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the home, the genial flame of charity in the heart." Thanks to all who have done just that for us this Christmas! I love all of my friends and family so much and am so blessed to associate with you! (: