Christmas Day

It was a very Merry Christmas at our house. We made it through the morning with happy kids which is what I worry about most. They seemed content with what they got.Ashtyn opening a box full of Junie B. Jones books. We are set for at least a month's worth of reading. If she had it her way, we would have read them all within the first 24 hours. She also got scrapbooking supplies, a Nintendo DS Lite, games & jewelry.

Entering the room Christmas morning youngest to oldest and a family tradition of ours. I always loved the excitement of pulling back the sheet that covered the room so I hope that my kids feel that too as they entered the room to see what Santa had brought. Brigham happy about Woody. Buzz also joined his toy collection along with a Thomas train set, guns, books, puzzles and animal toys. Haylee playing with her new Barbie house. She also got a Nintendo DS Lite, Barbie stuff, jewelry, play makeup and games. Brigham got a tool kit from Grandma and Grandpa. He went to work right away fixing their wall. You can't see it very well, but he does have a tool belt on. Too bad he didn't take the time to put pants on too. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did.

Annual Burton Christmas Eve Dance

Oh the memories this brings back. We attened the 103rd annual Burton Christmas Even Dance and danced around the Christmas tree...well sort of, the kids we too scared to get out and dance so we did this instead. The boys (Brigham and Brock) enjoyed sitting on the heater rather than dancing around in the gym. The one time we allow them to run and have fun, they don't take us up on the offer. Haylee sat contently against the wall with Grandma and Grandpa not breaking out any moves the entire time. Branson, Brock & Ashtyn did walk around a few times. Look how happy Ashtyn looks to be here. I remember having a very good time at these things. I guess there are funner things now days to keep kids entertained so this was pretty lame. I had a fun time coming back and seeing everyone and all the new kids. I think I will drag them back next year too.

Christmas Light Drama

This year we decided we would scale back the lights since last year when we took down the lights they had fused together looking like a fire should or could have started. We purchased the cute trees and a projector to put a picture on the side of the house. I had this all thought out in my head on how it would look. When Scott attempted to put them up, the ground was frozen solid so I had to settle for the trees up against the house and the projector is so close to the house the picture is lame and smaller than I wanted. Next year our Christmas lights will be up in July...we are not going to let the frozen ground ruin our decor. Oh, and yes Scott decided at the last minute (in the dark) to still put lights up on the house. Merry Christmas to all!

Crafts or Bust!

I don't know what it is lately, but the kids have wanted me to do sewing and other crafty activities a lot with them. I am guessing it is because they are cooped up in side, but at any rate I always think I am going to be fun and all is going to go well. Each time we do it, I want to pull out my hair. Why do I do this to myself? Maybe because the alternative is to listen to them wine about wanting to do it. Ashtyn and Haylee sewed their very own stockings......or did Mom really get to sew them both and thread the needls 20 times before they were done?Here we are attempting to make home made snow globes from baby food jars. I could not find my glue gun so we resorted to glue dots which do not hold well under water. Eventually our penquins and trees were floating in the jars instead of being snowed on. Notice Brigham's green tummy. He leaned across the table to get something. We had bathtime after this project! Foam Gingerbread houses seemed much better than doing the real thing. They should just come right together and you wouldn't have to mess with sticky frosting and too much candy....if you ever attempt these, make sure you have all the supplies. Sticky dots are the only way to go. We figured this halfway through the project as I was desparate to find a way to keep the items stuck to the house. I finally found those darn sticky dots that I knew I had I just couldn't locate them for awhile. Awwwwww! They did turn out cute however and the kids were pleased with them.

Elfed

This is way too funny! Check us out as elves. Sadly, only four of us could do the dance so Scott opted out... http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1133871713

Teton Spectrum Raceway

We have started a tradition at work that every year around Christmas we rent the Teton Spectrum Raceway for the night, bring in pizza, lock the doors and let the kids run wild. The adults fight it out on the go carts and whoever gets the best time wins a trophy to display on their desk all year. The following year they have to give it up to the next winner. This years winner was Derek Tingey. Way to go Derek! There was some pretty stiff competition among all the diesel driven fast paced men. (I am so competitive I think I got 8th place out of maybe 9 or 10 that competed in my bracket) Thank you to Flashlube for sponsering the night.

My camera had a hard time focusing, but this is Brigham going down a tall slide. He had a really fun time and pretty much bounced for three hours straight. I thought for sure he would crash on the way home but he did not go to sleep until 11:30. He was pretty wound up. Ashtyn and Haylee making their way down the slide. Steve and McCall taking a break from bouncing. Brigham driving a car game. He like the car and the gun games.

Here is where it gets brutal. This year was safer than last because we all got a "warning" email. There were no teeth lost or whip lash occurances this year thankfully. Last year a few people got a little out of control and suffered some minor injuries.

My House on Tuesdays

I work from home on Tuesdays and every once in awhile my babysitter has something come up so the kids stay home with me. Trying to work and be a good Mom at the same time is nearly impossible. I practically do anything to keep them occupied so that I can try to get stuff done. It never fails that as soon as I get on the phone they break into a fight, cry or bang pots and pans together (ok so I am exaggerating a little). When Scott gets home he looks at me like I have gone insane to let the house get to the state of chaos that it is in. In the end my work gets done and the kids have had a fun day so I guess that is all that matters. Notice Brigham's yellow Snow White skirt...Haylee helped him with this one I am not guilty.

Ohhhh, you gotta love him.

This is just one of the moments when you realize how much you love your kids (I usually only have these Ohhhh moment when they are asleep). I had to interrupt this nap so that I could get Ashtyn to the dentist for a cleaning. Seven cavities, a frenulectomy and $300.00 are the outcome of that appointment. Grrrr! What is a fenulectomy you say? Apparently she gets to have the piece of tissue snipped that connectes your gums to your lip. Hers is too short so it has caused a gap between her two front teeth. Ashtyn would prefer the gap over having this snipped but I think she will thank us for it someday. They charge $182 for this procedure alone. Any prayers you would like to offer in her behalf would be greatly appreciated. I do not look forward to those appointments at all...she is not going down without a fight.

Jack and Jill

We finally gave in and adopted some cats for the kids. We named them Jack and Jill because we got a boy and a girl...spayed and neutered I must add. They have had a lot of fun with them so I guess it has been worth it. Kliss I tried to talk them into waiting until after Thanksgiving so that you weren't freaked out by this all but of course I got outvoted. They do live in the garage and aren't allowed in the house anymore (the first day we did let them in a little) so you should be safe.

TRICK OR TREAT

Haylee, Whitney, Ashtyn, Brigham and Michelle at the Halloween carnival. Haylee, Brigham and Ashtyn ready for the carnival. Brigham, Ashtyn and Haylee all set to Trick or Treat

Premier Performance Dresses Up

Ryan looking forward to retirement.

Steve looking sharp in his Helga get up. Steve and Bruce looking to go into business together. Chelsea as Anastasia The Accounting Crew: Kelli, Carrie, Darci & Lacey

The Finale

I was quite surprised that Haylee picked the skull as her pattern. I thought she would go for something more cutesy. Just when you think you know your own kids... Here are the scary results.

Ashtyn and Brigham working hard for the end result

Pumpkins

Haylee working on her pumpkin, notice the sparkly skirt...perfect attire for carving pumpkins.

Thank you Saratoga Springs-Brigham Ricks Fan Club

Brigham was super excited to get mail from a fan club. He is not mad in this picture, this is just his new big smile. For the life of me I can't get him to actually look happy with his big smile. He loves his new trucks. Any additions to his slim collection is appreciated, the poor kid still has to play dress up in girl clothes and play with Barbies. He has recently embraced Buzz and Woody which still incorporate well with playing with the girls and Barbies.

Every Body Dance Now

We had just finished watching Evan Almighty and the kids had to dance. Please ignore my commentary and giggles in the back ground. I could not help myself.

Kicked Out.....of Primary

Haylee has officially become one of the naughty Sunbeams in Primary. On Sunday she got kicked out of class along with 3 other friends because they were being so naughty. I feel better that one of the girls was the Primary Presiden'ts daughter but still this is not good. I now get to be the Mom that stands in the back of the room giving evil looks at her every time she makes a bad move. Someone remind me why I go to church. I barely survive sacrament meeting only to drag Brigham to nursery. Once I pry him off my body I sneak out and then listen to him scream and cry as I cower in the hallway. I then make my way to Primary where I tell the girls to be good (yea right) and then I go to Sunday school and try to keep Scott out of the treats that I packed for the kids. Relief Society finally comes along and it never fails that I get called out for one of the kids. Oh the joys!

Brigham humors me as I make him answer questions and perform faces.

Brigham Turns Two

Here are some pics from Brigham's birthday celebration. His real birthday is the 23rd but since Scott was going to be out of town, we celebrated a few days early. Michelle, Jeremy & Brock gave him the dart gun and he has an evil laugh anytime he aims to shoot. He can hardly shoot it he laughs so hard. I tried to read a few stories out of the Disney book from Grandma and Grandpa and he talks over me telling me about the pictures. He also got a very handsome tie so he can be like the big boys at church. He had a blast! Thanks to everyone who came an supported him on his big day.

Princess Pals

Life at our house is usually a zoo with only two girls. Imagine adding three more to the mix. I babysat Whitney and Michelle one night and of course the neighbor Kailey was over as well. From left to right you see: Haylee, Kailey, Ashtyn and Whitney.

Winter???What about Fall?

I have dreaded this day for a long time. I have even been complaining about all the rain (even though I know we are in a drought), but why can't there be a Halloween with no snow?

How are girls supposed to parade around in cute little ballerina costumes with it is zero degrees outside? One of the chores on my list for Scott this Saturday was to mow the lawn. . . I guess he got out of that one without even having to argue. I must admit it was fun to see the kids have such a great time. (Kliss, the house you see across the street has the same weed issues, maybe they are related!)

Fishing

My boss has a few ponds in front of his house that he keeps fish in. We went the other day and caught one fish right after another. The kids had a blast and it was the easiest fishing we have ever had to do. Our garbage is still re-cuperating after our fish dinner we ate, but the fun we had made the stench worth it.

The Kids-July 2007

Here is a recent photo of the kids. Ashtyn 6, Brigham 2, Haylee 4. Taken outside our house on the front porch.

The basement is Finished...Shout Hooray!!!

The basement was a huge undertaking that really can't be described unless you have been there, done that. Needless to say, we will probably never attempt to do it again. Here are some different angles of the basement. The basement contains a living room, laundry room, two bedrooms and full bath. We thought it would be fabulous to send the kids down to play in but have a hard time convincing them to go down there so it is kind of lame.