Nixon's First Haircut

Because I don't like side wings and a 3" tall mohawk. He's so handsome...his daddy aint too bad either.

 

Dickins Festival

We went to the Dickins Festival at the Fair Grounds with my family last week. It was basically a giant boutique (unbeknownced to the men...bless their hearts). I posted the below pictures to give you a glimmer of what I go through to take a normal picture of my kids. It's basically impossible. Once looks up and smiles while the next falls down or picks her nose....and it's a domino effect from there. Oh well, we wouldn't want to take a PERFECT picture all the time...that would just be lying!



And of course we have the comedians.

Kendyl Babe is 3!!

Kendyl is 3! She's been telling us for the last couple months that her birthday is December 5th and she's getting a Bitty Twin names Sally from Grandma. We had a birthday party for her last Saturday at my parent's house. We sort of combined it with the little Christmas party my mom was having for the kids. Kendyl is so fun to watch open presents. She would get the biggest smile on her face with each present, thank the person that gave it to her, then open it up and start playing with it. She had wanted some boots that we'd seen at the store a couple months ago and I got them for her for her birthday. She was so excited to open them and put them on. She said, "I wanted these!" At the end of her party, Nic asked her if she had a good day, her response was, "it's perfect."

We love our Kendyl Babe. She is quite the little stinker and sometimes I wonder if she's deaf or just has selective hearing. I wouldn't trade her though. She's about as funny as they come and very endearing. She's good at entertaining herself with any toy she stumbles upon. This is quite nice since her playmates are at school for 3 hours each day. We're always amazed at the funny things Kendyl says and does. She likes to use mature words she hears, but she doesn't always use them in the right context. She LOVES treats and would prefer to eat them all day long. I have to keep a close watch on her when she's nearing the treat cupboard. She loves Zumba and wants to watch the DVD every day. She's a whiz at the computer and iphone. She loves to say the prayer for every meal and before bed. Her hair is still feathers. She loves to give hugs. She's the bomb...and we love her tons.

She had more than enough help opening her presents.
Here she is opening her present from Ashley and Ryan. Yes, that's a water bottle. Kendyl told us that she wanted a water bottle and Lightning & McQueen for her b-day.









Kendyl loved this cake. She called it her "Baby Einsteins" cake.

I know this picture is blurry, I had to take the picture FAST. Brookyn had been making Kendyl birthday cards all week. She put some by her bed, some under her door, and the most special one got put in an envelope and was given to Kendyl at her party. Kendyl was very happy to get it and told Brooklyn "thank you so much!".



*Yes, I realize I need a better camera. These pictures are terrible :(

Our Christmas Trees

Our family room Christmas tree is beautiful. It has a "red, white & green" theme. Our Christmas tree in the basement is the MOST beautiful. It doesn't have a color scheme, but it's full of EVERY ornament I've collected since I was a baby. It also has ornaments for each of our children, and ornaments that Nic and I have collected together. The ornaments you'll find the most of though, are the ornaments from my Grandma and Grandpa Nicolaysen (Mom's parents). Every year since I was 9, they've sent everyone a little wooden ornament, cut and painted so cute, to represent a special time in their lives. My aunt Gerry makes all the ornaments (she has to make hundreds each year). Even my kids get one. They've sent cruise ships, temples, Taco Bells, soldiers, camp fires and tons more. They also send a cardstock paper with a picture of the ornament and its significance. I have a giant stack of them. My girls have loved hearing all the stories about the ornaments. We look forward to getting our ornaments each year and are very greatful to my grandparents for this beautiful gift.

The Babes had a checkup

Kendyl and Nixon had their checkups last week. Kendyl was so excited to go to the doctor. She and the twins had their flu shots last month, twins had the mist, K had a shot. Kendyl didn't even flinch....Camryn was a nervous wreck. Haha. Also, the Nixter had been sick with a cold when he went in for his appointment. Well he's definitely our child because this poor baby was introduced to the NEBULIZER. He had a rattling chest and a nasty cough. The albuterol treatments seemed to clear it up a little bit...but made his heart rate SOAR. He was a jittery mess. He's much better this week. No RSV....(knock on wood please).
Kendyl @ 3 years
*weight: 29 lbs (25%)
*height: 37 1/3" (60%)

Nixon @ 6 months
*weight: 15 lbs 12 oz (20%)
*length: 26" (25%)
*head: 17 1/2" (70%)

Thankful

I wrote this at the beginning of November and never posted it. I figured I would add to it each day....but I only got this far. :)

It's easy to forget how blessed we really are when we're worrying about money, kids, jobs, callings, responsibilites, etc. Sometimes, I feel like I can just sit there and think about all the negative in my life and become quite depressed. How stupid of me! I have so much to be thankful for. My problems are nothing compared to most of the world. Here's why:
1. I've been able to bare children. 4 beautiful, healthy children.
2. My husband loves me. He loves me a whole lot. And I love him just as much.
3. I have lots of sisters who I love. Brothers too.
4. My parents and Nic's parents are good people and they love me.
5. I have some great friends and neighbors who make me happy.
6. I've been given gifts and talents that I'm so grateful for.
7. I have a home. It's a pretty perfect one for me.
8. I have a healthy body that allows me to be active and happy.
9. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's my guide in life. It's my security blanket. It's perfect.
10. I get to stay at home with my kids. I'm here when they wake up. When they come home from school, and when they go to bed. I know I'm blessed to have this ability.

Now, I realize those were all pretty serious. Here are some more...not so serious ones :)
1. My CAMELBAK waterbottle.
2. My hairdresser. (Ashley Clark Nelson)(Perhaps this one should be on the serious side).
3. TV. Sick, but true.
4. Zumba.
5. Candy.
6. Yummy smelling laundry.
7. Kid 2 Kid.
8. Internet.
9. My pillows on my bed.
10. The laundry-folding husband.
11. My carpool for C & B's school.
12. The apples I just got from my neighbor's tree.
13. The Bumbo.
14. Coupons.
15. Allrecips.com, Jaimecooksitup & Ourbestbites
16. My phone.
17. A good bra.
18. The heater
19. Taco Bell
20. Holidays
21. The park down the street

Thanksgiving in St. George

My parents built a fabulous house in St. George. The builder worked like a maniac and managed to have it done in 5 months so we could spend Thanksgiving there. The coolest part of the house is the playroom. Pictures below. Nic is the genius behind this room. He came up with the idea to build these cute shops and he drew out the entire plan for him. The builder followed Nic's plans to a T. Coolest playroom I've ever seen. The kids spent the whole week in there. Here are the highlights of our vacation.
*Swimming the day after Thanksgiving and NOT freezing!
*Hot tubbing
*Watching Kendyl and Owen run around like twin besties.
*Playing at the fun park down the road.
*Going to the "Muppet Movie" and indulging in the best popcorn I've ever had.
*Doing Zumba with my sisters almost every day. I've recently certified as an instructor so I had fun being the teacher and practicing all my routines.
*Hanging out upstairs with the ladies while the boys played pool in the basement.
*After staying up til 1am the first night, we decided the children shouldn't sleep together in the playroom. They were asleep in our room by 8 every night after that!
*Making Thanksgiving dinner! It was so delicious and so fun to cook together.
*Listening to football in the background all week. Strange that this would be a highlight....but it is.
*Watching the kiddos perform their song....and Camryn perform her weirdness. (See video)
*Listening to Nixon cry and cry and cry all week. Poor, sick baby. Not a highlight.
*Sleeping in a King size bed. Oh how I wish I had one!
*The drive down when we had to stop 6 times to let kids go to the bathroom. Usually we pulled over and made them go on the road. Terrible. NOT a highlight.
*The drive home when we had to stop 6 times to let kids go to the bathroom. Yep, I'm totally serious.
*Relaxing, eating, watching movies, being warm and laughing.