January

Since January has been very...well....unJanuaryish, the girls decided to make the most of the mild weather to make a little money.  So we pulled out Grandma Israelsen's lemonade/cookie stand and got to work.  First step:  marketing.  It's important to reel in your customers with savvy advertising:

Next up, product development.  We all know the dough is actually the best part of the cookie.  And don't even begin to think anyone gets on the counter without Lexi joining in:

Then of course, the final step is finding the perfect placement for cookie transactions.  Location, location, location!

 


They made 5 bucks!  Not bad, not bad!  Way to go girls.

Thank heavens the girls are willing to throw in some service time as well.  They decided to help Dad out a bit and hauled some wood in.  They hauled in quite a bit of wood, too!  They were so proud to show Dad what they had done.  It was so cute to watch them glow with pride at Daddy's ongoing praise.

They really are sweet little ladies.  Even if this is what I found while cooking spaghetti for dinner.  It's a note from Allie:

"Mom I hate spaghetti!!!!"  Judging by the number of exclamation marks, I think she was serious.

And there you have it.  I AM ALL CAUGHT UP!! YAY!!!

The Great Flood of 2014

I should start out with the fact that I am SO grateful my handsome little Ty man is potty-trained. I really really am.  3 year-old diapers- well, they are nasty. 

You see the problem we have here is toilet paper.  Ty seems to need roughly a roll and a half.  Per wipe.  So what happens when you try to flush a large amount of toilet paper down that fairly small hole in the toilet?  Well, it clogs.  And what happens when your 3 year-old clogs the toilet?  Well, he just stands there in amazement as water pours off the edges of the toilet.  Until Mom gets curious when she hears a very quiet Ty and what she thinks is the sound of running water.  If only he was simply washing his hands in the aforementioned running water.  I promptly rushed in to plunge the living daylights out of the toilet to get the water going in the RIGHT direction.  Down!  Down to the sewer with you!

Insert problem #2.  Whoever built this lovely home of ours made a very serious mistake.  Very.  Serious.  I don't know if I can even type it.  It just hurts to say it out loud.

They put a heater vent right next to the toilet.

Oh I'm cringing!  The audacity!

A heater vent 

next to 

the toilet!

Seriously?  Who would do such a thing?  So now you can imagine where the water went.  Lots and lots of water.   Here is what I sucked out of the heater vent alone.  Please don't barf.

And let's not forget the towels.  I lost count at 8.

So what do you do when Mom cleans up your flood?  Well, you unroll toilet paper throughout the house:

Oh Ty.  Thanks buddy.  Thanks for that completely unanticipated cleaning opportunity.  Good thing you're so darn cute.  It redeemed you.


 
 

Christmas

Remember when you were a child and it seemed like Christmas would never come?  I'm pretty sure I have a new generation of little ones in my house who feel the exact. same. way.

But sure enough, right on time, Christmas did come.  And surprisingly, not near as early in the morning as I anticipated.  I considered it my very first Christmas gift.  Thank you my children!

Of course, stockings first:

Apparently someone didn't drink her cup of Christmas cheer:

Ty and Lexi engaged in an intriguing philosophical discussion:

Each of the kiddos had a great big box to open:

With the exception of Lexi.  Who really could care less.  Yes, we cached in on that.  Besides, after wrapping 3 big boxes, one more would have just done me in completely.  Not fun.



And in those big boxes were new bikes!  Thank heavens for a live-in handyman who can put all this schtuff together:

A Hello Kitty bike for Allie and a Monster High bike for Kenna.


Ty man gets the benefit of a little electricity with his "bike":

What's that?  Riding bikes on Christmas Day?  You betcha:

Sorry Ty, yours has to charge.  For pretty much the whole day.  That's okay, he still found out a way to pick up some hot chicks with his new ride:

Another wonderful Christmas down for the record books.  Hopefully we took as many, if not more, opportunities to focus on our Savior and His humble yet beautiful beginning throughout the season rather than the material aspect.  Because the Spirit of Christmas is just that- the Spirit of Christ. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is not complete without a reenactment of Luke 2. 

And it came to pass in the Israelsen home there were found two angels, a shepherd, and a toddler without pants who was too old to be baby Jesus:

Let us not forget two other beloved characters of the Christmas story; Mary and Joseph:

Perfect!  Now we are ready for Christmas Day!

Tidbits

I have just a few random pics to throw in.

First up is my little Lexi Lou.  This little girl is so stinkin' cute.  She is at such a fun age where her personality is just bursting and it is so fun to watch her grow.  Here she drug Kenna's blanket in the hallway and was lying down on it.  Of course she had to tuck her feet into a stocking first.

I am very pleased to say, however, she no longer has her binky.  It got lost right after we got home from Vegas and she did fine without it so when I found it again I just quickly tucked it right away.  And, thank goodness, we got her off the bottle too.  Ah the great little successes in life.

Doesn't everyone love to sit in the coat closet?  I mean really...

This little lady is such a CLIMBER.  It's obvious she trots around all day following a boy (her brother).  He has taught her all his favorite tricks.  Allie and Kenna were never climbers, but Lexi is making up for lost time with them!  She is so dutifully helping me do some dishes:

If you ever want to learn patience, have kids.  It took 5 times longer and everything was soaked by the time we got done (hence her lack of shirt) but we made it through!  Barely.

Speaking of Ty and his tricks, he managed to get Lexi up into this sink:

Lexi's newest accomplishment is climbing out of her crib.  Yes.  I will repeat:

She can climb 

  out of 

her crib.  

 Oy.

So pretty much she gets locked in her room.  Fortunately it has been better than I expected and she still sleeps very well.  Now she just expands her napping horizons:

We love our little Lulu.

Next up is Jacob, who declared war on the entourage of starlings who bombarded our yard every day.  I think he won.  Eventually.

I can also happily report we no longer have the chicken coop.  Jacob agonized over whether to get rid of it or not, but found a buyer who was happy to take it off our hands.  He mourned for a bit, but now the new shed more than makes up for it.  And it looks like I have no pics of the new shed quite yet.....

The other day Kenna came into the kitchen and announced, "Hey look, I'm neopolitan!"  Yep, sure enough she has the strawberry, vanilla and chocolate from top to bottom!

Never a dull moment around these here parts.

Performance

December also included a ballet recital for two very cute little ballerinas:

Here they are at the final bow.  It was either the still camera or video camera during their actual performance seeing as though I was simultaneously trying to keep Lexi from getting stuck in the folding chairs of the auditorium.  That just exceeds my multitasking abilities!  So I opted for video.

Don't even begin to think that Santa is too busy in December to miss out on the event of the season!

Way to go ladies, you did awesome!  

Hey Baby Let's Go To VEGAS

The first weekend in December Jacob and I headed down south to Las Vegas for the

National 

Finals 

Rodeo

yeehaw!

We spent three nights getting our cowboy (and cowgirl) on at the rodeo and enjoying hours of shopping and just downright fun.  Bob and Wendy were the ultimate hosts.  The only downside was the time went way too fast.

Let the show begin!

There's just a few horses there:

Can you believe they pack 18,000 people a night in here?  They really keep the cowboy experience alive each night as all 18,000 are herded like cattle to the exits.  I really had to restrain myself from not letting out a loud MOOOOO as we slowly shuffled out.  It's pretty entertaining, though, considering the gargantuan amount of alcohol that is consumed.  But hey, thank goodness the rodeo starts out with an opening prayer!

 

Did you know "selfie" is an actual word?

There is nothing quite like the old stretch-out-your-arm-and-hope-for-the-best pose.

We love you Bob and Wendy!  Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you......

Perhaps one of the highlights of the trip was this baby right here on the right hand side:

THE TUB.  Complete with jets.  And no interruptions by sweet little well-meaning individuals known as my children.

Heaven.

I soaked in this baby each and every morning.  Not sure why they even bother with a shower in there.  Please.

I may or may not have spent my time in the tub singing Christmas songs as the jets bubbled.  Hope the hallways were empty....

A HUGE thank you to Mom and Dad Otte who drove through a horrific storm and brutal cold to come down and take care of the kiddos so we could get away.  We were so grateful to them!  They probably went home tired, but have some fun memories:

What a great guy, huh?

And sorry Mom, dad trumps you on the pics this time.

We were delayed a bit coming home (ah, darn) because the gorge was closed due to a crazy snowstorm.  It was weird coming through St. George- it was COLD and covered in snow.  But, we made it home to happy and healthy kids.  Absence sure makes the heart grow fonder.  :)