The most wonderful time of the year

I apologize now if I get a little wordy, but I LOVE Christmas! I love the christmas pj's that make the kids want to get ready for bed so that we can read christmas stories and watch christmas movies, and relax a little more than we usually do. I love doing everything by the light of the Christmas tree. This particular night we had just finished family home evening ( you can see the nativity scene, Rangi read the story from Luke and Matthew and the kids added the pieces as we talked about why each person was important and what it would have been like to have been there and to ACTUALLY SEE ANGELS SINGING IN THE SKY!!! incredible!) Anyway, and we got a ring from our doorbell... of course kids can't imagine anything better than that; and what do you know but we got left special Christmas pillowcases that "give you dreams of Sugar Plum Fairies". Of Course Rigdon said his gives him dreams of grandma getting run over by a reindeer (this is a good thing).  
The kids just couldn't wait to open a present so we let them all open their special ornaments with their names. Luckily they were thrilled. Oh yeah and if you can't tell, I also love Christmas because I love to dress the kids in cute holiday outfits.
Which leads to this picture, I would have loved to get a great picture of all three by the tree, but Caroline decides when she is going to be in a picture and today was not it. Something that I love about Rigdon and Livi is that they are best friends, and they LOVE to be goofy and play around with each other, so in this picture Rigdon kept tickling Livi, so much for a great picture, but their friendship is worth a thousand pictures so I let it go. 
The worst thing about Christmas (no it is not the baking although I am NOT a baker) is that Rangi is gone EVERY single Saturday and most Fridays all day (like 5 a.m.-10 p.m.) for wrestling tournaments. We miss having him home a ton, but in the meantime the kids and I get to spend time doing fun things other than homework. Here we are making our first batch of Christmas sugar cookies, the kids have made A LOT of improvement from last year, MOST of their shapes were recognizable! As for Caroline her cheeks are chubby because they are full of non recognizable cookie dough shapes. 

I hope that all of you are having a fun Christmas season so far, may you all remember the true meaning of Christmas and find time to relax. I am SO grateful for all of the people in my life, please know that I think of you and LOVE to get all your cards!  

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!

#5 - We are thankful that all of the kids get their very OWN turkey. A tradition started by grandpa Ricker and is a high light of my kids year!
#4 - We are so grateful for cousins that we love ! We look forward to playing with them when we visit. 
#3 - We are so grateful for our siblings and in-laws, and ALWAYS love to be with them! (photo taken by Livi)
#2 - We are so grateful to be parents and for the joy our kids bring into our lives.
#1 - I am so grateful for Rangi, he is the love of my life. We are so grateful for so many things that are not listed here but just to add a few more... our parents, our health, our freedom, the knowledge we have of Jesus Christ, and of course our friends. 

Rangi is Amazing!

This IS our backyard, and yes it is a rockwall that is 16 feet high. A few months ago Rangi came to me with a vision of a rockwall in our backyard. It sounded really cool and he showed me some pictures of others on the internet. I was along for the ride but I had my doubts about how to make it sturdy, safe, good for our house and blend in. I really didn't think it would happen. Time passed and nothing so I thought that was it. Little did I know that he had been constantly researching and thinking it through. The big day came and he bought all the wood, he started the job and it was not going smoothly. He admits he would have given up (maybe) but he was already in too far financially. I was definitely frustrated because it was eating all our Saturdays and free time up with few results and a BIG mess. I decided to let it be "his baby" and didn't put in too much time. Then there was a break through with a lot of success, and from there with a little help from Rhett to get the high pieces up, IT WAS FINISHED!!! YEA! And I was amazed at the final result. I am very impressed with how thorough Rangi was with the job, every kid to visit our house since has loved it and Rigdon is in heaven daily!!! Thanks to Rocky for making us a legal document (heaven forbid we ever need it). We still have to touch up, but if you are ever in the neighborhood come by for a climb! P.S. Rangi will probably post from his perspective so stay tuned... 

Life as usual...

This picture is mostly for my sister, but these are the pics I took of my kids ( I have no talent or skill, just a jack of all trades, master of none) I then blew them up really big onto thick foamboard and I have to admit I am happy with the end result. This is our family room by the way, in case you were wondering where in my house they were. 
I found my kids reading their books like this the other night, kinda funny maybe we need another kid chair?
We had my family over for a Thanksgiving dinner, I tried a lot of new recipes on the old faves and it turned out really good. We ended the night by playing CLUE, 5 and 7 are not really old enough to play yet. Rigdon was on a team with Rangi and he would say," but dad we can show them more than one card! " Needless to say I won, and I was the only person without a partner.

For some reason kids are inborn with the desire to put olives on their fingers before they eat them and Caroline is no different.
Rigdon with his first trophy!!! All of the other sports he has done have given him a medal, so this was an exciting night. Way to go RIG! 

Happy Halloween

The end of another successful Halloween, Caroline's bag was too heavy for her to carry so she had to drag it along. Now I have some great bribery for the kids for the next couple of months!!!
Rangi's costume was a hit, thanks to Beetle. 
Here is Spidey Rig with his pumpkin that he carved all by himself and his build a bear twin.
Caroline insisted on being Tinkerbell, and I must admit she was way cuter than the real thing! (I am not biased of course)
Here is Livi in her HOMEMADE Halloween costume. It was a first for me and don't let the sequined material fool you... it was a beast to sew! I also used my fair share of safety pins, but in the end it was cuter and cheaper than the Disney version with a tail. (It made for some slow trick or treating, so don't ask how we got so much candy?)

I Love Fall!

We were lucky enough to sneak in a trip to Utah and Fall is my favorite season there! We had a lot of fun.
Well here is the line-up, the final product of all our carving. We had our annual family contest which is pointless because Rangi is always the winner despite me trying to convince the kids to choose mine. Somehow the guy has a talent in everything, which I guess is a blessing for me but sometimes it would feel good to be the winner! 
Here we are carving to our favorite Halloween movie, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". 
And of course here are the kids going to school on crazy hair day, an annual favorite at our school.

Caroline's First Concert

So a couple of weeks ago I took Caroline to see a show for toddlers at our local cultural center. I had no idea what to expect...and here are three of the four members of the band! The show was ROCKIN', the music was cool even for kids, there was even a "mosh pit" up front for the last 2 songs where all the toddlers got to go dance; and let's not leave out the fact that you could meet the band AND get an autographed CD!!! I really believe this is what it is going to be like in 10 years when I am taking kids to concerts... let's just hope that my kids are still afraid of guys that look like this! 

The Great Pumpkin...

Our annual family tradition of the pumpkin patch never seems to grow old. The kids always love to ride around in the industrial wagons; driven by Rangi of course always adds an element of fun. 
          Here's a picture of our little pumpkin. We tried to find a pumpkin the same size as my belly, Rangi was nice to me I can see... I feel more like the pumpkin in front of the one we chose.
The kids always love the rides and jumpers; and we like watching them so much we even think we get our moneys worth. Caroline was the high-light this year, she LOVED the swings so much she actually had her hands up for most of the ride! 
Like father like son, Rig likes to see how heavy of a pumpkin he can lift. Livi also gets in on the fun. 
The weather was a perfect fall day, cool and crisp, which cannot be said for So. Cal. in October all the time. We did end up choosing "the great pumpkin" but my camera battery died, so no pics. 

Poison Control Center...or you can call me

So the other day I smell perfume very strongly downstairs, I follow my nose and there is Caroline. When she sees me she says, "my tongue hurts". I look at the vial and it is empty, I smell her breath and sure enough it smells like plumeria mouthwash. (for the record it was downstairs because trying to be a GOOD mother I put it on my girls before the school hawaiian party). I panic because I know that perfume has a high alcohol content that is dangerous to drink, so calling the poison control (yes I am already in the system) they tell me she should be fine in a couple of hours, and in the meantime treat her like someone with a hangover, what the heck does that mean??? So I ask and they tell me to feed her a lot of carbohydrates and not let her out of my sight, Whew! 

Here's a little list to help you out just in case...

 latex paint-almost as safe as water (I had it in a cup because I was touch up painting,Rig thought it was milk.)

toothpaste- ignore that warning on the back, I have no idea why it is there and neither does the PCC.

Tylenol- now you have problems, emergency room right away for some tar to drink, x-rays and possible stomach pump...unless you are Livi in which you drink the tar like they have never before seen ANY child do (of course because none of my kids are afraid to ingest any substance!) and entertain the nurses all night only to find NO Tylenol at all in her stomach. 

Perfume- just treat them like they have a hangover... no big deal right? (Actually the amount is KEY so definately call your PCC. 

L.A.County Fair

Last week we went to the county fair with our good friends and their kids (thanks to them we actually got to get in for free and park for free in the V.I.P. lot no less!) Thanks again guys we had a lot of fun! This is the kids in the So. Cal. re-created snowland, it wasn't Utah but the kids didn't seem to care at all, they had a blast.
If Rigdon seems really happy in this picture it's because he just learned that if you squeeze a sheep on both sides it will take off running. After numbering my son among the other naughty children in the petting zoo and letting him get a few laughs; I made him stop... and pose for a picture where he is obviously still thrilled about his discovery. 
Livi is here thoroughly enjoying her tractor ride, while Rigdon is pushing Caroline a little faster than she would like. Good news: Rigdon was TOO TALL to ride the tractors which is a rarity for him so he was happy just pushing!
Caroline started out a little timid among the animals but quickly warmed up to them and couldn't get enough.
We ended the night with A LOT of cotton candy and the kids were thrilled!!! (Rangi and I held out for a caramel apple, actually it looks like I had a little of both...so when the baby is over 

9 lbs. at least we'll know why). We told the kids this was their dinner thinking they would be pleased, to which Rigdon responded that it was the WORST dinner ever. Maybe I am not that bad of a cook after all!  

It's a...

The verdict is in and even though we were hoping to add balance to the force, heaven had a different idea. Rigdon's face tells a lot; but when we broke the news to him he said, "Oh dang it, I really wanted a brother but I'll still love her." He truly is the best brother I could have asked for, for my daughters, he is so loving and thoughtful of them all the time. The ultrasound tech had no doubt that this was a girl so now we just have to wait to meet her sweet spirit. 

First Day of School

Here the kids are before school. They were both so excited!

Livi has been waiting for this day. She loves school still and we are a month in now.

A direct quote from Rigdon, "our teacher was so joyful to see us"

This is where I found Livi after her first day of kindergarten, all tuckered out from the excitement I guess.

Caroline thinks she should go to school too and insists on bringing her own backpack most days. For now I am just loving all the time I have alone with her, and am in no rush for her to go to school. 

Summer Classics

These are just some of my favorite pictures from the summer. Trampoline tricks, shell hunting at the beach, and Sweet Caroline. This post was made for those of you that can't bear the idea of reading the next four new posts.  

Olivia Turns Five!

Livi celebrated her birthday in Utah this year, it was a lot of fun. She started her day by opening presents from mom and dad, then we picked up their cousin to go to build a bear, all of the kids got to build a bear, they had so much fun. (the yellow decor does not allow for very good pictures though). Then that evening she was spoiled with more presents and a swim party at the PG pool. Livi has the sweetest temperment and she is so loving ( she really wanted a pet this year but we can't commit yet) Happy Birthday Livi. We love you!