My Handsome Date

My parents always get season tickets to the 5th Avenue Theater. They always have spectacular plays and musicals. I've never been to a performance that wasn't amazing! This year they've had some really fun shows, and I've been lucky enough to take Rix with me as my date. In the summer we went to see Aladdin, which was amazing. They used the 5th Avenue as the first venue for the production to see how well it would do, and if it did well (which it did) they would put it on Broadway. Hopefully they do - it was so good!

Anyway, every December they put on a really special show for the holidays. White Christmas was last year, and this year they had Cinderella on the schedule. So excited!! My dad thought it would be fun for Carissa to take Olivia and for me to take Rix. We went to Johnny Rockets for dinner, which is located at Pacific Place mall, and every hour "snow"falls. It was lots of fun for the kids, and the show was ah-ma-zing!! And it was so nice to spend some time with Rix. He is growing up so fast and I love my one-on-one time with him! He had such a good time at the play and being with his mom and grandparents. Thanks Nana and Papa for letting us tag along!

Papa and Rix

Rix and Olivia at Brookstone before the show. I love that store!

Rix and me outside the theater

Ah, kids :)

Sometimes I Pretend I'm Oprah...

Okay, so I didn't really love Oprah. I thought she was full of herself and I really hated her for never having me on one of those Favorite Things shows. I still haven't got over that yet.

But...I do love to share my favorite things with you people! I'm not loaded like Oprah (heck, I'm not loaded at all) so I won't be actually giving away my favorite things to you, but I will let you know what they are so they can be your favorites too!

Below are my favorite things that make me healthy. I don't really make New Year's Resolutions, but I do have some goals I'd like to accomplish this year, and one of them was to be more healthy and to make my family more healthy. This includes eating out less (so hard to do sometimes!), eating organic when I can, and being more active.

Click here to read my previous "Favorite Things" post.

Listerine Total Care Zero

Okay, so I read this article a few weeks ago that stated some simple things you can do to extend your life (on the basis you don't get hit by a car or something). Things like getting the right amount of sleep, eating organic with certain produce, etc. And then it said oral health! Like flossing and mouthwash to kill bacteria. It would add like 12 years to your life span! That's a lot of extra life span!

However, I'm kind of a pansy when it comes to mouthwash. It burns - and I hate the burn. My eyes water and my tongue loses half of its taste buds and my cheeks go numb. I can't handle it so I don't do it. Then Crowdtap sent me a sample of Listerine Total Care Zero (yes, it's also pretty to look at with it's pastel purple color). This stuff has no alcohol, so surprise! It didn't burn, but I love it because I feel healthier after I use it, the taste isn't awful (it's still a mouthwash so I don't expect it to taste like chocolate cake or anything) and it keeps my mouth feeling clean for hours. And I usually have sensitive teeth and after a couple weeks of using this I don't notice sensitivity anymore. Pretty sweet, right? And as a bonus you all get to put up with me for an extra 12 years!

I let Bryan try it too and he didn't think it was that bad. He tends to love the "burn" of regular mouthwash, and I'm fine with that. More for me since I don't have to share! And Rix liked it too, and since he's old enough to use mouthwash and is getting his adult teeth in I figured he should use it too. He actually asks me to use it! I let several family members try it too and they all agreed it sure beats the heck out of burning off your insides!

Get a coupon for Listerine here: www.listerine.com/special-offers

To join Crowdtap (you know, get free stuff from Old Navy and participate in discussions on brands and marketing and stuff!) click HERE

Bountiful Baskets:

If you don't have Bountiful Baskets in your area you have my sympathies. I really love this co-op because it gives me a ton of fruits and veggies for a way reasonable price (between 50% and 75% off what I can buy them for in the supermarket). The way it works is you buy your "basket" online, and then on Saturday you go to your designated pick-up site and pick up your basket full of fruits and veggies. You can upgrade to organic only produce and also add on things like breads, tortillas, olive oil, and boxes of apples, carrots, oranges, etc (these change weekly, so it's always a surprise to see what is available!). Now I'll be honest that some of the produce isn't always great (I've never got good bananas from the basket) but some of it is so good and it makes me branch out and try new things (like fennel and Mexican squash). Really, if I have more produce in the house we eat more of it!

Go to www.bountifulbaskets.org to order yours and find out more.

Little Critters Vitamins

Okay, even though I get lots of produce from Bountiful Baskets, that doesn't mean that my kids always eat healthy! In fact, if you ask my kids what their favorite food is they will say something like chicken nuggets, hot dogs, or pizza. So every day they take a vitamin. And these vitamins they beg to eat! They taste like candy, and I love that I don't have to force a gross vitamin down their throat. I also love that they have some other supplemental vitamins. I get the Calcium ones for Rix because he doesn't like milk or yogurt and by far does not get his daily calcium.

Magic Bullet

When we first got the Magic Bullet for Christmas a few years ago I thought this would be an appliance that was just going to waste space in my kitchen. So not the case! This little gadget makes the best milkshakes (so not healthy!!) and the best and easiest baby food! It's so easy to steam some fruits or veggies for Jake and throw them in the blender. I get simple, organic and fresh baby food and it's way cheaper than buying it at the store. So even my littlest kid is super healthy right now! And don't forget about those unhealthy milkshakes :)

Couch to 5K

I really have to give credit to my friend Destiny for this one. She posted on Facebook every night when she finished a part of the C25K program and she made it sound not only fun, but easy (two things I love to hear when I'm going to work out - fun and easy). So Carissa and I loaded the app on our phones and tried it out. I loved it. It helped me increase my stamina slowly so that I didn't get burned out or frustrated, but it also challenged me and made me realize that not only could I run, but that I liked it. I am currently not running - it was really hard to schedule around Bryan's and Adam's work schedules, nursing schedules, and the fact that it got dark at like 4pm. My neighborhood is pretty safe, but I didn't feel comfortable running in the dark. But as soon as the time change happens and we get more daily light, you know me and my new phone app will be hitting the pavement!

Hershey's Bliss

Okay, so totally not "healthy" but I'm a huge believer (only because I've experience it firsthand) that if you deny yourself the things you love you will a. hate yourself and those around you or b. cave in and eat a mountains worth of said food or c. all of the above. I need to have a small chocolate fix every now and then (like maybe every night after the kids go to bed). I have a secret stash in my room and I have lots of Hershey's Bliss that I got for Christmas that I love and do not share. The best part is they are individually wrapped in small portions, so I only eat one (or two...) as I snuggle in bed and read a book.

We had an AWESOME Christmas!!

I know it sounds so cliche, but seriously Christmas is my favorite time of year. I'm sure it's a combination of things: I hate the cold weather but love having an excuse to snuggle up in my down comforter with a good book and some apple cider. I love singing Christmas hymns at church and wearing tights so I don't have to shave my legs (haha!). I love finding the perfect presents for my family and getting all excited for Christmas morning so I can see their faces when they open them. And of course I love all the yummy food I get to make (and give away) at Christmas time. But mostly I love the time I get to reflect on the Savior's birth and His role in my life. It's so fun to talk to my kids about this and teach them the importance of the season.

On that note I have a funny story. So the beginning of December Cole was being, well, Cole. I was telling him that it makes Heavenly Father sad when he is mean to his brothers and that we need to be nice and blah blah blah. At the end I said..."And you know who's always watching, right?" And Cole (who obviously listened to every word I previously said) yelled out, "Santa!" So...we're working on that.

I actually have a friend who said she and her husband tell their kids that Santa isn't real and from the beginning their kids don't believe in Santa and know that doesn't come to their house and stuff. At first I was like "WHAT?!?" and then I had this epiphany. What a brilliant idea! Bryan and I decided that we aren't going to push the whole believe in Santa thing. If they question it or stop believing, we'll tell them the truth, and let them know that Santa isn't a real person, but an idea, that we need to serve other people and think about others at this time of year. And really get the focus of Christmas away from presents and Santa and back to Christ and serving others. Kinda hard with four young boys but it's a work in progress that we are really going to get going on next Christmas.

Anyway, this year Christmas started early for us. Rix was in a multi-stake choir with his cousin Olivia and they had two pretty major performances at the Festival of the Nativity and at a Community Christmas Choir program. They sang so good! Their little choir (all Primary age kids) sang harmony and parts and they were so professional looking. It was a lot of fun (and lots of work!) but he had a good time and I think we'll do it again next year.

After that our ward had a Christmas breakfast where we ate amazing cinnamon rolls and had biscuits and gravy. Oh, and a visit from Santa! I know, we are trying to get away from "Santa" but when he comes to ward parties I don't mind that my kids go get a candy from him! It was fun to get the ward together and celebrate Christmas!

For Christmas we went to my parents house on Christmas Eve and had our traditional appetizer spread and played games and hung out. It was crazy with seven kids who all wanted to play different games and who were all hyper over opening presents and Christmas the next day and us adults trying to wrap presents, control kids, and make food. But it was so fun at the same time! The excitement in the air was contagious! We did a white elephant gift exchange (which we learned was tough on little kids - they couldn't understand why someone was taking their present!) and the kids got to open their presents from Nana and Papa (since they were leaving the next day for Utah).

The next morning we got up at 8am - I'm thinking that was a great present from my kids! - and they opened their presents. It was so fun to watch them get the items they asked for and also for things they didn't ask for but were excited to get them! The best part of Christmas morning was watching my kids faces as they opened each gift. Then we left the crazy mess (which was really hard for me!) and left for church. When we got home we cleaned up and got ready for Carissa's family and Dave and Lindsay to come over for a steak dinner. Not really traditional Christmas but I was chintzy and didn't want to spend a ton of money on a ham or roast. So steak it was!

Seriously- he's so stinking cute!

Santa still has celebrity status with Cole

Carissa and I got my dad basket of his favorite stuff. Love this shirt!

Rix digging through his stocking

Jake opening his present from Rix (some stacking rings that he LOVES)

Rix "passed out" after getting the Beyblade Arena from the Poyfairs. And Bryce showing off his art kit.

Cole opening his Millenial Falcon.

Overall we had a great Christmas and got to spend lots of time with our family and friends. I feel like last year I was horrible at gift buying for both my kids and Bryan and this year I totally redeemed myself!

Black Tie Blue Jeans 2011

Being an employee of Phase II has a lot of perks - but one of my favorites is the Black Tie Blue Jeans event that the Master Builders Association put on every year. I love to go and meet the people who work in the same industry as my dad, they always have super yummy food (really, I love to go anywhere that has good food!), and there is an auction for fun stuff that is always fun to watch, even though I never buy anything because it's always way out of my league. Still, it's fun to watch other people spend their money!

This year was especially fun because my dad was being sworn in as the MBA President again (he was president last year too). He is only the second person to be president twice, and the only person in MBA history to be president twice in consecutive years. And then, to our surprise (mostly my dad's surprise) he was chosen as MBA's Builder of the Year! It was really fun to see his face as he realized that they were presenting him with the award! He so deserves it and we were really proud of him.

Overall it was a great evening. It was fun to dress up a bit, relax with the guys of Phase II and their wives, eat good food (see, there I go with the food again!) and spend some time with Bryan. Can't wait to go next year too!

We took Jacob with us that night. He was lots of fun and super tired by the end of the night. He's a true party animal!

Carissa and Adam got to join us - so glad they get to come! It gives me someone to talk to (Carissa) and someone to make fun of (Adam).

They have this awesome thing called a "Dessert Dash". There are lots of desserts on display, and the table as a group decides on what dessert they want to share. Then the table with the largest amount of donations gets to pick their dessert first, but the second place table gets to pick second, and so on, and you have to run to the table and get your dessert before the other tables. It's always fun - and Adam was our runner. Mint Chocolate Cake!!! Yum!

My mom won a raffle and got yummy cake pops. You can see Jacob likes them too!

Having a good time

Me, Bryan, and Jake

My dad with his Presidents Plaque and Builder of the Year award.

The things I do for my kids...

So every year my kid's elementary school has a fundraiser, and for the last few years we have sold frozen cookie dough and discount restaurant cards to raise money for the PTSA. Being the treasurer of said PTSA (and formerly just a member) I have always felt obligated to help out as much as possible and sell as much as possible to help out.

And then the fundraising company added this crazy incentive to those students who sold more than 15 items. The student would get to go on a limo ride to lunch.

Really?? Really??? As if I don't already feel pressured to sell lots, now I have to sell FIFTEEN items per child? Right now I have Rix and Bryce in school - so that is THIRTY ITEMS! (I know, my math rocks. That's why I'm the treasurer.) I can't even imagine the craziness that is going to ensue when Cole gets into school. Yikes.

Anyway, I didn't think I could do it this year. I barely sold the required fifteen items, and so I was haggling with my kids, saying that maybe Rix could go this year and next year we would sell enough for Bryce to go. They were okay with it, but I could tell Bryce was bummed. I had sold enough the year before when Bryce was in preschool and so he had gone with Rix and he knew what he would be missing out on.

So that brought on Mommy Guilt (you other moms probably know it well). And then, the night before the orders were due, I happened to sell like 23 items or so, and I only needed seven more to get enough for Bryce too! I went into what I call "Mommy Mode on a Mission" (MMM for short) and started brainstorming all the poor unsuspecting victims we would call upon to guilt them into buying something. No one can say no when a five or seven-year-old is asking you sweetly to buy some cookie dough, right?

It was a looooong night, but with the help of Carissa and her Facebooking in my behalf and all the sweet people who didn't say no, I sold THIRTY. (I saw I sold thirty because, honestly, I did all the work). So the first week of December both Rix and Bryce got to go on their limo ride and eat pizza for lunch. I'm a pretty cool mom (maybe like the coolest ever and ever).

Bryce getting ready to go in the limo with the other kindergarteners.

Rix, Ethan (Rix's BFF and "twin") and Olivia

Lounging in the limo!

Cole is FOUR!!

My sweet little tornado is four. I can't believe how fast he grew up, and yet I feel like he's been in our family forever. Cole was so excited for his birthday this year. He talked about it for months and months, which was hard because he doesn't grasp time that well. "Yesterday" could've been anywhere from yesterday to three months ago. So he would ask how many days until his birthday and I would say 20 or 12, but I could've said 2,145 and it wouldn't have mattered.

Cole was really lucky because Papa had promised to take him to Chuck E Cheese's for like nine months, and finally, three days before his birthday, my dad had time to take him, so we called it his "birthday party". My kids loooooove Chuck E Cheeses. They could play there for hours. They went through lots of tokens and tickets, and then, in true "Papa" fashion, we went to Costco for dinner.

On Saturday (his birthday) we made sure he had a special day. For his birthday dinner Cole wanted to have dinner at McDonalds. So we went and got Happy Meals with Carissa's family, and then he had a party on Sunday with the rest of our family. Cole loved being the center of attention and feeling special that day. I think his favorite part was looking online with me for a picture of what he wanted his birthday cake to look like. Thankfully he didn't pick something super difficult! He got spoiled with presents and has already planned his next three birthdays. We sure our love our crazy wild cutie Toad!

CHUCK E CHEESE:

FAMILY PARTY:

Cole chose a treasure chest cake. Rudely, no one saved me a Hershey's Nugget!

Don't focus on me and Cole in this picture. Check out the singing guys behind us! It's tradition with our family to sing "Happy Birthday" in the loudest most off-key way. It's not a good rendition unless we've made Madelynn cry!!

FINALLY! A Pillow Pet!

Family joke: Cole loves cashews. Therefore he got his own tub.

We play this game just about every day.

Some facts about Cole:

Nickname: Toad (and he responds to it like it's his name!)

What he wants to be when he grows up: Work with Daddy

Favorite Color: Green

Best Friend: Jack

Favorite Food: Pizza and Chicken Nuggets

Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk

Favorite TV Show: Batman Beyond

Favorite Toy: Batman Castle

Favorite Book: The Bear Book (it's what he calls the recordable book Grandma Karen sent him for his birthday)

Favorite Activity: Miniature Golfing

Things he hates (according to him): Salad, Apples, Barbies

If he could go on a special date with mommy or daddy he would go: to a pizza place for dinner and then go to McDonalds and get a toy (two dinners??) and the go miniature golfing and bowling.