Merry Christmas 2013

Christmas Day started at 6:45am at our house, which isn't too bad considering Talia has been known to wake up as early as 5am some days. She came and woke us up and was pretty patient while I put in my contacts and brushed my teeth. She still thought she was going downstairs to watch a show though and was disappointed for just a minute when I told her we were going to stay upstairs and open our stockings. Then she realized what that meant. The boys were awake but were obediently staying in their room until 7. Talia and I went in and told them to come on out. After that it was present and candy chaos.

Beckett couldn't be bothered with opening stocking stuffers, but he was very interested in the M&M's all over the floor and tried to shove as many into his mouth as he could before I noticed and gathered them up. He also thought the oranges from the stockings were really fun balls and carried them around all morning. He did like his new toy phone and the Little Einstein DVD that were in his stocking. The other kids had fun opening their stockings. Everyone was happy with their loveys. And the boys got little Nerf guns which were a hit. Talia got her own chapstick and blue nail polish. She has had blue nails ever since Christmas day.

Once the stockings were opened we headed downstairs to see what Santa had left for us. Talia was the first one down. She saw the bike and kept asking if it was for her. She hasn't figured out how to work the pedals just yet, but in a few months when it's warmer outside I'm sure she will figure it out. We all must have been good because Santa brought us lots of fun things.

The boys got Disney Infinity. They also each got a big Lego set they had been wanting. Davin's was the Ninjago Temple of Light which came with the golden mech (that's all he asked Santa for). Weston's was the Lord of the Rings Battle at the Black Gate set. Talia also got a Boo doll from Santa, which she and Beckett both love. Santa brought Beckett a big stuffed Sully lovey and a Little People farm.

We took turns opening presents from under the tree and got so many fun gifts! The kids got books from grandparents and games from aunts and uncles. There was even a gift certificate for a visit to their favorite Children's Museum from the Garcia's. The other Bowles' gave us some fun mustache straws that we used with Christmas breakfast. I got Ian a Jambox speaker and an RC helicopter and I was so happy that he loves them. My giant present turned out to be a new outside freezer! Hooray! I can finally shop at Sam's Club and have a place for the food! I also got a new iphone 5S. It's pretty and fast. Love it.

Weston got a chess set and has been playing with anyone who will sit and play with him (luckily Ian is a fan of playing Chess). Davin got a bow and arrow set and has been practicing his aim. Talia got a dress up Minnie Mouse who she will only let wear the blue outfit. Beckett's favorite thing is his Little People farm. He plays with it for hours every day. He also got his very own slinky from Davin and he thinks it's so cool. We got a couple of movies, Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University, that we have been watching over the break. The whole present opening process only took an hour. By 8am we were ready to eat breakfast and start playing!

We took it slow and stayed in jammies all morning. I made souffle and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we opened the toys and the boys got started building Lego's. We watched one of our movies and talked with family on FaceTime. The boys tried out their new Wii games. It was a really nice, mellow Christmas at home.

That night I made ham with a red currant glaze (which turned out really yummy), cheesy potatoes, rolls and grated carrots for dinner. I didn't get out the china again.  It's just so much work! We did enjoy our nice Christmas dinner though and curled up to finish watching Despicable Me 2 before bed. I  just loved being home with my family and relaxing all day. It was a wonderful holiday and I am so very thankful I was feeling well enough to participate and have fun. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2013

Christmas Eve was a pretty relaxed day.  I was still moving slowly and needed at least one nap. I ran to Sam's Club first thing in the morning to get a ham.  They were sold out of the boneless spiral sliced one I usually get, so we got a carving ham.  It looked like a big flat slab of meat, but the meat department lady told me it cooks easily and tastes good, so there you go. The rest of the day we just hung out and rested. The boys all played some Christmas Eve Mario Kart. We watched Miracle on 34th street in the afternoon then started getting ready for dinner. 

Our traditional chicken scampi dinner is a lot of work, but this year I had helpers! Ian cut all the chicken for me. Weston was my egg man this year.  He jokingly (I think) whined about how gross his job was the whole time, but I had a lot of fun making scampi with him. He was already planning which of his siblings could take over the gross egg job next year. :) We just did chicken scampi with linguine and salad for dinner. I wasn't sure if I was up for getting out the china, but Ian convinced me (and helped me) so we did.  I was glad. It felt so fancy and festive. This was the first year the boys got to use crystal goblets too.  They loved it.

Dinner was wonderful. After dinner we opened one present. Everyone got new jammies. Getting a picture of all four kids in their new jammies was quite the feat. Once everyone was ready for bed we gathered around the fire (or Fireplace for Your Home on Netflix if you're like us and don't have a real fireplace) to read the Christmas story from Luke. We talked a little about the story and the logistics of baby Jesus being born in a barn (the noise, the smell, the dirt, etc.). We all sang Silent Night Lullaby and had family prayer before we read a last Christmas book and sent the kids to bed.

It took about an hour to clean up the kitchen and wash all the dishes. Then we attended to some other last minute Christmas preparations. I got to bed a little later than planned, but still had trouble falling asleep.  I'm such a kid. I get so excited for Christmas. 

At 4am Davin woke me up and said he was starving and couldn't go back to sleep unless he ate something. I sent him back to his room and ran downstairs to get a box of Wheat Thins.  I gave them to him in bed and told him to eat what he wanted and then go back to sleep. When I went downstairs to get the crackers though I cracked open my eyes just enough to see this massive present next to the tree.  It wasn't there when I went to bed and I was pretty sure I knew what Ian had gotten me for Christmas. I layed awake for about an hour thinking about what it could possibly be. Oh the fun of Christmas Eve!

Christmas Celebrating

The boys finished up school on Friday before Christmas and that night we had our 4th annual Bowles/Bayles/Wilson Christmas Singalong Party.  It was a long day leading up to it since I had to grocery shop and clean the house. As soon as Weston got home from school we went to meet up with the Green's at the dino museum. 

Talia was being super whiny from the start even though she had a nap. It was still fun to catch up with the Green's and let the kids play. When it was time to leave the erosion table though I noticed Talia had gotten herself all wet.  I thought it was from splashing in the water, but then I realized she had peed all over herself. She was soaked. We left, drove through JCW's for dinner, then headed home to eat and get Talia cleaned up.

Ian came home and we set up for the party and Ian made wassail. It was so fun to hang out with our friends and sing some Christmas songs.  I was still kind of coughing and didn't have much of a voice, but I managed to sing a few songs. Mostly I just played the piano.  Ian helped accompany on the guitar a little bit this year too, which was also nice. The kids played and were pretty good and we finally got to eat the Wilson's peppermint ice cream cake! We are so lucky to have such great friends.

Friday night when we finally went to bed around midnight I was exhausted and cold. I had a hard time warming up and getting to sleep. Then I woke up in the early morning hours feeling nauseous. Talia woke up extra early and I felt so sick I couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and took some medicine and ate a few crackers. I went back to bed for awhile and felt awful. It only got worse through the day. By mid morning I was pretty sure I had come down with the flu. My whole body hurt. My skin and hair hurt. I thought I was going to throw up, but I didn't. I had a fever and chills and a headache. I couldn't move.

Ian took care of the kids all morning, fed them lunch and then took the big ones sledding for a couple of hours. All while I rested. As soon as he and the kids got back from sledding (which they all loved) I headed to Instacare. I was diagnosed with the flu and got a prescription for Tamiflu. I was really hoping I would feel better by Christmas!

I won't go into any more sickie details, but the Tamiflu did it's job and I felt a little better every day. By Christmas I was almost 100%. Ian was a total rockstar taking care of me and the kids while I was down and out. He took the big ones to church on Sunday while I stayed home with Beckett and rested. I almost forgot to put Talia in her Christmas dress! Luckily I had enough energy to get her dressed and do her hair. The boys were on their own, but they looked presentable and even matched their ties. :) Beckett ate lunch with me and was being extra cute while the others were at church.

Sunday afternoon was long since everyone was tired and I couldn't do anything to help them. I got up and made dinner because I was finally not nauseous so I was hungry! I made chicken pot pie the easy way. It tasted so good. While dinner was in the oven Talia fell asleep on Ian. We were trying to keep her awake, but Ian didn't want to ruin the moment. Aww.

Monday I continued to take it easy, but unfortunately Ian had to go to work. It was supposed to only be for a few hours in the morning, but it turned into all day. Weston and Davin were good helpers and we all survived. I was glad when Ian got home though. We were all getting excited for Christmas!!!

Out and About

Last Saturday we had a couple of events at the same time. It was our ward Christmas breakfast and Weston's buddy, Makenzie's, baptism at the same time. I told Weston he could choose what he wanted to do. He decided he really wanted to go to Kenzie's baptism. That morning Ian took Talia and Davin to the ward party and I took Weston and Beckett to the baptism. It was a really nice morning and Weston and I both felt good about supporting our friends. Weston is such a good boy and so mature for his age. He sat reverently by himself for most of it since I was letting Beckett roam between the baptism and confirmation. Afterwards we had lunch with the Matagi clan. It was a fun time. 

It's so weird though that we will be doing this with Weston in just a couple of short months! Makenzie's mom, Tara, lived across the hall from me in the dorms at BYU and we were really good friends. We have stayed connected over the years and have a lot in common family-wise since all four of each of our kids were born within a few months of each other. It's just bizarre that we are already old enough to have kids getting baptized! Good bizarre. :)

Meanwhile at the ward breakfast Ian played his guitar for the singing portion of the program, which was really nice. After the nativity and singing Santa made an appearance. Talia was pretty excited to see him. She still talks about how he gave her a candy cane but it broke so she had to go back to ask him for another one. She also thought that was Christmas and was disappointed that Santa hadn't given her a Boo doll.  I explained that he was just visiting and that Christmas was still a couple weeks away. Ian got some cute pics of the kids. I was a little bummed to miss the ward party again this year, but from what I heard it came together really well.

After the baptism I stopped in to drop off a baby gift and chat with my cousin, Kim, since I was so close to her neighborhood already, and I hadn't seen her new baby girl who was born in September! It was a long overdue visit and I couldn't really stay long, but I'm so glad I popped over! We will have to make plans to hang out again soon.

By the time I got home it was lunch time. Ian wanted to take the big kids to the Planetarium one more time before our passes expire, so after they ate a quick lunch they all headed out. I really enjoyed the quiet house and got it all cleaned up while they were out. Ian and the kids had a fun time at the Planetarium. They saw a movie about trains, got popcorn, and played with all of the exhibits. I will have to keep an eye out for a great deal on the membership again because it was a lot of fun to have!

Talia's 3rd Birthday!

Once we started getting ready for Christmas it was time to get ready for another fun event. Talia turned 3 last Thursday. She had a super fun birthday and it was a fun day doing all of her favorite things.  The night before her birthday I went to the party store and got some decorations and balloons. Talia LOVES balloons. Her face was priceless when she woke up in the morning and saw the kitchen all decked out for her special day.

She loved opening all her "mail" too. She was really attached to her blue birthday card that cousin Ivy drew for her. She carried it around for days until she accidentally ripped it.

She requested a "shortcut" (aka haircut) for her birthday, so I made her a hair appointment at Cookie Cutters for that morning. We went and got a "shortcut" and the girl did her hair all cute. Talia was so good and loved the attention. She also got a blue balloon and a blue sucker. Can't beat that. After her haircut she requested McDonald's. I had to stop by the post office and get all my Christmas packages in the mail, but then we headed to lunch at her favorite place. She got a little furby toy in her happy meal and only ate the apples and juice, but I didn't bug her about it because it was her birthday. :)

After lunch we went home and let everyone nap. I let Talia open one of her birthday presents so we could use it. It was The Little Mermaid. She and Davin watched it with me. I hadn't seen it in so long and the kids hadn't ever seen it before, so it was fun to watch it with them. I forgot how scary it gets at the end. That Ursula is quite the villain!

Ian came home from work early and we headed out for Talia's birthday bowling. We went to Jack and Jill's in Lehi. It's a nice bowling alley and we got pizza for dinner there. We all had fun and I had a good game and broke 100! Yay! We only played one game then went home for cupcakes and presents. We FaceTimed with Grandma Denny while Tal opened her presents from her and Papa. She loves her new Little People princesses and her new clothes. Thanks! Tal opened a couple other gifts from us then it was finally time for those cupcakes she had been asking for all day!

Talia was so cute when we were singing to her. She liked feeling special. She blew out her candles like a champ and then ate only the top of her cupcake like a three year old. Haha. By the time we were done with cupcakes it was time for bed. It had been a long, fun day. I am so glad Talia enjoyed her birthday. We love her so much. She is full of sass, but can be so sweet too.  I am grateful to be her mom.