Things that are making me smile

*Pillow talk with Noah
*Christmas Pops on XM radio (no teeny-bopper or Mariah Carey renditions!)
*Lucy "walking" in her snowpants
*Curtis' excitement about learning cursive (and he is good at it)
*Christmas shopping almost done--only 1 or 2 items
*Advent activities
*Hot chocolate with egg nog coffee creamer
*Monday lunch dates with Sam
*Seeing the kids ice skate for the first time and loving it!

December Advent

Last year I was such a dud with Christmas activities (since I had a newborn) so I really wanted to make it up to the boys this year with lots of fun things to do to celebrate Christmas. I was telling Amy about this and she said "you have to blog about this" so I am!
A few years ago I got the idea to do a box advent calendar off the web (I think originally from Martha Stewart) and thought it was really cute so I went to Xpedex, found a couple sizes of different boxes and came home to create. I just put some cute Christmasy paper on a few and a few die cut numbers and snowflakes and called it good. Everything takes longer these days because of little Miss Luce but this probably would only take an hour to make. After I got all the boxes arranged how I wanted, I attached them to the door with double sided foam tape.
Then I went to work filling the boxes. I first made a list of all the activities I wanted to do, projects I wanted to create and then made a calendar and filled in the days. I then printed out the "master calendar" for me to put in my purse so I know what's coming up and if I need to get supplies then printed a list to cut up for each day with that day's activity. Then I filled the boxes. I put a Christmas CD in one of the boxes and some candy in a few others. Tomorrow's contains a coupon for free ice skate rentals!
So every day, one of the boys opens a box and reads what is in store for them that day. They have been excited and look forward to opening the box every morning.
I have had to do a little sneaking and rearrange a couple of times because of schedule changes, etc. but all-in-all it has been fun. Some of the ideas in the boxes include: Make your own ornament, Get a Christmas tree, Make a paper chain, watch a Christmas movie while drinking hot chocolate, make Christmas cookies, go to a Christmas concert, make a snowman, See the lights at Temple Square. A lot of the things are simple but now they are actually on my calendar and I have it planned out so I don't have to stress about fitting everything in. When I showed the calendar to Sam he said it was pretty ambitious but so far we have done everything (except visit Santa, they didn't want to!)and I haven't felt (really) overwhelmed yet. And, I love giving the kids something to anticipate and get excited about. We are creating fun memories!

Thanksgiving Recap

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with my family in Las Vegas. My sister Suzanne and hubby Danny, hosted the whole fam-damily from Wednesday till Sunday. We had a birthday party on Wednesday for Lucy and my mom (which I will post more about later). We had a great time swimming, hot-tubbing, playing games, eating, crafting, hiking, hanging, visiting. We had the opportunity to get pictures taken in beautiful Red Rocks by Suzanne's friend Marissa.

It was amazing that with 17 people all in the same house for 5 days, there was really no bickering or grumpiness (aside from a few overtired kid moments). We had a fantastic time. I feel so blessed to be a part of this wonderful family.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week:

Lucy singing to Isabelle's accompaniment

I hardly saw these boys the whole week except when they would run by on their way to the pool!

Amy, Marina and Isabelle

Mat & Dave and their pool tricks

Family time in the pool!

Grateful...

for wonderful week spent in Las Vegas. We are home and I have lots to post about but it will have to wait for another day or two!

July in Bullet Points

July has been a busy, crazy, fun month. Here is what we've been up to:
*Making pioneer skirts and bonnets for Pioneer Trek
*Dinner with girlfriends
*4th of July viewing of Wall-E with family and my parents, dinner, cards, sparklers with both sets of parents, walking up 21st with boys to watch Sugarhouse fireworks
*Flag football for Noah
*Sam's Club shopping with YW for Girls' Camp
*2 days of Girls' Camp with Lucy (she's such a little trooper!)
*Boys sleepover at Nana and Grandpa's house
*Date to see Indiana Jones...stupid, stupid movie
*Flag football for Curtis
*Final Pioneer Trek meetings, sewing and shopping
*Sent all Trekkers off and had a huge sigh of relief (with a little regret mixed in for not being able to go!)
*Flag football for boys
*10-hour scrapbook crop with Em, Nat and Kathi. WITHOUT kids! Sam brought Lucy to me half-way through so I could feed her but other than that half hour, no kids!
*Quick visit to my parents ward to see sis Suzanne for the 2 hours she was in town
*Lucy starting to crawl
*Did I mention flag football?
*Scrap days with Emily
*24th of July dutch oven cookout with Sam's fam
*Raging Waters with all of us plus my dad and my bro Mat who was in town for a wedding
*Resulting sunburns
*BBQ at my parents house with sibs Mat and Amy (delicious bleu cheeseburgers made by chef Mat)
*BBQ in West Pointe with Sam's extended fam
*Trip to the dentist for all of us with NO CAVITIES! Woohoo! I did have to get a mouth guard made though, what am I, 13?

And that's about it, in a nutshell. We have had fun, we are tired!
Two more flag football games...sweet!
Pictures to follow in coming days...

MAGIC! (part one)

The Magic Kingdom did not disappoint!
All 16 Petts met in sunny Anaheim on Wednesday the 19th for a glorious, crazy, fun-filled, action-packed trip to Disneyland. We had such a great time...I don't even know where to begin!
We drove to Las Vegas Tuesday night, arrived in the wee hours of the morning and slept for a few hours at my sister's house. We then all loaded up and made our way to CA. Suzanne and Danny picked Mom up from the airport (she had been bumped from an overbooked flight and caught a later one) and we met Dad and Marina and Katya at the hotel. We all got ready and caught the shuttle over to Disneyland.
The first ride line we hit was Space Mountain. It was long and Noah got really tired waiting. After about 40 minutes of waiting, someone came out and said the ride was having technical difficulties and would be closed for a few hours! DRAT! Noah was not impressed. Luckily we were able to get some Fast Passes for the Buzz Lightyear ride and didn't have to wait long at all. The Magic of Disney returned after that. We also caught part of the Jedi Training and that was a highlight for the boys. Darth Maul tried to take on Curtis but Curtis hid behind Sam and Darth Maul retreated.
Sidenote: Have you heard of the Fast Pass? There are 7 rides in Disneyland and 7 in California Adventure that have a Fast Pass line. There is a little booth by the ride where you insert your admission ticket and it gives you a pass to come back to the ride at a certain time. There is a separate Fast Pass line so when you return, you go into that line and by-pass the regular hour-long wait line. You can only get one Fast Pass at a time but it is definitely the way to go (especially on Spring Break!).
The rest of that day we spent in Toon Town and it got really cold so we went back to the hotel to meet Amy, Mathew and Dave.
Thursday morning we were up with the crack of dawn and were at Disneyland around 7am for early entry. We ran to Space Mountain and actually got on it this time and only had to wait about 10 minutes. We did a few other things and when everyone was together we made our way to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We were on the backside of the ride when Mat ran by and yelled, "Go back by Dad and Hurry!!!" So we ran back to see what was going on and were rewarded greatly. There were 2 members of the Dream Maker Squad standing there handing out Dream Fast Passes! These passes have a tab for every Fast Pass ride in both parks and you can use them at any time. BUT, you have to use them on the day you get them. We were all so excited! So, as holders of the Magical Dream Fast Pass, we felt it our duty to go on every ride that was on our pass. We didn't realize how tiring it would be but it was so worth it. We had a blast and all the rides were great fun. The only ride we didn't go on was Autopia because half of the group had gone on it before we got the passes and Noah and Isabelle weren't tall enough to ride it. We stayed for the fireworks that night, which were so great, and Amy treated us all to Churros! She said she had some mad people in line behind her when she ordered 13 churros! We then straggled back to the hotel and slept hard.
I was amazed that Curtis went on all the big, scary rides. He was hilarious, though. His expression never changed and you couldn't tell if he was scared or bored or sick! I think the worst ride for the kids was Tower of Terror. They were all scared witless. Amy said Curtis turned green and more than one of them had tears in their eyes from fright. I was surprised on the last day that Curtis and Isabelle actually wanted to go on it again! But they did and survived.

3 months!

Lucy turned 3 months old yesterday! I had planned on blogging yesterday but Lucy was on a sleep strike and was very fussy so I spent most of the day trying to get her settled. She has changed so much! The outfit she is wearing in this picture is the outfit she wore home from the hospital...it was so baggy and big then and now it barely fits! She is such a happy baby, as you can see in the picture. She smiles and laughs a lot, especially at her brothers. She has her moments of grumpiness and I wish she slept through the night but I wouldn't trade the last 3 months for anything. You know, for 5 and a half years it was our little family of 4 and it felt complete, and for those 5 years it was complete, but now I honestly can not imagine our family without little Luce. She has brought a tenderness into our home that wasn't here before. The boys love her and help me tremendously with her. Here is a scene I caught the other day... Both boys were singing to her and giving her toys and loving her. So sweet!
Yesterday we took our new stroller out for a test drive. The weather was beautiful, the best we've had for months so I walked to school to pick up the boys. The kids fought over who got to push the stroller home so we had to switch at every corner. Lucy enjoyed the ride and slept the whole way! I'm so glad the weather is warming up so we both can have a change of scenery and get some fresh air!
Snug as a bug!

I did a little photo shoot with Lucy in her blessing dress the other day. I think she stuck her tongue out in every shot! These are two of my favorites...don't you just want to eat her up?

Last week we had Parent/teacher conferences. Both boys got awesome reports and are doing very well. Curtis still has motion problems (meaning he is in perpetual motion and can't sit still) but is doing great academically. He was even dismissed from Speech Therapy because he has made so much progress and no longer needs it! Noah's teacher said he is very bright and is a smart thinker. He has such a love for learning and is always testing our knowledge by giving Sam and me math problems. I feel very blessed to be the mom of these 3 kids!

38 weeks

Yes, today I have been pregnant for 38 weeks. I had an appointment with my midwife this morning and was really hoping that some labor progress was being made but, no. Nothing is happening yet. That's OK, we still have 2 weeks to go but I have been extra tired and emotional the last few days so it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I met my sis, Amy, for lunch at Chipotle's and when she walked in I started crying. Why? I don't know. Luckily it only lasted a second and I was fine. I also had a little breakdown on Sam the other day, freaking out about childbirth and saying let's just schedule a c-section. He talked me down and reminded me I didn't want to do that again. I've been pretty level-headed this pregnancy, not a lot of emotional tidal waves but this last week has gotten to me. This emotional state also is why there is no photo...just couldn't handle it today.
We have been very busy getting the house ready to bring this little one home and have had some great help from my parents and Amy. I appreciate them so much because with Sam gone so much, we wouldn't even have this house close to ready! I've still got a few odds and ends to wrap up but when don't I?
I have some other family news I've been meaning to post about but I definitely need pictures for that so I will try to get in gear tomorrow and snap a few pics so I can tell some cute stories of the boys and their shenanigans.
It is 8:42 pm and my house has been silent for the last 30 minutes. I think I will take the boys' lead and go to bed early...maybe I'll be able to make it through tomorrow without crying!

Let's go Cougars!

For the past 2 Saturdays, my family and I have joined my parents in cheering for the BYU Cougars Football team. Much to our dismay, the Cougars have come up short both weeks. Fortunately, my love of college football far outweighs the disappointing losses.

I LOVE watching football...specifically when either the Cougars or the UTES are playing. But, I have been known to turn on a random game just because I have the itch for football. As soon as the temperature drops and Fall is in the air, I get football fever. A few years ago, I had a game on as I was scrapbooking and a friend of ours called and asked for Sam. He wasn't home so we chatted for a minute and he asked what I was up to and I told him I was just watching the game and he said "by yourself?" "Yep, I love football." And he said, "Man, that is so sexy!" Ha ha.

I think I can attribute this love for football to my dad. He has always been a Cougar fan. I believe this is the first year since we moved to Utah in 1982 that he does not have season tickets to the BYU games. I always loved going to Provo to the games with him (when I was the lucky one to get the extra ticket) because there was such a buzz in the air at the stadium. He also has so much enthusiasm for the game and really gets into it. I can remember him watching re-runs of games when I was a kid. When I was in 7th grade, my dad took me to get my Military ID renewed and on the way home he handed me the BYU game schedule and said "Kath, do you want to go to the next game with me?" I looked at the schedule and said "It's in Hawaii." My dad said "I know. You wanna go?" Let me think about that for a second..."YES!" We flew over on a military cargo plane and stayed at a friend's house (my parents lived there before any children were born). We spent a little time at the ocean but our main purpose was the game. We sat in the nose bleed seats with not a spot of Cougar blue anywhere around. I cheered my little heart out, my dad was a little concerned because of all the huge Polynesian men glaring at me but that didn't deter me for cheering for my team. BYU won and I even got to have my picture taken with Cosmo (the mascot). If I had a functioning scanner I would include this priceless gem. This was an experience with my dad that I will always cherish!

So don't be surprised if you call my house in the next few months and I tell you I'm watching the game...it's part of who I am!

Week Re-Cap

I have so much to blog about but haven't had the desire to do it so I'm finally making myself sit down and type!

First, and most important:Noah's 1st day of Kindergarten!

He was so excited to start school and go to the same school as Curtis. He was really happy that the cold front hit so that he could wear his new Hot Wheels shirt for the first day! He didn't seem nervous at all, just marched right into the classroom, found his name tag, his table and his locker and didn't bat an eye when Sam and I left. He was already immersed in the school experience and was ready to learn! I thought I would be emotional sending him off to school all day but when Sam and I got to the car, I gave a little squeal and said "I'm so excited!" and then we went and had a fabulous, quiet breakfast (just the 2 of us!) at a cute little diner in Sugarhouse, Finn's. I figured I had a long, quiet day ahead of me but it actually went really fast and I didn't even get half the things on my list done! I'm going to have to organize my day a little better!

When I picked Noah up, he just ran to me and gave me a big hug. I asked how his first day went and he exclaimed, "Good!" "Did you learn a lot?" "Well, we did learn some stuff but not a lot."

By 7:00 that night, he was so exhausted. During our reading time, he kept flopping back and forth and groaning. When I asked him what the problem was, he said "are we almost done? I want to go to bed." Poor kid, he isn't used to this all day stuff! We are going to try bedtime a few minutes earlier to make the transition a little easier.

Second: Sam's 40th Birthday!
I hadn't planned anything for Sam's birthday because we were going to go to St. George with some friends of ours but they ended up moving that week so things were a little crazy for them. Sam had school in the afternoon so the boys and I went and bought 12 black balloons and some window paint and went to the school parking lot. We tied the balloons to Sam's truck and wrote messages on the window. Unfortunately, before we finished, the wild W. Jordan wind either blew away or popped half of the ballons! Needless to say, I was a little miffed by the time we were finished. Sam called before we were even home to tell us he discovered it and said there were only 2, TWO!, balloons left when he came out of class. Argh! It's the thought that counts, though, right?

Since Sam had to work that night, the next night I got a babysitter and Sam and I met his parents for dinner at Johnny Carino's. We had a very enjoyable dinner and then a little shopping at Target afterwards. A low key 40th but I think just what we needed!

Third: Curtis's Speech Therapy

Curtis has been receiving Speech Therapy since his first year in pre-school and has made a ton of progress. I spoke to his Speech Pathologist at the school Open House and she said she would be evaluating him the first week and would then call me. We met with her and Curtis's teacher and the principal for his IEP on Wednesday and the only thing she feels she needs to work on with him is the "th" sound. She was very pleased with his progress and said she would be surprised if he needed Speech after Christmas! Way to go, Curtis, you are awesome!!!

Fourth: Labor Day

Sam really wanted us to go fishing for his b-day so on Labor Day we headed up to the Uintah Mountains for some cooler weather and fishing. Sam took the boys there a few weeks ago and they really wanted to go to the Fish Hatchery again so we stopped and did a little tour. It was kind of cool and there were a ton of fish.

Then we stopped at Provo Canyon Falls. It is so beautiful there. The Falls are amazing, the rock looks like it was carved out by a machine but it wasn't, it is just God's beatiful creation! The boys had fun climbing the rocks and we all enjoyed the cooler weather by the water.

We then settled at Teapot Lake for a very unsuccessful fishing trip. Sam got the boys set up and he kept having to re-cast for them and by the time he got himself ready, the boys were done. We hung out there for a little while longer and then packed up. Sam had seen a spot on the river that he wanted to try fishing so we stopped there and Curtis and Sam took off walking down the river. Noah was content to sit in the shade next to me in our camp chairs and he talked my ear off! He was so cute. I wasn't very talkative but he kept the conversation flowing just fine. My favorite was when he said "Aaah. This is relaxing. I love to relax in the shade by the river, in my chair, in the quiet, just the sound of the little waterfall. Do you like to relax here, Mom?" Sometimes, he is just so grown up! It kills me.

After awhile, Sam and Curtis came back (sam caught 4 fish) and we made the trip home. It was a nice, relaxing day but Sam realized that if he really wants to fish, he's going to have to go without the boys!

Fifth: Funny things kids say and do

Noah walked into my room on Sunday just as I was picking up my dropped towel (my back to him) and said "Mom! Does your tummy getting bigger make your butt get bigger?" "No, why?" "Because your butt looks huge! It is bigger than Dad's!" Thanks, buddy, you know how to make a girl feel good about her ever-expanding body.

Curtis had planned to wear his camo pants to school on Wednesday with a cute long sleeve shirt we got to match. Wed. morning came and he decided he didn't want to wear the long sleeve shirt, he wanted a short sleeve shirt and the perfect choice was his camo shirt. I told him it didn't match his camo pants and that he needed to change. He was throwing a fit so Sam said he was going to call the Fashion Police and picked up the phone and pretended to call. Curtis FREAKED! He quickly decided to wear a short sleeve white shirt and his olive green hoodie. Who knew a Fashion Police threat would work on a 7 year old boy!!!

Well, this is turning into a novel so I'm going to wrap it up...The End