It's Almost Christmas!

Yesterday we went to the Nutcracker at the Mesa Art Center.  The boys loved it.  Matthew's favorite part was when the rats fought the toy soldiers.  Cute little Ruby Hughes was a sassy little mouse in the ballet and did a great job.  That's her just behind Cannon.  Afterwards, we had the Hughes, Wrights and Ted and Martha over for an almost Christmas dinner.  The biggest hit?  The chocolate fountain.  By the end of the night, the kids were covered in chocolate.

James actually preferred whole strawberries, but took his chocolate on the side.

This was our kitchen afterwards.  The picture does not do it justice.  There was chocolate on every surface, including the floor (which was a bummer because my mop literally broke just as we were about to mop, so we were on our hands and knees scrubbing).  It took us 2 hours to clean up.  Of course, the mess was worth having family visit.  And we're just glad we have a big enough house to have everyone over.

When Matthew was supposed to be in bed, he was helping us "clean up" the chocolate.  He was in heaven.  

Car Crashes and Knee Pads

Today Matthew had a Christmas party at school and got to wear his pajamas to class.  He got a big kick out of that.  This morning on the way to school we were listening to Christmas music and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" was playing (probably my least favorite holiday song)  and when the song was over Matthew said, "I wish something was wrong with our car and we would crash into other cars."  Perplexed and a little disturbed, I asked, "Why would you want something like that to happen?"  "Because then somebody would write a song about it," he so matter-of-factly replied.  "Oh, like the song about the grandma being run over?"  I asked, a little relieved.  "Yeah, like that."

James will NOT stay in his blankets at night, and although we live in Arizona, it does get cold at night.  So I bought him some pajamas with the feet on them.  He absolutely loves them.  Like my mom put it, they have built in shoes.  What's not to love?  

He has also developed another fashion trend, knee pads on his arms.  He wears them around all day and I seriously think he believes they make him tougher.  

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

Lindsey and Adam have named their new little girl Holly Francis Mallory.  She was 7 lbs 5 oz. and 20 inches long.  Holly is peerfect for a December baby's name and Francis is my Grandma Huff's maiden name.  I hear she is very tiny and has a very cute nose.  My mom also says she is very aware of her surroundings and takes everything in. 

GO HERE TO SEE A CUTE BABY!

She's almost here...

I have some SUPER exciting news, Lindsey's baby is joining the cute, little Mallory clan today!  I can barely wait to catch a glimpse of her.  I hate being so far away, it's times like these that make it the hardest to live away from family.  I'll keep you updated and put pictures up as soon I receive some.  

*Update*  She is here!  She was born around 10:08 pm and is a beautiful little girl!  I can't wait to meet her.

One year wiser and older too...

I haven't really had much to blog about, let alone anything to take pictures of, so I've been a little MIA lately.  Last night I went out to dinner with the boys to celebrate my birthday.  My birthday was actually Monday, but both boys had pink eye and Matthew had a double ear infection, and I had a pretty bad cold.  Needless to say, going out was not a great idea.  After dinner we drove around looking at Christmas lights.  This is one of my favorite December activities.  Although a few days late, I had a great birthday.  Yeah, Happy Birthday to me.  

Like my "B" wreath?  Why thank you, I made it.  Yes, yes, I am super talented.

I am grateful for...

FAMILY!!  

This was Matthew's answer at preschool.  Isn't he the cutest?  I thought for sure he would say Wii. 

We had such a great Thanksgiving weekend spent with family!  Amy, Brien and their adorable little boy, Colin drove in from San Diego to visit.  We ate lots of food, laughed many times, suffered through the absolute worst Christmas movie ever (which is saying a lot coming from me), watched Twilight...twice, that makes a total of 3 trips to the theater for this movie (and yes, it gets better with each viewing), took family pictures, and went to temple lights.  

Seriously, where's my baby? 

Have you ever seen cuter brothers?  

I love how uncooperative James is being and Matthew doesn't break focus at all. 

Cousins!  These guys had so much fun together.  Come back soon Colin.

  

*All pictures courtesy of Kristen*

Hope you all had a great holiday spent with family!

Tagged...

Rules:

• Post rules on your blog
• Answer the six "4" items
• Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

4 Things I did yesterday

• Took Matthew to preschool
• Went Christmas shopping
• Made dinner
• Watched The Hills

4 Things I look forward to

• Thanksgiving
• When James starts talking and stops screaming
• Seeing Twilight again
• Going to Alabama next month!!

4 Restaurants I like

• Buffalo Wild Wings
• The Depot
• Chick-fil-A 
• Rosa's

4 Things on my wish list (in no particular order)

• Lose 10 pounds
• My boys becoming friends
• Another baby
• New furniture for my front room

4 Favorite TV shows 

• Gossip Girl
• Privileged
• America's Next Top Model (haven't found something to fill its void yet)
• 90210 (not a top fave, but I do watch it every week)

4 People I tag

• Lindsey
• Julianne
• Lisa B
• Jamie

Hair, Lunch and a Movie

*Sorry, Mom, I darkened my hair.  I was tiring of the root upkeep.*  

So Saturday finally came around and us girls had a blast.  We went to the cutest salon and got our cut/washed/styled.  An hour and a half later, yep you read that right (Amy, center, must have extremely perfect hair now, each strand snipped to the exact length she asked for) we were ready for our next stop, Cafe Rio.  We had a delish lunch and headed over to our final and most anticipated stop... 

TWILIGHT!  

*Warning*Do not read on if you have yet to see the movie.  Although I liked the movie, I didn't love it (some cheesy moments), but after more time passes I like it more and more.  Kristen and I are planning on seeing it again, which I have heard from the girls in my Laurels class is a good idea.  So I'm hoping to love the flick by the end of this week.  

Thanks gorgeous girls for a fabulous afternoon.  I couldn't have asked for better company!

U Dazzle Me!

I really tried hard not to write about about a certain book on this blog, but I am giddy with excitement for tomorrow.  

TWILIGHT. 1:20 PM.  GIRLS ONLY.  

When I was waiting for Matthew to come out of preschool today, on the back window of his teacher's car "U DAZZLE ME" was written on the dusty glass.  My heart started to race and my stomach dropped.  For a movie.  Sad?  You betcha.  But I can't help the excitement.  And I have a feeling I am not alone.

 With that being said, I have one request for you, Mr. Rob Pattinson.  DAZZLE ME.  

See you tomorrow, girls!

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

James has a thing for shoes.  He loves them.  He wants to be wearing them at all times.  It doesn't matter if he just woke up or is going to bed, he has to have a pair on.  Sometimes he'll walk out of my closet with some black pumps or steel-toed boots.  It doesn't matter what the shoe, he's got to have it.  And as you can see, you don't even need to wear pants.  

Black Widows

Matthew has a pair of pajamas that have black widows all over the shirt and pants.  To say it freaks him out a little bit is an understatement.  The other night he did not have any other pajamas and the black widows were his only choice.  It was a fight to get them on.  Finally he conceded, but only with the bottoms.  He requested a white t-shirt and then said,  "I have to tell you, Mom, now I'm going to have a dream about a giant black widow that kills me."  Luckily, he didn't.  But that's because he prayed for good dreams and Heavenly Father sent them his way.  The faith of a child.

Camping Trip

A few weekends ago we went camping with our friends the Jones family.  We went up to Sedona where Fall is in full swing.  The leaves are changing color and the temperature is just right.

All the kids were begging to go to bed.  Except for James, he cried for a very long time.  I'm sure all of our neighbors loved us.  Look how cute they are!  It got down to freezing that night!  Luckily Tim and I had decided to bring one mattress to share.  We put our little heaters (matthew and james) between us and stayed warm enough.    

I took this picture because James was standing at the door of the tent wanting to go outside and he no longer looked like a baby to me.  He's a little boy!

It was cold enough to wear our sweatshirts!  

Matthew was a river-rock jumping fool.  After this shot, he didn't need help anymore.  He was jumping all over the place.  It was fun to watch him be so confident and have so much fun.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was our nature walk.  The kids loved it.  Cooper, Matthew, Ella and James all had a great time.

HAPPY TRAILS!

Election Day 2008

We did it.  We went and braved the lines at the polling place.  We spent hours standing in line, waiting for our turn.  Okay, so maybe it was only about 30 minutes.  The boys each got a sticker that they proudly wore all day.  Matthew got upset a few times when he thought he lost his.  He was also disappointed to find out that Obama was not at the "Voting Place."  I didn't realize, but he thought Obama would be there and he would finally get to meet him.  Matthew loves Obama.  It's so funny how involved he has been in this election.  Matthew Blood for 2040!

Halloween Fun Part 2

We had a very fun Halloween this year.  We went up to Tim's parents' house to go trick-or-treating.  And had a great time.

This year I decided to make the boys' costumes.  I have only ever made 1 apron and a few blankets.  So I think I was a little overly confident.  I finished Matthew's in time, but...

...James had to go without his dragon hood and finished hems on his sleeves and legs.  Oh well, he's young and I had green paint.  So it worked.

I just thought it was so cute to see them standing together at each door, waiting for their next treat.  James would instantly put his treat into his mouth, wrapper and all.

Halloween Fun Part 1

Matthew had a Halloween party for preschool yesterday.  His teacher went all out for this party. She had a fishing booth, donuts on strings, face painting, hay rides, bowling, pumpkin painting, and so much more.  The kids had a ball.

Up first was a fun little program full of cute Halloween songs.

They got little prizes at each booth.  Matthew's favorite was the glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs.  He wore them for almost the whole day.  Even when we went to Target.

My little multi-tasker, eating while cleaning.  He must watch me a lot more than I thought...

Then for reasons unknown to me, he threw himself on the ground and threw a little tantrum.

The kids made a pinata and then got to reap the rewards.

Matthew's loot. He's very particular about candy and it shows.  He had 1/3 the amount as everyone else.  Only the best for my boy.

Matthew with his best bud, Cooper.  They have such a great time together.

Hello? Anybody there?

-Matthew: "Mom, who is going to take care of us when you are little?"  

-Me: "I was already little before you were born.  So I am always going to take care of you."

-Matthew:  "Are your ears working?"

-Me:  "Yes, my ears are working."

-Matthew:  "Well, did you not understand me then?"

-Me:  "That must be it."

Grandpa Huff

We visited my Grandma and Grandpa Huff a few times while we were in Utah.  I realized that I do not have any pictures of my boys with my grandpa, so I had to snap a few.  

My grandpa had a heart attack about two weeks ago.  I am so grateful that he is feeling better.  He's a little worn out, but he's my same old grandpa with his infectious smile.  I love that guy!

Logan

My cousin Jason got married while we were in Utah.  So we packed the boys up and drove up to Logan.  Sometimes I wonder why anyone would get married in any other temple than the Salt Lake temple.  I mean, it is the only true temple, right?  But when you are on the grounds of the Logan temple, you understand why.  Such a pretty temple.  And I guess all temples are true.

Tubular!

In the Fall my Grandma Levinthal throws a pumpkin picking party.  This year, we got to attend.  It was so much fun!  We ate witch fingers, mummy dogs, spiced wassail, and yummy pizza.  The kids got to go into her garden and each pick out a pumpkin.  

Well, that's a surprise!  Matthew picked a small, green pumpkin.  Huh, I would have never guessed that.

James wasn't all that interested in picking a pumpkin.  He was just looking for a good one to throw.  

I just thought this picture was so Tessa.  The little princess among a bunch of boys.

This was one of at least 100 pictures we tried to take of all the little kids.  We're missing Tessa.  I think she may have had an accident and was being changed inside.  

James sat here for a good 10 minutes after our failed groups shots.  He repeatedly said, "Cheeeeeeeeeeese!"

I hadn't finished my boys' costumes yet, so my mom bought Matthew a Ninja Turtle costume so he could be like Cooper and Peyton.  Matthew and Cooper had lots of fun battling it out.  I though Ninja Turtles were on the same team, but whatever.

I think Jace is more of a loner or maybe he just doesn't care for James.  But James didn't care, he loved following Jace around.

And to top off a successful night of spooky fun, the kids all circled round the fire and roasted s'mores.  There you are, Grandma! (in the back row)

Mmm...perfect.