A wonderful Christmas

We have been having a wonderful Christmas here in Cache Valley. Will has loved every minute of being at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He just LOVES the cat, Meek, his cute cousins, and we've really had some fun playing in the snow!! We'll post some more later....

Will and his dinosaurs

Man, this kid is completely obsessed with dinosaurs. It is pretty much all we talk about all day long. We are so happy with how much Will is saying, he picks things up and remembers them way too quickly! This video was hard to take because his favorite part is watching it after - so he kept trying to get behind me to see the video.... ENJOY!

Will....

Will is one of a kind, at least we think so! We finally got him a real winter coat. I just couldn't stand putting layer after layer of sweatshirts and jackets everytime we went outside. Scott and I think it is great, but Will isn't sold on the idea. Everytime we go somewhere I tell him to get his coat and he reluctantly says "new coat??" It is funny, but what is even funnier is when we get him buckled into his carseat... no wonder he hates wearing his coat!

(I don't know why the picture didn't change orientation... they usually do?! - Sorry)

On another note, we were buy his coat and he saw this "Brachiosaurus" by the register, instantly, he was carrying it around and holding onto it for dear life. Of course, us mean parents made him put it back because we weren't about to spend money on a stuffed dinosaur that is almost as big as he is! Well, Will screamed and cried and said "no way" while all the holiday shoppers gave us little smiles and facial expressions that said "those poor first time parents, they should just buy the dang thing...." or "what awful parents, that kid can scream!" The whole way out of the store we heard Will crying and saying "Brachiosaurus back" through all his sniffles. He was truly heartbroken. When I told Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins this sob story, they immedietly said, you should have just bought it! And of course they said, go buy it, we'll send you money, and tell Will it is from us! That's what makes grandparents, grand, right? So, all is well that ends well. Will is a HAPPY camper, with his brachiosaurus in tow, he hasn't slept a night without it since we gave it to him. He's even named him fittingly "Brachi-" I wonder how long this dinosaur thing will last, and if this poor green stuffed dinosaur is up for the challenge!

Simple Pleasures

Will sees the world through different eyes, I love seeing him be so happy with the simple things in life... like standing on your head! Or checking out your arm, or belly button, or a bug on the ground....

There are lots of simple pleasures in life, I'm coming to recognize these more and more everyday. Of course there are the obvious things that are great about life, family, friends, your babies, your spouse, etc.... But lately, I've just loved watching Will when he doesn't know I'm watching him. He LOVES looking at his books, and the other day I was spying on him and he was reading his dinosaur book (of course... that is the other simple pleasure at our house - DINOSAURS) and he was "reading" to himself. All I could catch was "saurus" in pretty much every other word. Or he would say one word about each page. The funniest was a page with a T-Rex that says "T-Rex is a giant meat eating machine!" and Will kept saying "HUGE! machine.... HUGE machine!" it was pretty cute.

The Children's Museum

Today, Will and I ventured into the snow storm and spent the morning at the Children's Museum. Our family is blessed to have a membership there, so we can go anytime, and spend as much or as little time as we like playing. This museum is wonderful, it was SO fun. Will had a ball, and I had a great time seeing him so happy and interactive. We've been pretty cooped up for the past little while, so it was nice to let Will get out, run, jump, play, be loud, and just have fun exploring.

We started our adventure at the "Habitot" where everything is centered around bugs and sensory learning. Will's favorite part was the "hilly" ramp, and the ice fishing exhibit. (Mostly, he just loved running around) Then we went to Earth World where Will was thrilled with the prospects of being an ant. Running up and down the ant hill, and crawling through the tunnels. Then of course, we saw the Sesame Street room where everyone is labeled with some form of Elmo - like "Elmo Cookie!" and "Elmo Street!"... funny thing, Elmo is scarce. We also spent time in the "Our World" room and "World Works" where we got to ride a bus, be in a music video, and play with water. Will LOVES the water room, he put the little ball in the tube and watched it float out a million times.

Watching your kids learn, grow, and have fun is the best. We really enjoyed our day, and we are excited to go back soon. Sadly, I forgot my camera, so you'll have to settle on pictures from the museum's homepage.

The Holidazzle

We have really loved living in a big city, and it is especially fun during the holidays. Over Thanksgiving break, we rode the bus downtown to watch the Holidazzle Parade - a storybook parade of lights. Will thought the bus was great, and he wasn't so sure about the parade. It was a good night to go though because it wasn't too cold, we were bundled, but it was still bearable. I'm not sure Will really "gets" this whole Christmas thing, but I'm sure he'll be excited to open presents this year. We've been trying to teach him about the nativity, baby Jesus, etc. However, the only thing he's really caught onto is the Donkey in the stable, and he thinks it is pretty hysterical when he "HEE HAW" at him. Maybe we need to rethink our teaching methods?

We are really looking forward to our vacation to Utah, and spending time with family and friends during the Holidays. We are VERY excited to see snowy mountains, and hopefully go skiing. Just a couple weeks away.....

10 LBS. of potatoes?... no problem

I'm SO excited... naturally, over food! I was assigned to bring the potatoes to dinner tomorrow, so I found a great recipe from my friend and I used my favorite kitchen tool ever! My bosch... it's a wonder, it whipped my potatoes and they look like frosting. I was even licking the beaters, just like frosting going "mmmmm good!"

Don't they look heavenly? I think so, and more amazing, the bosch did all 10 POUNDS at once! I should write bosch a thank you note, I love them.

Pumpkin cookies

With Thanksgiving around the corner... and Christmas shopping in sight, here's something to make the holidays a little sweeter:

Egg Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

INGREDIENTS
2 cups white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Cream the sugar, shortening, pumpkin and vanilla together. Mix until light and well combined.
3. Mix the flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Let cookies cool on a rack.

THREE THINGS TO LOVE

Isn't it funny what your kids begin to love? We read a dinosaur book a LONG time ago, just once, but it started something with Will. He loves wearing his dinosaur jammies and reading his dinosaur book. He also loves having mom or dad draw a dinosaur and then he colors it. He can even say "brachiosaurus" - what a wonder child! If you didn't know what he was saying, you might wonder what the heck he's talking about when he walks around saying "Nasanay (dinosaur... of course), suchus (sarcosuchus - a huge crocodile that lived during the time of the dinosaurs... found in one of our many dinosaurs trips to the library), or sceeery nasanay.... " He's really loving the books "How do dinosaurs eat their food, What if a Dinosaur gets sick, How do Dinosaurs play with their friends... etc." If you haven't read them to your kids, you should, their great.

Other than dinosaurs, Will's most favorite things right now are: NEMO NEMO NEMO.... we watch Nemo daily, and most of our conversations revolve around who says or does what on Nemo. This kid is obsessed with NEMO - he's getting a fish for Christmas, I hope it goes over well!

He's also very into his Curious George books. When we ask him what George says he says "hooo hoo hahhaaa" just like the little monkey!

We love our little Will, he is growing up too fast!

I survived.... barely

Well, I now finally feel like I have the energy to sit in a chair and type... how pathetic! I had my gall-bladder surgery last Friday. Things went well, but I felt horribly sick until yesterday. YUCK. The pain wasn't even bad, it was the feeling yucky that kept me from recovering. It was quite a bit more stressful than I had anticipated.

Thankfully, we have a wonderful mother in-law who has been here helping us 24/7 all week. We were SO blessed to have her here, we seriously could not have survived without her help. Plus, Will has LOVED having lots of time with Grandma.

Thanks to everyone for your phone calls, e-mails, and support, sorry I've been really out of it the past week! I hope to be back to my normal self soon.

JANE EYRE

If you havn't read the book, or seen the movie... I highly recommend it. It is a classic, and one that is so inspiring and captivating. The newest movie is the best - it is a Masterpiece Theater version and it came out in Jan. of 2007 I believe, so check it out from your library, it is amust see and I promise you'll love all 4 hours of it... well, I did, but I like that kind of stuff.

Last night, me, my sister in-law Lorinda, and two friends (Tina & Monica) went and saw Jane Eyre - the play - at Guthrie Theater here in Minneapolis. It was great, better than I expected actually, maybe because I had such high hopes. It was great to spend a night out, relax for 2 and 1/2 hours, and enjoy such a great love story.... I know, cheesy, but Jane Eyre is by far one of the greatest heroines in history!

Anjelah Johnson: Nail Salon

I am sure I'm not the only one whose had a great experience such as this. I couldn't help laughing, it was too true.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween everybody! Will thinks this holiday is great, he's been saying "treat? pleeeeaaase" all day long. He was very excited about his loot after he went trick or treating with Scott.

Per request

My sweet friend Jaci reminded me that she "tagged" me... so here goes...

1. When I was younger, my favorite clothes were: my hot pink and hot green socks - worn together of course and my sisters lightening bolt earrings. (Lisa, do you remember those? I used to try to steal them off your dresser!)
2. And now: Anything comfortable, I'm really liking my DownEast shirts and jeans at the moment. Right now, any clothes that can get sticky fingers, snot, and baby drool on them and wash perfectly are a must. Mostly I just shop clearance racks from my favorite stores (Gap, Lerner, and Old Navy)
3. When I was younger, my favorite TV shows were: Full House, my little pony, and the Sunday night Disney movie
And now: The Office, Amazing Race, Biggest Loser, and lately Dancing with the stars
5. When I was little, my favorite music artists were: I had no idea I listened to whatever my bro's and sis's were listening too... mostly country
6. Now that I'm grown up: Norah Jones, Colbie Caillat, Michael Buble, Brad Paisley, and Diamond Rio... among a few - we've got quite the random mix on our ipod
7. When I was younger, my favorite food was: popcorn!!!!
8. And now: let's just say I LOVE food, and I really love to cook. I still love popcorn, nachos, soup, salads with lots of stuff in them, and of course, ice cream!!
9. When I was little, I was afraid of: snakes, our neighbors dogs, and getting in trouble... now, it's pretty much the same, I still hate snakes, but worry about something scary happening to my family.

I guess that's me in a nut shell!

Well baby check....

Well baby checks are the best. It is so nice to know that your child is healthy, growing the way he should and learning just the way he's supposed to. Will just had his 18 mo. check-up and all was well. Besides the fact that he SCREAMED the whole time the nurse and dr. were around, even when they weren't touching him... I don't know?! He weighs in at 24 lbs. 10 oz. (33%) but is still a little short (31 1/4 inches - 21%), with a gigantic head (80%)... no wonder he's so smart! He must get that from his mom....

He only had to have his flu shot today, and so did mom. I was trying to be brave in hopes that he wouldn't cry, but I'll be honest, shots HURT. Poor thing, he screamed through that also!

THE MONSTER DASH

This year for Halloween, we dressed up as Paul Bunyan, Paul's wife, and BABE the blue ox. My friend Tana made this darling hat for Will and it totally completed the outfit. She saved me from spray painting devil horns!!!

Yesterday, we ran the "Monster Dash" 5K. It was SO much fun, we can't wait for next year. Everyone was so festive and dressed up, and there were lots of families there. I loved seeing all the families out together and encouraging each other and having fun together. It seems like you don't see that all too often these days... The race was held at Lk. Harriett here in Minneapolis, it was a gorgeous sunny day, but only about 40 degrees.

We were glad we had our flannel shirts on!

Here's our determined little OX who has to WALK everywhere by himself and won't hold hands... ever! We were glad we finally got him to wear his gloves. We had to tell him it was like "Nemo" and then he put them on (he has finger puppets that are fish like Nemo that he puts on his fingers at church)
The Bunyan Family (someone told us we would look more like the Bunyans if Scott was on stilts and could grow a beard....)
The bribe: crackers, just so he would get in the stroller - who ever said not to bribe with food?
Our big finish - this is how Will spent the race
Whew - the other finishers, wide awake!It was such a fun day as a family. We got to enjoy lunch at the lake afterwards, enjoy all our little freebies, and eat our candy that we got from "trick-or-treating" along the race course (what a fun idea!). So... Until next year... maybe we'll be ambitious and run (or walk) the Monster HALF marathon???

FAMILY PICTURES

I think Will is looking for his "owie"
Will prefered to show his trick instead of sitting still to take pictures

Our good friend Heathere took some family pictures for us. We went to Stone Arch bridge, a historic landmark here in Minneapolis. It is near the milling distric where Pillsbury and Gold Meadal Flour all had it's beginning. We were downtown with the city of Minneapolis in the background, right on the river (Mississippi of course). Hope you enjoy... thanks Heathere you did a great job!

PUMPKIN

I love fall! Martha Stewart inspired this fall activity - glittered pumpkins. It was very fun, and I loved the result - they really do look gorgeous. Every year around this time, I also start craving some good "fallish" food and pumpkin has always been a favorite of mine. Just lately, I've given out a few really yummy recipes that include pumpkin, so I thought I would share in the tastiness....

Pumpkin Pancakes

(I have my sis in-law Lorinda to thank for this awesome recipe. We had them at her house and now they are a favorite of ours... with apple cider syrup of course! - thanks Rinny!)

Beat 2 eggs and add ¾ c. canned pumpkin
Add:

2 T. sugar
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. ginger
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 ½ t. baking powder
¼ c. oil
1 ½ c. flour
Stir in 1 ½ c. milk

Bake on a slightly greased griddle.

Apple Cider Syrup

¾ c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/8 t. nutmeg
¼ t. cinnamon
2 c. apple cider (I used apple juice)

In saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, and apple cider. Bring to a boil. Serve on pancakes or waffles.

I'm an 80 year old....

It's true, I have a disease that normally occurs in women over 40. I don't know who to thank for it, genetics I guess. We found out a couple weeks ago that I have to get my gall bladder out because I have gallstones. That is such an ugly word... gallstones, why couldn't they name it something more femenine or fun to say? Either way, I have them and they will be taking them out by laproscopy sometime in the next month. I've been having lots of stomach issues and they did an ultrasound and that is what they found, exciting?... not really, but we are relieved to know what it is and that it can be taken care of.

Luckily, I don't feel completely alone, my sister who is only a few years older than me had hers out about a year and half ago. We can be 80 year olds together! Thanks Krista!

Maybe I'll get to post a picture of my "stones" - gross, I won't do it, no matter how tempting!

LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Before Scott and I got married, I frequently looked through Scott's baby books and thought "I wonder what our kids will look like.....?" Scott was hands down one of the cutest little boys I had ever seen (...and what a handsome man!). I couldn't wait to see what Will would look like. From day one, he's been his father's son in many ways. Although I catch glimpse's of myself in him occasionally - usually when we're eating, go figure - most of the time it is ALL Scott. I love it, and here are some pictures of Will in a sweater that Scott wore at 18 months.

Grandpa Glenn always tells us a joke of when they had a plummer at their house and Scott (at about 2 yrs. old) ran out of the house past the two of them and the plummer said "he's built kinda short from one end, aint he?!" Yes, Scott has always had super short legs, and once again, like father like son. Hence, the rolled up pants in EVERY picture we have ever taken of Will. Nonetheless, we love this little boy and he brings a lot of fun and laughter to our family!