Szymanski Family

A Giant Lollipop And A Sneaky Surprise

2012-02-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Caleb took cupcakes to preschool for his birthday.

When he got there, Ms. Trudi put a birthday crown on his head, and he wore it for 3 days.

She also sent him home with a bag full of goodies.

His favorite part?

A giant lollipop mom! Wow!"

That night (Tuesday) the kids and I went to Bryan's work to decorate his desk for his birthday,

We sneakily parked the car and waited until he left so his coworkers could let us in.

He decided to work late that day, and after waiting in the car for 25 minutes, with 2 anxious kids,

I called him and told him he needed to some home "right now!"

We went in and quickly made a mess of daddy's desk.

The kids thought it was awesome.

But Caleb kept saying "I'm going to tell dad about the treats on his desk. I can't wait to tell dad we came to his work. He's going to be so happy when I tell him about this, huh mom?"

I was worried the surprise would be blown.

Sure enough, the second we walk in the door, Caleb says

"Dad, we went to - "

But I quickly cut him off, and tried to cover up with "We went and got daddy a present, but remember it's a secret, we don't want to tell him what we got him . "

That seemed to work well enough.

Right before bed Caleb said "Dad, we went to your work today."

Luckily, Bryan was focused on something else and didn't hear him.

He got to work and was welcomed with balloons, a banner, chips and salsa, whoppers, red vines and a silvery, shiny, sparkly mess.

An Interview With The New 4 Year Old

2012-02-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

We took this video first thing this morning.

Caleb may or not be really really excited. :)

Sorry about the wiggling camera work..yikes!

Love Letters To The Birthday Boys

2012-02-08T13:40:00.001-07:00

Dear Caleb Boy,
Today you turn 4 years old. 4 years old! I remember when I was 4 years old. It's hard for me to believe that my first little baby is now a grown up big boy. I love how you want to do grown up things. I love that you get your Spongebob cards and join in when we play card games. You have become such a good helper these days. My favorite is when you help daddy sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

I love that you have a zest for learning. Your ability to memorize things astounds me. It makes my heart happy that you told the primary on Sunday that your favorite thing to do is read books with your family, And even though I have a hard time keeping up with you, I also am happy that you love to do art projects. I just wish I could come up with enough to keep you busy.

I love your quiet focus and determination when it comes to completing a task. I love that you take good care of your little sister and share (most) of your toys with her. She loves it when the two of you create your own parades by leading her around the house, blazing the trail with your firetruck. Thank you for choosing to come to our family. We are lucky to have you!

Dear Bryan Todd,
I don't know many men who would excitedly share their birthday with their son. It makes me happy that despite my best efforts to hold out from having Caleb be born on your birthday, that it made you happy, and it continues to make you happy. You are an incredible person, and father.

Every day the kids look forward to dancing while you play the silly song after dinner, and then playing tag and hide and seek. I hope you know how much they adore you. I am so thankful to be married to you, and I am thankful for the person that you are. You teach me things every day.

Look how far we've come together since our crazy dating days. I wonder where else life will take us? I love you!

Kicking Off Birthday Week

2012-02-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

We have a lot of birthdays in the month of February!

Of course there is Caleb and Bryan, who are lucky enough to share a birthday on the 8th.

Last year, Rachelle's little boy Dallin, joined the club and was born on the 7th.

Let the celebrating begin!

Caleb very firmly declared that he wanted an airplane party.

Well, let me tell you, airplane birthday supplies are hard to come by.

So I got to work on my cricut, cutting out airplanes, making a banner and paper chains to decorate.

I think he liked it. This was his face on the morning of his party.

It almost looks like Christmas morning to him! :)

My oh my, my little boy is 4 years old!!!

He is becoming quite grown up, and extra silly these days.

The first party was with Grandpa and Grandma Weight.

Caleb got a lego car and submarine, and a "car wallet" as he likes to call it , that his aunt Rachelle made him.

I didn't feel like making a cake. I know, I know.

I ordered one from Winegar's bakery since my brother in law works there.

I told them I wanted an airplane, in a blue sky with clouds.

When I got the cake, I remember why I always make my own cakes.

Gray clouds? Really? Happy dreary Birthday Caleb!

Ok, so maybe it's not that bad. And he certainly liked it. But still.

In keeping with the airplane theme we went to the Hill Airforce Base Museum.

It had tons of airplanes from all different time periods.

the kids thought it was awesome seeing all the gigantic airplanes.

The best part is, it's totally free!

I didn't realize how big they are until I was actually standing next to one. Crazy.

They had helicopters, rescue planes, even models of the atomic bomb.

I could easily spend a few hours there, without kids. They got bored after a while.

But for the most part, it was a great way to kick off birthday week!

Cleaning Night

2012-02-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

We have designated Wednesday night as cleaning night around here.

Monday is family night, so why not have a cleaning night?

Plus, if we do it during the week, we have more time on the weekends for projects.

We have a lot of projects around here.

Anyway, right now, the kids love cleaning.

They think it's fun helping.

How long will that last?

The boys do the floors,

and the girls do the tidying and vacuuming.

Fun, right?

You know you want to come over on Wednesday nights and join us. :)

Valentines-ing It Up

2012-02-01T03:29:00.002-07:00

This last week we've been gearing up for Valentine's Day.

(I wanted to get most things done before birthday week comes.)

Caleb spent all afternoon helping me cut out every single heart on my Cricut.

He loves to work with his hands, and he loves anything mechanical.

Grandma Ginger came to watch for a little bit, and Caleb sent her home with her own Valentine and one for Grandpa.

Then he spent another few hours gluing, punching and glittering 13 valentines for his preschool class.

If only I had enough energy to keep up with his zest for learning and creating.

Coloring just doesn't cut it for this kid.

He needs to be cutting, pasting and inspecting.

If you think that wasn't enough, he also helped me make this garland for our living room,

and these hearts for our kitchen.

Any more ideas to keep Mr. Caleb entertained and happy are much welcomed.

Practicing

2012-01-28T12:42:00.001-07:00

Here is Caleb practicing for the 3rd time giving his primary talk.

He wrote most of it himself by answering questions.

He's got it down pretty well, I just hope he will do it when he is standing in front of a room full of people!

Pledge of Allegiance

2012-01-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

Today I asked Caleb if he wanted to practice his talk for Sunday.

Instead, he shocked my by saying the pledge of allegiance.

Word for word!

(Except the end where he said with birdie and Jesus for all.) :)

I didn't know he knew the pledge!

Thank you preschool. I am impressed!

In other news: Miss Ashlyn is officially on her 3rd day of potty training. She is doing great and she loves it!

Let's hope it stays that way.

Wizard of Oz First Timers

2012-01-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Wizard of Oz is a big deal to us. We love the books the movie, and even the musical Wicked.

My all time favorite song is Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

So I wanted to make sure that the first time my children saw the movie, was memorable.

We spent the evening working on a lesson.

I introduced them to each character, and they colored and traced the pictures.

Helping Dorothy get to the Emerald City

Practicing lower case letters

Tracing shapes

Did you know that someone actually made a Wizard of Oz preschool pack?

Wow, you can find anything online! The one we used is here.

Ashy and I even wore our matching ruby slippers and sparkly red headbands for the event.

We popped popcorn and started the show.

Since it is quite long, we skipped through bits and pieces.

(Plus, let's admit, there are some pretty frightening parts in that movie. I didn't expose my kids to the flying monkeys just yet. Mock all you want, but they still scare me!)

We made rainbow pudding pops earlier in the day
to eat when Dorothy crossed over the rainbow and into munchkin land.

Of course apples were the perfect snack for when the trees throw apples.
The kids played with my Madam Alexander dolls while they watched.

I was surprised we got through most of the movie!

Day Date

2012-01-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

My mom and Larry kindly volunteered to watch the kids on Saturday so Bryan and I could go on a date.

It's been too long since we've gone on a real date.

We had some restaurant gift cards to use so we went to Olive Garden for lunch

and then to the Bountiful Temple.

When we got there it was pouring rain. We were quite soggy by the time we got inside.

When we came out, it looked like this.

There was at least 6 inches of snow, and lots and lots of icy slush.

I asked Bryan to turn right out of the gates instead of left out of the gates so we could get a quick picture.

Boy am I glad I did! Otherwise we would have been driving down this road, at about the same time all of this was happening.

Luckily, we were a few blocks south. Still a steep and slippery road, but nothing compared to that video.

We did see 2 or 3 cars that had slid of the road. We were so glad to be in our new car with 4 wheel drive!

The snow slowed us down quite a bit, but we were able to get some birthday shopping down for a certain little boy who will be turning 4 in a few weeks.

And we finally went and got some delicious cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy.

We got home just in time to say goodnight to the kidlets.

Caleb was excited to tell me about his day with the grandparents.

"We saw another chipmunk movie with a boat!" (Chipwrecked) "It was so awesome!"

Thanks mom and Larry for not only letting Bry and I have a date, but for giving the kids such an awesome day too.

Caleb Quote of the Day

2012-01-22T11:55:00.002-07:00

This morning Caleb was singing the song we are working on in primary.

I was so excited to hear him actually singing, because he really doesn't join in during singing time.

He's always been "too cool" to sing.

I was praising him about how proud I was, and he said

"It was easy mom, I just taped the song in my head!"

I assume he meant he taped it like we tape shows on tv.

He mentally recorded it for later. Ha ha ha! :)

O is for Organization

2012-01-20T12:28:00.001-07:00

While we were busy with ocean week, I was busy organizing too.

Actually, I've been doing it since the beginning of the year.

After we take our plethora of Christmas decorations down, it always feels good to deep clean and declutter.

We absolutely love our house.

But it has almost no storage space. If we had a crawl space or something we wouldn't feel so cramped.

But we don't have one, so instead we declutter and dejunk.

We made 3 trips to the DI and have gotten rid of a lot of things we don't really use.

It feels so good!

I reorganized the kids craft bin into closet door organizers (dollar store find!)

Before:

After:

Not only was it a major space saver,
it gets rid of the head ache of digging through a heavy bin to find our supplies.

I separated the paper in to cereal boxes covered in wrapping paper.

We are much more likely to do art projects when we can easily find our supplies!

That inspired me to redo my craft space in our unfinished basement.
(It also served as the catch all for miscellaneous items)

The embarrassing before picture, sans table

Notice the tupperware drawers falling apart? That's because of the heavy paper)

I stored my paper in a tupperware drawer set, but it was so heavy that getting it out was a pain in the neck.

I found this cute filing folder at Michael's on clearance, and it's perfect.

I organized my papers by color. SO much better!

I hung some fabric and blankets (yes it's ghetto) to hide the ugly wall.

It might be ghetto, but at least it's prettier than what it was.

I used some ideas I found on pinterest to organize my other supplies.

I covered old hot chocolate cans for my scissors and sharpies.

And I made this ribbon basket with supplies from the dollar store.

I love my craft space now and have already been using it more, preparing for my boys' upcoming birthdays.

Ocean Week - Sand Dollars

2012-01-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Did you know:
The sand dollar is like the starfish. It has very small feet that help it move and hide in the sand.
It has a mouth in the middle of its body
It eats particles of little pieces of ocean plants and ocean animals.
The sand dollar has five pores arranged in a petal pattern.

Since I have two sand dollars that Larry brought me from Santa Barbara, we had a short lesson on them.

The kids examined them with their magnifying glasses,

then they colored a picture of one.

Don't you love Caleb's safety goggles? Those sand dollars can be pretty dangerous after all! :)

We dyed some salt yellow and blue,

and glued it on the pictures for some texture.

I didn't have time to do a special snack today, but as luck would have it, when the kids were playing tag with daddy after dinner, we got doorbell ditched and found these adorable cupcakes on our porch!

The note said "Happy Fish Week!" From my cute sister.
Thanks Rachelle! Those were perfect, and delicious!

Ocean Week - Octopus

2012-01-19T07:36:00.004-07:00

Today we learned about the octopus.

We watched some National Geographic movies showing all the different types of octopus(es?) (octopi?)

Anyway, I even learned a few things about them myself. Like, did you know they have a sort of built in jet pack that they use to quickly propel themselves away from danger?

We made our own octopus out of paper plates and streamers, giving the kids a chance to practice counting, adding and subtracting.

Then for lunch, we had a hot dog octopus!

Ocean Week - Fish!

2012-01-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Today the kids colored an ocean of fish, and used the water colors to paint the ocean over them.

They thought it was magic when the paint went just over the crayon, so you could still see their coloring.

We watched a couple National Geographic videos on fish. Found here.
We went to this site to practice counting fish.
We watched Finding Nemo.
For our special snack, we went fishing!

Using pretzel sticks for the poles, we dipped it into peanut butter and then fished for goldfish,
swedish fish, and gummy sharks.

They especially loved the snack part. I know this, because it was the first thing they told their dad about when he came home from work. :)

Ocean Week

2012-01-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Now that the craziness of the holidays are over, time to get back to our lessons!

The kids are much happier and pleasant when we spend an hour or so on a lesson and art project.

Which overall, makes fora happier mom. :)

This week we are focusing on the letter O.

O is for Ocean.

There are so many awesome resources out there that helped me with the lessons this week.

We first watched this movie on YouTube (we watched it 4 times because my kids were so entertained by it)

Then we made our own oceans in a bottle.

You need plastic water bottles, blue food coloring, glitter, oil and something for sea shells.

Fill the water bottle 2/3 of the way full. Tint it blue and let the kids shake it up. They loved that part!

Then add a little vegetable oil on top, this represents the waves, and no matter how they move the bottle, it always floats to the top.

We used glitter to represent sand, and dried peas for sea shells. (Real shells would have been better though)

The final touch was what my kids call "magic."

Those sponges that come in pods, that you put in water and they expand.

I found some sea animal ones at the dollar store, so we added one to each for a sea creature. I made sure to duct tape the lids so I didn't end up with blue tinted carpet.

The kids have loved shaking up their oceans, making waves,

tipping it from side to side examining the contents.

We colored an O s for Ocean picture (here) and done! Easy peasy. :)

Grandma B

2012-01-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

Today is my grandma's birthday.

I love my mom's mom, aka Grandma B.

She's my tap dancing, giggly, sweet grandma.

She lives about an hour away, so we don't see her and her husband Arlen as much as we would like to.

But we did get to have a dinner with them on Saturday night, and finally exchange Christmas gifts.

The kids loved playing at her house and being silly with her.

Caleb showed her all his videos he has taken with the camera he got for Christmas.

I've always been pretty close to my Grandma B.

When I was little she used to pick me up from preschool, take me to her house and we would eat cottage cheese, and I would color while she watched General Hospital. :)

Most of my childhood memories on New Years Eve are with her.

She used to have us sleep over at her house and we would spend all night cutting confetti while we watched Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve.

We would pop popcorn, and have strawberries and whipping cream.

At midnight we would run around banging pans, throwing confetti and making an absolute mess.

I'm so thankful for my grandma. She and her husband just got called to serve as missionaries at the conference center. This is her third mission. She served 5 years as an ordinance worker at the Jordan Temple, and 3 years at the cannery. Now she will do 3 more at the conference center.

I hope I am as spry and lively as she is when I am her age. Happy birthday Gramdma! I love you!

Primary

2012-01-12T12:54:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that this boy, my first baby, joined primary at church this year.

He went from being my sweet, bright eyed baby, to a curious energetic toddler in nursery,

to my grown up Sunbeam boy!

I will never forget leading the children in their singing time,

when the kids from nursery come walking into the primary room.

Some kids were laughing, others had no idea what was going on.

But Caleb did. He walked in with a huge shining smile on his face, reverently folding his arms.

(Why can't he be that good at home during family prayer? :) )

The kids took their seats on the front row, excited and ready to join the big kids in primary.

I was up there leading the rest of the singing children, who probably thought I was crazy because I was trying to keep myself from bawling.

When the little ones joined us, everyone stood up and sang Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam.

Caleb enthusiastically raised his arms above his head on the word "sunbeam."

That moment will be forever engraved in my memory.

He's growing up so fast.

It's been 2 weeks now that Caleb has been a big bad sunbeam.

He loves it. He goes to class with his Book of Mormon in hand, and barely gives me a second look.

When he comes into primary for singing time, he always gives me that huge smile of his.

I am so proud of my ~~little~~ grown up Caleb.

Post Edit:

Carolanne said...

Will has the same purple suit, but not the same attitude about Primary. I teach the CTR 4 class, so I sit right behind him and he won't sit with his class for sharing time. I don't know what goes on during his class time, but he almost always comes out only partially dresses and his teachers look exhausted. What's your secret?

January 13, 2012 2:42 PM

Brittany said...

I think it helped that they nursery leaders brought them in for singing time for a few weeks before they were in primary full time. We also talked with him before about how special and important primary is. I think he just felt cool to be with the big kids. Although, I must add, that he's definitely not an angel! I don't see what goes on during class time, and he was awfully wiggly during sharing time last week. I even caught him sticking his tongue out to a girl in his class. I should probably add that to the blog post! :)

Snow Day!!!

2012-01-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Finally, we got a real snow day! In January!
We were in Disneyland the last time it snowed enough to play in.

So this morning, I woke up just as Caleb exclaimed "It snowed!" In the most excited voice.

After wrestling the two of them into their snow gear, and breaking a sweat, out we went.

They were both so excited to make their footprints in the fresh, sparkly snow.

Caleb dragged his sled around making trails of all shapes.

While Ashlyn insisted on dusting the snow off their little playground.

We built a little snowman.

Caleb made his first snow angel,

and enjoyed tasting the snow. It grossed me out, but really, I did it as a kid, and I turned out just fine! :)

We stayed out there a long time. Their little cheeks were rosy, and their fingers frozen.

But no one complained.

In fact, Caleb loved it so much, he stayed out longer than the rest of us, and gave a little pout when we finally made him come inside.

New Year's Interview

2012-01-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

We're starting a New Year's tradition this year.

Interviews with each family member.

We asked Caleb:

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Movie: Mater's Tall Tales

Favorite Food: Apples

Favorite Toy: Bouncy Ball (probably because that's what he was playing with when we asked him)

Best Friend: Ms. Trudi

Favorite Thing from 2011: Primary

We asked Ashlyn:

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Movie: Toy Story 3

Favorite Food: Spagetti and ice cream (hopefully not together)

Favorite Toy: Bunny

Best Friend: Caleb

Favorite Thing From 2011: "The Disneyland"

Bryan's Q&A::

Favorite New Movie Of The Year: Sherlock Holmes 2

Favorite Food: Britt's Pasta Salad

Favorite Gadget: Ipad 2

Hobby Of the Year: Rubicks Cube and Yard Makeover

Most Memorable Event of 2011: Disneyland

3 Words To Describe 2011:

transition

yardwork

happy

3 Things I Hope for in 2012:

Mitt Romney for President

Finish the Piano

Lose Weight

Brittany's Q & A:

Favorite New Movie Of The year: Did we go to any movies?

Favorite Food: Frosted Rock's amaretto ice cream with cookie dough mixed in

Favorite Gadget: The camera of course.

Hobby of the Year: Blogging

3 Words to describe 2011:

exciting

eventful

memorable

3 Things I Hope For in 2012:

All the projects on the to do list finished

Parents cancer free

Mitt for President

It will be interesting to see what everyone's answers will be at this time next year. :)

Just What I Needed...

2012-01-04T15:55:00.002-07:00

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother... Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." Elder M. Russell Ballard---think I will read this every morning and night

Welcome 2012

2012-01-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

We welcomed 2012 at 7:30 pm.

(So the kids could go to bed by 8)

We partied at G & G Szymanski's house, where Ashlyn helped bake pumpkin bread

and these two got engaged (so excited for them!)

The children each decorated their own party hat

and had fun blowing their horns loudly,

and throwing confetti.

They danced around in the confetti for a while, then straight to bed!

Our first few days of the year have been spent deep cleaning and de-cluttering the house.

It's my favorite thing to do in the new year.

Take Christmas down, and bid farewell to clutter.

I've got a few more organizing and home decorating projects (thank you pinterest)

I hope to finish in the next few weeks too.

Here's to starting the year out happy and healthy!

Bring it on 2012!

2011 In Review

2011-12-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem that long ago I was recapping our 2010 year, and making plans for 2011.

Now here we are again, at the close of another eventful year. Wow!

Highlights:

Disneyland!

Caleb is potty trained

Built our patio and deck

Laundry room finished

New car!

Patrick and Scott come home from their missions

Ashlyn talking in full sentences, keeping up with Caleb

Caleb starting preschool

Mom finished her last cancer treatment

Bryan's wonderful new job

2 new nephews

Ashlyn gets her big girl bed

Being in the Hello Dolly play

Hiking Timpanogos

Celebrating 5 years of marriage

Putting the finishing touches on the house

Lowlights:

Finding out dad still has cancer

Britt's wisdom teeth fiasco

Ashlyn's car sick road trip

Insurance woes

Bryan getting laid off (which eventually turned into a highlight. But it was still scary)

Overall, we have been incredibly blessed this year

We accomplished most of the things on our to do list. (Only a few got overlooked, not too bad!)

Goodbye 2011!

Looking forward to what 2012 will bring for our family!

Christmas with G & G Christensen

2011-12-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

I know people in blogland are tired of the obligatory Christmas posts.

Seeing the same things, trees, presents, and smiles. :)

Here's our finale.

We had a Christmas morning with Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, they day after Christmas.

The kids opened more (way too many mom!) gifts, that they love love love!

My mom got them both a bunch of new outfits, which we desperately needed, that are adorable! (thanks mom!)Ashlyn got a purse full of all the princesses, that she has been toting around with her everywhere, and a Minnie dollhouse with accessories.

Caleb got a dragon dungeon castle thing, something I totally didn't understand.

Daddy showed him how to play with it, and he loves it!

We had the traditional crepe brunch, and went home for naps, to recover from all the fun!

The only family picture we managed to get throughout all the festivities. And by now, we all looked beat.

Szymanski Family Christmas

2011-12-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last year, Christmas with Bryan's family was super quiet, with only Rachel and Aaron at home.

This year? There were 3 grandmas, one grandpa, 1 dad, 1 mom, 4 uncles, 1 aunt,2 kids,

2 fiancees and 1 girlfriend.

Did you get all that?

It was chaos. Total and complete chaos.

But the children got lots more great gifts from their grandparents. Including some great books, snuggly hats and mittens, and some chimes. Which the kids LOVE, the parents, not so much. They are L.O.U.D.

I didn't take many pictures, because it was so hectic.

We did manage to sneak away with just the two of us and our kids to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus,

give thanks, and remember Him. That was lovely.

Ashlyn and grandpa napping after dinner, evidence of the insanity.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning was wonderful at our house.

I loved seeing the kids faces light up as they came down the stairs and saw what awaited them.

Opening presents wax delightful this year. The kids were excited, and they both understood what was going on.

They loved everything they got, which made for a happy mom and dad.

They both got construction tools and doctor tools. Ashy had fun giving dad a check up.

Stockings too?!? More presents? And candy?!?

After all was said and done, the kids and their loot Christmas morning.

(2 down, only 2 more Christmases to go.)

The kids got decked in their Sunday best, and we went off to church.
I loved having Christmas on a Sunday this year.

It was so nice to be able to go to church and listen to the messages of the Savior.
It also made it easier for the kids to understand why we celebrate this special day.

The perfect way to honor Christ on His birthday.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T23:07:00.007-07:00

Christmas Eve was spent at Rachelle's new house with my dad, Ira, and Bella.

Rachelle made her first turkey dinner, and it turned out fabulous!

We exchanged gifts, and the kids had a ball!

Ashlyn's favorite gift of the day: her princess laptop.

Caleb's favorite gift of the day: his camera and tractor.

When we got home that evening, Jingle had delivered some reindeer food

for the kids to sprinkle on the lawn for Santa's reindeer.

We watched a movie about the Savior's birth, Caleb set out cookies and milk for Santa,

and quickly went to bed, because we all know Santa doesn't come until everyone is asleep! :)

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-23T15:18:00.001-07:00

We finally got around to the annual Szymanski gingerbread house tradition.

I was surprised that Bryan's mom made enough houses for everyone to do some.

The family has grown a lot with the missionaries coming home, and getting girlfriends right away.

Caleb was thrilled to be decorating his house,

using a particular method...candy for him...candy for the house.

Ashlyn did her own as well, telling me where she wanted the frosting,

and then gluing the colorful candies onto her creation.

Both kids were proud of their finished products, and their gingerbread houses are now adorning their dressers where they can admire them while falling asleep.

They also give their bedrooms the slight smell of gingerbread. Yummy.

Bryan crafted a graham cracker teepee this year, and actually finished this year!

Here is mine:

Bryan's Work Party

2011-12-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

I love that Bryan's work does several activities throughout the year that they invite families to.

The kids were able to make their own ornaments,

eat some goodies, and pay a visit to the big S.C.

This Santa was so friendly and jolly,

the kids were a little shy at first, but by the end of their visit, they were laughing and giggling at him.

A Babe In A Manger

2011-12-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

We've been trying really hard to keep Christ in Christmas this year.

It's hard with kids as little as our are.

They are just getting the whole Santa, presents, celebration thing.

We've been reading books about the Savior's birth,

watching special movies about the special day,

doing nativity advent calendars, I can't think of how else to do it.

I think they at least understand that Christmas is Jesus' birthday,

and that is why we celebrate.

One of my favorite things of the Christmas season is when the kids get to

place baby Jesus in the manger that Larry built.

We always watch the movie just before we do it, that shows Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem,

and the baby being born in the manger, and wrapped in swaddling clothes.

They genuinely get excited about it, and they are so tender and gentle with the little babe

as they lay him in his bed.

On a totally unrelated note, my mom gave the kids each a garbage can for their rooms.

Well...

currently this is how they are being used.

They either wear them on their heads, or use them for drums.

Have you ever been woken up in the morning to kids banging in a tin can?

It scared me half to death!

Christmas Jammies

2011-12-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

When we were younger, my great grandma Swallow would give us pajamas for Christmas.

We always knew to open her gift on Christmas Eve so we would have new jammies Christmas morning.

When she passed away, my mom continued the tradition.

On the tag, it even says from Grandma Swallow.

When you try to take pictures of 3 kids under 3, well, this is what you get...

This is the best one we got, even though it has Rachelle's hand in it to keep Dallin from diving off the couch.

Here are some others of the kids in more cute jammies from Grandma Ginger.

Temple Square

2011-12-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday night we made our traditional trek to Salt Lake to see the lights at temple square.

We rode the frontrunner, aka, Caleb's mountain train.

We picked the busiest day of the year to go there.

There was no sitting room on the train, no tables at any restaurants. It was a little chaotic.

But the lights are always so pretty, and it was still a good time!

Rudolph

2011-12-16T12:52:00.001-07:00

My kids love the classic claymation Rudolph movie,

and this morning I read them a special book of mine from when I was a little girl.

It's a story my mom had made for me that talked about me and my cousin going to the North Pole to help Rudolph find Santa's missing list.

I was finally feeling a little better and wanted to make reindeer hats with the kids.

It was easy peasy. We used a paper grocery bag for the band,

puffs for the eyes and nose, and their hands for the antlers.

When we were making the hats, Caleb suggested we make one for our elf Jingle too.

So we did. And when the kids woke up from their naps, jingle was wearing the hat they had made for him.

The kids proceeded to get as close to him as they could,

without touching him of course.

I saw Caleb whispering something to the little elf, and took a picture.

He caught me!

The Elf On Our Shelf

2011-12-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

The North Pole sent a special delivery to the Szymanski house this week.

Our very own Elf on the Shelf!

The kids were so excited to open the book and see the little guy sitting on his shelf in the box.

Caleb even got out his magnifying glass to examine him.

It took a while for the magical creature to obtain a name.

The name finally chosen, was Jingle.

He's been appearing in random places.

Each morning the kids race to see what mischief he has gotten into.

Caleb and Ashlyn understand that if they touch him, he will lose his Christmas magic,
and are always very careful about how close they get to him.

Today he dangled himself from the table chandelier, so he could make sure they were eating their dinner, and having good table manners.

Every day when they go down for naps they make sure to say goodnight to Jingle.
I quite like having Santa's little helper around, the kids are much more aware of their behavior when they know Mr. Jingle is watching. :)
Plus, to see their eyes light up each day when they see where the silly elf is sitting,
creates such magic in our home.

Out Of Comission

2011-12-14T11:37:00.001-07:00

Boy oh boy, I miss feeling like myself!

After having 5 of my teeth extracted last Thursday, I was feeling pretty good.

Until Sunday.

The pain became so excruciating, it was ringing in my ears and making me dizzy.

I was not able to open my jaw wide enough to fit my toothbrush in.

I finally went back in to find out I have a dry socket. They out some meds in that burned like the Dickens, and I felt some relief for a few hours. Then the pain came back.

I was sick of being so tired and loopy from pain meds. Not even percocet was helping.

I'm bummed to be missing out on my favorite month of festivities.

I had big plans for December. Sad to say things don't always go as planned.

I missed our relief society progressive dinner tonight. The one I'd started planning and saving our budget for all year. Bummer.

I missed the weekly Sunday night drive with the fam to look at Christmas lights.

I miss laying on thr floor and playing with my kids. I miss combing Ashlyn's long wet hair after her bath.

And I miss reading the kids bedrime stories by the Christmas tree.

At least the pain is only temporary. How thankful I am for good health.

Hopefully soon I'll be feeling better, so I can make up for lost time.

I've got a lot of Christmassing to do!

Santa Through the Ages

2011-12-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Every year we take the kids to the same mall, to see the same Mr. Claus.

The first year we took Caleb, I was disappointed because Santa seemed a tad grumpy.

The next year when we took both the kids, I was disappointed to see the same slightly ornery man in red.

Last year, we found him mildly happier.

I was hoping for the same Santa this year, grumpiness and all. It's tradition!

As luck would have it, he is still there!

We found ourselves at Santa's newly refurbished house, waiting to talk to the white bearded man.

Caleb was so excited, he could barely stand it. Ashlyn had some reservations.

We found a much jollier Santa this year. It was the same man, but he was actually pleasant.

Maybe because it was earlier in the season, or because of his new cottage, I don't know, but he was happy.

He stood to greet the children, and asked them what they wanted.

Ashlyn didn't say much to him. She took the coloring book he gave her, and thumbed through the pages.

Caleb proceeded to ask for a helicopter and a camera.

Then it was cousin Dallin's turn to sit on the big man's lap.

At first he just looked up at the man, with wonder.

But after a few seconds, he realized he was not with his momma, and started screaming and arching his back.

Grandma Ginger and Grandpa Larry took everyone to the food court for some gigantic ice cream cones after,

that seemed to make him happier.

Santa and ice cream? Pretty good day!

All Is Quiet

2011-12-11T16:58:00.001-07:00

I am laying in bed with a bag of frozen peas on each cheek.
I have been drifting in and out of sleep all day.
All four of my wisdom teeth are gone, plus one of my back molars.
I am a little sore, but it was not as bad as i expected it to be.
Probably because i have had awesome people taking care of me.
My dear friends brought in dinner for my family two nights,
my mom spent the evening writing down my pain meds schedule and making sure everytng i needed was at my bedside.
My sweetie bought me a beautiful bouquet of christmas flowers that i am admiring while in bed.

And my mom has the kids today so i can rest.
I am greatful to have a quiet house to aid in a quick recovery, but i am missing the kids.
So thankful to everyone who has helped us out, and have been sending cards and well wishes.
At this rate i should be back up and going by monday!

A Sweet Moment

2011-12-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

The children are getting to the age now where they love playing pretend.

I love seeing all the fun and cure things they come up with.

The other day I was folding laundry, listening to them laugh and giggle upstairs.

Suddenly, it got quiet. Too quiet.

I went up to find Caleb's bedroom door shut.

I went in and they were sitting on Caleb's bed and he was reading her his favorite book,

The Giving Tree,

(He has it memorized word for word) and Ashlyn was contently listening.

Caleb looked up and said "Mom, could you shut the door? We're reading a story and then having nap time."

It was only about 9:30 in the morning, and they were playing nap time together. It was so cute!

I totally know now why Heavenly Father sent Ashlyn to our family so soon after Caleb arrived.

I think they would have missed each other too much if they were apart for much longer.

Besides, Caleb has a tinge of a rebellious streak to him, and I think Ashlyn was sent to keep and eye on her older brother, and he will forever be her protector.

Their daily dose of ring around the rosies

Frosty The Snowman

2011-12-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

Frosty the Snowman is Ashlyn's favorite Christmas movie, hands down.

I was hoping for some real snow this December so we could go out and make her

her very own Frosty the snowman.

(Still crossing my fingers for snow for Christmas)

So instead, we had to settle on making some for our art project today.

Then of course, a fun way to clean up. Water and sponge paintbrushes. The kids "paint" the table and Caleb wipes it dry with a clean towel. They love it.

the final projects now add some Christmas flair to the fridge.

Don't you love Ashlyn's personal touch with the princess stickers? :)

Christmastime At Our House Looks Like This...

2011-12-08T14:20:00.005-07:00

Christmas decorations,

Christmas-y kitchen

I especially heart the snowman soap dispenser my husband got me, it smells like white chocolate peppermint.

Christmas fingernails,

Snowman central

Someone told me that my house looks like Christmas threw up all over it.

Do you know what I say to them? BAH HUMBUG!!!

So I'm festive. So what?

Yes, we probably have more decorations than the average family, but each one means something to us.

Not only that, but I love the feeling of our house being festive.

We have our pine tree wax burning in the scentsy, we have many many strings of lights strung in every room, we have snow globes and nativities in every room, we have tinsel and garland draped over the railings, and I love it.

I want our kids to a love holidays. I want to create that warm traditional, homey feeling.

Call me old fashioned in my ways, call me a Christmas nut, I don't care.

My family loves Christmas, and we love the way our home is right now, and that's what matters.

Getting My Wisdom Taken

2011-12-07T14:07:00.001-07:00

After years of procrastinating, it couldn't be put off any longer.

They are taking my wisdom teeth from me tomorrow.

Great timing, right in the middle of our Christmas fun!

But it has to be done. Right away.

I am just ready to have it done out of the way.

Hopefully I can recover quickly, so I can join back in the festivities soon after.

Although I may have to forgo eating caramel popcorn.

Cest la vie.

I am giving myself a special peppermint foot scrub and manicure today, so when I'm laid up and swollen, at least my hands and feet will be pretty! (I might also have to pamper Bryan tonight with the foot scrub, so he'll take care of things when I'm out of it.)

Thanks to my good friend Shelise who brought me some food to eat after the procedure.

And to my other friend Maile, who brought me some fresh pineapple to eat tonight. Lots of people on facebook told me if you eat fresh pineapple the night before, it keeps the swelling down. Hope it works!

We'll see tomorrow I guess!

That's The Way Things Happen on the Polar Express!

2011-12-06T04:41:00.004-07:00

The theme for our ward Christmas party this year was The Polar Express.

Guess who they put in charge of decorations?

The Elder's Quorum! Laughable, right?

After 3 weeks of announcing and practically begging Elders to show up with some decorations, one person showed up. But that person, brought an awesome Polar Express train to set up.

It was the biggest hit of the party. Especially for the kids.

I have to admit, it turned out really nice.

There were tiny Christmas trees surround the gym, and there was a cozy living room scene where

The Polar Express was read, and they showed clips from the movie on a projector.

Ashlyn ad her friend Elise headed to the front of the gym to dance.

I had fears of having an empty gym, and a frustrated husband the morning of the party.

But thanks to help from a few other people it was a success!

Plus, each child got their own jingle bell to take home.

My children's bells have been ringing non stop ever since. :)

The Stockings Were Hung

2011-12-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

These stockings hold the most sentimental value of all our Christmas decor.

Bryan's mom made his (the backwards one) for him when he was little.

My mom needle pointed mine for me when I was 3 years old and I wanted to keep the tradition for my kids.

Caleb got his stocking last year,

and I finally finished Ashlyn's this year.

When I bought it, I wasn't in love with it, because I didn't think it was girly enough.

So I changed some of the thread colors, and added some beads to give it some sparkle, and it's perfect!

Thanks to my mom for helping the with the dreaded french knots,
and adding the back, to me, that's the hardest part!
Ashlyn seems quite fond of her stocking.

She reads the letters on each stocking every morning when she comes down stairs,

and she knows exactly which one is hers, and she always stands there a little longer, smiling.
It makes me happy.

The Magic of Lights

2011-12-04T07:23:00.001-07:00

To end our stressful week, we bundled up and drove to one of our favorite spots at Christmas time.

The Roy City lights.

No one is ever there when we go, so the kids can run free exploring the sparkling goodness.

A friendly snowman stands atop the fire station waving a warm hello as you park.

Silly Bry Guy joining in with the carolers. :)

Caleb's favorite thing was the red, white and blue spruce tree.

"It's the colors of the flag mom, because we live in America!" he shouted as he ran to stand directly underneath the giant tree.

Ashlyn was fond of Santa's reindeer pulling his sleigh.

Even though it's difficult to see int his picture, she was leaning in to give it a kiss.

The kids driving Santa's sleigh

And my personal favorite, the candy cane lined path of glittering trees.

A magical wonderland. As we were there, it started to softly snow.

The perfect end to a stressful week. It was peaceful, happy, and lifted our spirits.

Christmas Cookie

2011-12-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a not so very good day.

A crazy wind storm blew through northern Utah, causing damage just about everywhere you look.

Bryan got up extra early to take our new car to get registered in Farmington.

Smack dab in the middle of the storm.

He got there only to find out that we couldn't register it until some other paper work went through.

On his way home, the car got hit with flying debris and caused some scratched and nicks in the windshield.

I am thankful that nothing worse happened. So many people had trees fall on their houses and cars,

thousands were without power, and left to pick up the pieces from the hurricane winds.

We were lucky in our area. Not too much damage other than some shingles lost, and trash littering the street.

We were stuck inside listening to the wind whistle around outside.

I spent the kids nap time on the phone with insurance places, trying to sort some things out.

That always gives me a headache.

However, the point of this post was not to complain and grumble.

It was to say that a batch of cookies fixes (almost) everything around here.

After being grumbly and confined indoors all day,

The recipe to fix the blues was this:

** 2 colorful aprons

** rolled sugar dough ( i have the best recipe, given to me by my college room mate.

It's super easy and only has 5 ingredients, so very quick to make when you're in a pinch.

** Christmas cookie cutters

**colored frosting

**Sprinkles of course

Eat the warm sweet goodness, and everything is better!

So Thankful

2011-12-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

I saw this video yesterday, posted by my friend whose husband is serving in Iraq.

She has 4 boys and a baby girl, who are all going to be without their dad for Christmas this year.

I hope we can all take a moment to pray for, and thank those who sacrifice so we can have what we do.

Dear Santa...

2011-12-02T04:21:00.000-07:00

The children were so very excited to make their Christmas lists for Santa this year.

I love how thoughtfully Caleb is sitting, concocting the perfect thing to say to Santa.

Here's Ashlyn's final list...

In case you can't see it, she asked for Rapunzel, a horsey, a wheel and a dolphin. :)

Caleb showing of his final list...

He asked for an ipad like daddy's (fat chance), a cell phone and a camera. Hmmm, we'll have to see what Mr. Claus thinks of that! :)

Deck The Halls!

2011-12-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

After Christmas last year we got the kids their own Christmas decorations for their rooms. They could hardly wait to deck their rooms with Christmas goodness.

With just a little help from mom and dad for the finishing touch,,,

their trees were just right.

The Christmas trees are the perfect size for their rooms, and they can put the ornaments on any way they like.
It saves a battle when we decorate the big trees, because they already did theirs just they way they wanted.

They're happy!

Dog Naps

2011-11-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

I've heard of cat naps, but my children mostly prefer dog naps.

When we were visiting my dad, both of the kids only wanted to take naps if they could lay by sweet Bella. They love this dog!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-28T16:42:00.001-07:00

Our Thanksgiving(s) were lovely. We celebrated with the Szymanski side on Thursday.

The weather was beautiful. It was just warm enough to go outside and get the wiggles out before dinner.

We had a nice dinner and then went and saw the new Muppet movie.

It was pretty cute, and it kept the kids entertained, so that's good.

We celebrated with my mom and sister on Saturday.

The table spread...

I was excited to give the kids some activities to keep them entertained so we could actually eat a WARM dinner this year. They loved sitting at the kids table this year.

Grandma Ginger gave the kids each a gift, more Little People Nativity pieces to complete their collections,

They love them!

I'm a little late in posting about all the things I have to be thankful for, but I would be totally ungrateful if I didn't do it. First, I am thankful for my wonderful family, near and far.

I'm thankful that my kids are happy and healthy.

I'm so thankful that Bryan got laid off this year, because now he has a job that he LOVES.

He is so much happier, and that makes me happy.

i'm thankful for the lessons we've learned this year, for the bounty we have had,

for medical technology that is allowing my parents to beat their cancer.

I'm thankful that my sister bought a house just a mile away from us.

I'm thankful we finished most of our projects around here.

I'm thankful for the place and time we live.

I'm thankful for great friends, and a free country to live in.

There is so much to be thankful for, I can't list them all,

but I am so very blessed, content and happy!

Last Day of Disneyland

2011-11-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Disneyland started out to dismally.

It was pouring rain (again) but there were still so many things we wanted to do.

Plus, there were people everywhere because they were filming the Disney Christmas parade, and all the concerts and shows that air on Christmas day.

It was madness!

Ashlyn just had to meet Tinkerbell, so we started out the day waiting in line to meet Tink and her friend Terrance at Pixie Hollow.

The kids didn't mind the rain too much, Caleb tried catching raindrops in his mouth while we waited.

After about 30 minutes (probably the longest thing we waited for) we got to meet Tink.

Ashy was so excited.

I think she would have stayed there all day if we let her. We got her to leave by telling her we were going on one of her favorite rides, Dumbo.

Unfortunately while we were waiting in line, Dumbo broke.

The kids were mad.

We were still pretty soaked, so we headed to meet the princesses in their dry, warm palace.

First, Tiana. We haven't seen The Princess and the Frog (gasp!) so they didn't really know who she was.

Thankfully, Ariel was next. Ashlyn ran right to her and gave her a hug.

Caleb, being the shy gentleman, went for a handshake instead.

Then they met Mulan.

By this time Ashyln was loving all the characters, so she was all about hugging them all.

We were on a roll with the characters, so we went to Toon Town to see if we could catch the ones we missed the day before.

We walked right in to Minnies house and met her,

And when we came out, Pluto was at the dog pound, so we got to meet him,

Then we saw Goofy. We chased him across Toon Town to get a quick pic with him,

Then we hopped on the train to Main Street to watch the piano player in the corner cafe.

When we got there, the Mad Hatter and Alice had just started a game of musical chairs.

When the game ended, we got some ice cream on main street.

We had been using our phones for clocks, and we had just missed the parade, so we sat on the curb and ate our ice cream, planning where to go next. Turns out, our phones were set on Utah daylight time, so we were just in time to have a front row seat for the parade. Earlier that day, while we were eating at Pinnochio's house, the server gave our kids the First Time Visitor pins to wear. I wish we had gotten those sooner in the trip, lots of characters in the parade stopped and talked to the kids because of their buttons.

Mr. Smee liked Caleb's striped sweater.

While watching the parade, the clouds cleared and the sun came out and warmed us right up.

We took the kids for a quick jaunt in Tomorrowland to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride and the rockets, and saw the Fairy godmother on our way there.

Monday we had to fly home. We took the kids to Downtown Disney and let them each choose one souvenier. Ashlyn chose this Minnie Mouse. Can you tell she's in love with it? :)

We stopped by California Adventure to ride the Ariel ride one more time, and say goodbye to Mickey.

It was a great trip. I'm so glad we went, we brought home lots of magic and memories. But we were also ready to come home.

The kids did great on their first plane ride.

There's no place like home!

Adventures In California Adventure

2011-11-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

We might be pros at Disneyland, but we are all pretty much rookies at California Adventure.

They had a huge part of the park blocked off and under construction for Cars land. We could see the scenery and the butte, looked just like the movie. I was disappointed that the kids didn't get a chance to see it. Guess we'll just have to go back again soon!

Luckily, they did get a chance to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater.

I love, love this picture of Caleb and Lightning. He was SO EXCITED.

They have some pretty cool things for the kiddos at CA adventure.

The biggest hit was the Little Mermaid ride.

The kids wanted to ride that over and over and over again.

By the last day, I think our ride count was 11.

Luckily, the line for that moves very quickly, so we were able to do it as many times as they liked.

I really liked it too, it had scenes from the movie, and you get to ride in an oyster shell.

Bugs Land, based around A Bugs Life movie, had the perfect sized rides for the kids.

They loved the ladybug ride,

the bumper cars

and the Heimlich caterpillar ride where he eats through everything.

We were able to meet a bunch of characters there, like Chip and Dale,

Mr. Incredible,

and Ashlyn's favorite, Sully from Monsters Inc.

Caleb wouldn't go near him, but Ashlyn loved to pet his fluffy fur.

When we went on the Monsters Inc ride,

this lady monster at the end (what's her name?)

was asking Caleb if he filed his paper work correctly,

he nodded and quickly dove behind his dad's arm. :)

For a while after that, he was cautious about who he was going to talk to.

Everyone (except me) wanted to go on the giant Mickey Mouse ferris wheel.

I offered to take my baby nephew and wait peacefully on the sidelines while the other went on the huge thing, but turns out, the baby could ride the ride. I had no excuses.

I am not a fan of ferris wheels. Not at all.

I think one of the reasons I fear them, besides the idea that only a few metal bolts are keeping me suspended in the air, is because my dad used to rock the ferris wheel cars when we were little, and he would pretend he was going to jump out. Not my idea of fun.

I gritted my teeth and figured if I closed my eyes, I could get through it.

But I didn't know that there were swinging cars!

I mean, rock you back and forth crazy swinging. The kids, even the baby were all having a grand ol' time, while i was closing my eyes freaking out. At one point I remember Ashlyn grabbing my hand and asking in her sweet little voice.

"You scared mommy?"

Good grief. That was not my proudest moment.

After that, we decided to take it easy and do a kiddie ride (for me, the big baby) and ride Toy Story Mania.

The kids loved listening to the Mr. Potato Head ushering everyone inside the cars.

We got to wear 3d glasses and shoot laser guns at targets.

The kids thought that was cool. So did their dad,

who may or may not be slightly competitive at beating everyone's scores. Right Bry? :)

The lines were so short that we were able to do all the rides we wanted to, and watch some shows.

We took the kids to the Disney Jr. show.

I was so glad we did! They were able to see all the characters from their favorite shows l

Like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,

and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

It was a neat show with lots of interaction for the kids. They especially loved it when bubbles floated down from the ceiling,

and when they were showered with foil gold du bloons,

which Caleb carefully gathered and put in his pocket for safe keeping.

We spent the rest of the evening wandering around,

enjoying the scenery,

riding a few rides,

and having a tasty treat.

Everyone was pretty tuckered out, but we really wanted to stay and watch the amazing water show,

World of Color. I have no idea how they did it.

They projected movies onto the water, and did an entire show. It was incredible!

Caleb is still telling people about it.

Ashlyn on the other hand, was so tired, she fell asleep during it.

By the time we walked back to our hotel that night, the kids looked like this.

We tucked the kids in bed, and went to hang out in the only spot in our hotel room where we could turn on the lights...the bathroom.

We chatted and enjoyed some edamame. :)

A Beautiful Heartbreak

2011-11-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this video yet?

If not, it is worth your time to watch it.

It is a beautiful message of seeing the positive, even when life gets hard.

It's also a good reminder to be kind, because we never know what battle others might be fighting.

But with the help of a loving Heavenly Father, we can look on the bright side, never give up and rise to the divinity that is in each one of us.

Sea World!

2011-11-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

I'd better get back to blogging out Cali trip, before Christmas hits, or it will never get done!

Our 3rd day in California we went to Sea World.

I had never been and I was so looking forward to it.

I knew the kids would be thrilled to see all of the shows and sea creatures.

Well....

there is good news and bad news about our day at Sea World.

The good news is, there was almost nobody there!

This was taken from the sky tower. Doesn't it look like the park is closed?

The bad news...it was pouring rain most of the day, and icy cold.

But we didn't come all this way to let a little rain stop us!

So we donned the ponchos and raincoats, and explored the park.

The first show we watched was the Shamu Story, the kids were enchanted with the whales.

We were able to get really close to the whales as they did their tricks.

We didn't care about being in the splash zone since we were all soaked anyway.

The kids were pretty good sports about the whole thing.

They were entertained enough, that they never complained once.

We explored the indoor aquariums to defrost a little bit.

We saw all sorts of neat fish and corals.

Check out those aerial artists! I was nervous just watching them do crazy flips and acrobatics.

Next came my favorite part of Sea World, the dolphin show.

I thought it was amazing!

Ashlyn absolutely LOVED the dolphins.

Right at the climax of the finale, the music was building, and for a brief moment the clouds opened up,

and let the sun shine down on us.

It was dry enough I dared to get the camera out and take a few pictures.

The only thing I was disappointed with was that they because of the rain, they didn't have any of the characters walking around. The kids would have loved for a chance to meet Elmo or Abby Cadabby.
But they did have a few cute Sesame Street rides and a play land that the kids enjoyed.

I had to laugh at this seagull who looked like he was ruling the penguins.

This cute polar bear, that I just wanted to cuddle!

The smiling white whales.

The last thing we did was go through the underwater tunnel. It was cool seeing all varieties of fish and sharks swimming right over our heads.

By the end of the day we were ready to get back and into some dry, warm clothes!

Everything Is As It Should Be

2011-11-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, our chaotic life slows down, and we have a night with nothing to do.

I love those nights.

Today we had one of those magical, perfect and peaceful nights.

We had just finished putting up our Christmas decorations (4 trees this year, we're a little crazy!)

and our house felt so cozy.

We had warm chocolate chip cookies in our tummies, and it was starting to softly snow outside.

(My first snowfall of the season, since we were in California earlier this month.)

We turned off all the lights, and sat in the family room with the warm glow of our Christmas tree and Christmas village lighting the room.

Caleb was snuggled on the couch with his bear and Cars blanket, and Ashlyn held her bunny tightly as her dad nestled her on his lap.

We turned on The Charlie Brown Christmas movie.

A Christmas classic for us. Bryan and I both love that movie.

Bryan loves it for the jazzy music, and I love it because it reminds me of my childhood listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas record, while following along in the book.

I looked around and realized how blessed we are.

Blessed to have a warm house, that we have worked to make into our home,

blessed that Bryan has a job that he loves, that allows me to stay home and raise our children,

blessed that everyone is healthy and happy.

At that moment I realized, everything is how it should be.

This is what life is about, sharing little moments that will soon be only memories,

that hopefully will transform into traditions for our children.

And realizing that we would all rather be here than anyplace else. Even Disneyland.

Everything is as it should be.

First Dentist Visit

2011-11-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit of a slacker, waiting to take my kiddies to the dentist until we got dental insurance.

Their first visit went great!

We took them to a pediatric dentist, so there were lots of fun things for them to look at,

and they didn't seem too nervous.

They played video games while sitting on these cute teeth chairs.

They got x-rays of their teeth,

Caleb looks a little nervous in this picture.

Then they got their teeth flossed and cleaned.

They liked that part.

Although Ashlyn was unsure of the reclining chair at first.

Ashlyn's teeth are looking good, no cavities!

Caleb, on the other hand is a different story.

The dentist said he has deep rooted teeth, so they are more prone to decay and cavities.

So he has 2 major cavities that they are going to have to fix, and then they are going to put sealants on all his teeth to prevent more from occurring.

He is scheduled for this next Monday, and I am dreading it.

They are going to sedate him, and they said he'll be really out of it for a day.

I'm sure he's in good hands, and the drugs they use to sedate him for the procedure have something in them that causes amnesia, so hopefully he won't remember this, and he will still like going to the dentist.

Tasty's Fieldtrip

2011-11-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

I knew Caleb would be excited that his preschool class was taking a field trip to the "doughnut factory."

He would be content watching the doughnuts go through their assembly line at Krispy Kreme all day long.

This time we went to Tasty's where they make everything by hand.

It was pretty neat seeing how they make the doughnuts.

The best part was, the kids got to try just about everything!

They even got to cut out their own doughnuts.

Then they got to watch through the window as the doughnuts were fried, and then they got to taste their warm, gooey and incredibly messy creations.

Thanksgiving Packet

2011-11-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Teaching Thanksgiving to toddlers is tricky.

They understand the being thankful part ad eating turkey,

but helping them understand the origin is the hard part.

We watched Charlie Brown Thanksgving

and it has a short movie on the pilgrims voyage on the Mayflower.

I was actually surprised that it went into quite a lot of detail about settling in America.

That helped a bit. and my sister aka former school teacher, had a great book on Thanksgiving that we read.

I found a preschool packet online that has activity pages for Thanksgiving.

The kids enjoyed learning about it, and of course doing the fun activities.

We have one more special Thanksgiving activity planned, and then on to Christmas!

Tonight, Tonight

2011-11-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from blogging the vacation. A little burned out right now.

But I caught a clip of the kids singing and dancing to one of their favorite songs.

I think it's hilarious.

Let me know what you think of Caleb's signature dance move, hands over eyes and head bobbing. :)

First Night In Her Big Girl Bed!

2011-11-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

We just snuggled Ashlyn to bed in her big girl bed!

The bed and bedding used to be mine, I'm glad we can reuse things around here and no one complains. :)

For the first time in 4 years, we don't have a crib set up in our house.

My babies aren't really babies anymore.

Not at all.

It's hard for me to believe we've already reached this stage with Ashy.

It seems like just a blink ago we were pacing the floor with her late at night,

swaddling and re-swaddling her just trying to get her to sleep.

And now she is in her very own big girl bed.

When we knelt down to say prayers, she crawled under the bed to explore.

She's never been able to do that before. :) Silly girl.

She loves the bed and is so happy. So am I.

Happy, but still wondering how she got to be so big so fast.

She's all tucked in with her bunny and her Minnie Mouse.

Now all she has to do is get through the night without falling out of the bed. :)

Universal Studios Date

2011-11-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last year when Bryan worked at that vacation company (which shall not be named) he won 2 free tickets to Universal Studios. Which was one of the main reasons we did the California vacation rather than Hawaii.

On the second day of our Cali trip we left the kiddos with Bryan's fam and headed to Universal.

Bryan had never been, and he was super excited.

Bryan and Beetlejuice!

Back to the Future is the Szymanski brother's favorite movie. I was sad that the set burned down before Bryan got a chance to see it. But they did have Doc Brown's Chicken Restaurant!

Another Szymanski favorite...The Simpsons!

We went on this awesome virtual roller coaster with Homer and Marge.

It was unlike anything I've ever seen before.

We went on the studio tour, and we saw several sets and sound stages. Including the one for Wicked!

We saw a commercial being filmed,

these crazy special effects cars from Fast & Furious,

a flash flood,

and I almost peed my pants when Jaws came shooting out of the water at me!

Whoville for my Seuss friends!

and a set from War of the Worlds.

Then this creepy Frankenstein guy tried to kiss me, while Bryan just laughed.

The Mummy roller coaster was pretty cool too!

We had a conversation with Donkey. At first we thought it was just a recording, but we went over and started talking to him, he asked us our names.. I have no idea how they did it, but it was pretty neat!

A quick pic with Shrek before we watched his 3d movie,

Apparently, we chose the right day to go. The park was practically empty. We were able to walk onto every ride without waiting at all. We did the entire park in about 4 hours, and were able to get back to spend more time with the kids at Disneyland.

Disneyland!!!!!!

2011-11-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

I expected the children to be up at the crack of dawn ready for the big day of Disney fun, but I didn't expect to be so excited, that I would wake up at 6:30! :)

All the kids wore the matching shirts I made for them.

But it was nearly impossible to line them up in numerical order.

When Patrick saw the shirts I made the kids, he said he wanted one too,

so us 3 dorky grown ups sported shirts too.

It was funny, all of these Asian people kept coming up and asking us where they could buy those shirts. Hmm, maybe I found a business idea? :)

It took a while to get the whole group out the door, but we finally made it to the magical world of Disneyland!

The first thing we did was hop on the train to Fantasyland.

Who's ready for the train ride? ME!!!!

We took the kids on the tea cups to start with.

Then we headed to the Alice in Wonderland ride, because there was no line! But just as we were about to enter the door to Wonderland,

The ride broke down. We sat in our caterpillar for 10 minutes waiting for a technician to come let us out.

Camille was patient, but judging by the look on Ashlyn's face, she was annoyed. :)

We made it up to her by going on the favorite Disneyland ride...Dumbo!

Next we ventured into Toon Town.

They all piled into Goofy's car at the gas station, and drove to Mickey's house.

The kids loved going through all the houses, playing with the oversized gadgets.

We walked through Mickey's house and out to his barn to visit him.

Ashlyn was a little shy of Mickey at first.

We goofed off a little more in Toon Town,

then the little kids went back to the hotel for a nap,

and we took Caleb to Frontier Land to ride some bigger rides.

We saw Jessie from Toy Story, and I thought he would be excited to take his picture with her, but instead he shyed away behind Grandpa. We took a picture anyway. :)

He rode with his uncle Patrick on the Big Thunder Railroad roller coaster, and he giggled the entire time.

Next, he braved Splash Mountain, and loved it too!

Although he did have his eyes covered with his hands when we went down the gigantic hill.:)

Grandpa took him on Star Tours, and that was the first ride that made him nervous. He kept asking if we were going to return back to planet earth. Poor kid!

Grandma Szymanski staked us out a front row seat for the parade that night,

and after seeing all the characters and dancing down Main Street, the kids were beat.

We had a chance to walk through the castle, and that was about the end of day.

These two lil' ones were especially tuckered out.

We took a quick family picture, and called it a night.

When we got back to the hotel, we snuggled the kids in bed with their new Disney blankets,

and they were out.

The Adventures In California...Part One

2011-11-08T16:24:00.001-07:00

The drive to California went pretty well. We stopped to have a picnic in Baker, and the kids saw their first palm trees. They loved them! They were calling them jungle trees. Ha ha!!

We were all anxious to get there, and boy were we happy when we did!

We got settled in at the hotel and headed to the beach, just in time for the sunset.

There is something about seeing the ocean that is so spectacular.

It made me feel so small, but in a good way, knowing that God created this big, glorious world for us to live in and enjoy. But no matter how big the world is, He knows each one of us, and loves us.

That's what I felt standing in the sand staring out at the vast water, smelling the salty air and listening to the waves crash into shore.

I think the children were astounded too.

Caleb loved running in the sand and jumping over waves as they rolled into shore.

Ashlyn loved the sea shells and turning them over in her hand, examining their wonder.

But she still doesn't love sand, she spent most of her time camped out on a snuggly blanket,
watching the waves from a distance. When the sun set, it got chilly, so we went back to the hotel.

Our little family of 4 was exhausted by the end of the day.

We were in bed by 10, in order to be well rested for our first day of Disney goodness.

Halloween in St. George

2011-11-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

This year we spent Halloween in the car driving to St. George.

We made a quick visit to Wadman (where I used to work) in the morning for the kids to trick or treat.

Then we packed up for our big adventure.

The drive to St. George went much more smoothly this time around.

I NEVER want to revisit what we experienced last time we drove there.

At our pitstop in Fillmore, where Caleb was feeding the bear rocks.

We got there just in time to enjoy a dinner with Matt and Melanie's family,

and then we took the cousins out trick or treating together.

All 5 cousins

Hubby with is hideous teeth! He loves those gross things, he even added a mullet to his costume for work. Sorry sweetie, but I hate those things!

The big kids with their Halloween flashlights Bryan surprised them with.

It was awesome trick or treating in St. George, because the streets were filled with trick or treaters, as opposed to here where we maybe get 10 kids all night. I felt like i had stepped back in time about 15 years.
Most people even had their yards fully decked out with spooky gard.
Caleb and Benjamin liked admiring it all.

We let the kids eat a few pieces of candy, and snuggled them off to bed early,

because we knew we would h ave a bright and early morning, and looong drive ahead of us the next day.

We're Baaack!!

2011-11-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

We're back from our adventure in California.

We're content, exhausted and up to our ears in laundry.

After being gone for over a week, it was time to come home.

There's no place like home! (You know I had to throw that in there.)

Get ready for post full of pictures!

I may or may not have taken over 500 pictures, how will I choose?

The Last Project

2011-11-05T12:18:00.003-06:00

We finally finished our last major outdoor project!

Just in the nick of time too, the cold is here!

Remember we did the deck in April / May?

Then we dug out all the grass on the other side of the back door that used to look like this,

and with the help of my dad, turned it into this!

I am so excited about this!

Thanks again Dad and Bryan, for working outside for hours fitting rocks together and leveling them.

Once we add a few finishing touches (benches and and a trellis around the edges for my wisteria)

and some flowers, our backyard will be friendly, welcoming and useful!

I. Love. It.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

2011-11-04T14:43:00.001-06:00

My mom and Larry surprised us all with tickets to see the broadway show Wicked

when it comes to Salt Lake. The only thing about that is, well, it doesn't come until August 2012.

It is my favorite musical. I fell in love with it when I first saw it on Broadway in the summer of 2004.

We got to see it with the original cast, and it was amazing! I am so excited for Bryan to be able to see it too.

So, to ease the wait, Larry and my mom got us tickets to see the Wizard of Oz!

It was lots of fun having a night out with the fam.

The best part was giggling with my mom and sister at the cute little pup playing Toto!

Of course when it was over, I had to take pictures by the cut outs. :)

Love me some ruby slippers!

Gearing Up

2011-11-02T16:10:00.001-06:00

It's been months of planning and anticipation.

Now we're finally gearing up for our California trip!

Squee!!!

We started planning this in November of 2010.

It seemed forever away, but we wanted to wait until both of the Szymanski missionaries were home to go, and now it's almost here!

We made a countdown for the kids.

Each day they excitedly tear off a piece of the chain and ask how many days until "Dinneyland."

It's funny, Caleb thinks that uncle Scott lives IN Disneyland, because he was serving his mission in LA,

and we told Caleb that after Scott comes home, we're going to Disneyland.

Whenever we watch a Disney movie with the castle at the opening, Caleb and Ashlyn say:

"That's Dinney-land! We're going there! That's where uncle Scott lives!" :)

I've been planning meals, car games, getting driving directions, even making outfits,

for all the lil' ones to wear to the park.

(I was pretty proud of myself.:)

I've made my lists, gotten supplies, went through each day over and over again,

doing my best to plan as to avoid major meltdowns or emergency situations.

I even made these lanyards for the kids to wear to Disneyland with our last name, and a phone number to call in case (heaven forbid) they get lost.

My main reason for doing this was because there is one day Bryan and I are going to Universal Studios (because we had free tickets that Bry won from work last year)

for a day, and leaving the kids in care of the grandparents and aunts and uncles.

Not that I don't trust them, I do! But I want to cover all my bases, I've heard horror stories.

I also bought them lots of little toys at the dollar store to put in their backpacks for the drive down.

I wrapped them up individually to give them to open every hour,

hoping to avoid the "Are we there yet?" syndrome.

I feel like we've done all we can to prepare, now if we could just pack up and go already!!

We can't wait!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T04:44:00.000-06:00

Spiderman and Cinderella wish you all a very Happy Halloween!

Right now they are in a sugar coma, from all the candy they have received.

We went to our ward trunk or treat on Saturday, and they got loaded up with candy galore!

Caleb and his princesses. "Belle" told her mom that she is going to marry Caleb. :)
Cinderella and Princess Peach.

The Cinderella dress was borrowed from Princess Peach, whose mom makes all their awesome costumes. She wore it 6 years ago and she was excited to let Ashy borrow it.

Happy Halloween!!!

Candy Corn

2011-10-30T18:32:00.000-06:00

Our little candy corn girl!

I wanted to post pictures of this dress Ashlyn is wearing because....

I made it! My first real sewing project since 9th grade!

It wasn't as tricky as I thought it would be, except for reading the pattern. That part was super confusing!

I couldn't have done it without my friend Shelise. She helped me A LOT!

Pumpkin Walkin'

2011-10-29T12:37:00.000-06:00

It was a pumpkin sort of night!

We went to Rachelle and Joe's new house and had a jack-o-lantern pizza.

Aunt Ra Ra gave the kids awesome pumpkin slinkies,

then we packed up for the pumpkin walk.

We love the Syracuse Pumpkin Walk.

There are hundreds of pumpkins all lit up to admire.

The kids had fun for the first 15 minutes.

They loved looking at the pumpkins and telling daddy that the Frankenstein pumpkins looked like him. :)

But it was chilly. No, it was super cold!

Look at this little bug all bundled up.

We called it a nigh ta little early. But not before Grandma Ginger and Grandpa Larry could give the kids their Halloween treats, which they are still talking about!

Preschool Halloween Party

2011-10-28T02:11:00.000-06:00

Caleb's preschool class had their Halloween party today.

He was so excited to show Ms. Trudi his Spiderman costume.

At the end of the party the kids came out to trick or treat.

Turns out, Caleb was not the only Spiderman in his class.

In fact, there were 3 others! Ha ha ha!

My goodness, he could not stop talking about his Halloween party on the way home.

We got home and he dumped out his bag of treats all over the floor, and he and Ashlyn shared them.

I can't imagine how excited he will be on the REAL Halloween! Ha ha! :)

Caleb's cute pre school class. Notice a lil' girl in purple who snuck in the picture, wanting to be one of the big kids? :)

Welcome Home Elder Scott Szymanski!!!!

2011-10-27T09:51:00.000-06:00

Finally the last Szymanski brother is home from his mission to LA!

Hooray!

He was a little shell shocked to be home,

and to see all the things that changed in the 2 years he's been gone.

He was staring at the kids awe struck that they were talking and jumping about.

He had a little conversation with Caleb, and said "Wow, he's like a real little person now." :)

It must be hard coming home to the "real world" after doing the same thing every day for 2 years.

I can't imagine having to make those adjustments so quickly.

I can tell Scott was an amazing missionary.

He brought such a spirit home with him.

We're so proud of you Scott, welcome home!!!!

MaD sCiENtisTs!

2011-10-25T12:03:00.000-06:00

For my first singing time in primary I let the kids be mad scientists and make potions.

They thought it was pretty cool, so I figured my kids would like it too.

Notice Caleb's nervous face? He was worried he did something wrong when it started to fizz over the top.

But then realized that it was super cool!

Again, I love Ashlyn's concentrated tongue! :)

If you want to do this with your kiddos, it's just a few drops of food coloring, with baking soda on top (to conceal the color) Then pour vinegar in some cups, and let the kids pour it into the "potion.".

Haunted Dinosaur Park

2011-10-23T19:26:00.000-06:00

Amidst the craziness of our October, we vowed to take the kids to the haunted dinosaur park.

It was a good decision, We've been so busy working on our yard trying to finish up all the projects before it gets too cold, we didn't want to miss out on the Halloween fun.

We dressed the kids up in their costumes and headed out!

After much debate between being a witch, Lightning McQueen or a skeleton guy,

Caleb decided on being Spiderman!

So excited, he can hardly stand it!

Ashlyn kept saying she wanted to be a robot for some reason,

but ended up choosing the Cinderella costume when we went to the store.

Luckily, our talented / Halloween obsessed friend Dede had a beautiful Cinderella dress she had made for her little girl several years ago, that she let us borrow.

Who wants to go trick or treating? ME!!!!

(For Bryan)

Warming up under the heat lamp.

The dinosaur park was lit up with lots of Halloween lights.

The kids had fun tromping down the spooky path,

scoring candy at the trick or treat tables,

and making their very own scary masks.

Our first trick or treating event was a hit!

Caleb informed us on the drive home that he would be sleeping in his spiderman costume. :)

Pumpkin Family Home Evening

2011-10-19T12:25:00.001-06:00

For Family Home Evening the other night we let the kids paint their pumpkins.

Love her concentrated face.

It was a lot easier than carving, and they thought it was the coolest thing!

Then we popped some popcorn and watched my favorite Halloween movie,

It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Warm Weather

2011-10-19T10:50:00.000-06:00

I'm so thankful fall has been lingering longer than usual this year.

We are making the most of the warm weather.

Caleb has been learning to dribble his jack-o-lantern ball.

Caleb towed Ashlyn to see the mail truck,

and we have been riding our bike lots everyday before our driveway becomes cold and icy.

Yay for nice fall weather!