West Virginia Christmas Vacation-Day 5

Mountaineers!

Reagan scored some rockin tickets to a Mountaneers game, home of Jerry West. I would like to act as if I am related, but I haven't looked into it yet :) I am pretty sure there is some connection there. Who else would have givin me all my skills?

Anyway, we started the night off with a yummy italian dinner, followed by TCBY! Wahoo! The Curtis's are crazy and must not have known about my OCD about melted ice cream because they opted to leave the ice cream in the car (thinking and truly believing that it would not be melted when they got back. They were so wrong). Too bad they didn't heed the advice of the Mounts!

Moving on. As we raced in the freezing cold to get to to the game in time we spotted a check in the middle of the street while crossing. I ran back to get it facing death in the eye (you like the drama right?) Really though, the lights had changed and the cars were comin! The check belonged to one Rodney Stewart... we will come back to this story later...its a good one!

We throughourouly enjoyed the game, ooing and ahhing at the talent...

Michael was the best cheerleader in the gym!

Harrison was a gem! As always!

But, the one thing that kept my mind occupied was this:

By the end of the night Cameron was annoyed that I kept bringing it up, but really, look at this people. Who does this? Notice that rather than going both the the benches to sit, this coach has people bring chairs onto the floor for his game talk (between EVERY timeout and quarter). It is ridiculous if you ask me. It takes 2 minutes just to get everyone seated. Retarded! My mind would NOT let it go the entire night. Why would they do this? What is the strategy here? I came up with a few things but nothing that warrants it in my mind. It's a total punk Scater move (Cameron's UCLA coach). Anyhow, if you have ever seen this before let me know...I am super curious as to it's real purpose.

Ok now for the Rodney check story. When we got back to the car we decided that it would be a super nice thing to bring Rodney this check since Christmas was only a few days away. So in great Mount style we put the address into our GPS and went to his house. We walked up to the door and Christmas caroled in perfect Mount fashion to a complete stranger! It was awesome. The song went..."We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and your lost refund check...are you Rodney?" When we got to this part the guy says, "oh no, I'm not Rodney..." It was hilarious and a perfect end to a prefect night. We never did get to the real Rodney's house but it has to count that we tried. That means something right? I love that only the Curtis's would have done this with us! Love you guys! (Does that mean we are all morons, or just super awesome?)

West Virginia Christmas Vacation-Day 4

Lazy days!

On the fourth day we were all so tired from the previous days activities that we decided to stay home and just hang out. Shar and I went through bins and bins of baby clothes which took about 5 hours! I love bonding with Shar Shar! She enjoyed remembering certain outfits that Charlotte had worn, while I enjoyed creating memories with them in my mind. They are so cute! (I just have to say that I have changed my kids two times a day since coming home just because there is so much cuteness!) I am a nerd, but really, it was and has been so much fun! I came home with 4 and a half bins of clothes for my two little girls. I think I am about set for a while!

They could be related don't you think? He looks like her big brother! Do you see baby Harrison in the back?

The men went to Tron that evening while we women stayed and played with the babes. I found Dylan and Charlotte playing legos in the dog kennel quite a few times. I think they were trying to keep the babies out! :)

West Virginia Christmas Vacation-Day 3

Snowboarding in Maryland!

When we first decided to go to West Virginia we were so excited to spend time with Shar's family. We then realized, "hey...it might snow", and we were super excited about that. About a month or so before going we again realized something else, "we could possibly go snowboarding while we were out there". This thought made us crazy excited. We could do all of these things in one visit!? Wowza!

I called Shar to see about babysitters and holy cow, she told me she would do it. You are telling me I can leave you with 8 kids while Cameron and I get to take an entire day to snowboard...alone? Really? YOU CRAZY! I didn't actually believe it! We brought the boards hoping it would happen, and once I realized my strep was not going away, I was hopeless. But alas, we made it work! Cam and I for the first time in 3 and a half years went snowboarding together. It was awesome (and very tiring for a mother of three who is totally out of shape. I was a bit surprised that I didn't come home with something broken!).
Note to self: Don't think that you can get away with going down a black diamond on your first run after a three year hiatus. We are idiots!

West Virginia Christmas Vacation-Day 2

Sledding!

I love the snow, but I do not have the patience to live in it and deal with it every day. This is why we have family and friends that we get to visit during this beautiful cold time of year.This is an awesome part that is a block from the curtis's home. We woke up in the morning with the little ones (the older ones were still in school) and went for it. Syd lasted about 5 minutes while Sam and Dylan couldn't get enough. I think Sam face planted 5 times, and still continued getting up red and snot faced to go again and again. that is my kinda kid!
Could either of these photos be more perfect? Nope, I'm amazing!

West Virginia Christmas Vacation-Day 1

Christmas is coming and what better way to celebrate than with family? We finally took our first family trip to West Virginia to see the Curtis's. Of course the day before leaving I came down with strep throat. After calling to cancel or drive a few days later, Shar insisted that I continue on with the plans..."oh Reagan had that last week...just come!" she said (she crazy! But I guess so am I for going!). The packing took a bit longer, and the house cleaning did not get done, but we went on with the plans. It was an 11 hour drive and went as smooth as can be expected with three children. That last hour was a doozy, but prior to that the kids kept themselves occupied with games, movies and food. It was fantastic! When we arrived we were in for 6 straight days of 8 children under 10. Let the fun begin!

The ginormous bathtub in the basement is a must see. I think they should just turn the whole downstairs into a sauna/spa. They have the hot tub already in place!

After church the men were T-I-R-E-D! Who isn't after three hours of enlightening, soul filling services? (I didn't go so I wouldn't know. I stayed home with Sydney and strep and enjoyed having the house to myself and sleeping for three straight hours. AMEN to that!) By the way, take note of who is holding who's baby. So sweet!

Christmas Photo Shoot 2010

This is when they started getting a big tired of the process. Poor kids! Dylan was having a good time though :)

Merry Christmas From the Mounts!

Joy to the World

It’s 10:30 am, the Christmas music is playing Jim Brickman (my favorite!). Dylan is at school, Sydney is playing with her new monster play dough and the baby is sound asleep. I am at peace. This is a feeling that I regretfully do not get enough of these days. In this moment however, I am filled with so much JOY. I felt it was time to express it. To remember it always.

During this holiday season I have found myself overlooking all of the many blessing that I have in my life. I have to admit, I do more than my fair share of complaining. It needs to stop. I am working on it (and have been for several years…I may need some intervention soon J). So today, as I sit here in this moment, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and feel the need to say THANK YOU.

Thank you to the doctors, teachers, and therapists that work with my kids. You have incredibly hard jobs and I am so grateful to you for your service. I am so grateful to have you to help me in this child rearing process.

Thank you to my friends who put up with all my nervous tendencies, and insecurities. You make me smile when I am down. You give me breaks from reality when they are most needed. You are my Prozac! J

Thank you to my in-laws. We have been through our ups and downs just like any family does, and I can say, I love you more than I even knew I could. You are my family. You are my home. Thank you for loving me, and my family. Thank you for forgiving me and my MANY shortcomings. Thank you for your friendship. I may not be the most deserving of all of these blessings, but you have a way of making me feel like I am. Thank you!

Thank you to my family, for your love and guidance. To my parents for trying, for moving past, and for loving me and my kids. To my brother and sister who have played a large roll in my life to where I feel without them, I would be lost. I was so blessed to grow up with such wonderful people!

Thank you to my kids who continually push me and force me to be better. Thank you for you smiles, your hugs, your laughter and your love. Dylan: Thank you for your enthusiasm for life and learning, for your energy, for your drawings, and for your brilliant imagination. Sydney: Thank you for your love of singing and dancing, I mourn the day that you choose someone else as your dance partner. Macey: Thank you for your constant happiness. I will never tire of seeing that smile on your face, it truly is incredible! My life would be so empty without you three kids. Thank you for choosing me to me your mother. I am the luckiest lady alive! I love you!

A BIG thank you to my amazing husband. You are my confidant, my biggest fan, my everything. You are my man, (and since this is a public venue I will stop there). I love you babe! Thank you for being the most wonderful daddy and husband. Thank you for working so incredibly hard allowing me to stay home with our three babies, for never complaining about the daily frustrations, and for getting up with Dylan in the morning J. I don’t know how I ever deserved you but I must have done something right at some point (I guess tying you down and marrying you at 19 before you figured me out was the best decision EVER!).

Most of all, thank you to my Heavenly Father and Savior who have given me this life. Who have blessed me with all of you. Who have trusted me with these 3 beautiful children. Who continually answer my prayers and bless me with more than I deserve. Who have given me the gift of JOY.

Merry Christmas to you all. May we all celebrate the birth of our Savior and remember to give thanks for all that we have. We all have so much to be grateful for!

Mobile Macey

This week Macey is crawling on all fours, and she is pulling herself up! WHAT!? She is getting so big! I have to admit that I cannot stand this phase. With the joy of new phases, comes a sadness of missing what once was (and a fear of whats to come...specifically bumps and bruises). It's sad. Now she is ALWAYS on the move, exploring, learning, falling and getting into everything. Oh so bittersweet!

Here comes Santa Claus

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus!
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer
are pulling on the reins.
Bells are ringing, children singing;
All is merry and bright.
Hang your stockings and say your prayers,
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight
Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus!
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
He's got a bag that is filled with toys
for the boys and girls again.
Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle,
What a beautiful sight.
Jump in bed, cover up your head,
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Smasher

"This is a Smasher. It crushes people. There is something connected to it that pushes it up and down. It can even crush a hotel...even a house! It can even crush a really big building that goes out of the sky. And it even all the animals with one push. And everyone would be dead at the end of the day. It even protects us from the bad guys. It makes a big wall and it won't break when it gets shooted. It has a scary face too so that it would scare the bad guys away. Everyday a bad guy goes there and gets smashed." -Dylan

Thanksgiving 2010

Another year, another Thanksgiving, another FANTASTIC time at Gamma and Gampa Mounts house! I love Thanksgiving, but this year I have decided that I do not enjoy it the way I used to. I love the family get togethers, but I do not, DO NOT, like the cooking aspect of it all. (It's a good thing I don't have to cook it all or even a little, by myself :). Cooking with three little kids running around and wanting to help is not enjoyable in the slightest. I quote Cathy when I say, "Aaaaaaaaakkkkkk!"

I wasn't able to get any pics of the main event (the food and such), but I was able to get some family pictures! (Thats all we really care about anyway, right?)

I am IN LOVE with my kids! They are so amazing in every way! That tall guy in the brown is pretty great too :)

A Few of my Favorite Things

When the dog bites

When the bee stingsWhen I'm feeling sadI simply remember my favorite thingsAnd then I don't feel so bad