Sister Wives Christmas Gift

Each year my little group of friends gets together to open Christmas gifts that we have made for one another.  Last year, Quinae made each of us an apron with our initials embroidered on the pocket to remind us that even when we are busy doing the normal day-to-day things that we are united in our desire to be wonderful wives and mothers.

This year, Kristi wrote a letter to all of her Sister-Wives.

Kristi hit the nail right on the head with all of us.  We are exactly what she said we are and more.  We are best friends and we each have talents and strengths that make us unique and valuable.  I should also add that among us, Kristi is "The Therapist".  When you have a problem, Kristi is the one to go to.  She will help you determine the "why" behind how you are feeling or someone else is acting.  She puts things back into perspective.

I really have the most amazing group of friends imaginable.

From left to right: The Do-it-Yourselfer, The Therapist, The Doer, The Fixer, The Planner,
The Photographer, The Crafter, The Human Thesaurus, and not pictured, The Chef.

For my "fixer" gift I got a set of screwdrivers.  And I am a fixer.  In fact, earlier today I fixed our pre-lit Christmas tree by replacing the main electrical cord and troubleshooting two strands of unlit lights and two weeks ago I was working hard to fix our oven that had suddenly stopped baking.  As a second gift, I also got a bar of soap because out of all the Sister Wives, I've got the biggest potty mouth.

Delivering Christmas Cheer

Today after church today I made 8 dozen cookies to package up and deliver to our neighbors.  The boys wanted to help me make the cookies, but by the time we got to adding the 4 1/2 cups of flour I was so tired of them fighting over who got to add what and whether or not life was fair that I kicked them out of the kitchen.  So far we were off to a great start...bah humbug.

When Darren got home from his meetings (and after I had addressed and written a Christmas message for 12 neighbors) we set off to deliver some Christmas cheer.  We gathered up 4 plates of cookies and cards and headed out.  The first 3 deliveries went well.  The boys were a model of family perfection and I was feeling like such a wonderful mother.

By the time Darren and I made it back inside the house to get another set of cookies and cards to deliver the boys were back outside ready for round two.  When we made it back outside the boys were no where to be found and in my frustration I started hollering for them.  They were half way down the block standing on the door step of a neighbor that we hadn't planned to give cookies to!

I wish I had a video of the tantrum I was having as I tried to quietly yell to Trevor to come back.  (My tantrum was tempered by the fact that Baby J was asleep in the Ergo on my chest and I didn't think I could handle a crying baby on top of everything else, so I HAD to keep him asleep.)  Well, instead of coming back Trevor yelled back, "Don't worry, I'll ring the doorbell!"  My tantrum escalated and Darren took off jogging down the street to retrieve our disobedient children.  When they finally came back, and after lecturing them about paying attention, the Christmas spirit was gone.

Each house was the same.  The boys fought over whose turn it was to ring the doorbell, to hand over the cookies, and to hand over the card.  And while Darren and I chatted with our neighbors and wished them a Merry Christmas our boys took off running to another house only to fight with each other while waiting for Darren and I to catch up.  With each house I felt more and more like a failure as a mother.

And then I thought, "no!"  This is just life.  This is my crazy, imperfect, maddening, and wonderful life.  I am so blessed to have healthy and handsome children and a hard working husband.  We are blessed with the means to provide for ourselves and help out those around us.  I am a force for good in my home, my neighborhood, and my community.  I am a good mother and even though it was frustrating, we made memories tonight.

Making General Conference More Meaningful

This morning I was so sad that conference weekend was over. For the first time since I had kids it was a weekend that I enjoyed and thanks to some last-minute planning, my kids enjoyed it as well.

On Tuesday night at our monthly Relief Society Meeting we were talking about ways to make conference more meaningful my instituting traditions and helping kids be involved and active listeners.  

Here is the conference board that I, along with several others friends, made to help our children be more involved in the talks. 

It was a slam-dunk success.  The boys had so much fun finding the speakers, putting them up to the pulpit and listening for the topics to add to the word bubble.  At the end of two days, both boys could recognize several members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12.  (Austin's personal favorite was "Uchie-dorf")  We had a wonderful weekend full of family fun, wonderful talks, and yummy food.  I can't wait to do it again in April and neither can the boys.

My 35 Week Belly

Garrison Creek Ward Pregnacy Pact

5 beautiful mamas, with 15 kids already between us

 From left to right: 13 weeks, 23 weeks, 29 weeks, 37 weeks and 39 weeks

 Gender count:  3 boys, 1 girl, and 1 still unknown

Girls Weekend 2013

My best friends and I had an epic weekend staycation before all the babies are born.  It was just what we needed for Mother's Day this year.  Here are some fun pictures of us before and after our chocolate tour at Theo Chocolates in Fremont.

Entitled "Ladies in Waiting (for Chocolate)"

I call this one "Booty Call"

Guess which 3 of us had a little too much chocolate on the tour?!?!

Christmas Rush 5K

Today was Trevor's first ever 5K race.  Parking was a nightmare and we were late to the start line, but overall it was a good experience for Trevor to push himself and finish the race.

Salish Lodge Get-away

Darren and I enjoyed a night away from the boys at Salish Lodge.

A huge thanks to Grandpa Hales and Cheri for taking the boys, and to our friends Clint and Kacey for the sneaky shenanigans after dinner.

Peanut Butter Disaster

I should have listened to the little voice in my head that said, "mixing peanut butter in the jar with a hand mixer is a bad idea."

I also probably should not have yelled, "Really Heavenly Father?!?!?!?" after it happened.

On the bright side...A once "too full to mix jar" is now a 2/3 full jar that is much easier to mix and my next load of laundry will come out of the dryer smelling like peanut brittle!

Count your blessings, right?

Wallace Falls State Park

When a friend of ours was unable to use the cabin she had booked, she offered it out and we jumped at the chance to have a night alone with just the two of us.  We sent the boys to Granny and Grandpa's house and made the drive to Gold Bar, WA off Highway 2.

Our cabin at Wallace Falls State Park was so cozy and we enjoyed a relaxing night in.

 In the morning we went on a 2.7 mile hike to the top of Wallace Falls.  I don't really like hiking, but the scenery was AMAZING!

See what I mean about the scenery...Amazing!

 

When we finally made it to the Lower Falls lookout I was tired, but it was beautiful.

I love that Darren captured this picture of me.  It looks like I was deep in thought, and I was.  I was thinking, "maybe if I hold really still Darren will forget I am here and continue hiking and pick me up on the way back down."

The Middle Falls were very impressive and by this time I had resigned myself to the hiking experience.

Next up was the Valley Overlook.  It was a cloudy and slightly rainy day, so we couldn't see a whole lot, but it was still very beautiful.

It was here at the Valley Overlook that I decided to take a rest and read a book.  The best part about having a Kindle is that I can read from a 800-page book at the top of 2+ mile hike without carrying an 800-page book up the mountain.

While I had a peaceful moment to myself, Darren continued the hike another half mile or so to the Upper Falls and here is what he saw.

Darren and I had such a wonderful time together.  When you have young kids you are so busy you sometimes forget why you fell in love in the first place.  It's nice to have weekends like this to remind you.

The Vertical Garden I Built

I saw in a magazine an idea for a really cute vertical garden.  I thought to myself, "I can totally make that!"

And so I did.

That 70s Party

For my birthday this year I wanted to have friends over for fondue.  I decided to make it a theme party, since I love to dress up (remember this?).  What better way to celebrate fondue than with a 70s disco theme.

The fondue was delicious...

 
But the outfits were better!

Thanks to everyone who came, dressed up and danced.  Being under the influence of your friendship makes me one lucky lady.

Leavenworth Day Trip, aka Mindy's Christmas Present

After the terrible Christmas gift the I got from Darren last year, this year he made up for it by planning a surprise day trip to Leavenworth without the kids.  He planned everything from the childcare to the sleigh ride.  It was a quick, but wonderful trip!

Leavenworth in the winter is charming.  It feels like you've traveled back in time to simpler place.

One of the highlights of the day was a sleigh ride Darren planned for us to go on.  The horses were beautiful and the scenery was magical.

As part of this little Christmas Gift trip, Darren was less frugal than usual and we purchased several things in town, including an adorable headband that was totally overpriced, some taffy, a caramel apple, and a lb of cured bacon.  Dinner was delicious and the company was delightful.

It was the best Christmas present from my husband ever!

Hales Family Pictures

Back in November we had family pictures taken by a good friend.  They turned out wonderful and I feel bad for not posting them sooner.  Enjoy some of my favorites!