Santa rules!

Ok, so the older my kids get- the cuter they are! Tonight as we were doing our Christmas Eve stuff, Abby & Brenna were SO excited about tomorrow being Christmas and they're in their beds (early I might add)- almost afraid to move or breathe because they want Santa to come so bad! They even got an email from the modern old man and this is what it said:

I'm just getting ready to head to Utah and just wanted to check in with you the make sure that Abby and Brenna are still on my good list. I've been listening today and I've been hearing some whining and some fighting...is this true??? I've got my bag loaded with some fun toys that I know they will love... so let me know if they need to go to someone elses house. It would make me really sad if I wasn't able to deliver to my favorite little girls in Springville. Remember to leave me some cookies and a little milk... also Rudolph loves those little carrots... Hope to see you sleeping in your beds tonight dreaming of christmas
Love,Santa Claus
Remeber the reason for the season
J = Jesus
O = Others
Y = You

Their eyes were SO big as I read it to them... seriously, it was so cute! We then checked the official Santa tracking website and when I told the girls he was heading north- they both freaked out and ran downstairs to bed! Then Abby asked if she could say prayer and I just have to say how cute it is when your kids pray that Santa can make it to Springville safely!
I LOVE IT!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I had the best intentions of sending our Christmas card to everyone of you, but time got away from me and I now have extra's of these... which means I forgot about some of you. SORRY!
We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you are enjoying this time of year as much as we are!
LOVE YOU ALL!



P.S. We hope it snows the 6-10 inches it's supposed to tonight so we can have a white christmas and go sledding!!!!

Elk- the dead kind.

I've kind of held off posting about this, but the more I think about it- the more I realize the need to document it. Most of you know me well enough to know that I'm kind of a girly girl, but not really. I don't mind getting dirty and working hard, but there are certain things I won't do. One of them being or having anything to do with dead animals. It's just not my thing and I don't like it. So, hunting is an issue... not with those that choose to do it because people can do whatever they want to do- just don't make me be a part of it. My uncle and cousins hunt and I think it's great- but the whole carcass of this dead thing really grosses me out.

Okay, so with that being said- this past Sunday afternoon my friend Emily and I were doing our visiting teaching and as I was driving her home, we noticed a neighbor of ours outside and we thought he was putting up Christmas decorations of some sort. But as we got closer- we both gasped and realized he had an ELK hanging in the tree and he was skinning it! (All I could see was red so I thought Christmas, okay?!) I think we both screamed like little girls because it was not something either one of us expected and it was also kinda gross. So, I went home and then shortly thereafter had to go to church for an appointment and at this point I tried to find some humor in it and thought I whould tell my bishop about it and I am now convinced that he thinks I'm crazy. He asked if I took a picture and I told him that if I had any way of holding a camera steady without vomiting- I would have been all over it, but that wasn't about to happen. He laughed and although I'm sure he was laughing at me, it still made me feel good.

So then (it gets better!)- the house where this took place is another good friend of mine and she watches my girls a couple days a week for me after school (she's awesome!). So, I think it was Tuesday of this week when my girls came home to tell me that their friends dad cut up an Elk in their backyard and I pretended to think it was cool. I asked them if they saw it and they both said no and all they saw was the legs (I'm thinking it was covered up and the legs were the only part they could see), but Brenna then tells me that their dogs love the legs. (At this point I'm still for some reason thinking the legs are attached to the rest of the body) but NO- the dogs were carrying the legs around the back yard!!!!!! Is that normal?!?!

Oh my- as I write this I really sound so prissy and I really don't consider myself to be that way, but this is just so not normal in my world. I guess maybe I need to expand my horizons. But then again, maybe I'm okay with my world.

Maybe I need a pet. Nevermind.

Oh wait- here's another good Elk story. Why not put it all out there in one post right? Okay, so last year the guys at my work were talking about the "hunt" and I asked my boss if he hunts and he said he goes on the cow hunt every year and I seriously got all excited! I told him I'd totally go on that hunt because I would love me some good cuts of beef. Just then- EVERYONE in the room burst out into laughter and proceeded to inform me that a "cow" is a female Elk. Like I was really supposed to know that... I'm a stupid fake blonde Californian!

It's okay- I'm not too proud to tell that story. I have my moments and I also haven't spent much time at all studying the animals that roam the mountain sides of this country. Sorry!

Sees Candy- the breakfast of champions!

I started off my day running errands and the major stop was the mall... University Mall to be exact. Please don't question as to why I was there just over a week before Christmas because I don't have the answer, I just had things to buy and that's what I was doing. Anyway, one stop I made was to the Sees Candy store- the line wasn't too long and I was trilled about that. So I'm waiting in line to select my chocolates and of course the nice old lady working asks if anyone wants a sample. Seriously, dumb question- so she passed out treats to everyone in line. It was some sort of a mint truffle, yum. So then it's my turn and I start making my selections and when I mentioned that I needed the Schotchmallow in dark chocolate, the guy asked how many and I told him just a few and he quickly said "what, did you say half the box?" I gave him a good courtesy chuckle and said maybe 4 or 5 will do and he said "oh, these are my favorite by far" to which I told him I'd never tried it before, so he handed me one- SCORE ME! So, I continue choosing what to get and at the same time, another cute old Sees lady asked if those of us in line had received our sample and this time it was my most favorite of all- the Milk Patties, so yeah- I got one of those too. The cute prego lady behind me was so stoked. It was cute! So, I pay for my purchase and decide that since it's maybe 10:20 in the a.m. and I might not want to eat chocolate this early. So, I put them in the little bag and tuck them in my purse. It didn't take long before I was picking at them and enjoying every freakin' minute of it! Sees is only a part of my life at Christmas time it seems, so why not eat it for breakfast, right? Thanks for agreeing with me.

Gingerbread house= fun/mess/fun!

The girls have been begging to make a gingerbread house so I bought one of those kits where it comes with everything. We decided that this afternoon would be the perfect time to do it and the girls were at my side waiting to stick their candy on so anxiously! So, we began by sticking the sides of the house together, then the roof, chimney, etc. I then start lathering on the nasty tasting icing (word to the wise: DON'T lick your fingers when using one of these nasty Wal*Mart special kits- I think I might die b/c is was so grotty!) All was well and the girls were sticking candy on all over the place and we were so proud of it... until the entire roof slid off- both sides and Abby was devastated!

It was drama, but then we laughed (it took Abby a little longer to find the humor in it) and then we had fun again! They both started taking the candy off one by one and then Brenna started smearing her hands in it thinking it was the coolest thing ever!

Abby's wise comment to her mother was "See- I told you we should have waited for Grandma... she knows how to make candy houses the right way."

I think I'm glad we did it because now I know we pretty much won't ever do it again!

She knows better... or so I thought... AAHHH!

STORY TIME!

Remember Brenna??? She’s cute, she’s 4, she’s strong willed, adorable, funny, sassy and sweet as can be, and she has struck again! We’ve had this joke or little thing we’ve been saying lately about a certain section of Brenna’s hair… it’s a piece on top of her head- almost dead center and right where her bangs end that has a problem staying where I want it to. She won’t keep clips in her hair to keep it back, and she won’t keep her hair behind her ears because she doesn’t “like my ears sticking out like a boy” and we’ve joked about needing to cut it off because it’s always in her face. JOKE I say- it’s all been a joke because I couldn’t do the bang thing from the crown of her head forward (that is way too 80’s) and I figured we’d just deal with it. Again… it’s been a JOKE. So, I’m upstairs today starting dinner and Brenna came upstairs to ask me a question. No biggie until I turned around to answer her and I noticed yet another CHUNK of hair off the front left side of her hair… and then (it gets better) I noticed a rooster like chunk of hair sticking up right where this “problem piece” WAS at. It’s gone… she did the typical kid thing of “oh, I don’t want bangs anymore so I’ll just CUT them off” (sound familiar Janna?) and then they look like a nincompoop for months and months while it grows out. Okay- so I looked at the damage and thought about how I could blend it in, but I started having a panic attack because the only thing I pictured was Brenna with a mullet and that is pretty much against my religion. She’s too cute and I wouldn’t ever allow it! Not EVER! I have nightmares about them (mullets that is) and the only good thing is that they are usually followed by a fabulous dream of me sneaking into the Mullet’s residence and lopping it off in the middle of the night… Anyway, I had no option other than to cut it all off because the mere thought of a mini-mullet was making me sick.


So, we cut away and she cried the whole time! Here’s some funny things I heard from her through the whole ordeal:

“But mom- I don’t want my hair to be as short as Grandmas!”

“What? I can’t have a pony tail anymore???”

“Mommy- you cutted lots of pieces of hair and now I’m not cute anymore!”

Brenna: Why do I have to wear this thing? (referring to the cape)

Mom: Because it makes it so the hair won't stick to your clothes
Brenna: Oh, like when I cutted my hair on the couch downstairs and I couldn't brush it off?
Mom: Um yeah, I guess so. (next step was to go clean up the hair stuck to the couch!)

“I am totally not going to school tomorrow- everyone will laugh at me!”

“My hair isn’t going to grow back until after Christmas time”, and then I told her it would probably take a lot more time than that and she responded with “Oh, this is great”!

I keep telling myself that I need to laugh because the whole scenario really is funny, but WHY does she think she can do this... again?!
I didn't attend two semesters of night classes at Citrus Cosmetology for nothing.

She's lucky she's cute! Kidding, she's just teaching me patience... right?

LOVE YOU NENNA!

Fun in the Snow

My girls woke up earlier today than they do during the week- which I really don't fathom... I usually have to drag them out of bed to get ready for school M-F, but they don't quite get the sleep in on weekends thing yet. I'll be working on that one, for my own sanity I've decided. Anyway... Abby came running into my room at 6:45 telling me she has a surprise to show me, so I got up thinking she had made me a delicious breakfast or something to announce that I've once again won the mother of the year award. Um, that didn't happen but she was way excited that it had snowed and it was still coming down too! I love how excited my girls get over white, cold, fluffy stuff... it's fun to watch! So, after some morning chores were done, they got to get all decked out and go play while Aunt Sandie and a nice neighbor boy shoveled the driveway... the girls had a ball!


Can I just say that no one has had their hair done yet today, and I love the fact that their hats hide the bed-head! Usually I'm a little freakish if my kids aren't "fixed" when they walk out the door, but again... yeah for hats today!

Great-Grandma Moore called this morning and told the girls to make a snowball for her and take a picture, so this is for you Grandma!
We love you!

Abby is the snow angel queen... she's wearing jeans by the way, so she's sitting by the fireplace as we speak before her limbs fall off. She didn't care though- it was a really good snow angel!

And to finish it all off... they're in the kitchen drinking hot chocolate to help defrost!

We're not zoned for this

For those of you who either live in the neighborhood of 2300 East in Springville, or have driven through or have in other ways seen the chickens/roosters (what's the difference anyway?!?!? JK!) roaming around the streets- today is your lucky day! As I was coming home to meet Abby off the school bus- I turned the corner onto our street to see not one but TWO Springville Police Animal Control trucks getting their nets and cages out to catch those pesky birds that love to stroll the neighborhood (it reminded me of the Animaniacs cartoon of "The Birds"... really funny!) I of course had no other choice, my hands were tied and I had to whip out the handy cell phone to see what I could get.
Here's the play by play:
Man and Woman Animal Control employees in the yard of the neighbor (who doesn't own the pesky birds).
Their nets perched over their shoulders planning their attack. It looked like they were on the prowl.
The man quickly grabs his net with both hands and the rooster took off running right in front of my car and I'm almost positive a few swear words came out of his mouth because he was just defeated.
The woman then motioned for me to stay where I was as she chased the bird across the street, only to have her almost trip over the curb and also be defeated... by the bird.
I'm sure I've found more humor in this than most of you, but it's a good day and this my friends just made it a little better.

Sorry the pics are more blurry than normal. Remember two things- it was my camera phone, but also take note that I was laughing REALLY hard! It was a sight to be seen by all... I'm just sorry you missed it. Although, Aunt Ruth Ann did call to tell me about the trucks parked outside and I was SO excited to share my excitement with her about what they were doing there!
Oh, I need a life...

P.S. I really have nothing against birds of this sort, I mean- I eat them for pete's sake. But for some reason it seemed odd to have them as household pets and to let them wander the streets. Where's the coup?

My Brenna

Brenna Elizabeth Carlton is a funny child... she has some of the best facial expressions and comes up with really witty things to say. (I take full credit for the wittiness by the way!) This morning as I was taking her to school, I looked at her in the rear view mirror and asked her how she was doing and she responded that she was good and couldn't wait to see her friends at school. I then told her that sounds great and I hope she has a fantastic day, to which she smiled big and said "I love you mom". Then she said "how about we start saying that everyday at my school- I want us to say what we just said when you take me to school everyday, okay?" Awww... so cute huh? (Yeah, she totally forgot once we walked in the door, but I got my I love yous in and all was well.) Then her randomness struck again and she said "Um mom, I can't believe that. I just sawed a guy on the corner by the gas station who was eating smoke. That was so gross mom, why would people want to eat smoke." I guess Brenna's going to need the "say no to drugs" talk soon. She immediatley started telling her teacher all about the smoke eating man when when she got to school as well...
It was precious.

"black friday" psychoness

I'm not one who necessarily loves or hates crowds. If it were up to me and let's say I was planning a trip to Disneyland, I'd much rather go in the spring or fall when it's not as crowded as the middle of August- just because you can get more done when the lines aren't as long, and it's a little less stressful. But the last 2 years, I've found myslef needing to go out shopping with all the other phychos the day after Thanksgiving. My mom, Janna and I headed to just 2 stores... the first being Target. I do have a slight crush on Target and it's team members- but we were insane to even attempt it! Luckily my Aunt Ruth Ann called us on our way up there and they had just driven by and told us to not even attempt to find a parking place because it was packed! So, we parked across the street at Roberts Crafts (stop #2) and headed into Target.



We brought our handy 2-way radios and mom went to the toy section and Janna and I went to electronics. Shopping carts were being used as bullets to plow their way through the crowds- it was "typical", but crazy. Anyway... we found what we wanted (mostly) and made our way to one of the 32 check-outs open and were done there.

Ahhh... no make-up! Janna sneaked on more than me, but there were people there completley done up and I just don't comprehend that. Who are they trying to impress at 6:00 in the am???

P.S. My friends neighbor went to Kohls but not until later in the morning (not for the 4am opening) and an employee told her that they had to call the police because there was a fight between customers! I am SO mad I wasn't there to witness that!!!! That would have been a way more entertaining blog entry than this.

Thanks again Aunt Sandie for staying home with the kids!

It should be against the law

I have a not so secret obsession. I feel the need to take pictures of things, people, myself, the sky, whatever... all with my camera phone! It's seriously an obsession and one day I'm gonna get caught- so when that day comes, I will stop. But until then... here's some of my finds. I promise my intentions aren't to be mean- it's more for laughter purposes and I am proud of those that also put their camera phones to good use. My boss has on occasion sent us pics from his adventures, my cousin finds fun things to document in random airports across the country, this same cousins children ask to use their parents phone to take pictures of misc. things, and I'm sure there are many more of you. Some things in life just make me laugh and that's the whole point.
Anyway- here ya are:

Sometimes they're of me

And sometimes they're of Shrek made out of snow from the guy down Canyon Road who has a lot of time on his hands, as well as a talent. This changed "characters" all winter long... my girls LOVED it!

And sometimes they're of people with interesting hair styles.
This one is where my fetish started... I was at the local USPS and the line was long... what else was there to do?

Sometimes your neighbor calls you over because she found a parrot in her front yard.. not a common occurrence.

Or maybe as you're driving through the lovely town of Randolph, UT- you see a sign like this that causes you to turn your car around just to get a picture.

And while touring the Jackson Hole Mountain Man Festival- the grammatical errors are what might catch your eye.

And another of me. It's my phone and I don't like red lights.
(Look and Brenna trying to sneak in the picture!)

And this one was too funny for some reason. This is at a fly infested place to eat (I forgot what it's called) but they have buffalo roaming nearby (hence the fly problem) and this here is the girls "facilities". The mens was referred to as "He Pee"--- they're pretty witty in Star Valley.

And I of course had to document the Morrissey concert I went to this summer with my old roommate Kam. We're both kinda in love with him...

And this my friends is my personal favorite!

You know it's a good day when you're strolling around the local Wal*Mart and you see cute polygamist wives/daughters/sisters/whatevers shopping in the fabric section. PRICELESS!
(I know I do live in Springville, but I have never seen this before!)

There comes a point...

...when you know your children watch too much television. I've had several obvious signs that my kids fall into this category, but what happened tonight tops it off for me. I must be in one of those "moods", but this cracked me up! Here's a couple examples of what I'm talking about:

• Mom, I really want _________ toy- it's SO cool, but batteries aren't included.
(Note to self: too much TV time)

• Brenna can sing and shake her bon-bon to Hannah Montana songs like no other 4 year old I know. See my girls blog for a perfect example!
(Noted again... too much TV)

And here is the cherry on- top for me at least:
• As Abby was changing into her pajamas tonight- she took her shirt off and said: "Aahhh- this feels so good" (while stretching her hands above her head) and then she proceeded to wave her hands in a motion that is more commonly knows as airing out her arm pits! WHAT?! Where does she get this from?! I'm never good at not laughing at my kids when they're being funny, which only eggs them on, but oh well. We all had a good laugh!

I guarantee that the people who live in this household don't do what she did tonight, but I do feel quite confidant that I can pay my homages to either Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Life with Derek, or maybe even Hannah Montanta... I can totally picture Billy Ray airing out his pits on his daughters show, can't you?

How can girls as cute and these be so crazy?
(Don't answer this question unless you plan on being nice?)

They're crazy--- CRAZY I say! But I love 'em!

I heart shoes!

It's not a secret that I'm a lover of cute shoes- and it's been a while since I've added to my shoe collection, so I decided it was time! Yay- and I had good luck too! Sometimes I pretend to be classier than I really am and think that having the right shoe will help me achieve this pretense I have... so anyway- these are the 2 new pairs of shoes I came home with the other night. You know how sometimes you go out shopping for one specific thing and you have no luck whatsoever... yeah, not me (this time at least)-- I am happy with my purchases! I actually went out looking for boots only, but the store I was at was having a sale and I while I was deciding between two boots (both very similar) I opted for the less expensive one, and then found the brown heels and ended up getting both for the price of the "not selected" pair of boots! Yay! Seriously... I know I'm being a dumb girl but for me- shoes do it. I don't indulge in too many girlie things, but shoes make me happy... so there!
Now I've just got to learn to walk in heels... I'm kind of retarted that way.

Abby Jane is 6 years old!!!!

I officially feel old- and that's not my most favorite feeling. I think I'm having heart palpitations over the fact that Abby is 6 freakin' years old today! She is having her first "friends" party this afternoon and can't wait. This morning I couldn't stop laughing at her as she was getting ready. Everything had to do with the fact that she is now 6 and 6 year olds can do this and that and on and on. It was really funny! Her hair had to be a certain way and she said that if she wore a sparkly shirt- everyone would know it was her birthday! Plus she is convinced that she grew---- overnight! Pretty amazing huh?!

Most of you know my Abbers, but for those of you that don't--- she's a nut! She's one of the smartest kids I know and I really don't think I'm just saying that because I'm her mom. Her brain never shuts off and she always wants to know the answer to everything. She's a very inquisitive little girl. She has the best imaginiation ever and can quote the funniest things and she remembers everything! She is very tender-hearted and sensitive, with a huge heart! I'm so glad that I have my sweet Abby Jane in my life... being a mom is hard, but I wouldn't give that job up for anything! I love her and her quirks SO much!

Happy Birthday Abby Jane!!!! I LOVE YOU!

Learning how to walk!

Doing her infamous "we did it" dance from Dora!

Abbers- age 2.

With Uncle George & Aunt Cheryl on the Winnie the Pooh ride @ D-Land!

Minnie Mouse for Halloween- almost 3 years old.

Nasty looking hot dog, but funny pic of Abby

Easter Sunday- 3 years old!

Hanging out in the new house in Utah!

On the carousel with Cinderella- 4 years old.

Here's Miss AJ on the 4th of July this year.

And here she is today... missing a few teeth, but still SO cute!