Hult Family Happenings

Daddy turns 34

2011-10-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

We got Eldon a few little things for his birthday like peanuts and candybars and then we took him outside to show him his big gift....

AJ showing what he got daddy for his birthday.
A brand new barbeque. We have been wanting a grill for a long time and I decided it was time to splurge and just get one. Yippee! I love BBQ Chicken!

Homemade icecream cake is one of Eldon's favorites!

AJ loved his cake too!

Pool Works

2011-10-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

Bryan and Renee were kind enough to host a swim party on the 4th of July this year. Everyone had a great time eating, swimming and playing games and lighting fireworks
.

Then we did sparklers and fireworks.

Notice Emma protecting her ears from the loud noises with headphones. Eldon is also protecting his lap from getting wet at the same time.

Balloon Fest

2011-09-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Julia and I woke up early one morning to see the hot air balloons the weekend of the 4th of July.

It's not easy getting up really early, but when they send this balloon up and lower the stars and stripes and everyone stops to put their hand over their hearts and listen to the National Anthem and say the Pledge of Allegiance together, tears well up in my eyes and I feel proud to be an American. I feel priviledged to live in this country and enjoy the freedoms we enjoy each day. This alone makes dragging myself out of bed before the sun, after a late night, worth it.

The Darth Vadar balloon was pretty cool. It came all the way from The Netherlands.

Julia and I both liked this yellow balloon with big flowers so we got as close as possible to take a picture, but as we were standing there a big wind came up and the balloon started attacking us.

They didn't end up getting this one off the ground. The whole balloon fest was over early because of thunder and lightning. Kind of sad, but I'm still glad we went!

I love Rainbows!

2011-09-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

We got a lot of rain through May and June, but I don't remember seeing a lot of rainbows so I took the opportunity to capture this one with my camera. I'm not much of a photographer, but you get the idea.
Rainbows always make me happy!

North Park Fountains - Again

2011-09-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

Eldon took an afternoon off work the end of June. We had no plans but we ended up with a picnic lunch down at North Park.

Emma was much happier this time since she had on her swimsuit.

AJ took a break to eat more snacks.
Julia fell while she was carrying AJ. Luckily he didn't get hurt, but her knee was pretty scraped up.

She was not happy about me taking this photo. Can you tell :)

Grotto Hike

2011-09-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

We do the Grotto Hike at least once every summer! It is so fun and kid-friendly with log bridges that cross over a stream, it is short and not too steep and ends at a beautiful waterfall. I thought it would be fun to put a few flashback pictures on this week since this is something we do every summer.
Above: Andrew at the Grotto in 2008. He was 2, now AJ wears this outfit!
Below: Emma and Julia sitting on a rock, 2008. Similar to the picture below of Emma and AJ on the same rock. These pictures are of our Grotto hike June 2011. We went with a big group of friends and Julia was happy as can be to be with so many of her friends.

Chloe and Andrew
Holly, Val and Lisa surrounded by children. Lisa was so sweet to come with me and help with kids even though her own kids couldn't come this year.

Julia always likes to hike to the top of the waterfall.
Julia and her friends attempted going behind the waterfall, but this is as far as they made it.
Emma was a little nervous about crossing the bridges since she fell off one of them.

Emma all wet but still happy!

Liberty Park

2011-09-21T15:25:00.001-07:00

Liberty Park in Salt Lake is one of our favorite summer spots so we were very excited as we made the 1 hour trek to the city one Tuesday morning in June. But we were disappointed to find out that our favorite part of the park, The Seven Canyons Replica, is closed Tuesdays for maintenance :( We stopped at this little slimy pond to eat our lunch on our walk over to the playground.

The playground is fun...
with big slides,

a splash pad and cute little boys with big hairdos that AJ couldn't stop staring at,

and girls in bikinis.
It also has plenty of shade for the grown-ups to sit under.

But next time we go to Liberty Park we will be sure it is NOT on a Tuesday!!!!!

Team Awards and Dinner

2011-09-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

After the last game of the season Emma's T-ball League has an awards ceremony and family dinner. During the season each participant has a buddy who helps them play ball. This year Emma had two wonderful buddies. Abbey was Emma's buddy last year and she requested to be with Emma again. But when her own softball schedule conflicted with Emma's we got a different buddy. Emily was an amazing youth that volunteered with a group doing an eagle scout project. Emma with her two best buddies!

Emma receiving her trophy and picture from her coach.
This is one of the best parts of the season for Emma. She loves having a trophy to look at anytime she wants.

More summer fun

2011-09-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I can't remember why we didn't wear swimsuits to North Park on this particular day, it may have been because Mommy was feeling too lazy to put them on. But of course the kids could not resist getting wet in the fountains.

AJ LOVES WATER!!!

Emma didn't really want to get wet with her clothes on. She kept trying to take them off, but eventually she was okay with it, kind of.

Julia in Action

2011-09-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Jules did so good this year in softball. She improved a lot since last year and started getting at least one hit every game. It was really fun to watch her play. She usually played 1st or 3rd base and sometimes had a chance to pitch!

This is what AJ does during Julia's softball games. He raids peoples purses. Usually they are people he knows like his grandmas and aunts, but he digs through them until he finds something interesting. Gum is the first thing he seeks and then 'lip' he calls anything that you put on your lips. You have to watch him though because once he gets a hold of your stuff you never know where it could end up, but it's usually on the field via the ball drop.

Our loved ones started leaving their purses at home when they would come to watch Julia's games :)

It was also fun to be on a winning team! Go Cougars!

Summer Smiles

2011-09-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

More slip and sliding fun in the sun. This time at Jeanna's house.

Kids getting creative with a floatie.

Cute cut

2011-09-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Notice how long Emma's hair is in this picture, and that is even in ponytails. Well... We chopped it off! Actually, Allison chopped it, but I love it! I think it is sooooo cute!

Soccer Camp

2011-09-08T15:11:00.000-07:00

My niece, Josie, made an accelerated soccer team, the Salem Shooters. One of their fundraisers was a soccer camp for little kickers!
I signed Emma and Andrew up for the camp.
Emma's favorite part of the camp - being carted around by all the big girls.

Andrew did pretty good and played hard even though it was so stinkin hot. And that was at 10:00 am.
They also loved the treats at the end of camp each day!

Best Dad Ever!!!

2011-09-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

There are so many reasons why Eldon is the best dad ever.
He supports us all in all our activities.
He makes us laugh.
And he let us buy a wii for him for Father's Day!

See.....Best Dad Ever!!!!

We love you, Daddy! Happy Father's Day 2011 - three months late!

Emma and T-ball

2011-09-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Softball and t-ball ruled our life the month of June. Emma plays in a special needs league in Mapleton and she loves it! Here she is playing catch with her VIP buddy, Abbie.

Children's Discovery Museum

2011-09-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

We LOVE the Children's Discovery Museum at the Gateway in Salt Lake. Max had a free family pass so we went there one day while his mom was out of town. We had such a great time!

The kids played with the dress-ups. Max and Julia made movies, but I didn't get a picture of that one.

The new exhibit had large toys like, dominoes, bowling, pool, and parcheezi board.

I'm not sure what these things were but the kids thought they were cool.

Making paper airplanes.

Playing with the farm animals.

Andrew building something with magnetic toys.

This little construction set with cranes was fun for everyone!

Max was especially good at working the crane.

AJ loved playing in the water.

Emma could have shopped all day.

Max and Julia tried to shoot little balls into the water.

Andrew climbing the rock wall.

I turned around for 2 seconds and when I turned back around AJ was trying to climb on this giant horse all by himself.

Playing house.

It has been so long since I have blogged that I forgot that the pictures upload backwards. We played with the balls very first and the kids probably could have stayed in this room all day.

It was such a fun day! Thanks Max for sharing your free pass with us!

Cooling off

2011-07-14T15:25:00.001-07:00

This is how the kids cooled off after our hike, judging each others cool tricks on the slip-n-slide.

And waiting in the pool for their next turn.

Notice Emma sitting in the shade, she did not hike, therefore did not need cooling off in the water, I suppose.

Lazy Days of Summer!!!

Hiking to the Y

2011-07-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

This was our first Y hike this year, with kids anyway. Julia wanted to invite Ashlee and Erica and when we went to pick them up Emma begged to stay with Kelly. Kelly said it was fine if Emma stayed, which worked out nicely for us, because Emma would never have made it up the mountain.
The girls were still feeling okay at this point. I think this is the 3rd switchback of 11!

I love how this picture shows how steep the trail is in parts.

Andrew climbs any rock he can find. He was a great hiker and didn't whine at all until we were on the way down.

We decided to skip the last 3 switchbacks and go to the bottom of the Y.

Almost there! Can you see the white in the background. That is an exciting view for anyone doing this hike!

WE MADE IT!!!!!

Even AJ made the gruelling RIDE up!
Having a snack next to the Y.

Hiking back down is almost as hard as going up.
This is about where Ashlee states she doesn't think she'll EVER do this hike again!

Aunt JoAnn's 70th

2011-06-25T15:12:00.001-07:00

Aunt JoAnn is my mom's sister and she is someone I admire very much. She is like a 2nd mom to me and has been since I was little. I spent weeks at a time at their house in the summer and a lot of holidays too. She loved me like one of her own children. She has been through some rough times in her life and continues to be strong and battle all the trials that come her way. It was an honor to celebrate her 70 years of life with her. Her kids did an awesome job of planning her party. She had no clue this was happening. How fun!!!
I didn't get very many pictures. Here are a few of my cousins and aunts and uncles waiting for her to arrive home.

Her arrival and shock at seeing so many people in her back yard.

Hugging Uncle Ronald

and Aunt Barbara

and Aunt Melba.
Happy 70th Aunt JoAnn! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Backyard Campout

2011-06-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be fun to try camping with our kids now that we don't have an infant. We decided our trial run should be close to home. Grandma and Grandpa Tuckett's backyard is the perfect place since they have the tent, and the firepit! Of course the kids loved playing in the tent.

For some reason Julia took pictures of the kids playing dead.

Jeremy cooked us some yummy hot dogs.

Emma playing dead again.

Marshmallow roasting time. I love Julia's messy face!

Notice no marshmallow on Andrew's smore, which means the chocolate isn't melted at all, which means he is eating a piece of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers.

Emma LOVES smores!

Reading books before bedtime, just before the fun begins. Not sure why Emma is making a frowny face. Maybe she was getting nervous.

After we cuddled up in our sleeping bags the wind began blowing rather hard and Emma got scared of the shaking tent. She wet her pants so Eldon took her home, cleaned her up and put her to bed. That is when I called to ask him to come pick up AJ. The kid would NOT sleep. He woke Julia and I both up with a kiss. Sweet, but not so sweet at 10:00 pm :) Then he realized Andrew was asleep and kept yelling, "Wake up, Andrew!"

So half of us slept in the tent all night, the other half went home to their beds.

I guess camping is not our thing......YET!

Water Conservation Gardens

2011-06-25T14:31:00.001-07:00

I have decided kids can have fun doing just about anything as long as they are with people they like! Jeanna and I took the kids to the Water Conservation Gardens in Orem. They have all sorts of plants there, a stage, and some playhouses the kids can play in.
Our little performers...
These 3 found the stage and could have stayed there ALL day if they would have had an audience! We loved their rendition of Twinkle Twinkle and the ABC song.

Emma and Brynn on the porch of a playhouse. I would love to have one of these in my back yard!
Andrew and Emma inside a playhouse.

Exploring the gardens.

Back to the stage for more singing and dancing!

The big kids had a plant check list and were having a competition to see who could find the most plants on the list. See Educational also!

We forced the group to sit for this photo.

Then it was off to the mall for some chick-fil-a and some "ke-hup" as AJ calls it.

We played on the mall playground for a while.

Another fun summer day! I love summer, but it sure is tiring to be the mom sometimes.

Fun on the Farm

2011-06-15T14:49:00.001-07:00

We went to the Thanksgiving Point Farm our first day of summer vacation. Ashlee and Erica joined us.
AJ was so cute at first. He loved touching the goats.
Everyone loved touching the goats.

But then he saw the chickens and made this face and was scared of all the rest of the animals.
He wouldn't go near the pony rides. But Andrew
Julia
Erica
and Emma loved them!
Ashlee kept her distance because of her allergies. The kids even got to pet a cow before they read the sign that says, "Watch out, I bite!"
Emma had fun playing in the playhouses.
And seeing the ducks.
This bridge is new since the last time we were there. It gives you a good view of the duck pond on one side and the pig pen on the other side.
Everyone loved the wagon ride, although AJ is looking concerned.
We were done looking at all the animals and had had our pony rides and wagon ride and we had only been there 1 hour. I thought, really only 1 hours worth of entertainment for $5????? But then we found this room........ It doesn't look like much, but the kids had a blast here and spent another hour just in this play room. Their favorite part was the conveyor belt that turned on automatically every so often that you could put tiles on and then stack them at the end.
Julia stationed at the end of the conveyor belt.
Ashlee and Erica sending more tiles down the conveyor belt.

Andrew joined in the fun!
Emma harvesting something.
Or maybe she is planting :)
After we were done the kids decided they wanted to climb on top of this huge wagon near the entrance. It was huge so I was not encouring this, I did not want any broken arms.

I refused to help Emma get up, but she found her own way.

She is so proud of herself for making it to the top all by herself.
We had a good time at the farm. It made for a perfect start of summer 2011!

Walk With Angels II

2011-05-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

May 21 was the 2nd Annual Walk With Angels fundraiser for the United Angels Foundation. We joined this foundation after our Up with Downs group dissintegrated. We have loved this group and the fun parties they have. This fundraiser is also extremely fun! They have games and activities for the kids. Like the cupcake walk and face painting.

Balloons

Walking with family!

Too many pictures for Emma.

Meeting Cosmo

Piggy-back rides

Star Wars Characters

Slides

We couldn't get Emma off this one.

And Bounce Houses

Food

more food

They even had a trailer full of video games. Your kids come out looking like zombies!

It was a fun family day and we appreciate all the family support we had there and those who supported from far away! THANKS SO MUCH!!!! We are so blessed!

Andrew's Preschool Program

2011-05-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

Andrew had his preschool program on the 19th. He was very excited about it, and a little nervous. We were sad daddy, Grandma and Grandpa Hult and Grandpa Tuckett weren't able to be there.

I started recording the whole thing, but my video camera died so I pulled out the camera to get a few still shots.

Andrew was counting to 100 by 10's with another boy and he was too shy to look at the audience so he watched the other boy the whole time.

Andrew had two of the best preschool teachers ever! Mrs. Allan is his Aunt so he even got to see her at family parties.

Mrs. Parkinson is Kelly's neighbor and she had a daughter in the class with Andrew.

My camera died during the program also so we had to take these pictures with the teachers a week later when we took them their teacher gifts.
I am so proud of my preschool graduate!

Miscellaneous May

2011-05-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

My favorite mess maker. Who has to have this hat on when he sweeps. It must be part of his uniform.

Helping CJ celebrate her 9th birthday with skater cake and everything!

I got to help at Julia's fieldtrip and talk about a mountain man rendevous and what goes on there like tossing buffalo chips (paper plates) and shooting strait shooters (spitting marshmallows through straws) It was a lot of fun, but I didn't get to follow Julia and her group so the only picture I got was her eating lunch with her friends. Can you believe she would rather stay and eat lunch with her friends than eat out with her mom???? Crazy!

I was in charge of the Mother's Day cake for my Mother in Law. I have decided I might like to be a cake decorator when I grow up, not because I'm good at it, but because I LOVE TO PLAY WITH FOOD!!!

This is how AJ wears flip flops. I love the stage when babies walk around the house in everyones shoes!

Fishing Day

2011-05-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Utah Fish and Game hosts a fishing day for kids with disabilities at Salem Pond every year. There were many bus loads of kids there. I was excited Emma's teacher asked me to tag along. Sometimes Emma loves it when I go on fieldtrips with her, and other times she doesn't love it. This time she was happy I was there. Yeah!!

They provided lunch for us, which, as you can see on Emma's face, was delicious!

They have the fish already hooked and throw them out in the pond so the kids can reel them in.

Emma was very excited about catching a fish.

She even touched it.

Is that a proud fisher girl face, or what!

Emma's class even got to meet Smokey the Bear.

We had a great time at Fishing Day and we didn't even get rained on. We can't wait to go again next year!

Emma's Mother's Day Program

2011-05-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

Emma's class does a special Mother's Day Program. It was so sweet!
Here Emma sits not very lady-like waiting patiently for the program to begin.

Saying her part.

Emma with all of her friends after the program.
My mom and her sister, Aunt JoAnn, were able to come.

Emma gave me several Mother's Day gifts after the program. One of them was a picture collage of different pictures they have taken of Emma throughout the school year.

This is Emma's teacher, Sherri Madsen. She is so sweet with Emma we just love her!

AJ's owie

2011-05-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

I took this kid to the barber to get his hair shaved off.

This kid tripped and cracked his chin on the chair. OUCH!

It was not a fun time at the barber shop.

Track Meet

2011-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Julia participated in her 4th grade track meet last week. She tied with another girl in the 50 meter race. She won her heat in the 100 meter, but I didn't have my camera for either of those races. This picture is her running the semi-finals of the 50 meter race. I think she took 3rd in this one.

This one might be the 100 meter semi-finals. I think she sped past a few of these girls and came in 3rd in this one too. It is always fun to see her win her first races of the day! She is a good little runner!

Andrew was very excited about the Lollipop Race for all preschoolers. They start with 2 year olds, but AJ was not ready for that kind of competition. Then they do 3-4 year olds, and finally 5-6 year olds.

Andrew ran his little heart out! He was happy just to have the lollipop!

It was a perfect day for a track meet! Warm with a little breeze and sunny!

Lisa's Graduation

2011-05-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

I had the opportuntiy to attend my older sister's Graduation from UVU a couple of weeks ago. She received her teaching degree and I am so proud of her for all the hard work she has had to put forth to accomplish this goal. School is not ever easy, but going to school while being a mom, having a calling, and even working part of it, is hard work.

Here she is with her husband and two of her children. Her oldest son is serving a mission in Germany and her second child couldn't be there because she could not miss anymore school.

Way to go Lisa, I am so proud of you!!!

I have no sound on my computer so I don't know what this video sounds like, but it is probably just me yelling! I meant well!

Easter Cupcakes

2011-05-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

My sister sent me a cupcake book and there were these darling ducks on the front cover that I wanted to make for Easter. Little did I know how much work it would take to make them. Three hours of decorating and mine weren't nearly as cute as theirs.

We took them to my mom's to celebrate her birthday and Easter, but I forgot my camera.

Thanks for the book Cind!

Easter Sunday

2011-05-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

The girls looked darling in their matching dresses, but AJ did not want a picture taken.

Finally I settled for a cute picture with my 3 pleasant children.

And one picture with my tantrum-throwing child.

Easter Morning

2011-05-02T20:49:00.001-07:00

The Easter Bunny came to our house. The kids each got a book and one inexpensive gift. Julia got some paints, Emma got sidewalk chalk, Andrew got a bat and ball, and AJ got a big bouncy ball.
The Easter Bunny also hid eggs for the kids to find.

AJ wanted to eat the contents of his eggs and he was pretty fast. He even tried to stick the candy in his mouth, wrapper and all when we told him he could only have 1 piece.

Coloring Eggs

2011-05-02T20:41:00.001-07:00

I have a hard time with the coloring eggs tradition because I hate to waste perfectly good food, even if eggs are cheap. So I only boiled a dozen eggs, as many as I thought we could eat. Which meant the kids only got to color 3 each. They felt like they were just getting started when the project was over.

Julia was trying to help AJ color his eggs with a crayon, but he was not good at handling the eggs. He smashed his on the table and squished it with his hands and made a big mess.

Needless to say, he was excused from the table early.

City Hunt

2011-05-02T20:29:00.001-07:00

My family decided not to do an Easter Egg Hunt this year so we took the kids to the City Easter Egg Hunt.
Eldon took AJ to his age group where AJ tried to collect eggs and put them in his pocket.

I took Andrew and Emma to their age group. They were ready to race for the eggs at the sound of the horn.

I took a picture of Emma and turned around to take one of Andrew and he was done. He had his 4 egg quota and was ready to check out his lute.

It was a bit chaotic, but the kids had a good time.

Poor Julia had to go to her age group alone and nobody even got a picture of her. The kids were pretty happy with their grab bags, they didn't even care that they didn't win a bike!

AJ's Birthday Bash

2011-05-02T19:52:00.001-07:00

AJ chose Froggy cupcakes for his birthday so we went with a froggy theme!

I set him on the counter to take a picture with his cupcakes and he just couldn't resist sampling them.
He thought it was quite funny, probably because everyone was laughing at him.

AJ shares his birthday with Grandma Tuckett, but he was not ready to have a picture taken with her.

AJ has many talents and picking his nose is just one of them.

AJ opened this first gift and said, "Oh, new sandals" He is a pretty good talker.

How ironic that the shirt says I'm not spoiled but AJ showed how spoiled he is not 2 seconds later when he received a new book.

After pulling this trucks book out of the gift bag AJ didn't want to open another gift. He only wanted to read his book about trucks.

He wanted Grandma to read it to him and he was NOT going to take no for an answer.

Meanwhile Julia opened the rest of his gifts. My mom found this adoreable Froggy ball toss game that went perfectly with our froggy theme!

AJ obviously didn't care about anything but his trucks book.

He did warm up a little and opened a few more gifts. I made the froggy blanket on grandma's lap.

AJ got a Scentsy Buddy. Before I ordered this online I let AJ choose which animal he wanted and he chose the Froggy. When he opened the box and hugged Ribbert, he said, "um, smells good!"
AJ was really good at blowing out the candles. He blew them out 3 times before we could finish singing and get a picture.

We had to move the cake far away to light it again!

Who needs a fork anyway, right!

YUM!!!

I love how he is grabbing both sides of the plate to get a better bite!

Someone finally found him a fork.

We LOVE this adoreable, funny, cuddly, slightly spoiled 2 year old and wouldn't change anything about him, most of the time!!! Happy Birthday, AJ!

Back to Work....

2011-04-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

In the Yard, that is.
This is what Eldon did Saturday, April 16.
Two garden boxes, hooked to the sprinkler system.
He says this is part of my Mother's Day! I am okay with that!!

Spring Break Day #5

2011-04-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

ZOO DAY

I am not even going to try to put these pictures in order. They are pretty self-explanatory anyway. We went to the Hogle Zoo on the last day of our Spring Break. We rode the train and the carousel and saw lots of cool animals!

We had an overall great time!

Not a bad way to end our Spring Break!

(ALL these pictures are taken with Eldon's cel phone because someone forgot to bring the camera)

Spring Break Day #4

2011-04-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I took all four kids to Shopko, Macey's, and the Library all before 12:00. We went home in time to eat lunch and get packed up for our one-night get-away up to WOLF CREEK in Ogden Canyon. Needless to say, by the time we were all in the car with all our stuff I was wiped out!
That is my excuse for forgetting the camera and having no photos for Thursday and very few of the Zoo Day Friday:)

Spring Break Day #3

2011-04-25T20:29:00.001-07:00

A walk in the park

My kids love feeding the ducks at Salem Pond, and I have to admit, I love it too! I spent every summer day of my childhood playing at or in the pond. So being there brings back great memories for me.

Julia was having her own fun with cousins. After spending the night with Max and Tessa she went to the movie HOP with them also.

Spring Break Day #2

2011-04-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

Maybe not the funnest day for the kids, but I had a great time! Julia baked some bread and cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls were gone before I could get a picture.

I went to lunch with these cute girls. Sandi and Amy are a couple of my best friends from high school. We had a great time chatting and eating yummy chinese food. (We probably should have had the waitor take our picture instead of trying to do it ourselves.)

We did a little shopping, well, Sandi did a LOT of shopping. I bought some new sheets. I also picked up my $100 Visa Gift card that I won from the radio station a few weeks ago. It was a great day!

Spring Break Day #1

2011-04-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

THE AQUARIUM

So day #1 of Spring Break was spent at the Living Planet Aquarium.

It was an Anenome-seeing

Manta Ray-touching Eel-spotting Penguin-watching

Slip-sliding

Tree-climbing

Water-drinking

Monkeying-around

kind of day!

April Fools

2011-04-04T20:24:00.001-07:00

I know this looks absolutely disgusting, and Andrew's face even looks like he is ready to puke, but everyone actually liked it. I was so proud of myself because I used all our left-overs and made up my own recipes, kind of.

I wish I would have gotten AJ's initial reaction when he took his first bite. My other kids knew this was colored mash potatoes over the top of meatloaf, but AJ had no clue. He was expecting something sweet. He was surprised and made a funny face, but decided that it was still edible even though it wasn't dessert.

I made dirt again for dessert, but nobody liked it. Who doesn't like chocolate pudding with crushed oreos on top????? I think it was the gummy worms inside the pudding that they didn't love. Oh well, just more for mom to eat!

When you know they're sick

2011-04-04T20:15:00.001-07:00

They go in to their bed and fall asleep at 6:00 fully dressed with their shoes still on.

We had a bit of sickness at our house last week. AJ got a fever Sunday and had it for 2 days. Then Emma woke up with it Tuesday morning and Andrew's preschool teacher(Aunt Kelly) called me to come get him from school Tuesday because he had a fever. I took them all to the doctor and they all had red swollen throats but nobody had complained about their throat hurting and they still had their normal appetites. It was the weirest sickness. But it wasn't strep. Nope it was viral. I love paying $75 in copays to hear, "We can't do anything for them."
Luckily it was a short illness and everyone was better by Friday and I didn't have to clean up any puke!

Princess, Princess or Barbie

2011-03-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

THE THEME
When asking Emma what kind of party she wanted the answer is always princess or barbie or either one since they are interchangeable anyway. (At least in Emma's mind!)
She couldn't decide between a princess castle cake and a mermaid cake, but I talked her into the princess castle cake because I thought it looked easier to make. Boy was I wrong. This is attempt #1.
The second layer fell apart when I tried to put it on the first layer.

I baked a whole new cake and the same thing happened with attempt #2.

THE CAKE
I decided we would have to be happy with a one level castle. Emma just had to stick Ariel on top because no princess castle cake is complete without a princess.

Emma's birthday fell on a Friday night and it happened to be the last night of the Nerdin's visit so we invited both sides of the family and held Emma's party at the church.

THE GAMES
It was perfect for the kids to play and run around. Here they are playing a big game of duck, duck goose.

THE GIFTS
Emma loves all things barbie and princess so that is what she got most of. She also got some color wonder stuff which she loves!

THE PINATA
We were going to do the cake after the gifts, but someone forgot to bring the candles so we jumped ahead to the pinata.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EMMA
I can't believe this girl is 7 already.

Emma and Brynn-best buds

AJ got Ariel off the cake and was scooping up ice cream with her dress and sucking it down.

THE CLEAN UP
We got a bunch of balloons stuck on the ceiling and Bryan came up with the most creative idea of getting them down. The vaccuum with the hose on the end.

Emma had a very fun birthday and she was so excited to share it with so much family! Thanks everyone for helping our Princess celebrate her day!

Classroom Treats

2011-03-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

Emma had a birthday Friday. Her class goes swimming at BYU almost every Friday and that makes for a pretty fun birthday activity for Emma. It's so nice of them to plan that just for her. After swimming I took fudge bars to her class since they are one of her favorite treats. Emma loves her friends in her class!

These two are her particular friends since they are the only ones Emma's same age.

Bowling Night

2011-03-29T18:04:00.001-07:00

Tuesday some people went to Boondocks but we weren't able to go. Tuesday night Eldon took Julia and Andrew ice skating with all the cousins. Andrew said, "I was super fast when they turned out the lights." I guess the disco lights made him feel speedy! Again, no pictures for Tuesday.

Wednesday night Eldon, Bryan, Zach and Eric went golfing while the rest of us went Bowling at Fat Cats. I sent Julia around with the camera so we got lots of great pictures, or at least lots of pictures.
AJ would stand here waiting for the balls to come up saying, "It's coming!"
Julia did pretty good. This cheer was after her 2nd straight spare.

Someone even let AJ have a turn.

Emma cheered every time she hit a pin.
AJ being a puppy now.

"CHEESE", says Makay.

Day #2

2011-03-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Monday Morning we played some Settlers and Zach worked out bench-pressing Andrew on the laundry basket.

Later we went swimming at the Lehi Pool but I didn't get a single picture because we were all too busy swimming.

Oregon Spring Break

2011-03-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Our Oregon cousins had Spring Break this week and the Nerdins decided to come to Utah for their vacation. We started the break with desserts at our house Sunday night.
The BIG kids played outside...

While the little kids watched from inside.

Happy "Green" Day!

2011-03-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

My kids were very excited about the green shirts I found for bargain prices at Walmart. We had to take a picture before Emma left for school even though we hadn't had a chance to do Julia's hair yet.

AJ and Brynn are best buds. He is even trying to mimic her by folding his arms.

My SIL is sooo creative! I love this flower she made out of felt and a few buttons and pinned over the top of an existing flower to add more green to B's shirt. Adoreable!
How do people come up with things like that?

I told AJ he had to smile and say cheese for the picture. That is when I noticed his lunch still in his mouth. He has just started storing things in his cheeks for hours after a meal. It drives me CRAZY!!!!
Good thing he is so darn cute!

Las Vegas

2011-03-17T14:03:00.001-07:00

Eldon and I went to Las Vegas with my parents for the Mountain West Conference Basketball Tournament. The days preceding our departure I tried to keep all the kids healthy. Made them go to bed on time, tried not to share too many germs with each other, etc. I thought, as we left at 6:00 am Thursday morning, that we had done it. We left without one sick child and didn't have to feel bad about leaving sick children for other people to take care of.

Little did I know....
Andrew had caught the stomach flu from who knows where. Thursday night Grandma was up ALL night with him puking.
Then they all slept at Kelly's Friday night.
Andrew shared his sickness with Emma who started puking Saturday morning just before they were leaving to go to Jeanna's.
AJ started in with it Saturday afternoon and Andrew started again while Emma still had it. Jeanna had 3 of my puking children at one time. Bless her! Luckily Lisa was available to help and took Emma for the rest of Saturday and Sunday. AJ slept all night, but Andrew had it again and was up all night Saturday. My kids even shared with their cousins, Ashlee and Erica who were sick Sunday, and Lisa who had a mild case of the bug Monday.

Nobody even told me until Saturday night that my kids were sick and by then it was too late to head home. AJ was in the tub when we got to Jon and Jeanna's to pick them up because he had just choked on something and puked. Since we got home we haven't had one sick child.

This was one of my worst nightmares and it makes me never want to leave my kids again. But it also makes me feel so GRATEFUL to have such WONDERFUL family members who care for and comfort my children as their own while I am away.

AJ's Antics

2011-03-17T13:58:00.001-07:00

I heard AJ crying from the other room again and found him on the bike this time. He was NOT happy about me running back to get my camera before I rescued him!

I think he will forgive me!

Near Death Experience

2011-03-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

I almost died last week. I was taking my vitamins in the morning and didn't realise the lid to my water bottle was in my hand along with all the vitamins. I tried to choke them all down and couldn't understand why it was so difficult this time. Then the lid got stuck. I coughed and gagged and was losing air quickly. I looked around at the 5, 3(my niece), and 1 year old wondering who was going to give me the heimlic(sp?) maneuver. I leaned over the sink trying with all my might to get some air and get the thing out of my throat, knowing that I had already gotten all my vitamins out, when the lid finally popped out. I was shaking and crying, and thankful to be alive. I have never choked like that before, and hope to never have a similar experience.
At dinner that night when I was telling Eldon that I had almost died that morning Andrew pipes in with, "If you died mom, we would have to get a new mom."
Problem solved. Simple as that. One mom dies, just get a new one!

No cooking = A Great Week

2011-03-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Julia and Emma wore matching outfits Monday. We even did their hair the same.

Kind of sad that I judge a week by how many meals I have to prepare.
Monday I took the 3 oldest to the dentist for cleanings. We got done around 4:30 and they were all starving. It just so happened the dentist had given them coupons for a free hamburger to Artic Circle. We got 3 free hamburgers and one order of french fries for them to share and that was dinner. I had soup or something healthy and Eldon had fried eggs.

Just more pictures of the girls. Don't they look adoreable!

Tuesday my presidency meeting was cancelled and then my mother-in-law called and invited us over for dinner. So a busy evening turned into a calm, quiet evening. I love it when that happens!

Wednesday was the worst day for every reason. I cleaned my bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, swept and mopped my floors, had to fix dinner, and then put the kids to bed by myself. At least all the bad stuff happened on the same day. I dragged myself to bed at 10:30 sore and stiff from a long day of hard work.
This is how Andrew felt about me cleaning all day.

Thursday we had left-overs and then I had book club. I got to sit and chat with my friends and eat yummy food! It was great!

Friday night we went on a date to Texas Roadhouse. We went on a double date with Grandma and Grandpa Hult, but we could have triple dated since we happened to run into Grandma and Grandpa Tuckett at the same restaurant at the same time. What are the odds. That was our first Texas Roadhouse experience. It was delicious!!! We had a coupon for a free appetizer so I was full before my meal arrived, but it was all so good I just had to keep eating!

Saturday Julia had festival in Orem. That's where she gets judged on a couple of piano pieces she has been working on. She received a Superior Rating again! One more and she gets a trophy!
Eldon had two hours between Festival and the basketball game in which he took down the Christmas lights. Eldon loved the BYU game and even stayed for the ceremony afterwards.
I stayed home most of the day making food preparations for Sunday dinner since it was our turn to host the Hult Family dinner. When Eldon got home from the game I got to go scrapbooking, where again I chatted with friends and ate yummy food!

Sunday was a little hectic before church, during church, and after church. Sometimes Sunday seems like a day of rest, maybe not this month:)

Overall, it was a great week! I only had to prepare 2 meals the WHOLE week!!!!

That kind of morning

2011-02-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

It was THAT kind of morning.
1. Julia spills the coco puffs all over the floor.
2. Emma tries to pour her own coco puffs in her bowl and spills them again.
3. AJ pukes after eating his breakfast.
After cleaning up AJ, the puke in his booster on his chair, and under the table, and vacuuming the floor...
4. AJ helps himself to some nerds.

I decided he could clean them up himself. (Andrew helped a little also.)

He ate them off his chair.

He ate them off the floor.

He ate them standing up.

And he licked them off the table.

It was a LONG day!

Missing tooth #4

2011-02-28T18:52:00.001-08:00

This girl has been losing teeth like crazy. I guess I'm just surprised she is losing them younger than Julia did. Tooth #3 fell out while she was playing on the Mall playground and she swallowed it so at least this time she would get to put the tooth under her pillow.

We have a little tooth box to keep the tooth until the tooth fairy takes it.

She was so proud to have pulled this one out all on her own. My sweet angel baby is growing up.

Snow Day

2011-02-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

It was kind of fun waking up to over a foot of snow Friday morning after having some warmer weather for a while. We hurried out after breakfast to take advantage knowing the snow would probably be melted by afternoon.
I helped Andrew make part of the snow fort until AJ puked and I had to go clean him up. Then Brynn and Andrew worked really well together to finish the rest of the fort.

They were very proud of their accomplishment. Andrew was excited that the fort was taller than him!

Glow-in-the-Dark Paints

2011-02-28T18:41:00.001-08:00

Julia got some cool glow-in-the-dark paints for her birthday. She had a lot of fun painting in the dark. I had fun too. We didn't think the paints would keep overnight without drying out so we painted all 5 pictures the same night.

This picture didn't turn out quite like I was hoping, but the pictures really did look cool when they were done.

Turns out the paints never dry out, even on the paintings. But they do stop glowing after only one night.

Family Party

2011-02-21T20:38:00.001-08:00

We did the same cake for the family party because I thought it was cute and it was pretty easy, as far as cake decorating goes.

Julia got lots of great gifts, like these piano socks.

She got an outfit, which she picked out herself, but there were a few things that were surprises.

She got a couple of new books, which she LOVES!!!

This earring and necklace holder was a surprise and will come in handy since she got lots of jewelry from family and friends.

She was very excited about the new outfit for her American Girl Doll.

Just what every artist needs, NEW PAINTS!!!

Who needs to make a wish when all of hers came true today!!!

Love you, Julia! You are the sweetest girl ever!

Goofy Girls

2011-02-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

On the ride home from swimming Julia and friends were playing with the camera.
First they saw a man dressed like a banana.

Brooke and the noodle on her noodle.

Amanda and Lindsay

Paige and something up her nose.

Little miss Julia

Swimming in February?

2011-02-21T20:07:00.001-08:00

Who is crazy enough to have a pool party in February in Utah?
Only this cute 10 year old!
I cannot believe our 1st baby is 10 already!

And these are the cute girls who helped her celebrate!

She even had the swimming pool birthday cake!

It's fun to sit by Emma. NOT!

In order to find a great indoor pool in Utah County you have to drive for a while.

These silly girls had fun with the toys from their gift bags on the 30 minute drive.

The gang again!

One of the girls gave Julia a beach ball for her birthday. They had lots of fun with that in the pool!

The big green slide made a couple of the girls nervous, but they all did it in the end and they even liked it, although Julia said she thinks it might be haunted.

"I pay attention" - Valentines 2011

2011-02-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

That's what Eldon replied when I asked him how he knew I liked lillies. He pays attention. I am so lucky to have Eldon as my eternal Valentine! (Is that too cheesy to say?) He is the best husband a girl could want.

Funny side note...
When Emma met Eldon at the door and saw the beautiful flowers she said, "Ooh, cool tree!"

Julia with her valentine box she took to class. It wasn't overly creative, but it worked!! I must have been dejunking when the kids brought home their Valentines, because we removed all the treats and threw away all the cards and the box/bags. Now we just have treats and those will go soon too, one way or another!
These are the Valentines bags Emma and Andrew made at school.
AJ made this bouquet in Nursery. The little flowers are made of AJ's handprints. The card says December so I'm not sure if they did the handprints in December and made the flowers later or what. It's the poem about how their handprints are small right now, but they won't be for long. Something like that.
We had a great Valentines weekend and day! Eldon got free tickets to the BYU basketball game Saturday so that was our Valentines date. Monday night we had heart-shaped pizza like last year and then we had FHE! I dipped strawberries in chocolate for our treat! YUM!!!

Head "Phones"

2011-02-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

The other day the wind was blowing terribly and causing loud whistling noises through our house. Emma was so nervous she wasn't able to eat her dinner. I found a set of headphones and as soon as I put them on her ears she calmed right down and starting eating her dinner.

Later she told me that her teacher might call her on her head "phones"! Maybe that is what made her calm down, she was waiting for a phone call!

"Heart Cakes"

2011-02-11T15:44:00.000-08:00

Once you start manipulating pancakes you can almost never go back to the original, at least at our house. When I asked if the kids wanted pancakes for breakfast the other day one said, "Can you change the color."
Another one said, "I want chocolate chips in mine!"
Someone else said, "What about heart-shaped pancakes for Valentines?"

Whatever makes them happy, right!

They look pretty happy to me!

Babysitting

2011-02-11T15:11:00.001-08:00

Our neighbor wasn't feeling well and asked if we could watch her boys for a while last Saturday night. This little man was the celebrity of the night! We love Porter's big eyes and cute smile! ALL the kids followed him around the house and begged to hold him!

Not too tight, Emma!

Andrew was especially excited about holding little Porter.
Julia was a big helper. She almost had me convinced that we need another baby at our house. ALMOST!

AJ was not so excited to have Porter visiting. He didn't want to hold him as you can see him backing away when we tried to put Porter on his lap. He also didn't want his mommy to be holding the baby. We had some jealousy going on.
Corbin was so cute and content to play Wedgitz. He was concentrating very hard to get his tower to stay up.

He kept saying, "And another one, and another one" as he added to his tower.
When he was finally finished he leaned over and looked at the tower and announced,"Oh, it's cute!"

We absolutely loved our playmates last Saturday and hope we get a chance to play with them again soon!!!

Terrible 2's

2011-01-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

This is just the beginning of the terrible 2 stage for AJ and I have a feeling we haven't even touched the surface of what it might become.

He is not really naughty, just a little curious.
I like the using of the storage box as a stool. Whatever works!

He climbs up to play the piano all the time.

He LOVES this gorilla, which is not really a stuffed animal but a computer dusting animal we got for Christmas.
I find AJ on top of the table a lot. Once he climbed on top of the computer desk but I was too nervous to leave him there to get the camera and take a picture.
This was his newest stunt which I'm sure he learned from his siblings. I heard his little whimpers from the other room and ran to find him like this. Then I left him there to go get the camera. He probably wondered if I was ever going to save him. I love that petrified look on his face!
Okay, I know these terrible 2's could be worse, and probably will be, since right now they are just pretty cute! I am loving this little boy and every stage he goes through since I know this is our last baby!!!!!

Motocross Mountain Climbing..

2011-01-26T15:43:00.001-08:00

.. is the cake Andrew chose because it looks cool and it looks boyish. And he was pretty excited about playing with the motorcycle and rider after the cake was gone.

We had to take some pictures of it quickly because it was starting to fall.

The leaning cake of birthday!

We had the Tuckett's over for Sunday dinner and then Andrew got to open his gifts from them. He got a car from the Christensen's that follows tracks made by any black marker so you can make your own tracks for it. Fun!

Andrew got a tool set from the Tuckett's. He has never had a tool set before so he was pretty excited!

Besides church pants from G&G Tuckett he got a bow and arrow. He got the exact bow and arrow for Christmas last year, but it broke within 10 minutes. Let's hope this one lasts longer.

Again Andrew did the silliest thing while blowing out the candles. I don't know if he wanted the moment to last longer, or if he thinks you are supposed to only blow out 1 candle at a time, but I took a million pictures just trying to catch him blowing.

We love this boy and are so happy he is part of our family!

Ice Skating

2011-01-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

Our stake was nice enough to plan an ice skating activity for Andrew's birthday. It was actually a regional activity, which means A LOT of people were invited. The line was horrendous when we got there, but it moved quickly and we actually got plenty of skating time in the 1 hour alotted for our region.

This was Andrew's 1st skating experience. It was pretty hard for him, but luckily Ashlee came with us and was very helpful with Andrew.

Julia skated once over the Thanksgiving holiday with her cousins so she was getting more comfortable on skates.

Emma had a hard time keeping her feet underneath her, as did mommy!

Ashlee, Erica, and Julia making their way around the rink.

We were lucky Grandma and Grandpa decided to come watch us because I don't know what we would have done with AJ otherwise. Eldon and I kept busy holding Andrew and Emma up the whole time. The Farris' also came. Bryan skated with Kaylee and Dallin was all over the place throwing snowballs at people. The rest of the Farris' watched us all make fools of ourselves. That's Renee behind the flash:)

Andrew might not choose to go skating for his birthday again, but it was a memorable experience for all of us!

A 5 Year Old BOY!!!

2011-01-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time believing that this kid is 5 already. It seems like just yesterday he was born.
We had Grandma and Grandpa Hult over for pizza and brownies Saturday afternoon. Then Andrew got to open some of his gifts. He got a belt to hold his church pants up!

He got a pair of How to Train your Dragon Jammies.

Another set of Wedgitz. I keep wondering when we'll have enough wedgitz.

Andrew got some card games from Grandma and Grandpa and a pair of basketball shorts.

Andrew put the candles in his brownies himself.

When it was time to blow out the candles, for some reason he wanted to prolong this activity, so he tried to only blow out one at a time. Here he is barely blowing from 10 ft away!

I love this handsome, smart, active, mischievious boy more than words can say!
Happy Birthday, my little man!

Road Trip

2011-01-19T19:51:00.001-08:00

My brother is moving to Florida to start school and needed another driver to go with him so I volunteered, after making arrangements for my kids. My goal was to take a picture at each state line, but Colorado snuck up on us and I didn't want to turn around. New Mexico was in the dark, but I finally got Texas, and that was a big one since it takes such a long time to get across it.

We got a kick out of my dad's waffle in the shape of Texas at the hotel breakfast.
All the other states lines we crossed happened in the rain. This is the bridge over the Mississippi River.
The USS Alabama or some other big battleship.
Joel and I also loved the Big Az Chicken Sandwich. They also had a Big Az Hamburger! This was some gas station in Alabama or Florida or Mississippi, probably Mississippi.
Joel didn't mean to make this face, but he really didn't like his veal so maybe he had just taken a bite.
I had a toenail appointment long before I knew I would be going to Florida. I was excited that I might get to wear flip flops and somebody might be able to see my cute toes!!! Notice the Penske Truck in front of us, that was our view the whole 4 days on the road. My dad drove the truck the WHOLE way!
This was our hotel room the last night. Mom and dad spoiled us with this one. It was pretty nice!
They also spoiled me by taking me to Carrabas, my favorite restaurant. Look how clean my plate was! YUM!!!
After arriving in Bonita Springs and unloading the truck we had a minute to run to the beach. Mom and I jumped out of the car, took a couple of pictures and jumped back in the car to head to the airport. I had to catch my flight from Ft Lauderdale, 2 hours away.
There they are, my cute toes in the sand.

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but I am soooooo thankful for family that were willing and able to watch our kids. The boys went to Grandma and Grandpa Hults Friday where Andrew played games with Grandma all day, his favorite activity! The girls went and played with Tessa and Max. They played the wii and colored and I don't know what else! Grandma fed them all dinner after Eldon got home from work.

Saturday Jeanna took Andrew and Julia to play for the afternoon so Eldon was able to relax while AJ napped.

Sunday my in-laws helped out a bunch while Eldon was at his church meetings and during church also, I'm sure! That evening they joined all the Hult cousins at the Sintay's for treats and games.

Monday Kelly and John had all 4 kids all day and then they even fed them all dinner after Eldon got off work. The kids were very excited about riding the 4 wheeler and being pulled on the sled by the 4 wheeler. They always LOVE going to Kellys!

Tuesday the girls went to school and Grandma and Grandpa had the boys again. They made sure Andrew got to school also. Then Grandma fixed waffles for dinner, Andrew's all time favorite dinner! He is pretty spoiled by his Grandma!

Thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to help Joel with this move. We were very blessed with safety even through the thunder storms and now I can say I've been to Florida and a few other states on the way!

Thanks also to my sweet husband who supports all my hair-brained ideas like driving across the country! You are the best!

Super "A"

2011-01-19T19:45:00.001-08:00

Andrew made the super hero cape with the letter A on it at preschool. He was very excited about it and loved having his picture taken with it on. !!!

Luckily both our boys start with A so they can both wear it!

Freezing in the New Year

2011-01-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

The Farris's invited us up for a New Year's Party. They told us to bring snow clothes and Bryan and Eldon would take the kids for rides on the sled pulled by the 4 wheeler. The kids had a great time, but it was FREEZING! I don't know how anybody lasted more than a few minutes out there at all.
See how rosy and red Emma's cheeks were. And that was before the ride started!

Andrew getting ready for his first ride!

There he goes!

Julia and AJ waiting for their turn.

Everyone had a great time playing games, playing the wii, eating yummy tortellini, and, of course, eating at least four desserts! The best part about it was we were all gone by 9:00. We rang in the new year in our cozy beds. In my opinion, the perfect way to welcome 2011!

Jumpin Jacks

2011-01-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

My kids, especially Andrew has been begging me for quite a while to take him back to Jumpin Jacks. I wish we had Jumpin Jacks in our house. Andrew would be in Heaven! Anyway, I don't know how to take good action shots, but I think you can get the idea of how much fun they all had.
Andrew would just throw himself down every slide.

Emma was a bit more cautious.

AJ loved it all, and all the big kids loved to pack him around!

Brynn and Emma jumpin away. This is what I'm talking about with the action shots being poor.

Love the look on her face. ELATION!

Max and AJ

This is the one for kids 0-5. AJ loved it!

AJ, Max, and Julia riding the Merry Go Round.

It was hard to get good shots of the big kids because they were all too fast. By the time I would stand up to take their picture they would be at the bottom.
This was a super fun day!

Eldon's favorite Christmas Gift

2011-01-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Eldon's boss gave Eldon his 2nd row Jazz tickets for the Jazz/Portland basketball game on December 27. Eldon was extremely excited for the game, but he was nice enough to take me to Temple Square before the game. I'm always bugging him to take me every year!
Eldon, Julia, and Andrew in front of the Nativity at Temple Square.

We only had Julia and Andrew because we only had 4 tickets to the game.

The kids were in awe when they saw the Christus. It's like seeing it for the first time every time.
The lights were beautiful!
I love this temple! I think it looks especially magnificent in the night! Andrew was quite excited to be there!
The tickets included dinner before the game at Legends Restuarant in the Enery Solutions Arena. This is Andrew's first taste of shrimp. His words, "That is Disgusting!"
Julia and Mom at the game!
Dad and Andrew looking excited! Yes, this is Eldon's excited face!
The Portland Trailblazers

Dessert at half-time. YUM!!!

It was a little dissappointing that Brandon Roy was injured and did not even travel with the team. But at least they still won!!!

GOOOOOO BLAZERS!!!!!

Christmas gifts

2011-01-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

Since there was a snow day the day before Christmas break Emma's teacher delivered all the kids gifts to their houses the day after the huge snowstorm. What a sweet, dedicated teacher! Emma loves Sherri!

She even brought Emma's countdown to Christmas poster.
These are the gifts Emma made for her mom and dad.

Andrew made this cool wreath for us for Christmas. He was soooooo excited to give it to us that he couldn't wait until Christmas. But first he gave me a clue to what might be in the bag...

Andrew's clue: It starts with an 'R' and ends with an 'F'.
Of course, it's a "reef"! How did I not guess that!

Christmas Breakfast

2011-01-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Again I forgot to take a picture of our yummy Christmas breakfast feast. The Tuckett Family tradition is breakfast Christmas morning. This year we had biscuits and gravy, oatmeal pancakes, bacon and sausage and lots of fruit! It was delicious as usual!
Then we opened gifts.
AJ got a piano and a couple of shirts.

Andrew got some practical joke gifts from his cousin and he LOVES tricking people.

Like his poor little brother who loves gum, but will think twice next time Andrew offers it to him.

His fingers got snapped by the gum.
Julia got a pretty nighty for her American Girl Doll.
AJ got a phone.
Jula took a picture of everyone's gifts.
Emma got a polly pocket car.

And some princesses.

Eldon got some black dress pants from Aeropostle, NOT!

Julia got more outfits for her doll. Aren't they cute!

We are so blessed to live close to a lot of our family to be able to spend holidays together. We just wish everyone of our family members that live far away would move to Utah also!!!!

Santa Stopped Here

2011-01-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

Santa brought the kids 1 big gift and the stocking stuffers and then all the rest of the gifts were from mom and dad.
Here is AJ opening his Santa gift.

It was an igloo tent that everyone can fit in.
Andrew got a big set of Wedgits.

Emma got an Ariel Bath Castle. Julia finally got the American Girl Doll she has been asking for for 3 years. I think she was surprised.
The kids all really loved the books I made for them. This is my quick version of scrapbooking now since I don't have time to scrapbook. These are their memory books from the year 2009. I'm only a year behind:)

Andrew building with his Wedgits in the tent.
I guess we should have gotten AJ a baby doll. As soon as Julia opened it he grabbed the doll from her and hugged it to himself saying "baby".

We were very blessed this Christmas to have so much, but especially to have each other, good health, and our faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Cracker Dinner

2011-01-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

I never get a picture of the actual dinner, because I'm too worried about eating it! But it's a Hult Family tradition to have crackers and summer sausages and chips and dips and salads for our Christmas Eve dinner. My kids love it! They always ask me why I don't buy sausage like that all the time. Then it wouldn't be special on Christmas, right!
Before we opened gifts we had the kids do an impromtu version of the Nativity. Bryan read the story while they acted it out.
Ashlee is the angel proclaiming good tidings to the shepherds.

Julia is Mary holding the baby bear Jesus. While Dallin brings gifts as one of the Wisemen.

Then we moved on to the opening of gifts.

AJ got a sesame street bouncy ball.
Andrew got a Panda Pillow Pet and threw a tantrum a few minutes later when Julia opened hers and she got the penguin. Oh, the joys of Christmas:0
AJ giving his bumblebee pillow pet a kiss!
Emma always shows me her gifts by putting them right in front of her face. I have several pictures of Emma's gifts and a portion of her head.
Julia was very pleased with her penguin and refused to trade Andrew. Now that's what Christmas is all about, right:(
The kids entertained themselves with Ring around the Rosey.
and Duck, Duck, Goose.
Then we had dessert. We always have at least 4 desserts!
I think Emma is going through some sugar shock right here. Notice the two cookies on her plate and her eyes looking a little cross-eyed! Yes, that is definitely what Christmas is all about!

School is cancelled!

2010-12-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow day that I ever remember in all my years living here the day before Christmas break! The kids had their snow clothes on and were outside by 8:30!!
After shoveling I dug this tunnel for Andrew. He thought it was pretty great!

Then he asked me to bury him in snow and tickle his toes. I think he got confused between snow and sand:)

Peetneet

2010-12-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

That's what Eldon thought this old school (with an awesome sledding hill) in Payson was called. I informed him of the correct way to say it "Peteetneet", but now he says it wrong just to bug me.
Anyway, we had a fun, busy week.

Monday was family night.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights Eldon was at the church.

Wednesday afternoon Julia and I had Activity Days which I dread because the girls are super hyper and loud, and bordering disrespectful, but this week my prayers were answered. The girls were quiet, polite, and helpful! Merry Christmas to me!

Thursday we had a nice, quiet, relaxing evening at home! We all LOVE those!

Friday night Eldon and I went on a hot date to Carrabbas for dinner. My favorite! Just thinking Pollo Rosa Maria makes my mouth water! Thanks to my cousin Audrey for the gift card! Again Merry Christmas to me! Then Eldon followed me around the mall and sat patiently while I tried on jeans. I finally got myself a pair of jeans with some cute pockets and a little bling. Maybe I'll take a picture later. First I have to wrap them and put them under the tree. Merry Christmas to me!

Saturday morning was our biggest event of the week...

Sledding at Peteetneet!

AJ never had to walk up the hill.

This is usually how he would ride up. Stiff as a board.

Don't you just love his purple snow pants! That's when you know you're at kid #4. You wear whatever fits no matter what color it is!
This is Julia and Andrew going off the little jump right before the big jump where they wiped out and Andrew face-planted in the snow.
These are his battle wounds. I love that you can see the tear running down his face!
These guys are all set to go when all of a sudden....
Emma jumps on too! She ended up falling off halfway down because they were lopsided!
Most of the time AJ waited patiently at the top of the hill because we only had one sled.
Sometimes it's hard to climb the hill when you keep slipping and then your mitten falls off and snow gets up your sleeve and your hand is frozen. Can you feel her pain?
Jules all tired out after another jaunt up the hill.

Who needs a sled anyway when you've got slippery snow pants.

So fun!

Christmas Party #3

2010-12-13T20:21:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning was our Ward Christmas Breakfast. They had breakfast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, and pancakes and lots of it!
Then the kids sang a couple of Christmas songs and Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up and read the book "I Believe in Santa".
Then our kids got to sit on Santa's lap for the third time in the same week!
This time Santa gave out candy bars so I wonder what Emma asked for since it wasn't your typical candy cane.

Andrew looking a little nervous once again.

AJ freaking out again.

Julia is such a good big sister to take her screaming brother to sit on Santa's lap 3 times in 1 week!

Christmas Party #2

2010-12-13T20:08:00.001-08:00

Friday we arrived home, unpacked, did a load of laundry and headed back up to Salt Lake for an extended family Christmas Party.
We arrived a little early so the kids played "duck duck goose" while we waited for the party to start.

The kids had fun decorating gingerbread men.

They also enjoyed eating the gingerbread men.

Some enjoyed them more than others!

For Andrew's 2nd Santa visit of the year he actually looked Santa's direction this time. We're making progress!

I didn't get a great shot of AJ's freak-out this time. Here they are running away!

Midway Retreat

2010-12-13T19:51:00.001-08:00

Eldon had a few more days he needed to take off work before the end of the year and he didn't want to just sit around the house and do nothing so he ended up booking a condo for us for a couple of nights. We left Wednesday after the kids got home from school and just relaxed after we checked in. Thursday we swam in a neighboring hotel pool since ours was under construction. We went to the game room and played arcade games during AJ's nap. That night we took the kids to McDonalds playland to get some wiggles out. We checked out Friday and did a little shopping in Park City and were planning to spend the rest of the day in Salt Lake at Temple Square, but the weather did not cooperate. It was raining and snowing all morning so we just drove home.
Sign of a successful mini vacation!

I promise she is just sleeping, not dead.

Christmas Party #1

2010-12-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

Monday night we went to the United Angels Foundation Christmas Party. Chickfila provided the food so their cow was there also dressed as Santa.

Emma giving the Santa Cow a hug.

There is not a shy bone in this girls body. She was the 1st child at the party to sit on Santa's lap. She usually asks for a candy cane since she figures that is what she'll get anyway:)

A stunned Andrew. He didn't say a word. He may have been in shock.

AJ is not a big fan of Santa this year.

Snow Day

2010-11-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday we attended my sister's ward to listen to my nephew,Taylor, give his farewell address. He is entering the MTC next week and then will serve in Frankfurt, Germany. We ate lunch at their house after sacrament meeting and then had the rest of the day to rest and relax. Since we got more snow Sunday the kids thought it would be fun to go out and play in it. It wasn't good for much except snow angels. They tried to pack it to make a snow fort like last week, but it wasn't going to work.

It was frigid out there. I ran out to take pictures and was surprised the kids lasted as long as they did. I think it was about 10 minutes total. Gotta love getting all that snow gear on for 10 minutes of wintry fun!

Trimming the tree

2010-11-29T20:29:00.001-08:00

Saturday we decked the halls! While Eldon and I were putting lights on the tree(that's right, some people still have to put their own lights on the tree) Julia took the camera and took pictures of the kids...

playing peek-a-boo...

posing...

playing with lights...

and looking bored.

Finally it was their turn to help.

Hanging ornaments on the tree is always a highlight! It is especially interesting with an 19 month old. AJ does not understand the 'hang them and then don't touch them again' concept:)

Pirate Island

2010-11-29T20:18:00.000-08:00

Eldon's sister came to visit over the Thanksgiving break so we all decided to meet for dinner at Pirate Island. The dinner was just okay, but you don't go there for the food:) The kids had a blast playing all the arcade games and Emma and AJ especially loved the little carousel they had.

Kaylee and Andrew, cutest pirates ever!

Andrew's favorite game was playing the big kids basketball. This is a picture of he and Emily playing the little kids basketball. I believe he also enjoyed this one!

Even 3 days later the kids are talking about how much fun they had at Pirate Island.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

for family, fun, and FOOD!
I didn't even get a picture of the Thanksgiving spread, just a bunch of pictures of us enjoying the good eats!
I swore this time I was going to control myself and wait to eat until the meal started, but I couldn't take it I had to try every appetizer to make sure they were good. Then I never quit. By the time the meal was ready I was full! Of course, I ate anyway, and didn't stop eating the rest of the day because I had to try all the pies!

I thought it was funny that when we got home Eldon and I couldn't think of eating another bite, but all the kids asked for a bowl of cereal.

Jazz vs. Kings

2010-11-29T20:02:00.001-08:00

Eldon's boss gave us his Jazz tickets for last Monday's game vs. the Kings. We invited some friends from our ward, Aaron and Dana, to come with us. A Jazz game on the 2nd row is a whole lot different than a Jazz game from the nose-bleed section. You might as well stay home and watch it on TV if you have to sit in the nose-bleeds. That is just my personal opinion. We had a great time and can't wait until the Jazz vs. Blazers game in December since we sit behind the opposing team bench and Eldon is a huge Blazers fan!

Attitude of Gratitude...

2010-11-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

was the theme of Emma's school program. It was so cute to hear what each child in Emma's class is thankful for. Emma did a great job on her part. T is for Turkey! She practiced all the time! She could even tell us a lot of the other kids parts also.

Not sure how this video of a video will work, or if it will work at all. I tried to make my vidoes super short so I could include them here. It says, "I am thankful for my body."

Articles of Faith Celebration

2010-11-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

This was a pretty quiet week. Tuesday night Eldon and I got to go to the temple with my nephew who is leaving on a mission in a few weeks. It was great to be in the temple with almost all the adults in my family. We only missed Cindy, Brigham, Melissa, and Jeremy.
Wednesday Eldon went to the BYU basketball game.
Thursday night I had a Primary Leadership Meeting.
Friday we didn't have any plans and enjoyed a night at home doing nothing in particular.
Saturday morning was our Primary Activity. We have been working on memorizing the Articles of Faith as a primary this year. We were having ice cream sundaes and the kids would get a different topping for every article of faith memorized. At the celebration we had a carnival with a different game or activity for every article of faith. The kids who came had a great time and really enjoyed their ice cream!!

Saturday night Eldon went to the BYU Football game and from there headed to the BYU basketball game. It was a fun night for him. I was home holding Julia's hair back while she puked:(
We had to take all the food we had prepared and have Sunday dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house since Julia was sick. Emma had a head cold so she stayed home also. Julia's flu bug or whatever she had went away quickly because she was feeling a lot better Sunday night. We even went out and played in the freshly-fallen snow. Then we came in and had cocoa and watched our new living scriptures video. It was a fun girls night!
This afternoon is Emma's school program and tonight Eldon and I are going to the Jazz game with some friends. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures from those two things!

What dads will do for their daughters

2010-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

This was a big week for Julia. Wednesday night was her school program. It wasn't your typical program. They did sing a few songs about Utah History at the beginning but the remainder of the program was square dancing. They each got to pick a partner to dance with. Julia chose her dad! They danced the Virginia Reel, The Heal Toe Polka, and Oh Johnny Oh. The kids also did the Electric Slide and everyone joined in on the Hokey Pokey, neither of which have anything to do with Utah History. Eldon had been forwarned that he would be dancing and he was a great sport, especially since Emma had gotten nervous before the show started and wet herself on his leg. It was a fun and entertainting school program! Julia and her daddy did a wonderful job!

Thursday night was Julia's Duet Piano Recital. She has a duet partner and they have been working on a couple of pieces for Festival, but this duet recital was for piano students to do a duet with one of their own loved ones. About two months ago Julia had to BEG her dad to commit to doing this with her. He was NOT excited about playing the piano in front of people. He finally was convinced and then he made sure they practiced plenty so they would not make fools of themselves at the recital. The practice paid off! They played their piece perfectly! It was so fun to watch them! This just goes to show dads with do just about anything for their little girls! I didn't get a picture while they were playing because I was using the video camera that I cannot upload to this blog for some reason. I guess videos can only be 14 seconds long to be able to upload them.

Friday Eldon took most of the day off and I was able to go with Emma on her swimming fieldtrip again. Emma thought is was really fun to shut herself inside the lockers. Emma with her friend Zoey.

Friday night Eldon took Julia on a date to celebrate their success! They went miniature golfing and to Brick Oven for dinner.

Saturday Julia had Festival, where they get judged and critiqued on a few polished piano pieces. Last year she and her partner only recieved an excellent so we tried even harder to get them together more often to practice. The practice paid off! They received a Superior ranking! Yeah!!

Andrew made mustaches at school when they talked about the letter M!

If You're Happy and you know it....

2010-11-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

SHOUT HOORAY!!!!