Tradition!

I thought it would be fun to hear about other families Christmas traditions. I always like getting new ideas. Some of the things we did in my family growing up include:

1. We got new pajamas every year and got to open them on Christmas Eve and wear them to bed that night. Sometimes they were homemade and matching. My mom still gives me new p.j.s when we have Christmas at her house.

2. We each got our own box of unhealthy cereal (lucky charms, froot loops, etc.) from Santa on Christmas morning and we didn't have to share it with anyone.

3. As we decorated the Christmas tree we always put an angel on the top. She was kind of our guardian angel. Before we put her up we got to make a wish and her kiss her head. It's kind of strange, I know.....but it's a tradition and I like it.

4. We always had stairs in our houses and we couldn't go downstairs to see what Santa had left until my Mom and Dad were awake. Of course they would drag out getting out of bed for the longest time. Sometimes it took more than half an hour of pleading to get them up. Then my Dad would slowly go downstairs and turn on the lights, make a cup of hot chocolate, let the dog out......and were still waiting. We fought over the order of descending the stairs too, oldest to youngest, youngest to oldest. Us poor middle children always got the short end of the stick on that one. One year my Dad decided to nail a piece of plywood over the bottom of the stairs to torment us longer (child abuse, I know). Of course we all had to use the bathroom so he couldn't play it out for long. Fun times!

5. We always read the Christmas story from Luke and my Dad dresses up as a wise man to be the narrator.

6. We often chose a family in our community to anonymously give presents, turkey, food storage etc. too on Christmas Eve. The best part was trying to sneak up to the door and leave the goodies on the front porch and get away without being seen. Not the easiest thing to do in a rural community.

I'm so excited to continue these traditions in my own little family and hopefully to start some of my own. Can't wait to hear about everyone else's.

I've been Tagged by kristin!

6 Random things about Rebecca that the general populations doesn't know.

1. I have this thing about rubbing my ears that I've done since I was a baby. I only like to do it when my ears are cold and I rub them between my fingers. It's like one of those comforting, relaxing things that we all do. I like to rub my cats ears, my kids and sometimes Mark's. My family teases me all the time because I usually don't realize I'm doing it. Hey, at least I have really soft ears after 30 yrs. of rubbing!

2. I hate it when people scrape their food off their fork with their teeth. It sends shivers up my spine much like dragging your fingernails down a chalkboard.

3. One of my biggest fears is dying a violent death. Fire, drowning, freezing, assault and etc. You'd think after coming close with Cancer that I wouldn't be so nervous. I just want to go quietly in my sleep.

4. There are certain parts of household chores that I don't like to do. For example, when putting laundry away I hate hanging up shirts on hangers so Mark does that part and I put the rest of the laundry away. When cleaning the bathroom I hate to scrub the shower/tub so Mark does that part and I clean the rest. I think Mark actually has the better end of the deal.

5. I used to be a dancer and had hoped to continue that into my college career. I quickly learned that a limited dance education in small town Wyo. couldn't compete with big city Utah. I decided to at least make an effort. I took every type of dance class offered at USU. Ballet, modern, ballroom, folk. After taking all of the classes I took a big leap and decided to try out for every dance team at the school. Aggiettes, ballroom club, big band swing club, modern dance performers. Hence, I didn't make a single team but I was really proud of myself for trying. I did get a second call back on the ballroom team but they had a hard time finding a guy tall enough for me.

6. I used to be a pretty active little daredevil in my younger days. I used to go bungee jumping, rock climbing (I took several classes for that too at USU), rollerblading, cliff jumping, motorbike riding (mostly with Brad which was pretty scary....I know your fear Kristin) and I loved it. I'm such a wuss now. I don't know what happened to me but I'd like to get some of that enthusiasm back.

So, you've all been enlightened about my deep dark secrets and now it's your turn. I tag the following people: Mark, Cory, Rachel, Mom, Dad, Nat and Starla.

Let's Make A Deal

                                                     

The other day I told Evie I wanted to make a deal with her regarding brushing her teeth.  She doesn't quite get all of the food out of the bottom of her teeth and I'm pretty adamant  about preventing cavities.  Sooooo I said let's make a deal that you brush your teeth in the morning and mom or dad will help you at night time.  She seemed to be o.k. with that.  The little wheels in her head are always turning because a couple of days later she approached her dad with a deal of her own.  She is still learning to wipe herself after going potty.  She said to Mark that she would wipr herself in the morning and he could wipe her at night.  Later that evening she needed to be wiped and yelled from the bathroom "Come on Dad, I thought we had a deal."  That girl doesn't miss a beat.  Gotta love her! 

Reciprocal Arts program

A friend told me about membership in the reciprocal arts program through the Tracy Aviary in SLC.  If you buy an annual family membership to the Aviary you can get into several other places free or discounted.  It cost me $35 a year for four adults and four kids.  On the first thursday of every month I can get in free to the Hogle Zoo, Museum of Natural History, The farm at Thanksgiving Point and the Ogden Nature Center.  I get half off the Living Planet Aquarium admission at anytime.  Also I can get in free anytime to the Dinosaur Park and of course the Tracy Aviary.  So far we've been to the aquarium and the farm.  The girls loved petting the sting rays and seeing the jellyfish glow in the dark.  The octopus was pretty cool too.  Last week we went to the farm.  We pet and fed the animals and Evie went on a pony ride.  Addison was scared of the llama and Evie wasn't too fond of the Turkey.  The little pigmy goats were my favorite.  The were really cute running around butting each other with their horns.  

Stinkin cute!

Addy is saying the cutest things right now.  Whenever we ask her where something is she automatically says I don't know.  It sounds like "nine no know" when she says it but it's still funny.  She also likes to say that she is a stinkin cute baby.  

First Snow!

Last week we had our first big snowfall of the season. We all bundled up in our warm clothes and headed outside for some fun. Evie showed Addy how to eat snow and make snow angels. Mark drug them around the yard in a sled and then we all built a snowman. Not a bad day to spend a Sat. afternoon. Next time we're going to the sledding hill next to the church.

First Daddy Daughter Date

Several months ago Evie went on her first Daddy Daughter Date with Mark. It was a tradition in my household growing up and I wanted to start doing it with my own family. The event was a "Fairytale Ball" at the treehouse museum. Evie got to dress up as a princess and her "Prince" came to the front door to pick her up with flowers in hand. It's a fun way to let the kids spend some quality time with there dad as well as teach them about courtship and manners. If we ever have a son I'll get to take him on Mother/Son dates.

Summer Fun!

I know that winter is here but I couldn't help talking about some of the fun things we did this summer.  For the 4th of July we invited friends over for a BBQ.  The kids had a blast running around the back yard playing in the swimming pool, sandbox, swing set and etc. while the adults visited.  We had some yummy food and did fireworks including sparklers for the kids.  It was a fun day and the kids were exhausted.  

We had a reunion for the Langford family at the cabin in Monte Cristo.  The kids got to dig for "buried treasure" in huge pile of sawdust.  Mark and Evie went for a hike and again we had some good food!

A visit to the Hogle Zoo was neat!  Addy had never been before and she especially liked the little monkey's.  They had a an albino alligator that was cool to see. 

We took several trips to Star Valley over the summer including our annual week of making funnel cakes at the Lincoln County Fair.  The kids love to play outside at my parents house because there is so much space to run around and it's so beautiful.  Evie goes on hikes with grandpa and helps him mow the lawn.  They like to pour sand on each other in the sand box and run through the sprinkler.  We also take the boat out to palisades as much as we can.  Evie is started to get out on the freeboard but Addy hasn't ventured into the water yet.  

In August my brother moved into our basement apt.  We started taking him around to the local attractions including Antelope Island for a picnic.  It was a nice relaxing day.

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Bear Lake with my parents.  We stayed in some little cabins at the North end of the lake.  It's my favorite part of the lake now.  The water is extremely shallow near the beach so it's easy and fun for the kids to play in and it's not as busy as Garden city.  We also did the Minnetonka Cave one day.  Evie loved it and did all 444 stairs by herself.  Addy didn't like it so much and Mark had to take her out early.  She wanted to get down and crawl all over the cave floor.  

Mark went on his annual backpacking trip to the Uintahs this summer with friends.  Myself and the other wives were nervous about them going because it was just days after the bear attack in another Utah forest where a young boy was killed.  They promised to make their camp as bear safe as possible and then took photos to prove it to us.  Good boys!