Only Two more days...

Here are the kiddo's Santa Letters...

She has been a good girl this year! Let's see if she get's a Tea Party Set!!!

Here is messy face Jake he is asking for an orange soccer ball...Merry Christmas to one and all!

Las Vegas...Yeah Baby!

Ya Right! Las Vegas is the last place that I'd actually WANT to be. So here's to a forced vacation...if you want to call it a vacation. I tried my hardest to convince myself to have a good time. I enjoyed the drive, the food and the VIEW!


Thanks to the grandma lady that checked us in and LOVED Caleb that she said, "Oh, I have a room ready for you and it's OFF the strip!" Thank heavens I thought. So here's to the best view in town. Honestly, could it get any better than this? I don't think so!

Here is Jared showing off is National Physical Therapy conference badge. Jared had to go off to the conference all three days while Caleb and I "hung" out in our awesome room. I must admit though, that the room's at Bally's were surprisingly nice...I mean it, they were NICE!

Two words....BAJA FRESH!!! Let's just say that we ate some of the BEST food on this trip. Thanks to the company we were able to have a little extra fun than normal. These fish tacos are my absolute favorite thing to eat. I love crossing the border to a new state because Cafe Rio isn't found and Baja Fresh is....sadly they left Utah because of the Rio...Simply said, these fish tacos are heavenly! Oh, they are SOOOOO good. I would return to Vegas just to eat here again...I really would!
Okay, another reason to return is for Maggiano's Italian...Yummy...Yummy...and SO good!

Here is a little peace of heaven in a wild place. Caleb and I ventured out of our hotel room to go and see the Las Vegas Temple. It was beautiful.
Okay, so the best part of the trip was my chubby, thumb sucking little guy! I am so glad that I kept him with us and didn't make him stay at home. It was so fun to snuggle just this one little baby...he had all my attention and he reminded me that there are cute people left in the world!! :)

Merry Christmas 2009

Caleb (6 months), Alayna (4 1/2 years old), Jacob (2 1/2 years old)

The baby of the family...he's sitting, eating solids and smiling more than any other kid! He's one happy CHUBBY little dude. Jared and I are still fighting over him and we both MUST kiss him good night. We are hooked on him.

Then there was Jake. He's full of personality, spunk and just an adorable personality. Let's just say, with him in the room there is never a dull moment. He has a very sweet and tender spirit. He came out aware and sensitive to temples, the prophet and Jesus. He adores his sister, he will be heard jumping off EVERYTHING, running everywhere and throwing anything and everything. He is "all boy" he loves the sports, BYU football, tennis rackets and his golf club at Grandpa Randy's house. Oh, and we can't forget how our crazy dude turns into "Charlie Brown...Linus" Jake can instantly turn to our shy guy and walk around with his "ball blanket" in his mouth and only want to be at HOME! He's the one I turn to when I want to hear something sweet and tender, he always tells me, "Your beautiful Mom!" Ahh, it really doesn't get any better. Jake is a complete delight, he ads such a peacemaker, flexible, calm and crazy spunk to our little family. We really just stare at him in complete joy...he's a keeper!

Our little princess. She may be the oldest of the family but she's the first to cuddle, snuggle and stay close to mom and dad. She is the brightest little girl I've met. Her mind is VERY complex and she has this amazing memory. She is a great problem solver and negotiator...let's just say, she thinks through everything I say and do and she knows what she wants. She picks up on ALL adult conversations, and stays involved, by commenting and asking questions. On her good days, she's happy, helpful and very fun to be around...on the other days, we wonder where she went! She's a HUGE help to me, loves her brothers and still dislikes any and all kinds of food. She really likes "fancy" clothes, shoes and jewelery. She's still into the "princess" stage...I'm counting down those days, but they have yet to decrease! She loves learning and has been enjoying preschool this year. She is also our little social butterfly...everyday I hear, "Mom, who can I play with?" She loves surprises, traditions and party's. Oh, and she refuses to have her hair cut until it's down to her waste...so we will have to see if it gets cut this year.

Merry Christmas 2009

We really have lucked out with such darling kids...I must admit I am enjoying each stage...babies I love them dearly, two-year olds keep you laughing and smiling and four year olds you love the independence and relationship. I couldn't be enjoying this wild, crazy, hectic, busy, always changing, unpredictable ride anymore....well on the good days! (Please send more in 2010!!!) It has been an adjustment to say the least but somehow each day passes and I keep pushing along...I think it's because of their individual personalities and the smiles. It's really the smiles that keep me going. Here's to motherhood!

Thanks Grandma Denny!!!

This holiday season has been so enjoyable thanks to a few wonderful things that were given to the kids. Grandma Denny has this great ability to find such adorable things. She gave the kids an advent calendar that is so adorable. It isn't your "standard" candy one it is centered around the nativity. I just love it!

And then she thankfully sent another count down chain....with all the candy! They couldn't be happier!!!

Alayna LOVES to count how many days until Christmas after EVERY day we take one off.

This would be Jake's favorite part....EATING ALL THE CANDY...he has a thing for all the GREEN candy! They are cute though, because they divide up the candy each day....she gets the red ones and he gets the green ones.

Welcome to the Fam!

Let me introduce you to our newest addition to the family....Rigdon Drew Peck. He joined us on the great day of Thanksgiving...all the girls in the fam ran to the hospital to wait for this little one to be born, while the husbands stayed back watching ALL the kids and COOKING all the food.

Caleb and Everett doing what they do...rolling, and scooting and chewing on EVERYTHING! They are no longer the "youngest" grandkids of the group.

This is little Rigdon or a little Riley...he looks just like his daddy. I couldn't be happier that this little one arrived so healthy and happy. Let's just say simply that miracles happen, prayers are answered and the Lord watches over us all. He is perfect in every way! We love you little Rigdon, you are so sweet and tiny!

Oh, just a cute little guy!

Something I love...

Okay, something I love about the holidays is that my kids have their cousins close by to enjoy fun days together. Jake and Isaac had such fun living together that they really have a great time when Isaac comes back over to play. Even though they eventually end up with bite marks, scratches and in time-out they do have cute moments like this. When they are sharing and smiling! I just had to take a picture because not more than a few minutes before they were fighting and crying. Oh, well I just enjoy these cute little moments!

Are you ready for Christmas???

6 Months old and counting...he's a heavy weight weighing in over 20 lbs!

A great tip...

Don't you just love watching kids use their imagination? Well, it's actually one of those great mom moments that I cherish. I love having friends and cousins come over and do things together. Some may look at this table and think..AH a mess, but for me it was HOURS of a great activity.

The other thing I did, was compiled all my random scrapbooking goodies in a tote and allow the kids to have free reign with it! They just love all the stickers, paper, etc. Finally I found something to do with all this scrapbooking stuff!

(I love her concentrated look...her tongue is sticking out!)

Okay, now this is the best kept secret out there. The reason that I could literally care less about what these kids do on my new table...because we bought a thick piece of "grandma" plastic to cover it. I got this idea from so many mom's out there and finally with my own table I went out and spent a whopping $4.00 and let me tell you I just LOVE IT! After the kids have had there fun with out me worrying about every little thing, we clean up and I wipe it off and put my decorations back on. And honestly you can't even tell it's there. Jared joked to Alayna we were going to cover our couch with the same plastic and she said, "But that wouldn't even be comfortable!" She didn't think it was even funny that some people did that...Anyways, here's to the BEST idea out there!

Cutest Baby Ever!

Really could any little guy be any cuter??? I must admit I love this age. He sleeps 12+ hours each night, eats 4 times a day, loves baby food and just smiles non-stop...oh and I forgot he's still taking two naps a day that are LONG 3-4 hours...I love it! I just had to have Jared take a picture of my favorite little baby. I must admit however that at church today I realized I don't have a "quiet" newborn anymore...let's just say I will be bringing "cheerios" next week. He squealed and squealed and required "actual - Mommy or Daddy" attention, toys, a bottle, etc. I think it's only fair to have three hands when we have three kids.

30 seconds = a mess

On a very busy day this week I wasn't expecting a mess from Jake. Really, when am I going to learn better. I should have expected that he would make a mess of my very clean kitchen that Jared had made for me. I was ready to make rolls for our wards Relief Society quarterly meeting aka Enrichment night. I just happened to walk Alayna out to her preschool carpool when Jake joined us covered in white head to toe. I just had to laugh...why would I be the first one to make the kitchen messy. This little dude got to the ONE thing left on the counter that wasn't kid proof...CORNSTARCH. Let's just say this doesn't clean up as easily as sugar or flour. Because when it's dry it leaves a film...but when it's wet it turns all goopy. I even had to take out my contacts to clean them off because they had a layer of film on them. Needless to say we had a fun mess to clean up! I just love this kid...

Disney on Ice - Princess Classics

A mommy daughter date...

Disney on Ice...Princess Classics

Really does it get any better than Disney Princesses? Well for me...yes, but for little girls I think not!

Alayna and I had a great time...earlier that day I had finally showed her on my computer pictures and video of what we were going too! She was so excited. She was thrilled to dress up. She sat so still while I curled every inch of her hair. I should have taken a picture earlier in the night before all the curls disappeared but she looked adorable. These are a few of her little friends from our old ward. I personally LOVED it. I can't wait to make this an on going tradition.

What boys think Barbies are for...

So Alayna and I were attempting to "sew" barbie doll clothes for all her naked barbies...Am I the only one that get's tired of seeing naked barbies? So I figured I have tons of scraps of fabric from making my pillows, that I can come up with something. Thanks to Aunt Krista who helped make them much cuter...but in all this "barbie" talk Jake decided to put her to good use...

I asked Jake, "What are you doing Jake?"
Jake responded..."I'm golfing with "Wayna's" Baw-bie's"...you can mom, it's so funny!" (That's his new line to say to everything..."It's so funny!")

He was very pleased with his hit from the Barbie...It really is so fun to see the difference between Alayna and Jake.

So as we are entering the "winter season" which means we are indoors more the kids are actually playing with there toys. Except I heard these words from Jake, "Mom I want to play with a new toy...one with train tracks" I was laughing to myself thinking..."A new toy with a train track?" But then I realized that I had purchased 2 toy sets like this over a year ago. I forgot to give him one for his birthday so I said, "Hold on I'll be right back..." Jake and Isaac (he was over playing w/ Jake) just stared at me...Jake asked if I was going to the store to buy him one...I said no. I climbed up on the ladder in the garage and found it. I came inside to two boys jumping with excitement screaming, "Yeah, Play with new toy!!"

I can't even tell you how much joy and fun this added to our day! Jake was in heaven. I must ad that these pictures were true faces of excitement...he didn't even pay attention to the fact I was taking pictures! The best part about this new toy is that he will appreciate it from now until Christmas...and then on Christmas he will be ready for more new toys to enjoy!

Trying to be FUN...

Okay, so this post is a shout out to Missy. (Yes, you Miss!) I know you are laughing but let's just say you have inspired many. Let's just say that Missy wins the award for being "the BEST and FUN Mom of the Year!" (really, Miss it's true) Anyways, I was telling Missy a few days ago how I hear Alayna say these words in each prayer..."Pray that we can have fun...that we can do something fun...that mom will do fun stuff with us..." So I took the hint that YES I need to improve in the FUN department.

Well thanks to Missy as a good role model I can hopefully only do better. So last week I had had a VERY busy week. Where it required my kids to go to bed early, wake up and be perfect, obedient, cooking, cleaning, etc. So I finally got to a point where I was living, "Groundhog's Day" it seemed exactly the same. I needed something FUN to break it all up. So on Wednesday Jared ended up having to work and the kids were VERY disappointed because they were planning on going for a bike ride to the park with Jared. After dinner I was about to put them to bed and I just couldn't. As I looked in there cute little messy faces I thought, you have been SO good and we really should do something FUN together as a family. Ya know, enjoying each other! So I told them that as soon as Daddy got home we were going to do something FUN and they could stay up late!! (That's a big deal at our house because their bed time is 7pm). So I thought about how it is GREAT weather and that is going to change so I had an idea to head to the park with our flashlights and play! They were all in screams and excitement. We piled in the car and headed for the park to enjoy every minute of chasing each other, sliding down the slides and really laughing and having a great time. I must admit I had the "fun" feeling. It felt great to enjoy the laughter, fresh air, and the complete joy on the kids faces. We of coarse had to end the night with ice cream cones!

So a few days later I was exercising with my sister and friend. I was telling them about the FUN friend I have that truly inspires me to be a little more FUN. (Yes, you Missy!) So we chatted for an hour or so on really how our children anticipate and enjoy the simplest things in life. And if we as the mother have excitement and spontaneity then the kids will really have a FUN childhood. So we brainstormed several ideas on how to relax about bed time and loosen up and do FUN things! So here's to reporting to Missy...not that you were expecting an update!

This is an idea from Shandra who has done this every November with her kids. She makes individual "Gratitude Tree's" for her kids. And each day in November the kids write down something they are thankful for. I took a picture of this on the first day to simply document the activity, but since the kids have added several leaves to our tree, listing things they are thankful for. It really is something SO simple that the kids anticipate and look forward to each morning!

On Friday night I didn't want to cook. I wanted to do something FUN...so I spoke with Jared and he agreed that as a family WE needed to do something fun together. I told Alayna and Jake that we had a special "family date" to look forward too. So as you can see Alayna was all smiles for a date...a cute thing that I have apparently taught them is that on dates you were your nice clothes. Alayna has worn this same black shirt on every daddy daughter date for about 2 years....thankfully it's not getting to small yet! So as we were driving in the car on our date I had the kids ask me questions to try and figure out where we were going.

Alayna said, "Why are we going right now?" I said, "Well, our tummies are hungry and it's dinner time." She paused and thought up her next question..."Is it somewhere we've been just a few days ago or a really really long time ago?" Good question...I said, "We haven't been there for a long time." She said almost in a disappointed way..."Oh, I know where we are going, The Mayan." I laughed...and asked, "Are you said or happy!" She gave a HUGE smile and giggled. She was very pleased! So I had to capture her SMILE!!!

This was Jake trying to smile for me...notice the ball...he had to be bribed to put on "date" clothes...this kid it's impossible to get him to wear anything OTHER than basketball shorts and a t-shirt! So thanks to Aunt Ashley she pulled out the fabulous bribe technique with a new basketball toy! It worked great...

This was just a funny picture of Alayna at the Mayan. She no longer thinks this is a FUN place. She decided that everything "scared" her!

So much for trying to have a FUN evening. Either way, I have now a daily fun thing that helps encourage conversation with the kids about being grateful and we've done two FUN activities already in the month of November! Now, PLEASE let me know some other simple, quick FUN activities...I have to do it enough to make it a habit. But the best part of these days have been Alayna's prayers at the end of the night, she has thanked Heavenly Father for Mommy and Daddy DOING something FUN with them! Really does it get any better than that when your children recognize the things we do for them day after day...I think not!

Halloween Night...

Here's to Hot Dog Halloween 2009...The Madsen's were passing out the hot dogs again. It's amazing how so many people love a hot dog...I must admit there wasn't a hot dog for me this year!

Ashley and I posing for a picture to show off our Halloween costumes we made.

Me and the kiddos! So my newest sewing adventure was these caps for the witch costumes. I fell in love with the purple and black witch cape I had to make one for me. I loved it!

And Halloween wouldn't be the same if my dad didn't take the kids out trick-or-treating all night long. We went until 9:30PM...We had to stop half way and dump out our pumpkins because they were too heavy to carry. The kids learned..."We must keep pressing on...run...run...You don't walk on the sidewalk you RUN!"