I love to see the Temple

Last night we had the opportunity to tour the Draper Temple. You would have thought it was Christmas the way Paige was bouncing around so excited! She has wanted to go inside the temple for as long as I can remember and can't quite understand why she can't. The tour was very well organized and the temple was breathtaking! We met at a nearby church to watch a short video and then we were bused to the temple for the tour. Bode slept in the sling the entire time and I have never seen the girls so quiet. Paige was absolutely fascinated by it all. She just kept looking around wide-eyed and saying, "I can feel the Spirit!"

Family favorites included:
Claire: the baptismal font with the "Aminals"
Paige: the bride room (she says she can't wait! Steve and I disagree)
Steve: the "mountain" ordinance room, complete with an extra wide seat
Brooke: the crystal chandeliers, my neck hurts today from looking up so long

Look at me...I'm 3 months!

Time flies too fast! Bode is three months already! It is true what they say about a

special bond between a boy and his mom. And to think...this is what I was so scared of?

He has been the best baby ever. He is so snuggly and handsome.

We all often say to each other, "I just can't stop looking at him".

Not to mention how mild mannered he is and tolerant of the girls fighting over

who gets to give him his binky or who gets to pick out his jammies! Here at three months Bode can:

*take a bottle from daddy and the girls, but not from mom, he knows I'm faking him out.

*sleep for about 5 hour blocks at night, but only in a tight burrito
*hold his head up

*coo...it is the cutest thing!

He currently goes by:

*Bode

*Bodacious

*Bodelicious

*Bo-Bo Monkey

*Son-shine

TRUST ME!

Just one more picture from Trafalga that deserves a post of it's own. They have a movie called X-D, which is a 7-minute 3-D movie complete with moving chairs and fans. So when you are watching, you feel like you are actually "in the show". Steve's client had sent a free pass for Paige for this show too! By the way she was carrying on, you would have thought we were taking her to have her legs cut off. We tried to remind her that she was terrified of Monster Trucks and it turned out to be "the awesomest show ever"! We reminded her about the time we went to Disneyland and we wanted to go on the Alice in Wonderland Caterpillar ride and she cried through the whole wait but then begged to go again and again! Two seconds into this X-D show, her tears turned into squeals and laughter. She absolutely loved it! This was by far her favorite part of the day. When will she learn to trust us??? Now does this look like a six-year-old who seven minutes prior was bawling her brains out?

As incentive for Paige to walk, one of Steve's clients gave him a free pass to Trafalga to take her miniature golfing. We had planned to take the kids between Christmas and New Years, but so many tantrums arose that we opted out. Why reward them for fighting? We finally went on Saturday. It was a hit! As you can see, Bode enjoyed being rocked to sleep in his sling, laying next to mommy.

The course was glow-in-the-dark with fluorescent lights that turn everything white purple. Claire's favorite part was the pictures of fish on the walls. She didn't quite get the concept of the game. Neither Steve nor I were able to finish a hole since she would snatch the ball up after our first hit!

DISCLAIMER: Because of the weird lighting and the girls inability to hold still, these pictures are a little bit trippy.

Paige did great! She got a hole-in-one on her first shot! She walked all around like a champ and didn't complain about her feet hurting until the very end. Not bad considering we were there for three hours.Steve and I loved watching the girls have a great time and having an almost "fight-free" afternoon. We were very entertained laughing at the girl behind wearing a white thong that would light up purple everytime she bent over. And before calling it a night, we headed to my favorite ever, Los Hermanos, for the best Mexican food ever!

Blog Trauma

Why do I even try to be creative? I have loved the website thecutestblogontheblock.com for many reasons. First of all, it was free! (You can't get better than that!) Also, it gave me a chance to periodically spruce up my blog, including holiday decorating. Today I heard from my sister that the website is no longer working. I'm hoping it's a fluke and maybe if I keep looking it will pop up just one more time!

In the meantime, I looked for substitutes. I found one I liked (shown here) although I'm still not sure about the layout. In switching over, somehow my ENTIRE blog friends list was deleted. Do you think I keep a back up log of those sites? Heck no! That would have made it all too easy. So what was intended to take me 2 minutes to change my background has now taken me over an hour trying to find my friends! (Am I pathetic or what?) So, if you notice you are not on my list, it is not because I have booted you, I just need a reminder of where to find you!

In the midst of all this loveliness I am trying to figure out how to start an extended family blog where multiple users can post. I know it's possible, I've seen it before, but how do you do it? To top it all off, Bode has just spit up all over my last clean shirt (that remotely fits) and the girls have removed every cushion and blanket in the house to make a tent! AND I just finished off my Diet Coke. My cup runneth over, right?

MONSTER fun!

The things we do for our kids! Steve came home Friday with tickets to the Monster Truck/Extreme Motocross event for Saturday night. Claire was instantly excited, but Paige was rather nervous. The fact that they were called "Monster" trucks terrified her. So we spent Saturday afternoon "googling" them to show her they were not scary.

Once the girls adjusted to the weird sensation of earplugs, they had a great time! Paige kept turning aroung to tell Steve how "awesome" it was and how much she "loved this show!" They got really into it to and would chant things like, "Don't crush the van!" Claire just couldn't understand that although she couldn't hear herself talking, we still could, so she would just yell to us, which made Steve and I laugh.

This was our favorite truck, Jurassic Attack. I think the girls liked it best because it was the only one with a "girl driver", although she did do some pretty cool tricks.

Once we all got used to the noise, we had a great time. Even Bode fell asleep to the dull roar he could hear through his ear plugs, the blanket I had wrapped around his ears, the sling I was carrying him in and my hands over top. Can't wait for next year for some more redneck fun!

Christmas Decorations

I am so my mother...and that is not necessarily a bad thing. When I was little, my mom would take pictures of the Christmas decorations before taking them down and then attach the pictures to the boxes as she packed them away. I always thought it was such a waste of time (and film!) but of course, mother is always right and I have realized what a great idea it really is!

I love pulling out my Christmas decorations every year. Mostly because they remind me so much of her. Most of the tree decorations are things we made together as a family, along with the yearly tradition of getting a new Santa Claus from mom and dad.