Dodge Christmas Party

Yesterday was the Dodge Family Christmas Party! Yeah, a little late, but better now than never. The place looked a little sparse as the family keeps growing which means people are on missions, living out of state with their own families, and so on. It's always overwhelming for me as an in-law to go to then in-law family parties, especially this one. Arvid and Clara had eight kids! And all those kids had lots of kids and so on. But I learn more and more every year & that makes this whole experience so much more enjoyable! Plus, I had a blast chatting & catching up with my wonderful sister-in-law, Kolbi!

Christmas Day

Yeah, I'm a couple days behind... Todd bought me a new camera & my dad gave me Adobe Photoshop so I've been playing with all that instead of updating my blog. Ya know, I just can't leave my toys alone... they NEED me!

So Christmas morning was a hoot! Liv was all awnry (as she usually is in the morning) so I was cuddling her & then we told her that Santa had been here... then she pushed me away & headed down the hall. When she walked into the front room I think she was just shocked... she just stood there & smiled, then looked at us like she was waiting for permission to touch the presents & such. So we told her to pick a present & so began our morning of unwrapping. Liv really enjoyed opening a present then playing with the toy & then she's let us know she was ready for more by asking "another present?" Gary didn't want to unwrap, he just wanted to play with whatever Liv was playing with! They are working on sharing a lot lately!

We had breakfast with my dad & the boys. Dad made baked eggs, which I requested because since I haven't had it for so long since we moved out of Dad's place. Dad & the boys spoiled us rotten (as well as did Todd's parents) Thanks to all, you really didn't have to!

We took a drive up to my Grandma & Grandpa Montgomery's place for dinner & sharing of presents! My cousing, Toby, was in town & I was so happy to see him. I think my family thinks I'm way too bubbly, but what can I say!! I felt bad that I didn't go by my mom's grave, but I really don't feel her there... I feel like she's available wherever I am & I could feel her close all day both Christmas Eve & Christmas Day!

Later that evening Tyler and Kolbi (Todd's brother & sister-in-law [as well as one of my roommates from college]) came by. They have been living in Spokane, Washington while Tyler earned is master degree at Gonzaga. Todd was so excited to see his big brother! This is what Christmas is about... being with family! Well, that & Jesus!

Love ya all!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve Todd, myself, and the kids hooked up with my dad & the boys. I was thinking... nice night to stay inside & play games, watch Christmas shows. Instead, following a new tradition the boys have created, we bundled up the kids and headed to downtown Salt Lake to look at the lights on temple square. It was a whole lot of fun! My kids were so good, no whining, fussing, etc. We must've done a good job bundling! I am glad that we went down town, because the lights on temple square are a traditional part of Christmas in this valley!

Good Friends, Good Times

Last night we had some of Todd's friends over for dinner. These people are great! Todd has known some of them even as far back as Junior High... talk about loyalty! There's Nate Kelley, Adam & Julie Kelley, and Cory & Melissa Huff. Anyways, so here we are at dinner. I made up some easy, but yummy Navajo Tacos. Then we played games & even exchanged some presents! Extra thanks to Nate for letting me open his present... he wanted me to wait until Christmas, but I had an itch to unwrap something BAD! Thanks dude! And a reminder to Adam & Julie to play nice with their presents :)

Baby It's Cold

The first snow is still falling throughout the Salt Lake valley & we have been enjoying it (as long as I don't have to drive in it)! I really do enjoy the snow, up until Christmas is over & then I want it all to go away... it's totally a holiday thing for me. Anyways, we got out as a family the other day. It was fun to see Gary's reaction to his first contact with snow. At first he was real upset, then he got quiet, and then he got real smiley and was all happy... fun stuff (Liv just screamed and screamed the first time I took her out in the snow)! Liv is such a , she didn't want to step in the snow at all... when she finally did, though, we had some fun. But we weren't able to stay out long enough to make a snowman... still too cold. But I will make a snowman this year!

Christmas Party

It has been a busy time as we count down the last days until Christmas day, but I wanted to make sure that I made a post about the wonderful Montgomery Christmas party we had this last Sunday (the 17th). It started with a yummy ham dinner...

Then the little cousins reinacted the nativity scene. I have to say, my daughter is the cutest little Mary ever! I was so proud of how well she behaved, and it was cute that we had to call her "Princess Mary" to get her into her costume. And that there with her playing the role of Joseph is my adorable cousin Robbie...

As we were telling stories of Christmas times past who should appear? With a knock knock & gingling bells... it's Santa Clause! Liv was so excited to see him there up close and personal! When it was her turn to sit on his lap she didn't say a word, but gave him a great big hug before she got off his lap. Gary did okay with Santa, but he hasn't been himself lately anyways due to teething. & as you can see (by Todd's turn on Santa's lap) you are NEVER too old for Santa!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

A book I love was made into a movie & tonight I went with my brothers, Dad, & friends, Gustafsons, to check it out... Eragon! Todd has taught me well not to go expecting the book to be as good as the movie & so I don't. Even so, there was a lot I didn't like about the movie that doesn't have to do with the comparison between the book & movie versions. For example, I the actor John Malkovich, he's like nails being scratched on a chalkboard, or forks being scrapped on a clean plate. But I guess that does make him a good bad guy! As much as I love Rachel Weisz, I thought that they made Saphira sound so cheesy. And I d the inconsistency of Durza's makeup... it seemed that it was different shades & emphases in almost every scene. Yes, they left out a whole lot of wonderful stuff, but that's to be expected. I just didn't like that it felt so rushed, I think it'd be real apparent to even those who didn't read the book. (Like the fourth Harry Potter movie. I haven't read that book, but I could just tell that they were trying to squeeze way too much into the alotted time for a movie.) Since I did know all the little insides, though, I think that's why I did enjoy it. I will say, though, as a movie in itself it was entertaining & I would tell others to see it (keeping my fingers crossed that they would want to read the book to learn more).

Meet the Book Club ladies! This group of lovely ladies started in 1987, and I am now an adopted member since my mom was one of the originals. Last night was a lot of fun as we celebrated Christmas together. There was good food & a super fun "Steal the Present" game. (Sorry it's not the best pic. I think I'm ready for a new camera!)

Within five minutes of being home from the party I heard a little voice crying "Owie, Owie!" I went in to check on Liv, she said she had an owie as she pointed to her chin. I kissed it better, then she sat up and vommited all over. It's the first time that has happened like this. I'm proud to say that I didn't get nausious while helping her (that has always been my biggest worry). After sleeping next to her, we woke up to a very hot baby. Turns out Gary had caught the bug too. Todd took the day off & helped me with the kids. I appreciated that so much since the kids both needed a lot of love & attention... I wouldn't have been able to do that on my own. At the end of this sick day I'm glad to say that Liv is feeling a whole lot better... Gary's not so good, but hopefully it will pass soon. I love these two kids so stinkin' much!

Gary is such a boy! He loves "playing" with our guinea pigs, but I don't think they are so fond of him. I'm sure one day they are going to get a good nip of his finger tip. As for now they are extremely patient with the curious litte kid. One day he was reaching & reaching for Reden (Raydan) when he nose-dived into their cage. He was covered in pine shavings from head to toe! It was a mess, but so cute. That day I think I heard those pigs laughing at him... you know what they say about payback!!!

It is a winter wonderland here in Utah today. There are all sorts of large fluffly snowflakes falling from the ski. I am very grateful to be inside my warm house watching it through strong pane of glass!

Olivia was so excited to see Santa at our church party last night! She sat on Santa's lap last year, but I thinks she still didn't understand what this old man dressed in red was all about. It was super fun to see her eyes light up when he showed up at the party this year! She still doesn't understand the roll of the line, though. She kept trying to drag todd or me through the massive crowd of super excited kids! It took us quite a while to get to him, and once we did Liv was not going to say a word. Amazingly, I got this real good shot of the two of them! When she went to get off his lap, she gave him a great big hug! So stinkin' cute!

Olivia learned a song from Dora the Explorer & loves to make mom sing it over and over with her while she "mixes chocolate"... although it is incredibly annoying it is also so stinking cute when she wants to put on her apron, get out a bowl & spoon, and mix and mix the chocolatae!

It is a lot of fun to see Liv getting excited for Christmas. Every day she gets so excited to move the snowman a day closer on our Christmas Countdown. It's cute, though, when we ask "What does Santa say," and she responds "Jesus!" Kudos to her nursery teachers, they must be doing a good job teaching the reason for Christmas!

Last night I went with my family to watch my littlest brother, Aaron, perform in the band at Kennedy Junior High. I am so stinkin' proud of him! He did a solo for a swing song, he was worried that he couldn't hit the notes, but he did! It was great & I was so amazed at how long he can hold the note! Way to go Bear!

Todd took this picture of the kids and me when we were bundling up to go out into the cold. I think my kids are so cute in beenies! And it's fun to put them on Liv since when she was younger she wouldn't let us get near her with a hat of any sorts, I'd have to buy the kind that I could tie real tight to keep it from being pulled off... now she loves them! Fun stuff!

While I was here I wanted to give my two cents: I d the movie The Breakup. It was absolutely depressing from beginning to end. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Break-ups are hard enough to go through, I just don't understand why anyone would want to watch it more than once like break-ups.

Tonight my husband took me to a Jazz game. We had a great time having a date night. Neither one of us is all that fond of basketball so we didn't pay much attention to the game. Instead we chatted a lot with our neighbors. The Jazz did win though, that was awesome, I love when they win cause then the guests are given mint chocolate candies... YUMMY!
I've been busy working at the scrapbook store, so I haven't been around to post anything. Mostly I spend my days brainstorming, as Todd puts it, ways to spend money! As if I didn't have enough to scrapbook already with two kids I have decided to take on documenting my little brother's lives as well... what can I say, I just can't get enough of this stuff!

I've gotten a lot of crap due to my not so great christmas list. The fact is that I really just wanted to post my Quickutz wish list somewhere, but there are other things I'd like... There's a couple of books: Mitch Albom has a new one out and The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks or one of the last two books by Mary Ellen Edmunds. I also need a new violin case. And Gift Cards to Old Navy or Target will be much enjoyed! Thanks! And Christmas cards will be out soon!

Tonight I hosted a Pampered Chef party at my place. I had a good ol' time with old & new friends, thanks to those that came it was fun. Half way through the show I was like... where's my camera, I need to get pictures! Then I decided that maybe it wasn't such a big deal to take photos of this event. I hosted it because one of my best friends sister asked me if I'd like to. I've known her my whole life (here name is Melissa [Mellen] Burrow) how could I say no! If anyone wants to order something feel free to go to her web site www.pamperedchef.biz/melissaburrow and if you put down my name as the host (or something like that) then your purchase will go towards my party & that'd help me out! Anyways, it was a real good night! Since I didn't take photos of the party I decided to post this random picture of Liv and me!

Last Saturday BYU played University of Utah. With three seconds left BYU scored the winning touchdown ending the game at 33 to 31! It was a tense game that made my husband very proud (especially since last years game the U won in overtime which was heartbreaking for my husband). So when my friend, Annalese, brought her son by for the day he was decked out in Utah clothes to state the pride they still had for their team. After she left I caught Braeden playing with Todd's BYU #1 finger, so I had to grab a snapshot & post it for all to see!!

It seems ironic for me to write about what I'm grateful for after I just wrote a wish list of even more things, but tis the season & there is so much that I am grateful for. I am surrounded by people that love me, I have a wonderful warm home, and have talents and hobbies that help keep me happy! I am good health, so does my husband & my children. I am super grateful for those two little angels, Olivia & Gary! And I am so grateful for my bestfriend & mother, Suzanne Montgomery. While I'm not grateful for her passing I am grateful to have the knowledge that we will be together again because families are eternal!

We spent Thanksgiving with the Youngs in Toquerville, Utah. It was a lot of fun with great company and good food! Gary enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner - graham ers! Liv didn't eat much of anything, which has been normal lately. The rest of us enjoyed all the trimmings. I especially appreciate my mother-in-law for the time she put in to make our family this yummy meal. Oh, and thanks everyone for writing down what you're grateful for and always participating in my little traditions!

Since the big shopping day is coming up I have decided to post our family's Santa letters so loved ones know what we'd like...


Olivia & Gary are easy enough, mostly any toys. Olivia is really into anything Dora or Blue's Clues. On her wish list especially is this aquadoodle barn animals pad that makes animal noises, this fridge phonics magnetic, and laugh & learn puppy. Gary would love the discovery cube, playskool ball popper, and fisher price ocean wonders aquarium.

For Todd he'd mostly like Sheetrock delivered to our basement, but I think a gift card to Lowes would do just fine. He'd also like a weedeater and the XBOX360 game Gears of War.



As for me, I have a long list... what can I say, I'm a ! I'm really into the Quickutz die tool right now so here's my wants from that area: apple RS-0579, books KS-0246 & KS-0453, campfire KS-0051, crayon RS-0100, daisy RS-0015, flower doodads RS-0349, football helmet RS-0146, football RS-0141, footprint RS-0504, frog KS-0572, joy KS-0481, kokopelli RS-0054, love KS-0509, male female KS-0539, mugs KS-0592, night RS-0029, present KS-0055, pumpkin KS-0385, putting green KS-0366, snowflake RS-0214, sparkle RS-0513, speech bubble RS-0543, stocking KS-0478, treat bag KS-0257, utensils RS-0507, wish KS-0495... and alphabets called: Olivia, Calvin, Moxie, Daisy, and Maggie. By the way if you're going to get some of those go to the scrapbook store called Treasured Memories on the corner of 3300 s and 1200 w, my friends there have the quickutz on sale for 30% off! I would also like a new violin case and Natasha Beddingfield (or ford, something like that), Jack Johnson, Narls Barcley CDs. That's it for now... I know a lot!

I have been feeling bad that I don't have any pictures of my dad & the boys on my page so I'm taking care of that right now! I love these guys, they've been a part of my life for forever & forever to come! Both of the boys are doing real well in school. This year Aaron is in 9th grade, student body vice president, and a straight A student! Nate is a Junior at Hunter High School and is now driving!! It has sure taken a lot of stress off of me now that he can help car pool! Both boys were on the golfing team at Hunter, I was amazed at how much they played... every day! I know golf isn't as physical as most sports, but it is still tiresome to do so much. I heard that they got great reviews from their coach at the banquet so I'm very proud of them! My dad is amazing! I can't imagine what he's gone through & his own personal battles he's fought since Mom passed away. She is my best friend, but he was everything to Dad. He takes such good care of the boys & is so much more patient now that he doesn't have a soft cushion for the boys to fall on. I love love love them all!

Yesterday Melissa & Cory's place flooded with raw sewage... yeah sounds super gross! Plus, all the hard work of saving the irreplaceables (pictures, journals, etc.) while wading in unmentionables. Anyways, after all that they needed a place to crash, so they gave us a call. It is so nice to have a home where we can house our friends! I'm not sure how long they're staying, but it's fun to have roommates!

Since we had company Gary did not want to go to sleep. He just had to play with the new people in his house! He did not nap at all... all day. When I took Aaron home (he was at our place working on homework so it was done before thanksgiving break - way to go kid!) I decided to strap Gary into his carseat since I knew he'd fall asleep during the drive. He did! I laid him down in his crib & moments later he was up shaking his bed. He did finally give in to sleep about 8:30, but a day without a nap cannot happen again. I think my stress level goes up when he doesn't sleep, cause as soon as he did my aching head went away. He has to adjust to people in the house, cause, like a said, I don't know how long they'll be with us. What a day!

Last night we went to a Child's Play Birthday Party for our friend Melissa Huff (Cory's wife). It was a lot of fun... we played brutal musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey w/ some crazy spinning action, a very close game of Catch Phrase, and Pinata baseball.
So I'll expand on that last one... We started the traditional way: pinata on string, move it up and down, so on. Cory ruined that by breaking the string with the first swing of the game! Then Todd brought in some phone wire to replace the string. That held real well, but the pinata wouldn't break and eventually the wire tore through. Then we were at a loss, so the guys decided to pitch it & that started the baseball. Of course, by then the broom we'd been using had had enough so they used a bar from the exercise equipment & made short work of the pinata! What fun! I was so disappointed in myself for forgetting my camera... can you imagine, me without a camera!
Since today is Sunday it's all about the football! At the moment my team, Seahawks, is down so we won't talk too much about them for now! But soon my house will have an additional two teenage boys & I won't be able to play on the computer anymore, because they will be monitering their fantasy teams... although Todd is not so happy right now since three of his fantasy stars are hurt. What a day!

I was totally worn out by the end of yesterday. I watched my friend, Emily Wilde's, two kids... which I was glad to do, but it was non stop commotion all around the house. It really made me feal for couples who have twins or more... it's a nice thought to think that my four kids will gradually come instead of a sudden boom of kids all at once! Anyways, her two kids are so cute, though, & they were nothing to complain about at all, so don't get me wrong... it was easy enough, just busy! This here is Parker (3) with Liv & the lower is Charity who's a few months over a year... she's a climber! Good times! Followed by a very sound sleep :)