My Escape from Winter

I took Jeffrey and Sammy to visit my parents in Yuma, AZ Jan 9-16th. We flew all the way to Yuma International Airport-which is a thrill ride in itself for Jeffrey. He especially likes riding the "fast train" at the Denver airport and told my mom that we went to the "C station" (the C terminal). It was 70 degrees plus some the whole time we were there. So we played outside quite a bit. We played at a park one day, visited my Grandpa Nelson-who'll be 91 next month. Oh, and there's a story here-so my Grandpa lives in Bard, CA which is 20 min west of Yuma (Yuma is right on the Colorado River). Bard is rural farming area and so my Grandpa's house is surrounded by fields. There used to be lemon orchards that my brothers and I would play in growing up, but the trees got a disease and had to be destroyed. Now there are baby date palms growing. Anyways, that's just background info, so we're visiting Grandpa when I hear Sammy crying and I look out into the field and see he's lost his shoes. The field was muddy-and muddy fields can be like quick sand-so his shoes got stuck in the mud and his feet came out of them. Well, my mom went out to save him and was OK going out but coming back her shoes broke the top layer and she almost got stuck herself. It was funny at the time...ha ha. Also in Bard, we saw my Uncle Jerry's old Model-T truck that he decorates for Christmas. This year he had an electric train on the back-which was mesmerizing for my boys. So what else, we went on a boat ride on the mighty Colorado River. Jeffrey loved it, Sammy not so much. Sammy did try to drive the boat and didn't want my Dad to have his hands on the wheel. We played at my brother Paul and Ericka's house. Their son Hunter got a Wii for Christmas-and beat me at bowling. Then we took a short trip over to California to visit some old friends. First we drove up to Irvine to see my friend Hillary and her daughter Avery. We just played at the park for a couple of hours. Avery and Jeffrey were best buds when we lived there and poor Avery bawled when we had to leave. Then we went to San Diego and saw the Clarks. They took us to the San Diego Zoo the following day, then we ate ice cream and headed back to Yuma. On our way home we were surprised by John at the Phoenix airport-he'd had business in PHX and Tucson and met up with us for our flight home. Denver greeted us with 18 degree weather-brrrrrr!! It was a long, fun trip and its good to be home. Okay, I'm trying out a slide show for my pictures-hope it works!

White Christmas Memories

Christmas this year was so so fun. The weekend before Christmas, we took my parents to see the White Christmas musical downtown then ate at a cute little Italian cafe. Christmas Eve day we all went to The North Pole-which is actually in Colorado Springs. It has kiddy amusement rides and the most real Santa Claus I've ever seen. Jeffrey was excited beyond limits to see Santa, but as soon as we got into the cottage, Jeffrey didn't even make eye contact with him and so didn't sit on his lap. But we had fun riding the rides. Jeffrey tried out the Tilt-a-Whirl which is probably the fastest ride he's ever been on-but loved every second. That night Patrick and Katrina came over and we had appetizers and a special Christmas Eve family home evening by Grandma and Grandpa, complete with "Don't Eat Pete" and a Christmas lesson fit for a 3 year old.

Then the perfect Christmas for my parents who've never been out of Yuma for the holiday, it snowed! And it was my first white Christmas too. Mom and Dad took a walk around the neighborhood after the presents were all opened just to be in the snow.
And as a side note, Jeffrey was more enthusiastic this year than he's ever been about Christmas. Christmas morning he asked John "Is Santa still in our house", and when John answered "no", Jeffrey said "oh, good!". He knew if Santa was in the house he couldn't come down stairs to open presents. Then he jumped around and waved his arms shouting "Its Christmas!".

The North Pole-Jeffrey driving!

Dave and Betty-Grandma and Pappy-Mom and Dad

Don't Eat Pete-I think I won.

We played a throw the ball in a box game.

Jeffrey's gift from Santa-he played with this for 10 hours straight on Christmas day!

Sammy opening his favorite present-a new blanket! (So I can wash his blanket once in a while)
He was playing with the camera but as soon as John opened the bag and Sammy saw the blanket he gave out a little scream and started to suck his fingers.

2007 Re-cap

We didn't include a letter in our Christmas cards this year but asked people to check out our blog, so I'm writing a little re-cap of 2007 for all of those who aren't regular readers (and if you are a regular to our blog the following will be a repeat and boring so I'd stop reading...now...no really...now).

John and I have been busy remodeling our home. We recently had new floors put in, the white walls are being painted, and much to our chagrin we decided to paint the trim as well. Last summer, John planted some new trees and bushes in the backyard and is looking forward to putting in a new deck next summer.

Enough about the house, it consumes us! Over the summer, we had the whole Kjelstrom clan in Colorado for a reunion. John put his brothers to work in the backyard the first day. We watched fireworks, ate lots of food, enjoyed a short trip to Breckenridge, oh and ate lots of food! A few weeks later we went down to Pagosa Springs, CO and met up with a few members of my family.

John is still (yea for still) working at National Valuation Consultants as a senior commercial real estate appraiser. He travels at least once a month all over the country (recently he got to spend almost 2 weeks in New Jersey-he was thrilled!). He took several appraisal classes this year in order to earn his MAI designation (Member of Appraisal Institute-highest designation for an appraiser)-only one more class and a grueling 2 day test left! He continues to golf when there isn't snow on the ground. At church, he works with the Teacher's quorum which he loves. He often relives his teenage years through the boys he works with.

Me-I go grocery shopping, do laundry, wipe noses and bums, plan meals and cook them, play trains, color, read books (children and adult) clean...and some other things I can't think of right now. No, really, seriously now, I do love being able to stay at home with my boys. The moments when they make me laugh or say something too cute completely counter the other times when we all act not so nice. I'm the secretary in primary at church. And Tuesdays I get to play volleyball-that's where I get out any frustrations I might have, I just hit the ball really hard! And I am enjoying the snow this year (that's because I made a promise not to complain).

Jeffrey still loves trains-I meant LOVES!!!! trains. He also enjoys watching movies, going to playgroup and nursery, playing play-do, and going to the zoo so we can ride the train. Oh, he also likes to see the lizards and snakes. He is a wonderful big brother who is most often kind to Sammy. He loves to come with me to get Sammy in the morning. Jeffrey had his first swim lessons this year. He had a hard time floating because he would get too excited-arms flapping, big smile-so he would sink since he was so stiff with excitement. But he was great at dunking his head under the water.

Sammy is growing and growing!! He is a curdle bug. He is like Linus, his blanket is never far and is usually being dragged behind him. If you are holding him with his blanket he will lay his head down on your shoulder, suck his fingers and sigh a bit. He is learning new words everyday. His favorite right now is "No". Dogs are his favorite animal. Sammy started exploring the world around him this year-particularly the toilet and things under the sink in my bathroom. He is also learning to hold his own against his big brother.

2007 has been a great year for us. We are loving Colorado and the friends we've made here. (Hopefully we can get some more family here someday). We wish you joy and peace this Christmas and the coming year.

Deck the Halls....

I just needed to post something new cause I was tired of looking at myself. And just as an update, I am feeling much better about my hair, John likes it, and I'm no longer nauseous. John was out of town most of last week and will be leaving again on Tuesday morning till Friday night. Uggghhh! The only good thing is, I get lots done at night when I'm all alone-like almost all my Christmas gifts are wrapped, our Christmas cards are almost ready (key word there is "almost"). This week I think I'll bake-I've decided to try some new holiday recipes such as fudge and toffee and maybe caramel. (I LOVE CARAMEL!!)

So more 18 month blues....Sammy hates shopping. Which is really bad at this time of year when I have tons of errands to make. We went to Walmart last week for paper and caulk-that's it. And he started throwing a fit because I didn't let him out of the cart when he wanted. It was actually a little funny because he was crying and hitting the side of the cart showing me how mad he was. So then all these old people and some younger folks were saying "Oh, what's wrong, its okay little guy". And I was thinking-what the heck??!! Don't take pity on him, he's in the middle of a tantrum! And serious, my selfish thought was they should be taking pity on me!
I was not amused.

My parents are coming this year for Christmas, the 21st-26th. We are excited to see them. They have never been anywhere but Yuma for Christmas. I really hope it snows for them. Then two weeks after they leave, the boys and I are going to Yuma to visit them-its my escape from winter trip. We just got a ton of snow this weekend-and I didn't complain!! I'm very proud of myself.

The Cut

Today I got a hair cut, a really short hair cut. Change doesn't come easy for me so right now I'm having some regret. I feel too masculine, like I need to be wearing high heels, a shirt with lace and flowers and fur and say things like "Oh my gosh, that is so cute!", to counter my hair cut. I think I'll go buy some girly barrettes tomorrow. John is out of town till Friday at midnight and I don't think he remembers that I was planning on the chop. I think the pictures I took of myself, in my yellowish bathroom make me look worse, but you get the idea. Okay, I'm feeling a little queasy now about this whole thing AND posting it on my blog. It'll grow out right! or I may end up liking it short, only time will tell.

Black Friday

I've never braved the early morning rush of the day after Thanksgiving, but this year I did it. Thanksgiving morning I surfed through the ads and decided what I wanted and my plan of attack. I got up at 5am after only one hit of the snooze button and rushed off to Kohls. This year Kohls opened at 4am so by the time I got there the place was packed with lines all around the store. I started by getting a number at the jewelry counter then picked out a few clothes items. I was beginning to think about just leaving because I didn't see how standing in line for 45 minutes for a few items was worth it when my number was called! So I bought some jewelry-$100 diamond earrings for $20 (I hope they're real!)- and they rang up the rest of my stuff. (and I thought about WHO I could give the earrings too but in the end concluded that I would really be the happiest person to get them and so am keeping them for myself.) By the end of the day I hit about 6 stores, one store shy of my plan. I wanted to go to GameStop to buy some Wii's to sell on ebay-you can make about $150 profit-but I should have been standing in line before the store opened cause they only had 20. And that was how all the door busters were-it's just a gimmick-they advertise rock bottom prices on limited stock items just to get you in. But being an amateur I didn't realize this and so didn't get to any of the stores in time. I stood in line the longest at Toys-r-us for 4 toys (the line wound around the whole store). Everyone around me had huge baskets full of stuff, I couldn't believe it! It was worth it though because I got everything for a good price plus I got the second to last toy that Jeffrey has been dying to get (and told me again today "Mommy I really really want that fast train"). I'm not much of a shopper-not my favorite past time cause I don't like to spend money. But I enjoyed myself, mostly because I went alone-no kids, nobody to wait on, I just knew exactly what I wanted-got in and got out. Moral of the story-it was a good experience and I'll probably do it again.

Old and New Pictures

We took Christmas pictures yesterday, here is one that didn't turn out too well.

Since Jeff is going into primary next year we decided he needed a tie, and he loves it.

First snow storm back in mid October. Jeffrey was SOOO excited along with John about the snow. Sammy didn't know what to think and didn't enjoy being outside too much. I had mixed feelings about the snow. I remember at church that day someone prayed that they were thankful for the snow and the moisture it would bring to the area. I was surprised by that comment because it never occurred to me that I should be thankful for the snow. And I decided that I'm not going to complain this winter about snow! Wish me luck.

Yes, Sammy has some goop in his nose.

The Denver Zoo and the reason we go to the zoo is for the train ride.

Firemen to the Rescue!!

I wish I had taken a picture now, but I really didn't think about it at the time...
Saturday afternoon I was painting baseboards in the garage while the boys played in my car in the driveway. I let them have the keys because Jeffrey likes to listen to music while he pretends to drive. A neighbor boy came by and Jeffrey got out of the car to play with him leaving Sammy by himself. A few minutes later, Jeffrey and this boy come running over to me to say Sammy has locked the doors to the car. Well, John was on a campout and had the only other key to the car. I called to see if he was close to being home but he was in Vail, about 2 hours away. John, in a way, was freaking out asking what I was going to do. I didn't know, yet! I got out a wire hanger and proceeded to attempt the break in but I failed. Two of the neighbor dads tried the hanger but no luck. Several of us were knocking on the window, yelling at Sammy to "push the button". Sammy just smiled back and continued to play in the car. At first I didn't want to, it was my last option, but I decided to call the police. They routed me through to the fire department. About five minutes later we hear the sirens coming up the street (I don't think they had much to do). By this time, Sammy is crying and looking a bit scared. The big fire truck came plus a sheriff. They got Sammy out quickly and suggested I get a magnetic hide-a-key then left. I guess I'm just glad I got to see my tax dollars at work. And yes, I'm going shopping for a hide-a-key.

Update

Don't fret another second! I found my camera and will post new and interesting pictures soon. The camera was in the pocket of my snow jacket because I took pictures of the kids in our first snow storm two weeks ago. So it was neither Sammy or the carpet guys-my hypothesis was very wrong.

**If you are confused please read under "18 month Blues"

Halloween!!

What a busy day! We started out with playgroup then ran home for a quick lunch then off to a kiddy halloween party at Kristen Andersen's house. Jeffrey and Sam played hard and ate tons of sugar. By the time we got home it was 4pm and Sammy was ready to crash. So I let him take a late nap. Jeff and I went over to a neighbor's house for pizza then a huge group of us took off to trick or treat. (Sammy was still sleeping so he didn't join in). Jeffrey was very enthusiastic to begin with, running to each house and yelling "trick or treat" (which actually sounds likes "trunk or treat"). After a street he started to say he wanted to go home. By the time we got home I found out why-he had a little accident. But we got plenty of candy. Sammy woke up at 7pm and I put his costume on for some pics and to go to the Jones' house next door. For the rest of the night Jeffrey enjoyed handing out candy to the trick or treaters, each time he'd say "they said thank you mom and I said welcome". John brought home his camera from work so I could take pictures tonight. (BTW-you can see our new floors in the first picture of Sammy).

18 month Blues

My little boy (Sammy) has turned the ripe old age of 18 months. And oh my goodness has he changed! He'll still snuggle with me and its fun to hear him repeat words I say. But then there's the other side. To put it positively he has become very interested in everything around him. He must touch it, taste it and stick it in the toilet. I still love him, I just get frustrated with his explorations. And Jeffrey is happy to help. He's also learned to say "No"-granted I probably say that word more than any other-but he doesn't just say no, he pronounces it and prolongs it like a high whined NOOOOOO. he does go to nursery-hooray!! I swear 18 months is the hardest age for me. Hence, i am not planning on having another child at the moment.

Today I lost my keys. I got up early to go work out (yes, I'm buff now) so I had them between 6am and 7am. By 10:15am I was in a panic cause I had to go to the Music Makers class I started and am in charge of. But no keys. My neighbor graciously gave us a ride. After Music Makers I proceeded to comb the house in a calmer manner than previously and found them sitting right inside the sub woofer speaker we have sitting next to our TV. Can you guess who hid them?-yes my sweet Sammy. He's hidden other objects in the past and I have found them in odd places.

Speaking of which...I've misplaced my camera and tomorrow is Halloween. A parents worst nightmare-no camera to take pictures of their little ones in cute costumes. So here is my theory with the camera 1. Sammy hid it or 2. the carpet installers stole it. (cause it can't be ME who lost the camera, it must be someone else). Oh, and if didn't guess we have all new floors in our house-the whole house excluding the unfinished basement. I LOVE IT!!! No more nasty crusty grey carpet under my table. We now have cherry laminate wood on most of the main floor and carpet everywhere else. Plus new tile in the upstairs bathrooms.

Anyways, please don't think I hate my kids. I'm just venting a bit. I know my life is peaches and cream compared to millions of other moms around the world. Sometimes I think "how does Heavenly Father do it". Cause I can't keep my patience with just two kids!

Tagged??!!

I have been tagged by my lovely friend Rachel Lyons. I've been trying to think of interesting things to say about myself that you don't already know. Some of you don't know that I like to bird watch or that my dad is a date farmer or that my nickname was Scrap but mostly everyone already knows those tidbits. Oh! I have to explain the rules: list 6 interesting things about yourself then tag 6 other people and leave comments on their blogs so they know they've been tagged.

1. My junior year of college I went to Cape Town, South Africa for a summer. I know you all know that but I'm always asked what I did there and so that's the interesting part. Sooooo it was through BYU's anthropology department (I was a zoology major). It wasn't really a study abroad because I didn't study at a university there. I volunteered at a maternity hospital and did an after school program at a library in the township I lived in. My host family was awesome! It was such a great experience-forced me out of my comfort zone and created a desire to learn more about other cultures. yada yada I could go on forever....

2. I despise buying things that AREN'T on sale. I literally get a high from shopping around for the best bargains and using coupons to get rock bottom prices. Some may call me cheap. Sometimes when I'm going to purchase something big I do lots of research online then look around for good prices but end up becoming indecisive-it drives John up the wall. John just wants to go into a store, get the item and leave. Not me, I like to look at lots of stores and then think about it for awhile-but then I can't make a decision, and I worry about making the "right" choice, cause I'll only feel good about buying if I know its a good deal.

3. Okay, I'm going to explain the "Scrap" nickname. My freshman year of high school I played on the varsity basketball team. One of the older players decided I was a scrappy player and thus gave me the name. So it stuck and I was called that by my teammates plus other friends. Then in college, someone found out about it and started calling me Scrap. Pretty soon everyone called me that including my bishop. I was assigned to give a talk one Sunday and they introduced me as Scrap during sacrament meeting. My old roomies still call me Scrap and have a hard time calling me by my real name. It only wore off once all my friends got married and I had all new roommates my senior year. That's when I met John so he has always called me Steph not Scrap.

4. Before I die I'd like to visit Costa Rica (awesome bird watching), New Zealand/Australia, Sweden (John's family ancestry), and the British Isles (my family ancestry).

5. After my kids are all in school I plan on getting a nursing degree. Then I want to go on short humanitarian trips to Africa or South America as a nurse. I love the medical field!! But I do have to get over my little fainting problem. I faint when I get drawn and have seen some minor surgeries in which I got woosy.

6. I was a minority in my high school. Yuma, AZ is about 15 minutes from the Mexican border and so is heavily populated by people from that country or of that ancestry. But that also means Yuma has magnificent Mexican food....oh I'm craving some right now as I write. Another interesting fact about Yuma, the population doubles in the winter from the snow birds (old people from the north). And its also in the Guinesis Book of World Records for the most consecutive days over 90 degrees. One last fact, while Yuma High School was being built classes were held in the old Yuma Territorial Prison and so their mascot became the Criminals. (note: I didn't go to Yuma High so please don't call me a criminal).

***I tag Candice Brobice, Rachel "Goodwin" Williams, Katrina Bria, Melissa Ballantyne, Tami Nelson, and Shannon Dickman

World Series Baby!!!

Our Colorado Rockies just did what no team has done before in the history of baseball, swept both the division and league championship series. And yes, they did play the Arizona Diamondbacks whom I have been a fan of in the past (like 2001 when we lived in Tuscon and they beat the Yankees in the world series). But they are no longer the team I knew, with their new colors and players. So I have done what all Denverites must do eventually, and I am rooting for the home team. John went to the first game in the national league championship series while he was in Phoenix for business. He got a ticket at face value the day before the game. The playoff games here have been sold out for weeks and being sold for twice their value. People are a little crazy in Colorado about their sports teams, but it makes it all the more fun.

Can't wait for Halloween

We got this costume about 2 weeks ago at Costco and Jeffrey wears it constantly. He is very excited about Halloween and getting candy. He sleeps in his scrubs almost every night. And I think he looks really good in those scrubs (I'm already having proud parent dreams of my baby going to medical school)

Like Brother like Brother

Sammy likes to do whatever his big brother does. But at the same time Jeffrey likes to act like Sammy-mostly with baby talk. I caught them playing trains together one morning, and of course its the day I accidentally dressed them a like. Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention that Sammy is walking now (has been for a month). It was such a huge event when Jeffrey walked but with Sammy it was more like "finally!". I know that sounds harsh but I guess its the reality of being the second born.

Yummy Recipe!!

I got this recipe from Food Network's Everyday Italian. Its called Garlic and Citrus Chicken and its YUMMY!! We all loved it including the kids. Its very simple just takes a bit of time since its a whole roasted chicken. Click here to get the recipe. Try it....love it.

Goodbye Summer

On this the last day of summer (to which I bid a heartfelt adieu and a safe return), I am lamenting the loss of my dear friends, my black Reef flip-flops. Companions for nearly 6 years, they were worn almost everyday warm enough for them to be worn. Yes they were dirty, stinky, some said ugly, but by George they were comfortable! And that's what matters most to me-comfort.

If you have been overly saddened by the previous event please read the last post to brighten your mood.

The Peaing Story

Monday morning I went out front to get Jeffrey so we could go to playgroup and there he is with his pants down to his ankles, peaing on our front bush. When he saw me he smiled real big like he was proud of himself. Then says "Mommy, bushes are good for peaing on just like toilets!"

He's done it a few times more, each time I remind him that we have a bathroom just inside. Today Sammy was in front with Jeff, and I saw him walk up to the bush, lift up his shirt, then try to push his pants down just like his big brother does when he relieves himself. Sammy has done this same maneuver in front of the toilet so I'm hoping he will be interested in potty training early.

Oh Rise and Shout the Cougars are out!!

BYU and Arizona football played today and BYU won 20-3!! For anyone not aware of the history, John graduated from UofA and I graduated from BYU. Looks like Arizona will have another bad team. I'll be cheering for them again come basketball season.

Here's a shout out of thanks to the few blessed souls who have commented on my blog. I know some of you don't know how to leave comments so I will tell you: at the bottom of each post there is a "comments". If you click on it you can then leave a message in the comments box. You don't have to have a google account, but you can sign up for one if you want to under the comment box. So try it!

And for those of you who just don't comment because you are either out of time or lazy or maybe you don't like my blog (then I ask you why are you reading it?); well I take pity on you and if I were to die tomorrow you may feel guilty that you didn't leave your words. J/K, J/K its okay I'm not mad really.....