Gracie turns 5

Last year for Gracie's birthday we went to Disney World. A day or so later she started planning her next birthday. I just kept telling her it was a long ways away and we'd talk about it when it got closer. Then as each of the other kids had their birthdays she got more and more excited for hers.

So this year for the big "5" we let her chose 3 friends to take to the movies. So our family (minus Clara who was with some friends) plus 3 little girls journeyed to the movie theater to see Tangled. The movie was really cute and I think they all had fun, except Gracie. She wanted to leave after the first half and on the way home declared Tangled to be the longest movie in the whole wide world. Then after stuffing our faces with popcorn and soda we headed home (in pouring rain) to eat some real food before having cake and ice cream.

Her birthday was also the last day of school before the Christmas break, so her school class did all kinds of fun things, from a book exchange to crafts to a visit from a "fake" Santa (Gracie's word, not mine).

Earlier in the week we got a package from Grandma Ricks with our Christmas gifts and Gracie's birthday present. It nearly killed her to have to wait 5 days before opening her birthday present. She asked me every morning if she could just open it now. The week between her birthday and Christmas was not much better. So first thing the morning of December 17 (her birthday) she opened her presents. I didn't think she could make it until all her friends were there for her party. Here are some pictures:

Mom and Dad got Gracie a new bike for her birthday. Now she has one just like Will and Hallie. She also got a big, purple My Little Pony, a shrinkydink set and a puzzle.

Grandma Ricks got her this cute outfit! Here she is with all her presents. Grandma Robinson gave her a dry erase board to practice her letters (which she usually does every day on the way to school!)

Gracie blowing out the candles on her cupcakes. Next year she wants a cake and cupcakes. We'll see about that.

So even though it's almost a month late--I love you Gracie! You've brought so much joy and laughter to my life already. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for you.

Happy Birthday!

P.S. Stay tuned for a Christmas post in the next few days!

Santa baby...

Tonight we visited Santa for family home evening. It was also pet night for visiting Santa, so there were all these cute dogs dressed in their Christmas best waiting to see Santa too.

Clara just stared at Santa--no fussing or squirming, just curiosity. After about 30 seconds she said something (you know how Clara talks) and then reached for me.

William was a little nervous and didn't want to actually sit on his lap. I'm so glad they all still believe. I don't know how I'm going to explain the last 7 years of deception.

While standing in line Hallie asked if that was the real Santa. I said (in a sort of vauge way) "yes." Then she said , "cross your heart?" What could I do? I crossed my heart and promised it was the real Santa.

I couldn't hear what Gracie asked for, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with purple unicorns.

So this weekend turned out to be a lot less relaxing than I thought, but it was great though. Thanksgiving day I ran my first ever 5K. There was about 6000 people there! Luckily, a friend of mine ran with me (thanks Liz!) making it so much easier. Then while Tony played football I took the kids home to make our part of dinner.

We ate dinner at some friends house and had a great time! Then a couple friends and I left at 9:30 to be to Toys R Us by 10pm. There were probably 1500 people there, so needless to say, most everything we wanted was gone. While one friend waited in line, we went to Walmart and got some smoking deals there at midnight. Then we came home for a few hours sleep and headed out again at 8am for more shopping fun! Even though we were tired we all had a great time and I got most of my shopping done!

After shopping on Friday we put up our small Christmas trees (1 for each of the kids rooms and 1 in the living room). We got all our Christmas decorations up before going to another friends house for a Rock Band party.

Saturday we put up our Christmas lights and cleaned out the shed--and now it's Sunday. Whew!!! I really need a day of rest. Hopefully this explains why I didn't make my last Thanksgiving post on Thanksgiving day--I'll do it now (without Tony's help).

I cannot end my days of gratitude posts without expressing my gratitude for my Savior. He has given me everything in my life that matters and everything in my life that I need. He has given me my family--forever. I never have to give them up or worry about never seeing them again. He has given me peace through the atonement. He has given me His teachings and commandments which bring me freedom and joy. Because of His gospel I have met amazing people who inspire, lift, encourage and understand me.

I have everything I could ever need and all of that comes from my Savior, His atonement, and His gospel. My greatest desire is to live my life worthy to return to Him and to have His spirit with me until then. And as the saying goes, it's not always easy, but it is definitely worth it!

One more day...

Tonight I'm grateful for a few small things...like the fact that I got my pies made today (not sure how they turned out--I didn't read the directions as closely as I should have, but I'm sure they'll still taste good!).

Also, tomorrow I get to run my first ever official 5K! I've been training for this since September following the couch to 5K program a friend of mine recommended (for more info click here). I finished the 9 week training a few weeks ago and ran a 5K on the treadmill, but never on the actual ground and never in a race. I'm not worried about finishing it or my time, I'm actually more worried about the crowds. Apparently only the first 5500 people will be timed electronically. So hopefully I don't get trampled!

I'm also grateful that I only have one more post to go. It's not that I'm not grateful for anything else it's just that writing is not my favorite thing (that's why Tony loves writing--so I don't have to!) and I'm getting a little run down. Hopefully tomorrow I can have Tony help me write something really eloquent and meaningful, something I definitely cannot do without him!

For yesterday, I'm grateful for a clean house (even though I know it won't last beyond this morning). I spent all day yesterday cleaning my entire house. It was pretty bad, but now it looks pretty good. So naturally, after mutual last night, I collapsed.

Now after a semi-good night's rest I can enjoy my clean house and dirty it up baking pies! I'm going to try Emeril's chocolate cream pie--wish me luck!

Shopping

Since my recent revelation that Christmas is getting ever closer, I've kicked it into gear and begun my Christmas shopping. I began at my favorite store of all time...Target. Shopping there is always so much better than Walmart. I adore their baby clothes, especially the clearance rack. Today they had a pretty good sale on some things the kids will love. I even had a coupon.

So for today's post I'm grateful for Target and sales--especially when the two are combined!

(It's been a while, but this picture reminds me of the Target near our house in Boise. It was less than 5 minutes away and I practically lived there!)

Breakfast

This morning I decided that I'm extremely grateful for cereal. Without it I would not be able to get my family out the door on time for anything. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about feeding my family cereal for breakfast almost every single morning. When I do start feeling bad I tell my kids "Mom's going to make breakfast this morning, what do you want?" They all reply, "No, cereal!" (in a whiny voice I might add). Usually they just don't want to wait long enough for me to mix pancake batter--it's faster to just pore the cereal and milk.

These are some of our favorites (yum!!):