Annual gingerbread get together

Every year my mom decorates gingerbread houses with the grandkids. All the kids love making them and getting to spend that time together. Unfortunately things didn't work out like it was supposed to and not everyone could make it, that is how it usually goes when your trying to get a bunch of families together. It turned out great though! We got together on Friday and we just lounged around while the kids played. On Sat. we got the gingerbread houses and trains put together and then Tif and I went to grab a pizza for lunch. We left Grandma and the two oldest kids, Kasey and Abby, in charge of the little ones. When we came back Grandma had fallen asleep in the recliner and Kasey and Abby got sucked into the tv. That left the 3 and 4 year old to do as they please. They ate part of their house and train before they were even decorated! Grandma is some babysitter...LOL Well they decorated the houses and trains and they all took their time and made them nice and unique. Then we baked cookies and headed out to see Santa. Peyton couldn't hardly stand waiting his turn to see Santa, he was SO excited! Santa gave Peyton a magic Elf that watches Peyton to make sure he is being good. Then at night when Peyton is aleep the Elf reports back to Santa if Peyton has been good or naughty that day. Peyton loves waking up and looking for the Elf to see if Santa sent him a treat for being good. He sends a minature candy cane or a minature chocolate bar if Peyton was good the day before. What a great incentive for good behavior. I love this time of year and all the Christmas festivities. I love watching Peyton and his excitement. I can't wait for Christmas just to see Peyton, he is going to be so much fun this year!

Mary Kay

I am now selling Mary Kay skincare and cosmetics if anyone is interested. My website is www.marykay.com/ewiller

Always something...

A few weeks ago I noticed that our fridge was leaking. I thought great it is only 2 years old, what could be wrong with the dumb thing! Luckily we found out that the tray underneath that holds condensation had a crack in it. We ordered a new tray and it wasn't that big of deal. Well yesterday, our washer quit working. It is only 3 years old and of coarse, no longer under warranty. Jake looked at it and found that it has to be the motor in it and not just something simple. Sears can come look at it but it is ninety dollars just for them to come, plus parts and labor. If they don't have what they need and they have to make more than one trip it is ninety dollars each trip! We figured we might as well buy a new one. There are so many to choose from, I have no idea what to do! Oh yeah and they have great black friday sales at sears if we don't mind waiting 3 weeks. I am sorry, but three weeks seems like an eternity to go without a washing machine!

Halloween

Halloween was so much fun this year! Peyton was so excited and knew what was going on. He loves Toy Story and so does his little cousin Porter. Peyton chose to be Buzz and Porter Woody, their favorite Toy Story characters. We went to SLC to visit before Halloween and took the kids pictures. Porter also had his other cousin Presley with him and she was Tinkerbell. They had so much fun together. On Halloween, we took Peyton to our trunk-or-treat and he had so much fun with all his little friends. We then went to all of his grandparents houses where he really loaded up on the candy and we got pictures of him with each grandparent. Our last stop was Grandma and Grandpa Gardinerd, as Peyton calls them ;) He trick-or-treated them and then we made pizza and watched baseball! It was such a great night and so much fun for Peyton, he is already trying to decide what he is going to be next year.

My recent addiction....

For my birthday, in June, my dear hubby got me a new camera. I have wanted a really nice camera for a few years now. I have been having so much fun with it! I love taking pictures. Learning about photography has been intriguing to me. I am now addicted to it! I have been reading and reading! There is so much to learn, it's crazy! I am now on a journey down photography lane and I am just at the very beginning. I thought that I would share a couple shots of Peyton. I took them in August, they are my favorite's so far!

Fall...

I love fall! I love it when the leaves start to change and our surroundings are beautiful shades of orange, red, and yellow. I love how the air smells crisp and clean. I love to see the the holidays start to roll in and the fun it brings. To kick it off we went to the corn maze! Are hubby's had to work and so the girls and kids went without them. It turned out to be so much fun! They had slides and swings, goats to pet, and a corn shed to play in- which was Peyton's favorite. The kids made it through phase 1 of the maze in no time and then attempted phase 2. After we kept coming to the same place and moans and groans of hunger, thirst, and tiredness. They all decided to just back track and go out the way we came in. Even though we were more than half way to the exit. So we all tracked back and went out the entrance. Then we had hot dogs and pop and launched a few pumpkins and then came home. The kids all loved it and had so much fun! Then the next sunday my sister-in-law brought tons of peaches over. I thought how fun it would be to make jam. I hadn't ever done it before so my wonderful mother came over and we listened to General Conference and made yummy peach jam. We had a great time together and the jam turned out great! I thought it was another great way to welcome the season of fall!

Circus fun!

A few weeks ago Peyton and I went to the circus with Uncle Tim, Aunt Mara and Porter. Peyton had a lot of fun! He and Porter mostly loved the animals. Peyton loved sharing Uncle Tim's popcorn and pop with him. Tim and Mara spent the whole time wrestling with restless little Porter. They decided they are good on the circus for about the next five years or longer. Porter and Peyton love each other so much. Mara says that when Porter is around Peyton he turns into an animal. He just loves to wrestle with Peyton. They both get so hyper and are literally bouncing off the furniture! Peyton is so patient and good with Porter. I love to watch them together. Here is some fun pics of our trip!

eewwwww!!!!

Today I had the bug man come and spray for bugs, spiders, and the hornets. The hornets were my biggest concern since they have a nest under my front porch and whenever you open the front door they feel we are intruding on their turf. I really didn't want Peyton or visitors to get stung. So I called the bug man. He came and sprayed in and outside the house, the garage and the basement for 49 bucks! He found 10 huge black widows on our house outside. He showed a few of them to me after he sprayed and told me that they are big enough to kill an adult if one were to bite. The biggest one was also on my front porch. They like to nest up under siding. I knew we had black widows but I didn't know we had huge ones and so many! Luckily they were outside! He told me that the males are brown and they don't get quite as big as the females. But, where there are females there is usually a male close by. The females that he showed me can lay up to 750 eggs 3 times a year! Yuck! That is alot! He said it is best to spray 2x per year. Now in the fall and again in the spring. The spray is used in hospitals and resturaunts and in completey safe around kids and pets. I am so glad we had him come. 98 bucks a year is nothing when it could save a life! So if you haven't had your house sprayed I suggest you get 'er done!

catching up.....

I guess it is time for a real post. I can't believe that we have been so busy this summer. At the beginning of the summer we went to visit my dad. We had such a fun trip and we drove through Yellowstone. Peyton had fun seeing mountain goats, big horn sheep, elk, deer, buffalo, coyote and a fox with a squirrel in it's mouth. Peyton got some nice new cowboy boots that he loves and begged to wear all summer with his shorts. We made smores and hung out at dad's house and we took our not so little puppy Roxy May right in the middle of house training. It was quite the experience. I was so great I think I got one picture the whole trip! Peyton loved spending the time with Grandpa Doug and Grandma Debbie. He also loved eating buffalo! We also spent time with our other family members this summer. We had a blast going to visit Uncle Matt and Aunt Tiff and the kids. Peyton loved playing with them and riding horses. He loved going fishing with Uncle Matt and Rowdy too. Then we went on a few trips to SLC to see my grandma and Uncle Tim and Mara. Peyton loves going to Grandma Abbotts because her house is always loaded with treats and he gets whatever he wants. He would find out that we were going there and he would jump up and down saying "YES!" "I looove Grandma Abbott's!" I told my grandma and you could just see how her face would light up! Then when were actually home for two weeks straight, Peyton took swimming lessons. He cried the first day or two and then he loved them and he keeps asking when his swimming lessons are again. I guess I better get him in again soon before we have to start all over with the tears. We also had fun playing with friends and doing the summer reading program at the library. Peyton loves books and our table is usually covered with books he checks out. We took our last trip to Primary Childrens and Peyton kidneys are all the way cleared up and he never ever has to back again! WOOHOO! After 4 years of worrying about that, we were ecstatic to hear that good news! Peyton was just as stoked that he doesn't have to get poked and proded anymore! Peyton loved spending time with his cousin Porter this summer, even though he gets tired of Porter tackling him. He loves him so much. It is so fun to see them playing together. We have spent the last few weekends camping. I have loved the time that we have spent together as a family doing that. Peyton loves to camp and so does Roxy. Then Peyton started Pre-school two weeks ago. He absolutely loves it! I am so happy they have a 3 yr old class and he can go. He loves going to play with other kids and loves reading books and learning. He thinks he is a big boy now. Here are some pics in no particular order of our fun summer, enjoy............

Sweet talker

Peyton is the sweetest little boy. This morning he woke up and came and laid down by me. He was rubbing my cheek and said " You're the great, great, great, great mommy ever". He always will tell me " your beautiful and pretty mom" and "You're my best friend forever". I hope that he still feels that way in about 13 years. LOL! I asked him the other day how he got so cute. His reply was "Not from my mommy or my daddy, from my Gramma Laine." My mom was there too. I asked her what she had been teaching him and she claims she never said anything like that. Peyton then told me he was trying to butter her up. When I asked him why he just said "because I like to". I think he's got the sweet talkin' thing down.

Growing like crazy!

Okay here is a pic. of Peyton's puppy Roxy May and she is getting huge! She had fun in the mud and this was just before her bath. Hopefully I will get more pics and be better at posting soon!

Time for update...........

I guess it is time for an update since I haven't posted since the beginning of January. Life has been busy and so much fun! Peyton turned 3 the first week of May. For his birthday we added a new addition to our family. Peyton got a chocolate lab puppy. He named her Roxy May and she is adorable. It is stressful though. Like having 2 3 year olds. We all love her though and are happy to have her around. Peyton is super busy and his personality just keeps getting bigger and more outgoing! We went on vacation to Cody Wy. to see my dad. That was a blast and Peyton loved riding his horses and playing with their dogs and Roxy May. He also loved going through Yellowstone and seeing the wildlife. I have also been busy getting ready for this years Relay for Life! It will be June 4th and 5th and we have some fun raffle prizes so if you get a chance come on down and support the cause. I guess that sums it up for now. I took pics but since my pc crashed I will have to add them when I get a new one.

Christmas

Well, we had a great Christmas and enjoyed being with our family. These pictures are in no particular order. We made 4 batches of home-made sugar cookies for our neighbors and friends. That is a lot if you have ever made them. We made the dough, rolled it, cut it, baked it, frosted them and put them in the stacked plastic containers. The picture only shows about 1/2 of the many we made. The day before Christmas Eve Peyton and I went out and played in the snow. He loved it and made his first snow angel. We then came in to have hot chocolate w/ marshmellows, which he also loved! Christmas Eve we opened our new jammies and slippers and hung out watching Christmas movies and snacking on goodies. We also made cookies to leave out for Santa along with the carrots for the reindeer. We then read our Christmas book, "This is the Season" and went to bed. Christmas morning Jake and I were both so excited and woke up around 7. We got up watched some tv while we waited for Peyton to wake up. He was still sleeping by 8 so we each got ready and Peyton was still asleep. We finally went and woke him up and he was lying in his bed and was so excited and saying the funniest stuff. Jake and I were cracking up. We finally got him to come see if Santa had come and then I got the video camera out. Peyton was pretty much in a daze after we got out the video camera. We should have had it when he was just waking up and showed so much excitement. He was lots of fun this year and very spoiled.