Franco Gift Exchange

Every year we get together with Harvey's family for our annual Christmas gift exchange. We start off by going to lunch at Golden Corral and then end up at our house for the gift exchange. We were really hoping to have our basement painted by the party but, at this point we are just glad that our walls are up and that it is primed.

We do the standard White Elephant gift exchange. Everyone brings a gift and we draw numbers. You can either steal a gift from someone that has already opened one or open a new one. Somehow, we never end up having enough gifts and I have to run to my "emergency gift stash" and grab a few. This year I had to grab four. We need to clarify the rules better next time.

We are the only ones with really young kiddos right now. Thinking that my kids would like to have something geared a bit more towards them, I usually get a couple of kiddos things. However, this year, they were enamored by a scarf and a CD holder. The poor teens ended up with a pack of Christmas finger puppets and a copy of the movie "Annie."

The hot ticket items of the evening were a set of cute brown dishes (that will totally be outdated in 2 years) and a Block Buster gift card. Don't you just love it!

I Believe in Santa Clause

Friday evening at about 7:00, we got a phone call. We were informed that we were going to have a visit from a jolly old elf. He only had 10 minutes because he was off to visit other boys and girls in the valley but he would knocking at our door momentarily.

Momentarily was right. I quickly wiped the Spagetti-O's off of the kids faces and ran to find a brush when there was a know at the door. Well, the search for a brush was in vain. We no longer had time for that particular quest. Kaeson ran to the door and peered out the window. He started jumping up and down and screaming "Santa is here, Santa is here." This then paralyzed him from doing anything else.

I ended up running to the door and letting Santa in. He came in, sat down and had the kids sit on his lap. My kiddos were absolutely speechless! They literally could barely utter a word. Kyra managed to eek out one gift that she would like for Christmas. Kaeson was crushed for two straight days that he had forgotten to tell Santa his desires for a life jacket and a scuba suit.

Out cute Santa brought each of our kiddos a handmade toy car and a candy cane. Kelty was in 7th heaven even though his diaper was about to fall off. Then, Santa had to leave. The kids watched through the front window as he walked down the front walk way. Kaeson was in shock over the fact that Santa got into a car instead of a sleigh! We reassured him that Santa couldn't get his sleigh into the neighborhood so, he had to drive in. His car was probaby parked around the corner. So, what does Kaeson do, he runs out of the house trying to chase down Santas car so that he can find the sleigh.

All in all, it was a great surprise. I have to admit that I truly do believe in Santa. I have seen him in my house.... in my living room. I only hope that he was willing to overlook my messy little house and still send me a Christmas present

The Tree is Up!

Usually by this time of year, we are have decked our halls and have the holly jolly spirit but this year seems to have flown by in a flash. We are left with two weeks to Christmas and are just barely starting to get our Fa La La La La's on.

I remember looking forward to Christmas for what seemed liked months. My parents never seemed stressed and we always had such great holiday traditions. I remember having such a fantastic time as a child and have nothing but fantastic memories!

I hope that our delayed start to Christmas has not stiffled our kiddos chance to enjoy the festivities. I really need to kick this into high gear and get my little ones doped up on the holidays.

But, I digress! We finally got the tree up. Yes, we are three weeks late in doing it but, hey, it is there. Toad pooped out early (literally and figuratively) so, he enjoyed putting his ornament on the next day. Every year the kiddos pick a new ornament and we place it on the tree. They love looking through the box and finding the ones that they have bought over the past several years. I am looking forward to looking at the tree 20 years from now and remembering each and every ornament!

The Apology

This morning was choas. I woke up late only which I rarely do (yeah right) and that threw the rest of my day into havoc. I quickly starting running around throwing kiddos into the shower and retrieving the towels and socks from the dryer.

I went into Kelty's room only to find a poor whining kid with a raw little bottom. He hasn't been feeling very well for a couple of days and I knew that this was the last straw. I called the pediatrician and set up our appointment for 9:30. That added a new kink to the day. In addition to getting the kiddos ready for school, I had to now get myself ready before school started as well.

Harvey, sensing my stress, kicked in at full speed. He helped me dress Kaeson and he took care of little Toads raw hide. Additionally, he fed the kiddos and did another round of Kyra's spelling word timed test.

Just before we were to leave, I realized that I could find only one shoe from ever pair of shoes that I own. What in the world???? Are my shoes in some sort of civil war and have half of them fled south? Anyway, Harvey kicked in a searched through our house trying to find one matching pair. Finally, in the abyss of the coat closet, he found my old faithful chunky open toes sandals. Ok, it is December, but whatever works.

He then went and put both Kelty and Kyra in the van and started it so that the car would get warm while I sat still trying to get Kaeson's shoes on him.

Finally, after all of that, I threw Kaeson in the car and started to take off. A nano second later, Harvey started chasing the car and went to open the sliding door. In a fit of disgust, I lowered the window a crack and said something along the lines that we didn't have time for him to give all of the kids a kiss.

So, we barely made it on time to Kyra's school. We were several minutes late for Kaeson's. We were on time for the doctor appointment. We fot in and out of the pharmacy (where we incidentally spent another $50 on prescriptions) without incident. We raced back over to pick up Kaeson and got home jus time for lunch. I got Kelty out of the car and looked down to pick up his shoe and saw what Harvey was really running after the car for....his lunch....that he had made himself.

I felt TERRIBLE! Yes, I did call and apologize. He simply laughed and told me that all was ok. He is a great guy and from now on I will make sure that he has his lunch!

Christmas List

This year, we are working on scaling down Christmas a bit. We need to do it now when the kids are little or by the time they are 16, we will be buying them vacation homes on the French Riviera. Thank heavens our little boys are pretty low key however once you put all three of them together...you start to think, "Man, are you sure that those kids grew up in the same house." Here are our lists as of this morning.

Kyra:
Wonder Castle (from Barbie and the Diamond Castle)
Fur Real Pets (Panda)
Clothes for her baby doll
Tea Set
Cookie Cutter
Chef Hat
Lady Bug Earrings
Butterscotch Ride On Pony
Princess bed
Barbie Furniture
Puppy in my Pockets
Littlest Pet Shop additions.....

Kaeson: This year he has only four desires. He has been asking for all four for MONTHS!
Spiderman Web Shooter
Life Jacket (What the?)
Scuba Suit
Motor Cycle

Kelton:
Cure for his diaper rash
Ball
Blanket that mom has not ruined in the dryer

As for the "adults" in the family. Oh, we have decided to be utterly romantic and do something just for us this year. We have very lovingly bought each other wall heaters for our newly remodeled basement. That is the gift that will just keep on giving...until we try to someday sell the house and the buyers wonder what in the world we were thinking.

A New Milestone

We did it! Kyra has been wanting to get her ears pierced for several months now. Although I have been rather reluctant, I finally agreed and got really excited with her. So, as part of her Christmas present, Grandma Shell and I took Kyra out for a special girls day out.

Kyra put on her new favorite outfit and grabbed her new Panda Bear, Chloe and off we went. We headed on down to South Towne Mall and ended up at the Piercing Pagoda. She spent over a half an hour picking out the perfect pair of earring. Grandma Shell finally asked the sales girl to take her top three choices out and immediately Kyra chose the princess cut "diamonds."

She was very sure with her choice and went right up to the chair and hopped in. She had Chloe on her lap and she was all set. The ladies that work there tag teamed her so she didn't even have a chance to jump. She had one short moment of trepidation but then all that followed were huge smiles.

Thank heavens my mom went with us. I was a total wreck. I think that I nearly had an anxiety attack. Isn't that ridiculous. It was a combination of Kyra being my only girl, her growing up, my struggle to keep her little and the fact that I am just so darn proud of her.

She is so excited to show off her new bling to whoever want to take a look. She kept walking throug the mall tucking her hair behind her ears so that people would notice her new look.



After we were done, we headed over to finish off the night with a treat for Kyra. She got to ride the carousel and get a cheese stick at Hot Dog on a Stick. She is excited that she has this new priviledge but has promised me that she won't grow up!

New School

After much deliberation, we decided to move Kyra to a new school. It was a big decision on our part but we are certainly confident in our decision to put her in a new environment. The whole process went very smoothly. I was able to meet with the principals from both schools. They were both so amiable, understanding and cooperative. We were so excited to get the track and teacher that we wanted.

We had Kyra at a special permit school. We originally moved her there to start Kindergarten. The school had a fantastic reputation and I wanted to get the best education for my child. However, I have learned that reputation is only a small drop in the bucket. I kick myself because, I KNOW that. I was a teacher (am a teacher...)

We could not be more thrilled with the situation that Kyra is in now. Kyra is now at a school with the other kiddos that she has grown up with and are in our ward. She has a fabulous teacher that everyone is singing praises about. The teacher was so kind and rearranged her classroom so that Kyra could sit by her friends. This was invaluable. She really needed to start off the new school with strong friendship bonds. The teacher is sending home homework and daily progress reports with all of her kiddos. Isn't that great!

To boot, one of my very best friends, Leigh, works at the school and has been keeping an eye on her. Kyra was so excited that Leigh talked to her in the lunch room. It is nice to have someone there "just in case."

A lot of times in my short life as a parent, I close my eyes, grit my teeth and pray that I am making the right decision. I didn't make this change as a knee jerk reaction but, I was still making a leap of faith. In my opinion, we made one great leap!

Kyra is thrilled to be in her new classroom. She thinks that her teacher is soooooooo nice. She is excited to have friends and to feel important. She came home from school yesterday and announced that that was the best day ever. Today she came home and announced that today was better than yesterday. Yeah! We are on an upward spiral. I can't wait to see how she progresses.

What 6 Months Can Do

Six months ago we were heading out to Disneyland with the Banks family. Instead of flying, we decided to drive this time. We were thrilled when we made it to our California hotel on 1 1/4 tank of gas. That trip still was expensive because it cost nearly $80 to fill up my gas tank.

Yesterday, exactly 6 months later, I ran to Smith's to fill up my gas tank. My tank is 17 gallons and I bought 16.8 and it was under $25! I was so completely amazed that I had to take a picture. Imagine what it would be like if we lived somewhere else. Utah is still in the top five states for high gas prices.

The Past 10 Years

There are days when I think that I don't accomplish a thing. The laundry is piled to the sky. The bathrooms are in serious need of a scrub. I have no idea where my iron is. There is a new dent the in the wall that has to be patched.

However, I think that I haven't been seeing the forest for the trees. A lot of times I get so caught up in there here and now that I don't realize how far I have really come. I got home from my mission 10 1/2 years ago (Now seeing that in print, I am about to fall off my chair. It can't belive that it has been that long) and looking back, I think that I have accomplished a lot.

1. Returned from a mission to the Dominican Republic.
2. Perfected speaking Spanish.
3. Received my Spanish Medical Translator license
4. Met and married a great guy.
5. Earned a B.A. in teaching
6. Taught Elementary Ed for 4 years.
7. Earned a M.Ed in education administration
7. Travelled to Bahamas, Mexico, Virgin Islands, New Zealand, and Cali, Florida, Las Vegas and Houston several times each.
8. Bought four cars
9. Had three of the most amazing children in the world.
10. Had a miscarriage
11. Received my Reading Specialist license
12. Sold a house
13. Bought a house.
14. Learned to dance Salsa
15. Learned to sew
16. Lost 3 of my grandparents
17. Learned to love brussel sprouts
18. Started hating chicken
19. Started decorating cakes
20. Had several surgeries
21. Got two speeding tickets in the same exact spot
22. Cut my hair short, dyed it dark brown and went back again
23. Resumed teaching flute and piano lessons
24. Met some amazing friends
25. Found some amazing friends from high school and college
26. Spent the night in the hospital with all of my kids.
27. Learned to love biking, snow shoeing and 5 K's.
28. Stood up for my children
29. Made mistakes
30. Learned from them.
31. Bought an amazing pair of jeans
32. Found the best hairstylist in the world
33. Started a blog
34. Got engaged twice
35. Lost all of the babyfat that I was holding onto from high school and the mission.
36. Called poison control atleast 20 times.
37. Worked in a dance club.
38. Taught primary for 9 years.
39. Learned to cook (very loose sense of the word)
40. Received amazing advice that I followed
41. Been on national television
42. Started up a home business and website
43. Have become very grateful for my parents
44. Realized that I really don't know everything
45. Spent too much money

Toad's Hat

As many of you know, my dad is a cinematographer. He now works for the L.D.S. church and makes their movies and ads. He has also worked on many feature films for Disney and other motion picture studios. In fact, he the High School Musical series.

My dad's travels have taken him all around the world. He was there when the Berlin wall came down. He filmed a movie about the birth of Christ in Jerusalem and was attacked by Christian rebels. He has been to every continent and I can not tell you how many countries he has been to. He travelled quite a bit while I was growing up. After I graduated from high school, he started working for the Huntsman coorporation and the travelling stopped.

He has recently started up with his travels again. Within the past year he has been to Brazil, Tonga, Paraguay, Texas (for the hurricane,) Mexico, Panama and several others that I can not remember. He however, has just returned from another of his ventures. This time it was to Ecuador.

Every time he returns from a trip, he brings us a gift from that country. They are always cute, fun things that will be priceless to my kiddos when they are older. Harvey usually gets a hat, I get a piece of native jewelry, Kyra gets a doll, Kaeson's varies and Toad usually gets a stuffed animal. This time however, Toad was surprised. My dad picked up a hat for Toad. He said that he randomly found it in a marketplace and wasn't sure if it would fit. Man, does it fit. Toad loves his hat and won't take it off. It is a very simple wool hat but it is the jackpot for Kelty. He loves it.
Thanks dad for all that you do. Thanks for thinking of us while you are out of town and for bringing back a piece of your experience for us.

Front Runner and the Treehouse

Blogging has been a bit off due to company in town. My brother in law and his darling kiddos are in town to see us for the Thanksgiving holiday. We love them to death but only see them about once a year. This year, we have had quite the week.

Wednesday we took off to Ogden to visit the Treehouse Children's Museum. We haven't been up there before but thought that it might be quite a bit of fun.

We hopped on the UTA Frontrunner train and took the long 1 hour journey up to Ogden. It was such a fantastic adventure for the kiddos. My kids have been on trax before but, my niece and nephew have never been on any sort of train. This was a thrill for all of them. We sat on the top layer of the train car and were able to see all that we were passing.

The treehouse museum is quite fun. There are several levels all with lots to do. Some of the favorites were the theater stage, the puppet theater and the music room. We have been to the SLC Children's museum but, this one, in my opinion, is much better. Too bad it is far away.

Thank heavens we had help going up to Ogden. My inlaws and cousin Haidy came with us and helped us wrestle the kiddos on the way home. John, my brother in law, had had it. It was a taxing day!

Let Them Be Little

Listen to the words of my new theme song playing while you read this

What possessed me to take the three screaming maniacs to Walmart by myself, I am still not sure. Regardless, I took them. As soon as we walked into the store, all choas broke loose and it was a downhill battle from the get go.

I am desperately in need of new jeans and have yet to find ones that I like. So, I thought that I would give Walmart a try. While in the fitting room with four pairs that would end up my batting zero streak, the kids were having a competition to see who could bang on the walls the hardest. I was trying to calm them and still keep track of the contents of my purse that Kelton was throwing about the fitting room.

We then walked over to the bedding section where I needed to get some pillowcases for our family that is in town for the holidays. Kaeson seemed to think that it was "Bouncing Off The Walls" and commenced jumping into all of the pillows. I was trying to grab him and keep Kelton from now throwing the pillowcases out onto the ground.

If that wasn't enough, we headed over to grocery to get my favorite drink mix in (everywhere else it is sold for twice the price.) I now have Kelton screaming to be picked up out of the cart, Kyra crying because she has run into several clothing racks because she is not paying attention, and Kaeson is throwing a MEGA meltdown because I mentioned that he might be in need of a nap.

At this point, a Walmart associate approached me to ask if I needed help to finish up my shopping trip. They were kicking me out of Walmart! Who gets kicked out of Walmart. Embarrassed, furious and now near tears, I raced to the self checkout line and got out of the store as quickly as I could. I tossed my purchases into the back of my car and threatened the kids that they only had 15 seconds to put on their seatbelts. I told them that if they talked on the way home, they were toast.

Then, the calm came. A song came over the radio that I had never heard before. The song by Lonestar called "Let Them Be Little." As I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw Kyra quietly looking out the window, Kelty playing with a toy and Kaeson nearly asleep. My thoughts then turned to when they were born and how quickly the last few years have gone by. My anger melted away and compassion and love filled my heart.

Yes, we will have days like this. It seems like we have more and more of them all of the time. However, I only have a short while to keep my little ones little. I only hope that I can learn to manage these situations better!

The Silver Lining

We had a great afternoon. After weeks of preparation, our basement was still not finished for the big BYU vs UofU game. However we had a great time anyway.

This year we were a bit outnumbered. We ordinarily have all of my brothers and my dad over but due to circumstances, dad was out of the country, Dusty is in Cali and Dalton was at the game. We were excited to have all of our good friends over and believe it or not, only one other person besides my family was rooting for the Y.

I love having lots of people over from opposing sides and hearing all of the cheering and opinions and seeing the men loose their clam demeanors. I was surprised that everyone was all decked out and ready to celebrate. They showed up all deckout out in red and had crazy apparel. How fun.

Last year, we had a bit of a war with the Banks. They decked out our house is U paraphenelia and we decked out their car. However, after staying up until 2:00 am painting the basement, I think that Lou and Harvey were not about to fight. So, this year we played it safe and calm. Next year however, watch out Banks familiy.

The silver lining in the horrible defeat of BYU is the fact that we now have free labor. Last night while Lou was here and high on paint fumes, he declared that if the U won that he would come over and help us finish painting the entire basement. It seemed odd to me at the time since he was rooting for the U, but I took it. That makes me think that Lou really is a closet BYU fan. I know that by next year he will be out of the closet all dressed in blue!