Merry Christmas to all!

So I've decided not to add too many more details to the post below. It will suffice to say that all of us got the stomach flu in one fashion or another. It was a delightful addition to our holiday but we're all better now. Thankfully!
So I've decided that I'm going to post a Merry Christmas 2008 review on my blog rather than printing it out and mailing/emailing it to everyone. I had planned to send cards/emails to all of our friends and family but illness and other factors has ended that hope. Although I did/am sending a few paper cards. So you might still get something in the mail from us, but don't hold your breath!
So here it goes. . .
We had a great Christmas this year!! Shiree's parents moved to Utah last year and this year Joe, Ashley & Marley, and Tracy, Ryan, & Emmalyn were able to join the rest of us here in Utah for a visit. This is the first time in 7 years that Shiree's entire family has been together and it was wonderful! Even with crazy snow storms and sickness all around we had a wonderful time.

Our biggest news this year is that we're expecting a baby in May 2009 and it's a GIRL!!! (We were waiting to find out before sending out the Christmas cards.) We are very excited and relieved. :)
Lance has completed another year of school and is close to finishing his coursework. We look forward to him finishing his classes this summer and getting a job. We have no idea where that will take us but we're excited for another adventure. We all enjoyed Lance's lighter class load this summer and spent a lot of time at Seven Peaks Water Park. We also took a trip to Lagoon and 2 trips to the Zoo. In his spare time Lance likes to play the guitar--he borrowed an electric one from a friend and has been enjoying that! He also likes to go for drives on his motorcycle and enjoy the beautiful mountains. He hiked Mount Timpanogoes in early fall. He was called as 2nd Counselor in the Bisphoric a few months ago and that is keeping him busy as well.
Shiree has been keeping busy with 3 very active kids and an entire house to run. She's been teaching Sunday School since March and has enjoyed that very much. She finally feels at home here and enjoys hanging out with her friends. She's been able to spend time helping in Alex's classroom and enjoys that very much. Her favorite things to do are sleep and read--but she's not able to do that as much as she'd like. Her favorite acivities this year were a trip to Salt Lake with Lance and another to Park City. She also loved having Tracy and Emmalyn visit earlier in the year and all the time spent at the park, 7-Peaks, and other fun family adventures. She loves being a mom and feels very lucky that she can stay home with the kids.
Jenny turned 7 this year and started 2nd grade. She loves to read, write, draw and color as well as play. She loves to watch movies, her favorite is Kung-fu Panda. She loves spring & winter and loves swinging on the tree swing outside as well as riding her bike. Her favorite book is Tale of Despereaux and she's excited to see the movie. She also read every Nancy Drew Notebooks book in the library as well as the Magic Treehouse series, Junie B. Jones and lots of other books. She also sings beautifully and is starting to learn to play the guitar. Her favorite thing to do is go to school. She's doing very well in her class and has lots of friends. She's a big help around the house, especially in the mornings helping Daniel stay out of trouble when mommy is still in bed. She is thrilled to have a baby sister coming into the family and will surely be a lot of help. She's excited to turn 8 and get baptized in June. We love having Jenny in our family! (That's her banana/penguin)
Alex turned 5 and started Kindergarten. He loves school so very much!! His favorite thing about school is recess (and everything else too). His favorite movies are Wall-E and Kung-Fu Panda. He loves to read and can read really well. He has too many favorite books to choose one and he also loves to work in his Spiderman, Scooby Doo and Clifford workbooks. He loves to write, draw and color and plays every chance he gets. His favorite season is summer because he loves to ride his bike, climb trees and play in the yard. He learned to ride a bike on two wheels early this summer! He is a sweet boy who is very caring and loving. He is quick to give hugs and notices when others are feeling sad and tries to help them feel better. We are so glad he is in our family and we love him very much!
Daniel turned 2 this year and is a very active little boy! He has to work hard to keep up with Alex & Jenny but he does it! He learned to ride a bike with training wheels and a three-wheeled scooter this summer. He's amazingly fast for a two year old on his bike/scooter and can climb and jump high enough to scare his mommy. His favorite movie is Wall-E. His favorite books are Thomas the Tank Engine books and he also likes any lift the flap books. His favorite thing to do is play with rocket ships and he loves anything with wings or wheels. He is a sweet little boy who keeps us on our toes. He's learning the alphabet and his numbers and colors and he loves to do his "homework" with Jenny & Alex. He loves to see be able to see the Provo Temple from our upstairs window and points out the Angel Moroni statue every time we drive by. He's a joy to have around and brings a lot of energy to our family!
We are thankful for this season that we've had to remember the life of the Savior and we are thankful for His exampel and love and the blessings of peace that we have because of the gift of Jesus Christ. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that 2009 brings you much joy and happiness.
Love,
The Domes

Projectile vomit and Q-Tips

So last night, Jenny projectile vomited carrots and pot roast all over her room. Mostly on the edge of her bed, but from her closet door all the way to the window on the other side of the room. I won't even go into how I (Lance) had to clean (and am still cleaning) it up. Plus, we (mostly Shiree) had to get all of the chunks out of all 10 layers of sheets and blankets Jenny had thrown on her bed. That was not the end of it, Shiree was up 2 more times during the night, and Daniel woke up at 7:30, but I'll let Shiree fill in the terrifying details. So this morning, while I am continuing to spray, wipe, and vaccuum in Jenny's room, Daniel decides to climb on the bathroom counter, get into our cabinet, and starts throwing Q-Tips (name brand, not generic!) all around the house, like the Q-tip fairy. I had to take a picture for posterity. So, enjoy, and give thanks this season that you were not us last night!

Daniel

I (Lance) took this photo of Daniel today. Yes, he is amazingly cute.

Time to go private

I'm thinking that it's time to make my blog private. I've been considering it for awhile and I think for security and peace of mind I'm going to do it. If you haven't received an email from me lately, send me your email so that I include you in my list of invites. And if I miss you , sorry, just send me an email or call. Thanks!

Daniel's Christmas list

Daniel just woke up so here is his list with help from his brother and sister:
puzzle
mickey mouse
buzz light year
big Thomas Train--that you can ride on
Harold the Helicopter
Mario Kart
gamecube
rock n roll CD
money

Jenny's Christmas List

Jenny's Christmas list word for word from her paper:
Dear Santa Clause,
For Christmas I want
A "Mo" Action Figure (from Wall-E)
A gamecube
Lego Star Wars
An electric razor (the scooter kind)
I really want an i-pod.
Roller skates
NO JEWELRY
A little mac--like the one Rich & Julie have
Hungry, Hungry Hippo
The Game of Life
Radio
Maybe a z-phone
Tree house
Maybe a cell phone
100 erasers (or less or more)
a lot of pens
slippers
And my right front tooth.
That's my list, Santa.
Jenny

Alex's Christmas List

Alex wrote his Christmas list today. Here it is for grandparents and anyone else interested:
(I am writing this word for word from Alex)
Christmas Toys
Star Wars Toys--ships, guys, even big light sabers
Lego Star Wars 2 (for gamecube)
Wall-E action figure
Razor (electric) (scooter kind)
Wall-E DVD
Playhouse (for the backyard)
MONEY!!!!!!!!!
Gamecube
slippers

He also drew pictures, but I can't add those. Sorry.

Daniel

So the other day Daniel was chewing gum and he swallowed it. So he runs up to me asking where his gum went. I told him it was in his belly, so he took off his shirt to look for the gum and pulled at his belly button trying to get it out. He was very disappointed that he couldn't find it. Cute!

Motorcycle

For some strange reason we felt like we needed to buy this motorcycle. I know, I know, why a motorcycle? Sometimes answers to prayers don't make sense. Not to say that Lance wasn't thrilled that he got a new bike, but I even felt good about it. Wierd. It's pretty nice though, and you can't beat 50 mpgallon. enjoy the photos.

Election 2008

Well, we have our new President Elect and although I didn't vote for him, I have to recognize this historic moment. To have elected an African American to be the President is amazing. I watched both his acceptance speech and Senator McCain's concession speech and I was impressed by them both. I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens over the next four years and I hope and pray that Obama stays close to the conservative middle--like he's been saying all along. I know he's got some liberal beliefs but I hope he keeps them checked because I still believe that the majority of this country is in the middle. I guess only the future will tell.

New Blog

Check out Lance's new blog:
frugaldude.blogspot.com

Lap top boys

I had my 12 week check today and everything looks good. The heartbeat sounded strong and that was comforting. I'm still very tired but I feel less sick. I was advised to stop taking my pre-natal vitamins for a few weeks until I feel better. The nurse said that they are most necessary in the first few weeks and then in the last trimester. So since they are making me so sick, I think I'll stop taking them for a bit and see if that helps.
I was helping Jenny with her homework and I looked in the living room and this is what I saw. Cute, eh? Too bad the one is a little blurry. I wanted to take another, but I was lucky to get Daniel sitting still for these shots. Like father, like son. :)

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! Our neighbors had a little party and then we had dinner and trick-or-treated around our neighborhood. It was really fun! I'll post some pictures sometime, but if you click my mom's link--grandma Debbie--on the side bar, she's got some pictures posted. Good job mom!

He did the other room too!

Now I just wish we had enough for our room! Maybe we'll find something else a little less colorful. :)

Another example

The house we live in is OLD! We have unfinished wood floors in the bedrooms and they are cold and they squeak and they are very noisy. We have neighbors in our basement and the noise level downstairs is so loud. They are such great neighbors to put up with it! We've asked for carpet or something to block some of the noise, but alas, no luck. Until today. . . I was online and saw some free carpet someone was giving away in Provo. I called and she said I could have it. Lance picked it up, cleaned it up and installed carpet in Jenny & Daniel's bedroom! Well, he laid it--we didn't ask our landlord so we didn't install it permanently. He did a really great job and it looks really great! The color's not what I would have picked, but it's nice, thick and soft and once again, FREE! So there you have another example of my great husband. He had a lot of other stuff he could've been doing, but he fixed the noise problem for us!!! Here are some photos.

I have the best husband ever!

I am so glad that I married Lance! He is such a great guy and the best husband and father! Tonight he came home early to put Daniel to sleep--in the good way--since I was so tired of dealing with him (Daniel, that is). And he also took Jen & Alex to an activity. Now he's at the clinic seeing clients. I know he's tired and still not feeling 100% better but he keeps serving all of us. He also carved a pumpkin with Alex this morning and cleaned up afterward! I love him and I'm glad he's around!

2 1/2 year olds

I love my 2 1/2 year old! He is fun to watch as he discovers new things and tries them out for himself. He is super independent and loves to do big boy things and it's fun to see him explore and learn. But there are some days when I want to pull my hair out and scream! Those days usually come when he refuses to take a nap. He's almost big enough not to need one, but not quite. So if he does take one, then he stays up really late and if he doesn't take one he turns into a whiny animal between the hours of 3:30 and 7:00--when I put him down for the night. Today was a day I really needed him to take a nap, and he won't. There's an activity for the Young Women/Young Men that we are invited to tonight--painting pumpkins and frosting cookies. And I told him if he didn't sleep he couldn't go to the party. I thought he would sleep--he didn't. So now I need to follow through on the threat by not taking him. Which is too bad for him because I think he would've had a fun time, but now he'll be sleeping and I'll be resting, which isn't too bad of a deal. I just hope they bring me some cookies.
Thankfully my mom came down today and made it possible for me to get through this afternoon of no nap time. I already had a nap AND a shower. Thanks mom for saving us, yet again!

Sickness has struck

Just when you thought I'd be feeling better, stomach flu has struck! Daniel, Lance, me and Alex. Jenny is good so far, we're praying for that to continue! Sadly, Alex threw up at the neighbors. Thanks to Mandy for cleaning up my kid's puke. Sorry if that's too much info, but there it is anyway. Gotta go.

Excuses and updates

Well, there's really only one for not posting at all in the last few months. I'm pregnant and SUPER sick!! We got an ultrasound and there's actually something growing this time around, so that's good news. I'm about 9 weeks along so there's still danger for miscarriage, but we're hoping for a baby this time around.
I plan to post some pictures when I'm feeling better-so about 3 more weeks before anything. Both Alex & Jenny started school, Daniel moved to a toddler bed and Alex got an award at school today for "making good choices". He's such a well behaved boy! Jenny's losing teeth like crazy & Daniel's talking like crazy. They're crawling on me so I must go. This house is a disaster and we've got people coming to look at it tomorrow, yes, it's for sale. It doesn't effect our contract, but it's a pain in the booty. Oh yeah, Lance is the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric now, which makes Sunday's hard but he's great for the job! And I'll be able to handle it better when I feel less sick.

Lagoon

Yesterday we went to Lagoon with our friends the Rohrbachs. We had such a fun time!!! I used to go there when I was a kid and it was so fun to see my kids on the same rides I used to go on with my brothers, sister, cousin and friends. We waited in a lot of lines and it was really hot, but it was so fun! Jenny went on a newer roller coaster with Lance, Arin and I and she loved it. It was called the Bat--it's the green and purple one at the top. We're not in that picture. We went on the train and the log flume along with a ton of kiddie rides. Daniel didn't really love the log flume. He was quite happy until the drop at the end and then he said, "bumpy" in a shaky voice. Here are some pictures and I'll try to post some video too.