Christmas

I guess it's about time I blogged about Christmas. We all had a great time. It started for us on Sunday. Sunday morning, my cousin brought her girls over, so I could take a photo we could give to my grandma of all of her great grandchildren. 200 shots later, and after much photoshopping, this was the photo that I finally got(don't even mention the bright yellow toy in the middle...aughhh!!!) Later that night, we went to my parents for a Peterson Family party. My mom spent the previous days making nativity costumes. Here are the kids:
Haley hated being the angel. For some reason Kristin kept her hands in that pose during the whole thing. Not really sure why? Jake was being a goof ball (surprise, surprise) and it was definitely not a reverent nativity scene. Memorable, for sure.


On Christmas Eve, we ate lunch with my family, and hung out all afternoon. The kids got to open all of their presents that were under my parents tree on Christmas Eve. They thought that was the coolest thing EVER. Jake was being so hyper, that he got sent to time out. I told him if he didn't shape up, that I was going to email Santa (duh...don't you know that in the hospital when you have kids, you're given Santa, Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairies email address and phone number?) and tell him to leave one toy for Jake at the North Pole since he wasn't being good. As I left the room, with that threat looming, I heard him whisper..."I only asked for one thing".


That evening we headed to Troy's parents house. Where, the rest of the family was AT LEAST 45 minutes late. There was a snowstorm - but come on guys, you've got to work on that! ;) Really, my kids were just so wound up, they were making me crazy, and I knew once the other kids arrived, they would calm down and just play - hence my irritation...just my own kids. Once everyone showed up, we had a little nativity. After a few rounds of Outburst, we headed home. The kids fell asleep on the way home, and were too grouchy and tired to put out cookies and milk, and reindeer food, so Troy and I did it, assuring the kids it would be done. Then the kids were all in bed. Phew. It had been a long day, we were hardly home at all. That really is my only regret about this Christmas, it seemed we spent so much time everywhere else, we were never home.

The kids gave Troy and I the greatest Christmas gift ever. They slept in until 7:30. SWEET!Then they woke up to their goods. Here they are on the stairs, singing a Christmas song, waiting to head down to the living room:
We really didn't get Haley much. She didn't care. She had a blast playing with the bows and wrapping paper.

Jake has been dying for a Nintendo DS for awhile now. He wanted one for his birthday, but we wouldn't get him one. They're expensive! Kyle has a black one, so Jake was looking all around his stocking, and we finally had to point out where and what that white thing was. It was funny. This is the look on his face when he realized what it was! Kristin is just easy. She's the one I would see things for in the stores for weeks, and couldn't buy, because she already had too much! I love it because she's so happy about the littlest things.Kyle got a nintendo game he'd been wanting for FOREVER (well, since Mason came to visit and brought this game). I hate to say it, but I LOVE having 2 Nintendo DS's. There is no bickering, no fighting, they just sit next to each other playing games and asking how to pass this, or that. I am really lucky, because neither of them are addicted to playing(hopefully it will stay that way). They've probably only played it a total of 45 minutes since Christmas morning.

The kids all got moon sand. Shame on any of you who didn't pass the word that this stuff is AWFUL! It's just like handing your kid a cup of sand to play with on the kitchen counter...except it's dyed a color. AUGHHH!!! Don't buy it! After opening presents, we headed to my grandma's for breakfast, and more present opening. We had a really good time. I have to admit, I was very worried about this Christmas. We consciously stuck to a VERY tight budget, and I was worried the kids wouldn't think it was good. My kids LOVED it. I didn't hear one comment other than gratitude and happy for what they received. It really was great, and it reminded me that less is more!

Bridal Photos...

Last week, I took Donnarae's (Troy's sister) Bridal Photos. We made Jon get dressed up too, to take the majority of their wedding photos, so they wouldn't be pressed for time on the actual day. I'm sure we'll still take a ton on the day too, but it was nice taking their photos knowing that if I screwed up, I would get a second chance. Anyways, I just put all my favorite ones on my photography website if you want to check them out - under "I do". Here's a sneak peak! Thanks, Donnarae and Jon, for having faith in my photography skills!

The Great Debaters

I just had a GNO (Girls Night Out) with Carrie S. We went and saw The Great Debaters. It was incredible! I would highly suggest it! To David, it was a great movie, and made me wish I could have seen you in action in your debating years! (David went to and then won at Nationals in debate while he was attending Cal State Long Beach) Hope you can find it in english, or subtitles in your part of the world.

Just a summary:

The movie takes place in Texas at an all Negro College. It follows a debate team that is doing really well, that tries to debate against "anglo saxon" schools. It takes place in the 1930's. INCREDIBLE! Denzel Washington stars and directs and Forest Whitaker also stars in this movie. My favorite quote, that I'm going to frame and teach my kids:

"You do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do." - Denzel Washington

That quote just seems to fit and make sense with most things in life...LOVE IT!

My HUGE irritation:

Previews.

I'm not the most PC person out there, I'll admit it. BUT, we took the boys and saw National Treasure2 the other day. All the previews were for (more or less) family/children's movies. So, tonight, the previews for Great Debaters, were all "black people" movies. Sorry for the lack of PC-ness, but I don't know how else to describe it. Instead of them showing previews for great new Drama's, they had typical "funny black guys" movie, a "black girl trying to get to college by dancing" movie. Anyways, I thought it was a bit idiotic that whoever sets up what previews goes to what movie would make the assumption that those would go together. I can tell you I have no desire to see any of the previews that were shown. Not because the race of the actors, but because I wanted to see a movie because it was a great drama, and had 2 Oscar winning actors in it. Sorry...just a commentary.

Korea or Bust!

Well, it's official. Troy and I are headed to Korea with my family to visit David. We are going the last week in April! I'm so excited! Although I am now having the mother's paranoia of what would happen to our kids if something happened to us. Troy assures me, it will all be fine, and that it is definitely only a MOTHER'S paranoia. We went and got passport photos taken today(which I can totally take myself ). I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of what will happen with the kids, so if you're a family member, and you don't want to watch my kids, be coming up with a great excuse! :)

Temple Square

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we went to see the lights at Temple Square with the Owens'. Here are the family pictures we got! It was before it started getting too cold around here. Other than trying to find parking, it was a great night!

I had a heck of a time with my camera. Anybody who has helpful "taking night photo" tips, I would LOVE them!

Troy and eBay

Well, Kyle and Jake have been telling Troy they want to go to the BYU game. Troy paid $75 for his ticket, and he told Kyle the tickets were expensive, and asked Kyle if he had $75 to buy one for himself. Later on in the day, Troy found Kyle upstairs in his room, counting all his money to see if he had enough to go. Troy's heart was softened, and immediately started checking out eBay for tickets for the boys to go. He kept getting outbid, so he decided to do a "buy it now". For you non-ebayers, that just means it's not for auction, it's a set price that you can purchase right away. Well, Troy did it and paid for it. He was all worried that he's going to get screwed over through eBay regardless of my assurances. Anyways, he woke up this morning (cause he thinks he should be emailed constantly regarding the status of the tickets) and found out that while he purchased the buy it now tickets, he was bidding on another set of tickets, and won them! So, now he has an extra 2 tickets to the game. SO, if anyone is looking (or knows someone who is) for a set of tickets to the BYU vs UCLA game in Vegas on Saturday, the 22nd, they cost $37 per ticket, or $74 for both of them. PLEASE leave me a comment...happy ebaying! ;)

Girls Day

Yesterday we had a fun girls day. Kristin, my mom, and I went to downtown SLC and had lunch at The Garden, at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was so nice. We were seated right by the window where we ate overlooking temple square. Here is a picture I got of Kristin and my mom. I think this would be a fun place to get some bridal's done, or even wedding photos. It just gives another angle of the temple. So pretty!

After lunch we had some time before The Nutcracker started so we walked around Temple Square, looking for Melody, I mean Sister Nelson. Couldn't find her. I asked another sister if she might know her, she was japanese and said she didn't, but that I should pray to find her. I kind of chuckled at that. Praying or not, we did not find her.

We went and saw The Nutcracker at the Capitol Theatre. It was really nice, we had seats 5 rows from the front, so that was really nice. Kristin LOVED it! She sat staring the whole time! I was surprised! She didn't ask for candy, or treats, she just watched. She loved every second! The last 10 minutes she fell asleep, and would still wake up to clap, then go right back to sleep. It was pretty funny. The only bad part of the day, was when it was time to go, she didn't want her nap to be over, so she threw a huge fit all the way to the car. I hate when kids do that. I was just trying to ignore her as much as possible, so people just thought I was a mean mom. Oh well. I am, I guess. She wanted me to carry her, but I told her I wouldn't carry her unless she stopped crying. She didn't, so she walked. When we got in the car, I told her enough crying. I asked her why she was crying, and she told me it was because she wanted me to carry her. I told her that I would've if she would have stopped crying. I asked if she remembered me telling her that, and she said yes. I told her that next time, she should stop crying, and then I could carry her. She said okay, and the tantrum was over. Hopefully, lesson learned! Here we are in our seats.

I came home and fell asleep at about 8:00. Troy took the boys to the BYU basketball game. They had a good time. It was a nice day, and an even nicer evening...going to bed early. Definitely rare for me - which made it SO enjoyable!

New Media

As I was looking for a talk for Jake to use in Primary, I saw this:

Elder Ballard Urges Students to Use New Media
At a commencement address on December 15, 2007, Elder M. Russell Ballard urged graduating students at Brigham Young University-Hawaii to use blogs and other forms of “new media” to contribute to a national conversation about the Church. See the Newsroom for more information.

So, if you don't have a blog...START ONE! ;)

Santa Claus

Riverton City had this big Christmas event awhile ago, where there was a Santa (that rode in on a firetruck) as well as scones, a hayride, chocolate milk, and Christmas crafts for the kids. We waited 45 minutes to see Santa. It was almost unbearable. We told the kids that this was the only time we were going to see him this year, which was why we waited. Here is the photo! Not a good one by any means...but by the time we got to see him, I just didn't even care anymore! ( I know, ba-humbug) I do love that Haley is staring up at him, trying to figure him out!

A tip everyone should live by...

Ever since we have moved here, I haven't had too many friends. I'm not exaggerating. I have family around, but other than 1 person (she knows who she is and I am eternally grateful for her friendship) I have really struggled with making friends here. Partly it is me being busy with my work, but people aren't really inviting. I know that sounds wierd, but during Sacrament meeting, we had the greatest speaker. I don't have any idea what his name was, but I think he was from the stake, because I didn't recognize him. The topic was on fellowship. He made the greatest comment. I have felt this ever since we moved here, but couldn't quite put it into words. He did so fantastically. Background: He said he moved to Utah after his mission, and his dad wanted him to go to a singles ward. He said he did, and everyone was SO friendly, but nobody wanted to be friends! AH HAH! That is how I've felt! Everyone is really nice, says Hi, waves, but nobody (except the one) made me feel like they genuinely wanted to be my friend, to invite my kids to be in playgroups, etc. To be honest, I have really disliked living here. I love our family and it would be really hard to live without them now, and I know my husband and kids LOVE it here, but it has been SO hard for me! For those of you who know me, friends are a big part of my life. They help me when I need to vent, and are there to lift me up when I need it. The greatest friends, I feel, are the ones that make you want to be a better person. I have been blessed to be friends with so many people like that. Having people "drop out" (in a matter of saying) of your life with no one else to fill the void, has been so difficult for me! I know some people in my neighborhood may read this, and it's not meant to be a slam, I don't think people consciously decide that they don't want to be your friend, people are just busy and do their own thing, hang out with their same friends, because that's what's comfortable. So, my tip of the day that I think everyone should live by, and I will definitely try to do is:

Don't be friendly, BE A FRIEND!
I think it's my new motto...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Korth Family!

Before church today, I decided to try a kids photo. It was a miserable experience! It's so much harder to take photos of my own kids than someone elses! To get this picture, I had to merge 3 different photos! Thank heavens for photoshop! Anyways...here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas!

Haley...again!

WOW! She sure dominates this blog...

On Monday, Haley got a fever. We gave her tylenol, and just figured it was something viral. In the past when she's had fevers, it's been her ears, but since she has tubes, we knew they would leak if she had an ear infection, so we have been waiting it out. Today she woke up from her nap, with a rash covering her entire body. Huge red spots. So sad, I just decided 4 days of a fever and now a rash was enough to take her in. I took her in, and surprise, surprise, 2 MAJOR EAR INFECTIONS!!!!! What is the deal? They were so bad, they had to give her the antibiotic shot. This is not supposed to happen! The point of having tubes, is that when you get an ear infection, the hole in the ear drum lets the fluid drain from the ear, preventing pain and redness. Apparently something is wrong with the tubes. I'll have to call the ENT tomorrow. Seriously, it's such a pain. I was pretty upset when I found out. I just feel like I let her suffer for 4 days. How horrible is that? It's the dumb ears! I didn't think there was a chance that it was something other than a virus since she had tubes and they weren't draining. I just hate to be the one that takes them in for a splinter...but with her, that's how it's been!

Also, she has had bowel problems being on the Soy. So, the doc wanted me to try Alimentum (which previously gave her HORRIBLE diahrea) and alas, it still does. There is 1 other formula that he wants us to try with her, called Vital Jr. I have no clue what that is, but he gave us the name of another patient who just went off of it that has a case, so we'll buy a can from them and give it a try. SUCH A PAIN! Forking out $500 for formula is not my idea of fun. Call me crazy. You do what you gotta do, right?

Venting:
To top my day off, I went and bought a crepe maker. (reasoning: long story including primary and Donnarae's wedding) I get home, anxious to try it out, and it's cracked. So, that's something to return. Kyle brought me a note that I got just today that he has to take 13 -4x6 photos of himself to school tomorrow for a Christmas Gift they're making (good thing I am who I am and was able to round up enough 4x6's) and he also has to bring in a recipe. I asked him what recipe he really loved. You're going to DIE when I tell you what he picked: "Your Ramen Noodle Recipe Mom!" Are you kidding me? I told him he had to pick something else..."chocolate milk" HMMMM...I'm thinking it's time to teach him what a recipe is! Christmas cards are not coming along well. I ordered paper, and it is out of stock - when I'm about halfway finished with my cards. So, I might just buy cards this year (GASP!). My sanity is very well worth store-bought cards at this point...Oh, and I have to go to Kyle's class tomorrow and make a craft with them. SPECTACULAR! Is there ever enough time in a day? I think not!

Haley's Birthday!

I forgot to post pics of Haley's actual birthday - since she did turn ONE, I have to write about it! We didn't invite anyone over. It was just our family. It was really nice. With all of our other kids first birthdays, we spent it just with our family, and it was really fun and low key. All day long, we kept singing Happy Birthday to her. I'm sure she loved it! I gave her a bath (her favorite thing) and then (surprise, surprise) took her pictures again - in not so dressy clothes! After Kyle got home from school, we made a cake and opened presents - she got a cell phone, and a little car(that she is too scared to walk with). I was going to try to figure out a milk free cake, but figured the poor girl turns ONE once, and she could try having a normal cake. She LOVED the cake. It was so sad, I cut her a piece - probably a too big of size - and she picked it up and held it to her chest. She would break off pieces with her other hand and shove it in her mouth. I think she was so worried we were going to take it away from her, she was guarding it as best she could! When all was said and done, she had eaten all but a few crumbs! I couldn't believe it! I thought I would find a few big chunks in her seat, but no. Just crumbs. Well, maybe she put on a few ounces...right? Oh, speaking of ounces, SHE'S ON THE CHARTS! HUGE MILESTONE~ She is in the 5th percentile weighing in at 17 lbs 4 ounces exactly one year from being born weighing 7 lbs. 1 ounce. So, it took her a (long and very painful and drama filled) year to gain just over 10 lbs. I'm just happy she's on the charts. Presents were fun. It took her a little bit to understand what she was supposed to do, but after the other kids doing it for her, she finally figured it out. Just in time to put wrapped presents under the tree...great...Anyways, It was a great day. Troy and I were talking about the birth a little bit, and I'm so grateful I'm not in the hospital where my meds weren't working after my c-section, and very grateful Delilas lived close enough to come rescue us for a day...Also, very grateful a sweet little girl (who does everything we vowed our kids would never do - suck thumb and have a bottle after the age of 1) be in our home. She definitely makes life sweeter!

Snow Day

Yesterday it snowed about 8 inches. What that means for our family:

-I do not drive anywhere. I am still learning how to be a snow driver.


-The kids beg ALL day long to go play in the snow and go sledding.


-It makes me especially want to have a clean house, since everything outside looks so white and clean.


-Hang out in warm comfy clothes all day long(sweat suit or jogging suit).


-Watch a Christmas movie eating popcorn and hot chocolate. (LOVE ABC Family 25 days of Christmas movies!)


Unfortunately, we were so busy yesterday, we didn't get to do most of those things. We managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of sledding time, we went to Provo for a screening of Enchanted for Troy's work (which put into play me NOT driving) (first thing on the Advent Calendar) and I didn't get my sweats on until 8:30 pm. We hung out at my parents so Troy could watch the last BYU Season Football game. My dad made soup, and we had cake for my dad and Haley's birthday. It was a good day. I snapped these shots of Kristin! I love them. I thought they turned out cute. I decided it would be fun to do a family photo shoot in the snow. Not while it's still snowing - too hard to keep the lens dry, but right after a storm, when the snow is white and clean. I envision a cute family with hats and scarfs...playing in the snow...candid shots...would be too cute! It's pathetic that I think all these things...anyways, here are a few I took of Kristin. It was too bright for her outside, which left squinty eyes, but I still love these pics...just playing...not posing!
It's Sunday now, can't play outside in the snow...at least not too much...and the snow is getting uglier and uglier to look at. It needs to snow some more. Since it's now winter and cold here, we might as well have snow! Bring it on!