More pictures and stuff

I failed to mention in the previous post that those amazing matching pajamas we wore to the Polar Express were made by Kira! She is soooo awesome, we looked good, thanks honey!Here are some more exciting snow pictures. The snow is finally mostly melted but there is still some of the icy stuff hanging out in the shade. We just need the high to get up into the 50's and that should take care of it.

Kira has also been working hard on these Nativity quilts for the kids. Each kid will get one for their bed during the Christmas season. The kids absolutely love them. Savannah has been carrying hers around with her. Here is Hunter and Savannah making their little gift for their friends in primary. They are making reindeer food. The food is packaged up with instructions to sprinkle on your lawn Christmas Eve to attract Santa's Reindeer and give them something to eat. They love it and their friends do as well.
Here is the rest of our Christmas goodie bags all ready to go. We gave out pancakes in a bag this year made completely out of food storage items including the wheat. :) The little baggies on the left are the reindeer food.Here is our annual visit to the desert garden located at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory. It is a great family night activity and we love going every year.

And finally here are some pictures of our great holiday party we threw for our friends. We had 44 people packed into our little house for a couple of hours. It was a great time!

Hunter and the piano

So Hunter has been doing awesome on the piano. Kira has been teaching him and you have never seen a little boy so motivated. He will practice to the point that it seems like we need to almost beg him to stop. It is great, I am so proud of him. He is about to finish level one and his prize for finishing was going to be a Gameboy. You can pick a used one up from GameStop for not too much and so it was going to be a great reward and not too expensive. Well the other morning I won a Nintendo DS at my works charity raffle for Children's Miracle Network! Hunter is going to be so excited when he sees that he's getting a DS instead.

Daddy Daughter Time

I am surprised sometimes at what my kids will be willing to do just to spend a few minutes with daddy. Unfortunately daddy spends a lot of time on the computer doing homework and school. This morning I was reading a lecture posted by my instructor which included this link to an essay done by another Professor.(go ahead and check out the essay just so you have an idea about why what Savannah did is so cute) I can't imagine what this stuff must sound like to a 3 year old, I personally find it very tedious and dry and I at least have the ability to comprehend it.

So Savannah comes up to me and asks me what I am doing. I tell her I am doing homework and she looks up at me and says "read me the story daddy, please oh please oh please." (yes she really does ask me using those exact words, it is the cutest most precious thing and I always become putty in her hands) So since I couldn't say no to her when she asked like that I sat her in my lap and began to read to her the intrecacies of finding meaning in language. I figure she would last about two seconds, however about 20 minutes later she was still sitting with me listening intently and when I finished she actually asked me to read it again. Since I'm not into torturing myself let alone her I told her "Maybe later after lunch"

What struck me the most was that I know the words I was reading didn't make any sense to her but she sat anyway, looking up at me and just enjoying being there. Experiences like this help me to realize I have better children then I probably deserve and I love every moment I get with them.

More pictures of recent travels and events

So here are some more pictures of our recent trip to the Polar Express. We had a ton of fun and were able to do more then just ride the train.

We went on a tour through the Grand Canyon Caverns. Not the most amazing place but it was fun.

These pictures are of the new bridge they are building over the Colorado River just south of the dam. The pictures definitely do not do it justice as the view in real life is mind boggling in its immensity. Then we recently experiences another phenomena here at home, it snowed and it actually stuck to the ground and actually stayed more then two hours. The kids had an awesome time, school was cancelled the day after the snow storm. I shoveled six inches of snow off of our sidewalk. Unheard of.

Hunter and I went on the ward father and sons camp out a few weeks ago. He had such a great time. This was our first and definitely not the last. Hopefully next time Colton will be old enough to go.

I think that pretty much catches things up. Here is our family Christmas card that Kira put together. She is amazing.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas!

A little commentary on having multiple kids

So this week I have been lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of extra daddy time with the kids. Kira has been getting ready for a craft show that was taking place today. She has been working so hard to get it all put together and this last week was pretty intense.

So lucky for me this brought about the excuse to do something that I really enjoy doing. Many evenings went about like this. I walk through the door, "Honey I'm home!" "So how did your day go?" "Did you get done what you needed too?" "OK, no problem I'm going to take the kids and go out so you have some time to get things done without the kids underfoot." The response to this has been great and included things like, "Thank you honey you are sooooo amazing!" and "You are so wonderful thank you soooooo much!"

Now I probably should point out that while yes, I am an amazing husband ;) my reasoning for doing this has been totally self serving. As my wife tells me how great I am, I'm putting the shoes on the kids and thinking to myself "Pizza buffet here we come! Yea baby!" (a big thank you to CiCi's pizza for making wonderful evenings affordable)

In addition to the pizza though is another factor, I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my kids and going out alone with three young kids is in no way intimidating to me. (I should note to any dads who are reading this and about to be inspired to journey into the realm of solitary adventures with multiple kids that going to the restroom before hand is essential. Trying to use the restroom with three kids 5 and under tagging along is a difficult task at best and is a lengthy comical commentary better reserved for another time.)

There is something about being with the kids without having mom around that brings a level of experience and perspective otherwise missed out on. The interaction with the kids is on a different level. All of their questions are directed at you. There is no "Honey can you field that one." when your son asks why there are people ringing bells and asking for money at every single store you visit or when your daughter asks you why Heavenly Father painted that person a different color then her. It never ceases to amaze me how my understanding of who my kids are increases dramatically during these outings. I get to see from a closer perspective their actions, their likes and dislikes, how they interact with each other, what they are thinking. It never ceases to amaze me.

Another experience that stood out to me yesterday is the reaction of other people to multiple kids. There are some parts of the world (probably every part that is not in Utah or Idaho) where multiple kids are looked at as anomaly and for lack of a better word irresponsible. Kira has more stories about this then I do but I am no stranger to the odd looks and "Are these all yours?!?" statements that come from complete strangers.

Our evening was going really well. The kids had been listening well, there had been no major meltdowns, we had been having a lot of fun. The first reaction was at Wal-Mart in the holiday decor section. A guy could not hide his annoyance as Hunter accidentally stepped in his way blocking the aisle for a second. He continues to scowl even as Hunter looks and says excuse me and sorry (he is such a polite boy). A short time later as we were in line at JC Penney there was the typical "Don't you have your hands full. Your a brave guy now aren't you." And then to top off the evening was the Kohls employee who "Doesn't know how people can have more then one." and as she handed me the receipt she said "I'm sure glad their yours."

"So am I" I promptly say as I smile and walk away taking my three amazing and wonderful children with me. I was honestly surprised as the employee could not hide her surprise at my response. I guess it was probably because I didn't respond with the typical affirmation of "your right, what was I thinking, put a sign on me that says "this guy is crazy"" response. I thought to myself walking away and reflecting on the evening about how sad it is that this perception exists now where having more than one to two kids is an annoyance and too difficult. What a sad loss it is for those people who are not able to experience the joy that comes with every single wonderful addition to the family.

I'll honestly admit there is some level of nervousness about the arrival of our fourth boy in April and how that might change the logistics of these daddy and kid evenings together. However, I am up to the challenge. I have already started looking into some books that will help me out. I found a great one in a google search "How to go to the restroom when you've got four kids six and under tagging along." Should be a page turner.

The Polar Express

So we went to the Polar Express again this year. In order to go you have to purchase your tickets about three months in advance. The kids had a great time of course riding the train and seeing Santa. This is easily becoming my favorite thing to do as a family. And to make it even more awesome was our matching pajama bottoms made by my amazing wife. Just cut us out and put us on a Christmas card is all I have to say. We should be hearing from Hallmark any day now I think. ;)

Decorating

Get ready for a lot of pictures. There is a lot to catch up on this time.

Thanksgiving was great, nice and quite and delicous. The kids had a fun time helping to decorate.

The lights are all up. Kira's grandparents house turned out nicely. It has taken me a few years to get it exactly perfect but I think the house is finally there. I really like the red and green theme.

Our house doesn't look to bad either. We went with the red and clear theme. I think it looks sharp.

Here is our front door past and present.

Past:

Present:We also took a little day drive up to Duck Creek to let the kids play in the snow. They lasted all of 15 minutes (Colton only lasted about 2) but it was long enough to get a few good shots. Then we went back to St. George and did some shopping and checked out the Nativity at the Temple. It is always nice taking the kids there. The picture on the top right is kinda neat. We took the kids out to Tuacahn Theatre where I proposed to Kira. Their sitting on the same rock down by the fountain. The kids had fun hearing the story and it was neat to be back there for the first time since I asked her. Thanks for saying yes honey. :) And here are the two oldest looking for what they want to ask Santa for Christmas. So much fun!

And finally there is my little Charlie Brown tree in my office at work. The little guy sits way under my desk until it is time to bring him out. He adds a festive feeling to the office.