Too Much Fun in Tucson

Most of you have probably returned to your regularly scheduled lives now that Christmas is over, right?

Not me! We are still on vacation in Tucson.

So while it is snowing at home with temperatures reaching highs of 19 degrees, we are relaxing in the warmth and sunshine. My Honey and I went on a hike today out in the desert. It was a great day for a hike because it was a little cloudy, but the temperatures were still in the mid 50s.

We saw so many cool plants! There were saguaros everywhere.


Beautiful, aren't they?

I have tons more cool plants and activities to show you, but no time to go through them all right now. I am having too much fun with the boys and their grandparents! Who wouldn't want to hang out with these handsome boys?

They are loving spending time outside, going to play in the park, hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma and going to see the sights!

Merry Christmas!

The children are nestled, all snug in their beds
while visions of Buzz Lightyear dance through their heads.

The boys did great on our long car trip to Tucson and are all settled in to Grandpa and Grandma's house. They are asleep as I type this, and I can see all the fun packages under the tree.

I can almost hear the squeals of delight and I can't wait!
Merry Christmas from the Honey House!

To Grandmother's House We Go!

All our bags are packed. We're ready to go.

This evening we will go to sleep early and then wake up VERY early in the morning (2 a.m.- yikes!) to spend half of the night and most of tomorrow driving.

We will be going from here:

To here:

Northern Utah to southern Arizona... that's about 15 hours in the car! Did I also mention that we will have our 21 month old and our three year old with us? Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Wish us luck!

Adventures of the Snowman Nativity: Under Destruction

As I walked past our entryway table the other day, I couldn't help but laugh at what was happening with the snowman nativity we let the boys play with. Usually when I walk past it looks like there was an earthquake in Bethlehem and all the little snow people are scattered about laying on their sides.

Someone must have noticed that the manger scene was continually in disrepair, since a construction team arrived at the site:


A construction team led by a wise man... and a sheep?! (sounds like one of those awful cartoons you find on TV now a days, doesn't it?)

Hopefully snowbaby Jesus is not about to be dumped on Mary and Joseph! I like to think that he is just going for a ride in the dump truck. What boy wouldn't like that?!

I'm not sure that I would trust the sheep to drive though... maybe that's why Mary is praying!

Neighbor Gifts: Love 'em or Leave 'em?

One part of the Christmas season that I LOVE is neighbor gifts. I love deciding what to make, getting supplies, and putting the gifts together. But my favorite part is definitely the giving-- taking time to pay a brief visit to my friends and give them a small token of our love and appreciation.

I have to confess... I have had my neighbor gifts done for months! I have already delivered most of them too. (You hate me now, don't you?)

I usually make an ornament for my neighbor gifts. I have considered giving treats, but since we go out of town for Christmas, I have no desire to make a big mess of my kitchen while I am trying to pack.

So without further adieu, here are my neighbor gifts this year:

A homemade cardinal or dove ornament, with a matching card and a little poem that I wrote.

They didn't take me too much time. Just a little felt, glue and beads for the eyes. I think they turned out just darling, and I saved one for each of my boys too!

As much as I love neighbor gifts, it has come to my attention recently that some people REALLY don't like them, perhaps because they feel they have to reciprocate. One of my friends actually got the following flier on her doorstep recently:

"Rather than spending money on "trinkets" for neighbors, come spend TIME and celebrate the season with friends old and new!" The flier then goes on to invite them to a gathering and asks them to bring a treat to share.

Umm... HELLO?! Is it just me, or is that a bit rude? This person basically just informed her friends and neighbors that she doesn't want their crappy gifts, and instead wants them to take the time to make treats for a party that they probably don't have time to attend?

I love giving and receiving neighbor gifts. 'Tis the season of giving, and I love the spirit of Christmas well-wishing that accompanies neighbor gifts.

That said, I definitely don't keep a list of who I gave gifts to so I can keep track of whether or not they brought a gift in return. That isn't important to me!

I say that if you don't want to give out neighbor gifts that is just fine. However if others bring you gifts, you should accept the gift, say thank you, and be grateful that you are loved!

So there's my two cents... what do you think of neighbor gifts?

Love 'em or leave 'em?

Hosted by Cecily and Honey Mommy

Buzzing around the Christmas Party

I love family parties... especially when they aren't at my house!

Over the weekend there were twenty-four of us that managed to get together at my sister's house. This only happens once or twice a year and it was SO fun to be together.

The only place large enough for us all to sit together was the garage. With all those bodies, a few heaters, and a bunch of hyper kids we heated it up quickly enough! After a meal together we got down to the anticipated gift exchange.

For me the highlight was definitely Jonah. He has already told Santa that he wants a Buzz Lightyear for Christmas. You know, the talking action figure that is 12 inches tall with pop-out wings. What more could a boy want?!

We were a little skeptical as to whether he would play with this toy for a long period of time. Then Jonah got this at the family party:

A little Buzz Lightyear! He doesn't talk, but his arms and legs move and his wings do pop out! Jonah was in heaven!

The gift giving went on, but Jonah paid little attention to what was going on. Every time I looked over at him, I saw my boy flying his Buzz around in circles. It was absolutely adorable!

Now that I have some indication of his reaction when Santa gives him the big Buzz, I can hardly wait!

Covered with Snow

This weekend was my annual family Christmas Party... it is something of a tradition. Twenty four people (half of which are children) all converged on my sister's house in Logan to spend some time together. We talked, laughed, opened presents, and had a fabulous time! (more on that later)

I seems another tradition is that it snows every time weekend we schedule the party. On our way to Logan it started to snow, and it snowed the entire time we were there. Our way hom was pretty scary, especially over the canyon, but we made it! Further south at our house we mostly got rain. Then it started to snow again this afternoon... big, fat, mushy flakes. Yuck!

On the bright side, I will probably have some interesting things to photograph tomorrow morning. Like these beauties from the storm at the beginning of the week:

I love the way my bushes look when they are covered with fresh snow. My driveway... not so much!

The contrast between the colored bushes and the white snow is really pretty, don't you think?

Apparently my neighbors don't really watch the weather channel. Poor mower!

Now I'm off to look at the over 200 photos I took at the family party!

Check out some other macros here:

The First Big Snow

At the beginning of this week we had our first big snowstorm of the season. We had three inches of snow on our driveway when got up in the morning. I don't really enjoy snow that much, but so far my boys seem to love it!

After breakfast we got all bundled up and headed outside. Daddy shoveled some of the driveway earlier that morning, so we went out to finish the job.

My driveway is HUGE, so it's a good thing I had such great helpers!

We bought Jonah a little shovel last year because he wanted to shovel with Daddy SO badly! This year it seems that we may need to get another little shovel. Don't you think so?

Eli was so funny! He kept trying to use one of our big shovels to "help" mommy. It was so cute and I love my helpful little munchkins!

In the end we had to take turns using the little shovel, and the boys loved helping out. Then we took a little time to play in the snow. The first thing Jonah wanted to do was make a snow angel.

Then Eli tried to do it too. He basically laid on the ground while kicking and wiggling his feet up in the air. It was so cute! I really wish I'd had my video camera because I was laughing so hard!

I am glad that my boys enjoy the snow. It makes the cold and wintry weather more fun for their mommy too.



Hosted by Cecily and Rachael

Choo-Choo Christmas

Since my boys love trains so much, Honey Daddy decided that this year we should get out the electric train set that he got when he was a little boy. We decided that the boys were probably old enough to understand that they can look, but not touch the train without help. So Sunday afternoon he got out the train set and got it all set up.

Needless to say, there were a couple of little people at my house that were pretty happy about that decision!

Eli LOVES the train too. Every morning he gets up, walks to the tree and asks, "Train, please?" Who could say no to such a cute request?!

Well, if I am looking for the boys anytime in the next couple weeks, at least I know where to find them!

Right here!

Happy Holidays!

and Merry {SITSmas} from my family to yours!

We hope you have a a fun and festive Christmas season!

Now go check out the big Christmas Party going on at the Secret is in the Sauce.

Adventures of the Snowman Nativity- The Glowing Gift

You may recall that a few years ago I received a quirky little snowman nativity set as a gift. I was in the search for my "perfect" nativity and when one of my friends heard of my quest, she gave me this set as a gift. Why she thought they were THE ONE for me, I'll never know...


Last year in an effort to make Christmas a little less "Look, But Don't Touch!" for Jonah, I told him that my other nativities were only for looking at, but he could play with this one. I put it on our entryway table where he could reach it and play with the figures.

Those little snowpeople had lots of adventures last year! So this year I continued the tradition, except now I have two little boys to contribute to the fun.

It wasn't long after the Nativity was set up that things started happening.

First the snowpeople all took a voyage and visited the floor, couches, piano, floor and nearly every other part of the living room. So we had to explain to Eli the rule that the snowpeople stay on the table. You can play with them, but they don't leave!

Apparently Jonah later decided that I set up the nativity all wrong! Obviously little baby Jesus needs to be sheltered under the stable, not in front of it! Can you spot baby Jesus' sleigh under the roof?

So little snowbaby Jesus is safely nestled under the roof, while all the adults watch over him. Isn't that sweet?

But wait... what's going on it the back there? Can you see it?

Mary, a sheep, and one of the wise men have forsaken the baby Jesus. They have gone to worship a large glowing present! I seems they have fallen prey to the commercialism of Christmas! Oh Mary, say it isn't so!

The other fun thing is that I have caught Jonah "flying" the snowbaby Jesus' sled all over the living room. Jesus walked on water, so he could probably have flown if he wanted... don't you think? :o)

The Sticky-Fingered Monkey

Have I told you that Eli is into everything?

He knows how to use a stool, chair, toy box or anything else that is handy to reach those places that mommy and daddy thought would be "safe".

Eli has brought me coins from the top of the dresser, daddy's glasses from the counter, and even a pair of scissors from a drawer in the kitchen. It seems that nothing is safe from Mr. Sticky Fingers!

He has also figured out how to climb up nearly anything to get what he wants. I have caught him with his feet on the lower cabinet knobs in his attempts to grab items on the counter. We even caught him hanging on one of the kitchen drawers the other day while it was pulled out. He got in trouble for that one! Especially when drawer face fell on my foot yesterday morning as I tried to open it! OUCH!

It seems like some mornings when I am trying to get showered and ready after aerobics class either Eli is getting into something he shouldn't, or Jonah and Eli are trying to play together and someone ends up crying.

So it seems the best place for him when I don't want him to get in trouble is under my watchful eye. One particularly trying morning I set him down on the bathroom counter while I flat-ironed my hair. Can you guess where he ended up?

In the sink, of course! Ah well, at least he didn't get too wet!


Hosted by Cecily

Boy Talk

I love that Eli is starting to talk! It is making our lives so much easier.

The funny thing is the words that he is learning. One day Eli kept repeating something and I just couldn't quite figure out what he was trying to say. It sounded like "mommy's", but I could tell from his expression that I was getting it all wrong.

Then Honey Daddy came home and pointed out to me that what he was actually saying was "Momas!" as in Thomas the Tank Engine.

Now he "talks" to me about Thomas all the time. This is same boy puts on his Buzz Lightyear pajamas, then points to himself and says "Buzz!" and has his own version of the phrase "To infinity- and beyond!". Eli also says "Ka-pow!" just like Lightening McQueen from the Disney Movie Cars.

I don't remember Jonah saying character names and phrases when he was 20 months old. But I guess that's what the influence of an older brother will do for you!

At least we don't have to wonder what types of gifts would be popular for Christmas this year!