Real Cute Kids

This is our attempt at trying to get all 8 grandkids to look at the camera at once (even though most of the pictures only have 7 of them)...pretty funny huh!

Fun times in Hurricane

We decided to get away for the long weekend and go see some family in the warm weather. We always have so much fun in Hurricane: shopping, golfing, swimming, hiking, bike riding, playing games, watching old family videos, and of course lots of eating. We are so grateful for our family!

A beautiful day for playing outside

Swimming!

Watching movies

Happy bday to me!

My two favorite kids!

Enough is Enough...

Are you sick of reading my complaints about the snow? Well, if you are, imagine how sick I am of driving in it, walking through it, and looking at it out my window! Last night we had the most violent snowstorm I have ever seen. We had 70 mph winds here in Lehi and woke up to 6 inches of new snow on the driveway. We had a complete white-out and couldn't even see our neighbor's houses from inside ours. So many roads were closed and people were stranded that kids had to end up sleeping over at their schools with teachers since parents couldn't get to them and school buses couldn't get them out. They had to open up churches all around so that stranded motorists had a warm place to go. Sad! Anyway, click on this link for a video of what it looked like in our neighborhood...(it's a really long video so fast forward to the parts where it shows the roads with the wind and snow)


http://www.kutv.com/content/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=426cbcce-d0d2-44eb-8e57-4d2d6837e8ec&rss=991&articleID=33239

Shannyn tagged me!

Although it doesn't excite me quite as much as it did Sarah, it's kind of fun to be tagged!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves
C. At the end of the post, the player tags people and puts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they are tagged


10 years ago I was: about to turn 17! I'm getting kinda old!


5 Things on my To-Do List Today (since it's already 8pm, I won't list everything I've already done today that was on my list):
1) finish up some long overdue vinyl orders
2) fold about 5 loads of laundry
3) grocery shopping
4) Catch up on my Lost season 3 DVDs
5) eventually get to sleep


5 Things I would do if I Became a Billionaire:
1) pay off my house and timeshare
2) buy Warren and Melissa's house so they can move back to Utah
3) set up college/mission/wedding funds for our kids
4) let Tim retire so we can travel the world with our family
5) pay someone to get me into shape


3 of my bad habits:
1) procrastination
2) being inpatient with my kids
3) REALLY bad eating habits


5 Places I've Lived:
1) Danville, CA
2) Logan, UT
3) Foothill Ranch, CA
4) Orem, UT
5) Lehi, UT


5 Jobs I've Had:
1) Whole Grain Bakery (I could really use some cookies right now...yum! Jenn, maybe you could bring me some this weekend?)
2) nanny
3) Convergys
4) Old Navy, Linens N Things, and Fuddruckers (all at the same time)
5) MATC


Something most people don't know about me: I'm addicted to laminating things. I laminate EVERYTHING lately. I've even laminated pages from The Friend for FHE. I've been laminating FHE packets, file folder games, and Primary talks among other things. Even Tim thinks it's fun though!


Melissa and Taylor, I tag you now!

Let it Snow!

Just had to share some pictures of the storm we got last night and this morning. The view from Brooklyn's room...I didn't want to go outside!

Out the front door...Tim is such a good little shoveler. Poor guy spent about an hour out there and look how much snow there is! It was still snowing too, so...

...by the time we had to leave for church less than 3 hours later, you couldn't even see Tim's hard work. Luckily our neighbor has a really cool snow blower and came through so we could get out of our driveway. I really want one of those! It was so cool!

When we got home from church it has finally stopped snowing and had warmed up enough to start melting a little so this is what the view from our front door looked like:

Brooklyn's snow bunny from yesterday is completely covered and their snow cave is barely there anymore!
The BIG storm is supposed to arrive this evening sometime. I just have to think positive. While I'm sure it will take me at least twice as long to get to work in the morning, at least we will for sure have water in the lake this summer to take the boat out!

Might as well play in it...

We have been getting SO much snow this year that today Tim and Brooklyn decided to make the best of it while Tallan and I stayed inside nice and warm as usual. Look how talented they are though!
The snow cave from all the snow piled up on the edge of our driveway from shoveling.

Brooklyn and her snow bunny pal. I don't know where she got the idea, but she has been begging to make a snow bunny for weeks now.

I know it looks like fun, but we are so ready for Spring and the warm weather!

I'm not responsible...

So, I have heard several times that each time you are pregnant, you lose brain cells and I'm living proof of that. Saturday night we had NAI's Black Tie Winter Gala that we go to every January. It wasn't so bad this time, and I'll tell you why later. Anyway, one of Tim's co-workers wives came up to me and this is our conversation:

Her: "When are you due"
Me: (not sure if I heard her right because it was pretty loud) "what?!"
Her: "Wait, are you pregnant?" (she was very hesitant to ask at that point)
Me: "oh yeah, I'm due in May"
Her: "me too! I'm due the 27th and we're having a boy."
Me: "Oh, congratulations! I'm due the 8th, and we're having a boy too!"

---About an hour or so goes by---

Her: "So do you guys have a name picked out for your little boy?"
Me: "Wait, I know I told you I'm having a boy, but really I'm having a girl"
Her: (laughing)"Well, you aren't responsible for anything you say while you are pregnant. So you're having a girl then?"
Me: "Ummm, I think so...wait, I don't remember...ummm, well, we bought girl bedding already so yes, I'm having a girl."
Her: (she is looking at me like I'm the craziest person she has ever met and can't say anything because she is laughing so hard)
Me: (I am laughing so hard I'm almost crying but I seriously can't remember for the life of me what I am having!)


My head is a little more clear today and I am positive that I am, in fact, having a girl!

Now the reason why this year wasn't as bad as the past 3...Tim was one of 3 people nominated from his whole company, statewide, for "Breakout Agent of the Year 2007"! Basically, that's most improved agent. He didn't win but I don't even care. I'm so proud of him for being nominated! The winner did get a trip to Maui for a week, but we couldn't have gone anyway because the trip was planned for 3 weeks before I'm due. But, next year he better win an award so we can go on the trip! Congratulations, though Tim! I love you and am SO proud of you!

(sorry no pictures of Tim in his tux and me in my formal maternity dress)

That's Vinyl has a new home!

I have started a "vinyl" blog so I can be updated and adding at my convenience. The blog is www.thatsvinyl.blogspot.com . It is still in the works, but spread the word and check back often! Thanks!

Another chance...

So yesterday at 5:15 the buyer of my business called and said she wouldn't be there at 7 (less than 2 hours later) to pick everything up after all. She said she wasn't going to buy it unless I sold it to her for almost HALF of what I was asking.

So, of course I still have it and unless I find another buyer in the next week or so, I will just plan on keeping it. Pretty lame though on her part! Especially because I have spent the past few days doing nothing BUT vinyl orders for everyone who thought I wasn't going to have it anymore. At least everyone had about a week to get whatever they wanted at half off though!

Last Chance for Vinyl...

I have a buyer for my vinyl business and I have less than a week to get any orders done before they come pick it up. Let me know if there is anything you want asap. I am doing all orders from now on at 50% off! Email me or order through my website: www.thatsvinyl.com.

Thanks!

Business for Sale!

As much fun as I have doing my vinyl lettering business, I just don't have the time to run it efficiently anymore so I've decided to sell it.

Here is a link to my craigslist post with all the info:

http://provo.craigslist.org/bfs/532828146.html.

Please pass the word along to anyone who might be interested.

Thanks!

Going Digital

So I got Photoshop for Christmas and one of my goals for the new year is to learn how to use it and keep up with my digital scrapbooking as the months go on. I should have probably set a more realistic goal, but I'm always up for a challenge. First I have to learn how to use Photoshop, but here's what I've done so far...

If anyone has any good tips or techniques to share, I'm open to anything! Thanks!

Christmas Highlights

We had such a fun Holiday and stayed very busy. Here are some highlights of the past couple of weeks...

A night w/o kids at the MOTAB Christmas Concert.


Going to see the lights at Temple Square w/the Croshaws...it really was colder than it looks.


Brooklyn as Mary holding baby Jesus at the Flinders Christmas Party held at our house, where we fed and entertained 25+...so glad so many could make it!


The Meadows over for dinner...don't my Christmas dishes look beautiful?!


Brooklyn caught in the act...busted!


Christmas Eve was probably one of the highlights of the whole week! We got on a conference call with my mom and sisters and got to talk to my brother Joel in the Philippines. We got to talk to him for an hour and a half and it was so good to hear his voice. He still has his sense of humor and is doing so well. It was 5am his time on Christmas morning and he was sitting on his front porch so he wouldn't wake the other 15 sleeping missionaries waiting to use his phone to talk to their families. You could hear chickens and roosters making tons of noise! Part way through our conversation he started speaking in his Cebuano language and told us an old man came through his fence and sat down on a stool to start playing his flute. Joel apparently gave him some money, told him Merry Christmas, and sent him on his way. The last few minutes of talking with him we asked him to bear his testimony in Cebuano. Half way through it he started laughing and we were all completely silent still. He said he just told us we were all ugly and we had no idea! Funny kid, huh! I'm so proud of him, though!

Christmas morning and Brooklyn's tower of presents...we aren't going to keep up with that tradition every year as she gets taller.


Tallan and his new horse...he likes it a lot better now than he did at first.


About 25 of the Meadows Family fed and entertained on Christmas Day at our house...food by all and entertainment led by Aunt Terri


A beautiful sunset...I couldn't resist stopping for a second to take the picture. It was the only time I stopped to do anything in the last month.



The morning after Christmas the first thing we did was put our tree and all of our Christmas decorations away. It felt SO good! My sister, Val, and her family came up from Hurricane to enjoy the cold and snow that evening and the day after that my sister, Jenn, and her family came in from AZ to do the same. It was so fun to eat good food, play games, eat, shop, eat, play Wii, eat, and just hang out and eat.

Fun with cousins!






I'm so glad Christmas comes just once a year! I love that my house was party central this year, but I'm exhausted!

The Polar Express

For how many years have we read the book at Christmas time and how many now have we watched the movie? Last night, thanks to our "little bit far away Grandma and Grandpa" we got to experience it!

We caught the train headed to the North Pole in Heber City. It was only 45 minutes away and we were shocked! The elves on our car fed us homemade chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate. (we actually had to limit Brooklyn to just a cookie because there are no bathrooms on board The Polar Express) But Tallan had two cookies and two full cups of hot chocolate! Lisa won for coming from the furthest away since she came all the way from Germany. She taught everyone on board to say, "Merry Christmas!" in German, but I don't really remember how to say it anymore.

We read the book...


We sang Christmas Carols to bring Holiday Cheer and we even got a visit from Santa! Mrs Claus came through to chat with us and to share her cookie recipe...

Brooklyn wasn't as excited to see Santa as the other kids were...

Here is Brooklyn with Figgy, one of Santa's elves that were on our car. They told jokes and talked to the kids about what they want for Christmas. Figgy especially liked Brooklyn.

The conductor came through to punch our tickets just like in the movie!

Brooklyn's favorite part of the train ride was getting the jingle bell that Santa gave her. She took a picture of it herself sitting on her seat.

What a magical night it was for all!

Snow much fun!

We got a HUGE snowstorm this weekend and even though Tim couldn't convince us girls to go play in it with him, he had fun! (Tallan is too young to object)

The finished product! Yes, that is a water noodle for arms and a planting bucket for a hat.