Driving to Arizona

The day after Christmas we hit the road a little later than originally planned due to the weather/road conditions.  We were driving on ice until we got out of Cedar City.  We had originally planned on taking the 20 and going through Page, Arizona.  But just before we reached the 20 exit it started to snow pretty heavy.  We saw a snow plow and thought that if we could just get behind the plow we would be just fine.  So we got off at the exit and then the plow turned around and headed back onto the 15!  We sat there for a few minuets in debate.  Going through Las Vegas was so much longer.  As we sat there looking at the 20 ahead of us, I got a terrified sick feeling inside and told David that I thought that we needed to turn around and get back on the 15.  So we did!  The trip was really long.  The back up at the dam was an hour and a half long and 14 hours later we finally reached my parents house safe and sound. 

In Cedar City we stopped at McDonalds to eat.  The kids played in the play place and in this  little room they had with balls.  It was time to leave and the kids had left Talan all by himself in the little room.  So I went to go get him.  I walked in the room and didn't see him.  I thought, "Well where could he be?"  and then I saw some movement inside this little game like contraption thingy.  He had climbed inside of it!  I thought that it was so cute that I made David go out to the truck to get the camera.

Christmas 2008

This is what the kids woke up to Christmas morning.  

All the presents were wrapped! Each kid had all their presents wrapped in special wrapping paper just for them.  This is the first year that Santa wrapped all the presents.  It was pretty fun watching as the kids opened them up one by one!

Ethan got everything on his list!  

First on his list was Club Penguin trading cards.  Ethan is very easy to please.  He never asks for too much and he is always thrilled with whatever he receives.

Reagan wanted just about anything electronic this year.  She asked for a laptop computer, a digital camera, and an electric guitar.  I think that she would have loved anything she got though.  Anytime we take her shopping she asks for just about everything she sees.

Bradon had a great Christmas!  His #1 gift was an ipod nano.  It just amazes me how much different our kids lives our from ours when we were young!

Talan was so flippin adorable!  He loved everything about Christmas!  He got a little quad that actually goes a couple miles an hour.  And the leap from train you can see in the background.  It has lots of buttons!  Talan loves to press buttons!

Carsten asked for an acoustic guitar this year.  I think that it is so cute to see him want to learn how to play it.  My cousin Emily's husband Ben plays the guitar quite well and he said that he would help Carsten learn.  Carsten is so excited!

So after the kids opened all their Christmas presents they just played and played so nicely!  It was quite pleasant.  We had a few family gifts for them to open but they were playing so good with the presents they already received that we waited until Christmas night for them to open them.  They got Guitar Hero World Tour.

Reagan enjoyed giving Talan rides around the house on his new quad.

The boys all played with Ethan's new Club Penguin trading cards.

David had fun assembling toys and trying them out!

And Reagan's most prized possession... 

Her new pink barbie laptop!

We had a fabulous Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We went to the Adam's family Christmas Eve party again this year!  It was a lot of fun!

While the traditional Haws family Christmas Eve Enchiladas were being prepared we all played several games of bump out.  I must say that I was much better at it this year without the 9 month pregnant belly getting in the way.

While we played Talan had a good time pushing this cart all over the gym.

After dinner we had the traditional pinata bust!

Reagan gave it a go...

Carsten gave it a swing...  but it was busted by Mason Rasmussen.

Then it was time for the Christmas Nativity.  

Aren't these angles adorable!

And what a cute wise man... 

and a couple of good looking shepherds too!

And so the story begins...

So after the song filled Christmas story all the kids opened up their Christmas PJ's and we went home in hopes that Santa would come.

Haws girls ornament exchange party

Ever since I moved to Utah I have been throwing a Haws girls ornament exchange Christmas party.  We get together and have dinner, play games and exchange ornaments.  It's a lot of fun!  This year we invited the little girls too!  They were thrilled to be apart of the big girl party!

Peek-a-boo!

Peek-a-boo!

Security Guard Santa!

Since we got rid of everything needed for a baby before coming to Utah, we no longer have a much needed baby gate.  For the longest time Talan just didn't seem to notice the stairs and for that we were grateful.  Then one day it was time to get creative and so we blocked the stairs with some kitchen chairs.  It worked really good, until he realized that he could just push them out of his way.  Then the Christmas decorations came out and we put a couple of Christmas bins filled with old Christmas lights in front of the stairs.  That worked good too, until he figured out how to slide his little body in between the bins to make them move over.  I'm telling you, Talan is a smart little kid!  I'm sure that he will grow up and qualify to be placed in some gifted program someday.  (Isn't that what we all think of our little knowledge soaking sponge brained toddlers?)  Anyways, so then one day Bradon got real smart and stuck our giant Santa in front of the bins.  Ah Hah! Talan's not so smart after all.  Talan apparently has a fear of  out giant Santa Clause and refused to go near the stairs again!

Oh Christmas tree...

Our Christmas tree 2008!

So it leans a little to the left and it's filled with every little hodge podge ornament anyone has ever given to us or the kids have ever made.  It's got every color under the sun on it and it has absolutely no theme about it.  It even has the original bows that I made the first Christmas David and I were married.  To some it's very ordinary and plain, to me it's a masterpiece!

This year with a little toddling Talan in our home we decided to put the tree in the corner with couches on either side of it.  This way we could put one of our ottomans in between the two couches to completely block the tree from his reach.  It worked out beautifully!  After the first few weeks of him trying to get at the tree with no success, we removed the ottoman and he didn't mess with it at all!  What a good baby!

let in snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It took it awhile to decide to be winter around here, but once it decided, it DUMPED on us!

This is a picture of one of our trees in the front yard.  Isn't it beautiful!

The kids had an absolute ball!  As it snowed and snowed and snowed, the kids played and played and played!  I thought that for sure they would be coming inside at some point complaining about the cold or something!  But no, they just played and played and played!  I think that they were outside for at least 6 hours straight!

They all worked together to create their own little club penguin village.

Their imaginations were all hard at work!

Say cheese!  

Max wanted to make sure that I snapped a picture of how strong he is.  That's one HUGE shovel of snow!

I think that we got at least a foot of snow that day.  And look at that, they dug all the way down to the grass!

Reagan is pretty cute in her pink snow bib!

Teegs had a good time too!  

Babysitting at its best!

As I go to boot camp in the mornings Ethan gets to babysit for me.  It's a pretty easy gig since all the kids are usually asleep the whole time I'm gone.  His #1 responsibility is Talan.  If Talan wakes up he is suppose to take care of him until I return home.  Ethan has done a great job of this!  I'm really proud of Ethan and am glad that I can trust him with this responsibility.

So a few weeks ago David took a couple of days off work and came with me to boot camp.  When we got home this is what we found in the middle of the family room fast asleep.  Isn't he adorable?  There just isn't anything more precious than a sleeping baby!

So where is Ethan?  In our bed fast asleep!  We woke him up and he told us that right after we left, Talan woke up.  So he got him out of his crib and then Talan just wandered around the house until he finally fell back to sleep in the middle of the floor. 

 Now that is babysitting at its best!

The best of intentions.

I have the best of intentions to update my blog with all the happenings of Christmas, our trip to Arizona, Talan's 1st birthday and whatever else I can think of updating my blog with...  However, I want to update my blog accompanied with pictures!  I am having a hard time finding the stupid plug thing to upload my pictures!  Computer technology is so annoying at times!  So until then, know that I seriously have been thinking about updating my blog and I have the best of intentions in doing so!