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Rog's birthday was on a Tuesday this year. The U hadn't started for the semester yet, but Corbyn and Peyton both had school. 

We started the day out with presents. 

He got a TMNT game for Nintendo DS (want), Survival of the Savvy (need), a tie (wear), and A Future as Bright as Your Faith (read).

We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. 

After Corbyn got out of school, Rog took him to see the new Star Wars movie. 

Then they met us at Chick-fil-A for dinner. (Our first time eating at our new Spanish Fork Chick-fil-A!) After dinner we had ice cream in homemade waffle cones and Rog opened a surprise present from me - I finally hemmed his jeans that he'd been waiting for me to hem for over a month!

And we finished off the day watching Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation while folding laundry.

It was a fun day celebrating my favorite January 5th birthday boy!

2016 Goals

Mine:

1. Read 24 books including 12 from this reading challenge.

2. Run Ragnar So Cal.

3. Spend time each Sunday studying the gospel in addition to my normal scripture study.

4. Go through our house as we pack and not move anything we don't need and/or love.

In addition to my 4 goals, I'm going to focus on 2 words: maintain and faith. Maintain as in stay caught up (on my blog, budget, cleaning the house, etc) rather than letting myself get behind and constantly playing catch up. And faith (not fear) because I spent so much of 2015 battling anxiety. I learned that your own mind can be a very scary place to be and your mind can do crazy things to your body. Now I'm ready to learn how to control my mind, so I don't have to be in that scary place and let my mind damage my body.

Rog's:

1. Graduate with his MBA and MHA.

2. Run Ragnar So Cal.

3. Find a house in Oregon.

4. Read 4 fiction books.

Corbyn's:

1. Learn to count to 100. (He's already mostly there. Just needs a little more practice to really get it down.)

2. Make new friends in Oregon.

3. Learn to catch a baseball.

4. Learn to tie his own shoes.

Peyton's:

1. Learn to write her name.

2. Make new friends in Oregon.

3. Learn to sleep in her own bed all night.

4. Learn to ride her bike without training wheels.

Logan's:

1. Learn to sleep through the night.

2. Learn to walk.

3. Go to nursery without a fight.

4. Learn to talk. (At least a few words.)

Our family goals:

1. Make our wills.

2. Add clothing/supplies to our 72 hour kits.

3. Plant a garden.

4. Go to the temple and go on a date once a month.

This is the year we're actually going to accomplish those 2 pesky family goals we've been making for years!

2015 Goals

Here's a review of our 2015 goals. (Now that we're over halfway through February! Hah!)

Mine:

1. Have a healthy baby. Done. He gave us a scare those first few days in the NICU, but he's been great ever since!

2. Read 12 books and do 3 puzzles. Done and done! 6 books in the first quarter, 10 in the second quarter, 11 in the third quarter, and 8 in the fourth quarter for 35 total! And for the puzzles, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, and Princess and the Frog.

3. Run the Speedy Spaniard 10K. Done. I'm so glad I made that goal - it was such a fun course almost completely on the River Trail.

4. Finish our quiet book. Nope. I don't even think I worked on it once.

Rog's:

1. Get a paid internship for summer. Done. Paid and close by at UVRMC!

2. Read the Book of Mormon and New Testament. I'm pretty sure he forgot about this goal. I asked him about it yesterday and he didn't think he read both in their entirety.

3. Do a 50 mile bike race. Nope. He couldn't really find one he wanted to do. He did do some longer rides on his own, but none that were 50 miles.

4. Take more naps. Sure. (This year I told him he has to make goals that are easier to quantify.)

Corbyn's:

1. Learn to ride his bike without training wheels. Done! 

2. Learn to read. Done. A little bit from UPSTART, but really he learned in Kindergarten.

3. Try out a sport. Done. He did baseball and soccer.

4. Practice using scissors more. Done. Kindergarten for the win again.

Peyton's:

1. Learn to go to the bathroom in the toilet. Done. 

2. Start a dance class. Done. One of the happiest days of my life!

3. Learn the alphabet. Done. Mom school for the win!

4. Learn to sit still and listen to books before bed. Done. We didn't do anything special, it just finally clicked one day.

Logan's:

1. Be a healthy baby. Done. Again he had those days in the NICU, but I still maintain he was an impostor and didn't really belong there!

2. Be a good eater. Done. With his days in the NICU, this could have gone terribly wrong, but he got it right away - the very first time I nursed him! (Counting my blessings for that!) He is also a good eater at solid foods - especially when I discovered refillable pouches! 

3. Learn to roll over. Done.

4. Learn to sit up. Done.

Our family goals:

1. Make our wills. Again, nope.

2. Add clothing/supplies to our 72 hour kits and store water. Nope for the first part, but we did start storing water.

3. Adjust to having 3 children. Sure.

4. Go to the temple and go on a date once a month. Yes for the temple (with the highlight being attending the Payson Temple Dedication), but no for date nights.

So basically our kids were rockstars achieving every goal we set for them, but Rog and I need to do better next year - especially on our family goals!

Homemade Gifts 2015

I knew I had to do an easy homemade gift this year what with still getting used to having 3 kids (even though Logan was 9 months at Christmas) and going to Disneyland in December and all. 

I found these ornaments on Pinterest. They were incredibly quick and easy to make, but also pretty and I love that they focus on Christ who is of course the reason for the season!

To wrap them, I picked up some treat bags with matching tags at Walmart and stuffed some foil shreds inside the bag with the ornament.

I got this "Created by Chief" stamp from Pick Your Plum and was determined to use it somehow! 

I had also planned to make Logan a critter blanket like I made Peyton for her first Christmas, but that just didn't happen. I have all the supplies I need for it, so hopefully I can get it made by his birthday.

So I made 12 ornaments and that was all for my homemade gift giving this year!

Sledding

We've had a lot of snow this winter (perfect for our last winter in Utah!) and since Rog was home a lot during December and January, he was constantly taking the kids sledding. We have the perfect hill close to our house which makes it super convenient to just go over for a few minutes when they kids (and Rog) are sick of being stuck inside.

Even Logan got to go if he wasn't napping. And since it was so close, if he decided he was done, Rog could run him home to me really quickly.

Corbyn and Peyton are at the perfect age to enjoy this hill. It's not too scary, but also not too lame.

If the Howards were around, they'd come out and sled too.

I normally avoid sledding because I have a tendency to get hurt when I go. This is not the best picture, but it's my proof that I made an appearance on one of the sledding outings.

I'm pretty sure this bear snowsuit was the best $15 I ever spent!

Cutest little polar bear ever!

We won't miss driving in the snow or the inversion, but we sure will miss sledding and our perfect sledding hill! 

Rest of December

The day after Christmas we went to see The Peanuts Movie. My mom came with us and I'm pretty sure all 3 of us adults fell asleep at some point in the movie (and Logan too), but the kids enjoyed it.

We also went to Hallmark to check out their half price ornaments. Rog got the genie (from Aladdin) and I got a tiny camper.

My parents got Corbyn and Peyton Lego Advent Calendars (Lego City and Lego Friends) at the beginning of December. They had fun building a little set each day.

I didn't want them to just get mixed in with all our other Legos, so I cut out the directions and put them in baggies to go in our advent calendar pockets for future years.

Rog's cousin, Amanda, got married on December 30th. We went to the reception that night at Noah's Event Center in South Jordan. When we got there I realized that my friend, Stacey, had her reception there when Corbyn was about Logan's age. I went back and found a picture of Corbyn from that night and it just so happened that they were both wearing the same sweater!

Corbyn and Peyton's favorite thing to do for the past few months has been to wrestle with Rog. I found Corbyn looking at his new Avenger Storybook Collection one day. He said he was looking for new moves to beat up dad! 

They also looked through Peyton's new Princess Storybook Collection, but I don't think they were as successful at finding moves in there.

Monkey Peyton hanging from the top bunk in her new outfit from Grandma Dixie.

Rog's parents had come for Amanda's wedding, so we all got together for egg rolls on New Year's Eve. I normally cut the recipe in half because it makes a ton, but Tay and Martha didn't realize that and doubled the recipe! 

After egg rolls the cousins enjoyed some ice cream.

And then after we got the kids to bed, we played games and had dips (Fluffy Orange Dip with fruit, Fancy Salsa with tortilla chips, and Brownie Batter Dip with Oreos) with my mom, Jared, and Cailey.  

Christmas

Christmas morning started out early (but not too early). When the kids woke up we called Grandma and Grandpa and while we waited for them to arrive, I did Peyton's hair (much to Rog's dismay). Then it was on to the presents!

Santa brought us a couple big family presents this year - a Wii U (because our Wii that we've had since our first Christmas together died and even though Rex and Taylor tried to convince us to get the Playstation 4 or XBox instead) and Disney Infinity for Wii U. (We got both of them on Black Friday at Walmart for a great deal.)

Santa brought Corbyn a Master of Fire Bionicle (that he immediately went to work putting together!)...

And an Avengers Storybook Collection (that has been a huge hit).  

His stocking had a R2-D2 Itty Bitty, a Mixels Lego set, a Skittles candy cane, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (season 1), Lego Marvel Super Heroes for Wii U, and the Hulkbuster figure for Disney Infinity.

From Mom and Dad he got an Avengers bike (want), Wii Motion Plus Adapters (need), Star Wars pajamas (wear), and a Ninjago Lego activity book (read).  

Santa brought Peyton a Frozen scooter and a Princess Storybook Collection.

Her stocking had a Doc and Lambie Itty Bitty Clippy, a necklace, nail polish, a Skittles candy cane, Cinderella, and the Elsa and Rapunzel figures for Disney Infinity.

From Mom and Dad she got Anna, Cinderella rags, and Jasmine princess dress ups (want), a dance bag (need), ballet shoes and a ballet skirt (wear), and a set of Pinkalicious books (read).

Little Adventures' dress ups continue to be a favorite at our house and when they're only $10 each at their warehouse sale, it's pretty much impossible not to buy them all.

Her dance bag is from an artist I follow on Instagram (LittleMoonDance) found here.

The Pinkalicious books have definitely been her most-requested books at bedtime.

Santa brought Logan a fun Lion King toy.

His stocking had a Woody Itty Bitty, bath toys, and a toothbrush.

From Mom and Dad he got an activity puzzle (want), cups and refillable pouches (need), shoes (wear), and a set of Disney board books (read).

He loves having his own cups like the big kids. (I give him just a tiny bit of water in them occasionally, so he can learn to drink from a cup.)

He was our oldest baby for his first Christmas, so I thought he might be a little excited for some of the stuff he got. Nope, we could have got him absolutely nothing and he wouldn't have cared one bit. But how cute is our Santa baby?!

Santa brought Rog a gift card to the Quarry, so he could take rock climbing lessons. (He mentioned that idea to me and thought I had forgotten, so he was pretty excited when he opened it up.)

His stocking had a snowman Itty Bitty, Christmas Spot-It, a Reese's Pieces candy cane, Aladdin, and the Darth Vader and Han Solo figures for Disney Infinity.

From me and the kids he got Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii U, movie tickets and a gift card to Culvers (because he needs to take his wife on a date), a hat and athletic shorts (wear), and The Martian (read).

Santa brought me a gift card to the Wood Connection. 

My stocking had a penguin Itty Bitty, mascara, a Reese's Pieces candy cane, a personalized Christmas spatula (from Pick Your Plum), The Age of Adaline, Mockingjay Part 1, and the Aladdin and Jasmine figures for Disney Infinity.

From Rog and the kids I got Inside Out and Diddy Kong Racing for Nintendo DS (want), a fleece jacket (need), a necklace (wear), and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: the Illustrated Edition (read).

I'm pretty much obsessed with all of The Dainty Pear's necklaces. This is my third one! (Chief loves Rog.)

After presents we had breakfast - Wassail, Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls, and Holiday Fruit Soup. (I borrowed the cute Christmas plates from my mom.)

Then we called Grandma Dixie and Grandpa Mike and had the kids open their presents from them. They each got an outfit. And then Corbyn got a marble tower set, Peyton got Disney Princess Barbies, and Logan got the Little People Big Animal Zoo.

I painted Peyton's nails with her new nail polish and we got ready for the day.

I made the most perfect batch of rolls for dinner. (And I couldn't resist sneaking one when they were fresh out of the oven!)

That night we had dinner at my parent's house - Cranberry Salsa and Cream Cheese Dip, Raspberry Ribbon Salad, Pear Pomegranate Salad, Stuffed Potatoes, World's Best Dinner Rolls, Costco ham, and Peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge for dessert. 

Then the kids opened their presents from Grandma Lori and Papa George. Corbyn and Peyton got a Nintendo 2DS to share. (This was the Christmas of gaming systems. We have a system worked out for limiting screen time that is working quite well that I will have to write about in another post.) Corbyn also got the Wreck-It Ralph game for Nintendo DS and a set of light sabers. 

Peyton got the Tangled game for Nintendo DS (that we learned actually requires a lot of reading, so we got her Frozen: Olaf's Quest for Nintendo DS with some of her Christmas money specifically because it got bad reviews saying it was too simple - perfect for a 3 year old!) and Hoot Owl Hoot! (a cooperative board game that has been so so fun).

Logan got the Little People Buzz Spaceship and Woody with RC. They came out with these too late for Corbyn's Toy Story obsession and I was always so sad we missed getting them for him. I had my mom buy this set off eBay in like new condition because they aren't making them anymore. (This was definitely the Christmas of Little People for Logan!)

From my parents I got the Greg Olsen Nativity Set before December, so I could enjoy it all month long. And Rog got money for new running shoes.

It was so nice to spend our Christmas at home (and also a little sad to think this will be our last Christmas in our first home). We were all very spoiled and it was a very fun day!