Christmas Day

We had such a wonderful, family-filled Christmas, as always. We started off the day at our house. Grandpa Ralph was able to spend the night and watch the kids open their gifts. We loved having him there. The kids were thrilled with everything that Santa brought them. I loved watching their excited faces! After we finished presents and got ready, we headed back up to Dad & Stacie's. We were brought up to speed on what Santa brought to Reagan & Cole and then Kevin continued the tradition of making us each our made-to-order amazing omelets! We then headed for a quick visit to Grandma Norris' and then back to our house to prepare for our guests. My Mom and her Kev, Kevin's parents, Jeff & Maria, and Shanny & Matt joined us for lunch. After some eating, playing, and visiting we headed to my grandma & grandpa's house and then to Kevin's grandpa's for our last stop. We had a wonderful day and our kids were surprisingly VERY well-behaved. We are grateful for Christmas and the time we have with our family and especially for the time to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are so grateful for Him and the love he shows us and the blessings we have in our lives because of Him. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

Christmas Eve

This year for Christmas Eve we only had one stop to make, which made it much more relaxing and nice. We continued our tradition of Christmas Eve at my Dad and Stacie's house. We made a yummy dinner, watched the kids play with play dough & Christmas Bingo, watched a Nativity DVD that Stacie helped make for their ward, and, of course, topped the night off with Christmas Vacation. We always have a great time and this year was no exception! Thanks Dad & Stac for always hosting the madness!

After we got home and put the kids to bed, it was time to get ready for Christmas morning! I was lucky enough to catch Santa in the act. He was so good to us this year!

Thanks Santa! ( :

He lifts my burdens....

(Kevin will probably kill me for posting this, but since this blog is basically my journal, I couldn't go without documenting it.)

Ever since we got home from Disneyland a few weeks ago, I have had a hard time keeping up with life in general. I have been trying to work more to make up for work I missed while on our trip. Add into the mix getting ready for Christmas and I was feeling quite overwhelmed. A few days before Christmas Kevin and I were sitting down after we put our kids to bed to just talk about the day. He just asked me how I was doing. I said "pretty good" (with a BIG sigh), and he asked me what would make me really good. I jokingly started listing things that I hadn't gotten to around the house that needed to be done. Well, I went to bed that night (thinking he was coming up right behind me) and woke up the next morning to the following note:

He had completed all of the chores I had mentioned while I was sleeping. He won't tell me what time he went to bed, but I suspect it wasn't until around 2am. When he has to wake up at 4am, that is quite a sacrifice. I cried tears of gratitude all morning long, while thanking my Heavenly Father for sending such a wonderful man into my life. My happiness is always #1 on his list. I truly don't deserve him! He lifted more of my burdens that day than he realizes.

I love you Kev!!!

Not what we had planned.....

Last Monday Kevin and I decided to take the kids downtown for Family Home Evening to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. It was supposed to snow the next few days before Christmas, so we thought we'd better take advantage of our free night. After delivering our neighbor Christmas gifts, we headed downtown. As we were pulling off the freeway into downtown, we turned around and saw this:

Well, who wants to wake up two sleeping kids and make them walk around in the 10 degree weather?? Not me!!! So, we just drove around and enjoyed the lights from our car--which ended up being quite peaceful and relaxing. We even managed to get a few good pictures while waiting at stop lights!

Kevin and I even decided to catch some z's. Not really--we were just being dorks! ( :

I LOVE Temple Square at Christmas time. It is so beautiful and peaceful and helps me get into the Christmas spirit. This year was no exception--sleeping kids or not!

Our Christmas model....

Anistyn LOVES posing for the camera. She hasn't always been this way, but I must say I am rather enjoying it. It beats the alternative--Stockton. He will rarely sit for a picture--and if he does--good luck getting him to smile. Maybe when he's 5, I'll have 2 Christmas models on my hands. Until then, I'll enjoying taking endless amounts of pictures of my pretty little girl!

We did manage to get one shot of all 4 of us before church...not too bad for one take.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

In case you didn't request a Christmas card (it's still not too late!), here's an e-version.

Merry Christmas!!!

Fear of Santa

A couple of nights ago we went to visit Santa at the Mall. I must say, it was a pretty pleasant experience. They had it all decked out with amazing Christmas decor, fun things to look at while you were waiting in line (although Kevin did most of the waiting for us), and best of all, an authentic-looking Santa Claus. Anistyn was SO excited! She had prepared a list for Santa, as well as a card she had made for him. They even had a big mailbox there where you could put letters to Santa. Being the authentic Santa that he was, he read the letters with her before asking her to put them in his mailbox. It was so fun to watch him read her Christmas list with her, and seem to know what every item was. Stockton was a different story. I sat him on the couch next to Santa and he started to freak out a little. He didn't scream--or even really cry--but he DID NOT want to talk to or sit next to Santa. I don't know if his nerves eventually calmed, or if he was paralyzed with fear, but he didn't move from the couch when I backed away to watch. He survived the experience and was thrilled with the candy cane and Christmas book reward he received as a result!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

A child's prayer....

One of the best parts of my day is listening to Anistyn's prayers before she goes to bed. She says exactly what is on her mind at the moment. Tonight's prayer was no different. While Anistyn was with me on some errands, Kevin had surprised me and cleaned the whole house, including Anistyn's room (the most WONDERFUL man in the universe!). She was so excited when she walked in her room. She said "My room looks BEAUTIFUL!" As she said her prayers tonight, she said "thank you that Daddy could clean my room, even though he doesn't know where the clothes go". I guess there are just some things she cannot overlook.....

All good things must come to an end....

Our last day at Disneyland *tear*. We decided that we would hit both parks and try to get in some things that we hadn't done yet, and then hit our favorites one last time. We started out at California Adventure and went to the Playhouse Disney show, rode Toy Story again, & saw "Aladdin" (a Broadway style play, which was AMAZING!). After a little rest and some lunch, we got Princess Anistyn and Princess Reagan dressed in their ball attire and headed to Ariel's Grotto for dinner. At dinner they were able to meet Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White & Belle. They got autographs, chatted, and took pictures. It was priceless! The funniest part was Stockton, who wouldn't give any of the other characters the time of day, was SO excited to meet each princess! He was jumping up and down, and giving the cheesiest smile I have ever seen him give! Cole was also excited and even decided to take a peek under Belle's dress! It was non-stop excitement and one of the highlights of our trip. After dinner we headed back over to Disneyland and rode some more rides until we were beyond exhausted. We had such a blast and were so glad we could spend some of it with Dad, Stacie, Reagan & Cole. Memories to last a lifetime!

California Adventure!!

On our 3rd day, we spent the day at California Adventure. Once again, we were there bright and early and rushed to the first ride--Toy Story. It was a lot of fun--especially for Stockton, with him being OBSESSED with Buzz Lightyear. Kevin and I then took turns on California Screamin', which was an AWESOME rollercoaster! We then spent the rest of the day just making the rounds through most of the rides. Anistyn, once again, was so brave! There are a lot more "big" rides at California Adventure and none of them scared her off! She even went on my favorite--Tower of Terror. She loved meeting all of the characters that were spread throughout the park. She got their autographs and talked to every one of them. Stockton, on the other hand, wanted NOTHING to do with them. He liked to look, but didn't want to take pictures or talk to them. We ended the day with the Christmas Fantasy parade over at Disneyland, which was awesome!

Disneyland Day 2

Day 2 at Disneyland was our "early entry" day, so we were there bright and early! The weather was perfect and we got in a lot of rides before the park opened up to everyone else. It was fun that Anistyn was tall enough to ride most of the "scarier" rides. She was so brave and rode most of them twice (or more) so that Kevin and I could both experience them also. She said that Space Mountain and the Teacups were her favorite rides. Stockton loved all of the rides too! We bought him a Buzz Lightyear, which he didn't let out of his sight the entire time. He ate with it, slept with it & rode rides with it. Later in the day Dad, Stacie, Reagan & Cole arrived! We met up with them at California Adventure and rode "Soarin' of California" together--which was AWESOME! We topped off the night with dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and then walked around Downtown Disney. The kids had fun dancing to the live bands and the parents had fun watching!

Downtown Disney/Disneyland Day 1

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in Anaheim! Before I get started on our trip details, I must send a shout out to our friends Nina and Mike. First of all, Mike talked Kevin into going to Disneyland in the first place (he wanted to wait until our kids were older). Secondly, they provided us with every detail we needed so that we would have the most successful first trip to Disneyland possible. Nina even created a spreadsheet with a schedule (EXTREMELY helpful!) Thanks guys!

Our hotel was directly across the street from the Disneyland entrance, so we were able to walk everywhere, which made it SO nice. (*side note* Kevin decided it would be a fun tradition for us all to get a new pair of good walking shoes, since we would be walking so much on our trip--hence the picture of all of our shoes!*) After we got settled in our hotel, we walked over to Downtown Disney. We visited the Disney store, the Lego Store, and many other fun places. After dinner, we headed back to our hotel to rest up for our first day at Disneyland. The next morning we were one of the first ones in line! As soon as the gates opened we rushed to our first ride and didn't quit until lunchtime. The kids loved every ride (and so did mom and dad!) After some lunch and much-needed rest, we headed back to the park and finished out the day. We, of course, caught the fireworks show. It was SO amazing and it even "snowed" bubbles, which the kids loved. The park was decorated so beautifully for Christmas!

Let the FUN begin!!!

Thanksgiving morning we started out 11 day journey through St. George, Las Vegas, and then on to Disneyland! We had a great time in St. George. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with Mom & Kev, Shannon & Matt, April, Uncle Mitch, & Grandma & Miles. We stayed with Grandpa and Lucy and enjoyed our time there. We loved the warmer weather and spent some time at the park, swimming, and just walking around. After St. George, we headed to Las Vegas for a couple of days. Ralph wasn't there (Grandpa Z died and he was in SL for the funeral), but he was nice enough to let us use his house. It was nice to have our own place for a couple of days. We took the kids to the strip (something we've never done). We hit the M & M store and the water show at the Bellagio. The kids LOVED it! We also saw the new Christmas Carol movie (VERY good!). After getting caught up on laundry and packing up AGAIN, we then headed for DISNEYLAND!!!!!

Norris girls weekend in St. George

A couple of weeks ago Anistyn and I were able to meet the rest of the Norris girls (plus Jordan) in St. George for the weekend. We met up with Kim & Clara, Sherry, Rylan & Jordan. My mother-in-law, Martha drove down with me and Anistyn. We started out with a little bowling and then dinner at the Pizza Factory. Unfortunately, that night Anistyn got sick and was throwing up. However, she woke up good as new the next morning! We spent the next day at the Farmer's Market at the Tuachan theater, saw "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", and ended the day with dinner at Cafe Rio. Before we left, we met for lunch at Chili's and then topped it off with a shake at Iceberg. Anistyn and I were able to stay at my grandma's house, so we got lots of good visiting in with her. We had so much fun laughing, playing, catching up, and reminiscing. We decided it needs to be a new tradition for the Norris women. We missed Sammy and Maria and hope they can join us next time!

Happy Halloween!

We had another great Halloween! We ran errands all afternoon as a family, enjoying the amazing Fall weather. We then were able to visit with Ralph, who was in town visiting his Dad. We had pizza with Ralph, Shanny & Matt and then got dressed for trick-or-treating! We were even fortunate to get a last-minute visit from grandma and grandpa! What a fun night with family. We are so lucky to have so many people who love our kids so much. They had a wonderful time trick-or-treating and Kevin and I thoroughly enjoyed watching our kids loving every minute of it!

Night on the town

On Friday we kept up our tradition with our friends Jason and Sherion. During the month of all of our birthdays we get a hotel downtown, go to dinner, and find some other fun thing to do. We always top off the next morning with the breakfast buffet at the Little America. This month was Jason's birthday. We stayed at the Hilton, ate at the Olive Garden, had great seats to the Jazz home-opener, and topped it all of with our favorite breakfast the next morning. Thanks to Shanny and & Matt for watching our kids. Happy Birthday Jason and thanks for another fun night on the town!

Pre-Halloween

This Halloween has been about a 2 week event. There were 5 different times I had to get the kids dressed up in their costumes. The day after Halloween is now giving me the same feeling of relief as the day after Christmas! This last week we started off with Anistyn's Kindergarten Halloween party. My friend Nina was so great to watch Stockton so I could go help Anistyn's teacher. I had a blast seeing all of her classmates in their costumes. They played games, sang songs, and paraded around the school in their costumes. On Friday we were able to go to both Kevin's work and my mom's work to trick-or-treat. The kids always love this because it's pretty low-key and short and sweet (literally). One more day to go!

First time on roller skates

For Family Home Evening last week Kevin thought it would be fun to take the kids roller skating for their first time. When you've known how to roller skate for so many years, you forget just how hard it was to learn. By the end all 4 of us were a big, sweaty mess! We were so proud of Anistyn and how she stuck with it. She had a pretty rough start but was moving around on her own by the end. She was quite pleased with her accomplishment! Next time I think I'll wear my gym clothes and bring an energy drink!

Ward trunk-or-treat

Our first of many times dressing up this Halloween season began with our ward trunk-or-treat. The kids were SO excited to get into their costumes a whole 10 days before Halloween! Mom was glad for the dress rehearsal. We had a great time with our ward members and loved seeing all of the cute costumes. When we got home Anistyn was jumping up and down saying "That was so much fun!" She doesn't usually do that, so she really must have had a great time! Or maybe it was the sugar talking....

Go Jazz!

We are Jazz fans at our house. We usually go to at least 4 or 5 games a season. The kids have a great time at the games. They love to cheer and watch the Jazz Bear do all of his crazy stunts. We went to our first game of the season a couple of weeks ago. The kids loved getting out their Jazz jerseys for the year. Aren't they cute??? Go Jazz!

We LOVE Fall!

We LOVE fall at our house! We love the cooler weather, changing leaves, getting ready for Halloween--all of it! I love living in Utah and experiencing the changing of the seasons. Sometimes they come and go too quickly, but I am usually ready for the change. This year we have had a wonderful, long fall season. We did have some snow, but it came and went and now we have the fall weather back for at least another week. We have enjoyed our time outside, raking leaves, and getting the yard ready for winter. We made our annual visit to Gardner Village and happened to show up on the night of Witchapalooza. We got to see hundreds and hundreds of women dressed up like witches. It was pure madness, but it was a great start to the Halloween season!

Happy Birthday Cole!

I'm about 3 weeks late on this post, but better late than never I suppose! My baby brother Cole turned 2! Dad & Stacie had a great party for him. We got to hang with Grandma & Grandpa, David, Bridger, Autumn, Brooke, Shanny, Matt & of course Dad, Stacie, Reagan & Cole! We had a BBQ, opened presents and had yummy cake. All of the kids, of course, wanted in on the unwrapping of the presents. One of the big surprises was the motorcycle jacket that great grandma & grandpa gave him. It was SO cute! We love Cole so much! He is the cutest, sweetest little boy. He is always smiling and loves to give hugs and kisses. I waited 30 years to get a baby brother--he was definitely worth the wait! Happy Birthday Cole Cole!

Our pretty little girl....

Picture day stresses me out! It doesn't matter if it's for me, or my kids--MAJOR stress. Will the outfits we picked out look good on camera, will the hair work right and stay that way until pictures are over, will the kids smile their best smiles??? The list goes on and on. School pictures are a whole different ball game. You have all of the above AND add the fact that I can't be there to make sure she smiles her best smile, doesn't have marker on her clothes, and didn't roll in the dirt before it was her turn to take pictures. STRESS I tell you! A couple of my friends gave me the idea to just order a class picture and then take her somewhere else for pictures that I would actually order. That way I can be there and pick out pictures I like--instead of ordering ahead of time, not knowing how things will go. SO....that's what we did. We still don't have school pictures back, but here are the ones we had taken elsewhere. Isn't my 5 year old ADORABLE??? This is by far her best picture session. She gave her best smile and totally cooperated with the photographer. I was so proud of her!