Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was extra special this year (as everything was this season). The Garfields came over and we had a fabulous prime rib dinner, then we had a few musical performances where Josh played some some on the guitar,Meg and Emily took turns at the piano, Thatcher and Josh sang 'Santa Clause is Coming to Town', then Thatcher decided he liked being the center of attention and sang a few more while standing on the piano bench, and the most memorable performance (or so I thought) was Ty singing a rendition of the '12 Days of Christmas' that I wrote (and will put at the end of this post). After the performances everyone voted on our gingerbread houses and then we opened presents. Thatcher was pretty excited about his Lightning Mqueen 'flips' (slippers). After presents the kids (which included Gail and Jake who were great sports) put on the nativity. Thatcher was Joseph and took his role very seriously. The whole thing was hilarious and perfect. James was asleep by that point so he didn't get to be the baby Jesus. The night ended with banana cream pie and putting out treats and stockings for Santa and his reindeer. The whole night was fun and easy and special. I love my family, my boys and my life.











The 12 Days of Christmas
re-written by Jen Martin, Christmas 2010
1st- Carson
…a full year of nothing but vacations

2nd- Keith
…lower cholesterol
…and a silent passive wife

3rd- Ty and Jen
…4 bondage outfits
…3 brand new planners
…2 sedated boys
…and a car that starts consistently

4th- Emily
…4 lacrosse goals
…3 life sized stand-up cardboard cutouts of Shakey Smithson
…2 piano duets
…1 brand new ACL

5th- Thatcher and James
…5 hours of no injuries
…4 people to snuggle
…3 bags of marshmallows
…2 heads as big as a melons
…1 buzz Movie

6th- Kelly
… 6 kisses from Conner
… 5 thousand texts
… 4 hours of TV
… 3 hours in a mouse head
… 2 melon-headed nephews
… 1 pair of brand new pointe shoes

7th- Meg
…7 wins in tennis
…6 dates with Remmy Rem
…5 flirty glances from David Archuleta
…4 rounds of the ACT
…3 Motab performances
…2 dancing shoes
…1 shiny reparied cabriolet

8th- Ry and Mel
…8 friends like Everett
…7 designer jeans
…6 dozen craisin cookies
…5 brand new razors
…4 days without Denise
…3 gas masks for Mel
…2 new job offers
and…one house that’s not a garage

9th- Jake and Gail
…9 skiing lessons
…8 front row U game seats
…7 trips on the muss buss
...6 articles for the daily chronicle
…5 more girls for Jake
…4 trips to New York
…3 study abroads
...2 U diplomas
…and for Gail one proposal from Will

10th- Dru
…10 songs from Josh-y
…9 orders of sweet potato fries
…8 days to sleep in
…7 new bathrobes
…6 days of no cookin’
…5 days of soy chicken
…4 ambien
…3 days left of her callin’
….2 perfect grandkids
and...one year in Switzerland

11th- Mark
…11 months of skate skiing at Mountain Dell
…10 high council talks
…9 slide rock cliff jumps
…8 cross country skiing trips
…7 injury free midnight bathroom runs
…6 days a week of working out
…5 getaways with his best friend Eric Heiden
…4 debates with Kristi
…3 centuries of cabin privileges
…2 days without hormonal women gripin’
and …one full head of hair

12th- Josh
…12 non-exaggerated water polo goals
…11 constant friends
…10 guitar lessons by Roy
…9 pants that fit
…8 baseball games
…7 trophies for enthusiasm
…6 holy socks
…5 jumps of the second platform
…4 swimming medals
…3 new combs for his hair
…2 kisses from London
…for the Giants to win the world series

Christmas week

It has felt like 'Christmas week' for the last 5 weeks, but this week has been especially fun. The week before Christmas included the following:
- Sunday dinner at the Martins and getting together with freshman year roomies (with amazing chocolate cake that Martha Birk made)
- Lunch with Mike Maughan at Zupas...we hadn't had a good chat in years
- Ryan and Mel got in town on Monday. It was fun to have our whole family together.
- We woke up Tuesday to everything covered in snow and so Ryan, Nanna, and Thatcher and I went outside and made a pretty impressive snowman. Thatcher was ecstatic. I think that making the snowman put Ryan permanently on Thatcher's favorite people list. I love the picture with Ryan throwing a snowball and Thatcher hugging the snowman.





- Baby Krew was born on Tuesday but I had a cold so a real visit never happened by me (Ty was able to see him on Christmas day)
- Thatcher's imagination cracks me up. All week he was making pretend snowmen with whatever balls or balloons he could find.

One of his 'potty prizes' was a hand-me-down Mickey Mouse light saber and Thatcher decided that Mickey needed some arms...tree arms. This is how he made it happen.

Thatcher also begged to wear his Santa Costume every day. Kelly and Josh both wore this Santa costume and it was fun to watch the tradition continue. The first morning he put it on he woke up Nana with a "ho ho ho Merry Christmas". He would carry around his sleigh too and even took a nap with it once. One day he put on his snow boots and told Kelly he wanted a white beard. She came up with this which I thought was super clever. She is the best Aunt.

Here are some goofy pictures of my little ham. He will do anything he can to make me or anyone else laugh.



-Tuesday night we had a gingerbread contest which was a lot of fun. Thatcher and Kelly were one team. Thatcher contributed by eating all the candy and then when he got bored, Keith stepped in as an honorary team member.




Josh and Ry with his nasty Santa beard (that Thatcher and James were both quite fond of) were another team even though they needed a a little help from Mel.



Mel and I made up the last team. And made the best gingerbread house of course.

We had a fun night hanging out with each other and as usual, James entertained us all with his unparalleled cuteness.



-We went to see Santa at the mall on Wednesday. Thatcher was so excited and definitely let Santa know that he wanted a Buzz movie. While eating lunch in the food court, Thatcher went to the bathroom at the restroom there (the first successful public restroom experience we had...exciting, I know).

- Dad came into to town ("on an airplane..that's so cool" was what I heard all day) on Thursday and we went straight to the Martin family Christmas party. Santa came first thing and Thatcher was a sweetheart. He sat like a statue (except for his wandering hand on the thigh of the little girl sitting next to him) as Santa read two different stories, then he waited patiently while every other kid (and there were a lot of them) got called to sit on Santa's lap. Thatcher was the second to last kid who got to sit on Santa's lap and he was ecstatic. He told Santa what he wanted and then Santa handed him a present. Thatcher was convinced it was his 'Buzz movie' which made me sad, but he was very sweet when he opened up a Christmas book (especially considering another kid got 'Toy Story 3' ). Thatcher read his book a few times before dinner and then read it the entire way home that night. He told me and Ty, "I love this book" which made us both happy that he was grateful for what he got even though it wasn't what he thought it would be.





- We read the Polar Express so many times that Thatcher started to memorize certain parts of it and would 'read' it to me. Then on Christmas eve, Thatcher got to go on the Polar Express with his Dad, Seth, Redding, and Carson. They drank hot chocolate and ate cookies, saw reindeer and Santa, and had a great time going on a real train

the lights

We got to spend a fun day downtown with Nana, Papa, Kelly and Josh. We started of at Crown Burger with their tasty sweet potato fries, then went swimming at our hotel for a while. James was in heaven and Thatcher was a little more cautious (ok, a lot more cautious). It has only been a few months since we have been swimming, but Thatcher clung to me like he was going to die if he let go. After swimming we headed to the Grand America to see the gingerbread houses and go on a little scavenger hunt which ended with the tastiest shortbread cookies I have ever had. We nibbled on those and listened to some live music in the lobby and then made our way to the Lion House. Dinner was fabulous as usual. James discovered a love for mashed potatoes and Thatcher a love for Jello. We made 4 separate trips to the restrooms with no successes...Thatcher did a great job of holding it and decided the discomfort was worth not having to go on a public toilet. We ended the evening walking through temple square and seeing the lights. It was beautiful as usual and the boys did a great job considering they were up two hours past their bedtime. It was a memorable day!

bumps, bruises, and bloody noses

This past week in Salt Lake has been so much fun for the boys. Thatcher hasn't stopped singing...seriously. He sings about Mary and Joseph, makes up whatever songs he wants to, and also sings his normal assortment of Christmas songs (Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is coming to Town, Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer, etc.) and other songs (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam). He has been so excited to see his Nanny and Pop, and is in heaven every time Kelly and Josh are home. However...this last week we have had our fair share of mishaps as well.
James is teething...big time. He had a big blood blister all day Friday and was very obviously uncomfortable the whole day. He also banged the opposite eye from the one he hurt the week before and has a black eye on that one now. In addition to that bruise, James has plenty others. He is a climber and a mover and loves to get into mischief which often results in a bonk on the head and crying.
Last night Thatcher was staying up late and running around playing with Kelly and Josh when he flew face first into the corner of my mom's big chair. The poor kid was bleeding from his lip and from his nose and was pretty upset, but after a very chocolately chocolate milk and a reading of the Polar Express, he was just fine.
Despite our little mishaps and minor injuries...we are having a great time.

he did it!

I have been afraid to say anything for fear of jinxing it...but my mom and I have decided that it is offical...Thatcher is potty trained. It has been almost three weeks of constant effort, lots of prizes, no pants unless we are in public, lots of stickers, and lots of setbacks...but we made it. Besides the fact that Thatcher is deathly afraid of public restrooms (we tried 5 different times on Saturday night when we were downtown seeing the lights and he held it the whole night because he couldn't bear the thought of going somewhere different), we have been successful in all other areas.
I am so proud of my little Thatcher (he is exactly 2 1/2) and am so excited to have only one baby in diapers. It has been a long year of changing two sets of diapers every day.

sad day

When I found out yesterday that the Provo tabernacle had burned it made me so sad. This is the building where Ty graduated from law school, where I spoke in stake conference, and where Ty and I attended numerous other stake conferences and concerts. I loved that building. It was built over 125 years ago and was so beautiful. It has left me with an empty feeling thinking that something has been destroyed that can never be replicated.

crazy...I think

So...Monday morning after not sleeping all night (because that is what I do when I am anticipating anything at all), Thatcher woke up at 4:15 so I had Ty help me get the boys in the car and we were off!
The car was loaded to the brim with Christmas presents, and silhouette supplies. We made record time and the boys were angels (most of the time). They slept and watched 'Cars' (on our nifty new DVD player), Thatcher and I sang a bunch of songs together, and Thatcher also spent a while reading his books. James had a rough time falling asleep for a nap which means that we all had a rough time, but we made it! The whole trip went much better than I imagined it would driving in the winter alone with my little cars and my two boys.
And now we are here...in Salt Lake...where my boys get way too many treats, way too many presents, and way too much attention. It is fabulous. We have only been here two days and already we have had a lot of fun and I have been able to help my mom a lot with her projects.
Thatcher never stops singing, and if he does it is only so he can talk. He has had so much fun exploring Nana's house, looking at his presents under the tree, and playing with Kelly and Josh. It is going to be a great two weeks!

Here are two pics I took before we left Flagstaff. This is my little Shepherd. Thatcher's nursery dressed up on Sunday and Thatcher was very excited to be a shepherd. He was the only kid who stayed in costume the entire time. This is him trying out the outfit.

I love this picture. James was in the sink because he was so dirty after dinner and Thatcher pulled a stool over to get to the gingerbread house. The two were laughing at each other in between bites of gross candy.