I love and hate, but mostly love December...

Is it just me or was December the most exciting month of the year as a kid? Seriously every day was a day closer to Christmas, and we had so many traditions leading up to Christmas that it was just a month long celebration. Unfortunately, when you grow up you realize that someone was doing all the work to create that feeling and those experiences and you figure out pretty quickly that if you want the same thing for your kids you have to do all the work. Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas season and making it wonderful for my kids, it's just that it never stops! From the day after Thanksgiving you have to go into hyper mode to get everything done. This is why I have been the worst blogging slacker ever the last couple weeks. So to make myself feel a little better and focus on the things we have gotten done and not the things we haven't gotten done, here is a little update on what we've been up to.

A couple of weeks ago, Garrett surprised me with an early Christmas present and bought us Sarah Brightman tickets! He got a way good deal if we bought four tickets so we were able to go with the our bishop and his wife to an amazing concert! This is something that Garrett and I have always wanted to do together. When we were dating a lot of her songs were "our songs" so we always said that we would love to go to one of her concerts someday. Ben and Molly watched our babies which was so nice of them!! We had a great time and Sarah was amazing in concert! We kept commenting that we needed to take Rylynn to one of her concerts because the whole thing was like being in a fairy land. Her costumes were so fancy and girly and the set designs were so magical looking. Rylynn would have told us that she wanted every dress that she wore. The funny thing is that the day after the concert Garrett played some of her songs for Rylynn and she loved them! She now asks for certain ones by name.

I know I look really tired in this picture, it's December!!

This guy sang a couple or duets with Sarah and he was such a power house! He was amazing!

Seriously her set designs were more like a musical than a concert, I loved them! Thanks honey for such a fun date!

Next on the list is that we took the kids to the Annual Christmas Lights event at the Farmpark. We went last year and had so much fun. This year unfortunately our camera was acting up so we didn't get that many pictures.

Rylynn loved sitting on Santa's lap and telling him that she wants Fancy Nancy clothes for Christmas. Carter on the other hand was terrified of Santa and just cried and reached for me.

Carter however was thrilled when we got to the barn because he is obsessed with animals right now. They had a horse show the night we went and Carter loves horses right now (he calls them neighs) so he was one happy boy. Then we got to see baby pigs, sheep (baas), chickens, and ducks (quacks). The kids even got to take a pony ride which they both loved but thought it was way too short. So did we actually since it was three bucks per ride and they took three laps around the tiny ring. Oh well, they loved it. Carter also loved the giant train set. He loves trains right now and he could have watched it go around all night if we would have let him.

Next we got to go to Santa's toy shop and make toys with the elves. Rylynn's creation was vastly improved over last years:) She choose a gingerbread house this time and painted the whole thing purple, of course, with glitter all over the roof. Carter made a bus, and with Daddy's help it actually looks like a bus.

We had a great time, the only sad part was that we bought the tickets a month in advance (they sell out quick) and we didn't know that the night we had tickets for was the same night as the ward Christmas party which Ben and Molly were in charge of. We were sad to have missed it and we heard it was amazing!

So aside from that, we do have lots of Christmas decorations up which the kids love! Rylynn usually thanks Heavenly Father for "our pretty Christmas decorations" in her prayers at night! We also have the Christmas card list updated and the Christmas cards printed! I have most of the kids presents purchased and all the family presents purchased although none of them are wrapped. So we are making progress. The reason I am so stressed though is that we are leaving on Tuesday and Garrett's last final is on Monday so he can't help out as much as he or I would like. Oh well, tis the season! One more happy note is that my little sister comes home from her mission tomorrow!!!!! I can't wait to see her and hug her and tackle her again:)

Thanksgiving Weekend

As always at our house, Thanksgiving takes a lot of preparation, but it pays off with lots of yummy food. This year we had our Thanksgiving festivities at Ben and Molly's house. We also had the joy of having Nana and Papa here for the celebration. The kids have asked every day for about the last two months when Nana and Papa are coming to visit. They look so forward to seeing them any chance they get. So after an airplane set back and a cancelled flight, my parents showed up one day late, on Tuesday the 25th. It was very exciting because Ben went to pick them up and then we went straight over to pick up Rylynn from preschool. My Mom and Dad surprised her as she was walking down the hall with her class and she freaked out and was so excited to see them. She was so happy to show them around her classroom and show them what she plays with each day. So after they got settled, the cooking began! My mom and I were in charge of most of the dinner and it was lots of fun to cook it all together. We decided to venture out this year from the classic family recipes and try a couple new ones. We used a new turkey recipe and a new stuffing recipe both from Giada's Family Dinners cookbook. They were both amazing! Molly and Ben were in charge of the pies and they were fabulous too! Molly made this delicious peanut butter pie that is her family's traditional recipe along with pumpkin and apple pie. Ben made our family's favorite, dutch apple, but he put his own twist on it and it was so good! He even cut out pie crust fall leaves and placed them all over the crumble topping. It looked as good as it tasted!

We put every body to work! We gave the men all the busy work like chopping and deseeding:)

Rylynn was a great helper this year and had lots of fun being involved with all the cooking.

As you can tell, Carter was a big help too:) He mostly just walked around looking cute. His new favorite thing to do is to sit in any basket or bucket that he can find which always seem to be way too small for him. Then he squishes all his toys and binkies in there with him and just sits there for awhile. What a crazy kid.

This is a picture at Ben and Molly's of Carter, my mom, and me loving baby Reagan. Nana and Papa got to meet her for the first time on this visit. As you can tell Carter can't get enough of his new little cousin. Unfortunately, once the eating began the camera was out of sight and out of mind. I didn't get any pictures of all the glorious food, but take my word for it, it was amazing. We had a great time with Ben and Molly and the Keine and the Gupta families in our ward. I love how holidays give you a great opportunity to get to know people better. We had a great time! We are so thankful for family that we love, good friends, and most of all the Gospel in our lives!

On a side note, I have to document that my husband will never miss a Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl no matter what ailment or injury he may have and this year was no exception. Even though he looked like this... I don't know if you can tell but that is all bruising from his cheeks down to his collar bone from his wisdom teeth surgery! I was very worried about him playing but he assured me that he would be fine. The great thing about our house is that it is right across the street from the huge field where all the football games are played so we just sit inside where it is toasty warm and have front row seats to the game. He had a great time and luckily no injuries!

TWILIGHT!

I just wanted to put my official movie review up for all who care. I want to preface by saying that I went into the movie knowing that the book would always be way better than any movie made of it which I think all who go see it should remember. That being said, I really really liked the movie a lot! I have a very detailed memory so at first I just kept thinking of every little detail that was wrong like her bedding is supposed to be her old yellow quilt and the walls in her kitchen are supposed to be yellow from when her mom painted them, etc. But then I realized that I was ruining it by doing that and I just needed to accept that it was going to be different from the book so I should just take it for what it is and not compare on every point. That made it a lot better for me. I have to say I loved the chemistry between Bella and Edward, and I thought they both did a great job. I also loved the Cullen family, but I really wish there had been more Alice and more normal Jasper since he just looked really constipated the whole movie. Although he did look good during the baseball game. That was a really cool part BTW. I thought the vampire stuff was way cooler than I expected it to be too. So all I can say is the more I think about it the more I love it and I will definitely be going to see it again! I recommend it to people who have read it and who have not. I thought it was interesting that my brother went to see it and loved it and he has never read the books. Oh and I can't wait for NEW MOON!!!

I also just wanted to add that I had a great time with all these girls! It was such a fun night!

The Invalid and other random things...

Today was quite an eventful day! Garrett and I had to wake up at 6:30am this morning to go and have Garrett's wisdom teeth removed. Maybe 6:30 isn't that early for some of you, but I haven't gotten up that early many times since early morning seminary. Oh those were good times! Anyway, for some reason my kids always know when I have to get up early so they make the night before especially horrible. Not really, but it always seems to work out that way. Carter woke up at 12:30 and then he was pretty much up from 1am-3am screaming at us, getting out of his crib, and trying to break down the door. I went in there about ten times and I'm pretty sure Garrett went in there just as many times as me. So after that wonderful night of sleep I thought for sure he would sleep in and we could sneak out in the morning without waking him up. (No we did not leave our children alone, our neighbors downstairs had the monitor on and listened for them.) But no, at 6:45 we heard Carter wide awake and ready for action. So we dropped him off with Carissa and headed to the dental school. The procedure went well and Garrett seemed surprisingly alert and unaltered when I went back to get him. The kids actually did really well being calm and gentle with him for the most part. Carter kept saying to me Daddy, iew and then he would point to his teeth. Iew is apparently how he says owee nowadays. It was really cute. Garrett did not do so well for the first couple of hours after we got home, but he has been steadily improving as the day has gone on. I told him as we were driving to his appointment that I found it humorous that we have both been present for this exciting event in each other's lives. Garrett and I met after my senior year in high school and he drove through the night from Washington DC to my house in Chicago area to comfort me when I was recovering from my wisdom teeth operation. A very funny story is that our first kiss came when I had swollen cheeks and ice packs wrapped around my head. I told him today now he might understand why that wasn't the most enjoyable first kiss ever. Oh well it was definitely memorable. So he nursed me through wisdom teeth recovery and now 8 years later, I am doing the same for him.


Random update on the kids. Carter is loving Elmo's world lately and whenever the theme song comes on at the end that says "that's Elmo's world" he starts shrieking and the first time he did it I thought he was crying, but actually he is trying to sing along. It is hilarious. He is saying tons of new words lately. He loves to say jump and then do a huge jump for us, usually off of the couch or some other dangerous area. He also says love you which comes out "wuv ooh", thank you mama, which sounds like datedoo mama, please which sounds like pwee, and he is obsessed with the book goodnight moon so he always says moon and stars which sounds like stah. He is so much fun right now. Another favorite thing he does lately is that he is obsessed with Dr. Suess's Green Eggs and Ham. He calls it "ham". We then ask him, "Carter do you like ham?" He shakes his finger no while he says enthusiastically "I DO!" It is so funny. He also loves to watch the ballad of Bilbo baggins on you tube and calls it bibo. BTW, if you haven't ever seen it, it is very strange, hilarious, and creepy all at the same time. I highly recommend it!


Rylynn just had her preschool class pictures taken. We decided to curl her hair for picture day and she got so excited because she got to have "princess hair". She kept saying, "it looks just like sleeping beauty's!" She is loving preschool and having so much fun with her friends these days. She loves to have play dates, and almost the entire time she has a friend over, they play sleeping beauty and dress up in princess clothes. I actually walked by when she and her little friend were playing yesterday and over heard them quoting the witch word for word from the movie. They got so excited when they came to the dying part and then Carter was of course the handsome prince who had to come kiss Rylynn on the hand to wake her from her sleep. Carter loves playing along with Rylynn and her friends. She is good at including him too for the most part. She also loves teaching Carter new words and sounds of letters. I over heard them the other day in the kitchen and Rylynn would say, "Carter can you say Dada?" And he would repeat the words back to her. Anytime Carter sees any letter he says ta, ta, ta, or sssss because those are the only two letter sounds Rylynn has been able to teach him. She is such a great big sister.

She also loves drawing and coloring for hours! Garrett buys these little notebooks for school and the second he brings them home she finds them and draws on every single page. Garrett loves it though, so he keeps on buying them. She has turned into quite the little artist which is funny since she used to never sit still for longer than 5 seconds when it came to artwork.

So that is the Hall update! Oh and randomly, I made up a yummy shrimp recipe that I really liked tonight although it was kind of wasted since Garrett couldn't eat anything and my kids don't love shrimp. Oh well. If you are interested in the recipe check out the Monson Recipe Blog on my sidebar. It is the most recent entry. I love making up new recipes. It is really the only way that I think I am creative.

Swimsuits in November!

This past week was beautiful! We had seventy plus degree weather for about five days straight. One afternoon when we were playing outside, Rylynn and her neighbor friend, Bridget decided since it was summer weather they needed to go swimming. They had so much fun splashing around and running all over in their swimsuits.

I love that there are beautiful autumn leaves in all of these pictures of Rylynn running around in her swimsuit. Too bad we are already back to reality and the forty degree weather. And I'm pretty sure that this time we are in for the long haul.


And here are two random, funny pictures of Carter studying his daddy's Golf Digest Magazine. I can't quite put into words the pride that Garrett had at that moment:)

I've been tagged twice!

So the first tag is to post the fourth picture in the fourth file on my computer. So here it is. This is a picture of Rylynn with her Auntie Andrea's dog Kota. This is from a trip we had to Arizona to visit Garrett's mom and sister last year. Oh and don't ask me what that weird fuzzy thing is in the corner of the picture. Rylynn just loves Kota!

Now I tag Hollie, Heidi, Anna, and Kendra!

The second tag is to post pictures of Christmas 2006. I have none of those pics on this computer and that Christmas I was nine months pregnant with Carter so when I dig them up that should be a real treat! I will post them when I find them however unflattering they may be, so stay tuned for those. For this one I tag Kristin, Carissa, Ali and Summer!

Halloween Day

Halloween was especially fun this year because it was on a friday which means that Daddy got to spend all day with us since he doesn't have classes on Fridays.

We have always heard from friends that Patterson Farms Family Fun Fest is a lot of fun, but we have never made it to the event. So we decided we better get out there this year or else we never would. We took the kids during the day on Halloween and had a great time.

The kids loved the slides and the apples. Rylynn loved rolling around in the hay too.

The kids also had a great time walking through the corn maze and riding on the tire swings. I think they could have stayed in the forest for a few more hours if we would have let them. Rylynn kept saying as we were leaving that she wanted to come back again and stay a lot longer.

We had beautiful weather to run around outside. It was hours of fun. In fact, it was so much fun that we stayed a little longer than we had planned so we had to rush home and jump into costumes for trick or treating.

The two monkey boys, Carter and Jack. Carter of course has candy in his mouth. He didn't even take the time to unwrap the candy before eating. It went straight from the neighbor's hand into his mouth.

All the kids in front of the "pumpkin house" in our neighborhood. They are always so nice to let everyone take pictures in front of their giant pumpkin.

Little monkey man pulling up the rear because he is again concentrating on the candy!

The cutest ballerina and fairy princess. After trick or treating and way too much sugar, we came home and had our traditional Halloween dinner in a pumpkin and then sent the kids to bed. Carter woke up way early the next morning dragging us out of bed and pointing to where we had hidden his candy basket and saying "more, more." Halloween is so fun with kids!

Halloween Festivities Part one

Our Halloween celebrations started last friday at our ward Trunk or Treat party. Ben and Molly were in charge and it turned out great considering they had to change pretty much the whole thing last minute due to rain. We had chili and cider and of course candy! The kids were so excited to get in their costumes for the party.


Carter loved his monkey costume and left the head part on the whole night! The little monkey paw mittens on the other hand lasted about 2 minutes.

Rylynn was originally going to be Sleeping Beauty for Halloween this year, but when we were shopping for stuff to make my costume at JoAnns on the day of the party, she saw this ballerina costume and loved it! It was 60 percent off so I gave in and bought it.

Garrett and I went as Bella and Edward from Twilight. Garrett's costume was way cooler than mine. He even put icepacks in his coat pockets so that his hands would be ice cold when he shook people's hands. Garrett and I usually don't spend too much time on our costumes so it was a fun change! It paid off too because we ended up winning the best adult costume prize at the party!

They had a little parade for all the kids to show off their costumes. Rylynn loved walking around with her friend Emma the Ladybug and holding hands. They were so cute!

Daddy took the Carter monkey around.

And sweet baby Reagan looked adorable and slept through all the craziness. Aw to have a newborn again:)
The kids were very excited about all their candy and had a great time.

The next event was on the night before Halloween. We had the Poyfairs and Ben and Molly come over for a pumpkin carving party. The kids painted their pumpkins since we don't really want to let them loose with knives just yet.


They got plenty messy with the paint and had a great time.


Garrett carved a slightly inappropriate Obama pumpkin which we did not display on the front porch for fear of being egged. It was funny though.

Ben carved a cool bat pumpkin and Adam carved a skull pumpkin. We ended up with some pretty fancy carvings this year.
Carissa brought all the fixins for carmel apples that were amazing! They were as good as the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory apples. We rolled them in nuts, crushed oreos, chocolate, and sprinkles. We also had yummy apple cider and roasted pumpkin seeds.

This is Rylynn's crazed sugar face! We've been seeing a lot of that lately:) It was a great way to get ready for Halloween night!