That's All Folks

So... I believe I will be taking a leave of absence from blogging and facebooking for a little while.
Why?
Well, because Comcast was taking advantage of us and we decided to cancel our Internet with them. It'll probably be the beginning of next year before we'll have the Internet again. But, when we do...
You should be preparing now for the awesomeness that this blog will be.
We won't be up to too much while we're not online. Only finals and then we'll be off to Tennessee, which, who really has time to blog while visiting with family you haven't seen in 2+ years? We'll update when we can. And when I say "we", I mean "I".
Everyone in Tennessee, we'll see you soon!!
Wish us luck on finals (Matthew) and traveling!!

We hope you all have a WONDERFUL and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
And a Happy New Year!

PS- On a bittersweet note, today was Lily's last day in nursery as we will be traveling the next two Sundays. The next time we go to church, she'll be a Sunbeam!! Lily will love it and it will be fun to have both William and her in Primary. We should be hearing soon if we are staying in nursery a while longer or moving up to primary!

A Toothless Tale

How to Train Your Dragon has been a pretty big thing here! We finally just got it for the kids to watch on the way to Tennessee and my kids have loved it. Lily especially. Yes, little miss Lily that was Tiana for Halloween and loves going to Claire's to look at princess stuff and lip gloss galore, has an obsession with this movie and the dragon Toothless. And I'm sure Tessa has been a pretty big influence in this as well!

On Sunday, Lily actually played with the other girls in nursery. This is a first because she doesn't really like girls that are her age. The girls in nursery were playing baby dolls and here comes Lily to play when all of a sudden, she drops to all fours and makes growling noises. She chased those poor girls around growling and then saying "I'm TOOTHLESS!!!" So, we had to stop her when the other girls were complaining.

Last week, the kids had preschool at Henry's house. Henry is William's best friend. Henry was a dinosaur for Halloween and so was his little 2 year old brother. So, what did I find when I went to pick up the kids from preschool?? Lily dressed in Henry's brother's dinosaur costume. But, she wasn't a dinosaur, she was Toothless. Since it was made for a 2 year old, the costume is almost to her knees and halfway up her forearms.

This week, William had a play date at Henry's house and when we went to drop him off, Lily looked at Henry's mom and said that she wanted to dress up. We are now - temporarily- in possession of one blue dinosaur/ Toothless costume that I can't pry off of my daughter's body. Don't believe me?

And then the instant that I can talk her into taking this off, she finds a flower bow, puts it on top of her head and asks me if she's pretty.

I don't know what to do with that girl...

Homemade Picture Ornaments

Today it was my turn to have preschool at our house. With it being Christmas time and my obsession with all things in that topic right now, in addition to learning the letter K and talking about the heart shape, we made homemade picture ornaments. I wanted to do picture ones mostly because we don't have a picture of Lily on our tree. Sad. So she was excited to put hers on the tree. It's always fun to make homemade ornaments. Especially with kids. It's great to see what they can do and create!!

Lily's:

William's:

Feathers? Googly eyes? These will be Treasures in Christmas Future!!

Mt. Timpanogos Temple

Sometimes Matthew and I decide we want to go on a drive. And by sometimes I mean at least once a week. Our only problem is that sometimes we don't know where to go. So, last week, Matthew just got on the interstate headed south. And he drove to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. I haven't seen this temple since Matthew and I were dating. Well, up close anyway.

Mt. Timpanogos Temple is kind of similar to the Bountiful Temple (which is one of my absolute faves). It's so beautiful. Matthew was so good to sit in the heated car with the kids while I got out in the cold cold weather to take the pictures that I wanted! And, he's pretty great also because he got off the interstate to go home once he told me where he was planning on taking us so that I could get my camera. What a guy, huh?

Have You Heard?

*click the logo for the link!*

If you haven't heard of this, you should pretty much check it out. I know I have a blog which, let's face it, is kind of a public journal. But, I don't post absolutely everything. I hold in the things that are more sacred to me. I have absolutely loved having this account for whenever inspiration hits me. And it's so much easier to just type it out instead of writing everything down. And, when I'm finished, I can get a bound, personalized copy of my journal. I'm obsessed with it!

Baby, It Snowed Outside

For a few days we heard about the Big Blizzard of 2010, and everyone saying that once the blizzard hit to stay home. People asked to leave from work early to avoid driving in the blizzard. All sorts of precautions took place.

And for what??

High winds and a regular snow fall. We haven't gone out to play in it yet because the kids don't have snow boots. But once they do, it's a party. Lily likes to step in every hill of snow she can!

Don't get me wrong, I am happy that we didn't have a blizzard and everyone is safe. I just feel bad for weather people sometimes.

P.S. The snow is beautiful!! Sure gets me even more in the Christmas Spirit!!

Giving My Thanks

Here I am, only an hour before Thanksgiving is over, finally taking the time to vocalize (or type) the things that I'm thankful for. The Townsends have a tradition out here. They all go around - youngest to oldest- and say three things that they are thankful for, one by one. In the past, I have found it a little corny, and a little embarrassing to have the spotlight on me, even if for 5 seconds. I know, everyone in my family is probably laughing at that last sentence, but it's true! So, this year, I decided that I would prepare in advance and really ponder on three things that I'm extremely thankful for. As I was thinking about my list, I started thinking about why - even though I wasn't going to have a whole speech prepared to give out at Thanksgiving din din. Well, as my luck would have it, this year we did not do the tradition due to the fact that everyone thought it was cheesy. Not wanting my awesome - yet pretty self explanatory list - to go to waste, I decided to post these three things.

I am thankful for Matthew.

He is my eternal companion and my best friend. Even though there are hard times, even though there are times that I don't understand what he's thinking. He is my husband. I look to him. I stand by him. I love him. He balances me out. When I get too stressed, he puts things into perspective for me to be happier. He makes me laugh everyday and I make him laugh. Matthew is my partner in life. He has given me so many things and I'm so blessed to have him.

I am thankful for my children.

William and Lily. Oh, those two are a pair. And I can't imagine life without them. They have given my life the most meaning I have ever known. Because of them, I have purpose. The greatest purpose. What a blessing to have them. To be entrusted to care for them. To share the gospel with them. And to learn from them. What faithful beings they are! Heavenly Father sure knew what He was doing when He gave them to me. I think I've needed them more than they need me.

I am thankful for the Gospel - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I'm grateful that my mom had such a strong testimony of the church and was an example to my
dad. I'm grateful that my dad had an open heart and accepted the gospel with open arms. I'm grateful that they taught me according to what they knew to be right. So that I can have all the blessings that they can and do have. I'm so happy this Gospel is full. It is complete. And that through this church and through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I can also be complete. Forever. I can have my family forever. All of them.

A little predictable, but true, nonetheless.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great one - kind of crazy and full (in more areas than one), but great. We were excited to see Jeremy and Monica and their awesome chicas! Everyone in Tennessee know that all four of the Townsends missed you. See you in a few weeks!

Presley Lovin'

Have I mentioned our new niece/cousin?

Presley? Yeah, we love her.

Annual Christmas Ornaments 2010

We like to get a new ornament a person every year. And boy was is needed this year with our great Christmas tree - that according to William no one can top. We always have fun going to walmart or target to scout out the pickins. This year, we settled on target. And I'm glad we did because I think we got some good ones.

And here are the little munchkins in front of the tree the night we put it up!! We'll take more soon!

Funny Face

I know that Lily looks a little Silly. But I couldn't resist putting this picture up because it melted my heart when I first saw it. She's adorable. And makes me smile on a daily basis.

Sneak Peek

Our Tree is up!! Here it is without all the fixins, just lights.

I told Carrie that I wanted to get a tree that was bigger than our -2 years in a row- little 3 ft tree to put up this year. The only tree that my kids remember in our house is the little one. I want to celebrate Christmas this year.. and in a big way.

Carrie sent over this beauty. 7.5 ft tree. Isn't it glorious??? It was one that mom gave to Carrie and they haven't been able to use it yet. We barely have enough room for this guy, but we all LOVE it! Matthew and I got up the next morning after decorating to find both of the kids kneeling down in front of the lit tree just gazing at it! William keeps saying to everyone that our tree "glows in the dark". Well, it is pretty impressive.

We have since put up our ornaments (putting our annual ones from this year up first) and candy canes on. I'm still working on the popcorn and cranberry garland. It's taking a while to get that finished, but it gives the tree a cool touch, I think. It also covers up the spaces that don't have ornaments! So, when I'm finished, I will take a picture of the completed tree. I just wanted to shout on the rooftops that my TREE IS UP!!! And a holla to Carrie for letting us use this awesome tree.

Christmas is coming. It's bringing Tennessee this year!!

New Vests

So, these pictures are super small! We just got William and Lily some new vests (on sale at Old Navy- LOVE!). So, naturally, I decided to take their pictures because I love to take my kids pictures. I had fun taking the above pics. And then as always...


Lily gets tired of the fame.

Oh, she's funny.

Love These Kids

Lily is:

*independent. If she wants something, she'll get it herself. *fully potty trained, even at night. It's to the point where I have forgotten what it was like to change her diaper all the time. *a water/milk lover. Not a juice drinker. *sneaky. And I mean SNEAKY. *shy at first, but has a thick layer of hilarious underneath. *into the Disney Princesses (Tiana and Belle most of all) but LOVES Tinkerbell. *spunky. She is her own character. *still as cuddly as she was when she was a baby. When she wants to be.. *ready to move on from nursery.

William is:

*a pleaser. Usually he likes to be obedient. Usually. *still obsessed with Thomas, but is also getting into superheroes. And Buzz Lightyear of course. *silly in the boyish way (weird noises, hits himself in the head and pretends to pass out). *impatient. A lot of times. It's something we're working on. *getting too big too fast. *LOVING preschool and primary. *a chocolate lovin' kind of boy. *a great big brother. He always stands up for Lily. *a momma's boy. *still a golfer, through and through.

Are YOU Ready for This?

Now that Halloween and the whole month of October is over. I AM SO READY FOR THIS:
(High pitched angels singing: AAAAHHHHH!!!!)

Which let's be honest.. ours looks more like this:

But it's the thought that counts, right?? Now, I know what most of you are thinking. "Candace, there is still Thanksgiving." I know, I know. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the feast holiday of all holidays and what it represents. But, for me, it's all intermingled together. The feeling of Thanksgiving and Christmas is overwhelming right now, to the point where it's a struggle not to jam out to Christmas music ALL day.

Well, maybe I'll go ahead and blast Jingle Bells until my heart is content. Celebrate the jolly season!

I'm rationalizing myself. Let's face it, I'm ecstatic to travel to Tennessee for Christmas.

And yes, the Christmas tree will be up... probably next week. We keep moving up when we put our tree up. Matthew is just as bad as I am. Here's hoping that we won't have it up in June next year. Or maybe up all year long.

I am THAT hopeless and pathetic.

Pumpkins

Like last year, we went to Rasmussen Farms in Draper to get our pumpkins. It took me a while to decide between a perfect round orange pumpkin or a really cool green one. I picked the green one. But, don't worry, lesson learned. Once I poked the holes in the pumpkin to cut out my picture, the holes were invisible. Moral of the story? Don't just get a green pumpkin because you think it's cool. Because it's not. Unless you're not going to carve it. Then it's really cool.
We all had fun picking out pumpkins!
The weekend before Halloween, Carrie's fam fam came over to carve.

After LONG hours of carving and carving and poking and trying to get the tops off of stubborn pumpkins, these are what we had to show for it. I think we did pretty awesome.

And yes, William wanted to carve the exact same Thomas as last year. -just like his costume.

Thomas and Tiana, 2010

This past week has been one full of craziness of which I am just now catching up to and recovering from! Being it the week of Halloween, we had LOTS of things to do and unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everything that I had wanted. I think it's just an accomplishment getting the pictures that I did.

On Wednesday, we had our preschool Halloween party! It was my turn to teach the lesson and do the party, so I had so much fun coming up with things to do. All the kids came in their costumes - I did take pictures of everyone, but my camera didn't load them all - which was great! William was Thomas again and Lily was Princess Tiana. From Princess and the Frog. She's pretty much the exact opposite of Tiana and people always mistook her for Tinkerbell.

At Preschool, we learned about the letter E, number 15, and the triangle. We counted pumpkins in the pumpkin patch for a counting game and made felt jack-o-lantern faces for our shape activity. We read Halloween stories and had ghost cookies and apple juice for snack. Then, we played games like Halloween Memory, find the spider, and we decorated little pumpkins with Halloween stickers. The kids all brought treats to share and had fun giving them out. We also sang mom's Halloween song! The kids loved singing the chorus!

After the Preschool party, we went to the Murray Library for Halloween story time where we listened to spooky books and sang songs. They even had a treat and craft, and to top it all off, all the kids had a parade through the library in their costumes- one of the things I wish I had my camera for.

Thursday, was our ward trunk-or-treat, which because of our busy week we only made it to the last 15 minutes of.
Friday, Carrie invited us to their ward's trunk-or-treat, which was so much fun! Unfortunately, no pictures. I didn't realize until now that I don't have a picture of my kids and Carrie's girls this year.

Then, Saturday, we went trick-or-treating in Matthew's parent's neighborhood. With all of the Townsend's there, it was quite a mob that went from house to house. William and Lily really liked running with their cousins. And by the end of the night, they were screaming, "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" at every door. Lily, of course, was the only girl trick-or-treating, but don't underestimate that girl. She hauled like crazy! (Don't ask me why she wasn't smiling in these pictures. She looks so mad!)

Pretty crazy week, no? And that was only the Halloween related stuff!

ANTM

ANTM = America's Next Top Model

In our apartment complex, our "laundry area", which consists of one washer and two dryers, is down two flights of stairs. Last week while I was doing laundry I noticed that the sun was coming in through the window and hitting the stairs in such a beautiful way. So, Impromptu Photo Shoot! I had to tear William away from his Thomas computer games - his latest obsession. I have to monitor that boy because he could play all day!- to take 2 pictures before he started to get cranky. I think he did pretty well. He's a photogenic kind of kid!

And then there was Lily... who appears to be trying out for ANTM. When she does audition, at least we'll have these pictures for her portfolio. If you have ever seen ANTM, you know what I mean.
I promise you that she posed like this herself. There were many many more, but I didn't want another post that was forever long full of pictures. Lily is just as photogenic as William. She just likes to be dramatic sometimes while posing.

I mean, who doesn't like a good "falling down the stairs" kind of pose?

Tyra would be proud. FIERCE!

And More From the Mountains

We had so much fun on Saturday going up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We went up to the top of Guardian's Pass and parked on this cliff where you can see for miles and there's a car at the bottom that has been there ever since Matthew can remember (pictured top left). Then we decided to go up Little Cottonwood Canyon and once we reached the top, we decided to get out and walk. So we hiked all the way to Secret Lake. It's a 2.5 mile hike one way. It was so much fun to do that as a family and the kids did so well!! William and Lily loved that there were rock stairs and of course they loved throwing rocks in the water. I think next time we go on a hike, however, we'll probably be a little more prepared. Maybe some water or snacks. Or wipes for when a little 3 year old girl needs to go #2 and there are no leaves around. Talk about a challenge.... But, overall it was a great experience and I wish we had started doing these things at the beginning of the spring!

-And yes, Matthew is mooning you in the top right corner. Just a peek.

Missing This

We were able to have Grandma come out from Tennessee while Carrie was having baby Presley. We absolutely loved it. Couldn't get enough Grandma. She went back home at the beginning of the month, and my kids are still talking about Grandma being at Carrie's house. We're getting excited to go to Tennessee and see everyone for Christmas!

Beauty

For the Beauty of the Earth...

For the Beauty of the Skies...

For the Love which from our Birth...

Over and Around us lies...

Lord of All, to Thee we Raise...

This Our hymn of Grateful Praise.

Today we were able to go up little and big cottonwood canyons, and we even took a spontaneous 5 mile hike. The whole time that I was taking pictures of the blue sky and the mountains, which some have colorful leaves and bushes on them, all I could think about was the beauty of it. The divinity of it. The fact that we are SO Not alone. This hymn kept coming into my head and wanting to burst out of my chest in song! Even the children talked about how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ made all of these beautiful things we were surrounded by. It makes me want to hike more often, but it's going to get colder soon. Maybe next year.

I Wish I Could Do This!

Yes, you see correctly that there is a corn maze in Syracuse, Utah that is in the form of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. I think this is hilarious. I wish we could go as a family, but unfortunately, it's like more than an hour away and about $50 too expensive. But, cool, huh??

What does one have to do to become a corn maze cutter?

Thomas and His Friend, William

It never gets old. While my mom was out here, she got William a $5 movie. But not just ANY $5 movie. A Thomas movie. The instant William got it, he wanted to watch it. And he slept with it that night. And has watched it... LOTS. What is it about Thomas that brings out such excitement from little boys?? I'm not exactly sure. The music alone all but drives me to bumping my head up against a wall. But, William loves it. So he watches and listens and plays Thomas. Did I mention eats, sleeps and breathes it too?

It is pretty funny to hear him say "Bust my Buffers!!" or "Apply your breaks!" when he plays with his trains.

Listening to Music on a Rooftop

Last night, Matthew, his sister Brittany, and I went to Provo to see that awesome band The Lower Lights. They put on a Hymn Revival that was on a rooftop. You heard me right. It's cool, huh? They sound amazing live. And they had a pretty nice set-up too.

Something that I learned about Provo-ans, however, is that some of them don't really care about the people around them. Why am I making that assumption?? Well, good friend, most of the night, this was my view...

There were definitely some interesting people there, but it was a great show with even greater music.

When I strained over to the left, I could see the stage, so that's how I was most of the night. But, I was able to get these pictures of the band. Matthew really liked this guy's voice.

Here is the whole band on stage.

Matthew was so kind enough to get me the cd so I can listen to it anywhere. Love him. Matthew also was super intrigued by the fact that CJane (a hilarious blogger and sponsor of last night's show) calls her husband "Chup" on her blog instead of his real name. He told me that he wants me to come up with a cool name like that for my blog.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

Preschoolers

Yesterday we started Neighborhood Preschool with a couple of moms in our area/ward. William is excited to do it because his best friend Henry is doing it with us.
They learned the letter A yesterday and for show and tell had to bring something that started with an A. So William brought his Airplane.

Lily brought her Pinky/???? for an Animal. (If that's what it is)

And she also picked out her own shoes to wear...

And of course, I can't get a decent picture of the two of them together.

They both had a lot of fun in preschool with their friends. Next week is my turn to teach and have preschool at my house. I'll keep you updated on my ideas for the lesson and letter B.