New Year's Eve 2011

New Year's Eve was pretty low key, but still fun, this year. We did finger foods for dinner. Chicken wings, veggie tray, artichoke dip with baguettes, crackers and dip, and bubbly, of course. We ate dinner about 5pm, then we played Chutes and Ladders and Uno Moo with the kids. At 8pm we let them bang pots and pans out on the porch and then put them to bed. Hey, they got to stay up half hour past bedtime, and there is no way I'm letting them stay up til midnight and then taking them to church the next day. Forget it. I'm not going to do that to myself. Besides, they had no idea about the midnight thing anyway, and just thought it was fun to bang pots and pans. :) After they were in bed, the adults (Chuck and Debbie and Aaron and I) played Mexican Train until the New Year. Then we promptly went to bed. So glad we switch to 11am church.

Hill Aerospace Museum

Ivan, Gramma Tam, Graham, Lincoln, Bryan, Penny, Isla, Emily, Adelia, and Aaron

On Thursday morning we all went to the Hill Aerospace Museum on Hill Air-force Base. This kids couldn't get enough of the airplanes, and Lincoln wanted to know how everything worked. (Why he was walking by me and asking me all his questions, I have no idea. He should have walked with Papa Kerry, then he would have gotten some better answers than "I don't know.")

This picture of Ivan is my favorite. The planes outside were sooooo big.

The inside of the museum was really cool too. Not that my kids let me stand still long enough to read any of the plaques.

Ivan, Aaron, Adelia, and Lincoln at the back of the Jolly Green Giant helicopter

Penny, Bryan, Burke, Emily, Isla, Papa Kerry, Gramma Tam, Graham, Adelia, Lincoln, Ivan, Krystal, and Aaron, Tanya was taking the picture.

The grandkid shot. All three of mine were crying. Oh boy! Graham, Penny, Gramma Tam, Burke, Papa Kerry, Isla, Ivan, Adelia, and Lincoln

After the Air-force base is was time for us to pack up and head home to Springville. But I did get a shot with me and my cute mom. I love her. I never realized how much a like we look these days, until I saw this picture. I miss my mom, and all though she doesn't live too far away, I wish she lived closer. 

We had an awesome Christmas Break! And even when we get back to Springville, the party is still on because Aaron's parents will be here in a couple of days to spend New Year's with us.

Bowling and Tanner's Eagle

  Wednesday of Christmas break we went bowling at Hill Air Force Base. The kids loved it.

 Wednesday night was Tanner's Eagle Scout court of honor. They had a real eagle there and everything. Congrats Tanner!

Antelope Island

It's funny, Hooper is so close to The Great Salt Lake, and yet, we never go there. Aaron decided to change that this trip, and convinced us all that we should take a trip out to Antelope Island. SO we bundled up and did. It was freezing, but we had a good time.

Mom and Kerry were baby sitting Graham and Burke (Tanya and Nelson's boys) for the day, so they got to come too. We went on a little hike. Gramma Tam, Tanner, and Burke stayed in the car. The rest of us were adventurous.

Christmas Day 2011

This year, I think Christmas is best described in pictures!

Aaron, Adelia, Krystal, Ivan, Lincoln

Christmas 2011

Aaron made the boys a train table

Christmas in Hooper! So many people to celebrate with.

Adelia's favorite thing was, by far, the shopping cart. She did laps around the house for the rest of the day.

Kyle and Kels, they're so cute!

Lincoln got real binoculars from G&G Swan

Schroeder and his piano :)

I got a bike!

Christmas Eve 2011

We spent Christmas break mostly up in Hooper with my family. It was Kyle and Kelsey's turn to do the Christmas Eve program, and they did a great job. We ate shish-ka-bobs and appetizers for dinner. Then we opened jammies. I forgot to bring the boys' new jammies with us, but I had Adelia's, so I decided to wrap up a pair of the boys' old jammies for them to open. I didn't think they'd really notice or care, as long as they had something to open. I was wrong. Lincoln opened his and in the saddest little voice said, "These are my old jammies." Oops. I almost cried, I as so sad to see his disappointment. So I quickly told him that he did have new ones, I'd just forgotten them, but he would get them soon. Wow. Mother of the year right here.

 The Swan Family Christmas Eve 2011

After jammies were on and pictures were taken in front of the tree, Kyle read the kids the Hawaiian version of Twas The Night Before Christmas. They liked it. 

 Then we read the Christmas story, and put the kids to bed. Then the adults played a Christmas trivia game, in which the Coconuts (me, Jackson, and Kerry) were victorious by a land slide! Then Kyle, Jackson, and Tanner had a wrestling match. Very typical when those three get together.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Nothing's Official

We put in an offer on this house. They've accepted our offer. We still have to have it inspected and to get through all the financial stuff, so it's still possible that things won't work out. Nothing is set in stone yet. I keep trying really hard not to get my hopes up, just in case it doesn't happen for some reason...but I've spent that last week and a half making plans for the yard, and arranging furniture, and decorating, and redecorating, and working on projects in my mind. So yes, I'm excited.

Here are some stats on the house:

Location: Springville (about 3 blocks north of where we are now, we'd actually be in the same stake.)
Type: Single Family
Style: 2-story
Year built: 1997
Beds: 4 (3 on 2nd floor, 1 in basement)
Baths: 1 full, 1 half (full on 2nd floor, half on 1st floor)
Family rooms: 3 (1 on main level, 2 in basement)
Garage: 2 car  deep (tandem)
Acres: 0.23
Square Ft: 2820 (main floor: 978, 2nd floor: 894, Basement: 948)
Finished Basement: 95% (there is one little corner in the back that is not finished, it's plumbed to be a full bathroom)
Basement: Daylight; Entrance; Walkout
Landscape: Fruit trees, mature trees, terraced yard, vegetable garden

And some pictures: 

 View from the living room looking at the front door

 Standing in the front door, looking up the stairs. Door on the left is bathroom, door on right is the smaller bedroom. If you continued down the hall to the left you'd be in the master bedroom. If you continued down the hall to the right you be in the bigger bedroom.

 Walking in the front door and past the stairs the hallway would open up to this family room on the right. If you turned left, you'd go through a short hallway into the kitchen. The double doors take you out onto the deck, which, once you are in the backyard is on the second story because of the slope of the lot.

 This is the view off of the deck looking north. We think that's a cherry tree.

 This is one of the downstairs family rooms. It will most likely be our school room. Out the doors is the back yard. And the guy in the hat is DK, our realtor's Dad. He's awesome, and I've enjoyed working with him. The door I'm looking in on the right is an under the stairs closet.

 This is the other family room in the basement. When you come down the staircase this room is immediately on your right. We're thinking it will be an office/library. But it could easily be turned into a bedroom if we ever needed it. The window (that you can't see) in this room faces east (front yard).

 This is the basement bedroom. If you come down the stairs, it's immediately on your left. We're thinking this will be a guest room until we have more kids, then we'll move the boys down here. The window looks out to the north.

 This is the master bedroom on the second floor. It's huge! About as big as our living room is right now. It has a large L shaped walk in closet. The windows look out to the east (front yard).

 This is the south side yard. This is where the garden would be. And that nice big shed i the background is staying.

 This is the north side yard. 

This is some of the back yard. There's more behind the shed. And you can't really see it here, but there's a concrete patio. 

So there it is. It seems almost too good to be true. I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out. If things go as planned our close date is set for the 25th of January.

Kipston Christmas Party

Friday night was the annual Kipston Christmas Party, that my friends Tami Kippen and Tindy Weston and their husbands throw every year. We always get stuck in traffic on the way up to Ogden, but it's always worth it in the end. We love catching up with our friends and participating in the activities.

For the third year in a row, Aaron and I won the ginger bread house building contest. You only get a certain number of graham crackers, and a certain amount of frosting, and a certain amount of time to complete the house, and all your decorations have to be edible. I was worried this year, because I forgot to bring our leftover Halloween candy to decorate with, so we were left with what I had in my diaper bag (a package of Ritz crackers, a box of raisins, a fruit roll up, and a granola bar), and what the other contestants were willing to share with us. I like the way our house turned out. It was kind of Asian looking. We used a new technique this year of bracing the bigger pieces of graham crackers with little ones, and I think that was a good strategy. Our house went up really fast, so we had more time to work on the decorating.

I feel a little bad that we win every year, but I have no trouble accepting the 1st place prize, which among other things, is a free family photo shoot with Weston Edge Photography (Tindy and Ben's business). I'll take one of those any day! :)

Tindy and Ben also made the CUTEST gifts for our kids. Tie-on dragon tails. The kids were thrilled with them, and watching then run around with those things bobbing up and down behind is one of the funniest sites I've seen in awhile. Props to Ben for sewing them.

Proof

Dear Aaron,

I know what the house looked like when you left this morning. And I have a pretty good idea of what it will look like again when you get home this evening. But, lest you think that's how it stayed all day, I have taken these pictures to prove that sometimes, for a very small moment before the kids get up from naps and quiet time each day, our house IS in fact, clean.

Love,
Wife