Introducing . . .

We made it safely back from Reno - the weather was terrible coming home and we hit several areas with lots of slush - but we made it safe and sound, with a mountain lion that was still in one piece! He's found a home in the living room and will probably stay so we can keep a watchful eye to make sure no small child (especially the five boys living in my house) try to climb aboard! This has been two years in the making and Jared was very anxious to see and admire him! You have to admit - it really is cool - okay, maybe not cool in your living room - but I don't seem to mind. Years ago, I swore I would never have a dead animal anywhere in my house - now I have the smiling antelope that resides downstairs and a huge mountain lion that will sing while I play the piano!! How things change!

We took Cannon on our trip and he was amazing - except for his lame parents forgetting to bring a porta-crib with us and having no where for him to sleep except with us! He definately liked sleeping with mom - he wanted to eat every couple of hours. I can't wait to put him in his own bed!! I missed having uninterupted sleep!

It's almost here . . .

Our mountain lion (who really need a name - since he'll be a very large part of our living room for a while) will be here on Sunday! We'll be renting a U-haul and driving to Reno to pick him up. He's being proudly displayed at the Safari Expo - Jared is so ready to see him and bring him home!! We will see how it all goes - and how the kids adjust to an animal that shouldn't be touched!! I'll post a picture as soon as we get home!

Cannon is definately- as the saying goes, "save the best for last." He is the most amazing baby. He is sleeping at least 9 hours each night. Most morning I have to wake him up to get him ready to go. He sleeps through anything and is always content! The only time he cries is when he's hungry and most of the time it's a growl or a coax. It's very cute and adorable. If he would have been my first (minus the pregnancy) I would have had at least 12 - well, maybe not that many - but he is putting the rest to shame. I guess it's a good thing since my life is absolutely crazy! Here are some pictures over the last week or two - it feels like forever since I've posted. January is always busy for me at work and it's bled over into home life. Does anyone ever get caught up on laundry? Let's just hope the cleaning fairy will come and visit sometime soon!!!
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Ryker and Junie (our very loving cat)


Cannon can sleep anywhere!

Christmas Question

How long can you keep your Christmas decorations up - including the Christmas tree - before it becomes tacky?? --Maybe I can make them year round decorations.

3 Months Old

It's hard to believe that Cannon is already 3 months old. He's starting to smile frequently and he started laughing on Tuesday (for Bonnie) - he wouldn't laugh for me until Wednesday. I love to tell him I should be the first one for a smile, laugh, word, etc - after all, I did give birth to him. He usually just smiles at me and it's hard not to melt! I've sure enjoyed this baby - oh, did I mention he slept 10 hours last Friday night! He usually sleep around 7 or 8 - but it was absolute heaven when I got to sleep in. He definately is my baby!! Jared was out hunting and I would have had to get out of bed - not my favorite thing on Saturday mornings if he had woke up at his normal time - but we didn't get up until 10! Let's hope he has a few more extra hours in him tonight!!
Jared went up to Canada for his Grandma Romeril's funeral - so I've been a pretty lousy single mom. I'm sure it was great to spend time with his family - but we sure missed him here. I just barely found the bottom of my sink - it was a must - the smell was torture!! The kids were late yesterday, my house has clutter from one end to the other - I let Jerrick stay up last night (yes, a school night) playing the Wii with Jaxon. It's just so hard to have total control when it's 6 against 1. I'll be glad when he's back!!

Christmas

Christmas Eve we always open one present - and suprisingly, it is always pajamas! Grandma was very kind to us this year and made the kids pajamas. The best part was how they paired themselves up - Jaxon, Jerrick and Cannon had matching pajamas, as did Ryker and Gunnar. Monica's were invidualized, just like her!! The kids were so excited for Christmas - they all went to bed at 8 p.m. (I almost dropped dead from shock!). Everyone was asleep except Gunnar, who told me, he was too excited to sleep!!

The kids were excited to open their presents - and absolute chaos happened. Isn't that what 6 kids is all about!! Just as a quick side note - check out the leaning tree - last night I was supposed to turn on the lights - but instead I broke the tree stand and it started falling over - we just pushed it back into the wall. Not one of the kids said anything - but I told Jared, next year, we will need to break out the fishing string or the duct tape!! (the stand was already mostly broken - I just helped finish the process!)

Christmas Traps

We have this great tradition every Christmas Eve. Jared and I stay up after the kids have gone to bed, and usually after Santa has come, to set traps down the stairs for the kids. It all started when I was little, and my parents, probably out of frustration, started setting simple traps to make some noise when we were out of bed on Christmas Eve. I loved to go and sit in front of the Christmas tree and admire the lights and the presents (I may have peeked at a few of them) - there were many traps that I set off myself. There was the string of bells in the middle of the hall - I think I was running at full speed when I hit them, and who can forget the bread pans on the top of the stairs that I hit and listened as they tumbled down and down the stairs (at that moment - the stairs were an abyss)!! Dad would usually yell, "Get back into bed" and we (sometimes just me) would run into bed, until I thought they were asleep again and tried it all over again. So our Christmas Eve tradition was born, but in true Emily fashion - we can't do anything simple - it must be complex, take a long time and use elaborate devices. We've had a few incredible ones - like last year, when we put a remote control on the flood lights and blasted the kids when they came down the stairs (making lots of noise with the bells) - we layed in bed and laughed until we cried. It was great! So this year is certainly no exception. The hype starts when we get the Christmas decorations out and the kids start asking if we'll set traps this year. This year, we told Monica that we probably wouldn't - and she told us that if we didn't, she would!! How crazy is that! I think the kids are just as excited for the traps as they are to see what appears under the tree!



So this year, it included PVC pipe, bells, lots of fishing string (it's invisible in the dark), a large roll of tape and of course, the remote control device. This time, hooked up to the vaccuum downstairs in the hall, the flood lights and a vaccuum upstairs in the kitchen. We hid the extention cord behind one of the pvc pipes and when Jared hit the remote - the two vacuums went off as well as the flood lights. I must say, this year, I was way too tired to find too get laughing too hard!! But it was still great! I even remembered to take pictures so I can show just how crazy we are. Sometimes I think most of the fun is setting it up and then hearing the kids try and get through it. They always tells us that this year, it was the easiest to get through. They've started carrying scissors and various other tools I probably don't want to know about! Whenever I tell anyone about our 'traps' tradition - I'm sure they think we're absolutely nuts - which we are!!! It's been one of my favorite Christmas traditions!!

December Memories

December is full of great memories - there is the Christmas parties, decorating the house, making gingerbread houses, making cookies (or candy!), Christmas pajamas, Christmas morning . . . the list goes on and on. So, since I've been a little neglectful of all the wonderful things that I have to share - it's a bonus day! I figured, since I have a little bit of free time, I'd make sure I was completely caught up. I did spend several hours this morning creating a Star Wars lego ship (one of the bad guys - not sure who). It was one of those 'projects' that had 50 pages of instructions and several thousand pieces. So, here goes . . . Monica had here first dance recital. She did a great job. Of course, anything extra in the middle of December is crazy - but this was well worth it! She really enjoys taking dance!


Sleding at Grandma and Grandpas. The kids sure enjoyed the snow in Logan. I forget how much snow they really get there - and how little we get here - and how thankful I am that I don't have to shovel!! But my kids do miss out on the playing in the snow. So, while we were at Grandma and Grandpa's, they made sure the kids had a chance to enjoy the snow. Apparently, the boys had a great time, pushing each other off the sled into the snow. Did I mention I'm really glad I don't have to shovel snow???


And I can't mention Grandma and Grandpa's house without mentioning the spoons injury - yes, it was wild (it always is!) - but this time, instead of sitting around the table, we sat around the living room, with the spoons on a stool in the middle. So, if you got 4 of a kind, or saw that someone else was grabbing a spoon - you had to jump out of your chair and fight your way for a spoon. Monica sustained a very large bruise on the top of her foot - it was a nagging injury for a while!! We think we know who it was, but we probably shouldn't mention Dan's name!! Okay, we don't know who it was for sure - but it's a family party Monica will never forget!!