Happy Birthday Russell!

Russell turned 3 on January 25th, 2008. He had a couple requests...1. that we go to Chuck E. Cheese's, which is a great way to do a birthday party since there is no mess to clean up and $30 buys enough tokens for the boys and all their local cousins to squander freely...and 2. he wanted a superman, batman, batmobile, spiderman and mean spiderman cake. Luckily, Jeremy built some cabinets for a desert shop in town and they asked to pay us a portion of their bill in cakes. The owner of the desert shop laughed when she received the order and said she wasn't making any promises about how it would look, but it turned out really cute and was delicious! Best of all, it took no effort on my part and didn't really cost us anything.

Russ was happy with his cake but only took the time to eat the frosting batman. He was completely uninterested in opening his presents. He was ecstatic to be at Chuck E. Cheese's and all that birthday stuff was kind of a nuisance. He was sprinting from game to game, took an occasional ride and climbed all over the playland. His favorite game was the one where you shoot crocodiles; at least that's what he thinks he was doing. He enjoyed referring to himself as the "birthday boy" all day and his favorite gift (once we left the party) was a dollar store motorcycle from a cousin, which he made great sound effects for. (Thanks Teresa!)

Christmas

I think this Christmas was the best we've ever had in the 7 1/2 years Jeremy and I have been married! Our kids were old enough to really get into it and since we were home we were able to follow and form some of our own family traditions. Last year Jeremy and I felt like we spoiled the kids too much on Christmas morning. They were kind of overstimulated and unappreciative. This year we decided to make a "reasonable" list before we went shopping and we stuck to it pretty well. Don't get me wrong, the kids were still sufficiently spoiled, but they were also happy and excited (that is an understatement) the whole day and have played with all their toys a ton since then! Their improved attitudes may just be the difference in age from last year to this year, but I think we will stick with the "list method" from now on.

Most of the Haws family was out of town so we had a really quiet Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Haws, Aunt Kelli and Great Grandma Jackie at Jay and Vicky's house. It was different not to be with a HUGE crowd of people on Christmas Eve, but it was really nice. It was a perfect year for me to have a small Christmas because big crowds tend to make me a little irritable when I am pregnant : ). We ate the Haws' traditional "Christmas Enchiladas" for dinner, watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert on DVD, and Taylor recited "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss, which was the highlight of the whole night and one of my favorite new family traditions. He learned it last year when he was obsessed with the Grinch and brushed up on it pretty easily this year.

On Christmas morning Jay, Vicky and Kelli came over to watch the kids open their presents. We had a little drama when Russell first woke up and realized Santa had come and gone and was not still there to open presents with us. His sadness diminished quickly when we started opening presents, however. I wish I could have bottled up some of the boys' reactions so I could enjoy them over and over again. We did take some pictures and got some of it on video, but you never can catch the best moments since you don't know when they are coming! Taylor, wide eyed, fingers spread, hands up in the air yelled, "He remembered! Santa remembered that's what I wanted most of all!!" (I think that was the SmartCycle.) Russell thought a couple of his toys were so neat he just held them out in front of him, staring in stunned silence with his mouth wide open in the shape of an "O". Jeremy and I agreed not to spend too much on each other this year, but of course he spoiled me beyond the "limit" we set...not that I'm complaining. I love the jewelry he and the boys picked out for me and will never turn down a gift certificated for Massage Envy!

When we were done with the presents, we had a huge and delicious brunch of cinnebiscuits, eggs, fresh fruit, baked brie, summer sausage, smoked gouda, bacon, juice and hot cocoa. Then we listened to a sweet account of the Christmas story told by Taylor's 4 year old friend on CD. We spent most of the day relaxing at home and playing with our new toys and spent a little time at Grandma and Grandpa's house, too. It was really a fun day!

Thanksgiving

This year we had Thanksgiving at Grandma Challis' house. It was kind of a special time, knowing it would be the last big family gathering there. Grandma just moved to an assisted living condo and the family is making preparations to sell her house. We had a nice big crowd with lots of extended family and all the fun family traditions. We had a turkey bowl, football on T.V., the kids made candy turkeys, we played Turkey Bingo, the men (and some girls) went to the church house to play basketball, we had a nice devotional and ate and ate and ate! The food was great. Each family that came contributed to the meal so nobody had the stress of cooking an entire Thanksgiving feast. I made some really yummy orange-cranberry sauce and Jeremy fried a turkey in our turkey fryer. It turned out really delicious...we had three turkeys and I think the fried one was the first to go.

Halloween

This Halloween was a fun one. The boys were both very certain about what they wanted to be and luckily for me, they were cheap and easy costumes! Russ was "Batman" and Taylor was a "friendly ghost." Their cousin Alan (Becky's son) joined us for trick-or-treating, too. He was a cuddley little "tiger". They had a blast running from house to house. Russell took as many handfuls of candy as he could before I reached the porch to stop him and then pushed his way into each house. Once inside, he would ask, "Do you have a doggy?" If they did, he wanted to stay and play. Once coaxed outside, however, he was off sprinting to the next house.

Jeremy and I dressed up for the ward Halloween party. We went as "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Big Bad Wolf." Jeremy hates dressing up but is always a good sport at Halloween. The ward Chili Cook-off was a blast! This was our 3rd year throwing this party so we've got it down to a science now. Lots of yummy food, fun games and music, and great costumes.

In a Nutshell (Nov. 2007)

Jeremy and I live in American Fork, UT. We have a house on a quiet street 1/2 a block from the elementary school, 1/2 a block from the Rec. Center, 1/2 a block from the city cemetery and in walking distance to about 7 different parks. It is a great place to live if you like to go walking or jogging, if you don't mind the hills. Our double jog stroller/ bike trailer has been run into the ground!

We have 2 little boys, Taylor and Russell, and a 3rd boy on the way. Taylor is 5 1/2 and loving every minute of kindergarten! He has fun at his tumbling class and is so excited to be starting karate. He is very imaginative and loves stories, playing make-believe and anything glow in the dark. Russell is 2 1/2. He likes to pretend he is a kitty cat, a doggie, a superhero or some combination of the three. Capes, swords, guns and warrior hats are a must. Everything he does is in imitation of his big brother. Russell is little but strong and aggressive and does great in his tumbling class. Boy #3 is due on March 26th. We are excited to see what his little personality will be like. As long as he learns to love make-believe fighting and being a filthy, dirty mess, he should get along with his brothers just great!

Jeremy is busy running his cabinet shop, Haws Woodworks. His shop is in Lehi and somehow he can just never quite get enough tools. This is the busiest part of the year, but once in a while he and his employees have to stop building cabinets in order to build "company morale", which might translate to playing Frisbee or AirSoft in the shop yard. At church, he is also the Elder's Quorum Secretary, a stake referee and ward Activities Committee Co-chairman. I don't know if his favorite thing about the fall is the BYU football games, BYU basketball games or watching the Utah Jazz. Somehow Taylor learned the Sports Center theme song when he was only 1 year old.

I (Ruth Ann) get to spend most of my time with my boys.Sometimes it feels like I spend most of my time cleaning up after my boys, but I guess that goes with the territory! I am enjoying being a room mother in Taylor's kindergarten class and also enjoy having a little time alone with Russ while Taylor is at school. Often Russell still takes a nap during school and then I get REAL alone time, which is awesome! I also teach group fitness classes at our City Rec. Center. I teach Pump Plus (muscle toning), Cardio Ball (a fun, bouncy class), Yoga and Indoor Cycling. I had to take a couple months off when I was put on bedrest for some complications with this pregnancy but am glad to be back in action. At church I am the ward Activities Committee Chairperson. Our Halloween Party was a big hit and now I am starting to stress about the ward Christmas party.

All in all we are doing great! Life is busy, fun and happy.
*disclaimer: aside from the occasional pregnancy hormone related bad mood ; ).