You've got 24 hours...

I am sure all of you would agree that the two weeks before Christmas are extremely busy. This past weekend was no exception. Within about 30 hours we did the following:

Hannah got her first haircut. I was very politely informed that she had a mullet, so I had to fix it. She did well....once she got a sucker. The lady who cut her hair even gave her some layers in the back to make it look thicker. Hannah instantly seems more grown up to me. Her hair is adorable! The top right is the before, and the bottom right is the after.

We went to Steve's work party, where we lost our voices from yelling over the band. It was a good time tough. I just have to say that I'm thankful I don't drink so that I don't have to worry about making a fool of myself.

Early the next morning, Steve and I ran four miles in the snow and rain. It was actually perfect! It was quiet, cool and refreshing.

Next we made a double batch of Vanilla Cream Caramels with my mom. You haven't had caramels until you've had these. It is almost a science to have them turn out perfectly!

After caramels came a trip to the Bountiful Temple. Thank you mom for watching the kids! It was wonderful to have some quiet time to reflect on our Savior.

Next we went to Salt Lake to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It was more crowded than ever, and I've been going for ten years! Thanks to Steve's aunt, we were able to have a good place in line and had pretty decent seats. I love all the songs we sing to honor and celebrate the birth of Christ. I always feel the spirit when I hear the songs of His birth.

Once home from the concert, we wrapped said delicious caramels. Then finally came a good night's rest. It was a busy and fun-filled two days!

I want to wish each of you a safe, enjoyable, spirit-filled Merry Christmas!

Now it's official

It is officially the Christmas season now because three things have happened.

First, we went to the Festival of Trees. Or as Tyler calls it "The Festibal". I have been going for as many years as I can remember. It couldn't be the holidays until I had walked endless rows looking at trees that sort of start to look the same. Every year I love it. Hannah of course had a total melt down in the presence of Santa and Mrs. Clause (you'll notice Tyler doesn't quite know how to handle the situation!) Tyler loved the tree that had over a hundred dinosaurs and the delicious scones. It was a great day and for a great cause.

Second, the kids wore their "Christmas" clothes to church on Sunday. I know a lot of people only put their kids in Christmas clothes the Sunday before or after Christmas, but I paid money for those clothes, and I want to get my moneys worth! They are rather adorable, if I do say so myself!

Third, we've gone to the pediatrician and the pharmacy since both kids have coughs and are on the yummy pink medicine. Oh, I love this time of year! (I actually really do...minus sick kids!)

Turkey Day

I hope each of you had a good Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving week was wonderful. Laser tag, card games with the family, seeing Harry Potter, and of course great food all made for a grand time. Tyler played with his cousins until he was about to drop. Hannah gave us a reprieve from the craziness by being as sweet as ever. Thanksgiving morning Steve and I ran a 10k, or 6.23 miles. It was my first ever 10k. Of course it had to be 8 degrees when we started running. The last mile or so was uphill, which was hard, but Steve pushed me to finish well under my goal time. Thanks honey! I wouldn't have wanted to run in single digit temperatures with anyone but you!

Here we are in the warmth of the car before starting.


After the race!


Here are a few pictures from our feast. I think every pan was dirty, every serving bowl was in use, and every stomach was happy after eating. I made the rolls from scratch, and I must say they turned out splendidly!

Thanksgiving always gets me excited for Christmas!

Full of Thanks

This year I really do have so much to be thankful for. While I can't list everything, here are just a few that I have to mention.

• A healthy body that allows me to do the things I want, like play volleyball, go running, and crawl around with Tyler and Hannah
• Growing, healthy, energetic, happy (most of the time) children
• A hard working husband who loves me
• Delicious food that I have in abundance
  
• My mother who is so strong and continues to teach me and my children. These are pictures from the AWESOME FHE she planned for the kids last night.
• Warm clothes and a warm house
• My testimony of the gospel and Jesus Christ
• Books that allow me to think of something new and discover something new about myself
• Family and friends who enrich my life
• Music the inspires, drives and soothes me
• Babysitters
  

Truly the list goes on. I hope you all have a happy, safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

I knew it!

Have you ever wondered what your husband does when he watches the kids? I think it is safe to say that husbands are a little more lax when it comes to childcare. Am I the only one who has ever wondered if their child just runs around in circles? Here is my answer. This is an actual 9 second video of Tyler just being himself while under Steve's watch. Now you see why I'm tired at the end of the day...or sometimes by 2:30 in the afternoon!



Steve and I have watched this until we were crying from laughing so hard!

A bunch of turkeys

For some reason I am really loving cheap and easy fall crafts this year. Last night for FHE we made turkeys. Tyler mostly wanted to paint or glue everything. Hannah wanted to eat the paint. I think our turkeys turned out pretty cute, especially the kids. I'm a sucker for their little hand prints. Tyler is excited to hang his in his room. And I still think Hannah just wants to eat the paint.

If you can't tell, we're excited for Thanksgiving!

Visual Aid

Time spent driving, hauling, and occupying two children to obtain paper: 40 minutes
Time spent drawing, cutting out, and hanging tree: 27 minutes

Cost of 2 yards of brown butcher paper: $0.64
Time spent cutting out individual leaves: 19 minutes

Cost of a new roll of tape: $0.89
Having a visual reminder of all the blessings of the season: priceless

Few Tricks and Many Treats

There are some aspects of Halloween that I love. For example, I love seeing Tyler get all excited to wear his costume. He would correct people who called him Bob the Builder. He'd say, "No, I'm Handy Tyler!" I love being able to see Hannah's face light up when she gets a sucker. Who knew all it takes to make her happy is a Dum Dum? I love the feeling of friendliness as complete strangers come to your door and you compliment them on their costume because you know it will make them happy. I love people who go all out in their costumes to make the most of the holiday.

There are some aspects of Halloween I don't like. I know many people live for scary movies. I do not. I wish I could turn on the TV and find something uplifting to watch instead of some new way to watch someone get killed. Not my favorite. Also, Steve doesn't let me watch them because if I don't sleep, he doesn't sleep. I also do not like the 15 pounds of candy that I somehow have to get rid of. Just a few treats is all we need.

This year we went "trick-or-treating" three times. The first was at the Law School. Every year the school has a kid's parade and then they go trick or treating to the student's study carrels. By the end, Tyler couldn't hold his treat bag because it weighed so much!

Next we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat. Props to Steve for making the best chili there! I am usually somewhat opposed to Trunk or Treats. It usually is a mass of kids grabbing candy as fast as they can. This year was great. The cars were spread out, the kids said "trunk or treat", and visiting with friends was relaxing. Good times!

After we got home from the ward party, Steve took Tyler out to go around our neighborhood. He sure loved it. I remember loving it as a kid. I'd come home and sort out my candy to see what goods I got. This year Tyler got some cool things. Among his loot is a skeleton straw, pencil, hot chocolate, chips, spider ring, play dough and bat necklace. It was a nice break from the sugar. Happy Halloween!

Party Time!

On Saturday afternoon we had a big family party for Hannah. Thank you to all who drove down in the rain to celebrate with us! When a baby is this young, the party is mostly for the parents. We had some great food, good Lego Rock Band and swimming fun, and wonderful company. Hannah was just content to crawl around and watch all the action happen. Oh, and we found out she LOVES balloons. We could have only gotten her balloons and she would have been thrilled!

Hannah is a true girl...she loves sweets and eats them daintily! She was so excited to get her hands on the cake. Once she had it, she just ate little bites here and there, but enjoyed every second of it! It was seriously fun to be able to celebrate our sweet Hannah's birthday!

All the Pulley boys were at the party. Do you think they look related?

Hannah is one!

Happy Birthday Hannah! How does it feel to be a year old? I can't wait until she can tell me. I love this stage in a baby's life. It is full of expression, major developments, and a emergence of their personality. Most parents say that the first year flew by and they can't believe their baby is one. I'm not one of those parents. With Tyler it did go by quickly. Not so much with Hannah. We've done some amazing things and ordinary things over the past year. She has grown and changed gradually. Yet she is a natural part of our family and it feels like the last year has been just perfect with her. I can believe she's one, because in the past year I've felt her influence on me. Oh, how I love my girl. After having Tyler, I thought I would be completely happy having all boys. I said that because I didn't know how much a baby girl would add to my life.

Hannah will play peek-a-boo until the cows come home, mimmick any crazy sound Tyler makes, snuggle you like you are the only person she'll ever love and play contently in her room with Minne Mouse. Hannah loves Tyler. No one can make her laugh and smile like he can. It is really fun to watch. She stands on her own, but doesn't want to walk. We're working on it.

Thanks for joining our family Hannah Beth. We all love you!

Staycation

What do you get when you have two kids plus a husband who is always gone at work or school and who was recently released from a bishopric? The answer is not enough couple time. I don't know if any of you have ever felt like your husband (who you love dearly) is sort of just like a roommate who leaves dishes and makes an occasional appearance. Thankfully, Steve had a week off of school last week and, due to a lack of funds, we decided to ship the kids off to family and have a two-day "staycation." First off, I need to say a big thank you to Suzie and Max and my mom for helping us out with the kids.

You might be asking yourself what sort of fun Provo has to offer. It was awesome! We decided that if we were going someplace fun, we'd document it with pictures. Our staycation wasn't going to be any different. Thursday evening we had a relaxing, child-free dinner and got a $1 movie.

The next morning we slept in and then went for a beautiful 4.5 mile run along the Provo river. How did we celebrate our run? With a sinfully delicious cupcake from The Sweet Tooth Fairy, which has the best cupcakes we have ever tasted.

That afternoon we watched another movie and went out to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. Bombay House in Provo has the best Indian food hands down! In case you are wondering, we did finish everything on the table.

So what do you do in Provo on a Friday night with no kids? You go play at the Apple store, just because you can. We were like kids in a candy store. We were laughing so hard at ourselves playing around with their computers and such. We were even able to visit the Eiffel Tower. What else do you do in Provo with no kids? You go laser tagging with some friends until midnight! We were sweating like crazy, but had the best time! Steve is pretty good, so I was glad he was on my team.


On Saturday morning, we slept in. That was the longest I've stayed in bed in years, so it was worthy of a picture. We decided to eat a yummy brunch at Ruth's Diner in Salt Lake. Their biscuits are the best! As we ate in peace, we both realized how wonderful it is to eat a meal without interruptions, coaxing or putting someone in timeout.

This staycation reminded me how much I love spending time with my honey. It doesn't need to be an amazing destination or spending a lot of money, just being together is enough. Even though it doesn't happen as much as it should, any one on one time I can get with Steve is great. I love you babe!

Am I mistaken?

It is fall right? Don't get me wrong, I have been enjoying the warm 'fall' we've been having. But it doesn't feel like autumn when it is 86 degrees outside. The heat wasn't going to stop us from doing some of our traditional fall activities. Last week we went to Hogle Zoo and had a picnic. Most of the animals were out and Tyler loved riding the train and carousel. Both kids were sound asleep the whole ride home!

We also took a drive up Ogden canyon on Sunday between conference sessions. It didn't seem like fall since we were all in shorts and sandals. The leaves were beautiful though! And on Monday we stopped by Gardner Village for a few hours. Tyler was fascinated by all their pumpkins and witches, especially the "Hula Hoop" witch. It was a wonderful way to spend the weekend.

I'm not mistaken when I say my kids are awesome. Tyler has been really interested in drawing and writing lately. He wants me to help him practice his letters. The other day he told me he wrote his name and drew a picture of our family. He wasn't kidding. He did a great job! And I think Hannah might be the cutest piano player I've ever seen.

S.M.A.R.T.

For the past few months I've felt a bit stagnant. Nothing was really wrong. I just felt like I wasn't working towards anything. I decided it was time to challenge myself. Don't get me wrong, having two kids is a definite challenge, but I wanted to challenge Erin, not "mommy Erin". If that makes sense. Although I recognize I need to improve as a mommy, so maybe I need to be setting some of those goals.

I had a Sunday school teacher back when I was a junior in high school teach our class about goals. There is a big difference between a wish/someday I'll do it, and a goal. First you have to write down your goals, or else they won't happen. So this is me writing down my goals. Second, your goals need to be SMART:
S-Specific
M-Measurable
A-Attainable
R-Realistic
T-Time bound

So without further ado, here are two of my goals. First, I made a goal to not spend money to eat out the entire month of September. For some of you that would be easy. For me, it meant I needed to plan out my meals and actually think about what to make for dinner. Sometimes it is just 'easier' to run to Taco Time to grab a quick dinner. I can say this goal was a SUCCESS. I made wonderful meals all month. Some were nicer than others, but we ate healthy, great tasting homemade dinners all month. And surprisingly, our grocery bill was the same. Who knew? I'm going to continue meal planning and see how long I can go without repeating anything.

My second SMART goal is to train for and run a half marathon. I am running the Salt Lake City half marathon on April 16, 2011. I know most people only train for three months, but I'm giving myself six. Why? My goal is not just to survive the half marathon, I want to conquer it. I've already started running the past three weeks and I'm realizing that there is not anything half about it. Running is hard. This morning I ran four miles and I was hurting. It was a good hurt.

So there you have it. Those are my goals.

Moving to the country...

...gonna eat a lot of peaches! I don't know if any of you remember that song by Presidents of the United States of America. I couldn't help but sing that song while at Peach Days, and when canning my half bushel of peaches, and while eating some delicious peach whip. If the country had these peaches, then I'd gladly move there!

This year marked a first for me. I canned peaches! I know, how domestic. I had an excellent mentor and 12 wonderful quarts of peaches to show for it. I will most definitely enjoy those peaches this winter when fresh produce is hard to come by.

For those of you who like a delicious and easy side dish for dinner, let me share this recipe with you. It has recently been named Erin's Fresh Peach Whip.
Ingredients:
1 lrg. package Cook & Serve vanilla pudding
1 lrg. package Peach jello
1 regular size container of cool whip
5-6 fresh peaches

Directions:
Mix 3 1/2 cups of water and vanilla pudding in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Once it comes to boil remove from heat and stir in peach jello until dissolved. Pour into a medium tupperware and refrigerate at least 6 hours. Once the jello/pudding mixture is firm, stir in the cool whip. Peel and dice the peaches and mix into the jello pudding mixture. ENJOY (trust me, you will enjoy it)!

And no post would be complete without a mention of my cutest girl. Hannah turned eleven months old today. I told her she needed to stop growing so fast, but I don't know that she will listen. Even with a cold and about to cut four teeth, she is my best girl.

Pure joy

Saturday was Brigham City's Peach Days. I've said before it has always been something I look forward to. When I was younger, I loved the parade, candy, carnival, dancing to the music and family time. When I was a teenager, I loved the good food, and checking out boys (sorry honey). And now that I'm a mom, I love Peach Days for a totally different reason. I get to see my boy shriek with excitement at the site of the carnival and Ferris Wheel . Tyler laughed, almost uncontrollably, while riding a little train. For that reason alone, I will always make the effort to attend at least one carnival a year. Thank you Tyler for helping see things through a child's eye again.

Another source of pure joy for me is Hannah. I guess you could say she has been testing my patience lately. She has discovered that she can yell and scream at the top of her lungs, and is determined to do that as often as possible. It makes my ears ring. I can't imagine that scream coming out of my sweet baby girl, but it does. I know it is a phase, Tyler went through it too, but his voice was never this high or shrill.

I sometimes think that babies can tell when you need them to "turn on the sweetness". Hannah did that for me when we put her on the grass the other night. She wouldn't let both feet touch at the same time. She would switch legs and make the silliest faces. I laughed so hard I was crying. She got used to the feel and then sat there, not wanting to crawl and make her hands touch the grass. Again, she made the cutest faces. Oh, how I love her!

I look forward

I am the kind of person that likes to have something to look forward to every few weeks. All summer long I have had family reunions, family visits, and vacations to look forward to. Now that summer is coming to a close, I sort of felt like life was going to be boring. WRONG! I realized I have so many wonderful things to look forward to this fall. So, in no particular order, here are some of the things I am excited about:

Tyler going to pre-school twice a week. He started this morning and while he was gone, I was able to do the dishes, go to the post office and the grocery store. I'm going to love it and he already loves it. It's a win-win for us!

Driving through the canyon to see the changing fall colors. It is so beautiful and peaceful. It has always been a tradition for our family.

Brigham City Peach Days. I've gone for as many years as I can remember and probably before that too! I love the booths, carnival, eating at Maddox and of course, fresh peaches.

Seeing all the things that Hannah will discover. Her little (or should I say big) personality is already developing each day. She thinks any running water means bath time and she wants to do everything herself and usually makes a mess doing it.

October's General Conference. Enough said!

Pumpkin patches and corn mazes. It isn't fall until you've walked around a pumpkin patch looking for the perfect carving pumpkin and found cute little decorative pumpkins. I'm smiling just thinking about it!

BYU football. Now, I'll admit, I couldn't tell you much about the team or their likelihood of winning, but I just love vegging on the couch and cheering.

There are many more things I could list, but I'll save that for another time. I love this time of year and everything it brings!