Christmas in Vegas... it's gonna be a long one folks:)

Finally... we're getting this blog posted!  I must admit I LOVE Vegas in December.  I am missing the snow less and less as we have beautiful weather and mild days.  Lots of special memories.:)

 Decorating the "family memory tree."  It was fun to let both the boys help decorate this year.  Bray was so cute and proud of himself and Jacob loved being the "expert."

 Jakey has recently discovered the music and moves of Michael Jackson.  Here's some of his best--heehee!

For the ward Christmas party our little primary sang "The Nativity Song" and put on an adorable Christmas pageant--yes this is all of them.  Jacob was a shepherd.:)  I also contributed by singing Mom's "Lullaby for a King" and "Count your Blessings instead of sheep."

For the annual Jolley Family Christmas party we bribed the kids with candy and they sang aka sort of mumbled through jingle bells.  I love these pictures because you can see the kids' feelings about this experience written all over their faces.  Jacob is elated to be center of attention, Mylie is completely nervous, Brynnlee is enjoying her cuteness and flirting with grandpa, and Bray is mostly interested in picking his nose.

It was so great having ALL of Jason's siblings here together.  What an amazing blessing.  It was especially fun having the Baker cousins, Mylie and Brynnlee! The kids just LOVE being together and it never ceases to amaze me how well they all get along when they play-- never a fight among them.  We had them over several times and tried to get the kids together as much as we could. 

 Sharie helped the kids put together their own marshmallow snowmen.:)

 

Someone, I'm assuming in our ward, decided to give us the 12 Days of Christmas.  It was so sweet!  They left candies, beautiful kitchen towels, a nativity luminary, and many other sweet gifts.  One morning I woke up to a bunch of wrappers, and when I say a bunch, I mean pretty much the whole box.  Hmmmmm.... I wonder who got into the Christmas treats?

Christmas twins!  They were fascinated with the Christmas lights.  Brooklynn was squealing with delight while Ethan mostly wanted to eat them.

So, I ran across a pair of jammies identical to the ones Bray wore for his first Christmas--yay!!  It's so fun dressing them up!  Sharie and John were pros at getting them to laugh.:)

Jacobisms

So, for this to make sense, you have to know a little background.  Sometimes the boys like to snack on pieces of lunchmeat and they call these "roll-ups" because it easier to eat them rolled up.

The other day I was giving Jacob and Bray a bath, and like always, Bray starts complaining that he wants to get out because it's cold.  Poor kid, he's such a skinny he always gets cold first.  So, I'm drying him off with a towel and Jacob points at little naked Braden and yells "It's a roll up!"  "It's a wee-wee- toe!"

I'm sure you can guess where he was pointing. . . .  I barely kept the laughter in until I was out of the room!

Dad Quote...

This one instantly came to mind when I was reading all the quotes...I hope I get it right...

I started going WOOPPA, WOOPPA, WOOPPA, and OH! Two pieces!

Meyers Family Quotes

So, I've had these for quite some time.  I originally thought we'd use them in some sort of book for Mom and Dad, but since we do that with the Blog Books now, it seems only appropriate to post this here.  Hope you enjoy-- and if anyone has something to add, please don't hesitate! :)

Bright Eyes
Fur Face

Smashy-poo

Kimbo

Where's the TV box?

Eat Right, Stay Fit, Die Anyway

Three-quarters of the Outin's the Eatin'

Boyfriend Beater Bat a.k.a. Pick-Ax Handle

Fancy polo shirt, elastic waistband shorts, knee-high socks, and sandals . . . mmm sexy.

I tasted the muffins, and I thought . . . huh.

Kool-Aid Sugar Shots

Soap on a rope

Isitgood?Isitgood?Isitgood? ARrrrr!

“YA BUMM!!” (What is it about Chinese restaurants?)

Timing bites

I'm not a girl, I'm a woman!

Dumbo!

Is a frog's butt water tight?

The Navel Destroyer, Atomic Wedgies, and Wet Willies . . . Let the Beepy Wars begin!

Give up? NEVER!!!!!

Woah Nelly!

For Cryin' in the Sink!

Poke me with a fork, I'm done.

Dad, ya know what?

Won't work.

I love you big time!

Boobooyagi the ladybug

Rubber Nastyness, YUM!

It's working!

I ard

Yes am are!

Tucker's marshmallows

I'll repair myself while I'm a nun

Good Honk!

Playing Hangman with Jett and Tucker=
Jett: Choose a letter Tucker, you have to choose one.
Tucker: One!
Jett: No, that's a number. You have to choose a letter like abc's.
Tucker: Ohhh..
Jett: Okay, O. Nope that's not in the word, try another one.

Datie and Desser

Singing with our toys.. or Mom's high heals

A-B-C-D-E-F-G. H-I-JACOB-L-M-N-O-P!

Nutting! (What are you doing Braden?)

Soo pretty, and soo handsome-- yes, more twinner cuteness.

I'm having WAY too much fun dressing up these kids! I must admit, anything pink, purple, or glittery gets my attention, and anything that matches... I can't stop smiling!

Hiiiii-ya!!  Happy boy!  The only thing this onesie needs is a missionary tag! haha!

SUCH a flirt! Yep, he knows he's cute!

It doesn't get more girly than this!  The only problem was the glitter on the tu-tu got everywhere-- I'm still finding it on her and Ethan!  And, don't worry, the earrings are just some old clip-ons that I had left from when I was in "Guys and Dolls."  I originally had them on her headband for some "bling," but we tested them to be sure they weren't too tight, and couldn't resist for the photo!

Sassy face!:)

Bray-Bray Talk

Don't you love it when your kids "tell" on themselves?
Today, Braden crawls up into Jason's lap while he's reading.  Jason says, "Hey Bray, whacha doin'?" Braden responds in his sweet little voice, "Nutting. . . nutting, vacuum." 
Sure enough, I later check the vacuum and find two of the tools on the floor and the tube loose.  Lately, anytime Braden says, "Nutting!"  It's definitely a "something" and he knows it!  What can ya do!

Little Sister, Little Brother

Just a few cute baby pictures.  Can't get enough of the twinner cuteness!  They're getting soooo fun--squealing, grasping, smiling, and giggling-- we love it!



Happy Birthday Mandy!...yesterday...

Happy Birthday Mandy!! You are one hot mama and a wonderful sister!! Hope you had a very happy day! Love you!

Christmas in Coeur d' Alene

We missed seeing all you guys in Portland but we managed to have an enjoyable Christmas at home! On Christmas Eve we all sat down to our traditional clam-chowder-in-bread-bowls dinner!

After opening our "Santa" gifts we took out the scriptures and read Luke 2. Even Kya loved hearing the real story of Christmas!

Riley was so cute in her festive jammies!!

Christmas morning we opened our stockings, had breakfast and got ready for church! I actually really enjoyed having Christmas on a Sunday. It really put all of us in the right spirit!

The mess was great but it just proves that we had a memorable and Merry Christmas! We missed you all and love you very much and we hope you had a Merry Christmas too!!

More Teeth!!

Here's some recent pics. More teeth...more drool. :)

Isn't she cuuute!

Fa-la-la-la-la!!! It's a Caroling Party!

So, I dressed up the house, got ambitious and decided to host our first ever, soon to be annual Christmas Caroling Party on Dec. 22, 2011.  (Found later that I probably should have made the date a little earlier-- we might have had a few more people turn out.)  I made Aunt Michelle's spiced cider, got a little stressed and wound up, but finally people arrived and I got my caroling fix!  It turned out to be a blast--something that I hope will grow and become a much cherished tradition.  We visited eight homes within our ward and neighborhood and hopefully spread some cheer in the true spirit of Christmas.  Thank you Jaime, by the way, for being our photographer and documenting fun times.:)
On this night, not only did we get to know neighbors and friends from the ward a little bit better, we were also able to lend our voices to a beautiful and talented group of singers and bring some Christmas cheer to those who appreciate it most.   One of my favorite stops was the Starr family pictured below.


Grandma Porter was so sweet-- didn't want to let us go.:)

Babbling Brook!

So, didn't think I'd be writing a post with this title for another year or so, but we have a very clever baby here people!  Lately, I've noticed that Brook would start doing this funny talking squawk shortly after a feeding.  I knew she wasn't hungry or tired yet, so I investigated her diaper.  She was poopy-- AND telling me all about it!  It's amazing!  Brooklynn squawks whenever she's dirty and kicks happily as soon as you change her.  What a smart baby! ( and mom's feeling pretty smart too!)

Riley and Kya

We had a fun time with Riley and Kya this morning! I don't know why but Riley just finds her hilarious! Enjoy the giggles!!

Braden went PEE!!!!!! and.... POOO!!!!!

So tonight I was finishing up my dinner, after the boys had eaten theirs of course, and I heard the bathroom door shut.  Jakey still has no real sense of modesty, so whenever I hear that door shut I know something is up.  I went to investigate and found Jakey using the bathroom... and Braden.  Bray was naked from the waist down-- not sure how he managed to get his diaper off-- and sitting on part of the baby bathtub!  He was so excited about going potty, we quickly ran upstairs, got the kid potty out of the storage closet, and.... ta-da!!  A potty full of pee and three little terds!  Woo hoo!!  Unfortunately, he wanted to show everyone and slopped some of it out of the potty as he carried it to the family room--what can ya do!:)  It was pretty adorable. 
 We'll see what happens!

Shadow

So, last week Jayson decided to bring home a new friend...

His name is Shadow (the first name he responded to when our friends found him - it's fitting - he follows us all around the house). Some friends of ours took him in as a stray and had him for about a month. Still unclaimed, they were about to take him to a shelter when Jayson heard about him and called me one day to announce that Shadow was going to come visit us for the night. That night turned into the weekend and now we've had Shadow for a week and have decided to make him part of our family!! He is an Anatolian Shepherd/German Shepherd/maybe some Lab mix, about a year old, neutered, already well trained, and extremely well behaved! He's cool with kids, other dogs, he knows lots of commands - even some nonverbal ones - and only barks once if someone comes to the door - otherwise he's quiet, easy going, and sweet! The kids love him and Jayson is over the moon for this dog! He's ALWAYS wanted a dog - at first I was saying NO, but Shadow is too perfect not to take him in. He's a sweetie and we're excited to get to know him more!!

All Dressed Up for Christmas

I'm speaking of the house, actually! 

This is the FIRST year I've had a real house to decorate, so I've been going just a little bit crazy with Christmas GLEE!  :)  Of course, it also helps that my friend Jaime has been so kind to lend me some of her Christmas spirit along with a few extra trees, lights, and ribbon she didn't use this year.  So... 2 large trees (mommy's pretty tree and our family's memory tree), 3 little trees(music trees covered with real jingle bell ornaments), garland, vases, stockings, a mantle, and lots of lights later...here's the results of my latest love affair with Christmas. 

You may notice a "theme" of pinecones everywhere. I've just been loving pinecones lately-- winter's flowers.:) And, I am proud to say, all of the pinecones except those in the artificial garland were hand-picked by none other than myself and the boys! We had a ton of fun scouring the outdoors for sweet smelling juniper, red berries, and hunting for the most beautful pinecones! Everything on the mantle is actually REAL, not artificial garland. And, I am also proud to say, I HEART CRAIGSLIST!-- candles and beautiful pine&pinecone garlands for a steal!

Mommy's tree-- all pinecones, metal ornaments, and red, gold, and silver balls. ahhhh.. it's pretttttyyy.

The jingle bell trees--next to the piano of course!

Our memory tree-- little frames with photos of Christmases past, "first" ornaments, kid creations, lots of colors
--it brings me back.

I should also introduce Jasper, our family's elf and North Pole representative.  The boys love finding him every morning and showing off their good-ness for him.:)  Here he is talking with Woo-woo and Doody-- I imagine they are enthralled with his stories of the North Pole!

Christmas Traditions

This will be the first Christmas season that I am not away at work all day. And while this is a family tradition I would really like to keep, there is another tradition that I would also like to keep - and that is the annual visit with Santa and Grandma DeAnna. Every year since DeAnna has watched our kids, she has faithfully taken them to the mall to visit Santa. So on Wednesday, we all met at the mall together. I must admit, these are the cutest kids in the world! Thanks Grandma!

Believe it or not - Brycen was TOTALLY into it!

They really are best friends!

The other family tradition that we have started with our kids has been the addition of a little elf to our family at Christmas Time. His name is Tinsel, and he adopted our family last year. He has special magic from Santa so we cannot touch him, but we can talk to him. He watches over us and then flies back to Santa every night to give his report if we have been naughty or nice.

Ava and Brycen get SO excited to see him every morning and discover his new hiding place in the house. While Tinsel is fun, he is also funny! He gets himself into all kinds of mischief! On this morning, we caught him sitting on the fish tank with a fishing pole!

Christmas traditions are the BEST!

Ready For Christmas!

Our usual routine is to go out about 5 days before Christmas and try to find a decent Christmas tree among the already picked-through left-overs at the lot. But this year we were diligent, got out early and found a great tree!! We were so excited to take Riley out and I must say she looked smashing in her over-stuffed snow suit!Now with our garland up and our stockings hung with care, we can enjoy our decorations for more than a week! Matt even put lights up on the house!! Needless to say, we are quite proud of ourselves.