Santa Found Us!

Christmas morning came and even though you may find it surprising, it really wasn't to us, that the kids DID NOT want to get out of bed. In fact, when we initially woke Whitney, she decided she'd rather go back to sleep for awhile. Finally, we coaxed both from their visions of sugar plums to see what Santa brought.



As you can see from the pics, Christmas brought with it this year (as with every other) too much stuff. The kids knew all along that they were getting their new beds and dressers for Christmas, but of course, we didn't hold back on 'other stuff', and, well, let's just say they received enough, so that even though they weren't quite sleeping in their new beds yet, it didn't really matter.

Brian surprised me too! I really wanted this stinkin' cute pair of shoes that I had seen at Heels N' Toes. He was well aware of this, and I knew that it would be difficult for him to go into the store and select the pair that I had described (even though I'm positive the romantic in him would've done whatever it took to get the right pair). So I did him the favor of just buying them and bringing them home for him to wrap. Oh, he wrapped them alright! He wrapped my Seinfeld Season 9 in the actual shoebox, and had me open that one first. I kinda figured something was up, but didn't expect to find one shoe in several layers of wrapping paper rolled around it, and the other in a wooden box he had made and screwed shut! It was wrapped and hidden on top of the kitchen cabinets (where of course I can't see)! The whole idea was very fun and cute, and Brian and the kids loved the excitement of me finally getting to my shoes!

Brian and I were spoiled with the gifts we received too: digital camera, clothes, music (soundtracks from Dan in Real Life and Enchanted), entertainment (Seinfeld 9 and Spelling Bee tickets), relaxing goodies, and good-smelling stuff. I'm sure there's stuff I forgot to list, and that's why I keep telling myself every year that "this is the year we scale down", and it hasn't worked thus far, but I'm not giving up on the idea.

Once we were done destroying our own living room, it was off to my parents to do the same to theirs! More traditions with the Christmas brunch! Aaron, Teresa, and kids came from Logan, so everyone was able to be there. My mom made yummy omelets, and all the fixins. You may have read from other family blogs too that the bacon caught fire -not once, but twice! Oh, my favorite quote of the day, uncle Jeff, "Brenda is there supposed to be a fire in the oven?"

The kids played with their new toys, and their cousins, and their cousins' toys. Then later in the day, it was off with Daddy Brad for more Christmas fun at the Olson's (a.k.a more stuff)!

Christmas night was low-key, as usual. We went to pick up the kids, visited with the Olson's for a few, came home, and retired our tired little heads. And the countdown begins again... 365 days 'til Christmas 2008!

Christmas Eve 2007 with the Taylor's (McFarlane's, Jones')

Traditions are so much of what makes Christmas feel like Christmas, and so it was as with each year, we gathered for Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma Barb's. This year was such a treat because Rob, Mandy, Evan, and Lily arrived from Minnesota on Christmas Eve, and my uncle Jeff and his family were there from Arizona. Eric and Jenny were also able to travel safely through the snow, and we only missed Aaron, Teresa, Corinne, and Landon.

We ate a very delicious dinner until we were sick, and then as tradition would have it, ate some more. Afterward, we gathered and Whitney read The Tale of the Three Trees. Then, when the kids could wait no longer, we opened a few presents, and enjoyed one another's company. The only lame part of the evening is that we didn't play any games. That tradition was broken, probably because it seemed to get late quickly, and we didn't want to miss Santa, so we had to hurry home.

When we arrived home after 10 p.m. with two tired kids, we hurried to open our traditional Christmas Eve jammies. (Whitney insisted for weeks that she knew what she was getting for her Christmas Eve present, and even though she was right, I tried to keep her innocent, and fool her. To no avail... she's getting older, and we have to cherish her naivete from the past...)

After the kids were asleep, Brian and I sat down to enjoy a quiet house and some hot cocoa (it was the new yummy peppermint we bought at Cracker Barrel). I sipped just a bit from my very full cup, and then the clutz in me knocked it over, ALL OVER. And I spent the next hour (at least) cleaning up the mess. It's amazing how liquid spills find their way to so many places, especially after 1 a.m. We finally did go to bed that night (or morning, isn't that how Christmas Eve goes anyway?).

A Billingsley Christmas 2007

After picking up Whitney from her half day at school, we headed to St. George on Thursday, Dec 20 to spend some Christmas time with Grandma Charlene, and Brian's sisters' families, who drove in from San Francisco. We were there with David and Julie, Ken and Nichole, and their four kiddos: Jensen, Zad, Sage, and Baby Declan.

Almost every time we are in St. George at Mom's, we also schedule time with Grandpa Taylor and Faye. It's great to be able to visit with them, and I enjoy having them see their great-grandkids as often as we're able. We spent Friday evening with them, going to dinner at Cracker Barrel, and then playing Sequence, in my family a.k.a. "Kibosh", where I believe the girls beat the boys (Faye and I were quite the team!). And we called it a night when the kids showed signs of "need to go to bed or else things will be destroyed" tiredness.

We were at Mom's for a couple days before everyone else arrived, and we were so excited when the Katschke's got there, especially so the kids could play with their cousins. But Sage was less than excited, and it was hilarious to watch her bully Tay (who is about five months older than she!). Tay was so sweet and tried to give her hugs, and Sage just gave him the "straight arm" and told him where he could take that hug! Nichole said Sage had spent the last few months learning to brave her older siblings, esp Zaddock... older brothers - that explains it!

Whitney and Jensen had fun playing together, though. It's fun to see them catch up wherever they left off (since they don't see one another often).

When the Krauss' arrived, we spent lots of hours talking and catching up. Over the weekend we ate lots of yumminess (of course, what else would you expect?) and talking, talking, talking, since we knew we wouldn't see everyone for a while once we left. Mom did talk Brian into two things, both involved singing in church on Sunday: he sang with the ward choir in their Christmas program, and he sang a beautiful solo, Michael McLean's I Was Not His Father, He Was Mine in Relief Society for the Christmas lesson. So that he wouldn't be the only man in Relief Society, Ken and David came to listen and support. Brian did a wonderful job.

We spent Sunday evening, after a wonderful Christmas meal, opening presents and letting the kids play with their new treasures. We weren't planning on leaving as late as we did, but justified it with the good time we were having.

We didn't leave until almost 10 p.m. but Brian and I were well-prepared with another great book on CD. (BTW, did you know that you can rent these from one Cracker Barrel, and return to another for $3.49 per week? Very cool.) On the way down it was the new (2006 version), still traditional Forgotten Carols. For the drive home, we chose Mitch Albom's For One More Day. Side note: We'd heard Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie on a drive last summer - this guy can really tell a story. The bright sides of leaving as late as we did were that the kids traveled so well (slept the whole drive), and the road seemed to be all ours. We arrived home safely after 1 a.m., thanks to 'tender mercies' 1) good weather, and 2) awake and alert Brian.

Taylor Tells a Joke

Everyone knows that Tay wants to be just like his cool big sister. So last nite, when Whitney was telling some "Knock-Knock" jokes, Tay had to join in. He did it right once and it was the cutest thing ever. When I asked him to do it for the camera, let's just say he was a bit of a stinker. We finally ended up with this. Enjoy!

On a side note, I took this video with our new digital camera. Merry Christmas to Steph and Brian ... from Steph and Brian.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHITNEY!!!!

Yesterday was Whit's 7th birthday. We had family over for cake, ice cream, and karaoke (in honor of the Hannah Montana theme of the party). Here are a couple choice moments:

Taylor started asking for cake and ice cream the moment he and Steph returned from the store ... at 2:30! Then, after dinner, he stood on this chair, fork and cup in hand, asking for some until we finally cut the cake.

Jenny got her Gwen on with some rockin' karaoke.

Eric got into the fun too!

All in all it was a fantastic evening. Most importantly, Whitney had a ball. "Mom, it was the best birthday ever!"

Alive and Kickin

Sorry for the brief hiatus of our posting. I've been very busy and Steph has been very sick.

I have been working hard in the garage day and night on the bunk beds and dressers for the kids. The dressers have been a particular challenge since I had to come up with the plans myself but I'm finally getting close to having the large dresser done. I've started to do some staining as well, which is a lot of fun despite the high and headaches the fumes give me.

Here I am sporting one of the foot boards with the dresser behind.


Steph has been struggling a lot with this pregnancy, as is typical unfortunately. We were just at the doctor's office this week and he says the heartbeat is very strong and that everything seems to be progressing normally for baby so YEA! And talk about strong, this baby has some serious kicking skills. Watching Steph's belly move has become our favorite family activity.

The kids are also doing well, loving the Christmas season. They got to meet Santa today and tell him what they want for Christmas. We'll post the picture when we get it. Since we got pounded with wet, heavy snow today Whitney and I made a snowman. Good times.

Giving the needed features to our snowman.

Whit and her toothless grin with our snowman.

Dogs aren't man's best friend, I am!

I must be, because when one of my best girlfriends in the whole wide world asks me to do one of these 'chain letter-type' posts, I (reluctantly so) fulfill my obligation as one good friend does. Well, sort of. I'm not sure I'm going to 'tag' anyone myself, as I am tired, and may not want to chase anyone. At any rate, 'tag' is not just for elementary kids, apparently, so read on...

RULES:
1. List the link to your tagger and also post the 'rules'.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird, etc.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your blog also leaving the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are "tagged" by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Rules were made to be broken (I'm a bad seed).

Facts About Steph:
1. I was born and raised in Salt Lake County, UT and have never lived anywhere else. I am OK with that. I have never felt like I was missing out by not leaving UT for an extended period of time, regardless of what others think. I figure, I have a good thing going, why mess with that. Besides, we love to travel, and we have good reason to do it often.

2. I have never had my hair colored or dyed, and my first professional haircut was done when I was 20 years-old (Mom cut it until then). The thing is, with the coloring, I figure this is what God gave me, and he does nice work. We'll see as I get older, though, with the grey. (If it's a pretty grey, that's one thing. Grandma Barb has pretty grey hair. But then there's the ugly grey; if I get that, I may change my mind.)

3. I have worked at the following places (in order):

• Macey's
• Classic Skating
• ZCMI Corp Office
• University of Phoenix (instructed Seinfeld philosophy, no not really, managed office at night)
• Sears (data entry)
• Home (Wife & Mom - my favorite)
• Macey's (again)
• Access Development
• Home (again, yea! Wife & Mom - still my favorite)

4. I was a dancer for 15 years of my life (3-18) and spent my high school years on the dance company. Loved it. Quit dancing when I graduated h.s. (except for in my kitchen & family room - by myself & with my hubby & kids). And I am OK with that too.

5. I am sure that my associations in the pre-earth life included that of Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards. I just think we get each other. Well, I know I get them, and I'm sure if they could recall the friendship, they'd agree they get me too.

6. No matter my age, I still feel 18. My dad says that's normal, and he does too.

7. My passions:

• My husband & children - I'd do anything in my power to ensure our family's success & happiness.
• My faith - I'd do anything necessary to defend my religion.
• Exceeding expectations in whatever I do. (I like to be liked, and I like what I do to be liked. I'm sure this is consistent with my personality traits as described by Dr. Hartman. In high school I was Red/Yellow, evenly split - NO blue or white. After years of marriage & children I am Red/Blue, pretty evenly split, little yellow, still NO white.)

For now, that's it. I am going to snuggle up to my best friend and catch up on tonight's episodes of 'The Office' and '30 Rock', and eat some pie. Maybe later I'll tag a few of my closest;) Love ya'll.

...Alright it's a new day, and tag, you're it:

Aaron & Teresa, Mandy, Jenny, and Mandi!

Halloween Catch-Up

Yes, we realize Halloween news is 'so last month', but when you're pregnant everything moves a little slower (except your need to urinate, that speeds up). Anywho, here's what we did for fun:

Pumpkin Patching: After seeing Grandpa Vardell's meticulously carved pumpkin, which you can see on Jenny's blog (I'm told he did it under duress, and I'm sure he'd be embarrassed to admit this is what he was doing at a Scouts activity instead of hunting God's creatures.) the kids were ready to find their own perfect pumpkins to carve.

Off we were to an overwhelming pumpkin patch, most likely the same one Kristen and Shayn took Alpine to. And we thought we were off to a pretty good start when early on we found what Brian and I, and Taylor for that matter, considered Tay's perfect pumpkin. Later on down the row, though, Whitney convinced Taylor that there were others even better-looking, and Tay's pumpkin was traded a few times... Whitney was sure she had to see every pumpkin in the patch to know she was getting just the right one. (If this is indicative of her future, we may be in trouble...) She was very insistent on certain characteristics her pumpkin should have. We finally coached (not persuaded) her into finding one that worked. Unbeknownst to us, Taylor also grabbed two mini pumpkins on the way to the pay counter. It was so cute, and since they were like 70 cents each, we let him take them as well. So off we were with our four perfect pumpkins.

Then the Carving: We allowed creative license to the kids, although Tay's should have been first, because by the time Bri got to his, he was happy that it had eyes, nose, and mouth - didn't much care the size and shape. Whitney on the other hand (if you can imagine) was very adamant about exactly what her's would look like. She drew lines on the pumpkin where Brian was suppose to cut, and stood by, supervising the effort, and correcting any mistakes. He must have done a satisfactory job, because everyone smiled for the picture:

School Parade: It's just a little nostalgic to return to my old elementary to watch our little princess fairy parade around with her classmates. I guess more than anything, though, it makes me feel a little older than I should, and everything seems a little smaller than it was back when... Whitney was so cute in her costume, and this was no secret to our sassy first grader. Tay had mixed feelings about going to the school to watch his big sister, and at last minute decided he would put his costume on for Whitney to see! (In his defense, we did have to wake him up in order to go, and that's almost never a good thing.)

Treats and Tricks: As you can see, we had an adorable fairy and a huggable little Elmo, and all we were lacking was more candy! So, Brian took them around the neighborhood while I answered our door for other treaters, maybe four times. We also visited grandparents and a couple other lucky people so Whit and Tay could flash their charm for sugar. (I think this is the first time I have likened this tradition to exploitation of one sort or another.) Anywho, Taylor was so cute as he said all on his own, "Trick-or-treat", and Whitney informed us after sorting her candy that "Occasionally you can ask for a treat from my bag, and you can grab whatever you want out of Taylor's."!!

Build-a-Bed

Now that I am a seasoned blogger, let me fill you in on where Brian's been since mid-October: in the garage. He's a workhorse, I tell ya'. Day and night he's been slaving over the L-shaped bunk bed he's building for Whitney and Tay, since they'll share a room, so Baby gets its own.

We knew it would be a huge undertaking, especially since before we began we realized it wasn't going to save us any money over buying a similar one. But this way, Brian gets a project (which he enjoys), and we get the exact bed we had in mind. Here's what the bed will look like, in general:

(except, ours will be cooler). Last night we fully assembled the top bed rail. (I can't believe I am actually saying "we", because Bri does all the work and calls me out there to hold a piece for him!) It looks so cool to see these pieces all come together because of his handy work! I'm certain it will be beautiful when complete - so good job Babe! Unless I can figure out how to get the pictures from our camera onto the computer, you may not see any pictures of the work in progress... We'll see. The bed should be done by Christmas, because we've already told Whitney and Taylor that's what they're getting.

Utah's Referendum 1

Since Brian has done every other post you've seen, I, Steph, am attempting my first blog entry EVER! (Which may illustrate how passionate I get about politics. I can probably be friends with a democrat any other time of the year, but when it's time to vote I admit, I get even more opinionated.) Since this is my first post, I wanted it to look nice with a picture, but I couldn't find one in a hurry. That may be a good thing, because I probably would've had a difficult time figuring out how to post it among all the words.

Onto to it! There's much buzz about Referendum 1, as to be expected with an issue that affects so many and takes to heart the education system of the state.

The thing I'm struggling with is the reason(s) people are giving in favor of the bill. While I readily admit that a lot of the advertisements on t.v. and some editorials 'against' were very poorly written, and make those responsible look uneducated, they are on the right track with their vote (they just may not be able to clearly tell you why), so I am going to tell you why we are voting 'AGAINST':

• Most Utah families, regardless of this bill, CANNOT afford private school. We feel we represent the majority of Utah families - middle or upper middle class - which makes us qualified to make that statement. The private school we would send our kids to if we could afford it costs almost $4000 per year per student. Do you know how much money we would get from the voucher system? Maybe $1000 per student. Are you kidding me? Maybe we could afford it if we chose our favorite child, and that one got to go. Nope, not even then.
• We already have choices of where to take our kids to school. I really cringe every time I hear this argument in favor of the vouchers. We personally choose to take our first grader to another school within our district but outside our ordinary boundaries and appreciate that choice. You can take your kids to private school, should you be able to afford it, you can take your kids to charter schools (publicly funded - tax dollars follow your student), and you can take your kids to a different public school thanks to 'open enrollment'. The real choice parents need to make regarding their children's education is to BE INVOLVED.
• We do not believe that tax dollars will be well spent trying to give the lowest income families an opportunity to attend private schools, where the most wealthy already enroll their kids, and leave the middle class where they've always been. This new bill doesn't benefit many people. Better use would be to put the money toward new infrastructure (not to say 'forget education', but the west side of Salt Lake valley is hurting). Or give it to me and I'll diversify in safe and high yielding investments. Best use would be to put it toward public education, where EVERYONE benefits, regardless of income.
• You wanna talk $$$? Check this out - during the voucher program's first year, tax dollars spent will be approximately 5.5 million - not a whole lot compared to the current public education budget. BUT over the course of the next 13 years, $429 million! That's a lot of millions. I'd like to see what difference that could make in our public schools! Definitely sounds like a means to smaller class sizes, better pay for teachers, more resources for students. And don't tell me that the 'remainder of funds' (tax dollars left in the public school system when a student uses voucher for private school, ya' know, the Oreos) is going to increase public school funding either, because a) it's a projected amount of anywhere between 2.4 million and 11.5 million for the first year - again, not a whole lot compared to the current public education budget, and b) guess what happens after that student has been gone from the public school for five years. Bye-bye 'remainder of funds' - the school's budget is redrawn to reflect current enrollment. Interesting.
• How about class size? No matter how many take advantage of the vouchers, it won't make a dent in our public school classroom size. Due to limited funding, less than 1% of eligible students could receive a voucher in 2008. Not to mention the fact that not all private schools will accept and/ or be eligible for vouchers - another limitation that affects how many eligible students will actually take advantage.

Bottom line, at least DO YOUR HOMEWORK before heading to the polls. If you don't feel very well informed of this (or any) issue, you shouldn't vote on it. And don't be emotional, be logical.

KSL's editorial echos our opinions quite well. For those who think they support vouchers based on their October 17 'truth in advertising' report, they were attempting to objectively illustrate truths and falsehoods in advertisements airing 'for' and 'against' the voucher bill. For some it was misconstrued as KSL being in favor of vouchers. This other article clears the air.

For other good reading, I recommend the Voter Info Pamphlet (should have received it in the mail).

Other sites used for gathering info: PCE, Utah Charter Schools.

Happy voting - November 6th.

PS. There's lots of other stuff going on, and it all deserves to be blogged, so we'll catch up very soon - with PICTURES!