WhAt'S uP wItH tHe ShIfLeTt'S

...Last week I hit 30 weeks. "Only" 10 more weeks to go. It feels like forever away but I know its going to cruise. We still have a lot to do in preparation for our baby girl's arrival.

...Wishing the mucky skies would go away and give us some sunshine and breathable air! The upside to this nastiness is the "rime" (frost) that covers the bare trees and shrubbery. Its beautiful!

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...Temple Square with Grandma and Grandpa (for Grandpa's birthday). And a Christmas party with Cheryl's side of the family. It's always good to see everyone since it only happens once or twice a year.

...Kyle sang in his first Christmas performance of many more to come, I hope. His preschool class sang at Legacy Retirement Home. He did a really good job and sang out so we could hear him above others. He's his Daddy's boy. :) His favorite song, not surprisingly, was "We FISH you a HARRY Christ-MOOSE and a HIPPO New Year."

Kyle and his buddy rubbing Rudolph noses...hmmmmmm....

...Adam and I got ALL the Christmas presents wrapped BEFORE Christmas Eve! This is quite the feat!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Adam 3.0

Well I'm finally there. I am at the point where I have to leave all the excuses, justifications and straight out lies... I am getting older. 30 is the age when I used to look at other guys and say "they are old". Well now that is me. According to my younger self by this time I'm supposed to have conquered the world and made billions of dollars while thinking about retirement.

I'm sure if you would have told 12-year-old-Adam that by 30 he would not live in a mansion, be a baseball and football hall of famer (breaking every record for every position), invented flying cars, traveled around the world twice and been to space (sorry 12-year-old-Adam if I missed something) he would be pretty disappointed. 30-year-old-Adam sees things differently. Celebrating my birthday yesterday at my party with my wife, beautiful boys, baby in belly, family and friends is exactly where I wanted to be. Forget about all that other junk.

The "big" birthday did not really do anything to me as far as aging. I still have all my teeth (although some of them are crowns), but it does make me pause to think about my life to this point and what is ahead. I feel I've lived a good life. I may not have done everything perfectly (like the time I threw up on my piano teacher's piano and she had to have it completely dismantled for cleaning), but I am very happy with the outcome to this point. I am amazingly blessed with a wonderful, growing family, have a good job and great friends. I don't know if anyone could ask for more.

Enough with the sappy stuff here's an overview of the Party:

My wife threw me an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party. It was a blast. Along with being the birthday boy, I was also the official judge of the worst sweater. Here are some of the contestants


Here is my beautiful family. Happy to be sharing our holidays with friends. Yes, my sweater has lights. They had to be plugged in so I did not have much range during the party. My wife is sporting a lovely denim vest with snowmen enjoying a winter day.

Here are my in-laws. Dad won for the worst Christmas expression.

Whitney and Ryan Wall. Whitney's bear vest was very fetching. Meanwhile Ryan stopped by a sweater factory picked up the scraps and pieced them together (or at least that's what it looks like).

Ethan and Amy were sporting sweaters from the Richard Hind collection. Hand made and preserved by Richard Hind himself. If they look too happy to be wearing really itchy sweaters its because they are newly weds.

Mindy and Emily came perfectly match and are definitely the winners of the best mother/daughter combination.

Mary and Von. You may be confused why we have two Christmas trees in our front room, but to clarify one of the Christmas trees is actually part of Mary's sweater (the sweater is the one that is more heavily decorated). Don't feel bad if you were confused, I was too.

And so was Von. Apparently someone told him this was a totally awesome sweater party. He accidentally wore his favorite BYU sweater. Von is the Y's biggest fan, even though he graduated from the U. You should have seen him when Max Hall (his favorite player) hit George for the touchdown. I have never seen anyone happier. Moments later Max Hall's comments created paralyzing inner struggle within himself, since Von graduated from the U and therefore was called classless and hated by his favorite football player... It's okay Von, Max hates a lot of people. I don't think it is anything personal.

And the winner of the worst sweater... Mary Anderson.

Ryan takes the runner up prize and probably would have won if his sweater had more of a Christmas theme.


To finish off this post I had to add my favorite photo of the day.

"We join our hero as the masked crusader waits impatiently for the Christmas sweater party."

********See November 22nd to view my "October" post*********

Random iPhone Pics

These are pictures I have taken with my phone camera when I didn't have or had forgotten my regular camera. I always mean to download and blog them but just never have. Some of these pictures are priceless and NEED to be seen. So now you get to enjoy a random, conglomeration all at once!

One of my all time favorite Noah pictures. He looks like a little elf.

I believe this may have been the first time Kyle ever sat on Santa's lap (deaf center party). Poor deprived child.

'Nuf said. (This shirt is actually referring to Jazz player, Kyle Korver)

My hottie

Angel boys.

We went to a friends house and had some great ribs. Kyle shocked us by gnawing the bone CLEAN. We all had a good laugh. He sure doesn't take after me!

Cheese!!

So if I take a picture with my iPhone turned the wrong way this is what happens. And no, I can't simply rotate it. But these upside down pics are still so cute I had to post them. (If anyone knows how I can fix this, a quick comment in my comment box would be greatly appreciated.)

Even big boys like to bounce!

Noah and Reagan enjoying a good bounce.

The chubby Kyle I never had.

Cool dude.

Kyle's first trip to the dentist. Movies on the ceiling? Sa-weet!

Yum.

Wal-mart bikes are for sissies. Power Ranger bikes rock.

Beautiful brothers. It has been so fun watching these boys become friends.

Reagan, Noah and Ava. 3 of the 5

This elephant made Will a little nervous. Just another excuse to give each other a snuggle.

Hogle Zoo- Aug. 2009 @ the bird show

Noah, his name sake and their boat.

Ahhhhhh. Lily, Madison, Kyle and Noah

Kyle's first day of preschool.

Me trying but not really succeeding in taking a belly pic. About 15 weeks.

What can I say. These boys appreciate a good lovin'. :)

Lyndsee and Ernie

Kyle is in the middle of telling me just what he wants for Christmas. (Pretty much everything in the ad.)

Thanksgiving chaos. The toddlers were keeping us entertained with their dancing shenanigans. It was really cute.

I'm actually really grateful for my phone camera. I remember when they first came out with them, I thought they were lame but obviously I have now seen the error of my ways. There have been plenty of times where having my phone camera has saved my hide since I am good at remembering my phone but not my camera.

*These pics are in chronological order starting in Nov. 2008 to Nov. 2009

Big Boy Bed

Good thing we got Noah a nice new big boy bed since this is where he sleeps half the time...

Noah has dubbed the lower bunk- his bed- as the tunnel. The transition from the crib actually went really well after we got through the tears and tantrums of the first two nights AND Kyle slept through all of it. Both the boys are in a really great sleeping pattern. This is good since I will be dealing with a night owl/early bird by the end of February...

One day we're playing in the LEAVES...

...and the very next day, we're playing in the SNOW.

Megan's First Pictures

10 weeks

15 weeks

22 weeks

October

Pumpkin Carving

I did the witch/moon. (Although I didn't figure out that it was a moon as well until much later.) Adam did the Batman logo just for Kyle.

Kyle was pretty proud of his Batman pumpkin.

I promise. He really was happy about it...

Kyle's Preschool Field Trip to Engh's

Kyle LOVED the mini-maze. (I'm sad that I didn't take him to a big one. He even likes mazes on paper.)

Noah LOVED the tractor.

Ward Party

Halloween Day
Enjoying some 75 degree weather at Taylor's dance performance.
We spent a week in Las Vegas with my sister and her family. Adam had work down there and Cydnee was delivering her 4th child so it worked out very conveniently and nice. We made it a point to get down there by Halloween so the kids could go trick-or-treating together.

Not your typical Utah Halloween activity but since it was so warm in Vegas we decided to go on nice little hike at Red Rock. It was nice to be out and the kids loved it.

Cyd and I comparing bellies. I think I was about 24 weeks here.

This is such a cute picture. The kids were all psyched to get out and get CANDY. You can see Adam in the mirror helping them get excited.
I loved Trick-or-Treating in Vegas. It was such a nice, relaxed, WARM experience. People tend to hang out in the their decorated front yards to greet the Trick-or-treaters. Maybe we'll make the trip down there more often at the end of October.

This was my favorite part of the trip. I got to be the first in my family to see the sweet Lyndsee Dawn.
What an angel girl.

"Scooby, Scooby Doo! Where are you?"

When we moved in to our current home there was a room that was all decked out in huge, painted Scooby Doo characters, scary monsters and even the famous hippie Mystery Machine van. I remember thinking, "This is kind of a weird room for young kids." Apparently, I had no idea how popular it still was.

I find it so funny that my little boys have taken a liking...or loving... to one of MY old favorites. I never would have thought 25 years ago that I would still be watching this silly show with my own kids? Heck, the show came out before I was even born! In dog years, "Skooey, Skooey Goo" (as he is affectionately referred to by Noah) is 280 years old!

Now Adam and I laugh saying we should never have painted over poor Scoob.

WhAt'S uP wItH tHe ShIfLeTt'S

...Halloween activities galore these past few weeks. We went to our ward party, "Great-Grandmothers Halloween Party" (mine), and Gma and Gpa Shiflett's ward party AND Great-grandma Martin's birthday party. Whew! It's great because the boys got some really good use out of their costumes. Not so great because we have WAY too much candy and we still haven't gone trick or treating. So hopefully Halloween night won't be too anti-climactic. We aren't even done with the parties yet!

...I had my 22 week ultrasound and am happy to announce that nothing extra has sprouted between the baby's legs. We're still buying pink. Not that I ever doubted. :)

...Kyle had another field trip for preschool. We went to Engh's Gardens. Kyle LOVED the haystack maze while Noah, of course, LOVED the tractor. I hope to get a chance to take Kyle to an actual corn maze. He'd be in heaven.

...Kyle had his very first Primary program this past Sunday. Both sets of Grandparents came as well. It was so fun to watch him sing the songs he'd learned if sporadically, get stage fright when he couldn't recite his well memorized line, and cover his face with his tie half the time. He is such a bright, beautiful boy.

...I went with friends and saw "Thriller" by Odyssey Dance. I've always thought it looked cool and it was. Maybe a little morbid at times but cool.

...Saw my beautiful niece, Anna, in West Jordan Youth Theater's production "Crown of Lomeria". She was one of the glittering mermaids, "Aqua". It was so fun to see her on stage and I can't wait to do so again.

Boy Night

To avoid any confusion with this post, I wanted to make one thing clear: this is Adam speaking.

As many of you know my sons love their mommy (and with good reason) to the point that they tend to prefer her. "I want Mommy to put me to bed.", "Where is Mommy?", and "Mommy I want you." are often repeated calls in our household. This "Mommy preference" has turned into a challenge for me.

Whenever Erin goes out for one of her Girl's Night Out I take the opportunity to show my sons that I am way cooler than their mom. I attempt to do this by spoiling them. I take them to movies, to parks, for shakes, etc. We watch movies that moms don't watch like Star Wars. I ask them what they want to do and do it, within reason.

Last week Erin had an all day activity with her sisters and mother. I took Noah and Kyle to Jumpin' Jacks and had a great time. Afterwords we went to Abs and got hamburgers and shakes.

My strategy of trying to leap-frog Erin in coolness points is affectionately called "Boy Night" (or day). Both Kyle and Noah know that when Mommy is going out to one of her "boring" girls' nights that we are going to have fun.

Tonight was one of our "Boy Nights". Not one of the best ones though. I had to mow the lawn and pick up dog doo, so I ran around pretending to chase them with the lawn mower and telling them I would stuff them in the garbage. Don't worry they're boys they like that kind of stuff. After that we sat down and watched Scooby-Do together.

I am still losing the war. The boys still favor Mommy, but I am narrowing the gap. How do I know? Just ask Noah what we did last week: "I went Dumpin' Dack. I Dump. I don't cry." That may not seem like a lot, but when your going up against the most beautiful, smart, loving, caring, patient, fun Mommy in the world you take your victories where you can.

BOY NIGHTS RULE!

WhAt'S uP wItH tHe ShIfLeTt'S

...We bought the boys a new bunk bed so that Noah could retire the old crib and become a big boy. He really struggled the first few nights but is doing much better. Now we need to work on the naps. I'm not ready to give those up yet! (No pics due to the fact that our camera is BROKEN. Whaaa.)

...We went to my cousin, Lani's beautiful wedding reception.

...I attended the annual Girl's Day Out with my Mom and sisters. We went to Tai Pan and Gardner Village where I finally decided on nursery colors. Dawn is making me a quilt for the crib that I am way excited about! I'll post pics when the nursery is done.

...Kyle went to Coleman's (RaeLynn's little boy) birthday party and had a great time. He won at the game "pin the astronaut on the rocket". He literally nailed it!

...I was 20 weeks this past week and half way done!

As you can see from the picture above, my family took a nice, relaxing vacation to the planet Mars...I mean...Yellowstone. The Grandma and Grandpa invited us up to Island Park to experience cabin life, hob-nob with wild life and fill our nostrils with the...er...lovely fragrances of Yellowstone National Park. Enjoy some pictures of our adventures.

This nastiness is for those you will appreciate it. You know who you are.

I love experiencing life with my children. Everything becomes new and exciting.

Here come the rapids. Hold on boys!

Last time we floated down this river, Kyle was Noah's age and Noah stayed back at camp with my parents. It was fun to have him along this time. As you can see, the water is really deep.

Yummy apple that ended up bobbing down the river...

Toasted marshmallow, anyone?

At the Noah dubbed "Bunny House" enjoying some hot chocolate.

What's Up With the Shiflett's

...I have seriously just popped this week. One day I was wishing I looked pregnant and literally the next day I did. I'm having fun showing off my new tummy. Megan is getting more and more active too. Adam has finally started to enjoy her somersaults as well.

...We went to Yellowstone last weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Shiflett. We has a really good time. More on that to come.

...Much to Adam's chagrin, we are new members of the not so exclusive minivan club. Also more on this later.

...Kyle got to go to the WVC fire station for preschool. Both he and Noah really enjoyed themselves. This is right up Noah's ally since he loves any kind of vehicle. The first thing he said when he saw the fire truck was, "I gotta get in!" Sadly, he never got his wish.

...Adam and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. We went to "The Scarlet Pimpernel", which was wonderful, and out to Noodles since we both feel like a couple of old noodles...

...I had TWO GNO's this past week and never heard one complaint from my wonderful husband. See? LU-CKY.

Happy 7th Babe

Well, whadaya know. 7 years have come and gone and I still loooove my husband. In fact, I love him more than I did the day we said our "I do's". At the risk of sounding cliche, I am one lucky girl (I mean, look at my guys!). I am LU-CKY.