Drive-in

Arie with her cousins: Olivia, Jacob and Celia

Celia and Arie enjoy a yummy snack in the back of the truck before the movie begins.

Olivia and Celia having fun - peace out man!

Chillin in the back of the van! Mason and Zach made sure that they had their goodies evenly placed between pillows and sleeping bags - priorities!

Do you remember going to the drive-in? I have some great memories of going to the drive-in with both my parents and my friends! A local drive-in was recently renovated, and it is so much cheaper to do a drive-in that the regular theater. It was a warm night and we decided to go with our cousins to the drive-in! We loaded the car up with sleeping bags and pillows and blankets and, of course, lots of JUNK FOOD! Hey - what's a movie without loads of junk? We had a fun night! We are now looking forward to the summer when we can go to the drive-in again!

LIttle Mama

This week Arie got a new cast - her arm is healing well - it's actually miraculous to watch those bones grow back, and in the correct "straight" place! But, the original cast was a little too large - in fact they didn't even need to cut it off. Instead, the tech just pulled it right off her little arm! They put a new cast on until February 3rd, and then I think she will be done with the cast. We had to do a different color, so this time we went with purple! This week she also got the last of her Christmas presents: a Hello Kitty purse with some necklaces from her cousin (who's engaged to be married!!) Kaite. Oh how she loves that purse! When we are leaving to go anywhere, she runs to find her purse before jumping in the car. Last night, as I was making dinner, she walks into the kitchen and she has on her hat and purse (we are all about the accessories over here), her stroller and baby doll. She's walking around and singing to her doll. It put a big smile on my face (which is extremely hard for me to do while I'm cooking), so I thought I'd share it! Hopefully it'll put a smile on your face too!

New Years Day

So what do you do on New Year's Day? Most people who know me, know that you can find me camped out on my sofa, watching as many hours as I possibly can of college football! I live for college football, and be-moan January since the impending end to the season is fast approaching. I try and soak as much in as I possibly can. My children, however, don't enjoy football quite as much as me - so while I mindlessly watch hours upon hours of football, they have to find other ways with which to occupy their time. This is how my children spent their New Year's Day!

My little reader girl! I have a comfy chair in the corner with a lamp - my child opts for a laundry basket that is just the right size. She piles tons of books in the basket with her and she is good for quite a while!

Believe it or not, this is her "pretty" face! May look more scary than pretty, but you gotta admit - she is dang cute!
Mason's favorite place almost any time is in front of the games! This year, he invited his friend, Evan to celebrate with us! These two boys are peas-in-a-pod: they both speak a special Star Wars language that only they seem to understand! Evan is a great kid, and we love having him hang with us!

Zach - well, he was on a mission. He got some pretty heavy-duty Legos for Christmas, and he wanted nothing better than several hours to just build, build, build. And so he did . . .

And here is the finished product! Quite possibly, he was the only Krey who actually accomplished something! In my defense, however, my New Year's resolution was to watch as much football as I possibly could this year! And I am proud to say that I am doing very well with that resolution! Happy New Year!

OUCHIE!

Sorry about the nudey shot - the only pic we have of the splinted cast

A "blinging" kind of surgery

This would be her "pretty" pose - you could tell, right?

Riding her new quad (from Grama Krey) with cousin, Celia

I'm pretty sure I get the mother-of-the-year award for this one! Here goes... Last Saturday night I got Arie up from her nap and changed her diaper on the changing table. In the 2 seconds it took me to throw the diaper away, she had somehow fallen off the table. I picked her up and rocked her and gave her loves, but she just didn't seem quite right to me. Luckily, Aaron was working in the ER that night, so I decided to take her in. All of Aaron's nurse and doc friends assured me that she had just popped her elbow out and once they "popped" it back in, she'd be just fine. However, as Aaron exited the x-ray with Arie he looked at me and said, "Don't be mad but...she broke her arm." I thought I was going to be sick. Sure enough, x-ray's don't lie! On her left hand, the outer bone just above the wrist, it was completely broken. Doctors were talking about overnight stays and surgery. Luckily, the peds specialist on duty that night said that casting it would be just fine. The doc who came in to splint-cast the arm says to me, "WOW! You seem really calm. This must not be your first." to which I replied, "No. I have a 12 and 8 year old boys, which have never broken a bone. And yet, somehow, I manage to break my baby girl." Needless to say, he replied with a nervous giggle and then made a rather hasty exit! 3 days later we were back at the hospital for x-rays. The bone looked good, so they gave her a permanent cast - neon pink! However, signing names on casts is so passe - so we decided to bedazzle the cast! My sister-in-law, Paula, along with her girls came over today to help fancy up Arie's cast - it is, afterall, all about the bling! So, now she is all blinged out! She is moving her arm and using her fingers just fine. We go back in a couple of days for another x-ray, but I am pretty confident that all will be well. And in 6 weeks time, she will be back to as good as new!

PIGGIES!

Arie's hair is growing at a maddening rate! I was sure that when we found out we were having a girl, that she would be blessed with Aaron's hair! Alas, she was born with mine. Poor girl! So far, she just has a girlie mullet - almost non-existent in the front and longer in the back. But thanks to my sister-in-law, I was encouraged to put the hair into piggies. I've been getting more and more brave - doing mini-messy buns, and lately, braids! She looks so cute and grown up in her little piggies and braids. I just had to chronicle it by taking pics. And now I am sharing them with you! Doing piggies and braids on a 16 month old is no small feat, mind you. Especially for someone who can't even braid her own hair! It takes awhile, and I have to give lots of distractions, but in the end, it's all worth it!

Temple Lights

Again with the sideways shot - sorry!

Every year, we like to go as a family to see the lights at the temple. Last year, Arie was little and it was raining and cold, so we opted not to go. It just never felt like Christmas. So this year, Zach was adamant that we go early, to ensure that we see the lights! It was a chilly night, but seeing all the lights, the people and the live nativity is such a wonderful experience. This year, we ventured into the Visitor Center and watched a movie about Christ. It was really quite powerful. I promptly came home and bought the movie! I feel so blessed that we live so close to the temple! It truly is a bit of heaven on earth. Even my children can feel the spirit that resides on the grounds. During this time of year, I am taken back to my travels to the Holy Land, to the birthplace of our Savior. It seems like yesterday that I was out on Shepherds Field, looking at Bethlehem off in the distance, and wondering what it must have been like to have been a shepherd visited by an angel to herald in the birth of the Savior?! I feel blessed that I live in a day in age when the truth of the Gospel has been restored. That I know that my Savior lived and died for me, and that because of his life, I can once again return to live with Him and my Father in Heaven. Christmas is such a magical time! It is a time when the world, collectively, whether religious or not, recognizes and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Santa brought an XBox 360! Mason is sooo surprised!

Arie got a pillowpet

The boys each got some gaming chairs

Stairs shot with Dad

Stairs shot with Mom

Christmas came in two parts for our family this year. We recently moved, and things have been quite hectic ever since. We decided that we all needed a little break. So we spent Christmas at the cabin this year. We learned, however, that it is a much smoother trip minus all the presents. So, we decided to open all our presents on the morning of the 22nd, then leave for the cabin. Santa could then bring the one present he brings for our kids, plus stocking stuffers. The boys thought this was a brilliant idea (and who wouldn't? Open presents twice!!) Growing up, my parents would make us wait to see our presents all that the same time. While we waited for the room to be "readied" we would all wait on the stairs. Thus, the famous stair shot began. Up to this year, we've never had stairs, but we would take a family photo in the hall, which would sub for the stairs. Needless to say, the boys were quite excited that this year, we would FINALLY be able to take a real stairs shot! We opened presents then headed for the cabin! We enjoyed beautiful weather while we were there! Didn't get the "fresh" white Christmas until later that evening when it began to snow. But there was plenty of snow on the ground. Aaron and the boys got a fun day of snowboarding in. Arie and I enjoyed a fun day indoors doing girlie things like baking cookies and painting finger and toenails! Santa actually did make it to the cabin, much to the delight of Zachary, in particular! Amazing that the big guy can find you even when you aren't sleeping in your own bed! We had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed the quiet and solitude that can only be found at the cabin! And we really enjoyed the time we got to spend with each other! Seems that life is just zooming by, and in the day-to-day hustle and bustle, I don't really take the time with my kids to just enjoy them. I look forward to these times when I can really enjoy being with them when the stresses of life aren't dictating what should and needs to be done! We wish all of you a very Happy Holidays!