More and MORE Christmas Snow

This year we celebrated Christmas Hoffer-style. It snowed the entire week before giving us the first "White Christmas" we've ever had.

We slept at my sister's house on Christmas Eve with most of the grandchildren. Amazingly, they all went to sleep quickly and didn't wake up too early with the exception of Maddie who, like me, was so excited that she couldn't help but wake up a couple of times during the night. Sheesh, you'd think that after all these years I'd grow up and be able to sleep through the night, but no. I'm as bad as when I was seven!

Christmas morning we put on our coats and got ready to go to Nanna and Papa's house two blocks away (Maddie made her mom promise ahead of time to go before showering to save time). As we opened the garage door, this is what we found:

We knew it had snowed, but we didn't realize how much! Sarah carried the kids to the car while Will scraped off the car and got it warmed up. (Those are Maddie's feet swinging in the picture below!) We decided to cram into one car instead of taking two out in that treacherous snow. It was crazy getting to Nanna's house. We kept reminding the girls not to scream. That Sarah sure has a strong set of lungs. J/K Good thing it wasn't more than two blocks and that our gallant William got us there safely. He's so courageous!

It snowed all day. Papa couldn't help but get out and play in it even if it was still snowing! (That must be who I get it from.)

We went back to Sarah's house when it finally stopped snowing just before sunset to get a little sledding in before dark. It was Liam's first sledding experience and he LOVED it. "Again, again," was his mantra. My thighs protested and were burning after pulling, pushing, and carrying him back up the hill over and over. That was the only part of me that was burning though; everything else was frozen. We soon had to make the trek back to Sarah's house through snowdrifts up to the girls' waists. This is half of our sledding party in front of the pile of snow shoveled off Sarah's driveway:

Merry Christmas!

Merry VERY White Christmas!

Christmas Snow

We have had so much snow this week! I haven't seen snow like this for years! We have about a foot of snow right outside our door. Will is finally beginning to appreciate it now that he doesn't have to drive to work in it. On the other hand, Liam and I have been giddy about it all week. We just had to get out and play in it so we bundled Liam up in his new SIZE 4T coat and his "monster pants" (snow pants). The monster pants were a big hit, and allowed Liam to enjoy the snow without getting wet or cold. He had so much fun. A big improvement from last year when he wouldn't even touch the stuff. (Here he is the first day it snowed being amazed by his footprints.)

We made a snowman and began an igloo (with the help of a couple of neighborhood friends). The snowman became the first casualty of the year when he was knocked down the next day by a five-year-old in the neighborhood. His big brother, who coincidentally helped build the igloo, made him apologize. They apologized to Sam downstairs. I think Sam was a little confused. I asked the five-year-old about it on Sunday at church and he denied the act of vandalism...but I don't think he realized it was my house. He later came with his brothers to deliver a Christmas treat from his mother so I consider the debt repayed.

The snow doesn't come without its treachery unfortunately, and I've seen four or five cars get stuck in the insanely deep gutter across the street already. The snow deceives a number of cars each year by hiding its depth. Our friend Greg and even our mailman got stuck. (That's our mailman and our half-done igloo which is how it remained for a few days while we waited for some nice wet snow so we (I) could finish it. Every child that stopped by on the way home from school asked when and how I was going to put the top on.)

Finally, it snowed six inches of great igloo snow yesterday, and I was able to finish! (I have to admit, I worked on it during Liam's precious nap time even though I had about a million other things I should have been working on. It was just so fun, and I knew the snow wouldn't last forever.) Here's a shot showing the scale of the igloo. Not the biggest, but pretty cute. The mailbox was Will's contribution to the project. Nice touch. Liam refers to the igloo as the "turtle sculpture." He must have picked up the word sculpture from his artist mother.

I was so excited to have it finished!

So were Liam and Will!

Happy Tanksgiving!

Although my other posts might lead you to believe otherwise, the misspelled title of this one is purposeful. The Pettit family has a Thanksgiving banner that missed receiving an "H" during production. (Manufacturer's fault, not the Pettits' doing.) So now, every year at least one of the Pettits will wish us a "Happy Tanksgiving" in consequence.

This year Will, Liam, and I spent a lively "Tanksgiving" weekend in Vegas with Nate, Aubrey, and Aria. It was so much fun!

I finally got to see the sites in Vegas. I've only ever driven through before. The fountains at the Bellagio were amazingly beautiful. The Bellagio keeps their part of Vegas surprisingly clean, morally and physically! I was pleasantly surprised.

Here's our little stroller brigade.

Liam LOVED running around and dancing to the music playing. (How do you like our compromise on shirts? I always said I would never let my children wear character shirts. They just seemed tacky. Ha...that was before I had children. You know how that goes. Now I realize just how much Liam loves them, and I confess, I bought the Wall-E shirt for him personally! I still try to dress it up a bit though, hence the compromise with the collared shirt!)

Most of all it was so much fun spending time with Nate, Aubrey, and Aria. We really miss having them next door.

My Little Mouse

Liam asked me to cut a piece of cheese for him yesterday. He carefully pulled the cheese from the fridge and lugged it my way. Lugged being the operative word because we buy the HUGE hunk of Tillamook cheddar cheese from Costco.

My hands were busy with something else so I asked him to wait a moment. Apparently I was asking too much of him because when I turned around he was trying to open the package himself...with his teeth. They certainly package that cheese well because with all the biting Liam did, amazingly there were no punctures in the plastic!

This story is especially funny considering that when Will brought home a box of powdered doughnuts about two weeks ago Liam tried to open them, and when he couldn't open the box, he tried to get at the doughnuts by licking the plastic window on the box.

Happy Halloween 2008

This year we took our cue from Liam who is SO into Buzz Lightyear. I don't think anything else was even considered as a costume. Will was Woody and I was Bo Peep keeping with the Toy Story theme.

Even though I only had to make my costume and Will's, I was sewing up to the last minute. Thankfully, I got a great deal ($10) online for Liam's. And to top it all off, I got a wig this year! I've wanted a wig for forever.

We actually went trick or treating this year with Liam. It was slow going, and I don't think Liam really grasped the concept that every house was handing out candy. (It was a little traumatic when he realized we had to give some of our candy away too.) He was very social though and tried to go into every house we stopped at. For a short visit, no doubt. I think he'd even planned a short message and decided to leave with the parting words, "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Potty Training

Yes, I know this photo is highly inappropriate and that someday Liam will be upset about me posting it. Nonetheless, here it is, and I LOVE it.

We are beginning toilet training in our house. We're taking it slow, really slow. I don't know if we can really even say we've started yet. More like tested the waters. I've honestly been dreading it and dragging my feet all the way until recently when Liam started to ask to go to the bathroom. It's become our special time of the day where he sits does his business and I read to him. No distractions. Just us. Just special.

Halloween Past - 2006

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year for two reasons: the costumes and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law, Julie, has a birthday just before Halloween and so Halloween has always been her favorite holiday. We're talking more decorations for Halloween than for Christmas favorite holiday. No joke. She gave me my first Halloween decorations, and now I'm hooked! My addiction only increased after having Liam. He's just so much fun to dress up. Here are a couple of pics from his first Halloween:

Will and I were pirates and Liam was our "not-so-undead" monkey.Liam's monkey costume was purchased by my mother-in-law from Old Navy and it has been well used. Liam used it again later in the year to make a little movie for his Uncle Ben who is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peoria, Illinois. Then, cousin Cael used it last year for Halloween. This year, cousin Aria is using it as the monkey music box from Phantom of the Opera.

My Toy Review

Okay, so I just rated this toy on ToysRUs.com and thought that it was really neat that I could post my review to my blog from their site. That's all. The review isn't important. I was just playing around.

Originally submitted at Toys R Us

Transform your room into a racetrack with "Pit Row Race-Off" Lightning McQueen. With his spring-loaded pit stop launch pad, McQueen is ready to race off for the win. Bright team colors and a sponsor mean you have everything you need for first place. Hook up other racers (sold separately), drop the ...

"Pit Row Race-Off" Lightning McQueen - The World of Cars - Disney/Pixar - 1893

Love it!

By Tabicatster from Provo, UT on 10/20/2008

5out of 5

Pros: Easy to Control

Best Uses: Young Children

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

We recently got this for my two-year-old. It's great because he can do it all by himself which is very important to him. We especially love this toy because we can shoot any car, any make, with it as long as the car is small enough to fit on the platform. Most cars are. It is also very safe; there is nothing to snap you with.

(legalese)

Movie Finally Up

I didn't have the movie from our anniversary (back in May) finished when I originally posted, so I FINALLY stopped procrastinating and got it up today. You can find it HERE.

Homecoming Parade

Liam and I went to the BYU Homecoming Parade this morning. It was a freezing! I'm talking first snow of the year falling from the sky cold, but it was a BLAST! We loved it. All the excitement and CANDY. GO BYU!

Imagine our surprise when the BYU Dr. Who Club came walking past with the Tardis! We just had to get a picture with it.

Let's Roll

Liam is learning to dress himself and has discovered new ways of expressing his individuality.

Grandpa Great

(From left to right: William Alfred Pettit IV (Will) holding William Alfred Pettit V (Liam), William Alfred Pettit III (Trey), William Alfred Pettit, Jr. (Bill), and William Alfred Pettit, Sr.)

Great-Grandpa Pettit passed away last week, and we shall all miss his wit and wisdom.

I have never been so thankful that we named our son after him as I was at the funeral. He was an amazing man and left behind a legacy that I am proud to pass onto my son. I am thankful that Liam got to know him if only for just a little while.

Although I did not grow up having him as my grandfather, Grandpa Pettit was and is very dear to me. More than grief at his passing, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude that he got to be part of my life for so long. I feel I am a better person just for knowing him.

Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have a different perspetive on death than many. I know that death is not the end, just a passage and that life and families continue on forever. I think that if Grandpa could comment on his life and death, he would repeat to us the words of a poem written by his father William Alfred Pettit, Sr.:

Let there be no weeping when I am called to cross the bar.
The Lord has always blessed me as I've traveled long and far.
His angels have attended to protect from major sin.
His Spirit has always strengthened when my courage was growing thin.

He gave me worthy parents who taught me what was right,
and now I go to meet them in a place that's ever bright.
I have no fears of worries as I prepare to meet them then.
I know you soon will join me, and we'll form a family there.

I've taken many a journey when I knew I'd soon return,
but this one will be different as I've further work to do.
And at last when you've completed all that you were sent to do,
I'll be waiting on the other side with a place prepared for you.

Here's the song Will IV wrote to go with Will I's poem.

.

Days Like Today

It's days like today that make me love being a mom. With this little boy and his silly smile as a son, who wouldn't want to be a mother!

Liam was especially good today, and I had a blast watching the ducks, eating fruit snacks, and playing soccer with him. We even got to see a REAL police car with a siren, and the police officer even waved at us. I think that might top seeing Mickey Mouse at Disneyland! Add Liam walking into the room with a hose around his waist and explaining that he was a rocket, and the day was completely perfect. Nothing spectacular, but everything special. Just the way I love it.

Happy Birthday Greg

Our good friend, Greg, recently had a birthday, so Will and I threw him a surprise birthday party. (I'm taking the picture, and that little dark round bump near the left bottom corner is Liam's head. Oh and no, that is not our child that Will is holding, that's our friends' (Rob and Lindsey's) little girl Sadie. )

It was a fun Dr. Who themed party. (For those Americans out there (who haven't been influenced by Greg yet), Dr. Who is a British sci-fi T.V. show equivalent to Star Trek in the States minus a lot of the "I am Keptar from the planet Ooptigarn. My ship is damaged and is in need of whobitigoobity and a refractory some scientific word lasar warp engine" and all that mumbo-jumbo. Not that that's bad, I grew up on Star Trek and we ALL know Will did; he even had a Federation uniform at one point. It's just a little harder for Star Trek outsiders to get into. Dr. Who is a little more mainstream. It's been around forever, but has recently been re-done, and Will and I are hooked. It keeps getting better and better as time goes on.)

What Dr. Who party would be complete without a Dalek cake?

Greg also lets us borrow his movies all the time, so as a present, I made him a Tardis DVD carrying case. It turned out much better than I expected.

(If you too are a Whovian and want a Dalek cake or a Tardis bag, I should have the instructions up within the week on my craft blog refugeecrafter.com.)

The Best Daddy in the Whole World

One glorious morning, Will let me sleep in. I awakened to find Will and Liam in the kitchen playing with the play dough. Here are the creatures they created. Apparently Liam requested monsters from
Disney/Pixar's Monster's Inc.(From left to right-Sully, Mike, Waternoose, Ceila, Randall)

Can you see the similarities?



Waternoose is my favorite.

Happy Birthday Will!

We recently celebrated Will's birthday. Birthday plans included going to the Disney Store and buying Liam a toy, watching Space Chimps in a real theater, getting a Jamba juice, visiting the duck pond...wait this sounds more like Liam's birthday. It's what Daddy wanted to do. We also had Chick-Fil-A for lunch...a very Daddy thing and got a movie from Redbox...also another Daddy thing.

The best part of Will's birthday was that he got to spend the WHOLE day with us.

I know all that sounds like a lot for one day...it was. We ended up having to spread the festivities over the whole week! He's such a wonderful daddy and husband, he definitely deserved more than just a day of celebration.

The Big Boy Bed

Liam is officially sleeping in a "big boy bed." After repeatedly crawling out of his crib, we decided it was time to take the side off the crib to make a toddler bed.

My little one is growing up too quickly!

Pettit Family Vacation 2

Here we are at the San Diego Animal Park which was really pretty awesome. I felt closer to the animals, and the animals seemed so much more lively. Well, all except for Liam who fell asleep at the end. We tried to wake him up enough for a carousel ride, but he was O-U-T. I was glad that he got to feed the animals in the petting zoo at the beginning of the visit.

Pettit Family Vacation

We just had a wonderful visit with our family! With seeing Les Mis at Tuachan, playing and shopping in Provo, visiting Grandma and Grandpa Great in San Diego for the Fourth (alternatively names include Great-Ma and Great-Papa, Liam hasn't settled on names for them yet), going to the beach, and the wild animal park our time has been well spent.

It was especially fun to have Aubrey and Aria stay with us though N8 who was busily studying at home was sorely missed. Aubrey and I were amazed at how much better Liam and Aria acted together than they usually do alone, particularly when shopping. Grandma Julie had a lot to do with this too, I'm sure. It's too bad that we live so far apart now that we actually have time to play with each other.

Here's a cute picture of Liam and Aria in the bath. I suppose we can use it as blackmail later.

Liam looked so cute in his Fourth of July outfit. I just wish I'd gotten a picture of him with his Lightning McQueen shoes on too. (They were a gift from Grandma Julie, and Liam LOVES them. Convincing him that he has to wear Sunday shoes to church instead is quite the feat. Pun intended.)

Here's my favorite picture from the beach. It helps that my hindquarters in a bathing suit aren't featured!