The Gift of Time

This year for Christmas I wanted to give the gift of time to the kids. Each day I have planned out an activity, that is usually free or cheap, for the kids and I to do. It has been so nice to spend some good time with them and have some fun. Each morning we are opening a little bag that has an ornament that represents part of Jesus Christ's life. It has been so nice to be able to learn about Jesus Christ each morning. After reading about Jesus Christ's life, we open a wrapped Christmas book. The kids have been loving it. We missed some of the days between traveling and such, but it was such a fun month. Here are some of the activities we have done this month.

1- December 1st Party. This was received so well. The kids loved it. I wrapped a big present with lots of little presents wrapped inside of it. I just wrapped up hot chocolate, and some candy boxes, and some Christmas pajamas. They unwrapped everything, and we got them in their new pajamas and we watched a movie with our popcorn and treats. The whole month they would tell everyone about how we had a party. It was sweet. I think we will do it again next year.

2- Watch the Christmas Devotional and Feed the Missionaries. On Sunday the 2nd of December we fed the missionaries and talked about serving others like Christ did. After the kids were in bed I watched the rest of the Christmas Devotional. It was a nice night.

3- Make and Ornament. I got some clear ornaments and we put several different color paints in the ornaments and let the kids move the paint around to paint the ornaments. They actually turned out pretty cute.

4- Make snowflakes. I think in a couple more years the kids will like this one more later, but it was still fun. I did most of the cutting, okay all of the cutting. But when we put them up on the wall it really added to our decorations. It was fun.

5- Christmas Cards- I wanted to have Camille put the stamps on the Christmas cards that we sent out, but I wasn't prepared enough. So I ended up doing most of these by myself when the kids were asleep. But Camille made her own Christmas cards and we sent them to all of her grandparents and great grandparents. They were sweet and she loved sending the letters to them.

6- Paper Christmas Tree Craft. I put up on butcher paper and drew a little Christmas tree on it. I let Camille and Jason decorate it with some felt and crayons.

7- Gingerbread House Decorating. This year I bought some gingerbread house molds so that we can do this every year. I learned a couple things while making it this year though so hopefully next year will be better. This year the roof kind of sunk in a little because it was soft when we put it together. But even though it might not have been a picturesque gingerbread house, the kids loved decorating it and snacking on some candy. I am already excited to do it next year.

8-Game Night. Before bed we played some Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game. The kids love it, and it is the only game we had. Jason really loves this game, and I enjoy it as well.

9- Read Christmas books by the fire. This year I got a lot of Christmas books from the library and we read a lot of them. Reading books is such a fun thing to do with the kids.

10- Neighbor gifts. For neighbor gifts this year we got little clam shells of blackberries and handed them out with little tags that said "We are BERRY grateful for friends like you. Merry Christmas!" It turned out good enough for this year I think.

11- Temple Square. You can read more about this on a different post. But it was fun and I am glad we were able to go.

12-Sibling Sleepover. I thought this year it would be fun to do a sibling sleepover out by the tree. We pulled out all the mattresses and watched a movie and read a book then tried to fall asleep. The kids didn't go to sleep too well, and the spare mattress I was on was so uncomfortable. It mostly ended up being a really bad night of sleeping, but I think the kids had fun. Hopefully next year the kids will be a little older and can do it by themselves if they want.

13- Drive around and see the lights. Layton City had a fun little display of lights that you could drive around. You could walk around it too, but I didn't know that and we didn't dress for walking around. We drank hot chocolate in the car and drove around and looked at all the many lights. Camille and Jason loved it. I hope wherever we are next year that we can do that again. It was so fun.

14- Time capsule. I had the kids answer a questions sheet and we made a time capsule to be opened in ten years. It was so fun. I really like making time capsules. And I really like opening them. I can't wait to see what happens in the next ten years.

15- Sing Christmas Songs. This is one of Kevin's family traditions so I am trying to make it one of our traditions. It would be better if we could play the piano as good as Kevin's parents, but it still was fun. I am excited to keep this tradition going.

Between these things and Christmas Eve, going to grandparents houses, and Jason's birthday, we did something pretty much everyday. I It took a lot of work planning this last month, but it  totally worth it. It was wonderful. I love spending time with my family.

Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas from The Haderlie Family. This Christmas was wonderful. Probably the best one we have had yet. Especially since Kevin couldn't work too much since they had restrictions for over sized trucks.

We started off the holidays by heading up to Idaho to visit Kevin's parents. We left on Friday the 21st. We got up to Idaho around dinner time. We had dinner then got the kids to bed. After that we helped Grandma Haderlie get her decorations ready for Uncle Elwin and Cara's wedding luncheon. The sister missionaries came over and helped as well. It was an enjoyable night.

The next morning we got ready and waited until it was time to go to the luncheon. The luncheon was beautiful and delicious. They had someone smoke brisket and pork and Kevin loved it. He had like five plate fulls. As we were talking with everyone who had come, Camille and Jason had found the  nursery room and there was a Paw Patrol Chase ride on toy. Jason thought it was the best thing. In fact when we tried to leave there were tears. But they took this toy and road it down a ramp. They thought it was so fun. I am glad that they found something fun to do during a wedding luncheon which is not the most fun thing to do as a 4 and 2.

After the luncheon we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and played with Lainey. Liv was taking a nap. We love playing with our Haderlie cousins. It doesn't happen often enough, but when it does we love it.

We decided to stay until Sunday and it was a great decision. We were able to go to Shannon's ward and they did a great Christmas Program. Shannon sung in the choir and had a solo song. She did a wonderful job. We went back to the house and played and rested and we were just together as a family. Later that night Diane, Hannah and Mckyla came to stay. It was fun to see them for a couple hours before we had to leave to come home.

We were home for Christmas Eve and it was so nice. I woke up early to go to Walmart and get a couple things for the day, and as I was coming home I saw that Krispy Cream was making hot fresh doughnuts. So I came home and when the kids woke up we took them back to Walmart to buy snow cloths then went and got doughnuts for breakfast. Is there a better breakfast than doughnuts? Probably, but they were still delicious and it was a fun breakfast.

After breakfast we drove up to Morgan and had lunch with everyone who was there. Matt and Brooklyn were over from California, Blake and Melissa, and Jacob were all there. It was fun to see everyone, and have some lunch. After lunch we grabbed some of my dads sleds and went sledding. We convinced Shantel, Lydia, and Austin to come sledding with us. We drove up past Trappers Loop and found the perfect hill. It was steep enough for the kids to go down, but short enough that they could climb back by themselves. It was so much fun. I held Sadie in the car for the most part, but Kevin went out and played with the kids. They even made the cutest snowman.

After sledding we came back home and started our Christmas Eve. I am still trying to figure out what the Kevin and Jenna Haderlie Christmas Eve Traditions are. This was a good year though, so maybe that is what our traditions will look like from here on out. We got home and made some cookies for Santa. Then we ate dinner, which was Panda Express. The kids really like Panda express and so do Kevin and I so it worked out great. After dinner we had some sticker nativity sets and as Kevin read the Birth of Jesus Christ story in the Bible, we put the stickers on when we heard each name. I think it helped the kids know what was happening. After we were finished, we brought out the Christmas presents from our bedroom. The kids loved running back and forth from my room to the Christmas tree. We read some Christmas books and then put the kids to bed. It was such  a good memory for the kiddos.

After the kids went to bed, we pulled the little couch in front of the fire place. We opened some sparkling cider and read Calvin and Hobbs by the fireplace. It was pretty much perfect. I was so tired from waking up so early and going hard all day that I ended up falling asleep sitting up, but it was perfect.

Christmas morning was just as good. The kids slept in until 7, then when we came out they just came out to see what Santa left in their stockings. It was fun. Christmas is more fun from a parents point of view. This year they got creating stuffs from Santa. From us they got a marble run set, building blocks, and magnetic blocks. Also they got some Paw Patrol characters and PJ Masks characters. They were a big hit. Especially with Jason. After presents we made breakfast and headed to my parents house.

Once we got to my parents house we opened presents and had Christmas dinner. It was delicious and so nice to see family. My Grandpa and Grandma Knowles were there and my Grandpa Walker came down for presents and dinner too. It was so nice to see them. After presents the Walker Family Cup officially started. There was pickle ball (which we came in second place. Melissa and Blake rocked everyone). There was Pig (which we were hoping to do good in but Shantel pulled out her hidden basketball skills and rocked the court). There was Banagrams ( obviously Mom rocked everyone in this) and last but not least Bop it (which I came in first place!). After all was said and done there was a three way tie between Kevin and I, Melissa and Blake, and Jacob and Whitney. So we settled it the smartest way that we can with Rock Paper Scissors. In the end Melissa and Blake won the Walker Family Cup.

It was such a fun day. That night we just hung out eating and playing games. We played a bomb diffusal game that was on the computer. It was so fun. I really enjoyed it. And we learned how to play Canasta. It was surprisingly really fun, and the perfect old person game. Which means it is perfect for me because I am pretty much an old person.

The next day Melissa, Blake, Shantel, and David all had to leave. We decided to stay an extra day and play with Matthew, Brooklyn and Jacob. It was such a nice day of playing and hanging out with my family.

Overall I am just so grateful for my family. My Idaho family and Utah family. I am grateful to be a part of their family. I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and I am grateful that we were able to celebrate his Birth and life. It was a beautiful month spent with family learning of Jesus Christ and coming closer together as a family.

Jason's Birthday

AHHHH!!! My little Jason is three years old! How did the past three years go so fast? Jason, I love having you in my life. Every single day you bring a smile to my face!

For Jason's birthday this year we celebrated by going to the Tree House Museum. It was the perfect place for Jason. We got in there and in one of the celebration rooms they were giving out free cookies. I asked Jason if he wanted a cookie and he said, "no." I was shocked! Jason is all about the food. But he was so excited to play at the museum that he didn't even want to stop for a cookie.

Jason really loved the fire truck, restaurant, and the forest areas. One of the sweetest things that happened at the museum was in the restaurant. Camille was sitting in a customer seat and Jason was behind the counter taking orders. Camille ordered a sandwich and then rattled off ten other things. Jason focused on making Camille a sandwich. He looked for all the food he needed. Bread and meat and cheese. I think the meat was a hamburger and the cheese might have been a slice of bologna, but he worked so hard to put it together to give to Camille. It just melted my heart.

The kids never would have been done at the museum, but it was after noon and it was lunch time and Sadie needed a nap. So we left the museum and went to pick up Kevin to go to lunch. There was a McDonalds not far from Kevin's work so we popped over there. WE ordered some lunch and while it was getting ready the kids played on the playplace. They loved it. It has a little section where you could jump on some "instruments" and they loved that. They tried to recruit all the other kids who were playing to be a part of their band.

After lunch we went home and made some cupcakes for after dinner. After we made the cupcakes I put on some Paw Patrol (one of Jason's favorite shows) for the kids to watch and I went and rested for while Sadie was sleeping. I was so tired!

For dinner my parents came over and we had some of Jason's favorite foods. Hot dogs and chips. Jason would eat either of those for days! Then we opened presents. Our Jason is so sweet. He was opening a present that was wrapped in bubble wrap and he didn't know that he was supposed to unwrap the bubble wrap and he said, "Oh, I love it!" and then went for the next present. He was so grateful just to get a ball of bubble wrap. He is so sweet. That same type of thing happened several times. He is just grateful for anything he got.

We love you Jason. You are the sweetest thing to me. I love you so much and I can't wait to see where life takes you! Happy Birthday little boy!

Temple Square

For the last 7 years, pretty much our whole marriage, I have wanted to go to the Salt Lake City Temple Square lights. We tried to go last year, but it didn't work out. This year we were finally able to go. Diane, Steve, Hannah and Mckyla came down from Pocatello and we met them down in Salt Lake.

Before we met them at Temple Square we went to Gygi's. It is a restaurant supply store that is open to the public. They have everything you might ever need. Even the plastic that looks like glass cups you use at restaurants. Kevin would love those cups. Maybe someday I will get some for him. We were looking for a three foot long potato masher for Uncle Elwin's wedding gift, but they were out. How many people need a three foot long potato masher? I could hardly believe they were out!

After Gygi's we met the Yerkas at the Church History Museum. It was so fun to go there. I think that when the kids are older it will be more enjoyable, just because they didn't want to really look at the history things, but there was a fun children's area and the kids loved it. The first thing Camille saw was this foam stuffed camel. She ran to it, sat on it, and propped her legs up on its neck. It brought back some good memories because I have a picture that is just like that when she is two years old. It made me giggle a little.

After the Church History Museum, we headed over to get some dinner. We went to the City Creek food court and it was CRAZY! Apparently we had come to see the lights on the same day the Tabernacle Choir was doing their Christmas Concert and it meant a ton of people were there. We couldn't find a table to sit at and the chick fil a line was at least a mile long. Okay, not that long, but pretty close. It was super long.

We ended up leaving. It was crazy. When we went outside we decided to try and skip through dinner, look at the lights, and pick something up on the way home. We went over to see the lights and it was beautiful. There were so many lights and so many different nativity sets. The kids quickly started to get cold and hungry. We ended up leaving a little early. It was nice to see the lights, and maybe when the kids are older we will take them again, or maybe next time we try and go to see the lights we will plan to just do the lights. No museum or anything like that. That way the kids will be fresh when we see the lights and not have any melt downs.

We left, picked up pizza and had dinner at our home. It was a good end to the day. Even though it wasn't exactly what I had imagined, it was nice to still go and spend time with our family. 

November 2018

We did a couple of fun things this month that don't really deserve a whole post, but that I would still like to blog about. So here goes nothing.


Swing Park- We went to such a fun park this month. It didn't have a lot of things to do, but it did have a special swing that was extra fun. You sit on this swing and then it goes on a track around a half circle. Jason was really nervous at first, but ended up really loving it. The kids continue to ask to go to it even though it is so cold now. This is also the first time that Sadie sat in a swing. She didn't cry, but also didn't laugh. She didn't really care if she was in a swing, but she is pretty cute right?

This Is the Place Park- We were down in the Salt Lake area and so Camille asked if we could take Kevin to This is the Place Park and we agreed. When we went with Shantel we had SO much fun that I thought it would be a fun Saturday activity. We got there and hopped on the train and it drove around almost the whole park. It didn't stop to let us off or anything. We had to stick our arm out to have the conductor stop so we could hop off and look around.

We hopped off and the kids played on the big boat for a little bit and we walked around the tepee and hogan area and then walked over to town. The mini train was closed which made Camille a little sad, and everything else was closed as well. When you pay to get in, you get to do three activities, but nothing was opened, so we seriously just walked around and looked at buildings but didn't get to do anything. I was a little disappointed. It was nice to spend time together as a family, but we should have chosen a different and warmer activity.

Hill Air Force Base Museum- Jason wanted to go to the airplane museum so we packed up and went. Kevin had to work this Saturday so it was just the kids and I. It was really fun to go see the airplanes and see so many things. I was so touched by the POW display. I can't even imagine being taken as as POW and how they lived. It is terrible and hurts my heart. I wish that we could all just love one another and be kind. This world is a crazy place. But on the flip side, I was so grateful for all of the service men and women, from the past and now and in the future. Those men and women who risk their lives to protect my freedoms. So I can worship how I please, and I can write and read what I want. I truly live in the promised land.

Kevin gets dizzy so fast. This motion sickness chair would have been the end of him

Camille- Camille is as busy as ever. She is recognizing more and more words and loves to read books with me. Recently she has been coming in while I am reading my scriptures and she will sit as I read aloud the words. It is kind of a sweet and precious time to have with her as we learn about Captain Moroni and other people in the scriptures.

Jason-Jason is the kindest and most loving boy. In the mornings he will sit on my lap and give me kisses on my nose and ear and forehead and chin. It is just sweet. His imagination is starting to come alive even more and it is such a treat to be able to watch it bloom.

Sadie- This month we put Sadie in her jumper and she has been loving that. She is just like Camille was when she was a baby. They both just jump and jump and jump and jump. Sadie also is rolling like crazy. I will put her down and some how she will end up across the room and around a corner. She can pretty much get anywhere she wants to now by rolling and being a worm. She just doesn't know where she wants to go really. I think next month she will start crawling. I would be surprised if she didn't. She really is just on the move. Whenever she is rolling Camille will say, "Sadie is on the move to Hawaii!" and I say, "Sadie, take me with you!!!" Camille thinks it is really funny.

Jenna- This month I have been trying to get ready for Christmas. I am excited for Christmas this year and want to make it magical. I went down to Shantel's and painted some Ornaments that are all centered around Christ. I have them hung up and we are going to open one bag each day and take out an ornament and read about Christ's life. Then it has an activity we are going to do that day. I can't wait to spend time with the kids.

Kevin- Kevin has started a new business. It is called Kinetic Advising. It helps trucking companies put together a good loan packet so that they can get good loans for their equipment. He had his first client hire him this month! It is an exciting new step in the banking world that Kevin is embarking on. We (I mean Kevin) also bought a third semi truck this month. It looks like Kevin is going to do great things with his businesses.


Random Remembering
Someone brought this story up the other day and if I don't write it down it is going to be lost forever. This happened a couple months after we moved into our Layton Ward. It was Sunday morning and everything went as expected. We got up and got ready. The kids played. We put Jason down for a nap, and finished getting ready. We made lunch and woke Jason up so he could eat before we left for church. I made him a hot dog. He loves hot dogs. But for some reason he wouldn't eat it. I wasn't too concerned because I had snacks he could eat at church. We got to church and sat down. Sacrament meeting started and shortly after Jason threw up. Right on top of me and Kevin. Kevin luckily contained most of it and ran Jason out of the Chapel. It was terrible. I had no idea he was even sick. But now we know why he wouldn't eat the hot dog.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we spent the first half with Kevin's family and the second with my family. I love that we live close enough to both of our families that we can see them both during the holidays.

On Wednesday we went up to Idaho Falls. We stopped in Idaho Falls and had dinner at Mike and Charity's house. Oh my goodness, their house is beautiful. This is the first time that I have been to their new house, and they did such a good job designing it. After dinner we went and stayed at Shannon and Collen's house because Jenny and Roger's family were staying at Grandma and Grandpa Haderlie's house. It was so nice to stay with Shannon and Collen. After getting our kids to be we chatted and played Carrom. I had never played before, but Kevin played it as a child. The way they play is almost like a little pool table type game. It was fun.

The next morning they set up the Wii and we played Just Dance. I have never played Just Dance before, but I really love dancing so this game is right up my alley. It was so fun! And Kevin being the awesome husband that he is even played a couple times with me, even though he doesn't like dancing as much. Or at all. After playing Just Dance, we got ready and went to Thanksgiving.

Grandma Haderlie wanted us all to wear blue or red for a family picture because we had everyone together besides Steven (who is in Guam) and Cody (who is at college and had to work). We are a big happy family, and we were happier after the picture was taken, but I am glad we were able to take a picture. Not long after we finished the picture we had a prayer and started thanksgiving. There were probably around 100-150 people at the Haderlie Thanksgiving, which means there was so much food. Kevin was in heaven. I am pretty sure Thanksgiving is one of Kevin's top holidays. We ate way too much food and enjoyed every minute of it. Then I tried to get Sadie to fall asleep and take a nap in the stroller so I could play some basketball.

One of my favorite traditions of the Haderlie Thanksgiving is playing lightning after Thanksgiving. Since we are in the church already, we have half the gym set up in tables, and the other half free for playing basketball. I don't get to play basketball very often. I just don't have very many opportunities. But I love playing, so it is fun to get together with other people to play a little ball. Surprisingly, or maybe I should say not surprising, I did pretty good. We mostly played right at the free throw line, and I held my own. I was usually in the last 4, and Kevin was there along with me. I had a lot of fun, I think that Kevin did as well.

We played for a while and Camille crated and watched Frozen. Overall we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Kevin's family is huge, and I don't know 2/3rds of them, but I love going and getting to know knew people and meet more of Kevin's family. I might not know them all, but I know where they come from, and everyone I have met is truly kind and wonderful. Kevin comes from a wonderful family.


We came home after Thanksgiving on Thursday and stayed at our home. Then on Friday we headed up to Morgan for Grandma Walker's birthday. We got there before everyone else and helped cook the turkey for the Walker Thanksgiving that was going to be on Saturday. Everyone else rolled in about 3 and it was so good to see everyone. Matt and Brooklyn came from California, and Jacob and his girlfriend Whitney came as well. So did Shantel and David and family, along with Melissa and Blake. It is so nice to be with family. Friday we ate delicious food and celebrated Grandma Walker's birthday and Blake's birthday. After we got the kids to sleep, we played some super fun games. Playing games is one of my favorite things to do with my family. We stayed up until midnight!!! I could hardly believe myself. I am not a midnight kind of person, but it was just nice to talk and catch up with family. It was worth the loss of sleep.

Saturday we woke up and made pancakes for everyone as they woke up. Those without kids slept in a little longer. Then we started getting ready for Thanksgiving. This year we chose to serve turkey sandwiches instead of doing a formal turkey dinner and it was so yummy.

We had to leave at 5 so that we could get home and see Shaylee Dragon and her new boyfriend, so we didn't stay too long. But being with my family makes me so happy.

I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my family. For my parents who raised me and for Kevin's parents who raised him. I think we turned out pretty good. I am thankful for my wonderful kids who are kind and loving and fun. I am thankful for Kevin who is so kind to me and who is so wonderful. I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. That even though I am not perfect, through His mercy, I have a chance to make it. I am thankful for all that I have been given.

Happy Thanksgiving

None of my kids are looking in the family pictures we took, but each one is funny in their own way so I am putting all three in.

Decorating for Christmas

It is the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas has never been my favorite holiday until I had children. It is so much fun now. Everything is just extra magical and I love that.

This year we are in Layton, Kevin has a good job, we are out of school, and our house is big enough to have more than a Charlie Brown tree and Kevin wanted that so bad. In one of my very first posts I wrote about how much Kevin loves Christmas and how he wants a nice big pretty tree. And this is the first year we have got that.

This is a picture of our first Christmas tree together. We have come a very long way since then! 

We went before Thanksgiving to find a tree and we thought that maybe we would want to get a real tree this year, but no one had real trees out yet except Lowe's. So we headed over but Kevin was not impressed. So we decided this year that we are going to be a fake tree family. I feel okay about it. If we were to go out to the mountains and cut down our Christmas tree, then I would feel sad to have a fake tree. But just going to a Christmas tree lot doesn't sound as magical to me. So having a fake tree is good for us. We found the perfect one for us at Lowe's.

We came home and set it up while listening to Christmas music. The kids loved pulling out the decorations that we have. Each year we try to get a couple new decorations, like good decorations that we like. This year we got the tree and lights to go on the house. So our Christmas decorations are sparse, but it still is beautiful.

Making special memories like this with these little kids is what is most important to me right now. They are so special and deserve the very best childhood. Merry Christmas!