Christmas-ing

Leading up to Christmas is always such fun. We shopped, we played, watched movies, went out to dinner, went to Greg's Bangerter family x-mas party, visited family, and cleaned.

For Christmas Eve we went up to my parents house and had a little party. Played games, ate yummy food, read of Christ's birth, opened presents, you know, the usual. It was fun.

 In the pic collage is our little family, Bodie playing with a musical toy, Greg reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids before bed, and the boys showing their new jammies for x-mas.

 

 

It was funny, Jax swears he saw Rudolph's nose in the sky when we were driving on I-80 on the way home. And I saw what he saw and just wonder what it was, not a plane? Someone having fun I guess. And then after they were in bed they yelled in excitement that they could hear Santa's jingle bells outside their window! He must be in the neighborhood they thought. I also heard what they heard and I KNOW someone was having fun ;)

 

Christmas morning came, way to early. It was actually about 7am when we all got up but it was a rough night. Bodie woke up, Jax woke up, Creed was awake at 5am, then they both were awake, it was one after another all night and morning.

When we finally got up we had to change Rafe and feed him so he'd be happy but he wasn't so we tried cheering him up so we could all go out to the family room to see what Santa brought. Here are the 3 older boys in the hallway waiting for lights, music, and Rafe so we can do presents!

It was a very nice day. The boys all loved the presents, I enjoyed the moments and we all stayed in our pajamas all day long.

 

 Here's my boys before the clean up. Greg loved the whole day because we didn't have to do a thing we were together as a family and we could stay home and just BE.

Almost Time

 The boys are loving it being Christmas time. They love the music, movies, parties, the goodies, tree, story books, the countdown for the big day. They are soaking it all in. And we still have several more parties to attend.  It is so fun to see how excited the kids are. I am having fun as well. And excited for Christmas Eve. Not just being with family and traditions but for the late night to be together with Greg getting the "magic" ready for the morning. I know we only have so many years to have this fun belief in our house. It will change, but it will always be a fun holiday spirit I know.

(Cookies made at my moms, Creed's Kindergarten house, our tree)

 

Here are the boys with Santa at our ward party. Bodie really didn't want to sit on his lap. Not even for the present. He had sad tears streaming down his face and asked to not do it. Then when it was our turn Greg told Bodie that Santa loves him. And Bodie kinda lit up and smiled and then we took him right up and he sat on Santa's lap and talked to him. When he was done Bodie said he was so brave. It was so cute. Now Rafe, just never liked being near Santa. The old boys thought it was great, they "hung out" with Santa and he chatted with them.

 

Not great quality from the iPhone but I love Rafe's face, at least I got him looking at the camera.

 

At least one thing will never change about Christmas time in our house and the spirit we feel - is

Christ our Savior.

Start the Season

 

Tis the Season to be jolly! Our decor is up and ready to go. In fact, it's been up for so long I now need to dust it off. (he he) Last Monday we went downtown to get festive. We walked by the Macy's windows of candy, had dinner at City Creek then wandered over to the Church History Museum. My mom was in charge of some entertainment for the opening of a children's exhibit. So we went down to check it out. The funny and sad thing is, we never made it into the exhibit. We had our hot chocolate and did go into the museum. But the boys were having so much fun doing all the activities they had for children we spent our time there. We did make it upstairs for refreshments, but never entered the area for the exhibit. Creed even got to sit on Father Christmas's lap and to tell him what he wanted for x-mas. And Creed was shy and just moved his tongue around in his mouth and cheeks. Funny kid. In the picture my sister Amy is helping Bodie with a Pioneer toy thing. All 4 kids sure enjoyed the museum.

 

Greg's parents and Grandma came and my parents and sister were there. And of course we walked around Temple Sq. and saw the Lights. It was pretty and fun. I'm so glad we went. And did something so Christmasy early in December. Good way to start the Holiday Season.

Jax Man

Jax is 8! My goodness we've been waiting a whole year for this. Since his 7th birthday he's been counting down to when he turns eight and that he gets baptized. Finally the day arrived. And I am just so happy that he's not asking when he turns nine. He barely missed the December baptisms so he has to wait until January. But that's ok, I don't mind spreading out the parties a little.

Jax was able to have a little friend party this year. He invited a few of his buddies and we had a bowling party. It was so great! I loved how easy and fun it was. Olympus Hills Lanes took care of everything. And they all loved it. Fun entertainment. Jax was working on his bowling form and Creed did quite well with the 2nd highest score.

 

This was Bodie's first time bowling. He loved it. We had to keep reminding him that he has to wait for his turn. He could hardly hold the heavy ball. After every turn he let his ball go slowly down the lane, he would put his hands on his hips and pose and wait for it. So cute. Many times I'd look and he'd be sprawled out on the floor watching. What a silly 3 year old.

 

All the boys seemed to love it. They were all trying for the high score. And thank goodness for bumpers. If I remember the high was 92 and Creed got 91, Jax had like 76-80 or something.

 

 Yummy pizza, and I made the cupcakes. Jax loves the Lego Ninjago show so he wanted a Ninjago B-day. I had to make my own printouts for his cupcakes. He thought is was the best! Then he's leading the boys in singing to him and blowing out his candle.

 

I love his face while he opens presents. He is so enthusiastic. But he was a happy kid, everything he got was Ninjago or Pokemon. He loves both.

 

Then his actual birthday came. In the morning we opened presents from us. I made another cake to celebrate with family that night. I was so excited I found Lego candles. And the last pic everyone dog piled Jax. Luckily Greg held them up off of him.

 

Jax is so happy opening presents with the group. Gosh Birthdays are fun!

 Jax is a character. He is very loving and loves showing affection. He likes to control the remote while watching TV. He is obsessed with Ninjago. Luckily for now the season is over. He is the most excited person to ever get baptized. He loves growing up. His favorite is staying up and having a sleep over in the family room with Creed and dad. He loves chocolate and pizza. He eats toast just about every morning for breakfast. He is a good kid and likes to help out. He is good at being the oldest child in the family. He's a good example to his little brothers. And we just love him to pieces and can't believe our first little baby is EIGHT!

8 years ago we welcomed our little Jax into our family. Here he is 3 weeks old and then about 6 months old. He was a great baby. I miss him being little. But also look forward to him growing into a young man.

Creed Creed

 Creed is now a 6 year old. Oh my! He had a happy birthday. He got his precious Ninja Turtle nunchucks he's been wanting. (And I just learned it's NUN not NUM chucks) And he loves to take pictures, he's always asking for my camera. So we got him one of his own. We had family over for a little celebration that night. Greg was able to delay his fight out of town until after morning presents with Creed. But missed the cake and celebrating later that night. :(

 

Here is Raphael attacking Splinter on his cake. And it only took Creed 6 blows to blow out his 6 candles. I don't know what his problem was? And he didn't want to eat any cake, just the ice cream.

 

 

Here is my stud Kindergartner. He's a handsome one. And a tall one. He's probably the 2nd tallest in his class. He is really liking reading. He willingly does it everyday. He wants to "get better" and get the next level of books at school. (So unlike his older brother). It's a nice change. He always surprises me with what he knows. He likes to sing. When we get out of the car and turn off the radio, he's always continuing with the song and knows more of the words than I do. Or he'll ask me to leave it on until the song is over. Creed has a temper but is also the most loving of boys. He loves Rafe so much he bugs him to death :) and I find him helping Bodie with things, it's cute. And Creed is always thinking of Jax if he's not around and wants to do everything with his older brother. He asks me all afternoon "how much longer until we pick up Jax from school?".

Creed has a funny sense of humor. And when he's in a goofy mood, there's no stopping him. I look forward to seeing his wittiness as he gets older. His favorite things to eat are (his finger nails, ha ha)cold cereal, corn dogs, cookies, chips n'salsa, gogurt and Arby's Roast Beef or McD's nuggets. He seems to always be hungry and want snacks - all day long. One tooth missing and one loose one.

I can't believe how old my children are getting. They just need to stop growing.



Rascals

Well the scanned quality isn't the best. But here are my little rascals when they were all a 1 year old. I am so grateful for all of them. I need to show it to them more. 

 

MOB - Mother of Boys - that's me. I saw on-line a silly application to be a Boy Mom -Mother to boys. It was fun. Here are a few qualifications to share... Must have a strong stomach ...Medical Experience a plus...Referee experience beneficial... Sword Fighting experience a plus... Intricate knowledge of Lego handling useful... Tolerance in the smell of Urine necessary... Rough-Housing will sometimes be required of applicant... and most importantly, patience and grace will be required every day for the rest of your life.

 

I suppose that could apply to anyone who cares for any kid. I had a good laugh at a bunch of these jokes today. In fact I was laughing so hard I couldn't recite them to Greg. I was in a silly mood I guess. Here are just 2 of my current favs.

 

I purposely am not on Pinterest (for now). Anyways, I am happy and grateful for a lot of things. My boys are always at the top of my list. I know one day I will miss the random anytime kisses and "Mommy I love yous" and the constant need to be near me. I'm sure in our teen future I'll only wish for a little crying tantrum of them telling me what they want and wishing my 3 year old would do as he is told. And I suppose I will miss bedtime helping them brush their teeth and get PJ's on and then spending an hour raising my voice while telling them to stop playing and talking and go to sleep!

As much as I complain, I do love being their mommy and am grateful to stay home and raise them. And so what, if my favorite sound is the garage door opening when Greg gets home for the day. After all, it is loud and crazy at the Lorenzon house. :)

 

SNOW Fall'n

 So a few days ago Rafe had a great time walking in tons of leaves. He loves it. Piles several feet high and he'll barge right through. I love the warm November it has been.

Jax has been going around raking the neighbors leaves into piles. And I love that I can send the boys out before a snowfall and have them rake and gather the leaves into the garbage can. I don't have to do it!

 

And then the snowfall begins. 2-3 days of dumping snow. We had like 17 in. or so? It's been fun. Luckily the night before Greg hung the x-mas lights. We got leaves raked up. And woke up to a winter wonderland.

 

This is Rafe's first time playing in the snow. He wasn't walking last winter, and obviously he doesn't remember it. But he's sure loving it now. Seeing his brothers get all bundled up this weekend, he freaks out and wants to go out with them. Isn't he so cute?

 

 

Hours of entertainment. Greg took the 3 older ones sledding on Saturday, then they continued to play for hours. Snow is the best babysitter ever!

 

 

And I had to post this oldie. Christmas Eve 1982 we were living in Denver and we had a blizzard. I remember there were snow drifts everywhere. And we had one right on the front of our house. I remember opening the living room curtains and not being able to see out the window. The snow went clear up high. (of course I was small and couldn't stand and see out)

 

So in the picture is my dad getting ready to shovel. He dug a tunnel for us to go out the front entry. Kinda fun. Too bad we don't have any pictures of that. Then my bro Cameron in front of our house, and the last picture is Cam, me, Drew, and Amy several months after the blizzard. We were playing on the snow mound. I remember playing "The Empire Strikes Back".

 

Playing in snow as a kid was the best. We didn't even have snow pants until I was a little older. But we'd do it for hours. Living in Utah and Colorado was the best snow filled fun!

Hallover

What a month! I can't believe it's over. Next year I am going to do an advent calendar or some kind of count down. Geesh. 31 days of asking "How many days until Halloween?" It came, we saw, we did, and now it's over. I am a fan of Halloween. It's fun and you get candy. I already have 2 cankers on my tongue from all the candy I've been munching on. I can't help myself. None of us can. Except Greg, I don't think I've seen him eat any? Weird.

So the older boys love Ninjago and anything ninja. So of course that was their costume wish. Bodie really wanted to be Superman "to the rescue" as he says. But it totally didn't fit him this year. And Rafe was fine with his dragon/dino and didn't seem to mind wearing it.

 

Here are the Dragon, 2 Ninja's, & Skeleton Oh my!

 

 Rafe wouldn't touch his pumpkin to carry candy. And he started crying as soon as we got outside. So he cried and cried. Didn't like the crowd of kids around. And certainly didn't understand what was going on. After the older bunch of kids left us in the dust. And as long as I was holding him, Rafe was fine. He even attempted to say "trick-or-treat" at a few houses. My sister Amy came with me, then we went back home after a half a street and answered the door. Until Greg called for me to come pick Bodie up. He had such a great time running to try and catch up with his brothers and friends, but kept getting farther and farther behind. At home, Bodie was happy as could be answering the door to hand out candy. He just stood and waited for the next door knock. So cute.

 

In the picture Rafe is crying away, and Bodie, well he's shaking his bum. Don't ask me why?

 

 Monday night we carved pumpkins. So of course we had to do it topless. Then on Halloween, after eating a quick dinner we dressed the boys, our friends the Hardy family came over (we've been going with them for the last several years) and off we went. Meeting up with a few more neighbors. Back at home Rafe was happy and being silly. Too many M&M's?

 

So at first I thought it was too much and ridiculous. But then I saw the brilliance. 3 days of 3 different schools. The 30th Bodie's preschool had their parade and program. Cutest thing ever. Then on the 31st, Jax had his school parade, which Bodie and Rafe loved! Then on Nov. 1st Creed's school had their parade and Kindergarten program. I was able to attend all 3. No overlapping or anything happening at the same time. It worked out perfect for me. Last year I missed it all, we were at the hospital for Rafe's toe surgery. I can't believe it's been a year!

 

Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

In this collage...

 House #3 and Rafe is still crying. And then he's dropping and leaving his pumpkin because he doesn't care about it. And the picture with me and the sippy cup - well a few days before Rafe chucked his cup at me and clocked me in the eyebrow. Ouch. It hurt, I iced it, and now I have a black eye. Well it's actually red. My sister thought I had lame looking make-up on. But no it's a battle wound. It hurt for several days, well still does. I'm a one red eye goon. And then Creed singing a spooky song.

Now to undecorate and put up my 3 Thanksgiving decorations. Greg has been telling us for weeks that x-mas music is almost on the radio. And now it is. We've already started drinking EggNog too.

 

One thing I wish was different, as I saw so many families trick-or-treating together. Is that my little family could go around (trick-or-treating) together. Every year it's Greg taking the older 2 boys and me with the younger ones. Which is fine. But I think now, that they'll never all go together. Jax and Creed run from house to house and we go with friends, which I'm sure they always will. And by the time the younger 2 boys are old enough to "keep up" Jax and Creed really will be gone with their friends and the days of going around together will be gone. And I never got those days. Maybe it'll happen. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Perhaps I'll talk with Amy Hardy and tell her what I want to have happen, and the mom's will enforse it? :)

New York

I heart NY! Love that place. It's been like 9 years since Greg and I have been there. We have been wanting to go back. And one night we were chatting with our friends Josh & Sarah Martin, (Josh is Greg's old roommate/friend from Law School in Baltimore while Josh was in Dental School) and Sarah had never been and then we thought to make it a weekend trip! And a few days later we used points and booked our trip. Greg and I are counting it as our 10 year Anniversary trip as well. Perfect.

 

On a Thursday night we flew into Baltimore so the men could see their old stomping grounds and breakfast with some friends, in the picture, (Monica & and April Robinson- everyone who has ever lived in Baltimore knows these sisters from the church ward there) and then Sarah could see it all (school, home, city). After the morning in Baltimore (there we are at Federal Hill) we headed up to Philadelphia. We had to have lunch and eat a real Philly Cheese Steak (at Gooey Looie's) and then we stopped at the Museum of Art so Sarah could see the "Rocky" statue (she loves the movies). The husbands stayed in the car and laughed at us as we had a little photo shoot on the steps. Some local guy came up to us and asked if we wanted him to take our picture together. And after about 30 photo's and posing us we were done, paid him and on our way. It was fun.

 

 

 

 We also briefly stopped at Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell. And I was finally able to buy a Philly fridge magnet (souvenir) to add to my collection, since the 1st time around I didn't find one back when Greg and I "fell in love" in Philly (10 years ago).

 After that we headed up to NYC. It's so great how close everything is back east. But right as we were approaching the Lincoln Tunnel in NJ. Traffic was so bad it took us almost 2 hours to get through and get to our hotel. Ugh. We grabbed some dinner at Times Sq. and headed back to our hotel (The Element).

 

Saturday morning we took the subway and taxi's of course and went to the World Trade Center Memorial. Then we hit Wall St., Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty, then we headed up to NYU area (Soho/Greenwich Vill.) and had lunch at Patsy's (Best Pizza ever!) Um, then we headed up to Central Park for the afternoon. It was such a nice day. The weather was perfect, the leaves are changing, it was the best.

After the park we walked down 5th Ave. to Rockefeller Center then ate at a hot dog stand and had the yummy Magnolia Bakery for dessert before going to see Wicked! And we LOVED Wicked! We have never seen it and heard how good it is. It did not disappoint. Sunday Greg and I had the big awesome complimentary breakfast at our hotel again, grabbed some last souvenirs for the boys before heading to JFK to go home.

 

 In these pics we are at Battery Park, lunch, our awesome "Grandpa" car rental and riding the Subway.

Times Square is great and crazy! I can't believe how much it has changed and grown in the last 10 years. It's seriously 3 times bigger than it was then. And it was so bright with all the insane amount of jumbo tron screens it seemed like day time. The length of the blocks has expanded so much. Crazy!

It was a quick trip. But it was great. Great fun with fun great people. Greg and I hadn't been away from the kids for like 4 years or so. So it was also appreciated. And thanks to Greg's mom and my parents for babysitting our children, and my sis Amy helped out too. It was nice to be back home to such a clean city and state. I love Utah too. :)

Elkmageddon

I hope this "carnage" post doesn't upset or offend anyone. For the last 4 years Greg and buddies have gone on the Elk hunt in the Uinta's. Every year (1st weekend in Oct.) has produced nothing but male bonding. Until 2012! As you can see he got a bull. A big one too (a "non-typical" 6 point, meaning one side of the antlers was not symmetrical.  Kind of a cool oddity). It was getting dark and the picture is blurry. But that's probably ok, right. Greg and Abe spotted the elk just before dusk, about 700 yards away in a high meadow (about 11,000 feet).  They sprinted to get a closer shot.  Just before the elk moved into the trees, Greg (shaking from the long sprint) was able to steady himself long enough to get a standing shot from 150 yards. And then the next morning with bro-in-law Abe both proudly holding their antlers.

I think hunting... is odd. But we will become an elk eating family this winter. Fun stuff, ay? Greg grew up his teen years hunting with his uncle Layne and cousins. He always loved it and still has some guns from back in the day. So they started up again and will have this October tradition.

Our boys were so happy and cheered when I was talking to Greg on the phone moments after he shot it. He actually had reception being hours away in the high Uinta's. When he got home they were so very excited. Except Bodie, he was scared of the antlers and covered his eyes. Now he's ok with seeing them. And in case you were wondering how I knew all these terms and lingo, the top paragraph was edited by Greg.

Flag Football

One night a week is for Bodie, and one night a week is for Jax and Creed playing some flag football. The name they came up with is "Team Utah" real original. Jax towers above all the boys. And Creed is a good year younger than the rest and he is like the 2nd tallest. Who knew we had giants for children. I guess Greg and I both come from tall families. Yeah for tall boys I guess!

 

 Here is Jax catching some "hikes". He really wanted to play real football with tackles. But I said no and flag football will have to work for now. Creed is usually not paying full attention and can be found biting his nails or fixing his shoe.

 I did catch a blurry photo of Creed about to kick the ball. When in fact he actually missed this kick and had to redo it. Funny kid. It's fun to watch them trying to play and both teams learning as they go.

Jax and Creed love being on a team together. They are having a good fun time. And keeping Bodie and Rafe off the playing fields is always tricky. Amazingly the water bottles worked for a while.



BBB

Bodie BaseBall! The cutest little 3 year old playing some T-Ball. He's on the Diamond Backs (Dbacks). He is certainly one of the youngest. I've said this before, but I love having 1 night a week, no Saturdays and having them play indoors! (Yay for the UofU's Field House)

We have some pictures of him waiting in the outfield, hitting the ball, waiting on base.

 Greg is helping him swing. It's a heavy bat, he's not used to it and can hardly hold and swing it. So funny, so cute. I love the picture, the other team is already throwing to first base before we could help Bodie figure out where and when to run.

 Bodie is so happy and excited to get the ball. I love that his coach has all the kids line up and take turns one at a time getting the ball. And Jax "babysitting" Rafe with Creed helping and wandering the big field.

 

On a different topic  - Bodie is growing up. So is Rafe. I was caught off guard on Sunday and was quite emotional when I sat in class all by myself because Rafe and Bodie were both in nursery. It is Rafe's 1st week there. I have talked about this day for years. Joked about how nice it will be. That's why I was surprised I had to wipe away my tears. Seriously Laurie!

A Peek

In September we had our family pictures taken. With 4 little boys it was tricky. Rafe was new to walking and just wanted to wander everywhere and not be held. And Creed had a little cold and was on the verge of sneezing the whole time. And it looks like it in most pictures. But it turned out pretty good. Here are a few to peek at. Scroll to the bottom of the whole blog and that is the family portrait that is probably my favorite. But for my gallery wall I need it to be in a landscape format. So for x-mas cards we'll do the next fav. And I can say x-mas card for now because I have the intention of sending them. We'll see if it actually happens. :)

 

 

Hey Creed

 So in Creed's kindergarten they've been doing Nursery Rhymes. He knows them all. I'm impressed. He was trying to teach one to Jaxon the other day, and a bit later I heard Bodie playing and singing the same Nursery Rhyme he heard Creed teaching Jax, I guess he learned it too.  So the school put on a little program for the parents. They sang a bunch and then got in the middle of a big circle with a microphone and recited one solo. He did Hey Diddle Diddle/The Cow Jumped Over the Moon one. He did it perfect. Luckily he had no shyness going on this day. I really like his teacher and he is doing well. Although he is one of several boys that are needing a little help in not talking and following instructions and focusing. It will come in time.

And I'm loving looking at our mountain everyday with the great colors. We took a drive up East Canyon a few weeks ago too and it's a great year with brilliant colors. Halloween decor is up and we are loving fall.

We had our primary program. Too many kids now with the new ward so both my boys classes were sitting down below in the front rows of the chapel. Creed said his line perfect and then they had Jax tell a story in his own words from his talk on Choosing the Right. He was like the only one to do this. I am proud of him. And they both sang a little more this year.