Rowan, SMILE! Please, just smile!

Trying to make Rowan smile proved to be quite a project! He just wasn't having it! Here are a few pics to prove just how hard I tried!

He's such a comedian!

Aw come on Ro, be serious!

As close as we could come to an actual smile! Whew, we're done!

Our Christmas Card Picture! Rowan still couldn't manage a normal smile! Oh well, gotta love him!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

One of my projects for Kristi and her family. These are coasters I made for them.

My big project for my Mom and Dad for Christmas. Thanks everyone for getting those pictures to me! I think it turned out really cute! They are never gonna need to buy coasters ever again! ;)

~Christmas Eve~

Each Christmas in the Olson Family, we pick a sibling to get gifts for. This year we had my sister Kristi and her family, they had us. Thanks sis! The kids loved each gift! We love that we'll be able to go out and eat without kids! :)

Ian especially loved the ramp, the lego car can jump over! We love the noisy simon says game! ;) Thanks so much! :)

Rowan was so excited to "Go Fishing!" It even went to bed with him that night!

Jeff and I have gotten into The Office. So now we have all four seasons!

Jeff out did himself this Christmas, he picked out a beautiful necklace for me! Thanks Hon!

Christmas Surprises!

Rowan was so excited to open presents! Didn't really care about the clothes though, hmm I wonder why not?! :)

Hannah our future Vetrinarian, with her newest patient! She was pretty happy to find this! If you can't tell by the smile on her face!

Grandpa and Grandma Olson, How did you know my family would love this!!! :) Thank you, this so far has given hours and hours of excitement! We're all gonna be pro's by the time you come out to visit and then we'll see how you two fair! :) We love you!

Both boys were so excited to try out their new remote control cars! Rowan likes to make it spin in circles.

Ian has recently been really into Pokemon cards. He was soooo happy to find these under the tree! Mom and Dad are so cool!

Party Fun!

The Airforce usually puts on a Christmas party for all the adults (although by the end of the party all the "adults" are acting more like kids). It's usually at a really nice location, this year it was held at the Grove Park Inn. They have it catered, the food was oh soo yummy! Then they have games, white elephant and raffle tickets and at the end they end up dancing til the sun comes up! We had a lot of fun. It was nice to get dressed up and go out with out worrying about where the kids are or what they're getting into!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

The kids were soooo excited to see Santa! Ian even wrapped up one of the things he built and gave it to Santa! Poor Santa though couldn't seem to keep his hair out of his face!

Getting ready to go to the party! I love Rowan's face peeking in behind us!

On my way back to build more projects for Ian! Just call me Mrs. Handyman! I need a toolbelt though!

Christmas Party!

Through out the whole party Rowan had some sort of treat continously stuffed in his mouth. It's like he thought he was never gonna get candy ever again!

Rowan had so much fun running around and getting into everything he possibly could. When ever it would get quiet and we couldn't find him. We'd check behind the Christmas tree and sure enough there he was, snitching the candy canes off the tree! Here's a picture of him being caught in the act! He thought he was in trouble for sure!Here's another of him with a treat in his mouth! I'm really surprised he didn't end up with a tummy ache with the amount of sugar he ate that day.

Jeff was asked to "Man" the craft table! I spent my time with a hammer and nails in my hand! Lol! Enough said huh! :) He tried to make a few crafts, but his projects just never seemed to stay together! Good try though honey!

Hannah did a bit of everything!

She was especially good at decorating cookies and then sharing them with anyone that didn't have a cookie their hands already! This is her castle box she helped build.

This is where Ian and I spent most of our time. Building little projects! Or rather, Ian would find the ones he wanted, open them, start pounding nails in and then say, " Mom this is too hard, will you do it!" So we, I mean I ended up building a ship, a car, a plane, two baseball bat & glove holders, a football plaque, tool box (dad helped build that one), book rack, a castle box (another friend helped Hannah build it), and a napkin holder! But I must admit I loved every second of it!

He really had a good time hammering nails! Although most ended up being hammered through the wood and into the table.

One of the many, finished products!

Great job Ian!

I'm Not Ready for My Little Girl to Like Boys!

Here are a few pictures of Hannah and her friends. There are 6 girls, including Hannah, in her class and 10 boys. So the majority of Hannah's friends are boys, as you can see in the pictures. :) Hannah, Bryan, Tyler, and Davin are in this picture.

Hannah and Javen.

Ever since the begining of the school year Hannah and Tyler have been good friends. He's the oldest and biggest in the class and she's the youngest and smallest in the class. According to them they're cousins! She tells me all the time that when she grows up, she and Tyler are going to get married. A few weeks ago Tyler invited her to go to his house and play and then go to the theater and watch Bolt. Yikes, my 5 year old is already getting asked out on a date! We (me, Rowan, Ian, and Hannah) ended up going to the movie with Tyler and his mom. It's really funny, yet kinda nerve racking to see Hannah "liking" a boy!

~Just Lion Around~

We've had this lion costume since Ian was small. Each one of the kids has loved dressing up in it. It seems, especially Rowan. He gets really cute when he's wearing it. This time he kept wanting to stick his tongue out when I would try and take a picture. Thats what Lion's do Mom! So he says!

When I get the camara out he has to see each picture after it's taken. We can't go on until he does!

Maybe this little lion is hungry?

Or maybe he's had a little too much punch?

Either way he's as cute as can be! How'd I get so lucky?

Gettin Crafty!

I got really ambitious a few years ago and decided to sew my kids stockings. No pattern other then my own stocking. I think they turned out really cute. :) Now if I can just get my kids to keep their feet out of them!
Just before Thanksgiving we had a Super Saturday for RS in our ward. Here are a few things I did that day! I've seen these little FHE boards in many of my friends homes and finally decided to do one myself. I found the letters for our names, but still have a spot left over.... Any ideas what to fill it with?

I just thought these were pretty and wanted to do one for my home. Now I'm looking to do a sign with our family name on it...

All ready for snow and no where to go!

We broke out the winter gear finally! The kids have been wearing them: hat, gloves, and scarfs around the house ever since. They even wear them to bed! Notice though that Ian is still trying to wear his shorts! He wears long sleaved shirts in the summer and shorts in the winter! Don't ask me, I haven't figured it out yet! I thought they looked too cute to pass up a picture!

How prayers are heard!

Last one for tonight I promise! We were getting ready for bed, you know reading scriptures, prayers, etc. Well tonight it was Hannah's turn to say family prayer before bed. She's very into saying meaningful prayers. If you've ever heard Ian pray you'd appreciate her hard work at keeping it original each time she prays. :) We've struggled with Ian in getting him to think about what he says, instead of just saying the same thing each time he prays. We almost have to cut her off from her narrative to our Father in Heaven so we can get them to bed!

Hannah said her wonderful prayer and then had to explain to me how Jesus hears our prayers. According to her, He grabs them out of the air and then reads them! I love just how simple a child's mind works! It makes sense to her, so it must be how it is! I love hearing their explinations of the way things work!

Guess I'll go eat Worms!!

Here's another WORM moment for you, brought to you by Rowan of course!

We just recently put up our Christmas tree and few decorations. The kids were very excited about it and were very eager to help put ornaments on the tree and now they're wrapping presents (their own toys and giving them to each other). So we have small bundles under the tree wrapped by tiny hands! So cute I know.

Well tonight we sat down to watch a Christmas movie together and Rowan brought over the Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus figurine we have sitting by the DVD player. He came and sat down by me and started to tell me what each figure was. Mommy, Daddy, and when he got to the Baby Jesus, out came not baby, but Worm!

I promise I do teach my children the difference between babies and worms! :) I'm not sure where his fascination with worms has sprung from, but it's here none the less! I'm just hoping he doesn't start bring them home in his pockets!

Rowan's 3rd Birthday!

Rowan has really been into the Happy Birthday thing this year. Since mine, Jeff's, and Hannah's all come right before his, he knew what it was all about! He learned the Happy Birthday song and has been singing it around the house since the begining of October. Now he sings it too any one who will listen to him! His Grandma Kathy sent a package a few days before his birthday, and being the mean mom I am, I made him wait til his birthday to open it up! Torture for him let me tell you! He practically camped out on the box til Saturday morning. That morning, despite the late hour Dad let them stay up til, he was up bright and early! Yes EARLY, singing happy birthday to himself and trying to wake mommy and daddy up. So we all got up and let him open up his presents, you would have thought it was Christmas he was so excited! I still can't believe my baby is 3 though!


He picked out an ice cream cake for his birthday. Yummy!

He has really been into trains this year. Especially Thomas the Train, but he'll still play with other trains. He gets very animated when we pass by the train sets at the stores. When ever we go shopping we have to strategically plan our route so as not to go by the trains or we'll be stuck there for awhile!

Hannah got a Pound puppy for her birthday and Rowan didn't want to let her have it so he got one too. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Olson! He takes it everywhere with him!

Thomas the train! Or according to Rowan, "My Train"! He had a fun morning and by the time lunch rolled around he was ready for a nap. I had to go to a first aide certification class that day, so dad had them in the afternoon. He said Rowan couldn't even finish his lunch, he fell asleep in it instead!