a birthday conversation with C...

Parents 2....Teens 2 (happy birthday to C)

C is officially a teenager as of today!

WHAT?!?!

But we couldn't ask for better teenagers at our house!

In true teenager fashion, I didn't see C for most of the day.

He requested hash browns and sausage/egg sandwiches for breakfast and then he was off.

He spent the day with Rich at our friend's house watching non-stop football... 

(and, of course, Kristi baked him a birthday cake)

When C finally surfaced at home again we opened a couple of gifts and had another birthday cake.

I celebrated that for one more birthday I am still taller than my son.  I know that that could change at any time and my guess is that by next year the roles will be reversed.

No sooner had we finished our quick celebration than C was off again to go to another's friend's home, where he was given a THIRD birthday cake by sweet friends.
Shortly thereafter we all joined him at the neighbors where his birthday party made way for a hopping New Years Eve party.


THIRTEEN things I love about C on his THIRTEENTH birthday...

#1 his eyes!  Holy cow, this son of mine has some beautiful eyes
#2 his heart...C is kind and sensitive and I hope that he will always stay true to that side of himself because that is a gift
#3 his mad basketball skills...I never tire of watching my son out on the court!
#4 his aspirations...I love hearing him talk about what he wants to do when he is older and I hope that he knows that he can accomplish those goals with hard work.  Nothing is out of his reach!
#5 his ability to be chill...he does not like the drama and I love his calm, relaxed personality
#6 he is a great big brother...nothing melts my heart as much as C inviting J and T to join him in a game or an adventure.  I love that as the little boys get older, C includes them more in his life and I hope that they will grow closer and always be friends as they continue to get older
#7 his gratitude...C is very good at expressing "thanks" and appreciation
#8 the fact that he still snuggles with his parents...we are pretty lucky and I hope that he never stops climbing into bed between us :)
#9 his sense of humor...that boy can make me laugh
#10 his willingness to talk...I am glad that C includes Rich and I so much in his life
#11 his cleanliness...he loves a clean house as much as I do and is generally first to offer to pitch in when needed
#12 his hair...wink, wink
#13 the person that he is, even when he is away from home...

"C is a rock solid young man and it's a pleasure to work alongside him.  He's smart, spiritual, humble and he takes direction better than any young man I've ever worked with.  You and Rich are raising him right and it shows."(emailed to me a couple of months ago from his YM leader)

I am so lucky to be C's mom.

Happy Birthday C!

100 miles....just finished

This girl JUST walked in the door from her very last run of 2015!

The smile on her face is because on November 13th she took her very first run toward her goal of 

100 MILES BY THE END OF 2015 and today she ran #98, #99 & #100.

Not only does tonight's run complete her goal of 100 miles, it completes her Personal Progress so she really does have a reason to smile (and do gang signs apparently).

A few fun facts....

the number of miles she ran in the dark....100

the number of miles she ran in really COLD temperatures...100

the number of miles she ran in the rain...almost all of them

the number of miles she ran after 9:00 at night....too many of them

the number of times she ran with a trash bag as a poncho....oh yes she did :)

the number of miles she ran in Utah...not sure but she did run in Utah over Thanksgiving

the number of miles J and T ran with her....quite a few

the number of miles her dad ran with her....quite a few

the number of miles her mom ran with her....zero (I don't run in the dark, cold or rain)

and

the number of miles she wants to run in 2016.... 600!

"Look Nice, Be Nice"

Yesterday we attended a memorial to remember our dear, special friend Ardith Tall.

Ardith passed away on Dec 11, 2015, just two days shy of her 97th birthday.

Ardith befriended our little T and in doing so, she adopted our entire family.

What a blessing it was for us to get to know Ardith.

Ardith loved to read good literature.  Her home was filled with books.

Ardith was an amazing artist whose home was filled with beautiful artwork.

Ardith made you feel like you were the most important, regardless of who you were.

Ardith was classy and refined and was always a lady.

Ardith always had a smile.

Oh how we will miss her!

The quote was shared during the memorial that she once said that her goal every day was to

"get up each day to look nice and be nice".

That was Ardith!

Ketchup

In November I saw a friend's daughter wearing this t-shirt...

...and I knew exactly who I needed to buy a similar t-shirt for.

On Christmas morning my sister-in-law forwarded me the picture of my dad wearing his new shirt. 

 When I spoke to my dad later in the day he asked why I thought he liked ketchup so much.

Hmmmm...I don't know...

(that would be dad's place at the Thanksgiving dinner table...complete with ketchup bottle :)

"I had a good Christmas this year" ~T. Dougall 2015

It is hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone.

I feel like the weeks leading up to Christmas are so busy and so I  just crave those few days surrounding Christmas when the kids are out of school, Rich's work schedule is relaxed and we spend time together at home, removed from all the hustle and bustle of the month.

This year J requested that we have a Candlelight Dinner for Christmas.  

We have never done that before but I loved the idea so we ran with it and enjoyed an Italian dinner of lasagna, breadsticks, salad and Italian sodas via candlelight on Christmas Eve.  

After dinner we gathered and each of the kids chose their favorite Christmas story and read it out loud to the rest of us and then we talked about why they chose the story that they chose.  

Then that child got to pick one of their gifts to open.  Each of our kids give gifts to each of their siblings and I love that as they chose one gift to open on Christmas Eve they would all say "open mine" "open mine".  I think watching them thoughtfully select gifts for their siblings and then give gifts to one another may be one of my favorite things about Christmas.

We finished the evening with the reading of the true Christmas story from the bible and, although I was more than ready for bed, it was still relatively early so the kids climbed into Rich and I's bed and watched one more Christmas story together (should have gotten a picture of that!) 

Christmas morning came and Santa found us, as he usually does.

We enjoyed a breakfast of homemade donuts, eggs & sausage, hash browns and bacon and then we opened gifts.

We have continued the tradition of the kids receiving just four gifts...

"something you want"

 "something you need"

"something to wear"

"something to read"

It keeps Christmas simple and it is enough.  

The kids are so grateful for each gift and I love watching their anticipation and their reactions.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the gifts....putting together Lego sets, playing games, etc.
We continued the tradition of having cheese and chocolate fondue for dinner but there was a unanimous vote that next year we will forgo the fondue for something new.
That is how the Dougall's roll....Rich has always said that his favorite tradition is the tradition of doing something different :)

As I went to put the little boys to bed that night, I found this note which was the stamp of approval of the day.

I had a good Christmas this year too!

the history of the Christmas Box

At our house the kids make "Christmas Boxes" each year.  

It is basically a box that is decorated and placed with their stocking to "mark their spot" and to receive gifts.  It is hard to believe that this fun little tradition started nearly 10 years ago when Rich suggested that we decorate buckets one year as a craft with the kids.

After doing buckets for a couple of years, boxes replaced the buckets (easier to acquire and easier to recycle)...

And then somewhere in there the kids started sitting in their boxes following decorating them...

This year I only had one kiddo still sit in their box :(

But they all still decorated a box and, most importantly, Santa found each of their boxes on Christmas Eve and left them each a few things inside their boxes.

Here's to a few more years of the Christmas box tradition!

December Holiday Activities

Every year we make a list, with the help of the kids, of the things that we want to do over the month of December.  This December was no different.  And while we were pretty good about doing the activities, taking pictures was pretty much non-existent so you are going to just have to trust us.

This year our list looked like this....

1st...make countdown chains
2nd...make snowflakes
3rd...mail Christmas cards
4th...ward Christmas party
5th...cut down Christmas tree & decorate
6th...LDS First Presidency Devotional & candy cane milkshakes
7th...light the menorah & make latkes for Hanakkah
8th...visit Santa
9th...decorate doors
10th...make homemade eggnog
11th...sleep under the Christmas tree
12th...game night & hot cocoa bar
13th...drive to see Christmas lights
14th...secret service
15th...K's choir concert
16th...make chex mix
17th...Christmas piano recital
18th...watch a Christmas movie
19th...Aaron Meyer concert
20th...feed missionaries
21st...deliver neighbor gifts
22nd...Happy Birthday Jake & frost Christmas cookies
23rd...make gingerbread nativity
24th...decorate Christmas boxes
25th...Merry Christmas

the few photos we have... 

Have yourSELFIE a Very Merry Christmas

Best part about this year's Christmas Card?

The kids were in charge of it and I think they knocked it out of the park!

(my only part job was publishing and paying)

They took the selfies 100% on their own....

Then they came up with the list of hashtags that reflected 2015...what a bonding experience as they laughed and joked and came up with many more hashtags than could be used!

Here are some of my hashtags for 2015...

#timeflies

I can't believe that another year has gone by.  

Where does the time go?

#blessed

I feel so blessed to be the mom of these great kiddos.  

I love watching them get older and become their own people.  

I love watching them as they become friends with each other, not just siblings.

#Christmaswishes

We hope that this Christmas Season finds all of our friends and family well.

Know that we think of you often and are grateful to have you in our lives.

J turns NINE

Nine years ago this little guy joined our family just days before Christmas.  

He truly was the best Christmas gift that we could have ever asked for and we are reminded of that each year as we celebrate his birthday.

This year J celebrated his birthday with three of his good friends.

They went to the theater and watched "The Good Dinosaur" and then we went back to our house for pizza and hot cocoa.

As birthday boy, J chose welsh cakes for birthday breakfast (a birthday favorite at our house) and he had sweet ham for his birthday dinner.  With all the holiday treats coming and going, J actually elected to not have a cake at all so his birthday candle was placed in his bowl of ice cream and he was still sung to.

Between his friends and family, J received four board games for his birthday which is totally up his alley.  J LOVES to play games and luckily so does T.  They almost always have a game going so it was great to receive a few new additional games to choose from.

NINE things we love about J on his NINTH birthday...

1 - I love that J is a voracious reader.  He loves to go the library every chance he gets and comes home with everything from fiction to fact books to comic books....and he reads them all.

2 - I love that J is best friends with T.  They are together almost every waking minute and they truly are best friends to each other.

3 - I love how hard J works at school.  He participates in Battle of the Books, Math Olympiad, Hour of Coding and Chess Club and he soaks it all up.  He loves to learn!

4 - I love that J still asks for a hug from me every single night at bedtime!

5 - I love J's inquisitive mind.  Okay....truth be told it wears me out, but I love that he asks questions and know it will be a blessing in the long run.

6 - I love J's responsibility.  He does homework, piano practice, makes his bed and does chores without much (if any) reminder.  He just gets things done.

7 - I love J's developing sense of style.  The combing of the hair is a new thing but comb it he does....all day long.  Don't mess with the hair!

8 - I love J's sense of humor.  He truly has a sense of humor beyond his years and understands subtlety that may not even be recognized by those much older in age.

9 - I love that J is a good boy.  He is kind to his peers, he has a strong moral compass and he truly tries to do what is right and make good choices.

What a great boy.

Happy Birthday J!