Year in Review

Well...its the last day of 2007 so I thought I would do a little re-cap of the last 12 months. These are the most memorable events of the year. (In no particular order!)

1. Being a BSU fan and watching the Fiesta Bowl last year! Incredible is all I have to say about that! I don't think I have ever screamed so loud!

2. Nate receiving his job offer last January. This was the job of his dreams and we were excited to start out the year on such a great high note. It was a such a relief knowing that after his clerkship we knew he had a job at a great firm!

3. Landon Cooper Starnes being born on May Day. I was SO terrified to have 3 children 4 and under but it was a quick adjustment and I can't even imagine life without him here. He is such a joy and he is so stinkin cute! I can't believe he will be 8 months old tomorrow!

4. Not my favorite memory but having to go through surgery for such a ridiculous reason. If you don't know what I am referring to....look back to the blog from July. Dumb doctor.

5. Building our first home. What a fun and stressful project. We had such a great time picking our colors and everything but we were a little bit nervous about becoming home owners. We would drive by the house EVERY SINGLE day it was being built. It was fun to see the progress! The boys didn't think it was so much fun. Every time we would turn into our new subdivision we would hear a lot of moans and complaints. "Mooooooom....we JUST saw the new house. Not AGAIN!."

6. Heading up to Bozeman for the Whitaker Family Reunion. We had a great time together! I love that we have all of these silly traditions like the buddy burner breakfast. (Cooking breakfast with a partner over a hot can.) It is more like buddy burn-your-breakfast. It was fun seeing a new part of the country and it was BEAUTIFUL up there!

7. Dallin playing soccer and t-ball this year. What a hoot! We had lots of fun going to his games and Nate LOVED being the t-ball coach. Better get used to this. I'm sure we will be heading to these sporting events for many years to come!

8. Parker destroying our new table. I'm sure most of you know the story but just in case you don't...here is goes. We finally bought a new table and chairs for our kitchen and I waited 2 months for them to arrive. We got everything put together and the next morning we were all getting ready to go out and buy a new tablecloth. I walk around the corner and there is Parker painting RED NAIL POLISH all over the kitchen floor, dishwasher and all over my NEW TABLE. I just about threw up. The nail polish ate through the varnish and stain on the table. I called RC Willey in tears and they agreed to sell me a new one for only $200. We bought it but it is still in a box in the garage. I figure I may as well let the boys destroy this one before I get the other one out.

9. Going to Utah for Thanksgiving. It was so much fun getting together with everyone and being able to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Whitaker. We always have so much fun playing games and hanging out. The all-night shopping excursion was one I will always remember as well.

10. Thowing my Mom's 50th birthday party. My mom is NEVER surprised about anything and we got her GOOD this year. She thought she was coming over to watch the boys and little did she know a limo was coming to pick her up from our house. The limo came and picked her up and took her all around the city. It would stop randomly and pick up her friends and family who came in from out of town. Then the limo took her back to her house where we had all of her friends from Boise waiting to surprise her! We decked the whole house out in pink and black.I had the whole thing catered from GoodWood. Ash came up and helped with the food (thank heavens) . Natalie put a bunch of pictures to music and we played some fun games. It was classic!

11. Trying out the dog thing. What a learing experience. If you think your life is difficult...try throwing a puppy in the mix for 6 weeks. When the puppy is gone...you realize that life really isn't too stressful after all! Even though I loved that little puppy..I don't think the Starnes family will ever be pet owners again. (Except for fish)

12. Our Christmas this year. I will never forget the boy's expressions. Grandparents SPOILED us this year!

Well....this year has definitely been a good one. Hopefully the next will bring as much joy as the last one has! Happy New Year everyone!

A few pictures from the season

Who doesn't love a new pair of Christmas jammies?!!!

Sweet little boy!

Dallin was VERY excited to get his Light Sketcher!

Our Christmas cookies for Santa. Janet's recipe! They turned out D-licious!

Checking out the model train exhibit downtown.

Landon meeting Santa for the first time!

They were pretty exited to tell Santa what was on their ever changing lists!

Christmas 2007

I keep putting off blogging because I left my camera at my parent's house and I want to put some pictures up! As soon as I get it back I will definitely get them up. Christmas was AMAZING this year. We had such a wonderful Christmas Eve with Nat and Robby, Jas, and Mom and Dad. We started off with an amazing dinner with everything imaginable. Turkey and ham and Swedish meatballs, BBQ meatballs, and crab cakes...and those were just the meat choices! We had all the fixings to go along with it and cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory for dessert! (Bring on the calories!) The highlight of the evening was being able to talk to Elder Rock. He sounded so great! You can tell he is 100% lost in the work he is doing. After talking with James we proceeded with the annual Rock Family Christmas Program. Its a miracle I know...but Staci Lynn Starnes actually SANG in the Christmas program. I couldn't look at Nate because I knew I would burst out laughing. I did sing WITH Nat, Robby and Jason...but hey...this is big for me!
We ended the evening with the candle tradition. When Nat and I were little we started this tradition where everyone sits in a circle and we dim the lights. One person holds the candle and proceeds to talk about the previous year and the things they are grateful for...then they pass it to the next person. It kind of turns into a testimony meeting of sorts but it is such a great way to really feel the spirit of the season.
We left my parents at about 11:00 and little did we know how LATE we were going to be up getting all the toys ready for the next morning. I finally crashed at about 1:30 but Nate was up until 3:30 putting the bikes and scooters together!
Christmas morning was so incredible. The boys came into our room at 7:00 and asked if Santa had come. I was shocked that they didn't just go down and look for themselves but I was glad because I was able to catch their initial reactions as they came downstairs. They were so SPOILED this year. They would run from one toy to the next and then to the next. Landon pretty much tried to eat bows and wrapping paper the whole time. Dallin is so funny.He had this huge plethora of toys including remote control cars, moon sand, huge dinosaurs and other things and what was the one thing he was the MOST excited about?? A fractions book that I got him from the dollar store.
Nate spoiled me as usual. We always make an agreement not to go overboard on each other and to focus on the kids. I try to stick to that plan but Nate always disobeys and makes me feel so stupid.
I have been SO busy the last couple of days trying to get back on top of everything here at the home front. It is amazing how quickly the laundry and dishes pile up when you kind of ignore them for a few days! Thank you to everyone who helped make this Christmas so special for us. We loved recieving so many Christmas cards and we appriecate you taking the time to remember us during this Holiday Season.

Our Landon is Standin!

I walked into the baby's room today and low and behold......he is STANDING in his crib! I had to look twice! Can he really be getting so big already? He was very proud of himself as you can see from his big gummy smile!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little guy!

Happy Birthday Aunt Nanny!

Happy 25th Nat! I thought I would give a little shout out to my only sister in the world...especially since I wasn't there to celebrate with her yesterday. Here are a few of my favorite thoughts/memories about my sis.

1. When we were little, we would always spy on my parents. We thought it was the coolest thing in the world. We would each take cordless phone and push a few buttons so the busy signal wouldn't come on and one of us would hide behind the couch and "report" on what mom and dad were doing. 9 times out of 10 they were just watching TV.

2. We would sneak into the kitchen and steal all the ingredients needed to make cookie dough and go up into one of our playrooms and make it. I look back and seriously want to gag. We would throw a little of this and a little of that...a whole raw egg and then we would eat it! My mom would always find these bowls with dried cookie dough in them and wonder what the heck was going on!

3. One time I tried to guilt my sister into giving me all of her money. I told her how sad I was that my birthday was in the summer and how I felt so left out because I didn't get recognized during the school year. She gave me all of her money to make me feel better. I think I was the most rotten older sister in the world. How RUDE is that?

4. Nat is very hardworking and driven. She always has been. I know the kids in her class are VERY fortunate to have such a wonderful teacher. I am very proud of her and the dedication she has to her class.

5. Natalie is very talented. She can sing like an angel but will take you down on the basketball court! She has many talents that are obvious to the eye and some that are realized once you get to know her. She is very thoughtful and concerned for others.

I could go on and on......

I hope you had a wonderful birthday Nat! Can't wait to see you in a few days! I love you!

Sister Stac

Work Christmas Party

Last night was a lot of fun! Nathan's work Christmas party was at the Arid Club. It used to be a Gentleman's club and JR Simplot was one of the founding members. Dinner was D-licious! Filet Mignon....smashed potatoes and greens. The dessert buffet was incredible. There were little chocolate cakes, cheesecakes, cookies and lemon bars. I enjoyed finally meeting all of these people I hear about on a day to day basis. It is always fun to get a little dressed up and have a night out without the boys!

A rainy day

Today is a very ugly, gray, rainy day in the City of Trees. It reminds me of the winters up in Spokane. Yuck! We called up some friends and met over at Planet Kid for the afternoon. My friend Melissa has 2 girls. (4 and 3) My boys call them "our girls." They had a great time running around and burning up all of that energy! I wanted to get them all worn out before my mom comes over to watch them tonight. We have our big Christmas party for Nate's work this evening. It is "business formal" attire. Whats up with that? Is it formal? Is it business? I'm confused.

Happy Birthday P-man!

I can't believe my big boy is 3! (or almost...his REAL birthday is Sunday)Parker had lots of fun today at his John Deere tractor party! Parker absolutely LOVES tractors so we thought it was fitting to have a party with a tractor theme this year!
This is a crazy time of year to have a birthday. Parker's actual due date was Christmas day but the doctor and I both agreed that neither one of us really wanted to be in the hospital on that day so THANKFULLY Parker came on December 16, 2004!
I love throwing parties for my boys and I feel bad because Parker's birthday has always been kind of over looked over because of the holiday season. Not this year though! We had 6 little friends come over and we made some cute little barn and animal crafts, played some games and ate some tractor cake. We had lots of fun!

3 funny things about Parker:

1. He loves FUZZ. He picks at his blanket at rolls the fuzz into these balls that I find ALL OVER MY HOUSE. I find the majority of these fuzz balls in his room after a nap or in the morning after he wakes up. I think he rolls these balls while he sleeps. Drives me nuts!

2. I don't think he has ever liked being 2 years old. (Just because he wants to be like Dallin ALL the time.) When people ask how old he is he will always say "I am 5." He won't even say the words "Me too" becuase he thinks it means "Me two." So if someone says...."I want to go outside"....Parker will say...."Me five." Meaning....."me too." Hopefully that made sense!

3. We've been trying to teach Parker that we don't say the Lord's name in vain. For awhile he was using it in an inappropriate way. We told him to say "O my goodness" instead. He made up his own replacement word though. He always says..."O (pause) MY (pause) WOW!" Its soo cute. Happy Birthday my middle child! I LOVE YOU!

YUMMY!

What kind of ice cream flavor are you? I took this little ice cream quiz today. Ironically enough..I am Black Raspberry and I LOVE that flavor!!

Christmas pictures!

Pictures are back ALREADY! For some reason we had some quick turnaround. My fav has to be the first one with all their tongues hanging out. Landon's tongue is ALWAYS out for some reason....so she asked Dal and Parks to stick their's out too. It just seems so fitting for the day we had!

It is fun to GIVE!

I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. I am looking forward to having Christmas in my own home and seeing my boys come down the stairs Christmas morning. I am so excited to see family, enjoy some good food and I am really looking forward to hearing Elder Rock's voice from Mexico City. My boys are getting older and really starting to figure out this whole Christmas thing. It seems like every commercial that comes on is followed by a "Mom! I want that." A few weeks ago a Vagisil commercial came on and Parker screams...."Mom....Can I have that?" Sheesh.

Anyway, for Thanksgiving this year, my wonderful in-laws gave each of us a little money to do something nice for someone else during the Christmas season. We deliberated as to what we could do as a family so the boys could really enjoy it and learn from it at the same time. For FHE we talked about what Christmas really means and we discussed the fact that there are lots of children who won't get anything for Christmas. We talked about doing things for the less fortunate just like Jesus did. Dallin exclaims..."Lets get some toys for those kids!" What a great idea! Off we headed to Target. The boys had lots of fun picking out some toys for OTHER children. I was very surprised when Dallin chose to get a MY LITTLE PONY for a girl. For him to even acknowledge there are girls in the world was HUGE. (Except for cousin Makalya of course!) Parker chose some cars and a basketball/baseball/football sports set. (All things he would want for himself!) After they each picked a few toys and then we headed on over to the brand new fire house near our house. The boys were thrilled to meet a real fire fighter and see the big trucks close up. The fireman was very appreciative as the boys dropped their toys in the Toys for Tots bin. As we drove home we talked about the warm feeling we had inside because we did a very small thing for someone else. It was such a quick and fun

thing to do and the boys have been talking about it for days! This is definitely a tradition that the Starnes family will

continue in the years to come.

Math

3 whiny children+no dad available to help+Christmas pictures+TONS of people at the mall+no toys or videos to watch while we wait+Parker and his STUBBORNNESS+TWO and A HALF hours later= DISASTROUS MORNING!

These pictures better be worth it! (They'll be back in a couple of weeks)

P.S. Since my post on "parties" I have been invited to 1+1+1= 3 more parties. Party on I guess.

My new hair

I have been meaning to post some pictures of my new DARK hair. Its acutally dark brown...blonde and RED (well,just a little) all together. Kind of fun!

Party Pooper

Alright...so I don't mean to complain about things that REALLY don't matter in the large scheme of things but today I am feeling a little annoyed.
It seems like lately I can't walk into church or even around my neighborhood without someone trying to sell me something. I will meet someone and 2 seconds later they are whipping out the Mary Kay card or inviting me over to the Pampered Chef party. This seems to happen more and more now that Nathan is an "official attorney." I assume people think we have ALL this money to spend on random things which couldn't be possibly further then the truth! (ESPECIALLY during the holiday season!) After the mortgage and the loan payments go off...there just isn't much left! I have received 3 YES 3 invitations to these "parties" in the last WEEK. I get countless invites to these "spa parties," "girls nights," "candle parties" or "jewelry parties." Sometimes I wonder why people don't just come right out and say, "Hey..I have signed up to sell some stuff and I am trying to make some money off my friends and family. Can you write me a check for $25 and I won't waste your time." Honestly....if I needed some makeup or a new candle...I don't really see the need to order it from someone...specially when everything seems WAY overpriced. I never know what to do...go to the party and just buy something...or don't go and hurt someones feelings. Is there such a thing as being friends and neighbors without having any strings attached anymore?
SO...there is my random rant for the day. If you sell any of this stuff you'll have to forgive me!

Freebie Weekend!

We've just had a whole weekend of freebies!
First off..I recieved a $25 gift card to Chili's for helping out my parent's friend by doing a little mystery shopping.
Then I used my $10 bucks back from Kohls becuase it expires today.
I recieved a free $10 to Old Navy.
I got an email for a free lunch at my favorite Italian resurant....Louie's.
And...Nate is getting his hair cut right now for free becuase he filled up his stamp thing.
Nothing like getting FREE stuff!!!!!

Tagged

I have been tagged multiple times with this "6 interesting things about you" so I guess I will finally just get it done!
I am not tagging anyone with this either so unless you REALLY want to do it...you don't have to!

1. When my husband and I first met...I was a freshman at BYU and I did not have a car. I was a little nervous about dating an RM but I had no problem calling him up and asking if I could borrow his car. I even used it a couple of times to go on dates with OTHER guys. Evil I know. He has forgiven me...he always says he got the last laugh!

2. I LOVE to dance. If there was some kind of dance club for married LDS Mormon Moms...I would be there! Nate and I really want to go on a cruise one day so we can dance the night away. Of course...we always have dance parties at home with the boys...but that doesn't count.

3. I have a mild obsession with the lawn. I guess I get this trait from my dad. If you know my dad...then you know exactly what I am referring to. I actually enjoy mowing it and I love the gratification I get when I can look at my house and see a healthy, green, perfectly edged lawn. Nate would get so mad at me during my last pregnancy because I would always mow the lawn before he would get home from work. He would always say, "Our neighbors are going to think that you have some ROTTEN husband who makes his 8 month pregnant wife mow the lawn!"

4. I take a bubble bath almost every night. I have for years. I love being able to just sit back and relax at the end of a long day. It is a lot more enjoyable now that I have a big soaker tub.

5. I used to think I was a bad mom because my whole day wasn't structured and all planned out. I would look at the moms that had strict routines and think they really had it all together. I have since changed my mind and decided that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with taking things a day at a time. Of course I do like having a nap time planned in but I also realize its not the end of the world if it doesn't happen. I like being spontaneous and changing things up every day!

6. If I had a million dollars the VERY first thing I would do..even before paying off the house and student loans... would be to buy my Grandma a cabin. She has always dreamed of having a cabin and she deserves it after all of the selfless things she has done for us and countless others. She is amazingly in tune with the spirit and knows when to extend help and service.

Super Bissell!!

I realize Thanksgiving is over but today I have a new found GRATITUDE for my Bissell Carpet Cleaner. During Law School, Nate acquired points while using Westlaw and Lexus Nexus and he turned the points in for a Bissell. I know he probably wasn't too thrilled about using so many points on it but it has honestly SAVED me so many times....especially with 3 boys. (And the temporary dog :() It was worth every point!
Today Parker smeared toothpaste all over the carpet in the office. After a thorough cleaning I came downstairs to find TWO dinner plate sized go-gurt smears all over the carpet downstairs. One PINK....one BLUE. Once again....Bissell to the rescue!
Perhaps I shouldn't be writing this because if I just stayed quiet....Nate would never know!
O yeah....and Parker is in BIG trouble.

Home again!

We had a wonderful trip down to Utah for Thanksgiving. I seriously married into the BEST family. We had so much fun eating lots of yummy food, playing games and just hanging out. I wish I had taken some more pictures but I forgot to charge the batteries (as usual). I learned a few things during this particular trip:

#1. There was a reason my parents would always leave on long car trips during the EVENING. We left at about 4:00 and we had so many less stops...potty breaks...fights to break up. The boys slept while Nate and I enjoyed having some one on one time. I have always been hesitant about driving that road at night but as long as the roads are clear...we are doing that from now on!

#2. I can be one of those crazy, competitive, insane all night shoppers and it is A TON OF FUN!!! My mom in law and sisters in law pulled an all nighter hitting all of the great sales. We hit the ModBod sale at 12:00...went to the mall at 1:00, waited in the Kohl's line at 4:00 and made it to Target by 6:00. We were all sugared up on Dr. Pepper and totally delirious but we had so much fun. There were only a couple of mild battle wounds but the great deals were worth it!

#3. I am a ROCK STAR. I never knew I had such mad skills. We played Guitar Hero 3 and I was getting 75% on the EXPERT LEVEL!!! If this whole child raising thing doesn't work out....I think I have a career to fall back on.

It is nice to be back home. Time to bring on the Christmas season!! Before we even unpacked the car we started getting out the Christmas tree and decorations. We couldn't really unpack the car while the boys were awake since the majority of luggage was from Santa. Here's the finished product:

It's kind of nice not having any furniture in our front room. It is completely devoted to the Christmas tree!

This morning we woke up to some BIG BEAUTIFUL snowflakes! I was so excited for the boys to come downstairs and look out the window at the white covering the lawn. Parker was ecstatic. He wanted to go outside and "make a ball, and throw it." Dallin's eyes started welling up with tears. He says, "But Moooooom, I don't want it to be Christmas! I want it to be Thanksgiving! I want to see Grandma and Grandpa and eat turkey." I assured him we would still have Thanksgiving. Funny kid.

I have so much to be grateful for. I have truly been blessed this year. New baby, new job, new home, good health, great kids, wonderful husband....I could go on and on. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Baby Landon...the Transformer

My sister sent this to me today. It made me laugh!

Cute bags....great cause...what could be better??

It's late and I was just checking my email tonight and I was reading one from an old friend from the Spokane days. She and her husband have had quite a trying year as her husband was diagnosed with cancer. I know finances have been really tough for their little family. She is trying to earn some extra money and has started selling these cute homemade bags. I thought I would just pass the word along to all of my blogging friends! Her webpage is http://www.beansproutdesigns.com/. Here are a couple of the bags:




O yeah...and they are all each $50...no matter what the price says on the webpage!

Fish

We have two new members of the family to announce.....2 beta fish named "Logger" and "Dolphin." (No idea where the Logger thing came from.) Now THIS I can handle!!! The day after Tilly left us Dallin came into my room and said, "Mom...I still miss Tilly but I think a fish would make me feel a lot better." Both of the boys were ecstatic about their fish. It's funny how quickly they can get over things.

Good-bye Tilly

Well....so much for "super mom." We sold our sweet puppy today. I seriously can't stop crying about it. I have never had a dog in my life and I never knew how attached you could get to a furry 4 legged creature. I freely admit it...it was just too much for me to handle. I tried for 6 weeks to be strong and tell myself I could get through this. 3 children 5 and under and a puppy (which is the equivalent of like 2 more children) was just too much for me to deal with. She kept going to the bathroom all over my new house. She was doing pretty well with the potty training thing until it got cold outside. (I don't really blame her...I wouldn't want to go outside in the cold wet grass.) Nate and I have just worked too hard for too long to have a puppy ruin everything. Kids do enough of that already. The boys also continued to be a little bit too rough with her and I was constantly worried for her safety. I posted an ad in the classifieds and a little old lady called. She and her husband are retired and already have a little chihuahua and wanted another puppy. I can't even put into words how heartbreaking it was to watch Dallin say goodbye. We both cried together as I held him. I feel like the worst parent ever. He kept saying, "O please Mommy...I love her. I don't want her to go to another house." I tried to tell him a story to get his mind off of everything and he would interrupt me and say, "I feel so sad Mommy. I hurt in my tummy." I knew exactly how he felt becuase I was feeling the same way. Even though it was such a hard thing to do..it really is best for us. Landon is trying to crawl and I couldn't leave him on the floor with the puppy because she would nip and him and lick all over his face. Landon deserves to learn how to crawl and walk without being attacked. I wish I just would have listened to my instincts when we decided to get her. I knew now wasn't the right time for us. O well...you live and and you learn. So long Tilly...we love you and we will miss you very much.