Christmas post

I was going to post a few pictures of the kids on Christmas morning, but Greg has the camera at work, I'll do it later. But I will say Christmas was very simple and probably one of the funnest so far. Austin is 6 and at that age where Christmas is still very magical to him. He swore he saw Santa and his sleigh on the ride home from our friends on Christmas Eve. We got home and he went to bed and then as soon as santa had left he was in our room at 11:30 pm to inform us that Santa had been to our house! I think that santa had JUST left. He ended up sleeping in our bed for the rest of the night, and if you know anything about Greg you know that kids in our bed is a huge NO-NO. I guess Christmas is the exception. Christmas Day is the only day of the year that I feel justified in taking a really long, and well worth it nap. That's the best gift of all! We had a great Christmas and I did end up getting a beautiful picture of Jesus. Now when my kids are asked to think of a picture of Jesus in their house, they have one to think of!

My "helpers"

I always wonder why I can't keep up with my housework...well the babies seem to want to help all the time! Unfortunately, none of these pictures I staged, it's what happens EVERY single day. Someone's got to keep me on my toes!

Christmas Tag

Anyone can play--just copy and paste!

1.CANDY CANES--PEPPERMINT OR CHERRY?
Cherry

2.GINGERBREAD HOUSES--KIT OR HOMEMADE?
We always did homemade growing up. I usually get a kit. It's not the same. I think I will try homemade this year. By homemade I mean already made grahm crackers with lot's of icing and candy. Then you can actually eat it...if you want.

3.MOST ANNOYING CHRISTMAS SONG
Feliz Navidad. I agree with Holly!

4.FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG
Anything by Nat King Cole or any of those oldy singers...they make Christmas seem so much simpler than it is today.

5.MOST MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS PRESENT YOU RECEIVED AS A CHILD
How funny is this...I got twin cabbage patch dolls when I was about 7 or 8, but they were girls.

6. MOST MATERIALISTIC THING YOU'RE ASKING SANTA FOR THIS YEAR
A kitchen table (not likely), a nice, big framed picture of Jesus (already here, Greg picked it out and so I don't know what picture it is)

7. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE
Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life.

8. CHRISTMAS MUSIC--DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN OR DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING?
Day after Thanksgiving

9. DO YOU BELIEVE?
Of Course!

10. GET DRESSED BEFORE OPENING YOUR PRESENTS, OR STAY IN PJ'S?
PJ's--who gets dressed? Agreed!

11. BLACK FRIDAY?
I've only gone twice and I hated it both times. I like to shop on-line, where there is peach and quiet, most of the time.

12. WHITE LIGHTS OR COLORED?
White

13. EVER BEEN TO THE NUTCRACKER?
No

14. DOES SANTA LEAVE AN ORANGE IN THE TOE OF YOUR STOCKING?
Yes, he always has. Just the smell of them reminds me of Christmas when I was younger.

Late Post

This post is so late, but I had to say how much fun I had at Twilight. We were in UT for a short time and so I got to go see it with my sisters & Mom :)! My sister put together shirts and we went to dinner and then hit the midnight show the first night out. Alot of people haven't really loved the movie, but I think I enjoyed it so much because I was having so much fun with my sisters & mom (we missed you Tami, Michele, Susan and Tiff).

What I am thankful for...

I thought since it is Thanksgiving that I would post a few things that I am thankful for. I feel like the most luckiest person in the world to have four healthy boys. I am so thankful that I am able to stay home and take care of them. How lucky is that? Sometimes I take it for granted that Greg is working so hard for us so that our boys can have a mother at home at all times. I am also thankful for Greg. He is my best friend and I couldn't make it with out him. He is so loving and sweet to me. He also loves his boys so much that I can see it in his eyes when he is around them. We choose to spend a lot of time together as a family, since we believe that is what is going to make our boys feel loved and confident.

I am so thankful for my family. We live so far away from them, but I think of them all constantly. They are always in my prayers. If any of them want to move to Alaska, we would be so happy! I have six sisters & three sis-in-laws on my side and five sis-in-laws on Greg's side, plus my mother and mother-in-law and I feel so lucky to have them all in my life. They have all made such an impact in my life and I know that if I need anything they are always there for me!

I also am so thankful for my friends. Friends that I haven't talked to in years and friends that live just up the street. Friends that I stay in contact with through blogging. Friends come into my life just when I need them. There are times that I needed just that right person at that specific moment. You all share a huge spot in my heart.

Last, but not least, I am so thankful that in America we can choose to worship as we please. I am thankful for the gospel. I am thankful that as parents, Greg and I are able to teach our boys freely of the Atonement and the Plan of Salvation. How great is that? The gospel makes being a family so important and we always have a goal in mind!

PS..I am still thankful that Target opened, and that Kohl's opens in March!!

More Pictures

Our cruise to Virgin Islands

Every other year the practice that Greg has ownership in takes their employees on a cruise. It was so nice and relaxing and a perfect time to leave AK...we just got so cold, so fast. We cruised to the Virgin Islands (Grand Turk, Tortola, St. Thomas/John, & Holland America's private island Half Moon Key). I must say that of all the beaches I've ever been on these sands and water were unbelieveable!! So white and clear. We snorkled with stingrays, kayaked and some shopping and just laid low on the beach. Here are some pictures.

Deoderant???

For those of you that really know me you know that I sweat a lot. I have not been able to find a deoderant that continues to work throughout the day. They always smell good when you first put it on and by half way through the day I can smell a slightly sour smell. Does anybody have any great earthmoving suggestions?

Where's the elk?

Greg has one of his prized possessions hanging on our wall...his Montana elk he got a few years ago with his bow. Ryder loves the elk, and bear for that matter, hanging on the wall.

Target!

You might think I am crazy for posting about Target, but I just can't help myself. Anchorage just got it's first Target and I was dumb enough to go on the soft opening day, grand opening isn't until Sunday. It was like Black Friday, but with lot's of kids involved as well. I think what I love most about Target is the familiarity of a store that I grew up with. I go in there and feel right at home. The other best thing is that they built Target just over the free-way from where we live! Also going in is a Kohl's, Best Buy, Lowe's, Sport's Authority and we heard maybe Olive Garden! Anchorage is growing!!

Could it be that time already?

Yesturday was kinda cold, in the 40's, and I was picking up the boys from school when it started to sleet/snow! NOOOOOOOOOO! Not ready! Plus it isn't supposed to snow in the 40's, is it? We didn't have that great of summer in Anchorage. Everyone who's lived here forever said it was the coldest summer they've ever been through up here. A couple of us did the "Beans/Oktoberfest" run this morning and there was ice on the wooden bridges that we ran across. Plus when the clouds cleared some, I did see snow in the foothills! Time to get the coats out, I thought I just put them away 3 months ago!

I Need HELP!!!

Having twins has been such a joy....up until this point. If you ever heard me say that I want another baby soon, well not anymore!! I can't keep up with the Taz Manian Devils! I need advice. What do you do to toddler proof your house. Since I have put rubber bands on all cupboards that open out, they have gone to the lazy susan (which I've tried to keep locked with mailing tape, so far so good), drawers, my baskets of movies, anything that is fun to throw all over the house. HELP! Give me some good hints.

Memory Lane

MEMORY LANE- Okay, so I got this off of Beth's blog and I had so much fun reading memories about her, especially because it was alot of the Philly friends that left memories. So I thought I would post this onto my blog. Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! I guess good or bad but be nice!!!!!!!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Utah trip...

I know these pics are late, but here are a few things that we did while in UT. We ran out of memory on our camera while at the Harr family reunion in Fish Lake. We didn't get any pictures of St. George or the waterparks we went to. It was over a 100 degrees on some days. I loved it! Especially because I knew I'd be coming back to 60 degree weather.
Austin turned 6 while we were in UT. We took him to Boondocks and then had a little family party with him.
Ryder loved the horses and dogs. He couldn't get enough of them. Between all the kids and grandkids there were about 7 dogs at the ranch.
Greg's parents built this awesome cabin at Fish Lake and they added some great amenities for the place. This basketball court is one of them. Isn't that awesome that they can ball some ball while in the widerness?
This was a highlight of the trip. Grandpa Harr (Greg's dad) keeps his horses at the ranch and they were used often. Hunter and Greg, Preston and g-pa were off for a long ride. If you notice the white metal building in the background, well that is big enough to store three 5th wheels, ten 4-wheelers, and all the furniture that has been waiting to go into the cabin. Then if you notice the cabin, it's twice that size. They did and still are doing such a beautiful job on the cabin. If I could lift that cabin and put it here in Anchorage we'd be set.
Greg had a lot of fun with all the grandkids. He would take them 4-wheeling and horse riding. What a nice uncle/dad.

So I've gotten crap from a few people for not keeping up my blog but I have reasons....we left for Utah, we've had company living with us for a month and a half, and the babies have learned to walk! That alone has made life a little bit more complicated. Although, I did have time to go and get my hair all cut off and colored it. I went out on a limb and colored it black and red. The color has faded or else I would post a picture. I am going to have her do it again and then I'll post a picture!

4th of July

For the 4th we ended up camping about 15 minutes from home. That works out perfect for me because then I can run home and do some wash or pick up things I've forgotten, or take a shower. It was a fun time 4-wheeling, playing games, eating LOT'S of smores and just hanging out. We got to see some very late night fireworks from a town close by. They had to shoot them off at midnight, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to see them! If you look closely you can see the mosquito bites all over the babies faces. They must be really sweet for the mosquito's to like them that much.
Enjoying smores. A nightly tradition.
Ryder in dirt heaven.
Nancy Newell, Katie Russell and Robyn Newell. We are enjoying a game of dominos while the men are out 4-wheeling with the older kids.
Peyton's first bloody nose. It seems we have always documented all of our boys 1st bloody encounters. Why? I don't know, it's a guy thing and I am out-voted!

This isn't from camping, but it sure is cute! It doesn't matter how slowly I open the dishwasher they can hear it and they speed crawl to it. Just recently they figured out how to get up onto it, or maybe they helped each other up.

lil girls hairdo's

My youngest sister Jessica has the cutest little girl, Adde, and she always has her looking so cute. She's had a lot of people stop her and ask how she did Adde's hair. So she started a blog. If you have girls and have the time to try some cute hairdo's, then check out her blog: cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com.

Suicide Run!

The other night Greg took Hunter and Austin, along with our friends Randy and his son Hunter (our Hunter's are only 1.5 months apart) on a suicide fishing run. They left at 3pm and got home at 3:44am, according to Hunter. Greg caught nothing, only Tim who I swear is a professional fisherman caught anything. Not only did he not catch anything he broke both of his poles and sprained his ankle. I woke them all up at 10am for church and they didn't complain the whole day! I thought this picture was cute of them in their bibs.
It looks like Austin has had a rough night, soaking his feet. He's probably seeing if his waders really are waterproof or maybe he's checking out the black bear across the river!
See the black blob, that's the bear. Good thing he didn't come swimming across the river.

Peyton & Ryder turn 1!!

Peyton & Ryder getting ready for some cake.

Our friends all came to help celebrate the babies big day. Thanks guys!

I made a baseball cupcake cake. I only had the babies dive into one cupcake each.

This Summer...

Austin started soccor. So far he loves it.
Hunter is playing flag football with some friends.
Jessica (my sister) and her husband Kelly came up for a visit. It was a lot of fun having them.
Jessi and Kelly. We went on a glacier cruise. It was fun.
The Newells (Kent & Robyn) moved up here last week. Robyn ran the 1/2 marathon with me. She is a trooper, she had only been here for a day and then her knees were killing her, but she kept running anyway.

I'll miss my childhood house!

I think all the girls in our family are very sentimental, this proves it. My dad retired this past January and they are ready to move on to missions and smaller sqft. The house I grew up in was the funnest house for a kid to live in. My parents got it as a bank repo. When they first bought it nobody had lived in it for years. People had climbed the back balcony and graffitied the inside. We did a lot of painting and cutting down trees. My mom has been renovating the house since we moved in. The house is 7300 sqft, it started with 9 bedrooms, 5 baths, secret passageways from closets, dumbwaiter, entercom system and all that great stuff. All of which were removed from the house, except the entercom system. That way we never missed any conference no matter where we were hiding in the house, oh, and we could ask our friends who we knew were coming over if it was really them at the front door. Since we've lived there my parents have changed every part of the house except the living room walls. They have added an apartment upstairs. They have added a big family room where a patio used to be. My brother landscaped and it is now so beautiful. As you can see they are stuccoing the outside and getting ready to sell. It's all very sad. So many safe childhood memories are there and it was the center gathering for when all my siblings were in town. It's the best thing for my parents, they don't need that much space anymore. I guess I always thought my parents would live there forever, like my grandparents did in their houses. Just like the way I thought we'd raise our kids in Utah, but here we are 3000 miles away. Life changes, even when you don't want it to! Thanks for the pictures, Jess.

It's official, my parent are moving!

Bragging moment...

This is why I have a blog...to BRAG! Greg bought me a treadmill for Mother's Day and it has been an awesome tool of motivation for the boys. If any of you know my boys, you know they love to play x-box. We never could figure out a way to let them play without feeling like it was a waste of time. We have now come up with a way! The boys walk on the treadmill and earn x-box minutes. Minute-for-minute. They have to walk a minimum of 30 minutes, but after that they can walk as long as they want. One day Austin called me when I was away from home to tell me how proud of himself he was because he had walked for 50 minutes! He told me the other day that he feels so much faster when he gets off the treadmill. They also value their x-box time now. They don't just ask to play every second of the day. We will sometimes catch them outside walking on the treadmill without reminders from us. They are benefiting from the exercise and we are benefiting from them understanding the value of earning something. I must say this is one parenting technique that Greg and I are very proud of ourselves for doing. Oh, and I am proud of the boys for picking up on it so quickly!!

The last few weeks...

Our future "Rock-band" participants.


The boys taking a spin on thier new 4-wheelers.


Big Aust graduating from kindergarten. They look so happy, but little do they know that they still have TWELVE more years of school until real graduation!


Hunter at scout camp with Greg.


Aust and Hunter on last day of school.

So the last few weeks have been a lot of fun. Greg took the boys to the Father's and Son's outing, Aust graduated from kindergarten. It's a big deal at his school. They get gowns/caps and have a big ceremony. Greg is the Scout leader and took the YM on a campout. Hunter got to go with him. Greg bought the boys little 4-wheelers and they have been having a ball. Hunter has started flag football, Austin starts soccor next week and we are making a trip to Utah in July. It should be a fun summer!

So I have this cute friend, Julie, who was in our primary presidency (until our ward split) and she has just introduced me to a new website that is so great. It has all sorts of great helps and visuals for all church auxilaries. The website address is www.theideadoor.com. It has been a great help for me, as I am the secretary of the primary. I am adding this website to my favorites and adding it onto my blog. Enjoy!

This Tag is for Greg....

What is his name? Gregory William Harr

How long have you been married? Almost 11 years

How long did you date? We were together I think 5 years before we were married

How old is he? 31

Who eats more? Depends on what we are eating

Who said I love you first? I think I waited until he said it

Who is taller? Greg

Who can sing better? Greg, he has a great voice, but he'd never let anyone know this.

Who is smarter? Definitely Greg

Who does the laundry? I do

Who pays the bills? I do, but he provides the cash.

Who sleeps on the right side? Greg

Who mows the lawn? It's a family effort

Who cooks dinner? I do

Who drives? Greg, he told me the other day that I am too cautious so he always has to drive.

Who is more stubborn? Greg :), he might argue that one.

Who kissed who first? Greg kissed me, we were 14, when he hit a homerun at his baseball game

Who asked who out first? He asked me out for our first date when I turned 16.

Who proposed? Greg did. He was very creative and did the six days of Easter. Each day he'd give me a gift that started with whatever letter was that day. Then on Easter (which happened to be my birthday that year) he put rabbits in my car for the letter "r". I thought for sure it was going to be a ring. Then when I went up to his house he had video taped himself doing a skit of how he should ask me to marry him. He showed the ring on the video and all. Then he came out of his parents room where he had been hiding and he asked me to marry him. What a cute husband!

Who has more friends? Depends on the day

Who is more sensitive? Again, depends on the day

Who has more siblings? There are 10 kids in my family and 6 in Greg's

Who puts the kids to bed? We both do.

Who wears the pants? I do in the day and he does at night.

I am curious to know about some of your husbands so I now TAG: Jill B, Marquita R, Susan K, Lindsay J, and Bobbi M

Happy Mother's Day!

I must say that I love Mother's Day. I love that my boys have such a great dad who teaches them to love and respect their mom. My day started off great. Greg got up with the babies so I could sleep in until 8:30! Then he had them back down for naps and was making breakfast by the time I got up. He had dishes done and had cleaned up from the night before. You would think that being together since the 8th grade would make us tired of each other, but I think that I find a new reason to love him everyday. He is such a great provider for our family. He loves the boys more than anything and can't wait to spend time with them everyday. He has a compliment for me everytime he sees me and he's very supportive in whatever I decisions I am trying to make. I think the best gifts I got for mother's day were the letters that Greg and the boys wrote to me. They each took time and let me know how much I am appreciated. That is invaluable. Greg teaches the boys that what I do at home, taking care of the house, is just as important as him going to work everyday. I am thankful I am a Mother and that I have such a great support team here at home! I hope you all had just as wonderful a day!!

I was picking up around the house, which seems to be an endless job since the twins have realized how fun it is to get into everything, when I had such a strong desire to tell all my friends and sisters how much they inspire me. I am inspired daily by such great women! Either by showing me new ways to be a better mom, better friend, better sister or to just "think outside of the box". I can't say how valuable that is to me. One thing that I was reminded of was how fast our kids grow. My sister sent me a great email. I definetly had tears by the end of it. It just said how we need to put things aside and spend time with our kids (I am adding in husband, since when the kids are gone we will just have each other). There is something that I've learned from you whether you are near or far, and I just wanted to say thank you!

This Tag is For Austin...

Austin has been tagged by his cousin Isaac. Here are 8 things about our "big Aust".

1. Austin's hands are almost as big as mine. I think he might be tall, like his uncle's.

2. We saw some skater's outside the grocery store last night and I asked Austin if that's what he wanted to be when he grow's up. He said "I have lot's of other things that I want to be. Besides they don't make any money."

3. He loves Hunter. They do their fare share of fighting, but when it comes down to it Hunter is his best friend. He will sit next to Hunter and draw if Hunter's drawing. Or Hunter will sit Austin down next to him while he's doing his homework and "teach" him. Austin is always so proud when he understands Hunter's homework.

4. He still tries his hardest to put on all his super-hero costumes. The other day he asked if I would zip up his red spiderman costume. I went to zip it and there was no zipper. Infact the whole back had been ripped apart so he could fit into it.

5. Austin is an awesome big brother. I caught him playing with the twins. They were on each side of him and he was going to hide for them to find him. I told him he was going to be a great babysitter one day, he beamed and became even cuter with the babies.

6. Our primary put out a CD with all the songs they should be learning this year. I try and play it in the car often. When I do, this cute 5 year old voice booms out every word of every song from the back of the car. I can't help but get all teary eyed...you all know what I mean when you hear a child sing.

7. Along with those primary songs are all of the Articles of Faith songs. Our primary felt that the kids were not learning the AoF so we have them focus on one AoF song each month. I had the first one playing and Austin seemed to know it (when I see him in primary he is usually undoing his tie or shoelace, so I was actually surprised when he knew these). I asked if he knew the rest and he very loudly told me #2 and most of #3. This is all learning from the songs at primary. I am impressed and must say proud of Aust.

8. Austin is usually a very determined kid. I say usually because he still won't learn to tie his shoes. Greg took him hiking up Flat Top last year, when he was 4. Most of it is kid friendly, until you get to the top. Greg is not too keen on quitters, so he and Austin kept going and they made it all the way to the top. I haven't even gotten that far yet. He gets something in his head and until he has accomplished it, he won't quit.

We love having Austin in our family. He tags: Carter Rhodehouse, Hailey Ramsden, Luke Carlston, Kaleb Skinner, Audrey Sanders and Carter Newell.

Is it spring yet?

Last Saturday the boys were hot and wanted to be cooled off with the hose. So they are running through the sprinklers. Even though there is a little bit of snow across the street, it was really warm at or above 50 degrees.


Then on this past Friday the weather people say it's going to snow. Sure we think. First thing in the morning we see very few snowflakes. Austin even wears his hoody to school. By the time I pick them up for school we have more snow in that short period of time then we had all winter. Will we ever have a real spring?


By the way...thanks so much Jessi helping me with my blog. I love it!