Happy Holiday's!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! We are in Utah right now and having lots of fun with family. As soon as we can we'll put pictures up of Christmas. I am thankful to be able to spend time with both of our families this Christmas season. I am thankful to remember the birth of the Savior and the gift of life that He gave to us. Amongst all the chaos of Christmas and the Holiday's I hope that we can all remember that Christ is the reason for the season. Happy Holiday's!

Growing Up

Rachel will be 5 months on Sunday and I just can't believe it! She is so cute and such a fun happy baby. We all love her lots. Last week she had her 4 month check up and weighed 11 pounds 10.5 ounces and 24 3/4 inches so she is tall and skinny right now. Also when I was at the doctor I noticed that Rachel has a tooth! She was fussy a couple weeks ago, but her tooth was a surprise to me. She has been rolling for a couple weeks now and is starting to get really good at it.

What a Day!!!

 

Wow! Today was a day! Madeline woke up and came into my bed at 7:15 and was cute and snuggly, but I needed to get up at 7:30 to get ready for the day and boy did that make her get up on the wrong side of the bed! She was crying and crying until aerobics... which caused us to be 10 minutes late, and I'm the teacher. Then she was crying the ENTIRE time too. In the midst of all of this, Rachel had an "explosion" and got it all over her clothes, and then Aliza also started leaking... My goodness! It wasn't even 10:00 am yet! So I went home and put Rachel and Aliza in the bath and told Madeline to go lay in bed. (She was still really fussy) While Aliza was in the bath she had another episode and pooped in the bath. Yuck! I quickly took her out (luckily Rachel was already out) and dressed her. I went into the girls room and saw quite a cute sight... Madeline had fallen asleep standing up!
Well I finally got the girls all in their beds, hoping for them to sleep and started on the laundry- which was much in need of being done- I did one load and went too start another and the washing machine had broken! It was on it's last leg, but today of all days... I decided that I really needed to go to the temple tonight. So I called and arranged for a babysitter and planned on doing sealings with Jared. We got to the Temple and Jared didn't have his reccomend! We almost went home, but Jared could tell I would have been REALLY sad if we didn't go to the temple, so thankfully someone from the Temple Presidency called our bishop and Jared got approval to attend. Whew! The sealing session was wonderful. I am so thankful to have a temple so close to us. I am thankful that I can forget my worldly cares for a little bit and remember what is important in life... my family! I am so grateful to be a mom and to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It helps me keep my perspective on days like this :)

Santa Claus Comes to Nampa

Believe it or not, but Santa came to our church building on Saturday at our ward party. I've always imagined him a little friendlier because about a third of the kids cried or were scared to death of him. We were first in line to see him, but Aliza didn't want to see him. Madeline said "Daddy, I'm not scared of Santa" but she was speechless as she sat on his lap in fear. Rachel was the only brave one of the three scaredy-Pratts. He brought all the kids crocheted beanie hats.

We ate potatoes, remember, we are in Idaho, and had people read inspirational Christmas stories, at least I think they were inspirational, I couldn't hear because Madeline and Aliza were causing trouble on our table and dipping my roll in my water.

First Snowfall in Nampa

Last year we waited for a big snowfall, and we never got one thanks to Al Gore, so this year, on a small one, we filmed a little bit and got some footage with the girls in the thin layer of snow.

Aliza likes to eat snow.

Drive to Garden Valley, Idaho

We took a drive to Garden Valley on Saturday. There was a little snow here, so we thought we could go sledding up in the mountains.

The drive was beautiful, steep mountains along both sides of the road, while driving along the Payette River.

We drove 1.5 hours and then drove back. There was no snow, but the view was worth it. It was surprising that there was more snow in the valley than the mountains.

MOPisms

What a funny title?? Well MOP is short for Madeline Olivia Pratt and I got the "isms" idea from my friend Brittney... these are the funny things that our cute little two year old has been saying lately.

While taking a bath, "Ine's (Madeline's) washing her heart"

"Rachel's a cute princess"

Mommy: Madeline, what are you?
Madeline: Ine's a big girl
Mommy: Mommy's a girl too
Madeline: No, mommy's not a girl, Mommy's a woman

"No mommy, no, don't touch Madeline's abcdefghijklmnop's no no mommy!" (I was trying to get Rachel and I was reaching over Madeline's foam letters)

Peek A Boo

Aliza has just started covering her eyes to play peek a boo. She looks so stinkin cute when she does this. Half the time she doesn't cover her eyes all the way, but she always says, "Bew" (boo) when she moves her hands away. Aliza's personality is really starting to show lately. She is becoming quite the teaser :) In the bath tub Madeline lines up all of her letters along the wall. Usually Aliza just plays with some other toy until Madeline has most of the letters lined up. Then she smiles and quickly takes away one of the letters while Madeline isn't looking. Usually after that Aliza starts laughing and laughing... Madeline doesn't always think it's quite so funny :) What are little sisters for? :) She is a really good girl and she (really all of them) keep me smiling.

Growing Pains

My shoulder has really been bugging me lately but I don't remember doing anything to hurt it. Well on Monday I decided to feel my shoulder and to my surprise it was poking forward, and it felt like it had popped out of it's socket. Hmm... then yesterday I was looking in the mirror and realized that my right shoulder is probably 2 inches higher than my other shoulder and its totally poking out. I decided it was time to go to the doctor.
I really dislike going to the doctor so I always put it off, but this was wierd. Since I never go to the doctor I don't have a regular doctor (just an OB) so I went to this clinic thing today. I had a great friend of mine come watch the girls and hoped I'd be back in an hour. Three hours later... I finally got home! Yikes! What did I come home with? A sling and orders to put ice on it. :)
There were a lot of funny things about that clinic, but one of the best was that the doctor was laughing at me and called another doctor in to "show me off" :) They were guessing that I had a separated shoulder and thought it was pretty funny that I didn't know how it happened. When I told Jared he said, "How does someone get a separated shoulder other than from playing football?" Well anyway. After the x-rays it doesn't look like my shoulder is separated after all, maybe just a AC shoulder sprain? whatever that is.
I'm suppose to go back in a week. So my lesson learned today is... maybe you can sprain your shoulder from lifting 3 little girls up all day long :) And if all else fails, ice it :)
I think it's funny I'm wearing a sling since I can really move my arm just fine, but I probably should have a more serious look, so that's why I included the serious picture. Plus, Jared wanted everyone to notice Madeline's great tower of blocks. Madeline and Aliza were having a lot of fun seeing how high they could build.

Shot Gun Shooting

I'm not big into guns, but I had fun at the Turkey Shoot on Saturday. Sixteen people showed up. I was in charge of bringing dough nuts and apple cider. I think I only hit one clay pigeon all morning. In the competition, I went 0-6, but hey, I had two others tied for last with me, so I wasn't alone. It was fun watching how well some of those guys shoot. Amazing.

Bruneau Sand Dunes

The day after Thanksgiving Jen had a "must leave the house" moment, so we loaded everyone up and drove an hour to the Bruneau Sand Dunes near Mountain Home, Idaho. It was sunny, but cold, so we only stayed for about 45 minutes. It's a fun place to go, especially for a little or big hike. We were glad we went, but next time we go, we'll go when it's warmer.

Whenever I see sand dunes, I think of Kwai Chang Caine walking in sand, and that's why I added the beautiful music.

Thanksgiving

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. We decided to just stay here and relax instead of traveling. We didn't have dinner until 3:30 (really 4:30) so Jared played football in the morning while the girls and I watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade and prepared Thanksgiving dinner. Then we went to this place called Harpers Ferry and got to see lots of peacocks, deer, and a bunny. It was a really pretty day and this place was really cool. I think that was actually the highlight of my day- going out enjoying the beauty of the world with my family. For dinner our friends the Hutchins and the Wolfs came over. I'm really glad we were able to have friends come over since we weren't able to be around family. I don't think I'd want to make a big Thanksgiving dinner if it were just us (Jared would probably prefer a bowl of cereal over Thanksgiving dinner :)). I am thankful for so many things in my life. I'll just list a few...

I'm thankful for...

A loving and supportive husband
Three beautiful and healthy daughters
The beautiful earth that has been created for us
Being a woman
Being able to stay home and take care of my kids
Living in a free country
Jared has a job
Knowing that I am a child of God


The list could go on and on, but I just really am so thankful for life and for all of my blessings.


We didn't do any still shots of the actual dinner, but here I am cutting the turkey while holding another turkey :)

Turkey Bowl Collapse 2007

I only play football once a year on the traditional Turkey Bowl. This year we played in a local park and I wish it lasted longer. Well, on the first kick off, I pulled a muscle in the back of my leg, but I could still hobble around, so I stayed and played all time offense. We only had nine players, but hey it was fun, until a little scuffle broke out, which led to four players leaving in anger, which then we only had 5 players, and it's tough to play a good game of football with five. All in all, I can't wait until next year, because there is always next year.

The lesson of the day is to remember to say prayer before church sporting events or else something bad will happen. Also, remember to stretch before you play.

JPI Basketball - Video Clip from 1999

I ran a statistical basketball league (www.rmball.com/jpi) for 11 years, and I have many clips that I intend to put on youtube. This is a good one, so sit back and enjoy the show.

I'm It

Earlier this week I was tagged twice. One friend wrote 30 short facts about her and the other wrote 6 detailed facts. I guess I could do both, but I'm just going to do 6 longer answers. By the way, I've been thinking about what I should write throughout the week, and it's been kind of fun trying to figure out things that people don't know about me.

The rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I wish we could live the law of consecration. The reason is because I really dislike money and with the law of consecration we might not have to deal with it so much. I have disliked money my entire life. (Not having money or the lack of it, just having to worry about what to do with it, how to pay bills, who to give it to if I were rich, etc.)When I was little and would make money I would always save it, and I hated it when I had to spend it. I think I would dislike money whether or not I was rich. If we lived the law of consecration (I think)we could use our talents and probably have a career we wanted because the amount of money we made wouldn't matter as much. It would be so nice to be able to have all we needed as long as we were doing our part.

*I revised this after some of the comments were made. I probably don't totally understand the law of consecration but it sounds good to me.

2. I would love to have a "room outside". I'll explain... because that sounds really funny. I love sleeping outside. I just love going outside in spring and fall when the weather is perfect, the wind blowing, and the sun shining. It is in my opinion one of the best ways to sleep. I can't really sleep that well outside though because I'm worried people will watch me and plus, I have to admit that the ground isn't that comfy and I don't really love bugs crawling all over me while I'm trying to sleep :) So I think it would be great to have a room that had all the feeling of being outside without the things I don't love :)

3. I strongly dislike (but not quite hate) T.V. I just feel like I am wasting so much time when I just sit and watch T.V. so this pretty much includes movies too. I still watch some T.V. but I have to be doing something else as well so I'm getting something done. Jared and I don't watch movies that often, and he always makes fun of me when we do because I almost always fall asleep. I have picked up a show this year, The Biggest Loser, and that is because I feel like it is a motivational show. It encourages people to get in shape, which is very needed in our society today. (this brings up #4)

4. I love exercising. Most people probably already know this about me, but it is a huge part of me. I really love it a ton! If I don't exercise I get so mean and cranky. It is a great way for me to have thinking time for myself, it helps me stay in shape, and it boosts my self esteem to know that I can follow an aerobics routine, or do 50 crunches or accomplish whatever workout I'm doing. If you're not exercising do it!

5. I'm a funny type of cleaning person. Sometimes I can handle it when the house is messy and others I feel like I'm going to go crazy if everything isn't completely perfect. Jared calls me the "Cleaning Nazi" when this happens, and sadly it usually happens on Friday. Probably because our "cleaning day" where we really clean is on Saturday so by Friday it's starting to get dirty enough to annoy me. I do have to say though that Jared and I clean up the living room and the girls room every night before bed. I think he realizes that we need to do this to keep my sanity :)

6. I love being a wife and mother and feel like it is my greatest purpose for being here in this life. I want to have a large family and am happy that Jared feels the same way. I am very thankful that we already have three daughters and I'm excited to see what else the Lord brings us.

I hope you have all enjoyed this blog. I'm now tagging Mary P., Stephanie H., Brianna S., Elizabeth P, Mom, and Melissa H.

Just Rachel and Me

Jared had to go do some driving around for Scouts so he decided to take Madeline and Aliza with him on a ride. Great for me! Not that I don't love my girls, it's just nice to have a little quiet time with just Rachel. So now I'm sitting here with Rachel on my lap, catching up on my blog. It's been quite the week. Last Monday Madeline and Aliza woke up sick, sounding like they had croup. Rachel got sick Monday night, and they have all been sick all week! Taking care of 3 sick girls (and being sick yourself) is not much fun and can be really scary. I am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to have the power of the priesthood in our home. The girls are gradually getting better and I'm sure that by thanksgiving they'll be fine.
M&A are using a nebulizer treatment now to get rid of their croup. Madeline was really happy to wear the dinosaur mask.

Danger Magnet

Yesterday was almost one of the coolest days ever, almost. I am obsessed with the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer so 2 weeks ago I entered a character slogan competition. You had to come up with a two- word slogan for five of the characters. I had so much fun doing this. Two weeks ago I was still constantly thinking about the characters and analyzing the book so it was a great activity to think of descriptions of the characters. Anyway. I submitted my answers and anxiously awaited the announcement of the winners. (The winner would win the book on CD!) If it weren't for gReader (you can subscribe to the sites you frequently visit so you know when they have updated their site) I would have been checking the website constantly. Anyway, last night they came out with the results and guess what! My suggestion for Bella was picked!! I chose "Danger Magnet" for her slogan. Now for the reason it wasn't the coolest day ever... more than one person came up with "danger magnet" as Bella's slogan so they randomly chose the winner and that wasn't me. Bummer. Too bad there wasn't a second place prize or something. I'm actually trying to somehow get a hold of the people in charge of the website because I think they should at least acknowledge the other people who also came up with the idea. I was thinking maybe they could send me one of the finished shirts too (that's what they are using the slogans for). So anyway. I have proof on my g-mail account that I really did submit "Danger Magnet" on October 29th. cool huh. So if you ever see a t-shirt that says danger magnet you can know that I helped think of it :) I'm going to post the winning slogans on here and then my slogans. I didn't agree with a couple of her picks, but for the most part they were great.

Stephenie's Picks:

Bella: "Danger Magnet" [by Eileen]
Carlisle: "Smooth Operator" [by Varsha]
Emmett: "Bear Hug" [by Ashley]
Esme: "Play Nice" [by Emelia]
Jasper: "Feel Better?" [by Jillian]

Jen's Ideas:
Bella: "Danger Magnet"
Carlisle: "Compassionate Creator"
Emmett: "Playfully Dangerous"- written around a picture of Smokey the Bear
Esme: "Lovingly Esteemed"
Jasper: "Atmosphere Excellence" I got that idea from the Army slogan "Leadership Excellence" and suggested making a shirt that said ROTC (Recent One To Cullens) with the army slogan thing replaced.

I also think it would be really cool if they made a shirt that said, "Cullen & Cullen, Family of Vampires" instead of "Johnson & Johnson, Family of Companies" written in the johnson & johnson font.

Mr. Fix It

So we have had a leaky sink for quite a while and recently our drain has gotten clogged... everything in our cute little old house is breaking... so yesterday on Jared's day off he decided to fix the sink. He has already tried numerous times to fix the clog, so I think we're going to have to call a plumber, but he successfully changed the faucet so now it doesn't leak! All of this fix-it-up stuff is really new for Jared and I think it's funny how he gets grossed out by changing the faucet, but not by dissecting owl pellets :)
I usually just blog about the kids, but this blog is for Jared. I think he is such a great guy. Whenever he is at home he changes so many diapers and he is so willing to help out. He is a great daddy and husband and I'm very thankful to be married to him.

UVSC vs Boise State

Jen, Rachel, and I went to the Taco Bell Arena to watch Boise State play UVSC in basketball. There was only about 1,000 people, so it felt more like a high school game. I wore a UVSC sweater and Jen wore a Boise State sweater, and Rachel a John Stockton jersey. Well, it went into overtime, and Boise won by one. Madeline and Aliza were babysat. We got our tickets for free as I waited in line at the ticket office, some lady said, "sir, do you want these" and I couldn't say no.

I think UVSC will one day join the WAC after a brief three year stay in the Big Sky, but we will see. UVSC is located in my hometown of Orem.

Jared

Rachel

 

Old Time Pictures

 

Today I was trying to take pictures of Rachel (she was dressed in a cute outfit my sister Melissa gave her) and Madeline and Aliza climbed on the couch because they wanted pictures too. I actually got one of ALL three of them looking at the camera! I think it's a first. Since none of them are smiling it looks like the pictures from the olden days. I did get some pretty cute ones of Rachel too. Thanks for the outfit Melissa!

New Windows!!!

 
 
 
 
We got our new windows put in on Thursday. I cant believe the change it's made in our kitchen. It's warmer and we can see much better out of our windows.

Happy Day

Today started out to be a SUPER day! On Tuesday this week I started an aerobics group in our ward. When we lived in Provo I went to a stake aerobics so I've wanted to start it here and my wish came true! On Tuesday we had 6 people come! That made me so excited because it was the first day! Today was another successful day teaching the aerobics. It makes me feel so good to be helping myself and others get in shape. That was at 9:00 then I got home and the window guys were here putting in new windows! I'm so excited to have a warmer house the winter! And then to top everything off to my great day today it was BEAUTIFUL outside! Since our house was "under construction" I didn't really want to be here with the girls so I decided to visit Jared at work. We went to the park right behind his work and had a great time. The nice weather puts me in a good mood so easily! I just love it! I really have such a great life and I feel very very blessed.

Fall

We have been enjoying the greatest weather this past week! I'm just loving it. The girls and I have been going on lots of walks and spending lots of time in the back yard. Thanks to our big tree we have TONS of leaves to rake. The girls had a lot of fun playing in the huge pile of leaves that Jared raked. I think that fall is my 2nd favorite season. I love spring the most because everything is coming back to life, but fall comes in second because the weather is so nice and the fall colors are beautiful. I am a big fan of all season though so I'm glad we live in a place where we have the changing weather.

Halloween 2007

The family went around Harrison Blvd which is famous for the reasons listed below:
1. Wealthier Homes (better candy)
2. Older Homes (a spooky atmosphere)
3. Popular Location (lots of people there)
4. Criminal Safety (a lot of police on patrol)
5. Traffic Safety (Volunteers with stop signs at busy streets)
6. Efficient Gathering (everyone is out on their porch, so no need to even ring/knock at the door).
7. Decorations Galore (like Christmas, but with goblins)

Jen said it was her favorite Halloween ever, like those in her dreams or on the movies. Madeline loved it, and as soon as she got her candy was practically running to the next house and had no patience to wait around. Aliza was just happy sitting in her stroller eating a dumb-dumb sucker. Jen and I were not dressed up because we didn't know we were trick OR treating in Boise.

Carving Pumpkins

 
 
 
 

We carved pumpkins on Monday night and had so much fun. Madeline had a lot of fun drawing on her pumpkin, and as you can tell the girls thought the guts were pretty yucky.

Happy Halloween!!!

Friday night our ward had trunk or treat. It was very fun. Madeline was dressed up as a tiger, Aliza was a bunny, and Rachel was a pumpkin. Grandma Pratt gave us the bunny costume and Aliza just looked adorable in it. It fit her perfectly! I don't think we'll actually go trick-or- treating tonight, but I'm going to visit Jared at work with the kids all dressed up (Madeline is a giraffe, Aliza a duck, and Rachel is yet to be decided :) We are costume collectors, what can I say? :) Oh, and did you notice my red eyes... I was going for the vampire look this year :)

Pumpkins

Three years, three babies, three pumpkins :) Can you guess who is who? I'll give the answers in a later post.