Christmas Fun!

We had a great Christmas. We went and saw Enchanted again on Christmas Eve and then we went to our Bishop's house for a Christmas Eve dinner. There were some other families from the ward that were there too. We have a wonderful bishop and we are very grateful to him and his family for giving us somewhere to hang out on Christmas Eve. The kids acted out the nativity- Niah was Joseph because the only boy was shy and didn't want to be in the 'skit'.
Here we are in our Christmas jammies! Niah was so excited for Santa, she had a hard time going to sleep!
Niah was so fun on Christmas morning! She kept saying, "This is wonderful!" or "This is fabulous!" She is a funny girl!
It was Chloe's first Christmas. She got a baby doll, an activity walker, and a lot of other fun toys. She was pretty cute. She wasn't sure what was going on.
Here is Niah in her princess 'rub', as she calls it. She opened her princess guitar and said, "Just what I always wanted!" Christmas was so much fun with out little family, but we did miss everyone at home in Utah.

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

We had a Christmas party with all of our friends on Friday. It was so much fun. We ate and did White Elephant gifts. Getting this many kids to smile was a little interesting but I think the picture turned out pretty cute! We got hit with a huge snow storm yesterday. There was so much snow that church was cancelled. We have at least a foot of new snow on the ground. I love big snow storms like this one!

HSM

Most of you know that Niah is obsessed with High School Musical. Well, today she was pretending to be Gabriella! Here she is!!

Weekend with Fam

We had a great weekend! Bryan's mom and dad came to visit us for a few days and we had a blast with them. The girls went swimming at the hotel, we went down to Sharon- Joseph Smith's birth place- to see the lights, the girls did a little shopping, we went to our ward Christmas party, and Niah would not let Grandma Shannon do anything but play with her! The lights in Sharon were beautiful, the new snow that had fallen made it gorgeous. Niah is in love with nativity sets- she calls them her "tivities". Out of everything in Christmas Tree Shops she picked out a new nativity set. She now has three that she plays with and she sings songs about the angel, Jesus, the wisemen, and the shepherds. It's really sweet. Santa came to our ward party and Niah was so excited to meet him. She told him that she wants a princess guitar- which was new to Bryan and me. Thanks to Grandma Shannon, Niah will be getting one from Santa now! We are so glad that Shannon and Ferald could come to see us. We love having visitors!

4 Things-

Well, Tam tagged me about a week ago and I am just barely getting this done- sorry Tam! Here it goes:
A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Wood block sander
2. cleaning my dad's office
3. Preschool teacher
4. U of U purchasing Department
B) Four movies I have watched over and over
1. Hitch
2. Titanic
3. Calamity Jane-with Doris Day (I can quote it for you if you want, haha)
4. Life Is Beautiful
C) Four places I have lived:
1. Draper
2. Ephraim
3. Provo
4. Vermont
D) Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Little People, Big World
3. Hannah Montana
4. American Idol
E) Four places I have been:
1. Germany
2. Hawaii
3. Maine
4. Paris
F) Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
1. My sister Tam
2. My brother Colin- he's on his mission
3. My mom and dad
4. Grandma Saundra
G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Cafe Rio
2. The Spaghetti Factory
3. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
4. My mother-in-law's potatoe salad
H) Four of my Favorite Songs:
1. You're My Best Friend- Tim McGraw
2. Strangers- Bon Jovi and Leann Rimes
3. I've gotta go my own way- HSM2 (I don't listen to much else these days!)
4. So Close- from Enchanted
I) Four Things I am looking forward to in 2008:
1. My brother coming home from his mission
2. Niah's 3rd birthday and Chloe's 1st birthday (that's two things-oops!)
3. Family vacation
4. Flying to Utah to visit family
I tag Erica C., Ariane, Kathryn, McKell, and Bug- if you haven't been tagged already!

New Teeth

Well, I said that I would post a picture of Chloe's teeth when they were actually visible. I'm not sure if you will be able to see them but here are a couple of pictures. Chloe has also found a new past time. She loves to climb up on her chair and look out the window. She grunts at all the cars that drive by. It is one thing that keeps her entertained for quite a while!

Christmas Elf!!

Niah got a package from the North Pole yesterday!! Santa sent her an elf that is going to stay with us until the end of December. He came with his very own Santa bag and magic North Pole snowflakes. The letter that came with him says that Niah has to feed him water and crackers every night and then sprinkle him with his snowflakes, this gives him energy to come alive at night. The name on his box was Hartley, but before he came Niah called him Jack, now she is calling him Charlie. So his name is Jack Charlie Hartley!!! This morning Niah found Charlie hiding in Chloe's stocking! He brought her the soundtrack for 'Enchanted'. Niah hasn't put him down since he came yesterday. This is a great, fun tradition for the Mason children! (Thanks Grandma Mel!)

Sledding

We took Niah sledding on Friday. We found a place where there was deeper snow than at our house. Niah loved it! Chloe had never been in the snow before and she wasn't sure what to think of it at first. Once she got used to it she wanted to crawl around and play. We also decorated for Christmas. We have lots of Christmas Spirit in our house! We had a great Holiday weekend. I am a little bummed that it will end tomorrow. Only four weeks until another break though!!!

Relaxing Week

We have had a very relaxing, enjoyable week. Bryan has been out of school for almost two full days. It has been so much fun to have him home. When Niah woke up this morning she said to Bryan, "Dad, what are you doing here?" She is not used to seeing him here in the mornings. On Monday we went shopping for our annual Christmas ornaments. On Tuesday some friends invited us over to play Rock Band. It was a blast! Today we took Chloe to her 9 month check up. She passed with flying colors! Niah and Chloe both had to get flu shots. Chloe didn't even cry but Niah did not like her shot at all. I'm sure the whole office could hear her crying/screaming! Then after that we went out to lunch to celebrate my 25th birthday. Bryan then sent me to the mall for a pedicure and a manicure. It was heavenly! Tomorrow we are eating with a bunch of friends. I will be doing a little Black Friday shopping and then on Saturday Bryan will be watching the BYU/Utah game. Go UTES! J/K! I posted some pictures that I have taken in the past few days. I love this time of year and can't wait for Christmas!!

Things I'm grateful for...

My sister tagged me and I'm suppossed to write 10 things that I'm thankful for.

1. My husband Bryan... he is a hard worker and he takes very good care of his girls. He is a great dad and a loving husband.
2. Niah and Chloe... my girls keep me young! They bring me so much joy and I am very grateful for the chance I have to be their mom.
3. My family... Mom, Dad, Tam, Colin, McKell, and Kaitie. They are all awesome and we have so much fun together, when we get to be together! I hate living far away from them but I know I can still count on them if I ever need anything.
4. A warm house!... it gets so cold in Vermont. I am grateful that we have somewhere safe and warm to live. (I know, I am always complaining about our tiny house but I really am thankful for it!)
5. The church... It is a huge blessing in my life. I would go crazy without it!
6. Music... I have always loved music. It calms me down when I am losing it. It always puts me in a good mood when I hear a great song!
7. The internet... I am always on the computer. Keeping in touch with friends and family is so much easier with the internet.
8. Good books... I love to read. A good book helps me forget about all of my troubles and worries.
9. Ben and Jerry's!!... Need I say more?!
10. Friends... I have made some great friends here. We have a great time hanging out while our kids play.

Now, I'm supposed to tag 6 people. Kaitie ( if you haven't already been tagged), Erica C., Ariane, Kathryn, Annette, and anyone else who is reading this!! (I only know so many people with blogs!)

What a Show!

Bryan and Niah are quite the performers! They love dancing and singing to 'Sweet Caroline'. This video is dedicated to Elder Forbes!

Monkey

Chloe has started climbing on everything she can find. This is a picture of her standing on her music chair and then trying to get up on the toy box. She definitely had a mischievous look on her face!

Wrestling

Now that I know how to put videos on our blog you will probably see a lot of them! Here's a clip of Niah and Chloe wrestling. They love to play together. (Turn off the sound on the slide show!)

Praise to the Man

Here is Niah leading us in song for FHE. Just scroll down and turn the sound off on the slide show so you can hear Niah singing!

Tutoring

So today Bryan told Niah that he had to study for his tutoring tomorrow and Niah said, "Dad, why do you study tooting?" What a funny girl we have!

Bug Catcher

The other day, Niah caught a lady bug that was in our house. We put it in a jar and put some grass and leaves in. Niah was pretty proud of her bug. She named him Feety (I'm not sure where that came from) and she carried the jar around for quite a while. The next morning I told her we should let him go but she started crying and said, "No Mom, he's my best friend!" It was pretty cute.

Another Niah Quote

Another quote to add from Niah... We have been teaching her about bad words and that she can't say dumb or stupid. Every time she thinks she hears a bad word from me, Bryan, or on the TV she says, "You said a bad word!" I have called her the word patrol a couple of times but never thought that she was paying attention when I said it. So today at lunch I was talking to Bryan and I said something that sounded like dumb. She called me on it and then she said, "I'm the word patrol!" Bryan and I were cracking up.

Trick-or Treat!

We had a great Halloween. Niah was Cinderella and Chloe was a flower. Niah felt pretty special when she got to wear her glass slippers and her crown. I also let her wear some lipstick. She loved that!! Chloe wasn't so happy with her costume. She hated the hat. We only have two pictures with her in her costume. We had some friends over for soup and breadsticks and then we all went trick-or-treating. It was a lot of fun.

I've Been Tagged...

My sister Tam tagged me... I'm supposed to write six things about myself. Here it goes:

1. I LOVE to read. A good book helps me zone out and I forget about my dirty house, being poor, taking care of the kids (which I love, but it's nice to have a break once in a while), and any other stresses I have!

2. I like to cook and I love finding new recipes.

3. I love taking Niah to the toy store to look around. She gets so excited about toys and I love seeing her eyes light up!

4. I have an obsession with photos. I love to email them to friends and family. I like to edit them and see what they look like in all colors and designs. I love taking them too. There are so many things to do with pictures these days. Blogs are great for people like me!

5. One of my favorite things to do is to go on dates with Bryan. It doesn't happen very often now that we have two kids, but when it does it's so much fun. It helps me remember the fun times we had when we were dating and newly married.

6. I LOVE Christmas time. Christmas with kids is even better than when I was a kid. The shopping, the lights, the snow, the spirit that is present- it is all so much fun. I already have Christmas Spirit!

I am supposed to tag 6 people but I only have two to tag who haven't already been tagged. I tag Kaitie and Erica C. You guys can tag more than six to make up for my two!

Fun with Grams and Gramps!

We had a great time with my mom and dad while they were here. Boston was great. Niah loved all the attention and didn't want her Grams and Gramps to get on their airplane. We carved pumpkins, went shopping, watched the World Series, and Bryan and I even went out to a movie! Niah got to sleep at the hotel with them and she felt pretty big. Chloe had a lot of fun and loved playing with both of them. We are lucky to have such great parents/grandparents!

Weekend Trip

My mom and dad were in Boston this weekend for meetings so... we went for a night to Boston and hung out with them. We took the kids to the Boston Children's Museum and the girls had a blast! My mom and dad will be here in Burlington for a few days- I'm sure we will have more pictures.

Funny Niah quotes

So, I have decided to add another feature to our blog. Niah has been saying some pretty funny things these days so I thought that it would be fun to post some of the things that come out of her mouth. Yesterday we were outside playing and I told Niah it was time to go in and have lunch. We were outside with all of her friends. She did not want to go inside and she told me, "Mom, I be safe if my friends are out here." She comes up with these things so fast, she has an answer for everything.
Niah is very mothering to all of her friends and Chloe. She has been bossing Chloe around a lot so the other day I told her that she was not Chloe's mother and that she shouldn't tell her what to do. Two days ago Chloe was getting into the movie cupboard and I told Chloe, "No, no." Niah then said to me, "Mom you are not her mother!" I couldn't help but laugh!

Fall Time

After a long day yesterday- Niah had the flu- we all needed to get out of the house. We went for a drive and ended up finding a beautiful park. There was a trail along the river and there were so many pretty leaves. We took some pictures of us playing in the leaves. Niah loved to run and jump in them and Chloe just liked to eat them! We had a great time and the cold, fall air was very refreshing.

Rough Day

Well, today I thought that I would try making the Cafe Rio recipes that my sister sent me. (It was really good) As I was making the dressing for a salad I tipped the bowl over and all the dressing spilled on the floor, counter, and down the little crack between the oven and the counter top. While this was all happening my kids were screaming because they were both tired, but we had been trying for an hour and they wouldn't go down for naps. I joined in on the crying at this point! It was a chaotic afternoon at our house but the girls finally went to sleep and gave me a little break. Our dinner turned out great and even though it took a few tries to make the dressing it turned out just like Cafe Rio's salad. It was well worth it! If anyone wants the recipes I will email them to you.