New Years

My next favorite celebration is New Years!! This year, Paige had a cold and I had worked on New Years Eve so I started out kind of pooped. We decided to stay home from a couple of invites because of the copious amounts of snot running out of Paige's nose. We ordered pizza and set up a blanket in the living room for a picnic. Hopefully Paige enjoyed our attempts at making it fun for her too. After she was off to bed, Scott and I pulled out the board games. I must of been really tired because he beat me two out of three times (twice) at Sequence. Unheard of!:). Then we snuggled on the couch and watched a movie that was playing on tv. I couldn't keep my eyes open and so at 11pm, I went to bed. I know, party pooper. Scott stayed up long enough for the ball to drop and then he came to bed. It was a good think I didn't stay up because Paige was up at 6am the next morning. What was she thinking.
We then headed to Logan for another tradition we celebrate. Sledding, buffet all day, and games. I love this day for those very reasons. Sledding is fun because my brother in law has a four wheeler that hauls everyone up the hill. Because of my pregnancy, I didn't sled but took a few pictures of all the fun. Paige loved riding on the four wheeler and she laughed the whole way down the mountain with aunt Angela and dad.





Angela's family who brought all the equipment and provided a fun day for all of us.

Then home to eat our hearts out. We had such a lot of good, yummy food. Then some fun games for the kids and adults. Angela left early to take her good friend to the airport so we threw in a movie (Horton hears a who). I was unimpressed but it caught the kids attention while we cleaned up a little bit.



We stayed to the next day to help my mom clean out some of my dad's closets. I'm not a sentimental person when it comes to clothing. I'm too practical so either I'm the right person to help or the wrong. It depends on how you look at it. My mom had a hard time but had said when she tried to do it alone, she couldn't do it so I think in the end it was good to have me helping her. We attemted the sledding again but it had rained and was a little slushy so after two attempts down the mountain, we bagged it.
A little side note, (Scott is rolling his eyes right now), Scott and I took my mom on a run to the Home Depot. I had showered but hadn't done my hair which was frizzy, curling, and no makeup. I'm feeling fatter than usual because of the pregnancy, I was dirty from cleaning all day, and not at my best looking when who walks by, my old boyfriend Jay. Not a big deal because I'm married to the most amazing man who doesn't care what I'm looking like but you just don't want to run into an ex looking like crap. You want his jaw to drop and wish he hadn't ditched you. Hope you girls out there understand what I'm saying or maybe you're just laughing at me. Just hope the next time I run into him, he'll see a better side to my looks :).

Friends party 2008

We have started the tradition of getting together with our friends from our old University ward every Christmas because they're so spread out, it's the one time we can all get together. I always laugh so hard when I'm with these guys and being pregnant with a weak bladder makes me take extra precautions. We love the amazing friendship we share and are amazed that as these years go by, our families grow, and our lives go on but our friendships are so solid. WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Christmas 2008

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I absolutely love the Christmas holiday. I love the music, the christmas trees, and driving through neighborhoods to see their christmas lights. I especially love the traditions of our family for Christmas. Our season started out with putting up the Christmas tree. Paige was a big helper and after she broke one of the glass balls, I pulled out the less breakable ornaments for her. She took her job very seriously and was very precise about where they went (just like her mom). Her ornaments had their own little position on the tree right at the bottom all clustered to gether. She was so funny about it and would take off and replace her ornaments throughout the month.


The next outing was to travel with our good friends, the Stones, on the train down to SLC to see the lights on Temple Square. Paige loved it all. She liked the train ride and seeing the temple. Normally I have no need to view Christmas lights year in and out but with Paige it's a whole new experience.


The next event was the Roberts Christmas party. It was nice to have it in Scott's parents almost completed basement. He and his brothers have spent a lot of time trying to get it finished for big functions such as this. With the size if family he has, it is always a tight fit but we have so much fun with each other. Their was good food, fun games, and good times. What a wonderful family Scott has.


Christmas was extra special this year. We knew it would be more emotional so we added some special things. Our traditions include meeting together for Christmas Eve for soup bread bowls and potato bars with our 90 year old neighbors coming for dinner. We follow that by watching the Christmas Nativity the Church put out a few years ago. (It tends to hold the kids interest better). Then comes the pj's and my mom reading a kids Christmas book to everyone. My mom took charge and got everything organized for it. I was so proud of her. Scott and I stayed with her that night and she said that before she went to bed, she put on some perfume my dad liked of hers, then sprinkled some of his cologne on a pillow. When he drove long haul, he would miss Christmas occasionally and he would call my mom and sing the "Merry Christmas, Darling" song to her from the Carpenters. So she sang that, cried a little and then went to sleep. She told us it was a good night and I thought it was sweet.
The next morning, Scott, my mom, and I made breakfast for the fam. It was yummy but the grandkids missed grandpa's runny eggs with the green things in them (chives). We missed him. Then off to open presents. Paige took a while to get into the spirit of opening gifts but once she got her princess Aurora doll, it was over. She even helped haul a huge gift to my mom (I think she was hoping it was hers). This year instead of buying for each other, we used the money we would have spent and bought just my mom Christmas. That was special to us and we included a gift "from dad" that the tag read, I love you forever. She was overjoyed and so appreciative. Scott and I needed to get back to Ogden and a storm was coming in so we packed up and left but not before a quick visit to dad's grave and a merry christmas to him. Did I say I missed him??



We then spent the rest of the afternoon at his parents house. We played Nertz all night. Paige really wanted the Barbie princess' that her cousins got so we had to teach her that she need to play with her princess and not take others. It was a little hard for her to not want to takeover their gifts. It was such a great day and we loved spending it with family. We are so lucky.

Catch up big time!!

I guess life has been a little chaotic these past couple of months and I've neglected my blog.

PAIGE's BIRTHDAY- I'll start with the first event which was Paige's birthday. She turned two at the end of October and almost instantly had a little bit of the two-year-old attitude. She is as cute as ever and talking constantly. She is into princesses, helicopters, and putting her shoes on and taking them off. She seems so smart to Scott and I and has quite the vocabulary. For her birthday we took her to the pumpkin patch and she got a new coat which she sometimes refuses to take off. She shared a cake and ice cream with her second cousin due to our moving mess. She wouldn't blow out the candles and didn't like the cake. Oh well! Next year we're hoping to celebrate more properly and maybe she'll get into it.




HALLOWEEN- Next was HALLOWEEN. She thought this was especially fun. She dressed as a flower and they had a little party at the babysitter's. She got really mad at me when I attempted to remove her petals off her head. I know, I'm bigger but she won that showdown. Later, we trick-or-treated in Logan so she could go with all of her cousins. She loved running after them from door to door. At the end of the night, she did not want to take off her costume. We had to create a diversion so the flower would come off. Scott also celebrated with his school buddies. He wore the infamous tight police officer outfit. He was a little nervous to bend over or sit down but doesn't he look so sexy in it. OW,OW!!




FUNERAL- Just after that, Dad went downhill pretty quick. He wanted to stick around until Christmas so he wanted to try a pretty powerful Chemo in the hopes it would help give him a little more time. His body wasn't healthy enough to take it and that night his mind seemed to slip away from us. Scott and I were able to be there the whole weekend to help him and take care of him through the nights. Christmas wasn't meant to be. It was very difficult to watch him leave us like that but it was such a gift to have been with him when he passed. It is truly a testimony to me of spirit and body and knowing that although his body is buried, his spirit is living. He was an amazing father and person and I miss him more than I can say. I am doing pretty good. I feel such a peace wash over me when I think of him and where he is. Prayers from everyone have helped so much. My family kept saying that we could feel everyone's prayers and knew that it was helping us through it. I also have an amazing husband (or as my dad told me, "You have yourself a great guy") who was there to help me take care of my dad's personal needs. Not many men could have done that and all of my dad's sons-in-law were very hands on in helping him with it.

The family the night before he died.

TURKEY BOWL- Scott's old work holds a bowling game and last year Paige wasn't real happy with the noise of the pins being knocked down. This year was dramatically different. She loved pushing the ball down the lane and loved watching mom and dad play as well. She was such a happy little thing that night and we were glad that she didn't show any signs of being traumatized from the year before. No, we didn't win.


THANKSGIVING- We thought this holliday would be very difficult for us but once again and surprisingly there was a great amount of peace within our family. We celebrated at my mom's house and everyone pitched in to make it a great success. My mom cooked a yummy turkey and we ate our stomach's out. My mom did really well until it was time to pray and she had to choose someone else to pray when my dad is the usual one to pray. After dinner, it was such a gorgeous day outside, we went outside and hung up my mom's Christmas lights. It was fun to have the nice weather so the kids could run around. We kept cursing our dad and wishing he was putting up the lights instead of us. When that was all done, we all headed to the movie theater to watch Madagascar 2. We laughed so hard that my weak pregnant bladder was leaking a little (I know, TMI). Then back to the house for pie. YUMMY! It was truly a fun day spent celebrating family and the joy of a special holliday that reminds us of all the gifts and blessings the Lord has given to us.

MOVING- Next was our big move. We are so excited about our very own home. We had so many helpers that day and it went so fast. We are finally starting to feel settled and pretty much unpacked. You'll be hearing more about our fun house later on when we can take some pictures. Stay tuned

Now that I've caught up, I just wanted to thank all of you great friends out there for your kind words, letters, cards, emails, prayers, and most of all, friendships. Scott and I are very lucky people to have so many people watching out for us. Heavenly father provides us with Angels in so many ways. Thanks a bunch.

Can't believe you're gone!

I love you, Dad.



SHANE ARMSTRONG
May 13th, 1954 - Nov. 10th 2008

Family Bonding

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

A couple of weekends ago, our family had a mini-vacation. We decided to stay close to home in Logan and we made sure we had everything planned out. (I made itineraries but they just made fun of me). It started on Friday night with a bar-b-que in the park. We all brought food to contribute to the meal and made sure there was a fun jungle gym close by for the kids to play on. We enjoyed chatting with each other and eating good food. After dinner, we indulged in a little Aggie ice cream. Yummy! That night we stayed at my sister, Angela's, house and played a few games before retiring to bed.
The next morning was breakfast on my mom and dad's deck. My brother-in-law, Eric, made us some dutch oven breakfast burritos. He definitely has some cooking skills. Golf was up next for the boys and the girls went shopping at the mall (naturally). Then time for naps for all the kids. We had thought about taking the kids to the fun center but we ran out of time so instead, we all got babysitters and the adults went to a nice restaurant for dinner. That was really nice to talk to each other without little kids yammering in our ears. We all enjoyed each other's company and we announced to my family that Scott and I are expecting (yep, that's right. We're 9 weeks pregnant). Then off to mom and dad's house for some football on TV.
The next morning we decided to congregate at my parent's ward for sacrament meeting. It's fun to go to church as a family and we were able to hear my dad bear his testimony on the importance of family. What a gift that was for me to hear. After church, we met out at my sister's school where she's an elementary teacher. It had been my mom's birthday earlier that week so of course we wanted to celebrate it. My brother-in law, Trent, had put together a little game of jeopardy. It was called the Armstrong Family Fun Day game. That was a lot of fun although pretty hard. Everyone was able to participate with the Disney category designed for the kids. We were lucky to have my mom on our team. She is trivia champion. What a great weekend that allowed our family a chance to create wonderful memories and build our relationships.

Funny Paige

Gorgeous baby blues
She loves the tub

I think it's time for an update on Paige. She is so funny right now and at a really fun age. She's 22 months and weighs 22 pounds. Although she's a skinny little thing, she does seem to be getting taller. She's not a big eater and definitely picky. She'll eat most vegetables, all fruits, and is a dairy nut but when it comes to any breads or baked items, she'll have nothing to do with it. The only meat she'll eat is chicken nuggets and beef jerkey so I try to get a little creative in the protein department.
Miraculously eating mac 'n cheese

What is really fun is her speech. She has such a vocabulary and can repeat everything we say. Some of the funniest things she'll say is "I'll get it" when retrieving something, or "here she is" when we ask her where someone is. Just tonight, while giving her a bath, I told her I loved her and she said "thank you". So polite. She still doesn't put the phrases together very well but at least we're starting to get an idea of what she wants. Sometimes she'll just get right in our faces, and in a very serious voice, tell us something very important. Wish we knew what she was saying but it only comes out in Paige's jibberish.
Kisses and Loves

After showing interest in my sisters toy baby, grandma Armstrong bought her her very own doll. She rocks the baby, pats the baby, and sometimes pushes the baby in the stroller. She also tosses the baby down the stairs and loves the baby too much if you know what I mean. It's fun to see such a girly side when all we've seen from her is Thomas and choo choo.
Giving baby a bath in the tub
Such a big girl

Paige is also very active and loves "ready, set, go". She doesn't move very fast but her little legs try. Although she's a mover she's also a sitter. Most of you moms are probably tsking me right now but Paige will sit and watch cartoons or a movie. Her favorite of course is baby einstein which she'll have a heart attack over, she's so excited. It really is nice for me because I can shower or cook without her wanting my full attention. She also is a huge reader (just like her mom). I love it when she's sitting in her little chair reading one book after another. I love reading to her and making the stories come alive by showing her all that the pictures show. Her favorite books are Goodnight Moon (she looks for the mouse), The Thomas the train books, anything with a flap, and her church sacrament book that has pictures of the temple (her new favorite building).
We took her down to the temple grounds to walk around and show her what the temple was really like and she just screamed and laughed as if she knew what a special building it was.
She loves her cousin, Breanna
Paige pulling a Steve Erkle