Christmas Time 2008

Christmas really snuck up on us this year! I believe there are several reasons for it, but we we had a wonderful Christmas, nonetheless.

Early in November, I decided that I would try and save us a couple bucks and make all the gifts this year. Yes, all. It worked out really well, I believe there were only a few gifts that weren't handmade (and then of course the things my kids really wanted - from Santa). I was so excited to start making the gifts for the kids and then the stress really starting setting in. Time was flying past and we weren't sure we'd get everything done in time. Thankfully, we did and the kids have been having a great time!

Lucy Christmas Morning. She did not want to be awake. Can you believe we actually had to wake our kids up?! Who does that?! She became really spunky though once she saw there was a Barbie movie invlolved.

The other kids' art boards - to hang their creations from.

Although the picture doesn't quite capture it, Clay really did like his apron. He didn't take it off all day. (Really warmed his mother's heart!)

This was really the highlight of everything we made. I searched high a low for a sturdy wooden kitchen set and then nearly choked when I'd see the price. We didn't have enough time to actually do all we thought we wanted to, cabinet doors etc. and paint it, but we decided that the kids might have a good time painting it. Kudos to Ryan for a fabulous kitchen set that the kids absolutley love! (Yeah, we totally beat out Santa!)

Rylee modeling the girls' aprons. Thanks to my sister Micki, and my mom for the wonderful pattern. My mom embroidered their names on all the fabric for me. I got too tired to do pockets. (Note: if you're kids have larger heads like mine do, D-rings are perfect for adjustable neck loops.)

The gifts from Santa - thankfully they were simple requests this year!

Good Morning Kaycee!

Merry Christmas Olivia!

This is what we did for our moms. Mom H's was black and Mom L's brown.


We are so grateful to celebrate another Christmas and remember the birth, life and resurrection of our Savior - the real reason of the season!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

From our Home to Yours

Wishing you a

Merry Christmas!

From the Hunts
Ryan & Honey
Rylee, Clayton, Kaycee, Lucy & Olivia

A New Status Symbol?

My sister, Patti, found this article - so true (and not just in the work place)!
"Keeping up the the Joneses" has taken on a new meaning.

Have a read

What did you think?

Clay & Lucy: Do I smell trouble?

Lucy with bangs...courtesy of Clay.

I wonder these days who is running these shannanagins!

Our little telephone table calling for help.
(She was actually stuck until she knew to bend her knees.)

Lucy "built" this. Notice Olivia IS in there.

This is more like it. Tired and quiet, taking it easy.

Falling Behind

Quick Thanksgiving recap: It was wonderful! We headed out to Utah the day before Thanksgiving. Our little Olivia was awesome - a great little traveler (it's such a blessing that our kids can do so well on an 8 hr trip!). We had the entire Livingstone family together! Because of our size, we booked two church buildings (at different times) to hold our festivities. We enjoyed a fabulous turkey dinner and then after games and letting kids (and the men) run wild, we opened our Christmas gifts. Christmas gifts? Yes, when it's the off year we celebrate both holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, together. So much fun! The kids thoroughly enjoyed being with their cousins and having sleep over after sleep over (we really need some cousins here!) . We enjoyed having "sleep overs" with Micki and Spencer - thanks a bunch! And, to my parents for their hard, hard work. It's quite the production to have us all together - and then adding Christmas on top! They're super!

What fun!

Forget shopping! The boys went shooting the day after Thanksgiving - along with Aunt Patti and Uncle Spencer and his boss.

Random pictures of Olivia:

What are they looking at?!

Just chillin'

So now, we're home with a gazillion loads of laundry that I have no desire to do, growing messes here and there ALL over the house, a Christmas tree standing with no decorations, a home naked of any Christmas decor and gifts that need to be made. One step at a time right? With all of the things I'd like to get done, it's intimidating to even start. So I won't :)

Progress

Olivia had her two month appointment today. She's growing so quickly. Her weight at her 2 week appt went from 7lb to 10lb 15.5 oz today! And, her length from 19.25 inches (yeah, the hospital measured wrong when she was born. They said 20.5 inches) to 22.5 inches today. I am amazed at how fast they grow! She did really well with her immunizations and she's happy and healthy. It's so much fun to have her!

Lucy came along for her 2 year check up (yeah, only 6 mos late!). She's also healthy a tad crabby these days, but she was so pleased that she only needed one shot - her flu shot! Didn't even shed a tear! So nice! I'm taking the other 3 in later today to get theirs...we'll see if it goes as smoothly..

Kaycee loves going to (pre) school. She is a fountain of information and has such a good time. She's never really been too trilled about writing - especially her name, but she's making progress. She cracks me up. Just this morning, after a conversation about nursing and why mom's have milk, she says "yeah, you need to feed her from both sides, or you might run out of juice." I started to laugh, which prompted her to laugh. "I mean milk." You can't not laugh when you hear Kaycee laugh.

Clay. I will never need to worry about this kid making friends - he is SO social. He brought home is first report and did great. He's "meeting learner objectives" in all his classes, and "exceeds learner objectives" in one class. Any guesses? PE. Of course he would! He's got so much energy. I saw that and laughed. This was his kindergarten teacher's comment: "Clay is very friendly and enthusiastic. He is very social as well, but he is able to control his energy when asked to." Oh good. He's starting to read now and does really well - when he's up for it! Below is his latest artwork. I love it! You may have to click on it to see all the detail. Who knew he knew that bat's were nocturnal. He received a Webkinz bat from Gma L. for his birthday and knew that it hung upside down to sleep. I love this kid!



Rylee is as amazing as ever. She also brought home a great report card. She really excels in reading - which I appreciate when I can ask her to read the other kids a story. She is such a sweetheart. She's far more considerate and compassionate than I ever was as a 2nd grader. I was impressed the other day when I asked her about a birthday party she had been invited to. She responded that she couldn't ask this boy a question about his party because one of her good friends that she always plays with hadn't been invited and didn't want to hurt her feelings. How sweet is that?! Rylee continues with her violin lessons and although she doesn't practice near as much as she should :) she still does amazingly well. What would I do without Rylee? (I certainly wouldn't have 5 kids!) :) Here is a picture of her in her play last week - The Elves and the Shoe Maker. She tended to be more shy and let everyone else stand infront of her onstage, but when it came time for her part, she was awesome!

Blessing Day

Olivia was blessed yesterday. Here she is in all her cuteness.

We were grateful to have my parents, Ryan's parents, (brother) Aaron & Angela and (cousin) Paul Carlos and Mandy here with us. It was a wonderful time. Thank you to all who came out and participated!

Olivia with Gpa H the evening before.
(She's not sad with Gpa, she was just very hungry - but mom had to get some shots!)

Olivia with Gpa L.

Of course, whenever Mom and Dad L come into town we have to tackle a project. Here is what Ryan and Dad tackled Saturday (AFTER fixing a toilet downstairs!)

I should have taken a before picture of the banister, but it was a dark walnut stain with only one post and wooden balisters (spindles). Not too sturdy either! Each hole for the balisters had to be drilled and then square shaped with the jig saw. These boys worked long and hard.

And doesn't it look great?! We still have some more balisters to put in, and stain the wood (to match the floors), but it's certainly more sturdy than the other one. Nice job, gentlemen!

And here's a little project me and my mom did (while waiting for dinner to cook before our guests arrived). It's on the wall in the dining room as you're heading out the front door. We thought it would be cute to add a little dingle berry thing, maybe a branch or leaf thing to it...we'll see if I get around to doing it.

What's for Dinner?

Thanks to my friend Lorianne, one of our enrichment groups is a email recipe exchange - "what's for dinner?" So great! If any of you out there are like me, I dread dinner time. Maybe it's because I'm dead tired as 4pm rolls around, or that I don't plan ahead or have a menu, or maybe because I have the pickiest son ever! It drives me nuts to make him dinner just to have him snuff his nose at it, whine, and claim he doesn't like it. Dinner time is such a struggle for me. I won't go as far as to say I hate it, but if I could get some more ideas and perhaps plan a menu for the week or even the month, I think it could be a lot better. So here's my question to you:

What's for dinner? What are you eating tonight, or this week?

One Year

Honey Mary Hunt

Born Still November 7, 2007
Parker, Colorado

Buried November 10, 2007
Sandy, Utah

"And Honey, I miss you, and I'm being good. I'd love to be with you, if only I could."
~Bobby Goldsboro, "Honey"

This is what we printed on little mementos for those that attended our family graveside service.
It's hard to believe it's been a year already- it's gone by so quickly. Our hearts have come a long way and we're so grateful for the Lord's tender mercies to our young family. I must admit, there isn't a day that goes by that my thoughts aren't turned to Baby Honey in one way or another. I'm so grateful for those little reminders. It's difficult to express what I've felt over this past year and I get a lump in my throat just thinking about all the blessings we have received. I didn't want to let this day go by without remembering her. Remembering our little baby, Honey.

A Happy Birthday to Aunt Carla, who shares her birthday today with Honey Mary. We love you.

All Halloween-ed Out!

You know you've done too much trick or treating when your child says on Halloween: "Mom, is this the last day of Halloween?"

Nice. Poor Kaycee is going to think Halloween is a three day affair. This could be the reason: we had our trunk or treat on Wed, went to Mom & Dad H's on Thursday, and the kids wanted to "officially" go out trick or treating on Friday! It wasn't much for the candy either (although a great perk!) they loved their costumes. Here they are:

Kaycee doing her best witches cackle.

Here I thought I was a lame mom for doing such a simple costume - curlers and a robe, but she got the most comments about it.

Here is our Storm Tropper and Asian princess. This was actually right before a costume birthday party.

A fun picture of Rylee.

I love this picture!

Now the kids each have a gallon size ziplock bag full of candy. I think we'll tithe 50% to the Bishop for his candy jar and then tax another 40% to yours truly. Not a bad idea, right? Nonetheless, we are All Halloween-ed out!

Tried & True

My mom would make granola when I was growing up and I thought it was such a hard process - until I tried it the other day! Piece of cake. And, it turned out really well. Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups wheat germ
• 1 1/2 cups oat bran
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.
2. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool, then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

I didn't have oat bran, wheatgerm, sunflower seeds or walnuts on hand and I didn't want to go buy them. I also added a pinch of nutmeg. It makes a bunch, but it also goes really quickly as it is so good.

Pretzel Turtles - AWESOME!!

My RS president told me about these in a meeting and then brought some by when she made them - delish! We ate ours so quickly I had to make some more! So simple. These would make a great Christmas treat for your friends and neighbors or at any gathering.

Ingredients: pretzels, Rolos and pecan halves.

Directions: Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Lay out each pretzel with a rolo on top. Put in a 325 degree oven for 3 - 3.5 minutes, just enough for the chocolate to sweat. Pull them out and gently press a pecan half onto each pretzel. Voila!

Both recipes tried and true - you should try them too. 5 Stars!

Weekend Fun

Happy, happy birthday to the sweetest boy in the world!

This past Friday, Clay turned 6! We celebrated the boys birthdays on the day in between their birthdays as they were headed off camping (with Kaycee in tow) the afternoon of Clay's big day.

Here they are blowing out their candles. Here's to another great year gentlemen!

I ordered Ryan's gifts just a day shy of a full week before his birthday. I two-dayed the shipping to make sure it would be here on time as the website indicated orders made in that time frame would be shipped out the following Monday. Yeah, they didn't get here until the day after his bday...thanks for nothing! Oh well, he still really liked his Dwight and Michael bobble heads which now adorn his desk at work.

KC: "I have WALL*E eyes." Yes, yes you do.

And, cute, cute "O-E-Ah" (as Lucy says) talking with Grandpa H. She cooed for the first time!

Clay and KC in the back of the truck waiting to leave for their adventure. Everyone was invited, but these two were the only takers. I was so glad they didn't freeze. I was worried the whole night and slept as though I was camping as well! (Yeah, not a big camper... Ryan would add "yet" here!)

I was very happy to have the babe, Lucy and Rylee keep me company.

And, I was happy they were here to meet my cousin Maggie, who came by with her husband, and parents. It was so good to see you Maggie & Justin! We're so happy to have you in CO. Hopefully we'll get to see each other again before too long.

It was a fun weekend.

Oh My Word-y, Look Who's 30!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

We love you so much!
~ Rylee, Clay, Kaycee, Lucy, Olivia & Mom~

Join us in wishing our Dad, Ryan, the best 30th birthday ever!!

Husband Tag

My SIL Mindy tagged me and I didn't want to pass up the chance to let you all know how fabulous my Ryan is. (I tried to post pics, but it wouldn't let me...I'll keep trying.)

1. Where did you meet your husband? I met Ryan on a blind date. He was my sister Reecy's boyfriend's high school lacrosse coach who was also attending BYU. I was living at home and had no social life (whatsoever!) and told Eric (the boyfriend - now my BIL) to set me up. Ryan called me a couple days later.

2. How long did you date before you got married? We dated for 11 weeks (not months, weeks!) before we got married. We met the middle of May, got engaged July 1 and married July 29.

3. How long have you been married? 8 years this past July.

4.What does he do that surprises you? He can do anything and everything! I am always amazed at what he can do (except for buying a car without my permission - that surprised me. But, we won't mention that..) He's also good at bringing me treats.


5.What is your favorite feature? I love Ryan's chest. Really. He's got a nice chest. And, I love his hands too. They're always warm and soft (I didn't mean to copy your answer Mindy. It was a good one). Much softer than my own. And, I love his calves. He's got some sweet looking calves. Okay, so that was more than one feature.

6. What is your favorite quality? Ryan is very generous. He is so good to help anyone and everyone out.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Hon, or dear (we sound like a 50 year couple).

8. What is his favorite food? Ryan is a mean griller. He loves meat - good meat, grilled to perfection.

9. What is his favorite sport? That depends, he's got a few. Lacrosse - watching or coaching, Wrestling - watching and he'd like to coach, and then college football - USC Trojans and BYU Cougars.

10. When and where was your first kiss? Our first kiss (and his first kiss) was a month after we met and knew we wanted to get married. It was on my parents couch in their living room. Ironically, he'd ready my dad's story The Sacred Kiss (in an EFY book) as a teenager and followed his advice - Ryan saved his kisses, just for me.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We like to rent movies. So, after all the kids have gone to bed, we pull out the goodies and enjoy a good flick.

12. Do you have any children? I'm not sure how to answer that when people ask me now. I usually just say 5, because we have 5 at home, but really we have 6. I'm not sure how much people care to know about me and often times I don't like to share that experience casually with strangers or just in passing. So if you know me and our family, and you hear me say 5, we haven't forgotten, it just seems easier. Sorry, that was really long.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? Ryan is incredibly talented - it makes me sick! :) He's athletic, artistic, musical, culinary, mechanically (cars) talented and is so intelligent. In flipping this house, he has become a painter, a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a dry waller (is that a word?), a window replacement-er and the list goes on. He does it all. He can even sew!

14. How old is he? He'll be the big 3-0 on Wednesday!!

15. Who said "I love you" first? He did. It had only been about 2-3 weeks since we'd met and started dating. He was so cute!



16. What is his favorite music? He seems to enjoy every type of music, especially the kind I make him listen to. :)

17. What do you admire most about him? He is so stinkin' smart! (he married me, right?) :) If he doesn't know something, he learns it - then he teaches me. He's so ambitious. I can't wait until he can see his dreams become reality!

18. What is his favorite color? I don't think he's actually ever declared one. He does own a lot of blue though..

19. Will he read this? Yes, because I'll tell him, I mean, ask him to.

20. Who do you tag? Like Mindy said, whoever would like to pay a little tribute to their husband. (all of you, right?)