Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas! We stayed home this year and just had Christmas with our little family. We have started some of our own traditions and love making these fun memories. Christmas Eve we made little pizzas for dinner and then made our cookies for Santa. This year we decided to just use sprinkles on the cookies instead of frosting them. After all the frosting Santa got last year on his cookies from Jaygen, he was probably glad! :) Todd read the Christmas story while the boys acted it out with their nativity. They had lots of fun with that.







Then the boys opened their Christmas Eve present. This year instead of pj's or slippers they got capes. They loved them and spent the rest of the night running around the house "killing the bad guys"! There went the Christmas spirit! :)

When we finally got the boys in bed, Pace wouldn't stop crying because he didn't want Santa to come to our house. (Do you remember the picture of Pace sitting on Santa's lap?!) The poor little boy is scared to death of Santa.

Jaygen's Big Performance!

Jaygen had his preschool Christmas program a couple nights ago and oh my heck, he was so excited. He has been practicing his songs for us for weeks, including in the post office as loud as he could. Well, the big night finally came and he was practicing his songs in the truck driving to the program and when he finished singing, he cleared his throat and said "My voice is warmed up now." Todd and I laughed so hard at him. Well, we get to the performance and Jaygen only sang a couple of the songs. When we got home I asked him why he didn't sing like he had been practicing and he said "Because the other kids were singing so loud you wouldn't be able to hear me." We recorded the program and came home and watched it and that made it all better. Jaygen wanted to watch it over and over again. I think he liked watching himself on TV!

The Duck Hunt

Todd has been dying to go duck hunting and finally got a chance to. Between all the guys that went, they shot 15. Todd only hit two but the guys were nice enough to send three home with him. Jaygen and Pace waited all day to see the ducks when dad got home. They think their dad is SO cool (he is!) and can't wait until they get to go with him. Poor little Briggs doesn't know what is ahead of him! :)

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Every year it seems that Thanksgiving comes and goes faster and before we know it Christmas is here. This year it especially did for me with having a new baby. We decided to stay home this year for Thanksgiving and my mom and dad and my sister and her family came to our house. We had a good time and my mom cooked a yummy Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know what I would do without my mom. She has been the biggest help for me with just having a baby. I appreciate so much her coming and taking care of Jaygen and Pace while I was in the hospital. I even came home to a spotless house! Then she came back during her Thanksgiving break and cooked us all a great Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks mom - you are the best!!

To end our Thanksgiving weekend we went to the light parade and to see Santa Claus. You could tell Jaygen was a little nervous to sit on his lap, but excited at the same time. Pace on the other hand was scared to death. He cried harder than he does when we take him to nursery, which I didn't think was possible! :) Needless to say, Todd ended up in the picture with Santa. He was thrilled!! Jaygen asked Santa for a train table and lots of trains. Pace didn't have a chance to put his order in since he was buisy crying, although, he did give Santa a quick high five. Pace is still telling us "No ho ho"! Little Briggs managed to sleep through it all just as peaceful as could be!

So Blessed!

Having a baby has reminded me how nice it is to be able to sleep through the night! But no matter how tired I am, or the fact that I have nothing to wear because it doesn't fit, doesn't make me want to change a thing. Briggs is such a blessing. It is funny how now that he is here, I can't imagine our family with out him. We all love him so much!

I thought that it would be Jaygen that would be my big helper, but Pace is the one that wants to be a part of everything. He loves handing me the diapers and wipes and wants to help burp Briggs. The cutest is when Pace dances for Briggs or pretends like he is "getting" Briggs and then turns and runs. Pace is such a fun kid. Jaygen just likes to keep tabs on Briggs. He always wants to know where the baby is, and is always kissing and hugging him. He is an affectionate little guy. Both boys are doing great with all the changes that come with having a new baby. Jaygen asked me if I am going to have another baby because my tummy is still big. Just what I wanted to hear!!! :)

This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions and everything else, but when I look at sweet, innocent little Briggs I can't help but count all my blessings. Todd is a wonderful husband and has been a great help with the baby. I really can't believe that I have THREE little boys now! When I say that to Todd, he reminds me that I have four boys. :) I am definitely outnumbered but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my little family!!!

IT'S A. . .

THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE BOYS!!

IT'S A . . . . . . BOY! Briggs Wade Mullen was born on November 18 at 8:18 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs and was 21 inches long. He has tons and tons of long black hair.

What Would I Do With Out Them?!

These last days until the baby comes are killing me, but my boys seem to make me laugh everyday and remind me how much I love them and being a mom! If they aren't doing something funny to make me laugh, then they are saying something funny. Pace keeps asking "baby come?" and Jaygen told me I look like a hippo! :) If I ask Jaygen to bend over and pick something up for me, he grunts and says "I can't, my belly is too big." I wonder where he has heard that? Yesterday Jaygen asked me if the baby has knocked yet so we knew it was ready to come out. It made me laugh so hard! If only it was that easy!

Jaygen and Pace are both going to be great big brothers. I can't wait to see what our new addition will be. Jaygen says he is only going to help with the new baby if it is a sister - we will see!!

Mom's Little Helper!

We are all getting so anxious for the big arrival of our baby! Both boys talk about the baby all the time. Pace spends the day kissing and rubbing my belly (the baby) and Jaygen is still determined it is going to be a girl- - we will see soon! I have been pulling out all the baby stuff to get it washed and ready. When I pulled out the old rickety bassinet to wash, Pace ran to get his elephant and dog to sleep in it. Then he came and told me "fix, baby". I didn't understand what he meant until I saw him with all his tools fixing the bassinet. Pace is such a cute little guy and ALWAYS helping mom!!!! :)

Trick-Or-Treat

Jaygen and Pace both had a great Halloween! We started the day with orange pancakes shaped like pumpkins. Jaygen was certain the syrup was bats blood, which made it a little hard to enjoy the pancakes, but whatever, right?! Then Jaygen insisted on wearing his Batman costume all day! He was so excited to go trick-or-treating he couldn't stand it. When it finally came time to head out, Pace wasn't the happiest camper (notice his face in the picture) but that didn't last long. Jaygen wanted to run from house to house while Pace just wanted to stand and check out all the other kids in their costumes. I don't think Pace really had a clue what was going on. :) After trick-or-treating on a few streets in the neighborhood both boys wanted to go home and dump out their candy to see what they had. They both spent the rest of the night handing candy out at our house. They had just as much fun doing that and seeing all the fun costumes the kids were wearing! What a fun day!!!

Pace-Bull Fighter - Jaygen-Batman

The Big Sunday Afternoon Game!

Who needs NFL on Sunday afternoons?! We have all the action right in our living room! I love Sundays because it sometimes seems that is the only day we have together as a family because of all the hustle bustle. I know the boys love it too because they get to play with their dad. Some of my favorite family moments are of Todd and the boys wrestling and playing football. Todd started back when Jaygen was just a baby ( 6 months old in picture). He would wrestle with him and roll a ball around pretending to play football. Now we have Pace added to the picture. It is a little rougher - trust me! Both boys can hold their own pretty well. They will play until they are all out of breath or someone gets injured. Todd is usually the first one with an injury! :) Seeing how Todd is with the boys reminds me how blessed I am. I have a great husband and happy, healthy little boys. Jaygen and Pace are also so lucky to have a dad that loves them so much. He wouldn't rather do anything than spend time with his boys. Families are great!!! I can't wait to see if we have another little boy or a little girl to join the sunday football game. I am sure either one, they will be right in the middle of it!

SPOOK-tacular Time!

We had a lots of fun getting together with friends this weekend for a Halloween party!! We had lots of activities for the kids (cake walk, decorating pumpkins, doughnuts on a string, pass the eyeball, Halloween cookies, ghost hunt) and good food, but the best part of all was the costumes! I am sure we will get many laughs out of our costumes for a long time. :) We are so glad that we have such good friends to make these memories with!

Bun in the Oven and the Chef, Batman (Jaygen), Bullfighter (Pace)

Me, Darla, Stacia, Jamie, Tiffany, Kim


Napolean and Deb (Cory and Kim)


Peter Pan and Hook (Tiff and Brian)


80's Prom Queen (Stacia and Curtis)

80's Prom Royalty (Darla, Stacia, Jamie)

Jaygen and Pace had so much fun running around playing with all the kids and playing all the games. By the end of the night, we weren't sure what Pace's costume was anymore! He had collected a little from other kid's costumes. What a great night!!

Tagged

1. Go to your pictures

2. Upload 4th picture of 4th folder

3. Post.

4. Tag 4 of your friends.

Oh my heck! This picture brings back so many memories (not all good ones for Todd)!! :) This picture was taken clear back when I was pregnant with Jaygen (August 15, 2004). We were at a family reunion at Fish Lake. Todd is a great fly fisherman - me not so much. I told Todd I would get all my fishing gear on (we were both surprised it fit being so pregnant) and go out with him on the lake if he would tie my float tube to his and just pole me around while he fished. What could be more relaxing to just float around being pregnant?! We had floated out quite a ways (I can't remember if we caught any fish) and was ready to head back in. Todd told me to start kicking my flippers toward the shore, so I did what I was told. I kicked and kicked and kicked - he did too but we weren't going anywhere. After a while of kicking Todd asked me what way I was kicking. I showed him and he about died. The whole time I had been kicking the opposite direction he had. Obvisouly we weren't going anywhere! Needless to say, that is the last time Todd has tied my float tube to his!!

I tag Mel, Stacia, Darla, and Marci

Pumpkin Fun!

Jaygen and Pace had lots of fun decorating their pumpkins during conference. Jaygen made a spider and Pace a ghost (with help from mom and dad). Surprisingly, we got most of the paint on the pumpkins and not on everything else! :) We had lots of fun together!

Happy Days!

I was so excited to get Pace's cast off today, so I can't imagine how Pace felt. He was sure a trooper while he had it on!!! After Pace finally got use to his cast, he didn't let it slow him down at all. He would still climb to the tallest slide at the park, wrestle with Jaygen (and he would be the one to start it), climb his crib and jump off, "rodeo" all around the house, etc., etc., etc.! Pace is a fun kid with a great personality!

The process to get the cast off scared him, but when the doctor fired up the saw to cut it off, I was a bit nervous too! When we got home, I wanted to take a picture of him holding his cast, but Pace wouldn't even hear of it. He started to cry and wanted that thing out of site. I don't blame him!!!

Our Superhero/Rock Star turned 4!!

Jaygen turned 4 years old on September 21. Since the boys birthdays are only 5 days apart, we get to do a lot of partying around here. It is almost like Christmas in September. Jaygen had his request in months ago for what he wanted for his birthday. He for sure wanted a guitar and anything batman. He wasn't going to let us forget it either! After all his presents were opened, he had a big smile on his face, so I guess he thought he came out pretty good! We had a fun day hanging out and playing with all his new stuff. Jaygen loved his batman cake (thank goodness it didn't take 3 hours like the horse cupcakes) and he and Pace took turns blowing out the candles over and over again. Our boys are lots of fun!!! Jaygen was also excited because since it was Sunday, they got to sing happy birthday to him in primary. Happy 4th birthday Jaygen. We love you!!!Jaygen got to take cupcakes to preschool to celebrate his birthday. Of course they had to be batman! He was really excited to take them.

A Sign of a True Fisherman!

We decided to take the boys fishing to try out their new fishing poles they got from Grandma and Grandpa Mullen. We headed up to Vernon Reservoir for a quick camp out and hopefully catch a fish or two. We had a great night camping, and the next morning Todd got Jaygen and Pace's poles all ready to head for the water. The wind was blowing like crazy and was pretty cold. Then it started to rain a little, but we were all still excited to go fishing.

After having our poles in the water most of the morning, it looked like Jaygen FINALLY got a bite on his. Todd told him to reel his line in and see if he had anything. Jaygen said, "Dad, will you just reel it in? I am eating my snack." I guess after you have to wait for so long the excitement disappears!

Pace had the best time just reeling his line in (over and over and over again)! He kept wanting his line cast out just so he could reel it in again. It was really no surprise that he never got a bite! :)

Despite the bad weather, we all had a great time and both boys said they can't wait for the next fishing trip. Hopefully we will have better luck!

Our Little Buckaroo Turned 2!!

Pace turned two years old today (September 16). Wow, how time flies!! Pace LOVES horses and bulls. He and Jaygen are always playing "rodeo". So, we decided to give him a horse he could ride for his birthday. He has still been having a hard time getting around with his cast on, but when he saw the horse this morning, he took off walking and couldn't climb on fast enough. Todd and I just looked at each other and laughed! :) Pace loved the horse so much he wouldn't even get off to open his other presents. He had to sit on his horse to open them. Pace is always so much fun. We sure love him! HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY PACE!!!!




For Pace's birthday cake, I wanted to try and make some cute horse cupcakes I had seen. Well, try is the key word. After three hours all I had done was two horses - yes two - and I wasn't even sure they looked like a horse! Who was I kidding trying to be a cake decorator?! Pace loved them and knew exactly what they were suppose to look like. When he saw them he started neighing! That made it all worth it! Pace (and big brother Jaygen) had fun blowing out the candles. What a fun day! :)

The Update!

We headed back to the doctor today since Pace's leg didn't seem to be getting any better, and sure enough, it is broken after all. They did x-rays again and found the break. At least now he is on the mend! Pace spent the afternoon hitting stuff against his cast because it would make loud noises. We will see how much fun he thinks it is after a few days! :) Of course we had to choose a red cast - Go Delta Rabbits!!!!

Boys Will Be Boys!!!

What else do you expect from little boys, right!? Pace and Jaygen both love to wrestle and rough house. It is a daily occurrence with them. This morning it got the best of little Pace. He was jumping off the couch (over and over again) when he hurt his leg. I was sure it was broken because of the constant screaming and he wouldn't move it or put pressure on it. So off to the ER we went. Luckily it wasn't broken. The doctor said he has a severe sprain and he put a splint on it. Hopefully in a couple of days Pace will be back to running around again - I am sure jumping off the couch too! :) We love you Pace!!

Action Packed Weekend!

Todd played in the Utah Open at Oak Ridge Country Club this last weekend, so the boys and I decided to tag along for a little vacation. The boys absolutely love to stay in motels so we couldn't pass up the opportunity! Todd didn't shoot his best score, but had a great time playing with old golf buddies! Todd's score didn't matter to Jaygen and Pace, they were still WAY excited to see dad when he finished!

Friday we took the boys to Lagoon. They both had a blast on all the kiddie rides! Pace was so excited to get on the rides that he kept trying to climb the little fences around them. He didn't want to wait in line! They wanted to ride all the rides again, but mom and dad insisted we go to dinner instead!

Saturday while Todd was playing, we went to the Zoo with Aunt Candace and cousins Lillian and Isabelle. It was HOT but we had a great time with them!

Saturday night we got together with Todd's family at a Park and celebrated his mom and dad's 40th Wedding Anniversary - - 40 years - WOW! It was fun to see all the family and the boys loved running and playing with their cousins.

To top the weekend off, Saturday night (3:30 a.m. to be exact) the fire alarm went off in our motel. Once we realized we weren't dreaming and it was for real, we grabbed the kids and headed outside. Of course it was a false alarm, but it sure got my heart beating fast. Thank goodness the kids went right back to sleep once we got to go back inside!!!

We had a way fun weekend and look forward to it next year. Only next year, hopefully Todd will shoot a better score at the Utah Open...practice, practice, practice!!