a pratt family christmas

Gifts from home seemed to be the theme this year, with a complete lack of $$$$ during this terrible economy! So, our home had a "kids christmas" in which only the kids got anything from santa and matthew & i simply enjoyed the holidays a la carte, no presents. it was a little stress relief since we didn't have to worry about presents for each other and finished shopping for the kids in november when we were visiting my sister for thanksgiving. so at least we avoided the mad crowds and insane lines! i, however, was a little stressed with the baking & craft madness that consumed my days the last couple of months. for matthew's sgt & his best friend I made quilts,

for my girlfriends, i crocheted scarves,

and i crocheted Hailey a princess dolly...

i crocheted my mom a blanket...

and for our neighbors and matt's friends and coworkers i baked cookies, lots and LOTS of cookies! i made 2-3 dozen of 12 different kinds of cookies! i was a baking machine for probably 36 straight hours! the poor kids survived off cereal and hot dogs for meals since matthew was working doubles the days the baking needed to be done. But FINALLY it was over!

So on christmas everything was finished, and we got to simply enjoy watching the babies open their presents, and then of course matthew had to work...after all it seemed car accidents were up in numbers this past week... but he was able to make it home for christmas dinner, so that was nice.

it was a beautiful christmas and we are very blessed.

early christmas morning hello from hailey...

hunter starts the show, but needs help opening his presents...

then it was Lukey's turn... notice the lightning mcqueen underwear... thanks grandma he LOVES them! AND doesn't wanna wear pants to cover them up!

and hailey's turn...
luke had to learn about taking turns... but then it was his again...

we hope everyone had a very fun christmas like we did and hope the rest of your holidays are full of love and happiness!

Our HOME

Well, since we live in the TOTAL boonies! I suppose I should share with you all our house since I highly doubt anyone will come all this way! lol I have a friend flying in to slc and she couldn't believe there are no trains, buses or anything that comes out this way... lol o yea... & i am disappointed in finding that after FINALLY visiting the ONLY restaurant IN roosevelt, they have NO IDEA what good food is!!!! Oh my! How do you screw up french fries? and the dino chicken nuggets from costco were WAY better than what poor lukie had to suffer through! LOL

& to top it off they had banana cream pie... one of my FAVS 2nd only to cheesecake... only to discover they don't know how to make that either!!! HOW can you screw up banana cream pie? i mean we are talking pudding, bananas, whipped cream, and a sweet crust... BUT let me tell YOU it was BAD! and for someone who gets to go out to eat only couple times a year!?!?!!! i couldnt even finish my $5 pie, yes $5 for pie that was not even good! SIGH

but... aside from all the things i am NOT liking out here we do have a brand new house... so that is nice... (once they fix all the things that have already come apart in only 3 months! lol)

So here is our new home. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, garage (yeah no treking in snow)!

So this house is smaller than our last square footage wise so... we've had to turn our garage into not only a spot for both cars (which we FINALLY fit both the van & patrol car in now!) but also our extended kitchen as well as office & craft room! lol... notice the computer in the garage? this is WHY i post so rarely... its FREAKIN COLD OUT HERE!!! lol.. right now my tootsies are like mini frozen popsicles! brrrrrrrrrrrrr

our rooms are pretty close quartered... so trying to figure out how to take pics is kinda funny but nevertheless.... here ya go

Here is our living room ... (car on floor courtesy of luke)

notice the empty et center again
courtesy of 2year old boy that

enjoys pulling out everything

he can reach but now has made this

his favorite hiding place! lol

& yes that bookshelf is ALL kids books, except for the few on very top shelf which are parenting or autism books! lol

So here is my darling VERY MESSY

princess who i am lucky is sitting down since she LOVES throwing tantrums when i say anything about eating and here is her room... like i said it really hard to see the whole room!

& my boys now they LOVE to eat...

and here is the boys room! like the

decorating? lol... its only been a few

months & matthew wont let me

paint yet, since it new paint since we just bought the house... but it will come! & my little man who eats so fast & runs off to play with cars or trains!

and the kitchen... when it not a mess!

and our yard ...

and where the truck is parked we are planning on cementing that all in and covering it ... but for now the truck sits in dirt! lol

& one day we will get fences... for now we DREAM!!!!

don't think you need to see our bedroom or the bathrooms... they pretty basic... lol so thats our house!

I've been tagged!

SO Becky tagged me forever ago, but I didn't know it becauseI haven't ventured into the coldness to get to the computer (which is in the garage) BRRRRRR!!!!!

SO...How to play this game of tag: Post these rules on your blog.Name 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections and 3 random surprising facts about yourself.Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.Let them know that you have tagged them by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 Joys: Baking, Running & My FAMILY

3 Fears: I have a terrifying fear of submarines, I am totally claustophobic (sp?), & I have a very unrealistic fear that one day a creepy man will come up through my crawlspace!

3 Goals: Start a cake decorating business, turn our house into a home (paint & decorate), have 6 healthy babies!

3 Current Obsessions/Collections: BAKING COOKING & BAKING, crocheting (homemade xmas presents) & quilting

3 Random Surprising Facts About Myself: i used to hate chocolate & now i can't live without it!, i absolutely HATE the cold snowy winter (ok maybe not so surprising) , i miss going to school

I don't know enough people to tag... but i guess, Robbie, Brandy, Steph (since she didnt answer Becky's yet), Shelly, & Amy!!

Diapers Diapers EVERYWHERE!!!

So our precious 2 year old LUKE has decided that wearing diapers is SO NOT COOL! He wants to be just like "Heyee". So no matter how often I follow this little guy around he ALWAYS finds a place and time to strip the diaper! Now the problem with this is he isn't POTTY TRAINED!!!! He has good intentions and runs to the potty once he sees himself going but then we got a fun pee trail to follow & clean up and by the time he gets the potty his bladder is empty! Matthew says we should duct tape the diapers on but if he WANTS to learn I don't wanna tell him no! So we've compromised and got him in the training underwear so the mess doesn't get everywhere & he is not in diapers! Let me tell ya tho, I sure am doing at least 2 loads of laundry DAILY! LOL The good news? He is making it to the potty EVERY SINGLE time when he has a BM & I'd much rather clean up pee than that! LOL
SO now i've got only 1 left in diapers! YAHOO! SO although we are going through carpet cleaner & laundry soap like crazy! My babies are growing up & learning! Makes a mommy proud!

And so it begins...

Well Robbie this is for you! JK. We are starting our very own blog. Matthew laughs at the thought. Never imagined that we would have a blog he says, who wants to read about us?

Well, a lot has changed for us in the past couple months.

But it all started in January when Matthew starting the academy for the Highway Patrol. Now, I TOLD Matthew I would NEVER NEVER marry a cop. So he decided to sneak around that and marry me first, then become a cop! Not that there is anything wrong with cops, just as a wife didn't want to have to handle those hours! But he is my hubby, so supportive I will be. And now that he doing it, I can't really imagine him doing anything else. He LOVES it, like it's in his blood. This is what he should be doing. So after months of the academy came graduation and then his calling, Duchesne County, Utah. Now coming from California, Utah County was a whole other world, but Duchesne county? well it's an entire different universe! We had a hard time finding a home and Matthew had to live out here without me and the kids for awhile. But we finally found a brand new home, and then had to wait for it to be finished and now, long overdue, we are all together again as a family.

So now we live in Roosevelt, Utah. We have finally settled in, as all of our boxes are unpacked. It is great having a garage, considering this house is smaller than our last, our "office" is out here, as well as all my craft supplies and half the kitchen. Matthew has jumped right into being a trooper out here, as well as joining as a reserve officer for the Duchesne County Sheriff's Office and the Roosevelt Police Department. Can you tell he loves being a cop?

Hailey has started preschool and goes 4 days a week. She rides the big girl bus! I didn't think I would have to worry about my baby going to school until kindergarten! But at 3 years old she puts on her backpack and heads to the bus stop (with mom of course!) She is doing great, absolutely loves it! And she has only had one tantrum thus far! The teacher was completely shocked when it happened, she said, "I never knew something could come out of such a happy sweet little girl." LOL Welcome to my world! I think there was definately a reason she was born so cute! She is completely potty trained during the day, now we just gotta work on staying dry through the night!

Luke is busy being 2! As a typical 2 year old boy he LOVES making messes, cars, balls, throwing things, wrestling, and getting into any trouble possible! It is a new world for Matthew since Hailey didn't go through this stage! He absolutely loves the movies CARS (for obvious reasons) and MULAN of all things! He loves the fighting and takes out Hailey's recorder and pretends it is a sword!

Hailey sure misses horse riding and they both miss playing outside, but it's already too cold for that, plus no fences, and we only one house from state street, so we stay inside all our days! Talk about CABIN FEVER!!!! Every night these two LOVE to watch Disney's Princess Sing-A-Long and at the very end when every one is dancing these two grab each other and dance around the room laughing the whole time! It is absolutely ADORABLE!

Hunter is growing by leaps and bounds! At 5 months old, he already had 2 teeth! At 6 months old, he is crawling everywhere and even gets his tummy off the floor most of the time, the rest its more of the army crawl he has down packed! He is loving solids and for the most part sleeps the entire night! However, he has decided he is old enough to only need one nap a day! Insane! Apparently my kids aren't nappers cause Luke and Hailey don't nap at all by 2yo. He still refuses to sit up and if you try and make him he folds himself completely in half so his tummy is still touching the floor, or rolls immediately to the side. He loves to chew on anything he shoulding, especially cords, and loves pulling the door stoppers out and gnawing on the caps. Obviously, I've had to remove all these from the walls! He hates being in a room alone, and if you leave, he is right behind you scooting as fast as he can!

So what about me? Well, I'm busy being a mom, working part-time as a 911 dispatcher in Vernal, which is about 40 min away. And as always, I LOVe baking and entertaining! We have already had 3 bbq's and probably 2 dinner parties, and now that it's the holidays a lot more are coming! I bake as often as I can and share with all the guys matthew works with, I don't think they mind, and I need someone to test my goodies. I am thinking I will start baking and decorating cakes from home and hope to quit completely and devote my time at home!

Everyone always asks if we are insane for having our babies so close together, but we wouldn't have it ANY OTHER WAY! It is so great having them at the same stage, doing the same things together & being so close! The second question is always, if we are done, and nope, we are not even close! We love being mommy & daddy and want to do it more! There is nothing greater than these beautiful blessings that HeavenlyFather has given us! Sorry it's so long, but that's the jist. Will try to keep updated and add more as we can!