Merry Christmas Everybody!

Kylee wanted to send a little shout out to everybody. She performed several songs with her preschool and then re-performed a couple at home. We sure wish we could be with everyone for the holiday but for all of you that we won't see, especially Nana and Grandpa Ted here is a short little video for you. (turn your volume up)The girls are eager to travel to my parents house tomorrow and have their reindeer food ready to sprinkle all over the front yard!

How Far is too Far...

This time of year is just so much fun especially when you have a child who BELIEVES! Kylee is into it more than ever and I just wonder if it is possible to take it too far? Well, we are sure having fun with it. We have visited Santa's reindeer at Hershey Park twice already and man am I glad those employees are well trained. Kylee, remembered by the size of some of the antlers which reindeer was who based on what she was told from her first visit and even with different employees they had the same stories and the same identifications for the reindeer. I bet you didn't know that Cupid is Rudolph's best friend or that Rudolph's nose looks just like the others now but lights up and turns red on Christmas Eve. We enjoyed an early visit to Santa at the beginning of the season who with a little help from me asked Kylee if she always listens to her mother, eats her veggies, cleans up, etc. As we were leaving she whispered in my ear, "Mom, will you please tell Santa that I've been good." The rest of the evening was filled with, "Sure Mom...Ok Mom." On her bad days she is quick to tell me that she will do better tomorrow and when she does something kind or helpful she often remarks, "Mom, I bet Santa wrote that down." Oh, I want to be a kid again but it sure is fun being the parent right now too!
We've had a great time...

pulling out each x-mas decoration

counting down each day on our calendar & kiss tree

singing and teaching christmas carols
teaching Lexi HO HO HO
going to HP

bringing toys to the hospital

Ky collecting for the food drive

Watching "Frosty the Snowman"

dressing in red

Setting up the Nativity (Activity)

so much more and plenty to still come!

After 2 years...

They are actually done!!!! My 2 year long stocking making project is finally done thanks to my MOM. As many of you know I just don't sew but this pottery barn stocking pattern was just too cute to pass up 2 years ago when a group of ladies in my ward decided to make them. I thought why not...I need to try something new and have always wanted hand made stockings for the family. Well, I got in way over my head and kept putting the project off. This was a multi step process that I kept dragging on and am very thankful to a couple of my friends that at least kept me going...you know who you are. I did learn so many new things which I guess was the point. Me...Cheryl actually did some hand stitching and made her own appliques. But putting these things together just seemed impossible and my Mom is always up for a good challenge and is luckily there to bail me out. It feels just great to look at this finished project and I just had to share it. Kylee has been one of my biggest fans as she is just in love with her stocking. Now it is time to wait and see if they get filled. Hope you all are enjoying the season. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Get Down & Boogie

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The TRADITION Continues

As a child I went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade every year...rain, snow or freezing cold. I'm becoming more of a wimp as I get older and am impressed that my parents kept this tradition going. We have so many great memories from this parade and thanks to my parents and our life long friends they know how to make the experience perfect. We always have front row seats, chairs, hot chocolate, donuts, great friends, comments that keep you laughing and awesome memories at the end. It has been so neat to now share this experience with Kylee. This was know her third year attending which is hopefully enough for her to always remember it. She absolutely loves the balloons...but then again how can anyone not. They are just huge and pretty amazing to see in person. We were blessed with great weather again!

Ky's favorites were Dora and Horton Hears a Who. When we were kids we loved collecting all the confetti the clowns would throw. Some years were better than others and this year we must have caught their attention cause we were covered in it several times and Kylee retrieved her own little collection. Sky stayed home with Lexi and Ky and I joined my parents who then met up with our large crew as always...friends from Connecticut, Jones, and who ever else may happen to arive.
It's always fun to see which stars we will get a chance to see. This year we all let David Archuleta know we were his fans!

Thanks Mom and Dad for another perfect year and of course a yummy turkey dinner!

Ms. Pac-Man

SIDE NOTE !!!!! This has become a nightly routine in the Alsop Home! My parents discovered Sky's love for Pac-Man and just happened to leave their plug-in TV version behind one weekend when they saw him playing it during every spare moment he had. (thanks mom and dad) I would like to say that Skylar is now addicted with playing it but I have to add myself to the equation. Gotta love putting off the things you know you should be doing to play a little Pac Man. We are obsessed with beating our own records...since I'll never catch Skylar's. However, for the first time I made it to the "CHASE" this evening and almost conquered the Pear level. It is quite a treat or should I say scare watching Sky play as he is his own worst enemy. "You idiot...you freakin gotta be kidding me!...!" were words I heard coming from downstairs one evening. I went down to make sure he was ok to find him intensely playing Pac-Man. I now know not to respond to these comments and just stay clear. He has become one expert Pac-Man player!

Alexis has been tagged!

Alexis has been tagged by Justin,
Name and Meaning: Alexis Defender
Age: 19 months
Nicknames:
Lex, Lexi, Boober (don't ask me ask Sky)

Favorite Activities:
Reading books (gets a book, walks backwards as she scoots into your lap and then plops down. and then repeats this over)

Eating, EATing EATING
Being Outside and pushing her stroller (why is it getting cold)
Following her Big Sister wherever she goes

Listening to music and Dancing

pushing buttons (radio, tv, remotes, etc.)

Doing the laundry with Mom

Favorite Foods:
I used to say all and anything anyone else in the room may be eating but now she's become a little pickier.

Carbs! this girl loves carbs
Fruit (haven't seen her turn it down yet)
CANDY and of course CHOCOLATE
Least Favorite Foods:
Vegetables...ewww gross! as they roll off her tongue.

Favorite Music:
Anything with a good fast beat. Loves Viva la Vida by Coldplay and Open Shut them.

I tried to catch a little of it. Click on this link to see

Alexis Dancing 11-08
as you can see she loves to rock back and forth, bounce up and down, and twirl till dizzy and all with the beat mind you.

Favorite Toys:
Ones that play music

Playskool Ball Blower

Books
Balls
Baby Stroller

Play food and kitchen

Favorite Books:

Sandra Boynton Books especially Moo, Baa, La la la

Books that make animal noises
Favorite Item of Clothing:
None. After bath or when getting dressed this one makes a run for it and loves to pat that bare belly. Due to her mother's love for comfort she is often in her jammies till noon.

What makes her happy:
Her SILKY!!!

Her Mommy
Sister Kylee when she needs comforting
Food

Being thrown on the bed by Dad
What makes her sad:
When older sister tells her she can't play with that or when sister gets a little too rough
When Daddy takes her up to bed instead of Mom
When told no more food
When she is over tired because she only takes an hour nap
When Mom won't give her something till she tries to make the sign
Funny words or phrases:
Doesn't say many actual words but she is constantly babbling or singing in her own language. My favorite word is Bucka Bucka. I could listen to her talk all day long as long as it isn't her favorite word which is Uhh Uhh Uhh! She does have the word HI down and loves to say it when Daddy comes home or when she goes to a new place.

Alexis Tags...

Julsie (Heather)
Hailey (Lindsey)
Emmi (Jordan)
Kate (Amber)

and of course anyone else!

Disney on Ice...LEXI'S TREAT!

Why is everything that Disney puts on just so magical? Last Friday we went to Disney on Ice "Worlds of Fantasy" thanks to Lexi's connections. I was pondering purchasing tickets due to how much Kylee loved it last year when I got the phone call from Early Intervention. We have been working with them a lot lately with Lexi's speech development and she informed me that she requested a bunch of tickets for the show and we were welcome to some. Dude, it just made my day! We were all able to go as a family for free and once again only drive 5 min. away for a great show.

Before hand there was a princess display of the dresses and a surprise Cinderella at the end. I thought Ky would be so excited to see the real Cinderella as I've been dying to plan a Disney vacation sometime soon. But her reply was, "Mom, that's not the real Cinderella is it?" Is she really that old already?...is there no getting anything by her. This girl has loved the princesses. I've got to get her to Disney fast...but luckily I've got another one (my little Lexi) that is just going to begin entering this phase. (I hope)!

Kylee watched in awe for most of the show (while eating Halloween candy). I informed her before hand what the 4 main acts would be so the planner that she is loved guessing what would be coming out next and retelling us who we had seen so far. Aside from just a great Disney show Sky and I are always impressed by just the amazing skating we get a chance to see. At times you get caught up in the characters and forget some of the incredible moves they are doing. Ky, enjoyed hearing the new story of tinkerbell and is excited to see the movie.

Our PreSchool Guru

I never did a beginning of the school year post but Kylee is thoroughly enjoying her time at preschool. Last year I received a good squeeze and an "I love you Mom" as my timid girl entered the room. Now all I get is a, "I'm going in Mom, see you later" as she quickly hangs her bag up. She is growing up soooo fast and is excited about life. One of her most asked questions is, What are we doing today? This girl lives for action and lately to be with friends. Playing with Mom and Dad just doesn't cut it all the time anymore. Instead of taking these great breaks from friends being over I tend to find myself listening in as I love hearing their creative conversations and make believe play. (We all know how much she thinks through things and verbalizes everything)

Skylar was having a conversation with his Dad the other day about all Kylee is into and how she just goes constantly. His response was, "You know you are really just watching yourself grow up!"
I enjoyed getting a little peak into her classroom as the parents got to join them for their Halloween songs. Watching Kylee with her gang of girls is quite the site. She loves hanging out wtih Lindsey who apparently helps her show her true colors as we hear Kylee is quite shy around the teachers or in group settings....shocker to me!

Little More Halloween

Hershey never has trick-or-treating on Halloween! I know, totally weird but now we are actually used to it. This year we spent the night before Halloween trick-or-treating and the actual night was spent at Hershey Park in the dark. We are trying to get all we can out of our final season passes. We have more memories than I can count in this amusement park and aren't sure what we are going to do when it is no longer just a 5 min. drive away.
It began with a Candy Hunt at the Hershey Outlets and then we proceeded on to our trick -or-treating. We got a great head start from the hunt as you can see. Candy is just covering the ground and it is a free for all within different age groups.

Ky overflowed her pumpkin would then dump and head out for more. As you can see the costume changed back to the pink dragon for the evening.

Lexi caught on fast and had a great time collecting candy. However, she would pause after each piece to eat it before wanting to collect more. We were happy a few pieces at least made it in the pumpkin. She enjoyed hanging out by the side lines eating almost the entire time. This was also the case trick or treating. She only made it a few houses due to the Lexi food fit that followed each candy collection. It was just not acceptable to her to place the candy in the pumpkin and move on. She sure let us know that she was miserable from being deprived that one piece of candy.

Like always we had a great night being parents and are sure glad kids keep you young. We had fun watching Ky get into her element and going at her pace for awhile as Lexi slept peacefully at home with Nana Linda.

NO PLACE LIKE HERSHEY!

Is there any question they know how to give out candy? This was all gathered or given in a 2 hour time period by a 4 year old. I think we are set for the next few months. I'll share more fun Halloween pictures soon.

THANKFUL!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Skylar's 32nd birthday. There was a time when I was slightly worried about our age gap but there are many reasons now that I'm thankful for it. Most importantly no matter how old I get he always makes me feel young. (Thanks Honey!!!!) However, I must add he definitely doesn't look 32. We had a great day and Kylee was so excited to prepare and celebrate his birthday.
Some of her quotes from the day included..."Today is a special day for me because I have to get things ready for Dad's birthday." "Mom, why do we celebrate Dad's birthday today?" Which led to a great chit chat and explanation. My favorite was when I was frantically trying to come up with something for him to open and turned to Kylee asking her for some advice on what to get Dad. Her reply was, "Well, we just gave my friend the chalk drawler...I have lots of baby dolls but he probably won't want that...he does like football alot...we could get him a football kicker...how about that?" We had a great day making cake, hiding gifts, bringing and eating lunch at the hospital with sky, running errands, and even fitting in a dinner the two of us thanks to the help of our friends.

I just wanted to say Thanks again to Sky for the role he plays in our family. All of these family moments make life worth every moment. Which brings me to another point for this post. Ammendment 8, through many e-mails I've become more aware of the drastic effects this does have on my own little family. I never thought we would have to be worried about protecting marriage and securing the value of family. I'm thankful for my beliefs and just wanted to share this song with you that Janice Kapp Perry has put out in support of Ammendment 8. I think she did a fabulous job with the song and you all know how much I love little things like this. Hope you enjoy too and give a little extra hug to your family today.
Song to Support Ammendment 8!

UT Part 2

After our time in Logan we headed down to Salt Lake for 2 days and then to my sister's in Orem for the weekend. Every time I'm in Utah I forget how many great people there are to see and it is just impossible to do in our short visit. So, all of you reading this that I didn't catch up with I am very very sorry. We really do love you! We did pack the trip full with awesome memories and the girls did excellent with bouncing around. I wish we could have fit even more in.

Some friendships you know just won't ever die! Amber and I met in college and I'm sure will still know each other when we are old and grey. However, I must say we are doing good so far. This is 9 years since we met and I think we still look the same.

Just add our husbands and a few kids. Her boys and my girls.
For our third year in a row Kylee was happily reunited with Kelly May (great-grandpa's horse). Kylee looks forward to these moments and talks about her experiences all the time. This horse will never be forgotten as we even have play horses at home named after her. This year there was a new little tyke to add to the excitement. As you can guess, Alexis couldn't get enough. Once she got on the horse there was no getting her off. Every time we would try she would bust into tears. Kylee was great at giving her plenty of turns and the 2 of them just held on and laughed as they rode around.

None of this would have been possible without great-grandpa's efforts. At 88 years old he is still taking care of horses and nursing Kelly May's foot back to health just so Kylee can have a turn to ride her when she comes out to visit. Not to mention HIS health which is a little shaky none the less. These are amazing memories and from them Kylee will probably always remember her GREAT GRANDPA. He is already willing to gift Kylee the horse...one huge problem. No where for us to keep her in PA.
We spent a great weekend with Aunt Laura and Uncle Taylor as always. Taylor was full of his usual spunky energy which keeps Kylee (all of us)entertained. We had a crazy round of mini golf. Kylee has hit the age of getting into everything now and just had a blast finding the neat things each hole had to offer and Tay amazed us all with his hole in ones. We had a good time hiking, eating, chatting and being together. I love every minute I get with my sister and am left always wanting more time. I guess that's a good thing.

And at the last minute we still fit in a get together with some of my cousins. It was short but sweet and I'm glad we all pulled it off. So easy to pick up where ever you left off with family.

Jody, bottom left was a week overdue to have her baby at this point and still pulled off doing my hair. She is absolutely fabulous and does an amazing job every time.

Annual Utah Trip PART 1

After a long day of traveling we made it to Nana's house (Sky's Mom) and the girls were instantly in heaven. Lexi became comfortable quickly as she used Bovy (the dog) as her personal pillow. This kid just can't get enough of animals and has no fear at all...not even a huge pit bull will turn her away. Bovy abliged nicely and allowed Lexi to follow him around for 5 days patting, tackeling, lying on, walks, etc. Kylee meanwhile was Nana's side kick. She loves her "Nannie" to death and they were constantly checking on the cats, doing multiple crafts, collecting fruit, telling silly stories, walking to the playground and sitting side by side. Where ever one went the other followed. We all know where Skylar was....GOLFING! During our 5 days in Logan he managed to fit in 3 rounds of golf with his Dad.

We spent a fun filled evening at the Logan Fun Park! (old stomping ground for a few of our dates) We even got grandparents into the play structure to add to the fun. It was non-stop action for Kylee from slides, to arcade games and even roller skating. She was spoiled with non-stop entertainment the entire trip.

A trip with Skylar's family is never complete without a little bowling. Following in the footsteps of Uncle Ry Ry and Grandpa Ted, Kylee is becoming quite the little bowler. Check out this form! Are you proud Ry Ry or what? We spent a late night at Logan Lanes but Kylee showed no signs of being tired and asked for another game. "Are these the right fingers mom?" We had a great time with Aunt Jenny, Uncle Tommy and the entire group.

We of course made it out to Grandpa Ted's for an evening which was filled with more constant entertainment. This crew is frequently found around the table playing Texas Hold'em and the girls found entertainment on the trampoline, riding the four wheeler, climbing trees or Lexi hugging baby Cache.

All these moments remind us how hard it is to be away!

YES, I do Love Celine Dion!

I know I know, yup I'm a fan. Many of you may agree and others may take this perfect opportunity to laugh or make fun of me. : )That's just fine...bring it on. I think she has such an incredible voice and I loved her performance in Vegas. Last weekend Sky and I celebrated our 7th year anniversary (a month late) with my
parents in NJ and went to see Celine's concert. We had such an amazing time and yes my husband who is obsessed with sports also can enjoy some of the finer things as well. He thoroughly enjoys listening to her amazing voice in person.



It was a great evening of laughs, attempts at singing, no children, my Dad's first concert in at least 20 years and an interesting drive through Newark NJ!

Well Sky, after 7 years we can still stand each other. I sure love you and am thankful for the journey so far. Thanks for putting up with me. I'm glad I've got you by my side.