DECLAN's FIRST PLANE RIDE!!!

We headed to Denver, CO to fly to Texas. Kris, Declan and myself. This was Declan first official plane ride. He was so excited. The roads were dry and clear all the way there. Sunny. Couldn't have asked for a better travel.

It was weird to travel on Christmas. Not going to lie. I have never not been HOME. We had a good hardy Christmas lunch at the Flying J, since that is all that was open!! hahah... we three had a corn dog! haha... Jealous, aren't you??

On the Denver Shuttle to the Airport

Reading the Safety Manuel...hahaha...okay, he's just looking at it.

Putting his seat belt on :)

Here's video of the take off... you'll see him sit back and go "Whoa" and get kind of quiet...ahhaha... it wasn't a scared reaction at all. Pretty tame :) You'll see me realize he took off his seat belt and scramble to put it back on...ahaha!!

All the kids on the plane got FREE TV for a Christmas present...he watched the Grinch cartoon and ELF :)

We also got served a warm chocolate chip cookie--fitting I thought!

Listening to the Grinch

His famous pose lately...

Here's the landing... :) Not much of a reaction too, but he's still cute!

YAY!! WE LANDED!!!! :D

CHRISTMAS!!!

First off we had a little Christmas at Kris's parents, on the 4th, before Kris went to Colorado. We opened presents from each other. Everything was great, (I still need to get the little kiddo's something, my bad), but parents spoiled us. It was fun. We ate. Watched a movie. I love this time of year. So cozy... :) I did not take pictures of this for some reason. SORRY!! BUT, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE PRESENTS!!!

We had our Christmas on the 18th, the Saturday before Christmas, because we were going to be flying out Christmas Day to Texas for a short hunting trip. So here's our early Christmas morning. It was fun. Declan loved every minute of it. His jaw kept dropping and saying "WHOA! WOW!" It was SOOO FUN!!! I got spoiled too.. Kris always does great without me even giving him ideas. I LOVE YOU KRIS!!

Dad helping Declan open presents...

New Buzz Sleeping Bag :)

Owl Movie

He got three new Dinosaurs!!!

Kris having a hard time opening Woody... it took him quite a bit to get him out and Declan was getting impatient!! hahaha...

YAY!!! He got a Big Buzz and a Woody!!

My cute Goober, Happy as can be!!

Then we had Christmas with my parents on Christmas Eve. After we did this, they took Liam for a whole week while we would be in Texas. I missed him a lot, but it was good for him to get to know my parents better. Sorry to my mom though for the lack of sleep and constant going :) BUT, I know Liam was in good hands!! LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!! OH!! Plus, while I was gone my little sister Kylee worked at the Motel. She pretty much learned everything in a day. She did great!! Took care of the Motel, my house, my dogs... VERY GRATEFUL!! THANK YOU KYLEE!! I LOVE YOU TOO!!!

Declan and my dad behind him :)

BIG TRUCK!!

My beautiful mom and Liam :)

Liam trying to sit up by himself... not quite there yet! :)

My mom and dad spoiled us ROTTEN like always. They go above and beyond. I am very grateful for them. I always wish I could do more and give them more, and I hope someday I can finally do that. They deserve the best!!

I still have my tree up to this day, and all the decor. I think I'll keep it for a bit. It takes forever to put it all up...just to take down after a month.

This time of year is the best I think. We have Thanksgiving to remember all that we are grateful for...then to follow is CHRISTmas. To remember the birth of our Savior. The miracle. The blessing. The reason why we are here. He is the ultimate, the one who we want to be like. I am blessed to be apart of HIS church. To know why we are here. To make mistakes. To repent. To have an Eternal Family. Family is the MOST important thing. That is what Temples are all about. To keep us ETERNAL...together forever. I would do anything for my family. When they hurt, I hurt. When they are happy, I am happy...and I know they feel the same for me.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and were surrounded by those you love!!!

Mayan/Living Aquarium...

On December 11th, which is my dad's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! LOVE YOU!!) It was the Mullins's Christmas Party in SLC. Kris was still in Colorado at this time, but I still went with the family. We met Sam, Laura and their kids at the Mayan to eat and enjoy :)

There he goes!

Everyone watching on...

It's quite dark in this restaurant and my flash went off, and here you have Liam's reaction :)

It was also Larry's birthday coming up on the 14th, so we had the waitress bring cake and ice cream. You can see that the kids enjoyed it! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, LOVE YA!!!

Outside of the Mayan

Then we headed to the Living Aquarium...which is pretty neat :)

Little Sea Horses...


REALLY cool Turtle

This was pretty neat too!!! I think it would be cool to have a huge Aquarium like this and have a Octopus!!
You do not want to stick any body part in this Aquarium :)
Piranhas!!!!

PENGUINS!!! They were so fun to watch!!

You got to pet/stick you hand in these fellows water :) They were slimmy, yet rough, and had a 'hair' feel...

Jelly Fish...

SHARKS!!!

Bridger on the Giant Frog

Declan too :)

Looking at Frogs...

Took this picture before Becky turned around and this was her reaction :) hahhaha

I am not quite sure why I did not take my camera in at the Mullins's Christmas Party, but it was really fun. Got to see quite a few people. Ate good food. Nice visit :) Missed Kris though!!

Just had to share...

This is just too cute not to share.

It really made my night...

I was working on the computer doing bills to send out to companies and I heard a "Psst. Mom." I looked and he was not there. Then I saw him peak around the corner hiding. Then he came around, while hiding something behind his back. I said, "What are you doing Goober?" He said, "Here Mom. Present." With a BIG smile.

He stuck out this...

He obviously has been in my Jewelry Box. Took out a bracelet, and I happen to have a 'Samuel's Jeweler's' Box that I kept from a previous gift from his daddy, and put the bracelet in the Samuel's box.

IT WAS STINKIN' CUTE!!! (I had to take a picture!) I teared up, and said, "Wow! Thank you Declan!" He was so proud of himself. Then he gave me a kiss. My goodness what a sweet son I have. These moments are really PRICELESS--they make all the hard, stressful, 'bad' moments wash away.

Lately Declan has really changed. He is still sweet, don't get me wrong, but he is really getting independent and well, 'mean'. He gets pretty frustrated with me if I can not help him with something quick enough or get him something quick enough. BOSSY. Sometimes he has even hit me. So I would "spank" him, battle his bum a little, and tell him it's not nice to hit... Then he would yell at me and tell ME not to hit. He does not quite get that I can 'hit' him, because he is being bad.

I know he is just going through a stage. I actually think the "THREE's" is harder than the "TWO's" so far. Plus, he really does miss his dad. Lately whenever I would put Declan in 'time-out' he would cry and say "I miss dad." Little Booger! Kris is still doing the Colorado job. He got to come home for a week(Thanksgiving)--which was longer than first expected. BUT, he left back this last Sunday. Not sure when he'll be back, but should be back before Christmas. Should be the last time he goes to Colorado(cross your fingers).

BUT--- Back to why I'm really writing. I am so THANKFUL to be a mom. The best calling in the world...Little children are precious. They are PERFECT. It breaks my heart and turns my stomach hearing/seeing kids that are missing, killed, etc. ESPECIALLY BY THEIR OWN PARETNS!!! I know they do not stay small for very long, which is sad and scary to think of. This is life and I hope I just take it all in while it last.

THANK YOU GOOBER!!!

Update on boys and Thanksgiving...

Need to update on my Little Mr. Gurggle, Liam. He had a Doctor's appointment on November 5th. He turned 4 months on November 6th! It is just flying...but I'm loving every minute of it. The little guys stats as of that day is:

Weight: 13 1/2 lbs.

Height: 26 inches long

Healthy, Happy, Strong

This little one is quite the mover. Quite the Chatter-box. I remember Declan being pretty chatty, blabby...but Liam is much-much more it seems. For instance. Me and my family on Thanksgiving Day, went and watched Harry Potter 7. He slept through some of it, but at the end. A whole hour. He was 'talking' making noises the whole time. I loved it, thought it was funny. Not sure if the other viewer's thought so, but :)

He can roll over from stomach to back quite easily. Has rolled over a few times from back to stomach. First time he did the back to stomach just happened to be in the tub while I was reaching for a towel. So needless to say he got water to the face. Was not a happy camper.

He is also constantly wanting to sit up if he's awake. He already can pull himself up if he's laying on my chest flat and will pull himself up to sit up.

He is so 'chill' as some of my family members would describe him as. He's a giggle machine, which I LOVE!!! Last night I was watching TV. He was looking at me and I guess I might have made a funny face, and he just started laughing...it was funny.

He also has a case of Baby Acne. It's slowly getting better here and there, but he gets quite the 'break-out'. He's still cute though. :)

I love my little Liam!!!

I have not mentioned this about Declan before, but he has been potty trained since the beginning of September!! It seriously happened OVER NIGHT. AMAZING!! He pretty much did it on his own. I remember the night before he had an accident. I was not too happy and Kris was there too. Kris talked to him and told him that he needs to start being a big boy. He can go on the potty. He knows how. Big boys do not need diapers and mom's help changing him. Declan looked at me and started crying, and said, "Sorry Mom." It broke my heart. I think he really needed to hear from his dad just how easy it is and that he is a big boy and does not need his mom to change his diapers anymore. The next day I did not even ask him to go. He did it on his own. It was great! I could not belive it. Sure he has had accidents here and there. But that's to be expected. It is hard not to get mad about it, but I realized the calmer you are about it, the better it is for them. I'm very proud of him. I knew he could do it...and I'm so glad I do not have to buy Pull-ups for him anymore!! Just one baby in Diaper's now.

We went to Manila for Thanksgiving Day. Kris finally came home from Colorado the day before!! It is so nice having him back! He's dead tired, but I do not blame him. He worked 3 weeks straight this last time. No break. Declan sure missed him to. Declan was getting to the point of where whenever he would get in trouble he would tell me, "I miss dad." haha...stinker! Anyways, my mom's food was delicious as usual. Dez, Geoff, and Phoebee were there. It was nice, too short of a visit, but nice. Wish Chase and his family could have been there, but we'll see them in January!!

Then the next day we had "Thanksgiving" at Kris's parents house. All the siblings, spouses, kids were there. Full house. Yummy food. Good times. We happened to take some family pictures, thanks to Becky and Becky's Tri-pod :) Pretty much all of the Mullins boys HATE taking pictures. So most of them weren't too peachy when they heard the words "Lets quickly take family pictures." Mostly Kris, but... Here's some of them. Don't mind Kris. I think he really does like his family...ahhaa.

Our family of 4 :)

This was Bonnie's, Kris's mom's, favorite. Every one's smiling (except Kris), because Malloree is pulling Larry's hair :)

Then all the Mullins Grandkiddo's!!

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. We did. Grateful for Family, Friends, Health, Shelter, Food, Transportation, JOBS...very blessed life.