The First and Maybe the Last

What a magical Christmas we had!!  This is the first year all of our kids are old enough to believe in the magic of Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer.  We had a close call with Mia this year though. 

An older cousin decided to share his thoughts with Mia on whether or not there is a jolly ol' man who resides in the North Pole.  Mia came to me and said, " I know that Santa is not real, Mom."  Despite my shock, I replied with a smooth face, "Ooooh, I am sorry honey.  Did you know that once you say that you don't believe in Santa anymore the magic stops for you and he doesn't know how to find you on Christmas Eve."  I rapidly continued on with, "I would believe for as long as I could if I were you."  She had a drastic change of attitude after our little conversation. She was eager to do all of the good things that you would do to stay on Santa's Nice list. :)

I don't know what was more fun, making all the preparations for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve or actually enjoying the fruits of our labor on Christmas Morning.  It's a toss up!  The kids were actually sparking with excitement!  Which of course means that I was too!!  

Although, on Christmas morning I realized that with little kids like mine, less is more! Benjamin was completely content with the little "Knock-off"Hot Wheels cars he got in his stocking.  We could have just stopped there for him and we would have been completely satisfied!  And it was pretty much the same with the other two.  My Mom advised me to enjoy that while I could, because that will change the older they get.

Soooo anyway, Christmas was everything I hoped for this year!  We had all of the necessary components for a Rockin' Christmas.  We had family, friends, the magic of Santa, and most importantly, we had and HAVE a love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful for Him and the Love that He gives so freely.

A Testimony Building Experience...

I spent the weekend in California with Jon and his family.   I wish I could say we were just feeling spontaneous and felt like getting away, but we went for a much different and much more important reason.  

Jon's grandmother better known as, Nanny, was admitted to the hospital for the last time.  She is 85 years old and has lived a full and happy life.  She is the kind of woman, I think we all hope to be.  People are drawn to her vivacious way of living and her sparkling personality.  I have only known Nanny for 10 Years, but in that short amount of time I could see for myself that she was truly a rarity!

I am thankful to Jon's family for letting me be a part of those very special last days with their Nanny.  The love was deep and Heaven felt very near.  I know that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ offers a special comforting peace for those who have a testimony of Eternal Families.   I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who has a perfect plan and has given us a clear understanding of how to return home to Him. 

We love you Nanny.

If I May Have a Moment...

...to bask in the glory of my 5 year old's "Kindergarten" accomplishments!  We got our first official report card for little MiaBia and I am  proud to announce that she is a "Kindergarten Master"!  

Great Job Mia!  We are so excited to see what you will do with your bright future!

Love,

Mama and Papa Bear

Once Upon A Time!

A Fancy Festival Fit For A Princess!

Hear Ye...Hear Ye...Princess VivyAnn has officially turned 3 years old!

She was graceful and grateful on Saturday for an afternoon of fun with family and friends.

The Festival took place here at Widdowson Castle and all of the kingdom was in attendance. The Good King and Queen Wella and Wello graced us with their presence.  And the Evil Queen Mommy also infiltrated the scene.  [So maybe my character choice was not exactly flattering, but every good "Fancy Festival" needs an Evil Queen right?] 

We had a delicious feast of "Fancy Junk Food" and bubbly pink Magic Potion to drink.  The Royal Court put on a delightful puppet show that was a hit amongst the commoners and real treat for the Royal Princess.  Next the entire kingdom hunted for the magical unicorn that was the keeper of many tasty delicacies for all to enjoy.  Thank you to the STRONG Daddies who helped relieve the magical beast from it's tasty burden.

Next the Royal Choir sang not only once, but TWICE a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday" to the princess.  This really was her high point of the afternoon.  All morning long she followed me around asking if it was time to sing "Happy Birthday to You".  It was the moment she had been waiting for.

And finally, the Princess was adorned with a spectacular pile of beautifully wrapped packages! She tore furiously through the packages looking for toys, but unfortunately the Evil Queen had previously told all of the kind gift bearers that the princess didn't need anymore toys!  The Evil Queen felt very bad about this.  Nevertheless, the princess was spoiled with a wonderful assortment of gifts.  

A special thank you to all of the well wishers who came to show their love for our little princess VivyAnn. What a memorable afternoon for all of us here at Widdowson Castle!  It would not have been as wonderful as it was without all of her friends and family!!  (Please check out the above slideshow to see all of the fun pictures.)

Playing Catch Up!!

So I am not exactly efficient at blogging anymore! It is one of those things that is always in the back of my mind to do...but is the first thing I leave undone!!
This post is a hodge podge of recent happenings! Not exactly thrilling stuff...but at least it is recorded!

Mia in her school costume parade!
Mia's Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Melzer.  We love her!
This is Mia with her buddies Ivy and Taylor.

Pumpkin, Mouse, and Glamorous Mom!
Pirate and Ninja Cousin!
The Trick or Treating Crew!
 My little Pumpkin!  He was actually soliciting pictures that night!

I am pretty sure we had about a foot of snow on the ground.  I had to change the kids in and out of their snow clothes....oooohhhh...about 100 times that day!  Lots O' Fun!
Soooo.....we don't exactly have snow clothes for Benj' yet.  We made do with what we had OK!!
The Last of our Amazing Indian Summer!

Ok, so there is a little bit of a catch up.
Coming Soon...
VivyAnn's 3rd Birthday Party, or should I say "Fancy Festival"! I know, I know you are all on the edge of your seats!

Revisit with me if you DAAAAARRRRRE!

So, I accepted Kelly Dearth's challenge to find some pictures of just Jon and me on Halloween! I couldn't find one! In fact, I was hard pressed to find ANY dress up photos! I am now going to make it a goal to dress up EVERY year. I can't promise that we will have elaborate costumes like the Dearth's, but we will make the effort...you know for posterity's sake!

So here is what I came up with!

No Snow For You!

Poor Lil' Lito didn't get to play in the snow with his sisters, and he was not happy about that! I tried to distract him with the bear hat and for some reason he didn't think that was a fair trade!

And Soooo It Begins!

I know I wasn't the only adult who woke up on Sunday morning in disbelief! It was too early for that much snow. That better not be a forecast of what is to come this winter. I haven't had a long enough break from our last snow in what...MAY!


My little girls on the other hand, did not share my dismay. Mia had Viv dressed in her snow gear in a matter of minutes, and before I could say no, they were outside sledding down the hill in the backyard. They were thrilled with what Ol' Man Winter provided them on a fine Sunday Morning!


I must say that it lifted my spirits to see them out frolicking in that dreaded snow!

Ridgeline Run!

I love being a mom! Days like today make it all worth it. I got to help out a little bit at Mia's school fundraiser this morning. They held what they call the "Ridgeline Run". The kids collected pledges from family members and then came to school to run their little hearts out. I loved seeing all of the kids line up at the start line trying desperately to contain their limitless energy. They had music and the school mascot and lots of supportive parents to cheer on the kids! I couldn't help myself I jumped in and jogged a couple of laps with Mia. It was great!

After the festivities I went to Mia's classroom since it was my day for volunteering. Every single time I hear the kids sing and say the Pledge of Allegiance my eyes fill with tears. It is the sweetest thing to hear all of their innocent little voices unite and pledge allegiance to our country and it's values. It is so inspiring and patriotic. I am thankful that I get the opportunity to serve in Mrs. Melzer's class. And I absolutely love being a Mommy.

Pictures of Mia's First Day of Kindergarten

The First of Many Firsts!

I am sure if we were to see a satellite photo of the Earth yesterday it would have been bulging at the equator. Or at least bulging right above Traverse Mountain! The parental pride was enormous yesterday!

The first day of kindergarten is magical for both parent and child, but I might venture to say that is even a little more magical for the parents. I mean after all we are the ones who have gone through diapers, all night feedings, toddler bumps and bruises, potty training, leaving them for the first time with someone other than the other parent, etc. We are the ones who have witnessed every moment of their little lives leading up to the very big moment of when they step onto that big yellow bus for the first time! I don't even know what to compare that too.

For 5 years I have anticipated this day and then all of sudden it is here! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...so I did both! I realize this is the first of many firsts and I look forward to them all. Days like the first day of school are perfect rejuvenators and reminders for parents who sometimes find themselves wondering "What the heck is this parenthood thing?!"

I love my little Mia Bia and am so proud of the way she handles herself in new situations. She is a natural and I hope that her sister and brother watch and learn from her example.

Can I getta (half of a) Whaa Whaa!!

Well, it is finished! I have officially completed my first half marathon. What an experience!

The Story:
Night before the race...

I eat a good hearty dinner and retire to my bed early, 9:30 to be exact. I am a little nervous, but more excited than anything. I am sleeping like a baby until one of my babies wakes up sick! 1:30 am Vivy wakes up and never goes back to sleep. I had my alarm set for 4 am and didn't need it. I thought maybe it was a sign that I wasn't supposed to go the race. I ran that idea past Jon and he said, "Go get in the car!". We packed up our little PJ wearing VivyAnn and off we went!

Morning of the race...
We arrived in Mapelton a little after 5 am. I picked up my number jumped on a bus and headed up the canyon with all of the other participants. We were dropped off and then walked about 3/4 mile to the start line. I thought for sure we would start the race with in a half an hour...I think it was more like an hour and half! Let me tell ya...it wasn't exactly warm up there in that early mornin' mountain air. I was freezing!!

Finally, they start the race. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be. There were so many people in such a narrow space. We all got a slow, weird start. It was ok though, it kinda felt good to weave through a bunch of people until I was running my own pace. The only thing that I think is weird is that the race only had one official time. So the time started at the sound of the gun, but I didn't actually cross the start line until a couple of minutes after the gun. So I kept track of my own time with my ipod. Not totally official, but hey what do you do.

Ok, so I am running. And running. And running. Then I pass the 10 mile mark. And... ya baby...I am feeling good and am on line to finish under two hours. (Oh ya, that was my goal. I didn't cared how far under two hours; it could have 1:59.59 and I would have been happy.) I ran all of mile 10 and crossed the 11 mile mark and...dun, dun, dun....my legs turned to lead weights. I couldn't tell if they were bending at the knee or if they were even attached to my butt! It was the craziest feeling! I must of looked like some kinda of granny hobblin' around. I think my pace slowed to a 10 and half minute mile and that was probably the high point of the whole mile!

I kept yelling at myself..."come on you can't crap out now!", "are you serious Mind, you are practically done and this is how you are going out!", "Move it you wimp!". But nothing worked, my legs were in the twilight zone! Mercifully, I passed the 12 mile marker and miraculously I got some feeling back in my legs and picked up the pace ever so slightly. I was back under a 10 minute mile, but probably not by much. I was able to run the last half of a mile at a good fast pace, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make up for lost time. I crossed the finish line and my ipod read 2:00:31. I cried.

I am trying so hard to be proud of myself for finishing, but really I am mostly focusing on how close I was to achieving my goal. Bummer. Can you imagine how the Olympic athletes must feel when they miss their goals by one one-hundredth of a second! They have trained a life time and here I am crying when I have trained for 3 months. That helps me put things into perspective.

I said that I only wanted to do this once for an experience, but now I have left myself wanting. I will have to run another one and crush that 2 hour mark!

Ode to my Vivy...

Unfortunately, after reviewing my blog and its content, I realized that I don't have nearly enough information on the little girl who owns my heart and soul.

There is a sunny spot in every one of my days...her name is VivyAnn Marie Widdowson. This little girl can lift my spirit on the gloomiest of afternoons and make me smile despite the foulest of moods.

Every morning I am greeted with her sweet voice, "Goot Mowning, Mom. I wake up in my pwincess bed." It is the same line every morning...I have come to look forward to it. We snuggle for awhile until she tells me she is ready for bweakfass. It is hard to have a bad day when it starts like that. :)

She is a perfect mix of sugar and spice.
She is a spunky little thing that can hold her own in the neighborhood.
She manages to use her good manners when we are at our friends homes.
She loves to dance with me to any kind of music.
She loves to play "make believe" with her babies.
She loves candy in all forms.
She loves to follow her big sister anywhere.
She loves to hold hands during family prayer.
She loves to torment her little brother by shutting doors in his face.
She loves "ChocaMilk" (chocolate milk...and actually it's more like an addiction.)

Each of my children have a special place in my heart. It is as if my heart had three special spaces and each space has been uniquely filled with each child and their personality. I am eternally grateful that I had a"Vivy Space". Our spirits are kindred.

Two Wheelin':The Sequel

The Need: For those of you who read my original Two Wheelin' post you may have noticed that Mia's first bike was a wee bit too small for her. She would come in from a hard bike ride frustrated and red in the face. "Mooooom, I need a new bike. My dang pedal keeps falling off and my knees are hitting the handle bars!" This was not the typical Mia demand...it was actually legit. Mia needed a youth size bike!

The Confession: It was not in the budget to run out to Costco and pick up a brand new bike for her, but that was MY heart's desire. I had visualized her cruising down the street on a brand new RED bike. My Mommy Pride was threatening to consume me! I didn't want her to have a used bike for her FIRST big kid bike. But instead of conceding to my silly pride, I dug deep and casually said to Mia, "Hey let's go check out Deseret Industries and find you a new bike!" I cringed slightly waiting for her refusal, but instead I received a pleasant surprise. She lit up and said, "Ok, can we go right now?!"

The Conclusion: We found a bike at the DI in American Fork. You won't believe how much I paid for it...ok maybe you will...we were at Desert Industries for Heaven Sake! TEN bucks...not bad huh!? We stopped off at Target on the way home and picked up a few bike accessories. Mia's highlight was picking out stickers to decorate her new bike with. She cruises all day long on her "new" big kid bike and is lovin' it!
The Moral of the Story: Mommy should take a lesson from her little girl. Not everything has to be shiny and new to have great value!