~The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

We have had the BEST holiday season this year! It has been FULL of family, friends, parties, service, AND the Spirit! Here is what we did this past holiday.....

~Marty took his Mom to see "Scrooge" at the community theatre! Our nephews Austin, Tanner, and Adam had parts in it!
~Took the Young Women Ice Skating. I didn't skate! Hey,..I was a designated driver and I couldn't drive injured. :) And...I didn't have socks....
~Took the twins to Temple Square to see the lights! They loved the big tree and nativities set up in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. FYI: Go watch the "Plan of Happiness" presentation on the 2nd floor of the visitors center! It is SO good....
~Went to see the Festival of Trees with Marty's side of the family. Cayden and Sydney (cousins) were so cute with Ethan and Nyah and I actually had a spare hand to shop a little!
~Went on a Youth Temple Trip
~Attended our Ward Christmas Party
~Attended Marty's Seminary Christmas Party! The twins were TERRIFIED of Santa! In unison, they screamed when he walked in the door. Good eats though and we LOVE the families Marty works with!
~Had a "Spa Night" with the ladies in my Ward. Mercy River performed and treated us to a spirtual spa! It was fantastic and filled my spiritual bucket!!
~Enjoyed getting to know some new neighbors at a neighbor Christmas Party! We laughed so hard our cheeks hurt!
~Had a Christmas PJ party with my our Young Women! It was so fun...
~Went to "Scrooge" with my sister this time! LOVED it!
~Had our 1st annual Schroader Christmas Karoke Party at Marty's Mom's church building! It was awesome! We ate, sang, and did a gift exchange. We had so much more room for our BIG family!
~Went to Temple Square with the Nelson family and saw the lights! Cold,...but fun!
~Attended the 25th Annual Christmas Sing-a-long at the Energy Solutions Arena. Cool story: We went with Marty's family (his brother and neices and nephews were in town) and had a pretty big group. We arrived and there were hardly any seats left and unless we split up, we wouldn't have had a seat! So,.....Marty (my deal-makin, charasmatic honey) went to see if we could get into some box seats. It was a free event...It was Larry Miller's dream to fill the place,...so why not sit in seats that were available. Long story short,...We sat in box seats, right above the stage and had a perfect view! And...we got free hot dogs and drinks! Jon Schmidt, Robert Bowden and Orchestra, and Big Budha were there performing. Now that is fun!
~Used our Free Night Stay at the Holiday Inn Express in West Valley with the kids and had a little mini vacation. They have a water park attached to the hotel, so we were able to go swimming.
~Spent Christmas Eve with Marty's family and played some games....
~Woke up Christmas morning and opened gifts from Santa and eachother. Ethan was so excited about his basketball hoop that he fell to the floor and just stared at it! Nyah, my little organizer, started to sort her "groceries" in her new grocery cart! It was a joy
~Went to Grandpa house to play with the whole family! Missed Mom.....so much!
~ And now.....we are trying to catch up on Sleep and clean up all the messes we have made. Oh,...we love this time of year!

~~The UNTHINKABLE~~

I've officially STOPPED scrapbooking! (Gasp,...I know!) Due to lack of time, materials, and funds to pay for such an expensive hobby, I have since focused more on journaling moments and making simple photo albums! I KNOW,...I've committed the most grevious sin here,.but I have to tell you that I would much rather document all the wonderful things (and not so wonderful) that we do as a family than still be stuck trying to finish my scrapbooks from early married life. I still haven't finished the twins first year (I've done like 3 pages) and they're 2 1/2! I actually feel quite empowered right now! My goal is to document life as we know it while saving money and keeping my sanity. And just so you know,....I admire all you diehards out there that have perfect scrapbooking habits! I will continue to marvel at your genius and beautiful books! (Machelle,...I'm talking to you!) As for me,....I just need to SIMPLIFY!

In an effort to journal for myself and my littles,....I have decided to play catch up and do a mass blog entry! So these next blog entries are more for me,...but enjoy nonetheless!

~~Snowbird 2009~~

Every other year, our entire family heads up to Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon for a family vacation. My parents bought a timeshare many years ago and we've loved going there. Paige and her family came out from New York again this year and were able to be with us which was awesome! I didn't get a lot of pics this year, but we always have a good time there. Honestly,...I just love being with my family. I feel very lucky to have family that I consider my very best friends! AND the best part....there was no puking on this vacation. No, no...we left that memory in Yellowstone!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

~~Cache Valley Getaway~~

We spent a weekend up in Cache Valley this summer and really had a blast. We spent time swimming/hot tubbing at the hotel, going to the zoo, and shopping at Gossner's chesse factory and the Pepperidge Farms Outlet. Nyah absolutely loved the swimming, while Ethan was in ESPN heaven in our hotel room. (We don't have cable, and he LOVES anything ball!) Let's just say that he was the "master of the remote" this trip!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

~~Treehouse Museum~~

The kids and I were invited by our ward friends to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden! Wow,...what a great place. I was so impressed by the different rooms and all the fun things the kids could play with. The staff even gathered up toys that were "germified" and sanitized them. I thought that was so cool! We will definitely have to go back there!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

~~Temple Tuesdays~~

This past fall, we started a new family tradition...."TEMPLE TUESDAYS." We've been going to the temple every Tuesday and we spend time on the temple grounds walking around and spending time as a family. It has been such a treasure. Ethan and Nyah now ask if they can go to the temple all the time. I am so grateful that they already have a love for the temple. It makes it that much more real to them when we discuss it as a family. It has been interesting to see, however, that Satan finds a way to make it hard to get there! I am not kidding! Marty and I have had more "disagreements" on Tuesday's in particular then ever! Isn't that something. It just goes to show you that it is the right thing for us to be going. We've gone to the SLC, Bountiful, and Ogden temples. The kids really love the Ogden temple! Nyah calls Angel Moroni--"Angel Mormon-I." It is so cute!

~~Summer 2009 Catch-UP~~

Ambria, Ira, Addison, Candice and Asher

Our sister-in-law, Candice married Ira this last July and we hosted thier reception dinner in our backyard! They now live in Kansas where Ira is stationed in the Army! It was a great day!



My sisters and I had fun this last summer canning and freezing food! We canned salsa, peaches, and froze corn this year! I love my sisters and this just gave us another reason to hang out!!


Marty and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary this August! For my gift, Marty moved our very heavy piano from Dad's house into our new home. He had my dad and his buddies from work help him move it and I came home to the surprise! I love having my piano again! Later, he bought me a beautiful framed photograph of the Salt Lake Temple! (Richard Webb is the artist ---in case you are wondering..)


We celebrated Marty's MOM's birthday this past Septemeber and enjoyed having everyone from the family come! We actually have the space now to host gatherings! We love you, MOM!

~~the LAW of THREES~~

Have you ever noticed that "BAD" things happen in threes? Whether this is the case for you all or not ,...it seems to be the rule that we Schroaders live by. Luckily, it doesn't happen super often,...but this time is was pretty crazy!

Marty's car bit the DUST! We are still debating whether to fix it or not! For now,. my awesome sister and brother-in-law are allowing us to borrow their 3rd vehicle!

Then,...I hit a deer in broad daylight on a residential street! I was a 1/2 mile from my house and the twins were in the van. The twins and I were just fine and were able to drive home without any problems. Insurance is great,....but deductibles not so much. Can you believe it will cost the insurance company almost $2000 to repair the damage?!!!

And our third mishap.....our FURNACE stopped working! We had no heat for 2 days! We were blessed that it was fall and my sister had two lovely space heaters that worked perfectly! We found out that the ignitor was cracked and needed to be replaced. $180 later and we have heat!

Although I wish these things had never happened, it makes me that much more grateful for what we do have! We have Our family, our health, our faith, our home, our friends, and financial stability in this crazy time. Tonight we are going to attend a fund raiser for a family who is fighting to keep their Cherokee son whom they've adopted. The birth mother decided, after all things were final in the courts, to fight for rights again. She registered with the tribe and they have been in court ever since. It breaks my heart to think of what this family is going through. Many of you know that our sweet twins were Cherokee decent and we had to also get permission from the tribes. Thankfully, we were given full permission and were sealed in the temple when the twins were 11 months! This gift is so much more important than a running furnace or car....that is for sure!

LOVE TO YOU ALL~~

~~Murphy's LAW~~

So the definition of Murphy's Law basically states that....Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong! I would like to give you my version of this interesting force of nature!

MurPhY's LAw FoR MoMmiEs!

(according to this mother of toddler twins)

1~~As soon as you mop the floor,.....your sweet toddlers find a way to destroy its beauty in less than five seconds! (smushed banana in the grout is my favorite!)
2~~Mommy finally finds a quiet moment to SIT down and inevitably one of her children NEEDS something at that exact moment!!! (just so you know...no milkies=CRISIS!)

3~~After sharing your bed with your husband and toddler for TWO WEEKS (no sleep for the momma!), you resort to "tough love" and the screaming that goes along with it and finally she is able to sleep in her bed peacefully! But wouldn't you know,....her brother has decided that his bed is apparently NOT good enough and you have a 3rd person in your bed once again!
4~~You go to the grocery store with a long list, fill your basket, and go through the checkout and come to realize (with two toddlers in tow, who just decided that they HATE sitting in grocery carts) that you don't have your credit card in your wallet! Of course not! It is on the floor, in the family room, where your sweet little girl left it after rummaging through your wallet!
5~~You get some extra money, (ooohhh,...all the fun things you could do with it) and your car DIES!
6~~You decide to actually get dressed up and not be a "dead mommy" just in time for your sweet little one to wipe his messy hands all over the front of you! (or even better, your shoulder becomes their official tissue!)
7~~You spend a good amount of time cutting coupons, researching the store ads, and planning your shopping strategy (taking your children in and out of multiple stores) and come home with nothing but a chocolate bar (sanity) because all those crazy ladies bought everything off the shelves at 6 am that morning!
AnD my FaVoRitE:
8~~Just when your little ones are finally down for their long nap (after enduring the long morning filled with tantrums, toy wars, food fights, etc.,..etc.) you find yourself terribly missing them and waiting anxiously for them to wake up. Where is the sanity in that?! :)

I love being a mommy!

PiCTurES!

My friend, Natalie took these AMAZING pictures of Ethan and Nyah for their 2nd birthday. I wanted to capture them in this fun stage and do it more candidly. I just loved how she captured their personalities. Is it okay to be totally obsessed, crazy in-love with your own children?!!! Ummmm...I say YES!



Thanks Natalie for doing such a wonderful job! We will cherish these always!

The Twins are TWO!

Okay,...so this post is super delayed but I am determined to celebrate the twins turning TWO! We can't believe that TWO years ago we were blessed with our spicy little Nyah and our sweet little Ethan! WOW-----I just get emotional thinking about it!

Ethan and Nyah are so amazing and I can't imagine my life without them! They bring so much joy,...(even with the lack of sleep, I still suffer from) and we marvel everyday at how much they are learning. It is a true gift --being their parents!

Ethan and Nyah turned 2 on JUNE 14, 2009. We celebrated ELMO and ZOE style amongst family and friends! It was a great day! Here are a few pics for ya'll to enjoy! (Thanks Aunt Machelle for all your creative help with the cakes!)

Fruit and Vegetable Co-op...

For the past couple of months we have been partcipating in a fruit/veggie co-op. ! It has been AWESOME! Basically, we contribute $15 towards bulk purchasing, and get about $50 worth of fruits and veggies! Some of our friends, family, and co-workers have been wanting more details,...so here goes!

If you are interested, go to wwww.bountifulbaskets.org. Currently, there are 4 locations in Utah that I know of: Roy, Clearfield, West Point, and Brigham City. They will be adding more locations as the need increases! Every two weeks they provide the service and you aren't contracted to order if you don't want to.

Each order varies, and you don't know what is coming. It's like Christmas! Here are the items we got this week at the co-op!

(1) stalk of brocolli

(2) stalks of celery

(3) yellow squash

(7) Cucumbers

(3) Bags of Carrots

(2) cantaloupe

(8) oranges

(10) apricots

(6) plums

(3) bunches of bananas

(7) apples

ALL FOR ONLY $15!

I've had to get creative using all this produce, but it helps to get our fruits and veggies in for sure!

No more BLACK THUMB....

.......I hope! I finally planted my vegetable garden! I've planted an assortment of tomatoes, zucchini, jalepeno peppers, green chilies, and pumpkins. I am excited to see what happens. It has taken me several weeks to get the planter boxes ready because they were SOOO overgrown with weeds and grass! Luckily, my kids take long afternoon naps,...so I was eventually able to get it done!

BEFORE

AFTER WEEDING

OUR GARDEN

Tender Mercies...

WARNING: LONG POST....but GREAT STORY!

Okay,....so I just have to say that I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who are fully aware of little ME and seem to lift me up just when I need it. Today started off as a typical day. The twins were up early as usual, we ate our yummy oatmeal , played, and read books all morning. Afterwards, I took them to the grocery store because we were out of milk and bananas (which is never good!) The trip to the store was uneventful and we returned home for lunch and naptime. All was well until.....they BOTH woke up from their nap SUPER GRUMPY! This rarely happens! I tried every trick in the book to get them back to their sweet little selves with no success. I am not even kidding,...they were so cranky! Eventually, I threw my hands up in the air and proclaimed...."We are going for a drive!" At the time, I didn't know where I was taking my sweet babies, but it seemed like the only thing left to try. Ofcourse, it took me an hour to get out the door because of all the things I had to pack, the shoes I had to find, the sippy cups I had to fill ,....etc, etc! Not to mention, I was feeling pretty frumpy, so I wanted to change into something else and fix my hair! All the while, Ethan and Nyah were following me around in constant turmoil which only added to my stress and anxiety at the time. While preparing to leave, I kept running different scenerios in my mind. All of them seemed a little too overwhelming because I had to fit dinner in somehow,....on the go! One thought, however would not escape me...GO TO THE TEMPLE,...in Salt Lake! It didn't seem like the best idea because it was far, I would be alone with the kids, and I still didn't know what to do for dinner. (Marty was teaching a night class) Ignoring all logic and concern,...I took the kids to the temple! Once we got into the car, they both sat quietly and seemed so content! (Sigh) All the sudden, I heard Nyah say,.."AMEN!" I turned to look at her, and she was folding her arms. I echoed her Amen and we kept driving. A few moments later, I noticed a huge garbage can right in the middle of my lane on I-15. SCARY! I was able to dodge it without any harm or accident. I'd like to think Nyah's prayer kept us safe. :) Soon after, we arrived at the temple and I found a parking space yards away from the entrance. (Sigh) I found enough change in my purse and car (which I never have) to pay the meter for almost 2 hours! Things were going so great and the kids couldn't wait to get out of the car. I put them in the stroller and off we went. We entered the temple grounds and I immediately pointed up to the temple and asked the twins what it was. Their little sweet eyes lit up and they exclaimed, "TEMPLE!" They had seen pictures, but hadn't been there SINCE......... AND THEN I realized it! I looked around, saw the beautiful tulips in bloom which brought all the memories back! TODAY is the 1st ANNIVESARY of our SEALING to the twins in the TEMPLE! I am so bad with dates (even more now that I am a mom) and I completely overlooked what day it was. I stood there in complete amazment. Here I was with my sweet babies, outside the temple, exactly one year later! I even called my sister and Marty to confirm the date. We spent the entire time walking around the grounds. Ethan and Nyah absolutely loved every minute there. They didn't want to leave. It was so fun to watch them chase eachother, flirt with the couple missionaries, and stare and point at the temple. (I'll upload pictures later!) I can't even tell you how awesome it was to sit with them and tell them about that day, exactly ONE year ago, when we were sealed as a family in that very temple! I know that this little gift was a tender mercy from the LORD. I would have been so sad to have missed such a special day of celebration. Now, it will be our tradition!

How they've grown...

Ethan and Nyah are CHANGING so fast,...so I can't help documenting some of their latest and greatest!

--ETHAN--

Favorite Song: 5 Silly Monkeys Teasing Mr. Alligator

Favorite Toy: Balls

Favorite Food: Bananans, pizza, oatmeal, and water

Sweet Moments:

**Plays with Nyah's hair

**Wants to go wake up Nyah if he is the first to get up

**Is devistatingly in LOVE with his Daddy. Knows just when Daddy's work day ends and wants to call him. He says..."Da!" and brings me the phone!

**Loves to say prayers and tells us when it is time as he folds his arms, bows his head, and says..."hmm, prayer."

**Contagiously giggles and squeals when playing with other children who fascinate him

**When he hears a song playing he likes, he will either dance or lead the music!

**Will go into the bathroom, grab a big handful of toilet paper and "blow his nose!" (he really just makes sounds with his lips....but it is so darn cute!)

**Says..."March, March, March," when I ask him to follow me!

** Is now signing everything that he learns on Baby Signing Time. His favorite: "Boat!"
**Is starting to like water more. He will actually "swim" in the bath tub!
**Loves to RUN, play chase, and tackle anything in his path. (Daddy is his favorite)
**Still loves to cuddle with Mommy and gives the best hugs ever!
**Loves Jesus! Even from the time he was very small, Ethan has had a very strong connection to the Savior. He loves to hold pictures tightly in his hands and investigate everything Jesus is doing in that picture. In the Draper temple open house, he was in "heaven" seeing all the pictures of Jesus around every corner. Whe we say it is time for scriptures and family prayer he obediently follows and says...."Jesus Book!"

--NYAH--

Favorite Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider
Favorite Toy: Anything she can stack, sort, count, name,..etc
Favorite Food: Chicken nuggets, milk, avacado, and cheese

Sweet Moments:

**Nyah loves feeling the wind in her hair

**Nyah is her own cheerleader. She tells herself "Go baby girl,..go," when she is walking. We used to say it to her when she was learning.

**Nyah is quite the talker! These re some of our favorite Nyah phrases: "Ethan, hey you monkey",...."Ethan, no buttons." ,...."Hi ma-ma, hi da-da, hi Ethan, hi puppy, hi ma-ma shell, hi guam-pa, hi tanner, hi baby girl...."(all in the same breath)

**Just recently initiating "big" hugs and when I say,..."I love you,." she responds, "I wuv too!"

**Likes to help mommy clean up. She will say..."Ma-ma,..here ya go," and hand me something.

**Counts...1, 2, 3, ...6, 7.

**Adores her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. She adoringly calls my sister Machelle,....Ma-ma Shell. It is so cute!

**Is always looking out for Ethan. "Is he cy-ing?"

**Is sweet,...yet spicy! She is as stubborn as her mommy sometimes.

**Adores all dogs and puppies! She'll wake up talking about them.

**Wants to be outside ALL of the time and loves to relax in the warm tub....

**In sacrament meeting, Nyah and Ethan are really good to sit quietly when the bread and water are passed. A couple of weeks ago,..Nyah, as clear as day, proclaimed..."I love Jesus!" It was near silent in the chapel and many heard her. It was very sweet!

Just like DADDY!

Nyah was "helping" me do laundry, when she found some of Marty's ties. She became very excited when she found a PINK one! I asked her if she wanted to be like Daddy and put it on. She said...."YUP!" Ethan decided he needed one too! We picked out a pretty BLUE one! Several times, Nyah would walk up to Ethan and say..."Sooo cute!" Ethan would giggle and run away! They were so cute! They just adore their DADDY!

We are ALIVE and WELL!

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken so long to update our blog. We have been super busy lately and we just moved into our new home! YIPPY! I've promised many of you that I would post some pictures of the inside,...and I plan to as soon as I take some and download them. Marty, Matt (our brother-in-law) and my Dad spent a week putting tile in our kitchen, bathrooms, and front entry. They worked so HARD and it looks fantastic! Ethan and Nyah love exploring the new house and they seem very happy.

Although we haven't attended our new ward officially, (with conference and all), we feel very excited about our ward and neighbors! On moving day 9 guys from the ward came to help unload the truck. It took ONLY 20 minutes to unload everything!! They were so AWESOME! My sister, Machelle, and my mother-in-law spent the day with me unpacking the most important things so we could stay there that night and be comfortable.

I plan to email everyone with our new address and phone numbers. If I don't have your email leave a comment and I'll send it to ya!

Love you all!

ps. I promise pictures SOON! (of the babies too!!)

I've been TAGGED!

Lisa, my good friend, tagged me! Here goes......

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Just started my 2nd Semester at BYU and lovin' the great work-out climbing the steep hills to class!
2. Spending lots of time with really great friends and my roommates! (You know who you are,...love ya!)
3. Just started my new job at the BYU Auxillary BLDG and loving it!
4 Doing a lot of group dating,...but no serious relationships!
5. Just got my 1st and ONLY "C" in Economics. (Holy Cow was that class hard!---I was lucky to get the "C!")

5 Things on my "to do list" today...
1. Finish putting away laundry (this seems to be on my list everyday!)
2. Go to Target!
3. Call my sisters!
4. Make dinner
5. Clean

5 Snacks I Love...
1. Chocolate!
2. Granola bars
3. Chips and salsa
4. Strawberries
5. Wheat Thins

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire...
1. Help create more research funding in finding a cure for Pancreatic Cancer
2. Go on a lot of family vacations!
3. Help family members if ever they needed it!
4. Get a maid! (ha)
5. Buy a vacation home somewhere tropical!

I am tagging 5 people:
1. Lora
2. Malia
3. Hillary
4. Stacey
5. Mary

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!

Happy 31st Birthday, Marty!


Thank-you for being such an awesome HUSBAND and the best DADDY ever! We hope you have a wonderful birthday! Get ready for some fun birthday surprises......