Just Proud Parents?

Matt Here.

It seems like every parent is convinced that their child is exceptionally bright or talented in some way, and that is usually a good thing. Having parents with high expectations , even if the parents are a little disillusioned and the kid really isn't particularly bright. Last night Christa and I had a conversation about Alexis and whether she really was as smart as we thought she was, or is it just that we are over excited parents. One great thing about Alexis is that she expresses everything that pops into her mind, like in the Old McDonald video below, so she is always talking and interacting with people around her. Christa brought up a good point and reminded me of something cool this week. When Christa called the pizza place they asked for her phone number. Christa said, "967 (pause) 96 (pause)," and then Alexis, out of nowhere, said the last two numbers. Needless to say, Christa was a little surprised. She told me the story when I got home and when I asked Alexis what her phone number was, she told me the whole thing without any hesitation. How's that for smart?

Wicked

So I'll start from the beginning of our trip, and work forwards as far as the blog posting goes. Matt, Lexi, and I braved the snow on Monday, and drove to St George. On Tuesday morning, my mom, 2 sisters, and I drove to LA to see Wicked. If you haven't seen Wicked, it is worth the drive, although it's leaving LA in January. (if you've never heard of Wicked...I don't even know what to say to you!)...anyway, with the crazy traffic and the accident we ran into in Barstow, it took us about 8 hours to get there. We made it to my in-laws with a couple of hours to spare, and were able to have a nice visit. After each and every one of us rated Bruce as the greatest father-in-law of all time (he hooked us up with the tickets) we headed on down to the Pantages Theater. The play was every bit as good as I remembered it and everyone had a SPLENDID WONDERFULLY AWESOME time! Both my sisters had those exact smiles on their faces through most of the show. My mom also wore her very own cape in honor of the Wicked Witch, this picture doesn't really do it justice though. After the show we headed back on home, but couldn't make it a whole lot further than Victorville. We rolled into bed around 2, and after a short night of musical dreams, we hopped back into the car at 7 to get my sisters home to work by noon. It was crazy, and we were all seriously wipped out when we got back, but everyone was still glad we went, and the truth is, I would do it all again tomorrow if I had the tickets and time!

Christmas Morn'

My mom took lots of pictures and videos of our Christmas vacation. I can't possibly upload them all, but I'll do a few at a time. I think this was everyone's all time favorite Christmas morning moment. Lexi opened more then her fair share of presents, and if you can't tell what's going on in this video, she opened up a farm, and had to break out into a rendition of 'E-I-E-I O' It was hilarious! The girl sure loves to sing!

So Who's Christa?

Matt Here.

Whenever I tell people that my wife and I have a candy apple business people usually assume that Christa makes all the apples and I'm just a hanger on. I also take time to respond to emails we get on the website and always sign the emails "Christa." I mean, people want to buy apples from Christa, not some random dude.

So the other night we got a phone call from someone who found our phone number (not an easy task). I talked to her and took the order. Christa was working that evening, so I made the apples, and then the lady stopped by our house the next morning and I met her to give the apples. When she was handing me the check she asked me who Christa was and where was she.

I totally felt like one of the twin brothers in The Prestige, sharing an identity and taking turns being a different person. Well, I guess that's just dedication to the trade!

Busy Week...and more to come!

It has been a CRAZY week, I think we've made 600 apples in the last week! Sorry to all the friends and family who've been shafted thus far, but if I have to caramel another apple, I may scream...or cry..whichever emotion overcomes me first. Maybe we'll be passing around New Years gifts this year. I am SUPER excited for this next week though. If we can make it to St George alive (the snow is coming in full force this week), I'll get to keep on trecking to California. My super awesome father in law scored some tickets to Wicked for my two sisters, my mom, and I. So the 4 of us are going to leave poor Matt, Lexi, and my Dad in the dust and drive in and out just to see this show. I have seen it once, and I tell you, it's worth the drive! Then we'll spend the rest of the week in St George eating too much food and enjoying the Christmas season. So Happy Holidays to all and be safe where ever you are spending this magical time of year.

Sometimes, life is just tough!

Isn't that the saddest picture you've ever seen? Lexi finds herself in time-out at least once every day. (and a lot more often than that if there are other kids around to steal toys from!). Whenever she gets sent to time out she lays on her bed with her blanket and lets us know how unfair life is. But as soon as we say 'all done time-out', she bounces back with loves for everyone and a smile on her face. She sure is a dramatic little girl. But at least all can be forgiven fairly easy.

Introducing...

Christmas Apples

I feel kind of ghetto plugging our business on the blog. I know it's not what most of you came here for. But it's my blog, and I'll do what I want. My mother-in-law had a request for some Christmas themed apples, and we liked them so much, we posted them on the website. Yummy, and festive too!

Rantings of a stressed mother....

Today I wish to vent about my crazy kid! Alexis does A LOT of things really well, she sleeps really well, she sings really well, and she sits on time out really well. She gives good loves, and her memory surprises me daily! But the thing she does not do really well, is play with other kids. She is not grasping the concept of sharing, or that it's just not ok to hit other kids for no good reason. About a month ago I started going to the gym and took Lexi to the gym daycare. She was in there for about a week, and got written up for pushing other kids. They made me sign a form saying if she was pushing again, she'd be suspended for 7 days. Oh man, did I stress about that, I STILL stress every time I take her in there. Today they said she was stealing toys from the little kids. And then we went to play group and I watched her go up to some kid and give him a good push for who knows what reason, the kid wasn't even looking at her! So I packed her up and took her home. If you can't play nice, you can't play at all. But then I think, there obviously arn't any kids here, so if I keep taking her away, it isn't helping her play nice...but I can't let her terrorize the other kids to help her learn...I'm at a loss. We talk about sharing and playing nice all day, and every time she acts up she sits on time out, or we take her home all together, what else can I do? This parenting this is harder than it looks...
I know what my mom is thinking, 'she's 2, she'll grow out of it', and I tell myself that all day to calm down. So until she grows out of it, I'll just make a public apology to all those moms out there who's kids are getting pushed around by crazy Lexi.

Death of a silver bullet...

The silver bullet died today, due to causes having something to do with a timing belt...blast it all! The first car I drove in High School was simply named 'The King', it was a 1991 Toyota Tercel, with no air, no radio, and some 150,000 miles on it when I first started driving it. To my High School friends without cars of their own, it was 'The King'. It had it's glory days, and then died during my freshman year at college when the engine burned up because it didn't have any oil in it. There is still an ongoing debate in my family who's fault that was, but I still claim my innocence in the matter. So I moved onward and upward and bought a 2001 Hyundai Accent which my grandpa named 'The Silver Bullet'. I did A LOT of driving back and forth from Utah to California my college years, stopping often in Las Vegas where my grandparents live. I drove that car until Matt and I got married, and being the generous wife I am, I have allowed him the privileged of driving it the last 2 years. Well, here we are 7 years later and the ride is over. The mechanic says we are welcome to dump $1500 in it to keep the dream alive, but I think I'm gonna let this one go.... So if anyone has any great deals on a cheap car for my good husband, let us know, cause we'll be looking!

Well we made it home safe and sound, about 1500 miles, 6 tanks of gas, and 15 viewings of the Little Mermaid by Lexi well not quite that many, but she did get her fair share...thanks Papa Bruce for the DVD player. Here are some highlights!

The first night in LA we went to the Clippers/Nuggets game. We even got in early for 'Autograph Alley' where the not so stellar players will sign a hat or T-shirt. We had a good time seeing them up close, and had awesome seats! We sat behind the visitors bench and had some pretty good hecklers next to us which made for some pretty good entertainment.



Thanksgiving morning we made some apples to share with the friends and family, they are always a treat! The rest of the traditional food was amazing as well, lots of turkey, ham, potatoes, etc.

On Friday we jumped back into the car and headed up to Sacramento for my niece's sealing and blessing. It was the most perfect day! The weather was gorgeous, the temple was beautiful and the events were so special. I will always be thankful we made it for such a momentous day.

We spent a lot of time with family and made some great memories. Now we are looking forward to Christmas, my favorite holiday of all!