Merry Christmas

So...for all of you who are staying awake at night wondering why you haven't received a Christmas card from the Montgomery's...I didn't do them. That's right. We got the family picture, I made the card on Costco.com and then....I didn't do anything. I have a huge list of excuses but the bottom line is they just didn't get done.

So uh.....

Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Montgomerys

Tyson's Christmas Program

Last night was Tyson's preschool program, Christmas Around the World. Tyson is dressed up like a boy from Germany and his speaking part was about how Germans celebrate Christmas. The kids were promised that if they did well and sang loud enough, Santa would come. At one point T-dog was singing so loud that his face was turning bright red and I thought he was gonna pass out. It worked though cause Santa showed up. We were talking about him in the car afterwards and we are pretty sure this was the real Santa. Blake and Ry stood in line to talk to him because they told me as long as the spoke to Santa, they would for sure get what they asked for. Then they asked for a dirt bike and a 4 wheeler. Uhhh......ok. I made cookies for Tyson's program but we kept one aside especially to butter up Santa..

End of Track Break Week 2

Only 4 more to go. Weeks that is. So far we have several pictures, taken by Ryan, of Blake making various rubber band configurations and a video of them rolling each other around in one of my laundry baskets (hey-they took turns and had a fabulous time and I drew the line when they asked if they could roll down the stairs). Both these things are pretty tame. What I am concerned about is what they are going to be doing at the end of week 6. I'm a little nervous.

Happy Birthday

to Alisa. Today she begins the last year of her 20's. It's hard to believe we became friends when we were 8 (that's single digits people!!) and now we are pushing 30. There are too many memories to name them all so I thought I'd just name some of the more embarrassing ones....

There's the sleepovers where we would be up all night freezing but if one of us tried to turn the fan off alisa would immediately sit up out of a dead sleep and point her finger at us and yell at us to turn it back on. There's all times Aaron almost crashed with us in the car but didn't and the one time he did he left us there. Chriiiiiiiiis Echooooools (said aaron style). Having a camp out the last day of school when the popular kids next door were having a party. Hideous modeling pictures in various states. The strip. BBH's (if you aren't familiar with that term, you should ask alisa about it). Being roommates in college, Our Senior trip and the police. Her making me go to a hockey game and introducing me to John. Getting married. Her making fun of me for a looong time about having 3 kids in 4 years. Then she had 3 kids in four years. The list goes on and on and it has been great having her in my life for so many years and I look forward to the many years to come (I know we will still be in touch whether I like it or not because she keeps in touch with everyone. just ask the lunch lady from second grade). Happy Birthday!!

Pumpkin Pie

We made our first homemade pumpkin pie. The boys asked if we had any pie and since we didn't, we decided to make our own. Well, truthfully, John decided that. I said "what?!" I'll just run to Costco. I was out voted. Then I tried to talk everyone in to pre made crust. No such luck. Who knew I married such a man martha. The boys had a blast (gotta love man aprons from home depot) and it actually tasted so good we made another one 2 days later (and I have no idea how I gained 5 pounds in the last week).

** I do realize my children are half naked in just about every post. I do dress them EVERYDAY (in tops AND bottoms). I swear.

Lots of Rain

Plus lots of chalk equal this...

and I didn't even take pictures of the chalk hand prints on my door, curtains, and couch along with some chalk footprints along the tile.

Giving Thanks

I am thankful for my family. We are healthy, happy and together...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Not the best singer...

I sing all the time. John plugs his ears and I have heard various comments from the boys ranging from, "that's hideous" to "you're giving me a headache"(true story). The only one who hasn't said anything about my wonderful singing is Tate. Until last night. We were driving and all the kids were asleep but Tater. He kept saying, "mom" but I politely ignored him as I continued to sing along to the radio. Finally, I said "what?!" He put his finger over his lips and said "SHHHH!" Nice.

Turkey Tri

Today Alisa, Rushelle, and I did a beginner triathlon in St. George. We decided to do it about a month ago so there wasn't much time to train. We are considering the Sprint Tri here in Vegas in the spring and wanted to get a feel for what it would be like. It was HARD! I freaked out when I started the swim and couldn't get control of my breathing. The bike ride wasn't too bad but I was on a mountain bike so people were flying by me on bikes that I could seriously lift with one finger. If I do it again I will NOT ride a mountain bike. Way too heavy. The running went ok. I was hoping to make up some time on that part and though I didn't go as fast as I wanted I was ok with it. After getting off the bike my legs were jello. I felt like I was running in slow motion. All in all, it was cool to do it and get a feel for it and know what worked and what didn't so when I do the sprint tri I am more prepared and know what to expect...
The final times were (and no laughing please...FIRST tri...LITTLE training)
Swim 200 meters 5:10 (so happy I didn't drown)
Bike 5 miles 25:04
Run 1.5 miles 13:58 ( finished 10th out of 73 people)
Overall 22nd place out of 73 people

Right before the madness began....freezing cold outside and right after this pic we had to srtip down to our suits. We made sure to NOT take a picture



So glad it was all over..



Right after we all finished..

Crossing the finish line (I'm behind that random guy)

Boys.

The other night we were getting ready to take a ride somewhere. John told the boys to go get IN the car. We walked in the garage to find this... I thought it was funny. John? Not so much.

T-Dog's Trainer

Meet Tyson's trainer. They train together every day. They have great conversations while they workout. If you listen closely, his trainer tells him that his legs are shaking to which Tyson says, no they're not! Pretty soon he's gonna be the most ripped 4 yr old on the block.

Cheap Water

Just wanted to pass this info along...At the Fresh and Easy on Wigwam and Eastern (only this location!!) water is on sale for $1.99 for a 24 pack (I know, crazy). At the registars they have $5 coupons if you spend 20 bucks. That means you can get 10 cases of water for $15! The sale goes through Nov 11th. Stock up! Oh yeah, and GO VOTE!!

Carving Pumpkins

We have been so busy lately we haven't gotten around to doing the pumpkin carving thing. Well, we pretty much ran out of time. Today was the last day to get it done. It is Nevada day so the boys have no school but John still had to work so it was me driving around from store to store searching for pumpkins. We finally found some and we went home and carved them. I'm not gonna lie, helping 4 kids carve pumpkins by myself is not a super fun thing to do. By the time I was finished I was sweating, the baby was covered in 2 colors of permanent marker, and there were seeds everywhere. Here are pics of each kid with their pumpkin. I especially love mine. By the time I finished theirs, the thought of starting the process all over again made me want to hurl so I decided it was awesome just the way it was........

Ry's New Glasses

After a very long week of waiting, Ry finally got his new glasses. He is the most excited about the Sponge Bob case he gets to put them in.

Crap.....

Look what Tate learned to do.

Open House

Most of you know I am in the middle of a scentsy catalog party. Several people have asked if they can smell the scents before they buy them so they can figure out which ones they like. Because of this, I decided to have an open house on Monday. Drop by between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. and I will have all the scents out for you to sample and a few different warmers to look at. Kids are welcome and there is no obligation. There will be no consultant there, just me and a lot of candles. Anyone is welcome to come. If you need to know where I live please email me and tell me who you are at
emilymontgomery04@hotmail.com
Thanks!

Why I Suck...

I'm feeling pretty guilty right now. A few months ago Ryan cam home from school with a letter from the nurse requesting an eye exam. I got right on it. I was almost to walmart to get him an exam when I thought I better call and check with my insurance. They gave me a list of places I could go and Walmart was not one of them. We turned around and I promised I'd make him an appointment. Months go by. Ryan reminds me here and there but I get busy and I forget. He even told John and me that only one of his eyes worked and the other one didn't. When he said that I asked him which eye didn't work. He said, I don't know, either this one or this one. Well, we thought that was pretty funny and laughed it off. Finally, as I am watching him do his homework with the paper up in his face I figured I better make the appointment.
Yeah.. Ryan was right about one of his eyes not working. His vision is so bad in his right eye his brain is completely ignoring it. Not only does he need glasses but he also needs vision therapy once a week and will need to sometimes wear a patch. Watching the testing was sad because he could not see anything but the huge "E" out of his right eye. Why didn't I listen to him sooner? Because I suck.....

Colorado

This past weekend Alisa and I went to visit our friends Kristi and Ashley in Colorado. We went hiking, shopping, out to dinner, we played bingo at a bingo hall, we went to the Broadmoor Resort, we drove around in a golf cart.....and I have no pictures of any of it. I only took pictures one night. I had my camera the whole time. It makes for a weird post because we are in the same outfit in all the pictures.

Anyways, thanks to Kristi and her fam. We had such a great time! And thanks to my husband who stayed behind to chase rug rats. He experienced our hell-on-wheels 18 month old for the first time with no back up.Which, among a few other things, resulted in 2 out of 3 broken toilets.



Alisa, Me, Kristi





Ashely, Kristi, Me, Alisa (I know I got the deer caught in the headlights look going on)

In front of the Broadmoor which was awesome.

T-Dog

Tyson insisted that I take a picture of him and his banana. I have no idea why..

Let's see...what's a nice way to put this...Tyson gives me a run for my money. He is the master negotiator (or manipulator, whichever you prefer). His new thing is when I tell him he can't have something or do something he tells me that I'm not the boss of the world. Jesus is the boss of the world and he would want Tyson to have or do what he wants. Right......

Did I also mention he recently invited his entire preschool class to a Halloween AND Christmas party at our house (we are not having any kind of party). Only one mom actually asked for directions...

26.2 Miles...

John's fam with one of the signs his sister made for me

This is the back of me at mile 23. They got one pic of the front of me but it's pretty bad so instead, you get to see the back

My mom and sister waiting in the rain to cheer for me

Blake, Ry, and T-dog the day before with their cousin Gavin. I had to put a picture of Gavin because he was hands down the most excited for me. He just knew I could win the race!

I did it. I ran the St. George Marathon and it was awesome. It was a really cool experience and I was so glad to have my family there to cheer me on. John's mom and step dad came from California and his sister and her kids came from Grantsville and my mom, my sister Heather, my sister Jenna and her husband Steven all came to root for me. John's sister made these awesome signs for them to hold and they all dressed alike so I could spot them. Just knowing they were all there for me and they were all so excited for me made it a very emotional experience. As far as the race goes, we got up and it was pouring rain and freezing!! Then we got to the starting line and there were thousands of people there all dripping wet and waiting to start. I felt really good the whole race. I had been so worried and I was so nervous up till the race started but once I got going I knew I could do it. I worked my butt off training and I wasn't going to suck! It rained the entire race and even though I was running I was freezing my butt off but I finished in 4 hrs and 24 min. I'm happy with my time and the whole experience was something I won't forget. After I finished it was so great to see my family waiting for me and I am so happy they came!! I also have to say I couldn't have trained alone. The girls (and justin) and all finished and did great. Props to Rachel who puked all night long and still finished with a great time.




The fam waiting at mile 23 in the rain

The fam after I was finished

John and me after I finished

Tyson took this picture of my medal and I thought it was pretty cool

MARATHON

It's here. After months of getting up at 4 in the morning and sweating my butt off. After knee pain and shin splints. After all the blisters, ibuprofen, and glucosamine . It's here.
I run in the St. George Marathon on Saturday. It's my first and I'm scared. Wish me luck.
Actually... forget the luck. You better pray for me. Seriously. Really, really hard....



*pictures to come. Hopefully they aren't from the window of an ambulance....

STAR WARS........again

Don't ask me how I have a picture of them in their Halloween costumes already but I still have never taken a "first day of school" picture. No. Seriously. Don't ask me. I don't know.

*not pictured is Tate. He is going to be an ewok I just don't have it yet. So....anyone know where I can get an ewok costume?

Warning: Husband/Football Vent

Yesterday after a few errands in the morning, we came home and John turned on football. He took a nap and pretty much just hung out all day watching the games. I was busy unpacking the last of the boxes and hanging stuff up so I didn't care. I knew he needed a break and we had a babysitter for later that night so I knew we were gonna get to hang out together later.
Today we had stake conference and 4 kids for 2 hours is a nightmare so we planned on staying home all day. Now, I'm cool with football being on all day but I'm not super cool with having your butt glued to the couch and being unable to do anything else because of it. I have to admit I was already a little grumpy because I had been up since 2am. I woke up and I just could not go back to sleep. When I tried to take a nap today the kids came in 50 million times, they know how to unlock my door and long story short, after an hour of being interrupted every 10 min I gave up. I stormed down stairs and stomped around the house. John was too busy watching stupid football to profusely apologize for not keeping the kids away and well, I wanted him to know I was mad and that I thought he sucked at helping me today.
Anyways, being the amazingly mature wife and mother that I am, I took the vaccum and plugged it in right behind the couch where he was watching t.v. Then I turned it on and left it there and walked away. Don't worry, it took him 10 min to realize it was just sitting there. By itself. Turned on.

He is currently still watching football but now he has 3 loads of laundry he is folding and putting away (imagine that, a man multi-tasking!) while he watches. And as an added bonus Tate and Ryan are "helping" him. I'm cool with that.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor day weekend we wanted to do something fun as a family. John had been worked all weekend and he was finally able to stay at home on Monday. We decided to pack a lunch and go hike or explore or whatever. I wanted to go to Mt. Charleston (just remember that as you continue to read). We (and by we I mean John) thought it would be too crowded so we (again, John) decided to head to this really cool place where they had the father son camp out. Apparently there are all these cool rock formations to climb on. Too bad John couldn't remember how to get there. We drove around forever!! We kept going on all these tiny roads to see what was around the corner (so not my idea). The kids were starving so we finally just stopped and got out to eat. Then the boys figured they should shoot the BB gun for a while. When we ran out of bb's they decided they wanted to hike. No big deal until we realize we are at an abandoned mine. With mine shafts. Huge, deep, mine shafts. John and the boys thought it was awesome. I, on the other hand, was hyperventilating.......Don't get me wrong, it was cool and we didn't let the boys get very close but just being there stressed me out. I finally convinced John to get the hell out of there.

The boys walking up the hill right before we discovered what it was we were actually walking to.



I pointed this sign out to John and the boys several times. No one really cared but me.

The door to a mine shaft. Not blocked off. Just chillin'. My boys thought this was awesome and wanted to throw things down it. Ummm...no.

John driving on a tiny little road while pretending to know where he was going...

Ryan, after bonking his head on the window while John was driving on the bumpy tiny little road.

Why go outside if you can't shoot some sort of gun? Welcome to my life.

Standing in front of the deepest, creepiest mine shaft I have ever seen. This was was fenced off. It had this rickety little ladder that went all the way down. SCARY!!

This is where we ended up. Literally, the middle of nowhere.