A mouse in the house...
I have never had good experiences with mice (has anyone?) Last night me and Jason had a fun little experience with a mouse visitor in our home. The whole day was really a doozy. Katelyn and Ethan cried for probably 75% of the day...this truly is not an exaggeration. The culprit was the germ-X gel I put on Ethan's hands after the library. On a normal day, there would be a tantrum associated with this horrible practice, but we could recover and go about our day. NOT YESTERDAY! The screaming in front of the library was quite intense which ultimately led me to walk away (hoping that Ethan would be afraid of me leaving him and follow). That didn't happen and Katelyn threw an equally terrible tantrum, (and much more annyoing, because she is 4) because she thought I was going to leave him. I love my kids so much, but at that moment I almost hoped someone would come out of the library and see these two kids and give them a good home like 2 lost little puppies. Anyways...there was no coming back from the tantrum and the rest of the day followed suite. No one took a nap and I had to hide in my closet several times to remind myself that I love these kids and that the day WOULD eventually end. The day became more exciting when I found out that I had an overdue credit card balance on a card that I had thought no longer existed. That was fun to figure out. I tried to make a tutu for Katelyn's Christmas present and accidentally cut the elastic too short so I had to hand sew (because my sewing maching that doesn't work is under my t.v. downstairs) an extension into it. At the end of the day I sat down and decided to wrap some Christmas presents. I ran out of tape. I have never run out of tape. Someone gave us a case of tape when we got married and I have literally never run out until now. Hmmm...So I sat on the couch feeling pretty depressed and then a little mouse ran from our closet and hid under our entertainment center. Well... now I couldn't watch t.v. How INCONVENIENT! Jason, being the man that he is, knew that I would be unable to go on with my life until that mouse was dead. He looked around for a suitable killing device and eventually returned with a broom while I kept an eye on the mouses whereabouts. (I am a little surprised you are still reading this extremely LONG blog...but now you are sucked in because you have to know how this will end). After watching the mouse run around the Christmas tree looking for present for it's little self, it ran under the couch. I assessed what was happening and came to the conclusion that a better killing device would need to be obtained to rid our house of this unwelcome Christmas visitor. I proceeded to drive to Wal-Mart at 9pm on Dec. 22nd (not a good idea to start with), in a snowstorm. Yea! What a fun day! Yea! I received a phone call from Jason while I was selecting the best mouse trap. Does anyone like those "humane" traps that have no poison, but just a big sticky thing to trap the mouse. I could totally make one of those out of duct tape. One time me and my mom used one of those and heard a horrible screeching noise when the mouse was caught. We had to carry the LIVE mouse, stuck to the tape, out to the garbage. GROSS! I also think the "poison blocks they can eat and then run off and die in a secret hiding place" traps may provide you with a nasty surprise later on. Well... we didn't need a trap because Jason had shot the mouse with his airsoft gun while the mouse was trying to hide behind the couch. I was quite impressed with his manly abilities at this point. It is a pretty small target. He said that I should also buy some clorox wipes because there was blood splattered all over the wall. When I returned home, I was greeted by Jason, wearing gloves, a head lamp, and armed with an air soft gun. There really was a large amount of blood splattered on the wall! Guess who cleaned it up... my wonderful, mouse killing, clorox using husband! I just hope that was the same mouse that was down in our window well that I saw a few days ago and the same mouse that ate part of our stroller trying to get a stray pretzel last week.

Our trip to temple square

“Temple. One other word is equal in importance to a Latter-day Saint. Home. Put the words holy temple and home together, and you have described the house of the Lord!” Boyd K Packer

We went to the "festival of lights" in Spanish Fork. I like it because you get to stay in your WARM car.

Look how much fun we're having!

Well... I didn't send out Christmas cards this year, so here is our electronic version : ) This year has been filled with new adventures and countless blessings.
Katelyn turned 4 this year. She is growing up so fast. She loves going to preschool, playing with friends, dressing up, coloring pictures and reading. She keeps us in line and I imagine that it will always be this way. She is definitely a BIG sister.
Ethan turned 2 this year. He is so much like Katelyn, and yet so different. He is very intense and this particular personality trait has become more apparent as he has gotten older. He is usually either VERY HAPPY (almost ecstatic) or VERY GRUMPY. Most people have yet to see this in him because he acts very shy and docile around other people. He is persistent and wants to do everything Katelyn does. Sometimes this pleases Katelyn very much, and sometimes she would rather not have a little shadow. He loves CARS, trains, and anything that moves.

Jason graduated from school last December and has enjoyed being home each night with his family and NOT doing homework. He works at Vital Smarts and enjoys the people he works with as well as his job.

I love staying home with my kids. I have tried to develop a few new talents this year. I took a photoshop class and am trying to become a master bread maker, but the latter may take another 20 years. My family has had many meals with my "scary" bread.

We want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope that your next few weeks will be filled with love, laughter and the peace that comes through our Savior and his humble birth.

"What all of us long for in our hearts, at Christmastime and always, is to feel bound together in love with the sweet assurance that it can last forever. This is the promise of eternal life, which God has called His greatest gift to His children. That is made possible by the gifts to us of His Beloved Son: the Savior’s birth, Atonement, and Resurrection. It is through the Savior’s life and mission that we have the assurance that we can be together in love and live forever in families." President Eyring

Our trip to the zoo....

Ethan turned 2 on November 1st. Happy Birthday!

Ethan helped me make the birthday cake. What a good helper!

WOLVERINE

HALLOWEEN

Here's the family! Cinderella, Fancy Nancy, Wolverine and Superman

Jason and Justin were both Wolverine (and they didn't plan that, by the way)

This is my adorable nephew Jaxton. He was the cutest and chubbiest superman ever!

Ode to "Muddy."

This is Ethan's precious "Muddy." Muddy (monkey) goes everywhere with us. He is a member of the Gause family. He enjoys family night, excursions to the park, dinnertime and even an occasional dip in the bath tub. Ohhhhh muddy, how we love you!

Ethan and Muddy enjoying a sunset together.

Muddy and Ethan deciding what to do next at the playground.

Ethan and Muddy at the temple water fountain.

Muddy and Ethan at mealtime. HOORAY! (I'm not sure if Muddy can breathe)...

What popcorn party would be complete without Muddy?

Here's what I've been up to. I canned apple pie filling, applesauce and pears. I was quite proud of myself as this is the first time I have done anything like this by myself. I never realized the immense satisfaction people experienced from the "popping" sound of the lids when they sealed until the day I did this!

These are Katelyn's new dressers! I love the way they turned out. Look at the "before" pics below!

We had our semi-annual "girls night" while the boys went to priesthood session. This time we had a "Fancy Nancy" party. For those of you who are not familiar with Fancy Nancy...it is a book series about a little girl (Nancy) who is very fancy (hence the name). Katelyn loves these books and was thrilled about having a party just like Nancy. Here were some of he highlights:

Ethan and Lindsay practicing their piano skills.

Grandma Wing received a pedicure. She was VERY excited about this and wanted to know if there were any other spa treatments available (they were not). (We are on a budget here: )

Katelyn and here cup of whipped cream (with hot chocolate underneath)

Here is what we had for dinner. (It looks a little like a dessert-hmmmm)

Ethan and his Monkey were the only boys present at our party, but he didn't seem to mind.

Katelyn couldn't believe that there were heart shaped waffle makers. She looked at them for a long time before she ate them.

FANCY

FANCIER

FANCIEST

Lexi is so cute!

Cinderella showed up at the party and one little girl was very excited. After the party she told her daddy "Cinderella came to the party. SHE REALLY DID! SHE REALLY DID!

Katelyn did soccer this summer. There is nothing cuter than watching a bunch of 4 yr olds "play" soccer. It was so fun to watch. The first couple of games she ran around watching her shadow and tattling on any teammate that touched her. By the end she really got in the thick of things and kicked the ball a few times. Every time she touched the ball she made it a special point to either come tell us on the sidelines or tell her coach. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her!

Josh had his "homecoming" on Sunday, and, as is mormon tradition, we had to have a HUGE party afterwards with tons of food!!! Here are the many faces of Josh.

I just love these glasses! I had to post it! Thanks Dalton

Someone was having a good time...