The Wii Nazi

Carter is a nightmare about this dang Wii. Everything is worth a fit or some tears. Baylee was playing it with him a minute ago and after she lost this is what he said." You're really bad at this, but your good as a human!" OH MY! A little while later, we (Kent and I) wrested control of the game controllers from the kids, particularly Carter, and were playing billiards and having a lot of fun. Carter kept interjecting snide little comments about how we were doing it wrong and he could do it sooooo much better and he was beginning to get on our nerves. Finally, he'd had about all he could take with our dumb game moves, even though we were doing quite well, thank you, and he said, "I'm smarter than both of you" in such a little know-it-all way. Well, that was more or less the straw that broke the camels back. We both glared at Carter and he knew he'd pushed us over the edge. I told him to get to his room and get ready for bed and he took off, albeit with a lot of whining and griping. Wow, what a kid!

Gifts of Time Slide Show

Annual Christmas Letter 2008

Dec 29,08
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year to you from the Bolton Clan! I am hoping that this letter finds you happy and healthy. If you are not, here is hoping that you get that way in 2009! As usual this year has flown by and it does not seem possible that each year that passes seems to go faster than the year before. I have nightmares about chasing the calendar and never catching it. Here is what our fam has been up to.
Carter is 7 and is in 1st grade. He is doing so well and his favorite subject is lunch. We can always tell what he had as he comes home with it all over his clothes and face. He is such a good little reader and his teacher raves about him. He still idolizes Kent and would follow him everywhere if he could. He is all boy and is constantly making strange shooting, car, animal, crashing and all around annoying noises. I will be sad when he doesn’t say and do all of his crazy, funny stuff anymore, as he is a constant source of laughter and fun in our home.
Baylee is 13 and is in 8th grade. She started the year off with a fun trip to San Diego. It was her choice of destinations for the 12 year trip we do with our kids. She was soo much fun to travel with and we had quite an adventure. She just loved Sea World and can’t wait to go again and take the whole fam. She is an exceptional student and enjoys the rewards of her hard work. She is still our dancing queen and is about to embark on a new season of comp dancing with her studio. Her church calling as beehive class president keeps her busy. Having her tonsils out the week before Christmas was hard on her but she has been such a good sport. She is such a wonderful, thoughtful, hardworking little lady. Her smile and contagious laugh light up our home.
Aly is 15 and is a sophomore. She is enjoying and doing well in High School and has got a fun, tight-knit group of friends. It has been fun to see her develop new interests this year such as guitar, photography, and cooking. Trek, YW camp and Especially For Youth Week are some of the highlights from 2008 for Aly. It has been a year of growth and maturity and as her parents it has been so fun to see her discovering just who she is. Her antics and wit keep our home lively and fun.
Kent has had quite an eventful year - changing jobs, going back to the old job, added responsibility, and travel. His work destinations have included San Diego x 2, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Park City. He also has been teaching the 15-16 yr old Sunday School class at church and much to his surprise, LOVES it! The best day of his year and possibly his life was Feb 16th at 9:36:35 am when Kent met his new best friend…a 12 lbs, 30inch Lake Trout he caught while fishing with Curt, Josh, Eric and Malaree on Bear Lake. FRANKENFISH, as we have lovingly named him, now resides in a special place of honor where Kent can daydream while staring deeply into his empty glass eyes while sitting in his comfy chair at his office. The video of this special event now rests in the same place as the videos of our children’s births and surprisingly enough, is very similar in content! It was touching to watch as Curt, Josh and Eric coached Kent as he brought Frankenfish into this..I mean our world.
Angie (well, what is left of me and my poor failing sanity) has had a busy, rewarding year. PTA Secretary, Enrichment Leader, Class Volunteer, Soccer Mom, Carpool Coordinator, Taxi Driver, Band Mom, Maid, Cook, Tyrant (my personal favorite), Nutritionist, Wife, Windgate Apt. Leasing Agent, Personal Assistant, Historian, Professional Shopper, Tutor, Warden, Disciplinarian, Medical Assistant and Therapist are just a few of my jobs. With all of my free time: I knit, crochet, scrapbook, quilt, needlepoint, bake bread and sew. Ok, I’m just kidding! What free time?
Our family has had a few adventures this year. We took a fun trip to Park City together just before school started. The craziest adventure however has been in the form of 2 adorable batches of kittens. How can something so cute be such a pain in the you-know-what? At one time we had 8 cats! I am proud to say we are down to 1 that will not be bringing any new additions into our home unless he is a medical marvel. His name is Cheech and Baylee especially loves him.
Blogging has become something our whole family has enjoyed doing together. I know many of you are sick of hearing me talk about it. But it has been a fun part of our lives this year. As I was looking through it today I found so many things I am so grateful I have recorded and get to keep forever. My only regret is that they didn’t have this technology when my girls were little. Wouldn’t that be fun to look back on. I am grateful that I have finally found something easy and convenient that has allowed me to journal, be creative, share and keep in touch with loved ones. Feel free check us out at blessedboltons.blogspot.com (FYI*you get brownie points for commenting).
The highlight of the year was our trip to Disneyland. We saved up all year and took the kids at the beginning of December. We were excited that Tudi agreed to go with us and she made it so fun. The funnest part of the whole trip was getting Tudi on her first roller coaster.
With the world being in such turmoil right now, I have never been more thankful for the peace the gospel brings and the love and support of family. May we all make time for the things that matter most.
Happy 2009 from the Blessed Boltons
Angie, Kent, Aly, Baylee and Carter

Memorable Christmas Gifts 2008 Cont.

*WARNING: TMI AHEAD*
Wow, when I thought of blogging this one I was almost giddy thinking it would be so funny but when it comes to writing about it I am wondering if it is one of those things that you just had to be there to get. But what the hey, I'll give it a go anyway. Here is the background you will need a for this.
During our trip to DL Carter was plagued by a nasty sore he had on the back of his neck (remember the shingles incident a few posts back). He was really quite protective of it and did not want anybody touching it and who can blame him, they don't call it an owee for noth'in people. That was all Kent needed to make a federal issue over the whole thing. I am warning you now- do not give Kent any ammunition to tease you!! He can take the littlest of things and make it fodder for his warped teasing mind.(Can you tell I have years of experience with this?) Anyhoo... I digress! At first all Kent would do is ask if he could touch Carter's scab (Gross!Boys never outgrow this stuff, do they?) knowing Carter would recoil and then Kent would act sad. Soon it had escalated to Kent asking if he could tickle the scab and then a little good natured wrestling. Kent in pursuit and Carter courageously defending his poor scab. Near the end of the trip Kent gave an exasperated sigh and said "Wow, this would be lot easier if I just had a ScabTickler!" (Like there is such a thing.) Carter fell for it hook, line and sinker. I believe there was quite a bit of Kent threatening to buy a scabtickler, Kent sending a letter to Santa to tell him that is all Carter needed for Christmas was a scabtickler, Kent making a makeshift scabtickler, you get the point. Let's just say that by this time everyone in the whole family including Tudi was spending alot of time talking about this imaginary tool of terror. When we got home and the sore went away the scabtickler was forgotten. Until Carter and I hatched a plan. We built a scabtickler out of legos and Carter gave it to Kent on Christmas. We laughed until we cried it was sooooooo funny.

Gotta love love it!

Memorable Gifts of 2008

As mentioned in a previous post, the Boltons have started a new tradition of "Gifts of Time." Last year Kent and I each gave the kids something from us, for example I gave the girls cake decorating classes and Kent gave Carter a session of building things out of scrap wood in the garage. It really was the most memorable of last years gift giving. (Bonus- minimal cost). This year we decided to broaden the idea and we all gave gifts of time to each other rather than tangible gifts.
It was hard to explain this concept to Carter and when I asked him what he wanted to do he insisted that he wanted to take our family to dinner. I tried my best to make a few suggestions I thought he might jump on, but he was so insistent and proud of the idea I couldn't resist. I thought it was funny that he wanted to take us all out to HIS favorite place on earth, MCDONALD"S. When we went to make the card he insisted on using his own money. I told him I would pay but he said NO! So he wrapped up $18.00. The card said something about this is going to be the BEST night of your life. (No pressure) Wow, how were we going to do this? We had 6 people in all, on a budget of $18.00, even for McD's that's a stretch. Tudi asked him if she could put some money with his and he said NO! Kent just gave me this look like "How is this going to work?" He lined us all up and got our orders, helped make the order and then payed. He was so proud of himself. Our dinner came to $18.53 so he let me pitch in the 53 cents. As a parent it was my first reaction to say "What? NO, you can't take our whole family to dinner." But look at what we would have missed. It was just precious and every time anyone said anything about how good it was or told him Thank You, he just beamed. It reminded me that we need to nurture the joy of giving a little bit more and the getting a little bit less.

Mr. Pinchy

Carter has been extremely trying this Christmas break. One minute he is a sweet and wonderful child and the next he is a total tyrant. I have resorted to extreme measures to reign him in (unsuccessfully, I might add). I have this little thing for pinching. Now, I am not talking child abuse pinching, there are no marks and I don't draw blood. It's just enough of a pinch that it gets kids attention. I actually have a name for my pincher it has been used so much this season. He will now and forever more be known as Mr. Pinchy. Catchy isn't it and he strikes fear at the mere mention of his cute little name. I think he is a distant relative of the Tickle Monster but a lot less fun. Even the girls have noticed his presence in our home. The other night I started threatening AGAIN and Baylee said she had a surprise for me. Here she came with the little ear bud protector for her ipod, placed it atop my pincher finger and drew on a face.

I think she has made Mr. Pinchy a legend at the Bolton home. May Mr. Pinchy live long and prosper!

Christmas Day 08

My kids slept in until almost 9 am. I know you are jealous!!! It was awesome. We opened stockings and Santa presents and then made our yummy breakfast. We then took our time opening everything else. It was a blast and we didn't finish until about noon. Our favorite thing this year was our "gifts of time" that we did last year and decided to start a new family tradition. Everyone was so creative and we are all looking forward to cashing in and getting these gifts! My cute little family made Christmas Day so fun and special. Tudi always adds to the fun of the holidays and we are so glad that she wasn't to darn sick of us to spend Christmas with us.

Christmas Eve 08

What a fun day we have had. We made and baked a batch of Braetzli's. One of our favorite tradtions. We enjoyed our Christmas Eve feast. Laurie J. was able to join us and it was so fun. After our meal we played a couple of rounds of Mormon Bridge and then broke out the English Trifle. We finished of the night watching White Christmas.

Baker Family Christmas Party

This past weekend my sister and her family and my parents all planned to come and stay with us and then go to a Christmas party. We were so excited and even with Bay not feeling real shiny, we were still going to try to get in on as much of the fun as we could. I felt so bad that it didn't quite work out as planned. First of all Deid, Josh, Drew and my Mom had all been sick with the flu! I do feel very sad that they had to deal with that but did not want to expose Baylee to something that would make her even more miserable than she already was. So they all ended up in a motel in Layton. We did get to go to a fun dinner at the Golden Corral and Carter and I joined them for the Baker Christmas Party at my Uncle Steve. I'm sorry that it didn't quite turn out like we planned but I still think it was fun.

This is the reason for the season!! Enjoy!

I don't know how you are about music, but it is the pathway to my own soul. It seems like with every step of my life there has been a song that has touched me to the core and really symbolizes that time for me. A rare few stop me in my tracks! This is one of them. I heard it while driving and couldn't stop from just crying my big brown eyes out. I hope it touches you like it did me.

If the video doesn't appear double click. It will take you to YouTube and then type A Baby Changes Everything.

Seriously!

Carter awoke cute and snuggly this morning. I got no words but a lovely bear hug. Once he had fully awoke he gasped and this is the conversation that ensued:
Carter: "DID THEY KEEP HER LUNGS!"
Me:"Say what?"
Carter: "Did the doctor keep her lungs?"
Me: "You mean Baylee? They took out her tonsils and yes, they kept them!"
Carter: "Where are her lungs then?"
Me: " Well, they are in her body."
Carter: "Oh yeah, she needs those to live, right?"
Me: "Yep"
Carter "If they took out her lungs she could just take those LifeCaps!"
If you don't know what LifeCaps are, they are a survival pill that they are relentlessly advertising.

A Shout Out to the Callister Girls

Yes we are having a neighborhood tonsillectomy party!

Glitter Graphics & MySpace Layouts

The Tonsillectomy

Little Miss Baydeebug had her tonsils and adenoids out today. Poor little thing, she is just so... so... pitiful. And I don't mean that mean at all. She is so brave and is trying to be stoic but you can just see she wants to break down into tears every minute. (By the way I just asked Kent how to spell Tonsillectomy and he started spelling it like he was serious so I typed it and this is what it said T-O-M-S-E-L-L-e-C-K ! Do I ever learn? The more serious he sounds the crazier he is!) Bay has slept most of the day and even got to eat a little ramen noodles and chicken noodle soup. Aly noticed that her eyelids and nose were swollen and asked her why. Baylee didn't even miss a beat (just like her dad) and told Aly that the first thing she remembered when she woke up was the DR. slapping her around. We all just busted out laughing even Baylee and it HURT her to laugh. Everyone keep her in your prayers because she is sure miserable!

Sauerkraut - A Bolton Favorite

It has to be addressed! I know you ask why, but it has to be done. Even the mere mention of Sauerkraut brings disgusted looks from everyone we happen to mention that sauerkraut is a family favorite. I think you all had similar experiences as I did when I was a child. Grandma and Grandpa hauling up a 40 year old can of sauerkraut out of the damp, musty food storage and trying to claim it as a side dish. Just the smell made me not want to eat whatever else they were serving. I grew up thinking that I hated sauerkraut! Kent's ancestors are Swiss and Kent served his mission in none other but Switzerland. It had not occur ed to me to ask if his family ate sauerkraut before we got married but had I known it may have caused me a little hesitation. The first time they served it I nearly ran the 12 miles back to my parents house. If I could have plugged my nose and swallowed it without causing a scene or rupturing an eardrum I would have. Not wanting to hurt dear Tudi's feelings I gagged it down. The next time they served it I was tempted to pretend I was ill but with some prodding Kent got me down there. It was funny how accidentally getting sauerkraut on my mashed potatoes and gravy changed my mind about this dish. It is truly one of those things that if you ate it right out of the can it is disgusting but if you get the right things with it... ahhhh . So I will share the sauerkraut secrets with you!
First of all never, ever, ever buy it in a can! That stuff will kill ya!
You have to buy the kind in the refrigerated section. Klausen is the best. If you do not like it strong, grate a potato in it before cooking.
We put the sauerkraut in a crock pot on low when we leave for church. Add polish kielbasa, we like the turkey kielbasa and it is less calories. Now for the most important part you have to serve it with mashed potatoes and milk gravy and corn. It is one of those meals that you can make what we Bolton's call "The Perfect Bite!. Ya know the kind where you can put a little of everything on your fork and the flavors meld into perfect yumminess.
I know already the looks on your faces but I am telling you... you gotta try it!!

Temple Lights Tradition Saturday 12/13/08

Ever since we were married in 1991, yes it was that long ago. We have taken trips to see the lights at Temple square. There has been years when we have had up to 24 people in our group. We have lots of crazy and wonderful memories and it is something that we look forward to all year long. This year it didn't work out to go with anybody. I don't know if that has ever happened. It was however the perfect day to go. We are not sure why but hardly anybody was there. On a Saturday 2 weeks before Christmas? What the heck? Whatever the reason it was nice. We rode the Frontrunner down to Gateway, went to lunch at Panda, went to Bolt, and then rode trax down to the temple. It was a little chilly but georgious as we watched the big beautiful snowflakes fall around us on the temple grounds. They even had some of the nativities from around the world up and that is our fav.
Once they took out the Crossroads Mall we wondered if this little Christmas tradition would ever be the same but it finally felt like we had adapted to the change and made it even better. We are already looking forward to next year and hope that we can get a crowd again. The more the merrier!

OH, Christmas Tree

This is our new gorgeous Christmas Tree. I love,love,love it! We have had the same $19.00 Rite-aid Christmas tree since 1997. I think it was about time don't you! The coolest part of it..... it was free! I will say that it cost me an arm and a leg to get more decorations for it though. But isn't it worth it!
Our Christmas tradition is to buy a new ornament each year that stands for something that has happened in the last year. Of course we got a Disney ornament, isn't it cute!

Lego Mania

I made the kids earn thier own money for souvineers at Disneyland. Downtown Disney has a Lego store and it was Carters little piece of heaven. It is also where he spent all of his money! I will say that I am awfully proud of him because he did some major bargain shopping. For anyone into Legos you know that they hardly go on sale and if they do it is like just a little bit. Carter found a $139 Star Wars AT-ST or as Carter calls it "Chicken Walker" for $45. Wow!! I am impressed.

My New Old Job

I have been hired on by the new company that is managing the Apartments I work for. My new day is going to Monday and so far I am loving it. I also will hardly ever have to work Saturdays. WOW! Could I have asked for anything better? I don't think so! I think that the change will be hard as they do everything different but I am excited.

We're Home!!

Home Sweet Home!! The best part of going away is coming back! We got home around 5pm and Tudi couldn't pack her car up fast enough! She was out of there faster than a bullet. Nine days with our family probably sent her over the edge. I was worried about her taking off so late but she was set on heading home. I told her if she got herself killed getting home I was going to be really mad. She laughed and said that if she did it would be after a lovely trip and she would go happy! As we crawled into our comfy beds I couldn't help being happy for her that she was able to do the same! We are all totally pooped and sad that the trip is over. We can't wait to sleep in on Saturday!!!! On a bummer note Miss Aly is sick and spent the night throwing up! Get feeling better Aly. Now onto Christmas! I think I might be getting into the Christmas spirit. I can feel it coming on slow but sure.

Friday and Saturday

Never go to Disneyland on a Friday!!!! It felt like an anthill! The only saving grace was Fantasmic!! Awesome!!! Saturday we got a late check out and headed to the park for an early entry day. Saturday morning we were so excited. We love Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster and it had been closed. We went as quickly as we could get there and rode it. After realizing that it was rather mild with no dips bigger than one that Tudi had already gone on, we hopped off the ride and all surrounded her, begging for her to ride it. She has never ridden a roller coaster. We were all shocked and I mean SHOCKED when she agreed. We get bragging rights for getting Tudi on a roller coaster. It was so fun and Carter talked her through the experience. I don't think that she will forget the thrill anytime soon. With a speedy check out (It did involve blood, sweat and tears because we had trashed the place) and a rather slow fast-food stop we headed on the first leg of our journey home. Our hotel in ST.George was deluxe and we slept like the dead we were so tired.

Mistaken Identity

So we have had a couple of funny things happen to us here.
With our Disney package we received lanyards with a plastic card holder attached. Each person can keep the room key and their own tickets in it. Carter has been obsessed with the room key and has carried it around his neck constantly so he can be the first to the room to open the door. The down side to this has been that Carter has insisted on taking the plastic part and hitting everyone with it, especially Kent because Carter knows that he is enduring and patient to a fault. As we were walking home from the park one afternoon Carter got a little absent minded and started walking next to a man in front of us. We were keeping an eye on him so we saw that he started just whipping this guy with the plastic card holder and the guy was like "What the heck is this little brat doing." Carter not realizing his mistake yet, hauls off and starts hitting the guy again. Kent yelled at him "Carter, what are you doing?" and Carter looked up horrified! He thought that he had been walking with Kent the whole time. He was sooooo embarrassed he ran and hid behind me. He was angry at Kent (which never happens) and so I got to be his buddy for a while.

Another time Kent and I ran to Walmart. I started walking slowly to the store while Kent grabbed our return and locked up the car. I noticed out of the side of my eye Kent walking up to the side of me and so I sidled up next to him to walk the rest of the way. I looked up to ask him a question and I had been walking with a Hispanic man the whole time. To make matters worse Kent had been about 5 paces back watching the whole thing. He thought it was pretty dang funny!

Taking a Break

With Aly's head still throbbing this morning when she woke up and knowing that she would not enjoy the rides we decided to take a break day. We slept and read and lounged. We took off to find a souvineer discount shop that people at the laundry told us about last night. Ate lunch at Costco and took the kids swimming. We also watched the fireworks from our balcony and they were incredible.

Funny- There are these interesting flowers that we have seen all over down here that look like birds. Tudi and the girls were discussing it when Carter, in his very animated way, proclaimed that the flowers looked like "evil chickens." Oh, that boy, he is a crack up!

Thursday Slide Show

Goofy Breakfast and CA Adventure

Food, food and more FOOD! We had our character breakfast this morning. Wow what a banquet as Tudi would say. The funniest thing that happened is Aly had 11, yes I said 11 plates of food. She was hilarious about trying just a little of every single thing in the place. We were all done and moaning holding our bellies and there Aly goes again to fill her plate. We thought it would be hilarious to sneak around the divider so that she couldn't see us and think we had left her. Aly walked back to the table and was all confuse because everyone was gone. She was set on eating her ice cream (mind you it is 9 in the morning)and was standing up at the table eating it when here comes Alice in Wonderland (The only Disney Character that really gives her the creeps) "Oh dearie, have you lost your family." Aly said "Yeah, I think I have" The whole time looking like a deer in the headlights. Alice offered to help her find them so Aly dropped her ice cream on the table and took off while Alice was looking the other way. Carter insisted that all he wanted was chicken nuggets, we coulda killed 'im. Next time we will run to McD's grab a happy meal and then go to the breakfast. He ate $16.00 chicken nuggets for breakfast!!!! Look on the slide show for the A, B, C food critique. We then headed over to California Adventures and just loved it. We were all exhausted and headed back to the hotel to take a nap and then go to the Pixar Parade. But when it was time to go back we just didn't have it in us. We decided to go and wash some laundry and let the kids swim for a while. We got the laundry going and Kent ran up to the hotel to get his swimming suit on. I was reading poolside when I heard a bunch of commotion. I looked over and Aly looked as if someone had just clobbered her. The Cove pool has a overhanging ledge and Aly had timed it just right for maximum impact as she was coming up out of the pool. She has a goose egg on the top of her head, her forehead and her nose is all gashed and swollen and the ugly headache that always accompanies it to boot. Poor little thing! Of all the darn luck. A very nice life guard attended her and was very comforting as we were a little worried about a concussion.
Rides: Soaring over CA, Mulholland Madness, The Golden Zephyr, California Screamin x2, fliks flyers, Francis Ladybug Boogie (stupid), Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, Tuck and Rolls Drive 'Em Buggies, Tower of Terror x2, Grizzly River Rafting, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.

Tuesday Slide show

Tuesday December 2nd 08

This morning was an early entry day! We pretty much walked on to all of the rides we wanted to between 9 and 10 am. Of course we chose to go on Space Mountain 3 times in a row. I was feeling a little woosy by the time we finished the last one but sooooooo fun. We met up with Tudi at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch and then went into the park to ride a bit more. We were exhausted by mid-afternoon and went back to eat dinner and get rested for the parade and fireworks shows for tonight. The parade was fun and the fireworks never cease to make me cry. On a side note we were in line for Peter Pans Flight when we all look over and there were our neighbors from our old house in Clearfield, the Chuggs, how funny to meet them out here. We are sure excited to go to the Breakfast with Goofy tomorrow morning!

Rides: Space Mountain x3, Asto Blasters x2, Star Tours x2, Peter Pans Flight, Storybookland, Matterhorn x2, Innoventions (way cool), Christmas Fantasy Parade and Believe in the Magic of the Holidays Fireworks show.

Mon Slide show

December 1st 08

Ahhh...at last, we have entered the happiest place on earth! Monday morning the excitment and fog were so thick you could cut it with a knife. Carter chose the first ride and it had to be the Indiana Jones ride that he wasn't tall enough for last time that we were here. He loved it so much he made us go a couple more times. We enjoyed exploring adventure and frontier lands. We even got Tudi to go on Pirates of the Carribean with us and she loved it. We had a delicious lunch at the Hungry Bear Cafe. The lines went so fast and we rode 12 rides in all. What a fun first day!
Rides Today: Indiana Jones x 2, Tiki Room, Pirates of the Carribean, Tarzans Treehouse, Mark Twain River Boat, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, It's a Small World, Matterhorn x 2, Jungle cruise, Gadgets Go Coaster (Toon Town).

Nov 30th 2008 slide show