My boys

With all the fun Christmastime craziness happening at our house this month, there have been very few moments of absolute peace in our home. That's why I hurried and took this picture as soon as I realized that my two boys had been quietly reading on the couch for at least 15 minutes. I snapped a couple shots because they looked so cute together and so very serious, and then it hit me .... Kutter totally cannot read! He has his own set of scriptures and keeps telling me he reads them every day and I just smile and humor him. Apparently, I should take him more seriously! He was totally deep in concentration, turning the pages and everything! What a nut!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Santa crashed our ward Christmas party on Saturday night, and boy did he make an impact! I have been wondering how Brielle would do when she saw him. Last year she was just curious and mildly amused. This year she started bawling the second she saw him. I think she somehow knew that I was going to force her to sit on his lap for a picture. She is no longer amused.
Breje and Trayson did better. Breje manged to jump up there and run off before Jody could even snap a picture (small sigh -- how is she already too old for this?) Trayson just climbed right up and rattled off a whole list. You can totally see him thinking hard to make sure he doesn't leave anything out! Kutter originally ran right up and got in line with all of the other kids and waited patiently for his turn. Apparently nobody actually told him what he was waiting in line for, because the poor kid nearly fell apart when he finally got up there! He finally did toughen-up (I think he saw the candy Santa was giving out) and agree to get in line with Brielle and I -- if he didn't have to actually sit on Santa's lap and if we'd go up there with him. He was still pretty unsure about the whole thing (maybe Brielle's complete meltdown had something to do with it?)

He finally pulled through and found a quick smile for a picture. Brielle, however, did not! (She did manage to peek through her tears real quick and snatch the goodie bag from Santa in the middle of her tantrum. That's my girl!)

It's FINALLY beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We put out our Christmas decorations last weekend, and spent our FHE last week decorating our tree as a family, but it still just didn't quite seem like Christmas. Our favorite decoration was missing, because we donated our nativity to display at an annual creche exhibit that our stake does. It's a really wonderful thing for our community, but we're happy to say that our nativity is back home and we were able to set it out for FHE tonight.

Our nativity set is almost exactly like the one I set out with my family when I was little and one of my very favorite things. It's handpainted by my parents and our usual tradition is to set it out before any other decorations to remind us what the focus of the season should be.

The tree is another of my favorite traditions, even with all the arguing over who gets to put what where, it always ends with everyone smiling. I think Brielle had the biggest smile of all. I'm sure she was imaging how much fun she'd having taking it all apart again -- over and over and over!

Happy Birthday Dad!

I'm a little late getting this one up here, but I just have to say a quick "happy birthday" to my dad! He is seriously the best dad in the world and I feel so lucky that he's mine. It was so hard not to be there to celebrate it with him, but we thought about him a lot. Here's some of the things we decided we love about him ...

He works so hard, and he can build almost anything! (and will)
His beautiful grass (This is from Kutter. He's developed quite an appreciation for Grandpa's lawn!)
That he will cry at the drop of a hat!
His corny jokes.
The friendship he has with my husband and my children.
He doesn't think we're too little to go fishing or golfing (from Tray)
How much he loves his family.
His example.

Thanks, Dad, for being such a wonderful, Father and Grandpa! We love you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know, I know. I'm a little late, but this has been one busy weekend! Jody invited his whole family to come up to our house for Thanksgiving, and even though only a few could make it, it was pretty crowded here! We felt pretty lucky to get Treva, Kay, Shane, Veronica, Jaeli, Brian, Triffini, Dominique, Daidre, Dristan, Davis, and Isabella to drive so far to spent the holiday with us! Even though I've been married nearly 15 years I have never actually been in charge of the entire Thanksgiving feast. I was a little nervous, but I decided it was about time! While I spent the morning in the kitchen, Jody took the opportunity to saddle up the horses. They were a big hit!
Even though it was freezing, Brielle had to be the first to get on! Trayson and Dristan did everything together this weekend, even riding the horse!

I think our little Jaeli Jo loves riding almost as much as her cousin, Brielle. She kept making her daddy take her back out again!

Then came the feast. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. I guess I was so determined to make the meal that my mom makes every year, and I should've known that that level of perfection cannot be achieved overnight. Everything was, however, perfectly edible and just good enough so that everyone could say nice things without feeling like total liars. I'm calling it a success!

I totally forgot to take a picture of our big old turkey (it was quite pretty) but, you know me, I regained my memory around dessert time. This was definitely the highlight for me! Veronica brought cheesecake, I made a couple pies (One was my Aunt Sue's famous dutch oven apple pie. I was immensely proud of it's beauty, but I have to admit that I didn't quite cook it long enough!) and Kay made her delicious cinnamon rolls. Those were bliss!

The rest of our weekend was pretty much dedicated to eating leftovers and watching movies while the kids ran wild. The guys did find some time to take the boys out riding motorcycles. Some friends of ours have a small bike that the kids can ride themselves and it was a huge hit! Doesn't Trayson look way to grown up?!

One of the best parts for me was watching all the kids play so great with their cousins. They don't get to see them often, but they all have pretty great relationships and they just pick up as if they all played together the day before. It was hilarious watching Brielle try to make friends with Bella, who is only 10 months old. Brielle didn't quite know what to do with someone so small, and Bella was pretty overwhelmed by all the people, but they did eventually manage to spend a little play time together. How cute!

Thanks for coming guys!

So many fish...

...so little time! Every year about this time, the men in my family grab as many friends as they can find and head off on a big old fishing trip on the Green River. Jody's missed the last couple of years so he was thrilled when he finally made it this year, especially since it was one of their most successful trips. I'm guessing that's why he brought home so many pictures!
Now, I have to admit that I don't quite understand the thrill of this kind of vacation. They cram a bunch of guys (only seven this year, but only one hotel room) into a couple condos, get up each morning at the crack of dawn, spend the whole day in the river (did I mention it's November -- in Utah!) and prepare all their meals "the manly way" (basically, whatever is easy and not exactly that appetizing!). Whatever makes them happy, right? And somehow, they do all come home grinning from ear to ear and bragging their heads off. I guess there's nothing like a couple big fish to turn a group of men into a bunch of kids. This is Kim. He's practically family. See what I mean about the grin? I guess this one is mostly about the "beautiful" scenery. This must make all the cold and lack of sleep worth it?

Cody and Jody. Don't they look so cute and so proud?!

This is my Dad. Jody says he holds the fish way out front so that they look bigger. I'm guessing I get a call from my Dad saying the fish was actually even bigger than it looked! More grinning!

I think my Dad has the greatest "I just caught another huge fish" grin ever! I have to say that I am glad that Jody has found such a great group of guys to go do all that "man stuff" with, so I won't EVER have to go fishing in that freezing cold river. Thanks guys!

New Clothes

We just got a huge garbage sack full of hand-me-downs from Hayley and I was just dying to find out what fit Brielle. I was sure it would be a huge fight, so I chose the most important thing first -- the pretty green Christmas dress. Not only was I able to get it on her, but she was ecstatic. She went into full princess mode and started twirling and prancing all over the house. She made everyone look at her and that's when I realized that my biggest problem would be getting it off of her. It didn't take her long to figure out that she had more new things and the little turkey didn't stop until she'd tried on almost everything! She put on a mini fashion show for us and loved every minute of it. I think the sparkly red vest is her favorite, followed closely by the fluffy pink one. She is turning into such a GIRL!

Thanks Hayley, for the new clothes, and the entertainment!

Bedtime!

Jody is always willing to help me get the kids to bed...the problem is this is pretty much how he wears them out! No wonder we are all sleep deprived!

Sorry about how dark it is! I just love her little giggle so much that I had to post this!

Once again, the Wolfley clan waited until the last minute to get completely ready for Halloween! Thanks to a good friend, my three youngest children were happily bedecked in hand-me-downs, but Breje had too chose a costume herself and she just couldn't decide what to be! ( I wonder where she gets that problem?) In case you're not sure, she is a Go Go dancer. That was the last costume left in her size in our entire town. I am so happy that she was actually thrilled with it! We found her some really fun fake eyelashes to go with it (I wish I would've got a close up! She looked very Goldie Hawn from Laugh-In) and threw on her favorite hat and I think she looks pretty great! Spidey is actually Trayson in disguise and Kutter has been dying to be a Fire-fighter ever since fire prevention week at preschool. It took awhile to get Brielle to let us take her picture It took awhile to get Brielle to let us take her picture, even though she was absolutely thrilled with her costume. This one pretty much captures her mood the entire night. I didn't think she'd really grasp the concept of the costume, or the trick or treating so we forced this quick picture in anticipation that she would refuse to wear the costume very long and just beg to go home. I was so so wrong.

This little bug made it very clear that she felt adorable in her costume and that she should share her cute-ness with the world! She did the rounds at the trunk or treat a couple times and refused to let anyone else actually touch her bag of candy, saying "I hold it" or "mine" any time someone came close. By the end of the night she actually had "trick or treat" and "thank you" down at the appropriate times, but she spent most of the evening muttering "more, more, more, candy, more". It was hysterical, and a little bit disturbing! Does she look at all like she's on a sugar high?

Black and Blue

... and purple and green, and yes--a little bit pink! Trayson's played how many rough and tumble soccer games, football games, and basketball games, not to mention the numerous wrestling matches between him and his brother, and gets this fabulous shiner playing soccer with one other kid right in our front yard! This is just a couple hours after it happened. It got quite a bit more colorful by the next day, but he was feeling less cooperative so these will have to do. His dad says he looks tough! What do you think?

Have you ever taken a step back and looked at your life and thought maybe you were a little more blessed than you ought to be? That's how I've been feeling lately. I've had my fair share of stuff to deal with, but I have always been really blessed with the amazing people in my life. Anyone who knows me knows how wonderful my family is (yes, I like to brag). Well, the best part about military life is the incredible friends I've made over the years. To me, it's more proof that Heavenly Father knows each one of us as individuals. He knows I'm gonna need help! I think He especially knew how much I didn't want to move here, and from day one I've been able to call the best women in this town my friends. This lovely ladies have helped me millions of times -- they've taught me how to be a better wife, mother and friend, loaned me good books, shopped with me, consumed tons of calories with me, laughed with me, and even cried with me on occasion. As if that weren't enough they just threw me a fabulous birthday party. Yeah, that's right, I turned 33 this year and I got a party complete with tons of friends and the perfect cake (Caramel chocolate cheesecake, to be exact. Do they know me or what?!) I'm feeling pretty loved these days! Here's a picture of the beautiful ladies that made it. To those who couldn't come -- the food was worth having your picture on the Internet! We missed you!
Angie made the fabulous cake. We laughed at her a bit, because it took some muscle to cut through all that caramel! I'll copy the recipe at the end, because joy like that should definitely be shared!

I tried to get tons more pictures, but apparently my camera was having a very bad day. I'm sure all my friends will be very disappointed that the pictures I took of them eating all that good food did not turn out and make it to my blog! I did manage to get it working again so that I could take a picture of my fabulous presents all gathered together. Again, I feel so loved! Thank you all so much!

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

30 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Pour on melted caramel/pecan mixture and chill for 30 minutes.
To make the Caramel Filling: In a small saucepan, combine caramels and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold 1/3 of the filling into the melted chocolate, then pour the chocolate mixture back into the filling and mix until no streaks remain. Pour into crust.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until center is almost set. Place a pan of water on rack underneath cheesecake as it bakes to help keep it from cracking. Cool in oven with door cracked open. Refrigerate at least 5 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to US!

I can't believe it has been 5 whole years since Kutter surprised me with an early birthday present -- coming over two weeks early the day before my birthday! It's hard to believe that sweet, dimpled baby boy is already so old, but he is still constantly surprising us-- usually with mischief, but quite often with his sweet charm as well. I am so grateful that I've been able to share my birthday weekend with him ever since!
I totally messed-up and sent the pictures of his friend birthday party home on my Mom's computer (that's what I get for being such a lazy blogger). Let's just all assume that it was a fabulous party because I am so creative and talented and just the best mom ever1
Anyway, I did manage to save some pictures of the main event-- our birthday weekend with family. We were lucky enough to get Grandma, Grandma, Uncle Cody, Aunt Amy, and cousin Simon here for 3 whole days! We got presents, literally, the second everyone walked in the door. Can you tell how excited Kutter is? My birthday demand was a day of shopping and good food in Boise with my mom and Amy. Unfortunately, this meant bringing 5 kids along, as well. This picture pretty much tells the story of how thrilled we all were with the entire situation by the end of the day...

... on a positive note, despite tantrums, arguments, meltdowns, and lots of messy faces (Grandma brought out yummy bribes in full-force) we all got some pretty great buys. Especially me! Yay me!

Grandpa and Cody came through big time this weekend, spending most of their trip converting the boys' beds into bunk beds (pictures to come if we ever get it stained!) and then building the "kids" a rocket to launch in the back yard. That was a definite hit with everyone!

The best part of the whole weekend was watching the kids get to spend some serious bonding time with their cousin. It's been over a year since we've had these guys here, and it really meant a lot to me to see how well they get along! Trayson has always had a pretty strong bond with Simon, and this time Kutter was able to form a pretty great friendship with him, as well. Don't they look so deceptively sweet?

I think Simon, who is usually surrounded by little girls, really relished all the time he had to get out his aggression with Kutter. They were constantly wrestling, driving cars, and just being really really boyish. It was also a very pleasant surprise to see how much Simon and Brielle enjoyed each other. She just adored him the whole time and she clearly brought out his sweeter side!

Thanks, you guys, for packing so much into one weekend just for me and Kutter. For making that long, boring drive, and for making us feel so special!

Travis, Hayley, and girls, Just so you know, you were here in spirit-- especially when we were eating good food, shopping, laughing at dad, and listening to Momma Mia! We missed you!

The Pumpkin Patch

Kutter's preschool had the opportunity to visit the local pumpkin patch yesterday, so Brielle and I tagged along. They had a mini-maze for the kids, a tower of hay, bins of corn for the kids to play in, and then everyone got to choose their very own pumpkin to take home. (Kutter made me carry around the biggest one he could find!) Then we all loaded behind the tractor for a bitter cold hay ride and a picnic lunhc. The kids didn't seem to notice that it was positively freezing-- and eventually even Brielle convinced me to let her play in the corn. They had a blast!

Daddy's Little Girl

Jody has the day off, and nobody is enjoying it more than Brielle. She has a special smile that she saves just for him and it melts my heart everytime I see it. I'm so grateful that Jody has such a special relationship with each of our kids! Seeing that joy on her face really brightened my day, so I just had to share.

Brielle is still constantly keeping us on our toes. Her latest thing is to wake up early -- right in the middle of getting Breje and Trayson ready for school. I think she knows that I am only half awake and really distracted, so she'll be able to get away with more. It's totally working! I was doing Breje's hair on Friday and was tired of dragging Brielle out of all the bathroom drawers and it didn't take her long to figure out that I wasn't paying much attention to her. All of a sudden Breje looked down and just started laughing. This sweet face is what she saw...

...apparently she already knows where the eyeshadow goes (sort of)! The worst part is that, as soon as she saw me with the camera, she gathered up the rest of her contraband (a shirt from the dirty clothes, a couple hangers, lipstick, and a bottle of lotion) to pose with for her picture.

Then there's Kutter. I got home from Trayson's football game on Saturday to learn that Kutter had been particularly difficult, so I decided to ask him about it. I said, "Kutter, what happened today?" His response? "I made a decision to be more obedient to you and Dad." So what am I supposed to say to that?

TOUCHDOWN!

Trayson scored his very first touchdown today! It's an especially huge accomplishment considering his team had only scored one touchdown in his previous four games! Today was their fifth game and they finally scored touchdowns 2 and 3, resulting in their very first tie. Trayson ran the second one in from only the 10 yard line. I don't think I've ever seen him run so hard for so long! His team regarded him as a true hero! During the car ride home, Trayson told me that this was the greatest day of his entire life!

A Case of the Shakes

No worries -- our prolonged absence from the blogging world is not due to any serious illness in our family --unless you count the viruses that our beloved computer has contracted! Being about as computer illiterate as any human being can be in this day and age, I could never have guessed how troubled I would be at the loss of my computer. In fact, I'm pretty sure there were a few times that I actually did develop a case of the shakes (Mostly really late at night, when I ran out of House Hunters, finished my book, and could not shop on ebay or check my blogs!)

We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to my sweet mom, who actually offered to drive clear to Burley with my sis and her kids, just to bring me her computer. What a fabulous excuse for a quick visit and a yummy lunch! I wish I would've gotten pictures of us all giddy and excited for this 4-hour-drive-for-a-one-hour-lunch, but you'll all have to settle for some of the kids in their cute new duds (also thanks to Grandma, of course) whenever I get a chance.

For now, I thought I'd catch you all up on what we've been doing lately --which should be surprisingly simple even though it's been over 3 weeks. Basically, we attended sporting events -- those and tons and tons of practices! I have been so looking forward to the simple schedule that school would bring, and then our kids decided to join every activity imaginable! Kutter couldn't wait to start soccer again, Trayson chose to play football instead (although he tried real hard to convince us he could do both!) and is also starting his first year of piano, and Breje has piano, violin, and cross country! The sportphobic in me (yes, I am positive that this is a real word!) is so shocked that my kids are so willing to try so many new things, and even more surprised at how great they are doing!

Here's Trayson at his first football game. I think he's still disappointed that they don't get to tackle, but he's really been enjoying it!
I love this one of Breje at her first meet -- she was so nervous until she got out there and then she just ran her heart out. She actually took 6th place in her very first meet!

The best part about watching Breje be a part of this team is seeing how much fun she's had with all the girls.

I also had to share this one of her after her second meet, because I am still in shock that a kid of mine won a medal in an athletic competition! How cool is that?! If anyone out there is keeping in touch with any of my past PE teachers, I would so appreciate it if you could pass this one on!

No soccer pics yet, but they are sure to come. Jody and I are coaching Kutter's team this year and I'm pretty sure they are the cutest girl ever!

That's pretty much us in a nutshell. If it takes awhile until my next post, it's because I can't wait to see the latest posts from all of you!

Preschool Begins!

The first day of school is so different for boys and girls. My neice spent two days putting on fashion shows and agonizing over what to wear. Kutter had only one choice. This cute shirt which I bought a couple weeks ago and apparently labeled "his school shirt". The problem? This pic is of him last week, on his way to the openhouse to meet his teacher for the first time. He couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him wear the same shirt everytime he went to school, as it is his school shirt. Once we got that one cleared up, he told me to just grab him something and then urged me to hurry up, as he really wanted to get there quick. Uh oh, school didn't start for 3 more hours! I tried to kill some of the time with a mini photo-shoot, and he eventually got on board.

This is my boy putting on his best GQ look.

And doesn't he look so excited?!

This really only barely covers the level of excitement. He rushed right in as soon as we got there without even saying goodbye, then he got all embarrassed and hugged my legs, then saw his picture by his coat hook and got all happy again. I'm pretty sure that's how it's gonna go for the next couple weeks, but he came home with a picture which he signed all by himself, so the rest is all good!

One horse town

Ok, so maybe not. I think there are probably more horses than people around here, but Sugarlegs has definitely become the star around our house! We all headed out to saddle her for FHE last week -- I mostly went for the photo op. It's especially cute to see how fascinated little Brielle is by our new horse. She can be in the middle of a tantrum, but if we mention the horse she stops mid-cry and runs to get her shoes (or Daddy's boots).And, seriously, look how natural Breje looks hauling "tack" (that's the reins and bridle n stuff. No, I am not thrilled that I know that!) out to the corral! Is it just me, or does this look sort of like an ad for a cowgirl perfume or something?!Unfortunately, we didn't actually get to ride Sugarlegs that night. 15 minutes after we got outside, we looked up and saw this... ...nope, that's not a fire or a thunderstorm -- just dust and wind! Nasty! Brielle was so distraught that Jody had to take her out the next night. This is her after about an hour on the horse. Jody couldn't talk her into getting off and she eventually fell asleep!

Oh, yeah, and just a funny side note...Kutter sometimes calls his bike "Old Paint" and I think he is actually starting to believe that it's really a horse! We were all out watching the kids ride bikes the other night when Kutter suddenly crashed his bike for no apparent reason. He jumped up with huge tears in his eyes and, with the most serious expression imagineable says, "Dad, my bike bucked me off!"