utahcrocketts

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Merry Christmas Everyone!

As we enter December I start to think of all the Christmas' past and how much the girls have grown. They don't wake up at 4am begging to see what Santa brought. Now they sleep till 7 or so and go right back to bed after opening presents. We have gone from staying up all night to build toys, bikes, and playhouses to setting out nicely wrapped gifts under the tree, mainly because gift certificates and video games don't require assembly. I am reminded of the best Christmas Story ever! Its sort of long but I will give you the shortest version I can....

Shelby has never believed in Santa, possibly when she was 2 and didn't really get the whole Santa thing, but in reality has NEVER thought he or the Tooth fairy or the Easter bunny were real.
Sooooo a few years back, and me being the mom I am decided to prove to her he was real!
I had a lady in my Yoga class who's husband was Santa at the local mall (she played Mrs. Clause)
He was the real deal, real old, real white hair, real long white beard etc. So she told me to just write down a few things about each of my girls that only us and "Santa" could know. Easy enough...done.
I then let her know when we would be visiting the mall to see Santa and she would have Santa mention of few of these things to the girls. Score! or so I thought.
We go to the mall, wait in line for an hour, and when we get to the front of the line I pull my camera out so I can take a picture of the girls on Santa's lap and possibly Shelby's face!
The Elf in charge then begins to tell me I can't take my own picture....WHAT? I have taken my own picture for the last 12 years I tell her. She continues to raise her voice and tell me I have to buy a picture..."NO PERSONAL PICTURES" she shouts! As the scene escalates because my girls are getting on Santa's lap while I argue with the Elf that I am not putting my camera away and all 100 people in line are dead silent watching...Santa stands, and demands to know
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!". He helps my girls off his lap and heads towards the Elf and tells her "She is taking the DAMN picture with her own camera".
The Elf then starts into Santa telling him the "rules" to which he tells her "I am Santa and I makes the rules".
Well I got my pictures...but as far as Shelby believing, she couldn't wait to tell everyone at school that Santa swears and really does tell the elves what to do.
I learned my lesson...and now Shelby believes or disbelieves anything she wants!
We hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Another Addition!

Chester is a big brother!! We added Chelsea to our home this weekend.
She is 8 weeks old and so precious. She is light red and a mini dachshund too.
Her sister was adopted by the Coopers. We are so happy to have her and can't believe she gets the chance to grow up with her sister!
(I'm beginning to think we should open a pet shop or start building a really big boat.)

This is my Husband Tag!!!
He's not only my Husband and the Father of my children...He is truly my best friend!











1. What's his name? Kevin Crockett
2. How long have you been married? 16 years
3. Where did you meet? The Black Bird (A bar in Colorado Springs that neither of us were old enough to be in.)
4. How long did you date? 2 long
5. How old is he? 37 yrs
6. Who eats more? It depends…Meat, Kevin. Potatoes, Me.
7. Who said, "I love you" first? We can’t remember…but Kevin was the first to ask to go steady☺
8. Who is taller? Kevin duh….He’s 6’2”
9. Who sings better? He does…especially the Barry White low voice in my ear.
10. Who is smarter? That’s a toss up…He thinks he’s smarter but I remind him that he thought Pony’s were baby horses that haven’t grown yet…not a breed of small horses!
11. Who's temper is worse? It depends on the circumstances… we both can be hot heads.
12. Who does the laundry? That would be me every load for 16 years and I am proud of it! (Some of you might wonder why I have no t taught our girls? One load of whites turned pink is all I could take)
13. Who does the dishes? The girls, we do the cooking
14. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? All sides are the right side if you know what I mean;)
15. Who pays the bills? Both
16. Who mows the lawn? Both, and the girls
17. Who cooks dinner? Kevin, I help here and there but almost always Kevin
18. Who drives when you are together? Depends on who’s car we are in.
19. Who is more stubborn? Stubborn? We aren’t stubborn…what the hell kinda question is that!
20. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Always Kevin, I am never wrong;)
21. What do you admire most about him? He always keeps going…no matter what life throws at him he still gets up and gets going.
22. Who proposed? He did
23. What is his favorite color? It changes often so I really don’t know right at the moment.
24. Who has more siblings? Me, 3, Him, 2
25. Who wears the pants in the family? He thinks he does and I let him think that;)
26. What does he do that surprises you? I always think I know how he’ll react to a situation and then he does the complete opposite.
27. What is your favorite quality of his? He doesn’t let anyone push him around.
28. What is your favorite feature of his? Tall, Dark and Handsome, I like it all!
29. Does he have a hidden talent? He can pack a bag like no other... I think it’s a combination of military and railroad experience but he can make anything fit anywhere.

ARIEL IS 17!!!!!!!!

We can't believe it! Ariel turned 17 on October 16th.
I remember having her like it was yesterday...
I was at a 2 for 2 weeks, (2 weeks over due:) and finally she decided it was time, if you know anything about Ariel she does everything in her own time, this was no exception.
With only 4 hrs of labor she came, tiny, so small I was actually afraid to unwrap her from all the blankets they had her in. She was the smallest thing I had ever held. We stayed in the hospital for 2 days which is not the norm but she was not breathing when she first came out so they wanted to watch her. It was a blizzard the day I got to take her home, we made it home, got warm, got settled and then she started to cry and cry and cry...I fed her, held her, sang to her, fed her again and finally asked my mom why she wouldn't stop crying, "did you change her?" was all she said and in that moment I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I cried, while she cried and somehow I think she knew I was a beginner.
And so the last 17 years have gone...Her crying, me trying... and somehow she knows I am still just a beginner, trying so hard to guide her and yet somehow falling short but never giving up.
The only words that truly describe the last 17 years are sung by Reba McEntire "You're gonna be"
I love you Ariel, You are my whole life, my whole heart and the window to my soul. Mom

DISNEYLAND!!!!

We went to Disneyland for UEA weekend
and it was a blast!
Everything is decorated for Halloween which just happens to be one of our favorite holidays!
There is nothing like the Haunted Mansion during Halloween and the Tower of Terror was so much fun we rode it over and over again,
we even posed for a pic!

I also must mention the beautiful weather!!!!!! I wish I lived in sunny California, Utah is nice but it will never be southern Cali!

Halloween!!!

I just had to post some pics from Halloween's
past, the girls have always liked dressing up, and last year Kevin and I joined in the fun!

Ariel...we miss you and hope you find your way home soon!

Inside the Crockett Household

While Kevin was off for a few weeks we had this great idea to put wood flooring on our entire first floor...great idea but what an incredible amount of work. I can only speak from the hours spent at night after work helping out, But Kevin and Shelby are the two true workers here...Ariel and Payton helped when they could, But Kevin and Shelby stayed at it for 7 days straight knowing that every morning when they woke up they would work just as hard or even harder. As you can see it looks amazing...now its up to me to recualk all trim and update the paint throughout. I will keep you posted:) BTW Kevin found the nastiest thing in our toilet hole and look how proud he is!

Back Yard Makeover Part 2

Finally.... here are some of the pics from the backyard, we've used the pad and everything on it almost every night of the week. I wish Utah was an 80 degree climate all of the time, so we could live out here. The girls especially love roasting marshmallows and making smores with the fire pit. Kevin and I just like sitting out and visiting with friends. We are putting in garden boxes to the right where there is a pile of dirt in the pictures, and I am looking for a cool umbrella for up on the deck.

Shelby turns 14!

Shelby turned 14 on the 4th of August, As you can see she had the typical Birthday party....a bunch of teenage girls giggling and screaming all night.
We surprised Shelby with a visit from her friend Kensie...This was a surprise because Kensie lives in Colorado and Shelby had no idea she was coming!

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was on tour in Utah this weekend. We took this as an opportunity to ride the new frontrunner train into Salt Lake, and ride the trax system to the capitol. It was quite an adventure...but as you will see in the pics, some families must have much more time on their hands:) We ended our day with lunch at the gateway and a visit to the Hansen planetarium to see the Imax movie The Alps (It was very cool, a must see) again I included some photos of our trip, I thought the girls would be a little more excited about visiting the moon and mars...but as you see...not so much.

This is just a copy...
"Can we go now"....my parents are so weird.

I'm not sure why Kevin and Payton are crawling...but Shelby looks fabulous!

Payton and Shelby are weather girls.

Sunday Morning...

Our back yard makeover!

We are redoing our backyard...or for those who have seen it "doing it" would be a better description, fence and new gate on RV pad are just the beginning, a PARTY pad is being laid this week, so stay posted for pics of the overhaul...and the finished product should be fabulouso!!!

Kevin doing 360's on an IKEA Cart...