Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Yee-Hawww!

Yea the rain turned to SNOW! OH, I couldn't keep the kids out of the snow today, they were SO excited!! We missed the first official snow when we were in PA... so this was fun to watch them play in the snow... here are a few pictures of the 15 minutes of fun!

Note to self: Self, buy Will a ski jacket and some snow boots...

Cheese
He was happy to be out there...
he just smiles for 1/2 a milla second and I can never catch it
This is a cute pic of the two,
as you can see, Will has Caitlin's Crocks on...
I guess he thinks since Caitlin's snow boots are pink...
he needs to wear pink shoes...
Pink does not keep you warm...silly boy.

I love this pointy hat...

Pepper and Caitlin

catching snow flakes on her nose!

this was Will's 'can we go in now' face...

Caitlin was SO proud that she could balance

this snow ball on her head. Funny girl!

C-Bug and Mommy

Must be the Nordic blood... because i could not get Caitlin to come inside out of the snow, even though her fingers were about to fall off... So i told her she could bring the snow inside and put it in a bowl. THIS was cool, she thought. she sat down at the table and said ... "Spoon Please!" and sat and ate ALL of her snow.

That reminds me, when I was little (13 ish), my friend Erin and I made a fun treat out of fresh clean snow from one of the blizzards that canceled school for almost a week!! We played Donkey Kong for 4 days straight with our other buddies, Chrissy and Courtney... good times!

Here's the recipe in case you get snowed in and have run out of your other food... or you just want to try it. Kids LOVE IT!

PS. When collecting your snow...beware of yellow snow. Do not eat, it's NOT lemon flavored!

Also, i don't think you need to use the whole can of milk... save some for later.

"Yummy Snow"

Large Bowl of FRESH (clean) snow
Can sweetened condensed milk

Vanilla flavoring

Halloween...

I must be the last person in the world to blog about Halloween... I mean, Come on Amanda... it was almost 5 days ago... Oh Well, the fact that I actually got to it is amazing...

Disclaimer: my time is limited during the day, because i only feel well for a few hours, and then my pregnancy 'morning sickness' kicks in and hangs out and has a party for more than half the day... starting in the late afternoon-continuing well after the kids go to bed... Yesterday, I felt like I had the Flu... Blahhh. Anyway, enough from me... here are our Halloween Pictures...

(for those of you waiting for 'more PA trip pictures' see the above disclaimer... plus, they are stuck on our Laptop till my full time working/student husband surfaces... that is where they will stay... SOON, I promise!!! JUSTIN'S ADDITION: THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE.)

Love and Stuff... Amanda :)

Enjoy!

Halloween 2008

Mmm, Fisher Man Justin... I was a fish (naturally!) dressed as a very tired house wife and mother... sorry, no picture available!
Publishers Clearing House Winner: Thelma and Ed McMahon (Justin's Sister Lindsey and Special Someone Keith)

Thomas the Train, toot-toot!

Snow White:

The Little Trick or Treaters... "Cheese"

Halloween Highlight:

After visiting Justin's parents, we headed over to Nana and Papa's house to show them Caitlin and Will's costumes! We were outside talking with N & P, when a large group of kids and parents were gathered a few houses down...

Caitlin noticed that one of the Dads in this group was wearing a "Mr. Incredible" shirt! Being the movie of the week at our house, of course she got excited! This was the following (one-sided) conversation Justin and I witnessed...

"Incredible... HEY, Incredible!!... It's ME... Cakelin! HEY!! Incredible... I talking to you!"

Then she started off to go see him... but then stopped and said... "Daddy. Come ON!" She ran right up to him and said hello... This man was sort of confused why this little girl was talking to him... but we explained how much she loves that move... he was pretty nice about it!

Halloween-Not-So-Much-of-A-Highlight (but now we laugh about it!)

Caitlin... so, excited... didn't eat her dinner... BUT she ate a lot of candy (i really don't know HOW that happened, because we didn't even go trick-or-treating... we only stopped by Justin's parents and Grandparents house! (Calculate that one for me!!)... ANYWAY... Caitlin came into our room at 4 am in the morning, climbed up on our bed... and threw-up all over our comforter and it just so happened that Pepper was sitting right there... poor dog, got the worst of it!

Halloween: it's one of my favorite and least favorite holidays!

Adams Family-- Big NEWS!!!

First! This picture was taken of Shelly and Brandon after Shelly's baptism!! Oct 25th 2008! Shelly we are so happy for you!!
Second: THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!! WAHHHHH-HOOOOOOOO!

Welcome to the family Shelly! You and Brandon compliment each other so well! And only a small smidgen of jealously, your kids will be taller than mine... :)
Love you both, can't wait till January!

Elder Cracroft got his call!!

9 o'clock last night, surrounded by friends and family, PARKER opened his highly-anticipated mission call! We are THRILLED for him to serve the Lord in the

Tacoma, Washington Mission!!!

(a mini side note, for all Twilight fans out there, YES Forks, Washington is in that Mission!!!)

... and apparently I need to be better at taking pictures, because this is the most recent picture I have of Parker...it was taken two years ago when we were in Mexico for Christmas! What's wrong with me??

We love you, Park, and are excited for you and the work you will do, and the man you will become...

and they only real 'sad' part about him leaving... is that he leaves in exactly 2 months,

Dec 31!!! Two days after he turns 19!! We are so proud of you!!!

What to blog...?

OK, so i've been sort of 'check out' for a few weeks... on and off sickness with pregnancy... so my creative juices are not really flowing..

but i thougth since Halloween is almost here... (and i saw this on my good friend, Panda's blog) I thougth i'd share "past Halloween pictures" with you too (great idea, P!)... can't wait to show you what Caitlin and Will's costumes are this year!! :)

Halloween 2002

This was our first Halloween as a newly married couple! I was a witch, and Justin was Harry Potter! He Looked AWESOME! I have a hard copy picture of it, and it's by far one of my favortie pictures of us ever!... (that was before we owned a digital camera...) so i'll see what i can do to find someone with a scanner.) Anyone?

Halloween 2003

Moe Dressed up as a Cow!

And this is the best picture of Justin i could come up with, he was a Harley Davidson dude, he had a mustache and everything...

here are are few more goofie pictures...

Halloween 2004

I was 4 months pregnant with Caitlin, I dressed up as Moe!!! sort of...

Halloween 2005
Auntie Linds gave this cute little Hawaiian dress to Caitlin... What a cutie! (7 months old)

Halloween 2006 Justin dressed up at work as a Loan Officer (that's when he worked at Zion's Bank)... with cowboy boots, hat and badge! cleaver!

Caitlin was Squirt from Finding Nemo

Will was a darling Winnie the Pooh

2007 Halloween Caitlin was a 'B-Bug'

Justin was some sort of doctor or person who draws your blood, Will was a crying fire man... awesome.

Halloween is so much fun! Candy and Dressing up! two of my favorite things!

TAG: 7 Random Facts about ME!!

Sorry these are kind of lengthy... but I love to tell stories... I just wish I had pictures to go with all of them! Enjoy my randomness...

1. I was born and lived in CA till I was about 11 years old. One day when I was about 4 or 5... I was outside riding my 'trike' in the front yard with my family, and just so happened... that Dennis DeYoung (from the Styx-80's band) was filming a music video for his song called Desert Moon(click here to watch music video). Anyway, Mr. DeYoung had a son around my age... and i invited him to come into my back yard to play in the sand box... when all of a sudden Mr. DeYoung freaks out, because his son was "missing"... Everyone pointed him in our direction... and that's when he saw me... and insisted that i be a part of his music video! My parents had to sign oodles of paper work... and then i 'got to work', (what's hard about being cute? Ha...) Anyway, they were so excited... a STAR in the family! but to their dismay... when the video was released... turned out that I was 'cut' out of the video... (if you happen to watch the video, 'my scene' would have been at the 'party' either in the back yard with all the drinking happy people... or on the front porch... i can't remember that far back... but i do remember all the big screens and lights they had up all around the house... and... I think there was pizza!

2. I clean and organize the house when I'm frustrated or mad! (Justin just said... so does that mean you are happy when the house is messy? Funny, Just!)

3. I once got a bloody nose in the line at the super market... and they had to lay me down on the conveyor belt to get it to stop bleeding... my mom says that I was picking my nose... (but I would never actually tell you that... out of pure embarrassment, of course!) This would have been after the music video filming... I was probably just trying to get attention! :)

4. I LOVE movies, esp. GOING to the movies... movie theatre buttered popcorn... candy... cute date named Justin... Whoa, absolutely one of my favorite things! I also enjoy pre-views (and movie trailers), the ones that are so good they make you forget what movie you actually paid to see... and then it's like a surprise when the movies starts... haha! Sometimes for fun I'll go on http://www.moviefone.com/ and watch trailers... Justin and I did this for an hour once... it was awesome!

5. When I was a senior in high school I was voted by my fellow class mates to participate as one of 12 girls in the longest on going 4th of July celebration on the east cost!!! The Queen of Candles Court! This was a lot of fun, and totally unexpected!!! I got to ride in a parade on top of a fancy sports car (while walking in front of us,) a boy scout carried a sign with my name printed on it! (how cool is that!?) I had my picture in the news paper along with fun facts, services, interests, and place of worship... etc! Then on the night of the 4th, I was escorted by my father on to a beautiful stage, wearing a festive red gown holding a gorgeous flowers with an unlit candle in the center. They gave a 'Miss America' intro about me and each of the other 12 girls. Then they announced the winner, and then the winner from the year before lights the candle of this years winner (who has moved to the center of the stage!) The winner then lights the candles of the girls to her right and left ... and the flame is passed down so that each girl receives the light, then the last girl (that was me, because I'm the shortest!) lights the torch that a boy scout holds... then those two proceed to light thousands and thousands of candles that are set up over a spring that runs through the park... It was an amazing thing to be part of... and so beautiful... this is followed by a GREAT fire work show!

6. The summer after my first year of college, I worked in a Microbiology Lab at Johnson and Johnson in Lancaster Pa. I made media (for pee tree dishes and test tubes etc...) and I also cleaned and 'cooked' the tested things... It was a sweet job... (actually the micro lab stank... but I got used to by the end of the summer!) I started work at 7 am and was finished by 2:30!! Sometimes I'd get there... and have nothing to do... I fell asleep once and woke up at like 8 or 8:30 when the microbiologists came into work. haha... yeah, i drooled on the counter...

7. New obsession: Quilting... (and fabrics...) it's like... when I have a bad day, I want to drop everything and head to Joann's and look at fabrics... and quilting tools and books... (what a 'grandma' dork I've become!) but I've decided that I don't care... I'm learning a fun (yet expensive) Hobey that connects me to my ancestors! In a way, I find it therapeutic and relaxing!

Now TAG 7 Friends: Rachel, Amy A, Amy G, Panda, Lindsey, Emily, Chrissy!! and because he's so Random to begin with... Kevin, your my bonus tag! READY GO!

one... two... THREE!

"Three... it's a magic number..."

Three's Company

Three Little Pigs

The Three Stooges

Three trimesters

Goldie Locks and the Three Bears

"I don't know's on Third"

Shrek the Third

Thirdy-something (that's a stretch)

Third Eye Blind

Three Primary Colors!

"Knock Three times on the ceiling if you want me..."

Third Rock from the Sun

My Three Sons

Hey Guess what??

Amanda's a Third!!

And...

WE are SO SO SO excited to announce that we are expecting our very own number Three!!

May 2009

So... I guess that means we'll be a Party of Five!

Whooof...

I'm sick. Prego sick...

Tag...

Fun Tag

1. Go to your pictures

2. Upload 4th picture of 4th folder

3. Post

4. Tag four of your friends (Dani, Tracy, Panda, Brandon!)

This was too fun not to share... this was back in 2004... it was someones birthday... because i made this really awesome cake that Kevin is devouring... (go kev!) I love remembering the fun we had playing with Amy and Kevin while they lived in Utah... nothing says PARTY like a game of CLUE!!!

I spy!!

Notice anything different about our blog???


Hehe!

Enjoying the EC!

Here's a little pictoral update from the road... our trip back to Pennsylvania and Virginia has been a lot of fun so far!
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Here's Will, being totally stoked to find out a trip to Grammy and Papa's house means even MORE Thomas trains to play with!!


And Caitlin feels right at home playing the little artiste....


Making sugar cookies with Grammy and Auntie Emily...


Amanda was fortunate to attend a reflexology training seminar for two days with Mom.
Reflexologists have to attend courses like this one to maintain their certification, and Amanda jumped at the chance to get trained for the first time officially while Mom attended for certification.


More cookie factory adventures!


Finally on Friday, Justin got to fly into town after a lonely week as a bachelor. It was so great to be reunited, and we got to spend the next two days in the magical place where we met! Here's Justin reenacting that moment over 8 years ago of walking through these doors for the first time.


One of many pictures we took together that are very similar in pose and location to photos we took as young lovebirds between 2000-2002. This one mimics a predecessor taken on Conference Sunday, 2000!


In so many ways, SVU has not changed a bit. But, in other ways, the campus has experienced some beautiful changes and developments! Among the most notable are the addition of the new student ward chapel and the new student dorms (up on the hill).


Another reenactment. :)


Amanda wanted to go down in the basement of Robey to see the old mailboxes. While they had been renumbered, we still did our best to remember about where our boxes were.


Beautiful, beautiful entrance to the campus! We were amazed at how green the leaves still were for the most part... it's been unnormally dry in the east in recent years. Rivers were a lot lower than before. It's a hunch that the lower water levels are related to the late greenness of the trees.


Once upon a time, Justin painted Amanda's toenails in this very spot. :)


Justin walking across the front lawn. "Can you define the word 'path' for me, Mr. Cracroft?" Nice purse, buddy.


Oh, these hallowed halls... so much enlightenment took place for us here!


What a cute pair we make! SO fun to share a couple of days together sans children (thank you, Adams parents and sisters) where it all began EIGHT years ago!!


Our buddy Trent, on our way into Nick's for a little Italian grub...


Travis and Ericka, about to be parents (next month)!


The day was absolutely PERFECT for a football game... perhaps even a little too nice, if that's possible. We got a little more sun than planned, and Amanda dressed too warm... a perfect excuse to buy a new SV t-shirt!


Justin is the apple of Amanda's eye, for sure! :)


Yep! SVU has a football team now! They played a great game but had quite a battle with Frostburg State in the end, losing by eight points.


One of our favorite spots... the Parkway!


We made a new friend up there!


And his owner was sweet enough to offer to snap our photo for us! Thank you!


Seriously, this has to be one of the most beautiful roads in the world. The surroundings are so picturesque, and the road itself is smooth beyond compare with those velvety grass shoulders manicured on either side. Amanda agreed to come back with me in the near future for top to bottom ride of the entire thing... ON MOTORCYCLES!


So gorgeous!


Who's that cute gal?


We stopped at Otter Creek. There was this great gift shop-slash-restaurant there with one of the few campgrounds along the parkway. We enjoyed a sandwich/salad and a divine blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream! We want to come back with the kids for a little camping excursion someday!

Attempt at a reenactment on the James River Footbridge, but alas, we were a little too late when it came to daylight. Amanda told me that our original visit to this spot was one of her first moments when she knew she wanted to marry me. Lucky, lucky me!

That's it for now! We're now spending some quality time with the whole Adams crew in Lititz, and the weather couldn't be more perfect here! Sounds like our timing was perfect, with winter hitting early and in full force back home in SLC. Hmm... maybe we'll just stay?!?

Safety in Obedience

Amanda is always the queen of keeping this blog updated. I may sound biased, but I love her posts and am missing them right now while she's busy with her family. I've had a unique experience of having time to myself I don't normally get, and one of the things I've done is take a little more time to read some great things I should read more often... like the Ensign. Forgive me for copying and pasting, but I was very impressed by this section on obedience from President Uchtdorf's latest message in the October issue, and I just wanted to share. (On that note, one of the brethren--I'm thinking either Uchtdorf or Monson--specifically spoke about sharing our beliefs, even through blogging, during a conference talk)

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We recognize that we are living in a time of turmoil, disaster, and war. We and many others feel strongly the great need for a “defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” (D&C 115:6). How do we find such a place of safety? President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught: “Our safety lies in the virtue of our lives. Our strength lies in our righteousness.”3

Recall with me how Jesus Christ instructed His Apostles, clearly and directly, at the beginning of His mortal ministry: “[Come,] follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). This was also the beginning of the ministry of the Twelve Apostles, and I suspect that they had a feeling of inadequacy. May I suggest that the Savior Himself teaches us here a lesson about core doctrine and priorities in life. Individually, we need to first “follow Him,” and as we do this, the Savior will bless us beyond our own capacity to become what He wants us to be.

To follow Christ is to become more like Him. It is to learn from His character. As spirit children of our Heavenly Father, we do have the potential to incorporate Christlike attributes into our life and character. The Savior invites us to learn His gospel by living His teachings. To follow Him is to apply correct principles and then witness for ourselves the blessings that follow. This process is very complex and very simple at the same time. Ancient and modern prophets described it with three words: “Keep the commandments”—nothing more, nothing less.

Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal with real life. The test comes in practicing what we proclaim. The reality check comes when Christlike attributes need to become visible in our lives—as husband or wife, as father or mother, as son or daughter, in our friendships, in our employment, in our business, and in our recreation. We can recognize our growth, as can those around us, as we gradually increase our capacity to “act in all holiness before [Him]” (D&C 43:9).

The scriptures describe a number of Christlike attributes we need to develop during the course of our lives. They include knowledge and humility, charity and love, obedience and diligence, faith and hope (see D&C 4:5–6). These personal character qualities stand independent of the organizational status of our Church unit, our economic circumstances, our family situation, culture, race, or language. Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They cannot be developed without His help.