Christmas Morning

 We witnessed a Christmas miracle....yes that is my two daughters actually hugging each other!  I think they went about two hours without fighting. 

 Aunt Jenni was in charge of putting the toys together...which was a chore...the packaging on some of those toys is intense!

 We also got to talk to Josh.  He is serving his mission in Virginia.  So much has changed since he left.....  He has been a great missionary and we are looking forward to him returning in the spring.

 Santa brought all the little girls dollies.  Surprisingly Mattie was the most into them.  She would love on them and hold them and give them wet slobbery kisses.

 My dad made this awesome doll bed for Avery's doll.  He is so talented and did an amazing job, especially on such short notice.  Hopefully I will get around to painting it white and making some bedding for it soon.

I thought it would be fun to have stockings for all my family members to open.  I am sure my grandpa's treats were confiscated by my grandma.  He is supposed to limit his sugar, but since it was Christmas I thought he deserved a few extra sweeties! 

Christmas Eve

 This Christmas was awesome.  I had most of my family at our house this year and it was awesome!  We had a yummy dinner, frosted cookies for Santa, and had a cute little nativity.  The girls loved playing their parts.  It was so fun to have it in our new house and to actually be able to have room for everyone.

 The cutest little Marry and a very handsome Joseph in a smashing blue bath robe.

 Our wonderful audience.  My mom, grandpa, grandma, and sister in law Jess.  (For some reason my sister Jenni and my dad did not make it in the picture...but they were there too:)

 Credit also goes out to our technical support.  Ron and Michelle provided the music and lighting through their phones.  Technology really took our little program up a notch:) 

My sister and her husband played the shepherds and Avery was an angel and a wise man.

And of course following tradition...the girls got to open their pajamas...but by this time of night they were not feeling particularly photogenic.

Oh ya...we have a blog...

 I thought I would make a few posts to catch up this poor neglected blog.  So here are a few pictures from Hailey and her cousin Morgan's combined birthday party.  I made the cake and sadly it did not turn out how I had planned in my head....I had major frosting issues....oh well...it was pink...and that was all the girls cared about!

 Birthday girls!

 Of course Matt was the life of the party....this is what happens when you fall asleep at a princess party...you get a makeover.

 We had a fun Halloween.  The weather was actually really nice...notice we are not wearing snow suites!!  Hailey of course had to be a princess and she was decked out in jewels and to top it off...cowgirl boots!  Mattie was Raggedy Ann and Avery was a Lala Loopsy.  (I had to google what that was when I was making her costume)

We had a low key Thanksgiving at Matt's Grandmas house.  It was the smallest Erickson party I have ever been to.  I think there was less then twenty people.  I also introduced Matt to black Friday shopping.  He stood in line for about 5 hours so he could purchase our TV.  He was a trooper and stuck it out in the bitter cold.  We felt like we had won the battle and the reward was worth it...until a month later when they had the same TV on sale for the same price.

Hailey Turns 3

 Mattie....she is teething...and starting to crawl...needless to say she is a handful!

 We celebrated Hailey's birthday on Monday and kept things pretty simple.  We are doing a combined birthday with her cousin on Sunday so instead of cake we just went out to eat and got some yummy dinner and dessert.  The owner of the restaurant is a good friend and when he found out it was Hailey's birthday he brought out an ice cream sundae with a candle as well as a  large antique megaphone and told the whole restaurant that it was her birthday and we all sang to her.  She was a little embarrassed.....but got over it when she got to eat her ice cream.

 Her main gift was this princess costume.  Hailey loves princesses and loves to dress up....so I thought this outfit would go over well.  When she opened it she got so excited and squealed with delight.  She has worn that outfit everyday since she got it.

My funny toothless child.  Poor girl...I forget that she can't eat certain foods because her front teeth are missing  and can't chew them.  I told her to eat an apple as a snack the other day and she just looked at me and said, "uhmm how...I have no teeth to bite it!"  I guess I forget what it is like to be toothless.

More house pictures

 It is almost finished!!!!!!!!!!  We had some issues with the stucco.  I chose to do something different then everyone in my subdivision....or Idaho Falls for that matter and it back fired a bit.  The first round was awful...so I made them come back and do a second layer and it looks better.  So now I am still not used to the texture.  I like it and then I am nervous because it is not what everyone else is doing....oh well to be an individual or to do what everyone else is doing...that is the question:)

 My fireplace....I love how it turned out...So again I was doubting my choices....I chose to go white...and match my trim....instead of the color of my cabinets and then use tile on the inside.  We ended up using the same tile that is in my entry way and I think it turned out great.

 My kitchen bask splash....This was also another decision that I was nervous to see how it would turn out.  I think once my microwave gets installed it will look better...also the gray slate will look better once it is sealed.  I hope it is not too busy....but I really don't have a lot of it.....so there it is.

Back side of the house...originally this patio was going to be stained and stamped....but we had some issues with the concrete....so we had to cut back.  Eventually I would like to go back and stain it.

Rock Work Front Window

House update

The stucco bands are finished and the rest of the stucco is ready for the final color....this grey color is not the actual color.

 Front door

 Kitchen and dinning room...the hardwood floors are still dusty....but I love the color of the floors.

 Master bedroom

 laundry room

 Window in the office

 secret door in the girls closet....it leads under the stairs and into the toy room.

Front entry...I love how it turned out with the tile and the bench.

Mattie Faye

 Just a little update for the family.  Mattie is seven almost eight months old.  She has two bottom teeth and she is almost to the point of crawling.  She has learned to scream from her sisters and she practices this a lot.  I have a feeling I have another fireball on my hand.

Favorite Soup

I just wanted to post this recipe because....I love it...sorry no pick of the soup but it is so good.  This recipe came from a wonderful lady and cook in my ward.  Brenda is an amazing women and she made this for my family after we had Mattie.  Since then I have made this a lot.

 

 

South West White Chili

 

1 cup chopped onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp round red pepper

3 15 oz cans great northern beans (drained and rinsed)

2 4 oz diced green chilies

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cup shredded cheese

sour cream for top.

 

Combine (except cheese and sour cream)

cook 7-8 hours on low or 3.5 to 4 hours on high

 

Serve with cheese and sour cream and you can also put corn chip on the bottom of bowls and then add chili.

 

I hope you try it.

House update

 Prepping for the stucco and rock.  I love my black door...now lets hope my stucco color looks as good as I hoped it would.

 My kitchen...The floor is not finished...but I love my dark wood floors.

 The garage...the floors in here are covered...but they are a beautiful stained concrete...I love it!

 My front door.

 A view into my kitchen and dinning room

 Mattie's room...I love her little window seat.  My carpenter designed it and made little compartments to store toys....it should come in handy.

The living room....I was surprised to see my paint.  It was supposed to be all grey..but it has a tint of blue in it....it has taken a bit to get used to ...but I think I really like it.

Duck Hunting Baby Shower

 My friend Brittany is excepting her first baby...a baby boy! So my friend Karrie decided to go away from the traditional cutesie baby themes.  Brittaney's husband nick is a big duck hunter so we thought it would be fun to do more of a hunting theme.

 Karrie made this adorable banner that she gave to the mommy to be...and we decorated with duck hunting decoys.  She also had these awesome Christmas lights that were made from shot gun shells....it was pretty cute.

 The mommy to be and some awesome ladies from our ward.....we have an amazing ward.

We had a girly dinner....with a Southwest salad, chips and fresh salsa, fruit salad, raspberry peach lemonade, and cream puffs.  I loved seeing all the fun boy outfits she got for her little baby.  I loved the sporty pj's...so different then all the pink and frills we have at our house.... and I could not resist by getting her little boy some camo pants.....every future hunter needs to sport some camo.

First Grade

 Avery started first grade this month! 

She also can ride her bike to school now.  Matt rode with her on the first day.  We have not let her go yet without us riding with her....mostly because I am still afraid to have her cross the busy rode.  There is a lot of traffic (for Tetonia) in the mornings and I am so nervous to have her cross the street by herself.  She assures me that she can do it and she doesn't need me, but I am just a paranoid mommy.