And now, the rest of the story.

A few weeks before Alayna wrote this wish list to Santa

We are not sure when she lost her Ipod, and have searched high and low turning our house and the cabin inside out in hopes to find it.  Knowing Santa is "magic" I think it was a last resort.

Unfortunately Santa is not that magic... :(

So he wrote her this note and set it out for Alayna Christmas morning.

It reads, 

Dear Alayna,

I love you very much.You are a very special girl, and I love watching you be good and trying to be good all year. I know it can be hard with a brother and sisters, but it makes me especially jolly when you are kind to them.

You have a very special place in my heart. I get so excited to hear what you want for Christmas each year. You are a creative one.

You asked me to find your Ipod touch this year. The problem is… I am not in the business of finding.  I give children toys and sometimes they loose them. I am sorry that you have misplaced your Ipod, but I know that you will do your best searching high and low to find it.  And if by chance you don’t find it, maybe that will be something you put on you list for next year. You are a good girl and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the surprises I brought to you this year.

                                                                                        

Much Love,

Santa

She was so funny Christmas morning about the letter.  She read it and announced to me "Santa thinks I'm creative!" but then would not let me see it.  It was just to her and she was COMPLETELY satisfied.

Fast forward to January 7th.  Ashtyn needed a bag for her ski lessons and found Alayna's Ipod in her old backpack.  We were all thrilled.  

But here is the BEST part...

The next morning Alayna found a bedazzled stitch case on her dresser and the Sir George Mud Fudge sitting on Alayna's shelf.  

Santa has still got his "MAGIC"

(I will keep my feelings of the elf on the shelf to myself except... The E.O.T.S. was one of my regrettable motherhood purchases and Sir George is an Elf on the SHELF. The.End. To the dismay of the monkeys, no craziness here.  Although I do appreciate his help in bringing this special late gift back from the north pole, so not a total regret.)

Fairies

Alayna has a very special relationship with the tooth fairy.

She leaves the T.F. notes, playgrounds, houses and of course, teeth.

She tells me that the T.F. uses those teeth. They are ground down to make their bread.

But then she read Junie B. First Grader; toothless wonder.

And according to Junie when you lose a tooth it goes to a baby who grows a new one.

The best part about this very special relationship is

it is so real to her.

We pulled off the freeway and there was a man with

a cardboard sign asking for money.

She asked, "why he doesn't just get a hammer and

knock out all his teeth and have the Tooth Fairy

bring him$32? Then he could buy some food."

BUT...She is not the only one in this family who believes in Fairies....

Maybe it's genetic, but Jay believes in Fairies

In the Sock Fairy

A lovely little fairy, that picks up his socks since he can't walk barefoot on the carpet before bed.

So every night he gets in bed, pulls his socks off and tosses them to the side and magically by the time he gets in bed the next night they are gone and he pulls his socks off again and tosses them to the side.

He also believes in the T.P. Fairy.

This fairy is a little more popular, You know the one that takes the used cardboard roll of toilet paper off the holder and replaces it with the one sitting on top.

As for me, I keep hoping the weeding fairy and the cleaning fairy visit me.....soon.

How long does it take to get to Finland?

Alayna: Mom! can you believe it takes five and a half days to get to Finland?

Mom: Oh really?

Alayna: That is a really long time, I don't know if I want to go there now.

Mom: How do you know it takes five and a half days?

Alayna: Because on the map, it takes one thumb to get to Idaho and that is 4 hours, so I measured how many thumbs to Finland AhhhhND,

it was five and a half days.

I love my Alayna.

St George 1/2

The fourth annual sisters St George 1/2 marathon. I love this run because the course is easy and it gives me a reason to train througout the holidays. This year I did pretty good training until we went to the cabin for a week in Dec only to return with a sinus infection and a cold. I finished with a 10min/mi, which is better than I thought. The few runs I did get in were not so promising. This year they added a Kids run. Ashtyn and Alayna ran a 1/2 mile and Jacob ran 200 meters with Kennedy. It was fun for them to get excited about it. I tried to make a video (the quality is awful and the music is off. There is a little better one youtube) and it is amazing how personalities come out in running as well. Ashtyn started out in a dead sprint, using her arms as dad has told her to and Alayna, well....the video/pictures say it all. "what was I thinking?!?"
.

Jacob ran but half way through begged me to hold his hand. When I told mom this she said she had a similar experience when She ran with Ben in the fourth grade. He said "mom I think I can make it if you just hold my hand". As a mother those words have such a deep meaning.

The weekend was more than just a run. We enjoyed a massage, shopping, good food, and the very best part, talking and laughing with my sisters (and sister in law, who really should just be called a sister). I am so grateful that even when 2 sisters get to leave their kids at home and one has a husband to help, they all were such great support with my THREE kids and no husband. Chad tended here and there Emily and Emily chased them while we finished the 1/2. Josie and Emily took over and packed me, the girls, the car and cleaned up when I found the 5 foot scratch on my mother in laws hard wood floor and was "freaking out". I loved their stories letting me know I am not alone in all my insecurities, frustrations and successes in parenting.

The run was long but I was so glad to have it over. At mile 10 there was a Man and his son outside his house with their own aid station, water, Gatorade, pretzels, candy, m&ms, and COKE. It made me laugh to see the coke and decided why not. The carbonation on my throat was like magic fairy pixie sparkles. It made me smile for the next 2.5 miles. Back at mile 3 they were passing out tongue depressors of petroleum jelly. I thought What a good idea, for those chaffing arm pits. Well the male in front of me needed one and to my shock did not use it for his arm pit. (eeewww!!!) In the future I will not look at at the used depressor as it is flicked to the side of the trail and I will wear layers of rubber gloves if I ever work a race and have to pick them up.

Only 289 days till halloween!

I love looking at pictures from other peoples blog so I decided my blog will have lots of pictures. This means I have to be better at taking pictures.

I know it is January and Halloween is long past or looking the other way, Halloween won't be here for a long time, but nothing makes my smile more than seeing little monkeys (kids) in their halloween costumes.

Ashtyn was a dead wedding bride and let Alayna walk with her in the school parade. Alayna, you've guessed, was Ariel. Her preschool went to gardner village to see the witches. She loved it. And Jacob was going to be a baby until my MIL (mother in law) Venda bought him a pirate costume. At first I thought how rediculous to put a 9 week old baby in a costume, but then I put him in it and he was so cute. Look out Johnny Depp, Captain Jake has arrived :)