Family Picture

We were all set to take our family picture out on the front porch . . . and then the wind . . . and the snow . . . and the cold . . .

We took the picture inside.

This is the closest picture we took of everyone looking and smiling at the same time, with out any Photoshop involved.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Christmas Spirit

What to comment . . .

The Hurricane

Heavenly grabs the end of the Costco sized plastic wrap and starts walking through the house.

Notice the smile.

Lights

Todd, Tom, and Travis put up Christmas lights on the house. It is our third Christmas here, but the first with lights. Hooray. Thank you boys.

Happy Birthday, Nick

Yes, another birthday at our house.

We enjoyed a green cake instead of pink this time.

The Haircut

Chopped my hair off. It grows so fast now that I'm not trying any more.

Tradition

Another family tradition is pumpkin pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.
Except for Justin, who does not like pie crust.

Fun

Uncle Larry brought these blow up boxing gloves for the kids when he came to visit for Thanksgiving. All the kids had so much fun punching each other.

And they created a little static . . .

Pants

What happens when mom doesn't do a final clothing check before heading out the door to church?

At the end of Sacrament meeting, Jay stands up and I notice he is wearing a pair of his school pants.

Between Sunday School and Relief Society, I pass Justin in the hall and notice he is wearing Jay's pants, who is quite a bit shorter than he is. His comment, "They still look nice."


I went to pick Niko and Nick up from their Primary class. As I walk into the classroom, Niko is leaning up to the table and I notice his pants are on backwards.

Conversation With Nick

Nick: Mom, can I pick an apple out of the garage when we get home?

Me: You sure can.

Nick: Thank you, mom! I like it when people say yes to me. It makes my feelings so happy!

The Season

I'm always so anxious to get the holiday season going. I start playing Christmas music in early October, always too early for the rest of the family.

A couple of days ago I said to Todd, "I don't think I am ready to do this whole holiday thing again already."

Todd says, "Really, I was just about ready to get the decorations out."

Our Apples

What to do with all those apples . . .

First, make three pies.

The last one, complete with a finger hole in the top. Still tastes yummy.

Nap

After our apple adventure, Todd built the first fire of the season in the fireplace. I curled up on the couch with a blanket to warm up. Niko curled up next to me. Next thing I know we are fast asleep.

Thanks for the photo, Todd.

Apples

We took the family out to pick apples on Saturday.

Well . . . it was mostly buying bushels of apples and then walking through the apple orchards and gleaning a few right off the trees.

There is nothing quite like eating a fresh picked apple right off the tree on crisp fall afternoon.

Too Good to Eat

Grandma brought us a couple of jars of peaches. They were so beautiful in the jar. I almost didn't want to open them. Almost.

Todd and I shared a jar with Travis and Jenna when they came through town last month. The second bottle was opened to feed my 2 teenagers something soft and yummy after their wisdom teeth were removed.

Glad we opened them. They were even more delicious then they were beautiful!

Shelves

Todd built some shelves in the food storage room to hold the stockpiles I've been collecting during my bargain hunting adventures.

Wisdom Teeth

Kim and Thomas got to share the experience together . . . getting their wisdom teeth out. I'll forgo the really embarrassing photos for now.

We've had some fun giggles at their expense with their full cheeks and the memory loses before and after the surgery.

Gas

Am I dreaming?! $2.35

Trunk or Treat

Todd has just finished his 3rd Halloween party as the Ward Activities Chairman. There was food, fun, Trunk or Treat, and . . .

a visit from the fire department to turn off the fire alarms that went off due to too much smoke in the spook alley.

Some people will try anything to get released. Hee, hee, hee.

Halloween

Halloween 2008 . . . lots of kids to keep track of, lots of fun and excitement, too much candy.

Remember

I need to remember not to be the last one in the shower Sunday mornings. Even with two large water heaters, number 12 to bathe or shower does not get the joy of hot water.

Music

Tuesday night I got to hear Thomas play the Bass Guitar in the Jazz Band. It was so great to see and hear him play . . . and fun to watch all the little kids dancing in their seats to the music.

Tonight we get to hear Thomas sing in the choir.

Adding Pictures

I took pictures of Nick and Heavenly . . .

to add to our wall.

A Happy Birthday

Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes my way via cards, emails, facebook, blog comments, and phone calls.

I had a great day.

And thank you to Todd for making sure everyone who came by, knew how old I was . . .

And about the 40 thing . . . I am better today. Knowing I can not change it . . . I have just decided to stay young despite the actual chronological number.

Tomorrow

I know I should be mature about this whole thing.

I should just tell everyone that it doesn't bother me at all.

But the truth is . . . I am not very happy about this whole thing. It bothers me, a lot.

I don't want tomorrow to come.

40.

Fire

Todd and Jay took care of some of the extra weeds on Saturday.

Another Addition

We've added another creature to our home. This time on purpose. Her name is Rose, unless she ends up being a boy, then her name will be . . .

Snow

This picture was taken the first week of October . . . snow. Can you believe it?!

Preschool Fun

I'm with a bunch of amazing moms doing a co-op preschool group. It was my week to teach.

I'm kind of amazed how much I enjoyed it. I have done something similar with a couple of my older kids when they were young and I remember it being so stressful and dreading my turn to come around.

So . . . is it the wisdom of years that made this time around so much better or the fact that the kids were so great because they are being raised by these amazing mothers (and fathers)? I'd like to think it is some of both.

We learned about the letter P today with a People Parade and a Picnic with Pickles, Pretzels, Peanut Butter, Pancakes, Pineapple, and Popcorn. We played with Play dough and picked Pumpkins in the Pumpkin Patch.

I had a great time. I hope the kids did too.

Favorite Saves Today

A new item has been added to my right side bar: Favorite Saves Today.

Although I do not want my blog to become a money saving blog altogether, I do look for bargains almost everyday and thought it might be fun to include a little here.

I am going to try and post my favorite deals there, if I can keep up. If this new addition just magically disappears one day in the near or distant future, you will all know that it was too much for me to keep up on.

Happy Savings to All!

Happy Birthday, Jamis

Blowing Out the Candles

Birthday Decorations


The Spanking Line


Here is the tiny cut on top of Jamis' head, that bled a lot, that he obtained from running into the wall as he tried to escape at the end of the spanking line.

Happy Birthday, Jamis!