Exploding Tree

The kids were SO excited to decorate the tree. They bugged me all weekend, and finally for Family Home Evening we got it done. It sure is a lot bigger in our living room than it was on the mountain. It took seven strings of lights , and we only tipped it over a couple times. After the kids went to bed, I noticed a funny thing. The tree kept getting brighter...and brighter...and brighter, until...

IT EXPLODED!

OK, so not really, but are those some cool pictures, or what? I had so much fun. :-)

Getting Christmas Started

Saturday we went to see Santa Claus! The kids were so excited...

...except Jennie. I tried to set her on his lap, and she cried for 30 minutes following that terrible experience of .5 seconds on Santa's lap.

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Then we went to cut down a Christmas tree! Everyone had to take a turn trying to cut the tree down, but after 30 minutes of that, Jef took over.

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On our way home we stopped by the old Uranium mines .

They are supposed to be closed off, but long before we arrived some helpful person and their 4x4 pulled the gate out for us so we could actually go inside. (Which the mother of this family was just thrilled about.)

Wonder Woman

The day after Thanksgiving I got up and hit the 5:00am sales. It was crazy. People were literally running through the stores, and I was sure I would be trampled at one point when they opened the doors of Wal-Mart and everyone started pushing forward. But, hey, I got some great stuff at a great price, so what are a few bumps and bruises, right? I didn't even take a nap that day (except for maybe a little one in the car - No, I wasn't driving), and then stayed up until 1:00am getting out Christmas stuff. Just call me Wonder Woman. :-)
And we didn't even spend the day sitting around, either. We went everywhere! We went and met Jessica's friend Kavika (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong, but that's my best shot. I'm sure it would help to know a little Hawaiian.) Then we went over to Whitmores for a real Mexican lunch. Sopes and Horchata and something else that involves rice and sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon that I can't remember the name - but it tasted good, so we'll just call it Yummy. Then, of course, up to Forsytheville for another Thanksgiving dinner (we were very well fed that day) and... a karaoke party! Mike makes quite the amazing Elvis, I must say. And, of course, Momma is an incredible singer. Lisa and Shawn have obviously had some practice, but the rest of us left quite a bit to be desired. We'll keep practicing for next year. :-)

Cousins

We had a great time at Loni's for Thanksgiving. There was lots and lots of great food, and we had lots of fun. And what's the best part of Thanksgiving?

COUSINS, OF COURSE!

Lydia was passed around quite a bit and had a great time visiting with everyone. Here she is with Kellie.

Jennie and Katrina doing a little artwork while waiting for dinner.

Jennie and Madeline sharing some kind of inside joke. It's a cousin thing.

Emily, Elizabeth, and James.

Andrew, Joshua, and, let's see... Yep, that's Ben, alright.
Josiah (I think), Emily, Robyn, Charity, and Katrina

Charity and Robyn show off their original lego creation.

Happy Thanksgiving

We're off to Loni's for Thanksgiving! We're planning on visiting Forsytheville on Friday, so hopefully we'll catch everyone. We love you all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Jennie's Glasses

Forget the prescription glasses. Just grab a couple of mini bagels, and you're good to go!

Mud Bath

Josh's mom sent me pictures this week of Josh and Ben. Obviously they're from several months ago, but funny enough, this is the first I've heard of Ben taking mud baths at the neighbors. Now why would that be?

Broken Ribs

Every year when Jef plays church basketball he breaks a rib. So this year I was quite happy with the soccer thing. Sure, he came home with lots of bumps and bruises, but no broken bones. The season was supposed to end October 17th, but they were having so much fun, they decided to play just one more week, and then just one more, and then one more after that...
So finally on November 14th they decided that it really was their last game. And - you guessed it - in the last game of the season, Jef broke his rib. And, of course, with a broken rib he spent yesterday helping to pour concrete for a neighbor's driveway, moving furniture and heavy machinery, hauling file cabinets...
Today he's in pain. What am I supposed to do with that boy, anyway? Give him ibuprofen and try to talk him into taking it easy, I guess. Easier said than done. Wish me luck!

Baby Pics

It is so hard to get a good picture of a newborn - especially if you want one where they're awake. They always look shocked or half-asleep. Probably because they are. :-) But out of the dozens of pictures I've taken of Lydia, here are a couple that turned out pretty well.

6 Things About Me

So Chelsea tagged me and now I'm supposed to tell six things about me. So here goes:


1. I love bridges. Big bridges, foot bridges, rural bridges, city bridges. It's just so fun to go over a bridge. Admit it, you're walking along a path, and you come to a bridge. Aren't you just a little excited to see it there, and excited to walk over it? And maybe you'll plan to come back this way so you can go over it again?

2.Wagons are the best! The first Christmas we were married, I asked for a wagon. It is very beat up and rusty now, but I have loved it. Wagons are so very useful. Ours has carried children, rocks, toys, and you can even fill it up with water and have a convenient little pond right at child height. We've never had a dog to tie it to, but who needs a dog when you have a little brother?

3. I am a thumb twiddler. I confess. After church on Sunday, the 1st counselor in the Relief Society said she'd been watching my thumbs the whole hour. I do it quite absentmindedly, but it's a very convenient thing to do with your hands when there's nothing else. Better than picking your nose, right? And I've found the harder I think, the faster they go.

4. I never look in my crisper. Whatever goes in is instantly forgotten. Every time I open it, I'm surprised to find something in there. It's usually been in there a looong time. So maybe that's why I never open it. It's just too scary.

5. I believe in buying real margarine. You know, the 100% vegetable oil stuff. Blue Bonnet and all the other spreads are just annoying. They have water in them, and it makes your toast soggy! Of course, you can always spring for butter, and that's good, too. But if you're going to put water on your toast, why don't you just hold it under the tap? It would be cheaper, and also 100% fat free!

6. I love walking in the cemetery. Lots of people around here like to walk round and round the track for exercise. I'd much rather walk round and round the cemetery. There's trees, grass, flowers, and interesting things to think about. Did some mother really name her son Dent? And why does that headstone have no name or dates on it at all? And if you don't wanna go round and round, you can do figure eights, or stair step patterns, or just wander aimlessly. As long as your jeans have stopped shrinking, then it's working, right?

Taming of the Shrew

We went to see Tom's play on Friday, and I must say he did a fabulous job. He played Baptista (that's the dad). I caught him giving classic Marv looks several times. Which, of course, means he filled the role perfectly. :-)
Here is Tom as Baptista. (I hope you can make out the stomach hanging over the belt. That was quite hilarious. Especially how it would swing back and forth while he walked across the stage.)


And here is Tom with his two daughters:

Christmas Jars

I just finished Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright. It was so good! I am in a book club, and this was assigned as this month's book. I expected it to be a little cheesy, but it was actually very well done. I hear his other two books, The James Miracle, and The Wednesday Letters are also very good, but I'll have to wait a while, since my eyes are still feeling dry from crying so much over this one.