And we're back...

The Christmas season has swept us away in recitals, class parties, baking, Christmas cards, decorating, caroling, and celebrating with good friends and family. I love this time of year! Of course, we have also recently experienced stolen mail, a broken digital camera, and a creepy cold virus, but c'est la vie. On to the festivities...

Here are some pics of us celebrating with the Oldhams, Torlas and Trudgens. We decorated cookies and went caroling. It was just the right amount of chilly outside to make it fun! Ginger played the guitar and lead the singing (she has a beautiful voice) and the rest of us joined in. What a great way to ring in the season!






























We have no fireplace mantle, so we have to get creative!

Here is a video of Brad's and Kaylee's piano duet. Brad was so patient and really did a good job following Kaylee's lead so far as timing.







Here's a video of Nathan shooting a free throw (and missing) and then getting the rebound (and swishing it!)




Well, that's all I will post for now. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats for our next installment. :)

Merry, Merry Christmas to you!

The Tooth Fairy Blows It...Again

Kaylee lost her first tooth this week. With each of our kids, we have made somewhat of a big deal about the first tooth. With much pomp and circumstance, we put the tooth in a baggie and place it under the toothless child's pillow, and then give our Great Tooth Fairy Speech of 2001 (when it was first composed for a then 5-year-old Brad) and each child has been elated with the idea of waking up to a little monetary goodie under his/her pillow. This first tooth is always a success...we've never forgotten to leave money for that first tooth...until now.
The next morning, Kaylee came downstairs and, with huge tiger tears in her eyes, proclaimed the misdeeds of the tooth fairy. In a moment of quick thinking (I only have one or two of those a week now, so I'm thankful one came that day) I told her that the tooth fairy might have mistaken her top bunk for Brad's top bunk and maybe that's where her money was. Nathan, catching my cue, darted to the allowance bag, valiantly dashed upstairs to his room and placed the money under Brad's pillow, all while Kaylee was blowing her nose. Kaylee ran down the stairs moments later, saying, "The tooth fairy did put the money in the wrong bed! And I got a dollar coin, not a quarter!" Apparently Nathan felt the reward needed padding in light of the circumstances. :)

Winter Fun

Last Sunday we continued with a tradition we started when Lindsay was 4 or so, and we took the kids to see The Nutcracker ballet. When Lindsay was little, it was just the two of us who joined several of our friends for this fun event. Eventually the boys reluctantly joined in (though now they look forward to it- perhaps mostly for the cannon shot and the intermission goodies) and last year I took all 4 older children. This year Joe got dragged along, as I didn't think I wanted to try to manage all 5 kiddos on my own in this setting. Joe spent a lot of time looking at the ceiling and muttered more than once that "men should not wear tights." While I enjoy the Nutcracker very much, I concede him this point. If nothing else, why can't the men's shirts be longer, just so we don't have to see everything? Has no one in wardrobe ever thought of that? Joe can just be thankful he missed the performance last year...let's just say that Nutcracker needed to shed a pound or two...ick.

Kaylee's Maiden Voyage

The training wheels came off today! Kaylee rode up and down our street several times (and would have kept going, but Joe needed a break!) Kaylee was so thrilled to be on her bike without the training wheels, especially since her best friend Lily had just recently mastered riding also. Sigh. It seems like just yesterday we were marveling at her learning to walk, and now this...hard to believe she's almost 6.

Ok, I'll stop waxing nostalgic. Enjoy the video!





By the way, our house is the one on the left with all the kids and bikes in the driveway, for those of you who haven't visited.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Like the rest of America, we gorged ourselves on turkey and all the fixings, but our Thanksgiving was a little unique this year. We spent the earlier part of the day enjoying a lovely meal in Sun City, where Joe's grandmother lives. She is 96! We love her to pieces- she's sharp as a tack and still loves a good game of dominoes. We ate in the "dining room" though this place looks nothing like a mere dining room. It's very pretty, like a fine dining restaurant. Most of us had the turkey, though Brad stuffed himself on shrimp from the salad "spread" (way to big to be salad "bar") and then had a hamburger. Nathan had ham and the rest of us had turkey. Except Hannah. She ate cheese. Cheese from the salad spread, cheese from other people, cheese from her entree...and then about 150 grapes. She'd make a great Greek. :)

When our meal was done, we headed back to our house (a mere hour away) and engaged in a rousing game of dominoes, at which I was the big loser. Joe was the winner, and Mom C. and Gaga (Joe's grandma) were in the middle. There, I saved you from having to get Friday's sports section to read those results...stay tuned for Scrabble statistics later in our broadcast...

We also had our second meal (our first had been at 11:30) of turkey sandwiches. We all agreed that turkey leftovers are unbeatable, so I baked a turkey on Wednesday and we shared the leftovers with the family. Mmmmmmm.....

We wrapped the day up with a game of Scrabble and some funny t.v. We had a great day, and are so thankful for the countless ways we have been blessed as a family. We are still slowly seeing His plan for us unfold, and we are looking forward to all the exciting changes that will come our way over the next year. We wish you and your families the very best and please know how very thankful we are for each one of you. Happy Thanksgiving!

On to the photos...I tried to get them in age-order, but for some reason I can't get Lindsay's pic in-between Nate's and Brad's.

And the Grammy Goes to...

This past weekend we attended the Desert Valley Music Teachers' Composition Festival for our second year. Children from several different piano teachers compose songs, and the songs are sent to a professional music composer for critique. Last year, Brad's song, "The Cat's Cradle" received very nice reviews. We haven't yet received the critiques for Brad's or Kaylee's masterpieces this year. But as parents, we give them two thumbs up, way up! Brad's song, entitled "Copper Mine" was very impressive and really showed his understanding of music theory and timing. He is, after all, at heart, a drummer. Kaylee's song, "Church Bells" incorporated a tune she made up on the piano when she was 3. She added to it and it's a lovely little diddy if I do say so myself. Both kids loved performing their songs, and were especially tickled with the trophies distributed to all the participants.



We are grateful for the music that resounds through our home. Even when the timing's off and the notes are sour, I enjoy watching their hands move and seeing the thrill of victory when they play their songs correctly. Brad is also in his school's band and his school's Jazz Band so he is "steeped" in music. :) Hannah enjoys watching Brad practice drumming and tries to imitate him. Who knows, maybe we'll have three drummers in the family! Bring on the earplugs! I'm ready!

Animals and Anger Management

Today was a "holiday." Uh huh.

We got up early-ish and scurried around to get ready. We were going to the zoo. I'm not a big "zoo" person, but I have 5 children so I have still spent a reasonable portion of my life slogging around zoos. When we finally made it out the door, our home looked like a starving mob of dogs had torn the place up looking for raw meat. We fought traffic, dealt with a couple of wardrobe emergencies, and used 4 band-aids in the first 6 minutes after entering the zoo gates. We met up with our friends, and the children instantly forgot the horrors of the morning. I, however, needed more time to unwind.

A zoo filled with 400,000 children under age 5 is NOT the place to unwind. Who knew?

However, what gets me through motherhood is watching other moms. Seriously- I watched one kid go face-first into the sandy creek in the play area, another child spit and scream furiously at her mom, and another mom making a furious beeline for the bathroom upon realizing her infant's diaper was not all it was advertised to be...ew.

Now, perhaps you are thinking that what helps me get through a day is knowing someone else has it worse than I....that's really not it. What brings a smile to my face is knowing I'm not alone. I've been all those other moms! This too, shall pass. I'm working on abandoning my need to look like June Cleaver (let's get real...I've never fooled anyone!) and I'm learning to accept those days when one of my children leaves the house in mismatched socks, with a milk-mustache and blue fruity toothpaste clumped in his or her hair. As long as my kids leave the house knowing Mom is crazy about them, then the morning went a-ok.

Zoo membership: $100
Lunch, snacks and other miscellaneous edibles: $25
Spending a day with 14 of your closest friends: Priceless.

If you know a Veteran, please pass on my family's gratitude to him or her. My grandfather, father, father-in-law and my brother-in-law are all Veterans. Here's to you!

Boys in makeup and other nonsense

Last night was great. In continuing with a tradition, we spent the evening with our good friends, the Trudgens. Chris and Ginger set up a table in their driveway with hot drinks and yummy snacks (no candy!) for the adults and we passed out candy together. Ginger and I both remarked about how much we love getting a chance to visit with our neighbors in this way. We live in a really great neighborhood with lots of kids (though I still have more leftover candy...grrr) and so our kids had a great time. Joe and Chris took the kids around the neighborhood and Ginger and I manned the table. Ginger also put together a great essay on the original meaning of All Hallow's Eve. When I get a copy of it, I'll post it. We passed this out with the drinks and snacks to the adults and we saw several people reading as they were walking.

Now for the pictures you've all been waiting for...or maybe not!
Hannah as Dumbo, Kaylee as Dorothy, Nathan as a pirate, Lindsay as Hannah Montana, and Brad as Cap'n Jack Sparrow. We had a great time giving the boys facial hair. :) Hannah was a great sport as Dumbo, since her tiny head had to support this big fluffy Dumbo head, and it kept tipping to the side or falling off. We joked that at times she looked a little like "Decapitated Dumbo."

Vacation, part deux

One last picture of Lindsay on her 10th birthday- celebrating with Daddy


Time to celebrate Nathan's 9th birthday!!


We enjoyed a wonderful day at Thanksgiving Point with Gramma, the Oldhams, and Amy's parents. It was also Amy's birthday, so we had 2 reasons to celebrate! Here we are at the dinosaur museum where the kids had a blast creating dinosaur environments complete with rivers and trees at the water and sand exhibit.




Gramma, Kaylee and Hannah reading about dinosaurs

Such a pretty face!


Cheering on the dinosaurs?


Run away, run away!!!


We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the deli. If you ever find yourself at the deli at Thanksgiving Point, have a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. Mmmmm!

Now we are in line waiting for the slowest horse-drawn wagon on the planet.

Nathan is such a great kid...every family needs a Nathan! He is so responsible, helpful, sensitive to the needs of others, and so very generous with everything he has. What a treasure!!

Still waiting...lots of time for pictures!


After our time at Thanksgiving Point, we had birthday brownies with Gramma, Aunt Bobbie, Uncle Ray and Aunt Stephanie. We also packed our stuff and prepared for our long drive home. I'm not sure why this is underlining, but I can't figure out how to make it stop. Gotta love computers.


The end...finally! Thanks for reading along. :)

Home again

We're back in the desert again, and thankful the temps are cool and breezy! We had a wonderful time in Utah-it's a little rough adjusting back to the ol' schedule (homeschooling began today, which went over like a lead balloon). The boys go back to school tomorrow, and they are equally thrilled. :) We did, however, come home to a filled refrigerator (thanks, Mom, Dad and Ginger!) and beautiful flowers in our flower garden (thank you Ginger, Chris, Alex, Audrey and Lily!) which were both WONDERFUL surprises! Like I've said before, we have fabulous friends and family.
Here are some pictures from our trip.



Yummy lattes in Park City! It began snowing this day, so the hot coffee was very soothing! :)

Happy 10th Birthday, Lindsay!
She wanted a horse, but she settled for a Nintendo DS and a game involving horses. :)





Fun at Gateway outdoor mall in SLC. We went to the children's museum and some of us went to the planetarium.



We spent Lindsay's birthday at Hogle Zoo. The traveling exhibit was this rare white alligator. Uncle Charlie joined us as a special treat for Lindsay!






CR and Hannah

Nathan, Lindsay and Kaylee

The gang (including Amy's parents) at Training Table restaurant

What a pleasure to celebrate such a sweet girl. Hard to believe she's ten years old already. Ten is a funny age...kind of the border between "little girl" and "young lady." We're very proud of her.


Mom and Lindsay

Kaylee, Gramma and Lindsay

Kaylee and Lindsay


I'll post part 2 of our trip soon. Now that I can actually post pictures again, I'll try to keep up more regularly.