Merry Christmas!...and someone pulled a fast one...

"Hey," I said,

"While everyone is dressed nicely for church let's take a family picture."

Tripod is set.

My kids usually do much better for pics like this than the ones where mom or dad are on the other side of the lens.

Smile!

Everyone, for the most part, was looking good, except the little turkey in the front...

"Okay, now let's make funny faces for this one!"

In Sam language, that means "smile nicely."

"Okay, everyone smile!"

...you get where I'm going with this...

Stinker.

He is pretty proud of himself in this one.

We had no idea until we were finished and looked through them.

John toyed with the idea of switching a funny face for a smiley face.

Not a chance...

..."these are the days of our (my) lives."

Have a wonderful Christmas from our family to yours!

gingerbread hood...

We had our cute friends, the Woolley's over to decorate gingerbread houses...

8 kids=8 houses!

(the parents just chatted and ate house decor. That's the way it's supposed to go, right?)

The happy decorators...

Taking a break to be a princess. A must during any activity.
The completed projects.

I think they did a fabulous job!!

I will mention that Zach spent most of his decorating time building a skateboard ramp out of marshmallows and NOT decorating the house...and Matt decorated one side of his roof. That's it.

Gheesh...no appreciation.

My favorite is looking over at the table and seeing someone's mouth chowing on a house. Pretty funny!

They (we all) had a great time.

Next year, guys??

Thanksgiving was just yesterday...right?

Yea...it's been a while. Anyone still there???

Nothing says Thanksgiving like a little P90x workout before the big meal...

I did not participate in the morning workout (I have done it several times this past week though and...ouch!). However, thanks to my new BFF (seriously), I learned that being on your feet cooking for two days straight burns more than 40 min on the treadmill and even more than back to back toning/aerobics classes.

Go figure. I got a great workout doing what I love to do best...cooking!!

Score!

Matt and Zach participated in the Science Fair (somehow I did not get a pic of Zach with his masterpiece). They both did great and it is over.

Score!

I've been doing a little of this...

The decor is up,

the shopping is done,

the kids are getting excited,
the mom is exhausted,
bring on Christmas!

oh boy...

...if your boxers are on your head, then what's on your behind?

I didn't want to know the answer, either.

I'm a little late...

HALLOWEEN 2009

M & M Matt

Z-Man

(I don't know what he was, either. This was one he came up with himself. I didn't object.)

Storm Trooper Sam

Little Red Lizzie


...and this is what I found the next morning.
Fruit Loops laced with green Apple Heads & a sucker.
Awesome.

the reality...

*four costumes

*three Halloween parties plus a preschool program & parade

*two dozen cookies, one dozen donuts, a bag of candy and a gallon of apple cider

*30 haunted house cut outs (my hand is still sore)

*one "festive" $5 t-shirt from Target for myself (that counts as a costume...right?)

*a massive sugar headache that I'm trying to counteract with Diet Coke

...and it's not even Halloween yet.

social skills 101...

Me: "Sam, it is important to look people (adults) in the eyes when you talk to them."

Sam: "Why?"

Me: "That is something that will help you be more successful in life." (There was more than that said, that's just the condensed version.)

"Successful" somehow got translated into money, and having plenty of it.

Sam: "You mean if I look them in the eyes like this (eyes opened HUGE) they will just give me twenty bucks?"

I wish man, I wish.

outside my front door...

I love Fall.

*If you have any photography skills at all sorry for the pain in your eyes right now. My idea of editing a pic is the auto adjust button.

artsy craftsy...

I love a good craft project. Especially one that requires power tools.

I got this idea from cute Alexis, who got it from Better Homes & Garden. It requires a foam pumpkin, twigs and a drill (my favorite part!) I made mine on the bigger side because it sits on a long table in a big room.

Children doing homework: beware! This thing could take out an eye. I love it, though. Not too sure how I will store it, but we'll worry about that when it's time to get out the Christmas decor.

jack in the box...

...Sam in the sink.

rise and shout...

...for many reasons.

My cute sister, Adriene came all the way from Minnesota for a visit.

* she spoils my kids (as any good auntie does)

* buys misc craft projects (for a ridiculous amount) from Sam and absolutely made his day.

*gives Lizzie her lip gloss, and a pink sparkly pen (which I think belonged to you, Hanna...sorry)

*buys candy for Matt & Zach

...and brings delicious treats from the mid-west for me!!

It was parents week at BYU so we went to a football game!

Adriene and I

Mal & Nate

Evan & Jenni

I don't want to go to another college football game and not sit in the student section.
HILARIOUS.
This was my view for a good portion of the game.

...and last but not least...

...which means we sang the fight song at least 7 times.


GO COUGARS!!

this is what happens when...

...you leave your {somewhat new} glasses on the floor to get stepped on and dad gets a hold of them and does an AWESOME repair job with copper wire...

...the three year old sets the table...

(this is a big serving spoon...with spots on it...ahem)

...you are supposed to take a bite of your meatball (just ONE BITE!)...

...and you lick it instead.

Just another day at our happy homestead!

bag lady...

Lizzie is "in" to purses & bags these days.

It doesn't even matter if it is a cute purse or a plastic Target bag.

She likes to cram as much stuff into the bag of choice and take it EVERYWHERE we go.

If you've been lucky enough to run into us at the grocery store, the school, walking past our house...you have been lucky enough to see the treasures the bag of the day is holding.

I think it's cute (until she attempts to take 5 purses with her to church or preschool). The only problem is that now she sees the need to accessorize, as well.

She is taking on the role of bag lady quite nicely.

rules...

With each new school year and teacher comes a new set of rules.

...then there are the standard: be kind, no hats, keep your hands to yourself, etc.

The favorites of this year:

1. No bra snapping or wedgies.

2. Wear deodorant every day.

Welcome 6th grade!