We're Baaaack!

Alright, we are officially back in business. Our computer had some major problems...after about a month of being disconnected, we are reunited with the world and it feels great! Here is what has been going on this month for our clan!

Mommy-Daughter Day

Molly and I took a shopping trip to Logan to find a Christmas dress for her. We were in the car for about 10 minutes and she said,"Mom, it is soooo nice to have you all to myself!!" We had fun conversations on the hour and a half drive...discourses on the danger of drugs (she brought it up, not me), also that just because I am getting old, I don't have to miss out on all the fun, etc. It was so fun to just be the two of us. She is growing up way too fast. We found a sweet dress that was so Molly. What do you think??

AJ Winters Elementry Christmas Program
It was great having 2 kids in the program this year. They both did an awesome job and sang their little hearts out! Brigham was actaully entertained the whole time. Spence did a Beach Boys song (complete with a motorcycle being pulled by a reindeer) and Molly did some of the classics. Fun times!

Christmas Cutting Outing

Since moving to Montpelier, we have ventured out and cut down our own tree. It is such a blast and the kids love it. I couldn't help but remember Christmas Vacation's tree outing..."I can't feel my feet...I can't feel my legs...I can't feel my hips..." as they are trudging through the snow. We went with our great friends the Marlowes and had a great adventure. It was super cold and Brigham wanted to get in the warm truck. I put him in there and headed down the trail to keep looking for the tree. When I came back, he had locked the doors to the truck and the keys were inside. No problem, I'll just show him how to unlock the door. I forgot he had his mittens on that go waaaaay up to his elbow underneath his snowsuit. Needless to say, he couldn't take his mittens off. Oh boy. Then we got the idea to have him unlock it with his teeth. After a marvelous demonstration of pulling up on the lock by yours truly, he bent down and took hold of the lock! The little turkey unlocked the door!! We were all cheering and he was all excited. Note to self...next year, keep the keys in my coat pocket.
We ended up with a great looking tree and had a blast decorating it and putting up our christmas train.

The picture below is of Brigham's "funky hat". He had the idea to put 2 hats on his head and came over to me and said," Hey mom, look at my funky hat!" Too cute!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

November Happenings and Stuff

So it's been a while since I posted last...life has been pretty busy, but loads of fun!! Bill got to play in a game with the Harlem Ambassadors (like the Harlem Globetrotters) for an Enough is Enough fundraiser. It was fun to watch them--the Ambassadors were awesome and it was great to see friends from the community be good sports for a good cause!!

On to Thanksgiving. We were so excited to go to Boise for Turkey Day. It was the Jensen family dinner this year and it proved to be another fantastic meal with even more fantastic company. After dinner the kids got to make these cute turkeys out of oreos and candy--genius . They were so cute and extra yummy too!

While we were there we had 2 baby showers--one for my niece Heather and the other for my niece Lacey. It was loads of fun and also more yummy was served and gobbled!! (Are you sensing a theme to the turkey day weekend???) The kids loved spending the night with cousins, Bill and I loved the late night visits and games with family. It was just a blast!! Saturday was my 32th birthday (can't believe I am thirtysomething already...ugh. I got to spend the afternoon shopping with my madre and then Bill and I double dated with some friends from PA school (thanks Russ and Shawna!) for dinner at Ruby River Steakhouse--one of my all time favorite places to eat. Yet again, more food was devoured!! We headed over to see Twilight with Bill's sister Tami, husband Gary, niece Heather and husband Sean. It was tons of fun--I think even the guys enjoyed it! After the movie we ended with some hot cocoa at Moxie and a serious critique of the movie, along with loads of laughs. Such a great day! Thank mom and dad for babysitting our monkeys!! We love you guys!!

While at Grandma and Grandpa's the kids got to help pull out some Christmas decorations. Among the favorites were the nutcracker collection. It was fun to watch Brigham's cute face looking at every detail of the nutcrackers. He was in awe!


On our way home to Montpelier we got to stop and visit my Grandma Dayley. It was so nice to visit with her and feel of her love and spirit. She loved seeing the kids and was insistant they take home the smucker's jam packets as a treat. I loved hearing her laugh and tell us of some of her memories of the bear lake area. It was great!

So there you have it! Now we are home and getting ready for Christmas! More posts to follow!!

Typical Day

Here are some random things that we did today:



Mac & Cheese--the lunch of champions..and Molly doing her best at making the stuff!

This is what often happens when Molly combs her hair. I'm not sure how she does it..but it often ends in tears and "just cut it off mom!". We were successful without the scissors this time. Who knows about next time though!

This is Brigg's "checkbook" (a rolled up sticky pad)--too funny.I am reading this wonderful book "The Mother in Me". It is amazing how mothers stories all have the same threads weaving through them. I love it. If you want a good read...pick one up at your local DB!My favorite little shoes. They were placed so, right in front of the fridge. It made me smile instead of saying "Brigg, put your shoes in the bench!" It must've been the Diet Coke talking...just kidding. I know these cute shoes won't be so little for long....relish, relish!My good friend Julie gave me this "Give Thanks". I love it (especially next to my sweet pilgrim duck). It reminds me to give thanks for EVERYTHING! I love this month and time of year. There is so much to be thankful for!!

Veteren's Day

The 3rd grade was in charge of the flag ceremony at the Veteren's Day assembly. It was great to see these little guys honoring the flag and showing such reverence and respect for our great country. They also sang a couple of songs (with choreography) about the defenders of the USA. I am so greatful for all that our troops have done for us and others. I am also so blessed to live in this great land of freedom. Great job Spence!

all that jazz

Last weekend Bill and I went on a physician's retreat to SLC. We had a great time!! Grandma and Grandpa came and watched the kids (thank you, thank you!!) and we took off on our adventure. Bill had meetings on Friday afternoon while I shopped at the gateway with some friends. Sooo nice to take my time and look at every little thing without kids running through the racks of clothes, poopy diapers, "I'm hungry", "I'm bored"...you know the drill. The girls all met up with our husbands for dinner that was catered at the Energy Solutions Areana. We had yummy food complete with the Jazz mascot crashing the party with silly string and throwing rolls...nice! We then made our way to the Jazz game--19th row, center...super nice. We could see the players eyeballs. Bill and I got these massive ice cream cones and loved every bite. After the game we took trax back to the hotel (with some minor delays--stopping at temple square to see if the prop 8 rally was still going on--pictures to follow, and then missing our stop). We hit the hay and then the next morning we got to go to the BodyWorlds exhibit--amazing. We had an awesome time. Thank you again mom and dad for watching our monkeys! They had a ball with you both!!

halloweenie!

We woke up Halloween morning to a beautiful sunrise! It was a very fitting orange and yellow glow! We have a lot of these pretty sunsets...I need to take more pictures of them I guess!!

Here are the kids in their costumes! Brigg was the cutest cowboy in the west (of course), Molly was still miffed about the coconuts and decided she would be a cowgirl instead (it's a womans right to change her mind I guess), and Spence was a bloody surgeon. Man, that blood actually looked really real. We had fun at our trunk or treat and got lots of loot!

Here is a picture of the aftermath... Needless to say, I have been partaking of the goodness as well. I tried to sneak a starburst from Brigham and he caught me. He wouldn't let me touch any of his candy!!
Hope you all had a fun time too!!

festivities at school

The kids had a great time on Thursday. They got to dress up for the halloween parade through the classrooms. While I was getting Molly ready for kindergarten after lunch, I noticed that her BYU cheerleader costume was a wee bit short. I really didn't want her flashing anyone, so we decided at the last minute to change into a hula girl. She was all excited and then said..,"but MOM, I DON'T HAVE ANY COCONUTS!!" What??? Did she really think I would send her to school in a pair of coconuts??? We put on her Roxy t-shirt (a hibiscus flower is festive enough don't you think) and she was ready to go!


Here are some treats that I made for Spencer's class party. Thanks heavens for the good 'ol familyfun.com!! Cute, cute stuff on there.

carving

We carved our pumpkins and had a fun, gooey, smelly time. We broke out the power tools this year (think Tim the Toolman Taylor and his man-grunt). It worked awesome! Brigg kept saying,"Eeeeewww" and scrunching his nose up everytime we got the guts out of the pumpkin. It was great!

my little monkey

I love Curious George! Isn't he a cute little thing? We have always thought Brigg resembled this curious creature. Yesterday I was reading this book to Brigg and turned the page to have this picture staring me in the face. I just started laughing--the whispy hair, the ears, the nose...it's Brigham! I had to take a picture for proof. What do you all think??

I LOVE YOU LITTLE MONKEY

soccer

Spencer's soccer season ended a couple of weeks ago. He had a great time and had a superb coach (that would be me--if you call "superb" not knowing anything about soccer and getting your knowledge from the internet). We actually won a couple of games and our last game Spence scored 3 goals! He never stops running! Great job Spence! We are proud of ya!

Canning

I think I did something extraordinary yesterday. Wait, no, it was pretty extraordinary. I will admit it! I made and canned applesause. Mom, I hope you haven't fainted yet...but I must say that is was awesome! Me and my sweet friend Annie spent the morning together doing what domestic goddesses do. We cut apples from her apple tree, (she had a HUGE basket of apples that were beautiful) boiled them so they were soft, and put them through her victoria strainer. It turns the soft apples into sauce and then spits out the seeds, hard parts, etc. out another spout. It was genius!! The kids loved to mash the apples down into the strainer and see all the "goo" come out. It was great! I came away with 3 lovely mason jars full of deliciously pink applesause that my kids have loved already.

So I was thinking yesterday while it was quiet in the house (Molly and Spence at school, Brigg asleep---ahhhhh) that I would love to have a big farm house, the sun shining through the windows to my kitchen with rows and rows of canning jars full of homemade goodness for my family. I would of course let them sit out a few days so I could relish in my accomplishment and the beauty of it all before I would store them downstairs in my storage room (meticulously organized) to await consumption. Was I delirious? Maybe one day this "vision" will come true.

Right now, I will cherish my 3 jars of applesause.

Fall, What Fall??

Alright, so I know I live in the Bear Lake Valley, but c'mon.... Satuday we woke up to snow. A little pretty skiff, no big deal. It would melt by the end of the day, right?? Wrong-O! We spent ALL day Saturday and into the night with blizzard-like snow, constant snow, more snow...it was winter! We ended up with almost a foot by Sunday morning. The kids thought it was awesome and of course had me digging into their winter boxes for snowpants, gloves, hats, boots, etc. They had a blast playing in the snow!! I was content to watch from the window and prepare the hot chocolate! Maybe when it is ACTUALLY winter, I will enjoy a good snowball fight with the little chickens! Molly kept saying, "doesn't winter come AFTER halloween?" Me-"That is usually the case, but not around here!" Luckily I heard that we are supposed to warm up this week before it is white for good!! Whew, not quite ready yet.

Lunchtime Conversation

So today at lunch, this was a conversation I had with Molly...
(I was cutting up an apple for her at the kitchen sink and she says)

Molly: "It must be hard to be mom...your kids ask for things and you have to answer them ALL THE TIME!"
Me: "Yeah, it is hard sometimes. But it sure is fun!"

Brigham: "I NEED MORE MILK!"

(Deep breath, say to myself, yes, this is fun....)

I have decided I have to write down more of these "Mollyisms" because she comes up with some funny stuff. She is always good for a laugh and a smile! I love it! Here's to many, many more!!!

Birthday Boy

October 1st was our Spencer's birthday!! We had a great day. Bill suprised Spence and kidnapped him from school to take him out to lunch. His pick was "Dan's Delicious Drive-In". They had a lunch full of greasy hamburgers and Spencer's favorite thing in the world--onion rings! Then I got to take chocolate cupcakes into his classroom, which is always a treat. I remember my mom bringing treats into my classroom. I always felt so loved! After school was a pack meeting where he recieved his Wolf award in Cub Scouts. I will miss him in my pack! He is moving on to bigger and better Bear activities I guess!! Dinner was his choice--taco salad (this happens to be my favorite too-yum). We followed by shoving 9 candles(yes, he's already 9) into a single cupcake and sang "happy birthday" to our completely content, smiley, growing-up-way-tooooo-fast boy. We topped off the night by letting him sleep on the air mattress in the TV room.

We love our Spencer. He is such a joy and bright spot in our family! Here's to another great year!! Hopefully it will pass slower...it just seems like we were bringing his sweet smellin' baby head home from the hospital!! Love you bugs!