The one with a CHRISTmas

Here's an email I wrote to a friend with some ideas to help Christmas be more centered around Christ:

Hi Di!

This is the topic to get me started on! I'm over-flowing with ideas!!! Hopefully I don't overwhelm you. lol

I LOVE having a birthday dinner for the Savior. Christmas Eve we have a whole feast, our very best dishes, food and of course the Bday cake. We write Bday cards to Him and put them in a special box under the tree, as a gift for Him. When my kids are grown I will give them their own box with their old letters. Maybe they'll keep the tradition going in their own families.

This year I've come up with a new idea. . .haven't done it yet so I can't swear by it- yet. But I was thinking of tying in the 3 gifts He was originally given (gold, frankincense, myrrh) with 3 service-type gifts for Him. (The whole "if you've done it unto one of these. . . you've done it unto me" idea). And then having the theme of each represent one of the gifts. For example, GOLD could be pulling our money in together and then secretly delivering to someone in need. FRANKINCENSE was a spice so it could have something to do with food (serving at the Food Bank, delivering a secret dinner to someone) . . . MYRRH was an incense. . something you feel more than see. . so I'm thinking something like visiting some older widows in the ward, or ? I dunno. I'm still brainstorming here. I think we'll plan the specifics of the 3 "gifts" together as a family on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. . .after we've put up the tree. Just to start out the season on a spiritual theme.

Is this too long already???

I also like to decorate around a Nativity theme instead of Santa/elves/etc. . .

One of the kids faves is our Nativity Advent calendar which puts another character at the manger scene every night.

Another idea. . .I find a story to read to the kids every year, and I always make sure it's got a really good message. We read a little bit (almost) every night and finish sometime around Christmas. They LOVE it and the Christmas spirit feels really strong.

We still do the Santa stuff, but it's just not the focus of the season. And I twist a few of the traditions. For example, instead of the kids writing Christmas wish lists to Santa, we write Thank You notes to him and leave them out with the cookies on Christmas. Trying to spin as much as possible away from the "me, me, me, I want, mine, mine, mine" part of Christmas that leaves us all so empty.

We've been doing the "warm fuzzy jar" from President Monson's conference talk. So we're going to use those warm fuzzy's (pom poms) this year in the manger (similar to the straw in the manger idea)to make it soft for the baby Jesus. We'll read/act out Luke 2 right before going to bed Christmas eve, using the soft manger.

Ok, I'll stop there. I'm sorry to write so much! I didn't mean to, I swear! Hahah. I've got more, if you want 'em. Maybe I'll do a blog post about it one of these days. Or write a book. HAHAHA! What mother has time to write a book!!??! Give me 20 years.

Good luck! Hope you guys are doing great. Talk to you later.

The one about forwarded emails

I'm not really one to forward the emails. Honestly I delete probably 99% of the ones forwarded to me. (Sorry everybody!) But Autumn called about this email she'd sent, and so it got opened.

I love it.

Maybe why it's so funny to me is because this is TOTALLY the type of thing Kevin would do - if he had the time. Ahhh, the things that man will think up . . .

Which really is why I'm posting this. Once he reads it he's gonna start getting those kinds of ideas again (thanks, Autumn lol) - and this is my way of "spoiling" the joke before he can even pull it- which hopefully will be a great point to consider when I'm convincing him that this is NOT next years outdoor Holiday Decor.

Sorry hon.

Anyway, here you go. Here's my blog-version-way of forwarding a funny email. Make sure to read the bottom part. :)


"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

The one about The Blind Side

We just got back from St. George. We had SUCH a nice weekend. My cousin had his missionary homecoming, and we went down a day earlier to be with my Grandparents.

(Ahhh, I want to move where it's warmer!!!)

Grandma made us a fabulous dinner (of course) and then Grandpa shooed Kev and I out the door so we'd go on a date. I think they just wanted the grand kids to themselves. :)

Kev and I found some AWESOME deals at the outlet stores and then we went to a movie. Now, I hate when people go on and on about how good a movie is . . .I think too many details ruin them. BUT if you need a recommendation, go see

"The Blind Side".

We loved it.

Anyway, here comes another crazy week. Holiday prep galore. Good luck to ya'll.

The one with Deep-Clean-Hillariousness

One crazy day last summer, in the midst of the very worst of the morning-sick-days, I had a sudden burst of energy and started tackling deep-cleaning projects throughout the house. (Which you reeeally should NEVER do when there's a pregnant burst of energy, since it usually only lasts long enough to make an even BIGGER disaster)

Anyway.

One of those much-needed projects was cleaning my JETTED TUB. After living in our home for nearly a year, I still hadn't taken even one soak in my awesome tub. You fellow OCD's will understand; I HAD to REALLY REALLY make sure it was seriously cleaned through and through first. Problem was, I didn't know how to do that.

Several sites online suggested to

"Pour a generous amount of dish soap into a tub of water.
Let the jets run for at least 10 minutes."

Easy enough.

I got that water H-O-T as could be, added a "generous" amount of dish soap, started up the jets, and viola. . . .

Note to self:
Hot water + "Generous amount of Soap"
= LOTS
AND LOTS
OF BUBBLES!!!

Imagine my state of shock when I walked back in the room. I am still laughing.

My sister in law, Jessica was staying with us at the time and we just couldn't resist. She put on her swimsuit and dove on in. :) Here's a few of the shots of from our Bubble Mania Fest.

The one about tonight

so we got all dressed up for the halloween carnival

that started at seven

but we're still here

cuz drew won't take even one bite of dinner

cuz he saw me put pepper

(like i always do)

in the macaroni and cheese

and so he thinks he won't like it

and so he's been screaming

and throwing up from the screaming

and i'm going insane

and halle's very sad because she can't go

because of him

and i know it's not fair to her

but there's only one of me

and it's ten minutes past eight

and i'm here

going insane

The one with 2009-10 school pictures

Halle's Kindergarten Photo

LOVE IT! :D

The one with some good news

Monday I waited ANXIOUSLY all day for Kevin to get home. I had been to the doctor's earlier, and was DYIN' to share some exciting news.

I made a trail of tootsie rolls from the back door, to the table where a candlelight dinner was spread

along with this card:

and a gift bag with this hat. . .

Here are a few more pics of our new beautiful baby boy. . .


baby's profile


Mom's pointy chin


He's a thinker

Kev's so excited, I LOVE it.

We told the kids in the morning and Drew started running around yelling,

"It's a BOY! It's a BOY!"

Halle is mostly excited that she'll get to have her own room. :)

I am super-duper thrilled and only a teeensy bit sad that it's not a girl. Honestly I would have felt the same way if it was a girl though. They both have been so fun, I can't help wishing for both.

Monday night I kept thinking how Halle could be my last little girl. So I went upstairs and put curlers in her hair. Just in case.

Anyway, thought we'd share our news.

Can't wait to meet
our little man!!

The one gift for Christmas

Our conversation in the car today:

Me: Halle, if you could choose just ONE gift for Christmas this year what would it be? I mean you can think about it for a while if you want and let me know when . . . .

(no pause)

A cat.

(my heart breaking)

. . . . o. . k. Well that's one idea, is there anything else. . .

(Drew cutting in)

Oh, I know what I want I know what I want I know!!!

A dog!

Me: . . . but what if you couldn't have a dog Drewbie? What else would you want?"

(Pause. . .thinking)

Thennn.. . .maybeeeee. . . .

a Giraffe???

The one about buzzards

When I was little, I heard that the world's biggest pest of a bird was a buzzard. I decided it was the PERFECT nickname for my baby brother (aka John).

Over time, it shortened to "Buzz" and I've been calling him that ever since.

That same day he nicknamed me "Blastedhead." It, however, didn't stick.

I'm sure that's symblic somehow. . . :)
Lol.

Now, after two looooong years, Buzz is finally
home from his mission!!!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Home from the ASL Houston Texas Mission


nieces and nephews waiting at the airport with their "love you" signs


one more niece/nephew says hello


here he comes!


Buzz reunited with best buds Ben & Teddy

Welcome home, Buzz. Missed you every day.

The one for Amy part 2

Howdy again.

Here's a few from Elle's blessing shoot:

I know this one is dark, but I LOVE it...

Family pics coming asap....

The One for Amy

So, I took some pics for my neighbor/friend Amy a while ago. But the last several months have been a nonstop whirlwind, and I've just felt AWFUL about how long it's taking me to get her pics to her.

So, Amy, here's a sample of some of the pics for ya. Thank you so much for being so patient with me. There's tons more, I'm just putting on a few of my fave. Oh, and keep in mind they loose quality over a blog...the originals will be more clear.

Anywho...from the first shoot:

The one where Halle went to school

I always have heard from people how they cried taking their son/daughter to kindergarten on that first day of school. I guess I always thought they were happy tears. . . happiness from some level of accomplishment or whatever.

Well, I took my baby girl to kindergarten today and guess what? The tears aren't the happy kind.

Ahh, the emotions of a mom. . .

Oh, she is sooo cute! And how did she get so big? Will she make friends? Will she feel pretty? Is she going to be good in school? Will she like her teacher? Will she be bored? Will the other kids be nice to her? Will she be nice to the other kids? Will she remember what we've taught her? Does she know how much her Daddy and I adore her? How proud I am? I am going to miss having her around all day. . .

Love you, my Halle girl.

The one about Kev's Cali surprise

In the middle of August my sweet hubby planned a surprise trip for the kids and I to Disneyland. We had originally planned on going in May, but with the economy hitting us all so hard, we decided it was in our best financail interest to just bag the trip.

I was pretty sad about that though. Our kids are at SUCH a prime time for that trip. Halle told me just recently that she is too old for the princesses now. What!!?! And next year, having a new baby, etc etc. . .I figured the next good opportunity to go, they'd probably not be in such a "magical" age.

Well, not to worry. Kev booked the hotel, the rental car, the flights, the City Passes, the food, the little details like refilling my nausea medication, rescheduling Halle's kindergarten testing, canceling my piano lessons. . . he did it all. Amazing. He told me about it the day before we left so I could pack. I was horribly sick that day. . .but somehow managed to pull an all nighter and get it done.

The morning of was a Sunday. We woke up the kids at 3:30 AM (the car outside all packed and running), and said,

"Come on Hal/Drew!
Let's go to Disneyland!"

Sooo fun.

It was their first airplane ride. Ahhh, if you could have seen their level of excitement as we boarded and took off. . . I will never ever forget how great that was.

Drew and Halle's first airplane ride

I wouldn't mind forgetting about the nausea I had on that plane though. Or the airport bathroom where I lost it all (again) first thing in Cali. M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. Let's just say, the prego sickness was a constant on that trip. . .but I did my best to get through and ignore. Because being together with my Kevin, and the kids with their little faces so happy, was worth anything. Totally priceless.

Monday we went to Universal Studios. Here is my favorite picture of that day. Gotta check out the expression and the skinny little legs. Man, that kid can pull my heart like none other. Love love love this picture.

Manly men


The kidos get to meet some of their fave characters

Has anyone been top Universal Studios and gone on that Simpons ride? Dang. That ride is craaazy cool!

Tuesday was our first day at DISNEYLAND!!!! We spent three days at Disneyland and California adventure. Three totally perfect days. Here are some of the highlights/pics from Kev's iphone:

Excited kids as we take the shuttle to the parks

Mom's dream come true


We spent HOURS waiting in lines to meet these princesses.


Notice how grumpy Drew is about being in a picture with a "Princess"

Cute Halle gets a "makeover"

I was worried that the kids would be too nervous on the rides. No worries there! Both of them were so brave! I swear I wasn't that brave on rides until . . like last year. :) Halle would just keep her arms up in the air, squealing the whole way. Drew looked absolutely petrified each time, but it always ended with a "Let's do that again!"

Splash Mountain


A close up on Drew's face on Splash Mountain. Terrorized and loving it.

One of the best moments of the trip was when Drew saw Goofy. I didn't even know he liked Goofy! We were walking along and I hear the piercing scream. . .

"GOOOOOOOFFYYYYY!!!!"

and then he took off running, fast as he could go, and grabbed Goofy around the knees in a huge hug. I tried my best to keep up and get a picture. . . That little man can get sure get excited about things, but this was unlike anything I've ever seen.

Like I said: Priceless.

Goofy gets loves from Drew

Halle loved this ride. . but spent the whole time trying to talk to her Daddy, who was in the car behind us and couldn't hear a thing.

"Dad!!!
I'm driving!
Am I doing a good job Dad?
I'm really doing it!
Can you see me Dad?
I LOVE YOU!!!"

Love that girl.

Drew and Kev ride the teacups


One sick mommy, still enjoying 2 sweet kids


Watching the Pixar Parade


Halle and her Daddy/Drew sees Lightening McQueen

Another fave moment: Halle and I got A SERIOUS case of the giggles. She had to go potty, so we headed over to the bathroom but there was a long line. We'd waited in SOO many lines, but they were all for different rides and she was a little baffled that there was a line in the bathroom too.

"Don'tcha know, Hall," I said, "this is the BEST ride here! You are just going to LOVE it!"

We went on and on, being silly, about the bathroom having the longest line because it's the best ride at Disneyland etc.

When it came her turn to go, there was a stall with a door cracked open, and we walked over to it.

"Are you ready for the very best ride at Disneyland, Halle!? The ride of your life. . .? "

She opened the door, and there was a little boy -holding himself- taking a pee.

Halle immediately burst into the best laughing fit you've ever heard, and that poor little boy just stood there with that deer-in-headlights look. She hurried away once her shock wore off, but was laughing so hard, tears coming down her face, trying to find enough air to say

". . . the. . .best. . . .ride. . . . . . mom! . . . .get. . . it?? . . .the . . .ride. . . of . . .your . . . . life?!? mom!!!"

So funny.


Silly girls/best buds


meeting more favorite characters


The happiest place on Earth

We also spent a day at Seaworld, and the beach. I'll add just a few more pics, even though this post is already painfully long. These two days were by far my sickest/most miserable of the trip. . . still managed to have fun though. Somewhat. Somehow.

Kids happy at Seaworld


Pretty girl

I walked through the shark exhibit with Halle, thinking Kev and Drew were coming right behind me. But when I got through and waited at the exit for over aother half an hour, there was still no Kev 'n Drew. I went back to the start and found them, still at the very beginning of the exhibit. I somewhat-gently pulled them along to get them through, so we could go see something else.

"Drew really likes the sharks!" Kev says.

Sure Kev. Whatevs.

And then "for Drew" we had to go through the exhibit all over again. Tell me, what is the fascination guys have for sharks?? Haha, love ya babe.

me and "Buddy Fish"

I know this sounds weird, but there was this big aquarium, were one fish was fascinated with me. Drew called him my "Buddy Fish." hahaha. He kept swimming away and then coming right up to me and just staring. It probably came and went +10 times. It wasn't interested in anyone else either. Weird. I don't know what is so fascinating about me to a fish, but hopefully that's not a bad thing, right?

the pickle

I saw this lady eating this massive pickle, and suddenly a huge craving hit. Pregnant and craving pickles. Typical, I know. Kev went hunting for one until he found it. That's Kevin. Always doing everything he can to make me comfortable and happy.

There are so many more things to write about but to sum it up, it was just an unforgettable trip, and I'm so grateful we were able to spend this amazing-much-needed-time together.

Thanks Kevs and everyone who helped with the surprise.
1,000,000 times.