All I want for Christmas is..... perfectly straight teeth!

Well, I doubt that was on his Christmas list but that is what he is getting. After two years (and a few thousand dollars), PK can now show off his perfectly straight teeth. The braces came off today and he was very excited. The orthodontist's office sent him home with a gift bag full of previously forbidden foods-- Laffy Taffy, Starburst, licorice, gum, peanuts, etc. The first forbidden food that he ate when he got home was a big carrot. I think I'll make corn on the cob for dinner tomorrow. (I'll also make an appointment for him at the dentist for a very thorough teeth cleaning!) Congratulations PK!

Pie Day

Today was a good day. I spent some time with a few of my favorite people.

We talked and baked and talked some more.

In the end I had five of these:

2 Pumpkin

2 Apple

and 1 Peach.

All waiting anxiously on my counter for Thanksgiving to arrive.

(Actually, I'm the one waiting anxiousy for tomorrow to come so I can eat them!)

We may have stumbled upon a new tradition--- Pie Day.

Thanks, gals, for a great day! And thanks, Kim, for your pie crust recipe and phone advice!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your day is full of gratitude, good people around you and good pie at the end.

Rain

I miss this. I miss how it looks. I miss how it smells. I especially miss how it feels. I miss looking outside and seeing a darkened, cloudy sky. I miss how it washes down the sidewalks and the streets and pretty much everything else. I miss letting my kiddos go outside to play in it and having them come in the house completely soaked and messing up my clean floors. I miss hunkering down and staying indoors and baking something for my family to come home to. I miss seeing this view from my front yard.

I wish for it everyday. I pray for it everyday. Let it rain!

I guess he was having one of those days!

No particular reason for posting this picture other than I came across it on an old memory card this morning and thought it was so stinkin' funny. Have you ever had a day when you felt like this?

Just Venting....

I'll admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. Sorry, kids, I'm just not that into it. And this week has been no exception. It actually started last week with 2 half days at the elementary school. Thursday was Pajama Day. Dress up in pj's for school. Friday was Beach Day. Dress up in beach wear for school. Saturday was our ward's Halloween party. Dress up in costumes for the party. Monday night was the D. Family Halloween FHE party. Dress up in costumes for FHE. Tuesday was Mismatch Day in celebration of Red Ribbon Week at the elementary school. Dress in unmatched clothes for school. Thursday was Wear Red to School Day, also a part of Red Ribbon Week. Find and wear red clothes to school. Tonight is the Mother/Daughter Hoe Down at the church. Dress up in western clothes. Friday is A.'s class Greek play. Dress her up as a Greek Godess. Friday is also the Snake Parade at the elementary school. Take costumes to school and dress up later in the day. (If you can't wear your costume all day at school, do we really need to complicate these children's lives by making them change into costumes at school? Another subject for another day's worth of venting.) Last, but as you can see not least, Saturday, the actual authentic dress-up day. Find the costume parts and pieces and hope that everything made it through the week in one piece to be able to wear on the actual holiday. HOLY COW! Now I realize that the sweet folks who planned some of the above said events might be reading this post. This does not mean that I have any personal beef with any of you. I am just totally overwhelmed with gathering costumes. I am awaiting Monday, November 2nd. Did you hear what special day that will be? I am calling it "Get Yourself Dressed In Your Regular Clothes And Go To School Day."

Will you be celebrating that holiday in your home?

June, July, August and a little September

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

There, now I'm caught up!

Then and Now

Funny thing. I walked by PK's room the other day and noticed this:



When I asked him about it he said that he put it up so that his room would stay darker Saturday morning so he could sleep in longer. I said, "Good thinking." But what I was thinking about was the time when he was a toddler and would wake up with the sun and I was the one putting dark blankets over his window so that both of us could get a little extra sleep. But what made me laugh out loud was the fact that (fast forward 12 years) it was Saturday morning and I really wanted him to get up early and mow the lawn instead of sleeping in.

Cove Fort

We stopped and toured Cove Fort on the way home from Women's Conference. What a fun and interesting little tour. I learned a few things that I wanted to remember so I'll share them here.

This bed was very common in the 1800's. Their "mattresses" at that time were large fabric "sacks" of straw that sat on top of straps strung across the bed frame. This straw sack and straps would shift during the night so every day it was necessary to tighten the straps. This tool on top of the headboard looks like a rolling pin but was used to beat and kill the bugs that would get into the bed. Hence the phase..."Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."

This wheel was used to spin yarn into skeins. This was a job that the children would often dofor their mothers. There is a measuring tool on the wheel called a weasel and when enough yarn was spun on to make one skein the weasel would pop out so the person would know to stop spinning. Hence the phrase..."Pop goes the weasel."

This was my favorite thing that I learned at Cove Fort. The early pioneer Saints who built the Fort and settled here were sent by Brigham Young in 1867. The families at that time always hung a picture of the Salt Lake Temple in a prominent place in their home. The one below was hung over the fireplace at Cove Fort. This seemed commonplace to me because we are still encouraged to do the same thing; hang a picture of the temple in our homes to remind our families that we can be eternal because of the blessings of the temple. But what fascinated me about the picture hanging in the Cove Fort home was the fact that the Salt Lake Temple wasn't even built yet. This was an artist's rendering. It was touching to think about these pioneer saints and all that they had been though so far and realize that they were still looking forward to those temple blessings. Especially considering that this temple wasn't finished until 1893. It made me appreciate even more the opportunities that we are blessed with being so close to a temple.

May

I got the chance to go to BYU Women's Conference with some fabulous ladies who also happen to be my friends and neighbors. This was the first time that I drove instead of flying and I would totally do it again. Six fun gals in a Suburban chatting, eating snacks, watching chick flicks and chatting for 20+ hours. Does it get better than that? Oh yeah, we learned a lot in the classes once we got there, too!



We harvested more giant zucchini that any family could ever eat from our garden. We froze a bunch and gave away a bunch to our neighbors.

A.'s class at school did a unit on pioneer times and she got points for dressing up. She was more than happy to wear a bonnet and apron to school. She looks like a genuine farmer's daughter holding this zucchini.

My mom needed a project so she made all the granddaughters little matching dresses. Homemade matching clothes is definitely something that goes over so much better with granddaughters than grandsons! Hooray, Mom, you've finally got your girls!

Mother's Day, always a good day!

May always brings lots of end-of-the-school-year activities and this year was no exception! For PK, it was 8th Grade Graduation. They do the whole deal, processional, speakers, music, etc. A little much for 8th grade, if you ask me, but it was fun to get a little preview of what his high school graduation will be like. It was next to impossible to get any good pictures, it was so crowded. I think if they're going to go to all the trouble with the big ceremony, they could have arranged for an official photographer as well.


PC's big end-of-the-year project was his famous person report. He studied John Glenn and we came up with this costume for the Living History Museum event at school. This was an easy one. I got a painters jumpsuit for about $5.00 at the paint store and decorated it with "patches" that I downloaded and printed on paper labels. He gave a short speech about the life of John Glenn, wrote a report and did an awesome job on the poster. He got a well-deserved A+.

A.'s big end-of-the-year event was the school Talent Show. She danced to "Burnin' Up" with some friends. That girly-girl loves to be on stage! (She's the one on the right.)


E. finished preschool. He rode the preschool bus everyday and I loved watching him run out to the bus with his backpack swinging back and forth. We were sad to say goodbye to his bus drivers. They were the best. For one, I knew they would take extra good care of my little guy. But they also remembered every holiday and did something extra special for the children. And I mean EVERY holiday, even National Talk Like a Pirate Day where they wore pirate costumes and gave the kids eye patches. We will miss them!

Here is our preschool graduate with his teachers.

An elementary school tradition: Crazy Hair Day! (So much more fun with A. than with the older boys!) We braided her hair around pipe cleaners that made it stand out straight. It was so fun to go out to the bus stop and see all of the crazy hairdos from the neighborhood girls!

Phew! May is always a busy month. Even though I am writing this post in September, I'm tired just remembering it!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday today to PK! Fourteen years. Where has the time gone? I feel like I say that all of the time, but it is so true! Here's a glimpse of PK's birthdays through the years.

1995

1996 One Year Old

1997 Two Years Old

1998 Three Years Old

1999 Four Years Old

2000 Five Years Old

2001 Six Years Old

2002 Seven Years Old

2003 Eight Years Old

2004 Nine Years Old

2005 Ten Years Old

2006 Eleven Years Old

2007 Twelve Years Old

2008 Thirteen Years Old

2009 Fourteen Years Old

April

T. and I went to Salt Lake City during Conference weekend to attend his mission reunion. It was a fun getaway for us. We were sad that we couldn't get tickets to Conference, especially since we stayed at the Marriott across the street from Temple Square. We watched the crowds from our window and watched Conference on TV like everybody else. Attending the mission reunion was an amazing experience. His mission president was Elder Zwick, who is now a member of the Seventy. He is a phenomenal speaker and the Spirit was so strong when he spoke. I learned some great things about my husband and about my own life as well from Elder Zwick. We had fun seeing the sights around Temple Square. I always enjoy going there, no matter how many times I've been before.




PC's first Scout camp out was in April. It was so fun to see all three of my boys ready to go in their uniforms!

All dressed up for Easter Sunday. A., being the only girl, is usually the only one who gets anything new to wear for Easter. I know, no fair, but the boys really don't care. This is usually the only time of year that I can get them all to take a picture all dressed up. Not the greatest background, but you have to go with the moment before someone starts complaining!

This one was happy to get his picture taken.

PK wanted a cool picture to post on this Facebook profile, so we took these pictures. He wanted them to look dangerous. He did a pretty good job! Thankfully, no one was hurt during this photo shoot.