Last Name Game

Last Name Game--It's harder than it looks. I saw this on one of my cousin's blogs and thought it looked kinda fun. Try it with your last name and see how you do.

1. What is your last initial? G
2. Name an animal...Gorilla
3. A Boys name...Garrett
4. A Girls name…… Gabby
5. An occupation.... Garbage collector guy
6. A COLOR... Green
7. Something you wear...green socks? (why can't I think of anything to wear that starts with G? I'm sure there's something . . .)
8. A beverage ... Grape Juice
9. A food... gyros
10. Something found in the bathroom...garbage can
11. A place...Germany
12. A Reason for being late....garage door broken
13. Something you shout... Good Grief! (yes I actually shout this, more often than I'd like to admit.)

Bunnies, Birthdays, and Baptism

1. Bunnies

Hayden calls them "bummies." We are pet-sitting our friends bummies and the kids love them. Sometimes I think they just might love them to death. But so far they are still alive, and it's been a week. I'm rather proud of that.

2. Birthdays

Dallin turned 8 last month and was very excited for his birthday party. We do birthday parties on years 5, 8, 12, and 16, so they really look forward to it when it's their year for a "party." All I can say is the next time I do a party for a boy, it will be OUTSIDE! Those little guys get so loud and crazy.

I sure do love my Dallin. He is a good example for his younger siblings. He is a very perceptive little guy--notices everything and remembers it too! He knows a lot about the gospel and the scriptures, and was sooo excited to get his first nice set of scriptures for his birthday. He also got a couple of ties that he can tie himself--he learned a few weeks ago and has been pestering me ever since to get him some "real" ties that he could tie himself. Since he'd sworn off clip-on ties and was wearing his Harry Potter "Gryffindor" tie to church, I decided I'd better widen his selection. Happy Birthday, Dallin!

Hayden is 2!

I can't believe my Hayden-boy is 2! This little guy is very observant. Don't do anything you don't want him to copy, because he is very good at imitating what he sees. He is a tease, and has a smile that gets him out of lots of trouble. He spends a good amount of time on the dryer (the time-out spot). He knows how to make the best of a situation, though, because the last time I put him on time-out, he amused himself by emptying the box of my fabric softener sheets. He is also quick to give hugs and say sorry when he hurts someone. He is busy, busy, all day long, and I don't know what I'd do without him!

Hayden enjoying his birthday present.

3. Baptism

Since Dallin turned 8, he is old enough to be baptized, and become an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are so proud of his decision to follow Jesus' example and enter the waters of baptism.

What a special day for our family. It's hard to describe how you feel when you see one of your children come up out of the water all fresh and clean, and then to have him receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I'm so proud of him for making those special covenants with Heavenly Father to take upon him Jesus Christ's name, and to obey God's commandments.

President Adams, who was there at the baptism to welcome the children to the stake, told the 3 newly baptized children that they should write down their feelings about their baptism in their journals. The next day, I reminded Dallin that he needed to do that, and he said, "Oh, I already did that, Mom. Last night before I went to bed I wrote about it in my journal." Good guy.

The Christmas Tree Hunt

The day after Thanksgiving, we drove up to the mountains for our

traditional Christmas Tree hunt.

Uncle Mikey and Daphne in the parking lot of the ranger office--Arthur was inside buying our tree permit for a whopping $10.

It's bright outside!

We didn't expect this much snow to still be on the ground, so we didn't bring the snow boots up. That limited the amount of time we had to find the tree. It didn't take long for the kids shoes and pant legs to soak through, and then for the complaining to start.

So far, everyone is still happy.

"Unca Monkey" & Aunt Amber

We just love these guys. Hayden is sitting on my lap right now, and keeps asking to see Amber. When her face isn't in the viewing window, he becomes very distraught!

Mikey brought his shotgun to play with in the woods.

Arthur and I both took a turn shooting it. Kinda fun--very loud, though. I wrapped a scarf around my head, and it wasn't so bad.

We found the tree! And not a moment too soon. Daphne had been crying about her cold wet feet as she trudged along for the last 5 minutes.

Mike & Amber found a good one to bring home too. :)

Sean was a trooper and didn't cry the whole time. Even though his pants and shoes were wet, he just kept walking along, singin' a song about finding the car and getting a tree.

It was so cute.

Hayden was another story. That boy lost his mittens one too many times and he is not the type to suffer in silence. Poor little boy. We had to find that car quick!

Below, Amber, and then Dallin & Sean drag the trees to the car.

Ah, safely in the car. We took off wet shoes and socks and turned on the heat so those poor frozen kids could unthaw. fun times. (no idea why this is underlined, and I don't know how to turn it off.)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving! Ah, I love Thanksgiving. Arthur's brother Mike and his wife Amber came to spend the weekend with us, and we loved having them! Here are the kids making beautiful name tags for our Thanksgiving feast.

Here is the delicious turkey, the rolls waiting to go in the oven, and the pot of potatoes. I'm still not tired of the leftovers.

Me and Amber taking pictures of the feast, and each other.

Dallin set the table for us with gold paper napkins wrapped around the silverware, name-tags on our plates and special decorations on the table. He did a great job.

I didn't get a picture of us sitting down for the feast because I couldn't find where Dallin put the camera after he took this shot of his handiwork. But rest assured it was phenomenal. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole (that Dallin made) delicious fruit salad with some of the sweetest, juiciest pineapple ever, warm rolls, and three kinds of pies for dessert. (I just finished the last one for breakfast this morning . . .) We were full and sleepy for the rest of the day.

We're so glad Mike and Amber could come to visit. We have so much fun with them, and the kids just adore them. When Uncle Mikey told Sean they were leaving last night, Sean protested, "But we didn't have the Thanksgiving Dinner!" (He had been anticipating the Thanksgiving Feast for days, and days, so when we sat down to eat, I made sure he knew that this was it by saying, "Sean! This is our Thanksgiving Feast! Isn't it great?") So, Uncle Mikey told him that we did have our Thanksgiving dinner. And Sean said, "No, that was a Thanksgiving Feast. We need a Thanksgiving Dinner." oh boy.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Secret Garden update

I've had a lot of friends ask me how rehearsals are going. So I figured I'd give a quick update on how it's going. Rehearsals are going great. I have my lines & songs memorized and know my blocking and am practicing with props. I got fitted for my costumes and had pictures taken for the program. I've been learning to use my chest voice a little more since my songs are so low. The set is looking awesome, I've met some very nice people, and next week we move to the theater and add the orchestra, so that's all very exciting. I'm really looking forward performing.

But I'm also ready to be done. It's been very tricky juggling everything. I've had zero energy during the day, and I know my family is feeling it. (See my "Dinner Disaster" post for just one example.) So it will be good to be finished. For perhaps the first time in my life, I'm actually looking forward to January. Usually it's such a bleak month--nothing fun on the horizon and always kind of a let-down after the holidays. But funnily enough, the blank calendar page seems like light at the end of the tunnel for me.

But for now, we're bracing ourselves for December. Secret Garden opens in 11 days! And I really am very excited for the performances. And even more excited for all the family to come out for Christmas. We are fixing broken door handles, ordering more silverware, putting up extra towel hooks, and just getting all ready for our holiday houseful!!! We can't wait, guys!

Dinner Disaster

This is kind of embarrassing, but I decided to post it anyway, since sadly, it's representative of our life right now.

So, I haven't been grocery shopping--really grocery shopping--in about two weeks. I've picked up some stuff here and there, but things have been so crazy we're out of milk, eggs, bread, potatoes--a lot of staples. So last night, we got home from Daphne's dance class, and I was trying to put together a plan for dinner. I came up with a can of baked beans, a can of corn, some orange slices, and baking powder biscuits. (I told the kids the pioneers would be really grateful for this dinner!!!)

Well, while I was over at the sink, Sean decided to help me by dumping an unknown amount of baking soda into the flour and baking powder I had already put in the bowl. I couldn't really tell which was powder and which was soda, but I tried to scoop out as much as I could since the recipe doesn't even call for soda. When I'd gotten out what I figured was most of it, I finished the recipe and put them in the oven. I tested some of the dough and it tasted a little "soda-ish" but not inedible.

It was about 6:30 before I finished heating up our dinner, and set the table. The kids were less than enthusiastic about our "pioneer" dinner (and truthfully, so was I.) But I redeemed myself when I brought the baking powder biscuits out from the oven. The kids all clambered to get one and Hayden sat ready with the honey next to his seat so he could pour it on his biscuit (because he's such a big boy and surely wouldn't have made a mess . . .) After the prayer, Dallin took a big bite of his biscuit. He chewed for a second. I think his face might have turned green. And then he ran over to the sink and started spitting it out dramatically. This went on for several minutes. Evidently, I hadn't removed enough of the soda. None of the rest of us ventured a taste.

The one delicious thing we had for dinner was ruined. Dallin and Daphne each took multiple turns berating Sean for his poor contribution to dinner, with me interjecting, "That's enough guys, Sean was trying to help, he learned his lesson . . ." But Dallin & Daphne, who were thoroughly disappointed, just wouldn't let it go.

"It's all your fault, Sean! Next time don't pour stuff in unless Mom tells you to! It's all your fault! It's YOUR fault the biscuits are gross, Sean! It's YOUR fault!"

Until Sean yelled, "I don't WANT any faults!"

I laughed at Sean's reply, and then I laughed at the gross biscuits and the baked beans that were now cold and disgusting, and at my pathetic attempt at dinner, at all the plates with their untouched food on them. And then Arthur came home from work and we all felt a little better.

Since then, I've decided to go ahead and get some frozen meals to have on hand for days like those. I don't ever remember eating those growing up, because my mother was amazing. It kind of feels like a cop-out to me, but I guess at least until Secret Garden is finished, it's better to have something tasty to eat even if I didn't make it.