Slowly

So this week I have been mucho lazy! I am taking my time saying goodbye to Christmas and Hello to the new year. Christmas was a lot of fun, and I am behind again on posts, but right now I am enjoying being lazy so I probably won't catch up for a while. I really enjoy New Year's. As kids we were all given fresh notebooks on New Year's Day, we were to write our resolutions in them. I loved it! The chance to get a fresh start, to try to do it better than last year. There have been resolutions that I have kept, resolutions that didn't last a week, and resolutions that taught me about myself. I know that some people are anti-resolution arguing that if you are going to do better you just should. That there is nothing magical or special about New Years that will make keeping your resolutions easier. But I disagree! New Years is magical. In 2009 I can do whatever I put my mind to. I can be a better mother, a better wife. I can read my scriptures, have FHE regularly, and reinstate family prayer. To me, it is a fresh start.
My friend, Jenni, told me of something she did growing up. Instead of Resolutions they decided to give a gift to Jesus. After Christmas, they would choose something they could improve upon in the next year, write it down and put it in a box to be opened next year. I think it is a great idea, and I think that it is something my kids would understand better than resolutions. SO we might do that- but me I will go buy my brand new notebook today, and try to find some quiet time tomorrow and write my resolutions. What about you? 2009 is full of promise! What will you do better?

Forgotten Carols

So last Monday I got to go to Vegas with a bunch of friends to see Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols" I wasn't gonna go at first cuz I didn't think I would have time with all the business (that's busy-ness not business BTW) going on. But I changed my mind and I am so glad that I did. I had so much fun! I always have fun with my friends and I am so thankful for them.
Anyways, my friends Andrea, Jamie and I went up early to shop and on the way it was snowing!

I was so excited! I took tons of pics and then I made Andrea stop at a gas station so I could take more pics.

I know I am a total dork, but I love the snow! Even a little bit. Well the snow actually caused some major drama. The group that was coming later thought they might not get through cuz they heard rumors that the roads would be closed, and they had our tickets, so we almost had to make other plans. And I must say, they would have been pretty good plans, too. *wink* So we shopped and laughed and broke a couple minor traffic laws- then we met up with everyone else at Olive Garden.


Then it was on to the show! and what a fabulous show it was. I loved it! I seriously cried a lot, especially at the end- although some thought it was major cheese- I love cheese! AND it took me until intermission when I read the program to realize that it was actually Michael McLean himself acting on stage.

Yeah I'm kind of a dork! SO after I decided that I really wanted my picture with him (he is like a Mormon celebrity after all)!
But the line was huge so I was trying to get my friend, Tana, to stand close enough so that it looked like she was next to him.

He noticed us being silly and motioned to come on over and get a pic. Well, he didn't have to ask me twice!

All in all it was such a fun night! I think we should go every year- Thanks so much Wendi for putting it together.

We've been very good this year...

So last week was the ward Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. They had crafts at the table for the kids to do while they waited. It was a great idea, but I had to laugh when they announced that they had crafts and crayons on the table so please keep your kids in the cultural hall. Ha Ha! they must know my children. Anyways, after dinner Mrs Claus came and told a story. If I was better at this whole blogging thing I would show a progression of pics to show how Hannah got closer and closer to the table where Mrs Claus was talking.
it was pretty funny.
Oh and Jared is a future Pyro! He was not into the story at all but thought that the pretend fire was awesome!! He kept putting his fingers on it and going "Owww that's hot!"

Then he decided it would be a blast to run up and down the halls with his friend, Daxton, sorry Jamie- Jared is already turning him to the dark side!





The story was a little lengthy, but once it was over they started singing, Jared was way into that.
He and Daxton and Allie were getting their groove on. It was so cute!
Santa was having a hard time finding good old BHC, isn't the look on Zach's face priceless. He was concerned that if Santa couldn't find the church he wouldn't be able to find our house come Christmas.

Well, thanks goodness those kids sang loud enough and Santa finally came much to the delight of my rugrats.

Making doughnuts

So a while ago I had grand plans to do something Christmas related each day leading up until Christmas. But as most of my plans do, it got forgotten about. But we did do and FHE a couple of weeks ago about the true meaning of Christmas.

It was really neat. We were supposed to read a scripture a night until Christmas. Well, that didn't happen, so it will be added to my list for next year. After FHE we made daoughnuts with leftover biscuits we found in the fridge. The kids had a blast decorating them

and I think that Kerry enjoyed being the chef more than he will admit. I messed up the glaze, I added way too much milk and not near enough sugar, but it was still way yummy! I think that we may have found a new tradition.

A lesson for Mom

Why does life seem to get so busy around the holidays? I am so behind on blogging! I promise I will catch up this weekend. I think the pace might slow a little. But I just had to write a quick thing so that I can remember.
I feel like we are not doing a great job teaching our children the true meaning of Christmas. Well at least not all of our children. Kerry and Zach went and bought some presents for something one of the dentists in town is doing for less fortunate kids. Zach was awesome! He had a good time choosing the presents, trying to get exactly what the little boy we were buying for would like. He seems to understand that it is good to give.
Our sweet daughter on the other hand- not so much! It's really my fault, I didn't prepare her much. SO today when I was wrapping the presents, I was trying to explain why we were giving, and why it's good, and all that jazz. Well, I started wrapping Sorry Sliders- a board game that our sweet princess really wants. I did my darnedest to explain that we were not giving HER Sorry Sliders away, that this was another one that i had bought just for this little boy that wasn't going to get very many presents. Mind you hers is safely hidden with the rest of the presents, but I didn't want to say, "You're going to get one too." Silly me wanted to use it as a way to teach selflessness. Yes, I know stop laughing! I now realize that 5 may be a bit young for such a lesson.
SO she did finally relent that this present would make this little boy very happy, and then proceeded to remind me that such a present would make my little girl VERY happy as well. I told her we would have to see what is under the tree on Christmas. So a few minutes later she asks to call Daddy. I dial the number, hand her the phone and continue what I am doing. Within seconds I hear- in a super sweet voice- "Daddy, can you bring me home Sorry Sliders?" You tell me this girl doesn't know how to work the system!

How bout a whore? and pretty tables, too.

So we Burgess's have been quite crafty lately. Hannah made a gingerbread house today at school. Usually on the car ride home, I tend to tune out the kids' conversations but sometimes a word or two stick out which makes me pay closer attention. Today the word was "whore" but not as you are thinking. Hannah was describing all the parts of her gingerbread house to Zach and she was telling him about the candy canes that she had shaped into a heart for the door.

So Zach says, "oh so kinda like a whore!" "What?" I say from the front. "You know Mom, like heart and door together- whore." "Um," I said, "how about something else?" So now the door on the gingerbread house is called a dart. Which I think is equally creative and will not raise near as many eyebrows.

So for Enrichment on Wednesday night my good friend, Mindie and I decorated a table. I think it turned out super cute if I do say so myself:

The santa hats are cupcake pops from bakerella and we put chips, salsa, and guacomole on the table to distract from the unprofessionalism of the table. Here is cute us by our table (p.s. we had a super cute pose first but Sandy couldn't figure out my camera *wink*)

We are so blessed to have some seriously talented ladies in our ward. Here are some more of the tables. Here is my friend, Sandy's (by the way don't ever make the mistake of messing with her plates hee hee) She did a nativity set in the middle, and I think that the whole thing turned out really classy!

And here is my sister-in-law Andrea's. Seriously, she is so talented it make me sick. She is way crafty and even helped me decorate my kitchen, which I am so very thankful for.


I am way bummed that I didn't get everyones pic, especially Katie's and Jamie's which were so cute! Maybe some of all these girls craftiness will rub off on me...one can hope!

best waste of time ever!

so i feel like crap today! I'm not entirely sure why, maybe it's something I ate. But I don't have time to be sick, I have too much other stuff to do. But while I can I am just resting trying to kick whatever it is. And what better way to rest than to play on my laptop. SO whilst I was surfing the web I came across the BEST pointless thing to do. It's called line rider and you can expeience the fun here i have to admit I have already spent way too much time on it this morning. But it makes me laugh so hard- especially when I make the little guy fall off the mountain, or have a spectacular crash! Jared comes running to the couch each time because I am laughing my head off. I don't know what is so funny- but it makes me laugh a lot! And apparently linerider is somewhat of an obsession for some people check out you tube if you don't believe me. try it I am telling you- it will at least make you smile.

crisis averted?

I've been debating whether or not to blog this, because it's pretty embarrassing- but as my blog is supposed to be a journal of sorts and I want to remember these times, (right?) here we go:

So this morning was just like any morning,frantic rush, you know the usual. SO I send the kids to the car and grab my shoes and purse and head out the door only to be met by a 3 year old on the verge of tears. "Mommy," he says, "I pee-peed in my pants." I'm not sure if it was embarassment or pain that was causing his tears to well up- it was pretty darn cold this morning! So back in the house we go to find a new outfit. Somehow we managed to get to school only 2 minutes late! yea me! Then we went about our morning errands. I had to stop at the office and Jared was very happy and content listening to "Jedi Knight" and singing along at the top of his lungs so I decided to just run in and back out. As a side note- this was a tough decision because when I was younger and not as wise, I used to leave Hannah in her carseat when I picked up Zach from preschool until one day when I was met at the car by a very irate mother who had called the police on me because how dare I leave my precious angel in the car, etc. Well let's just say I burned rubber getting out of there.. I was not about to be hauled away *wink* she didn't really call the cops she just let me have it with a verbal assault. I probably should have called the cops on her. Anyways, back to today: So I watched the car the whole time, left the door open, grabbed what I needed off the counter (all while still watching the car, I am a little paranoid), then walked back to the car. Jared had gotten in the front seat and was pretending to drive. I went to open the door and....yep you guessed it- LOCKED! no big deal, Jared knows how to unlock it. But no he can't. I am standing outside the car trying to explain to my sweet 3 year old how to push the "other" end of the lock button- he has the "lock" part down pat if you ever need a car locked, he is your man- but he just can't seem to figure it out. SO then I think, okay just open the door. That also seems to be beyond him. Then I start to panic: He can't get this open I am going to be standing here forever! Someone is going to call the police and then I WILL be hauled away when they find out that I left my kid alone in the car. Then just when it seems like all is lost the door opens and my angel- with a grin the size of Texas- says, "Here Mommy, you sit in your seat and I'll sit in my seat." So do you think he was just messing with me?

Christmas came early

So i have the best husband in the world! i know that you all think that your husband is the best, but sorry mine is. He is so sweet and funny. And he takes such good care of me. Plus, he loves trying to surprise me and he usually can't. Mostly because he gets so excited about the surpirse that he ends up telling me. But when he does- it's always so fun!
So Sunday after his finger injury he was cleaning like a mad man. When he cleans it make me feel a little guilty, especially if I'm not helping, but he told me that he was enjoying it so I just let him while I redid the blog. Hannah, however, was so shocked by what was going on that she asks him,

"Dad what are you doing?"

"Cleaning," he replies.

After some consideration she replies, "Dad, I didn't know you knew how to clean!"

Which is funny in and of itself, but Hannah always takes things to the next level. Utterly confused she says something about how Mom cleans and Dad goes to work (I know it would be funnier if I could remember exactly what she said). You have to imagine her little face as she tries to figure this all out. Finally, she apparently decided that Dad was trying to pull on off on her and says,

"Dad, you haven't cleaned in your whole adult life!"

Anyways, as funny as Hannah is that is not actually why I am posting again. This is why you are lucky enough to get 2 posts in one day:

and this

i love them so much. When he showed me i actually stood there and watched a load be washed AND they are so cool when the kids got home from school they stood and watched the load dry for awhile.
So the cleaning was sweet, but it was also to clean out the laundry room so the new ultra fabulous washer and dryer could be delivered. Omigoodness you should have seen it before! It was a disaster- my honey really worked hard, and I love him so much for it. Here is what it looks like now:



so now i really need to decorate, and now I have another "happy place" to go and I actually enjoy doing laundry. Now does anyone have an idea to help me enjoy folding laundry?

Super fun night...finally!

So I have been promising my friends, Mindie and Jenni, that we would do something super fun for their birthdays (that fall a week apart) for almost a month now- but it just hasn't worked out. It was honestly hard to find a night that we could all get together. Well last night, the planets aligned -plus my fabulous husband agreed to watch kids- and we finally got to have our fun.
I was joking all night that I had to take the right pictures for my blog, but apparently I need more practice because I did not get very many good pictures and totally forgot to get a few that I wanted. But here is what we did:
At the last minute I decided that I wanted to have party favors, so I hit the target dollar spot- which I am so in love with as I can always find something cute and wonderful, but I digress- this is what I ended up with

in the birthday girls' buckets there were also coldstone gift cards, and i got the idea for the flip-flops from my friend, Kendra here
yes I know that my flip-flops did not turn out as cute, but in my defense I ran out of time (actually I just have really poor time management skills). and I didn't buy enough ribbon.
Okay so everyone met at my house and we drove to our destination: pedicures! (this is where the not so great pictures were taken, so you'll just have to imagine a super fun car ride) We had so much fun! Here's Katie, Mindie, and Jamie

and here is Jenni and me
apparently before I got my eyebrows waxed- shoulda planned that better. So, at first we were just relaxing enjoying the massage chairs and really, is there anything better than a pedicure? and making small talk to the sweet people working there, but by the end we were ALL laughing our heads off and we knew all the ins and outs of the place: who was related to who, who was having whose baby, etc. seriously my stomach hurt I was laughing so hard. here is the finished products:

and now I am thinking that I should have gotten a cute little christmasy design, too- but I am sucker for a simple, french.
And here we are displaying what we learned while watching the tv they had going (obviously some of us learned more than others)

Afterwards, we went to Chilis- and this is the part where I forgot to take pictures. I think that it was a really fun night, but then I always love to get together with friends so I was happy just being there. Happy bday Jenni and Mindie! Hope it was fabulous. and now my kids are going to be late to school- I need to reevaluate my priorities hee hee hee

p.s I was going to post Mindie's evil eye pic, but she did threaten me against posting any less than flattering pics so I'll email it to her and let her decide, but seriously your kids must really tow the line when they see that- I need lessons! *wink*

Blogging has changed my life and Kerry is a little short handed (or fingered)?

Is is just me, or do you fellow bloggers look at things differently since starting a blog? For instance, I went to Black Friday for the first time ever this year. It was a ton of fun, but as I was waiting at midnight to get into the mall I kept thinking, man I should have brought my camera to get a picture of all these suckers! And later upon leaving a store, purchases in hand I lingered near a group of people fighting with a security guard over whose was the last free teddy bear- not because I was interested, but because I wanted to make sure I had the story right before I posted it on my blog! Blogging has become part of our vocab in the Burgess house, as in "that's so going on the blog" and "what did the kids say again, that was totally bloggable." It's good though, because now I write down what the kids do and say more than I ever did before, and my blog has become a better journal than I have kept since I was a kid. So I'm not saying that it is a bad thing that blogging has invaded my life- but I can tend to become a little too obsessed...

So my hubby is now a little less of himself than he was before. A half a fingertip to be exact. We were over at his mom's helping her with some stuff for relief society and he was using the big paper cutter. It was pretty dull so he had to really whack that thing down to cut the paper. I made a comment to him about being careful not to lose a finger, I mean those are the money makers. Not five minutes later I hear, "oww! I cut my finger off." Now those of you who know Kerry understand why I did not call an ambulance or even get up from my seat. But then he says, "i'm serious..well maybe no I think it was just a scratch." SO I run over to where he was cutting and sure enough there near the blade was a chunk of... well, finger. I grabbed it (I know, thinking about it now makes me a little sick to my stomach) and grabbed some ice and threw it all in a ziploc, told Kerry to get in the car and started out the door. My poor mother-in-law yelling, "i'll watch the kids" as we hurry past. It helped that I had watched the Friends episode where Monica drops a knife on Chandler's toe and cuts it off, that's where I got the put it on ice idea. Anyways, for all the crap local hospitals get, I have to admit they got us in pretty fast. The worst part was seeing Kerry in pain and not being able to do anything about it. My hubby is so tough- and has a good sense of humor we were crackin some great finger jokes. Turns out they didn't need my finger-in-a-bag after all, they couldn't have sewn it back on. he didn't cut any bones, and now just has to wear an incredibly fashionable bright blue "dressing" I think they called it. he does have pain medication- thank goodness that thing has got to hurt! But on the bright side, he says if he ever commits a crime and the only evidence thay have is a left index finger print, they will never be able to get him, because now he only has half a left index finger print! Ahhh good times!
So, did I think of the blog during this "crisis"? the answer is yes, more than once- but only while we were waiting to be discharged, and then again when I told his brother what had happened over the phone and he was laughing so hard, I couldn't even understand what he was saying. BUT Kerry is fine. Like I said, he is tough! He will take it easy for a couple of days. He goes to see the doctor again tuesday to get the bandage changed, hopefully they can make it a little smaller. Right now it looks like when a cartoon is using a hammer and misses the nail, all swollen up (the bandage, not the finger), but there is no way he will be able to get a glove over that montrousity (I so did not spell that right)
Okay and lastly, I have to share the sick part of me. So I was driving through Wendy's after and I still had my finger-in-a-bag (I guess I just hadn't thought to throw it out yet) and so (you can see where this is going) no just kidding I did not order the chili, but it was tempting! (that was sarcasm by the way, just in case anyone thought that I would ever actually put a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili. I would not, in fact I can not even eat Wendy's chili because every onion makes me wonder)

25 more days!

So check me out I am all Christmas-y! THis is by far my favorite time of year. I love Christmas, and the entire season. I am looking forward to all the baking, and shopping, and wrapping, I can't wait to get started. Our lights are up, thanks to a handy dandy stick tool that let Kerry stay on the ground. He was so excited, he was finished in about 20 minutes. I am so happy, because last year he refused to put up lights. Mind you it is only one strand on the front of the house, but he did do the tree also. The people in my neighborhood all seem to be getting in the Christmas spirit too. One if my neighbors has actually had his lights up for a few weeks now. We are turning into quite a festive neighborhood!
So anytime you are feeling blue this season, come visit (me or my blog), sip a cup of hot cocoa and listen to the relaxing Christmas music...sigh I love this time of year.

who was that?

okay so, I'm not sure who that negative chick who posted last was. Man was she a bummer! ANyways, I was reading my poor me post, and I decided that it was all in the perspective. I should have said- I am thankful to have eyes to need contacts for, I am thankful to have friends to go visit (even though I didn't make it), I am soo thankful for visiting teachers (who offered by the way to go get me contacts). I am so thankful to have 3 beautiful, healthy, active children who make me laugh everyday and still need me and want me around. I am thankful for that super yummy bread (hopefully Candice will make me more), and I am thankful for the change in weather, because it has brought with it cool, crisp air just in time for Thanksgiving. SO that is what I should have said. I love the song "Count your Blessings" it really puts things in perspective. So the gloom and doom is officially over- I just need to remember to look for the silver lining. And keep my diet coke supply well stocked! Just kidding it was not the diet coke.

On a different note, I am super excited for Thanksgiving. SOme of my family got here last night and I love to see them. I know that other people are not so lucky- but I love my brothers and sister, and have so much fun hanging out with them. And, again lucky, the people that they chose to marry are great and I love hanging out with them too. Seriously! And I am really looking forward to tomorrow, because we will start cooking and baking and then it will really feel like Thanksgiving. It's so weird not to be traveling somewhere for Thanksgiving- we have never lived here before. But it should be fun. okay enough of my late (well kinda late) night rambling. I'm off to bed, and that really negative alter ego won't be showing her face again any time soon- I have too much good stuff in my life to feel sorry for myself.

As gloomy as the sky

So I feel like Eeyore today. No special reason, nothing terrible has happened to me, I'm just feeling glum. Maybe it's because I woke up not being able to see, because I am out of contacts and I can't find my glasses. I did find one contact in the bottom of my purse so now I can kinda see. Maybe it's because I didn't get to go see my friends because of said contacts/glasses mishap, and I was not feeling like it would be safe for me to drive- depth perception and all. Maybe it's because my sweet visiting teachers came this morning and brought a really yummy loaf of homemade bread, which I have now polished off (by myself, with a little help from Parker and Zach) and I am feeling a little guilty about that. Maybe it's because my kids are STILL on break from school (p.s. I really do love my kids, I just want to make sure that everyone knows that) Or maybe it is just because the sky is so gloomy, overcast like it's going to rain, but it's really just teasing me. It has no intention of actually raining!
Whatever the reason, I am in a funk! I don't feel like doing anything but curling up in the nook of my sectional with a comfy blanket and staring out the window. This is definitely an old sweatshirt and pajama pants afternoon, maybe with a nice hot cup of soup and some homemade bread to dip in it - oh wait I ate all the bread- okay crackers. If I was a better cook I would whip some up, but I burned the last soup I tried to make. Sigh I'll just sit in my nook and dream about it...
Have you ever had a day like this? How do you pull yourself out of a funk? I'm actually on my way now to get a diet coke and see a friend, that will probably help.

Fine- I'll get up

You know it's bad and you might be sleeping in a bit too often when you hear your children downstairs making cereal for breakfast(again), and smile as the eldest says, "Wait, we forgot to say the prayer- Hannah will you please say the prayer this morning?" Patting yourself on the back for raising such wonderful, thoughtful children- then rolling over to go back to sleep as you hear your sweet daughter start her prayer only to be jolted awake as you hear, "and please bless Mommy to come downstairs with us."
Man that mother of the year award keeps slipping further and further from my grasp!

A turkey for my turkeys

Can you tell I am trying to catch up on posts? Life seems to be happening so fast these days...anyways, so I HATE the fact that Christmas decorations are in the stores before Halloween. And now Christmas has hit full force on TV, the stores, and even radio. I found a ton of fall/harvest decorations in the clearance bin the other day. And while I always appreciate a good sale, It's like they want to just skip over Thanksgiving completely. I happen to love Thanksgiving, and all that goes with it. In fact I love from October til the end of the year. The changing weather, the leaves changing color (or so I've heard). There is a cripsness in the air. Plus, Thanksgiving is a fabulous holiday- how can you skip it? Football, Family, and Turkey what more could you want?
SO to help my kids remember the holiday and think about being thankful we made a Thankful Turkey. For FHE a couple of weeks ago, we talked about what we are thankful for.

We took turns naming things and I wrote each thing on a turkey feather. Then on the back of each feather I wrote an activity for us to do as a family. Like on the back of the "friends" feather it says, "we are thankful for our friends let's meet them for a picnic in the park." (and then that feather was pulled on verteran's day when we were already planning to meet some friends) or for the "mom" feather it says, "we are thankful for Mom, let's help Dad make dinner tonight and give her a break." And on the "diet coke" feather (oh yes there is a diet coke feather-it is something Mom is VERY thankful for) it says, "Mom is thankful for diet coke, and we are thankful for treats, let's go to sonic and get a treat." So you get the idea. I am surprised how much they look forward to pulling a feather each day. When we get to Thanksgiving all of the feathers will be gone, and we get to spend a little bit each day reflecting on all we have to be thankful for. I can't take full credit for the idea, I put 2 other ideas together that I saw on Sugardoodle here and here but tweaking other peoples ideas is where I get most of mine. It's not super fancy, but that way I can throw it away when I'm done, and it was fun to make and the kids love it- plus it is helping me keep my sanity while the are out of school for the whole month of November!

Cousins

So my dear nephew, Cameron, got his Eagle Scout Award Sunday. We are all so proud of him, he is setting such a great example. He is the oldest boy cousin so he has set the standard. It was great to see him and his family and for almost all the cousins to see each other (we were missing Kory's and Kim's kids).

Anyways seeing them all together I got as little teary eyed. Not only with pride, but also because I only had 2 cousins growing up and they were way older than me- and while I have a good relationship with them now- we didn't do much together. My Mom is 10 years older than her brothers and my cousins on that side are actually the same ages as my kids. My point is I am glad that my kids have cousins, and I am secretly a little jealous of them. SHHHH don't tell.

Here are the Nelson cousins, so on my side of the fam, my siblings are starting to catch up a little bit so now my kids aren't the only ones.

Watching Zach with Cameron and seeing how cool Zach thinks Cameron is, I hope that Zach grows up to be a good example to his younger cousins. So yea for Cameron, and yea for cousins!

Do it for Edward!

Okay so I am an admitted Twilight addict, so when I was redoing my blog layout today I was searching for a cool countdown to the movie for my sidebar. I found one, but it doesn't fit right so I am going to have to do some tweaking. Anyways, I found this pic on a site and thought it was pretty funny and a cute way to remind people to vote. Yes I am actually more Team Jacob, but it's still pretty good. check it out!


SO if you haven't voted yet- VOTE- if not for the fate of the country, then do it for all the sad vampires out there who will never get to vote because they are stuck at the age of 17!

p.s. they would totally vote for John Mccain by the way.

Halloween fun, and a little drama, too.

So, as I may have mentioned we went to Phoenix last week and while we were there the kids got to go to Parker's Trunk or Trick. My big bro LOVES Halloween and goes all out in the costume department. A few years ago he and Hannah dressed as Sully and Boo from Monsters Inc. He made the costumes himself.


His wife is such a good sport, too that year she went as olive oyl, because Zach wanted to be Popeye.
Anyways, this year I have gotten Stephen hooked on my fav kids show (yes I am taking credit for it) Phineas and Ferb. You'll have to go to his blog to see the fun costumes. SO my kids had a great time.
When the time came for Halloween here, Zach decided that he wanted to be a werewolf. And I (forgetting I am SO not supermom) agreed to make him a costume. Here comes the drama part- I had this brilliant idea: I would cut up one of his many stuffed animals and hot glue the pieces to ratty clothes to simulate fur. I still think that it was a pretty good idea and would have turned out okay. So I am cutting a brownish dog that I don't recognize as anything important when he comes in the door from school. He sees the pile of brown "fur" on the table and says,
"What happened to Yoda?"
"Who's Yoda?" I innocently ask.
"My very special dog that I got for Valentine's Day when I was 5," comes the reply.
"What?!" I am thinking, how did I not realize that I was massacreing (is that a word) his beloved pooch? I am officially the worst Mom ever!!
So I call him over to explain my brilliant plan (which doesn't seem so brilliant anymore) and the poor kid is trying sooo hard not to cry, because he knows that he is getting older and really shouldn't care so much- BUT it's Yoda! come on Mom. AS I am trying to show him how cool Yoda's fur will look as a werewolf costume he interrupts saying, "Mom can you please just sew him back together?" (Have we met? Me sew?) "Is that what you really want?" I ask, "because then you probably can't be a werewolf."
"Yes," comes the answer, "I'll just be a......zombie, I just need face paint for that." I'm thinking, "Why couldn't you have come to that conclusion about 20 minutes ago?" SO I am thinking that I really didn't cut him up too much and I can probably get him sewn to look sort of what he used to. Little did I know that whilst we were discussing the fate of our friend, Yoda, my sweet helpful husband had taken said friend into the other room. Convinced that if Zach could just see how cool a werewolf costume it would be, sweet helpful hubby had cut the animal to strips of fur. SO now I have a ziploc baggie on my counter that may someday be Yoda again- but I'm thinking probably not.
Here is my zombie (and my gorgeous neice, Lauren) and I am sooo buying costumes next year!


Hope you all had a fabulous Halloween.

my nephew is famous!

I guess that technically my brother-in-law, Josh, is famous too. Kimmy sent me a link to this picture. Read all about it here

yea uncle steve and Emma too.

So we went to Phoenix last weekend for my big brother's graduation from DeVry, and my little sister's baby's blessing. It was so great to be able to be there for both exciting times. We are so proud of Uncle Steve


it was fun to be with Parker and Granny and Granddad
The kids loved yelling "yea uncle steve" when he walked across the stage.


Okay LOVE may be a bit strong. It got a little long towards the end.


Granddad forgot how much fun it is to take a road trip with kids. Jared was okay with leaving his big boy pants on the side of the road, but was way bummed that he didn't see a coyote in the process!


Just reminding my self why I am not sad that I don't live in a city anymore (you can't tell in the pic, but all the brake lights were on, and I was in the carpool lane)!



but this is why I love Phoenix: (besides my family that lives there of course)


SO here is what I got at IKEA: the VANNA ta da! I'm not entirely sure what category of furniture it falls into, but I LOVE it so much. I call it my mini mudroom.

This is what it looked like before IKEA

And that I why I love IKEA. It gives me one more happy place in my house. And if you want to see how cute my niece Emma looked in her blessing dress head over to my sister's blog
Phew that was a long post!