O Christmas Tree

Every year, our family heads to Helvetia Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. I think we've gone there for 7 years now. This year we sprayed our tree with some Raid to avoid the problem we had last year. A spider egg hatched somewhere near the top of the tree and all of December we had darling little spiders gracing our ceiling (and probably other places too). Every day I would have to vacuum the little friends that I could find. Yuck. This year we were happily critter free. (I heard a story this last week about someone who had a BAT in their tree!!!! I don't think even Raid would help with that!) We had some issues getting the tree to stand straight in the stand and then several strands of lights went out that had to be replaced. It was such a pain this year that we nearly vowed to buy artificial next year, but I'm sure we'll have amnesia and get caught up in the Christmas spirit and go through it all again.

Here are some pictures of the decorating process - much more fun than the 'getting-it-in-the-stand-and-lights-on-it' part.

These glass-looking ornaments are actually plastic! The coolest idea ever - pretty, but unbreakable. Much safer for little hands. We love these!

Wanna laugh until you cry?

Okay, this YouTube "Hitler's Reaction to BYU Loss" made me laugh so hard that I am still crying. Those of you who are BYU fans and still upset about the game - maybe hearing Hitler's frustration will help you vent too. Trust me, I know first hand how painful that game was for you Cougars. Check this out for some laugh therapy. And as for you fellow U of U fans - YEEEHAW!! Go Utes! Thanks dad for the link - I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6CROOR2QN8&eurl=http://www.utefans.net/list.php?page=0&feature=player_embedded

Why Come?

The girls have said some funny things today that I had to mention before I forget.

Angela, like any three year old, is constantly asking, "why?", but she has her own little twist that I think is extra cute and takes away some of the annoyance of being nagged to explain everything. When I tell her that, no, she can't have candy for breakfast she asks, "Why come, mom?" I respond with something reasonable like, "Because that is not healthy for your body." And she shoots back, "but why come?" And I say, "Because too much sugar can make your tummy hurt." And, yep, you guessed it, she asks "Why COME?" Then I just start laughing and smile at her cute made up English and it makes her mad because she really wants to know 'why come' and my answers never satisfy her.

Tonight, we (my husband Bill* and I) were asking the kids about what they would like for Christmas. Bill* asked Sarah, "Do you think you've been good enough to get something from Santa this year?" Sarah stopped and thought, really thought about this. I fully expected a quick, "Yes", but her pause made me curious. After thinking she said, "Well, no body's perfect." (o: What a great answer! We laughed pretty hard at this and assured her that of course she had been good enough.

Natalie, on the other hand, based on her performance today, would probably get a lump of coal and maybe a Barbie because she is so cute, even when she's a stinker. Today Natalie has regressed to being a two year old, apparently. I have no other explanation for the many naughty things that she did today...
1. she colored some ABC's in crayon all over our kitchen desk drawers.
2. practiced writing letters in soap on the mirror in the bathroom.
3. picked off a slew of pink feathers from a fluffy pen she loves to write with and THEN chuckled to herself as I blamed the cat for making the mess that was all over the bunkbeds, the floor and even the wall!
4. Hid a peed on Pull Up under the shoe rack, luckily I found it.
5. Peed in the tub! This one got a big long lecture - gross.
6. Sat all the way in my friends' baby swing while we were at Sarah's piano lessons and had a lovely time swinging until I caught her. We had a long talk about this one too - Sooo sorry Kirstin!

I think there were a couple other things, but it's been a long day and I've lost track. What in the world is going on? I don't understand why the sudden increase in toddler behavior. Maybe the stars were just aligned a little funky today. Good thing Natalie is so cute.

#10 Favorite Memory From Fall 2008

#10 Election Day

Although I HATE political ads for many reasons ( in case you're interested - a. they are annoying, b. there are so many better ways to spend millions of dollars c. most of the time they don't really educate you on the measures or candidates d. they are often hateful and just bashing the opponent)

I love election day, especially on the years we get to vote for president. It is exciting to take part in choosing our leaders and turning in that ballot. Can I just say I love the mail in ballot?! I enjoyed studying each of the many measures - I did one or two each morning while I ate breakfast. There were quite a few that I started out with one view and after reading the arguments for/against I changed my mind. I love getting to have my "say". I think it is amazing to think about the fact that women have only had the right to vote for less than a century. I'm glad I live in a time when I can take part in choosing our leaders and defining our laws.

Sarah has been very interested in all the political talk and Natalie, who I thought was totally oblivious to the whole thing, came home the day after the elections talking about Barack Obama being our new president. It's great having the opportunity to talk about the way our country works and how lucky we are to live where we have a voice. This is an exciting time.

The one thing that has made me sad this week is seeing the harassment of our church since the Prop 8 measure passed, and even before the elections. It has been so frustrating to hear blatant lies about Mormons, reading about the harassment of members trying to go to the temple in Los Angelas and to hear stories of vandalism and threats to those who dared to put up signs supporting the proposition. So many have been genuinely scared to say what they think. It is maddening to think about people trying to bully others into voting a certain way. That is not how our country works. The topic of homosexuality is very sensitive and I can understand the genuine disappointment of those who saw the proposition as intolerant and unfair, but there are some who have taken their frustration to a very scary level.

On Sunday, I found out there was a death threat to the Mormon kids in the high school that many of my young women attend. They all kind of brushed it off, but the school is taking it seriously and requested police presence the day that the threat said it would supposedly be carried out. I'm sure this is only one story of the intimidation people are trying to use. The saddest part is that our church leaders and doctrine only teach compassion and Christ like love. We are not hateful of anyone, no matter who they are or what their sexuality may be. I am grateful for so many other Christian faiths that have stood up for our church as it has been so unfairly targeted and slandered. I hope that the vicious and ugly turn these protests have taken will cool off before anything tragic happens. It is awful to worry about your own safety and the safety of those you care about because of an election. I am sad that a few people have turned to bullying and lies to threaten our basic rights of voting and free speech. It sounds like stories you hear about in other countries, not America.

Ah, but I hate to end on a negative note. I believe that the vast majority of the people on both sides of the issue are good people and I am grateful for that. I still have faith in our political system and our country. We really are the luckiest people in the world to live in the United States. I feel like I should end by breaking out in song . . . but I'll spare you. (o:

#9 Favorite Memory From Fall 2008

#9 There is Beauty All Around...

Fall in Oregon is breathtaking. The colors are so stunning against the beautiful evergreens.

Angela and I went exploring last week to gather leaves and get some pictures before the trees are bare.

#8 Favorite Memory From Fall

#8 Getting to spend time with grandmas and grandpas.

I love my parents and my "2nd" parents (in-laws sounds so blah) and could not wait to spend some time with them during their visits for the baptism. I really enjoy Halloween and it was so much fun to have them join us in the trick or treating. We had yummy food and great conversation. After the baptism on Saturday, we had so much fun hanging out and watching the BYU and U of U football games together. I loved hearing my dad and Jay (one a big U of U and one a big BYU fan) discuss football - we have a very fun rivalry between our families and we all cheered for both teams on this day since they weren't playing each other! (o: What a fun night! It might sound funny, but it just doesn't get better than that. Hanging out with your most favorite people watching football and laughing and then both of the teams winning! Hooray!

The next day it was fun to go to church all together. Sarah got to sit on the stand for the first part of the meeting to be introduced as the newest member of the ward along with Erin, a cute girl in her primary class who was also baptized. Sarah LOVED this and felt so special. It was a nice testimony meeting and I was feeling so happy and grateful I shared my testimony that day. I am so blessed.

We went home after sacrament meeting so we could eat with Joe's* parents before their flight left. The girls had such a fun weekend with grandma and grandpa, they were very sad to see them go. A few little highlights and funny moments include Sarah giving grandma a personal piano concert and playing duets with her (grandma P. is a wonderful pianist). While she was playing one song, Sarah said a few measures in, "Now comes the juicy part!" Later that night, Sarah was doing a magic show for grandma and grandpa. She told grandma, "Grandpa's figured out all my tricks and that's a big bummer for me!"

My mom and dad got to stay for two more days of play before they had to go home. We filled our time with shopping. We spent an afternoon at "Let's Play" - an awesome toy store with lots of display toys, so Angela was entertained the whole time we were there. Dad got a little bored and his back was bugging him, so he parked in the book area on a chair and played with his cell phone. We got to hear his "Larry the Cable Guy" ring tones throughout the store as we shopped. (o: It was pretty funny. Later, Sarah got to buy a new bedspread with grandma for her birthday present. We ate ice-cream together an hour before dinner - it is fun doing things you would never do normally - we were living on the edge. Sarah picked Chevy's for her late birthday dinner with grandma and grandpa and even got serenaded while she wore a sombrero. She loved it.

The next day I was a little rebellious and had the girls take the afternoon off from school. (The day before we got a letter from to district sent out to everyone about the importance of not missing school except for excused absences - on the list of NOTs was "family outings" Well, in rare circumstances I happen to disagree. I happen to think family, especially grandparents that you don't get to see very often come first.) So we sluffed the afternoon and went on a "field trip" as Angela put it - to OMSI. Ironically, we ran into a friend and a group there from the girls school on an actual field trip there. (o:

We had a fabulous afternoon and spent many hours solving puzzles, trying experiments, watching an IMAX movie about ocean life and exploring the OMSI store. It was a wonderful afternoon together! That night we met up with Jayson and all went to Marie Calendar's for one last dinner before mom and dad had to go. As usual the conversation topics turned to when our next visit will be together. Hopefully soon! We love being with family and can't get enough visits!

Angela loved this big fan that blew cups up high in the air. Pure joy!
Looking at a tortoise in the life science area.

A funny shadow picture of Natalie and Angela being goofy.

#7 Favorite Memory From Fall 2008

#7 Sarah's Baptism

I am kind of just doing these in order of the events, this would definitely rank at #1 for the most special memory this fall.

The first few pictures we took at the Portland Temple about a month ago in her baptism dress.

The purple color of the flower makes me think of the Young Women's value of Integrity (each of the values have colors)

This was my absolute favorite of Sarah - she is so beautiful.

Sarah's baptism day was so special and sweet. We were so grateful to have both my parents and Clovis'** parents there with us. (o: It would not have been the same without them. Besides the fact that there were 7 other children being baptized and the program went kind of long, it was a wonderful day. Grandpa P. gave a talk in the program (He was an amazing sport about the misunderstanding that this was not just a baptism for Sarah, but 7 other families too. That would have been way better, but not the way our stake does it.) There was an interesting musical number where one of the little boys getting baptized played the violin with a piano duet. It was cute, but he played one note through the whole thing and it was very squeaky. I had to try so hard not to laugh when Angela immediately covered her ears and told me, "Dat hurt my ears!" and "I don't like dat sound!" I bit my tongue and tried to say that it was neat he is learning to play violin. "But I don't like that!"

One of the nicest things about the day was seeing the friends that came to see Sarah baptized. Many of Sarah's friends like Taylor and Akiva - both of whom she has known since she was a baby. She also had her best friend Monica there - who isn't LDS, but she loves Sarah so much she wanted to come. Her mom had to make special arrangements with her other children to be there and I was so grateful for that sweet gesture. It meant so much to us. Sarah was also so excited to see her friend Mallory from school and Alyssa and Ashley from our old ward. A nice surprise was finding out that Sarah knew two of the other children getting baptized that day. One was Logan - a friend from preschool days and our old ward and another girl that Sarah goes to school with.

At our open house Sarah was so excited to see Allie - who moved to the other side of town this summer, and her school teacher Mrs. B. It was so sweet of her to come on Sarah 's special day! We just love Mrs. B.! She even brought flowers and a stuffed animal for her. It was so sweet how excited she was for Sarah even though she isn't LDS. She appreciated the importance of the event and made Sarah feel so special. We also had wonderful friends from our ward who were there and came to celebrate. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such loving friends and family.

I am hoping the slideshow of Sarah was enjoyable to those who came to celebrate. I had it playing in the background through the open house. It was an hour long, filled with pictures of Sarah since she was born and set to primary songs. I am so insane. I thought of this idea the day before her baptism - Halloween - when we had a bazillion things going on already. So needless to say, I hit my pillow that next morning at 5:30 a.m. for a "nap". I seriously think I may be obsessive compulsive sometimes. In my defense, it was very sweet going through all her pictures growing up and remembering so many wonderful memories with my sweet baby girl. It just got me even more teary and sentimental about the day - which I think was good. I love my sweet Sarah and I'm so proud of her.

#6 Favorite Memory From Fall 2008

#6 Halloween!

The best treat we got this Halloween was having both grandmas and grandpas with us this year!! (They actually came for Sarah's baptism, which happened to be the next day.)

Dad got lots of laughs when he put on his costume shortly after arriving! We had a fabulous dinner (if I do say so myself) of "skinned monster toes" (pigs in a blanket), brains (mini meatloaves), "monster jaws" (acorn squash), and more gruesome treats. I made lots of comfort foods and assigned Sarah to think of good Halloween names for each dish. She did an awesome job! The girls got a special treat this year - trick or treating with grandma and daddy! The weather was so warm and thankfully dry, the girls went farther than they've ever gone before and came home with more candy than they'll ever need.

Angela changed her mind at the last minute and put on a witch's hat to match her sisters for trick or treating. Luckily, I bought an extra at the dollar store. Notice even in her Halloween costume, Natalie insists on rolling up her pants.

This pumpkin Sarah carved (all by herself), was the largest of our "non-rotted" pumpkins that survived.

This was our new decoration for this year. Natalie and Angela helped make the spider, it turned out pretty cute.

This itty bitty pumpkin stood about 5 inches high. (o:

Angela dressed up as Twilight this year! After I put on her nose and whiskers she was ready to role play. She pointed to the litter box and asked, "Now I go potty in there?" Wow - she really wanted to get into her role. Yikes!

Scary, I know. This was my costume for the adult Halloween party I went to - costumes were mandatory. It was fun to attend the adult party. Some of the other costumes were really good - including a Frankenstein that was about 10 feet tall! He won all the votes for the best costume.

#5 Favorite Memory From Fall 2008

#5 Going to the Local Pumpkin Patches

In Oregon, we are blessed with an abundance of farms in all directions. There are several pumpkin patches to choose from each fall. This year, we visited 3 of them.

As a family, we went to the pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island. We went on a hay ride, the girls got pulled around the farm on a little cow train made out of barrels and we spent lots of time hiking around looking for the perfect pumpkins. Sarah was especially picky. These were the biggest pumpkins we brought home this year and unfortunately, before Halloween, two of them rotted before we could carve them! We have bad luck with pumpkins every year! Last year, we had the lovely pranksters come and smash our pumpkins the day after we got them.

Angela's preschool group went to Lakeview Farms. This one is a big hit for little kids. Rather than a tractor hay ride, you ride on a little train to the pumpkin patch one way and across a "lake" via boat to get back. (Or vice versa) The lake has dragons and a shark that come out of the water for extra thrills. Natalie HATES these so it was good she wasn't there. Angela had a great time with Rylan and Tyler running around the little maze and jumping off the haystacks.

The very next day, Natalie's class had a field trip to Plumper Pumpkin Patch. Their great big slides were a hit for the girls. The kids also got to see lots of animals, including some baby calves. It was a gorgeous day and we came home with two more cute, little pumpkins.

#4 Favorite Memory From Fall 2008

#4 Sarah's Mystery Birthday Party

Sarah chose the theme of a Mystery Party for her friend birthday party this year. We made some fun "secret code" invitations that were a big hit. Thank goodness for the seemingly pointless "WingDings" fonts. (o:

We had the girls come in disguise just to be on the safe side. (o: When they arrived they got to decorate a mask. Then we had a mystery to solve. I wrote a little mystery about a diamond heist at a Halloween party hosted by the wealthy Madame Kate. There were six suspects all whose mug shots were posted on the wall so the detectives could narrow down the actual criminal. I was not prepared for just how into the mystery the girls would get! As they started earning clues after challenges (like the game where you have a tray of random things and take two away and they have to figure out which ones are missing.) - the girls started theorizing away. They got so into sharing their ideas, "Well, maybe Larry set up Martha by putting the witch's hat in the library...", "Betty's lipstick was not on the straw of the cup - unless she wiped it off first...", they went on and on and on so much that we had to cut out some of the activities and barely had time for cake and presents! They LOVED it! We had lots of fun. For the cake - each girl got a cupcake with a mystery ingredient they had to figure out. Some had M&Ms, some had marshmallows, etc. It was a great time, but as always, it was nice to be done and get everything cleaned up and put away! Our craft supplies from the masks were especially "fun" to clean up.

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A friend sent this to me this week - thanks Mel! I thought it was so cute I had to share... Now on to the top ten.