Let the holiday season begin!

Rudolph says "Thank you" to Grandma Nori for the cute ornaments! What
a fun tradition!

Puppy for a day or two

All of you who know we have never been big animal people can laugh now
that we have taken in a stray kitten and today we couldn't resist
picking up this shivering puppy that we found in the middle of the road.
We aren't naming her because we don't want to get attached, although
Luke is calling her "p-o-o p-o-o" since I told him I didn't really
like the name "poo poo" that he was insisting on.
Even Derek admitted that she is super cute and couldn't resist holding
her during FHE last night.
But alas, I'm expecting a puppy of my own within 11 days, so we aren't
keeping this one.

Good help is hard to find

In case you didn't know, Dawn liquid dish soap does not equal Cascade
dishwasher detergent. I really can't complain that I have hard-working
boys who know how to clean the kitchen. Sort of. I would have been
more upset if Derek hadn't made the same mistake 8 years ago while
doing an overnight home healthcare job and the parents of the patient
were sleeping upstairs-- except the entire kitchen floor was covered
in suds before he realized what was going on. At least i was sitting
in the kitchen when I saw the suds emerging.

Back to Wrestling on Saturdays!

Yes, we're back to wrestling on our Saturdays! Adam is now the head coach for the Legend Jr. Titan's program. Adin and Preston both had great days today! Preston had a little tougher bracket, but fought hard! Adin was 3-1 today with his only loss to the eventual champion. As you can see by his t-shirt, that earned him a solid 3rd place! Way to go Adin!

Tyson's Birthday!

Tyson would have been 36 today! Wow! I sure miss my brother. I hope everyone has some great thoughts about our awesome brother/son/uncle on his day!

Christmas

Connor: Hannah
Preston: Ethan
Adin: Reid
Mia: Shelby
Shelby: Jane
Hannah: Mia
Paige: Luke
Alec: Preston
Ethan: Paige
Reid: Alec
Luke: Connor
Jane: Adin

Ideas for my kids...Shelby a lump of coal. Okay, IDK she is hard. I-tunes card or clothes gift card. (I'll find out what stores). Hannah, anything practical jokes, magic, or scientific. Fushigi Ball (look on-line) Paige, Toad-ette (a Mario Brothers character), project runway sketch portfolio's (see amazon),anything that glitters, barbies, a gift card to target, etc..., Alec: legos, anything toystory 3, older ds games that look fun or educational, dinsors from the "Dinosaur Train" collection. Little figures. Good Luck!

Our Adin!

So Alyson and me are in Clearwater Beach, Florida (yes, for another triathlon) when we get an e-mail from Adin's teacher. Adin lost his temper with a girl because "she used a cuss word." We called to talk to Adin and let him know that, even though we agree that it was inappropriate that this girl cuss, it was not Adin's responsibility to take care of things. And, because of how he handled the situation, he would face some minor punishment. When Alyson told him this he got upset and just hung up the phone. I called him back and said that now he would be in more trouble. As I started telling him this, I hear some weird "static-like" sounds. I say, "What is that noise Adin?" He responds, "I have no idea, but I can't hear you very well. pshh, pshhhh, sshaa, sshhh, pshh." I said, "Adin! What is that noise?" He says, "Pshh, shhhh, pshhh, shhee, you're breaking up Dad. I can't hear you very well anymore Dad. Pshhh, sshhh, sshhhh, pshh. The phone's breaking up Dad, pshh, sshhhhh, ppsshhhhhhhhhh." I finally just start laughing my head off and say, "Nice try MR. Adin! Don't you worry, we'll talk when we get home where we won't have to worry about this terrible connection!" He sure can make us laugh!

Happy Veterans' Day to you!

The boys aren't taking their day off school for granted-- last night
Luke and Reid decorated the kitchen wall (they deserve all the credit
for this-- I didn't even say anything about the national holiday).
Don't ask me what the French flag is all about.

Can you tell I have brothers?

The Living Christ

I haven't taken the time to clearly explain to everyone our family's goal for Christmas this year. You may have read a recent Ensign article about a family who memorized "The Living Christ", which is what inspired us. I did this a few years ago when I served in YW (it's a Personal Progress goal) and decided to give it a try with Derek and the kids. The kids actually are doing better than their Dad :) So far they have the first 3 paragraphs down.

I have sent all of you copies of the "flashcards" I made with photos that might help as visual aids for learning it. We'd love to have you join us if you're up for the challenge.

Halloween out in the country

Ethan as a Rock Star; Luke as an army guy; Reid as a police officer; Jane as Belle; Derek mixing it up this year as a NURSE with weird hair and glasses.

Halloween was simpler than in years' past. I did attend the kids' classes for their parties, but realized that since there is not much parent involvement here, the party is basically the teacher turning on a movie while the kids have treats. I'm not sure if that's sad or not, but the kids seemed fine with it and I didn't have the energy to single-handedly plan 3 class parties this year, so I won't complain.

I was, however, responsible for the ward party, so we had our work cut out for us. I mostly delegated, but even so, I was having contractions by the end of the night. We had a great turn out and wonderful feedback-- I think it was a success. Carnival games, chili dog dinner, trunk or treating... and then we were able to call it good! No neighborhood trick-or-treating (we don't live in a neighborhood) and if we went into town, we would worry about drive-by shootings. Literally.

We did, however, have a yummy dinner with great friends at one of their houses on Halloween night-- I'll have to post those pictures next time.

Sight words

I just about came unglued when I caught Luke with a Sharpie marker on
his bedspread when he was supposed to be going to sleep. But how could
I stay mad when he hurriedly explained, "I was just circling sight
words"? This boy is LOVING school. ;)