Just a few more things...

that make our holiday so much fun!

The Nativity!

*I have to say the costumes get a little crazier every year, but it makes it more fun I think.
*Damon choose to be a sheep the last 3 years and this year Mylee joined him.

Christmas Eve dinner.

*Fanta Grape is not usually on the menu, but every year there is something new and non-traditional.

What makes Christmas fun for us?

Making aebleskivers for breakfast.

Eating them.

Since I've been gone.

Pepper's memorial service came and went.

Elise, Brady, and Mylee arrived.

We saw New Moon. It was lots of fun!

Tyler played the piano at the pre-show party.

Thanksgiving was lots of fun. (I loved going to Damon's Thanksgiving Feast at school.)

We spent the weekend at my Grandparents' house in Utah. Don't they make the best Mr. and Mrs. Clause?

Poor Poor Pepper

About a week ago I noticed that Damon's little beta, "Pepper" wasn't behaving as usual. The bowl needed to be cleaned and I kept putting it off.

Then on Sun. Damon called, "Mom, come and look at Pepper."

I thought, "Oh, no. I should have cleaned his bowl and now he is dead and it's all my fault. Maybe we can get a new one."

I was right in the middle of dinner and said, "I'm sorry I can't right now."

That is when he came to me with tears in his eyes. "When I touch the bowl, he usually swims around, but he is just laying there and barely moving." At this moment I realized this fish was a lot more important to him than I thought.

I set the dinner aside and hurried in to look at the fish, which totally looked dead, and consoled my poor little buddy. Then I also see the fish move. Not in a normal healthy way, but to my suprise, still alive.

Pepper didn't look good and I talked with Damon about the fact that he probably wasn't going to last much longer. Damon was truly mourning which I didn't really expect. He was so upset.

He kept checking on the fish to see if he was doing any better. Each time whispering, "Pepper, please don't die."

I kept checking on the fish to see if he was dead yet. The whole time feeling so bad knowing there was nothing we could do but pray. Which we did.

By bedtime there was still a flutter at his gills and I didn't want to euthenize the poor thing so I just thought we would take care of him in the morning.

Upon waking I look in and think Pepper is dead, again.

Upon waking Damon looks closer and notices the fish is still alive, again.

This continued until today. I really don't know how many times I was sure the poor thing lying in the gravel at the bottom of the bowl was dead and then it would prove me otherwise. I think he is gone for sure this time, but I'm still not certain I won't wake up tomorrow to find I am wrong again. Time will tell.

As for Damon he says he wants a new fish, but he is afraid it will remind him of Pepper. He drew a picture of Pepper in his prime to remember him by.

This fish was a trooper. I have really never seen anything like it. It was one of the weirdest things I have ever seen.

So, tomorrow after school we will bury the little guy in our backyard and move on. Now I just need to decide if a new fish is right for us. Hmmm, still not sure.

"Star Student"

So much fun for the "Star Student." Special show-and-tell, special helper, un-birthday celebration.
Photo by Cordie
I'm taking treats in today and I always love visiting Damon at school. I help in his class on Thursday's and yesterday I stayed for lunch. It is so much fun! If your children's school allows lunch visitors you should take advantage of it. They are so cute and responsible. And I love the little "kid community." After lunch we played kick ball on the playground. It was very nostalgic.


I also wanted to share this fun idea. I saw the technique in "Creating Keepsakes" Nov. 2009 on a layout in fall colors. I chose a monochromatic color scheme and used the technique on a card. Just cut or punch out equal sized squares. Then round 2 corners and arrange with 4 like corners together. It a good way to use up some of my little scraps.

We tricked, We treated, We conquered!

Damon was so intent on carving his own pumpkin from start to finish. It may have taken A WHILE, but he was pretty proud of the end result.

The robot costume was an idea he had for a long time and he finally pulled it off. All the Wal-E talk finally came in handy!

The Trunk-or-Treat was so fun, but we ran out of candy twice. I didn't have to turn anyone away though since Tyler just stopped by the trunk next door and took some of theirs. I guess when you're a giant Rubix Cube, you can get away with it.

Fond Farewell's and Happy Hello's!

Goodbye soccer.

We'll miss you.
In honor of Damon's last game I thought I should share my favorite picture of the year. When you know that no one was hurt I hope you will be able to laugh as much as I have.


Goodbye hunting! (Finally!!!)

Tyler might miss you.
I always have to take at least one hunting trip each year and this one sure was memorable. But the best news is we were done opening day! I cheered everytime someone mentioned it.

Also this weekend we got to celebrate Mylee's 2nd birthday with her and Brady and Elise and lots of family and friends. We were so glad to see them and excited for the next two months. They are here all the way from Des Moines.

So Much....

to say, so much to do.

We have been a little under the weather around here. But I think finally today, we are feeling energized and much better. Especially after my trip to the chiropractor this morning. It may have taken 2 hours!!! but I think it was worth it. I am always having problems with my super tight neck and shoulders, but last night, while watching "Hocus Pocus,"

and eating this yummy, crunchy, chocolatey popcorn, my jaw started hurting so bad! Now, if you know me, you know I talk a lot, I eat a lot, and I eat often. So, jaw pain is not something I could tolerate for very long. I think the "crack, crack, crack" (x's 30, at least) did the trick. I can now chew/talk/sleep in peace. Yay!

Since I have had lots of time to lounge around the house I have managed to find a home for my cute little owls.

And, come up with some Christmas decorating ideas. I am going to make a bunch of these tissue paper balls to put all over the house. I got the idea from our guest room and just did a much smaller, Christmas colored version.

This is what I like to call the "R&R." Open for buisness. The R&R is not a B&B, however, we do provide a bed...., and breakfast. So, stop by any time. WE LOVE VISITORS!

Here is a close up of the orbs. I love them. And, they are quick and easy to make. Plus inexpensive. I also love our new wall color. The top is called Parmesean and I really wanted to lick it off the brush, mmmm!

I really need to move on to matters at hand. Damon wants to be a robot for Halloween and I haven't even started that. And, I have a party on Thursday and I don't know what I am going to do either.

Damon offered to let me borrow this chef's hat he brought home from Primary yesterday. Hmm! Maybe, but I am still open to other ideas. Do you have any? I need help!

D & E

Damon only had school on Mon. and Tues. this week and I love having him home. So does Ellie. They have so much fun together. When Damon gets home from school Ellie runs to him and says, "hug." Then on days when she leaves before he gets home he is sad.

Damon likes to help her with his toys.

Ellie likes to help him answer the spider man phone.

Ellie doesn't seem to mind that we mostly just have boy toys.

And, most of the time Damon is making her laugh!

Except when he is making her cry.

An apple a day

can get old. As much as I love them sometimes it's nice to change things up a bit.

So, when these arrived at my house today I wanted to enjoy them in a new way. Plus, we were freezing and wanted something warm.

I just peeled and chopped a few of the little guys and tossed them in a sauce pan. I covered them with apple juice and threw in a handful of golden rasins. Then I sprinkled in a tiny bit of cloves and a couple of shakes of cinnamon. I let them bubble away for quite a few min. When they started to melt together I stirred them up leaving bigger soft chunks. The smell was delightful and gave us the feeling of fall. I sprinkled a few canndied pecans on top just before eating. It was such a quick and easy snack. And, I didn't feel bad about eating a lot.

After picking up a couple of apples I uncovered this little buddy. I wonder who that was? I have my suspisions, but whoever it was, I bet it was a cutie pie!

After freezing rain all day it finally turned to snow just a couple of hours ago. Damon is using the snow as an excuse for not being in his p.j.'s yet. Stinker! He is sound asleep now, though, in spite of his excitement. Glad someone has a positive attitude about it.

Getting festive and a little spray paint!

I had fun getting out our Halloween decor.

Damon had fun getting out our Halloween decor.

Terk... not so much. I told him "no" when he tried to take these off the first time and then went about my buisness. Then at least 20 min. later I noticed him laying like this on the end of the couch. He is such an obedient puppy.

I have been having fun with thrift store items and spray paint the last few days. These are a few things that have crossed my "spray paint path."

Also the frame to the "Boo" sign on my table. It started out red, with a crazy print glued inside.

I ripped off the backing and moved the hook (so it would hang horizontally). Then I took the frame out and sprayed it black. I cut out the letters with some vinyl and my trusty Cricut (you could also just buy some letter stickers or come on over and I will cut you some), and attached them to the front of the glass. Then I taped a piece of cute paper to the back. I made sure to put it on the frame and not the glass to give some dimension. Then I just attatched the ribbon. It was lots of fun and super quick. I think cleaning the glass is the step that took the longest. It was worth it for the $.75 I paid for the frame. Just a fun idea I thought I would share.

~Chores~

This little buddy is pretty good at "forgetting" what he was supposed to get done when I give him a small list of things to do.

So, recently while putting together some collages to send to Ryan in Guatemala, I came up with an idea to help Damon remember what comes next in our daily routine. I ran around the house taking pictures of all the things Damon is responsible for and the rewards for each of these things.

Then, I put 9 pictures on a 4x6 photograph. I had them printed and then cut each one out.

I stuck each picture to a laminated chore chart using Handi-Tak. Now I can move them around or add to the chart when I need to. On laundry day I just add a picture of folded clothes which doesn't need to be there everyday.

So far this is working pretty well, but I am always looking for new ideas. So, do you have any ides on getting kids to get the work done quickly so there is time to play? Please share!

Lovely Day!

Soccer is in full swing and Damon is loving it. His game was pretty exciting.

Also on Saturday we met my family for a little fishing and lunch (the best Thai food, Yum!)

What a week!

It all started at the fair.

These are a few of my highlights.

I look forward to these all year, and they did not disappoint!

This goat followed the foam padding with a nice big drink from the communal water bowl. But, you do know goats eat everything, right?

Usually my favorite exhibits are the photography and the painting, but the cakes may have won me over this year. Isn't it awesome? And, Damon assured us that they smelled as good as they looked. This race car game was a hit with the boys, and everyone always loves the puppies.

Damon was a good boy and had $4 allowance money, just the amount of this gun which he can't stop talking about. Why can't he love books as much?

Damon's first soccor practice of the fall. He was pretty excited, and so was I when we tried a new league, which I thought was less expensive. That was before I knew that we had to buy a uniform in addition to the registration fee. And, I couldn't even find the right one when I went out shopping for it on Friday!

Saturday was lots of fun. My family came over to cheer Damon and I on in the races we competed in.

Damon was so cute preparing for his race and I am sure I was beaming about it all. I reminded him that he was racing with me in utero and he just said, "I know." I guess he has heard that before. Hmm.

I was so impressed with his attitude about the whole thing. He took it seriously, but had lots of fun. Coach G (my dad) noticed his good running form, Tyler and Grandma took some great pictures, and I ran around like one of those really annoying parents at their kids sporting events. You know the type.

Just after Damon finished I had to hurry over to my event, 25K duathlon. I wish I hadn't missed Damon's trip to the athlete's food table. Afterwards Tyler told me Damon had a power bar, but he didn't think he liked it since he only ate half. Are you kidding me. A 6 year old eating 1/2 of a power bar. I don't think the problem was he didn't like it, I think he was probably about to explode. Those suckers are dense.

After the races we hurried home to spend a lovely afternoon with Tyler's family. I can't believe I didn't snap one picture. We had so much fun visiting with everyone. And the food was fabulous as always.

What a week!