Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. This year was lots of fun for us. We went to my in laws house for lunch.

After we all ate some of us played Pinocle. Afterward Aunt Carrie did the girls nails. They just love that everytime she is here she will cut/color their hair and do their nails. Lots of fun!

Later the kids all made these super cute Turkeys. I am glad someone is creative and thinks of these things, because I sure don't!

At midnight, a bunch of us went to SouthTowne Mall for some Midnight Madness. That was CRAZY. I felt like I was the oldest person there! We didn't buy anything, but my neices had a blast staying up so late. We got home just after 2am. I went to bed about 3, and was up at 330. Carrie, Allie and I were out the door by 4 am and headed to Walmart. This is the first year I have watched people rip items from each others hands. How sad. I grabbed what I wanted (I actually grabbed 4, hoping for some color variety) I took the one I wanted and gave the other three to some ladies I saw who had waited and gotten what they wanted only to have some guys rip them from their hands. We also got some other items, so that was nice.

Then we headed to FYE and the Fashion Place. We hit Sears, Children's Place and a few other places. By the time we were done, I was ready to drop. We got back to my in laws house and I slept for about 1 1/2 hours then got up to go get my kids from my Moms house. I visited with my Mom and sister for a bit and left about 2pm. By 4 pm we were back out the door. We headed to the inlaws again for a dinner of left-overs and then Kyle, Jody, Laine, Kade, Heather, and Emma joined us at Temple Square to go see some lights.

Kyle is Sage's favorite uncle, and I think of all the pictures I have of them together, she is on his shoulders 99% of the time! He spoils her rotten, and she loves it! Aspen stayed next to Aunt Jody the whole time, minus a bit when she was having a turn on Kyle's shoulders. We just love Aunt Jody! She is so kind to everyone, I don't think I have ever heard a negative word come from her mouth.



Saturday I took the kids to see BOLT in 3-D. Sage didn't want to go, so I took her to Grandma's and picked up my nephew Jaden and took him along. The kids liked the movie, but I was bored out of my mind for at least the first third of the movie. Definately wait for Redbox on that one!

Today I had plans to do my kids Winter pictures, but when I got Sage last night I discovered she had gotten into a green stamp, and her forehead is covered in green. Between that and Kyson's face art, I guess pictures will wait a week.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Update on a Poor Chikadee and a Worried Chickadee.....

Just a quick note, Aspen did VERY well on her spelling test! She only missed two words, and not the same too she was having issues with. (Junk and Drink I think were the ones she had issues with) She missed print, she put prent and I can't remember which other she missed. Doesn't matter though because she did AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we are super proud of her!

Back In The Olden Days

This was just too cute not to share. The other day, Aspen (6) was in my room. We save our change, and deposit it every few months for something fun. Anyhow, she picked up a quarter from the bucket. After examining it closely and commenting on the syrup being pulled from the trees, she said, "WOW Mom, this quarter is SUPER old. Its from the olden days Mom. It was made is 2001."

I then explained to her that was only a year before she was born, and the same year her brother was born. Certainly not the olden days.........

My bottom hurts, and my back hurts, my neck hurts....

Last night after dinner I started on Twilight. I read the entire book in one sitting without getting up. I am SO stiff today from sitting in the chair that long. We totally need a new couch. My nice couch is SO uncomfy to lay on, and my old couch, which is semi comfy, is ripped. (It was a handmedown and the people I got it from (thanks Marilee), well, it was a hand me down for them also.

Anyways, I enjoyed the book, it was a simple read. Predictable, but held my attention. I bought the second one this morning.

So, all you guys that have read the books and seen the movies, do I have to read ALL the books first, or is the movie based only on the first book?

I Gave Into Peer Pressure

Yesterday I picked up my sweet neice and we went shopping. We went to Build a Bear and browsed the mall, then headed to Costco. I gave in. I bought Twilight. I haven't opened it yet, but I will probably start it later tonight. I have to finish it so I ccan go see the movie with friends. So, I will stay busy in the evenings doing that after kids go home.

This weekend was a bit slow. Yesterday was teh shopping and today we went to lunch then drove up the canyon. I totally spaced grabbing one of my cameras, so, no photos. Sorry, but you will all live :) It was nice, and Farren and Kyson had a blast freezing me out by undoing the windows. We were kinda sad to see that Guardsman's Pass was closed for the season, but we kind of expected it. Its "Our spot" that we go to regularly as a family, and we would have liked to get in one more trip before the season closed the roads.

Here are a few photos from Guardsmans Pass from over the years. The ones from the early days, WAY back when, aren't on this computer.

A Poor Chickadee and a Worried Chickadee

Lately Sage has been having food allergy issues again. Her face breaks out in blisters if she eats something she shouldnt. She has stopped all egg product but it hasn't helped. Yesterday afternoon her face looked rashy, and by bedtime she was crying because it hurt so bad. It had become blistered and was bleeding. Poor babe. I think its back to see Dr. Goodman for a new batch of allergy testing.

Now for my worried chickadee. Tomorrow is Friday. Every Friday they have spelling tests at school. Aspen is a perfectionist. If she colors outside the lines, she throws it away and starts over. If she has to erase something, it is the end of the world. Well, tomorrow's spelling test is going to be a challenge. We have practiced, but she is still struggling. She is all sorts of worked up about taking this test. I hope she can calm down enough to concentrate. When she is nervous her b's are written as d's. and she loses points for that. Cross your fingers.

Some days I am so glad Kyson isn't a worrier. He doesn't care if he misses things (and sometimes I wish he would) He is so laid back. He is just like his father. His biggest worry is which friend he will play with that day.

Its lovely, I'll take it.

So, there are a few blogs that I peek at on a regular basis that are not listed on my side bar. This is one of them. "It's Lovely, I'll Take It" Shows some very, shall we say interesting, photos that people use when showing their homes for sale.

Wether it be a home that looks like a hamster cage, to a nice enough home with the bedroom walls covered in porn (you cant see anything, so feel free to look with your kids around) People make some odd choices when selling their homes. Enjoy!

So, today I got the kids all ready and took Kyson and Aspen to school. I grabbed Jesi and Britton and told the girls we were heading to the zoo. They didnt want to go. I couldn't believe it. What kid doesnt want to go to the zoo? They wanted to go to a local mall instead and play in the Dino area. So, we did that, got pretzels, and saw Santa. Yes, you read that correctly, Santa is at the mall. My goodness. Anyways, I took this cute video of Sage.

And here is a picture of her and her beloved.

Sage met Ben when I took Sage to Denver to see a specialist who deals with mastocytosis. She adores Ben. She calls him "My Ben" Its too cute!

Its lonely here without them...

So late Friday night I started feeling sick. I had been SO tired all week, and this explains it. Anyways, Friday night (well, Saturday morning about 1 am) I went up to bed and noticed I had major pink eye. YUCK. So I took out my contacts and went to bed. This was my only pair of contacts I had, and I had to put them back in because I had a photo session with my nephews Saturday morning. Ya, that made it lots worse, but I can't shoot in my glasses. I came home from that and slept for hours. I have a very good husband. He napped too (Its nice our kids are old enough to do that) but he noticed it was getting late and got up and fed them ect. I slept through it. I must have been super tired.

Sunday morning I was so much worse. A Cold, pink eye, fever, sore throat, ect. Ya, not feeling well. So I started calling the moms of kids I watch to give them a heads up. Sunday night I still wasn't feeling well, and knew that today I would want to rest, and poor Sage would be bored to tears. So I called Shirley and asked if she would mind coming and getting Sage in the morning and keeping her til the afternoon. Shirley thought it would be better if I let the kids miss school, she takes them all, and they get to sleep over. She will have them home tomorrow morning, about the time school starts.

They picked the kids up this morning at 10 to 9. So, for 13 hours and 41 minutes I have been kidless. Its too quiet and I miss them like crazy. I can't stand them being gone while I sit at home. Though I know for certain they had a blast today. They ALWAYS have a blast with Grandma, she gets down on the floor and plays games and puzzles, drives cars on the rug and pushes them on the swingset. Today she took them to the theatre to see the new Madagascar movie. Lets hope for everyone who was there's sake, that no one gave away any pets in this movie. That always leaves Sagey bawling. Poor kid. Guess I better quit telling Farren we are getting rid of Lola (the cat) when she pukes on my floor (like she did a few hours ago).

Anyways, I felt mildly better today, so I did some laundry and cleaned the kids rooms.

About 2 weekends ago, I told Tiffani I was running out of laundry. I usually keep up on laundry really well (I didnt before, but the washer we got about a year ago really helps) Anyways, I hadn't done laundry all the week before. And I didnt do it this week, the weeks were too busy and then I was sick.

All I can say if my kids can go over 2 weeks without any laundry being done and still have their drawers 3/4 of the way full, I can see I may possibly buy too many clothes. In fact, cleaning today, in the girls room, I noticed about 3 pairs of capris of Sages that still have the tags on them, and a few sun dresses, all new with tags. Oops!

I am still pretty drained though. Lifting the kids mattresses to change sheets made me dizzy. After that I layed back down and watched "Made of Honor" with Patrick Dempsy (cute movie, but predictable, reminded me of My Best Friends Wedding) And I watched Far and Away with Tom Cruise. I have always liked that movie, though it bugs me to no end that when they get off the boat in America, all the flags have 50 stars. Not correct at all. Oh well, still a good movie.

We also rented some the other night. Kyson and Farren were upstairs in our room watching Indianna Jones, the girls and I watched Kit Kitteradge. It was too cute. Aspen has been wanting the Kit Doll from American Girls for a while now, so she thought it was cool to see her in a movie. She kept saying Mom, there she is, that is teh doll I want.

At the beginning of the movie they previewed a movie that will be in theatres in January. Its about the upcoming 2009 Girl of the Year doll, and the movie focuses on bullying. It looked pretty good, and from what I can see from working in the kids class, even 1st graders need a lesson in bullying.

I miss my kids. I hate being away from them, even though sometimes it is nice to go out with my husband!

Thanks again Shirley, I appreciate it SO much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just 10 hours and 15 minutes til they are home, then they have school all day.

Two of the World's Cutest Guys!

Today I was able to photograph these handsome fellas!

Thankful

I am sitting here after catching up on my friend Sarah's blog. She is so inspirational to me. She has it "all together" and is always so positive. (She even built a house and requested NO dishwasher be installed, its been YEARS and I still can't get over that. I panic every time ours goes on the fritz.)

Anyhow, tonight she has reminded me of the things in life that you can be thankful for. It doesn't have to be huge. She reminded me you can be thankful for things like warm, cozy socks. I am currently wearing pink chenille socks to keep my toes warm.

I am thankful for the cute things that come from my children's mouths. Tonight Aspen was playing with baby Zane, who isn't always an easy baby. She is so patient with him, and held him and paced the floor with him the other night while I finished prepping dinner. I told her she could lay him down, he wouldn't get hurt if he cried for 10 minutes, but she couldn't bear the thought. So, back to tonight. She is playing with him, eating his belly. And I say to her, Aspen, you are going to be such a good "Mommy" She looks at me and says, Mom, I can't be a Mommy, I have NO CLUE how you guys get babies into your tummys. Ya honey, we will have that chat later! I find it so sweet and precious that the fact she is 6 has nothing to do with why she cant be a Mommy.

I am thankful for caffeine. Some days, I just need it!

I am thankful for CD Players and IPods. The radio with its ads just makes me crazy. I get frustrated when I can't find a song I like playing. (silly I know)

I am thankful that marriage is a learning process forever. This afternoon I was feeding Zane and watching a repeat of 7th Heaven on the Hallmark Channel. One of their kids was talking about how by the time you are married a year, you know all there is to know about each other, and the conversation must get pretty boring. I thought to myself, well, even though I know all there is to know about Farren, our conversations don't get boring. We can argue politics and gay rights. We talk about the kids and people at work. (his work) Well, tonight I was proven wrong and reminded that we will ALWAYS be learning new things about each other. My husband does not know how to snap his fingers. He just can't do it. I had NO idea. I thought everyone could snap. So, I am thankful, that after 8 1/2 years of marriage, that we are still learning about each other, and enjoying the heck out of the process.

I am thankful for all 4 of my children, even though I can't hug and kiss Savannah everyday like I do Kyson, Aspen, and Sage; I am thankful that I am so lucky to have been chosen to have her. I miss her, and I wish she were here with us, but I am thankful for the time we had with her. I am thankful for how her death strengthened our marriage, when it causes most couples to divorce. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT thankful she died, but I am thankful for the lessons she has taught me, and I am thankful that I am a better, more compassionate person because of her.

I am thankful that my friend and neighbor, Angie, is doing well after her heart surgery that came very unexpectedly.

I am thankful for so many things. Little and big. I think that we, society as a whole, forget sometimes to be thankful for the things we have. I am thankful to have such great friends who remind me to be thankful for the little or unexpected things in life.

And after trying to fix it a gazillion times, I am NOT thankful that this post wont double space between paragraphs!

Halloween Pictures

Since it is so far past Halloween, I will keep this short and just show pictures, and this one cute video if it works. I don't think this camera has sound though. Major Bummer! The boys were too funny dancing and singing about peanut butter and jelly, and Sagey was adorable shaking her "groove thing" Its a dark video, we were in the school gym!

Obviously Sage was a bee, Kyson Batman, and Aspen a clown. They had SO many parties to attend this year, and they had a total blast! Enjoy the pictures!!

Just The Two of Us!!

So as a special reward (which seems to happen almost every weekend) the kids wanted to sleep downstairs and watch a movie and eat popcorn. So we got them all set up, and Aspen came upstairs. She wanted Mom time instead of movie time. So, she invited me to her room for a sleepover.

We got pillows from my bed (I HAVE to sleep with my pillows) and we turned on a movie and I slept with her in her room. She thought that was the coolest thing ever! She thought it was even cooler that I was still there in the morning when she got up, and I didn't sneak out to my own bed in the middle of the night.

We really feel that one on one time is super important. We try to make sure the kids each get time with one of us, uninterupted. I took Aspen to see Annie at Kingsbury Hall, and I took Sage to Disney on Ice. Farren just took Kyson to the Utes football game, and I have plans to take him to a dinosaur show that is coming in January. Those are some of the bigger things we have done, but usually its small things, like Farren rotates who gets to go with him Saturday mornings to dump papers and go to the bank. Sometimes kids will get to stay up late with just Mom and play a game or do a puzzle.

We hope that the kids will remember these special times, and they will remember they are not just part of the family unit, but also individual people. We are very lucky to have such amazing kids, and we want them to know each of them is so special.

My Sweet Sweet Girl!

The next few posts likely wont be in "calendar order" I have lots to tell you about, but who knows what order they will get put down. I will put Halloween pictures and talk about the cake I did for Heather soon, but I wanted to tell you guys how sweet my little Sageycakes is.

She can not watch Charlotte's Web without bawling. She gets so upset, that the time we had a babysitter, I had to put it off limits to watch. When it gets to the part where Fern has to give Wilbur to her Uncle to live on their farm like a normal pig, Sage just cries. She is so sad that Fern has to give up her beloved pet.

Well, Friday night I moved my little TV from my scrapbook room so I could watch a movie while I decorated Heather's cakes. All week I have done little to no housework. I had 8 kids, plus a few extras here and there all week. So, the most I did was wash my dishes since my new dishwasher quit working. (We got that repaired on Friday, the wiring in the control panel had come undone.)

Anyhow, I decided today would be a great day to organize my pantry. Its full, overflowing. We have so much stinkin food! So, since the TV was already in there, I popped in Andre. We were watching (the girls are sitting at the table with a snack) and I look over and Sage is silently sobbing. I asked what was wrong. She said they were talking about getting rid of the seal. She said that is the saddest thing she ever saw. LOL. She cried off and on through the entire movie.


My sweet little Sage. My other kids have never been so perseptive in movies, but she certainly is.