what a beautiful mess

(Annabelle's finger is in her mouth, NOT her nose. I promise.) Sometimes Trevor and I are shocked at our really good ideas.The kids were making us crazy tonight; lots of fighting and just plain craziness. So we made them sit down at the table, each with a sheet of paper, with one of the other's names on it. They all got 2 minutes to write down two good things about the person who's name was at the top of their paper. And they had to be quiet the whole time (that was the important part...) After the papers had been rotated 4 times, they each took their paper with their name on it and had to read it out loud to everyone, after which, they received hugs, kisses and "i love you's" from each other. It was really brilliant. The kids loved it and now they each have a piece of paper hanging in their room with reminders of why they are loved. I would highly suggest this quirky activity if your kids are driving you nuts as well. (however, Stephen still had not ...

They love "I Love Lucy". They laugh and laugh while watching this show. They also love Fresh Prince, The Cosby Show (who doesn't?), Saved By the Bell, The Andy Griffith Show, Fat Albert, and He-Man. I swear they were born thirty years too late...

Must come to an end.  Trevor went back to work today.  And I'm really sad.  We had such a good week together doing just whatever we wanted.  We had mini dates every day and spent lots of fun time with our kids.  I rarely got the camera out because...I just didn't want to. (Anna's camera is working but it takes wonky pictures) I didn't even take pictures Christmas morning but  I can remember it all and I guess that's what's important.  We took a few pictures when we did happen to remember to: This is the beginning of our week together, right after Trevor got off work on Friday and before we went to a movie with some friends.  We saw Jack Reacher; it was really good.  I will forever be a Tom Cruise fan no matter how strange he gets.  Hangin' out on the smallest couch...at least it looks small in this picture.  Trevor played a lot of the fruit slashing game...it's kind of addicting.  ...

I think of tonight as the beginning of our Christmas celebrations. We went to Scott and Jenees' and had so much fun. We made gingerbread houses, ate a delicious dinner (I got the recipe!), played some really fun Christmas themed Minute To Win It games, and had delicious cheesecake. And sure all of that sounds fun and enjoyable but you just had to be there to really know what a good time it was. Thanks you guys for such a great evening! Here's some of the kids houses: Next time I will quadruple the frosting because we could definitely have used more. But the kids had fun and it wasn't too crazy! On our way home, we had Anna's Ipod hooked up to the radio and had each child take turns picking a song. There was a big variety of songs which I loved. But the girls picked Taylor Swift almost every time. It was really fun to just listen and enjoy the music and sing along if we wanted..which I always do. When we came home we found a surprise waiting on our tabl...

HEY!: I got my Christmas cards in the mail today! I think it's the first time in 13 years that I've actually sent them out. I've made them before (more than a couple times) and never sent them. If you are a parent or a sibling, expect yours in the mail sometime before the New Year. And please, try to contain your excitement. I do realize that it will be the best Christmas gift you will receive but still... So you know how I haven't been a very good blogger lately? I've finally realized that it's because I don't have a camera. I use my phone and Anna's ipod sometimes but not nearly like I do when I have my very own camera. I expect that to be taken care fairly soon. I think if I change the batteries in Emily's camera, it might work until I get my own...until then, I'll probably continue being a sporadic blogger. I'm so sorry!

Tuesday night's ward party was a little awkward for me. It's not my fault that I like men's shirts (in as small a size as I can find). They're comfortable and look cute with skinny jeans. I liked one of Trevor's shirts so much that I went and bought one for myself. Unfortunately we showed up to the ward party both wearing it (he came late). It's just never occurred to me that I would need to start coordinating my clothes with his, dang it. So I had to wear my jacket the whole night. It's not like it was Sadie Hawkins or anything... Last night the girls had an orchestra concert, Annabelle's first one ever. They did such a great job. They both worked really hard at their songs and practiced every day. We are so proud of them! While we waited for the concert to start, Josh and I listened to The Killers. Namely their song "Don't Shoot Me, Santa". If you want to experience some feel good music, take a listen:  Just click on this link. ...

Where does it go? It's turned my Doritos eating, stained orange baby into  a little boy that likes to dress up as a ninja and batman (at the same time) and who wants a mountain climbing suit for Christmas.  Say what? Unfortunately Amazon doesn't sell any mountain climbing suits.

I got a call from Emily the other day while she was at school and I immediately thought she was sick. But no, she just had a car stuck in her hair. It was in science and they were doing an experiment with retractable cars. The boy she was sitting next to thought it would be an interesting experiment to see what would happen if he pulled it back and then stuck it in Emily's hair. It was so stuck, the car wouldn't even move. The principal had to completely take the car apart in order to get it out of her hair.  I was able to untangle most of the knots but I had to cut a little bit of her hair. Emily was so great about it. It was more of an adventure for her than anything. And it's something she'll never forget. And the sweet boy who put the car in her hair is in our ward so we'll make sure he never forgets it! Dang, I love that girl. She's so great. Trevor came home sick today. It's starting to get kind of funny. He's so mad and so tired of being ...

It's about time everyone is feeling better in our house. There are no signs of sickness around here and we couldn't be more excited. Seriously, going to Disneyland right now, would not make us any happier (only because the chance of that happening is nil). Last week while I was trying to kick myself out of bed so that I could get the kids some breakfast, I heard Annabelle crying in the bathroom. I went to check on her and found this: She thought she would see if wrapping her hair around the comb and then pulling on it tight, would curl her hair. It didn't. Not at all. It just made a really big mess. I had to break the comb and slowly try to unwrap her hair. Don't you think getting your hair stuck around a comb or brush is just like a rite of passage into adolescence? I did it when I was young but I was lucky and only did it to Candice and not myself. (I mean...sorry about that, Candice!) Speaking of hair and Annabelle, she tried braiding my hair last week...