Close Enough, Right?

Heidi's attempt at a spiritual discussion over lunch today:

"You know, Mom, Heavenly Father was mad at Adam and Steve and the mean snake because they ate ALL the fruit.  And now they can't ever live in the forest again.  The tiger won't let them in."

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

December was a beautiful blur.
'Twas the season for....

Sisters!

Serving!

Sillies!

Stitches! (3 of them, to be exact. Boys.)

Singing!

Slumber parties!

Staring! (Braden: Wow!! Um, is there supposed to be fire in there?)

Saucing! (First time canning, baby!)

Sprinkling! (That's reindeer food, folks)

Stooges! (Or 'Wise Guys', if you prefer)

Spells! (wands expertly crafted by Ollivander's newest apprentice--a.k.a. Papa)

I hope your Christmas was a special one!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Vacation for My Soul

In Novemeber I got to spend 10 days visiting my Mom & Grandma in Oregon.
It was heavenly.

It was so beautiful there--all the fall colors, the snow in the passes, the stormy coast--it was a feast of scenery for my eyes.

I got to spend time with my amazing Grandma (isn't she beautiful?!?) playing games, looking through pictures from her youth, laughing, and enjoying tasty treats.

I got to see my aunts and uncles whom I haven't seen in 5 or 6 years. My Aunt Joni is the most gentle, loving person you've ever met. She's like a cross between Snow White and Dr. Doolittle. This is her mustang, Danny, that she's rehabilitating.

I got a little excited about the snow.

Every girl ought to have a happy, loving, beautiful, creative, thoughtful, fun-loving Mom like mine. Thank you for such a relaxing, special trip, Mom. I miss you and I love you so much!

I think I ought to spend time in Oregon on a more regular basis.

Go Ahead, Say It

We caved.

We have THREE of these. I don't understand how people do it. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, especially, are a logistical nightmare and our van smells like a locker room.

On the up side, Jeff gets to help boss around a bunch of girls, and I get to see my offspring in cute, sporty get-ups. Oh, and the kids are happy. Sweat=Smiles.

**On a side note: If you're ever looking for a good chuckle, I recommend watching small children play 'organized' sports.

This Was Not On My To-Do List Today

I think my neighbor thinks we're running some sort of avian refugee camp here. He handed me this little guy in a basket after finding him on the ground and no nest in sight.

You know, I'm not actually an animal person. Like, at all. Cute little thing, though, huh?

Asher asked if it was a swan.

Slippery Little Weasel

Hey, does anybody know where August went? Because it seems to have disappeared and I can't figured out where it has gone.

I'll tell you what I was NOT doing in August:

This.

Or this.

And certainly not this.

Somebody, somewhere, has probably figured out how to maintain their house while their kids are out of school, but I certainly haven't. Every day in August there were anywhere from 6 to 16 kids tromping through our house (I called Jeff at work each day to give him the stats). Why bother cleaning, right? The kids had a great time, though.

Look at these party animals.

Board games were very popular.

And so was the beach!

The 2 newest fans of Shriner's in the family.
And a bunch of people I share genes with were in town for:
This.

Tay & Allison, you were the highlight of our summer. We love you both so much! Congratulations!!