December 13th - Jingle All The Way

The pink one is Haley's cookie.

Yesterday I got to go and be the parent helper in Haley's preschool class. Always a lot of fun... and a lot of work! I tell you, 3-year-olds don't stop moving for the life of them! I took cookies for them to decorate and thought this would be a fairly easy process, except for the life of them they can't spread frosting, and putting on sprinkles, yeah, think the whole container dumped on one poor little cookie. Yeah, they had fun though, and once cleaned up a bit, their cookies turned out really nice.

So then it was time for their little show. They might not be the best cookie decoraters in the world, but boy can three-years-olds sing "Jingle Bells"!

December 12th - Caroling

Yesterday was all about Christmas caroling. Christmas caroling with my scouts, that is. We took about 20 Cub Scouts and went to visit two nursing homes. The boys sang 8 songs and handed out candy canes. And although there was grumbling on the boys' behalf, I think they all had a good time. And the people we visited really enjoyed it! They also really enjoyed Reed!!!

Christmas card update.

Ok, 24 cards went out in the mail on Monday, 7 yesterday and 11 more today. There are still about 20 more waiting for the right paper to come in the mail. So, on that note, if you haven't received your Christmas card yet, and care, let me know, and I will move you to the top of my pile!

December 11th - Illusive CANDYLAND

Ok, so a few weeks ago I had to take Haley to the doctor cuz she broke out with hives and it was the day before Thanksgiving. Luke didn't want her to be nervous, so he told her that I was taking her to CANDYLAND. Ever since then, she's been looking for Candyland and trying to get me to take her there. I think that I finally found it yesterday!

This was Macy's classroom. They were making gingerbread houses, and everyone brought in candy, plus all leftovers were being passed from classroom to classroom to share. Smart move though... all the candy had money denominations attached and the kids had to "buy" their candy with paper money. It was pretty cool, and I really enjoyed working at the candy bank. That's my kind of job!

Just random Aunt Susie.

Ok, just wanted to add one more. I was working on Aunt Susie's pages for our family calendar and she came over to help, so I put her to work. Here is proof that Aunt Susie worked on her own calendar pages. I made her stamp "Cougs" (for "Go Cougars" - we couldn't fit the whole thing!) on all of them. See... she can do it!

December 10th - who needs a contractor? WE DO!!!

Gingerbread house night. Went to take Macy to Girl Scouts, which she loves, and when we got there, it was cancelled. She was a bit upset. So, I promised her that we would make our Gingerbread house instead. Super easy... right? Just bought one of those kits from Costco. However, even though we totally followed the rules, and waited the 15 minutes before actually putting candy and stuff on it, we still had issues with the roof caving in as well as the side walls. Oh well. The kids had a lot of fun anyway, and it turned out pretty cute... considering we finally gave up because we used up all of the frosting trying to fix the roof and the walls!!!

December 10th - Caroling, anyone?

Ok, so Monday night we're sitting around working on our Gingerbread house, and the doorbell rings. It's our friends, the Geigenmillers, caroling to us with a plate of cookies. Gotta love that! Apparently, this is their activity for Family Night for the next three weeks (ending on Christmas Eve, Eve). Mom (Liz - one of my cohorts in crime - we "scout" together and do crazy walking activities together) spends all day Monday making cookies, and then they go out Monday night to friends and family to deliver them. Love it! If I didn't get so stressed out by the whole cooking thing, this might become an activity for us. Maybe one Monday? We'll see.

December 9th

Well, I'm a day late... with no pictures!!! Yesterday was a pretty normal day. Reed wasn't feeling well, so him and I came home early from church. Then, for dinner we went over to Bob & Susie's house for Thanksember (or Decgiving), but I got there a bit late so didn't get any cute pictures. Bob & Susie were in Utah for the real Thanksgiving, so she promised us that she would cook for us on another day, and yesterday was it. It was nice. Totally yummy food, and some really good Jell-o! Raspberry, with raspberries, with Cool Whip! Yum-my!!! I brought home extras! Will post a few pics for today (Monday)!

December 8th - Meeting Santa

So last night we had our ward Christmas party. They did this whole Zarahemla thing. It was cool. Very "Bethlehem-ish". However, no Santa. Reed's first Christmas, and no Santa. So, what did it force us to do? Head to the mall, wait in line for about an hour, and then have our pics taken with Santa. At least Reed wasn't scared.

And he's 8-months-old today! Crazy! It's going so fast! He is crawling all over the place. Slowly... but he's on the move! He's better than the vacuum as well... so we really have to watch out!

December 7th - a trip thru Zarahemla

Ok, three pics for today. D, as Nephi, of course, in the play at our ward Christmas dinner... and the kids' posing in the manger. Notice the baby Jesus. A little big... but cute none the less! Ok, and just a really cute picture of me and Reed!!! Love him!!!

Addendum...

So, just an FYI to my post from earlier today. Just got back from the post office. Had to put additional postage on my cards, because of course I made them too heavy. So they went like .2 over one ounce (or something like that) and I had to put a whole additional $.17 on each of them! Crazy! I always think that I'm saving so much money by making my own cards... but then really, I like to add bells and whistles, so it just totally adds up! So there Haley and I were, on the side of the drive-up mail box thingy adding postage to all of them. So like me!!!

December 6th - YEEHAW - they're in the mail... well, sort of!!!

I'm just SOOOO excited! Some of my Christmas cards are going out in the mail today!!! I know, you're saying what's the big deal? But Christmas cards are VERY important to me. And considering I started them like in the beginning of November, I am VERY behind schedule (which really bugs me!). Totally not my doing, but still. See the stripey paper? Unfortunately, it's from Christmas last year. I've ordered it from like 5 or 6 different places and only got enough to make 39 cards - so those are the ones going out in the mail today. I have 19 (from two different locations - 13 from one, 6 from another) more sheets coming to me soon, so 60 more people will be getting their cards sometime next week. Then, see the green paper? Totally ran out of that. Luckily, was able to make 84 base cards first. So, again, I ordered it from an online retailer about two weeks ago, check my mail everyday, anxiously looking for it, and it refuses to come. So, I finally break down and call the retailer the other day, only to find out that the main company (Bazzill) is totally out of stock, so they are now sending me a slightly different shade of green. Whatever. Next year, I might actually just make the digital photo cards!!!

December 5th - Tree Farm

Haley's class...

Today Haley's preschool went on a field trip to a Christmas tree farm. We got to go on a hayride, feed some animals, hear the nativity story, drink cocoa, and pick and cut down a tree for Haley's classroom. It was a lot of fun, and all the little 3-year-olds seemed to have a pretty good time!

December 4th

Sorry... a day late. Better late than never though. Our laptop that has a drive directly in it for the camera memory card is sick, so I had to go and find a portable card reader, and it was all the way down in the basement, so that's my excuse. Anyways, yesterday, as normal, was a busy day. Babysitting my friend's little boy, then being in Macy's class, going to gymnastics with Chad, then an ornament exchange/cookie party last night. Lots of fun! So, here's a pic from the goodies I got last night... after a lot has already been stolen!

December 3rd - Peppermint Fudge and other goodies!

Today has been a busy day! Getting decorations and stuff for the house, decorating, making treats, and just normal life has kept me on my toes. Tomorrow night I am going to an ornament exchange / cookie party. See what I made? Peppermint Fudge. Impressed... aren't you? It's good... but very sweet!

And see all the jars and bowls behind it? One is for M&M's (gotta have those); then one with kisses, candy canes, etc.; then the huge one in the middle is filled with all sorts of kisses. When people come over to visit they get to guess how many candies are in it, and then a couple days after Christmas we will deliver it to the winner. Fun, huh? Idea I stole from someone else's blog. I tell you, there's a LOT of candy in there! (You can make a comment as to how many candies you think are in there too, and if you win, I will send it to you. Hint - the container is 1 gallon in size.)

{Peppermint Fudge} from Becky Higgins

FUDGE LAYER
3 tsp. butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 c. powdered sugar
6 tbsp. baking cocoa
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

PEPPERMINT LAYER
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4 c. crushed peppermint candy (about 10-12 candies)

Line the bottom and sides of a square baking dish with foil. Grease foil with butter, set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Chill for an hour until firm.

For peppermint layer, beat cream cheese in a small mixing bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, milk and extract. Stir in peppermint candy. Spread evenly over chocolate layer. Chill for an hour or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge from pan. Gently peel off foil and cut into squares.

Note: A double batch fits well in a 9"x13" pan and makes about 7-8 dozen little squares of fudge.

Bet you never thought you'd see a recipe on my blog, huh? Gotta keep you on your toes! Have a super day!

December 2nd

Ok, so our finished Christmas tree. Turned out really pretty. At first only Luke, Macy and Haley were decorating it, so there were only ornaments from about 4 feet down, and on the bottom branches there were tons of ornaments - still are for that matter. I made the comment to put soft and/or not-breakable ones at the bottom in case of the dog, kitties or Reed, so they really took me to heart. D and I stepped in and decorated the top, so at least now there are ornaments everywhere... but I still think if you sat down and counted that the bottom half would definately win for quantity!

Picture a Day, for the month of December

Ok, so unfortunately, this is the best I have for this 1st day of December. There were so many things that I could've taken pictures of, but I forgot (even though the cameras been in my pocket all day!).

I wanted to take a picture of the Christmas tree on top of our car, but by the time I remembered, D already had it off of the car.

This morning our Scouts did the Walk-n-Knock, where they go door to door collecting food for the food bank. Halfway through it started snowing on them, it was only 33 degrees after all, so my Bears convinced me to take them to Starbucks afterwards to get cocoa. I should've taken a picture of all the Mormon scouts in Starbucks (I don't think that any of them had been in one before! - besides Luke, of course!), but again, I forgot.

So, this is what you get. D and I ran out to run some errands this morning, and when we came back we found that the kids had decided to decorate the "kid tree" by themselves. They cut snowflakes, made paper ornaments and just had a grand time. Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself! Not sure if it's staying in the front hall, but not bad for now!

Isn't it still November?

Macy, Chad, Daelin, Luke & Cameron plotting their "gingerbread" creations Chad and Daelin's crazy fortress. Had a car, a clock tower and everything. Pretty good for just finding random stuff in the kitchen to use, and leftover Halloween candy!
Gingerbread creations and candy calendars. Not sure where all of these things will be living for the month of December. Probably right here... on the kitchen island!

For just another day. Come one. Does Christmas really need to be in like 26 days? I don't think I'm quite there yet. Oh sure, most of the Christmas shopping is done (except for D - where's your list?), the Christmas cards might almost be ready (they're all addressed at least), we're getting a tree tomorrow (after all, it will be DECEMBER tomorrow), but still. I'm on the middle ground, I suppose. I still have the fall decorations waiting to be put away, but I put up wreaths on our lightposts last night. After all, it was snowing the other day. That must mean Christmas is coming. Right? So, in preparation, some of the traditions have begun. The kids used up leftover Halloween candy to make candy calendars the other night (Huckvale tradition - a good one really - make a poster for each kid with 25 pieces of candy on. Their own personal Advent Calendar.). I came home last night to find my brand new box of graham crackers used up to make "gingerbread houses" by the kids and some friends. We've received all our Christmas presents from Grandma Paula already, even one big one that is already wrapped, sitting in our living room all by itself, driving the kids crazy. The fact that it's for me doesn't seem to matter! I guess that Christmas will be coming... whether I am ready or not. Bring it on, I say!

Charging for tickets.

Ok, so those of you that thought I might possibly be lying about D's love of Star Wars and the museum he has down in our basement... here ya go. Take a gander at these pics... Seriously, I should be charging for tickets to view our museum... might make enough money to finish off the basement. And this isn't even everything! There's still the cookie jars, mugs and potato heads in our kitchen, Chad's bedroom - which is a site in and of itself - and all the random other things hiding around our house. Enjoy my husband's insanity!

It's SNOWING!!!

Ok, so not very much... but still, it's snowing! Crazy! (Still the California family living in the wild Northwest.) Anyways, Chad and his friend, Daelin, are planning how to spend their "snow day" tomorrow - it won't happen... way not enough snow. May have late start, which means school will start 2 hours late to give the buses enough time to work through the slick streets, but otherwise, I'm sure there will be school tomorrow. Oh well. Always good to have those dreams of days with no school, Guitar Hero on the video game system, and all the hot chocolate and popcorn you can eat. Have a good non-snow day (sorry Chad!)!

7 1/2 month old Reed.

Again... how cute is he? Day after Thanksgiving, and he's wearing a Santa Hat and Old Navy 4th of July pajamas. Gotta cover all the holidays, I guess. He's somehow figured out how to sit, all by himself. We'll lay him down on his back or his tummy, and he'll roll himself over to his bum, and then sort of scoot his legs around til he gets himself up. Not totally balanced once he gets up, but he's working on it. What a smart little boy!

Roscoe.

Meet Roscoe. He's the guinea pig from Haley's preschool who is visiting with us over the Thanksgiving holiday. Brings back lots of memories of being a kid when Jason and I had our whole guinea pig, hamster, mouse collection going on. Roscoe's pretty cool. He loves celery, just like the guinea pig on Wonder Pets, and he talks to me while I do the laundry. Kinda nice having someone to talk to while I sort dirty clothes!

So Very Thankful...

Macy, Haley, Jake, Uncle Dwayne, Sara, Carol, Luke, Erik, Aunt Heidi, Chad, our friend, Mark

Wanted to do a little post about what I'm thankful for at this time in the year. Granted, family, friends and faith top the list, but here's some random other things...

1. That I cooked the ENTIRE Thanksgiving dinner... and no one got sick, or died... at least not that I know of.
2. Friends that will take your familys' picture, crazy dog, baby and all, for your holiday card.
3. Friends and family that let you crash their houses for meals... all 7 of you.
4. Adhesive that works really well... staples too!
5. Derrick getting days off. I love when he's home to play with us!
6. Black Friday. Ok, I know it's crazy and insane and we always spend way too much money, but I love the adventure of the whole thing. (P.S. Target was much better organzied than WalMart was - and we spent way more money there - much better sale stuff!)
7. Fun movies that always come out at holiday time so there's lots to see (in the past week, we've seen August Rush, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Enchanted. All very good!)
8. Crazy people that already have Christmas trees in their front windows, fully decorated. Sheesh... it's not even December yet!
9. My husband. Really thankful for him. He's such a good guy. Yesterday he wrote down on a piece of paper and then handed it to me. It said, "Christmas List 2007". I'm supposed to fill it out for him. Yeah, no clue.
10. The ability to blog and share all of my randomness with whoever wants to read it. It also works really well as my own little scrapbook, because really, who has time to scrapbook anything for myself?

Love to everyone! Hope that you also have lots to be thankful for at this time of the year... both serious things and random, fun stuff!

Happy Turkey Trot Day!

Just got back from the Turkey Trot. We didn't exactly trot... more like kind of fast walking, with all the "trotters" trotting past us. It was fun though. We did the 3 1/2 mile trot. Fun... but cold. About 40 degrees. Here's a picture of my team. Now, gotta go make some stuffing and stick my hand up a bird's butt. There's a pretty image for you! Happy Turkey Day! Think about that... my turkey really isn't so happy right now... now is he? Or she for that matter...

Date Night.

Ok, and one other thing. Last week D scheduled with me to go on a date this last weekend. We ditched the kids, went out to dinner and saw the movie, "August Rush". Great date movie! Not really a chick flick, and we both really enjoyed it. And D didn't have too much to complain about (sorry... it's in his blood!). It was so nice to go out with just D and spend some quality time with him. 2 thumbs up for date nights!!! Gotta do them more often!

Thanksgiving thoughts - about the cooking itself.

Ok, so Thanksgiving. What are your thoughts? I was very happy to be going to my sister-in-law's (SIL) house for Thanksgiving. I LOVE Thanksgiving! Love the food, love the family, love the whole gratitude thing! Until one day last week, when my SIL decided to burst my bubble - she informed me that she was ditching us and heading to Utah to go to the BYU game. Like BYU is more important than us or something (oh yeah, and her son and his new wife who live in Utah also). So, now I have to do Thanksgiving dinner all by myself for us and my other SIL, Heidi, and her family. So Susie, abovementioned SIL, came over yesterday, wrote me an entire menu with a timeline of when to prepare everything, and a shopping list putting everything in order - like produce, meat, dairy, etc. (She does love me after all!) Let me tell you, I went to Costco today and it was a ZOO!!! Still gotta go to Winco tomorrow... pray for me! Will let you know how the whole thing turns out... just wanted to get a little sympathy in the process (violin music starts now). Know that some of you do this on a regular basis (well, at least once a year), and love it, but just so not up my alley. All about throwing parties... but parties with finger foods and treats. Not 40 course meals!!!

TAG! I'm it...

Ok, so I just got "tagged" by my friend, Poppy. I have to list 5 things about myself that most people probably don't know. Here's the problem, I'm a pretty open book. I like to talk (or write in this case), and I share WAY TOO MUCH!!! So, here's some random things...

1. Ok, I LOVE to vaccuum! Don't know why. It's like this instant gratification type of thing. My mom is probably laughing at this right now, because as a kid one of my chores was to vaccuum the stairs, and I would never do it because it's too hard... that's why I now pay Chad to do it!!! See, works out best for everyone. I also LOVE to do laundry. Don't enjoy folding it or putting it away, but next to vaccuuming, it's probably the easiest thing to do to make a place look clean. Make sense?
2. Ok, so I'm not that girlie. Don't care for jewelry, clothes, make-up (still not fully sure how to put this stuff on!) etc., too much. All about comfort. Could live in jeans, t-shirts and Ugg boots. Sometimes I wish that I liked jewelry and make-up more (especially since Macy and Haley are REALLY girlie - not sure where they got it!), but considering I'm now 36, it's not likely to happen in the too near future.
3. I'm a super, big-time HORDER! Not of everything, mind you... just of scrapbook stuff and craft supplies (D balances it out with his Star Wars stuff, so we're quite the couple). I was talking to my friend, Liz, the other day, asking her where she keeps all her scrapbook stuff. She tells me that she has like one RubberMaid bin that she keeps it all in (not like me, who has a room, and is still busting at the seams). I asked her where all her extras go, and she said she doesn't really have any. She buys specific things to make specific pages and that's it. Not me! I buy stuff because it's cute, shiny, sparkley, fun! Whatever. Pretty? Gotta have it! Might use it at some point, might not... but need it now! (Isn't it good I don't like jewelry that much?)
4. I WAS a Hair Virgin! Get it? 36 and I had never colored my hair - other than Sun-In - (my mom always told me not too - too much maintenance!, so I didn't), until the other day. After the whole water-leaking-kitty-litter-in-the-bathtub-fiasco. It was time. I love living in the Northwest, but don't love that my hair has gotten so much darker... so, I totally got what I call, "Happy California Hair". Will post a picture as soon as I take one. Now, I just have to work on that Girlie thing (see #2) and have maintenance. Last time I had my hair cut was last December if that gives you any idea.
5. Ok, and this one is totally random. I haven't bought a greeting card in like 9 years. Can't do it. Once I decided that I could make my own, I've never looked back. I don't even like to look at them in stores. Just too many, with too many options, that aren't my own. D's funny, cuz he loves to give me cards, and any time he does he always looks for the ones that look the most handmade. The ones that have embellishments and stuff on the front of them. And then he'll buy like every one he can find, just because he knows that I'll like them (and of course, I keep every one of them - back to that hording thing!). See... he does love me!

Ok, so there you go. 5 random things. Kind of silly. Not really about hidden talents or anything... but done. So there. Now, I tag Amanda, Jeannette (maybe this will get you to put something on your blog), and Susie (you too!). I will be checking... so get it done!!!

Happy Veteran's Day

So, in other news... Happy Veteran's Day! A few days late... but as mentioned, I've been busy!

I am a Scout leader in our church, and last week we got the honor of doing the flag ceremony at Luke and Macy's Veteran's Day assembly. It was pretty cool. I had 6 scouts there, they did a great job, and then Luke gave a little speech about the flag, what it means, and how to respect it.

Then, on Saturday, our troop also had the honor of being in a Veteran's Day parade. It was also really an honor to be there with all these Vets and scouts and American Flags. What a great country we live in! Myself and Liz and Michelle (two of the other Cub Scout leaders) were there with 12 of our boys - about half - and they walked for a mile and a half, throwing candy and just having a good time. Oh, and Cooper was our mascot. He wore a Bear Scout kerchief and looked sharp!

Thanks to all our Vets and troops for all they do to keep our country free!!!

My life.

Grandma Paula emailed to give me grief for not posting in a week, so here goes. Whenever you question my sanity, remember this day.

Yesterday. Started out good. Got the car washed (had to get all the dog hair out of it from going to obedience class the past 6 weeks), got some groceries, ran some errands. Came home. Was cleaning kitchen, including getting rid of some leftovers in the fridge. So, came across some pulled pork and decided to put it down the garbage disposal. Didn't like it so much. Backed up and clogged it, but I didn't worry because this has happened once before and if I give it time, it usually fixes itself. So anyways, D calls and asks me to get him some info, so I go down into the basement to get on the desktop computer and realize that I'm hearing a strange sound. I turn around, and the ceiling is dripping, onto our new couch. (Apparently, the disposal didn't fix itself.) Oh, and did I mention that I decided to run the dishwasher at the same time? So, D came home and got it all fixed, and the lesson learned is... don't put pulled pork down the drain... and if you do and plug up the drain, don't run the dishwasher at the same time.

So, in the meantime, Haley's friend, Savannah, is over. D and I are trying to clean the kitchen, and Savannah, who is 4, comes running into the room saying that she had nothing to do with it. A little concerned am I, yes. So, I'm like, what didn't you do? And she's like, the kitty litter. So, I go upstairs to find Haley in our bathtub in about 4 inches of kitty litter. That morning, I had been cleaning out the litter box while Haley was taking a bath. When I took the lid off the box of litter, it fell into the bathtub and got wet, so I put it on the counter to dry off. Well, Haley and Savannah thought this would be a great time to fill the bathtub. So, lesson learned on this one... don't leave the lid off the litter box, and if you do and your 3-year-old and her friend pour it in the bathtub and add water to it, the wet/dry vac from the garage can only hold so much before it clogs up and gets very heavy, and stops doing the job. Needless to say, bathroom is still not fully clean.

And you thought Cooper was bad! Oh, did I mention that last week he ate my whole bottle of Thyroid medicine and I had to call the Poison Control Center. This is my life.

Stick Bugs.

Random thought - I'm full of them! So, I'm sitting here scrapbooking with Martha Stewart on in the background. She's doing a segment on bugs. They're talking about Stick Bugs. Ever seen one? Probably not (unless it was totally pointed out to you)... because they look just like sticks! Anyways, last summer while we were in California, we visited with our friend, Mia, who lived across the street from us. She had a couple of Stick Bugs. Guess what their names were? Chad and Luke. Funny, I thought. And even funnier... Luke had already died. Poor Luke, the Stick Bug. Apparently they only have a life span of like 4 months. See... learn something new every day (even on my blog)!

Sunday children.

Ok, so I'm blogging a lot the last couple of days, but I just have a lot to say (what else is new?). Anyways, just one final thing to share for today. This past Sunday we had our Primary Childrens' Program at church. Now this always gets me emotional... the kids up there singing, speaking, whatever, but this time was a bit different. Now some people really get bugged by the program. ALL the children in church have some sort of a part. Now for some churches, that's not bad... but our primary has like 100+ kids in it, so that can get to be a pretty big program. Anyways, all the kids (Chad, Luke and Macy - not Haley until next year and Reed until much later) had parts. Macy and Luke had small speaking parts, and Chad gave a talk about service (I'm still waiting for him to serve without being paid... some day... ). He did a great job, as did everyone else.

Then, they get to the end of the program and Chad's 11-year-old boys' class get up there. They're all wearing white shirts and ties, and they sing "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission". Here's my baby, asking to go on a mission. All the boys he's singing with were my Webelos last year, and D's 11-year-old scouts this year, so we feel a close tie to all of them. Then, towards the end of their song, the actual missionaries walk up from out of the audience and stand behind them. When their song ends, the pianist then breaks into "Called to Serve" and the Elders sing the first verse, with the boys joining in on the chorus. Ok, by this point, all the moms in the audience are crying... not just me.

The program ends, with all of us misty-eyed, and we go to sing the closing song, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". One of the little girls from the primary sings the 1st verse all by herself with her dad playing along on a violin. The rest of the primary joins in for the chorus. Then, up goes Luke to sing the 2nd verse all by himself. Imagine this. Little Lukie (well, he's really not that little), singing all by himself in front of like 500+ people. He did an amazing job. I was pretty emotional, and people are now kidding me that I should start my own Osmond group.

How thankful am I to have such amazing kids! They drive me crazy and I want to run away half of the time, but I know how good and special they are. D and I are grateful to have such amazing spirits in our family, and we are so happy to have the gifts of them for this short time on Earth. Didn't mean to bear my testimony there a bit... but there it is! I am very thankful for the life I have! Sorry... just wanted to share. My blog... I can blog whatever I want!

Random-end-of-October-beginning-of-November-blogging!

Happy November everyone! Can you believe that it's November already??? I'm already stressing about our Christmas cards. I know that I keep saying this, but this year I might actually buy premade ones. Not likely, considering I've already bought all the paper to make some... but still. The thought is there. I even discussed making "hybrid" cards - cards that are part digital, part real paper and stuff... and D was like, "you can't do that. It would be like you just went and had photo cards made!". Yeah, well, I don't see him stressing about it - Love you D!

Anyways, back to my random October blogging. I LOVE Halloween! I was in such a good mood all day yesterday. Even with all the running around! I mean think about it... how often do you get to go to all your neighbor's houses, dressed in a costume, and they'll give you a treat... just because? I was saying this to D this morning and he laughed because everyone loves getting candy, but it's not even about the candy, it's the camaderie. Just walking up and down all the streets. Seeing friends you know, and people you don't. All out for the same cause... just to have fun! Gotta love it. Halloween should happen more often. I think I shall start a petition to get some sort of Halloween going every month. On the radio they were saying that it should take place in the Spring because it's warmer. Think about it... Spring-o-ween. Has a certain ring to it, doncha think?