Our Christmas Tree

The picture doesn't really do it justice, but we love our tree this year. The kids pretty much leave it alone. Here's the secret: put them in the high chair for 15-30 minutes every time they touch the tree. After about 2 days of this they get the hint. At least it's worked so far. I know, I'm a mean mom.

Seasonal Fun

Playing in leaves is always fun.

As is playing in the snow. It took 5 minutes per kid to get them dressed, but it's nice to see the winter preparations I've made for the kids is worth it. They played outside for about an hour and came in with rosy cheeks and red noses, but they were warm right down to their toes. Doug had to go in early because he was cold - heh heh heh.

Doug's first snowman EVER! I know, I could hardly believe it either. It looks great, right down to his whopper eyes (we don't have any coal).

Two cute boys.

A beautiful snow princess - maybe I should have pulled her hat up a bit. It's hard to pull your own hat up when you have big fat gloves on that are covered in snow.

I'm IT!!!

I've been tagged and I am officially "IT". So, now that I am "IT", I have to share 6 facts about myself. Sorry if you already know some or all of these things:

1. I am passionate. This is a random condition. I'm not passionate about everything, but if I decide I like something or am committed to something I am passionate about it. I think this quality sometimes turns people off. I have to try to shut up about things unless the person I'm talking to asks me a question.

2. My life is an open book. I will open up about myself to almost anyone. I try to share experiences from my life if I think it can help someone to keep from making the same mistakes I did.

3. I am a hoarder. I keep things I think might be important later. I try to hide this problem (in the closet, the laundry room, the garage, wherever), but if you visit my house when I'm not expecting it you won't find it pristine.

4. I try to be fair. I have a difficult time accepting injustices and in situations where I have a choice I try to make things fair for myself and the other person. This includes playing games, doing service, owing and paying money, doing dinners, etc. (It does NOT include driving, sorry).

5. I don't like to be wet. This goes along with I don't like to be cold. I think they're interchangeable. Wet=cold in my book, so I don't like either.

6. I love my family and friends. I get attached to people and really enjoy being with people I care about. Once you're a friend of mine you are a friend for life. I feel that even if someone moves away or I don't see them again, I still keep my fond feelings for them.

BONUS #7. I don't enjoy doing my hair.

OOOPS!!

This picture serves only as a visual so I can tell you a story. The other night Doug was letting Paige and Preston walk on the treadmill with him. He had it on speed 1. He puts his feet on the sides and lets Preston walk closest to him and Paige in front so he can catch Preston if he falls. Well, he turned the speed up to 2, which he often does and Paige was playing around and not being serious. She put her hands on the bars in front and pulled up her feet and then came down in a ball. We all know what happens when you become a ball on a treadmill.

Well, bowling ball Paige got a strike as she went straight through Doug's legs and fell off the back of the treadmill. Doug basically threw Preston off the side and turned around to get Paige, who was hysterically screaming. Do you know what happens when you get on a treadmill facing backwards? Ding ding ding, you walk backwards. And Doug got a real funny look on his face as he realized 1) he had to walk backwards, and 2) AS FAST AS HE COULD!!! He chugged along at a nice clip until he could get his wits enough to pull the plug so it would stop, with Paige screaming hysterically all the while. Preston screamed too since it seemed like the thing to do.

I ... uh ... wasn't screaming. It was very difficult to hold in my laughter every time Doug reentered the room. I only laughed when he couldn't see me.

Just keep this little story in mind if you ever decide to let your kids walk on the treadmill.

Sorry, Doug. He's going to be mad when he sees my post.

I don't care who you are, this is just plain cute:Here's pucker up Paige. We were practicing our puckers one lazy day. Paige also took one of mom, but we'll spare you the agony.Preston is a pucker boy. He gives sweet kisses and gives them all the time, especially if he was naughty. He'll say, "Sorry, mom ... kiss kiss kiss ..." He knows the way to our hearts. We love your kisses, Presto. Just hanging around, relaxing (and probably watching TV if truth be told):
Two tired little kids. They are going ... going ...
GONE!

(Read bottom)

If you'll notice, the outfit Paige has on she calls her 'Stanley suit'. She wears it almost every day and we have to bribe her to let us wash it. It can practically walk on it's own some days. Her favorite movie is 'A Troll in Central Park'. It's a cartoon about a troll who has a green thumb and uses his thumb to make green patches of grass and lots of flowers. She likes the flowers on the suit and even has her own 'patch of green' (a green lid to a storage container). She sits on her patch of green in her flower suit being Stanley and happy as a clam. She'd be mad if she knew I was typing this story, but she can't read yet so I'm safe.

Harley Davidson FUN!!

Yeah Doug, you wish! Doug is taking Brian's new Harley out for a spin. Doesn't he look HOT!? Well, please don't answer that.

Like father like son:

Daddy's little girl:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Our ward had a trunk-or-treat on Saturday, Oct. 27th. Preston the spider had a difficult time posing and wanted to run around instead, but after a lot of coaxing (and, I'll admit, a little yelling), here are our two sweet posers. How do you like Prest's cheese face? Yeah, we like it too. I walked around with Preston and Doug went with Paige. Preston got the hang of it quickly and at every trunk would say, "Chick-o-chweet," and after he got his candy, "Tankoo." I noticed he got lots of extra candy for being so cute.

Paige was excited to be a princess this year and changed her mind at the last minute and wanted to be a "batty bat". We looked and looked for a bat costume and couldn't find one (in Target). I asked her if she'd like to go get a wand for her princess outfit and she changed her mind back again. Oh, the joys of being a girl. She's thrilled to death with her new wand and kept hitting me on the backside with it. Is she trying to change me into a skinny mom? I hope it works. Hit away, Paige, sprinkle some fairy dust. Hey, you're forgetting the chant ...

Paige & Benjamin - forever friends. They love playing together and almost never fight.

Eeeeek, a spyda!!

Okay, for funsies, here's some spooky frights I found at the trunk-or-treat:

My new blog

I guess I have to become a writer - creative, funny and artistic - to now have my own little dedicated site. I'm excited about the possibilities of my new blog, although I think the word 'blog' is irritatingly stupid. What does it mean? I guess I'm not computer literate.

I have all these imaginations of having family history information on my site and because of divine intervention, everyone in the family is inspired and eager to help with the work. And then I imagine all the cute pictures of our family with funny anecdotes that everyone will enjoy looking at and laughing. If everyone is as busy as I am I will simply hope for a gentle perusal by my family and friends and an occasional posting by me. We'll see how it goes.

Now, on to figuring out how to put pictures on here. Wish me luck.