From the Mouths of Babes

(Ivory was finishing up dinner and leaving the table)

Me: Did you put your dishes in the sink?

Ivory: Yep, and I put both my tentacles in the dishwasher. (Pause) Wait...

Me: Do you mean utensils?

Ivory: Yeah, that was the word I was looking for.

Love that girl.

Thanksgiving Recap

Wow, my poor neglected blog is still here. I feel like I have lost all skill at blogging. I don't take pictures, I don't say funny things, I don't have any focus. I download whatever is on my camera and try to create a story that sums up my life in so many words. Even I am a little bored listening to me.

Depressing.

I sense a blogging goal for 2012, but that means I have another whole month of slacking. Phew.

Oddly, I am still keeping most of the family traditions in line. I just don't have time to tell you about them. Our Thankful Turkey was made.

He joined the ranks of turkeys on the wall. We are up to six now. The kids had such fun reading through all of them. They told me that I must really like my bed because I mentioned it on three of the turkeys. (I DO like my bed! But I managed to leave it off the turkey this year, in exchange for my new love...avocado.)This year's turkey was inspired by Robyn. I need to write this down, because I always forget who helped the year before.

This isn't related to Thanksgiving, but we got a chin-up bar. The kids think it is great fun, and Tyler finds lots of excuses to take his shirt off and flash his muscles. All the ladies are very impressed. The one I was surprised about was Pearl. She can't be left out and takes her turn like a pro.

We traveled up to Idaho for Thanksgiving. It was a sweet trip both ways. I would like to say a special thank you to the weather gods for holding off on the snow. It was so nice to travel on dry highway. And not have to wear winter attire at all times.

We left earlier this year and were finally around for breakfast on Thanksgiving day. Vicki decided a few years ago that there isn't a lot of spare room for pie once you are done feasting, so she instituted 'Pie for Breakfast.' I am still trying to decide if I like the idea.

I am all for dessert and seconds after that, but it was so sweet. That didn't stop me from eating three five slices. Vicki even made her own little mini pies with filling. Notice the machine at the bottom here.

Of course, Barry had been putting his candy wrappers in it the whole day before. (I know where Tyler gets it now.) Even with Tyler walking around with the camera, we still got an authentic scream out of her.

I think she was worried that we were baking the wrappers. I have to admit though—Vicki is a great screamer.

Everything was very relaxed and laid back. It was great to spend time with family. I was horrible about taking pictures. Sometimes I feel it is just the luck of the draw who gets into a photo. I guess you have to be in the right place at the right time to be included...or in focus.

Pearl went to bed early on Thanksgiving, but here she is giving her famous kissy lips.

That child is hilarious. She is either the cutest thing on two legs, or you just want to chuck her in the trash, or perhaps somewhere more soundproof.

There was a new face at Grandma's house. Can you pick out the new addition?

Okay, I don't know if I have ever blogged about Gizmo. Let me go check... Nope, the word gizmo has only come up once on my blog and it wasn't in relation to the dog. So, maybe I need to introduce you to two dogs. The black one is Gizmo. He has been in the family for a long time. He is a good dog, but will nip if little hands get too rough. I don't blame him.

That middle dog is Moxy of course. She always comes along for the ride to Idaho and I think she secretly likes it better there because she is allowed on the furniture and sleeps on our bed (on Tyler's side), and she's taller than her Idahoan canine cousins.

The new dog is this one:

He is a Havanese. They are supposed to be very smart, non-allergenic, non-shedding dogs. I could get on board that train, but the ticket is often around $1200. This is probably why I have never found one at the humane society. And Vicki's was on sale, luckily. He is a sweet thing, but currently without a name. We'll have to see if something sticks to him by the time we go back for Christmas.

I hope you all had a grand time with family and food. Thanksgiving is such a great holiday. There is nothing quite like rubbing shoulders with the people who have to love you. Watching these two makes me wish I had a brother.

Wind

I am not very current on these pictures, but I am bound and determined to finish the year out.

Usually if it is windy outside, I am indoors, but Robyn and I went out together and I noticed it was a bit gusty so I snagged a couple of pictures.

Photos of the week:

You can see how Robyn's hair was blowing in her face and the wind was whipping droplets of water off the fountain. I'm glad the fountain was even working. I imagine they will turn it off for the winter soon. The Provo temple is beautiful and I love to take my children there to walk around. Even on a windy day.

"Fall"ing Behind

My lame attempt at a pun.

I am enjoying the Autumn, and I appreciate that the first snow came and went so quickly. Obviously, we are in for more, but the fact that it is almost December allows my brain to accept snow. In fact, this is the first year where I have been gunning to get my Christmas decorations out early. I have used all my restraint and the fact that Tyler won't let me, to keep from skipping the joyous holiday of Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong...I love Thanksgiving. That is why I created the rule of not getting out Christmas stuff before you have been thankful for all you have. I am just anxious this year.

But we will make our traditional thankful turkey tomorrow and that will get me in the spirit.

Meanwhile, I should really catch up on some of the things that have been going on around here.

Robyn won Reflections. She was so dang proud and they gave her a medal and everything.

I was proud of her too. She really is a little artist at heart, and I am glad that her creativity was acknowledged.

June pulled a fast one on us. Probably the first of many. On Tuesday night before bed, she said, "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have a diorama and a report due on Thursday. The good news is that I have already done the report."

Oh, so just the diorama then? No problem. (Sense the sarcasm.)

Wednesday, I went to my favorite new home, Hobby Lobby and picked up some materials for June to work with. And Wednesday afternoon, we put it all together. I think she did a good job. Her habitat was ocean.

There was even a habitat fair at her school where you could see all the projects together. Tyler and I agreed that there were hundreds of parent/child hours displayed. I hope Robyn has to do this project sometime, because I want her to do the desert and then get a real scorpion and put it in a box with a lid and see how many people we can freak out. (I am possibly not always a nice person.)

I have been noticing lately how not-a-baby Pearl is.

She won't be 2 for a few more months, but she is full of Sass and just as cute as can be...most of the time. I really wish she liked riding in the car more. It gets a bit old that she screeches at me every time I strap her in. You would think that she would have resigned herself by now to trips in the car, but I sense some stubbornness in her. It will make trips over the holidays just that much more enjoyable.

Our Relief Society Meeting at the beginning of next month is having a walk-through nativity night. We are going to set up many nativities and then invite families to come through and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas first thing in the season. I have several nativities of my own that I will loan that night, but I was out shopping and I couldn't help but pick up another. I am always on the lookout for a unique nativity. Although the Savior was born in humble circumstances, I love the ornate feel of this set. Oh and the lamp moves. I am not sure why that makes me love it more.

Besides that, life is busy but good. I am happy to have a good family to share the trials and blessings with. Certainly each day is not perfect, but at this time of Thanksgiving, I am keenly aware of my pile of blessings. Like the laundry, it just keeps building up. I wonder if there is some analogy here that could make me love laundry more?

What are the odds?

I was randomly looking through a calendar for next year, 2012, and 4 out of 7 of our birthdays fall on Sunday. I love Sundays, but not for birthdays, because we can't really go OUT to celebrate, and if I forget anything, there are no last minute trips to the store. And I will have to get all my balloons the day before. Yuck.

I blame leap year. Without leap year, it would have been 1 out of 7. Luck of the draw I guess. At least I wasn't born on Feb. 29th.

Missing You Already Dad

Tyler left today to go on a business trip. I am not complaining because he hardly ever leaves and I know there are women whose husbands are gone for sizeable chunks at a time. Or women who raise their children alone. So, let's be clear that I know how good I have it. At the same time...I miss him already, and it is clear how much he helps out around here. So, we took some kodak shots for you Dad. Hope you are missing us too.

I know I look a bit concerned in this last picture with Pearl. She had taken a nap after church and by the time she got up, the light was fading. The first few pictures I took were too dark and I was wondering if I was going to get an adequate shot at all...hence the angst in my expression.

Loves to you across the country. I hope the time flies while you are away. Really, I do.

p.s. Tyler, you know my love of the 50mm, but you can't beat the wide-angle lens for getting pictures at arm's length. It's growing on me.

Storybook Family

I took this photo shoot a while ago, and somehow forgot to post pictures on here. We love the Jett's and were super excited when baby Savannah came along. Then I was even more excited to take some pictures for them. Here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

They are such a beautiful family. I am a tad jealous that Savannah got those blue BLUE eyes of her Dad. Why couldn't I pass on my baby blues?