CRAZY BUSY WEEKEND

Bring on the Christmas Season!

Doesn't life always seem to get CRAZY busy after Thanksgiving? It sure does for me. It is like all the sudden the flood gates open up and the fun comes in. This past weekend was so busy for us. Non-stop fun! We had our first Christmas party on Saturday and even got a visit from Santa. It was super hot (40 - or 103 - degrees) but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Sunday was a day that I don't think I stopped all day. I had to prepare my part in our American Thanksgiving celebration here, listen to the BYU vs Utah game, and finish up a few things for the Primary presentation all before Church started. I got all my bits for the Thanksgiving dinner done and thankfully I thought ahead and did most of the Primary stuff on Saturday night.

There was three minutes left in the fourth quarter of the football game when we had to leave for Church. I kid you not three minutes! If it hadn't been the Primary presentation I think I may have had to go late to Church. I know shocking! Good thing people in the world can access the Internet on their phones. I was given an update after sacrament meeting and heard the good news!!! So even though Kev hijacked the blog with his lovely message - see post below - it was wishful thinking!

After Church and Kev's weekly meeting we headed over to the Boyle's house for Thanksgiving dinner. There were three families there and the three sister missionaries from our ward. It was so fabulous to walk up to their door and smell the turkey. Oh, that smell, it is lovely!! We had all the traditional Thanksgiving food and the best pumpkin pie ever!!! It was good to celebrate even if it was a few days late. No picture though, because I forgot the camera. Seriously, can't remember everything I guess!

Finally we got home and got the kids to bed. I read up about the game and crashed into bed.

Today I am exhausted, but at least the rain came and the temperature cooled off.

The heat wave is killing me!

GO UTES!!!!!!!!!

Go Utes!!!! Beat them Cougs!!!!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!

I love that there is a day set aside to think about all the things you are thankful for. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and let our families and friends know that we are thinking of them and are so grateful for all that they do for us. I have so many things to be grateful for and will refrain from listing them all here, but just wanted to sum it up with this: Everyday is a blessing!

OUR LITTLE TADPOLE!

About five months ago I put Rylee into swimming lessons. She wasn't old enough to go into the pool by herself so she and I enrolled in a mom and me class. It has been fun to go swimming with Rylee once a week and spend that time with just her and me.

Her favorite thing to do is at the end when they get to walk along the mat, hit the flags, and then jump off!!!

Well our little water baby is now going to be a tadpole. She is moving up. She no longer needs me in the water and gets a new teacher. She will be doing similar things, but I get to sit on the sidelines. I am excited for Rylee to branch out and explore her independence. I know that a teacher will push her more. I am not a fan of the water, because of that I swore that my children would not be scared of the water and would be able to swim with ease.

I just have to show you what we get to see out of the windows of the swim school. Not a bad view eh?

CHRISTMAS HELP!

So I will admit, even though I was trying not to get my hopes up, I was hoping that we would be home for the holidays. I was hoping that the Lord's timing for my life plan and my timing were one and the same. Obviously not! I was tying really hard not to get my hopes up, but admittedly that is harder than it seems. Anyway, because of this I have put off those last few Christmas gifts that I need to get and send to family in the States. I have to get this done soon or it will be too late and I will have to pay heaps of money to get it there on time.

This is why I need your help. I have two sisters-in-law to buy for this year. I was going to make them something spectacular, but due to my hoping I have left myself little time to do that. Do you have any ideas of something I can either make quickly or buy and send to the States? Something I can buy on-line in the States and ship to my mom's house? Anything fun on Esty you have seen recently. Something unique yet personal. Anything at all?

I am looking for all kinds of ideas. I need help!

THE GAP!

About a month ago Cooper tried to use his teeth to get two Legos apart - smart move huh?! Needless to say those two bottom baby teeth couldn't handle the pressure and became loose. He has been working on them since then, but wouldn't let us help with the wiggling. He said it hurt too much. Every once in a while he would bring Kev some Kleenex to try and pull them out. It has been a month of cutting up his apples in his lunch box because they hurt to eat. That was until yesterday. They were finally really loose. Kev got one out after a bit of pulling and wincing on Cooper's part. I found Cooper a little container he could decorate with stickers to put his tooth in. We then had dinner, and as I was getting ready to go to bookclub Cooper asked Kev to try the other one. Sure enough it came out with just the slightest pull.

Two teeth in one night = two gold coins from the tooth fairy ($3 in total - I guess the tooth fairy didn't have two $1 gold coins).

I think it is fun when the kids start loosing their teeth, but I also find it kind-of sad. It is one more thing of "babyhood" (is that even a word?) they are loosing. They are growing up and their teeth are growing up with them. Their smiles begin to look different with those big teeth and gaps. Although adorable as well.

Here is tooth #1

The lovely container

Two teeth gone within 45 minutes of each other

That toothless grin and big boy! Who now thinks he has the most special mouth of the whole family because he lost two teeth at a time.

WANTS

I haven't felt like blogging much last week - thus the reason nothing new came from me. Life has been a bit on the stressed out side of things. Waiting to hear back from jobs that Kev has applied for, sick kids, this new digital scrapbook designing I have taken on, and normal every day things in my life have created that stress.

Last week I thought a lot about the things I want. Some things that have been put on the back burner for us to come and life overseas. Some things that I didn't even know that I wanted.

• a house to call my very own
• to decorate that house any way I please
• a garden to grow delicious veggies
• to plant bulbs and see them come out of the newly thawed ground
• to compost my waste and bottle, freeze, and dry fruits and veggies to last all through the winter
• a new baby - there, I said it out loud
• to go to family dinners
• to stay up until midnight playing games with my siblings
• a rootbeer float whenever I feel the urge to have one
• Cafe Rio
• to know what the future has in store for me and my family
• a stop over in Hawaii on the way home when we finally get to move back
• to laugh with my sisters until I cry and have to pee my pants
• to see the snow on the mountains
• to get a good deal on kids clothes
• November to actually feel like the November I remember - fall not summer
• Thanksgiving dinner with family

What I keep reminding myself is that when you worry about all the things you want you forget the things you already have.

Need a laugh?

Q: What do you call a boomerang that won't come back?
A: A stick!

Q: Why do kangaroo mums hate bad weather?
A: Their Joey's have to play inside.

Q: Why did the crocodile cross the road?
A: He was after the chicken!

Just a little Aussie humor for your day!

lesser known FACT about me...

...I have gray hair and have had gray hair since I was 16. At least that is the first time I remember seeing one. The boys in choir used to sit behind me and pull them out. My roommates at Ricks used to do the same thing. When I was about 21 I decided that I was too young to have gray hair and I bought my first hair dye. I was too poor to go get it done professionally so I turned to the box. That box has been my friend now for over 10 years. I am still to poor (or maybe now it is frugal) to go get it professionally done.

Why am I telling you all my deepest secret? Because it has been a while since I dyed my hair. I have been busy and lazy and haven't gotten it done. The older I have gotten (and the more kids I have had) the more gray hairs have developed. It is bad, and it is noticeable. Including to my six-year-old son who notices nothing. He asked me the other day why my hair had white in it. Madi proceeded to inform him that I usually color it brown. Sad I know! That's when I decided I better make the time to color it.

So I am sitting her with my color in my hair waiting the allotted 25 minutes (I may have to wait more like 30 for stubborn gray) for my hair to turn a nice light brown color. I have had it burgundy, light brown, golden brown, and even black. It depends on my mood and the season. I have no idea the actual color of my hair - it is in the brown category somewhere. It is a good thing I can hide my gray so easily, and people tell me all the time they like the color of my hair. I wonder how long it will be before there isn't much brown left. When do I have to give up the box?

CROSSROADS

I have been thinking a lot about the crossroads we all come across in our lives. Those defining moments that make us who we are.

I came across this quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in the October VT message in the Ensign and it has got me thinking. It reads as follows, "...youth are not unlike prospective converts. There are those critical moments when their souls begin to tilt - toward the Lord or away from Him. These moments of decision cannot always be created, but when they occur, they must not be wasted. More often than not, these moments will occur in quiet and reverent conversations with parents, grandparents, a bishop, an adult leader, or a righteous peer."

This quote got me thinking about a defining moment in my life. A moment where I had to make a decision about which path I was going to travel down. The summer between sixth and seventh grade were tough on me. My best friend since I was about five decided that she didn't want to be my friend anymore. She was going down a different path than I and we were slowly drifting apart. When I entered Jr. High I was friendless, shy, and scared. I struggled through much of my Jr. High years in finding friends and trusting myself. My self esteem took a plunge as this friend ignored me in the halls at school. I soon realized that boys were easier to get along with and many of my friends were more into football than make-up. Still to this day I have a hard time putting myself out there for others to judge me.

Like this quote says from Elder Maxwell I had wonderful young woman's leaders who helped me to figure out who I was. I knew that I had chosen correctly. I knew that the path I was on was the right one for me. I knew through personal experiences that the Lord loved me for who I was. Although it was hard to see this friend make different decisions that would ultimately take her away from the Church for a time, I knew that I was holding to the rod. Life is just hard sometimes. We question our decisions and we hold on tight for the ride.

May we all try hard to be an influence for good in someones life. You never know when that kind word or encouraging smile may help someone who is at a crossroads.

HALLOWEEN 09 (warning this is a long post)

Yesterday we had our trunk or treat for the Primary. That's what you get when you call the American to be the Primary president (the person over the little ones at Church) - gotta bring some Halloween fun to the land down under. No they don't usually celebrate this holiday - it is pagan after all.

I have to admit that we do the trunk or treat for my purely selfish reasons.
1. How else would my kids celebrate Halloween?
2. We have to do a activity in the last quarter anyway
3. It is so easy to plan and follow through
4. I LOVE Halloween!!!

This is our second year of planning the trunk or treat as a Primary activity - the first year we were here it was just thrown together and it was so much fun we decided to take it on as our Primary activity for the last quarter of the year. We had some great costumes and a good turn out even though it was a hot afternoon. We did a little carnival before the trunk or treat just as we did last year. Lucky for us Lisha was a smarty pants and kept all our props from last year - the beanbag toss pumpkin and the pin the wart on the witch posters. We added a few extra things this year: a costume parade, bobbing for apples, and hanging cheezels. We also did a cupcake walk and face painting just as we did last year. I didn't get pictures of everything, but will show you two of my favorite games we played.
I even got in on the action for the bobbing for apples. It has been a long time since I have done that. They told me I cheated because I grabbed it by the stem. Just doing it the smart way I say! Rylee gave bobbing for apples a try and then just reached in and grabbed her apple - silly girl. Hanging cheezels is a play on the donut game we always seem to play at kids parties around Halloween back home. Instead of a sticky donut you have to eat without using your hands we used cheezels (they are a bit like round cheetos).

Our family costumes: a pink princess, a jar of Nutella, 2 witches, and Dragon Ball Z.






You must have a close up of the nutella jar. That is what Cooper wanted to be. If you don't know Cooper LOVES Nutella. The kid would have a peanut butter and nutella sandwich for lunch everyday if they allowed either of those things at school. Since they are both banned at school, being made with nuts and all, he has to deal with a plain turkey sandwich or jam. Kev made it work. He is so clever.

After the trunk or treat was all cleaned up we finally headed home and cooked up some sloppy joes. We actually had a group of three kids come to our house to trick or treat - imagine our surprise and excitement!!! That is when the kids thought it would be fun to go up and down our street. Kev went with them while I finished up dinner.

Funny things about trick or treating in a country that doesn't really celebrate Halloween

1. You have to wait a few minutes at each door as they frantically go searching for something to put into your bag

2. You end up chatting with every neighbor about how big your kids have gotten - makes trick or treating last forever

3. You may get a box of rice crackers instead of candy - a whole box to share amongst all of you

4. If you are lucky your neighbors won't have any candy, but they will feel bad and give you money instead

5. You don't get nearly as much candy - this makes mom and your teeth happy!

6. You get to wear flip flops with your costume, and you don't have to wear your winter coat over the top so nobody can see what you are anyway.

7. The old lady across the street doesn't have any candy, but she does have some nuts. After getting the okay from daddy she heads inside to get them. Then proceeds to tell you to open your hands and she pours some in from out of her jar. At least you get instant satisfaction from that house!

All in all it was a fabulous Halloween come and gone. Until next year when we can celebrate Halloween with the masses!!!

P.S. from Kev -

At one of the houses Rylee was a little slow going in getting up the long flight of stairs to get to the front door. By the time we had got there the man had already gone back inside to "search for something" for the kids. When he comes back I hear him say under his breath, "Oh... I didn't know there were more." He then proceeds to give Madz and Coop their candy and says to me, "You know, we don't celebrate Halloween here is in Australia."

After saying good bye Rylee all of a sudden yells, "Hey, what about me?" as she didn't ever get any candy. The man looked at me I and I just shrugged my shoulders. He then sighed and went back in to get a big candy bar. Must have been all he could find. Lucky girl and good for her speaking up!