M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)

The kids and I got this book from the library the other day...

I think I enjoyed it more than they did, but seriously, it is so funny!

I think younger kids might not "get" it -- in fact, a lot of the reviews on Goodreads said so, but my older 3 especially LOVED it. It's nothing to be taken seriously -- that's not the point. We had a lot of fun reading it together and laughing at so many things we found similar to what goes on at our house. It's definitely one of our new favorites!

I think it would make a fun gift for a Mom who is right in the middle of the chaos we call Parenthood. We all need a good laugh, right? When writing this post, though, I realized the reason I find this book so funny may be because I am PAST a lot of the little people chaos. I survived, and now it's funny... mostly.

I especially enjoyed the "Troubleshooting" section highlighting certain auditory signals that may indicate minor malfunctions with your Mom: 

Heavy Sighing -- possible cause: Are you abusing your access to the duct tape? Quick fix: STOP it!

Groaning -- possible cause: Did you forget to flush the toilet again? Quick fix: Flush the toilet?

Snapping -- likely cause: You won't put your shoes on. Quick fix: Put your shoes on!

Eerie Silence -- likely cause: OVERLOAD. Quick fix: Call grandma!

The end is near...

The end of summer, that is.

This summer has been a BLUR! Good and Bad and Crazy and calm??? Actually, I don't remember much of it being calm, but overall, it's been a good summer. We survived and for the most part, we're still smiling.

School starts in a week. My kids excitement level decreases greatly as their age increases.

Beck is starting Kindergarten -- he is SO excited, he can hardly sleep! He asks me everyday, "How many more days until I can go to school?" He talks about it all day long.

Kaia is starting 4th grade -- she's excited to see her friends, meet her new teacher, go the school library,  and of course, go to recess!

Zoe is starting 7th grade -- she's excited to see her friends, sort of...

Gabe is starting 10th grade -- he's... um, "school, what? at least I got new shoes, right?"

I'm excited, I am. I'm not gonna lie. It's time. We've had a good time together going to the park and the library and swimming lessons and playgroup and the splash pads. We've spent a lot of the time organizing and enjoying our new house. We rode the bus one day just for "fun". (It was fun for about the first 5 minutes, but it was an adventure!) We made a fire pit in our backyard and have enjoyed roasting marshmallows and string cheese and grasshoppers and...  yeah. We have improved their cooking skills (their request) and cleaning skills (MY request). And we have done a LOT of yard work, but I've really enjoyed it.

I'm not a big fan of the sun. In fact, I really don't like it at all. It makes me very ill every time I go out in it for more than, well, about 5 minutes. Really. So that's hard to work around. My kids have learned to adapt. We stay in the shade or we don't go outside. We've been playing board games quite a bit this summer -- strange, I know, but it's been fun. Our favorites? Monopoly and Killer Bunnies (I'm using the term "favorites" VERY loosely).

Our favorite inside activity though, would have to be reading. We've cuddled up with more than a few books this summer. Well, my kids have. I can't seem to focus... I've been working on "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan nearly all summer and I just finished it last week. It's really good -- it just isn't captivating? I don't know what's happened to me... I used to LOVE LOVE LOVE a good YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy. I still do, but I find myself being drawn to memoirs and even just fictions that are a bit more realistic. Huh. I hope I'm not growing up too much... maybe it's a phase...well, I'm forcing myself to plow through "Son of Neptune" and on through that series. My kids love that one -- they're waiting for me to catch up so we can discuss it. :) Awwww.

We also did our traditional Summerfest day (arts festival) and Cache County Fair adventure. 

I think this ride was called "Dizzy Dragons" or something... so fun! Beck is on the far right, with Kaia next to him, and our friend Monique next to Kaia. (Random girl next to Monique... Beck says she is their new best friend. Ok.)

Oh, one more VERY important thing to note:

This is a CHURRO... the really YUMMY kind from the fair. My friend, Rose, and her family makes them. Rose is Monique's mom. This one has dulce de leche filling (like caramel, but WAY BETTER.)

And this IS Churro (He found his way to our house and well... he's just too adorable.) 

He's our newest family member.

The kids and I think his fur looks like it's sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and his eyes are truly the color of dulce de leche. (I need to post a picture of his eyes). Yep, it's official, we're crazy. 

And it's official: We have the legal limit of cats per household in our city. 4. 

4 kids, 4 cats -- my kids think we are now complete.

More on summer later...

Time to organize a few more drawers and boxes before school starts (as in, I really need to find my social security card -- I'm teaching preschool this Fall -- I start next week! -- and my employer needs a copy of it.)

It's "MEOW or NEVER" (saw that on Facebook!)

P.S. Kaia chose my new background -- it really goes with our houseful of CATS! It's kinda hurting my eyes, but I'll keep it for awhile.

Monday, Monday... so good to me

I love simple things. Mending. Gardening (indoor for today). Repairing random things. Watering my plants. Folding Clothes. Baking. Talking and laughing together. Helping my girls sew Barbie dresses. Building Legos with Beck. Listening to good music: Beatles, Mamas and the Papas, Elton John, Eagles, Van Morrison, CCR, Simon and Garfunkel. Making milkshakes with Gabe. Even vacuuming.

I've been able to do all of these things today and I feel so good inside. 

I love having a day off from all of the driving to and from schools. I needed to refuel.

What's wrong with me? It must be the music. :)

Every time I listen to the Beatles, I think of my niece, Jacey, who also loves them!

She has good taste.

It's cold outside. Freezing. The inversion is terrible. Another red air day. 

So hard for my Kaia with her asthma. Really, though, it's too cold for any of us to even want to play outside!

The kids are out of school today for Martin Luther King, Jr. day. 

I sat them down a couple days ago and read: 

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I asked them who said it and why it's important. We had a good chat. They all knew immediately who said this quote and I felt thankful for the schools they attend. Kaia said, "Why do people care what color someone's skin is?" Good question, sweetie. During Christmas break, we watched "Remember the Titans" with all of the kids and it was interesting to see their reaction to it and learn that some people really do judge people by the color of their skin. Even today. I don't understand it either.

On Saturday, we were able to go to the Cabinet people and pick out all of the cabinets and countertops for our new house. It was SO absolutely FUN. Wow. Zeke and I really have similar tastes and that makes things easier, I'm sure. The lady that helped us said we were the fastest client she's ever worked with. 1-1/2 hours and we were done. Half of that was messing around and chatting. We knew what we wanted, at least, for the kitchen. Then, we had some fun back-ups that kept popping out at us and we thought they just "had to go somewhere", so we decided to use them in the bathrooms and laundry room. Why not? 

I love COLOR. 

Here they are, from top to bottom:

Cosmic Strandz (for the half bath)

Tangerine (for the laundry room)

Venetian Ivory (for our bathroom)

Aqua Fizz (for the main bathroom)

Deepstar Flint (for the kitchen)

The cabinets in the kitchen are white and the island is black. 

The laundry and bathroom cabinets are black.

I've finally allowed myself to get a little excited. It just seemed so far off. They've been building since October 15th (just over 3 months) and now it's finally coming together. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I start thinking about it and I get so excited I get butterflies in my stomach and I can't go back to sleep, like Christmas when I was little. We are SO blessed. 

P. S. I survived my talk yesterday. Ahhh.

Christmas Magic

I was so excited during the weeks leading up to Christmas: decorating our little apartment, wrapping presents, baking goodies, reading Christmas stories each night, watching our favorite Christmas movies... I love it all.

The kids got out of school a few days before Christmas and I couldn't be happier. This year has been really crazy. Driving 4 kids to 4 different schools each morning has been insane... I can't seem to get anything accomplished, so I was really looking forward to the break. Just to chill and not drive everywhere all day and tell my kids a thousand times, "Time to get up, let's go, get in the car, we're going to be late, do your homework, go to bed!"

We live in the center of town where it's considered "walking distance" to all of the schools, so there are no buses to pick up my two older kids. Just to catch you up -- we sold our house and moved into an apartment the end of June. 1000 square feet, 6 people, 3 cats, yeah. But it's a actually good thing. We're building a house and it's supposed to be finished by March 1st, so I can almost see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway, this is our first move in 9 years. I was really comfortable where we were. I knew everyone in our neighborhood and ward (church group). It was home. Exciting as the thought of building a new house may be, it has been quite an adjustment for all of us. We've been attending our new ward since we moved.

The new ward is nice enough, but it's new. I've really tried to get to know people and yet, I look around and I feel like I hardly know anyone.  We went to church the Sunday before Christmas and I was just feeling so sad. Walking into sacrament meeting, I felt like a total stranger. We sat down and saw so many people -- most of whom we didn't know, families that came to visit other ward members -- I had no idea who was who for that matter.

Anyway, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself... feeling sad that we moved... missing our old ward and neighborhood and friends... feeling very alone and hoping our Christmas break would be happy and relaxing. I've decided that moving is sort of like losing someone you love. Things will never be the same. You see or hear something that reminds you of your lost loved one or your old neighborhood and a flood of memories come back. It can be so overwhelming you feel like you will burst and no one really truly understands how you feel. No matter how wonderful your life is now, there's still something missing. Something that can never be replaced. It's a new "normal".

Sunday was bittersweet. New friends and cheerful smiles, a beautiful Christmas program -- but those familiar faces I've known for so long, those knowing smiles I'd come to rely on, the Christmas programs our ward did, the inside jokes, the special connections, and touching stories that bound us together for 9 years -- it just wasn't the same. That Sunday I couldn't figure out for the life of me why I chose to walk away from all of that. Familiar. Comfortable. Easy. My heart ached to go back, but really, there's no going back. Ever. It will never be the same. I look in the windows of our old home and see warm lights and happy smiles... but it's a new family. That life is gone.

I sound crazy. I know! We chose to leave. We felt like it was time to move on and bring our family closer together for many different reasons. We're so excited about our new house. REALLY. This year, however, I've truly realized it doesn't matter where you live. It matters what's inside you and what you do together as a family WHEREVER you live.

So after sacrament, I had agreed to substitute in nursery with the 3 year olds. I have to admit, I wasn't really looking forward to it. Since moving, I've been asked to sub in Primary (children's classes) a lot. It feels like every Sunday I'm there I'm substituting. I know I could say no, but that's just not me. I know they need help. Anyway, I feel like I haven't gotten to meet very many ladies in our ward because I never get to go to Relief Society. Blah blah blah, whine whine whine, I know. Nine years is a long time. I got really comfortable in our old ward. I knew everyone and everyone knew me. It's just going to take some time.

Nursery ended up being wonderful. The other lady helping in the nursery was so nice and friendly -- it means a lot. The children were adorable. We got to take them into Primary with the older kids for awhile to help them adjust since they would no longer be in nursery starting in January. They were so nervous. They didn't even know me and they held my hand so tight. A few of them had tears in their eyes and told me they wanted to go back to the nursery.

Everyone in the Primary was so excited to have the little nursery kids there. They were so friendly and they had fun songs and games for them -- but the nursery kids were afraid. They wanted something familiar and comfortable and easy. I knew just how they felt! My heart filled with love for these sweet little children. The rest of my Sunday was filled with serving and giving and understanding -- I wasn't feeling sorry for myself anymore. Substituting in nursery that day had been a gift just for me. A tender mercy from a kind and loving Heavenly Father. I loved nursery so much I offered to substitute the following Sunday! :)

Christmas was absolutely magical for me this year. I woke up on Christmas Eve feeling kind of depressed and stressed and blah. Not really sure why -- just a lot going on. I was wishing we could be with family -- we visited our parents for Thanksgiving and decided we would stay home for Christmas. It was snowing like crazy -- I was bummed thinking about our house that is waiting to be shingled and how many more weeks the storm will set us back. I was stressed -- Zeke and I were trying to deal with various issues with our children and it's just very emotionally draining and hard not to wallow in it sometimes. I was tired -- I remember curling up with the family to watch "Elf" around noon and I fell asleep for a bit. I hardly ever sleep in the middle of the day. Not sounding very magical, is it?

Okay, as a family, we like to pick someone to do the "12 days of Christmas" for each year. If I remember, I'll do a blog post about what we actually do -- it's very inexpensive and really fun. Anyway, the person we chose was someone we didn't know very well --  a man who lives by our apartment. He lives alone and well, all six of us wanted him to be the one for various reasons. So that was definitely a great experience -- anonymously leaving treats and gifts on his doorstep each night for eleven nights. We hoped it would bring him some Christmas cheer.

Christmas Eve was the last day. On this day, we all go as a family and introduce ourselves and give the final treat. I was still feeling blah and it was still snowing. We bundled up around 3pm and trudged over to his apartment. He was SO thrilled to finally learn who had been leaving all of the treats. We had met him previously this fall so it was fun to chat and get to know him better. It was then I noticed a little bit of happy creep into my heart, a little less blah -- I was thinking about someone else besides myself.

Directly in front of his apartment is a narrow alleyway on a fairly steep hill. By this time, the snow was at least 6 inches deep and there were no snow plows in sight on Christmas Eve. We ran back over to our apartment, bundled up a little more, grabbed our sleds, and raced back to the alley. It was awesome!    The alley was great: not too fast, not too bumpy, and all to ourselves. It was then I realized I was smiling and laughing AND that I had been for quite awhile.

The man we had just visited came outside and visited some more while we sledded and watched the kids.  He told us more about him --  both his parents had passed away, he was divorced twice, and his kids were grown and married and really didn't visit him much. It's almost as hard for me to type that sentence as it was for me to hear him say it. I can still see his face and the ache I felt in my heart. I wish I could tell you more about him, but I don't want to get too personal.

We had a really good visit and I just knew we needed to invite him over for Christmas Day to eat dinner with us. I looked at Zeke and I knew he was thinking the same thing. So we did. He said he might come. He was invited to his brother's house a couple hours away, but with the storm he wasn't sure if he wanted to travel that far. We encouraged him to come over and hang out with us.

We came in from sledding way past dark and I seriously felt like a little kid again. I can't remember the last time I've felt quite that way. It was truly magical! What a simple thing -- taking treats to a neighbor and spontaneously going sledding on an empty street. Later, we opened our traditional Christmas Eve present (or two or three -- thanks Grandmas and Grandpas!) The kids were excited about their presents, but they kept mentioning how much fun it had been to go sledding and how excited they were to have our new friend over for dinner the next day.

We read the account of the Savior's birth from the Bible and somehow got the kids in bed (notice I didn't say ASLEEP). Christmas morning came bright and early as Beck woke up at 5am wanting to know "did he come? did Santa come?" I think we got everyone up and ready to go around 6am. We opened presents and it was crazy. (I'll save that story for another day.) Anyway... it was mostly good.

After breakfast, I started fixing our Christmas Dinner. We planned to eat at 3pm and there was lots to do. Everyone pitched in and at 2:55, the table was set and ready, so I went to the bathroom to freshen up a bit before dinner. While I was in the bathroom I heard the doorbell ring. A wave of butterflies surged through my stomach -- he's here! I wasn't sure if he would really come. I was nervous, but excited.

We had a great dinner. He was so grateful and kind. He was really interesting to talk to and the conversation just seemed to flow. He kept complimenting our children on their good manners (what the? yeah, it was a truly magical day in many ways). He stayed for a few hours and I felt like it was one of THE best Christmases I've ever had. We talked a lot about our beliefs and membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is also a member of our Church.

My heart ached for all that he has been through and all that he is going through. Suddenly, my "trials" and "troubles" seemed so incredibly trivial and even foolish and shameful. I tried to empathize with him, but I found myself flailing over every word I'd try to say. He was so happy just to have someone to spend Christmas with and I felt ashamed for feeling so crowded and overwhelmed with my little family sometimes. He has so many health problems and I felt so grateful to realize how healthy we really are and what a blessing that is.

Without any fancy presents, parties, or plans, and basically a "stranger" at our table, I felt closer to the Savior this Christmas than any other Christmas I can recall. I felt His love for me and my sweet little family. I felt His love for this kind man. I felt JOY. I don't know how to describe it, but joy is different from happiness. It is more than happy. It floods your entire mind and body with peace and fulfillment and hope and love. It's the true Spirit of Christmas.

This feeling set the mood for our family. Again, this is not like other Christmases. We're usually all sick and fighting most of the time. We have been SO blessed for Zeke to have two weeks vacation from work. It's been so cold and it has snowed so much, we haven't really gone anywhere. Quite simply, we have spent time together. The clock has literally come to a stop and it has been the most wonderful Christmas, here in this tiny apartment.

Just being together. No plans, no running around, no expectations, no fevers, no doctor visits, no alarm clocks, no homework, no schedules: just playing, cooking, eating, watching movies, building with Legos, taking pictures, laughing, playing video games and board games, singing, dancing, thinking, talking, reading, napping, cuddling, living, being. There is no price tag on the gifts I have received.

How I spent my summer "vacation"

Swimming

lots of swimming

Sweating

I feel like I've been melting all summer

Crying

this summer has been hard

Correcting

all I need is a whistle and a black and white striped shirt!

Comforting

leaving our home of 9 years has been hard on the kids and cats (and me) - Zeke is a rock!

Changing

Cleaning

TOO MUCH cleaning and I'm sure it's not enough. 
Thanks, Lora!

Packing

Un-packing

Praying

Pleading

Pricing

Pondering

Planning

Phone-calling

Emailing

Meeting new people

More phone-calling

More emailing

Buying LOTS of popsicles

Watching "Cake Boss"

(and sorry to say, lots of Dinosaur Train and Pound Puppies -- "Fuhget aboud it!")
Buying cake 
(notice I didn't say baking)

Watching "The Adventures of Merlin"

if only I could look like Morgana and not BE like Morgana!

Having LOTS of picnics

Hiking

Spelunking

Going to the fair

Thinking

Wishing 

Hoping 

Dreaming

Stressing

Obsessing

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

Just surviving

 and LAUNDRY

oh, the laundry -- especially towels!

Oh, I did NOT do any yard work! Bonus :)

A summer to remember, but glad to be through it really.

What did I miss the most?

the things I need the most:

Good friends

Good books

How did you spend YOUR summer vacation?
(Man, I hope I get an A on this!)

The Zoo, The 4th of July, and Potty Training, OH MY!

Well, our computer is really acting up. Actually it's not acting at all, I think it's really dying.

Beck is right here and my brain is mush. I went to Book Club last night and well, I didn't get to bed too early. Oh, how I love Book Club! These women are beyond wonderful. I love them all.

We went out of town for the weekend and got back late Tuesday night. I was without the internet for FOUR days. FOUR DAYS. Sad, but true. Somehow I survived. Then, I come home to our poor little computer. Blogging may be a bit sporadic for awhile (if it wasn't already)!

On Saturday, we went to Hogle Zoo. We haven't been since 2005. It was fun, but HOT. As in over 100 degrees HOT! The bird show was awesome... that's another story. My favorites were the tigers and the baby lemurs. My kids were troopers. We really felt like we were melting.

Here they are at the "water ball thingy" at the entrance:

Kaia on the carousel:

Zoe on the carousel:

Beck and me on the carousel (he did NOT want to ride on one of the "horses"):

Gabe is almost as tall as a male gorilla.... hmm... just think about that one.

My little monkeys:

Our 4th of July trip home was fantastic and HOT. Yes, HOT is the theme for July and well, I don't do HOT very well. Gabe was with cousins already (and for some reason didn't want a new 4th of July outfit, why not?), but here's
Zoe, Kaia, and Beck going to the morning carnival:

Zoe and cousin Kyden doing the "knock each other off the inflated pedestal with inflated club thingys". Zoe had so much fun with Kyden.
She's talked about him non-stop since we got home.

Zeke just landed at the bottom of a HUGE slide. YIKES!

Kaia climbing up to the HUGE slide:

Look out below!! This slide was HUGE, I'm telling you!

Beck got to go in a giant bubble machine. This really was quite ingenious and I thought it was the hit of the carnival. SO COOL!! Go Salina! :) It's hard to tell from the picture, but Beck is inside a giant bubble!

Zoe with my dear cousin, Nicky. She made a bunch of the cutest flower clips and hair bows for my girls. Zoe tried all of them on at once.
It looked like a crazy shower cap.

Nicky is so sweet! We have so many good memories growing up together. We had fun hanging out with her family this year. Rod, Barbara, Ryan, Aubrey, Randy, Rusty, Maxine, and a plethora of little ones and not-so-little ones... it was a great day. My cousins ROCK and I'm not just saying they are cool... they really ROCK. Seriously, we're just sitting there and next thing I know, full on band playing "Plush" from Stone Temple Pilots. This was the 4th of July, I was in heaven. By the way, Ryan, Randy, Rusty: you guys seriously can sing and play! Zeke was also loving life, because he just happened to bring his guitar and Rusty was teaching him everything he could.

It was the best! Other than my stomach. You know every blog post includes some dumb ailment of mine. I sound like I'm 80. It stinks! But hey, my dear Aunt Barbara said, "You've gotta try some Kefir!" And just like her, she didn't just say it, but she went and got me some and more to take home. It's like an extra concentrated probiotic yogurt. She said it has really helped her. I'm looking forward to having it help me. I came home and found some in the good old organic section at Smith's of course. :)

And just a side note, last Wednesday, the morning ritual of trying to see if today was the day Beck wants to go potty was successful! The morning turned into the afternoon which turned into evening and well, we were potty-training all through the weekend. It was crazy, of course, but that's how we do things around here.

We're on day 9 (counting 4 days of vacation) and things are going rather well. I've reached another milestone in my life. I have been buying diapers for OVER 14 YEARS, PEOPLE!!! But not any more...wow. That's got to help the budget a bit.

Beck is so proud.
My Mom only has one bathroom...yeah.
He especially loved when he got to pee on a tree outside!

This picture is worth a THOUSAND words (and DOLLARS!) :) Woo hoo!

Just another visit from the Easter Platypus

"It's the Easter Platypus, easter shrimp for everyone!"
(Invader Zim, photo from Google images)
I just thought the Easter Platypus was another silly thing from Invader Zim,
but I found this great post today. *love* I am such a wanna-be biologist :)

Okay, I've decided that I am THE worst picture taker ever. EVER! Not just the actual photos; you know the lighting, the set up, the camera angle or whatever, but I'm just so busy playing and being in the middle of stuff (and chasing Beck!) that I forget or I miss the best shots.

So here's just a hint of our Easter activities:
Coloring Eggs (I LOVE that Zeke loves to do this with us)

Zoe is concentrating really hard...maybe.

I love the look on Beck's face

Kaia likes to dye her eggs really dark (I love her missing tooth)

Easter morning: The Easter Bunny/Platypus always comes to our house on the Saturday before Easter Sunday so Sunday can be more calm and focused on the Savior. I'm really happy with this "tradition" and I highly recommend it. So on Saturday, Beck woke up at 6:30! Zeke and I brought his basket into his room and played with him until the other kids woke up. We put the gate up so he wouldn't escape and find all the eggs that were hidden before everyone else.

Zoe and her new bunny

Kaia and her new bunny

Gabe and his chocolate bunny (this boy's got his priorities straight!)

Later that day, we took the kids to Old Main Hill at USU to roll Easter eggs. Roll Easter eggs? Well, I grew up in a little town called Salina, Utah and for as long as I can remember we would take our colored Easter eggs, climb the highest hill we could find (usually the Stone Quarry that was just 3 blocks from my house) and let our eggs roll to the bottom. Why? No idea. It sure is fun though! We'd race them and throw them and chase them down the hill.

Now that I'm an adult, the penny pincher in me has a bit of a hard time "wasting" all those eggs. But my kids really enjoyed rolling eggs. It was worth every penny. There were dozens of other crazy Utahns there... and hundreds of seagulls circling overhead waiting for everyone to leave so they could have the biggest egg salad picnic ever!

Watching and waiting... the girls had to follow each egg down the hill and see if it survived. They weren't too thrilled with the idea of ruining their artwork. Oh and Kaia found a rotten bird egg -- you cannot imagine how upset she was when we told her she couldn't keep it!

On the other hand, the boys were trying to coax the girls into giving them their "leftover" eggs because they rolled/threw/smashed all two dozen of their eggs in the first 5 minutes. Zeke was right in there with them! He and Gabe figured out it was more fun to throw them and smash them into the tree trunks than let them roll down a hill...

I didn't get any pictures of me or the family on Easter Sunday...
oh well...Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da...
We did have some yummy salmon, asparagus, and cheesecake though.

Wonderful "Wii"-kend

We went to visit my parents over the weekend. It was really fun, but as usual, just as CRAZY! We adopted Noira on Thursday and I was worried she would run away since she doesn't really know us yet, so we took her with us! Yeah, have you ever traveled with a cat? Nope, we haven't either. But there was no way I was waiting any longer to see my Mom! Noira was actually really good and it ended up being a lot of fun to have her there.

My Dad really enjoyed Noira:

We finally exchanged Christmas presents:

The much awaited Pillow Pets!!

Ecclesiastes 3:4 "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to DANCE..." (Thank you, Kevin Bacon!)

My parents got us "Just Dance" for our Wii. We "just happened" to bring our Wii with us. It is REALLY fun. My Mom was even doing it, but she refused to hold a controller. How funny! Zoe was doing better than anyone. Zeke took some pictures of us while we were dancing to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. Yeah, I'm a nerd, but it was awesome:

The kids always love doing crafts at Grandma's House.

Thanks to my niece, Angee, for the great presents!

I love Zoe's tongue in this picture:
The boys had to engage in their traditional wrestling match
(or two or three):
What is it about wrestling at Grandma's house?

We watched the movie "Despicable Me" with Steve Carell. I have to tell you, I didn't think I would like it. Zeke and the kids really wanted to see it. My Mom got the DVD from my brother, Brady, for Christmas. Guess what? "Light bulb!" I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! Really, it was that good to warrant 9 exclamation points. It made me cry and laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy inside (the best kind of movies). I am definitely going to watch it again:

(photo from Internet Movie Database)

On the way home, we stopped at Jody's house (my brother). He and his wife, Kiersten, fed us some yummy dinner and we laughed so hard I thought I would choke. They are so fun! I'm just a sappy little sister I'm sure, but my brothers are SO cool. I just think they are AWESOME! Jody reminds me a lot of Zeke (and vice versa). They are so kind-hearted and generous. They're always making jokes and impersonating voices and not being too serious. It's so good for me. Kiersten is so spunky, I think she's the only person who could put up with Jody. I mean, Jody is great, but he and Zeke can be so exhausting with their silliness sometimes. Gabe thinks Jody is the coolest guy ever. Jody gave Gabe his old amp "just in case" Gabe gets an electric guitar for his birthday. Their kids are SO cute. And well, I left my camera in the car :(

But this is Oskar, Beck, Max, and Kaia when we visited them in August
(I could NOT get them to hold still!):

Here's my wonderful brother, Jody, with baby Samantha
(she's just 4 days old in this picture):