One is Fun

Quinn had a great birthday. He thoroughly enjoyed his cake as you can see. He is walking really well now and is a bundle of energy. He's great entertainment for the other kids and goes nonstop.

We took him to Amanda's work to see Santa. He was curious, but not really afraid.

Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. Here are pictures of a few of my favorite things about this year's holiday (by the way, I forgot to take a picture of the turkeys):

Everyone helping to prepare the food (fun peeling potatoes)



Finishing touches on the dessert



Homemade rolls ready to bake



And of course an assortment of pie.



In the spirit of the season, here are my top 10 (ok so I included 11) things that I am grateful for this week. I'd love to see all of my friends and families' lists.

1 - The love and support of my husband (in spite of my many short comings)
2 - My 5 precious children
3 - The knowledge and peace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
4 - Mondays - Troy and I both have this day off, but the kids are in school :-)
5 - Having a job that I enjoy
6 - An uninterupted night's sleep
7 - The many miraculous beauties of nature - especially beautiful sunsets
8 - Extended family
9 - Low gas prices
10 - 4 live in babysitters
11 - Chocolate

A Mom Can Brag a Little Can't She?

This is one of those moments where I really miss having Mom and Dad around. Praising my children for their good efforts to their Grandparents is an easy thing - they always respond with pride. Not exactly sure how others might respond, but in their absence, I needed to share. My kids have worked really hard and I am proud of them. I don't know how often a parent gets to see 4 straight "A" report cards, so I have to cherish the moment.

Halloween

I made this polar bear costume 13 years ago for Wesley to wear. At first Quinn wasn't so sure he liked being dressed up.

Then he started to get used to it.

And finally, he decided it was okay.

Haylee wore the poodle skirt I made for Amanda about 11 years ago.

We even made a Cleopatra costume for Amanda to wear to Monster Mash.

Finally, here's the whole gang (including some neighbors). Recognize that costume Heather's wearing? My mom made it about 30 years ago. It was a fun nostalgic Halloween.

It's Autumn Time...The Leaves Are Falling Down

I love Autumn, but it never seems to last long enough. Since we knew a storm was forcast for the weekend, I wanted to take a last opportunity to see the fall leaves before they were covered with snow. Troy and I went for a drive up the canyon. I was content to see the leaves at the base of the canyon, but Troy insisted we drive all the way to the top to the overlook. I HATE that drive up the steep, bumpy, narrow road, and clutched white knuckled to the car handle the whole time - gasping in terror as we got close to the steep dropoffs, and hyperventilating slightly. I guess I'm a bit acrophobic. At the top, we could see both Tooele and Herriman/Draper (if you zoom in, you can just make out the two new temples), and the view was beautiful. Unfortunately the colors through the camera lens don't quite match the view we observed.

Getting to Know Me (Troy)

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Copy then change all the answers so they apply to you, then post on your blog. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 3:45am, Yes, that's AM. I have to be to work by 5am
2. Diamonds or pearls? What is this a girly blog? But if you must know, Diamonds.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Kung Fu Panda at the drive-in with the kids.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Right now it's Chuck.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? usually cereal, but whatever is convienient.
6. What is your middle name? Ryan
7. What food do you dislike? Tomatoes and Beef Liver - Yuck!
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Facing Future by IZ
9. What kind of car do you drive? A 2007 Toyota Corrolla.
10. Favorite sandwich? I like a good Philly Cheese Steak and Cubanos are not bad either.
11. What characteristic do you despise? Hypocracy
12. Favorite item of clothing? Flip flops
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? New Zealand
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Another girly question. The best quality for the best price. I don't care who makes it.
15. Where would you retire to? A comfortable house in the mountains, but still close to a large city
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 40 was hard but the memory is starting to fade
17. Favorite sport to watch? Football, but only college and usually just BYU.
18. Furthest place you expect someone to look at this from? Florida
19. If you had a superpower, what would it be? Flight
20. When is your birthday? September 17
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning, but I can adjust to either.
22. What is your shoe size? 9 , sometimes 8 1/2
23. Pets? Can I count Quinn
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? We are almost finished with the basement!! Yay!!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A pilot
26. How are you today? Great
27. What is your favorite candy? Bridge mix
28. What is your favorite flower? Tulips, and yes, I do like flowers.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Thanksgiving, it's my family's turn this year
30. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Rocky Road
31. What are you listening to right now? Police radios and scanners (I'm at work).
32. What was the last thing you ate? Chocolate covered raisins
33. Do you wish on stars? Occasionally
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cerulean
35. How is the weather right now? Very nice, but a big storm is coming tomorrow that will drop us into the 50s
36. Who was the first person you talked to on the phone today? Salt Lake City Signal guy.
37. Favorite soft drink? Rootbeer but I don't drink sodas very often
38. Favorite restaurant? Either Cheesecake Factory or Jasons Deli
39. Real hair color? Blonde.
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Roller skates
41. Summer or winter? Winter anywhere, but I prefer Fall, Spring, Winter, and then Summer, in that order.
42. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate, the darker the better
44. Where was your last vacation? Hawaii
45. When is the last time your cried? I cry more often that I would like to admit, but I can't remember the last time.
46. What is under your bed? Small suitcases
47. What did you do last night? I watched the vice presidential debate.
48. What are you afraid of losing? My family or my sanity, they are really tied together.
49. Salty or sweet? Spicy, which probably falls more on the salty side, but I also have a sweet tooth
50. How many keys on your key ring? 3
51. How many years at your current job? 9+
52. Favorite day of the week? Monday, (I have three day weekends, and the kids don't)
53. How many towns have you lived in? 8 towns, 5 states
54. Do you make friends easily? I'm pretty easy going but a bit of an introvert. I like to spend time with my family most.

Quinn at Costco

We went shopping while the other kids were at school the other day, as you can see, Quinn conked out, thank goodness Costco has those big, soft pillows.

Second Anniversary

Most anniversaries are a joyous remembrance, but today's anniversary is one of loss. Mom passed away two years ago, today. I thought of her a lot over the last few days. My sister Kathleen made MP3's of some music for us, and one of the tracks was a song that my Mom used to sing to me as a child, and to every baby she ever rocked to sleep - including my own children. I brought it home and played it for my kids. Mom's voice and the voices of my sisters brought sweet memories to me as the harmonies blended so sweetly. My oldest daughter said she remembered Grandma singing that song to her. My baby, Quinton got so quiet and listened intently to the song. My emotions welled up, as it felt for a moment like my Mom was singing that lullaby to my 9 month old baby. He will never know her in this life, and I grieved her loss, and the loss of my dad all over again. My sister Cindy called this evening and we grieved together a little bit more. I miss my parents a lot. I know they are happier now, but somehow that thought seems so profoundly unfair to those of us left behind.

I read an article in the newspaper recently that made me feel a little less crazy for still feeling grief after so much time has passed. It said: "...the natural tendency is to "grieve in the shadows" and put on the everything-is-fine mask. Those around you want you to be fine and be over your loss. But that's not the way it works. He says that after the death of a loved one, it takes 18 to 24 months to feel significantly different. . .we tend to think in terms of weeks and months, but we should think of months and years. Don't panic if you have a relapse. "We don't grieve less with time, but we grieve less often with time."

A few of Quinn's favorite things

Even though we have plenty of toys, Quinn is best entertained by some of the ordinary objects around the house. He loves to play with the wipes box, and is especially happy when he gets it open. He loves to chew on flip-flops, and to tear the newspaper to shreds. He was particualarly pleased with himself when he learned how to turn off the TV. Best of all, he loves to nap with Daddy!

Ready for School

Heather wanted to grow her hair out and donate to locks of love, but it was just taking too long. She needed 2 or 3 more inches, but couldn't wait any more. After all, she starts Jr. High tomorrow. Everyone - including Heather - thinks it looks very cute!

Papa Murphy's

Amanda has worked at Papa Murphy's for about a year and a half. She just got a new job at a children's book store here in town and so she gave her two weeks notice. Needless to say, we've been eating a lot of pizza lately because we know we're losing our family discount :-( We took this video of her making pizza the last time we were there. (We just had Troy's cell phone, so it's kind of poor quality, but you get the idea.) Look at those fingers fly -- even if she is shaking her head at us in utter humiliation. Parents are sooooo embarrassing.

Haylee is 9

Haylee had a birthday too, and turned 9. We made her wait til 9:09pm to actually celebrate her birthday, because as Dad teased her, that is when her "official" birthday is. She made her own cake and BEGGED to light her own candles. When did I get old enough to have children this old?

Wes is 14

Wesley turned 14 and is going to start High School this year. We have a traditional wall with measurments taken at each birthday. This year, Wesley passed up his big (but now shorter) sister, Amanda, growing 3 inches in one year. Wes has his sights set on Mom's mark on the wall, and is certain to to pass her soon.

Amanda's Favorite Pictures

My mom said that I had to do a post of my favorite pictures that she took so here they are. By the way, I hope you like all of the songs on the playlist, becuase I picked most of them.

Amanda

Senior Pictures

Amanda had her senior pictures taken today at the High School. (sidenote: I can't believe she is a senior - I am not old enough to have a child preparing to graduate) The experience was fun for her, until we saw that the cheapest package of pictures was $130! We go back next week to preview them and see if they are worth it. In the meantime, when we got home, we had some fun taking our own pictures just to see how they'd turn out. I told her if we got one or two good ones, we could just make our own prints, and save some money. Mandi was very patient with me while I tried to get all the camera settings right (we only took 131 pictures:-)). These are my favorites - she liked at least 40 of them, though, so I think we did great. I'll have her post her favorites tomorrow.

Digital Scrapbooking

One of my favorite hobbies lately is digital scrapbooking. I've had a digital camera since 2002, and LOVE the digital medium. It took the industry a while to catch up, but now there a lots of cool new products to make completely digital scrapbook pages. I'm still learning how to put things together, and I have purchased a few things, but you can collect A LOT of free papers, templates, and digital elements from sites. I'll try to post a few links later on if anyone is interested. But, for now, one of my favorite sites for freebies is www.designerdigitals.com in the community area under challenges (there is a new freebie each week in each category, and best of all, there's a huge archive of past freebies - lots of other sites only have freebies for a limited time and then they expire). These are a few of my latest pages for Quinn.

More Hawaii Pics

Quinn was having a great time at bathtub beach. Doesn't he look cute in his first swimsuit.

Here we are at Kakela beach. This is where we used to go to the ward campout.

Don't we look great in our matching aloha outfits. We got these at the swapmeet.

First Post

Troy decided our family needed to have a blog, so this is our first post. This is a picture from our family vacation in Hawaii.