Saturday, December 22, 2007

Christmas Lights

I don't mean to bore anyone with pictures of our Christmas lights. This post is more for our family record.

We've had light issues this year. ISSUE #1: Only the head lights up on one of the lighted deer. Try as we might, we failed to fix the poor deer. So the deer are not lit but instead rest peacefully on the front porch. (You can see them if you click on the picture to make it bigger.)BUT Willie did a fantastic job with the lights on the house again this year. Nice and straight...what a man!

Did I mention that I held the ladder? It might sound like a piddly job but it really is important. I even had a plan on how to attempt to catch Will if he were to slip. I was nervous about breaking his fall but if it came down to it, I would have been prepared.

ISSUE #2: For some reason the second story lights keep shorting out and poor Will has had to replace a fuse more than once. He wishes it was the bottom lights with the problem...This is the lighted garland on the stairs (that I bought half-off after Christmas at Target last year). I love it, even though Josh almost lost an eye on the protruding berry sticks and I busted my hand on a pine cone. ISSUE #3: We couldn't find the box with the extension cords so the lighting of these babies is very creative. This is the view looking down from the top of the stairs. Yes, the presents are in the middle of the floor instead of under the tree. The boys can't help themselves. I can usually find them shaking, rearranging, reading the name tags, or stacking the gifts in different combinations.This is the Christmas tree all lit up. ISSUE #4: We found the box of lights for the tree after we had used other lights and already decorated it.There were, however, no light issues with my aluminum tree. (Of course Will hates this tree.) I would like to get a revolving light projector to shine on it some day in the future. I don't know what my problem is but I like old things.This is the lighted garland on the fireplace mantle and we have the same stuff on top of the cabinets in the kitchen. Christmas lights just seem to make everything magical. The lights reflect in the boys' eyes and when the lights pop on so does this amazing look of wonder. If I could afford the power bill (and the HOA would allow it), I'd keep these lights all year long!

(Note to self, pack the lights and extention cords better this year!!!)

Friday, December 21, 2007

The Man in Red


I just love this picture of Nathan eyeing Abby at the ward Christmas party (and that they match in their festive red). He's already scoping out his options! I would certainly approve...

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Preschool Christmas Program

Jacob's preschool had a Christmas program today. (I love the hats his teacher made for them!) They sang songs, recited a poem, helped their teacher read a story, and gave us the CUTEST gifts! No, Josh does not go to preschool, but he decided to grace us all with a surprise performance. Oh my, what a boy.

Josh wants to be just like his big brother...and he was. He stood right up there through the whole thing, even sang a song.

I tried to get him to sit by me but he refused, and I knew he wasn't budging without a fight. So instead of ruining the program by Josh screaming through the entire thing, I let him ruin it by joining in on the whole thing.

I'm so sorry, Shelley. At least we know he's more than ready for next year! Here are the boys of the class. Jake, Sam, Ben, and Will. They are a great group of buddies. Here are the girls of the class, oh yes, and Joshua. Like I mentioned, he was not to be left out. I was able to physically restrain him during the boy picture but he broke loose on this one. Let's just pretend we only see Anna, Gabbi, Mya, and Lexi.

My neighbor, Jenny, was so great to let me borrow her video camera (ours broke) so I could capture every precious moment, especially since Willie couldn't make it. However, when I got home I had a whole lot of nothing on the tape. (I'm still not sure what I did wrong.) SO, Jacob (and his adorable shadow named Joshua) gave encore performances when we got home.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Santa BABY!



Here is my baby Santa ready for the ward Christmas party. This might possibly be borderline child abuse, but I think he is so cute.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Willie back on a Four-Wheeler

In Willie's words, "The closest I'll ever get to four wheeling again..."

Friday, December 14, 2007

FED up

I am not professing to be a healthy person in any sense of the word. I do not exercise or watch what I eat (well, I glance at it as it's going into my mouth), but I have had it with my family's eating patterns!

I consider myself to be a moderation-in-all-things-type of gal. Sure, I like to snack and such but I eat healthy stuff too...not so with the boys. Here's the evidence.

My Thanksgiving plate:Here we have a nice spread of turkey, potatoes and gravy, a roll, stuffing, fruit salad, and fresh veggies and dip. I'm certainly not dieting but it's not too bad.

Willie's Thanksgiving plate:Rolls, turkey and gravy, and potatoes and gravy. He wouldn't even eat the stuffing because it had craisins and celery.

He has become anti-vegetable and fruit, claiming he doesn't want to eat anything natural. I think he's just joking around but his actions truly follow this claim. He will only eat junk and lots of it.

I don't want my husband to have a heart attack, and I also don't like how it's rubbing off on the boys. They see that their Dad leaves certain things untouched on his plate and they want to be just like him.

This is just the tip of the iceburg. I'm stumped. I serve every meal with a fruit and/or veggie (even served on their plates to assist portion control) and they eat everything but the fruit and veggie.

I make the boys try a little of everything but it feels like I'm training them to be the next Fear Factor champions. They can choke down anything (and you'd think it really was frog eyeballs) but that's not teaching them to eat healthy.

Can anyone help me? Any tricks you can think of? Jill, we are on for next week...the time has come.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Snowball Fight!!!

I've loved seeing everyone as dancing elves! Oh man, the boys are going to get a kick off this. Here we are fighting in the snow...
Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Christmas Pictures

We had a photo shoot last weekend (courtesy of the timer on the camera) to try our luck at a family picture for the Christmas cards. Here are some pictures that didn't make the card cut but are cute nonetheless.

Here's what I got when I told the boys NOT to smile.


It's nice to know that a little reverse psychology still works around here.


I thought some hugging pictures would really show the love...


But Jake's hugs are more like chokeholds. NO hugging pictures this year!


TRIED to get a nice one of the boys and I...to no avail.


Then I thought we just might have to take individual photos of each person, but Josh was in a silly mood.


And suddenly Nathan went from this:


To this:


(Having flashbacks of the 2004 Christmas card?)


Don't worry though, we did get a couple that are decent. So maybe if I can get my act together (and stop blogging) we'll have a Christmas card to send out this year!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

I just love Christmas trees. The look, the lights, the smell...ah, that SMELL. I could have just walked around that lot sniffing all night!

Willie does not understand the technique and work that is required when selecting a Christmas tree. He has learned (the hard way I'm afraid) that we don't just grab the first one we see. This is a true ceremony.

I like the Nobles but it can't be too bushy or the ornaments won't hang properly, but then again it can't be too sparse. I was explaining this to the teenager helping us scour the lot and he said, "So you want something between Christmas Vacation and Charlie Brown?" EXACTLY!No, this is not our tree. We are just posing by one they had set up at the lot..This is the tree that called my name and here are the guys trimming it up. Josh got to keep the circle they cut off the bottom and he was thrilled.
Jacob has become Willie's right-hand helper man and here he is keeping the tree stand steady while Will hammers it in place.The stand was on, the tree made it into the house, it now had to be set free from the net. Once again Willie's helpers were standing by. I just love how eager they are.


In real life we took a pause here because it was bedtime and we resumed a couple of days later with the decorating...


First the lights went on. Patiently Willie taught the boys what to do and tried his best to make it look good with their help.Nathan's role was playing happily in the empty lights box, which truly was a HUGE contribution.Both boys worked hard at hanging the ornaments just right. I love the looks of intense concentration.
They took their jobs seriously and would stand back and admire their work from time to time.
Of course the decorations were all hung in the front and only made it about three feet high, but that's life when your tree is decorated by little people!Don't tell the boys, but Willie and I stayed up late the next night and added the breakables and moved everything up a bit.

I can't even count how many times we cracked our heads on the chandelier. We just kept laughing at each other and forgetting and doing it again. I seriously almost passed out on the last swift blow to the back of my head.

Here's Willie with the finishing touch...the star on the top. Merry Christmas and hooray for Christmas trees!

Monday, December 10, 2007

Mr. D.J.


Well, he's officially famous. Willie made his radio debut this morning! He did a great job talking about Moneytree...and even read the 10 Facts Game. Hey Mr. D.J.! We all got our 30 seconds of fame...yep, I even got a shout out.



Back at the home front the boys were going nuts hearing their Dad on the radio. They both thought he was actually inside (good grief!) and were yelling at him to get out. Sometimes they really make me wonder...It was so fun to hear you today, Will. You did a great job and we are so proud of you!

Friday, December 7, 2007

My Snow Baby...Nathan

Snow isn't much fun for someone that isn't mobile, but he's usually a pretty good sport about being bundled up and heading out. (Even today when I was trying to get the three of them to pose for a picture in the snow and Jake dropped him...face down...he was just a little stunned. And no, I didn't take a picture of that!)So I don't have any pictures of him in the snow...just before and after with all the gear on. I'll have to work on that one...

My Snow Man...Joshua

Josh enjoys snow like I do. It's cool to look at from inside, often times fun to play in for a bit, but once the cold hits...get me inside!Let's just cut to the chase. He wasn't getting as much as he wanted one flake at a time on the tongue, so he took things into his own hands!This is just a classic Josh face. I had to throw it in!

My Snow Man...Jacob

I intrigues me that Jacob loves the snow so much. (Probably because I don't.) Some of these pictures are from last week when we got a little dusting.Trying to catch snow on his tongue equals pure bliss for this little guy. I just don't get it,but I love it!