Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Pictures

We went to St. George for Thanksgiving :) We drove to Pine Valley and played in the snow with cousins.






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We spent time with loved ones, eating and eating and eating.

Grandpa and Grandma

Great Aunt Zella

Uncle Will ( I cut his hair that morning)

Great Aunt Rita

Aunt Daph and Uncle George

Rachel, Nicki, Kate and Summer

Niquelle, David and Rena

Matt and Robert

Natalie and Uncle Derek

Aunt Holly and Isaac

Aunt Teresa



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We stayed at Will and Cynthia's house and had lots of time for snuggling...

...and pedicures...

...and playing with combs which resulted in new bangs for Kelly!

Ward Christmas Dinner

We went to our Ward Christmas dinner last weekend.

Michael and Naomi both thought they were more excited than the other to see Santa.

The Primary put on a pageant. Gwen and Kelly were angels and Michael was...

...a sheep.

Since we didn't get a good picture of him on the stage (that is the back of his head up there), I sent him to Stan for more pictures. I think he just wanted to get out of his lacy pillowcase :)

Heather's Photography

Heather took pictures in the backyard...

Michaelisms

Overheard just now, Michael talking to Mo, "You are not my boss or my mother, so you can't boss me around."

This afternoon, I was driving home from picking Rachel up from school and Michael said,"We are about eleven yards from home."

I said (because we were about a quarter of a mile from home), "We are a little further away than that."

Thirty seconds later he said it again and I told him, "Not yet."

As we pass our next door neighbor, he announced, "Now we are one yard from home," and I told him, "We are actually about eleven yards from the garage."

He said, "No, not like yardsticks! Like FRONT YARDS!"

We don't have snow...

...but we have snow fleas in puddles in the backyard! (more & more)

And closeup...

A Recipe for You

Here is something yummy and easy to make for your Christmas parties and treat plates...

White Chocolate Candy Cane Popcorn

I put sprinkles on this batch because I took it to Michael's Kindergarten/1st Grade party and have this idea that kids like sprinkles on everything, but they are optional.

The following recipe makes enough to cover 8-15 cups of popcorn, depending on how thick you like the chocolate. That is the same as 1-2 bags of microwave popcorn, or 1/2-one batch of air popped corn (at least from our popper). If you use microwave popcorn, I'd suggest using "Light' instead of "Butter". I'm not sure how well the chocolate would stick to the buttery kind, but you could always try it and eat the whole batch yourself if it is too sticky ;)

It is a good idea to shake all the old maids (unpopped kernels) in your bowl of popcorn to the bottom and move all the good popcorn to another bowl (make it a big one because you will need room to stir).

Next, measure one cup of white chocolate candy coating. I like Guitard A'Peels.

Then, pulverize two regular sized candy canes in a zip lock bag. It will make about 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of crushed candy cane.

Melt the candy coating in the microwave, stirring after a minute and then returning it to the microwave to melt it some more if needed.

Dump the candy cane powder in the chocolate, mix well and pour it over your popcorn. Stir it until the popcorn is evenly coated.

It is best if you let it cool before you eat it, otherwise, your hand will look this!

Daddy's Helpers

The kids helped Stan (he's Ward Clerk) assemble the bishopric's Christmas cards It was quite the production :)

Who's training whom?

We are trying to train Bertram Wooster to talk. He screeches, chirps and warbles. I, on the other hand, say hello and a number of other things to him every other time I walk past his cage. I even sing to him.

This morning, while I was flipping pancakes, Naomi was dancing around the dining room, saying, "Step up, step up, " which is the command the lady at the bird store instructed us to use.

So...some of us, anyway, are getting to be really well trained.

Roadshow!

Our stake had roadshow performances Friday night. It was so much fun!

See if you can find Heather as a sheep, Summer as an evil shepherd, Rachel as the doctor, Heather as a kindergartner, Summer as a princess and Rachel playing the guitar...

Did you realize...

...that Christmas is only 40 days away? I don't usually start counting down until after Thanksgiving, but eBay has a countdown on the top of their home page!

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the cards, especially the cards with pictures. I am excited to get some free (plus S&H) Christmas cards from Shutterfly. The hardest parts will be getting everyone to look at the camera and smile at the same time, and also choosing which design to use, because they have so many nice ones.

Here are my top three (I mean four) choices-In Living Color-Merry Thought Bubble-Air Mail Wishes-Oh What Fun-which one would you choose?

Besides the darling designs, I also think it is nifty that you can choose to have your cards printed on card stock or photo paper. I will be getting card stock and am excited to see how they turn out! You can also chose between flat or folded cards. So many choices...

Shutterfly has great gifts, too. Two of my favorites are the keepsake boxes and the luggage tags.

If you have a blog, you can sell your blogging soul and get free cards, too. Go here and sign up.

It is a good thing...

...that my kids have learned to translate Amy-speak.

This morning, I was making some peanut butter and fluff sandwiches for a picnic lunch. I used a butter knife for the peanut butter and gave it to Naomi to lick off when I was done. I had an almost empty fluff jar, so I used a silicone scraper for the fluff and gave it to Michael to lick when I was done.

I was busy making breakfast at the same time and took some milk out of the microwave. This is where the wires got crossed, I guess, because I told Michael when he was done eating fluff, to put the spatula in the microwave.

Smart boy. He looked at me and asked, "Do you mean the dishwasher?"

Bertram "Bertie" Wooster

We bought a budgie yesterday. He is officially mine, so I get the final word on what to name him. Which is a good thing, because I don't think we would ever reach consensus. Stan is wisely above the fray, but here is a
run down of everyone's opinions -

Summer wants to call him Jeeves instead of Bertie, but I think it will be much easier to teach him to say, "What, what, what, what?" and, "What-ho, Jeeves!" than to teach him, "I endeavor to give satisfaction, sir."

Rachel wants to call him Poofy.

Heather is happy with Wooster.

Gwen likes William.

Kelly wants to name him Phillip.

Michael wants to call him Blue Licorice and Spot.

Naomi alternates between Birdhead and Headbird.

What do you think he looks like?

Happy Halloween

I am not a big get-ready-for-Halloween-early person. Actually, I ban the kids from even talking to me about how they want to dress up until two hours before they need to be dressed, because they change their minds until then anyway and because I am a Halloween Grinch.

We did a few fun things, though.

The Saturday before the Saturday before Halloween, while Summer took the ACT, the six other kids and I went to a Halloween party at a park, mostly because they advertised free pumpkins. There was also a free carousel. I like free.




The kids liked the candy. Naomi figured out how to be efficient and eat both her lollipops at the same time.

Gwen wanted nothing more than to climb on instead of go through, the straw maze, so as they were closing down, I let her.



It was an especially fun day because we went to dinner at the home of some friends from back East who recently moved to our neck of the woods - Parrish and Mindy for those of you who know them. Our kids really like their kids. After we left, Heather said being at their house was the best day of her life.

The Monday before the big day, we planned on carving pumpkins for FHE. Rachel's friend from school had never in her life carved a pumpkin, so she joined us for the festivities.




Last night, we went to the Trunk or Treat at church. Michael was a farmer and Naomi was a princess, and is wearing our home teacher's wife's sweater, because she was so cold.

Kelly was a pioneer and Gwen was another farmer. We have a sort of fascination with overalls going among the younger set around here.

My costume was a glow in the dark fimo clay mustache necklace because I like any excuse to make jewelry (even cheesy-when-will-I-ever-wear-this-again-jewelry).

Today, we finished off the candy and cake and cookies and brownies (from the cake walk) for lunch. Woo hoo!