The Big O-N-E!

Thank you Grandma for the cute card and $2 bill.

The ice cream was too cold.

Opening presents and playing games.

Getting Stuck & Getting Messy!

This is what you look like when you eat your brother's art project.

She mastered climbing, but tends to get stuck. She climbed in the toy box, but got upset when she couldn't get out. She also likes to test what things she can fit inside of, like the drum that she got her bum stuck in.

Bush twin's letter to Obama's girls

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/28809961#28809961

Click on the link above. Watch this beautiful video. It's worth your time!!! It's so sweet. It's nice to see the genuine sincerity of these twin girls. After all the nasty comments Obama made about their dad during the campaign, it's nice to see the twins take the high road and reach out to Obama's girls. You will have to watch a 27 second commercial before the video plays. PLEASE WATCH!

Here's to hoping four years will go by so fast!

Goofing Around & Goal Setting!

Daddy's Girls!

For Family Home Evening we talked about goals and the kinds of goals we can set, then we made the collages pictured below. When I was a teenager we called it "treasure mapping." We cut words & photos out of magazines that represent our goals for the year, or for our whole life. Our 5 yr. old boy just loved cutting and pasting. He made 3 or 4 "treasure maps." His first one featured a Kansas City Chiefs beer cooler, always save cola, and photos of 5 old men politicians that we didn't recognize. Our works of art are below from L to R: top row; 11 yr old boy, me~ middle row: 5 yr old boy, Husband, 9 yr old girl~ bottom row: 7 yr old girl.

Baby girl unloading the dishes! She is officially a toddler! Today she took 5 steps in a row and I got it on video! I can't believe she is walking. She is growing up too fast.

I Can't Believe I have an 11 Yr Old!

For his birthday he had 4 friends over. They watched the Sugar Bowl [stinky Utah beat Alabama): ] They also played Apples to Apples, Electronic Monopoly, hide and seek, and flashlight tag. It was a crazy night, the damage total stands at $112.00, some things were left on the floor and crushed. Our son got a lesson on responsibility, and putting things where they belong. For his b-day he got a nerf gun, battleship game, and some cash. The boys had fun and my kids slept well that night.

On DVD January 20th!

My 5th gr. son got me hooked on this book, The City of Ember, and the 4 book series. Now, I can't wait to see the DVD. A good read, especially the 1st & 4th book. You can find the book in the Juvenile Fiction section at your library or book store.

Spelunking!

Above: Our girl found the trail that goes above the cave. If you look close, you can see her wearing a purple coat & waving.

This park is so much fun! There is a large cave and a small cave to explore and trails that go over the cave, through the woods, along the lake, and over a couple of bridges. You can also feed some very fat ducks.

Nature Calls

My Sister & her husband came from the west coast to visit us for Christmas. We had a fun time with lots of laughs. I know "Nature Calls," is a weird title for this post, but it is actually pretty accurate. We hiked the LONG trail, and had to stop several times for someone to find a tree to hide behind and answer "nature's call." I held it, but was disappointed that the "facilities" were locked up for the night by the time we emerged from the trail.

Sisters!

Are You Smarter Than a 2nd Grader???

My daughter's class is writing a class book. The teacher told them to write about something they know that they don't think anyone else knows about. This is what our 7 yr. old wrote:

Always say whoa to stop the horse. If you do not say "Whoa," you will go to the bathroom on the horse.

Never stop the hors well being chaste cus you will get hrit.

Always say Whoa if you need to go to the bathroom when you're on a horse. So you don't go to the bathroom on the horse.

Never go to the bathroom on the horse. Becus it will buck you off.

I typed the story exactly as she wrote it, misspellings and all!