It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

This is my favorite time of year!   I love everything about it -- the spirit of the season, the colors, the smells, the music, the excited anticipation . . . all of it.  HOWEVER, it can sometimes feel overwhelming with everything a mama must do to prepare for Christmas.  Here are a few things in our home that bring a smile to my face and chase the stress away . . .  I hope it does the same for you!

Giant jingle bells from Real Deals . . .

S's placement of the "baby ball next to the mama ball" (this pattern is repeated several times around our tree). . .

My Willow Tree Nativity -- each piece collected over the years and now complete -- I love that Mary is holding baby Jesus . . .

We have several smaller nativities around the house, and I love seeing what different positions they are in each day as little hands play and interact with them.  . .

I love my new snowman on a bike -- in honor of my hubby and his 109 mile ride last weekend . . .

This year both boys received an "outdoorsy" ornament for the tree.  BR's is a fishing bear and look what he caught -- A GINGERBRI!  . . .

And B's bear is canoeing down the red ribbon river  . . .

E made these adorable bottle cap snowmen for each member of the family . . .

And this crazy upside down photo (sorry about that) makes me smile because S wanted Ariel and the Snowman to dance on the tree!  

 

 

Day of THANKS

 

THANKSGIVING is sometimes hard for me because we generally don't spend it with extended family.  The year that my sister and her family came down is now referred to by the kids as "the best Thanksgiving ever."  But I have to say that this weekend was wonderfully relaxing and a chance to really reflect on how blessed I am to be a part of my little family.  We spent Thursday outside enjoying the 70 degree weather (sorry Utahans!).  We went down to the Desert Museum while the turkey was a-cookin', and came home to a deliciously smelling house.  After we ate the turkey and trimmings our neighbors came over to share pie.  It was wonderful to just be together this weekend -- to work outside, to set up Christmas decor, to go to the temple together . . . we all have so much to be thankful for when we stop and count our blessings!

GOALS!

 Saturday was a day of reaching goals for us.  E played her last game of her first volleyball season.  She has learned so much!  At the end of the 3rd game she earned 5 points off  her serves!!  At the beginning of the season she had trouble getting the ball over the net!  So, this was a great accomplishment.  She LOVES volleyball!  She wants to play again next season and go to the Uof A volleyball summer camp.  GO E!

BR played his last game of his first Coaches Pitch season.  He learned so much, too!  He had trouble batting the ball at the beginning of the season, but now he hits the ball each time he's up to bat!  And he learned so much about how to be part of a team and cover bases for one another, etc . . .  He's looking forward to doing karate with big brother after the Holidays.  B has been waiting so patiently for his turn, and has been great at cheering for E and BR! (Sorry this pic is sideways -- it refuses to turn!)

And D rode 109 MILES in EL TOUR de TUCSON!!  Yes, I wrote that right -- 109 miles -- and he did it in 7 hours and 20 minutes!!  He's wanted to do it for years -- he figures if you live in Tucson you should do it at least once.  I'm so proud of him!  We tried to see him between games, but missed him by 2 minutes or less -- I can't believe that!  The kids had made posters for him and we watched and waited and left sad that we had missed him.  (He had stopped to talk with a member of our stake presidency that was at one of the "watering stations"  and got a little off schedule).  He said the ride was a lot harder than he was expecting -- I'm sure the higher winds contributed to that.  At this point he's glad he did it, but has no desire to ride that far again :).  Sorry, no pics -- by the time he got home he was so tired I didn't make him pose for a photo.  There were some professional photographers along the course that we'll be able to order from (one lying in a gutter that gave him a start).

Things to love about Tucson

My memory isn't great, in fact I rely a lot on my sister to recount a lot of my childhood.  Thank goodness she has an amazing memory!  It may be a sign of early Alzheimer's, but regardless I find it interesting that I have a clear memory of an obscure conversation with my dad when I was about 13 or 14.  He had taken a trip to Tucson, Arizona -- a place I had never heard of. He came back telling us it had been 110 degrees --and I said, "Who would want to live there?!"  I could not fathom someone willingly living in that kind of heat.  And now many moons later I am here raising my little family.  I still miss big lawns and shady trees.  I haven't developed a love for rock yards or cactus, BUT I LOVE November through March in Tucson.  We enjoy 60 to 70 degree weather, sunshine most days and light breezes.  Ahhhh!  I really love it!  Yesterday we were able to participate in a Family Fun Run/Ride to celebrate the opening of a new overpass that has been 6 years in the making -- hurray!  D and B biked the 16K, E and her BFF ran the 5K, and I ran/walked/limped (I developed a bruise on the bottom of my foot the day before the race) the 5K with Br and S in and out of the stroller -- amazingly we still managed the cross the finish line in just 48 minutes.  So maybe this little post will entice some of you to come for a visit -- this is the time of year to come!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween!  Hope you've had a FUN Halloween weekend!  With Halloween falling on a Sunday we're doing things a little differently this year.  We did our "trunk or treating" Thursday and Saturday. Tonight we'll celebrate with "mummy meatloaf" and "ghostie potatoes", cookie decorating, and playing games.

 A Frontiersman . . .

 A nerd . . .

 

A hot wheels driver . . .

 And Minnie who was finally well enough to trick-or-treat yesterday - hurray!

  

Until next time . . .

A recipe for "Chili" weather . . .

If you're looking for a yummy dinner to warm your tummies, you might want to try this one.  Our friends,the Stephens, have the tradition of eating chili together every Halloween before trick-or-treating -- isn't that a good idea?  

I stayed home with "poor little Sarah" (her term -- she's fighting a nasty cold) while Daddy took the other kiddos to our ward "Trunk or Treat" tonight.  I sent him with my "Sweet Chili" - a recipe from my mom -AND it won FIRST PRIZE!  I was pretty shocked.  I am not a great cook, but "I am a great collector of recipes" (I'm plagiarizing my friend Summer).  Sorry I didn't take a photo of it before I sent it out the door. Oh, and an added bonus of this particular recipe -- it doesn't cause gas (just thought you might want to know).

SWEET CHILI

1-16 oz can of B & M baked beans 

1-14 oz can of red kidney beans

1-14 oz can of butter beans

1/2 lb bacon strips cut in half

1 1/2 lb ground beef

small onion chopped

4 T. ketchup

4 T. molasses

4 T. barbecue sauce

2 tsp white vinegar (very important)

1 tsp. dry mustard

2 T. brown sugar

Cook the bacon until almost done.  Drain off most of the grease.  Cook the hamburger and onion in the same pan.  Drain the kidney and butter beans.  Mix everything together in a crock pot.  Cook on low as long as you want, or cook on high until bubbly and then turn to low until ready to serve.  It does taste best when cooked for a long time -- at least 3 - 4  hours (although I only had time for about 1 hour of cooking on high before I sent it off today).  

Breaktime in San Diego

We took the kids to San Diego over their Fall Break last week.  I love San Diego!  It has become one of our favorite vacation spots -- just a 6 hour drive and we can enjoy cooler weather, the beach, and a whole array of Amusement parks and attractions.  E did such a good job giving minute by minute details on her blog that I thought I would just share a little of our trip from a mom's perspective.

I love BR's determination.  As we pulled into the Sea World parking lot on our first day in San Diego, BR threw up!  I had been concerned that he was feeling a little warm that morning, but he insisted he felt fine.  What to do?  I sent D and the other 3 kids into the park, and had BR rest for a little while.  After a 45 minute nap he exclaimed, "Why won't you let me walk?"  We decided to go for it.  After a quick visit to the "Sea World Doctor" (first aid EMT who confirmed 100.5 temp) gave him a dose of Tylenol, BR was ready to go!  Just the two of us hung out for the first hour while I watched to see how he was doing -- then we met up with the rest of the family.  But I have to say I really enjoyed hanging out with my little man -- and am amazed that he had the strength to go all day long (he even climbed up this VERY long rope net to get into the play area) -- and was happy about it!

I love B's courage.  He is not a lover of crazy rides, but he REALLY wanted to try the new Sea World ride "Atlantis."  He made up his mind that he was going to do it, and headed to that crazy ride with D and E.  He told them "whatever I say, don't let me back down" . . . and he conquered that ride even though it had crazy twists, turns and steep drops.  He was scared and didn't enjoy the ride AT ALL!  But, he did it!  He has courage in so many other ways -- even more important ways -- like doing what is right even when it's not the easiest or most popular choice.

I love S's enthusiasm.  This was the first time that S was able to actually ride "big people" rides.  She couldn't get enough of them!  That came as a bit of a surprise to me.  I thought she might shy away from them because they're loud and fast and make your tummy feel funny.  Instead she just ate it up.  Her favorite rides were the spinning tea cup type rides, rocking ships, and roller coasters (I love this pic of her in the front seat of the roller coaster looking down hill and SMILING! 

I love E's excitement.  She wanted to try all the scariest rides, but she also took time to walk along the beach looking for sea shells with me.  When we were in Oceanside last (almost 2 1/2 years ago before Nana and D left for the mission field -- was that a countdown?) our land lady Mrs. Dillon took us down the beach to the BEST shell spot.  We went in search of it again this time and FOUND IT.  The tide was too high to find too many whole shells, but we found this great expanse of crushed shells.  They were so fun to walk on and feel slipping under our feet as the tide pulled them back out with the waves.  I loved walking along the shore with my E at sunset!

I love that my D is such a fun Dad.  He is interested in and enjoys so many different things, and he shares that with the kids.  He had so much fun showing the kids the anemones and mussels in the tide pools and "saving" them from the big waves.  The kids can also always count on him to tackle any ride -- no matter how scary (or wet) it may be.  I love that he can lull the kids to sleep by playing his guitar in the hotel.  I love that he stays calm under pressure and settles my craziness by being even tempered.

 So long for now . . . we won't stay away too long!