Hunt for the perfect tree....or, a "charlie Brown tree", depends on who you ask!!!

We could not have asked for a better day. It was beautiful!!! The sun was shining and the weather was perfect. The kids had such a good time. Caden was in heaven hiking around.

The guys got a real work out!!! They hiked in quite a way to find that perfect tree, and that meant carrying down all three trees.

Sarah decided that the back of the car was a great place for her to hang out. She was in charge of handing out the hot chocolate. Hannah hung out with us a lot, but occasionally she took a break for some of Sarah's "free hot chocolate".

It was so nice of Grandma Smith to hang out with Sarah and Jenna in the car.

Merry Christmas: pause music player, enjoy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Any stain removing experts out there?

The culprit: brightest pinkish/red nail polish we own

Partner in crime: mischievous little three year old, up past bed time. Look at those nails. Don't let that smile fool you.

Evidence: damp bathroom towel, nail polish stains all over it.

Victim/Crime: Brand new carpet, very visible, bright pink nail polish stain!!!!!!

The kids had been in bed for about two hours now. It was about ten so I got in the bath to have a little relaxing time before bed. Scott came in and asked me if I was painting my nails. I told him "no", and he told me that there was a very strong smell of nail polish. He walked down the hall to Sarah's room to find this huge puddle of nail polish on the carpet. Sarah was hiding under the covers at the end of her bed and by the door he found the damp rag with nail polish all over it. AAAAAGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

What is a parent to do with such a busy little girl. How and When she was able to sneak into the nail polish without us knowing, I do not know. I like to think that our house is a house of order. the occasional little spill, yes, I can handle and do expect that from time to time. But I try to keep things so nice and tidy------BIG pink stain on the carpet, not the look I'm really going for!

What safely takes "tropical tranquility" out of carpets?

Who needs a doll house............

...When you can have an old CD shelf?

This cute little house (Polly pocket condo) used to house all of Grandmalita's Cd's. every time we go to her house, since Caden was a baby it gets played with a lot. The kids take the Cd's out and hide things in it. Grandma has even found very rotten apples in there. If a binki comes up missing, look in the CD house. this last time we were there Hannah kept playing with it so Grandma finally emptied it out and told Sarah to take it home for her dolls. It kept all three kids entertained for hours. Yes even Caden. He was the navy seal dad who had to leave his wife and kids in their big house so that he could go on secret missions. Hey, it got them all playing together!

Thank you Grandmalita!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Temple Square
While we were in Utah, Grandpa took us to see the lights at temple square. It was beautiful. Enjoy.


Dawn, Daniel , and Jenna

what a beautiful baby

Thanks for the pictures Dawn!

Our special visitor

Besides the occasional, and normal mishaps, things have been pretty peaceful around here. Could it be my diligent efforts to invite the Christmas spirit into our home? Everything looks so festive, I play Christmas music every day, we read a meaningful Christmas story every night before bed,
OR.......................
Could it be our special visitor?


Mr. Peeps made his appearance shortly after Thanksgiving. He brought with him a note from Santa outlining his duties in our home. Basically, Santa brought him to keep an eye on us.....see if we are naughty or nice. He moves around every night to a different location in our home AND if you touch him, he loses his magic. On Christmas eve he moves to the tree and Santa takes him home until next year. There is an actul poem that I found and printed off explaining all this. The kids loved this.
The kids, especially Caden, have absolutely loved this. I recommend it to anyone with children. It makes the season so magical. I often hear Caden talk to his friends about Mr. Peeps.
"Did Santa bring an elf to Your house".
Mr. peeps even wrote them a note the other day and Caden took it to school to show his teacher. The other day I caught him peeking around the corner and waving at him (his greatest wish is to catch Mr. peeps come alive). Hannah goes and talks to him.
Today Caden was almost in tears because his friend picked Mr. Peeps up to play with him.
"No, if you touch him he won't come alive tonight and move, then he can't tell Santa if we were good".
We quickly put Mr. Peeps back so that he could rest and gain his magic back!
Merry Christmas......Hope Mr. Peeps visits your family!

Kelly

KELLY
I guess this is what it comes down to when, in this modern world, we rely so heavily on these means to communicate to each other. Sorry I missed you when we were in
Utah. I know that you asked when we would be there. who'd of thought about phone #'s? figured I'd just reply on your BLOG, but I am no longer able to view it. Since I know that you will view this, I am dedicating a post just for you. Please re-invite me to your BLOG, and we can go on communicating the way we always do, and I can remove this post because I'm sure it just sounds goofy to anyone else. Thank you!

Thanksgiving was so much fun!!! Thank you so much Grandpa Waggoner for hosting it this year. The kids had so much fun.

Grandma's little helpers

Thank you Grandmalita for making us Spaghetti when we got into town.

Grandpa was so nice to take us to the craft store so that we could get some craft supplies.

Even Hannah got into the project.

Cute Cousins!!!!

Caden absolutely loves his cousin Jenna and she really loves him. They had so much fun playing together at Grandpa's house.

Pumpkin carving on Thanksgiving!?!?

Uncle Steven went out with Caden and they passed by a farm that was giving away pumpkins. They brought some back and it made a really fun project for Caden, Steven and Molly.

Molly carved a Christmas message on her pumpkin, Steven, being the artist had to carve the globe and Caden had fun carving a face.

Grandpa even let Caden put his pumpkin out on the porch!

Good bye Turkeys........

Hello Christmas.........

I can't believe that thanksgiving has come and gone. It seems like we just made those little turkeys and I just hung them up now I am taking them down to put Christmas up.

The day before we left for Utah, we let the kids help us get ready for Christmas. We found this little 5 ft. tree in our garage and they had the greatest time decorating that and putting it in their playroom.

I guess this means I better hurry up and post thanksgiving day pics before we go get our tree and Christmas gets here before I know it.

Last of the tomatoes

About a month ago we picked all of our tomatoes (green) before the frost hit. I put them in our garage covered up with blankets in hopes of saving some.

The result was jars and jars of delicious tomato juice, pureed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Mmmm...I can't even begin to explain how much we have enjoyed them. I will never be able to buy canned tomatoes at the store again.

The funnest thing that I made is salsa! So good. It turned out to be a community effort really. As I made the salsa I had to laugh at all the things that went into it, given to me from others.

A big thank you to

• Tanya brought me the tiny little tomato plants she got from the farm she worked at, helped the kids plant them, and fertilized my garden with crystallized chicken poo (I know, sounds gross, but it is all natural and I got a HUGE crop of tomatoes this year because of it). I had the most colorful and unique tomatoes.
• Mom gave me the brandy wine tomato plant she got from Jenny Hallenburger.
• Grandma Smith provided the garlic from her friends garden and has taught me so much about canning. She always answered the phone EVERY time i called with another question.
• Grandpa Waggoner gave me peppers from his garden in Utah.
• Marni gave me onions from her garden.
• Dawn bought me some extra peppers.
• Carmela helped me peel endless amounts of tomatoes.
• Karin: I could not have made salsa without her blender and her big Stock pot.
• Michelle: I am especially grateful to her for letting me taste her salsa and giving me the recipe!

Thank you to all. Your garden veggies, and canning supplies made for a great salsa batch!! And I am so grateful for a stocked pantry.

Now I am going to have to actually go out and buy tomatoes at the store!

The day before we went out of town for thanksgiving I used up the last 5 tomatoes out of my garage. After canning I set a few out to eat. These were the last of them It is so sad to see them go. It doesn't look really pretty because the meet is still raw, but I threw them in my slow cooker with peppers an pork. It was so tasty. By the time Scott got home they were desolve into a nice yummy sauce.

Can't wait til next year when I can plant my tomatoes again.