Spoiled!

No, I suppose there are not that many presents under the tree, but what you don't see is the couch on the wall opposite, which is loaded with more presents!

Halle looked so beautiful in her new Christmas dress that she wore on Sunday. I think she was more excited about her curly hair!

Cameron loved his many cars and dinosaurs. He doesn't say many words, but he can accurately make the sounds for all of his new presents. Rrrrrraaaaarh! and Vrrrrrrooooom!

Our best Christmas present this year was DAD! He got home Saturday the 22nd. I think it would have been hard to have Christmas without him. We love you Dad!

Christmas Card

Here's this year's Christmas card! My kids are cute, and nobody wants to see me anyway, so it works out well for the picture to be of just them. We hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Tagged!

I was hoping that I would somehow avoid the dreaded "tag," but no thanks to Emily, the fate has come upon me. So here goes . . . 6 things people may not know about me:

1. I am obsessed with researching things. I think it may be a clinical problem, but I'm not sure. I can't buy anything without believing that I have done everything I can to be sure that it is the best buy for my money, or that Consumer Reports has rated it above average. I am also very critical of things people say. I always want to doubt things until I can validate their truthfulness. I'm sure this characteristic of my personality has annoyed most of you at one time or another.

2. I REALLY like grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. Would you believe that I went most of my life without experiencing this exquisit combination! Emily introduced it to me when we were in college, and it has been a favorite of mine ever since. I HONESTLY think I could eat it every day.

3. I am terrified of public speaking. Something about all of those eyes on me is more that I can handle. I have never turned down the request to speak, but I think that the anxiety leading up to each one has literally taken years off of my life. Hey . . . maybe if I speak a few weeks before the baby is due, it will put me into labor!

4. I don't really like living in Utah. I guess that is easy for me to say, since it is the only place I have ever lived. But I really think that I would enjoy living somewhere else. Maybe after a few years I would change my mind and decide that Utah is better, but I think an "out of Utah experience" would be good for me. It's not so much the state of Utah, but I think it's more the peole in Utah. All those stinkin' Mormons! Ha ha ha!

5. I love to bake. I think it is because I love to eat so much! It seems like the last year has brought a decline in my baking frequency, as taking care of kids requires so much time and energy. But if I have an afternoon to myself, you can usually find me in my kitchen making something yummy. I'm sure that in a few years, we'll be a chubby little family!

6. I have always wanted to play the guitar. I even have a guitar! I can strum a few chords, and pluck a few notes here and there, but I would like to know how to really play. I am actually scared to play too much because I don't know how to change the strings if one breaks! Perhaps someday my talented nephews can teach me . . . how to play, and how to change a string!

It's a . . .

When my doctor did the ultrasound, I could tell immediately what it was. I guess after having a few kids, you get better at knowing what you're looking at. Can you tell what we're having?

Halle's Field Trip

Halle and Madison at the Syracuse Fire Station

Madison and Halle with the Fire Bear

Ethan, Halle, and Madison being silly

Cameron feeding the goats at Black Island Farm

Halle picked the perfect pumpkin! Just the right size for her!

Lesson Learned

I consider myself to be a reasonably good parent. I watch my kids (most of the time), I bathe them regularly, I feed them on occasion; I even require them to take off their shoes upon entering the house. So I ask, how does a reasonably good parent end up with a hole in their wall? The answer is this: in my attempt to be not only a good parent, but a hygienically well kept person, I took a 10 minute shower, leaving my kids UNATTENDED! I thought, I'll just put in good old Toy Story 2, and they'll both still be sitting on the couch when I am done . . . right? WRONG! Lets just say that Tigger, and the push around airplane that he pilots, is now a "downstairs only" toy, as our basement is unfinished. So the moral of this story is, if you want to smell nice, either shower before your kids awake, or when someone else can watch them. Lesson learned the hard way!

Where's Jason?

So it seems like everyone has been asking me, "Where's Jason?" Well, it's true. I am back to being a single mom again. Training for Jason's job has taken him away from us for ANOTHER three months. This time he is in Oklahoma City at the Mike Monroney Aeronautic Academy. The good news is, once training is done, being an air traffic controller will keep him home, rather than the airline pilot life he was headed for. I think deep down he will always wish he could fly more, but we both knew that his career should take a different route. We miss you, Jason! See you at Christmas!

Salt Lake Bees Game 2007

We decided to brave it and take both kids to a Bees game. They were surprisingly happy and pleasant despite how late we kept them up! It's amazing what a little cotton candy can do! Go Bees!