Festivities At a Glance...

Tuesday December 23rd-
All things are finalized.
Brent and I make one more run to make sure we've got the best gifts Santa could give. And while we're out we eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. My review: ah, it was ok. Maybe we'll try the Cajun fries next time.

Wednesday December 24th-
I send Brent to Smith's for any necessary food we might need. I have major anxiety knowing I will not be able to go to the store on Christmas day. I most likely won't need anything but what if I do?!... the anxiety!
Marcus and Brent going sledding in the backyard (they built an awesome hill down to the pond.)

We have our second annual Christmas Eve Swim at the pool in AF and then we get pizza. (who wants to do dishes on Christmas Eve? Not me.)
Marcus goes to bed pretty early so Santa can come but since Charlie had a nap he's up til 10.
Santa comes to deliver the toys while Brent naps in Charlie's bed. Santa even sets up the HotWheels loop de loop (unofficial name.) Because Santa is the bomb.
Santa addresses all the gifts in lowercase cursive. (that'll throw 'em off.) Interesting.
I go to bed without having major anxiety for the 1st time in 30 years. Peaceful. And very tired.

Thursday December 25th-
Marcus wakes up at 5:50 a.m. I make him wait until the rest of us wake up, close to 7 a.m. We all come downstairs to check the loot. Everyone is pleased. They may not have gotten everything on their list but the good thing is that they totally forget their lists at this point.
I make breakfast.
Then you know what I did? Took a nap for 2 hours.
We headed down to Noni's to open more gifts.
We came home to make our contribution to Grandma's Christmas dinner: rolls.
After dinner we had a live nativity with 12 of the 13 grandkids. What? You think Charlie would participate in something like that?
Then it was the gift exchange. And Brent got the Nerf Vulcan EBF 25. HOLY MACKEREL!
When we got home I tried to clean my house but the kitchen was all I could do before I crashed.

Friday December 26th-
The things I did:
-made breakfast for Charlie and Gwen
-took a nap
-tried to clean
-organized the boy's room. Out with the old, in with new. (why didn't I do this BEFORE Christmas?)
-made lunch
-watched Elf
-attempted to make doughnuts
-sent Brent to Smith's for doughnuts (I'll leave that up to the professionals.)

The things I definitely did not do:
-shower
-brush my teeth
-change out of my PJs
-clean my house
-leave my house

Friday could possibly be the best day I've ever had. Bubba, please don't EVER go back to work.
And then, you know how it all ended?
As I was unplugging the Christmas tree I glanced outside to see if it was snowing and I watched 11 deer walk down my driveway and then down the street. Cute little things (except not too little.) They made it all perfect.
Pictures to come soon. Very soon.

Not Enough...

TIME!

On Dreaming...

Sometimes my dreams get too big and out of control. Like the time I dreamed of having a Christmas Showcase. I really wanted to write about people who love Christmas. And I especially wanted to tell you all about the house in my neighborhood that is decked out with an entire Nemo theme. I'm serious. This house has wooden Nemo characters all over the front lawn and the yard is even outlined in blue lights, as if the characters are actually in the ocean. I wanted to post pictures. Because it is totally wackadoodle. BUT guess what I forgot? That it's Christmas time. (Hello!) Which means life is a little crazy. I haven't even started my shopping yet. Seriously, I haven't purchased anything. And Chooch turns 4 this week. And I wanted to make neighbor gifts. And I definitely want to make some Christmas candies. And, most importantly, I love to procrastinate.
So, here's to next year... Cheers!

Christmas Lists...

I found the boy's Christmas lists. It looks like they worked together on this project and here's what they've come up with:

Marcus:
-new church socks (his church socks now bug him so bad.)
-dirt bike (uh, no.)
-whole basketball court (yes, and where would we put it?)
-new blanket (great idea)
-Madagascar 2 video game (we'll see.)
-Beast Quest books (like this one. Reading material.)
-nerf gun (don't we have a dozen of these already?)
-trampoline (maybe we'll put this next to the whole basketball court.)
-Wall E toy (do-able. But will never be played with.)
-ipod (maybe a shuffle)
-mini skateboards (more?)
-Star Wars the Clone Wars movie (I'll think about this one.)

Charlie:
-Power Ranger suit and mask (we already have this.)
-toy motorcycle (already have dozens of these.)
-new pants (as opposed to the hand-me-downs he gets from Marcus.???)
-Power Wheels Jeep (ummm...)
-tool box (I like this one. A little handy man.)
-Moon Sand (definitely do-able.)

And I'm thinking we'll get Gwen some batteries for all of the hand-me-down baby toys that don't work anymore. She's going to love it.

Introducing...

Christmas Showcase

This year for Christmas I thought it would be fun to showcase some people that go the extra mile this time of year. So I will be posting pictures and telling stories about people I know and others I'd like to know. And in the process maybe poking fun (with love, of course) at their crazy Christmas habits.

Let me introduce you to the first Christmas Kook on my list. Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful woman? If not, I feel sorry for you.

This is Mary Ann.

And this is how she does Christmas:

This is her 9 foot tall tree hanging from the ceiling. It boasts thousands of clear lights, hundreds of ornaments in green, red, purple and gold, ribbon, and hangy things.

(This picture really doesn't do it justice. It's enormous.)

This is her Grinch Tree. It's decorated with thousands of lights and lime green and red ornaments with the perfect little crooked top. This tree would make any Christmas Grinch grin with delight.

A cute little angel girl on the Grinch tree.

Mary Ann really outdoes herself every year. She just can't get enough of Christmas! This year she will have 3 trees, a house decked out in icicle lights and possibly even (get this!) a tree on top of the house! (that is if her little apprentice can figure out how to do it. And have it sustain the wicked lake effect winds.)

You think this year she's gone crazy? I wish I would've documented the year we had 11 trees!

I'm cookin' up something really special for the Holiday Season. So come back soon cuz you're not going to want to miss this!

Fancy That...

Gwen's new trick

Maybe we'll just skip the crawling altogether.

And yes, we had an awesome Thanksgiving. We all enjoyed great food and great family... what more could you ask for?

Going...Going...Gone...

I'm considering having Clark admitted to an insane asylum. Seriously. It's getting bad. Here's what he's been up to:

This may look like nothing to you. But let me explain. And maybe you should sit down.

Remember how Clark wanted to set the tree on fire with red lights? Well that mission was accomplished...and so much more.

He really didn't like the look of the extension cord running across the front lawn so he went ahead and buried it underground!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This picture is of him slicing the ground with his knife and tucking the cord safely away.

No one will be tripping on any cords in our yard!

A burning tree receiving mysterious electricity...Now this is Christmas magic!

This Kid Cracks Me Up...

Silly Charlie is at it again...

Here are 3 wonderful quotes from my special little friend:

The Threat:

"My left arm is going to break off if you don't get me cereal NOW!!!"

The Drama:

"I need some medicine because my throat is not being so well."

The Sweetness:

"Mom, does the man on the moon get Christmas presents too?"

And all of this happened in one day. Today.

Can you even imagine how much laughter happens around here on a daily basis?

Sleeping Beauty...

Sorry boys (are there any boys that read my blog? Ha!), this Sleeping Beauty is off the market. She's gettin' hitched tomorrow afternoon. Her big day is finally here and I'm so happy for her!

ps- Why do you think she ALWAYS falls asleep at my house?

A. She's just SUPER tired

B. My house is SUPER boring

C. My brown velvety couches are SUPER comfy

D. Other

Brent aspires to be Clark W. Griswold. He has already started decking our halls. He wanted to be the first one on our street with Christmas lights up. And he dreams of more lights. The beautiful, clean, perfectly spaced white lights trimming our house aren't enough. He'd like to outline the garage and light the tree in green...or maybe red.
He went up on our rooftop when I wasn't home. But luckily the boys were here with him in case of an emergency. He told them to call 911 if he fell off the roof. I mean seriously, can a 6 year old handle that kind of pressure? Thank the heavens above for the gutter that saved his life that day. The ladder slipped while he was coming down from the tip top and onto the roof of our porch. Luckily the ladder stuck safely into the gutter.
Clark, let's take it easy this year, eh?

Obsession...

Lately I find myself obsessed with these things:

-My new jeans

-My sore tooth (Dentist appointment next week. Can hardly wait.)

-Baby's sore teeth

-Bloggity blog blogs

-Baking

-Weezer with a hint of Feist

Smarty Boots...

It's official.

Marcus is smarter than me.

I knew this time was coming but I didn't expect it so soon.

He's a whiz, this kid.

He's great at math and even asks for math problems during Sacrament Meeting to keep his mind busy.

He's decent at spelling. Always willing to give any word a try.

He's an excellent reader and getting better everyday.

The other night while I was lying in bed with him reading books he said "Mom, did you know Columbus brought disease to South America?" And I was all like "Um, yeah, I totally knew that." And then I asked him if he knew what "disease" was and he said "Yeah, like sickness."

And I said "Alright already. Go to sleep."

This kid's going places.

On The Brain...

December

18

(his BIG day)

and

Rudolph

It's all Charlie can think about these days.

It's always something with these two...

So I went out to the garage fridge to grab another gallon of milk and came across this:

hhhmmm... a green bucket in the fridge... Wait a minute... Wwwwhat? A green bucket in the fridge?
So I pulled the green bucket out of the fridge and found this:

2 dead shriveled up worms.

And then I see this on the top shelf:

1 alive very plump worm in dirt.

I bet you can guess who I had questions for.

Turns out the 2 dead worms are Charlie's and their names are Jon and Shawn.

And Marc's is the one livin' the high life in the jar with the dirt. His name is Max.

So, we'd like you to meet our pets:

Jon, Shawn and Max.

(Jon and Shawn have definitely seen better days. Yikes! Who's gonna be the one to break the news to Charlie? Not me.)

Dear Daylight Saving Time,
There's nothing I like about you. Never have, never will.
From,
Megan

Halloween...

The Loot

Of course Brent took the boys Trick or Treating on the golf cart. I could hear the tires screeching from way down the street. And it only took them 10 minutes to do our entire block.

Gwen even got a piece of the action.

The Costumes

Gwen as the Little Black Cat

Charlie as the Army Guy

Marcus as the Motorcycle Guy/ Anakin/ BYU fan

Pumpkin Carving

The Haws' joined us for Pumpkin Carving.

The Punkins with their pumpkins

(Go Cougs! (apparently))

Bonafide Rarity...

Tiny Miracles happen around here on a daily basis. Sometimes I just forget to look at them in that way.

For example:

The boys slept in their very own beds all night long. That's huge around here. So I paid them each a quarter.

You may think: a quarter? What a cheapskate.

But my boys know the value of a hard earned quarter. And besides, I'd love someone to pay me a quarter every time I slept a night in my bed.

Sneaker Season

Charles and I got our sneakers out of retirement. And boy, does it feel good.

The NEW way of catching bugs: INDOORS

First of all: Lose your pants. You will not need them for this bug catching expedition, you're indoors.
Second: Find yourself an empty container in the cupboard.
Third: Declare to your family (or anyone who might be listening): "I'm going to catch bugs!"
Lastly: Put the open container on the table and say "Mom, call me if a bug goes in here and I'll catch it."


Kids these days! Sheesh! They're sure getting lazy!

Projects...

Week Four: We were thinking cinnamon rolls. But at the last second switched things up. Ann Dee and I had pears that needed to be used. So we made a pear tart and a pear custard pie.
I totally screwed up the pear tart (what's new?) by adding a whole cup of water to the crust instead of 3 T. Seriously. Ding dong. I tried to fix it but nope.
Dee made a delicious pear custard pie. It was really nice. I will make it again sometime.
Mill was there too. She made us lunch. You'll never guess what we had. Yep. Pasta with the most amazing roasted tomato with basil sauce! I'm serious, that sauce was awesome. My favorite lunch so far. Mill, you've got mad skills.
We watched 2 episodes of Project Runway. Trying to get Dee and Mill caught up. Can you even believe that they don't know who won yet? Crazy, I know.
Week five is rapidly approaching. Oh! And it's gonna be good!

6 Months

Little Miss Gwen

Likes:

*Eating real food

* Her brothers

*Being naked

*When her Mom sings "You are my Sunshine"

*Kicking and wiggling

*Being outside

*Going places

*Napping in her car seat

*Baths

*Sitting up

*Playing with anything other than her own toys

She's a real beauty!

Movin' On Up...

We traded the motorcycle in on a golf cart. I say we've upgraded because now we can comfortably take our family of five on a little spin. Brent says we've made a lateral move because both the motorcycle and the golf cart are pieces of junk.

Last night Brent let Marcus take the wheel. He plowed right through the garbage cans, missing the house by inches! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. In fact, I'm still laughing about it.

The Grossest Thing I've Ever Blogged About...

Well...I guess you could say Brent Got 'er Done!

Brent, Bryce and Co. went huntin' last night and came home with this:

(Please don't throw up on your computer.)

You don't even want to know what it looks like now. If you're daring and you want a little Halloween fright come peek into my garage. But I warn you: you'll need a barf bag.

Oh Poop!...

I forgot to mention that my friend Ann Dee is famous. Go here to check her out! And then go buy her book. And then go buy one for a friend. I'm serious.

Projects with Ann Dee

A few weeks ago Dee and I decided we would get together to work on projects. These projects would consist of almost anything. From baking bread to learning how to do the splits (Millie's request.)

Week One: My house for Halloween decoration making. We had ideas of origami bats and paper ghosts. Instead we ate Tomato Soup with bread to dip.

Week Two: Dee's house for a crash course on Artisan Bread. Turned out mine tasted like bug spray. But I figured out why. And now I know I can make it so it tastes just right. For lunch, it was pasta with amazing tomato cream sauce that the famous Colton made.

Week Three: Back to Dee's for......we weren't certain. But it was a good time. And I took her some spiders to hang in her windows. Kathy was there and taught us about her diet/exercise plan. Sounds very interesting. I may need another session with her to fully understand it. But yes, we ate. BLT's (Charlie's request.) I'm seeing a trend here. With the tomatoes. Dee LOVES tomatoes and she grows plenty of them in her garden. So we eat. Tomatoes.

Week Four is shaping up to be something like a huge Cinnamon Roll party. Hopefully it really happens. With the four (sometimes more) kids it gets a little wild. Either that or we get lazy and chatty.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the week we meet at Millie's to learn how to do the splits. That's an interesting talent to have. And I'm in the market for interesting talents.

All In One Day...

This chick got a hair cut, ate pizza crust and sat up all by herself.

You go, girl!

Update...

Bats in the Belfry = Starling in the Attic

My man, taking care of business.

Please ignore our closet. It has nothing to do with this story. Besides, that's Brent's side anyway.

So, Brent went up there. He's so daring. It was just seconds 'til he saw it. A dead Starling. Poor thing got stuck up there. We can't figure out how he even got in. But it was all he could do to try to get out.

Birds: Please don't go in people's houses. It never ends well.

This thing was like 6" long! HUGE!

Thanks for all of your concern and prayers (you were praying, right?)

Bats in the Belfry...In more ways than one...

(the following story is not an old Halloween tale. It is a true story that happened to ME this very day.)
Early this morning, before the sun came out, I was awakened by a little boy saying "Mom, what's that noise?"
Me: "What noise?"
Charlie: "That click, click, clack noise."
(waiting in silence... WE hear it again...)
Me: (shaking Brent) "Bubba, what's that noise?"... (louder) "Bubba, what's that noise?"
(waiting...)
(listening to the noise coming from above our closet...)
Marcus: "Did you hear that?"
Me and Brent: SSSHHHHHHH!!!!
(here it goes again...)
Me: "Honey, what is it?"
Brent: "It's too inconsistent to be an animal."
Megan: "So it's a human?"
(silence...me, freaking out inside...I CANNOT live in a house with other creatures...)

So, Brent hops up and heads to the shower to get to early morning meetings for church. He could care less about the creature we have living among us.
I jump up, TRYING to play it cool in front of the kids. First thing... shoes... I need shoes... can't go in the closet. Luckily, I left my flip flops by the door. I slip them on quick and tell the kids to meet me downstairs for breakfast.
I'm trying to ignore the whole thing. Really I am. But it's impossible. I'm thinking of mice, rats with long tails, birds and mostly bats. It is that time of year. When the bats fly. And I've heard they're known to get stuck in belfry's. Our attic is kinda like a belfry. And we haven't heard it during the day. He's probably asleep up there. And you know what he'll be doing all night long. Yep, flying. I'm freaking out!
Brent wants to go up there. But what if he opens the attic door and rats fall out everywhere!
Seriously, what should we do? What should I do?
I will keep you posted on what this creature is and what we do about it.
If you think you have an idea of what it could be or maybe some advice, please comment.

First Day of Fall...

Summer is O-V-E-R. Say goodbye to the triple slip-n-slide and the long days. It's all over. We'll have to wait 'til next year for more summer fun.



But for today... you know what we'll be doing? After Charlie finishes with his 10am Ramen Noodle fix, we'll be going through the storage closet in search of all things fall. And that includes Halloween stuff too. A little too early, you say? And I say, "yeah, maybe. But oh well." We need fall colors, we need a wreath and holy moly we need pumpkins! And you better believe I'll take pictures of it all (that is, if I remember.)

Who dey?

Every weekend we are reminded that Brent's Bengals really are a terrible team. With Ocho Cinco and all. I've tried giving Brent other options like The Browns (they're orange too), or The Steelers (my brother's favorite team.) But no! Brent is not a fair weather fan. He stays true to his Bengals no matter what. It can get a little embarrassing when Brent insists on wearing his bright orange Bengals shirt every Saturday and most Sundays. But Brent wears it proudly.

One year when the Bengals actually win some games, what are you gonna do? Will you come to the orange side? Will you leave your team? Are you a fair weather fan?

Who dey?

Who dey?

Who dey think gonna beat them Bengals?

I'll tell you who...just about ANYBODY!

(Did you seriously just waste your time watching that video?)

What a Weekend...

The day started at Del Taco like it usually does. Brent's days always start or end at Del Taco. I begged Brent to let me pack a picnic lunch. Maybe some turkey sandwiches, fruit, cheese and crackers, maybe chips, I don't know. It could've been good. Really good. But no. Brent insisted on Del Taco. Just like he does every other day of the week. 2 Macho Tacos with no lettuce, a chicken soft taco with no lettuce and a medium Cherry Coke. Always the same. Every day. (FYI: the kids and I don't eat there every day.) So, we hit up Del Taco and then headed to Bridal Veil Falls. The kids were crazy climbing up the mountain. I was nervous. But we made it up and back with no problem.

Brent hiked with baby

(Please disregard Brent's Bengals shirt. Come on, Brent. It's embarrassing!)

Marcus in the mist

Gwen and me

Charlie playing in the pond at the bottom of the falls.