New Year's Eve 2009

The food!
I made Bratten's Clam Chowder,
and we enjoyed these little smokies,
crackers & cheese, and sourdough bread with it.

Libby asked to do a crazy face.
Her nose is covered in cream from licking the spatula.

I'm speechless. :)

Jeff's dad came out and enjoyed our meal with us.
We're glad he came!!

Molly likes English Trifle too.

Footlongs (in theory, anyway)

One of my favorite things to make for dinner.
So easy, so simple, so yummy!
Buy a loaf of french bread at the grocer's...or make your own.
(I make two footlongs for this fam, so I buy/make two loaves).
Cut the loaf in half lengthwise.
Spread with mayo, mustard, etc.
Fill with your favorites. What you see here is
smoked ham, turkey, provolone cheese,
pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, and a few grinds
of sea salt and black pepper.
Slice up and enjoy--
You will have a sandwich that is approximately 16 inches long!

More Christmas morn

Kids in their Christmas jammies.
Not sure where Nicole was,
but I do know she wasn't happy about the kids
waking her up early! :)
I wish you could see what Jared's shirt says.
"Dear Santa, I was framed!"
(classic Jared. LOL)
Let me just say that I am HATING
the flash on this camera about now!

Libby opening her big Santa gift...a baby doll with stroller.
I love Mia's face!

Mia opening her baby doll with baby carrier.

Christmas Morning at our house

Sarah opening her little digital camera.

Jared showing off the Nerf machine gun he wanted REALLY BAD.

We had Jake thinking he wouldn't get a cell phone til he was 16.
Well, he's got one a little early.

Our college girl!

Little Santas

Two cute little Santas getting ready for Christmas!
Libby was in the act of repeating, "Ho, Ho, Ho!"
as I snapped this picture.

Christmas Puzzle....

...finished!
It was a little bit of a tough one, but we did it!

Christmas Puzzle

Working on a cool puzzle:
Eric Dowdle's "Arches."
Want a cool puzzle like this? Costco.

Two days 'til Christmas!

Libby's chain has been keeping track for us!

Neighbor Gifts 2009

Found these "Family" cutouts,
painted them in glossy black,
and then distressed them with sandpaper.
I'm pretty happy at how they turned out
and hopefully the neighbors will be, too!

What really goes on at our house

What you see is what you get. :)

They're cute and they don't talk back

Gingerbread cupcakes I made for Grandma's party. Go here for the recipe.

Party @ Grandma's

Nicole and Mia.

Sarah and cousin Eliza.

My sister "Mo."
Crazy and fun as ever!

Cousins playing Lincoln Logs.

Winter Wonderland

First big snow of the season!
"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We have a lot of trees...

The pile is about as tall as Amelia!

Leaf bath, anyone?

This is only a fraction of the leaves that fell...
Jeff picked up most of them with the lawn mower.
And the trees aren't done,
so we'll be doing this again. :)

Jake's Break

Jake's wrist before splinting.

The break is the jagged gray line that extends from the
lower end of the pic on the left side, across to the right,
and then up the middle to the growth plate
(the darker gray arch at the top of the pic).

Enjoying his new accessory.
Friday is casting day.
You can bet the cast will be RED!
(Never pass up an opportunity to promote the Utes!)

**What happened, you say?
Jake was rollerblading in his 6th period gym class
and got knocked off balance by another kid.
His wrist immediately swelled up
and the teacher told him he better have a doctor look at it.
Well, Jacob went to 7th period.
Then came out to the car for carpool
(I was driving today)
and said NOT A WORD
until we got home.
Then he said, "Look at my wrist."
Well, yeah, Jake!!

Halloween Fun

Here's the gang before we set out for tricks and treats.

Here's me and my boyfriend:
"The Man With Hair."
LOL

Conference Magnets

Okay, before anyone thinks that I did these,
I'll confess that I didn't. I had nothing to do with them, unfortunately.
(I only WISH I had thought of it.)
One of our neighbors dropped them by today.
There are 38 quotes from this last conference,
all individually laminated
with magnets glued on the back.
How awesome is this?!
Especially on a day when you've had a migraine for two days
and your hubby is WAY STRESSED about work.

What awesome neighbors.

Trophy

I finally did a little hunting of my own.
*wink, wink*

Pretty in Pink

The men of this family each had a tag for one of these.
Alas, they didn't get one of these.
But they did get to go here:

Coral Pink Sand Dunes.
They are beautiful in their own right.

Jake's Jazzy Turn

Cute girls!

Sarah and Amelia's school pictures.
The others will follow soon!