Christmas Photos

We're way past Christmas (has it really been that long?) and I'm trying to organize this house. Seems that the places I thought would work for things aren't so I'm rearranging. Don't even get me started on the garage (looking forward to Ben making shelves so we can find stuff). We still haven't unpacked everything, so I wonder if my attempts to organize will be shot once we open the rest of the boxes.

Anywho... as I've been shuffling, I came across my precious Christmas photo cards and pictures that friends and family send every year.

For the record: I LOVE getting photos from friends and family, anytime of year.

But now I wonder what to do with them. They'll certainly not go in the trash (I don't throw friends and family in the trash, thank you). I'd rather them not spend the year in a box somewhere. There are too many for frames (although they all DESERVE a coveted spot in a frame, but I don't have the space to then put those frames). Not being a fan, the traditional peel and stick albums aren't an option, especially because I'd like to have them alphabetized then add to them each year.

Ooh, that reminds me of something that might work... but I still wanna know if you have ideas.

I diiiiid see a cutecutecute album thingy that a friend at church made for each of her girls. It was a SUUUPER simple idea, although she did WAY more than my short-attention-span could handle (in a scrapbooky sort of way). Right about now would be perfect for a visual aid, but I don't have one so you'll have to use your imagination.

It's an A to Z book. Each letter has it's own page. Each page has a picture of the subject of honor doing the particular letter, like: asleep for Sleeping, laughing for Joy, looking cute for Cute, holding a ball for Ball. Then each page had simple lettering added such as "S is for sleeping" applied with the S being a die cut. To finish, each page is laminated (thickly), hole-punched and attached using a simple binder ring (kinda like a skinny metal shower curtain ring) with matching ribbons knotted to it. SOOO cute!

Q: So do YOU have any ideas for the Christmas pictures?

Sell Your Kids

Didn't realize this really was an option until Piper mentioned it at bedtime tonight...

Me, way past bedtime having to tend to Piper again: Grrr, why aren't you guys asleep already?

Piper, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed: We're just not tired, I guess.

Me, ready for the AI results show: Well, you're driving me nuts!

Piper, as sweet as an angel: So are you going to take us out and sell us to another family?

Both of us: giggle ... giggle

Yummy Dinner

Piper often compliments whomever cooked dinner by saying, "Thank you for this yummy dinner." When cranky, she'll say, "No thank you for this yucky dinner." But I think she's only said that maybe twice.

Tonight, Ben made dinner (spaghetti, broccoli, fresh pineapple and bread).

He asked her, "Piper, is this the yummiest dinner?"

She replied, "Well, the spaghetti is yummy but not everything on the menu tonight."

My Twinkie

Piper: Mom, where are the Twinkies?

Mom: Why are you looking for Twinkies?


Piper: Because I want to EAT one.


Mom: Why do you need to eat one?


Piper: Pssbttt, because it's Saturday.


Oh. I guess Saturday is a special day, it's the day we eat a Twinkie.

Happy Birthday, Ben

I might not get through this post because my space bar is sticking. Sadly, I cannot blame my beautiful children. No, this time it's all my fault (I don't mind the blame, 'tis true).

See, I deemed myself the Hostess today to Ben's side of the fam + Freddy for dinner after a day of fasting (not for me because I'd fall over with the shakes and not Britanny because she's less than 5 weeks away of giving birth to no. 2... oh, and not the kids because their bodies are too young). Usually these get togethers mean we all chip in and bring a dish but I'm kinda anti-that (not sure what you'd call it). Some people like the help (my MIL said she does), but for me I'd rather take care of it all myself. Call me crazy (k, I'll wait for you to say it).

So in the midst of scattering things together for the birthday boys' dinner, I checked online to see if I could fine the cream cheese measurement for the cheesecake, seeing that that is THE most important part of the dessert. While I was clicking around, I sucked on my Henry Weinhard's Root Beer (draught style head) and sat it in between my arms RIGHT NEXT TO THE KEYBOARD. Go ahead and say it... "crazy."

I gasped when it happened, Piper heard and worriedly (made up word) asked what happened!?

I just made a mess.

Uh-oh!

Yeah, don't tell daddy ;o)

Anyway... dinner. We're watching America's Test Kitchen the other day on pork chops then low-fat cheesecake. Really? Is there REALLY such thing as LOW-FAT cheesecake? They took the almost 600 calorie slice down to 300 something but is that REALLY low-FAT?! Anywho, that's not my point. The point is that Ben asked for those two items as his birthday dinner and by golly I was going to deliver (I guessed on the cream cheese amount - couldn't find it anywhere for that specific recipe).

I scored the silver skin on 10 fat pork chops, sauteed and sauced them (my MIL particularly liked the sauce, yay!). Baked the fingerlings with some olive oil (forgot the parchment paper this time... never forget the parchment paper) and seasonings, the asparagus (must admit I overcooked them worrying about undercooking those thick suckers), warmed the meatballs and threw together salad.

Had to call around for a bigger Cuisanart because I have one of those silly mini-combo blender ones then realized I can't find my spring-form pan, dagnabit (used a rectangular one, lame). But, I successfully drained the yogurt overnight to make yogurt cheese for the first time and also the cottage cheese (but that was just 30 minutes). It tasted just fine and I even swirled homemade raspberry puree on the plates and topped the pieces with fresh raspberries ($3.99 at Costco).

Eight adults, three kids and one happy birthday boy!

Canine Dental Issues

...and I'm not talking about human bi-cuspids.

Piper has been more concerned about Posie's teeth lately.

She's been so worried that she interupted Jack's Wii playing tonight.

"Jack. Jaaaack. JACK!" she squealed.

"WHAT PiPER?" emphasizing the PER.

"I fink Posie has a woose toof," she says nicely with raised eyebrows.


__________________________________

Anger: something we're working on in this house. We all get frustrated for different, and sometimes valid, reasons. Figuring out how to teach the proper way to deal with those feelings is another thing altogether.

Thank goodness Steve, of Blue's Clues fame (sorry Joe), had a lesson about that today and they've been practicing...

STOP

BREATH (take a deep breath, filling the chest, then exhale slowly)

THINK (pointing to your cranium, which is the preferred term in our house)

So, Piper reiterated this lesson to Jack when the Wii wasn't reacting properly and he growled. She said, "Stop, brief, fink, JaaaAck!"

Reason for the Season

Tonight at the in-laws, Grandpa asked Piper (4) why we have Christmas...

"Because if we don't have Christmas Santa won't bring presents and that's why we have Christmas."

We had been talking about the true meaning of Christmas just hours earlier during our last-minute-shopping spree. We even re-discussed that Santa brings the kids 3 gifts each (two plus the stocking) to remind them of the 3 gifts the wisemen brought Jesus when he was born.

So Grandpa asked Jack (7) the same question...

"It's to remember Jesus' birth in a stable."

Phew... I'm not that bad of a mother!

Merry Christmas everyone! May your season be filled with the peace and comfort of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Squirting Tub Toys

JUST SAY NO.


LOUDLY.

I'm serious.

They're selling tub toys as squirters but some aren't advertised that way and still have the squirting capability. Along with the squirting capability comes the sucking of the water into the interior of the plastic toy. Unless you're removing every speck of water out of these critters then disinfecting the innards with bleach or rubbing alcohol or something that will get rid of the moisture, you WILL have bacteria crud growing inside.

It's really fun to hear your 4yr old daughter shriek with fear when she squirts the leftover water from the toys and out pours flecks of black, gross crap all throughout the tub. No, it's not, really, I was just being silly.

We do love playing with toys in the tub, so instead we encourage the non-holy types (although we consider ourselves to be religious in this house). We have some scuba diver guys with a shark cage, raft, turtles, dolphin, shark and submarine. None of which allow for water gunk.

There's my public service announcement for a while.

See You Later, Bryant and Brad

Ben's youngest brothers left today for Chile, South America (first they're at the Missionary Training Center where they'll learn Spanish and how to teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ). They will be there for two years as missionaries for the church. Bryant (on the right) is going south and Brad (um, you should know which one he is left) is going north.

My son with his favorite uncle.

How Piper Got Her Name-O

"How'd you come up with the name Piper?" I get asked that often when people hear her name.

With Jack, it was easy because my grandpa Jack was dying when I was pregnant and he never had children of his own (married my grandma when her kids were older). Luckily, I was able to ask him if we could name our baby after him if we found out it was a boy. He was pleased and said yes.

With Piper, it was much more tricky. I wasn't thinking of using a family name (no particular reason, just wasn't). Pouring over movie credits (am I the only one that does that?), book authors, newspaper articles, fictional characters, books and online... I burnt Ben out by asking him too much (at least 3 names per day). He finally put his foot down and gave me the duty of picking the name and didn't want me EVER to ask him what he thought of a name again (I was pretty bad). Well, that was even MORE pressure and I got more absorbed into the meanings and history of names. I kept a list of names that were possibilities...

• Greta


• Janie (thought I could get a discount at Janie & Jack children’s clothing store)


• Jillian (Jack & Jill --- too much but I almost did... then thought of Lillian)


• Perri


• Simone


• Adde


• Livi (or Liv)


• Clarisse (too bad Hannibal Lecter ruined that name because it WAS pretty)


• Viane (pronounced vee-ann)


• Quinn (“wise” and Shannon means "old wise one")


• Addelade


• Ava


• Cloe (what the... that doesn't look right)


• Chloe


• Ivy


• Demi (Ben really hated this one but it was in my top 3)


• Julia (“youthful”)


• Juliana/Julianna (I had crossed out the 2nd N so it'd sound like yawn not ann)


• Emme


• Lyla (“from the island”)


• Lexy (one letter off sexy)


• Lexi (“valiant defender of mankind” and a former nickname of mine)


• Ella (“beautiful fairy woman”)


• Carmella (“golden” – my grandmothers name was Carmen)


• Carlie/Carly (“little, womanly”)


• Georgia


• Marilyn (too Manson these days)


• Sammi


• Dior


• Deja (too Déjà Vu like the strip club)


• Avalyn (might be a book title or township in Europe)


• Piper


• Luca


• Adela


• Mae


• Adel
  

My mom was at the airport on her way here when I called my dad and told him I thought of the name Piper out of the blue (didn't read it or hear it although I have heard it through the media long ago). He liked it and called my mom at the airport to tell her the name. Before he could say it SHE said she just thought of Piper as a name for the baby. Doo do doo do!

The next day she and I took Jack to Park City to kill some time. While at the toy shop I found some handmade alphabet bead cubes and spelled out P I P E R to show my mom how cute the name looks. On a whim, I decided to spend the $2.50 and buy the beads whether or not that's the name because it'd be a fun story to tell later.

The next day was my baby shower. One of the activities (I love to play games) was having the guests suggest baby names. Well, some of the names were ridiculous; Joette wrote down her name, Aunt Diane wrote "Princess Anastasia Diane" and a good neighbor writing Cere (like it's short for Cereal).

Ben saw the list on the counter when he got home. Glancing through the suggestions, balking at the silly ones I mentioned, he said, "Who wrote Piper?" Because of our little rule about not asking about names I said, "Why?" He replied, "I LIKE it! That's what we should name the baby - Piper!"

It's OFFICIALLY summer!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a friend stay with us over the weekend (he was our best man at the wedding) so we took him up American Fork Canyon (it's about 2 minutes from our house, just around the corner) to Tibble Fork Reservoir. The place was packed but I got a few pics while we walked around (the last one is Brent).

I love seeing daddy with his kids (can you see Jack?)

I didn't have my zoom on but managed to catch this ground squirrel...

Sometimes my kids surprise me and not fight (and I did NOT set this shot up)
This is Brent. Hi Brent.

Some Funnies from the 4 Year Old

Piper is in the bath playing with tub toys. She's carrying on conversations for all critters when daddy walks into the bedroom and thinks she's talking to him.

Daddy: What did you say, honey?

Piper: I'm not talking to YOU, daddy. (in a serious tone) I'm talking to the bucket!
---Ooh, excuse me for interupting ;o)


After a while she starts singing a song...
I am singing (with an emphasis on the middle G, like in giddy up), singing a song. My song is a booful song and I am singing it. All by myself I am singing.

Kids Don't Always Want Their Picture Taken

The first pic, she's smiling perfectly. After a while she's DONE with pictures (mmm look at that yummy light)...


He's usually patient with me when I take his picture. His smile is often overdone these days but I can get his authentic grin by saying something funny (I've always got something funny to say). The first is on a tree stump that he managed to get on without falling into the brink. He was so excited for me to take his picture. The second is showing that he's DONE too...

Q: Did you really think ALL my pictures turn out fabulous? Tee hee. Sometimes you have to get through a lot of duds to find the gems (that's why I take so many pictures).

Delaney & the Yummy Yunch

Delaney is here today playing with Piper. It's lunchtime...

Delaney: "I'm hungry. I want yunch."

Me: "You do? Well then, let's make some."

Delaney: "I want a yummy yunch."

Me: "I can do that. We have yummy food."

Delaney: "I DON'T want a yucky yunch. Yucky yunch is gross!"

Delaney's Yummy Yunch (not yucky yunch)
rolled up Black Forest ham sliced (that she unrolls and sticks on her forehead like Piper)
Dora the Explorer yogurt (she asks for a spoon then uses her finger to scoop out the top)
1/2 banana (no story with that one; bummer, isn't it?)
milk in a sippy cup (didn't want a regular cup)

Oly Mokes, Mom!

Piper was excited about something and said to me, "Oly mokes, mom! Oly mokes!"

"Oly mokes, huh? What's oly mokes?" I replied, wanting to know what she was all excited about.

"You know, oly mokes like oh geez!" she said in a "duh" tone that a 3yr old is so good at.

_________________________

I've been trying to weed out all the stuff I really don't need to move again (don't worry, it's not in the near future but I'm trying to get started so I'm not hauling the same stuff for the next 5 moves like I've done for the last 5).

Putting together a pile of books (why would I need to keep What To Expect When You're Expecting?) I found a few pretty-much blank notebooks that I meant to use for writing down the clever things my kids say and do.

It reminded me of when Jack was little and he'd say something was sicky when it was scary. When he was scared he'd say he was sicked. That stuff needs to be written down so I can look back after they move out and get all teary eyed at the times that were sweet that are long gone.

Ooh, which brings me to another story for later. Got some old papers and photos (I need to scan) mailed to me the other day. So many emotions looking through them.

Way fun - but you'll have to hold YOUR HORSES ;o) before you see that post. Harharhar.

What Santa Looks Like, by Jack

My 6yr old son, Jack, was talking to grandma on the phone about his Christmas vacation...

Jack: I woke up in the middle of the night and SAW SANTA!!!

Gma: You did?

Jack: Yeah!

Gma: What did he look like?

Jack: He was 10 feet fat!



We're creating our Wii characters just a minute ago and I was making "mommy" (that's me). You can change eye shape & color, hair style & color, face shape & color, etc. When we got to the height & weight portion and I made me the tallest (compared to the kids, I am) then I adjusted the weight up a smidge from the middle and Piper says...

Piper: No, mom! Move it all the way over!

Me: No, I'm not THAT big!

Piper: Yes you ARE!

Jack: No, Piper, she's not THAT big.

Piper: Yes she IS! She IS that big! She's WAY bigger!

Gift Wish List

Don't know about you but I like GIVING gifts that are exactly what people want. Maybe that's because I also like GETTING gifts that are exactly what I want.

As requested by ~j, here is my impromptu list in no particular order...

A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz
Heated gloves, pants and jacket from Harley Davidson
Electra-glo light pod plus expansion pack in amber for my 2001 Heritage Softail Classic Harley
Wusthof 3.5" paring knife
How to Cook Everything cookbook by Mark Bittman
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
Digital remote release control for my Nikon D200 digital camera
SB800 Nikon digital camera flash
Nikon 105mm f2.8 lens (this one Karen & Heather)
Nikon 16mm f2.8 Fisheye lens
"Sticks" armoire
Carrabba's restaurant gift certificate(s)
Sleep Number 5000 bed (I'm a 25)
Cougar Opaque white paper (apparently it's at Xpedx and fine art supply stores)
Red on white label cartridge for P-touch 1800 Brother label maker
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead DVD (USA region)
Holiday wreath for my front door (handmade is cool, nothing tacky though)
Pretty stationery with envelopes for handwriting letters
Silver business card holder (not pokey or dorky) or $36 to get one I saw in Park City
Knitted scarf that's 6" wide and really long with fringe at ends
Extend my Mary Engelbreit magazine subscription
Decorative bobby pin(s); not huge embellishment, but small & sneaky adornment
Knee-high socks (Walmart has some for less than $2/pair)
VChocolates Macadamia Toffee
Oil painting art classes
A whistle

Jack's wish list...
Spongebob Squarepants Ants in the Pants (less than $8 at Walmart)
Bionicle Battle of Metru Nui building play set
Animal Planet Remote Control Snake (Toys R Us)
Yu Gi Oh cards (as little as $2/pack)
Yu Gi Oh Carrying Case or Storage Compartment
Blue Man Group Keyboard
He likes transformers, books about anatomy of people/animals/plants, comics that he can read (phonics comics), dollar bills, phonics book sets and toys that DO something.

Piper's wish list...
Spongebob Squarepants Krabby Patty Station
Animal Planet Sea Life Set (Toys R Us)
Black & Decker Power Tool Workshop
Tots Sports Bowling Set
Dora's Magical Castle (there are smaller/separate sets)
Baby doll clothes (Cabbage Patch & smaller babies)
Dress up clothes and accessories

Ben's wish list (made by his wife)...
Wii
Wii games
Wii extra controls

Friendly Photographer Lunch

Last week I had Katie & Rebekah over with their kids for lunch (I make a MEAN homemade mac n' cheese). I figured if I fed them they'd share some photography secrets. Thank you thank you thank you both! It's fun to see what we all saw... click here for Katie's pics of the day and here for Rebekah's images.

Katie, the model, Benson.

Jack & mom (that's me), courtesy of Rebekah Westover.
Katie's daughter, Ella "luv bugs".
Rebekah "getting jiggy-wit-it" LOL.

My handsome man, Jack.

Rebekah giving her "buggy" a love squeeze.
My favorite of my daughter, Piper. She'll do anything for chocolate.

Katie workin' the x-process.

Made this a little grainy for a softer, old-fashioned, feel.

Drip, drip, drip.

Mother and daughter, Rebekah & Violet.

Few Fall Pics

It's fall but it's been SNOWING throughout the day today. This is my 3-year-old showing me the fallen leaves she gathered a few weeks ago in the park.