Bah Humbug?!

The girls have been begging since before Thanksgiving to put up the Christmas decorations. I've made them wait, because I can't stand anything Chrismtas until AFTER Thanksgiving. Let Thanksgiving have it's own sacred time, for crying out loud! And I here's another confession: I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas decorations. They're pretty and festive and make things seem cozy. That's what I love about them. But when they're in my house and I have to live with them day after day, they just seem cluttery. And I tend to be on the "minimalist" side when it comes to decorating for anything. Anyway, I put the girls off till tonight - we started decorating for Family Home Evening. In preparation, I took down most of our "normal" decorations, dusted, vacuumed, etc. All day, I kept looking around my "naked" house with adoration. I just love a naked house! So simple, so clean, ahhhhh.... And then out came the boxes and the decorations and things that are sentimental. So I have mixed emotions as I look around my house tonight. I love the soft glow of the lights on the Christmas tree, in our Christmas village, and in the girls' windows. And I love looking at the decorations that bring memories of my own childhood as well as memories for my girls. But...I also can't wait till January so I can have my naked house back!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Gratitude is the very essence of worship." - President Gordon B. Hinckley

Happy Thanksgiving! This morning as I was transitioning between sleep and wakefulness, I realized in my hazy state of mind that I was making a list of things I am thankful for. I don't know if I was praying or just thinking. But I was ticking off things in my head that make me so grateful. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I could easily pass up the traditional Thanksgiving spread (I still think eating turkey and giving thanks is sort of an oxymoron), but Thanksgiving is a personal, spiritual time for me. A time to pause and realize how blessed my life is. So ya wanna hear my "laundry list" of things I am most gratful for? I knew you did - here they are in no real particular order:

* MY LIFE - I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to have life and to enjoy good health.
* THE GOSPEL - Nothing would be possible without our kind Heavenly Father and His gracious plan. The gospel "makes good people" and makes it possible for our families to be together forever.
* MY FAMILY - Quentin is the ultimate husband and daddy, and our girls give us more happiness than we could ever know. My mom is my best girlfriend, and we're blessed to have supportive, loving family on all sides.
* OUR HOME - We've been here for almost 4 years and I'm still in awe. This is our dream! I love our home, our ward, our neighborhood, our school, our community. I know this is where we're supposed to be.
* QUENTIN'S JOB - He likes what he does, and he's a hard worker. I'm thankful he works hard so I can stay home with our girls.
* PRESCHOOL - I'm living my dream of doing preschool. I love my preschool kids (especially Kasidee!), and I'm thankful for Quentin's support.
* FOOD - I'm grateful we have yummy, good food to eat and that we have choices.
* WARMNESS - I'm thankful for a warm home, a hot shower, and a soft, warm bed.
* CONVENIENCES AND OPPORTUNITIES - We live in a time with lots of modern conveniences, great halls of learning, and lots of opportunities for enjoyment, service and growth.

Those are some of the big ones, and there are millions of others. How blessed we all are. Happy Thanksgiving!
(P.S. Makenna brought home a little book about the First Thanksgiving that she made at school. One of the lines cracked me up: "Girls cooked and boys played games." Hmmm....not much has changed after nearly 400 years!)

Snow!

It snowed last night, and the girls have been itching to be outside. They were sad I wouldn't let them make snow angels before church this morning, and they were sad I didn't let them walk home from church with their friends (because my girls forgot to wear coats!) As soon as church was over, their first question was, "Can we play in the snow?" Not sure it was appropriate for Sunday, Quentin and I were hesitant. But the fat flakes were so beautiful and it was uplifting to see the changes in the seasons. The girls only played for about 10 minutes until they got too cold, but Quentin was able to get a couple of cute pics:

Snow!

Second Cousins

My cousin Taylor (on my dad's side) and his family (he has 3 girls too!) moved from Payson to Woods Cross awhile ago. They invited us to their middle daughter's baptism about a month ago and the girls really hit it off. So we had them over last night for pizza and a movie, and the 6 girls just loved playing together. We're hoping to get together more often!

PLAYING TEA PARTY....

THE 6 GIRLS, AGES 11, 8, 8, 6, 3 and 18 months....

Cast Off!

Yesterday morning before school, Makenna got her cast off! We've been counting down to this day for a long time - she was so excited. The doc said everything looked good, but Makenna kept saying her arm hurt. I think it was just feeling funny without the cast. The doc gave her a brace if she wants to wear it, and she hasn't taken it off. She says it feels more protected that way. Good thing she was wearing it at school today because she got bonked in the arm with a baseball. All is well though, and Makenna is happy to be free again!

A DRAPE FOR ALL THE "CAST DUST"

THE SCARY PART

FREEDOM!

GETTING READY FOR AN X-RAY

THE NEW BRACE

Auditions

Our school is doing its second-annual School Play. Kiera and Makenna had a blast being in it last year, but they were a little hesitant to try out this year. I think they thought they might get a bigger (speaking) part and that scared them. But as soon as they found out that most of their friends were trying out on Tuesday, they wanted to too. The kids learned a little song, then they were divided into groups of 10. They got their pictures taken, then each kid had a turn at the microphone to sing the song they learned. I'm amazed at all those kids that were so brave to do that! The parts were posted this morning, and we peeked to see that Makenna got the part of Max the Dog and Kiera will be Gracie the mouse (the play is Suessical the Musical). This will be fun!

Funnies

Okay, maybe you all are sick of hearing the cute things my kids say. But I just can't get enough of it, and I am trying to be good about writing them down because I know I'd forget otherwise. So...here's some more:

The other day Makenna asked where milk comes from. I told her it comes from a cow. Kasidee said, "A cow's tummy or a cow's bum?" I laughed and said, "Well, its tummy of course." Kiera piped up and said, "Or there's another word for it that's not very nice." I asked her what word she was thinking of and she said she couldn't even say it because it was so bad - she had overheard some boys on the playground saying it. Mortified, I thought of all the words her sweet little ears could have heard. I asked her if she could tell me what it started with. She shook her head. Prying a little more I said, "Does it start with a B? An N?" She finally told me it started with a G. Confused, I looked at Makenna. She blurted out "Gut!" And Kiera nodded in embarrassment. Apparently that's a pretty bad word!

Today Makenna either coughed or sneezed on Kasidee by accident. With a disgusted look, Kasidee said, "Ewww! Makenna bless-you'd all over me!" :)

Dear Sunshine

Dear Sunshine,
Thanks for coming back today. I'm sorry to say I didn't miss you much over the weekend when you were gone. But having you back today has boosted my spirits and has made me realize how much I really do like you. You help motivate me, which is good especially on my "Catch Up Mondays." Thanks for coming back.
Yours Truly,
Kellie

Dear Rainy Day

Dear Rainy Day,
Thank you for visiting the last couple of days. There's something about you that makes me get in "hibernation mode," which I love - especially this time of year. You make me want to read and scrapbook and watch movies and try new recipes and, well, anything that promotes laziness. Thanks for coming, and please know you're a welcome visitor anytime!
All the Best,
Kellie

Dear Waffle Iron

Dear Waffle Iron,
Thank you for making breakfast seem a little more special than cold cereal. Your warm flakiness welcomes our senses in the morning. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kellie

Dear Programmable Thermostat

Dear Programmable Thermostat,
Thank you for being one less thing I have to think about. It's nice to hear you click on 20 minutes before my alarm goes off so I can get out of my toasty warm bed and not freeze to death while I'm in the shower. And thanks for turning yourself off at night. It's nice not having to remember you!
Yours Truly,
Kellie

Candy Experiments

So...nearly 2 weeks after Halloween, we finally did experiments on what was left of our candy - check out http://www.candyexperiments.com/p/experiments.html. It was pretty cool. We tested the acidity (sourness) in candy by mixing it with baking soda and watching the fizz. Then we played a game of "Will It Sink or Float?" Makenna guessed right nearly every time. We found out that Kit Kats, Whoppers, 3 Musketeers, and some taffies would float (because of the tiny air bubbles trapped inside). We also put Skittles and M&Ms in water and watched the S's and M's float to the top. The girls thought that was pretty neat. What a good way to learn something and have a good excuse to destroy and throw away lots of candy!



(See the M's?)

Mom's Bathroom

I'm hoping my mom won't get mad at this post.... :) But while she was on vacation for a couple of weeks, we snuck into her house and painted her bathroom. Surprise! We painted, put up beadboard, and installed a new light fixture as well as new light switches/plates and outlets/plates. We still need to put up a new medicene cabinet to cover the old one and put up the new towel holders. Eventually we'd love to put in a new countertop and a tile floor. But we just love Mom so much! She has brought so much sunshine to so many people's lives! (P.S. Sorry the pics don't really show much. But maybe you can sort of get an idea of how it looks!)

BEFORE . . .



AFTER . . .

Dear School

Dear School,
Thanks for being only 1/3 mile from my house. I love the peaceful, easy walk to see you most mornings and afternoons. And I love that you're close but not too close, whether I'm walking or driving. Close enough to not be a pain when Makenna forgets to put her homework in her backpack. And when she leaves her jacket at school. And when she leaves her lunch money sitting on the counter.
See you soon,
Kellie

Dear Book Club,

Dear Book Club,
Thank you for being there. I know we just met for the first time last night, but I’ve been looking for you for a long time and I know we'll be good friends. Thank you for giving me a reason to enjoy good books and good friends.
All the Best,
Kellie

Dear Bed

Dear Bed,
Thank you for being such a warm, comfy, snuggly place. Under your thick, heavy covers, I feel safe and protected at night. I just wish I didn't have to leave you to face the cold of the morning.
Sincerely,
Kellie

Dear Dustbuster

So I came across this blog the other day... www.thxthxthx.com. This lady writes a thank you note each day, about random little things. I love that idea. And I'm totally copying it - is that wrong? I just think during this month of Thanksgiving, it's fun to pause and be thankful for not only the big things but the little things as well. My little thank you notes might not be cute and handwritten like on that blog, but it will still work. Here goes:

Dear Dustbuster (and Shark Sweeper),
Thank you for making my life a whole lot easier, especially with kids. I use you every day, sometimes a few times a day, and you make me smile knowing I don't have to lug the big ol' Hoover up and down the stairs.
Yours Truly, Kellie

Silly Kasidee

More things from Kasidee that just crack me up....

She loves being able to wear things that used to be her sisters. Today she tried on a pair of Makenna's sandals and said, "Are these little for me yet? Yep - they're getting littler and littler!"

Kiera bore her testimony in sacrament meeting for the very first time yesterday. She was nervous; we were proud. After she returned to her seat, Kasidee kept whispering that she wanted to go up too. She said, "I want to go up and get some French Fries."

Confession

I have a confession to make. I love In-N-Out Burger. Well, maybe not love. But at least I'm no longer despising the fact that they just opened down the street from me. Being a vegetarian, I roll my eyes when I hear all the excitement about how great their burgers are. Don't we have enough burger joints in Davis County? And I looked the other way when Quentin went there on their grand opening to "see what it was all about."

But my perception changed a bit last night, after Quentin and Kasidee returned from a little Daddy-Daughter date. Quentin took Kasidee to In-N-Out Burger, of all places. They returned with a half-eaten basket of fries. Quentin was beaming when he read me the little handout he got: "Each day, we start with a fresh batch of whole potatoes. We wash, peel and hand-cut the potatoes one at a time. Then, we cook them to a golden brown in 100% trans-fat free, cholesterol-free vegetable oil. Always have. Always will." Now, that might not sound astounding to many people, but you have to understand I have a split personality. While I feel like I pass up meat products and have mostly healthy, whole foods in my diet, I do have to admit that french fries are one of my guilty pleasures. But through the years I have found I can't eat ones from restaurants. McDonald's fries contain beef flavoring (how yummy is that?!), Wendy's fries theirs in the same oil as their fish (what the heck?!), etc. etc. You would think a french fry would be a vegetarian food!

So...I realize french fries are by far not healthy and the frying process probably causes cancer - I know what you're thinking Candi! :) But at least there's a more natural option available out there, besides making my own. Maybe it's not a good thing to know. And maybe it's not a good thing that it's just down the street!

Another Favorite Book

When I made my list of my favorite children's books a month or so ago, I forgot about this one.... 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey. Maybe I forgot because it wasn't on the shelf - it was in the Thanksgiving decoration box, which I unearthed the other day. But this is one of my all-time favorites, perhaps my ultimate favorite. Love, love, love the storyline. And yes, it's a little pro-vegetarian. But the author insists that he didn't write it for that reason - he said: To me, it's just a silly story about love and friendship. If this book has any 'message', it is perhaps that following your heart is often more important than following the rules."

Kiera's Recital

Kiera had a Halloween recital last Thursday. The room was dimly lit, there were Halloween decorations and goodies all around, and the students all played spooky Halloween songs in their costumes (we forgot). Spooky! Kiera did an awesome job. I'm thrilled that she loves music / the piano so much. The second she walks in the door from school, she's playing the piano - usually something she has made up, or sight reading a new song. She's amazing!

Halloween Week

Between school parties, work parties, Primary parties, friend parties, family parties, and the actual trick-or-treating day, I think we celebrated Halloween about 57 times in the last week. Whew! But it's been a fun time. Check out some of the things we've done:

Kasidee originally wanted to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween. But after wearing the ears for about 5 minutes, she said they hurt and ditched the whole Minnie Mouse theme and opted for an old princess costume in our dress-up box. At least she was happy! Kiera wanted to be Hermoine and Makenna wanted to be Ginny from Harry Potter. I still don't understand this obsession they have with Harry Potter. Must be the friends and cousins that are into it! But Quentin took them to the DI to find their Harry Potter costumes. They might not look official, but it's what the girls wanted, and it was cheap!




QUENTIN'S WORK PARTY ON FRIDAY
Quentin's work had a Halloween party for employees and their families. It was geared toward young kids - they got to go trick-or-treating to about a dozen stations, then there were lots of carnival games where they could "earn" more candy. The girls had fun. Since we were near The Gateway, we decided to check out the free exhibits at Clarke Planetarium. Kiera is really into science lately and just ate it up. We spent over an hour there.




Walking on the "moon"


It's hot on Mars!


It's been a long day!



TRICK-OR-TREATING ON SATURDAY
Of course the girls have gotten billions of pieces of candy during our month-long Halloween celebration. There is a local dentist who offered to buy Halloween candy for $2 a pound. I thought the girls would totally go for this idea, but they seemed hesitant. They sorted through their candy and were only willing to give up a handful of it - which wasn't going to cut it. So...we decided to forgo selling the candy. Instead, the girls each picked out some of their favorite candies which they can eat. The rest has been used for experiments. The girls came up with some fun things to do with the "junk pile." They've sorted and graphed their candies; they've played Post Office all week and have used Starburt candies as their stamps; and this weekend we're hoping to do some more "official" experiments with the candy - check out http://www.candyexperiments.com/p/experiments.html










JOHNSON FAMILY PARTY SUNDAY NIGHT
Kerry and Joey invited the Johnson clan out to their place for dinner on Sunday. Little did we know - they had something up their sleeves! Since they work at a storage unit place, they have the perfect area for Easter Egg hunts - and a Halloween spook alley! The kids ran down the alleys, where Kerry, Joey, Ben, Aaron, Eric, Mischelle and Quentin were in costume handing out candy. But the kids had to dodge the flying bat, the King Kong scary guy, the floating/roaming skeleton, and lots of screams and slamming metal doors. The kids got a kick out of it, and later they even did a spook alley for the grown-ups!

Kasidee and Jordyn (sorry it's blurry)


Kerry's costume - ooh la la!


Jordyn and Kasidee not sure they want to go into the spook alley...


Peeking in... (do you see scary Ben?)


Scary Ben!


Quentin in his Ninja costume



Quentin's pumpkin: