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Sunday, November 30, 2008
Still Alive and kick'n
Yes I am still here. Last time I went this long without posting I started receiving phone calls to see if I was alive, depressed or sick. So to my few faithful followers...life is good, all is well, just busy as all heck! :) (stay tuned for more details).
We celebrated THANKSGIVING with Tom and Diane and her family in Roy. Talk about a celebration! They had arts and crafts, a Wii room, Thanksgiving BINGO, Spoons, and enough food to feed a small country.
We then headed to Logan to do our pre-shopping game plan. With our lists and ads in hand we were ready! We sent Troy to Kohls at 3am for a projector machine but 3am apparently early enough. My mom, Adree and I headed to Walmart at 4:00 for a plethora of items. Troy caught up with us there for reinforcement and then headed to Home Depot. We continued on to Kmart and Kohls and were home by 7am.
Love the Holidays. The food, family and fun. What's not to love?
We celebrated THANKSGIVING with Tom and Diane and her family in Roy. Talk about a celebration! They had arts and crafts, a Wii room, Thanksgiving BINGO, Spoons, and enough food to feed a small country.
We then headed to Logan to do our pre-shopping game plan. With our lists and ads in hand we were ready! We sent Troy to Kohls at 3am for a projector machine but 3am apparently early enough. My mom, Adree and I headed to Walmart at 4:00 for a plethora of items. Troy caught up with us there for reinforcement and then headed to Home Depot. We continued on to Kmart and Kohls and were home by 7am.
Friday afternoon the guys did some four wheeling in the mountains and then met up with us to see the movie Twilight. No need for a movie review, you can decide for yourself.
At my parents house we had lots of laughs watching people play the Wii, and plenty of R & R and cuddle time.
Saturday was spent hanging up Grandma Larsen and great Grandma and Grandpa Smith's Christmas decorations.
Love the Holidays. The food, family and fun. What's not to love?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Checking 'em off....
I started off the month of October with about 10 projects/events that I was responsible for before Christmas and I am happy to report that after Hope's birthday party yesterday I am now down to TWO!! Never mind the fact that the two left are the biggest and most stressful OR that they both fall within the same week. The main thing is that I am checking 'em off...
Yesterday we had a fun filled day for Hope's fourth birthday. With so much fuss getting ready for the party how could she help but feel like a diva. (And now today we have the lovely task of un-diva-fying her).
PRINCESS HOPE
A CAKE FIT FOR A PRINCESS
Yesterday we had a fun filled day for Hope's fourth birthday. With so much fuss getting ready for the party how could she help but feel like a diva. (And now today we have the lovely task of un-diva-fying her).
PRINCESS HOPE
THE INVITATIONS
INSIDE THE INVITATIONS
A CAKE FIT FOR A PRINCESS
THE ATTENDEES
We played pirate and princess bingo, went on a treasure hunt, had a pinata, and played princess- princess- PIRATE (think duck-duck-goose). We had a small party melt-down when it came to deciding who was going to give Hope their gift first, and another when Hope thought she only got a Gabriella doll instead of a Troy Bolton doll. Luckily, her friends know her well and she got BOTH High School musical barbie dolls. Whew.... crisis averted!
Christmas Shopping....CHECK !
After a weekend getaway with my mom, sister and sister-in law (okay, it was actually two weekends ago but that's another story) I can now say I am ALMOST finished with all of my Christmas shopping. Sweet!!! I love shopping for anyone and for any reason so add a girls getaway to the mix and I am in HEAVEN!!!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
And History is Made.....
No, the outcome wasn't what I wanted but I can't overlook the fact that another page in our history has been turned. This is what history is made of. One day our children will come home from school and ask us if we remember when the first African American was elected President of the United States. And oh, what stories we will have to tell. But considering that there are days I can't even remember my own children's names I figured I needed to preserve some of my thoughts and feelings about the Presidential Election 2008.
* A few facts: Barack Obama won the election with 364 electoral votes compared to John McCain's 162 electoral votes. The popular vote was less severe with 52% for Obama and 46% for McCain. Interesting Propositions were on the table. In California Proposition 8 to ban same sex marriage was passed but only with 52% of the votes. A similar proposition was passed in Arizona. In Michigan a proposition passed to legalize marijuana for medical purposes and with a doctor's prescription. Interesting signs of the times.
Random Ramblings...
* This campaign process was UGLY. Maybe I just didn't notice as much in the past but this one seemed even more vicious than others. So much mud-slinging, blaming, name calling, and I'm not just talking between candidates. Everywhere you looked there were such heated debates and arguments. I have to say I am glad it's over and hopefully now we can start looking at what's good about our country. It's sad to think that 911 put us on one end of the spectrum of unity and pride and this election put us about as far as you can get on the other end. (Am I being overly dramatic here? I think I have seen too many clips of The View lately.)
* I don't think Obama's victory means the end of the world. While the liberal fanatics are a huge part of his win, he now faces the people...ALL the people. If he wants to stay for two terms I think we will see him start to come towards the middle. We can only pray so... I think some of his beliefs and ideas are down right scary but time will tell.
* I believe Obama's victory was multi-faceted. Do I think it was purely because he is the best candidate...ummmm.... that would be a big N.O! But I think he had a lot on his side. "They" kept saying this election should not be about race but yet that is all we have heard about since his win. History has shown that in the past a fairly large percentage of voters vote based on looks. Why not race then? Second, let's say that we have two candidates who were fairly equal on the issues I would vote on the side of making history? Wouldn't you? Perhaps this accounted for some of his votes. Third, times are tough right now. With the economy in shambles and the Republicans in charge I think people are scared and just want to try something different. For that, I can place no blame.
* If nothing else we took a giant step away from voter apathy. I haven't been able to find the final results but they expected this election to yield one of the highest voter turnouts since 1968. Now that is something to get excited about. (On a sad side note, voter turnout in Utah was actually lower this year than the past election).
* And while I whole-heartedly believe that we now need to unite as a nation and support our new President I also don't think we have to sit idly and just take what comes our way. We still have a voice and the ability to influence outcomes. And that's what makes America so great.
The End.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
More Lessons Learned
Two days ago I would have labeled this post "SPECTACULAR!" As in spectacular things are happening around our house. Now, we'll just label it "LESSONS LEARNED." I'll back up a bit...
Before Troy gave the girls their back to school father's blessings we sat down and talked about the individual needs of each of our children. We have always realized that Hallee's greatest strenghts could also be her downfall. She is so sweet, considerate of other's and has such a tender heart. She wants to please everyone and this sometimes this can result in the "doormat" effect. She tends to follow the crowd and has a hard time making her own decisions. Sometimes I wonder if this is because I didn't allow her to make many as she was growing up. It was just easier to make them for her.
So Troy and I decided to really focus on helping Hallee develop leadership skills; the ability to stand up for herself, make her own decisions, and be a leader and a good example. We have had many debates on how to balance this act out, not wanting to loose her sweetness or her kind heart along the way. We have said many prayers in her behalf, had countless teaching moments, and lots of bedtime discussions.
The other day during one of our "how was school today?" talks I saw God's hand at work. I had to fight back the tears (and a little bit of laughter) as she very dramatically told me about the different "groups" forming at school and how each one acts and treats others. I was able to hear how she has made decisions on her own, stand her ground, and choose friends who are kind to one another. It took a little restraint to not stand up on my chair and jump up and down. I was so proud of her!
As I was talking to Troy that night we realized how this is just the start of it. As we looked back on the last few months we have seen SO much growth in her. It was a true testament to the power of prayer and the council to pray for the individual needs of our children.
Now I wish I could say that we are on our way and we will never look back but I'm afraid it's just the beginning. We will still have quite a few lessons ahead of us. For example, yesterday as I got ready to take Hallee to dancing and decided I needed to break some news to her that I knew would be a little disappointing. Her best friend received the Dancer of the Month award again. Her friend is an incredibly gifted dancer and deserves it in every way shape and form. It is only given to a few students out of the entire studio. Now try explaining that to your six year old. Her tears instantly fell as I tried my best to explain this to her. It didn't help the situation that just the day before we had a similar discussion when Hope came home from primary with the reverence award for the third time. We talked about being happy for our friends and family and being proud of their accomplishments, that it's okay to be disappointed and you just need to keep doing your best even if you don't get recognized for it. Pretty complex topics for a young child. May take a few years to get a handle on this one... In fact, sometimes I think I still need to work on it myself.
Before Troy gave the girls their back to school father's blessings we sat down and talked about the individual needs of each of our children. We have always realized that Hallee's greatest strenghts could also be her downfall. She is so sweet, considerate of other's and has such a tender heart. She wants to please everyone and this sometimes this can result in the "doormat" effect. She tends to follow the crowd and has a hard time making her own decisions. Sometimes I wonder if this is because I didn't allow her to make many as she was growing up. It was just easier to make them for her.
So Troy and I decided to really focus on helping Hallee develop leadership skills; the ability to stand up for herself, make her own decisions, and be a leader and a good example. We have had many debates on how to balance this act out, not wanting to loose her sweetness or her kind heart along the way. We have said many prayers in her behalf, had countless teaching moments, and lots of bedtime discussions.
The other day during one of our "how was school today?" talks I saw God's hand at work. I had to fight back the tears (and a little bit of laughter) as she very dramatically told me about the different "groups" forming at school and how each one acts and treats others. I was able to hear how she has made decisions on her own, stand her ground, and choose friends who are kind to one another. It took a little restraint to not stand up on my chair and jump up and down. I was so proud of her!
As I was talking to Troy that night we realized how this is just the start of it. As we looked back on the last few months we have seen SO much growth in her. It was a true testament to the power of prayer and the council to pray for the individual needs of our children.
Now I wish I could say that we are on our way and we will never look back but I'm afraid it's just the beginning. We will still have quite a few lessons ahead of us. For example, yesterday as I got ready to take Hallee to dancing and decided I needed to break some news to her that I knew would be a little disappointing. Her best friend received the Dancer of the Month award again. Her friend is an incredibly gifted dancer and deserves it in every way shape and form. It is only given to a few students out of the entire studio. Now try explaining that to your six year old. Her tears instantly fell as I tried my best to explain this to her. It didn't help the situation that just the day before we had a similar discussion when Hope came home from primary with the reverence award for the third time. We talked about being happy for our friends and family and being proud of their accomplishments, that it's okay to be disappointed and you just need to keep doing your best even if you don't get recognized for it. Pretty complex topics for a young child. May take a few years to get a handle on this one... In fact, sometimes I think I still need to work on it myself.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Time to put away the costumes
Time to pack up the costumes and say goodbye to Halloween 08. We had tons of fun, the costumes got plenty of use, we have enough candy to feed a small country and the kids have now officially been on a sugar high for over 36 hours. I'd say it was a success.
With the exception of a few raindrops the weather could not have been more perfect. It was BEAUTIFUL! I think we have mastered the art of trick-or-treating by intertwining a progressive dinner with the trick-or-treating. Makes it enjoyable for all!!! Till next year....
With the exception of a few raindrops the weather could not have been more perfect. It was BEAUTIFUL! I think we have mastered the art of trick-or-treating by intertwining a progressive dinner with the trick-or-treating. Makes it enjoyable for all!!! Till next year....
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