December has thrown blogging out the window.  It's been kind of nice actually, but I don't want to forget the details of the season.

We had our ward Christmas party, including a visit from the big S.C. Lily was scared of his jolly old self from clear across the room, so we didn't even attempt a picture with her. Is it only my kids (the older ones included) that always get shy in front of Santa? They never look him in the face and Ty always looks like he's being tortured. Their voices are barely audible when they answer him in one word only responses. It's a shock Santa is ever able to get their gifts right... proof that Christmas magic lives on.

I thought I was going to be SO organized for Halloween this year.  So organized in fact, that I thought it would be ok to get back into town just hours before the church trunk or treat and potluck Halloween party where I was supposed to take soup and have the family all in costume.  The soup didn't happen and we were sort of all in costume.  The kids had fun - the important part, we have 17 pounds of candy to keep hidden from Lily - the hard part,  and we're all suffering from too much sugar and not enough sleep - the obvious part.  I'd love to be able to share lots of cute pictures, but um, most of the night looked about like this:

I decided to stop by the semi-new Rod Works store that openend up here about 5 months ago.  I've been intentionally avoiding it...some temptations are simply better to just leave alone.  Sometimes I buy stuff at home decor stores, but not usually. Usually, I walk around the store playing undercover craft detective.  At Rod Works there are signs everywhere saying not to take photographs of their cute things...that made my job a little harder.  I snooped around pretending to be interested in buying something even though I had already decided firmly against that.  Really, I was just figuring out how to make their stuff.  Arrest me.  I came away with a kazillion ideas! 

Some of their cutest stuff is SO simple, like why haven't I already done that simple?

I came home, gathered stuff from around the house, and went to work.  In about one hour's time I had some new festive Fall fun without buying anything new.  Hear that Honey?  I didn't buy a thing!!

First up, our favorite Halloween line from "5 Little Pumpkins" in a frame:

  Funny how you can stick anything in a frame and it all of the sudden looks important.  Make it say anything you want.  I chose this line because our kids love this Halloween poem.  Probably because it's the only Halloween songy thing I know, so we sing it 117 times every October.  It's also a good reminder for the family to beware of the witch that sometimes flies through this house.  **cackle cackle**



One of my absolute favorite things about Christmas is the smell! Throughout most of December I have a pot of the most disgusting looking mush simmering away on my stovetop. Looks like crap...smells like heaven. And YOU, oh you lucky duck, get to hear about it.


Make up a little pot of this homemade potpourri and I promise you the next guest in your home will exclaim, "ohhh! It smells so good in here." Now, isn't that what we all want? Especially when we're trying to mask the odor of dirty diapers, overdue laundry, and dishes hiding in the oven. Not that I've ever done that or anything.


Here's what you need:


1 sliced apple

1 sliced orange (lemons would probably work too, although I haven't tried them)

2 or so cinnamon sticks

5-6 whole cloves

a pinch of whole allspice


Put it all in a small pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, turn to low, and let it do its magic. remember to add water as needed. Easy easy. One pot will stay fragrant for a week or more, depending on how long you simmer it. And the longer you use it, the worse it looks. yum.


Last year, I made up little bags with all the ingredients, tied a ribbon with the instructions, and gave them to friends and neighbors. Everyone seemed to enjoy it...well, the women anyway. I imagine there were a few husbands who thought cookies or fudge would've been just fine.

For the last two days we have had the BEST Christmas treat around here. My parents came to visit. As much as we love aunts, uncles, and cousins, it's also wonderful for the kids to get their one-on-one time with their Grandma and Papa. None of us kids are going to be able to go home for Christmas this year, so mom and dad are making the rounds to all of us. Sunny Las Vegas was their first stop. Sunny, but still cold...if you call weather in the 50s cold. We do. Yes, I know we're spoiled rotten, but we endure 4 months of scorchin' hot sun, so we can enjoy absolutely beautiful winters. So I don't feel bad bragging...neener neener.

The kids loved every second of the visit.

Grandma and Papa, but really Grandma, made these cutie gingerbread (graham cracker) houses for decorating. They lugged them all the way here. Then they're off to Salt Lake and San Jose to make some more grandkids happy.

the candy reveal:

the anticipation:

the masterpiece:

and lots and lots of bonding time:

Then of course, it wouldn't be complete without a trip down to the strip to see the winter gardens at the Bellagio and the water & light show.

It was maybe 45 degrees by this point...look, we own coats!

And to fill in all the cracks of down time, Papa babysat so my mom and I could shop. He was so kind to play about 50 million games of basketball with Ty, take walks with Claire, and tease them all to no end. What a Grandpa!

We all had a super time. Hopefully, we didn't wear out the company too much. They've still got more fun to do.

After reading on a friend's blog about leaving reindeer food on your lawn on Christmas Eve, I had this really great idea.

In fact, I'm thinking about marketing it, so if you don't mind I'm going to give you my sales pitch right now. Please leave me a comment, so I know if I've got a future or not.

Ok, here it goes. I'm a little nervous.

It might be a bit early to start talking Christmas lists, but we try to be on the ball around here. I try to get the kids thinking early so they have time to cut and revise if they change their mind. That way we can eliminate lists such as this one...hopefully.

We partied hard over Halloween weekend. The kids had Friday and Monday off from school, so we took advantage of the long weekend by heading to California. We were sad Reas wasn't able to come along, but he was sure to remind the kids about Daddy Halloween taxes. They were actually kind of excited about presenting him with his bag of candy they had all contributed to.

Birthday parties, cousin Trevor's baptism, a Trunk or Treat and then trick or treating with lots and lots of cousins (18 to be exact) pretty much did us in. We sure missed the 6 missing cousins. We'll have to do it again.

Here's the mob of cousins that marched around the streets of San Jose. I'm pretty sure there were more than a few people who wanted to slam their doors and hide when they saw us walking up their driveway.



Fortunately my brother has VERY nice neighbors. And I have never in all my years of trick-or-treating seen a whole neighborhood lay on the chocolate quite this generously. Dum dums and Smarties were practically non-existant.

I uploaded 174 pictures to my computer from this weekend. I'll spare you.

I've carefully narrowed it down to the top 86.

...just kidding.

Here are my ridiculously cute sisters. We kind of have fun together.

I loved spending Halloween with my family! And I loved that our kids were able to create great memories with their cousins.

Speaking of memories. I will not EVER forget this cute little lady I met. Ok. I didn't really meet her as in being introduced or anything, but I kind of was stalking her because she looked so fun and lovable. I think she liked the attention. Have you ever seen a 90 something year-old dress up for Halloween? She must have been the cutest Dorothy ever. Look at those ruby slippers sparkle!

So long Dorothy. And so long Halloween of '09.