Red. The Color of .......

The Kitchen!  This color is called Red Bomb, but they could have named it Red Raspberry Sherbet and been more accurate.

Kayli decorated with our rather slim supply of decorations.

The kitchen stools got a redo too.  The last paint job didn't last very well.

Here they are again.  I don't love them, but I don't hate them either.

I wanted to bake a treat today.  I was thinking yummy muffins or bread (pumpkin or banana).  Dan was thinking sugar cookies.  I made him a snowman which he decorated.  He managed to eat most of it.

Jake's snowman wasn't done before he got home.  He decorated a cookie with lots of sprinkles and red hots.
He ate it all gone.

Derek and Kayli wanted to paint the kitchen wall red.  We all voted.  "Red Bomb" was the popular choice.  Derek had to work on Monday when the rest of us got to stay home.  Kayli and I decided to surprise Derek by painting while he was at work.  He left a little late and I went to the paint store in a snow storm that was kind of blizzardlike.  We had to put three coats on the wall to cover it properly!  Before the last coat we went to the grocery store.  Derek was getting home just as Kayli and I were pushing the stove back in.  We both popped up and looked guilty.  We had been hoping to have it painted and decorated before he arrived.  Ah well.  He liked it anyhow.

I also managed to finish two of the stools that day and two coats on the red legged ones.  I finally finished the last two today.  I wasn't really looking foward to painting again.  So, Monday was a productive day and nice Kayli spent her vacation working hard to surprise her Dad and help her Mom.

Picture This....

Picture us enjoying having three of our nieces and one nephew over to play.

Picture Kayli and Tia hogging baby Tessa so I had a hard time getting a turn.  But, I did get a turn.

Picture Connor at the car show with this huge grin the whole time.  Derek kept telling him to stop petting the cars.
His favorite is still the Corvette ZR1

Picture a ridiculously expensive party truck with a way to watch television and cook.

Derek admiring his favorite Audi -- the R8

I took this picture in honor of Tia who loves Jeeps.  This was the coolest looking one.

This is me by a Ferrari, but I liked the black Ferrari Spider the best -- it was just in a worse picture taking location.

This is a Mini Coupe which was my favorite car that didn't cost as much as a house.

 Connor on our way out.

Picture me in boots!  It only took about three years to finally pick some.  I took my friend Shellie to help.  They are comfortable!  I'm going to have Kayli teach me the boot scootin boogie.  (Picture by Dan)

In your mind you can also picture Kayli dancing on Parent Night at the high school for the dance classes.  This is where she performed the boot scootin boogie, among other things.

You can also picture how grumpy we were when Derek had to work half a day on Saturday and one night until 8:30. 

And, for date night, we went to Kayli's school's basketball game and you can picture cousin Jimmy (the coach) being grumpy when we lost by a lot.  We enjoyed visiting with people we know, but Heidi (Jimmy's wife) said we didn't work as good luck charms so we aren't required to come to every game.

Generally, you can picture us being quite busy, but it's obviously we aren't always busy with work and we still have good friends and family who help us through the rough spots.

Frog Powers?

Here's the note that Derek left the family this morning.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

May the sun be bright, your breakfast delicious, and your friends nice.

May you all be bitten on the hand by a radioactive frog, so you can have awesome frog powers!

Love, Dad

Plans for a Radioactive Christmas

Dan informed me last night at bed time that Santa is going to bring him a radioactive spider for Christmas next year.  He said he will have the spider bite his hand and then he will go to sleep.  He can't wait to wake up and find out what powers he has.  He spends quite a bit of time imagining how shocked people will be at the webs he manages to make out of nothing.  They will think "No Fair!" because his powers will be so awesome.

I can't help but wonder if at the end of the year he will ask every "Santa" he sees to bring him a radioactive spider, and what their reaction will be.  For now I just smile and tell him, "That would be awesome!"

2012, Beginning With a BANG!

Okay, so there was no literal BANG -- except the fireworks at 10:30ish on New Years Eve that we could hear outside.  New Years Day began fairly early since church now starts at 9:00 a.m.  I was up at 7 to get ready.

This is what I was wearing when I got up.  Can anyone name that book / movie?

I went to church early with Connor.  He needed to set up chairs and I needed to decide how to make a puppet theater out of music stands.  I made it to the chapel just in time to take my seat on the stand with the rest of the family.  Within a few minutes Dan was speaking, and then Jake was thinking about how much he didn't want to speak, and so we skipped to Connor, and then Kayli (who both did fabulous) and then to me.  Then we all sang a hymn, thankfully the rest of the congregation was singing too.  Then Derek spoke.

After people kindly came and told us how great we did, we headed to the primary room where Derek and Connor helped me do a puppet show.  The Princess was practicing choosing the right.  She did great except when Oscar the Grouch was making fun of Burt.  Oscar said that Burt had a pointy head, and a unibrow, and I can't remember what else.  Princess may have pointed out that Oscar had a unibrow too.

After the puppet shows I was fairly exhausted and, after lunch I fell asleep.  I probably would have slept until dinner had Dan not come to tell me he thought it was almost time for dinner.  I believed him until I looked at the clock.  Then we had snack.  Still, I had a pretty good nap.  The rest of our new years BANG! was provided by a good family dinner at the Homestead (which is Derek's parent's house) in honor of Auntie Megan's birthday.  Good food, and good company.

I followed up that day with a whole day wearing pajamas.  I was an "Obstinate, headstrong girl!" all day and only worked in the morning taking down decorations and trying out my new mop.  Thankfully Tia didn't follow through with her threat to burn the Christmas tree so we can use it again right before the next new year which will be here BANG! before you know it.

Summing up 2011

I really have been so busy during the last couple of months of 2011 that I have not felt like writing, so you have missed out on some of the activities of the month.  Here are some pictures to finish off this year before I begin with the fun of writing about a new year.

The big blue feather was made by Dan.  He was really proud.  There were many things we were thankful for.  Derek does unique ones like "Gravity", mine usually include the phone and friends but also included counselors who help me with Primary (the children's organization in our congregation).  This has accounted for some of the busyness of the past couple of months.  Family members take up lots of feathers and so do our favorite things -- like books.

Pick up stix cake?  This is what happens when I need one toothpick to undo a goof.

The cake survived its rough start.

This is the first of three Santas that Dan visited with.  He asked for a remote control truck every time -- only I think the size he asked for kept increasing.  He kept skipping the line and so he was always first or second to see Santa.  He said the Santa at school was not real.  He was wearing a costume which was obvious because his shoes were not real boots.  He saw one here at a family party, and another at the ward party.

This is what happens when you are almost 16 but the only way to get a puncha puncha is to sit on Santas lap.  Tia sat there too but I wasn't there with the camera.



Here's the annual pajama picture.  I have a Pride and Prejudice quote shirt.  There are a lot of Psych shirts, Dan has Batman pajama pants, and Jake has Sonic pajama pants.

Just in case this picture is better.  I think Tia's eyes are open in this one.

Ahhhh!  We were all glad Trisa could be here for Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Uncle Russell and Aunt Erin came and admired everyone's goods on Christmas morning.  It is tradition and we would have missed them if they hadn't come!

Sam loved Big Bird until he noticed the camera.

Connor wins the annual race up the stairs!

Anika and Isabelle with Uncle Derek.

This is Dan -- exhausted after singing "Never Say Never" with Tia and Justin Bieber.

We had a happy Thanksgiving -- two really since we had Thanksgiving early with my family.  We have all been remarkably healthy considering all of the illness we know of around us.  We got great Christmas gifts that are continually being enjoyed.  We have wonderful friends who are supportive of us and we have family around who are fun to be with and who are always very good to us.  All in all, it has been a very good year with much to be thankful for.