Brother Ben

Ben spent his Saturday at the Motion Picture Studios down in Utah County. He was an extra in a full-blown revival of the Joseph Smith movie.  It was kind of last minute; the church was having a hard time finding members with long hair and a beard.  Go figure. Needless to say, Ben was a shoe-in and put up front. When he got there, he was outfitted, bow-tied, parted, pony-tailed and partially shaved.  

He had a great time, but said it was a long, long day.  

Can you spot him?

1 down, 19 to go.

The next morning, Ben just went ahead and took her tooth out. 

No drama.

Good Day for Us, Bad Day for Rocco.

Wednesday mornings Ben teaches a typography class at a college close to our home.  We love it because he stops by the house for lunch just as Aves gets off the bus.  Today Avery was going on and on about her loose tooth and all of the possible things that could go wrong (ie. swallow it or lose it in her covers at night).  She was explaining - in great detail - today that if she does lose it, she will have to write a super-tiny note to the tooth fairy, because she is so tiny and can't read normal size print.  

Anyways, we love our 20 minute lunch break with Ben on Wednesdays.

Now, on the other hand, Rocco HATES Wednesdays.  He gets left at home with me for the morning (the one who finally broke his spirit, remember?).  And to make matters worse, Ben showed up today and couldn't take him back up to work.  If dogs can get their hopes up, Rocco's were soaring this afternoon until Ben crushed them as he held Rocco back with his boot and shut the door. Even I almost felt bad for him.  Luckily, there's "The Rocco Sauna."  He smashes himself in the corner by the heat vent and cooks himself until his troubles quite literally melt away.

And if you know Rocco, you know I am completely serious.  

I'm Sorry.

I'm sorry. I know this post is dumb and pointless.  

But this ad I came across is dumb.  And pointless.  

Ok seriously what?  What is this?

If you were out in the woods, and apparently in a loungy mood, would you lay in a bed or in a tree?  Does this mean the bedding is more scratchy than bark? Do you frolic through the woods in a fur majorette hat, sheath dress and moccasins? Do you now wish you did? Why is a tree growing out of the bed? Do the sheets come with a hole in them for the tree trunk?  What if your bed doesn't have a tree trunk growing out of it, can I get the sheets without the hole? Is this her bed or did she just come across it?  Does she have other furniture out there? A couch? Does she lay in a tree above that? Is her therapist aware that she's back out there again?  Did someone have to pitch this idea to the manufacturer? Did more than one person think this was a good idea?  Do these people have friends who are honest with them? Was there a vote?  Did this idea win?

Yes, yes it did.  Is this bedding now on clearance?  Yes, yes it is.  

Baffling.

Things really do get better, I promise.

Téa and Avery, 2003.

The Blatant Plug

SERAPH has bags! Ben has been working and reworking these bags for what seemed to be ages. We finally have them and I love them. Totally unisex (I love that word) and multi-functional. Purse, Man Purse, Diaper Bag, Gym Bag, Computer Bag, Travel Bag, or just "Bag." They are padded, tons of pockets, and - my favorite - the cell phone pocket on the very front. They will be retailing in stores for $60, but our website is selling them right now for $40. You can get them here, or. . .just call me.

New Years

We Made It

I have been dying to get the kids out to see the lights downtown.  We took the trax downtown, had dinner at The Dodo and rode the trax back.  It was perfect.

Christmas Favorites

Christmas Eve - Eve

My mom wanted to throw a Christmas Party for my girls. We decorate cookies every year with our good friends, the Bithells, on Christmas Eve so my mom had the party on Tuesday night. So cute. The girls were in heaven. We had dinner, dessert, and about 40 games of Santa Bingo.

Really? Really??

Can this honestly be happening?  Can my "baby" really be getting too big for Santa's lap.  I don't like that.

                                                                Téa, age 3

                                                      Téa, age 16.  I mean, 7.

Change of Plans. Good.

The other day Ben and I had a babysitter lined up so we could wrap up our Christmas loose ends.  The weather had other plans. That night was the most fun the girls and I have had in a long time.  Here's to being snowed in.  

Me, Téa and Popeye.  We started painting ornaments and ended up painting every paper plate in the house.
Edie came down after her nap for a "paintbrush snack." Delicious.

We finally got our tree (and it finally snowed).

The Stages of Grieving

In college I took a class where we studied The 5 Stages of Grief.  That knowledge has come in handy when introducing vegetables to my children. Eden started the process and successfully followed through all of the necessary steps to be at peace with her new diet. 

The vegetable in question was green beans.  She, of course, started her "session" in (1) DENIAL. Even though her rice cereal was suddenly green, she decided to believe it was still the same old rice cereal; oh but no.  The following 15 minutes ran its course as expected.  

(2) ANGER

(3) BARGAINING

(4) DEPRESSION

(5) ACCEPTANCE

We will follow the same plan next week when we move on to peas.  But I expect her to move through the process much quicker next time.  I am so proud.

So, I guess it's Game On.

Here's the deal.  We had a "Dance-Off" over Thanksgiving at my sister's house.  All of the couples had to do a dance routine (please note: none of us dance -well, Amy can kick, but that is where it ends with us) So, we all had to do routines and no one knew anything until they came out for their song.  We called this a "safe-zone" where no video was taken and promises that no blogging would occur with these photos.  Well, since Josie posted her photos on her blog, I consider them fair game.  So, here they are. . . along with some other Thanksgiving pictures.

Josie and Justin danced to Mowtownphilly by Boys II Men.  I'm pretty sure I cried through the entire thing.  You have never seen anything funnier in your life.  It went on for like 5 minutes! And Justin never broke.  Not once.  I will be driving and just start laughing thinking of them doing this routine.

Ben and I wowed the audience with the finale scene of High School Musical 3.  I still laugh at the memory of us standing in the kitchen a few Sundays ago practicing "We're All in this Together" while our girls were sleeping.   

Soak it in people.  Soak. It. In.  Because this is the one and only time you will ever see Ben with a popped collar and a cocked hat. Yes, he put this on, and yes, he really must love me and my family.  Enjoy.

Here is evidence of Amy's kicking. Impressive, I know.  And yes, this was during a kick competition.  

Eden's New Time-Out Spot

Thanksgiving

I really have a lot to be thankful for.  First and foremost, my family.  That was made so clear this past weekend when all 5 of us siblings stayed together, with our families, at Megan's house for the holiday.  We love each other, our kids love each other and I am honestly blessed.  

Literally hundreds of pictures were taken in a matter of days.  About 4 of them were taken by me.  All of the rest were taken by Amy and Jake.  Amy posted some of her and Jake's photos on her blog.  So let's be honest and just have you link over to her site.  It's all laid out for you there.  So, off you go.