Stillness? Christmas Newsletter 2009

Merry Christmas--enjoy the "stillness" (brief, short, and to the point)!

Scott: Still at Intel, still looking for a way out! Still managing his real estate business, still bishop, still a great dad, and still Kim's best friend!

Kim: Still a stay-at-home mom, still teaching choir one day a week, still never has enough time for all she wants to do, still teaching Beehives, still loving her life!

Jenna: Still going to college in Folsom, still has lots of friends (but no boyfriend, thankfully), still is socially busy all the time, still has a job at a frozen yogurt place, still sings beautifully and is still the music chairperson in her ward.

Jordan: (No "stills" here.) Just got his permit, just drove a car for the first time, just changing schools back to a more home-based/college calss structure (11th grade), just got a cage of mice to breed and feed his snakes (--ahem--can we say de ja vu?). (Oh, one still--still working on his Eagle.)

Travis: Still a freshman, still working on getting good grades, still loving computer games and hanging with friends, still counting the days till he gets his driver's permit (good thing Jordan kicked it into gear, or Travis may have beat him), still singing, still working on his Eagle, still playing piano--by ear at times.

Nicole: Still in love with everything from Stephanie Meyers, still wearing braces, still creative, energetic and a blast to be with, still a straight A student, still playing piano, still in 7th grade, still loving volleyball and singing.

Ryan: Still hating piano, still loving P.E., still enjoying his computer games, still a sweet, sweet 5th grader, still funny!

Sierra: Still in 2nd grade, still playing piano when we make her practice, still loving reading, jump roping, and fairies, still full of creative artistic energy.

Juno: Still has stinky breath, still stuck on canned food, still learning new tricks, still a joy!

Desperate Times--Desperate Measures

I finally had it up to my eyeballs in candy wrappers, socks, homework papers, blankets, laptops, earphones, dishes, board games, pencils, game controllers, backpacks, dog toys, you name it!  It was all over the family room and no matter how often it was picked up, it would be messy again in a couple of hours.  (I'll spare you the whirlwind disaster zone picture--I need to conserve my what little remaining dignity I have after my "before" closet picture a while back.  Oh yeah, update on the closet:  It has stayed ultra neat ever since I cleaned it.  Woo Hoo!!!)

So . . .Back to the family room.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  While the kids were in school I completely cleaned the room from top to bottom.  I rearranged the furniture and put a fresh bouquet of roses on the table--all to visually signify that we are turning a new leaf.

Next, I posted this bulletin in three places in the room.

If you can't read the small print, it says that all violators will be given extra jobs to make up for their lack of respect or be expected to pay for cleaning services at $5/hour.

Surprisingly, the kids LOVE it.  They LOVE the clean room.  They LOVE the idea of being responsible (and are happy to check up on each other).  I was very surprised at how they are embracing this new concept.  (I'm not sure that they can extrapolate yet that this "Clean Zone" thing will be spreading to other rooms of the house as well.  We'll see how excited they are then!)

Cute School Girl

Could she BE any cuter?!?

Hair Musings

Well, my hair is short again.  Here you go . . .

What a pair of clowns!

I'm thinking I'll enjoy some short styles for a while.  Maybe bangs next time!  I wonder how long I can keep my natural color.  My dad still calls me "blondie."  Once the grays start winning the battle, maybe I really will go back to blonde, and he can be right.  I'm just not looking forward to paying for it and dealing with roots.

Happy Halloween!

I actually SEWED a costume for Nicole this year.  Of course, I was sewing on the last details as people were loading up in the car for the youth rollerskating costume party.  Sierra learned what "down to the wire" means as she watched and listened to me sew.  Nicole was very happy with how it turned out.  That made it all worth it.

Ryan was a spider one night and a robber another night.

Sierra was a pajama princess, Jenna was an angel (wait . . .that's not much of a stretch), and Jordan was a modern-day vampire with canine teeth that were actually molded to fit his own teeth. (Travis didn't know what to be this year.)

We made a new treat:  Forked Eyeballs.

A few of our kids came away with about 10 pounds of candy each by the time all the festivities were over.  So, here's to the wierdest holiday of them all--Happy Halloween!

Backyard Rattlesnake

While Scott, Jenna, and I were gone one day, our dog, Juno, began barking persistently. Ryan went outside to quiet her and he saw what she was barking at: a big rattlesnake coiled right by our sliding glass door. Travis distracted the snake with a rake while Jordan snuck up to chop off its head with a shovel--they were both bare foot with shorts on, mind you!

When I got home, the snake was headless but still slithering in a bucket. Sierra was crying out of fear, thinking that she would never be safe outside again (not realizing that she has lived in rattlesnake territory her whole life).

I'm proud of my kids for tackling the situation with teamwork and bravery, I'm proud of my dog for alerting us, and I'm proud of Sierra for venturing outside once again.

The Odd Couple

This is how Scott's half of the closet looks every day:

Okay! I'm really putting myself out there by revealing my messy half of closet, but here it is . . .

YIKES!

Leah said that it looks like this closet belongs to the "Odd Couple". It's hard to believe it's even the same closet, but it is. It's as if there is an invisible force field between Scott's side and mine. (Poor Scott for putting up with my messes!--Love you honey!)

WELL! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I FINALLY HIT ROCK BOTTOM OF CLOSET SHAME!

Here's me at work today . . .

And a couple of hours later . . . WAH-LA!!!!!!!!!!! Here's the finished product.

Did you notice the color matched hanging system and the cleaned carpet? Now MY half of the closet matches Scott's half. He doesn't even know I did this yet. I can't wait to see his reaction. Whew! I feel like a new woman. Yeah for organization! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! Why didn't I do this sooner?

Sierra's Creative Ambitions

Sierra loves to be creative. She said one day, "Mom, I want to make a volcano you can eat." She came up with this idea: a couple of Jell-0 packets, some snow cone cups, some whipping cream and sprinkles.

Sierra made one for everyone in the family. She was so proud of her creations!

Another creativity "explosion" included this jewelry shop. She made rings, bracelets, and necklaces out of tape and gems. She made pretend money that we could shop with at her store. Then she packaged our purchases carefully in tissue paper.

Zion and Grand Canyon Trip

Our big summer trip: Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks

It's not a long car trip without plugging in: iPods, DS, cameras, computers!

Ryan was our official car-topper packer. He did a great job. We didn't loose one sleeping bag on our whole trip!

Jordan and Travis helped a lot with the tent. We forgot half our poles and had to be creative about making it stand up. Also, we had to set up and take down the makeshift tent three different times during our trip--a little tedious, but they did it!

We went with another family (the Whites) and we totalled 15 in all--4 adults and 11 kids. We were our very own crowd where ever we went.

We went on some pretty tough hikes. I was happy to take up the rear with Sierra. This one is descending into the Grand Canyon (the easy part).

No mules? No problem! Jordan's got you covered!

Kim's Big Haircut--Time For A Change!

This:

Minus this:

Equals this:

I've never donated hair before, but I figured, "If I'm getting a cut, let's make it count!" My 9" pony tails are going to Pantene Great Lengths to help make wigs for cancer patients.

Look What Blew Into Town!

Leah, her four kids, Mom, and Ben all drove 17 hours to visit us. What a treat they were to have around!

When Mary Poppins comes to town the winds blow. When Leah (aka "On the Go MaMa") comes to town the fun never stops. When Mom (aka "My Angel) comes to town the cleaning never stops.

Leah taught us how to eat with whatever utensil you grab from the bag as an April Fool's joke.

She also taught us how to eat Peeps the RIGHT way.

You think the butterfly is beautiful? Take a look at that hot babe it landed on!

I'm the one with the bald head and big glasses. Leah found a smokin' deal to get into Six Flags for six bucks. All you had to do was MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF by dressing up like their mascot "Mr. Six". (I never knew he had a name.) Heck! Six bucks! I'd make a fool of myself anyday for a deal like that! FYI, we stipped the costumes as soon as we made it through the gate. Ben and Jordan on a fast ride at Six Flags.

Sierra, Nicole, Alyssa, and Sarah on a not-so-fast ride at Six Flags.

Why do I even set myself up for pictures next to someone who is younger, thinner, and more beautiful?

Mock violin at our music recital. The kids actually played REAL instruments.

Chad, Leah, and Ava doing the trampoline thing.

Mom doing the kitchen cleanup thing (24/7).

If you want to find Mom, it's easy schmeazy. Just look in the kitchen or the laundry room. Although she DID spend a day finishing the painting in my bonus room.

She's my ANGEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!