Wedding Madness Bliss

On December 27th my littlest (tiny, youngest, baby) brother Joshua married Janae. It was a crazy day for everyone. Crazy- but beautiful and lovely. The day started a little weird- Josh was a little sick and it was freezing!!! But- Seriously- can you believe the snow? It was amazing! I felt terrible that they had to take their wedding photos in the snow- but it was absolutely beautiful and such a perfect snow moment.
I was in heaven- the happy couple was in heaven- so it was perfect.

I love this picture of my brother, Curtis and one of my uncles, David. They were waiting to open the doors of the Twin Falls Temple for the new bride and groom.

Josh and Janae after coming out of the temple. Then is started to snow like crazy.

My new sister-in-law Janae.

My other two brothers- Spencer and Curtis. We always joke about the two of them looking like mafia members whenever we take pictures. So- of course Curtis flashes the gang sign. Seriously! They crack me up, I miss them.
Ladies- both cute and single.....

My boys!

Mom and Joshua at the wedding luncheon.

My Aunt Tamie and Uncle David- they both stuck around and helped out with EVERYTHING. It is so nice to have family around to be there with us all and to help us. Most of the family from out of town were unable to make it- that made having the little bit of family there mean that much more. Even though it felt like we hardly saw them- weddings are busy.


My cousin Jacob and his wife Lacey.

My other two cousins- Jameson and Darren- little champs! They were the best clean up crew ever! Darren- I LOVED the vacuum.

Scott and Collin

Curtis

All of the girls.

Elliott loves doing this with his arms when we are trying to take a picture. It is so endearing- he really is the sweetest.

He was such a little cheese for the cameras- I have no idea where he got that one....

My Dad and his wife Sally

And... at the end of the night- it was just the most perfect night- not too cold and large snowflakes falling. We were all in heaven. Elliott says to me "mom, I need your gloves" and I went outside to find he and Craig having a snowball fight and Craig dipping E's head in the snow. Elliott loved when Craig did this- burrr- loved it.

Thank heavens for those great boy cousins and brothers that I have. All of us had forgotten about the "going away car"- we just said the word and this is what happened! I hope you can see all of the fresh Christmas trees (6 or 7 of them) in the back- it was hilarious.

Poor guys- waited and waited and waited for Josh and Janae to actually leave their reception so they could see thier faces when they saw the truck- finally after being forced to open their presents on their wedding night (don't get me started... who opens presents on their wedding night? Ehh- don't they have better things to do?) it was close to midnight and the left.
What little champs the Going Away Car Crew were.

It was a great day- it was an awesome day and an awesome vacation. I have not been home for Christmas in many years. I was so glad that I got the chance to go home and be with my family (who all got along- miracle) and watch my little brother be sealed to his wife in the temple.
Isn't that what it really is all about? Family and forevers.

Thank you to everyone who unselfishly gave up Christmas with us all so we could be there for something that was so important to me.
I have the best family ever- my own and Craig's- I am a blessed woman.

My Own Private Idaho Christmas

I forget how BEAUTIFUL Idaho is in the winter. Especially snow covered Idaho. I kept saying how beautiful it was- then I'd hear Elliott say at some random time "isn't it beautiful mom?" or "look how beautiful the snow is..." This was his first real experience with snow- I was worried a few weeks before we left that there would be no snow- but man, Idaho did not let us down! It was FREEZING for a few days but it was one of the most wonderful Christmases I have ever had- it really was perfect.

I had a really great friend growing up- Sarah. We have been friends for pretty much our whole lives. We had moments when we weren't as close as we had been at other times- but friends nonetheless. We were so lucky this last trip to Idaho to get to stay in their home. It felt a little like going home to me. When my family lived in the country (not so "country" anymore) we were neighbors and since my childhood home sold I have not really been back much. So- to get to stay out there and just look off the canyon again meant a lot to me. This is the view- perfect view. Thank you to my friends for giving us such a good Christmas gift.

Elliott was in heaven shoveling the driveway with Craig. It was so funny! Things that I used to hate we were all loving- okay, so I didn't shovel the snow myself but enjoyed them doing it for us!

This picture has a story- I was inside making breakfast or something and I hear E calling me- so I go to the door (knowing what was in store- the door is glass- I grabbed the camera) and I get pelted with a snow ball. Elliott was loving throwing the snow.

Christmas Eve- We hung our little stockings on the fireplace- man, E was so excited.

Elliott got what he had been asking for- for the last 3 months "a talking Optimus Prime"- he was thrilled. Optimus sits on the floor as I write this- he is totally over him!

My dad, his wife Sally, Craig and Elliott built a snow hill to sled and shovel down (yes, I said shovel- they would sit on the shovel and ride it down- hilarious!)- Elliott preferred just going down in his snow pants. These little grey snow pants were ours when we were kids.

Then Craig made us this rad snowman- one of the best I've seen- Thanks Craig-o.

This is my dad- Papa Mark. He and Elliott used this beauty to make the snow hill. I think Elliott was more excited to drive the tractor than the snow this day. As soon as he saw my dad he asked him where his tractor was. This tractor is one of his fondest memories of our trips to Idaho.

Ahh, yes, what would a trip to good ole Idaho be without a little gun shooting? It wouldn't be a fun trip at all.
Craig got a full auto Bebe gun for Christmas from- yes, yours truly. However, I am not that cool- he bought it for himself and we wrapped it- but the clay pigeon idea was mine! Elliott is quite a good little shot and I must admit I had a great time shooting it with them.

We went to check out the falls to see if all of the melting snow made any difference in the flow- not really but it was beautiful and E was too excited to leave. It was time to go and he gets all pouty and says "but, I want to play for awhile here- and have fun." There was a lot of coming and going- I think we wore the guy out.

This is my mom, Grandma Lee (E calls her Grandma Arlee). She was ready to do whatever we had planned- problem is we never had a plan because of the wedding (see post above)- until the last few days- then we had a plan.

I think the last two times I have left Idaho have been the saddest. I realize how important my family is to me- so much more than when I was young, single and without cares or worry. On the drive home we were talking about how we wish we were all closer and then we decided that it really isn't bad-they could live in Maine (thinking of far in the US) or another country- much further away. I will take a 12 hour drive anyday. I say we meet in Cedar City sometime- 1/2 way for both. What do you think everyone?

Christmas partying begins...

We have been making gingerbread houses for the last few years. The first time Shelly (Craig's sister) made all of the houses out of actual gingerbread. They were amazing but way tooo much work! (Not that I can claim the work myself... Shelly did it all.) Now we use cardboard and graham crackers- so much easier and still just as fun.

Jennifer and her boy- Troy.

Wrestle mania- Jason was a total champ- he was wrestling with 3 boys- ages 4, 3 and 2. He kept it up for quite awhile- it was an amazing match. No one in particular won- but the amazing diaper to the face moments almost won it for Trevor!

Luke was being so silly!

Sweet Madde- she gets so shy when we take her picture.

We started the holiday season off with a little get together at Craig's parents house. Everyone was there- it was so nice to see everyone- even if it was only for one night. (We were off to Idaho the next day)

Bobbing for Brussels

Two of my sister-in-laws had me craving for brussel sprouts- so I bought a whole stock of them (if you have never seen how they grow it is really amazing)- anyway, I was trying to give them a good washing before baking them and E thought up the ingenious idea of bobbing for brussel sprouts. He was pretty good and it once he got the hang of bobbing.

December Rain...

With December came some much needed and much desired rain- on both mine and Elliott's part. We LOVE the rain. With it comes so much excitement and beauty. I am always sad when people complain that it is raining.

E had such a great time- he loves his little umbrella and has little time to actually use it- so we were stoked to get it out. Oh- and the galoshes- he wears them any chance he can whether it is raining or not- but this time there was a very good excuse!

Happy Birthday Carly !!

Happy Birthday Fun Carly!!

You are the very best, We hope you have the best Birthday Week.

From Your 2 Best Guys

When there is snow in California....

it's like a big fat joke! Okay- so it wasn't terrible but it was so funny to Craig and I. We have both lived in the real snow and know that this doesn't come close.

Elliott had been pumped for weeks about the big "snow day" on Saturday with mom and dad. So it is- oh 76 degrees out- we get there (along with 3,000 other people) and we find some tiny piles of snow- the first one where you can't throw snow (what? you can't throw snow? Isn't that what you do with snow?)- anyway- Elliott had fun- I was reminding myself that he will see (hopefully) what "real" snow is like in a few weeks in Idaho! I was explaining that when there is real snow it isn't in designated areas- funny huh? When there is snow in Orange County - it isn't really snow. However, someone does try hard to make it as close as they can- for that I appreciate them for sure.

I am thankful for....

my life, my lover, my Elliott, mine and Craig's families the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the scriptures, prayer, the rain, a warm place to live out of the rain, food, the United States of America, the holidays, herbs, cold little kid hands on my cheeks, galoshes, blow up Christmas decor (never, ever thought I'd say that one- it will probably be off my list when the E-man is over them...), warm clean laundry, modern day advances that make it easy to communicate with my family from so far away....

I could go on and on this day about all of the things I am thankful for- I could also go into great detail about why- but I can also imagine many of you are thinking about the same exact things that you might be thankful for too- I'll let you decide why your thankful for each of them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember to think sometime this day about all that you have in your life to be grateful for- if you think long enough you probably won't be able to stop- the list will just keep on going........

Johnny Flame

Elliott goes through mild bouts of obsession with different items- it could be a flashlight, Darth Vader, Pirates (longest lasting one so far...), or at present Johnny Flame and the Fantastic 4. He thinks it is so cool that Johnny Flame is able to turn into fire. He is already a pyro- and I am constantly showing him on the gas stove how hot and dangerous fire is- but still the mini-obsession wears on.

Assumption

It's taken me a good couple of weeks to want to really talk much about a beautiful moment shared between mother and son- well, hardly beautiful. I know most of you have kids and- well, notice the plural- so I often find that when I talk about "kid" stuff I am so OUT of my league- and hardly have anything to say- but this day has possibly forever changed part of my outlook- on parenting, life and especially assumption and judgment of others.

E and I go to my friend Karlea's every Thursday for a special play date with our buddy Matthew- seriously- one of our favorite things to do these days. However, this day had been an especially L O N G day for the two of us. Upon our departure I put Elliott's shoes on- he willingly came over and helped me out and off we went. (I should have known better- it was way to good to be true- I should have known that something would be up if I didn't have to ask at least 10 times to come get his shoes on...) We were not 10 steps out of Karlea's door when E decided his shoes are just NOT WORKING for him. Instead of me thinking from a "it's been a long day, he's hungry, tired and worn out" mom perspective- I say "let's get to the car and I will take them off". The fit begins. What the heck? So I also (being wrong again- notice a pattern?) tell him that he can ask me to take them off nicely instead of yelling at me or I will not help him.

WRONG

My child has a good set of lungs (irony since mine bite the big one) he can yell and scream like he is being murdered. Eyes start too look out of windows- I look- blinds close- then open again a few seconds later. So I ask him to get in the car and we can work it out. Well, not gonna happen. So the super human mom in me picks my child up and at least gets him into the car- shut his door- realize I can't breathe- catch my breath and then proceed to get in. Ask him to buckle up so we can head home- you would have thought I asked him to hand over his right arm or something- seriously. He won't buckle up- so I think I am so brilliant and start to slowly drive down the little driveway- (at home he freaks out if he isn't buckled in quite yet- so I am thinking that he will buckle up out of fear) just screaming still. So I stop the car again- in front of a new set of homes and a few new sets of eyes- proceed to get out and go buckle up E. I tried but my little buddy is so STRONG- STRONG!!! I imagine that it looked like we were fighting- we were really just arm wrestleing- me trying to get his arms into his straps. I can not get his seat belt on- then- out comes a lady from her house to see if everything is "okay" out here. Seriously-??? By now- I am so frustrated that I am sad and can't breathe- she notices- tells me to take a minute for myself and she will stand with E. So I take a few steps away to catch my breath (and let Elliott think I'm leaving and have left him to be with a complete stranger-didn't work)- Elliott proceeds to yell at a complete stranger who is only being nice. As I look back now I can laugh out loud because- Seriously! He is screaming at this lady- he is so STUBBORN! Anyway- I look up to see multiple sets of eyes on me- curtains drawn. At this point- I would not be surprised to see a cop pull up to see if everything is "okay".

Anyway- I am a rambler- 50 minutes later, a phone call to Karlea (to come and physically strap E into his car seat for me), Don stopping by to help out and this total stranger hanging out with me telling me "honey, it's okay- we've all been there"- oh and did I mention- a complete break down? Oh forgot that part- yeah- breakdown. (Thanks to Karlea for not using it against me in the future.) We finally make it home- E knows he is in some serious trouble and totally compleys when I tell him that Dad will be out to get him- and head inside. Seriously?

Which brings me to a thought that has been on my mind quite a bit lately (yes- it took me that long to get to the point- I'm no writer). Assumption.

How easy is it to look at someone and assume something about them? To hastily put the value of some part of them in your hands? I know it is quite easy- I would be a complete hippocrite if I said I had never done this- everyone has- it is one of the easiest things to do- judge another person. I know what some of those eyes behind the blinds were thinking- at least I can imagine what I might have been thinking before I had a child. Assuption is a terrible terrible thing.

I KNOW that every single person that has lived or ever will live on this earth will go through something equally as hard as the hardest thing another will go through. Some have kids throwing fits that they have absolutely no control whatsoever of, others have health problems, some have financial burdens, some have terrible marriages, the list goes on and on....
The interesting part is that if we would just open our eyes to others and see that we are all on an equal playing field I think the whole world would be a better place.

The other day a lady I thought I knew at least a little bit and I thought that knew me a little bit said the funniest thing about my car being extravagantish (I have a Jeep mind you- nothing too extravagant- other than the fact that I drive a stinking SUV in CA- it's the Idahoan in me- seriously- can't give it up.) and then I said something about Kmart and something I bought there- she says "You shop at Kmart?" uhh- yeah? "What a silly thing to say"- I think. Then she says- "I didn't think you would shop at Kmart." Well- Hello? What a silly thing to say again. I then am a little annoyed and say "you really don't know me" and she looks puzzled and says something like "I guess not". Frankly- I shop at Kmart, I shop at the Salvation Army- come spend a day with me and get to know me and you will know that I am not "that guy".

Semi dumb example but then and there (this is when the whole "assumption thinking" began) I realized that I was being judged and things were being assumed about me based on the kind of car I had, where I lived, and probably my home that we were in at the time. If you know Craig and I- I would hope that you would also know that our home is open to anyone- anytime, that we have offered our cars to others to borrow if they needed them, that the somewhat seemingly "material" things in our lives don't really mean that much to us and....

Funny thing? I would give up my clothes, my car, my home, the place that I live- well, pretty much everything except the people in my life to be able to have my own children and have a good set of lungs that worked and that helped me to put my kid into his car seat when he is throwing a massive tantrum in front of a gazillion homes where they too are assuming something that probably isn't true about me too.

I know that since these thoughts I have been VERY careful about the things I think of others and when I assume that someone's life is completely "cush" and that they have no worries of their own- that I am doing just that- assuming. Then I will remember that their life is or will be just as hard for them as my life and the things that I go through are for me. Then, I know- we really are all the same.

Whew.
Oh yeah-
M- this is for you- thanks for making me laugh.

To assume is making an ass out of u and me. Ha Ha. I know.

The things he says

I realize that many of you do not necessarily care what Elliott says :-) . I write on this blog for many reasons- most often for myself to keep track of the things in our lives and often little things Elliott might say or do- just so that I can have a record for the future.

The other day we were going over some animal facts from some cute kid magazines that my sister gave me- Elliott was LOVING it- seriously- like GOLD (thanks Shelly).
Anyway- he decided he needed to make up some facts of his own- he took the card from me and pretended to read some facts.

Sea turtles have little beaks but they can only eat sharks.

Craig was out of town most of this week- we had some serious time to kill. We got a fun catalog with all kinds of Christmas wish list toys in it- I found some that I had when I was a kid- Do you all remember Mr. Mouth? Loved that game.... Elliott was taken back by all of the things that I kept pointing to that I had when I was little and he had to comment-

When I was little I was SUPPOSE to have this.....(pointing to various items)

And- of course with Craig being out of town and my inability to have any physical control these days- we do a little bit of bribery here and there- out of the blue I was bribed-

Mom, maybe.....(pause) if you are helpful, I'll pick out a remote control thing for you...(pause-definite thinking happening) maybe a car.

The things he says

Dinner the other night- Elliott wasn't quite into dinner.

I don't want it......it's not beautiful.

I want a salad.

Elliott doesn't even try a salad. He will eat many of the components of a salad but the thought of a salad actually repulses him- so this dinner was really not his style.

It was really good by the way- butternut squash pasta sauce over rice pasta- yum!.

Sorry, This is just funny.

Ok this is my 1 and only NObama Post.


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

PS you need to play it in Internet Explorer.

Can't help myself- A change is a coming-

Thanks Lindseys!

This is the change I believe we'll be seeing...

Try not to make more than $250,000 (or $150,000)
Don't have any major medical problems
Hide your guns
Work harder
Get used to being called a racist
Get used to paying more while getting less
Enjoy kissing the rear ends of terrorists
Don't have any dreams
Be O.K with murdering innocent babies and killers being set free
Love your government controlling everything you do
Enjoy living in a democratic republic
Love living in a socialist republic

Get your food storage ready!

I hope for the sake of everyone- this will all turn out to be wrong.

Our first Jewelry Party!

You are all invited- it should be fun! Those men out there that want a Christmas present for your wives- of course you are invited also- or we are happy to do a little shopping for you!

Halloween

We had a great night with all of our family here- not a dull moment all night. The kids had so much candy after 1 hour of trick or treating it was hilarious. They all thought their bags were too heavy- crazies! Hope all of your Halloween's were great too!

The things he says

Our bedtime conversation tonight- after putting E down and going through the whole bedtime regime- he gets so creative- sometimes I want to just creep into his brain and see the world through his eyes- I wonder what was going on in his mind tonight?

Mom, I'm papa.

Goodnight papa, see you in the morning.

You're grandma- and Dad you're Elliott.

Okay, goodnight papa.

Mom, I'm Johnny Flame (no he does not watch the Fantastic 4- just knows his superheros)
and you're Elastigirl.
Hey- Elastigirl?

Yes, Johnny Flame?

Goodnight Elastigirl.
Dad, your the Rock right?

Sure, I'm the Rock- Goodnight Johnny Flame.

Goodnight Rock- Goodnight Elastigirl.

Hey, Johnny Flame- no more talking go to sleep- goodnight!