Slide Show from Alabama

Silly Sam

(Samara dancing in crab costume at the Children's Museum)

So, I thought I'd share in Samara's randomness today. After yesterday's Santa comment, I started thinking about other things she's said recently, and as I was pondering that, I looked outside to check on the kids playing in the snow, and Sam is out there sticking her tongue to the basketball hoop pole. Bless this child!

She is so friendly and unapologetic about everything. She'll wear pink cowboy boots with just about anything, and a fluffy dress to gym class, if she so feels inclined. Below is a picture of her and her best bud of first grade, Darius. She towers over all the other first graders, and Darius is smaller than most of the preschoolers in the school. But they both have spunk coming out there ears!!! Sam and Kiah call him "mini-man from the hood". Don't even ask, since we live in a middle class suburb..... Anyway, it's comical to watch them play, and what's even better is that they don't notice, and don't care.

I was remembering back to our trip to Nauvoo, Ill. this summer. On the last day of our trip, we drove to Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith was murdered. It's a solemn place, and the Spirit is very strong. Missionaries are there to give tours around the facility, and they show a movie about Joseph Smith. Well, our family went in and watched the movie, then when we came out of the show, there were missionaries, and other "churchy" looking people surrounding our little family. The sister missionary asked my kids what they liked about the movie. Kiah mentioned that she loved the part when Joseph gave a black member of the church his horse to sell, so he could get his sons freedom papers. Then the sister missionary asked Samara if she liked that part too. My lovely 6 year old says, "I was like, DAMN IT!, when I saw that part". The sister and I (and all who were in ear shot) were open-mouthed in shock. I quickly said, "Sammi, that's a swear word. What do you mean?" I was thinking she meant that it was really cool, or she didn't know what damn it meant, etc. So, she clarifies for us, "I was mad because I wanted him to give me his horse, instead. I like horses." Yeah, she used the word in context. Of course, the reflection on me, as a parent, is pitiful at that point. She must hear that often to talk that kind of trash was most likely the consensus opinion in that room. I was mortified. Skip to the actual tour of the building where he was martyred...... The missionaries were talking about prayer, and asked if we pray. Sam pipes in, "We sometimes pray, when mom's not too tired or we aren't in a hurry." Thanks, turkey! Now, I pray, numerous times daily with my children, and every once in a while, at bedtime, when there's major fits going on, I opt out. But it's rare. But to this sister, I've now become in-active member number one. Ugh! Gotta love that girl!

Anyway, I could fill up pages and pages of random Samara stories, but my fingers are getting tired. So, I'm going to go cuddle up with my kids (we're snowed in today), and watch the polar express, while my honey takes a nap upstairs. It doesn't get any better than this.

Dad's little secret

So, did you see the new total???? So awesome!!!! We had a garage sale fundraiser this morning at our church. Unfortunately, we got a huge snowstorm dumped on us, so we didn't have a ton of people come, but enough that we earned $114. Not bad! People are so cool.

Some random funniness....Samara woke up this morning, and came into my bathroom with this dead serious face, and asked me, "Is dad's beard different?" I said no, then she asked, "Did the bottom part turn white?". Once again, the answer was no. (James is only 32) The she turns around and walks out, and I hear her tell herself, "Phew, I thought he was turning into Santa." She must have had one too many doses of Tim Allen this season. The fact that she was so serious about it cracked me up. I wish I could still question reality like that!

Anyway, just wanted to update the new total. You all ROCK!!!!!

I'm an Idiot!! (and cute boys)

So, I tried to get a cool new template from pyzam.com for my blog, and in the meantime, I not only couldn't get my links to switch over, in the process, I lost all of my links to the friends that I had on my old template. Poop! So, if you read my blog, please comment and leave your blog address in the comments, so I can get this updated again. The ones that I remember, that I need to get again, are Dana, Kelly, Lindsay, Kim, Suzanne, Kristy, Traci, Nicole, Cecily, and I'm sure there's more, but I'm tired and brain dead from staring at this lame computer.

I guess I'll make this a productive post by putting up Abe's lastes pics from his B-day, and a few with his big bro, Eli in them. Serious, I don't think boys come any cuter than these two. These may look gorgeous, and they are, but I put blood, sweat, and tears into them! Abe was not cooperating, and kept jumping down off of the table, and throwing the cowboy hat, and crying for his blanket. Yeah, just your average trip to the picture studio.... Enjoy!

Abe, studying the knot and the texture of the rope.

Hiding his face from the camera, seconds before chucking it at the photographer.
And a cute one of his face, without hat, but with his Grandma Shauna's boots.

Then we did the Colts pics. Our whole family has become obsessed with the Colts (as has the whole city of Indianapolis), and we had to have this.

Beautiful boy!!!

The pink, fuzzy, can't leave at home blanket. He wouldn't sit up, and when he grabbed his blanket, he started snuggling it. I practically yelled at the photographer to get this shot. Don't mess with mamma when there's scrapbooking to be done!

My boyz!

Classic pose for these two. :)

Abe was done, and Eli was giving him a hug, so we took advantage and posed them a bit for the picture. So sweet!

I'm Back!!!

Boy, it feels like forever since I've had a chance to post! I miss it. Did you see the Grandma Looney fund update??? We're doing good! I really hope to get up to $1000, but I'm ecstatic already. She'll be so surprised and pleased.

Well, I wanted to do a big thankful list for Thanksgiving, but haven't had the chance. I've been tagged by 4 different friends to do a random list about me, and haven't gotten to it, and now we've had events that I want to post pics of! How to keep up with all of the sharing. I love blogs, and I get mad if my favorite blogs aren't updated. :)

So, I'll go with the fun family traditions post today. James and I decided our first year of marriage that we would chop our own tree every year. So, for 10 years, we've done that. In Utah, we go to Heber at 6 in the morning to freeze our patooties off for 2 hours in the cold, waiting in line for a tree permit. We then get our permit, go home, and then drive back up there the weekend after Christmas with our friends and drag kids and dogs through deep snow on the hunt for the "perfect" tree. Now, perfect means semi-even branches on one side of the tree, since most of them are too close to other trees and grow skeewampy. It backs to the wall, anyway, right? Anyway, they usually end up looking not much better than the Charlie Brown original, but we love it, we chop it, we drag it and the kids back out of the trees, and then we celebrate with hot cocoa and Heidi's cinnamon rolls.

The year before we left for Indiana, Heidi and I got lazy and found a tree farm, justifying it because it was still in the mountains, and we still had to hike around for the best tree and we still got to chop it. We just didn't have to make 2 trips, and we didn't have to hike around as far. That worked great!! New tradition!! Then we left to Indiana, with no mountains. We thought our tradition was over. Oh, no. I typed in "Chop Christmas Tree Indiana" in google and found a pluthera of tree farms! Yeah! So, we found this incredible farm that is so picturesque. You drive about an hour outside of town, and you get a tractor ride out to the tree fields, tons of beautiful, full, incredible trees, and they provide the dolly for the tree you pick and the saw. Then they give you hay ride back to the barn where they shake the dead needles out of your tree, drill the hole, wrap your tree and help you get it on your car. All the while they give the kiddos free hot cocoa, and this year Santa was there with candy canes and some helpers making Christmas ornaments for the kids to make and take home. All for only $30 bucks!!! I'm going to miss Indiana Christmas trees!

The family portrait in front of an old barn. (It was a freeze-your-tail-off day, fo' sho'!)

Hauling the kids out to the best spot for trees. It made me glad (for the bizillionth time) that I was not called to be a pioneer mother.

The chosen tree has been conquered by the powerful forces!

Hauling out the booty!

Abe couldn't take anymore adventure. He fell asleep in the backpack and drooled and snored the whole way back. That's my boy!

So, once we got back to the barn, we had to go see Santa. Abe kept saying "Ho, ho, ho". But once he got in, we couldn't get him close to Santa. Finally Santa bribed him with a candy cane, that he took hesitantly, a full arms length away.

I just love the look on E's face! Priceless. It probably seems weird to little kids that we spend 364 days a year telling them to not talk to strangers, or sit on strangers lap, etc., but at Christmas we practically throw them on some man they don't know. Silly grownups! (Santa has a perplexed look on his face, too. Probably because Eli asked for "dollies") ;)

Cutie-patootie Sam got shy. She couldn't think of what to ask Santa for. I'm sure she's thought of many things since then!

Once we got home, it was time to set up and decorate the tree. We decided that the kids were old enough to string Cranberries and popcorn this year. What fun! Even Abe participated. And no lethal injuries. Woo Hoo!

You gotta peek up under the lights! And we can't help but peek at Sam's undies!

And our weary well-doers are finally done with the tree. Yeah!

What a wonderful tradition. We love it!