Thanksgiving

We had a blast today. it was my first Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out pretty good. I don't even really like turkey. When it was time to eat the turkey I was so sick from cooking all day that I just wanted to drink a diet coke and eat a carrot stick- what a carnarific day it was- ok that word doesn't exist, which makes it even better. I must admit that I was pretty fooled because James told me that the neck was actually the Turkey's- how do you say-private part- I believed this for a few hours and then my sister just about died on the phone when I told her - what can I say- I am gullible- Sharlie and Nate are here so I'd better go.

Maya's Dance Recital

Maya did such a good job at her Ballet recital. We are never allowed to come in and watch their practice so I was amazed at what she had actually learned.

I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH MYSELF

I am dying at the comments from my previous post. So the story goes like this. I got my hair colored and cut for like the first time ever and I wanted to show my sister. I tried to send her some pictures but for some random reason she couldn't pull them up in her email-SOOOOOOO- I said " I will put them on my blog for one second"- I totally forgot to take them off-Now it is so funny I am going to leave them on- maybe I will take some more pictures of myself posing around my house-j/k Here are some crazy random pics cause I am crazy and random-

Hallowen Pictures

My camera was fixed this morning so here are a few pictures from last night

Halloween

Well, the day is done and now the blues are setting in. Every time a holiday ends I get sad because you have to wait a whole year before the fun starts again. And I know that there are other holidays, but Halloween is always the kids' favorite. When the girls woke up I made ghost pankaces with whipping cream and chocolate chips-I am so healthy. I took a pretty cool picture of it, but my camera broke tonight so I can't post a lot of my cool pictures. We had lasana(brains) for dinner-that took about 5 hours to make-good grief, and breadsticks(fingers) and salad with bugs in it, and dirt cups- oh yeah, and lots of root beer, and around 50 bowls full of candy pretty much. Elisabeth and Colin came over to celebrate with us. We had so much fun trick or treating. Nicole was Ariel and Maya was a witch. Jamie was just comfortable in the stroller chewing on a light stick. The best was when people would leave their bucket of candy on the door step for kids to take a piece. Maya was like " Nicole, take more than that, they'r not even here". We had a few talks along the way and so many hilarious moments. Last year we went trick or treating and pretty much everyone was wearing their lingerie for a costume. Halloween in Arizona is like a free pass day to dress like a prostitute. I wonder what the prostitutue that ran into my house dresses up as on Halloween-maybe she says " ya know, I'm sick of being a prostitute" and dresses like a normal person-anyway. I just thought of the no clothing issue because Maya knocked on our neighbors door last year and his girlfriend came to the door in pretty much nothing. It was crazy. I came into Maya's room a little after I put her to bed and she was secretly sorting her candy into piles. I love this phenomenon. Even a 5 years old knows to take out all of the candy and sort it into piles. I remember doing this over and over again when the night was finished. We would go out all night and fill up our pillow cases ( you were really cool if you took your pillow case because it showed that you weren't into all the fluff-just pure numbers and loads of candy) Then we would come home and the sorting would begin-there was also trading and jealousy-no wonder my mouth is full of cavities-well worth it though- Nicole was pretty much passed out in her bed. Then we played Wits and Wagers ( a cool new game that my sister Jody told me about) I felt very stupid when it was over (trivia based) Anyway, it was a great day and I can't wait till next year.

McDonalds Monopoly

Ok- I have been thinking about writing a little something about this for a long time- since this is pretty much my journal I had better write before I forget important details. Here are a few questions to answer to see if you are addicted to Monopoly at Mcdonalds
-Have you ever gone to Mcdoodoo's just to get Monopoly pieces?

-Have you ever switched your order to give you more properties? ( EX- YOU HATE CHICKEN SANDWICHES BUT YOU EAT IT ANYWAY JUST TO GET ANOTHER PEEL OFF)

-Have you ever dug through your trash can outside because you know that the guys working on your yard ate mcmuffins and they probably didn't peel their stickers off?

Have you ever broken the sabbath because the game ended that day and you still had a few hours to win?

I could go on and on but these are some of the things I have done in the past because of my addiction to the game. I actually made James go into the trash to get the egg mcmuffin wrappers from the landscape guys and they hadn't peeled their pieces off- can you believe that? I used to play online also and that was even more addicting. I kind of compare it to a scratch and win lotto right? What is the difference really? It is pretty much gambling except that you get fatter and fatter with the monopoly game and don't with the scratchers. I have met a ton of people who are also addicted to this game. I think we have all gained a few pounds. I had a friend from college (Brinn Klein) whose brother won a car from a medium drink peel off. I think this is why I will never give up hope that someday I will become rich off of this game-
p.s-
If anyone has shortline-Dirk Andreasen will split his winnings with you if you hand it over!

We love our spooky witch

Prostitutes and Boom Mania

Well I have pretty much been a slacker with the blog. I have been seriously running around like a mad woman. Don't ask me what I have been doing because I don't know. Iseriously don't know how people with small children manage to stay alive. I think that people must be locking their kids in cages when they need to get something done. I have pretty much figured out that people are in one of three categories and I have nothing against any of the categories. 1- they have tons of family help or some kind of major support system 2- they are on medicine 3- they are from another planet- Vylee just left and she pretty much saved my life. I have this habit of going strong day and night for months and then one day I just crash. it's like my body says, "ok, you're done" and then I need to sleep for like 3 days straight to catch up. James was like "How about you go take a nap for 30 minutes" and I pretty much just said "I'm gonna need like a 5 hour nap, seriously". Elisabeth is also so good to come and help with dinner or watch the girls- she is an angel. A lot has happened in the past few week. Where do I start? Oh yeah, a prostitute/meth addict ran into my house and told me that her boyfriend(my neighbor) was going to kill her-that was fun. I am not going to tell the whole story because it would take a week, but basically she was hiding under my van and popped out of the darkness and scared the crap out of me. she said that she needed the phone and that her "friend" ws going to kill her. Of course James was out to dinner with an old friend and I was home alone with the girls. I went in the garage to get the phone and when I came back out she ran into my house and said he was coming for her and that we had to call 911. I was so freaked out. She called 911 and then I called James and my nieghbor all the while waiting for some scary man to come get me, and then realized that this lady was definitly on drugs and that she had to be a prostitute. The police came and then this scary man came walking around the corner of my house (but he wasn't the guy she was afraid of) he was just her friend, and then James pulled up and it basically all went down on the front lawn. Anyway, I guess it was some action for the day. My neighborhood is very very nice, you would think I lived in the ghetto. I am actually very convinced that most of the worst crimes are commited in very nice neighborhoods. Nicole tripped and bashed her teeth into a table in our living room. I was watching Maya's friend Kate and I loaded everyone into the car and headed for the dentist's office-who happens to be our close friend which is amazing. He had to pull her tooth down a tad. She was so sad and kept saying that she had an ugly tooth and asking when her ugly tooth was going to get better. I felt so bad. I hope it doesn't turn black and fall out. if it does then we'll have to work around it and I'll make her some kind of toothless zombie for Halloween. I'm sure Maya would like that-since she is going to be a witch with a fake nose and warts-lovely. It was so funny to hear Nicole try and talk Maya into being Prince Eric for Halloween since she is going to be Ariel. She was like "Maya, you are going to be prince Eric" and Maya said "No, I don't want to be a boy" and Nicole pretty much wouldn't take no for an answer so I guess I will have to deal with that when the time comes. James and I are going to this strengthening marriage class that our ward has. The bishop pretty much asks people to participate- I think it is a new church experiment. The first class was on Friday and I thought it was pretty good-except the fact that James was out of town and I was by myself. Can you believe that- I went to strengthen my marriage solo- this couple was talking about how they haven't let their kids watch tv for a year. I about fell out of my chair. I think it is great but it is one of those things that I just can't imagine. I need my kids to watch at least 2 shows a day so I can take a shower or do something for 3 minutes. I would pulll my hair out without tv-especially Boom. If you don't know what this is then you are missing out on the greatest channel of all time- All I have to say is Popoye, smurfs, snorks, pink panther, jetsons, scooby-doo, flinstones, and pretty much every other awesome cartoon from the 80's. It rocks. Well, just so you know when I write I never go back and check anything and I never use correct punctuation so don't think I am crazy. Oh yeah, I have to leave with this lovely story that happened to my sister Angela who lives in SLC. She was up in this parking lot that she likes to go to to read in her car, and she looked over at this man a little ways in the distance and he was giving her wierd looks so she looked away, and when she looked back he was running at her car full speed totally naked! Can you believe that? He was sitting in his car waiting to charge at her car naked- I was dying when I heard this. I mean come on put it away!- I love you ang.

When is it to early too celebrate Halloween?

The past few weeks have flown by very fast. I had one week where I pretty much locked myself in my house and we watched Meet me in St. Louis and Enchanted more times than a sane person should-but you all know I am not a normal person. It was just one of those weeks when you don't really want to talk to anyone- i have emerged from that week thankfully. Maya is loving school-she asked me to pick her up early one day last week and so I did, and when i got there she said "Mom, I don't want to go yet, I haven't finished my project and I want to go to P.E." I learned my lesson. I guess I just want to do whatever it takes for her to love school, and if she wants to come home early one day than I'll do that. Nicole is going through this phase that is very hard to explain. She pretty much wants to spend 24 hours a day in her princess nighty dresses. She has worn them so much that they are pretty much disinigrating and they are nasty because she will wear them even if they are dirty or wet. When I call her name she sometimes tells me "I'm not Nicole mom, I'm Christine"-(from Phantom of the Opera) She is also requesting to be Christine for Halloween and Maya is wanting to be "A witch with warts and blood coming out of her nose and poop on her shoes" oh, and hair coming out of the nose also- I don't really know what to say about this except for don't let your kids look at scary things unless you want them to say things like this. They aren't scared at all-they just love scary things. We worked on the spook house in the picture for about four days. We had such a blast. We went to Michaels and had too much fun looking at all of the Halloween decorations-we had a 50% off coupon and had to get this kit for 10 bucks. Today we put glow in the dark tatoos on our heads and had a serious party. My question- "Is it to early to start making Halloween decorations?" ABSOLUTLEY NOT! If I ruled the world I would start at least a month early preparing for holidays! I know James totally freaks out from like September to January because he knows we are going to spend money for crafts-sorry James. Anyway, I hope I have made some of you come out of the closet with your love for celebrating Halloween a month and a half before it happens. Oh yeah, just found a hilarious blog site at http://www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/. My friend Jamie Henrie showed it to me. It is basically a blog that mocks the typical mormom mom blog. It is hilarious.

Jamie and Nicole

I had to post a few pictures of Jamie and Nicole. We pretty much hang out all day together now that Maya is in Kindergarten.

Crazy

The past few weeks have been pretty crazy. School started which has been a big change. Maya has a great teacher named Miss Castellano. She is young and happy and Maya loves her. The first week was crazy because she wasn't used to all day Kindergarten. It is a long time to be away from home. Basically when she got home she was done being good and listening so she would throw crazy fits. She was just too exausted. She would tell me that her brain hurt and that she couldn't take anymore words. She has gotten a lot better and still wants to go back everyday so I am happy. I can't believe how much she has learned already. Some things I wish she wouldn't learn. She came home the other day and asked me how old she had to be to have a boyfriend. I was like are you kidding me, she is seriouly only in kindergarten. I guess this cute boy who sits next to her asked her if he could be her boyfriend. I told her to tell him that she can never have a boyfriend and that her dad is her boyfriend! Maybe that was totally the wrong answer, but I'm sure that will end the requests for awhile. Nicole has been doing ok at home but has entered this stage where she wants to wear these princess night gowns all day and even out of the house. It is driving me crazy. She went on a little playdate this week with her friend Penelope and she had a blast. She is really into this game where she tells me that a witch is after her and that she is going to throw her in the trash can. My kids love witch's- I can't wait for Halloween. So the other thing that was crazy is that Jamie got Chicken Pox. I could not believe it when I saw it. i took her into the doctor and he confirmed my fear. I has been bad for her. She was really sick for the first 4 or 5 days and is starting to get better. She looks like a little monster sores. They don't get the chicken pox vaccine ubtil a year old so she ran into bad luck. The hard part has been not being able to go anywhere. I am not a stay at home person and my kids go crazy inside the house all day. Luckily Maya has school or I would probably be dead by now. We also had this crazy storm and lightning hit about 100 yards from our house. Is wear the house shook and the sky went crazy. electrical storms in Arizona are so cool. The sky is continually flashing. We also had pieces of ice the size of quarters falling from the sky for about 4 minutes. It was nuts. Last night there was another storm and a swarm of termites come in through our garage and somehow got into my laundry room . There were hundreds of them-I almost died. The same thing happened last year during a storm and I thought that the whole house was infested with termites, but I guess they just come with the wind and then try to get in. They are gone today so I will be able to sleep without dreaming about termites.

Maya's First Day Of Kindergarten

I have been looking forward to and at the same time dreading the day that Maya would be going to Kindergarten. This morning James gave Maya a Father's blessing. Then, of course Nicole had to have one-because she has to have everything Maya has. We drove her to school and then James had to leave to get to work. I stayed with her and waited for her teacher. There were so many worried looking parents-way more sad parents than kids. maya darted over to the playground and started to swing. We finally went into her classroom and I got all of her supplies out and ready and hung up her backpack. I was so sad inside but hid it because I didn't want her to be scared. I was the last parent in the room and she said "Mom, everyone has left but you". I didn't want to leave- I felt like I was abondoning her-giving away something so special to me. I know that she will have a blast and that my day will be a little more stress free, but I know I will miss her. Nicole has gotten so much attention today I'm sure she's wondering what is up. Anyway, I have successfully made it through this day. I can't believe how time flies.

Who's Afraid of the Heffer?

Ok I couldn't resist putting this picture on my blog. We all went to Bear World and Sadie went right over to this huge old pig and started putting her face in his. He was so grumpy and would make the loudest squeals but she wouldn't let up and kept on bugging him. It was a riot.

Cousins

Jody and Dirk have chickens and the girls fed them grasshoppers and whatever else they could fit into the coup. This proved to be fun for hours. Emily and Jamie have the same eyes.

Idaho

These are a few more random pics from the week. Maya and David had fun building a fort in the woods out of branches. Smores were also a hit!

The Ranch

It's amazing me how beautiful our ground is in Idaho. The views of the Tetons are unreal. We had so much fun four-wheeling and going on hikes. James had his birthday in the mountains and we put his candles on the peach cobbler that Nate made. It was pretty hilarious. The kids roasted marshmellows and got pretty wet in the creek. All of the cousins played together and made so many memories. I wish we had more of these days.

Idaho and Utah

We had such an amazing time with Sharlie and Nate at their house. After that we went to Idaho and we went to Bear World. The bears came so close to our car it was scary. We had so much fun at Jody and Heidi's house. The girls love seeing their cousins.

In Sandy with the Fauvers

We had a blast with the Fauvers. The girls had a blast playing with Leila. We celebrated the 4th with them and the girls loved playing in Bob and Suzie's huge backyard.