Christmas 2008

Here's our nativity. The girls' angels are always included. Melissa is the one who leads the Wisemen, Emma is the one shouting for joy, and Elinor is dangling the golden ball.

Here's our college girl just walking from the plane.

Here's our beautiful tree!

Joy to Everyone This Christmas

Halloween

Here are our two of our three little kittens!  They don't look very nice, but they really are the sweetest. Elinor trunk-r-treated and trick-r-treated this year.  Unfortunately for her, she has to share her loot with the rest of us.

The Chair and Many Thanks

So....here's THE CHAIR.  Isn't it great!  We have so many people to thank for this chair.  First, thanks to Becca and Allen for acquiring the chair and for the many memories of sitting in the chair.  Also, thanks to Adriane and Tom for saving the chair and for letting us have it.  We also need to thank Marrianne and Louise for putting the chair in the right spot and finding the exact fabric for it.  Many thanks to all those who listened to me talk about the chair.  We are happy to have it here in our home, but feel most blessed for all of our wonderful friends who help us through these momentous occasions.  :)

Pumpkin Contest Winner

Elinor won FIRST PLACE for her Construction Man pumpkin.  It was a fitting idea because her school is under major construction, and her dad had all the gear.  Troy and Elinor created the pumpkin together.  Congratulations, Elinor!

War Eagle Craft Fair

The third Thursday of every October is the opening day of the War Eagle Craft Fair -and about ten other craft fairs- here in Northwest Arkansas!  I love to go.  It's in a beautiful setting and there's lots to see.  This year, I bought this Halloween garland.  It's so cute and my fellow shoppers Lori and Peggy insisted that I had to have it.  Thanks girls!

Melissa

Melissa is having a great time at BYU.  It's kind of weird being in a ward where most people have never met her, so I thought I would share a picture or two.  She is taking the prerequisites required to apply for a Communications major.  She is also working toward a minor in Spanish.  She has great roommates and is enjoying her calling as an FHE mom.

Art for SALE

Elinor is trying to collect money for a "really beautiful pink crystal" that she saw at Hobby Lobby. I say "collect" because she takes whatever money she finds.  I encouraged her the get her money the old-fashioned way--by earning it.  So, she drew these two pictures and set the price at fifty cents apiece.  How could I resist?  I bought them both.  I think she learned her savvy business skills from her friends Amelia and Eliza.

Cat Lovers Beware

A few Sundays ago, Troy was wrestling with Thunder, and Thunder got a good bite in on Troy's arm.  Troy didn't think anything of it until it started to SWELL UP and get really hot.  By Monday morning, there were red streaks up Troy's arm.  I insisted that he go to the doctor, and guess what the diagnosis was...CAT SCRATCH DISEASE!  Who knew?

My family and I send our deepest apologies!  We all have been doing one thing or another and have neglected to inform the world about it!  Anyway, I am now a mature, sophisticated, junior in high school. I am loving the routine, but not too much the 5:00 wake up call and the load of homework that comes with it.  Elinor is a 1st grader at hard hat zone, for her school is under MAJOR construction.  We all are happy to get back into the swing of things.

Education Station

School?!?  When did summer start winding down?

I bet this is what most of you pupils or mothers of pupils are thinking.  There is more stress the 2 weeks before school than the 10 months of school, or so it seems!  Yesterday was my clothes/fashion show day with mother. It just so happened that the cutest,  on-sale clothes just happened to be my size and work perfectly!  It was an amazing day full of mother-daughter moments, story telling, and of course spendege of money.  And just to let the world know, I have purchased a pair of purple (s)pecs (trying for the alliteration).  Nevermind the fact that they are kids' glasses, they are super cute.

There is another fact about back to school that is stressful for moms, but amazing for the children.  I still consider myself a child, but for this reason only!  SCHOOL SUPPLIES!  My mother has made this a lasting ritual in our family to buy a new 8-pack of Crayola markers, the 24-pack of crayons and colored pencils, and getting a galore of folders and binders.  It is a magical experience... but for a junior in high school there is no more fun. All I need these days is million plain, uncreative, boring, lame, ugly binders for billions of classes!  But this is a fact I must live with.

To all those kids in grades under 5th, you should celebrate your school life while you can!  And for the kids in 6th grade and up, I feel your pain!

Couldn't Love Him More

The Connor Crew felt it appropriate to introduce our four legged friend.  His name is Thunder and he came to our family November 7, 2007.  It was my dad's idea to get Thunder for Elinor's birthday, and what a surprise he was!  As we get to know him, we see what a lovely dork he is!  See for yourself...

Who needs a small water bowl, when this large one always refills itself?

Thunder doesn't really have a bed, he sleeps wherever he feels comfortable... sometimes in the weirdest places!

Everything is a toy!

90210... or Something Close

We recently (as of 3 weeks ago) returned from our CALIFORNIA TRIP EXTRAVAGANZA!  We were able to kiss on Miss, catch some serious waves, and visit the Wonderful World of Disney.  My dad finally got a tan.  He went from "please shield your eyes" white to "permitted to wear sunglasses" white, an improvement none the less! The weather was stifling, but nothing could stop us from visiting the beloved Disney land and neighboring California Adventure.  My mother dear was able to visit her dream house, "Sycamore Bend", and all the hot spots.  Elinor braved all the 52" rides and didn't even scream (I believe she was too scared to!)  Mom and Dad were also able to go to the the LA Temple which was an amazing experience. All together we had a great time with family and friends.  

We're New at This

We followed the crowd and created this new family blog! I, Emma, have been put in charge of putting it all together.  It is a little rough finding all the gadgets and fun things to do, but I'm getting there.  We all had a lot of fun trying to find a name that described our family and didn't say too much. Our other options were:

1. "The CON-nectionators" (not a real word)
   
2. "The Constructioniters" (again, not a real word)
   
3. "Daddy's Little Girls and Big Mama"
   
4. "Thunder and the Mother Love"
   
5. "On Our Way"
   

Nothing seemed right until Dad thought of the song "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas from the movie Meet the Robinsons. It seemed to fit with our life style, so here we are!