the REST of our "holiday" weekend

My menfolk did something very manly to start off the day--they picked us up a cord of wood (thanks to the help of our fantastic bishop) to have on hand. I felt warm ticklies in my tummy when I saw all that lovely wood stacked on the side of our house (I always took it for granted when my Dad just went & did it, you know?). It feels great to be prepared (last year there was a horrid ice storm that lasted for days)! Don't tell Tony I asked you, but wouldn't it be great if we saved ourselves some money & heated our entire house this way??! Maybe you should call randomly & tell him all the merits of wood burning & such...

The boys are allowed to play internet "Lego" games when their Daddy is with them, so while they did this...

I bonded over bread-making with my little gal

Some more Christmasing...

Since the boys are leaving for Christmas this year, we had ours early...this is the table of food stuffs. Mr. Tony made his first turkey (totally succulent I might add) & batch of caramels! Christmas this year was great, we started two new ideas we hope to make traditions. I had the boys make each other a present & we also did the 3 present thing, one representing each of the gifts given to Christ. 1.) Gold--the gift of fun, the must-have toy, etc. 2.) Myrrh--the gift of usefulness, clothes, etc. 3.) Frankincense--the gift of meaning, a hand-made article, etc. Loved it!

When we were little we kids would organize my Dad's sock drawer many times for his present. The weird thing? He LOVED it! Tony wanted some new work socks, so the boys completed the present by matching all the socks in his drawer & we wrapped all the loners up with his new socks. Then of course they sent him on a treasure hunt to find it!

The cat was even included in the festivities

Our favorite present (the boys still think she's the best thing EVER!)

The Merry of Our Season!

Good thing our tree isn't any taller, eh?

They loved seeing it light up & the scene inside

Our ward had a "cookies & milk" theme w/ crafts for our ward Christmas activity. I was in charge of the pipe-cleaner n' bead candy canes (I believe we have 20 gracing our tree!)

...And the dancing

...And our lovely friend who coaxed our lil' bitty into slumber

...And ta da! The climax (if this Santa wouldn't have been able to do it, they asked if Tony would. Well, he has been to "Clown School" in his past where he was an awesome Santy-Claus, but we were grateful our children could get their visit in to a non-Daddy version of the big, jolly man)

My Random Gratefuls!

1.) For my little turkeys, gobble gobble!

2.) For food! And for the lovely people who invited us to partake of theirs (Ali's pumpkin cake-bars--oh, divine!)

3.) Nature, for the creativity of children & their love of everything beautiful & simple!

4.) Books have always thrilled me, so this Kodak moment practically sent me over the edge!

5.) That Tony was able to sell this so quickly in order to procure our family with a computer that works! I'm so grateful!

6.) Once detested as a child, oatmeal now warms the tummy & feeds my "happy gland"

7.) Gotta love those bright, sunny colors & boy do I love how Legos keep ALL my men entertained!

8.) Going to the temple has just gotten 286 miles harder, but our awesome ward made it so we could all go by providing baby-sitting at the near-by stake center. Nothing is the same as the peace of the temple.

9.) I'm grateful for a husband who teaches our boys the absolute importance of the temple

10.) I love water creations (& again, those little darlings in the background), they make me feel giddy & childish (I just hide it inside :)

The TRUE Tale of a Tony Menu

Once Upon a time...
Jenna-vive had a marvelous husband, truly a prince among men. One glorious Saturday (November the 14th, in the year two thousand and nine) he put off slaying the dragons of his choice in order to let his wife (whom he calls 'the queen' *true story*) regain her sanity by giving her some much-needed time off. She received extra beauty sleep in the morning while he took the sons to the faraway land of "Auto Zone," she was able to go running whilst talking to the magical squirrels & birds along the way, & ended that marvelous day by being allowed to feed her soul at the castle spiritual banquet known as the "Stake Conference Adult Meeting." Well, in the course of that SUPERB day, she didn't have to fix one, single, solitary, meal! The result? The Tony menu:

Breakfast: Cheeseburgers & a Heath Klondike Bar

Lunch: Peanut Butter, strawberry preserves & WHIPPED CREAM sandwich

Dinner: Spaghetti sauce, chicken & cheese sandwiches 'cooked' in the sandwich maker

Post Script: The good news? I figure since I didn't partake of any of the aforementioned victuals, I will be in good order to calm their troubled tummies all week long...

Post Script Script: This is not a usual occurrence in our humble cottage, Tony-the-Prince is actually quite health conscious, but it was well worth my 'vacation' :)

Oopsies!

Pets For Sale

My boys were out of school one Friday so we went to "The Pet Store" to get an informational tour n' touch of all their fabulous animals. They LOVED it!

This, however is the "no touchy" snake

This is the closest relative to the Komodo Dragon that you can have as a pet--it will grow to be 7 feet long (it actually belongs to our 'tour guide' but he keeps it at the store for now)!

Doesn't this make you want to squish it?? Sick.

And here's what she looked like the whole time...

Family scripture time

I looked up & what did I see?

Tradi-TIONS!

The Cobia traditional "dinner-in-a-pumpkin" (Jaydon was sick most of the weekend if you can't tell by his poor little smile)

Another festive meal--hotdog mummies, witches brew, goblin apple mouths & brains (squash)

"Sweet Pea" takes on a whole new meaning...

The whole crew at the ward trunk-or-treat/chili cook off: Big Bad Wolf w/ Little Red Riding Hood (including the basket for granny, A.K.A. the diaper bag), Ash (Pokemon somebody or other), Crocodile Hunter, & Sleeping Baby (she was REALLY convincing).

It was pretty amusing, I was nursing Ari in the mother's lounge in the church & heard my name announced for winning the cornbread contest over the loudspeaker in there. Hmmm, I didn't enter it...slight mistake. When an unlabeled pan of cornbread was announced as the 2nd place winner, my loyal boys thought of COURSE it was mine & told them so. Don't worry, soon thereafter we turned ourselves in to rectify the situation.

The Men of my life

This one had a birthday on Sunday...if you get the chance, tell him he doesn't look a day over 33 (it will make him feel so good since it's been 3 whole days since he reached that magical age!)
Here are my reasons of love for this mad cat:
1.) He's entirely dedicated to the Gospel
2.) He ALWAYS walks in the door with a smile on his face
3.) He lets me stress out while he remains easy-going & adaptable
4.) No sooner can I get the words out, "Honey, would you be willing," he responds with, "I'll do it"---wow
5.) Playing with Daddy has become #1 in our house--the boys want to spend time with him more than anything else
6.) I truly feel like an equal partner, we work everything out together
7.) His listening skills are superb
8.) He'll take the baby even when she's fussy AND he changes many diapers
9.) He's one of the most generous people I know
10.) He keeps us laughing all the time from his random antics & his humor is quite witty!
How in the world did I get so blessed??

Jaydon's "baby balloon" creation--the black is the baby's hair

One of Jyson's daily snack creations out of wheat thins, pretzels, fishies, & animal crackers. And the white piece is a napkin he said is "The dike for the bison to climb up." Oh, right.

Dedicated to a 2 month old baby's progression

While I finally got to brush my teeth for the day, she was being enlightened.

She's an official "smiling baby," look at her go (okay, it's not the best picture of it, but you really should see the real deal, come on over sometime)

Here we have the "heads up" baby

The infamous first "Sunday dress" appearance, complete with, what else...an enormous bow!

And I don't know what this is really, but she grabbed them off Jaydon's face & I thought it was so cute it had to count for something

Our Littlest Blessing

Today was the day, though it almost wasn't... The bishop forgot, but luckily we have a bold friend who went up & reminded him.

I actually made this dress when I found I was pregnant...with TWO boys (college class almost 9 years ago). But, my patience finally paid off!
Acknowledgements go to:
--Cami for the beautiful blanket behind Ari that was made about 6 months before I made the dress. She is my awesome roommate-- Camian lookee, it finally got used (the boys were born when it was stinkin' hot)!!
--And thanks to Grandma Cobia for the headband & adorable bracelet. They contribute greatly to the "ahhhh" factor :)

Our View of Saturday

We got to help at the community food bank & it was a neat experience (albeit a short one, there were 700 volunteers that helped that day & 1,000 people that came through the line). Anyone who wanted to could come through a food line--there was a vast amount of food given out (as seen behind the boys)! Jaydon was the official 'grapes' guy & Jyson did the fresh bunches of parsley. For some reason, Jyson had a harder time giving away his produce :)

We went to "Battle of the Bands" because we were given 2 free tickets since Tony's work was the sponsor for it. It was AMAZING! I was in summer marching band back in the day, but we were so small & there was just no budget for it. But, they introduced me to "Drum Corp" & that is where my love for drum lines began (they are so shivers-down-your-neck-giving). Drum Corp is a professional, world-wide pumped up version of marching band. They are incredible. Anyway, these fantastic high school bands we watched yesterday reminded me of that & it was a blast to watch them. The boys loved it too.


This clip (if you can see it) was a band whose music theme was reminiscent of what happens to children when they eat too much candy & get a tummy ache...nightmares . SO creative. P.S. look for the oompa loompas

13 Hearts for Innnnnnnndiana!

1. My babe was born here!


2. Tony's work has this awesome game area (no blood n' guts either) we frequent regularly

3. Souped up golf carts instead of 4-wheelers--no joke--they ride around the town (look at those beefy tires) just for kicks

4. Our cafe where we get my new favorite--PB frozen yogurt!

5. Fresh veggies from the good people of the city

6. 'Vera Bradley.' My amazing friend bought me my diaper bag from here--I love love it! Check it out you west-coasters www.verabradley.com. Everyone here who is anyone simply must have one (there's a spring sale so they're somewhat affordable at that time)!

7. Our lil' town has a garage-sale weekend where one & all have a garage sale--gotta love small-town quaintness... My favorite purchase was the $5 treadmill I bought that works great!

8. Our new bank lets us save up points toward a million different gift cards--presents for Christmas!

9. Our Amish neighbors are a good reminder to simplify our lives. They are so kind!

10. Why doesn't Idaho have this...a "family friendly" station where one of their main slogans is "never anything that will offend the family," and "Christian, family values." Awesome!

12. Of course the trees here in the east are breathtaking...so many colors

13. This ultimate "key-saver" is incredible! Not an Indiana original I'm sure, but it's here that I discovered it so it deserves a 'heart.' It clips on to keys & then hooks outside the pocket so you never have to dig through your purse or bag again!!!!!!!!!!!!!