Pre-Halloween surprises

Grandmas are the best, aren't they? When Mom, Dad and Jennifer visited earlier in the month, Mom had the forthought to put together some super cute Halloween goody boxes for the kids and left them for me to give them. Since we won't be doing anything other than trick-or-treating tonight, I decided to give them their gifts last night so they could be enjoyed today while waiting for "real Halloween" to start.

They were each thrilled with the surprises inside, which included a large orange and white lollipop, a Pumpkin Pez dispenser & Pez candy, Halloween packaged Teddy Grahams, light-up Halloween socks, and some orange and black Playdough. I let them each eat their lollipops that night and Hakan made quick work of his (without biting it, even!) while Pyper savored hers and had some left over for today. They've been playing with their (empty) Pez dispensers all morning, and Pyper discovered after crawling under Hakan's bed that they glow in the dark!

Please excuse the blurry photos- my camera is pretty reliable, but the flash sometimes isn't. Why does it always do that on the cutest shots, too? Grrr.








Anyway, thanks Grandma Pam- they really loved them!

Well, I'd better scoot. I sent them up to their beds for nap time, but it's clear from the thumps and thuds overhead that they are definitely not napping. Happy Halloween, everyone!!

Just for fun, here's a peek at Pyper's costume. This is her preschool class during their Halloween party yesterday. (Peter Pan is not a classmate, but an older sibling still home for Fall break.)

Kimberly speaks at last!

Yeah, I've been a total bum about posting here. Sorry about that. But now I have something I feel is post-worthy! This last weekend I had at an anime convention! No, I'm not going to post a huge geeky rant right here, I'm just going to link you to where I DID post it, on my deviantART account. http://mormongirlbyu.deviantart.com/journal/21224119/ If you really don't care about how much fun I had, then you don't even have to read it, because like I said, it really is ridiculously long.

I will say, though, that with this, I have decided to give up all pretenses of normal. ^_^ I'm an anime nerd and I love it. Just thought I'd let you all know that.

Yes Jennifer, I know you're embarrassed for me. I will not apologize.

P.S. Why can't I post on the family blog from my own account...? Am I still not a contributer, because I do have a blog of my own now.

8 is great

Okay, it's been silent as the dead for long enough around here, so I thought I'd post this here instead of on my my own blog.

Tagged by Kory

8 TV shows I love to watch:

1. The Office
2. Pushing Daisies
3. Lipstick Jungle
4. Find Your Style
5. Kath and Kim
6. Burn Notice
7. The Starter Wife
8. Martha Stewart Crafts

8 things that happened to me yesterday:

1. Actually completed the goal I'd set for myself to get the soles sewn onto 18 pairs of shoes.
2. Took a nap with the kids.
3. Bummed Aaron out- sorry again, sweetie.
4. Got out of making dinner (again).
5. Tried a new restaraunt.
6. Went on a shopping spree at Old Navy for maternity clothes- thanks Aaron!!
7. Woke up in the middle of the night with a massive headache.
8. Was told by my daughter that I look beautiful.

8 favorite places to eat:

1. Olive Garden
2. Panda Express
3. Texas Roadhouse
4. Famous Dave's (the new place we tried last night)
5. Fiesta Guadalajara
6. Golden Corral
7. Smoky Mountain Pizzeria & Grill
8. Craigo's (in Rexburg)

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. THANKSGIVING! So can't wait to see my parents, all my siblings & their significant others, and Mommer & Popper!!
2. My birthday, just 'cuz.
3. Seeing the baby on ultrasound again tomorrow.
4. Halloween because the kids are sooo excited about it.
5. Christmas
6. Hakan getting potty trained.
7. Pyper starting kindergarten next fall.
8. Having a baby.

8 things on my wish list:

1. A car that doesn't make me nervous to drive it.
2. Maternity clothes.
3. No snow when we have to drive to Rexburg and southern Utah next month.
4. Not getting put on strict bed rest during this pregnancy.
5. Space Bags.
6. This bracelet.
7. A houndstooth coat that I can wear during and after pregnancy.
8. Figuring out where we want to live and buying a house there.

8 people I tag:

1. Bryce
2. Keith
3. Todd
4. Kimberly
5. Jennifer
6. Mom
7. Dad
8. Anyone else who wants to play!!

My turn!

well i figured since i had dad do the post on the last Tuacahn play we went to, i should probably do this one. on Friday night, he and i made the drive to St. George to see... are you ready for it? i'll give you a hint.



okay i don't know if you can tell or not, but that's Matt Smith and our very own Keith dressed up as the duke and the king from "Big River"! they did a great job in their version, but i'm not gonna lie... Tuacahn has way more funding, so they had some way cooler stuff. for instance: Tom Sawyer's "gang" came in on a zipline over the stage. whoo! and then... oh man, this part just blew our MINDS. the music started leading up to "Muddy Water" and then came WATER. like, they actually flooded the stage. with water. on the stage. don't worry, at the front of the stage there was like a space between it and another wall... i don't know if that made sense. anyways, no one got wet. but Dad pointed out that we did have to wonder what the people on the front row were thinking when the water came cascading down the rocks behind the stage.

the cast did a great job, though there were a few things that we weren't all that excited about. such as pap saying "daygom govet" in his song (if i didn't already know the words, i would have been completely lost) and Huck acting... well, not like a normal human being. not even for a redneck. Jim, on the other hand... wow. he was played by a guy named Jay Pierce, who is the featured vocalist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. just now, i was trying to think of the right word to describe his voice, and something Will Ferrell said seems about right... Jay Pierce's voice was scrumtralescent. after the show, i had to go the bathroom so i asked dad to tell him that he was my hero. apparently, Jay Pierce also worked in Chapel Hill... go figure!

anyways, i just wanted to fill y'all in on it. that play was AMAZING, even though it was really windy, and therefore reeeeeally cold. poor Jim and Huck had to sing "River In The Rain" while there were actual fire-sprinkler type things comin down on them.

Jay Pierce is my hero. Period.

Theater in St. George

Jennifer wanted me to post something about our trip to St. George Thursday night. We got to go over and see Les Miserables at the Tuacahn Amphitheater over there. It is an outdoor theater with an amazing background of a redrock box canyon. It's a really nice facility with a huge stage and excellent productions. We've gone in the past to see West Side Story and Joseph. This year they are doing Les Miz and Big River. I'm trying to figure out a way to get back to see Big River before they close near the end of the month. Also, the St. George Musical Theater group is putting on The Secret Garden right now, and I want to get over and see that as well.
Les Miz was outstanding (Jauvert and Eponine especially so, although Jennifer and her friends liked Marius a lot, too). She had never seen the whole show and only knew it from Kimberly's descriptions and the soundtrack. Tuacahn uses many of the same actors for both shows (Big River MWF, Les Miz TuThSa) and the interesting part was the same guy does Jauvert and Jim in Big River. He was so good, I really want to see him as Jim. After the show, I asked Thenardier and his wife how it was to do two such different shows on alternate nights, and they said it was pretty hard. Anyway, I didn't take any pictures (not allowed) so I have none to post. Going to the show really made me miss being in the theater with all you guys and brought back lots of great memories. Bye for now. Dad

Dena wants pancakes

Dena wants pancakes. But Dena can't have pancakes. Do you know why Dena can't have pancakes? Because Dena doesn't have wisdom teeth any more. She had them all removed yesterday and has spent the last 36 hours sitting on the couch and drinking a liquid diet. I need to have it done myself at some point, but I'm in no hurry. It doesn't look like any fun.

Beef jerky sounds good too. or steak. Great, now I'm getting hungry.