More Sam's Club...

OK, seriously, this is only about half the pictures they took at Sam's Club...

Uncle Jon

When Uncle Jon was here, he took Spencer, Noah and Jacob on a trip around Sam's Club. I just saw the pictures and laughed myself sick! Jon's life is nothing if not well-documented. It makes me giggle to think about all the people they recruited to photograph them. They love love love their Uncle Jon and have so much fun with him.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Just a few shots of the boys on Christmas morning. We told them they had to stay in bed and couldn't wake us up until 7 am. At 7:40 we experienced a mild earthquake in our bed as Noah shook us with all his might to wake us up. As usual, squeals and exclamations of "look what I got" accompanied the unwrapping frenzy. They were all pleased with what they received and were excited to give the special gifts they had chosen or made to everyone else. Isaac's favorite gifts were the trash compactor Wall-E and the Cars backpack. Jacob loved the Sonic Unleashed Wii game and the "as seen on TV" Pancake Puff pan. Noah was excited to receive a giant peppermint stick and Dueling Heli's (remote control helicopters). Spencer, the music man, was thrilled with his new keyboard and little electronic band guys that play when you hook them up to a music source (can't remember what they're called). After awhile, things settled down and we had breakfast. I made a ham-and-egg-and-crescent-roll-casserole with fresh-squeezed orange juice from our fresh-picked oranges. Yum! Later we "Skyped" Granny and Grandpa at the Bean's house and got to see two-day-old little Henry. What a sweet Christmas blessing. We also talked with Joe and Kelli and Grant. Everyone sounds like they had a beautiful Christmas. We are all so blessed with everything we have: family, love, home, and the gospel. We love you all. Merry Christmas!

Trying Again

Round 'Em Up, Move 'Em Out

More Rawhide pics. Couldn't not share the mechanical bull videos. And the picture of Isaac pondering what to ask Santa for.

Rawhide

Nana and Papa and Uncle Jon have come to visit us for the Christmas holiday break. They have been wanting to go to Rawhide forever and so we all bundled up Tuesday night and made a journey to the Wild West. Santa arrived by stagecoach, the mule train was in operation, and campfires were blazing. The boys all enjoyed riding the railroad and the stagecoach, climbing the rock wall, and hanging on for dear life on the mechanical bull. We laughed until we were sick when Uncle Jon took his turn! Dinner was BBQ beef brisket, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and "chicken fangers". Oh, and don't forget the hot chocolate! It was a cold night in the Arizona desert.

Falling Leaves

While we were at Granny and Grandpa's house, the biggest attraction was the falling leaves. We just don't get them in Arizona, and when we do, it happens in January! So, Grandpa shook the leaves down and the cousins made big piles of leaves and then scattered them and then raked them up again....for HOURS every day! It was a riot to watch them play and play and enjoy themselves so much.

Thanksgiving

So my holidays are mixed up. Just wanted to share some of the fun pictures from our visit to Granny and Grandpa's house in St. George at Thanksgiving. These are from our favorite hike near Leeds, UT. Beautiful hike through the red rocks near the river! Until you get to the part where they have carved foot and handholds in the rock and attached a rope so you can climb above the waterfall. Everyone else thought it was great fun but I was freaking out as I watched my boys risk their lives! OK, it wasn't that bad and the reward was a gorgeous, peaceful appreciation of one of Heavenly Father's most amazing creations. All of us (Kings, Carrs, and Grandpa Tom) had so much fun together!

Marianne Merrill

Jacob's sweetheart of a preschool teacher found out she had cancer at the end of Jacob's preschool year. After a two-year battle with the cancer, she passed away Monday night. What a neat lady. Marianne was one of those whose super-cute crafts were way over the top and the kids adored her. She loved, loved, loved the kids and even sent cards to Jacob to see how he was doing in Kindergarten last year. Her funeral is tomorrow. Jacob made a card for her grandson, Joe, who is in his first-grade class. It says, "Soree your grangma died. This is the most I rmember her reemember wen we had buble time at preeschool?", and he drew a picture of them blowing bubbles. She will be deeply missed.

Noah's Diorama

I have heard tales of super-crazy homework assignments, but at Franklin we are so "back-to-basics" that we never have parent-insanity-inducing projects. However, Noah's fifth-grade class has just finished up their Famous American reports. As part of their grade, they were asked to do an oral report with some sort of illustration, like a costume, poster or diorama. Guess what Noah thought would be fun? Luckily, I did last year's Science Fair experiment with Spencer, so Jeremy got to help Noah this time. They did a great job and all I had to do was buy the modeling clay at Michael's. Turned out great. "Give me liberty or give me death." Way to go, Noah! (As a side note, Noah was so tired from staying up late that he forgot to change out of his pajama shirt and wore it to school. No one noticed, including Noah, but we had a good chuckle when I picked him up after school. He's so cute!)

You Have to Try This

I made this yummy dip for our book club brunch last week and oh my is it good. It was actually the hit of the party, so if anyone needs a sure winner for holiday get-togethers this year, this is for you.

Cheddar Apple Pie Dip

1/4 C. firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
2 apples, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 C. walnut pieces, coarsely chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 C. sour cream
Wheat Thins

Preheat oven to 375. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add apples and walnuts; toss until evenly coated. Set aside.
Mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese in medium bowl. Add sour cream; stir until well blended. Spread into 9-inch pie plate; top with apple mixture.
Bake 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve with crackers.

Ornament Exchange

I was invited to participate in a handmade ornament exchange this year. I got this idea and my ornaments turned out so pretty, I have to share! It really is a simple concept: roll strips of paper (1/2" x 6") around a sucker stick and insert into the glass ornament. However, making 18 ornaments times 40 strips of paper each equals 720 rolls I had to do. My fingers were cramped and blistered by the time I finished. Ah, suffering for my art. But aren't they yummy?

Happy Halloween (very, very late)

I never posted my kids' Halloween pictures and ran across them yesterday. Spencer had so much fun creating his Phantom costume! Noah is Obi-Wan Kenobi (remember we used to call him Noah-one Kenobi?), Jacob was Spiderman, and Isaac was the most adorable Mater ever! The ward Trunk-or-Treat was so huge this year. We didn't even recognize many of the people there. Maybe that's a good thing...lots of investigators?