Feeling Wicked

The long awaited night came and went, and once again left me wanting more of the same!

BWD and I went went to see Wicked with our good friends the Andersons and the Poelmans. Both couples had not seen it before, so it was fun to see their reactions. They loved it.
I remember being blown away seeing it the first time, it is just so spectacular in every way and so much to take in.
But, in saying that I was surprised at how much I had forgotten or missed. Also how different actresses play the parts so uniquely.
Elfaba sold me more on her love for Fiyaro this time. Galinda was even more comical.
And the songs...THE SONGS!!! I always am so moved by the incredible talents of others.
My favorite song is probably a tie between Defying Gravity and No Good Deed. But I do love For Good, Popular and As Long as your Mine. There's really not a song I don't like, and THAT, coupled with the brilliant mind who created the script and story is why it is so popular.

This morning I checked online to see what the 2010 tour looked like so I could make plans to see it again! (Next time with Coby and Katrina).

I do believe I have been changed for the better. :)

Double Digits

My favorite blonde -haired blue eyed little girl just turned 10!
Katrina had us wrapped around her finger the second we found out we were having her.
There are many wonderful and unique things about her:

• Anyone would be completely entertained just watching her play with her stuffed animals every day. These stuffed little creatures have had talent shows, played school, gone to the hospital, had fights over who got to sleep with Katrina each night, dealt with the pains of adoption, had birthday parties, gone on vacations...I could go on and on!
  
• She's a professional bed maker.
• Always always always says "love you mom" each night as I tuck her in, even if she's mad.
• Opened her own business doing nails and facials, which has sadly closed due to the economy.
• She's quite the athlete but doesn't like to play on teams necessarily.
  
• Loves to make up her own songs on the piano. She's getting better and better.
• Can clean a room like nobody's business! When she wants to that is.
  
• She would love her very own dog for her birthday. She's not getting one.
  
• She's the sneakiest kid in the house. She sneaks out of her room and can be feet away from us watching TV or listening to our conversation without us detecting a SOUND.
  

For her birthday this year we had a Halloween Birthday party. We played games, made these super cute trick or treat bags (that turned out to be the most frustrating thing ever). BWD told a scary story called "Beware of White Eyes". And for her actual birthday, mother nature decided to dump a bunch of snow on us causing all the schools to close. Pretty nice to not have to go to school on your birthday! She ended the snow day going night sledding with her dad and brothers at the high school. She came in and said "this has definitely been the funnest but coldest birthday I've had!"

Dear Tall Friends,

Being short has had it's advantages in the past. I never had to worry about towering over a guy while dancing. I was always at the top of the cheer leading pyramid instead of having a heavy shoe dug into my back while squatting. Maybe there's more advantages than that, but that's about all that comes to mind right now.
Today I'd like to invite all tall(er) people to do me a favor:
Next time you see a short girl in your aerobics class trying to reach up to grab THE only stability ball that is left on the very top row, please, I beg you PLEASE help her.
Or else that petite girl may jump up to try to knock it down and not even come close to moving it off the edge (embarrassing). Or worse; she may out of sheer desperation, get a weighted bar to push it up from the bottom and you may find yourself dodging a 3 foot diameter stability ball as it bounces it's way across the aerobics floor leaving havoc in it's path (utter humiliation).
Yes, please help her next time.
Signed,
Never arriving late to aerobics class again!

Breaking Fall

After asking the fam what they wanted to do over fall break, here are some ideas they came up with:

• Stay the night in Glenwood Springs and hike Hanging Lake the next day.
• Go to a haunted house (Coby has no idea what he's getting into here).
• Do a corn maze at Anderson Farms.
  
• Eat a caramel apple at Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory (my favorite is apple pie apple).
  
• Make many many Halloween Crafts (the girls are adding to the list constantly).
• Have a family sleepover upstairs in the library in sleeping bags (Katrina's idea).
• Sleep in every day (Ace's contribution).
• NOT do boring stuff (Sydie's comment).
  

We'll see how many we end up doing. The sleeping in suggestion is looking better and better the more I go over the list of activities. I wish we could go to Hawaii or California or anywhere actually but having a husband without vacation days is a real bummer.
2010 will be our go away on vacation year!

Miss Saigon

I love musicals. Miss Saigon has been on my list for years as one that I would like to see. I've been listening to the music for years. So last Friday I finally went to see it with the Hunters. It was playing at the Arvada Center and I wasn't sure how good the quality of the performers would be.
Most of the performers had been on Broadway or had done the Broadway tour thing. I couldn't tell the difference in the performers there with what I have seen on Broadway or at the Buelle Theater. They were AMAZING!
Not knowing a whole lot about the show, I didn't know what to expect. Someone should have given me a heads up on the first scene though.
The first scene has to do with the soldiers in Vietnam and how they'd find prostitute bars in their leisure hours to pass time while they were there. I wasn't sure whether to laugh out loud, cover my eyes, vomit or cry during the whole first 15 minute scene! It made dirty dancing look like the electric slide. Soldiers had their hands ALL over these women, who had their hands all over the soldiers and it was truly like an orgy with clothes on set to music. Overkill. Here's an example: At one point one of the soldiers had his hand on the prostitutes boob, moved it away, and the woman took his hand and placed it back all the while doing a lap dance. Seriously. And to make matters worse, the women were kind of nasty looking. They sang beautifully but ewwwwwww. The kind of ewwwww like when you see two nasty old people making out.
Luckily the musical picked itself up out of the gutter and carried forward to some better scenes.
Overall, I really liked it (other than the first scene), loved the music and will go to the Arvada Center ANYTIME to see almost ANYTHING, knowing the quality of the performers.
Early next month will be WICKED (at the Buelle Theater)! I am majorly excited about this. I have been waiting to see it again since the minute I left NYC over 2 years ago.
And Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is playing in December which we may take the family to go see.

August Rush

I've been horrible about blogging. Hor. Ri. Ble.
So here's my new goal: Update every other week.
That's pretty reasonable, right?
Here's a few things I wouldn't want to forget about August (other than it FLEW by):

• School Started! Yay! We took the traditional individual photo of our kids holding up their "first day of _____" signs. Cute as they are, I was way excited about the whole going back to school thing. Why? Because I'm a better Mom when I don't have to deal with the same problems from sun up to sun down. And the "I'm Bored" phrase was getting used all too often.
  
• BWD and I had an anniversary. Seventeen years of holy matrimony!!! I can honestly say that we're very happy too. We stole away for a night and went up to Boulder area to relax and have fun. We even brought our bikes and went for a little spin. We try to do that twice a year for at least one night and I so look forward to it each and every time. The timing of our anniversary couldn't be more perfect too. Right after the kids are back in school there's nothing like a little get-away.
  
• The kids changed rooms. Again. Now Coby is back in the basement and Katrina has his old room. They are all pretty happy now actually and so far Coby hasn't abused the privilege of having a fridge/freezer/microwave at his disposal. As far as we know that is.
  
• At the tail end of July, the boys (including BWD) went to High Adventure/Scout Camp. They hiked a 14-er and got to test out the kayaks they had built. They had a GREAT time and it was a perfect thing to end the summer.
• And last but certainly not least, our garden produced exactly 8 beans. I planted corn, watermelon, pumpkins, peas and the aforementioned beans. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that it was properly weeded. But the weeds are unbeLIEEEEEvable. Every plant was taken and treated as a POW. It's no wonder all the watering and such didn't matter. I can't do another garden unless it's indoor or hanging topsy-turvy-like.
  

And that raps up August!

Gotta Love Them Reunions!

These 3 day reunions seem to work with us. The Ashton side had one 2 years ago. Now the Fowlers got together last weekend to hang out and have some fun. There was even a little Reiki involved one day, which unfortunately I have no pictures of.
Here's some hard evidence of the fun we had:

• 

Three of my cute nieces on our way to catch us some fish at Arlington. Notice the girls all have our Fowler Love pink T's on.


Building a fire to roast some Hot-dogs/Some Mores.
I can remember 4 years ago, it was this very spot that Austin tried to create a fire without our supervision using lighter fluid. Flames rising 15 to 20 feet in the air. Major major trouble that kid.


Look at these precious Grandkiddos. One day they'll be bringing their own little families to the 3 day Fowler Fest. This is where it all started...




And... I saved the best for last. Granddad and Grandmother with all The Originals. Some more original than others I might add. Take note of the boy in the center doing the splits. Ouch. That's what years of being a Master Yoga Instructor will get you. Photos like this. I wanted them to do something crazy. Make a silly face. Maybe show some funny expression.
Who followed through here? Is this as crazy as it gets folks?

I'm glad I could hook up with this fine family...I love them all.

Top 10 reasons to visit NYC with your 12 year old.

Following a tradition that we started with Ace, BWD and I took Coby on his 12 year old vacation.
We chose NYC again because it's like visiting 6 countries for the price of one.
Here's the top 10 reasons why you should consider going here with your little loved one:

1. If you love to people watch, there is no better place, period. We saw and heard people from all over the world! Anything goes here. You can dress any way you want, look at freaky as you want--you not only fit right in but you are embraced.
2. Conquer your fears. Take a 30 minute walk down 125th street and Harlem and see what it feels like to be the only Caucasian around. Be led into a dark alley by a little Chinese lady trying to avoid the police so you can buy a Coach knock-off. Ride in a taxi.
   
3. The Pizza. The Soups. The Pies. The Sandwiches. The Breads. The pounds you will gain will be well worth it. Coby especially liked the cannolis.
   
4. You will appreciate good old home conveniences like hopping in your car to get to the grocery store in 5 minutes, being able to see for miles and miles, and the smells around you.
5. Visit all the places you've read about in books or have seen in movies. Grand Central Station, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, NYC Library, Apollo Theater, Broadway, Empire State Building, SoHo, Ground Zero and Wall Street.
6. Learn how to commute by Train, Subway, Taxi, Bike Carriage and Ferry. And of course, Foot. We walked miles and miles each day.
7. Phantom of the Opera. Fabulous.
   
8. Laying down in a comfy bed at the end of the day. Even more Fabulous.
9. The Manhattan Temple. Truly an escape from the chaos around it. And the guard outside the door is totally entertaining.
10. You will leave there with a new found love and appreciation for your own cost of living.

We heart NYC.

A Change is a Comin'

Lots of changes around here these days, that's left us with well, less change.
First BWD's car broke down. Starter. BWD tried to fix it, but alas...1,000 dollars later...it was fixed.

Next, our dryer. I had a feeling about this one when I saw a pencil go down the lint catcher. Any other dryer might have not had an issue with this but ours was 17 plus years old and that just did it in. BWD tried to fetch it out but he couldn't. Another couple of thousand dollars later we got a brand new beautiful set. I'm not so sad about that pencil now as my clothes have never been more clean and dry.

Then our vacuum broke. There was no replacing this because BWD actually fixed this one. Thing is now that there is no ON/OFF switch. Ya gotta be ready to go when you plug that bad boy in.

Coby turned twelve last week as well! This is going to cost us a chunk of change because we are keeping with tradition and going on a big vacation with just BWD, me and Coby. He wanted to go to NYC which was so much fun with Ace, so we are more than happy to go there again. We'll be staying with my brother Keith and his cute family.
For his birthday, he invited a few friends to spend the day with. They rode their bikes to McDonald's, ate lunch, then went on a scavenger hunt at the mall, then we all drove to this really cool place called Castlewood Canyon. They have these waterfalls that you can play around in and they all had a total blast. With the exception of Austin getting lost as we were hiking there and having the rangers go out to find him, it was a great day. UNTIL we started for home. We got caught in a total hail/rain storm accompanied by streets flooding. I felt like pulling over and crying but instead I chanted "please get us home" until we pulled into our neighborhood.
All in all though, a fun birthday for a fun kid. Coby You Rock.

Here's some of my favorite things about him:
1. Self motivated. But especially motivated by sweets.
2. Can pack a bag like a pro.
3. His Faux Hawk.
4. His piano playing.
5. I've never hand to remind him to do his homework or study for a test or practice piano.
6. He's sense of humor is great, he makes us laugh all the time.
7. Very organized and very reliable.
8. Loves chocolate with a passion.

Also, I have to mention a pretty cool phenomenon. Sydie pulled me outside telling me I "have to see this" and I'm thinking she found a red ant or a weird looking spider or something. We go across the street to my neighbor's house and I couldn't believe my eyes!
Hundreds and Hundreds and Hundreds of ladybugs. All over every leaf and branch. I've never seen anything like it. It was kind of freaky; like Amityville Horror but with ladybugs. And since Ladybugs are a good omen, I'm thinking GOOD change will be coming our way. :)

Getting Even

Always starts innocent. Someone throws a small little snowball that just shaves the side of someone's leg. Then all hell breaks loose! Every man/child for themselves! See Coby going in for the kill? He's going to take that snowball and & aim for BWD's head!
He shoots, He scores!!!! The look on BWD's face is priceless. Watch out Coby!



After all was said and done Coby might have gotten the worst of it.
But he started it!

Now, if some of you can't afford to go to the spa and lay in a mud bath, here's the next best thing according to Ace. Snow Burial. He describes it as peaceful and relaxing.
Katrina tried it and described it as cold.


We'll be remembering this day when it's 100 degrees outside and we wish it would snow...

Sydie is finally Seven

The long awaited day came and went...Sydie's birthday!
We had a great day together.
She requested blueberry muffins for breakfast and I delivered.
She wanted her nails done (from a professional) so we (including Katrina) went there after breakfast.
While the girls were getting their nails done, I got my peds cured. I thought, what the heck, haven't had them done since last summer so I might as well!
The lady who sat me down in the chair was sick, hacking, coughing, blowing her nose, which should have made me turn and run but I didn't.
She proceeded to snort up the snot and hawk it. Is there a word for this besides disgusting? She did this twice. The first time I was mortified. The second time I closed my eyes as not to see the stuff coming out into the garbage can. Then she cut my pinky toe with her file and shortly afterward put alchohol on it. I tried not to scream but winced and bit my lip.
The girls loved their nails though--I guess it wasn't ALL bad.

Sydie wanted to go to Hawiia for her birthday. So instead we played Hawiian music, threw some umbrellas into the cupcakes and served Hawiian Haystacks to make up for the fact that we couldn't.
Here are some of my favorite things about this 7 year old o'mine.

• She is always writing me love notes. Today's read: " I love my Mom. My mom is the best mom ever. I love her so much and I will love her forever."
• She loves to play cars but she is extremely girly girl too.
• She has such a sweet disposition. She usually does what we ask her to do without arguing.
• She gives out hugs to all of us all the time.
  
• She reminds me to buckle my seatbelt.
• She can lip sync and dance like a rockstar.
• She gets in cleaning moods quite often. Usually right before going to bed.
• And before going to bed she always says "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite and choose the right". Every time.
  

So Happy Birthday Sydie Dear. You are my Sunshine!

Fried

So yesterday a little before 3:00 I decided to highlight my hair. I usually don't attempt to do this kind of thing right before my kids get home from school, but I had the urge so I just went ahead.
I wanted to be quite a bit blonder so I used the highest level of peroxide and this light blonde color and weaved away. Chunky weave btw.
I checked about 30 minutes & it wasn't quite done. Normally, you leave this kind of thing on for around 45 minutes at the most, so I thought I'd rinse it in 15 minutes or so. That's when things went wrong.
Sydie needed help with homework, Coby wanted to make Chocolate chip cookies, & I realized I needed to start the dinner right then or I wouldn't get the chance later. Well, needless to say my window to rinse my hair passed. Next thing I know, Katrina is telling me she'll be late for gymnastics if we didn't go right then.
I dropped off Katrina and raced home as it was now 4:45. My color had been on for an hour and and 30 minutes. For those of you who need help with the math that's TWICE as long as it should have been. Oh well, I thought, it can't be that bad. HA.
I washed it, combed it out and started to blow it try to see the end result.
As I'm drying my hair I notice it started to look and feel different. I looked at my brush and screamed. What was this white weird-ish substance on my brush! I took a closer look to find that my hair was breaking off about about 3 inches from my scalp and the ends were fried. FRIED I tell you. What was on my brush resembled what looked like really fine melted plastic. I basically disintegrated my hair!!! This is bad for a person with oodles of hair, but for someone like me that has a total of 250 hairs on her whole head this is beyond a disaster.
It's bad people. BAD. Next time you see me I may have a pixie cut. UGH.

MEMORIES of Moab

Our Spring Break family vacation turned out to be even more fun than I thought! Quite a few families from our ward and surrounding wards went out to run the half marathon. We ended up being able to stay in these cabins with everyone and not only had family but friend time too. Our kids had a blast and I'm thinking this will be an annual event for us.
Here are the top 6 happenings of the trip:

• Got to sign up (late) to run in the 5 mile race! It was a fun race to run in, & the weather was perfect.
• Learned just how much Katrina talks in her sleep. Just about every hour she was shouting something out. She seems to get out her frustrations in her sleep.
• Treated rashes on 3 of 4 of my kids from the hot tubs. Turned out that quite a few other kiddos got them too. Neosporin and Benedryl did the trick to fix it.
• Hiked Delicate Arch and listened to Sydie cry about climbing up the trail the whole way. She did get distracted by a lizard or two which was lovely. Once we hit shade she felt a lot better.
  
• Visited a place called Hidden Arch which is a MUST-see. It's basically a .5 mile walk down to this really soft cool sand that's enclosed within these rock walls and towers with a cute little arch within that kids climbed on top of. Our kids favorite spot for sure. We tried to revisit it the next day but that day happened to be a lot colder and WINDY. And I mean Windy. It was a like a scene from Hildalgo. People had wrapped themselves with blankets where you could just see their eyes in order to not get the sting of the sand hitting you from every direction. Not worth it. We basically got back into the car and ended up sitting it out in the cabin until the winds let up.
• ATV-Monday. Everyone either rented (like us) or brought up their ATV's and we basically went out all day to a couple of different spots and had a total party. Favorite place and most beautiful scenary was by far Onion Creek. Loved loved loved it.

It's My Dad's Birthday!

Today my Dad is officially 80 years old! He was born in 1929. That's getting up there!
Here's a few of the fun things my Dad says and has always said while I was growing up. I will call them Dadisms.
"Check your tires"
"Dumber than a doornail",
"I don't smoke and I don't chew, and I don't go with girls who do"
"Drive it or Milk it" (He'd say that if someone in front of him wasn't going fast enough--that's my all time favorite)
"Little things bother Little People"
"Great things come in small packages"
"Be a leader not a follower"
“I read it on the plane back from Toronto.” (he seemed to get all his information that way)
“Never mess with mother nature” (He'd say that as a weatherman in Canada)
"Be careful!"
"...(singing) Put your shoulder to the wheel move along...we all have work, don't be a jerk..."
(At Taco Bell) "Can I have a large malt, heavy on the malt?" (Uh, sir this is TACO bell)
"There is a front coming in from the west" (whenever the weatherman came out of him)
“Slicker than snot on a doorknob”
“Go blow your nose”
“He wouldn’t recognize a ____if it came over and sat on his face!”
"But.....what do 'I' know?"
"Howdy partner" (John Wayne style)
The phone rings and Dad ALWAYS says, "Who could that be?"
"That's the American way"

So Happy Birthday Dad! In your honor I'll try to say a few of these today to my own kids. I will also try to whistle all day like you. You can whistle like nobody's business, but I'll do my best. I will also rub some VIX on my throat as to keep away all sickness like you do nightly.
I love you!

Middle Child Syndromes

I heard a one cute & one disconcerting comparison from my kids yesterday.
Here's the cute--
Sydie: (trying to wake her up)
"I feel like a bear that is trying to hyberate (that's how she said it) and it's not spring yet and someone is trying to wake me up!"
Here's the disconcerting one---
Katrina: (after getting in trouble for being mean to Sydie)
"I feel like I'm the dirt and Sydie's the flower. "
This is not the first time Katrina has had this issue. As she was watching Fred Claus she paused the movie and said. "That's how I feel! I'm Fred Claus and Sydie is Nicholas!"
Maybe we should stop telling her to be more like her sister! (kidding).
She's got some issues evidently. She went on to accuse me of forgetting to wish her happy birthday last year and not making Christmas Eve very special. Wha? This girl has memory issues as well.

Or maybe this is a classic middle child syndrome because Coby is saying this sort of thing on a regular basis. Like on Sunday. He told me that if I had only one cinnamon roll left and had to share it with one of my children I'd share it with Ace and not him. He apparently always gets the raw end of the deal as does Katrina.

So this week I'm going to focus on the middle children. I'll let you know if it works.

Happy Birthday BWD

BWD's birthday is February 23rd. I am late publishing this, but didn't want to miss out on a little birthday tribute in his honor.
Here are a few of the many things I love and admire about him:

• He is a funny guy. He can totally crack me up.
  
• He keeps his bod in good shape. He's athletic.
  
• He brings me flowers from the store on a pretty regular basis for no reason.
• He helps me clean. He'll clean without me asking all the time.
• He is always trying to improve himself.
• He can fix almost anything that breaks.
• He plays/wrestles around with the kids. They can always count on him to play, even if he has only one minute, he won't turn them down.
• He takes care of me if I'm sick.
  
• He is a wonderful example for our kids.
• He smells good (that's really a big one for me).
• He tries to look young and has a youthful personality.
  
• He doesn't watch sports or play video games for hours on end.
  
• He makes the most of his time.
• He is driven.

LOST stuff

Losing your stuff can be a huge distress, believe me, I've had my fair share of losing things this last month. I left my wallet at King Soopers in the self-check out lane. I then lost my Ipod Shuffle which just about killed my workouts. And yesterday I happened, through a series of events, to lose my keys as COSTCO. Left them in one of two carts actually, that could have been anywhere on the premises. Brilliant move. I got them back within 30 minutes thankfully. Luckily I got all my lost things back eventually.
However, nothing is of more joy than losing your first tooth. NOTHING. For all my kids this is the unsaid graduation out of babyhood. I think Ace's enthusiastic words were, "I wish I were a dinasaur with millions of teeth and could lose one every day!!!"
Sydie lost her first tooth last Sunday in sacrament meeting. She was sitting on my lap and I asked to see how loose it was. Note: This tooth was ready to come out 4 months ago. I was seriously surprised she hadn't swallowed the thing while drinking. Anyway, she usually doesn't let me touch it, as she was afraid of the unknown pain of losing her tooth. But on this special day, she actually let me wiggle it, and while I had a chance, I pulled--and out it came. Sydie was shocked and beaming. She was going up to complete strangers and letting them know of her missing tooth. She couldn't wait to tell her first grade teacher and within two days of losing the first one, had managed to get a second tooth, through much wiggling and pulling, out of her mouth as well.

25 Random Things You Should Know About Us

1. BWD has to eat his Doritos with Chocolate Milk. The one isn't complete w/out the other.
2. I microwave things in same double digits (ex. 22 or 77 seconds). It's a HUGE time-saver people.
3. Ace refuses to even try cereal with milk. He thinks he'll gag and barf.
4. Coby asks an abnormal amount of questions if you catch him at the right time. Like right before going to bed.
5. Katrina gets her nickname for mass destruction whenever she plays or eats.
6. Sydie thinks her blankie is a real living thing with feelings.
7. BWD has been seen laying his head down on Koda and proclaiming how much he likes him.
8. I had to do community service as a payback for some pranks I pulled. Police were involved.
9. Ace could wear socks and/or shoes with holes and not notice or care until we say something.
10. The worst possible thing you can take away from Coby is treats.
11. Katrina can open her mouth HUGE. Dentists and Orthodontists love her and always comment on how great of a patient she is.
12. Sydie has a loose tooth that can lay flat forwards and backwards but refuses to fall out. She refuses to let us just pull it.
13. BWD is really competitive. He also is a born entrepreneur.
14. I have worked as a downtown hot-dog vendor, furniture salesperson, a cookie lady, Payless Shoes employee, been on commercials (TV and radio), a make-up artist, worked in rewards dept. at Nu-Skin, assistant sales for WordPerfect and Covey Leadership, janitor, waitress, night-shift assembly line worker at HP & a hair stylist. Phew!
15. Ace is a total morning person. We've never had to wake him up for anything he's suppose to be to in the morning. If he's still in bed we know he must be sick.
16. Coby heard a commercial about someone choosing between sex and food. He said "I'd WAY rather choose food than expressing my feelings to the girl I love." He talks about expressing his feelings on a regular basis (like when he dances he's expressing his feelings and playing the piano helps express his feelings.) Kind of weird but funny.
17. Katrina is a night owl. She hates getting up in the morning and takes forever to fall asleep.
18. Sydie writes us notes on a daily basis. Most of them go like this: "I love you so much, do you love me? Circle yes or no. We always circle yes a few times.
19. BWD loves to watch tennis and motocross. But doesn't really watch or have an interest in any other professional sport.
20. I love to sing off tune (on purpose) to get a good laugh out of myself. No one else seems to think it's that funny except Ace.
21. Ace should have grown up as a farmer/hunter. He would much rather work outside than anywhere else and loves to shoot things with his airsoft gun. Plus # 15....see?
22. Coby loves to cook. Wants to be a chef/piano player/soccer player/work for his dad when he grows up.
21. Katrina is quite funny. Coby who was frustrated with getting another cold said "I wish there was something that could suck up all my snot".... Katy: "It's called a KLEENEX".
22. Sydie keeps her room really clean and gets in cleaning moods all the time. When it's time for her to go to bed she discovers she's in a cleaning mood quite often. I will actually let her stay up for a while just because how can you turn down a child who wants to clean???? She has my #.
23. BWD uses a glove when filling his tank with gas. It's his GAS glove. Just one. He just hates the smell of gas on his hand.
24. I can (usually) figure out long or short sentences that only have the first letter of each word with ease. I talk like that all the time at home. Here's a sample: TTGTB, BYT, PD, OOT, & MR. I once won a scavenger hunt game that was using only the first letters of sentences for clues. It's kind of a dumb talent. Also, here's another thing my kids decifer. They know they are to stop immediately doing whatever they're doing if they hear me say "A-Ba-Da-Da"....
25. Our family all watches and really loves American Idol. The girls (& Coby) even pretend play American Idol. They are both the contestants and the judges. They're ususally commenting like Simon would.

Cell Phone Conveniences

Since two of my 4 children now own cell phones, I've found a surprising advantage. They are the perfect replacement for home intercoms. Not that we have ever had a home intercom to replace, but you know what I'm sayin'.

Here's a few examples:

• Here I am, upstairs, all comfortable in bed and I realize I forgot to tell Ace something. He's down the hall in his room. I'm lazy. I simply call him on his phone in the comfort of my own bed. Done!
• Ace is sick, lying in bed and needs some water. He calls our home number, I kindly oblige. Twice. As I type this he's calling me again. This is now verging on annoying--I'm thinking it's time for a pitcher.
  
• Sydie will find one of our cell phones lying around, call me--and request my presence wherever she's at.

See? No yelling and no searching around looking for a family member. I'm seriously considering getting one for the the two girls only to use in the house.

Coffee Confessions

Since the opening of Lifetime Fitness Dave and I discovered a really great smoothie called "Mocha Madness". When I first ordered, the lady said that it didn't have REAL coffee in it, just stuff that tastes like coffee. Done. I'm all about taste without the guilt. I've been drinking these probably once a week for the past year and LOVING it.
Today I asked the lady to give me the exact brand of stuff they use so that I could just start keeping it stored at home w/out having to pay 5 bucks every week for it.
I look it up online, Dr. Smoothie.com, and here's what I found:
"Ja’Mocha is an exceptional blend of rich Ghirardelli Cocoa combined with a deep, dark roast Colombian coffee. Rich, creamy and satisfying…..For that great “coffee house” taste, just say “Ja’Mocha”!! "
So there ya go. I've been drinking coffee for the past year--and there's my confession for the 3 people who actually check out my blog. It all makes sense now though. The craving every day. The excessive energy right after drinking it. The lingering in the coffee isle just a little too long.
This totally destroys my whole piousness now doesn't it? I'm RUINED I tell you!

Summing up the HOLIDAZE

Our kids said (and I agree) it was the best Christmas ever this year.
We can chalk that up to the 7 days of Christmas, created by the Downs family and implemented by us this year. I rarely turn down a good idea.
Here's how it goes; Each day leading up to Christmas the family does something we normally don't do, (i.e., no tv, video games, chess playing, everyone off doing their own thing...etc.) something memorable and big and FUN. One of the kids would open up a little note (that happened to rhyme really cute), explaining what we were about to do.
Day 7: Flashlight Tag! One of my favorite nights actually. I felt a little like Jack Bauer on 24.
Day 6: The boys went skiing, the girls rang the salvation army bell. Not quite fair as far as fun-ness, but our girls still had fun. How can you turn down a few dollars to those cute girls?
I'm telling you--salvation army should always have kids ringing the bell.
Day 5: Family Christmas party at BWD's brother's house. I discovered a new soup I love--cream of mushroom. We also did the whole white elephant thing. After we got home we made our very own donuts! Everyone donned an apron, we made 'em, cut 'em & fried 'em! They were nothing like Crispy creme, but it was pretty fun to use a deep fryer.
Day 4: Watch old family video and then make one of our own. We couldn't do part 2, because Austin was really sick, but the watching was hilarious.
Day 3: We went dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh ride through our neighborhood! Okay, more like trotting verrrrrry slowly, but still--very memorable.
Day 2: The Marshmellow Gun War. Matrix music blasting in the background--mini marshies covering our main floor. Every man (woman, girl) for himself.
Day 1: Christmas Eve--tradition continued here. We read the Christmas story, sang songs, got the cookies made for Santa, opened our new pj's from dad and headed to bed before the big man arrived.
Christmas Day: The Usual. Started the morning at 5:00 a.m., with Katrina announcing what everyone got. Santa did not disappoint, and I think Katrina's relentless letters to Santa letting him know that even if he left her coal, she still thinks he does a good job helped.
Fast forward--
New Years Eve: Ice skating at Southlands, followed by Pizza & Maggie Moos ice cream. Some of our friends came over for a little partay later that night.
New Years Day: We Fondued like nobody's business. That's always a good time.

I don't have a lot of pictures and I'm very bitter about it, but here's what we've got that turned out!