What are you thankful for?

We are thankful for families! We had so much fun with our families this Thanksgiving and it reminded us of how blessed we are to be living so close.

On Thanksgiving day we drove to Prescott Valley to hang out with the Leitheads (yes that is my maiden name pronounced; Leeth- head, not light-head or leaf-head). We had such a great time, it had been so long since we had been there and the kids LOVE Me-Ma's house. I don't think I have laughed so hard with my Family in a LONG time. Thank you to my sister Jennifer for her hospitality and YUMMY cooking.

This is my family

And this is ALL of the grandchildren

Here are some Thanksgiving Day highlights;

Our little cookie thief and his baby counterpart

My personal favorite is Uncle Steve howling so the dog will howl so Kendal will Laugh (did you get that?)

Playing games

I am a POOR loser (you all may as well know)

We had a great time with the Leitheads (remember not light or leaf)

The Day after Thanksgiving the Mecham's came over. Another great day of eating, playing and laughing.

Here are some Highlights;

2 liter Water Bottle Rockets

Yeah, this is me saying the GIRL ROCKET ROCKS NA-NA-NA-NA-NAA-NAAA

Ok, the boys rocket did go higher BUT the girls rocket was the PRETTIEST

AHH YES THE OUTDOORS

Grand kids SILLY time

Cousins Cozy up to watch movie while grown ups play games

Definitely a wonderful Holiday!!

Life is GOOD

Yesterday was the BEST day! I did TWO things that I haven't done in a LONG time and they made me feel YOUNG, FREE, and OH SO HAPPY.

1st It rained this wonderful day in November, I love the rain.

I PUDDLE JUMPED WITH MY GIRLS

It was so fun and totally exhilarating. We ran as fast as we could and made the biggest SPLASHES possible. We were all three soaking wet and ALL SMILES. We warmed up with a cup of HOT CHOCOLATE and talked about who had the best splashes. Did I already say, "I LOVE THE RAIN"?

(We told Daddy and the Brothers that they have to SPLASH with us next time it rains.)

2ND How long has it been since you swung as HIGH as you could?

I WAS SWINGING HIGH

It was so positively therapeutic! Spencer and I took turns at his school during his Thanksgiving Party SWINGING, LAUGHING and taking PICTURES. Wow I got so high and I just closed my eyes and let the WIND and the ENERGY I was feeling take over. It was a BEAUTIFUL thing!

His pictures actually turned out better than mine, but I guess he is my photographer!!

While I was in the act of doing these 2 crazy wonderful things all I could think is......

LIFE IS GOOD

E-Mail from WHO?

So I got an e-mail from SPENCER! Today in school he got his very own email address and believe it or not SOME HOW he knew my email address and this is what he sent......
I love you mom we have fun together dont we by mom spencer
And yes, it was big and RED! Man do I love that kid.

Up until 2:45am

So It finally happened the long awaited midnight showing of "TWILIGHT". So here is your play by play...................

7:30pm put the kids to bed ate a bowl of cereal (I didn't want to get hungry)

9:10pm called Shannen to see if she wanted to carpool

10:00pm Held up Amy's Group sign and gave directions to the SHORT LINE. Oh I felt sorry for the NON-AMY'S Group People. THOSE LINES WERE LONG! Yeah for AMY!

11:00pm stopped holding the sign and went inside to grab people to DANCE (Radio station 97.5 was there) Recruited LORI and we got our GROOVE on.

11:45pm Went inside to help with the RAFFLE!

12:00am Watched tons of previews including one for the TWILIGHT movie, WHY????

FINALLY THE MOVIE STARTED!

So here are a few things I have to say about the movie

1. I am glad they are done filming because I am anxious to get my camcorder back so I can start my home videos again.

2. Kristen Stewart actually did better than I thought when she WASN'T talking.

3. Was the Spider Monkey line in the book? Probably a reason for that!!

4. Was it suppose to be a comedy? If so the movie was a huge success according to our theatre, people were laughing through the whole movie.

5. So how HOT was Edward when he was sparkling? THAT WAS A TOTAL BOOK RUINER FOR ME, NOT QUITE HOW I PICTURED IT. Thank you Shannen for pointing out the shimmering sound effects. YIKES!!

6. I did love the part when she was seeing the Cullens for the first time. Totally gave me goose bumps.

7. I also LOVED the way they brought the baseball scene to life.

8. O.k I did love EDWARD in the movie, maybe because BELLA stunk SO BAD but when he sat down at the piano and was kicking James butt I was totally SOLD.

9. The movie was LONG. Could have been shortened by taking out some of the awkward silent parts.

10. AND LAST.... COULD THEY HAVE GOTTEN ANY CLOSER UP ON THEIR FACES? In case you all wondered Rob (Edward) has a total of 20 nose hairs.

About 2:30am the movie was over and............................................................

I TURNED INTO A CULLEN

LIKE MY VAMPIRE EYES?

Lost track of time and Stood in the parking lot talking about the movie with my FRIENDS! They don't want to go see it again with me, WHAT? Come on I heard movies are always better the second time around.

1 of 3 Birthdays

This isn't just Holiday Season for our family

it is also birthday season.

MY LB'S birthday was yesterday! I forgot to wish him a happy birthday during my sleepy good morning/goodbye kiss, DARN IT! But Spencer woke up all smiles saying it's, "DADDY'S BIRTHDAY!", that's when I realized my little FLUB during kissing time, OOPS! So we called MY LB and sang him the Happy Birthday song over the phone. I could tell he was mildly disappointed in my forgetfulness during his EXTRA long goodbye kiss, STINK! Well My LB, I thought about you A LOT yesterday and how blessed we are to have you. I know I tell you this all of the time but without me you could be married to a Relief Society President but without you I would be a LOST SHEEP. You take such good care of me and our family, I love you... We love you!

Happy Birthday

MY DEAR SWEET LB!!

In case you are wondering YES that is a match pretending to be a candle and no Cherry Pie would not be his first choice but our FANTASTIC Home Teacher brought it over and well WHY NOT? Before you get to judgey you must know I DID buy him his favorite Ice Cream. Yeah for me!! Oh and double Yeah for his mom because she did bring his favorite cake to his work for him, YEAH! YEAH! LOLA!!!!

STAY TUNED FOR BIRTHDAY NUMBER TWO

FUNNY OF THE DAY

So today I decided to BAKE! We were eating dinner with Amie's clan and they asked us to bring dessert. I found a recipe on the back of a cake mix box for CHERRY JUBILEE CHEESE CAKE SQUARES and I was ready to roll. Well of course MAGGIE wanted to help, it's not every day in this house that you get to help mom bake. So I pulled out all of the ingredients and the MIXER. Well Maggie was beside herself and said wait one minute I have to get something...... I waited! She came back with two pairs of sunglasses and said "we better wear these if we are going to use that machine".

SAFETY GOGGLES!!

I couldn't help laughing, Matthew captured this picture of the moment since I GUESS it is a rare moment in our household. I am thinking that if I want my daughter to be a DOMESTIC DIVA I better STEP IT UP.
Oh yeah and the dessert was really not that great, I felt like I was eating frosting straight from the container. I need to come up with a signature dessert so when someone asks me to bring dessert I can say, "OH YEAH I HAVE JUST THE THING". And I know just the person to help me!!

WARNING

The next two posts contain MUSHY content and my cause PUKING!!

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

The Day Before Today

SO YESTERDAY!!
Was a great day................
Spencer and I persevered through the great winds of a hurricane, stood firm as the Earth shook below us during an awesome earthquake, withstood the heat of wildfires caused by dreadful lightning storms, stood in astonishing shock as the monsoons caused floods and watered our faces, and were terrified as dreadful Volcanoes erupted all around us. OR maybe we just went on a field trip to the Arizona Science Center! It was amazing, we had so much fun learning about planets, sound, the human body, music, weather and COMBUSTION. We had a great time,
SO thanks for letting this CRAZY mom hang out with you today Spencer.
AND
MY LB came home, well it was officially Saturday because he didn't get home until 12:30 AM. The kids were so sad and Maggie was sure that Friday is past so he is never coming home. Well, I was DONE! A whole week (YIKES) there was no way I was going to let them stay up. AND BOY HOWDY AM I GLAD THEY WERE SLEEPING!!
SO HIP HIP HOORAY WE ARE................
OUTNUMBERED 4 to 2
once again

Missing You

Out Numbered 4 to 1
A letter to MY LB....
Dear Lover Boy,
I can't believe four of your six days away have already gone by. I miss you so much! It has been quite the adventure as always.
Day 1
I know you were nervous sending me off to church on my own with our sweet angels but everything went well. Just the normal hanging all over mom and touching Kendal, not a good idea. Matthew was taking the man of the house thing very seriously this day (it faded by day 2). I was sustained into my new calling as Cub Scout Committee Chairman. Their were lots of questions about why I was released and I just smiled and told them how much I have grown to love Cub Scouts and how excited I am. Try explaining that you love Cub Scouts to some people, it's like you are speaking a foreign language. Oh yes and when I got home and had time to breathe and the rush was over I noticed you did the dishes.... THANKS.... when the kids were fed and it was time for naps I noticed my bed was made very nice and just calling me to come lay down..... THANKS. I know you do so many things for me that get lost in the "FLOW"..... SO BIG THANKS... for all of the times I forgot or didn't notice. I wish it wasn't so, I want to notice all of the things you do for me as soon as you do them. I LOVE YOU!
Day 2
Wow I was very close to bagging the whole school thing. Of course that was until I remembered that I had another busy day ahead. Ventured to the Scout store (Kendal cried the whole time)..... stopped at Sam's Club...... dropped Maggie off at a friends house to play..... boys had early release...... clipped coupons... and then took them ALL coupon shopping. Can you imagine? Well they were all pretty good (I bribed them with McDonalds). Oh yeah... yeah.. yeah.. I spent $47.00 and saved $152.00.... I LOVE TELLING YOU THAT. So we went to Mc Donalds and guess what... I wasn't paying attention and I accidentally opened the FIRE EXIT. There were sirens and lights and the kids were like, "Mom was that you?" and they might have said, "Hurry let's get out of here" or that could have been me. I just apologized to the spectators and waved as I left. It was still going as we drove away..... OOPS! We went home and ate ice cream and watched Speed Racer.
Day 3
"NO SCHOOL", thank goodness! The kids slept in until 8:30 can you believe that? I stayed in bed until 9:00, can't believe that either HUH. Breakfast was at 10:30 (Maggie finally got her French Toast).... Home Blessing Hour (cleaning)..... Ultimate Frisbee with Amber's Clan and Shannen's Clan...... Movie..... and then mad rush to get ready for ROCKETS. I had a lot of errands to run before Pack Meeting so Mc Donalds AGAIN... give me a break Dave Ramsey I am flying solo. I know you worried about me but I did GREAT. I ran that air compressor like a pro, I was Awesome I even had to launch one rocket off by hand. Oh I guess there was this..... every time that stinking air compressor started running when I was filling the rocket up with air I swear I peed my pants well at least I jumped, it is so LOUD. EVERY TIME, I am not kidding. It was a little rough getting home and getting the kiddos into bed. ( oh yeah, do you think you could help me unload the car?)
Day 4
Got out of the house LATE. Forgot to do homework yesterday..... having the same trouble with Piano too. Finally got out of the house got the boys to school and left to visit Michelle. I drove the Suburban, MAN I forgot how "AWESOME" I feel driving the Suburban. And it made me smile remembering how you always say "Have I told you how good you look driving that thing". AND MAN DO I!! I took a NAP today.... the boys came home.... and now I know when you called I was eating ice cream and watching HGTV, but seriously it was a pretty tough afternoon. Dinner was leftovers I am sure you can play that one out in your head. The evening went pretty well. Kendal was FUSSY but I think she just needs a day at home.... ME TOO!!! I wanted to tell you that she is walking like a PRO now and even tries to run from me when I need to retrieve something from her little hands. STINKER!!!
The Days Ahead
Tomorrow I have preschool and then nothing else. YEAH!!
Friday I am going to the Science Center with Spencer. I was thinking maybe the park after school and then movie night.
Of course I am looking forward to your return..... I miss you so much! I know when you are in my shoes and you are OUT NUMBERED 4 to 1 you always say I don't know how you do it. Well guess what I know how I do it... it's because I have YOU. You are such a big help and a wonderful husband and father. You make it hard for me to survive without you.
I love you so much, well actually I probably love you the MOST!
Love always,
Your Lover Girl

Time Out For Couples

A date with MY LB!

We ate dinner at a quaint little restaurant down town with great food, live entertainment and great atmosphere. After dinner we walked to the Civic Center for Time Out For Couples. We learned so much, enjoyed the music and cuddled lots. I love being with MY LB but mostly I loved for him to see what Time Out is really all about. So next time I come home from Time Out For Women and I am all prepared to put everything I learned into action, he can say, "Oh yeah I get it, you learned a bunch of stuff and are on some kind of MORMON high."

YES, NOW HE GETS IT!!!!

"SUPER"-intendent

He works hard for his "HONEY"

Yesterday MY LB left to work to be a Supervisor
and came home a "SUPER"-intendent.


We knew this could possibly be coming but we were hoping for SPRING and we got FALL. No complaints here, just happiness. MY LB works so hard for our family and he/we have been blessed for his hard work, humility and ability to play well with others.

YOU ARE A TERRIFIC MAN!

Of course you go spend money to celebrate more money, right? Our "SUPER"-intendent chose Pei Wei for our "YOU TOTALLY ROCK" dinner celebration.

CALLED TO SERVE

Matthew played Called To Serve at our primary program this year. He did so well and didn't act nervous at all. He practiced so hard and actually memorized the song.

WAY TO GO BUDDY!

NOW PRESENTING.....................

Did you see those 8 year old fingers move!

This kid totally amazes me.

Hanging with our DADDY

Willow Canyon Ward Daddy and Daughter camp out.
October 2008
Our little Princesses accompanied their daddy on a grand adventure all the way to the White Tank's Mountains (TEE-HEE). Since I wasn't their I have enlisted a certain MAGGIE to help me out. So here are some photos and Maggie's explanation of the event.

I am standing on the thingy (bumper) and we are getting ready to leave to father and daughter campout.



We are playing at the park with nobody else but after breakfast we saw friends coming to the park with us. Question from mom, was it dark? It was dark at night and light when it was morning. We went to the park a lot of times, I can't remember how many or which parks but it was so FUN!

Me and Kendal were laughing in the tent. Kendal wasn't looking at daddy at first because he wanted a picture but than she did. That way we could go outside for breakfast.

MARSHMALLOW EYES!

I was hanging down like a SLOTH.

We hiked to the water fall.

I just coulnd't take the hang of hiking!!!

I just couldn't take the hang of it!!! (sorry, worth repeating)

After the hike we were taking a break.

Daddy put Kendal in a big girl seat because we were driving close. WHAT?

Here is Maggie playing on the swing doing Indiana Jones tricks and Kendal on the slide. We went to the park again!
Final Remarks:
I liked the trip GOOD! I was being with my friends, my dad and my sister and the BISHOPS (Smith and Taylor). I loved the campout.