It's all fun and games until ...

... someone gets a finger chopped off! Brian has been working diligently in the garage all week on a new book case (pictures will come when project is complete). Needless to say, we have lots of scrap wood hanging around the garage. Brandon and Jon (being the boys they are) decided that they looked like perfect swords. After one unfortunate swat, Jon came down hard with a slice on his pinkie that sent us on a 3 hour adventure to Urgent Care.


After 3 or 4 people looked at it, they decided no stitches would be required, but there was concern about whether it was broken or not. Jon and I went into "deal" mode. If it were broken, he had to have ice cream for dessert. If it wasn't broken, he'd have to settle for Joe Joe's (a peppermint Oreo treat). Either way, he was set. We're still waiting for the Urgent Care folks to call us back on the verdict. Holidays are not good times for medical issues.

Happy New Year to EVERYONE out there in blogville! Be safe and have a wonderful celebration!

Life Lessons on the Trail

I don't think I can express how much I really LOVE the entire Christmas season. With all the exhaustion of the preparation, shopping, cooking, parties, kids' activities, etc. In the end, the significance always outweighs the stress and craziness. I love sharing that sweet holiday spirit with strangers, feeling a sense of commonality. Watching the kids act out the Nativity story. Reading scriptures together and singing hymns. It's such a special time of the year. I love having a home where these things are shared!

A few years ago we started a new tradition of hiking every Christmas Eve day. This serves two purposes. One, it is a completely, uninterrupted family time. There aren't many people on the trails the day before Christmas! And two, the kids are so tired by the end of the day that they have no problem getting to bed and to sleep at a normal hour, even with all the anticipation.

This year we went to Iron Mountain. It was a great hike.

The head of the trail. I love this shot!At the top! We made it!

As we were hiking down Jon and I had an interesting conversation.

J: Mom, do you promise, promise you don't come down stairs and fill up my stocking? (You know it's true when it's a 'promise, promise')
K: Wow, why would you ask that?
J: Cuz lots of kids say their parents are Santa. So, do you promise, promise?
K: What do you think?
J: I don't know. (Frustration now growing) Do you promise, promise?
K: You know, if you really want to know, I'll tell you. Are you sure you are ready to know?
J: Yes!
K: Ok ... (deep breath) I can't promise, promise.
J: (Totally confused) Why not?
K: Think about it a minute and you tell me.
J: Ohhhh! So, is there a real Santa?
K: (stealing a line from Miracle on 34th Street). Santa is a symbol of Christmas giving. Mom and dad have that spirit with us, so we keep the tradition of Santa going. Does it upset you to know?
J: No. It's okay. Wanna run? (and the subject was dropped)

Brandon asked when he was 9. He was not disappointed, rather very excited to be part of the conspiracy. Aubrey has made it clear that she will never ask because she likes believing. Jon didn't seem sad about it. In fact, I think he's in full denial. He still spoke of his Santa gift as if we had never had our conversation. I just think it's fun for them to believe. It's part of the magic that I never had as a kid. I love the game and am glad my kids are players!

Christmas Time is Here ...

Most of you know our street is a fun place to be for the holidays. We have "lookie-loos" starting after Thanksgiving that slowly drive up and down the block to see the abundance in lights and blow up displays.

Brian really seems to dislike blow up displays. If you know him, you know he's not that opinionated. But this is one thing he has pretty much spoken out against and will never be seen on our lawn. So, I had to think of something different. How's this one for a fun holiday scene?! It took me a couple of weeks to finish, and I'm hoping it will last a few years - which will make holiday decorating easy.


For those of you in SD, we are having our 4th annual neighborhood "open house" this Friday night starting at 6:30 pm. That means you can walk, or drive, down the street and examine all the displays, chat with friendly folk, and enjoy treats that are provided by the neighborhood. Hot chocolate, cookies, candy canes, etc. One house even provides treats for your dog. It's great fun!

Happy Holiday Fun!

Jon came home from school this week telling us about this funny site. It seemed like a good idea at the time ...

Bring in the Clowns

Here's the house in it's circus-like glory! Nice, eh?! No more critters! Totally worth it!

Though I didn't see it, I hear that Olive Garden was tenting the same week. I can't imagine how much work it takes to get a restaurant ready for this. I was overwhelmed with just our food storage issues! EEKS!

Gab Session!!!

Do you ever just need a girl friend's point of view, but never have a moment to get them all together? This is the joy of blogging, I hope! Here's my dilemma ... HELP!

Brian and I are at a loss of how to do the holiday gift exchange between the two of us. I mean we've only been married 13 years, shouldn't we have this part figured out? It's only come up 13 times. Do you have this problem? All the things he would want are technical and I need him with me to pick the right ones. He's gone so far as to create an Amazon wish list (they have EVERYTHING) so I can just pick things, but still there is no surprise. I am just as picky about my wish list. The thing is, there's no surprise happy look on Christmas morning. I want that for Brian. So .......

What do you do in your family?
What's your spouse gift exchange tradition?

Holiday Treasures

This year's ward ornament exchange was so much fun. There are so many creative and fun sisters in the ward. I was so happy to chat with ladies that I never get to see. That was the best part of the night!!!

A plain tree can become . . . a Victorian girl.

This was the ornament that almost wasn't. I was so insecure about whether it was good enough. In the end I think it came out pretty cute.

Look at all the treasurers I came home with! Except for the one that was so fun it caught my son's eye and he already broke! AUGH! Gotta love those curious ones!

Thanksgiving Week

Our school district gives the kids the entire week of Thanksgiving off. It's especially nice when Brian can take the week off of work too.

We planned for our house to get fumigated over this week so that we could go somewhere fun, since we'd have to pay for a hotel anyway. We took our first trip ever to Mammoth. It was AWESOME! Brian took the kids for a 3 hour ski lesson and then they skied, and skied!

The mountain was beautiful. The snow was good, especially the first day. Jon didn't use sticks. The other kids were a little nervous about his skiing technique. He had no fear. He just went straight down, as fast as he could. It was so fun to watch them play.

Those red jackets made finding them on the slopes really easy!

It snowed the day we were coming home. The kids had never played in such fluffy stuff. They built a snowman, had snowball fights, made snow angels, and unanimously agreed that we needed to either live where it snows or go back to Mammoth soon!

As for me, I have no confidence in my ability to fall down the hills gracefully. I stayed in the condo with the fire burning. I spent time reading, finishing up my ornaments, watching TV, exploring the village, and shopping. Brian took the van, so I got to know Mammoth by foot. It was awesome to feel cold and get us all in the mood for the holidays.

We all came home a bit under the weather. We got home Wednesday night, and darn it there was no time to defrost a turkey. Ha! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Marie Callendar's. It was a very calm holiday, and for that I am grateful. The kids got along so well and played together the entire time. One of the surprise games that caught the kids' attention at the condo was Battleship. I haven't played that in years! The kids LOVED it! Another big hit is the game "Whoonu". Jon got it for his birthday and we finally broke it out over the holiday. Just trying to share game ideas for your holiday shopping! Ha!

Procrastination

I'm an expert at putting things off. For example, our house is getting fumigated next week. I should be packing up my food and medicines into annoying little bags, but I'm not. We're heading off to Mammoth this weekend. I should be finding snow clothes for my kids, but I'm not. I have 2 weeks to finish my ornaments for this insane ornament exchange. I actually made 8 ornaments, and then decided I didn't like them and trashed them all. Now I'm starting over and am afraid I won't like the results again, so I'm having a hard time being inspired.

AND YET ... I have time for this:


I ended up being co-team mom (with Heidi) for Aubrey's (and Hannah's) soccer team. This weekend is the final touraments for her and Jon's teams. I decided to have fun and make these adorable (3 day process) cookies. See, you have time to do whatever it is you WANT to do. Ha!

The soccer season was great! Brandon's team ended their season last week. They came in 2nd for their level. Aubrey's team didn't do as well, but she was invited to try-out for the All-Stars team. And Jon just loves being out there. He is a hustler and tries to do whatever it is that the coach tells him. He's always on the field yelling, "I'm open, I'm open" ... even when he's not. Great season!

Designs in Floral

You know, I really enjoy crafts. I get a little giddy when I am collecting the raw materials of a project I am working on. I feel good when I complete a mini-master piece. I would go so far as to say that I have some creative abilities that make the process fun. I don't feel confident enough to say I have any actual TALENT. I'm a pretty good instructions follower and a great idea thief. This realization makes me more appreciate those who have REAL talent.

My girlfriend, Jen, is one of those people. She helped with Super Saturday this last weekend. She can create the cutest things from a simple inspiration like a cute ribbon or paper. She amazes me.

Another person I really admire is my sister-in-law. She has taken her hobby of collecting and drying flowers and made it into a real business. You have to see the temple pictures she's created OUT OF FLOWERS!!!


Incredible. How much patience is needed to do these things??? Check out her website! Seriously, if you're looking for a unique Christmas, wedding, or other gift, this is a great idea.

Scout Camporee

Brandon getting shooting instruction

Brandon & a friend canoeing the day away

One of the biggest joys we get as parents is watching our kids enjoy their "life experiences". Brandon really likes scouting, and camping is the BEST. Brian went along for this campout, and it was so much fun to watch their excitement.

Brandon LOVES shooting. He has been trying to work out when we can go shooting again. I'm thinking our visit to Utah will have to be sooner than later so he can learn more about this fascinating new hobby. Hmmm, should I be worried that my 11 year old is so into this???

I have to say, I'm NOT a big supporter of the scouting program. Brian was an Eagle Scout, worked at scout camp during the summers when he was a teen, and did his time as scout leader taking boys camping every month for 4 years straight. Our deal is I would deal with Cub Scouts, and he would have to do Boy Scouts. I've been warned that I'm fooling myself and that a boy doesn't reach Eagle scout without his mom's help. I now categorize this as a science experiment and will see if that theory holds water. Ha! It's only Brandon's future we're talking about, right!? (I can see the moms of scout aged boys all cringing out there).

Halloween Fun

My kids pick their costumes for odd reasons. Both boys set the standard for their look to be anything where they could wear shorts and a t-shirt. Jon chose to be "birthday boy". We had to buy the balloon and the pin labeling him as the birthday boy. Original, eh?! Brandon's Charlie Brown is recycled from last year. And Aubrey is a pioneer, wearing the outfit that her grandmother made her. You can only see the apron and not the fancy skirt underneath. Too cute!

"The Friendly Ghosts"

Halloween is a big deal on our street. We get lots of kids, and the decorations are everywhere. Some homes were pretty scary, but we're all about a "Happy" Halloween. I didn't think much of the decorations until I started seeing people take pictures of our ghosts. Why would you do that??? Are there people who actually scrapbook pictures of other people's decorations??? It just made me laugh.

AUGH!!!!

Ok, please tell me I'm not the only one who has ever done this. Now that Halloween is over, I want to change my background. Carefully following all the steps, I have now lost ALL the blogs I love to follow, and my background is the same.

Remember back when we'd just get on the phone and share about how our lives were going. All this technology is really driving me nuts this morning! Ha!

Just had to share my frustration. I guess I'll be spending some time getting my favorite blogs back on. If you read this, please comment so I can get your blog even quicker!

It's good to be a mommy!

This whole month has been very negative with all the political hoop-la of Prop 8 and all the ripping back and forth with the Presidential stuff. For me, my mind is made up on many of the issues, so I'm ready for them all to just pipe down! It makes me nervous to hear people arguing and being mean to one another.

Last night I was blessed with the opportunity to stand on a street corner with my brothers and sisters holding "Yes on 8" signs. We got many more positive comments than negative (thank you to the brother that was keeping tally). The negatives were far more vulgar than I had anticipated. There were some thumbs down that were fine. It was the foul language and mean gestures (with small children in the car, I might add) that really surprised me. I'm not shocked by the difference on opinion, just the expression seemed over the top. I'm so looking forward to November 5th.

So, today as I was leaving the elementary school I saw an older lady walking in. I think she's an aide. She was wearing an obviously festive, home made Halloween themed vest. (Only teachers or educators can get away with that look). I commented on how fun it was. She said, "Thank you. My mommy made it for me!" I laughed since this lady was in her 60's, and said how nice it was that she could still say that with pride.

It just made me think of how special those little things are that mommies do for their kids. I look around both the school and church and see good mommies doing such good things with their kids. I wonder if I'm doing enough good things with my kids. I'm sure all kids find things to complain about, no matter how well the parents did. Being a 'mommy' helps keep me positive in this otherwise negative, nasty little world we live in.

What Year Are You?

You Belong in 1982

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

So, how accurate do you think this is??? Hmmm??? C'mon, TAG, you're it!!! Tell me what year you are!

Harvest Festival

Aubrey is so athletic. She loves this stuff! Probably not her best side!

Can you see the hat Brandon ("Charlie Brown") is trying to catch while he swings?

Look at how happy Jon is on the "Hurl Tub" as we affectionately call it.

This weekend was CRAZY! Our school put on it's annual Harvest Fest. It is the biggest event of the year. Complete with rides, a live DJ, food, games and a haunted house! The kids love it, and I love that it's over! Ha! The school did great (although we don't have the totals in yet) and at the end of the day Aubrey calculated that I had been at the school for almost 12 hours. It was worth it. The atmosphere was so fun and positive! We had so many middle schoolers and high schoolers come back to play. It was a great success!!

After Brian drove the kids to their soccer games and ran around dong errands, he brought the kids up to the school to play for awhile. Then the entire family stayed to clean up. Can I just share how grateful I am for the guy I married? He's amazing. In my family we tease about what kind of angel we were in the pre-existence to end up with the lives we have now. I'm thinking I was a darn good angel to have my life. Brian got stuck with me, so you make your own conclusions on what type of an angel he must have been! Ha!

A Wishful Thought

Ok, I'm having a terrible day. It's PTA meeting night and I'm always stressed out this one night a month. But I have to share some good news. I just won this CUTE board from Paige at A Wishful Thought. She was doing a drawing on her blog. I entered and today when I got home there it was on the porch waiting. I can't add the picture, but check it out on her blog: http://[www.vinylwishes.blogspot.com]/ Thanks, Paige!!!

Happy B-Day!

Jonathan just celebrated his 7th birthday this week. He was so excited to celebrate at Pump It Up! He's only begged for the last 3 years to go! Check out his toothless grin. He likes sliding dimes in there just like he would a "piggy bank". He was hoping he could "perform" this trick for the school Variety Show. Us Wetzkers have mad skills, yo!

This was a bitter sweet day for me. I have so many friends (not sooooo much younger than I am) who are still having babies. I know that's not in our future, but it still tugs at my heart strings to see them holding their little ones. While he still likes to be called "Jon-Jon" (who knows how long that will last), he's so grown up! His brown eyes still melt my heart! His hugs are the most sincere. I guess he's still my little guy no matter how old he gets.

Maiden Voyage

Ok, I've been given quite a bit of grief for not having a blog. I fought hard against the tide, but will now admit this is a fun idea and I'm joining the bandwagon.

"Scribble Scrabble" is the phrase Brandon's Kindergarten teacher used to describe when kids wrote, but no one could read what the letters were. I'm using this name since I'll probably be writing stuff that no one else will understand what I'm trying to say. Ha!