The Early Bird Gets the Muffin...The Lazy Bird Skips Santa!

Don't ask me how,

but every year we fail miserably

at getting to the

come-in-your-jammies 

Ward Christmas Breakfast,

and as everyone knows,

the yummy breakfast disappears fast!

This year,

we got our heinies into gear and

actually made it on time!

While munching on

fruit, muffins, eggs, bacon,

and the all important cereal,

we visited with friends

and enjoyed the spirit of the season.

...

My favorite part?

Skipping Santa.

I know.

Sounds horrible. 

We must be super-mean parents.

But last year,

Samuel and I waited in the Santa line

all by ourselves!

Then,

when it was time to jump on the big guys knee,

we had to corral them all back-

which was no easy feat!

Nope.

I'm not doing that again!

This year we laid down the law:

If you want to see Santa,

you have to stand in line yourself. 

The whole time.

Ava considered it for all of two seconds

before she said, "No thanks."

The other kids quickly agreed.

And there you go:

No Santa!

...

Merry Christmas

to the

Man in Red!

You got a break this year!

Googly Eyes, Homemade Donuts, & Creatures of the Night!

When Samuel drags in a bin from the garage,

it usually means one of two things:

We're going camping,

or it's time to decorate for a holiday!

Either way,

the kids are thrilled!

But in this case,

Samuel pulled out the Halloween bin-

and we all dug in to spook-i-fy the house!

I always puts on Halloween music,

and "Thriller" always awakens the zombies!

This year we had some old and new traditions.

For instance,

 we always carve pumpkins

roast pumpkin seeds,

and read spooky stories.

This year though,

Samuel made me a monogrammed pumpkin (I love the "E"!),

the kids ate flourescent green

Hostess Snow Balls for breakfast,

and Iris brought home her class Duck

to share in the festivities!

The not-to-be-missed event-of-the-year

(according to my kids...):

T H E  W A R D  H A L L O W E E N  P A R T Y !

 I was a little bummed that we attending without Samuel

(this semester he had class on Friday nights),

but let's face it,

I am never without company!

Tonight I, a motorcycle momma,

was escorted by my tough-guy side-kick, Gabriel,

a talented artiste (Isabella),

a blood-thirsty vampire (Ava),

Mulan (Iris),

and a rather timid pirate (Owen)!

We had a super-fun Halloween Party with the

Ramos, Lopez, & King families!

We feasted on Super-Nachos,

fresh fruit, caramel corn, & the like!

Taylor dominated Spooky Musical Chairs,

and the kids had a blast tricky-treating down

Spook Alley (a.k.a. our hallway!).

The Elmer family hosts an annual Halloween Party as well,

and part of that menu always features donuts!

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year,

instead of purchasing donuts,

I made them!

It was super-fun,

but very fast-paced,

and of course,

crazy-delicious-un-healthy!

Aunt Leah hosted this year,

and per prego tradition,

she was our pumpkin!

...

All in all,

when the holiday was finally over,

we were definately treated out!

It's time for some real food,

so with open arms we welcome...

T H A N K S G I V I V I N G !

No Crafts!

This year I taught how to make a menu board

at our ward's Relief Society "Super Saturday" event. 

Needless to say,

the "simple" and "easy" portion 

escaped me and I wound up ruining my first attempt. 

Yes, I can DO crafts,

but I certainy don't have the patience for them!

Bless those who do!



Ward BBQ

Our Ward Activities Committee did a great job

putting together this fun event for our ward family.

As you can tell,

July is hot, hot, hot!

But crayons...

and a great burger or dog-

make it all worth it!

After some water fun,

chit-chat,

and just plain lounging around,

we dragged Owen away from his Sunday School mate

and headed home for some good ol' fashioned A/C!



Park Days

This morning was a nice get-together at the park with several sisters from the ward.

In the summer, we don't usually make it out to the park until twilight. 

Trying to beat the heat means getting everyone

out the door a little too early! 

But when we do get out, it's nice getting a jump on the day.

The kids had a blast playing in the volleyball pit...

Gabriel loved feeling the grass...



And Owen pouted when it was time to go!

Which means it was a very successful park day!

Uncommon Friends...And the Tears that Fall When You Say Good-bye

You know what I'm talking about. 

And if you don't, you surely will one day.

I never thought that one of my best friends would reside "just over the fence".  And yet, when we moved to Roseville nearly two years ago now, that's exactly what happened.

We passed sugar, eggs, and who knows what else over that fence.  

We laughed together,

cried gobs of tears together,

and just were.

We not only shared a love of cooking,

but a between the two of us,

we had a bounty of life experiences that tried us,

and yes,

ultimately strengthened us.

Thank you, friend.

Our family has been richly blessed to know you and yours.

We dearly miss you all.

And look forward to keeping in touch.

Queen Victoria:

"You will go when I dismiss you.
I am your queen, and I am telling you to stay!"

Prince Albert:

"Good night, Victoria."

[Exits]

Queen Victoria:

[Storms over to door.]

"You may not go!
You may not go!
I order you to stay here in this room!
Albert!"

{Mmmm.}

I suppose they'll be no ordering you to stay...

Afterall it didn't work for Victoria, did it?

Anyhow, we love you and

we wish everyone all the best!

Thank you again...

for everything.

Olivia

P.S. 
And the Jackie Roll...
How can I ever repay you?

A Grand Excuse to Play

We invited some families from our ward for dinner, and the kids could not have been happier!

{Note: Of course, we were happy too!}

It was a grand excuse to play, and it was fun watching their adventures!

{Can't you just hear them shouting?}

Count your lucky stars you didn't hear this!

Just kidding!

These girls put on a wonderful show...

And they were so pleased with themselves!

There was a roaring hot fire...

which was a perfect ending...

to a perfect night!

Who did NOT want to see Santa?

The answer is below.

Our Ward Christmas Party is a family affair that is extremely low-key which I absolutely LOVE!  We have breakfast in our jammies-how great is that?

 

 I love Gabriel's reindeer thermals!

 

 Iris NOT camera-happy!

 

She can't resist her dad though!

 

 All the primary children sang Christmas carols. 

 

 A visit from the fourth wise man reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas.

 

 

 The big guy!

 

 Isabella getting awfully big for climbing up on the knee!

 

You've gotta love this shot.  If you guessed Owen-you're RIGHT!  Your prize is a crying 2-year old!  He'll be delivered in minutes!

Just kidding.

We LOVE our Owen-boy!

 

Gabriel...so easy going!

I'm missing a photo of Ava who also told Santa her wish list.  All in all, that makes four out of five kids that made it.  Not bad!

Merry Christmas!

Garage Sailin'

On this particular Saturday a bunch of crazy girls from the ward gathered at the crack of dawn to head in to Rocklin for their annual community garage sale!  

We all scored tons of deals and I even came away with a 20" bike for Isabella for only $4.00!

Thanks for the great time girls!