Thanksgiving Break - Part 1

We just got back from Thanksgiving down in Arizona with Mike's family. It started out with a big surprise! Kylie, the oldest grandkid, turned eight in September and her baptism was scheduled for the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It didn't look like Mike and I would be there until Tuesday at the earliest--or so we told Nana and Papa. The sibs were in on the secret, but did great jobs of keeping it under wraps. Soooo, when we walked into the room they were all waiting in before going into the font room, Karen immediately started crying. Mission: Accomplished.

It was great to see Kylie be baptized. It's so weird to see how much she's grown and matured since the last time we saw her last summer. She is so much fun! And LOVED Madie. She was even willing to play many rounds of Madie's favorite game--ring around the rosie--which I can only take so many times before I'm really over the whole fall-to-the-ground thing.

Anyway, we also got to see Holly and her family. It was the first time for Tyler's family and Holly's family to meet Madie. BJ and Shannon had met her before, but their kids hadn't. So it was a chance for everyone to meet her and for us to meet BJ and Shannon's daughter, Brodi.

Madie with Aunt Holly. (We thought we'd spare you the drunken picture, Hol.)

Nana and Papa gave Madie an early Christmas present the first night we were there. She LOVES it. Anything soft and cuddly, Madie's there. She gets it from her Uncle Sam. (My brother, not old man in the patriotic get-up.)

It's a puppy pillow-pet!

And that is it's nose!

Claire had almost as much fun hauling Madie around in the wagon as Madie did being hauled!

Beautiful Sadie and Ethan--pre-thumb severing incident. (Go to randomcreepyguy.com for further details.)

It was great seeing Grandma Clark, too! She flew down from Utah for the week. We haven't seen her since March!

Nana leads the kids in a game of Don't Eat Pete! up at the cabin. (Sadie doesn't look happy.)

Madie eats a snack on Papa's lap.

Kylie and I play Ring-Around-the-Rosie with Madie. (Like I said, thank you Kylie.)

Holly, Jeff, Claire, and Ethan went on a hike with Mike and me after the night at the cabin. (The wimps all went home.) Man, those kids were literally running up and down the hills!

Kylie and I pose in front of one of the lit trees at the zoo. Shannon got the hook-up and Nana and Papa paid for us all to go to Zoo Lights--$5 a person! That's awesome!

We walked all over the zoo looking at lights shaped like animals. It was really cool. Any guesses as to what is behind us? (No, not the recycling bin. The animal.)

We went bowling on Tuesday night, which Madie loved. She didn't get to roll the ball down the lane, but she did get to hold this bright pink one for a while, and put her head over the fan in the dispenser. She also practiced her walking a lot.

And tasted soda. She likes rootbeer. Go figure.

"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye--or thumb--or whatever." This was the event that led to Ethan dropping a six-pounder on his little thumb. It almost entirely severed his top joint! The poor kid had to spend the night in the hospital and pretty much all of the next day. Holly and Jeff stayed with him the whole time, but Claire had to come home and didn't see them at all until they got back the next night. Such a rough day. But Ethan seemed to enjoy it far more than his parents: when his dad asked what his three favorite things were from the day, he said, "Going shooting, going bowling, and going to the doctor's." Hahaha!

That same night I went to get my haircut. Mike promised to let me cut my hair however I liked without saying anything about it. So I did. :) What do you think?

Since we had Thanksgiving on Wednesday (so Tyler, BJ and Shannon could join us), I was able to go to Old Navy and get a couple things for Madie before the real rush of Black Friday. I bought a pair of soft-soled shoes since she's finally walking now, and this cute jacket and those snowpants! The snowpants were only $11! I didn't want to spend a ton of money on something she'd probably only use once, but she really needs them for Maine at Christmas. So I was happy to find them for so cheap! Thank you, Tiff, for scouting the deals and letting me tag along!

Stingy Jack and the Attack of the Tongue

So this is kind of an over-all, catch you all up on what's been going on post. It's been a while, I realize, but we thought we'd have our own internet by yesterday and come to find out the phone jacks in our apartment are smaller than phone jacks ON THE REST OF THE CONTINENT! So we have to go to an AT&T store or a Radioshack and buy another ethernet cord that will fit our special phone jacks. I feel like I'm so much better than everyone else. I'm so happy I have small phone jacks! It really sets me and my phone company apart from the rest of society.

Anyway, on a far less interesting note, some pictures of how my darling husband watches and cares for our sweet daughter:

Mmmmm...clementines.

Mum, these are good.

Oh, uh, let's see...I don't know if I can really remember, but, OH! I think it was Dad who put me up on a small counter next to an electric appliance, pressurized oil, and an open outlet. Yeah, that seems right.

We went to the park the other day. Madie still loves the swings. She could sit in one of those all day and have me push her back and forth. She loves it even more if there's a kid in a swing next to her. She loves to watch them!

She also likes leaves and flowers. Mike picks them off things and hands them to her when we go on walks. She never eats them. She just wants to hold on to them.

The Tongue.

On Monday night, after we stuck the wee one in bed, we had some friends over to carve pumpkins. It was a lot of fun! Even though it took me forever to figure out what I was going to carve.

Getting started on the piece de resistance.

The wolf is Kevin's and behind it is Shain's. (Sorry this is the best pic I could find of them. But it wasn't me...)

Mike's puking pumpkin. We saw this a few years ago and every time it makes Mike laugh. My visiting teachers thought it was great on the front porch.

I carved a white pumpkin. They were selling them at Trader Joe's for a great price on Monday morning and I just couldn't pass them up! This is just one part of the carving. The rest of it says, "O, October morning mild."

Anyone want to guess the poem and author? (I did leave out one word to the opening line just to make things easier.) This is one of my favorite poems; I even memorized it for a class I took focusing on the author. Here's the catch though! No typing it into a search engine and then claiming the knowledge. You can look it up, by all means, but let another person guess. It's more fun that way. "Obviously we all know each other very well. I think we'll all feel comfortable within the confines of the honor system."

We didn't get pictures of our neighbor's pumpkins (again, I was not the picture-taker that night) so maybe I'll get them one of these days on the porch.

Did you know Jack-o-lanterns originated in Ireland where they carved them out of turnips? They were to ward off evil spirits and help guide the spirits of loved ones. It's based on a story about a man who sold his soul to the devil for a pint--obviously Irish, right?--but when the devil turned himself into a sixpence he placed it in his pocket next to a cross, which kept the devil from turning back. ... Okay it's kind of a long story for this blog, so we'll jump to the end: Jack wasn't allowed into heaven yet the Devil had no power to take him into Hell and so Jack wanders in search of Earth with a burning coal from Hell in a hollowed out turnip. The Irish started using pumpkins when they came to America because they were cheaper.

This scene looks like something from a Tim Burton movie. Actually it's the backyard of a house we pass on our way to the park. Aren't these things HUGE?! And so weirdly shaped!

Other than that, Mike has been working on the bike. I have a really nice Diamondback mountain bike that he takes to work. The poor thing has spent a wet summer in Maine outside and then a snowy winter in Idaho outside. (They weren't allowed inside, so I had no choice!) It needs a major tuneup, starting with the chain. After a few let-downs he finally got it fixed and replaced a tire. He said the next morning was the smoothest ride of his life. He loves being able to bike to work. The next project is finishing the coffee table. The goal is to have that done this weekend. YAY! I can't wait 'til we can have it back--it's not very big, but it's a lot better than the little ottoman we're using as a table right now!

Conner Reunion - Music, Dancing, Eating, Talking

Here are some pictures of the family up in Maine during my last day there, and after -- when they continued partying without me. Not that I'm holding a grudge or anything.

The only way to start a family reunion off properly is with red hot dogs, and that is exactly what Grampy Jim is doing. Excellent!

And then of course, eat giant slices of wedding cake, if there is any. If not, we can settle for homemade ice cream, whoopie pies, and pie. (You can tell here that Kait is related to Ezra "Ling-Lang" Conner.)Jake entertains the kids (and let's be honest, the adults too) with an improve-take-suggestions-from-the-crowd ballad. He actually pulled it off really well. It's very impressive what he can do with a guitar.
We gather in the garage for full-family entertainment. Lilliput performs some step-dancing for us...

And inspires her uncle to give it a try... And her cousin. Unfortunately, his try didn't end very gracefully. (Kait tries to convince Levi to let her get a shot of his torn pants. He changed them and pictures were duelly taken.)I just have one question: can anyone else see a resemblence between Wilder and Dad? In the stares, maybe?Can anyone guess who DTV and JW are hugging so -- amorously?

Shawn plays with Wilder on his lap. This kid is just so cute.

Ariel, Hailey, and Kait fool around on the couch.

Eden pulls Lulu and Bernie in the wagon.

Mike's Birthday!

I know I'm a week late. I know I didn't post any small little "Happy Birthday Michael!" on his birthday, which I didn't know I was supposed to do. Let's move on.

Mike is 24 now, which means one more year until rental cars are much cheaper! (Hey, after 21, which Mormons don't even get to really celebrate, what is there to look forward to?)

Mike asked about a week ahead for chicken curry on his birthday. He loves it! In fact, the night before we got together with some friends for dinner and he requested Hawaiian haystacks, which are pretty much the same thing. I reminded him that's what he wanted on his birthday also, and he said, "Yeah, I know." I looked at him and said, "That means that's what we're eating tomorrow." He stared back at me for a second and replied, "Look, I like it, okay?! I just really like it!" I was like, okay, whatever. As long as you know, that's okay with me. So, that's what our friends made. His other food request was french toast for breakfast. (Which I was so happy about! He usually requests omelets or crepes, so this was really easy!)

Mike only asked for one present: a chin-up bar. I found one for $99 and asked the manager if they had anything else. This one wasn't the cheapest, but it certainly wasn't $99, and I actually like it better. It doesn't screw into the door frame, it just hooks on, so when we move, we don't have any screw-holes we have to cover up.

He knew he was getting it, so I asked him if he just wanted to open it a day early. He replied, "No, I want something to open on my birthday." Look, I may not be the best wife - late on pictures and such - but I got him more than one gift. So, he opened it.

Now he can get a bit of a work out even if he doesn't have time to go to the gym.

This is the only gift I have picture of, but he also got a harmonica, which we will put a video up of as soon as he learns a song, he says. I also got him a cd by Ray LaMontagne. Levi introduced me to him in May and as I was listening I thought, "wow, this is exactly the kind of music Mike loves!"

Later Monday night, we had some friends over. We listened to music, chatted, and ate cheesecake with blueberry topping - his last food request.

The Weekend

Our ward's Halloween party was on Friday night. They were having jack-o-lantern, costume, and doughnut-on-a-string contests. (Mike and I both would have gone out for the doughnut contest except that by the time it started we were all sugared out!)

Families with last names starting with A-L brought healthy snacks, while the rest brought sweet treats. I made a family classic: hoot owl cookies. For the recipe, go here.

Mike starting on the jack-o-lantern (above) and the finished product (below). I think he did a great job! The mouth is kind of narrow, so the light doesn't shine through it very well, but that's how the character's mouth is. Any guesses?

This wasn't the winning pumpkin which was very cool. (Only now do I realize I should have taken a shot of it.) But we really liked this one. It's just so funny!

We went as mimes. Hahahaha! It think the lips are just the funniest things! All the little kids that saw us would just stare wide-eyed at us for a bit. They usually didn't even run away, I think they were just too freaked out. We certainly weren't the scariest things there, but we were probably the creepiest.

The next morning the Elder's Quorum put together a service project (that included wives, hence, I was there). Some of us raked up the leaves at a church building in town while the rest headed down the street doing the same for the residents. I don't think there are any trespassing lawsuits pending, but if one arises, I'll let you know.

Right now we're heading up to a stake meeting to see if we stay in our current ward or if our complex is part of the split. It'd be nice to go to a building a little closer to us (we drive across town right now, about 10 minutes away, and it's the farthest Mike has EVER lived from church before!) but we don't want to give up our nice 9 a.m. time. 10 or 10:30 wouldn't be too bad, but church at 11 or later is just no fun.

October Celebrations

Here are some pictures from Malies special day. It was great having her birthday mid-week because we honestly treated it like a Saturday...except we still went to school. Basically, we didn't do any school work. The day-after wasn't so much fun (it involved a lot of make-up work, cramming, postponed tests, etc), but Wednesday was great! Here are some highlights:

A few weeks ago we were in Barns-n-Noble and Mallory spotted a Dr. Seuss book translated into Latin. She was pretty peeved that it was in a "dead language" and wasn't to be found in any other language! So, I did some research online. Come to find out, there are three Dr. Seuss books in Russian! Interesting Note: these books are illegal in Russia and any former Soviet Union states.

When we were on our honeymoon in San Diego, Mallory really wanted to rent a tandem bike. Time didn't really permit the activity, but I did make a mental note for a future date. So this is what we did! We just cruised around town. I don't know how many of you have ridden one before, but it was pretty wierd. Mallory insisted on sitting in front, which put me on the wobbly back seat. I felt like I was leaning the whole time! Mallory just informed me to inform you all that it wasn't wobbly because of her driving skills. That's just the way the seat is. A weak frame could also contribute to that. FYI.

We made a pit-stop at a friend's house to get some pictures taken. This friend actually lives in the same home that my Grandpa Mel Clark lived in when he attended Ricks back in the 1940's.

Don't we belong in a Mentos commercial?

We also rode to the Rexburg Nature Park which consisted of a lot of ponds, beautiful trees, and a TON of ducks. All different kinds too! It was really pretty because the trees are just starting to turn.

The sun was setting when I took this picture, but you can still get an idea of what season we are in.

See all the ducks?! There was a family that was feeding them, and the ducks were blitzing them from left to right, top to bottom...literally. The boy feeding them was so happy! When they ran out of food for the ducks, the ducks called it a day and departed. He started to cry. Ironically, the ducks must have smelt food because they swam to another family that came to feed them. Same thing happened there too.

Later on we got together with some friends and had cake and ice cream. No, I didn't make the cake. When I offered, she insisted "My Mom makes her cake." I did help get out the mixing bowls though. I guess that counts for "helping out". Haha.

Singing Happy Birthday!

She didn't get them all blown out in one breath due to technical difficulties. Chelsea commited "candle interference" and Mallory was granted a second shot to finish the job.

Later on, Chelsea inserted herself into every picture. There are about 2-3 more that include her standing somewhere in the picture.

Jo-nathan, Chelsea, and Kyle all enjoying the party.