Gone Country

We have owned just about every type of car. Older, newer, large, compact, minivan, low-rider, and SUV. But never have we owned a full sized truck. Until now.

Meet Big Red. She's pretty, isn't she?

Yes, she is a she.

Our van was dying and our Volvo just didn't fit all of us comfortably so after a lot of thought and searching we decided it was time for a truck. With the kids getting bigger we would love to add a boat or camper (or both) to the family so we purchased Big Red to help our family dreams come true.
The kids love all the leg room and there is no more "she's touching me!" coming from the backseat.
Driving this big rig is nothing new for Jason but it is going to take me some time to get to used to it. Parking is impossible for me at the moment.
And Mr. Ramses is quite comfy napping on the big cushy seats.
So if you see a big red truck driving down the road honk and wave.

And I Did Partake...

Recently I have started traveling with Jason. It's fun except for one thing. All I do is eat and I will eat really well. Ridiculously well. So well I feel sick and have to recover for days after I return home. So well it makes losing 30 lbs last year almost pointless because I am going to put it all back on cause I can't say no to appetizers, entrees and desserts.

Let me just show you.

Dinner in Las Vegas:

I had a monster steak, asparagus, mushrooms, and spinach

Breakfast in Las Vegas:
After Breakfast snack:
Dinner in Salt Lake:

Dessert:

Late night snack:

Lunch the next day at Temple Square:

Not Included:

*Blacked chicken chabotta sandwich

*a piece of cheesecake

*plate of pancakes

*TWO creme brulee's

.....I think I'll go have a salad.

This Morning

We had a good morning this morning. The kids played nicely and let us sleep until 7:30 (they were up way before 7), we had breakfast together and then everyone got busy being constructive and creative.

Kahau read and read and read about her beloved chimpanzees. Her dream is to be a primatologist when she grows up. I think she's well on her way. After reading about how and why chimps "knuckle walk" she gave it a try herself. Maybe we'll start calling her Jane Goodall.

Braley decided to turn the inside of our home a winter wonderland by making snowflakes. All in all she ended up with 11 beauties.
Look how happy she is! She loves to be crafty. Maybe we'll start calling her Martha Stewart.

Oh boy, this boy! Ansen declared today summer. Bathing suit (size 2) and all. Mind you, it's a sweltering 65 degrees in here. Apparently because it's summer that means he's allowed to jump on, off and all over the furniture.

Maybe we'll start calling him Evil Knievel.

Chew, chew, chew. Ramses loves to chew. Thankfully not on our furniture, just on us. He spent a productive 10 minutes chewing on my pajamas....

...and another productive 10 minutes chewing on a stick under the couch. Maybe we'll just keep calling him Puppy Pants.

Happy Saturday to you all. I'm glad we keep calling you our friends!

I'm So Proud

This is my little brother Anders.

TODAY he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy and I couldn't be more proud of him! He and his cute wife Nikki and their even cuter little boy Brockden are going to be stationed in New Hampshire real close to an awesome beach. I'll give you 1 guess at which favorite oldest sister of his will be vacationing at their house during the summers.

Anders!!!! Great job! Love you!

p.s. doesn't he look so handsome in his uniform?

Breaking Up

Dear Tide,
I wanted to send you a letter personally and tell you how much I've loved our friendship over the past 13+ years. You have been apart of critical moments in my life and I'm so glad. For instance, remember the time Jayden punctured her head and she drenched her clothes in blood? Yea, that was fun, wasn't it? You were there for me. You helped me get those nasty stains out and even made her clothes smell linen fresh.

So, we need to talk. While I still love you and your brightly colored box...I have meet someone new. Before you say anything, let me explain. It all started innocently and I swear I wasn't looking for anyone new but sometimes things just happen. I met Purex 3-in-1's at WalMart. I was sceptical so I bought just one pack and thought I would "try it." I mean could detergent, softener and a dryer sheet all be combined into one tiny sheet AND get my clothes clean? I tried and I looked for something wrong. I just cant find anything besides utter genius behind its simple, small, non-boxy package. Not having to mess with liquids and grainy detergent that spills all over the floor is wonderful. It makes my laundry life (which is so important *gag* to me) so much faster, easier, and less messy. All in all, laundry is now pleasant to do.

Again, dear Tide, I have a very soft spot in my heart for you. I'm sorry about this. It's not you, it's me. We'll always have 1997-2009.

Fondly,
Dana

Hot And Cold

It snowed!

Not today though.

Hi, my name is Dana and I am a recovering lazy blogger. It snowed on December 29th and the kids loved it. They bundled up and played like a bunch of baby polar bears while I took pictures from inside our warm house.

Sadly, the snow did not stay but it was sure fun for the 12 hours it lasted.

Annnddddd.....
Puppy Pants got his first bath today. He didn't love it but he smells so good.
FYI:Ramses now weights a whopping 2 lbs. What a porker.

Christmas--3 1/2 Weeks Ago

I am almost caught up with all our December festiveness...except for Disney World. That's coming. In an effort to get myself all caught up I am combining our Christmas tree decorating with our Christmas morning.

After returning from Florida Jason and I agreed that we would not get our normal 10 foot Christmas tree. We agreed that we would be conservative and scale back this year. We agreed on a smaller tree and I was okay with that....until we actually went tree hunting. That, my dear readers, is when I got a bit cranky and very unreasonable.

I like the big trees. I love the smell of an inexcusably large tree overwhelming our home. I wanted a big tree even if I agreed to a small tree.

So, I threw a bit of a fit. It wasn't attractive but I did it. Seconds before Jason pulled the car over to kick me out so I could walk home we saw simple little sign:

Christmas Trees $8.00

Hallelujah! Christmas was saved!

So we bought a wicked large-ish cheap tree and named it Jesus...that's hey-sus, with a HEY. Why? Because we bought our perfect little tree from some Mexicans who didn't speak any ingles. That's why.

The kids with a 1/2 decorated Jesus. Each year after they go to bed I add another 75 ornaments to the tree. They did a great job.

While at Disney World the kids each picked out new ornaments for the tree. Here's Jayden hanging her Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life ornament.
Braley went for a Tinkerbell with super soft fairy wings.
Ansen bought a Mickey Mouse head made out of baseballs. He made sure it had a spot at the top of the tree.
Ta-dah!
On to Christmas morning. The kids slept in! Merry Christmas to us.
Ansen decided that Jason needed snakes for Christmas...and a massive turkey roaster. What do snakes and turkey roasters have in common? Absolutely nothing.
Ramses, like any baby/newborn, slept through all the mornings excitement.

Jamie and I. It was my first Christmas with anyone in my family in over 10 years. I loved having her here!

Jamie got to experience receiving a gift from my mother-in-law. Mama Widing is well know for wrapping one gift inside 6 or 7 packages. I think she is unwrapping the 5th set of paper here. She eventually got through all the paper and was a happy camper.

It's been 3 1/2 weeks of me pretending to get my arm cut off, my leg cut off, and today he cut my dog in half. Note to self: buy myself swords next year so I can cut HIS hand off.

The word thug comes to mind.

With a new hat and a backpack this girl knew how cool she was.

Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbell and Princess Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) all were gifted to this princess.

Again, Christmas with my sister. We had fun.

Jason gets a game from Brays every year. This year it was Clue: Secret & Spies. We have yet to play but we know its going to be fun.

Gosh they look alike!

Happy Christmas!

New Years Eve 2009

I am not a big New Year's Eve-er. I don't stay up late any other night of the year so why stay up on December 31st? This year we decided to shake it up a little and celebrate properly. We hosted a East Coast New Years Eve Party. That's right! Come on over at 6 p.m. (9 p.m eastern standard time) and leave at 9 p.m. (Midnight eastern standard time) That way-everyone is in bed at 10p.m. at the very latest. What a perfect plan, right?

Keep reading.

I love our house and I love having people over. Thank goodness for that because we were busting at the seams with friends, food and fun. We had over 50 people in our humble little abode and we had a great time with each and every one of them.

While the kids played dress-up, cars, dinosaurs, and watched a movie upstairs the adults played a mean game of Apples to Apples. When you have 20+ adults playing it is a riot. The only real thing I learned about my friends is that no matter the topic card, if you put down the card that said zombies, maggots, or black lingerie...you won.

The guys did partake in a little end of the year poker.

Just to end the year on a right note we HAD to put in Nacho and enjoy some of the best one-liners ever.

So my plan for having everyone out by 9 p.m. totally failed and I am glad. About 12:30 a.m. Jason and John broke out the firework and put on a show for the little boys. They loved it---from just inside the front door.

Once the big boys broke out a kitchen pot and a campfire lighter the little boys were pulled into the house and the front door was shut. It sure sounded like they were having fun out front but I can't say for sure. I was taking cover in the kitchen.

I know it is now a week and a half late but we here at our house want to wish you, at your house, a very Happy New Year!