Merry Christmas

We want to wish our friends and family (and all you other people :) a very merry Christmas.

"Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes."
~ Joan Winmill Brown, American author and editor

"To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world."
~ Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), American president. Presidential message (December 25, 1927)

"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves."
~ Eric Sevareid (1912-1992), American newscaster

Christmas Celebrations

Christmas really lasts all December with the parties and gift buying and all that. Here are some pictures from recent Christmas Celebrations.
Last day of school for 5 weeks (we're off track after the Christmas break) Christmas celebration. Rachel loved joining Elizabeth in class.

Christmas dresses at church. Thanks mom for the beautiful dresses.

Christmas Eve with Aunt Lynne, Lisa & families.
I don't know, Aunt Lynne may be the favorite.

We did the nativity and then some musical presentations. Elizabeth came up with this idea all by herself. As soon as I can find a class that will work with our schedule, Elizabeth's going to acting school.

6 going on 16

For unto us a child was born six years ago and her name was Elizabeth Anne. Wow, I can't believe six years ago I woke up to my water breaking and thinking, I'm going to have a baby today. We love our Christmas Eve baby and all the energy she brings to our home--never a dull moment with her around.
Last week I took Elizabeth to see Little House on the Prairie the Musical for her birthday and she loved it. We've been reading the books so she got the set for her birthday and we went to the play. Ahh for the simpler times of life but I'm grateful for carpet, indoor heating/cooling/water, and all the other luxuries we enjoy.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Birthday Party

I'm probably a scrooge when it comes to birthday parties as this is the first for Elizabeth and she's almost 6. Part of the reason is we've been invited to so many parties so maybe I'm partied out but then I'm also not one to pay the big bucks to go to the hundreds of different party places around. Another part of the reason is she's a Christmas Eve baby and this time of year is so busy to begin with. I think I'll start the birthday parties at 6 for the younger girls too and do them every other year like I remember doing as a kid.

Anyway, I asked Elizabeth what she wanted to do for a party this year and she came up with the idea of watching a movie with some friends. We chose Princess and the Frog and went this past Saturday to the movie theater with six of her friends from school and church. They were so well behaved and excited for the movie. I didn't know six-year olds could eat so much popcorn.
We went across the street to Old Chicago and had some yummy pizza and cupcakes afterward.It was a pretty easy party to plan and carry out but Eric still can't get past the fact that you have to give party favors. Where did that tradition come from anyway?

Happy (almost) Birthday to my big 6 year old!

Make the Screaming Stop!

For all you mothers out there with girls, I'm sure you've run into the same thing--your child screaming while you try to do their hair. This past Saturday as I was getting the girls ready, I had enough of the screaming and crying and finally pulled out the scissors and cut Elizabeth's hair. Then to be fair, I cut Rachel's hair too. My hair cutting kit was probably the most money saving wedding present we received, who would have thought? I still get some screaming but it's mitigated as I wasn't going to cut any shorter.

Five Guys vs. In-N-Out

We've got it all here in Denver. Beautiful scenery, lots of sunlight, the Rocky Mountains, snow sports close-by, it's perfect. Except...no In-N-Out. Please, please, pretty please open one out here in Denver! Is anyone listening???!!!

Sorry, let me regain my composure. Anyhow, someone told us that a Five Guys was opening nearby, which is supposedly the In-N-Out of the East coast. Some of you who know me would say it's good I have an actual religion, because it keeps me from all-out worshiping the Double Double. Mmmm....double double. Even so, since we don't have one here in Denver I was really routing for Five Guys to be a decent replacement. After going there tonight I have to say it's no comparison, In-N-Out kills it by a long shot. I think Carl's Jr. is better than Five Guys. Here is my play by play analysis.

Buns

Big +1 to In-N-Out. The Five Guys buns just felt like the cheap white buns you'd buy at Walmart. Alicia's fell apart on her.

Patty

I will admit Five Guys did have a bigger patty than In-N-Out, and I usually like bigger patties. But there's something about a double double that is just the right proportion. The meat on In-N-Out is more flavorful.

Cheese

Big +1 to In-N-Out. The Five Guys cheese wasn't even warm, it looked just like a Kraft fake cheese square. Yuck!

Toppings

I do like that Five Guys has more options. It's nice to get a bacon-mushroom cheeseburger. But the secret sauce on In-N-Out takes the cake. DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT'S JUST THOUSAND ISLANDS DRESSING! I heard that...I'm warning you...take it back!

Fries

This one was actually pretty close. The Five Guys fries were good, and VERY plentiful. They were thick but not too soggy. Even so, I just like the taste of the In-N-Out fries. They're a little thinner, crispier, saltier, and blessed. Blessed? Yes, blessed (have you read the bottom of the fries and cups at In-N-Out?). Plus, put animal style fries in the mix and it's a no-brainer.

Shakes

Five Guys doesn't make shakes. Not like it matters though, they wouldn't be able to compete with a good In-N-Out vanilla shake. Liquid cocaine!

Variety

I love the simplicity of the In-N-Out menu, but Five Guys has more variety. It was nice to get cheese sandwiches for the girls since they don't eat hamburgers. No, they must not really be my daughters. Yes, they will be punished every day for the rest of their lives until they can eat a full hamburger. And like it!

Atmosphere

In-N-Out. The music was way too loud at Five Guys. We couldn't even talk. Plus the tables were too small. The peanuts were a nice touch, but not very good.

Family Pictures

Here are this year's family pictures. Thanks Kelly!

Christmas Season is Officially Here

Instead of braving the crowds and insanity on Black Friday, we pulled out the Christmas decorations and went at it.

This year we finally went artificial since the Denver dryness doesn't like live ones. 7 1/2 ft tall prelit, not too bad quality shipped for free right to our door. The flash made it look like day inside but really the lights are twinkling.

I bought material at the after Christmas sale last year with the hopes of making the girls' stockings long before Christmas but of course that didn't happen. Don't look too closely because I know they're not perfect but here's trying to copy Grandma Pat's stocking pattern. We miss you!

Here's what we (really meaning Eric) did for Family Home Evening tonight.

Playing like a kid again

Last night I went to an adult dodge ball game and it was so much fun. As you can see, I mean business!

The Price of Children

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $204,060 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don’t have children if you want to be “rich.” Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for $204,060?

Naming rights. First, middle and last! Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold. Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies. A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly and chocolate.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stock performed that day.

For $204,060 you never have to grow up.

You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing.

You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backwards letters for Father’s Day.
For $204,060 there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off a bike, removing splinters, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first date, and first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.”

Birthday Princess

Rachel is now a big 4 year old! I remember when she was just an itty-bitty baby.

She was so excited for her birthday. We went to Barnes & Noble for storytime and a cookie and then Eric took her and Elizabeth to the movie theater and watched Astro Boy. They really liked when Astro Boy said "I have a machine gun in my butt!" Rachel wanted waffles with strawberries for dinner so we went to the fancy restaurant of Village Inn. Then we came home and had pineapple upside down cake and presents.

And then there were 5

This past weekend we had two additions to the family while our friends were out of town. All combined, we had ages 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and we survived amazingly enough. The house is now so much quieter with just 3.

We ventured out for story time at Barnes & Noble. They had the mouse from Laura Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
Doesn't she look happy? She wouldn't go anywhere near the mouse and just wanted her cookie.

Oh so Wicked!

We did it. We joined the throng and went to see Wicked. Can I just say, it was awesome! We went to the matinee showing today and then out to fondue afterward. I can't believe we've live here almost two years and we've done the downtown thing maybe twice. Definitely have to go see more plays.

Proof we were there and we didn't mean to match

We took the light-rail downtown to avoid any parking traffic (we both decided we're definitely suburban-ites) and saw this sign. I still don't know what it means, you can't ride unless you kiss first?
Elizabeth had a Star Wars birthday party to go to this morning so she magically transformed into a very cute Princess Leia. I had fun with a sewing machine and a sheet.

Can you spell thiz?

I just had to post about Elizabeth's homework assignment today where they had to try and spell words by themselves just by how they sound. So cute. Can I just say, the English language is hard to figure out, even for adults sometimes?

Razinz (Raisins)
babe (baby)
Pichr (Picture)
Pucin (Pumpkin)
mom--of course that one's spelled right :)

Happy Halloween!

So many parties, so much candy, so much whining with the candy detox! I don't know why, but with all the engagements we went to, I couldn't have my children wear the same thing to each so we had 2 outfits per child. Elizabeth was a chef (all her idea), Rachel was Ariel, and Evelyn was the passed down ladybug for some engagements and then as a family, we were poodle girls (the girls at least, not Eric) and our studly 50s man complete with a decked out Letterman's jacket (yes, he did earn all the patches).

The parties started last Saturday with the Monster Mash for Elizabeth's school held at a local high school. So many kids and of course, I didn't take any pictures of that. Next was our MOMS Club party on Wednesday and here's a picture of all the kids.

Friday was our ward trunk or treat with yummy chili (even Eric's getting taste buds for white chili) and lots of cute kids running around. For some reason, Elizabeth and Rachel were really anti-social at this event, go figure.

Here's our double ear infection because mom didn't give me all my doses with the first ear infection not-so-happy ladybug.
Saturday, the end all of candy heaven, we had a fabulous party at Cameron & Kelly's (thanks again for adding us to the invite list) and trick-or-treating.

The girls would not cooperate for good pictures so here's the best we came up with.
I'm so glad we don't live in the 50s (no offense I just love all my modern appliances plus the internet)

We played donut on a string and here's Elizabeth attempting to eat her donut.

Then they had all the moms get in the action and I didn't know that you were supposed to let the donut fall (I really wanted to eat the whole thing, it was Krispy Kreme) or else I would have won (ahem Jordan:) just you watch out next year. Other games--balloon toss at monsters, squirt the pumpkin light out, and pumpkin carving where Eric almost won for this creation. The pumpkin had bad teeth with a business card for Cameron Auger DDS.

I made a yummy dirt dessert and the girls had fun with it. May I just say cream cheese makes almost everything delish.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween. Now onto the next day where we gorge ourselves with great tasting food--Thanksgiving!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . .

Okay, so maybe it's not really beginning to look like Christmas because pumpkins and graveyard headstones are more part of Halloween but this funky white stuff sure reminds me more of candy canes than candy corns.
Eric took the girls out on the sled and they loved playing in the snow. Elizabeth even wanted to trudge down to the "waterfall" or run-off by the trail in our neighborhood and for some reason, Eric's saying we need to get snow shoes.

We got about 2 feet of snow Wednesday-Thursday and school and lots of other things were closed down on Thursday so we had a nice day in front of the fire, drinking hot cocoa, trying to keep the kids from killing each other, you know a great snow day. Thankfully this being Denver, the weather warmed up and the bright sunshine felt warm the next day and started melting off the snow. I just hope we have a white Christmas as well as a white Halloween.