Single Ladies

Decorating the Tree - Without me!

I am involved in a Chirstmas Choir this year. So while I was off practicing the Hallelujah Chorus and other tricky Handel pieces, the family put up the Christmas tree.

Alexa dragged the stool in from the kitchen with more perserverance the the other two kids put together. And we know how headstrong they are!

And I wanted to give my appreciation to Ryan for actually photographing the moments - without being asked! Wow is all I can say. He is the bomb!

Toothless

Brandon has now lost his first teeth. In 2 days he has lost 2 (3?) teeth. He was so scared to lose the first, it just fell out at school. But the permanent was already half grown in.

Yuck. Can I say I hate other people's teeth?

Well, he also had 2 fused teeth. One large tooth with 2 roots. One root was gone, but the other was still attached. So the next day, Ryan told him he was flossing and wrapped the tooth with floss and pulled it out. Eeew. Blood, etc. Luckliy I wasn't there. I say leave it in the mouth until it falls. And now the tooth fairy is 3 (2?) teeth richer, or $3 dollars poorer. And Brandon is mad. He liked his double tooth.

Happy Halloween!

hmmm. Pumpkins, I guess?
Before the Ward Party on Friday

A bunch of the Gang

Brandon (the alien) and Logan

My cute little Raven

The 3 Amigas Mackenzie, Ainsley and Rebecca

The spooks came over to carve pumpkins...

Butt Prints - an art project

Warning - this art project is not for those with a Butt self esteem problem.
While we were working on the swingset (the previous post) the kids were keeping themselves busy with butt art. Now, you may need to click on the images for a larger view, but here's how it works.
1. You stick your hiney in the freezing cold swimming pool.
2. You sit down on the warm cement and make a butt print.
3. Outline the print with chalk.
4. Turn it into a beautiful design. The print will quickly evaporate.

Yes, my kids are strangely creative. And our driveway is now filled with aliens, "butt"erflies, and all other sorts of buns.

My question is this. Where do they get it from? Seriously! Ryan must have been a strange child.

The Swingset - Project of the day!

See our yard? Pretty and pretty small, too. But I was REALLY wanting a swingset. Our old neighbors across the street were in a bad predicament. They were losing their house. They told me I could have the swingset before it went up for auction, so I had my hopes up. Really high.

Well, oops! They had the day wrong, so we had like 1 evening notice to get the sucker. Luckily it was my birthday, so how could my honey say no? I wish I had a picture of my neighbor Jim, our friend Kevin, Ryan and we three wives with that HUGE structure on two furniture dollies, wheeling across the street. In the dark. And we parked it on the side of the house because it wouldn't fit through the pool gate.

Taking it apart and putting it back together was no picnic! I was tired of being snapped at, so I went and got out friend Jim, again. He is quite handy. Ryan is handy, but let's be realistic. He is a banker. His hands are lilly white and smooth. There are no callouses there. (sorry honey!)

A few hours later (with the promise of a thank you dinner) here is our finished product! It does take up the majority of our lawn, but the kids are LOVING it. That is what our yard is for. The kids! I am a little nervous that Alexa will never stop swinging, though. I will have to make time for lots of outdoor projects!