FHE old school...

So, tonight for fhe, we will have a Christmas centered lesson. At the end, I'm going to ask the kids to create a "program" for rick and I since we will be here on Christmas. I can't wait to see what they come up with! Frosty the Snowman, dance to Oh Lamore (no idea how you spell that), a nativity where Mary was happy but sad, Saturday night live style skits...the sky is the limit people. I just wish I had the infamous videos to show them how fun it is to make fun of yourself 20 years later!

Thanksgiving Break...

I'm getting smarter...I've learned my kids function much better with structure. So, I planned things for Thanksgiving break. I had one craft for each day, one outdoor activity and mandatory normal bedtimes. It has left me sane after a week of the kids being home! We did some fun crafts - we made oreo turkeys, decorated t-shirts with bleach pens, painted wooden letters, and painted cans for a totem pole. For our outdoor activities, we went to the park, or just played outside on the trampoline (beautiful weather!) or played in the street. Carter could kick a soccer ball back and forth to me for HOURS and Jake was practicing basketball and the girls played on their bikes or hung out with the neighbor kids. And, bedtime was MANDATORY with the exception of Thanksgiving. The kids went to bed late but Carter didn't get up til 8:30 and Malia didn't get up til 9:45 (that's my girl). The other activity we did every day is reading outloud from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The boys both wanted to read it to get AR points at school, so we decided to do it together over vacation. It has been a great read. I think we will do another one over christmas.

Anyway, that's how I survived Thanksgiving break with no diet coke. It is truly a miracle...and they go back to school on Monday so I can finish up my Christmas shopping and get ready for the holiday season. I plan to do what I did last year...the bare minimum. Meaning...I won't volunteer for everything and I will take time to enjoy the season and my children. This will be one of our first Christmases ever spent in our own home so I'm determined to make it memorable for them and THAT takes planning!

Pregnancy Pics

For all you non-facebookers. A couple weeks ago I went to Cali to have Judy take some pregger pics. Isn't Judy fabulous? It only took 3 days of airbrushing to make me look presentable! Thanks Judy!

If you want to check out a few more, you can go to http://judyphan.blogspot.com/2009/11/maternity-portraits-with-kristin-part.html

It's official...

I've gone bananas! As of 5 minutes ago, I have registered for my first (and most likely last) marathon. Wednesday, January 13th I will be flying out to Pheonix, Arizona with the intent of running PF Changs Rock N' Roll marathon that will be taking place on Sunday, January 17th. I told myself that I needed to run a 20 miler before I'd commit to a marathon and on Saturday I did. I nearly died doing it but with the correction of some rookie mistakes (not eating before, not drinking water during, running in the snow, running by myself) I am crossing my fingers my next attempt will be less torturous. Wish me luck family and friends because I'll be needing it around mile 20 when I decide I'd rather run myself into oncoming traffic than continue the upcoming 6 miles.

I said what????

At work on Friday, my boss called from a conference room. Knowing it was him, I answered and said, "Nobody's home." I then answered his question and hung up.

I heard chuckling in the background. So, when I went into the room a few minutes later and he wasn't in there, I said to the other attorneys in there, "You liked that, eh?"

They said, "Yeah, especially when you said 'Love you' before you hung up."

My jaw dropped! I could not believe it. So much for being a wise guy.

I'll let you know what the pink slip says on Monday. :)

FHE

Tonight's FHE was given by Carter. It was on the first vision. At the end, I asked if anybody had any questions. Malia raised her hand. Her question was, "What was the earth when we were still in Valencia?" My response..."Uhhh....what should you do if you have a question we can't answer?" Malia's response "The clouds are white, the sidewalk is yellow, the grass is green and the sky is blue."

All righty then. That concludes this FHE.

Congrats to Jake!

Jake came home from school today with the biggest smile on his face...he made the Varsity Basketball team at school. He was practically giddy. So Mark, if you still want the job as his manager, drop out of school and move to Fresno and get your game face on!

Malia's questions...

Malia: Mom, who was my mom when I was a baby?
Me: I was.
Malia: You were my mom when I was a baby?
Me: Yep
Malia: Then how did you get so old?

Nothing like a little humility for breakfast.

Antics...

It's good to see my kids doing the same crazy stuff we did. I still have horrid memories of Dale ripping the head off my stuffed Minnie Mouse on Christmas Eve. Remember those scenes from Toy Story where the crazy kid did all sorts of stuff to the toys that made them look like psycho toys? Well, last night I found a baby doll with stitches all over it's face (drawn on, of course). I started laughing and asked Jake who had done it? He admitted to doing it. Then he lifted up the arms and showed me he had drawn armpit hair on the doll too. I thought it was hilarious...until poor Bella noticed and started to cry. She hasn't played with that doll in forever...but she was deeply disturbed at it's appearance. Every brother much torture his sister, right? It's like a right of passage...

Important Updates

I can't remember the last time I posted on the blog. There has been a lot going on in my life but I try and save blog posting for the really special occassions. So guys, lets forget about my breakup, new job, new apartment, or new calling and focus on what really matters...

HALLOWEEN

In case you can't tell by the picture, my roommates and I made ourselves some black widow spider costumes. Seeing as I have been called this creature since I was first eligible for dating, I thought it was entirely appropriate that I openly declare myself as such...at least for one night of the year.

Ash showed up dressed as swine flu. Freaking hilarious. I'm not sure what is happening in this picture but knowing Ash and I, I'm thinking we were about to have some kind of dramatic embrace of the poisonous spider and infectious virus.

And of course, for the sake of maintaining my character, I had to act the part of the black widow. Poor guy had no idea what he was in for. (This may or may not have been a metaphorical foreshadowing of actual events to come.)

It's all fun and games till someone busts out the can of Raid.

These pictures were all taken at the Halloween party we threw. Socially, it was a success - tons of people, treats, and dancing. Physically, it was a disaster. We loaded ourselves up with junk food and partied until 1am when we had to be up at 6am for a half-marathon the next morning. Oh to be young, single, and completely irresponsible :)

HALF MARATHON

This was my roommate Ash and I at 6am on our way to the bus, before we got all nastified.

And here are Nikki and I at about mile 3, still convinced we were having fun. You can tell we were tired by how funny we thought we were for holding hands in the picture.

After marathon completion. Nikki and I came in together at 2 hours 2 minutes. That averages out to be about a 9 minute mile which I hear is pretty decent for your first half. I don't know if I would have done so well if it weren't for Nikki. She's the one who inspired me to run in the first place, convinced me I could do a half, and then somehow motivated me to sprint the last mile of the race.

It ended up that a couple of our ward members, Melissa and Brett ran the half as well, only they were tons faster than us.

The roommates.

Harold, part of my fan club. Ashley Gardiner was there to support as well but the picture of us is a really sick one of me so I chose not to include it. Just know that she was there, like the best friend that she is.

Well family, it's been real. Until next year when I decide it's time to post again...

Dallas Halloween

Ash Brittany and Brooke at their preschool Halloween party. They are so cute together, they love seeing each other at school.Nate was a shark, I just loved his costume. Mostly because I like hearing him say, "Shark!"
Emma and her friend Kylie who lives around the corner from us. Kylie practically lives at our house, and comes to lots of activities with us.
Camille picked her costume and then got mad because it was awkward and hard to trick or treat in. She looked so great, but decided to change costumes for Halloween night. (This was taken at our ward party on Friday.)
Ashley was a complete animal at the trunk-or-treat. She must have made ten laps of the parking lot. She had at least double the candy of the other kids, Justin couldn't keep up with her. She had such a great time this year. She decided early she wanted to be a rock star and stuck with it. We sprayed her hair purple, and got her an animal print shirt which she loves. She loved her whole costume and worked it baby! She got it all on and strutted around like a real diva. She even gave a private concert by request to Ms. Jill, the director of her preschool.
You'll all have to bug Tammy for more pictures, and especially of Rosie's adorable costume. Justin and I had stake conference on Halloween night (wasn't stoked about that one but it was a great meeting) so Adam and Tammy graciously watched the kids and took them trick-or-treating. Thanks guys!

Parent/Teacher conferences...

Parent/teacher conferences come around this time of year every year. This year was a great year for my kids...I'm always a little nervous about what their teachers will say...but this round was by far my kids' best set of conferences...

Jake is doing great, as usual. But, for the first time, his teacher told me how confident he is in his own abilities. I think that is so important for kids because their confidence gets ROCKED through their junior high and high school years. I'm glad that he is comfortable with who he is and what he can do. He has turned out to be quite a little leader in his class which is kind of surprising too, considering how shy Jake is...

Carter is my first child to ever make the Principal's Honor Roll aka straight A's. Jake always gets very close, but he has never actually done it. Carter did it! I'm so proud of him. He has worked very hard and is feeling very competitive this year. He has been reading books in record times and passing off his math facts quickly. Apparently there's some sort of competition going on that involves pizza and it has been enough to motivate Carter to all new levels.

Bella's conference was truly surprising. She is doing fabulous, which I knew, but her teacher has decided it is time to challenge Bella. She has some extra little science projects and book reports that she is going to give to Bella to encourage her creativity and her love of writing. Her teacher has put a lot of time and thought into how she can challenge her because she gets bored quickly. She reads everything she can get her hands on. She is a prolific writer (just ask our neighbor who has gotten notes from her asking when they will bring their dogs out to play or Nana or her teacher who gets daily notes). I'm excited to watch her mind work. She is at a stage where she wants more to do and soaks up everything like a sponge...

Then there's Malia. I'm just grateful when the preschool teacher doesn't ask me to stay after class to inform me of Malia's latest antics. She only has to be removed from circle time occasionally now. She's pretty good as long as nobody makes her mad or rubs her the wrong way...She is one feisty little girl. My favorite thing about her is that if I wake her up and she's not ready, she'll tell me, "I'm not done sleeping now" and she will refuse to get up. I think she may be my first afternoon kindergardner.

Halloween and stuff...

Of course I must post pictures of halloween...so here you go. This year was a different sort of Halloween...

Here are the troops...I told them I wouldn't pay for their Halloween costumes this year, so we had to get creative. Jake was UCLA football player (though he almost wore his Reagan uniform when UCLA was SUCKING at half time...). Carter was a storm trooper (costume I had in the Halloween box). Bella was a cheetah (a dance costume I borrowed from Beth). Malia was Ariel. Yes, I broke down and paid for that one, but the kids didn't know that...


Jake decided he didn't want to trick or treat at the last minute. He is sort of a health nut (wonder where he got that from...)and didn't want any candy so he didn't see the point in going up to the doors. He walked around with us but was kind of like a wet blanket..

Carter...ahh, how we love carter and his glutenous appetite for food. He wanted to trick or treat all night long. Then, though I specifically told him like 10 times not to eat any candy because I didn't want him to be sick...apparently ate too much. I got woken up at 2:00 AM by Jake telling me Carter was throwing up. He slept through the whole thing. We woke him up, told him to get up and go wash his face off. He looked at us and said, I don't even feel sick. Great! Luckily the vomit was all contained on his sheet. Rick said, "Let's just incinerate that." For some reason, I thought that was very funny at 2:00 AM.

And then there's Bella. She had a great time trick or treating but more fun counting her candy and checking out her loot. She didn't eat very much of it but she was ready to start right in the next morning when we woke up.

It was a good Halloween...it was the first time I can remember my kids all telling me while we were out trick or treating that they were ready to go home. Last year, "the great pumpkin" took all their candy the night after Halloween. So, tonight, when I tucked the girls in bed, Bella and Malia told me they hid their candy from the great pumpkin. They have good memories. Then, a few minutes later, Malia told me she was scared of the Big pumpkin in her room. She wanted me to sleep with her. She said she would scoot over so there was plenty of room. I thought it was funny...I guess I created my own monster.

Hope everyone had a good Halloween!