No Michelle Kwan... yet!

Yesterday I (Billy) took Sam, Emma, and Mandi ice skating. It was Emma and Mandi's first time and Sam's third or fourth. We had a blast! Emma and Mandi picked it up pretty quickly and, by the end of our two hours, were skating independently and doing a lot less falling. I am always amazed at how quickly these girls pick up new skills, it is fun to watch!

Enjoy the pics and short vids. Sorry some are sideways, I will try and fix it for my next post. -Billy




(Mandi) Not so sure about this...

Ok, let's give it a try...

Maybe I better keep trying!

Watch me get better at this...

Getting Better

And once more...




Emma gives it a try...




Check her out at the end!




The one and only Samantha!




As you can see, we had lots of fun!

Nothing... and I mean NOTHING is safe anymore!

Well folks, that's it. Lizzie has learned that not only can she climb chairs, but she can also drag them to desired locations to access things we mistakenly thought were safe from her grasp.
Here she is enjoying free access to Mom's purse.
Her response when I told her that was not for her to play with?

Ha ha ha ha phhhhhtt!

She is way to cute for my own good. So far I have found her on top of the table, on the kitchen counter, on the computer (chewing on our webcam ack) on top of our VP... you get the idea. The only places she hasn't conquered yet are the stove, the fridge and the entertainment center. I am sure her guardian angels (as with all toddlers) are quite worn out by the end of the day.

On another note:
The girls are all in girl scouts and just did their Christmas service activities last weekend.
In addition to the food and money we gave to help needy families, we also asked the girls to donate one toy in good condition. Everyone went up and spend some time mulling over their stuff. After everyone chose something to donate we sat around the table for dinner. Mandi was sniffling and sobbing. We found she felt "heartbroken" because she was giving away her favorite kitty. We explained she could pick another toy and it didn't have to be her kitty. She replied that her kitty was the most wonderful, soft, cuddly kitty and it would make someone much happier than anything else she had. I was so touched by her actions. When given the choice, she chose to give her favorite toy because she felt it would bring another child the most happiness instead of giving something she didn't care that much about. Here she is giving her kitty one last hug before taking it to her service event.

I hope I grow up to be like Mandi.

O Christmas Tree...

Decorating fun! We decide to go with a Douglas pine instead of a Frasier Fir this year. Man they smell heavenly although the branches are not quite as firm for holding the heavier ornaments.
We always get our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and decorate it Sunday evening so we can have maximum enjoyment through the holiday.

Sam kicks off the decorating fun.
Gotta keep 'em out of Lizzie's reach
Ah, the perfect spot!
The ornament lady (yes we love decorating the tree in our PJ's!)
Lizzie's first act of destruction

Emma's turn to top the tree

Super Sam to the rescue!

Finished tree. Yeah, it looks funny but I guess everyone who has had a toddler "gets" it.
Speaking of toddlers... I think our tree ate her... or perhaps she is eating the tree?

Thanksgiving

We had a lovely day! We probably had the smallest group we have had in our home for years which was nice. I do love the fun of having lots of friends and missionaries over but sometimes it is nice to tone it down a bit. Our house is tiny, 1500 square feet spread over 3 floors, so one can imagine the challenge of fitting 12 guests plus our 6 in a 500 sq foot space which is what we did last year. Our kitchen is a galley kitchen which fits 2 at best. To get to our basement you have to go through the kitchen so the traffic of people going in and out gets crazy. We always have great fun regardless. I admit I do look forward to the day when I can have a bigger kitchen and not have to shoo my children out so I don't step on them.
This year we had 4 guests, all of them delightful company and good sports! Our pipes in the upstairs bathroom broke so we were down to one bathroom. Our furnace also died several weeks ago so we have been thankful for warm clothing around here. Fortunately the oven combined with lots of love kept us warm through the day. We got up and got the turkey and the rolls going and then hung out and did this and that. Lizzie will decide she is tired and take naps in the oddest places. Took me some time to find her this time around, I was starting to panic heh. She is under our table in case you can't tell... too tired to finish the apple I saved her from the stuffing poor thing.
After rising for 4 hours, the rolls (boy were they good!) were ready to shape. Samantha did a fabulous job! They looked so pretty and practically melted in your mouth.
Everyone came and hung out and enjoyed good eats! Afterwards we watched movies, played games and chatted. Samantha and Emma put on a wonderful magic show for us with Mandi serving as an always hilarious MC. We liked her turkey jokes. It was a fun and relaxing day.
Some of the things people mentioned being thankful for: Friends, family, gospel, Jesus Christ, food to eat, a roof over our heads, and... (thank you Billy) dog hair. He claims without dog hair Max would be a fright to look at. I am glad he is able to think of such profound things as dog hair.....

The food did have some odd effects on us.
This was quickly solved by dashing upstairs to eat pumpkin and apple pie.
Here is the Thanksgiving song the girls sing for us every year... to the tune of Friar Jaques

Turkey dinner, Turkey dinner.
Gather round, gather round.
Who will get the drumstick,
Yummy yummy drumstick?
Me oh my, Me oh my.

Mashed potatoes, cashew stuffing,
Pumpkin pie, cream piled high.
We were all much thinner
Until we came to dinner.
Me oh my, Me oh my.