Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving could be the best day of the year for me. I love being grateful and I love food! Our family had a great day together. We ate at Bob and Val's (Mom & Dad) spent the day doing nothing but eating and talking. We very much missed Heather, Melanie and Jared. I wished that all my brothers and sisters could have been there. One of these years guys! But, it was great spending the day with Bob's kids and parents. They are some of my favorite people to spend time with. (sorry I didn't get any pics of them)

Sommer, my Mom, and Handsome Dave.

Our dinner
My three greatest blessings!

I am so thankful to live so close to my sister Sommer.

I was in charge of the rolls this year. I decided to take my assignment very serious. It was important for me to redeem myself from the cake incident of last spring. (See older post for details.) I made three different kinds of rolls this year (and even remembered the salt), Parker house, cranberry rolls, and these turkey rolls. They were a hit!In case you needed a closer look...
Did I mention that I made fresh cranberry butter? (Sorry for tooting my own horn but I'm a bit proud that I didnt' fail in the cooking department this holiday.)

The Thanksgiving day shiner! Poor Lucy Jane. She fell off the couch on Wednesday. I pretty much freaked out and called my neighbor Cami over to see if I needed to take her to the doc. Luckily she was okay. Ouchy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Festival of Trees

This year Emma's 2nd grade class entered a tree for The Festival of Trees. The theme for the tree is A Magical Christmas. It was a way for their class to get involved in the community and be a part of something bigger than themselves. Here is a little bit of info about the Festival...

PURPOSE: Every penny raised goes to help children in need at Primary Children’s Medical Center.

HISTORY: For 38 years, the Festival of Trees has been a “Gift of Love” from Utah to children. The Festival is organized by a volunteer board of 84 women who enlist time and talents from thousands of individuals, organizations, businesses, and families throughout Utah. Over $22 million has been raised for needy children at Primary Children’s Medical Center through the Festival since 1971, with $1,604,021.64 raised last year.

Here is our tree.

The class and parents worked very hard getting donations and putting together this tree. It won't be the grandest tree at the festival but it will be by far the most loved. These are the little guys that I made for the tree. I like to call these magical creatures "hum bugs". I made 20 of them and they took about an hour each to make. Each one is very unique and has a personality of its' own. The kids adopted the hum bugs, fairies, stars, and gingerbread men and gave them names and wrote stories and descriptions about them. You can see all of the characters on the tree by visiting the tree's blog http://www.magicalchristmastree.blogspot.com/

Try and make to the Festival if you can. It's a great way to kick off the Christmas season and there is a lot to do there besides look at trees. Your kids will have a blast!

DATE:
December 3-6, 2008 (Wednesday through Saturday)
TIME:
10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. each day
PLACE:
South Towne Exposition Center9575 South State Street, Sandy, Utah 84070
TICKETS: $4 for adults $3 for children $14 for entire family (discount tickets are available at Zions Bank)

My Lucy

Lately, Lucy is very determined to never wear her pants. I put them on and she takes them off. Today she found Brent's sports bag and walked around the house for about a half hour wearing his cleats and throwing his football. She kept saying "sitball Dad." I love her at this age. She is so much fun.

Reed I. Oldroyd

April 24, 1917 - October 18, 2008

Brent's Grandpa Reed passed away quietly Saturday, Oct 18, due to old age. He was born in Fountain Green, Utah to Dorothy Brown and Irvin P. Oldroyd. He married Aileen Smith on July 18, 1941, and moved to Portland, Oregon to attend the Northwest Dental School. He graduated in 1944 and served two years int Army Dental Corps. Reed and Aileen returned to Portland to start a dental practice in Beaverton, where he worked for 30 years.

Reed was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he served in many positions including counselor to the president of the Oregon Portland Temple. He served a church mission in Germany and New York from 1938-1940. Reed and Aileen also served two temple missions in Atlanta, Ga., and Bern, Switzerland.

Reed loved sports. He played basketball and ran track in high school in Provo Utah and his church team took the All Church Tournament in basketball. He loved watching his children and grandchildren participate in various sports.

Reed is survived by his wife, Aileen; his children and their spouses, Dr. Stephen B. and Suzi Oldroyd of Medford, Dr. Ronald I. and Cathy Oldroyd of Lindon, Utah, Mary Kay and Curt Fortie of Lehi, Utah, Janice and Bruce Vickers of Beaverton, Susan and Kurt Bendixsen of Hermiston; 24 grandchildren; and 41 great - grandchildren.

Brent was able to attend his funeral in Beaverton on Friday October 24. He said that it was a very spiritual and moving experience. Grandparents have always played an important role in mine and Brent's lives. I know that his Grandpa had a huge impact on his life. He always spoke very highly of him and has an enormous amount of respect of all that he accomplished in his lifetime. I too have very fond memories of him. Like how he used to crack jokes and how he was always so smiley. He was alway very happy and fun with our kids and loved to spend time with them. I feel very blessed to have married into a family that is so loving and accepting. Reed was a very good and righteous man. He will be greatly missed by all of us. It's very comforting to have the knowledge and faith in The Plan of Happiness. It simply teaches us that we will all be together again. Until that time comes, he will hold a special place in our hearts.

Emma and her Great-Grandpa (March 2001)

TV vs. My Conscience

For several months now I have had this nagging voice in my head that I should get rid of our TV. I've ignored this voice for a long time because I LOVE TV and always have. I'm a self proclaimed TV aholic. It's a great babysitter for the kids, it is a great pastime for me. I am totally hooked on Grey's Anatomy, LOST, Hero's, CNN (just to name a few). But most of all, I am a DVR addict. I love the pause button, I love fast forwarding commercials, I love skipping around and back, I love to see things in slow mo, I love knowing that if I miss one of my shows on the night it airs, I can always watch it later. So here's the question. Why would I do something so crazy as getting rid of it? I don't quite know yet. All I know is that I've had a prompting to do it, so I'd better listen right??? It's a little thing called faith I guess.

So, yesterday I called Dish Network and canceled our service. The jerks didn't even give me a last day with the TV or a chance to really let my final decision sink in. They turned off the dish even before I hung up the phone. And on a Thursday of all days. Only the best night of the week for TV watching. Oh the tears that were shed. Not by me but by Emma and Isabelle. It was a very sad day for all of us. But when the girls had no TV after dinner they had a great time playing soccer inside with each other, Brent and I talked together, and I actually found the time to work out and read.

So, here is what I'm hoping will happen as a result of ditching TV.

1. More family time talking and playing

2. Less of the "world" in our home

3. More time to devote to scripture reading

4. More money saved for a rainy day

5. More time to spend developing talents

6. Less of the media's doom and gloom to panic me

7. More music to fill the quiet

and

7. A confirmation that I have done the right thing for my family

Just so you know, when I say we don't have TV, it's literal. We don't have an antenna so we only get fuzz and the Spanish channel. {Isabelle loves all things Spanish so she might actually be the one to watch this channel.} I'm confidentish that this decision is going to be a good thing for us. It will definitely force me to create some new habits and a new lifestyle. Wish us luck!

Halloween

Halloween was really great this year. I planned and hosted three parties in one day (Preschool, Emma's 2nd grade class, and our 3rd Annual street party). I almost divorced Brent in the morning because when I went to get my energy drink (an extra large Rock Star) out of the fridge for my breakfast I found that Brent had stolen it! I was furious! I had bought it and saved it all week for this day. {Okay judgey judgers... Yes I drink caffeine. But only on days when I have to be super mom. }Brent wasn't allowed back in the house without a replacement drink, which by the way is still sitting in the fridge un-opened. I made it through the day without a drop of caffeine!

So here are some awesome pictures of Halloween 2008! It was a prefect day for the kids. But I have to admit, I'm sure I love this Holiday more than them.

Here I am! The hostess with the mostess!PEACE!!!

Isabelle was adorable Lucy Jane and her trusty pal Walter Little Miss Emma The best part of this costume was that Brent was totally unrecognizable. Our Bishop confessed to Brent on Sunday that after talking to him, while they were out trick-or-treating, he had to ask someone who the creep in our neighborhood was. He had no idea it was Brent.
These two dorks are our wards Elders Quorum President and First councilor. Cami and I are so proud. They took a spin around the neighborhood until their sweet ride broke down and they had to push it home. It was the highlight of my night. I couldn't stop laughing.This is the 3rd year we have had a street Halloween party. How lucky are we that we love our neighbors and that we all love Halloween? We had pot luck in the garage and set up a hot chocolate stand on the sidewalk for all the trick or treaters. Isabelle and KaylenLucy GooseyPete and LisaSommer and MillyEmma and TrinityMelissaI'm sad it's all over. But now I get to plan Christmas...