O Christmas Tree

You would think they (aka family) would now the routine by now. It happens the same way everytime. Maybe they are just slow learners. Or maybe they just block the traumatic experience from their minds. They could just be gluttons for punishment or hopeful that this time might be different. Remind me not to send them to Vegas.

This past Saturday we went to get a Christmas tree. We left Eric at home because of the cold weather. Charissa was more than willing to watch him for us. Oren wanted to stay home too. They probably lost hope.

We don't just get a tree. We go to a tree farm and hike around for 30 minutes to find the perfect tree, but are so frozen at the end of 30 minutes that we settle for any tree so we can end the fun family adventure. Looking for Mr. Right has got to be easier than looking for the right tree.

First, we ride to tractor and trailer out to the far reaches of the farm. We are headed to the soft needle trees. What happens next is Mom spots "The Tree". We all hop off in high hopes that in deed it is the one. Upon closer inspection, the needles are the wrong color, the tree is too skinny, the tree is too fat, the tree isn't full enough, etc. The first tree is NEVER the right one. You would think we would have learned that.

So off we trek to find the one tree destined to grace our living room. This year Cara has a checklist. Hubby insists on soft needles. I insist on the right shade of green. Joanna says it can't be too fat. Hubby asks her if she loves him anyway which earns him a mighty eye-rolling. Jonathan and Kalynne insist the tree be found soon. So on we go walking halfway back up to the entrance eliminating tree after tree while the cold eliminates all feeling in our ears, fingers and toes.

Finally when are about to grab the nearest bush and pass it off as a tree, we find THE TREE. It is the perfect shape, color, not-too-fat and has soft needles to boot. We freeze some more while the children try to cut it down. It is hard to do that with frozen fingers.

Hubby finishes the job, and he and Kalynne haul it to the side of the road so we can ride the tractor back. Kalynne is a big fan of creating family memories. She wants to hurry and end the family activity so it can be a memory.

There the tree is shaken, tied and paid for by hubby while the rest of us enjoy some hot cider and try to get feeling back in our toes (and tongues after scalding it in a hurry to warm ourselves up). Once the tree is tied to the car, we head home proud of our find and hoping it doesn't fall off. One tree-hunting adventure a year is enough.

More Vacation Pictures

Just some random pictures from Thanksgiving Day ...

Eric (like the shirt?)

Eric and his cousin Austin (Austin is 6 weeks older)

Eric using Charissa as a climbing tool

The Feast

There were 35 people there and that still wasn't everyone.

Eric with Grandpa and Grandma

Me and my girls goofing off

Sand Dunes

The Sand Dunes are huge dunes of sand. (Duh!) By huge, I mean huge and really tall, really big. I am about a third of the way up when I took this picture. If you want to work off that Thanksgiving meal, climb one of these suckers afterwards. I don't know how my kids kept going up and down so many times. One time up about killed me. The kids loved to roll down. How they didn't lose their lunch is another mystery.

Kalynne, the forever drama queen

Grandma, Charissa and Eric

Cara

Joanna was being buried too but didn't like the sand in her underwear. After a couple of seconds she was hopping around trying to shake it all out. Judging by the bathtub after they washed up, I don't think she got it all. The other half was still in the kids' jeans.

Below is a clip from the Dunes before we headed home. Hubby is going to rescue Joanna who got a mouthful of sand. Both ends were loaded, I guess. The goof in the red is Jonathan.

Must be all the wind ...

It swept me away. That is why I have been absent from my posting. Actually it is the whirlwind of activities that have happened in the last 3 weeks. The wind is strong and bitterly cold enough though right now to sweep you away.

For Thanksgiving we all travelled out to SE Utah to see family and spend Thanksgiving week. The kids thought missing two days of school was an early Christmas gift. For the week before I was busy cleaning, washing clothes, packing and taking care of obligations I have at church and with our school's PTO.

Then there was the travelling. We left Friday (21st) about 5 p.m. and drove into Iowa. We took off the next morning to be hit with a snow storm on I-80. The snow was creating icy and slick roads. Some of the kids thought Dad was just being cool by swerving all over the road. I was trying to not have a full-blown anxiety attack. We made it through the storm and had good weather, perfect travelling weather in fact, the rest of the way. We arrived in Utah early Sunday evening. That many hours with that many people smashed together in a van and hotel rooms gets old fast.

While the kids had grandma and grandpa all to themselves, we rode the four wheelers, went hiking to see ruins and had a picnic at the sand dunes. I was dumping sand out of jeans for days. On Wednesday, everyone started showing up. The excitement of the evening is when Joanna split the back of her head open. There is no hospital in hubby's small hometown, and the urgent care was closed early. Super Glue, butterfly bandages and a trained Brother-in-law go a long to fixing up a distraught little 5 year old.

Joanna didn't even know she split her head open. She was trying to get outside to be with her cousins when the door handle came off in her hand. She fell. She was more upset she broke grandpa's door. It was her uncle that noticed the blood running down the back of her head. I think it was the mention of staples that made her hysterical.

For Thanksgiving we packed 35 people in one large room. It was full of fun, food and laughs. We had a family white elephant gift exchange later followed by games. The major entertainment for the young kids was taking a foam mattress down the stairs at grandma's house. Joanna tried to get back into the game after we patched her up, but I was a meanie and made her wait until the following day.

Joanna was the only major injury. Hubby was sure there would be one with Cara on the four-wheeler. It amazes me that the child that tattles on every little slight can be so fearless when it comes to rides and roller coasters. Cara was driving with Clint riding on the same four-wheeler behind her. She took a corner a bit fast and had two wheels off the ground. She laughed, and her daddy informed her to slow down. I think he invoked a speed limit after that. ;)

Coming home we took the I-40 route home since I-80 through the mountains in Colorado was going to be in poor travelling condition. We didn't need a fishtailing van on mountain roads as the flat roads occurrence was scary enough. That lengthened our trip home a bit. We avoided snow until our last day which was spent the entire day (8 hours of driving) in it.

Once we got home, we stretched our limbs and enjoyed our rooms and own beds. The next few days were catch up with laundry, unpacking, doctor appointments and all of our normal obligations. Things are still slowly returning to normal or what is normal around here for us.

Pictures will be posted soon throughout next week.

Bullies

I don't like bullies. I dealt with them as a child and teenager. I hated my high school years because of some of the things that they did. What I hate more though is seeing my own children being bullied.

We had a family home evening (our weekly family night) with a lesson on bullying. I have a child who is bullied at school. That issue has been called to the attention of the principal and teachers and is being addressed. The problem I see is my own children being bullies to each other. I do not like the atmosphere that creates in my home.

We sang "Love One Another" for the opening song. The scripture for the lesson came from 1 John 2:10. I read the story of "Bullies and Brothers" for the lesson. Each time someone exhibited what was thought a bully behavior a picture of a bully was held up. If a good or hero behavior was shown, a picture of a superhero was held up. I had found the two pictures through a google search on the Internet. I had enough for each child in my family.

After the lesson we discussed what we thought constituted a bully. I was given the answers of physical harm, name-calling, teasing, put downs and the like. I told them being a bully was whenever you made someone feel inferior and belittled. A hero was someone who made your day better. That could be anything from a simple smile or compliment to standing up for someone.

Before the lesson I researched a couple of sites about bullying so I could discuss bullying with my family. The two sites I used are here and here. I have found having discussion with my family about what we learn and their feeling or opinions really helps. It is interactive and allows me some insight into my children.

No lesson is complete without homework though. The family homework for the week (or however long it takes) is to fill a mason jar with M&Ms. For every kind or "superhero" word or deed a M&M is put into the jar. Once the jar is full, we make a batch of cookies with the M&Ms and have a special family activity. Activities that the kids want are a pizza and movie night and a carnival night. The carnival night is when dinner is carnival food (hot dogs, pizza and nachos, lemonade, funnel cakes and cotton candy). It isn't healthy per se which is why it is a special treat. The breakfast bar becomes a concession stand where the kids order their food and pay with pretend money. The younger ones love it.

To help remind ourselves to not be bullies this week I posted the below picture on our refrigerator since that seems to be the family gathering spot. Below the picture I put the scripture from 1 John 2:10. The jar is on the counter, and hubby has orders to keep his hands out of it (he has a major sweet tooth).

I think I caught sight of myself

coming as I was going. Man, oh man! It has been hectic and then some. I have had to pick up the slack in some things which has added to my load and stress. November will probably be my busiest month this year.

For November, I have:

Kalynne's Birthday

Church Lessons

Church Meetings

Youth Fireside (at my home)

School Meetings

Orthodontist Appointments

Family Game Night at the Elementary (planning and running)

Dentist the & Doctor Appointments

Youth Wednesday Night Activities (planning and running)

Church Activities (just attending)

Hosting Company

Planning a Birthday Party for Jonathan

22-hour Road Trip

Normal Mommy Stuff (cooking, cleaning, chauffering, shopping, etc)

The bright side is I have to teach one less Sunday this month due to our trip. I am off the hook for one school meeting due to travelling as well. I guess the hardest part is that I have over a week cut off my month. I am trying to do all of this in weeks. At least we can relax with family the last week. I will think of it as a reward for making it until then. What I won't think of is the 22-hour road trip back home at the end of the month. Or Jonathan's birthday the day after we get home with party later in the week (at least it will be planned out ahead of time).

Whew! I feel like this frog sometimes with life being the stork ...

Election Day!

Today is election day. Please remember to vote. We live in a great country. True, America has her share of problems right now. Ya know what? I married a great guy and think we have a good marriage. Does that mean he is without his faults or problems? Heavens no! America is like that. She has her problems, but we are blessed as a people to have the freedoms that we do. They have been given to us at great cost. Remember that when you find yourself unable to take 5 minutes to vote, there are men and women who died for our freedoms. How many of them would want just five more minutes?