The Things We Do...

Maybe we're not the brightest lamps on the street...but we chose to venture out and see family on Christmas day. With all the snow, we were pretty sure we shouldn't but we somehow ended up going anyways. Of course, it took us a couple of hours to dig out our driveway first, and then we had to wait while Derrick and Zac jumped off of the deck into the 5 foot snow drift! I wanted to do it, but chickened out (see the ridiculous pictures below!). Anyways....the only thing crazier than jumping from a two story deck into a pile of snow is to try and make the drive from Pocatello to Cache Valley in a blizzard. (the blizzard warnings included a strong warning to NOT travel unless it was was an emergency) So we drove 63 miles with zero visibility, high winds, and unplowed roads (I think even the snow plows knew better). BUT...we made it, most of the way. We intended on going to Smithfield to see the Swaner's, but by the time we made it to Preston, Derrick was done. And, of course, he would never ever let me drive in a situation like that! I can't say I blame him. So we stopped at my parent's house and stayed the night. We had great times with both sides of the family. So it was worth it, right???

Derrick preparing to take the plunge...

...and the safe landing.

And Zac's turn...

...with a great landing.

And then there was me...

...with no landing. (since I chickened out!)

Ya, I laughed at watching my husband jump, and all but threw my son off, but wouldn't do it myself. I guess I'm kinda like that.

Boy, the things we do just to have a great time!

TRAPPED!

The excitement of going out to visit our families on Christmas day is at a stand still. Bummer. We are very very snowed in. This should be sort of fun, but I feel very trapped! Here are some pictures that we took several hours ago, and it just keeps coming. I'm thinking we're trapped for the day...

The snow drifts up the side of our house.

Derrick's car isn't going anywhere any time soon!
...such an inviting entrance way, eh???

We can't even see out of our windows, since the wind has blown all the snow onto the screens. It really adds to the whole 'feeling trapped' thing.
This is what I got when I opened the front door.

So, to our friends and family...Merry Christmas!
I wish we were with y'all right now!

(and what on earth am I going to do with the 2 pans of cheesy potatoes that I've already made)

A Week Full of Christmas Fun

It's been a week FULL of Christmas time festivities, and the week is only half over! I feel like I've enjoyed this time as a family so much, and while it's been a lot of work, I think we've made some great memories. This here's what's gone down in the Swaner home...

Sunday...we had our traditional 'fine dining Christmas dinner'. We started this tradition our first year in Vegas when we were so very lonely. Now it's something we look forward to every year...the one night each year that the kids actually try to have good manners.

The menu consisted of bread and olive oil, fillet mignon, spinach dip, pasta, salad, zucchini spears, homemade ice cream, and Martinellis. Good stuff. It's gotten pretty easy, since each person somewhat has part of the meal to be in charge of. Derrick deals with the steak, Zac makes the spinach dip, and Skyler pulls out and sets up the china. Tannon even made the salad.

Sometimes I think that maybe some day we'll actually dress up for our nice dinner. But then I think to myself....'Why??? Where else can I enjoy a fillet mignon while wearing sweat pants?' It sounds like a win/win situation to me!

Monday...we kicked off the day by shoveling tons and TONS of snow. I love shoveling snow. And it just kept snowing all day long. We also had to take Desmond down for his 4 month check up and immunizations. He weighed in at 14 lbs., which puts him right at the 50th percentile for his weight, height, and head circumference. Not real exciting, I know. But after that, we came home and spent at least an hour gathering up the snow clothes. It can be pretty tricky with so many kids who are growing so fast. Nothing that fit last year seemed to fit this year. Anyways, we loaded up and went sledding for a couple of hours. It was too cold for Des outside, so we stayed in the truck and played with the camera and took a nap. It was nice. The sledding hill was a ways away though, so we couldn't get any pictures of the other kids.

When we got home, I shoveled snow AGAIN, and Derrick helped the kids build a snow cave. They're pretty excited about it.

This morning... I pulled Myah on her sled around the neighborhood to deliver Christmas gifts. It made me tired, but it fit right in with our theme of the day. We thought it might be fun to have an 'old fashioned Christmas celebration'. We spent the evening without electronics and just enjoyed some quiet time together. Derrick took the kids sledding again while I got everything ready. We decorated gingerbread men, had a nice dinner by candlelight, played Christmas songs on the piano, and we even made vinegar taffy. I really hate making that stuff. But we did it, and I even have the blisters to prove it! But since it was an old fashioned celebration, I didn't even pull the camera out. It was interesting though to see how well the kids got along without any of the distractions we usually allow into our home.

Now the kiddies are in bed, I'm back on the computer (while watching Prison Break), and gearing up for tomorrow. I'm not sure what we'll do to keep ourselves in the spirit of Christmas. Any ideas?

Gotta run. I'm VERY tired. Merry Christmas!

Questions, Questions, Questions

Myah is an inquisitive little girl. And she doesn't just want to ask questions....she really wants an answer. And not just a kid answer. She wants the real answer. Yesterday's questions included...

'Mom, how did you know when there was a baby in your tummy anyways?'

'What are these for?' (pointing to feminine hygiene products in the bathroom) and then...
'How do you use them?'

'How does your body give Desmond milk?'
'Can mine do that?'
'Why not?'

and last, but certainly not least...
'Mom, how come your tummy is still big if the baby isn't in there any more?'

Gotta love kids! Sometimes I feel like I'm under a magnifying glass, and nothing will go unnoticed. Oh well.

My Friend, Glenn.

Tonight, I actually freshened up my makeup (and even put on some lip gloss) for a little trip down to the mall. We've been waiting for this night for at least a month. After all, it's not every night that my friend Glenn comes to town. I'm referring to Glenn Beck. He was visiting the local Deseret Book to sign his new book, 'The Christmas Sweater'. I guess I figured that living here in Pocatello, there might not be a lot of people who would show up to see him. I thought he might feel bad. So I wanted to make sure he felt welcome in Poky. (Besides, Jenna, I really wanted to get you a copy of his book and have him write a note to Raef inside.) When we got there, the mall seemed pretty empty, and I was really starting to worry...Until we turned the corner, and found that the line to see my friend Glenn, went all the way through and out of the entire mall. No, we don't exactly have a large mall...but still...the line must have been several blocks long. CRAZY!!! So, no, I didn't get to meet Glenn, shake his hand, or even SEE him...since the entrance to Deseret Book was blocked with security. But at least he felt welcome.

ps....I know Glenn isn't really my friend. I mean, I'm not dillusional...well, not really!

12:12

Crappers. It's 12:12, and I'm still on the computer! The good news is, Desmond has been sleeping through the night. Saturday, he slept until 8:30 since we were all asleep and it stayed quiet! How cool is that?

Off to bed I go!

Gotta be quick. I promised myself I'd be in bed by midnight and I've only got 15 minutes. Mandi sent me some pictures tonight that I want to throw on. It turns out that over Thanksgiving, while I had all the little (and medium sized) kids out on our adventure to Little Mountain, the big kids (and really big kids) were having an adventure of their own. They took 4-wheelers up Oxford Peak. I'd pick hiking over 4-wheeling, but I sure can't beat the view they managed to get!

I think they froze their butts off. But holy cow! Check out that view!

(It's 11:55...off to bed!)

On a Roll

I think I must be on a roll. I mean, posting 3 blogs in just 3 days??? But Nicky just emailed me these pictures from Thanksgiving, and I'm going to share...

These are all taken over Thanksgiving.

Myah had a great time hanging out with her cousins. And the weather was AWESOME! So did Tannon.

And Desmond too. (Kamden and Desmond. I think Des might be catching up, a little)
The infamous after dinner football game. The good new is, nobody got injured this year!

I bet Derrick will like this picture. I think Skyler has a poster that kinda looks like this in him room...only the guy is in football gear, weighs about 100 pounds more than Derrick, and probably gets paid to play football!

So that's all. Thanks for the pics Nicky!

Playing Catch Up

Other than Skyler's birthday post this morning, I haven't posted for a while. I've been a very busy girl! So here's what's happened since my last post...

*We put up the Christmas tree, and yes, I re-decorated it when the kids went to school. I just can't help myself.

*We went to my mom's house for Thanksgiving. We probably overstayed our welcome, but it was just so nice to get away for a couple of days.

*I went and saw Twilight with Mandi and Nicky. It's always nice to get out for a while!

*I think I consumed at least 2 pounds of turkey, and a whole pie when you count all the leftovers. It was yummy. Really yummy.

*I was given a little extra church calling. I was just working in the library. Now I get to do the ward bulletin and the ward web site too. I guess if they're going to kick me out of Young Women's, they better make it something good.

*I conquered the declined sit ups. Still not loving them, but they don't bring tears to my eyes anymore! Just as a side note...people who prefer c-sections are NUTS! But that's just my humble opinion.

*I conceded the battle, and let Derrick off the hook with Christmas lights this year. He hates putting them on the house, so this year I gave in and he just put a few on the trees outside. That's ok. Easier clean-up.

*I've felt the need to document and photograph every single second of Desmond's life. Isn't there a movie about that? I think it's called the Truman Story with Jim Carey. It's not such a bad idea, really. Des is just growing up so fast. I think he's doubled in size now and it's going by much too fast. I don't want to forget any of it!

*I've done at least 30 batches of laundry. Seriously.

*I've done almost all of my Christmas shopping...mostly on line. It's like getting Christmas twice. It's so exciting to find packages at my door. I get to open them up and now I'll get to wrap them for the kids.

*I've visited Costco at least a half dozen times. It's my other favorite place to Christmas shop. Entertainment is somewhat limited in Pocatello.

*I took the kids (nieces and nephews included) on a hike up 'Little Mountain'. Derrick was gone 4-wheeling up to Oxford peak, and I felt the need to get out and move a little, after the whole 2 pounds of Turkey and everything! Anyways, there's a pretty cool cave, and we found a skull on the mountain. We weren't sure what it belonged to, but since I came home and looked up pictures on google, I've decided it was a very BIG rat. Nice, hu?
*I kept Zac home from school to help me get things done. I think I deserve a 'mother of the year' award. Ok, maybe not...but I could at least write a book on great parenting, right?

*We painted 2 bedrooms. And we almost did it without any major problems. That is, until I was just finishing cleaning up, and Myah tripped over a full bucket of paint...spilling it ALL on the carpet. I couldn't get too mad, since the last time I painted I did the same thing.

*I've watched Kung-Fu Panda a dozen times with Myah. It makes me laugh every time. Last night though...'Shrek the Halls' moved up to the top of her list. I prefer the panda.

*I thought about cleaning the storage room. I even took a picture so that when I was done, I could post a 'before and after' picture. I never got around to the 'after' picture, since it still looks exactly the same. It's the thought that counts, right?

So that's about it! I'm all caught up! And it's only 8:30!

Thirteen Years!

Skyler turned 13 years old on Sunday. Time sure flies! For his birthday, we had his favorite dinner (chicken alfredo and bread sticks) and then he opted for a giant skookie rather than a birthday cake. It was yummy. Thanks to Derrick's parents for coming up to celebrate with us.

For Skyler's birthday gift, we helped him upgrade his room to a 'teenage room' rather than a 'kid room'. We painted, bought him a new dresser, got a new bedspread and curtains, and framed some sports 'motivational' posters. The most exciting part was putting in a giant magnet board in the section of his wall that is recessed in. It's about 8 feet across and 4 feet tall. It's pretty cool.

As long as I'm on the Skyler topic, I gotta brag on him a little. He's such a good kid, and is very quickly growing into a great 'guy'! He is extremely talented with his piano playing and his academics, and is able to do really well in basketball (he's a real hustler), art, and many other things. Skyler is currently reading the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time. I'm pretty proud of that. He has an understanding of the scripture stories that is amazing, and is so good at recalling them. I think he gets that from Derrick. He'll be a great missionary, I'm sure. When people see Skyler, they remember him for his curly hair, but my favorite thing about him is his laugh. It seems like the older he gets, we get to hear him laugh less and less, but it's absolutely contagious and I love it! That's probably why I love the picture that I'm going to post so well.

Happy Birthday Skyler! We love you!