The Great Tree Hunt

As we discussed our options for Christmas trees this year, we decided that getting a license and driving to the mountains to cut down our own sounded like way too much work, and going to the big box store and buying a tree in a box would be disloyal to our Northwest roots, and Aaron complained that the Blue Spruce that we cut down from the tree farm last year was "too pokey." So, we decided to compromise and buy a pre-cut tree from a tree lot this year...it seemed to fulfill all of the criteria we were looking for: easy, authentic, and since the trees were imported they weren't the pokey indigenous Utah variety, they were the pretty, lacey Noble variety. Well, we may not be rugged outdoorsmen, but we're not dummies either! When the tree lot attendant sized us up and quoted us $75 for his scrawny hag of a tree, we hopped back in the car, drove across the street to Costco, and picked up a pre-cut and pre-bagged tree for $40! Initially, I was concerned about buying a pre-bagged tree...it seems like a bit of a grab-bag, not knowing whether or not there is a giant whole in the branches. Aaron convinced me that this "get what you get" method was actually preferable as it helped us avoid our fight wherein I insist that we tromp around the entire tree farm in a hunt for the "perfect tree," while Aaron trudges behind arguing that the trees all look the same. And so, we eeny-meeny-miny-moe-ed it, strapped the pre-cut, pre-bagged tree to the top of the minivan, and away we went!

Winter

There are things I love about winter, like playing in the snow:

 And cuddling up inside to watch a movie (or, in this case, watch garbage trucks on Youtube):

And then there are things I despise about winter, like sick little boys who stay awake all night coughing and throwing up:

Please be good to us this year, winter! We'll take more sledding, snowmen, and hot cocoa, but you can keep your icky germs!

Blessing Day

Blessing days are always a special occasion, but Rockwell's blessing today, just days after Thanksgiving, felt especially tender. As I held Rocky just prior to his receiving his blessing, he looked at me with alertness in his eyes and held my gaze for several minutes. He laid still, just staring into my eyes, and I almost felt like, in that brief moment before his first priesthood ordinance occurred, I could feel his little spirit. It was indescribable, but there was a connection between us. A feeling of love for that little boy, and his infinite potential, just filled my heart and I could feel the Spirit confirming to me my great privilege to have been blessed with this child. Aaron gave Rockwell a very special blessing, mentioning Rocky's happy soul, his desire to learn the gospel, and his talents that will bless others. Seven weeks ago, I wasn't sure how I would find room in my heart for another baby, and today, my heart feels overflowing with love for this sweet babe. How very blessed I am today to have a husband who is worthy to bless our children in accordance with the whisperings of the still small voice, five special sons who fill my heart with richness, an extended family that supports us and our children, and a Father in Heaven who, for some reason, has blessed me far more than I deserve.

Thanksgiving

In general, I really enjoy cooking and the idea of inviting our closest family and friends over for a home-cooked meal sounds like a lot of fun. However, this year, the thought of slaving away in the kitchen to prepare a Thanksgiving feast just sounded like.....a whole lot of work. And so the decision was made to eat out. No shopping, no cleaning, no prepping, no cooking, no hosting. Just show up and eat. Sounds like a winner to me! Well, kind of. In reality, it was more like, just show up and wait two hours and then eat. Happily, the boys were so patient while we waited in a line that curved and wound all the way down the hallways of the Little America Hotel. They amused themselves playing with their cousins, snacking on a few pre-dinner cookies, and stretching their legs on walks up and down the hall. Unfortunately, their good humor was spent by the time we finally got seated at our table in the grand ballroom. Rocky was tired but wouldn't be pacified with being bounced and rocked. Joey was tired from missing his nap and had snacked on so many cookies that he wasn't interested in eating a thing. Ben was unsettled from the noisy surroundings. Instead of taking our sweet time and savoring each and every bite as we had planned, Aaron and I took turns making trips through the buffet line and shoveling food into our mouths while the other bounced Rocky and offered Joey icecream and cake to keep him happy. So, when it was all said and done, I think our dining experience, although plentiful and tasty, only reinforced my feeling that Thanksgiving actually isn't about the food at all! The success of my Thanksgiving isn't determined by the quality of the pumpkin pie, it's all about being with the ones I love most and giving thanks for our abundance of blessings. Long lines and fussy kids aside, my life is rich because of the five little boys and sweet eternal companion that I share it with and for that I am grateful.

The Making of a Smile

I have been waiting and waiting to capture Rocky's first little baby smiles, but oh how it's been worth the wait! From those early little sleepy half-smiles, to the giant open-mouth smiles, to that perfectly sweet little baby grin, I just love all of his facial expressions. Poor Rocky, he probably can't figure out why Mom always has a phone in front of her face, but I can't help it, I just have to photo document his precious little face. His little smile just melts my heart. So sweet.

HaNky BOy

Every phase has it's good points, and I try to enjoy them all, but boy am I loving this great place that Hank seems to be in right now. Hank isn't a baby anymore. He's a fun, smart, helpful kid...and it's awesome! I love that I can ask him to do something for me...and he can do it! I get really excited when it's time to pick him up from school in the afternoon because I love to hear about his day. I really enjoy sitting down together after school and working on his math and reading homework together. Sometimes Hank and his buddies will play little boy games like cars and trains, but they're also beginning to just enjoy shooting baskets or playing baseball like big kids. Hank does still like to watch cartoons, but he's also old enough to start sharing some classic movies with him. Hank is just fun to be around. I like to spend time with him. I like to listen to his thoughts and ideas. I don't just love him, I really like him, too!

Halloween Fun

More impressive than the fact that we amassed two over-flowing grocery bags of Halloween candy in our trick-or-treating (first at the ward trunk-or-treat, then trick-or-treating on mainstreet, at Nana Grover's neighborhood, and later at our own neighborhood on Halloween night), is the fact that I haven't eaten ANY of it! It has taken a herculean amount of will power to keep myself out of that candy stash. Luckily, the boys are more than happy to eat my share for me.

What a fun Halloween we had! I lugged the 4 youngest to Hank's school to watch his costume parade and catch a 1/2 second glimpse of him in his G.I. Joe costume. All three school-kids had class parties at school, so they came home full of treats before the real fun even started. After school we went straight to downtown Lehi where we trick-or-treated up and down mainstreet. Since it was still light outside and the weather was nice, it was the perfect experience for Ben and Joey's first time participating in trick-or-treating. Ben got tired of walking pretty quickly and didn't get too excited about the candy, but he enjoyed the stroll outdoors. Joey, on the other hand, got the hang of things real quick and started holding out his hands to any and all passersby, attempting to collect candy from anyone. Afterwards, the boys joined Nana Grover for her neighborhood's trunk-or-treat where more candy was collected. As soon as it started to get dark, we headed back home to meet our friends for even more trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood. Whereas last year I was having to drag Max along from house to house while he complained about carrying his heavy bucket, this year I was having to remind Max to slow down and wait for me to catch up because he was racing so fast from one house to the next.