Can you believe the insanity?!

First, Merry Christmas and all that jazz. We hope you had a great Christmas. My favorite part was probably looking at the lights Christmas Eve. We first got ice cream cones while we drove to the best place (broomall if ya need to know). Then the kids got to come up front while we drove through the neighborhoods. It was totally awesome and worth them getting out of their seats. Yes, we are so irresponsible. Next, the week before Christmas our computer broke. WHAT?! Who does that? rediculous. Needless to say it's been a two week spree of no connection to the on-line world. I kinda feel a little backwoodsy-homestyle-shut in, but I've made up for with my christmas letter I sent out. What, you didn't recieve my "homeade heartwarmer"? Send me your address and I've love to send you my hand written greeting...... I'm sure the picture you will consider a masterpiece of it's own kind. Couldn't quite figure out self-timer.
Next, stay tuned, or rather, tune back in in two weeks when our computer arrives.
CHao

Halloween Update

I can't believe Halloween is over and we are soon stuffing Turkeys! Well, we were all sick prior to Halloween and the kids missed the Ward Party, so I brought the party to them. These are all bad pictures, but what can you do when you are the host running the activities?! our little lion trick or treating

little tiger. When Lydia found out you got candy for saying Trick or Treat, she wouldn't stop!

monster masks

we had Hannah and Maddie over since they missed the party too.Hannah was a cheetah and maddie a bee. In the back ground you can see pop bottles for pumpkin bowling..one of a few activities.

Well just a random picture. Paul was a naked lion.

The whole crowd after the feastivities. What a fun day.

Stephen's Baptism- For the Fam

Abbey in her white dress. She gave a wonderful talk on baptism. I wanted to get Stephen's picture before he left, but he had to go early. I really didn't get any other baptism picture beside Linda on the harp because I really didn't know what is appropriate and what's not, so we left pictures like that to Melinda.

Baby Meg was a huge hit...

Amy was saying this was her favorite thing: that Meg gave kisses upon request.

This is the only other picture I got at the church. For those of you who don't know, Linda can make music out of nothing, but on a Harp, she is divine!

What a little doll!

Here's the older, girlie cousins. Amy was upstairs taking care of Meg at the time.

Well, here we all are omitting Brian and Melinda taking pictures and Paul and Zach who couldn't sit still and Amy who was taking care of Meg...oh and Mike, he's not in the picture either.

Yes, that is Paul's head. He had to be sitting on my lap...

We really worked hard to get a smile, this is what we got.

Tom being really enthralled with the outside monitoring of kids. Actually he was great to show all the little kids the nice stream in back where they could wet their entire bodies!

This isn't really a great shot, but it shows Melinda's great new paint in her kitchen. We are all just chatting and waiting for dinner.

And of course, a nice wrestling match with Tom. Of course they had plenty more, but this seemed suitable to post.

My Angies are Back

In my house we call them, Angies. I guess to you they'd be Angles. Either way, they are back and I'm so Happy!

The craziness...The INSANITY

Well, these last few days have-just-been-great.....

My kids have been sick and sleep deprived because they were sick, and now honery because they are sleep deprived because they were sick. ALOT of biting, kicking, head butting, pushing, steam rollers, whining, sniveling, snot smearing, crying, screaming and crying, screaming-crying-and trantrums...inconsolable night wakings,inconsolable day activities, hanging off your leg, crawling ever up-ward on your lap, jumping out of your arms even when they want to be held, fighting over mom's lap and not able to share their wonderful mother, pushing their wonderful mother off her kitchen chair around the room and back to her kitchen chair only to throw another tantrum on the floor because you sat down on your chair...and general unhappiness. Gee wiz, sounds like side effects I'd read if the flu came in a bottle.

Boy, do I ever love my life tonight. After you go through days like this past week the tinnest things are awfully hilarious. Today I was using a Mac and the power cut, after turning it back on a window came up about the internet: "Well, that's emabarrasing. I've seemed to have forgotten your setting..." The computer didn't save my settings on the internet, but that small phrase kept me laughing all night long. Oh gee wiz. Mercy. "Well, that's embarrasing." Why is that so funny?!

I know you are all thinking I'm a nut, but seriously, that was funny. I hope you can all smile at something when your children put you through the ringer for the week.

Football Season

Do you know why I love football season? Because every year we have to go over stats, plays, downs, punts...whatever else there is... of many a favorite game of Tom's. The glory days in highschool football; we talk about (he talks about) going to BYU games with his dad and grandpa. How they sit in the nose bleed section. How Dad and Grandpa always walk so fast Tom had to run just to keep up. How Tom always got a meatball sub from subway. How they had to yell at the bad calls, cheer for the wins, and annalyze every move of each player, correct the coach on what he should have done...all the way home to Richfield. Then we size up college teams for the current season,talk about conferences and western this - and I can't remember that. Then we have to plan out the Ward Turkey Bowl Tom so faithfully has carried out for two years now...

AND this year it got a whole lot better. Tom has taught Paul to catch the football, to run and to tackle. Paul is a estatic about the whole thing. Paul has to cheer and Boo and go nuts when we TOUCH DOWN! at any of the games we watch on the internet. So this year the fam got to go to our first "LIVE" game together. Owls vs. Army. Paul sat on Tom's lap the entire time, except during half time. It was the funnest mommy moment. My two boys being boys (and enjoying their cheese fries). And Lyd and I are there for the band and the food. What a fun thing to do.

HOT DOG, GET YOUR HOT DOG

Hot dogs were all Lydia could talk about. It's about all she cheered for, and goodness the girl made that hot dog her best friend for two whole hours. Do you just love this age or what? OR WHAT?!