Disney World Was a Blast!!

We obviously found the drums in the Africa section of the Animal Kingdom.




Maya was much more enthralled with meeting the characters. Ethan tended to take a swing at them until we got after him for being rude.


Todd and Maya trekking through the jungle. Okay, well somewhere within the Animal Kingdom. I'm not sure exactly where I snapped the photo.


ET and Stitch, before the feud. To test his strength, Ethan clasped hands with Stitch. They then both pushed to see who was stronger. Ethan pushed Stitch back a ways. It was about time for Stitch to go, so we started to leave. Stitch followed Ethan with his hands up to request a rematch. It was great fun.


Here's Maya kissing Tigger. She must really like Tigger, because he's the only character that received a kiss, at least from Maya. Ethan was kissing a cute French hostess at one of our dinners.

Christmas Soon Will Be Here

We can't escape the excitement of Christmas. Especially now that Ethan is almost 5. He is more than a little enthusiastic every time he sees Christmas lights as we drive around, or decorations in the stores.

We recently received a gingerbread house kit, which he saw. Of course he started hounding us to make it ever since we got it. So, one evening before he could ask yet again, we broke out the set and made a gingerbread house.

The kids loved it, and I have to say, with really young kids the sets are the way to go. We've baked our own gingerbread and made our own icing in years past. All that waiting wears on the patience of little ones. This kit had all the pieces cut and icing already in a squeezable bag. Simple, slightly neater and much faster for that holiday tradition.

I'm not saying we won't bake them in the future when the kids are older, have more patience, and better fine motor skills. But for the next few years I think I'm going to cheat a little. At least on the gingerbread houses for the kids. We may become quite the gingerbread family if the excitement factor holds out a few more years.

Giving Thanks

Once again, Thanksgiving is upon us and we find ourselves counting our blessings. While we watch so many people around the country getting laid off, we are blessed to continue to have income. We are also blessed with health and good friends.

So we find at this time, that it is one of the ways that we can help the Lord help others. We will again be hosting a Thanksgiving meal and have asked some grad. student families to join us. We know that it is difficult to be far away from family during the holidays and offer ourselves as a meager substitute.

I pray that we will continue to recognize the blessings that Heavenly Father has granted us and we will continue to inpart what we can to others. I will also strive to be thankful for what I have, instead of yearning for what I don't. (Although, I don't think yearning to see family is a bad thing. So that I'll keep.)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

On our way to church, Todd stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. A car came up very quickly on our right and we thought we were going to witness a nasty accident. Luckily we didn't.

Todd - "I thought we were going to have to stop and give CPR!"

Kara - "And first aid."

Todd - "And call the police."

Ethan - "Why?"

Todd - "So we could get that guy help and tell them what happened."

Ethan very adamantly - "And tell them it wasn't us!"

Just a few Halloween pic. Afterall, a picture's worth a thousand words.

Halloween Make-up

Being in our ward comes with a tradition of a trunk-or-treat activity each October. As usual, we got the kids in their costumes. I then decided to put just a little make-up on Maya. Todd just rolled his eyes at me.

Maya, on the other hand, was giggling as I tried to put on some sparkly eye shadow and lip gloss. She thought it was great fun, especially licking the lip gloss as I tried to put it on. I had to laugh at how excited she was about it. At a year and a half, my baby already naturally loves shoes, purses, babies and make-up. Could she be any more girl?

Todd was less than thrilled that our little angel is already liking make-up and giggling at the prospect. It may take a few years for him to get used to it.

Music is a BIG part of my life!!!

I know, most of this blog is about my kids. But hey, maybe it's time I made a front stage appearance on my own blog. Those who know me well know that I love music and love to sing. I finally gave in and created a playlist. (Sorry to those of you who hate being assaulted by music on blogs.)

You'll see that I have a few songs from Wicked. You can thank Paul and Kyla for that. I really like the single version of Defying Gravity. Steven Schwartz is an incredible composer. I was kind of upset that I couldn't find Stranger to the Rain. Some of the more current songs are a bit obvious, but you may not know the Dan Fogelberg songs. Longer, I just flat out love the melodies, harmonies and lyrics.

Leader of the Band is a little more special to me. The lyrics, especially the last verse, remind me quite a lot of my father. Sometimes I get all teared up listening to it. Apparently I'm not the only one of my siblings that feels this way about the song. I recall bringing it up once, and then having a great discussion about the mutual love of our dad and the song. (By the way Justin, Mike, Aimee and Paul, I have the sheet music so we could sing it for Mom and Dad's 50th anniversary.)