Black Friday Surprise!

We went shopping on the craziest day of the year....the day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday. David bought me an early Christmas gift. I have been wanting this pea coat FOREVER and we found it at JCPenny marked down from $200 to $49.99. So cute!

A Post By Graham Thompson

These pictures....one of them is all the characters in Spongebob. The second picture is a picture of the crabby patty that Mr. Crab sells. Spongebob works there, so does Squidword. Gary is Spongebob's pet. Spongebob goes to work everyday, so does Squidword. Sandy likes to do karate with Spondgebob and Patrick is one of Spongebob's best friends. Plankton always tries to steal the crabby patty formula, so he can make crabby patties. That's it.

An Amazing Show

This is a concert that I found on YouTube that was performed in Philadelphia, but it is very similar to the one that we saw!

I have been to a lot of concerts in my day and I can honestly say that I have never been to a better show. Coldplay was so entertaining and exciting to watch. Chris Martin has so much energy and he is so incredibly talented, playing many instruments including the piano, guitar, and even the harmonica. They had two catwalks that the whole band utilized.

Here is David and I in our seats during the opening band. David really loved it. It was his first concert ever and he thought it was great because he knew ever song. The only thing he didn't like was how loud the music was. I had forgotten how loud a concert can get.
The lighting was amazing and it was in sync with the music changes. They also had one big ball just above us and 5 other little balls around that would rotate showing different designs or pictures. Later confetti shot out above the crowd. Each song was truly incredible and planned out very carefully. They weren't just there to sing. They were there to perform and entertain!

Sarah was a few sections away from us. We tried to get her to come and sit by us, but the empty seats next to us got filled just minutes before Coldplay came out. In the middle of the show, the band left the stage and come out into the crowd, walked up the stairs and took position just two rows in front of Sarah! There they played a few songs. At that point David said, "I don't think Sarah feels so bad now that she had to sit alone." She was totally crying when the band was just feet away from her. :)

Our pictures weren't the best. We followed the rules and unlike everyone else in the arena, used our camera phone instead of a high quality one.

Here is Sarah and I sporting our new Coldplay purchases. AAAHH!! It was truly an amazing time! I would go see them again in a heartbeat! Such a blast! I am so grateful to my brother Sam for the tickets! It was such an awesome gift. And I so appreciate Em and Jay for taking out time on their Saturday night to watch the kids! We wouldn't have been able to do it without you guys!

As Seen On TV

Graham has always been sold by infomercials. This one he saw about a year ago called "The Martian Maker" by Play Doh. After behaving very well in school for a whole week, which is GREAT for him (he loves to socialize), and eating his vegetables in his packed lunch, David rewarded him with the long awaited Martian Maker. It's actually a really cool little toy. Sometimes I wish I had things like that growing up. We had to get creative with our Barbie's, using moms mixing bowls full of water for their swimming pool and maxi pads for their mattresses.

Bad Habit

Twilight

We went. We saw. We loved!

Teresa Tagged Me!

1. Go to your pictures
2. Upload the fourth picture from the fourth file.
3. Post
4. Tag four friends

This picture is very old! Looking at the girls dresses you can tell that it was the mid 90's. There was a time when all 8 kids moved home and we lived happily packed into a small house. We were always very much into making our own movies and acting, even in pictures. Here I am the photographer and the models from L to R: Sam, Sarah, Ben, and Becky. This picture was taken before we went to church one Sunday. Man, I miss those days!

I can't wait to see everyone else's pics. I tag:

1. Sarah
2. Becky
3. Sam
4. Dan
And anyone else who wants to do it! It's fun.

Memories!

Mario, Luigi, Hammer Brothers, flying fish, mushrooms, feathers, turtles, shooting fireballs.....Don't you love the old school Nintendo games? You can play them online at http://www.virtualnes.com/. Love it!

Sam The Man

A few months ago, Sam bought David and I tickets to see Coldplay. He knew that I wanted to go very badly and he was so flabbergasted that David has never been to a concert before. We have been counting down the days and can't believe that it's tomorrow night.

Well, Sarah has also wanted to go. She has been trying different ways to win tickets. This last week she listened to 101.9 all day and wrote down the hourly Coldplay song for a total of 9 hours. She then had many helpers, including me, calling into the radio station competing against the other 175,000 callers trying to win the same prize. Needless to say, she didn't win the prize. Yesterday afternoon Sam called Sarah and asked her if she had won yet. She sadly told him that she didn't. Sam then explained to her that it was good news because he just bought her a ticket as well. So Sarah gets to come after all.

We were laughing about it because when Sam told me the news my reaction was to scream...and scream...and scream. I couldn't believe it. When Sam gave Sarah the news, her reaction was to cry....and cry...and cry. He says, don't worry about a payback, just go and have a good time. But we are going to have to think of something really good to re-pay the guy who has everything that he already wants. Thanks Sam! We love you!!

My Thoughts

There have been a few things happen lately that have made me feel like I need to share my thoughts and maybe a huge piece of my testimony.

I gave a talk a few months back on the first presidency message given in the June 2008 Ensign. It was given by President Eyring titled, "Safety in Counsel". It was such an excellent article. I loved how straight forward it was. There are a few quotes that I feel that I need to re-share....

"When a prophet speaks, those with little faith may think that they hear only a wise man giving good advice. Then if his counsel seems comfortable and reasonable, squaring with what they want to do, they take it. If it does not, they either consider it faulty advice or they see their circumstances as justifying their being an exception the to counsel."

"Every time in my life when I have chosen to delay following inspired counsel of decided that I was an exception, I came to know that I had put myself in harm's way. Every time that I listened to the counsel of prophets, felt it confirmed in prayer, and then followed it, I have found that I moved toward safety."

Now is the time to stay close to the prophets counsel. They are guided by God and will always be guided by God. When a prophet speaks, he isn't just giving advice and we can choose if we want to follow it. When a prophet speaks, he is giving us the counsel that we need to be strong in these last days. It will only be the most valiant that choose to follow. It gives me great comfort to know that the prophet is a man that is called of God and that if we have enough faith to follow, we will be protected. I know that if we ever have any question about why we are counseled to do certain things, we can pray about it and we will get the answers. I know this to be true.

Those are just a few of my thoughts.

My Edward is Tom

When I read the books a few years ago, my sister put it in my brain that she imagined Edward to look like the beautiful Tom Welling. So that is how I have imagined him since. It has been hard for me to be interested in going to see the movie because they didn't use Tom as Edward. What were they thinking?? Tom isn't 17, but he could've pulled it off.

Well, me and the girls have tickets to go to a late night showing of Twilight tonight. I am going with no expectations of it comparing to the book. Those books were so fun to read, I hope that the movie isn't disappointing. We shall see.

A Festive Recipe Loved By All

Pumpkin Cake

Crust:
1 Yellow Cake Mix (set aside 1 C. dry)
Mix with 1/2 C. melted butter and 1 egg.
Pat into a 9x13 greased pan.

Filling:
1 lb pumpkin (2 cups)
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs 2/3 c canned milk
Mix together and put on your crust

Top:
1 c dry cake mix that you set aside
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c butter
sprinkle on top of filling

Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes

This is a great recipe for the fall. It is the one that I made at my Trunk or Treat and took first place. It's a fun one to have instead of your basic pumpkin pie. Enjoy!

Ladybug Rocks or Ladybug's Rock, Either Way

Every Monday Carmen has preschool with her little friend Rebekah. This Monday we learned about the letter L. I found this cute idea online. You paint rocks to look like ladybugs. It reminded me of my grandma Anderson and her crafty craftiness. She was always doing crafts that had to do with nature. I remember one rock in particular that she painted. On the one side it said, "Turn Me Over." So, you flip it over, and it says, "Thank You." I loved her creative mind and I wish that she was still around because I know that she could share a lot.

3 MORE DAYS!!

New Bunk Bed

Carmen and Morgan got a new bunk bed. They slept in it last night for the first time, which for Morgan was the first night out of the crib. She didn't get a lot of sleep to say the least. This is how I found her after lunch today.

The Best Dog Ever

I like to think that we scored such an awesome dog back in April. He's been a great running partner, watch dog, wrestling opponent (for Carmen), and friend to have around the house. Lately I have been trying to teach him a few tricks. He's a really smart dog and for the most part is very obedient. I have seen other dogs being trained to say "I love you." And it really sounds like it, it's crazy. Here is my attempt to teach Harvey. We are working on it. :)

A Conversation To Remember

I normally put things that the kids say along the side of my blog, but I thought I would post this one since it's a long conversation. Today on the way to church Graham and Carmen were talking about dinosaurs.

Carmen: "Pterodactyl's don't eat humans. If they did, the human wouldn't fit in it's stomach."

Graham said: "yeah they can."

Me: "Yeah, they are huge and when you get a little bit older you can watch Jurassic Park 3 where the people go into the pterodactyl cage. It's pretty scary to watch. But you do know that dinosaurs didn't live around humans for real. That is just a movie."

Graham: "We don't really even know if dinosaurs ever really lived on this planet. When the planet was made, other parts of different planets were used to make this earth. So that's why some stuff on this earth is pretty much really old. Maybe Jesus took parts of another planet that was older than ours that had dinosaurs living on it and so that's could be how we have the bones here."

Me: "Wow Graham! That's pretty impressive."

Graham: "Daddy and I were talking about that the other night. Maybe it's true."

Simple Pleasures

Sunday night David put the movie Brother Bear on for the kids on the laptop. They loved that they could just sit in the chair and enjoy it. Even though lounging in a soft chair or on the couch watching a much bigger tv would've been more comfortable, they loved that this was something different. They are very easy to please. And so appreciative.

A Fun Filled Saturday

Ben and Sara came down this weekend to go to a BYU football game. It was Emory's birthday too, so we got to celebrate it with them. The original plan was they come down and I watch all the kids so they could take Emory to the game....well, last minute, one of Ben's co-workers from BYU-I text him and told him they weren't coming. So, David and I got to go. We ended up getting my neighbor (who is a YW and a great babysitter) to watch the kids. Here are some pictures that I took on Saturday.

Ben and Sara enjoying the crisp November morning.Little Susanna in the leaves.

Sarah came down for a few minutes from PG to see everyone. Here is a picture of the newest additions to the family. Owen and Rachel.

I forgot to bring my camera to the game, so David's Blackberry had to do.

After the game we took the kids to the Bean Museum, our favorite place to go.

Graham and Carmen had a grand old time taking Emory and Anderson around and explaining what things were.

Andy came down this weekend too. He was busy doing some other things, but was nice enough to find some time to hang out with us. Here is David and Andy looking at the insects.
Andy posing by the Rhino.

Ben and Sara by the butterflies.

After the Bean, Emory chose to go to Carl's Jr. for his birthday dinner. The play place there is fun.

Susanna and Morgan in the tube.

And to top off the fun day, we took the kids to Krispy Kreme during the Hot Now time. They got to watch the doughnuts go by on the belt.

All the kids, minus Owen, in their complimentary hats.

Mom and Me

Here is just a couple more pairs of slippers/shoes that I crocheted. My friend Noelle made a request that she got a pair for her and her daughter. Didn't they turn out cute?

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Just yesterday I was talking to my friend Ann about her daughter who loves one pair of pants and she was on her third day of wearing them. "I can't get her to wear anything else." she said to me. I didn't have much to compare it to......until now.

Today I bought the kids some new winter boots. And like always, Graham and Carmen were appreciative and then they went on their merry little way. But Morgan is in love. She has insisted on wearing her boots all day. I asked her to take them off for naps, but right when she woke up, they were on her feet again. I think I know what shoes Morgan will be choosing to wear from here on out until the end of winter.

Gotta Love Granny

The kids love to play with their Granny. She is always playing games with them, or listening to Graham's very detailed explanation of his artwork. You will always see her getting down on the ground at their level and getting very involved. We love you Granny!

Jr Jazz is Over

Graham completed his Jr Jazz basketball games on Tuesday. He was so excited to get a metal. That was his favorite thing about all the games combined. He even wore it to school today. He said, "I know this isn't gold or silver, but it's some kind of metal."

During the first couple of games I felt so bad for him because he wasn't as advanced as the other kids and being the overprotective mother that I am, I wanted to save him and take him out of the sport. By the end, I was glad that I kept him in. He learned a lot about the sport and I learned a lot about letting things go. Graham was a good sport. He didn't get the ball past to him a lot, but he did feel part of the team and he was always excited for the other kids on his team when they made a basket. I am proud of him for trying.

This is his team, minus a couple players that weren't there that day. The ones pictured here are all in second grade, except for Graham. I asked Graham after his last game if he wanted to play again next year. And he exclaimed, "Sure!"

I VOTED!

Drove to the polls in the rain. Waited in the auditorium for 45 minutes. Ate some smarties while I waited. Signed in. Cast my vote! Yay!

Jr Jazz

One of Graham's Jr Jazz games. You can see that he isn't too into it. His coach is nice to try to keep him on track. He is a good sport. He's the one in the light blue shorts, #44.

Look out! Here Come Movies!

My computer is weird in the way that I can't just upload movies, but I finally figured it out (thanks to Jenn) that you can go to google video and upload them that way. So I am excited because I can share some really fun videos now!

Silly Morgan

Morgan was being so silly. I had been taking a bunch of pictures of her sticking her tongue out and doing all sorts of funny faces. Here she thought that I was still snapping pictures, but I had switched over to filming mode. Enjoy!

Fast and Testimony Meeting

Today was a great day at church. David conducted in sacrament meeting and started the meeting off great. He bore his testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. He talked about how he feels overwhelmed a lot, but he knows that there is comfort there. He listed a few things that he knew for sure. I have asked him to repeat it for me so I can get it right. Here are a few of his thoughts:

*Our prosperity it connected to our commitment to pay tithing.

*Our peace is connected to how much we follow the Savior.

*The amount of revelation we receive is connected to how much we study, ponder, and pray.

*Miracles happen in our lives according to our faith.

*The amount of joy in our life is determined by how closely we live the gospel.

He went on to explain that we have complete control over what we receive. The gospel empowers us. The atonement makes these things possible regardless of our knowledge, our capacity, or our intelligence, because it is the work of God and not a human endeavor.

David has always been really good with words and I really appreciated his testimony today. I wanted to put this on my blog for journaling purposes and also for others to feel uplifted.

Our Halloween

On Halloween Eve Graham decorated his room with ghosts, tombstones made out of paper, and even a werewolf. He spent all afternoon getting it ready for Halloween. The black strips of paper are "poky sticks, because they are scary."

We went to Graham's Halloween Parade at the school that morning. His teacher, Mrs. Gibby was Hannah Montana. It was fun to see all the costumes that the kids were wearing.


You've gotta have sugar cookies on Halloween, right?

In the evening we went up to Sarah's for their trunk or treat. Their ward combined with another ward, so the kids got double the candy without having to walk door to door. We then went to Sarah's and had a little birthday celebration for her. Yes, her birthday is on Halloween. John gave her a way nice Cuisinart mixer. Then we went around her neighborhood with the older kids. Some of her neighbors go all out. We went through a haunted house with scary music and fog. My kids were terrified. I had to push them through, but they were happy to have done it when they came out. Here they are sorting out all of their candy. They got lots!

I remember as a kid coming home and dumping out all my candy and sorting it in muffin tins. It was a fun way to see everything that I got.

Is all that candy for Morgan?? She got tons too! People say it is good for your child's teeth if you let them eat all their candy in one day, but what about their bellies? I can't bring myself to letting them do that. They get to pick a couple pieces a day.

So our Halloween was quite eventful. This year it really hit me how strange it is. We all dress up. Some scarier than others and walk around and ask people for candy. It really hit me when I saw Morgan pretty scared of a guy who was dressed as the devil. She had to muster up the courage to go and ask him for some candy? What is that all about? It's so strange to me!