Too Many Candles

I celebrated my 38th birthday yesterday. I'm trying to decide if I should be proud of my age or try to rewind the clock. :) I tried to downplay my day, but that was hard to do with the kids, so I decided to go with it. They were so excited--counting down the days and getting cards and presents ready. I got some new dishes, an iTunes gift card, and lots of cards and candy. My favorite!! It was a busy day--school, homework, scouts, etc. The evening felt a bit rushed, but was still nice. I wanted a Boston cream poke cake--yellow cake with French vanilla pudding and chocolate frosting. It was really good. I refused to put that many candles on--it probably would have set off the smoke alarms. Haha.

Kendall filming while the girls sing "Happy Birthday"

Jon and Jarren singing and dancing

Opening a gift (Jarren's). He hid it among all of his boxers. Haha

Birthday Girl!!

Kendall--a story about him to follow--

Delish cake!!!

Christmas 2012

Christmas was a fun affair at our house--as usual. Jon decided it was cold enough to build a fire and that always makes it so cozy. Jarren got a bad cold over Christmas break, as did Jenna, but we still had a fun break. Toby is getting old--he'll be 10 years old in February. He was very uneasy about Christmas. The kids were tearing into everything and loud and crazy and he was very, very, very clingy, almost like he thought we were moving or something. It was kind of strange.

Kendall and Toby

Jarren--surprised to get a real compass

Jenna and her new horse

Kristen--good day for her!

The line up--Jenna loves it because it's always youngest to oldest.

Guts are Gross

Carving pumpkins was....fun....this year. Kristen didn't want to and Jon and Kendall were at a basketball thing. You'd think the pumpkins had real guts by the way Jarren and Jenna reacted. haha.

Better Late Than Never...Halloween

I just realized that I totally missed Halloween!!! Here are some pics--Kristen dressed up like a 50's girl in a poodle skirt that I made, but I didn't get any pictures of her. Darn.

Jarren didn't want to dress up, so just wore black with a black cape and a mask.

Jenna was a My Little Pony, but didn't want to wear the hat/mask. Pinkie Pie!!

Pumpkins lining the porch

Kendall had to dress up like an airline pilot for Reality Town at school, just before Halloween.

Jenna got a face painting book at the library and wanted me to paint her face for our church party.

"I'm a tiger!! Hear me roar!!"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

When the kids go back to school and things settle down a little bit, I'll get the Christmas recap and pictures put on here. I hope everyone has a safe, happy, terrific 2013!!

What Happens When You're Bored...

 It's always funny to me when I see a random picture show up on my iPod. I can tell who's been bored. Haha. :)

Blue glitter lips?!

What a thick mustache you have, Kristen!

 And then when these show up in my email... you know someone has some time on her hands. But at least she's finding something fun(ny) to do!!! We all got a good laugh out of these.

Jenna the Elf--sitting on the shelf!!

Jon--he doesn't look too different from how he normally does.

This is downright scary!!! Now I know what I'd look like if I were a man. Yikes.

This is one is the scariest of all because in a few years, he could totally be a bearded man!!!

Kristen---as a nerdy Santa. She has to wear these nerd glasses for her dance performance in a few weeks.

Jarren--ho ho ho--he looks like an elf!

Kristen's Kakes

Kristen has a class at school that's like Home Ec. They learn about cooking, sewing, laundry, etc and then, for extra credit, they get to practice at home. Kristen decided to make a red velvet cake from scratch. It was sooooooooo good and she worked soooooooo hard on it. She made the cake right after school and then made some macaroni and cheese to go with dinner. She had to go to young women and came home late, only to make the frosting. Of course, I had to try some, even though it was after 9 pm, so that I could fill out her paper (you had to write how the finished product was). Yum!!! It looks so Christmas-y. I predict a bakery in her future--Kristen's Kakes. :)