Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Two More Books


Ginny Petersen introduced me to this book when I lived in Lincoln with them before leaving for my mission. They had a son Danny who just loved this book. It's very cute!










Benjamin had a friend in Ladera Ranch CA who gave this book to him. It's a very easy to read book with a fun story.

And More Snow

We got some too. It may not look that bad but the high was 19 degrees. It was cold and icy and I got to try out the 4 wheel drive in the Pathfinder!

Snow


We got our first snow storm!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Our Favorite Book


This is my first attempt so I thought I'd start by adding to the book list. "Where's My Teddy?" by Jez Alborough is absolutely our favorite. Haylee knows most of it by heart and she thrills Lindsay by reciting their favorite parts. Check it out at the library! I'm sure it will become a favorite of yours too.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

He BEAT the TURKEY!

We forgot the camera at home (I tell ya' I need a phone with a camera) but Glenn did beat the turkey (43). Ben & Glenn ran the 2-miler in a 16. And I followed the turkey quite a bit later at a 55 (almost 56). I ran in with a friend of Mindy's who's in the same LDS ward in San Diego... can't remember her name. (Let it be know, she did pass me and beat me, but not by much!) She commented to Glenn, "Are you a Thomas? You sure sound like Eldon." Anyway... happy Turkey Day to all. More postings later of the day...

Monday, November 20, 2006

Random Events

Don't mess with Mindy on Halloween. Her brother Parker and his wife Peggy and their son Rob came over for Halloween and Mindy did them right cooking up a stew inside a pumpkin.





When the same old Family Home Evening gets too routine for the kids we change it up, like turning out all the lights and sitting in front of the fire for FHE.


Each night about 6pm we get the wiggles around our house. And now that it's dark so early it poses a serious threat to the kids. They risk getting beat if they stay in the house. So we have started trekking to the park, in the dark. There is just enough light for the kids and we have it all to ourselves.



I got to select my birthday dinner, which of course included lots of meat. If your gonna eat a fluffy Angel Food cake you better make up for it with a few pounds of red meat.


Sunday, November 19, 2006

November

Well, as promised to Eldon, I am trying to blog every Sunday. So here goes...
It is November and it hit 90 the other day. Allison and Nathan are trying to cool off by the misters at the park. I sometimes think I hate the heat, but then at night when it cools off, I remember that although I like cold weather clothing, I don't like being cold. So Arizona, we will stay.

We are busy finishing our soccer season. We have three more weeks. Allison has become a super star and the "playmaker". It so fun to watch her in action. Sammi has an awesome team and they are undefeated. Nathan is just there for the fun of it. I still think he has no clue, but it's fun chasing the ball.

Other than that, we have just been busy with everyday life. It seems like there is never a dull moment. I am trying to get my singing group together and ready for their performance. I can't believe how fast the the months have flown by. They are playing Christmas music already for pete's sake!! I am determined to get all of the shopping done so that I don't have to go to the store, except for groceries, in December. I dont' like the Christmas Rush. Call me Scrooge - I admit it. Speaking of Scrooge, we are going to see a Christmas Carol - musical- on December 1st with our kids. If anyone else is interested, buy tickets now. Maybe that will get me into the spirit...




Friday, November 17, 2006

Charlie Brown Books

Hi. We just came back from Bruno Nebraska and while we were there my Mom pulled out these hardbound "Charlie Brown Super Book of Questions and Answers." There is a series of 5 I believe and they are just wonderful! Ben and Zach just love them! All kinds of questions about anything a kid could think of... and what's so fun about them, they have little comic strips along the way. Check them out...

They have not been published for years... so I think you can buy them for under a buck on the web. Christmas is coming... Have a GREAT DAY everyone!

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Grrrrrrrrr

Okay,
I will tell you why I don't post anything is this blog thing - - because I am computer retarded!!!!! I have already tried three times to put some cute pictures into my blog and tell you all about the things we did this fall, but I can't get the pictures in the right spot! How in the heck do you get the pictures to go where you want them to and then the paragraph to go right next to it. UGGgggghh! I get so frustrated trying to make this look right. So I am just going to gripe for now, and not tell you about the zoo, the state fair, and our haunted house. I cant' get the pictures in the right spot and I am so frustrated about it I am just going to tell you about my frustration and call it good!
-Melissa

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Only in the Church

We have a new Temple Presidency at the Mesa Arizona Temple. Tom Clark from our old 38th ward is the new President.
A week ago the old Presidency spoke to us in our prayer meeting & said good bye. The next week the new Presidency were there saying hello to us in our prayer meeting and the work moved forward without a hitch.
It's amazing to see the Lord's plan in action. No where in the world except the church could this happen.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Rusty Harper







It was an exciting time at the Harper household on the second of Novemeber. Linnea decided to have Rusty James at home with a midwife. Everything went just like clock work!!!! Rusty made his appearance about 8:45 PM
Weight: 10lbs 8 oz.
The midwife said he was 21" long but the next day when Russell's mother, who is a nusre, came over, she said she thought he was longer. She measured him & he measured 23". I know he didn't grow 2" over night!!
He looks just like Haylee! See for your self-
This makes #19 for us!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Grand Canyon Halloween

While you all were out-and-about trick-or-treating (or trunk-or-treating) we were on our way to the Grand Canyon this year.

As you can imagine, Halloween at our house is no fun. With Ben and Zach severely allergic to peanuts and nuts, we have started a small tradition that gets us out of the loop. A few years back, we took the kids to Legoland and this year we checked out the Grand Canyon Railway. What a BLAST!


We left Tuesday after school and arrived at Williams AZ around 8pm. There was plenty of time for supper, swimming and jumping on the beds! We swam them all till 10:45, showered, jumped on the beds and got to bed by 11:30. Wednesday morning at 8am Glenn started roll-call and shouted, "Everybody up!" The response was, "Dad, let us sleep a little bit longer."
WOW!
I wonder what would have happened if we would have gotten them into bed after midnight!?!?










Breakfast was at 8:30 the next morning and then off to the shoot-out! The shoot-out left us all hanging... the robbers would "take the train" during the day, we just never new when. Lo-and-behold... on the way back home from the Grand Canyon, there they were!




OK - so, after breakfast and the shoot-out we enjoyed a 2 1/2 hour train ride over to the Grand Canyon. There we saw deer, mountain goats, squirrels and such a beautiful site! The Grand Canyon looked like a picture, until you got close to the edge... then reality HIT!

The boys enjoyed hiking and just looking at the Canyon! It is such a wonderful site. We ate our lunch and got back on the train around 3:45.



The train ride was full of fiddlers and guitar-players that kept us all stampin' our feet and clappin' our hands!


About 3 miles from home, the robbers were spotted outside the train... we were gonna' be robbed! They entered, told silly jokes and then demanded our $$$.





As they looked at our family, they decided to leave us alone. "They're gonna' need all the $$$ they have to raise these kids." They didn't want to mess with us alrighty!




We arrived back at Williams about 5:45 and headed on for Mesa. It didn't take long before we heard snoring and saw this sweet sight... but before the snoring Zach stated, "Dad, that was the BEST Halloween ever!" I agreed and said, "What should we plan for next year?" Nick replied, "How about the Egyptian Pyramids!" AUGH! We better start savin' our $$$!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Books


We still do baby books but we LOVE Sandra Boynton. I think they're cute and Thomas loves them.

Halloween


We also had a ward Trunk or Treat (which is VERY appropriate for our ward) and Thomas went as a cowboy complete with a mustache. It was easy and he got to wear a cool hat.

So, the other day I was at Walmart and I got this great idea, I'll buy some underwear for Thomas so that when he feels so inclined and decides he wants to go on the toilet I'll be ready. Well, when we get home I decide that he really should try them on and, again, if they suit him and he potty-trains himself that would be ok with me. He thought they were lots of fun and loved the freedom of big-boy pants as he ran and played and climbed. Then he paused to pee all over the carpet. The soggy pants didn't slow him down though and I had to chase him all over the apartment before I caught him and got them off. I guess he won't be potty trained this week :)