Mack, Santa & the Mrs.

Mack saw Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday. He told them he wanted Santa to bring him a blue candy cane and a video Ipod. Mrs. Claus gave him a "fpicey" (spicey) candy cane right there on the spot.

Winter is here in my town. And I guess Christmas time is here, too. We have a big tree set up in our house! I love the real ones cut right from the mountains. The pine smell and the perfect "imperfections" and the fact that it's like 11 feet tall makes me happy.

I want to do something meaningful this Christmas. Something that would teach my kids the true meaning and help us all give and feel Christ's love this holiday. But I am stumped. Any ideas?

Now that the cold is here, we are doing our best to stay active indoors. I picked up my aunt's mini trampoline over Thanksgiving and put it in my basement for the kids to play on. Jumping off it into a pile of pillows is awesome. Having a Dad that can chuck you and flip you around is crazy fun.

Thanksgiving

(click image to view larger)

Tons of family, tons of fun, and tons of driving. The actual Thanksgiving meal was delicious! We spent most the time in St. George with Dax's parents. The weather was gorgeous, great for a carousel ride, fun friday shopping with Preslie, and a walk in beautiful Snow Canyon. We saw parents, sisters, brothers, new baby, aunt and cousins!

date night

Last Sunday was stake conference, but we didn't realize that until we showed up to our 9 o'clock church (at 9:05, of course), and our ward wasn't there.

We made it to our 10am Stake Conference on time! And although it is always a physically/mentally exhausting experience to keep 4 kids sitting down and quiet for 2 hours, it was worth it; The talks were so good. One in particular stood out to me. Tad R. Callister of the Seventy spoke about marriage and how husbands and wives should commit to each other and work together and love each other. It seems like common sense, but I think so many go into marriage thinking "what can this marriage do for me" instead of "what can I do for this marriage". Elder Callister related a story about Winston Churchill and Nancy Astor. Lady Astor, who was unimpressed losing patience with Churchill said, "Winston, if you were my husband, I'd put poison in your soup." To which Winston replied, "If I were your husband, I'd drink it."

I don't remember many of the exact words from the talk, but I remember the feeling and the main message, which was that a good marriage takes commitment and hard work and humility and is the most wonderful and rewarding of life's relationships. I came away from the meeting feeling good about my marriage and my relationship with my husband. There is always room for improvement, though and one thing that was touched on in that talk was that couples should continue to date and have regular date nights. We do go on regular dates twice a year: on my birthday and on our anniversary. I am thinking we can/should improve on that!

Since it was our anniversary this past week, Dax and I went on a date and it was so nice to talk and enjoy uninterrupted conversation! Wow. It was a simple but perfect date.

I wish I could have had a video camera when we left the restaurant and Dax got into the car parked next to ours by mistake. There was an almost identical red Durango parked right next to our red Durango in the parking lot and Dax opened the door to get in until I started yelling, "That's not our car!"

I am hoping to have more frequent date nights with my husband; I really like hanging out with him!

superweek: baptism, baby, conversations,

It has been an extaordinary week. Hunter was baptized and confirmed a member of the LDS church! He had a very neat day. All 4 of his grandparents were here to celebrate with him/us. Preslie sang a solo at his baptism. I am proud of her guts to do that. I am proud of Hunter for his good decisions and his desire to do right. He is a delightful boy and a blessing in my life.

Two days later, Dax's brother and his wife gave us a new nephew! I can't wait to kiss his cheeks and snuggle his 10 pound little body!

Mack and I put up a Christmas tree in the girls' room. The boys got it in their room last year. I know it is early but I knew Mack would have fun putting it up/decorating it and it would keep him busy and happy for a while.

We have been doing a few school projects: Preslie's forest diorama and Hunter's robot garbage can.

And I am still smiling over some of the conversations...

Mack: Who makes eggs?
Me: Chickens do.
Mack: How do they make them?
Me: Their bodies make them and then the egg comes out.
Mack: What part does it come out of?
Me: *pause*
Dax: Their cloaca [pronounced clo-AY-kuh]
Mack: I don't know what part that is.
Dax: Most people don't.

That particular conversation aided nicely in our "big talk" with Hunter. I promised him when he was eight, we'd let him in on a big awesome and really important secret. You know, where babies come from. He took it great, like I knew he would.

Mack: Jesus never makes things how I want him to.
Me: How do you want things to be?
Mack: I want to pull a lever and have candy shoot out.
Me: Pull a lever on what?
Mack: EVERYTHING.

That child loves sugar with every fiber of his being. Whenever he's hungry, he never says, "I'm hungry." He just goes in the pantry and starts eating brown sugar. Or marshmallows. Or he asks me, "Can I have a cup of molasses?" The other day I asked him what he felt like eating for lunch and he said "a gingerbread house".

Quinn has started saying a bunch more words this week. She can say Mack, juice, hat, dog, light, doll, bear, Hunter, hot, and door. She is so much fun and such a darling little sweet baby. She cruises around the house with a necklace on and one finger in her belly button and writes on walls and doors with any pencil, pen or marker she finds. She loves phones, makeup, the doorbell, animals, and reading books.

Dax ended his hunting season this week with a nice buck he got in Colorado. While he was butchering and packaging the meat this evening, I had him hold up the testicles from the deer and show Preslie and Hunter (I thought it would be interesting to them since they both know about reproduction now). Preslie of course freaked out. Dax told her to calm down; that it was just apart of science. She said, "I like science but I hate private parts." Then Hunter (unintentionally) said "I hate science but I love private parts." We had a good laugh.

Saturday we all worked on outdoor projects. Preslie and I stained the posts that hold up the roof over the back stairs. When she came out in a cute little outfit to help me, I told her that her clothes would probably get ruined so she needed to put on crappy clothes. She said, "I don't have anything crappy. All my stuff is awesome."

We cleaned and detailed the Durango and also cleaned out the garage; we can actually park both cars in it. It was a great day's work.

It is so unfair that housework that takes many hours to complete can be undone by kids in a matter of minutes. Like this afternoon when Mack comes running in my room covered in Eucerin cream. The carpet and chair in his room also got a nice dose. That stuff is like Crisco. I did the best to clean it up all the while asking Heavenly Father, "How am I supposed to teach and raise this child?" This is the same afternoon that he sneaked the scotch tape and matches out of the kitchen. Quinn's crib got taped up really good. Luckily I caught him as he was running away with the matches. Seriously, I think he would challenge someone with the most advanced parenting skills. But lucky for him his darling face is now even more soft and kissable than ever..

Jedi-ween

Another fun and successful Halloween. The whole season, really. Planning the costumes, decorating the house, and buying candy is just as fun (if not more) than the actual day. We didn't get quite as many trick-or-treaters, probably that Halloween was on a Monday.

This is the last year I am encouraging us to dress as a theme. My kids are getting old enough to want to go with their friends and my husband has been a great sport. It is time to set them free. I knew I could get away with it this year because of how into Star Wars my family is right now. Dax made a fine Obi-Wan. He was wishing for Princess Leia in the gold bra but I had to save that costume for after the kids were in bed.

I added a few new yard decorations this year. One was a sign post the hubs put in for me. It is just a pine log from the mountains with some dollar store signs screwed onto it.

I made a "severed finger" box for my kids this year. I remember having one exactly like this when I was a kid; I loved tricking my friends with it. It is just a jewelry gift box with a hole cut in the bottom and fake blood/red food coloring added around the hole in the fluff.

The worst thing about today was Hunter, Mack, and Quinn being sick. Hunter missed his class party again- second year in a row. October is a hard month for being healthy.

The best thing about today was baby Yoda. She stole the show in those darling green ears. AND she can sing the Star Wars theme. How adorable can you get?

Another couple funnies: When Dax told me that he's never going to trick-or-treat at the park again. The line was SO long; we waited forEVER. He said, "I hated that. I would have rather sat on the toilet for 2 hours reading an entire hunting magazine."

I also had to laugh when I was fixing Preslie's hair for her Padme Amidala costume and she said, "You know, I am actually your Mom."

you might be a redneck if...

you have your buck tied to the top of your family car-

I got my deer!

Dax and I woke up at 4am yesterday to head out to the Book Cliffs. We had arranged for Preslie and Hunter to go to school and then to friends' houses after school. We loaded Mack and Quinn and our gear and drove out in a snow storm. It snowed all morning as we drove around. Visibility was limited and the deer weren't really out because of the storm. We saw a few does, fawns and maybe 2 bucks. One of the bucks was a huge 2 point that I was tempted to shoot but it ran away when we got closer. Mack was in the back seat being himself and making it difficult to hunt. I couldn't blame him though. We drove around all day long. I questioned myself many times as to why I was doing this. It was freezing cold, so muddy, and not an activity I would choose to do with little kids. But, Dax has put me in the drawing for this Book Cliffs hunt for 9 years. I tried to make the most of it.

We met Dad, Matt, and Trent out there and had lunch with them then they piled in our Durango and we hunted together. Dax drove us around for hours in the mud. Our SUV is covered.

We saw a few deer but nothing too exciting. Around 3 or 4 pm I was holding Quinn on my lap in the front seat and my eyes started to close a bit. Dax asked if I was ok and if I was getting bored. I said yes but mostly just tired. I layed my head back and 1 minute later, Dax yells, "There's a huge buck! Paul, Tristie, someone shoot it!" My Dad didn't seem to be getting out very quickly and I knew I could get it so I handed Quinn to Dax and jumped out. The buck was headed up the hill behind some trees. I feel like I made a good shot and knew I hit it. It ran up the hill and all the guys were chasing after it. I wasn't in a hurry because I thought I hit it good and that it would lay down. It did lay down but crazy Dax was running up the mountain after it holding Quinn and was telling us to follow the tracks.

It is a nice mature 4 point buck. I'm happy! The guys were proud of me. Dax, Dad and my brothers totally did all the work after I shot it. Dax gutted and caped and quartered it and my bros hauled it all up the hill. We tied it to the top of our Durango and we drove home. I had done what I came to do. Dax loves to hunt so much and I am glad I could make him happy by being apart of what he loves to do.

I am relieved that I got a deer. There is a lot of pressure associated with this! Four of us had deer tags: me, 2 of my brothers and my Dad. All of us shot nice bucks and had a great time. Stressful and complicated with little children, but fun.

more seasons than we can handle

I mentioned earlier that this was Birthday Season at our house. It is also Halloween season, canning season, and yes, DEER SEASON! We mustn't forget that. So much to do...

Yesterday I

• worked ($)
• planned the next 2 months of cub scouts with my assistant
• baked cookies
• made dinner and took it to a friend who just had a baby
• secretly delivered "Halloween Phantom" treats to 2 neighbors
• started an incentive program with my kids to get them to speak nicer to our family members. Their reward is a turkey dinner (they are pumped, but also had to loose points for fighting over who got the drumsticks).
• folded 5 batches of laundry with Dax after he got home from work at 8:30pm.

Today I

• canned 21 quarts of applesauce while babysitting 3 neighbor girls
• attended pack meeting with my very own Cub Scout. Hunter earned his Bobcat Rank!
• divied up my kids to various neighbors so Dax and I can go deer hunting tomorrow
• mopped my sticky applesauce floor
• packed up stuff for our hunting trip
• missed my husband who worked until 9:45pm.

Tomorrow I

• would really like to shoot a nice buck! WISH ME LUCK.