Toothless Janae

Janae has had a loose tooth for quite a while. Today at lunch we were talking about ways to get it out, pliers, string hooked to a door, her sister's fist (worked for the first one). She was sure that it would fall out today (just like she was sure it was going to come out the last 3 weeks). Addyson was eating an apple and Janae asked for a bite. She never actually bit into the apple, and the tooth was in her hand. Apparently she pushed hard enough with the apple to push the tooth out. I have to say that I have never looked forward to this awkward looking stage, but she is still pretty darn cute.

Addyson's Christmas Party

I wonder who did the sprinkles?

I was lucky enough to be invited to Addyson's party at school. We sang songs, listened to Christmas stories and had some treats, all made by the kids.

Santa's Visit

We were at Brock's house on Monday night for FHE. We were all downstairs when we heard someone come in the front door. It was Santa!! He came right down the stairs ringing his bells. All the kids took turns sitting on his lap and giving him their want list. They all got a gigantic candy cane from him too. Addyson and Carson took off upstairs after their turns, they of course were first, to see if they could get a peek of his sleigh. Christine had to practically drag them back down to us. Then when Santa was leaving, they sped upstairs again to see if they could get a peek. Too bad they didn't get to see his sleigh, those darn reindeer sure fly fast!

Gingerbread house 2008

A friend gave me a neat gingerbread house pan several years ago and this year I finally decided to use it. It has the shapes in the pan to make assembling the house easy. Addyson helped me with the gingerbread this afternoon and then tonight we put it together and decorated it. The girls usually make their own out of graham crackers and were a little sad about having to share one, that is until they were in the middle of the decorating. Then they decided that it was a better house that didn't have big gaps and wasn't misshapen. I think we did a pretty good job. It's fun to see how different the girls are in their styles of decorating. Janae put 3 pieces of candy on it about 45 minutes and Addyson put 45 pieces on in about 3 minutes. Janae is and has always been a slow thinker and doer. Addyson has always been in a hurry to finish whatever it is she is doing. Anyways, the house is finished, complete with a gingerbread boy climbing down the chimney.

My pretty girls

The girls got all dressed up for church last Sunday and thought they looked so cute they needed pictures taken. Enough said....

Tavaci Concert

(Janae- 5th from left in second row; Addyson-3rd from right front row)

The girls had their Tavaci concert on December 5th. I know it's a little late to do a post on it, but better late than never, right. They really enjoy Tavaci and the whole performing thing. They really like getting all dressed up in their pretty dresses and getting their hair done up to sing on stage. Grandma and Grandpa Neff came up to see them, like they always do. I only have this picture of the concert because we were far enough away that we couldn't get any better ones. Grandpa, on the other hand, was sitting on the floor in front and got lots of good ones, too bad we forgot to get them from him before the left to head home.

More stuff

clock

crepe maker

paper rack

spice rack

silverware

I was told by Scott that I needed to put things on my wish list that he could actually find. Here are some new, some old want items with links, in order of importance to me. My list is ever changing and growing. Without wants in life, what do you have? How fun would it be to actually have everything that you ever wanted? To me there would be nothing to look forward to.

Goodbye Smelly!

Do we look alike?
Addyson and Janae with Aunt Smelly
Garrett, Addyson, Aunt Smelly, Carson, Janae
Brock, my dad, Judd, Meredith, me, my mom

My sister, Meredith, aka Smelly, left today to go back home to Arkansas. She was here for a month bothering us. My girls loved having her here, she's a lot more fun than I am. We had a goodbye (or good riddance, j/k) party last night for her here at our house. She requested of all things, potato soup. That was an easy one to do for 12 people. I hope she wasn't too disappointed that she wasn't showered with gifts, as per her request. These are a few pics of the fam damily last night. Goodbye Smelly, see you whenever we see you again!

Christmas Tree

In Rockland, where we lived for several years, they put up this tree every year. Can you guess what it is made out of? If you guessed lobster traps, you're right. It is the world's largest lobster trap tree. Pretty cool for a town of 7500 people. I love the lobster holding the star on top and the buoys as ornaments. Maine was an entirely different place than what we were used to, but we loved it anyway. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Sleepover with Aunt Meredith

Meredith asked my girls if she could have a sleepover with them one night recently. They, of course, were thrilled at the idea. She ate dinner with us, then they headed downstairs to watch a movie. Lucky her, they picked Strawberry Shortcake. They even let her snuggle with one of their dolls during the movie. After some popcorn, the movie ended and then they got to play. They decided that dress up would be fun. Aunt Meredith was a good sport about it all. They even put on a show with moves like the shimmy-shake, and the reach up high. We have video if anyone cares to see it. They even had time to play house with a mom, a big sister and a little sister. Meredith thinks for some reason that Addyson is bossy. Anyone who knows Addyson, must find that hard to believe. :) I'm sure the girls will remember their sleepover for a long time. After they forget, we still have pictures and videos to remind them (or to use as a bribe).

Diaper cakes

I like to give something to moms-to-be that they can really use. I can't think of anything they need more of than diapers. I had a friend in Maine that showed me how to make a diaper cake.

This first one has two monkeys on top for the twins she had.

This one somehow started with the frog on top and ended up being frog themed.

This is a cake that I don't mind making.

Cake anyone??

Scott informed me that it's been too long since I've posted anything. I have a hard time sometimes coming up with anything that I feel is worth posting. I have been busy the last few weeks though. I will be the first (and last too) to tell you that I am no expert at cake decorating. I wish that we lived somewhere where I could take classes and not have to go on what I have taught myself. I think I enjoy doing decorating cakes, until I am in the middle of it. At that point, I am wondering what the heck I am thinking and swearing that I will never again offer or be volunteered to make a cake again. Who do I think I am anyways? Nothing but a self-taught cake decorator with absolutely no skills or knack for doing cakes, that's who. I have made several cakes in the past month, here's proof that I have been busy.

My friend Deirdra was pregnant with twins, hence the two little bears. It's a good thing that she was staying at my house before her shower, she finished up the cakes. Thanks Deirdra, it's not everyone that can say they got to decorate their own baby shower cake. :)

I saw the cutest cookie cutter online one day and had to order it. Too bad it was cuter as a cookie cutter than a cookie. I made the cookies and frosted them blue. Scott wondered what I had made when he saw them. Use your imagination; without the outline they become something that I would never make. Again, thanks to Deirdra for outlining the cookies for her own shower.

As part of the primary presidency at church, I oversee the girls ages 8-11. Their leader does a great job with activities and I always offer to help. This is one time that I wish I wouldn't have. They had a sock hop for the girls and their moms and the leader wanted a cake that looked like a record. Sounds simple, but it is not. I stressed over this stupid cake for a long time and finally gave up.

Another friend is having a boy soon, so I helped do a shower for her. I think that out of all of the cakes, this one turned out best, but not good by any means. I struggle with getting the frosting smooth, and I never can. It's very irritating to me when I try to fix a spot and end up making it worse. Janae helped me decide what to write on the cake.