Santa Claws

I had prepped Liam about Santa Clause, telling him he was a jolly 'old man that gives gifts by the millions and flies on a magical sleigh; so when Jolly 'ol St. Nick actually arrived, it was a little mind boggling.

Julian didn't care who he was. All he wanted for Christmas was his two front teeth (which you can't see, but had actually cut in right during our Christmas break). Santa was generous and gave him a little ducky book too.

Touchdown!
Liam and Julian's first Santa encounter this year only took 20 minutes of coaxing Liam, and then another 30 minutes of me standing in line with a bunch of other naughty children.

Our boy's were the last of many to sit on Santa's lap that night- you could have probably guessed by Santa's not-so-jolly look.

Santa Encounter #2
Later on Liam was surprised again to find Santa Clause arrive during our Christmas vacation at my Grandpa's house. This Santa came bearing gifts of Cracker Jacks wrapped in $5 bills!

All the Scary Santa encounters proved worthy as Liam woke up Christmas morning to find that even his not-so-jolly-even-a-little bit-scary-Santa had come to give a gift after all.

Hulk Mania

If you are not aware, our son Liam has awesome Hulk powers. I found him in the living room transforming right before my eyes.

Hulk Smash!
Liam was lucky enough to get these awesome Hulk Smash Hands from his Aunt and Uncle this Christmas. This pose was given only moments after he opened his gift.

Gage: 1. Liam: 0.

Thanks Hana and Nic for the great present- it was a smash! (I had to say it.)

"Highlight" of the Year

This Christmas season my sweety suprised me with tickets to see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional in Salt Lake City- isn't that sweet?! I look forward to listening to this yearly devotional and it always turns out to be a major highlight for us during the season.

Even though the Mormon Tabernacle Choir didn't sing my all time fav song, The First Noel (arranged by Mack Wilberg), we still really enjoyed the music and beautiful messages that were given about the Savior. I encourage each of you see it too! 

Welcome Winter...

We're so glad you're here.

(I have to brag here for a minute, without Tanner knowing...)

Tanner just finished his Senior Seminar this past Friday, which is kind of like completing your thesis for your doctorate. He had put so many hours into his presentation; his handout alone was 25 pages. He did so good with the majority of his peer reviews saying nothing but good things. Now he just has to finish his rotations and complete the board exam.
We went out to eat afterwards and immediately I could tell a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Nice job Love!

Centillar

After weeks of building up Halloween and trick-or-treating for Liam, Liam was still left wondering where he was, what he was wearing and why strangers were giving away candy for nothing. Having Spiderman walk by in miniature form without swinging from building to building didn't help either.


Liam had fun trotting around old town with his buddy Riley the potty; all the businesses opened their shops from 3:00-6:00 for some safe and fun trick-or-treating.

Julian foiled our plans to try and torture him by acting so cute and happy.

I think it worked.

Happy Half Year

Wrong Profession?

I can't believe this photo.

My Uncle was working at a pharmacy in Washington when this guy robbed him at gunpoint. My Uncle said he was calm and collected about the incident- I could never be that brave and am a mess just reading about it!

Tanner is thinking about being a gun smith. We'll let you know how that works out.

Case # 125: Sleeping Beauty vs. The 4-legged stare scare

Time: 7:02 am

Four unidentified creatures were found lurking around waiting to growl, moo, ribbit and/or chew on the unsuspecting victim (pictured below). Each were perfectly positioned right in front of the victim's face, patiently waiting to totally frighten and scare the handsome man sleeper as soon as he opened his eyes for the day.

Their origin is not known, although all clues lead to a major plastic company.

Victim: The Sweet Prince Charming

Perpetrator: You decide.

Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover...

...except this one, cause it's awesome!

During my down time I've been illustrating a book Michelle has written. Since mostly all I do is watch daytime tv and iron, I figured I'd get it done at a pretty speedy pace but, alas, twas not so. After many moons it's finally done (thanks, Michelle for your patience).

This is a funny story that tells about a little Christmas tree mishap that happened one year. It's the funniest story ever.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

On Second Thought

This past weekend we headed to Sun Valley where Tanner and I saw a few of the amazing sights Idaho has to offer.

We also decided where we want to live when Tanner's finished with school. I'm not sure about the address, but it's on one of the mountainsides next to a beautiful blue lake in the middle of the Sawtooth National Forest. That way we can visit some of the hundreds of lakes, several major rivers and dozens of streams that linger nearby.

Rick and Michelle were so kind to let us stay with them and tag along. It was especially neat because of Rick's experiences while working here on the forest service. Consequently, we had a great guide.

This is Alturas Lake. This area is so pretty it's like being in Yellowstone, but without all the restrictions. As we drove there, the vibrant fall colors on all the dozens of trees and the majestic Sawtooth Mountains kept us good company.

On our way in we stopped at Silver Creek to meet up with Tanner's parents. This area is so amazing and only begins the miles of beautiful country ahead. I couldn't believe how clear the water was; perfect for fly fishing, but not for catching. The fish here are terribly smart because it has been fished so much.

Liam was so excited that we were going to see Grandpa and Gammy. We decided not to tell him about our trip until we were closer to going, and with good reason. By the time we were on the freeway a few miles Liam had asked where Grandpa and Gammy were at least 20 times. Finally Liam looked out the window and shouted, "Grampa....where you are?!"

"I'm Busy Now..."

That's what Liam claims when we ask him to do something he's not up for. He used to use the excuse "I'm sick" (which he learned got him out of the nursery at Church), but gave it up soon after he was thrown into bed each time.

Liam's actually pretty legit. Recently he's been busy learning how to hold a wobbly, almost-as-big-as-you infant. This particular request to hold him was right before some crying that preceded my catch that preceded him running around the car 5 times. Liam informed me as soon as he got settled, "She's cute Mama."

Liam's also had a lot of fun with Tanner. Lately he's been busy learning the art of "how to hold a pole while Tanner fishes." He's actually pretty unstoppable on his Transformer pole.

Julian's had his fair share of being busy, too. He's a valiant lay-arounder so I can dress, change, feed, burp and transfer him to any place he desires.

side note: Michelle gave us this T-shirt from when Tanner was a babe. Awesome!

The look of concentration: bring chubby hands near face, try to put in mouth, miss, pull hand out and relocate, stick out thumb, steady, steady, steady... it's in!

Check it Out and We Don't Stop

Incredible Hulk

On July 4th, the fireworks in the sky weren't the only sparks-a-flyin'

2008 Girl's Camp "Super Trooper" Award Recipient

Liam Bears All

After countless books about bears and hours of perfecting his bear growl, Liam was ready take the plunge and visit a real live grizzly for the very first time....

We were proud to see Liam fearlessly watch the bear from a far away distance. I bet next time we may be able to walk around the bench that was close by the sidewalk that surrounded the cage of that wimpy bear.

We saw the zoo keepers looking for a little lost monkey. Any ideas where he could be?

After that close encounter at the Zoo Liam enjoyed a relaxing fishing trip with Dad on the River. I think fishing is a little more on Liam's level. As soon as Liam had this less intimidating fish handed to him, he gave us this look which really does say it all.

Awesun

After 10 months of straight freezing weather, Liam, Julian and I decided to thaw out for a week where the sun always shines. We had a great time and want to give a shout out to all those who made it happen. You guys are great.

What's so awesome about this shot? Just the fact that Liam's actually standing on plastic grass. Hey, if it can't live you do the next best thing.
I personally enjoy watching all the people vacuum their lawns instead of watering them.

Liam loved hanging out with all his cousins and still wakes up and asks about them. Check out the hours of work my mom put in to making her grandbabies each their own blankets. Holla!

The best part of the week was seeing all the family. Our decision to bless Julian where our family is turned out so great because I got to see so many people I otherwise wouldn't have.
Thanks for coming. It was great to see you all.

Oh Snap!...Shot

I don't know how I got these shots of my boys... maybe it was my charm, good looks, quick wit, or the fact that I was jumping up and down shaking my head from side to side while making animal noises...

I think it was my charm.