nothing better than the love of a sister

Let me just give a little shout out for my awesome, incredible, loving, amazing, wonderful sister who took care of my children, and hers - while we were away in Mexico. I LOVE that girl! She flew to my house with her 2 year old daughter, bathed, fed, entertained, read books to, brushed teeth for, snuggled to sleep, kept the schedule for, broke up fights between, and most importantly, kept alive, my 3 little munchkins. She even wrote a talk for Bella to give in primary, and yes, she sat through Sacrament meeting with four kids under 5, by herself, and has lived to tell about it! My kids think she is the COOLEST, because she also took them out for lots of fun adventures at Mr. Biggs and rollerskating, etc., And, she did all of this, without complaining one bit. She's the type of person that will do anything she can to help out someone she loves, and I just feel so lucky that I am one of those people! Gracias Lia!!!!! (oh, and she's single and sooo cute - so if you know any handsome, single, amazing single LDS guys - send them her way!)

*my camera is broken (huge bummer. thus no thanksgiving pics or cancun pics on the site yet -- but hopefully soon)

Bella's Thanksgiving Poem

Whew! I have LOTS to catch up on! But I'll post this poem for starters.
We just got back into town yesterday afternoon, and for some reason, Bella is convinced that she MUST bring a travel log of her Thanksgiving Vacation to school today - in POEM format.

me: A poem, really? You're teacher told you to write a poem about your vacation?
bella: Yes Mom! (roll of the eyes) Really! We have to, I'm supposed to. Jackson's mom wrote a note last time. And I get to read it before I get on the bus! What will I read before the bus if you don't write something, Mom!?

So here we are. I'm really not sure why - and I know that was NOT the assigned homework - but when Bella is convinced, Bella is convinced. So, here you go Mrs. Jolstad!

Thanksgiving Break
By Bella (& Cumorah) McOmber

For this Thanksgiving
We traveled by air
To California,
To meet the Hunt family there.

Nana and Bapa,
Cousins, uncles and aunts,
Met in Pico Rivera
To party, play, and dance.

Great-Grandma Zena
Was turning ninety,
So we gathered together –
The celebration was “finey”.

We stopped at Disneyland,
The beach, and the L.A. Zoo.
We made a feast for Thanksgiving
And shopped a lot too.

In Valencia we took Daisy and Ivy
Outside for a walk,
Then sat by the fish pond
As we ate and talked.

We went bowling next
With all of the crew.
Nana almost bowled a turkey,
And even Calvin scored a few.

The Sedighis invited us
For a Persian meal,
Nothing was spared –
They served us with zeal!

Seeing family is great
We had a fun time,
But now we’re glad to be home
And are done with this rhyme!
------------------------------------------------
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
I'll post pictures with a few more details (without rhyming!) shortly.

Azure's Blues

My sweet little Azure has some serious abandonement fears. I'm not sure where they came from, but this poor little girl has had a few difficult moments in our new home. It's quite a bit larger than our old house - so you can't hear everybody from every room in the house like we used to be able to. Every once in awhile, Azure panicks, and I mean PANICKS, thinking that we have all left her home alone because she can't hear us. It happened for about the tenth time today, when she was in the basement watching a show while I was in the computer room (about ten feet from where she was) working. All of the sudden, I hear her at the TOP of the stairs (she obviously didn't remember that I was in the room RIGHT next to her) screaming her poor little heart out. That girl has got some lungs, I tell ya.
She was screaming my name and racing, and panting, and then screaming, "Why did you leave me?!!!!" This all happened in about the 15 seconds it took me to run up to where she was, scoop her up and reassure her that I was here the whole time - but it makes me feel so bad for her. She honestly gets so scared that it takes her a good half hour to calm down. I guess there are a few drawbacks to having more space!

RS XMAS Enrichment

Welcome to the annual ward Relief Society Christmas Enrichment Dinner, where 90 ladies gather together, to feel the Spirit, revel in everything Christmas, eat a fabulous dinner, enjoy excellent entertainment, and awe over the beautiful decorating, which has all been planned and executed on a strict budget, of course.

As I attended my RS's dinner tongiht, I was sooooo glad to sit in my seat and enjoy the program. I didn't do any racing around to make sure everybody's chicken was cooked just right, and that everyone who signed up to sing actually showed up, and that the program didn't have any typos, and that those who got their toes stepped on in the process of throwing this all together still felt loved and cared for, and I certainly didn't stay until midnight cleaning it all up. All things I have done before, and all things I am grateful I didn't have to do tonight.

I got to sit back and enjoy the festivities. I decorated & did the place settings for one table (pictured below) and sang for one musical number, with a group of 5 other ladies. Simple. That I can handle.

Kudos to Rachel, Melinda, Tamzen and EVERYONE who worked their little fannies off for a job well done. It was a great night! Thank you!

Yippee for paper plates & easy clean up!

baubles & bows

PTA

I just got home from a PTA meeting (I'm a PTA mom! Who knew?!) and the principal gave me the best compliment without even knowing it, I'm sure. I had asked her about the logos I designed for the school "spirit wear" t-sirts (see pics below), and if she'd like to use the main mustang logo for letterheads & business cards etc. We got to talking, and she asked me if I knew Susan Levitt. I told her the name sounded familiar. And she said, "Well, I think you might..." and acted like she wanted to say more, but couldn't. Then it dawned on me that I think I know her as Sister Levitt from one our old wards, so I asked the principal, "Oh, is she a mormon lady, is that how you think I know her?" And she quietly shook her head, and said, "Yes, I thought you might be."

I racked my brain of anything I have said or done out of the ordinary that she would know that. Really, I only see the principal in group settings, and beyond our meeting at the beginning of the school year when Dan & I talked with her about her school's curriculum, teaching methods and extracurricular activities, I haven't really had any one on one interaction with her.

It makes you realize...more people are watching you than you think! My second thought was, man, I hope I haven't done or said anything that would disgrace my beliefs, and my religion.

I am proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, and I am proud of the fact that she assumed that about me. Thanks Mrs. Paulson!

BYU Game

Sat. Nov. 15 BYU vs. Air Force at Air Force
Dan & I had awesome seats in the BYU section with our friends from the Oakwood Ward (thanks Amy for coordinating the tickets!) and with Em & Kasey (who were our first house guests in our new house this weekend!), Jen, Kent, Meg and Deb.
We went sans kids, yippee! (thanks to Kaitlin who stepped in to babysit when our babysitter cancelled the day before!) It was so much fun to be out together, on such a beautiful November day (when was the last time there were beautiful days in November here? I love it!), and during a winning game! Go Cougs! Final score: BYU:38 AF:24

We were sitting RIGHT in front of the BYU cheerleaders, and I couldn't help missing Bella every time they did a crazy stunt (and they did lots of them) knowing that she would be flipping out watching them. She LOVES cheerleading! Here are a couple pics of her during the Liberty High School Football Game (10.02.08) that she cheered at (she did a little cheerleading clinic with them earlier). She loved every minute of the yelling, singing, jumping, cheering, dancing, clapping and attention! She taught Azure (who didn't meet the age limit) all of the cheers and they can still pump them out at a moment's notice. The only thing I noticed while watching the BYU cheerleaders though, is that all the girls are max height - 5'0". I have the feeling Bella may be just a snitch taller than that...so we'll see how far her pro cheerleading dreams go - but she's having fun for now!

{video of "The Turkey Cheer"}

Skating with Bella

I took Bella skating for her FIRST TIME ever on Friday while Azure was at school (Az was so bummed to miss it.) The local skating rink has a kids' class every Friday morning, and Bella's friend from school invited us to come with. It was so cute to watch her "skate". She's probably a little bit like me with things like this - so she was kind of timid - but she really did a good job.

She was the tallest kid out there, so at first, some cute little sisters came up to hold her hands looking for someone to help them - but quickly realized that wouldn't be the case. After the little girls both fell down at least 3 times, they ditched Bella, and found someone else to hang out with. Bella never fell - but she did a lot of "walking" on her skates so she didn't have much opportunity for face planting.

Great job Bella!

{she loves to smile & show off her missing tooth! Paige is her good buddy from Kindergarten}

{these are the sisters that were clinging to Bella at first}

Twilight is coming...

With the release of Twilight coming THIS WEEKEND, I thought it would be an appropriate time to post pics of my Twilight party I had in September, and re-share my TwiWear Shop

with all of you!

Here are some fun pics from my Twilight party, where we played Twi-Trivia (A.N. knew it all!), played Pictionary - Twilight Style, and ate Twilight inspired treats (everyone brought something to share - and it was all soooo delicious!) We had everything from blood red punch, to bear claws (for Edward of course), to deviled eggs (a tribute to Bella's cravings), to Grandma Swan's Stroganoff (Charlie's favorite dish), and cupcakes made by Linda with every characters name on them. So cute! Thanks to all for the great memories! See you at the theater on Friday!

And if you haven't had a chance to check out my TwiWear shop with my twilight inspired designs on hoodies, shirts, magnets, etc. - do it at www.cafepress.com/twiwear.

{this hoodie turned out to be my personal favorite}

A Vision of Halloweens Past

Super Halloween!

The whole super family idea started months ago when Azure told me she wanted to be a vampire for Halloween. A vampire? I asked. "Yes! A vampire! With fangs!" She had most likely heard me trying to convince Dan that reading the Twilight series was a worthwile pastime, and decided that being a vampire would be a great idea...but I didn't quite think the same. How could I put my sweet little Azure in a gory vampire costume complete with fangs? It just didn't seem right.


So, I had some convincing to do. She finally caved in and settled on being a superhero instead. (we went through lots, and lots of options!) So, there you have it: the super family was born.

My favorite part about it all, was that I was able to use the 30 year old batman costume that my mom had sewn for my older brother, for Calvin. It was still in great condition - and so cute! He wouldn't have anything to do with the mask, but I think he still looked great. :) I know, I am a completely, unbiased mom!

When Dad's Away...

{I have to preface this segment with the statement that I truly love my husband. He works really hard for our family, and I completely understand that he needs a break now and again. This hunting season has been a little difficult for me, but I understand it. Now without further ado...}

The girls have stopped asking, "Why isn't Daddy home?". Now it's just, "So, where's Daddy now?" They'll usually follow it up with a few guesses: hunting? basketball? soccer? Matt's house? the gym? on his motorcycle? work? skiing? And they're usually right.

In the beginning of Dan's guy tripping - I used his time away to get tons of projects done, like painting the whole house, cleaning out the garage, packing up the entire house because we were moving in less than a week, etc. But I've decided that really, all that does is make me be a little bit bitter. And nobody wants that! So, to be a better, less grouchy mom & wife, I have decided, just recently, that when Dad's gone having fun - we're going to have fun too!

While he was away on his last hunting trip, the kids and I spent a day at Mr. Biggs, and a morning exploring Garden of the Gods, as well as having popcorn in bed movie nights, and spending time at Grammy's on the trampoline.

The only project I did all weekend was to clean out my van. (which if you know me, was actually a huge undertaking).

Of course, we like it better when Dad is here to enjoy the fun with us - but we really did have a good weekend!

MR. BIGGS October18.2008
I was at a furniture store with all of my kids in the morning, when I had to interrupt the salesman, gather up my kids, and leave -- because they were going bananas! One of the drawbacks to living in a hotel (our stopping place between selling our old house and the completion of our new house), is that there is NO WHERE to run and play! A necessity for little kids! So, I excused myself from the store, packed my kids in the van, and headed straight to Mr. Biggs where they played hard for HOURS! It was just what they needed!

GARDEN OF THE GODS October 19.2008
It was a gorgeous day, and the fall colors were just beautiful! Bella brought a little notepad & pen to take notes and draw pictures of everything she saw. Calvin was loving the freedom of being allowed to climb on everything, and Azure stopped every passer-by with a dog. What a refreshing break to our routine!

{taken by Azure}

It's the end of the world as we know it

I have given in to the masses. After much debate and soul searching, I am finally a blogger. Who knew this day would ever come? Not I. I held strong in avoiding the blogging machine for a long time, citing my top two defenses: 1. People already know way too much about me, and 2. If I start, I know I'll become addicted...and then what will become of my children?
Well, here I am, and so far, my kids are bathed, dressed, and fed. We'll see what tomorrow brings!