Black Friday!

A few years ago my sisters-in-law talked me into getting up early and going shopping with them on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I was reluctant to wake up so early, but when we got to Wal-Mart, snuck in front of everyone waiting in line, and pushed and shoved to get the Carebears, I was hooked! It's a woman's sport. This year did not disappoint. Some woman rammed Brandi in her tummy (her 8-month pregnant belly) so Brandi hit her with a Hannah Montana guitar. I got my toe run over by a cart and knocked over a bunch of DVDs but neither one stopped me. Deana was such a trooper to stand in line while Holli, Brandi, and I canvassed the stores for the best deals. We woke up at 3:45, hit Wal-Mart at 5:00 am, Target at 6:00 am, then Old Navy and Toys-R-Us. We paused for breakfast and then hit Kohl's just for fun. We made it home a little after 1:00, although I told Jeff we'd "for sure" be done by 12:00. Oh well, you can't stop until the car is full and we lived up to that motto. Check out these pics!

Thanksgiving in Kaysville

Bobby's blog says it all...

http://thewynnsofnorthogden.blogspot.com/

UTAH 48 BYU 24

Can you say "Mountain West Conference Champions"?
Can you say "Undefeated"?
Can you say "BCS Buster"?

Peyton and Ashley have something to say...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sV1Sm-OuEM

Ashley Got Her Ears Pierced!

She didn't even cry!

Peyton Lost Another Tooth (#3)

Can you guess which one?

New Kids on the Block!

I've been waiting for my boys to return for 18 years and it was worth the wait! I was a pretty crazy 13-year-old girl in the summer of 1990 when all I could think about was Jonathan Knight and NKOTB--I became that girl again last weekend in Salt Lake City. My crazy mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and neice joined me and our craziness level just multiplied. By the time I drove to Utah on Saturday Deana and the girls were in the midst of making one-of-a-kind t-shirts for all of us. I brought along my duffel bag filled with 18-year-old NKOTB memorabilia (no joke), including books, magazines, posters, shoelaces, water bottle, bracelet, earrings, pins (the BIG ones!), and my homemade scrapbook including important info on each "kid" (like favorite color and the kinds of girls they like). I told you I had been waiting for this!

I thought I had died and gone to heaven when those boys came on stage. They are more hot now than ever before (of course, I've gone through puberty since the last time I saw them so I'm sure that has something to do with it)! We had great seats, especially when they did a couple songs in a small stage in the middle of the arena--I had a close-up view of Jonathan and his delicious arms and delectable rear end. I don't think Erika (Justin's wife) quite understood the depth of my feelings for NKOTB, but I think she realizes it now. Brandi, eight months pregnant, was pretty crazy herself.


You can visit Erika's blog at justinanderika.blogspot.com and Brandi's blog at mattandbrandi.blogspot.com for more pictures and stories. My infamous butt picture is on their blogs as well...

The Oregon Coast

On Friday we flew to Oregon for a weekend at the coast. Our friends Kim and Dan were supposed to join us but had to stay in Utah and take care of family so it was just the four of us. We stayed at a condo at the Inn at Otter Crest -- it's literally on the edge of a cliff! Our view was unbelievable!(http://www.innatottercrest.com/)

We had a blast and although the kids weren't supposed to get wet, I couldn't get mad at them when they had such huge grins on their faces. The weather was a cool 65 degrees most of the time. We hit the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Marine Science Center, but mostly we relaxed.

Halloween!

Halloween in Boise is like Pioneer Day in Utah or a home football game for the Huskers in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's a big event! Half the city turns out to trick-or-treat on Harrison Blvd. and it's wall-to-wall people. This year we were able to make the trek with a few friends. The grins on the kids' faces said it all. I can't wait 'til next year!



Ashley carved this pumpkin almost entirely by herself. She's pretty independent...I wonder where she gets that?...










The pumpkin on the bottom is supposed to be the witch from Snow White but the damn squirrels got to it before I got to take a picture. The pumpkin on top is Peyton's.









Is this the cutest witch you've ever seen or what?


























Our ninja was focused on only one thing -- treats!!!

The goblins (clockwise from top left): Peyton/Ninja, Owen/Dale Earnhardt, Geoffrey/SPD Ranger, Ty/Darth Mal, Charlie/Superman, Jack/Hedwig (the Harry Potter owl), Ian/Mystic Force Ranger, and Ashley/Witch.

SURVIVOR

I've decided that instead of forwarding funny and insightful emails, I'll just post them on our blog. So here goes - this one's a good one!

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES
Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.
Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects , cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment.
He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.
He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.
The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday,
height, weight,
shoe size, clothes size
and doctor's name.
Also the child's weight at birth,
length, time of birth,
and length of labor,
each child's favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear and
what they want to be when they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance.
The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

Pumpkin Patches, Hay Rides, & Corn Mazes!!!

Nothing says "October" like a trip to the pumpkin patch! So we loaded up the family Infiniti and headed out to the 'burbs (Meridian) to Linder Farms. Besides smelling like a farm, we got to feed animals and Peyton & Ashley got to ride horses around in a circle. I must also say that we did pretty well in the corn maze -- much better than Jeff and I did on our first date (when we "cheated" and went out one of the gates).

On the Hay Ride

Peyton's Horse

Ashley's Horse

Aren't They Cute???

Still A Ham!