*WE LOVE SNOW*

Today we got our 1st sticking snowfall of the season. When the kids looked out the window and saw it, they started screaming in excitement and asked right away if they could go out and play in it. They didn't even get out of their pj's or eat breakfast before they were out in the snow.
All 3 of them LOVE the snow this year. They can all get in their snow clothes by themselves, with the exception of Ammon needing help with his gloves.
We didn't get much snow, and it's VERY wet and heavy, but with the temps we're expecting this week, the snow should be around for a while.

Tannenbaum Forest

Today we headed to the Amana Colonies for the Make A Wish Tree lighting at the Tannenbuam Forest. Last year Simeon was their adopted Wish child. They had some pictures up from our trip and some of Simeon throughout the year. We were able to give the scrapbook to Brenda (the main person in charge) that we had made of Simeon's Wish Trip.

Simeon holding his ornament on the Make A Wish Tree

Ammon was so excited when Santa walked in. He had the biggest smile on his face, and he ran right over to him. Ammon told Santa that he wanted "a real Puppy", Corrine said a baby doll, and Simeon wasn't sure. He said that he's already told other people what he wants, but he told Santa too. He wants 2 helicopters that fly or fight together. I'm not sure what these are. He told me he saw them on tv along time ago-like months ago possibly.

It's fun to see how much work goes into this event, and then the money raised goes to grant a childs wish. This year they are granting our friends Sophie Lowe's Wish. She like Simeon wants to go to DisneyWorld. She had a magic wand and she lit the trees in the barn. It was really neat to be there to watch all the trees get lit up.

On our way out to the Amanas we saw 2 eagles. We went for a drive before lunch and saw another 4-5 eagles. 3 of them were bald eagles. They come to the area in the winter to stay warmer.

Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house again this year. It's our 3rd year, and it's becoming a tradition. I wanted to keep things simpler this year, so we had ham and funeral potatoes, along with LOTS of side dishes and yummy desserts. Our table was overflowing with food. Johann tried his hand at making rolls. Our house just doesn't seem warm enough to get the dough to rise enough. Corrine & Ammon had fun rolling the dough into balls.

At Thanksgiving this year we had Great Grandma Riddle, Grandma & Grandpa Smith, Uncle Justin, Matt, Jill & Grant (6 months) Fisher, and of course the 5 of us.

Who Did it?

Tonight we hosted a Murder on the Grill murder mystery dinner party with 3 other couples. The storyline for the party was set in the 50's-hula hoops, hot rods, black leather jackets. It was the birth of rock 'n' Roll and backyard cookouts. At the home of Tom Dooley, owner of local car dealership 'Honest Toms'. When a sudden thundershower sends the guest indoors, Tom stays outside to finish cooking the chicken. When the storms is gone, the guests go out to find Tom lying lifeless beside the grill.


Cubby Cheddar,Ivan Spudnik,Dan Dragnet and Johnny Angel

Our suspects were:
Johnny Angel, played by James Parker, a mechanic who can fix anything on wheels. When he's not covered in engine grease, Johnny is cruisin' chicks in his 57 Chevy.

Bobby Sox, played by Valerie Blau, Tom's sweet little sister and the national hula hoop champion of 1958. Dooley would have done anything to keep his sister from getting into trouble.

Chubby Checkers, played by John Blau, a Rock 'n' Roll musician who's finally made it big in the music biz. Chubby's twisting and shouting in his quest to become a Rock 'n' Roll legend.

Barby Q, played by Janessa Cazier, a dazzling blond divorcee who's got it all: an IQ of 140, an itsy bitzy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini and heartaches by the number.

Ivan Spudnik, played by Ricky Cazier, A Russian rocket scientist who recently defected to America. He has high hopes of becoming a successful American Capitalist.

Tiara Diamond, played by Sarah Parker, Tom's pretty fiancee and the newly crowned Miss Kansas City. Tiara is burning with passion to win the state beauty pageant and move on to fame and fortune. And she's doing it all her way.

Non suspects: We arrived after they found Tom's body.
Dan Dragnat, played by Johann, a TV actor in a new hit detective series. Tall dark and handsome, too bad Dan's got a heart of stone.

Peggy Sue, Played by me, a newspaper gossip columnist, dubbed 'Runaround Sue' by her press colleagues, there's no doubt Sue's a hard-headed woman.


Barby Q, Tiara Diamond, Peggy Sue and Bobby Sox

We had a great time at the party. We ate some really good chicken that Johann grilled outside before the guests arrived. We also had fruit, veggies, chips, beans, potatoes and bread. For dessert we had Flame Room cake (red velvet cake).

As part of the party we had a hula hoop contest-2008 style-on the WII. Barby Q was the hula hoop champion of the night.

The kids tonight had a sleepover and Grandma & Grandpa Smiths house. They went to McDonalds for dinner and saw the movie Bolt.

I'm in a BIG KID seat too!

We had planned on having Ammon in the 5 point harness carseat until this summer when he turned 4, but then the cold weather hit. He couldn't wear his winter jacket under the buckles, and I'm not going to put him in the van without a jacket when it's freezing outside. His shoulders were at the level of the highest spot where the straps could come through-so he really had outgrown the seat, and lets add more-it had passed it's expiration date by way too long. We bought it for Simeon when he was 12 months old.
It was time to move on.
Ammon and I went out looking for a high-back booster today. We went to Walmart first. All their seats are strapped down on a shelf, but that didn't stop Ammon from sitting in them to test them out. What it did stop was me playing around with them. We found one that we liked-and it was on SALE. (I love that word!)

It is so much easier for us to buckel him in, and the shoulder straps stay in place really nicely. Simeon can even buckle it for us. Ammon can unbuckle himself-but he waits until I tell him he can. The back can come off when he's old enough for a backless booster-which won't be for a long time.

What happens to ALL those leaves

You've seen the piles and heard of us raking hours upon hours to get all the leaves raked up. But you may be wondering how we get rid of them. We could bag them-but it would take upwards of 30-40 bags for our yard alone, that's not including all the leaves from the neighbors that blow in right after you've raking the yard.



We rake them to the parkway in front of the house, and 2-3 times a fall a big truck with a HUGE powerful vacuum comes and sucks them up and takes them away. We can hear the trucks for days in the neighborhood. They are very loud.



Ammon likes to go outside to watch them suck the leaves up. What takes us hours to accomplish, they take away in just minutes-but it sure beats bagging all those leaves.

This is the pros and cons of living in a older neighborhood with very established trees. Lots of shade in the summer, lots of leaves in the fall, and lots of sticks all year round. But they are worth it!

Banana Bread

At least once a month we make banana bread or muffins. The kids ask for them all the time, so it's a given that we almost always have bananas of varying brownness on the counter or in the fridge. Since today the kids didn't have school, we decided to make up a loaf.

They measured, smashed, mixed and poured. Ammon picked the smallest measuring cup to use, so he got lots of turns to add ingredients into the bowl. Corrine was the expert mixer, and gave up adding ingredients for mixing.

After the bread was in the oven, I asked them what we do next. They thought "wait for it to cook"-I thought "wash the dishes." Simeon & Corrine both JUMPED at the chance to wash the dishes.

They ended up washing all of the dishes we got dirty and all the others on the counter. As they were finishing up I heard them yell, "It's spraying all over!" I ran in to find that they had somehow unscrewed the end of the faucet, and water was spraying all over from the loose piece. So they also mopped the kitchen floor!

(Side note-lastnight Ammon dumped part of a pitcher full of water-so Johann mopped the floor lastnight too. I think I'll have them spill water on the floor everyday!)

Tonight after reading our scriptures the boys got to taste the bread. Corrine was in the midst of a royal tantrum and didn't get to taste it tonight. She's already told me "I get 2 pieces in the morning!!"

If you look closely you can see the bites that Ammon took before I snapped the picture. It was really good, and won't last through the day tomorrow.

Here's the recipe that we use
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (3-4 medium bananas)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Smash bananas, mix in egg, oil and sugar. In another bowl mix dry ingredients. Add dry to wet, mix just until flour is mixed in. Pour into loaf pan. Bake 50-55 minutes @ 350.

Snow Flakes

Today we woke up to see snow flakes falling. Simeon, Corrine & Ammon were so excited to get out and play in them. They dressed in their winter clothes from head to toe and headed out. It was freezing outside-but the kids didn't notice in all their layers. They caught snowflakes on their tongues, danced in the flakes and ran around singing "It's Snowing!"



None of it stuck to the ground, and even if it had it wouldn't have amounted to much.
(Yesterday morning as they got to school it was also flurring, so they got to see it then too.)
They are so very excited for the 1st big snowfall. Simeon wants to play 'huskies' at school with his friends.

Leaf Maze

The last few days we have been enjoying the most beautiful Indian summer. The temps have been in the 70's, with blue sky's and slight breezes. It has been wonderful. Sadly today will probably be our last day of it. The kids played outside with the neighbors until long after dark, soaking up the last warm night. They are saying Friday we should get some snow-Yikes!

Our tree in the backyard finally started to drop it's leaves, and the lawn was pretty covered, so Ammon & I went out and made a leaf maze. He was following right behind the rake as I made it, and said it was just a "walking maze", but after I got it done, it became a "running maze".

I took this from on the play structure.

Every year we pile up the leaves at the bottom of the slide for the kids to slide into. This year we have a new play structure, with a spiral slide and it's even better for sliding into the leaves.



By the time Simeon & Corrine came home from school, more leaves had fallen, and the maze wasn't as clear, but they still enjoyed running in it. By tomorrow morning it will be completely covered with freshly fallen leaves, and we'll get to make a new one-if the rain hasn't started.

The day after elections

Simeon woke up at 2am this morning to use the bathroom, and he asked me "Who won?" I told him Barack Obama did. He said "oh" and went right back to sleep.
This morning we looked on the internet at the results. Then we watched Obama's speech, followed by McCain's.
We had such a good talk about how someone always has to lose, and that John McCain was a very good loser. He heard McCain say that we needed to support Obama, and he right then and there decided that he would do that, and was no longer upset that his favorite hadn't won. Corrine heard McCain say "citizenship", and she said that is a character counts pillar at school.
And I'm happy to say that he happily went to school this morning. He told his friend Joe about John McCains speech on the way to school.
This afternoon he checked out the results for the kid voting in the paper. He has been very into the elections this year. He told me that he is excited to vote when he's over 18!

Election '08

Simeon came home from school yesterday with his very own "Voters Registration card". He was so excited that he made both Ammon & Corrine their own cards to. He also was excited to vote for President in the "Kids Vote" held at his school. He made sure to get ready early enough so we could leave at 8:00, so he could vote. When we got there, they said that all 3 of them could vote. Their ballots had pictures above the names, which would be nice on the adult ballots!


After the cast their votes, they all got a "I voted" sticker.

Lastnight Simeon was so anxious to hear who won. He watched with Johann, and every time they had an update, he wrote the #'s down. When he went to bed, he asked us to tell him 1st thing in the morning who had won. He also told me that if John McCain didn't win he wasn't going to go to school because he would be sad. (He knows for sure who he backs!)

"If I were Elected President" by Simeon Smith 2nd grade




"I would make taxs go down. I would help the wild life. I would make the food go down." He'd make a very good president one day!

$1.99 for Gas

Yes that's correct. Gas is under $2 in Iowa. I never thought I'd see the day, but it has come. Beginning of Sept it was around $4 a gallon.

Walk to the Beat

Today we participated in the 1st annual Walk to the Beat fundraiser walk to benefit The Heart Connection at Westdale Mall. The Heart Connection is the group that sends the kids to oncology and sibling camp free of charge to families.


We of course walked in honor of Simeon

The walk was 8 laps around the mall. Johann and Ammon in the stroller made it all whole way. There was a band that lead the way for the 1st lap around the mall. After the walk they had bouncy houses, a clown, crafts, and a cheer/dance team.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
~ Author Unknown ~