The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!

Santa visited our home sometime on Christmas Eve or in the wee hours of Christmas morning. He must have been super tired because he had a few slip-ups.

I was surprised to see that he had taken a few pictures of the tree with my digital camera. As I was downloading the photos, Ava noticed that not all of the presents were in the photo! It only means that Santa took a break halfway through our gift-giving to snap some photos for me!

I also have my suspicions that Santa borrowed some of my wrapping paper because some gifts from him were in the same paper as I used to wrap one of the girls' gifts.

We forgive you Santa, you are the best!

Here is what we woke up to.

The girls with the loot!

Layla, who was happy to eat paper all morning.

Oh yeah, did you notice how blurry that first photo was? Well, no more. Santa brought me this...





Community college night class, here I come!!!!

Sittin' in a tree

My brother, Henry, and Tori Harris were sealed in the Mesa Temple on Saturday, December 2o. It was a great day. Clare and her family, Marshall, and my parents gathered for the occasion. We were very grateful that Henry selected a bride from the valley as it made travel very convenient for us!




The BYU professor that Henry works for set him up with Tori, his sister-in-law. Apparently, sparks flew! Henry now works for his brother-in-law!


My girls were little flower girls. It was so cold that the girls had to wait in the foyer of the temple, because the visitor's center had not opened yet.


They love Aunt Tori!

Hoofin' it to Christmas

In July, the girls and I ran a 1-mile fun run in Provo. It was so fun and we talked about doing it again during the Gilbert Days Festival or the Mesa Turkey trot. However, I was little turned off at having to fork over $60 to do this and end up with a crappy t-shirt.

Armed with my email list, I invited all the kids I could think of to participate in the 1st Annual Reindeer Run. Mark scouted a location where we would not cross any streets, driveways, parkways, etc. Ava and I made chest numbers for each participant and bought candy canes for the finishers. We had more than 30 kids, plus their parents hoof it with us.




Mark had to run to the turn-around point to make sure the kids turned around and left Mia running alone. She panicked and started to cry at the sight of her dad leaving her in a trail of dust. A girl in our ward, Ivy, took her by the hand and ran the rest of the way with her. They would stop to walk then start to jog again. Mia was so grateful and drew a picture of the two of them running that we delivered the next day.

Hey, if Tonya Harding can do it...

The girls and I went ice skating at Polar Ice on Saturday.

It was actually more fun and LESS WORK than I thought it would be. Mia could support her own weight after about 45 minutes and, by the time we left, I only had to hold one of her hands to guide her around the rink.

Ava's practice on the roller blades really paid off and I think she only slightly bruised her tailbone!

We're goin' again over Christmas break, come with us!

And one to grow on...

I started this post right before Mark's birthday on November 30. Then it got lost on my "to-do" list. I never finished it, but wanted to post it anyway. Maybe I will have all thirty-something things up by his next birthday!

In honor of Mark's thirty-somethingeth birthday, here are thirty or so things you should know about him!

1. He is the youngest of 10 children.
2. He eats cereal every night at 9pm, you can set your watch to it!
3. He was actually named "Dan" at birth, but changed to Mark very soon after. However, he did not discover this until 5 years ago.
4. He graduated from Lahainaluna High School.
5. He played tennis for BYU-Hawaii.
6. He spent a day at the San Diego Zoo with an alleged kidnapper and his young victim.
7. His all-time favorite movie is "Papillon."
8. He loves Guns 'N Roses
9. He makes the best scrambled eggs.
10. He had his own outboard motor boat at age 12.

11. He is super organized.

12. He is an obsessive list-maker.

13. He loves to read biographies.
14.

PBK, I am onto you!

Since I am now a bona-fide copyright infringer, I may as well clean the skeletons from my closet. Remember this cutie from (I'll protect the innocent) Ceramic Structure-Where-Farm-Animals-Live Preteens (If you are struggling, shoot me an email, I'll walk you through it)?

Well, I liked it. I don't have much Thanksgiving decor, so I decided I could save myself $59 plus S/H by whipping one up. My faithful Wonder-Under Tutor Leslie deserves most of the credit as she introduced me to the Craft-N-Bond.

One thing led to another and, on Friday night, my gals (protecting the innocent again), Doris, Betty, Hazel, and Birdell and I crafted one for each of us. I would have loved to have proof but somehow I had back spasms that day and really wasn't that useful. However, it was fun and, I'll shoot anyone the pattern if you desire.

Ways I am becoming my mother

I have a great mom. She taught me well and I have always wanted to make her proud. I realized the other day, that I am becoming her. Not that any of these things are bad, they are just very Melanie-esque.




1. Ava forgot to bring home her lunch bag. As I was packing her lunch the next day, I shoved the entire ensemble into the recently emptied granola bar box for her to take to school. Why waste a paper bag?




2. I frequently reply to the statement, "Mom, I can't find my ________" with "If I find it in your room, you are grounded for a week."

3. I allegedly have used the statement, "Your dad and I have to have this furniture long after you are out of the house, so stop abusing it."

4. I put onions in stuff even after Mark begs me not to.

5. I think I have gone to the mailbox in my bathrobe.

6. I loathe school fundraisers and wonder why they can't just send home an envelope asking for donations.





No matter how hard I fought against my mom, she wasn't going to let me fall off the edge. Thanks for the wonderful legacy you have given me, and a definite standard to measure up to!

The New York Times endorses Obama! Beware!

What's Judy doing looking at my blog anyway? I would have taken a pic of the nasty scorpion, but Mark obilterated it with Ava's church shoes....

Sorry!

Found in my comments:
"Hello,I just came across your blog and found a copyrighted image there. About.com owns the copyright to that image and doesn't allow it to be reproduced without permission and a fee. I ask that you immediately remove that image. Alternatively, you could certainly link to the page at my site where that image appears. Here's that link.I am supposed to report copyright violations to the legal department of The New York Times, but I would prefer to give you the opportunity to correct this mistake.
Thanks for your quick attention.
Judy Hedding
About.com Guide to Phoenix, AZhttp://phoenix.about.comwww.
About.comAbout.com is part of The New York Times Company

Uninvited

A high-pitched scream from Mia is not uncommon in our house, but when it accompanied a scorpion-sighting, we all had heart attacks!


(There was a picture of a scorpion here, but the Obama-loving New York Times made me remove it!)


We came home last night around 7:45 pm and as we entered the house from the garage, Mia started to scream and I saw a 2-3 inch scorpion hit the tile.



My friend's daughter was stung recently so I knew to wash the wound, ice it and give her Tylenol, then we called Poison Control. They were most helpful although I had to leave Mia wailing in the kitchen and go into the bathroom so I could hear the nurse. She told me what to expect (lots of intense pain) and what to be alarmed by (eyes jumpy, like she's had 20 cups of coffee). I was relieved to hear that in 50 years, not one person has died from a scorpion bite in Maricopa County. Whew!

Happy Halloween from Neverland

The girls and I had great fun with the Neverland theme this Halloween.

Ava is Wendy, and Layla is supposed to be Michael, but her pink sleeper was so small, I thought she was going to be like the Incredible Hulk and rip right out of it.

Mia totally fits the Tinkerbell mold. Pretty to look at but a little sassy.

I am Peter Pan. I hated to include the following photo (eyes closed) but that was the only one of the entire ensemble.



Since I was cranky pregnant lady last year, I decided that I was going to really get use of the costume this year. I wore it to Mia's preschool party on Wednesday and I was the ONLY one dressed up over the age of 5. I think I would have felt more comfortable naked.

One for the vault

I wish I would have played tennis more before Mark and I had children. I just did not appreciate the simplicity of it. Mark's sister, Jane, has been playing in a league and he has been giving her "lessons" for about a year. I was able to join in recently, although I can only manage to get about 15-20 minutes of playing time before Layla, comfortably seated in her stroller on the court, tells me it is time to quit.

Last night, we went to Jane's for a quick dinner and some doubles. I think she was reeling from a bagel beating and needed Mark to boost her confidence. Mark has a knack for taking the moon balls people send flying at him and returning them back to the center of the court so that you can promptly shoot another moon ball at him. After icing Ava's fat lip (the result of a "Jackass"-like stunt of riding her scooter off the park bench) occupying Layla with lots of toys and finding Mia the Plasmacar to drive around, Mark and I took the end of the court against Jane and her friend.

I had not played a "match" since the spring of '07 so I had my fair share of moon balls and errant shots. I had just settled down enough so that I could return the serve and get Mark into the point when we were suspended in total darkness. As our eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I heard a small voice call out:

Mia had shut off the lights on the court. These floodlights are such that once they are turned off, they must cool all the way down before they can be lit again, about a 10-20 minute delay. There was nothing to do but pick up the girls and head home. I couldn't stay mad, but decided to just marvel at Mia's surefire way of getting our attention.

Like I said, I sure didn't appreciate it when it was so easy.

Look who posted again!

Aren't you glad to see a new post and not the Breaking Dawn quiz? It is funny because, the longer I wait to post, the more I dread it and tend not just stay away from it!

We ended September with Mia's 4th birthday! Her birthday has always been a funny time for me because I remember how miserable I was at the end and the seven days or so leading up to her birthday, I always think, "I wanted today to be her birthday!" She was super cute though, and even though Ava and Layla were both sick, we managed to squeeze some fun into the day.

She chose these glasses out of the Treasure Box at preschool. Ready to go hunting!!!

I can't figure out why she has her nightgown on, but it's her day!

Here are the things I have been doing that have caused me to neglect my lovely blog.

1) I have been doing Body Pump at Fitnessworks 3X per week for over a month now. I am FINALLY losing the baby pooch. I feel so much stronger and I have stopped wanting to quit 20 minutes into it. I now wish it was over 35 minutes into it!! That's progress right!

My SIL told me my butt had disappeared and my friend (I'll keep her anonymous) told me I had a hot ass.

2) Halloween costumes. I wish I wouldn't decide to sew new costumes every year rather than letting the girls decide and put their costumes together. I figure my window for creative control is small so I have to take advantage. Mia is Tinkerbell and Ava is Wendy Darling this year. We're going to throw Layla in pink sleeper and she can be Michael.

Mia's Tink costume. She won't try it on til "tomorrow."

Now here's a good sport.

3) My crawling monster. Enough said....

4) My next digi-scrap volume! I am back at the computer. I have gotten a lot better and can finish pages faster. I also don't have to "scraplift" as much. Hopefully arriving under my Christmas tree!

Here are a smattering of my fave pages.

The MONSTER!

Layla is everywhere! She can pull herself to a stand and is viciously attacking the A/V equipment. She knows the difference between the real remote control and the decoy version that Ava ruined with her slobber 6 year ago!

I caught her attempting to storm the castle the other day. Someone needs to dig a moat!


BTW! I finished Breaking Dawn. I hated it until (SPOILER ALERT!) she was transformed. I thought I was going to be okay until (ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT!) Jake imprinted on the freaky perfect teeth baby, then the acid reflux started again. The battle in the forest nodded me off to sleep four nights in a row. The worst part is that it took me the full three weeks to read so I owe 20 cents in late fees to the library. Shall I send Ms. Meyer an invoice?

NYC part 2

I better blog about NY before I forget. After the fun day at the Open, we decided to spend Saturday in the Theatre District where we were staying. We had lunch with my high school BFF Erica, and Penny (my MIL) and I jetted off to see The Little Mermaid at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Mark and Lay-Bug just cruised through the streets. This is where I have to brag. This girl was going on no sleep and just happily rode in her stroller. She smiled at everyone was just adorable!!!

At Macy's in Herald Square

Dad, you still there?

Manhattan Temple, across from the Lincoln Center.


Consulting the map. Mark loves maps and knowing right where he is. NERD! I just wanted him to put it away so we would look more like real New Yorkers (insert snarky comment here_____)



Layla at Bryant Park (home of NY's Fashion Week)

Layla with the Empire State Building

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where we saw the Little Mermaid

Mark's BYU-H tennis teammate, Rafi after devouring Indian food at Baluchi's on 56th St.


Thanks to my mom who came to town to take care of the other girls. They had fun and I got rave reviews about her babysitting.