Christmas Letter Draft

I may or may not get our family picture taken this month. And I may not ever get Christmas cards sent. I know, shocker. After 12 years of marriage, this is a first.
Please know that if this season was paved with good intentions, well, then all of you would be riding along smoothly with the top down and admiring my cute handmade card featuring a picture of our adorable, photoshopped family as you drove. Huh? I think I lost myself in that analogy there. Anyhoo, here's a rough draft of our Christmas low-down, in case you're just dying to read about us.

N - still working for SRP, though in a different position now. His new title is the "Business Area Representative" for the Power division. AKA, the "Power BAR". Insert funny comment here.
- still serving in the bishopric, playing basketball 3-4 times a week, and participating in several networking and strategic groups at work.
- tries to keep up on a couple of TV shows, but usually falls asleep once his backside hits the couch, because of the previous.
- got himself a brand new (old) car this summer, and not surprisingly it's exactly the car that his wife was wanting. It's a lovely little Honda Accord that's super fun to drive, oh-so-comfortable, and has all the right options, and our old truck with its faulty transmission and its inability to fit nicely in our garage is GONE. Hooray!

S - finally broke down and got glasses a few months ago. She is still getting used to them, and forgets to wear them lots of days.
- participated in not one, but TWO 12-week fitness challenges this year, and in the process lost more than 25 pounds. Struggling to maintain it during all the goodies of the holidays, not to mention the discovery of lovely QT sodas...
- is able to keep up on a lot of TV shows while running on her treadmill almost daily. Santa brought it to our house last Christmas, and we're SO glad he did!
- started a little business with a friend designing, cutting and selling vinyl - including wall words, signs, frames, and just about anything else they can think of to throw vinyl on. Check out their stuff at twovinylchicks.blogspot.com!

A - is nine years old now and has been attending Activity Days for more than a year. She's growing up so fast we can't believe it sometimes.
- got braces on her bottom teeth in January to correct a couple of problems, and was able to avoid the need for oral surgery (hooray!) She will get them off in the spring, and then we have her "real" braces to look forward to in a couple of years.
- is still doing gymnastics, and had fun swimming for the El Prado Waterdogs (I know, you don't have to tell me it's a dumb mascot name) on Swim Team this summer. She is small for her age group, but still did pretty well in the meets. It helps that we had several friends on our team with us!
- is a THIRD grader now and doing great! She loves school and hanging out with her friends and can't fathom ever moving away or attending another school.
- has become an avid reader, devouring the Percy Jackson series, the Tales from the Odyssey series, the 39 Clues books, everything by Judy Blume, plus anything else Mommy can dig up from the library. Ask her anything about Greek mythology and you'll be impressed. She stays up for hours nightly reading and re-reading her favorites.
- is addicted to computer games and is a sucker for any cross-promotional cards that come with books. She has moved on from Webkins and is now an expert with Club Penguin, 39 Clues, Fandango...

M - is growing like a weed. Mommy can hardly keep her in clothes or shoes, and it's a daily struggle to find something that still fits for her to wear. She's growing out of her mouth too, as her permanent teeth are struggling to find a place among all the crowded baby teeth. Looks like we'll be pulling several of those, just like we had to do with A's teeth.
- turned out to be quite the strong swimmer during Swim Team this summer. She came in first place in most of her races at each meet.
- is a big FIRST grader now. Math is a piece of cake for her, and as long as we stay organized with homework, M is one of the top students in class. We scored the same teacher both girls had for kindergarten, which has been a huge blessing.
- is a super big sister to J, and a super help to Mommy around the house. She and A start a dozen different "clubs" and art projects around the house each week - they're always planning something. Right now there's a sign on her bedroom door announcing that anyone who wants to come in has to recite all 50 state names in alphabetical order (because she can, you know). Anyone who can't list the states can NEVER come in again. Be warned.

J - is a whopping 3 years old now! He is potty trained, pretty much, and he goes to a little preschool once a week.
- is a sweetheart and literally walks around the house all day saying "I luf you mom..." He tells N that "You're my good boy, Da-eee"
- follows me around all day and talks my ear off. This kid has a LOT to say. I can't believe we were ever worried about him talking. Ha!
- has three favorite questions. Why? Why? and Why?????? He always makes his tone sound like "Whatever you're asking me to do is absurd, mom."
- has a best friend, truly. He is concerned about Finny at all points in his day. If he wants fruit snacks, he gets two packages, one for him, one for Finny. If he's tired, he wonders if Finny is taking a nap. If he's getting ready for church, he wants to go see Finny in his class. Heaven help their Sunbeam teacher in January. Together, these two are a handful!

Our Family - went to Disneyland twice this year. We may not be able to travel to extravagant locales, but we love that our timeshare allows us, at least, to afford Disney and its "canned family time" as N calls it. Hee hee.
- sweated our way through swim meets each week this summer. Man, it's hot at 5pm in Phoenix in July.
- spent a weekend apart when N & S took a couple of days to attend a family wedding in Safford in July. It was great to spend time with all the Scotts - and the new Ferrins too!
- survived just fine when Mommy took a girls' trip for a weekend to SoCal. Well, thanks to Grandma, that is. S got a much-needed break.
- spent Thanksgiving weekend traveling to the North Pole. We took the Polar Express train all the way to see Santa, and it was awesome!
- all experienced lice for the first time when we discovered the critters in the girls' hair. UGH, was that an awful few days.
- is looking forward to Christmas at home with Nonnie and Papa, and then traveling to Safford to see more family.

Christmas Boutique

This is our last hurrah before Christmas - come check out this boutique in North Mesa this weekend! YES, we've added new stuff this week that you'll love! Too fun!  It's all day Friday and Saturday, and the best part is you can BRING YOUR KIDS to play on the gymnastics equipment WHILE YOU SHOP!  How cool is that??  See you there!

Need a laugh??

Big hair, leggings, layered shirts on top...

Come One, Come All!

Looking for something totally fun to do with your family tomorrow? Want to come to one of the TWO CHICKS' awesome craft shows? Need to get pictures taken with Santa? Want to see him fly in on a helicopter? Want to let your kids play in the snow without having to drive half the day to get to it? Are you a fan of kettle corn and fry bread?? Have I got the solution for you!!! All you need is 3 bucks a ticket, or better yet, 3 cans of food for each ticket to get in. Clean out your pantry to donate to charity and come on over!

See? I'm not that behind after all.

December 1st - Even though Christmas looks like it has thrown up in my front room, at least the Christmas tree is up & mostly decorated. Blog has been decorated for Christmas as well. We survived Thanksgiving, and had a wonderful time at the inlaws' house in Scottsdale - even though J ended up with the flu that day. We also got to see SANTA on our trip to the North Pole this weekend. Had such a fun time on the Polar Express train along with all of our cousins! Pictures forthcoming. Discovered the most unpleasant creatures in the girls' hair when we got home Saturday night. UGH. Sorry to everyone we exposed in the last week - I hope everyone has been checking thoroughly and is clean! Spent an obscene amount at Walgreens getting anything and everything to clean, comb, shampoo, treat and spray every head along with every surface in our home. Seriously the biggest nightmare of my life. Still making my way through all the laundry, and the girls have been nit-free, we think, for 24 hours now. Crossing my fingers that we're out of the woods now with it, 'cause man, I couldn't handle another day with everybody home from school. Busy getting prepared for another craft show on Saturday. This one should be a good one, at N's work Christmas party. I heard Santa will be flying in on a helicopter to see everyone - fun fun! Now if we could only figure out what to ask him to get all of us for Christmas... I would like an extra week before Christmas, please, and an extra pair of hands to attach for the month as well, I think!