The Amazing Flying Lilie!

Before I completely forget, I just need to record that a couple months ago, Lilie learned to fly.

One of the men that works for Nels (on top of being an awesome cop - who reminds me whenever my registration has expired) owns his very own plane. I sweet little single engine plane named Matilda. He took Lilie and me up for about 45 minutes. Flying around the foothills above Idaho Falls.

Lilie. was. in. heaven.

She asked where Calyifornia (yes. Calyifornia) was - believing that surely if we were up that high, we could see it. Asked all about why there are big circles all over the ground, with black dots inside them - courtesy of center pivot irrigation systems and grazing cattle. Got a bird's-eye-view of dozens of gigantic windmills. Laughed and laughed and laughed. Loved breathing and singing into the headsets. :)

As for me. I have realized that the old grey mare, just ain't what she used to be. I rode in a small plane when I was a senior in high school and loved it. I even took the controls for a few minutes.

No. More.

There were several moments of holding on tight to the seat and closing my eyes as we bounced along invisible "air bumps" and there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to touch the controls. :) By the time we got ready to land, I'd relaxed quite a bit and I really did enjoy the ride, but I think I have too many responsibilities (i.e. CHILDREN) and have followed Stephanie Nielson's story for too long to fully erase all the nervousness from my chest and stomach while hundreds of feet up in the air. :)

Nonetheless, I am so thankful that Mike was willing to share the experience with us.

I will never forget the look on her face.

I Cry the Day that I Take the Tree Down

Well, Elsie does, anyway.

{sigh}

Christmas is over. And I have to say, this year I'm actually ready for it. That seems so sad, really, but this past month has been so busy and chaotic, that I'm ready for the slow down that inevitably comes with January and February. 

We went to Utah for Christmas. Spent the holiday in Kamas at our family cabin. Enjoyed the snow, the fireplaces, the games, and most of all our family together. It was lovely. I love my family. I love snow for Christmas. I'll write more about it when I upload my pictures in the next few days.

We got home late Sunday night and Nels ended up not needing to go in to work yesterday! Hooray! He helped me rearrange the basement and I helped him string cables through our ceiling --- his shoulders are just too big to fit into the holes made by our basement light fixtures. :) We set up the keyboard that my parents gave us and Hazel and Lilie have been playing "Mario songs" ever since. :) Hazel is convinced that she ought to be able to play real songs from real books by now, you know, since she's learned some notes in her music class and all. :) Sweet girl. 

Today I put our Nativity set and decorations away. Unstrung the lights and took the tree out to the road. All the while, Elsie was crying and getting mad at me. "I just love our Trismas tree! I love it. I want it to stay in our house forever!!!" Well, Elsie, the Christmas Tree will die in the house and drop all its green off and just be a stick. Do you want it to die? "No! I just love our tree! Don't take the lights off MOM!!!" Do you want to help me put your angel away? "NO!!" Christmas will come again next year and we'll get a new tree. "No! I want this tree. I love it! This is a dumb Trismas." 

It was awesome. I finally was able to quench the wailing and tears by telling her that the Christmas tree needed to go home to be with its mommy and daddy in the mountains. That next Christmas we would be able to go find it again, but it needed to go home to its family. I told her that we would stand the Tree up in the snow by the road and it would stay with us for a few more days until someone came to give it a ride home.  :) Poor kid. It was very traumatic. 

Christmas at the Cabin

Last year, we Chicks boldly declared our independence and decided that our family is mature enough to spend Christmas on our own - at home.

Well, all that flew out the window only a year later when along with my parents, brothers, and sisters we had a chance to spend Christmas at the Moon family cabin. We did this once when we were children and even nearly 20 years later is one of my favorite Christmas memories, so we just couldn't pass up on the opportunity to do the same with our own children. 

Our cabin is in Samak, Utah. It lies on property that has been in the Moon family for . . . goodness, I don't know, a long time. :) Years and years ago, my Grandpa Moon passed the thousands of acres, along with the cabin, on to be equally shared by his posterity . . . fifty something owners in all among his children and grandchildren. Over the years we've spent a lot of time there, but in more recent years not quite as much as the cabin was in desperate need of some overhaul and updating. This past year, there was some extra money that came in and allowed for the much needed work to be done -- thanks to the many, many hours of hard labor by several of our generous family members. It was so nice to spend the weekend at a clean, beautiful cabin in the gorgeous snowy Uinta mountains making memories together.

We got a chance to meet our newest Moon family member!

Beautiful Kelly and sweet baby Olivia

As well as our newest soon-to-be-family-member! So soon, in fact, that he proposed to Genny while we were all there that weekend! Lucky for all of us, he liked us and we loved him. Nothing like getting to know someone over a few rousing games of Qwirkle. :) Ben was such a good sport! Ben sure must love Genny a lot, because that's quite the introduction to our family. A cabin in the snowy mountains with all 29 of us for FIVE days! Welcome Ben!!!

We went up a little bit early and played and played and played. I'm so thankful that my kids are so close to their cousins!

Elsie and Alaina

 Playing in the snow and coloring for hours!

Coloring with Karlie and Ali

And watching movies and playing games on Grandpa's huge projector!

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a huge, ol' family photo of ALL of us!

Christmas Eve was fun. 

The girls got their new jammies that I'd made for them (well, except for Vi's).

It was such a fun experience to stay up with my siblings wrapping presents and being "Santa" together.

And then Christmas morning? Well, that was just crazy . . . and SO perfect.

A cute little handmade train from Great-Grandpa Larsen

Lilie has been enthralled with the movie "How to Train Your Dragon". Unfortunately, so does what seems to be every other child in America. When looking for a "Toothless" there was none to be found. Not at the store and not online for anything less than $60 for a previously $10 toy. So I found a pattern and I made her one. :) She was *excited!* to say the least.

Ben, Kelly, Ali, and Isaac

My beautiful mother holding baby Olivia

For more information on Toothless, look a year in the future - December 2011. :)

Elsie with Grandpa - playing her new Leapster!

By the end of the week, the sugar high had run out and we were all a little tired . . . 

. . . but it was so fun. Such a wonderful and perfect Christmas.

A Christmas Angel

Man, oh, man. Today has been a doozy.


Last December (at least in my memory) was so great. I did almost all of my shopping online and I don't really remember going to the store much at all.

However, this year, the past two weeks have been filled with running around, I think, every day. Store to store. Doctor appointments. Pick up and drop off from school or work. Browsing gifts. Re-browsing gifts. And whatever else. Everyday it's seemed like I plan to clean the house (or at least the kitchen and living room! i could live with just those two!), but something comes up and suddenly dinnertime is here. The house is a bigger mess than it was before. The kids are fighting. If Nels isn't working late, he does a quick load of dishes for me - yet the sink is still overflowing, because one load of dishes every other day just ain't gonna cut it. I unsuccessfully search the house for clean pajamas or "run to the store to get something really quick". The kids are in bed. Violet or Elsie isn't feeling well. Somebody has to use the bathroom thirteen times. There are still pajamas or dragons to sew. Teepees to be made. Presents to be wrapped --- if only I could open my bedroom door and/or find a place amid all the bags and clothes to do it! 2:30 in the morning already?? And then it starts over.

Ugg.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we'll be leaving a day earlier than we'd been planning to leave. One less day to do laundry, clean, and sew.

Last night I was up until 2:00 sewing Toothless's head and part of his body.

It was my week to teach in Relief Society. I didn't even look at the lesson until 6:30 this morning, right after I'd prayed to ask the Lord if it would be okay if just this ONE Sunday I used it to find my kitchen and living room -- maybe even the laundry room floor. (Because, you know, nobody has any clean panties to wear.)

I cracked open my lesson manual. Lesson title: "The Sabbath Day"

Am I faithless if I sweep my kitchen floor, do the dishes, mop, vacuum, and do two loads of laundry on the Sabbath? Don't get me wrong. I know that at times the ox is in the mire, but . . . what if YOU drove the ox into the mire, thinking that you'd have time to deal with it later if you got stuck - plus, even though you've gotten stuck there before, HEY! it's a shortcut . . .

Violet has CROUP. Nels was up repeatedly taking care of her. This morning her breathing was terrible, but Nels had to teach as well. Who was going to stay home with her? We'd just go and not let her get close to anyone.

I needed to be at the church at 8:15 to practice the song the choir is singing in Sacrament Meeting. Fifteen minutes late because I needed to do 4 heads of hair. For kids who'd been crying since they opened their eyes this morning. Got there right as they were finishing the practice.

Lilie won't stop mauling Violet. Violet is squirming everywhere, but I can't let her down. What if she coughs on someone else? Hazel and Lilie switch seats. Hazel is wiping her nose and her hair-do all over my arm.

All during Sacrament Meeting, I was on the verge of tears. Feeling completely overwhelmed and I wasn't even sure why. Am I smearing mascara all over, wiping my eyes??

Getting irritated with Hazel and Lilie fighting.

Nels leans over and mouths, "Relax." (I'm sorry Nels, for the severe stink-eye you got right before I walked up to sing about the Savior's birth.)

As the Meeting ends, Beverly Reed (one of the sisters I Visit Teach) comes up to ask if I'd woke Violet up from her nap, because she sounded tired.

"Um . . . no. She's got croup . . . " At that point my voice breaks, my face scrunches up, and I just start sobbing. Complete with snorting "hup-hups" and all.

Good grief.


And you know what that sweet sister does? She tells me to take my baby home, take a nap, and she's going to teach my lesson. And all the while, she somehow manages to make me feel like I'm the one doing her the favor for letting her serve me . . . 

Oh Lord. Please bless all those sweet angels in my life.

Welcome to Dinner . . .

 . . . with our new camera.

A few weeks ago, Nels' work gave him a couple of gift cards to Walmart. We ran through of all the practical applications of having money stored at Walmart -- Christmas presents for the kids, a few oil changes for the cars, groceries, etc . . . But in the end, we decided to use it to splurge and get a new point and shoot camera. The one we've had is at least . . . hmm, before Jake left on his mission . . . 6 or 7 years old? Our new one has some nice bells and whistles - which I don't really care too much about - but most of all, it holds a much bigger memory card ---- for more pictures of my awesome kids!

The following pictures are a bunch of random pictures taken after dinnertime, shortly after we got it our new camera.

 Is there anything funnier than a snaggle-toothed seven year old? :)

 I cannot get a straight picture out of this kid! LOL! However, the above photo is probably one of my all-time favorites of my little Wild Flower.

 I think Elsie looks a little bit like a muppet in this picture. :)

 Not sure what she looks like in this one, but it makes me laugh super hard!!

 Violet's fake crying face. They start early at our house. :)

Nels looking all crazy-lookin'. Not!