What shall I blog?

I have several ideas that have been tickling the back of my blogging mind, so I'll let you, my readers (there are so so many of you - ha!) decide.

• Breakfast imported from Colorado
• Choir concert video montage
• Anonymous letter from our neighbor
• I missed my first blog award

After you've made your choice I'd like to know what is on your MP3/iPod workout playlist. I'm asking the same question on facebook. Sorry if it's redundant.

Expired

We splurged last year on something I never thought I would own in my life: 5 Disneyland Annual Passes, one for each member of our family. Spending more than $700 when Harland had been laid off 6 weeks earlier, probably not the most sound financial decision, but in the long run...brilliant! He was home all the time. We went with friends who visited from out of town, when we had a day off, for birthdays, when we did not have a day off, with grandparents, with neighbors, for Emma's choir concert! (below at Carnation Plaza)

....basically any time we could get away with it. We went so often that we didn't even take pictures half the time (some might call that blasphemy). The last time we went Dedan rolled his eyes and asked, "Again?"

Last Tuesday afternoon, Harland looked at me and said, "A little piece of me died today."

With great concern I responded, "What happened?!"

"Our Disneyland passes expired today."

*sigh*

A VERY LONG 158 minutes

Have you seen 2012?

Did you know it's a two and a half hour movie?

...Well, unless you are at my house. Then it takes four hours to watch.

Really.

Mater is not a race car

Our ward had their first Pinewood Derby this weekend. Each family got to enter one car. Har was inspired to create our own version of the beloved Mater...you know....from the movie CARS...in case you don't have Disney age kiddos. We worked hard.He looked good.

Even though we were eliminated after losing our first two races, we had a blast...good thing we're not a competitive family!

Puppy Love

I'm not talking about spending the weekend with my sweet Valentine (I think we've graduated past puppy love), but we did have a nice dinner out with Rachel & JP.

Much of the rest of the long weekend we spent like this...

...staring at their 8 Golden Retriever puppies. Each has a different colored ribbon collar and a spice name...not that we remembered. We'd just call them by their collar color (say that 5 times fast).
On rare occassions (like when Nash was napping) we even let the kids hold one on its own...usually the loud ones to calm them down.




Lula hung with the Everitts for the weekend because we figured 10 dogs in one house was plenty. Being with the Knowlton's pups reminded me of the days of little Lula - who turned 3 this month - she was so cute and tiny.......she's still cute, just not as tiny.

uncelebrated anniversary

A year ago today was Harland's last day of work at the Four Seasons. He informed me yesterday that this temporary turned permanent job has gone back to being temporary and this will be his last week. Laid off twice in two years...in the same week no less.

When Har was laid off last year, we weren't too worried. He received a nice severence package, we had a good tax return coming, and in my mom's words, "You have a roof over your heads and plenty of food in the kitchen." (My mom rocks, by the way.) In many ways last year was such a wonderful time for us. While Har looked for jobs we could still take care of our needs, we had him around all the time (have you heard he does laundry?), and we took several fabulous vacations (like this one or this one). Amazing, right?

Honestly, we're not too upset about this lay off. The paycheck just replaced the unemplyment check...did not improve it. No to mention that he'll have more freedom to do some hunting and interviewing for real jobs. This temp gig did get in the way of that.

This time around, we aren't planning vacations and we'll be budgeting tighter, but we're not complaining. We'll be praying for a job again, but a job that he likes going to and one that pays well enough that we can move into our own place. Aren't we supposed to be specific in our prayers?

Here's to another wonderful year...

AB Unfiltered

I know what you're thinking, "AB has a filter?" Yes, yes I do. Lucky for you! However, there are a few people that have been in my life for long enough and in enough quantity that there is no use using the AB filter when I'm around them. They have seen me cry selfishly, grow spiritually, make mistakes, yell at their kids, fall in love, pack up my life with tears in my eyes, be oblivious to their needs...you get the idea. Not only have they seen the worst (and best) of AB, but they are still my friends! Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't ditch me a long time ago. Last weekend we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday together by...well, by, um, doing nothing. Mostly, we hung out talking and let our children run free around us. It was the most relaxing weekend I've had in a long while. I love them and I know that they will still love me even after they see I've posted this unflattering picture of them both. (BTW: we need to stop taking pictures of the kids and take a few of ourselves)

Reverence Child?!?

In our church/ward they ask a child to be on the stand before church as an example of how to be reverent when we enter Sacrament meeting. The child stands quietly with their arms folded for about 10 minutes as people come in and take their seats. When they called to ask if Nash could do this I was shocked. Our ward is light on small kids and Nash has a reputation... it's not necessarily a good one. Nonetheless, I accepted on his behalf.

Today was his big day. He reluctantly let me walk him to the front as we arrived (early!) and stood in front of the Bishop. Our very smart and loving Bishop, whose youngest is Nash's buddy, immediately showed Nash what to do and gave him some words of encouragement. We sat right in front hoping to help him out. He smiled, waved to a few friends as they entered, played with his Superman tie a lot, but overall did a great job. As Brother Leishman (our Bishop's 2nd counselor) thanked "Superman Nash Carpenter" for his good example you could hear a chuckle roll through the chapel. If it had been any other meeting our loving ward family might have stood up and cheered. It only took a few minutes for him to be back in his seat asking questions at full volume, playing games with the cute girl sitting behind us, and generally just being Nash.

Those 10 minutes gave me shining hope for a day when it won't be so shocking that Nash is asked to be the reverence child.

Along those same lines...Nash moved into Sunbeams today. A big day for him moving onto Primary with the "big" kids. And a bittersweet day for me as my baby leaves nursery. Emma and Dedan reminded me yesterday of how old they will be turning this year....pain and joy watching them grow up. The motherhood conundrum.

Merry Christmas

Love, The Carpenter Family

CAUGHT!

Remember that show World's Dumbest Criminals? I loved watching videos of stupid people doing stupid things and then getting caught. There's something satisfying about seeing justice fulfilled.

I uploaded some pictures from my camera yesterday. Har & I were scrolling through fuzzy pictures of the dog, our dresser, the bathroom floor and wondering which of our child criminals got a hold of the camera when we came across this gem.....

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It's not as satisfying to catch your own child criminal...especially when they're so stinking cute.

One of these things is not like the other

Today is the last day of school for 3 whole weeks!

Weeaahapawhoee! (to steal Nash's latest saying)

At Dedan's Southern California elementary school (where the high is supposed to be in the 70s today) you'll find a wall full of snowglobe snowmen standing in their fields of snow with haiku poetry about snow. But look closely and you'll see one snowman who is a little more active than the rest....
That's my boy!

Dedan's poem:
Cold, white snow slowly
landing on the tree branches
under the gray clouds.

Cruisin

How do I sum up 5 days and 4 nights of fun?

art by my favorite neighbor, Mike Morris

I have 175 pictures to pick from (yes, that's an average of 35 pictures each day), and that doesn't even include those we purchased on board!

If I posted everything I want about this amazing family vacation it would be like your annoying neighbors who invite you over for cocktails and a slide show of their trip to Europe. Snooze fest! - at least for those of you who didn't get to enjoy our getaway.

Highlights and Things I Learned On Vacation:

• Party of 26. Wait! No. Make that 30.
• Rocking cruise ships will make me puke.
• If there's a water slide & a heated pool then it doesn't matter that it's about 50 degrees outside.
• $10 for me & the kids to have lunch in Ensenada includes a seat overlooking the gorgeous coast.

• Sleeping in a cave (cabin with no windows) is the only way to get all 3 of my kids to sleep past 8 am.
• When given the option my boys will choose chicken nuggets, french fries and chocolate milk over lobster, steak, ribs, and/or various delicious, high end menu items.
• Tressa makes even a busted (no pun intended) dress look good.

• Chocolate melting cake - mmmm.
• Papa turned 64 surrounded by the children and grandchildren who love him...plus a whole dining room full of unknowing party participants.
• Gary sucks at Karaoke, but is definitely the most entertaining!
• J.R. is turning into her mother - a program, really?!
• Auntie Tressa may be most of the nieces/nephews "favorite", but Riley loves me!
• Nash created a look we like to call Mexican Taxi Cab Hair.

• My kids cannot get all their homework finished on a vacation.
• I can survive without a cell phone or the internet for nearly 5 days.
• They may all be freakishly tall, but I love my three little brothers.