I'm still here...

I've been busy enjoying all the Hawaii pictures and the creativity of my brother's family. Maybe I should have had 6 kids... maybe it's not the number but the spacing...

Anyway... I am still here.

Here's a little of what took place while I was absent from the blogging world.

We took Memema and Papa to Gardner Village. I must say though, that the witches at Halloween seemed more festive than the Elves. The lack of snow may have made it seem less like Christmas but I was happy not to have snow.

There was a "girls only" store and so Memema and I went in without the boys. I turned to see this cute face at the door. I let him in and he was very careful and told me a few times "they have this at NPS". And he was right, they did, and the prices WERE better. I like that confirmation every once in a while.

Then we saw the Naughty or Nice lists and as Chay noticed, most of Auntie Sharon's family was on the Naughty list...what's up with that? I think Brent was on the nice list. I can't zoom in as I write this but you may want to to check it out. Strangely, we couldn't find Chay, Blade or Wilma on either list.

Chay wouldn't let us pass up the hanging mistletoe.

...and Chay couldn't pass up posing with this hanging Elf that he missed earlier.

On Saturday, Memema and Papa left to go back home to North Carolina. Their flight from SLC was delayed about 1.5 hours but they made it home safely. They said that it was cold at home and they should have stayed in Utah where it was warmer. Three weeks sounds like a long time but after they left, it didn't seem like they were with us for that long. The time went quickly. They definitely had the opportunity to get to know their grandkids, well, at least their grandsons...their granddaughter wasn't around too much.

Some things in life just happen and they are the funniest things. I was laughing so hard that I was crying but, I didn't pee my pants.
Nicole was sitting in the 2nd back row of seats when we drove to the airport and then climbed over the seat to get out. I was outside taking pictures and heard laughter, I turned to look and Nicole was HOOKED UP and couldn't get anywhere. It's amazing how strong that plastic hook is and how easily one can be immobilized. I was laughing and hoping the camera would turn on quickly and YES, I did help her get free. I let her hang there just long enough to take a picture...

While I caught up with some "Heroes" episodes from season 2, I knitted a hat for Chay. I was looking for a pattern in Blade's size but I realized that the size for Chay works for Blade also (sad but true). Maybe I need to make a larger one for Chay. Nicole has one also but I haven't added her ties yet.

Remember Dad's winter hat with the fur sides that tied up and could be untied to then cover the ears? Well for some reason, this is how Blade thinks this hat should go also.



Yesterday, we found out what Koshi does when Nicole's door is left open (and she's not home) ...she lies on Nicole's bed and gets quite comfortable. Chay saw Koshi and rushed to tell me and got the camera so that he could show Nicole when she got home.

Yesterday it also snowed! The boys were excited and had to rush out. The flakes were huge and the ground covered quickly.

There's nothing quite like catching fresh snowflakes on your tongue...

....and making the first tracks in the freshly fallen snow.

Chay has a job shovelling snow for an elderly lady a few houses down from us and he was very diligent and shovelled the snow last evening and again this morning before school. The lady's son told Chay to tell him what he would like to be paid and it's not about what's fair because Chay shovelling the snow will make it so much easier for him since he would have to travel to clean the walkway and he has a bad back. Chay has decided not to charge too much because he can do it because it's a nice thing to do. However, he will charge because he's a kid, and he wants the money (the money thing is a very good incentive for him to take his responsibility seriously).