Simple Pleasures

The other day David and his friend wanted to color.  I got the bucket of crayons and he found a brand new box of crayons.  He opened the box, looked inside and said,

"Is this heaven?"

The funny thing is...I totally get it!  Brand new crayons are one of my joys, too.  The good news is that I recently bought a crayon sharpener so we can have a little piece of heaven whenever our hearts desire!

Ringing in the New Year

We didn't have any plans to ring in the new year, but we were ready for a low key/casual evening.  We got a text from our friend, Keri a couple of days before New Year's Eve.  She asked if we wanted to ring in the new year with them.  We were in!  They also invited their friends, the Ellis' and we had a great night.  Games, yummy food, great company and lots of laughs! 

When we arrived, my boys were instantly intrigued by the Scoresby's feathered friend, Pez.

We had a riveting game of "Baptism" (or Water in the Face as my family calls it):

Briggy made a new friend (the Ellis' son, Jake) and led him around the house saying, "Come on!  Let's go!"  Jake was a very good sport about it.  Here they are getting ready for the countdown.  

The Girls (they're getting so grown up!):

The boys: 

The adults:

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 



They came with haste...

A Great Start to the Season

Our Ward Relief Society Presidency organized a wonderful activity to kick off the Christmas season.  They asked people to donate their nativity sets for two evenings so we could all be reminded of the reason for the season.  Families were encouraged to attend together.  We took the kids over and it was the perfect way to get us in the Christmas spirit!  Olivia had already walked through with the Young Women, but she was still there when we showed up, so we borrowed her for our photo.  

 I had each of the boys stand next to their favorite set (or one of their favorites.  It was really hard to choose).  Briggy loved the rubber duck nativity.

 David chose the Precious Moments set.

 Sean and Warren both liked this set from The Philippines.

 I was partial to the Willow Tree set (and I really liked the silver one, too...that's why they are together in the photo).

 They were all beautiful and diverse.  They ranged from elaborate and ornate to simple and cute, but they all helped to remind us about the true meaning of Christmas.

 This one is an entire village scene from Bethlehem.  It was gorgeous!



There was music playing softly in the background and the kids got a candy cane as we were leaving.  I know a lot of work went into setting up (twice).  The Relief Society presidency set it up, lights and all, had to take it down and lock it up for safe keeping overnight, and then set it up again the next day (they did it for two days so that more families would have an opportunity to attend).  I am grateful for their efforts and grateful that my family was able to take advantage of seeing so many nativity sets so close to home.  Let the season begin!

Poor Kid

Last night David came in crying and holding his cheek (I wasn't home, but Darin assumed it was a bee sting).  Nothing seemed abnormal last night, but this morning he woke up looking like this:

Apparently the sarcasm starts early around here...

Tonight we were all sitting in the family room after a long and busy day.

I yawned a big yawn and said, "I'm sleepy."

Brig (who turned 2 just a couple of weeks ago) didn't skip a beat and replied, "Hi.  I Briggy".

Briggy Turns 2!

I can't believe my baby is two!  Time flies.  Briggy is a joy bringer.  He creates smiles and laughs wherever he goes.  He has the most endearing little raspy voice, a half lisp that is irresistible, huge expressive eyes, and a personality that is bursting at the seams. 
For his birthday celebration, we decided to make monster cupcakes.  (Every time there is an unidentified noise, the kids say, "Oh no! A monster's coming!  Hide!"  and then he giggles, clings on to the nearest person, and hides his eyes.)  We had so much fun decorating the cupcakes together.  I was impressed at all of the monster ideas. 

I was curious to see how he would feel about being in the spotlight when we sang to him.  Some of my kids aren't too fond of it, but Briggy didn't mind at all.  In fact, after we sang "Happy Birthday" (he sang right along), he blew the candles out and said, "More again".  So we sang at least 8 times (he still didn't tire of it, but we moved on for the sake of time).





After he blew the candles out, he would wave his hand through the smoke and say, "Shoo, shoo".

Next on the agenda was the opening of presents.  He is very into cars right now, so we got him a hot wheels play set and some cars to go with it.  He loved it!  

He also got some sunglasses.  (I love the way he says "Mickey Mouse glasses")



 Just a few other Briggy-isms while I'm thinking about it. 

 He makes this silly face, points to someone and says, "Do dat" and he makes sure you do it before he shifts his attention to something else.

He is working on asking nicely.  He will say something like, "I want milk".  I say, "Try again please" and his demeanor immediately switches to ultra pleasant and he says, "Pwease, Mommy, I have milk?"  It is adorable!

He loves to play "Sha-Sha".  (Which is code for sword fight.)   He will often have two objects (anything from sticks to spoons to crayons...anything that remotely resembles a sword), bring one to someone and say, "You sha-sha me?"  and then we proceed to sword fight while saying, "Sha, Sha, Sha". 

Here are my littles on Briggy's birthday:





(This last photo is a near miracle.  Everyone is looking.  Everyone is smiling a genuine smile (no silly faces, no pucker lips, no rabbit ears.  No photoshop.  This one will likely end up in a frame).