thanksgiving...

Lots of family for Thanksgiving. Cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends. We nearly obliterated 2 twenty-pound turkeys, 15 pounds of mashed potatoes, along with all the other yummy side-dishes and PIES!!! We were so busy having fun this last week that we almost to forgot to take any pictures. We were glad that the Kings came to stay with us...we wish they lived closer to us!!

movie review: mr. magorium's wonder emporium

this is the movie we saw after Thanksgiving dinner...it was not quite what I was expecting, and I was disappointed that we paid FULL PRICE to see it. I'd recommend waiting for it to show up at the dollar-theater or on DVD.


You may be asking what was so terrible...and it wasn't that it was terrible. I just thought it was going to be a storyline about the TOYS (a la Toy Story 1 & 2), but it was actually just set in the toy store and it was about PEOPLE. I was glad, though, to see Jason Bateman return to the big screen...I haven't really seen much of him lately...

Despite the fact that 2 different groups left the movie beofre it was over (one couple left 2 minutes into it), we'll give it a 2 out of 5 stars.

school pictures

Here are the kids' school pictures...we think they turned out great!

(thanks for the inspiration, Becca! I flat-out copied you!)

olivia ~ the pig that makes us giggle

We received our first OLIVIA book for Christmas 7 years ago. We immediately fell in love this free-spirited, mischievous pig. And once we memorize a book, we anxiously await the next one...

Here are some of our favorite quotes:

"Last summer when Olivia was little, her mother shower her how to make sand castles. She got pretty good."

"Of course you can always accessorize." AND "OLIVIA...Who do you think you are ~ Queen of the Trampoline?"

"Wooshee gaga."

"Look, Daddy, we're twins."

So what will be our "NEW" favorite Olivia'ism? We'll just have to wait a few more weeks...

cha-ching!

There is a local dentist who buys back Halloween candy...he pays $2/lb PLUS makes a matching donation to Children's Hospital. I'd heard about it in the past, but figured the kids wouldn't react too well to the idea. This year I just couldn't stand the thought of the fights and arguments and the hyperactivity that the candy would bring...so I told them about the Dentist. They were sooooo excited! Malcolm plans to buy a motorcycle and put the rest of this money toward college (and maybe his Mission, too). Laurel and Aubrey have not stated their plans yet. Perhaps when they see the money, they'll get excited, too!


So are you wondering how much money we're talking about? Try $50 ~ That's right! Our kids brought home a whopping TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS of Candy!!! It's insane!!! We let them each choose candy to fill a quart-sized baggy, and Doug kept a bowl of his favorites...but we took 25 pounds to the Dentist! He was quite surprised at the haul!!


Here's what that much candy ~ and that many $ingle$ look like:

a season of words

I saw these words in an REI catalog this week...they have made me think of nothing but the rapidly approaching holiday season...I hope they will help me focus on the true meaning of the season...

tagged - 6 random things

Holly tagged me ~ but since this our family blog, I thought I'd try to post 6 random things about our Family, rather than just about me...


1) 3/4 of our kids were born along the Hudson River in SLEEPY HOLLOW...it's no wonder they kept telling me that our house wasn't "CREEPY" enough for Halloween this year...


2) I rarely prepare soup using a recipe...and even when I have a recipe, I don't really follow it. One time (at band camp ~ haha) last year I made a soup...I can't recall what kind of soup it was, but I remember the kids "eewing" and "oh-grossing" about it. I didn't think it was all that bad, so I was a mean mom and made them eat it. It literally made them throw up ~ and not just a little in their mouths. Despite the fact that it was over a year ago, and that I couldn't make it again if I had to (because I made it up out of my head), when I serve soup, the kids ask, "Is it that GROSS soup that made us throw up?!"

3) When Doug and I moved from California to New York, we planned our route by the number of baseball games that we could watch. That season (1993) we saw games in the following stadiums: Candlestick Park (San Francisco Giants), Dodger Stadium (LA Dodgers), Jack Murphy Stadium (Sand Diego Padres ~ Doug went w/o me), McAfee Coliseum (Oakland A's ~ although technically, the game got rained out before it even started), Kansas City Municipal Stadium (KC Royals), Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals), Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs), Milwaukee County Stadium (Milwaukee Brewers), Tiger Stadium (Detroit Tigers), Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays), Shea Stadium (NY Mets), Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees), Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox), and Oriole Park at Camden Yards inagural year (Baltimore Orioles ~ Doug went without me). That summer we also visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. It makes me feel old and sad to know that many of these stadiums have been torn down and replaced since we were there.

4) Before we got married (and excluding his Mission), Doug had only lived in 2 houses. I lost count of my family's moves a long time before I met Doug, but once calculated that I attend 11 schools before graduating from High School. Since we married 16-1/2 years ago, we have lived in 7 homes...I have kept my nomadic gene alive.

5) Tattle-tales are one of my biggest pet peeves. I attribute this to Mrs. Bailey, my 2nd grade teacher who kept a long, crocheted "tail" attached to the chalkboard at the front of the room. If one of us tattled, she pinned it to the back of our pants for the rest of the day. I don't remember ever actually having to wear it (or anyone else, for that matter), but it made an indelible impression on my young mind.


6) One time Doug was holding one of our sleeping babies...as he was rubbing the little toes, I thought to myself, "oh dear ~ those toes are MY toes...poor baby!" And at that moment, Doug said, "Honey -- look at these toes ~ they are the WEIRDEST things I've ever seen!" I had no idea he thought my toes were ugly. ;) (these toes do not belong to either of us OR to our kids)


So, Hottie, I know they are not as random and impressive as yours, but I have fulfilled my 6 Random Things. ;) I now Tag: Becca, Maria (my favorite Blog-Stalker), Karen and Julie.