Yesterday was my birthday.

I turned thirty something again.

I don't really have a problem with getting older.

I have a problem with my age getting older.

I wouldn't mind being 40, if forty were spelled "twenty-five".

So to numb the pain of aging, I'm going to make public some glorious photos of my youth.

{Warning: staring too long at some of these hairstyles may cause blindness.}

My first birthday. No hair to mess up.

Kindergarten - No brush to fix messy hair.

First Grade - Shortly after my sister practiced her scissor skills on my bangs.

Third Grade. If you need an explanation of this hair, see here.

Fourth Grade - I really loved this outfit, especially the earrings.

Fifth Grade - In my defense, pictures were after lunch and both recesses. What kind of genius schedule is that?

Sixth Grade - I actually look presentable. Who knew?

Seventh Grade - All I can say is that I'm sorry you had to see that. In my defense, I was really smart, just not in the fashion sense.

Eighth Grade - Ahhhh, my first perm. Yes!

Ninth Grade - Gotta love the bangs and the shirt buttoned to the top.

10th Grade - Looking at that hair is painful to me.

11th Grade - We have a winner! I guess 16 was a good age for me.

12th Grade - Here we have the obligatory Senior Glamor Shots.
Fan-Freakin'-Tastic!

My first year of college brought out my alter ego we named Beth. She also was hair challenged.

After awhile, I just gave up and hid my hair under a blanket.

This has nothing to do with hair. But by my second year of college, I learned that hair doesn't matter - having your picture taken in strange spots on BYU campus does.

I also discovered that embracing your inner nerd is a great way to excuse bad hair.

Just so you don't think I'm hopeless, here is one where my hair is at least presentable.

I may be old, but at least my hair ages well.

To Whom it May Concern:

Please note the addition of the new "link to" category on the right side bar. An {EXTREMELY} important link has been added.

. . . Here is a little sampling of what you can expect if you click on the link:

Thank you for your time.

Getting your Money's worth

A dear friend of ours gave Benjamin a batman costume for his third birthday. {Thanks Melanie!}

Sam and Benjamin wore it daily until the elastic band on the mask started cutting off the circulation to their faces.

A few months ago, Nicholas found it and has been wearing it every possible second.

And today, Ellie joined the ranks of Batman. It was a very proud moment for me.

I will now be accepting donations of costumes for little girls .

The life and times of Nicholas

Nicholas turned three yesterday. It is hard to believe that he is already three - he is growing too fast! So in honor of his third birthday, here are three very "Nicholas-like" things.

1. Nicholas is a super funny kid. He is always making us laugh. The other night at dinner, he gave us all new names.
Josh became Sissy Sauce.
Sam became Apricot Salad
Benjamin became Fry Sauce.
Eliana became Banana Split
Nicholas became Pumpkin.
And I became Tasty Salsa.

2. Nicholas is very clever. Sometimes it's deviously clever, but mostly it's just clever. Here is a recent conversation I had with Nicholas that illustrates the deviously clever . . .
Me: Nicholas, you don't hit Benjamin. If he's doing something you don't like, you tell him. Use your words.
Nicholas: Ok Benjamin. I am going to hit you now.

3. Nicholas is very sure of what he wants and very determined. He wanted a Wall*E cake for his birthday. Nothing else would do. He kept asking, and asking and asking and asking and asking . . . for the Wall*E cake. So, he got one (a poor excuse for a Wall*E cake). And he applies that same determination to getting cookies, watching TV and avoiding nap time. Lucky me!

So happy birthday dear boy.
We are glad you are part of our family. You really bring life to the party!

Because Jim asked . . .

As in years past, we made the pilgrimage to take our Christmas Card pictures. Here are some beauties from this year.

Benjamin: {I can't remember how to smile. Do you think anyone will notice.}
Sam: {I come from the planet nerd. Take me to your leader.}

Benjamin: {I'm trying out for Constipated Person #2 in the school play.}
Josh: {Sam put your hand down or there will be severe consequences.}
No really - he said that.

Josh: {Go ahead and have a good time now Sam. You are going to die when we get home.}
Nicholas: {I have a two picture limit. This is picture three - someone is going to pay.}
And I have no excuses to make for Benjamin's face in this picture - it pretty much says it all.

Thank goodness for Photoshop!

This
{+}

This
{=}

This.
Almost perfect, and definetely full of personality.

Happy Late Thanksgiving

I know it's two weeks late, but here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving. We had a very unconventional Thanksgiving - we went to Sea World. And we loved it so much that I want to do it again next year {Except for Benjamin who feels like he was robbed of Thanksgiving dinner}. The park was practically empty, the weather was perfect, and there weren't any dishes to do. Plus, we learned a little Sea World tip . . . If you buy your season passes in August, you get the rest of the year and ALL of the next year! Who knew?

What Sea World visit is complete without a Shamu Show?

See how empty the stands are? Perfect!

Some of the family went on a water ride. And some of that part of the family liked it.

Nicholas gave us an uncertain smile when the ride was done.
Josh: Nicholas, did you like the ride?
Nicholas: Yeah! It was a great ride!
Josh: Do you want to go again.
Nicholas: Uh, no thanks!

Nicholas and Eliana LOVE Shamu. They talk about him all the time at home. So seeing one was an unbelievable treat. Nicholas was so excited to hold Shamu's hand, that he couldn't even look at the camera - he had to make sure Shamu didn't let go.

Here's a cute, though rare, moment. Nicholas wants to be Sam, and Sam doesn't always appreciate the attention. So when Sam said Nicholas could sit by him, Nicholas was overcome with joy!

Because the park was empty, we got to feed the dolphins. It was amazing!

Benjamin is a little nervous in this picture. Sam was {kind of} teasing the dolphin by not feeding him the fish right away. I told him to just give the dolphin the fish. And when Sam finally did feed it, the dolphin responded by {SPLASHING} us. We were soaked! But it was SO worth it!

Eliana was fascinated by the aquarium. She and Josh stood there for about 20 minutes just watching the fish.

This is a just because it's cute picture.

Not to play favorites. . .

I love all my children equally. But, I only {love} playing dress-up with one of them.

Can you blame me?

Today was a good day

Thanks to Eliana's mullet hair, look what we can do . . .

Here's to business in the front, party in the back.

A day of Life Lessons

Here is what I learned today:

1. Pop Rocks cannot be cleaned once spilled. The minute the humidity in the air gets to them, they are glued to the carpet and stuck to the floor. {Lesson 1b would be that pop rocks cannot be swept off the kitchen floor either}. Pop Rocks, a candy I adore, will darken our doorstep no more.

2. Six year old and eight year old boys will not practice the piano when left to their own devices. They will also not bring in their piano books from the car with out proper prompting. {Six year old and eight year old boys learned today -- no practice, no piano prize box. Mother's orders.}

3. A two year old can become addicted to candy in three seconds flat. Since Halloween, Nicholas has had candy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon snack, 4:30 AM snack, and just because snack. {Nicholas also knows what he likes and doesn't like. And I now know what he doesn't like because I find half eaten candy dropped all over the place.}

4. Ants in Texas live for Halloween. {Ants in our house live for the candy Nicholas doesn't like.}

5. To Nicholas, Rude means someone does something mean, and someone gets an owie. {In otherwords, if Sam is rude to Nicholas, that gives Nicholas permission to hit Sam.}

6. Fall daylight savings is kicking my butt. My children have adjusted to going to bed an hour later, but not to waking up an hour later. This morning, they were all up by 5:45 AM. {I, unfortunately, was not.} Threats have been made . . . tomorrow I will not see the light of day until 6:30 AM.

Lessons learned . . .Patience tested . . . tomorrow will be better.

And to go with the randomness of this life, here are some Halloween pictures.