"Don't Do Dumb Things"

My Dad had several sayings that he rotated through, like all good dads, I guess. I can live without hearing him say "You gotta get up pretty early in the morning to beat your old man," and am very glad to be done hearing that "Someday when you're on your mission in (Estonia, Guatemala, Uzbekistan . . . ) you'll be wishing you had some of that homemade bread of your mother's with you."

But the most prominent of all of his parental mantras was simply "Don't Do Dumb Things." I outgrew a lot of those sayings, but I still feel like I need to hear this one every so often.

So that's what Davis, Christian, and I decided to name our new blog. Don't Do Dumb Things. Come spend some time there when you have a chance.

www.dontdodumbthings.com

Feel free to pass it on . . .

Happy Birthday to Ryan!

I know birthdays aren't a big deal to Ryan. He makes it so easy on me with zero expectations, but I couldn't let the day go by without saying something about this amazing person that I married. He is truly remarkable and I am amazed everyday that I got to marry him. He is everything I am not , and more. He is so fun and game and low stress. He is interesting and expressive. He is so unique and so loving. He takes care of me so well. He loves me just the way I am, but by example always makes me want to grow and progress and become more than i am. I love him for that. He is also such a great Dad, and each of our kids have a unique and amazing relationship with him. He is so good at that. He is one of the most capable people on the earth. Can do or figure out anything. People lean on him and trust him for that. It is alot of pressure sometimes I am sure.

Happy Day Big Ry. We love you!!

Lately

Molly has been telling people a secret lately. She only shares it with a select few people, but if you're lucky, she will whisper it in your ear. The lucky ones know the secret. After careful consideration, I have decided to share Molly's secret with a wider audience. If you are lucky enough to have her whisper in your ear, you will hear this: "Families can be togeder foreber."



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Rex had to share a scripture in sharing time last week. I found a good scripture for him- it was the one where the Savior commends the righteous for feeding him when he was hungry, giving drink when thirsty, clothing him when naked, etc. Rex read it through a few times and approved it to be his scripture. But after some more thought, he said "But Dad, I don't want to say the naked part."



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I was talking with Lucy one morning about what she had done the day before. She had had a friend over, so I asked her what they had done together. She said "We just did two things. We played princesses in Rex's room. Then, we played princesses in my room."



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The night before Thanksgiving, Macy was really stressed about all that she had to get done. I asked her if she had bought all of the things we would need to make an apple pie. She got more stressed and asked what goes into an apple pie. I said "apples, sugar, cinnamon . . . " She said "well, I bought some apples . . ." I kept going " . . . little lemon" She gave me an irritated look and said "Don't call me that."

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Molly has had an obsession with bad guys for the last few months. Sometimes we'll be out and about, and she'll see someone walk by and tell one of us "thass a ba-guy!" She finds ba-guys in strange places. A mural of the Savior in the Greek Orthodox Church, a drawing of a long-haired girl in a kid's booklet, a neighbor walking his dog and my driver's license photo. She doesn't explain what these people have in common, but she's quite confident when she senses a ba-guy. You could be next.



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The other day, I was wearing a coon-skin cap that I found at Macy's Mom's house. I decided to wear it to the park with my family. Macy found it repulsive and asked me to take it off. I said "I kind of like it- it fits my personality." She got very serious and said "Then you don't fit my personality."

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The other day, I was asking the kids what sorts of things they believe in. Here is the list:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Our Thankful Trees

Lucy wearing her pilgrim hat and apron she made at school. She was more than delighted about it.


We hosted a Thanksgiving dinner with some friends a couple of weeks ago. Two Thanksgiving dinners is always better than one.

Dare To Design

My Friend Courtney is a finalist for Shabbyapple's Dare to Design contest. Her dress is by far the best in my opinion. Go on and vote for her dress so we can get it made and then buy it in ShabbyApple's spring line.




To vote for Courtney's dress, go HERE!

Molly Songs

I recorded Molly singing a few songs last night, to make sure we hold on to two-year old Molly. Here are a few of her songs.

I Am a Child of God from Ryan on Vimeo.

I Love To See the Temple from Ryan on Vimeo.

Lukie's Boat/Happy and You Know It from Ryan on Vimeo.

Sunbeam from Ryan on Vimeo.

Halloween 2009

Here is Rex the wizard. After Rex considered 10 options of what he wanted to be for Halloween he finally chose a wizard..which was great, but finding a wizard cape that he and I agreed upon was another story. My cute friend Kerstin came to my rescue when she heard that I was trying to find one. She went out, found some amazingly perfect wizard fabric and sewed a cape and hat for Rex. It was perfect!

My girls were much easier this year, and were little witches.



This is Ryan in my Grandpa's scary, scary mask. Even though I know it is Ryan I die of fright everytime he walks around the house in it.



Lucy's preschool had a cute parade and program. Here is Lucy , Molly and I doing the Monster Mash.

Lucy and her cute little friends



And, here is the amazing BYU vs. TCU game we attended and were so excited for. Too bad the Cougs did not even show up! It is always so fun to make the trip to Provo. So many good memories. I love that place for some reason.



Molly stayed back during the game and was having a grand time with her cousins Abe and Belle. She now cannot stopping talking about Eliza and Josh-u-a. She loves them.