Erik's (not first) haircut

Erik's hair was getting too long. He was getting a rooster tail in back, and I was wondering where his ears had gone, so Tim got the clippers out and gave him a buzz. It was pretty cute, Erik loves getting his hair cut. Usually I take him to a salon, and he sits there nice and quiet and let's the beautician cut his hair. (His idea of leaning his head forward so she can get to his neck, is to open his mouth wider :) ) Erik didn't appreciate the fact that he was COVERED in hair. But he is a pretty smart little boy, he recognized the resemblence between him, with his arms, legs, and stomach covered in hair, and Daddy. Tim may not appreciate the fact that this is now public knowledge...sorry honey! This isn't the first time Tim's hair has been discussed by our children. My 5 year old daughter, who is also a smarty pants (too smart for her own (or our?) good sometimes), once told him that he is a mammal because he is covered in fur. We got a real laugh from that one.

About 8 inches

Well, we got some snow last night. This is a view out the front door of our house, Tim definately got his exercise shoveling this morning. I love the beauty of snow and how it lays such a pristine blanket over the world. It makes everything seem so clean, and pure. MELT ALREADY!! My mom is driving down from Missoula tomorrow morning, and I'm VERY concerned about her safety driving that stretch between Butte and DuBois. Very Trecherous. If you have a second, say a little prayer that she gets here safe. If this snow could just go away for 24 hours, and come back after that, it'd be great, in fact we could have a blizzard after that and I'd be happy. That's not too much to ask is it??? Well, I may not be appreciating the snow as much as I should, but the kids sure are. They love it! I think they especially love that they get a mug of hot chocolate after playing in the cold. I think Erik has taken to putting on all the gear (hat, gloves, snowpants, snowboots), stepping out the door, coming right back in and asking for hot chocolate with marshamallows. He hasn't realized yet that he can just ask, and not have to go through the wardrobe fiasco. Oh, well, it's cute. Ashley has been wanting badly to make a snowman, unfortunately the snow we've been getting is the dry powdery type. Not at all suitable for making snowmen. :(

All Music-ed out!!!

After this Sunday I refuse to have anything else to do with music until after the holidays. Usually the music is one of my favorite things about Christmas. This year I'm all music-ed out! I have 8 piano and voice students that I work with (which I get a break from until the 5th of January!), and....I participated in the choir for our Stake Christmas Music Program, helped organize and plan our Ward Music Sacrament Meeting for Christmas as well as am singing in the choir for that, singing in a small group, and conducting the YM and YW in a song. I also helped organize and plan our Relief Society Christmas Music Program which is also this Sunday, and am singing in a trio for that program. Ahhhh! I LOVE music, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. On our sleigh ride next week, we're required to sing for our supper. I told Grandma she could count on me for some loud clapping and whooping, but I'm not going to sing a note after this Sunday. I refuse!

SNOW!!

Yea!! Finally, snow! Well, only a couple of inches, but still...SNOW! I am of the mindset that if it's going to be cold...it better be snowin'. Just cold is miserable, especially here in Idaho. I don't know what it is that makes Idaho so bitterly cold in the winter, but it's the kind of cold where you step outside, inhale, and your nose hairs freeze over. Don't go outside with wet hair, it'll break off at the ends. When Tim and I first got married, we spent Christmas down here with his family. His mom gave us one of those fish bowls that have a plant in it and a beta fish, telling us that if we could keep the plant and fish alive for a year we'd be ready to have kids. I'll bet you can see it coming. We stepped outside her house, walked to our car and got in. In the time it took us to get to the car......the plant died. So far I'm doing better with my kids, Ashley's made it 5 years. Cross your fingers.
Tim's family has a tradition of going up to Mountain River Ranch for a sleigh ride and dinner every year after Christmas. We've experienced the gammot- no snow so they put the wheels on for a wagon ride, wet rainy mud bogging rides, and beautiful snowy sleigh rides. I'm PRAYING for the beautiful snowy sleigh ride this year. Keep the snow coming!!!

Makes 15 Dozen??!!

So, the other day I went to Sam's club to get some groceries. I saw a box of sugar cookie mix, and was immediately craving sugar cookies (that happens a lot lately) so I bought it. Well I got the box home and noticed it said: Makes 15 dozen cookies. What in the heck am I going to do with 15 dozen cookies, I thought to myself. I know....Have a sugar cookie decorating party! So I called up about 8-10 of my friends who have little kids who aren't in school yet, and invited them over decorate sugar cookies! We had a blast. These pictures were taken soon after we started, so SOME of the kids are still at the tables instead of up playing in my kids' rooms. About halfway through the kids decided that would be more fun, and the sugar cookie decorating became the duty of the moms, which is how it's supposed to be I think. Mom's in the kitchen decorating cookies and chatting and kids playing....sounds like the right dynamic. Anyway, it was a blast! May have to become an annual event.

Amy's Christmas list

So for the benefit of my husband, who has absolutely no idea what to get me for Christmas, here it is....The published copy of Amy's Christmas list.
- the baby to quit kicking my organs and stick with the front of my belly
- Mitt Romney to be president
- a clean house with no effort by me
- perfectly behaved children
- 2 (count em...2) workable showers
- my family to live closer to me
- more snow
- shipping to be cheaper to Mongolia
- world peace
- and I guess if those other things aren't workable....a bosch mixer would be okay.

Random Thought

What's the point of writing down birthmarks and especially locations of birthmarks when kids are little. My son has a freckle on the back of his leg that keeps moving closer and closer to the back of his knee. I used to have a freckle right under my bellybutton, but after 3 pregnancies, that freckle is about 3 inches to the right now. Tacee has a birthmark on her.....well, anyway, you get my drift. I sure hope cops don't put too much stock in birthmarks as identifying information when they're looking for a suspect.