I'm sure you'll all agree that 99% of commercials are almost embarrassingly unrealistic. But have you ever seen that Hallmark commercial where the kids are up in the attic going through all the Christmas ornaments, reminiscing about past Christmases and the memories tied to each of the ornaments? Well, that commercial--at least for me--is totally realistic. In fact, this evening, my kids and I could have been that commercial--except that we don't have an attic. But we took down and looked through several boxes of Christmas stuff --just as kind of a Christmas preview--and we all loved it. We even plugged in a few strands of lights to see if they worked. Nope. And despite the fact that those boxes are now back up in my closet, come November 27th, they'll ALL be coming out for good! For me, the countdown to the day I put up all the Christmas stuff is more exciting than the countdown to Christmas Day. Oh, that reminds me! I thought of a great business idea! I was thinking about the fact that as people get older, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get out and put up a Christmas tree, etc--especially if they no longer have children at home to do the work. And here in Florence, that's pretty much everyone. So I was thinking how fun it would be to start a Christmas decorating service where I could be hired to go to someone's home and get out and put up all of their Christmas stuff! Wouldn't that be fabulous? I could even include a take-down service after the holiday. I'm serious. I really think I could pay for Christmas this way. Anyway...

Rain drops on roses

Forget whiskers on kittens and and all that other stuff. Do you want to know what my favorite things are? Well, by Friday, December 4th, I will have decided, because on that night, I am having my second Favorite Things party. And man, I can't wait. Hope you'll be there.

Happy Birthday

Saturday was Brian's 31st birthday and my little sister Audrey's...hmmm...how old are you, anyway, Audge? Anyway, Saturday was their birthday and today is Kat's. So here's a little birthday message for you all. I love all three of you.

Positive

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

Title Shmitle

As many of you know, Melissa's youngest brother, Robbie, passed away last week as a result of a long-boarding accident. I still can't believe she was in the same situation I was in eight years ago. It's horrible... But I remembered how wonderful, comforting and uplifting it was at the time of Scotty's death to see the stake center fill with people coming to honor him. I remember being so grateful for each one of them. Most of them knew and loved Scotty, but some of them were there because they knew and loved us--his family--and wanted to show support. I decided I wanted to be one of those for Melissa, mainly, but also for the rest of her family--many of whom I've known for some time. It's interesting, because despite the irony, the funerals I've attended have been some of the most uplifting, inspiring meetings I've ever been to. I've always left being filled with gratitude for the opportunity I have to love and be loved, strengthened in my testimony of the love of our Heavenly Father and the mercy manifested in the atonement and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ, and renewed in my resolve to be a better person. You know what I mean? Anyway...Robbie's funeral was no different. I feel so grateful to have been there. Melissa's always been a great friend to me, you know, so I want to do my best to stick by her forever. I'm grateful she has a large extended family to share the burden and the memories. I'm grateful she has a wonderful husband who adores her. And I'm grateful she has a testimony and faith to sustain her.

It's funny, because for being such a short trip (only two days) I was able to spend time with my aunt Mary (during a layover in Phoenix), with my Grandma and Grandpa Hatch, and with my aunt Becky and my cousin Allias--all of whom I rarely get to see. It was really wonderful. And because I was so delighted at the trip, I decided to treat myself with Christmas music on the three hour trip home from Portland...OK! I listened to it on the way up, too, but still....

The whole trip made me recognize all over again how lucky I am to have Brian--who didn't hesitate for a second to stay home with the kids so that I could go.

Anyway...

This Halloween was a good one--even without my fake eyelashes. And for possibly the first Halloween of my entire life, the highlight was not the candy. It was the fact that I got to see my kids run in their first races. I seriously felt like my heart was going to burst. I was so, so proud to be their mother, and to be a mother at all. Janey and Dan's race was just a hundred yards or so, but man, they (or Janey, rather) ran it well. She kept looking over at me the whole way with that darling little smile that squeezes apart her chubby cheeks. I recorded the whole race in two segments and accidentally erased the second part. Ahhhhhh!!!!
And Camp was as proud and delighted as can be to be cheered for. I think he ran the 5K in about 43 minutes or so. Amazing. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Later, we went trick-or-treating down on Bay Street, and then last night we stopped by the police station (where Camp's primary teacher was handing out candy) before hitting up our neighborhood.

Thanksgiving, here we come!





















































































P.S. I finished my chair. I didn't get to have Becky make it perfect with me because the additional material didn't arrive in time, but it will do for now. What do you think?














Also, here is another video from when Becky was here. Have I already said what a fun guest she is? The best. She has a blast with EVERYTHING, which makes everything a blast.

Can you smell it?!!

In case you haven't noticed, the holiday season is totally upon us. Can't you just smell it when you walk outside?! Yippee! And as if the holiday season didn't already come with hundreds of sugary, fattening vices, I've had a new one overcome me: caramel apples---oooohhhhh...While Becky was here, we did our best to imitate the apple pie caramel apples sold at Disneyland. And we did a pretty fine job, I tell you. And we didn't pay $6.95 a piece, either.
But no worries--I've still managed to maintain a balanced diet. I'm sure the birthday cake and ice cream I've consumed equals the caramel and white chocolate, and we can't forget the perfectly wholesome apple underneath all that goodness.
So I'm good.
And Brian's good too, because he ran a stinkin marathon! He did great and I loved cheering for him. When we finally saw him at mile 23, you would never have known that he wasn't just out for a casual morning jog. He didn't look like he was hurting at all. I told you he's amazing. And he said that it had been hard, but still a good enough experience that he'd like to do it again someday.
















And Camp's good too, because he had a birthday! My little homie is six years old. Crazy. He had a great day. We made little ghost suckers to take to his class members and he was sung to at school and on the bus. And he had a bunch of boys over for a party, and Becky made him an awesome rocket cake and he got a new skateboard. The only thing that could have made the day better would be for Collin to have been there. :( Collin! Come back!! And in addition to just having had a birthday, Camp is training for his first 5k. Isn't that awesome?! The local booster club is sponsoring a 5k on Halloween morning to raise money for the middle and high school athletic programs, and Camp is totally stoked about it. And you know what I think he is most excited about? Having the rest of us cheer for him. Like I've said--I don't mess around when it comes to cheering. I seriously cannot wait. That boy is going to feel my love.
















And Danin's good, too, because she had a birthday, too. Yep. My little shuga plum is two. She also got a fancy cake, but no party. I don't believe in throwing parties for kids who are not old enough to know the difference.












































Jane, though? Yeah, she knows the difference, so being the only kid that hasn't had a birthday yet is pretty tough for her. She just can't wait till her "burh-day". Poor girl. I'm gonna make sure to make it a really fun one for her this year. Other than that, she continues to LOVE school. I don't love it quite as much as she does because when she's gone, there is noone to entertain Dan. She is so good with Danin. They play all day long together.

















P.S. It was super fun to have Brooke visit. I threw together a baby shower for her and we had a good time. I remember her saying something like, "So this is really what your life is really like? (referring to the kids' constant craziness) Um..yep. Aren't you excited, Brooke?! No, I'm just kidding. You will love it.




























P.P.S.
While in Vegas, we got to go out with Justin and Rachel. So fun. Oh, and here's me in my new yard sale boots.

Who's the wild man now?!

I just finished watching Rudy. Man. I hate to say it, but watching Rudy elicits the same emotions in me as sitting through a really good testimony meeting. You know what I mean? My heart gets caught up in my throat and I'm flooded with memories and self evaluation and lessons learned throughout my life. Wanna hear a story?
When I was a freshman at Cimarron, I went out for the track team. I had always been a decent runner. And although I'd never been the fastest, I had always been able to at least hold my own up there toward the front of the pack in elementary and middle school races. I had enjoyed the competition at that level --you just put on your tennis shoes for P.E. and ran. There were no grueling practices or zone/state titles on the line. There were no coaches bearing down on you. It was all just for fun. So I was a little disillusioned by the experience I had going into track in high school. Being a freshman made things scary enough, but being new to that side of town all together made things even scarier. And I wasn't just a new freshman from the other side of town, I was a new freshman with no teeth from the other side of town. Oh yes. It was during this lovely time in my life that I had had my two lateral incisors (is that right--the ones right next to your front teeth?)pulled and braces put on just my bottom teeth and my two lone front teeth. Oh, my heavens. It was horrible. Every time I mustered the courage to talk to someone, they just stared at my teeth the entire time my mouth was open. And I didn't have even a hint of a tan, and I didn't wear boxers and a tank top to practice. I just felt lonely and totally out of place. I remember praying my way through the initial practices and tryouts--hoping things would become more enjoyable once the real competition started. Nope. I was so dang nervous at track meets that I couldn't even breath regularly.
I did pretty well, though--for a freshman, anyway...I remember this one time when I asked Mr. Walker if he would take me out of the mile and only put me in the 800. He agreed reluctantly, but told me that if I didn't run the 800 faster than I ever had, he would put me in the 2 mile. Well, I ran, I tell ya. And as I rounded the last corner of the track toward the straight-away, I could hear my mom screaming from the crowd, "You got her, Ann! You got her!" It hadn't occurred to me that I might be able to pass the senior girl just ahead of me. Those words infused power into my legs, though, and I passed her, finishing in second place overall--first place for Cimarron. I remember coach being so excited for me and asking me why I hadn't always run like that. Looking back, I wish I had. And I wish I could tell you that from that day on, I ran harder and gave it my all, but I didn't. In fact, I ended up quitting right before our zone tournament. I was too tired and too afraid. And I never ran another season. Sad, huh? Pathetic is more like it.
When I decided to run the St. George Marathon three years ago, I did it in large part to redeem myself from having been a quitter in high school. I wanted to do something--for once in my life--that was hard--and hang in there 'till the end.
Brian runs the St. George Marathon this Saturday and I am so proud of him. And like I said a few posts back--Brian is not a runner. No, he is running the marathon because he is the kind of person who has always pushed himself to do things that are hard for him. Brian's high school sports history is quite different from mine. His is a much better story. He was just like Rudy. As a little fat kid, he went out for football, wrestling, and track his freshman year--and then again his sophomore year, and then again his junior year, and finally, his senior year. And you know what? Finally, his senior year, he contributed to a winning season for each of those sports. What is so amazing to me, though, is that he hung in there and kept working and pushing himself for all of those other years when he wasn't very good. I remember that while we were dating, I would find little pieces of paper in his jacket pockets that said things like run five miles, or do fifty push-ups, or whatever, and he would pull one out regularly and do what was written. It impressed me then and it still impresses me. I want to be that kind of person.
Right now, Brian is asleep in his work cloths on the floor beside my chair. He was super tired after having worked straight through the night twice this week. But come Saturday, he is going to do great, because he is amazing. And I am going to love cheering for him.

Oh! You know what the best part of Rudy is? The part at the very end where the black guy watches Rudy sack the quarter back and then claps hard three times before turning away...I'm about to bear my testimony just thinking about it, I swear...