The link.. Until I can figure out how to put the actual video on here.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23092857

Aliya sang at a local festival this last Thursday. She sang When Christmas Comes To Town from The Polar Express. It's a song she has sang for our family many times. She has sang many solos before, but this is her first time singing a whole song by herself. She did awesome. She was very nervous. Aliya has always had a beautiful voice. Even when she was young, memorizing songs and staying on beat came very easy for her. Now I find out that she has very good pitch for her age and she doesn't miss a note. And her ear is incredible. Which I have to admit, I have no idea what that means, but it's what her teachers tell me. I just nod and say "oh, that's nice." :) I hope you enjoy!

Leaves are my favorite!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. My parents and my brother James came down to celebrate the holiday. My Mom cooked Thanksgiving dinner in my house. I know it sounds weird, but certain members of my family are incredibly picky and would not eat if I were to cook. That was fine by me considering I hate to cook.

I took the kids over to Neal's Mom and Dads house earlier in the day. Neal worked a shift at the fire station and was not able to spend the day with us. He did get to come in the fire truck for a bit to eat a little food with us. Neal's Mom and Dad had a whole backyard full of leaves. I helped Neal's Mom with dinner for a whole hour without interruption. They had a blast. The kids built a fort with the leaves and gathered piles to jump in. I wish leaves could be on the ground all year long. It sure would make trips to Grandma and Grandpa's a little easier.

We had a great day. We ate two dinners. Which is always a good thing. I am glad I got to spend four days with my family. I am not to sad to see them go cause I know they will be back for Christmas.

Bad News Bear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl_AXwe1aSE

Hey everyone! Check this link out. Aliya was in a commercial for a friend in our ward. She is just in it for a couple seconds, but it's pretty cute. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know we all have a lot to be thankful for.

I think we did good.

We got our family pictures back. All of them turned out so cute. I did not post any of the contenders for our Christmas card, but I will after Christmas. Chances are you will all get one. You will just have to be surprised. Enjoy!

=

My kids are the cutest in the whole world.

It's little things like this that make me love being a Mom.

A note from my Aliya Girl.


I like to sellabrate your love everyday by giving you a hug and kiss. I sellabrate the day of your Birthday with love in every present. I love you.
P.S. Love Aliya


She is constantly writing me little notes or songs. I love it. I was very proud of her cause she spelled every word right, but celebrate. It's a hard one. :)

Tag, I'm it.

Well, I have been tagged from my good friend Shanna. Thanks Shanna! (I am being sarcastic, if you can't tell.) I am just kidding. It should be fun.

So, I guess I have to write six things about myself and then it's my turn to tag six people. Hmmm... I wonder if I even have six people to tag. I think I do. Here we go.

1. I am incredibly clumsy. I try my best to hide the fact that I can't walk too long before I trip over my own feet. I have a hard time keeping anything in my hands. Even when I was young. If there was ice in front of the school I prepared myself for embarrassment because it was inevitable that I was going to slip on it. I constantly feel like a complete dork when I am around people I have just met.

2. I love my family. I would rather be with them more than anyone. My Mom and Sister are my best friends. I talk to my brothers at least once a day. All three of them. When I told people my parents were moving away, I am not sure anyone understood what a big deal it was, but Neal. We all do everything together and to not have that half is very hard.

3. I moved a lot while I was young. About every two years, sometimes sooner. Now about every two years, I get a little antsy. I have to remind myself that I love this house and I don't want to move.

4. I love to read and because I have three kids, it is sometimes impossible to do so. Everyday, I go to Aliya's school about twenty to thirty minutes before I am supposed to pick her up. I turn on a movie for the kids and we sit in the car and I read. Weird, I know.

5. I was a Wendy's employee in my younger days and there is a certain way to apply condiments to a burger. To this day, whenever I am making a sandwich or a burger I always put on the mustard in the shape of a "W" . Just out of habit.

6. I also have a slight case of OCD, Shanna. Although mine is not in the form of being anal at keeping my house super clean, of course. It rears it's ugly head when I have to do something a certain way. Such as, grocery shopping. I have to start at the back of the store and work my way up. Anyone who is with me is kindly suggested to do the same. Drove my Mom crazy at first, but I bet she shops that way now. Also, the way things are put away in my fridge. Also in the direction I go to get somewhere. Drives me crazy to have Neal drive cause he takes all the wrong streets. Well, I think these things fall under control issues, not OCD.

Well, there are a few weird facts about me. I am going to tag Misty, Erin, Nancy, James, Josh and Ashley.

"Mommy will get you an ice cream cone if you just look forward and smile. "

We are taking family pictures tomorrow. This was last years Christmas picture. My friend Brooke took this picture. She did her best with what she had to work with. Tired kids, a cranky Dad and a stressed out Mom. Landon is sticking his tongue out. Brooke edited a different head on Aliya from a different picture. Which looks awkward to me cause I know its not the right head. And, well Grant is just not cooperating at all. I hope tomorrow will go a little better. Brooke has recently had a baby, so we are trying someone different. I am just not going to worry about it. No pressure. If we get a good picture, great. If not, Oh well!! I hope I can remember this tomorrow while I am yelling at my kids to please just all look forward and smile. :) I found more pictures Brooke took of the kids and thought they were cute. Please keep me in your thoughts tomorrow as I attempt to have a good attitude about family pictures.

I was looking forward to playing with it also!

It happened. The one toy Aliya was so excited to get for Christmas has been recalled. It's a popular toy called Aqua Dots. Apparently the tiny balls, if swallowed, have the same chemicals and reaction as a powerful date rape drug. There have been at least five cases between the US and Australia where the kids are in comas or have other symptoms because of the toy. I bought the toy the other day at Costco. I guess we will be taking it back. I just wonder how they could of missed that while making the toy. You would think they would have tested the chemicals to make sure they would not be harmful if swallowed. Kids swallow stuff all the time. I guess time will tell whether it was negligence or just isolated incidents. I feel sad for the kids and their parents who have to find out the hard way that a toy needs to be recalled. I will have to find something equally as crafty and fascinating to get Aliya for Christmas.

Election day!

Today my boys and I headed down to the elementary school and voted for our future city council members. Election day is always very exciting for me. I remember the first year I was able to vote. It was the 1997 presidential elections between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. My Mom took me down to the polling station and there I exercised my right to vote. I felt so important. I knew most likely my vote would not be the deciding vote, but it was exciting to be apart of something bigger. To hope that maybe my vote would matter. I have kind of become a political junkie. I could listen to the debates for hours. Although I have a hard time following sometimes, it's still fascinating. I am very anxious for the coming 2008 elections. It is going to be very interesting for sure. Well, here is a picture of Grant and I after I voted. We both have our stickers. Landon was there also, but the man who took our picture wanted us staring directly into the sun so our faces would shine, he said. Landon opted not to be in the picture for he does not like anything shining directly into his eyes. We humored the man taking our picture and did not protest. Our faces definitely shine.

I love it!

This picture is so funny. It is funny to me, but I don't know if it's the "you just had to be there" type of funny. One night last month I decided to let the kids eat their dinner outside. We took a giant blanket out in our front yard and had a picnic. It had just started to cool off at night and it was actually bearable to be out there. It was starting to get dark and I told the kids we needed to head inside. They begged to stay out a few more minutes. Right when I snapped this picture I was telling them about the bats and how they like to dive at your head. I love their little scared faces. They were all terrified and ran for the door. I took them on the front porch and we watched the bats fly around for about twenty minutes and then the bats were gone. When it was dark enough Neal and I took them back outside and made a bed on the grass and we looked up at the stars. I showed them my favorite constellation and they chose theirs. It was a great night. It is simple moments like this Neal and I will never forget.

"Is Dad really in charge?"

My kids just astound me sometimes. I have no idea why they do the things they do. I was reminded of a story about Landon the other day. He was probably two and we were at the DMV getting my license renewed. It had been a year past the expiration date and so I had to take the test and everything. Grant was still little enough to be happy no matter what we did and Landon was being very good. Charming everyone around him. While I was waiting for my turn to take my picture Landon was dancing around being so cute. The lady who was working was getting a kick out of him. She proceeded to say "Oh, your little boy is the cutest thing I have ever seen." At that moment while I was about to respond proudly Landon decided to stop dead in his tracks and spit on the floor. I looked at him and had no words. Why? What would posses him to just spit on the floor like that? I almost wanted to laugh, but I could tell that the lady that thought Landon was the cutest thing in the world, was not very amused.
Landon has learned the art of reverse psychology. He threw a rock at the window and it broke. He did not tell us about it until we discovered the shattered glass. He then fessed up. I told him he was going to have to be grounded for two days from going outside to play. (thinking about this punishment, I might do something different next time. It was more of a punishment for me.) He then looked at Neal and I and said "YES, I love to be grounded." Last night Landon did not eat his dinner so I told him that if he doesn't eat his dinner not to ask for snacks later. He then says, "I hate snacks. Thanks Mom." I think he thinks it is working. He is very proud of his new discovery.
Grant has been my easiest kid, until now. With Landon I always knew when he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. He is so loud. Grant on the other hand is very quiet and fast when he is being mischievous. I seriously left the room for two minutes. When I returned, Grant had dumped every last ounce of the dishwasher detergent all over my kitchen and laundry room. We shop at Costco, so there was a lot. He is constantly getting into things. He is not a mean kid, but when we are at the park I have to watch him like a hawk. He will go up to a kid and just pour a cup of sand on their head and just walk away. Not even a kid being mean to him, just some random nice kid. He is constantly disappearing from me. He will walk out of the house without telling me. Which often times ends up with me running outside around the neighborhood in a towel in front of a bunch of construction workers.
Aliya is a girl. That is about all I have to say. She is emotional and irrational and very sensitive. Everything is the end of the world for her. I am puzzled at some of the things she says. She is a talker and she asks a million questions about everything. Which in theory is good and healthy, but is a little overwhelming at times. On one of my visits to Seattle to visit my sister, Neal stayed home with the kids. I got a phone call one night and it was Aliya. She says "Mom, I need to ask you a question. Is Dad really in charge?? " I about died. Aliya is the kind of kid that has to discover everything on her own. She will not take my word for it. I admit that it's what I love about her, but might be a problem when she gets to the dreaded teenage years.
Some times all of these crazy things my kids do make me want to pull my hair out, but most of the time it just makes me laugh.