3am...and the 4th Angel

Ok - so at 3:15 am my best bud Jenny shows up and off we head to Kohl's to start our Christmas shopping. Our Goal is to finish TODAY!!!! Usually we come pretty close. So we wait at Kohl's for about half an hour, with part of the Morris clan (Callie, Kara, and Annie) and shoot in and out in under 15 mins. See that is the trick to Black Friday, in and out really fast, other wise you get stuck waiting in line to check out for an hour or more. If you want to shop and look around then go back later after the bargain shoppers have moved on. So on to Target for an unmentionable (you never know who reads this:)!) we decided to forgo the stores that opened at 5am to get the good stuff at 6am. Not as cold this year but still a little chilly. Anyway, after all of the doorbusters we then shop for the gifts we are not sure of and by 8 or 9 am we are a little punchy!!

So I believe Charlie lost one of his angels... dig the denim jumpsuit, complete with tie belt and big bell bottoms!! I swear we almost peed our pants!!! I had to take the above picture with my phone and with the awesome help, in the Jacklyn Smith pose, of the gorgeous Jenny Denton!!

What is it about good friends that bring out the need to either make fun of the ugly stuff or search out and try on the really cute stuff?? I really think shopping is more fun with someone who gets your sense of humor.

Anyway, great day until about 2pm, home to make sure all is well and off to a fun wedding reception and then dessert at Sonja's. Full day and Full life. Love it!

Wrestling, Black Friday, ETC...

Dallin had his first wrestling match last night. He did so great - He tech pinned the guy. For those not wrestling schooled that means he scored 15 or more points than the other guy and they stop the match and declared the dude PINNED! Dallin was stoked. Mountain View handily won both the JV and Varsity meet.

On to Black Friday....I love this day!!! My good friend Jenny and I have been shopping for years on this special day!! As the week progresses we get more excited as we plan how to outwit the others!!!! I found this great site here http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=1014365 This is an excel spreadsheet, you can sort by price, item or store. It is so helpful!! I am so glad Kohl's is opening at 4am - that way it is out of the way and we can go on to the next one that opens at 5am. I know, crazy, but this is a tradition and Jenny and I don't feel right if we are not out there. Over the years we have scored the best deals...$20 gameboys...$45 color gameboys a few years later..$5 legos...I can't list them all :) and frozen our selves a few times. I can't believe it is raining! Oh well, it just adds to the fun.

Things at our house are never dull - Logan was wrestling (OK, messing around) with his cousin who will remain nameless on this blog for now, and was dropped on his head...concussion - (at the Denton's house, what is it about their house? broken arm, concussion,....) he has been out of commission this week, which is kind of sad since he was scheduled to wrestle (really) in the Grand Canyon State Games this weekend.

Kens brother Mike and his family are coming for Thanksgiving, we are hoping the girls will stay with us so they get a good visit with Brenn. She is out numbered with Sonja's 4 boys and our 2, at least Mike evens it out with his 5 girls!

We had a fun night at Linda's for the December birthdays. We at Turducken - turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken stuffed with pork stuffing. It was really good, part of it was really hot and spicy and the rest was delicious. We enjoyed the adult only atmosphere (we don't get that too often). I have such a great family, we always seem to have a good time when we get together.

Tagged: "I am the luckiest woman alive"

Ok - Sera tagged me and I have had to think about it for a little while. Since this has been the year of Pestilence and Famine, I have felt a little picked on, but here goes....

1. I am married to Ken...Gma Petersen always said the most important decision she ever made was who to marry, and that she did a really good job of it. I think the same thing, Ken works so hard, especially since the a fore mentioned year, and he is willing to try most of my outlandish schemes, including but not limited to: roofing, scraping and texturing ceilings, laying floor, taking out tile, going to Spain, building a gun cabinet (soon, I hope), and taking out an engine and replacing it with a new one. He still thinks I look the same as I did when he married me 20 years ago and that I am beautiful, what's not to LOVE about him!!!

2. I have really great kids...yes they are ALL TEENAGERS, but they are good kids who still tell me they love me and will hug me in front of their friends. They are all sure of their testimonies and share them with me.

3. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ to help me be a better person. I am sure in the knowledge of what comes next and that my family is eternal. What is more lucky than that?!

4. My Grandma Young lives with me. She has been the best Grandma ever!! Lots of sleepovers when I was a kid, lots of crafts, cards, candy, popcorn and dogs!! I have been so lucky to have her here for almost 4 years, I am never lonely, and she has the best sense of humor... if I am yelling at my kids and totally frustrated, I can hear her laughing at me and at the situation in my house. This never fails to help me see the other side and relax and enjoy my kids. She has taught my kids to serve and how to treat an older person, that they are people too. She has been such a blessing in our home, and in my entire life.

5. I have indoor plumbing and hot water!!! I know this is not quite as deep as the others but.........with that comes a washer and dryer that do all the work themselves, a dishwasher (not just the kids), and a shower whenever I feel the need.

Indeed I am the Luckiest Woman Alive.


I tag Lisa Cole and Jenny Denton

Car Repair

So how many men does it take to change a light bulb??

or get out 1 engine??

Or should the title be

"Ken knee deep in Jethro"
Notice that both Kai and Jake are underneath unhooking the transmission.

Brian - my adopted step-brother (ok my dad's friend who is usually at their house) was amazing in his knowledge of how to do this project. I am sure it would not have gone as smoothly or as quickly if he had not donated his time on Saturday!! Thanks Brian.

I tried to get a picture of Dallin sitting under the truck and hunched over with Kai and Jake underneath too but he was too fast - those boys labored really hard!!!

Success!!!!!

Halloween, Football, ETC

Ryan and Risa Naughton welcomed Abby Ann into this world on Thursday the 30th of October.

Isn't she really cute - Ryan has the cutest kids!! I can't wait until Christmas to see her and attend Garrisons baptism.

Football has ruled our Saturdays for the last few months - Logan is #76 - here he is running in with his best bud Ben Denton #74. Logan loves to play football which really pleases his Dad who also loved to play football!

Logan plays defensive line - hard to believe since he only weights about 90 lbs. He id 3rd from the right on the line.

Wrestling starts today for both Logan and Dallin, seems like we are always somewhere watching some sport. I think they will both be sore for the next week or so!

Halloween was fun this year - Brenn complained we did not have enough decorations and the ones we do have are old. So I went and bought this web and 3 scary spiders (Brenn hates spiders). I thought the front porch looked great - notice the dead plant, it died just in time to be used for decoration.

I even dressed up the dogs!! Zara loved her pirate costume - it is hard to find one big enough for her so I just winged it (so what else is new!).

Fritz thought he was hot stuff - the minute I put this on him he was so careful - he left the hat on for a long time, I was surprised at that. Of course Zara would not leave Fritz's hat alone but we tried. The kids who came to the door thought it was fun and I think they were a little less afraid of Zara the great big dog.

No pictures of my kids (does that say something or what) actually they didn't dress up much for Halloween - the older kids went to the football game, Dallin did wear a wig, but I did not get a picture, and Brenn just tried to look cute (she always succeeds at that). Logan went home with a girl!!!!! and went to her neighborhood party and dressed as a spy. He wanted to be Monk (from the TV show) so I bought him a suit, but he did not think anyone would know so he was a spy with a suit and a pair of sunglasses.

Since this is supposed to be my journal of sorts I need to record what happened after Halloween.

I want to preface this with, Is there anyone who knows us, who do you think is still up at 12:30am? All with one voice "KEN!!" Okay in our family I go to bed at 10 pm - Ken stays up until all hours, he is a true night owl. Okay, so everyone knows this EXCEPT our son Dallin.

So it is 12:30 am Halloween night, Jethro (Dallins car) breaks down, no oil, (yes, another obvious fact that escaped our son) and who does he call?? Dad?? NO, of course not we call Mom, who is asleep. Really, REALLY, asleep. What can I do for him? I tell him to call DAD! And Dad, being the superdad he is, went and rescued him.

Well, we believe Jethro threw a rod, (yes it is still the year of pestilence and famine at the Cole house), so the next morning we call my Dad, the engine repair guy, and decided Dallin could do to learn how to rebuild an engine. Too bad Rob DeWyze doesn't live a lot closer!!

We will see how it all turns out - I will document with pictures and fun comments from this peanut gallery!