Be Afraid

Most frightening words I heard today:

"Mom!  We're having a tea party in the bathroom!"

Oh my.  Should I even go in there?  What kind of doom awaits me...

Does anybody want to borrow some kids for awhile so I don't lose my mind?

The Deep Freeze

We've been in a terrible deep freeze for the last couple of weeks.  There were very few days it was even above zero.  I'm already sick of winter and it hasn't even started yet!

Then finally yesterday it was about 17 degrees, I think.  We didn't even wear coats.  That's why I laughed when my mom sent me this.  It is completely true.

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .BRRRRR!!

65 above zero:

Floridians turn on the heat.

People in Montana plant gardens.

60 above zero:

Californians shiver uncontrollably.

People in Montana sunbathe.

50 above zero:

Italian & English cars won't start.

People in Montana drive with the windows down.

40 above zero:

Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.

People in Montana throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:

New York landlords finally turn up the heat.

People in Montana have the last cookout before it gets cold.

20 above Zero:

People in Miami all die.

Montanans close the windows.

Zero:

Californians fly away to Mexico .

People in Montana get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:

Hollywood disintegrates.

The Girl Scouts in Montana are selling cookies door to door.

20 below zero:

Washington DC runs out of hot air.

People in Montana let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:

Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.

Montanas get upset because they can't start the Snow-mobile.

40 below zero:

ALL atomic motion stops.

People in Montana start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?'

50 below zero:

Hell freezes over.

Montana public schools will open 2 hours late

Isn't that the truth?  I can only remember one time in the last 31 years that school was closed due to cold.  It was 40 below zero, without the windchill.  I remember playing outside in the back yard that day...my boogers froze.

Don't all you former Montana dwellers miss the cold that is so bad, your boogers freeze?  We don't call it cold here unless it's booger-freezen' cold!

Look Out, Darth Vader!

You better run and hide, Darth Vader.  This squadron of highly trained fighting machines is out to get you, and they are ready for a fight.  They are armed and dangerous.  They train several hours everyday.  They are led by a superb high-ranking Jedi.  She is both fast and furious.  If her light saber doesn't do you in, her angelic face will.  She is flanked by her two most trusted fighters, Boba Fett and Captain Rex.  Together, they leave no evil man alive.  Their skills are unmatched. 

So run and hide.  They are coming for you.

Christmas Party, and Somebody has Glasses!

I was called as the new Activities Committee Chairperson a few weeks ago.  We worked quickly to plan a Christmas Party for the ward.  It was a lot of work, and I'm so glad it's over!  But it was a lot of fun.  We have a great ward, and everybody loves to get together to visit and eat.  And contrary to my nightmares, we had enough food and didn't run out!

Before the party started, while I was busy running around making sure everything was ready, Ben decided to snap some pictures of the kids.  They weren't very cooperative.

Here's the dining room, with lovely decorations by Sister Cherry, Jensen, and Hecht.  They worked so hard to make this place pretty!  I thought it looked great!

We had the kids do a little craft project.  They made a manger for the baby Jesus.  Next time, I think I'll not involve paint in any way.

Here's Joey working on cutting some "straw" for his manger.

Finished product:

And, little miss bossy pants was directing our Bishop on how to clean, all from her perch on top of the vacuum.  I walked out into the hallway to put something away, and found him standing by the vacuum.  He said, "She instructed me to wait here until she was done going potty."  Wow!  She is truly a little mommy-in-training -- she'll know how to run a household, or company, or country in no time!

Matthew was content to eat the rest of the pineapple while I did some dishes.

And the winner of the latest eye glasses:

Andrew!  Doesn't he look smashing?  He's pretty excited to be able to see all the leaves on the trees, and all the stars in the sky!

Cold December

It's officially the Christmas season here at the Kaz house!  We decorated the tree over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Usually we do it on Thanksgiving night or the next day, but this year, much to Haley's dismay, we did it the Saturday after because we were so busy.  Haley would do it on Halloween if we let her.  She is SERIOUS about her Christmas decorations.  I'm curious to see how her future house turns out.  She'll probably rival the Griswolds. 

Notice the nice weather outside.  It didn't last long.

This little one was in bed while we decorated.  I knew that if he saw us with our hands all over that tree, he'd think he could touch it too.  He woke up to a nice surprise, and this is as close as he gets to it.  He now shouts "Tee!" everytime he sees Christmas trees, or Christmas lights for that matter.  He is very excited that our tree has "balls!" all over it.

A couple of days later, it looked like this.  The boys wanted to surprise dad before he got home, so we bundled them up and sent them out.  Oh how I love having boys big enough to do this!

Yesterday we had to stop on our way to Grandma's house.  We needed to make sure that Sister Harris' walks were shoveled.  They weren't, so the boys (a.k.a. The Shovel Squad) jumped out and went to work.  We just love Sister Harris!  She helps me every Sunday with the kids, because Ben is up on the stand.  All my kids eventually migrate over to her bench.  Sometimes I actually hear portions of the talk!  So we just wanted to give a little back to Sister Harris for all her hard work she does for our family.  Of course, she threw a bag of candy out the door after they were finished!

Since it's been so cold, we've been finding fun things to do inside.  One of Andrew's new fun things is to play with modeling clay.  This is his first invention.  He's a Boston Red Sox player.  What a chip off the old block!

Gracie gets credit for the Gem of the Day.  It was one of those times when your kid says something and you just go, "Wwwwhhhhaattt?"  I put it on the favorite quotes list to the right.  I have no idea what's going on in that little blonde head of hers.

Thanksgiving, Sleep-overs, and Naughty Little Boy

We had a great Thanksgiving.  Uncle Sam came over in the morning with his dog, and Shoji was so excited to have a playdate!  Then we went over to the Kazmierski's house for Thanksgiving lunch.  Matt had a great time on Grandma Bertha's lap.  He's such a snuggler!  It almost makes up for all his antics....I'll talk about that later. 

Grace had a great time playing with cousins.

Grandma Nan did a special lesson for us.  She gave each family a jar with "warm fuzzies" so that we could fill our jar when we do acts of service.  They will be visiting Emily and Ryan in Texas for Christmas, so we were glad to have them for Thanksgiving!

Mr. No Teeth.  I think I have another picture like this somewhere...

Hiram is getting rich with his teeth!

The boys always like to hang out with Uncle Sam.  Joey is sitting with Lita.

After we got home, Ben and I were having a conversation in our room.  After about 2 minutes, I said, "I better go see what that kid is doing."  Well, this is where I found him.  Notice he's got it in his hair.  What was I thinking leaving this kid alone for 2 minutes?  I thought he followed the other kids downstairs, but I guess that's what I get for thinking.

We went to my mom's after we were at Nan and Fred's.  Lindsey and Eric were both here.  Finally, the babies tuckered out.  They managed to fall asleep at the same time.

A few nights ago, Emma had her first sleepover with us.  She did very good.  The kids had fun playing, drawing, and avoiding the dog.  Emma is very afraid of dogs, and sent Grace out of the bedroom in the morning to check if the dog was in the house or out.  She wouldn't get out of bed unless the dog was out.

The girls slept on Joey's big bed, and Joey slept on Andrew's top bunk.  Andrew slept at Grandma's house with Brenlee.

This is Joey teaching Emma how to draw the letter "A".

He Strikes Again

The Steward has struck again.  While management was making a work-related phone call (trying to make a doctor's appointment for Grace), the tricky Steward came into the room carrying not one, but two steak knives.  The other Union members had left the dishwasher open, and he had chosen those two knives out of a rack full of about 30 other possible choices of sliverware.  Management screamed and took the knives.

Later, as management was trying to do good by taking the recycling out to the garage, the Steward requested cheese.  Management filled his request for cheese and took the recycling out.  When management came back in, the steward was trying to cut his own slice of cheese, again, with a knife.  He plunged the knife into the cheese and then tried to put it in his mouth.  Management screamed loud enough for him to pay attention, and then threw the knife across the room.

We no longer have knives.

Cheese Boy

Last night I was making dinner and Ben came home.  As we stood in the kitchen having a conversation with Haley, we didn't notice Mister Busy three feet away with his mouth on the huge block of Costco cheese taking great big chunks out.  He was pretty proud of himself.  We had to rescue the cheese, though.  Notice the teeth marks.  Well done, Mister Busy, well done!

What's Going On Up There?

Sometimes we wonder what's going on in that pretty little head of hers.  She is a special one for sure.  We call her "Our little Phoebe" because she makes up songs of her own, grabs a guitar, and starts singing.  Instead of Phoebe's "Smelly Cat" (from "Friends", remember?), she sings things titled, "Monkey Eating a Cracker" or "I Like Potatoes" and other Grace-originals like that.  Lately she's been playing her little piano in bed and singing her own compositions.  Ben and I sometimes just listen and laugh.

Yesterday we went to pick up Andrew from school, and she told me that she had a secret for me.  She said, "When Jesus and Heavenly Father were painting the moon and the sun, they fell off a train."  What???  I guess I haven't yet figured out how that brain of hers works!

Bowling Fun

Finally, we had a Saturday with a little extra time.  We had most of our chores done, so we decided to go bowling.  Matthew was in ball-heaven.  Grace, Andrew, and Joey all loved it and can't wait to go back.  Grace even won the kid game by one point!  It took a really long time for Joey and Grace's balls to make it all the way down to the pins, but they waited in anticipation the whole time.  Matthew just kept saying "Ball!  Ball!  Ball!"  He was pretty mad that he couldn't pull all those pretty balls off the shelf.  He also had a loaded diaper upon arrival, and as soon as I had it changed, he opened the door himself and started running at lightspeed down the hallway while I was still trying to wash my hands.  That kid is going to give me a heart attack.

Everyone survived, and we had a great time!

Please enjoy the pictures of our butts.