California Christmas

With Lester being gone, we spent Christmas in California with my family. We had an amazing time and enjoyed every single minute [well, maybe not EVERY minute.....I'll explain.] Here's a brief rundown of the week before Christmas in CA:

18th - Arrived in CA (late)
19th - Slept in, Sister-in-law Caroline came up with cousins Landon, Weston and Calder
Weston and Calder sleep over [Landon gets sick]
20th - Picked out new hens (chickens) for Meme's coop [Calder gets sick]
Corben's baptism rescheduled for Jan. 3rd
21st - Church at home ward, Maddie gives herself a haircut, Andy and boys sleep over [Madison gets sick]
22nd - Some shopping gets done, get Christmas tree, 1st trip to Pinkberry (YUM)
[Andy, Caroline, Weston and I get sick....sensing a pattern yet?]
23rd - Home for the day recovering [Corben and Poppy sick]
24th - I brave the crowds to get all shopping done even though still a little queasy
[Corben and Weston sick again]
25th - Merry Christmas!! Weren't sure if we would be having family Christmas, but everyone felt good and we had a wonderful day.

That's pretty much how it went - thankfully after Christmas everyone was feeling healthy again and then it was off to the desert, but that's a whole other post :)

Birthday Fun

So I have lots of posts coming soon and rather than doing one large post, I'm going to break them up into events and hopefully, in order. The first is for Corben and Madison and their birthdays... we just had a few close friends over for Corben (his "real" party is the 17th at a swimming pool, yes we're swimming in January!) and for Madison it was just the three of us. (Maddie's only request was for a very pink cake - inside and outside :)

Bound to Happen

Sooner or later it was going to happen...sad but true. At home, the scissors are all put out of reach most of the time. [At Meme and Poppy's house it's hard to know where they are.] Thankfully it was only a tiny lock that she chopped-not the curls, and it will grow into the rest of her hair. It's even hard to see, on the front left side almost where bangs would be. Maybe she's trying to tell me she wants bangs?? Not a chance... :)

The [not so] Great Mousecapade

So here it is....we have mice in our garage. YIKES! The break down:

Cold weather + wheat food storage in mylar bags (no more) + warm garage = mouse party.

Cleaned up the wheat, let the cat go on patrol, then a week later...

Old birdseed + forgotten bag of Easter candy = mouse smorgasbord x standoff with mouse for 10 minutes = call to exterminators.

Glue board traps < poison (bad for kids and pets) or mouse traps (who wants to hear that snap??) = 2 less mice the next day.

2 hours + shop vac + glue boards = 4 less mice. (shop vacs are very efficient and make a nice ffwoop sound when sucking up mice :)

Score so far: Dani & shop vac = 1, glue boards = 5, mice = ? but I'm hoping they will get the hint and find a new winter condo.

Happy Birthday Madison

Three years ago....

Ten tiny fingers, ten teeny toes
Sweet rosy cheeks and a little button nose!

[and lashes that will sweep you off your feet]

At one....

...at two...

..and at three you're still as sweet and darling as can be!
We love you Maddie moo-moo, Happy 3rd Birthday!
xoxoxox

ssshhh...don't tell the photographer I scanned the proofs ;]

Christmas Tree/Nativity Tag

I saw this post on a friend's blog and decided to do it myself. I do have to preface this post however: the first tree I attempted to set up was an absolute joke, I picked it up pretty cheap at Big Lots. [just for the record, we are a REAL tree family but just this year I decided to go fake since we will be MIA for a spell] As you can see - any tree that is SEE THROUGH just doesn't cut it...and this is after being "fluffed."









(I didn't even finish putting it together! I ran to Lowes and bought a really nice tree for only twenty dollars more that was already 1/2 off. It is beautiful!)

Anyway, on to our tree this year -- I have a thing for white lights, although I always enjoy seeing other people's tree with multi lights, I just love the white. As far as ornaments go, one or two years after we were married, we started acquiring momentos from everywhere we went on vacation. I'd buy keychains or actually find ornaments and those are now the majority of decorations on the tree. It is so fun to take them out every year and remember all the neat places we have been, along with the other homemade ornaments from family and exhanges/gifts. If I had to pick a favorite ornament, it would either be a little tiny box with a bow that unfolds into a very small nativity scene my sister-in-law made one year or an Eiffel tower with Santa climbing the top with the year "1995" on it. My sister-in-law found that one for me to remember my trip to Europe that summer :) Thanks Caroline!
For Nativities, again I have two -- the first I bought in Poland at a little mission where ladies make all the pieces by hand, and the second is one from my Parent's ward and is a puzzle cut out of one piece of wood.









I tag anyone who would like to share the story of their trees or Nativities.

A Magic Birthday?

Is there some special magic at 8 years old? Here is an example of Corben's writing before his birthday and the letter below was written yesterday as a homework assignment using some of his spelling words:

Does neatness come with being 8 years old? Maybe it will rub off and help him keep his room tidy. At least I can hope....

He also drew this transformer:

Not Such a Little Boy Anymore

Has it truly been 8 years already?? It just seems like yesterday....

you were born,

...then turned one,

...and then two with lots of mischief...

...three brought a vivacious personality,

...four and making lots of friends,

...five and your love for others grew,

...six and the adventures never ceased,

...seven there was independence,

...and now at eight you have a thirst for knowledge and are a brilliant, charming boy.
We love you SO much our little man
and are so blessed to have you in our family.

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY CORBEN!!!

Happy Thanksgiving To You All

Just wanted to wish all family, friends and visitors to the blog a very happy Thanksgiving. We truly have so much to be grateful for, and I just felt I needed to express that today.

Eat well! :)
but not too well....

Crazy Eights

I have Wendy to thank for this tag, I've been dragging my feet (well, okay my fingers) on this one. Here are my 8's:

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. Amazing Race (I know, I still love it)
2. The Office (I'm still trying to catch up, and I'm on season 2)
3. Anything Jane Austen on Masterpiece Theater
4. Survivorman
5. American Idol
6. Phineas and Ferb
7. Colbert Report
8. I don't watch as much tv as I used to.....I can't think of anything else

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Talked to Lester
2. Wore fun jewelry
3. Went to church
4. Found substitutes for primary classes
5. Spent time in nursery (as a substitute)
6. Made yummy pomegranate apple salad
7. Called my Mom and Dad
8. Hugged and kissed my children

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Spending time with family for Christmas
2. Riding dirt bikes in California
3. The next Renaissance fair
4. October 2009
5. Having fun with my children
6. Getting new books to read
7. Decorating my house for Christmas
8. Thanksgiving Dinner - one of my favorites :)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Sweet Tomatoes
2. Panera
3. Ernie Jr.'s
4. Los Burritos
5. Rubios or El Taco Nazo (mmm fish tacos)
6. Tommys
7. In and Out
8. Del Taco

8 Things on My Wish List
1. More time with family (those that aren't here with me)
2. My bathroom painted
3. To refinish our dressers
4. A tropical vacation with lots of snorkeling
5. No dandelions in my grass
6. More patience
7. To be better about organizing/cleaning
8. A magic wand

8 People I Tag
1. Anyone
2. Who
3. So
4. Desires
5. To
6. Do
7. This,
8. Consider yourself tagged!

Budding Author?

The Adventures of Indiana Jones and the Cave of Time

By Corben Gebski
Illustrations [page 1] by Madison Gebski (without permission from author)

Our TERRIFIC Kid

Corben's school has a program that spotlights different children each month that are nominated by their teachers as being "Terrific," and Corben was chosen as the terrific kid from his class for October. The school has a mini-assembly to honor the children and share with the parents. Here's a short video about what his teacher said about him:

He's been doing such a great job at school, listening and following directions. He's just a brilliant boy with a thirst for knowledge. We're so proud of him. :)

Halloween Hoopla

Hard to believe that Halloween is now over, and the craziness that is the holiday season looms ahead...duhn, duhn, DUHN! Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the kids at the ward trunk or treat but I remembered to get pictures last night at a friends party. We carved pumpkins the night before, so I'll add those picutres as well. Between the ward party and last night, I'm sure we have more than enough candy to last until next Halloween (which it always does). Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.
I had to post these pictures too -- I made some fun food the the party - "handy" veggies/dip and "brainy" cupcakes.

Hail And Well Met

Before thee thou wilt eye a sampling of images from the fine day spent in good company at the faire. I bid you good ev'en and fair thee well.

A Day at the Festival

At long last, my post about the glorious day spent at the Renaissance Festival. These are the dresses/accessories I've spent so much time working on. I love how they turned out, and will be making some adjustments for the next time I wear the dress (Ward trunk or treat and Halloween, well at least until the next Renfest!).

Lessons learned from the faire:
- When you dress the part, people might think you work there
- Some pirates don't like finely dressed ladies
- Look for pointy ears on fairies (they're everywhere and you can buy them)
- Don't sit in the front row at the joust, you'll get splattered with mud
- Use lots of napkins when eating bratwurst and sauerkraut
- Drink TONS of water during the day (so you don't get a killer headache by day's end)
- Practice the curtsy and head nod before you you go - and practice while walking
- Get used to hearing "M'lady"
- Be prepared to have lots of people ask you for your picture
- If you volunteer to be in a comedy act, you might have knives thrown within inches of your self (just ask Lester)
- Don't try to make your 2 year old wear a hoop skirt, it will end up as a stroller decoration
- Leave some breathing room when you tighten your corset
- If someone tells you (when you're dressed like this) that you look like Cleopatra, just remember you're in the south (as long as you live here...otherwise well, yikes!)
- Go to the bathroom before getting completely dressed - big dresses and port-a-pots don't go well together
- Too many people smoke at the faire
- Check out all the vendor's clothes for sale and you might see a skirt made out of the same fabric as your dress
- Know what the "privies" are and where to find them
- Stay away from the incense vendors - the smell is overpowering
- If the Queen leans in to "kiss the air" remember to "kiss" both sides of her cheek
- When the Queen and Princess invite you to be guests of honor at the final joust of the day, say yes (we did and it was amazing!)

We're looking forward to going to the next fair in March. Here's a couple more pictures, tomorrow I'll make a slide show of all the rest.

All the girls in our beautiful dresses

These smiles say it all - a truly amazing day!

The Real Reason I Love Halloween

You may think that I love Halloween because I enjoy making costumes and dressing up -- but I've got news for you! Here is the real reason:


Let me explain....Last year my good friend and once-upon-a-time-roommate Lizeeta introduced me to a new Halloween treat - peanuts (or maybe it was nuts in general) and candy corn! OH MY GOODNESS!!! This is the best treat EVAAAAH! If you enjoy the "salty-sweet" type of treats, this is heaven! I don't particularly like candy corn all by itself, but combine it with some salty peanuts and BANG - you have a delectable treat! Try it - you'll get hooked! :)

Adventures in Beginning Ballet

Back in September I signed Madison up for a beginning ballet class through the post YMCA. It was just a four (maybe five) week class, nothing fancy.

She had fun dancing (truly, she mostly ran around and played) and loved the music. After the class ended, a friend gave me an outfit for her with a ballet skirt. She wore her "bal-lay" for two days straight. Now she has something to wear if she takes the class again. Here are a few videos (short) of her and some pictures... :]

Coming soon...

Yes, I've been absent from my blog these past two weeks.... Lester is home for a brief visit, I have been chained to my sewing machine [not really, but at least upstairs], and I couldn't even make it to book club but thankfully I'm almost done.

The Renaissance faire is --->TOMORROW<--- so stay tuned...early next week there will be pictures galore and a couple good posts. Until then, I bid you good day.

Chins, Fingers, Mouse Dog and Auf Wiedersehen

Well it was not a boring weekend, that's for sure. I'll start with the chin -- we were at a friend's birthday party Saturday and towards the end, Corben's chin collided with a little girl's head. Corben's chin must be made of iron, since he only had a small split (not even stitch worthy) that didn't even bleed. The little girl, well she has a nice 2 inch (maybe more) cut on her head that bled PROFUSELY!! They rushed off to the hospital and she was fine after 10 staples. Even better is that they are in the same 2nd grade class - they had good stories to tell today. Corben is now the "crimson chin" or "chin-of-steel." Here is his wound (2 days later)
The finger, well Madison decided last night to test her heat tolerance for fingers on a light bulb -- the bulb definitely won and she has a nice little blister on her finger. As tired as she was, even through the tears, we HAD to read scriptures before she would go to bed, and she repeated her part through the sobs. I'll post a picture after she gets up from her nap.

The dog catches mice! I scored big time with Lexi....there are little mice or voles around this area, and it seems they might be taking a liking to my garden area (which needs to be cleaned out). She has caught maybe 4 or 5 so far, and tries to use them as toys. The first one she caught she played a little rough with, since it's whole back end was paralyzed. I had to take it to a neighbor to quickly dispense of it, I didn't have the heart to kill it even though it's a nasty yard mouse.

(click on the picture to see the mouse at the end of her nose)

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, GOODBYE!! Christine has a new home/family and it isn't with us!