Our Christmas Party, and Christmas Day...

So... it all started with a nice Christmas fondue dinner (we totally stole that as our new Christmas tradition, Jeni) and making a batch of cookies for Santa. Ian and Mae had a great time decorating the cookies--and eating a bit of the frosting too. Mae was VERY excited to be decorating the very cookies that Santa would be eating that night. I tried to convince her that Santa liked chocolate cookies, but Lindsay was in favor of the nicely decorated sugar cookies--they were yummy too.


Being our first Christmas on our own we were very excited to get our kids started with some traditions that we hope to carry on through the years. We all dressed up and preformed the nativity while I read from Luke chapter two. Lindsay came up with great costumes for us all, and, as you can see, Ian had lots of fun with it--Mae took her role as Mary very seriously.


Though Ian kept tugging his head gear off, he and Mae really enjoyed playing their roles. I think that they both make a great Mary and Joseph.


Christmas morning came and so did SANTA! Mae got a really cool Madame Alexander doll (which, obviously, she loves) and Ian was totally excited to get right to work on playing with his new train set. Mae also got to open some great toys and clothes from our family (thank you all) and she even got some Barbie: Island Princess breakfast cereal from me--I love getting everyones favorite cereal. Lindsay got Captain Crunch Berries, Ian got Peanut Butter Crunch, and Lindsay bought me some Reece's Puffs...Mmmmmmm!


Ian was so occupied by his train set that he wouldn't stop to open anything else. Mae had to open a few of his toys just so that they would not go unnoticed. I helped Ian with his train set most of the day--if Lindsay or I ever heard a loud scream and a whine from his bedroom we knew that he was having a hard time getting the train to stay on the track. He is getting the hang of it, though.



Ahhhh, the Christmas mess! Add to this some animal crackers ground up into the carpet, a few orange peels, a pile of pine needles, and boxes galore--we couldn't even see our carpet for a few hours!


Though he thinks of himself as a superboy at times, Ian couldn't keep up with his own will. He finally gave in to fatigue on his bedroom floor cuddled up to his blanket while playing to the last moment with his new train set. What great kids!

What A Week!

So it all started with spending some time in Beaver with Brad's family. Sean went in to the MTC (see earlier post for pictures) and we all had a great time eating good food (as usual) saying goodbye to Sean, playing volleyball, going tubing, and hearing Sean's farewell speech.


From there we went to Centerville to see Grandma and Grandpa Campbell. Mae and Ian had a great time wreaking havoc in the house (Ian nearly gave Grandpa Campbell a heart attack when he hammered his nice Sony widescreen HD TV with his new tool set--that was given to him by grandma and grandpa. Luckily Brad caught him before any damage was done). We all had a great time seeing all of our Centerville family and we can't wait to get together again.


After a visit to Centerville it was back to southern Utah for a St. George stop. The kids loved the pool (which had been heated to 98 degrees--soooooo nice!) and Mae swears that she has now learned to swim--in the shallow end at least. Ian loved the warm water and generally likes the out-of-doors anyway, so the pool was a perfect fit for him.


Even a nighttime swim was in order for us crazies! We all had a great time with the family and while Brad went to the BYU game in Vegas, the kids and I had a great time at the family party. Mae and Ian got plenty of candy from the Pinata to last them the ride home the next day, and we escaped with a few good pictures too. Brad was relieved that BYU football player and future Oklahoma City Missionary Ethan M. blocked the potential game-winning field goal. He thought that he was going to be in for a VERY long drive home (not to mention having to endure the smack talk from my side of the family)


After having driven for about two hours of the twenty or so it took us to get back to Stillwater, Mae asked, "When are we going to get to the airport?" IF ONLY that is where we were headed. The trip was longer because we pulled a small trailer back to OK with us (with a new stove and rocking chair for our house) Mae asked constantly how much longer it would be until we got home. We felt bad for her, but she did well and was a great little traveler.


Ian was a good little traveler as well. He watched Nemo, Cars, Barbie: Fairtytopia (for a minute or two anyway), Mickey's Christmas, and who knows what else. We were able to split the drive over two days, so the kids were awake for a large part of the time. When we finally got home the kids were relieved to see their toys. Ian got right into his truck and cruised around the house while Mae retreated to her bedroom, turned on her music and lined up her Barbie's and dolls for a much-needed reunion.

In all, the trip was great. We hope we can make it out to Utah in July--but we will have to get over this trip first!

Wow! They called him on a mission...

Sean went to the MTC last Wednesday and a few of us got to see him off. Beforehand we ate at Ihop and the kids had lots of fun.

I felt bad for Mom and Dad because they mentioned that all of the missionaries who are in the MTC over Christmas don't get to call home. Bummer!

Ahhhh, Christmas time!

I predict many nights of hot chocolate, warm fires, and fun Christmas movies on the horizon!




I just wanted to post a quick picture of our tree setup--not the best picture, but it makes our home feel wonderful!

Another ER trip for the Foster's

The Culprit:



Yes, the piece looks rather unassuming, but it has been the instigator in TWO ER trips (broken arm the first time, and two stitches to a lip this time), many a bonked head, and has caused countless stubbed toes and bruised shins.

The unfortunate, now injured recipient:



Yes, that is an attempt to smile in the second picture. We are convinced that Ian will forever have a mental complex about hospitals, doctors, and nurses because of his many early trips to see the doctor about injuries he has sustained in his first two years.

Let us know if you are at all interested in taking the dangerous piece of furniture off of our hands.

Thanksgiving Weekend...

Lindsay said that because I have posted too many BYU football things that I should take a turn posting something about our family.

Here you go...

We were fortunate enough to have some family near enough to us that we lured them to our home for a week-long getaway! The Flammer family took a break from a rigorous school schedule and came for a visit over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was GREAT to have some family around to let our kids play with and, quite honestly, just have someone to hang out with for a few days.

Ian had fun towing Jocelyn around in his pickup:


We all had fun eating THESE:


And Mae had lots of fun with the Missionaries:



Oh, and by the way...Thank you Flammers for visiting us and taking these pictures for us while our camera is out of commission!

Collie 4:18

...and I quote:












Here is to three hundred or so days of happiness! Look closely at the picture. This should be VERY funny for those of you that followed Austin Collie's comments and the yewt fanbase reaction to them over the weekend. It is ALL in good fun, of course!

In honor of rivalry week, I give you the following:

I love the BYU / yewtah rivalry. Though it has caused me a great deal of pain in recent years, I have found that it is much more fun to dish out "smack talk" before the game rather than after. Yes, yes, I may have to eat a portion of crow if the yewts actually pulled out a victory in LaVell Edwards Stadium this year, however, watching yewts eat humble pie after I have dealt smack is much more enjoyable than dishing it while they eat.

Enjoy.

If you need a laugh… Here are some of my favorite jokes (feel free to add your own--as long as they are clean):

Story format Jokes:

Joke # 1-- Kyle Whittingham, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around when they came to a modest little house with a faded Utes flag in the window.

"This house is yours for eternity," said God. "This is very special, not everyone gets a house up here."

The coach felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3-story mansion that had a 50 foot tall flagpole with an enormous BYU Cougars flag, and in every window was the BYU logo.

The coach looked at God and said, "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was a good coach. I went to bowl games, sent a bunch of my players on to the pros, and I turned around the entire Utah football program."

God said, "So, what's your question?"

"Well," said the coach, "why does Bronco Mendenhall get a better house than me?"

God responded, "Oh that's not Bronco Mendenhall's house, that's mine".

Joke #2:

...One foggy night, a BYU fan and a Utah fan were driving the opposite directions on a road near Provo. While crossing a narrow bridge, they hit each other head-on, mangling both cars.

The Utah fan manages to climb out of his car and survey the damage. He looks at his twisted car and says, "Man, I'm lucky to be alive!"

Likewise, the Cougar fan gets out of his car uninjured, he too feeling fortunate to have survived.

The Utah fan walks over to the Cougar fan and says, "Hey, man, I think this is a sign that we should put away our petty differences and live as friends instead of being rivals."

The Cougar fan thinks for a moment and says, "You know, you're absolutely right! We should be friends. In fact, I'm going to see if something else survived the wreck."

The Cougar fan then pops open his trunk and removes a full, undamaged bottle of Jack Daniel's. He says to the Ute fan, "I think this is another sign - we should toast to our newfound friendship." The Ute fan agrees and grabs the bottle. After sucking down half of the bottle, the Ute fan hands it back to the Cougar fan and says, "Your turn!"

The Cougar fan calmly twists the cap back on the bottle, throws the rest of the bottle over the bridge into the river and says, "Nah, I think I'll just wait for the cops to show up."

Here are a few question and answer jokes:

Q: How many Yewt fans does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three. One person to actually change the light bulb. And two to sit
around and talk about much better Urban would have been at changing it.

Q: What do the Yewts & Possums have in common?

A: Both play dead at home (and get killed on the road)

Q: Where do you go in SLC in case of a tornado?
A: To Rice-Eccles Stadium - they never get a
touchdown there.

Q: How do you keep a Yewt Football player out
of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.

Q: Why was Andy Ludwig upset when the
Yewts offensive play book was stolen?
A: Because he hadn't finished coloring it yet.

Q: What's the difference between the
Yewts and a dollar bill?
A: You can still get 4 quarters out of a
dollar bill.

Q: How many Yewts does it take
to win a National Championship?
A: Nobody knows and we will never find out.

Incidentally--if there is ever any question about which school Elder Holland has an affinity toward, remember what he said a few years ago about the two:

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on BYU and Utah: "When you say University of Utah graduate or equivalent, what do you mean by "equivalent?" Do you mean two Utah State graduates, or one BYU graduate working part-time?"

June 1998 Mission President's Seminar.

Well not much is happening with our family as of late, but it has been so long since we posted that I thought I would write up a brief update.

Mae is doing great. She is loving school and is starting to get upset that I pick her up earlier than most of the other kids (she is only half day). She now claims to have a boyfriend, Steven, who I have tried to talk her out of, but she has let me know that things are not going to change. I told her to tell him she can't be his girlfriend until she's 16, and she refused. Our conversation was yesterday and today she told me very matter of factly that she did not talk to Steven today, but he is still her boyfriend.

Ian lives for the truck he got for his birthday and for the movie "Finding Nemo." He watches at least part of it every day. If I try to put on another movie, he throws a fit. He calls it "Memo". His third and fourth favorite things happen to be his Baa and Neigh. They are a stuffed sheep and horse. He loves to sleep with them. Brad has tried unsuccessfully to teach him their real names, but I think we should just be glad we understand what he is asking for.

Brad and I are trying to get some last minute things done on the house (finishing up some painting and putting the base boards back on), before we have some house guests. We are excited to have Brandon, DeAnne, and their kids come down from Missouri to spend Thanksgiving with us. Mae is so excited to have her cousin Jocelyn come (I think she is just excited to have one more person smaller than her to boss around--it may not work out as she plans). Mae thinks that she can play with Jocelyn and Ian can play with Kal (Kal is two months old).

I am feeling pretty good with my pregnancy. I am 17 weeks yesterday, so we are moving right along. We find out what we are having on December 9th, though Mae is sure that it is a girl. I am anxious to get a little further along so that I actually look pregnant instead of just looking funkily chubby. Brad is enjoying BYU's football season. The big rivalry game is getting closer, and he is getting a bit nervous--I will be rooting for BYU even though I am a Utah alumni (only because when BYU loses, the whole family suffers--at least, that is how it used to be...luckily Brad has gotten much better about this in recent years).

Well, that's the Foster family right now. Hopefully we will be posting some more pictures soon.

Spidergirl and Construction Boy.

Hey, it was Halloween--you get to be whatever you want to be, right?

The kids had a great time at the ward party and have plenty of candy for us all (I was sick yesterday from dipping into Mae's candy a few too many times!).

Carving Some Fun!

So we, of course, carved a pumpkin for FHE this week. Mae loves getting down and dirty with the pumpkin guts, but Ian lost interest quickly--and was much more taken with the "Ghost Cookies" we had for desert.

Picture Day!

So we decided to get a few fall pictures with the kids in their Sunday best--it didn't work out so well, but we did end up with a few good pictures.

Incidentally, Ian had been pretty crazy lately. He really likes to babble his Ian-talk (a version of language we have yet to perfect). Mae is loving school and especially likes when she is a "leader" or a "caboose" when the class goes to the lunchroom or library. Mae also had her first Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. She has had her part memorized for weeks now and said it perfectly when her turn came up. Ian has been a bear in church lately--we can barely control him long enough to drop him off at nursery!

Halloween is just around the corner

Time to get ready!

These "Mummies" are easily made with an empty soup can, some black card stock, some glue-on eyes, and some old scrap material. After you are done making them, you put a candle in each one and let them glow--lots of fun!

We made them for a Family Home Evening project and the kids loved them!

Coming soon--Spring 2008, to a Foster Home near (or not so near) YOU!

The third in an exciting series...

Foster Family Fun!

Because I have been out of town, Lindsay has had lots of fun with the kids lately. They went to the Zoo without me and this weekend I finally got to do something fun... A Hike!

As promised... before and after pictures of our home

This is what Child Protective Services saw when they came to "investigate" the rearing of our children.

Photos continued...

Here are the "after" pictures--Enjoy!

I tried to take the pictures from the same angle, but I think that you will understand--especially those of you who were here helping us--Thanks again!