Summer is so funny when she sleeps because half the time she has her eyes open--it's creepy. She has Ruffy with her. He came from Kirksville. Summer and I had gone home to Utah for a visit. When we returned to K'ville, Rick had bought her that goofy looking puppy in the KCOM bookstore. He's part of the family.
Cole is mostly a good little sleeper. But I won't lie, most of the time it is a countdown to his bedtime each night. He loves his blanket and his tractor pillow. His bed is usually full of trucks, blankets, books and animals. And he will wake up crying and fussy each morning. We all know not to get him out of bed until he makes happy sounds or we will pay for it for the rest of the day. Sometimes he will talk and sing for an hour before we get him out of bed.
I talked Bryan into running the Thanksgiving day 6k. It has been an Orem tradition for 27 years. Bryan wondered how he could live in the same town his entire life and not know one thing about this popular event that has been happening since before he was born.
Mile Marker #2. I ran the entire 4 miles. I was so proud of myself for not needing to stop and walk. It was 23 degrees outside when we got ready to go. But, once the sun came up and we got that first 1/2 mile behind us, we were toasty. Can't wait until next year.
Rick and I have been big music fans forever. When we went on our first date, I remember thinking, "too bad I don't like this guy because we really have a lot in common as far as music goes." We have always been big fans of alternative rock. We started listening to KJQ and then 107.5 the end, and now 101.9 the end with a little X96 in there somewhere. Even when we lived outside of Utah, we would listen to Chunga and Marcus, now Chunga and Mister over the internet. We settled on listening to sattelite radio for a while in Mississippi because we didn't care much for Christian rock or Country. I know it sounds a little weak, but we were so excited to move back to Utah so that we could listen to good radio. Well, about 6 months ago there was a little shake up at our favorite station and we heard this new guy named Parker. I hated him at first, but now we are BFF. Sierra was the first one to meet Parker at a Jiffy Lube. She talked Rick into stopping in for a free CD. A few days later we found ourselves at the End Summer Jamboree at Thanksgiving Point especially to hear Colbie Caillat. We were walking around and Sierra screamed "that's Parker" and the next thing we new Sierra was introducing the rest of us to Parker. One thing led to another and we found ourselves listening to Colbie in the EndZone and later meeting her and taking pictures backstage. We LOVE Parker. We listen to him religiously. It's weird.
On Wednesday they were doing a food drive and I bribed the girls to clean their rooms by telling them that we would go see Parker. Well, it worked because here we are dropping off our bag of canned goods and talking to Parker on the radio. Seriously, there will be some kids that will come back from Thanksgiving break having gone to DisneyLand or some other magical place. But, none will be happier than Summer and sierra who got to hang out with Parker and talk on the radio. Plus we got a couple of free CD's and a free pizza coupon. Parker rocks.
We had a little bit of pie crust dough left over so I decided to make some mini pies to sample before Thursday.
I had PLENTY of berries so we made raspberry, strawberry, blackberry pie. Cole couldn't resist even though I told him they were still hot. He was so mesmerized by the pies, I don't
think he even realized that I captured the whole thing on film.
I started making pies on Tuesday so that in case they didn't turn out OK, I would have time to run to a bakery somewhere and locate a pie. I have had the responsibility of making the Thanksgiving Pecan Pies for several years now. I got a good recipe when I lived in Kirksville and my dad loved it. So, every year I have made a Pecan Pie for my dad. Making pies reminds me of my dad, especially at Thanksgiving. I talked to Bryan on the phone a few days ago and all he wanted to know was if I was going to make a pecan pie for thanksgiving. He would probably be OK with a PB&J for dinner as long as there was pecan pie.
Aunt Kris came down on Halloween to to help supervise Cole. I think they are dividing up the smarties in this shot.
is the amaryllis from last year. I planted it a few weeks ago and we have had fun watching it grow on the kitchen counter. About 5 days ago Cole got frustrated with Sierra and grabbed the leaves and yanked it out of the pot and was swinging it around above his head like a lasso. The poor plant. Dirt was flying everywhere. The poor kid. I just had to turn and walk out of the room so that I didn't have to explain the bruises to DFS. I figured the plant was dead for sure. After vacuuming up all of the dirt and explaining to Cole that plants aren't toys, we tucked the poor little thing back in the pot and crossed our fingers. It's doing better as the days go by. At least now the leaves are starting to grow upwards rather than lying down on the side of the pot. If we can make one of these things grow--anyone can! 
Summer is helping Cole clean up his arms after dinner tonight. We had Lasagna. and carrots.
I am so sneaky. I love it. This is the secret ingredient in tonight's dinner. Carrot Puree. HeHeHe. I figure if the kids don't like veggies, I will disguise them. I used to put beans in the cookies so why not carrots in the Lasagna. They ate it like candy.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Cole. This was taken July 2007 in Scofield, Utah 
We took the girls to Thanksgiving Point in August to TheEnd Summer Jamboree, which was a music festival put on by our favorite radio station. We went specifically to see Colbie Callait. We got to be part of the group in the EndZone which is a small private concert where Colbie played 2 songs and answered a few questions. Summer asked her how old she was when she first learned how to play the guitar. Then we went back out and listened to her perform for the whole crowd. Later on in the evening, Parker--our favorite DJ--let the girls go back stage and met Colbie. It was fun. Colbie was very sweet to the girls. Summer said, "her clothes are cute and she smeels good."
