Time with Davis

Today it was my turn to work in Davis' classroom. I love being at his preschool. I adore his teachers and all that he is learning. This picture was actually taken a few weeks ago when Jed's mom was here. Davis was the "Shining Star" that day. Normally Kate doesn't come when I work in Davis' class. She can't wait until it is her turn for preschool next year. I am not as excited as she is for her (or any of them) to grow up. I love the preschool phase. Here is a little about Davis (taken from his Shining Star poster):

My favorite foods are:
Macaroni and Cheese, Hot Dogs, Tortillas, Ice Cream and German Pancakes

If I had three wishes I would wish 1. for the biggest Lego set 2. that I could climb to the top of the tree 3. that I could draw the best picture ever

When I grow up I want to be an engineer (don't know if he knows what an engineer does--he told me that they fix things that are "injured")

Things I like: Legos, Star Wars, Soccer, Basketball, playing with my brother and friends

Things I don't like: Barbies, Baby Dolls, Spinach, Soup, cooked carrots, princess castles

Also, I got the following email from a friend yesterday...this won't make as much sense to our friend's of other faiths...King Noah is a wicked king in the Book of Mormon....

I just wanted to tell you something that Davis said that made me laugh. It was mostly the way he said it and maybe you had to be there..... I asked him if he wanted to be King Noah in our little skit yesterday and he at first said yes, then he sat back and folded his arms and said, "um... I don't think so.... I hear that King Noah got burned at the stake!"

Date Night

Last night was date night, so I missed my "gratitude post"...oh, well...it was worth it and I am grateful for that!

Thanks for the lack of drama...

Today I am thankful for all of the wonderful people that work in Jed's office. Jed has a great partner who is a kind person and extremely easy going (a rare trait for a dentist). We pride ourselves in having a low drama office and that wouldn't be possible without these incredible women. Today we had our staff Christmas party and we had a great time. I hope that they enjoyed it as much as we did...Oh, and ladies, if you are reading this...Jed LOVES his new backpacking pad and I already have plans for my Chocolate Affair gift certificate. You are the best.
Please Note: Jenni and Dawn are missing from the above photo. :( You are appreciated too gals.

This one's for you Beth...

Today I woke up excited. Owen didn't have school, so I planned to take the kids shopping for some other kids all about their same ages. I could hardly wait to teach the kids about giving and the true Christmas Spirit. Oh, such an idealist. They had fun shopping for the other kids and for about 120 seconds they were focused and determined to pick out something good. Truthfully, I think Kate lasted a little longer. Then they were busy formulating what they would add to their own list for Santa. They did learn something in that 120 seconds, right?

Now for the part of this post dedicated to my dear friend Beth. Beth and I talk a lot about the fact that we wish everyone would be real with each other, so that we don't compare ourselves to a false image of how other people's lives are. So, without further ado...this is pretty much what Gracie did from the time we left the toy department until we got 2 miles from home and she fell asleep. Does is get any more real than this?
Oh Yea, I was the mom in the store that everyone was looking at today...gotta love it.

Oh Christmas Tress...

Jed had some scheduled time off this afternoon, so we went a picked out a Christmas tree. The kids were so excited. I think that they think Christmas will come faster once we get the tree. I keep having the debate in my head about real vs. fake. It seems so much simpler to buy the beautiful tree with the lights already on it at Costco, but I have to say, there is something that feels really good about buying it from a boy scout trying to raise money for their troop. So, for this year, the real tree wins again. Can you smell the pine from there?

By the way...amazing how puny an 8 foot tree looks on top of our van!

Pie Man

Before the big Turkey Bowl Football game Jed made his traditional chocolate marbled pies...Yum! We joined our friends the Oldroyds and the Johnsons for dinner and I think we had something like 7 pies there. It was insane. Lucky for me we had lots of leftovers and I am still eating chocolate pie every night. Jed's mom, Nila, and I had a good laugh when he said, "Thanksgiving is the one time of the year that I wish you had a Kitchenaid!" (I have a hand-me-down Bosch that works just fine) and I replied back, "That's because it is the only day of the year that you cook!" Okay, so he does bbq, heat things up, make toast, that type of thing throughout the year, but we still thought it was hilarious...he was a good sport and laughed too. I appreciate that he can laugh at himself. :)

Oh SNAP!

Owen has been trying to learn to snap for over a year now and he has finally mastered it! Not to be outdone by his older brother, Davis recently decided to figure it out and has mastered it right along with him. All day long we hear the clicking of little fingers. I love it. Turns out snapping is not an easy thing to teach or learn.