Baaaaa Baaaaa

A conversation between Luke & Sister Rasmussen at the Nativity Rehearsal before tonight's Ward Christmas Party:

Luke, would you like to be a Shepherd?
No.
Luke, would you like to be a Wise Man?
No.
Luke, are you afraid to be on stage?
No.
Well then, what would you like to be, Luke?
(Long pause)
A Goat.
Excuse me?
A Goat.
Hmmm, well we don't exactly have a goat costume, but there's this sheep mask in the bottom of the costume bucket . . .

It was love at first sight.

I present to you, the world's creepiest-looking, most excited,
sound-effect-making
Nativity Sheep:

And if one is going to be a sheep, it's only natural that the other is going to follow suite as a donkey right?

They were fairly attentive during the performance, except when they started crawling around the stage on all fours (because that's what animals do Mom!).

And speaking of dressing up, I still can't get over this one's little legs in her Christmas get-up:
And check out that drool coming off her pouty bottom lip--it's the only thing my children inherit from me. Otherwise they're pretty Bollard through and through.
Besides his sheep debut, this was Luke's first time ever happily sitting on Santa's lap. It was a big night for him. He must really, really want that T-Rex Robot he ordered up.

Thanksgiving 2009

So this was our best attempt at a family picture before Thanksgiving dinner. It's not perfect, but at least it documents us before half of the boy's food ended up on their shirts. And it captures Chloe's smiley face. How cute is she on her first Thanksgiving?

We had so much fun at my Aunt Becky's house. Here's some of the highlights:

-The entire meals was so good, but my mother takes the art of making homemade gravy to a whole new level. In heaven I will eat everything covered in it followed by a dessert of my Grandma Calder's Pecan Tassies.

-It was a gorgeous 82 degrees and the boy's entertained themselves in the jacuzzi for 2 hours.

-Discussing "deep" issues with my female relatives such as: the New Moon movie, the upcoming Newport Beach house vacation, which cousin will have the next baby, and Jamie's newly dyed red hair.

-Will's day of sports, starting with the Turkey Bowl in the morning, Volleyball, Table Tennis & Basketball at Becky's, and golfing with all the guys today.

-Snuggling up in our pajamas on the couch and watching Miracle on 34th Street with my Mom & the boys.

-Planning Black Friday shopping strategies. We aren't die hard enough to wake up early, but we did manage to get everything we wanted for the kids all in one morning.

-Eating my first See's Chocolate of the season.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Thankful #8

Today I am thankful for:

My Sister Danielle

(This is us the day after Thanksgiving 2004)

Here are just some of the reasons why:

-She's forgiven me (maybe?) for being a very bossy older sister
-She was my co-conspirator in high school when we took the mini-van through the car wash instead of hand washing it like we were supposed to.
-She has a gift with children. She loves them, they love her. Almost without exception. I sooooo wish she could be my kids 2nd grade teacher.
-She sends the best birthday packages, always on time (she used to work at a UPS store), and gift-wrapped even underneath the box. They are almost always stuffed with really good books.
-She has a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor--you have to watch for the little comments under her breath.
-She can talk Twilight & New Moon with the best of them.
-She rarely complains (now why didn't I get that trait?)
-She ends most phone conversations with "Love you Aud!"
-She endures hard things with patience and faith.
-And, she's coming for Christmas this year. Hooray!
Love you Yelly.

Thankful #7

Today I am thankful for:

Pretending I'm 17 again.

Tomorrow I will be thankful for ANY form of a nap my children will allow me.

Thankful #6

Today I am thankful for:

Pre-School Art

Before I had kids I swore I would never clutter my refrigerator door with tacky construction paper creations. I don't know what I thought I was going to do with the constant paper trail they bring home, but I just didn't envision it taped up all over the place (this was also back when I thought it was a good idea to purchase butter yellow twill slip-covered couches. Lesson learned). But like everything else with kids, you do a lot of things you never thought you would.
Anyway, here's why I now proudly tape up most of what they bring home:
-No matter how bad their project is, your child still thinks it completely rocks. Self-doubt has not yet entered their mindset.
-I love holidays, and pre-school celebrates EVERY holiday, so you always feel festive. We currently have six different turkey renditions in our hallway so there's no forgetting about Thanksgiving around here (that was for you Danielle!).
-It's proof that they have an opportunity to do fun and messy projects, without me having to deal with glitter, finger paint, and melting crayons in my tiny condo.
-It's also proof that at some point they must have sat still for more than 10 seconds to create such projects.
-It provides a visual reminder of their progress. Scribbles become pictures which eventually become letters and numbers. It's fun to watch their handwriting improve.
-So many of their projects make me laugh, like when Luke drew a picture of himself including his very prominent "outie" belly button.
-Once it's been displayed for awhile I don't feel guilty about tossing it.

Thankful #5

Today I am thankful for:

A husband who put the kids to bed and put away the leftovers when I accidentally fell asleep on the couch after dinner.

I am grateful that he supports me as I try and get up early to exercise, even though it sometimes means I'm ready to check out by 9:00pm.

I appreciate gifts and flowers as much as the next girl, but when he does things like this after I've had a long afternoon with the kids it is so much more meaningful.

I'm also thankful for:

The opportunity to have lunch with my Mom, Grandma, & two Aunts who were in town. With Chloe there we had four generations of women in our family together. I love this. I hope she will come to appreciate how important the women who have come before her are and how much there is to learn from them.

Thankful #4

Today I am grateful for the Primary Program.

It's the best Sunday of the year.

Here's my kids in a rare photo shoot before church. Yes, that means we got ready early enough to have time for pictures of them dressed up.

These boys were great about practicing their parts this year. Even Luke, who has never gotten up to sing or participate with the Primary ever, happily went when they called the kids. Watching them say their lines was like a perfect study in their contrasting personalities. Ethan waved wildly at us with a smile as big as his face. He confidently gripped the microphone with two hands before starting his part. Luke stood sheepishly embarrassed when he saw us in the audience and then flushed bright red after saying his line. He also accidentally dropped the picture of himself that he was to hold up, but I think he was more amused than upset about that. Both boys were very cute to watch sing the songs. Luke, who was in the very front, rested his elbows on the stand and cupped his chin in his hands through every single number.
Practicing for the program also gave us a good opportunity to have a few chats about what their parts meant. I'm so glad they're building small & simple testimonies of the gospel. It's amazing how much is sinking in when they look like they're not paying attention at all (or completely wrestling each other) during family night.
I'm also grateful that I get to dress up a little girl for church. I've picked out quite a few sweater vests and ties in my time, but dresses, hairbows and church shoes are much more fun. Doesn't she look cute?