Ice

Aside from the fact that most of our family is here, we love the Pacific Northwest because of the beauty and the weather. Scrap that, apparently we are in Fargo. Now for us it is never just snow--it is usually snow AND ice. When the weather turns like this, we tend to have ice storms. Here is our house with the snow, a layer of ice, and more snow. We are close to the Columbia Gorge so there are some serious winds. Here is one of our snow drifts by our playhouse. Yes folks, that is almost 19 inches.

This is the accumlation in the backyard. This is without yesterday's accumulation.

And here is our measurement for the front yard.

I didn't even get to trim my hydrangea down. I guess I'll do that when the ice and snow melts!

I opened my side garage door to find this. This is an area blocked by several trees and really shouldn't have accumulated much. I love that the door's panels are imprinted in the snow.

Here you can see the backyard and play house. (Still without the new paint and quite unsightly.) I am secretly praying that our old section of the fence goes down just to tick our neighbor off. Shhh. Don't tell anyone. He's being a pill.

McKay attempting to make a snow angel. Um, you see how he is on TOP of the snow. Yea, well that would be the ice on top of the snow. Pretty hilarious.

And although the ice can be quite dangerous because it is so thick (about 1 inch) it is so beautiful on the trees. It is not blowing in this picture, the tree is frozen that way. The freezing rain and wind left this tree like a statue. Freeze tag you're it.

McKay holding a chunk of ice that he got off the bar-b-que.

And what would a girl with 2 brothers be building? A snow fort of course--for protection! Sophie did this herself and was so proud!Hunkering down, waiting patiently...she waits for her prey. Watch out, there's ice, ice baby!

Almost

Our little elves have struck again. This time the weather is preventing them from getting here as they would like.


For the 9th day we received 9 candlesticks! Hopefully we won't lose our power necessitating the use of these sooner than later!













Then we received 10 Candy Canes! So fruity.

Then for the Eleventh Day we received 2 huge Christmas Stockings. Inside were. . .

11 Pairs of Christmas Socks each filled 1 jingle bell and more candy than any elf should eat in one sitting! The kids wore the socks to bed! So cute.

Today is the last day and we call see what the Elf shall bring. We're almost to Christmas. Almost.

Arctic

Our local weathermen & women (One of which looks like Screech from 'Saved by the Bell') have once again named our inclement weather here in the Northwest. "Arctic Blast 2008" is what they're calling it. Either way, they were correct on getting some snow, ice, and whatnot so far. However, the picture you are looking at below is after 4 days of being home--relatively cooped up. So yes, we now have quite a bit of snow and it is still going strong.....however...it hasn't been this way all week.

You can still see some of the grass...this was Day 3.

But here is Day 1. Not a lot of snow to be had, but there was enough ice to make navigating a bus around the hills in our town a problem. But enough to play? Do not fret. McKay and his friend were ingenious and decided to use a Home Depot bucket, our kitchen faucet, and the below freezing weather to create their own "ice slide". Did it work? Yes it did. And if you build it, they will come.....

Here is Sophie and Mitch ready to take the slope.

Bundled up and ready to play. There seems to be a cool breeze coming in my mouth. Has someone left the door open?

The more you bundle up, the longer you can stay out. Remember, the snow here tends to be wet.

Did someone just ding-dong ditch me? Look what was left on my front porch! Sophie and Mitch made these.

I booked them a cruise in February. They're chillin' until then.

I'm not coming in until I can't feel my limbs. Oh wait, maybe that would be cool! Keaton stayed out forever!

Heave ho-it's down the driveway we go. Yes, that is sheer ice. Nice work boys.

There's a reason ALL the neighbor kids were here. There were 14 kids here that were NOT my own.

Here is a shot of some of the neighbor kids.

And my favorite part of it all. This is my garage floor. This isn't even what's IN the house. It's cold, it's wet, it's definitely feel liking the arctic.

More

We've heard more from our "Elves" despite the inclement weather. Day 6 brought us some delicious root beer decorated as reindeer. As I do not purchase pop often, especially anything non-diet or as yummy as Henry Weinhard's, the kids were over the top on this one!



















Day 7 brought us ornaments, all nestled in tinsel. The snowman looks so jolly! He's probably glad school's been out for the remainder of the week too!
And what should arrive next? A yummy fruit basket. Little do they know that pineapple is Sophie and my favorite! And since Scott says that pineapple hurts his mouth--well, we won't have to share! Mine all mine! (Insert evil laugh here.)

Until we hear more. . .

Insomnia

With his good intentions and well meaning Christmas goodness, dear Scott has decorated Sophie's room with lovely Christmas lights. Why do you think Sophie has had trouble falling asleep?

Elves

Some little Elves are doing the Twelve Days of Christmas for our family! How nice is that? We were so surprised. Eagerly awaiting the dinging of our doorbell, the kids can't wait to find out what was left next! Five days have gone by and this is what we've gotten so far. Mind you, these have been accompanied by darling notes, however, for the sake of time, I am posting pictures!
One gingerbread train. You know we were all over assembling this puppy. One piece for the train, one for their mouths!

Two snowmen salt & pepper shakers. It was even in a cute bowl with fun paper shreds!

Here is our huge snowman cookie! 3 parts of his body and oh so yummy. I need this recipe.

4 cute holiday mugs filled with flavored hot chocolates. How handy did these come in during our Snow Days from school? Very handy indeed.

5 Christmas Bells....ringing in the holiday! I was thinking I could tie them to their shoelaces...you think they're teachers would mind?

We are loving this and it has gotten all of us in such the Christmas Spirit! Until we hear more from the Elves....

Spirit

And who should come knocking on our door bundled with coats, hats, gloves and hoodies? Why it's the Geigenmiller Family with their smiling faces and yummy Christmas goodies! Their singing was awesome, who wouldn't want to hear it. It filled us all with the Christmas spirit!

Behind

Maybe it's that Thanksgiving was so late this year. Or it could be that our ward split and threw me for a bit of a loop. What about the Primary Sacrament Program being pushed back a month? But most likely because I am not on top of my A-game. My shopping isn't done. I haven't finished our Murph O' Gram. And we just got our family pictures. As you can see, I am totally behind.

Hanging

Can you handle this? Sunday at church I surely thought that this thing would fall out. No dice. Then Monday, surely while at school my daughter would come home with the tooth in her little treasure chest. Nope. If I was her teacher it would take everything in my power to not want to pull that puppy out! I mean I wouldn't want to lose my JOB over it, but I definitely couldn't handle it. So after 2 FULL days of Sophie's tooth dangling as if she is wearing the Billy Bob fake teeth I couldn't stand it one more minute. She was trying to work on it, but nervous that it would hurt.

Viola. All she needed was a small towel and one light mom-tug! Nary a drop of blood.

Now, all she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth! How cute is that?

I knew people would want to know--wouldn't want to leave anyone hanging!

Hunt

The annual tree hunt was on this weekend. Can you see how absolutely gorgeous it was outside? Well, we always go and cut down our tree at a farm, but as one would expect with 3 kids--life is busy. We had parties, Scouting for Food, and lots to do. We ended up at a local nursery to purchase an already cut tree. I almost had to grab a bag for Scott who was hyperventilating. In, out, in, out. It's the caveman side of him--it's in the hunt.
We are picky and we prefer nobles and after some serious deliberation--we agreed on the tree behind Keaton. It's like looking for a husband; tall, no major bald spots, has potential and you can imagine having it in your home. Heck, even with our tree we had to concede on some points!

Somewhere along the way our mission was sidetracked with the purchase of 3 cactus plants. The kids were so excited to each pick out a cactus for their own room. They even named them.

Although this was a different type of tree hunt this year, we enjoyed being with one another. Yes, in previous years we wouldn't have expected to come home with a cactus for each child, but it really is about spending time together. Even if we have to go to a "stocked pond" to hunt.

Thankless

Every Thanksgiving we always list things that we are thankful for. And I am sure many, if not most of our lists are quite similar; our children, spouses, extended families, jobs, etc. And no disrespect to any of those--I am so thankful for those people and blessings in my life. But you know, it's like when you're watching the Oscars and you know someone who totally did a ton of work is so not getting their name mentioned over the pulpit? Well, that's what I am saying here. I am going to list 5 things that I am grateful for that often get no thanks:

1. My garage. How many times have you taken this for granted? I didn't have a house for years. It's pouring rain and I am attempting to take two small children, groceries, my purse & 2 Lego Bionicles to our apartment after climbing 67 stairs. Now, all I have to do is push a little button and drive right into the dry garage. No downpour, no wet pants, no puddles, no frizzy hair. (And I can still wear my pajama bottoms down to the bus stop.)

2. Popcorn. Ever since I was little, I have LOVED popcorn. It is so light, so fluffy, and the smell....I love the smell. Now don't get me wrong--I'm a popcorn snob. None of this popped in a microwave bag stuff. That is for those who know nothing of true popcorn. You're not a purist if you're satisfied with a bag filled with unpopped kernels and half-burnt fluff stuck to the side of the bag. No, it is the hot air popped that makes me succomb. The smell of delicious hot popcorn, lightly bathed in butter. Lightly people, lightly. And no salt. Hey, you have to draw the line somewhere. Am I making you hungry? Just don't tell my orthodontist. Shhhhh, it's our little secret.

3. The Magic Eraser. I thought my life was complete with my husband and three children. I had no idea what I was missing out on. Then, one monumentous day--my mother-in-law introduced me to the Magic Eraser. Oh, where have you been all these years? You remove pen. You remove paint. You lighten my burden time and time again. It really is magic. It's like meth---I have to have my Magic Eraser. (Not that I am saying I need Meth.)

4. Chocolate. I don't eat it all the time, but when you need something sweet & good--chocolate is there. Take note when you go to a party. What dessert is usually gone first? Chocolate. What do people often crave? Chocolate. Ooey gooey and oh so delicious, don't ever underestimate its power. It is strong. Try it. You need your children to finish cleaning their rooms? There you go. Hey, I'm not above a bribe.

5. Socks. I am always cold--I mean all of the time. But if I put on some warm, fluffy socks, I can warm my core temp up a few measurable degrees. And a good pair of socks turns me into Michelle Kwan on my hardwoods. You should see my triple lutz. And do not forget that socks help prevent me from seeing people's hairy, flaky, filthy feet. I don't want to see them, nor do I want to smell them. ick. Sorry I had to go there.

There you have it, just a few of the many totally random things I am grateful for. You know my list could go on and on---seriously there are so many things that I have been truly blessed with, but let's not forget the everyday things! It's a thankless job. Thankless.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for the Murphys consists of a two day foodfest. We always do a Wednesday dinner with my family. Why you ask? Because several people (ie. Scott) always work on Thursday and we get to see both sides of our family. Despite the fact that the two of us come from families of 5, the dynamics are different. I am the oldest and Scott is the fourth out of five. Bossy hen. Chill mischeivous one. Since my siblings are younger, (and yet I am still so very young) there are lots of little ones on my side of the family. Here is Erin and Owen. The only reason Owen isn't moving is because Erin is restraining him.

And then feast begins.

And the last to show? My poor hubby who saw more bare bottoms than anyone should on any holiday. No wait, on any day of the year. Ever. He's eating my sweet potatoes. I made him.

And then this is Kirsi's first Thanksgiving. Too bad Aunt Carrie had already given her whipped topping eons ago. The pumpkin pie was new. I didn't have to make HER eat my sweet potatoes. Bitter? Maybe a tad.

And here is Wendy and Owen. This picture was taken by Bekah. Not bad Bekah. There can never be enough paparazzi around.

And Asher is showing the correct way to eat one of our chocolate turkeys. Look mom, no hands! You should see him with green peas. It's amazing.

And TJ. I'll give you $5 if you can guess how many freckles he has rounded to the nearest 100. So cute.

Day 2.

Then the actual day of Thanksgiving we went to the Beems. (Scott's Sister) And of course Mimi has everything looking darling. How about these placecard holders. Love them.

What were the names of the ships again? The Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Reesesa?

Sophie and Noah show how much fun cousins can have. Never enough time to play they are off in their own world finding things to do!

Kickin' it with the boyz. Keaton enjoys a relaxing dessert with Collin & Logan.

Of course not eating meat, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables and the like poses a problem for McKay. This is his favorite holiday. NOT. After dinner he decided to spend his time more wisely by reading a book and enlightening his mind. Oh, I mean using the whammy bar to its full potential on Guitar Hero. Party on Garth.

And then Mimi had planned for us to have a huge family Bunko tournament. Heather explained the rules and we were off to our tables. Everyone had an absolute blast! And there were even prizes to be had!

With all of our families spread far and wide, we couldn't be more grateful. We have blessings galore and so much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!