I failed 3rd grade!

I was looking for some fun trivia questions for 2008 and I stumbled on this website. It's easy all you have to do is drag the name of the states to there location. Easy! Right? Uh...I did it 10 times, until I felt carsick, and I never did it. Then this annoying message pops up saying, "you didn't pass 3rd grade." Sad.

Give it a try.

http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf

Good Luck!

I will say, there are time where I WAS putting the states in the right place, but the game wasn't recognizing it, so it wasted a lot of time.

Merry Christmas 2008

Here's more shots. Including our Christmas dinner. Thanks Huntings, Titus', and Dennis's. It was yummy.

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

 

Despite the distance from family, we had a great Christmas. Santa spoiled each of the kids and Grandma's and Grandpa's did too. Thanks everyone for sending gifts and money. We all had a great Christmas.

"Welcome to New England"

 

 

 

 

We got hit big last night with a good storm. Dumping 16-18 inches of snow. Add that to the foot we already had and you have more snow than my kids have ever seen. Poor Mike was shoveling the drive last night and by the time he was done, it was time to do it again! Everytime I remark to one of our neighbors or friends about the craziness of the amount of snow all I get is, "Welcome to New England."

Sledding?

 

 

 

 

The snow has hit, and we have been taking full advantage of getting outside and enjoying the winter wonderland. We have yet to find a great sledding spot, but so far this rope and sled system has been working.

run run as fast as you can...

 

Me? I can have my very own gingerbread cookie? Not just the corner or a bite?

 

Wow...where should I start? Legs? Arms?

 

Might as well start at the top. The head.

 

Hmmm... good.

Here's Ell enjoying her first Gingerbread cookie. The kids have loved all the baking I have been doing, and they are the best taste testers. Elliot get's the most tastes since she has learned the power of the "pppllleeeeeeesseeee" it's pretty cute!

The Red coats are coming...

After 6 months of being in NH we FINALLY made the hour and fifteen minute drive to Boston, MA. School was still canceled because of the storm, so we took advantage of the free time and spent the day in Boston. There is sooo much to see and do, we just relaxed at the park at Boston Commons and let the kids play. We also walked some of the freedom trail (this takes you to all the historical sites.) And we even ate at Cheers (Not the real Cheers, but the Cheers themed restaurant). The buildings are amazing, and the shopping is great! We did do one museum, the "Old South Church" where the people gathered before the Boston Tea Party. It is Beautiful inside. The children loved the cemeteries and all of the sculptures. It was a great day, and we can't wait to go back. My favorite part...eating Boston Cream Pie. We found the hotel that made the first Boston Cream Pie and paid 8.50 for a piece. We all got 2 bites, it was worth it!

New Hampshire Update

We had church today and found out there are still a lot of people without power, I can't imagine having to be without it for this long. Some have even been told it won't be until later in the week, since they are trying to get power to so many. We will be including those people in our prayers until this is taken care of. Our ward has really pulled together. Again I am so grateful for my warm house, my wonderful friends, and my knowledge of prayer.

State of Emergency OR 36 hours of FUN!

We have been having such a wonderful fall, but I guess Winter was ready for it's turn. We had an ice storm move through NH on Thursday night. My biggest concern was the slick roads, I had no idea what we were in for.

Friday morning at 5am the boys came into my room saying, "Mom, our trees our in our driveway."
YIKES! One had broken completely, and the other had simply bowed over from the weight of the ice. See Pictures



Not only was the tree thing a stress, but our power was out. I got out our battery powered lantern (lifesaver) and our big flashlight.
Friday was normal with no power, we cleaned the house, played games. The kid's even played on the "nature made" play equipment out front, until our neighbor came and helped cut it up and take it away. But we soon realized that the power wouldn't be coming back on anytime soon. Ours were not the only trees that had fallen, and power lines were out all over NH. The Governor declared the storm a state of Emergency and shelters were opened up for people who didn't have power.



So it took me all day to realize, but NO POWER means NO HEAT. Luckily we were able to go to our wonderful friends house for the night and sleep by their fire. And our other friends the Titus helped with food. Jeff made the breakfast in his dutch oven, and I agree with Griffin it was the "best breakfast ever!" Thanks Titus family and Huntings for being better prepared then we were and sharing your resources with us. All in all, the kids had a great time spending the weekend with friends and playing out side with the ice.

(Elliot all buddled up with layers of clothes, trying to keep warm)
Sorry this is long, bare with me...

We learned a COLD lesson these past 36 hours without power.
-we need a back up heating source. Like a "r. Buddy" or better yet, a Generator for HEAT and Power.(the coldest our house got was 44 degrees, Brrr...)
-Batteries, we never went through ours but, what if we had? It would have been a really dark night.
-I need a dutch oven with accessories so we can cook food, although our BBQ could have served well.
-My cell phone was almost dead on the first morning and I needed a way to charge it, without having to depend on the car. Who wants to drive around and used fuel just to charge your cell phone.

Some good things we had going for us...
-we had our light sources ready with batteries, easily accessible.
-I had batteries in my alarm clock/radio so I was able to listen to news over the radio, it really helped me stay informed and the music helped our house feel "normal."
-We keep an "old fashion" phone, you know the kind with a cord? which helped us stay in touch with each other.
-we kept our water facets dripping so that our pipes wouldn't freeze(thanks Dad for that tip).
-Even though our food storage isn't where it should be, we did have enough food. Although we didn't even have to use it.

We were so lucky to have so much help and people looking out for us, next time we might not be so lucky, and my goal this year will be to get us, self sufficient for emergencies like this in the future. I know the Lord watches out for us, and this was a great reminder of all the counsel the prophets have been giving us. I know as I write this, there may still be some without power. Our prayers will be with them tonight.

(Mike setting up the laptop for the kids to watch a movie).

It's a Wonderful Life

I have a confessions... I have never liked the movie, "It's a wonderful Life." But as we went downtown for the tree lighting ceremony I was reminded of the small town in which is takes place. And as we stood around enjoying our FREE hot chocolate and cookies, I was happy. I do have a wonderful life.

We ran into the missionaries and Elder Childs gravitated towards the camera. I think they were there for the FREE hot chocolate and cookies.

There was some musical numbers and Santa arrived, lights and sirens, on a fire Engine. Pretty cool. Of course Miles and Caleigh ran the other way, but Griff had to get in there. Miles and Caleigh came around when they saw the candy canes.







By the end of the ceremony my Friend Emily and I were comparing our town to "Stars Hallow" from the series "Gilmore Girls." We definitely have an "Al's Pancake world" but no "Luke's Diner." And there are a lot of "Kirks" walking around.

The Polar Express

Our library had a reading of the "Polar Express" the other night. All the kids dressed in their Jammie's to go listen to the story. We were so glad that the Titus family could come with us. After the story, we sang carols and had treats, what a fun FREE activity. My favorite part, being in such a beautiful old building.

Having fun with baby Jesus

My friend posted an entry the other day on her blog about "having fun with baby Jesus."

Confused?

What am I talking about?

If you don't own your own little people Nativity Set, then this will be really confusing to you. We DO own our own set and the kids look forward to playing with it all year. Until I read my friends post, it never occurred to me, all the funny places baby Jesus ends up. So I put my camera within reach and kept my eyes peeled for funny places He would end up. Here is what I have taken so far. (none of these pictures were staged by me, just my four cute children.)




Good thing someone called an ambulance, mechanic, and a construction worker.

Uhh... wrong story.

Where is baby Jesus going?


Under the TV cabinet, watch out for Dustbunnies!