A Birthday Wish for Erica

Erica my girl, we have a special birthday message for you!! Just click on the video above.

White Elephant Gingerbread House

At my work Christmas Party last week we had a white elephant gift exchange. I ended up with a Willy Wonka Gingerbread House Kit. My coworker informed me that it was a year old, but otherwise nothing was wrong with it. Gingerbread and sugar loaded candy can't go bad, right?

Adelle and I decided we were going to make this magical gingerbread house, even though Lydia was away visiting her Grammie. Well the candy looked and tasted well enough, but the Gingerbread...well, let's just say it had a very stale smell to it. Wes could smell it across the room. It even was slightly damp. Not really damp, perhaps moist.


Well Adelle and I started out on our project, just the two of us.

Can you beat that smile?

This is as far as we got before the roof starting sliding off the house. I think it was because the gingerbread was not quite what it should be. We decided to end the project early. The poor house was disposed of in our garbage can.

We were left with all of this wonderful Willy Wonka Candy. We now have nerds, runts, bottelcaps and sweettarts! But Alas, the White Elephant Gingerbread House was not what we had expected.

Icicles for the Snow Princess

This morning Adelle was looking out of the window and was quite taken with the large icicles hanging off the front of the house. She said to me within Wes' earshot "I wonder what it would be like if daddy were to get me an icicle". Wes commented that she was just like me in asking for something she wanted indirectly. Hey, what is wrong with not being direct? Anyway, he got her one. I asked her to please put in the shower so it wouldn't melt all over the carpet. She was quite surprised later to see that it had almost melted away.

Winter Visitor

Saturday our little house and area were hit hard by a snow storm. I was really glad I had no where to go. It is common for this time of the year for us to get a blizzard like storm. Well, Adelle and I were just hanging out when we noticed our cat acting strange. We looked out the window to see a bird eating our birdseed bell. We bought it at the Tracy Aviary a little while ago. I couldn't believe that in the middle of a blustery storm this bird was trying to eat. He must have been really hungry! I am glad though that he had something to eat to keep him alive this winter. Can you see all the snow covering a lot of the seeds?

Oh, and this is why everyone had tummy aches!

I thought I would try to add some video to my blog. This is a funny moment from the Gingerbread House making.

Gingerbread House

Ahh..Gingerbread houses and all there sugary goodness. Last Sunday my little family gathered around our small table to make this very small gingerbread house. I picked up this gingerbread kit at Wal-Mart. It is a Wilton brand and may I say VERY small. I have decided that I like the Costco Houses much better. But anyway, on to the memories.


We split of into teams and started decorating. Wes and Lydia were a team and Adelle and I were a team. I had the superior frosting piping this year so Adelle and I won, but who is counting. It is always so much fun to get our fingers all sticky to make our little house which we proudly display in our living room the rest of the Christmas Season.

Someone has a CRUSH on Lydia..

and I don't mean just a little crush. This is one of those BIG crushes! Sure there have been boys interested in Lydia before. In first grade Lydia was picked on by a lot by boys, we spoke to the teacher and she said it was because Lydia had such a pretty face.

Last year one boy kept chasing her and her best friend. He would try and grab the girls, hold them down and kiss them. Needless to say the principle and the parents had to get involved.

This crush is different though. He is a boy in our ward and I saw him last night when I want to the Cub Scout Pack Meeting. I am currently serving in the Cub Scouts if you're not aware. Anyway the boy comes up to me and says "Can I date Lydia, when I am 16"? I advise him that when he is 16 he can ask her himself. This boy is quite smart, says right what is on his mind, and VERY hyperactive!

Later in the evening the boys were making Christmas cards and this boy wanted to make a card just for Lydia. He proceeds to draw himself and Lydia standing under mistletoe. The boy asks me if I know what it means when two people stand under the mistletoe. He tells me that he is drawing what their house will look like when they are married. He asks me what her favorite color is. I tell him I'm not sure. He thinks it has to be pink and he proceeds to decorate the front of the card with pink and blue puff balls because his favorite color is blue and her favorite color must be pink. He says it has to be a perfect card.

He then asks"Does Lydia talk about me"? I say "Well, she says you are in her primary class". He is excited that Lydia has spoken about him before. He gives me the card and asks if I will give it to her. I say I will.

As we are cleaning up for the evening. He comes up to me and asks "Do you think Lydia will have a crush on me after she gets the card". I say "I don't know". So I take the handmade, puff adorned, wet with glue card home with me. I am just laughing all the way home in the car, and by laughing I mean cracking up, laughing out loud until my stomach is hurting.

I bring the card home to Lydia. She doesn't freak out. She is aware that this boy has a crush on her and even tells me that he whispers in her ear during primary class that he wants to marry her some day.

I am hesitant to ask, but I do ask "So..what do you think about (the boy)"? She says that they are "friends". I am going to have to keep an eye on my girl and the boys around her. Does it really start this early? Thinking back to my own childhood I guess it does! Wish me luck