Yesterday...

...Max made me "an I love you card". He drew me and a bucket of lasagna- while he was drawing it, he wouldn't let me see it but asked me how to spell lasagna. It seemed strange at the time, but now totally makes sense?....There is a little colored in heart with Max scribbled beside it. So, yes, it is in fact an I love you card. Or it was, Sam found it and that was the end of that.

...Sam said "A-voo Mats" pretty clearly. (We know it means love you, max.) Needless to say, Max was pretty happy. Sam has also been very busy pulling decorations off the tree, wanting to talk to ANYONE on the phone, climbing the ladder Dustin built for Max's top bunk, and learning to say prayers. He has also figured out how to wedge himself between the kitchenaid and the microwave on the counter. He thinks its cozy.

...I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" for the first time. Dustin was at the school studying most of the day, so I was happy to watch it on tv after the kids had gone to bed. My favorite part of the whole movie was the Angel named Clarence. I don't think enough people in this world are named Clarence. Maybe I'll have Max write that out on a card for me.

Yesterday, I didn't think about all the things I need to do before Christmas. I was very cranky in the morning and thought entirely about myself. Isn't it wonderful that I can say sorry to my family for being such a bum, and I think they actually forgave me! Seriously, when I say cranky, I mean shooting flames from my eyes and ears. I tried sewing during that time, which let me tell you, is NOT a good idea when you're mad. Sam's christmas pillowcase turned out a little off kilter.

Today I thought about Antipasto and how much Dustin loves it. I thought about Max waking up at night, asking me for reassurance. I thought about Sam's runny nose and cough, but how he smiles and laughs and climbs anyway. I thought about the reason I can say I'm sorry, and have it mean something. Today I thought about Christmas. I thought about my Savior. I'm glad I don't have to think about christmas pillowcases, or what I should buy for Dustin. Instead I can think of why we're here, and why we celebrate this season. When I fill my mind with the important stuff, it genuinely does not matter what side of bed I get out of.

Merry Christmas.

Love, Lindsey Dustin Max and Sam

Volleyball

Tonight I played volleyball. I played because I felt better from the flu. In fact, I should amend my statement of "playing"- I should have paid the ball just for having to be on the same court as me. I need another week of laying down. Maybe then I will be good enough to play with Lauren and Robin. For shame.

When Swine Flew

It's true.

We've all grown tails and turned our noses, or snouts, up.

Piggies. All but one of us. Little Sammy is the toughest of us all, tougher than most of our piggie saturated community. Tougher than all of our kisses and hugs, and hacking fits of death. What a guy.

Max started coughing on Halloween night after trick or treating. I thought he might have caught a chill from being out in the cold wearing only He-Man furry undies. (Not really, but still...) We all stayed home from church Sunday, thinking I was just paranoid. Monday afternoon Max was laid out with a fever and coughing more and more. That night, I felt it too. Tuesday, Dustin had to come home early from school. All week we've had fevers of 40C (104F), cough, core throats, achey joints and general crankiness. Max hasn't complained AT ALL! He's happy to take his vitamins everyday and hope he stops coughing. The doc prescribed Dust and Sam some Tamiflu to shorten the duration. (It was too late for Max and I).

So here I am on a Saturday afternoon, on my computer. What a day- what a week. Groceries running low- wait soup storage and toast running low. All the meals I intended on making last week, now on the menu for next. Shut in. That does things to your mind. Last night I was pretending to be Ludo from the Labyrinth. "Sarah, Ludo, frieeeeeeeeeeeends?" I also determined that Sam could pass as the bog of eternal stench and Max, Hoggle. What about Dustin? The goblin King is too obvious, but what do you think?

Back to reality, here we go, plunging into another week. Will we make it? I think so. I'm sore and tired and ready to die, but I also feel like I just kicked this H1N1 hysteria in the butt. I got it, I think I'll make it. I didn't have to stand in line for 8 hours for the vaccination. 8 hours v. 8 days? I'm unsure who really kicked whose butt...

Here is a pic of Sam, showing he's "boss hog" get it?


Max in his He-Man get up

Turkey Trot pictures

Yes, we ran in a race. Here are the red cheek pictures to prove it.

Quiet Afternoon

This has been a hectic weekend past. Friday night was our first basketball game this season. Saturday morning, we all ran 4K in the turkey trot for the united way. That afternoon I had a soccer play off game and then the RS broadcast. Even yesterday was intense as it was my first lesson in Relief Society, then bringing stuffing to the big Turkey trot dinner. It was a hustle bustle weekend, so today was nice because it was quiet.

Max was a big help today! He pushed Sam's stroller at the bottle depot and helped me can some tomatoes from the garden.

Sam helped by taking a nap.

Anyway, here are some shots of the boys just hanging out. I mostly took these to show the "after" of sam's haircut. I think it looks waaaaay better than the mullet!

Pretty good, considering I made them say cheese instead of watching bob the builder!


"cheese"


Side view. All business, no party anywhere.


Max playing outside. Just previous he was singing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I took a picture because he looked so innocent and sweet singing to himself in the car.

"Let me tell you why I suck as a salesman..."

Except instead of salesman, substitute "blogger". I suppose I don't really need to explain why I'm terrible, because we all know that I never update or do anything very interesting. I will attempt to fill you in on our summer goings-on.
It was hot-sometimes. We went swimming-occasionally. Took a trip to Moab- our pictures were deleted. It was really hot there and we met an awesome old hippy. That made our trip I think. We hung out at our friend's cabin at Echo and tried our feet at wakeboarding and wake skiing. I started my correspondence chem class. Sam got a hair cut today. No more mullet. Dustin booked his first patient today, and Max knows Monday comes after Sunday. That is a big feat, it took me all day to explain it!
Enjoy some of our pictures and please forgive my lame excuse for blogging! See ya in 3 months...haha
ps- here is the link for our new family pics, you have to scroll down a couple of posts. http://www.camerasandcakes.blogspot.com/

Happy Dominion Day!

This year we headed to the Legislature Building for a pancake breakfast! It was so delicious. Sam was so enthralled by all the people that he would stop walking and just stare them down. You can imagine how long it took us to get anywhere- there really were thousands of people for him to stare at. Max got a tattoo on his cheek and loved the pancakes and watermelon. There was no meat served as it was put on my a Muslim group, so it was perfect for our little vegetarian.

After our yummy breakfast we headed to Fort Edmonton Park. It's a huge family park that exhibits different periods of time in Edmonton's History. There is a Midway from the 1920's, a fur trading fort from the 1880's, and various other streets modeled from different eras. Max's favorite, though, is the full sized real steam engine that goes around the park. He loves riding in the caboose in the seats up above all the rest. We spent the rest of the afternoon petting small animals, riding the ferris wheel at the midway, eating bbq lunch, snacking on sweets from an old treat shop, looking at flowers and cars, and riding the train. By the time we out Sam in his carseat, he was out cold. I've never seen him so sleepy.

That evening we bbq'd our supper and headed out back for s'mores. Sam couldn't be bothered to wait for the whole s'more so he ate each part seperately. Max had so many I lost count.