So close...

Today it snowed like it was going out of style. We drove down to Provo to help Kelli move. The 25 minute drive took an hour. Being the snow driving veteran that I am it wasn't too bad.

I did get stuck. The first time (it happened more than once) I was leaving Kelli's apartment, but Dad was able to drive out of it. It was very impressive. It's a simple matter of not giving it too much gas and just letting the car get itself out. It also helps if you aren't afraid of sliding around in what appears to be an out of control manner until the car rights itself. The second time I didn't fare so well:
I thought I paid attention to Dad's lesson. Maybe the van (like horses and tractors) has more respect for my Dad. It just wasn't wanting to get itself unstuck. Perhaps it felt like it was close enough to home. Whatever the reason, I am grateful for neighbors who were willing to help shovel and push.

Sick Kids Day 2

This may sound weird but the kids are home sick and I'm pretty happy about it. I have an iron clad/guilt free reason not to be at the elementary school, grocery store or anywhere else. Home confinement has forced me to do all the little house projects that I have been neglecting. Yesterday, I cleaned out three closets, my laundry room, and a cupboard. I'm not sure how they ended up in such a state of disarray, but now I just want to sit and admire the linen closet. It looks so neat and tidy. I've filled three bags of stuff for the D.I. and I'm just getting started. Today I plan to tackle the boys' bedrooms. I'm giddy just thinking about it.

Here's some unrelated stuff

Matt is our ward committee chair. That is what I get for making dumb comments about how I would like to invite more people to our little street parties, except then it becomes a ward party and that is not my calling. Which technically it still isn't my calling, but we all know how that goes. All things considered (no committee members, limited budget, three weeks notice) Matt did a good job on the party. He really did do most of the work, I only helped on the jobs that I wanted to do. He even decorated.
It's a good thing we have Dave, the fireplace facade guy, to help create a good ambiance. It's also a good thing that Lyn is our neighbor and was willing to provide the musical entertainment. She and her friends Melanie & Paige were absolutely amazing. She even busted out a hot pink electric violin. I'll bet you didn't have that at your ward Christmas party... but you might have been served dinner. We're just glad it's over and there isn't another party for awhile.
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Today was one of those days that I wonder why I live in a state that gets so cold. But Noah is still a die hard when it comes to sports. I can't convince him to play downstairs but maybe this will: Remember I am a horrible sports photographer and my camera is incapable of taking a good action shot. The net is frozen so the ball got stuck.
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The pinewood derby was last week. Noah's car looked cool (winner: most authentic car) but was not fast enough to win. Apparently the competition is stiff in our ward. The guy who runs the track said that our ward has the fastest cars out of all the races he has run. The winning car was nearly as fast as the world record holding pinewood derby car, which was made by a professional. I suppose if the Francis boys are going to compete they are going to have to stop building cars two nights before the big race.

Great Expectations

I admit to being a frugal person. I get a ridiculous amount of joy in finding a good deal so I rarely pay full price for anything. When I do pay full price, I expect it to be worth it. For school, in a moment of weakness, I shelled out 50 bucks for Ben to have a pair of Skechers Z-straps. I think it is the most I have ever spent on kids' shoes--I rarely spend that much on my shoes. But I figured they would last longer. Three months later and they look like this:


Here's the kicker: he was only allowed to wear them to school. He does walk to school which could account for excessive wear, except that he almost always gets a ride home. Besides, Noah's shoes are still in mint condition (Adidas, $13-amazing sale). And Noah is harder on shoes and doesn't have designated play shoes. Matt did try to take them back (as any member of the Francis family would) and was refused. What chaps my hide is that Ben's $8.00 Kmart play shoes I purchased last spring are in better shape than these. I tried to sew these junkers back together. See the thread? I am not a shoemaker! I am going to have to purchase a thimble or have some little elves help me out because I don't have the finger strength to push a needle through the leather.

I think it is reasonable to expect a pair of kids' shoes to last for a school year or, at the very least, for half of it. I did not get my money's worth on these crappy shoes and that drives me crazy enough to write about it. Take my advice, don't buy Skechers, or don't pay full price. They aren't worth it. Now I feel a little better.

Farewell November, I hardly knew you...

Last month went by way too fast, probably because we were so busy.

Noah is playing Futsal. One of these days I really do plan to read the rules so I can explain the difference between it and indoor soccer. It is much faster paced than outdoor soccer. Noah's footwork and passing has improved because they are playing on a small court. I just like sitting inside on bleachers.
All of the 4th grade classes put on a Utah program. I thought it was well done. It started on time and was short which is a recipe for success. You can spot Noah because he is one of the few kids whose Mom didn't care enough to find pioneer clothes. It didn't really bother me until I looked at the picture and now I feel like a slacker.
They did some square dancing at the end. Noah does a mean dosado. It was his first time dancing with the ladies and he was pretty shy about it. I remember dancing the Virginia Reel in grade school. I always wanted Anedru Firth (correct spelling, I would know because I liked him all through grade school) to be my partner. I couldn't get Noah to reveal his favorite partner, I wonder if it's on a doodle somewhere. Do boys do that? I wasn't going to put this video on but it's sort of amusing. First, Noah turns bright red when he has to sashay down the aisle. Then watch the kid in green fall after he goes under the bridge. Good stuff.

I was walking down the first grade hall of the elementary school and saw a bunch of turkeys hanging on the walls and panicked. My plan to hang a turkey on the fridge to remind me to help Ben with his disguise a turkey project back fired. It's a good thing I go up to the elementary school everyday or my kids might never have their homework finished on time. It's also a good thing that it wasn't due until the next day. We decided to disguise his turkey as a basketball player from Turkey: Memo. I think it turned out pretty well. You can barely tell the difference between the turkey and the real guy.

I went with Zack's preschool to the dinosaur museum. I've never been there and it's pretty impressive. It was also fun to watch Zack interact with his preschool friends, especially all those girls. I drove and had a car full of girls who all wanted to ride with Zack.
The best part of November was Thanksgiving. Emily dazzled us with her turkey and decadent desserts.
Check out Noah and Ethan's dinner. They were going to town on those legs. Yulk! I avoided looking at their end of the table. It grosses me out think about it. So, no, I don't eat the big turkey legs they sell at Disneyland, but you can guess you does...
This is one of the many reasons we like getting together with Matt's family. The cousins all get along really well together. About the only time we see them is when they are hungry.
This is fog and fog is fun to play in.
We took a risk taking 10 kids bowling, but it turned out to be really fun. Except that Zack really wanted to win and he isn't very good. Everyone else was happy though.
Before we left Vegas we hit the Coke factory and sampled drinks they sell around the world.
Zack looks sweet and innocent, but don't cross him. Ethan tricked him by giving him a drink he said was Sprite but in reality was Beverly (the nastiest drink on earth). Ethan was given quite a tongue lashing from Zack, who does NOT like to be tricked. He got off pretty easy though, for a minute I thought Zack was going to spit it out on him.
The last stop was the M&M store where we managed to not buy anything and watched a lame (if you are an adult) 3-D movie. The kids liked it and Sam and Noah were awesome in their front row seats.
Decemeber is here and I am hoping it will move at a more reasonable pace. I'm also hoping it won't snow, but I doubt I'll get either wish.

4 year old philosophy

I have been dead tired lately, and I think I've figured out the reason:
He's adorable, I know, but lately he's also become quite the talker. He spends most of the day rambling on and on about all sorts of things. I think he's figured out that I don't always listen to everything he says because now after he says anything he adds, "right?" So I either have to play close attention to the constant chatter or I have to try to remember what he said and then figure out if he is, in fact, correct. It's exhausting! Here's a little of what has been on his mind the last few days.

Mostly his favorite topic of conversation is holiday decorating. I assumed that when the neighbors put up their outdoor Christmas decorations Zack would pester me to do the same. Instead, he was shocked. He said, "have [the neighbors] lost their minds? " He believes, thank goodness, that holidays should be celebrated in order. He is worried though that we don't have sufficient outdoor Christmas decor, and was near tears when I told him we have some fragile decorations. If I had been paying attention I would have figured out sooner that fragile decorations can't go outside and, since I can only imagine what he would like the outside of our house to look like this year, he was worried that our seasonal display will be lacking. I wanted to tell him to brace himself for disappointment, but instead I showed him a few things in storage and, for now anyway, he's satisfied.

Even with Christmas coming up, he is a big supporter of Thanksgiving. He can't figure out why Jesus would want to celebrate his birthday on Christmas, when Thanksgiving is the day we eat lots of healthy food and say what we are thankful for. Talking about Jesus' birthday reminded him that he hates his birth date (it's in March and that is way too far away) and really wants to change it. He isn't willing to get back into my stomach so that he can be born again on a different day, so we are at a bit of an impasse on that topic. At least I can re-direct the conversation to his upcoming birthday party and cake. That's a topic that can keep him talking for a very long time. He has big ideas with plenty of friends to invite. Hopefully they like, and I can make, a 5 layer birthday cake with fancy decorations.

The best things he tells me are always whispered. That is how I found out that he got kissed in preschool by Anika Bingley. He did NOT like it. It was on the cheek which is a good thing because a kiss on the lips (unless it's by your mom) means that you are married. Unfortunately for Miss Bingley, she does not own a dress like the one Zack drew on his magna-doodle a few weeks ago and thus she cannot hope to marry him.

Even though it wears me out, I do enjoy hearing his thoughts. It's almost always good for a laugh. And the time will come too soon when I won't have him around so much and I am sure I will miss all his little chatter. Right?

What I am supposed to do with this?

Matt brought this gem home the other night. I like the Jazz and all, but a 3'x2' picture of Karl Malone?