WOO HOO!!!!!

I just had to post a quick bit on our t.v. because I am so dang excited. We have had this tv for about 2 years now and it just all of a sudden would not turn on. Well, we did some research (with the help of a great friend!) and were able to diagnose the problem and purchase the parts to fix it for a grand total of $6.50. Compared to the 200-300 dollars it would have cost us to take it to a professional this is very reasonable, don't ya think?! My husband and I took the back of the t.v. off and he put the new parts on and Voila the darn thing works like new. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!. I totally feel like we can do anything now. I just had to share because you have no idea how excited I am about not having to watch t.v. on my daughter's 13-inch pink princess set!!!!!!!

Who Am I?

My little family has always been really good about having dinner together every night. Because Brian and I own our own businesses this has never really been an issue. It's nice to know that at the end of a long, hard day we can all come together for this time. Unfortunately, what ends up happening more often than not in our house is that dinner time becomes a pretty unpleasant experience. Kids fighting over where they're going to sit, what color plate they will eat off of, etc. Dad yelling for them to be quiet and to use their napkin instead of their clothing to wipe their hands and faces. And Mom asking everyone to "please just get along and be happy because I did not slave over this meal just to listen to you all be miserable!"

So, that said, the other day I decided we were going to play a game at dinner to lighten things up a little bit. I wrote a bunch of random names/characters/etc on little slips of paper and taped one each to everyone's forehead. The game was called "Who Am I?," and the person had to guess what name they had taped to their head. Let me tell you, that was the best dinnertime experience we have probably ever had. We all had so much fun asking questions and giving hints and it was a hilarious sight just to look at my whole family with pieces of paper taped to their heads with bright blue duct tape. I wish I would have gotten a picture. Needless to say, we have played the game every night since then and so far no one has gotten bored with it. Dinnertime has become a pleasant time to share together, as it should be, and I hope that we can continue this run (even if we eventually have to change up the game a little bit). So, if you're ever invited to our house for dinner, be prepared to share in the fun!!!

Random

Just a few random pics taken over the course of the past few weeks. We have had quite a busy/fun/hectic time with the kids not only being on winter vacation but also having another full week of school off due to the snow! More to come. (FYI: There is another new post directly below this one as well).


Our little diva. (This is a typical outfit and pose/stance for Faith. It's all about the clothes and accessories. Did I mention she's only 4??)
My big girl and I at Sharis after a fun night of skating.
Faith and mommy skatin it up
Noah and Dad on their ice skates. SO MUCH FUN!
Faith giving Noah his haircut!!!

Surprise for Mommy

This is the scene that I came home to last night around 9:30 after returning home from a movie with my girlfriend. I came through the front door and there they all were, my precious, precious family, cleaning, and scrubbing, and scouring, and mopping, and dusting etc., etc., etc. I couldn't believe it. And they all looked so happy, like they were having the time of their lives. They wanted to surprise mommy and they certainly did. I was extremely proud of all of them and so happy that they would think to do something like that for me. (My hubby even said that he knows he takes all the things I do around the house for granted). WOW!!! Now my only question is why can't I get them to do stuff like that upon request???????


She makes it look so fun.
Noah scrubbing the front windows. (And yes, that is still our Christmas tree. What??? Don't judge me!)
She's a moppin queen!!!
Noah holding the ladder while baby sister does some dustin!a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5zptKtwtciqNYzwkt-VcwqFzT0yAPrN9C-Js7EGBAhzt27JHA9vU7gNDxo2ZY9t7NOKyi4KdVuY9GjKzuxHZTUCqJrD4vvZqKGBhK7TpEaKH6t_Z952Ic0wKsxLCqzVZuJLyhUdnHRI/s1600-h/Winter+2008+070.jpg">

Daddy Saves the Day

At your request here are some pics of my daughter's beautiful vanity set on Christmas Day. No need to take closeups of the vanity itself because my husband did, of course, come through and there is virtually no evidence at all that anything happened to it. I really had no doubt in his ability to fix it good as new, it was just the time frame that worried me!!! The only thing that would evidence the fact that we had a mishap would be on one corner of the table where there are little traces of red fuzz stuck to it. This would be because that particular corner was still slightly wet at 1:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve when I was adamant that we had to cover it with a red Christmasy blankie so that it would not be visible Christmas morn. Whoops. Bri tried to warn me, but I wanted it the way I wanted it. I'm not worried though. I know we can pick the fuzz off and as of yet Hannah is none the wiser about any of it!!!! Just look at her. She is stoked about this beautiful gift and also the little foam curlers that she got with it were a huge hit. I believe they were the first thing she opened and she didn't waste any time puttin em in. This pic, which I'm actually very surprised that she let me take, was probably taken 20 minutes after all the gifts were unwrapped. Who knew that a 5$ box of curlers would be the most exciting thing for my darling 8-year-old?! More on Christmas to come soon!!!!!

Vavra Christmas Tree '08

I really don't have the time at the present moment to blog all about our holiday festivities, but I just couldn't resist posting this picture of our Christmas tree after Santa visited our home. It's just hilarious to see the teeny, tiny little tree being overshadowed by all those gifts. Personally, I was very pleased with our little tree (about 2.5 to 3 feet) displayed in our bay window this year. I doubt it will fly with the rest of the fam in years to come, however. (One good thing is that it sure does make it seem like we have a buttload of presents doesn't it????)

Merry Christmas!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

So Freakin Upset!

So do all of you remember my prize purchase for my daughter Hannah????? If not, you can scroll down to my post on December 1st for a recap. Well I was extremely excited that it was delivered in a timely manner and even more excited that my husband went straight to work putting it together. AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!!!! This was the one thing that I was truly, truly excited about giving her. Something she would have forever. A beautiful piece to accent a child/preteen/teenager's room.

Long story short, because it has been so cold here, my husband decided to put the dogs in the garage one night when I wasn't home. WITH THE VANITY IN IT. Two edges on the table and one on the stool completely gnawed and chewed. Needless to say, I did not handle the news very well. Brian has assured me that he can have it good as new before Christmas morning, but it still breaks my heart. Hopefully he can fix it to the point that she will never know. (I told him I don't even want to see it till its back the way it was.) UGH. I can't believe it! I think the reason it upsets me so badly is that we don't really have too many NICE things, especially with kids, and it made me so happy to be able to do this for her. :(

SNOW DAY

The view from our front door.
The snow is almost to the top of our gate!!
Right after Hannah jumped off the trampoline.
Noah and Hannah on the trampoline before I could catch them!
At the request of Morgan all the way in Massachusetts I am posting some pics of our latest snowfall. These pics really don't do it justice, but I was forced to take what I could from the snugly warmth of my house, as I don't own a pair of snow boots as of yet. I sent Brian out this morning to find me some, but apparently everybody and their mother is on the lookout for these as well. Not one size 8-1/2 pair of snow boots to be found in the Spokane Valley. (Or even 8 or 9's). UGH! I'm extremely annoyed because I really was looking forward to getting out there and playing with the kiddos and doing some shoveling (although at this point I guess there's really no point in doing that considering the snow is still dumping).

I'm happy the kids are home and safe, just slightly perturbed at what mother nature has given us today because I only had two days left of the kids in school and I'm working on some stuff for them for Christmas. Guess I'll have to pull a couple really late nights sometime between now and Christmas.

Happy Snow Day!!!!!!!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

So I came across a scrapbook that my mom had made and I thought that everyone might get a kick out of some of these old photos. I know a lot of you already did!!!!! I used to hate to pull out the old photos because I really was not the cutest kid around, but now I can look back and chuckle at myself. (Oh yeah, I "chuckle" all the time)!



Not a very good pic as far as quality, but this is one of my senior pictures. The year was 1997.
Early teens here. Look at that hair, holy cow!
This is one of my very least favorite pictures of all time. Thought I'd throw it in for the humor effect. This is definitely me in the "big teeth" phase of life!!!!
Okay, so I actually kind of like this one (although I don't know what my mom was thinking with the dress I was wearing!). I think I was about 7 or 8 and going through the "no teeth" phase. It's all downhill from here!
I think I was about 4 here.
Me at about 9 months old. Not too bad, I guess, but I was definitely not the cutest kid around!

Holiday Shopping Update

I just purchased this for my eldest daughter for Christmas. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. It is absolutely perfect for her. Shhhhhhh, don't tell!!!!!!!

S.U.R.P.R.I.S.E

So I hit the big 3 0 on Friday, November 21st. Woo hoo!! It was actually a milestone that I was trying desperately to avoid, to no avail. My husband, best friend, and countless others came together to throw me a surprise party. W O W. A surprise party for little old me. I have to say that I can't remember the last time I felt that special. Knowing that people put time and effort into doing something just for me is the most wonderful feeling.


Um yeah, so this is my hubby the party pooper!!!!!
Purdy girls, Meme and Kelsie.
Our party animal friends, Ben and Nicole!
My sissy and her hubby.
My Cancun buds!
Me and my two besties!

Election '08

Go Obama!!! I am excited to see what positive changes will come to pass for this country. I am so proud to be an American.

October Festivities

Well here they are, the last of the pictures of all our Halloween festivities. We had some parties, carved some pumpkins, cooked some seeds, and, of course, did a little trick or treatin!! All the usual things you do for this fun holiday. Halloween is fast becoming a not-so-hated holiday of mine. I absolutely love to see how excited the kids get over every aspect of this holiday. My goal for next year is to really go all out in the decorating department. I do have to say though that my all-time favorite holiday always has been and still remains Thanksgiving. I can't wait. Bring on the turkey!!!!!!!


The flapper and the cheerleader. What a great pair!
Me dressed up as a 1920s flapper chick
Trick-or-treat
Noah as Ghostrider, Faith as a little witch, and Hannah as a baby
Derek the clown
Funny eyeballs
My little witch hugging her bestest friend from school, Emily!
Daddy and Hannah scrapin them guts
Papa the Jack-O-Lantern!

Pumpkin Patch '08

So we ventured up to Greenbluff (or Green Buffalo as the kids call it) for our yearly Punkin Patch visit. A lot of my favorite people were there to share in the fun with us, Marshall and Nichole and the kids, Mindi and her kiddos, and Christy and Grant and their brood. Wish we could have spent more time with all of them,but I think all in all a good time was had by all.
Love this one of Sierra and Faith. Wheeeeeeeeee!
Miss Hannah Banana
The sun was not cooperating with us on these poses. Faith kept running away or shielding her eyes.
The biggest punkin in the patch!!!!
Noah and Darian were in charge of pushing the pumpkins around. Look close and you'll see that they both have orange hair.
Quite the poser this one.
Sisters.
We couldn't get the whole family at once, but oh well. I like this one a lot!
Caitlyn and Hannah just chillin!