"GOING TO THE NORTH POLE"

THE POLAR EXPRESS

LAST NIGHT we Braved the HARSH COLD conditions here in Heber Utah and took a train ride all the way to the NORTH POLE so we could meet MR. & MRS. SANTA CLAUS. Almost all of us were there - Ryan & Joe went... Melissa, Mark, and Ashton also made the trek.....

Teri & James were there and Bob and I went along -- we couldn't miss out on visiting the North pole - or seeing the excitement as Mr. Ashton laid eyes on Santa for the very first time -

He was a bit shy for sure! But he didn't cry - Santa handed him the first gift of christmas -

During the train ride, we heard the story of "The Polar Express." Ashton really liked hearing the story read to him.

They also fed us cookies (made by Mrs. Claus) and hot cocoa. It wasn't mama mooses' but it sure did hit the spot!

Mrs. Claus was a big hit! Everyone Loved her including the boys!!

When the TRAIN RIDE was over, we were going to our cars and I don't know what happened exactly - but all of a sudden - things were out of control - (I think Ryan started it) snowballs were flying everywhere - innocent people were getting bombed - I was saying sorry to people I didn't even know (apologizing for my adult children) they were having an all-out-war in the parking lot!! EMBARASSING!!! I JUST WENT TO THE CAR!! Of course, Bob was right there in the middle of the war with the rest of them, taking the pictures to document this - and i'm sure egging them on!

Joe took this picture of Ashton - it's probably the cutest picture ever!!

What is Ryan telling Mark? "Hey Mark Look...There's.......

I love this picture of Joe and me - so, since this is my blog......

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

CHRISTMAS TIME

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr. Seuss

...and here are some pictures I found in the Ford Archives..... from 2004....

Aaaaahhhhh......the good times.....Family.......

HALLOWEEN TIME!!

We took Kiley to our Ward's Trunk or Treat on Saturday Night at the Park.
She was dressed up as a very scary skeleton. She had so much fun playing at the park.

When it got dark, she went around to all the cars and collected candy in her pumpkin bucket. She even got to eat a few pieces of candy that night.
Kiley had a blast in her skeleton costume collecting candy & saying "thank you"
to everyone.

Reef's 4th Birthday Party

Reef's birthday was today - she is a BIG 4year old. We didn't invite any other dogs to the party but it was quite a celebration. Gift opening took hours - of course she got her favorite gift of all- Squirrely.
We also got her a pink skirt to wear for fun (you will notice it in the pictures).

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY REEF!!

ALMOST DONE!

BOB'S HOME!!

Today - Wednesday September 23rd- we finished most of the painting of the furniture - the only thing not finished is the Hope Chest. But that is going to be done differently - it's going to be painted some sort of green.

It's been a very busy day - I've been putting the hardware on the dressers, cleaning the drawers and measuring them for the drawer liners, then putting the clothes back in them (nice & neatly).

Since I've been in the cleaning mode, I decided to put the kitchen cabinets in order also. I've been a clean freak - organizing the plates, cups, glasses, bowls, all the china, and glassware. I don't know what's gotten a hold of me - but when Bob got home - he said that he's going to go out of town alot more! (not because I changed the furniture to black - but because I cleaned the cabinets!)

Here are the Before and After pictures:

Doing this kind of work sure is messy!! You get really dirty!!!!!

I like to paint the sides of the dresser drawers to give them that "finished" look!

On these 2 nightstands, we used the same hardware - we just painted it black -
now that's economical!!

A Good First Day

WE GOT MORE DONE THAN I THOUGHT WE WOULD!

Sue really gets down to business!! We started with the bed and worked our way through the 2 nightstands before lunch. By that time, there wasn't enough shade to work any more. So, we decided to wait until evening when it was cooler.


Around 5pm, Sue came back and we finished the bed and started on the 2 dressers.

We are very happy with the way the bed looks - we tried some new technique combined with the distressed look and wala! - magic! Just like I said! Sue definitely has the touch - the magic touch!!

Tomorrow we will finish the 2 dressers and figure out what we are going to do with the hope chest. We are considering painting it a green color. We just have to find the right color green and that's not always an easy thing to do.

As for now - I just took a shower and noticed that I had black paint all over my arms and legs. It was really a funny thing to see!! I should have taken a picture - oh well.
Maybe next time -