X-Rated

Max: Mom and Dad, what do you call a dog that is part Shih Tzu and part Bulldog?

Mom and Dad (half listening): I don't know, what?

Max: a "Bull Shiht"

Mom and Dad (now listening intently): a what???

Max (nonchalantly walking out of the kitchen): I said a "Bull Shiht"

Mom and Dad (now on the floor): Where did you hear that?

Max (very matter-of-fact): the babysitter.

Mom: Oh, that must be Hayden.

Yah! Thanks Hayden. You owe me a night of sitting for nuttin'!!!!!! And, if he tells it to anyone at church, at school, or on the street, you'll need to pay me to let you babysit!!!

"I Hope They Call Me on a Mission"

It is here! Bo has been called to serve in the Washington Spokane Mission. I teased him that he was going to go to Boise, Idaho (not that there is anything particularly wrong with Boise, but it is just really close to home). He almost made it! The southern boundary of his mission is just north of Boise! Hah! Hah!

To make it all extra fun and exciting, Nathan Thomson, Bo's very dear friend from Logan (they have been friend since they were 5 years old) got his call the same day to Argentina! We hip, hip, hoorayed over the phones together.

The only problem with all this mission stuff is that a missionary has to be at least 19 years old. Last time I checked, I was still 25, which would make Bo just a toddler. What happened and when did it happen?????

The Recitals

The first recital of the holiday season was our piano recital. Both Max and Hannah played beautifully. They both had their pieces memorized, but at the last minute chickened out and took their music up with them, although neither one looked at it. Max played both his pieces at least one octave higher because "it sounds so much better". I cried... sobbed actually. I wish I could share what a feat it was for Max. He doesn't even realize what an endeavor it was to be able to play the piano with both hands. I wish I had video of his "tricky" hand on the first day he ever practiced a tune to compare to the day he played his recital pieces. I told him one day how exciting it was that he was playing so well with his tricky hand and how proud I was of him for his hard work. He replied, "Yah, my tricky hand has always wanted to play the piano." And then he continued to practice.


Hannah is really starting to enjoy the piano. She allows herself to get so frustrated so fast. But I think we have established a good routine of practice with reasonable expectations...finally!!! I only have to nag maybe twice a week to get the practicing done.

The second recital was Tiffany Dance Co. Christmas production on December 18, 2008. Maggie is my only dancer this year! She loves it more than life itself! She dances and sings all day when she is at home. We have saved all of the wonderful dance costumes over the past few years. After performances are finished, the costumes go into the dress up trunk and make new debut often. Maggie's dance was called "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". It was a bit of a challenge to decide which images to include. Matt took 95!! When I flipped through all of the images in LightRoom, it was like watching the dance again!

I've Been Dreaming of a White Christmas, Just Like the... WHAT???

We arrived home from Venice just in time. Ten minutes later the snow hit hard! We snuggled into bed for a long winter's nap (yah, right we did). We awoke to a beautiful white Christmas. But now it is January 1, 2009. Christmas is over. Let's get that snow melted, thaw out our piggy toes and get some tulips popping up!

Matt, the great giant of a man that he his, made sure everyone's day was just right. He shoveled out a trail to the latrine for Chewie and her new little brother Zeke at least 4 times Christmas day.

A Christmas Vacation Better Than the Griswalds Ever Had!!!

We had an absolutely marvelous vacation. Santa Claus dropped a puppy off for us! He filled the stockings with lots of little treats and then was off into the Christmas Eve blizzard of 2008! Grandpa and Grandma Reier made the trek to our house in spite of the very blustery and snowy day. It was wonderful to have a white Christmas that nearly snowed us into our house.

Hannah, Grandma Reier, & Maggie Christmas Morning 2008
We had a yummy brunch with Grandma and Grandpa. The menu included crepes in three varieties: blueberry, apple and cherry. A lovely quiche made by Yours Truly! Fresh grapefruit and clementines, courtesy of Santa Claus. Juice and hot cocoa as beverages. Delicious. I am particularly proud of the crepe endeavor. I have never attempted to make crepes and they turned out just fabulous. Hungry anyone????
We did, however, miss Santa at Grandma and Grandpa Buchanan's by about 10 minutes. Amazingly, nobody had a melt down! He did leave fabulous treats for us in our "cowboy" and "cowgirl" stockings. We had fun frosting and decorating Christmas cookies with the Buchanan cousins in southern Utah. ( Why did we miss Santa? Well, you'll have to ask Matt about that one. Some little car thing following a fit of impatience! He'd just love to tell you the story, I am certain!)

Cait and Grandma Buchanan on Christmas Eve 2008. Venice, Utah.

All About the MOM... and a Little About the Dad

(Disclaimer: The mom conducted the interview so there is an 88.67% chance that the responses of all participants may not be reliable!)

What ingredients are moms made of?
Maggie: Umm… skin, eyes, eyelashes, nose, hair, mouth, teeth, arms, hands, fingers, and love and a neck and head.
Max: They are made out of love and hugs.
Hannah: My mom is made of brains, hugs and kisses!

Why did God give you this mom and not another mom?
Maggie: Because this mom loves me.
Max: Because she loves me. And she is the one that was perfect for me.
Hannah: Because He knew she would be the right mom for me.

Why do you need a mom?
Maggie: To love me.
Max: So I can get fed.
Hannah: To feed me and buy me clothing.

Who is the boss at your house?
Maggie: Mommy!
Max: Mommy! Because you are the one who has the children.
Hannah: Mommy. Because you are better at math than Dad.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
Maggie: She was Shelly. Freckles. Long hair and black hair then cut it short and then went to get your hair trimmed.
Max: A Buchanan. A cowgirl.
Hannah: A farm girl. Very pretty.

Why did she marry your dad?
Maggie: Because he was nice and handsome. And you were like “I like that man.” Then you had a baby then another one, then another, another and another and another. First Bo, then a long time later, me.
Max: Because he was handsome.
Hannah: Because you knew he was the one. I looked kind and nice. He looked like he would be a good father.

What did she need to know before she married your dad?
Maggie: Umm, having a baby. To know that he was nice.
Max: I don’t know.
Hannah: If he was worthy to have children.

What is the difference between your mom and your dad?
Maggie: You put on make-up. He likes snow and you don’t. You like summer. You love your children and don’t like them to wrestle. He likes to wrestle with the children sometimes.
Hannah: Dad has curly hair and you have straight hair.
Max: My mom is a girl and my dad is a boy. My mom has children and my dad doesn’t. My mom likes to ride horses and my dad doesn’t. My mom doesn’t like to go to drive us to school and my dad likes to. My dad is allergic to bulldogs and my mom is not.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
Maggie: You miss us. You love us. You want us to come home. You clean up our rooms and get clothes and toys and stuffed animals and puppets for us. And a hug.
Max: She does her homework.
Hannah: Works.

What would you change about your mom?
Maggie: To be nice.
Max: Umm, umm, ah, to ah umm, to let me have her room because it has a bathroom so I just have to walk a couple feet.
Hannah: Nicer and never yell at us!

Max is a Genius!

Of course everyone who knows Max, knows this fact. But, if you don't know or believe, here is the scoop. Max had an assignment to create an invention that used two simple machines. He chose a wheel and a ramp. With these simple machines, he built an MXG2 Rated Miner-Forty-Niner! Yes, that is what it is. And it works, at least the prototype of the invention works; well, let me put it in Max's words, "Works like a beauty!" On the way out the door to school with the MXG2 Rated Miner-Forty-Niner I heard Max comment to himself, "This is perfect. Now everyone will finally know what genius I am!"