I Spy

One of Caleb's favorite things to do is read this "I Spy" book that we have. He is quite good at picking out everything in the book. So I thought I would make up my own. Here is one for you:



See if you can find:
2 snowmen
4 blue ornaments
6 bows
2 white ornaments
1 clear ornament
1 snowflake
1 white hanger

Interesting choice of decor to use a white hanger, huh? The other night, I was sitting in the living room with a big project spread out all over the floor and for some reason this big hanger that magically made it onto our tree (right in the middle and front, mind you!) caught my eye. I just started laughing. I have no idea how long it has been there. But I do know that this particular hanger was in our trash can a couple weeks ago, but it somehow made its way to our tree. When Chris got home, I asked him if he had noticed the hanger on the tree recently and he had not. We both had a good laugh about it.

So if you've been to our house in the last couple weeks and noticed a hanger on our tree, you are apparently more observant than we are. I'm guessing it's been there for quite awhile.

I do think, however, that "whoever's" little hands thought to add this hanger to our tree has quite the imagination and is quite the decorator with good taste because at least it was a white hanger and matched the decor of our tree. We may start a new tradition and have a hanger on the tree every year. I think it adds a nice touch.

185 Reasons To Slow Down

Chris received quite the Christmas present today! On his way to a church meeting, a nice policeman pulled him over right outside our neighborhood and gave him a nice $185 ticket for going 12 miles an hour over the speed limit. Thank you Mr. Policeman! And Merry Christmas to you, too! :)

I told Chris he should have told the policeman, "Well, you can give me that ticket, but I'm going to have to take the money out of the amount I was going to donate to The Salvation Army. I hope you feel good about your decision." Hindsight is 20/20.

My only beef with the ticket is that it was at the bottom of a hill and you actually have to brake the whole way down the hill to be even close to the speed limit. I know because I tried it soon after on my way to a concert and waved to the nice policeman that was there waiting for his next victim. Good thing Chris called me and told me or we probably would have had 370 reasons to slow down. :)

This was an expensive week as we also had some surprise repairs on the car too! But...it's all good. We just figure we're donating to our local law enforcement and to the local economy through our local auto shop and that just makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Or something.

Bottom line...if you are coming to visit us...please slow down unless you want to meet Chris's new friend. If you see him parked on the street near the old folk's home, waive "hi" from us!

Getting Ready For Christmas

We LOVE Christmas at our house and have been busily trying to get ready for it!

The day after Thanksgiving we started pulling out all our decorations. We picked two bad days to put up the lights outside though. The first day it was FREEZING! We were all bundled up but still cold!



As a side note...Caleb really likes the hat and mittens we bought him for Utah. He refuses to ever wear a coat or jacket without a fight, but likes to wear his hat and mittens 24/7. People look at me funny when we go places like, "Um, lady? You know it's 80 degrees outside and you have your kid in a winter hat and mittens?" But I say he looks cute in them, so who cares?! Whatever makes him happy! :)



The next time we tried to put up lights, it was warm again, but pouring down rain. Can you tell how much fun Caleb had though? The boy was soaked! So we decided just to do the lower part of the house this year and try putting up the second story lights another year. Here Caleb and Chris are consulting one another on the best way to put them up:



And here, Chris was trying to show Caleb how to do cheesy sarcastic smiles. Maybe they want to be like Uncle Kip who will never really smile for the camera--he only gives his sarcastic cheesy smiles. :)




Here Caleb is helping Chris put up the tree:



Then he helped us put all the ornaments on. He would carefully put one on like this:



And then he would clap for himself:


It was hilarious because he liked to put everything in one spot at the bottom of the tree like this:





But Caleb has done really well again this year with not touching the tree after it was decorated. He loves the choo choo train that goes around the tree and is VERY careful with it. He can turn it on and off by himself and then lays on the floor and says hi to everyone as they pass by on the train. Too cute!



Caleb also LOVES the lights! Everytime he sees some he squeals "Lights!" and then says, "More, more! More lights?" It's so much fun to go anywhere with him becuase he can spot lights anywhere! We love to drive around in the evening to look at lights! And of course, we can't leave the house without the hat, mittens, bus, and airplane. He likes them piled up like this, even though I don't think he can even play with them like this:



Our house is themed with snowmen which is convenient because Caleb LOVES snowmen too. He squeals, "Snowman! Mom, more, more?" He has a good eye for them...sometimes he will squeal snowman and I think, "No, silly Caleb...I don't see a snowman." And the next thing I know, we pass the one he was trying to point out! Here is Caleb hugging one of his favorite snowmen:





He also likes to wear my snowman candy bowl on his head:



And this is the snowman Caleb likes to sing and dance with:



Caleb got to recently sit on the lap of Santa for the first time this year. We went to see the middle school perform some Christmas songs since Bradley and Daniel were playing. There was also a really cute elementary school choir that sang. They had Santa there too. Caleb did well sitting on his lap and loved that Santa even gave him some candy when he was done. I tried to prompt him to ask Santa for a choo choo since I have a hunch that is what Santa is bringing him this year.... :)



We've also started some of our holiday baking...and of course Caleb loves to help with this too. The other day I got out the Kitchen Aid and put all the ingredients in the bowl and then plugged it in. I didn't realize that somehow the power switch was turned to high. Powdered sugar went flying EVERYWHERE! (See my last post for how I cleaned it up. :) Caleb's face and hands were covered in it--along with the countertop and the floor. He looked at me like I was crazy, and said, "Uh-oh! No, no mom!" I started cracking up. He is usually a bit OCD about having his hands and clothes dirty, but he soon realized that it was fun and had some good playtime with powdered sugar. If you look close, you can see it all over his face. Oops! My bad!

Must Haves

Ok, this is a totally random post. But I've REALLY been appreciating some random modern cleaning inventions lately. Here is a list of must haves. And a shout out to my sisters-in-law Brandy and Christy who introduced me to most of these!

First there are scrubbing bubbles.

Not only are they awesome bathroom cleaners, they are also good carpet stain removers. When we bought our condo in Logan, UT there was this big black stain in one of the rooms. We tried every kind of carpet stain remover but couldn't get it out. My sister-in-law happen to be visiting and said to try Scrubbing Bubbles. Totally worked! Now we use them all the time!


Next on my list is the Swiffer Sweeper Vac.

I don't know why, but sweeping is not one of my favorite things to do. But this little machine is a vacuum and sweeper thing all in one. It works awesome for a quick kitchen clean up. Like when dry cereal or crumbs for example are dumped all over the kitchen floor from a high chair. Totally hypothetical situation, of course! But it sweeps and vacuums them right up! And, as an added perk, Caleb really likes to "play" with it, so our floor gets cleaned a lot! :)


Then there is the Swiffer mop.

The mop solution stuff is always ready to go and can just be sprayed onto the floor by the touch of one fun button. When Chris and I first got it, we would battle over who got to mop because it is just fun to use! Not necessarily good for deep cleaning, but great for spot cleaning or a quick once over--like when a bunch of milk is spilled on the floor from a midnight game of kitchen basketball. Again...totally hypothetical situation. Wouldn't happen at our house!


Lastly is the Little Green Machine.

It's like a mini steam cleaner vacuum thing. Somebody pees on your floor? Or pukes in your bedroom? (Not that that ever happens at our house!) No problem! The Little Green Machine can be stored with the water and solution ready to go. And you don't have to touch the mess with your hands or get out the big steam cleaner thing.

Ok, that is enough randomness. But if you have any other great modern inventions that make cleaning so much easier--please share! We're always looking for good stuff!

To Get You In The Holiday Spirit

Here at our house, we are definitely ready for the holidays. We've been practicing hard and have even included our new house guest in our fun holiday activities. Click here to see our holiday jig.

Enjoy!

Our First Holiday Visitor

We love to have people come stay with us. And usually we are not anxious for them to leave. However, our first holiday visitor needs to go. Here is his picture:



That's right. The not-so-little opossum is living under our deck. So if you would like our holiday visitor to visit you at your house....you are more than welcome. Just come pick him up however you'd like.

What's up with our backyard lately? I feel like I live in animal kingdom. Maybe that's what happens when you live in Texas. All things creepy and crawly and slithery and all Texas sized. Emphasis on the creepy.

As for our holiday, we had a great Thanksgiving! Wednesday, Caleb and I got to visit Rachel and Nolan and Dedra and Lexi. Too much fun! Little Nolan is so cute! And Caleb always loves a chance to visit Lexi and Rachel! We'll have to catch Jed soon.

Thursday, Chris played in the Turkey Bowl while Caleb and I played at the park in the frigid temperatures (I'm not kidding! It is FREEZING here right now! Where is my warm weather?!?!) There were a couple big fifteen passenger vans full of kids from a local children's shelter that were at the park too. After chatting with some of the workers there, it sure reminded me about how blessed and thankful I am for my family and friends and helped me remember those that are going without family around the holidays! It broke my heart to see all those kids there who were not going to see their families on Thanksgiving. As I looked at each one and wondered what their story was and how much they've probably seen in their little lives already, it really made me sad for them...but also happy that there are places like that children's shelter.

Later, we had one of the best Thanksgiving meals ever with the Plumlees. Great food and great company!! That night we also had some awesome pie with the Weatherholtz.

Friday we did some good shopping with great sales. We started decorating our house for Christmas (more pictures later). Chris and I took in a movie and dinner at Carrabbas (they have the best fillet in the world!!!) We are addicted to it-- [in our best Coffee Talk accents] Thanks, Mike and Natalie!

Saturday, Chris conducted a baptism while Caleb and I did more shopping. Then we had our friends the Hofhiens over for lunch, and that night watched a movie with the Weatherholtz.

Sunday was busy busy busy as always, but ended with a fun night with the Giani's. The best part was just having so much time together as a family and visiting with so many awesome friends! Except our new friend. Living under our deck. :)

The Big Green Ball!

You know how there are those things that your parents told you not to do that just never really sunk in? You know, those things you did anyway as soon as they left the house? We used to sing this made up song titled, "No Parents In The House!" over and over as we gleefully went about our business. (And to my family...admit it! You know that song is stuck in your head now!) Anyway, back to those pointless things they told you not to do...like not jumping on the bed...I mean, really? What could happen? Or how about not playing ball in the house?

Well, last night around midnight, I'm not sure why, but Chris and I started playing a basketball game in our kitchen with Caleb's big green ball. Somehow, the big green ball flew into a big tall glass of Chris's milk. Uh, yeah. Let's just say it gave new meaning to the word MESS! Oops! Yeah, it seriously flew EVERYWHERE!! Our kitchen was coated in milk. We were both laughing so hard. You know how it goes when you get slap happy. And we enjoyed the opportunity to clean the kitchen together.

And I'm sure I won the game. And that's what matters. :)

Dad, please skip over the following part.

Don't tell my parents, but I think I'm starting to see the reasons behind some of those things they told me not to do. :)

A New Use for Duct Tape

So, we have a new use for duct tape at our house.

Here's the background. Caleb does not like to take his naps. He will play in his bed with only his blanket and pillow and imagination FOREVER! I put him in his bed all drowsy and tired and I think...ok, today he is exhausted. He really is going to go right to sleep today. Yeah right! The minute I leave, he runs, and laughs, and plays, and jumps, and does headstands, and somersaults, and sprints from one end of his crib to the other. Anything but go to sleep.

He recently added a new trick to his "nap time" fun. He has figured out how to remove his pants and diaper and pee all over. Very nice.

The other day we were watching a little friend and I put them both down for a nap in rooms next door to each other. I went to check on our little friend and realized he had a blow out diaper. Poo all over. Sorry...I know...another poo story...but it seems to be a theme in our life right now. Anyway...I was cleaning him up and realized I needed some clean clothes. So I went to get some of Caleb's clothes. I went into Caleb's room, and there is Caleb, naked from the waist down in his crib, peeing all over his pillow and blanket which he had thrown on the floor. It's like Caleb and his friend talked to each other through the wall and said, "Ready, Set, Go!!" Very cool.

It used to just be at nap time. Now it has evolved into other times as well. Like the other day, I was in the kitchen and Caleb walks in with diaper in hand like, "Look mom...haha! You thought it was only at nap time, but I manage any time of day! Look what I can do!!"

So anyway, back to the duct tape. Several people have suggested using duct tape on his diaper so he can't undo it. So, we tried that out the last few days and it works great! Until today. I went to check on Caleb who is "taking a nap" a.k.a. playing in his crib. And what do I see this time?!? A completely naked Caleb, peeing on the floor. Somehow he managed to get his pants and shirt off, undo the duct tape, and the diaper sticky thingys, and remove it all. I went in his room and he is clapping and pointing at his work like, "Look, mom! Isn't that cool!" I was trying really hard to say "NO!" in a stern way, but I couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't believe he managed to get that duct tape off! I have a hard time getting it off! So I'm sure I've only made it worse by laughing, but I really couldn't help it! This time I put duct tape on thicker. We'll see if it works. It's too early to say if duct tape has saved the day this time.

If you have any other great ideas besides duct tape, let us know! We could use them! :)

Sesame Street Live

Another very busy, but very fun week. Here is one highlight:

Since we always drag Caleb with us to all the things that we want to do, we decided it was Caleb's turn. We took Caleb to see Sesame Street Live. Sesame Street is the only show Caleb will really watch for more than thirty seconds. Every morning after his breakfast he rushes to the living room to sit on his Elmo chair and asks to watch Sesame Street. So needless to say, Caleb LOVED the live show!

This particular show was called "Elmo Makes Music." Which was perfect because there was lots of singing and dancing and Caleb had a great time joining in. We ended up with front row tickets, so the stage was only a couple feet away. So Caleb got to shake hands and give fives to most of the characters. We had so much fun!! It's funny how our sense of fun has changed since we had Caleb--now the most fun we have is when Caleb is having so much fun and is laughing and singing and dancing and just squealing with delight!

Here are some pictures of our fun adventure:



Chris and Caleb checking out the show. As a side note, the usher in the background was a little bit grumpy. We didn't realize we weren't supposed to be taking any video. We were taking video on and off--then when it was almost over he came over and told us "No video!" in a not so nice way. Oops! :)



Here's Caleb and Chris in front of the stage--with Caleb showing off his spoils. See the big ol' Elmo balloon? He got that during intermission and then they told everyone to put their balloons under their seats. Um, hello? What kid wants to get a balloon and then put it under their chair? Especially a chair that isn't big enough to put a big ol' Elmo balloon under! Kind of funny. :)



I forget this character's name. I didn't get a very good picture of it, but she stole Chris's hat and danced around in the show with it for awhile and then came back and put it on Caleb.



Caleb and his pals:

Red Carpets, Doors Kicked In, and Dog Poo

The title says it all. We've had some exciting times the last few days.

First of all there was the red carpet: We finally had a bit of time to go look at beds since the monkeys in our house demolished our last one. They came and delivered it on Saturday and they literally rolled out the red carpet to bring it in.



And then they leave this thank you card and mints on your pillow. Quite the affair for just delivering a bed!! I thought it was so funny and couldn't stop giggling.



Caleb was so excited about the delivery because there was a truck (which he is currently obsessed with) parked outside his house for quite awhile. I should have asked them how much they would charge to bring it to our house once a week and park it there for awhile--just for the excitement of it all.



And of course, my monkeys didn't learn. They had to break in the new bed by jumping.



So, yes, we finally got a new bigger bed. I know you were worried since our last one was demolished. :) It is an awesome bed. The only thing is that I feel like I need a step ladder to get in it because it is so far off the ground!!! Not sure what is up with that!



As for doors being kicked in...let's just say Marc Hofhiens decided to literally kick in one of our doors. (That's all of the story I remember. :) Can you believe the nerve of some people?! :) You'll have to ask him why he would do such a thing! :) If you look close at the picture, you can see the shoe mark and where the door is busted.



And this one is for you JoEllen! :) So we had playgroup at our house today and JoEllen brought her dog. All the kids LOVED the dog and had SO much fun playing with her! (As a side note, JoEllen, you need to bring your dog to playgroup every time!)

Enter the dog poo, not that dogs shouldn't poo. Dogs do that. Not that people shouldn't step in poo. That happens from time to time. What I can't figure out is why I couldn't find any trace of dog poo in the yard. I only know where it ended up.

I kept smelling something and checking kids diapers but couldn't find the source of the smell. Then I notice something suspicious and brown on the patio doors and a tiny bit on one of the kitchen chairs. So I start looking for the source. Of course it was my son that felt the need to go find and step in the dog poo (I still can't figure out where he managed to find it! Perhaps Caleb cleaned it all up with his shoes!) Caleb had it all over his shoes and had also gotten it on my shirt when I picked him up. Nice! Then poor Emma with the shoe fetish went outside and innocently picked up Caleb's shoe and got it all over her arm and shirt. Even better! You'd think after the number of diapers I've changed, it wouldn't be a big deal to clean it up, but...WOW! Nasty!!

I feel I should repeat that we loved having the dog over...don't misunderstand. Nor do I fault the dog for needing to make a deposit. I just need to make sure Caleb and Emma don't have an opportunity to share in the experience next time.

So there you have it. Red Carpets, Doors Kicked In, and Dog Poo. Always something exciting at the Dial's house.

First Time Trick-or-Treating!

I thought that Caleb might like trick or treating, I didn't know he would LOVE it! He had so much fun! He loves to knock on doors, so that was a definite perk. He loves to put anything he can in his plastic pumpkin. So that was perk number two. Even better that it was actually candy that they were putting in his plastic pumpkin. The last perk was that he actually got to go with his friend Lindsey. Could life get any better?!?! He was running--like, seriously booking it, from house to house, held up his little pumpkin, and then left in a hurry after leaving a thank you wave. I think he got the hang of it, don't you?!?


Here is Caleb practicing his "trick or treat" and practicing his lion.



Here is Caleb getting ready to hit the sidewalks.



Caleb and Lindsey would hold each other's hands in between houses. Too cute!



Caleb would also hold Veronica's hand. But NOT mom or dad's.



After hitting our neighborhood, we drove to visit a few friends. I think he got more candy just from the few people we drove to see than he did from our neighborhood! Spoiled boy!



Caleb loves to wear his little costume. Every day he asks to put it on and wear it for awhile. Halloween has never been so much fun!

The Countdown Is On!

We are 24 fanatics and can't wait for the new season to start in January! Here is a trailer that just came out for the next season!


If you'd like to join us for a 24 premiere party in January, just let us know! We're just a little excited and planning ahead. If you're a 24 fan, you'll have to tell us what you think of this trailer. Very interesting! Now I need to review past seasons and figure some stuff out!

More Halloween Fun

We went to a Halloween party at church on Saturday night. Caleb LOVED the trunk-0r-treat! He was so excited to put candy in his bucket!! Now he loves to dump out the candy and put it back in, over and over and over.... :) He also tried out a few of the carnival games. He loved the pumpkin bowling. He was pretty good at throwing (not rolling!) the pumpkin and knocking down all the pins. He was also really excited about the fishing pond game--he threw the pole over and was giddy when it came back with a surprise! It was a busy busy day for all of us--auxiliary training for both of us, setting up the carnival games at the church, and then just having fun at the party, and then helping to clean it all up. But it was so fun to work together and just to be together! Here are some pictures from the trunk-or-treat:









And here are some fun Halloween pictures of Caleb from Kiddie Kandids: