Oops

So, Thanksgiving is over and I'm grateful :-). I spent two days cooking rolls, pies, turkey, sweet potatoes, and getting my house ready for family to come over and have fun. It was lots of fun to get together with all the Hugh/Watson crew. Everyone but Donna and Charles was there. It was so much fun (and work), in fact, that I didn't get any pictures. But here's some funny pictures of the kids from last week.

Who knew bringing the kids' table out of the bedroom would create such a fun toy?They honestly sat perfectly still and watched an entire "Word World" episode without moving. I have no idea what Palmer's thinking but he looks pretty happy. Portia, as usual, is making sure she's not missing anything from Palmer. This isn't great of her face, but look how long her hair is getting. This was one of our many non-hairdo days. We have lots of those.

For some reason, whenever I tell Portia I want to take her picture, she stands by the front door. She is definitely unusual, but at least she's not a shy child.

I was organizing the kids' rooms one day and found the finger paints. Oh, yeah, I was trying to be a fun mom once and bought some washable finger paints. Since it was raining and the kids were a little crazy (mommy, too!) we pulled out the paints. This is typical Palmer, one finger at a time. I think he was trying to write his name. What a cute little nerd (it's not name-calling when it's a fact)!

Then there's Portia. Her expression, as usual, says it all. I think the paint was originally red, blue, green, and yellow. Somehow by the time it got on the papers and her arms, face, and clothes, it was brown. She even tried to lick the paint brush. This is why I never leave Portia alone for more than two minutes.

Amazing...

but not in a good way. A friend from the MBA program shared this article and I thought it perfectly expressed my opinion regarding the string of hate crimes against members of the LDS church. I'm not really surprised that we're being targeted. It's too convenient for people who claim to be open-minded. It's yet another witness to me that now is the time to solidify our testimonies, our homes, and our families because the prophecies are being fulfilled. Thankfully, no matter how much we are persecuted, the church will NEVER be taken from the earth. Now is the time to stand strong and "stand as a witness" (Mosiah 18:9) for the truth.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTU5MjZmMDIyMDU3NjRiMjBlNjcxYTlmOGQ2ODA5NjA

Here's what the church has to say about the actions take following the passing of Prop 8 (sounds like it died, which it should have).
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/measured-voices-provide-reason-support-amidst-proposition-8-reaction

Truly a Scary Time of Year

This time of year always scares me, but no year has scared me more than this year. First, there's Halloween, which is my least favorite holiday. I HATE being scared and trying to find costumes for my kids has become not so fun. Then, four days later is election day. I think I'll take Halloween, thank you very much, over this very scary election. But, oh well. On a positive note, this will be a historic presidency. I hope that means simply because Mr. Obama is the first black president and not because his presidency will be etched in history as fatally flawed. Keep praying. At least we all know who's really in charge (if you don't know, the prayer thing might help).

Thus endeth my random rant.

Happy Halloween!

So this Halloween was fun because both the kids understood what was going on and were excited to get dressed up. Portia loved saying "Pumpkins!!" any chance she had. They both loved to practice saying "trick or treat" and had lots of fun putting on "paint" (their costume make up). Here are the highlights.

Portia was an 1980's exercise queen (think Olivia Newton John and Richard Simmons combined). She loved getting her make up on (Props to Sara Matthews for finding this sweet outfit).

Palmer was a clown, big shoes and all. He kept tripping over his shoes and taking off his wig at both the parties we went to before Halloween. But for showtime, he was pumped to put on his costume! He also loved getting his makeup on, though he quickly wiped it off.

Palmer and Portia saying, "Pumpkins!!!!" (with Isaac wondering why everyone looks so weird)

In action. Palmer just wanted a lollipop from everyone and was satisfied once he got one. He could care less about collecting as much as possible. Portia, on the other hand, wholeheartedly embraced the idea of grab-n-go. She'd yell "trick or treat!" and, instead of waiting for them to put a candy in her bag, would grab a handful, shove it in her bag and yell "Happy Halloween!!" while walking away. Sometimes we got a thank-you in there, too. (Thanks Ben for the candy, just in case my kids forgot to say it, I thought I would say it because I'm the one eating the candy!).