WARNING: Christmas picture overload!

This is Christmas Eve with our brand new Christmas PJ's. I know, the boys' are not very Christmas-y but I figured they wouldn't wear matching ones with the little kids but I've been inspired. My sister Jannalee makes matching pajamas for all her kids. ( well, the bottoms anyway and then she alters a t-shirt to match the pants.) This is what I'm going to do next year. Those boys are going to match and wear snowflakes or Christmas trees and they're going to LIKE it! Here is your own personal look at Scary House. Sadly, these pictures pretty much show it all except the kitchen and my bedroom. We had dinner over here for Christmas and I was apologizing for having such a scary house to meet in. Callie's husband Bryce said, "It's totally fine, it's just like going to your Grammas house or something." Maybe a Gramma that has lived in the same house for 30 years and never remodled ANYTHING! Christmas in the Scary House was not as bad as I thought. As long as you have family and remember what Christmas is all about, you can pretty much love Christmas anywhere. Not that I will EVER do it again.

A visit from Santa

Every year the Dunyons (Dave's family) gets together right before Christmas and we see if we can get Santa to come to us a little early. The kids did and Nativity and Janee won the role of Mary. I think Jarem and Trigg were supposed to be shepherds and Tate and Kevin were too cool to dress up and participate. It's always tons of fun. The kids love to get together with their cousins, see Grandma and Grandpa and get a present from Santa before Christmas day. Jarem made sure to tell me that this was only "Santa". The real Santa is "Santa Claus" and these Santa's were only called "Santa." Whatever.

Christmas Slumber Party

This is our Chritmas slumber party. Dave said his family used to take a night and sleep out under the Christmas tree. We decided to take a Saturday night and make a movie night of it. Everyone got their pads and bedding and slept in the family room that night. We watched Santa Claus 3 and Horton Hears a Who. The kids had popcorn and wanted hot chocolate too. No, I didn't sleep out there, tempting, but no.

1,001 Trucks

This is Tate when he was 2. This child LOVED his trucks. Especially trucks with hooks that he could put a trailer on and haul things. In this picture he is backing the boat down the ramp, just like he sees his Grampa do. I think we spent half of our income on trucks and trailers back then. We spent hours (okay, maybe 20 minutes) in the truck section looking for trucks that had hooks and trailers, tent trailers, motorhomes (yes, they do make them) and anything else he didn't already have. He used to lay on the floor for housrs (yes, it really was hours this time) and drive his trucks. Hook up the trucks, load the jet skis, drive the truck all day long. I have to admit, it gave me a soft spot for trucks. Once he carried around the same school bus for 4 months. It dropped in the water at Lake Powell and Dave's WHOLE family was in the water diving to find the bus. Luckily we found the bus, Jared's glasses were not so lucky. When I was cleaning the toy room once I said to Dave, "I will NEVER buy another truck for as long as I live!" They were everywhere, and no, I can't get rid of them, I'm attached. So here I am, 10 years later, 2 boys later, and again, I am standing in the truck aisle, looking for the trucks with hooks and trailers because I have another boy who loves his trucks. I love to watch him laying on the floor, pulling his trailers, hooking up his trucks, looking for tent trailers and motorhomes, that I still have....Seeing him there takes me way back to when I had one little Taters and that was it. That is why I spent all of Triggs Chritmas budget on trucks with trailers. Then I spent some of the rest of the kids budget on a huge, Trigg-sized, battery powered truck that he will probably mow over poor Addie with and probably Jarem and Dax too. Too bad I can't transplant Tate's personality into this one too. Then maybe I wouldn't have to worry about one of those wonderful trucks flying across the room at some poor child's head. ( Sorry Addie!)

I DON'T HAVE TO EAT THIS!

I KNOW, there are starving children all over the world who would kill to get this much food to eat. And I know that I really shouldn't waste the $.10 this probably represents in food. I know I shouldn't put it in the garbage but I DON'T have to eat this! This is what ruins my diet. I also don't have to eat two half eaten triangles of peanut butter and honey sandwich, half of a half of a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. And yes, it does look good to me. THIS is the downfall of my diet. Leftovers. It's like I have a physical disability that doesn't let me throw this stuff away. I know that it's ok to waste it and it is BETTER to throw it away than to add it to my caloric intake for the day. (Heaven knows I need no help adding to that). IT'S JUST SO HARD. It's there, I'm always hungry and if I don't eat it, it will go to waste and all the poor starving children come into my head and hey, that is money down the drain, RIGHT? It is all my children's fault for not eating it themselves. Curse their tiny little stomachs that can't even finish a whole sandwich. What is wrong with them?





THIS is ok to eat. If my daily caloric intake is going to go up, this is an acceptable thing to make that happen. THESE calories are worth it. I am trying to give up the leftovers so I have more room for this. WHY is left over mac and cheese, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, etc. so appealing and WHY am I so cheap that I am unwilling to waste the pennies that are left in that bowl or that plate. Please tell me it is ok to TRHOW AWAY the leftovers. Maybe that can be my New Year's resolution, I will try and start right now. NO leftovers, more cookies, candy, homemade salsa with chips, cinnamon rolls, and treats. (So please keep giving them to me). Does that sound like a good diet plan? I'll let you know how it works.

5 year olds

This is what I see every day at 11:45. There are so many reasons to love these pictures! No, it is not because they are professional quality, sadly, I don't have that talent.
1. I love that the state pays for half day, EVERY DAY, pre-kindergarten.
2. I love that Jarem's back pack goes down past his bum.
3. I love that Dax forgot his back pack... again.
4. I love that they are looking back at me saying,"hey mom, why are you taking our picture?"
5. I love that Dax is wearing shorts and a T-shirt and it is almost CHRISTMAS!
6. I love that they are holding hands (yes, they are holding hands) because I tell Jarem to stay with Dax. No homophobia there!
7. I love that this means that it is TRIGG'S NAP TIME! The beauty of afternoon school.
8. I love that they are learning music and letters and art and hearing stories and playing at recess instead of sitting in front of my TV or computer or asking me for food.
9. I love that Jarem isn't asking me what time it is every 10 seconds.
10. I love that I get to see them walking back to me exactly 2 hours and 45 minutes later!

BABY, what Baby?!

This is me with my baby...oh wait, that's me with Margaret's baby. Isn't he the cutest thing ever? Don't get too attached, he never sleeps.





Okay, THIS, is my baby. What? He's not a baby, you say, he's a small child? No way, this is the baby.
Maybe we think he's the baby because he still has his bippy (pacifier). Maybe we think he's the baby because he can't go to sleep without a special blankie with a special tag, his bippy and a "rock-a-minute" in the rocking chair. This routine may or may not include a "ni night bottle" but I refuse to confirm or deny any of those rumors.
Maybe it's because he still sleeps in his "ni night crib"/baby prison with a crib tent over it so he can't get out unless I get him out. Maybe it's because he's still in diapers when my other kids were totally potty trained by this age.Maybe it's because until now, any time I had a child his age, which is now closer to 3 than 2, I already had another baby. Yes, this is the baby. He will probably stay the baby until he kicks me out of his rocking chair, sets up his big boy bed himself, potty trains himself , fixes me some dinner and drives himself to college. I will save his bippy and his blankie though, just in case. Sometimes I think I might be ruining my children, especially since this one likes to run around hitting, pinching, pulling hair and yes, biting on occasion. Anything to torture Jarem, Dax and Addie. But I can't be doing that badly if my baby can do this, right?
Oh wait, that wasn't me, that was Dora. I'm waiting for Dora to come over and potty train him too....

Some family pictures...

I thought I would start with some awesome family pics we just had taken by my favorite neighbor, Amy Kroff. She came to the Scary House and took them for us so we could get some Christmas pictures and individuals for the wall. She was awesome! www.amykroffphotography.com

This is my very first attempt at blogging so be patient. I can only hope to be half as entertaining as my siblings, who were my inspiration, while providing some kind of record of our life. Heaven forbid I should have to write in a journal!

All Five...

I accidentally got the picture order wrong so here is youngest to oldest:
Here is Trigg, this is the best we could do considering he has the scariest teeth ever!

Look at those teddy bear brown eyes! Pretty much to die for, or at least read one more story for any way!

This is Janee, enough said
This is Kevin. I'm hoping those glasses have the whole Superman/Clark Kent effect for him in High School. "Is that Kevin Dunyon with contacts? Whoa, he is hot!"
Tate, total teenager 'tude. (Well, and he has braces right now with rubber bands so the alternative is not pretty. Just kiddin, Tate!)

Here is my boyfriend...

and my other boyfriend....

Here they both are riding their lame-wad tractor
(but check out whose actually driving the lame-wad tractor)

Just blowin dandelions in back of Scary House

Janee and her mama