We Survived

As many of you know, taking family pictures is on the top of my "What I Hate Most" list. Along with laundry, there isn't much else that I totally hate. Yesterday after the boys got home from school, we headed over to Tempe Beach Park to take some family Christmas pictures. One of the reasons I hate taking pictures is because I hate trying to figure out what everyone is going to wear. Trying to coordinate everyone can be difficult. Another reason I hate taking family Christmas pictures is because without fail, someone always winds up getting injured on or before the photo shoot. This year is was Miss B. with her lip shaving incident and Ledger with his Primary Program injury. Brody had a little red bug bite or zit by his eye and as always, I've jammed packed with zits and wrinkles. The photo shoot was by far one of our best but only cause I bribed the kids with a trip to Target if they behaved. I'm not a fan or bribery but I was desperate for them to cooperate somehow. Apparently it worked which is not good for me. Miss Ashley was great and I know she was able to work some magic and get at least one picture of each of my kids for our Christmas card. At this point I don't even care if our card has Jeremy and I in it. If I get single shots of each of my kids, I'll be ecstatic!

Case was hilarious today. He was all goofy and giggly. Photo taken by Brody.

Jeremy and Brody rockin' out while waiting for their turn. Photo by Case.

Primary Program Accident

Poor Ledger. On Sunday he was able to participate in his first Primary Program as a Sunbeam. He worked so hard learning the songs, memorizing the Articles Of Faith (all 1 of them) and memorizing his part for the program. He rocked the house during the practices each week and especially during the Saturday morning practice. Finally his big chance had arrived to sing in front of the Ward and his Grandparents and Great Grand-Parents. Ledger had the first speaking part of the whooooole program. It went, "This year in primary, the theme has been, I Know The Scriptures Are True." So we sing our way to the stage and here starts Ledger to the microphone. He runs into the stage railing and smacks his darling chubby cheek into the wooden post. The tears start flowing and he gets to the microphone and starts BAWLING! Poor guy. Our darling first counselor tries to help him but he is too hurt and choked up to talk. Dad, aka The Sunbeam Teacher, ends up reading Ledger's line as I carry him off the stage to sit by me. Poor guy was so excited for this day. He sat next to me and cried for a little and then got himself together and sang the last half of the program and recited that First Article Of Faith he worked so hard to memorize. The program turned out great other then Ledger's cheek injury. It was a ton of work but so worth it in the end. A Huge thanks to my awesome counselors, Lindsey M., Natalie, Ellen and Cyndi our awesome chorister. I am so grateful to have them helping me through this journey! They truly are the best!

Oh and in case your wondering what else is going on with Ledgers cheeks, he has a skin issue called Keratosis Pilaris, aka "chicken skin". Basically he has clogged pores. (like the ones that sometimes you get on the back of your arms or tops of your thighs). There are medications you can apply to the affected area but non that are approved for 4 year olds. The dermatologist says he will out grow it one day but for now we have to be patient. We love these chubby cheeks with all their bumps and bruises!

Learning To Shave Like Dad

Yesterday as we were frantically getting ready to go to church, Miss B. decided she needed a clean shaven'. In a matter of seconds, she grabbed a razor out of the bathroom drawer and sliced her top lip right open. That dang cut bled for 2 hours, and bled BAD! I really didn't think the thing was gonna stop bleeding in time for church. The funny thing about this story is that any time Jeremy cuts himself shaving, he screams (LOUD) and then moans about the dang thing for days. Miss B. comes walking in, gushing blood and doesn't say a word. As we start panicking trying to figure out where the blood is coming from, she starts getting teary eyed knowing she was about to get into trouble. She didn't get in trouble but she did feel bad because I have told her time and time again that razors are "ouchies" Hopefully seeing all that blood has taught her a lesson, but truthfully, I'm sure she will do something just as crazy tomorrow!

Articles Of Faith Ice Cream Party

Yesterday after our Primary Program practice, we had an Articles Of Faith ice cream party for all the primary kids. We have been really working on getting them to memorize all 13 Articles Of Faith this year and many were able to do that. For every Article Of Faith the kids passed off, they got that many scoops of ice cream. Yep folks...many kids had 13 scoops of ice cream yesterday at 10:45 in the morning! It was a great motivator and a fun way to end our program practice. A huge thanks to Cyndi for organizing and planning the party. It was awesome!

Little Sunbeam Ledger did good memorizing the First Article Of Faith. He was thrilled with his 1 scoop of ice cream!

Case didn't have much interest in learning the Articles Of Faith until the week before the party. By then he was so crazy stressed about memorizing them that he just couldn't. Next year we will start earlier.

No party would be complete without a game of, "Pin The Waddle On The Turkey."

Lucky for me I have great leaders and teachers who were more then willing to help scoop ice cream and squirt whipped cream all over!

Thank you Cyndi for organizing this fun activity for the primary kids. It was a HIT!

Pee Wee

This year Ledger was able to participate in Pee Wee Flag Football. Since the other 2 boys were playing we figured what the heck! What a season it was. The first few games, Ledger had major mouth guard issues. Mouth guards just aren't made to fit in such little mouths. Then, Ledger had issues with scoring touchdowns for the other teams. Since all we tell Ledger each week is, "Don't let them pull your flag, " Ledger runs in the opposite direction. And he doesn't stop running. After he would get to the end zone, he would turn around and run back. It was the dang funniest thing you've ever seen. The Seahawks were definitely the cutest players on the field each week.

Yep...this would be the hand off. As you can see, there is a lot of thought put into it.

Now run Ledger! Run!

Ledger was the best snapper on the team. Since there was no running involved in this position, it was perfect for Ledger!

Oh I know what your thinking when you look at this picture. Ledger looks like a professional flag foot ball player. Trust me folks, it's like everything is in slow motion when watching these games. Two 20 minute halves never took so long!

Ledger's first flag football season was fun and definitely entertaining! I have to say that by the end of the season, he was really getting the hang of how it all works. Can't wait to see how next season goes.