Good times!

So this year our Thanksgiving was going to be spent with just our family. With Joy & Max gone on a mission the rest of the family seemed to have other plans & my family were all going to my sister's house - with Jamey just getting back from a long road trip, he just wasn't up to ride an hour and a half there & back for dinner this year. So we opted to have dinner at home alone, just our family. It would have been a first & I was happy to make a new tradition with my family but sad at the thought that we wouldn't be spending a holiday with any extended family.... Until Dee Dee told me that her mom was not feeling well & they weren't going to have Thanksgiving dinner with her as planned. So we called up Dee Dee, David & their boys and invited them for Thanksgiving dinner with us. It was going to be a holiday with family after all!! It was such a nice time visiting with them, even though we live fairly close & see each other often... Although we don't really have time to chat, other than via email. I'm sorry Helen got sick, but I am happy that her family was able to spend Thanksgiving with us. Thanks guys for coming, it really meant a lot to me!!

This picture is not very good, but it is the only one we took. In fact it was taken on Jamey's phone since none of us had a camera handy. Sorry!!

Hope you all had a very nice Thanksgiving with family or friends!

The cycling merit badge continues-Long story, but a good laugh

Since Eric's cast is off, he needs to retrain for the cycling merit badge. We're hoping to get it done and out of the way soon, but he's not ridden for awhile so he needs to get back into shape. Saturday was the perfect opportunity to go on a ride-just the two of us. (The other guys were at a service project) I knew I could handle it. It's just a dumb bike ride. I even put my hair up nice and cute so it wouldn't get funky looking on the ride. David suggested that we go to Coronado and ride down the strand, then eat breakfast in IB, then ride back. It's nice and flat. Perfect! The weather, as you can see from the picture, wasn't exactly sunny. It was FOGGY and WET! But we're just going on a bike ride...

We started by the lifeguard tower, then rode by the Hotel Del and down the strand. It was an easy ride, but my knees started hurting. No burn in the legs or anything else, just a little pain in the knees. Then I realize that I left all my money in the car, so we couldn't buy any food in IB. OOPS. Eric's annoyed.

As we're riding, a police office pulls over in front of us with his lights on. He gets out and asks me what we're doing. I explained that Eric was training for his merit badge. The officer talked to me like I was dumb. (Huh! Go figure!) He explained to me that the bike lane was on the bay side of the highway, not where we were riding (on the ocean side). I said, "But there's a white line here, this is a bike lane." He said, "no, this is a shoulder. If this was a bike lane, it would say - bike lane". Me: "oh". He told us to cross over when we get to the Coronado Cays and ride on the other side. Then he asked me, "Do you know where that is?" I told him yes. I felt pretty dumb, but still really proud of ourselves for not getting a ticket or in anymore trouble. He gets in his car and drives off. Eric turns to look at me (he was in the front) and says, "Oh my gosh, Mom. You look like a tweaker! What happened to your hair?" My cute hairdo got all wet and smushy from the moisture in the air. Needless to say, when we got to the Cays, we turned around and went back. As we're riding back, the chain fell off my bike. It took a few tries to get it back on right. Then my hands were all greasy. YUCK! And my knees were killing me!

We made it back to the car, and I couldn't remember how to get my bike back on the rack. I knew it wasn't like the other bikes, but couldn't remember how David put it on. Eric couldn't either. I called for help. David was under someone's house and Jason tried to talk me through it. No luck. I put it on wrong, but the safest way I could figure. I was about in tears at this point. We clocked our trip - 10.5 miles. The bike didn't fall off, so that was a good point, I guess!

I could barely get out of the car by the time we got home. My knees wouldn't bend for 2 days!! I felt like an old lady. (well, I did just have a birthday) It seriously took me at least a whole minute to get up out of a chair after sitting. Everyone made fun of me. David enjoyed telling this story - thanks, babe. It's hard going through life being a goober!!

Needless to say, I'm not doing this alone again. You're on your own, Eric!!

Are you done laughing yet?

Happy Birthday!

November is full of family birthdays... In fact last week was Dee Dee's birthday but I forgot to post a birthday message to her here. Sorry! But I did remember to wish her a happy day in person. Whew! I hope you had a great day Dee Dee!

Today is David's birthday. Happy Birthday David! I hope you are having a great day... hopefully all of your brothers remembered? I know you got a special phone call from a family of wonderful singers :o) I think we are similar to the Osmonds or something.... ha ha - hopefully that didn't ruin your day.

Next week is Jamey's birthday. Can you believe that Joy had them one year & a week apart? What was she thinking? I could hardly handle them two years apart... Regardless I am looking forward to spending his special day with him. Happy birthday baby!

Here's to another year of good times, health & happy memories!!

(Sorry there aren't any pictures, my computer is acting up & I have already had to re-write this post 3 times. If I get it fixed anytime soon I will add pictures later).

Troy's Eagle Court of Honor

I am happy to say he finally did it! Troy is an official Eagle Scout. His project was completed over 2 years ago, but those last three merit badges took their toll. He passed his board of review in July and the big day has finally arrived. David worked so hard on the ceremony, and of course, it turned out perfectly. There were so many people there that have meant a lot to Troy & influenced him in his life. Here are a couple examples: Aaron Leavitt was a huge influence on him, and such a great example. Also, Troy's 2nd grade teacher came. She was the first person that truly saw potential in Troy outside of his family. I will always remember what she did for him. It was really great that so many friends and family were able to come.

Here is Troy with Brother Magoffin, the Stake YM President.

Here is Jason with Nate. It's time to buy Jason another scout shirt. This one barely buttons, but he's grown so much it won't tuck in!

Here is Kevin & Wyatt. That little boy cracks me up. He never stops talking, and is very inquisitive.

Unfortunatley, I only got a few pictures, but my brother-in-laws took pictures. Brien & Jody even took a video of the ceremony and sent that to Joy and Max since they're on a mission in Washington DC. I hope they don't mind me putting the link on here. They did an awesome job! Thanks, guys!!

http://albums.phanfare.com/5237968/2965470#imageID=52374745

Ugh!

Okay bare with me while I vent for a minute... Is anyone else frustrated with our voting system? I mean how democratic is it that someone I don't know in some "electoral college" is voting for me? Why can't they just count my actual vote? I don't understand the mentality of it... was it just some lazy people who didn't want to count all of the votes who came up with this system? Am I just ignorant to this?? I also don't get the theory that they count all of us Californians as Democrats.... I know this is not true because I happen to know MANY Republicans here in California. Will this ever change or do they do a poll once every several years? (I know this is probably not the case but it just seems so strange that they do it this way!) . And how can they tell who is going to win in a state at 10AM in the morning? It is just NOT possible! Unless someone is rigging the polls! Is it that the NEWS stations tell us what they are hoping the outcome will be? I just don't understand it!!!! It doesn't make sense... Do you think any of us will ever get smart enough to make some sort of change in this flawed system that doesn't seem to work? I mean does my vote REALLY count? I don't feel like it does.

For those of you wondering, I did vote today but that doesn't mean that I think it really matters.
What do you think?

Scary!

Thought I would post a picture of my boys on Halloween, they make me so proud! I didn't get a picture of Noah as he went trick or treating with Eric & I didn't get out the camera until he had left. Sorry Noah! The boys went out by themselves & had a good time getting candy from grandma & grandpa's neighborhood - even though they weren't there. We missed you!!

Jamey & I had a night out alone.... first time I didn't take the boys out on Halloween. I guess they are growing up!!

Halloween

Here is a picture of the boys dressed up for Halloween. They went to Grandma's house to say hello. (Before it got dark so Grandma wouldn't get scared of the big cholos)

Eric, Jason, Troy, their friends James & Kevin

I guess they're not too old to go out begging for candy. The older boys all dressed that way for school, too. I am surprised nobody beat them up since their school isn't exactly all white...

Eric's pumpkin
David's pumpkin. So unusual for him-not scary at all!!

Eric & Noah went trick-or-treating together. They came home and munched out on candy for several hours. The older boys all went trick-or-treating, then to a friends' house and watched a movie. I got to pick them up shortly after midnight. I am sooooo tired today! I can't keep up with the life of teenagers, that's for sure!