Snowflakes in Arizona!

What can you do on a Sunday evening to keep ALL your kids entertained while Dad is at church meetings???  

MAKE SNOWFLAKES!

Everyone loved it and made them at their own pace and in their own way.

Tess wouldn't let me take her picture but I got her arm as proof she was there!

Chloe's favorite

Olivia in her Santa hat working hard!

Hallelujah! Even jr. high school boys like being creative!

Moms do too!

Olivia's favorite 

Tess's favorite 

Rustin's favorite 

Our own little snowstorm, AZ style!

For easy folding and cutting instructions go to: http://highhopes.com/snowflakes.html

Daddy's BIG helper!

Russ has never been so happy to have a teenage son as he was on the Friday after Thanksgiving when Rustin was helping him (really) put up the Christmas lights on the house.  

I'm not sure that Rustin knew what he was getting himself into but he enjoyed working hard and helping Dad get done quicker. The view from up on the roof was cool though. He called his friend McKay, who's house he could see from up there and had him go outside and jump on the tramp etc. They thought it was pretty funny!

Thanks buddy, 

YOU'RE THE MAN!

Ta da! (almost done)

Thanksgiving Dinner Game:

This Thanksgiving

the Crawfords and Koskis 

are grateful for:

Advil 

Boys 

Christmas lights

Dinner

Egg nog Ice cream

Food

Grocery Carts

Halloween

Islands

Jello-pudding

Kids

Liver

Minced Moose Meat Pie

Naughty Neighbors

Olivia

Penelope the Pig

Queensland, Australia

Rustin

Sarah

Thanksgiving

Ugly Underwear

Violins

Wonder Woman

Xylophones

Yo Yo's

Zebras

Hope you had a wonderful and Yummy Thanksgiving!!!

Chloe's Birthday Bash!

Never before have so many girls played so many games and had

SO MUCH FUN!

Chloe's 11th birthday party started off with lots of PIZZA! After stuffing their faces they stuffed themselves into the back of Russ's truck and headed to the park to play a new game we just learned, "Steal the Bacon." Chloe likes to call it "Take the Bacon" just to be a stinker and call it by the wrong name. Some things never change! I hear (and the neighbors definitely heard) that they had fun laughing and singing in the truck on the way home.

When I got back from watching Twilight with Tess they were onto their next game, "Up Jenkins."  Then we taught them one I learned at a YW retreat, "Dippity-dippity-dip!" 

I think that was the winner of the night. We probably played it 15 times.

Another fun one was "Do you love your neighbor?" Olivia is loving being the center of attention in this picture.

The game that always gets the most laughs is definitely the "Question Game!" The girls all have a slip of paper and write a question that starts with "What would happen if...?" 

Here was a really popular one, "What would happen if Chloe married _________?"  Other good ones were, "What if boys had babies?" or "What if Este got stung by a scorpion on her butt?" (We found a scorpion on the piano keys during the party!) Then you trade questions and write answers. The funny part comes when you read a question and an answer that weren't meant to go together! Sometimes they match up in some hilarious, but unintended ways!

One Crawford classic is the TREASURE HUNT! Here the girls are trying to decode a complicated clue I wrote. They were all different codes or languages. Some were numbers, pig latin, riddles, runny babbit language,  or several mixed together. It was fun to watch them work together to solve them.

All their hard work paid off with Slinkies, candy and necklaces!

 Let's not forget cake and ice cream! Chloe wanted a cake that used the colors she chose for her party, pink, blue, green and orange. 

So we concocted this flowery/heart-filled design.

If Chloe made a wish it didn't come true because I think she took about 11 breaths, one for each candle!

Finally, it was time for presents!!! Thanks for the girly stuff Josie! Emily Sotak and others helped me by being my little photographers for this part. They loved it!

Chloe got some seriously fun stuff!!

Another thing that was cute was that they decided that whoever's present Chloe was opening should come sit next to her and get a hug, a picture, and a big thanks when they were done!

Ooh La La, nothing better than cold hard cash!

Finally it was time for bed! They watched Another Cinderella Story, but mostly talked and giggled until about 2 am! 

We LOVE Edward!!

Tess and I went to see TWILIGHT with 200 of our closest friends on Friday at 4:30. Our friends rented out a theater and we started the event with trivia questions and door prizes.

It was a total blast being there with all the teenagers and moms. The best was how EVERYONE cheered when it started, when we saw Edward for the first time, when Edward and Bella kissed for the first time, when it was over etc. We all loved it and everyone that I knew who wasn't sure if Edward was going to live up to expectations was IN LOVE with him by the end!!! Great casting! Bella and Carlisle were awesome too. It was a bit cheesy in places but overall a good job and I can't wait to take Russ to see it. He read all the books! 

He's my Edward.

Another fun thing was seeing all the t-shirts that people either bought or made. Tess and I had ones from Hot Topic.

 My favorite homemade one was by Toree Day that said "Team Jacob" on the front and then the back said "Because real men don't sparkle!" LOVED IT!!

She is one sassy chick! And brave to do that in front of so many Edward fans!

Happy 11th Birthday Chloe!!

CHLOE'S BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!

She just won the school SPELLING  BEE!

What an nail biter of a spelling bee it was. It started out with 22 fourth, fifth and sixth graders. Chloe is in fifth grade. 

By the second round there were only about 12 kids left, then 6 then 3!

 I was so excited she made top three! 

Then she and a boy, Adam went back and forth for about 6 rounds!!! 

I was dying! 

So were my friends, Sandy Bell and Robin Hirsche who had kids in it too. 

Adam, Chloe and Mrs. Seibolt

They got their words right and then Adam had the first chance to win it all after Chloe missed her word, but he got it wrong! Then they both missed and back and forth. Chloe got her first chance to win with the word "Frankenstein" unfortunately, she mixed up the E and I.

Adam had another chance to win it but got it wrong again. Phew! Here she is spelling her second chance (or maybe third) at her championship word "Excise." I was holding my breath and had to contain myself from screaming when she got it right!!! The kids loved her and were openly cheering for her even though they were supposed to be quiet! 

They were allowed to write the word down and I asked the principal if I could take the paper home. Here it is. 

I circled Chloe's words. 

If you see it spelled twice, she used the correct spelling when she said it into the microphone. She was so thrilled when she got Daffodil right. Total guess. Same with palette. 

Some of these us moms didn't even know!!

Here Chloe realizes she just won the whole thing!!!! What's funny is that

RUSTIN WON LAST YEAR!

Last year at the district spelling bee Chloe told Mrs. Seibolt (their ALP teacher who happened to be in charge of it all) that she was going to win it next year!!! Her BOLD prediction came true. I seriously can't believe she actually did it!!!! 

ON HER BIRTHDAY!!! 

Chloe's already got her name in lights!!

Now we start studying for the District Spelling Bee on Jan. 21st

Chloe studied hard for this one. Actually, she started studying last year using the book that Rustin won from Sonoma Ranch.

Chloe started off her b-day with a yummy breakfast in bed. She asked for a smoothie and a smoothie is what she got!

Her favorite gift~ an ipod nano~ What a big girl! She's 11 years old!!

I wrapped the itunes gift card inside a box of cereal! She liked that.

So did Nellie and Jake!

Here is my cute little brown eyed girl on her 4th b-day

Here she is many Easters ago.

What a sweet baby.

Who knew she would grow up to be such a smart little cookie?!

Me. That's who!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Now That's a Hairdo!

Olivia went to Olivia Gallman's birthday party on Saturday night where she got this

AWESOME HAIRDO!

It was quite the complicated "do!" Olivia's didn't last long because she said it was too tight and uncomfortable to sleep in but there were A LOT of girls with their hair like this at church the next morning! 

I'm glad we have this picture so I can try and do it for her myself another time. Fun Fun!!

Punny Foems!

Chloe checked out the funniest book from her school library and has been following me around reading it out loud to me all weekend!

It's a collection of Poetry by Shel Silverstein (died in 1999) that he had been working on but never completed when he was alive. It was compiled and published in 2005. After reading a lot of them you might feel like you have Dain Bramage! Here are some of our favorites.

KUGS AND HISSES

Runny said, "I'm lonesone,

I feel so glad and soomy. I need some kugs and hisses-

Now, who's gonna give 'em to me?"

"I will," said Polly Dorkupine

" 'Cause you're cute as a rug in a bug."

Said Runny, "Well, I'll kake the tiss,

But never hind the mug."

RUNNY HEEDS FIMSELF

When Ramma Mabbit started teachin'

Runny how to eat,

He picked his pood up with his ears, He wasn't nery veat.

The sood all flipped, the drilk all mipped.

"That's pot nolite," said Maw.

"Never use your ears, my dear-

That's why Pod gave us gaws."

The Facts about Mormons and Prop. 8

A big thanks to Carol Emmett for sending me this and being a good friend during this frustrating situation.

Get the Facts:

1. Mormons make up less than 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total population of approximately 34 million.

2. Mormon voters were less than 5% of the yes vote. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6% of the Yes vote and 2.4% of the total Proposition 8 vote.

3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated no money to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like donating.

4. The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the country.

5. Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is supported.

6. The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in favor of Yes on 8.

7. African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on Prop. 8.

8. The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).

9. The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims - all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.

10. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.

11. The Church did not violate the principal of separation of church and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in recent years. The LDS Church is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process, to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that Churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church has always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.

12. Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do - we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted.

Great Moments

Last Sunday I was driving Rustin and his buddy, Treven, around to different homes in the ward to pick up their fast offerings. They have been asked by their church leaders to say a prayer at each house before they left. Much to my joy, Treven and Rustin were actually fighting over who got to say the prayer at each house. At one point they were wrestling around in the back seat trying to keep the other one from getting out of the car first and saying things like, 

"You got to say the prayer at the last house!" and "But I have the envelope and you don't!" 

It was the best!

Yesterday Chloe and I were watching reports on Fox News of gay-rights activists protesting at the temples, even burning a copy of the Book of Mormon on the steps of a Mormon church in Denver, Colorado.  Chloe was taking this all in and said, 

"I bet President Monson is getting a lot of crap these days."  

I wonder?