A Crazy Red Head: 2013

Sliding through the Snow

Monday, December 16, 2013

I couldn't get these kids to hold still long enough to snap a decent picture but Chloe and Seth had quite a crowd over to slip and slide down the steps of our itty bitty deck. They had so much fun even though the temperature was in the low teens! It always amazes me how long they can play out in the cold. There were frequent warm up breaks including stomping off the snow, stripping out of their snow gear and sipping hot cocoa!!!

We need more people in this little family of mine!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

I know, I know. I already posted this picture. But doesn't my baby sister Erin look so sweet and angelic holding baby Jase in her arms? I didn't get a photo but I caught her hubby Kendall with the same contented look on his face as he held Becky's sweet baby boy.

I think she needs to have some more babies, right away. This is how she felt when I mentioned this:

Her little twins are getting way too big, I call and they talk to me on the phone!

Then she changed her mind and held out her wrists! She can be so dramatic sometimes!!!

Here's Jack thanking Grandma for the Christmas Jammies:

And not to miss out, here's Josh giving her some kisses too:

(Yes, that's Dan hiding out on the steps or guarding the upstairs)

Christmas Luau

These are some of the BEFORE pictures:

{Many Thanks to my neighbor Avry for lending me all of the Hawaiian decorations!}

My favorite was the pineapple Laura brought that had a light sprinkling of vanilla pudding mix

And she also brought me a topper for this pineapple shaped cheese ball!

I made pulled pork sandwiches for the main course but I think the favorite was the dirty sodas:

Then there is the after:

My little sister Erin always worries that the floor is going to give out and all of us will crash to our deaths. It's kind of understandable, but we made it!

2013 Thomson Christmas Song List

Christmas Secrets

Monday, December 9, 2013

I love finding Dan the perfect gift. I try really hard to surprise him. He is really hard to shop for and usually goes out and purchases himself something just before Christmas... This year I spent all morning on Cyber Monday trying to purchase this:

When the box came I opened it up and made sure everything was there. I was teasing Dan to see if he could guess what it was. That is another annoying trait. Usually he is handed a gift and feels it, weighs it and then says, "I hope it's not a camp stove!" So he got a glimpse of this bendable part and I thought I had him fooled into thinking it was a something else completely.

Well he was looking for a number on the phone and scrolling back through the incoming calls and noticed GoPro's 1-800 #. Surprise ruined.

Making Carmels

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Dan only has a few requests during Christmas time. His family likes to remind him that all he needed growing up was some sugar and some colorful twinkling lights. At our house, he's responsible for hanging the Christmas lights. This year my to do list included Caramels, Gingerbread Cake, and Fudge. Today we crossed off caramels by constantly stirring:

Seth tried sweetened condensed milk for the first time and really liked it!!!

It amazes me that just like Christmas presents, it takes so much more time to wrap them compared to unwrapping them. It took me years of mishaps and a sister coming to the rescue and finding me the right pan (Wendy, I only use the pan for caramels) but I am so glad to be able to make caramels the way his mom did when Dan was a little boy!

Awesome Christmas Music Clip! Very moving and powerful!!!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Lunch with Brittany

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

This is my oldest niece Brittany. She is Laura's daughter & only child. She and I were able to get together last week to have lunch and share some giggles! She is such an amazing girl. She always teases me about how old I am. When she was 15, I turned 30 so now she always doubles her age to figure out mine! XXXWRONGXXX She has been working a crazy schedule and I've missed her so much. It blows my mind that I have to schedule time to see this girl. I remember when we would stay up late and watch 'Keeping Up Appearances' every night. I remember when she was a baby and I had gotten my first camera and we posed her fingers so they were flipping the camera the bird. I remember when she crashed on her dirtbike and the horror of seeing her covered in blood. I remember going to the Fashion Place Mall on Black Friday the first year they opened at midnight. I remember her curly, curly hair that was so long when she was a little girl. I'm so glad to make new memories with her even though I'm practically twice her age!

It's Official

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

She is now a Thomson:

My niece, Lindsey:

We started the day at the courthouse to be there for the procedure of adopting this sweet girl. Afterwards we joined her and her family at the Olive Garden - her favorite! Then later that night when my extended family could make it we surprised her and Jenn with dinner and games at their ward house. On a Monday night my brother lured them to the church with plans to meet with their bishop :) Neither Jenn or Lindsey knew about it and it was the best night.

Strawberry

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Bear Lake over the Fourth of July

Sunday, July 7, 2013

We headed up to Bear Lake on Tuesday after work. Dan was working hard to put together a truck bed rack to hold his and his brother Jared's Kayaks. I thought they were crazy when they picked these two orange vagabonds up at the scout auction last November but everyone loved them, especially Seth:

He didn't want to get out of his and was getting pretty good at maneuvering them.

We love the North Shore in Idaho and have a favorite spot. We set up our chairs and umbrellas and scoot out as much as we think we can get away with. I had brought the paint crayons and Slayder was in great demand. There were "Me Next!" and "Can you draw this?" He loves to draw and is really very good at it.

Little Brother Bridger:

One of the Twins:

The Other Twin:

Miss Harlie's Fish Lips:

Even the girls loved to play in the shallows and would practice turning over and over. Usually they had to get out and turn the kayak around!

Slayder was awesome and never tired of paddling. He also passed off a merit badge by using a pair of jeans as a floatation device... Whatever!

I love swimming and was shocked to learn that I had left my swimming suit at home. I was so sad to have to resist riding the tubes with the boys. I had so much fun trying to knock Slayder and Drake off last time but was afraid of loosing my shorts.

Tai turned 6 at the end of June and wanted to celebrate his birthday with all of his cousins at Grandpa's cabin! We sang birthday wishes to Tai, Slayder and Jared!!!

Slayder had the meals for his birthday on Saturday all planned out. It started with an early breakfast of Sausage and Bisquits with Gravy. Oh Happy Boy:

On Saturday we started for the beach extra early to get our spot.

Seth found this hapless fish lying dead near the beach:

Jared and Dan had definite plans to flip the kayaks

Man, my Husband is HOT!

First attempt was a bust:

After wriggling out of the kayak, they hefted it over their shoulders to get rid of the excess water. Dan used the rubber skirt for the first time today and after hearing him holler that he was loosing his skirt when he climbed back into the seat, I almost dropped my camera in the water from laughing so hard!

The second attempt was not much better:

Dan thought it might help to watch some more videos on youtube before trying it again...

Tai using the hot dog like he thinks it was intended, definitely not at top speed, behind grandpa's boat, going in circles or crashing through waves!!!

After Seth toodled around, hoarding one of the kayaks, Dan asked him to hop out and give someone else a turn. He overturned the kayak and stomped off. This is a picture of him after lunch when he got to give it another go: