Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen...

We had some VERY special visitors the other day, right in our own backyard. Santa's reindeer! We have only lived here in Washington for 3 years, but are still getting used to the fact that we get one or two or even three deer grazing our property and neighborhood on occasion. But, the other day we were astounded to count SEVEN deer all together in our backyard. I don't know how they ended up way out here, especially when they are surely supposed to be getting ready at the North Pole this time of year, but what a treat it was for my kids to see!


Watch them in action...

Reindeer

So Thankful...

The adult table:
Krisette, Craig, Stacy, Steve, Heidi, Scott, Don, and Karen

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we enjoyed this year. We were jam packed with family, even though we were missing so many. Craig and Krisette hosted it this year and it was really nice. Everything turned out delicious and we ended up staying past bedtime because we were enjoying the company so much. Krisette even invited all the girls to stay for a sleepover with the cousins. Hosting Thanksgiving dinner and then having an 8-girl slumber party on top of it...Krisette...you are my hero! We are so grateful this time of year to be surrounded by so much family. We are so blessed!

I got "Tagged"!

I guess those long summer days of playing “tag” with my brothers and sisters as a child aren’t quite over. Apparently my little sister is still holding a grudge that she could never quite run as fast as I could, so she has “tagged” me the only way that is possible. So, now I have to rack my brain and come up with 6 weird, quirky things about myself and share them with the whole world. Thanks a lot, Ginge! Here goes…

1. I have an obsession with teeth. I have a really hard time talking to people and looking them in the eye, instead of at their mouth, or teeth. I am sure this obsession comes from the fact that my dad is an orthodontist and I spent many years working alongside him perfecting teeth in the world. Not only do I ALWAYS look at and admire people’s teeth, I have an overwhelming desire and NEED to yank teeth from my children’s mouth the second I find out that they have a loose tooth. My poor kids. The older ones don’t even tell me anymore and if I find out, they lock their mouths shut! Then I have to resort to bribery...in all forms. It always works and I get the joy of playing “tooth fairy” yet again. One of my favorite visitors this summer was my niece, Krista, because she had a loose tooth and insisted that I do the yanking. Oh, happy day for me!

2. I love to sing… in the car…. REALLY loud. I can’t sing and seriously think I am tone deaf, but singing in the car with the music blasting is the key, because then I can’t hear myself singing. People are always giving me strange looks, but oh well. I’ll sing anything from Ingrid Michaelson to the Wicked soundtrack to Primary songs or Carrie Underwood. Actually, anything I know the words to, I will sing along.

3. I am the Queen of “To Do” lists, although I never actually complete the list, or even half the list, I just like to “cross off”. I will even write things like ‘take a shower’ or ‘pick up kids’ on my list just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off. I make long lists everyday that are completely unattainable and I usually end up writing the same list over from the previous day, because I didn’t really do anything (on the list) the day before, except shower and pick up my kids, of course. For some reason, it just makes me feel better to write it down with the hope that I will do it. Ridiculous.

4. I hesitate to admit this one, and more importantly, share it. I am a very messy teeth brusher. My husband calls me “Mad Dog” anytime he dares come near me while I am brushing my teeth. For some reason, I do not feel like my teeth and mouth are clean unless the toothpaste is allowed to dribble out of my mouth, down my chin. I know, totally disgusting. But, the times I try to do it neatly don’t satisfy me and I usually have to do it again. So revolting. I promise to work on that one.

5. I almost NEVER wash my face before bed. I know, that’s terrible. I think I heard Oprah on her show talking to a dermatologist guru and she said, “Isn’t that the worst thing you can do for your skin, not wash your face before bed?” And the lady said, “Yes!” Well, even that didn't help, I never do. Then again, my toothpaste probably takes care of half of my face, right??

6. Last, but not least, I LOVE food in the “raw”. No, not sushi, but cookie dough, pizza dough, bread dough, cake batter, muffin batter, even pie crust. It isn’t a very strange thing to like these things if you are on MY side of the family, but the Spanglers think it is disgusting that I will eat handfuls of pizza dough and lick the spoons of every mix I make. Delicious.

There you have it. Now I get to tag 3 others. Tina, Laura, and Mom, you’re "IT"!

The Party Goes On...

On Thursday, the day after my birthday, a group of my girlfriends met at the Victorian Rose Tea Room for lunch to celebrate my birthday and my friend Marci's b-day. It is the perfect place for girls! I love the Tea Room. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is so quaint and charming and feminine! We had a really nice time.


Don got home just minutes after I did and nothing could beat having my husband back home. We played all weekend long and just enjoyed being together as a family. I got to have another party at home and that one was the sweetest of them all!

My 32nd Birthday!

Wednesday was my birthday and Don was STILL gone. I had no expectations for the day, just anxiously awaiting my husband's return on Friday night. The kids were super cute all morning, helping their younger siblings make their beds and get dressed and doing everything to keep me happy. After dropping the kids off at school, I got to go play volleyball with my friends all morning and then enjoyed lunch at Mary Mac's with my friend, Jeanette, and my sister-in-law, Krisette (who shares the same birthday as me)! At 3:40, I went to pick up my kids from school, and to my surprise, Ginger, Gillian, and Davis were each holding a bouquet of flowers, while half the school watched and waited in anticipation for me to arrive. They ran to my car and handed me the flowers, saying, "Happy Birthday! This is from Dad!" Don had set the whole thing up through his dad and I loved it. It was hilarious to hear the girls tell me how terrified and nervous they felt when they were handed a note that read, "go to the office immediately after school". Gillian told me her heart was beating so fast she could hardly concentrate at school and Ginger just kept telling herself, "I didn't do anything wrong." Poor girls. Davis, of course, didn't even bat an eye at the note.

That night, I got a call from my sister-in-law, Stacy telling me that she was taking the kids for the evening and someone would be coming to pick me up for dinner. My good friends, Shelly and Jolayne from my old ward came and took me to dinner at Cosmo's and then to their Enrichment Meeting for a program and dessert. It was so fun to be with all my friends from Manchester.

So, what I thought was going to be a very uneventful day, turned out to non-stop fun and partying. I felt so loved by all of my family and friends. For a perfect ending of the day, Don called to tell me that he would be leaving the next morning and would be home by early afternoon on Thursday! That was the best present of all!

We miss Daddy!

It has been EIGHT long days since Don left for Maine and we still have 4 to go. I know, I am a big, fat baby! The kids are holding up surprisingly well, but definitely missing their Dad. Yesterday after sacrament meeting, the lady behind me leaned forward and said, "Kids a little wound up today?" Yeah, they were definitely out of sorts and in need of some Daddy time. It's funny but ever since Don left, if Ethan gets in trouble for getting into something, he quickly responds with "But, Dad said I could"! He uses it with everything. Smart kid. We all really miss Don. He has such a positive, powerful influence on our home and family and we can't wait until he is back home! My heart really goes out to military wives and single moms. I do not know how they do it. Twelve days is most definitely the longest I will ever agree to. And for future, five days is the limit!

Here's a little song the kids wanted to perform just for you, Don. We love you!

Daddy's Homecoming

We love Primary!

Last Sunday was our ward's Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting and it was wonderful, as all primary programs are. I thought it would be fun to let you hear the talks that my children gave to give them just one more chance to shine. They worked so hard memorizing and practicing that I had to capture it on video. Ryan had hers memorized very quickly, but broke down in tears at the first practice, refusing to say it. The second practice was better...no tears, but wouldn't say it without the Primary President whispering every word in her ear. The day of the program arrived and she still DID NOT want to do it without help, until the promise of a "princess coloring book" was mentioned and she was hooked. She did it, and did it perfectly!

Happy Halloween!

What a night! I am exhausted, but we had a great time. The ward Trunk or Treat was really fun and thankfully, it wasn't too freezing cold. And let's not forget to recognize the fact that it didn't rain. It's a miracle! We also did some traditional trick or treating around the neighborhood, but we didn't last very long. We ended the night at Grandma and Grandpa Spangler's house with lots of treats and lots of cousins. It could have been the perfect Halloween night, if only Don were here with us. Boo Hoo!