Messenger Bags

This year the boys sing SCRIPTURE POWER each Sunday in Primary. It is cute to hear little Warner give his own hearty rendition.
My older boys have wonderful Primary teachers that are encouraging them to read at home, bring on Sunday, and mark their favorite parts of the New Testament.
I looked online for a masculine messenger scripture bag and couldn't find anything (the boys need their hands free because they are usually helping me bring in Talmage or Warner or a bag of toys for the Nursery). From a Modge Podge of resources I created this and LOVE how they turned out.

Outdoor Decor Fabric from JoAnns 50% off.

I let the boys pick their fabrics. Each boy wanted something different which was great.

I wanted them to be just big enough for the scriptures but not much else. I'm always amazed at the contraband (lego guys, notebooks, etc.) that make their way to church. In this case, less is more.

Pencil/Pen pocket.

Room with a View

This is the view from my bedroom window.  Alaska has LONG sunsets and I find myself really enjoying the colors and contrast of the trees.

Me.

Grocery List

Bacon Family Monthly Grocery List. . .just the basics:

12 Gallons of Milk

10 dozen eggs

12 loaves of bread

6 bunches banana

10 lbs. apples

5 dozen flour tortillas

3 dozen corn tortillas

4-50oz. canned chicken

8 boxes Chex cereal

40 cups of Oats

30 cups of Rice

10 lbs carrots

5 lbs. broccoli

4 lbs. frozen berries

6 large OJ concentrate

4 zuchinni, yellow squash

6 lbs. tomatoes

10 lbs. potatoes

We went to the pediatrician this week.  The four oldest all had visits.  Our Doc was just guessing from growth curves and such and thought that C&T would be 6'2 or 6'3 and that Sam would be taller at 6'4 or 6'5.  Yikes.  We haven't even hit the growth spurt/eating years.  

Little gifts I gave out to a few girlfriends here in town.

The boys and their Hero, I mean Dad, playing Dungeons and Dragons together.

20 More to Go

1 Merit Badge Down. 20 more to go.
On Saturday, the boys and I went out to find snowprints of 10 animals. It was a BEAUTIFUL winter day and were enjoying the wonderful [for us it is heavenly] 35 degree weather. I didn't even bother to wear a coat or gloves.

While searching in the snow we saw this. . . probably about 150 meters away.
The boys thought it was a rock . . . I knew it had to be something. . . ALIVE.


So we went and snuck up on it . . . as much as you can with three boys and snow boots. We were delighted to discover that it was a Beaver who happened to slip into this hole before we could get a picture of him.

False Alarm

[warning: the pictures below are horrible]

This year I dragged my feet on putting up the Christmas tree. I was sure that Captain Destructo [aka Mudge] would destroy everything. I had visions of finding him pinned underneath the Christmas tree that he has pulled down on himself. I was just sure he would try to take a bite out of ornament or two. . . or at bare minimum that he would try to pull off the lights. And when Eric mentioned, in response to our kids pleading, pulling out the train I laughed. If the tree couldn't survive there is no way that the train would.

I'm happy to report, on all counts, that I was wrong.

Mudge didn't even seem to notice the tree at all. And he loved the train but respected it, for the most part, as a "no touch." It was really cute to watch him do a little excitement dance every time it came around the corner.

The boys always decorage the trains with "good guys."

Enough Said

Make My Day

Here's a little gun slinger.
Won't say a word and will only sign for food.
But he can load and fire a nerf gun.

W&M

Warner loves to sing.  He's learned a few Christmas songs this year. . . his favorite, Christmas Bells Are Ringing.  His 3-year-old rendition goes as follows:

Christmas Bells are Ringing

Hear what they say to you,

JESUS IS BORING [born]

in Bethleham,in Bethleham

Mudge is our first kid with his own theme song.  Inspired by PBS' Super Why, we came up with.

Mudge, Mudge, Mudge

Mudge-a-riffic, You're Terrific

A New Twist on a Old Tradition

When I was younger I always wanted games for Christmas. Murder She Wrote, the game, stands out as favorite.

My sister Michelle has always LOVED a good puzzle. I remember searching the shelves, for her Christmas gift and carefully selecting what I thought would be the trickiest and most exciting puzzle. The trickiest aspect was for my sister, the exciting aspect was for me. I don't have nearly the puzzle talent that she has but I'm happy to sit right along side her during a good movie add my one piece to her twenty.

I love those memories. Of course those memories are from when I was a young teenager and through college. So as a young mother I thought I would carry on the tradition only to met with frustration as little hands grab for pieces or worse, little mouths would eat pieces. So for the past 10 years we've resigned ourselves to the 24 piece variety: Toy Story, Cars, Blue's Clues, Winnie the Pooh, Dragon Tales. . .
It was time to break free. . .

This year, as our way to announce the boys BIGGEST and hopefully BEST present, we thought we'd try doing a family puzzle again. It took us a couple of movies and a couple of days to complete it, but I think everyone was thrilled. The boys then took a black light and were able to decode a secret message we had written on the puzzle invisible ink.

On May 30-June 6 we are going to Disneyland. The boys are beyond excited and I think I am even a tad bit more excited than that.

2010 Christmas Loot

We celebrated Christmas on Tuesday, December 2st. Why? Because we can. And because Christmas break is typically one of the coldest times of the year and we want our kids Christmas Loot ready and available.

Santa came through with the much coveted Lego Motorcycle set (his #1 Christmas pick. . . and it happened to be $9)

Christian's gift of Dungeons and Dragons is definitely a family favorite.

Hyrum got a gerbil which he has affectionately named Golf Tank.
The boys also got Wii Party from G&G Bacon. The song We like to party has been forever changed to Wii Like To Party. . . Wii like, Wii like to Party.

A cheer went up when Tanner opened the Percy Jackson books.. . .the boys have read the entire series at least four time each and were excited to start again.

A Few of My Favorite [Christmas] Things

My Mom sent this ornament in a Christmas care package. Not only is is warm and fuzzy-- everything a good holiday should be-- but I especially love the detail of the ornaments.

This came from my Dad on another day. This has become a very LOVED and much anticipated holiday tradition. Each year my folks purchase little puzzle boxes with our Christmas money hidden inside. We've have everything from mazes to trick hinges that range anywhere from five minutes to five hours to open.

Hyrum drew this in art class. I love it. You cannot see the glitter paint detail on the Nutcracker's uniform, but it is there.

I Double Dog Dare Ya. . .

Last week I got a call from the school.  It was Mrs. Jordan, Hyrum's Kindergarten teacher.

M. J.:  Mrs. Bacon it's Mrs. Jordan.  I just wanted to let you know that the boys will be a little later than usual getting home.

Me:  Thanks, I appreciate the call.  (I just assumed that C or T had forgotten little H.  and had double backed to pick him up.)

M. J.:  I have Hyrum here in Nurse Cottle's office.  While waiting at the parent pick up, Hyrum stuck out his tongue and it got stuck to the pole.

[here is where I'm sure she expected concern and empathy]

Me:  Laughing.  Laughing.  Laughing.  More Laughing.   I just could get the image of my Hyrum's tongue frozen to the pole, the panic in his eyes, the funny sounding pleas for help.  It was all to Christmas Story-ish for me.   When I finally stopped laughing I commented, "Mrs. Jordan, apparently I have failed to educate my Kindergartner on proper cold weather etiquette."

M. J. laughed:  Don't you worry, we'll be going over all of that first thing tomorrow in class.  

The Nurse did her magic and bandaged him up and a few minutes later when the boys arrived home I heard the story told and retold and retold again.  My favorite part from Christian and Tanner, "And Mom, we went back to to spot, and guess what?  Some of Hyrum's tongue was still there.  It was so cool."

Hyrum, of course, is not the first to get his tongue stuck on a pole at Ravenwood; but to his credit he is the first to keep it there long enough for the Nurse to run into the school, get some warm water and return.  

When I questioned him later about his choice to stick his tongue out he replied, "Mom, it's not the first time I've stuck my tongue out on things, it is just the first time its gotten stuck."  Hopefully it is his last.  If not, next time I want a picture!

Kowabunga

We bought snowboard sleds on a Christmas Eve whim last year. They quickly became one of our boys favorit things. They do a great job down steep hills and can even take jumps.

The Magical Word

Mudge isn't one for words . . . but we finally got him to "talk"

Christmas Bells are Ringing

Tonight was the Ravenwood Elementary Christmas Concert. It started out with the Hand Chimes Choir. They played A Little Bit of Bach [which Tanner pronounces Batch]. They did a phenomenal job.

Tanner, Grant, Christian, and Harry
The boys and their best friends. Harry played the bass guitar for one of the choral pieces.

Grant is a cool kid. He's military and just moved to AK this year. You can't tell from the picture but he has a mohawk. He is in Mrs. Campbell's class with C&T, does choir, hand chimes, and active kids club with them.

My three little singers. Oh how I loved listening to them sing. Mr. Lum has the choir singing two part and three part songs. It is amazing to me and I'm sure I'm the classic proud parent beaming from ear to ear.

Seriously?

Seriously, what kind of mother forgets one of her kids on the family Christmas Card. Lucky for me Warner can't read.

O. . . the frailties of man

Bacon Family Health Update:

Eric-Mastering GF Cooking.  Wednesdays, while I volunteer at the school, he stays home with the little ones an makes bread, tortillas, pizza, breadsticks, and cookies.  His patience has paid off and his food is delicious.    I am so glad that he's taken the initiative to learn how to make so many essentials.

Mudge-Still anemic & smart enough to recognize his iron supplement no matter how hard I try to hide it. . . but really, how much can you hide liquid nails??  One of the biggest challenges is that he has to take it in something acidic and the other boys are suffering from severe juice envy.

Me-Went in for a Lasik Exam, only to be told that my corneas are too thin and I'm probably suffering from Keratoconus.  [(Ker-a-to-co-nus)Keratoconus, often abbreviated to "KC", is a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped cornea progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. This results in significant visual impairment.] No Cure.  Surgery not an option.  Glasses not an option.  Soft contacts not an option.  What does that leave?  Special Fitting Gas permeable contacts.  Ugh.  I grew up in a house of Gas permeables. . . expensive little things that quickly turned into your worst nightmare in a wind storm.  (Luckily we don't really have wind in Alaska.)  I cried.  Just sad for myself, and mostly shocked.  Eric was speechless.  That is probably the fourth time he's seen me cry--EVER.  A minute later I was done feeling sorry for myself. .. . I've got friends with cancer and friends who can't have kids and friends who husbands love pornography more than them . . .  seems silly to be sad about bad eyes.  Someday I hope to pop my contact out, slobber all over it, and pop it back in with as finesse as my Mom!!  Here's to gas permeables

Green

I love Green.  It is my favorite color to wear.  Not the deep somber greens, but the light and playful shades.  Green is the best. .. except for when it is paired with that ugly envy word.  Unfortunately I've been green inside and out lately.  I've been consumed by the envy monster, which I'm convinced is the nastiest shade of green out there.   Sure I've wanted things before. . . but never like this.  And the hardest part, I'm reminded of it EVERYDAY!!!  Sometimes four or five times a day.  I sit in my living room and STARE at it.  I dream about it.  I say I don't have time for hobbies, but this envying thing has squeezed itself into a full-time hobby.  

What is so tempting?  So consuming.  Four walls, a door, a garage, some carpet, and a heater.  Just a house.  A little silly man made house.  

Our next door neighbors are selling my. . . oh, i mean their house.  Funny things is. . . it is a cheaper, smaller, older house.  And yet, I want it. . . real bad.  And even though my brain tells me it isn't going to happen. . . my heart just yearns.  This is the very same house we wanted four years ago.  The same house that went under contract the very day we got up here for our house hunting the trip.  The same house with a BASEMENT family room, a game room, 600 Sq ft. of walk-in storage.   I'd even give up my kitchen for this house. . . and that is saying A LOT because I LOVE my kitchen.  

Funny how one moment you are perfectly content and the next moment you're green.