Cousins are great!

It's not very often that all the cousins can be together at the same time. They've been having a lot of fun together singing, dancing, wrestling, reading, watching movies, and whatever else kids like to do together.

Kids sure do grow up fast!

We have these tiny water balloons that we've just been blowing up with air. Claire thought it would be funny to turn herself into a woman. Then, of course, Lahela had to get in on the action too. My little girls are practically teenagers now. Ah, where have all the flowers gone?

Lost teeth

Nathan lost his two front teeth. The first one he lost in time to look like a jack-o-lantern for Halloween, and the other one in time to sing the "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" song. Great timing, Nay Nay!

Nathan's photos

Nathan tried his hand at photography. Here are the pictures he took.



Last, but not least, he even took a picture of himself.

Lahela's haircut.

I decided it was high time to give Lahela her first haircut. Her hair had grown to the point where it was all different lengths and wispy on the bottom. I took before and after pictures, and here they are:

Before:

After:

I got an unexpected phone call!

Today I was on the phone with Daddy, asking about what I should do to ripen my tomatoes. When I hung up, the phone rang within about 10 seconds. I thought maybe it was him with another idea, but when I saw the caller ID, it threw me through a loop. It was my own cell phone number. Immediately I knew who the culprit was. I'll give you a hint: She really loves removing the contents of my purse, especially my phone, plus she's the shortest one in the family...did anyone guess Lahela? I answered the phone, then went in search of the little hoodlum. I found her sitting on her bed, phone in hand. The look on her face told me she was guilty, and I didn't want to make her feel bad (though what I really wanted to do was burst out laughing), so I put my receiver to my ear and told her to talk on the phone. She slowly put the cell phone to her ear, but didn't say a word. I asked her if she found my phone. She replied, "Uh-huh." I asked her if she was having fun with it. She replied, "Uh-huh." Then I kindly asked her if she could put it back in my purse. She replied, "Uh-huh," then climbed down from her bed. We said our good-byes into our respective phones, then we walked into my bedroom where I helped her return it to its proper place.

Lahela is so funny! Even though she's been reprimanded numerous times for playing with my cell phone (and at times losing it at the bottom of the doll clothes bin), she still cannot resist the urge to play with it just "one last time." Maybe she needs her own phone. I doubt, though, that it would produce the same enjoyment as Mom's phone.

On another note, she did just turn two on 9/11 (not that the date is what makes her mischievous). She is just simply doing what a two year old does: Learning by experience. Again and again and again and again. I don't think this will be the last time my purse gets emptied, or my phone taken, but I can truly say I would much rather have this be a part of my life than to not have her in it. She is a gem.

Hazel's and Nathan's first day of school

Nathan was nervous for school to start, which wasn't surprising. He is a little worrywart! When his first day of first grade was all over, he came home very happy and excited to be in school. One of the big reasons was because his teacher, Mrs. Chatterley, gives out rainbow stones (those little glass rocks in different colors). He earns a rainbow stone every day for his good behavior, and that makes him so proud!


Hazel was very excited for school to start again. She has always been very social, so she had no anxieties. Her teacher is Mrs. Orme. Hazel has been doing well thus far and is a really good reader. I can't believe she is already in 3rd grade!


As for me, it is so nice to not have a Kindergartener anymore. Hazel and Nathan can now ride their bikes to and from school together. It was so hectic last year to have one kid on half day and one on full day.

Also, I've signed them up to be in their school choir, which they will stay after school one day a week to sing in. It will be a fun experience for them. I'm excited to hear them coming home singing the songs they will learn.

Pretty Lahela

Lahela just finished beautifying herself with Claire's play make-up. Isn't she lovely?

Our camping trip to Capitol Reef

We hiked a place called the Grand Wash. It was dry when we went through, but is a place that all the water washes down in a flash flood when it rains. The bottom had lots of cracks all through it as the clay dried. The kids thought it was pretty neat to carry the cracked clay pieces around and sometimes smash them on the side of the cliff. Hazel and Nathan collected a bunch of mud, which they turned into two mud balls. They brought it home to try and make something. The clay looks like the type of clay used for making pottery.


We found a few fun caves to go inside.



Next, a fun series of pictures of the kids figuring out how to climb this rock wall. Nathan went up first, then Hazel tried to figure out how he got up there. Finally, Claire had to have her turn. They were all eventually triumphant!





These are some of the ancient petroglyphs on the side of a cliff. An informational sign said these were ancient Indian religious symbols.


I thought this shot was pretty neat with the odd-shaped dead tree. Kimball and Nathan are standing on a different ledge way off in the distance.


Claire wanted so much for me to take a picture of her "ugly face" while she sat in the big "bum chair".


This was a time when it would have been nice to have a remote controlled camera, or a take-along photographer. At least with two shots, we were able to get everyone's picture taken.



The kids had their turns jumping into the water, where Kimball caught them. The look on Nathan's face is hilarious. Claire and Lahela, of course, were too afraid to jump, so I helped them slide into the water.






The water wasn't as cold as we expected it to be. Even Lahela enjoyed playing in it.


Nathan caught a small lizard at the swimming hole. A guy showed us how to hypnotize it so it would lie completely still. The trick is to turn it over so it is laying on its back, and stroke it from the chin down the belly. It was pretty neat to hold a perfectly still lizard.



There were a lot of deer in Capitol Reef, especially in the campground. They weren't even afraid of people. The kids really enjoyed seeing the baby ones too. Plus, on our way home, we just about hit a deer. That was pretty scary.

Lisa jumping down the waterfall

Book tag

I've been book-tagged by Cathy. The closest book to me is Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 3rd edition, by Phyllis Balch and James F. Balch.

Here is the sentence:

"Make sure food is mixed well with saliva to form a liquid consistency before swallowing."

So here are the rules...

This is what you do:

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages)
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog
5. Tag 5 people

I don't know who all has been tagged yet, so I will tag the only people I think are left who have a blog: Renee', Cynthia, and Kimball.

The Dickens family Christmas party

Thanks to Michelle's hard work, our family Christmas party was a huge success. We ate chili, breadsticks and veggies, then played a fun game of fear factor. Here are some of the happenings:


These lucky contestants had the opportunity of sifting through brains to remove all the eyeballs placed within. Later Renee' said that before they started, she heard Athena sobbing inside her hat. She asked her what was wrong, and Athena replied that she didn't want to put her hands in brains. Renee' then had to reveal it was only spaghetti and marshmallows. That was enough to ease Athena's mind, and she happily played along.


Tally time! I actually don't even remember who got the most, but it was sure fun to watch.


Nathan Slater's favorite part of this game was the end, when he got to gobble up his collection of eyeballs.


Denise, Shalee, and Callie were probably the most grossed-out with their fear factor game. They threw darts at a dart board to determine how many bites they had to take out of a delicious Twinkie. The only glitch was that inside the Twinkie, carefully placed, was a pickle. Denise doesn't even like pickles, but she came out on top. She ate that conglomerate like a pro. Shalee, on the other hand, practically threw up, while Callie's face turned green.


I got cold feet (well, foot) from this game. We had to remove a bunch of hot dog chunks out of a big bowl of ice water...with our feet. Brrrrrrr!!!


Samantha and I were the winners. Kimball wasn't surprised, though. He's always amazed with the things I can do with my prehensile toes.


Hazel and Athena just found out they will be eating baby boogers. They'd better eat them all, since Michelle worked painstakingly hard at collecting enough for everyone.


Seth and Benjamin are going to need each other's enduring support through this one.


Green, slimy, and satisfying. Yum, yum! Eat 'em up!


This next game was a tasty one. We had to fish a piece of bubble gum out of a tray of whipped cream, without using our hands, then be the first to blow a bubble. Trust me, it's harder than it looks. It's serious business, especially when the pressure is on! You just can't rush a bubble.


Mr. and Mrs. Claus (Nicholas and Amanda).


Chew, Teresa, chew!


The guys got to test their home economics skills by separating eggs without breaking the yolks. Isn't it funny how they each have their own style? Dainty Kimball used the transferring between the shells method, clever Doug broke the egg into his hand and let the white fall through, and time-saver Brett took it to the next level by breaking all the eggs into the bowl, then scooping out the yolks. And the winner is...


Triumphant Brett! He just earned himself the "Homemaker of the Year" award.


Katelyn and Mama sure looked pleased about the next game: Who can eat baby puke the fastest?


"I guess baby puke isn't that bad after all."


Go, Doug and Robert, go! Come on, Matt, slurp that puke!


Painful wall sits. Cathy was the winner, but everyone involved experienced "jello legs" for the rest of the party.


Rigorous jumping exercises.


Sour lemon faces.

Now for some non-fear factor photos.


Every time I see this picture, I can't stop laughing. Hayley and Katie are so cute, then there's this random arm coming out of nowhere, with no body attached to it.


Three cute little girls...Lahela, Hayley, and Katie.


Lahela sure loves her doll!


Wow, Benjamin! Forget fingers, the tongue is way more effective.


Are we having fun yet?



The princes. Top photo: Christopher, Ethan, Connor, and Nicholas. Bottom photo: Nathan, Jonathan, Benjamin, and Jacob.



The princesses. Top photo: the beautiful Callie and Katelyn. Bottom photo: Samantha, Hazel, Amanda, Athena, Ashley, Claire, and on the side, Hayley (with Mama in the background).


Cynthia and Renee', holding Alexandra.


All the kids entertained themselves by playing "train" under the stacked chairs.