Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

If you haven’t received our annual ecard, it’s here. And send us an current email address!

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday dear Marissa.
Happy Birthday, Thirty-two!

I’m in big trouble for posting Marissa’s age, but at least I left the pictures out.   She’s freaking out about being 32, so I figure the more she see’s the numbers, the less weird it will be.  Right?  We had chocolate cake for breakfast to celebrate, and since I didn’t actually have 32 candles, the kids and I formed candles in the shape of the 32.  With the candles that close together, it made about a 12 inch flame–Marissa’s lucky to still have eyebrows.

Anyway, here’s wishing you a special day, my older and wiser dear.  May all your (32) dreams and wishes come true.

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas.  It can be a stressful time of year, but I’m glad to have this time to reflect on the birth of the Savior.  He truly brought peace, hope and joy.  I’m also thankful for the Leo, Fischer and Rocky–they bring those things, too (minus the peace).  And Marissa brings excitement and big hair.  Here are some Christmas pics:

We’re also sending out our annual Christmas eCard this year.  If you don’t get it, we don’t have an up-to-date email address for you. In that case, please send us your address and view the card here.

We wish you peace, hope and joy this Christmas and throughout the coming year!

Leo passed off the 13th Article of Faith on Sunday.  She’s been working hard all year–actually, more like since July, and really, it’s not very hard for her. She just has a knack for memorizing.  She and I usually work on them at night when she’s going to bed, and it only takes a few nights for each.  The best part is that she gets up in primary on her own and recites them loud and clear (and sometimes fast).

She got $13 to celebrate her accomplishment–she gets to pick anywhere she wants to go to celebrate (and I’m rooting for Chipotle).  Tonight she told me she wished we could go to Antarctica, but she’s afraid of polar bears.

Here’s a few pics from Halloween.  We’ve already gotten quite a bit of mileage out of these costumes for just playing around the house.  Leo and Fischer bow towards each other and then kick and punch and tackle each other.  And Rocky just likes to say “Hi-Ya!”  Sadly this might be the last year they wear matching costumes.  Karate Chop!

Fischer and I had the talk.  He’s growing up fast:

Marissa already mentioned that I have a crush on Sarah Palin (Governor of Alaska, John McCain’s VP Pick).  Just to be clear – it’s (almost) purely political.  A conservative reform-minded governor who takes on the worst excesses of the corrupt Republicans in Alaska; a sensible, take-charge, pull-no-punches former beauty queen and champion high school point guard, avid hunter and fisherman, mother of five? What’s not to love? There’s something very attractive about a no-nonsense, in-charge woman–that’s why I married Marissa. And for the record, Marissa has a crush on her, too.

I was so excited about the pick that I decided to start a blog:  The Palin Report. Not that I don’t already have enough trouble keeping up with this blog, but I think this is the most excited I’ve ever been about an actual candidate (close second: Bob Dole!). If you’re not already convinced, hopefully this will help: 

For a little more background on why I decided to start the blog, go here.

We’re still getting plenty from our garden, but it’s started slowing down a bit. Here are some pics from a few weeks back when we couldn’t quite stay on top of all the vegetables. We made the tomatoes into marinara sauce and Rocky loves cucumbers, but we couldn’t give the zucchini away fast enough.

Here are some pictures from a Family Home Evening enactment of the story of David and Goliath.  Leo played the part of David, and Fischer was some combination of Goliath and a Storm Trooper.  Rocky was an excited spectator.  Fun was had by all.

I forgot to post these picks, but we went with my sister Lindsay and her husband Regan to a pick-your-own orchard outside Charlottesville a couple of weeks ago to pick peaches.  It was very hot, but still pretty fun.  We ate quite a few of them (my favorite are grilled peaches with a mix of whipped cream and cream cheese), but canned most–peach slices in light syrup and peach butter.