{Oh yes I did.}

This was a post I started a month ago and it never got quite posted so I'm posting it now in hopes that it will be an encouragement for me to set some new goals for the new year. Eating better being one of them. You'll see why.

At some point during reading this blog post you might find yourself saying "Oh, no she didn't!" Possible even audibly. But the answer is, in fact, "Yes, I did".

I have a very sweet husband who, while at the mall last night, stopped at the Cheesecake Factory to get me a slice of very delicious White Chocolate Rasperry Truffle Cheesecake. We sat around the T.V. while we ate our little treats. I really like to spread the love (with myself) and wanted to save a little for the next day so I ate only half and set aside the rest. My husband (again, remember that he's sweet) gathered it up for me and took it to the kitchen. I assumed he would put it in the refridgerator because he knows me so well and knows how I love my leftovers.

Well, he didn't. He Threw. It. Away! So innocent little me goes to make the kids' lunches in the morning and low and behold what do I find in the trash can? The cheesecake. Gasp!

I was quite taken aback but then (remember what a great husband I have) I realized that was ALL that was in the trash can. He had emptied it out the night before. Before throwing the cheesecake into it. And so I did it. I dug it out of the trash can, put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. And then ate it. And it was dang good!

A video to remind you of the true meaning of the Season

I don't like "firty"

Grayson: Mom, I don't like "firty".
Me: You don't like thirty? Why not?
Grayson: Because it's really really old.

But then he redeemed himself-

Me: Well, I'm thirty, do you think I'm old?
Gray: No.

And then he smiled his cute little smile and all was forgiven. :)

My not-so-living NIGHTMARE!

Most people who know me know that I have one paralyzing fear. And I use "paralyzing" in very literal way.

Mice.

I know that very few people like them, I get that. But I can't move and go into hysterics just at the sight of an empty mouse trap.

Shortly after we moved into our house last year it occurred to me that our back yard borders a pretty large forest area and what do you find in forests? Squirrels and bunnies, yes. And we see plenty of those. But it was the fact that mice might abide there that bothered me.

I called pest control immediately (probably before we had our gas or electricity hooked up). They came and set these super poison trap thingies in the basement and come every couple of months to check on them. I usually ask about it and they usually tell me that there has been some "activity".

"Activity", I now realize, is a very nice way of saying that your house is completely infested. But in almost a year and a half I have seen nothing so I let my little brain assume that the pest controllers are liars and just after our money. But I make sure they keep coming anyway.

And then it happened. Last Tuesday I went to the basement to start some laundry and I saw IT.

A dead mouse. To say I freaked out would be one of the biggest understatements EVER. And it was dead. Had it been alive my heart might have actually stopped between beats. The way I reacted will for sure make my poor 4 year old seek therapy someday. But my husband saved the day by "taking care of it" and checking out the entire basement. Given a choice I would never go down there again but then we'd have to join a nudist colony seeing as how we wouldn't have any clothes.

There have been no other signs thus far but I still won't go to the basement before an intense investigation is performed or without a chaperon. Which reminds me-Richard already left for work and laundry needs to be done. Oh well, maybe tomorrow...

Invisible Thanksgiving pictures

Tablecloth and napkins ironed, China washed, placecards made. Went through all of the effort to set the Thanksgiving table and even charged the camara to take a picture with all of our guests. And as you can see, the photo is posted here, next to the one of last year. Meaning...didn't take any- either time. I especially should have taken a picture of the turkey. I'm adding this picture, although not my turkey, because it looked pretty darn close. I figured that since last year I didn't kill anyone I would attempt some flavor in the turkey this year. And, by golly, thanks to Reynold's and their genius cooking bags and a little seasoning it worked! Alright, enough horn tooting. We had a great time with the Giles, Cotters, and Nelsons. Some of our "family away from family". It was a terrific Thanksgiving!

Yep- I was out there

Black Friday, I did it. However, unlike the past couple of years, I did NOT get up early and wait out in the cold for the stores to open. I did peek at the clock in my room at 6:30 a.m. and think "I am so glad I'm in bed right now". Then, at my leisure, I made it to Target, oh around 11:00. And guess what. Found everything I was looking for. Sometimes it's best not to know (or care) what you missed.

All Hallows Eve

Aunt Jennie with Captain Cody, Darth Vader, and the Midnight Fairy.

Very very scary! Okay, not really.

We love Halloween here in New England. It's back to the very traditional Halloween that I remember as a kid. Don't get me wrong- I do like the Trunk or Treats but I kind of feel like they take away from the old-school feel of Halloween. I know they're safer, more convenient, and quicker for when it's freezing cold but come on. I love the million kids running around the neighborhood and people sitting on their porch oohing and aahing over every costume.

We went to the Adams' house (yes, to see the Adams Family, he he) for a party and then went trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. There were kids EVERYWHERE and it was so festive and fun! I should've weighed to see how much candy they got. I guess I can just weigh myself and see how many pounds I've gained. It's probably about equivilent, unfortunately.

"Gimme Gimme!" Yeah, he's only eaten about 2 pieces of candy since that night over a week ago. I have a friend here who has started "Treats for Troops" where she sets up some drop-offs for people to give some of their Halloween surplus. Then she arranges to have it donated to the troops serving outside of the U.S. Her motto- "Don't let your Halloween candy go to waste, or waist." What a great idea!

The night before Halloween Richard, Wes, and Jennie went on a haunted walking tour in Salem. From what I hear it was pretty dang spooky. Now that's Halloween!

Octoberfest at the Davis household

We've had a fun couple of weeks. First my parents and Aaron visited the weekend before Halloween. They were able to go with us to the ward Trunk or Treat but basically just came to hang out and enjoy our awesome company. We went to the beach when the tide was ultra low (not just low...ultra low). This is super awesome, especially on an off-season day because you can walk along the shore and find TONS of cool stuff like shells, sand dollars, and starfish. But luckily the kids learned a valuable lesson from their last time at the beach- Do NOT bring a live clam home and keep it in your room as a pet. Sand dollars make better pets.

The day after they left Wes and Jennie came to visit. They were here for a week and we had tons of fun! We did lots of seeing of the sites but mostly just enjoyed being together.

We teamed up to do pumpkins this year. Grayson and Jennie, Savannah and Wes, Riley and I, and Rich was on his own.

Cute and fun, just like Grayson and Jennie.

Mean and scary, just like Mommy. And Riley when he wants to be.

Sweet and goofy, just like Savannah and Wes.

Richard had a fondness for his pumpkin. In fact it sleeps on my side of the bed now. He he he!

We love to have visitors and had such a great time with everyone. Thanks for coming to see us!

~Apple Picking and Columbus Day 2008~

Apple Picking

We did our 2nd annual apple picking trip this last weekend. We do a hayride, go through a hedge maze, and hike great distances to get some delicious apples. They also have a little farm with animals and a stand with the greatest cider doughnuts and carmel apples. Get this. There are hundreds of acres of beautful rolling hills with apples trees and all of the fall foliage. And I got this beauty of the parking lot. Hey, at least there's a pond in there. And I forgot my camara so this is taken with my cell phone. Even better.

Columbus Day

(that was Monday, in case you didn't know)

Columbus Day is a huge holiday in these parts. School is out and there are parades, balloons, parties, festivals, and food. Okay, none of that is true, except for the school is out part. But who doesn't love a holiday, no matter what it is?

We have some friends who, for tradition, go to an apple picking farm and then to the beach on Columbus Day. Now it is October here (as it probably is wherever you live) and starting to get a little chilly but that didn't stop the kids from going crazy, playing on the beach for over 4 hours. You'd think that the one with the the body "insulation" (me) would have been the warm one. However, I stayed bundled up while the kids stripped down (to their bathing suits) and went wild.

At the farm

Beach bums

Savannah was working her way to China. She didn't quite make it. Maybe she can try again next year.

{Walden Pond}

After the morning session of Conference Saturday we decided to get out for a little while. L. Tom Perry spoke in the morning session and he mentioned how he and his wife used to go to Walden Pond. It's about 15 minutes from our house and so we thought it would be a great place to go! It is still early fall and the leaves are starting to change. It is beautiful.In his talk, Elder Perry talked about the four necessities of life that Thoreau discusses and how we can relate those to us, both temporally and spiritually. He also spoke about simplifying our lives, which we can all use a reminder of. We really loved this talk. If I was smart enough, I would link it right here so that you could easily click on it and read it yourself. But if you go to lds.org you should be able to find it pretty easily.

I feel better about this one

Okay, I'm aware that these morph things don't neccessarily mean that you look like the person. But I don't care, I'm posting this anyway because I had one diffficult week trying to tell myself that Jack and I don't look that much alike. This makes me feel better, I don't care how much of a stretch it is. We both have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth...with teeth even. But if you think you see Val Kilmer and Christy Brinkley (or Jack Osbourne) walking down the street with three kids, look again. It just might be the Davis Family.

Whatever you have to tell yourself, Steph.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free genealogy - Geneology

Now we know who the pretty one is in our relationship...

So I ran pictures of Richard and I to see what celebrities we look like. Richard is a Val Kilmer look-alike.

Wow, that's pretty impressive. What hot actress will I be?

I ran three different pictures of myself. I was two foreign actresses I had never heard of but don't worry. There was one famous American that I look like. Who was it?

Jack Osbourne.

No lie, that's what they came up with. I hope you forgive me for not posting it.

My, I feel pretty.

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb

++Haircuts by Stephanie++

I've always wanted to cut my boys' hair myself. You need to understand, though, that I can't even make a straight part to put pigtails on my daughter. And don't even think about trimming bangs- scary. The other problem? Buzz cuts don't necessarily "compliment" the size and shape of my boys' little skulls. But I finally did it. I cut my boys' hair for the first time- BY MYSELF! Of course with the trickery of positioning and bad photography you can't see all of the mess-ups but I think they look pretty darn cute!

We like Riley's short.

We like Grayson's long.

So that's two, count 'em two, different styles of haircuts. How impressed are you with me?

~Is he 4 or 14?~

Riley was telling me all about a new friend he met at school. Grayson couldn't help but interrupt to ask him, "Is she hot?"
My reaction: "What?!?"

{TTFN- to Bryce and to summer}

We were able to end our summer with more visit from Bryce. At the risk of putting my parents to tears by posting never-before-seen pictures of him (they miss him lots), I wanted to share a couple of pictures.

Trip to the beach

Raspberry and apple picking

I may be infringing on some copyright laws because I stole this picture from my sister-in-law's blog (sorry, Holly, I should have gotten written consent) but justified it because these are my three little (okay, younger) brothers, and my nephew. Aren't they handsome? I must say that I am so proud to be their big (okay, older) sister. Not only are they handsome but they are all smart, fun, sweet, wonderful men. I truly feel blessed to be a part of their lives. Bryce went into the MTC on September 15th and is going to be a terrific missionary! We miss him lots but wouldn't want him to be anywhere else.

sChOoL dAyS

School is once again in session. I had to send my baby off to preschool! (I know, now what? A lot of staring at the wall on my part, NOT.) They are all loving it, which is such a relief. Especially since last year was filled with so much "new". This year they had the anticipation of going back to a familiar school and seeing their friends again. And they love their new teachers. Yea!

This was Grayson's chosen pose for the first day of school. Keep in mind this was after a half an hour of out-right refusal to any and all pictures. The first day of school, he clung to me and his teacher had to literally peel him off of me. Then the tears flowed and the wailing started, and that wasn't even from me! The second day he ran right up to his teacher and was excited. By the third day he told me to stay in the van. He was going to school by himself! Now, what to do with the 6 hours a week I have to myself...

She's Nine!

For a few precious years of a little girls life there is an understood "No Boys Allowed" when it comes to the party scene. When they're little they want the boys there because they still like boys. When they get older they want them there because they again like boys. But as a parent, I for one, am treasuring the in-between years.

This was one of those years.

Marissa, Eryn, Jessica, Savannah, Carrie, and Taylor (in front)

Picture a little blurry (they wouldn't hold still very long!)

Pizza, cupcakes, karaoke, doing fingernails, dancing, playing games that involved bubblegum and candy, and just acting like crazy girls. It was fun, and lets face it, what boy in their right mind would have wanted to be there? Even her brothers took a leave of absence and headed for Dallin's house.

We went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner that night, just as our little family. Grayson honed right in on Savannah's dessert and, being the sweet and generous person that she is, she let him.

We love you Savannah! You bring us so much joy!

10 Years Together!!

It is now official! Richard and I have been married for 10 years. (To put that in perspective that's 1/3 of my life!) The kids and I were in Utah so I left a couple of days before them (thanks to my mom and brothers who later flew out with the kids) and came home to go with Rich to Kennebunkport, Maine for a little anniversary get-away. Richard is the romantic one and planned the whole thing. It is an amazing place! We stayed at the greatest little Bed & Breakfast and went to a nice fancy dinner, complete with Maine Lobster. He made me a video of pictures of our first 10 years, got me a digital photo frame, some beautiful jewelry, and even special-ordered personalized M&M's! My man sure does know me! It was so nice to just be the two of us again, especially after being separated for two weeks!
At the Nubble Light House, one of the most photographed lighthouses in the country. So we had to have our turn, of course!

We've had our ups and downs and I would not trade our life together for anything! I love you, Rich! You truly are the perfect man for me!

We're baaack!

After over a month of traveling, we are home again. Four days after we returned home from our Orlando trip, the kids and I headed to Utah for a visit with family and friends. It was a lot of fun and so good to see everyone. We went to Lagoon with Richard's side of the family (if anyone has some good pictures I would love to have a copy, the ones I got aren't that great), went to the Spanish Fork rodeo, and did lots of other fun things. Below are pictures of some of the other stuff that we did.

Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's

Grayson and Papa on the swing.

Aaron and Cory-the question I have is "Whose purse is that?"

Playing Rockband

Swimming with the cousins The boys

The girls, oh and Bryce (not a girl).

The Carnival

Papa and Riley on the Ferris Wheel.

Nana and Savannah.

Grayson, Bowen, Grant, and Riley. We are true "carnies"!

The Cabin

Grayson, Isaac, Clarke, London, and Bryce going out on the paddle boat at the cabin.

Bryce with all of his neices and nephews at the cabin. Man, we'll miss him when he leaves on his mission! Who will watch all of the kids for us?

In Grandma Betsy's trailer doing puzzles and playing games. We lost Idaho in the state puzzle though. Sorry, Grandma!

Savannah with two of her "greats", my grandmas. Grandma Simmons on the left and Grandma Tholl on the right. And they're both so young that in another 15 years or so we can do a 5 generation photo! One of the benefits of being the oldest child of the oldest child of the oldest child in the family!

The Lake

When we went boating the boys spent so much time in the tube there were a couple of times I thought they might have fallen asleep out there! Sorry about the sun in yours eyes, Gray!

Savannah loved boating. She was, however, not as thrilled with tubing. She was all gung-ho to go until her graceful mother tried to get on the tube and "unstabilized" it for a second. After that she was convinced that her life was going to come to an end right there in that tube on Utah Lake. But I know I heard her giggle a couple of times. She did have fun, whether she believes it or not.

The temple

One of the hightlights of the trip for me was going to the temple with Bryce.

Okay, now that it's taken me all day to do this blog post I will have to continue later with more updates...