The Lunt Family

Alrighty then, December.....

2012-01-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

It appears that I wasn't very diligent in photographing all of the events of the month, coverage is spotty. Bear with me.

We had a great/busy December.

Here's what I can remember~
We put up our Christmas tree, then our cat wrecked it.

Cats are stupid.

Eli went on a hike with his boy scout friends.

Ivy had a band concert, where she played a solo.

It was actually quite impressive.

Christmas Eve we went Jon and Misty's house for our family party.

Jase, Marianne, Brinley, Mike, & Ivy

Jackson, Brandon, & Eli

Spencer & Terry comparing phones.

Christmas morning we went to church, then came home and put our pajamas back on and had a huge and yummy breakfast. Edge & Jessica came over. It was a really good day.

Nate got a leg lamp ornament.

Someday, when his cat stops climbing the Christmas tree he will be able to enjoy it the way nature intended.

Eli got a Beard-o. Which is a beanie with a detachable beard.

He has worn it almost continually since Christmas.

It makes him look very mature.

Eli also got an art set, which he takes his beard off to use.

Wesley was sick on New Year's Eve.

We all felt sorry for him.

Eli came home from somewhere with this GIANT lemon.

Pretty impressive, eh?

Eli and Ivy convinced me that they HAD to go to the dollar store to get supplies for their New Years's Eve celebration.

As you can see, they know how to party.

I mean, Gatorade AND Honey Combs....who does that?

And silly string, of course!

They finished the night off (around 10:30) with some mixed drinks.

Sparking cider and coke cocktails. Mmmm.

December was a good month. Having Christmas and New Year's fall on the weekend was nice.

We're ready for 2012! You?

Ta Da!! Wedding Pictures!!

2012-01-06T08:11:00.000-07:00

I know I'm behind. I'm going to try to post a December recap by Monday, but before I do that, I finally got some wedding pictures back, so here, for your viewing pleasure are pictures from the wedding. In no particular order.

Thanksgiving and whatnot

2011-12-01T07:28:00.001-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving, thanks for asking.

How was yours?

On the 23rd Wesley, sweet sweet little Wesley, turned 19.

19!

And once again my life flashed before my eyes.

Here he is on his birthday.

And here is his birthday cake. Somehow he talked me into letting him fill out the order form, you'd think I'd know better by now.

19 year olds are so weird.

On Thanksgiving we met up with all of the Thomases and hiked to the Wind Caves.

These four (and their little dog) made it to the top.

Later we headed over to Jon & Misty's where we ate and ate until a couple of us exploded. Good times!

Wesley is the only one who did any Black Friday shopping this year.

He found all kinds of interesting gifts for those lucky enough to be on his list.

Hope you've been nice!

(Or naughty....or whatever it is that gets a person on Wesley's gift list.)

30 second update

2011-11-23T06:51:00.001-07:00

Got a puppy . Her name is Alice. Cute, huh?

Ivy & her mom went to Virginia to see these three kids and their new brother. He's cute too. You'll have to take my word for it until I find the pictures I took of him.

We enjoyed nature while we were there.

Nature is so much more colorful in Virginia. Who knew?

Ivy had her annual clogging recital. Here's a short video for those of you who couldn't make it.

And finally, as if taking PE in Jr. High could get any worse....now 7th graders have to make fake golf courses. The agony!!

Then the robots took over the universe....ahhh!

2011-11-16T10:13:00.001-07:00

Interrupting your irregular programing to announce that last week, or the week before (my life is a blur), the hard drive on our home computer died. Sadly I am not as technologically savvy as I'm sure I've fooled you in to thinking I am. The dead hard drive held many many important things, things which I should have backed up but did not. I am a fool. In addition to 4 years worth of pictures, Sylvan's resume, and every report Nate wrote in Jr. High, all of the mailing addresses I had newly updated for Edge's wedding, as well as all of my e-mail contacts went down with the ship. It was/is/will continue to be a tragedy.

Sooo, I'm not sure anyone even reads this blog, but if you do and you would like to make sure you don't miss out on this year's Christmas Card and captivating Holiday Letter please e-mail me your address and shoe size.

Thanks!

So, what's new with you?

2011-10-10T07:48:00.001-07:00

There's been plenty going on around here......

They celebrated Nerd Day at Poston.

Eli, as you can see, is a champ at Nerd Day.

(I really don't understand things like adding a Nerd Day to Spirit Week (but then I never really could get behind the idea of Spirit Week), is there honestly a need to make jr. high kids look more awkward?)

Edge and Jessica were sealed in the Temple last week. October 6th. That probably deserves it's own post, but since I seem to be having a hard time updating this blog at all we're going to include it here and I will try to post more pictures of the big day later.

In the mean time, YAY!

Aren't they cute?

Haley brought a date to the wedding.

She wasn't the only person who brought a date, but apparently she was the only person who allowed Ivy to take a picture of her and her date.

And last but not least, Ivy, my mom, and I ran/walked a 5K yesterday.

So much more has gone on or is currently going on, but I keep forgetting to take my camera places and without photographic evidence I can't seem to remember many details. We had lots of family in town for the wedding, which was great. It's always fun to have everyone here. Ivy had a band concert that was amazing. She switched schools this year and her band teacher has taught her more in the first quarter than she learned all of last year, so we're pretty happy about that.

Until next time.......

Ivy's wildest dreams come true

2011-08-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

Ivy has been begging to go bowling for months, but she couldn't convince the rest of us until a few weeks ago when she conned Sylvan into a Back to School Celebration Day!!

So off we went. Happily!!

Ivy was the score keeper. Natch.

Bowling balls are so stylish nowadays.

Bowling shoes are still ugly (and gross).

Here Nate gives Sylvan a few pointers.

Because Nate, as everyone knows, is a professional bowler.

When it was all said and done, Sylvan was the winner.....because he got a blister. Everyone knows the winner is the one who worked the hardest, and you know who worked the hardest by how many blisters they have.

I would love to tell you that we had so much fun that my opinion of bowling grew 10 sizes bigger that day, unfortunately, even though we had fun, and I didn't kill anyone when I accidentally flung my ball behind me instead of down the lane that one time, I'm still not a fan of bowling.

Sorry Ivy.

Back to School

2011-08-12T06:47:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was the first day back for these three.

Here's Nate, all set to start his Jr. year.

This will be Ivy's last year of elementary school.

Where has the time gone?

Please note, the SILVER sneakers.

I hope the 6th grade is ready for her.

Eli is now a Jr. High student.

(Seriously, the time, what happened to it? Didn't this kid just start kindergarten a few days ago?)

I'm happy to report that the first week has pasted mostly without incident or complaints.

Another summer flies by......

2011-07-26T15:00:00.002-07:00

What the heck? Remember when you were a kid and the days seemed to drag on and on and you thought Christmas would NEVER get here? When did that go away? Time is going by so quickly now I hardly know what day it is.

July has been busy for us.

We tie-dyed.

(Here's how we did it)

It was super fun and now we all have so many tie-dye shirts that at least one of us is wearing one everyday and we look like a big commune of hippies.

What must the neighbors think?!

Wesley and Nate went on an awesome trip to Catalina Island.

I don't have any pictures of their trip, but here they are just before they left.

Don't they look happy?

Eli turned 13!!!

I'm still adjusting to the idea.

He had some friends over to celebrate and he made them sleep on the trampoline to prove their loyalty.

It got chilly during the night. I think it was a frigid low of 95.

Of course, we went to see Harry Potter.

And Ivy stood next to this giant Smurf thingamajiggy.

(What the heck could a Smurf movie possibly be about?

Or do movies not have to be about something anymore? )

Eli and Ivy finished another successful season of swim and dive team.

Sadly I only remembered to take the camera to ONE dive meet and ZERO swim meets.

Here's Eli at the City Championship meet where he was awarded 6th place.

And here he is with his coach Rusty.

It has been a busy month and we're looking forward to taking it easy for a couple of weeks before school starts.

And then we blew some stuff up

2011-07-07T06:10:00.002-07:00

When I was a girl in Kentucky we made our own ~~moonshine~~ fireworks. Living here in the dry, forest fire prone desert our kids have always had to settle for those silly professional fireworks shows.

No more!!

Recently common sense has been tossed aside and it is now legal to purchase fireworks here, some cities even let you light them.

It's true.

So, like any good father, Sylvan set out to find some really good ones.

(Some of those are smoke bombs. I don't get smoke bombs. Can someone please explain the thrill of colored smoke to me?)

It was great fun.

Please note the torch in Eli's hand.

Not only did we let our almost 13 year old light the pyrotechnics, we let him do it with a torch.

When I say we, I mean Sylvan.

The grand finale

In order to fully experience this video of "The Little Big Show", I suggest you turn off all of the lights and sit in a 107 degree room.

Untitled from Sue Lunt on Vimeo.

I don't even want to know how long the Big Big Show lasts.

In the end, no one suffered loss of limb or eyeball, so we're calling it an Independence Day success.

A love story

2011-07-06T06:32:00.010-07:00

I'm always trying to get my nephew Brandon to express his emotions.

For example, I know that I'm one of his favorite aunts, but he's a private boy who holds everything inside his tender little heart, and he would never want his other aunts to feel bad, so he just says things like,

"I love you all equally Aunt Sue."

He so sensitive and kind.

About a month ago he was at our house and he noticed this giant lollipop (that has been hanging around for about a year and a half), if there's one thing Brandon loves almost as much as he loves me, it's candy.

"Is this for sale?" he asked. (Because, what? I'm running a candy store up in here? Sheesh.)

That's when I had a brilliant idea.

"Why yes nephew, it is for sale."

We chatted, a deal was struck, and a few minutes later Brandon "found" me in a room filled with witnesses, where he hugged me, professed his love and my favorite status, then KISSED me on the cheek.

Proving that everyone has their price.

We make amazing things around here.

2011-07-03T06:22:00.002-07:00

A request has been made that I post these pictures in a post of their very own so that you may all gaze in awe at the wonder of the block maze.

That's right, you are looking at a maze, made of blocks, by Ivy.

As you can see the details are impressive.

She would be happy to make one for you too.

Just give her a call.

There were about 15 more pictures of the block maze, but we edited it down to these, the best ones.

You're welcome.

How can it be 4th of July and I'm just now posting about Father's Day?

2011-07-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Ivy started planning for Father's Day months in advance.

When Sylvan opened his gift it was obvious she had made the right choice.

But, really, can you ever go wrong presenting someone with their very own "as seen on TV" EasyFeet?

I love how the box says "No more bending to clean your feet."

Finally! Those pesky bending days are behind you.

Apparently Sylvan has always wanted his very own Bonsai Tree and Wesley was able to score this fantastic grow your own kit.

There were also chocolates and a big fat steak.

They know him so well.

Ivy's Birthday

2011-06-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

Ivy's happy to be 11, but more happy that next year she'll be 12.

I have asked her if she wouldn't mind to slow it down a little bit, but no one ever listens to me.

Here she, Annie, and Emma change the color of her Barbie's hair by painting it with cold water. Why can't someone come up with a trick like that for MY hair?

Ella came was there.

(She's growing her bangs out.)

Cake!!

Fire!

Dancing!!

Boys!

Best 11 year old birthday party EVER.

Graduation!!

2011-06-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

We made it through another school year. The last two weeks were filled with plays,concerts, field trips, finals, stress, and relief.

Ivy's class put on an educational program about the history of America.

It was lovely.

Eli graduated from the sixth grade with all A's and B's. I told him he did a great job, as you can see he was hoping for a trip to Hawaii. (Also, what the heck is Nate doing back there?)

Here Ivy displays the traditional last day of school shirt.

Also known as the Summer Rolodex.

Speaking of graduation.....

Wesley graduated from Mountain View.

Here he practices the face he plans to make when they tell him there was an error and he actually IS the valedictorian.

Here he just practices being a dork.

And Nate, well, who knows what Nate does.

This is his Tiger pose. Based on the variety and originality of his pose selections I think we should expect to see him on the runway during fashion week soon.

Look! Graduates!!

Aren't they cute?

Here we have Wes, Edge, and Jessica. (Yes~That Jessica)

Congratulations Wesley!!!!

Mother's Day

2011-05-17T06:22:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* I may have gotten a little carried away with the picture posting. Maybe you can think of it as a really slow video of the day.

I'm not a huge fan of church on Mother's Day so for the past few years we've skipped church (gasp!) and it has become our unrighteous tradition to go hiking and out for Mexican food.

Eli was super excited to have a reason to wear his fanny pack.

This is a picture of Edge and Wesley eating an egg salad sandwich at 10:00 am that they bought from a vending machine. I don't even know where to start. Oh, wait, yes I do.

FROM A VENDING MACHINE!!!

Gross.

It was very lovely and deserty at ye old Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Right after we got there we noticed smoke. Turns out there was a big fire. (Which, later in the day, would cause us to have to take a 3 hour detour on the way home. Sweet.)

For a while Eli held on to the camera.

It was fine until I noticed that he was taking pictures of things like signs that say "Gay". (Because, you know, he's 12.)

And giant spiderwebs (because, you know, he's a boy.)

There were also like 50 shots that seemingly had no focal point.

He just loves nature.

The arboretum has an interesting Aboriginal Outback area, which I have to say left me a little puzzled, I probably could have read the signs for an explanation but it was Mother's Day, which = DAY OFF. So I didn't.

But, hey, look! Really big Australian trees!

Bless his heart. Wesley was trying so hard not to text during family time, but some important business came up and he was FORCED to.

I believe the sign said this is an old shack used by hillybillys to make moonshine. But I was just skimming that sign (day off) so I could be wrong.

This is me begging for a normal picture.

With no luck.

Mother's Day ROCKS!

The Swing

2011-05-17T05:32:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty clever with the titles, huh?

Ivy has been begging to have a swing in the tree in the front yard.

Sylvan, being the ~~biggest sucker~~ best dad ever, finally made her one a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit, as swings go, this one is pretty cool.

Ivy loves it.

And so do her brothers.

How many chickens does it take.....?

2011-05-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

Between the hard boiled eggs and the empty shells we probably dyed close to 1000 eggs this Easter. Or maybe it just felt that way.

Last Saturday Annie and Emma came over, we got them all hopped up on the positive energy of High School Musical (and possibly a little sugar) and they danced their little guts out.

Annie is an especially enthusiastic dancer.

And Ivy got some new glasses. She can see all kinds of things now.

Family Pictures

2011-04-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Yay!

Thanks Kacey!!

More here.

It's true what they say, about it being better to give than receive.

2011-04-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

If you haven't given Nate a gift lately you don't know what you're missing.

Here are a few of the Thank You notes he wrote for his birthday presents.

To his Grandparents, who I doubt have even heard of SpaceBalls.

To his Grandpa, who will be happy to see the penmanship improvement.

And finally, to his favorite weirdos....

I think my granny would be proud of the job I've done teaching my children the importance of a sincere note of appreciation and also about the proper use of punctuation, capitalization and mistake correcting. My work here is done. May the shorts be with me. (I KNOW it's Schwartz not shorts.)

Where does the time go?

2011-04-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Last month was SUPER fun for Nate.

First he got his permit.

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the idea of having ANOTHER teen driver in the house (and on our insurance). yay.

Then he went to the Mountain Man Rendezvous. It's a camp out where all the boys (and men) get all grizzly and wear smelly homemade wool blanket coats and eat beef jerky and trade weapons.

Here's Nate in his Mountain Man/Jedi coat. He was trying to stop me from taking his picture by using a mind trick-"These are not the droids you're looking for, put down the camera." But I don't believe in Yoda so it didn't work. (I'm just kidding. I TOTALLY know Yoda is real.)

Here's the knife he came home with. Apparently when men are in charge, common sense goes out the window. That stupid knife is just as big as it looks. yay.

We also celebrated March Madness as a family this year. I wrote all about it here and here. It was a very touching and emotional bonding experience. As I'm sure you can imagine.

Here's Ivy filling out her bracket.

Eli ended up using mascots to pick his winners.

Which, as it turns out, is not a bad plan. He beat us all, even Jon and Scott, and won the team shirt of his choice. Which, as it turns out, was Texas. Go figure.

This always seems to be a busy time of year. School is wrapping up, Eli is writing his country report on New Zealand, Ivy is writing her state report on Virginia, and Nate is writing his biology report on Syphilis.

Don't ask.

I don't have the energy to worry about biology report topics, I'm too busy counting the days until summer break while trying to freeze time so everyone stops growing up. Anyone know a Jedi trick for that?

Ivy's Homework

2011-03-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is a story about the kind of candy I would invent. I guess I would call it the Irish swirl. I guess I would call it that because it would be in stores in March only. There would be a lot of different flavors like vanilla, chocolate, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, grape, and lime. It would be wrapped in GOLD and GREEN.

It would be kind of like a Reese’s. It would never melt. And I would even make sure that it won’t lose its taste. It will look like it will melt but really it won’t. Let’s go over this again, no melting, and no losing taste. Now I don’t know about you but that’s the kind of candy I’m going to invent.

A True Story

2011-03-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Last week we all went out to the desert and built a fire and burnt some stuff.

It was fun.

The End

So, January.....

2011-02-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

....and February.

Edge started COLLEGE. Holy Crap. I am now the mother of a college student. How did that happen?

This month has been hard on Eli. First he got a big ol bruise.

Then a few days later he broke his thumb.

Then his super mean mom made him do his homework while he waited to have his hand x-rayed.

Now he's wearing a splint for 6 weeks and had to put his flag football career on hold until fall. It's all very tragic.

Ivy and I made a bunch of Valentine cookies....

...and about a 1,000 (or 32) homemade melted wax paper crayon shaving valentines. It was messy and fattening.

Wesley got his drivers license, went to Sadie's, and fell down at the skate park. Good, good, not so good.

Nate is awesome and always does his homework. He also saves his money and makes his bed before school.

He's our favorite.

Sometimes we open the window and let our cats sit at the screen and meow to the stray cats in the backyard. It's funny.

And possibly cruel.

Ahhhnd then it was Christmas Eve...

2011-01-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

...you know what that means....

This year was truly a White Elephant jackpot.

As proof I offer you this little gem that Mason took home. Her name, Linda, was engraved on the underside of her hoof.(Or maybe it was scratched in with a toothpick, same difference.)

If you ask me Brandon has never looked better. You can see in his eyes that he's feeling the foam puppy visor. Where has it been all his life?

"The Vase" returned again this year. Nate and Mason had a fool proof plan for one of them to take it home, but when they weren't looking, Jon swooped in and snatched her up. Here you see him trying to show it off to Mike, but Mike is saying "Wha? Sorry dude I wasn't listening, I was busy reading about the mystical powers contained within my holy candle."

That's right, Mike took home both the giant papaya AND the blessed candle. Chrismas doesn't get much sweeter than that.

Jon was kind enough to let Mason have his picture taken with "The Vase".

For a dollar.

Look at Jaidyn. I'm pretty sure I heard her say this was the best Christmas Eve of her life.

Christmas Eve can't last forever. Before we knew it, it was

Christmas Morning!!

and Nate was looking all.....you know....Nately.

Christmas morning was a bonanza of interesting t-shirts.

I'm not sure if you can tell but that shirt has a bunch of CATS on it. It was one of the top 3 things Nate wanted for Christmas. Go Figure.

I have no idea what is going on with teenagers these days. It's madness.

Ivy made this shirt for Eli. Pretty cool, eh?

Wesley got this shirt.

I die everytime I see it. Is it not so hilarious?

Maybe it's just me. It often is.

Ivy's wildest dreams came true. She finally got an American Girl doll that looks just like her.....with a tan.

If there is a fashion winner on Christmas (and you know there always is) this year at our house it was Nate.

If the kitty cat shirt didn't do it, these socks put him over the top.

Seriously, have you ever seen anything call Nate's name louder than these socks?

Here's how we spent December

2010-12-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the first half anyway.

We decorated our tree, and our children. It was lovely.

We took pictures for our Christmas Cards. Amazingly, this one did not make the cut.

Nate bought a flask. Don't ask me where, I have no idea, he tells me he plans to use it as a water bottle, so he won't have to waste so many of those pesky plastic bottles, in the meantime, he had his brother take about a gazillion pictures of him "drinking"....

...and the teddy bear drinking.....

.....and the kitten drinking....

.....really, there's nothing funnier than a cat drinking from a flask, right? Do you feel sorry for me? You should.

Ivy is now playing the flute and we had the pleasure of attending her band concert the week before Christmas Break.

She also played Mrs. Crachit in her class production of A Christmas Carol. She was very convincing. If I were Scrooge I would give that Bob Crachit some paid vacation days.

The first day of the break was haircut day.

Nate is probably not going to look as convincing with his flask now. Darn.

Merry Christmas to me!

Edge didn't get a haircut, I just like his shirt.

It's nice, don't you think?

Now that it's almost Christmas,

2010-12-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

I thought it was about time to post some Thanksgiving pictures.

A feat that would have been much easier if I had remembered to take any pictures on Thanksgiving. Most of these are courtesy of Misty, who "fortunately" NEVER forgets to take pictures.

We had pie.

I even COOKED!

I'm going to toss modesty aside to tell you that I made the best dressing of my life using the recipe tips I found here, then I'm going go out on a limb and suggest you all check it out and do the same next year.

Look!! It's Jon and me standing together.

(Merry Christmas MOM!!)

Edge and Wes are so cute aren't they?

Ivy and Ella seem to be under the impression that someone is going to serve them. Hahahahaha!

Wonder how long they waited?

Here you have a pack of boys.

Nate needs to work on his Blue Steel, don't you think?
(He also needs a haircut, but what do I know? I'm only his MOTHER?)

Here's Eli.

He doesn't hate Thanksgiving, he wasn't feeling well, so naturally I HAD to take his picture.

I mean, who doesn't love to be photographed when they're sick?

The Next day we went out for a little Black Friday shopping.

Wesley and Jase just shopped their little hearts out. They were so determined to get the perfect gift for everyone on their list.

It was touching.

And there you have it. Thanksgiving weekend in Arizona.

We rocked it.

After lunch Nate got kicked out of an antique store, but that's another story for another day.

2010-11-19T02:48:00.013-07:00

Last weekend we took a vote and decided that visiting some Indian ruins sounded like the most fun thing EVER, so we loaded up and headed out on a little road trip.

Here you see Edge and Wesley presenting their classic road trip faces.

Nate's road trip face is intense yet hilarious.

Also hilarious are Nate's choice of hiking shoes. He's a real outdoorsman.

We call him Mr. Cabela.

We hiked....

...and we rested.

Eli and Nate ran ahead to scout out the situation. Nate was able to be the lead hiker because of his excellent choice in footwear.

Some people think it's funny to point off into the distance at NOTHING, then laugh when other people come along and ask what they are looking at.

We are obviously raising a bunch of clowns.

This is as close as we could get to the Indian ruins. Not because they are sacred but because they are protected by evil spirits.......

......I mean, Africanized Killer Bees.

We took a picture anyway.

Then we went and drowned our sorrows in Mexican food. What else?

Soccer!

2010-11-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday is soccer day around here. Ivy's games are first but since I'm coaching her (undefeated) team I don't ever get any action shots, but really, they all look alike so use your imagination.

Eli is the middle player in the red.

This week we took Annie and Emma with us to the game. They stayed like this until Brandon came along with french fries and distracted them. (Ella's game was on a different field at the same time.)

Catching up

2010-11-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Hawthorne held it's prestigious Student of the Quarter awards ceremony.

Eli was honored with the Personal Success Award.

He would like to thank all of you who have helped make him the personal success he is today.

Friday Ivy's class went on a field trip to the Arizona Museum of Natural History, formerly known as the Mesa Southwest Museum, or as we unofficially refer to it, "That place with all the dinosaurs and you can pan for gold where the alligator almost ate Brandon that one time." (How many museums can offer the thrill of the Jurassic period, LIVE crocodiles AND the opportunity to strike it rich? Not too many I'm betting.)

I would like to thank Rylee's mom who chaperoned the field trip for making sure there were actually pictures of Ivy AND that they were in focus.

There is more, lots more, but Blogger is making it difficult for me to upload my pictures this morning. I'll have to try again later.

The sugar high promises to last through Thanksgiving

2010-11-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

Whoever decided to have Halloween on Sunday this year really threw a wrench into our plan of bringing home 10,000 pounds of candy and taking over the world. We trick or treated our usual route on Saturday, about 2/3rds of the houses in the neighborhood were open for business and those houses seemed to feel like they needed to compenstate for their neighbors by handing out extra teats. Bonus! After it was all sorted and counted Ivy was pretty happy to inform me that she had collected 95 pieces of candy. (I'm guessing this count does NOT include the 35 pieces she ate to keep up her strength while trick or treating.)

Eli the Zombie.

Ivy the Bumble Bee.

Ella the Fairy.

Brandon was a cowboy, the kind who refuses to let his favorite aunt take his picture. The charming kind.

Nate as, you know, just "a really cool guy". So, basically, himself.

Even the little kitty dressed up. Saftey first!! Don't worry, we didn't let her eat too much candy.

It's that magical time of year......

2010-10-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

Halloween!

Saturday we broke out the costumes and cobwebs.

Some people like to mix and match from the costume box. Here Eli is modeling your basic Viking Fairy with a twist of Michael Jackson.

Our front porch and yard have been fully cobwebbed.....

.....and creepified.

Before Brandon went home he begged me to give him a "Witch Finger" manicure.

He likes to look his best.

She really is awesome.

2010-09-29T11:00:00.002-07:00

This is what Ivy wore to school today. The fancy necklace Grandma Pam got her for her birthday and her homemade shirt that says "I'm awesome deal with it!" (it actually says I'm awfsome, we ran out of Es so she used an F and a sharpie to make it work, when she's made up her mind to be awesome, there's really no stopping her) the part of the outfit that you can't see are her basketball shorts and her brown suede flats. I find that nothing says "There's no pinning down my style" like a fancy necklace and some basketball shorts. She would also like you to know that she can keep her eyes crossed like that longer than anyone else in her class.

Homecoming

2010-09-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Mt. View celebrated their homecoming. Wesley usually avoids events like these due to things like dresscodes, lame music, and "girls who used to stalk him" (don't ask me. The story goes, there was this one girl and blah, blah, blah. I'm sure stalking is all in your perception), anyway, somehow his "friend" Katlyn convinced him that it would be fun and not at all like Sixteen Candles.

Here's Wesley asking me if I plan to take "thousands" of pictures, as I take the FIRST picture. He is truly delightful. It's no wonder girls stalk him.

Putting on the corsage.....

...posing for picture #85....

You are NEVER going to believe this, but Jase is old enough to go on dates!!! How did this happen? It seems like only yesterday Wesley and Jase were just a couple of little chubby cheeked little boys. Now they are big boys with chubby cheeks.

Aren't they so cute? (Jase's date totally thought I was some kind of crazy lady for making her come into my house so I could take picutres of her. I didn't tell her I was going to post them on the internet, maybe I should have had her sign a waiver)

Turns out the dance was LAME. The music was all "poppy" and there were a bunch of weird kids. They did play some Journey though, so that was cool. (Sounds like every dance I ever went to.)

Occasionally we have weather

2010-09-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last week it rained. Like real rain, not just little sprinkles.

We're not really used to that.

Eli was so excited that he ran out (in his pajamas.....at 4:30 in the afternoon....don't ask) and did a little dance.

Look how happy he is.

Then, as quickly as it came, the storm was over.

I feel like I should tell you, in case you've noticed and felt ignored, I've given up on the birthday blog posts. I just can't keep up. I know that's lame. I forgot a few, then a few more and I've just decided I'm lame and I can live with it. Hopefully you can too. We still love all of you and still hope you have happy happy birthdays. Sorry/Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas to all!

Edge made it to Columbia. Alive. Read about it HERE.

His first area is this horrible coastal town called Santa Marta (look it up, you'll feel soo sorry for him. I'm considering a Columbian mission myself right about now)

Back to school

2010-08-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

School started on the 11th, as you can see everyone was SUPER excited about it.

Ivy is in the 5th grade this year and has the best teacher EVER!

Eli is in the 6th grade, it's his last year of elementary school. Where does the time go? His teacher is young and cool and doesn't give homework on Fridays. What more could you ask for?

Nate is a sophomore, his first year at Mt. View.

As you can see he was very nervous.

Sweet little Wesley will be graduating this year. Honestly, I don't know if my heart can stand anymore growing up and moving on. Does anyone know how to prevent that?

Speaking of moving on.....Edge is still doing great.

Read all about it HERE

Unfortunately, it's all true.

2010-08-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I finally uploaded all of the pictures that we've taken this summer, and frankly, I was a little frightened at the sampling of what we've been up to.

Eli turned 12. Had cake. Got his picture taken. It rocked.

Nate acquired fire.

These next two of Annie and Emma make me sad for a couple of reasons~

First, those bubble gum eyes on Dora kind of give me the creeps.

Second, if you click on either one of these pictures you'll see how sweaty these poor girls were from being outside for the 2 minutes it took to go to the ice cream truck. It is sooo stinking HOT here.

Wesley's friend Jorian came from Nevada to visit for a few days.

Aren't they cute?

One day, I was "The Meanest Mom EVER" and declared a No TV Day.

It was so stupid.

Finally after hours and hours of whining Eli and Nate decided I was serious, so they built this~

I thought it was so fabulous that I declared a No TV WEEK!!

Just kidding! I'm not really the meanest mom ever.

(plus that one day just about killed me!)

I have no idea what is going on in this picture, but I'm really glad school is starting soon so Nate can get some fresh air.

Did I mention that we got a kitten? Did we ever?! This is only 1 of the 30 pictures (nearly all of them taken at interesting angles like this one) that were on the camera (thanks Ivy!).

We are all missing Edge TONS. He's doing great and still claims that the MTC is awesome.

You can read all about it HERE.

City Dive Meet

2010-07-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the City Championship Dive Meet. Eli has been diving for a few years now and has always made his way to the final 8.

This year he came in 2nd place out of all the divers his age (11-12) in The City of Mesa League.

As you can see from the picture below, all that business about a Speedo helping you dive better is simply nonsense. The top two divers are wearing loose fitting boardshorts, not only do they dive well, but they were able to retain their pre-teen dignity.

Like the true mother of a champion I am, I forgot to take my camera to any swim or dive meets this entire season, so these triumphant memories were captured with my cell phone. I know, I'm pathetic.

This is Eli with his 2 girlfriends, oops, I mean super cute and very talented dive coaches.

Great Job Eli!!!

happity birthday Gus!

2010-07-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a great day!!

It's Eli's Birthday!

2010-07-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! I really cannot believe he is 12 already. It's so sad that this will be his last birthday, because there is NO way I'm letting him turn into a teenager.

Edge sent a video from the MTC, and even though it's sideways and I don't have the skills required to turn it, I'm posting it.

Happy Birthday Eli!!

News from Edge HERE

Issac!!!!

2010-07-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!!

June Update

2010-07-02T13:07:00.001-07:00

Edge and Ivy both had birthdays, Eli and Wesley went to scout camp, Swim and Dive team are in full swing, Nate is going to summer school, we've had friends and family in town, and the summer is flying by.

Ivy is 10 now, it's hard to believe.

Her favorite gift came in from Aunt Alexis and Uncle Todd. I think she said "awesome" about 20 times as she was opening the package.

The night before Edge shipped out to the MTC a friend from out ward came over to take a few pictures of our family since it might be a while before we're all together at one time again. I was so thrilled when she offered that I completely forgot that Eli was at scout camp. So she took pictures of almost all of us together. We're considering having him photoshopped in.

Wesley went to camp and got in touch with nature.

I have no idea.......

He also had his yearbook photo taken last week.

Apparently that Deb girl from Napoleon Dynamite works at the studio.

News from Edge here

The Farewell-a-thon

2010-06-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

The only thing worse than having your kids leave home is having the good-bye go on for days. Last week was happy/sad/exhausting/too fast.

It started last Friday when Grandma, Grandpa and Gus (who is for some odd reason not in this picture) flew down for Edge's farewell. It's always great to have them in town. Grandma is a sport and spent one entire afternoon reading books to Ivy and painting her fingernails all sorts of glittery colors.

The Nelson's also came from Washington. Mike is one of the missionaries who taught me the discussions (and I betcha after being introduced like that a thousand times on Sunday he hopes to never hear himself described that way again.Sorry). It was so fun to have them here and get to catch up a little bit.

On Sunday Edge gave his farewell talk, while his parents sobbed in the congregation, then massive amounts of brownies were consumed at our house. By me. Everyone else ate the pasta salad.

Edge's friends spent the weekend letting him know how much they're going to miss him.

Then yesterday morning we took him to the airport where they ripped out part of my heart and put it on a plane.

When he landed in Salt Lake, Mark, Grace,Gus(who did make it into this picture), and the grandparents (who traveled at the speed of light to get from here to there) picked him up and delivered him to the MTC for us.

We're proud of Edge and his decision to go on a mission. We know that he's doing what he should be doing and he's 100% confident in his choice, but we sure are going to miss that kid like crazy.

We have set up a separate blog to keep track of Edge while he's in Columbia baptising the masses.

Elder Lunt goes to Columbia

Is this too much?

2010-06-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

The blog "make-over". Is it over the top? Ivy helped me so, you know.....

Is it too bright? Do your eyes hurt when you try to read it?

Happy Birthday Rachel!!

2010-06-14T05:19:00.001-07:00

We hope you have the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!

We can't wait to see you.

If this doesn't make you want to come for a visit I don't know what will

2010-06-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Ivy talked Sylvan into (FINALLY) taking her to Target to spend some of her birthday money. After all, she's had it for a whole week and we haven't even taken her shopping, it's like we don't even care if she has good birthday memories. (Imagine a big dramatic sigh right there) And if you think she's putting that $25.00 into a retirement fund you are crazy!

The thing she wanted most to buy was the one thing her mom won't buy her because "It's a waste of money!" (Imagine that said with a sneer)

I have to tell you I was a little afraid, because the list of things I won't buy her because they are waste of money has way more than one thing on it. It's actually a pretty long list.

When they got home she was so happy, she told me how she had seen the Edward Barbie and how she almost bought one because he's sparkly and pale and he looks pretty cool and also there was this make your own lipgloss kit but in the end she went with these~

Because and I quote~"You NEVER buy me fake nails and I wanted some just like Aunt Misty's"

I'm going to have to look a little closer at Aunt Misty's nails, I had NO IDEA she was rocking the Hello Kitty manicure. After she put them on she told me she wonders if Misty has a hard time getting dressed, because it's really hard to pull up your pants when you are wearing nails. I told her she should ask Misty if she has any tips for dressing while wearing fancy nails.

When mom was here a few weeks ago she spent some time trying to buy the affections of our children, it's clear from her purchases that she could care less about owning my affection.

For example~

Our boys are now the proud owners of season 1 of UltraMan. A Japanese program that reminds me of a bad Godzilla movie (I know!), broken down into 20 episodes (yep 20!). Do you have any idea how long it takes to watch 20 episodes? Hint~ a really long time.

They're all pretty similar. There's a group of Japanese men, who seem to always be wearing helmets (maybe it's a cultural thing).

When out of nowhere comes a really big fire breathing monster.

"Don't worry! UltraMan is here!!"

UltraMan defeats the pointy beast and all is right with the world. There is clapping and jumping up and down from the helmeted men who are always standing nearby to watch the battle.

Over and over for 20 half hours.

Thanks mom!!

As I end this post I'd like to share this; while Nate was cleaning his room last week he found his poetry portfolio (among other things). Here is a poem written by Nate......for a grade.

Limerick

There was a man who was named Batman

He liked to hit people with a frying a pan

He once saw a kid named Bill

He told him to write his will

And said "I'm going to beat you with this pan"

As you can imagine, we are very proud.

The Little Brothers

2010-06-10T06:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Eric and Scott.

I tried to find some embarrassing pictures to post but I must have used them all last year.

We love you guys!

19

2010-06-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Edge!

Edge is such a great kid (man?).

We're really going to miss him when he leaves...

IN TWO WEEKS!!!

Happy Birthday Ivy!

2010-06-03T02:28:00.001-07:00

10 Years Old!!

I can't believe it.

Only 20 more years til she can start dating.

Happy Happy Birthday Maisie!

2010-05-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

We miss you like crazy.

Some of us actually ARE crazy.

Hope you have a GREAT day!

I have a feeling this was the first of many

2010-05-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Student Council Election Day at Ivy and Eli's school.

None of our other kids have ever had any interest in politics (which is shocking considering how often I express my delight over the actions of one elected official or another) but Eli decided a few weeks ago he wanted run for president. "It's your first election," I said, "are you sure you don't want to try vice-president or something, you know, to see if you like it?" Nope, he wanted to head straight for the top. So we began planning his first campaign.

The candidates weren't allowed to pass out stickers or buttons or cash. All they could do was write a speech and make one measly poster to hang in the cafeteria.

The night before he layed out the perfect outfit and practiced his speech about 20 times.

Then yesterday morning the kids gave their pitches to the student body via KHWK (the school's closed circuit TV station). I couldn't believe how brave they all were. There is no way I would have had the nerve to make a speech to the whole school when I was in the 5th grade. (I'd probably have a hard time doing it now!)

He did a great job.

He probably would have won if the "faculty advisers" hadn't made him cut all of my jokes from his speech.

Oh well, there's always next year.

Yesterday was the best of days and the worst of days......

2010-04-23T06:30:00.001-07:00

......poor Eli was forced to attend the traditional "Human Development" presentation, a rite of passage for 5th graders around the world. As you can see, as much as he longs to be an Old Spice Man, he's not all that happy that the presenters thought they could buy him off with a deodorant sample. "They could have at least made it a full size!" He told us that at the end of the presentation they were given a booklet entitled "If You Want to Know More", which he threw away because he doesn't.

Edge had a better day than Eli. In the mail box (just over a week after submitting his paperwork!!!) was his mission call. He was sooo excited. On June 23rd (OF THIS YEAR!!!!) Edge will be going to Barranquilla Columbia to serve his mission. (well technically on the 23rd he will be off to Provo to the MTC, but you get what I'm saying).

It's not that interesting, but it's all we've got.

2010-04-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I did an update, this should\could\would be probably 3 or 4 posts. But I'm lazy---I mean busy, so I'm cramming it all into one.

A few weeks ago we had spring break. Ella came over to show us her new teeth.

Aren't they nice?

She also helped Ivy drag every single naked nappy headed barbie she owns out to the front yard so all of the neighbors could see that we don't make our Barbies (or our Kens) wear clothes. It was scandalous.

For a little while (and by that I mean ALL AFTERNOON) the boys decided it would be fun to invade Barbie Town over and over and over. I bet you can imagine how much fun that was........for the boys. I would like to take a moment to thank Mason and Brandon and Eli. I mean why should those Barbies get to live in peace? Futhermore, why should I?
You guys are awesome!

I have had requests for house updates. All of those people are gonna just have to come over and see for themselves because I keep forgetting to take pictures. Here's what I do have....

Dry wall, in progress.

Ivy and Sylvan working on some concrete patching.

The family room, almost done.

The kitchen, almost done (I have a feeling "Almost Done" is going to become something we say A LOT around here for a while). Yes mother, we painted the kitchen brown. I really like it. It looks less like a cave when you see it in person. Really. Come over and see for yourselves.

This is a picture of 3 adults trying to figure out Eli's homework. (you can't see me because I'm taking the picture, a little trick that keeps me out of LOTS of pictures) Homework is the BEST, don't you agree?

And finally, Nate got the best birthday gift EVER from the Barnharts. His very own supply of Ramen Noodles, and a special bowl to eat them from. Those guys know him so well.

So, here we are already.

2010-04-14T05:40:00.003-07:00

I know it's cliche` to say, but it really seems like in an instant we've gone from this~

(pictures like this make me wonder about those little combs they pass out on picture day, I mean, why bother?)

To this~

(does that seem like a fat knot to anyone else?)

Dispite our best efforts Edge seems to be growing up to be a fairly well adjusted, mostly responsible adult, who, bless his heart, still hugs his mother in public. Last night he met with our Stake President and it has been decided that, even though his mom isn't quite ready for it, he will be going on a mission. The paperwork has been submitted, now we just wait. If things go according to my diabolical plan we'll be waiting for about 6 months, but it's more likely I will be foiled and we'll know something in just a few weeks.

We'll keep you posted.

N-N-Nate!!

2010-04-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Today is Nate's 15th birthday, he remains as stylish as ever.

Happy Birthday Nate!!

Happy happy birthday!

2010-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Jaidyn!!!

We love you!

Because I know you're wondering...

2010-03-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

First, I need to apologize. I completely missed Misty's birthday. It was on the 1st.

Sorry Misty! Hope your day was great!

Now, here's what we've been up to~

Nate has perfected Sunday afternoon castle building.

Wesley has perfected the "If you insist on taking my picture I'm going to be goofy" pose.

And I have perfected the "whatever...I'm going to post it anyway" attitude.

Eli and Ivy have just finished their first soccer season of the year.

They both played great and have really improved since January.

The next season starts in a few weeks, hopefully we will have a little less rain and mud this time.

Edge has been trying out some different looks.

Here we have "Seriously serious"...

...and here we have.....um...I'm not really sure.

But he pulls it off nicely, right?

Last weekend Sylvan got to go to California and go sailing with a couple of friends.

When he got home Eli and Ivy made him a delicious breakfast, which they enjoyed in our freshly painted, almost ready to move into dining area (a construction update is coming soon).

Myself, I mostly lie around eating Girl Scout Cookies and watching TV all day, taking time now and then to boss the kids around. It's not easy, but I do take it seriously.

Hey! Look! It's Mark's birthday!!!

2010-02-19T09:21:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Mark!

You mighty awesome ripped-tacular kute guy!

Hope you have a great day!

*Wesley wanted to make sure that I let Mark know the reason for his frowny face has nothing to do with his favorite uncle and everything to do with his annoying mother and her camera.

It's enough to drive a person to gamble on a regular basis

2010-02-12T06:10:00.011-07:00

Yesterday, only 3 days after winning his bet, Eli received his loot from Todd and Alexis. Not only are they fast, but Alexis baked 2 kinds of cookies and wrapped them individually in foil and packed them carefully to make sure they didn't break.

It's a good thing they didn't win, they would have been pretty disapointed with that package of Oreos I was planning to send them.

Ivy was happy to sample the cookies....

Until I told her that the cookies she was eating were not Eli's winnings but these.....

I didn't even know we had made a bet as to whether or not Jake would get a haircut, but hey, we aren't going to turn down free cookies....

Ivy did wonder for a second if perhaps we had lost that bet and Jake's trimmings had possibly made their way into our cookies. But I assured her the the Virginia Thomas's are not sore losers and would NEVER do such a thing.

That was enough for her to give them a thumbs up.

I can only assume Eli is enjoying his cookies. We haven't seen him or his cookies since we opened the mail yesterday afternoon.

Sometimes we get a little riled up.

2010-02-11T08:20:00.007-07:00

But just a little.

We aren't really football fans, in fact, it wasn't until a few days before the Superbowl that any of us were really sure which teams would be playing in the big game, so it makes sense that we would insist on having "teams" and painting our faces.

The team picking went like this-

Eli desperately wanted to make a bet with Uncle Todd, no one else would do, it had to be Todd. He was hoping to root for the Colts, but when he found out the Colts were Todd's team he had no choice but switch to the Saints. As you can see below, if your brother is rooting for the Saints, you become a Colts fan by default, because NO WAY are you going to agree with your brother on Superbowl Sunday. Please.

Like true fans Eli and Ivy decided that face paint was in order.

It's hard to believe he hadn't even heard of his team until last Wednesday, isn't it?

Eli was the only Saints "fan" at Bill & Marianne's Superbowl "bash".

If you've never seen his victory dance, you should make a point to watch the game with him next year, it's worth losing a bet to experience.

Grace!

2010-02-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry we are so late getting this posted.

We hope you had a great day!

Guess what?

2010-02-07T08:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Annie's birthday. She's 4 now. I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen the candles with my own eyes.

Happy Birthday Annie!

We Love You!!!!

Samantha!

2010-02-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!

We hope your day is super great!

Better late than never.

2010-01-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

The kids made this video for Grandpa Lunt's birthday, but something is amuck with Blogger and the uploading of videos (it must be Blogger's fault, it couldn't possibly be something I'm doing wrong, right?)
Well, I showed them. Ta Da! Here, courtesy of Vimeo, is the video.

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Grandpa! from Sue Lunt on Vimeo.

Ella-bo-bella!

2010-01-20T01:32:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday!!

We love you AND your blue lips!

Hope you have a GREAT day!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Lunt!

2010-01-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

We love and miss you!

Hope you have a great day!

No, that's NOT a raccoon.

2010-01-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Or a squirrel.

The 3 older boys went on a snow campout over the weekend. An outing that seems nothing short of torturous and cruel to me, but they were REALLY excited to go spend a night sleeping in the cold snowy forest. When I asked Wesley what coat he was planning to take he told me he had this hat and as long as his head was warm he didn't think he would be needing a coat. You'll be relieved to hear that I forced him to take on anyway. Though I'm sure he didn't wear it.

Saturday Eli and Ivy played their first soccer games of the season. I didn't get any pictures of Ivy's game because I was so busy being a bossy coach that I forgot to be a bossy wife and tell Sylvan to take some, but I did get a few of Eli's game.

Here he is saving the game.

Wesley says all and all it was a thumbs up weekend.

So...

2010-01-07T00:07:00.003-07:00

....I'm sitting in the office the other day and my window gives me a perfect view of the front yard. On a good day I can count on seeing a pack of chihuahuas passing by or maybe a couple of ice cream men, you know, the usual, but on this day I look out and what do I see?

If you look closely you will see Eli WAY up in the tree.

Uncle Sylvan was nice enough to make sure everyone had a turn.

All I'm sayin' is, depending on who you talk to, it's either a really good idea to let your kids hang out at our house,

or a really bad one.

It's Cooper's Birthday Too!!

2010-01-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Bailey!!

2010-01-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

House Update

2010-01-05T01:43:00.005-07:00

The last time I posted about the house we were finishing the framing (when I say WE, I mean "they", those who have hammers and know how to use power tools).

I'm happy, thrilled, beside myself with joy, to report that over Christmas break much progress was made.

See this stack of drywall?

It now lives on the ceiling and...

...the walls of the addition!!!

We almost have a bedroom!

It's almost embarrassing how excited I am.

Christmas Day

2010-01-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning brought new pajamas for everyone and a flaming robe for Eli.

I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but Wesley was hoping to get about 4 more hours of sleep Christmas morning. Sadly, his wildest dream did not come true.

Maybe next year.

Wesley is clearly Edge's favorite, what else could explain a gift like this? It's a shirt that says "Edge loves you" in about 9 languages. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

Wesley also got this "clever" skateboard deck. I'm so old and uncool that I don't see what's funny about a guy wearing a purple shark suit.

It must be so embarrassing having me for a mom.

Ivy LOVES her new webkin.

Later Annie and Emma brought their parents over for a visit.

I think mostly they wanted to see the Van Halen brothers play Guitar Hero.

It must be great to be so talented.

In the afternoon we all went to the movies. The boys and I went to see Sherlock Holmes while Ivy and the best dad in the whole wide world went to see NewMoon.

Some of us wore our new pajamas.

This picture is just funny. A classic shot of Nate.

The camera loves him and he loves it right back.

We hope you all had a great Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-30T13:40:00.001-07:00

We all gathered at Jon & Misty's house for our annual dinner and festival of togetherness.

Here we are, being together.

Doesn't Bill look jolly? He always pretends not to like Christmas, but he can't fool me. He's like a little elf!

Here you go Mom, the traditional forced photo. Merry Christmas!

After much anticipation and begging from the adults it was finally time for The Family White Elephant Gift Exchange. Which everyone knows is the best part of Christmas.

Jon stole this squeeky frog twice from a small child! (I heard there was coal in his stocking the next morning)

Can you see how excited Berlin is to see that the "Not a leglamp" vase made a return this year? I'm pretty sure I heard her say she was going to redecorate her bedroom around it. She seems to get the best gift every year!

Ella is pretty happy with her gift.

I think we can all agree that Brandon was the big winner of the evening,

making Misty the big loser.

Here's Jackson with his Yoyo ball, he's very serious about his yoyo skills.

Eli was lucky enough to leave with the present he brought. Don't all little boys dream of a big bucket of cheese balls they can call their own?

You aren't going to believe me, but Wesley really loved getting that Papa Smurf, he just REALLY hates having his picture taken.

When we got home it was time for Eli to don his traditional holiday sweatshirt and hit the sack.(It looks like it was also time for Nate to pull out his trademark pose, I think it's time to ban the viewing of Zoolander around here for a while.)

Edge and Wesley always let Ivy sleep in their room on Christmas Eve. This is the bed she made on the floor and surrounded with pillows, apparently she was afraid she would fall off.

Finally, after much stalling (and a few threats) it was off to sleep.......

Merry Birthday Jessica!

2009-12-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

We hope your day is super great!!

What's up?

2009-12-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

This time of year is super busy so I'm going to try to post once a week, mostly so I don't forget anything.

We'll see how that goes.

A couple of weeks ago Edge went to Winter Formal.
He looks pretty happy about it, doesn't he?

Last week Ivy had her first orchestra concert. It was the best live performance of Hot Cross Buns I've ever been to.

On Saturday Ella & Ivy helped me get the tree up.

(For the record, Ivy picks her own clothes and she's available for fashion consultations, her fee is very reasonable.)

Over the weekend Sylvan, Edge, and Wesley went to Globe. They went to several antique stores where Wesley scored 5 Zippo lighters for $1.00 each, much to my delight. And they saw this, which is someone's PET that has been preserved very nicely. I think it's very natural looking.

Happy Birthday!!

2009-12-11T12:50:00.001-07:00

Today the lovely Mariah turns 13.

If she wishes to remain on my list of favorite nieces she will stop all of this having birthdays business.

When will these kids learn? When they get older, so do I.

Enough already!

Happy Birthday Mariah!

We love you!!

Thanksgiving in Utah~part 3

2009-12-04T01:48:00.002-07:00

On our last day in Utah we all gathered together to take some family pictures. I don't think there's anything more fun, do you?

Here are Grandma and Grandpa surrounded by all of their grandchildren.

Afterwards the O'Barrs were kind enough to have everyone back to their house again so we could all hang out one last time before we headed home.

The girls posing for one last picture

I'm pretty sure Ryan would have been happy if the party had ended just a bit sooner.

On the way back to Mesa (most of us) were thrilled to see that it had snowed over night.

It was actually beautiful and not something we see very often.

Thanks O'Barrs, Rogers, and Utah Lunts.

We had a great time!!

Thanksgiving in Utah~part 2

2009-12-03T01:01:00.020-07:00

One highlight of our trip was that there was SNOW on the ground when we arrived in Utah.

Not much, mind you, but enough for our kids to have fun without needing parkas.

Here is Wesley half-way finished making the biggest snowball EVER.

As you can see, the conditions were not exactly arctic. I have NO idea where Eli thinks he's going with that sled.

Oh, here we go.

What you are seeing is a ~~man~~ kidmade "hill" which when given the proper push will propel you right into the street. Genius!!

These are Wesley's shoes. I'm not sure if this act of revenge was from the target of his giant snowball, or from a brother whose shoes Wesley had filled with snow the night before.

While the boys were outside getting all frostbitten and whatnot, the girls were inside being.....girls.

Sylvan decided that he would teach his mom how to send a text from her cellular device.

Because everyone knows that in the future we will all B TXTING R GMAS.

Thanksgiving in Utah~part 1

2009-12-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

Last week we loaded up our mittens and drove to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with the Lunt side of the family.

A fabulous meal was prepared and we all gathered 'round to be thankful.

Thanks to Uncle Eric all of the little boys were starving after their pre-dinner smack down.

He really goes the extra mile.

Here are Grandma and sweet little Ruby.

Look, here's a nice shot of me stuffing my face.

Eli searched for weeks to come up with just the right outfit for the occasion.

Did I mention there was pie? This is only about half of them. I think the ratio ended up being 1 1/4 pie per person. Not quite enough, but we mananged.

Grandma and Grandpa just before Grandpa whipped out his calculator and figured out my BMI.

At least he waited until after dinner.

Part 2 tomorrow.

But before I go I have to tell you about the mints that Ember made--with her OWN TWO HANDS!!! You know those super yummy wedding melty butter mints? She MADE some, and they were soooo good.

I may have eaten more than my share.

5 years old...

2009-11-26T03:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kyle!

We love you!

Happy Birthday Todd!

2009-11-25T03:39:00.001-07:00

You snappy dresser you.

Wesley!

2009-11-23T05:21:00.001-07:00

Wes is 17 today.

There's NEVER a dull moment when Wesley is around.

We love you Wes. Hope you have a super duper great birthday!!

Happy Birthday Heather!

2009-11-23T03:15:00.000-07:00

Hope you have a great day.

We love you!!!

Eli & Ivy

2009-11-22T05:23:00.002-07:00

Eli went on his first scout campout last weekend. He has learned from his brothers that there are a couple of things you MUST have if you are going to survive a campout.

Beef Jerky and Gatorade.

Sylvan went with him and judging from the amount of dirt they carried home they had a really good time.

Friday was Ivy's clogging recital.

Really good cloggers use LOTS of hairspray.

Here are Ivy and Ella on the stage after the recital.

They both did a great job.

I'm going talk fast so try to keep up.

2009-11-21T07:12:00.002-07:00

Somehow we seem to be super busy lately. I have no idea what we've been up to but here are a few things real quick like.

Ivy got new shoes. They are gold and sparkly. Don't be jealous.

We went to the Veteran's Day Parade. Based on the contents of the parade we learned that, in Mesa, no one loves veterans more than Cub Scouts and Bikers.

I've never seen so many little boys on motorcycles in my life.

It was very patriotic.

And also loud.

(this is not a picture of a cub scout OR a biker, according to our sources, this is a picture of a real veteran)

Wesley made a really long cardboard tube and got on the roof. After that I don't know what happened. I couldn't watch. He's still alive and we didn't have to go to the emergency room so it must have been a success.

Eli got this headlamp. He uses it to blind me--I mean he uses it to see things in the dark. And also the dusk. And sometimes in his closet.

Halloween

2009-11-02T08:22:00.001-07:00

Our Jack-o-lanterns moments before they turned to moldy piles of mush.

Here is Eli in his knight costume.

He and Sylvan worked tirelessly on the mask or shield or whatever they ended up calling that dangerous hunk of metal with it's sharp and pointy edges. He LOVED it and it was a huge hit with everyone (except his mom who was a worry wart for Halloween).

Here we have Ella who was NOT a princess, she was a pumpkin thank you very much, and Ivy who at the last minute decided to be a (gang sign throwing) librarian. A costume that required one eighth the hairspray her original costume, an 80's rock star, would have needed. A much better choice for the environment (and her dad who was worried about just what kind of 80's rock star she had in mind).

Edge was a zombie. Wesley dressed up as a snarly teenager who refused to have his picutre taken.

Pretty much his daily uniform.

Nate was that red thing. Lovely isn't it?

We had a great time trick or treating in our old neighborhood with Brandon (who somehow mangaged to no have his picture taken either), Ella and Jon.

Here is Ella taking a break and checking out her loot.

Another successful Halloween.

Happy Birthday Joe!!

2009-10-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

We had a fine video presentation for you, but techincal difficulties have kept us from posting it. We hope you have (or finish having) a great birthday anyway.

The party keeps on going and going....

2009-10-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Now that you are aging in reverse you must be like, what? 35?

Hope you have a great day,

we love you!!!

Happy Birthday Sylvan!

2009-10-26T08:04:00.001-07:00

Today is Sylvan's birthday. He's a great husband, a great dad and he makes really good salsa.

We love you Sylvan!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Hannah!!!

2009-10-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hope you have a great day!

It's Grandma's Birthday Too!!

2009-10-21T17:03:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday!

You are really lucky to have such great singers in your family.

We love you!

Jon

2009-10-21T03:00:00.002-07:00

Today is Jon's birthday, since there is no way to live up to last year's touching tribute I have just linked to it right HERE, and while we're at it, I couldn't resist linking to THIS too.

Happy Birthday Jon!!!!
You ROCK!!

It's Isaiah's Birthday!

2009-10-20T05:57:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday we love you!!

B.

2009-10-17T13:41:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Brandon!

We love you!!!