CHRISTMAS IN REAL LIFE

This is the only way that I can come up with to explain our Christmas this year. It was simply crazy, and I was too tired out of my mind to care. Thus a real life christmas. Nothing magical or out of the ordinary wonderful about it-but hey, I'm okay with that. We have just simply been too busy with life to even care that Christmas had come. With Randall serving as theBishop, our lives are now busier than ever and I am trying to adjust to the single life. LOL(its actually going really well, just completely exhausting!!!) Then on top of that I decided to volunteer myself to sort of head up the Ward Christmas Party just 6 days before it was to happen. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking. The clouds of insanity must have parted for a breif moment when I decided that it was a good idea. Well, 5 hams, a no go Santa, an impropmtu Nativity, and countless hours at the church later, it was a success. I was exhausted but not done yet. 3 days later Abrianna had surgery, so we spent the entire day at the hospital. By then it was only 2 days until christmas and their were still last minute presents to buy and my entire house to clean. Usually I am such a fanatic about christmas making sure that all the halls are decked with just the right decorations, wonderful goodies fill the kitchen and of course presents perfectly wrapped under the tree. Christmas is such a magical time of year and I love to make it extra special for the kids. Perfectly planned FHE nights about the Savior, cookie plates to all of our friends, and a Polar Express party for the kids. Of course we would attend a Christmas concert, go to zoo lights, decorate our tree together and frost yummy homemade sugar cookies.

But this year I just decided to admit defeat and move on.

None of those exciting things happened. Not one. It was so bad that my mom actually had to come over and decorate our tree the day before christmas!!!! Now we had gotten the tree 2 weeks before but just simply had not had the time or the energy to do anything with it. I actually thought maybe we should just leave it bare to remind us that in the grand scheme of things, it really isnt that important. But nonetheless I am grateful to my angel mother for saving our poor sad tree. I actually even hired someone to wrap all of our presents this year. And you know what, it was the smartest thing I have ever done. What a relief it was to not stay up all night on Chritmas Eve. I think I may do this every Christmas. Why do I tell you all of the things that I have completely failed at this year-well for the simple fact that, IT'S OKAY!!! Some days and even the grandest of holidays are just plain crazy, rotten, frustrating, exhausting, ordinary real life. There will be other years to deck the halls, years when everything goes just as planned, years when your heart is overflowing with the spirit of the season-but until then just sit back, breathe deep, laugh a little and enjoy your REAL LIFE!!!!

The only picture of me at Christmas this year. Parker took it as we were wrapping last minute gifts. Hey at least it's one picture!!!!

Surgery Day!!!

Well it is finally done. Last week, just 2 days before Christmas Abrianna had surgery to repair her hernia. We found it about 2 months ago just before our big trip to Disneyland. Luckily the docotor said that it was not urgent to do the surgery so we went to D-Land and scheduled the surgery for December. Having surgery is never something you look forward to even if the procedure is pretty routine. To calm her nerves we told her that she would get to go see the doctor and he would give her some medicine that would make her take a long nap. Then she would wake up, have a popsicle, play with toys and go home. Doesn't sound too bad right. This is obviously the before picture. She still looks pretty happy and unsuspecting.

After a long 3 hour wait at the hospital they finally took her down to the OR. The sedative hadn't fully kicked in when they came to get her so she was a little hesitant to go. But she did enjoy the ride down in her big bed. The surgery went really well and they had her out in 40 minutes. When I was finally allowed to go see her in the recovery room she was still conpletely out. They said she woke up crying so they gave her some more sedative. BAD MOVE!!! I am really sensitive to any medication-even 1/2 a benadryl will nearly render me unconscious. SERIIOUSLY. No joke, I cant even take Nyquill. So just like her mother she was out for nearly 3 HOURS after the surgery. We kept trying to wake her up but to no avail. So here she is out cold. I know she will hate me someday for these pictures, but I couldn't resist.
When she finally did wake up it wasn't pretty. This is the awake picture. Yeah I know she pretty much looks like she was drinking all night. She couldnt even stay awake enough to eat the popsicle. I had to keep reminding her to put it in her mouth. Well lets just say after 2 popsicles and a nice release of her bladder all over me- it was finally time to go home. Thank goodness, it had been a really long day for all of us.
Going Home!! She was a little sore but really no worse for the wear. The next day she was up and running around like normal, and showing off her "special glue" to everyone.

Little Lady

Just wanted to give a quick update on the little lady of the house. Autumn is almost 5 months old now and growing every day. We are enjoying her sweet little spirit in our family and get lots of laughs from her funny personality. She is generally always smiling and an overall very happy baby. She learned how to roll over just 2 days ago and she thinks she is pretty hot stuff. Autumn loves to sit in her bumbo and in her bouncy seat to watch her baby einstein videos. She has been sleeping through the night for almost 2 months now, for which I am very grateful. She is probably the most vocal of all of our children. She loves to voice her opinion on everything and likes to chat it up with mom and dad late at night. Bathtime is her new favorite time of the day. She splashes and splashes with her arms and legs and could stay in the bath forever. We are loving her up and feel blessed to have her in our family.We love you Autumn!!!

Sitting pretty in her bumbo in the kitchen.

A little bathtime fun.

Family Pictures-or something like it

Well its that time of year again. You know, the time when you get all dressed up to take that elusive perfect family picture for the christmas card. I'm not quite sure why we torture ourselves this way. I guess we are hoping that just maybe this will be the year that everyone will actually cooperate and we will have a beautiful family portrait. I guess our first mistake was doing it for family night at about 7 pm. With Randalls busy schedule however this was the only time we had available. Well I'm sure you know how the story goes. So instead of me writing about it I will just show you. I know you all have plenty of your own photos like this, so I will try not to be too embarrased. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

In the end we scratched it all and had our pictures professionally taken. Although I was tempted to send out the worst photo just so everyone could get a good laugh!!!

Happy Thanksgiving -A little late

Happy Thanksgiving!!

So I know this post is very late, but we have been extremely busy lately. Randalls new calling as the Bishop has really thrown us for a loop. We are loving the opportunity to serve, but in the meantime are trying to adjust to a new schedule, or more like no schedule at all. Our family is already seeing so many blessings and we have many things to be thankful for this year. We hope this holiday season finds each of you well and that you are enjoying this exciting time of year.

It was another great year filled with yummy food and fun for all. We held Thanksgiving at our house again this year and celebrated with the Powell side of the family. Nana and Papa, John and Joy and baby Carter, and Crystal and the kids came over for a scrumptious dinner of turkey, swiss beans, homeade rolls, sweet potatoes, and stuffing with all the trimmings. Joy and I spent the entire week before preparing the house and decorating for the fall festivities. We of course began the day with the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade while we cooked and played games. The kids and I went on a scavenger hunt-in the pouring rain, and then returned for some hot cocoa and a nice warm dinner. We ended the night with a thanksgiving story read by Papa and an impromptu talent show by the kids. Parker sang his song Albequerque Turkey, Brenna sang Twinkle Twinkle little star, and Abrianna sang the ABC song.

Papa with Abrianna and Carter.

Our beautiful table.

Joy and I worked so hard to make this an extra special day for all. We had tons of fun coming up with all sorts of new decorations for the table this year.

Getting ready for dinner

Happy little Autumn!!

Parker and Papa

Playing a few early christmas tunes on the piano.

Our pilgrim hat craft. Shortbread cookies turned upside down with a chocolate dipped marshmallow on top, and white piping for the buckle. So simple, but tons of fun. They tasted great too!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

*6 tanks of gas to LA-$390.00

*Three Turkey legs $24.00

*6 Five day park hopper passes-you don't want to know

*Making memories at disneyland-PRICELESS

The whole Disney gang!!!!

Randall, Brook, Joy, John, Parker, Abrianna, and Carter

(Autumn stayed home with Nana-Thanks again MOM!!!!)

We had a great time on our trip to Disneyland. We couldn't resist once again getting away to some sunshine and some much needed R & R. So we packed up the car with plenty of snacks, dvd's and one very large bag o' tricks for the kids and we were on our way. Road trippin it all the way to LA was a bit more than we bargained for but all things considered it turned out pretty good. On the way down we stayed with Randalls sister Becky and her family in Sacramento. Up early the next morning we found we had a flat tire so down the road to Les Schwab for a quick patch job and we were on our way. We arrived in Anaheim at about 5:30 pm after 2 hair raising hours of LA traffic. Of course the kids couldnt wait any longer so we headed straight for the Magic Kingdom for some late night fun.

2 girls, 2 boys and 3 kids road trippin it all the way to LA. Not sure what we were thinking!! This picture is obviously from the begining of the trip-notice the happy smiles!!!

Little ladies taking a rest on the car trip.

A quick stop and potty break at the Medford Temple.


At last we arrive. Here are some of our favorite photos from our time at Disneyland.

At the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyers Island.

Parker and Mickey.

He could not wait to get his autograph!! Before we went to Disneyland the kids and I made personalized autotgraph books for all of the characters to sign. Mickey Mouse was Parkers number one character he had to see closely followed by Woody. As luck would have it the characters were out and about in fine form and he got both in 1 day.

Joy and I on Thunder Mountain-one of our favorite rides.

And now for a funny tale. When it comes to rides Parker is what Joy calls a "wanny." He is so afraid of any ride that appears more scarey than the merry go round. I'm still not sure why we think that its a good idea to take him to Disneyland-after all isnt that what you do there. It all came to blows when we tried to get him to go on Snow Whites ride. He said," no way that is too scarey." We tried to tell him that it wasn't scarey, but to no avail. He can read now-very well I might add and said "MOM, it is too scarey. The sign says Snow Whites Scarey Adventure!!!!"
This reading thing seems to be getting me in trouble a lot lately.

And if that wasn't enough, Joy and I got this hair brained idea that we would take him and Abrianna on Thunder Mountain. BIG MISTAKE!!! He actually said that he wanted to go on it-of course before he really knew what the ride was about. Abrianna was all for it. She is our little daredevil. (Her favorite rides were Star Tours and the Matterhorn. A little strange for a little 3 year old. She is such a thrill seeker like her dad.) Anyways, as we were standing in line waiting for the ride he began asking questions about what the ride was like-making sure it was not scarey of course. So Joy and I told him that it was just a train ride-no big deal. Well it was the truth with just some minor details left out!!! Well I'm sure you can guess how the story ended. It involved lots of screaming and a "Na, ah I am never going on that ride again.!!!" I still cant believe that we actually took him on it. During the ride I was actually thinking, geez this is actually kind of a scarey ride even for me. Nevertheless, I was very proud of him that day. We shall see what happens the next time.

Taking flight on Dumbo.

Abrianna and Princess Belle

We waited for quite some time at the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire to see the beautiful princess. Abrianna insisted that we take her "Cindelella " dress all the way to Disneyland so she could be a pretty princess too. She wore it all around the park, and I must say she looked awfully cute in her ball gown with tennis shoes. Parker although hesitant saw the princesses too and thought they were pretty cute.

Posing for a picture after a very wet ride on Grizzly River Run.

Randall Boggs and Randall Glenn. Perhaps one in the same-well never know.

And the story ends of course with- we all lived Happily Ever After. That is after a 18 hour car trip from LA to Home all in one day!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Hauntings from the Glenn Family.

We hope everyone had just as much fun as we did this Halloween.

We began the night by loading up our car with one dashing Snow White and the entire gang from Mystery Inc. (see below for the very embarrasing but hillarious pictures) After arriving at the ward trunk or treat party we enjoyed a delicious bowl of soup while the kids ran around the church like little hooligans. The kids really did have a blast and filled their buckets to the brim with candy. We then returned home to endure the hysterical screams of "wheres my candy, I need my candy, " and the frightful moans of tummy aches. I am glad to report that Abriannas candy is all gone-a new record I am sure. Only 3 days to devoure an entire bucketful. Lets just say it was the better option. It was either that or days of 'candy withdrawls'-and believe me they really arent pretty.

One pretty princess!!!

Scooby Scooby doo where are you?

The whole gang from Mystery Inc. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, Scooby, and 2 little scooby sncaks.
(Poor John-the only one who didnt get a wig. We figured a brown haired Fred would have to do after I cut my hand trying to cut his wig, Joy cut his ear, and I got blood all over it. We decided it must be a rule of 3's thing-and decided to stop before something really disasterous happened. I think John appreciated our wisdom-he really didnt want to loose an ear or possibly an eye.)

Cousins at the ward trunk or treat party.

Abrianna, Parker, Kayla and Brenna.

Velma and her Scooby snack. Dont the braces just complete the look?

Autumn in her scooby snack costume. She makes such a cute little bone.

Velma, Shaggy and their little scooby snack.

(AKA- Brook, Randall, and Autumn)

Fir Point Field Trip

Pumpkins, Pumpkins everywhere.

Abrianna and mommy went to Fir Point Farms for her first Preschool field trip. We had so much fun looking at all of the animals, going through the hay maze, and going for a ride on the tractor wagon. She got to pick out her very own pumpkin-as big as she wanted. It was very rainy that day so mom was glad when the field trip finally ended. One pumpkin and two pairs of very muddy boots later-we called it a successful trip.

Trying to get a class picture of everyone.

Abrianna playing is Hazels Nut House.

As soon as she entered she promptly took off her boots and layed down in all of the nuts to make a "nut angel." (sort of like a snow angel but instead of a pile of snow she used a pile of nuts.)

Abrianna and Missy.

These two are friends from church and are also in preschool together.

Pumpkin Guts and Such

Pumpkin guts and things as such-thats what our Family Night was made of. It was another fun evening of carving pumpkins at the Glenn house. This was the FIRST year that Parker and Abrianna actually cleaned out the pumpkins themselves-and of course I have pictures to prove it!!!! Parker chose to do Larry the Cucumber from Veggie Tales, Abrianna made a simple Jackolantern, and Randall and I did Mickey Mouse in anticipation of our upcoming trip next week to Disneyland.

The finished products all lit up on the porch. They were quite an impressive sight.

Our yummy caramel apples.