Bedtime Bribery

So I find the easiest way to talk my kids into bed is a little bit of incentive. In order to get the living room cleaned up, teeth brushed and PJ's on I promised them they could do car races with Taylor and Justin. It worked. Thanks for coming over boys!

In other news project Fatten Elder Fletcher is going well. We got lasagna, stir fry and more Dairy Queen in him. I even talked Justin into a buttered tortilla and ice cream. Wow! We're sure gonna miss them when they're gone and we can't find an excuse for ice cream every night:)

TWO Handsome Birthday Boys!

I made Grampa a "lava cake" for his birthday and he wasn't convinced that he should dig into his cake like Skyler Fletcher did on his birthday - which was exactly one month before Grampa's. (They both are such handsome birthday boys!)
We celebrated Dad's 53rd by going out for Nepalese food at restaurant "Kathmandu Metro". (The ethnic restaurants in San Francisco are so much fun and not even that expensive.)
Our menu - warm goat cheese spinach salad, chana chat with tamarind and riata, and alu tama - potato, sour bamboo shoots, blackeye peas cooked with tomato and curry spices. It was so yummy! Dad sure liked the birthday messages from everyone - made his day very special !

Happy B-day Grampa!

We know we're a day late. I spent yesterday trying to have everyone home and awake at the same time. Impossible:) So, here are some grandsons wishing you happy b-day today. We love you lots. Thanks for being the best Grampa ever! Love, Tess, Steve, Bri, Fletch, Ben and Ellis

Great 19th Birthday Party with the Relatives!

Doesn't this look like a fun party? Justin Livingstone celebrating his 19th with lots of "related" birthday guests. Words shared by Arnon, the hostess of the party -
"Justin's family birthday party was a great success. When you invite 14 little kids (and cousin Taylor) over for cake and ice cream it is
 guaranteed to be good times!!"

Ellis Walking

Ellis is so proud of himself. He is bound and determined to keep up with the big kids and his walker helps him to walk just like them. He just turned 10 months but was 9 months when Brighton and I took this video (she's what is motivating him to walk). Sorry if you're dizzy by the end and I know it's a bit dark. I'm still learning Steve's new camera.

Vampires Need Chiropractors?

Who knew that Vampires needed frequent chiropractic visits? I was oblivious until I called "Edward" out on it! Hahhaha. This is Vince Stowell and he is a patient at Willow Creek Chiropractic. The first time I saw him he kind of reminded me of someone, but I could not put my finger on it. It was about my second week when I realized that Vince was the spittin image of my beloved Edward (Twilight's Robert Pattinson), just without the "fwappy hair!" For the last month and a half 3x a week Edward comes in and I can't help but giggle and blush every time I see him. This week I finally gained enough courage to ask for a picture. Everyone in the office most definitely had a hearty laugh at my expense. I hope Edward returns back on Monday more flattered than freaked out! Ill keep ya posted :)

Utah has Another Temple

This past Tuesday night I was able to attend the Draper Temple Open house. It was beautiful, of course! I attended the Birmingham one back a few years ago and remembered it being a neat experience. However, the Birmingham open house had nothing on the Draper temple open house production. We departed close to seven and did not return home until after 11pm (It was only an eight minute drive). There were waiting rooms and videos at stake centers before tour buses zipped back and forth transporting hundreds of people up to the site. Once inside with the masses, walking through took over an hour. Quite the adventure for a Tuesday night, but most certainly worth a wait (just maybe not 4 hours). Glad that people are excited about it!

Filling Taylor's Canteen

We are working on fattening Taylor up. He lost 10 lbs when he was sick over the last couple weeks (wish it were so easy for me:) We stuffed him with tacos last night and we aren't thinking there will be a lot of fast food in the mission in Mexico so at Taylor's request off to Dairy Queen for blizzards. He's filling his canteen before the 2 yr drought on blizzards. Yum, yum. It was a tough job helping him out but someone had to do it. The pic is from Taylor's Iphone.

My happy Birthday surprise youtube link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4O6riyYJs&feature=channel_page

The Last Christmas Card Is In...

Our last Christmas card has arrived and as you can see from the pictures it has had a hard life. It came in a plastic bag covered in ashes and wrinkled from being wet. The included letter from the USPS said that the good news was there were no fatalities but the bad news was our card was involved in a car accident and the trailer it was in caught fire. Wow, the United States Postal Service is a dedicated bunch! We enjoyed seeing what was left of the Jones family Christmas letter and found the fact that the card found us pretty amazing.

Christmas Card Excitement

I love Christmas cards. Thanks to all of you who sent them. I'm finally getting around to taking them down. They've been hanging on a string across my front entryway. In case I missed anyone I'll include ours here virtually. Isn't my husband talented? Look at the post above to see our most recent Christmas card excitement.

Former "Full House" fans - Come see Elder Fletcher

Taylor has been with us for the past two weeks in SF; we have had great fun playing with Elder T and getting him outfitted for his mission. Doesn't Taylor look handsome in his new missionary suit? (Taylor doesn't leave until March 25th for his Culican, Mexico mission.)
For all you "Full House" fans do you recognize the homes and the skyline in the background of Taylor's picture? This picture is taken from Alamo Park which is in walking distance from our apartment. (It is such a great photo opp and we just needed Steve and Arnon to show us how to shoot some really awesome pix at this location!)
Trivia tidbit for us Full House fans:
Although the series was set in San Francisco, and the opening credits were filmed there in the Alamo Square, the sitcom itself was taped at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles.

New Hair for Tiff - Sassy, Short and Healthy!

Oops! I accidentally deleted Tiffany's "new hair" post that she had put on the family blog in December and since this is a family record that we will be keeping, I am going to "repost" it! (My bad - still learning the ins and outs of blogging!)

Remember Tiff's hair for family Thanksgiving in Phoenix? I think Tiff said her hair was long, straight and lifeless and then the transformation after Thanksgiving to sassy, short and healthy!
It is always fun to see the latest with Miss Tiff's hair but you know what - I like Tiffy and her hair any which way!

Jordan and I had a fun New Years Eve. Our good friends, David and Maddy, decided to surprise everyone and get married at Midnight. It was a small wedding held in their home, only a handful of close friends and family. The new couple took their first kiss at 1201. It was awfully cute

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE

January the sixth was my Birhtday and every year I am paranoid that everyone will forget me in the scramble of Christmas, New Years, and Back to school. The Breinholts made extra certain that I was forgotten this year. The Sunday before my birthday I was invited over for a normal Sunday dinner, nothing out of the ordinary. It was kind of strange, the family kind of seemed to be eating in shifts. Not everyone would be sitting at the table at the same time. I was oblivious, just enjoying the tasty mexican tacos Debbi had made. Then SURPRISE! Huge birthday cake and entire family bursting out in song and arms full of presents for me! I dont think I have ever been that caught off guard in my life. Jordan caught the entire thing on film. And don't worry folks, they have been posted on YouTube. Ill get the links and put them on the blog on my next post.

MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTIES GALORE

I most certainly enjoyed all the holidays this year. So much fun, preparation, and PARTYING. I can't being to count the number of parties I attended: parties to end the school semester, parties in Arizona with the Fletcher Gang, and parties with Breinholts every weekend! This was one of their annual family get togethers in December. So many people and such tasty food. This is Jordan and me enjoying some of that holiday cheer!

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Saturday Morning Pancakes

A favorite Saturday ritual at our house is Steve making pancakes. They are the best. I wait for them all week. He is an excellent pancake maker which is slightly ironic considering he doesn't like them. He usually makes pancakes then goes and eats a bowl of cereal.  This is a pic of all his "helpers" up on the counter for yesterday's pancake party.

Ever Seen Someone Do a Back Flip Off a Pogo Stick?

Remember the Mr LDSBC Competition that Taylor was a contestant for last November? Taylor did a pogo sticking routine for the talent portion of the show and now watch his finale - a backflip off his pogo stick! (Taylor has been doing crazy/dangerous things like that since a small child - amazing that he is still alive!)

Happy 22nd Birthday Tiffy!

Happy 22nd birthday Tiffany. Wish we could be there to celebrate with you but hope it's a great one and you feel special today. We miss you and love you!

End of 2008 Zoo Trip

Our zoo passes ran out in 2008 so we took a last trip over there. This is the whole clan in front of the warthogs. I think it was the first time Ellis really noticed the animals. It was great fun but we may need a vacation from all the running around we've done on this Christmas vacation.