two killer albums...

two new albums from two of my favorite artists within weeks of each other...it must be christmas.

those of you who haven't yet discovered the killers...now is the time. goodness awaits in the form of 4 solid albums. this latest album is more of what you would expect from the killers...soaring vocals, witty and probing lyrics with guitars and strings blended seamlessly. and did i mention brandon flowers is mormon?

i came late to the world of kanye. but since beginning a journey through his music over the summer, it seems i've been ushered into a world worth knowing. he puts an originality and spin on the rap genre that is innovative and palatable (unlike most other raps stars work...) his prior albums gave me a glimpse into rap culture that was intelligent, informative and satisfying. however, this latest album is a departure for him. it is meant as a pop album and is in a different vein than his prior work. those put off by the language in his earlier albums will be happy to know all these songs are void of profanity. he uses the auto-tuner (voice modulation) too much and it softens the edge of his more poignant songs. but it is overall a nice 4th offering from mr. west...

Ella's First "Solid"...

I am in disbelief, but Ella turned 6 months yesterday. As a present, I picked up some rice cereal for her at the grocery store yesterday. We're not sure she thought she was ready for it.








Still smiling!

The other kiddos enjoyed seeing her try it.



As you can see from the video... still a bit of gag reflex.

So I'll try again next week. Or perhaps she'll decide to surprise us for Christmas! ???

Christmas Carnage

These are for you, Petey...

Today's carnage. Ornaments seemed to be the theme for today.

This tree was separated from one of its dangling ornaments...

The ornament Hailey made us for our wedding was broken again
(but still holding up beautifully)...

The doctor ornament was beheaded...

The ground beneath the Christmas tree holds more ornaments than the branches above it.

I think I should wait a while to put wrapped presents out... what do you think??

And then this happened while I was fixing dinner yesterday. Someone managed to get Baby Jesus stuck in a chair.

I had to get Paul to squeeze him out. Yikes!

Busy, busy fingers times two...


But really, this is what they do during most of their time at home right now:



They love the Nativity, and have been acting out their own versions of it since our FHE on Monday night. I love to hear their excited voices announce that "Jesus is here!" or their commentary on the shepherds and wise men coming, or their motherly voices helping Mary to cradle the baby Jesus.



What a fun age. What a fun season.

Deck the Halls-- With Caution...

My nativity sets were under attack.

This afternoon alone: poor Mary from Mexico; the star from Italy, and my Willow Tree shepherd.

I've replaced most of my breakable Christmas decor into the storage bins for another year. I'm leaving out the plush, the wood, and the plastic.

Because THEY...


... deserve to have fun during Christmas, too.

My mother-in-law made this find...

...and has since sent me 3-packs regularly. Smart Grandma... she keeps a good stock for herself, too. :) Most of my own stock has been used in the last several days, and an almost-empty bottle is ready-for-use atop the refrigerator...

...it's safe there

...so far.

Christmastime at Disneyland...

We went to Disneyland yesterday and I was reminded again about what a special place it is a Christmastime.

We mostly just hung out in the ambiance of it all--let the kiddos run around, caught a show, Space Mountain for the boys, Christmas shopping items to scratch off the list. A fun evening.

Some pictures...






The huge Christmas tree on Main Street...


What Paul let the girls do under the chained-off Christmas tree on Main Street while mom, Michael, and Ella were doing some Christmas shopping...


Our find this time... the lighting of the castle Christmas lights. They do a little mini-show to light up the castle just after sunset. It was fun.

Before:


After:




There was even a little fake snow in the streets--Disney style.

Bonus: it was the employee Christmas party that night... the park closed at 6pm... so they did the Christmas fireworks show at 5:45! (they are usually after 9pm... and we are usually headed home way before then with tired kiddos... so we usually miss them). So that was fun, too. The girls especially loved them this time (even Ella!).

Other fun Christmas festivities that we've enjoyed this year: Small World all done up for Christmas (inside and out... they have a "lighting" of the outside in the evening as well...), the Haunted Mansion done as the Night Before Christmas, and the Main Street Christmas parade.

We sure are going to miss this place. Our annual passes run out at the beginning of January. Can we live without them?? We shall see...

Disneyland with Stephen, the Tews, and Ron & Shauna...

A pre-Thanksgiving catch-up post...

Oh, this was a fun day! The day before we left for Thanksgiving, Stephen (Paul's brother) came with us to Disneyland where we met up with Jill (Paul's cousin) and her family and Ron & Shauna (Paul's uncle and aunt).

Jill and SteVen (Jill's husband, not to be confused with the brother StePHen) have triplets (Zach, Jane, and Kate) who are just younger than Michael... so he was super excited to show them around Disneyland for their first time!



StePHen is such a fun uncle. The kiddos love him. Here he is paying his dues by pushing them in the stroller for much of the day...


One of our first rides was the newly-renovated "It's a Small World." It has been closed for an entire year with rumors about changing it to be more "politically correct." We were glad to see that there were no noticeable differences. Each year they decorate it all for Christmas... I love it. And as a bonus, with a "party of 15," we got an entire boat all to ourselves! This was probably my favorite activity of the day. :)





Another highlight for the kiddos was riding the teacups. Classic. SteVen sponsored the Wild Bunch...
...while StePHen was sitting pretty with Abby and Bekah and Paul :)...


I love this video. SteVen was such a good sport with all that spinning. But my favorite part is hearing StePHen in the background. Hooray for the teacups!!



Around the middle of the day, the girls bonked. StePHen was still pushing them. :)


But they woke up with a second wind.

Somewhere in there, Paul and SteVen were able to sneak off to do some "big boy" rides.

Tower of Terror (look in the top left corner...)


And Space Mountain with Michael and Zach. I love SteVen's protective pose in this one...

... cute Zach came off of this ride truly believing than his space shuttle went into outer space and came back.

Many rides, two parades, a hearty dinner, and fireworks completed the day. Disneyland is a magical place at Christmastime...


Abby was feeling the magic while she danced her way out of the park... while sitting on Paul's shoulders...



(Please ignore the annoying mom in the background...)

By the end of the day, we were all pretty tired. Michael feel asleep before we even got to the tram.
We transferred him to the car where he fell back to sleep and was joined by the others for sweet dreams of a fun and magical day.

We love sharing it with you StePHen, Ron, Shauna, SteVen, Jill, Zach, Kate, Jane, and Lucas. Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day!

Princess All the Way...

With "Jingle Bells" playing in the background, Abby passed me--sweetly singing to the tune: "Princesses, princesses, princess all the way!"

Those words could not have captured better her outlook toward life right now.

(...this picture is from an afternoon with our good friends, the Rowleys.

Emily scripted the cutest Christmas play, and the girls were dancing to the Nutcracker Suite...)

Princess all the way, indeed!

Bekah's Dancing Observation...

I was dancing around with the girls today when Bekah said in her oh-so-observant voice: "Oh, Mama! Are you dancing?"

Me: "Yeah! You're dancing with me, huh?"

Bekah, after watching me intently for a few moments: "Oh, Mama! You're wiggling your bottom!"

Me: "Um, yeah. I guess I kind of am."


Maybe I should tone it down a little??

I'm Gettin' Everything For Christmas...

We were listening to Christmas music today, and the song "I'm gettin' nothin' for Christmas" came on. A full conversation with Michael began about the intricacies of being good or bad and the Christmas consequences of such actions.

He thought for a few moments, then announced: "Well, I think I'll make my own song about me."

Me: "Really? How does it go?"

Michael: "I'm gettin' everythin' for Christmas, 'cause I have been everything good!"

Me: "I say you can sing that song, because you really have been so good, Michael."


I don't know about getting EVERYthing, though...

Grandma Frandsen and her Boys...

So during the wedding festivities of Peter and Emily, *sadly* this was the only time I had my camera and broke it out (I had Ella in my arms the rest of this night :) ). It was such a fun night.

But I just love this photo.

Stephen, Grandma Frandsen, and Paul.


Isn't she just a darling Grandma?? Always having her 29th birthday.

And we are so grateful that Grandpa Frandsen is doing well, after his 4-wheeler accident scare on the mountain the day after Thanksgiving. He does things no other 89-year-old could get away with. Those Frandsen genes are just hard to keep under control, sometimes...

Soccer Season Ends...

During the exciting weekend of Peter and Emily's wedding and with lots of family in town, Michael had his last soccer game of the season. Here are some pictures to remember this fun team with a great coach.

The team--these were some great boys.


Some things I don't want to forget (and some I maybe do...):

• Watching Michael celebrate good moves made by his teammates. Jumping up and down, doing his "Gladiator roar"
• The "stroller sisters"--Abby and Bekah were strapped into their strollers for the majority of games and practices. Overall--pretty good about it. Only occasional protests. :)
• Michael socializing during the games
• Being a "single mom" for most practices and many games--gaining lots of sympathy from on-lookers (ha!)
• The seriousness of "water breaks" during practice--he'd come off the field with hands on his hips, with the no-nonsense "I've been hard at work, mom" attitude :)
• Watching Paul encourage, teach, and praise his son.
  
• The "big haul" of the stroller(s), lawn chairs, blanket, baby carrier, toys/snacks/books for the girls, and video tripod to tape the game for Paul. Ugh.
• Realizing more about Michael's happy attitude about everything. He was just happy to be there.
• Horrible parking--and putting my foot down when a guy tried to steal my spot. !!
• Paul's sometimes daily practices with Michael. They have so much fun together.
  
• Having Abby and Bekah both run onto another field during their game. Me running after them with Ella strapped onto my chest... what a scene.
• Patient, cooing Ella. She was a champ.
• Michael's stylin' sports goggles!
  

I won't quote our record, but we did win a game, and tie a few. The important thing is that they had a good time and gained some great skills... mission accomplished!

Go American Gladiators!


As a tradition, the parents make a tunnel for the players to run through each week after the games. Always a highlight for the boys.



Michael got to be a "Player of the Game" 3 times. (So did all the other teammates. :) ) His coach was wonderful about recognizing individual strengths and highlighted each player. It was special to see each boy's confidence shine. Michael loved it.


Michael with Coach Ben... who was so excellent with this group of beginning players. I loved that he really focused on fundamental skills, and actually taught offense/defense.

Most often at this age group, the whole team travels in a pack, aimlessly chasing after the ball wherever it goes. Coach Ben had the boys playing positions and rotated it around evenly each game. He called it "race cars" (offense) and "monster trucks" (defense). Brilliant, I say!


Coach Steve-O, who knew more about sports teams, perhaps, than my brother AJ. Amazing. He was always asking Michael about his Cougars.


Here is Michael's "medal presentation" from his coach. You'll hear him talk about Michael's favorite part-- being a "monster truck." He really does love playing defense.



And so our first soccer experience was a great one. California AYSO... doesn't get much better than this. There were 24 teams of boys 6 and under alone! And at the end of the season, I have such a great appreciation for the volunteer coaches who spent so much time in preparation and patience with these boys. Paul said many times how he wished his schedule allowed him to coach right now. But there will be time for that... another year.

Go American Gladiators!

A Little Busy...

Sorry for our long absence... life has been busy with family, friends, and holiday fun. Throw in a wedding, a trip, and a JOB and, well, we just haven't posted in a while, huh??

What's that? Did that say JOB??

Why yes. Yes it did.

Hooray for Paul, who has landed a job we couldn't be happier about. This June when residency ends, he will be ready to work in the "real world."


The group: Utah Emergency Physicians.

The hospitals: 4 in Salt Lake County. Intermountain (Murray), AltaView (Sandy), Riverton (starting when it opens in October '09), and LDS Hospital (SLC). The plans are for him to work mostly in Riverton when that hospital opens.

The contract? Signed. Done. Yipee!!

So our "spare" time has been spent pouring over real estate listings. Addicting. And fun. And nerve-racking. And time-consuming.

So here's my congratulations... and deep thanks... for an hard working husband who has admirable endurance when it comes to reaching goals and honorable dreams.

Thanks for the hours of study, hard work, and insufficient sleep. You do deserve a little "down time" every now and then...

Thanks for being selfless and thoughtful through so many demanding years. You've always put the good of the kids and me above your own.


Thanks for your happy, relaxed attitude. You are so easy to be around... even through boards/interviews/applications... etc. etc. etc.

Thanks for making it all so enjoyable. It's been so fun. You've made the time fly by.

Thanks for doing it for the team... you make a great teammate.


Go Frandsen!

byu, air force and utah...

what a great game tonight...

since the tcu game, my good friend rob has been after me. it is fun for him as a utah fan to see byu fall off the bcs wagon and utah soldier on. it made me very nervous when byu was down at the half--since rob had guaranteed a byu loss to air force. needless to say, hall's connection to collie on a 45 yard touchdown pass to ice the game was extremely gratifying.

give credit to the cadets as they played with reckless abandon tonight and nearly took control of the game.

this leads us to several issues. issue one. a byu team this good should be given the opportunity to play top ranked teams from other conferences in a playoff. how is usc ranked 6th having lost to an unranked (bcs rankings) oregon state team who is looking to be the pac 10 champion? of course, it is fun to think back to the time when oregon's head coach mike bellotti repeated the idea that BYU would be a mediocre, middle-of-the-pack team in the pac 10 after being drubbed by the cougars in the las vegas bowl.

the pac 10 was the doormat to the mountain west conference this year.

i'm not taking away from the right of boise state and ball state to have a crack at a big bowl game.

each of these very good teams should have a fair chance in a playoff instead of the machinations that the larger conferences go through to keep other conferences out of the big money bowls--and therefore out of the national champsionship hunt. it is greed at its worst.

issue two. the byu utah game.

prediction time? i've gone on record with rob that byu will beat utah 34 to 31. rob has stated that utah will win 34 to 24. what say ye? i will send the person with the winning prediction a 'yes on 8' yard sign...

here's to more magic like hall to collie on 4th down...

and beck to harline on that same down...

A Little... Distractable...

Michael has always been such a content boy. He will play and play on his own for hours. (This is part of how we survived caring for baby twins...) He is usually busy creating pretend games and races, keeps scores and counts random groups of things, and is always thinking up new ways to group things together.


As he has gotten older, the impending responsibilities of being a 5-year-old have sometimes gotten in the way his games and imaginative play. But he has been very good at assimilating the old with the new. It does occasionally, however, get in the way of task efficiency (...sometimes to the chagrin of a task-oriented mother...).

When asked to set the table, I often walk to the table to find something like this:


Me: "Michael! What do we have here??"

Michael: "So, this is just an alien fighter... and I just need some more forks to make some shooters."



When doing his homework, a simple worksheet can end up with a whole lot of extra "work" on it. Like this one:


Me: "Michael! So what's happening with all the numbers on this page?"

Michael: "Well... I just wrote all the numbers up to 42."

Me: "Well look. So you did."

Michael: "That's pretty much when I ran out of room at the top."



You just never know what he is thinking about... unless you ask.

And when he gives you the answer... it is always an interesting delight.