Christmas Tag

From Missy:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? paper for christmas and most weddings. Bags for showers, parties, etc. Walmart sacks for pretty much anyone in my family. You know I love you if you get a gift in a Walmart bag. :)

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, growing up we cut down our own and I loved loved loved this tradition. However, my mom always said we were allergic to it because we always coughed when the real trees were around so now I believe in fake trees. (I'll just amen missy's answer with one addendum. PRE-LIT)

3. When do you put up the tree? Day after Thanksgiving or whenever I get around to it. (Amen)

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever. Probably ASAP this year, since it's in the way.

5. Do you like eggnog? Pretty gross, but somehow I can tolerate the stuff from Braums.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably my Kodak instant camera. I still love photography.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My husband, because I can never remember what he wants or surprise him.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Parker

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. It grows every year.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Well, I think it is classier to mail, but I might actually send something if I did the email...but I just saw some random blogger person saying what a waste of trees it was to send cards, so really email is earth friendly. I guess I'm just doing my part. (Amen)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Non-tangible, but... my boyfriend/fiancee not showing up for Christmas was the worst. (In retrospect, it probably turned out to be the best since we split up after that and I ended up with my wonderful husband instead!)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Not sure I have one, but Fred Claus is hilarious!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Varies. Some years it's summer, but lately, most shopping gets done the week before Christmas.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe, but I can't think of a specific instance.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cream Cheese Mints and those strawberry things mom made out of jello.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes and I like only white. I like the idea of red, but it makes the tree look a little creepy. I miss the multi-colored lights with funny lamp shade thingys on them and clumps of tinsel everywhere.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night. I love singing Angels we have heard on High though.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? At home for Christmas, but would be nice to travel around that time and visit family now that Paul has 2 weeks off every year.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?Both. Christmas eve at the Randall Grandparents, and Christmas day everywhere else.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Traffic, cold, and crowded stores.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like those twirly ribbons on the tree. My favorite is currently gold. ( but I might have to bum some purple one's off of April N. next year.) ;)

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? grandpa's picnic ham

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? a swirly electric cleaning brush thingy so I can clean my carpet with Folex.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Maybe April N.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It just isn't Thanksgiving without The Turkey Farm.... ;) Hope you all enjoyed your turkey feasting today.

Wimped out

So, last night we decided to have a family campout in the back yard. We had so much fun eating hot dogs, chasing dirty shoes out of the tent, roasting marshmallows, and eating smores (dragon food!). Then we all snuggled into our tent with just a little less room than we wanted, but hoping for coziness anyway. We curled up under our blankets and tried to sleep. The kids were restless, and Zoey was cranky from her shots, but eventually everyone settled down. Then the temperature went down too. Holey Moley... it's been a long time since I camped out in Utah, don't know how I ever slept there. I think the temp was in the high 40s, but some time around 1:30 or 2:00 am. Mom and Dad decided go ferry all the little ones inside so we could sleep in our nice warm bed. I know... we're total wimps!

Next time... Air Mattress and long johns will be in order.

-Ginney

P.S. I'll put up some pics later.

My little Gray Kitty

My Great Grandpa Holley used to sing a song like this, but I'm pretty sure that in his version, "Alas, my poor kitty was drowned."


OH WHERE, OH WHERE IS MY KITTY?

Oh where, oh where is my little grey kitty?
I've hunted the house all around
I've looked in the cradle
In under the table
And nowhere can kitty be found.

I saw a boy trundle away a small bundle
And carry it down to the brook
Perhaps it was kitty, so cunning and pretty,
I think I'll go down there and look.

I'll take my hook and go down to the brook
To see if my kitty is there
And if I find that my kitty's been drowned
Oh, then I'll give up in despair.

Your little grey kitty has not been drowned
I've found her and brought her to you
But before you take, a promise please make
That you'll not blame the boys anymore.

from http://www.outer-chaos.net/songs.htm number 66


Anybody remember more of this one:

"Humpty Dumpty, diddle o day
sit in the corner churnin' away..."

Sung while bouncing a child on your knee.

-Ginney

In the interest of balance...

Here's a funny one.

"She did it."

I know I'm gonna make my sisters cry, but I've been trying to find any video clips I have with Grandma's voice. Here's the first one I've found.

Tagged

So, Heather Tagged me way back when. Guess I should check the blogs more often!

The Rules: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag others.

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other? funny
3. Your hair? frazzled
4. Your mother? prayerful
5. Your father? determined
6. Your favorite thing? grins
7. Your dream last night? weird
8. Your favorite drink? gatorade
9. Your dream/goal? house
10. The room your in? living
11. Your hobby? feeding
12. Worst fear? insanity
13. Where do you want to be in 6yrs? texas
14. What you're not? working
15. Muffins? tops
16. One of your wish list items? books
17. Where did you grow up? Texas
18. The last thing you did? email
19. What are you wearing? holes
20. Favorite Gadget? camera
21. Your pets? kids
22. Your computer? Dell
23. Your mood? lazy
24. Missing someone? siblings
25. Your car? Chevy
26. Something your not wearing? contacts
27. Favorite store? hobby
28. Like someone? McCain
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. When is the last time you cried? unknown

ok, um. I tag April and, er anyone else who reads this!

-Ginney

Here are some more posts with video this time. Enjoy!

Newest Randall

Well things have been crazy wonderful, but now I have a few minutes to post some pics of Zoey and the gang! (movies will follow soon)

Pictures:

Memory Tag

I saw this on my sister's blog and thought it was pretty cool. Probably my favorite "tag" yet.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Can't wait to read the memories!!

Zoo

Today, all of us gals and all of their kiddos and spouses and my 2 that aren't in school went for a trip to the zoo. We had a great time, and these are some of my favorite pictures.

Ghost

So, I was digging through old B&W photos I took. I just had to share this picture of the time Amelia was scared by a ghost while watching TV and eating popcorn. (wink, wink)

Photo ops

I love piddling around with my camera now that I've got a new battery working in it! (Thanks Momma and Daddy)
I decided I needed to get some more B&W shots, so I chased the little ones around for about half an hour. These are my favorites.

What a couple of stinkers! This is Parker and Lily getting caught trying to play with the buttons on the computer tower. It has a little mini screen that they love to look at.



And yes... probably my children almost always have dirty faces.

Remembering

"Oh, my!"
'Now...'
Velamints
Necco Wafers
Pretty purses
Lipstick
Lotion
Baby whisperer
Handkerchief babies
Pretty nails
Smiles
Washing dishes
Walks
Baseball
Photo Albums
Kitchen drawer
"Is it raining there?"
Valentine cookies
Chocolate chip pies
Love

All Hail Broke Loose!

Well... after Eli's show we heard there was a tornado about 30 minutes east of us. So we high tailed it home. The Weatherman... er person said that we'd either get a twister, or hail.

We took an impromptu poll and decided that hail would be better. Thankfully, Heavenly Father agreed. Here are some nice pictures of the hail after it stopped beating on the house. Fortunately, we didn't get any baseball sized hail and all of our house windows are intact. The sirens went off in our city, which sent all of our kids heading for the closet. We had fun snacking on Monkey Bread and popsicles to keep them distracted. I got to tell the tale of the "Hail Storm of 1980" with our broken windows and soaked clothes. I was only like 6 at the time, so maybe it was accurate. ;)

Eli's Music Program

Every year the kids have a music program. This was Eli's first time in a music program since he's in Kindergarten. He was really cute and the program was great. I have a couple of pics of them getting ready and one during the program. I actually made some videos of the songs they were singing, but either my computer, or my camera got messed up because the kids sound like chipmunks and I can't see much in the video anyhow. Oh well!

Texas Rangers Baseball

Last Friday, we went to a Texas Rangers Game. We had lots of fun. Maybe you can tell from the second photo that we were way, way, way up in the nose bleed seats, but once I got used to being up so high, it was really fun.

All of the kiddos... not just Lily, enjoyed stuffing their faces with snacks. I'm glad its not like the movies and you can bring your own junk food.

Toward the end of the game... last three innings.... Miss Lily got really tired of sitting in laps and having about 3 inches of walking space. It came down to whatever would entertain her. In case you didn't know... she is obsessed with shoes. A real Imelda Marcos, this one is. Anyhow... she was quite amused by the fact that I took pictures of her shoes and showed them too her.

Alicia's Aye Aye Habitat Diorama!

How Cool is this? Alicia had to make a diorama for a research project in her 4th grade class. I think it turned out excellently!

My Travels

I'm sure that if you are one of my devoted readers, you aren't checking to see a map of my travels, but alas, that is all I have to post today.





create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

6 Things about me.

Ok... Missy, my knife weilding sister, tagged me.

1. I hate variegated string/thread/yarn. I am not sure why. Especially when it is in multiple colors. It is completely random and unpredictable what you're going to get out of it. I can't stand it. I know... I'm psycho. It's kinda ok for somethings that other people make, but I don't even like to touch it.

2. I have always wanted to learn to paint and to be a photographer. For some reason, that didn't mesh well with my curriculum to become a computer programmer. So, I pretty much considered it a miracle when digital cameras came out on the market for me to tinker with. For some reason, I have a real soft spot for water color painting.

3. I threw a basketball at my future husband before I met him. I shoulda known then he was a good catch.

4. I have to listen to Enya when I am in labor or having an anxiety attack.

5. I am desperately cheap. I have to have holes in my shoes, knickers, jeans, etc. before I'll buy new ones. I don't mean, oops I have a hole, time to go shopping, I mean.... "Shoot, I have had a hole in these for 6 mo. I better replace them pretty soon." Also, I justify getting my car inspected one day late, because over 12 years, I'll save 40 bucks. That's more embarrasing than the holes!

6. One of my favorite things to do is to check for mail.

Woo Hoo!

We are so excited! Paul got the job! He will be starting out as a long term sub for art, then hopefully go to a teaching contract. Can't believe I'm going to say this, but ... Go Bos!

Ward Christmas Party

I meant to post these earlier. These are some great pictures from our ward party. Thanks to the many folks who made this possible. Lots of fun. Take a close look at Santa. ;)

Lil' Conductor

$40 coupon anyone?

If you are like me, and all about "FREE", check this out. https://www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx
It's government program that will get you 2 $40 coupons good toward set top converter boxes for receiving digital signal programing on your analog tv. More info on the website.