Holiday Head Butting

This blog post is a bit of a venting moment for me, I'm sorry! But I have to say, the last time I vented on our blog I didn't receive the best comments. If you recall, it was the post titled "Battle of the Holidays". I've been afraid to do a blog post like this ever since because of how some people reacted to it. If truth were told, I'm afraid to read the comments. This post is strictly to get some thoughts out that have been making me a little annoyed these days. I just really hope that if anyone disagrees with me on this subject (which I'm sure there will be) that you don't send me any hate e-mails or annonymous text messages! Those are worse than the public blog comments or facebook comments. With that said, on to the post!

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I wish it wasn't such a big deal for some people that some parents would rather take their kids trick-or-treating on a Saturday night when Halloween falls on a Sunday. I promise these parents are not trying to change the holiday or ruin it for you. If holidays such as the Fourth of July or Halloween happen to fall on Sunday (as they did this year) the festivities that go with these holidays are preferred to be celebrated the day before in some areas, such as Idaho Falls. Is there anything wrong with that? There is nothing unpatriotic about having the big firework show on Saturday night instead of Sunday. Is the Fourth of July in Idaho Falls defined by the firework show on the falls? I certainly hope not. And that's what it's starting to sound like when people complain about it. Families will still be celebrating the Fourth and Halloween with family barbecues and fun family movies. And even fireworks of their own. After church today we will be going to my parents' house for a Halloween family tradition: mom's homemade chili and corn bread. Delicious.

Parents who don't want their kids to take part in trick-or-treating on the Saturday night are more than welcome to take them on Sunday. People are still going to keep their lights on for these kids and give them candy. Sunday is a day that most people in this area prefer to set apart as their day of worship and church attendance. And I promise it's not just "a mormon thing." There are more people out there than just those who are members of the LDS church who would prefer to trick-or-treat on a night other than Sunday.

I heard someone say recently that the people in "this town" will probably be changing New Years and Christmas too. I only find humor in this comment. Christmas falling on Sunday is the most ideal thing. What better day to celebrate the birth of Christ than on a Sunday? I love the feeling of going to church on Christmas day and celebrating the one of the most important days in the history of mankind. And again to clarify, some think that those who engage in holiday festivities on a different day are trying to change the date. This isn't true at all, and I hope those people can understand this one day. Trick-or-treating is a fun activity for kids, but most people in this area would agree when I say it isn't something that is really appropriate for the sabbath. But again we are also going to be keeping our front lights on for those trick-or-treaters who are going out tonight on Halloween. There is nothing wrong with them going at all. It is a personal choice that we are all making. Why should that matter if some decide to go on Saturday? Sunday or Saturday, whatever we all decide, the holiday is still being celebrated. Everybody should just be happy about that.

Family Pictures

We made a last-minute decision last week to get our family pictures taken. The good weather was about to end, and Thursday was beautiful outside. So my friends Joanie and Kristie met us for family pictures. Joanie did a great job with our pictures! And Kristie was very helpful as another set of eyes, helping us pose and watching out for runaway hair strands and wardrobe malfunctions. Thanks for all your help, Kristie and Joanie! Here are a few of our favorites:

Future Music Man

Sad House

I loved our house growing up.

It was a brown house with wood siding that my dad and grandpa built. The yard was beautiful and green, so perfect that some called it a golf course lawn. The trees were so pretty, and the flowers were always so bright and happy. I have many fond memories at that house that I will never forget. My family met our best friends while living in this house and had some very happy times. Now this is what it looks like:

If you're wondering what that crap is all over the front, it's river rock. The entire front is river rock. My mom, Britney, and I drove by today after my dad had seen it and said it looked pretty sad. And sad it really is. And the trees and plants are all gone. The lawn is pretty patchy. Sorry if this house now belongs to any of you, by the way. It just doesn't look my house anymore, which is sad to me. Not even close to looking like my house. It looks pretty gross. And scary.

I'm glad my mom took pictures of our beloved home when we were growing up. Otherwise we'd be struggling to remember what it looked like when it looked good!

26

Amber and I are 26 today.

It seems we have officially entered adulthood. One year older and wiser too! On Sunday we went to our parent's house for a family party. Everyone but Adam was there. He was in Utah.

Tyson and Brycen gave me a new lens for my camera for my birthday. I love it! We used it at the birthday party. It lets in a lot more light and allows for better indoor pictures. It's just a really good lens and I already love using it!

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For dessert we had Reed's Dairy waffle bowls with homemade brownies (made by me - you can find the recipe here), and Reed's Dairy ice cream (huckleberry and pralines 'n cream. Yum!)

PS I had made a different batch of brownies and they were SO gross. I have no idea what happened. So I had to make a new batch and they turned out much better!

Blowing out the candles

Amber & Che'

Family picture
Brycen was struggling to sit still.


Amy, Aaron & Britney


Brycen


Opening presents
We got Amber a curling iron she has wanted for awhile.

And also mini loaf pans! Something every baker needs.
She and Che' got me a couple of hair clips from June and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" on DVD. Perfect!


Mom and Dad gave us cupcake carriers. Also perfect!
Other gifts included Kohl's giftcards from Amy, Aaron, and Britney.

Very nice!

Mom & Dad

Amy was feeding Brycen and texting at the same time. I had to get a picture of how she was holding his bottle! It was funny.

We had fun at our birthday party!

Still can't believe we're 26.

Thank you for all the wonderful gifts! Both mine and Tyson's family spoiled me this year. You're all so generous! And thanks to all of you for all your birthday wishes. We have felt very special today!

Our New Addition

We bought a piano!

I am just so excited I can't even stand it.

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A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from BYU-Idaho about a piano sale in Rexburg. The old pianos at the school were going to be sold for great prices, and it would be for one day only. But if we called and made an appointment we could come in a couple days before and have someone personally take us around and talk to us about the pianos. We could also buy a piano at this preview. So I thought we should give it a shot. I made an appointment immediately.

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On Thursday the 14th we went to Rexburg and were the first appointment on the first day of the preview. We walked around and saw all the pianos. They looked way too nice and new to be the old ones from BYU-Idaho. It turned out the ones from BYU-Idaho were in a separate room and were all the black low-rise pianos. Boo. Not what we were looking for.

However,

the rest of the pianos were from Piano Gallery in Idaho Falls. The company had purchased all the pianos from another company that had recently gone out of business and were reselling them for ridiculously good prices. We didn't have to walk around for long when we saw the one meant for us.

It is a brand new Pramberger and we are just loving it. Tyson was pretty set on a Kawaii when we came in, but the person helping us gave us a lot of good information about Prambergers that made our decision easy when we saw our piano. It was a great feeling when she placed the neon green "Sold" card on the front of it. We were the proud owners of our first piano.

I feel really lucky to have this piano in our home. From the time I was really young and just starting to play the piano I was dreaming of what it would be like to have one of my very own. (Of course at that time it was a gigantic grand piano that was jet black and in the middle of my library.) I always knew we'd get a piano, but I never imagined it would be so soon. It is such a blessing to have found not only the perfect piano but also the perfect price. I now understand how my good friend Sha felt when she got her first piano. I read her blog post and could feel her excitement through the words on the screen as she described this perfect instrument that now belonged to her. I feel the same way. I'm so happy I could cry! I love this piano. We couldn't have found a more perfect one for us!
I think it's time for me to start teaching lessons!