WE are ThANkFUL for GranDMA's THANKSgIvINg DinNER

photos

of our very blessed & thankful event

to come

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Rumor Control

WE are staying in Washington to live

we are leaving for Utah to VAca

for Thanksgiving

sorry for the confusion

(what you cant all read my mind.....shocking)

can't take it with you

this season as usual has me thinking about

purchasing

why because "it's the most wonderful time of the year....." and i truly believe that it is

however while watching the office

this evening on my compu

i was subjected to the same ad over and over...and over again

it went something like this:

Americana's are known for wanting it all

and that isn't a bad thing

the truth is there is just so much cool stuff to have

that sometimes we get carried away

....yada yada not if you have a discover card

HUH........i thought to myself

really it isn't a bad thing...i kinda think it is

i have been noticing the feelings of want washing over me

i want....i need...wouldn't it be fun to have.........

i am kinda..well to tell you the truth I'm kinda

disgusted with myself

i don't need much

really

we are so very blessed that we don't really have any

enormous needs

and as i think of this

another thought entered my mind

we could HAVE

a lot more

STUFF

if I were working..we could stay in this house

and have plenty of money to save

we could go to Costa Rica annually at least..

we could....

and........

also have.....

but i guess what I am getting at

is that

nothing worth doing comes easy

so...because we are a one income family in order to save the money we feel is necessary

we are moving...I'm not going to work

so...in order to be a truly Christ-like person

I need to get my head out of the wants

and into

thinking about WHO is in need this season

i am sure, it would take less clicks of my mouse to find

someone in need

than to find

a pair of great boots ( which i have been looking for)

so...i guess where i am going with this

is

I am re-dedicating myself

to the TRUE

Christmas spirit

the holiday

which i observe in remembrance of my older brother

who gave his life for me ( and you)

because

he has a pure love

and wants us to have a chance to obtain celestial glory

i am going to work

on my insides so that i can feel that pure

love for those around me

and I hope as I work on me

my Heavenly Father will

guide my actions this season

so that this season

can be.....for me..mine..and those around me

TRULY

"the most wonderful time of the year..."

**note from the author**

sometime i share these thoughts because i need to have them written down to remind me of my late night pondering....if you are inspired as well, i am glad for it

sorry for the absence

I AM PACKING

4 children

1 husband

1 ME

oh and yep

ONE 2700 sqft HOME

so

hope you don't mind if I take a couple of

personal days

***note from the author***

I CanT waIt tO See aLL mY UtAHN's

we roll in the 22nd early in the AM

c-ya soon

carvajal = gypsy

you may ask...but why are you moving?

1. because we are part of the witness relocation program (shhhhh..don't tell)

2. because we are deficit in the our home attention span ( and out of Ritalin)

3. because we long for the comfort of "apartment home " living with it's many amenities

4. because we want to save for a home of our very own

5. because we don't really know how to purge without moving

6. because our neighbor is in charge of ALL the trees ( trust me this story you want to hear)

7. because we listened to our children.. who LONG for our previous home

(which they affectionately refer to as 2A)

8. because we have developed this little program to test our moving capabilities

We will one day grace the pages of the

Guinness Book of World Records

(we will remember all of you once we are a big famous speedy moving family..promise)

9. because of the current economic woes we feel the time is at hand to not only have

food storage but more savings

10. because we had signed the new lease before we remembered Angelo already became a citizen ....so immigration is no longer looking for him (now that I think of it maybe they never were....huh)

11. because we heard that the 13th move is the most fun & just couldn't wait, isn't #13 lucky

12. because we always move when it is time to clean the carpet.....who doesn't

13. because after Michael Phelps won the gold medals Jaxson decided he would go into swimming (our new place has both indoor & outdoor pools) The minor problem is he just informed us we are not going to receive any money from him EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER no matter how much he has... unless we buy him a bionicle!

(we don't negotiate with the 4 terrorists that share our last name, so should he become famous I guess we are still on our own......even when we move)

above are a few answers you may receive if you should choose to ask us..........my favs are

#1 & #8 pick whichever makes you feel most comfortable or whichever makes you laugh the most!

a s h o r t visit

mi amiga, my sister from another mother, my pal, MY F R I E N D.......came for a visit well she and her fam were going to Alaska and they arranged a 5 hour layover in my city.

seeing this big guy in a bib
p r i c l e s s

kids n' bibs n' friends

the crab pot is definatley the place for 4 adults & 8 kids..yup

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

grossology....funny moday

A funny thing happened the other day..........

we the whole carvajal crew were doing what we do best....boys wrestling with the Mr. & Emme and I singing and playing with dolls.....then all of a sudden the Mr. yells gross while pointing to a gnarly boogy on Liams arm... Liam assures his grossed out fam that he will "take care of it"...then he proceeds to take the boogy off his arm and back to it's place of origin.......yup my son put the booger back up his nose while we all watched in HORROR.......in fact he put it so far up that when we were having him blow his nose moments later to retrieve the afore mentioned muci, it took a very long time....

your turn
your turn
your turn
your turn
your turn

one step for the boss........

a giant leap for his development

aint she cute....

i haven't been anywhere with my daughter (ever) without at least one comment on

how simply

AdOrAbLE

she is

well among her recent milestones Emeline has become a TWO year old

complete with dirty looks, occasional bitting, "get out of my room's", and the ever popular "i don't like you"

as we were driving the other day

i noticed her mood was particulary.....ripe

so i thought i'd document how this beautiful little girl

can turn

in a moments notice

Mr. President

eloquent and appropriate

i did....did you?

REALLY ???? but why.........

eight years ago today...

i awoke..late for a hair appointment. found that my car was blocked by some visiting girl friends rummaged through purses until i found keys to a car that i then took to the hair salon..where i became BEAUTIFUL..next i loaded up my fam & friends and headed to the temple...late...where i saw the man i would soon be Mrs. to...he was sweating..and relieved ..that i had arrived..he was tired of the white haired workers inquiries as to my wearabouts and ulitmatley his soon to be Mrs. intentions on this particular day especially "did they differ from his?"..yes my intentions were the same that day as the previous...all i wanted in the whole world was to be his Mrs....so we sat in the temple session, stealing glances at eachother...surounded by friends & family..next we were escorted to a brilliant room...where we became Mr & Mrs....we cried..we kissed...we kissed some more ( too much for the temple probably)..we exited Husband and Wife...we took MILLIONs of Photo's....we got left at the temple by our eager family...while they prepared the lunch...we hitched a ride with a very nice "sister"....we ate a burned lunch...we chatted...and took more pictures..we danced the night away..and the rest is history

eight years

eight pregnancies

12 moves

2 countries

4 children

innumeral friends & ward famillies

nothing has changed except waistlines, hairlines, and face lines...

we love to dine, we stress a little, & smile too much

I still want nothing more in the world than to be his MRS...

I am blessed he is my MR...the years have aged us well, and this is just the begining

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MY MR !

what are the carvajal's going to be?

i LOVE HALLOWEEN...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

want to see pictures from our halloween party last night click here

a uninvited breakfast guest

This morning we had a guest

I could do little to draw these little ones to the table

they spent a good 15 minutes

just watching this curious creature

......

the squirrel by the way was not scared at all

even when the boss started to bang on the glass

after he was sure we weren't going to invite him in

he took to posing for us on the fence

he did multiple poses

for the next about 5 minutes

thank you

Mr. Squirrel for entertaining my kids

that was 20 minutes today

that I didn't have to entertain

HOORAY.....for our furry friend

A funny thing happened the other day..........

Jaxson was saying the prayer over dinner it went something like this:

"bless that we can have a good day today, and tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and the next, and the one after that"

I am not even exaggerating.....not even a little.. in fact...i'm not sure i got enough days in there

by the end

the Mr. & I were almost rolling on the floor

we somehow composed ourselves enough not to

make our first born feel he had done something wrong

because

his prayer was in earnest

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

is this really my home & other bad manners

the boss

has learned a new trick

if you ever felt bad about your dinner table

just watch mine.....

see yours doesn't look so bad now

a few questions i have for myself after watching these video's

when did i stop using bibs ?

when did i stop using plates ?

why aren't i teaching my child to eat with a fork or spoon?

when did "sitting" become optional?

answer

when i had 4 children under 6 years old

is this answer valid.....um i don't know but it seems to be the why

in any case my children as you can tell have a GRAND time at the family dinner table

so when the wives complain to me in 20 years.....i guess i'll just LAUGH

cause that is what CARvAJaL's DO BEST

BOO

Halloween HIT my home

thanks to my

dear mother

who flew in with a couple of halloween decorations in toe

Funny.........TUesDAY

sorry folks

i was having emotional goodbyes..& friend reunions yesterday

so

without further

adieu

a funny thing happened the other day.....

we had the need for some MC Donalds

fries

so we ( the entire clan, grandma, uncles, and the rest)

went thru the drive thru in DT SEattLE

Jaxson was being particularly ......well lets just say

NO NAP..LATE BED TIMES..OVERSTIMULATED..LOTS of SWEETS

i asked him over and over to stay in his seat belt

then finally i said

okay no treat from Mickey D's for you

so i order ( of course i ordered something for him )

and pulled around

as I paid the young man asked

"do you need anything else"

then

from the far back of the car we hear

" SHE HAS ANOTHER KID IN HERE SHE ISN'T GOING TO FEED !!!"

i wasn't embarrassed....nope i was too tired for that

my mom either

we just giggled ourselves to the point of TEARS

yes we laughed until the tears where streaming.....so much so that we couldn't even put two words together for the next MC employee

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

family, fun, and the ferry@ sunset

we headed over to the San Juan islands
which as it turns out was a wonderfully long ferry ride
the highlights

looks from my mother.......am i lucky or what

can you imagine how the other passengers felt seeing this crew comming

my 'rents are still madley in love.........for this i am forever grateful

who doesn't enjoy a little little saber war on the high seas

and a BEAUTIFUL

e n d

liam..........the photog??

liam took these pics of us

at jaxson's soccer game

i am really diggin' his angles and the feeling in his pics

future photog..........maybe

so we went to the Seattle Aquarium yesterday

we, because of our numbers

must travel in two vehicles

upon disembarking said vehicles

Jonathan ( my second bro ) ran up to the car that my mom and i had just vacated

and said

" uuu.....i saw about 5o word of wisdom violations on the way here"

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

YOUR TURN

anxiety.....a family "dis"order

so i have been a little lame on the blog side of me

well i have been preparing for a visit

not one that i have mentioned

for fear that letting it out...into the blog world

may jinx it

now the afore mentioned visit

has taken place i feel safe in

saying

MY FAMILY IS HERE

my 'rents & bro's

blew into the emerald city

SATURDAY AM

!!!!!HOOOOOORAY !!!

before the big visit i felt

the urge to

CLEAN

i gotta lot of cleaning done in the 11th hour

the house was beautiful and ready for the visit

here is what you could expect

if you come to visit

SEATTLE

a little welcome package filled with your favorite treats

bet you want to visit now

**this add was paid for inpart by ***

sarahneedshermom.org

utahnsunitetofightlonleyness.org

missin'theDIALsintheemeraldcity.org

da BOYZ

the Mr. has been teaching the boyz

the art of chess

they really get into it

and it really gets them out of the kitchen whilst I prepare our Sunday Meal

unfortunately the boss isn't occupied so easily nor

does he under stand WHY

i cannot have children in the kitchen while I cook

so he just crumples up the freshly folded kitchen linens during dinner prep

Check h e r e to see what i was making in the kitchen during this photo shoot

ahh the JOY of COOKING with children

while cooking dinner & dessert

The Boss

found the powder sugar

he was tickeled with himself for finding such a sweet treat

he spent the rest of the cooking hour licking it off the floor

(it's okay, i have 4 kids eating off the floor is just a part of life now)

then Emme got into the chocolate cake I made

finally dinner was done

Asian Soup

delicious

until the boyz said

"MOM this chicken doesn't taste like chicken"

(yup, they just figured out the difference between tofu & chicken)

**all is well they still like Tofu...they just figured out that it isn't chicken**

Click here for recipe & tofu pressing directions