Happy New Year EVE

To celebrate 2009 this blog will get a new look & title

c-ya in 2009

the Wii debacle

our Wiimote claimed it's first victim
with one over zealous
throw from the resident 6 year old
my candle never saw it coming

what do we do when we are snowed in.....

so now i get it

why the snow is a big deal here

THERE IS NO SNOW REMOVAL

and when i say none I mean NONE

when i did venture out to the store for some last minute things

the parking lots were covered with about a foot of ICE yup the snow had been left so long it was like driving on icebergs

in our parking lot they didn't remove the snow from the top of the covered parking so

they collapsed....on the cars

YUP...guess it was a good thing we don't have a covered space ( never thought I would say that)

now we have finally witnessed Seattle's snow removal plan

It has begun to rain--and the rain--is REMOVING the snow

so now we have PUDDLES everywhere

but at least everyone here knows how to drive in the rain

PROBLEM SOLVED

here is what went on in our home during the snow days

daddy snuggled, cuddled, teased, & giggled with the kids

Emme cooked up so treats



the boyz escaped the house to build a friend

and make some Angels


And i BAKED

chicken pot pies...among other things

recipe will be posted HERE

then she decided she didn't want any hair in the front & was less than remorseful about using the present wrapping scissors to take care of her perceived problem.

so

TODAY WE GO OUT

pacific science center --Ahoy !

Christmas in our Home

On a day like today....

I wish to keep my home decorated for Christmas year round. The Christmas tree is lit, the children are giggling while playing with their treasures, the beautiful smell of pine wafts from the oil burner, the kitchen is full of homemade delectable(s), & Christmas music still plays. Yet maybe it isn't that I want to keep my home decorated...maybe I want to freeze this moment. My children are all still young & free from most outside influences. Could they really stay this way forever....please

Yet as I write this...I realize. We are celebrating Jesus Christs' birth and his plan for us. Which is a plan of happiness....a plan that includes facing adversity....a plan that through trials we can become as we were intended from the beginning.

Although I would love to freeze this moment, I realize the importance of the NEXT moment.

So....I will drink it in...I will appreciate this time I have...I am the only one who can let the outside invade my home & I will not let it !

CHristMAs DAy

Well it hit our home like a ton of bricks

well a ton of bricks that fell at 6 AM

after a night of late praying for the UPS man to deliver

( to no avail )

the boss dug his new ride

Grandma sent homemade aprons for the GIRLS
And the 'rents finally gave in to the boys dream of owning the elusive
{Wii }

and domestic diva EmmE enjoyed the best

fully loaded kitchen

EVER

FUNNY MONDAY..it's back

The other day.......

i took the kids to see the Nutcracker ( 11 o'clock kids showing)

and

Emeline who was soooooooo super thrilled to see the "balletd"

enjoyed the ballet

endured the intermission

ewed and ahhhed at all the tu tu's

then about 10 minutes from the closing curtain

she said in her LOUDEST SHRILLEST voice

" MOM..I HATE this....I JUST WANT TO GO EAT PIZZA"

LOL..well i wanted to

your turn

your turn

your turn

your turn

retracted {ISH}

so i guess a little bit of an

apology

is in order

to the good people of SEAttLE:

I am sorry...you do have a lot of snow this year

i realize that without

snow ploughs

general snow & ice driving knowledge

&

salted roads

you have adequate reason to be concerned for your

vehicular safety

thus it is more than understandable

that you would

call a ENTIRE week

of snow days

why the change of heart

you may ask

because

today not only was my eldest able to stay home with me

but the Mr. was encouraged

via email

to stay at home and build snow men or make snow angels with his family

THANK YOU

Washington snow

THANK YOU

i loved & appreciated the day spent with my

family

chess was played, dolls hair combed, tuna melt bagels devoured, furniture rearranged, fire made

&

joy was felt

Quirky

well the snow fell here.......just enough to whiten the trees

and

i guess freak out the entire city

we are going on the THIRD snow day

yup

Jaxson has yet to step foot in Kinder since

the ummm......inch of

SNOW FALL

giggle giggle giggle

even the Mr.'s colleagues are concerned....so each evening they prep their work for the next day and take it home..just in case they are unable to return to work the next day

WELL I guess coming from UTAH where the

SNOW is SERIOUS

and yet I am straining to remember even ONE snow day

I just don't get what all the fuss is about

yet, I enjoy having ALL my children at home with me

and am planning GREAT things for the WEEK before

CHRISTMAS

i hope the snow finds you all well & if you are lucky out of school

Pictures of my Mom's THANKFUL event

How do you seat over 50 people beautifully....well if you are my mother this is how

the pumpkin themed table seats

each person with their own place card..of course

the feather table/ thankful table......thankful to be sitting at that table

the acorn table...complete with acorn bowls to hold the cranberry sauce

the pear table.....red chargers for all

and the famous table named for the main dish

and you mustn't forget the children...

each with their own coloring book ( turkey shaped of course) and turkey with markers for feathers

We are SOOOOOO very THanKfuL my Mother stress's herself out over these amazing place setting...thank you thank you thank you for your many Robert's Visits

ode to M201 on our one week anniversary

Dear new apartment,

we know you never thought you had a chance

winning our affection seemed impossible

and only one week in

you have almost won us over

with your

pool

hot tub

sauna

beautiful fireplace

and mantle seemingly made for our nativity

yes it helps that

you have been decorated

for

our favorite season

yet, there is something about you

is it that we are all forced to be closer together?

is it that we never needed more space?

is it that we are finally doing the things we feel are most important?

or is it simply that you are very easy to clean?

for all the reason above & many more we are sure

that our year here while waiting for home ownership will be

just as delightful

as any we have had before

thank you

thank you

thank you

for being so accommodating, warm, and lovely

***pics to come***

Funny Monday

9 & 1/2 hours into a

13 hour drive home

1 am

middle of

NoWHERE

we

got a flat

yup

FLAT TIRE

not unexpected

earlier

we had tried to change it

because it wasn't holding air

but it wouldn't come off

so we filled it

and hoped

it wouldn't pop

at

1 am

shucks

the MR

bundled in every coat we could find

spent uuuuuu

about an hour

until he finally gave up trying to get the tire off

then drove it off ( carefully )

funny ?

maybe someday

un {packing}

re {designing}

very {tired}

no {internet-yet}

super {crazy}

no {new header}

4 {restless kids}

great { vacation}

blessed {carvjal's}

saturday we are "supposed" to get our Internet set up

more then

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 !