YES!!!!!!

I am going to be selfish here for just a moment. My kids looked super cute Christmas morning snuggled in their jammies. They got bikes from Santa and a slew of awesome new games and clothes (my kids actually DO like getting clothes. Weird, right?). But the best, most fantastic moment of Christmas morning was unwrapping this fabulous, shiny, candy-apple red KitchenAid mixer. I was in sheer heaven. I think I may have even squealed a little. I was not expecting it, or even really wanting it. Those puppies are EXPENSIVE. Doug decided he was sick of hearing me complain about making cookies with my hand-mixer. It really is a pain in the butt. Dough and flour everywhere - not a pretty sight. He even went to several different stores in search of the red one. He knows me well. I am displaying it proudly in my kitchen and bought supplies to make bread and rolls this week. I can't wait to be a baking fool!!

At least his spelling is correct.

So in the mail today I see an envelope addressed to "The parents of Jared Aragon".
Inside was a neatly-folded typed letter. It read:

Dear Mom and Dad,
You are the best parents in the world! You are so wonderful and I wanted to remind you Christmas is coming soon. I love you so much! I was wondering if you could tell Santa that I would like some presents.

First, I would like an Xbox 360. I would like to have an Xbox 360 because you can play all of the Halo games and I really want to have an Xbox 360 and Halo Reach. I made honor roll so I really want it so please get it for me. Next, I would love to have Left 4 Dead 1 and Left 4 Dead 2 on the Playstation 3. Becuase it's what I have been wanting for a long time. And I have been helping around the house so I think you should get it for me. And I really love it so please get it for me. Last, I would like to own a Stampede. Becuase it holds 60 darts. And it is the mst powerful Nerf gun in the world so far. And I have not got in trouble with Mrs. Reese yet and I get along with people in my class. And I really love it so please get it for me.

Clearly, I have been nice to Mrs. Resse. So I think I should get these presents for Christmas.

Love, Jared.

Too bad he's not getting a single thing listed in his letter. Sorry Jared!

I know I said I'm not crafty but....

Aren't these cute? I think I had to post them BECAUSE I'm so un-crafty. I did jack-o-lantern ones for Halloween too. The tutorial for these are beautiful. She used a cricut machine, though, and since I don't scrapbook I don't have any fancy paper toys. The kids did help, but honestly I did most of it. I reeeally wanted to do this myself and have them turn out nicely. I think I did just fine.

Better than picking our noses all afternoon...

Does anyone else find gingerbread houses a pain in the ass?

I think I just really suck at them. This year I tried to do icicles. I wanted to make this gingerbread house REALLY awesome like the one on the box. Not so much. My icicles drooped all the way to the bottom of the house and ended up looking like a frosted mess, so I waited for it to set a bit and took the icicles out (and ate them). The kids did the candy decorating. Jared thinks it looks absolutely wonderful. Jade, on the other hand, says we should never do another one again becuase this one looks so horrid. I agree.

When in Arizona....

Do as the Arizonans do.

And yes, that would be shooting up cans, old TVs, old 70s furniture, or just about anything you can haul out to the desert. According to Doug I'm a "bleeding heart liberal", but hey, I can hang with the gun-slingers too. I grew up a with right-winged ultra-conservative Marine Corps grandfather, and he taught me how to shoot. Low and behold, a few years later I married someone just like him. So here's proof that somewhere in me just "might" live a tiny, TINY bit of redneck. After all, I'm bread from Okie stock, so that's not all too surprising.

O Christmas Tree!!

Here is our slightly-leaning, wonderfully colorful and fantastically-smelling Aragon Family Christmas Tree!!

Just wanted to share. It's smaller than previous years, but I think it's just beautiful.

Halloween

At first, Jade really wanted to be a Russian girl (no idea), but after some thought she decided she'd rather be Hermione. That's a bit easier.

Since we've lived here, my parents have come every Halloween. I think my dad secretly has as much fun as the kids.

Yes I know it's been 2 months. But, does anyone really care anyway? Who reads this thing?

So, Halloween in Anthem is nothing short of awesome. People really make an effort here to decorate their houses, scare little children, and hand out the GOOD candy. The cul-de-sacs in our neighbohood tend to have block parties, and it's always fun to see the drunk neighbors oooh and ahhh over the kids' costumes. Jared and Jade actually both decided to go into the chainsaw house (it's feared and revered every Halloween by the entire block). Basically you walk into a fogged, darkened maze and are suddenly startled by the sound of a chainsaw motor starting behind you. Through the fog you see a masked man, and he is walking toward you with this chainsaw. Next thing you know, you run...and he runs after you, and he keeps GOING until you are half way down the street. The noise is really the scariest part, but isn't there something terrifyingly fun about being chased by a masked possible lunatic who is waving something that can chop you into little pieces? Well, the kids thought so too. Too bad Jade didn't make it to the end. She took one look at him, screamed her head off, and ran right out of there. Jared braved the rest of the maze and made it out in one piece. Way to go Jared!