None to be found

To follow up with the drama in the Boss household....I never found the underwear and honestly I have no idea where it could have gone. Thank heavens for a washer and dryer in the house, as I was able to wash the two pairs that I found so that he had a clean pair to wear the next day while I was at Target buying more. This may end up being one of those unsolved mysteries that will continue through time to boggle my mind.

Being pushed over the EDGE

Since Alan left for Germany last Friday I have done at least 2 loads of laundry a day, in fact I think that one day I actually did 4. Even after a weeks worth of clothes we normally only do max of 5. I was trying to rid our house of sickness before it spread through everyone again by washing all of our bedding and towels and clothes and blankets and everything else I could find to wash. So with everything associated with fabric cleaned, I have a hard time believing what happened tonight.

I had Joseph jump into the shower tonight in preparation to get ready for bed. After the shower he came to me and said, "I don't have any underwear." I just rolled my eyes and asked "did you check your drawers." "YES!" Frustrated, I went and checked, no underwear. So I checked in the clean load that I hadn't folded yet. None. I went downstairs to make sure that I didn't miss a load. Nothing. I thought...this is nuts, how can he have no underwear? I have less than one load of dirty clothes which has one pair of Joseph's underwear that he just took off and that's it. Where have they all gone? I don't understand where all of his underwear have gone. I started saying that we had a underwear thief. Peter said, "Who would steal underwear?" Exactly my point!

This has never been an issue until this weekend. I started going through everyone's drawers and closets looking for the missing underwear getting more and more angry. My poor kids. I ended up putting Peter and a devastated Joseph to bed without any underwear on because they started being rowdy and quite frankly I couldn't handle them or anything else anymore. This has totally and completely pushed me over the edge. And why, I ask, would something so small push me so far? OK it wasn't that far to push but still it is something small and inconsequential. It has nothing to do with eternal life. It is underwear for crying out loud!!

After I had given up and was done feeding Eden a bottle I went to lay her down and to say goodnight to Hannah. I looked at her and said, I don't understand where they could have gone, what he has done with them? I have never in my life talked to Hannah about a problem that isn't hers. I am usually telling her not to worry about things that don't concern her. She looked at me as though I had truly lost it. I quickly came out of my stupor, told her 'never mind,' kissed her good night, and left the room. I have gone through everything I can think of that could possibly be housing these underwear. I did end up finding one more pair. But how in the world have we been surviving on 2 pairs of underwear for Joseph? We haven't!!! There must be more! I know there is. I don't do laundry that often. And I am going to get to the bottom of this. Hopefully, my foul mood will dissipate and I will look at this more like a challenge that I will conquer!!

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Eden and I went on a fun trip together to see my brother Travis and his family. It was fun hanging out with them and getting to see their three adorable children. My only goal was to win their hearts so that I could forever be their favorite Aunt. Sorry sisters and others aunts, but I think I have won!!

We planned my visit over the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta which was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was amazing, in fact it was more than amazing, it was breathtaking, delightful, fun, fascinating, like nothing you have ever seen before. Words don't describe it and the pictures do it no justice. Wherever you turn you see balloons being blown up or laid out getting ready, or a whole pile of them in a row waiting to launch. You can't capture it all. I sure tried, just to give my family back home a little taste of it. Anywho I will spare you the 200 pictures that I took and give you just a glance at what was there. If you ever have the opportunity to go, I would highly recommend it, especially if you have a brother / son who is living there and you wouldn't have to worry about parking or a place to stay (hint, hint, this is especially true for the Drake Family!! For the rest of you, I am sure he would give you a good deal!)

I am glad that I went so that I could experience just a glimpse of Travis and Jamie's lives. I loved their home and their kids are adorable and so sweet. Their back yard is fabulous, because you never have to mow or water it and it will be forever green (it's AstroTurf!!). Plus Travis built a fountain. What a wonderful couple! What a fabulous family!!

As a bonus (the whip cream on my ice cream sundae) I got to see my dear, sweet, wonderfully fabulous, very missed friend, Karon. It was so fun to see her and her 3 adorable kids and to hear about their life in the desert of a state New Mexico!! It was as though we still live down the road from each other. She looked so good, and was the same spunky Karon with another kid in tow. Funny how that happens! It was hard to see her go, knowing that it would be a while before I saw her again. Thanks Karon for a fun day!

My baby is all grown up

Today Hannah turned 9. It is so hard to believe that my baby girl can be that old. It just seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital, and here she is in 4th grade. What a sweet girl Hannah is.

She is:

• always willing to help her friends, teachers, and family.
• so fun to be around and loves to have little followers (thank goodness!) that she can boss around.
• always making up games and stories and always has something to say.
• adored by her brothers and they want to spend as much time as possible with her.
• an excellent reader.
• a ray of sunshine in our lives!
  

All Hannah wanted for her birthday was an American Girl doll. She chose the "look like me" doll with blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. And of course we had to have her ears pierced as well. She was so delighted and has be including her as one of the family. She named her Eliza.

Happy Birthday "B"! We love you and are so proud of you! May all your wishes come true this year!

Free Handbag

There is a new online store Handbag Planet...They launch in about 14 day. They are going to have a 24 hour give away of a bag a hour to celebrate their upcoming launch. It sounds like fun and there is no strings attached. Which is truly rare now-a-days.

They look pretty fashionable and fun! I will be excited to see all of their different designs. Check them out!

http://www.handbagplanet.com/

A Night of Pampering

Tonight we had a little birthday party for Hannah. It was a last minute thing after looking at our very busy October. I was surprised, but everyone we invited was able to come. We had 4 of Hannah's sweet friends come over for a "spa night."


First we did a hand scrub (left to right: Danielle, Ally, Hannah, Sabrina, Morgan)

Then we paired up and had a foot scrub

Washing it off with a towel wasn't sufficient, so we had to go sit in the tub to rinse our feet off.

Then we put on lotion and painted toe nails. We had toe separators that ended up being to big because they stretched their toes a little too far, but we couldn't paint our toes without them!! We then put on a facial mask, which was hilarious to watch and to listen to their responses. They were talking about wrinkles and pimples in the same breath. Things that none of them have!!

While the masks were drying we painted our fingernails. It was a fun, energetic group, with lots to talk about. It was a lot of fun to listen to them laugh and have a great time!

Maryland TERPS

GO TERPS!!

This past summer Alan promised us that we would go to a Maryland football game this year. This week a friend called and asked if we wanted tickets. Of course I said yes, and was thrilled. Then, that afternoon, Alan asked if I wanted to go to the game on Saturday! I was shocked and didn't know how he knew that I had gotten tickets. He actually didn't know, and unfortunately instead of spreading the love to more games, all the tickets were for this one game.

Hannah was hilarious. Every play she would ask What happened?, and What does that mean?, or Why are they doing that? It was fun to explain the game every step of the way. Unfortunately we sat on the sunny side so Eden was not too happy. She sure tried though. Whenever everyone else would cheer or raise their arms or stand up...she did it to. During halftime I heard one of the kids say, "How did those people get so lucky to sit in the shady seats?" It ended up being a great game with lots of excitement, well worth going to! Thanks Michelle!

FEAR THE TURTLE!!!

The BIG 3 - 0 !!!

Happy Birthday Rebecca!!!

How did we luck out to get such a fabulous woman in our lives??? We love you sooo much! We are tremendously blessed to have you as a wife and mother! We love the sparkle in your eyes and the smile on your face! We are so glad you are ours forever!!!

We hope you have a happy, happy birthday!!

Love,

Alan, Hannah, Peter, Joseph, & Eden

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

For the past 2 weeks I have been working on nothing other than Super Saturday. Cutting wood, buying supplies, and trying to get it organized. I love Super Saturday. It is one of my favorite days of the year. What could be better than seeing a bunch of smiling women working on crafts and letting thier creativity flow! This year we had something for everyone. Besides the pictures that are shown here we also did another type of card making, 72 hour kits, massages and scrubs, an aerobics class, and of course, lunch of yummy soups and breads with cheese, fruit, and veggies.


This is one that I did a couple of years ago, but we decided to do it again and it was a huge hit!

I saw this on a vinyl lettering news letter that I got via email. I don't even know how I got on the list and I really don't do that much vinyl lettering stuff, but I fell in love with this because of the quote.

This was the hardest craft to get ready for. We have run into all sorts of problems trying to get a reasonably priced picture (still haven't found one, I just printed out this one for the display). There were 44 of these ordered. We had to cut the wood for the frames and the plaque. Some people were disappointed that they had to put the frames together, which really suprised me. But it wasn't communicated that they were going to be handed a stack of wood. We were up until 2 a.m. the night before because I had made a mistake and we had to fix it so that the glass could fit into the frame. You live and learn
We did both a magnet board (again making the frame) and magnets. This is the project I really wanted, but now I have no idea where to put it. We had the people who were making this come on Friday to put the frames together and liquid nail the steel piece to the backing so that they would be dry. It does make me happy that it worked out and that people were able to finish on Saturday.
These are very cute wrap-around swimsuit coverups. Suprisingly, they are pretty easy to make and don't require much sewing.

These are fun little 2x2 cards that are great for presents or just to say thanks. I signed up for these to give to the kids' teachers for Christmas.

It was really nice because there were a lot of projects that I ended up being in charge of so I was running around with my head cut off and didn't have time to do the 2 things (cards, and 72 hour kits) that I signed up for. So the teachers of these groups did them for me! It was a tiring yet wonderful day and I was excited just to go home!

Splat!

Eden has started this new thing where she will be crawling along and then all of a sudden she drops and just lays there. Then she gets up and starts crawling again. It started in the bath tub and I think she liked the sound of it. She thinks she is so funny and looks around to see if people were watching.
Her other new news is that the other day she was walking along the chairs and she let go and just stood there for a minute without the least bit of shakiness. I fear that she will be walking sooner than later!

Hannah's little announcment

Hannah went to Activity Days tonight and on the way home she said, "Mom, I told everyone that you were going to have a new baby."
Oh really, at school or tonight?
"Tonight...they didn't believe me. They said that Eden was still too little. But you know what?"
What?
"I think it is cool!"

Thanks for being excited Hannah!!

Rounding the family off nicely

We are very excited to welcome a new little one into our family! I am due April 8, 2009. I went to the doctor a week ago and got to see its little heart beating. Hooray!
We told the kids tonight during our FHE announcements. Hannah was in total shock.....Peter just looked at me with a smug look saying, "I knew it." I asked how he knew. He said that my lap was getting smaller. Hmmmm.....at 8 weeks?! I hope not!! Joseph just sat there smiling.....and Eden, using her new skill, clapped the whole time!!
Hannah, Peter, and Joseph all hope it is a girl. I think it is going to be a boy. Alan and Eden are neutral on their predictions.

This will be the 5th child of Alan and Rebecca, on the Drake side it will be the 20th grandchild, and on the Boss side it will be the 11th grandchild, unless someone else announces in the next little bit.