I Scream, You Scream

We all scream for ice cream!

Last week, I took my two princesses to Provo for the Princess Festival. We had fun there, but probably just as fun was meeting up with Olivia for ice cream at the Creamery!! Mmmmm.

My Grown-Up Christmas List

For those expecting a deep post here about my desire for "no more lives torn apart, that wars would never start, and time will heal all hearts," I'm sorry. This isn't that kind of post. Rather, I'd like to talk a little bit about my actual Christmas wish list I wrote up about a month ago. It seems that every year in November and December, I get asked by my mother, a sibling, or Tony, "What do you want for Christmas?" I usually answer with, "I don't know," since in that moment I really can't think of anything. But this year, I decided to be prepared for that question by writing a few things down for reference. Nobody asked, and I kind of forgot about the list. Until the other day. And when I glanced at it, I had a flashback to my childhood. Every year, my mom would get some sort of domestic device for Christmas and seem truly happy about it. I couldn't understand why she acted that way, since in my juvenile mind, I figured that what she REALLY wanted probably fell into the wardrobe, accessories, or toys and games categories. But maybe it really was what she wanted, since my grown-up Christmas list (at the ripe old age of 31) looks like this:

wash cloths

earrings

good knife

electric griddle

apple corer/slicer

bread pans

Pathetic, right? I thought so for a few moments after seeing the list the other day. But then I realized that it's not pathetic. Although I am still Taffy, I have grown to love my role as wife, mother, and homemaker. I have embraced it to the point that when I think about what I'd like to have, many of the items are things to help me fulfill this homemaker role a little better than I currently am. I just need a little better tools, I guess. And the Taffy inside me would like a couple pair of earrings--I even like the dangly kind!

Best Friends

These two girls have become self-proclaimed "best friends." Mariah really does fine when Mylie is gone to school, but from the minute she gets home, they are inseperable. Last Friday Mylie didn't have school, and they literally played together all day! They play really well together, too, rarely getting in a fight or argument.

In fact, they say that they are "almost twins" since their names both start with M ("like twin names"), they both have blue eyes, they sometimes wear the same clothes, and they kind of look alike.

Both of these cuties have had birthdays recently. Mariah turned 3, and Mylie 6. Hard to believe. They're growing up so fast!

One thing these two friends love is to have "girl parties" with their mom when Tony and Connor are gone to basketball practice or games. Last week we had two girl parties. The first one was an ironing party. Sounds fun, huh? Well, they loved it! And I got my ironing done. :)

Then this weekend we made some fun (and incredibly easy!) Christmas treats. They had fun making the different shaped rice krispie treats and decorating them with sprinkles, or sparkles, as Mariah calls them.
Gotta love these girlies!

My little GQ

I mentioned a few posts back that Connor's interest in clothing has increased. Well, in true Connor fashion, he isn't going halfway with this one either. He has turned into a full-blown GQ! He hasn't missed one of Tony's basketball games yet, which isn't unusual, but this year, he looks just like the coaches each game, complete with dress pants, shirt and tie. He has had Tony teach him how to tie a tie, and his clip-ons or zip-ups are no longer good enough for him, so he has resorted to borrowing his dad's much superior ties.

Here's my handsome man this morning before boarding the bus for Lander.

(By the way, Tony's team is 4-0, which has everybody pretty excited since last year they won 4 games total, and the year before that, the big 0!)

THANKSGIVING

This year, my family (minus my two brothers, who we really missed!) all got together in Cokeville. This was the first time in a LONG time that we had all been together, and it was fabulous!

The first day, my brother's friend, Michelle, took our family's pictures. She had them back to us by Friday, which I was thrilled about! They turned out so great! I already have one as my blog header, and new pics of the kids on the sidebar, so I'll spare you the entire shoot and leave it at that.

In addition to a fantastic feast on Thanksgiving Day, we also had fun playing basketball (although us has-beens got pretty sore), coloring and crafting, playing cards, sledding, and decorating cookies. The cousins all got along great. I can't wait to all get together again--hopefully sometime soon!

The kids showing off their fun snowman cookies

Climbing up Test Hill can be a pain . . . (although Mariah was really a trooper!)

. . . but it's totally worth the ride down!

Sisters!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, my sisters and I got together for a fantastic weekend! We did a little shopping, had dinner at Olive Garden, then headed to our hotel suite for "spa night", complete with lots of laughing and reminiscing. The next morning, we enjoyed the hot tub and hotel breakfast, then hit the town for some more shopping.
After we were all shopped out, we headed to the BYU campus where we saw a wonderful production of "White Christmas." All the kids in the play were very talented, and we had a great time there. We then finished off the weekend with some dinner at Cafe Rio--Yum!

I feel so blessed to have so many sisters! (And a wonderful mother as well, who, if you don't look closely enough, just blends right in and looks like another sister.) Like the song in the play . . . "Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters." I've had that stuck in my head periodically ever since!

"Bah-la-bah"

Translation: VOLLEYBALL

Today Mariah wanted to play some "bah-la-bah." It was so funny to see her interpretation of the sport. Of course, she was very concerned about having some time-outs: "You gotta say, "TEAM!" Then go to the sides and listen to the coaches. Then you run back out!"

And her favorite thing to practice was the sprawl: "When you trip, then you gotta get the ball up." Very true, although it should be slightly more graceful than tripping!

And for you volleyball players/coaches/fans who understand a bit about the game, you gotta love the work on transition and approach in the next clip. Made my day!

Define WEIRD

Yesterday was our stake conference. Of course, two hours for kids can get pretty long and boring. But Connor stayed busy doing several pages of this:

Aside from the fact that these are football plays, can any of you other moms understand this?

Last year, Tony worked one on one with a kid in Connor's classroom for a little while. One day, he told me he thought all the boys in Connor's class were really weird. He went on to explain how they are all really into strange cartoons, superheros, and making weird noises. I came back with, "If you think they are ALL weird, maybe Connor is the weird one!" And here is further evidence of that fact.

Workout Buddy

Normally, I get up at 5:30 and Tony and I work out together. But today I slept in and worked out after Tony and the kids had left to school, so this was my workout partner:Getting a drink is probably what she is best at. We did a little insanity, and here she is doing some switch kicks!
And if Team Beachbody wants to pay me pretty well, I may let them use this pic for their next ad campaign. I mean, wouldn't you love to have calves like these?!?

Some things I never knew about 8-year-old boys

So, I've been a bit perplexed with Connor for the past month or so. There are some behaviors that have changed that I was totally unprepared for! Sure, I've known 8-year-old boys before, like my brothers, but when they were 8, I was a teenager, so I really didn't pay that much attention! No offense, guys.

For one, you know those things he's been wearing his entire life, but never really noticed before? Well, now he cares about them! It's weird, having him tell me how much he loves a certain item of clothing, picking out clothes for his dad to make sure he stays looking sharp, and asking me for new clothes?!? The short list right now is a suit for church, a big belt buckle, and a tight Under Armor shirt.

He LOVES his scriptures. He takes care of them like a prized possession, which they really are. And several times this fall when I've asked him what he would like me to read to him at bedtime, he suggest that I go get my scriptures and we read from the Book of Mormon together. I knew he'd be excited about having his own to take to church, but I thought it was just so he would look big. But it's more than that. He truly loves them.

My Connor is NOT a morning person--never has been. And so during the school year, we've struggled every day getting him up and moving. This year, he suggested that we buy him an alarm clock. I didn't see the point, since we're up anyway and can just wake him up, but Tony thought we should give it a try. We haven't had to get him up once since. He sets the alarm, and every morning within a minute of the alarm, he comes stumbling out, scriptures in hand, ready for family scripture time. Amazing!

I never realized that 8-year-olds were capable of making lunch (sure, it's just quesadillas, but still!) and are happy to do it.

Although in many ways, Connor is more responsible since turning 8, I can't figure out what has happened to his bedroom! He used to take pretty good care of his stuff, but now every item of clothing just ends up on the floor. I've told him, and told him, and eventually he cleans it up, but today I decided to start treating him like the big 8-year-old he is. I did laundry, but only washed his things that had actually make it into his laundry basket. Maybe when he runs out of clean clothes, he'll decide that it's not such a chore to throw them into the basket rather than onto the floor. We'll see . . .

So, I knew all these things would come eventually, but maybe a few years down the road. Luckily, he still has no interest in girls. Major sigh of relief.

4 Random Items

Random item #1:
A couple weeks ago, at Connor and Mylie's school, the kids earned a "crazy hair day." Mylie was especially excited about this priviledge (despite the fact that most days her hair already looks a little crazy.) This was the result of our crazy hard work on her hair. She was pretty proud of it.
Random item #2:
When you live in a coaching family, sometimes family night looks like this:

At least everyone is engaged, right?

Random item #3:

Although I really am a scrooge about decorating for holidays, I did do one simple thing this year. I bought three cute little pumpkins and let the kids each draw a face on theirs. We then put those up on top of the entertainment center and called it decor.

(Disclaimer: Although Mariah is shirtless, her hair is a bit unkempt, and she has marker all over her arm, I really do love her!)

(No, they didn't do another crazy hair day at school.)
Connor was pretty proud of his finished product.

Random item #4:

Mariah learned a new trick this Sunday. Pretty cool!

Simple Pleasures

Monday was a BEAUTIFUL day--with highs near 80--and I didn't have volleyball practice, so the kids and I took advantage of a little daylight together and harvested the potatoes. We were so excited about how many potatoes we got, and how BIG some of them were!
Also, on Monday, I pulled up the rest of the garden plants. While doing that, I discovered a little bit of broccoli and peas that were good. I was shocked! In October?!? Anyway, I decided to mix them in with our carrots and potatoes and enjoy a wonderful vegetable medley in October. Pretty sure that's the first time I've done that with my own fresh veggies. So fun! Team this up with some Alaska salmon and homemade bread with raspberry jam, and you have my favorite meal I've had in awhile.

Today, however, the weather is not so beautiful. In fact, it's been snowing almost all day! But what better way to spend a snowy, blustery day than having a dance party with friends?

Mariah just LOVES her "best friends." These twins are actually Mariah's cousins. They live here in the valley so they get plenty of opportunities to play together. They just love each other!

On Sept. 28th . . .

. . . happiness looks like this.

I'm LOVING this summer-like weather!

Lovin' September

September has been a fabulous month so far! We didn't start school until after Labor Day this year, so the first week or so of September was still summer around here (aside from the fact that I spent most of the three weeks before school started in the gym coaching volleyball). On the day before Labor Day, the kids were able to show off all their hard work on the piano this summer. We hosted a very small recital at our house, where they performed a couple songs each along with two cousins and Tessa.
It was fun for them to get to show how hard they had worked and how much they improved. They were really proud of their songs.

On Labor Day, we had one last hoorah at Seven Peaks. We would have been pretty sad about this, but they were running a special on the passes and we were able to renew and upgrade our passes (adding another water park and a ski resort) for just $30 apiece, so there will be more hitting the slides next summer. Yippee!!! Olivia went with us since she's living in Provo now. We were able to see her apartment there at the Y, which was fun.

School started the next day, and both Connor and Mylie were so excited to go! I have never taken Connor to school on his first day (Tony always did since he was going there anyway), but this year I took them both. I missed Back to School Night for a volleyball game, so I felt like I really should take them and see their classrooms. But as soon as we got into the school, they both said "See ya!" and ran out to the playground, leaving me with really nothing to do but go back out to the van and go home. Oh well. At least they both are loving school! In fact, Mylie had a field trip a few days ago, and when I told her I was coming, she said, "Ah, Mom. Now I won't get to sit by my friends on the bus." I told her I was going anyway, and we actually had a great time together.

Of course, this change for Mylie has created a change for Mariah as well. She's gone from getting to play with this buddy every day . . .

. . . to hanging out with this buddy.
(Although, whenever I try to call her my buddy, she corrects me, telling me that she's Dad's buddy! I feel so loved lately.)

And I didn't want to miss out on all the change, so I decided to change my hair in a pretty drastic way. We cut off over ten inches and donated the hair to make wigs for kids with cancer. I like the new cut--it's a lot of fun! I just don't like how it flaps in my face during Insanity (another change--and a fun one so far!)

Finally, I can't write about September without mentioning the AMAZING Indian Summer we are having here. I kind of feel like we deserve it after last spring, but it's been fabulous. September is almost over and we havn't had freezing temps yet! I just picked fresh corn and tomatoes for our dinner today--on the 25th of September! Life is good.

It's GREAT to be 8!

This past weekend was a huge birthday bash for Connor! I felt so blessed that I didn't have any volleyball on Friday OR Saturday (the only weekend like that of the entire season), so I was able to be home and do this special birthday for him the way I really wanted to. Tony had staff trainings on Friday, but the kids were off school. Before Tony left in the morning, we let Connor open his presents. Usually for birthdays, the kids just gets one gift from us, and it costs under $10, but since this birthday is such a special one, he got a couple things that he REALLY LOVES!!

He got new scriptures, a new small hymnbook, and a scripture case, complete with scripture marking pencils and reading charts. He's been really busy reading from his scriptures, and has told me thanks for the scriptures over and over! He loves them!

Tony has been coaching middle school football this year, so of course, Connor has been to all the practices, and is LOVING football lately! So this jersey was about the best thing Tony could have given him this year. They got new jerseys for the team, but a bunch of them came in sizes MUCH too small for any 7th grade boy, so now a whole gang of little kids are running around with these sweet jerseys!

For his birthday party this year, he was allowed to invite some school friends as well as his cousins, and we had the swimming pool all to ourselves.

Needless to say, the kids LOVED the party!

Finally, Connor was baptized on Sunday. This was such a special day, and we had so many family members attend. Connor is so excited to be 8!! Connor is growing up into such a good boy. He has a sweet testimony and so much faith. I am so proud of him!

BUTTE Kicker

Two weekends ago, the Micheli family hosted the 1st (Annual, hopefully) BUTTE Kicker 75 mile relay race. It was a team relay with four teams involved this first year. We did it on the back roads between Fort Bridger and Evanston. The views were beautiful, the weather was nice, and we had SO MUCH FUN doing it! (Oh, and the t-shirts were awesome, too.)

Our team was made up of Tony and myself, Tami and Casey, Mom and Dad, Olivia, and Connor. We covered the course in 10 hours, 49 minutes. Nobody had to run over 12 total miles, so it wasn't too tough on anybody, but we all had a great time.

Our whole team, minus Connor, and plus a few cute little kids
Here are some of the action shots of the day.Go, Connor! He did a great job for us, putting in four miles total.
Come on Livi! Casey made her sprint to the finish for this handoff.

It was fun to be teammates with Tami again.

It took quite a bit of persuasion, but we finally convinced my dad to join our team. He helped us out a bunch, doing four miles total, and I think he had a good time, too.