What is that gigantic grease smear on that pillow you say? Well let me tell you, it's Vaseline. You know, that yellow, greasy petroleum jelly that people use to put on their lips, hands, baby's butts, whatever's chapped, etc. My precious little two year old adores the stuff and he managed to get a hold of it last night while I was unpacking from a week long trip. I left him alone for five minutes and in that time he was able to climb on top of our dresser, snag the Vaseline, and smear the contents of that entire container all over MY pillow, the comforter, the red microfiber couch downstairs, and all over himself. I now have permanent grease marks on my bedspread, sheets, and couch. It really was a lovely way to end a long trip. Is this a bad omen of worse things to come???
Taj looked rather dashing as a pirate for Halloween this year.
He loved the whole Trick-or-Treat idea this year. It was fascinating to him that if you held out your bucket someone would put something in it.
Did I mention he absolutely hated his costume and cried for about an hour straight after we put it on him? I finally had to take off the red sash at the Halloween carnival so that he would stop crying and actually have fun. The hat lasted about 10 sec, enough time for a quick picture. The amazing thing is that the black eyeliner I used to draw his little goatee didn't even smudge after profuse amounts of snot of tears ran over it.
Sewing Project #3: I made this skirt thanks to the help from my wonderful friend Jan for my sister for her birthday. Did I mention she's a teenager and very picky? Well she actually liked it and I've heard through the grapevine that she's already worn it. The prospects of making my own clothes are looking better and better already!
This hunt was the hunt Brannon's been looking forward to since he was a boy. He finally drew out for a limited hunt this year and spent weeks preparing for it. On our way down to Tropic late Friday night we were in Beaver when he suddenly realized he'd left his tag all the way home in Kaysville. We were a little over an hour away from Tropic. I told him there was no freakin way we were turning around now since we were so close. Finally it was decided that he would go back and get the tag as soon as he dropped us off. He's lucky he has such good friends that volunteered to go along. They got back at around 6:30 the next morning, tag in hand, only to head back out to hunt. I told Brannon this experience was about as bad as the time we drove all the way up north from Cedar City so that I could take a test and when we got there, I realized I got the test date wrong and had missed it by two days. You think he let me live that down easy? No way! Lucky for him I was too tired to give him his classic "organization" lecture (a lecture I hear frequently from him). After about six days of hunting he finally snagged this buck. Apparently he shot the wrong one, but I say it's better than nothing at all and there's always a chance that he'll draw out for this hunt again when he's 45. So don't fret Bran, that monster buck is still out there waiting for you!
The other night this was the only way he would go to bed. He is fast outgrowing his crib since he can now climb in and out of it by himself. I worry he'll fall and crack open his head, so we're converting to toddler bed this week...I think my nights are about to get harder!
For the first time since we've been married, we actually put up a REAL tree this year. We drove all the way down to the tree lot by the local Walgreens and paid $35 bucks for this beauty("$35 bucks!" you say "why not buy a permit and hike for three hours in waist deep snow, hack down your own scrawny and asymmetrical tree with a rusty old hand saw, and sustain frostbite for a third of the price!"). While I do enjoy such fond family Christmas tree hunting memories, I (we) decided to take the short-cut this year and just buy one that somebody else went all the trouble to get. I don't regret it one single bit, even if my floor is covered in pine needles. It may be a little short, but it's very full and it smells like heaven. I love love love it! I was just sooo thankful that I (yes I said "I" Brannon always disappears when it's time to put up the tree, typical male holiday behavior I suppose) didn't have to reassemble our fake Christmas tree. Let me just give you the stats on our fake tree: It's only about 9 feet tall and about 10 feet wide. You want to talk about a "full" tree, well this is it. Not only does it take up half of the living room, but it smells like dust and leaves everyone with a tickle in their nose. The best part about this tree is that one must assemble every single branch using a color code system that would't even give the color blind a chance. After inserting every single branch into the appropriate groove, one must then bend and shape EVERY SINGLE BRANCH to make it look like a "real" tree. I'm telling you, by the time you get done assembling the dang thing, your hair is infested with dust termites and your hands smell like you've been playing in your grandma's dusty old mothball trunk. I now see why my grandma was more than happy to gift the tree to us when we got married. Behind those gold-rimmed glasses and sweet smile I know what she was thinking, "Ha Ha Suckas! Good riddance!"
This is my second home beautifying project: a family picture collage. I think painting was the first project, so this then is #2, just to clarify, in case you were wondering. I bought the frames from the D.I. (I love that place!), painted and sanded them, then added our family pics. It really did liven up the room. Our house is feeling more "homey" with every project! 
