I was a little skeptical driving with two kidos to California, but Avery and Kade were little angels. Avery slept the whole way their and back, it was a dream come true. Kade he was in Curious George heaven. We bought him the movie, well worth the $15.00 spent at Wal-Mart!!
We drove to Las Vegas and stayed the night and went shopping the next day. If you have not seen a Cirqu De Sole show in Vegas it is a must see event. They are a little $$$ pricey but well worth the experience. I think I know why I don't live close to an Indian reservation, Las Vegas, or any place that has a legal Black Jack table. Time for a little confession I played Black Jack from 10:00 pm until 6:00 am. I think it is my new favorite sin to commit, as I said it is a good thing I don't live close to the border of Utah.
We had a great Thanksgiving in Palm Springs this year with the gorgeous weather. Mark and Sharee are always such wonderful hosts, their fridge is always stocked with drinks, ice cream, fruit, and it’s well stocked with goodies. Sharee and Tara made such a delicious Thanksgiving feast. We ate late as you can see because Mark and Dave's families came and meet us in Vegas to see the show " The O" so we got back and had to get things put together for our "Thatcher feast"
I guess this is hype about our Redneck family. I don't see it as redneck just a little Thatcher fun. We went up behind Mark's house and tried out his own personal arson, holy cow I didn't know that one man needed so many guns. We shot clay pigeons always a good time; Angie was surprisingly good at the whole shotgun thing. She was way to proud of her well earned bruises on her shoulder.
Rachel getting ready to take off on the motorcycle!!! This is one thing I absolutely love about Dave. He wants everyone to have such a good time. He spent 10 minutes helping Rachel get on all her gear. Rachel’s first time in the mountains on a motorcycle, she did
Kade shot his first 22, he thought it was the greates thing ever. Zoom in and check out his face so funny.
We went to SeaWorld with the Thatcher crew. Kade absoultley loved everything about it. He couldn't get enough of the dolphines. There was nobody their so we had the park to ourselves. We didn't have to wait in line once for the rides. Kade got to go an the Atlantis ride, he thought ti was really fun but when we were done I asked him if he wanted to go again and he said no.
MaRea, Kyle, and Kade on the ride Atlantis
Avery just chilling out in the stroller, such a sweet baby!
I feel like I'm fifteen again with this post, oh-well. For those of you who have not seen the movie yet, don't wait any longer!! I loved the whole show. My expectations were set very low so, I wouldn't be disappointed, a I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Lindsey and I were sitting in between a friend of ours, Natasha. After the movie she said all she heard from both side were , “Jacobs hot",” Edward is so hot" “I even think Charley is hot." I think a lot of men will be getting a little extra love, thanks to Twilight!
Last night I walked out of the grocery store felling elated with excitement for all my great finds. And Kyle says “You are so damn sexy!" I was a little confused because I was not looking all that hot, in my zip up hoodie, jeans, and flip flops. I looked at him and said what? He says “Your passion for life is beyond sexy!" I guess I will take that complement even if my outrageous passion explodes for making $3.50 for taking home some deli meat. Sorry I should post this stuff a little earlier so you all have time to catch in on these deals, but I don't go shopping until the end of the sale because I can't stand all the "crazy coupon ladies" Kim if I have to pick you up and take you to the grocery store, so you can feel the euphoric rush as you're getting all kinds of free groceries, I will, I know you need a little extra push.
I got 60 rice and pasta sides for .13 cents, normally $2.00
This was my favorite deal of the night. I was paid $3.50 for each deli meat I took. I only got 10, I felt a little stupid clearing out the deli meat section, and I guess getting paid $35.00 for taking home delicious meat works for me. Ok so how I got this deal is.... at Albertsons they a have the meat on sale for 2 for $5.00, On the package they have coupons that say save $1.00 off now peel those off. There is another peel coupon on top that says TRY ME FREE. Hillshire will pay you $4.99 to try their new deli meats. I'm not sure if all Albertsons have the peel coupons on their Hillshire deli meat. The sale ends today, at least the 2/$5 deal.
I got 60 shampoo and conditioner for a total of .13 cents each. If you do the math I didn't even pay what the sales tax would have been. The normal price is $5.33, just for tax I would have paid .27 cents. I am sure some of you are saying when will you ever use that much shampoo, I am sure I will still have some during the Millennium, if I am still around.
20 boxes of free toothpaste. And if you know me I need all 20 boxes so I don't look like this guy in a few years.
So in the end I got $580.00 worth of groceries for free. And will actually make $19.40 after I get my rebate back, not bad!! If you have any questions on how you can get the same deals leave a comment.
Just the other week I was cursing the blue painter’s tape, that is supposed to do an amazing job. Have you ever wondered how TLC they paint perfect stripes, how in the world do they look perfect? I really found something that does the job with perfection, and it's not because I am a professional painter. I painted three Olive stripes on my wall and they look perfect!!!! The tape is called Frog Tape. I have a new mission in life, and that is to let everyone know to never buy blue tape again, all of your painting projects will be fun again if you buy www.frogtape.com. Check out how well it works and let me know how wonderful you painting project have gone.
This is the look that Avery gets right as she is falling asleep. I think it is so darn cute, she gets those little smiles the whole time as she is drifting off to never never land.
Sunday was such a perfect day everything went just perfect. Why does blessing your baby have to be stressful? I guess all things worth doing need a little stress to add into the mix of things. Avery looked absolutely gorgeous, I didn't want the day to end, or my sweet baby girl to get one day older. She was exceptionaly good on Sunday, she slept all day. She has been having stomach issues so we got some drops to help with her stomach, I have a new baby.
My mom made Avery's dress 27 years ago; yes can you believe it something made it through the Thatcher household after 27 years. Lindsey washes Bridal gowns and said she could make it look new again. She did a wonderful job I couldn't have been more pleased. She washed and steamed the dress, it brought tears to my eyes when I saw it, thanks Linz!
These are the little girls enjoying themselves at the kids table, too cute!
Avery and Grandma Hess
After the blessing we all come over to our house to have brisket. There is no better meal than brisket. We figured if we had the family coming we had to make something really good to make up for the LONG drive, we know, we know we live in the middle of Delta.
Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE HALLOWEEN for more than one reason. As a kid Robbie and I would get our huge pillow cases and start trick-or-treating at 5:00 and go until 9:00 pm. We would run from house to house without a break by the end of the night our pillow cases were FULL. To this day I support kids of all ages trick-or-treating. Kyle and I had a debate on what age was too old to go trick-or-treating, I won there is no age limit, but you do have to dress up if you want candy. I love that the next few months there is family all around, there is nothing more enjoyable than getting all 10 siblings together and just sitting in our kitchen at the farm talking four hours. I love that the snow is coming, hot coco with cream. And did I mention SKI season, ok so it's a little different when you’re married with kids, but I can still dream of skiing at The Beav 4 times a week for free thanks to the ski school. Ok, Ok, so back to Halloween and the love of candy. I think my son Kade has that some love for candy, not a good thing! He loved running from house to house getting a new prize in his" bucket of junk." Here are a few pictures of our Halloween.
Avery was dressed up as a little skunk, there wasn't a cuter skunk around, ok Jack was a pretty cute skunk too. Last year after Halloween Children’s Place had there costumes for $1.99 how could I not buy every size of skunk they had in???
So I have been itching to make an apron for some time, but am to cheap to pay for an apron pattern. I know I need to get over being cheap, but if I had to pay for the pattern I would not be saving money, I might as well buy one at the mall. I want a FREE cute pattern, anyone have one.
I have been meaning to get some pictures of Kade and Avery's new bedroom. We had a 24 hour makeover. I was not going to worry about redoing their room because our house was under contract to sell, and we were going to move out a week after we got home from the hospital with Avery. The sell fell through a few days before we went in to have he. Two days before she was born we managed to get the whole thing done, thanks to Lindsey and Justi. I think it turned out really cute, it's even better in real life. Lindsey caught Kaden and Jack lounging out on Kade's new bed reading books together, what adorable little kids.
Today is your last day, but you can get 50 prints for a penny a print. If you are not a member of snapfish you get 25 prints just for signing up to be a member. Anyways I just ordered over 200 prints for less than a couple dollars. Everyone in your house hold can get the 75 prints practically free, hurry the promotion ends today. The code is FALLPENNY08, the website is snapfish.com
Here are a few more pictures of our sweet Avery. She got her first bath at Grandma Thatcher's House in the famous kitchen sink, now some mothers would never attempt to immerse their first born daughter in such filth. We figured she should just be inoculated to Thatcher germs right off the back.
She stopped screaming the second she hit the warm bath water, she does not like to be unwrapped from her burrito at any time. We are enjoying her sweet presence in our home, expect from 1 am- 6 am. I guess it is always good that we forget about how sleep deprived you become with a newborn.
As an attempt to break the string of cute baby pictures I will make an entry here. As some of you know I've gotten this writing bug lately and I actually wrote a 90,000 word manuscript. I love the story I wrote, but as I've been re-working it I find myself very unpleased. Like they say its easy to write a novel, but is difficult to write a good novel. I've spent the last couple of months working on the rewrite but I've come to a part I can't seem to fix. I would never give up on the story, but I have other stories that I want to write. I'm going to begin a new story on my blog www.thefestivusmiracle.blogspot.com (or Kyle's story to the right) and I'm inviting you all to join with me as I write it. I promise there won't be as many error and I know my writing has improved. It is important for me to get feedback and critic so please share your thoughts and feelings (as long as they're honest). If you can't log in let me know and I'll send you an invite. I think this will be a good story (especially since I already know how it will end).
BTW. My other story, Turning Back is still posted on the blog, and I'll be including edits.
Here is the first chapter.
Chapter 1
Gabe drew in two deep swallows of the chilly autumn air before ascending the long flight of concrete steps.He was anxious for what awaited him at the top.The metal banister was cold, but without its support he may have crumpled to the ground.On the last step he saw a row of students all wearing the same hideous sweaters blocking the entrance to the school.They were waving at the hordes of incoming students and handing out suckers to all who passed.He took a step towards the welcoming crew, then stopped and looked for another option.There had to be something, another door, a group of students he could hide behind, anything that would prevent the awkwardness that waited.Just then a group of three boys passed him engulfed in conversation.Gabe kept pace behind the third boy, a short overweight red head, and hoped he wouldn’t be noticed.He dug his hands into his jeans and kept his head low.Like a parasite he clung to the threesome and as they were receiving the welcoming gifts he slid past, relieved to have overcome his first obstacle.
The tinted glass on the front door had been recently cleaned and his reflection was exact.His skinny legs and gangly arms seemed out of place when attached to his fairly well built frame.His nose shaped just at the right angle was surrounded by a strong jaw, dark brown eyes and messy black hair.His dark brown complexion was unusual for this part of Idaho, and it always brought him attention.The cloths he chose were uncomfortable and ugly, but they were a perfect representation of the typical student.At the age of sixteen most teens had been through at least ten first days of school, but for Gabe this was number one.A group of muscular boys, who had to play football, swung open the door to his right and passed through without even acknowledging his existence.
He looked at his arms once again and imagined what they could be like, but probably never would.Deflated by his under-developed body he slowly reached for the door handle and swung it open revealing the inner workings of public school for the first time.He stopped just past the threshold and was filled with awe, like a thief viewing the contents of a highly secure vault for the first time.He had never seen so many teenagers.Some were tall and skinny, others were short and fat, a few looked lost which made him feel a tinge better, and a handful roamed the common area like it was their throne.He pushed forward into the new world unaware of the bald teacher donning a bowtie until he tripped over his foot.
“Are you okay?”The medium sized man said bending over to help Gabe up.
“Yeah,” Gabe said quickly trying to hide his bright red face.
“Are you new here?” He asked after he let go of Gabe’s arm.
“First day”
“I’m Mr. Green,”
“I’m Gabe,”
“Welcome Gabe, do you need some direction?”
Gabe looked at Mr. Green for the first time and gave him a small yellow sticky note with his locker number written with sloppy ink.“It would be nice.”
"That I believe this by the gym.”Mr. Green said pointing to his left.“Go though that hall and turn left. Keep going until the end and it should be on your right."
"Thanks," Gabe answered.Mr. Green returned the sticky note and Gabe hurried away.
As he walked down the hall he imagined hundreds of eyes staring at the new boy, but he couldn’t catch anyone in the act.Either they looked away before, or no one was noticing.Just as he turned the corner to his locker he did hear one group of girls talking.
“Who’s that?” One whispered.
"I don't know.He must be a move in."
As the distance grew between them he could barely hear her response, "He's cute."
His shoulders lifted from his first good review. Down the hall he searched the lockers until he found 304-T and twisted the combination. He left everything except for his American history book and folder then turned to find his first class. He was still searching for the room when the late bell rung. A small map on the wall indicated that the room was on the other side of the school.
Out of breath and red from embarrassment Gabe froze when the old wooden door squeaked loudly behind him as he entered American History.The teacher looked in his direction and said over the stifled giggles of the class, "A perfect example of why not to arrive late."
The laughter grew louder until the teacher raised his hand.After silence was restored Gabe walked around the back of the room and sat at the only open desk against the far wall.
“This might well be the most difficult class you’ve ever taken,” Mr. Hill said proudly casting dread on his students.“If you are planning on anything less than full effort then I suggest you leave now.History’s truths are bold and telling, and the instructing of them shall be as well.”
Mr. Hill slid his silver rimmed glasses back up his long nose and turned toward the white board.He began writing sections of required reading, and then promptly began a lecture into the discovery of America and the controversy of Columbus’ claim.Sure the students were more focused on the threats laid out by Mr. Hill, than the awkward new student, Gabe put down his pencil and leaned back in his chair.Pencils raced across notebooks, as the students feverously tried to keep pace with Mr. Hill’s frantic telling of other early visitors to the Americas.This style of learning was new to him, and instead of taking notes he simply listened.At one point Gabe nearly rose his hand to argue a point but thought it unwise to disagree with the teacher on the first day of class.A few moments later Mr. Hill shot Gabe a look of ice when he noticed the blank note paper on his desk.All in all his first class was well, terrible.If they were all like this it would be next to impossible to suffer through the year.
"You're new here aren't you?" A girl's voice came from behind him after the bell rung.
"Yes,"
"I'm Sage," She stretched out her hand.
He stumbled over his words, "I'm. . . uh. . . Gabe Gooden."
"Nice to meet you Gabe, where did you come from?" she asked as she loaded her bag.
"Here. . . Well I've been home schooled until now."
He waited for the customary reaction to this announcement, but instead she blasted a massive smile.Now that she was smiling Gabe could see how pretty she was.By no means could she be classified as ‘hot’ or ‘fine’ like he had heard on the television so often, but definitely pretty.She had short brown hair, green eyes, slightly freckled skin and soft hands.Though she was a little on the plump side her body was well proportioned.
“Wow, I bet your super smart.”She said seriously.
He grimaced and lifted his bag onto his back.
"Well it was nice meeting you. And don't worry about Hill. I’ve heard he’s all talk." She smiled and walked out the door.
Maybe school won't be so bad after all, he thought as Sage left the room. The next two classes just as painful as the first, but as he walked alone toward the lunch room he longed for the safety of the mind numbing classroom.He hovered behind a ground of sophomore girls engaged in a discussion about which car they were getting when they turned sixteen.His head started to pound softly as the pick up the red lunch tray and slid it along the metal guides.
After paying for his lunch he looked over the groups of students hoping for the miracle of being invited to sit with someone. He realized that the only student he knew at the school, Sage, was no where in sight.Trying to hide his face he skirted around the cluster of round tables eyeing an empty table towards the back.Half of the way down a girl stood and began waving in his direction.Tall skinny blonde and perhaps the most attractive girl he’d seen yet, she was looking right at him.He suddenly felt the temperature in the room rise as he turned toward her table.Her long blonde hair bounced up and down as she hopped with excitement.She had to know him, but how?Answering that question was the last of his worries.He weaved his was past the first table and as he worked on sliding through the small gap between the next two and large blonde football player brush passed him, nearly knocking his tray to the ground. The girl jumped into his arms and they kissed.Gabe quickly turned to the left trying to hide his embarrassment.He sat at the last empty table and picked through his potatoes.He dared one glance at the blonde girl and to his surprise she smiled at him.Her smile was invigorating; instead of getting excited he slumped in his chair and waited for the bell to ring.
When lunch was over he returned to his locker, picked up his things and went to Spanish. Only his monotone English teacher, Mrs. Lemon, managed to get through class without making an error, and he struggled holding back his opinions and corrections. It would be a new challenge for him to be in a public learning environment, and he would have to learn when to speak up and when to remain quite. The lessons his mother taught him were much better prepared and more precise. It was obvious by their confused and oblivious faces that not all kids had the love for learning like him. Oh well, he thought as he hopped on his bike for the ride home, at least no one wanted to fight me.
We just bought a new camera and thought it would be a point and shoot experience, not so. There is much to learn in the photography world; does anyone want an apprentice? These are the photos we did get of Avery and Kade. I think for a first timers we got a few good photos.
This is the same blessing dress that I was blessed in, how precious.
Kaden is so sweet with Avery. He wants to kiss her hands and feet all day long. He has done such an amazing job adjusting with the big change.
Such a sweet boy!
This picture capturesKaden's fun personality, always ready to have a good time.
MaRea, Kyle, and Kade on the ride Atlantis
