Happy New Year 2009!

I love New Years! I enjoy reviewing the resolutions I made last year, rededicating myself to old ones and making new ones... and occasionally just tossing some. This year, our family started a new tradition. I told the kids on Tuesday night that we were going to have a Gibb Family New Year's Eve Party. Thomas was so excited that he started asking about it on Wednesday morning. We had a kid-friendly dinner (picked by the kids) with hotdogs, potato chips and dip, and grape soda. I made a 7-layer party dip and some fudge for snacking. We played hide-and-seek and duck-duck-goose, and then did a bunch of things for the last time in 2008, like jump on the trampoline and sit on every chair and barstool in our house. Finally, we calmed down by reading our current favorite children's book, Too Many Toys, by David Shannon. I was surprised by how much fun we had. I look forward to many more celebrations with our family!

Thomas was hiding under the cushions that Mason is climbing on, and he stayed quiet both times that Mason looked behind the couch instead of under the cushions!
Mason was not happy about Megan discovering McKenzie's hiding place when he was "it."


Duck-Duck-Goose can get pretty rowdy at our house.

Thomas is a fast runner! I was really trying to stay away from him (Megan got tapped as "goose"), but he tagged Megan anyway!

Halloween 2008

At long last, here are some of the pictures from Halloween. I had no idea Michael had dressed up. Since he was on call, he got home after we started trick-or-treating. We happened to be standing in our driveway talking to some friends when he pulled up. I expected him to come stand behind me, but when I turned my head, it was this guy, instead!

What a surprise to see Michael with such a full head of hair!

Our kids dressed as Supergirl, Superman, Spiderman, and Super Flower.


I was Supermom, of course.


After a little more trick-or-treating, we hurried over to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat.

Brother Bruns had the best costume of all, I think.


Thomas couldn't stop staring at him. He was very concerned for Brother Bruns. He kept asking what the gorilla was doing with him. His little boy is dressed as a banana.

Becky went as the Tooth Fairy.


Now we know why she's so keen on collecting good teeth!



The Elders dressed up as the scriptures:

All in all, it was a fun night.

The Chicken Surrenders

I was not much of a cook when Michael and I met. I've learned a lot in the nine years we've been married, but I'm still learning. A while ago, he told me how to cook a chicken. I'm notorious for positioning meat wrong, so he instructed me (over the phone) to put the chicken's wings as though it were standing at "Parade Rest." He meant like this:
See? Parade Rest.

I didn't know, though, and since I was more concerned about the hand positioning behind the back, my chicken looked a little different. It was very difficult to get it into Parade Rest (I wound up breaking the chicken's wings) but it looked something like this...

only with the "hands" closer together.

I think a better description of how the chicken looks when it is ready to go in the oven would be "surrendering," because its "hands" are supposed to go behind where its head was...sort of.

Five Years Ago

Five years ago today, my mom passed away. It was sudden, shocking, tragic, but not surprising. Whenever I think about not having my mom around anymore, I think of other friends who have also lost their moms. Most often, I consider Andrea, who lost her mom to Alzheimer's, a cruel, unforgiving illness; or Eve, who's mom committed suicide, as well; or my husband and his siblings, who lost their mom unexpectedly three years ago. I think of all the people I don't know who have lost their moms to terrible circumstances. And all the wars and mean people who steal others' lives.

I think of the beautiful acts of kindness that were shown to our family when people found out my mom was gone. Tiffany W. and her parents sent a beautiful bouquet for the funeral. Amanda D.'s parents purchased a gorgeous casket spray and came up for the funeral. Amanda picked up my wet tissues that I had dropped on the pew, not knowing what to do with them when we had to exit, and quietly disposed of them for me. Some of my brother's friends from Hawaii sent a lei for my mom's gravestone. Andrea wrote me a note telling me some kind words my mom shared with her one time, and other fond memories she had of her. Becky W. brought over a lovely framed print of an angel sending a child off to earth. (I identified with that because I was just waiting for one more week to take a pregnancy test so I could let my family know we were expecting Thomas.) Not only Lacey II ward, but it seemed like the entire stake, provided more food than we knew what to do with, and put together a lovely reception for our families after the service. More people than I know of came from all over to help out and show their love and concern for us.

I learned a lot from my mom's passing. I learned to always tell people you love them; you never know when you won't be able to do so anymore. I learned to forgive quickly and not worry so much about things (though, honestly, that one is easier said than done). I learned that the mom is the nucleus of the family; her absence leaves a huge whole in the center. I learned that you're never too old to be devastated by the loss of your child. And I learned that 60 is actually pretty young to die; There is a lot of life to live after 60.

I hope that those of you who have moms alive still will call them and tell them how much you love them. Write them a note, or take them out on a date. Take lots of pictures, and create fond memories. Hug them. And those of you who are moms, take care of yourselves so you will be around for a long time for your children, physically, spiritually, and mentally. They need you.

Fun With Shaving Cream

I finally finished painting my bedroom recently. (I started over a year ago.) Things went pretty well with the kids and all until the final home stretch. I just had one last part to do, so I took about 30 minutes to finish it up. I made sure the kids were occupied before I began. I checked on them 15 minutes later and rescued Megan from Mason (who was in a wrestling state of mind), then worked for 15 more minutes. Just as I climbed down from the ladder for the last time, McKenzie came in and said, "Mom, you have to see this. Come downstairs." This is what she showed me:

No, the mess wasn't confined to just the table. They also smeared some on the carpet, and when they finished playing in the dining room, they went to watch tv in the family room, thus bringing the mess in there. At least they sat in their little chair instead of on the couch. And, at least the shaving cream smells relatively good.

This is how I caught them after I went to get my camera.

Thomas is helping Mason shave his leg with a pipecleaner. Shouldn't my boys be practicing shaving their faces instead of their legs?

They were covered front and back with shaving cream.
Some fun.

Garden Critters

So I went to check on our garden a couple of weeks ago and saw that we had three tomatoes growing. GREAT! I was pleased that the plants are growing well and producing fruit. A little while later, I had to go on a Mason-Megan hunt. This is what I found:

So much for those three tomatoes. Needless to say, Michael now working on a stronger garden fence.

Recess Monkey

The week following Reptile Man, we went to the library and saw Recess Monkey, a "kindie" rock band, meaning an indie rock group for kids. They're actually teachers from Seattle who teach kindergarten through second or third grade. This band is kind of a side thing, that I wonder if they hope will grow to a much bigger thing. Who knows. I had no idea what to expect when we went, so I didn't bring my camera. (The above photo was supplied by a librarian.)

Their songs were surprisingly fun. My kids loved dancing around to them. They all had their own favorite. McKenzie's was the Chicken song, Thomas' was Monkey Bars, Mason's was The Pool, and I liked S-L-EE-P-Over. (You can hear three of these songs on their website.) We tried to get to the library on time the second day they were here, but were late again and heard basically the same songs (but it was still fun). I noticed that their most exciting songs were the ones they performed, but in general their songs tend to be more mellow. Not that my kids need anything to wind them up more, but sometimes I want to put in some good, upbeat music that we can dance to while cleaning up. Oh well. At the end of the second concert we saw, I had to wait for something, so the kids wound up being able to chat with the band and play Drew's guitar a little.