Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. Adam, Meredith, and Mackenzie drove from Denver and we were able to spend time with lots of Joe's siblings and family. Of course, BYU disappointed in their football game against the Utes.

I noticed that Samuel eats with his left hand quite often because he likes to grip things with his right hand. He and his cousin had a lot of fun together. She called him baby often and they had fun playing. Of course, he wouldn't give her a hug when she left. Joseph liked that he had a cousin that he could play with even if she is a little younger than he is. :) We also got the big announcement that we are going to have another Rankin cousin in June. Congrats Adam and Meredith!!

Questions...

We are still trying to decide if we should buy a house or if we should rent for a year. Anyways, this afternoon we went to look at an apartment in Provo. Joe and I were asking questions. Joseph was walking around and observing things. His first comment:

Seeing that the furnace was not blocked off and next to a bedroom, Joseph: "That is electrical and dangerous."
Person: "Do you have any questions?"
Mommy: "How much notice do you need to give?"
Person: "Just let us know before your contract is up."
Joseph: "I have a question. Do you have a mouse?"
Person: "I have never seen one."
Joseph: "Because there is a hole right there that looks like a home for a mouse."

I love my Joseph...he always can make me smile. :D

Christmas shopping

So I took Joseph with me to get Joe a gift. I told Joseph that if daddy asked, to trick him and say that we decided to wait. Joseph was sooooooooo excited to trick daddy and the following scene ensues when I pick Joe up for lunch:

Joseph: "So daddy, ask me if we got you anything."
Daddy: "Did you get me anything?"
Joseph (using a very rehearsed voice): "No daddy. We decided to wait to get you something."
Daddy: "It sounds like you were prepped. Did mommy tell you to say that?"
Silence from Joseph and a huge smile.
Daddy: "If I tell you something that I am going to get you for Christmas, will you tell me what you got me?"
Joseph: "Okay."

Joseph then proceeded to give hints that let Joe know what he is recieving. So much for tricking daddy. ;)

Blizzard means...

all zombies would freeze. Yay!!

Funny incident:
Samuel: "Milk please."
Joseph: "Mommy, Samuel said milk and not milt! (turning towards Samuel then) High five (holding out his hand for Samuel to hit)"
Samuel gets a big goofy smile and high fives his big brother.

Bike incident:
We went to a big toy chain and bought a lot of Christmas gifts. The cashier looked at the reciept and said, "I don't see the bike, but I know I rang it up, so you are good." We take it home and then add up everything. The bike was not on the reciept. Dilemma: We already have the bike and they brought it to us. The cashier made a mistake. Do we:

A) Let it be. We didn't do anything wrong.
B) Go back to the store and let them know their mistake.
C) Consider it a Christmas blessing.

Well, I called the store and talked to the manager explaining what had happened. Solution, they will give us a discount on the bike when we come in to pay for it. I go to the store and pay a little over $20 less than what it was on sale for and the kicker, it had a promotion and with a purchase the customer recieved a $25 gift card. The bike cost us a third of its original price. Yay for honesty!!

Samuel's latest

This morning I went to wake up Joe. I sat on the bed and Samuel came over and gave him a couple of kisses. He then said, "hud" which is his way of saying hug and gave Joe a big hug. It was adorable. Whenever lights are out he likes to make ghost noises and walks around saying "oooooooo." It is also hard to do dishes with him or bake when he is awake, especially if big brother is helping. Samuel climbs up and says "hep." He can often be found at the kitchen table getting into any leftovers that Joseph left. Even though he usually throws a tantrum when it is time for bed, he tells us when he is tired by saying, "nigh nigh." One of his favorite songs has a chorus that says "bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, pop." Yeah, I know...repetitive. He walks around "singing" the song and saying, "bubbles, pop." He condenses it. :)

One of my favorite Joseph sayings..."yayhoo."

Zombie apocalypse

So today I found myself looking around outside wondering if it had happened. I know it is a silly fear, but zombies freak me out. I have had zombie apocalypse dreams for as long as I can remember...some more vivid than others. In one dream the door turned to paper and I willed myself awake. In another I had to grab a rifle and shoot some. In another, Samuel was crawling among them and I had to save him. It is always worst when my little boys are involved or other members of my family. Often I make myself wake up from the dream and try to stay awake for a bit so I can change the dream. Joe jokes about getting a house that would be good for a zombie apocalypse (which he says will happen one day).

Today I was grateful to see people driving around in their cars. It appeased my fear momentarily. For those that are trying to psychoanalyze my irrational fear, understand that I can take a step back and know what is real...but I think I might start carrying a bat with me...just in case. I would post a picture of a zombie, but I wouldn't be able to look at my blog post.

Because I haven't blogged for what seems to be a long time...

I haven't blogged in what seems like ages. We are trying to get holiday plans hashed out and trying to find a house (again). We have an offer in on one house, and are planning to put one in on another house. I found a house that might be nice, but we need to look at it. Joe has had to work some long hours in the past few weeks because of budget stuff.

Joseph is pretty good at writing all the letters and his name. I haven't taught him our address because we don't have a home yet. He is a good big brother. We made his Christmas list tonight...some of the things he asked for (this is a random sampling):

3 pencils for homework
a blanket that is soft, cozy, and really warm
oranges for his stocking because he really likes them

We worked on the list for a bit to get some ideas on paper.

Samuel has had a rough go sleeping the past few weeks. Tonight we had him cry it out for the first time in a long time. He is finally in bed. I am going to bed soon too. He talks a lot more and says "milt (milk)", "nanny (candy)", "nack (snack)", all fruits other than bananas are "apple", and he likes to walk around asking "are you...shoe (or "boot (book)", "sippy")?"

I am just ready for a place to call home again.