Christmas.....Through Pictures

The tree, Christmas Eve Day



Candy Land, along the Riverwalk, Christmas Eve



Enjoying a very festive house on Christmas Eve



Eating a traditional Finnish Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight



Hearing the doorbell ring and finding Christmas Presents from Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa Claus, on the doorstep



Tracking Santa on Norad



Remembering the Christ Child



Wearing new pajamas before heading to bed



Preparing a Christmas treat for Santa



The cousins were nestled all snug in their beds



Christmas Morning







Busily playing with new gifts and wearing new clothes Christmas Day

Birthday Girl

MyMy sharing her birthday with cousins Lindsey, and Rebekah, and with sister LuLu since counsins were visiting from Arkansas.




Playing "Heavy, Heavy Hangover Thy Poor Head" with the largest present the parents could find. (Getting even anyway we can!)



It is hard to believe that I am posting another birthday for the MyMy. Where has the year gone?

It went to the ending of 2nd grade where she really learned to write and loved it, and the beginning of 3rd grade where the love of chapter books really came to fruition and multiplication tables were memorized.

It went to another season of swim team and soccer where the MyMy took first place in the breaststroke and improved her ability to strategize as a team member in soccer.

The year also went to memorizing 9 of the Articles of Faith and learning to hand sew a Christmas stocking.

The year was also filled with a cute sense of humor, a very quick wit, plenty of bathroom noises and happy singing- all of the time.

And, let's not forget the multitude of hugs, kisses, little notes, holding hands and giggling to her hearts content.

Happy Birthday MyMy today and always.

Annual Christmas Card

Reality TV- Voss Style

Survivor- Derrick losing his banking job due to the economy in January.

Deal or No Deal- Derrick working an entry-level position at Wells Fargo hoping to advance in the future.

America’s Got Talent- MyMy playing her own horn anywhere and anytime, LuLu sighing every chance she gets, Monica putting out fires instead of preventing them, Derrick putting up with the drama put out by 3 girls in the house.

So You Think You Can Dance? - LuLu and MyMy completing another year of dance and acro.

The Amazing Race- Racing to swim team practice, swim team meets, soccer practice, soccer games, basketball practice, dance practice, activity days, and Young Women activities.

Super Nanny- Monica teaching full time. Enough Said!

Trading Spaces- The girls visiting family in Washington State in April, family in SLC and family in New Mexico in July. The entire family visiting family in November.

The Biggest Loser- Not us! We have been so blessed!

Wishing you happiness and blessings this Christmas and Upcoming Year.

Merry Christmas!

From the Voss Herd!

Top Ten Events of Fall

10- Trunk-or-Treat at the annual ward Halloween Party

9- Visiting beautiful Temple Square


8- Playing in the leaves

7- Meeting Michael Jackson

6- Climbing hay stacks

5- Swinging in trees

4- Beating cattails fuzzy with the cousins.

3- Ice-skating

2- Thanksgiving-


1- Hanging with the Grandparents!

Negotiations

Negotiations are taking place all over the world, but none can be more difficult then those that are taking place at the Voss home.

Mommy Voss is in tight negotiations with both the LuLu and the MyMy. Strategies are in place and maneuvers have been organized hoping that somehow a compromise can be reached. Some battles have been won, while others have been lost. So far, the mortality rate, is zero.

Over break I have entered the dark and lurking cavities of bedroom closets, and drawers. I have also reached my hand under dreaded bedskirts and dressers hoping to "dejunk" the area. Much has been collected in the last 6 months. All collections are very important and symbolic to the two lovely girls.

A bowlful of fingernails may appear to be something eerie and disgusting to someone, yet has become a great treasure to an eight-year-old.

Getting rid of 15 stuffed animals from a collection of more than 50 has also required great negotiations. My reasoning of "you have too many" cannot compare to "but that stuffed animal is Baby Burp's best friend's mother". (Baby Burp is a 3 inch stuffed walrus from a McDonald's Happy Meal from over 5 years ago.)

A science-fair project, the first of many, is also considered something valuable. Pictures have been taken, copies of pages have been made. All have been placed in a scrapbook. This small strategy does not even come close to the large actual size of 38 x 42 inches. When asked how often does one look at said science-fair project, the response was, "just now, when I took it out of my closet to clean". Negotiations too amazing to touch!

A few years ago, I received some amazing advice. Buy their valuables at garage-sale- prices. In-genius! Then, children could use the money to buy something new. It sounded like a fool-proof plan. I never thought of using money to negotiate. I had a huge advantage, in which I would truly win! I didn't however, because my children obviously have shopped at high-end garage sales, where items cost more than shopping at Neiman Marcus. I couldn't afford their prices, and they were not willing to barter.

Negotiations have gone on for 3 days now, and I haven't been very successful. Maybe I'll have more luck negotiating at the United Nations. One could hope!

Fall

Since fall does not come to us, we went to fall. Lovely!

High Expectations

The definition for expectation is: a confident belief or strong hope that a particular event will happen.

The definition for high, in this case, is: greater than the normal, or average, well above the smaller or lower level, or amount.

Put the two words together, and you have

3 WEEKS OF FALL BREAK! Meaning.......

I will fall clean the house by washing windows, walls, baseboards, door-frames, and carpets. I will organize the bathroom cupboards, the MyMy's room and the corner in my bedroom.

At school I will clean, organize and create an exceedingly large amount of educational projects.

With my kids, I will share a novel with them, teach them how to cook, work on science-fair and young women projects, go on bike rides at the park, and lay on the floor and giggle to our hearts content.

For PTA, I will balance the budget, get an audit started and completed, input membership names into a data base, and work on the outdoor classroom.

Personally, I will lose 20 pounds, buy new shoes and start and finish the final book of the Harry Potter series. (Yes, I still have not read that book)

And, don't forget the many thank-you cards and other important correspondence that is long overdue.

All this plus, my daily routines of cleaning, cooking, taxiing, church callings etc.

I can do this because I have caught the vision. Not through my dirty windows, mind you, but through the "I will get that done over break" vision because, "I will have plenty of time then" vision. I am superwoman!

Well, the first day of break did not go exactly as planned. I didn't account for the "I am sooooooooooo not in the mood" vision. Besides, high expectations are highly overrated! The expectations won't all be a wash however, because I will still buy those shoes!

Halloween Eve

The family decided to take it easy for a change and stay home. We found some Halloween music on the internet, made and decorated pumpkin cookies, and carved pumpkins. All in all, the night was a success!

Star Student

The MyMy was chosen by her teacher for Student of the Term. She earned a yellow t-shirt, that didn't need to be tucked in, a strawberry slushie from Sonic, and a certificate.

Her teacher wrote- MyMy is a joy to have in class! She is a model student by taking her time and always doing her best! She is also our student of the term for respect and responsiblility!

Way to go MyMy, we are very proud of you!

Sneak Peak

Shhhh! Don't let the cat out of the bag just yet. Here is just a little peak of what is in store! Do not spread the word before October 31st, the night of the big event. Hope you can keep a secret!

Miss Popular

Miss Popular does not live at our house. I am not sure she ever has. She has tried to get in, but our house is air-tight- making it difficult for her to squeeze through the tiniest of cracks.

The other morning I really wanted Miss Popular to visit. The girls did too. In fact, I was rooting for her. I got up extra early so I could make a special breakfast for the family. I also did batches of laundry, made water bottles, and finished loading the dishwasher. We were just about to eat a very yummy breakfast- ham, egg and cheese sandwiches, made with the yummy cheese, and fresh sliced oranges, when the MyMy realized that Miss Popular did not make her sandwich. The sandwich was made by me. You see, Miss Popular would have put two eggs on the sandwich instead of one. The duck-lips appeared and the poor child had lost her appetite. Nope, no Miss Popular today.

The morning continued to become more and more unpopular. The other one, LuLu, was still moping over a conversation from the night before. Miss Popular wants the LuLu to talk and be social during class time so she can do a load of homework every evening. The mother, on the other hand, who has spent hours and hours helping with the nightly homework, is wishing that the LuLu would pay better attention during class and get some work finished, so she could be more social in the evenings. The mother is losing like crazy while Miss Popular is scoring highly.

Miss Popular is so nice! Miss Popular does this! Miss Popular would let me have that! Miss Popular is the winner in so many ways. She lives at other homes, so I am told, and I am constantly asked why she can't live here too?

Me, I wonder why she can't live here also. I mean, why can't Miss Popular live here and also make a nutritious dinner? Or, why can't Miss Popular stay up late doing homework, sew a Halloween costume, drive kids to soccer practice, provide fun and entertaining activities, and demand a clean room all in one swoop?

I guess that although Miss Popular is pretty amazing, she definitely is not Superwomen. Now, that would be pretty difficult shoes to fill! Good Luck Miss Popular, good luck!

Butterfly Transformation

A butterfly transformed into a beautiful young girl. Or, a young girl transforms into a beautiful butterfly. Which one is it? One might even guess that a beautiful young girl had a great time at her Back to School Night Carnival. What is your guess?

Labor Day Parade

It was Labor Day morning and the kids were busy decorating their bikes with balloons and colored crepe paper.



Music was arranged, and pictures were taken of the entries in the parade.



Here is one of the participants riding past the spectators.



At the end of the parade, the hoses were brought out for some cool down time. Breakfast was served to all of the eager participants, and then off to do some Labor, since that is what the day is called.