...and baby makes THREE!

More of my brother's baby HERE

Merry Christmas!

I have not been blogging lately, but I've been thinking about it...and that should count for something!

We are off to Sacramento for some family fun. I hope you all have a spectacular Christmas.

TRADITIONS...old and new

I LOVE traditions. The holidays would not be the same without them. Which is why I have started thinking a lot about what I want our family traditions to be.

As a kid we always depended on a few things (some of which may be familiar to you, too):

1. New Christmas PJ's opened on Christmas Eve

2. The Christmas morning breakfast casserole (one year home from college my mom
decided to "mix it up" a bit and try something new. That one did not go over well with us kids!

3. The "themed" Christmas card my dad puts together with his catchy play on words
and poetic phrases. One year he made a snowman family for all of us to sit by, including dogs. Another year we were all on a raft and the theme was something like "Sailing Through the Year". Cheesy, but a tradition nonetheless.



4. Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus with candles and all! Yes, strange, I know.

5. Reading the Biblical account of Jesus' birth.

6. Around high school, our stockings were discontinued and we graduated to pillow
cases. These would be stuffed with all kinds of junk food like Fiddle Faddle, crackers, cookies, candy, sweet cereal, etc. You would understand why if you grew up in my family. My dad was a bargain shopper and was known to buy expired, foreign foods from grocery stores you never knew existed like the Rainbow Market, dollar spot and the 98 cent store. He also bought horse feed in bulk, cooked it up, and tried to pass it off as OATMEAL...EVERY morning. So you can see why we appreciated our pillow case full of brand name junk food!

7. Christmas decorations! Like the wooden, toll painted tree that held suckers. Or
the curly ribbons we would throw over the christmas tree like tinsel. Or the
terribly tacky stained-glass Christmas tree (oh the magic of lighting the candle
to light up that tree)





These are the memories we used to thrive on. Now as I am older, I want to continue some of those traditions, but start new ones too with my own kids. Here are some new traditions that I really like:



1. Dinner in Bethlehem - dress up in era-appropriate robes and eat a dinner of pita
bread, fish, nuts, and dried fruit by candlelight. Talk about the Savior's birth
and what it would have been like to live in His time.

2. Christmas morning TRAP - My friend Amy makes a trap of string and bells down the
staircase that her kids have to get through on Christmas morning in order to see
what Santa's brought.

3. Wrap 30 children's Christmas books and put them under the tree. Each night in
December the kids can pick one book to read.

4. The day after Thanksgiving give your kids a Christmas pillowcase made from
festive fabric to put on their pillow. Tell them it's time to start dreaming of
Christmas.

5. My friend Kelly gives her kids 3 gifts for Christmas. One is a gift of LOVE
(usually something homemade), a gift of KNOWLEDGE, and a gift of JOY (something
fun). I think this is a great way to keep out-of-control spending in check.

6. Elf on the Shelf - this is a book and doll that can be purchased. After
Thanksgiving the elf comes out. He is Santa's spy from the North Pole to see
who is being naughty or nice. Every night he returns home to the North Pole to
report to Santa on your kids' behavior. When he comes back to your house he is
hiding in a new spot and the kids have to find him. Can you imagine the good
times this could bring to a young believer??!



What are some of your favorite traditions? I would love to hear!

Breaking my own rules.

I have always maintained my strong moral code of NO Christmas celebration BEFORE Thanksgiving. I thought it was a good rule to stand by. Things can get really out of control, you know, with decorations starting to infiltrate retail shops in OCTOBER!...Ridiculous

But this year something strange happened. i started thinking about Christmas early. The tinsel at Target in October didn't bug. The Christmas music on my cozy station 103.5 didn't seem to phase me. The smell of cinnamon candles was welcome.

So, i broke my own rules.

But I was justified in doing so. Since we were going to be out of town for both Thanksgiving AND Christmas, I figured I would set up the X-mas home decor before Thanksgiving break so that we could come home and enjoy it for as long as we could!




Boy was that a good decision. We are swimming over here in lights, music, candles, baked goods, poinsettias, and holiday spirit.


and I LOVE it!

IDAHO? No...you da' ho.

Idaho was the destination of choice this Thanksgiving. Off to the land of frosty cold weather to see Grandma LaWanna, Grandpa Bruce and all the long-distance aunts, uncles and cousins!

If you know me well, you know that I am a cold weather WIMP (and a hot weather wimp. oh...just a WIMP all together)! But nonetheless, we gathered up the gear preparing for the worst.




Here is Jack testing out his winter wear. Look familiar? Like Ralphie's little brother in the "Christmas Story"? Jack did take a brutal face plant when he tried to take his first step in the marshmallow suit.



We enjoyed a delicious feast of all the traditional eats. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, punch, and 6....yes 6 pies made by aunt brooke. Mmmm. True to form, I stuffed my face and was incapacitated the rest of the evening. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?




The next day, we took part in an Idaho tradition of going to the woods and chopping down a Christmas tree. Just 10 bucks, some frost bitten fingers, and a little creativity can get you a mighty fine tree!



Brooke and Kylee


Kids piled in the back of the truck in search of the perfect tree. Don't worry...i was hiding out in the cab staying warm.


We had a great time. Thanks LaWanna for making us so comfortable in your home! It wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without family to share it with!

Prophetic Dreams?

What can I say? Brad needed a third choice named Ali!

Jenni, DeAnna or what's that you say....ALI?

It's true. I obsess over The Bachelor. Last night in my dreams I was one of the final three waiting for Brad Womack to express his undying love for me in the most dramatic engagement proposal and rose ceremony yet!



Of course, in my dream I did not look like this....

Rather, I had a rockin' body, blonde flowing hair, and a "rack" only money can buy. Not only that, I was on top of my flirting game (which has not been in practice for 5 years now). You could say I was the "front runner"!

Brad had given me some pretty strong implications that I would be receiving that engagement rose.

Really, I felt bad for the other two. It seemed as though they did not stand a chance.
I just pictured them driving home in the limo sobbing their eyes out because I was the one wrapped in the strong, masculine arms of Bachelor Brad.

So stay tuned tonight for a great showing. I hope I didn't ruin too much of it for you. Just don't say I didn't tell ya so when you hear those words...


"Ali, will you accept this proposal rose?"

Weeee...

another fun practice shoot! Meet the Musgroves...

who's this handsome chap?

Welcome baby Carter...



This is my brother's new baby boy. He weighed in at an uncharacteristic "Sessions" weight of 6 pounds, 2 ounces. Mom is doing well, and aunt ali can't wait to take some pictures of the little devil!

I like big heads and I cannot lie. My other brothas can't deny

Yesterday I put a hat on jack's generously proportioned noggin. very cute, but do you think there is such thing as a "deep fit" hat? It did land about 3 inches ABOVE his ears, which isn't cool, right?

bits of bubby

This is my first, humble attempt at editing video clips. The video quality is terrible because it was shot on our digital camera. Stay tuned for more professional family films...

please send....

well...besides an Arbys Roast Beef sandwich which sounds REALLY good right now, i need...

YOUR ADDRESS!

Christmas is right around the corner and we are brewing up a SUPER-DUPER brag letter that we don't want you to miss out on. So if you want to hear about all our accomplishments this year, then send me your address.

E-mail me at alidegraff@yahoo.com

i could be a minivan mom...

i'll admit. i've had recent longings for the conveniences that only a minivan can offer. more trunk space, more seating, a DVD player, automatic sliding doors, cup holders for the kids...etc....

but then my mind flashes back to the days in our hunter green (the most popular color in its day) Ford Aerostar, with the hood that made the car look like a torpedo on wheels. then there were the days in the tan Dodge Caravan with the faux wood siding, where we'd spend most of our family vaction driving time building blanket forts in the back. was there a seatbelt law back then?

and I ask...could I really go there? me. a minivan mom?

Then my friend Sheena mentioned something about a new VW concept car fashioned after the classic microbus. knowing my husbands LOVE for the vintage bus, i had to look into it.

here is what i found. what do you think? i think momma like...

november + sunshine = beach day

what's that you say...beach in november? Yes siree. Apparently summer temps are sticking around this year. So much for a winter pregnancy. I'm sweatin' bullets in my maternity jeans and compression stockings.

I shouldn't complain. It's always fun to go to the beach especially with friends like the Southwells. Troy got in a little surfing, I chased Jack in and out of the water 500 times, and most importantly, we all got a little time to soak up some sun.

So, if you are reading this from some miserably cold state like Utah, Chicago, Virginia, Wisconsin, or Idaho....eat your heart out! And hurry up and get a ticket out to California.


Um...yes...that is my belly. sheesh...


Making dad's dreams come true.



Ezra...check out the splash from my rock


The sand BOOGIE

Bah Humbug!

I feel like a big Halloween SCROOGE! I thought I would be okay not dressing up this year, but when the real day came I was sad.

We were supposed to be the Flinstone family. I thought I was buying a dinosaur costume, but when I got home Troy informed me that it was a DRAGON, not a DINO. Plan foiled! I better start planning for next year so this disappointment doesn't happen again.

At least one of us enjoyed Halloween in costume.



Yee-haw. That horse hair tickles. Now let me at it so I can have a taste.


Mom...it's 85 degrees here and I am sweating bullets in this fuzzy get-up!


Just your friendly neighborhood dragon.


Getting a workout before the Chili Cookoff.

our kid is cuter than yours...

If you don't believe me, just look at these pictures. I mean, the proof is in the pudding folks!




It's never too early to lock your kid outside for some temporary peace and quiet while you try to mop the floor, right? Besides, he loves it out there (even though it doesn't appear that way)! Oh, and the scabs on his nose are from face planting into the patio the night before. I promise...we ARE good parents.