Happy Holidays!!!

We want to wish each of you a "Happy Holidays" from the Simpsons! We are so grateful for so many things this time of year, and friends and family are at the top of the list. So are our kids. They really keep us on our toes (which is not so fun when you're waddling around 7 1/2 months pregnant and can't even see your toes!) A quick run-down of our happenings.

This year Davis has been asking Santa for Darth Maul attire--a black cloak, a double bladed light saber, and red and black make-up to paint his face. I think he got the idea after fighting Darth Maul at the Jedi School in Disneyland last month. He continues to surprise us with his confidence and lack of inhibitions. This weekend at our ward Christmas party he asked me if he could participate in the talent show that was going on while we ate. I put him off by saying I wasn't sure who was in charge of the talent show and kept on eating. Five minutes later, I could hear his voice as it boomed through the microphone singing "Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer." He sang it perfectly and had changed all the endings, so everybody was laughing--my favorite was "...the reindeer shouted out with glee, Boo-yah!" He really is a fun and funny kid and everyone that meets him seems to fall in love.

Eden is talking more and more, is completely into babies, and is a typical two-year old with typical two-minute tantrums about two hundred times a day. She has quickly gone from "Mine" to "Do it" to "I do it" to the latest, "I wanna do it." All day long... I try to brush her hair. "I wanna do it." I try to brush her teeth. "I wanna do it." I try to wipe her hands after breakfast. "I wanna do it." One thing she can do is take care of her babies. She knows how to undress them and wrap them in any kind of "blankie" she can find--dish towels are a favorite. The other day I looked over and she had them all lined up on the couch. She is beginning to feed them, sometimes with real food if I don't catch her in time. I can tell I'm going to have to watch her like a hawk when the new baby comes and she begins to mother him too.

Allen is hard at work building his business with Nouveau Riche. He has just finished his fourth session down at the college in Arizona, which is a sacrifice on both our ends, but is totally worth it for the knowledge he comes home with. He loves learning about all the ins and outs of real estate investing and is happy to talk anyone's ears off about it! :) (Mine included!) The education he is receiving really is quite valuable and we're excited for the potential it offers our family's future.

I am busy being pregnant. However, as uncomfortable as I am getting, I really don't think I'm quite ready for the change. I just had my 30 week visit and my midwife started asking about my birth plan. "Already?" I replied. "Is it really that soon!?!" Our baby boy is due to be born February 26th and continues to be nameless, although we have a few ideas. I have just finished up another busy holiday boutique season in the area, participating in 5 boutiques and heading up 2 of them. We had our best year yet, bringing in almost $2,000 more than last year, but we also had a check bounce for the first time ($200, ouch!) It's definitely not a money-maker, but it's a lot of fun and gives me a little creative outlet.

Love to all! We hope this season is good to you. We are most grateful for the greatest gift of all from our Heavenly Father--the gift of the Savior. I really liked what our primary lesson said today--that one of the things the Savior has given us is his teachings that lead us to true happiness, and that's a gift we continue to receive all year round, not just at Christmas time. I really believe that is true.

Sincerely,

Allen, Sara, Davis, & Eden Simpson

Halloween--My favorite time of the year!

Trick-or-treat!!! One of the funnest things I've ever done is going trick-or-treating with this little girl. No matter how heavy it got, she held onto her little bucket the whole time--very tightly, I might add. She loved to knock at each door, look up at them with her big brown eyes and when she realized people were giving her candy, she didn't want to go home!

I'll give you 3 guesses. And, no, he is not an elf. Apparently he got that one a lot. He wanted to be The Green Goblin this year--"My first time ever being a villian, Mom!" (By the way, that's GG for short...) It's basically his old TMNT costume swathed in some crudely sewn (definitely not hemmed) purple material. It held up for the school parade, a night of trick-or-treating, and when he wore it a third time to a birthday party last week, the boots were already coming undone. Ah well...he really couldn't have been happier.

Happy Birthday to me!!! I told Davis that I'm going backwards now, so I actually turned 31. He got pretty mad at me and told me that's not fair!

Jeff & Janelle's Wedding

Jeff and Janelle were married in the Logan temple in October. We had a wonderful weekend getting all dressed up and being together. Janelle is awesome and I can't wait to get to know her better.

It's a Boy!!!

Although most of you have already heard, we had the ultrasound on Monday and found out that we're having a little boy. (Ha ha. Probably the rest of you didn't even know I was pregnant!) I was a bit surprised. I'd done all those tests on the internet and gone through all the old wives methods of determining the sex, including tying a piece of my hair to my wedding ring and dangling it over my stomach, and they ALL indicated I'd be having a girl. But, lo and behold, the ultrasound tech pointed out little boy parts, so there you go. Davis is, of course, ecstatic. I told him by handing him a blue lollipop and he jumped up and down, "I knew it! I knew you were having a boy!" He has already named our son Ash and says he's going to be a Pokemon trainer when he grows up. (You have to have some knowledge of Pokemon to know where that comes from--I, unfortunately. have my fair share.) Anyway, baby is healthy and still on track for his due date--February 26.

Eden, the Monkey, Turns 2

This last Sunday, Eden turned 2. We decided to throw a Monkey party for her. After all, she's curious like a monkey, she climbs like a monkey, and she eats bananas like they're going out of style! On Saturday night we had a few friends over for banana splits, some monkey tunes ("Hey, hey we're the Monkies") and some fun monkey games, such as Pin the Banana on the Monkey. As the party ended early, due to the waning sunlight, Allen made a split-second decision, set up his projector and a screen outside and we all bundled up in blankets and watched Horton Hears a Who. I told you I like that movie!
Sunday evening, Dustin and Stephanie's family came over for cake and ice cream. Eden was hilarious when I brought the cake over to her. She took one look at those dancing little flames and started waving her hands back and forth--"No, no, no, no..." I think she's a little paranoid when it comes to hot things and thought I was there to burn her or something. What a fun birthday for a fun little girl! Thanks to everyone for remembering her and for for the generous gifts you gave.

What's Up With Davis?

Davis is in first grade. Davis rides his bike to and from school BY HIMSELF every day. (Okay, it's only 2 blocks away, but still...that's responsibility!) Davis has lost 3 teeth since June and is working on a fourth as we speak. Davis had the opportunity of meeting a hero this summer at the Timpanogas Storytelling Festival--storyteller Bill Harley. It was a lot of fun meeting him and hearing stories live that we've only heard on tape before. He'll be there again next summer and if you've never gone, I highly recommend it. Visit www.timpfest.org for details.
I've also found that first grade is the era of note writing. As the kids really practice their penmanship, Davis has taken to writing me notes and leaving them under doors or on my desk. There are usually a lot of hearts involved. (I did not include the note that said, "Dear Mom. I'm sorry I hit you....") Every time I get one of these notes, it reminds me why I really do love being a mom.

Summer Update

This summer flew by without me getting to post any pics or update on fun things we did. Part of that had to do with me feeling pukey most of the time....So glad that's over! Well, here's a few highlights. Our ward this year had a Pioneer Day celebration in the evening. We met at the church for rootbeer floats, watermelon (Eden's favorite), butter churning, handcart rides, stick pull competitions, square dancing and a bunch more old "pioneery" activities. The kids had a blast...so did we!
"Stay-cation"--After Allen had been working too many consencutive days in a row (including Saturdays), I talked him into taking the afternoon off to spend with the family. We went downtown where we rode the paddle boats--something we've always wanted to do--after spending a couple hours at the Boise Zoo. It was the first time Eden's been since she's been walking and she had a great time going down the big Giraffe slide with big brother Davis. After all the play in the hot sun we went and got cool in the movie theater and saw Horton Hears a Who. If you haven't already seen it, rent it! It's a personal favorite.

Last but not least, we did get in a couple trips down to Utah. Katie was so generous to get a bunch of us Seven Peaks passes and we had a great time basking in the sun and being with family.

Weiser, Idaho and the Lost Tooth

Davis, Eden, and I made the hour drive up to Weiser, Idaho on Friday to watch Grandma and Matt perform. It was a fun little adventure--had a most delicious dutch oven dinner in the park and heard some fun bluegrass music. Took me back to the good, ol' days. While my mom was up there singing in the dark auditorium, Davis started fiddling (ha ha--the pun wasn't intended at first) around with a tooth that has been loose for over a month now. A few minutes later he nudged me hard--"Look Mom!" The tooth was completely bent over, hanging by a "thread"--I hate to think what it was really hanging by. A couple more minutes go by. "Mom, Look! My tooth! My first tooth came out." He literally threw his arms around me and embraced me with a look that I only can describe as pure childlike triumph and joy! I wish I could have bottled that look and kept it forever. He was having a moment, and the really neat thing was, he wanted me to share it with him. A few minutes later he was sharing it with the entire auditorium as he yelled up to Matt on stage. "Hi Matt. I just lost my first tooth!" This was a very proud moment in the Davis history.

Eagle Fun Days!

One of the funnest things we do each summer is attend Eagle Fun Days and the Wet and Wild Parade. After watching a series of "floats" the real fun begins when the firetrucks come through squirting everybody within range. The fun part is--you get to squirt them back! And if you're smart like Eden and me, you'll hide under a large umbrella and stay safe and dry.

Davis's Kindergarten Graduation!

Today was Davis's Kindergarten Graduation program and I'll admit it--I cried! It wasn't just because up there was my little boy, singing and dancing his heart out--"We're ready for First Grade, First Grade!" to the tune of "New York, New York." And it wasn't just because he was as cute as can be, complete with happy yellow tie and a look of innocent anticipation plastered all over his face. It was during the slideshow that the realization hit me--this is the beginning and the end, the end and the beginning. It's the end of everything preschool. It's the end of half-days and snacks. The end of a whole lot of firsts--first field trip, first school lunch, first ride on the bus. But it's also the beginning. The beginning of all-day learning for the next 12 years. The beginning of a whole stream of friends and eventually girlfriends that will come into his life. The beginning of being a bona fide , grown-up kid. The beginning of a whole slew of choices he will have the opportunity to make. The beginning of the path he will take for the rest of his life. Anyway, it just kind of got to me. Made me sad and excited all at the same time.

Here is Davis with two of his best buddies--Joseph and Boone. When the kids walked into the auditorium, they all held hands with a partner, which I thought fostered a spirit of friendship and togetherness. (Only I'm not sure who the little girl is that he was holding hands with...)

Last Friday Davis was introduced to field day at the school, which, for me as a kid, was always one of the most looked-forward-to days of the whole year. Here he is running his brains out in a relay race to see which team could get the most toys out of a small pool and into a hoola hoop on the ground. I volunteered for the day and got placed in what is definitely the most envied station of the whole event--Mother's Revenge! A team of mothers (and one dad) used water guns to squirt kids while they traveled between rubber dots laid out on the ground. If a kid was on a dot, he was safe. But if a kid wasn't....he was fair game! Needless to say, most of the kids were begging to be drenched with water. My left bicep is probably bigger than my right from all the pumping and shooting I had to do that day!

Check out my Slide Show!

Memorial Day Weekend in Fresno, CA. Fun with the whole Brewster clan (minus Katie). The weather was, well, under-the-weather, but who could complain when you're in such good company. We had a good time anyway. Pictures are of a children's museum, hiking around Yosemite, go-cart racing at Boomers, and just hanging out with the cousins. I loved being with my mom, my brothers and their awesome wives and children!

If You Walk, You Rock!

Davis's school had a walk-a-thon for a fundraiser a couple weeks ago. It was so fun to see many of the kids walk or run lap after lap around the park. Davis finally did 6 (after some prodding from Dad), which I think is about a mile and a half. Pretty good for a little guy! I got to help on the committee, which was a lot of fun too. Great school activity.

Eden, the Toddler

She's not a baby anymore (although she's still sporting the baby-fat look.) She's a full-grown toddler. She does wheels on the bus, feeds herself, and has only one speed--FAST! She is definitely her own little person--loves to dance and sing (on pitch even) and LOVES to tease anyone she can--especially big brother. She really is the highlight of the day.

Eden with Grandma Brewster, who came down for a visit over Davis's birthday. Here you can see how beautiful the blooms were this Spring, albeit a few weeks late.

Davis is 6 on May 6th!

Happy Birthday, Davis! This year he turned six on May 6th, which he thought was pretty special and got a kick out of telling people about it. We had a special evening with family and a webflinging good time the Saturday before with several of his buddies for a Spiderman birthday party! They made a spiderweb out of yarn on the trampoline, played "Spiderman, Spiderman, Green Goblin" and got to spray Daddy with silly string for the finale. Go Spidey!