California in March

Yea! Here we are at Disneyland. This trip was a total spur-of-the-moment deal. I went to a Volleyball tournament in the morning and when I got home, Allen said, let's go to California. A few hours later we were packed tightly in the car and on our way. We lucked out to be there during beautiful weather and to see all of the kids' Simpson cousins, plus we got to go to Disneyland and go on "YO HO!" with darling Avery. Thanks so much everyone for having such a good time with us!


Near the end of our trip we met up with Rachel and Spencer Rands and family in Universal City and had a really fun time shopping, chatting, munching, and as you can see, the kids got soaked to the bone! I feel really lucky to have such great friends that we get to periodically mingle with. Our friends and family are welcome to come visit in Boise any old time!


The cousins had such a fun time together. They're creative, fun, crazy and silly at times, but most of all they love and care about each other. We're so grateful for such a great family.

Build-A-Bear, Bee Movie, and Beautiful Eden

January 4th--Davis got to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop from a Christmas gift certificate. He had such a great time picking out his animal, stuffing it, giving it a sound (Take Me Out to the Ballgame,) and then giving it a special heart before they sewed him up. His penguin's name is Cody Maverick from the movie "Surf's Up" (a good movie, if you have never seen it.) He had a wonderful time--I highly think every child should experience it.
January 5th--We took the kids to the Bee Movie Saturday afternoon. It was surprisingly pretty good. At least worth a couple of dollars. We have a really neat cheap movie theater here where you can buy a movie/treat package for $3.50. For $3.50 you get to see your movie, plus you get to pick out 2 treats--popcorn, drink, nachos, candy, cookies. When you compare it to the grocery store, the prices are actually realistic--as opposed to paying $6.00 for a large popcorn like you do at the real theaters these days. Anyway, we had a good time.
January 6th--I love striped tights! I love little girls in striped tights! They are adorable! I would probably wear them myself, if I didn't end up looking trendy, juvenile, or just plain weird. By the way, we woke up today to loads of snow. The most Boise has seen in years, I think. I am loving it!!
January 7th--I couldn't take it any longer. She woke up this morning with the ends of her bangs plastered to her boogers. I combed it out the best I could and snipped it off. (Don't worry. Despite the fact that she is holding the scissors, I didn't let her cut it!) Hopefully I don't regret it in the end, but as for today? I didn't have to disentagle any snot-covered locks. Oh, and more snow today...

The New Year, Symphony Pie, and Guitar Hero

January 3rd--I don't know what to do with this hair!! It is out of control. She woke up this morning looking like Elvis. She won't keep anything in it--thinks it's a hilarious joke to pull clips out and hand them to me with a triumphant smirk--and she has too many cowlics to cut it. So, I just let it do it's own thing, which is okay most of the time, except when it starts to mix in with all the boogers.

January 2--I have discovered a new love--Guitar Hero! What a fun game. I would have put in a picture of myself jammin' on it, but, well, going on my second day of pajamas here. You can see Davis concentrating really hard on his favorite song by Elephant Bones. He wants to practice really hard so he can be as good as an amazing 9-year old boy who will absolutely blow your socks off. Watch the video on the internet--just google nine year boy guitar hero, and it should take you there. Good times!

January 1st--This New Year's was a peaceful one. We just hung around the house all day in our pajamas, watched the parade, worked on last year's digital photo book, cleaned up from Christmas a bit. I decided to make a Symphony pie for dessert. Mmmm...scrumdiddliumptious! And very easy. Take one large Symphony bar with almonds and toffee bits and melt it in a saucepan. Mix it into a partially thawed large container of cool whip until thoroughly mixed in. Put it into a graham cracker pie crust and voila! Keep in the freezer until you are ready to serve. You can put additional cool whip on top if desired and, for a special New Year's sirprise, put in CLEAN coins, trinkets, fortunes (wrapped in plastic), or a whole almond. (Whoever finds the almond gets the prize!) Enjoy!

Merry Christmas from the Simpsons

Merry Christmas, dear Friends and Family. We are taking the quick, painless, and inexpensive (actually free) approach at wishing you all a Merry Christmas this year via the internet. We are so grateful to know each one of you in our lives and are so glad that we've been able to keep up with most of you over the last year. Thank you so much for the emails, the pictures, the phone calls and the kind reminders that let us know we're occasionally thought of. The year 2007 has, of course, been a busy one. Seeing as I don't update our blog quite near enough for most of you, here is a quick look at our family for the past year.

Eden turned one in September. She definitely ties with Davis for the busiest and most energetic person in the Simpson household. She constantly keeps me on my toes as she empties cupboards, drawers, laundry baskets, shelves, garbage cans, etc. I don't think she even looks at what she's pulling out--she just pulls for the sake of pulling! She also has a very toothy grin that she flashes at anyone who flashes her one. She's adorable and we love her.

Davis started Kindergarten this year and really enjoys all the new experiences it is giving him. He is being introduced to the world of p.e., recess, and chocolate milk on Fridays--at least those are a few of his favorite things. His handwriting has improved and he is now sounding out lots of words and writing with mostly lower case. His coloring and drawing have also really taken off and he insists that he stays in the lines without any "peek-a-boo white" showing through. Last Sunday he gave an amazing talk in Primary about Jesus's second coming where all the people would be friends and all the animals would be friends.

Allen is finishing up his second year in the home theater business and things are still going well. He was able to wire our house for whole home audio and an intercom system this year, which is very fun and convenient. I think every home should have them! He enjoys playing with the kids, raquetball, playing the guitar now and then, and warm dinners.

Sara finished up her third year of the neighborhood Hobble Creek Boutique, plus contributed things to several others. It has kept her very busy this fall and early winter. As always, she enjoys reading and finds little nooks and crannies throughout the day to squeeze a few pages of a good book in. Her main goal for the year 2008 is to conquer her life from an organizational standpoint--so she can actually start "living" again. (I know many of you laugh knowingly--but I aim to do it!) She loves being a mother to Eden and Davis.

We love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas where ever you are. Please keep in touch and visit us again--I really do update my blog now and again! :)

Love, The Simpsons In Boise

In-ground Trampolines 101

Rule number one: Water and Wood don't mix. Wood will begin to deteriorate the minute it comes in contact with a liquid. Don't let anyone tell you that it takes years for that to happen.

Rule number two: Dirt must be the heaviest thing on earth! We thought we had a pretty good thing going here, but as soon as that dirt got set in, the pressure literally broke pieces of our "solid wood structure" in half.

Rule number three: Despite the weight, more dirt would have been the key. I'm going to tell you what no other website is going to tell you--I know, because I actually looked this stuff up! PACK THE DIRT AROUND THE TRAMPOLINE REALLY HARD AND KEEP PACKING IT IN THERE! The dirt itself will create a wall inside the wall and will then accept most of the pressure. That's just my own observation of physics in motion speaking--I could be way off--but I think that, had we followed that one simple procedure, you would not be seeing the sinkhole that used to be our trampoline.

Other than that, I love my backyard! It's finished...for the most part. Needs a few more plants, needs a new coat of paint on the fence (hint, hint, Allen,) but for the most part it is beautiful & functional. We put curbing around the backside of the fence with a really neutral rock. We got two maples and they're already starting to look a bit bigger. My favorite aspect is the play area.
The swingset is now set apart with some curbing and filled with wood chips. No more muddy grass under swings and the slide. No more wrestling with the glider for Allen while he's trying to mow the lawn. Everything is picture perfect... everything, except that darn trampoline!

She's a Princess!!

Eden turned one on September 28th. We had a few friends/family members over to celebrate. I did my best at being Martha Stewart with the decorations, although my vision of having it outdoors was dashed due to the inclement weather and the fact that our backyard was not yet kid-friendly (watch for an update on that whole scenario!) Eden loved her cake, though, and had a great time mashing it everywhere, especially in her hair. We love our little girl!

Davis's First Day of Kindergarten

So, last Monday was the big day for Davis--his first day of Kindergarten. His teacher's name is Ms. Skelton and I think, so far, the big highlights are recess and chocolate milk on Fridays! As you can see in the pictures, he had a bright blue shirt to wear on the first day. He was really excited when I showed it to him and made a big deal about cutting off the tag. It's funny to think back to all of my "first days" each year. I can very vividly recall, probably, each and every outfit such as the striped teal button up shirt with matching pants in 7th grade or the black leggings under the black-and-white polka-dot miniskirt in the 10th grade. Each outfit was carefully chosen, usually the most expensive portion of my new school wardrobe, and absolutely perfect to start out that new school year. And as I look back, they were all perfectly hideous! But, back to Davis.

He had a great time and took everything quite seriously, according to a reliable source inside. And, as any good mom knows, it is important to instigate the "after-school-snack" policy, so we dunked a few oreos to celebrate, even letting Eden join in. And how did I do with the whole transition? Did I bawl or weep or have trouble letting go? Not a bit! I'm just relishing this newfound freedom and deciding precisely what to spend it on.