The Prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas

Those of you who've read the book will know that I stole the title for this blog from The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio which I read a few months ago.

Anyway, just wanted to mention that I've become the prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas; more exactly, the radio prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas. I'm an avid radio-listener, my radio is on ALL the time when I'm in the car or kitchen, and over the past two weeks my listening has paid off!

On Black Friday I was at a stoplight in between stores when I flipped radio stations and heard "Be the 9th caller right now and win a $20 gift certificate to Old Navy!" I thought, "What the heck, I'm stopped at a light anyway," and dialed the number. Busy. Dialed again. Busy. Dialed one more time, and what d'ya know? "You're the 9th caller, congratulations!"

Then this past Tuesday morning I was listening as I cleaned the kitchen when the radio station decided to have a contest for listeners to call in for Christmas Karaoke. They wanted people to sing their favorite Christmas Carol--the funnier the better. Since I really have no shame when it comes to competition, I decided to call. I must have been desperate, because I kept getting voice mail or a busy signal, but continued trying off and on for about an hour. Finally I got through and was able to sing the most nasally version of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that I could muster. I was able to save my family and friends a little bit of embarrassment by only giving my first name (let me tell you, Jordan was PROUD when I told him about it), but I guess thats all down the drain now that I'm telling YOU! At the end of the competition I was named one of three winners for the day--yahoo! a $10 restaurant gift certificate and a Christmas CD! (I would have thought my dignity was worth at least $20, but I guess I overestimated.)

All of this winning lately reminded me of the previous prizes I've won from radio stations--that's right, these are not the first of my radio triumphs. The winning began in high school when I won some pizzas and soda for being the correct caller. And a few years ago I won a small prize pack and had my name entered for a trip to the final four. But the VERY BEST radio victory came about nine years ago when I lived in San Jose. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire had just become really popular and so, of course, the radio station I listened to began their own version of the game. One day I was the lucky caller. I answered the first two question correctly and opted out of the third to win $300--that's right $300!!!!

And so, my advice to all of you who think that you're just not lucky enough to win, is that if you listen to the radio enough, push redial enough, and really, really want it bad enough, you too can be a Prizewinner. BEST OF LUCK!

Thankful

I know I'm over a week late since Thanksgiving was more than a week ago, but this morning I'm feeling thankful for my kids and wanted to mention two thing in particular.

I'm thankful for Trista, because she's always so thankful! I was reminded of this a few minutes ago when after getting her dressed I helped her into the chair and covered her with her favorite blanket, ready to watch Dora, and she said, "Thank you, Mommy." Most of you know that as a Mom you don't really get all the "thanks" you deserve. But from Trista I get a lot of thanks. Some of them are for such little things--like simply answering a question. One example--this morning, after dropping off Alexis and Spencer at school, Trista asked, "We going my house, Mommy?"

"Yup, we're going back home now."

"Oh! Thank you, Mommy!"

The second thing I wanted to mention is how great it feels when my kids get along well or do something nice for each other without being asked to. This was the case recently with Alexis and Spencer when they decided to write a love note to each other. I was really touched by Spencer's note to Alexis, and while it doesn't really seem to be true most of the time, I'll definately save it and treasure it, and use it to embarrass/hold against him when he's older.

In case you can't read it it says:

Thank you for everything. I love you with all my might. You are my best friend. I will never hate you and you will never hate me. Because I love you. I would never ever hate you. I have to say this again. I love you and I will always love you.

Little Helper

Today Trista and I did some Thanksgiving baking while all the other kids were at school. After making the pumpkin bread we started on the dough for the rolls. I sat her on the counter next to the mixer and the canister of flour. Before I knew it she was dipping her finger into the flour and licking it. I didn't really say anything the first time--I assumed she'd realize that white flour alone just doesn't taste good, but I guess she thought otherwise. Back went her little finger several times, and finally she went for a whole handful. You would have thought it was sugar the way she was just eating it. Gross! Who wants to eat a whole handful of flour? I kept telling her to stop and that it was yucky, but she just didn't agree. She'd eat a little bit of flour, then spread some on the counter and drag her finger through it and say, "Pretty, it's pretty Mom."

Consider this your warning if you're having Thanksgiving dinner at my house: Your roll probably has a little bit of Trista in it. Eat at your own risk!


Later, on the way home from preschool, Dallin and I had an interesting conversation.

Dallin: Why is your heart right here (pointing to his chest)?

Me: I guess Heavenly Father decided to put it in our chest to keep it safe. Our ribs help protect it.

Dallin: Chests stink.

Me: Well, mine doesn't.

Dallin: Yes, it does. Heavenly Father made our chest stink so that if bad guys come and they try to get our heart, it will stink. I can smell it right now.

Me: Maybe you just have gas.

Where do kids come up with these things?

Third Annual Cancun Vacation

A few weeks ago Jordan and I got to go to Cancun for our third annual vacation together. We really love getting away, just the two of us to relax and reconnect. This time while there we took a 3 1\2 hour bus ride to Chichen Itza to see the Mayan ruins. It was a fun and educational trip!

On the bus trip back we stopped at a huge natural well that you could take stairs down to and then jump from the ledge inside into the water. The pictures are kind of dark, but hopefully you can see the vines that are hanging from the opening above ground all the way down to the water. It was beautiful!

For me the highlights of the trip were no cooking, doing dishes, or cleaning up for an entire week; going to bed early and getting up to play tennis, body surfing in the ocean, reading Jane Eyre (for the first time), and of course spending time with my Honey! Can't wait 'til next year!

Flintstones, Meet the Flintstones

We had a fun, exciting, candy-filled Halloween. Hope you did too!

UNSPECTACULAR ME!

So, it turns out I've been tagged. Actually I was tagged a week ago but just realized it today. I was tagged by Maren Hufford, a friend from church.

Here are the rules:
"MY UNSPECTACULAR QUIRKS"
1.Link to the person who tagged you
2.Mention the rules on your blog
3.Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4.Tag 6 bloggers by linking to them
5.Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Okay, I like to think of myself as an exceptionally normal person, so this is tough for me, but with a little help from my hubby I have come up with six...

1. I am a SINGER..not a professionally trained singer, or even ONE THAT SOUNDS GOOD, but a singer nonetheless. I know EVERY WORD to EVERY SONG played on top 40 radio stations from about 1980 on (and even some from the 70s!). So no matter what the occassion, time of day, or topic at hand--I can almost always burst out into a song that matches the moment. If you happen to pull up next to me at a stop light you will most definately see me SOULFULLY CROONING along to my radio. And, yes, I listen to and enjoy Delilah.

2. I often relive my "GLORY DAYS"... in my sleep. When I'm awake I don't necessarily think of high school as the glory days or wish to relive them in any way. However, my subconscious wishes those days were back--usually WITH A TWIST. I can't count how many times I've dreamt that I was back in high school, playing in the state champtionship game with my old basketball team... NINE MONTHS PREGNANT... with Jordan and my three young children cheering me on from the sidelines.

3. I am a nervous LAUGHER. Whenever I am scared, nervous, or just don't know how to react to something, I LAUGH. Case in point: A few months ago our family went swimming. At one point Dallin swam out too far from the edge and began struggling underwater for a few moments. I was able to grab him and lift him out and he was fine, but as soon as it was over I started LAUGHING. Jordan (probably having flashbacks to a few summers ago) was freaked out and disgusted that I was laughing. He was mad at me for days. Of course I don't think my child almost drowning is funny, but my reaction in those situations is always laughter--definitely not my best attribute.

4. My EARS do not match. If my hair is pulled back and you happen to see only the left side of my face, you'll notice a normal ear, round at the top and average sized. However, if you catch a glimpse of the right side you'll see that the Lord blessed me with one SPOCK EAR. This ear is roughly the same size as the other, but is quite pointy at the top. Wierd, I know.

5. For over eight years now I have been a severe SURVIVOR WANNABE. I was pregnant with Alexis when the first season of Survivor aired. Since then I've given birth to her and three other children, all the while wondering just how I could manage to GET ON THE SHOW (and what would I do with my family while I was gone for two months?)! It's really the competitive part of me that just KNOWS that I could be good--I could win every challenge and be friends with everyone along the way. In the beginning I also really wanted the MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE, but over the years I've gotten more excited about the challenge and the prospect of getting away! Somehow starving, being eaten alive by bugs, and having to eat live worms or pig intestines while being surrounded by 15 other kooky people has begun to sound like a VACATION. Could it have anything to do with the fact that I have four young children? (And are there any volunteers to put together my survivor application video?:)

6. I am POSITIVE that I was meant to be a PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER--I just somehow got mixed up and put into a family that didn't play and didn't have the money to teach me to play. I started taking lessons three years ago and fell IN LOVE with the sport. And I'm just sure that I could have been good, SO GOOD, but instead I'm just an almost-middle-aged, average (or below) , 3.0 player who tries hard, but usually gets my butt kicked. Oh well, at least I get to wear fun tennis skirts while doing it!

Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze

A few weeks ago the kids were out of school on a Friday and Shelly Smith from church organized a "field trip" for us to a pumpkin patch and corn maze in Missouri. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but the kids had so much fun--we'll definately make it a yearly trip from now on!

There was so much to do! First we watched an educational video about all the uses for corn. It was a little bit too much information for some of the little kids. They wanted to play with the pumpkins instead!

After the video we went on a hay ride and then the kids road the "Cow Train" that was pulled behind a tractor.

All the kids enjoyed playing in the cornbox--like a sandbox but with corn instead. Alexis and Trista made "corn angels."

Dallin's favorite part was pumping water down the trough to see if his duck would reach the other end first!

There was even a cave for the kids to explore.

Other attractions included wooden slides that the kids rode down on potato sacks or boards, basketball, a corn cannon, the corn maze, a small, stinky petting zoo with chickens, pigs, a goat and a sheep (Trista was very interested in looking but DID NOT want to touch!). We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the tables provided, and by the time we left all the kids were worn out and enjoyed a nap on the ride home!

Happy 8th Birthday Alexis!

Today was Alexis' birthday! Hooray, she's finally eight! She's been looking forward to this day for so long, and she's so excited to be baptized soon. We have her baptism scheduled for Saturday, October 24th. Grandma and Grandpa Post aren't able to come, but we're looking forward to having Grandma and Grandpa Smith and Great Grandma and Grandpa Salmon here for it.

For Alexis' birthday we had a "tea" party on Saturday. She and her friends got to dress up; then they each painted a tea cup and saucer and had lunch.

After lunch we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake and ice cream. The cake, invitations, plates, etc. were all Hannah Montana themed. We even had Hannah Montana music playing, which every little girl at the table knew all the words to. It was kind of relieved to see that my daughter isn't the only one infatuated with Hannah Montana.

Then today after school I took all the kids over to the mall and let Alexis pick out some stuff at Clair's (she was given a gift certificate by her best friend Sydney).

After that we got a small treat at Candy Craze, a new outfit for her dog at Build-A-Bear and then went to Chuck E. Cheese to play games for a little bit before dinner. Alexis' dinner request was pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and after dinner she got to go on a little daddy/daughter date with Jordan. Throughout all of the afternoon and evening activities Alexis was sure to tell anyone who would listen that today was her eighth birthday!

As a bonus I'll include a copy of the poem I wrote for Alexis in order to try to win a free birthday party for her at Jump Zone. It's nothing fancy, but she enjoyed it!

Ode to Alexis
Alexis Post is turning eight

Her family really thinks she's great!

Oldest of four, she helps out a lot

Playing with and reading to the younger tots

She's an excellent student who works very hard

In class and on assignments she goes the extra yard.

Alexis loves to sing, play piano, and dance

Wants to be Hannah Montana--just give her the chance!

We love you Alexis, as a daughter and sista',

Love Mom, Dad, Spencer, Dallin and Trista!

Happy Birthday Alexis! We love you so much!

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

I haven't blogged for a while, so I thought I'd write a little about what I've been up to. September was a busy, yet relaxing month--I guess most days seem more relaxing now that I'm not working.

Becca came to visit near the beginning of September for her 10-year reunion, and she ended up deciding to stay with me a couple extra weeks since Brad was on a very busy rotation. It was nice having her company. We played some tennis, a lot of rummy, and way too much policeman. By policeman I mean that we had to spend a good deal of time tearing Trista and Jacob apart. Everything was great at the beginning, but after a day or two Trista starting getting very territorial and mean and would try to hurt Jacob whenever he got in her way, had one of her toys, or even breathed. Poor Jacob! Several times she left claw/scratch marks on his little cheeks and nose. By the end of the visit Jacob was very good at fighting back or even just walking up to Trista and hitting her for no reason, as she had done to him many times. Sorry for teaching him bad things, Becca--I hope he doesn't start doing that to his friends at home!

Jacob and Trista during one of their rare moments of getting along

Trista, Dallin, Jacob, and Spencer in the bathtub. Of course, Alexis had to be in the picture too!

Jacob, eating a cookie and donning Spencer's vest--a hand-me-down from Spencer's other cousin, Braden. While he was here, Jacob really took a liking to Spencer. The first thing Jacob would ask for when he woke up in the morning was "Fencer."

So now that Becca is gone I've been trying to buckle down and get some sewing done. I've haven't sewn anything for a few years, haven't really wanted to, but I decided to sew Alexis a dress (actually a skirt and shirt) for her baptism this month. Of course I chose a pattern that wasn't the simplist--a tiered skirt with gathers, shirt with gathered sleaves, etc. So far I have it cut out but haven't actually begun sewing.

As if that wasn't enough, a few weeks ago the kids and I were talking about Halloween and I came up with the wonderful idea of sewing costumes for the whole family to wear for Halloween this year. Jordan and I have never dressed up with the kids before, and we've never had a family theme, but last year several families at our church Halloween party wore themed costumes so I thought it would be fun to join in. I'm not letting the cat out of the bag as to what we're planning to dress up as yet--you'll have to check back later for pictures (that is if I actually complete Alexis' outfit and six costumes in the next 24 days!). Ugghhh! What have I gotten myself into?

Spinach Shakes

A few weeks ago I was talking to a few of my health-conscious friends and they told me that they had begun making spinach shakes for their families. Apparently when spinach is blended up really well and you add yummy stuff like berries and bananas you can't even taste the the spinach! So I decided to try it, and here are the results:

Trista and the other kids really liked it and drank all that I gave them!

Jordan didn't like it quite as much (of course, this could be because I also added protein powder to his--this must have just put it over the top!).

The verdict: it is a good way to get your kids to eat spinach, especially if they love all types of drinks as much as mine do; husbands may be a harder sell!

Sunny California

So, I'm finally getting around to posting our pictures from our fabulous trip to San Jose in August. We got to do so many fun things and had a blast spending time with Jordan's side of the family.

We took the Lightrail to downtown San Jose to the Children's Technology Museum

Dallin doing his best Popeye immitation (he kept making this funny face for some reason!)

Trista and her cousin Kylee

Spencer loved learning about this pulley system

Kylee and Trista enjoying a snack while waiting for the movie on the HUGE Imax screen

I got to see my college friend Larisa, who I hadn't seen in about five years.

Larisa and her three kids and me and my kids (minus Alexis, plus Kylee)!

We spent quality time hanging out and Grandma and Grandpa's house!

All the kids watching a movie in Grandma and Grandpa's bed

Jordan's sister Ashley and her husband Carey and daughter Brianna

Family Home Evening together

FHE

Alexis and Brianna

Alexis and Kylee eating popcycles and apples in the backyard

Going Somewhere

We went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk where we got to enjoy $.75 rides, drinks, hotdogs, and cotton candy. This is one of our favorite things to do when we visit California!

Of course, all of these activities wore us all out, so we definately needed a few naps!

Jordan and his brother Stuart

So much fun! We can't wait to do it all again next year!