More Christmas Eve fun

"Open, open, open!"

Genuine thank-you hugs

Ironhide Transformer and Barbie Horse--winners!

When we got back from our DC venture, we had a late dinner, read Luke Chapter 2, and let the kids open one gift, the presents they'd picked out for each other. They were very eager to get to bed after this! Unfortunately they were so EXCITED that they hardly slept the whole night.

National Christmas Tree

On Christmas Eve we took the Metro into Washington D.C. and saw the National Christmas tree. I loved this picture that Jason took, with the Washington Monument in the background.

There were a lot of people there--I guess folks had the same idea we had!

Merry Christmas!

Joy To The World!

Live Nativity at Washington DC Temple

Inside the Washington DC Temple's Visitor Center

We have had an amazing Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but for now I thought these nice pictures from our temple visit last week would be best! Here's hoping you've had a wonderful day filled with great memories and time with loved ones.

"What I've Done"

Wade and I were messing around with iTunes today. We found some snippets (is that a word?) from the Transformers movie soundtrack. If you don't recognize the song sung at the end of the movie, that's OK. Just sit back and enjoy watching Wade sing his heart out for 30 seconds. :) I love it that he sings pretty much the same note the whole time!

An enchanted year

After reading Derrick and Tommy's blogs recapping the year, I've been thinking a lot about mine, and the best way I can describe it is that I lived out the Enchanted movie, only in reverse. Instead of being pushed into the "real world" like Giselle, I was gently nudged into Fairy Tale Land, where all my dreams come true. The main characters were:
Prince Charming (my freakin' genius hubby): Jason
Official "Christmas Day every day" sidekicks: Rhiannon and Wade
Royal (or should I say "loyal") family and friends: all of you
Evil villains: none, unless you count the computer calling out to me, "Come blog and leave the daily grind work for the fairy tale elves to do!"
Other important items in Fairy Tale Land:
Transportation modes: walking on air, the mini-van, Jason's date night car, and 1st-class seats on airplanes
Fairy tale destinations: too many to list, but the East Coast and Central Europe in general
My castle: half the year in Ridgecrest and half the year in Springfield

2007 really has been a dream for me. I am mindful of it and so thankful to Heavenly Father for the blessings He has showered on me and on our family.

Lava lamps, lights, and great one-liners

Tonight we drove to the Washington DC Temple to enjoy the beautiful Christmas displays there. Lights were everywhere. The Visitor's Center was awesome, too. We spent most of our time inside there because it was so cold. (Saying the wind was brisk would be an understatement, more like biting!) But it was neat to see it all and realize the hard work and time spent putting it all together. The live nativity scene outdoors was amazing, too.
Last night we went to another church party. Rhiannon picked a lava lamp in the white elephant gift exchange, and the kids are quite smitten with it! :)
And, finally, great one-liners:
Rhiannon: I can't believe anyone would want to give that away! (speaking of the lava lamp)
Wade: You need to hold my hand or the wind will blow me away and you will never see me again! (before we left the temple visitor's center to go outside one last time.)
Check out lots of new photos on our flickr site, too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvrwfotos

Lots of grandmas and grandpas

Yesterday Wade's preschool group made a visit to a nursing home. They've been learning about sharing and service this month, and so they shared "themselves" with lots of grandmas and grandpas by putting on a sweet Nativity play, singing songs, and handing out cards and hugs. You can't tell by the picture, but the room was packed.


Wade said his favorite part was singing songs. Here they are singing "Jingle Bells." He did a wonderful job as the angel and particularly enjoyed holding that star as high as he possibly could.

Merry Christmas!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Well, it's not Utah or Kansas, but it IS snowing today! We expect to get 1-3 inches and will have straight sunshine tomorrow, so I don't expect the kids will be building any snowmen. But for desert dwellers like us, it's cool all the same. It's snowing steadily, so we can try out our snowboots and stomp around a bit! The first thing Wade equated the snow to was, of course, a movie reference. "Hey, it's like in Chronicles of Narnia!" We plan on walking to pick Rhiannon up from school this afternoon so she can get a chance to experience it, too. Hot cocoa and some warm muffins ought to round out the day, or at least put the kids in better spirits if our "snowy walk" ends up being a bummer. :)

Merry Christmas!

The Optimist vs. The Pessimist

Our neighbor's tree, at approx. 10:30am today

"How do you eat an elephant? My glass is definitely half empty right now. WHY am I doing this? Evil oak tree!" These were my initial thoughts as I raked this morning, with leaves raining down on me. Our neighbors are NOT evil, but I was cursing their big oak tree which has just begun to shed its leaves. I have a feeling that the leaves from that tree will be more than all "our" tree leaves put together. But, ya know, half an hour into it, my attitude finally changed. Here were my positive thoughts: Hey, I may be shedding a few Thanksgiving ounces by doing this! I've got to be giving SOMEONE some laughs as I rake and leaves rain down on the parts I've "finished." So, I guess I'll laugh, too! I love my hubby! I love my i-Pod! I'm going to rock out while I rake!

Here were a few of the songs I listened to that got me moving:
1) Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne)
2) You Can't Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones) (ha-ha!)
3) Under Pressure (version by The Used/My Chemical Romance)
4) Now We Are Free (Gladiator soundtrack)
5) A Little Respect (Erasure)
6) The Middle (Jimmy Eat World)
7) Compliment (Collective Soul)

A visit from Santa

Last night we started December off right with a Christmas party at church. We had a ham dinner, a long but fun white elephant exchange game, singing, and a visit from Santa at the very end. We had a wonderful time!

Rhiannon gives Santa a smile. Not too many other kids put their arms around him, though. :)

"I think he was one of Santa's helpers, Mom," she said.

Wade was SOOOOO excited for his turn with Santa. The line was long, and we had to wait a while, but Wade kept jumping up and down and saying, "I get to see Santa! I get to see Santa!"

Wade thought Santa was the real deal. When I asked him what he asked Santa for Christmas, he said something like, "Well, you'll just have to wait and see what he brings me on Christmas, Mom!".....

Christmas wishes and Christmas kisses

These antlers are getting lots of mileage. It's fun hearing the bells jingle with every step. Wade refused to put lipstick on his nose, but Rhiannon was game for it.

Santa sweetie!

Cute reindeer alert!

Rhiannon was a good sport about letting me put this on the blog. I had to promise her some candy in her school lunch tomorrow, though. Yeah, I bribed her. But who can blame me?

Wade was pretty goofy tonight. When he wasn't banging on the couch, he was yelling "Cha-cha-cha!" as loud as he could during Rhiannon's singing. And at one point Rhiannon was lifting Wade up and swinging him around. Wade yelled, "No!" really loud in that one. I filmed the kids several times, and these were the best of the bunch. I figured I'd better call it quits before things started to get really ugly! :) Hope you enjoy!

"It's beginning to look a lot like..."

This past weekend we broke out some Christmas decorations. The only things we brought from Ridgecrest were our snowman table placemats, 4 red stockings, a handful of Christmas CDs, and the very-important Playmobil Nativity set. Talk about travelling light. We set all of those out and then had a great time putting out some of the things our landlords left behind, too, including a beautiful pre-lit tree and ornaments. (Thank you, Farmers!) The kids are in heaven. Wade has taken it upon himself to make sure the Christmas lights are on all the time. I turn them off during the day, but every time I turn a corner, "someone" has turned them back on!
We left behind our huge fake tree and about 4 giant plastic tubs of Christmas decorations. But it feels just as "Christmasy" as ever, if not more so because we brought along our two most important decorations: little elves named Rhiannon and Wade. Those two are GLOWING with the Christmas spirit.

Happy Holidays!

Hi, my name is Wade

We went to see Enchanted. And, I just liked it. But, I will always like Transformers. And, I like having a computer turn. And, it is cool to shake hands. And, do something cool. And, you get so much fun. And, it is cool. So, it is cool to see Enchanted. And, I like it. The End! Don't forget about Transformers!

(spoken by Wade, typed by Mom)

ps. And I like to go to Joy School!

Enchanted

Hi, this is Rhiannon. I LOVED Enchanted. It was very cool. I liked the "Happy Working Song." But I still wish it had horses. I'm still a little bit sick, but we still went to it. I really liked Giselle. Oh, and did I mention I liked it? I'd love to see it again. But I'd mostly like it on DVD. Well, 'bye!

(spoken by Rhiannon, typed by Mom for speed's sake)

"Outstanding Academic Accomplishment"

WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR RHIANNON!!!!!

Walking up to receive her award

1st Quarter academic award winners

Rhiannon with her great friend Leslie

(Leslie won a Community of Caring award)

Good grades are awesome, but trying hard at a new school is even better. Hip-hip-hooray! We're breaking out the special dinner plate tonight, for sure! :)

Nice hint, buddy!

Inspired by his sister, Wade is moving on artistically. In addition to great W's, this week he started drawing the letters L, T, and H plus spiders, smiley-faces, and circles.

Earlier today, he brought in a special picture "just for Mom"--of cookies!!!

Nice hint, big guy! We'll make some chocolote chip cookies later this afternoon. :)

Happy Halloween 2007!

As promised, here are pics of the VA Cushing kids' costumes this year. We bought them, but I don't feel one bit guilty because Rhiannon and Wade L-O-V-E them!

Cute horse rider! At last night's Trunk-or-Treat activity at the church, someone asked her if she was Jessie from Toy Story 2. Rhiannon didn't like that too much. She's just a horse lover, riding Applesauce or whatever name she gave that cute horse.

As you can imagine, this costume has gotten a ton of non-Halloween use this month, too.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, in the flesh! No masks at the church, but Wade will wear it tonight. He was quite the hit at his preschool costume party. The boys were quite impressed.

Wade loves this one. When his little buddy comes over, they dress up in his Turtle and Superman costumes and have a ball.

The Dynamic Duo!

Yesterday we helped our neighbor a little bit with her outdoor Halloween decorations. Stay tuned for pictures. I'll give you a hint--Harry Potter theme like you've never seen, including the tent from the last book, you know, the one that's invisible?

I really enjoy Halloween. I went all out and taped Smarties to my pants: "Smartie Pants!" It'll be nice when it's over, too, though. I've woken up every morning feeling the effects of too much candy eaten the previous day. Just gotta say no!

My daughter, the artist, and her great idea

Family Home Evening nights are a ton of fun around here. Last night Rhiannon gave the lesson on missionaries. She said, "Missionaries serve the Lord by testifying of Him," and then she handed each of us a piece of paper. She had drawn a missionary on each one and said we could "decorate" him. For my kind friends out there who aren't members of our church, please take these pictures with a grain of salt. Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are the sharpest dressed, most clean-cut young men and women on the planet, to match their important message!! But we took a bit of creative license...

See the lines coming out from the face? Wade said he gave his missionary "wings."

Rhiannon also did a great job. She liked Daddy's pants idea.

Jason said we all had it wrong--the rest of us forgot the white shirt. I think Jason forgot about the missionary haircut...

To make up for my switch from marker to crayon, my missionary accidentally spilled something on his suit at a dinner appointment.

We love the missionaries and appreciate all their hard work! :) On another note, the kids both finished up a swimming class yesterday and are ready to move onto Halloween tonight and tomorrow. Halloween costume pictures will be up here shortly!

Rain, funnies, and a very nice birthday

Previewing his Joy School birthday party cupcakes

Fun with the Spiderman theme

"What a big PILE, Mom!"

"BUMBLEBEE!!!!"

Make a wish, big guy!

We've had straight rain the past 24 hours or so--it is wonderful! You wouldn't know it by all the green here, but we've really needed rain and it is so nice to have it. The kids have enjoyed wearing their new rainboots (which are really snowboots) and using their umbrellas. This morning a friend offered to give me and Wade a ride home after we dropped Rhiannon off at school. She was really surprised we were "out in the rain." I explained that getting to use umbrellas was quite a treat for us! I think she understood.

Rhiannon made me smile last night by saying she wanted to do the dishes. I think she put 2-3 items in the dishwasher and then considered her job done. I looked on the bright side and appreciated her willingness to even attempt something like that without being asked. I had her help me finish "her good deed" later. :) Wade also made me smile. He was having a hard time finishing up his soup (tomatoes and beans are not fun for him to eat). He came into the living room and said, "Mom, will you please help me eat my soup? You can put it in my mouth and I'll say 'Mmm-mmm.'" It wasn't a bad way to try and fake himself into liking it, so I went ahead and helped him. Mmmmm-mmmmm.

Enjoy more pictures of Wade's 4th birthday at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvrwfotos.
We had a great time celebrating!!

Happy Birthday, Wade!!!!!!!!

Our "little buddy" turned 4 today. Stay tuned for great birthday pictures and enjoy these "memory lane" ones in the meantime.

In Daddy's arms at Loma Linda Hospital

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday, when his wrist was broken

3rd Birthday--the theme was obvious that year

Days away from turning 4!

If Jesus came to our house...

This afternoon the kids were wound up and noisy. I turned on The Testaments DVD which portrays the life of the Savior from Bible and Book of Mormon accounts. We'd never watched it before. It was really good! Wade wasn't glued to the TV, but he was paying attention the whole time. Both Rhiannon and Wade were really quiet during the movie. When it ended, Wade surprised me by saying,

"Mom, I want Jesus to come to our house. When can He come here? Because when Jesus comes to our house, I want to show him my Transformer t-shirt."

Hey, I'll take what I can get! :)

Grandma Deb visits Springfield and DC!

World War II Memorial (part of it)

Gristmill Park near Mount Vernon

Wade and Grandma enjoying the river view on the porch at Mount Vernon

Posing with the gorillas at the Smithsonian Zoo

Grandma cozies up with "Buzz"

Hanging out in the basement

Pretty in pink, ladies!

Posing with Abraham Lincoln

Before I begin this post, I must mention that a visit from Grandma requires therapy afterwards. Rhiannon was so sad the day Grandma left that she asked her teacher if she could talk to the counselor. She felt much better after visiting with her. I told Rhiannon that it was great the counselor could help her out, but I reminded her to talk to me and Daddy, too!!! We saw some amazing things while Grandma was here, including several memorials and monuments in D.C. and the Smithsonian National Zoo. Grandma rode the Metro into DC one day and saw as much as she possibly could on her own, too. We also loved the simple things, like watching movies, walking to school, going to a bookstore, getting ice cream, and eating dinner with her. She is greatly missed! Many thanks to Grandpa Rod for letting her stay for so long!

Please see more pictures from her wonderful visit at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jvrwfotos

Haircut Dialogue

Wow, look at those brown eyes--lady killers!

"Hairy Man"

The following is a fair reenactment of Wade's buzz cut today. Superheroes saved the day, again!

Big Clippers: Hello, my name is Stinky Man. I'm going to give you a haircut today.
Wade: OK!
(haircut ensues)
Big Clippers, aka Stinky Man: Wow, I've never known a little boy to sit so still before!
Wade: Yeah, Stinky Man.
Stinky Man: Oh, my, there is hair everywhere on you. I think you should be Hairy Man!
Hairy Man, aka Wade: OK!!!
Mom: Hairy Man, I'm going to get Lady out now (the scissors). Be really still, ok?
Hairy Man: OK, but please don't cut me.
(Lady begins her work)
Hairy Man: OUCH!
Mom: I'm sorry, Hairy Man. Just a moment, while I go give Lady a talking to.
(Mom takes Lady to a corner and gives her a talking to.)
Lady: I'm sorry, I won't hurt you again, Hairy Man.
(Lady finishes her job quickly.)
Hairy Man: Hey, Hairy Man has hair on his belly button, too!
(Mom brings out little clipper.)
Little Clipper: Hello! I'm Little Stinky Man. I'll be quick, okay!
etc, etc, etc.



Hairy Man got a successful buzz cut in under 10 minutes--a miracle! AND he insisted on helping with clean-up!!!

Stay tuned for scenes from Grandma Deb's fantastic 9-day visit...

1000 words