The Harpoon and other Stories

Tonight, after dinner, just before we were to begin our Christmas Reading Advent Calendar Activity, GRIFFIN asked: "Can I make my harpoon right here?"
I happily told him yes. He quietly made the following:

DINNERS....SOME GOOD, SOME BAD, SOME AMOUNT TO WAY TOO MUCH:

We had spaghetti last week. It was good. I was VERY hungry while making dinner so I made up for it in my mind by making plenty! I just didn't realize how much of plenty I made till after dinner. Zak, who loves spaghetti, told me to just dish him out, he wouldn't look, but would accept all that I gave him. I guess I gave him a bit too much, but who knew??

Here is his dinner, before he started eating:


(please note: the pictures will NOW be out of the correct order. It is too much of a pain to re-place them in the correct order. Just enjoy the chaos.)

Here is Zak's plate AFTER he was done stuffing himself: Here is what is left in the colander AFTER dinner. Oops. Dad said that I had made enough for our family and the whole Patriots team....They were playing that night on TV. Carbo loading.
I said I was fine with that; we would be having spaghetti the NEXT night for dinner too; and we did....we still didn't finish all the spaghetti.

Another shot of Zak's plate after he was done:

Griffin wanted his face and spaghetti in a picture too!

Teo at THANKSGIVING:

Group shot for Thanksgiving:

TURKEY BOWL Players...specifically, the COLE boys:

Group shot:

STUDENT OF THE MONTH:

Griffin got the Student of the Month for December; it was for being Respectful!

Alright, there you go!

I Owned Steven

I knew I had to beat Steven to get 2nd place in the standings, and I destroyed him, it's not that big of a deal though; me beating him iss about as surprising as the Young Men winning the Turkey Bowl (not at all). And it's not really my fault I'm only in 2nd place, because I beat Christopher the one time I got to play him, and beat Steven BOTH times I played him; unfortunately though, Dad is actually tied with me for 2nd (and he beat me both times we played), so I have to hope Dad loses to someone this week. I also noticed that I was (once again) the top point getter this week, and am quickly climbing my way up to Points For list, but it's not a big deal, that's only about as surprising as knowing that I own the top two rushers in the NFL (not at all).
I was going to make a bet to Heather about the Rams-Seahawks game, but I got worried Steven Jackson wouldn't play.


Maybe the Rams should use Steven Jackson as their new QB

Recently Heard:

From Griffin during church, whispered to me:
"There are 8 planets". There was no context -- just Griffin passing information on to me.

From Steven:
"If I do___________, can I throw a pillow at you".

"Let's play DOTA".

"What is the percent change that Steven Jackson will have the highest score".

"I bet know one else can do this but me".

"I'll bet you 5 points that________________".

"What pie should I buy for tonight?"

-----------------------------------------
While I am running I can think of SO many more....at this moment, my brain is blank! Make a comment if you can think of more!

Zak Couldn't Be Happier!

Fri: I picked up Quinn after school. He did not feel well. Bad headache, very tired. He pretty much slept for at least 3 days.

Monday: Griffin woke up feeling awful. Headache, very tired, didn't hardly move off the couch. Fever.

Tue: Quinn & Griffin coughing, fever; lots of Tylenol used.

Wed: no school. Veteran's Day

Thurs evening: Angie Jensen calls me. She just found out at the doctor that her 2 year old has swine flu. He got it from her 2 older children. Kylie has been over there playing; been to the movies with them. Their symptoms were the same as Quinn and Kylie's. I am guessing Q & G had swine flu too!

Zak is very proud that his immune system is SO POWERFUL that he has NOT gotten the swine flu. I am very grateful that it was not a huge deal. Angie told me that her doctor told her that for most healthy children, it does last for just 3 or 4 days.

I hope we can all be as powerful as Zak!

P.S. Zak ate some pretzels that I had set out for Griffin yesterday. Griffin had been pawing through them. Kerry ate some of Griffin's orange slices tonight that Griffin had played in earlier.

P.P.S. Every now and then Griffin will yell to me, "I just washed my hands!"

Someone's 26!

Happy Birthday Christopher!I (believe) this is Christopher outside one of his favorite restaurants, Tucano's. He has just had his meat-filled birthday meal.

We honor you on your DAY!

Take a Look

I don't know if you ever look at Chase's mission blog or not, but he sent a great letter this week. They are all good, but I especially enjoyed this one.

He talks about Joel Osteen - he went to his church!
Halloween
A missionary this is a wee bit scared

Another Post, Even Though It hasn't Quite Been One Month Since My Last Post!

Ok, I've been busy; running, showering, dieting, grocery shopping, tracking my food and running. It takes a lot of thought and effort. I finally am taking a moment and put some pictures from my camera onto the computer - and now you can all enjoy them!

Here are a few moments in our lives:

One day I found Griffin watching TV. Maybe he was just trying to be "close" with Chase since I think those goggles are his.

On to: HALLOWEEN!

Kylie found a pirate outfit from the good old Halloween boxes. I believe those pirate pants were some I made for Christopher or Steven when they were about 7. Nice fit! I love Kylie's hair with the bandanna. I wish she would use this style more often.

Griffin has gone for the Black Ninja outfit! It is what he picked. After Halloween was all over, he crawled up on my lap and told me, "what I really want to be for Halloween is Wolverine!"

Here is Kylie at the Highland Oaks parade.

more parade

Griffin at the parade - he was really looking for me. I had to jump up and down and call out his name so he could see me.

Here is a good story:

One day Griffin and Kylie came home. I could tell Griffin was quite upset. I come to discover that there had been a bad misunderstanding at school. Griffin got in trouble where he did nothing wrong and felt so bad for it. Kylie, in trying to help, offered to carry him a little bit of the way home. She felt bad for her sad brother. I told them both that they were fabulous and lovely children. They tried to choose the right and be nice to others. I would make them as much malt as they could stand (that is often my answer, and it does cure most everything). Here they are enjoying their malts. Glad I could a sad to a happy.

In keeping with the sports theme of our family, while at the Highland Oaks Halloween parade, I saw these two football jerseys. They are somewhat interesting....only interesting enough for a small size picture. Click on them to see better if you desire.

Heard on the Radio

I heard this on the radio this morning; thought it was funny and somewhat true:

Happiness is only the first hour after the alleviation of some especially intense misery.
By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nobody wants Big Ben?

Big Ben just happens to be the number 2 fantasy player in the league. Zak so callously looked down on Big Ben (21 points) when he personally played Joe Flacco (7 points). Next week Big Ben will probably become number 1, but Zak will still try to convince people not to trade for him.

A Lesson in Being Chaste

In our primary, they are encouraging the children to learn the Articles of Faith. (It's a good idea for everyone!) Griffin has done the 1st...easy, learned the 2nd but didn't pass it off yet. Today at lunch, he asked:

Griffin: Do you know the last article of faith (I didn't know he knew enough to ask that question.)


Mom: yes


Griffin: say it


Mom: so, I began the best I could...We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul - We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."


Griffin: A member of our family is in that article of faith!!

Mom: hmm - what is he talking about??

Kylie: Griffin, it is NOT CHASE, it talks about being CHASTE!

I love how Griffin's brain works.

Do You Hear Bells??

Check HERE if you want to know some "ringing" news about Steven......

FF Winning Streak

Has anybody in the history of our family fantasy football ever gone this long without a loss in the beginning?

I'm pretty sure no.

Go Raiders.

Note For School Absence

Zak and Quinn needed a note to excuse their absence when we were in Utah. Here is my creation:


Zachary Cole [and Quinn]was absent on Mon and Tues (9/28 – 9/29). We were in Utah supporting an AHS 2002 graduate, (my son), in defending his thesis. He did great; he now has a Masters in IT.

Humbly,
Julie Cole


I am sure the office is delighted to see that my children are absent so they can look forward to reading one of my creative, non boring notes. I am happy to oblige.

Heather Picks a Team

The following is an email that I received from Heather. I have placed it here for your enjoyment.


I have an announcement. I have buckled under the pressure of your family and have been researching NFL teams to determine which one is worthy of my patronage. After much deliberation, I came down to my finalists: the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks. From this point the winner was obvious: the Seattle Seahawks! (note: the Bears and Seahawks recently played each other, and they lost 19 to 25, but this is beside the point) While this season they have only averaged 19 points, I have faith that they can do better, especially with me rooting for them, for we all know that a little Mustard never hurt anything (don’t you dare contradict this).

You might be asking yourself right about now, “how in the world did Heather so intelligently choose the Seahawks?!” Well my dear, the answer is simple. Seeing as how I’ve been trying to learn from the best, I arbitrarily picked my team. I thought about Chicago and Seattle, and remembered how much I like Seattle, with their rainy days and famous fish market…compared to Chicago, who’s only claim to fame is pizza and a huge fire. Chicago ain’t got nuttin’ on this heart o mine. I also refuse to be labeled as a ‘bandwagoner’, so I had to make sure to support the Seahawks while they weren’t at the peak of their performance, so that my support when they begin to smash everyone else has been there through it all (they are currently 1-2…they beat the rams, I think that’s Quinn’s team, right? HA!) And thus you have the birth of my team.

I am now working on developing a relationship with Jim Mora, the head coach, so he and I can develop a winning strategy. I also plan on knowing more members of my team than you know for yours. I can currently name one...so let it be written, so let it be done.

To Think About Jesus or George Washington

During Sacrament meeting, Griffin had a very hard time "keeping it together" today. He was full of vim and vigor and wanted to use all the empty space on the long bench to practice doing the worm. Just imagine.

I tried to stop and contain him several times. It was like he was possessed.

During the actual passing of the sacrament I told him he needed to sit still and think about Jesus.

The conversation:

Griffin: why? I don't know what to think about!

me: think about all your blessings, everything that Heavenly Father has given you; Jesus created the whole world that we have, he created our bodies, he made up the plan for us to come to earth to get a body and then to return to live with him again.

Griffin: well, George Washington made rules into laws.

Kylie Says:

Setting:

I am driving Kylie and Griffin to school (just to start out Griffin's day with a bit of joy instead of the usual drudgery of almost-walking-backward because you are walking so slow).

me: I am frustrated because I have not lost any weight since Saturday!

Kylie: You need to do the bridge for a minute at a time a couple of times a day. You know you HAVE to do MORE than just diet and exercise!

It's nice to live with my own personal trainer.

Friendly Wagers

Before the rest of the week 1 games get played I want to make a few wagers on the football season. For all my bets I would be willing to put up anywhere between 1-5 points (you choose).

I would bet anyone that Steven (Action) Jackson gets at-least one carry in at-least 15 regular season games this year. I would bet with as many people that are willing.

I would bet anyone that Steven Jackson gets more fantasy points in the season than their favorite team's #1 running back. (if Dad and Quinn don't take this they are pansies)

I'll bet Christopher that the Rams get more wins than the Raiders

I'll bet Quinn that the Bears don't win their division

I'll bet quinn that Donnie Avery gets more fantasy points than Devin Hester
I'll also bet Dad that Donnie Avery gets more points and Desean (InAction) Jackson

I'll bet Steven that Peyton Manning doesn't win MVP this year

I'll bet Mom that the Patriots don't make it to the Superbowl

thats a total of 8 bets, I expect at least 6 of them have at least 1 taker. (I realize the last 2 bets are kinda weak)

It's Coming!

Pay attention, you Fantasy Football Players!

The FIRST game is this Thursday.

Get your teams how you want them!

The Backward Dinner

I have made some great dinners. I have made some awful tasting dinners. One memorable awful dinner: we tried the food, it was the worst, I had tried a new recipe, very yucky. Zak suggested we don't eat it, but go to Paco's instead. OK! It was fun and delicious. That suggestion has been tried many times, but never happened again. Yesterday's Sunday "dinner" (meaning what we eat when we come home from church, so really lunch, but...well, you'll see) turned into a backward dinner.

I had planned on making a tri-tip roast. They have been on sale all this week at Ralph's. I bought it, planned to put it in the crock pot by 7:00am Sunday morning. Um, I slept until 8:00! I quickly got up, put the roast in, got Kylie up to shower, oops, she already showered last night, then went over to wake up Z & Q...it was now 8:20. We should leave for church by 8:35! We all raced around and were beautiful and ready. Oh, except for Griffin's hair, didn't get "fixed", somethings got to give. We were walking out the door at 8:45 and the phone rang, it was Dawney. I told her we were late, did she have something quick. Kind of, she said, Bethany was in labor! How nice. I told her to Twitter and/or blog about it, I would check those things later!

We had church (I gave a full report to Chase in his letter). I dropped off my sweet children at home, I drove over to the Duarte building where I played the piano for the Spanish Branch for Primary. So interesting. Then I drove back home. I decided to throw caution to the wind and make a cake...they were on sale for .96 cents at Ralphs this week too. I quickly got the cake made, started on the mashed potatoes, thought I would just check the roast. It usually just forks up easily.

I tried the fork. Hmm. Then I got out a steak knife and gave it a good cut, it was no where near tender enough. I figured we needed another hour. I announced the new dinner time. Kerry began watching the recorded BYU vs. Oklahoma game. He enjoyed it so much the night before, I guess a reviewing was in order. I also watched as much as possible in between the checking and fixing dinner. About 45 minutes later, I thought I would try the roast again. That is when I saw the problem. I knew, because of my late start in the morning that I needed to cook the roast on HIGH. This is what I saw:

WHAT?? Where is the dial??

Yes, it was on LOW. That would never do. I turned it up to HIGH. I knew we had at least another hour or so to wait! People were hungry. Kerry asked about the cake, was it ready. Well, yes. Let's serve it up!! His idea. Ok. We started our backward dinner:

Then we had our fruit...watermelon a)balls and b)slices AND cantaloupe:

Then Dad got out the corn - only he ate this course early:

Happy to report, by then...I think it was about 4:45, the roast was done and we all sat down to finish off the meal...Roast, gravy and

Mashed potatoes: It was all very good; even eaten backward.

Now, if you are still wondering about Bethany's baby, check HERE.

Griffin Said

During Sacrament meeting today, while I was trying to stay engaged, Griffin found it urgent to tell me:

1. I can't decide what I want for Christmas!

2. My tooth hurts. Then I asked to see it. That tooth was hanging by 3 molecules! I told him to just pull it out. He told me he wanted to lose the tooth at school because then he would get this cool tooth holder. He really wanted that. After church, at home, Griffin told me that he lost his tooth during primary.

3. I know there was a third funny, Griffin thing, but I just can't remember. Next time I will take notes.

Fires in The Area

This picture was taken at the stop sign right by our house. The big "cloud" there doesn't look so bad in the picture (taken with my cell phone), but it is grey with flecks of yellow/red in it from the huge fire.

We hear/see helicopters all the time doing their duty to help put out the fire. I believe it is 10 days old now. Our cars are filled with soot. Oh, I think I have some pictures of that too!

Here is the roof of Chase's car. That is ALL soot from the fire. See the big white flakes? That is what we breath in!! No recess or outside practices for the kids at school. In fact, I heard that the cross country team gets on a bus; is driven about 1 hour away; they run, do their training; then return back to the smokey, unhealthy air.

The AHS varsity football team had to play their opening game against Monrovia in the city of Fullerton. AHS lost.

Ok, here is just our walkway. More soot. It looks way worse in real life. In Burbank, it is not so bad. Candice was amazed at the difference. I did have to point it out to her.

I took "first day of school" pictures. This was the sky that morning! That is the sun! It did not really look that dark. It was very grey. The sun was very red/orange because of the smoke, fire, etc.

The sky today looks MUCH better. We see some blue spots. I have not smelled smoke today either.

It's Good When You Win It, BUT It's Better When You've SOLD It!

In about March of this year I applied for a coupon for a Digital TV Converter from the government. I knew the time was coming when just turning on the TV without cable would not work. It was supposed to be in June. About 2 months later my coupon came. I went to Walmart, got the converter, (I had to pay $10 dollars...the converter was in total $50, the coupon was for $40), plugged it in and waited for the digital change to come.

I have a TV in the kitchen; no cable, but nice to have and listen to while I cook and clean in there. The picture was never great, but I knew when the digital change came, the picture would BE GREAT.

The day came, my TV did not work at all! No sound, no picture. I don't know what the problem was. I think it has to do with living right up on the mountains. Somehow I got a stroke of genius (or maybe it was a lack of stupidity) and realized I had a cable splitter with an open "plug" to my cable for the family room. I bought a cord for about $5, plugged the cord into the splitter, plugged the other end into the TV. The kitchen TV then worked GREAT! I had cable, I could see and hear. It has been very nice.

So, what to do with that converter box??

On Tuesday I finally picked it up, took it to Walmart, waited in line, asked to please return the box. No she said. No receipt, no return. They would only exchange for the same item. That did me no good. I didn't want the thing.

I actually turned around to all the people in the waiting line; about 5 at the time; and loudly said, "does anybody want this, they can just have it?" Everyone just stared. One woman called out in her southern accent, "sell it on craigslist!"

I came home, chose ebay, put it up for sale, and today I got a note that it sold! I got my $10 back plus $4 for my troubles. How nice. I wrapped it up and it is on it's way to NY.

I currently have the set of World Book Encyclopedia's up at ebay. We'll see if they make me rich.

Mini Me Kitty

Kylie BEGGED for a new kitty. She promised to do ALL of the "taking care of"!

Here is he is...he is fun, playful and tiny:


The old cat does not really appreciate the new kitty. Just to show you their size in comparison, here is Quinn holding the old cat:


I am sure in a couple of months, the new kitty will be as big as the old one.

Hmm...7 pets and counting.

The Torture Device

Here it is:

That is Zak's mouth. Apparently, his mouth is in the shape of a "V"; it should be more like a "U". This device will spread it out and make more room for all that belongs in there.

Notice the little, teeny, tiny hole in the middle there. I have to put this "key" in that hole and rotate the hole back toward his throat. I do that twice a day. The first few days it was easy. It is getting harder to ratchet that thing back.

We have done it for one week. Maybe only one more week to go.

More stories and pictures tomorrow!

Shredded beef tacos again tonight. Yum.

Eagles on TV; Vick is playing.

Happy Anniversary!

Steven pointed out that it has been ONE MONTH since anyone has posted!

So it's an anniversary of sorts for us!

I will catch you up with pictures as I have the time.

Today I will tell you the "walk to school" story:

I figure Kylie and Griffin can walk to school; it is not far. Griffin does NOT enjoy the walk. He is so slow, he is almost walking backward. I continue to prod him along; to ask him questions; to get him talking about other things than what we are doing. About one block down the street he starts to complain of a stomach ache. I asked him if he had gone potty this morning.
G:"no"
me: "what!" you did NOT go potty?
G: no
me: really?
G: no, I didn't go potty
me: at all?
G: no
We walk, he holds his stomach. I told him he could go at school; I would wait by the bathroom door to make sure he felt better. We continue to walk at a world record slowest pace ever. We finally arrive at school, I take him to the nearest bathroom. He is VERY hesitate. He says he feels better; he doesn't have to go anymore. (What??) I try to encourage. He won't go. He seems very unsure to go potty in that bathroom where other big kids could be. I can understand that. I see a handicap bathroom, I suppose it is a one stall type of thing; I try the door. It is locked. I see Mrs. Bump who I know and ask her for help. She sweetly gives me the key to open the door. Griffin goes potty. He washes his hands; he feels better; I feel relieved. He stoically walks to his line-up area for his class.

I am hoping it goes better tomorrow.


NOW, I have a whole list of things to do!
I'll blog more later! Oh, I have some great stories: the Yosemite hike; Zak's torture device, Quinn's birthday, a new kitty...just to name a few.

Missed you!

NOT The Blair Witch Project

I realize, this picture is reminiscent of that movie, but it is really showing Griffin's 4th LOST tooth! Once again, it just fell out without him knowing when or where....maybe it is the Blair Witch Project! You can easily see his new tooth coming in. Do you notice a little Michael Strahan teeth action happening here?? hmm

New Cookie Recipe

So there was a girl in my ward that used to always make me these cookies. They were very good. Well, this girl got a boyfriend, and for some reason she decided she shouldn't make me the cookies anymore. So I made them myself.

1 cake mix (the white sparkly one is best - I forget what it is called)
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs

Oven at 350. I've made the cookies kinda smallish. Cook for 6 minutes, NO MORE. They'll appear really soft when you take them out, but after about a minute of cooling, you'll see they're perfect (or overdone).

Give it a try!

WHAT??

Have pirates taken over me blog??

Apparently, I made my post today on the Payne blog!

So, here is a LINK. It will be fun, like a treasure hunt!

Back To Where I Stopped

Now I'll share pictures of Steven's birthday....there are lots, just so you won't feel like you missed anything!

Have you guessed; I am a saver! Why throw away a perfectly good box when it still can be used? The joy in wrapping gifts in these boxes is great. They might think they are getting some See's candy, but they are not; nor are they getting a new camera. It's all part of the unwrapping joy.

His wrapped gifts:

What's it gonna be?

Burt's Bee's lip balm

The "See's Candy" box

Notice Griffin's tongue



Some car wash certificates:

A Krispy Kreme donut box....

More socks

It's a book. I thought it would be "Strategies for Settlers of Catan". It wasn't. It was a novel about martians.

More gift certificates. They are good most anywhere!

Is he getting a camera?? No it wasn't and I have forgotten what was in that box.

His "cake" - Cool Whip Delight. He was happy to have it!

But did you notice his closed EYES again in the picture??

I can fix that. There, much better.

Oh, it was pants in that camera box.

(Blogger, bugging me today, you can't really move the pictures around and I tried to put them in the right order, but I guess I didn't!)

Then Steven invited Josh S. over to play THE GAME.

It was a lovely evening.

Enough of the PAST, we will be moving into the future now!

Hope you enjoyed all the catching up.