Our Christmas

We had an awesome Christmas Day with the boys and ended up being snowed in! We had planned to drive to Pocatello after breakfast, but with the roads closed, we stayed home and just hung out and enjoyed each other. We were bummed not to be with extended family, but it was a great day!
Cooper on Christmas morning- I loved this moment! The joy on his face makes all of the preparation worth it. He just played and played all day long. His balloons were probably his favorite of everything!

Keaton and Taron going through thier stockings and stuff. This was before they opened their helmets and ran out to the garage to see the real present!

On the new go cart... woo hoo! They both braved the snow and wind to give it a whirl outside. They had a blast and no doubt there are lots more good times to come on this thing.

All four boys outside. I bundled him up and Stephen took Cooper for a spin too- he loved it! We were so glad the boys had fun and were grateful for their gifts. An awesome Christmas Day!

Pre-Christmas Cuteness

I intended to get these few cute pics posted before Christmas, but got otherwise caught up, so here they are after the fact!
Cooper on Christmas Sunday, in his new outfit from Grammie! (And reading his new Bird book, of course.)

In one of his favorite hiding places- between our tree and the wall. For some reason he likes throwing things into the tree, especially bows, balls and balloons. :)

Wearing Taron's hat and trying to hide in our closet. He puts hats on and then laughs out loud at himself. Funny boy.

Christmas Family Pics

On Sunday we went to a different sacrament meeting, so we had more time in the morning and decided to take a few pictures. Good thing we stood in front of the tree, eh? You can't even see it! I love this picture of the three boys- it's so rare that Cooper holds still long enough for me to get one of them all together, and they all look great at that! My Mom and Dad dropped off thier Christmas gifts for the boys and they were both so excited to finally have presents under the tree. Needless to say, I need to get some wrapping done! Thanks Mom and Dad, and thanks Taron and Keaton for a great weekend!

The Santa Claus Dilemma

So, truth be told, I rather struggle with the whole Santa Claus part of Christmas. I'm finding it really hard to describe Santa to Cooper. Not like he's asking about it or anything of course, but I see him getting so excited about Christmas things this year- the lights, music, bells, etc. All the while I'm thinking to myself that I don't want to have to feed him the lines about Santa. But I also realize, what would Christmas be for a child without the jolly guy? I don't want to be the crochety Mom that doesn't allow my kid to believe. I can see how Santa is a big part of the magic of Christmas for kids and, these days, we essentially revolve around them. At any rate, luckily I don't have to explain the Santa concept to Cooper yet this year, and I think that when I do, I'll reach for those good ole' classic Christmas movies to paint the picture for me... :)

Snow Goose Success

Saturday evening, when it was almost too dark to be flying, Cooper and I went along with Stephen to try and fly his birds on a duck pond not too far from our house. We parked just out of sight of the pond and I didn't see the flight as it happened, but he was sure a happy hunter when he came back and whipped a snow goose out of his falconry bag! This is the first goose he's ever killed/ hunted! I guess it took his peregrine two tries to get it down, and it showed! There was a huge gash across it's stomach and it's head area. Flights like this are what make him love it, as you can tell from the picture! Then again, I think he'd love it even without the successful flights... :)

Wonderful Thanksgiving and Weekend

We ate Thanksgiving dinner with Stephen's parents and extended family in Pocatello. Janie is a great hostess and we had a really nice time seeing our Grandparents. There were actually five generations in the room that day, with Grandma Fay there to join us! (I kick myself that I didn't get a picture.) Later that evening, we traveled to Moore so that Cooper and I could be with my family for the rest of the weekend while Stephen went steelhead fishing with his brothers. He had a good trip and we had a great weekend at home. Josh, Lundyn and Quincy were there also and it was so fun to have the babies together! They played so well- it was their best time together yet. I took picture after picture! Thanks to both sides of our family for a great holiday. We are so grateful for all of you!

Quincy and Cooper love playing outside! They always wanted to go see the horses, but were scared once we got there.

Stoic bathing buddies... They are both gonna love this picture when they grow up :)

Grandpa lifted them both up to touch the ceiling and they thought it was the coolest thing ever. This trip was great to get Cooper really warmed up to Grammie and Grandpa.

At the Park

It's been really quite nice around here lately and Cooper and I took advantage and walked to the park. Well, I walked, he sat in his stroller and pointed out the birds. :) Cute pics and a good time outside. Love the fact that I can do stuff like this again. And even after we got to the park, he was really most excited about sitting and playing with the buckle on the stroller... go figure :) He makes me smile.

Wedding over the Weekend

This weekend was my cousin Kelsey's wedding in the Twin Falls Temple. My Dad, Mom and sister Cyndel stayed with us Friday night and then were around on Saturday for the wedding goings on. While we were waiting for them to come outside, I took these pictures- I really like this one of Taron and Keaton. Unfortunately, Cooper would not sit still long enough to be included. But these two look great in front of our beautiful new Temple.

I got in on my Grandma taking a picture of my Mom with Cooper- clearly they weren't intending me to be taking it, but they are together none the less. Then just after this picture, my camera died- grrr. Right in time for them to come outside and me be left with no decent pictures of the real reason we were there. I did get one of Cyndel on Stephen's phone, but we still have to figure out what to do with it from there. anyhow, congrats to Kelsey and Cliff and thanks to my family for coming to visit!

Great Weekend at Home

I still call my parent's house home, but I can see that it's becoming Grammie and Papa's house quickly too. This last weekend we all had a great weekend in Moore- all of us got to do things we enjoy and had been looking forward to. Cooper loved Grammie's new outside play toy- he was so cute out there! Thanks Mom and Dad for a great weekend :)

Giving the cat a kiss...

An apple dip beater from Grammie

Last Day

As of last Friday, I'm a Stay-at-Home Mom again!! At least, until next May. We are so excited for a little bit of ease to the rat race of these last six months (really Stephen's just excited to have homeade bread again. :) I'm ready to be the one raising my kid again, focusing on him more than anything else. On cute little things like this...

(Sitting on the floor simply wouldn't do, he had to read the book while sitting on the toilet. Hmmm...Wonder where he learned that...) :)

He slipped on the floor and crashed into the corner where our dining room meets the living room- ouch! No doubt in our world of boys there will be more owies like this, but I think I'll still overreact and want to take it away over each one.

Happy Veterinarians Day!

Today after school Taron called Stephen and said, "Happy Veterinarians Day, Dad. I know you like animals." :) I can't keep from laughing even thinking about it- how cute and funny! That is the kind of stuff I want to remember when they're older. So, on this Veterans Day, Happy Veterinarians Day from the Buffat family! :) Hope this gives you a chuckle too.

If you can't beat 'em, Join 'em

That's my new motto I guess... Cooper loves anything that has anything to do with birds. He carries around and loves looking through Stephen's bird catalogs. He watches out the window all day long at the birds. He points them out while we drive. He loves being outside with Stephen doing chores and really loves to go flying with Dad. He loves putting on a glove (any glove) and wearing it around. So.... I guess I can either continue to resist or just go along for the ride. This year I've already been out flying more than usual. And, I have to admit, it's pretty fun. Let's me practice my photography if nothing else :)

He's dressed in camo so you can hardly see him! He's constantly pointing into the sky for the birds.

Our Halloween Fun

We were so excited to have the boys for Halloween- they've never gotten to be with us for trick or treating before! It was great to see how much they loved thier costumes- they both told me what they wanted to be two weeks before. This year we went with our good friends the Gardners to the neighborhood thier Grandma lives in Kimberly. So many people had great decorations and there were tons of families out trick or treating- it was Halloween night like I've never experienced before, having grown up in the country where Halloween meant going to a few houses in the ward that were five to ten minutes apart and then to my Grandma Karen's for popcron balls. Anyhow... here's our spooky dudes.

Oops- these uploaded backwards, but oh well... Cooper as a farmer. He's looking up at his brothers trick or treating- he loved following them around all night. He was a huge hit- everyone just gushed over how cute he was! His costume was easy, but he was comfortable!

He was so excited about his own candy stash! He loves hauling around this funy little tote and wouldn't let go of it all night. The only candy he really cares about are the suckers, thank goodness! (I don't know if it shows too well, but Taron had given him a kiss on the way to Kimberly and it rubbed black paint on his nose. I left it because it looked like dirt, which only added to the costume!)

Vampire Keaton! His bloody mouth looked really cool. A girl that passed by him on the street while we were trick or treating said to one of her friends "he's cute." :) Keaton was so thrilled! Makes me smile. A pretty cute vampire indeed.

Skeleton Taron. In early October, he called me at work and told me about this costume he had seen and that he wanted to be a skeleton and wanted to wear a hood and gloves. So fun! His face paint really looked cool- he loved that it glowed in the dark! It doesn't look like it, but he really is smiling in this picture!

Our spooky dudes. Both of them trying not to smile so they look scary! :) They practiced saying "trick or treat" in scary voices on our drive. Thanks boys for a great Halloween! Kids make everything more fun!

Six Quirks

I was tagged by Trish to list six quirks and then pass on to six more people. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough blogging friends and family to tag that many, so I'll have to email this too…

1) I hate wearing socks! I’ll wear sandals until I absolutely can’t anymore. Even at that, in the winter I take off my socks and trade for slippers or flip flops when I’m home.
2) Apparently, when I roll my eyes, I only actually roll one eye. Stephen always teases “don’t roll your eye at me.” Haven’t seen this for myself of course…
3) I always have to keep my hands occupied. I make sure I’m always holding something that I can keep busy with- a pen, piece of paper, lid, ring, something. If my hands are empty, I’ll usually cross them or touch my face with one propped up or something goofy like that.
4) I don’t like both my feet flat on the floor when I’m sitting. I need to have my ankles crossed or one foot on something higher.
5) I’m an over-reactor. When something abrupt happens, I usually scream even if it’s no big deal.
6) This sounds bad, but I confess that one of my ticks is picking my nose. Really, just cleaning my nose. :) I hate when there’s anything even close to showing out of my nostrils and always bug at my nose to make sure there isn’t! I know, yuck…

I tag... my one family member that has a blog... Lundyn :) I'll email my Mom, Monica, Tania, Cyndel and Marci.

Halloween Party Weekend

This weekend Stephen and I went to a really fun Halloween party at our friends Jackson and Trish Whitehurst's house. They had blacklights and all kinds of spooky decorations- it was really a great time! We dressed up as Jack and Jill- Stephen had a huge, gross gash in his head and I had bruises all over :) It was fun to have a few hours with friends and meet some fun new people from Jerome too. I copied these pics from Trish's blog- I intended to do better taking some myself, but it got hectic trying to get ourselves there- thanks Trish for taking some of everyone! And thanks for a great time!

Jack and Jill after the fall :)

Jackson and Trish as haunted dead people- they really looked scary in the blacklights! As you walked up thier steps to come inside, there was a pile of guts- and they were real! From Jackson's duck hunting that morning- ew! :)

Now we are anxious to have the boys with us for trick or treating this weekend. They both picked out what they wanted to be and we gathered stuff for thier costumes last week. We've never had them for Halloween before, so we're excited! Have a great Halloween all... :)

Us Lately

This last weekend, Cooper and I traveled home to Moore to see Cinderella... actually, Cyndel as the Homecoming Queen in the school parade and game! It was fun to see her, my parents, Lundyn and Quincy. This isn't the best pic of Cyndel, but it's what I was able to get while trying to keep Cooper from getting run over in the process. Like my brother that's on a mission said... it would be better without the "goober" next to her :) She was so pretty and I was so proud to be there supporting her. She's beautiful from the inside :)


I brought back home a small blue chair for Cooper that my parent's didn't need anymore. Well, that chair has quickly become a stool around our house and may need to become an outside toy... :) He would've crashed big time yesterday if I hadn't been right there to catch him.

Cooper recently found a printed picture of my extended family- the one that was taken just (10 days!) before he was born and Conner left on his mission. I hung it on our fridge and he loves looking at it and trying to say names. He especially points out his brothers- he's getting pretty good at saying Taron and just nods his head when I try to get him to say Keaton (it's harder obviously). He says "see" for Quincy, "pa" or "papa" for Grandpa and just smiles for Grammie. Gotta love cute little things like this :)

Two Favorite Recipes

Trish requested that I post this syrup recipe and here it finally is!

Colleen's Homeade Maple Syrup
store in the fridge!
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla (add more)
1/2 tsp imitation maple flavor (little less)
Bring to boil and you're done! (Note: Don't leave the kitchen and let it boil over! Otherwise you have to boil water and scrub your stovetop with boiling water and a metal spatula... someone else told me that... he he :)

I thought at the same time I'd post one of my favorites- this apple toffee dip. It's great all year round but apples are especially yummy in the Fall!


Apple Toffee Dip
1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup- 1 cup brown sugar
1- 3 tsp. vanilla
1/2 pkg (or so) tofee chips
Blend all ingredients together with a hand mixer for a minue or two and that's it! Slice (and peel if desired) as many apples as you'd like. (As Jackson would say- the apples are really just a means to get this stuff to your mouth :) Obviously this is pretty vague- really I just dump the sugar and vanilla in and then taste until I get it right. I also really like this without the toffee chips at all. Enjoy! :)

Moved by McCain

Maybe this will be the lamest post ever, but I was really moved by this speech and wanted to share it. McCain's comments today in Florida:

"Let me give you the state of the race today. We have 18 days to go. We're 6 points down. The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide.

I know you're worried. America is a great country, but we are at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future. Will we continue to lead the world's economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren's future be brighter than ours? My answer to you is yes. Yes, we will lead. Yes, we will prosper. Yes, we will be safer. Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom.

I know what fear feels like. It's a thief in the night who robs your strength. I know what hopelessness feels like. It's an enemy who defeats your will. I felt those things once before. I will never let them in again. I'm an American. And I choose to fight."


This article is the script of his entire speech- finally, he gets into details of the issues and his plans compared to Obama's. I know it's all politics, but I'll take whatever hope I can get right now and these comments struck a chord with me for sure. I thought it was worth sharing ... Have a good weekend all!