Scenes from Christmas 2006

We finally had our pictures developed, and we came across a few choice shots that captured the excitement of Christmas morning at the SoPho Carter house.

Nick, get ready to open your energy gates!

I've been saving this until the whole deal was a little more solid - I wouldn't want anyone to be disappointed if they thought they were going to get some life force energy classes, and then found out it was not to be. But it looks like Nick is in luck! This guy came into our office and said he teaches classes exclusively to SRP employees but may be able to branch out if we're interested.

Here's his card:

Nick, you'll have to let us know if we should contact him.

A Day at the Zoo

Last month there was a family caravan to the zoo. Allison & Amanda really liked the 'mingos, because "they are pink, Daddy!"

As you can see, Allison was not afraid of the giraffes. However, she refused to touch its tongue and elected to feed him from a safe distance.

Next Blog? Here You Go

Do you have a staring problem as well?

Only a few things in life cause a person to stop dead in their pursuit of looking for the next breath more than a beautiful oceanic scene, a campfire about two-thirds burned down where the coals are hot-like and you can see images in the glowing embers as the heat presses into your face, or even watching a young grandchild try to be reverent in church. A good hard rain at the cabin watched comfortably from the front porch in that rocking chair certainly competes. I guess the one that stops me cold is that perfect moment when I reach into the fridge and take that ice cold swig of fresh milk and my wife catches me and says, "for crying out loud, will you use a glass?" Oh yeah, that makes me stare--right into the big spoon drawer where I had already used a big spoon to take a big old heaping mouthful of ice cream.

There is no real point to this except that I have done or seen all these things except one. Guess which one I have NOT experienced.

YYYYYYYIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE!

Back to the beach! Happy First Birthday Landon on July 31st!

You can see the MLS listing here.

On the MLS

REALTOR® Remarks: **''SCRAPPY'' THE WEINER DOG MAY BE GATED IN DOWNSTAIRS POWDER RM* PLZ DON'T PET, NOT USED TO STRANGERS & MIGHT NOT BE PREDICTABLE

M. A. Pollack

This guy is all over the place in the valley. If you haven't seen him check out this website.

I recently heard a rumor that he lived in the middle of a lake in Chandler. There are a few variations of this rumor, one claiming that the only way to and from his house is by helicopter. I decided to investigate. I pulled up Google Maps and browsed through the city of Chandler. I searched for all of the lakes... after all how many lakes can there be in Chandler (a lot). Then I found it. At least I think I found it. This has got to be it... that place is huge!

Check it out here.
Be sure to click on the satellite image.

From what I can tell the helicopter story is not true but it does look like there is some sort of drawbridge.

National Geographic for little ones

Maybe all of you parents who have toddlers already knew this, but National Geographic is now printing a magazine for "little kids". I got a sample one in the mail yesterday and I think the kids would really like it. It has pictures, stories, activities and perforated cards that can be ripped out, too. I took it to Carl & Brooke's and there it waits for anyone who wants to check it out.

Moo Shoo

Check this out!! ( you have to scroll down to #13)

I thought this song from veggie tales was kinda funny. Nathan has no idea what they are talking about but he still laughs every time they say "chicken"

If this doesn't make you want to watch Happy Feet, nothing will.

To the chopper--quick!

This is not exactly what I had in mind when I sprang for the remote control helicopter. I was thinking more of sitting in my nice leather chair (the one in which Colman and Nathan often sit in when I am not at home) and directing the flying unit to go get stuff for me....the remote to the telly, a Butterfinger, a drink of cool beverage or something like that. Unfortunately, I allowed another person to figure this out and it had so many hard landings that we had to get out the bacon-strip band-aids to mend it.

I do not know if it works now or not. I am afraid to even tweak with it--knowing that I can fly this wounded bird into an object that would drain it of what life remains in it. I just may retire it like some of the othe choppers that I have replaced--courtesy my dentist.

So, for all you RC enthusiasts in the making, be very careful. It is like taking a couple of hard-earned twenties off that roll and tossing them carelessly in the air with that devil-may-care attitude and have someone rip you the heck off!

Oh, well, it was fun to watch them fly for a little while. Here pretty bird, come here and I will mend your wings and place you on a perch of honor to survey all that is good and noble in our little twisted world.

Cold Stone Jumpery

Okay we tried it! We made ice cream in our soccer ball ice cream maker the other day - it worked great, although I should have opened it earlier to stir it up - it was frozen hard around the outside of the canister and still milky in the middle. Yummy though!

Would anyone like a heart attack?

This recipe is yet another reason to be disappointed Krispy Kreme didn't make it here.


Two dozen Krispy Kreme donuts
One can of sweetened condensed milk
Two cans of fruit cocktail
Two eggs
One 9 oz. box of raisins

Butter rum sauce:
One stick of butter
One lb. of powder sugar

Grand total = 10,442 calories. Yum!

A rebel with no cause whatsoever.

I'm sure you've all noticed that blogger has been trying to convince us to switch to the new version for some time. Col and Court have both switched their personal blogs over, but I have been holding out. Can't say why - I guess I just like bucking the trend.

Unfortunately, regardless of my attempts to subvert the system, it looks like we're all going to be forced to switch pretty soon. The main difference is you will need to sign in with your google account instead of your previous blogger login.

In preparation for this, I will send all of you an invitation to gmail so that you can set up a google account if you don't already have one. If I don't have your email address I can't send you an invitation... so if you want an invite, get me your email address.

Hopefully we can help each other work through this transitional period - both emotionally and categorically.

After much anticipation...

...we've got pennies!

Picture People

See you all tomorrow at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Picture People at 9:10am. Dont forget to have your child(ren) wear their red shirts and socks.

A politically correct Christmas.

We received this "Christmas card" at work today. I don't think you can get more politically correct - they not only omitted any image or reference to Christmas (religious or otherwise), but also managed to loosely represent all people. The inside, of course, wished us peace and goodwill this year.


And to that I say:

"Merry Christmas!"

Whew! There is Jacob.

Seusical the Musical

On Friday we went to see Seusical the Musical at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. In the lobby they had Jarvis Rockwell's (grandson to Norman Rockwell)toy collection. Every character you could ever think of is on this pyramid. It is worth making a trip down just to see it.

Cue the chestnuts!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Fire pit burning on the patio.
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir.
And people asking what's the matio?

Ok, I am not a lyricist, but the firepit is working now. We ordered the low flame so as not to burn the place down. It is cozy and we like it!

Now, bring on the chestnuts.

An idea for next year's talent show.

Let's not get any ideas...

Do you ever get those emails that make you say, "Now why didn't I think of that????"
Colman, I know you'd like to keep Adeline away from the Christmas tree, but please, don't get all Macgyver on us!

Next Post....

It's been a slow week on the blog

Our girls are completely enthralled with the game, "Risk". Not because of the strategy associated with plotting world conquest and domination (like Aubrey with the blog), but because of the myriad multi-colored army pieces associated with the game. Anyway, we often hide the game and they often find the game. The other day, Shellie was upstairs cleaning and she threw a little yellow game piece down the stairs. I happened to be standing in front of the refrigerator (door open, of course), and the piece bounced down the stairs and lodged perfectly between my big and second toes. Although the attached picture is a reenactment of the end result (I couldn't walk to the camera without the piece falling out!), I hereby vouchsafe that this story is true.

BTB, please refrain from any comments regarding hairy feet or toenail hygene.

Tennis Anyone?

I signed up for tennis ******day ***** at *** and the *******************. I would love it if someone wanted to take with me or even the same time as me and we can play after.

Are you kidding me?

Okay, granted, I knew I had a beautiful daughter that was quite photogenic. But this photo, taken whilst we were attempting a family photo shoot, still took my breath away. Anyone know of any kid modeling agencies? Maybe Nick CAN retire early...

MERRY CHRISTMAS season

Now that the Christmas season has officially begun, I will now rejoin the beautiful red on red Christmas blog.

Pilgrims

Pilgrims.

You are missing the "reason for the season".

It is obvious that the Pilgrims consider themselves disciples of Thanksgiving. Whereas, we are disciples of Christmas.

The pilgrims have restored the empire.

The noise you heard last night was my military forces and various other militia groups storming Nick's oversized Versailles-like palace and ousting him. I was finally able to amass the necessary support when I pointed out to various splinter groups that Nick is responsible for stealing exactly 7 days from the pilgrims. This could not be tolerated, and action was taken.

You can rest assured that business will be back to usual as they say. Carry on.

Anyone want a kitten?

My friend's daughter found some really cute baby kittens. If anyone would like one, just give me a call.

For our Utah buddies....

Can anyone but Valentine explain the final score of the Utah v. BYU game this last weekend? I had the direct dial numbers already to go to my BYU friends. And then this????? Please.

Too good to not share.

I know I am supposed to be in hiding, but if something is blogworthy, it cannot be passed up. I thought you all would appreciate this lunchtime conversation.

Me: Titanic was on last night.

Col: Don't admit that we watched any of it.

Brooke: I'm not even going to ask.

Col: We just wanted to see the ship sink.

Brooke: I've never even heard of it.

Me: You've never heard of the movie Titanic?

Col: I thought you and dad rented it once.

Brooke: Oh, you said Titanic? I thought you said Satanic.

Sometimes it Takes Blood & Guts

As your new imperial commander, ur I mean, president, I welcome you to the revolutionized Carter Blog.

My only desire is to ensure that the blog contains new and exciting content - in a deliverable format - that will entertain, inform and amuse. I recognize that the holiday background fiasco has fractured our group of members, contributors and readers. I now call for a season of unity and reconciliation. In other words, quit fighting and don't make me stop this car!

The next order of business is to establish cabinet level posts and assign responsibilities. As Aubrey still maintains full administrative control of the blog infrastructure, I nominate her as Secretary of Information, or Minister of Propoganda - whichever flows better. Anyway, I am open to any other suggestions and nominations for titles or new cabinet posts.

Thanks for your support!

I would like to officially apologize to The Pilgrims.

However, I do believe it was Nick that said "The pilgrims are dead. In fact, they've been dead for a long time. We just need to accept that, get over it and move on."

And so, along with the rest of the country, we will forget the pilgrims at midnight on Thanksgiving and move on to Christmas.

So on that note, the official tally was 8 votes for #3, making it the reigning champion. Hopefully no toes were stepped on or fingers broken. I did learn a few things, like democracy is fun to try once, but I think we'll stick with tyranny from here on out.

We hope you like it!

Well, here is the partially, mostly, almost, nearly, not quite, just a little more to do photo of the yard project. It has taken a month longer than we had supposed, but we think it will be a yard we can enjoy.

Cousin Eddie: "Clark, how do you want yours?'
Clark Griswold: "Medium."
Cousin Eddie: "No, I mean your bun."

We are looking for the rib-eyes now--something worthy of the maiden voyage for the Grand Turbo.

Maybe I should've sent mail-in ballots.

Only 2 days left to vote on the Christmas colors of the site.

The tally is officially:

http://christmas-test-1.blogspot.com/: 1 vote

http://christmas-test-2.blogspot.com/: 1 vote

http://christmas-test-3.blogspot.com/: 3 votes

http://christmas-test-4.blogspot.com/: 3 votes

If you have not yet voted, you have until midnight on Thanksgiving Day. If at that time there is a tie, there will be no coin toss. There will be no drawing. We will have a tiebreaker which will be much more drawn out and complicated than necessary - that I guarantee you.

My Christmas List....

He knows if you've been bad or good....

Addie and Landon don't look too convinced of this santa thing, so we have been singing "Santa Claus is coming to town" to Landon, and he is really beginning to understand that the nicer you are to your parents, the more you get for Christmas!

The ultimate chick magnet!

Well, it is nice to know that your grandson is a chick magnet. He has the undivided attention of four pretty girls. They dote on him, they wait on him hand and foot and they think he is so cute! He puts on quite a show. He thinks he is so smart dressed up in a fashionable pair of truck jammies.

New paper shredder, anyone?

Some of you may recognize this paper shredder from last night's episode of The Office. It received several product endorsements, and one scene even awkwardly worked in the Staples name. I didn't mind because it's funny to shred lettuce and then pour salad dressing into a paper shredder.

Then, of course, this little number was also advertised in the commercial breaks. At this point, if you didn't see the show you're probably assuming it was a parody, like on Wayne's World. Not so.

You hit us over the head with this shredder, NBC. And it worked. I want one. Col wants one. And even now, as we speak... Brooke is at Staples buying one.

Stocking stuffer suggestions....

Are you looking for a special stocking stuffer this year? If so, may I suggest a can of these? Nobody I know has them. Everybody I know would look at them with that special Christmas glow and say "truly, this is a once-in-a-lifetime gift that I would NEVER have supposed existed." They would finish by saying, "Are these all for me"? Can anyone top this?

A Nov. 17th Coincidence?

I thought that I would give a shout out to Nate for his Nov. 17th birthday. Happy Birthday Nate!

It is also quite interesting that the new James Bond movie debuts on Nov. 17th!

I have seen a resemblence between Nate and Mr. Bund. And, come to think of it, I have never seen both of them in the same place. Coincidence, I think not! Keep an eye on him Court.

Family picture, 2006.

What ever happened to the family picture we took a few months ago? I hope no one is planning a Christmas surprise. And if they are, I may have just ruined it.

I think my popeye arms just got a little stronger

I picked my first little bit of edible spinach this morning. I was really just thinning out weak, but I still ate the little leaves. Hooray!!

Happy Armistice Day!

Yesterday I went to Fashion Square Mall and got a parking spot after 20 minutes of driving around and circling 2 parking garages.....Now I know why. Thought you would all like to have a little more knowledge on the subject.

Today is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. It is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states. All major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the armistice. Armistice Day was first commemorated in the United States by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919, and many states made it a legal holiday. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 inviting all Americans to observe the day and made it a legal holiday nationwide in 1938.

The day has since evolved as a time for honoring living veterans who have served in the military during wartime or peacetime, partially to complement Memorial Day, which primarily honors the dead. There has been some discussion of whether a person's veteran status depends upon his/her retirement or discharge from any of the armed forces. However, the term applies to any that have honorably served their country or that have served in a war zone as directed by their superior officers or as directed by lawful orders given by their country.

Hammer this!

Brooke has had a crazy weekend and tomorrow is going to be just as crazy. I told her that we would do dinner (we being the next generation down). Who all is coming to dinner and what shall we have?

Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em

Aubrey please! You can't discuss West coast rappers without starting with Oaktown's M.C. Hammer.

BTB, he even has his own blog too!

Let us now represent the West Side.

I think more than enough screen time has been given to 50 Cent and the East Side. We should also show the patriotism of the West Side. Who better to do this for us than Snoop?



*The Carter Family Blog in no way affiliates with The Game or G-Unit, and is neutral in any East Coast vs West Coast war, feud, rivalry or other conflict of any nature.

Vote or Die!

I feel that in some small way the democratization of the Carter Blog has unified our family. The result does not matter, it is the process of participation that counts, so if everyone can lean #4, that would be great.

Rock the Vote

You may think this post is related in some way to today's election. Not so. It is, however, related to another important vote that has absolutely nothing to do with politics or propositions.

The upcoming Christmas season always puts me in a generous mood. I normally just change the blog colors willy nilly, but for the Christmas colors, I'm giving everyone some options (this is not limited to the Contributors. If you're reading this post, you are entitled to vote).

So take a minute and check out your choices. Please vote for your favorite in the comments of the blog that has the color scheme you like best.

http://christmas-test-1.blogspot.com/

http://christmas-test-2.blogspot.com/

http://christmas-test-3.blogspot.com/

http://christmas-test-4.blogspot.com/

The winning color scheme will make it's debut the day after Thanksgiving.

Thank you for voting.

One yard at a time.....

Things are shaping up a little at a time. I am told that there will be green growing in between the patio stones to make it look nice. There is an underground watering system that waters the roots without pop-up heads. The BBQ is tiled, and we are ready for the workers to leave. Yet to be done--planting, electrical, a little more irrigation, finishing of the trellis frameworking. The redwood posts you see just through the BBQ are posts for an 8' fence that will separate the ATV storage from the yard. I am ready. No, I mean really ready.

Tie Dye Competition Part Deux

Aubrey, your pix don't have anything on this spread!

I was blinded by love! For the record, I was not too crazy about the tie dye idea, and took solace that I had the only solid color shirt out of the bunch!







Look how serious Shellie's brother looks (back, left). I invite everyone to fill in the "think bubbles" of any person adorned in tie dye.