MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

this is probably my last entry for 2006. we are leaving for the next two weeks to visit family and to spend time doing nothing while lying on the beach in cancun. (don't hate, appreciate) MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone and we wish the best this holiday season.


reagan is an official big boy. he is so brave. while all the other bigger kids at the mall were afraid of the carousel, reagan was the first in line and the first to select a horse. i was so proud. he hardly wanted thomas to hold him on the horse.

i think thomas is so handsome in this shot. well, he is ALWAYS hot stuff, but it is especially well captured in this photo.

reagan is more easily amused than i am

over thanksgiving, we went to waycross to visit family. one of the days we were down there, we took a quick day trip to jacksonville, fl to see some sites. i reallyreallyreally wanted to stop and see the beach. thomas HATES the beach, but since i grew up in a landlocked state and only saw the beach on postcards until i was 10, i like to take any opportunity to see one of God's many creations. the weather was perfect and there was no stinky water smell. there were many vagabonds there. they must love the beach too. i was eavesdropping on the vagabond conversation. it was quite humorous to me, they were fighting like a bunch of siblings over cigarettes.

it's funny though, thomas was treating going to the beach like it was a trip to the dentist. in the end he was a good sport. i appreciate that he humors me. i still get excited when we are in waycross and we see PALMTREES growing in people's front yards. it's i almost too surreal to me!
on a another note, reagan loves sitting in the sink. i will put him on the counter with me if i am doing some cooking tasks or whatnot. last week he scooted right over into the sink and played in there until i was done cleaning the kitchen. it was great! the best babysitter i have ever had! he was content for quite the long time. yeah for the sink! too bad he BEGSbegsbegsbegs me to put him in their now, just for fun.

no shame and some free time

i searched through old pictures to post since i know you are all DYING for a new post from me and our camera situation hasn't changed. here are some ones i thought were funny.

this is last christmas, check out the HUGE, GIGANTIC ZIT on my forehead! why in the world did i not part my hair on the other side??? that is basic zit coverage maintenance!


















reagan being freaked out by the flash on the camera.












an oldie but a goodie. this pic is of my brother steve and me before the new year's eve stake dance 1995. yes, i really wore that dress and no it was not a joke. i was the belle of the ball. everyone wanted to dance with me. and yes, that was a perm. i got SO many compliments on my hair back then. "heidi, your hair is so gorgeous. it looks SO natural. not like a perm at all." haha. we were so stupid. i wore that same dress to a neighboring stake's january dance and i was told it was too short and not to wear it again. what a rebel i was! oddly, my dad the bishop didn't seem to notice at our dance!

america's next top model

reagan has broken our camera, so i have been relegated to scanning pictures in. 2 weeeks ago i took reagan in for his 18 month pictures, (even though this week he will be 20 months). we had a great time and i spent WAY too much money on all his pictures. this is just a handful of the shots i got. reagan was a natural model. he had a great time being the center of attention. he sang and danced without any prodding. i always wanted to be a model, perhaps i will settle for stage mother?







this was the hardest shot to get. reagan kept throwing the ball at the photographer. bytheway, georgia SCHLOCKED auburn on saturday. it was beautiful. thomas and i wore red and black on sunday to taunt our heavily auburn fan populated ward. you can't keep a good dawg down.

the adventures of batdog and spider boy!

meatball was thrilled to be included in this year's festivities. he loves a good costume.



reagan wasn't really interested in going from house to house. we went to one neighbor's house and then we headed home. he really wanted to throw this ball around the yard. everyone celebrates in their own way, i guess. he was a good little helper when people came to the door. he scooped up piles of candy and most of the time put it in the trick or treaters bags. i had to help him out a few times.

the sooperheroes make their walk home together.

musical pumpkins

i love that i got a shot of the neighbors jumpstarting their work van. i am so glad that i am always compelled to be humble.








reagan was being extremely quiet and i snuck up on him to find out what he was doing. *note to pre-parents-quiet almost always means naughty* silly me, i had left the candy bowl within his reach. he was reaching in, chewing on each selected piece and then throwing the ones he couldn't open on the floor. please note meatball patiently waiting his turn to pounce on the candy. they have been partners in crime before.

the joys of home maintenance

we really enjoy our house. we love the space and the lack of loud neighbors. we just wish they would mow their lawn and keep their bite-y dogs locked up(but then, there is always something to complain about). one thing that has been a little hard to adjust to from apartment life is the need to repair and replace things ourselves. i miss the maintenance men!!! on saturday, thomas was edging the lawn and the edger picked up a rock and threw it right through the front door. awful. the worst part is that this is the SECOND time this has happened since we moved in, first the back door and now the front.

pumpkinmania

my heart has been set on going to a pumpkin patch for many weeks now. last saturday we made it to clanton and the Grand Ole Pumpkin patch. i went a little crazy with all the picture taking.


reagan was such a good little model for mommy. i am prepping to become a stage mother. i wonder how reagan will enjoy pageants???

with our friends dave and kierstin(kiki). thomas is a tall guy, 6'3. dave is a REALLY tall guy, 6'6.

thomas and our selected orb. work it baby!

i was thrilled when reagan decided to sit down in the dirt. LOVE IT!
this one looks like my size!
*blankie made the trip too!

WAAAYCROSS, where all the ways cross!

more trips for the simpson clan. last weekend we went to waycross for my sister-in-law, mindy's baby shower. i think it was one of my favorite trips as we weren't rushed and we could just enjoy hanging out with family. the only downer was the georgia-tennessee game, which we are not talking about anyway.

reagan decided to get some "ink done" while we were visiting mimi susu. reagan has an affinity for drawing on himself. it happens at least every few days. he keeps me on my toes. he was too fast for me this time. ps-those are NOT my hairy legs. i've only let my hair get that long once, so quit bringing it up!


my dear sweet sisters-in-law, mindy and lauren. i believe that mindy is going to have the largest baby ever. he already weighs more than 5 lbs and she isn't due until november.
the boys, justin, thomas, sean and little reagan.

the whole fam damily. we are outside of the house that justin and mindy recently bought and are renovating.

reagan LOVES all the animals at mimi susu's house. i think he wanted to ride the dogs.
reagan kept pushing my hand through the fence as a gesture for me to go get those goats so he could play with them. i have a feeling that dogs won't be the only animals that find refuge in our home someday.









my favorite picture.
father and son.

going to kansas city, kansas city here we come!

for general conference weekend, reagan and i flew to kansas city. we spent 4 glorious, fun filled days with grandma and grandpa, and steve, sarah, joshua and whitney. the weather was great and fun was had by all. of course, this story does involve me flying so you know that something had to go wrong. luckily for me, the only drama was the airport not transferring my luggage to kansas city from atlanta. fortunately, it only took them about 24 hours to locate it and have it delivered. you know, i love wearing the same clothes i traveled in all day and i know reagan looked adorable wearing his pajamas at 6 in the evening. i was able to fly out of the montgomery regional airport which was surprisingly nice and modern. i was expecting something like the airport on the tv show "wings".

on saturday, the whole fam damily went to the park between conference sessions to enjoy the beautiful weather. reagan LOVED the baby swing.















the whole clan swinging together.













i was relieved and thrilled that reagan took to grandma as well as he did. since we have always lived so far away, i had great fears of him being too shy with his grandparents. reagan loved grandma! she was his favorite! when she dropped us off at the airport, he was so upset!








joshua's 4th birthday is this week! how time flies! we had a party at the grandparent's house. joshua is a BIG BOY now! he is the smartest 4 year old i know. he knows all his letters and numbers and colors. he even spells and recognizes tons of words. GREAT JOB SARAH!!!














this is the only picture i could get of whitney by herself. she was too busy playing to slow down for picture taking. she has so much personality. she loves being "pretty" and says so all the time.
she wasn't too keen on reagan though. she wasn't going to share her grandma with any old "baby". she was so funny. whenever he was playing with her toys or sitting with grandma she would say, "oh, no baby!" she was too cute! especially funny since she is only 6 months older than him. she was in charge of everyone.



i was able to visit my dear, sweet friends kelsey and diane. i was so touched that kelsey remembered me after being gone for 8 years. they gave me a picture of my old dog spud that they found at their house. kelsey proudly announced, "here, it's a picture of you!" i am thankful that she keeps me humble!







mom and i went to the best and most beautiful shopping mecca in kansas city, the the plaza
















we met dad for lunch at manny's deliciouso restaurante mexicana!!!



the day was topped off with a visit to the newly remodeled independence missouri visitor's center. it was incredible! beautiful and spiritual. a wonderful place to visit. located adjacent to the independence missouri temple site.

in all it was a wonderful weekend full of fun, family, spiritual upliftment and delicious chocolate birthday cake.