A Traditional Christmas Day at the Erickson's

Every Christmas day, 30 bodies crowd into Dave's childhood home
where Grandma Erickson cooks breakfast for each person. This feat
takes about 2 hours because every plate is cooked to order; no buffet
here! Next, all 30 of us cram into the basement room where a fire
burns and presents are stacked to the ceiling. Grandma and Grandpa
have stayed up all night Christmas Eve to stuff 30 individual stock-
ings and to wrap gifts for 20 grandchildren and their parents. Chaos
erupts as everyone opens gifts simultaneously; wrapping paper flies,
children squeal in delight and adults give their thanks.








The exhausted King of the Castle

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning At The Erickson's

It's a shame, but everyone has to wait until mom gets up, it could be
as early as 8:00 or as late as 10:00. You just have to wait with no
peeking! It's just as well to eat dad's Christmas crepes and let mom
sleep, because if mom's not in a good mood then nobody's in a good
mood. Finally, when mom pokes her bleary eyes and messy hair
out, it can all begin. The Best gifts are saved for Christmas morning!


The much hoped and wished for present: a motorized scooter for
Hailey ( a total surprise, by the way.)


Also 333 marbles of all different sizes for Hailey and Dave to play
with together

Another uber-violent DVD for Tanner's enjoyment, guaranteed to
have 56 deaths, 31 explosions and 14 painful screams


In Tanner's down time, he can enjoy learning the alphabet on this
handy, little "learn how to text " device


I want Dave to keep all his teeth so I gave him an electric toothbrush.

The Christmas Eve Extravaganza

Every Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember, the Hosenfelds
have had THE big celebration. First of all, we eat a big meal which
entails a big clean-up after wards. At about this time, the kids all
start to whine and carry on, "Is it time to open presents yet?" Not
even close, so they discover. This night is not about presents. It is
about waiting and waiting and waiting because a lot of things need to
happen. First there is the "talent show" which gets bigger and bigger
every year because everybody thinks they're talented. Whether it
be a trio of violins or a trio of guitars, it doesn't really matter,
because whatever is played is unrecognizable as a song anyway.
Still, when dad starts to play an old-time tune on the trumpet, we
feel the need to get up and waltz around the living room as if we
were at Saltaire in the '50's. After a dramatic yet sarcastic "poem
reading" by Poulsen and Dave, and a scripture or two about the
true meaning of Christmas, the children are unleashed so that they
may find their dreams come true behind the fancy wrapping paper.
The best part about this Christmas celebration is that we are always
together, despite the entertainment.

Another Birthday for Tanner

The Boy Turns 12



If Tanner could talk he would be saying, "Don't bother me with
presents, I'm trying to watch Rambo blow up that bridge with
his Chicom RPG-7 shoulder fired anti-tank grenade launcher".
Boo yah!

Still, Tanner's Birthday is a good excuse for a family party even
though he could care less.

Can Anyone Teach This Kid How to Vacuum?

In my house I have this innocuous piece of machinery which helps
me with my daily chores. It's quite commonplace and
unobjectionable until Tanner gets a hold of it. Apparently, the
vacuum is a dear friend for Tanner. Maybe it's the monotone drone
of the motor, or the obnoxious sucking sound of the hose, or the
loudness, or the fact that it doesn't run away. In any case, Tanner
will run this vacuum endlessly until bedtime. When I unplug it,
he re-plugs it. When I turn it off, he turns it on. When I put it away,
he takes it out. My only hope is to hide it.

Sometimes the vacuum is in the shower.....


Sometimes the vacuum is in my closet, sometimes it's in the
basement, or in the garage or locked in the laundry room.
Wherever it is hidden, sooner or later, Tanner finds it and
brings it out. It's kind of like a game we play.... how long will it
take Tanner to find the vacuum. Now if he could only use it for
good and not for evil!

The Busiest Weekend of the Year

Total Transformation in Three Days

The minute Thanksgiving is over it's time to prepare for Christmas. Down go the autumn leaf garlands and up go the pine wreaths. Out come the endless shopping lists, the party plans, and the panic of too much stuff to do with so little time... I still love it anyway.


Dave takes Hailey to the Tree Farm where they hunt for the perfect tree. This year Hailey found the most expensive tree on the lot and offered to help pay for it .


Five hours later, after wrapping strands of lights around each limb, my hands black with sap and red with scratches and punctures, We behold the most perfect Christmas tree in the whole world


Even the rodent has his cage decorated with red and green bulbs, complete with a personalized stocking



Everything is ready!

Let the on-line shopping begin
Let the music play
Let the lights twinkle
Let the snow fall

First Snow Blues

This Morning I Looked Out and Saw This:


Right away, I fell into seasonal depression






Hailey relied on cookie dough to raise her spirits, solving her problems through food



After wrestling with feelings of sadness, Tanner just gave up and fell asleep
while looking for the remote control
Goodbye Summer, Autumn and all that is good and wonderful

Don't worry, there's nothing a hot bath and some cocoa won't cure

Another EXTREME Family Vacation

A Quick Trip to California for the Weekend Proves to be Full of Fun


Dad's fancy footwork while playing EXTREME frisbee


Mom's EXTREME grace while under pressure


Amelia's EXTREMELY stinky diaper

Jared and Nanette's EXTREME surfing experience


Casey's EXTREMELY long board

An EXTREMELY stupid picture taken by Dave


EXTREMELY bad karaoke


EXTREME fun at Grandma and Grandpa's 50th Wedding Anniversary

Halloween 2009

Once Again, Dave outdid himself with great Halloween decorations. Our house attracted 330 kids this year, all within a 3 hour time span. Unfortunately, I had to give up my very own stash of peanut butter cups hidden in the cupboard and Dave was sent on an emergency candy run to the store because we were running low. At 9:30, Hailey put up a sign " Sorry, we're out of candy". Finally, we were able to sit down and watch the whole- some comedy, Young Frankenstein, in celebration of Halloween.... Hailey's favorite line: "What Knockers!!"........ "Thank you, Doctor". (You have to see the movie to understand that one.)Our house

Tanner: Chubby, Roman Guy
"Hail Caesar!"

Hailey: Cleopatra

How Tall is Your Child

At our house, we keep track of Tanner's height my tracking the dents in the walls made by his head. Over the years there has been a succession of random forehead marks up and down the hallway. Aside from dents differing in height each year, the dents become more and more pronounced and deep. This is the first year that Tanner has actually hit hard enough to break the sheet rock and make a full blown hole. We are SO proud of him! Our little boy is growing up.

First Fish at Fun Fieldtrip

Picture This:

A beat up fishing pole with no reel, just a 3 ft string on the end.
A hook but no bait
A pond packed full of stupid fish
Tanner catching a fish by its belly simply because the fish just happened to run into the hook

Next, Tanner realizes he has something heavy and wiggly on the end of the string so he proceeds to pull the poor fish out of the water, swing it around a bit and then he throws it back in the pond, loving the splash it makes. All the while, the unfortunate fish has a hook stuck in it's belly and is flying in and out of the water multiple times while Tanner giggles.

Then I rescued the poor creature from a confusing but agonizing death and made Tanner hold his fish....he gagged.



We also took a stroll through the haunted corn maze where every few yards Tanner would take a tumble into the corn because of the precarious footing. Then I'd have to hoist him back on his feet so that he could trip again, every time he would giggle as I growled at him to watch his feet.


It was a beautiful fall day

You'll Like This One...

A funny thing happened at work the other day...

I was working in the Emergency Room, you know, where all the sick and hurt people congregate, and was called to do a bedside chest x-ray, which is quite an ordinary thing for me to do. As I pushed my x-ray machine down the hall to an awaiting patient, I noticed an inordinate and unusual amount of men in suits with those curly wires coming out of their ear. Also, IMC's security force was out in the halls whispering to each other.
I raised my eyebrows and said to myself ," There must be somebody important in the ER tonight". Then I continued on down the hallway, stopping at the particular room where I was to do the particular chest x-ray. I parted the curtains and professionally pushed my machine in. A very nice gentleman commented on how pink my scrubs were, for they were, indeed, a very nice shade of Pepto-Bismo (not that he said that , of course). I responded with my well rehearsed "I'm just trying to brighten the place up a bit". To which he replied, "Well, your smile does that."
Smiling some more at the compliment, I x-rayed this man's ailing wife and then returned to my area, noticing along the way, all the well dressed people standing around.
As I was completing my paperwork I happened to notice that my patient had the last name of Monson and then I recalled seeing a few missionaries in the waiting room, so I innocently asked my co-worker, "Hey, is there somebody important in the church with the last name of Monson?"
With an exasperated response, she said, "Yes, the Prophet". So then it hit me that the nice man who complimented me was indeed President Monson, the Prophet of the LDS church!!!
How did I not recognize him, you wonder. I guess I'm just not very observant.
Now, when I think back, I definitely don't deserve to be in the same room with a man who has the powers of Moses.

Goodbye Mud

Five years ago our yard looked like this:


With a lot of creativity and hard work, the yard was transformed step by step into something amazing.


A rock wall here, a boulder there, a tree, some bushes, a bunch of flowers
and most of all......

GRASS! Green, soft grass.

It wasn't easy making the backyard a paradise. Rain water seemed to create an unwanted pond, so Dave put in drain lines, dug holes to install pumps , contoured and shaped the slopes. He dug trenches for sprinkler pipe and electrical conduits. He hauled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of rich fertilizer. He constructed a waterfall, made a fire pit, and layed stone pathways.



------------------------------------Spring 2000-----------------------------

land drains

putting in a water pump

ISN'T HE AMAZING!!!

There is one problem though; what will Tanner do now?
---no more mud clods
---no more sitting in mud puddles
---no more muddy water



Sorry Buddy