grass from the ice storm

sorry about the delay of the comments. apparently Aaron changed my settings so I had to moderate the comments. so amanda here is the frozen grass.

I will try and change it back so you can just post your comments.

Merry Christmas!

When we were younger we had to sit on the stairs while dad went in and turned on the train and the Christmas lights. here we are waiting to go see what Santa brought. Sarah woke everyone up. She was SO excited. (she did wait until it was light outside :)

We had a LOVELY Christmas in California. Two of the days we were there it was 80 degrees! It was hard coming home to reality. We had fun hanging out with cousins, playing outside (without our coats!) and seeing grandma and grandpa. Sarah's big present was an indoor helicopter (the same as Uncle Patrick and Grandpa :) Becca got a princess doll house and polly pocket, David got a train set, Aaron got a good coat and I got a gym membership (and we all got a trip to CA)

Something funny Becca said last week at church... As we were taking the sacrament I could tell that some poor deacon forgot the bread and they had to scour the freezer and put out what ever they found...when the bread was passed to Becca she said, "this bread is hard as a rock!" I just cracked up and thought she said what we were all thinking.

This week (yesterday) Becca woke up saying that she didn't feel well. We all got ready and when she was coming down the stairs she just threw up. She threw up about 6 times and that was that. I stayed home with her because Fri and Sat I wasn't feeling really great.

If you are reading this you are a real trouper! I love all you guys!

Happy 30th Birthday again!

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Happy 30th Birthday, Julie!

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Ice storm after math.

Here is a tree in our neighborhood. I wanted to post it before we left, but for some reason it wouldn't let me. This just gives a little perspective of what ice can do. there were a lot of big trees just destroyed in that storm.

Week in Hershey

I think I missed my calling in life. I watched the show at Hershey Park two nights in a row and LOVED it. I miss singing and dancing. I think if I would have gone to NAU I would have been a music major or been in a show choir. when I didn't make women's choir my Freshman year I felt rejected and never tried out again. I really regret that. oh well.

We had so much fun at Hershey park. Aaron came the first night and he and Sarah went on the Reese's ride 4 times! Back to the show...it was about a soldier away from home and his family was missing him...I cried :( I just kept thinking of my friend who found out her husband is being deployed soon.

Sweet lights was fun too! We drove for about 45 minutes looking at light displays. It was fun! The kids are hanging all over me so I will write more later!

For laughs.

Here are the funnies from the New Era this month. Just click on the image to see it full page. I thought they were funny!

Candy houses take revenge!

I guess I didn't factor in the whole I want to eat that! Every time David sees the houses he REALLY wants to eat it. He found out a way to get up to the magazine holder where he could reach Becca's house. Great plan, until Becca found out :) I think I am just going to let them eat them.

Am I the grinch?

The RS pres (who I work with in RS) stopped by to bring banana bread and a gift for Christmas. I didn't get her anything...am I the grinch? I made cinnamon rolls for my neighbors, but I didn't get anything for my friends. I had a hard enough time thinking of something for my parents and in-laws. Really, next year should I just go all out...I guess when you give you don't really expect something in return right?

I am also like that in the birthday department. I usually send an e-mail if I remember, but never do I send (or give) a present.

hummm...

Graham Cracker houses and ice storms

Last week we made graham cracker houses and it was really fun! I think more candy ended up in their mouths than on the house! I LOVED doing them growing up and it is one of my favorite traditions we had...I loved that Dad could take the left overs and make a trading post or an out house. too cute! We also watched a movie while we were doing it. I think it was because we only had one glue gun and so there had to be a lot of patience. That was a little hard this year...maybe next year we will have the grinch on.

Yesterday we had an ice storm...this one was bad. I have a few friends in Hershey who won't have power until Wednesday! (4 days without power!) The roads are not that bad, the trouble is the ice in the trees are causing them to break. There are a few down in our neighborhood. We were really fortunate not to have any power outages! This picture doesn't really do justice of the magnitude of the ice! This was taken early yesterday morning, today it is a lot prettier. I love how the ice glimmers in the sun. I love how each blade of grass is encased in ice, it is so crunchy and fun to walk on.

Harry Potter: year 5

I LOVED the movie! The 5th book was my least favorite, but I really enjoyed the movie. I think they simplified where appropriate. I think Aaron got sick of me saying...In the book this is what happens (he also read the book so I am sure he picked up on the change as well)

What I liked: Harry wasn't so whiny or angry. You saw the relationship with Sirius. Luna. Voldermort/Harry connection.

What I think could have been better: Umbrige. The fight scene at the end.

Christmas Confession

So I have never been one for surprises. When I read my sister's blog I just found out that the easiest person for her to buy for is herself. I just bought my Christmas/birthday/anniversary present...a membership at LA fitness. I didn't think I would be able to join because I didn't want to pay an enrolment fee or sign a contract...lucky me my guy said I could do it. It was a little more than other gyms, but I really think it is worth it.

Here is my confession (I think my sister outed us on her blog last year, but here goes) One year when we were kids we wanted to find out what we were getting for Christmas. I don't know whose idea it was but we were in it together. She and I took turns being the look out and looking under the bed (my parents bed was on a box). I only remember finding a few things like nail polish. I felt so sneaky, but it felt good to know what we were getting. HAHA I guess I was never really good with surprises :)

I forgot to specify

We will be repainting the whole house to make it more attractive to sell. That is why I asked white or beige. I would love to have a pottery barn or bold home, but I want to stay a little more neutral for resale. It is a buyers market so anything I do has to increase the value of the home (or increase the chance that someone will buy the house.)

Sarah has no school today due to "freezing rain" currently it is just rain, but I guess they didn't want to take any chances. Interesting! I wouldn't want the job of canceling school!

tale of two sister (part 2)

Yesterday we went bowling. Sarah had two free games of bowling that expired this month, so I thought we would go. I remembered why I didn't really like bowling...it always smells like smoke! Once we got passed the smell we kind of had a fun time. Sarah would bowl the first ball and usually hit most of the balls and then if she missed she would get really mad. Becca on the other hand would bowl and if it just hit one pin she would get really excited or chant YES. The score in the end was 85 to 47, yet it appeared that Becca had the better game because Sarah was always upset and Becca was always happy.

Nature vs Nurture. Is there something I could be doing to help Sarah be less competitive or just enjoying what she is doing? Any suggestions?

Mom, just curious which was I more like when I was a little girl? I know I got a lot more competitive as I grew older...was I always like that?

Your opinion please

So color of the house (interior paint)

White or a darker color?

I LOVE white, but everyone I talk to seems to like sand or tan.

I would love to hear everyones comment even if it is one word.

kicked my buns

I worked out today with a friend and I got my buns kicked! I am SO out of shape I am pathetic. Maybe in a few months I will be better :) I guess that is what happens when you don't work out for 10 years :)

The three rudolphs

Yesterday we went to Hershey Park with our good friends from DC. It was so great seeing them and fun to see the kids on rides together. Becca went on the big pirate ship for the first time. I think it was because her friend was going too. They both loved it (that is one of Sarah's favorites too!) They also saw Santa's reindeer. They learned that reindeer click their feet (or ankles) when they walk. I am not sure my friend took the kids while I went with her husband on the claw - a nice big ride that feels like you are swinging upside down. (she didn't want to go so I said I would :) They wanted to sing this song for you (notice David doesn't quite get it...what am I supposed to do...pick my nose...yeah that's right.)

Becca LOVES the tree. She can sit behind and play for hours. I could hear her dialogue and thought it was cute. I went and looked behind the tree and this is what I found (this picture is from the second time...the first time she had about twice as many balls and stars and angels...basically everything she could reach)

Book Review

I just read "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. It was recommended by a reader friend so I knew that it would be good. It was cleverly written and was a good story. I finished it on the plane to AZ. Anyone looking of a good cozy read...here it is.

Oh, David

Whenever anyone says the prayers and David thinks they are too long (anything longer than 1 second) he starts chanting AMEN. It gets louder and louder until the final amen.

David is officially in a big boy bed. We put it together before we went on vacation. He is really adjusted well to it and loves being able to climb in and out by himself. Last night was the first time I had to put him back into bed in the middle of the night. I was worried about his naps, but he does fine there too.

Let it snow :)

Today it snowed all day. There is only about 2 inches, but the kids are in heaven. We went to the library today and both Becca and David loved eating the snow. We just came back from tithing settlement and they are all playing out there. Here is a picture from the first dusting. Sarah actually made a snowman as big as her that day. The snow today is too fine to pack.

Home again!

Well my vacation is officially over! I had a BLAST! It was great not having to think about anything and just really enjoy myself. Here are a few highlights.

The GOOD:

*Flying and traveling with GREAT kids...really other than David crying all the way to the hotel the first night and screaming a little on the last flight they were so good!

*Seeing my family - brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa...man I have such a wonderful family!

*Watching the kids interact with Grandma and grandpa

*Helping Suzie and her family get and decorate her tree.

* Seeing the Temple with all the lights! And driving to the temple doing a session in 2.5 hours! WOW. It was great.

*Seeing friends from medical school! They were SO great to put up with us for the night and feed us before our journey back.

*The kids loved jumping on the trampoline, playing at the park, climbing trees, raking leaves, swimming (on 2 occasions!) riding horses and chasing chickens :)

It was such a relief knowing that Aaron had a job and that we didn't have to do any more interviews. We kept saying - today we would be in Prescott - or wherever we were supposed to be that day. It was great just being able to relax!

The BAD: On the way home from Suzies Aaron got pulled over. He didn't have his license. The car had a huge "for sale" written on the front and back and he was driving with his brights on. Fortunately for us it was just warning but as we were sitting there someone pulled up to tell the police that someone had just hit an elk. I am glad that wasn't us!

The UGLY: Sarah got sick Thursday and threw up a few times...fortunately for us she was fine Friday and Saturday. Sunday morning it hit her once more...but she is back at school today. She was excited to go back.

Well that about sums it up. On the way back I told Aaron and we have to do this again in 20 days! We are going to CA for Christmas...fun times!