Christmas

Merry Christmas!

We sung, we laughed, we played, we baked, we acted, we gave, we received

(and these pictures are the only remaining proof of it all)

Ah, well.

Photo shoot after the nativity.  Catherine asked to be in charge this year instead of Milla, and Milla generously agreed. Here we have the Shepherd/Angel/Kings (Rin), Mary (Milla), Joseph (Thomas), Narrarator (Sean), and Sheep (Henry)

Brandon picking out his Nochebuena gift under our wild tree.  This year we found a tree farm that ended up being a guys property that happened to have a bunch of pines on it.  With a sign out front.  I've always liked forest trees, though, and everyone was a good sport in picking a tree out despite the fact that the tree choices were neither 'full' nor 'green' (according to Rin).   And after paying nearly $200 last year, I was happy with our 11 feet for $30.

Henry immediately knew what to do with his gift

And last but not least, the families reaction to receiving HeroQuest (that the Uffenorde's tracked down for us on Ebay...Thanks!)  FYI A childhood game of Brandon's that the kids LOVED, but 2 years ago was in such a state of destruction, Mama tossed it.  And has never lived it down.

Pavlovian

Pavlovian: the word that landed Catherine 2nd place at her school spelling bee this month.

This is the first time that I remember attending a school spelling bee and I was soo nervous.  With each child that got up to the microphone, I would think each letter in my head, willing them to be said.  All the kids were awesome, but still there were a few tears of nervousness and disappointment.

When it was down to five students, Catherine began the round with 'bodega', and missed one of the vowels so sat down with her class.  Then three of the next 4 kids proceeded to miss their words as well.  3+1 alternate would be able to progress to the district spelling bee in February.  So after congratulating the winner (the girl standing by Rin below), the other 4 got back up to compete for the other 3 spots.

The final 4 with Principal Wynn (and not sure who the lady is...)

The only other words that I remember her spelling were 'obsidian', 'chicle' and 'chimney'.  She was so cute because she would get up to the mike all composed, spell her word, sit back down, and then look at me with the biggest excited smile and double thumbs up.  As a parent it was so sweet to see a child feel success for something she studied really hard for.

I Believe

This morning we had our ward Christmas Party...always a lot of fun here in Colorado.  Some very creative people willing to plan, dress up and have fun with the theme.  This year was 'Polar Express'.  We followed railroad tracks on the way in where the kids got train tickets (and they took down our name so later they could call a few families at a time to see santa instead of waiting in an insanely long line. Nice).  After brunch the conductor...our snake man (his basement is full of them and they often make appearances on different occasions) Brother Struhs...led the program with different musical numbers interspersed with a reading of the Polar Express.  Beginning with little Heidi Struhs rendition of 'I want a Hippopotomus for Christmas', in the middle getting a whirlwind delivery of hot chocolate from the YM and YW during 'Hot, hot chocolate', and ending with an 'I Believe in Christ' number by our bishop. And, of course, Santa got his appearance at the end.

It was a really fun time.  Nice all of the kids got to participate in one way or another.  Everyone is making friends and beginning to feel comfortable here.  Good to feel like we are at home.

The girls and I made this table decor (along with a blue version) to use for centerpiece decorations at the party.  I enjoyed just sitting down for a few minutes and 'hanging' with Milla and Rin.

I blame my camera phone, but this was the best shot I got of Sean in his cap doling out cocoa.  Perhaps you can imagine them whizzing by with great speed as they do their work.  Not unlike Santa, I suppose.

Milla adding marshmallows to the cups

Catherine took part in a chime choir (chime hidden by the girl in front of her) that welcomed us to the 'North Pole'

Look! One of my children NOT crying on Santa's lap! 

My beautiful Rin waiting to put in her wish for a Guinea Pig to Santa.  She has been good this year...

And lastly, is it just me or does the missionary dress code seem to be getting a little lax?

"Hey you! Hug!"

Or perhaps he is saying, "Save me from that monster dog that keeps trying to eat my nose!"

Actually this reminded me of a visit I recently had to see a friend who had just had a baby.  We chatted for a little while and then I got up to leave.  I was not 4 feet out the door when I hear a little (but BIG) voice say, 'Hey, you!'.  I turn to see my friend's little 3 year old looking at me, his arms outstretched and his deep brown, sweet Laotian eyes demanding. 'KISS', he says.  'KISS'.  So I go to him and he lands a big smacker right on my lips.  Hee hee.  What a cutie.

Ahhh.  Well we did get a good storm through last week.  Not our first storm of the season, but it certainly brought the cold.  Brandon's 20 min commute turned into an hour long one that day.  But the rest of us enjoyed it.

 Here are a few shots of the kids at play:

Henry would run out to be with the kids, then would get snowballed a few times and beg to go back inside.  Two minutes later he'd be whining to go out again.  Too bad his lack of opposable thumbs makes it hard to get revenge...

Little self-portrait with a new friend

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of my favorite holidays.  I love just being with my family and cooking and eating.  All good.

I am grateful for my husband who puts in all he has to our marriage.

  I am grateful for my kids who have such loving hearts.

I am grateful to God for His peace and love and patience and constant reaffirmation that He is there and that there is purpose to our time here on earth.

I am grateful when I feel love and understanding dissolve feelings of judgment and fear.

I am grateful for hope.

We made and ate dinner today with just the 6 six of us.  I could tell I was getting a little overstimulated at times as I was trying to prep the turkey and such and was being called on every 30 seconds by another child needing help interpreting instructions for what they were working on.  But I found my quiet place ;) ....in my head... and enjoyed the time with the kids.  With only one disaster (Sean lost hold of the key lime pie he was holding...darn bendy disposable pie tins... and it hit the floor with a satisfying thud and spewed it's contents across half of the kitchen), we declared the feast a success. 

Dressed for the occasion with my girls

The beginning of feasting...Rin was giving me a contorted stink face until I finally told her she looked constipated.  That brought out the smile. :)

 Perhaps those of you who are more observant than most, noticed that, although the plates are clean, it looks as if there are already some of the yams and stuffed mushrooms missing.  And you might have thought that odd.  Well done!  Although we ate alone, we did pack up some of our dinner to take to a friend.  Our La Grande YW president, Sandy Nelson, is down here in Aurora with her parents and most of her siblings.  Her father had a live liver transplant at the U of Colorado hospital a week or two ago, the liver being donated by her brother-in-law.  They have rented an apartment for a couple of months, as dad has to stick around until the doctors feel confident that he is accepting the liver.  As of today, both patients are 'home'(at the apartment) and looking good, but not getting around much.  It was fun to chat with Sandy's mom who, as coincidence would have it, home teaches (with her husband of course) Brandon's Aunt Irene and Uncle Jim back in Boise.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Something burning?

My kids, especially Sean, love to tease me about burning dinner.  Not that I do it THAT much, but apparently enough.  I just am so easily distracted.  Oh look! Squirrel! (family joke)

Anyhow.

Last week Brandon and I arrived home to the smell of burning.  Something.  We rounded the corner to the living room to see Catherine laying on our new(ish) couch pillow propped up against the gas fireplace, reading.  Oblivious to the fact that the pillow was charring beneath...

The pillow insert.  The outside is a thicker fabric and must be partially synthetic as it more matted and melted.  Actually didn't look too bad.  But seeing the inside was a little scary.

Yes, we have previously instructed our children NOT to put the pillows on the (dog hair covered) ground and yes, we have instructed our kids to lay outside the tile area when enjoying the fireplace.  Sometimes the best lessons are learned when your hair is on fire. Or nearly.  Good opportunity to more effectively teach the children that fire behind glass is still fire.  And still hot.

BOO!

Halloween is really not my thing.  I don't like being scared, can't even turn on the TV for the whole month of October because even the most innocent shows have turned into blood and guts, and I'm not really a fan of neighborhoods turning into cemeteries (just seems a little disrepectful).  

Despite this, I really enjoyed the season with my kids this year.  The weekend prior to Halloween we headed up to Longmont (an hour north).  I had seen an ad for a corn maze up that way, which seemed a perfect excuse to visit my old friend who moved to Longmont from La Grande not long after we moved here.  Sis. Joan Frederickson's husband of about 50 years passed away back in February.  I only knew him after he had slowed down alot, but always enjoyed going for a visit.  He liked to sneak candy to my kids when we were there and loved to show his sculptures that decorated his home.  He made detailed creations of horses and people out of wire and papermache. "Poor man's bronze', his wife would say.  On first glance, though, they actually DID look like bronze statues, being so delicately formed and painted.  We got to spend an hour with Joan reminiscing over lunch.  She was such a support to me during my time as Relief Society President.  Always sharing a wise word when needed and keeping me smiling with her quick sense of humor.  Glad to see her again.

After lunch the family and I headed out to the corn maze.  Perhaps you can see the line of people below, behind the go cart track.  They are outside a fence waiting to get in.  We waited 45 minutes....not expecting that, but everyone in line was cheerful and time passed quickly.  Once inside the farm we had a blast. 

The admission included go carts...they also had adult size ones.  Unfortunately no one got a shot of me taking Sean down. ;)

So sad I didn't get any more pictures!  There was no line waiting inside the farm.  We spent more than an hour in the maze, splitting up into 3 teams.  Catherine and I made it to the 12 main checkpoints (which, according to our map meant we'd walked about 4 miles), at which point we made our way out.  Thomas and Papa exited first, but didn't make it as far.  Milla and Sean were only about 10 minutes behind Catherine and I but actually did the entire 18 checkpoints in the maze.  They were truckin'. And were declared winners.  Following the maze we tried out squash launching, fed some chickens, go-kart raced, and then finally took the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch.  Our guide was a sassy older farmer that said  'Keep your chins off of the railing of the truck, because if you bite your tongue when we hit a bump, I'd have to cry'. And we better stay in our seats because,  'If you fall over the side, I'd have to cry again'. Hee hee.  Good times.

Thomas was already in zombie mode here

We decided we needed a little healthy food before heading out trick-or-treating.  Here the kids are showing off their banana ghosts, pretzel and cheese broomsticks and orange and celery pumpkins.  Below is our attempt at an eyeball pizza.  All was quickly devoured

Zombie Thomas

Everyone loves a Basselope (made, of course, by Catherine in her sewing frenzy this week)

Sean making a very convincing Slender Man. Milla and Catherine were very pretty were wolfs. Hard to see, but they each sewed fur leggings and arm coverings, ears, tails, and had bead and string head pieces.

 Trick or Treating was a success.  Judging from the 10% tax by the parents, the kids each scored nearly 200 pieces of candy.  Hopefully, they will eat it quickly so that we can spend all next week brushing teeth.

The kids pumpkins (which replaced our garden grown ones that were smashed by passerbys earlier in the week)

Milla's 15

Dressed to the nines for her friend's pre-halloween 1920's murder mystery party.

Fifteen years ago I was a 22 year old holding the future in my hands.  And not knowing what to do with her or how to help her grow.  But time moves on as it always does, and help comes and we (hopefully) get a little wiser along the way.  My sweet Milla now stands about even with me in height and is more beautiful than I could have imagined, inside and out.

Happy Birthday, Love!

Milla's Portal birthday decorations (from a computer game for those of you not in the know)

Perhaps you can spy Milla's brand spankin' new braces? She is not loving the sore mouth, but is smiling nonetheless.
Pictured here with her Portal black forest cake.  Yum!

Hugging Grandma Eyre's stuffed turret (Portal, again).  From Mama and Papa she got a wood carving set and (of course) a new book series by Beka Cooper

Sweet Home Alabama

I love the South. 

 It seems no one in my family was as taken with it as me.  I returned for the first time in 18 years.  The chicken fried steak and grits were still pleasantly satisfying, the music still connecting and the people still speaking 'Love', 'Hon', 'Don't you worry', and 'Y'all come back' like.

I don't remember exploring Nashville as a child.  This trip Brandon and I went to both 'The Grand Ole Opry'at the Opry House and 'Opry Classics'at the original Ryman Auditorium. Which was a blast.  Each had a different feel. The Opry House more commercial and bigger with a more grand feel.  The Ryman down home.  The last part of the Ryman performance was my favorite, done by Neal McCoy (who I hadn't heard of. But then I've never followed any kind of music so this shouldn't be a surprise). He was such a performer, though, as well as a musician, I didn't want to leave.  So down to earth he really connected with the audience.  Kind of guy you just wanted to invite over for dinner.  Note of interest: he is Filipino/Irish/American.  Maybe not the typical background of a country music singer.

Before the Opry Brandon and I walked around downtown; seeing the capitol building as well as the large statue of Pres. Jackson on a horse and the grave site of Pres. Polk and his wife.  In doing a little quick research on Polk, who I knew nothing about, I read he has been called the 'Most influencial unknown president'. 

 Somehow I had no idea that Nashville had a full scale replica of the Parthenon (not in ruins). Built originally for the elaborate 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, I think it was the only building made then that remains.  Fantastic little museum on the grounds if you are ever make it down that way.  All things built for the occasion were not meant to last past 6 mn but apparently on demolition day, no one had the heart to knock this one down.  As many parts were made of a cheap plaster, they did deteriorate quickly and had to be rebuilt.  The concrete replacement renovations were completed in the 1920's. 

This statue of the goddess Athena (made to specifications as believed to exist in the Greek Parthenon) was stunning as well as huge.  I think the statue was added in the past 15 years.  The little statue she's holding in her hand is like 6 feet tall, to give you some perspective.

Close up of the elaborately painted shield that protects the snake (representing the people of Athens) Athena is watching over

I think these are mold of original greek statues that artist used to recreate finished models.  Behind is a close up of what is in the eaves below. (can't remember what it is called)

Just beautiful.  And a great preview for Brandon before he takes Milla to Greece next June!

At the Opry!

Friday, when Brandon was at his classes, I went birdwatching at Shelby Bottoms.  So serene and lovely.  I spent hours.  At one point I felt isolated and moved enough that I sang 'Joseph Smith's First Prayer' just to my little self.  It was nice to take a little time to just be. As well as add a few birds to my life list.

Southern girl on her way to Alabama

Brandon was a little slow on the draw for this pic.  Just drivin' along when I hear him call out. 'Oh my gosh!  Piggly Wiggly's really DO exist!"

Had to slam on the breaks in an expert maneuver to stop for this shot.

Of course our first stop had to be the Space and Rocket Center.

Super Cool.  And fun to even go without kids.

And, yes, we rode the centrifuge thing and the rocket shoot up in the air ride, the mars landing simulator (that I started getting a little queasy in) and climbed into the apollo cockpit (they may not call it that..).  Beautiful day in the 70's and had no big crowds to deal with.

After staying the night in the Hilton Home 2 Suites (modern hotel with an awesome, natural food breakfast buffet... highly recommend...and under $100), we headed down to the old house.

Note the garage and (below) my old basketball hoop.

We walked my old paper route and Brandon indulged me as I told of all the memories that came flooding back.  The neighborhood was beautifully well kept.  The shopping center outside (where my Checkers stood), not so much.  Almost completely deserted and kind of scary.

We drove to the church through the neighborhoods, which I found sans Googlemaps, (quite pleased with my self) and then headed up to Whitesburg and Grissom.  Thing Brandon was most amazed by were how seriously they took their churches.  We were there on Sunday and passed several cathedrally large Baptist churches that each had police cars patrolling and directing traffic.

We had a little extra time before we needed to be back in Nashville for our flight and so stopped at the Botanical Gardens and Butterfly house.  Kind of off season but it was still really fun.  Saw my first albino kangaroo that a lady was awkwardly carrying around at a 'nature show' and then walked around their expansive childrens gardens.

I remember bugs in Alabama being big, but....

Making a wish with my frog prince looking on hopefully (under my arm if you can't see him)

Brandon ecstatic that he made it out of the sunflower maze I had artfully crafted for him.

Hangin'with Phineas'haybot.

Dr. Who?

Harder to get out of than it looks

So this is what it's like to be little. ;)  I'd forgotten. Cool

All in all, a fun get-a-way and trip down memory lane.