My New Camera

Yes, we are headed to the airport in a few hours, but I just wanted to post a few pics from my new camera (slr!).
Thanks Mark!
And doesn't he look dashing in my dad's coat from the mid-70s? Awesome. Too bad he wouldn't take it on our trip to Michigan. He's gonna freeze! (we all are, for that matter)

You Know it's Time . . .

To move to bigger bowls when your toddler eats SEVEN bowls of cereal for breakfast. (Alternating Cheerios and Kix)

First Try

My first try at designing Christmas cards on Picasa 3. (yes, I still love it)
So, I'll just see if I can get them uploaded to Costco for my dad to pick up tomorrow.
Isn't technology wonderful? (and wasn't our photographer wonderful, too?)

Contest: Make a Joke out of This

Whoever makes the funniest joke out of these photos, or guesses what happened (that shouldn't be hard) will get . . . a video of Jaxon singing them happy birthday.

Is Your Milkman as Cute as Ours?

Possibly, but I doubt it.

Our Little Pavarotti

Today in church, the primary sang two Christmas songs. Jaxon stood in the front and sang the absolute loudest of all the children.
It wasn't just a little loud, it was, as the following high council speaker put it, "a solo."
He was so loud that the pianist starting playing to his speed instead of the chorister.

And, the whole time he had this innocent look of concentration and earnestness.

Mark and I, and the entire congregation were laughing so hard we were crying.
The hysteric laughter peaked at the end when Jaxon finished the last line at the regular rhythm only to be shocked that the other children followed the chorister's ritardando. So, the quizzical look on his face made for a lot of laughs.

Then, as the children were walking down, he whispers loudly to the chorister, our friend Kate, "I sang really LOUD!" with a beaming smile.

Mark got a dozen comments on Jaxon's solo during church. I've had more than a few today by phone. That's one performance I don't want to forget!

(I will post Jaxon's home performance as soon as I upload it)

How Many Santas Are There?

Last weekend we saw Santa three nights in a row. That's a record.
First, Santa came to our church Christmas party Friday night.

Saturday, he was at our Hemophilia Christmas Party.

And on Sunday night, he visited our train on the Polar Express. Jaxon colored a picture for him and was so excited to show him.
As you'll notice, Asher is conspicuously absent from all of these photos, and shys away from Santa on the train. I don't think he understands that Santa brings presents.

Family Photo Shoot Movie

Here's the video of our family photo shoot by the fabulous professional photographer Nicole Hammontree.
The photos are of my parents, two sisters, and my little brother with our family.
Enjoy!



I apologize for the James Taylor again. But, I like this song.

My Boys

Here's an attempt to put up my first movie! I used Picasa 3 (LooOoove it!) and put our photos to music. Sorry, Mark. It's James Taylor. It was one of my only choices :(




The movie cycles through the pictures twice, and there are a few of the same shots with different effects.
I'd love your opinions. Some of these are going up on our walls.

Love in Sepia

There's not much to say, is there?
He's so adorable. How can I not kiss him every chance I get? And if he had it his way, he would make me hold him and kiss him all day.
I'm pretty darn lucky.

Oh yeah, and these are all self-portraits. ;)

What Kind of Movement is This?

Perhaps you didn't know, but I'm a fan of Barack Obama. I donated to his campaign, twice, and got a T-shirt in the mail (which Mark dissuaded me from wearing to ward softball, too bad).
I've been on the email list as well and have received plenty of stuff that I haven't read, but I really imagined the email to taper down since the election.
I mean, he won so it's over, right?
Wrong.
The Obama campaign is still going. Or maybe it's not the campaign. It's the Obama team. The Obama movement.
Here's the email I got today.
What do you think?

Exactly one month ago, you made history by giving all Americans a real opportunity for change.

Now it's time to start preparing and working for change in our communities.

On December 13th and 14th, supporters are coming together in every part of the country to reflect on what we've accomplished and plan the future of this movement. Your ideas and feedback will be collected and used to guide this movement in the months and years ahead.

Join your friends and neighbors -- sign up to host or attend a Change is Coming house meeting near you.

Since the election, the challenges we face -- and our responsibility to take action -- have only gotten more urgent.

You can connect with fellow supporters, make progress on the issues you care about, and help shape the future of your community and our country.

Learn what you can do now to support President-elect Obama's agenda for change and continue to make a difference in your community.

Take the first important step by hosting or attending a Change is Coming house meeting. Sign up right now:

http://my.barackobama.com/changeiscoming

To get our country back on track, it will take all of us working together.

Barack and Joe have a clear agenda and an unprecedented opportunity for change. But they can't do it alone.

Will you join us at a house meeting and help plan the next steps for this movement?

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

I'm actually considering hosting or attending one of these parties. Would any of you come to one at my house?
Do you think this is just a gimmick, or is this what Time magazine asserts, a real social movement?

A Visitor for Thanksgiving

Last week we had a visit from Mark's brother, David. He's a freshman at Snow College where he studies trumpet.

For the first half of his trip, he was a delightful guest, then he got sick and passed it to everyone. (Let me specify, everyone in my family of origin. Mark and the boys and I somehow did not get the flu bug.)

Here are some pics of Dave and Mark playing the Wii. Don't they look similar? It's remarkable, really.

There's also a cute picture of Cami (my sis) and Dave when she came over for lunch. They're the same age and have been friends since Mark and I got married, over 8 years ago (so, about half of their lives.)

Despite the fact that Dave was sick for the second half of his visit, we did have an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner, and a good night of Rock Band. We'll see him again this Christmas when we travel to Michigan to visit Mark's other brother's family and his parents.

I'm sure there will be more Rock Band and more brotherly competing about who was the best athlete in high school.

But what do I know about high school athletics? I just did the calculus cheer from the stands at the football games.

I can still remember the chant:

D(x) Dx Dy
D(y) Dy Dz
Secant, Tangent, Cosine, Sine
3.14159!

Go Team!

I'm a Proud Big Sister

For those of you who don't know, I'm a big sister. And here is my 6 foot tall little sister on her 27th birthday.

Isn't she adorable?

I love her.
And I am so proud of her. She got accepted to ASU's nursing school and she starts in January. Even though school has been a long road for Tacy, she remains focused on her goals and thinks of creative ways to get there. She will make a great nurse in 22 months!

Tacy is a smart and intuitive woman who overcomes obstacles in her life. She's got quite the resume, massage therapist and esthetician, sales person, and waitress. She also has great talents. She writes poetry and has an amazing voice for singing, especially jazz.

Even though we're only 22 months apart, sometimes we pretty far apart because of our personalities and life experiences. Despite this, I really love and appreciate my sister and know that even when she's gone/going through difficult challenges, she'll find a way to make peace and love herself.

Happy Birthday, sister!
These pics are from her birthday party. We ate at Pita Jungle, right on the lake, and then went cosmic bowling!

Butterbraids

This is Jaxon's school fundraiser: braided pastries.
Let me know if you want some. No pressure.
10 bucks each.
(they're really good_)

Jaxonisms

At the park on Saturday, we were feeding the ducks (Cheerios, b/c bread makes them sick, FYI) and I asked Jaxon if the ducks said, "Thank you."
"Yes", he said. "One of them did."

Tonight he cleaned his room (to delay bedtime, but what can I say, "Stop cleaning your room?")
He was so proud of his job that he asked us to come look at it.
"Fascinating, isn't it?", he said.
Hmm, what does that mean, Jaxon?
"Fascinating means 'good job' in French."
Ah.

Jaxon was telling me that his friend Vincent has a girlfriend (in Kindergarten?). In order to figure out how much he understood, I asked Jaxon, "A girlfriend, what does that mean?"
"No mom, she's not mean. She's nice!"

Photos:
1. Feeding the ducks, listening for their "Thank yous"
2. At his school carnival on Friday, Jaxon is with his friend Vincent in the zebra sweatshirt.
3. Jaxon, his hot dog, and friend Zander on the train.

Las Vegas Road Trip!

My sister Cami and I went on a road trip last weekend to attend Mark's sister's baby shower. Katie's having her second baby and first boy. I called ahead to talk to Justin, Katie's husband, about coming as a surprise. Anticipating Katie's response when we arrived added to my excitement about the trip.

It's kinda funny that we keep hugging and looking at each other, then hugging again.

Here's the video.



After the shower, we went to the strip and watched some shows at Circus, Circus. Cami and I got a sweet deal on Priceline at a nice Courtyard Marriott that was close to Katie's house.

It was so fun to see Katie, Justin, Adlen, and Justin's mom Julie. I also got to meet Jake, Justin's brother, and his wife Ashely and their two kids.
Pretty cool.
Katie's scheduled to have the baby before Christmas, so I wish her luck getting ready for the holidays while being very pregnant.
But, doesn't she look great?

Generations

On Sunday, we ate dinner at my parents house, and my paternal grandparents came from Glendale to join us.

Although they come to visit relatively frequently, I wanted to get a picture of our four generations. My dad is the fourth of four boys and I joke with my grandma about me following in her footsteps. She told me Sunday that her mother-in-law had told her that she would have a girl after the three boys.
When my dad was born, she said she cried. I know I would, too.

Still, without that fourth son, I wouldn't be here, nor either of my two sisters, so I guess there's balance in the universe somewhere.

Seeing my grandma and grandpa is a nice treat for me, and a good memory for my children. While I joke with grandma about her living another 20 years, she, as an octagenarian says, "Bite your tongue!"
I don't blame her. Who wants to be really old? She looks great, though, doesn't she? I want to look as good as she does when I'm 85.

Lipstick Looks Good on Asher (not so good on my bathroom)

This week has had it's share of ups and downs.
One afternoon, I saw Finn with something brown in his mouth, and I said, "Please, let that be chocolate." Although it was not chocolate (and thankfully not poop), it was the inside of a brown marker. There were spots of marker all over my carpet, again, recently shampooed.

So, as I began the task of finding, spraying, and scrubbing all of those spots.

In my bedroom I heard Asher hollering for me to let him out. Perhaps he's locked himself in my bedroom, I worried, and ran to check on him.
Nope, instead, his hands were so slick from lipstick mixed with liquid soap that he couldn't open the door.

Yes, from one mess to the next, I went that day. Except this time I grabbed my camera to get the details. This is the kind of thing that needs remembering.

Despite protests, I did get Asher to clean off the door, and wipe up his handprints from the floor. I cleaned the rest, but it was a fair trade.

In the video, you can even see the red bottle of Resolve carpet cleaner I put on the counter while lecturing Asher on his mess.

In case you can't translate, he says nonsense words, then he says he's not in trouble.
I also like the look on his face when he sees himself. Yep, he looks like quite the little princess with lipstick everywhere. Geez.

A Non-Election Post

For those of you who don't have cable (I think maybe one person out there . . .), in February, you can't use your rabbit ears anymore. Nope, the government is converting everything to digital.
I hope this is helpful to someone . . .

Here is the link to order your converter box coupon. I did a lot of searching to find reviews for the boxes, and I finally found a good one here, at Consumer reports.
When I picked a box (the Tivax STB-T9), I found it at this place, for the best price.

May my searching save you some time.

Election Eve, My Prediction

For years, Mark and I have loved watching the West Wing, a TV series starring Martin Sheen that portrays a bleeding-heart liberal President (also a Nobel-prize winning economist) with a staff of brilliant and pithy political masterminds. (This is where I admit to my only Hollywood crush on the character of Josh Lyman, not so much the actor, Bradley Whitford, though he's okay, too.)

Even though the show ended a few years ago, Mark and I will still check out the DVDs from the library and watch season after season of the best political drama of the century. And really, it was the best, I mean, they won awards all the time, I swear. (Am I sounding so pathetic now? I can't tell)

Anyway, although the last season was less than stellar (the good writers had quit), there was an election for a new president, and that election eerily mimicks the 2008 presidential election.

Go watch this clip, called, "Did the West Wing predict the 2008 election?" and return and comment.

I can't wait. (My anticipation is just reflected from the real election to this blog conversation)

Halloween 2008

This Halloween was quite a treat (pun intended) and we had a lot of fun.
First, I took Asher (our little tourist) and Finn (a protesting dragon) to the library to do crafts, watch a puppet show, then parade around the inside of the library to show off their costumes to the bored adults lounging and reading books.

In the afternoon we headed out in the heat (and boy was it hot, I told Mark that next year, if it's this hot again, I'm wearing a bikini and going as Malibu Barbie) to Jaxon's school for the parade of characters. All of the kindergartners were dalmatians with a black nose and spotted tail. It was adorable. They walked around the school with Disney music blasting in the background while Asher and I danced and cheered them on.

Later we got dressed for trick-or-treating. Jaxon went as a Fantastic Four superhero (I bought the costume for a few bucks at a clearance a few years ago but Jaxon recently discovered the movie and was thrilled to be a superhero. I was thrilled that he didn't want to be the devil, which was his first choice.) Asher didn't like any of the costumes we already had, so he wore loafers with no socks, a Hawaiian shirt, and carried around a camera as a tourist. If I had thought harder, I would have let him wear his normal costume, a colander on his head. He could have been a martian, maybe.

Finn wore the dragon costume, because that's what we had, and he's our third son. Nothing special for him.

I put on my black dress, a ton of makeup (you can't really tell, though) and made my hair crazy, (again, not so obvious in the pictures) then balanced my broom on the stroller as I pushed it around the neighborhood. I make a great witch, costume or no.

Later, we went to our friends Amy and Darryl's and hung out, turning away sad trick-or-treaters when we ran out of candy.

The best part of the evening was watching Asher trick-or-treat.
He'd head up to someone, and as they were putting candy in his pumpkin, he'd help himself to more from their bowl. I guess he thought it was "self-serve." He ended up with almost twice as much as Jaxon, and almost more than he could carry. Mark pointed out that watching Asher lugging the pumpkin was just like watching Mark carry the big 5 gallon water barrels.

Priceless.

And, because we were gone the entire night, and only put a little candy on our table at our front door, we have all the stuff we bought but never gave out.

Sweet! That means an extra 5 pounds for me before Thanksgiving. I couldn't ask for more than that from Halloween.

Also, today we went to a Pumpkin Patch Carnival at Schnepf Farms. Here are the pics on our webalbum.