Christmas Day (Vacation Day 4)

David woke up at 6:00. We told him that we couldn't go upstairs until 7:00, so he patiently waited.
He made shadow puppets on the wall with the night lite, and occasionally checked the time on the clock, but otherwise lay on the mattress quietly. Timothy didn't wake up until 6:50 thank goodness, because he was a little harder to contain. We were delayed a bit because we had to get Grandma Packer over there first. She wanted to be there when the kids came up the stairs. Joe and Kimberly came down and David discreetly asked her if she had a baby in her tummy. I thought it was very polite of him to whisper. So there was more baby talk. We took pictures, and eventually we were allowed upstairs.

Aaron took this one before the kids came up

Waiting on the Stairs

Timothy finding gifts from Santa

Timothy loves his loader! Lift those oranges!

David got a tow truck!

The morning was spent eating candy from stockings (and Reese's cereal) and nuts, opening presents and playing with them. I felt like we had more presents than anyone, but then I realized it was because there were four of us, and we have family who likes to spoil grandkids and nephews! Some of our favorites:
Both boys got little remote control cars from Santa. They love them! They also got a chalkboard from Santa (recommended by Grandma G*).
David got a build it yourself robot.

Aaron and David put it together that morning.* And is seen here in Timothy's capable hands.

David also loves the books especially the one with 730 Science Experiments you can do at home.
When David opened the family gift from Grandma G* he said, "Just what I've always wanted." It was so cute. He really had asked Santa for a Checkers and Chess set, but we had already finished buying presents by then, and figured he'd forget about it. So David was very excited about the game set.
Timothy loved all the candy and yummy treats. I'm surprised he didn't get sick. I'm not surprised he didn't eat lunch, or much dinner that day. He also liked the coloring books, and his own Book of Mormon for family scripture study. Now we don't have to fight over who get to hold it while we are reading.

Aaron's favorites are the additions to his tools and the new pens he got from Becca. He is always looking for a good pen.

Some of my favorites are the tube pan and cookbook David found at DI. But the one that made me cry was the calendar my sister Eva put together. She often gets us calendars for Christmas, but this one had pictures of my family that I miss so much. Especially my nieces that I have yet to see! (We'll be there soon we hope!) I love that calendar.

David did some more sledding on Christmas day.

Here's a little video.

And the big boys played with the domino set.And we put together a puzzle*

We enjoyed leftovers and lots of games. The kids got the watch one of their new videos - Sleeping Beauty. I've learned that nothing gets past David. As he opened the videos (yes VHS, we still have a working VCR) he said, "I saw these at the book sale, did you get these at the book sale?" Yes I did. At $1 each I thought that was the best deal ever! We also got Peter Pan. Someday we'll have to replace them DVD's but they are good enough for now!

I also got to spend some time talking to my family in CA. I missed out on playing a game, but well worth it. It was a wonderful Christmas.
*Thanks Kimberly and Joe for letting me use your pictures!

Vacation Days 2 and 3

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day. We didn't sleep in because the kids get up way too early, but we lounged around and had breakfast and eventually got ready for church which started at 11:00 am. After church, nap time was shot, so we just ate and let the kids play with Grandma's toys and their relatives. There were no cousins that day, but Aunt Brittany (9 years old) and Uncle Bryan (13 years old) are just as fun. I however did get a nap from about 3:00 until 4:00. I was then woken up by noisy kids who had traveled downstairs to play. But I had a good nap and was refreshed. Aaron then got a nap, and I let him sleep until almost 6:00. I had to wake him in time for dinner. I don't know how he sleeps through all that noise!

After dinner it was more games and fun. David was disappointed that I wouldn't let him go out and play in the snow. We watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas. Eventually we put the kids to bed and after we watched the news, and the big boys (Joe and Aaron) played with the Legos, we also went to bed.

Day 3 was Christmas Eve. The kids slept in until 7:00! David was so excited to play in the snow. It had snowed a little on Sunday, so they did a little sledding on the hill

and built 3 snowmen (a little family) with Brittany.

They actually rolled the snowballs around the yard to make them bigger, just like you see in the movies!

David had to be dragged back in. Timothy came in on his own after an hour. He still had a runny nose and we had to continuously wipe it. When I asked him if he wanted to come inside he said "Yes."
"Are you cold?"
"No, I'm frozen." And then he began to list all of the parts of him that were frozen. They had nice warm coats, and hats, but we don't own snow pants, and their gloves were fleece, not waterproof. David had borrowed some waterproof gloves, maybe that's why he lasted longer. However both of their jeans were soaked and had to be changed when they came inside.
It started snowing again as they came inside.

Aaron and I got out to do some shopping while the kids were taken care of by everyone at the house. But special thanks to Kimberly who took care of Timothy's accident and endured countless questions about the baby growing in her tummy in the process. We were on our way back from shopping, when the phone rang. A couple of friends of ours were getting together so we met up with Julie and Janna for a couple of hours and chatted and got to see (and hold!!) Julie's four week old baby. We got back to the house around 4:00 and Timothy had fallen asleep while they were watching A Christmas Carol. I didn't want him to sleep too long, so I put him on my lap and held him for a while and eventually he began to wake up.

Then we helped with dinner preparations. Beverly and Blake and their crew (Gavin, Berkeley, Mitchell and Carter) came over and joined us. Mitchell and David are about a year apart and they played very well together. In years past they didn't get along, so I was very glad. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and some great music. Bryan played the trombone, Mom and Brittany did a piano-chimes duet and Kimberly accompanied all of us as we sang a Christmas song that the Primary children had sung the day before. After the J* family went home our boys opened their one Christmas Eve gift (a tradition I'm not sure I like because the boys don't understand why they only get to open only one and why they don't get to choose which one) of pajamas. This year's are from Disney's Ratatouille. (I love Slickdeals.net!)

Then we put the kids to bed, and they eventually fell asleep (OK I fell asleep too and Aaron had to wake me up at 9:40 to get out the rest of the gifts). We helped Santa get ready for Christmas morning and went to bed really late.

More Christmas celebrations and pictures to come. (Kimberly and Joe send me some that you took with your new camera!!!)

Vacation Day 1

When we looked at the forecast for last Saturday we decided to get an early start. We set our alarm for the crazy hour of 4:00 am in hopes of getting on the road before 5:00 and over the pass before 6:00 am when the winter storm was to begin. We were lucky that Aaron got home earlier than expected. He was home around 10:00 and in bed by 10:30, instead of the scheduled midnight release. It was the other interns that insisted that he go home early on a slow night at the ED.

So we actually headed out at 4:45 am! And got to the top of the pass as the snow was starting to stick. We were very relieved. The kids eventually fell back asleep and Timothy didn't wake until after 8:00 am. It was a very long drive, but it went well. We listened to music, took naps, watched movies (well the kids did, we just listened to them). We only had two fuel stops and two more stops just to switch drivers when we got tired. We hit the second pass around 10:00 and missed that storm that was to begin around noon. Both kids fell asleep again around 5:00 pm but there wasn't much we could do about that.

We arrived at the G* home just before 6:00. We unloaded, let the kids run around for a bit and then headed to Beverly and Blake's for a bowl party. We were grateful to Blake for allowing us to watch the BYU game on his HDTV, especially since he is not a big fan of BYU (I think it has something to do with Beverly attending BYU while he was on his mission and dating a lot of guys while she was "waiting" for him). We had some great game food and the cousins had fun playing together. Aaron took the kids back to Grandma's when they started to get restless and he was exhausted. He told me I could stay if I wanted to and I accepted his offer. I was glad I got to see the rest of the game, because it was another crazy ending. In case you didn't see it or hear about it, BYU had not played well, and found themselves ahead but only one point with a few minutes left. UCLA kept the clock alive and attempted a 28 yard field goal with a few seconds left. Now FGs are not "gimmies" as the commentator suggested, but UCLA's kicker had made a 50 and 52 yarder that night! We all figured it was over, but were hoping for anything to go wrong, a missed snap, a blocked kick, etc. We were jumping for joy when the kick was in fact blocked! What a crazy game! When I got back the kids were almost asleep, so I stayed with them and let Aaron hang out with his family.


No pictures from this day, but plenty more to come.

A belated Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful time in Idaho. We made it there and back safely without having to put chains on the car. That is a miracle since we had to cross a few passes while it was snowing. We are busy unpacking and restocking food, and trying to get the house in order. So I'll just leave you with a couple pictures and catch up later, probably on Sunday when Aaron has an ED shift.

Waiting at the bottom of the stairs on Christmas morning (Timothy, not so patiently)

Going down the hill in Grandma and Grandpa G*'s backyard.

Tagged. I'm it!

I've read a few blogs that have tagged all their readers. So I'll do the same to you. Tag you're it! Now tell us 6 things about yourself. It took me a while to fill this out. I've been working on it for a while now. I finally decided to publish it, since I'll be out of town for a while.

1: I love to do crossword puzzles, sudoku, and word puzzles.

2: I have to have a clean kitchen to mess it up! No matter what I'm making, I have to load the dishwasher, empty the sink and clear off the counters. That also tells you that my kitchen is usually messy.

3:My head is full of useless knowledge. It's why I like Jeopardy (although I haven't watched it since I moved because it's on in the evenings). I love trivia games. But nothing I could make a career out of. I used to read the encyclopedias when I was little. (And fall asleep with them on my head).

4:I don't own a mop. Maybe it's because I have never had a large enough kitchen to worry about it. But I prefer to get on my hands and knees and scrub the floor. The mops never do a good enough job. It's faster and easier with soapy water and a rag. I also don't mind washing dishes. If I had to choose I'd choose a microwave over a dishwasher.

5: I love to make lists. Shopping lists, to do lists, pro/con lists packing lists, phone lists (which I did continuously as the YW secretary), Christmas card lists, gifts idea lists. Before I was expecting David I even made a list of all the couples in the ward that were expecting - a little pathetic huh?

6: I'm with Audra in that I don't wash my sheets as often as I should. I was better when I had my own washer and dryer, but doing sheets means doing an extra load. There are only two washers and two dryers, so it takes a long time to do an extra load. And that gets expensive every week. I look forward to my own home with my own yard, and a washer and dryer.

A few thoughts before we leave....

Tomorrow we head out to see Aaron's family. I don't know weather I will blog, or read blogs while I am gone - I might go through withdrawal! It will probably be good for me. But let me wrap up a few things before we leave.

Yesterday Timothy was playing with the presents (which he's not supposed to do). But he made this "bridge" so I took a picture and then had him help me put them all back.

Yesterday David stayed late at school to make gingerbread houses with his class. Today they brought them home. He made a sleigh out of mini candy canes just like Daddy did on his big gingerbread house.

Today was also crazy hair day at David's school. I didn't know that until I got there. Shouldn't that be in the school newsletter? Maybe it was and I missed it. Anyway David was sad that his hair wasn' t crazy. But he did fine at school. When I went to pick him up (he stayed late again since they had early dismissal) he was sad that his hair wasn't green. We asked Harper if we could use some of her green hair spray - which she was sharing before school- and she obliged. So David now has a green streak in his hair that will come out with his bath tonight (hopefully). However he doesn't want me to take a picture of it (Let's see if I can sneak one.)

I didn't get his hair, but I like the smile!

There's the hair, hee hee.

We have a new addition for our Christmas tree. (My parents and siblings may want to look away if they haven't opened theirs yet) Every year we get a White House ornament from my dad's sister, Patty's family. My Uncle Don works at the Pentagon. These ornaments are just beautiful. So I thought I'd post the one we got yesterday in the mail. It depicts a wedding in the White House when Grover Cleveland was President. I thought that was appropriate as George Bush's daughter Jenna is engaged to be married next year. Although who knows if it will be at the white house, or if it will really happen next year. Engagements can be broken, trust me I know! But here's the latest ornament:

So I wish you all a wonderful holiday!!! Go BYU beat UCLA!!!! I may not get to see the game if we are still on the road:(
Merry Christmas! I'll be back in a few days!

A Big Thank-you

My husband deserves a big Thank-you. We have been having car troubles. It's not the break-down-on-the-side-of-the-road kind. Just the something-is-wrong-and-we-can't-figure-it-out kind. We've had issues with the idle. For instance when we start the car the RPMs race up over 2000 and slowly go back down. The idle sits high constantly (around 1000), and the RPMs rev when we slow to a stop and put the car in park - isn't it supposed to be the other way around? So since no one could tell us what was wrong - we weren't throwing any codes (don't you love the terminology I've picked up?) we were left to figure it out on our own. The problem is I don't know much about cars. Aaron doesn't have time to take it into the shop. So I am left with telling the mechanic what Aaron told me, and then trying to explain what the mechanic told me, to Aaron. It wasn't working very well. Aaron and I were butting heads over the issue. I thought the car would be fine, and he was worried about breaking down on our long drive tomorrow. But since I don't know much about how cars work, I had to take his word for it. But then the "experts" said there was nothing to fix. Although once place was willing to replace a part for $200, without a guarantee it would fix the problem. That's helpful (note the sarcasm).

So my dear husband called the mechanic himself after work, got a few suggestions and bought a part at the auto supply store for $40. The guy at the auto supply store showed him where the part was and gave him some pointers. So even though Aaron was home an hour later than usual, I am grateful he was willing to take time out of his busy schedule to save me from drowning in a sea of car repair that I know nothing about. After dinner he removed the small part (3 inches square) and cleaned off the carbon deposits on it and put it back in again. It worked. Seriously. We haven't used the new one, so if it doesn't give us any problems we can return the part. I'm so thankful that Aaron is willing to try to fix things himself. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you, Aaron.

Today as I drove around today I noticed a few things. The idle was normal (500), I actually needed to push on the gas to go forward when the light turned green, and the car doesn't rev when I'm stopped or turn on the car or put it in park. Woo hoo!!! I hope it is fixed!

On top of that Aaron took out the garbage before he left for work and scraped my windows for me before he came back in. :) I'm starting to realize how much I have to do on my own when he is not here. It will be great to have him with us for a few days. We leave tomorrow for Idaho. He gets off at midnight tonight and we head out early tomorrow, hopefully hitting the pass before the snow gets bad. He got an extra day of vacation since his call is tonight and doesn't have to work tomorrow. He was also able to get an extra day at the end for travel. He is on his Endocrine elective, and has a little more leeway. I have a feeling next year he'll have to work on Christmas, so I'll take what I can get this year! Thank-you Aaron. I love you!

A little side note: Last night after the kids were in bed we heard (and saw and felt) life flight land at the hospital. They only land a few (2-3) times a month due to neighborhood issues (that I won't discuss, or I may say something I regret). I always say a little pray when it has to land here, because you know it's a really sick child. I was also thankful that Aaron was not working in the ER last night. It's always a little hectic when life light lands. He is in the ER tonight, and since it doesn't land very often I figured he would be safe. I should keep my mouth shut! Life flight landed again today - two days in a row is very rare. But luckily Aaron doesn't start his ER call until 4:00. We could break a record and have it land again tonight. Just what we would need.

Christmas Caroling

I love to sing Christmas songs. I love Christmas music. I listen to it constantly this time of year. This is the first year since I was 12 that I haven't sung in a ward Sacrament Meeting Christmas program. I was so grateful when Nathan and Amy invited us over to their apartment to sing Christmas carols from the hymn book on Sunday evening; they have a piano- luckies! So the kids ran around and we sang our favorites. I have a hard time picking favorites. I really like most of them. But if I had to pick I think my favorites are What Child is This? and Silent Night. I don't think I can sing Silent Night without getting teary eyed. Do you love Christmas songs? What are your favorites? It's OK to have more than one.

Which is your favorite

I decided to set up a poll. (Look on the right hand side) What are you favorite goodies? I know which are my favorite. I listed the ones I made this year. You can pick more than one if you want. Or maybe you have another favorite that I didn't make. What is it? You can comment if you wish, or just vote.

Christmas party

Wednesday was our ward Christmas party. I brought these goodies. There were so many cookies and breads. I tried to find all the ones with mint in them:) The activities committee started with a short, but beautiful program in the chapel. Then we enjoyed the goodies, with hot chocolate and hot apple cider. They had crafts and a movie for the kids, and a wrapping contest run by the young men. I didn't attempt to wrap a basketball. We waited until the line went down for Santa and only had to wait for about 10 minutes. Which is about the limit for my guys. They both did really well. They each had a nice conversation with Santa and he asked Timothy what happened to his head. Who knows what Timothy told him.
We all enjoyed it. I got to talk to some people I don't see very often - since I'm in Primary. Aaron also got to talk to people. Timothy and David ate way more than they should have. And it was hard to get them to leave before 8:00. It was a fun evening.

Happy Birthday Noelle,

Today is my best friend's birthday. Noelle turns 30 today. She is at home in CA recovering from the delivery of her first baby little Elizabeth Kate M*, last week. Noelle and I met in 7th grade, when we both moved up to middle school and have been friends ever since. We became best friends after my best friend Brooke moved to ID after 9th grade. Noelle has a lot of best friends, but to me - after Aaron of course- Noelle is the friend that I have, we've never lost touch. We can talk on the phone after several months and pick up where we left off.
We joke about the little things we have in common. One of them is that we both have brothers named William Michael who went by Mikey when they were little. We both love Dinsey, and used to watch Star Trek - her more than me. We both sang soprano in choir. A few movies bring back memories. We watched Grease while getting ready for Prom together and Apollo 13 when we got back together during summer breaks in college. We both have similar values and agree that all we ever wanted to do when we grew up was to me moms. We have a lot of differences too. She moved around a lot as a kid. Usually due to her mom's new marriage or divorce. My parents have been in the same house for 29 years. She has one brother, and two sisters - Mary is really her half sister from her mom's second marriage. She is a year younger than my youngest brother and has Down Syndrome. I have 4 sisters and 2 brothers. She has gorgeous red hair and green eyes. Me- blond and hazel. She is taller by a few inches. She was on the swim team. I ran track. She played the flute and sang 1st soprano. I was a 2nd soprano. She had a lot of boyfriends, I have had 3 total. She has had a million jobs. I've had about 5. She is Catholic. I am LDS. She has traveled Europe (did a year exchange in college to Scotland). I've never been outside the US. But some how we always keep in touch and talk like teenagers when we get together.

We have so many inside stories and fun memories. We had sleepovers all the time in middle school. We'd watch lots of movies and play silly games and stay up all night - much to the chagrin of my parents. Noelle broke her arm at one of those parties - jumping over a stack of pillows. We didn't know it was broken until she tried to do a cartwheel in PE on Monday. Noelle is accident prone. She also broke her leg in 8th grade, her jaw when she was 8 (she didn't know that was broken either, so it healed incorrectly and she had to have jaw surgery in high school), She's had foot surgery and knee surgery, and another jaw surgery when the first one didn't work. She's had the worst luck with medical things. I remember going to visit her after her jaw surgery, she was so swollen and could only drink through a straw. She came home on Thanksgiving and couldn't eat any of that good food! We played card games all the time. One of the notes our friend Adela wrote said we were addicted to Speed - we realized we should have clarified that it was the game speed, not the drug. We played B.S. too - and always used the letters, NOT the real words - we were good girls. We went on a road trip to ID to see our friend Brooke. Brooke's grandparents drove. (I was just searching for pictures and found these that we took on that trip!. Man I didn't know how to hide my ears back then!)
My scanner is dying!

We went to amusement parks, movies, shopping and more. The last time I saw her was July of 2006 when she got married. All four friends from middle school (Noelle, Brooke Adela and I) were there. Now we just like to get together, share a good meal, and talk about past, present and future. I can't wait to see her and her family when I come out in the spring. Happy Birthday Noelle!

Aaron's new service

Aaron is on an anesthesia selective for 3 days and then goes to an endocrine clinic elective with ED shifts. I think I am going to enjoy this. He got home around 2:15 this afternoon!!! I'm sure Monday will be a different story, but we'll see how the next 3 days go.

Our first ED visit

In over 5 1/2 years of parenting it's finally happened. I had to take Timothy to the hospital yesterday. Why is it my kids get injured while I am watching someone else's kids. Natalia and Andrew were over while their mom was gone for about an hour. My kids love it when other kids come over to play, but they tend to be more silly, wild, and out of control. They were continuously wrestling and running - both not allowed in our small upstairs apartment. David and Timothy were both trying to climb on the recliner and some how Timothy fell off and hit the glass top of the coffee table on the way down. I suspect that David pushed him off, but I didn't see exactly what happened, but David was worried about getting in trouble. I was in the kitchen cleaning up after snack and I heard them laughing and giggling. I walked out into the living room just in time to see Timothy fall. He bumps his head on it all the time- and I have bruises on my legs from running into it all the time. But I could tell this was bad.

When I saw that the wound was gaping a bit I knew it need stitches. I covered the cut with my hand and hand to think about 10 things at once. I knew I needed to get him to a doctor, I had to find someone to watch the kids, I had to tell Aaron, I had to get my insurance information. I went downstairs to our manager's apartment and asked him for help. More than anything I needed reassurance of what I should do and someone to watch the kids while I figured out what that was.

I paged Aaron and he suggested trying the pediatrician's office first, but since it was on the face they said try the hospital. Nathan and Amy weren't home. I waited a bit hoping that Rahysol would come to pick up her kids, so I could explain what had happened and make sure they got home safe. But after 20 minutes of delay I needed to go. Blythe (Alex's wife) in the mean time had come home with Dylan, their son. She came up and stayed with the kids until Rahysol came and then David went downstairs to play with Dylan. David stayed there until I called Nathan and Amy to watch him.

Alex drove me the two blocks to the hospital and I checked in. Aaron had told me the ED wasn't very busy and said he'd meet me there after he saw his last patient. I proceeded as any normal visitor to the ED would, check-in, triage and waiting in the waiting room. This is when having a doctor for a husband came in handy. Aaron came down and talked to us for a few minutes and then went back to talk to the ED docs. The attending in the ED (Ron K*) happens to be Aaron's adviser, and when he saw Aaron put it together and asked, "Is that your son in the waiting room?"

We didn't get into a room any earlier than normal, but Ron came in himself to look at Timothy before we even saw the nurse. Normally the attending doesn't see patients unless the ED is swamped, and I would guess the attending would see the more sick patients not the ones with little lacerations. Ron determined that dermabond would work best and we wouldn't need traditional stitches. We also opted against the versed. We also got a few more visitors as other residents came into give Aaron a hard time or sympathy. Timothy was great. He played with the toys they brought and colored the pictures they gave him, and watched the Wizard of Oz when he got bored. His favorite game was putting the crayons in the little holes in the bed. Timothy did great during the procedure. As Ron left he said, "Let's just say you aren't the first resident whose kid I've seen in the ED." We were some by 6:30 about 2 hours after I got to the hospital. That's not bad. I felt bad that Aaron had to miss a meeting that started at 6:00, but I'm glad he was there with me.

The hardest part about the visit is knowing that we haven't met our deductible yet, and we will probably have to pay the entire bill. And the new year starts in 3 weeks! Oh well, that's why we have really low premiums.

So here's Timothy with the bandages - that we are monitoring closely to make sure he doesn't take them off. He's known to do that.
Here he is this morning trying to pick a cookie to eat. Since David got to take some for lunch, he wants some too.

Gingerbread Houses

One of Aaron's family's traditions is to make a gingerbread houses, decorate them and eat them on New Year's Eve. So last night we invited Nathan and Amy & Valerie and Christian to decorate gingerbread houses with us. We had lots of fun and ate way too much candy - especially the kids. Aaron actually made them (dough, baking, cutting out and "gluing" together).

The kids got graham cracker houses. Valerie and Christian did too. We figured it would be easier for them to transport in the car and we weren't sure if they would be coming until Monday night, which is too late make the gingerbread. We are glad they were able to join us. Here are some picture of the fun evening. I'm glad Aaron took pictures at the end because the pictures I took of the adults were not flattering to anyone!

Timothy eating more than decorating as usual.

David working hard on his masterpiece!

The adults and their houses

Aaron's masterpiece - since I was busy helping the kids and then putting them to bed - in all honesty he did ask me if I wanted to decorate it, and I declined. He's much more skilled at that.

The back of the house.

The parties have started

I have already been to three Christmas "gatherings". We had our Relief Society Christmas Enrichment on the 29th of November! We enjoyed some cookies and delicious chocolate truffles! We put together little stockings full of goodies and church materials (pass along card, copy of the Proclamation on the Family)- which I gave to Ashley H* after her weekend of being our house guest. We heard from our Relief Society Pres. Ann R* who is a sweetheart, and from Bishop S* who was battling a sore throat, which subsequently got worse. I really enjoyed their remarks. Then we had a fun gift wrapping demonstration from Sister S* (the Bishop's wife), who is hilarious! She really was a professional gift wrapper at ZCMI back in the day! She is so funny.

I had a fun gathering with my visiting teachers as we enjoyed a brunch last Tuesday. Timothy had a blast playing while we enjoyed good food and conversation.

Last night we had a "work party", as David kept calling it. The doctors at the clinic, where Aaron works on Thursday afternoons, had a Christmas Party at John S*'s (the dr Aaron works with) beautiful home for all the employees. We got there about 45 minutes late since we had to wait until Aaron got home and then drive about 30 minutes to get there. They had a fabulous buffet of Thai food - along with pizza for those that didn't want the Thai food. And great desserts that John's wife and kids made (the Thai food was catered). David had 4 spring rolls! The boys had a blast in the toy room.
They had a gift exchange, and the boys both went home with fun things. David originally got an itunes gift card, but I kept reassuring him someone would want it and then he'd get to pick again. John offered to trade and David agreed. So we came home with Musical Crackers. You pull them open and they pop and inside is a little plastic crown and a whistle. There are eight so when they are all opened you have 8 whistle that you can play a tune on. Timothy came away with a Magic 8 ball (a Hannah Montana one at that) and a Starbucks gift card - there were a lot of those gift cards at that party. Typical for here! There were some funny gifts like a Freud bobblehead doll - but it also came with a Starbucks gift card.

The food was delicious. We kept the kids up too late, and we were glad we didn't arrive on time. I would have eaten too much had I spent any more time there. Who am I kidding? I ate too much anyway!This is me helping Timothy open his gift. I love the girl's reaction in the background!

This isn't a well lit picture, but I had to show you some of the yummy treat we had (on the coffee table). Mmmm - peppermint bark and chocolate covered peanut butter balls!

This week is our ward Christmas party. Here's to more good food, that I will eat too much of!

Random Thoughts

My last two posts needed to stand alone, but now I really need to update what's been going on!

I have been baking like crazy. This is the first year Aaron has not helped with any of the baking. On the other hand David has been really helpful this year. Seriously. He can roll the peanut butter cookies into a little ball ( I roll them in the sugar, since he tends to spill it) and then "smoosh" them with a fork. He also loves to read the ingredients and help me put them in - that takes a little longer with his "help", but he loves to do it. He can also cut out the sugar cookies and place them on the cookie sheet by himself. Timothy "helped" as well, but I did more hovering with him. If you want to try out my goodies I have posted all of the recipes on my recipe blog.

Since Aaron didn't get to help this year I didn't have anyone to take pictures, so the only pictures I got were of the kids frosting some of the sugar cookies. I think Timothy got more frosting in his mouth than on the cookies.

And his frosting was pretty thick
(we didn't give out those 6 cookies,
I'm sure he licked the spoon and then frosted them!)

David also did a great job of frosting a decorating the cookies.

He was very artistic and and concentrated very hard.

Aaron and I got to go on a last minute date. The hospital had free tickets to a John Denver tribute Christmas Concert. Now before you laugh, I happen to like John Denver's songs. They bring back great memories. My mom taught me "Take Me Home, Country Road" when I was little. Also, my high school choir sang, "A Baby Just Like You," every year at Christmas (until my senior year when Gary decided to end the tradition, since he was leaving in two years, and didn't want to have the next director feel like he had to carry on the tradition, and so when I obediently waited until my senior year to sing the high note I didn't ever get to sing it - I'm not bitter or anything. Was that a long enough run on sentence?). But anyway, back to the concert. I wasn't sure how the concert was going to go, especially after the guy forgot some of the words on the first song, but after that it was really good. Three of the guys were in John Denver's band and actually sang with John Denver (or played for him) for a long time. The other three were local musicians. It was fun to sing along with the songs I knew and listen to ones I didn't. It really got me in the Christmas spirit. And it was fun to spend some time with Aaron - even post call. And it was free - only $4 to park. Thanks Nathan and Amy for coming up on short notice!

Well, we have to go deliver some cookies, so I'll have to post more later!

My new little "niece"

Yesterday I sent off a few packages including a birthday gift and baby gift for my best friend Noelle, in CA. Her birthday is next week, and she was due to have her baby next week as well.
A fun little side note. I told her I was expecting Timothy on her birthday in 2003. She did the same for me on my birthday this year! We joked about how David was born on my birthday and that her baby could be born on her birthday.
But it was not to be. Little Elizabeth Kate M* was born at 11:22 am yesterday and weighed 10 lbs 2 oz!!!! Wow! She endured a long labor and two hours of pushing to eventually have her delivered by Cesarean section. Poor Noelle! Even though she doesn't read my blog (we talk via phone and email mostly), I thought I would give her a little shout out on my blog! You'll hear more about her next week!!! Congrats to Noelle and John! I can't wait to see little Izzy! I've been told I can be an honorary auntie!!!

Happy Birthday Little Blog

A year ago today I jumped into the blogging world. I had been reading friends blogs for months. I would comment and think of things I would say if I had a blog. I don't know where all my ideas went. But it's been fun. 1 year and over 250 posts, not bad! Who knows how often I'll post, or hong long I'll keep this up. But it's been fun!

And the winners are.....

The first three comments came from Kathryn, my sister Tina - who doesn't have a blog, but that's OK;), and Tara M. I think I have all of your addresses. I'll email you to double check. I think next time I will do a random drawing. That way people who check their blogs later have a chance too!
Arlynda asked how much time I spend making goodies every year. I'll have to calculate it. If I make two different types everyday then I can get done in four or five days, but each thing varies in time. 30 minutes to 2 -3 hours. Although the longer ones are mostly just waiting for the cookies to bake in the oven, and I can still attend to other things like my kids!!!
I'll blog more later since Aaron's on call!

I forgot one

How could I forget one of our favorite Christmas decorations? Perhaps it's because we hadn't started using it.
This advent calendar was given to us by my SIL Beverly for our first Christmas. Every day, starting December 1st, we turn over the number until the tree is decorated. It's not nearly as intriguing for the kids as the Chocolate Advent calendar from Trader Joe's, but I love it! (FYI I fixed day nine last night!)

Christmas give away

Since I have been the recipient of a lovely giveaway. I have been thinking of a something that I can give away to others. Since this is my baking season I thought I could send some of my goodies out to the first 3 people that comment on my blog.
There are a few limitations: Only non refrigerated items will be sent. I haven't made the goodies yet, so they will be sent as soon as they are made. I do have to limit it those inside the US (I do have a tight budget). And those that live here are not eligible (because you'll be getting some anyway). I have to warn you, that the comments aren't published right away. I have to approve them first, so comment away, but you may or may not be one of the first 3!!! Happy commenting!

Fun in the snow

The snow has turned to rain, and a lot of it. However we did enjoy the snow while it lasted.


We enjoyed Ashley's stay. She even treated us to a great Thai dinner. Yum! Then Nathan and Amy came up and we played "Life" - we hadn't played that in a while.

We had a scare on Sunday morning when Ashley couldn't find her engagement ring. We searched for over an hour, and sadly sent her back to TX and us to church without finding it. She called us as soon as she got off the plane this afternoon on her layover to let us know she found it among her interview materials. Who knows how it got there! But she found it! Yay for answered prayers!

It's snowing!!!!

I woke up to little tiny flakes this morning. But it didn't stick. So we went to Andy's house for a few hours. I put Timothy down for a nap and at about 1:30 this is what we saw!



Big HUGE wet flakes. And they are sticking!!!! I don't know how long this will last. David (or any of us for that matter) hasn't seen it snow for 3 years. He is so excited. He's out playing in the snow with Aaron, Nathan and Amy.