Christmas in Pictures

Our day started at 1:45 a.m. when Kate woke everyone up to open presents. NOT. She and her gang were promptly sent to bed and told to try again at 7 a.m.
Admiring the stockings started at 6:45 a.m. Present opening, at 7 a.m. Finished, 7:57 a.m.

Santa scored big with the American Dolls

Nothing like a sweet silver tie to ring in the New Year!

Christmas Eve: Brynn said she didn't like her new pajamas she LOVED them!

Currently: Brandon is working on a 300-piece puzzle of Hannah Montana (Kate gave up a long time ago)
Kate and Adrie are playing with Barbie soccer mom and pals

Brynn is brushing Julie doll's long magnificent blonde mane.

Cannon is eating wrapping paper and other choking hazards.

I am going to get out of my p.j.'s so I can get ready for Christmas dinner at the neighbor's. We'll see how we like roast duck a-l'orange.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

More Reasons to Celebrate

Today we celebrate the birthday of Joseph Smith--which is a tradition we inherited from BD's side of the family. Who wouldn't want one more reason to celebrate this time of year?! We decided to throw a party for the neighborhood kids. If you want to --there's still time to party. Just follow these instructions:

1: Send out invitations a couple of hours ahead: Come celebrate Joseph Smith's Birthday with a Cake Decorating Party. Today at: (time, location, etc.) For free clip-art photos go to mormonshare.com

2. Bake a white cake in a 9x13 pan. When cooled, Cut in half long-ways. With each rectangle cut zig-zag to make triangle shapes--makes 12. Have frosting, gum-drops, m&m's, candy, etc. handy in bowls.

3. Hang up Joseph Smith timeline from the December 2008 issue of the Friend--at your guests eye level.

4. Game: This is like pin the tail on the donkey, except it's pin Joseph on the timeline. Cut out one of the mini Joseph pictures from the clip-art on your invitation for the tail. Blindfold the first player, spin them around, then set them off. Have them read whatever tidbit they land on. Whoever is listening and can answer a question about what they just learn earns an m&m.

5. Decorate cakes. Give a triangle piece of cake on a plate to each guest. This is supposed to look like a mini-tree. Let them decorate it with the frosting, candy, etc. They can eat it or save. TIP: write each guests name on their plate.

6. What kind of games did Joseph play on his birthday? not Wii, not Barbies. Who knows? We played hide and go seek. WARNING: this is a great way to get your closets messed up and your tree knocked over.

7. Send guests outside to throw snowballs at each other. That way you can have some quiet and they can get cold enough to enjoy the hot chocolate you will serve when they come in.

8. Assign the man of the house to dress up in a trenchcoat, and introduce himself as Joseph Smith. He can tell your guests more about his life and request that everyone sing Happy Birthday to him. He can rough-house play with them for a while as a bonus.

9. If the guests still want to stick around you can read a Christmas story then have free time for mingling, playing, and eating the leftover candy decorations.

10. Send everyone home and take a nap. Happy Birthday Joseph Smith!

Dear Santa,

Mom read us a story yesterday about Laura Ingalls in the Big Woods and how she and her sisters only got peppermint sticks and mittens for Christmas and Laura got a rag doll named Charlotte too. Mom thought that sounded so simple and wonderful. Brynn scowled and wanted to know why you were meaner back then. Kate wondered when you were invented and has there only been one of you or do you get old and die and then there is a new Santa?

Sorry, Cannon didn't like you at the family party. He usually likes everyone.

Sincerely,

Adrie and sisters.

p.s. we still want American Girl Dolls

Santa Called

Dad told the girls that Santa called and wanted to know their FINAL decision on what they want for Christmas. Did they want the pretty (and pricey) American Girl dolls or the (bargain version at Target which would come with it's own pony to ride and still be HALF the price)--(please oh pretty please choose this option)

Kate and Brynn told Dad to give Santa the message that they would like the American Girls. Kate would like "Josefina" and Brynn would like "Julie." Adrie wanted "Baby Alive" which I am hoping means any cute baby and not one that does peeing and pooing--Hello! We already have one of those named Cannon.

So, it's time to make the girls' dreams come true. Google coupons? free shipping codes? Send them my way. We gotta help Santa out. (Santa is at least comforted in thinking about the many hours of wholesome fun they'll be having together)

Marrying Brandon was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made. Actually, it wasn't really a decision, it was more like a natural step, the next thing to do. We met in an LDS "singles ward" at BYU. I thought it was pretty fun that he rode his bike to church. One time he stopped and asked if I wanted a ride..ha ha. I was a freshman, he was already graduated.

Our first date was great. We went to Arby's and then to a BYU BBall game but we didn't really watch it--we talked. I could tell this guy was a seasoned dater--he knew all the questions to ask but he did it coolly. I was impressed. He told me what he wanted to do with his life (go to Grad school, be a therapist, have a family, maybe teach some religion classes, and eventually travel to Jerusalem) It had never before occured to me exactly like that but I had the thought, "I want to do that too." I came home and actually said to my roommates, "I think I could marry this guy." I referred to my "list" (for the first time ever after a date) and yep, he had everything on it...RM, testimony, smart, musical, humble,...etc. I was willing to overlook the "good-cook" and "plays guitar" parts.

We had fun dating. My roommates told me "You're always laughing when you're with Brandon." On Sundays we would go to the park and read scriptures and have great discussions. One time we drove past his family's house in Payson--yes--we DROVE PAST only. I thought it was a little funny that we didn't STOP and go in. But, maybe he just wasn't ready for that yet.

When I eventually did meet the family it was a BBAll game with all the brothers--wow--lots of brothers--a whole team. I remember thinking "wow, I've never seen such a functional family--and they're all so funny." This was also the first time that I saw the competitive, fire-in-the-eyes look Brandon gets when he plays sports. He's mellowed out some but it still comes out when I threaten to beat him at ping pong.

I couldn't believe that I was dating such a great guy. I secretly wondered if this was too good to be true and would he would break up with me...Ironically that is how he proposed. Confused? He wanted me to not expect it, so he "pretended" like he was breaking up with me and then came in to the rescue with, "Will you marry me?" I thought that was a pretty bad way to go about it--(it was the guy he bought the ring from's idea) but, I was willing to forgive him because he finished strong...and I was completely in love.

We have been married 11 years now. I love him even more than when I married him. Here are the reasons why.

• SENSE OF HUMOR: He is always making laugh and life is good when you're laughing. He can always smooth over an awkward moment or get away with saying something difficult because he does it with humor.


• HE DOESN'T GET ANGRY: I can't believe it. Even when I go over budget or dent the car and he should be mad at me he isn't. He'll actually laugh and say, "you'll do better next month, ha ha."-- I would be mad at me.


• HE IS STABLE: He just always seems to be in a good mood. If I am freaking out swearing because I can't find our tickets and we are about to miss our flight he is there to hold everything together and say, "it will be okay."


• GENUINE: Brandon could be with a neighbor down the street or the Queen of England and he would treat them the same. He has no airs. He is just genuine and honest and friendly with everyone.


• HE LIKES TO HAVE FUN: He's happy just to watch a game or read. He will go to a play or concert with me. We like to play tennis or watch a movie. He is really up for anything and I love that....how bout a roadtrip? No matter what it is, he is always fun to be with.


• INTELLIGENT: Brandon is one of the most intelligent people I know--especially about the most important things: how to be happy, Religion/Gospel, how to get along with people/relationships. When he speaks it's like reading a book: He has an incredible command of the English language and is able to communicate and express ideas spot-on. Often he'll throw a word in there that I have to look up in the dictionary.


• SPIRITUAL: He has a strong testimony and amazing knowledge of the gospel and he is always willing to serve in the church.


• HELPFUL: dishes, diapers? He will pitch in and help with whatever needs to be done around the house. That is so sexy!


• BEST FATHER: His girls LOVE him! He'll play barbies with them, give them rides to bed, tell them "caveman" stories at bedtime. Cannon even kicks his legs in excitement when Brandon walks in the door.
• WELL-ROUNDED: BD is athletic. Did you know he got a hole in one at the golf course? He plays sports year round, rides his bike to work, and is very self-motivated to excercise--especially if it involves chasing a ball. He also plays a little piano, violin, and sings.


• HAPPY, CONFIDENT, LOYAL, HONEST, KIND, PRACTICAL, THOUGHTFUL....ETC.

You get the idea. He's a good one...and I get to live with him forever!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week to MY LOVE!

All Vacations Must End

How do I condense such a super fun week? Maybe, by saying I think I could live in St. George.

1. The weather is great (in the winter)
2. family lives there (hi t!)
3. You can have palm trees in your yard!
4. My favorite stores are all within 20 minutes of each other (shall I list a few....Target, Costco, Kohl's, Taipan, Old Navy and I just found out....Coldwater Creek! YUM)
5. Close-er to the beach and airport

Reasons not to live there...

1. Farther from the whole rest of the fam.
2. I like to shop too much. Did I mention all my favorite stores are there?!
3. Maybe I should visit in July

Here's a little sum up of what we did with my parents, my niece (Annie), and her very cute 2 yr old boy. He and Adrie hit it off like peanut butter and jam. I heard her say to her new little pal, "C'mon trophy boy!" And he followed right after. Where did she come up with that too true phrase??? Anyway, back to the re-cap of condo life in Dixie...

SWIM, SHOP, EAT, YOGA, HIKE, SWIM, SHOP, EAT, YOGA, HIKE.....Throw in a couple of naps and some pickleball and you have a recipe for a pretty sweet vacation.

Photos from left to right: Mom and Annie looking fabulous in chocolate suede from C.Creek.

K and B learned to swim in a basic doggy-style way. Cannon AKA "barnacle baby" was not so fond of the water. He just wanted to cling and lick our wet shoulders.

I drove around town to get some xeriscaping ideas: fake grass and rocks--I'm a fan! Any way to get a palm tree and fountain in the mix?

This is licorice not hives. Maybe it's not good for babies but one little piece of red licorice entertained cannon from cedar to st. george! I'm a fan.

Can we still call it hiking if it's on a paved flat road? the girls collected so many special rocks their bags broke.

BTW: PICKLEBALL is like tennis on a mini court: lots of volleys, less running. I'm a fan.

Oh yes. We watched the historical election of Obama on TV and saw Oprah raving about it for the next few days. (For a good political read, I recommend we're wingin it's blog.)

Halloween, Hurling, and other Happenings

Here is Brynn the witch. After hurling a dozen times during the day she felt ready enough to trick-or-treat at a few houses.

I spent the day in bed listening to Brynn throw up and wanting to myself. As soon as I smelled Cannon's poopy diaper, I lost it too.

The Healthy ones, "Invisi-Girl" from the Incredibles and Piglet at least got to go to the neighborhood Halloween party during the day. Dad came home from work not feeling so great himself. He took Adrie to a few houses then came home and went to bed. Kate went along with the neighbors who trekked the entire town. She came home with a big loot which she has been kind enough to share.

Could you believe the weather this year--trick or treating in short sleeves? We were sure that would result in hoardes of children taking hoardes of candy. But, we only gave out about 50 pieces--a little more than last year. Hopefully they didn't get the flu bug with their snickers ( I let them pick it out of the bowl themselves.)

Other happenings of the week:

Brynn's new hobby: headstands. She loves her gymnastics class and is pretty good at it. She spends lots of time on her head. Sometimes I have to give her other stuff to do so that her BRAIN will have a chance to grow.

Customer Appreciation Day at the Tech's Cosmetology Dept. = Free Hairstyles and Pedicures for us.

I enjoyed the pedicure while the girls had their hair done. Ahhhh. The girls felt pretty but not happy enough to want to pose together.

Oh, the adventures we take when family comes to town. My sister Shannon and her son Parker came to visit. After an 8 hour drive, a hike in fresh mountain air was just what they needed. This is a view of our little valley from the water tower. (How many church steeples can you find?) Per tradition, we went to dinner at Sandy's for the best PB shakes and fries. ---This is the one occasion when my sister takes a vacation from her health nut-i-ness. (This week she taught me that baking powder is practically poison.)

Shannon and Parker are moving from AZ to SLC to live with my parents and help take care of them. This pretty much escalates her to the status of Saint-hood so we felt the least we could do is treat them to dinner.

Next week she will be leaving for a weekend trip to join my brother and volunteer with a medical team in Mexico. One of these years I will join them.

We will also be leaving to spend a fun week in St. George with my parents. See you there t?

Demons BeGONE

Six Haunting Halloween Memories

1. There was the year I decided to be a cat. (198?) I wore black tights and a black leotard. What to do for accessories?--no problem: got some black construction paper, cut 2 triangles out for ears and taped them to my head. Next, borrowed my mom's eyeliner and penciled in some whiskers on my face. Lastly, cut a piece of black yarn and taped it to my rear-end. Voila--ready to strut next to the pretty princesses in the school parade.



2. Another year (198?) I decided to be a traditional Japanese woman. I painted my face white, my mom had the perfect red silky robe--that must have been my inspiration. I put my thin short hair into a bun the best I could and inserted some chopsticks. The only thing left was to spray paint my hair black. What happens when you mix black with toe-head white??? GRAY. So, again, ready to march in the school parade next to the supermans and storm troopers. I felt pretty discouraged after the fifth person said, "What ARE you? an old lady?"
3. When all else failed (198? and '8?) I could be a rock-star. Rat up that short blonde hair, use the eyeliner ,again--this time for a beauty mark (think, Madonna), and wear a jean skirt with shirt tied in a knot. Then put a coat over all of it because it would be so dang cold outside nobody would even know I was wearing a costume.


4. There was the year (198?) my mom said she was giving out the BEST TREAT EVER--so good she wouldn't tell me what it was. I had to convince my friends it would SO be worth walking all the way down my dark street to get. We knocked on the door and my mom answered with a big box of old, used-up kids books--MY old used up kids books. "Hey kids, pick out a book"-- Oh the humiliation.
5. My up the street and around the corner neighbor was famous with all trick-or-treaters because he gave out regular sized candy bars!!! and if you could answer some trivia about his family--you could earn more than one!!! Lucky me, we were neighbors so except for knowing the middle names of his children I was still able to walk away with a few big candy bars! SCORE! (If he didn't know you, or couldn't answer any questions, you walked away with a dum-dum.) Well, there I was at the pinnacle of my candy-gathering, pillow-case bursting maximum, when a too-old-to-be-trick-or-treating teenager came over and demanded I give him my bag. My little knees wobbled--this had to be a joke, right? No-- he took it and then took off! I hope he's somewhere repenting in sackcloth and braces for his cruelty.



6. I did have one succesful year which seems like a good one to end on. My big brother (who did a few nice things for me growing up) actually MADE me a robot costume. It was awesome--constructed out of cardboard boxes, lined with tinfoil. It even had a cut-out slot I could open up to put my candy in. -- The first time I was truly proud to march in the school parade but I think that I wasn't even old enough to be in school that year. It was a good one-- 198?-something.

There you have it , I've excercised my Halloween demons from the '80's. It's about time! Now I feel ready for another year of spooks. There's nothing like the C. family Halloween party to get you in the spirit (see previous post) and a good ol' trip to the local pumpkin patch. ( see our version here http://www.sliceofpihomeschooljournal.blogspot.com/ ) That's the good stuff.

You won't see me in cool costume this year, or any costume for that matter. But, my kids will be dressed up (only slightly better than I was) and ready for the school parade--oh yeah, we do homeschool.

PARTY CENTRAL

Phew! If ever there was a full weekend of family fun--it was this one. While our neighbors were out enjoying the last hunt of the year and their wives convening for their own parties (thank you Brandon for not being the least bit interested in guns) we headed up to the big city to join family-- (who thankfully also are not interested in guns.)

If you're going to go out and get manly with nature, golfing is a way better choice: less time, less money, less dangerous, less smelly, and no carcasses to deal with. That is how Brandon and a few other husbands spent the morning, on a beautiful mountain course.

They got back in the nick of time for their wives to join the annual C. family ladies LUNCHEON, followed by the ladies CRAFT. Lucky for me, there was no painting involved in this year's project. Just pretty hair bow's for little girls. So fun. I felt my creativity getting better with each one. Here is a random sampling of some of everyone's (thanks to T for the good ideas). I'm thinking this was so fun I will want to make more when I get a crafty minute this weekend. Ladies, let's work on improving the glue gun--how bout super sticky dots or something that will keep our fingerprints intact.

Last the best of all for the day...The C. Family Halloween Party. Riddles, guess the candy in the jar, donut-eating contest, cake-walk, pinatas, the spooky backyard forest, an almost true ghost story that scared baby Cannon, and the Monster Mash (Aunt Megz has the moves even when she's preg.!) Then there were all the cool costumes. My personal faves: W.'s road kill, B's monster truck, and Crocodile Cannon. (photo will be on the official Halloween costume post) ....oh the memories our kids are going to have...Thanks to everyone.

And as if that wasn't enough partying we carried it over one more day to celebrate the baby blessing of 2008 baby #6, who isn't just a number, he is the newest cutest member of the C. fam.! What a weekend! And that explains why my facebook page says, "I'm glad to be home."

Thanks to CC for hosting us and providing us with all the things we forgot to pack.

My Out--What's Yours?

Thanks Mom, for not letting me quit the cello! You'd think she would have given up after all the complaining and threatening I did. It worked for the piano. And yes, she was right I regret not having taken more lessons. In High School I kind of had to choose between soccer and the cello--but after I learned that soccer season started with summer training at 6 a.m. everyday it wasn't such a hard decision. I loved playing in orchestra with all my cool friends. Brandon says orchestra people are nerds...I try to correct him..."No that's BAND." But, whatever. Anyway, playing the cello was great. Then I found out you could earn money playing the cello. That was the best high school job ever to play in a string quartet for weddings, parties, etc. One time we didn't get paid, so we went to the gate of Temple Square, set out our cases, and began playing Pachelbel's Canon in D. The cello has the easy part so I was able to look up and see our music have an effect on people: couples nuzzling in close, holding hands, children with eyes a-sparkle--okay I made up that one. But, for sure it made people feel generous. We earned 20 bucks in that 20 minutes-- our best gig ever!At this stage of life, playing the cello is my out--girls night out. A group of us get together every Thursday evening (during the school year) and play. Sometimes we play for church functions, or community events, sometimes we play at the schools. And once in a while we even get PAID to play--like yesterday. We played for a wedding: bridal chorus , wedding march and all! Fun Fun! We love it. We do have our differences though:

Violin I might say for example, "Let's play Pachelbel super fast."

and I might say, "No way, that would be sacreligious."

and violin II might say, "Forget Pachelbel let's play Pirates."

and I might say, "not at MY wedding you wouldn't."

and then pretty soon our bows are clashing. "Pirates" is what we call the medley of music from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean." It is super fun and swashbuckling and Halloween-y all at the same time--but not the best song for a wedding. We played it anyway. After an hour of classical hits we figured no one was listening to our background music anyway. Then we played Mozart's "Eine Kleine" and got a standing ovation--apparently they WERE listening!

Just as a bonus, I'm going to include some of our favorites besides the aforementioned--in case you want to add some class to your iPod.

Vivaldi--Four Seasons

Handel--Water Music, Royal Fireworks, Messiah, Largo, Entrance of the Queen of Sheba

Bach--Air, 2 Gavottes from the D Major Suite, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring

Boccherini--Minuet

Mozart--Marriage of Figaro, all of his string quartet stuff.

Schubert--Ave Maria, Moment Musicale, March Militaire

Mouret--Rondeau

There are of course many other great classical hits. These are just a few that are arranged for string quartet and these are pretty much what we would play if you hired us for a wedding --**Pirates upon special request.

20, 10, 5, 1...

20 years ago:

I thought boys had it way better in life. I was a tomboy and played soccer at recess with the rest of the boys. I loathed Tuesdays because that meant piano lessons-- Couldn't wait for Thursdays because that was gymnastics. I didn't know what stage fright was--for extra credit I would memorize poems (mostly shel silverstein) and volunteer to recite them in front of class. Boy have I changed...



10 years ago:

I decided I better learn how to cook. I was newly married and had to tranfer my credits from BYU to the U of U to finish up my degree while BD attended grad school. I spoke Spanish more than English when I worked PT at the hospital as a nurse aide/translator for the newborn and maternity units. We were poor but happy folk.



5 years ago:

2 little kids kept me busy. I was into running and scrapbooking (the cut and paste kind.)



1 year ago:

Blaah! I was so sick with pregnancy I wanted to die. I watched every DVD we owned and had IV's while my kids hopped from neighbor to neighbor and the church brought in food.



Yesterday:

I made cookies in honor of homemade cookie day (I'm so easily persuaded), did homeschool, took B. to gymnastics where I met a nice mom from Peru that I could practice my rusty Spanish with, rode bikes and had foot races in the church parking lot with BD and the kids (BD beat me every time even when he was holding 2 kids), did yoga, pulled an all-nighter thanks to that stubborn baby boy--which brings me today. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

Ohhhhmmmmm

Brandon and I have been doing our yoga 3x/week for how many weeks now? Maybe 3. We are big fans. Brandon is sure he can run faster and shoot better on the court--sure, why not. And I, well I am feeling quite empowered myself. I feel like I can do things I once only reserved for the man of the house--like taking out the garbages and filling up the car with gas. I think our excitement has rubbed off on Cannon. Here is a basic intro to yoga:
1. UPWARD DOG

2. From upward dog , straighten the back, look forward.
This is PLANK. Do a pushup here, if you want to.

3. Keeping hands and feet flat on the floor, lift the buttocks skyward and look down.
This is DOWNWARD DOG.
Finish by returning to position one: UPWARD DOG. Ohhhhmmmm, don't forget to clear your mind and BREATHE. Do 6 of reps of this routine before bed and you'll be sleeping like a baby. Ha!! If only Cannon slept like a baby--he's more like a 2 a.m. alarm clock that won't go off.

Attention City Slickers!

You know how sometimes you just need a change of scenery?! Well, thank goodness for Saturdays. We decided to take a fun family trip to our nearest mountain getaway. It's so great to be able to hop in the car and drive 15 minutes before the view changes completely. Trees, hills, rocks, wildlife (in the form of roadkill, sadly.) We ascended up the mountain to about 10,000 feet--try marathon training at that altitude!

The view of the valley below was amazing. It was like being in an airplane. We could see the little patchwork of farms below while being practically in the clouds. At that point we turned into a forest of quaking aspens, which were a lovely golden hue. Then we saw it--the strikingly blue Fish Lake.

We ate the lunch we packed along the lakeshore trail and did some walking. Our girls had fun finding treasures: rocks, leaves, old animal bones?, The lake water was so tempting to wade in but they found out quickly it was FREEZING cold. No water skiing here.

I think all the girls got some one-on-one with mom and dad and some good family bonding. We all found our mountain experience to be extremely refreshing!

Any of you city slickers that need a change of scenery--or just want to do some marathon training--come on down...er up!

Our 6-month Old is Gifted

This little guy was playing the piano and singing along yesterday afternoon. A little bit of drool got on the keys but so what? All artists have their eccentricities. Our kid is gifted.
In church today, during the quiet passing of sacrament, he decided to give his talk he'd been practicing all week. In his loudest clearest voice he repeated, "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...." His calling the people to repentance went on for a good 10 min. and even the girls were a little embarrassed by him. Dad said he had "great confidence in his delivery."
He'll be doing firesides by 9 months.
HAPPY 6 MONTH BIRTHDAY TO OUR BABY CANNON DUHN.

It's not very often that I walk out of WalMart with a warm and happy feeling. But, yesterday was different. Kate and Brynn were at Liberty Girls (aka homeschool club.) Adrie was the only one that wanted to go but too bad 3 yr. olds aren't allowed. I thought about begging...I ended up taking her and baby to Walmart. We were just going in to pick up some pictures and some garam masala so I could make cc's rikki tikki tembo chicken dish. They didn't have it so I made my way to the photo section when I got swept into the children's clothing section (the store is laid out just so that will happen). Anyway, there in the girls section I found...tada...$3 dollar outfits--that didn't even look like they were only $3 dollar outfits...see? cute huh. I think I was able to get Kate a complete wardrobe for next summer.

Meanwhile, Adrie out of the shopping cart is pushing baby in the shopping cart and they are out of sight. I panicked imagining where a 3 yr old and shopping cart could have ended up?---in the boys section. Yikes. I put Adrie IN the cart so I could safely get back to browsing. She, in her clear diction, yells out from the top of the cart, "Mom did you sleep in that shirt?" When I mumbled a yes she started loudly taunting, "YOU'RE IN YOUR P.J.'S, YOU'RE IN YOUR P.J.'S"--definitely time to go! Even after, that Adrie ended up with her own $3 dollar outfit and the messiest frosted chocolate donut in the case. So we left that store with a pretty good feeling overall and darn it I didn't even use the handicap sticker.

Shopping seems to have this effect on all males.

What is Your Excercise Personality?

Every time I get in the car and see that handicap sticker dangling from the rear view mirror I think, "Dang It! I have GOT to return that thing back to my mom." I drove to a YW activity and when I pulled up the girls all said, "Who's handicap in your family?" ...Dang it I have got to return that thing to my mom. I've been saying it all week. But, now it's starting to grow on me. I think I might LIKE having that thing in there. It has occured to me, only recently because I'm a little slow, that I could really be living this up....at Wal-Mart for example. I could finally get a decent spot without having to walk a mile. How about the Home Depot parking lot? And my possibilities pretty much end there. So, I guess I'll get that thing in the mail...in a couple more days. (She has a spare (don't worry)--it's not like she's having to hobble across the big box parking lot)

Speaking of not having to walk very far---I need excercise! I know when I start to get mentally ill that I haven't excercised in a week. BD practically had to kick me out of bed to go running the other day. I just haven't set up a good routine--Do you have one? My favorite excercise is running--maximum benefits in the shortest amount of time. That's my style. If only Cannon would sleep better (I blame him for everything lately), If only I went to bed earlier, if only my legs didn't feel like lead from taking a year off!! I will work up to it I WILL. BD says he doesn't run unless it involves chasing a ball. He is playing tennis in our city league tomorrow morning.

I do have a new favorite excercise I'd like to throw in the routine...

Last night BD and I did YOGA (he actually wanted too--this isn't like ballroom dance lessons). Whoever said Yoga was too slow and boring (all my friends) -- NUTZO! I was dripping sweat! You have to hold these amazing poses and be super strong and flexible and BREATHE! We only made it for thirty minutes of our DVD but I felt amazing afterward--taller, straighter, more graceful, sweaty--a warrior-woman. I'm hooked. 30 min of walking/Running 3x/week, 30 min. yoga 1-2x --that's my ideal workout routine.
Ask me how my workouts are going in a couple of weeks--and make sure I've mailed back that dang handicap sticker!

Hip, Hip,... Ho-Hum

What can a 5 -yr. old expect on the first day of Kindergarten? A welcome hug from the teacher, a special desk with her name on it, a room full of crying, clinging children? How about none of the above.
Brynn was on cloud 9 this morning waiting for Dad to take her to her first day of school. You can see in the picture of her waiting and waiting. Is it time yet??? She was so way cute in her new outfit (which is actually her size), her Tinkerbell backpack with a folder full of pictures which she painted for her new teacher. She was SOOO excited to go and when it was finally time, Dad accompanied her to the big event. They didn't know where to sit or where to put Brynn's stuff, no one cried ...is anyone even here they wondered? They did eventually find the teacher but
apparently Brynn didn't get the special treatment that her Dad thought she deserved. He even felt a little sorry leaving her there. Maybe he would have felt better if they were all sitting around in a circle holding hands and singing "Kumbaya?"

When school ended, I walked down to the bus-stop along with a gang of other neighborhood moms armed with cameras to pick up our sweet little kindy-gartners. "How was your day?, Did you like your teacher? Did you learn anything?" Brynn was pretty ho-hum about it the whole thing like it was just alright for her-- or was she just playing it cool?
"It was easy and we only had 2 recesses."



some moral support from the at-home learners



















new school outfits, even for the at-home learners.

The afternoon was way more exciting. Brynn and her friend Brinley passed out tickets to all the kids in the neighborhood and invited them over to our house for a rock concert(during Cannon's precious naptime.) ...nothing like a little Hannah Montana to put an end to a quiet afternoon. For the after the concert party all the girls went out to the driveway in the pouring rain and ate popsicles and skipped and pranced and yippeed like they were having the time of their lives. The windy rain even sent our garbage can reeling down the road like a grand finale to the show. Hooray for the first day!