Merry Christmas

Little House on the Prairie. Perhaps no other television show brings back such fond childhood memories. (Except for Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas :)

We just finished watching Christmas at Plum Creek from season 1 and was reminded why I love this series.
I love the sacrifice each family member made to give a gift from the heart.
I love the simplicity of Charles' explanation to Carrie of what Christmas is.
I cried when Caroline opened the box and saw the stove.

So, here's wishing you your own Plum Creek Christmas.
Merry Christmas!!

Yay!

After running for 2 hours and 23 minutes, we crossed the finish line.

"2010-Why Not" Revisited

Why not? It seemed like a simple enough question, until I tried to answer it. And so it began...

I started the year with three very specific goals:
1. Continue with a healthy eating and exercise plan and not become frustrated if the scale didn't budge
2. Regardless of what I looked like, we would take family pictures with the talented Megan Holdsworth
3. Run a half-marathon (13.1 miles seemed much better than 26.2 miles)


Update:
1. I will always be working on this one
2. We took family pictures with Megan. (Thank you, Megan!!)
3. I have paid the registration fee to run a half-marathon in my hometown on Nov. 13. I have been following a training schedule and I intend on crossing that finish line.

I'll let you know how it ends.....

Who Am I Kidding?

This afternoon I did something I had been dreading. I cleaned out my sewing/craft closet.

Why was I still holding on to scrapbooking journaling templates from 1998? If I haven't finished my Felt Christmas Wreath from 2006 (is that when we made them, Edna?) chances are I'm not going to finish it for 2010. And Ericka, why did you let me take your unfinished baby blanket? Remember, the one we spent hours trying to design a "random" pattern for? The one you wanted to make for your now 9-year-old son?

Last year I bought a "Learn to Crochet" kit because I was going to make a scarf. Will I ever crochet scarves for my family? Will my children ever wake up on a cold Christmas morning to find a specially crocheted scarf in their stockings? No. Why had I felt it was necessary to add to my Things You Don't Really Have Time To Do List? And if I really did have the time, would I want to spend it crocheting? No. I wouldn't.

I'm deteremined not to buy one more crafty thing. At least not until I have sewn the 5 quilts I have fabric for, made my year's supply of cards, sewn the dresses I bought patterns for, and hemmed my pants.

June 2010

June brought the end of the school year, visitors, Emma's 1st birthday, a pioneer trek, a trip to Yuma, and an anniversary.


Blake graduated from elementary school and will be attending Middle School next year.

Way to go!

We had the great pleasure of having our friends stay several days with us. Brandon and Michelle have been our friends since our BYU days. We met just a few weeks after we each got married and we left Utah when we each had two children.

Now we each have 5 and even though we have lived hundreds of miles apart and I have only seen her once in the last 10 years we have always been able to pick up right where we left off.

I am so thankful for good friends who love to live the gospel.

They have been a tremendous source of inspiration.

We love you guys!

On June 4, our branch had the privilege of hosting a dinner for Sister Silvia Allred of the General Relief Society Presidency. Before she left for the airport on Saturday, I got to have lunch with her and 6 other people. I am grateful for her kindness and for the tender words she spoke.

Can you believe Emma is a year?

(How sad is it that she doesn't even get her own post? Almost as sad as the fact that her only present was a car seat. How's that for practicality? It was pink, though.)

We love this sweet little girl!!

On June 18, our family was able to participate in a youth pioneer trek. We were asked to portray a pioneer family digging a grave for the burial of a child. Yes, I cried. I cried when we were asked to do it. I cried each time the different companies came by. I couldn't help but think of our own pioneer ancestors and the hardships they experienced as they pushed handcarts. And I cried as I thought of dear friends who have had to bury two of their children. I am thankful for the gospel and that because of the priesthood, families are bound by a power that is eternal.

We also had cousin Rachel come stay with us. We wish she would have stayed longer and look forward to visiting with her and the rest of the family at the reunion.

We also went to Disneyland a few times.

The end of the month found us in a car driving the 3 1/2 hour trip to Yuma.

We stayed at Edna's house while she and Chris went on a cruise.
I got to spend the week with my two adorable nieces.

On June 28, Dan and I celebrated 14 years of wedded bliss.

It has been the best 14 years of my life.

I love that man.

Yes, It's Hot

I know this is not a weather blog, but I am taking it upon myself to inform those who may not know that it is hot here. And do you know what makes it worse? Not having an air conditioner that works. And you know what that means? It means our windows are open. And that means the neighbors can hear everything. And that means I can't yell. And that makes me want to scream.

A Visit from Grandma

and Bill and Sam.

We really enjoyed having Dan's mom and 2 of his brothers come visit us last weekend. I don't think we could have crammed more into a 24 hour period. After 2 baseball games, Ann and I canned 32 pints of chicken while Dan and Bill built shelves in our master bedroom closet. I love them!Sunday was a special day and it was so nice to feel the support of family. It has been 2 years since Dan's father's passing and it was so nice to feel his influence during the weekend.

My parents, Karla, Ericka and Paul and their children came as well. (Sorry, no pictures of them!) Thank you for all you do!

Pythagorean Theorem

That was today's math lesson. When was the last time you heard that!?? It brought back so many memories of Mr. Butcher's geometry class. Tomorrow's class: Irrational numbers.

A Teenager?!?

Brandon turned 13 today. 13?!? How did that happen? It's hard to believe that that sweet little 5lb 9oz. baby is now almost as tall as me.

He is such an amazing son. We love him so much!!

Happy Birthday!!

Star Wars Legos.

Remind me never to buy birthday presents in front of Jacob and Blake. Otherwise, they will try to get you to guess what gift was bought and where it is hidden.

Brandon, Emma, and Dan.

Do you notice Dan's shirt?

He got it this morning for finishing another sprint triathlon. He's been sick all week so he was happy to just finish.

Field trip to the Living Desert in Palm Desert.

And last but certainly not least, some recent pictures of Emma.

We are glad she is over her

waking-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-because-she's-teething-episodes.

Crazy hair!

Since Gabby is too humble...

Since is Gabby is too modest it is up to me to tell you how amazing she is...

She set a goal to reclaim her physical self and started on a strict diet and exercise regimen about Oct 1, last year. In 6 months she has reached her goal weight and is lifting more weight than she imagined she could and can run at least 4 miles (she is working towards her next goal of running a 1/2 marathon this year)! I can't tell you how much weight she has lost because, well, intelligent husbands don't do that. But suffice it to say that she is again wearing outfits she wore when we got married nearly 14 years and 5 children ago! And to give you an idea of her dedication and resolve, she did not skip any days, meals, or anything this past 6 months. She stuck with her regimen 100%. Thanksgiving? She made us a feast and didn't taste any of it. Then while we ate the feast she prepared, she sat down and with a smile ate lettuce, cucumbers, brocoli, and tuna (or something like that). Same thing happened for Christmas. She even refused to lick her fingers any of the 1/2 dozen times over Christmas that she made her incredible homemade cinnamon rolls! Gabby is absolutely inspiring! Way to go Gabby!

**Imagine my horror when I opened up our blog and found that Dan had written this post! I had no idea and he didn't even tell me he had done this! Just to clarify a few things, it has taken a little longer than 6 months and I ate turkey for Thanksgiving. (I think the tuna was for Christmas.)

Walmart and the Park

That's what we did today. Nothing too exciting but FUN nonetheless. I have Relief Society tomorrow so we ran around getting things for that. We went to the park for a birthday party and baseball practice. After that we headed to the church for Scouts. The boys didn't mind driving around running errands because that's when we get to listen to Harry Potter. We are on the third book. (Hooray for Harry Potter!)

Santa Monica Pier

What a fun day it was today! We headed west on the 10 straight to beautiful Santa Monica. We had never been to the pier and it was absolutely beautiful. The weather was a sunny 77 degrees. Just beautiful. I am not a beach person but this was nice. We had a great time.We went to Muscle Beach. This was the coolest place. We are definitely coming back to ride bikes and go jogging along the beach. How cool would it be to do your daily workouts here?! The boys enjoyed climbing ropes and swinging on the rings.

Then after a hard workout you have to get a healthy one of these....

We walked along the boardwalk and just enjoyed the view.
The boys played a game at Pacific Park. Brandon won a snake for Joshua.

Joshua and Emma enjoyed the stroller ride.

(I did have the shade on Emma. I just lifted it up so that I could take a picture.)

I kept making the boys stop to take pictures. We were such tourists but I had to have something to remind the boys just how much FUN we're having!

Cabazon Dinosaurs

After driving by these dinosaurs countless times, I decided that we would start our Spring Break by visiting these creatures. We picked up Blake's friend and we headed east on the 10. The boys had a great time.

The boys had a fun time climbing the stairs inside this T-Rex. The boys had fun in the "Dino Dig" and exchanged the rocks they found for a small dinosaur.

Emma was good to be in her car seat.

They panned for gems. Jacob found a few "gold" rocks.

Posing with the soldier.

Blake's friend tore some tendons in his hand. Can you spot the smiling face on his hand?

Joshua loved the dinosaurs.
This turtle was a tad bit slippery. I climbed on top and tried to stay on long enough to take a picture.

What will tomorrow's adventure be? Stay tuned.