Family Pictures

It is so much easier to have someone else take family pictures than doing it myself. Our Christmas card is evidence of this. So here a few highlights from our lastest picture taking adventure.

Mod Mom Give away

All you readers out there who love Whole Foods, should take a look at modmom.blogspot.com she is giving away a ton of great stuff, and some gift cards from Whole Foods. Who would not want that. Thanks Anjie for the heads up. Mod Mom has a great blog, how do you find them?

Happy Valentine's Day

While we don’t usually do anything special on V-day the kids did have a chance to exchange valentine’s with their friends. And of course this should really read candy and some note that your child will discard on the way to getting said candy. Well these two kids were no exception. Although I did not plan to pass out candy, Ben came home with these chocolate pops from a customer that I had to get rid of. There were not enough for Isabelle’s class so Bear got to hand them out instead. They were a big hit, and will probably keep those kids going for a good amount of time. I will have to say though I made Isabelle’s cards this year; I really don’t like the sayings on the cards they have these days, so cheesy. And I thought they were cute but nothing really special, we taped a stamp to them and what do you know a healthy valentine. But one of the cards she got was too cute, it was a dog face made out of hearts, with, you guessed it, a candy nose. I liked them enough to take a picture and I might just make them next year, unless I can come up with something more creative.

Peoa, UT

In our travels last weekend we went to go visit a fish hatchery in Springville, UT which is not too far away, but something new. Well needless to say they were not open, which my book did not indicate but hey we’ll go on to the next location. So we made our way up to Sundance, and it was packed. Lots of people up there skiing. I’m sure we could have gotten out, but I did not want to look like a dork and not be skiing. On to the next spot on our tour, we made our way to Heber to check the railroad and have lunch. Well the railroad was closed too, is nothing in this state open on Sunday? Since Bear had fallen asleep we decided to check out some of the small towns out on the outskirts. While driving around we saw lots of wildlife. And by we I mean, me. Ben was driving and every time I would point something out he would miss it. On our way through Peoa, UT we saw some Elk, it was pretty cool. Now having never seen an elk before I was not sure and made Ben turn around and go back to make sure I was correct. While swinging back by I did take some pictures, since the elk decided to look right at me pretty cool. Once we made it back to the freeway off to Park City, to visit the outlets. Somebody had to having a good deal on something.

Alphabet Crown

I am so proud of Isabelle; she has been working very hard at learning all her letters and their sounds. And as of today, her school has officially recognized that she knows them all. She is doing really well with picking up what she is learning at school and I’m sure she will be ready to read in no time. She figured she just got to wear another birthday crown, not really understanding the importance but I made a big deal about it so hopefully she will think it is pretty cool. I’m just so excited, I think I almost cried today when she got in the car with her crown and I read what it said. (and of course she is wearing her favorite outfit.)

It's Ben's Birthday

Happy Birthday Ben!

We are all very excited today as that it is Ben’s birthday. Isabelle was very excited to bring Dad breakfast in bed and sing him happy birthday. So much so that she wanted to do it again, and again. Ben enjoyed a pretty relaxing day, fun time with the kids, a nap, dinner and later on in the week a massage. I figured that he was asking for one at the church auction that he might enjoy one for his birthday. So Happy Birthday Ben we hope that this year will be great.

Groundhog Day

Well that fat useless groundhog says were going to have six more weeks of winter for 2008. What a bummer, I am really getting tired of all that snow. The novelty is starting to wear off. Oh well what are you going to do. Who decided that we have to follow what a fat rodent has to say anyway, I think he really just wants to sleep some more and the celebration woke him up. So he is giving payback for that in the form of more winter

Circus??

I know that I have been talking a little bit about things that bother me, so here is one more. We were offered an opportunity to go to the circus and by circus I mean three small rings where there were mostly people and hardly any animals. Not what I would have thought of as the circus but hey. First off, I have never been to the circus before and I figured that since the kids got in free what the heck lets go. Well first off it was freezing, and we had to stand in line to purchase my ticket, and of course Isabelle had to go to the bathroom. Fortunately a very nice lady understood my plight and let me go in and have my spot back in line. Once we were in I was afraid I would not find my group, there were quite a few people there. But we lucked out in the end, snacks called part of our group away from their seats. Now why didn’t I think to bring my own snacks, Bear will sometimes sit to eat food!!

The show got started late and Barrett did not want to sit down to watch the show and only really settled down once the animals were out. And since they “tried” to break the show up with animals and humans, this was hard for the 18 month old. He was fascinated by the horses and kept singing horse, horse, horse, which was pretty cool. But the people who have amazing strength and could hang by their teeth while holding onto another person, did not hold is interest for long if at all. Even the trick poodles had a hard time keeping this kid interested. I should have left him at home with Dad.


Then to top it all off they did a 20 (twenty) minute intermission, at which point it was 6pm in the evening and I said ok we are going home. We did not get to see the elephants, and that is what Isabelle really wanted to do. Which I guess was ok, because I have an issue with the way people treat animals in the circus, zoo, etc. Maybe the big circus would be better but who knows, it’s just hard all around to keep Bear still when he just really wants to go. Overall our circus excursion was not that good. Plus I did not get any good pictures because I forgot my long lens and we were sitting at the very top of the stands. What an afternoon.

Half-Staffed Flags

I was very disappointed today as I drove around town and noticed that the flags were being flown at half-staff most likely all over the state of Utah in remembrance of a non-government official or military person. The Governor ordered that all flags could be flow at half-staff in remembrance of Gordon B. Hinckley the former President of the LDS church. While I understand that this is a terrible loss for the members of the LDS faith I do not think that it is appropriate to lower the flag.

Section 7m of the Flag Code now reads (in part), emphasis ours on added text:
By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States, or the death of a member of the Armed Forces from any State, territory, or possession who dies while serving on active duty, the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at half-staff, and the same authority is provided to the Mayor of the District of Columbia with respect to present or former officials of the District of Columbia and members of the Armed Forces from the District of Columbia.

I feel that this is form of remembrance for Mr. Hinckley is unnecessary and a over the top. I doubt that other people around the U.S. will find themselves looking at a flag flown half-staffed do to this loss. . I understand that the state of Utah is 63% LDS but that should not sway the officials in our state to make such a decision. What other decisions are they making based on the ideology of their faith or persons involved in a particular faith? Since our government is supposed to have a separation of Church and State, where does this lead us to?

Surgery

Ben survived his sleep apnea surgery and is now home recovering. Hopefully this means that he will no longer snore, or you know stop breathing at night. He had three things done, a tonsillectomy, and two other operations. I can’t pronounce one of the so I’m not even going to try and the other I just don’t remember, maybe it was an upper hyord suspension. So other than being tired and a little sore in his throat he is doing well. Lots of liquid nourishment, which I don’t think he minds. And I think that he feels like CNN will help him get better as well, because it seems like that is all he ever really watches.

Princess Bear???

The apple of every father's eye is to come home and see his only son dressed as a princess. Shoes and all, Barrett wanted to wear the princess dress, it was pretty funny and cute.

The Chronicles of Flat Stanley

Ben’s oldest sister asked us to take Flat Stanley around and show him the sights of Utah for a former student of hers, who is working on a school project. We were more than happy to take Stanley around and introduce him to Utah. Here is where he traveled:




Stop One: Bingham Canyon Mine – home to Kennecott Copper, the largest open pit cooper mining operation in the world; can be seen from outer space.



Stop Two: The Olympic Oval – home to the speed skating, curling, and ice skating competitions during the 2002 Winter Olympics.



Stop Three: The Great Salt Lake – a large lake just West of Salt Lake City, giving the city it’s name and which is made up of 15% salinity



Stop Four: Temple Square – What would a trip to Salt Lake City be if you did not visit Temple Square home to World Headquarters of the Church of Later-Day Saints.



Stop Five: The State Capital Building – Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah, so it is home to the governing state bodies. The current Governor is Republican Jon Huntsman.



Stop Six: Rice Eccles Stadium – Home to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Games

That concludes our Flat Stanley tour, if we had more time I think Stanley would have enjoyed Southern Utah and the red rocks of Moab and Zion. Until next time I hope that you will find a Flat Stanley close to your home.

Christmas Sledding

Everyone had so much fun sledding after breakfast Christmas morning. The kids really loved it, especially Barrett. Adam was too funny, he took a dive trying to make a new run it was classic. Then we created a "jump" I think I caught the most air. Even Mom and Dad got into the sledding fun with the kids. It was great.

Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas. This year the adults on my side of the family exchanged names and made donations in that person’s name to a charity of their choice. It made shopping very easy; we only needed to really get the kids gifts. For us we focused on sports. Since it is pretty cold outside and there is a ton of snow on the ground we have made our front room an extension of the playroom. It is full of active toys for the kids to enjoy and exert some of their energy. They just love it. But, I can hardly wait until the spring when they can go outside again.

Adam was able to come and visit us for Christmas which was great since he had never been here before. Plus the kids just love him, go figure I know, but he enjoys them as well. He got them two of their favorite movies for Christmas, Cars and A Bugs Life. I don’t think they have watched anything else since.

Overall we had a great Christmas; we were all very laid back and had a bunch of fun. Isabelle helped put out cookies and milk for Santa, I forgot about the reindeer but we’ll get them next year. Everyone played outside in the snow. It was a white Christmas, we got more fresh snow, and had a blast sledding. I’m sure the videos of that area great. I hope that your holiday was a good one as well.

Isabelle is 3

Isabelle turns 3! I can hardly believe that she is already three. Time has gone by so fast. But we have enjoyed every minute of it. It is amazing to me to see just how much they grow everyday, and how they are becoming their own little people.

Isabelle, Barrett and Oma helped me to make her cake become a reality. It was quite a process and I’m not entirely sure I did it right but Isabelle loved it and that is all that really seemed to matter. The cake became affectionately known as the Dr. Seuss Cake, since it did not sit quite straight and was so colorful.

We had a very simple party for Isabelle inviting only two of her little friends. Since I really wanted to help her celebrate on her birthday, I did not think that a three year old needed to have three parties. Her guests came and played, had cake and helped Isabelle open her presents. She was pretty excited about the whole day.

Best of all she was able to share her special day with Oma, Grandpa and Uncle Adam. She just loves each of them so much and it makes it very special for her to do so. Until next year, I’m sure we will have to do something a little more but I think I can hold out for as long as possible.

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

Grandma and Grandpa Libby . . .

. . . are here at last. The kids have been very excited about the upcoming visit with G & G Libby. And since they came the day the snow came it worked out perfect. We were all able to get all bundled up and go sleding in the back yard. Both kids loved it and Ben even started to make a snow "house." Just as we were going in though Isabelle decided that it did not need to be up and pushed it all down. Grandpa worked most of the morning and missed the snowy fun, but I'm sure he will havea another chance soon.

School Program

Here is a song from Isabelle's Sing program at school this winter. It was really cute and we had a great time. I hope you enjoy it also. Hopefully it will not be grainy, because it is nice and clear on the computer.

Merry Christmas!

Yoga . . . Snowman

Do you yoga? Our snowman does. He never fell all the way over, but had a really good back bend going. Who would have thought. Believe it or not he even went further down before I collected his "waredrobe."

The Governor

Ben and I got the chance to meet the Governor, his wife and the Lieutenant Governor and his wife. It was really just a photo opportunity but hey you take what you can get. No deep questions about policy or where he thinks Utah is going in the future. The receiving line was not that functional. I guess we'll just have to try for a dinner invitation next time. After going through about, almost every picture taken I finally found ours, needless to say the numbering system had something to be desired.

The Haircut

I finally gave in and had Barrett’s hair cut. I can hardly believe it. I just love the little curls he gets at the back of his neck and around his ears but I think it was just about long enough to bother even me. So I took the plunge and had it cut. He did a great job and did not even cry. She did cut it a little shorter than what I wanted but I know it will grow back. I can only hope that his little curls stay with him. But he does look extra handsome now. Plus I think for those days when I do style his hair, it will be much easier. He was pretty excited though; he got to play on a slide and even got a balloon for all his hard work.

Santa

Our trip to Santa this year was very easy, we saw Santa at the Church Christmas party. Boy was he long winded. The wait nearly killed me who knows what it did to the kids.

Snowman

Our first snowman of the year was so much fun to make. He started out much smaller than what he ended up being. Ben thought we needed to make him extra big. One of my friends moved to Arizona and she gave me a snowman kit. All you have to do is add the snow. Isabelle had a lot of fun putting on the accessories after Ben was satisfied that he was big enough. Now our snowman has a V-8 problem, but hey they can’t last forever.

Spotlight Day

At school Isabelle had a chance to be in the Spotlight because her Birthday is in December. Bear and I were able to come down for her class to be with her as she told her friends about herself, during her spotlight. She was pretty excited. I was excited for her too, as well as for being able to faces with the names of the kids she likes to talk about.

Festival Of Trees

Each year an event is held to raise money for the local children's hospital, made possible by people creating very intricate Christmas trees, that are themed. Some trees are large while others are small. There are also wreaths, gingerbread houses, play houses, and so much more. Roadway has the pleasure of delivering all of the trees to the buyers, and they hope that none of the decorations shift or break. The large trees can be so much more, they could also come with a false hearth, flat screen tv, games or whatever might go well with the theme of the tree. All of the trees were just beautiful, even the little ones. I would love a chance to decorate one all in one theme and then see it placed in a loving home or business. Since these are no ordinary trees the prices range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Who would not want to support the Children’s Hospital? Ben thinks it would be a great fundraiser for any city.

Play house or Grandmother house?

I'm Dreaming of a white Christmas

I am really hoping for a white Christmas this year. And seeing how it snowed the day we got back from Texas as well as on December 1st I think the odds are in my favor. Although I do think that it has to actually snow on the 25th but I could not be sure. Here are some pictures from the morning of our snow storm, it looks like about 4” of snow and then it proceeded to snow all day and I think the valley got at least 7” so you can imagine how many inches the mountains received. I know all the ski resorts were praying hard to the snow gods to bring it on, considering they have been blowing snow, yikes!

Isabelle loved the snow; Bear was not quite sure what to do. Never mind the fact that his shoes would not stay on and I think he really could not move well; but hey all in the name of warmth. He did have fun on the sled until Isabelle dumped him.