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.

Birthday's

A birthday in December is hard all in it self, but having your birthday on the 24th can be considered even more difficult. With that in mind, while we are all together with Ben’s family we celebrate winter birthday’s now. Three in December, and one for February, which is kind of nice for the kids, but some what unnecessary in my opinion, but hey I did not make this rule to begin with. And usually on birthday party day, we all take in a little bowling, to show off our mad skills at being able to throw a ball down a hard wood floor. People are so easily entertained. Although this year we added another outside “family” member to the birthday party crowd a friend from Church who Bernie and Susie are godparents for. It was really nice to help her celebrate her birthday as well. I’m sure that they will become part of the birthday tradition.

Twilight

Very few books have every really made want to read them again and again, well I have recently read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, and have just fallen in love with the characters and the book. Twilight is the first book in the series and for whatever reason I am completely drawn to the characters and plot. I would recommend this series to all who enjoy reading. The nice thing about these books is that they are a fast read, and can keep your attention from the beginning. The fact that I like these books is kind of funny, because I have waited to read them, since I did not know what to expect. Were they going to follow the same lines as Anne Rice, or were they “cleaner,” since I have heard about them for a long time, I finally broke down and read them. The author is LDS, and so her work has been very big here, and she does not disappoint. I’m glad that I finally started the series and can hardly wait until the next book comes to print.

Texas Christmas

After Thanksgiving on Friday we have our Texas Christmas with Ben’s family. It is a wild day filled with last minute shopping, wrapping gifts and kids filled with high anticipation of tearing into those carefully wrapped gifts the moment it touches their hands. Before we can get to all the excitement of gifts we have to find the perfect tree. Each year it becomes a major production with fifteen people voicing their opinion on the tree they think would be just right. Sadly you can’t make everyone happy. At last we find the “perfect” tree and take the family picture. Now with seven of the kids under four years old it becomes a challenge to make all the little faces look forward at the same time. Which in it self can be very comical, I don’t think it will happen anytime soon that all the kids will face the camera and hold still. Once we get the perfect tree we have to cut it down and bring it home, and decorate it before we open presents. But wait there’s more; we even have to eat dinner before all the mayhem can begin. So after much waiting and anticipation from the kids (read Morgan) we are finally read to get down to business, and this of course leads to a wild frenzy to see what everyone got for Christmas.

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone had a great day and did not eat too much. As usual we had tons of food, which amazingly enough we only had for leftovers one day. This year we did our standard deep fried turkey as well as a turducken. I know what is a turducken, well it’s a turkey, stuffed with a duck, and a chicken along with tantalizing stuffing of rice and other Creole mixtures. And we even tried to be a little healthier with our sides but it’s hard to do when everything will end up dripping in gravy. While all of our family members were not able to attend we were grateful for those that could make it for the visit and it was a great day. Everyone pitched in to help bring dinner to the table, even the kids had fun helping out, with getting the potatoes ready to cook. Morgan had the best pleasure to figuring out where everyone is going to sit, because when you have that many people there are bound to be logistical issues.