Monday, January 11, 2010
Go Grizzlies!
We all know who the sports fan is in our family -- at least she picks her favorite teams because that's what everyone she knows at school does. I've talked about taking her to a BYU game sometime, but Brandon suggested I take her to a Jazz game. I wasn't too keen on the idea of fighting that many people and finding parking, etc. Then about two months ago my OTHER daughter (Sophie) picked up a Jazz schedule from a restaurant we were at. She came home and circled the game she wanted to go to. Wanna know how she picked the game? The mascot. She found this "cute" grizzly bear that the Jazz would be playing and decided we would go to that game. I told her that would probably be a good date idea, and tucked it away in the back of my mind. But Sophie didn't forget. Two days before the game she reminded me. I wasn't worried about getting tickets, because this was a Wednesday night game and not a real popular team. Not to mention my kids have this crazy affection for getting back row seats, so I didn't even have to worry about getting good seats. So Wednesday morning I got on KSL and found someone selling tickets. She emailed them over to me and Sophie and I had a date! That afternoon Sophie made a sign to cheer on her Grizzlies (Memphis). I have to admit, I was a little bit embarrassed to cheer for the Grizzlies at a Jazz game, but earlier that day Brandon had pointed out that the Jazz's mascot is also a bear! I had to point that out to Soph. She still wasn't sold on it, but she now said that she didn't care who won. However, at the game she was so happy when her Grizzlies were winning, and she frowned a lot when the Jazz scored. She even caught me cheering for the Jazz a few times, and I don't think that went over too well. The Jazz won by twenty-some points. Sophie came home and asked Brandon if we could move to Memphis. I don't know about Memphis, but Tennessee is definitely in my top 10. Thanks for the fun date, Sophie.
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Mexico for the New Year
We left last Monday (Dec 28th) for a little vacation. We drove through some terrible fog all through Utah, stopped in Kanab for lunch, and made our first tourist stop at Navajo Bridge near Marble Canyon in Arizona. It was so cold we really didn't want to get out of the car, but that's not why we went on the trip. So, we ventured out and got a few pictures. We then continued our drive to Cameron where we were going to spend the night. We made really good time and got there at 3:25, but couldn't check into our hotel until 4:00 so we ate a very early dinner in our car.
Tuesday morning we woke up to snow. Not exactly what we were expecting from Arizona. We ate breakfast at the restaurant adjoining our hotel (Cameron Trading Post Inn). They had a nice big wood burning stove in the dining room, and sat us right in front of it. That was nice. I watched one of the employees put a log on it that I'm pretty sure wouldn't even fit inside our fireplace. Brandon and I celebrated our 11th anniversary driving to The Grand Canyon. There was snow everywhere, the roads had some ice, but we were able to get to all the viewing spots and have nice views of the canyon. The hardest part was wanting to be out of the car for very long, but we managed. There was a visitor's center, museum, and a watch tower that were all indoor and heated. They say this is a good time of year to visit The Grand Canyon to avoid all the tourists, but there were still quite a few people out. The parking lot at the visitor's center was packed. We found a really nice lady who offered us her spot as she was leaving, and the girls loved her because she shooed away other people who were trying to squeeze in and steal it from us. I don't know why she picked us, but we were happy to have run across her when we did. After leaving The Grand Canyon we hit a snow storm in Flagstaff. The traffic was really bad, but I'm not sure if it was due to the storm or rush hour or both. We finally made it to our hotel in Tucson late that evening.
Since it was so dark when we arrived in Tucson we were excited the next morning to get outside and see some palm trees and cacti. We got some pictures and then drove to Las Cruces. We went straight to Grams & Grandpa Fry's, then went and checked into our hotel before going back to have dinner with them.
On Thursday we spent the morning doing some touristy things. I wanted to take the girls to Stahmann's pecan farm and see old town Mesilla. Stahmann's had just opened a new store in Mesilla, so we just stopped there and loaded up on some goodies. We walked through some of the shops, but the girls were pretty bored and Brandon and I aren't very good shoppers. When we left we just drove down through some of the pecan orchards so the girls could see them. We spent the afternoon with Grams & Grandpa again, and Brandon's Uncle Mike, Aunt Susan and cousin Michael came over and joined us for a New Year's Eve dinner. The cafeteria had a special meal for the occasion. The kids were a little crazy, and perhaps a little rough with each other. I pulled out my camera phone and hopefully got some good video of it, but I haven't looked at it yet.
We didn't stay up till midnight or partake in any New Year's Eve festivities. Just went to bed as usual. But we didn't wake up as usual. No, at 4:30 in the morning somebody tried breaking into our hotel room through our window. Brandon played his protective role -- ran to the window and scared the guy off. I watched him take off through the field behind our hotel, then went down to the front desk and alerted them. She called security over, and they called the police. They came and got a report and checked everything out. We were all a little shaken up (even though it happened so fast and never felt like we were in any real danger), but we spent the next 24 hours + talking about bad guys and robbers. Those kids can come up with a lot of questions.
The cafeteria had another special meal for lunch on New Year's Day, so we all went to that again. The girl's spent the afternoon playing with Michael. Grandpa took me down to the exercise room for a little workout, and Brandon and I took the kids out for a walk around their property. We just ordered pizza in for dinner that night. Grandpa was even thoughtful enough to get a vegetarian one for me. Sophie fell asleep on me right after eating. We were all so exhausted after being up since 4:30, so we went to bed a little earlier that night.
We headed home the next morning. I was really hoping to make it to Four Corners, but the monument closed at 5:00 and we didn't get there till about 5:30. We stopped in Cortez, Colorado for the night. Our hotel had the best hot tub around. No indoor pool, just the hot tub. But that's all I need. This thing was big enough to swim in, was only 3' 10" deep so even Sophie felt comfortable in it, and the water was so warm! It was even decorated nice with fountains and plants all over. I think I need one of those at home. I'll tell Brandon to add it in to the design of our next home.
Sunday we continued our journey. Chloe had fun with the camera in the car. It may even inspire her own blog post! But don't hold your breath. We got home Sunday afternoon, with enough time to unpack and rest a little bit. Brandon had to get back to work today, but the girls still have a full week left of their vacation. I took the car in today to get the rock chips repaired, tires rotated, and we washed it. Now I just need to clean out the inside and it will be good as new. It was a long trip, but hopefully we've created some wonderful memories that will stay with us forever. Chloe even sent Brandon and I emails thanking us for taking her. I will definitely cherish that!
Tuesday morning we woke up to snow. Not exactly what we were expecting from Arizona. We ate breakfast at the restaurant adjoining our hotel (Cameron Trading Post Inn). They had a nice big wood burning stove in the dining room, and sat us right in front of it. That was nice. I watched one of the employees put a log on it that I'm pretty sure wouldn't even fit inside our fireplace. Brandon and I celebrated our 11th anniversary driving to The Grand Canyon. There was snow everywhere, the roads had some ice, but we were able to get to all the viewing spots and have nice views of the canyon. The hardest part was wanting to be out of the car for very long, but we managed. There was a visitor's center, museum, and a watch tower that were all indoor and heated. They say this is a good time of year to visit The Grand Canyon to avoid all the tourists, but there were still quite a few people out. The parking lot at the visitor's center was packed. We found a really nice lady who offered us her spot as she was leaving, and the girls loved her because she shooed away other people who were trying to squeeze in and steal it from us. I don't know why she picked us, but we were happy to have run across her when we did. After leaving The Grand Canyon we hit a snow storm in Flagstaff. The traffic was really bad, but I'm not sure if it was due to the storm or rush hour or both. We finally made it to our hotel in Tucson late that evening.
Since it was so dark when we arrived in Tucson we were excited the next morning to get outside and see some palm trees and cacti. We got some pictures and then drove to Las Cruces. We went straight to Grams & Grandpa Fry's, then went and checked into our hotel before going back to have dinner with them.
On Thursday we spent the morning doing some touristy things. I wanted to take the girls to Stahmann's pecan farm and see old town Mesilla. Stahmann's had just opened a new store in Mesilla, so we just stopped there and loaded up on some goodies. We walked through some of the shops, but the girls were pretty bored and Brandon and I aren't very good shoppers. When we left we just drove down through some of the pecan orchards so the girls could see them. We spent the afternoon with Grams & Grandpa again, and Brandon's Uncle Mike, Aunt Susan and cousin Michael came over and joined us for a New Year's Eve dinner. The cafeteria had a special meal for the occasion. The kids were a little crazy, and perhaps a little rough with each other. I pulled out my camera phone and hopefully got some good video of it, but I haven't looked at it yet.
We didn't stay up till midnight or partake in any New Year's Eve festivities. Just went to bed as usual. But we didn't wake up as usual. No, at 4:30 in the morning somebody tried breaking into our hotel room through our window. Brandon played his protective role -- ran to the window and scared the guy off. I watched him take off through the field behind our hotel, then went down to the front desk and alerted them. She called security over, and they called the police. They came and got a report and checked everything out. We were all a little shaken up (even though it happened so fast and never felt like we were in any real danger), but we spent the next 24 hours + talking about bad guys and robbers. Those kids can come up with a lot of questions.
The cafeteria had another special meal for lunch on New Year's Day, so we all went to that again. The girl's spent the afternoon playing with Michael. Grandpa took me down to the exercise room for a little workout, and Brandon and I took the kids out for a walk around their property. We just ordered pizza in for dinner that night. Grandpa was even thoughtful enough to get a vegetarian one for me. Sophie fell asleep on me right after eating. We were all so exhausted after being up since 4:30, so we went to bed a little earlier that night.
We headed home the next morning. I was really hoping to make it to Four Corners, but the monument closed at 5:00 and we didn't get there till about 5:30. We stopped in Cortez, Colorado for the night. Our hotel had the best hot tub around. No indoor pool, just the hot tub. But that's all I need. This thing was big enough to swim in, was only 3' 10" deep so even Sophie felt comfortable in it, and the water was so warm! It was even decorated nice with fountains and plants all over. I think I need one of those at home. I'll tell Brandon to add it in to the design of our next home.
Sunday we continued our journey. Chloe had fun with the camera in the car. It may even inspire her own blog post! But don't hold your breath. We got home Sunday afternoon, with enough time to unpack and rest a little bit. Brandon had to get back to work today, but the girls still have a full week left of their vacation. I took the car in today to get the rock chips repaired, tires rotated, and we washed it. Now I just need to clean out the inside and it will be good as new. It was a long trip, but hopefully we've created some wonderful memories that will stay with us forever. Chloe even sent Brandon and I emails thanking us for taking her. I will definitely cherish that!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Merry Christmas
Thinking back, Christmas seems so long ago. We had a really quiet Christmas Eve this year. Just hung out at home, read our last Christmas story (we read one each day of the week), made hot cocoa and sat by the fire. The girls opened their one allotted present -- and they're finally catching on that it's probably going to be a new pair of pajamas each year. They set out treats for Santa, watched the Santa tracker for a while, and then went to bed. I didn't take a lot of photos Christmas morning because I got out my video camera! I don't do that as much as I'd like, but I'm glad I captured a little Christmas excitement. Christmas morning we opened gifts, ate a yummy breakfast (waffles with apples and cinnamon) and eggnog, then played for a while. We went over to Jason's for dinner. The girl's had fun with Eli while Brandon worked on their computer. Thanks to everyone for the gifts and warm wishes!
The next day Sophie and I went and got much needed haircuts, and then we had visitors come a little later. Sheri brought her kids down to meet Elsie and Mom, Grandma, Ross and Lark tagged along.
The next day Sophie and I went and got much needed haircuts, and then we had visitors come a little later. Sheri brought her kids down to meet Elsie and Mom, Grandma, Ross and Lark tagged along.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Crimped Hair
We've really struggled with Chloe for the last couple of years. Brandon's pretty sure she is following in his footsteps and just hitting puberty a little early. Let's hope so! I'm ready to be done with any tough stages. But on Sunday a miracle of some sorts occurred. She came and asked me to put a little braid on the side of her hair. I have not been allowed to touch her hair for a very long time so I was happy to oblige. Right after church she came home and took out her braid, and what do you think she discovered? Yup, she had a little piece of crimped hair. She thought it was so cute she wanted her whole head done. I told her we should do it right before going to bed and then it would be crimped for the next day. She sat so patiently and let me braid the whole thing. The next morning she woke up and got dressed, took the braids out and came down to surprise me. She was so cute! She looked so different; it was a little shorter so it looked like she had cut it. But it wasn't just the hair. She had been a completely different person. So happy. She still has lots of arguments with Sophie, but she's been so much more respectful to Brandon and I. She started dancing a lot as well. She seems so grown up. I want to catch that on video, but so far she's not willing to go there. I may have to bribe her, because I'm sure you'd love to see her moves.
"Christmas Time is Coming"
It's basically here, but we've been celebrating for a couple weeks now.
Sophie picked out this activity from a book my mom gave her that she wanted to do for a Family Home Evening. We all decorated sugar cones with green icing -- and she wanted Skittles. Let's just say fruity Skittles don't mix well with icing. I was a bit surprised when the following Friday, the last day of school, Sophie came running out with the same thing! They had made them in her class party, only they got to use M&M's.
I enjoy getting the girls Christmas dresses each year (and Easter). However, last year I was a slacker. I just felt like they didn't need them at the time, so we skipped it, but I really wanted to do it this year. They ended up picking the same dress, so they match again. Chloe's a silly girl. She really likes her clothes a bit baggy so she wanted me to get her a size 12. I thought that was a little excessive. I thought a 10 would probably be just fine, but I let her try them both on. Sure enough, the 10 was a perfect fit, but I decided to make her happy and let her get the 12, under the condition that she could still wear it next year.
Our ward traditionally has a "Night of Service" each year for our Christmas party, but we have new activities chair people, and they're shaking things up a bit. This year we had a breakfast instead. And Santa came! The girls played around with their friends. That's what I remember the most from my ward Christmas parties as a kid, so it was fun to watch them.
The following pictures with Santa are courtesy of Steve Johnson, since I had snuck out in the hall for a minute and missed them sitting on Santa's lap! Last year was Chloe's first time sitting on Santa's lap, and Sophie followed suit. I guess 7 is the magic age at our house. This is the FIRST picture of Sophie with Santa!
Last night we were invited to our neighbor's for hot cocoa and cookies. It was a fun evening. The kids were all crazy, but had so much fun playing, and the adults all got to participate in some conversation. The hostess was wearing a Wyoming Cowboy shirt and they had a BYU pillow on their couch, so Chloe was in heaven. She is getting pretty silly about her teams.
Sophie picked out this activity from a book my mom gave her that she wanted to do for a Family Home Evening. We all decorated sugar cones with green icing -- and she wanted Skittles. Let's just say fruity Skittles don't mix well with icing. I was a bit surprised when the following Friday, the last day of school, Sophie came running out with the same thing! They had made them in her class party, only they got to use M&M's.
I enjoy getting the girls Christmas dresses each year (and Easter). However, last year I was a slacker. I just felt like they didn't need them at the time, so we skipped it, but I really wanted to do it this year. They ended up picking the same dress, so they match again. Chloe's a silly girl. She really likes her clothes a bit baggy so she wanted me to get her a size 12. I thought that was a little excessive. I thought a 10 would probably be just fine, but I let her try them both on. Sure enough, the 10 was a perfect fit, but I decided to make her happy and let her get the 12, under the condition that she could still wear it next year.
Our ward traditionally has a "Night of Service" each year for our Christmas party, but we have new activities chair people, and they're shaking things up a bit. This year we had a breakfast instead. And Santa came! The girls played around with their friends. That's what I remember the most from my ward Christmas parties as a kid, so it was fun to watch them.
The following pictures with Santa are courtesy of Steve Johnson, since I had snuck out in the hall for a minute and missed them sitting on Santa's lap! Last year was Chloe's first time sitting on Santa's lap, and Sophie followed suit. I guess 7 is the magic age at our house. This is the FIRST picture of Sophie with Santa!
Last night we were invited to our neighbor's for hot cocoa and cookies. It was a fun evening. The kids were all crazy, but had so much fun playing, and the adults all got to participate in some conversation. The hostess was wearing a Wyoming Cowboy shirt and they had a BYU pillow on their couch, so Chloe was in heaven. She is getting pretty silly about her teams.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Bullet Point Blogging
I realize how pathetic it is that this is only my second post this month, but I still have a couple hours left in the day so I feel determined to get something written before the month is over. My bullet points worked so well last time I think I'll use them again to summarize my last few weeks.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Halloween
Our fall festivities began back on October 8th when we went to a party for Brandon's department. They usually have a summer party for couples, but this year they got delayed and moved it to the fall and invited the whole family. That really made it different. We were so busy doing the family activities that we didn't get to socialize much, and it was late at night and cold outside so everyone was in a hurry to get done. We went to Wheeler Farm and had a dinner, followed by a corn maze, pumpkin patch (we could pick one per family), and a hay ride. I tried to take pictures, but it was so dark nothing turned out well.
The next day I had promised Sophie a trip to another pumpkin patch, because one pumpkin just doesn't cut it for them. Someone put this idea into their heads that we each need our own pumpkin. I don't like it, but that's not a battle worth fighting. We did have a fun time at the pumpkin patch, though. Chloe picked hers out pretty quick, but Sophie searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin. She even got out my keys which she used as some sort of a measuring tool, because it had to be just the right size. After all that she ended up getting one of the tiny 50 cent pumpkins. Then we spent some time playing in the hay maze. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we just lingered outside.
Grandma and Grandpa Nicholls sent a package of popcorn balls to decorate. They girls had a "ball" doing that. They even let Brandon make his own.
Friday night before Halloween we carved the pumpkins. I forgot to mention Chloe had picked out some crazy gourd as one of her pumpkins. Warning: gourds are NOT fun to carve. I wouldn't really know, but it was awful watching Brandon trying to help her with that thing. Afterward, though, it made all the other pumpkins seem like a breeze.
And finally Halloween arrived. I lost the battle this year, but I'm not giving up. I've already signed up to help with a project for next year that is going to be a FUN, candy free, wholesome event (but don't tell Brandon!), so I have all year to convince my family that there is a better way.
At least as far as costumes go my children make pretty good choices. I've never had to deal with the dark/evil side of dressing up. Yes, I know "Alice in Wonderland" can be a little weird, but it's not frightening (unless you watch the new Tim Burton one, which I won't). So here is my cute little Alice, and Alice's sister.
I hope this post makes up for the lack of pictures from my last two posts!
The next day I had promised Sophie a trip to another pumpkin patch, because one pumpkin just doesn't cut it for them. Someone put this idea into their heads that we each need our own pumpkin. I don't like it, but that's not a battle worth fighting. We did have a fun time at the pumpkin patch, though. Chloe picked hers out pretty quick, but Sophie searched and searched for the perfect pumpkin. She even got out my keys which she used as some sort of a measuring tool, because it had to be just the right size. After all that she ended up getting one of the tiny 50 cent pumpkins. Then we spent some time playing in the hay maze. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we just lingered outside.
Grandma and Grandpa Nicholls sent a package of popcorn balls to decorate. They girls had a "ball" doing that. They even let Brandon make his own.
Friday night before Halloween we carved the pumpkins. I forgot to mention Chloe had picked out some crazy gourd as one of her pumpkins. Warning: gourds are NOT fun to carve. I wouldn't really know, but it was awful watching Brandon trying to help her with that thing. Afterward, though, it made all the other pumpkins seem like a breeze.
And finally Halloween arrived. I lost the battle this year, but I'm not giving up. I've already signed up to help with a project for next year that is going to be a FUN, candy free, wholesome event (but don't tell Brandon!), so I have all year to convince my family that there is a better way.
At least as far as costumes go my children make pretty good choices. I've never had to deal with the dark/evil side of dressing up. Yes, I know "Alice in Wonderland" can be a little weird, but it's not frightening (unless you watch the new Tim Burton one, which I won't). So here is my cute little Alice, and Alice's sister.
I hope this post makes up for the lack of pictures from my last two posts!
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