I'm Loving...




As February is fast approaching I thought I'd post about a few things I am loving right now:

1.) Getting back in the habit of going to the gym VERY EARLY in the morning. It is so
nice to start my day with exercise plus several of my good friends work out then as well and
it is great to a have a good chat first thing in the morning. I love it!

2.) Having a great new play list on my Ipod. Here are my top 5 song that I am loving:

-Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event

-1901 by Phoenix

-Show Me What I'm Looking For by Carolina Liar

-Calling All Skeletons by Alkaline Trio

-Love Me Dead by Ludo (A twisted song...but I like it)

3.) Green Beans with Toasted Pecans...I CRAVE this daily. It is super easy to make.

-Take frozen green beans (I use the good organic ones from Costco), microwave until
done, add a little bit of butter, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and a bunch of toasted
chopped pecans. HEAVENLY!!

My kids even love this (well everyone except for Ailey who won't eat anything.) Tyler took some to work for lunch and had co-workers wanting to know what he was eating and wanting to try it.

4.) Sonic Ice (it's an addiction)

5.) Freshly waxed eyebrows!! Aaaahhh.

****What are you loving...or listening to...right now?****

Overheard Conversation

On the rare occasion that I am able to observe my children unaware and hear what they are discussing...if they aren't fighting...then it's usually something amusing. Kameron and Ailey are the most humorous and this time was no different. I found them discussing Tyler's vasectomy.

I came upon them sitting at the kitchen table on Friday afternoon eating afternoon snack. Ailey was jabbering away and Kameron was ignoring her. Finally Kameron had had enough and said "AILEY!!" Ailey just continued to jabber on and I heard Kameron mutter "I wish I had a brother."

Ailey: "Well that's NEVER going to happen!"

Kameron: "How do YOU know?"

Ailey: "Because Mommy can't have any more babies in her tummy ever again."

Kameron: "Why?"

Ailey: "Because Daddy did something to himself and now no more babies in Mommy's tummy."

Kameron: "What does Dad have to do with anything?"

Ailey: "Well something KAMERON!! Because he did something to himself and now...(she clicked
her tongue twice)...no more babies!!

Kameron: O.k. then. What did he do?

Ailey: I. HAVE. NO. IDEA!!


Here's one last "Kameron-ism" for you today. Last night at the dinner table Kameron was telling us a disgusting tale about the small intestine only he kept referring to it as the "small in-testicle." Needless to say...Tyler, Reilly, and I were on the floor laughing. Don't worry an anatomy "refresher" soon followed.

There's a little slice of our lives for you today...Have a great Monday!!

Book Reviews

#64


Oh Robert Langdon...Why are you such an insufferable know-it-all? Not to mention a turtle-neck-wearing-patronizing-bore. (Men should NEVER wear turtlenecks...gag!) Oh Dan Brown...why must you use this punctuation (?!) incessantly?

I am also so tired of the female characters in these books. They are always described as intelligent women...the best in their fields...yet they are patronized by Langdon through out the entire book...and written so inanely by Brown. Why does Langdon seem to care so deeply for these women but by the next book they are forgotten and never heard from again?

This book was quite a let down. Dan Brown is an annoyingly formulaic writer...secret societies, scientific discoveries, religious mysteries, and creepy zealot villains. I really liked The Davinci Code but then I kept reading more of his books and they were all the same. This one is no different. Except that I saw everything coming from a mile away...and the ending just fizzled out. It was a complete letdown. This book should have ended about 50 pages before it actually did.

That said...it was interesting to "learn" about the Masons but I take everything with a grain of salt. I also enjoyed looking up historical sites and art work on the Internet...which was apparently Brown's intention. He practically begs us to do so...even telling a character to google a statue on her Blackberry (obviously for the slow-to-take-a-hint reader.) I found the premise of the book extremely intriguing but felt like Brown couldn't figure out how to pull it all together in the end.

Besides the weak writing, predictable plot, and dull lectures from Langdon...not too mention way too many references to his "toned physique" due to his morning laps in the Harvard pool (could I vomit?) I kept reading and wiled away a Saturday in the wonderful world of Washington DC, the Masons, and the Ancient Mysteries and had a pretty good time...until the end which was a total bust.

My rating: O.K. read it on a beach or by a pool this summer.

#65

Speaking of a bust...OH MY GOSH!!

From Amazon.com:

Following her breakout bestseller, The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger returns with Her Fearful Symmetry, a haunting tale about the complications of love, identity, and sibling rivalry. The novel opens with the death of Elspeth Noblin, who bequeaths her London flat and its contents to the twin daughters of her estranged twin sister back in Chicago. These 20-year-old dilettantes, Julie and Valentina, move to London, eager to try on a new experience like one of their obsessively matched outfits. Historic Highgate Cemetery, which borders Elspeth's home, serves as an inspired setting as the twins become entwined in the lives of their neighbors: Elspeth's former lover, Robert; Martin, an agoraphobic crossword-puzzle creator; and the ethereal Elspeth herself, struggling to adjust to the afterlife...--Brad Thomas Parsons

I was so looking forward to this book. It looked spooky and scary...about cemeteries and ghosts...things I normally do not enjoy reading about as I am a HUGE chicken and get creeped out very easily... that said it still looked like a good read. Throw in the fact that it arrived in the mail as a surprise from my husband...even better.

The book starts out fantastic...let's start with the title (I love William Blake), the sad death of the aunt with a mysterious background, the setting in London near spooky Highgate Cemetery, the inheritance of the strange twins. I nestled right down for a good read. But then things took a turn...and not for the better.

Unlike Dan Brown, Niffenegger's writing is wonderful...her prose elegant and beautiful. On the other hand, like Brown, her plot is mysterious and intriguing and unfortunately like Dan Brown her ending was a letdown...wait...let me take it a step further. It was laughable. The last third of the book had me rolling my eyes and saying "You've GOT to be kidding me!!" By the ending I was saying "What the @#$%?" Not to give anything away but crows people? Then I was left saying "ridiculous".

This "twisty tale" turns out to be another instance of a book that started out great and then by the end it felt like the author had no idea how to end this crazy tale or redeem any of it's unlikeable and dull characters. You are left with more questions than answers...the history of Elsbeth and Edie for one. I feel like this tale could have gone in many other more interesting directions and I wish that it did so because there was a much more interesting tale that could have been told.

Things I liked...writing style, setting, Martin (the one character worth rooting for), and Highgate Cemetery.

My rating: A BIG disappointment.

Last Week


There were lots of exciting going-ons last week. First, Reilly was in her first middle school musical. The 7th and 8th grade drama classes put on a production. Reilly got to act, sing ("Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield...with a couple other girls), and dance (ballet). Reilly also was a choreographer. She really did a fantastic job.

Here is Reilly in one of her costumes...very cute!

Ailey wanted to be just like her big sister so she found this outfit in the dress-up box.

Second, Reilly tried out for and made drill team. She was so exited and can't wait to get her pom poms!!

Third, Ailey is loosing teeth like crazy!! When she just had one front tooth dangling she looked just like a little street urchin from a Charles Dickens story.

FINALLY that horrible little dangler fell out!

Cute little toothless grin!

Bryn's New Trick



Behold...the STINKY FACE!! All of our kids have done this hilarious face with the accompanying sniffing. It doesn't fail to amuse 4 kids later.

For your viewing pleasure...ENJOY!!

For Kirk

Me and my nemesis.

***UPDATE: I don't need surgery. Thank goodness for priesthood blessings...I managed to "dodge a bullet"... AND as of today (Friday) I get to get out of the sling. Yay!

My Lame Injury (and My Psychotic Break)


The day after Christmas was a beautiful day. My family, my Mom, Ken, Kelley and Elle headed to the lake to spend the day with my Grandma, my Aunt Marji and Uncle Dennis, some cousins, my Uncle Steve and Aunt Margaret, my Uncle John and Aunt Ade, and Stacey and her kids.

The weather was gorgeous; the lake was frozen; the ice skates were out; and a pot of chili was bubbling on the stove. Perfection. Reilly and Kameron were out on the ice all day having a great time skating and pushing each other in the Norwegian sled (which may or may not actually be Norwegian but that is what we call it) with their Birch cousins.

Even my blind grandma was bundled up earlier in the day and taken for a ride on the sled by my Aunt and Uncle and had the time of her life.

After lunch everyone hit the ice again. Across the lake, next to the cliffs, were some neat ice formations we all went to see and some perfect ice for skating...completely smooth. Everyone headed across the lake...even the little guys. Ailey, Dane, and River all got pulled in sleds. Bryn even rode in her own little sled and napped.

I pulled a sled across the lake and then put on my skates...the same ones I got for Christmas in 6th grade to ice skate on the pond in Springdell. Now it had been a few years since I skated due to crappy ice on the lake and pregnancy etc. so I was very out of practice but excited to skate.

I started out very slow but as the day progressed I felt like I was getting my ice skating mojo going and was feeling ever-so-springdellgirl-like. The day was so much fun that Tyler and I looked at each other and our kids having a ball in a gorgeous setting and said our oft-quoted comment of "And this is why we live here!!" Sometimes during cold gray winters we need reminders of why we moved up North and aren't in the warm sunny South.

Bryn went for a ride with me on the Norwegian sled and loved it!! I went for a wild ride pushed by Reilly.


Tyler and I watched my Aunt Marji and Uncle Dennis pairs skating around the lake and said "We want to be like that when we grow up" (I actually think we said "older") tomato/tamato right?
So you're getting that the day was idyllic right? Just as the sun was heading down behind the cliffs we decided to go back to our side of the lake. I had the BRILLIANT idea that instead of putting my boots back on and walking across the lake I would skate back...now that I was getting in the ice skating groove and all. I mean I hadn't even fallen once. Surely it would be a piece of cake. Big mistake. HUGE.

I skated back with my aunt and was chatting away...another large mistake. We weren't too far from shore when suddenly I noticed that my feet were no longer on the ice but that I was some how parallel to the ice and flying through the air and then...KABOOM!! I really have no idea how I landed. Very bizarre. I didn't land on my back or my butt. I have one odd bruise on the back of my right calf. Apparently I landed full-force on my left wrist.

As I sat on the ice dazed and semi-hysterical (part laughing/part crying) my aunt was trying to haul me to my feet... but it wasn't happening. Tyler had to come rescue me on the sled and he dragged me the rest of the way to shore. My mom put an ace bandage on my wrist but it felt like I was being stabbed with a hot poker and I had to take it off. Tyler and I drove to a nearby little town to get a wrist brace because I thought that I had just sprained it. By the time Tyler got back in the car with the brace I couldn't move my wrist or even lift it and I had gone into shock. Tyler quickly drove another 20 minutes to a bigger town with a hospital while periodically yelling at me "Are you in shock?" and trying to help stop my teeth from chattering.

We got right in at the ER and after a warm blanket or two I began to feel a bit more with it. We found out that I had broken my wrist in two places. I had chipped a chunk off my ulna and I had a crack clear across my radius. I got a huge pain med shot in the butt and then got my arm put in a big bulky splint from my upper arm to my fingertips.

Tyler thought a picture of this whole hellish process would be great for the blog. Here I am looking pathetic...it wasn't hard.

After that we headed back to the lake and I extremely drugged. I know that I had conversations with people (I have no clue what about) and I vaguely recall eating a potsticker and watching Tyler play pool...but that's about it .

A couple days later the real drama began...wherein I had my psychotic break. ;)

Fast forward to the Orthopedic Surgeon's office where I went to get my hard cast put on. I had despised my huge splint and felt extremely confined in it and had told Tyler that if I started freaking out that he had to help me get out of it and then help me re-wrap it. My main fear going to the doctor's was that he was going to put me in a long arm cast where I couldn't bend my arm AND...of course that's what he said. Here comes the first part of my meltdown. I began crying and saying I couldn't do that...I needed to be able to move my arm and bend my elbow. He eventually agreed to put me in a short cast and a sling that I would have to wear 24 hours a day but he said that I would be "going against medical advice" and he said that hopefully I would be able to "dodge a bullet" but that if my bones didn't heal properly I would need surgery and would end up in a long arm cast anyway. More tears ensued because I'm not exactly the kind of person who goes against medical advice or who has a meltdown in the doctor's office!!

I went home feeling extremely confined and panicky even being in a short cast. By about 8pm that night things had gotten worse and I had a full-fledged panic attack...something I've never had before and hope to never have again. I've always heard about them and I guess I have sort of thought that maybe people were exaggerating. MY SINCERE APOLOGIES!! It was horrible. I felt like I couldn't breathe...literally gasping for air. I felt like I was having chest pains and was about to die. Rationally I knew that I must have been having a panic attack but that knowledge didn't make it stop or go away. Tyler told the kids that he and I were going for a drive...because I didn't want to freak them out and luckily they had no clue. He drove me to a nearby emergent care place and talked to the nurse who suggested I make an appointment with my Primary Care physician. The cold night air kind of helped me to breathe better. Tyler gave me a blessing and we went home and I was able to sleep. The next morning Tyler called my doctor and explained the situation and I got right in for an appointment.

So here's the deal: I have "cast claustrophobia" (actually not that uncommon.) Weird. I don't know what brought all this on. I do have claustrophobia but it hasn't prohibited me from doing things. I've had casts twice before and never had a problem. So who knows? The human mind is a mysterious thing. The panic attack and anxiety could have been caused by the pain medication I was taking. The same kind of pain medication I took after my c-section that caused me to snore in mid-sentence with my eyes wide open and that caused me to yell at people to "be quiet" when no one was making any noise. So it could be that I don't react well to that medication. The doctor also felt that it could've been brought on by feelings of being overwhelmed and feeling like the cast would make it difficult to care for Bryn. Who knows? She prescribed some anti-anxiety medication and a tranquilizer type drug to take if I have another panic attack. I guess the anti-anxiety medicine can take a few weeks to kick in. I went off the pain medication and only took Tylenol and felt much better. I did start taking the anti-anxiety medication and will take it while I am in my cast...which I loathe and detest every minute of the day. So far no more panic attacks.

I always knew that I would end up medicated some day...I just thought it would be during Reilly's dating years not due to a stinking broken arm!! Who knows maybe I've needed this for years and never knew!! I might be just delightful on medication. So far it's too soon to tell. I'll keep you posted. :)

BTW: Tyler is the best husband ever!! He has been completely loving and supportive through all my craziness. The man "gets" me even when I am acting like a lunatic. For better or worse right? I love you Ty!!

Christmas 2009 & New Years Too!!


We had a great Christmas this year although it arrived way too fast! I swear the Christmas season gets shorter and shorter every year. This year was extra special as it was Bryn's first Christmas. She loved the tree and all the lights and decorations. But Santa scared the heck out of her! She was screaming bloody murder at our church Christmas party!!


We had our own Christmas Eve at our house and it was a fun night of fantastic food (cheese and chocolate fondues) and fun. I love Christmas Eve it is my very favorite part of Christmas.

Four VERY excited kids!!

Opening Jammies

Bryn and the mesmerizing candy-striped wrapping paper

Cute sisters

The kids put on a little Nativity Pageant with Reilly as the narrator, Ailey as Mary, Kameron as Joseph and Bryn as an absolutely HYSTERICAL baby Jesus. The kids were thrilled to have a real baby and not have to use a doll this year and Bryn just ate up the attention!!

Bryn just chillin' in the manger...She loved it!!

Then we all posed for the traditional jammie picture and as usual things took a turn for the crazy.

Christmas Eve went into the wee hours of the morning...waiting for Santa...and waiting out Bryn who wanted to party all night long!!

Two tired parents and one wide-awake baby who loves to wave!!

This was the "present of the year"...we finally caved.

To soften the blow of breaking down and giving in...one of my gifts from Tyler was this:

OH MY GOSH!! I can't even begin to tell you how much fun and family togetherness this game has brought us. We have been karaoke-ing fools since Christmas!!

Here the songs we ROCK:

Tyler: I Ran (So Far Away) - Flock of Seagulls (Got a perfect score!)

Kristin: The Logical Song - Supertramp (got a perfect score...who knew?)

Reilly: Any song on there

Kameron: Human - The Killers

Ailey: Pocketful of Sunshine- Natasha Bedingfield

Half the fun has come from designing our alter-egos and watching them perform. Ha!!

Christmas Day we drove up to my mom's house and stayed for the rest of Christmas weekend.

My cute mom frosting her Christmas Red Velvet Cake...I do declare that it was delicious!!

Our Christmas Dinner of choice this year was a big sushi-fest. Lots of us in our family requested deep-fryers this Christmas for just this purpose of making tempura-battered sushi. Truly the best thing EVER!! My pictures end here because everyone was put to work for the sushi-fest. We had a small rice debacle but everything turned out great in the end.

Ken and Reilly slicing and dicing...Elle and Kelley in the background.

New Years

Our New Years Eve this year was probably one of our best...barring my unfortunate injury that occurred the day after Christmas (this needs a post of it's own for all the drama that ensued.) But back to New Years Eve...Reilly was performing in our town's First Night Celebration...which I loathe!! (First Night...not Reilly's dancing) I simply despise paying to wander around downtown in freezing weather watching lame performers (again not Reilly of course)...bringing home bags of my kids' crafty-crap made from stuff I loathe...feathers, glitter, pipe cleaners which they will not chuck the next day, listening to constant whining about how much their feet hurt while a weird guy on stilts tries to show me rope tricks or pull a quarter from behind my ear. I. SIMPLY. HATE. IT!!

This year it worked out great. Reilly had two performances...so we found us some seats...took the kids around just to the stuff that was in that room, bribed them to keep them from wanting to wander around by buying them cheapy glowing light sabers which they used to fight one another which kept them quite entertained between performances and I was kept happy by munching on a big bag of cotton candy. Yum. Best candy ever.

I wasn't the only one who loves her a little cotton candy:

Brynnie was chowing down. The cotton candy people even tucked a wet-nap in the bag too! Score. Undoubtedly a mother thought of that brilliant idea!!

Reilly was fun to watch as usual...very beautiful. Here she is posing.

I would include the video but Tyler had some difficulty filming what with Bryn and the cotton candy and all...and we mostly got a delightful movie of some guy's big fat head!!

We decided to bag the rest of First Night...bag going home to cook up a bunch of gourmet treats...and headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant were we laughed and ate and had a great time!! We headed home to play about two or three hours worth of games...and rang in 2010.

No this wasn't a repeat of last year's bust...where Ailey spent the evening crying and whining... Tyler and I fell asleep at 10 pm...and Reilly and Kameron toasted the New Year together and took horribly hideous photos of their parents sleeping.

This year we were having such a good time that everyone stayed awake except for Bryn and Ailey who crashed around 11:30. We were having such a fantastic time with our older kids that after toasting the new year we kept playing games until 2 am!!

From Our House To Yours... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ya'll come back now...ya'hear!! :)

Happy New Year

A new look for the ol'blog. Stay tuned for the holiday wrap up...the latest with our family...AND the latest way that I have injured myself.

P.S. New Years Resolution for 2010: blog more

P.P.S the FABULOUS photographer Misty Alger is doing a contest on her photography blog and having readers pick their favorite picture out of 25 pictures...Bryn is one of the 25 pictures. Vote for her!! She's #24. Misty will randomly select one of you voters for a free photo shoot!! (If you live in my area, the Seattle area, and I believe she even included the Salt Lake area.) What a great prize!!

Christmas Tree Cutting Day


While we were at my mom's house for Thanksgiving we went and got our Christmas tree. This year we cut our tree down out in the wild. We drove about 20 minutes from the Canadian Border...got a permit for $5...and headed out into the woods to find two perfect trees.

It was gorgeous out in the woods...no snow yet...cold but bearable. Speaking of bearable...we were very close to a grizzly bear protected area. Scary. But it was really nice to be out hiking in the fresh air and seeing all the gorgeous scenery.

Off we go!

Ken looking a little scary with that hand saw.

The perfect tree

Ken teaching Kameron to cut off all the dead branches at the bottom.

Looks good!!

After hauling both trees back through the woods we were starving so we had a little tailgate party at the cars.

Mom, Kris and Bryn, Kelley and Elle sitting around the heater.

Everything tastes so good out in the woods...even Thanksgiving leftovers.

Bryn was a trooper. She loved it out there. She didn't make a peep. She loved looking around and hanging out in the woods.

We had a great time and are already making plans for next year's adventure!!