Misc. Christmas

I've done my best this month keeping track of fun things to tell you, Blog. You're the one I feel comfiest talking to, so curl up and listen up. ;)

So I found this gem of a sweatshirt at Ross sometime during the weeks before Christmas. I've been using it as festive loungewear.

I don't think the clothing designer intended to send such a grim message. I mean, it's a cute picture and all. But really. Think about it. What is Santa's relationship with cookies and milk?! The poor things. And they look so eager to receive their portly "pal".

 

 

Speaking of which, at our church Christmas party we watched video clips of Primary kids answering seasonal questions. A 4-year-old girl was asked, "Does Santa have any helpers?" She said yes. Then the follow-up question. "Who helps Santa?" I'm sure everyone was expecting her to say elves, but after a moment of contemplation she sweetly replied, "his mom."  =) I couldn't help but laugh out loud. 

 

While I'm on the subject of things kids say... This is a convo my sister overheard her boys (15 and 13) sharing while decorating the Christmas tree. I've borrowed her exact Facebook post...

 

Ethan (pulling out an ornament with a picture of Isaac in 2nd grade): Awww, look at that smiling face! Whatever happened to that cheerful, happy kid?

Isaac: That was before I learned what a cold, dark place the world is.

 

Ha!

 

Here's a little holiday cheer from Jane. She was about to attend a church activity that involved caroling. She did not want to go. I had to casually fetch a pen and paper after she spouted this:

"I hate caroling! I hate everything about it! I wish I could throw up on the person that invented it!"

 

She went, and later reported that she had only mouthed the words. I think she felt like she won. Silly girl.



 

My holiday decor will probably never fall under the category of elegant. I tend to lean toward the mishmash-Christmas look.

 

Tacky to some; cheerful and okay by me.



On the 15th, we attended a Christmas play written and directed by my 8th grade ex, Kevin. He's a good Christian fella. I think he invited all of his Facebook friends to attend the production. I like to support friends (and/or family) in their artistic endeavors, so I took Ryan with me to see it.

Kevin is the same kid I hounded for months after he dumped me for his pastor's daughter, Cherry.
I don't think he was prepared for my dramatic reaction. Not only did I pass him desperate, tear-stained notes of anguish between classes, I also faintly remember taping a bunch of construction paper broken hearts all over his locker one particularly rough afternoon. I'm sure that stunt alone made him seriously consider taking me back. =)

It's just that we were 13, and I refused to let my wild crush on him be extinguished without a good deal of kicking and screaming. ;) After all, at the height of our 2 week (at most) "relationship", he wrote that he felt safe with me. Ha! How in all the halls of Fairmont Jr. High could my impressionable teenybopper mind be expected to dismiss those tenderly penned words?! =)
Lucky for him, he was let off the hook sometime in 9th grade when I started chasing Alan, a nice boy with slicked back hair, pegged jeans, and a weakness for cheap cologne. Alan was my first kiss. I won't chronicle what happened after he dumped me for Mary. =)

I can't believe I'm admitting to this behavior now. (Not that I've changed much over the years... heh-heh...) I guess I never learned my lesson. This *might* explain why I never (ever) got back together with any boy after we broke up the first time. I made sure of that. ;) 

Wow, talk about a tangent. Anyway, the play was good, the crew was good, it was a nice evening. It's always fun to see people accomplish great things.

Okay, now let's end on some other note so as to not leave my junior high antics too fresh on anyone's mind. I wouldn't want anyone having nightmares. =^o

Friday the 21st, Ryan and I went to see The Hobbit with some of his family members. It was so good! I loved the sets and the acting, among other things. I keep forgetting how much I like Martin Freeman (who plays the part of Bilbo Baggins). He is just so likeable. I realized the other day that he plays Dr. Watson in the Sherlock TV series, so Ryan and I have begun watching that together. The first installment was entertaining, and it helps that Sherlock is played by a Benedict Cumberbatch. What an awesome name!

That's it for now. Can't believe December is all but over, and the new year is set to commence. Maybe I should compile a list of empty resolutions...

 

 

 





Ninjabread Men

Per Shannonish tradition, cutout cookies were yet again baked and lovingly draped with frosting and sprinkles, just in the nick of time for Christmas.

(yawn) These were nothing out of the ordinary.

A little good lighting goes a long way. =) 

 

I found a fun new ninjabread men cookie set this year, complete with 4 uniquely posed cutters. Standing at the store, staring slack-jawed at the box, I could do nothing else but buy it and take it home.

I knew it would come in handy sometime, but I didn't know when. I couldn't imagine straying from my typical goody-two-shoes style gingerbread people, but...

 

...a few weeks later I gave it a shot...

 

Which ones do you prefer? 

Things my kids draw.

Just thought I'd share some recent masterpieces made by my kiddies.

 

 

Jane drew and colored this Moshi Monster mural as Halloween was approaching...

 

I thought she did an awesome job. I know I'm her mom and I'm expected to be utterly impressed with her skills, but I really think she has a gift. I'm always excited to see what she does next. If she's this good at age 9, I can only imagine she'll get even better. She puts so much care and detail into her work. It's just so crisp!

Cora drew the elf below. =)

She doesn't like drawing as much as Jane does, but I think she's definitely on the right track. She makes some pretty cute stuff.

 

Here's another of Jane's holiday pictures...

 





 

She drew these cute elves just by looking at them on the computer. It takes some talent to get the proportions right, and that she did.

 

 



The girls are very interested in Monster High dolls, so they decided to design a series of their own.

 

I can tell Jane is my daughter when one of her drawings has candy corn adornments...

 



 

 

Cora drew the one on top, second from the left. Jane made the rest. Then she taped them all on her wall like this.

Let's not leave Oliver out. Here's one he brought home from church. It's now displayed on our fridge. He's just starting to get the hang of coloring. He never was interested in it until he started preschool. And I think it helps that he frequently sees his sisters engaged in artsy activity.

I like the wide smiles and hypnotic eyes. =) This picture struck me as kind of ironic. I wonder why the person who designed it decided to depict two boys and a girl. Is it some kind of juvenile love triangle? Planned that way or not, I agree with the message. I wish big people were as quick to forgive as little children are. Kids are amazing that way.
Speaking of amazing kids, Oliver just leaned over and asked why I took a picture of that. "It has girls in it! Dumb girls! She looks dumb!"  =) And I suppose he thinks the boys look totally brilliant? Sheesh.

Oliver has been practicing writing his name a lot lately. I think it's cute. And he is a confirmed lefty. I saw signs of it before he even turned two, but now I'm positive his left hand is his dominant one.

 

He's obviously taken lessons from Jane on the proper way to dot an "i". =)  I wonder what his preschool and primary teachers think.

 

Well, that's it for now.

 

SO... WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY KIDS' SKILLS?!

 

Facebook Hates Me

I don't know what I did to deserve it, but Facebook really gets a kick out of teasing me.

If I've already shared this tidbit before, please forgive me. It's classic Facebook vs. Shannon material, so I'm risking telling the story twice. But I really don't think I previously told you (you = my blog).

One time I made a comment on someone's post, and after some passage of time I noticed a tiny blue thumbs-up next to what I'd typed. That kind gesture warmed my heart through to the bone. Of course I wanted to see who had approved of my super-funny comment, so I casually let the cursor hover over the "like". Imagine my dismay when no name was displayed -- just an eye-opening, demotivating note: "No one currently likes this." Awww, dang. What a cruel prank to make me think someone liked what I said. =/ Ha ha. Very funny, FACEBOOK.

Another time while perusing the daily FB news feed I purposefully clicked "like" on a friend's humorous photo. The following message immediately popped up: "You don't have sufficient permissions to do that."  Seriously??? Not only are my comments largely unliked, but now I'm not allowed to like anyone else's posts?!

These incidents may possibly be linked to the reason I'm not a fan of the "like" button in general. I think it's kind of a cop-out. Without an actual comment at least briefly explaining what the person thinks about the topic, who's to know it's not just a sympathy click? And how does anyone know for sure that the"like" button was intentionally pressed in the first place? I'm sorry, but I think it's kinda lazy to simply "like" an adorable photo or thoughty post. It doesn't mean I don't sometimes resort to clicking it myself when I can't think of anything clever to type, but I never do so without a hearty dose of hypocritical guilt.

I don't like to make it a habit of repeating my "good material", so I usually save it for my blog. That means I don't post much on Facebook. Maybe it's a subconscious fear of judgment or worry over the inevitable silent rejection from loads of familiar people. Or it could have something to do with the fact that Facebook itself enjoys picking on me! Every time my ego gets a nice boost, I know to soon expect an emotional smackdown of equal or greater value. It all evens out, and that's why I'm the same insecure girl at the end of each day. Poor little Shan. Oh well. At least I can laugh at myself in the process. =)

While on the topic of Facebook, it's a sad fact that social networking (along with texting and online chatting) is rapidly taking the place of personal, face to face communication. For example, my sister was recently at a store when she saw a couple she hadn't seen in years, even prior to the days of easy internet stalking. As they acknowleged one another, she expected to pause and have a bit of friendly conversation with them. It was not to be. Instead, they basically breezed past as they spoke to her. They commented on how cute my sister's new baby is (the carseat was draped with a blanket, obscuring any possible view of said cute infant). But since they're friends of hers on Facebook, they'd already "seen" the new wee one, and felt like they'd been sufficiently in touch just by trolling through pictures and status updates over time (maybe even occasionally going out on a limb and clicking "like" on something she'd posted!) This apparently left them feeling like there was nothing to catch up on, even though they had not seen each other in person for many years. Pret-ty sad...

How do we stop this?! I don't know, but I have the feeling it's only going to get worse.

Sorry this wasn't very short.






 

Horrible

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if everyone, everywhere, made it a personal goal to NOT KILL ANYONE, anymore? Would that be too much to ask? 

What a horrible thing murder is. I've shed many tears for the Sandy Hook victims and their families this week. Every time I've seen a group of little kids, or heard a child cry, or watched one of my own children sleep, I've been haunted by thoughts of those innocent first graders who were so violently robbed of the rest of their lives. The whole nation mourns together with Newtown. I doubt there has ever been a more upsetting tragedy. I can't think of a severe enough punishment for the crime committed.

Now everyone is heartbroken, and people are scared that it will happen again. It feels like a nightmare that won't end. In a way, it'd be kind of nice if the world ended tomorrow. It could happen any minute now ... but it won't. Not when anyone's expecting it.

I don't know how parents ever go on after losing a child. It's one thing if there is some warning, like a prolonged illness or something. In those cases the child at least passes safely. But how does anyone continue to live after their child is intentionally killed? I've been thinking of all the mothers and fathers worldwide who have ever had to endure that agony, and I am so sad for them all.

=(

Upper Crust

Oh, what the heck... I think I'll produce some short posts for a change. It's a bit of a hypocritical thing for me to do, considering I'm often left unfulfilled and disappointed by the briefness of other blog entries I read. Oh well, I'll try to forgive myself somehow.

I think for this one I'll lump a few similar events OUT of chronological order, just to be crazy. I know what you're thinking. This is going to be another one of her long posts.

Nuh-uh...

Okay then, I'd better get to the point quickly.

The similar element in the events I'll list below this crust of an intro is Maria.

Last Saturday (Dec.1) Maria and I met up to attend the annual Christmas Show at the expo building at the fairgrounds. I don't know why it's called a "show". It really is misleading. It's just a bunch of vendors and hopeful entrepreneurs peddling their homespun crap. I mean, crafts. =) I like looking at stuff, and lots of it is really neat, but I feel guilty when I don't want to buy much of anything.
I would HATE sitting at one of those booths all day watching people point and laugh at my handiwork (the way Maria and I discreetly make fun of some of the odd things we encounter there).
I did buy some jams (apple pie, candied apple, and tomato basil) and a couple of cute Christmassy hair clippies for the girls.
It's always a welcome treat hanging out with Maria. We sure missed Renee this year. She's the one who chats up the vendors while Maria and I hang back and quietly take advantage of the free samples.

One Thursday near the middle of the month of October, Maria invited (begged) me to come to Burley with her so she could meet her cousin there so they could film an application video for
The Amazing Race. She has always wanted to be on the show, so she decided to give it a shot. Her gay cousin Trent has the same "impossible" dream. They are applying as a team.

I can already tell this is getting more wordy than I'd anticipated... =/

When we arrived in beautiful Burley, Idaho, we met her cousin at the most logical of locations, a restaurant called The Upper Crust.

We ate lunch, then moseyed across the street to a park of sorts where I filmed the two introducing themselves to the camera. It was fun hearing them share little stories about each other. They both have such appealing personalities, I don't see how they wouldn't get picked! Fingers crossed.
They submitted their application the beginning of November, and now all they can do is hope and wait.

Two days after the day trip to Burley, our friend Beca (from high school) was in town from Utah. She graced us with her presence for breakfast at Rembrandt's Saturday morning. It was all kinds of fun catching up with her. She's quite a peppy individual. I so enjoy the company of lively pals such as these. They are intricately woven into the crispy upper crust of my consciousness.

Sorry if that wasn't short enough. I'll try harder next time. I'm honestly trying to stop being such a windbag on here. =)

Nagging Aspirations

 

 I have been so busy trying to stay out of trouble!

 

Good news! It's been two, count 'em, two months since I decided to discontinue a couple of not-so-good, selfish habits. I didn't think I could do it. It's still not easy, but I've been successful so far. Yay for me.

 

Here are a few things I've been doing to keep my discretionary time more productive.

 

I'm making it an official goal to start a new journal. It's been a few years since I finished up the only measly one I have. That one covered 10 years.

I thought my blog could be a good substitute for an actual hand-written account of my little existence, but it just isn't. I have too dang many things rolling around in my brain that don't exactly belong on here, and I needn't keep them cooped up any longer. I could start a separate blog that only I can see, but I'd be too afraid of accidentally publishing one of my long, awkward discourses. ;)  So I will keep my history the old fashioned way. Then maybe I won't feel the need to share vague personal accomplishments here anymore. What will that be like?!?!?

 

Let's see... what's next?

 

I signed up to volunteer at Jane's school every Monday afternoon while Oliver is at preschool.  

 

I now have my first gym membership. I figured it was time to try something different. The sporadic at-home "workouts" haven't been too beneficial, if you consider idly riding the stationary bike while watching shows on Netflix a workout.

My across-the-street neighbor is always going to the gym, and she mentioned more than once that if I ever felt like signing up I could go with her. I thought about it for a while, then signed up for the free 7-day trial. By the second day, they had me make it official. Jerks. They didn't even let me have my free week! ;) Oh well, I guess I went into it with the intention of joining. But I like free samples!

I've attended four times with her (Chelsi) so far. She asked me last Monday if I wanted to do a class called BODYPUMP (yes, all caps) and I told her I'd go. I have a habit of agreeing to things without getting important details first, like how difficult something will be. This class kicked my trash. It was nearly an hour of weightlifting. Feats of skill I'd never tried before, a merciless shredding of muscles I didn't even know were there. For days afterward, my arms were practically dead to me. I thought maybe I'd ruined them forever, but I'm glad to report they've become functional again.

I think I'll like this change, especially if I get over feeling intimidated by all the super fit folks who live for the thrill of exercising. I'm hoping to enhance my chicken legs a bit, maybe firm up the ol' belly. Ya know, stuff like that.

I noticed yesterday that Chelsi went ahead and added me to a Facebook group called My Fit Friends, where people basically brag about how many Body Attack classes they took that day. I'm not sure I belong in such a group. Maybe I'll test the waters by posting something like this:

"Whew! I can hardly move after all my aerobic activities today. First I rode the stationary bike while simultaneously viewing an episode of Family Guy. All the chuckling instantly defined my budding six-pack! After that I skipped around my neighborhood twice (once forward, once backward). My goal is to never consume sugar again! Wish me luck, guys, I'll totes need your support to succeed. Later tonight I'm going to do the entire Sweatin' to the Oldies collection. I haven't even had time to change out of my purply unitard today. Workout or croak! That's my motto!"

 

Now put on your spiritual hat for my next nagging aspiration...

 

A few weeks ago, the ward family history consultant called me and asked if I was still interested in getting started with some research. I'd been challenged by the bishopric a while back to delve into the world of genealogy. I signed up on familysearch.org, and that was about it. The ball was collectively dropped until that phone call last month. Since then I've met with her a handful of times. Much needs to be done! We did find a marriage license application of my paternal grandparents on the site. That was pretty cool. The only info I have is a 4-generation pedigree chart, so it only goes back to my great-grandparents.

A few years before my dad's death, he had been anxiously gathering stories and names of ancestors. He was no longer involved in the church, but he was fascinated with family history. A couple of weeks ago I went through and read a bunch of his emails to me regarding the familial tidbits he'd discovered. He said he'd traced his family line back to the 1700s. Unfortunately, we didn't ever get that information from him. It's supposedly stored in his attic. In Arizona. His wife still lives there, but she won't speak to any of us kids (long story). That means we don't have any way of obtaining it. The family history lady who is helping me advised me to make it a matter of prayer. So I will do my best. If prayer and I can't get through to her, maybe my uncle (who lives in AZ near her) will have better luck.

I hope we can fill in the gaps in my family tree. As I read the words my dad sent to me a decade ago, I just had to cry. He wrote, "I feel like someone or something is pulling me into these investigations, and I have a strong sense that I don't have much time to do this, so I'm keeping after it."

I wish I would have shown more interest then and made sure all the info got sent to us. I'm sure it will all work out eventually, but just knowing how easy it would have been to get it then makes me want to kick myself now.





My last aspiration for this post...

I have a whole box of unpersonalized cards and letter-writing materials just waiting to be purposefully scribbled upon and sent to people. My goal for the next while is to pick a person a week to send a piece of snail mail to, anonymously or not. These cards aren't doing any good sitting in the cupboard! Unless there's an Indian in there who fancies collecting stationery. =)

I have a gob of other things I'd love to accomplish, too.
But I don't want to bite off more than I can chew.
I'll give an update on my progresses soon.



Halloween Fun

Okay, here's Halloween.

The Saturday before the actual holiday we attended a church dinner/trunk or treat. We were forced to dine outside since the gym had previously been reserved. That made for a chilly party, so it was lucky we had hot chili and baked taters to feed on as we eyeballed everyone's costumes. I always enjoy seeing people in disguise. And I also enjoy eating.

Cora decided to be a raccoon this year. Ryan so graciously agreed to apply her makeup. Here she is with one of her church friends...

The friend is supposed to be Katniss Everdeen (from Hunger Games)

I guess I didn't take any other pictures at the church party (shame on me!) so we'll now skip ahead to Halloween itself.

As usual, I had a tricky time deciding what to be. I thought about being something scary this year since I've never gone that route before. Of course I couldn't totally stray from my predictable self, so I settled on a get-up that was both creepy and cute. Although, based on the reactions I got, I think it was more on the creepy side.

As I was debating about my costume, I kept coming back to my prized red and white gingham dress. I wanted to make use of it somehow. I told Maria that I was considering just being a doll, and she suggested I take it a step further and be a Lalaloopsy doll. I liked that idea. The only problem was, they have buttons for eyes. And they don't have noses. I like to copy things as closely as possible when it comes to costumes, so I wasn't sure how I could make this idea work. But as Halloween got nearer and nearer, I decided just to go with it. I figured, They are popular enough that people will know what I am. Even if I have a needless nose and normal, human eyes.




I think Lalaloopsy dolls are so adorable. They are supposed to be rag dolls, which explains the buttons for eyes. They're available in all different color schemes, and each comes with cute, coordinating accoutrements.

Anyway, this was the best I could do...

 I tried to make my lips look neutral so the black smile would show up better. I thought about slicing them off (along with my nose) to make the costume more accurate, but I ran out of time.
This was the one time in my life when having invisible eyebrows has come in handy.
I didn't plan for my bangs to be quite so sideswept, but they kind of froze that way in the midst of leaning and having my hair coated in blue. I had hoped for a more vibrant hue. I was kind of bummed it didn't show up very well. 

I'm so annoyed that my shirt is sticking out of my dress. How maddening. I didn't want to wear a coat over my costume, so I wore a few layers underneath. I may as well have worn a turtleneck! ;)

 

 

Oliver was Batman, Jane was Draculaura (daughter of Dracula, a Monster High doll).
I tried to suggest some costume ideas for Ryan this year again, but he keeps insisting he's not fun. He's just not the costume-wearing type. I nearly never pass up the chance to dress up. What with all the wonderful dresses and fancy pants I own, I've gotta get my money's worth somehow. I wouldn't want all my thrift store purchases to go to waste.

We had some extra family join us for trick or treating in our neighborhood. Two of Ryan's sisters and their kids.

The cousinly bunch.

The white lines on her lip are supposed to be fangs. She wouldn't go for those uncomfy plastic vampire teeth, so we had to improvise. They looked better in person. =)

And here I am out on the streets... 

Happy Halloween, little children! I'll be waiting for you in your worst nightmares!

 

To my credit, one trick-or-treater girl asked me if I was a Lalaloopsy doll. I was so happy I could have hugged her, but thought her mom might have frowned upon that and/or called the police. =)

 

This was the first year I let Cora go begging for candy with her friends. The one stipulation was that they stay in our neighborhood. That was a real turning point for me. One of my kids is old enough to trick-or-treat without her mommy! =/  She seemed happy about it. I suggested it to her before she even had to ask.  That way I was able to avoid the heartbreak of her asking if she could go with her pals instead of me. ;)

My hair was so crispy, it didn't feel real. It was like wicker. This pic of my back is almost as creepy as the front view.

 

The day before Halloween I posted a Facebook plea for someone, anyone, to help fill my hair with sponge curlers. A gal from church agreed to it, bless her dear heart.

She finished putting them in at about 10pm on the night before, and I left them in until about 3pm Halloween. I was afraid the ringlets would become droopy if I took the curlers out too early.

 

 

This was just after coming in from the cold. That's why my nose is pink and my eyes are watery.
 

I went to all the work to dress up, so I had to make sure and take enough pictures... My great grandchildren will really appreciate all these gems.

As you can see, trick-or-treating was a success.

Jane is a great candy organizer.



I was sick of the clown cheeks and serrated smile, so I wiped those off and again grabbed the camera.

These pictures kind of weirded me out. But not nearly as much as the ones with the mouth makeup.

It's funny how hair (color, length, style) and makeup completely change the way a person looks.

I don't even look like me. Or do I? Is this what I look like?

Anyway, Halloween was a scream as usual. I sure hope yours was too. =D

Bummer!

 

 

I'm so swamped with stuff I want to type about! I feel like I haven't had enough chances lately to let my freak flag fly online. Darn! Oh well, it's probably better that way. I'm realizing more and more each time I share my thoughts here or on Facebook (and get crickets in reply) that most of my acquaintances are correct in their belief that I'm a tad bit off my rocker.

On that note, I have some dreadful news to report. You might want to sit down for this...

Due to internal difficulties (I forget the details) PBS will NOT be broadcasting this year's Hymns of Thanksgiving concert on TV as they have done the other nine times. That's right. Everyone has to put clothes on and come down to the local hockey rink if they want to experience this breathtaking evening of gratitude-themed ditties. I guess they decided Idaho doesn't need thousands of her slothful citizens watching this musical presentation on TV from the comfort of their own form-fitting sofas on Thanksgiving night. But it'll be fine. People will come if they know what's good for them. If the chorus sings and the orchestra plays, the masses will gather, maybe even hand in hand, and they will enjoy the wonderful show.

Let's face it, I'm not prepared to be a television star at this point in my life anyway. I don't have gobs of time to be out signing autographs and dodging paparazzi at the shopping mart. Maybe next year I'll be ready. And perhaps PBS will have its little snafu resolved by then. To be honest, it is a little bit of a relief that I will for sure not be caught on camera singing the wrong words. =)

I'm sad the choir is over in a few days. It's been awesome participating in such a large group. With all the familiar faces, the phenomenal directors and heavenly music, it's been a delight and a wholesome treat. I love all the songs we're singing. LOVE them. They really are inspiring and powerful. And I don't mean lame and boring. This has been the perfect thing for me to be involved in at this time in my life. The touching lyrics and beautiful 4 part (or more) harmonies have woven their way into my soul for a combined 26 hours over the last six weeks. This choir has made a huge difference for me. Singing with a choir lifts my spirits (dare I say) more than anything else can. I'm SO grateful I got to be a part of this. I'll miss it, but I hope to make this a yearly tradition. I'm super glad I finally remembered to apply before it was too late. I'm almost afraid for it to end because it's been so good for me. I promised myself I wouldn't cry, so I'M NOT GOING TO.  At least not right now.

 

Come to the concert. If you're thankful for anything, come. =)

 

My baby is 5

Ollie had a jolly birthday on Sunday, October 28th. He's growing up too darn fast for his mama. 

 

We have 9:00 church, so we waited until afterward to let him open presents. I was surprised how patient he was.

He picked the biggest gift first. Naturally.

 





Notice Jane's reaction. =)

 

A neato sea creatures set!

 

 

My apologies for the shadowy pictures. It was all happening so quickly I didn't have my wits about me to move him away from the bright light behind him. My mom would be so ashamed of me.


On to the next present...

A cool great white/ killer whale set. I think he liked it. =)

An Optimus Prime that's easy to transform.

Hooray for birthday presents!

Later that evening, we had lots of family over for a pizza dinner (Oliver's fave), cake and ice cream. It was good to have everyone come to our house and hang out. My brother in law, Eric (the super chef) was gracious enough to make a huge vat of pizza dough so we could all enjoy various homemade pizza pies.

Oliver & Fletcher, with Paislie in the background

Expensive Kid

During the past year, Oliver has:

1. Lost my wedding ring. It happened last November, and it's still missing. =/

2. Broken my camera. What makes it worse is I watched it happen. =/ That camera served me well for about 5 years.

3. Crippled my netbook. I came upstairs a couple of weeks ago and saw that it had *somehow* fallen on the floor when in the open position. Holding my breath and hoping for the best, I tenderly scooped it up to assess the damage. It still turns on and will go online, but the screen is all wonky. =(  I don't know if it's repairable. Ryan said I could bring our old monster-sized monitor out of the garage and plug it into that. While that's a nice thought, it would kind of defeat the purpose of possessing a perfectly compact little computer. The good news is, he was able to transfer all my photos to another computer.
I have another laptop I can use, but it's a lot bigger and heavier than what I prefer to have resting on my lap. And it's really noisy.
Yeah, I know. Cry me a river... But I miss my netbook...

You know those pie charts researchers make when calculating the average cost of raising a child? They should include a dollar estimate of all the possessions that could possibly be broken by that child.

Oh well . . . It's just stuff, right?

*sigh*

A Precious New Niece

Megan and Mike's sweet baby girl was born last Friday at 10:56pm, weighing a healthy 8lb4oz.

Her name is Parker Joy, but will be known as PJ. How cute!  

Meg was strong and opted for an anesthesia-free delivery, though she said she was cursing that decision in the thick of her labor. But what a trooper, she did it! The dictionary definition of relief should have a picture of a mother's face immediately after pushing out a baby in the absence of an epidural. 

I totally forgot to take a picture of them when I stopped by the hospital. Oh well. Here are a couple of PJ's first photos (borrowed from Facebook).

  Meg looked radiant, and I love PJ's chubby cheeks!   

Taken the morning they brought her home from the hospital. What an adorable angel! I love how her bottom lip is tucked in.

 

The Best of the Rest of Sept.

I don't want to leave out some of the highlights of last month, so I won't. 

Our annual Lytle trip to Lagoon took place on the 15th. We drove down on the 14th and stayed overnight at the campground adjacent to Lagoon, spent all Saturday in the amusing park, tented it another night, then drove home the next morning. It was tons of fun, as we all assumed it would be.

All the littlest male cousins just before entering Lagoon.

Some of the cousins on the train. I'm too lazy right now to name names.

Oliver at the conclusion of his carousel ride.

There was an exciting new ride this year! 

The whole ride turns like a merry-go-round while the individual planes [attached to large propellers] rotate independently. They alternate gradually between upside down, sideways, and right-side up. I hope I'm making myself clear.

Get the idea? Yeah, it was super freaky. I can handle any roller coaster better than this ride. This one doesn't move very fast, so it gave me more time to contemplate the feeling of being held upside down, all the while fervently hoping the safety restraints would prove strong enough to keep me from being introduced to the unforgiving ground below.

The back of Malory, the front of Cora, and the left side of my hair. All waiting in line for the ride I just described. Jane and Ryan also dared to climb aboard.

 

Saturday the 22nd was the night I got to attend a splendid production of Les Miserables. [Broadway in Boise at the Morrison Center]  I went with Ryan, my mom, Erin, Megan, and Maren. It was spectacular!

I felt the need to photograph the cute assorted donuts I bought for the morning of that unforgettable 5k.

Donut they look delicious?

Here's the last highlight I will share before zipping my lip about September . . .

On Thursday the 27th, I went to dinner at The Creperie with my friend Kirsten. I had not seen her since high school. We met in the 9th grade when her family moved into our ward. We got along great and have lots of fun memories. When we finally got together after way too many years, we both wondered why we'd waited so long. She's one of those people who is so fun and easy to talk to. And it turns out she lives within a couple miles of me. It was so good to see her. I enjoyed the chicken artichoke crepe (sooooooooo yummy!) and we shared a caramel apple crepe for dessert (mmm-mmmmmm-mmmmm!!!).
Along with the treat of catching up with Kirsten, I finally washed my hands of something that had been bothering me since high school. When I was 14, I borrowed a large hardback songbook from her mom (with permission!). As high school came and went, I never got around to returning it, and after we graduated her family moved across town. As the years ticked by, I grew increasingly more embarrassed about giving it back after all that time, but it haunted me each time I looked at that music book. I didn't know where they lived.
Anyway, I took the book with me last month to the dinner date and surrendered it to Kirsten. She just laughed. I told her that when I asked to borrow it, they should have said no!

That's about all I had left to share of Sept.