Life from Josh's point of view

This is the first batch of pictures from Josh's new camera (minus the really blurry and just plain black ones). Can I just say that I love not having to buy film ... because he is really enjoying taking this little camera everywhere!

2008 Christmas Memories

Tangerines stain ... who knew?

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! We are finally all ready for Christmas ... you might think that since Christmas Day is tomorrow that it would be a foregone conclusion. Not so, I think this is first time in years that we will actually have a real Christmas. We are not visiting anyone out of state (this week) and we also have all of the decorations up. I always wrap the Sacred Grove picture. I started doing that when I didn't have any decorations because I like how it looks and wrapping paper is pretty inexpensive. This year was no exception and I love the big present over the fireplace. Unfortunately, the scotch tape I used to attach the bow does not like being over the fireplace ... it fell down. Byron, trying to be helpful and get into the spirit of decorating (somthing he despises on principle alone) decided to put it back with something stronger - like super glue - which would have been great, but he put the glue on the front of the bow. Soooo, I need to get a new bow (probably next year). I appreciated the thought though! I have really enjoyed decorating this year, I even strung lights outside (this is a first)! We have decided to add one strand every year ... our little nod to a new tradition. We are also going to try another new tradition, but since it hasn't happened yet, I don't want to jinx it ... I will post pictures tomorrow ...

... as far as the post title goes, our friend Jenny gave us some amazingly delicious tangerines. We all really like tham, but Ginny has a unique way of eating oranges (she is defintely NOT a pulp fan). She will chew up the segment, suck out the juice, and then spit the segment back out. I call her my citrus vampire (I know, ALL of my children will probably need counseling when they grow up, but have you met their parents?????). So anyway, I try to contain and control where and when she gets an orange. This afternoon (while I went out to get a log), she decided to take matters into her own hands. To be honest, I had this one coming because I saw her grabbing for the bowl. I just figured that when she took a bite and got the bitter rind, that would be the end of it. What I didn't take into consideration was that these wonderful (and they are really really really good) tangerines make the phrase "EZ peel" an understatement. One little bite gave her all the juice she could ever have wanted. Oh well, it guess it should be noted that she would rather climb onto the counter for the fruit rather than the belgian chocolate crepes sitting right next to the bowl (I guess she has some of her father in her after all).

Gena-LEAVE!!!!

That is how Josh refers to Ginny who is, I admit, usually looking for ways to get under his skin. She will sit very quietly playing with something and just look up ... sort of tilt her head sideways ... and watch the boys. Inevitably, she will hone in on that one piece of the "game" that will cause the most commotion and head straight for it! Her timing is uncanny! So, while everyone else in the house refers to her as Ginny - even Ben, Josh has her number. What I was wondering was if his pronunciation was in fact an innocent error - maybe he is trying to tell her something? We shall see. As I often say, in my home I have one entering the terrible twos, one comfortably ensconsed in them, and one having a hard time letting go ... you can decide who is who!

Winter Wonderland

Well, we went to bed in California and woke up in Utah! We were expecting some snow, and since we moved "up the hill" for about a 500 ft elevation gain, we were expecting a bit more than usual ... but I don't think I have seen a snowfall this deep here in all the time I have lived here! The kids are excited - to say the least - and are ready to go and play ... once I unearthed the winter coats and such that we have NEVER used.

Josh wanted to know a couple of nights ago if we were going to see Frosty ... I told him that it probably wouldn't snow enough to see Frosty but he assured me that it would - I guess he told me! So, while we didn't see Frosty, we had a great time playing with ... Fred.

Ginny had definite opinions about the snow suit I shoved her in (she hasn't seen the Christmas Story yet ... but she would be a shoe in for the younger brother) and even more decided opinions about the snow. She was of course perfectly happy as long as I was holding her. She was even happier under her blanket next to the fire.

The boys have had a great time this morning (only Robert is still out at this point). Robert and Josh tried for snow angels and Ben wandered around the entire driveway fascinated by his own footprints. The sun has come out a time or two and the trees are starting to drip, but I hear we are supposed to get more snow before Wednesday ... let's hear it for global warming!

Educational funnies

Today has been fun! Robert, Sherri, Timmy and I got together to discuss another of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. We have been having the boys scan each letter and try to come up with as many words that they don't recognize as possible. It has been pretty fun (at least for the moms) because this book was written at the end of World War II in another country and our current language is vastly different. Today's vocabular funny? Timmy's definition for "informal" was "not formal." So far so good, but what does "formal" mean? "Old ... as in Mom's, um, shirt." True enough, Sherri was wearing an older style and very beat up shirt, but you could see he was trying to see how to get around pointing out that he thought that formal meant old ... and that Mom was very formal. It really changed the boys' understanding of the letter when they learned what formal actually meant. As I told Sherri, however, she'll never look at that shirt the same way again! In another vocabulary moment, I was trying to explain the definition for intelligence. Robert had come up with information gathering ... as in "military intelligence" and the letter was looking for the "ability to grasp information" definition. I noticed as I was talking that Timmy had sat back with a glazed expression and was allowing drool to pool at the corner of his lip ... allowing me to point out that a lack of intelligence could be seen in the "drooling idiot" impression that Timmy was portraying. The funny part was that Timmy had stopped listening long before I got to that particular word and was reacting to something that one of the babies was doing - but the timing was perfect! All in all, the boys enjoyed this letter and are looking forward to next week.

Along similar lines, I am supposed to be finishing some annotating for my class on Saturday. I have been reading a great article on universities in the "ancient" world (meaning Rome, etc.) when I came accross a particular quote by Epicharmus about professors during the dark ages. He said, "the one thing that kept professors going was their constitutional inability to shut up whether they had anything to say or not." As I read that, I remembered my mother telling me that I would make a perfect college professor - I used to be flattered!!!

"Favorite" Aunt Brandy needs to be strangled ....

I don't have any pictures of this one, but it HAS to be documented. My sister and her family came to visit last weeked (see the "vomit" post). You have to understand that my kids LOVE Aunt Brandy - and she just plays on that. I generally speaking find it cute and love that they think that she is so cool. I think she's pretty cool too, at least since she grew up and moved out - oh wait, I did that first ... moving on.

This visit, Josh decided that he wanted to go home with Aunt Brandy, who told him that would be fine! She backpedaled when she realized that he was ready to go NOW by telling him that (1) his Mommy would miss him if he were gone so long (to which he replied that Mommy would be happy to see him go and Mommy giggling uncontrollably behind him probably did nothing to dispell that), (2) that his bed would not fit in the "white car" (he assured her that it would fit just fine - Mommy would fit it in), and finally (3) that Santa would not know where to find him at her house. The final argument quieted him - or so we thought.

In Primary on Sunday, he was nearly in tears telling his teachers that he was late and that the white car was depending on him. Every time a car passes in front of our house (which is fairly often since we live on a pretty busy street) he heads for the window and asks if it is the white car yet. We had company for dinner and he was sure that the white car had finally come for him. No fewer that FOUR times today, Josh has come and given me a huge hug and kiss and then informed me that he loved me very much and was going to go in the white car ........

Thinking that this had gone on long enough, I helped Josh to call Aunt Brandy tonight so that she could help him to understand when we could visit again. Did Aunt Brandy help???? Oh no, she told him to pack his clothes and have Mommy put him on an airplane - you can imagine what tomorrow is going to be like. THANK YOU AUNT BRANDY!!!!! It's okay, I don't get mad .... I get even (not sure how, but suggestions are welcome)

Happy Birthday Joshua!!!

Okay, technically Joshua turned four on 11/21, but since we had family coming into town, we decided to have the "party" this weekend. Due to the van incident previously blogged, we only had Brian & Brandy's family, but it was still fun.

Josh got his own set of legos ... construction trucks, which Robert Brooke and Ethan helped him put together. I think "Mommy" has finally upstaged "Aunt Brandy" in the gift department. But I'm also sure it is only a temporary set back for her ... the kids adore her - as she well knows!

Although I am known for making and decorating birthday cakes, with all of the fun happenings of the weekend, Brandy and I decided to head to the store to buy one - yes, gasps of shock go here. When we got to Vons we found that a half-sheet of cake that no one would really eat was going to cost $20 so we got an ice cream pie and a package of hot wheels instead ... it was a hit and we wasted nothing!

As you can see, Ginny got her bangs cut this weekend too - which means that there is less snot and food plastering her hair to her face. I think she looks adorable. And this was a great picture of Robert I couldn't resist adding. He has been having fun showing Josh how to be a "big boy" this weekend and even decided to introduce Josh to chess - at least until he discovered that when he and Ethan finished playing they left the games on top of the garbage can. Of course, Daddy came by and thought they had been put there by me because we have been cleaning out the garage and so he just slipped them inside. The best part was when Robert opened the trash and decided that they were close enough to the top to lift out and when he reached in, the box came apart and little pieces scattered everywhere. He didn't realize that I was standing in the laundry room watching. He just looked at the box and then turned to Josh and said "this is soooo wrong" and Josh said "Yes, it is just so wrong" I just laughed! When I looked out the window again, Robert had upended the trash barrel (thank Heavens the trash was picked up yesterday morning and there was really just cardboard boxes in it) and both of the boys were happily separating their game pieces from the rest of the garbage. They even picked up all (or at least nearly all) of the trash and got it put back together before Dad got to the back yard to check on them. Can we say bathtime tonight? I know it sounds kind of gross with the garbage can and all, but I have to say that I was very proud of Robert's initiative. Instead of thowing a tantrum and pouting (which is what I fully expected), he considered the problem and set about trying to fix it. He is growing up!

Vomit ... Flares ... More Vomit ... and Family

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a rather unusual holiday (as the title of the post might indicate). Sherri came over and helped me finish my pies late Wednesday night (thanks Sherri!) and I just have to say that having an oven that cooks evenly is amazing! My pies haven't turned out so well in years! Anyway, we got to bed rather late and decided to let the kids be the alarm (since they never sleep past 6:30). Of course, they slept past 7 and to make it better, sometime during the night Ben threw up and just went back to sleep in it ... he wasn't ill, so I just figure he had post-nasal-drip which set off his hair trigger gag reflex. At any rate, that put us a bit behind schedule (we were planning to drive off between 7:30 and 8). We made it out by 9:30 and headed out to Temecula ... we were about 30 miles away and it was time for dinner to start, so I started called to let people know not to wait since we were bringing dessert when we notice a car off to the side of the road with my brother-in-law standing outside! Sure enough, their transmission just quit and they were stuck. We got over and noticed that people were getting right up to the van before changing lanes ... another accident in the making ... and I remembered seeing flares in our car. I have to tell you that when I married Byron (5 years ago) I found these flares in the back of the garage and threw them into the trunk to "be prepared." Ha! We finally got to use them ... once we figured out how to light them. The instructions are less than illucidating. Not only that, they only burned for about 20 minutes and people just kept driving right over them - one guy had his tire just smoking for at least a mile down the freeway (I guess no one realized that bright pink flame was actually fire ... go figure! Sooooo we all finally make it to dinner (which is only three hours later than planned, not bad) and have a great time!

My sister and her husband are in town from Utah visiting with relatives in Norco, so after dinner they met us at the now deceased van to get David's tools and we all caravan out to Mom & Dad's to drop off David, Banae and the kids (and tools). Apparently, Brian & Brandy's family Thanksgivind dinner included lots of pie, cranberry jello, orange soda and a bounce house - see where this is going? We got to Hesperia and all three of Brandy's daughters had brought back up what looked like twice their own body weight - in the back seat of the Suburban ... so we stayed with Mom and Dad for a bit while everyone got bathed and the car re-packed. We made it home before midnight, amazingly. Brooke rode with us so that she wouldn't have to be around her sisters who took plastic bags and threw up a couple of more times. We still had to let her out on the downside of Walker Pass to bring up the popcorn that Grandma Bekki thought the kids might like while they were waiting for us to clean up in Hesperia, but hey, who could imagine that popcorn would grow like that in a 9 yr old tummy? Lots of fun, lots of family, and a memorable holiday for all!

Private Screening

Wow there has been soooo much going on I don't even know where to start. So, rather than create the book where I go back and catch everyone up on the state of the house, Halloween, the progress of the house, school for everyone, the ongoing mess of the house, the visits from family, and the completion of construction on the house (sense a pattern?), I am just going to move forward from last night. ;-)

Byron and I decided to risk a mid-week date since the holiday and company will keep us from going out and we REALLY need to keep those dates alive. So, Byron came home at about 6:30 and we heading down to B-town to see what was playing. Mostly, Byron wanted to have a couple of hours to continue listening to Brinsingr (Paolini's third book) on audio cd ... he has a hard time putting it down, not that I can relate in any way. We were going to see Twilight (I already saw it on opening day, but I had no problem repeating the experience so that Byron could see the Volvo ... if you aren't sure what I am talking about then you are either living under a rock or haven't joined the Twilight band-wagon and need to get with the program). Unfortunately, I got the theaters mixed up and we decided that we couldn't wait an additional hour, see the movie, and still stay awake long enough to make it home - it's hard to be old foggies. So, we saw the new Bond flick instead. The best part? We were the ONLY ones in the theater ... Byron told me he had arranged the private screening just for me (awww how sweet). He only need a very little prompting to come up with that line so it was a great night. We enjoyed the movie and made comments during the entire show without bothering anyone ... it was a blast!

On a final note, the house is finished and ready for pictures so I will get those up soon!

Girl Toys - Boyfriends - and Halloween

Again, I have let an entire week go by without a post! Still, I managed to get the Prop 8 widget going ... please go and explore it!

As a mother of 3 boys and 1 girl, I tend to wonder if my little girl will ever want anything to do with "girly" things. Well, the phrase just be careful what you wish for comes to mind. After playing with such friends as Bria and Elle, Ginny has found the girl toys. More than that, she doesn't want anything to do with the boys' trains and trucks (unless she can snatch it from them so they will scream and chase her - but that doesn't count). So, I broke down and took her to the store to find some girl toys. She picked out a little tea set and has been carrying around pieces of it ever since - Josh has had lots of fun with it too. Ben seem to be mostly happy that Ginny isn't after his cars so much anymore. It looks like I might get a little girl after all. Did I mention she loves shoes too?

Going along those lines, Ginny has found her first boyfriend. We had Roman and his brother Nick over for a couple of days this week and Ginny thought Roman was the living end! Seriously, she followed him around just jabbering away at him. If he sat down then she was right next to him ... if not trying worm onto his lap. Poor Roman was a pretty good sport. He finally started edging around the room trying to stay ahead of her, telling us "this is weirding me out." Not bad for a first pick Ginny. True to form, Ginny had no trouble telling her swain good-bye this afternoon ... I wonder if she will do it again next time we see them?

In other news, we have had so much going on around here. First, the fence is more or less finished - I just have to wait for a kind neighbor with a tractor to come and help move the dirt around so that the ground level around the fence is high enough to keep the kids and the dog inside. I also got my new dishwasher installed, new faucets put in, and Byron started putting the closet organizers together. In addition, Byron finished is first fall class and I have been working on my ongoing class (as well as trying to encourage Robert in pursuing academia). On that note, Byron's next class started yesterday and the textbook for this one is entitled Wound Care Essentials ... let's just say that Byron might have lost his study buddy. Let me explain, as a physical therapist, Byron can only cut "dead" skin. This means that any wound he needs to know anything about is one that is already putrified - you see where I am going with this. To add to my trepidation, the format of the class is all in MS Power Point presentations (ewww more pictures) and there is a "lab" package arriving. I told Byron that if any part of a cadaver ends up on my front porch I will lose it ... he just laughed and said it would most likely be a dead cat - as if that made it any better! This is going to be a great class for Halloween!

Speaking of Halloween, my mother just sent costumes for the kids and I got them tried on today. The kids are so excited - I think I will have to hide the costumes so that they make it to the actual Halloween date. Josh got his wish and will be Dash of the Incredibles. Ben is too fun as Buzz Lightyear, and Ginny is adorable as Tinker Bell. Robert is still trying to decide. Everything he has thought of so far also comes with a full face mask, so he is working on it.

I Never Forward These Types of E-mails ....

Just so that you know Dani how very special you are: here are the "tagged" answers

Ten years ago I:

I have a hard time remembering what happened yesterday - this is soooo not fair. Okay ...

1. Robert's father and I had just separated and I was living in Sherwood, Oregon (getting ready to move to Scappoose, OR). Not a really happy or even bright spot in my past but I didn't make the rules for this stupid game. On the plus side, I had the most beautiful baby boy that anyone could imagine and here he is:

2. I was just getting into Civil War reenacting (a hobby that really accentuated my love of costumes and ability to nitpick every historical movie ever made ...)
3. I was working as a legal assistant for Klarquist Sparkman, et al. in the World Trade Center (downtown Portland rather than NYC)
4. Dani ... I really can't come up with five different things - I have probably repressed them!
5. Okay, I remember, I was organizing a team to run the Hood to Coast race (195 miles). I was even starting to train so that I could run on the team (I ended up just organizing it and volunteering though)

5 Things on my ToDo list today:

1. Read and annotate Mises 50 laws of Economics; CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters; and Bastiat's Economic Sophisms
2. Unpack the garage
3. Hang pictures
4. File my private school affidavit
5. Get my hair permed
(this doesn't even scratch the surface of my list, but you only asked for 5 - thank goodness)

5 Snacks that I enjoy

1. A really great salad I found today at Vons called "Very Berry Chocolate Salad" Seriously, it has chunks of dark chocolate, ripe strawberries and blueberries, all covered in a sweet raspberry viniagrette ...yum!
2. Dove Silk - dark chocolate (can you sense an overriding theme here?)
3. Pringles ... almost any flavor (I don't really care for Ranch)
4. trail mix - at least if it has M&Ms in it
5. dark chocholate M&Ms (it is definitely the wrong time of the month to be asking me these questions)

5 Things I Would Do if I Were a Millionaire

1. Pay off all of my debts
2. Pay off all of my families' debts
3. Buy Byron the Honda S2000 that he thinks he really wants
4. Buy Lynn & Ed a really expensive auger so that the next time they get sucked into a job like my fence they don't have to kill themselves to do it :-)
5. finish all of the "projects" we are planning to do to the house over the next decade or so (that includes the extra livings space, matching furniture, etc.)

5 Places I Have Lived

1. Utah (lots of cities)
2. Oregon (lots of cities and even a few towns)
3. Tennessee - Clarksville
4. Republic of Panama - Panama City
5. California (San Diego, Lakewood, and Lake Isabella)
I only left out Maryland and Mississippi for the states :-)

5 Jobs I Have Had

1. Legal Assistant/Paralegal
2. Schoolbus Driver
3. High School Head Secretary
4. Executive Assistant
5. Wife and Mother (goes hand in hand since even if I didn't have children I'd still be mothering my husband ... just ask him)

I Tag ...

1. Allyson
2. Lynn
3. Heather

Okay, I don't know anyone else who actually has a blog and hasn't already been put through this! Hope you're happy now Dani!!!!!!! ;-)

Way too much life

It seems like forever since I sat down to blog ... really at least a year has passed since last week. Still, tonight we are excited because we have a new front door! Isn't it pretty?

(The old door is the one on the left) :-)

My only question now is how to give adequate notice to strangers who are visiting (I used to have this notice on the front door)

In other news, the fence is nearly complete. Of course, I let the dog and the kids out this morning and the dog headed for the neighbor's fence found the only low spot ... it took him all of about 2 minutes. Ben wandered the entire length of the fence, stopping every few feet to reach out and shake it ... is there any doubt as to whose son this is? Ben was very upset when Boggart managed to find a hole he missed (or maybe he was just upset that he couldn't fit through it too). So, the fencing challenges continue ...

I just returned from a fabulous seminar entitled Face-to-Face With Greatness offered by the George Wythe University. It was amazing! I came home incredibly energized and ready to get my education rolling, I was ready to be inspiring to my family (because you know, of course, that the only one you can actually educate is yourself ... think about it!), etc.! I must admit that I left my poor husband hiddeously outnumbered for 48 complete hours! I, of course, returned to no clean towels and not a single clean dish in the kitchen (this I expected, although I still don't know how they managed to dirty every single one). What I didn't expect was ...

Yep, it's all gone ... he "bic'd" it. My first thought? I can find a great blog title for this: "Husband shaves Head in Protest ..." I have to say that I do actually like it, I just wasn't expecting it. And, no he isn't actually protesting anything execpt nature itself (at least that was his story).

Finally, I found a note on my blog that I had been tagged, so that will have to be another post. I honestly am not ignoring it, I just haven't gotten that far yet Dani ... thanks for the thought though!

Hallelujah!!!!!

They're here! I never knew just how much I really liked my washer and dryer until I spent two weeks without them. I need to send many thanks to Jenny, Krissy, and my mother-in-law for allowing me to use their machines while I didn't have any. I have to say, however, that there is nothing like being able to do your laundry at home ... especially with kids. Here they are (can I just say how incredibly excited I am?). Yes, I got the white ones on purpose! I did this for a few very good reasons. (1) you have to pay between $150 and $200 extra for the colors, (2) white goes with everything and I don't have a "color scheme" for the laundry room, and (3) color just dates things. I already have avacado appliances that somebody probably paid extra for when it was in style ... need I say more?

In other news, most of the fence posts have been set. There was no TNT (much to the kid's disappointment) but I took my turn with the jackhammer, which was an experience and that's all I'm going to say about it.
Robert has been an excellent helper today. In addition to moving a wood stack at the back of the property, he helped mix concrete, carry water buckets, fill in holes, and measure. He was finished by lunchtime and offered (without my having to ask) to mind the children for the afternoon if I needed. :-)

First "honey do" completed!

The Closet is back! My wonderful husband started on Friday to put shelves into the hall closet. He is not happy with the fact that it took four holes to find the stud - even with a stud finder. I pointed out that those holes would be behind the wood, but he said that he would know they were there. I told him to get the spackle and patch them then, and he decided that maybe they were fine after all. :-)

Next, I got a new door knob - complete with key entry - so that I can lock up the markers and most of the toys (Josh has already started testing keys when he thinks no one is looking). Hurray, I love my closet! Thanks honey!!!

You know that wise man with the house on the rock?

I'd be willing to bet he didn't have a fence! Lynn & Ed (with crew members Rooster & Ron) have been here for the past couple of days to dig post holes for the chain link fence that is a necessity for a house with 3 small children and a dog. The first day, they came with a post shovel and a nifty auger. About 2 hours into the exercise, the auger was protesting and they started pouring water into the started holes to try to soften things up. The thing about water is that it takes more than 24 hours to soften bedrock ... and that is what we have. Today, they returned with the most obvious solution - a jackhammer! That shiny silver jackhammer lasted all of about 20 minutes before it was stuck fast into the rock. It was quite the sight! First they tried running it and trying to jerk it back and forth - so as to loosen it from the rock (no luck). Then they pulled their huge white truck winch over and tried to just pull it out (the truck lost that tug-of-war). Finally they noticed a friend working a full-sized back hoe on a new construction site across the the street. He was happy to come in and dig the jackhammer out ... or at least try to. In the end, it took the backhoe, and a couple of shovels and breaker bars to free the jackhammer. After that, Ed had his friend just dig some very big holes where the posts are supposed to be ... we got some forms to pour the concrete around the posts. That worked for most of the holes, but there are a couple where the rock is just too big - it even moved the tractor! The kids were, of course, excited about having the tractor in our yard, but I had to send them into the house when Josh started telling the tractor driver how to drive his truck (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?). I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow someone shows up with TNT. Good news is that we shouldn't wash away when the "rains come tumbling down!"