Olympus High School Class of 2000 Alumni Website

It’s here.
Finally!
This is it.
This is the week that…

• our new baby sister arrives!
• Lyvia becomes the “big sister”.
• Jason and I become parents of two girls. Two.
• our house seems suddenly smaller and yet happily full at the same time.
• the crazy picture taking begins. And videos of hiccups.
• I’ll probably be shocked (again) when the baby comes with a full head of dark hair. (That promptly falls out in a week and starts to grow in two years later!:)
• I become thankful all over again for family and friends who are so supportive and willing to help out. (This is already happening…thanks to all!)
• the “cleaning everything phase” dwindles into the “recovery phase”.
• I’ll be snuggling with my own newborn.

This is going to be one awesome week.

Read more here:
this is the week

Housesitting is pretty lovely. I really don’t mind living with my parents and I definitely didn’t mind spending a month out in Napa living with my extended family, but there’s something about having a place with only two people rattling around in it that makes me rethink our plan to ever have kids…

Of course, we’re not staying in the crummiest of houses. Dad and Chris’s house isn’t huge, but it’s very comfortable and beautifully decorated. It’s also located in one of Salt Lake’s better neighborhoods, so Kyle and I are just a walk away from great bookstores and restaurants. Plus, Kyle’s commute has gone down from one hour to ten minutes, so he’s definitely not complaining. And, best of all, someone around here doesn’t know how to secure their wireless internet. Yay!

One of the big perks of housesitting for my father is his insane music collection. Although I never had to deal with a deadbeat dad, my Deadhead dad used to get lost in his music when I was little, spending hours in the basement blasting Jerry Garcia. He used to take me to all of the record stores in town, trying to get me interested in the difference between the ‘69 live album and the ‘74 live album. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the best pupil, even when we took a special trip to Haight Ashbury to see the house that the Grateful Dead used to live in…a trip that was perfectly time to coincide with my I-Hate-That-I’m-On-Vacation-With-My-Dad-Leave-Me-The-Hell-Alone phase.

It wasn’t all rock and roll, to be fair. My dad has a real penchant for jazz, folk, blues, and great original cast recordings of classic Broadway shows. I got to see John Prine, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, and countless others before I turned ten. I also had a pretty impressive record collection for someone who couldn’t tie their shoes…but I just could never see why Dad seemed to constantly need a fresh feed of music. So many CDs. So many CDs!

No matter what was going on my dad’s life, the music collection continued to thrive. As we went from house to house and my dad’s family situtation changed a couple of times, there were always the trips to the record store to replace the albums that a person simply shouldn’t live without. Kind of Blue from Miles Davis. One Fair Summer Evening from Nanci Griffith. Truckin’ Up to Buffalo from Grateful Dead. Learning to Flinch from Warren Zevon. And always John Prine Live, the album that has my parents and I on the cover. No, really, we were there and now we’re immortalized in music legend. Bit of trivia: this album also has my favorite version of my favorite song in the entire world, “Angel from Montgomery”.

We’re on the right hand side…see the Asian looking woman, the little kid in red, and the guy with the intense facial hair? That’s the Lane family.

Pic for comparison:

I always thought that his music addiction was just one more thing that I didn’t get about my dad. Until, of course, we stopped in at a used music store last spring and I stumbled on a copy of Deadicated, a Grateful Dead tribute album that’s pretty fantsatic. I was lamenting the fact that I had pawned my copy in college when Kyle mentioned that he didn’t know any of the songs. Apparently, Kyle made it all the way to 26 without listening to the Grateful Dead. I immediately bought the CD and then made him sit in the car while I tried to download everything I knew about the Dead into his underprivileged brain. “Listen to this chord change…isn’t that incredible? Mellow and powerful all at the same time. Oh, and listen to these lyrics. Do you get it? Here, wait, let me back it up again so you can really listen to it. There. Isn’t that just mind blowing?”

Apparently, the answer was no. But my husband laughed and shook his head and said, “You’re so your dad. You’re more like your dad than anyone else on the planet.”

It’s the truth and every day I see it more. I used to hate his retreats into seclusion, but now I get manic if I don’t get a couple of hours to myself every day. I thought the road trips to all of the crappy Utah historical monuments were a trial I had to endure to get into heaven, but now I really like getting in the car, picking a direction, and just driving until something interesting happens. And while I used to think that my father’s basement music sessions were just a noisy way to keep us all at arm’s length, I find that I have to take twenty minutes every now and then, lock myself in the bathroom with my headphones on, and just crank that iPod up as loud as I can get it…which is never loud enough. I’m looking forward to the day when they can permanently implant Eric Clapton music directly into my ear canal.

And so, while my father tours Argentina (with his iPod safely anchoring him in the sixties), I’m slurping all of his music into my computer and making playlists of all those songs I always thought I never got. And, oh, there might not be anything better.

Hanging with Warren in front of some of my father’s music collection.
If you don’t own Learning to Flinch, I’m sorry to tell you that your life is woefully incomplete.
Best album ever? Very possible.

Read more here:
My Father’s Music

Lyvia: Mom, you have my baby sister in you tummy?
Me: Yup. She’s growing bigger and bigger in there.
Lyvia: She giving you a tummy ache?
Me: No. Sometimes she’s just wiggly and I have to sit down for a minute.
Lyvia: Does she wiggle like me? as she proceeds to wiggle from head to toe
Me: Yes! Just like that! But she’s little, so her wiggles are just little.
Lyvia: I’ll teach her to wiggle like a big girl when she come to our house, ok? That be better for you, Mom?
Me: Ok.
Lyvia: You happy now, Mom?
Me: Yes- I am pretty happy.

***picture of Lyvia by Kayleen Feil Photography***

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gratituesday

I love breakfast food.

Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, spun honey, orange slices, Cream of Wheat, abelskievers, German pancakes, melon, bacon, Christmas Strata, sausage, omelets, fresh berries, orange juice, French Toast, crepes, hot chocolate, homemade jam and butter on everything.

Breakfast is delicious. Breakfast is my comfort food. Pure love!

Breakfast reminds me of being at the cabin. The fire burning in the wood stove and my Grammy making her famous pancakes that no one can seem to replicate. It reminds me of growing up and my mom making a big pot of Cream of Wheat before school. We’d sweeten our steaming bowls with honey and milk then scoop up the cereal with toast instead of spoons. It reminds me of eating millions of ableskievers topped with homemade buttermilk syrup at the New Years Day breakfast at my Nana’s house. It reminds me of Saturday mornings when my dad made waffles and spun honey to top them with. Or birthday breakfasts with friends over and everyone still wearing pajamas. Or the camping trip when Jason and I ruined scrambled eggs and then ate them anyway, laughing the whole time.

Now, I cook breakfast just about everyday for my family. For sure every weekend. Sometimes for dinner during the week! Something about cooking this simple meal stirs up good memories and love. Sometimes cooking does that to me. Helps me realize that I’m not just nourishing their bodies with this food- but really showing them how much they mean to me, how much I love them. Sharing something I love with people I love! It’s amazing how food does this. How it can stir up memories or help you recall old times- or make a new memory. Of course, no post of mine would be complete without a list…so here are a few other favorite foodie memories of mine:

• Having root-beer floats always remind me of my Great-Grandma Foulger. I was lucky enough to grow up with this great woman, and cook. She made all sorts of fabulous dishes and desserts. But one of the things I remember most was going to her house and she’d always have the fixings for a root-beer float. And my mom would always let us have one- no matter how close to dinner!
• My mom’s “specialty dinner” is pork chops and rice. It is divine! I know she says that the recipe is easy, but somehow mine never turn out quite as moist or delicious as hers. This simple meal reminds me of Thanksgiving- when my mom hosts the Gratitude Dinner with all my siblings and we talk about all the things we’re grateful for. It’s this grand display of my mother’s love for parties and family all mixed-up in one.
• Peanut butter bars make me think of connecting with other women and becoming friends. The “no-matter-what” kind that you don’t feel embarrassed to come over in your pajamas or cry in front of. And I think that is the best kind.
• Meatloaf has always been on my top ten list of favorite foods. But one meatloaf, in particular, reminds me of Jason. He made this for me on one of our earlier dates as well as several special occasions in our marriage. (Do Friday nights count as “special occasions”?) He has two specialties: meatloaf with Jones Special Sauce and Chicken Enchiladas. Whenever it’s his turn to cook, I’m treated to one of these delicious and satisfying meals. As both are fairly labor intensive, I know I’m loved!

Smells, tastes, sounds…they all can remind us of a spark of memory or a flash of a loved one.
So really it’s not just breakfast.
It’s love.

Read more here:
Cooking Up Memories

I’m not what you would call a “yes” person. I really like being at home and doing my thing, so I lean towards saying “no” to going out and getting involved in extra stuff and doing things that I probably ought to be doing. I’m kind of adventurous, but really I just like to stick to the stuff I know. And, unlike many of my friends, I have no problem using the phrases “Sorry, but I’m swamped and can’t help” or “Not this time, but try me again later.”

But I’m definitely having a “yes” kind of month.

It all started with my new year’s resolutions and wanting to change up my life a bit. Although I’m a pretty happy camper in my little situation, I felt like I was starting to mentally (and physically) atrophy a bit from just sitting around the house doing my thing. So, I decided 2010 was a good year to take on some new challenges. I decided to run a half-marathon, get more involved in the community, and pick up some extra freelance work instead of spending so much time searching for a 9-5 job. It was time to break out of my rut and push myself into new situtations

Fast forward five weeks:

My quest for new situations has been successful…maybe even a little too successful. I went to that blogging conference and joined the ranks of people who treat blogging like a job and, as a result, the Disney Wedding Blog has exploded. I have seven times the traffic that I did a month ago and therefore I have seven times the emails to answer, spotlights to run, and posts to plan out. I’m also getting contacted right and left by vendors who want to talk to me about giveaways and additional programs, which is great for the site but a little overwhelming for the Carly. I even have a couple of different multimedia projects going on that will make the blog even bigger. It’s great, but it’s all happened really fast and I haven’t quite caught my balance yet…

I also opened the door to some freelance work and got hit with so much stuff all at once that it looks like I’ll be making more in the next six months than I made last year working my 9-5. This is completely amazing, but I haven’t quite gotten used to the idea of being my own boss and setting schedules and doing all the things I’m going to have to do to make this work. I think I’ve got it under control, but my desk just looks like a giant haystack of post-it notes right now…

Finally, a big “yes” went from “yes, I’ll fly out to help you with some costumes” to “yes, now that I’m here I can do these as well” to “yes, I can act as a consultant for the whole show” to “yes, I’ll fly back out, handle the costumes for a cast of 94, and stay until opening night.” So, even though I got back to Utah yesterday, I’m headed back to California in the next couple of days and I’ll be elbows deep in Beauty and the Beast until the end of the month. It completely sucks that I’ll be away from Kyle for so long, but I think I’ll have a pretty good time while I’m out there and I’ll be able to see my family more than I usually do.

All of these “yes” moments have led to good things, but now I’m in a place where I wake up and spend my day trying to wrap my brain around a million radically different projects. I’m out of my comfort zone (to say the least!) and I haven’t been bored in a really, really long time. I just hope I’m not taking on too many things at once…

Oh, and check back tomorrow for a “yes” that you don’t want to miss!

Read more here:
Just Say Yes

Chase’s bedtime line-up: light blue blankie that Mara made him, random star blankie that he grew an attachment to, his duck that he got in the ER when he had to get stitches, and his teddy bear. He has to have these when he goes to bed and he has to take them with him when he gets up. He names them one by one until he has all 4.

My baby in a box…

This photo was taken at the end of a long day. I had been trying all day to get pictures of him doing the things he loves to do, and he had had it. He was running from me at this point, hence the fuzziness…

He’s always been great at finding things to entertain himself…

He loves trains…

This is the face I get when I tell him to smile for the camera…

This was taken after his birthday dinner, getting ready for his brownies…

Opening a present. He loves to read and loves the “How Do Dinosaurs…” series.

This is as far as my cake/brownie decorating skills go (but I must admit they tasted really good!)

Chase loves to try on shoes, although my boots present him with a bit more of a challenge…

This crazy boy brings me so much joy. I love how he calles himself “Chasey” and his big brother “Nicky.” I appreciate his sweet temperment and that he is usually happy and friendly. I love the inflection in his voice and the way he sings and sings and sings. Happy Birthday, Chasey boy!

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Somebody turned 2…

Today has just been one of those days when you feel like you are running around without your head! And on top of that the house is a disaster, messes everywhere, nothing is going as planned, the car is on empty, I have yet to shower, I feel like we will be jobless and poor forever, I have no desire to accomplish anything and all I want to do is eat comfort food and crawl back in bed! Please tell me I’m not the only one who has these kind of days! Before Tim left, he lifted my chin and says, “Cheer up Charlie!” If only it was that easy. Sigh… Thank goodness for blogs and people who like to listen to other people complain… I think I am beginning to feel a little bit better now that I’ve let it all out.

Read more here:
Today

I just got this email from Nate and it made me quite happy. While I do not plan on posting this anywhere on my wall (since my room is not actually an enlarged version of our law school carrel), I will post it on this wall, which I probably look at more often anyway:

1. She was the first person to remotely take my side on {edited for content}.
   
2. When I say something that’s goofy or surreal, she runs with it (e.g.: Nate: I could have a martial arts training / legal service. I could teach people how to defend themselves against anything. “This is how you defend yourself against a knife attack.” “This is how you defend yourself against a civil suit.” Carly: “This is how you defend yourself against a civil suit with a knife attack.”)
3. She got really jealous about my nerdy, male Asian roommate. I’m still not entirely sure why.
4. Carly: I feel bleh from the Taco Bell. Nate: The guy who made it was having a bad day. Carly: I could taste it in the Pintos of Despair. Nate: The Burrito of Frustration. Carly: The Soft Taco of Not-Doing-Your-Job-Very-Well.
5. She appreciates martial arts films, will see them with me in the theaters, and is still one of the only people I’ve ever met that has seen the 1994 Jet Li classic Fist of Legend.
6. She plays video games with me, and is pretty good (I still never beat her in VS. Mode in Stripper Cage Fighters).
7. One time she suddenly cocked her head back and gave me the bug-eyes and, because it made her look exactly like the ghost from The Grudge, I jumped backwards over the couch we were sitting on.
8. [debating which one of us is racist] Nate: You know, based on what you just said, it’s obvious that you hate Chinese people. Carly: That’s not…that was way out of context…and so wrong. Nate: People like you make me sick! Carly: What?! Chinese people?!
9. She got me to do a lot of neat things first year like rock climbing and volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
10. She writes voluminous fantasy novels based on actual people, and then she deletes them (not such a big fan of that last part).
11. She never actually admits it when she’s wrong, but she does occasionally indicate it by yelling “FINE!!”
12. Carly: So me and Kyle had this interesting debate last night (or maybe it was the other night). No, it was last night. Nate: No, it was the other night. Carly: [annoyed look] Nate: How about the interesting debate we’re having right now? Carly: If I didn’t want to drink this so bad, you’d be wearing it.
13. She sword-fought me once. I won. No more sword fighting.
14. She is so expressive that you can always tell what she’s thinking. And sometimes she will go through a sequence of exaggerated facial expressions in thinking about something that she has mixed emotions about.
15. She convinced me to go to the ACR National Conference in 2007.
16. By complaining about standard mediation while walking between classes one day, she inspired the whole co-resolution idea.
17. She squeaks “Shut up!” when I make fun of her. Or she comes back with a sarcastic comment. Either way it’s hilarious.
18. Carly: You should date someone. Nate: I know. Carly: It’ll be good for you. Nate: Yeah. Carly: Plus, it’ll make things interesting. Nate: [suddenly yelling] Yeah, for you!!!
19. Without knowing me for more than a couple months, she did a number of things that showed that she really valued our friendship.
20. When she lived in Ohio, I could always count on being able to call her at just about any time, and she’d be up for hanging out.
21. She had me and Drew convinced for most of the first year of law school that she could not say “Oh, snap!” with the right voice-inflection (she’d say it in a ho-hum, “Oh well” tone of voice).
22. She designed and set up my website, and she encourages me to blog on it.
23. Carly: How many possible opinions could you have about polarized lenses? Nate: Two. And they are extremely different. Carly: Ha ha. “I love polarized lenses. And also I hate them!”
24. If you convince her to watch a movie and it turns out to be ridiculously bad, she’ll make the experience fun instead of complaining and it will be fodder for months of inside jokes (“Stop biting my moment,” “His ways were the old ways, and they mocked him for it”).
25. We were co-presidents of a law school student organization, and brought down the house at Nancy Roger’s student group luncheon with improvised banter.
26. She is, by far, the quirkiest person I have ever met.
27. We met on the first day of law school in Criminal Law, when she, I, and Sarah Exten had a conversation that almost incited an inappropriate laughing fit among us (remember, everyone was meeting everyone else for the first time). She put her head on her desk and said, “You guys, this is not good,” and the way she said “you guys” made it sound like we had already been friends for a long time.

Thanks, Nate!

Read more here:
Happy Early Birthday To Me From Nate

I guess it is time for an update. Well we have been in Bakersfield for over a month and so far we like it. We love our house and the extra space that comes with it. Eric didn’t start his job until the 18th so we had him around for awhile. It was nice but we did a whole lot of nothing. We are so broke from our move that we couldn’t really get out and experience Bakersfield while he was home. Plus we came in the winter when it is cold and always foggy so we haven’t really been able to make it out to the beach or anywhere like that.
We really like our ward. There are a lot of other young families for us to get to know. Although our ward boundaries are a lot bigger than I am used to so there are not very many members that live close by me as far as I know.
The kids love their new home as well. They are both growing up and learning so much.
Aaron has really improved his talking. He still has a long way to go but I am understanding him a lot more. He is singing songs and playing pretend with his toys all the time. His new favorite thing is the “Harry Potter Puppet Pals and the Mysterious ticking noise” you tube video. He saw it once and has asked to watch it over and over again. Now he will get whatever toys or objects to act out the video by himself. It is pretty cute. Aaron is also loves our dog sugar. We got her back from Eric’s parents when we moved here and Aaron couldn’t be happier. He loves having a dog to chase around the house. I think Sugar loves Aaron but gets annoyed by him sometimes. She loves having someone to play with but hates it when he comes up and grabs her when she is resting.

Kaylee is getting bigger and bigger every day. She is so close to crawling but not there yet. She can go from sitting up to her belly and then starts to kick her legs and wave her arms like she is swimming. She has mastered scooting backwards for over a month now. I have been expecting her to figure out how to go forward but she is still working on it. She has definitely hit the stage of being more squirmy when I hold her so it can be very difficult to hold her in my lap.
Aaron and Kaylee still love each other but they are still siblings so we need to work on sharing and taking turns. Aaron keeps pushing Kaylee down when he is frustrated (thank goodness we have soft carpet again) and he has discovered that results in a timeout. Overall these kids are pretty happy and are having fun.

It has been a bit of an adjustment for me to be a stay at home mom. For the last two years I have been a stay at home mom but with a job. It is absolutely wonderful being able to devote all my time and attention to my kids without having the responsibility of the dorm. However, it gets pretty lonely with no one to talk to but my kids. We only have one car right now so I am pretty much stuck at home. We try to go on walks when the weather is nice but that hasn’t been very often these last couple of weeks. I am excited that there is a park in my neighborhood just a 10 minute walk away. That place will be seeing a lot of me.

Eric is enjoying his job. We are excited that this internship will definitely be a full time job once he is done with his internship. Half his office is LDS because they have done a lot of recruiting at BYU-Hawaii and BYU-Idaho. He may be working a lot of hours but we could use the money to save up for a car for me.

Read more here:
California update

No- this isn’t a post about my soon-to-be nursing habits… it’s a chance to boast a bit. One thing people don’t tell you when you become a mother is how mundane and everyday tasks become huge accomplishments worth bragging about. Things like eating, personal hygiene and accomplished projects.

Cases in Point:

1. I got Lyvia to take a nap today. It only took 1 hour and about 30 minutes of crying. Combined between the both of us. Yes- this is improvement over the past week. I’m hopeful for a 20-minute routine again later this month.

2. I hung out with my friend and her kids on Tuesday. Lyv was happy and even shared toys. I had much needed grown-up conversation with an understanding female. (“Adult conversation” makes it sound gross.)

3. Last night, I cleaned the kitchen after Lyvia had gone to sleep and before Jason got home from meetings. (No one ever tells you how cathartic having clean counter tops are.)

4. My doctor wants me to eat only vegetables and meat my entire pregnancy. I may be slightly exaggerating- but only slightly. My body begins to rebel against me if it doesn’t get fruit and toast on occasion. As a compromise- I’ve been eating homemade granola for a snack and Grape Nuts like they are going out of style. Wait, is that a compromise? Anyway, I’ve gained a healthy, respectable weight with this baby so far- so I’m losing the worry.

5. After a “holiday sabbatical” from reading- I’m back into the swing of things with four books crossed off my list. And running my household didn’t even take a hit!

6. All the trash cans in my house were emptied this week. All. The. Trash. It’s a good feeling, people.

7. Baking with a helpful two-year-old. Tricky, but so fun.

So, later this month when I’m posting about checking my email twice in one week (shock!) or painting up this cute little kitchen that my aunt gave me- you will all know that it’s tough work being a mom and mini-victories are totally worth blogging about.

But as I like to say, “Life is too short to be anything but happy!”

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Well, Bust My Buttons…

some are mine…some are from a clever email…all for fun!

• How should you respond to a two-year old when she escapes from her room during nap time (after NOT napping) and says, “I awake now! I happy! You happy too, Mom?” Ummm, no? Or, yes- go back to bed?
• Nothing is worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
• I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger. (Sorry, Mom.)
• They should teach you how to fold a fitted sheet in Young Women’s. It could be a whole activity night!
• Was learning cursive really necessary?
• Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired. Oh yeah, pre-pregnancy!
• Bad decisions typically make entertaining stories.
• They should have a sarcasm font. Or at least an “I’m joking!” font.
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work (or at home!) when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
• Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection. Again. (Truth be told we still have one foot stuck in VHS land. That’s right- not even DVD. I see old movies on sale at the DI and just can’t help myself!)
• I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
• “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this– ever. Or the tag “Dry Clean Only” will cause me to Google “how to dry clean at home” and try the ideas.
• I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Stink!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste. (And wearing sweats to the grocery store is a magnet for seeing everyone I know.)
• I think the freezer deserves a big light as well.

Read more here:
Things To Ponder

shoveling snow

Camden first time on Santa’s lap

My friends took me to lunch for my Birthday…thank you friends!

Dru, Annie, me, Rachel & Dana

Temple Square

The Walkers, Jason, Johnny, Jen, Me and Cam Cam

Christmas Party
Claire and Grumpy London

London and Santa (My uncle Kent)

Christmas Eve

Handy Manny tool belt was a hit

even for Jason (:

Christmas Morning

London so excited. Santa got her just what she wanted. A Zhu Zhu Pet and a pink salon (both created Drama to get!)

Now she is the stylist of the house

of course Camden got a motorcycle. He loves it.

Baby Avey and Lou

The cousins went to see Princess & the Frog

and then came over to have a sleepover

New Years Eve

Our friends had a New Years Eve Party. It was so much fun. Thanks Natalie and Heidi!

me and Jason

me and Dru

The Boys

Johnny and Jason

Ty and Jason…making sure they have the energy to last all night….or until midnight!

johnny and jen…love them!

Read more here:
long…. & i mean LONG overdue posts!

We enjoyed a nice quiet Christmas here in Bakersfield. After moving in on Sunday we got to work putting things away and cleaned up the house just in time for Christmas. This was our first time doing Christmas on our own and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. I think it definitely helped having our kids to enjoy Christmas with but they still were not sure what was going on.
Christmas was small this year. With moving and Eric not starting his job until mid January we could not afford anything big. We did get to take a shopping spree through my parent toy room since they were looking to get rid of some toys. That store was the best because all the toys were free. I found some good stuff in there.

Christmas Eve we were invited to a dinner party by a couple in our new ward. That was really nice especially since they didn’t know us. We enjoyed a great dinner with some games and great company. Then we came home and put the kids to bed. One of our traditions for Christmas eve is new pj’s. We never got around to buying new pj’s so I pulled out a pair that we got a couple of years ago. I think it was important that we matched to make it feel like they were new again. I think it worked. Eric and I wrapped presents while Aaron kept trying to come out of his room. We managed to keep him away from the living room. Then we had some hot chocolate.

Santa made the stop to our house. We were a little worried since we just moved. He managed to find us just fine.

Santa brought Aaron a rug with streets all over it and trucks to play with.

Kaylee got her first set of dolls and a book.

Santa heard that Eric was starting a new job soon so he brought Eric a new briefcase for work that can carry his laptop too.

No Picture: Angela got the new Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii and is loving it. (I am just about to beat the game)

Kaylee got some fun toys from Grandma Coleby. She loves her stacking cups.

Aaron was about to open another present but got distracted by the cool trains he got from his cousins.

Grandma Coleby scored once again with these awsome tractors for Aaron.

These kids loved their toys. They played with them all day long.

We had a very Merry Christmas. I think one of the things that made it feel like Christmas around here was the tree. We were not planning on getting a Christmas tree but on Christmas eve we were at Lowe’s and saw pre-lite artificial trees for 75% off. So we get the tree and I think that helped make our Christmas extra special this year.

Read more here:
Christmas at the Bells

Read more here:
Happy Holidays 2009…

Dear Santa,
It was great to see you a couple of weeks ago and get my picture taken with you – that was fun. You didn’t even try to grab my ass or say inappropriate things to me. Bonus! My gift to you in our picture together. I know you will frame it and put it next to your bed. Mrs. Claus might not be very happy about that though. So maybe just look at it and throw it away.

I know I didn’t really ask you for much this year. In fact, I didn’t really ask you for anything. I asked my parents for a bigger tv and I am 100% sure I got that. You know, because I went with my dad to buy it. But alas, I haven’t asked you for anything. And well I think it might be time. I thought about asking you to send me a personal assistant to run all my errands. But then I realized that the excuse of “I have to run some errands” is a great excuse when I want to get out of something. You know, something like going to the gym. I really like the excuse of being so busy I can’t go to the gym, so please don’t send me a personal assistant.

You know, all my friends are talking about this Elf on a Shelf. Seems like a great idea. But I was thinking we could use something like that in normal, human life. So instead of an Elf that sits in my house, you send me a man that could do all my dirty work. Yes, I know the logistics of that could be a little difficult given the Elf thing isn’t really real. But think about it. Really though, think about it.

Here is a list of all the things I need my Man on the Shelf to do for me:

1) Hook up my new tv that I get for Christmas
2) Kill all the spiders I find in my room
3) Shovel the snow on my sidewalk and driveway
4) Scrape my car in the morning if it is iced over
5) Give me massages when I am tired

I am really thinking this is a great idea. I know I am asking for this a little late so I hope you can pull something out of your hat.

Love,
Natalie

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Dear Santa, make this happen.

Riley turned two years old on Saturday December 19. I don’t even know how to describe the excitement I have been feeling these last few days about being able to see my little boy turn 2. With everything that was happening with in that first year of his life our thoughts of him being here as healthy as he is for his second birthday were far from our minds. He has grown into such an amazing little boy with a personality all his own. I try to imagine what he would be like if he were able to be up and about as a regular 2 year old. I see him following daddy around wanting to do everything that he is doing. I see him climbing up on my lap with one of his favorite books. I see him talking with his papa and cuddling with grama. I see him shooting some hoops with cousin Nick. I see him getting into things he knows he’s not suppose to. The funny thing about all this is though is that riley does all of these things with out having to walk. He always wants what daddy has and he wants to be doing what daddy is doing. He loves to sit on my lap with a good story to read. He loves to talk to his papa and watch sports with him. Although he can’t physically shoot the hoops with nick he is there to cheer him on. And for a kid who can’t get up and move around he always finds a way to get a hold of something he’s not suppose to have. These are fun reminders for me that I do have a regular 2 year old boy! Now enough of the sentimental side note let’s get down to why we are all here…pictures of the party! First off the best part of Riley’s birthday was that santa clause came to the house to see him. I was a little worried that Riley would be scared of santa but he just cuddled right up to him and told him all about what he wanted for christmas.

later that afternoon we had lots of friends and family come over to celebrate. Thanks to everyone for all the great gifts.
This is the dinosaur cake I made. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Riley had fun opening his presents. He seemed to know what the present thing was all about and was excited to see what was inside

Carly, Kyle and Juliet came too. I don’t know what I would do with out these people in my life. I don’t know what Riley would do either. He thinks they are just the greatest. Especially kyle, Riley thinks he is just so funny!

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Riley Turned Two!

The letter of the day is A. A for Amazing, Awesome, and Amazon.

I was downstairs cleaning up the kitchen this morning, when there was a knock at the door. Well, actually it was a tell-tale knock knock THUD, which means that the UPS guy has come to the door, knocked with one hand, and used his other hand to throw whatever package he brought at the door. I get a bunch of stuff from UPS and it’s always the same…and no matter how fast I run to the door, by the time I get there the guy is in the truck and gone. It’s the equivalent of being doorbell ditched.

Anyway, I heard the knock knock THUD and assumed that someone in the house had ordered something, since I wasn’t expecting anything. When I got the package, however, I saw that it was an Amazon package addressed to me. This immediately caused me to panic. I’m a big Amazon user and sometimes I order things and then forget about them, but since we’re done with all of our holiday shopping (and freshly broke because of it), I was worried that I had pre-ordered something and forgot about it.

So I brought the box in and opened it, expecting to find a gift for someone that I had accidentally already purchased another gift for. Instead, I found a gift wrapped package. I never get things gift wrapped from Amazon, since I’m cheapo and would rather just muddle through all that myself, so this was my first clue that I didn’t send myself this package.

The second clue was the note on the top:

That’s right. The package came from Kate, who has been over in Iraq for more than a month now. My sweet, lovely, wonderful friend took a break from defending our country and sent me a Christmas surprise:

It was good that she wasn’t here to watch me open it, because I totally burst into tears and I have a feeling she would have found that unpleasant. I know this because we have a lot in common and the last time I gave someone a gift and they started to cry in front of me, I wanted to take it back and go, “uh…I didn’t know you were going to do that…so I’m just going to leave this over here and maybe you can open it later when I’m not in front of you and forced to deal with your emoting.”

KATE, I LOVE YOU!!!! And I love my prairie goodness! This is even better than a stuffed camel!

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The letter of the day is A. A for Amazing, Awesome, and Amazon.

Yes, I know it’s December and the weather outside is frightful- but Lyvia thought this outfit would be just perfect for today: Her pink swimsuit, purple polka-dot sweats, two bracelets, her pink ring, her cell phone and a lilac scarf tied around the waist to complete the ensemble. I think she may have got the wrong idea after reading Ella Sarah Gets Dressed for the umpteenth time!

After lunch, she knows it’s time for the mail to come- and the mailman parks right in front of our house. So we climb on the couch, pull aside the curtains, look out the window and wait for the mailman (who happens to live in our neighborhood). Today she “called” him on her cell phone: “Hi. This my buddy Leo? You bring me my mail today? You want to play at my house? You have a treat with me? Ok. Call me later. Bye.” Then she tells me, “Mom, that was buddy Leo’s answering machine. He come play here today.”

Oh- this girl’s got personality!

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it's a swimsuit kind of day

There’s three kinds of Christmas wish lists.

The first kind is the kind you make when you’re a kid…it’s everything you can think of that you really want and the purpose of making this list is that you can give it out to everyone you know, eliminating any chance that you’ll receive bad toys and ugly sweaters. I used to think that everyone stopped making these lists when they reached the 6th grade, but apparently it’s not something you necessarily age out of. Case in point: my husband keeps his Christmas list up and running all year, so when the holiday season finally comes around he’s ready to recite the 50 things he’d love to find under the tree. (Oddly enough, the list itself doesn’t even seem to get older…lots of action figures, video games, and cartoons…)

The second kind of Christmas list is the kind that you make when you’re feeling like a responsible adult. It’s used as a reference for people (like, say, your husband) who are still likely to buy you bad toys and ugly sweaters. However, unlike the first type of Christmas list, the second type of Christmas list takes into account financial limitations, shopping availability, and what you’ll probably have to buy yourself if you don’t get it as a gift. This is the list that includes things like inexpensive kitchen gadgets, reasonably-priced home accents, and a sensible winter hat.

Now, don’t misunderstand…these are not things that you secretly don’t want. You do want everything that ends up on this list. In fact, finding four pairs of socks and a can opener to replace the one you broke last month will not only please you, it will make you feel triumphant in the face of adult life. Now you don’t have to spend your hard earned money on these essentials, so really you’ve come out of Christmas ahead, marinating in the joy of not having received something bizarre and impractical that needs batteries and a cubic foot of closet storage space. This is the kind of Christmas list that I default to.

I do admit, however, to indulging myself in the third kind of Christmas wish list, which is a type that has become very popular with bloggers. This is the fantasy Christmas wish list…mostly compiled of things that you’ve seen on TV or on the internet and entirely made up of things that would make you immediately cry out, “Oh, you shouldn’t have! It’s way too much!” My sense of anxiety around gifting means that I can’t truly enjoy receiving these overpriced items, but my sense of sheer awesomeness means that I still have fantasies about Santa Clause jumping down the chimney and dropping them off with big gift tags that say, “For Carly, who shoudn’t feel bad about the expense because the elves took care of it.” As I mentioned, I’ve seen many of these lists on other blogs recently and today, since it’s Saturday and since we’re in bed feeling indulgent and since I just sighed wistfully at someone else’s Christmas list, I’m sharing mine with you:

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There's three kinds of Christmas wish lists.The first kind is

PS If you are thinking of making some ginger houses yourself, I have a sneaky little trick. Don’t kill yourself with trying to frost the house together. Pull out a hot glue gun to do the hard parts and save the frosting for the decorating… SO MUCH easier and SO MANY less tears from fallen houses. Happy Holidays

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Gingerbread Houses