December 2011

   

One of our favorite things to do on Satudays lately has been heading up to the mountains by Snow basin and going sledding.  The inversion has been a pain and getting into the clean mountain air is worth the 20 minute drive.  Eden is fearless and Ryan loves to go down with Brent or I.  Laura thinks it’s hilarious when she ends up backward.  The last time we followed Laura, who was following some deer and fox tracks, into the woods.  We ended up by a little stream and then trudged back to our hill. 

 

Ward Christmas Party 2010

Highlights: making angel ornaments and meeting Santa

Requests: L- a Leapster and a pink guitar

E- lots and lots of toys

R-abstained

I’m happy to say that Santa was able to fill both of their requests!

November 2010

Retreat 2010

The words ‘most wonderful time of the year’ seem to pop into my mind when I think about retreat.  Love it.  Every woman needs a weekend with wonderful women, and it really helps that they’re related.  Spent a day on the town in Logan. Relearned how to crochet.  Read a few books.  Went on lots of walks and runs.  Ate delicious food.  Made some cool earrings and necklaces out my Grandmother’s beads, watched Anne of Green Gables, swam every day, wished it was longer, and was ready to come home at the end.  We even went to Sacrament meeting in Bear lake and sat uninterrupted through the entire sacrament.  Can’t wait until next year.

 

Eden’s Thanksgiving preschool program.  She was the cutest little blonde Indian ever.  Her line was ‘Maybe that was how the Indians got ready for Thanksgiving’, was delivered perfectly.  We’d been practicing all week.  My favorite was the song about shooting the turkey.  All 13 preschoolers yelled ‘BANG’ as loud as they could for the gun.  Made me wonder:)

 

And I seem to have zero pictures of Thanksgiving in Idaho.  Delicious meal at my parents home with our Stafford cousins.

 

Decorating the Christmas Tree for family home evening.

Family picture curtsey of our self timer camera:

October 2010, etc.

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We didn’t have very many leaves on our front yard, but our neighbors, the Amistads, had lots from their beautiful oak tree.  So, being the little ingenious girls that they are, L and E went down the street to their yard, grabbed big armfuls and carried them back to throw on our lawn.  It kept them all busy for probably an hour.  Ryan got in on the action too.  After awhile Maleia and Victoria came outside and joined them.  It was a perfect fall day.  Eden even has her bunny whiskers still on and Laura’s hair is still curled like a princess; we had been trick or treating to Daddy’s work earlier.

 

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Going to the Treehouse Children’s Museum’s Enchanted Woods is becoming a favorite Halloween tradition.  This is the second year we’ve gone with our Whetsel cousins and it was just as great as last year.  We went on a magical quest around the museum to find the golden rose.  We met lots of enchanted fairytale characters on our way and finally found the rose in the arms of a sleeping beauty.  This knight helped us by kissing her to wake her up, behind a book of course:).  The kids had a great time, even though Ryan wanted to run around, and the Whetsels came over afterward for hot chocolate.

 

This is the only picture I took on Halloween.  Hello?! where was I? Who knows, but for the trunk or treat Eden decided to change into a princess, she had had enough bunny hopping.  I also made Ryan a toolbelt and he wore his blue overalls and a hard hat.  Oh yeah, I know where I was, I was in Ogden playing in a Symphony concert.  So Brent got to hand out candy and put the kids to bed.  What a guy.

October 2010

 

October 5th

Brent turned 29!  We celebrated by having potpies and a scrumptious chocolate lava cake.  And the kids loved giving him presents, ok I loved giving him presents too:)  Yeah for Brent!

 

 

One of my violin students let me pick a bunch of pears off of their D’AnJou tree this year.  Did you know that pears do not ripen on the tree?  They have to be put in cold storage for 7-10 days and then ripened in order not to get mushy in the center.  Lucky for me I have a cold storage room!  Since this variety of pears isn’t the best for canning I tried something new: pearsauce!  Basically applesauce but with pears.  Eden helped me mash them all up and put them in bottles and the result were these beautiful jars full of pearsauce.  It is absolutely delicious.  Especially on warm zucchini bread for breakfast.

 

   

October 13th

Eden’s preschool had a fieldtrip to the Fire station.  We watched the retro Donald Duck movie about fire safety, watched the fireman put on all of his gear, talked about how to get out of the house safely, and most importantly, looked at the fire trucks.  Eden wasn’t too impressed, it was all kind of loud, and not quite her thing.  But oh man, Ryan was in heaven.  I now understand a little bit better why all men are obsessed with trucks and trains and tractors.  They’re just born that way.  Ryan cried when we had to leave.  He wanted to stay forever.

The last half of the month was spent battling the stomach flu and colds, so not a lot happened.  Brent finished his second to last class (I’m not counting down at all), and the weather has been beautiful. 

 

   

October 28th

Eden’s preschool gave a little program for the parents and all the kids got to dress up in their Halloween costumes and sing their songs and talk about the letters.  Eden was so cute in her little bunny costume!  I told her she could hop around and she looked at me and said with sad little eyes, “Mommy, I just don’t feel like hopping right now, maybe later.” 

During the program she sang extra loud, so we could hear her.  Apparently since we were on the back row two feet away it was hard to hear.  Funny girl. 

Havin’ fun in his beloved train jammies. 

September 2010

Wasatch Chamber Orchestra

This summer I started playing with this newly formed chamber orchestra based out of Ogden.  Our first concert was held during the Ogden Farmer’s Market.  It was really challenging to play outdoors in a larger group like this.  Flies kept hovering over our music, the sun was in our eyes (hence the sunglasses), and it was hard to hear across the orchestra.  The upsides were that lots of different people were able to hear us play that normally wouldn’t have, like my kids!  This is the first time they’ve been to a concert that I was actually playing in! 

Just as we were about to begin I looked out, and there sitting on a table in the back were three little kiddos waving at me!  It made me so happy!  They sat and listened for a few pieces, and Eden especially got excited when she heard the ‘Little Einstein’ music (Eine Kleine Nacht by Mozart).  But when they got bored they played on the playground right next to the stage.  Three cheers for Brent for getting them all ready and bringing them to my concert!

 

  

 

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September 9th

Eden started preschool this fall at the Learning Station preschool.  There are four other girls in our neighborhood that all attend the same morning session.  Since it’s just two blocks over we all walk over in a little flock of bright colors.  Eden was adamant about wearing her favorite red dress on the first day.  But her backpack was almost as big as she was!  I think she’s going to have a great time this year, especially since Laura has started first grade and Eden is already lonely.  Plus I get five  hours a week with just Ryan!

 

Midway 10k

Ok, first of all, it was freezing!  Like 42 degrees freezing!  It was both Lanna’s and my first 10k and I have to say we did awesome.  It was an absolutely beautiful morning to run.  We passed a steaming lake, watched the hot air balloons rising in the sunrise, and laughed at geese flying over us headed north.  I think we were the only runners who cheered at every mile marker, but we had so much fun.  We finished the race together in 59 minutes meeting our goal of under an hour.  Lanna is a faster runner than I am, but she stuck with me through the first 3 miles of uphill and didn’t leave me at mile 5 when I almost passed out.  I’m just learning how to cope with hypoglycemia and running and I had been sick for a few days before.  I would love to try it again in the spring.  Lanna’s already talking about a half marathon, but I think I may stick with 6 miles instead of 12! 

After the race we celebrated by eating all the scones we could back at Gram’s and watching the Swiss Days parade with the family. 

 

Family date night!

Saturday we grabbed the kids, grabbed a pizza and went to the duck park.  After feeding the ducks some yummy stale bread we stopped by a fun, retro ice cream place for fresh peach shakes.  Yum!

 

 

Top of Utah Marathon

Brent accomplished a lifelong goal this month and completed the Top of Utah Marathon on September 18th,  in 4 hrs and 10 minutes! He says it was the hardest thing he’s ever done.  But he’s already signed up for the Ogden marathon in the spring, so go figure.  We stayed in Logan at the Schwartzes the night before and had a little pizza party for Nate’s birthday.  The next morning at 4:30am I drove Brent to the bus pickup area.  I went home and went back to bed while Brent rode to the top of the mountain.  At 7:00am the race started and he came through the finish line at 11:10am after a grueling 26.2 mile run.  I overheard some runners say that mile twenty was the half way point! 

Laura couldn’t find her shoes before we left and I forgot we needed lunches and Brent ran faster than he was expecting so the kids and I got to the finish line 3 minutes after he crossed it!  I didn’t know he’d already came through so we sat by the finish line and cheered for the other runners for 15 more minutes before Brent found us.  Maybe next time we’ll make it on time.  I’m so proud of him for tackling this amazing race and coming out alive.  He’s my hero. 

 

 

 

September 24th

A few years ago I played the Ashokan Farewell at my Grandpa Henry’s funeral and I was asked again to play it at my Great Alma’s funeral this fall.  It’s one of my favorite pieces of music and seems to perfectly portray the spirit of my Grandparent’s generation who settled the Idaho mountains.

While we were in Idaho for the weekend Brent and I were able to get away for a date.  We got ‘New Fongs’ takeout, ate it at Beaver Dick park, and then hiked up to the top of the R mountain, where we had our first date 12 years ago.  Ah, romance!

 

I love Rexburg weather in September.  We took advantage of the my parent’s beautiful backyard.

August 2010

Ryan turned two!

We celebrated by eating a yummy chocolate train cake, crafted by Daddy, opening presents, and playing with Ryan’s new train set.  He loves all things trains and loves to carry around the solitary train that we own.  We decided it was time to branch into the new world of Thomas and co.  While Ryan and I were shopping, on his birthday, he threw an enormous two-year-old sized tantrum while I was checking out.  He wanted those trains, NOW!  He’s definitely made the transition.

  I know how everyone says he looks so much like Brent, and he does, but this picture reminds me of my own toddler pictures.  Maybe it’s just that his hair needs to be trimmed and is starting to curl around his ears!