Donuts, Sunbeams, and 3 Wishes

We got a fun Mini-Donut maker from my Grandma for Christmas. They are a big hit around our house, and requested often for breakfast.
My little Tessa is a Sunbeam! I love what a character she is; so different from our generally composed Emory. She is very good in Primary, but likes to turn around every minute or two and say, "Pssst! Emory . . . Hi!" She has learned the first 2 Articles of Faith and sings them all week long. I've peeked into Primary, only to catch her dancing like a ballerina during Sharing Time, or spinning until she's dizzy during singing time; hopefully, these naughty instances are few and far between - not likely though. She's a spitfire that occasionally "embarrasses" her big sister, in Emory's own words. Not the first time, and certainly not the last! On with the Sunbeams, it's been GAWgeous weather up here. Seriously, beautiful days in the upper 50's. We spent one day riding bikes and playing at the park, soakin' up the Vitamin D.I had three wishes granted on my Birthday. #1) Spent the WHOLE day with Cory. #2) Went to the Temple. #3) Ate at the Food Carts in Downtown Portland. It was a tremendous day, and I'm so glad I have 1 extended family member close by. My cousin Neil and his wife, Crystal, watched our kids while we went to the Temple, then Neil and the kids joined us in our Taste bud Adventure with Thai Food from a Trailer. It was amazing!
P.S. On a final note, I think I'm in love with Steven Tyler. I cried twice this week watching American Idol. The first time was this. The second time was that.

The Holidays

We had a good, long visit for Christmas, and miraculously I had literally no anxiety about the stress that is our life at the moment - which was a very good thing! The same day we flew in, we went to Discovery Gateway (thanks mom!) and the girls had a blast. I have to say, it was really nice to have 2 other adults wrangling the chilluns' and taking little people to the "bafroom" on an outing of this nature. (That worried look on Tessa's face? The helicopter started to make noise like it was taking off, so Cory waved and said, "Goodbye!" Tessa is just realizing who's flying the chopper.) We spent the first bit of our trip in Salt Lake with my family, and our long lost Josh and Sydney. The girl's have been waiting forEVER to see them, so they were in heaven. We built gingerbread houses (pictures posted previously) and had a stellar "Minute to Win It" family party with the Radfords. My mom and I planned it, and everyone one helped pull it off. Some of the games were, Santa Booty Shake (8 ping pongs in a tissue box, strapped to your tush, while vigorously trying to get them out), Face the Gingerbread man (Cookie on your forward, has to be moved to your mouth with out using your hands), and many others! Sadly, I only took video and took pictures of the kids playing before the event. We got a little snow, and true to form, built a slide. True to form, we played random games, like throwing playing card into bananas, until 1 am. Then we went up to Logan. We played with our favorite babe, and saw Santa. They loved Santa, and Tessa even showed him her ballet twirl skills! We also had an awesome party at Cory's Mom's house on Christmas Eve, with a stellar prime rib and a rousing round of the movie game. Christmas morning at Grandma Cookies was great. Very laid back and relaxing. The Zhu Zhu's showed up, per the girls' request to Santa.
Cory, Josh and Sydney left the day after Christmas, but we kept on playing. We had a Tamale Party with the James/Cooper Clan. The girls got Slankets from Grandma Cookie and wore them all the time. I tried to explain that they are for when you're sitting on the couch, but they thought they were making a fashion statement. Last, we went to Temple Square, which turned out being Tessa's favorite activity . . . by far. She was a hoot to hear and watch!

Thanks to my parents, for getting us there, and for everyone that gave up beds for us to sleep in, and for all the food and fun galore!

Auld Lang Syne.

For Old Time.We learned a lot this last year, and most definitely looking forward to a new one, full of adventure and hope.
Tessa is our Spice. No doubt about it, she keeps us on our toes! She made the change to "panties" January of last year, and hasn't looked back. She is a talker and I can already hear her cute, baby lisp leaving her vocabulary - Y for L, and W for R. She's also a homebody, and whenever we're out she's liable to say, "I wanna go home," every 5 minutes. She learned all her letters and most of the sounds and how to spell and write her name; if big sister has anything to say about it, she'll be reading before preschool. Her new found love is photography and she loves hauling around my old digital camera.Emory is our Sugar. She is too smart for her own good! She has a photographic memory and forgets nothing. Her dreams came true when she started Kindergarten this year. Hopefully it wasn't too much of a let down, as she is reading at a 4th grade level. She loves her teacher and new friends, though. She is also very interested in Medicine, and LOVES to tell us Body Facts from the book her Grandma Cookie gave her - "Mom, did you know that there are 27 bones in each of your hands?" She is also our little church expert, remembering everything she's heard in Primary or read in the Book of Mormon. I love that she knows many of the stories better than me! She and her sister are looking forward to taking a dance or gymnastics class this year.I am keeping busy with these girls. I love being at home with them . . . most days! I enjoyed new found activities in Corvallis, biking and running, but most of all berry picking. I have a freezer full of the "fruits" of my labor. I volunteer once a week at Emory's school and love seeing my "little person" out in the real world. I'm also serving in the Young Women as Laurel Advisor, and have loved getting to know the girls and leaders. In my free time I still like crafting, sewing, cooking, and reading on my new Kindle. (Cory is always hiding money from my eagle, budgeting eye and got me the Kindle for Christmas. I started crying when he gave it to me and said, "This is like when the Beast gave Belle the Library!")

Cory is our hard working Vampire King of the Hospital - a little nickname the girls came up with. Funny thing . . . being a Doctor is no where near as glamorous as it looks. Cory is busy as an Intern, doing his Traditional Rotating year. He works between 60 and 90 hours a week, and I truly love him all the more for it, because I know I couldn't do it! He has applied and interviewed at programs across the country (Ohio, Iowa, Arizona, Oregon, Texas) and we'll hopefully find out in the next few months where we'll be for Residency. He's currently serving on the Board of Medical Education(?) and is still politically active in the AOA. Cory enjoyed doing a lot of things before he started this Medical Journey, but now he likes to go to the gym and spend time with us, occasionally playing church ball and X-BOX. He is serving as a Sunday School teacher to the 15-17 year olds in our Ward.

Happy Holidays and a Best Wishes
for a bright and promising New Year to our friends and family!