Transmission property of the one-dimensional phononic crystal thin plate by the eigenmode matching theory

...this is the current reading material on Jeremy's computer. I asked him if he needed a little extra tape for his nerd glasses!

Snow, snow, snow!

For Christmas Jeremy and I decided to go snowmobiling and last weekend we finally got around to doing it. We rode on some "mountain" trails in New Hampshire and were fortunate to have beautiful weather.

We stopped at Chili's for lunch and capitalized on their 2 for $20 special (one appetizer, two entree's, one dessert = $20). It was tasty but I definitely don't advise it unless you are prepared to be rolled out to your car.

Boston Aquarium

On Martin Luther King, Jr Day, Jeremy and I bundled up and headed into the city. We spent the afternoon at the Boston Aquarium -- which was extra great because we had free tickets. Our favorite animal by far was the 500+ pound turtle who was eating lettuce. How do you get that fat eating lettuce?

In the same tank was this creepy looking eel who I am still having nightmares about.

The penguins were also fun to watch.

After the aquarium we had dinner at a cafe downtown named Flour and then went to Crate and Barrel. I ended up buying a cookie press at Crate and Barrel. I felt a little silly at the store because I didn't know what it was and had to ask the sales person, but felt better when she didn't know how it worked either. It sounded fun so I got it and was happy with the results after trying it out last week.

The aquarium was free, we ate dinner with a gift card, used a gift card at Crate and Barrel, rented a free DVD from the Red Box that night. If only all date nights could be this cheap!

My first baby shower -- as hostess

I did it...I hosted my very first baby shower last Saturday for my friend Camille. She is having twins (a boy and a girl) and we had fun celebrating with a party. Since Camille loves to decorate cupcakes I thought it only appropriate to host a cupcake and milk party.

Surprise, surprise for refreshments I served...cupcakes and milk! The table turned out pretty cute and I was sad that I didn't get a picture of it before people started eating, but you get the idea -- three different kinds of cupcakes and delicious (and nutritious) milk.

The mother to be opening up presents.

We crammed a lot of people into my little house. It was fabulous for the temperature. I don't think our house has ever been that warm.

I gave out Double Trouble Cupcake mix as party favors. Can't go wrong with funfetti and triple chocolate fudge :)

Congratulations, Camille!

...and a Happy New Year!

We rung in the New Year amidst snow flurries in Idaho. We invited extended family over and had food, mixers, music, silly string and fireworks! Because of some young blood in our group (Sam is only 4 and Anna is 1) we had a pre-New Year's celebration around 6:30 and then another outburst of hoops and hollers at 12 -- actual New Year's!


Who brought the silly string?

I know it's a little blurry but I thought it was cute.

Happy New Year!

Nothing like lighting fireworks right next to the house...You would think the older boys would know better but apparently not :) I'm glad we all survived!

Idaho Christmas

It was a fun time in Emmett as we flew home to enjoy Christmas with my family. I hadn't been home since our wedding (2 1/2 years ago) so I was pretty excited!

Jeremy and I were lucky enough to have two Christmases this year. One in Boston on the morning of the 24th when we opened our presents; and another Christmas morning with my family in Idaho on the 25th.

On Christmas night we all got together at my aunt's house and boy were we lucky because we got a surprise visit from Santa! He handed out candy and activity books to all the kids. Somehow he had a little extra energy for our party after a night of giving presents to the whole world :)

I must have been extra good this year because I even got a special kiss from Santa!

After Christmas was over we still had another week to be on vacation so we did what we do best...eat, sleep, watch movies, visit with family.

Here I am with my sister and a few of my cousins.

And no Idaho Christmas would be complete without shooting a few guns,

and doing archery in the back yard.

After my last post about my wonderful dairy job, Jeremy was getting a little jealous so he decided he needed to milk a cow as well.

And all my dreaming about a white Christmas paid off with a few days of snow during the vacation. Plenty of white stuff to build a fort and a snowman.

Christmas vacations should definitely be longer!