Aftermath

Every year, I wish I could take pictures of after hours Christmas Eve activities. Know what I mean? But I have young readers (namely my own children) and so the after hours stuff must remain a mystery to them. This year, there was a serious emergency on Christmas Eve. Many phone calls were made, frantic drives by several people out into the cold on a shopping mission ... Wish I could give more details. Thanks to the heroic efforts of several people, emergency solved resulting in a very happy child. Let me just say, if you ever buy something from a store and they rummage around in back and bring you an unmarked box of the supposed item, DOUBLE CHECK that the box contains what you hope it contains. Just do it.

Christmas morning in a new house feels a little different. I sometimes still feel like we're just visiting here. No real history, yet. But it was fun, too. We set up an air mattress in the guest room so all 4 kids slept downstairs. They aren't allowed upstairs until 7am, and then not before they've called the parents on the phone to make sure it's ok to come up. Grandma came this year to be part of Christmas morning with us. We followed our tradition (which Grandma started years ago) of having everyone drink a glass of orange juice before they can see their loot and dig into their candy horde. Mom always said it was to raise our blood sugar before we ate candy first thing in the morning but whatever the reason, the tradition continues in at least two of her children's households. Funny.

We've done a whole lot of nothing this week, which we've all needed. I've done more unpacking, my never ending chore, the kids have played non-stop on the new Kinect and Mike has slept in a drug-induced haze. Cousins are here from out of town so we had a massive sleepover last night. Isn't that what the holidays are about? We did slip in one movie so far -- "We Bought A Zoo." Go see it. Immediately. I want to go again already. The music, the sweet & sad storyline ... Perfection for me.

Still in my pj's at noon. Must be Christmas break. :)

Guess what Mike got for Christmas?

Surgery, a bunch of stitches and some good pain meds. Yay! Poor guy. He had surgery last year at this time, too. No more babe, k? Mike had a growth (the dr. called it a tumor -- I prefer the less scary term) right in front of his ear. He's actually had it since I've known him, but it started growing this year so Mike went to the doctor to have it checked. They scared him with phrases like "20% chance of cancer" and "facial paralysis post-surgery" and "We should operate fairly quickly." Merry Christmas to us! Poor guy has really been freaked out this last few weeks. But the 4 hour surgery yesterday went really well -- tissue was benign, no nerve damage (meaning his face moves as it should ... definite bonus), he's feeling good this morning and is home resting comfortably. We're both relieved, to say the least.

Now bring on the fun Christmas stuff 'cause we're ready to celebrate!

Surprise Birthday

My Noelle turned 5 a few days ago. She's been asking us to call her Noelle more lately. When people call her Elle, she now says, "But that's not my real name. I'm Noelle." Anyway, as her birthday got nearer, she started talking about how cool surprise parties are. She even drew me a picture of people jumping up from behind the couch yelling 'Surprise!' How do you then not throw her a surprise party? She wasn't due for a birthday party this year since she had one last year but we can always have a family & cousin party, right? So that's what we did.

First thing in the morning, Mike took her for a daddy/daughter breakfast date. She went in her jammies & robe and was seriously thrilled to have her daddy all to herself. When they walked back in the house afterward, Paige, Haley & I all hid behind the couch and yelled 'SURPRISE!' when she came in the kitchen. She loved it. Then we surprised her with this...

Remember that bear from Costco? When she initially begged for one, we lived in our last house that had not an inch to spare for giant teddy bears. Once I knew we were moving to this new house, though, and that we wouldn't have enough furniture to fill it, I bought the ginormous bear and hid it in our storage unit. She was pleasantly shocked, to say the least.

Once during the day, I said to her, "I can't believe you are 5! That's so big!" She sadly said, "I really miss being 4."

Birthday evening, cousins, siblings, aunts and grandma came over in time to surprise Elle once again.

She was giddy that she had a surprise party just for her.

Showin' the love to Aunt KK.

Oh my, how I love this little girl. She is my little sidekick & shadow and I love it. She loves her alone time with mom or dad (preferably with both of us snuggling in our bed). She's a cuddler. She's an eater ... loves food, much like her mom. She's feminine and tough at the same time. I just adore her. Happy Birthday, baby.

Do you ever... ?

When you drive to a store and pull into a parking stall, do you turn off the car and just sit in the quiet for 20-30 minutes? Cause I do. All the time. I turn off the engine, look over at the store teeming with people and try to muster up the energy and desire to actually go in. Like right now, for example .... I dropped Elle at preschool and drove here to Walmart to pick up a few things. But I've been sitting here for 15 minutes now, listening to a little NPR and catching up on blogs. I'm so cozy in here that I can't bring myself to get out of the car.

Twenty quiet minutes in the car (preferably with my phone and a Diet Coke) and I'm good to continue the marathon that is often my day. Here I go...

Nothing says Christmas like an icy mug of rootbeer, am I right? Well, for our family anyway because we always make a stop at Hires Big H while we're at Modern Display to see the villages and trees. Last year, we added a stop at the Grand America hotel to see the window displays and play in their toy store. Tonight was the night that we covered it all and it definitely feels even more like Christmas now.

We added a new experience to our Christmas season this year; we went to a live nativity that a local neighborhood has been doing for years. Live camel and sheep were impressive, along with a town center/bazaar, lots of 'townspeople' wandering around and even soldiers who were protecting the city gates. The kids agreed it was a cool experience.

Another tradition that lives on in our family is making gingerbread houses with Preslars. This year, Rachel discovered a village set, which meant that every child had their own miniature gingerbread house and that I could decorate my very own larger house. Sweet! Check it out.

How cute is the littlest Preslar?

How great is this time of year?

Biker chicks

How cool are these bike helmets??

Especially this one!

Rock Star

How cool would it be to play with a band? Especially if you're just a kid? My brother-in-law, Ben, is an amazing musician and incredible pianist. He's taught piano for years and does one thing for his students that I think is genius: he has a yearly rock & roll recital. The student plays keyboard, Ben plays drums, my other brother-in-law plays bass and they all play while a singer belts out whichever song the student chose. So very cool, right?!? Check out my cute cousin, Calvin, playing Coldplay ...

I know, right? You're awesome, Ben. And you totally rock, Cal!!

It's Done!

Well, almost.  The house is 95% finished and we're living both upstairs and downstairs now.  Mike & I both knew this house had great potential but we both agree that it turned out even better than we had pictured.  Here are some before & afters...

Remember the old front room & dining room?  We knew that this would be the perfect space for a fun, open kitchen.

Here it is now ....

We opened up the original doorway, took down a wall or two and now have this amazing, open space that fits everyone and then some. We fit 13 cousins around the island before the kitchen was actually finished.

I love that! We've been entertaining nonstop, which is exactly why we bought this home. I stand back and look at this kitchen and can't believe it's really mine. I've been dreaming of this kitchen for years.

Elle's favorite part of the kitchen is this:

Can't tell what that is? That was exactly what we were aiming for. It's a hidden pantry. The door looks like regular cupboards but hides this great space behind:

It's become the kids' favorite escape. On Thanksgiving Day, I found Christian and his cousin, Tyler, hiding out in the pantry playing games on their phones. If you ever play hide-and-go-seek with my kids here at our house, be sure to check for them in the pantry.

Here are a couple of shots of the family room before:

And here it is now...

Here's the entry before:

And here's the new entry.

I love, love the flooring -- both the tile and the dark wood.

The old casual dining room was transformed into our formal dining room:

I don't have before pictures of the bedrooms but here are Elle's and Paige's rooms. They're bright and so fun. :)

There's still some work to do but we're loving this house and are grateful that we found the right thing for us after 4 years of looking. Home sweet home. :)

The Wind-Storm of 2011

by guest-blogger Mike

Sometimes we forget just how powerful Mother Nature can be. This morning I woke up to the sound of howling winds moving at over 70 mph down the canyon above our home. I looked out in the front yard and saw our garbage can sailing down the street. When I went out to chase it down, the wind nearly knocked me over and I saw this laying across our street.

Our neighborhood looks like a tornado blew through it.  Overall, there are dozens of 50-year-old pine trees that were blown over during the night, some on top of houses, others blocking our street and the other streets around us.  In the neighborhood just a few blocks west of us, trees have fallen on sixteen homes.  The wind ripped right through the deciduous trees because the leaves have already fallen.  But, all the pine needles on the big pine trees act like a sail, catching the wind and yanking the tree out by its roots.

Our good friend, Barrett Morley, was actually up in this tree (trying to tie a rope around it so it wouldn't blow into the home) when it came down. He wasn't hurt, and he definitely scored some points for his "Man Card." We're glad he is O.K.

This is a picture from the inside of our neighbor's house. A branch from the tree that fell on their home punctured the roof and came into the living room. They, too, are safe and gratefully no one was hurt at their house.

Here is a picture of the trees that fell on another one of our neighbor's home.  

The good news (since I feel compelled to look for one) is that it appears that all of our neighbors are safe and no one has been physically hurt so far. The winds actually seem to be getting a bit stronger this morning and there are several other large pine trees that are really swaying back and forth. We hope they can hang in there and that no other homes are damaged.  We'll keep you all posted.

Happy Thanksgiving

From my cousin, Ryan, and his cute family.



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Interview with an 8 yr old

Paige turned 8 a few days ago.  I decided to interview her so you all can appreciate my Paigie like I do. :)

What is your favorite hobby? Do you really need to ask? Dance!
Favorite food: Creme brulee (She's had it once but has been begging for it ever since.)
Best friends: Addie, Ava, Gracie, Laila, Sara & Caroline
What are you good at? Making friends (obviously!)
Favorite vacation? Our cruise
What is something you want to work on? Math
What are you excited for? For when the Blakes come (our cousins who come this weekend from California)
Favorite tv show: Ant Farm
Favorite movie: How to Train Your Dragon
Best subject in school: Definitely reading
What is a good thing about our family? Most of the time, we're really nice to each other.
What is a not-so-good thing about our family? We fight a lot. (Cracks me up that we can be both in her mind)
What do you like most about the new house? The drinking fountain
What do you miss about our old house? My room
When I grow up, I want to be...:  A famous dancer or gymnast or a teacher
My favorite thing about my big brother: He's awesome at Tae Kwon Do
I love my mom because: She's pretty and she's really, really nice to me.
Favorite scripture story: Jonah and the whale
What are you scared of? Getting bad grades (I tried to coax a different type of fear out of her but she was adamant that bad grades are her biggest fear.  Guess I won't have to worry about her in jr. high.)
Favorite color:  Purple
Morning or night?  I'm a morning person! (So true -- she's always up at the crack of dawn; the first one to come cuddle in my bed.)
Winter or summer? Fall
Chocolate or fruity? Chocolate
Sparkly or plain? Definitely sparkly (Wonder where she gets that from?)
What age seems old to you?  85. I know Grandma White is 94 and that's really old.
Place you'd like to visit?  Hawaii
Favorite book?  Sisters Grimm
Big city or farm?  (big, thoughtful pause...) I'm a little bit of both.

the Break Room

Welcome to our temporary kitchen/laundry room ... a.k.a. "the break room." A friend of mine called it that when she came through the house for the first time ("This reminds me of a workplace break room!") and the nickname has stuck. I will love this room when it is just my laundry room -- plenty of space and cupboards to spare. But it's cracking me up in its current state. We can eat dinner at the table and I can turn around in my same chair and change a load of laundry. Sweet!

Our real kitchen upstairs is quickly becoming such a beautiful thing. I'm going to save any more pictures for the final reveal but that room makes me so happy. I definitely feel like it isn't really ours, since we aren't living in it and using it yet. Instead we have 'the break room.' :) And for now, that makes me happy, too.

Side-effects of remodeling

A fine layer of powder settles daily on everything in the house. This is the downstairs bathroom counter ... which I had just dusted the day before. Seriously. Trust me, we're doing lots of vacuuming around here.

BUT it's all coming together. Wood floors are in, painters have been going nonstop, cabinets go in this week -- it's coming together. I'll dust daily if I have to. No complaints from me.

13

Christian turned 13 today. A teenager. 13. So weird. He's such a great kid. Always has been. Of course we have our little issues with him (can you just turn in your homework please?!?) but he also keeps us highly entertained and laughing most of the time. He's the master organizer of fun things (whether it's potions class in the kitchen, spy camp for the neighborhood kids or a spook alley in our backyard on Halloween). He's far more creative and talented than I am in that regard. He's a fantastic creative writer, which is also a talent he did not get from his mother. He's a fun person to be around and is getting more clever with his wit and humor. And he's grown! I'm pretty tall (5'10) and yesterday when we stood side by side, he was within a couple of inches of me. How does stuff like that happen overnight?

It cracks me up that he instantly drops his voice (which is getting constantly lower anyway) at least an octave when he answers the phone because he's tired of people saying, "Hi Misty!" when he answers. They don't mistake us for each other anymore. He loves to quote movies that I like, too -- Monty Python and Strange Brew are a couple of his favorites right now. He's a master of accents. And he loves a good movie as much as his mother, which is awesome. :)

So how do you recognize a 13 year old's birthday among his friends and classmates? Do you embarrass him or go low-key?

You embarrass him with cute girls ... which isn't so embarrassing but more extremely flattering. He didn't mind for one second, I assure you.