Christmas is here- Cat beware

I couldn't handle seeing a bare Christmas tree anymore, so I decided to decorate it and spend an hour spraying my cat with water until she got the point. I feel so much more festive now that it's decorated. I asked Sarah what she thought after I was done and all she said was, "there isn't a star." I guess I'd better look for a cute star for the top of the tree. :-)


Sarah wanted to decorate a tree as well, so we put up our small tree in her bedroom. She put her own "presents" underneath the tree, and as you can see, she's already a "tree hugger" like her Grandma and Grandpa bonk. :-) The dumb cat chewed through the cord, so now the lights don't work. (she has chewed through 2 ipod headphones, a printer cable, two cell phone chargers and probably more we haven't noticed. She's lucky we only threaten instead of acting on threats)

Bowling with Babes

Little babes that is. :-) We took Sarah bowling for the first time with her friends Jordan and Ryken, and they had SO much fun. I took 50 pictures in an hour because they kept doing so many cute things. The kids huddled around the ball return every time so they could quickly snatch up the ball. Sarah kept trying to sneak in extra turns. :-)


Sarah started bowling with the kids 6 lb ball, but then opted for a pink 8 pounder. She really got into it and wanted to bowl every frame of both games.





Jordan was a little pro, and if you notice the score below, he beat me. He would pitch the ball down and then go down the side of the lane and watch it intently.



Ryken is an adorable little athlete. He stopped using the metal rail and did it on his own. When he did well he would swipe his fist through the air. He dropped the ball once when he got a litle overexcited on the way.




Mike used his own bowling ball that is named, and engraved with, "Pin Groper." This time he "groped" a lot of pins and did really well. :-)



It was SOOO much fun!

"Just what little girls do"

That is what Sarah told us these last couple days when she was caught doing things she shouldn't have.

Yesterday her friend came over for a play date and I thought they'd be fine while I got ready. Hmmm...two three year olds unsupervised. Lesson learned. :-) Sarah decided they were thirsty, and since it was cold they should make some hot chocolate. She climbed on the counter, got two cups down and they each took turns scooping generous amounts of powder into their cups. They then carried them to the fridge, filled them up until they overflowed and then carried then back to the counter dripping the whole way.

I wanted to get a picture of both girls, but I think the other girl thought they were going to get in trouble because she quickly put her cup down and went in the other room. Sarah on the other hand was incredibly proud of her ability to make hot chocolate and wanted to tell me all about it.



Today while I was at the store Mike "watched" the kids. (about as well as me yesterday) He read the newspaper in the kitchen while Sarah and Steven played in the living room. Mike had brought in a new package of TP and left it open, and the kids got creative. I liked toilet papering people when I was younger, but I thought the basic rule was that you don't hit your own house, and definitely not inside. :-) Sarah informed Mike that the tower of TP is the tower the snow princess is in.

Congratulations Jess!!!!

My younger sister Jessica just graduated from the University of Colorado and I want to congratulate her. She received a Bachelors of Science Degree and majored in applied mathematics, minored in economics and obtained a certificate in the Actuarial Studies Program.

Until my sister decided to become an Actuary, I had no idea what one was. Apparently they are really smart math people that assess risk and get paid a lot of money to do it. :-) There are five really hard tests to take in order to become an actuary and she has taken three of them. She was just hired by Watson Wyatt Worldwide as an Actuarial Analyst, and she is really excited. (I'm excited for her)

Jess has always been really gifted intellectually. She got most of our family's math brains, which is the reason I had to take 1010 just to get into 1050 since I didn't do great on my ACT. When Jess was at BYU she tutored math and I think did it at UC as well. It just seems to click for her. It's too bad it didn't "click" for me, because her degree is worth a lot more than my history degree. ;-)

Jess is also the greatest sales person I have ever met. Seriously. When we were teenagers we worked for a telemarketing company and the only reason they kept me around was because she was my sister and did so well. They honestly would have gotten rid of me had it not been for her. Thanks Jess! :-)


Jess is also a really hard worker and great mother. She has two kids about the same age as mine named Angelina and Anthony and owns her own mortgage company. She's an amazing person and I'm grateful to have her as my sister. Thank heavens she forgave me for picking on her growing up. (that's putting it mildly) She has a good heart and is a wonderful person.

Congratulations Jess, we are all so proud of you!

Sunday Thoughts

Despite the fact that I only got 2 hrs of sleep Saturday night due to my Bunco Bella's sleepover I had a really nice Sunday. (I probably would have gotten more out of it had I not been in zombie mode)

Our Sunday School lesson focused on Ether and one of my favorite chapters, Ether 12, was a focal point. This is a great chapter on faith for anyone that wants to read/re-read it. I even suggested my mom read it to my dad to help him sleep. :-)

Anyways, I have a quote in my scriptures next to Ether 12:27 that reads:

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven,"
~ Orson F. Whitney in Kimball's Faith Precedes the Miracle

At different stages in my life I have looked for different themes in the scriptures. When I was getting active in the church I loved Alma the Younger, Ammon, Enos and all the other greats that didn't start out so great. :-) Lately I've really appreciated all the trials that all the prophets went through. These were men that communed with angels, had the power of God at their finger tips, had great faith, yet still experienced trials above and beyond any that I may ever face. I love the comfort and guidance the scriptures give and they really do mean something different every time we read them. How lucky we are to have access to these wonderful resources for happiness.

Just wanted to share. :-)

Holiday Fun

Last week we went to Zoo Lights at Hogle Zoo. One of the 1st displays we saw was the Kangaroo with a joey jumping out of its pouch, so it was of course a success.





A couple days ago we went to see Santa Claus at Fashion Place mall and Sarah let me know she wasn't scared of him. She told him she wanted a "purple kangaroo" which is the only gift she will be excited about.

About 6 wks ago we were at the store and Sarah spotted a purple kangaroo that teaches kids to tie their shoes, do buttons, zippers, etc. She begged for it and threw a bit of a fit, which I never give in to, but told her if she was good she MIGHT get it for Christmas. She then started telling everyone she was getting a purple kangarro for Christmas, so I had to go back and buy it. At least it was really inexpensive. :-)

My Precious Princess

I know three years isn't that long, but it really has been packed with so much. Sarah has been such a wonderful adventure and I'm grateful every single day that I get to be her mom.

She joined us a week earlier than her due date. I wasn't planning on her coming early, so I didn't have anything ready. Mike's parents had to bring us some scrubs, but when she came, it was an amazing experience.


By her 1st Birthday she'd already shown her spunky personality. She couldn't walk, but she could smile, cry, say dada, cry, say mama, say do (dog), say yes and sometimes cry. haha


By age two she'd grown into a little girl. She loved to play with horses, play princess, play with the "big girls" in our neighborhood and loved her new Kittie. She had learned her alphabet and numbers by that time and loved to read books. She surprised us a couple weeks before her b-day when she was walking up the stairs counting them and kept going up to 20. Thank you Sesame Street. (I guess) :-) She did the same thing at about 2 1/2 when she walked up the stairs counting to 10 in Spanish and I hadn't taught it to her. Thank you Dora.







BTW, this is what happens when her dad is left to dress her and he lets her pick out her own outfit. :-)If you ask her to smile for a picture, this is usually the kind of smile she gives.


So, now she is three. I love how her little brain works. She is young, but she is so funny. I'm 28 and I don't crack as many jokes as her. She likes to recite songs or rhymes and goof them up on purpose and then waits for your reaction. She is an amazing broken record and will repeat something until you pay attention and respond.

She is a great big sister, and this is something I have been incredibly grateful for. She loves Steven and is so helpful. She makes him laugh, grabs diapers for him and she never gets physical with him.


She has reprised her role as Kanga these last few days and not only do I have to address her as such, but I am also the voice of her Roo. If I slack off in my responsibilities, she tells me what he wants to say and I have to repeat it in my Roo voice. Here she is being the Kangaroo "Snow Princess" (Dora book and episode).

And here she is pretending to be sad because I'm the evil witch and locked her in the tower. (again from "Dora and the Snow Princess" available at the library :-)


I keep telling her I miss Sarah and want her to come back, but apparently Roo needs her as a mom more than I need her as a daughter.

I just love her so much, so I hope you enjoyed the picture overload. :-)