Reader’s Digest Version -Jan/Feb 2009
I wanted to recap the year in one post, but since this year was not the best blogging year for me, I think I’ll do it in little condensed issues. So here is our January & February issue:
Hunter, Emma, and Mom all auditioned for Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. Behind the kids are examples of the artwork in the show.
An “Emma & Mommy day” at the American Girl Place in LA. It was like going to heaven for her!
Rob tried out a new look, and so did Sabrina. Twinners!
Hannah celebrated her birthday wearing her pirate costume on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride. Cutest pirate ever!
I changed the look of our bedroom by getting a new duvet and dying our lilac colored bed skirt a chocolate brown.
Rob took a business trip to New York city and made a new friend at the Carnegie Deli.
We drove to Logan to visit all of the family there. Lots of fun, cousins, and food!
More cousins, snow, and sledding!
Uncle Gary made sure the kids all got a good ride.
Estee and Hannah with their Valentine kisses!
We thought we would have to leave Utah without ever seeing it snow. But on our last day it did, and we got to build snowmen.
Sabrina got her piggy cake for her birthday…
and a throne to sit on as she opened her presents!
Hannah and her pre-school friend Krista were ready for the whale watching trip!
We saw many dolphins swimming next to our boat…
and we even saw a few whales! They’re harder to spot because they don’t jump out of the water like the dolphins.
And last, we went to a Valentines Day 80’s dance that was so rad! The kids had their own little party while the adults went crazy and reminisced the past.
Read MoreChristmas in Five Minutes
There’s something magical about Christmas, and every year we take a ton of pictures and video to try and capture it all. We rarely go back and look at the videos again though because it would take hours to get through them. This year Rob decided to put in several hours of work and consolidate the highlights of the day into five minutes. Before you watch this you should know that we like to make up names for who gave the gifts so that they aren’t all “from Mom & Dad.” It’s a tradition that started with Rob’s Dad and we have openly embraced it. (Don’t worry though, if you sent gifts, we didn’t make up names for you. The kids know who really sent them!) So pull up a pillow, and don’t blink or you’ll miss something. Rob did a wonderful job:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG7d5m4UjrA
Read MoreHappy New Year!
We are ready for a party! Let the movies, games, pizza and junk food (just eat a couple of baby carrots please…) begin!
Hogwarts Dormitory
When we moved into our new place, Emma was able to have her own room for the first time. She loves the Harry Potter series and wanted to make her room like the Gryffindor dormitories. So when Nana came to visit she helped me and Emma make some draperies to dress up her room. She had a pillow with the Marauder’s Map and we used that as our inspiration for picking out fabric. These pictures don’t really do it justice, and it’s still a work in progress, but she loves it so far. I don’t have a picture of it, but she has also put a picture of the “fat lady” on her bedroom door and has a list of rotating passwords. It’s awesome.
A Piano for Christmas
Since we have put off having our kids take piano lessons for way too long, and Rob and I both play a little piano and would like to play more, and since we have the floor space now, Rob and I combined our Christmas gifts this year and got a piano! We’ve heard that the Japanese pianos have the best sound, and would have loved to have a baby grand but they also cost twice as much. So to stay on budget we decided to get the best bang for the buck and rent this upright Kawai for 6 months to see how much it gets used before we commit to such a major piece of furniture with such a big price tag. It has been so much fun, and we plan to sign the kids up for lessons as soon as possible. The girls have all spent some time playing around on it. Hunter thinks playing the violin is enough, but we’ll see… 
Rob and I have been playing too, and I have been surprised at how much has come back to me after not playing for years. I still can’t play a church hymn at singing speed, so don’t get any ideas church leaders ;). Our living room now has one piece of beautiful furniture, and eventually we’ll fill in with some places to sit, but for now I am content with hearing the sounds of music ringing through the house.
By the way, I just got a new calling as the Relief Society Meeting Coordinator. It used to be called the Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment Leader, but the name has recently changed. I haven’t had this calling since I was living in a married student ward, so I’m nervous. But I had some great examples in my friends Heidi and Michelle from our last ward, so I may need to call them for some pointers.
Read MoreSanta Claus is Coming
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2vYqGdkFd8
Has anyone else been singing this a lot in order to get their kids to behave? This is from Andrea Bocelli’s Christmas Concert. If you haven’t seen it, it’s fantastic and I promise it will get you in the Christmas spirit!
Read MoreBackyard Tour
Welcome to our backyard! I’m slowly getting around to showing pictures of our new place, so eventually you’ll see it all.This is one of the two banana trees in the yard. I cannot tell you how excited the girls were when they discovered little bananas growing on the tree. I have no idea when they become ripe, so we’ll just watch and wait.
This is the part of the yard I like to call Snow White’s wishing well. It just reminds me of the scene from the movie where she’s singing the wishing song. And of course the statues of the deer add to the whole feeling as well. Each of these deer have names that are different according to which of the girls you ask, but they all agree that the lady statue is named Genevieve. I told the girls one time how much I love this name, and they really remembered it.
Here is the grassy/weedy area. Maybe after the winter it will perk up a bit? The park lamp post is very pretty, but we haven’t been able to find any way to turn it on. Just one of several features of the backyard that seem to be just for looks. The others being the built-in BBQ that isn’t set up right, and the built-in sink that has no pipes leading out of it. Our theory is that this was a model home for the development and it was more about form than function.
There are half a dozen citrus trees, but this is the only one that is making fruit right now. We can’t wait to see what kind of citrus it will be.
This owl, which has been named Hedwig, also came with the yard and keeps guard over the gazebo. All of the animal statues crack me up and definitely add personality to the backyard.
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