Halloween

Overall a great Halloween with too much candy and lots of fun. Hope you all enjoyed yours! Jar luminaries from here

Apothecary idea and labels from Here

I don't know why I saved my chaps from a girls camp outfit but I'm glad I did. It came in handy. Our lovely wall was John's idea. We had multiple paint colors on our wall as we were trying to decide what color to do. We ended up using our samples and leftover paint to create Halloween decor.

Next week I've got a lot of painting to do . . .

Mome

This picture is a year old. I picked this up at a garage sale last year to hang in my laundry room, for our purses backpacks etc. (Note that after a year the backpacks still end up on the floor 2 feet from the hook). As soon as it was hung Alan took it upon himself to label each of our hooks. I was so in love with mine that I had to take a picture so I would always remember how he used to spell my name.

I never could correct him because whenever he would write "mome" it was so heartfelt and it meant the world to me. One day a few months later he was reading a book and after a moment sounded out the word mommy. "Is THAT how you spell it?" He asked. Oh how my heart broke that day. I knew that the days of Mome were gone. In fact I'm rarely even Mommy now. Most of the time it is a simple "Mom."
But always I will love Mome.

One Down, Ten Thousand To Go

I found this little bench a few years ago at a garage sale. It was in a little better condition then and I was enamored immediately dreaming of quaint scenes in my backyard with my kids sitting on the bench drinking lemonade. Whatever. I apparently forgot that I have two boys who I am not sure have ever sat on the bench even once. The only thing it was used for was to scoot it against the fence so they could stand on it and spy on the neighbors.

However in my kitchen I have a large, no huge, decorative shelf and it is mostly empty. I decided to repaint it to match the kitchen. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Now I just have to get the ladder out and hoist it up on the shelf. Ha Ha! Who am I kidding? I'm not going to do it. I'll wait for my husband Mr. Muscles to do it. Now on to the other million projects that I have.

While I was taking an after picture of the bench I realised that I never took and after picture of this little thing ( I really don' t know what to call it). I also got this at a garage sale but for free!

The lady was asking 50 cents but she didn't have change for the dollar that I had so she gave it to me for free. I don't even know for sure if I want to keep it. I just wanted to try out a painting technique and what better to do it on then something free!

Remember

Today Alan asked me why we put our flag up. I've never really explained to him what happened nine years ago. Seven years old is so young to have to think about the terrible things that happened that day. I want to protect him forever from the terrible things in this world. I would rather him not know evil that great exists.

I explained to him the tragedy that happened as I struggled to keep my voice even. Trying to not terrify my child I explained to him the tragedy and heroism of that day. And why war is being fought today. Why we need to remember and honor those that died that day. As I finished Alan said "I wish I were this age when that happened." To which I immediately thought 'Thank goodness he was not alive and did not have to experience that.'

Alan continued on "Then maybe I could have done something to help"

"Except ye . . . become as little children"

MATTHEW 18:3

Life's Big Decisions

Though Alan would love to go alone I walk my kids to the bus stop every morning. Not only do I walk them there but as I see the bus coming I make sure to get a goodbye hug and kiss from Alan and Hyrum. Alan would never think on his own to give me a hug and and kiss but he has no problem doing it. It has however become a stressful event for Hyrum.

You see, as a kindergartner there isn't much more important than being the first one on the bus. At first I called the kids over to me to give me a hug but then Hyrum just blew me a hug. Like you might blow a kiss but with a hug. So I then had to start chasing the kids down. The other day as I was giving the kids hugs and kisses Hyrum had the look of indecision on his face. You could tell he was contemplating a HUGE decision. He looked at me, looked at the bus gave me the quickest of hugs and ran off for the bus.

Hyrum is a smart kid though. So the next day as soon as we got to the bus stop he looks at me and says "Mom, I'm going to give you your hug and kiss now so I don't have to do it when the bus comes."

I guess I should just be glad that I'm still getting hugs and kisses.

A Good Book

You should know I love to read. You've probably noticed the goodreads application on my side bar. I love goodreads because I am easily able to make a list of books that I want to read. If I hear a recommendation on a book I quickly go to goodreads and click a button to add it to my list. I love that I can see other people's ratings and reviews as well.

There is on thing that goodreads falls short on and that is a content rating on a book. More than once I picked up a book that had received rave reviews only to find out that it had too much swearing or violence than I wanted to read. It makes me wary to read something unless I get a recommendation from someone I know personally and knows my taste in books.

I have found some remedies for this problem. There are multiple sites that I have found that do content ratings but these two are my favorite. The first is a website called The Literate Mother. I particularly love this website because it has children's books. There are a lot of children's books that are good clean books, but still might be inappropriate for younger kids because they are too intense or have situations that young one's shouldn't have to deal with. They rate each book between 0 and 5 in the areas of Language, Violence, Sexual Content and Adult Themes.

The other site is Squeaky Clean Reads I like this one particularly because it allowes the users to rate the book in each area. This way you don't have to worry about the if the author of the site is too liberal or conservative for you. You can get an idea overall of how general public views the book.

Also I found a great online used bookstore. There were a couple books that I wanted to get for my kids but was unable to get at any of the 3 library systems around here. I knew that one of them would be outgrown in a matter of months so I really didn't want pay the $14 to buy it new. I went online and found Once Sold Tales. Almost all of the books are $3.25 and have FREE SHIPPING! I'll be honest I was wondering if it was a too good to be true deal and that I would never receive the books but they came a week after ordering in good condition.

So good luck with your books and let me know when you read a good one so that I can put it on my list to read.

Summer Reading

Do you have a summer reading program? One where you get tickets to a baseball game for reading a requisite number of books. I never liked baseball as a kid but I loved going to the baseball game. My kids love it too. Despite the fact that the seats are up at the top the kids have a blast singing take me out to the ball game and doing the wave (for them that's the most exciting part of the game). I love that the kids get to earn their way to a baseball game every year.

This year we decided to give our kids some extra motivation to read so we did the city library and the county library's reading program. The county library gave tickets to the Mercury, phoenix's WNBA team. Really they know how to do it. Instead of giving us tickets up in the nosebleeds the tickets were seated in the 12th row! It makes a game more enjoyable when you can actually see the players. Unfortunately during both games I forgot the camera so no pictures of their enjoyment. But great job reading boys!

First Day of School

The first day of school wasn't too hard for me. Kindergarten is only two and a half hours so Hyrum is hardly gone. The first day I took the kids to school and walked them to their classes so my the time I got home, took a shower and did a load of laundry it was about time for Hyrum to come home. Day two was more difficult.

The kids take the bus to school. It is also of course the most exciting part of the day. It took John and I a while to feel good about our kid taking the bus to school. I pick up Alan from school because we decided that the 35 minute bus ride home was too much. However since we are one of the last stops on the way to school we let them ride the bus to school. I think the school bus is where I learned all the bad words. I'm not really looking forward to my kids growing up in that way.

So on the second day of school I took my kids to the bus stop and watched my baby board the bus along with all of these big kids. I practically followed him on directing him to the seat behind the bus driver and assuring him that at the next stop the the little boy his age would sit next to him. My heart pounded as the bus drove away and I waved frantically to my two little boys. I came home anxious wondering how I was going to survive this everyday.

I've been doing better. I've been getting some projects done and I have time to fold laundry (not that it makes a difference in my motivation. I still don't want to fold the laundry so it still sits unfolded in the laundry basket, but at least it's clean). But the kids are happy and loving school. Alan even decided this year that he likes to read. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it lasts.

Snoogie-wookims

John and I don't exactly have many pet names for each other. One to be exact. To me he is "Husband". To him I am "Wife." It started on our honeymoon when it was novel to be husband and wife.

"Could you pass the salt Husband?" giggle, giggle.

"No problem Wife" he would respond with a kiss.

That's how it all started. And it never stoped. To this day he is Husband, and I am wife.

I have never called John sweetie, dear, babe, or anything like that. However, one time I came close. When we were engaged we were driving to Zion National Park. As we were driving down the back roads I saw a deer in the road a distance ahead.

"Deer" I called out to warn John. John however just smiled and looked at me expectantly.

"Deer!" I repeated louder.

"Yes" John replied.

"No John! Look Out! There's a deer in the road!"

I think that cured the need for pet names in our marriage.

Happy Anniversary Husband!

I think this is the first time I have looked at our wedding pictures and thought. "Wow we look young"

School

I was lamenting the fact that if I were to get an ice cream from the freezer I would have to share with my kids. Then I realized that next week I can sneak all the ice cream I want.

Having your youngest start Kindergarten is good for something.

Beach Bum

For two people that grew up in California we sure waited a long time to take our kids to the beach. Almost eight years in fact. We have been to California numerous times to visit family and friends but only on this last visit did we take the kids to the beach. It was overcast, windy, and cold. Exactly how I remember the beach from when I was a kid. Of course the kids didn't care and had a blast. Alan stayed in the water the longest and Hyrum who had been talking about building a sand castle for months finally was able to achieve his goal with the help of his cousins and his Dad. I think we will have to go out to the beach again soon.

Legoland

Last month our family got to go to Legoland. What a fun trip. We really had a lot of fun. It was nice to go to an amusement park in the middle of the summer that didn't have crazy long lines. We only stood in one line that was 30 minutes long. Legoland has some really great things going for it. The playground areas are by far the best that I have ever seen. They were huge and had all the fun gadgets. Despite the weather being in the sixties the kids still wanted to get wet. The water playground was awesome. We had the kids go there last thing before we left the park for the afternoon so that we could go right back to the hotel and get into dry warm clothes before we went back for the evening.

Legoland also just opened up a water park. It was great for the kids because the height requirement for all of the water slides was only 42 inches. Hyrum is unable to go on most water slides here in Phoenix but was able to go on all of them at Legoland.

Another great thing that legoland had going for it was that for most rides that the lines were likely to get long they had a Lego station for the kids to build at while parents waited in line. Most of the time the lines were short enough so that we didn't need to take advantage of it, but we all know that the lines are the worst part of amusement parks so this was nice. Legolands rides are also more interactive that any other amusement park (that I know of), you frequently had to pedal, pump, or steer, your ride. I thought that was kind of cool.

There was an advertisement there that talked about miniland, where they build miniatures of cities all out of Lego's. The advertisements said something about how many millions of blocks of Lego's were in miniland and only one toilet. I told the kids if they could find the one toilet I would give them each a dollar. With a bit of help they were able to find it.

Take note of the kids bandannas. They really made it easier to keep track of the kids. And they are still young enough to think they are cool. Great idea John!

We also stopped by the sealife aquarium while we were there. It was cool as well but let's face it. When there is a choice between fish and rides, the rides win.

A Joyful Independence Day

It's been a great Independence Day. Church this morning was wonderful. I love it when we get to sing Hymns about our country at church. Then this afternoon we made some decorations and had a special dinner of Hot Dogs (The kids find hot dogs more special then anything I could have spent hours on. In fact the pasta salad, the only thing that really took any work, was also the only thing they didn't want to eat.) Hyrum insisted that since it's our country's birthday we needed to have a cake. So I made a brownie and told the kids it was cake. They decorated it with strawberries and blueberries to make a flag. But the best part of the day came when I was trying to fit our leftovers into the refrigerator.

The kids had been asking all day for juice boxes and I kept saying no. As I was looking in the refrigerator I noticed that there were fewer juice boxes than there were yesterday. I began the inquisition with Alan and felt confident in his denial. I moved on to Hyrum and could immediately see the guilt.

"Hyrum did you drink a juice box with out asking?"

"But Mom, you said if I asked you one more time I would have to stand in the corner."

Figuring he didn't want to stand in the corner he went ahead and helped himself.

I think this was the time the time I have had the hardest time keeping a straight face while lecturing my kids.

Dad

John and I have talked a lot about how we will be able to keep an eye on our kids when they are teenagers. We want our kids to WANT to hang out at our house. We are not sure however how to accomplish that. Do we buy all the cool toys? Have endless supplies of junkfood on hand? I don't know but if any of you have suggestions we would love to hear them.

At my house growing up we certainly didn't have all the latest gadgets (I remember begging my parents to get an answering machine because we were the ONLY family who didn't have one.), and we rarely bought prepared food, but my parents did do one thing that made our house a frequent place to hang out. My friends were always invited to come over. After Saturday night dances it was always a given that friends could come over for ice cream. Most of my friends wouldn't be allowed to have a large group of teenagers show up at 11:30 at night (it helped that I'm the youngest therefore there were no younger sibling to wake up at my house). But my parents never complained.

I remember one particular time after a dance a large group was at my house. A few people asked me for a ride home afterwards and my car was full. When things were winding down and everyone was going home, one friend had waited until the last minute to ask me for a ride home. Not only was my car full but this particular friends lived across town about 20 minutes away. So in the middle of the night I woke up my Dad to ask for his help. If it were me woken up in the middle of the night I'm sure the scene would not be pretty. But my Dad didn't complain. He just quietly took everyone home. I didn't even get a lecture.

As a parent I can see how it could get really annoying to have kids over in the middle of the night all the time. I'm glad my parents were willing to put aside their comfort for me. And I am especially glad that my Dad was willing to help me with out lecturing me. Glad that I was safe.

Vacation

A couple weeks ago we got the chance to go to Utah for my sister's wedding. It was a wonderful day. Charlene was just glowing with happiness. We are so happy for her and are so glad to have Mark and his kids in the family. We also have more good news that John's brother was married last Saturday. Unfortunately since the wedding was out of the country we were unable to make it. But we can't wait to meet you Liz! Charlene and Mark

Don't they look great despite the terrible shot?

The kids had a blast playing with cousins.

I got to see my good friend and previous roommate Alyssa while we were there. Alyssa, I had a blast hanging out and wish we could do it more often. There is just a great bond that forms between roommates that it seems no longer how long it's been since we have seen each other we can just pick right up where we left off.

On the drive up there it started snowing. Of course this was too exciting for us Arizonans so we hopped out in our shorts and sandals to have a snowball fight.

And I made sure to take a picture of me with my mother while I was there. Isn't she beautiful?

To my Mom

I wanted to find a picture of my mom and I when I was a kid to share but I simply couldn't find one. The only picture I have of the two of us is from my wedding day. My mom was always behind the camera and was unable to take pictures of herself. So to mom's everywhere, make sure you get some pictures of you with your kids. Dad's, make sure it happens. And mom, next time I come out I'm getting a picture of the two of us.

Happy Mothers Day. There are some amazing mother's on this planet and I count my mother at the top of the list. As the summer travel season is approaching I am in awe of my Mother. We went on a family vacation every year and most of the time these vacations involved a FULL day's drive and a lot of camping. I never realized just how much work that is to prepare for.

She was able to keep kids entertained for 12 hours in a car (before portable DVD players or even the mini VHS player). Recently one of our leaders at church admonished us to not just "plug in" our kids for road trips. He talked about how road trips are a time for families to grow closer to each other. I looked back at my road trips growing up and though I would have never admitted it at the time, I have really fond memories of the road trips.

My mom didn't simply have us all sitting in the car together watching TV, but she had us playing together. We had a travel box that was only allowed out for such occasions so the novelty of the games wouldn't ware off. Remember travel battle ship? And war cards? Not regular playing cards, but cards made specifically for playing war. I remember playing endless games of war in the car. My mom made travel bingo cards. Since we couldn't just print out a game card online my mom drew each picture on each card. Wow what a mom!

And camping. Do you know how much needs to be packed for seven kids to go camping? My mom organized a master camping list so we were always prepared. She passed that list on to me for which I am truly grateful. Another thing that my mom always did for vacation that I still have been unable to master is that the house was always spotless when we left. It seems to be more than I can handle to get everything packed but my mom always made sure that the house was clean and that we were able to come home to a clean house. It really makes such a difference to come home to a clean house.

John and I decided a few years ago that it was important for our family to have a vacation every year for just our family. It's not easy. I can see why lots of people don't make it a priority. But I know how much I appreciated those family vacations as a kid and how much closer my family grew as a result.

Mom, you are amazing. I am still striving to be like you everyday.

Lament of a Broken Camera

There are some things I would post if I had a functioning camera right now. But I don't so I will just have to tell you what I would have taken a picture of.

The handful of red raspberries that we miraculously grew this year.

The rose bush that despite the fact that we thought it was dead when we moved in, hacked most of it away, and didn't water or fertilize, gave us a beautiful blossom.

An after shot of Alan's dresser that I painted.

Before shots of my next projects.

My tomatoes that are just starting to get a hint of color.

My garage that is finally cleaned out (OK maybe that isn't picture worthy, but I'm still excited).

My darn cute kids.

My hot husband.

It's all about ME!

I've never been a person to shout from the rooftops that it's my birthday but I'm thinking that should change sometime. I have a friend who's birthday was last week and she treats herself for the entire week. I'm thinking "Right On!" I should treat myself more often. So in honor of my 30th birthday, this post is all about me. Here's 30 things you might not know about me.

1. I can't whistle. I've never been able to. And don't think that you can say "it's easy, I'll show you." Believe me, I've tried, and the best I can get is some spit.

2. I cry every day. I'm not someone that most people would consider especially weepy, but I at least tear up every day. Whether I'm thinking about something that happened last week,or I'm watching a cotton commercial, I'll tear up. So if you are ever around me and you think it looks like I'm crying even though nothing remotely emotional is happening, chances are pretty good that I really am crying.

3. I talk to myself all the time. When I talk to myself my lips move but I don't actually say anything. Weird. I know. So if it looks like I might be talking to you but you don't hear any sound coming out, don't worry, you are not going to deaf, I am just having a conversation with myself again.

4. I don't like eggs. The only way I like eggs is mixed with flour and sugar and baked into cake or cookies.

5. Are you still here? You didn't honestly think I was going to write 30 things did you? I'm all out of ideas at 4. OK here's my #5. If I was reading someones blog and they wrote 30 things about themselves there is a pretty good chance I would have only skimmed it. I don't blame you if that is what you decided to do here.

Fresh Squeezed

Our new house has an orange tree and a lemon tree. We were so excited for all the fresh squeezed orange juice and lemonade but due to the fact that no one really has been really taking care of them for the last two years the crop totaled 7 oranges and 3 lemons. Well we can be excited for next year anyway. We have been watering and fertilizing and have tons of blossoms.

Disappointed that we didn't have any for ourselves we took to stealing fruit from the neighbors trees after dark. OK no not really. The HOA's all plant citrus trees along side the road so tonight for Family Home Evening we decided to make good use of our HOA fees and go pick some oranges. The bottom half of the trees had all been cleared, so John fashioned some fruit pickers and we set to work.

We got three bags or oranges and then realized that it would have been a good idea to buy an electric juicer prior to tonight. Oh well. The four of us used our muscles and got a half gallon of juice. It is a lot of work but for fresh squeezed juice, there are some things worth working for.

One sip . . . .

and the taste . . . .

Of fresh squeezed Orange Juice . . . .

WAS SO AWFUL!

"Oh I'll just add a little sugar" I thought. No,a cup and a half of sugar later I could barely gag it down. I'll be honest the smell of the oranges is still in the air and my stomach is hurting. It's that bad.

I suppose they are considered ornamental for a reason.

First Bike

Do you remember your first bike? I remember mine. I got it for Christmas when I was six years old. When I saw it by the tree I knew it was mine. Of course that afternoon I got to try it out. I wasn't very good. I kept imagining that I would be able to ride that day. Well it took some training wheels and a LONG time (I'm thinking many months), before I got it.

Hyrum got his first bike recently. We had some training wheels, but unfortunately they were meant for a smaller bike. They were useless to Hyrum. I was worried. I had no reason to be. He got it almost immediately. I don't get it. He obviously didn't get that coordination from me. Riding a bike was easy for Alan too. But every day since then he begs to go ride his bike outside. Remember that excitement. The freedom and exhilaration of being on a bike.

He makes me want to get a bike too.

Confounded

I may have been taught to play checkers once when I was a kid, but if so, I have no memory of it. I never knew how to play checkers and had consequently, never played before until last Saturday. I was at a garage sale (Horray for garage sales!), and saw a checkers game for 25 cents. I figured it would be a good addition to our game collection.

Saturday afternoon I played my first game of Checkers.


I have played 3 times since then.


I still have yet to beat my 5 year old.



(Maybe there is a reason I never played this as a kid)

End Tables

I mentioned that I also redid some end tables. I think these end tables are older than I am. My parents had them as long as I can remember and they gave them to us when they finally upgraded and we were using apple boxes for end tables.

Aren't they lovely? I know you could hardly tell that they are 30 years old. Well I HATED these tables and was embarrassed to have them but unable to go buy new ones. I figured I had nothing to loose when Kathy suggested that I paint them. So I went completely out of my comfort zone and painted them red.

Believe it or not these are both the same color. I am just that bad a photographer. In reality it is less pink then the one on the left and less bright then the one on the right. In any case the look better in person and better then the original.

My Latest Project

I always need a project. Paint the walls? OK. Plant a garden? Sure. Systematically try all oatmeal cookie recipes to find the best one? Why not? Really it's all an excuse to not clean my house. Anything but cleaning. If you've been to my house you will know that this is not an exaggeration. John has been patient with my projects but really he's holding his breath wishing I would settle down a little. Well John unwittingly introduced me to my next project.

Our friend Kathy has a great knack for decorating, but John knew that I would never ask her to come help me figure out what to do. So for a Christmas present John set up a day for Kathy to come help me with the house. Kathy gave me tons of great ideas and even showed me some great spots to go furniture shopping. She was also kind enough to hold my hand and help me though refinishing some furniture. So without further delay . . . . Here it is!

Ta Dah! Ain't she a bute! Well this is the before anyway. Sorry about the odd angle but it is the best I could do in my garage. Well are you ready for the after. No. To be truly ready for the after you have to appreciate out set up before.

Yes that is what you think it is. Our TV is on top of another TV. Wow. I confessed it. It's good to get that off my chest and out in the open. Now everyone knows how trashy we are. Or as a friend told me "You just need to move it out onto the porch with your couch." Alright now that you understand our desperate need. Here is the after.

Ta dah! I was worried for a while but I'm pleased with how it turned out. I did some end tables too but my camera is having issues and they will have to be posted another day. Now that Kathy got me started I have a long list of furniture to re-do. Thanks Kathy! And don't worry. We just moved the other TV into the cabinet so that John and I can still both watch out favorite TV shows at the same time.

Overdone

I like to get my kids something for Valentines Day. My parents always got us something growing up and it made the day extra special. So I wanted to give a small gift for my kids. My first thought was the heart shaped box of chocolates from the dollar store. They might not be great chocolates but the kids don't care, and I remember how special I felt when I got my own box of chocolates. Well that was the plan until I went to Alan's class party.

Have you been to one of those lately? When I was a kid the fancy valentines that were delivered had a couple conversation hearts stuck in the envelope. Now almost every single valentine was a candy (I say almost because ours was not). I saw them at the stores, they are very cute ideas, but really? It's not Halloween. The kids don't need that much candy. Of course the real kicker was when one of the kids valentine was the box of heart chocolates. You just had to show me up. Now mom looks cheap. (Yes I know that the dollar store is cheap but the kids don't know). Alan ingested the box of chocolate in 6.2 seconds without appreciating it for a second, and then he was on to the next candy. Can't we go back to no candy's in the valentines so that a box of chocolates actually is something to appreciate? Do we have to overdue everything?

So the kids ended up getting a calender from the dollar store instead. I know it doesn't fit well with Valentines but I didn't want to have to compete with a first grader.

The Kids Got New Chores

Well . . . . at least it's not MY job to put away the dishes anymore.

Because I just haven't felt like it

I know. It's been almost two months since I last blogged. I'll be honest. It's not because I have been too busy or even like I have nothing to say. I actually have a million things to say but I just haven't felt like blogging. So here's our brief update. But just a warning if I post some things in the near future that just don't make a lot of sense chronologically (like posting about Christmas after I post about Valentines day), it is because I am just now getting around to it.

Hyrum turned 5 last week. Wow! I can't believe my baby is 5! That is five as in he starts kindergarten next year. I'm not handling it so well. Just thinking about both my kids being in school next year is too much for me. Who knows what I will be like next August when school starts. Hyrum is doing great. His current plan is to marry me, have 10 girls, 6 boys, and 4 babies. I'm flattered.

A little side story. A few years ago I took some cake decorating classes. Cake decorating isn't a natural talent of mine but I worked hard at it and I've made some cakes that I'm really proud of. Especially because my original goal for taking the classes was just to not be embarrassed when frosting my kids birthday cakes. Well all that time and money spent on classes has come to this.

This is Hyrum's birthday cake. Even though this shot is out of focus I kind of like it because it looks like it's an action shot and the army guy's are actually moving. It's not all my fault. I asked Hyrum what kind of cake he wanted and and he told me "A strawberry army cake with yellow frosting" Huh? I tried to convince him to have a camouflage cake because I've been wanting to try out that technique but no he wanted yellow frosting with plastic army men. OK if you say so.

To celebrate Hyrum's birthday we played hooky on Monday and went up to Flagstaff to play in the snow. It was so much fun. It was both of our kids first time in snow (well technically Alan spent a lot of time in snow as a baby but as we moved to Arizona when he was only 15 months old he doesn't have any memory of it.

I made an attempt at snowboarding. I never made much progress but it really made me miss skiing. I haven't been skiing since I got married, because as we all know being married = no money. Now I'm going to have to save up money for lift tickets.

Plenty of spills but that makes it fun.