33 Things I've Done

To celebrate my 33rd birthday, I thought I'd make a list of 33 things I have accomplished, tried, or enjoyed in my thirty-three years:

1. lived in a motel for a month (after a tree came through our roof during an arctic storm)
2. worked at an art college, a florist, a craft store, a marina, The Elks Club and delivered newspapers and phone books
3. gone to Disneyland
4. graduated from college
5. bungee jumped
6. played the cello (sadly, for only a semester in high school)
7. helped organize and performed in a family folk dance festival
8. failed my driving test and Family Science 210 (child development!!) TWICE!
   
9. seen The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables in Los Angeles
10. married in the Salt Lake temple for time and all eternity
11. traveled to or through 14 of 50 states (Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico, the corner of Colorado and 2 hours in an airport in Minnesota.)
12. dated an ex-convict (drug abuse) while scaring my mother to death
13. went to the World's Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1986
14. given birth to five children
15. taught myself to drive a stick
    
16. walked in several parades (it is hard to admit, but once as a Sunshine Generation performer and then as the mother of the children marching in the children's parade in Lehi)
17. organized a parade- it was small but included peacocks and monkeys..... colored and attached to hockey sticks! for my brother Ben's prom :)
    
18. competed in a Ballroom Dance competition at BYU
19. attended or served in Primary for 20 of my 33 years
    
20. cruised to Mexico
21. worked on the yearbook staff in high school
22. sang "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet" in the Marriott Center while a "gun" was held to Howard W. Hunter, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
    
23. tried water skiing- hated it!
24. been up the Space Needle in Seattle and the Stratosphere in Las Vegas
25. went to speed skating finals and a medals ceremony at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics
26. shared a room with four of my siblings (luckily, I did not have to sleep on the top of the triple bunk!)
27. rode in a hot air balloon
28. taken classes in sewing, toll painting, photography and calligraphy (but I'm not good at any of them!!)
    
29. had three root canals and two wisdom teeth pulled
30. snorkeled, para-sailed and swam with a sea turtle!
    
31. learned to Salsa dance
32. broken down on the side of the road more times than I can count
33. developed a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ
    

A couple of things I have not done yet include snow skiing, breaking a bone, going up the Eiffel Tower, getting a speeding ticket, swimming with dolphins, getting a facial and having my own room. I'll have to get to work on some of these, but there are a couple I hope will still be on the "not" list in another 33 years!
Happy Birthday to Me!!

'Tis the Season to be busy

Fa La-la La-la La-la La La!

Some day people will figure out that summer luaus are a better idea than Christmas dinners. Until then, we had work parties and ward parties and school parties and birthday parties. I had sharing time and book club and shopping and babysitting. The kids had book reports, program practice and vacation on their minds. We were busy, busy. And now that the season is coming to an end, we look back and think- what Happy Holidays they were!! Here are some of the highlights:
It was hard to get in the holiday swing after our cruise so, the first thing we did was pull out the Christmas decorations. I let the kids put the ornaments on the tree. They had SO much fun. And I was most proud of myself- I didn't rearrange even one ornament. Our tree didn't look how I would have done it. But it was beautiful and festive and one less thing I had to worry about!



We started off the month with a birthday party for Nate. It was a small affair. But we didn't want Nate to get skipped over just because we had been away on our cruise, then jumped feet first into Christmas obligations. We have LOVED having Nate at BYU so he can join us for Sunday dinner. I will cry every Sunday when Nate and Angela and Micah finally move on with life. It is the highlight of our week to have them in our house! What we love about Nate is his sense of humor, his love of the gospel, and his willingness to play, wrestle, run, chase, hide and do all things kids love to do! Happy Birthday Nate!

This has been one of the best Christmas Seasons EVER for me! I had the chance to help out some friends with their projects and it made my season truly joyous! If I could hammer something into the heads of my children, my primary kids, and everyone in the world, it would be that helping others makes you SO DANG happy!! I have felt happy, peaceful and grateful all season long! And I am so thankful for the sweet women who let me be part of their lives! I even made a new friend, Crystalyn! She wanted to make quote books for her Young Women- isn't that SO brilliant! And I got to help her make them! I still haven't seen the finished project, but I know they were fabulous and her YW loved them! And I LOVED getting to know her! There is a quote that says something like, a friend is a gift you give yourself. Well, I was really generous with myself because Crystalyn is so sweet and enthusiastic! This is the thank you she sent me, but I want to thank her! For helping me to keep the real spirit of Christmas this season! For coming to my house and letting me help instead of dismissing me as too busy! My time was minimal compared to the blessings I received! Thank you!

Of course, it wouldn't be the Christmas season without programs to attend. We had Megan's violin recital the first Saturday of December. I played the piano part of her duet to Go Tell Aunt Rhody (that was a new experience for this piano drop out!) and then she played Jolly Old St. Nicolas. She did a great job! I have heard her practicing and I mean it- she was great!

Soren's First Grade Program was on the 15th. He had a speaking part, which he was so excited about! He practiced a little every day and it showed! They let the kids read the parts and most of them, you could tell they were reading it. But Soren said his part like a pro! Way to go Soren!

We have lived in our same neighborhood now for almost 7 years. And our ward is our neighborhood- only 3 blocks x 4 blocks. So, we have a lot of good friends that we play with and serve with. It took us two full nights to make enough cookies and get them all bagged. Then another night to deliver them all. But, by the 14th of December, we had 46 stacks of cookies handed out with holiday wishes for those who we appreciate so much!
Now it is on to chocolate popcorn for teachers and my Activity Day leaders!!

I know I have told Kristi how grateful I am that she organized the Pink Christmas Exchange, but I just have to say again- THANK YOU!!! I was just giddy, to the point of being silly and having my kids give my strange looks, when my present arrived! The anticipation was delightful and the gift- amazing! Thanks Jen for such a thoughtful gift! If you want to see all the Pink Christmas gifts, check out the link on Kristi's blog. (Sorry, I don't know how to link yet!)

My favorite way to buy presents- online! They come straight to my door- no crowds, no finding a babysitter or being out in the dark night, minimal cold weather... and photos like this! Most our packages came the same day and Ethan could not wait to carry them all in! Never mind the stack is bigger than him!




90% of my Christmas cards made it into the mailbox before Christmas!! I don't know that any of them made it to our friends and family before Christmas, but that's not the point! The point is, they were IN the mail!



We took our children to the dollar store this year so they could buy presents for their friends and each other. It was fun to see how generous my kids were, especially since they had to use their own money this year! But the best part was wrapping the presents. This is part of Emily's stash. I let them pick what they wanted to use. So we have red tissue with blue ribbon and a green tag, pink paper, polka dot paper, and my favorite- blue and brown paper with orange ribbon and a red reindeer tag as big as the present!!

Friday the 22nd, I found myself sitting on the couch wondering if we should do something "christmasy". We had done lots of things this season, but a fun, christmasy outing had not been accomplished. So, we loaded up our kids and headed to Thanksgiving Point to see the lights. It was fun. The lights are my favorite sign of Christmas. But it was also the only choice at 8:00pm on the Friday before Christmas. The outing was short and ultimately disappointing. But, it was better than nothing!

All of these things led up to the much anticipated Christmas Day. I enjoy the anticipation SO much more than the actual thing. But, our Christmas was nice. Everyone liked what they received. We spent the afternoon with Kelly's family- eating, opening presents and visiting.

Now, we are regrouping. It may take a while! But we are happy to have survived another busy Christmas season and even made it out with some warm memories, full bellies and new friends!