It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

     For those of you who heard we moved to Arizona and started picturing sunshine and desert and lizards you were right.  But you were also wrong.  At 7000 ft Flagstaff isn't your average Arizona town.  First off, we have trees.  Next on the list, we get snow.  A lot of snow.  Despite the fact last year was supposedly extremely mild, according to history we get an average of over 100 inches per year.  That is more than Salt Lake's average of 70 inches.  It is even more than Rexburg, ID, also known by some as "the snow globe".  This weekend we got our first storm.  Just in time to really get in the Christmas spirit.  I will admit I actually love snow up until January. Then I would be fine never seeing another flake until the next December.  Also, I prefer to sit inside in sweats drinking hot chocolate, knitting, and watching it rather than playing in it.  I know, I am 29 going on 200 years old.

      No surprise that Dan is awesome about getting out and shoveling (he is a hard worker after all)  and playing with Shad.  After yesterday's horrific news in Connetticut Dan came home early and played with Shad all afternoon.  After hearing of such an enormous tragedy all we can do is pray for those dealing with the ultimate loss and hold our loved ones close.  He picked up a kids size shovel and sled on the way home.  Seriously, he is the ultimate dad!  They shoveled our driveway, then the back deck, then built another snow house.  Except this one has a window apparently. (I didn't venture out to the other side of the yard yet to see.)  Pretty awesome.  This morning, they got up had breakfast and were headed out to shovel again before I even got out of bed.  They are now taking Solo to go hiking and sledding.  Glad Shad has one parent that is the ultimate in fun and making memories.  

Loving it, even if he probably makes shoveling harder.

We don't have tall bushes.  That entire pile is the snow from the driveway from less than 24 hours.  Luckily, they are great about plowing here so the streets are pretty clear.

They shoveled the deck yesterday, but it looks like this now.

The doorways were much bigger before it continued snowing all night.

The view out our dining room.  Not exactly cactus and palm trees.  Fortunately.

Dads are SO much more fun!

      All of my in-laws are great organizers and planners.  As a result of this trait they were all prepared to send us home from Thanksgiving with our Christmas gifts.  Great thinking, and I am sure it made it more fun to be able to purchase gifts without having to worry how much it would cost to ship it.  The only down side to this scenario is that Shad is old enough this year to understand about Christmas presents.  From the moment they were loaded into the car he was asking to "mopen" them.  Despite a few days of telling him no it was not getting better.  Leave it to Dan to think of the genius idea of making a count-down chain to help him understand that three weeks is a LONG time.  Dan brought the construction paper home from school ( I know, super mom, I didn't have any.)  and helped Shad make it and explain what it was etc.  He also made some paper snowflakes and hung it all up in Shad's room. So incredible.  Shad was ecstatic. 

I am not sure if he likes it or not.  

 After this super Dad move I shouldn't have been surprised when on Saturday while he was cleaning up the garage he actually built Shad a house with the box to the water softener that had just been installed and another empty box.  Ironically, I actually had thought of using the softener box for something like this.  But Dan is so much better about actually doing things and obviously got around to it rather than just thinking about it.  Not to mention the fact I would have simply handed Shad a Sharpie and told him to draw a door and called it good.  I came out to the garage to find Shad playing in his house and riding his bike as happy as can be.

Yeah, it even had a functioning window.

Climbing in.

Looking out the window.

Happy Baby

Okay, so I am terrible at taking pictures.  Every time I do actually get my camera out my pictures are really bad and kind of discourages me from bothering.  Especially when I have several friends who are amazing child photographers.  I use to love photography but I realize that was back before every thing was digital and so complicated. . . and when I primarily took pictures of flowers.  So much simpler.  Seeing as I never have pictures I have a hard time convincing myself to update my blog since I know from reading other blogs that pictures make it so much better.  That being said, I am vowing to do better and actually get out my amazing massive camera and overlook the fact that all of my bad pictures are due to user error.  So, finally pictures of Bailey for everyone's enjoyment.

Bailey is a super happy, content baby.  If she isn't okay playing on the floor or in her booster seat you can bet she is hungry or tired.  Like Shad she is amazing about going to sleep by her self.  I lay her down with her binky and pull her blanket up to her face  ( she pulls it over her eyes.  Ever since I quit putting socks on her hands she likes her blanket over her eyes) and she rolls over and goes right to sleep.  She is finally sleeping through the night too.  She still wakes up around one sometimes but if I give her a binky she goes back to sleep.

Of course the one with her smiling AT the camera was taken on the wrong setting. . . seriously.

Any time I try to take pictures of Bailey Shad joins in.  I love that he loves his sister, but sometimes he loves her a little too hard.
 

She gives very sloppy kisses, or considering who we are talking about, she may be trying to eat him.

She is getting very smiley and laughing out loud now.  As cute as those squeal laughs are it is more rewarding to get a belly laugh.

She definitely wants EVERYTHING in her mouth.  She wasn't really interested in solids but then something clicked on Thanksgiving.  I ground some turkey and sweet potatoes and she hasn't stopped eating since.  She tried to eat the plate at outback and was literally shaking and biting me for more bread.  Typical girl.

Yes, she is wearing tiger stripes.  Fitting considering she looks just like Aubrey in this picture.

Don't Sleep at the Wheel

  Apparently I feel like getting some things off my chest, I am going to make another confession.  I am a terrible driver.  Not just mediocre, or less than great, but horrific.  Learning to drive with my dad was one of the worst experiences of my life.  So, take these skills and combine them with the ridiculously enormous truck grocery carts at Safeway and you have a recipe for disaster.  I was doing my best to maneuver through the aisles when a woman approached me laughing.  "I know, haha, I suck at this just be glad we aren't on the road" I am thinking.  She then tells me Shad is fast asleep.  I look down at my driver and sure enough he is totally out on the steering wheel.  This was a huge shock considering he is normally hanging out of the cart or climbing on top of it, unless of course he has buckled the seat belt which he can't undo himself.   At least we had an excuse for how our cart was driving that day.

Who Says Church is Boring

So I will start off with a confession;  I almost didn't go to church yesterday.  Dan is out of town so I would be alone with both kids and it was Stake Conference which means two things.  1.  We wouldn't be taking the sacrament.  2.  No one would notice we weren't there.  I had it all settled as I went to bed Saturday night.  Being up from three AM until Six and then woken up again at Seven sealed the deal.   Then I realized I would be alone with two kids all day on a day we couldn't go run errands, go swim at the gym etc.  I had no idea how we were going to entertain ourselves and decided to brave church after all.  I know, embarrassing.  So I scrambled to get us all ready, got dressed, braved the icy roads to the Stake center and was there a full thirty minutes early.  Seeing as it was Stake Conference that was intentional.  I picked a seat at the end of a row right by the door and settled in to let Shad play cars on the floor until the meeting started.  Then I realized I had picked a seat right next to the cold air return.  I tend to run on the cold side anyway and I happened to have soaking wet hair.  I was freezing.  Just then a friend walked in and invited us to sit with her family so her teenage kids Shad adores could help with him.  I promptly took the chance to change from my freezing seat to a warmer one with child care.  It didn't take long for Bailey to decide she didn't want to be in church after all and I got up to do our regular hall pacing.  It's how we make friends at church, meeting all the other parents pacing with rambunctious kids.  I was pretty disappointed since Elder Holland and Elder Eyering were speaking and I really wanted to hear their talks.  Fortunately, Shad was being quiet and entertained.  However,  after a while Susan got up and carried him over to the hall crying.  That is when I saw it.  His piece of Big Red was firmly stuck in his hair.  Apparently, he somehow flung his gum, got upset that he lost it and then got even more upset when he found it in his hair.  Susan spent the rest of the meeting in the hall with him trying to get it out with an ice cube.  Shad was soaked, shivering and very sad but AMAZINGLY good.  I would have done the honors however Bailey had fallen asleep in my arms.  I told her I would simply cut his hair but she felt bad since she had given him the gum.  Never mind that I had given him a piece on the way to church which he had given to me about three minutes before taking hers.  Finally, it was to the point where we were going to have to cut a few hairs to get the large chunk of gum out.  We borrowed a pocket knife and he was free.  Sadly, we missed most of the talks which seemed very good.  Elder Holland was especially jovial which I had never seen before. Shad was definitely not as calm about it when I tried to get the last few pieces out with Peanut Butter when we got home.  It was probably a good thing Susan did it, because he started screaming bloody murder as soon as I touched it later.  Certainly can't say it was a boring day at church.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yesterday my Dad would have turned 61 years old.  It was a crazy busy day so I didn't get a chance to post.  However, I did get the chance to go out on a trail ride with one of my Young Woman.  Her mom was gracious enough to make this possible by providing the horses, thirteen year old guide, and watching both of my kids.  It was perfect.  Never mind the fact we got lost and their dog didn't make it back. . . hoping the dog shows up and and wasn't a snack for the coyotes we saw.  I wanted to do a post about the things people might not know about my dad.  Here goes:

1.  He grew up farming in Provo, worked at Geneva Steel through college, and had a total cowboy accent when he left on his mission.  ( I know this, because we heard a tape from his mission and couldn't believe that hick was him!)

2.  He was told to quit dentistry due to back pain about twenty years ago.   A massage therapist kept him working.

3.  He has been known to eat Bean and Bacon soup with spiced gum drops in it, and preferred his cereal soggy.  He would actually put his Lactaid milk on and then put the bowl in the fridge for a while to sog up.  He didn't understand why this was disgusting and unacceptable.  If we didn't finish cereal he would threaten to save it for later and we knew he wasn't kidding.

4.  His idea of cleaning up was threatening that anything he found on the floor in ten minutes was going to DI.  I have a distinct memory of being five or six in our old house and him pushing a laundry basket on the floor in his old green bathrobe (which it took about twenty years too long to get rid of.  Thankfully, the Japanese Exchange Student we had when I was fifteen gave him a kimono one he wore until about a year ago when Mom bought him a more fitting Harley robe.  Hilariously, I remember the same robe being worn by my Mom as she dyed her hair back when it was dark and she did it herself.)  We were all running around crying and screaming trying to pick our toys up before they were put in the basket and gone forever.  It may have cleaned up the house but I doubt the ensuing chaos and tears was worth it.

5.  He learned to water ski behind a tractor in a canal.  It took him until he was forty to finally get his first boat.  They replaced that original Reinell only a couple years ago.  Our happiest times as a family were on that white and maroon monstrosity.

6.  He was a sucker for the style of clothes sold in Chadwicks.  I know this because strangely enough he told me.  He also said once when I was younger that he loved my mom's hair best pulled back in a french braid.  If you knew my mom, you know this couldn't be further from her style.  Flowing long denim skirts and blousy shirts with lace panels in the back with a french braid show he was really a country boy at heart.  With her form fitting "black, white and bling" my mom couldn't have been more different. She may have owned a lot of boots but none of them looked anything like a pair of ropers, and they all had high heels.  He never expected her to be any different than she was though.

7.  He thought being kicker would be the ideal position on a football team.  You play the least, don't have to learn all the complicated plays etc, and when a field goal wins the game you save the day.  The fact you would also be blamed for  just as easily losing the game didn't faze him.  He wasn't afraid of challenges and when told he couldn't do something he would do everything he could to prove you wrong.

8.  He use to pinch our bums when he would hug us after family prayer at night.  When we got to be teenagers it got a little wierd and I remember kind of trying to dodge the hug.  He was just oblivious to the fact we weren't little girls anymore.

9.  He always wished he had a nice singing voice, hopefully some talents are easier to develop in the next life.

10.   He was extremely sentimental and a pack rat.  He took our mother's hand made (by her) formals to  Good Will without batting an eyelash but still had school work of his own from elementary school.  He also saved cards for years.

It is so hard to believe it has been over a year and a half since I last saw them both.  Sometimes it seems so much longer,  and other times I can still hardly wrap my head around the fact that they are gone.  Wish so badly we could have called to wish him a Happy Birthday yesterday.  I look forward to that happy reunion when we are all together again.  In the meantime, we will shed a few tears, share a few laughs and remember a talented, respectable, friendly man.   A great man I simply knew as Dad.  Love you Dad!

Happy Halloween

This fall has been absolutely gorgeous here and we have loved it.  Living right off a major trail head it has been great to just walk down the block into the mountains to hike and let the dog run.  I absolutely love the fall colors and love that we now live somewhere where I can see the leaves change from my living room window.  When we lived in Salt Lake I would complain about not having trees around and peoples response would ALWAYS be, " You can drive up the canyon to see the leaves change."  Yes, the canyons in the Salt Lake valley are beautiful, but I don't want to drive to see the seasons change.  I love fall here in Flagstaff.  The fact it has been in the sixties and seventies certainly hasn't hurt either.  People say this is freakishly abnormal.  I'll eat it up while we can.  We will have snow soon enough I am sure.

Dan was so cute and took the kids and got pumpkins one day before I had the chance.  He is great about getting on the kids level about holidays and really getting them excited.  He was horrified I hadn't planned to dress Bailey up.  I frantically found a costume for her at the last minute and am so glad Dan had pressed it because Shad was so excited for Bailey to dress up too.  He really is a sweet older brother when he isn't loving her to death.

Shad showing us the scary face he wanted on his pumpkin.

Pulling out the seeds

      We carved our pumpkins Saturday, and roasted the seeds.  Combined with the fact I had halloween decorations up all month (Thank you mom for supplying them)  I actually felt pretty festive.  Shad wanted a scary face on his pumpkin.  He wasn't thrilled about getting his hands or clothes dirty, until we told him he could be "in his body".  He promptly took his shirt off and got filthy.  He was so excited to light the candles on the pumpkins every night with Dan.  I meant to get a picture of them doing it, but it tended to coincide with feeding or putting Bailey to bed every night.

Someone got ahold of the sharpie Dan used to draw the faces on and decorated his scary face. . . definitely made it scarier.

Bailey's silly faced pumpkin.

Almost got a smile

Our little Fireman and Ladybug

For actual Halloween we took a Halloween hike.  Frankly, most of our hikes could classify as this since the trail leads up to a grave and the burned down houses of a family that lived here.  It was a beautiful day and the kids and Solo were happy.  We then got Shad and Bailey's costumes on and headed over to the ward Trunk-or-Treat.  It was perfect, exciting enough for Shad to wear his costume, low key enough for the less Halloween enthusiastic.  You know your kid had a great time when they fall asleep in the car at 6:30 on the three minute drive home.