Isobel's Christmas song

Guest blogger: DH

Hey kids,

This is a sneak preview of the song the primary is going to sing at church tomorrow morning.

Eva burst into song today, once again choosing a song that sounded only vaguely familiar to me, and Isobel filled in the gaps. But you'll notice Isobel's version has a few gaps, too.

That's because Eva was spinning a little plastic record on a curvy straw, and when it would stop spinning, Isobel would have to stop singing. (Too bad I only have audio and not video, eh?) She eventually made it through.

Here you go.

Just in case there's any doubt about who's doing the singing, Eva just sings the first line then instructs Isobel, who takes it from there.

Merry Christmas.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

We saw LOTS of Santas this last week. Last Saturday we went to the mall (Me, Eva, Katie, and Abigail) where Eva sat on Santa's lap. I didn't take a picture of that because 1) I wasn't allowed because they were selling photos and 2) I tried to take a picture with Katie's camera and there was no card in it. Talk about being forced to follow the rules! Hehe. On Thursday, my little family went to Albuquerque to a NMSD preschool party where we saw another santa - who gave each of the girls a book. Well, Isobel was one of the first names to be called and she didn't even open her present til the next day. Eva was waiting at the front of the room - pacing back to us on occasion - hoping to hear her name. Well, it didn't come. Joanne and her daughters were there and her oldest daughter was waiting to see if Eva got a gift - if she didn't, she was going to share. When they were about to wrap up, they asked if they missed anyone. Me, Joanne, and Eva all said that Eva had been forgotten. So, they found her gift and she was thrilled to get a book. Isobel, after seeing everyone open thier presents, told us she hoped hers wasn't a book. The next day she found a book in her wrapping paper. Oh well. Here is a pic of Eva waiting to be called. (By the way, it was a pj party.)

So, the next day, Friday, we had a Ward Christmas Party. Isobel and Eva ran up to get in line. Apparently, some well-meaning kid told the girls they weren't technically in line so they had to move to the back - they did and they didn't mind. I did because I was waiting to take their picture thinking they would be there any minute...
The best part of the whole party was this - a couple teenage guys dancing like robots and such. It was so funny! I had to video it. Sorry the video is only 30 seconds!

Here is Eva, being as cute as can be! We were getting ready to leave the house the other night and we looked over to see Eva sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and her hands on her knee - smiling big! Well, we had to take a picture. Last, but by no means the least, Eva wrote a note to Daddy the other day. I hope you can read it. It says, "I Love You" but in no particular order :D

To Dad and Gordon

Bryce was talking to Dad the other night when Dad watched my family Elfed -and he was cracking up. Well, I thought I'd give us a chance to laugh a bit at Dad. While Elfing Dad, I had to add some friends for him to dance with and these are the only pics I had uploaded on this computer. So, here you go!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1408090429

I laughed a lot harder at this one, than the one of me ;)

Love you guys! Merry Christmas and see you soon!

A Little Elfin Magic :)

So, I took my friend Karen's advice - my family is now ELF-ed. It was funnier with her family - maybe because it was the first one I saw. Isobel, Eva, and I have almost the exact same smiles. Here we are anyway!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1294024722

Speaking of Christmas cheer, Eva was asking for candy this evening and it was nearly dinner time so I told her that she'd have to wait til after dinner. Well, then she brought in 2 bags of my current favorite candy - Candy Cane kisses. Well, when I asked her where she got them, she brought me an empty Walgreens bag. So, I showed Bryce the candy when he got back a few minutes later - and apparently they were part of my christmas present Bryce bought earlier today. Mmmmm. Then, as luck would have it, UPS dropped off a present I ordered for Bryce - and he answered the door. We are not doing so well at keeping things secret from eachother. Well, Bryce always guesses anyway, even if I don't tell him. Probably the most obvious give-away was when I had to call Bryce from the sporting goods store and ask what size of fishing pole to buy (6ft 6in) - and then left it in the car the next day when he took the car! OOPS! I think my kids might learn too much about Santa too soon just because we're ditzy!

I think that's all for now. Have a lovely week - I'm hoping we'll get snowed in tonight.
:)

Really, It's Christmas Tonight!

So my sister sent me a present along with some material. It said, "don't open til Christmas" and I hounded her about it everyday! So, finally, tonight she gave in. Here's my super cute new purse. It's totally retro - it even smells like the salvation army! Hooray!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Tonight, for family night, we decided to put up our christmas tree. Well, we couldn't find our decorations in the storage closet, so we'll do that later. Here's a fun video of us putting it together and then the finished product. Enjoy! (We sure did!)

Church is Dangerous! ;)

Ok, so church isn't dangerous - really. But, man, we had some mishaps. So, a couple weeks ago I was walking across the gym. It was just after sacrament meeting and because it was the primary program, there were overflow chairs set up in there. I was walking across to get to sunday school and didn't notice the rack that the chairs go on. You know the ones that go under the stage? Anyway, I tripped over it and cut the top of my foot and it got all swollen and bruised. Here's a picture from about a week after the incident. It hurt much worse than it looks! So, this Sunday, Eva was being strange on the benches. Not unusual. Well, she sorta fell forward and hit the top of her eye on the bench. Ouch! She was purple instantly. This isn't a great picture but it's hard to get her eye closed enough to see the purple.
I am thinking about taking a first aid kit in my church bag - or at least a "feel-better-bear."

7 Random Things

So my friend, Karen (whose blog link is on my blog), tagged me. Thus I have to tell you seven random things about me. I left my camera at her house yesterday during Thanksgiving dinner - so I probably have to do this so she doesn't hold my camera for ransom.

"There may be a difficulty...You'll be limited to number..." ONLY SEVEN?

1. I have recently rediscovered Tea Tree Oil. I have had this canker on the tip of my tongue for like a week. You know how you never notice your tongue until it hurts? Well, let me tell you what the tip of your tongue does: it cleans around your teeth when you eat, it moves the food around your mouth, it licks your dry lips (especially when you live in the high desert), and it helps you spit more accurately - like when you brush your teeth. So, finally on Wednesday when the prospect of not enjoying our Thanksgiving Feast and five pies was a real threat, I sent DH out for Tea Tree Oil. I remembered that my mom had some when I was in High School and it worked great on cankers - but I hadn't used it since. Well, the one ounce, $6 bottle was worth every penny. By Thursday morning, the canker was mostly healed but more importantly, it didn't hurt. Oh, man, I LOVE Thanksgiving food!

2. I love to shop for fabric. It's rediculous because I have no time to sew. And I already have too many projects I want to do. But I love the possibility that some soft and inexpensive fabric has in store. Did I ever mention that I bought some beautiful satin fabric for a "Emma"-style dress - and all the notions that it needs? Only problem - it's so beautiful that I don't dare cut it. My body rebels against the "normal" shape of dress patterns and I'd hate to waste it.
Along those same lines - I love to look at beautiful paper and imagine it's possibilities - but I never buy that - I can't justify it as someting useful - like I can with fabric.

3. I like to play games - but I really LOVE to win. Sometimes I'm a total party-pooper if I'm losing too much. Once, DH and I had to ban speed solitare from our house because we'd get too mad at eachother. You know, the adrenaline rush from trying to think and move fast at the same time and then - you are positive that you put YOUR card down FIRST! Anyway, we decided we loved eachother more than that game. We haven't played in like 7 years. So, I like games I'm good at. If I have a possibility of winning, I'll play. If I get stomped every time I attempt - I'm apt to protest that particular game. Sorry Honey:)

4. I love to shop with my sister. It doesn't really matter what we are shopping for or if we buy anything. We always have so much fun. We don't usually spend a ton of time at one place (except maybe JoAnn;), but we have a good time making fun of ugly things and commenting on cute things, and when one of us is done, we go home. I don't think I'm much of a shopper - probably because I rarely buy anything that costs more than $5- but I'll shop with her anyday.

5. I'm kinda shy. I know my family would always laugh at me when I would say this, but it's true. I have been here in Santa Fe for about 3 1/2 months and the friends I have are those that have been brave enough to introduce themselves to me. I am so grateful for Karen because she just does what she wants. She invites new people over for dinner all the time and even forced the Bishop to meet us:) Anyway, I think because I'm not comfortable or confident in my current position, I'm shy. Give me some time and I'll probably be comfortable and confident again.

6. I really dislike pants. I like to wear pants, but it is rare that I find a pair that fits me well. I probably find one pair every few years. I love skirts. They are much more forgiving to my figure - and they are feminine:) I'm not really good at BEING feminine (think belching), but I occasionally like to FEEL feminine.

7. A few years ago, I went on my first real backpacking trip - I mean, I was novice. I didn't even know how to pee in the wild - not well, anyway. I got some tips from my friend before we went:) It was a "girls - only" trip, because we didn't want to have to live up to male expectations. I was so excited - and out of shape;) We found out when we got there that the only campsite we could get was 15 miles in. Well, I wasn't expecting this, but I was excited to say I'd done it. So, I trudged along with encouraging words all along the way. It was beautiful! I was completely beat and dying - but every step brought us closer to our destination. I love the Tetons. I have to say, that I love a big challenge when I can see the results - a breathtaking vista at the top of a glacial cut valley. It was such a great feeling to know I could do it - and to see the work of God's hand so explicitly portayed. I wonder where we'll go next?

Ok, so, I don't even remember what I wrote...
This is me.

a day at the park

This is what the rest of us do while Bettie's at work...

Eat sandy lollipops...do heavy construction...
make sand angels ...
play hide and seek ...
and, occasionally, growl at each other.

Hooray for visitors!

Some of my in-laws were kind enough to visit us even though our apt is so small and boring - hence this photo:
I'm sure it wasn't boredom, but exhaustion from having so much fun. I'm sure you are all now very anxious to come visit;)

Just before I moved, I decided that I needed to make my girl's room cute. Well, my sister convinced me to buy these letters of the girl's names. (A big splurge on my part;) And then we bought paint for them, too. One day at IKEA we saw these mirrors for only $2 a piece and decided we should paint them and put the letters on. I was sure I didn't have time for any of this project - by the way. Oh, and when we saw this cute light and they were out of stock - I made it my mission to find one. My SIL was living in AZ and I asked her to check her IKEA. She found one there the day before she moved to NM! What an angel! And so, after months of doing a bit here and there - I (and my tall friend) finally hung these mirrors. It takes a village...
(By the way, you can see my school shirt in the middle, bottom row mirror - "RU")
My sister informed me that I need more pictures of Isobel - so this is the pose she gave me:
She said, "Did you see my pony tail?" Did I ever mention that she cut part of her hair? A small chunk of hair is as long as these front pieces hanging in her eyes. I was so shocked! She never tried to cut her hair til she was 5! (Maybe it's because I was so adept at hiding the scissors:)

Happy Halloween(er)!

Well, last week JoAnn fabrics had too stinkin good of a sale. I had intended to make the girls find something to wear for Halloween, but then this sale...

Isobel had asked to be Belle and Eva wanted to be - of all things - an elephant. So I took Friday off work last week so I could sew like crazy. Well, I didn't even get Isobel's dress done. So I sewed all day Saturday, too. (I kinda forgot to eat in the meantime.) Saturday night Isobel's dress was wearable - but the neck ended up being too low. So it just had to be pinned for our ward party. Eva's outfit was done but she didn't have a hood - which meant no ears or trunk - so she dressed as a 50's girl (what Isobel was last year). Sunday I felt really ill - probably due to the lack of good food and too much stress. Long story shorter, I didn't finish both the costumes completely til Wednesday (Halloween) at like Noon. All that work and Eva wore her costume for like 40 minutes:) Anyway, I hope you enjoy! (I hope you can see the lipstick on my teeth;)

In a Nutshell...

Ok, so I got this new camera (thank you soo much) because I hear I have to post pics more. So, here are some pics we've taken with it so far. Bryce and I went to Las Cruces for my last training, YEAH!! Here's us in the car.. (Thanks G & KT for babysitting Eva, and Karen for babysitting Isobel so we could go!)

Then after the training was over, Bryce took me to the place where he and the girls went hiking on my birthday. So here's the fin of rock, some really tall banana yuccas (which are everywhere), and a roadrunner.

(The fin of rock they climbed is right behind him.)

I was taking this picture for the reddish pink flowers - when I looked at the label it read "Spotted Gayfeather" - that's the tall fluffy grayish ones.

Then, as you know if you read Katie's blog, we went to ABQ and took photos of her family. This is Eva ready to go to the park.
Sweet girl. I love having a camera that works! Thanks so much! Anyway, here's a flower to you from Eva. We love ya!

Silly Eva

I got these pics off my camera - since it only takes 14 pics at a time...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these as much as I do:) I guess I've been missing that cute face because I haven't seen it for almost 5 days...too long!

Oh, and here a couple pictures of the beautiful aspen leaves up by the Santa Fe ski area.

Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon

This'll be very short and sweet. We went to the balloon fiesta in ABQ this past weekend and it was quite the experience - try it once for sure, we'll see about next year. We woke the girls up at 5am to get down to the balloon park. I still can't believe how many balloons there were. Note to self: thank Katie for making breakfast burritos the night before, and go to bed earlier when you know you're getting up at 5am.

Check us out at Katie's blog. http://ktann83.blogspot.com

What would I do without Katie and her camera to update y'all about my life. Good thing we're hanging out a lot or you'd just get lame notes from me without a picture link;)

If you get lost, find a police man

So, we went to the state fair last month with my brother's family. We had a great time. It was very nerve wracking to keep track of the girls. We stopped at the police dept. booth and signed our kids up. We had to write our kid's names, our names, and our cell phone number - then they gave the girls a bracelet that had a number that corresponded to my info. So, we told the girls that if they got separated from us to find a nice police man and show him your bracelet so he can call me. It was a zoo! Thank heaven we didn't lose anyone.

Anyway, we did have fun and my SIL took some fun pics so go see her blog:
http://ktann83.blogspot.com/2007/10/new-mexico-state-fair.html

We really did have a busy, fun month. Sorry for not posting more;)

A Spoonful of Sugar

So I hope you all have seen Mary Poppins at one time or another, if not, you won't really get the full story but it's still good.

Tonight I made dinner. Which if you know me, you know I'm quite the chef. I had planned on making Lasagne and maybe even home-made breadsticks. Isobel complained-I don't like Lasagne. Well, last week our fridge died. It was about 60 degrees inside our fridge and outside our apartment. Well, we didn't notice right away, it took about 2 days for us to decide it was really kaput. Well, then we called the office and had them send someone over. He came and "fixed" it but a couple hours later when the milk was still warmish, I called again. They said they'd send someone over in the morning. It was Saturday, so the guy had to do the work all by himself. I don't know how he got the fridge up to the second floor and into our place by himself (we were at Isobel's classmate's birthday party). When we got home, he'd replaced our cereal boxes and magnets onto our new fridge. How thoughtful.

The point: I went to make Lasagne and our cottage chesse was bad. As I was finishing up making the alternative, I told the girls that dinner was ready. Eva asked, "What are we having?" "Spam pasta" "Spam pasta! I love that!"

So I I dished up the food and then took the cornbread (overcooked) out of the oven. "I love cornbread" was the reply. "Mom is so nice to make us such good food."

Then Isobel asked for a drink of ...get this...powdered milk, "because the other milk is all gone." I told her I had gone to the store and gotten more milk. She looked disappointed. So I told her she could have powdered milk to drink if she wanted. She wanted - and was excited! When I poured the girls their milk. Eva took a drink and said, "Mmm, chocolate!" Isobel quikly corrected her that it was white milk. I told Isobel to let Eva go ahead and pretend. Then Isobel said, "It is chocolate. Yum!" Then Eva said, "Strawberry!" "Lime Cordial, Delicious!"

This continued for some time while their forks talked like sisters who were busy feeding someone. Someone who loved Spam pasta.

"A spoonful of sugar goes a long, long way. Have yourself a healthy helping everyday."

Lesson from little

Hey kids, this is Bryce.

The whole family went hiking at the Santa Fe Ski area today (through beautiful fall aspen leaves), and Isobel taught me a little lesson that I thought I'd pass on.

We rode the ski lift to the top and hiked down, luring Eva and Isobel down the trail with Smarties. (They wanted to ride on shoulders, "back down the chair," anything but walk.) Almost at the bottom, we saw a wooden sign: "Adventure Land."

So we took a little detour. It was a very short loop, just a dirt maintenance road that looped out and back... We were almost back when I rolled my eyes and said, "Adventure Land is quite a place."

Isobel said, "Yeah, like there's these rock stairs," and headed up the side of the mountain. Eva followed right along, delighted. Then they found a few boulders and climbed to the top of those, and Isobel said, "Adventure Land is fun."

Consider the lilies.

Happy Birthday, honey

Guest blogger: DH

While Bettie worked on her birthday, the girls and I headed for the Organ Mountains. Isobel quickly dubbed them the "Napolean Dynamite Crystal Mountains," since they're as jagged as the crystals that powered Uncle Rico's time machine in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbFeS3PrLtE

Here's a photo of the mountains.

Highlights of our day at Dripping Springs, a pretty BLM-managed picnic area with some jagged rocks, ranch history and a seasonal spring:

• At the visitor center, the girls told the host they were going rock climbing. She said "Oh no" to them, "La Cuevo is a very safe trail" to me, and "you'll get to use your climbing muscles, though" to them.
• I nodded and then we drove back to the La Cuevo trailhead and headed straight to the top of a neighboring fin of rock. We missed Uncle Devin, but made it to the top and back. ("Don't you move from this spot. I'll go help Eva.")
• Eva chose a prickly pear as the spot for one of her spills, and I picked little thorns out of her hand, side and leg for much of the rest of the afternoon. There were even a couple left over for Bettie when we saw her two hours later.
• Eva and I were looking at a tiny lizard with a long blue tail when I said, "Isobel, do you see this?" "No. Look. A snake," she said. And there was the back half of a bright green snake, maybe a Black-tailed Rattlesnake, its dark rattle disappearing last off the side of the trail. (We also saw a roadrunner, my first.)
• At La Cuevo, a cave where a saintly hermit was killed in the 19th century, Eva had to go. So I dropped her pants and held her up, like I have with Isobel dozens of times. But Eva said, "No. In a potty. My pee is scared of the ground. It's staying up."

Anyway, wish you were there, Bettie, but someone's gotta bring home the bacon.

My Birthday Weekend (wahoo!)

Where to begin? Thursday night my family and I drove four hours to Las Cruces. If you can't locate a map to know where that is, it is in the center of the southernmost boundary - it borders Texas and Mexico. We had never been there before and were kindof embarassed that we were surprised how pretty it was. :) There were mountains all the way down the state! We checked into the hotel, starving, ordered pizza and tried to keep the kids from jumping on the beds and the floor. Once we finally ate, it was time for bed. Well by this time, about 11pm, the kids were a bit exhausted - thus, irrational and screaming. Eva was screaming her famed 100dB wail that makes all of us ready to run down a board room table and jump out of the 21st story window. Finally, DH was laying with her in the other bed when Eva said, "I wanna sleep with Mommy, cus she is da softest." How could I say "no" to that? So, DH slept alone, Isobel slept on the floor, and I sorta slept with Eva. She's a mover, a snuggler, and a sweater. So she'd snuggle into me more every time I'd try to move a way, lay on my arm and sweat all over it, and then wiggle around for about 10 minutes -- ALL NIGHT LONG! So, about 30 minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off (like 5:50am), I got up. You can imagine how tired I was staying in a conference room and listening to a lecture/training all day.

When I got out of the training, I had to wait for my family for quite a while. I had the privilege of observing a very long ant trail that went from across the sidewalk to up the side of the building and onto the top.....I was bored. But when they arrived, they had gotten me a dozen roses! 6 red and 6 white. (For your info: I have never gotten roses. Mostly I get daisies, daffodils, or on occasion a carnation. Not that I don't absolutely LOVE these kinds of flowers, It was kinda fun to get roses.) Then we went to the Outback for dinner and they sang to me and I got a hot fudge sundae - yum. Then we drove up to a campground just below the Organ Mtns. It was very pretty. I was a little embarassed to be receiving phone calls in my tent (thank you Verizon) but it was fun to be remembered. :)

The next day we took the LONG way home. We were planning on meeting my brother's family in ABQ that evening so we wanted to take our time getting there. We went to White Sands National Monument. It was fun to play in the sand and exfoliate my feet;) It was pretty crazy because the sand is white - hence the name - but the sand blows across the roads and they plow it, just like snow. You know how when they plow the snow it kinda leaves a little tiny layer of snow and ice on the ground, smooth and kinda bluish-colored? Well, these sand covered roads looked just like that. Honestly. We were nervous everytime we turned a corner - we slowed down and prepared to slide a bit - but it was sand! It was crazy. Quite a trip.

Then we took the scenic route home thru Alamogordo and Ruidoso and up around to some ancient ruins that I can't remember the name...Gran Quivira (Salinas Pueblo Missions). When we got to the ruins it had just stopped raining so we walked up the trail and as soon as we got to the huge buildings sprawled out over the hillside, it started to rain pretty good. We couldn't go down at this point, so we just walked/ran around while our faces were dripping with water. We were quite the sight. It is a cool place. Eva asked a random woman in the gift shop to read her a story book about the tres javelinas (three little pigs retold), which she willingly did:)

We were supposed to meet my brother, who was moving to ABQ, around 6 or 7ish pm. But moving always takes longer than you expect - "oh, just a few more things, a few more, almost done, almost cleaned..." So we went to dinner and the dollar store. I wanted to get some candles and buy a cake at the grocery store. I got a coconut cream pie instead. We got to my bro's hotel around 8:30pm and the kids had finally sacked out so we let them sleep. Then when my bro arrived around 9:30, his kids were out, too. So there was no need for candle burning. We visited and they gave me a super cute flower lamp from IKEA. Yeah!

Sunday morning we wrestled 5 kids in church clothes around the hotel lobby for continental breakfast - what a zoo. Then my family and one of my brother's girls came to SF for church and my brother's family followed later. That night my friends brought over a birthday cake and sang to me. (Too bad I'd been away from home and didn't have any ice cream! I'm lame! Don't worry, we're well stocked now:) I had some messages from my mom, e-mails from friends, couple text messages, and my sister even started a blog in honor of my day: theseglesnest.blogspot.com. All in all, it was a great birthday!

Isobel's first day of school :)

(Guest blogger: my hubby;)

If you think that's a happy face, you should have seen the one we didn't capture on film. In fact, Bettie and Eva didn't see the happiest face of all (hence the guest) because it happened just after Isobel's and my mad dash to her first bus, which we would have missed if we'd waited for Eva's usual performance. (This performance - they happen nearly every time we go anywhere - had to do with a pair of shoes, I believe.)



We made it in time and Isobel hopped on the bus. The driver handed me a form, told me which bus to look for in the afternoon and other "matters of consequence" and then started to pull away. I then realized I wasn't sure which seat Isobel was in and started a quick search so I could wave goodbye.




There she was: Second seat back, my side of the bus, grinning, waving and actually pumping her fists as she rode the bus to her first day of kindergarten.




Missing the bus wouldn't have been too serious, since after the bus pulled away, I walked back, grabbed Eva, got in the car and drove to Isobel's school. I probably beat her there. I had to drop off some supplies, but she wouldn't ride with me.

After finding a place for the supplies, I followed all the other parents into the classroom. The kindergarten kids sat on little letter mats in the front of the room and the parents, along with Eva and a few kids who preferred to sit on daddy's lap for an extra minute, sat on little chairs behind.

The teacher read a story about a scared raccoon who used a kiss - left by his mom in his hand - to feel better on his first day at school. Isobel watched, never looking back at her dad. Eva fought for (and was denied) access to the dolls, cash register and other toys in the room.



The raccoon's mom taught her baby (and the teacher taught all the kids in the class) the sign for 'I love you.' When the story was over, the teacher told the kids to stand up and turn around. All the kids turned around and looked at their parents. Except Isobel. She did a 360 and looked back at the teacher.

Then the teacher said to sign 'I love you.' All the kids signed it to their parents. Except Isobel. She signed it at her teacher.

Then the teacher said to 'Wave goodbye to your parents, and we'll start school.' So Isobel turned around to wave. It may have been the first time she'd thought about me since entering the class, so she wasn't really sure where I was. She located me eventually, waved and gave me that big excited smile one more time.

My Husband is SO CUTE!!!

This is the highlight of my day yesterday. DH and I were trying to get things cleaned up and organized - still. So we were going thru things and deciding what to put in our storage closet out on the balcony. I asked DH to get something from storage (I think a hammer and nails to hang pics) and he promptly went to get it. Well, in his rush, he opened the door and smacked into the screen! :) It was SO funny that we laughed for like 20 minutes. When he came back into the house, his forehead was black with dirt from the screen! We laughed another 20 minutes:) He finally remembered to go wash that off. We moved on to bigger and better things like boxes and putting together bookshelves. DH had to go get something out of storage to finish putting the shelves together. When I came into the room where he was working, I noticed a bit of black on his forehead...and then on his nose, too!!! I asked, as politely as I could, "Did you run into the screen again?" He was so mad that I had found out! The proof was written across his face! I caught him. He wanted to hide it because it hadn't been as funny to him the second time - but he forgot to check is face for evidence. I about died!!! I am still laughing as I write this. What a wonderful day! I love my husband!! :)

I finally met the woman who made all this happen...

So, yesterday was the last day of training (wahoo). Like the silly girl that I am, I didn't check my schedule. I showed up at 8 (like I had been all week) and went into the directors office area and asked where we were meeting. I was informed that we weren't starting til 9. So I called Bryce to come back and get me, but he didn't answer. So I sat outside on a bench and read files. After a while a woman came walking up-and past me-noticed the files and said, "Are you new?" "Yes." "What is your name?" "Bettie Petersen." "OH, FINALLY - I'm Joanne" and she gave me a hug. Well this was the coordinador of our program, the woman who is related to a family that I am good friends with...the woman who called me and offered me a job right before I was planning on going to Seattle. She has been very encouraging and kind to me about everything. I have talked to her a bunch of times on the phone and e-mailed her several times but never seen her in person - so we finally met. It was nice. We talked about our mutual friends;) and we talked about how funny it is that we hadn't met. After the presentations, she took us to lunch and I told her about some of her mannerisms that remind me of her sister. She was happy to resemble her sister in any way. She gave me a note from my friend - which also made my day.

After a long week of training, it was good to have the last day be calming. I felt happy to have met Joanne, happy to have a note from my friend, and happy to be finishing up the week. Now that the week is over, I am feeling much more relaxed. I was very nervous about meeting people, getting all the info that I needed, looking cute, and making a good impression. But after meeting Joanne, I was just happy that she accepted me so easily and that all the anticipation was over. Whew.

So today I am going to hang out with my mom before she leaves tomorrow. See if we can find any fun stores to look at:)

Isobel

This is my Isobel. She will be registering for Kindergarten tomorrow. Whoa. She is getting so grown up. Bryce and Isobel went to register today, but didn't bring important info (like imunization record, birth certificate). Bryce said that she was so excited, but got nervous as they were going in. Once they got inside, she just clung to her dad. It reminded me that she is still young. She's still my little girl and I need to remember that although she acts and talks so adult, she still needs support and love to help her get thru. Man, she has a crazy life ahead. Just imagine - ten years and she'll be in High School and wearing more make-up than Mom puts on her... and kids will be mean to her sometimes. I'm glad she's not there yet:)

By the way, in this picture, it looks like she is saying "I love you!" But she's really saying she's 5. She's excited.

If you get a minute, give her a phone call. She loves to have friends...me too.

3 days down, 2 to go...

Hello. I have been a bit looney today. No, that's not the right word. I've been a bit blah. Oh, and ornery. My supervisor, when she told me all the filing she wanted me to do, told me to stop before it "kills your spirit." I told her it probably wouldn't kill my spirit, but I might throw all the files on the floor. She told me to stop before that happens. :) Luckily, I was able to finish all the files and no fits...til I got home. Poor Mom. I was so tired and done making decisions and being in places where I don't know where anything is...etc. I got home and was trying to make salsa (tomorrow they have a salsa competition at work) and I couldn't find a tupperware lid. I was frustrated because my cupboards are overflowing, but still have nothing in them (like oil and a lid). So I was getting on Mom to help me find the lid and she was getting defensive because she thought I was mad AT HER (which I wasn't - just frustrated).

Bryce thinks it's because I wasn't hydrated enough. Which might have been true. I didn't see a drinking fountain in any of the buildings I was in, only like the Culligan water tanks. However, I didn't have a cup of any sort. I was sharing a room with the jug, but couldn't drink any. I was tempted to put my mouth under the spigot. ;)

I copied all the files on the kids I will have. For now, I'll have 8 families to work with, and two more soon. Most are in Santa Fe - which is good - and I think I'm done filing for a while. One of my friends in Logan talked about the worst part of being a Parent Advisor. She said it's "Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork!" I agree:)

Oh the joys of work!

Well, I just finished my first day of work. I really do love to listen/watch lectures about insurance and retirement and whatnot. However, it's a bit dull. I look so much forward to the day when I start working with families and kids again. I have to say it was a bit eye-opening to be around so many deaf people - it's been a while. I will admit that I was a bit overwhelmed and intimidated because I didn't understand half of their dialogue. However, by the end of the long day, I felt much more comfortable with it all.

I did cry after grocery shopping today. I miss my home, family, friends, Maceys...

But now I'm watching Pride and Prejudice and feel much more at ease :)

Tomorrow is another day.

My Ruthie :)

This is my happy, crazy girl. If I had to pick a favorite picture of her, it'd be this. She has the most infectious laugh. I recommend hearing it as often as possible to stay happy:)

PS. Check out Share's blog picture of Simpsonized Eva. It's her.

Here we go again...

Attempt number 2 at being a blogger. My other one wouldn't let me sign in...bummer. Let's see how this goes.