Catching Up on November

Brian and I recently saw "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."  So, so good!  But, that's not the point.  There's a line in the movie that I liked.  It's at the very end, and Walter has traveled all over the world in search of a picture (and the photographer).  He finally finds him, high up in the snowy Himalayas, trying to catch a picture of a snow leopard.  When it finally comes out of the cave, the photographer pauses, watches the cat, and never snaps a single photo.  Puzzled, Walter asks him why he didn't take the picture.  Here's his reply (the line I liked): "Sometimes I don't.  If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera.  I just want to stay in it."  

So, sometimes, I take out the camera to get a picture (probably still too often!), but, a lot of times, now, I don't.  I just want to enjoy the moments.  Because, I'm starting to realize, that, as much as I'm excited for them to grow (I'm loving having NO babies around!), my kids are only little for so long.  And, I want to remember getting on the floor and playing games with them.  Not the picture I took of them playing...without me.  

But, these pictures are all from before I saw that movie.  And, they're cute and fun. So, I included them on our blog!  

With both the girls in school, it's usually just Carson and Mommy at Costco.  I can pass on a lot of things at the food court, but not the Churro.  And, Carson also shares my love of Costco churros.  "My Chew-yo!"

I remember this being an especially challenging morning.  My only thoughts were: "He's not the only one praying for a good nap!"

 We will sure miss our Disneyland passes when they expire in April.  It's been such a fun year!

We spent Halloween in AZ.  For Trick or Treating, the kids went with our good friends, the Hursts.  Our kids line up almost perfectly in age and we all have so much fun together!  Wish we lived closer, though.

 Here's Sadie and Grandma Boring cutting the potatoes for hash browns.

 We went to a train park and the kids wanted to ride in the caboose.  After a LONG (wasn't really, but they thought it was) trip around the park, they said next time they'll let someone else have the caboose.

 The high school does a fundraiser each year and the elementary school kids attend a cheer workshop and get to perform at a high school football game.  Here are our cheerleaders and their biggest fans!

Only in California will you find kids playing at the splash pad in November!   

 And, then, sunbathing afterward, because mom didn't bring towels!

 Isn't he so handsome?

 To Sadie, Lulu is more than a stuffed animal.  She's a dear friend.  A comfort and companion.  I love how she makes her bed and makes sure Lulu is comfortable for the day.  Makes my heart smile!  :)

 Oh, you know, just another Disneyland trip!  We've had an exhausting year, but so much fun!

 Stone soup.  Yum.

 Sadie's Thanksgiving pilgrim hat from her Kindergarten feast.

 Because riding a scooter inside is okay if you remember your helmet?

 That boy!  What else can I say?

 Me and my cute girls!

 Love these kiddos!  

 Our rule is if we make it through Disneyland with NO tantrums, we stop for a treat.  This day, they picked ice cream at Ghiradelli.  Excellent choice, but interesting selection of flavors (they chose!).

Our annual "Thankful Tree."

September Happenings

Daddy happened to work late on Talk Like a Pirate Day, so we headed over to Krispy Kreme for some FREE donuts!  (After waiting in line 45 minutes, I was lucky to get this picture!)

Grammy Tammy sent the kids home with a Spooky Box.  The kids loved playing with their masks and the game!  Thanks!

I learned that Carson can now open the refrigerator, and, have relocated the milk.  :)

I FINALLY made it to the 21st century!  Brian promised (5+ years ago) when he passed his FINAL actuarial exam (results came in July!), I could get a smart phone.  Then, rumors started to spread that the new iPhone would be released in September.  So, I (im)patiently waited for its release!  I LOVE the 5s!  The finger touch feature is awesome!  (right: the evolution of cell phones in our family)

  Papa Dale loaned us his little BBQ.  On Sunday afternoons, Brian enjoys cooking a nice dinner on the grill.  We started a new tradition and, when Daddy BBQ's, we have s'mores!

Carson hasn't quite perfected the art of dressing himself, but, he's trying!

A Not-So-Simple Home Improvement Project

As I've mentioned, once school started, things seemed to spiral out of control.  And, here we are, in November, and, I'm finally, this week, feeling like life is back to normal.  Part of it came from having 2 in school this year and a quirky Kindergarten schedule.  Part of it came from pinching my sciatic nerve 2 weeks into the school year (6 weeks later, the numbness finally dissipated).  And, part of it came from the following story:

Whenever you move into a new place, you usually bring the furniture from your old place with you.  Sometimes, you luck out, and everything fits into the new space.  Other times, not so much.  

The latter was the case with our new house.  When we moved in, we had no choice, but to arrange our furniture like this:

We still had a tiny 32" TV (which, was the perfect size for our last house!), and, now needed to use the 3rd bedroom for more than an office.  So, we stuck a bookcase and computer cabinet in the media niche, with another bookshelf along the wall, next to the couch.  {I'm taking this picture while sitting on the couch, so you can see the bookshelf in the mirror.}  TACKY.  There's really no other way to describe it.

The very first time I walked into this house, I knew it was home.  At the same time, I knew something would need to be done in the media niche space.  

Fast forward one year, and we sold our house in Colorado (yay!), and Brian passed his FINAL Actuarial Exam (bigger yay!).  Brian and I had made a deal that I could have some of the money from selling the house for a home improvement project and he could get a huge TV when he passed his exam.  

So, I started looking all over the internet to find ideas for our media niche space.  And, I decided exactly what I wanted.  

We hired someone to build our cabinet and an electrician so we could hang the TV above the fireplace.  Everything went well....for about 2 weeks.  And, then, our contractor got hurt.  At that point, we had already moved the bookshelves and cabinets in preparation for the install.  We had also purchased the new 60" TV, which, Brian had pulled in and out of the box twice now, to watch BYU Football.  

With the electrical done, we were at least able to hang the new TV.

 Lucky for us, we have LOTS of counter space in the kitchen!  Our bar became our "office" during this whole process.

 And, here, Carson is helping build the Ikea bedroom furniture, which, for almost 6 weeks, sat in boxes in our bedroom.  (We were waiting to finish the project downstairs before working on the upstairs, but, had bought the furniture when it was on sale.)

 After several weeks of putting us off, our contractor finally brought over the cabinets.  However, there was a catch--He wasn't able to do the install.  We would have to find someone else to do it.  So, we called around and found a carpenter friend to help us.  Only, he was on vacation that week and wouldn't be back until early the following week.  So, for 10 days, our custom cabinet rested in the Living Room.  (Here's where I brag that I have AWESOME kids, because they didn't touch this enticing jungle gym the entire time!!  They were fabulous!)


Here's the finished project.  This photo was taken during the day, so I don't have all the fancy lights turned on, but there are spotlights up top and an under cabinet computer light.    It turned out perfect!

Here's the whole wall, finished.   Since this project took so long, I also found lots of new homes for the toys that used to line the fireplace.  :)

I've all but given up on my old, slow shutter speed, pain to drag around camera.  But, I haven't given up on taking pictures and capturing memories.  Yet, I still don't have a smartphone (mixed emotions about that one), so I carry around the next best thing--my iPod touch.  So, the picture quality may not be great, and there is no flash (remember, no smart phone), but, I get to capture all the memories I want, because it's so convenient.

So, please hang in there, as I attempt to "catch up" on 2013.  Chances are, you've seen most of this already on Facebook or Instagram.  But anyway, here goes!

Carson, our little "fix it" man.  He loves to tinker with anything and everything!  Always curious about how things work!

The countdown chain for (hopefully) Brian's last test, began in January.  We all had fun watching it shrink over the next 4 months.  He took the test on May 1st, and, results came July 12th!  HE PASSED!!  Brian completed his ASA, EA, FSA and CERA credentials!  Way to go, sweetie!

One morning, I came downstairs to this precious sight.  Morgan and Sadie were having a "reading party", as they called it.  Sweet big sister, Morgan, was reading to little sister, Sadie.

Only this kid can pull off a pink helmet and a purple tricycle!

Trains, trains, trains!  Oh, how he loves to build!

Our friends from Colorado were in CA to spend a couple of days at Disneyland (back in Feb).  We met them for dinner and then took them over to the Big Orange Balloon at the Great Park!  Thanks for a fun night, Wrights!

Left:  My version of organizing Legos; Right: Sadie's (according to the Lego brochure) version of organizing Legos.  And, sure, enough, if you look in the booklet, step one shows a picture of all the legos in a pile.  Below:  Sadie followed the instructions and built this car entirely by herself!  

Carson and his "blankie".  Sometimes, I won't let him drag the big one all over the house, so he finds a suitable replacement: the burp cloth from the same print, and cozies on up

Even though he has very little hair, Carson insists on fixing it with Mommy!

We made a city one morning for the cars to drive on.  Such a hit with this girl!

California "snow" (i.e. hail).

As I was talking on the phone with my sister one afternoon, Sadie proceeded to pull out a random assortment of ingredients, solutions, objects.  She was "experimenting."  Good thing powdered sugar and soap don't react to water!

My new shoes!  Love them!

Carson watches his sister practice piano every day.  So, he decided to join in with his own book, The Napping House.

Countdown to Daddy's (hopefully) last exam!  (Which, it was!!!)

Every spring, when strawberries go on sale, I stock up with 24 jars of freezer jam!  By the end of the day, I don't want to look at strawberries for a long, long, time, but, the year's worth of jam is done!

At Easter time, Sadie and I were talking about how Jesus died on a cross.  I'm sure the conversation went much deeper than just that, but, apparently, that's the main point she got out of the lesson!

This water table is a big hit, with EVERY kid!

Puzzle time

April 30, 2013.  ONE day left!

Don't you sit in the laundry basket to watch a movie?

Morgan's (age 7) drawing of Christ.