Jackson's California Christmas

Well this year Grandma and Grandpa Gage got Jackson a Cozy Coupe for Christmas and he loves it! He especially liked opening and closing the door as well as waving "bye-bye" out the window. He was a little tired when these pictures were taken, but he really loved it. I'm not surprised--what a great gift! Thanks!

Movie Trailers

What do you do when you've got scads of laundry to fold and a hubby out at Avatar? You waste time looking at upcoming movie trailers, of course!
Iron Man 2
Loved the first one. The dialogue makes the movie. Of course the cool special FX help as well.
Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief
Highly recommend this teen series! Just a fun read. Takes you right back to eighth grade mythology.
Sorcerer's Apprenctice
Disney is number one for recycling ideas: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Country Bears, Cinderella, the list goes on and on and on. But, again, Nicholas Cage and the CGI will draw people to this movie.
Robin Hood
And Colby loves Gladiator so when Russell Crowe and Gladiator director team up again...what's not to like?

Leg Warmers: Emily, don't look!

So here is a picture of Jackson in the leg warmers I made for him the other day. They're actually girl's knee-highs but don't tell him that! I made 5 pair and all out of the most masculine colors I could. The close up is of Jackson after he decided he'd like to examine the camera a little closer. He was actually trying to rip it out of my hands at the time.
If you are really interested, here's the link I used for instructions. I did "pink" the seam to reduce bulk (I think that's what it's called; it's been forever since Home Ec) and I LOVE them! Jackson can wear shorts or a T-shirt (keep in mind we are in a warm climate) and still be okay, and I can rip them off or shove them on easily. I got the socks from Target and had to look in the hosiery section.
and p.s. Emily, if you did look, I'm sending them to you, but I haven't found a post office nearby! Gah! You might get them in Scotland after all!

Don't mind

Don't mind that when you're pregnant you eat just as much as your husband but more often AND that you can polish off a medium pizza by yourself and still be hungry afterwards. We don't mind that nonsense. p.s. Sarcasm is heavy.

It's a boy!

For those of you who haven't heard, we ARE having another baby and it is a boy! Due date April 18th. We're making the announcement really late just because I feel awkward announcing it. Stupid, I know. But there it is. We're so excited to be having another boy! Jackson has already been around a couple of other newborns (Cousin Logan and baby friend Carter) and he loves to give them hugs and twirl their hair. I hope it keeps up when the newborn is permanent. Anyway, there you have it!

New Callings

I'm the new Sunday School for 12-13 year olds and Colby's the new financial secretary! We're so excited!

Mignon, Braden, Kerri and Ugly Sweaters

Good times! Where's Mandy or Ashlie?

If you wear makeup, read these books!

Why am I recommending make-up books? I'm no aficionado on maquillage by any means. I only wear it on date night, Sunday, or when I have time and feel like "Dead Mommy" needs a face lift. However, these are two books anyone that wears make-up needs to read because they are simply fabulous. Kevyn Aucoin starts with the bare basics, outlines all of his steps, and inserts such a positive outlook within the pages that I consider it a must have that should be stored right along the concealer and mascara. If the natural look is your thing, he's got it. If you'd like to be more adventurous but don't know how, he's got it, too. This book has helped me explore more looks than I would have on my own and helped me feel confident about what I was doing because he explains the why behind make-up and their colors. Also, in this book, he takes ordinary people and does their make-up. It's very refreshing because you can see yourself in the people he chooses and then see yourself in the "after" pictures. If you have watched "What Not to Wear" and know who Carmindy is and her take on eyebrows, you'll love this book. My sisters borrow it all the time and it's just fun to try something new! So, I recently borrowed "Face Forward" from the library and while I don't consider it as informative as "Making Faces", but just as fun. He goes into more details like balancing eyes with lips and shows the different effect that playing with that balance can have. In this book he also explores what he considers all aspects of beauty, including the history and different styles. Great book, great read! Get either from your library or half.com. Money well spent. I would recommend trying "Making Faces" before "Face Forward".

All Things Thrifty

I don't know about all of you but we are definitely strapped for cash this year. I don't even know if we'll buy anything bigger than a table tree and mini ornaments for a buck at Target. However, here is a website my friend directed me to (Thanks, Mandy) and they have got some really cute stuff for really cheap. Great ideas! So here's the link: All Things Thrifty

Thanksgiving and Family

Well this Thanksgiving we had my sister and bro-in-law and baby sis all join in the fun! It was a blast! We went to Newport Beach and rode bikes on Thanksgiving day and had a great time! No one was there and they let us have the bikes (surrey) for as long as we wanted! Happy Holidays!
We also went to the Discovery center and as a mom as soon as we entered I thought, "Germs!" There were kids everywhere touching everything! But armed with hand sanitizer we braved the Center and had so much fun! We played virtual volleyball in front of a green screen, experienced hurricane speed winds in a giant plastic tube, we made smoke rings, and laid on a bed of nails! What fun! Jackson loved the green screen volleyball although he wasn't really sure what to do. So he settled from running on the court and screaming his head off! And out back they also have a Dino Exhibit which translates into playground shaped like a dinosaur. He loved the baby slide!
We also went to Logan's Candies to honor baby Logan. Pretty good chocolates, I must say!
We also went to Pick Up Stix a couple of times for Megan and Jared and El Torito because Grandad insisted that we go! Jackson wore the bull's horns. We all did! Jackson even ate 3/4 of his quesadilla and we were thrilled!
Happy Holidays!

Dear John/Jane letters found on dearelder.com

So my younger sis just went into the MTC and I've been using dearelder.com while she's there to keep in touch. They have a section dedicated to Dear John/Jane letters and they are amazing, as in amazingly awful! The names, dates, etc. have all been changed but they are letters that people submitted after their mission. I read the first one aloud to Colby and he said it was the best and worst Dear John letter that he'd ever heard! These are the best two:

Dear Adam,

I just want to start by saying how much I still love and care for you but the truth is the moment your plane took off I ran into Elder Stevens. He was just returning from his mission in England. He asked me for my number and suggested that we meet up. I did and we started seeing more of each other. Occassionally, my mind would drift to you, but I figured that you were having fun with your companion and I needed some fun too. You need to concentrate on your mission thats why I'm only telling you a week before you come home so its not a shock.

I'm engaged, Adam, and I've never been happier! I was wondering, seeing how David is your best friend, he wants you to be a part of the wedding and be his best man. It is understandable of course if you can't bear it and see me with him when we said as you left "see you in white!". I know this may seem harsh but I'm way too good for you. You need some-one a little bit more in your league. David is out of my league but he still loves me. Anyway, I'm babbling, but we'll meet you at the airport when you come home! I'll look forward to showing you the wedding plans and the ring David bought me (sorry, it's the one you were going to buy me, but couldn't afford it)!
Hope this hasn't ruined your day!

All my love, forever, Christine xxxxxxxxxxx
Dear Amber,

I want you to know that you mean the world to me. I will always treasure the moments we spent together, and I know we will have many more of those moments in the future, considering that I'm marrying your sister Emily in two weeks! Yeah, isn't it crazy! We had wanted you to come to the wedding, but we decided we couldn't wait that long. We're getting married on May 6th in the DC Temple. I know you waited for me on my mission and I promised to wait for you, but I know God had something better in mind for both of us. But we're thinking that we might name our first daughter after you. That would be nice, wouldn't it? I hope we can still be really good friends, otherwise Emily would feel bad. Anyways, have a great day!

~Mike

I've gotta stop reading those books before bed!

I'm mostly posting this to post it. I just woke up and was scanning my blogroll and was disgusted by the same post that's been there forever on our blog. All that said, I did re-read the Twilight series and having prepped myself for stupidness, I enjoyed them. Go figure. I also moved onto The Historian (love) which is another vampire book dealing with the original, Vlad Tepes the Impaler. It's historical fiction and is really good and takes vampires back to the classic Stoker kind. However, I've just got to stop reading these before bedtime. I had a dream of New Moon (with a few twists) and for those of you who have read the books (or seen Underworld or HP6) you'll understand my very brief synopsis.
I was Bella (of course) but it was a Quinten Tarantino version of New Moon. I was a vampire trying to stop Victoria and her newborn army which looked like the Inferi in HP 6 complete with creepy lake underground. I was friends with the werewolves and then I was one. The final showdown ended up being in a warehouse and for some reason Edward (who was supposed to be Robert Pattinson but who ended up looking a lot like Colby (blush)) had a gun like the vamps in Underworld. He ended up killing some human bystander and I got mad and started hanging out with the werewolves, which Jackson was one. Of course all of this was not without some Tarantino-worthy action/bloodshed. Crazy. Like I said, got to stop reading them before bed.
The movie poster above best illustrates the tenor of my dream.
p.s. I did get some good recommendations from the Onofrio's for another book: The Road, 1984, The March, The Things They Carried, Slaughterhouse V, and Animal Farm. This is me personally, If you haven't read "The Things They Carried", it's an absolutely fascinating book! Read it in college and LOVED it!

We're Moving! To Alaska, No Ontario!

We are moving to Ontario, CA! An apartment opened up really close to school and we're taking it! And here are the pics of Jackson's stocking. I've been working on it non-stop since the last post!p.s. Emily, if you're still feeling crazy, it's Bucilla felt stockings. You can get them at Joann's! Good luck with your move!

Barack Obama's Peace Prize Farce

Barack Obama got the Peace Prize? I thought it was a joke when Al Gore got it too. But really, what has he done for world peace? Miss America Pageant contestants do more for it than he has!
Here's Wikipedia's quote: According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Hmmm? Compare it with this: President Barack Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/obama.troops/index.html)
I agree with Tony Stark in that sometimes "peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy," but do you really give the prize to the guy holding the stick?
I'm not a political pundit but really?

Next Book Craze, Where Are You?

So, I'll admit that I've read Twilight now three times and am willing to choke down 2-3 for a second time... while rolling my eyes at the spineless tramp named Bella...aaannnd while kicking myself for reading them. If you haven't heard my Twilight rant, you've just gotten the 2 second version. I like 1 and the second half of 4.
After that I'll be rereading Harry Potter starting at the beginning, then Lord of the Rings, and maybe even Eragon.
I'm a sucker for series and always have been. In fact, it seems like I'm magnetically drawn to them. It seems like every book I pick up, happens to be a series. Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, Lirael, Ender's Game, Stargirl, Anne Perry's books, and Ranger's Apprentice.
All great, great, books (half of which are favorites). The reason why I'm rereading these books is because I've nothing else to read!
The library is really far (esp. for a carless wonder) and books are expensive!
I will splurge on the next big book craze! But where is it? I was looking at amazon.com's recommendations for myself and wasn't interested in any of them! Boo. If you haven't wasted hours there looking at what they recommend for you, it's a couple of hours well wasted. Usually they have something good, but it all looks liked the same trollop this time around. So, I will reread the tried and true books until the next wave starts. But hurry up!

Tradition, you take a long time!

Well, to make a short story long, my mom made all the family, felt stockings for Christmas. So, now that I have a small family of my own, I thought, I really liked those stockings. If she can do it, I can do it. I am now finished with Colby's stocking and now it's onto Jackson's. While Jackson's been napping I've been embroidering and stitching and hunched over material and cursing knots in the thread. It has taken me all of the Lord of the Rings extended versions, Pride and Prejudice (the new one), the Mummy series, and a few other movies I can't remember to finish. I've recently started in on TV shows on hulu and am in the middle of Mr. Monk. When people considered this the only occupation for proper ladies, I can't help but think all proper ladies must have been hunchback, squinty-eyed, bloody fingered messes. I'm quickly on my way to that because I've still got Jackson's stocking to do. And I seriously think that this tradition may limit the number of children Colby and I have because I don't think I can do more than two, three at the most! I'm just kidding, but I FINISHED THE FIRST ONE! I need to take a break and regain my composure (literally) before I tackle Jackson's. Colby thought I was nuts to start Christmas stockings in August, but I'll be lucky to finish Jackson's by then. Plus Colby didn't broker any arguments when I told him how much loot Santa can fit in those stockings! Voila!

Jackson

We've got Jackson exploring the backyard and sorting through rocks and just sitting and thinking. He's also playing with bubbles, trying to escape and being tickled. He's also not tired in every picture but he closes his eyes on the flash a lot!

BYU wins!

Well, BYU finally played in a big game and won!! They've had a history of choking in the big games for the past couple years, but on Saturday the football team came through when they needed to and beat the #3 team (Oklahoma) in the nation in Texas (BYU is #20). BYU was picked to lose by 21 points, but we won 14-13. It was AWESOME!!!
My brother-in-law and sister were actually in Provo and I guess students took to the streets after the win and were blocking University traffic! Then at 2 a.m. a bunch of people went to the airport to welcome back the team. Don't believe the craziness, it's all on youtube. At the airport fans started cheering BYU and Bron-co! Kinda wish I was there!

John Williams is the man!

Normally we're not concert going people, however, when Colby saw that John Williams was coming to LA to play with the Philharmonic, we just couldn't resist! If you don't know who John Williams is, you'd certainly know the music. Here are some of his accolades: Jaws, Superman, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter 1-3 and 6, Home Alone, Hook, Star Wars, Memoirs of a Geisha, Far and Away, E.T., Indiana Jones, Close Encounters, Schindler's List, Fiddler on the Roof (score), and many, many others! It was AMAZING! We were on the right hand side and could just as easily watch the stage as a jumbotron screen. He opened with "Hedwig's Theme", "The Knight Bus", "Aunt Marge's Waltz," "Faulke's Flight" and "Harry's Wondrous World". This was all narrated by Lynn Redgrave. He also did pieces from Catch Me If You Can and had the original jazz trio that recorded the soundtrack come and play. He did a tribute to other composers playing a medley from Gone with the Wind, General Patton, The Magnificent Seven and a couple of others. He then closed with the Superman March. So cool!
The funniest and best part of the show was the encore. I was smiling the entire time. He came back for four encores! In the beginning there were people with light sabers that glowed vibrantly in the darkness. They relit briefly during the tribute to other composers because a Star Wars clip came on and then vanished. Well for the encores, he certainly didn't dissapoint. First he played Yoda's theme and all the light sabers came on. There were at least 50 different light sabers, like the ones that Jackson likes to play with. Then for the second encore he played E.T. Then for the third he played the main Star Wars theme (someone called out "Indiana Jones!"). Finally for the last he played the Imperial March (when Darth Vader comes on). All the lightsabers lit up and began waving as if helping John Williams conduct the orchestra. He left the stage but people still wanted more! He came back and bowed and then put his hands together and pretended to go to sleep, then left! Sooo cool.
The video below is an a capella tribute to John Williams music focused all around Star Wars and quotes from Star Wars. They do sing Jaws, E.T., Star Wars, Indiana Jones and others. We loved it! Colby was really hoping that he would play "Hook". It's his favorite!
I was thinking of Annelisa during the Star Wars segments. I'll post some more pictures when I find the camera. It's probably just buried in the car.
Here is a picture of all the lightsabers and actually, those were just one side of the stadium!

The Baby Trap

Here's a poem I wrote after a game Jackson and I had played and I've called it "The Baby Trap":

I'm going to invent a baby trap
To arrest time and keep you
forever innocent.
Not to lose your gossamer touch or unfettered peal of laughter,
closer to magic than I've ever known.

I'll capture and bottle the merriment
in your eyes and the intangible enchantment when you let me hold you
--Me, holding my own heart,
Which then grows legs and patters away from me.

My baby trap--
Catch your chubby legs,
snare your unsullied smile,
encase you in my mind--
Preserve you,
quintessence embodied.

With your chubby fist you wiggle into my heartstrings.
Bewitching purity.
Ah, I think. I've got you now.

I'll trap you with my love.

My heart jumps as you grow.
Pride bittersweet;
I sigh and realize my trap is for naught.

For as I study once more tufted hair, the soft
curves of infancy, the wrinkled and dimpled grin
--my divine endowment--
A realization comes over me...

My baby trap doesn't work,
For, you see,
All the plans and contrivances fail,
because you have really ensnared me.

Caroline and Friends: There's more

When I was younger, my mom would read to us from a book called Caroline and friends; it's all about a spunky young girl who has lion cubs, puppies, bear cubs and kittens for friends and they go on extraordinary adventures. I'd have mom read it all the time because the stories were great and the pictures were AMAZING! We'd looked for copies but it's been out of print for a while. The copy she has now was bought in 1960 by my Grandad.
Imagine my surprise! There are more Caroline books. The one that mom has, I saw one for sale on amazon.com for 1500 dollars!!! WOW!!! Ours is definitely NOT in pristine condition and I doubt it would fetch much more than it was bought for. Much to my surprise there were more Caroline books as you can see below. However, they are in French. All the English versions are over 200 bucks. I think, when I have money to spare, I will get those French Caroline books and get Jon Lloyd, or Erin or Karen Campbell to translate them. It is now my goal, to get as many Caroline books as I can. It will take me A LOOOOOONG time, but it is now my life quest!

Really?

The original Hamster Dance song is actually just a sped up version of "Whistle Stop" by Roger Miller sung in Disney's Robin Hood. Go figure!

He runs!..And also takes a really short nap! Why?!

Well, Jackson now doesn't only toddle-- he takes off! He has discovered a lamp that he can turn on and off and smiles and squints as it blinds him!



He has also discovered a side table in the family room that he can easily fit under. He also says shoe, goat and duck. Speaking of ducks, he loves the duck GG got for him and will giggle and follow it around and he'll also insist on pushing it himself.








As you can see, he also has a little bit of a curl in the back of his head.



He will also stand up in his high chair if you don't keep him entertained. He'll eat two slices of a clementine (Christmas orange) and of course, Nana Banana bread. He's also got molars!





He loves to run around and explore, but all explorers have to camp for the night. So does our little man.