Thanks for a wonderful year.

As we walk away from 2008 and look forward to 2009, I just wanted to thank my friends and family for all of their love and friendship. We may not have the biggest house on the block, or drive the fanciest car, but we are a very blessed family. We love you all!

Ethan's Holiday Treat

Anyone that knows Ethan, knows that he can be a handful. He is into everything and frankly, I'm surprised we don't spend a lot more of our time in the ER. But this week he shocked even me. He ate poo. Yes, you read that right, he tasted his own poo. I was getting ready for bed and I hear Jaycee yell from the bathroom, "MOM! ETHAN ATE POO!" I go running in there, not necessarily believing her and I ask Ethan, "Did you eat poo?" because he was using the toilet in a sitting position so Jaycee's accusation was beginning to have merit. He nodded yes. So, without thinking I pump 2 full pumps of liquid soap into my hand and begin scrubbing the inside of his mouth, not to be mean, but because I don't want him to die of E. coli. As I was doing the cleaning I was telling Ethan that I wasn't mad at him but how poo can make you very sick so I have to clean your mouth really good. He was very brave as the bubbles were cascading out of this mouth and when I was done scrubbing he spit in the toilet for a minute then rinsed with water (not toilet water, he knew better than to be afilliated with anything that was, or had been associated with poo at this point). After he was cleansed he told me the whole story. He was wiping and decided he wanted to know what poo tasted like so he licked the poopy toilet paper he had just wiped with. I never did ask him what it actually tasted like, he was too tramatized by the whole experience. Later, when Mike came home Jaycee was quick to tell him how Ethan ate poo and I laughed my guts out listening to her retelling of the story to Mike. His reaction was hilarious. I wish I had a camera with me to imortalize the look of shear horror and disgust on his face. It was almost as priceless as this story.

Thanksgiving Goodness

I have to just put it out there for the world to see: My mom is the best cook ever! Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday and she loves to go all out. Mom, the turkey and pies were amazing, as were all the other fixins' thanks to our family. My aunts also share a knack for cooking and did an amazing job. I must also acknowledge my husband who made his famous cheesecake which went very fast. I love seeing my whole entire, huge family, especially the ones that come from out of town. Thanks to everyone that came, and thanks for the good food! My family rocks!

Fall, fall, fall!

It has been an enjoyable fall this year. We've had warm weather, cold weather, and everything in between. Fall is Mike's favorite time of year, but the reason I like fall is because it ushers in winter, snow, and Christmas (3 of my favorite things). Here is what we've been up to this fall:


We spent some time at our family cabin which was a blast! We had 8 inches of snow at our house when we left and thought there would be tons of snow at the cabin so we brought all of our snow cloths and a sled. Oh well, we enjoyed the 50 to 60 degree weather which felt really warm after the snow.

Jaycee and aunt Heather riding the 4-wheeler.


Ethan shot his first gun. It was a BB gun, and he still has both eyes.


Jaycee and Ethan climbed this mountain about 20 times. I did it once and got this picture.

Mommy and Ethan cruisin' the town, hitting the hot spots.

Mike took the kids up to Silver Lake on a Saturday I was working. They walked around the lake, then enjoyed some hot Chocolate.

Halloween!! Jaycee was a mermaid, Ethan was Indiana Jones, and Mike didn't have a costume. He's been growing his hair out for awhile. Not really, this is his inner punk coming out on the one night he can get away with it.



We went up to the Quarry in Little Cottonwood Canyon so Jaycee could take some pictures for reflections. I couldn't help but take this picture of Jaycee and Ethan walking hand in hand.

Tagged

Rules:
1. People who are tagged need to post these rules, and 8 random habits/facts/quirks about themselves.
2. At the end of the post you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names

Ok, so lets see, I'm quite a boring person, so I'll try my darndest to make this interesting. I did take the initiative to change this the 8 things about my family, though.

1. Years ago I got in touch with one of my childhood best friends. I hadn't heard from or seen her in over 10 years so we had a lot of catching up to do. I found out she lived in, and had just sold, the same house that my husband grew up in, in So. Jordan. This was the house Mike lived in when we were dating. Weird!

2. Ethan likes you to smell his fingers after he goes to the bathroom, not to be gross, but to prove he washed his hands.

3. A few years ago I ran an entire marathon with 2 totally different shoe on. The marathon was out of town and when I was getting ready EARLY in the morning I realized I had packed 2 different shoes. One was my good running shoe and the other was an old cross-trainer that didn't even fit me anymore. It added about 1 hr. to my time and killed my lower body, but I still finished the race.

4. My near-death experience: This fall I was running outside on a long trail, far away from my car, and civilization. It was about 60 degrees when I started so I was wearing thin running pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. It started to rain, HARD, when I was about 6 miles from my car. By the time I got to my car I was soaked to the bone and according to my car's thermostat it was 32 degrees. I couldn't feel most of my body and was very hypothermic. It was quite scary.

5. Jaycee sleeps in a princess tent in her room almost every night, but when we went camping this summer she slept in my brother and sister-in-law's trailer every night because she was too scared to sleep outside in our tent with Mike, Ethan, and I. Maybe because our tent is orange and not pink, purple, and covered in Disney princesses.

6. I used to be very shy when I was little, but if you know me now I'm the opposite of shy. I even love public speaking and was a speaker at my college graduation.

7. Mike is a guys guy, if you know what I mean. He is very manly, but he loves facials. Whether it is in the privacy of our own home, or at a spa. Don't be surprised if you come over to our house one day and he answers the door with a mud mask on (actually, he would probably make me answer the door, he has a reputation to uphold).

8. I love to garden! Our backyard has an 80' by 12' garden area where we have 3 grow boxes and a large misc. area. This year we (we meaning me with the kids helping a little) planted beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, strawberries, carrots, rows of corn, and a pumpkin patch. It kept me busy all summer but I enjoyed every bit of it.

Now I am tagging: Sam, Ginet, Rachel, Susan, Stacie, Becky, Shelly, and Chanda.
Good luck!

Now get out there and vote!

The Real American Dream

An American Creed

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man

It is my right to be uncommon—if I can.

I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.”

By Dean Alfange

______________

*Originally published in This Week Magazine.
Later printed in The Reader’s Digest, October 1952 and January 1954.

The Honorable Dean Alfange was an American statesman born December 2, 1899, in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He was raised in upstate New York. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and attended Hamilton College, graduating in the class of 1922. This is from Dave Ramsey's website and he has asked that we pass it along.

My favorite quote:

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. -Pres. John F. Kennedy

I love this country and am proud to be an American! Now get out there and vote everyone!

Thanks for the inspiration Rachel.

More Family Pictures

It was a very cold day and Jaycee was such a trooper.

Ethan loves the camera.

I'm not quite sure what we were looking at. Probably the homeless guy. Mike said he was pondering different ways he could save the world. I'm pretty sure I was just making sure the homeless guy wasn't trying to steal my children.

Small Town in a Big City

I really love this time of the year. Last Saturday the weather was spectacular so Mike and I did yard work all day long. We got the garden and dying flowers all pulled up, the grass mowed, and one last go at weeding. After a long day of working our tails off we had some good, old fashioned fall fun. There is a family owned farm not too far from us called Farnsworth Farms. They had free hay rides around their orchard, tons of treats like homemade apple cider, caramel apples, doughnuts, well you get the idea. Then as it got dark they played the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin Halloween special on a giant projector. We all snuggled in our blankets and lawn chairs and enjoyed the flick. These are the kind of experiences I hope my kids remember as they grow up. We don't live in a small town, but I believe it is the small town experiences that are so much fun and so memerable. One more example to drive the point home. Every summer in July the country is inindated with parades of every shape and size. We could go to the big one in Salt Lake, or even just watch the parades on TV. But every year we go to the Draper Days parade in Draper City. It has a small town feel with people throwing candy out of their fancy cars, and the local fire trucks and police cars following the floats of pagent queens and school bands. Two years ago Jaycee was actually in it. She was the cute little girl in a fancy convertable, throwing candy at the crowd, but in her eyes she was a princess in a coach, waving at her dominions. No Macey's Day parade could ever top that.
I will always be a city girl, but there is a little small town girl inside of me that manages to come out a few times a year and make an appearance. My family is just along for the ride.

Family pictures, just a taste

Last week we had the most amazing photographer do some family pictures. We wanted something different and fun and that is exactly what we got. It was an adventure really. We met at some abandoned warehouses just south of the Gateway mall in a questionable part of town. The top picture was taken just outside of a club that burned down awhile ago and as we were scoping out the building we disturbed a man who smelled like pot, but turned out to be quite nice. Go figure. The picture of the kids was taken in front of a warehouse that was white and bright blue. I think the owners must be greek. The bottom picture was taken when we got really brave and went inside of the burned out building. We expected to see dead bodies and rats, and thought maybe we would uncover the crime of the century, but to our disappointment there was just a lot of burned stuff. Oh well. We had so much fun and we can't wait to see the rest of the pictures. Thanks Shelly for doing such a spectacular job!

Disneyland Blues

The last 2 years we've gone to Disneyland, once in August and once in October. This year we aren't going and everyone is bummed but Mike. Although he has fun, it isn't his favorite place on earth. As for the kids and myself, we could live in Disneyland and be perfectly content. I'm hoping we will make it out there next year. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it happen. Until then, I'll reminisce.

Catching Hail!

Since the weather in Utah has been really boring for the last month I thought I would share this photo of a piece of hail that, along with all of its millions of gigantic friends, decided to pelt us while hiking at Mt. Rushmore this summer. It was so painful it was funny. Jaycee ran around trying to catch the painful pellets yelling, "I'm catching hail, I'm catching hail!" to which our reply was, "Not until you're a teenager, dear."

Christmas shopping?

On Sunday we had our family over for dinner and decided to draw names for Christmas. I can't believe it is in less that 3 months. It is my favorite time of the year, but yikes! Some of you don't live in Utah, but it is almost October and we are still averaging in the 80's. I'm not complaining, but I really am getting sick of yardwork. The kids are so excited for Halloween. Jaycee is going to be a mermaid and Ethan is going to be Indiana Jones (I wonder who he got that idea from?). It will be a fun Halloween. Pictures to come soon.

Our family trip to Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore this summer. Who would have ever thought that Wyoming and So. Dakota could be so much fun.

My little squirts, aren't they cute!

Since we are way overdue for a family picture, I thought we could start with the kiddo's. Jaycee and Ethan are the loves of my life. They keep me on my toes, and always have me laughing. For example...you know when the kids catch a glimpse of something off the the Discovery channel, or the equivalent, and wonder why the tribal women aren't wearing shirts? Jaycee's question was "why isn't that lady wearing seashell?" You see, she is really into the Little Mermaid right now.
Of course Ethan has his moments, also. A few weeks ago Ethan and I were watching the Olympics and the US vs. China women's gymnastics was on. He was concentrating very hard on all the difficult moves these girls were performing, or so I thought. After a few minutes Ethan said to me, "Mom, why do all the girls on the other team have mean eyes?" Lets just say, I was so grateful we were in the privacy of our own home.
I love these guys so much. They are my life.

Awe Inspiring blog!

Ok,
So it's pretty boring now, but you just wait. Soon it will be thriving with life. You will all see how my existence is full of amazing happenings and awe inspiring experiences. Not really, but maybe once in awhile I will make you chuckle. Pictures soon to come. Thanks for checking it out!

Kimber