Fun with a fanatic

Goonies. E.T. The Princess Bride. Star Wars. Indiana Jones movies. The Man From Snowy River. Back to the Future. The list of "I-could-watch-this-over-and-over-again" movies was plenty long when I was a kid. So I shouldn't be surprised by Wade's lengthy list of faves. This past week we picked up the library book Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg. Rhiannon and Wade had first seen the movie with their cousins and many times since then. I didn't connect the two together, but the book came first. It was fun to watch how Wade was so excited about the book! I think I read it at least twice a day every day last week. He would stop me often and tell me how the movie had been different in parts. I tried skipping paragraphs and he'd say, "No, Mom, you missed a part!" How refreshing to be caught up in a book for a change, and not the Internet or TV. :)

Remembering President Hinckley

Jason called me from work this morning and asked if I'd checked the news yet. He told me about President Gordon B. Hinckley's passing, the prophet and president of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Hinckley was 97 years old. I was very surprised that he had died because he was so energetic and full of life at such an advanced age, but my first thought was that now he could be reunited with his wife who had died in 2004. Rhiannon and Wade were upset, but I shared my testimony and faith with them that all was well with President Hinckley, and a new prophet would be called soon.

If you have favorite memories about President Hinckley, please post them! I loved his great sense of humor, his dedication, and his testimony. I loved his zeal for temple work and the increased building of temples all over the world. I loved how he shared the gospel without hesitation or apology. I remember seeing him at a regional conference in Houston. It was amazing to be part of that huge audience and to feel the silence and reverence spread through the stadium as he came in with his wife. I think one of my favorite "quotes" of his was when he corrected a quote that others attributed to him, saying that he'd actually said, "Do the VERY best you can," and not just "do the best you can."

My life is blessed because of my membership in this church. I know where I came from, why I'm here on earth, and where I want to be when I die. I'm thankful for great leaders like President Hinckley, who have led by example. If you want to learn more about the Church, http://www.mormon.org/ is a great place to start. Another awesome resource is a talk by an apostle named Elder M. Russell Ballard called Faith, Family, Facts, and Fruits. Of course you can ask me, too! :)

Father/Son, Mother/Daughter

This morning Jason and Wade are HERE.
I think Wade is really going to enjoy it. :)

Rhiannon and I will do some shopping, buy some nail polish, and have fun hanging out until she goes to a birthday party this afternoon.

Hurray for father/son and mother/daughter outings! :)

Superhero fun

"Ahhhh!"
"Unghh!"
(hard breathing)
"Oh!"
"Ouch!"
(fake scream that is very quiet so as not to disturb the parental figures)
"Hi-ya!"
"Help!"
"Huh!"
"You busted my finger!"
(fake gun noises)

As I type this, I am trying to listen in on a game Rhiannon and Wade are playing down in the living room. From what I can tell, Wade is Batman and Rhiannon is Hawk Girl, and they're fighting crocodiles (I think). It reminds me of a conversation we had over breakfast. The kids were making up new superhero names, like Pow!, and Bam!...
We've been fighting illness for the past two weeks, and I think we're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It'll be nice to take a break from wiping noses, administering medicine, and staying indoors all the time! :)

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

In honor of Jason's 33rd birthday today, here are 33 "words" that describe him*:

Handsome. Tall. Dependable. Freakin'Genius. Witty. Diligent. Gamer. King. FrequentFlyer. FantasticDad. SushiLover. ChipsAndSalsaEater. HardWorker. EarlyRiser. BlueCarRacer. BirthdayBoy. Perceptive. Intuitive. Patient. PentagonLaborer. ComputerWorker. Republican. BestBuyCustomer. BusRider. RushEnthusiast. iTunesCollector. Romantic. ExpertGiftGiver. TickleMonster. RibCounter. Hero. Handyman. Superman!

Happy Birthday to the best husband/daddy a wife and kids could ask for! We love you!!!!

*Rhiannon helped some. Can you tell? :)

Funny Rhiannon moments

First off, I should mention that it snowed almost the entire day today. I don't know how many inches, maybe 3? The kids had a good time in it. I didn't take any pictures, though--I was shoveling the driveway. ;)

Today Rhiannon said or did 3 things that were pretty cute and funny.

#1: Before breakfast...
Rhiannon: Mom, I know what I want to be when I grow up. A horse farm worker, a vegetarian, and a ROCK STAR!
Mom: (smile) Do you mean a veterinarian?
Rhiannon: Huh?
Mom: A vegatarian is a person who doesn't eat meat. I think you want to be a VETerinarian!
Rhiannon: Oh!

#2: At dinner... Dad: Rhiannon, did you just eat that whole bowl of olives?Rhiannon: (quiet, eyes are big) Uh... (Mom and Dad look at each other) Dad: I think I ate maybe 6 of them. Mom: Wow. That was a whole can of olives, Rhiannon... (Wade and I hadn't eaten any)

#3: At bedtime...Rhiannon noticed we had a heating pad downstairs on one of the basement shelves. She wanted to try it out, just for fun. So I let her have it on her back for a few moments at bedtime. "Ahhhhh....," she said. "A fourth favorite thing. First comes my family, then animals, then Puppies in My Pocket (toy dogs she plays with), and then this heating pad."

We are very blessed to have a daughter who appreciates the little things in life! Like olives and heating pads! :)

"School Time"

Here are a couple pictures of the snow we got yesterday. In 2 hours it was almost all melted. Wade and I didn't get out in it, but Rhiannon got to enjoy it during recess time. Kind of crazy to think the temperature was 30-40 degrees warmer last week.



Wade has been sick since Saturday and is finally starting to feel a little better. He's still very congested, but I guess I'll take that over a fever/no energy any day. Today he practiced writing his name and did a great job! It's one of his goals for this year. I wonder what else he's got up his sleeve...amazing what you discover and notice about your children when you turn off the TV and computer! :)

Fire Hazard!

Today I turned the ripe ol' age of 32 and had a fantastic, terrific, special day. I don't have any record of my birthday last year except for a journal entry, so I made sure I had some pictures taken this time. :)
There was a LOT of smoke in the kitchen after I blew those babies out. Yikes! I might have to resort to using those giant number candles in the future instead of a candle for every year. :) Kudos to Jason for lighting all those bad boys and to Rhiannon for capturing my big "huff and puff"!

Jason surprised me with a large bouquet of beautiful yellow, red, and pink roses! He treated us to pizza for dinner, too. There were lots of candy letters left over after the birthday cake was decorated, so I let the kids have the rest. Pretty scary effects--I now know the key ingredient to a really good vampire costume!

Thanks for all the cards, phone calls, and emails--they were very much appreciated!!

Prayer works

I wasn't going to "blog" today, but something funny happened to me this morning. Last night I was pretty sleepy and for the second time in a row I decided to pray for help getting up on time in the morning instead of actually setting the alarm clock. (I can't believe how lazy I am somtimes!) Hey, I figured it worked yesterday so why not pray for it again? Well, my prayer was answered, and I learned a good lesson. Wade came in, bright and chipper, at 5:15AM, saying, "Look out the window, it's morning time, Mom!" (it was still dark) I remember telling him to just get in bed with me and go back to sleep, but the kid would not sleep. Every 5 minutes or so, he'd sit up and say, "Hey, it's (whatever time it was)! Time to get up, Mom!" I couldn't be mad at the guy because he was just so darn happy and wide-awake! Heavenly Father definitely answered my prayer, but tonight I'll be setting the alarm clock and hoping my "other" alarm sleeps like he usually does!

Goodbye to 2007

My answers to Amelia's post...feel free to answer in your own blog!

Where did you begin 2007? Ridgecrest, CA
What was your status by Valentine's Day? Happily married
Were you in school (anytime this year)? Inside a school plenty of times, but not IN school
Did you have to go to the hospital? Nope
Did you have any encounters with the police? Nope
Where did you go on vacation? Utah, Maryland, Central Europe, Kansas, East coast areas. (Technically I think I'm on vacation for the next 18 months...)
What did you purchase that was over $500? Hmmm, probably spent that and then some in Europe. The big TV cost some moolah, too.
Did you know anybody who got married? Friends, but I didn't attend any weddings
Did you know anybody who passed away? Yes, our wonderful hometeacher passed away unexpectedly as did Jason's Grandma Faye
Did you move anywhere? Yep!
What sporting events did you attend? Hockey game in Salt Lake City
What concerts/shows did you go to? Hee-hee! I saw part of an opera in Vienna!
Describe your birthday: Nice and low-key, with dinner at Casa Corona!
What's the one thing you thought you would not do but did in 2007? I didn't think I'd gain any more weight. Ha!
What has been your favorite moment(s)? Too many to list. Just take a look at the blog. :)
Any new additions to your family? 3 new nephews--Alex, Nolan, and Max
lWhat was your best month? Hmm...all 12?
What music will you remember 2007 by? OneRepublic? I'm really digging them lately.
Made new friends? Yep, and kept the old! :)
Favorite Night out? Hard to pick one. I got my husband all to myself for a week in March and almost two weeks in June; I'm utterly, hopelessly spoiled.
Overall, how would you rate this year? 10 out of 5 stars. Yeah, it's been that good.
Other than home, where did you spend most of your time? Like Amelia, I spent a lot of time at WalMart, too, but I've been lots of other places, too.
Change your hairstyle? Not really, just grew it out.
How old did you turn this year? 31
Do you have a New Year's resolution? I'm blogging about it. http://goalamonth.blogspot.com/. Yeah, I'm a nerd.
Do anything embarrassing? Probably, but mercifully I can't think of any right now.
Buy anything new from eBay? I can't remember. Lately I stick to Amazon.
Get married or divorced? Nope!
Get arrested? Nope!
Be honest - did you watch American Idol? Absolutely.
Did you get sick this year? Not really
Been snowboarding? Nope
Are you happy to see 2007 go? Not particularly--it's been an extremely good year.
Been naughty or nice? Nice, of course!

An all-around good day

The blue background/white text was hard on my eyes, so I changed the format AGAIN. :)

It's been a good Monday for us, and it's only 1:35pm VA time! I got a bunch of exercise in, Wade started a totally cool "Beginner Athletes" class at the rec center, and Rhiannon brought home some amazing pictures from school that her friends drew just for her. And if that wasn't enough, we got to see one of our neighborhood dogs, Nicky, twice today while we were walking to and from school. Nicky is a peek-a-poo puppy, a cross between a Pekingese and a poodle, and quite possibly one of the cutest, softest dogs I've ever seen. I found some pictures on the Internet that came close to what she looks like.

Don't worry, I'm not going to go out and get one, but this dog definitely gets added to Our Future Dog List that we're keeping around here. If you know of any good breeds/mixes that are low in the allergen/barking/size/health problems areas (I'm not picky or anything), let us know...

I'll try to get a picture/video of Wade at his class next week. He's got 9 more sessions of it. He did such a good job running, chasing, kicking soccer balls, and following directions. Hurray!

Happy New Year!

All 4 of us stayed up til midnight last night. It was so awesome! After we watched "the ball drop" on TV, Wade said, "Hey, let's play a game!" I was shocked that my little 4-year-0ld was still wide awake. Maybe the shot of hot cocoa helped some. :) After quite a few years in a row of me being the only one awake to usher in the new year, this was a nice change of pace and tons of fun. Happy 2008, everyone!