Merry Christmas!

I had such big plans... but then my Chronic Fatigue decided to step in and show me who was boss this week. I had our Christmas cards all designed but there's just not much of a chance I'll get them sent this year so I decided to share them with you all here! You can click on each image to make them big enough to read. We hope you have the best Christmas Season!

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Kirtland

My parents live about 20 minutes from the Kirtland temple. We went so often growing up that I'm pretty sure we could each give the tour on our own. I love Kirtland and feel like the things that happened their in early church history are part of me, since I spent all my childhood building the kingdom they gave so much to develop.

Every time Doug has come to Ohio (quite a few times now) sometime has come up so that he couldn't get into the temple tour. This time, it was unexpectedly closed when we drove up for the tour the morning before we flew out of Ohio. Instead we went down to the stone quarry, which is my favorite Kirtland site.

It's just a little park two miles ahead of the Kirtland temple, where the Saints spent hours upon hours chiseling out the rock for the temple. No tour guides, not even signs to tell you how to get there or which path to take to see where they worked to get stone to build the temple. The Kirtland temple was such a blessing and so wonderful that we often forget to think of anything other than the finished product.

I love the stone quarry because it is forgotten and yet it still stands there clearly marked with the work the Saints put into it. It is a constant reminder that two miles down the road from each blessing there must first be a stone quarry.

Happy Thanksgiving! (one day late)

Since we were in NYC for all of Thanksgiving, we celebrated the big meal on Friday. The house we rented was great- two kitchens, to living rooms, seven bedrooms, a game room complete with table tennis and pool... but no dining room. I think eating on the ping pong table was a better idea anyway. The grand kids decorated with turkey place mats for each person- even baby Luke who is just 3 months old.

Statue of Liberty

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanksgiving Morning we all arose in the wee hours of the morning and made the two hour drive from the house we'd rented into the NYC. We got there an hour before the parade started- just in time to be about 30 rows back (luckily they have big balloons in the parade, right?) Lucky for us we found this great spot for the last half hour of the parade where we could see about everything. Until then, Doug's shoulders got a work out propping our nieces and nephews up into window sills and building ledges so they could see.

Even though we couldn't see much at first- the parade was so great. The roads on the city had been blocked off so the traffic and noise had transformed into excitement and holiday spirit. Everyone we were crowded around was so nice, and it was fun to see how everyone around would give up their spot to let a kid see the parade a little better.





My favorite part was after the parade when the streets were still blocked off and we got to walk around with all the people and not worry about the traffic. We took the kids to go play in Central Park and helped ourselves to some delicious New York hot dogs complete with sauerkraut and sweet onion sauce.

Family Reunion

Most of our family traditions died away by the time I really got old enough to realize they were a tradition. My mom used to make us matching pajamas every year to wear on Christmas Eve/ Christmas morning. We'd make this Christmas cookie train... or something. I think we might have eaten a car every day before Christmas or something from it. If you talk to my older siblings these were a big deal, but by the time I came around they kinda stopped. I'm not really sure way. We really only have one tradition now, and it only started about 6 or so years ago.

Each time my whole family gets together we get a pinata. Only one rule- You can launch something at it, blow it up, light it on fire, etc- you just can't actually swing and hit it with something (like a bat or stick etc). It's pretty funny- I feel like each year we try less and less to destroy the pinata. We have way too much fun watching what everyone came up with- it would be sad to destroy it to early! My personal favorite is to watch the little kids who are now old enough to think of ideas on their own.
one year old Issac throwing a football at it.

Smashing a it with pies


Jaron (my eight year old nephew) thought of the fantastic idea of getting on a sled and being slung toward the pinata with a giant rubber band.



We tried a new thing this year as well.- a talent show inspired by the movie Dan in Real Life. Featured in our show was a mini American Idol show complete with judges done by Marika's family, a dance by my brother Nathan and his four year old daughter, a sqeaking/humming/something musical number by Andrew and Lauren (what would you call that?) and sharing of some fresh, homemade mozzarella cheese made by Doug and me. (yep, we learned how to make homemade cheese. Aren't we so cool?)

First Day in New York City

My brother Andrew and his wife Lauren came up from Columbus to see us at my parents house. We all drove out to the house we'd rented in Pennsylvania for our family reunion and then took advantage of the extra day we had before everyone got there and headed up to New York City for a day. I just love the city. All the people and cultures and excitement and public transportation (the world would just be a better place if we could all just use public transportation, in my opinion). We spent the morning seeing some sites- Times Square, Central Park, the M&M store (ok, that last one isn't so much a site to see in NYC, but we went anyway).

We met up with my sister Marika and her family at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I literally spent hours entranced by the beauty of fine art.

We wrapped up the day by visiting FAO Shwartz (a huge toy store that happens to be the home of the huge piano featured on the movie 'BIG') and a trip to Little Italy for some New York Pizza.

Visit to Ohio

We just got back from a long trip East. It's good to be home, but I have to admit the first few days back in Utah are always kinda sad for me. It was just such a great trip and so good to see family! Maybe it's better that I live far away- I end up appreciating every detail while I'm there.

We went out for a family vacation over the Thanksgiving break, but I was able to go early to spend some time in Ohio with my parents. It was so great. I'm the youngest child and spent my last two years at home all alone with my parents. I've found that's one of my favorite things to go back to- a big, quiet, empty house to lounge around in and work on lots of projects. Here are a couple of my favorite things that we did while I was there.

For as long as I can remember my dad has tried to raise pheasants. He'd order the eggs and get all the warming lamps and everything, but nothing seemed to work. This time we ordered the chicks already hatched (they were shipped to him in a box, which I think is just crazy) and has had better luck. By the time I got there he had 6 full grown, beautiful birds in the back yard. He made our old jungle gym into a cage for them so they have plenty of room to fly around and perch on our old monkey bars. I could stare at those birds all day- they really are so pretty.

Another great night was when my mom and I went to an exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art. They had rooms full of work done by Lalique, Tiffany, and Fabergé. All three dimensional works that I'd studied all through college but had never really seen in real life. Let me tell you, the real things were SO much more amazing than the pictures. Wow.

Doug came out the Saturday before Thanksgiving. As much as I love hanging out with just my parents- I have to admit it I liked it a lot better after he came!