Christmas Fun

Here are some photos of our Christmas fun!

Brynn insisted that we make a gingerbread house, and this is what we came up with together. Adam and Brynn were in charge of construction and I helped the girls decorate. Ellany made the paper gingerbread man on the path.

Christmas morning

Ryker took full advantage of his chance to eat unlimited candy for breakfast!

The latest additions to Brynn's zoo...an okapi and a wolf.

This was the gift Ellany REALLY wanted...8 Happy Kids Career Puppets. I didn't think they were going to arrive until after Christmas, but they were delivered on the 24th...Yipee!!

Ryker got new copies of his favorite Dr. Seuss books, to replace the ones that were falling apart.

He immediately wanted Daddy to read him a book. :0)

Brynn became a Star Wars fan this year!

Our Secret Santa left a new garbage can on our porch...to replace the one that somebody ran over and destroyed!

Round two for presents, at Grandma Carol and Grandpa Bob's house.

Ryker loves his new bubble gun!

Cheese!

I love this photo of my Mom! She has 100% dutch heritage, and my dad gave her slippers that look like wooden shoes.

My new scale! I asked for it, since my old one died when Ryker flooded the bathroom.

Ellany's new doll, Alana.

Ryker having fun with his new digital drum set.

We had a lovely Christmas...hope you did too!

The Occasional Flutist

 
I played the flute in church today. It was a song that I love, my favorite Christmas hymn..."O Holy Night". I played with a pianist and two lovely vocalists. This probably doesn't sound especially impressive. But it was the first time in 15 years that I have played the flute in public! And I don't even own a flute. Here is my story...


I was a band geek for 6 years in junior high and high school. I played the flute for symphonic band and the piccolo for marching band. I never took private lessons, but I was usually first or second chair. My first year of college, I headed off to Idaho. I wasn't taking any music classes, but wanted to take my flute with me. (You never know when you might get the urge to play...) So my flute got packed in one of several large boxes that we shipped out to Idaho. We forgot which box the flute was in, and it did not get insured. When that particular box arrived at my new apartment, it was barely held together with tape and stamped "Re-packaged in Colorado". My flute was gone and I now had a ski mask that I had never seen before. A tad suspicious, don't you think? That was 21 years ago(!!!) and I have not owned a flute since then. But I have borrowed a flute every few years or so, just to make sure I can still play.

This is the part that impresses me. I can pick up this instrument after years of not even thinking about it, and still play scales and read music. The power of the mind to find information learned so long ago - and put it into use - is pretty amazing. I don't forget it, just like riding a bicycle. My performance today wasn't perfect, but I am grateful that I was able to make music again. :0)

Nativity Festival

I love our annual trip to the Festival of the Nativity! This was our first year taking Ryker. His experience was not a smashing success, but it wasn't a miserable failure either. He didn't break anything (wahoo!), and we managed to keep him mostly happy long enough for the girls to see everything and do a couple of Christmas crafts. There were a lot of new nativities this year, so here are pics of some that we really liked:

This homemade one was Brynn's favorite, which totally makes sense. It looks like something she would create...all kinds of animals are coming to see Baby Jesus.

 

 I still love the German style nativities.

 Yes, this one is made of potatoes! I believe it was made by a family from Idaho. The "snow" is mashed potato flakes.

This was Ellany's favorite. "If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile..."

"We'll be back next year!"

Harlem Globetrotters

Last night Adam, Brynn and my parents had the chance to see the Harlem Globetrotters. Have you seen them before? They are an exhibition team that mixes basketball and comedy. Brynn really had a lot of fun! She wanted to show me all of the videos she took as soon as she got home. Here are a couple of clips I thought you would like:

 

 

5K Turkey Trot

You may remember my post about becoming a runner. 16 weeks ago, I started running for the first time in my life. I discovered that I really enjoy running on the treadmill! And I discovered that running outside is a lot harder for me. While I steadily increased my running times on the treadmill, I struggled with my outside runs. I found that I run faster outside (I'm not good at regulating my speed), so it is harder. My original goal of running a 10K (6.2 miles) was modified to a 5K (3.1 miles), and I kept working toward that goal.

Of course, there always has to be some difficulty along the path...right? Last week I experienced pain and soreness after my run for the first time. I wanted to give my body time to heal, so skipped my next run. This Tuesday I ran again, and this time the pain was worse. By Wednesday morning I was limping around like an old woman with a bad hip! Every step was hard work, and my race was the next day. Ibuprofen and I became good friends.

Can you tell that we are ready to go?

Yesterday was the day I had been training for...the 5K Turkey Trot in Sanford! My brother, Ben, and sister-in-law, Amory, ran the 5K too. They have both run a marathon and various other races, so I was in good company. Ben stayed by my side to help me pace myself and offer encouragement. I'm so glad he was with me, because it was hard! After 2 miles I wanted to quit. That last mile I kept telling myself, "You've given birth to three children...you CAN DO THIS!!".

This is the start...I'm not sweaty and tired yet!

And I did it!!! My main goal was to run the entire race without stopping to walk. I am proud to stay that I accomplished that. And my time was decent...34:30. That shaved 6 minutes off my treadmill time for 5K! So I am happy. And extremely sore. I think I can officially say that I am a runner now. On to my next goal...10K in February! :0)

A Seussical Halloween

This year our family theme for costumes was Dr. Seuss. This was inspired by the fact that Ryker and Ellany both adore, and frequently quote, Dr. Seuss books. I think we own every book he ever wrote! And they have all been extremely well loved and taped back together several times. :0)

Our costumes got a jumpstart because my parents already had two that we could borrow - Thing 1 & Thing 2. They only required minor adjustments. Next, my mom sewed both Ryker's Sneetch costume and Ellany's Sam I Am costume. She also helped me make Ellany's hat. I purchased the hat/bowtie/gloves for Adam's costume, we made green eggs & ham and a sign for Ellany...and we were set!

Ellany was very excited about her costume and would ask people, "Do you like green eggs and ham?". We went to the ward Trunk-or-Treat, where we won the award for best jack-o-lanterns. We took 4 pumpkins, since we each made one (except for Ryker). I have lots of fun photos to post, so decided to put them in an online album. It also includes our October visit to Magic Kingdom. Just click on the "Halloween Slideshow" text below the photo!

 

Halloween Slideshow 

Ryker Sings A Tune

Ryker loves to sing! Some days he sings his way through the day. He started singing while I was sitting at the table eating breakfast this morning, and I had to get it on video. Soo cute! I don't know the song, it is one that he learned at school. But I do recognize the "Fee, Fi, Fiddly-I-Oh" part and "All together sing a song" near the end. He is not fully dressed in this video, which he will probably hate me for someday. 

Rockin' with Howard Jones!

Imagine seeing one of your all-time favorite musicians in concert...

on the second row...

absolutely free!!!

Howard Jones (1983)

That is exactly what I did last night, and I'm still so excited about it! I have loved Howard Jones since the mid-80's. I listen to his CD's in my car almost everyday, and I have his newer music that most people don't even know about. I love that his songs have a message of optimism..."Things Can Only Get Better" and "Everlasting Love" are a couple of my favorites. I have wanted to see him in concert for what seems like forever. He has performed in FL twice since we moved back 4 years ago, but sadly I couldn't go to either concert. Then a month ago I discovered that Howard Jones was coming to perform at Epcot. Wahoo!!! With our Disney annual passes, that meant I would finally get to see him - for free! (This is where I insert a HUGE thank you to all our awesome family members who got us those annual passes!)

During Epcot's annual Food & Wine Festival, musicians do 3 short shows each night for 2-3 nights in a row. They perform in a small open air theater on the lake. Adam and I arrived at the very end of Howard's first show, and we thought our timing was perfect. When the first crowd left we headed straight for the front and sat down. Sadly, a Disney cast member informed us that we had to get up...and go stand in line. Gack! A line had already formed to get in for the 2nd show, so we got in the queue. We ended up sitting probably 10 rows back...not too shabby!

It has been a while since the 80's, and of course Howard looks older. But he still rocks!!! The show was SO much fun, and he got the audience to sing along a lot. It was so great that we decided to do it again, and immediately got in line for the 3rd show after the 2nd one ended! This time we ended up getting 2nd row seats. Perfect! I haven't had so much fun in a looong time. :0)

Here is a video of "New Song" for your enjoyment. Try to ignore the focus issues!

Pete the Scarecrow

Meet our new friend...Pete the Scarecrow!

 I just love his hand-sewn mouth and raffia hair!

This adorable little guy was created entirely by Brynn. For the last week or so, she has been working on this secret sewing project over at my mom's house. She loves surprises! Today she came home with her scarecrow and I think he is fabulous! She designed him, raided Grandma's fabric scraps and sewed him all by herself. Brynn told me today that she really likes sewing and that it is lots of fun. I'm glad that it gives her another outlet for her overflowing creativity! I like how my mom describes it...she said that Brynn sews like an artist. :0)

Ryker Turns Four

My baby is 4 years old! 

Let me tell you a little about our sweet boy.

•  Ryker loves letters! He sings the alphabet song a lot. He gravitates toward any toy that involves letters. And he enjoys using wooden letters to spell out short words, sounding out each letter phonetically.
• Ryker is communicating well. He uses 1 or 2 words to make his wants known, with the occasional phrase or sentence. If he comes to me and says "Milk!", I just look at him until he says, "I want milk, please!". He also will not hesitate to make his displeasure known...with a yell or scream.
• Ryker loves milk! It is his favorite food above all others. He would drink it all day, eat nothing and be perfectly content.
• Ryker is currently obsessed with Dr. Seuss. He will sit on the floor with a collection of Dr. Seuss books and "read" them to himself. We have videos of many of the books, so he has the words memorized. He also loves "Are You My Mother" and other P.D. Eastman books.
• Ryker finds great joy in throwing things. You can imagine what effect this has on our house. He recently got some eggs out of the fridge and threw them around the living room!
• Ryker is REALLY attached to his Mommy! He often will not allow anyone else to help him...he only wants me. I love that he is so attached to me, but at the same time it can be exhausting!
• On the occasional night when Ryker doesn't sleep well, he will come stand by the side of my bed...and oink!
• Ryker is constantly taking circular objects (usually lids) so he can spin them. Whenever we can't find one, we just look in his room!

Here are some pics from his birthday festivities. We headed to a splash park on Saturday, because Ryker still adores water.

On Sunday, we had a Blue's Clues themed birthday party. Ryker's favorite part was probably playing with the balloons!

 Brynn made some really cute decorations, including this "Pin the flag on Mailbox" game!

 "Take a picture? It's time to play with my new toys!"

   We sure love our Ryker!!!

My Quilt

My mom can sew anything. When I was little, she made a lot of my clothes. When I got married, the wedding dress she made for me was exactly what I wanted - even though I was in Utah and she was in Florida. And now, when I need something hemmed or repaired my mom always comes to the rescue. 

For several years now, Mom has been making quilts. In Spring 2009, she agreed to make a quilt for my queen size bed. I was so excited! I found a quilt pattern that I loved ("Under the Sea") and we spent a lot of time finding 10 coordinating fabrics. Since that time, my mom has had heart surgery and multiple eye surgeries. And for a while she wasn't happy with how the quilt was turning out (her perfectionist tendencies!) and put it away. So there have been a few pauses along the way for this quilt. Yesterday, my mom presented me with my finished quilt. Isn't it gorgeous??

These are all my favorite colors...shades of blues and greens that make me think of the sea.

Click on the photo to see the pretty details!

I know that my mom spent countless hours and lots of stress on this project for me. And she carried on despite her vision problems. I am so very grateful for her kindness and for her talent! I love this quilt not only because it is beautiful, but because my mom made it for ME.

Thanks, Mom!!! :0)