So Much Christmas... So Little Time

Another holiday season has come and gone. It seems to go by so fast! We had a fabulous season, with only a few minor bumps along the way. Erin had the stomach flu for Christmas, but we still managed to make it to all of our family parties that day - although we had to cut one a bit short. (Sorry Grandma and Grandpa about the neighbors sidewalk... at least she didn't throw up in the van!)

The kids made out like bandits this year. They're getting old enough (and honestly, spoiled enough) they got money and gift cards from just about everyone. Miah ended up making a $300 deposit on Friday! Score! It took us almost all evening on Saturday to spend gift cards. I was in mommy heaven, as the children hate to shop these days - except when it's their shopping they want to do. We made it to Game Stop, Barnes and Noble, Target and Walmart, and I managed to squeeze a Pier One stop in, with much duress. The only cards we put off spending were Starbucks and Chili's, but we're planning on using them tomorrow.


My favorite tradition that we have in our family is our Handmade Gift Exchange. We exchange names (the participants being our little family, my mom, dad and brother, my sister and her son, my grandma and her sister, and her grand-daughter) then we have to hand make a gift for our recipient. This year Miah drew my name. He made me a gorgeous wooden box that I put on my kitchen counter to hold all of my fruit tools in. I love that the box is so meticulously made, and then wrapped so haphazardly! That's my boy, for sure.

Friday was supposed to involve a trip to Idaho to party with Trav's dad's family and play Bunco, but Erin did what I've been trying to train her to do for thirteen years - she shared. Too bad it was the flu, but she did share. Progress! The boys didn't feel up to a four hour drive with no immediate toilet around. We were so sad to miss that party, especially since we don't make it up to visit often. We're going to try to avoid the flu and the snow next week and make the trip.

It's Saturday night now, and the tree is down and packed back in its box and stored under the house. The stockings are down and all the wrapping paper is in the recycle bins. Although it feels like it's all over, I realized as I pulled into our driveway tonight - it isn't! We forgot to unplug and pack up the inflatable snow globe that's out in the yard. That means it's still Christmastime, so Merry Extended Christmas to all of you!

Song Birds

We have two new babies at our house! They have fit themselves right into our hearts and our home. They fit our gender-typical mold as well: we have strong-willed, stubborn females and laidback, mellow males. That seems to be the universal mold in our family - it even crosses species barriers. Our cats and humans, and now our birds all fall neatly into those two catagories. The girls get their way and the boys don't complain about it. It works for us!

The baby birds have spent so much of their time at home getting to know us. They are very comfortable here, and they like to 'hang' with their humans. I loved watching Erin and Diablo (Dee for short) play Rock Band together!

I thought it was so cute, in fact, that I made Icarus (Icky for short) get in on the Rock Band action for a shot.

It didn't last long, though. He likes his humans too much and knocked the mic stand over in his hurry to get back to my shoulder where he KNOWS he belongs.

Icky is not in Erin's mouth in this photo! It's a trick of the camera, I promise! Erin is telling me how she doesn't think it's a good idea to use the flash because it might hurt their eyes so her mouth is open, and Ick's on her shoulder nowhere near her mouth. :) No babies were harmed in the making of this photo, and no teenager got bird cooties in her mouth!

We are all in love with the two new additions to our family. They have such wonderful personalities and are so much fun. Even Travis likes them, and will get them out of their cage when they ask him to!

Everything I Know, I Learned in the Passenger Seat

We have fabulous news today - we are all still alive! Despite the fact that the weather wasn't wonderful and both of us have awful colds, Miah and I headed up to the church parking lot after school for a huge adventure. Here is a list of interesting things I learned while riding in the passengers seat yesterday as he took the wheel for his very first time:

1. Video games have a huge impact on my child's frame of mind. That is sort of scary when he's behind the wheel of a machine he can kill himself in.

2. Gas pedals and stop signs are extraneous. Mentioning what they are for and how they are to be used isn't really enough.

3. Patience is a virtue. Usually.

4. A mother really can laugh and cry at the same time. Also, repetition of a word or phrase has no immediate effect on a teenager, but it does help the mother feel like she's being productive while pushing her foot through the floor of the vehicle.

The huge sigh in the middle of this clip is his, not mine. I wasn't actually breathing enough to sigh...

All-in-all, he actually did a good job, especially as he has NEVER driven, not even to back the car out of the driveway. That being said, I was really impressed. Grateful to be alive still, yes, but impressed none-the-less.

We'll be on the road again tomorrow. You've all been warned.

Happy, Happy Birthday Miah

Today is Miah's birthday. He is fifteen years old. Already. I'm not sure how it happened - I tried to make him stay that cute little boy who stole my heart in 1993, but somehow he just kept growing up. Now I have to look up to talk to him and stand on my tiptoes to hug him. He gets my jokes now, and I find myself explaining the world to him less and less, and having him explain to me more and more.

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We're headed out to the DMV this afternoon so he can take the driver's test to get his permit. I'm afraid this is really the beginning of the end of his dependence on me. Although it is so hard to let go, I'm so proud of the man he is and I know he will leave his mark on this world.

If you see our blue van hurtling down the freeway with the shrieking, frightened woman in the passengers seat... look out - that's us.

Rockin' Christmas

Our (not so little anymore) rock stars had their December Show a few weekends ago. They've added another song to their playlist - a band original. It is getting really fun to listen to them, as they're becoming a very talented band and they did especially well considering they were minus one guitar player. Luckily, their director Dave is willing to step in and play for them when they need it.

Trav ends up carrying quite often. I thought it was funny that he carried Miah's bass like he was playing it. It was even funnier that he was strumming while he stood there waiting for the kids to finish chatting. The important thing to notice here is that he's strumming with his right hand, while keeping his left hand (you know, the one that is supposed to do the fancy fingerwork up on the frets) firmly in his pocket! Yeah, we're still not sure where the kids get their musical talent from...

Goodnight Moon

What do you get when you cross a full moon with a storm that's rolling in? (Well, the weatherman claims it's rolling in... we'll see how much snow we really get tomorrow.) Beautiful skies, of course. I was able to snap these shots before the clouds moved out from in front of the moon tonight.

You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry...

Have you written your letter to Santa yet this year? We're running a tad bit behind at our house, but luckily we were browsing through our scrapbooks the other day and came across this:

This is six-year-old Erin's letter written in 2001. It's a good letter. It's honest - she was naughty, yeah, but she still wants what she wants! I've decided it's not a bad idea, so we're just recycling Erin's letter to use for all of us this year:

'Tis the Season

Well, it's here already. This year has gone by so quickly. The turkey's gone and the boxes have been dragged out from the storage area. I've braved the stores and I'm almost done with the shopping. I bought a new camera last week (a SONY DSLR-A350) and I've been having a great time playing with it and trying to apply everything I learned in my black and white photography class to digital photography. I've got a long way to go, but with the Christmas decorations up, I've got an ample supply of subject matter to photograph.

For example, the row of stockings hanging on the rail. These aren't actually the stockings we fill anymore - these are about 12 years old, but they match the ornaments on my tree so they've become part of the 'decorations'.

We've been an artificial tree family for the last decade. I always insisted on real... until they started making the fake ones with the prestrung lights. It's so fast and so easy that it's worth giving up the yummy smell of the real trees. Also, we always seemed to end up with the tree that looked like a stunner on the lot, but showed its true disfigured self once we got it standing askew in the living room. Those trees were also always bottom-heavy with lights... I'm not so tall, and the top of the tree is a long stretch from down here!

I did say I have ample subject matter to practice on, not necessarily HAPPY subject matter. Erin thought it would be cute to get some shots of our cats wearing Christmas outfits. I bet her that our little girl kitty, Persephone (Sephie for short), would probably scratch Erin's eyes out if she tried to dress her. I was wrong, but only because the kitty couldn't reach her eyes. Sephie scratched her foot off instead, then she ran like the demons were after her anytime Erin got close. Ha ha! I'm not sure which girl I felt worse for. I didn't think our old tom Grae would let her get near him either, but he surprised me. She got the necklace thingy and the hat on and although he was a bit nervous about it, he took it in stride pretty quickly and left us to go eat his dinner. Was he thrilled about the two of us following him around and flashing him in the eyes with the camera? Um... I don't think so!

If looks could kill! Anyway, Grae wishes you all a Very Hairy Christmas! (Now shoo you humans and let me eat, really, this is getting old. Go ahead... touch the bell on my hat again... I dare 'ya!)

Dirty Little Secret...

Some things we never let go of. Last night Trav and I dug to the back of our closets for our 'blackest of black' clothes, pulled out the boots that have been living in storage boxes for 15 years (which ended up being far too uncomfortable to actually wear... what was I thinking back then?!?) and caked on the white face paint to go act like teenagers at the ohGr concert at the Murray Theatre. The frontman in ohGr is Nivek Ogre, who in the 80's and 90's was the lead singer in the band Skinny Puppy - whom we adored. Well, he's well into his 40's now, and still making the kind of music we loved as kids. Here's the dirty little secret part: We still love it! We put away our skeletons and fixed our attitudes, donated most of our dyed black wedding dresses and shirts made from chains, but the love of the music is still there. There is no feeling quite the same as having the airwaves from the bass make your pantlegs flap around your ankles. It was so COOL!



I can't hear today, though. I'm feeling my age for sure.

You (but not the children!) can check him out yourself at http://www.skinnypuppy.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/bigohgr .

R.I.P.

The end of an era has come to our family. In 1999, we were planning a trip to Cave Creek, Arizona, to spend Thanksgiving with Trav's father's family. At the time, I was driving a very old, very used - and I'll certainly add VERY ugly - grey van. It's been so long ago, I can't even remember what kind of van it was, other than it was boxy and horrifically unattractive. I used it to tote Miah, Erin and my li'l bro Alex (who is only two months older than Miah) around to gymnastic and karate lessons, and the occasional drive-in movie. As a matter of fact, that van had a... memorable aroma, owing to a disastrous drive-in viewing of Tarzan. Alex didn't feel so well and after HE threw up the smell caused Miah to join him. Of course, Erin figured out what the boys were doing and added her own contribution. Keep in mind, we were at a drive-in on opening night of a Disney movie. My van wasn't leaving that parking lot - there were kids all over the place...

Anyway, I digress. The van stunk! Trav and I decided it wasn't mechanically sound enough to make the trip to Arizona and home, and our other vehicle at the time was a two door Eagle. We debated just driving the Eagle, but I would wake up in the middle of the night with the sweats, imagining the four of us - particularly the two in the backseat - making the twelve hour drive practically sitting on each other's laps. Bleck! We hit the dealer's lot and bought a brand-spankin'-new Mazda MPV.



Fast forward to Thursday, November 20th, 2008. Time to have the safety and emissions done on the van that has seen my children grow from 5 and 4 years old, to 14 and 13 years. Wow! Imagine how surprised I was to learn that the poor thing (that has accrued 170,689 miles over its lifetime) needed a MINIMUM of $2400 in repairs to pass the emissions inspection. *SIGH* In June, we dropped around $3000 into the old cow to keep it running, so I debated spending more - I didn't want my June investment to be wasted! We decided it was time to let the dead horse really be dead. We headed over to Willey Honda and found this used Honda Odyssey. (No new for us this time, as we have a new FURNACE that had to be put in two weeks ago, and we'll end up paying a pretty penny for our daughter's post-teenage-moment stay at the University.)

No, that's not bad paint on the hood... that's just frost from this morning! Here are some cool things the Odyssey has that the Mazda didn't have: leather seats, front seat warmers, a DVD player (woot!) with console game hookups, automatic sliding side doors, and a luggage rack.

It was a little bittersweet to clean out the junk from the Mazda (we found some stuff in there we haven't seen since the year 2000) but we're excited about the DVD player. Really, the DVD player was the clincher!

Rest In Peace Mazda. You've had your last french fry dropped in the crevice of the seat runners. Your last cappuccino spilled down the side of the seat. Your last little boy breaking off the panic handle trying to swing out of the door like a monkey, last shopping cart ding, and last road trip to Arizona. Bye!

The Good, The Bad... No, really it's just the UGLY!

Fifteen years ago, I knew one day Travis and I would be in this place: the parents of teenagers. I knew, also, that it would be hard. I very vividly remember being a teenager, and I KNOW how hard it must have been to raise me. (I have profusely and profoundly apologized to my mother this week for every difficult thing I did!) I suppose I just didn't realize HOW hard it was going to be. Last Thursday, Erin had her first "for-real" teenage episode. She woke up claiming not to feel good (which happens a bit, actually) and her very mean, very strict mom made her go to school anyway. This was apparently the final straw for her, and she decided it would be better to run away then have to live in her own tyrannical home. She walked nine hours in a pair of plastic flip-flops, until - after a myriad of adventures - she was brought home by the police. Hmmm, I wonder who she takes after?!? I, of course, am claiming that her stubbornness comes from Travis! Needless to say, it's been an eye-opening week here for all of us. The one comfort I am taking from all of this, though, is that when we get her through to adulthood, she is going to be one powerful, incredible woman. I just hope I'm granted the fortitude to make it through!

All Hallow's

Happy Halloween! We took the 'easy' route for costumes this year... we purchased them. The kids were busy this season, between our cruise, their Halloween Show at the Rock 'N Roll Academy, an Orchestra Concert at the school, trick-or-treating and throwing a party at our house for all of their friends - we were too worn out to spend hours in front of the sewing machines this year. They were still very cute, although Miah boycotted the gorilla mask almost instantly, as he claimed it was a burning inferno inside and I had to bribe him with a new video game to get any pictures of him with it on. Oh well, I suppose it's a small price to pay to have blackmail pictures to show to any future girlfriends...

Erin of Green Gables

Erin has landed her dream job! I have a friend from high school who has a few animals that he keeps. Erin offered to feed them every afternoon after school. She loves the animals! It was an even bigger bonus for her, as my friend is paying her for her time. It's very cute to see the goats, chickens and ducks follow her when she gets there... they know who has the food!

What did YOU do in...?

You can really tell that you are playing hard when you spend every spare second you can find catching a quick nap. It didn't matter where we were, or who was around us... when we needed some rest, we got it! We had an incredible time on our cruise, and of course I took tons of photos of the things you would expect... but I also took these because I loved watching my family rest any chance we could get!

What did YOU do in Atlanta, Georgia?

We had a three hour layover in Georgia on our way to Florida. Our first flight left Salt Lake at midnight. Needless-to-say, by the time we got off the first plane, we were beat!

Erin, Travis and Miah

Alex

What did YOU do in Cozumel, Mexico?

We spent a day in the ocean in Cozumel, swimming and playing with dolphins and then snorkeling and swimming. When we got back to our cabin on the ship, Erin was going to watch an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the laptop. Ha ha.

What did YOU do in Progresso, Mexico?

Because of a touch of social unrest in Honduras, and a tropical depression near Belize, our cruise had to be rerouted. We ended up making a stop in Progresso instead. We hopped on a tour bus to make the 2 hour drive from the port to the Uxmal Mayan Ruins. We spent a couple of hours climbing the ruins in the very sweltering hot weather. The ride back to the pier was a perfect naptime!

Travis and Erin

Laura and Don

What did YOU do in Miami, Florida?

Ahh, debarkation. We all stayed up late the night before (it was our last night of vacation, we weren't going to waste it sleeping!) and then had to be up before the crack of dawn to start the very long and boring process of getting off the ship. We ate breakfast, and then we put our table to good use while we waited!

Alex and Miah

Erin

Travis

How Do I Count the Ways...?

Travis is a tough guy to grab a picture of! He likes to be in front of the lens even less than I do - which is NEVER - and he thinks I'm funny because I'm constantly trying to get him to "pose" for me. As if I needed to encourage him to make a face at me! Never-the-less, I love the pictures I do manage to get, even if they're totally goofy. They are merely a reflection of the fun guy and cute daddy that he is. Every day, I'm grateful that I have him, and that he decided there was something in me worth keeping. Lucky me and the kids! I love him!

(I'm also not telling him I posted this... it'll be our secret... :)

More School Crazy!

Here are the kid's Back to School pictures. I think this is the first year the photographer has given us (the parents) the option of buying a digital copy of the photos. Yeah!

School Daze

Since January, I've been scanning our old photo negatives into the computer. While working on this project, I rediscovered these photos of the kids standing in front of the door on the first day of school (we've done this every year since we moved to this house, so we started in Erin's kindergarten year) in 2001 - Miah's 2nd grade, and Erin's 1st grade year.



It is SO hard for me to contemplate how quickly the years have flown by. Look how much more of the door has to be included in the pictures these days! The kids are growing up so fast. Miah's in the 9th grade now, and Erin's in the 8th. I wonder how the kids will feel about having to stand in front of the door on their first days of college!