Gravity Slashers

Brian had a birthday earlier this month (Happy Belated Birthday Bri - I love ya!), and my brothers gave him tickets to an upcoming Motocross competition, aka Gravity Slashers. We made a night of it by first taking the kiddos to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory and then we headed to the Energy Solutions Arena.

I think the most entertaining part of the night was watching Trent "head bang" to the beat of the (very loud) music. I haven't ever seen him do it, probably because I don't normally listen to heavy metal :o) We got a kick out of it and so did the folks in the row behind us, and I really wish I had been able to capture it on video. Sorry, no video recorders allowed. But, Brian did snap a few photos of the daredevils on their bikes (and one on a snow mobile) and their crazy stunts.

It was fun to watch, but I couldn't help but wonder what their mothers think of their career choice. I really hope Trent doesn't go down that path!

Just To Be Clear

Yes, we had our ultrasound today.

No, we did not find out the sex of the baby. Never have, never will.

Yes, Ashlyn is 100% certain, without a doubt, that the baby is a girl.

No, we haven't decided on any names.

Yes, Ashlyn has decided on a name for us, "Marshmallow Heart"- inspired by these:


No, I don't think we are going to go with that choice...maybe if we lived in Hollywood.

Yes, we showed the ultrasound pictures to our kids. Ashlyn's response? "She is so ugly!" "Is she going to be black and white?"

No, the baby won't be black and white, although I can see how the picture is deceiving.

Yes, the baby is healthy, and that is all that really matters.

A Good Read

I finished "Henry" tonight and had a good cry. The final chapter brought back a flood of memories. After finishing, I wished I could have given my Grandpa a call to have a good long talk about his life, his inventions, his unwavering faith. There are so many things I would talk to him about, so many questions I'd ask, so many things I'd say. He was a such an interesting/colorful person and he chose a very fascinating lifestyle, a hard lifestyle. But for me, I only saw my Grandpa as a happy, fun-loving person who always had a smile on his face and who laughed often.

I knew "Henry" had a hard life and I grew up listening to stories of my Dad's childhood. But even though they struggled financially, my Dad's recollections always had a positive spin and he told his stories as we sat around the dinner table with a smile on his face. I guess I didn't really understand (and I probably will never fully understand) how hard my Grandpa's life was until I read this book. And knowing more fully all that he went through, I am even more amazed that I only knew my grandpa as a happy guy.

When I was 14, I had the lucky opportunity to spend a month with my grandparents in Montana. I didn't get to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Grandpa but I do have many fond memories of that summer and of him. The only time I spent in his shop was when he took me down there to "cut out" a sliver in my hand - I still have a small scar on my palm. I also experienced a little "blood shed" playing the hand-slap game with him when one of his finger nails cut the top of my hand. Good times.

Even though my Grandpa, by modern standards, lived in poverty for the majority of his life and did not have success in business, he was successful in so many other ways. He left a great legacy and I am so proud to be a member of the Lifferth family.

I have told Brian many times that I wish he could have met him. They could have talked "guns", and Grandpa probably would have gotten a kick out of the fact that Brian shot himself in the knee!

I am so very excited for others to read "Henry" and I highly recommend it. Two thumbs up! Five stars! Way to go Dad, you are amazing. Thank you for your years of research and writing to preserve the life and memory of this very unique man. I miss him.

Well...

we are officially under contract for the purchase of our 2nd home. You'd think I would be ecstatic, but Brian and I both have mixed feelings. Don't get me wrong, I am happy knowing that we will be in our own place in a few months, but I guess it's just not quite what we were expecting to buy. And, you know how people say that as soon as they walked into a home they "just knew"? Well, I didn't get that and Brian didn't either.

Man, this is starting to sound terrible.

But then we walked through a second time, after we had given it some thought and we both felt better about it. Part of the problem is that when we sold our first home, our dreams for our next home were slightly unrealistic. This isn't our dream home, but it is the next leg of our journey. It is what we can afford - we won't be house-poor. It is big enough for our small but growing family. In fact, it is almost twice as big as our first home. And it will be our home once the granny decor is gone and I can put in my own personal touches. Just give me some paint, carpet and a few other upgrades (as much as our savings will allow) and it will be ours. And I will love it.

Once I told Ashlyn the news, she was a little hesitant until I told her we would still be close to Grandmom's house and we would paint her new room blue - her favorite color. She even gave Brian and I a Chuck E. Cheese coin to help pay for the new house :o)

Holiday Hangover

Is anyone else confused as to what exactly happened over the past 31 days? I know that for me, more than any other year, the holidays were a blur. And, more than any other year, I am welcoming with open arms the end of the holiday season with the hope of more quiet, peaceful, stress-free days. Part of the reason, no wait, the majority of the reason for my confusion is the fact that I didn't begin any holiday preparations until the 16th, after I had taken the last of my finals.

I tried to squeeze in as much holiday cheer for my kids as I possibly could, but I know I fell short compared to years past. Here is a list of our December doings:

• Had a pizza/movie night at home - Curious George "A Very Monkey Christmas". We hope to continue this tradition, and as the kids get older maybe we can enjoy some of the Christmas classics.
• Went to a live Nativity. Very spiritual and uplifting, even with whining children because it was so, so very cold.
  
• Made a Christmas countdown chain.
• Brian and I went to La Caille for Brian's work party. Neither of us had ever been there and I think we both agreed that while the food was good, we would never go there on our own and pay out of our own pockets. Word was that the cost per couple was $280.00 - no thank you!
  
• Took the kids to Thanksgiving Point for the fourth year in a row. We met up with some friends (Heather & Julie and families) at Heather's home beforehand for a delicious clam chowder dinner. Then we bundled up all the kids and took the horse-drawn wagon through the lights display. Afterward, we went to see the live reindeer and had some very, very chocolaty hot cocoa.
  
• Went to see the new animated version of "The Christmas Carol" for my dad's company party. I think this was the third year his company rented a theater for their annual party and we love it! All the adults in the family get to go, and drinks, popcorn, and candy are provided. My dad was honored this year with travel voucher for having worked with the company for 15 years. I loved the movie, except all the moving/flying motions made me a bit queasy.
  
• Had our annual grandkid party, complete (as always) with new matching pjs for all the kids courtesy of grandmom and grandpa. Grandma decided to forgo the traditional gingerbread house decorating, which was replaced with candy-making. The kids had a lot of fun and each walked away with a plate full of goodies that included: chow mein drops, chocolate covered peanut clusters, fudge, sugar cookies decorated as santa, and chocolate covered rice-krispie lollipops.
  
• Enjoyed a kid-free night at our annual adults-only game night. Mom and Dad had dinner catered by Cafe Rio (YUM!) and then we all laughed until our sides hurt playing the Name Game, Scattegories, and Catch Phrase.
  
• Studied my brains out and took my finals. My motivation and typical dedication was squashed this semester because of my pregnancy. Up to this point I have been a straight "A" student, but I knew I wasn't going to keep that record. By the end of the semester I just hoped I would get the required C+ for acceptance into the nursing program. I surprised myself when I ended up with a B+ in Physiology and an A- in Chemistry - not too shabby.
  
• Went to our ward Christmas party - Ashlyn finally got to show Santa the horse picture she had been saving and carrying around for a month.
• Made a shload of gifts and surprisingly got them all finished on time. Like every year I didn't take any pics of my hand-made gifts, which I regret. But here is what I made: 6 seek & find games, 12 quote blocks, 9 soap bottles, 2 hooded towels, 1 ABC book, 4 calendars, and Valentines Day decor.
• Sang Jingle Bells over, and over, and over again.
• Took Ashlyn and Trent to see "The Princess and The Frog" - cute, CuTe, CUTE! Taking the kids to a movie is a tradition we started last year and hopefully will continue in years to come.
  
• Read Christmas stories by the lights of the Christmas tree.
• Made cookies for Santa - Ashlyn's favorite, molasses. She seriously can not get enough of them. She calls them "brown sugar cookies" and would eat a dozen a day if I let her.

• Had our annual Christmas Eve fondue dinner which was delicious as always - my personal favorite meal of the entire year.
  
• Left cookies and milk out for Mr. C, and sprinkled reindeer food on the snow for dasher, dancer and friends - it worked! Santa paid us a visit and we all got spoiled. My favorite gift this year was a book given to me and all my siblings entitled "Henry" written by my dad. It is a 500+ page book about the life of my grandpa and it is amazing! I am half-way through and am loving every bit of it. I would probably be done by now if I didn't have to still be a mom ;o) I can't wait for the rest of the family to read it.
• Spent Christmas day with family and wore ourselves out opening present, after present, after present.
• Spent several post-Christmas days doing nothing at all!

I realized when doing this post that my picture-taking in December was rather lopsided. I actually didn't take many pictures in December, but of the ones I took 90% of them involved Ashlyn because she was just more into all the hub-bub of the holidays. Sorry Trent!

Trent Turned Two

Oh, this post is so very, very overdue. I have only one excuse: school. Trent turned two on November 14 and we had such a fun party to celebrate him. The theme was Buzz Lightyear, his current hero.

We decorated with lots and lots of stars, green and purple crepe paper and balloons, and a ginormous Buzz Lightyear mylar balloon.

The party started out with dinner - pizza planet pizza wheels, galactic smokies, out-of-this-world spinach dip, oranges, and salad. Then we had the kids make there own galaxies (aka: snowglobes). We used empty aqua pod water bottles (which look like rockets), added stars, glitter, and planets (beads), filled them with distilled water, added some blue food coloring, put in a couple drops of glycerin, and super-glued the lids shut. Then the kids shook them up and their galaxies swirled to life. Super fun and easy.

After the craft we had the kids "walk on the moon." Since we couldn't really have a bounce house indoors, Brian brought home a humongous roll of bubble wrap from work which was folded into about five layers and we let the kids loose on it. A dream come true - what kid doesn't love popping bubble wrap?

Then Trent got spoiled with presents and we had star-shaped sugar cookies, cake, and ice cream cones.

To end the night, Trent passed out Buzz Lightyear flashlights to all his cousins - an awesome find from Walmart, of all places.

I love a good party and I think this one was a success! And now I have to get busy planning Ashlyn's 4th birthday party :o)

Hallelujah!

I took my last final last night and I am so happy today! No more teachers, no more books...for at least 8 months!! WOOHOO! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I am going to be able to spend more time with my kids, finish a bunch of projects, have more time to look for a home, shower EVERY day, cook, and maybe even exercise!

I celebrated last night by cozying up next to the fire and cuddling with my kids. It was fabulous! Now, I need to kick it into high gear. There is so much I need to do to get ready for Christmas. So many presents to buy and make and wrap. Wish me luck!