Red Rock in December

We spent a great afternoon at Red Rock Canyon with my parents and Ryan's dad during the week after Christmas. I always love getting my boys away from all their various screens and out in nature. It brings out their best selves. Todd was an explorer, climbing high peaks with Grandpa Kevin. He had a small near-slip which brought his heart rate up and gave him a healthy dose of caution for the rest of the day. Ben never felt any caution whatsoever and was like a perpetual motion machine. I finally had to get him off the rocks and down exploring through the canyons before he gave me and Grandma a heart attack. Grandpa Glenn was a trooper, climbing with the big boys even on very sore knees. He's always good for a laugh and even captured a great picture of the coolest gold jacket I have ever seen.

There are moments when Las Vegas is too much for me, but hiking on December 30 without getting frostbite was a pretty good deal. Grandma Cheri, Grandpa Kevin, Todd, and Ben after several long hours of hiking

The shadow hikers

Near the beginning of the hike


Can you see Todd and Grandpa Kevin in this picture?

Cute little Ben, temporarily corralled between the rocks

Gorgeous

Contemplative

Happy Birthday to Grandpa

So, this is a great picture of the cake, even if my dad isn't in it. But, he loves the cake, so maybe that's OK by him to picture this delicious hunk of goodness instead of his handsome mug shot.

My Dad's birthday is on Christmas day, so luckily we get to share it with him at least every other year. I just thought I'd give a shout out to my Dad and the great father and grandfather he is.

Dad has worked hard for his family for years. He went to college later in life and worked about a thousand jobs to put himself through college while raising a family (a double shout out to my mom for this, too). I'm sure this was a tough time for both of them, but I only remember it as a great accomplishment that we were all proud of. They always encouraged us to get all the education we could, so there was no question whether I would go to college later in life. I owe much of my diploma to my parent's belief that I could do whatever I dreamed.

Dad and Mom have had a bit of a rough year as the economy hit hard in Boise like it did everywhere else. But I have been grateful for his example of perseverance and service as they've made it through.

Dad is a great grandpa. He can fix anything. Whenever anything breaks majorly at our house, my kids confidently say that Grandpa can fix it. Most people move couches and tables to redecorate, but when I was little and we needed rearranging, Dad moved walls and doors. His yard is a thing of beauty. He recently took up bread baking and he and my mom became master canners and food preservers.

Thanks for being a great Dad and Happy Birthday! May this year bring great things.

Annual Kid Party

Well, I threw caution to the wind and again allowed the boys to host their annual Christmas party last week. 15 children 8 and under--sheer insanity. But I'm already recovering a bit and am considering the possibility of hosting again next year. That's progress.

We did have a great time:

the mini kids (and Sam) eating pizza. . .

Baylie and Ben all dressed up in winter gear for the winter relay

Typical expression of the night. . .

Some intense gingerbread concentration from Lexie

Olivia's magnificent creation:

The entire village

Some tips for throwing a rocking kid Christmas party:
1. Buy everything on clearance this year and put it in a box for next year. So much fun to open it up and know you spent $10 at the end of last year instead of $80 this year.
2. Assemble the houses in advance. The kids only want to decorate, not assemble.
3. If you spend time making a game (i.e. Bingo) laminate it and save it for next year. It was great to pull it out of the folder all ready to go.
4. End the night with a Christmas cartoon. That way, whenever you're done with the insanity, you can start the movie until parents come.
5. Wait an entire year until you host your next kid party. . .that way you'll only remember the fun!

Two sweet little men

One of the major highlights of our Thanksgiving weekend was visiting San Francisco to be in attendance at the blessing of our three-week-old nephew, Finn. Jeremy and Liz were such gracious hosts in their beautiful new condo. Todd was rather smitten with the little guy (as were we all). He held him for quite a while. If Todd didn't think I was looking he would play with his little fingers and whisper sweetly to Finn, though he was a bit shy if he knew he was being observed. Aren't they adorable:

When Jeremy and Liz's Christmas card showed up in the mail last week, both boys were eager to see Finn's pictures. Todd keeps going up to the fridge and narrating what he thinks Finn may be saying or thinking. I'm glad they got to meet him when he was so tiny, because I know they will love him forever!

Thankful

I figured since it's almost Christmas, I should put up some photos from Thanksgiving. We had such a nice long weekend in Royal Oaks with Ryan's family. The weather was beautiful, the company was fabulous, and the food was delicious and plentiful. Here are a few favorite pics:

Steph and her boys in old town Monterey. We haven't ever spent much time walking around there, but we took the chance to this time and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Todd and Ben check out the leopard shark at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was a very fun trip to the aquarium. For the first time, they were more interested in the actual fish displays than they were in the kid play zone (though they did have a great time there as well). Sharks are high are their list of cool animals. We also enjoyed the seahorse exhibit--they are amazing!

Ben in an old tree stump next to the custom house in old town Monterey

At the Monterey Maritime Museum

Love this picture of silly Ben. At the airport as we were flying out. We uncharacteristically had almost two hours to just wait. Usually we're screeching in and hoping to make the plane. Perhaps we're turning over a new leaf in our old age.

We showed up at about 3:00 in the afternoon to dinner mostly cooked on the outdoor barbecue. Delicious, delicious. Thanks, Glenn and Kathy!
Ryan's mom has an amazing skill at avoiding the camera. She has honed it into an artform, so I just had to share one of the few pictures I got with her in it. Look at that delicious-looking tri-tip. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Todd in front of the sweet harpoon gun at the maritime museum. Deadly looking, it was.

Ego Boost

Todd has "math minute" occasionally in class, with a page of simple one digit addition and subtraction. He is supposed to do as many as he can in one minute, and we keep track of his progress.

Today, I was trying to motivate him, so I copied the page and told him I'd do it with him. I didn't know math could be so satisfying to the soul. 74 problems in 60 seconds. It brought back delightful memories of racing David Hegsted in math class years ago.

I'm going to add that to my list of things I did well today. 3rd grade math speedsheets. Top that.

Do you ever?

• Do you ever feel like life is caving in on you, for no particular reason but just generally?
• Have you ever broken down and cried hysterically, for no apparant reason, not just once in a week but twice?
• Do you ever look at other women and wonder what it is they are doing right to be so pulled together and on top of things (and thus what you are doing wrong?)
• Do you ever live in that awkward coexisting reality where you love being a mother but feel smothered by the responsibilities of mothering?
• Have you ever misplaced your keys and been on the verge of tears because your family is waiting in the car and your keys are lost and you haven't sat down even once in the day and you don't know if you can do one more thing, let alone remember where several small pieces of metal have lost themselves?
• Have you ever looked at your life and understood just how amazingly blessed you are, but you still feel ovewhelmed at the things you need to do?

Obviously, I have never felt that way. But if I ever had, this quote from one of my favorite authors (Shannon Hale) that I read on her blog (http://oinks.squeetus.com/) would have brought a little tear to my eye and made me feel just a bit better:

How do I do it all, people often ask. Let me tell you how: today I had my first dental x-rays in probably seven years. About half the meat I buy I end up throwing out because it goes bad before I get a chance to cook it. (Freeze it, you say? Then I'll never defrost it and throw it out after it gets freezer burn.) No one can do it all! I say, we all are capable of doing, say, three things well: I'm one heck of a mother and wife, and I write books. The end.