Look how cute it turned out! And look how pleased Hayden, Bastian, and Abby are. They did a great job!Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Gingerbread House
We bought a prepackaged gingerbread house last year and had so much fun decorating it, we bought one again this year. I am so thankful for prepackages houses! I remember my sister-in-law making hers from scratch and it looked like soooooo much work. She now makes the prepackaged ones too. Weston was glued to the TV upstairs when we got it out. I thought it best to leave him glued there because with his help we may not have had enough candy to decorate with. He's so sneaky! I think next year he will be older and wiser...and more trustworthy.
Look how cute it turned out! And look how pleased Hayden, Bastian, and Abby are. They did a great job!
Look how cute it turned out! And look how pleased Hayden, Bastian, and Abby are. They did a great job!
Decorating for Christmas
I put up our Christmas decorations later than I planned to due to my sister Mindy’s passing away. It was fun to bring out all the sparkly, shimmery, shiny, and nostalgic trimmings and also many new ones that I bought at after Christmas sales last year. I had forgotten about many of them. It took me hours and days to decorate but it looks beautiful…and quite magical. I had more ornaments that I could’ve put up, but I was tired and put them back in their boxes. Maybe I’ll do more next year. 
Over the past few years a tradition has evolved in regards to our front room Christmas tree. I have received and collected several interesting ornaments that I hang on the tree and we play "I spy" with the ornaments. It has become an "I spy" tree. Some decorations that we spy are a tiger, a yellow lab, a chocolate milk shake, a snowman family, a clear star, a nativity, a picture of Jesus, a french horn, a cob of corn, a bird in a nest, a star fish, a rocking horse, an elf, and more. I like to look in stores and find things that are interesting to put on our "I spy" tree.
Over the past few years a tradition has evolved in regards to our front room Christmas tree. I have received and collected several interesting ornaments that I hang on the tree and we play "I spy" with the ornaments. It has become an "I spy" tree. Some decorations that we spy are a tiger, a yellow lab, a chocolate milk shake, a snowman family, a clear star, a nativity, a picture of Jesus, a french horn, a cob of corn, a bird in a nest, a star fish, a rocking horse, an elf, and more. I like to look in stores and find things that are interesting to put on our "I spy" tree.
More Preschool Fun
I took a few pictures of preschool in December. The kids are such good little friends. It is so entertaining to be around 3 year olds.
Here are some conversations I overheard from the 3 year olds at Joyschool:
Ben put his pencil behind his ear and said, "Look, I'm a doctor!" Everyone proceeded to put their pencils behind their ears.
Jaeda complimented Alexandra saying, "I love your pants!
Alexandra asked me: "Do you have a baby? You have to have one." Isaac interjected, "I have a baby, " (His baby brother, Adam). Ben said, "I do, I do, I do! Wibit, wibit, wibit." I said, "Ribbit?" He said, "No, wibit!" Then I got it, "Oh, Elizabeth?" He said, "Yes."
Isaac and Weston were arguing. Weston said, "Batman has red eyes." Isaac said, "no, black eyes." Back and forth it went, "No, red eyes," "no, black eyes, " until they came to some sort of agreement.
Audrey very pleased with her picture: "I did it! I did it!"
Isaac after getting his painting so wet it was practically falling apart said, "Is this twash?" (trash)
One of my favorite preschool conversations was during snack time when they started talking about who at the table wears underwear and who wears underwear sometimes AND diapers sometimes. Then the disclosure came of who was wearing what kind of underwear. Princess? Thomas? Spiderman? I got to know it all!
Here are some conversations I overheard from the 3 year olds at Joyschool:
Ben put his pencil behind his ear and said, "Look, I'm a doctor!" Everyone proceeded to put their pencils behind their ears.
Jaeda complimented Alexandra saying, "I love your pants!
Alexandra asked me: "Do you have a baby? You have to have one." Isaac interjected, "I have a baby, " (His baby brother, Adam). Ben said, "I do, I do, I do! Wibit, wibit, wibit." I said, "Ribbit?" He said, "No, wibit!" Then I got it, "Oh, Elizabeth?" He said, "Yes."
Isaac and Weston were arguing. Weston said, "Batman has red eyes." Isaac said, "no, black eyes." Back and forth it went, "No, red eyes," "no, black eyes, " until they came to some sort of agreement.
Audrey very pleased with her picture: "I did it! I did it!"
Isaac after getting his painting so wet it was practically falling apart said, "Is this twash?" (trash)
One of my favorite preschool conversations was during snack time when they started talking about who at the table wears underwear and who wears underwear sometimes AND diapers sometimes. Then the disclosure came of who was wearing what kind of underwear. Princess? Thomas? Spiderman? I got to know it all!
Project Complete!
After planning what I wanted our family room wall to look like over a year ago, I have finally hung the pictures that were taken in September by my ever so talented friend, Shannon Brems, and the wall sconces given to me by yet another fabulous friend. Weston ran into the picture at the last moment and gave me this adorable cheeser grin. I love that kid.
Jedi in Training or Jedi Turned Sith?
Our backyard became a battle ground in early December when Jacob Olson, one of Hayden's closest friends, came over for a light saber duel. I couldn't resist a chance to capture the Star Wars action in my very own backyard!
Can you see the capivated onlooker? Bastian couldn't take his eyes off the scuffle.
Can you see the capivated onlooker? Bastian couldn't take his eyes off the scuffle. Mark McKell
When we returned home from Oregon and Washington I had a message on my answering machine from a man we rented a house from four years ago, Mark McKell. It was the sweetest message. He said he was reading the obituaries and had seen that I had lost my sister. He told me how sorry he was and said it looked like she was a beautiful, young girl. I called him back and asked how he was doing. He said he lost his wife a couple years ago and now lives alone. I asked if I could come visit him. Mark is truly an amazing man, always looking on the bright side of life. Even in his late 80's, he is as sharp as a tack. Mark is inspirational to me. When he was 80 he decided he wanted to buy an organ and take organ lessons. He knew nothing of music. He didn't even know where middle c was, but at age 80 he bought an organ and learned how to play the organ. While I was there he played a couple of his favorite love songs. Mark has taught me that it's never too late to try something new and it's never too late to develop your talents.
We looked at pictures of his family. He has a wonderful family who takes good care of him. He has many, many grandchildren and several of them live close by. He told me of one grandson that calls him everyday to see how he's doing, and this grandson comes by often to have lunch with him.
He played a song on a CD for me that was played at his wife's funeral. He said he and his wife used to dance to that song when they were young. I about started sobbing in his family room, but I kept myself together pretty good with a tear here and there escaping my eyes. He said he had a little something for me. I was surprised and felt a little embarrassed that I had brought nothing for him. He came upstairs with a brown sack. Inside the sack was a few portions of meat from a cow he had slaughtered earlier in the year. He is a kind and generous man.
Abby and Weston came with me. Abby got to play the organ. She was so sweet. She loved being there and listening to him talk. She could tell that Mark is a great man.
We looked at pictures of his family. He has a wonderful family who takes good care of him. He has many, many grandchildren and several of them live close by. He told me of one grandson that calls him everyday to see how he's doing, and this grandson comes by often to have lunch with him. 
He played a song on a CD for me that was played at his wife's funeral. He said he and his wife used to dance to that song when they were young. I about started sobbing in his family room, but I kept myself together pretty good with a tear here and there escaping my eyes. He said he had a little something for me. I was surprised and felt a little embarrassed that I had brought nothing for him. He came upstairs with a brown sack. Inside the sack was a few portions of meat from a cow he had slaughtered earlier in the year. He is a kind and generous man. 
Abby and Weston came with me. Abby got to play the organ. She was so sweet. She loved being there and listening to him talk. She could tell that Mark is a great man.Thanksgiving at the Salisbury's
We safely arrived in Washington at my sister's house for Thanksgiving. Abby, Jenna, and Weston are below with the kitten Marie.
Here is what we saw EVERY time we opened the front door. With a crowd like this on the front porch, the door was opened OFTEN....by Weston.
Thanksgiving dinner was oh so delicious! Turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mmm yam yam, rolls, jam, orangesicle jello/pudding with whipped topping, corn, and nut cups with nuts and m&ms. The thought of this dinner still makes me salivate.
Krista is quite the hostess. Everything was beautiful AND delicious.
We had so much fun playing phase 10 one night and I said how surprised I was that we weren't decorating her tree. Krista said, "I didn't think you would want to do that." I said, "Why would you think that?" Krista said, "Jenna, hurry downstairs and get all the Christmas decorations!" Abby and Jenna dragged container after container up the stairs and we put up the tree and began decorating for Christmas.
It was so fun helping Krista decorate her tree. I almost never get a chance to help my sisters and brothers that live far away from me. While we were decorating Kelsey and Lindsey practiced a beautiful duet of the song Sleigh Ride on the piano. They are both great pianists. It makes me wish I would've been a little more serious when it came to learning to play the piano.
This is Krista's tree before I left. After I left she put on even more icicles and hanging balls on her curtain rods. It looked beautiful. I love Christmas.
We had so much fun visiting, playing, and laughing. I am so thankful for family.
Kelsey and I went to John's parents house and gave them the extra food Krista had prepared for them as their meal. It's just the two of them and they are so old and cute. Lyman has so many quotes he's memorized over the years and he told us these two while we were there.
"You can't make money by depositing your hind quarters in an easy chair."
"If it's only the view from where you sit that makes you fear defeat, life is full of many isle. Why don't you get up and change your seat?"
Here is what we saw EVERY time we opened the front door. With a crowd like this on the front porch, the door was opened OFTEN....by Weston.
Thanksgiving dinner was oh so delicious! Turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mmm yam yam, rolls, jam, orangesicle jello/pudding with whipped topping, corn, and nut cups with nuts and m&ms. The thought of this dinner still makes me salivate.
Krista is quite the hostess. Everything was beautiful AND delicious.
We had so much fun playing phase 10 one night and I said how surprised I was that we weren't decorating her tree. Krista said, "I didn't think you would want to do that." I said, "Why would you think that?" Krista said, "Jenna, hurry downstairs and get all the Christmas decorations!" Abby and Jenna dragged container after container up the stairs and we put up the tree and began decorating for Christmas.
It was so fun helping Krista decorate her tree. I almost never get a chance to help my sisters and brothers that live far away from me. While we were decorating Kelsey and Lindsey practiced a beautiful duet of the song Sleigh Ride on the piano. They are both great pianists. It makes me wish I would've been a little more serious when it came to learning to play the piano.
This is Krista's tree before I left. After I left she put on even more icicles and hanging balls on her curtain rods. It looked beautiful. I love Christmas.
We had so much fun visiting, playing, and laughing. I am so thankful for family.
Notable Quotables
Kelsey and I went to John's parents house and gave them the extra food Krista had prepared for them as their meal. It's just the two of them and they are so old and cute. Lyman has so many quotes he's memorized over the years and he told us these two while we were there.
"You can't make money by depositing your hind quarters in an easy chair."
"If it's only the view from where you sit that makes you fear defeat, life is full of many isle. Why don't you get up and change your seat?"
GPS
Rob has a GPS in his Tahoe which came in REALLY handy during our trip. We had never really used it before so it was like magic to us. We would stare with wonder saying, "How does it know?" The woman's voice that directs you is very soothing and nice, yet when you're lost or have made a wrong turn she comes off as too nice--thus ofttimes annoying. As we were driving to Krista and John's in Washington we decided to name our GPS woman whose voice we had grown so accustomed to. Here are some of the names we discussed with the suggesters name next to them.
1. Dana Darling (Rob)
2. Gaylene Patricia Sorenson (Hayden. See that the initials are GPS? He's awesome.)
3. Robotnik (Bastian. From Sonic the Hedgehog)
4. Nicole (Abby)
5. Sally (Bastian. Also from Sonic he Hedgehog)
6. Sister Sally (Rob)
7. Pumbo (Weston. What language is that?)
8. Gabriella Patrice Sally (Hayden. Also initials for GPS)
9. Darlene (Rachel. The name of an annoying woman that used to call Rob all the time about work. He hated the suggestion.)
We decided on the name Sister Sally and Rob said, "Now Abby has a sister."
The moss and the ferns grow on the trees in Oregon. We thought it looked amazing and a little bit spooky. We called this area the spooky forest.
After naming the GPS we decided to name Rob's Tahoe. A couple of years ago we named our blue van Glorious Gloria. Once Rob had a truck he named Carl, and then another truck he named Godfrey Henner. It kept us occupied and was fun to hear the imaginitive answers. Here is our list of names.
1. Dana Darling (Rob)
2. Gaylene Patricia Sorenson (Hayden. See that the initials are GPS? He's awesome.)
3. Robotnik (Bastian. From Sonic the Hedgehog)
4. Nicole (Abby)
5. Sally (Bastian. Also from Sonic he Hedgehog)
6. Sister Sally (Rob)
7. Pumbo (Weston. What language is that?)
8. Gabriella Patrice Sally (Hayden. Also initials for GPS)
9. Darlene (Rachel. The name of an annoying woman that used to call Rob all the time about work. He hated the suggestion.)
We decided on the name Sister Sally and Rob said, "Now Abby has a sister."
The moss and the ferns grow on the trees in Oregon. We thought it looked amazing and a little bit spooky. We called this area the spooky forest.
After naming the GPS we decided to name Rob's Tahoe. A couple of years ago we named our blue van Glorious Gloria. Once Rob had a truck he named Carl, and then another truck he named Godfrey Henner. It kept us occupied and was fun to hear the imaginitive answers. Here is our list of names.
1. Dragon Warrior (Bastian. From the movie Kung Foo Panda)
2. Metanight (Bastian. From the video game Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
3. Moving Paradise (Hayden)
4. Car Sickness (Abby)
5. Mose (Rob. From the show The Office)
6. Tick Tock (Hayden. Because we had spent so much time in it on our trip)
7. Boog (Weston. From the movie Open Season)
8. Dream of My Life (Abby)
9. Stroke of River (Hayden)
10. Beauty Seeker (Hayden)
Sadly I realized that I didn't write down any of my suggestions. Oh well, another time, another trip, another car. Rob insisted that since it was HIS car, HE got to name it. The Tahoe is named Mose.
Tillamook, Oregon
I visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon as a child and wanted to tour it with Rob and the kids as part of our Oregon trip. Before we found Rockaway Beach, we were headed to Cannon Beach which was far away from Tillamook. We were passing through Tillamook on Sunday and I REALLY wanted to go, but I couldn't rationalize (and I tried) the fact that touring a cheese factory would not be keeping the Sabbath day holy. I tried telling myself that I live sooo far away and may never get the chance again to do this with my children or the fact that we were already breaking the Sabbath by having to pay for a hotel on Sunday and find food. They seemed like weak excuses for something that wasn't needed--just wanted A LOT, so on we went. We tried to stay in a few hotels that would be close to the factory, but because they didn't have rooms to accomodate a family of 6, nor did they have ajoining rooms, we had to move on. A few miles down the road was Rockaway, the perfect place to stop and we were able to tour the cheese factory on Monday. Yeah for Tillamook Cheese!
Taste testing the cheeses was fun. Abby liked the curds the best. Hayden liked the cheddar, and Weston thought the pepper cheddar was much too hot. Bastian tried the cheeses even though he says, "I don't like cheese all by itself."
Seeing so many blocks of cheese being made and packaged was very interesting.
At the end of the tour we bought ice cream cones filled with Tillamook ice cream. It was delicious.
These cows had their Christmas hats on. The sign on the cow reads, "For your safety and for our cows' safety, please stay off of them." Too bad Weston can't read. One minute he was right next to me and the next minute I turned around to see him trying to leg up on the calf. How does he do it? I thought it improper to take a picture of him breaking the rules, so you'll just have to imagine it.
There were penny flattening machines there that cost 50 cents to flatten your penny, plus the penny that you put in! We told the kids it was a waste of money. Hayden was playing with the machine and out popped a flattened penny. Some poor little child didn't get his penny souvenior, but boy did it make my child happy!
Taste testing the cheeses was fun. Abby liked the curds the best. Hayden liked the cheddar, and Weston thought the pepper cheddar was much too hot. Bastian tried the cheeses even though he says, "I don't like cheese all by itself."
Seeing so many blocks of cheese being made and packaged was very interesting. 
At the end of the tour we bought ice cream cones filled with Tillamook ice cream. It was delicious.
These cows had their Christmas hats on. The sign on the cow reads, "For your safety and for our cows' safety, please stay off of them." Too bad Weston can't read. One minute he was right next to me and the next minute I turned around to see him trying to leg up on the calf. How does he do it? I thought it improper to take a picture of him breaking the rules, so you'll just have to imagine it.
There were penny flattening machines there that cost 50 cents to flatten your penny, plus the penny that you put in! We told the kids it was a waste of money. Hayden was playing with the machine and out popped a flattened penny. Some poor little child didn't get his penny souvenior, but boy did it make my child happy!
The Trip We Always Meant to Reschedule
On August 13, 2006 Rob and I headed to Portland, Oregon and made a stop a my sister's house in Washington. We were going to go visit my sister, Mindy, and her husband, Steve for the week. This would've been the first time that our family had ever been to Aunt Mindy and Uncle Steve's house and Rob's first time visiting the Oregon coast. We planned on going to the Portland Zoo and also going to the beach. We never did reach our destination of Portland because the day we arrived at Krista's house, Rob's grandpa passed away. So after a 12 hour drive, we turned around the next day and travel 12 hours back home. We never did reschedule this vacation until now. The first tearful words out of Abby's mouth when she found out Aunt Mindy had passed away were, "But we were going to go to the zoo with Aunt Mindy." I had to tell her that we will get to go to a way cooler zoo with Aunt Mindy someday in heaven when we can actually play with the lions, tigers and bears instead of just look at them in cages. We didn't go to the zoo on this trip, but we did find a great little place called Rockaway Beach, Oregon.
We stayed at a place called the Sea Treasures Inn. It rented out fully decorated three story condos with a fireplace, decks right on the beach and a hot tub. Here is the first level of the condo. It had a garage and air hockey table on the ground floor.
Here's the view from the top deck. Isn't it gorgeous?
Here is the top floor.
More top floor from the other direction.
Here is the middle floor. There were two bedrooms. One queen sized bed, one king sized bed. There was a fold out couch on the ground floor and a nice sectional on the top floor.
The ocean was soooooo cold. I love Hayden's expression in this picture. He wasn't quite prepared for the temperature of that big wave.
I love this picture of Rob and Weston. Weston cracks me up. Look at how he is hovering in midair. It's a good thing we're still young and can keep up with this kid....barely.
Here's a picture of the condos we stayed in taken from the beach.
Weston would get handfuls of sand, run to the ocean and say, "Ready, set, fro," to which he would throw his handfuls of sand into the ocean making sure the water didn't touch his feet.
On this trip I introduced the kids to laughing cow cheese. It has become a new family favorite.
We stayed at a place called the Sea Treasures Inn. It rented out fully decorated three story condos with a fireplace, decks right on the beach and a hot tub. Here is the first level of the condo. It had a garage and air hockey table on the ground floor.
Here's the view from the top deck. Isn't it gorgeous?
Here is the top floor.
More top floor from the other direction.
Here is the middle floor. There were two bedrooms. One queen sized bed, one king sized bed. There was a fold out couch on the ground floor and a nice sectional on the top floor.
The ocean was soooooo cold. I love Hayden's expression in this picture. He wasn't quite prepared for the temperature of that big wave.
I love this picture of Rob and Weston. Weston cracks me up. Look at how he is hovering in midair. It's a good thing we're still young and can keep up with this kid....barely.
Here's a picture of the condos we stayed in taken from the beach.
Weston would get handfuls of sand, run to the ocean and say, "Ready, set, fro," to which he would throw his handfuls of sand into the ocean making sure the water didn't touch his feet.
On this trip I introduced the kids to laughing cow cheese. It has become a new family favorite.
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