Let's Play...All Day Long

We watched Weston and Lacie for most of the day. Upstairs, under the eves, is a long, narrow room full of books and toys and kid furniture. A lot of the toys were ones my children played with. Whenever the grandkids come over, they run upstairs to play. Weston brought the "car map" downstairs. I made this for Christmas one year for my boys. It's on the backside of a large piece of vinyl and is a map of our neighborhood. Of course, some of the places are not around anymore, like the grocery store, Bobco's.  And the zoo is not right next to our house, although the map shows it is. And we had to drive to McDonald's, not walk.

Lacie and Weston were fascinated with the seashells I brought home from Oregon. Weston took a few home.

I love little hands - all pudgy, innocent and soft.  Here are Lacie's sweet little hands.

Sweet Lacie Kay.

Image Transfers

I can't go too many days without doing something creative.  I wanted to try something different than my usual soldering.  I took some scotch packing tape, applied it over color copies of some ephemera I had created in Photoshop. These were then soaked in warm water for a few minutes, which softened the paper so it could be removed.  What was left was a transparent transfer which I applied to some tall bottles I had purchased at Tai Pan for $1.98 each.  Pretty inexpensive project!

It's Four O'Clock in the Morning...

Some nights are long...

Romeo, Oh, Romeo

Wendy's cat.

Christmas Flu

A bunch of us got an unwanted post-Christmas present: the flu.  This is what I had to eat on Sunday - ice chips in the evening. Along with the flu I received another gift: a cold.  I really think that getting the flu three times and a cold twice in the space of two months is a little much.  Hopefully Santa will grant my wish for good health this coming year.

Tree Skirt

Wendy and I went to Tai Pan the day after Christmas.  I've had my eye on this tree skirt for a few weeks, but refused to pay full price, as it was quite expensive.  I got the last one.

Christmas Day

Christmas 2009 - all the fam, one cat and one dog...

Christmas Breakfast

 The three cousins opening the Snap Ciruits.

 It's not Christmas without Aunt Nelda.

Lacie Kay

Hazel, and Wendy's cat, Romeo.

Nap time!

At the end of a great day...  I am NOT a cat lover, period.  And Wendy's cat doesn't take to most people, but for some reason, he thought I was the "cat's meow."

Christmas Tradition

One of our Christmas morning traditions is having everyone gather for breakfast - kind of the "stand up or sit anywhere," as everyone is arriving 'about' the same time and it's crazy.  We eat, then open presents.  The breakfast tradition is Oven French Toast (eggs, orange juice and honey), which is made the day before and sits in the fridge overnight. I filled four baking sheets this year.  Served with maple or blueberry syrup or jam, real butter, of course, and eggnog, this has been our Christmas breakfast since the kids were small.

An Evening at the Movies

I spent the day with my Aunt Nelda in Salt Lake, then lots of last minute stops on the way home, including grocery shopping for Christmas Day. I picked up a movie at Red Box: Julie and Julia.  It's about Julia Child, played by Meryl Streep.  It was pretty cute.  Mike decided to go to bed at 7 tonight...so I've spent a relaxing evening on the couch...at the movies.  Another favorite I'm now watching is "One Special Night," with Julie Andrews and James Garner - a great movie which I've seen twice this month.

'Tis the Season...

This picture says it all.  Lots of goodies being delivered to our house.

Fireman Weston...and More Frost

Weston wanted to stay overnight with us and we had a lot of fun.  Last night he and I played with the mini Micro Machines (some of which were his dad's when he was little), Legos, and the piggy game (he won) in the morning.  He watched at the back door as I took more "frost" pictures, as this morning's frost was even more incredible.

We got Weston back to his house in time for him to meet the Weber County firemen, who came to  talk to Carrie's preschool.  They were studying about the letter "F."

Winter's Frost

The frost this morning was so beautiful!  It looked like my backyard was dipped in sugar.

The Christmas Newsletter

It's always a relief to finish writing the Christmas family newsletter and get them in the mail. I love to receive friends and family newsletters and learn what's been going on with others in the past year.

Online Shopping

It's so fun to come home and find that the UPS man has paid a visit. I did a lot of online shopping this year, taking advantage of great sales and free shipping.

Christmas Street

Christmas Street is located on 1500 East and 1735 South in a Sugarhouse cul-de-sac.  It's a 60-year-old tradition that went "green" this year, using LED lights.  It's a challenge to take photos at night without a tri-pod.

Birthday Visitors

Jared brought Lacie and Weston over and brought me a birthday cake!  The first one I've had in YEARS.

The flowers are from Wendy, delivered to my work today. Matt and Amber called and sang the Happy Birthday Song.  Dave, Shaury and kids also called and sang to me:)

Playing a Reindeer Trick & The Ice Sculpture

Here's the culprits (excluding Krystal in the middle)

Jayna, Angie (Krystal) Rylie and Landi

Angie and I took the girls and Krystal to Jamba Juice while Kurt (Angie's husband) put the ugly, broken down reineer back on Krystal's front porch.  This same group did this last year (to Krystal) after the reindeer was donated to the YW/YM during a Christmas scavenger hunt.

There's a fun ice sculpture in a farmer's field on the corner of the frontage road and Glover Lane in Farmington.  This can be seen from the freeway, and there are lights shining on it at night. Cathy and I walked down the lane to get close.

The Christmas Tree

Old toys under the tree

The Christmas tree is decorated with meaningful memories.  As the children were growing up, each year they would receive a new ornament for that year. Pat the Bunny was Wendy's favorite book as a baby.  Fun to have the same in an ornament.

I loved to roller skate as a child, with my "roller skate key" hung on a piece of string around my neck.

This toy pull is something that the kids played with when they were little.  It's fun to see the grandkids playing with the same toys that their parents did.

Let it Snow

It snowed grundles today.  I even got stuck taking a couple of girls home from church.  As soon as it stopped snowing, I headed outside to take some pictures.