Christmas 2009

We were so excited to be in our new home for Christmas. We were doubly (is that a word?) excited to have Randy's family spend Christmas day with us. The day started with opening presents. We make all the kids wait until everyone is ready before we go into the family room. This year took a little more waiting because Braxton had contacts to put in and McKay was lost.

OK- Braxton can see now and I found McKay.

Then it was on to opening presents. I enjoyed watching my kids interact with each other. In a moment of uncharacteristic brotherly love, Braxton was helping McKay with his new gun. Then Daddy got to show off his new present - a monster TV - and the kids got a Wii. I think we are the last people on earth to get a Wii. I held out as long as I could.

Then we had to get ready for the big family feast. My mother taught me well and we had a beautiful table. This photo is for my mom. Our dining area is large enough that we had two big tables set up in there.

This photo is for Randy. He was so proud of his roll arrangement.

I took advantage of some down time in the morning to call my sisters and enjoy some liquid refreshment.

We loved having all the family here and the big boys even got an opportunity to play the Wii.

The entire weekend was full of family and food. It was a wonderful Christmas holiday.

I Need an Amy

When I moved to Elko over 5 years ago, I had a built-in network thanks to my church associations. One of those wonderful associations was my dear friend Amy Lords. Amy had lived in Elko long enough to know where the good stuff was and she had a small family (four little boys) so she was a thrifty shopper.

At this time, there was a great bread debate in my house. Where is the best and cheapest bread? It had to freeze well because I would buy several loaves when it was on sale and freeze them. You can stick any bread in the freezer, but whether or not it thaws out just right (not soggy or hard as a rock) is a determining factor in buying bread. So I was experimenting with various varieties of bread and Amy saved my life one day. She had done the same thing at some point and had determined what the best loaf for the best price was. She did my homework for me and saved me such a hassle.

And now I have moved from Elko and find myself yet again in the midst of another great bread debate. Today, as I purchased three more different loaves of bread, I thought, "If only I had an Amy...."

Little Drummer Boy

We went to Braxton's Christmas band concert on Thursday night and endured the 6th grade band. Then the 7th grade band started their first piece and the gymnasium went pitch black. No lights except the emergency exit lights and everybody's cell phones. Unknown to us was that the power was out for a 60-mile stretch on this side of the state. After sitting in the dark and singing Christmas carols for about 20 minutes, they finally rescheduled the concert for the next Monday. Back we went for Monday's performance where I was able to capture this video of Braxton. You are not required to watch the following video unless you are grandparents; however, if you find some pleasure in the torturing sounds of beginning band, feel free to watch.

Ballet

Kilee wanted to take ballet so I found a school when we moved and every Friday we drive into town for ballet class. Before Christmas, her school had a demonstration and lecture- whatever that is. Here's my beautiful ballerina (with and without the flash) before it started (it was held at the Rexburg Tabernacle).

Kilee's teacher is Miss Holly, and we really like Miss Holly. She is so patient with the girls.

Next stop---I'm not sure. In all reality, we went to Arctic Circle and shared egg nog shakes (yuck, by they way).

Outside

Many of you wrote and wanted to know what the outside of my house looked like. When I took the pictures of the inside, I couldn't do the outside because it was cluttered with trucks, trailers, and warm bodies.

So - to complete the tour of my house, may I present to you the outside:

Merry Christmas!

I did not send out Christmas cards this year. I'm sorry. Guiltily, I opened all your cards and received your warm wishes and made a promise that next year I'll do better. And I just might. So far I'm doing great at every other year. But if I had sent out Christmas cards and a family letter, this is what it would have said:

Another year is almost over and we are almost sad to see it go. Even though 2009 was hard, it was a great year for us and we had some good things happen.

In March, Randy was offered a job as the education administrator at a juvenile corrections center in Idaho. A school district in Colorado was also an option, but we felt strongly that Idaho was where we were supposed to be. He began work the end of April. The kids and I stayed in Nevada to get the school year over with. We put our house on the market the first of June and had an offer in 36 hours. It was truly a blessing and a confirmation that this is where we are supposed to be.

Unfortunately, finding a house in Idaho did not go so smoothly. We looked at a lot of houses, and eventually, we found a home we loved, but it involved going through a short sale. We made an offer on the home in July, but quickly learned that short sale stands for anything but short. We moved into an apartment (which was scary and you can read about it here) and got the kids into school, knowing that we'd probably be moving in the middle of the school year. We finally closed on the house in November and were able to move the first week of December.

Randy loves his job, but since his facility is always open, school runs year round. We are still adjusting to not having Christmas break, spring break, and summer vacation. On the other hand, he doesn't have to discipline students and he doesn't have to deal with parents. He intends to begin his Ph.D. in the fall. We must be crazy.

Braxton started 7th grade at one school and will finish at another. I think junior high is hard enough without having to switch schools in the middle of the year. He started band this year (percussion) and loves it. He loves reading and I struggle to keep him in books. He got to go to scout camp for the first time this past summer and loved it. He loves going to Young Men's activities and tolerates playing the piano.

Tanner is in 5th grade and hated to leave his old school. On the first day at his old school, he made 19 new friends. On the first day at his new school, he made 19 more new friends. He is a friendly, social boy and has a great sense of humor. He's working on earning his Webelos badge as it has been hard with two moves and three wards. In January, he will no longer take piano lessons from mom but will go to the same teacher Braxton is taking from. Tanner and mom are excited about that. Tanner is the tall one in the picture below.

Kilee is in 2nd grade and loves her friends. She has a new little friend who lives behind us and they love playing together. Kilee gets a little lonely being the only girl so we're glad for her cousins and friends to play with. She is a great helper around the house and loves to be neat and organized. Really, she's my sister's daughter but somehow ended up at my house. She can't wait to be baptized in June and is lobbying for pierced ears.

McKay is 3 and is just fun to have around. He's such a good boy and can't wait for his turn to go to school. His favorite time of day is when his brothers and sister get off the school bus. He loves nursery and is getting ready to go to primary in January. He loves his daddy and is his little buddy.

I miss Nevada more than I thought I would. I miss my friends (good friendships take time to build, you know) and I miss the blue Nevada skies. I graduated with my master's degree in May and am so glad to be done. I'm still tutoring for the college in Elko, doing all my work online. I miss the classroom, though, so I will start teaching at BYU-Idaho in January. I'm thrilled about this opportunity and have felt so at home in the English department there.

We have loved the opportunities that we've had this year to cement friendships, reconnect with old friends, and make new ones. We have truly been blessed in 2009, and count our blessings every day.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Mi Casa

Welcome to our new home! Our house sits on 1.33333333 acres on a dirt lane. We are now the proud owners of 59 can lights (Braxton counted). Let's take a tour! The view from the front door:

There are two doors which you cannot see in this picture. To the left is the master bedroom. To the right is the piano room. The door you can see on the left is the hall closet. The door on the right is the powder room. Straight ahead is the great room. (I've spent a lot of time perusing house plans that use fancy names. )


The powder room:




The piano room looking in:



The piano room from the stairs, looking back towards the entry way:



The master bedroom:



Another view, looking towards the master bath/closet:


At the top of the stairs is an open space, otherwise known as a loft.To the left is the hallway and three bedrooms and a bathroom. To the right is the bonus room which contains a ping-pong table, an air hockey table, a foosball table, a wet bar, and surround sound. What it does not contain, and won't for an unspecified amount of time, is something to sit on. I forgot to take a picture of the bonus room. Notice that dark spot on the left of the photograph above?

That is this interesting little cubby hole. Can you say bean bag and a good book? Here is another view of the loft, looking towards the bonus room:

The upstairs bath.

The shower is to the left and further back, to the left of the toilet, is a closet. That means that when the kids run out of TP while sitting on the john, it's just a reach away. Quite convenient.

Braxton and Tanner's bedroom. This is Braxton's side:

And this is Tanner's side:

Where the dormer windows are, they each have a vaulted ceiling. Built into the ceiling are rope lights and the switches will be by their beds. They are totally excited about "NIGHT LIGHTS" but I'm thinking I'll unplug those babies and save me some $$$ on the power bill.

Kilee's room has a this fun little cubby hole. It even has lights and electrical outlets. I think I need another bean bag.

Back downstairs, you have one of my favorite parts of the house:

Look at those book cases! Oh- I can't wait to fill them! Look at those cold air returns! I forgot to put the covers back on before I took the picture!

This is Randy's favorite part of the house:

See that big empty spot above the fireplace? The one that screams "BIG FLAT SCREEN TV!" It's a man's spot.

Here's my other favorite part:

Cue oohs and ahhs.

But wait! There's more!

Cue more oohs and ahhs. My very own pantry! I'm so excited I don't even know what to do with myself. Randy just has to put a big red bow on the door (which is all we can afford at this point) and Christmas is done.

From the kitchen, here is the view:

My beat-up kitchen table will look kinda sad in this lovely spot:

This is the back hallway.

Or something. What do you call this little spot? One door goes to the garage, one door to the family room, one door to the backyard, and it's open to the kitchen. Braxton calls it the intersection. Randy wants to call it the 4-way. I just want to call someone to take the ladder out to the garage.

No house tour is complete without a view of the laundry room.

Since there is nothing in it, this is a great time to show it to the world. It's clean for the very last time.

Now, back out the front door you go.

There are my kids' backpacks. We're home.

-2

That would be the temperature when my kidlets got on the school bus this morning. It might have dropped that cold once last year. It's only December 2nd, folks. I don't think that I am the least bit prepared for the winters here. My kids are wearing three coats to school these days.

Note to self: find better winter coats.