Crafting With My Sisters

Melissa and I went to Katie's house yesterday and spent HOURS cutting, sanding and painting blocks. And after all was said and done I thought to myself, "I took a shower this morning, why??"


This is what we made....


And then we watched the end of the BYU vs. Utah game....red on one side, blue on the other. Notice in this picture both Jeremy and Dalton have their eyes closed and the rest of us have eyes wide open? Maybe it's a coincidence, a fluke of the camera but BYU had the ball in overtime... Maybe they couldn't stand to watch BYU take the comeback away from Utah and go on to win the game! :)

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with Bryan's side of the family. Ten adults and eighteen kids made for a happily busy day. We had an amazing feast where we all ate ourselves silly. Then in-between pie, sushi and leftovers we did oodles of crafts. The men, obviously, opted against being crafty and spent lots of time playing board games and looking up Black Friday deals on the computer.

Carol, Carolyn, Sarah, Kari and Sara

The kids getting ready to feast.

Emily and Rebekah making magnet boards.

Bryan and Kevin in a Pente challenge.

Despite the holiday, Kari still had to work. So she could be with us during breaks she brought her work with her and set up camp in the master bathroom so as to be away from the noise of all the kids running around.

Bryan, Brandon, Steven and Sara waiting for pie.

Carolyn has recently learned how to make sushi and shared the results of her newfound knowledge with us! YUM!

Bryan and Kevin checking out Black Friday deals. I don't think they found anything spectacular enough to get up early for.

I am thankful for....

*My sweet husband who is my partner and friend through every aspect of my life.
*Rebekah, Julianne, Brandon and Lilian.
*A house that has become a home...one that is filled with love.
*My testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ, my Heavenly Father, and the gospel.
* The best parents and sisters anyone could ask for.
*Amazing in-laws.
*Sweet and thoughtful friends.


But also....
*My bike.
*Books, books and more books.
*MUSIC. Singing, playing, listening.
*Computers.
*dark chocolate oranges that only come out at Christmas.
*Sushi.
*A vacuum that works.
*Warm, fuzzy blankets.
*Snow.
*Trusted doctors.
*The rice bag that keeps my feet warm at night.

The Nutcracker

We went to The Nutcracker yesterday. It was put on by a local dance studio which, you would think, would mean that it would be a so-so, somewhat amateur production. But it blew my socks off! Here's why:
*They performed at the nearby University so the stage and theatre were top notch.
*Live musicians! And they were good!
*Absolutely gorgeous costumes.
*Ballet West principle dancers dancing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the other big Pas de Deux parts. They were, of course, phenomenal!
*The girl dancing Clara was a friend of Rebekah's. All together there were 8 girls from our neighborhood in the production.

And the best part....we had Mindy, Deidra, Tiffany and Kendra with us. They are our dear friends from our old neighborhood and we are SO thankful that even though we have moved away, we still have held onto that friendship and make sure that fun get togethers like this still happen frequently! Notice that Julianne and I both have the same odd look on our faces.... pursed lips and her head tilting one way, mine tilting the opposite way? I have no idea why.

The Ultimate Girls Night

I went to see "New Moon" last night with a bunch of my neighbors. Talk about your ultimate girls night out! We were your traditional gaggle of girls at a chick flick....sighing over Edward, oohing and ahhing over Jacob, crying along with Bella's heartache, and just enjoying the whole thing from start to finish. (SO much better than "Twilight," can I just say...) And then, if that weren't satisfying enough, we went to Thaifoon and had a late dinner... sharing dishes and laughing at eachother's stories. It was a great night!

Favorite Photo Friday: Snuggling

Christmas morning 2002. There's no real story behind this picture but it's always been one of my favorites. Probably because it represents cozy, happy feelings.... the two of us sprawled together on the floor contentedly watching the kids play with their new Christmas toys. It was a good day.

Like mother, like daughter?

A quick question.... in your opinion, in this picture does Rebekah look more like me or her Aunt Melissa? When Rebekah was just 19 months old Melissa came to a church Christmas party with me. I was performing in part of the program and Bryan was out of town so Melissa volunteered to help with little Rebekah. One of my neighbors pulled me aside and told me that she thought Rebekah looked more like my sister than me! And that was even BEFORE I went brunette! But lately, a lot of people have commented on how much Rebekah is looking just like her mother. This picture was taken about a year and a half ago. What do you think?

Confession

Usually I'm a stickler about waiting to get into Christmas until December. The tree doesn't go up till AFTER Thanksgiving. We avoid like the plague, the radio stations playing Christmas music. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I always want to make sure it gets it's proper due before the craziness of Christmas takes over. But this year? Oh dear. I've never been this tempted to put my tree up early. I've been listening to Christmas music all week...including those aforementioned radio stations. I feel like I should repent and recommit!

About Julianne

My name is Julianne.
The name I should be called is Drama Girl because I am very dramatic.
The animal that is inside me is a butterfly because I am tiny and colorful.
What's in my heart is bubbles because I am light and I go with the flow.
The sound I like is the sizzling of bacon in a pan.
The sound I dislike is my mother calling me to come clean up my junk.
I smell I love is vanilla.
The smell I don't love is sweat.
I love to touch fuzzy blankets.
I don't love to touch sticky jars of honey.
I love the taste of German chocolate cake.
I don't love the taste of tomatoes.
Something I like to look at is a good book.
Something I don't like to see is 1s and 2s on my report card.
My favorite memory is being with my family.
My favorite thing in the whole world is the library.

Snow

Bought Lilian a new coat on Friday. Just in time for Saturday's snow storm...
I figured that the piddly little one inch we got didn't warrant bringing out the matching snow pants and boots.
Nonetheless, in my opinion snow in any amount is better than none. Lilian and I both fully enjoyed that piddly little one inch....even if it is melting rapidly today.

A Boys Weekend

Bryan and his brother spent last weekend at a handgun shooting class in Nevada. They came home with big smiles and lots of stories. It sounds like they had an amazing time. I think the only thing that could've made the weekend better was if this dinky town they were staying in had some better restaurants! Taco Bell is not Bryan's idea of out-of-town gourmet dining. :)

Favorite Photo Friday: Memorials

Back in the spring of 2004 Melissa and I took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit Rachel who was doing an internship for Senator Bennett. We spent a lot of time at the National Mall exploring the Smithsonian and visiting all the monuments. This picture of of the Vietnam Memorial we thought was especially cool because not only could you see the pictures engraved in the black stone but also a reflection of the three of us taking the picture. All the monuments and memorials in the mall are unique but there is just something extra beautiful and sobering about the Vietnam Memorial.

Stubborn, Sleepy Girl

Just got back from my voice lessons. For some odd reason Lilian refused to get out of the car. Didn't even want me to unbuckle her. Reverse psychology in mind I said, "Okay Lilian....I'm going to go inside. You just yell for me when you decide you want to come in." Didn't work. She stayed. And stayed. Cheerfully. I went out every couple of minutes to check on her and left all the doors open so I could hear if she started hollering. The last time I went to check on her, this is what I found:
And even as zonked out as she was, she STILL fought me when I tried to unbuckle her!

Favorite Photo Friday: Autumn Leaves

Every year we try to head up the canyon in the fall to enjoy the changing colors of the leaves. The favorite part for a three year old Brandon in 2004 was to gather up armfuls of leaves and throw them up in the air. How nice to be so happily and easily entertained.

Darn Swine

Yep.The days are starting to all mesh together. The state of my house is becoming increasingly disasterous. My bathroom counter resembles a pharmacy. And although I can see light at the end of my tunnel, healthwise... I'm discouraged. Because Julianne and Lilian succumbed yesterday. And I realized, as I dispensed tylenol and listened to the choir of coughs all day long, that this cabin fever I have will, unfortunately, continue for awhile longer. Darn swine.

Sick

This picture is me the past few days. Well, minus the part of being in bed....wouldn't that be nice! No rest for sick mommies when there is a 2 year old running around the house.
My mom, who is also sick with something very similar, and I have been debating the past few days whether this is an extremely nasty cold or Swine Flu. Chances are good we'll never know because neither one of us has any desire to spend hours sitting in a crowded waiting room only to have them poke a big, long swab up our nose and say "Yep, you have H1N1. Go home to bed and come back if it gets worse." Well, whatever it is, it's the pits.