low picture success

we did have a fun weekend though.

Richards christmas present to me was the symphony.  So anna and I went to the symphony on saturday.  it is amazing to me how so many separate instruments can combine to make beautiful sound.  I hope anna loves it as much as I do.  I think she does.  She knew waltz of the flowers right from the second note.  Her fav part was santa because he conducted sleigh ride and did a silly job.

after that we went to the lights at temple square again with marty, whitney, matthew and jacob (they live in logan).  it was fun but very very crowded!

we went to my moms house on sunday for dinner.

today i am really sick.  so its been a rough day.

another journaley entry

ill try to take pictures tomorrow.

this morning i wanted to go to amy's but anna was being a "pokey little puppy" so we stayed home.  Anna has been making bead necklaces for julia's christmas present and she was really into it today.  any minute she had to herself shew as making necklaces for cousins and julia.

we played in the snow today.  anna wanted to play "grinch" which she calls "inch"  "the inch who stole christmas"  so we hiked the hill and pretended to steal christmas then slide down.  we love our backyard.  julia wouldn't come outside.  so i let her stay in and when i came to check on her she had climbed on the counter and got down the advent calendar.  she was eating all the chocolates that little thief.

she is so excited for christmas.  today she wanted to give ron his present (chocolate tools).  so she snuck upstairs and left it in his house.  she wrapped it herself and wrote: to: ron from ANNA.  so cute.  it makes me happy to see her so happy about giving gifts for people.

we went to grandma elaine's in the afternoon and found her nutcracker.  I played Tchaikovsky's dance of the sugar plum fair for her and she did some killer ballet for grandma while dancing with the nutcracker.  then she acted out the nutcracker using the potato heads as clara and the nutcracker as the nutcracker.  it was cute cute cute.

i bought some bob's red mill flour because i haven't been able to find bob's red mill wheat here in utah (in bulk anyways).  flour really makes a difference in bread quality!  that was some good bread i made today!  I also accidentally bought steel cut oats.  I like them, not sure about everyone else though.  they sure take longer to cook!

a journal-ey entry because i broke the camera

Our weekend!  I haven't been taking pictures because I broke the camera that fits in my pocket (bit surprise I know) and the other one is so nice I don't dare take it out.  Since this is in the home I got a pic - it is me and a BUNCH of walnuts!  Our neighbor Dorothy picks them at her friends farm and dries them.  She sent us a bunch and they are SO SO SO delicious.  The girls ate about 20 each for breakfast.  I sure miss her, especially at this time of year!

So, sorry no pics - but......i want to remember!

Thursday:  Anna and I helped grandma elaine decorate for christmas.  Amy went over before us and put up the tree, then we went and put the ornaments on.  It was beautiful to watch grandma hand anna the ornaments and tell her about them, then have anna put them on the tree.  After the decorations we played christmas songs at her piano.  I love to play primary songs because my grandma will always start to sing along.  I think it brightens her mood a little bit.  She was the primary president at one time.

Friday:  My best friend Rachel had her baby!  She was home, so we took her lunch and visited little Spencer Jay.  It is rough being a new mom.  Poor Poor Rachel's body.  I hope she gets healed up soon.  Julia was especially enamored by him.  She loved to touch his face and give him loves.  She loves little babies.  sorry julia, mommy isn't having one anytime soon!  But we do plan to babysitt spencer for rachel once/week starting in march.  Friday night anna and julia were very excited to spend the night at grandma heiner's so Rich and I could go to our ward party.  He got food poisoning he thinks, so it ended up being a lame date night....

Saturday:  We went and picked up the girls.  Rich went shopping.  I stayed at my moms and talked my sister into making bryan and breea's christmas present for me.  She is a talented seamstress, thank you amy!  After that, my mom, amy and I took Chloe, Amber and Anna to the soroptomist home show (my mom goes EVERY year).  Anna loved looking at the trees in people's houses.  It was a monster snow storm and I ended up staying at  my parents until about 6.  Virginia and I had a good time making anna and chloe sugar plum fairy wands and they danced by christmas tree light to the Mannheim steamroller.  They LOVED IT.  and anna's dancing had us all on the floor laughing and it only got better when my mom joined in.  Andy drove me home in the snow on the freeway.  He's a good safe driver.  Anna was sad to have her cousins go.

Sunday:  I was excited to shovel snow.  I love being out there first thing in the morning, when it is quiet and glittery (all except the sound of rons noisy snowblower!).  We went to church.  Rich took anna down to grandmas so he could shovel the snow, but my uncle bill was there and had already done it.  then we went to tithing settlement.  After that we went to my mom's again for dinner. She made some good burnt chicken and ginger cookies.  Anna got to decorate her THIRD tree of the year.  She's got this down by now I think, but I don't think she loves it any less.  Julia bebopped around and tried to convince everyone she could to take her to the treat cupboard.  We then had to go to andy's to return his keys (that's why we went to moms, because I left them there and felt bad).  We listened to the christmas devotional - for the first time it wasn't the first presidency speaking!  It was good, but I missed the good long Monson talks.  I wonder if he is getting too repetitive in his old age.  maybe it's horrible to say that.  Anyways, now we are going to bed.  It's been a good weekend, and will be another good week getting ready for Christmas!

I've never been so excited for Christmas before.  I think having such beautiful children around me really makes it fun and exciting.  I hope to always have the spirit of little children around me at Christmas time.

Quote I love from my reading this morning

• •

  President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) discussed the importance of family prayer: “I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together—father, mother, and children. This, more than soft carpets, more than lovely draperies, more than cleverly balanced color schemes, is the thing that will make for better and more beautiful homes” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1963, 127).

quote

loved the quote in my email today.

"Fill your life with service to others. As you lose your life in the service of Father in Heaven’s children, Satan’s temptations lose power in your life."   Richard G Scott

the christmas lights at temple square

 i dont know how to use my fancy camera

 amber bamber.  we met amy, actually she said she was going and I said I'd come along.

 this turned out good.  anna and julia were enchanted.  anna more so.  julia was just crazy.

 i like how you can see julia looking at jane in this picture and looking away too.

 cousin jane

 gavin and julia.  i just like how pretty all the lights look.

 lots of nativities

 julia looking intently

 all the pics are of julia because anna ran off with amber.  they had a good time.

 i love this statue of the children playing with their mom.  it was a pretty silhouette but I didn't know how to capture it.

this is the best pic i got.  mary and joseph are floating in the reflection pool.  if i hadn't have been chasing julia it might have been a very touching moment to sit and watch this.  but it was beautiful.  the cool thing is that we live so close we can go again.

tuesday at amy's, t-day, santa, nutrcracker, xmas tree+books

 This was last Tuesday at Aunt Amy's.  We had a treat fest.  We made these bars that had: peanut butter cookie, candy corn, nuts, marshmallow cream, powdered sugar and caramel.  I guess the only thing they didn't have was chocolate.  Anyways I could only eat a 1/4 inch section at a time.  With the leftover ingredients we made caramel apples for the kids' after school snack.

 This is thanksgiving.  Julia had a great time....playing with her food and utensils and making everyone laugh as usual.

 Anna only wanted rolls.

 WE stole aunt amy's idea and made hats for everyone.  ONly grandma B's made it through dinner.

 Of course there was plently of playing with the puppies.  Paul is going to keep one for anna.  It's name is IZZY.

 Anna likes to play with the puppies.

 Here she is keeping after the puppies up dry fork.  Rich and I went cross country skiing and left the kids and puppies with the grandparents.  thank you!

 sweet julia.

 we drove home from vernal Saturday so we could see our upstairs neighbor star as santa claus at our neighborhood Christmas party.  Neither of the girls would sit on his lap.  Even though they knew him.  silly girls.

 Saturday night Joyce and Paul drove up to come to the kid version of the nutcracker with us.  Here are the girls ready to go out.

 And the princess at the ballet.

 She loved it.

 This morning we put up our tree before our 9:00 church.  How, you might ask, did you have enough time for that?  Anna woke up early again.  She is so sleep deprived I think I could die.  She wanted to tell her daddy and grandpa about the mouse ballet.

We found the christmas books grandma gave us last year.  Anna is in SEVENTH HEAVEN.  She wouldn't even stop to give gma and gpa a love good bye.  we need to work on our manners!  So that's what we've been up to!