Soulful Christmas Dance Video 2011

girl christmas party!

pretty glow

Although this tree fell down as I was putting the lights on, I readily forgive it.  It has got to be the prettiest, Christmas tree we have ever had!  Thank you Alpine Tree farm!

family pictures by auntie meikel

So- I have in my possession absolutely no pictures of myself with my husband and all three children- and- my cousin, Meikel, got a brand new camera that shoots on film, so, we scheduled a time and finally got me in a pic with my sweet, little family!  Huzzah!











...and by this time Josy was done.  But anyway- Meikel did a great job and I am so happy to have these! 

let that pendulum swing!!

(This last shot is my attempt for Zoolander's 'Blue Steel')              

 Swing back to the days where a girl with curves was the model for beauty and desired proportion!  Swing back to being robust over skeletal, hourglass over emaciated!  It has taken two decades of my life to realize that my tall frame and predominantly endomorphic tissue make up are actually lovely.

For two decades my eyes have roved over magazine ads, glossy pictures, TV shows and movies where tiny, skinny women with the figures of prepubescent boys (no hips, no breasts) have been held aloft as the beacons for what is considered pretty or desirable.  No thank you!  No more!  I am done worrying about 'skinny' and dare others to do the same.  Muscles- yes, health- yes, curves- yes, yes, yes!              

uncle/elder scott

Waiting...



waiting...



There he is in a purple tie!  Uncle Scott, I mean, Elder Nelson!  Oh Happy Day!  My baby brother Scott served a faithful LDS mission in Minnesota and got to stop over in Utah for four days before heading home to my parents in Cali.  



Big brother and little brother.  Sweet.


Aunt Melodee was there too- and after the airport she fed us a lovely lunch at her house in SLC.



Scott is quite the musician and so it wasn't strange to see him traveling with a little ukulele.  I bet he can't wait to get a hold of his collection of guitars at home.  He stayed with us over the weekend, attended our open house in his honor and then flew home to Sacramento Sunday morning.  Love you Scotty!

thanksgiving in mapleton

Our family was invited to the Mapleton Lamberts' home for Thanksgiving. And this was a treat because my Aunt and Uncle truly know how to entertain. Everything you eat there is perfection, the company is cheerful and their log cabin style home is cozy and warm. We had a lovely time!







This is cutie Charlie with his Momma Annie.



There were two of these smoked turkeys- both stuffed with apples and onions, and fresh herbs.  Delicious.



These pewter cups and pouring jug are something I would like to get myself- they keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot.





Everything is handmade.  These are my Aunt Becky's rolls and they are divine.





My other Auntie, Lisa, brought down the house with her coconut cream pie that got eaten by everyone in about 5 minutes flat as soon as it was topped with fresh sweet cream!



Thank you to my relatives for creating such a wonderful holiday for me and my family!  

sharlene and manly

Here is Sharlene (Haily) and Manly (Myka).  I don't quite know how it all began, but I know that everytime the girls get dressed up this way the laughter lasts for hours and hours.  Haily is particualrly good at staying in her character of 'Sharlene' and looks hilarious as she tries to walk in my heels.  Myka is Manly, Shalene's husband who has the bottom half of a big bummed goat.  ?  ?   ?    

warm and cozy

Warm and cozy dress coats for freezy winter temperatures!  Old Navy had a great sale and I found exactly what I wanted for half the price!  (And here is Aaron with a bit of a beard- which of course he was only growing so that he could shave and then leave a stache for 'Movember'... mustache + Novemeber--- you get it.  And I had never really wanted to see him in a beard- but he actually looked good!

gross surgery pic

Aaron had oral surgery two weeks ago.  His endodontist had to do a bone graft below his sinuses and above his upper front teeth.  Everything has healed fine despite the ugly looking stitches shown here.  Yuck.

i like

I have one Racounters song on my playlist, 'Steady As She Goes' and I don't know how it got there, but I really like it.  So, now I am off to find more music from this group- and am excited because Jack White heads this group up and I loved all the White Stripes stuff.  (and then all their images online have them looking uberindierocktrash with long locks- and then I remember that I llllllllllllloooooovvvvvveeeeee it when men grow long hair----!)

josy by meikel

Auntie Meikel took our family pics.  This is a lovely shot of my baby Josy.

elder nelson vuelve de su mision!

1st place reflections winner!

Hooray for Myka! Our eight year old artist! She won first place in her school's Reflections visual art category.  As you can see- she drew a diverse group of dragons displaying unique colors and designs.  Congratulations Myka!

three darling trick or treaters!

(blurry- but it's the only one!!)



Hooray for Halloween!  It has got to be my kids favorite holiday- they spend more than the month of October designing their costumes and decorating the house with spooky pictures.  Little Josy was a sparkle- fluff princess, Haily was 'Aisling' from Secret of Kells and of course, Myka wanted to be Hermione, the bright and studious heroine from the Harry Potter books. 

2 yr old 'yoshi'

Gush!  How can we love our little 'Yoshi' any more than we do?  She is soft, cuddly, warm and cheerful!  Josy turned two and is growing and learning in so many ways.  What a lovely blessing in our lives.  Beautiful, blonde, Josette.  We love you.

tripoli

Meet Tripoli Silverlight Gary- the girls' new kitten.  She is seven weeks old today and loves to chase our feet as we walk about the house- although we will transition her to be more of an outdoor cat here soon enough.  Myka, Haily and Josy each love her passionately- except little Josy hasn't quite figured out how not to squeeze her to death!