Merry Chistmas

I know this is silly, but I have been thinking about the term "happy holidays". I personally don't see why I need to be politically correct by saying happy holidays. Is it genuinely offensive to those who are not christian? I would love it if some one who celebrated kwanza or hanuka would wish me the same. When I wish someone a merry christmas I share with them something personal about me, I share my belief and at the same time share goodwill. Wishing some one a merry christmas is genuine, and it is the only holiday greeting that I can extend with genuine faith that they may indeed be merry. In the same way a Jew could only genuinely wish me a happy hanuka with faith that it indeed may be happy. Maybe it is too idealistic for me to think we can still be different and respectful. Or maybe what is the more saddening is that no one has a belief system any more. I love the idea from "You've Got Mail" that everything we do should be personal (Its not personal Its buisness- well not really). So I personally wish to all a Merry Christmas, and hope all will personally wish me the best from their own beliefs.

Embracing the holidays

I, like many out there, am a huuuge sucker for the holidays. You make a holiday flavored ice cream and I want to eat it, you make a holiday decor, and especially holiday baby clothing, and I want to buy it. Looking past the commercialism, I love holidays because life just looks a little brighter and love abounds more when we think of our families, what we have, and what we can give to others. As the leaves are almost all gone, I got to play in them with Elena and the Kendall's daughters Olivia and Chloe. These are some of the sweet treasures in life- the laugh of a child and the care free spirit of playing with them! we had a blast playing in the leaves and off-roadings with our strollers. We were rebels and went off the Provo river trail to explore- I really felt like a kid again when we (my sisters and I) would wander the hills near our house (no I don't think that was safe as a kid, and I am not quite sure where my parent were at the time either!). To help us remember how awesome we have it, Mike started a list on our door where everyday we have to write something down we are greatful for, no repeats, through the holiday season (not sure if he meant thanksgiving or christmas). I decided to share mine with you. We have only done it for two day, but I will update them weekly (I hope).

1- The sharing of testimonies. This can prick even my hard heart, and it helps me feel the burning of the spirit even when I have not made as much effort as I should to be feeling the spirit in my life. They help remind me of the spirit I can and should have consistently in my life.

2- Mike- I could write a dissertation on why I am grateful for him. He loves me despite my weaknesses yet encourages me to be better than I am; he sacrifices so much for my schooling, for my personal time and goals, for our daughter Elena, and for the gospel. He is everything I hoped we would be when I married him.

Wishing you were here?

I should totally be doing homework right now, but who could blame me when we got to be at ESPN college game day! This is the kind of event any cougar fan would dream of being at. I felt the football fanatic in me come out that I have ignored since Elena's birth. People had been camping out for two days to get up really early and be in line for this! If we didn't have a child maybe we would have joined then. Fortunately we live really close and just popped over the morning of. We got Elena up at 7:30, and while she was not so happy, we didn't feel that bad- she does it to us all the time! I got a little picture happy, but it was so much fun to be there in the huge crowd cheering! For anyone who missed the showing, one analyst even said he was going to come back to vacation here! It was that fun! We did slip out to continue our blue pancake breakfast tradition- it was the shortest line we have ever seen- but we made it back in time to hear Lavell and the ESPN guys make their picks. We also got our pictures taken which are posted on the college game day we site. Mike took a picture with out neighbor morgan, and Elena and I make out own debue with out him

How fun to be one!

Fall is always so much fun, with the changes that take place and the anticipation of the holiday season! We bought some hot cocoa, apples and carmel dip, and got out our fleece PJ's (it has actually been very cold here for fall). Elena's birthday was on September 19th. Maceys gives a free small cake for babies 1st birthday, so we got a watermelon cake Elena could tear to pieces. Some family was over to eat some cake, but getting past the dye soaked frosting was a little too much for us. Aunt Angela preferred smearing frosting on Elenas face. We had Elena's birthday party with my friends little boy Henry, the weekend after. We made it bug themed, and it was a success. We had dirt n worms, ant farm pudding, ants on a log, rotten fruit platte and a lady bug and catepillar cake. It was lots of fun to see the kids play, but man I was tired by the end of the day! Along with birthday parties, turning 1 year brings- immunizations! This was definitely the hardest, mostly because the shot broke in her leg when the nurse gave it to her. Oh it was so sad! But, the second we poped a tootsie pop in her mouth I never heard another cry. By the time we got home she had sucked most the lollipop and had covered herself in sticky drool. But she was happy!

Fall is in the air

School is beginning (a week sooner than I thought, but that is another story). Fortunately we had lots of fun going to Hogle Zoo, Thanksgiving point and Lindon Aquatic center before the end of summer. The first two weeks of school have been great, not many assignments so you are still excited about school. This year the excitement is dulled by the fact that I don't know anyone and that we don't have football tickets this year. Sad. We had my little brothers wedding, which took place right as the Oklahoma v. BYU game begun. Elena also got her first bloody nose there. It almost hurts more since it was a great game that we WON! Well, good thing I have a bundle of joy who reminds me how lucky I am and how good we have it! We bought her a halloween costume at Costco during a students open house thing. Mike was changing her diaper and quickly got her in it, and it completely surprised me. It was hilarious to watch. She had to figure out her balance with the "heavy" horse head. She has become a great dancer though. We have a toy that plays "Shake your groove thing" and she will sit there shaking her head and an arm. She has become so animated too. Everything it either so exciting she has to open her mouth as big as she can or so terrible that she will scour at you. Lets hope this doesn't imply being an emotional girl, btu if she is at least I know it is my fault.

Enjoy pictures! Elena's birthday party is in two weeks, so we will have some pictures of that!

Christmas in July

July is always a much anticipated month for me. It is the Christmas of summer. After July, like after Christmas, I am tired broke and want a change in weather. Who doesn't love 4th of July, with sports barbecue and sunshine? It has been a tradition of our married years (the whole three-haha) to do the Provo parade and freedom festival. This year we even watched the hot air balloons take off and enjoyed a charity breakfast. After a day of volleyball at the park and grilled foods for dinner we enjoyed our "front row" free seats to stadium of fire. Sadly, Elena absolutely hates fireworks. But while fireworks bring Elena to tears, they are a much anticipated moment for myself. I love the feeling of really big fireworks- when they explode the wave seems to hit you in the chest. This year we enjoyed them closer than ever, and we enjoyed it while eating rootbeer floats- how American can you get? For many, after the 4th they could just fastforward to fall- but wait just a few more weeks for the best day ever. No, not pioneer day, back up a couple days- July 22- my birthday! My birthday is what really makes pioneer day. I have enjoyed the last 4 birthdays with an extra perk of a holiday (no school/work) only two days after, it will be a real tragedy when I loose this benefit. So for all those who are wishing this warm weath July away, just wait one more week and then by all means bring on fall!

For those who don't care what I have to say and just want to see picture of Elena- here you go! She is as fun as ever. She is walking well with one hand being held and she is beginning to take a step here and there by her self. Besides walking everywhere she also love to turn pages in books. She is a wiggly as ever, but as sweet as ever too!

San Diego

We just got back from Sea World last week, and it was an awesome vacation. We only encountered two problems. First, it was too short. We loved San Diego, and had a ton of fun. They have a great transit system, which made getting around a whole lot cheaper. Second, we couldn't overcome our own stupidity. On Saturday we went to the beach, which would sound like a great idea. Anyways, we get there and we are have a "gay old time" (Flintstones). This lasted for about twenty minutes when dad thought it would be a good idea to accidentally throw sand in Elena's eyes. Brilliant right? She cried for an hour non-stop, so we decided we had better go back to our hotel. As mentioned before, we used the public transit system and felt pretty good about it by our last day. So in order to save money, we decided to take the bus to the airport. We plan perfectly exactly when we have to be at each bus stop, how long our wait will be, and everything else you can think of. We get to our first two stops without and problems. This is when our stupidity creeps in. We see our bus coming, so we flag it down. It was a little early, but hey, that's good. After sitting in the bus for about ten minutes, we realize that we got on the right bus route, but we were headed in the wrong direction. It took us back past our hotel, and we ended up paying for a taxi to take us to the airport. Can you believe it? Ten dollars for the bus passes and then thirty dollars for the taxi. We probably would have spent about twenty dollars from our hotel to the airport and saved an hour of precious San Diego time. Anyways, we really did enjoy our trip; Natalie and Elena did great in the plane. However, Elena probably was a little less fussy than Natalie. Enjoy the pictures!

Weekend Fun

Mike has totally rubbed off on me. Before, I could work and work and never stop- because there is always more that needs to be done. Now I cannot go a week without doing something really fun or I feel drained. Last weekend we went to an aquarium and visited Grandma's house. We got to feel starfish and manta-rays, and see shark, jellyfish and an octopus. It was fun! Elena loved watching all the bright fish swim too, she is really good at following them. This week, it was too beautiful to pass up a day in the park. We played latter-golf, Frisbee and a card game called "the name of the game is mal" with some friends, and we got to celebrate Pi (3/14) day with some delicious pie. The more I live, the more I realize you gotta enjoy the journey!

A quick update on Elena- she is sitting very well, but still has yet to really roll over without a little help. She hates solids...but like to play with the spoon! She is just wonderful!