Thursday, December 31, 2009

And then there was light!

When this house was built, it was the "in" thing not to put any lights in the ceiling. I guess everyone was really digging lamps.

This is SO not my favorite thing. Since moving in we have added canned lights to our living room and had plans for the dining room. In November it FINALLY happened. Well, we started in October, but it was completed in November.

I cannot express my joy over not having to live in darkness another winter. Before, when we would have dinner we only had two canned lights over the fireplace to light up our dinner. We just pretended that we were eating in a restaurant every night. You know, mood lighting. Still, it was getting old.


Notice the lack of lighting in the middle of the room and the cute boy standing underneath no lighting.

First things first. Got to have a hole for the light to go in.

Kevin helped a friend in our ward with the canned lights and felt confident enough to tackle the dining room on his own. It proved to be a bit harder than expected. Mostly because we wanted to put the canned lights over the fireplace on a different circuit than the new dining room light. Also, we wanted to be able to turn the light on from two different switches. One by the laundry room
Before

After

(going from 3 switches to 4)


and one by the sliding glass door.
Before

After
(going from 2 switches to 3)

The other obstacle is that we had recently had blown insulation put into the attic. That stuff is messy!


Almost done!!!


But after most of the day, and NO swear words later, he did it!


He did such a wonderful job. I love that he is willing to learn new skills to save us some money and to improve our lives. Thank you Kevin!

LET THERE BE LIGHT!



31 and counting

Kevin turned 31 on December 26. He is the first to tell you it's not the greatest day to have a birthday, however, I try very hard every year to try and change his mind.

This year he said he would like to have a game night with a few of our friends in the ward. The Archibalds and the Russons came. We had yummy, yummy food and while the kids took over the basement the "adults" played The Great Dalmuti. We let Kevin be the Dalmuti because it was his birthday and we could never get him out! We definitely need a re-match!

I am so grateful for Kevin. He is my best friend and a great dad!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!!!!

(Pictures coming.....we left our new camera over at Kev's parents house)

Christmas time, O Christmas time

December is a very full packed, fun month for us.


On December 5 we had my mom's Christmas party. I thought it turned out great and I know the kids had fun.

We had everyone there but the Lawson bunch, and they were very missed.



We did the Christmas nativity stickers,had a talent show, opened presents, the kids got cute books with their names in them, ate WAY too much food (ok maybe only I did) and had a wonderful time.

December 7 Karaia had a choir concert to kick off the lighting of the local park. She was darling as usual.
(here are the boys waiting for the concert to start)

(Karaia, freeze and singing her little rear end off)



December 9 is my birthday. Grandma Candace took Karaia to the Governor's Christmas party.

Aren't they cute?

December, um, something...can't remember and I didn't write it on the calendar Karaia had a school program. This is her teacher, Mrs. Pickett. She is the best. teacher. ever!



December 17 Beckham had his pre-school program and he rocked it!



December 18 is Karaia's birthday. Karaia also had a choir concert. Later that night we had my step-mom's extended family Christmas party and this year Santa showed up and I forgot my camera!

December 19 we had Karaia's family party.

December 24 Grandma Janice's party. This year only Kevin and the older kids were able to go because Sanders had some kind of flu. But I did manage to finish sewing their Christmas pj's



December 25 Christmas!


We opened presents at our house. Karaia got an American Girl look a-like doll she named Kristin.


Beckham got a digital camera and has now informed us he is a real photographer, (He was so busy taking pictures he never sat still enough for me to get one of him) Tennyson got a big wooden train set,
and Sanders got a Fisher price Little people garage.


Next we headed for Grandma Candace's house, had lots of fun, went to visit Grandpa Frank in the hospital, and in the evening spent some time at my dad's house. Whew!

We were gone from 9:00 am until about 9:30 pm. A busy but fun day.

December 26 is Kevin's birthday day. We had a game night with some of our friends.

December 29 is Danica's birthday. We headed to Boondocks for bowling and video games.

And the rest of December we just try and recuperate from all of our fun!

Karaia is 7!

I know getting older is the natural progression of things, and while sometimes the fact that you're getting older can weird you out, when your child gets older it's guarunteed that you will have a few, "Holy cow! Where does the time go?!" moments throughout the day.

On December 18th Karaia turned SEVEN! It is uncanny to vividly remember the first time you ever see your child as a squishy, squirmy, teeny, tiny ball and then blink only to open your eyes and realize she has grown so, so much and you are so, so proud of her.

This year was the first birthday that she was really excited about. The I-can't-sleep-because-I-am- too-excited kind of excited. Numerous times before the birthday she would burst into a sing song-y kind of voice and twirl around the room describing her intense anticipatioin of her birthday.

She wanted Littlest Pet Shop toys


and a Santa Claus cake.

She was not disappointed, although the Santa looked a little creepy with his bugged out blue eyes


( I did the best I could, but not every time is a winner)

The actual day of her birth she had school. This is what she thought she looked her very cutest in
I just love the skirt OVER the pants. But mostly I love that this outfit is what made her feel her best. Right after this picture we remembered that she had a choir concert at school with a dress code required. So this is what she actually wore at school.

It worked out great, however, because Grandma Candace, Nana, AND Grandpa Guy were all able to make it to her concert. She felt so special!

The kids in her class sang to her, and since it was also the last day of school before Christmas break lots of people gave her lots of presents.

Latter that evening we had my step-mom's family Christmas party. Lo and behold Santa showed up and wished her a happy birthday as well!

The next day we had the family birthday party. That morning we discovered the water heater was leaking! Kevin and Dave quickly replaced it just in time to join us for cake and ice cream.




I was so proud of Karaia. She was very grateful for all the attention and everything she got. Thank you to everyone who made her feel loved and all your generosity.

I know she is still young, be we have begun to start down the path that merges being a parent with also being a friend. She is an excellent helper, very creative, good at making friends, and all around delightful to be with! I have loved that she is letting me into her world a bit more and finding her voice.



I love you, Karaia!


Friday, December 11, 2009

30 is the new black

I was surprised to realize how much time had gone by since I posted. Not that there hasn't been plenty to post about, but sometimes I write posts in my head and then forget to download them into the computer. :)

However, I am going to abandon my usual hang up of having to post everything in order and just post about the most recent.

I turned 30 on Dec. 9! THIRTY! The BIG 3 -0!

I have been slightly apprehensive about this birthday for about a year now. Logically, I KNEW 30 wasn't that old, but for some reason, the thought about no longer being a twenty-something twisted up my world a bit.

I finally figured it out the day before my birthday. I vividly remember being 10 and thinking, "Great! Only 11 more years until I get to go on a mission!" So you see I was counting down to my 20's for over a decade. Then I went to college and started learning the lessons I thought I was only going to be able to learn on a mission. When Kevin came home it was very apparent that any mission for me would involve my husband and I could not have been more pleased.

From there, I graduated from college, had 4 babies, bought two homes, a few cars, watched Kev get two degrees and experience most of the "big" defining events of one's life. All in my 20's. I think I was feeling lost. What was I looking toward if I turned 30? That kind of thing.

But, I have come up with a brilliant plan.

I will have one HUGE goal a decade.

Good right?

That way, for me, I will always be growing and learning in a very tangible way. I want this goal to be a real challenge for me. Something that scares me spit-less when I first contemplate going after it. Something that really might need a whole decade to achieve.

This decade's goal I have already shared, but I am moving the deadline.

In my 30's I would like to have a fabric line manufactured.

Instead of a one year time line I now have 10 years to realize this dream/goal.

It makes me excited to be 30 and work toward something I want so much.

For my birthday the kids and Kevin made me breakfast in bed. It was fun to see how into it the kids got.

My best friend Tobi came and spent an hour with me and gave me the cutest card full of 30 reasons why she is happy to be my best friend. It was darling and I will cherish it forever!

My friend, Sabina, took Beckham and Tennyson to her house for a few hours so my mom and I could enjoy an actual conversation while we had lunch, which my mom had picked up from Chilli's.

My visiting teachers Judy and Jo'elle stopped by with yummy treats.

I got phone calls or emails or facebook posts from the people I love.

When Karaia got home from school I was shoveling the driveway. She ran past me saying," I'll be right back mom." I thought she was running to the bathroom before we headed to piano lessons. She came back with the other snow shovel and said, "Why would you want to be working on your birthday? I will shovel for you!"

That right there was one of the best things I received all day!

Latter she also said, "I should have done your hair today."

"Karaia, I did my hair. Can't you tell?"

"Yes, but I was going to do your hair for you for your birthday. It was going to be really pretty."

What a sweetheart.

Kevin took me out to dinner and then kid free shopping ( my favorite kind). I like shopping with Kev, and he hates shopping, so it doesn't happen very often and I am always aware at what a big effort he is making for me. He even acted like he liked it. Thanks!

It was a wonderful day and I felt very loved.

Seems as if 30 isn't so scary after all.