Nana's sweaters

"Oooh!" Check out this

darling sweater-dress

Glen's Mum (Nana Smallman)

knitted for Emma.

We're so lucky Nana

takes the time to make such

beautiful things for the kids.

We were probably supposed

to save it for Christmas,

but we couldn't wait!

Neener, neener, neener!

To all the New Moon fans out there:

"Neener, neener, neener!"

(Me at the Jordan Commons Wed night at the employee screening. No, I don't work there... It pays to have a friend who works at the theater so you can see it before the general public.)

It is better than the first by a long shot: special effects, make-up, script, direction, scenery. And only one horribly cheesy scene. There was enough action to keep the men happy, and enough tension for the women. My fav was the Italy scenes. And Dakota Fanning. She's fabulously creepy. Can't wait to see it again.

To say or NOT to say?

There are some things in life that should NOT be said. For example, if you're the father of the bride speaking at her wedding dinner, please do not go into detail about how hard she was to raise and how she never loved you. Weddings are for love and joy. Not group counseling. I think there are a list of positive things somewhere on the internet you could say to a bride on her wedding day. ("You are beautiful." "I'm happy to be here." "Congratulations!") My girlfriends and I almost staged a take over of the microphone.

In rebuttal to the father of the bride (who will hopefully never see my blog) and with love to my fantastic girlfriend who was married last Saturday: "You are beautiful, intelligent, witty, sophisticated, accomplished, artistic, true, creative and fun. You have been and still are a great friend. WE LOVE YOU! Thank you for sharing this time with all of us. We wish you and your husband a wonderful future together."

My husband is where?

My husband has the geneology bug. Bad. This is where I find him every night, and during the 3 days he had off of work last week. The new Family Search site is incredible! He's already found ancestors back to the 1600's. (Hoping to find royalty... hee hee)

Emma's new do!

This new do is thanks to an adventurous older brother who gave her a haircut himself. His defense: "I just wanted to know what it was like to cut hair." I promptly hid all my scissors and took her to Cookie Cutters to fix it and ended up with this. She's still darling though.

New do

Every year or two I get an itch to change my hair. Dramatically. Oh yes I did. It only took one flyer from Ulta, 3 months of indecision and one super hairstylist. (Thanks Taci!) I love it. I'll love it even more when I have the gigantic brush required to style it. (that's coming next week) Ethan and Matthew said "You don't look like Mommy!" and Glen said "You look 18 again." (Not sure if that's a compliment?) I still love it though. Itch satisfied.

Heaven & Hell

No, this is not a blog about Emma & Matthew. This is Glen & I am taking over Triscia's blog while she is out. I figured that I would let the world know that I finally managed to ride my bike to the top of big cottonwood canyon today.

The hell was the 14.5 miles to the top. There was an elevation change of over 3,700 ft reaching 8,700 ft above sea level.

The Heaven was the ride down. reaching speeds over 40 mph I even managed to pass a car. My scary part of the ride came when my headphones came out and wrapped in my back wheel. Thankfully, the prayer that I said before my ride paid off. All in all, not a bad ride, over 1800 cal burned and as Triscia always says " Now I can eat whatever the Hell I like"

Lets see how long Trish keeps this post!
(EDIT BY TRISH: Yes I kept this post long enough. Now on to one about me! :) But I had to edit this one to give PROPS to my MOM for the NICE PIC OF GLEN with his bike she took in her backyard! Thanks MOM!)

Happy Pioneer Day!

We celebrated our Pioneer Day by hiking Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The historical marker there states that Brigham Young and some of the saints camped there on July 23-24, 1857 on the first statewide Pioneer Day celebration.

Here are a few pictures of the fun: Emma on my back, the boys getting along, (for once!) a natural rock wall discovered and conquered, Matthew's owee, handsome Glen and the scenery.

The Utah Symphony

I love classical music! Luckily, Ethan does too and has accompanied me to concerts since he was 4. This week we went to see The Utah Symphony's free concert at the Sandy Amphitheater.

It was a fantastic program sampling many types of music: waltz, polka, march, jazz, etc. The conductor was very interactive with the audience. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to give classical music a try! (and bring kids to a family friendly classical concert... those are rare)

We sat on the lawn, snuggled on a blanket and shared chocolate. I loved it!

Ethan's favorite was the popping sound repeated during the Champagne Polka by Strauss and the sunset.

My favorite was the wacky Concerto for Cell Phone by Stephenson. (hilarious live!)

We both anticipated the playing of our favorite "Hoe Down" from Rodeo by Copland that was played second to last.

Ethan's Statement of the Week

Last Friday we celebrated my Grandma Miller's 74 birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma! I'm so happy she's my Grandma. She has accomplished so much in her life and has guided me through difficult times in my life. So Ethan looked at the candles on her cake and said to everyone, "74. I think she's going to die soon." (Gasp! Followed by a whole lot of laughter) Hope not 'cause I love my Grandma!

RAGNAR #2

Van 1 departing for Logan: me, my Mom, JoAnn and Mike, Andrea, Shawnie, and Janice, our volunteer for the race. LOVE THEM ALL!

(I don't have pics of the other half of our team/Van 2 yet)

1 race of 187.9 miles from Logan to Park City + 2 vans of 6 runners = the most extreme 2 days of my life!

Team Generation Gap finished in 34 hours!

I never considered myself an extreme athlete. I definitely qualify now. I ran 3 times in 34 hours: leg 1 was 6.9 miles downhill around noon, leg 2 was 8.1 miles uphill around 10 pm and my last was 3.1 miles flat around 11 am. I lived in a van, ate out of a cooler for 2 days, skipped a few showers, ran on a dark road during the night with only a headlamp and a couple glowsticks lighting my way, slept in a field on a tarp, and stood in the wind and rain waiting for my team to finish. Summed up it was the craziest thing I've done in my life and I would do it again!

I had great bonding time with my Mom. Lucky me! (She and I had to have a picture of the "Honey Buckets")

RAGNAR Relay

Wish Team Generation Gap luck!

Matthew's statement of the week

(After coming home from a friend's house)

"They asked me if I was sick and I said it was just allergies, but it isn't!"

(He does have a residual cough from a nasty cold/flu something or other, but isn't contagious.)

Our Las Vegas & Disneyland Family Trip!

Quality Assurance

Here's a little tidbit about me. I hate Walmart. HATE. I can't think of a good experience in the store ever, and I've given it plenty of opportunities to redeem itself.

So, I found myself there to buy balloons because my friend mentioned Walmart fills them for 15 cents each (package of 20 for $2.98). In January I paid 50 cents a piece for Ethan's birthday balloons. (scandalous!) I needed balloons for a Relief Society activity and since this was the church's money, I went cheap.

While there I grabbed a gift for Matthew's classmate's birthday the next day. That's where I went wrong. I should have known better. We picked out a lovely bubble blowing machine "made exclusively for Walmart" and a huge container of bubbles. Tape some batteries to it, wrap it and we were ready for the party. I stayed to help the party Mom and when the birthday boy opened his gift he wanted to use it right away. Oh yea! So we popped batteries in, (10 preschoolers anxiously awaiting) and nothing. NOTHING. The stupid thing didn't work. Walmart did it again, but this time they threw in the disappointment of 10 preschoolers and the embarrasment of one Mom.

In the words of Nemo: "Curse you Aquascum! (Walmart!)"

Photos?

Hello all! Any suggestions of how to do photo collages/slide shows easily that I can put into my blog? We just got back from Disneyland and I have some real winner pictures to show you all!

How to pick the perfect strawberry...

How to pick the perfect strawberry from a 4 lb box:

Step 1: Wait until everyone is out of the kitchen and otherwise occupied

Step 2: Dump the whole thing on the floor. You'll have better view of all of them, even the juicy ones they hide at the bottom.

Step 3: Select your strawberry and eat fast before someone comes running!

Matthew's and Ethan's statement of the week!

While driving to Grandma's today, we were at a red stoplight with a billboard next to it. Matthew piped up from the back seat: "Hey! It's the money guy!" (We all looked up) Ethan: "Yea, on TV. He stares at someone and then a guy asks 'What's that?' and the other guy says 'That's the money you could be saving with Geico'."

Who am I more disgusted at? Myself for letting my kids watch TV (less than the national average might I add?) or the amazing branding capabilities of companies?

Matthew's question of the week

"How big is a leprechaun?"

What, are you planning your
strategy to catch one or
sizing up a possible
opponent in a fight?

Matthew's question of the week

"Can we cut a hole in my wall so I can climb through my shelf to Ethan's room?"

Hide your saw, Glen!

Breathtaking mornings

These pics are 3 days apart. Taken in the morning from my back porch. Weather is so unpredictable.

An unpleasant awakening

This is Emma asleep, sitting upright, in the corner of her crib with her thick quilt pulled over her head. I know some people sleep in quirky positions, but I've NEVER seen this before. How was she breathing under there?

Matthew's question of the week

It was a statement, actually: "Hey - why have they got my ball?!" Said while watching the Man United vs. Spurs football game (soccer for the Americans) and noticed they were kicking around the same ball he uses in the backyard. We could not stop laughing!

Winter break

What self-respecting athlete takes a winter break from exercise? Unfortunately me, and now I'm paying for it. In an effort to get back into shape, (oh yes, I ate that bad during the holidays) I went to the gym with my super-charged can-do-anything friend Kandy. WOW! What a workout! We spent over an hour together running, using the eliptical, the stairclimber, free-weights, doing killer crunches and squats. She took it upon herself to be my personal Jillian from the Biggest Loser. Really. People in the gym were turning around and staring with sympathetic eyes everytime she'd shout "COME ON TRISCIA! JUST 5 MORE MINUTES! DON'T WIMP OUT NOW! YOU CAN DO THIS! GO (insert faster, harder, higher restistence, etc)!" I think I'll be in shape sooner than I think!

Glen has started his workouts as well, doing swimming or biking daily during his lunch breaks and a weekly spin class. The guy is so motivated. He just slips back into it so easily. He's amazing!

Now, Glen and Kandy can't work out with me all the time, so: Does anyone have any tips for how they've kept a personal goal that could help me stay motivated to exercise? I'll make it worth you're while... for the best advice I'll give/send a thank you gift. Seriously!

Yellow Belt!

Ethan tested for his yellow belt.... he was well-prepared and so serious. He even kicked a wood board in half (which is now proudly displayed in his room). The best moment was when I asked him and his 2 friends to do their best karate moves for a picture. Now those are some kids I don't want to meet in a dark alley!

Matthew's question of the week

I'm adding a new segment called Matthew's question of the week.

Last week: "Why is Satan bad?"

Today: "Why do they only let you have one kid in China?" (!!!How do you explain population control?!!!)

Play nice

When I went into Emma's room to put her down for a nap, I found this.

Ethan and Matthew put all her dolls and stuffed animals "in jail." Apparently this doll committed some stuffed crime and was sentenced to doing some time upside down, blindfolded and bound by alphabet links. I'm considering staging a Sid scene (from Toy Story) of my own directed at those boys. "We toys can see everything. So play nice!"

Monday Night Movie

Confession:

Every Monday night after Glen and I get the kids in bed, I join two of my friends at the movies. Sleep is precious, but this weekly splurge is a low-budget and babysitter-free vacation from Mommyhood!

Thanks to my fun friend who works at the theatre for the discounts! Sorry no names to give you to get your own discount, but she has enough people vying for her attention. Love her!

Thanks to my insightful friend for the conversation that can't be had during the day while I'm constantly interrupted by my kids! Love her too!

And thanks to Glen for being a good sport when I saw Dark Knight on the big screen before he did. (Or never did actually, he only saw it on DVD. Oops!)

Tuesday night's climb

Ethan experienced a terrifying ordeal last night - he made a goal to reach the top of the 33' wall, but had never decended from anything higher than 12'. After reaching the top, he spent 10 painfully-long minutes frozen in fear. Glen and I felt sick, knowing we just couldn't go up there and bring him down to safety. He showed us his courage by not only coming down on his own, but going back up once more.

(On his ascent: The black line by his feet is the 12' mark and he's already looking down nervously!)

Matthew monkeying around, and trying to prove to Ethan that you won't drop to your death in decent by kicking off the wall as wildly as possible. Doesn't he look like Peter Pan?

That's right, no facebook

Really, I'm not sure what else I can do here. I can barely keep up on my blog (actually I disappeared for an entire month) yet I'm being told I should facebook. Glen facebooks, Mom facebooks, Glen's Mum facebooks. I know it's bad when my Mom and my husband's Mum are facebooking each other. Not to mention old friends trying to contact me through my Mom on facebook. I'm standing firm. I am not on facebook. No offense though, really. And facebook with my Mom 'cause she's spiffy.

Almost pictureless...

Alas, I can't figure out how to get my cell phone pics that I sent to my online tmobile album to save to my computer (although they totally allow photos from your computer to upload to their site!).

So...

a quick pictureless update:

Ethan has earned all of his stripes on his white belt in karate and is preparing to test for his yellow belt in Feb! I'm so proud I could bring a parade with me that day. (note: my pic with this was him swinging nun-chucks around in class and not hitting someone else or himself!) Ethan is working very hard to acheive what his Sifu calls "black belt respect" in all areas of life: household, school, family and martial arts. Wow. And I thought it would be fun for him to learn some moves.

Matthew is a rock climber. 4 1/2 yrs old and can scale a 33-foot-wall in a few minutes. I took him to our local rec center last weekend on a hunch that he'd like it and the belayer (the guy controlling the other end of the rope Matthew was hanging from) said he has natural talent. He didn't have the proper shoes since the rec center doesn't carry sizes small enough he was good enough in his Vans! Forgive my bragging, but come on, when have I ever seen Matthew tied up, unable to run away and enjoying it? I've committed to take him once a week and he's counting down the days until our next date. (note: pic supposed to be here of him almost at the top)

Emma is hilarious. She finds new ways to add joy to all of our lives. Ethan played this game with her at Christmastime where he told her to lay down on the blanket, then he dragged her (slowly) along the wood floors around the house while she giggled uncontrollably. Matthew taught her that baths are better with splashing, again while she giggled uncontrollably. (good thing it's tile floor and baseboards!) Oh! I have pictures! Thank you Canon Rebel!

Merry Christmas!

For those of you who didn't receive our Christmas card: (oh wait, I didn't send them out yet...)