Names have been changed to protect the innocent...and my husband...and me...but not the dog. His name is Dexter.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Book of The Week-The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

I originally read this book a few years ago with a book club I used to be in and quite enjoyed it.  When the new book club I recently invaded decided to read it I was looking forward to reading it again.  And it's a good thing I did since I had somehow confused this book with a fiction book about a poor family of all girls that lived in the English countryside in the early 20th century.  Yeah, not sure how I got those two confused and I still haven't been able to remember the name of the other book.  But I enjoyed the second reading of The Glass Castle immensely. 

It's told from the point of view of the young daughter of Rex and Rose Mary Walls, Jeannette Walls, as they move from being Southwestern nomads to a depressing West Virginia mining town and as they each are able to find their own way in the world.  I can't even begin to sum of the many layers of this book in a short, and completely random, blog post.  It's just one of those books that you have to read for yourself.  And then read it again.

There was really only one thing about this book that I didn't love.  Towards the end of the book it refers to the mother putting glass bottles of various colors and shapes in the window for the "stained window effect".  Unfortunately, I started doing this a few months back to make our random tiny entry window a little more interesting.  I just thought it would look cool.  I had no idea I was going for homeless chic.  I was going more for hippie witch doctor chic.  The bottles will probably have to go now.     

Friday, December 28, 2012

Oh yes...Our Christmas Letter!

Yep, it's that Christmas Letter time of year.  And for those of you not lucky enough to get one (oh, I slay me...you must be grateful to not be on that list.) (which is big this year since I only printed 48 cards) (I may do better next year....we'll see) I'll share the beauty of our letter right here on the little ol' blog. 



2012 held its’ usual excitement and adventure for our family~~~

In January, Lady broke her nose for the fifth time (while doing laundry) and had surgery to repair it.  She is considering going for a world record on the lamest ways to break a nose. 

In April Babs turned 5!  She had been waiting months for this & it did not disappoint.  The birthday celebration she chose to have at a bowling alley also did not disappoint.  Babs has since turned 5 and a HALF which has also brought significant excitement into our life.        

In May, CG’s team with Mega Corp moved to a new facility & he is enjoying his shorter commute.  He spends his day doing computer programmy things and enjoys all things techie.  He has a special appreciation for Tiny Towers.    

Babs finished up preschool & couldn’t wait to start kindergarten.  Lolly finished first grade in June.  And then came swimming lessons.  Our life was consumed with swimming lessons.

Our garden also consumed our life this year.  We grew peas, carrots, onions, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and more.  We even grew pumpkins which was especially exciting since we didn’t plant them.  Our little garden started out in neat little rows, but by the end of the season it had grown to resemble the chaos that so accurately describes our life.     

Both girls started at a new school this year.  Lolly started second grade and Babs started kindergarten.  They love their new school and have made many new friends.  Although it is a bit of a drive (3 times a day this year thanks to half day kindergarten) it has definitely been worth the change.      

In September, Lady had surgery again!  This time on her shoulder.  She has reconsidered her previous goal and is now going for the record of lamest ways to injure oneself.  Why limit it to the nose?

The girls started dance lessons in the fall and are loving every tap and twirl and pliet.  They just participated in their first official dance recital and not only got to dress up in fun costumes, but also got to wear make up!

Lolly turned 8 this year and was baptized in December.  She was very lucky to be surrounded by people who love her to celebrate this exciting decision.  She still has not stopped smiling.

It has been a busy and fun-filled year.  We have been so blessed and had many wonderful opportunities.  And we are lucky to share many fun times with family and friends.  We hope this letter finds you happy and healthy.  And we wish you a merry and bright 2013!  

 Yes, a picture of our picture.  I'm klassy.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Glimpses of Christmas

As usual, our holiday festivities are best summed up in pictures. And maybe a snarky comment or two.  What's not to love?!  Nothing!  Everyone loves a highlight reel. 

First and foremost, the visit from Santa.  The big guy comes to our family party every year and I can tell you, he is the most awesome Santa you will ever see.


This is one of my most treasured Christmas presents.  I have been waiting five years, FIVE YEARS!, to get this picture.  A picture of both my babies in Santa's lap with no screaming or crying.  This was Babs' gift to me this year.  I love it!

And of course, taking the UTA train to see the lights on Temple Square.


There were school sing-a-longs and dance recitals. 
 
 Seriously, they are the cutest little dancers EVER!

And after the dance recital, they were the tiredest little dancers ever.

Barely managed to pull together a small gift for the teachers, but I did make it to Babs' gingerbread house making celebration in her class.  I figure that's worth some bonus Mom Points.

Unfortunately, our Christmas also looked like this......
Poor Lolly has been sick since last Saturday.  (I had the same icky virus and it took me two weeks to get over it.  Luckily, she seems to be on the mend.)  So we were not able to attend our usual holiday parties, but we still had a very nice Christmas.  And a WHITE Christmas.  The girls even managed to get the reindeer food out on Christmas Eve.  

New jammies were opened and worn, so things were as they should be.
 I made some peppermint bark popcorn (from Our Best Bites) and it was amazingly good. 
Also, this ornament is as old as I am.
She is aging so much better than I am.  I think her secret is the sequins. 

Friday, December 7, 2012

Catching Up On Life....Or Something

It's weird to think that so much time has passed since I last posted.  I've missed this.  I wish I could share all the exciting things we've been up to, but frankly I can't remember them.  The last few weeks have been a blur of physical therapy and my pathetic attempts to keep up on life.  So to catch us all up we're going to do a quick review.  I know!  So exciting!

Halloween was fun.  We partied hard and our party atmosphere was not even dampened by my getting pulled over.  More on that another time....

Here are the girls ready for trick or treating.  Hermione on the left, Ginny on the right.

Even CG got in on the action.  He was a Death Eater.

I was Professor Trelawny, but we didn't get a picture of all of us together.  Some years it happens; this year it didn't. 

I voted.  So did CG but I don't have a picture of him.

Lolly lost another tooth and the Tooth Fairy was exposed for what she truly is....flaky and forgetful.  Thankfully she managed to redeem herself but did give away the location of her homeland.  The tag on the Hello Kitty socks said "Made in Honduras" so the secret is out....the Tooth Fairy lives in Honduras.  And buys local. 

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration that included a fabulous, home-cooked meal, all of which was gluten free.   
Oh, and we've gone gluten free now.  But more on that later....


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