"Connecticut" must be beautiful this time of year...all that snow...

We finally got our first real snow storm in Connecticut. It snowed almost non-stop last Saturday night (12/19) and almost all day Sunday (12/20). Church was cancelled on Sunday and then school was cancelled on Monday for Alli. The city of New London couldn't get it's streets plowed fast enough.

Stay tuned for our Christmas adventures...they involve wise guys and fairy wings...

Everywhere you need them to be.

SIM card purchased off E-bay: $6.49

Conversation with Steve's brother to unlock phone: 5 minutes and 10 text messages

Being able to call Steve from the store to see if there is anything else we need so I don't have to make 5000 repeat trips during the week: PRICELESS

Cell phones: they are everywhere you need them to be.


In other words, Steve is finally reconnected with the cellular world!

And I still forgot to get cough syrup and granola. GRRRRR!

Molly discovers make-up....

I think these pictures pretty much explain themselves...

Christmas Preparations and Traditions

We decided to break with tradition this year and prepare for Christmas at the beginning of December instead of 3 days before the holiday. We actually got the tree up before November 30th....a first for us! With the stress of finals, it's easy to forget about decorating and getting into the Christmas spirit. And then I wonder why I feel like such a grinch. We made it our goal this year to try and focus more on the spirit of Christmas than other things that seem to detract from the true meaning of the holiday.


To start out we got our tree up and decorated and started our Christmas tradition of reading the Forgotten Carols.

When we lived in Utah, one of our traditions was to go and hear the Salt Lake Symphonic Choir sing at Temple Square. I have missed hearing them sing for the past three years so I guess you could say I decided to make my own "Christmas performance" this year. To fulfill a personal goal, I prepared and performed two piano solo's for our ward's Choir and Creche on December 4th and 5th. I was very nervous having not played a solo since about, oh, high school...so 15 years ago. But I practiced and felt they went very well. I also accompanied my friend while she played her flute and accompanied our ward choir.

Something new that we did this year was to make gingerbread houses. James is finally old enough that he can help and actually enjoy the process.

Steve wanted to make the gingerbread from scratch so I said, "Go for it"... then he realized how late it was so we cheated and bought a kit. But Steve made gingerbread cookies the next day. I kept telling him how sexy he looked in an apron so hopefully he'll make more cookies. By the way, the cookies were divine!

So tree up: check, attend a christmas performance: check, play christmas music: check and still in progress (I love Christmas music), start a new tradition: check, listen to First Presidency Christmas Devotional, tonight. Anything I forgot????

I think I actually feel the Christmas spirit this year.

Thanksgiving

Like so many away from family around the holidays, we spent Thanksgiving with wonderful friends...and what a phenomenal Thanksgiving it was! There were 4 families gathered at the home of our friends: 7 children and 7 adults. The food was delicious, conversation was good, and the company was awesome.

We started the day with some exercise...mostly so we wouldn't feel so guilty when we indulged in the dinner and pie. James and Steve went for a bike ride and Molly and I went for a 5 mile run.

That evening, Steve became popular with the kids when he started reading stories...

James wowed us with his talent on the drums...

A sure sign of a good Thanksgiving dinner...

While we have a lot to be thankful for, we are especially thankful to our friends who invited us over to share the holiday with them. Though we were disappointed we couldn't make it to Ohio to be with my brother and his family, we had a very enjoyable time. This is the second Thanksgiving we have spent with them and we felt just like family. Thank you.

Happy Birthday my love!

Steve is now 34 years and two and a half weeks old. Wow, he's old. (Who wants to guess how old he acts????) To start out the day (November 14th), I made him strawberry waffles with real Danish Dessert. Then as we were planning our afternoon, our evening plans fell through. So Steve decided at the last minute that he wanted to go to New York City...So off we went! We visited the Metropolitan Museum so James could see the armor and the Egyptian Mummies. Because we couldn't use a flash, I didn't get very good pictures. Then we found a little corner restaraunt for dinner. Because we got home late on Saturday, we had apple pie, sang Happy Birthday, and opened presents on Sunday. I hope you had a good birthday my love!

Day off

Last Wednesday the 11th, I had the day off for Veterans Day. I spent the day the best way possible: with my kids. I put Molly's hair in pigtails for the first time (adorable! Yes, they are a bit lopsided, but it was my first time...and she kept wiggeling), then when we took lunch to Steve at school and had a "photo shoot" in his painting studio (He wanted some ideas for paintings). I wish I could have more days like these. Truly enjoyable!

Happy Halloween!

Oh the joys...

While we have been here in Connecticut, Steve has taken on the daunting task of getting the kids ready and dropped off at daycare before he heads to school. You smile because you can only guess where this is heading...As you all know, it is really hard to get two kids dressed and out the door happily and without any tears or mishaps, and its nearly impossible to get two kids ready and out the door when you have a time deadline to meet ("Dad, Molly is stinky...Look Dad, I took off all my clothes while you put Molly's clothes on...Dad, Molly spilt all her milk...How come Molly is wearing my underwear on her head? DAD!!!! DADDY!!!"). Now you are chuckling to yourself because you can relate all too well...No matter how hard Steve tries, no matter how early he gets up or how fast he goes, something always goes arwy...

Last week Steve was having a rough morning and was wondering how much worse it could get. He was downstairs getting ready to fix the kids eggs for breakfast when James called him upstairs. While he was tending to James, he heard a strange popping sound, then he started to smell something and soon the house was filled with an odd smelling smoke. Steve ran downstairs to discover that his cell phone was cooked more than the eggs were...and there weren't any eggs on the stove! Apparently when he was called away from breakfast preparations, he set his cell phone down on the stove (we have a flat top stove) and the burner was on. Needless to say, it was beyond saving. So if any of you have tried to call Steve, he isn't ignoring your call, he's just not able to take any calls at the moment...

Long Lost Treasure!

Earlier this year I was doing some spring cleaning and putting winter clothes away. When cleaning up I found a roll of 35 mm film...you know, the kind of stuff we put in our cameras before they became digital? Anywho, I thought to myself, "What on earth is this from?? I know we developed all the film from Molly's birth...What are these pictures?" Well, I put it on the dresser and soon forgot all about it.

Then a couple weekends ago, some friends left for a family reunion in Yellowstone and I wondered if that roll of film was from a trip Steve and I took to Yellowsone. In the summer of 2004 we went backpacking in Yellowstone for my birthday. We took two rolls of film, but one of them got lost and we were very bummed. Could this random roll be that roll we thought was lost for good???? Then I was all sorts of excited to get the roll developed. I took the roll to CVS for one hour developing and....

The sign says: You are entering BEAR MANAGEMENT AREA no off-trail travel May 1 through Nov 18...We didn't get to see any bears, but we saw fresh bear tracks and bear scat. The second day we had hiked so far up to our next camp site that it snowed on us (In the middle of August!). I, of course, I forgot my pants so needless to say, we were a bit cold. We hiked back down to the valley and spent the night in a warmer place. Then the third day as we started for home, we noticed one of the front wheels was acting funny. Turns out the lugs had come loose and damaged the nuts so we ended up spending the night in West Yellowstone while the truck was getting fixed. The next day we passed the time by getting an old time photo and watching the summer Olympics in a bar while we had lunch...yeah, that was an awesome trip!!!!

This is my first time putting a slide show IN my post so let me know if you can't see the pictures.

Waterfire and Hair cuts

In an effort to get out and experience the local happenings (we tend to become hermits during the school year) last weekend we took a jaunt up to Providence, RI with some friends to see the Waterfire. In a nutshell, the city of Providence lights bonfires after sunset on the three rivers that run through the city. They have a fair of sorts at the mouth of the river and then music is playing along the river walk. For a small fee, you can rent a gondola and enjoy the fires "Venice" style. The lighting of these fires starts in the early spring and goes on throuout the summer and fall. Unbeknown to us, we chose to go on the last night, so of course it was VERY crowded, but enjoyable none the less. It was a bit colder than we would have liked, but now we know to go in the summer next year.

Steve, James, and Lacy all received "Duncan" haircuts. James wanted me to get a "Duncan" haircut too, but I politely declined citing that only licensed professionals knew how to make my hair look the best.



I took Molly with me on an 8 mile run one saturday morning. The leaves were just beautiful. I only wish I could capture their beauty with the camera.

Frogs, and Snails, and Super Hero Tales

The other evening as I was fixing dinner, James was playing with his friends from next door. Just as I was about to call him in for dinner, he came running up to the door all excited. On his own (without daddy's help) he had caught a frog! "A big ol' fatty!" in James's words. James was so excited and of course wanted him to stay for dinner (Please please please please please!!!) Well, we were having waffles for dinner (it had been a REALLY bad day at work (another long story) and I didn't feel like making a real dinner) so I told James that I didn't think the frog would enjoy waffles. It took some convincing but James finally let the frog go in our garden out front. He was comforted by the fact that Mr. Frog (see an earlier post) would keep him company and they would have wonderful adventures just like in the story Frog and Toad.

I also stepped out of my "mom" comfort zone and threw a friend party for James on the 19th. It was a super hero theme and we held it in our clubhouse; there was no way I would have been able to fit 10 4 year olds and all their energy in my house. I was very nervous, having it be my first public display of mom talent (I have none), but everyone said it went off very well and the only tears were James's when he couldn't play with ALL of his presents before we had cake. The kids got superhero capes, decorated masks, rescued the civilians of Little Yellow Land from the gravel monster, and then helped Spider Man make a web. It went very well and almost all of the kids stayed after to play while the mom's chatted...a sure sign of a party well planned and executed (LOL!!!!!).

Sorry the pictures are blurry...

And oh yes, I finally got to put up my fall wreath (my favorite wreath). It looks wonderful! Now to get some pumpkins to complete the fall look...