The latest sewing endeavors

Thanks to Becky, I had the opportunity to sew two crib bedding sets over the last couple of months. One was for Becky's little girl and the other was for a lady Becky recommended me to. It was a good learning experience and I had fun doing it. I'm glad Becky helped with choosing colors because that can sometimes be a hard part for me. Ryan was very helpful by watching Lisa for several hours each day during last weekend so I could finish the second set. It was a very satisfying project, although I hope I can get faster!

Beauty and fun in Ogden

Our apartment has a great view right outside. I love how the mountains are so close. Ryan has now been snowshoeing twice in that canyon and he only has to drive 20 minutes to get there.

Very nice. There is also a great paved trail along the Ogden River that goes right through the middle of town within walking distance of the apartment. It is good to get out-we certainly can do more of it here during these winter months than in Rexburg. Of course we always take any opportunity we can to play at a park and do some monkeying around.

Children's Treehouse Museum

We discovered a gem of Ogden last weekend. It's called the children's treehouse museum and it is so much fun. It's this big Museum with dozens of room full of every toddler's dream toys, including creative and educational displays. Lisa had a great time playing every imaginable type of pretend games...doctor, dentist, school, kitchen, puppets, art projects, and even a sailor in a boat. I was amazed she was entertained for over three and a half hours. And she would've stayed longer, but we were getting hungry. She was definitely tired as you may be able to tell from looking at her eyes in some of the pictures, but it was totally worth it. Lisa and I even ended up taking the bus on another occasion to go again because we like it so much.

Temporarily in Ogden

We are now living in Ogden for three months while Ryan does his student teaching. Things seem to be working out well. A big thank you to family and friends who are always so willing to help us and who make life so good. Here are a few pictures of our apartment. We were excited to find a furnished place so we didn't have to bring our furniture. It's a little small, but will suit us just fine for this short adventure in Utah. We opted to just get dial-up internet, so I probably won't be doing as much blogging for awhile. The public library has a good connection--that's where I am now. I can come here to post pictures while Lisa plays with the dollhouse she enjoys very much.

Natalie came for a visit yesterday and the girls looked so cute reading together on the bed, especially Maddy. They didn't seem to mind the smallness of the apartment at all.

Hooray for snow!!!

This morning when I woke up it felt strangely quiet and I thought to myself, "I wonder if it snowed last night..." . I looked out the window and was pleasantly surprised--it HAD snowed! It was quite warm yesterday so I was not expecting this, and it definitely has made my day. For some reason I have had a hard time getting into the Christmas festivities, but this took care of it for me.  After playing in the snow, we came in and baked and decorated Christmas cookies. And now I feel like having Christmas music on and making more Christmas crafts with Lisa. We probably won't put up our little tree because we're going to California in less than a week, but I'm looking forward to Lisa getting to see the trees at our family's homes. There won't be snow in California, so hopefully it won't melt too fast here and we will make sure and enjoy it for the next few days. Let it snow!

Evidence of how warm it was yesterday...the trikes are still out on the sidewalk and everything. Snow has certainly taken its time getting here this year. 

I haven't really stopped smiling since I saw it was snowing this morning. We were dressed and outside by 9:15am.

Lisa has been asking to bring out her sled for the last month, ever since the last light dusting of snow we had, so I'm glad we could use it this time.

I was so happy that when Tucker saw us from the window Becky brought him and Oakley out to play with us.

Oakley looked so cute in her little snowsuit. She isn't smiling at this second, but when the sled was moving she was laughing her cute little laugh.

Everyone look this way and smile! Oh well...at least the snowman is smiling, right? And looking right at me too! One of our neighbors, Jeff, and his son, Bradley, were outside making the snowman and they let us join in the fun. 

"I need another huuuuuuug!"

In this family, bedtime is always a big drama event every night. We start with letting Lisa know that in five minutes it will be time to brush teeth, the mention of which sends her into a meltdown. After brushing teeth we read books, which can last anywhere from 5 minutes to 20. Then we may or may not lay with her for a few minutes singing songs or just snuggling. Then it's time for mommy or daddy to go out and we give plenty of hugs and kisses. How loud or long she yells, cries, and whines after we go out depends on her particular mood that night. Some nights there is no end to the things she "needs". We've tried to eliminate the constant asking for more things by making sure she has EVERYTHING she could possibly need, such as tissues, sippy cup, wipes (yes, she sleeps with a container of wipes next to her in bed), baby doll, etc. But then she just starts yelling, "I need SOMETHING!" The one that makes me smile the most is when she stands at the door yelling for "another hug". I couldn't resist recording a little snippet of it here. 

Don't you just want to go in there and hug her and then hug her some more?

Happy Thanksgiving sometimes

This year for Thanksgiving, Debra and Aimee stayed in Rexburg and helped prepare a very yummy Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment. Aimee baked homemade rolls and mashed potatoes, Debra made green bean casserole and I cooked the turkey.  My first attempt at sweet potato pie was a success and Aimee’s marble cheesecake and chocolate cake balls were delicious for dessert. Of course I insisted on using my fancy glasses for the sparkling apple cider. At the dinner table, we took a moment to all say what we’re thankful for. Lisa always says she is thankful for showers, which makes me smile.  I missed being with the family in California, but I was so glad to have Aimee and Debra here. They really made the day so much fun.  After dinner we played Cranium and then pulled out the couch bed and watched a couple of movies. Hooray for holidays.  

Lisa LOVES olives. Ryan got her to put them on 

her fingers like that. 

My second year carving the turkey...starting to get the hang of it!

These pictures are trying to capture the *joy* of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner in my lovely little "hallway" kitchen. I don't think there was an inch of counter space to speak of and Aimee and I bumped butts several times trying to walk by eachother. But the food still tasted great and we are definitely thankful for this apartment. 

After dinner, Aunt Lisa and Gramommy called from California while we were playing Cranium and Lisa sent hugs through the phone. 

Lisa wished Aunt Lisa a "Happy Thanksgiving sometimes"