If I had a million dollars...

If you had a million dollars, what would you do? After Scott asked me this and I responded with the boring answers of: buy a new house, buy some new clothes and shoes (I shop more for my children than myself), and hire a maid. He reminded me of my not so secret wish of wanting to stay at the hotel at California Adventure - that would be awesome. So it's now offically a goal of mine - we may never hit a million, but someday we'll stay at that hotel.

Scott:

That's fairly easy (after the new house of course) he would then buy another fourwheeler with an enclosed trailer. (I just asked him what he would buy and he nodded his head at my answer then added that he would buy Brother Maxwell - a sweet disabled gentleman in our ward who is quite poor - a new car. It's true though, he would.)

Ryan:

He would buy his own Nintendo (or whatever kids play now) stocked with Pokemon and superhero games. (This is the great big no at our house). He'd make sure our new house had a soccer/football field and he'd buy all the bionicles ever made(hence my need for a maid).

Isabelle:

Ever since our Disneyland trip in November Isabelle asks me at least twice a week if we can go to Disneyland that day. She has shed many a tear over my lack of sensitivity. She will also often ask me, "Are there people at Disneyland today?" (me) "Yes." (her) "Well, then we can go!"
She also would stock her wardrobe with clothes with cats.
She'd also probably love a bunch of bubble gum.

Okay so most of this is frivolous, but if you can't dream of frivolous things...besides, realistically speaking I just spent a heck of a lot more than a million dollars (give or take a pack of gum)!!

The gospel meets science fiction

Have you ever wondered what your children learn in primary? Last night in FHE we were talking about the Plan of Salvation and when Scott got to the part about us not remembering heaven after we came through the veil Ryan said, "I remember it, I jumped over the fusion chamber." To quote Kevin Henkes (Lily's Purple Plastic Purse) "Wow, that's just about all I can say, Wow!"

Musical Memories

You know how you can hear a song and it evokes a memory. As I was putting together my playlist I found "Lost in your Eyes" and as it played I was transported back to one seventh grade after school dance and my first broken heart (I say this with a smile). I'll admit I was a very dramatic teenager and it wasn't my only heartbreak, but it was the first, so therefore memorable. Don't worry, my heart has since healed and I am thankful that I had those moments to feel. I think if I never had the drama of the sadness I would never have enjoyed the delights of a passing hello, or the excitement of being asked to dance, etc. I'm also glad I can still remember how tragic it felt at the time so when my dramatic 3 year old hits these years I won't forget how real it is.
Ah, good old Debbie Gibson! Isn't it funny how powerful music can be.

Star Trek!

I don't speak Klingon, I have not attended any Star Trek conventions and I have never dressed up as a Star Trek character for Halloween or any other event, but, I must admit that I am in fact a closet Trekkie. If you are now rolling your eyes, go right ahead, Scott may join you. Ever since I was a kid, I have been almost as fascinated with Star Trek as my brother Jon.
Yesterday I saw a picture of who they will have play Captain Kirk in the new movie - it brought back great memories, so don't be surprised when I tell you I'm EXCITED!! I was going to post the picture but as I've established before, I'm challenged, when it comes to the computer, so you'll just have to imagine.
Anyway, my two favorite Trek characters are Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway from Star Trek Voyager and I'll admit I remember having a little crush on Captain Kirk when I was little (I also vaguely remember having crushes on characters from Battlestar Galactica and the A-Team).
One of the fascinating things about fantasy and science fiction is that things don't have to make sense, like how time travel affects the past and the present and how on one Voyager episode(I think)they discovered alternate realities that were created each time a choice was made. (It's kind of like how in Harry Potter Ron has to wear those awful dress robes, couldn't his mother do something about that, she's a witch after all) It's AWESOME!!
Okay, I'm feeling a little silly but it's great to have a little nostalgia in your life, right?
(Besides, Isabelle broke my camera, so I can't post pictures of my family, so this is what you get when I try to get creative!)

Christmas carols

I have a little songbird at my house. Isabelle sings all the time with creative words and creative volume (loud and high). Sometimes (in the car) it is a painful habit, but other times it is delightful!!

She has loved the Christmas carols, here are two of my favorites:

"Deck the halls with bells and holly..."

and

"All I want for Christmas is my two fine teeth..."

I'm confident there are others, but I can't remember them. By the way, she is adamant that she is the right one and it infuriates Ryan that she thinks he is wrong. Good times!

Oh yeah, two other favorites tunes are:

"Yo, ho, yo, ho, a life is not to be" (not a Christmas carol but equally entertaining).
and

"Sweet, sweet Mightingale, Sweet, sweet Mightingale..."

I'm hoping that I can catch her on video when she is singing to herself. She sings with a very pronounced vibrato. She is too much like me, it's hilarious!

This week our kitty had surgery and has been recovering. To help keep her confined we got down our old dog kennel to have her sleep in. She wasn't the only one to make use of it...

By the way, I did disinfect it before anyone played inside!

Bad Hair Days

Here at our house Izzy and I have frequent bad hair days, but don't be fooled, what most people consider a bad hair day is what we consider a walk in the park. Our bad hair days consist of me trying to do something special to Izzy's hair and Izzy throwing fits about it.

Just before Christmas I was inspired by my sisters, my mom and others (who's children always looks like they've been to the hairstylist), and a load of guilt to try to do something real to Izzy's hair every day. So, the next morning I sat her in front of the mirror and tried to be a little creative. I did a french braid across the top over to the side and swept it back into a ponytail. It actually turned out really cute and I was quite pleased with myself until Izzy realized her hair looked different than she requested and the unreal fit began. She screamed for an hour (no exaggeration) until Scott finally calmed her down and I took her to Annie's while I had a dentist appointment. When I got back to the kids and we headed home she remembered again and we had more sadness! At least she is consistent, right?

This is the painful hairdo (after she pulled the braid out).

This is her preferred hairdo, two side ponytails with a bow in the middle (it's black and hard to see). She requests this hairdo every Sunday, so I'll be honest, I'm proud when she has her hair combed with a clip in it - I take my small victories.

Christmas Break

Correction:

Scott's surgery did not consist of fixing a torn femur (I swear that's what the doctor said) but it was the tendon that was attached to it (now Scott says he can't remember either, it was either the tendon or the cartilage - go ahead and laugh at our lack of knowledge). I don't know why Scott's doctors always think that I'll just remember the things they tell me, I can barely remember what day it is.

Magical Christmas Break moments:

When I picture Isabelle in general, I don't picture her sitting still and being attentive to the talking adult. So, imagine my delight and surprise when she was Mary in the Johnson nativity and sat looking beautifully sweet through the whole program. To continue the delight, Ryan, who is very much the same temperment as his sister, also sat with quiet reverence. It was a truly a tender moment.

Some neighbors gave us a little baggy of reindeer food that in all the excitement we forgot to sprinkle on the lawn. I found it after Christmas and quietly tucked it under some things in Izzy's garbage. I should not have been surprised last night when she dug through the garbage (my kids like to make sure I'm not throwing away important things), found the baggie and dumped it on the porch. So there the little pile sits, getting tracked into the house and down the stairs, waiting for those reindeer to come back for a snack.

We went sledding at Rock Canyon Park with my friend Robyn and her children. We had a delightful time and no one got hurt!!

It was quite comical to try to take pictures of these kids, they just wanted to pose like they were models, so getting them to hold still at the same time was challenging.

Christmas Eve I realized a very important gift for Isabelle was missing. "Santa" only brings our kids one present so this was not one of those things that I could have just skated by without. So I was quite upset and searched for about an hour. At about 12:30 I found the missing gift and finished the evening preparations. I have all new appreciation for my mother and her organizational skills which include a new secret code every year so we wouldn't know which presents were ours to sneak open before Christmas.

Ryan made a list at school for Santa which included most of the things I told him he wouldn't be getting. Luckily Santa was able to find something on the list at the very last minute that he knew I would consider acceptable.

Anyway, to cap off this delightful holiday season I got the greatest birthday present. My brother Justin and his wife Wendy had their baby girl "Lilly Marie" today (I don't know how they will spell it). Hooray!!! Congrats, guys!