Last Night On Earth

For Christmas, one of the things that Aaron got me was this board game. You either play a hero character or a hoard of Zombies. And it's scary! You seriously feel tense when you are one of four hero's playing against 14 zombies. And it's a lot of fun. I don't know how many times we played it before returning home, but it was a lot. Only six people can play at a time too, so that caused some difficulty since there were always more than six people who wanted to play at a time. But it is seriously fun and I would definitely recommend it.

Book Boxes

A few weeks ago I wrote a post wherein I mentioned there would be a forthcoming post written AFTER Christmas. Well folks, it's after Christmas, and it's time for that post.
This year Aaron made his sisters a gift. I think it's awesome. First we went to DI to find some used books. Originally we were just going to find the biggest ones we could that were in good shape. But we ended up getting a couple copies of the old Readers Digest books, due to their cool hard covers. It's a good thing we got them that small too, because even those took forever to do.
Aaron made book boxes. Fun, right? A little secret compartment in the book for your secret treasures. I want one.
First, Aaron glued the pages together. Then came the hard part. He used a little exacto knife to cut out all the pages. I think he could successfully get 15 or so pages out at a time. But it took some work, and made a mess.
When he had both books hollow, we looked through the pages that were cut out and found some of the best pictures from the stories and pasted them into the books. So, here are the finished products with their new owners. Good job Aaron!

The Christmas Post

Oh boy what a fun week we had. But since it was so fun, of course I didn't get many pictures of anything. That's just how I roll. The pics on here will pretty much be the only ones I got.
So, our adventure started around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday when my brother Jason and his girlfriend Shelly arrived at our house. From there we got our SUV all loaded up with everything and everybody and started our treacherous journey to Nampa Idaho.

The whole back of the car was loaded high with luggage and presents. Here are the excited occupants of the trip. Well, at least the ones in the backseat.

We were told to beware of the Sweetser Pass, or whatever it's called, as it was reported to be treacherous. But we got to it, got through it, and kept going without a snowflake or an icy patch on the road. Yay! Then we got to Burley. Then there was a storm. Then we were in the middle of a blizzard the rest of the way to Nampa. We saw many cars off the road, and even a jack-knifed semi that blocked some of the freeway, and was facing on-coming traffic. But we made safe and sound.
One day we played in the snow. We hooked sleds up to the fourwheelers and were dragged around the two acres of yard that my parents have. Total funness! Then we decided to ride the ATV's down the road to the lake. My parents live on a hill with a nice view of Lake Lowell and the city. Anyway, so the lake was frozen and we all trekked out onto it. It seemed pretty solid to us.
It's hard to look pretty for a picture when your annoying brothers are pelting the back of your head with snowballs. So, no, not a smile, a cringe. A worried cringe.
The participants of the icy lake adventure were; my brother Chris, his wife Christine, brother Jason, his gf Shelly, my dad and myself. At one point, when we were as far out on the ice as we dared venture to that point, Dad told us to stand together for a picture. I was the last to join the group posing for the photo, and when we were all just about ready we hear AND feel a huge CRACK running under our feet. We simultaneously started quickly shuffling toward shore in a panic. Dad said he got the picture when we were all looking surprised. I can't wait to see it.

The days at my parents house were spent playing Rock Band, Foos ball and board games, singing Christmas songs around the piano, caroling to neighbors, chatting it up, eating junk food, and even playing volleyball at the church. Fun times. I even organized a girls night out so I could finally see Twilight. I liked it. I was prepared for disappointment, but actually ended up really liking it. Yay.

Throughout the whole week my inhaler was my constant companion. Both Aaron's and my families have cats, which I am very allergic to. So the first couple days in particular, I wheezed and wheezed and overdosed on my albuterol just so I wouldn't die. I hate asthma.

Wanna know what I don't hate? Christmas. I love Christmas. But I regret that I only took a couple pictures on Christmas day. None of them had Morgan in them. Oversight! Anyway, we actually did our Christmas morning at my folks house, then around noon we decided to go the the Nelsons. We were there (and with time to spare) in time for breakfast, and even watched everyone open all their presents. Aaron's grandma got all the girls these aprons, so of course we have to have a picture.
On Sunday we packed up and drove home. We were very happy that all the roads were clear of snow and ice and made pretty good time. We did stop at a rest area. There was a huge snow drift covering the entrance to the womens bathroom, making it pretty tricky to get in.
When we got home our roads were plowed. Nice. What was NOT nice was that it caused a huge mound of snow by our driveway. But we have a big 4 wheel drive SUV, right? We can handle that kind of thing. Right?? Apparently not. Our Durange remains high-centered in our snowy driveway. We don't even own a snow shovel.

One word tag

Rules: Answer the questions with only one word.

Where is your cell phone? Downstairs
Where is your significant other? Yonder
You're hair color? Blondish
You're favorite thing? Vague!
You're dream last night? Unremembered
You're life dream/goal? Exaltation
The room your in? Bedroom
You're hobby? Writing
You're fear? Strangulation
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Nampa
Where were you last night? Party
What you're not? Male
One of your wish list items? Pregnancy
Where you grew up? Utaho
The last thing you did? Typed
What you are wearing: Clothes....?
You're TV? Off
You're pet? Nonexistant
You're computer? Apple
You're mood? Copecetic
Missing someone? Maybe
Something your NOT wearing? Shoes
Favorite store? Wal-Mart. Bwahahaha!
Your summer? Neato
Love someone? Decisively
You're fave color? Blue
When is the last time you laughed? Earlier....
When is the last time you cried? Earlierlier
Your significant other's hair: Clean
You're life in one word: Happy

Christmas Lights

Let it snow!

We finally got enough snow outside to play in. So this morning we got all bundled up and went out to enjoy. But we had to enjoy on the driveway only, or the sidewalk. To enjoy on our "lawn" would mean a muddy mess.

And, of course you have to taste the snow. Morgan had many samples, though he often spit it out again.

We also walked over to the playground. Morgan had a hard time getting into the slide with his clunky clothes.

And what a surprise when the wet, snowy slide, combined with his slippery snow bibs shot him down the slide like a torpedo! He wasn't quite ready for the landing. :)

Splits

The other day I had the camera out to take pictures of something that I will post about AFTER Christmas, and Morgan immediately assumed I wanted to photograph him. He then commenced some adorable acrobatics just for the camera. So of course I took some pictures.
Is he trying to do the splits? Not quite there, buddy. (Note the two cars in his hands. McQueen and "Sally")

The Melanie Diaries

Feb. 1, 2002
Dear Journal, I feel at a loss. I don’t have another ski experience to write about. Last week was the last lesson. ☹

We have a new seminary class. A lot of old people, but a lot of new. Now there are 2 more seniors, so I’m not the only one. Zach Taylor is one of them. He sit’s right next to me. I had a crush on him when I was younger. He is still cute. Grrr, tiger.
Grrr tiger? Tee hee. Didn't I know anything? It is obviously, "Cheetah, Grrrrhah!"

Feb, 13, 2002
Oh, Dad had his b-day! He is now 46. Wow-that is closer to 50 then it is to 40. Can you believe it? Old.
Ah, what can I say?


Here I was at a concert of InsideOut, and A Capella group that I loved. I was standing in a crowd surrounding the members of the group waiting for my turn to get autographs when the following occurred.
Feb 24, 2002
I was standing there waiting, and this guy next to me looked so familiar, and I couldn’t quite place him. By the way, this kid is so cute. Like, verrrry cute. So, without my permission, my mouth opened and said to him, “What’s your name?” Kinda dumb, I know. Well he looks at me a little confused and says, “my name is Ben." Well I wanted his last name, but he didn’t give it to me. Besides, I had an inkling of knowledge of who he was, so I said, “Gann?” He said, “Yeah, how’d you know?” I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it didn’t really answer his question. I think then I said, “you have a brother on a mission in Australia right?” he said yes, then I said, “so do I.” I don’t know why I brought that up. I’m dumb in those kinds of situations. He still didn’t know how I knew him. So I said “Wayne Martin." He said, “it sounds familiar” but he still looked confused. So I said, “Chris Martin?” Nope. “Stephanie Martin…” I said, Then I finally I said “BFA” Enlightenment. “Oh BFA. I was wondering how I know you.” I actually didn’t know him there. Our Dads worked together in Utah and when we both moved here, about 5 years ago, we went to the Kuna caves together. They were also in our Homeschool group for awhile.
Oh what a funny conversation. I find it quite amusing that I actually never told him how I knew him. By the way, BFA, (Benjamin Franklin Academy) was a private school that we both went to in Utah. But like I said, I didn't know him there. I only knew him later. Also, as a younger sibling is prone to do, I used my older siblings as identification.

Mommy and me

It would appear that I have a tendency to take pictures of myself with Morgan. It would also appear that said pictures turn out pretty poorly. Usually I have no make-up on and have crazy hair, and Morgan never looks pleased about the ordeal and is often blinking. Perhaps that is why I keep taking them, hoping that sooner or later I'll have to get an actual decent looking photo.

Chocolate wreaths

So, I made these Chocolate wreaths for visiting teaching gifts. Lame and cheap, but it's what I have. And I think Aaron was surprised that I made them, which made me feel good about them. :)


In other news, check out this blog. http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/ It's hillarious, and they are giving stuff away. Just don't enter, it will make my chances of winning even slimmer.

Security blanket

Morgan has never been one to attach himself to things. He wasn't attached to a binkie, a blankie, a teddy or anything. Until now.
Ever since his birthday in October it has been a rare occasion to see Morgan without his Lightening McQueen car. Oh how he loves it!
This toy isn't even two months old yet, but look how used and chipped it's already looking!
Not only is it McQueen he always totes around, it is also this red car. Morgan has to have them to sleep, to watch a movie, to go anywhere. And we recently have had success in getting him to put them down before coming to the dinner table. We had a few meltdowns prior to our success.
Oh, and the cutest part is that Morgan even named the little red car. He calls it Sally. He obviously got the name from the co-star in Cars, but seriously, kiddo? Do you think they look alike?
He has another red car that is also a favorite. He named that one Spider-Man. I think. He says "muh-man" which is what he calls Spider-Man. I'm anxious to see what happens when he gets the actual Sally car. Oh, exciting!

Routanbabymaker 3000

This is fun check it out. You upload a photo of you and your spouse and then they show you what your baby should look like. :) Ours is actually kind of cute.

The first picture is with more of Aaron in it, the second is more of me. The facial expression doesn't have anything to do with that though. The second one has a narrower face and maybe smaller eyes or something. I think the second one looks more like a girl and the first looks more like a boy.

Clay creations

Last night Aaron and I got out the sculpting clay. We considered adding to our nativity scene, but we really aren't lacking any characters. We already have two inn keepers, for pete's sake! So we just made Christmas tree ornaments instead.
So, I took off my rings to keep them clean and we popped in a movie and got to work.
Aaron made the adorable snowman. You can't see the cute stick arms in the picture. Hmm, and I didn't get a good angle for the face either. :( Well, Aaron's ornament turned out super cute! It's hard having a husband more creative and artistic than me.
I made a reindeer. Rudolph. Wait, what?? Sigh. When I was most of the way through my creation I realized that I had made a cat, not a reindeer. A cat with four hind legs. So, I gave in and added whiskers and a reindeer headband, rather than actual antlers. But boy oh boy was this thing frustrating! There were times when I just wanted to throw it across the room and give up. It sounds like I have rage issues, right? Maybe. Maybe.

At one point Morgan came and stole the incomplete head of my reindeer-cat, which wasn't attached yet, and lost it. While searching for it I found my CTR ring on the ground. Not where I left it. That's when I noticed my wedding ring was gone too. So a search commenced. We found the head, but not the ring. Morgan's bedtime had approached so I went and put him down, then returned to finish my ornament.
We looked more for my ring. We looked under the couch, under the cushions, we got on our hands and knees and raked our fingers through every inch of carpet, (our carpet is great because you can't see where it's dirty, but you also can't find anything little in it!) we looked in the box of clay, on surfaces, under surfaces, everywhere. But we didn't find the ring. Maybe Morgan threw it into the Christmas tree. So we shook the tree, looked under it, among the presents, in the Christmas tree stand filled with water, but no luck. We got desperate, so we searched in the garbage can, in the bowl of soup that Morgan hadn't finished, in the toilet, in drawers and cupboards and backpacks.
And guess what? Still no ring. So we looked everywhere AGAIN. We don't have a very large living area, and we were certain Morgan didn't go upstairs. So it had to be in the living, kitchen or bathroom, all of which were thoroughly scoured. At 11:30 we decided to call it a night, confounded that Morgan had been able to hide the ring so professionally.
Earlier Aaron had asked if the ring could have been in Morgan's clothes somewhere. I had already changed him out of them and into pajamas and hadn't noticed anything, but when we went upstairs I snuck into Morgan's bedroom and found the clothes he had been wearing. I shook out his shirt, then checked the pants. They had pockets near the knee which were shut with a Velcro strip, and in the first pocket I checked I found my ring.

O' Christmas Tree!

Saturday night we went and got our Christmas tree. (I swear they weren't this expensive in Canyon County Idaho. Here they charge between $6-$9 per foot of tree, depending on it's fullness.) The first place we went you couldn't get a tree for less than $42, and we weren't too keen on that. So we drove a little further and found a place that had trees shorter than six feet tall, so making them a little more affordable with the pricing system.

Morgan wasn't feeling very well, making the experience a little less exciting for him. But he still had fun. Though, when we told him we were getting a Christmas tree I think he heard trick-or-treat. That may have been disappointing. :)

Brrr, it's cold!

Silly Morgan hiding from the camera!

Decorating the tree. Aaron feeling silly because he has to pose while stringing the Christmas lights.
Adding the tree topper.
Morgan likes the tree, and runs to look at it first thing in the morning. He also likes taking ornaments off so he can put them in different places. (Usually the ground.)

Here is the spot of tree that Morgan decorated. He didn't really understand how we were getting them to hang, so he just threw the little balls into the tree. There are at least three in one spot here. We dug more out. I bet some will be thrown away with the tree because we won't be able to find them.
And voila! The finished product. Note, there are already presents under the tree. I guess that I have no self control when it comes to that. I LOVE wrapping presents for reasons unknown, and once I am in possession of a gift that I will give, I have to wrap it immediately. And once they are wrapped, why not put them under the tree? Morgan is interested in them, and was excited when he first saw them, but when I tell him no, he can't unwrap it, he complains but actually listens. Phew!



P.S
They are finally removing the huge over-filled dumpsters that have been decreasing property values for months!

An account of my life

Back to the slopes. This is my second ski lesson of the three. I just explained how I fell during the lesson. Joseph, if you'll remember, is my cute ski instructor.

January 20 2002
Joseph came over and told me how to get back up. That was embarrassing. He is soo cute. I really like him. He is very nice though. Good teacher too.
I can’t wait for next week. I get to see Joseph again!

And here is the third and final ski trip. I explained how we went up the quad ski lift which took you to harder hills. This particular lift is called the quad because it holds four people at a time. My class was small, and since one person was missing, all four of us could go up at the same time. Here was a chance for me to use my skill in maneuvering to the right place to make it look natural for me to sit next to my crush.

January 26, 2002
We went up that 4 times for the lesson. Twice I sat by Joseph. ☺ (In the journal I have lots of hearts around his name here.)
Before I knew it the lesson was over and I had to say goodbye to Joseph. ☹
And, a funny story.
Once I was going down the one next to the bunny hill, and going side to side, like I do. I looked up the hill in time to see a snowboarder crash and slide right toward me. I couldn’t get out of the way, and he slid into me, causing me to fall…right on top of him, and we were sliding down together until we stopped. Here was our conversation afterwards. Me-“Sorry.” Him “No, I’m sorry, it’s my fault, I ran into you.” Me-“Yeah, well I got in your way,” Him “Here’s your ski” he hands me a ski that ended up on the other side of him. Him “I haven’t exactly mastered this yet.” Me- "Neither have I.” Then he left. He was really cute. I think he had an Australian accent.

I thought the conversation warranted a word-for-word accounting why? Oh, probably because it was with a cute boy, and I was a part of it. Something noteworthy indeed.

The Elusive Mater

For Christmas, we wanted to get Morgan some more character cars from Pixars movie, Cars. Specifically Mater. (I also wanted Sally and Doc.) In the toy isles of stores like, Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us, you will find a spot for the Pixar Cars. I have been to all of these isles in search of Mater, (and Sally and Doc) and have never found him! I have seen the version of Doc as he's painted up with the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, but I didn't want him that way.
At Target there were two other Mom's also rifling through the packages of Lightening McQueen, searching for Mater. Apparently he is a precious commodity. I thought I found him once, but it turned out to be Fred, a rusty truck who is very briefly in the movie.

All I want is Mater:

But all I can find is McQueen:


And McQueen with a tar spot:
Or McQueen with night vision goggles:
Or McQueen in Dinaco blue:
Or McQueen wrapped in barbed wire with tires on his eyes:


Or McQueen painted up all fancy by Ramone:
Or McQueen covered in cactus:
Or McQueen as he fantasized about himself in an action movie:
Or McQueen with his tongue out.
Or McQueen with dirty tires:


Gah! Morgan already has the normal McQueen, (which is like his security blanket. Post on that to come) and we don't want any other version of Lightening McQueen! So we figured we'd have to find Mater online. You could get him on Ebay for probably as low as $10, including shipping, (though he would be less than $3 in the stores) and we were ready to do that. But this morning I went straight to the source, (Disneyshopping.com) and found this gem of a collection:

Six cars, including the three I wanted most, plus Guido, whom Morgan loves, for only $8! With shipping and taxes it came to $13, but that's for six cars! We were ready to spend that on Mater alone. Yay. I'm excited. At least Mater wasn't in as high demand as Tickle Me Elmo or the Firby's.