25 November 2007

We got back this afternoon from our week long road trip to Idaho and Utah. It's hard to get our kids and their cousins to stop for a photo so we're posting some photos from the road. This is fairly typical of our trip: Sophie is listening to music, Abe is drawing and Helen is eating chicken with poppy seed dressing. The chicken is just a useful utensil for eating large amounts of the dressing. We don't know if Gibson is asleep or not; he is quiet. The kids did great on the trip. Their biggest argument was over the book we brought along, Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. Sophie likes it, Abe and Brandan don't, Becky thinks it's disappointing after a terrific first book (Inkheart). The middle book in a trilogy is always a challenge-- usually disaster after disaster. Hopefully the muddle will get sorted out in the final book.


Brandan drove all 34 hours of our trip. Yes, that's right, over 20% of our vacation was spent in the car. We're very lucky to have so many people to love and enjoyed visiting everyone. Also, the weather was ideal for a November road trip. However, Brandan will be glad to hop on his bike in the morning instead of getting back in a car.


We tried a new route home this time through Reno and spent Saturday night at an exuberantly tacky casino called the Atlantis. It was heavily decorated in a neon jungle theme layered over with traditional red and green Christmas ornaments. Our bathroom had 3 colors of simulated marble in it-- pink door, green counter, white floor. The Reno/Susanville route was more scenic than the Winnemucca/Lakeview route, but took us about 2 hours longer.



Here's Gibson, wearing Zina's cowboy hat and smiling because he isn't in the car.

18 November 2007

Brandan got his braces off this week! Just in time to enjoy some leftover Halloween caramel corn, Tootsie rolls and taffy.


We have been working on bolstering our food storage. We borrowed a can sealer from the cannery and sealed some beans and rice. Interestingly, food at the cannery is in short supply because of the recent disasters around the world.


We are excited for our upcoming trip to visit family in Idaho and Utah. Abe and Helen helped Brandan practice using the tire chains. It is always easier to work out the kinks in the comfort of your own living room rather than on the side of a snowy road.

11 November 2007

Kristine and Mallory, 2 ballet dancers on tour with BYU's Theater Ballet, stayed with us for a couple of nights. They were very sweet girls and our kids fell in love with them.


Here's a photo of Kristine after the performance. They danced Coppelia and we all went to the show. It was great fun to see "our dancers" on stage. Kristine danced professionally in Atlanta and Florida for 5 years before going on a mission to England.


HOORAY! Our library reopened after being closed for 6 months. Stacked on the table is the loot from our first visit back to the library. We highly recommend the Sloop John B, a piratical adventure.


Gibson really likes his tongue. His favorite noise to make is "La, la, la" which he makes with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. He also knows how to blow raspberries and did so loudly at Sophie's ensemble recital yesterday. It was in the middle of a very long, very boring piano duet and Becky wanted to blow raspberries, too, but she is too well mannered.


Sophie and Brandan got dressed up yesterday evening for our stake's Daddy-Daughter 50s Dance. Sophie loved the dance: "We had a great time. We ate, played games, and just danced."

4 November 2007

Happy Halloween! Here are our little goblins all dressed up. Helen was a zookeeper. Her shirt says "ZOO" on the back and has a picture of a pink elephant.


Abe was a skeleton. What's that red stuff around his mouth supposed to be? Blood! Abe felt like his costume needed some gore.


Sophie went as Cruella DeVille. It was a cozy costume, but the weather was so nice she could have trick or treated without the coat.


Here's Gibson dressed as a cow. He has no idea - NO IDEA - that he came home from the biggest candy grab of the year empty handed.

Our kids now have enough candy to last them until Christmas and are already thinking about what to dress as next year.