Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We've had a busy last several days. We made lots and lots of nuts & bolts, played with family from Portland, welcomed a missionary home, had festivities with my dad and Jim's parents, had Christmas at our house as a whole clan plus friends, enjoyed visiting with more family on Sunday after church, buried a dog, got another dog, played some more with visitors from Arizona (including bone-crunching sledding), shoveled snow, worked, rested and worked some more. I need a nap!! (My family will attest to that as I have been Sra. Grouchita lately.)

We feel very blessed to have abundance and to share some of that with family, friends and strangers this year. We hope you all have had a great holiday season and that 2010 is a fantastic and safe year for you.

Enjoy the pictures and JOY TO THE WORLD!

Many Talents

After a few delays, we (Jim) got the Christmas tree up yesterday. Yeay! Now we can stop joking about getting a Festivus pole.

I came home from work and saw the living room all decked out with garland and other decor, and of course the tree. I noticed that there were a bunch of white decorations up high all clustered together. I suggested that maybe we should spread those out more. Jim replied, "That's the angel choir!" I thought perhaps Becky had come up with that and said as much aloud. Nope. It was Jim's idea. So we have a white angel choir near the top of our tree.

"Angels we have heard up high..."

Also last night, the girls "performed" a special dance number that they worked on for at least 30 minutes before dinner. It was to the tunes of a few Christmas songs they had heard on the radio on FM 100. Unfortunately, those songs were not playing again after dinner, so they used a music CD instead. ha ha After producing our custom-made paper tickets at the "gate," Jim, Kenny, Jon and I took our seats in the family room. Then the lights dimmed and after a series of miscues, we were treated to all kinds of lip-synching, cowboy stepping, round-offs, karate kicks, and more that came dangerously close to split-open skulls. Lots of laughter by the performers and sideways glances by the audience members ensued. My favorite moment of the night took place after a costume change, when two girls in dresses (with pants underneath) joined hands and started twirling slowly... then sped up maniacally and whirled each other onto the floor! I wish I had been filming it.

We have all kinds of talents in our household.

Honesty at the Dinner Table

Last night at dinner , Alicia said she wanted to go weigh herself on our scale. She said that she had been "48 two days ago and only 41 today."

I replied, "I don't think you lost 7 pounds in one day. You would have to go to the bathroom a LOT for that to happen."

She cracked us all up with this straight-faced response: "Well, I was working on it for a very long time."

Girls' Night In

The other night Jim and the boys had meetings, so it was just the girls at home. Becky was sweeping the kitchen floor and had moved all of the chairs into a line or "train." Pretty soon, they discovered how fun it was to slide on the floor underneath the chairs.




























































It looked like so much fun, I decided to try it. I haven't army crawled in years, maybe decades. It was tight, but I managed to make it through twice.


I was going to tell you about our pillow fight too, but I am getting mad about the formatting on this blog, so I'm quitting now. Suffice it to say that Becky and Katie are no match for me.

Costume Time

I went as Swine Flu, complete with pink, curly tail that doesn't show up well here.
























This is my friend and neighbor, Susan, modeling "Baby's First Costume." Note the tiny trick or treat bag. Kinda weirded me out.






















The girls were as cute as ever, except for the monster teeth.

Halloween concessions

Lest anyone worry too much, I am not a total Grinch (see last post). I have actually bought two big bags of candy, and Jim has made sure the girls have costumes for their festivities this year. We actually cannot find the old costumes anywhere, so he bought new ones for the youngest two and a bow-tie for Becky's Cat in the Hat get-up, which is cute.

I plan to go minimalist in my costume this year. I'm getting old and tired. YES! I'm going as a mom! ha ha.

Two of our kids were in a little neighborhood play Saturday all about eating healthy food and taking care of our bodies. It was called My Body Machine. It had some cute songs and clever concepts. So afterwards, I was talking to some of the other parents and I told them, "You know, the kids just finished singing and telling stories about evil King Sugar and Sir Salty and Ms. Grease and all that. I think we should use this against them and cancel trick-or-treating." Lots of laughs and chatter ensued. Then when I presented this concept to some of the children (mine in particular), they looked at me quizzically and said rather nervously, "We can still eat candy. After dinner. A little bit." I ended my bluff, but it was fun for a minute to toy with their little minds.

Boo-hoo-hoo-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh AHH AHH!!! (My best impression of King Sugar's evil laugh)

The Halloween Grinch

I feel like a Halloween Grinch. I've seen lawn and door decorations for Halloween since early September and it bugs me. Some of these are "cute" and harmless, others are gory and downright spooky...like the ring of floating ghosts holding hands around the tree on Center St. Yeesh! I hate to run past that thing.

I don't want to "celebrate" this "holiday" this year, I want to skip it. I really don't feel like buying or coming up with costumes for the kids (or myself). (Though Jim mentioned that if our little kids go to school without costumes, they will be labeled weirdos. Imagine, a 4-foot vampire or spiderman calling my daughter a weirdo.)

I don't want to buy candy to hand out at home and at work that I REALLY SHOULDN'T eat. I don't like the idea of kids going door to door on a dark, cold night, begging for sugar and forgetting to say thank-you. Then getting sick on it for hours...or days. I can see why my parents didn't let us trick or treat when we were kids. (The begging factor, the safety issue, a candy haul, etc.)

Don't get me wrong. I like bobbing for apples, pumpkins on the porch and suspenseful movies. Just not all the gory yard decorations, giant spiders in grocery stores, candy wrappers all over the lawn, smashed pumpkin bits on the street, etc. I wish the whole thing would just go away. Can we skip it this year? Please?

Fall Fun

September has been full of fun. We went bowling as a family on the 5th, and that is always an adventure. (It started before we arrived as I had a massive bloody nose in the car and we had to go back so I could clean up and change!) But I still "got it." I rolled two 158s! The boys tried to bowl like Uncle Spencer (throwing the ball halfway down the alley before it hits the floor). But we aren't strong enough to emulate him just yet. The girls had bumpers and each got a strike. It was fun.





September also means soccer, and we've been trying to keep up with two girls' game schedules this year. Katie's team is full of promise and has lost once I think. She plays goalie or forward and likes both. (She is just left of the ball here.) Becky's team is there for the treats and not much else. But they are having fun and getting exercise. Both/all teams tend to run in packs like wild dogs...


Last week I flew to NY to visit Dad along with Saralyn and her kiddos. We had fun playing in the woods and walking the dog a lot. We went to church and the temple too. And we ate yummy food that Saralyn made. Poor Emma got sick on Sunday but she managed to smile for most of the pictures anyway.




















We saw lots of old friends from church.




















We visited the Sacred Grove on lovely Monday morning. It was fantastic to be there again and enjoy the spirit of that holy place.
















Imagine me with my eyes open. Yes, I'm a full-fledged Britt now, always blinking for photos...


I got home that night and found Jim to be recovering from his lack of "independence" or rather, his appendix. He had an internal organ attack on Thursday and surgery on Friday while I was away. Silly man. But he is mending and walking around more each day. A friend who drove the kids to school Monday asked the girls how their dad was doing. Alicia answered, "He can still yell." Katie chimed in, "and spank!" Apparently they were dilly dallying all morning and he got after them. hahaha. Lucky you, I am sparing you the gore of his surgery photos. But if you visit in person, you may not be so lucky.


Feeling blessed this month in many ways.


Dar

Enjoy the Moments

"Fall is here. For many this means football games, back-to-school nights, pumpkin carving and zucchini bread. Soon the holiday season will be here and the hustle and bustle of normal life will double, maybe even triple.


"No matter how busy life gets, be sure to take time each day to enjoy life itself. Relish a quiet moment, gaze into the face of a child, soak in the fall colors, or spend time with a friend or loved one.


"If you're like me, you're looking for ways to simplify the chaos most days bring. And often, it's not about eliminating a whole lot, it's about looking deeper and finding more. Take time every day to enjoy the simple, important moments."



I wrote this on Sept. 6, 2007, and it was published as a message from the editor in my company's October 2007 magazine. I don't office wax this sentimental (outside of my journal), and ironically, I typed this just a few hours before learning that my little brother had passed away. I came across it again this week as I was cleaning out some magazines from storage.


I think this message still rings true. We need to take time for family and friends, for enjoying nature and making memories. It's not easy to find or make the time. But it is what's most rewarding.


Have a "sweet" day.


--Dar

Happy Birthday, Shelly!

Today is Shelly's birthday. Yes, she is old. I asked her if she wanted a new hearing aid or walker retreads, and she said she'd just take a big bag of prunes. Ha ha.

Actually, we celebrated her special natal anniversary two nights ago at the Def Leppard concert. You remember DL, they were really popular in the early and mid 80s. They are touring with Poison (we like to pronounce it poo-swah') and Cheap Trick. We missed Cheap, but we heard Poison and were blinded by their light show. They trained us to scream out every time they said "Salt Lake City" to the crowd. or it seemed like it.

Def Leppard sounded really good for a bunch of guys who have been playing rock music for 30 years. We were way too far back to see them, but they could still move around the stage well and they put on a rockin' show with lots of hits like Bringin' on the Heartbreak, Rocket, Photograph, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Rock of Ages and a few others I remembered. Shelly way outshone me in the singing-the-actual-lyrics department. She is a true fan. I am a fake. But we had fun singing and listening and people watching. Wow. What a crowd. I don't get out of my Happy Valley bubble all that often, and I know why! (Mullets and tank tops and beer...oh my!) Not to mention the plentiful potty language and tats everywhere. I definitely felt like a minority with my long pants and long-sleeve shirt on. Very interesting.

But I digress. It's Birthday time! Please raise your Dr. Pepper high...to an unbelievable friend who always has my back...who can tell a story like nobody else...who laughs and loves and works her tail off...who gives generously... who has great taste (especially in friends)...

Happy Birthday, Shell! We love you!

Just a Few More Pictures to Cheer

A few more... Edinburgh was a "blur," but I love the expression on Dave's face.






























The Castle at Tulum, Yucatan, Feb. 2005






















Singing at my wedding barbecue party, Oct. 2005



























Clifford and friend, Scotland, Aug. 2007























Meeting up with Fords, Fredonia, NY Summer 2004 I think




























Super Eagle, Jan. 2007






























FHS Graduation Hug























Dave's PJ pants ripped and he made himself a bandanna. This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.
























I love this shot. Waiting for the bus at Gatwix airport.

Happy Birthday, David!

I want to honor my late brother, David Frankie, on what would be his 21st birthday. This beloved boy: sneezed like a horse, painted water towers, took pride in not combing his hair, thought there was a bee in my camera (as a tot), ate steak with his hands, cracked us up constantly, skiied straight down hill then tipped over, cried when he said good-byes, played rugby and volleyball, gave awesome hugs, loved to play games and cards, and had the heart of a giant.



We love Dave/D2/Deuce!



Dave at Edinburgh Castle in August 2007




















Dave and Uncle Spencer having lunch on his birthday two years ago in Ireland. He loved ketchup and wasn't impressed with what he found in the British Isles.



















Tracy, Saralyn and Dave were home for Dad's 70th birthday in October 2006.




















Dave zonked out in the rental van in Scotland. I commissioned this picture.

























Dave got his Eagle Scout with the support and help of loving family and friends. Dad was very proud.























I took this picture of Dave and Charity right after graduation from Fairport High School in June of 2007. I love this smile!

All I Want for Christmas...

Not sleepless in Seattle, toothless in Springville.

The Family that Plays together...

We played spoons the other night as a family. You know the harmless little card game you played as a kid where you try to collect four of a kind and grab a spoon before they're all gone? Well, Jon and I taught the girls how to play and at first it went smoothly.


Then Jim and Kenny joined in, and it got a little more competitive. Becky got a mashed finger. We had a few whines from those who weren't winning. But the coup de grace was in about the 10th game, in a fight for a spoon.


Final score: Kenny 1, table cloth 0.

Charity Never Faileth and Love is a Battlefield

So I'm in the parking lot at Sam's Club with a basketful of stuff, right next to my car, when a guy starts talking to me out of the blue, and he's standing right at the other end of my basket. After a second or two, I realize he has some kind of emotional or physical difficulty, and he's asking me for money. He has two dollars crumpled up in his hands. He's muttering something about helping out a stranded person.

I open my door and pull out my planner to see what cash I have for his "bus fare to Salt Lake" which costs $5. He says, "You look like Pat Benatar." I reply, "Hmmm, she's old now. ok."

I hand him a 5 and he mumbles something about Steve Perry and some other thing. Then he quickly noticed that I did not give him the $20 bill that was in my see-through planner pouch. And he says, "More money??" I say, "No, 5 is good. That's what you said you needed for the bus." Then he mumbles something else about Pat Benatar. I reply, "Sorry? I can't understand you very well." And he sticks out his tongue at me and quickly ambles away!

I heard him yelling something to another customer 100 feet away who was putting her groceries in her car. And then he continued west out of the lot.

It was weird. I figure, you know, try not to judge, do something nice, get a warm fuzzy. NOPE. No warm fuzzy. More of a sense of frustration and just plain weirdness. Oh well.

Glacier Beauty

We just got back from our family reunion at Glacier National Park. It was gorgeous and fun. Here are a few of my favorite shots of the 500 I took.



























Dad and the girls




Jacob mugged for me at this pretty little pond.


























Emma in the shade of a waterfall




















Group hiking Logan Pass to Hidden Lake

Surprise, Dad!

Our hike led us to scenic Hidden Lake overlook












































This is a really awesome gorge.

A cool waterfall--one of many!

Batter up for Sandlot baseball!