Twice Tagged

This is my official induction into the phenomenon of blog tagging. Thank you Leah and Monae, for my first tags ever (and on the same day, no less.) Here you go:

10 Things I'm Grateful For

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ, and His gospel
2. My wonderful husband, beautiful children, and family near and far
3. Music, specifically the piano - for my mother who bought and refinished an old piano and paid for years and years of lessons, and for remarkable teachers
4. Chocolate (these aren't in any particular order, necessarily...)
5. Experiences that I didn't go looking for, but have made me a much better person
6. Amazing friends from California to Maryland and everywhere in between
7. Motherhood and the privilege to stay at home with my little munchkins
8. College at BYU and the scholarship that made it possible
9. Books, books, books - I got that from my mom, too
10. Running water and indoor bathrooms (not to state the obvious, but...)

Secondly, some husband questions for the sake of family history:

1) Where did you meet your husband?
I first saw him in the foyer of Glenwood apartment building #4 in Provo, but we met at a cabin in Sundance, Utah over the movie "Men in Black."

2) How long did you date before getting married?
Depends on what you call dating - we went on dates for many months, but just as friends. If you count all that, we dated for ten months, and were then engaged for nine weeks.

3) How long have you been married?

Nine and a half years.

4) What does he do that surprises you?
His dry humor always keeps me on my toes. Many people tell me they never know if he's serious or not. I've just about got it figured out.

5) What is your favorite feature of his?
His smile.

6) What is his best quality?
His non-idleness (what word am I looking for?) - he rarely watches TV or movies, and is always playing with the kids, spending time with me, or working on some project

7) Does he have a nickname for you?

We call each other Pookie.

8) What is his favorite food?
Steak, lately. He also likes shrimp, potatoes, and chocolate milk.

9) What is his favorite sport?
I think it's a close contest between soccer and racquetball.

10) When did you first kiss?
February 7, 1999 on a bridge over the Provo River. (Thank goodness for journal-keeping.)

11) What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love board games. Lately we've been into playing Ticket to Ride Europe a few times a week. I love going out to dinner, and he likes watching movies at home. We both love to go for walks, too.

12) Do you have any children?
Yes, three, and if you read this blog, you already knew that.

13) Does he have any hidden talents?
He's very mechanically-inclined and can fix just about anything. He also has impeccable handwriting.

14) How old is he?
36

15) What is his favorite music?
Classical Music for People Who Don't Like Classical Music

I've been trying to convert him to musicals for several years, but it's not working.

16) What do you admire about him?
His work ethic, forgiving nature, and intense desire to do the right thing.

17) What is his favorite color?
I'm not sure, and neither is he.

18) Will he read this?
Yes, eventually.

19) Who said "I love you" first?
I did, but he said he was planning to and I just beat him to it.

20) Who do you tag?
Rachel, Chantal, and Brittany

Back to Blogging

Okay, hiatus over. We've been taking the last couple of weeks to recover from the holidays, get organized, and set some new goals for the coming year. Here's a sampling of what we've been up to:



On one of Jacob's days off from school, he and Isaac brought me breakfast in bed. No special occasion, just Friday. They made my bagel the way they like theirs made: "both toasted, one buttered." They must have enjoyed doing this, because the next Monday they brought me a bowl of Rice Krispies (which looked like it had been poured quite a while earlier,) a cookie, and half a quart of milk.



Ah, New Year's goals. My favorite part of January. It took some encouragement and more than a little guidance for the boys to think of some personal goals. When I asked them what they wanted to do this year, the only thing they could think of was "have lots of fun."



Grace is obsessed with books. She reads all day long, and carries piles of books everywhere she goes. Today she said, "Mommy, I read!"



Isaac picked up a cold somewhere, and generously shared it with the rest of us.



What Grace did tonight while I made dinner. When she was finished, she looked down at herself and exclaimed, "Cool!"

Jacob's Version

This is the report Jacob wrote at school about his Christmas break:

I liket brak. I got a now bascitball from santa. I like to play Xeko. I palyed ticit to ride with my ants and ungkls. I olsw played batlship. I went sleding. I palyed velcrow cach.

I love to hear his perspective on things.

P.S. Jacob has been stumping me with questions lately (okay, not just lately.) This week at dinner he wanted to know what the third law of motion was. "The first one is gravity...the second one is force...I can't remember the third one, Mom." Neither could I. The only time I ever think about Newton is when the word Fig is in front of it. He was also curious about whether Canada has a king or a president. (This question came up in the car, of course - where's Google when you need it?) I knew enough to include the words "democracy" and "prime minister" and "something about the Queen of England" in my explanation, but I had to ask my Canadian neighbor for more details, as Jacob wasn't satisfied with my answer.

How I Spent My Christmas Break

Well, I'll tell you one thing - the word "break" most certainly does not apply when you're the parent. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable two weeks of not getting up at 7:00 a.m. And this is what I have to show for it:

I condensed heaven into a 9x13 pan and ate a good portion of it myself.

I successfully defended my territory from a fleet of warships. Not to mention the previously-posted tank.

I watched Jacob morph into a geologist.

I shoveled the driveway every day. All of this snow is saving me a fortune in gym membership costs.

I played Xeko ("Pokemon with a purpose") with Jacob and helped to preserve the delicate ecosystem of Indonesia. {Yes, this is his normal expression.}



I fed several hundred neighborhood birds (okay, our crabapple trees did).

I introduced the boys to Anne of Green Gables. Because you are never too young to learn valuable life lessons like don't make fun of a girl's hair color. You might end up marrying her when you grow up.

Now I'm ready for a vacation....

Ring in the New

Mom, David and Constance came over last night to celebrate the New Year with us. To pass the time until midnight, we played this:



Agricola, which is Latin for "farmer"
{a Christmas gift from my dad}

It took us an hour and a half just to read the directions. Very complex, but very entertaining.


4 hours of said game.

Mini chocolate donuts, summer sausage, and strawberry ice cream.

A glass of Martinelli's.

The dropping of the ball in Times Square.


2009, here we come.

Ring Out the Old

Congratulations to Dad, who completed his last chemo treatment on Tuesday!
2008 was a very long year for him.
2009 is looking much better.