Christmas vacation

For Christmas, we drove down to spend a week at my parents house. It was the first time all of us had been there together since my sister's wedding, over four years ago!

Here are some highlights:

Mom wanted a family picture, but one person wasn't going to be there when we took it. So I took a photo of them separately and then photoshoped them into the frame. Can you tell which one it is? (Kiera, you can't answer.)



We had more presents under the tree than ever before; it took over two hours to open them all! It was great fun. Kudos to my hubby for getting me all the best presents!


We played games together several times, including the card game Garbage, and Trivial Pursuit. I don't know why we play the latter, we're all horrible at it, except for my dad. And he always quits if he's not winning. Ah, traditions. Joshua got in on the fun too. He's a natural.



"Uncle" Thorin taught Elora how to be a true Jedi. Or is she a Sith? Either way, in the new dress from Grandma she's a pretty cute little fighter.




Elora got to get reacquainted with her cousin, Isabelle. Unfortunately, Isabelle was sick most of the time we were there and wasn't too interested in being friendly. Now the rest of us are all sick too!





Joshua got to hang out with his twin, Uncle Thain.




And what Christmas would be complete without the snow? It was warm enough the first few days, but cooled down into the twenties for the rest of our trip. At least we got outside when it was warm!



I hope everyone else had a merry Christmas. And have a Happy New Year!

Some art stuff

Before I get started...why does my visitor map say someone from Hong Kong was here, yet the only international dot looks like it is in Chile? hmmm. Somethings not right here. Another time it said I had a visitor from Germany, yet the dot was in Finland. Did they think I wouldn't notice? Tsk tsk.

Anyway.

Now, I'll be the first to tell you I'm not a portrait artist. Thats why I liked the idea of illustration so much...it doesn't have to look exactly like anyone, but it can still be considered 'good'.
True, I've made the odd attempt. I've become quite adept at the ubiquitous self-portrait required in all art classes. I even got to sculpt my head in clay once. (Whatever happened to that?).

Once I even braved a likeness of my husband. This was when we were on the verge of being laid off at Airborne, circa 2005, and I had LOTS of downtime. Yeah, I did it at work. What do you think?




Yeah, I know. His teeth are HUGE in this drawing! But the colors are nice right? And the eyes are pretty close to what they should be, all smiley and such. Its just a little stretched out. Or something. Maybe his nose is too small.

Today, Elora and I had another drawing day. I felt motivated to get off my behind and do something, when I was reading Jill's post about feeling like garbage because she was home all day. I could totally relate, with the added guilt that I never do anything with my art. At least not since the last time Elora and I had an art day.
So here is the finished product:

Do you like it? I'd say this definitely falls into the realm of illustration: A nice piece of art, but does it really look like her? The hair looks cool, and the colors turned out great. But hmmm, does she look stoned? (She's supposed to be looking down). And Elora bumped my hand so there are a few spots that reaaaaly bother me. Oh well, at least I tried.

Did I mention that in art classes we were told repeatedly that, "Illustration is the bastard child of the art community" ?

Maybe I should just stick to learning how to do watercolors. Of course, my one attempt at this that I still own was completed about five years ago. Hmm, I don't stick to these things very well, do I.

The land of domesticity and the pale green pants

For those of you with no children, who find such domestic matters quite a bore, feel free to scroll down to my ode to my coolest pants ever. Yeah, much more exciting.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a few happenings around our home. For one...Elora is almost potty trained! She's been wearing underwear for two weeks now, even during naps. She has still had an accident now and then, but she's learning fast and we're not afraid to leave the house without her diaper on anymore. Yay Elora, what a big girl! Of course, our trip to my parents for the week of Christmas might undo all that, but one can only hope.

Joshua too is growing in leaps and bounds. You saw that he can now sit, and he has also started eating baby food, as this week he is six months old. (I apologize for the horrible out-of-focus pictures. Yeah, my camera has a super slow shutter speed...not that digital cameras actually have a shutter, but you know what I mean.)

Now, when I was expecting Elora, I was all about becoming educated on this pregnancy/child- rearing thing. I've read all the books: What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, The Breastfeeding Book, The Baby Whisperer, etc, etc.

I know all the rules: you should never feed a baby real food before four months, and ideally not before six months. (They need it then because their iron reserves from birth have now been depleted.) Never give a baby egg whites, or peanut butter, or anything else that may trigger early allergies. Wait until your baby exhibits signs of readiness before giving them food.

While I wholeheartedly agree with these things, I must admit I didn't completely follow them. Elora started eating baby food before five months. But in my defense, she did seem ready! She had two teeth, could sit up fairly well, and was very interested in our food.

I intended to stick it out with Joshua. But, well, at five months he really wanted to taste my ice cream. And a piece of the banana I was sharing with Elora. And a bite of sweet potatoes. I did wait till the six month mark for the actual 'rice cereal' and baby food though. Yay me.

Enough with all of this. Do you want to hear about my pants? I was looking through my gazillions of photo albums (okay, more like 10 or 11) and I happened upon some pics of the coolest pants I ever owned. They were green, fitted at the top yet baggy below, and had tons of pockets. The legs were wide enough that if I bent my knees, I could hide my shoes inside them.

Cool shirt too, huh?

When I first got them, I was afraid people would think I was a skater wanna-be. But then I figured, hey, artists can wear whatever they want right? When I wore these pants I was confident, cool, even a bit cocky. One might even say I strutted a bit. But then, my Superman shirt has the same effect.

Oh yeah, I'm awesome. Check out my painting.

Sadly, I no longer own these awesome pants. I figured they were too juvenile for a professional adult to own, and I think I gave them to the Good Will. True, they were starting to get holes in the backside, they were a bit short on me (an unfortunate side effect with my hight) and I know with certainty that they would not fit me today.

Cool as a cucumber. With an orange shirt.

But on occasion, I miss my pale green pants, with nobody inside them. (Okay, they're not pale, but thats my favorite Dr. Seuss story.)

Joshua learns some tricks

Hey look, Poe-pee knows a new trick!


Who taught you that,Pope-a-dope? Ah, I see Saucy-lee had something to do with it.






Whoa, don't fall! Hey, did she push you?



I guess that's what big sisters are for.

Winter at last?

So, it finally snowed earlier this week. Yay! Elora had a great time running around in the fresh snow. We were out for almost two hours! Of course, ever since then, she doesn't want to stay outside for more than about twenty minutes. Guess she's not used to the cold yet.


Oh, this post is about one more thing. We got Photoshop on our computer! Can you tell? Here is what this looked like originally:




And this was the other part of the picture:



I'm thinking that making those little stories might be a little easier now.
ps here's one more I liked.


I made the coat darker, and saturated the color in her bucket and her hair. The scarf was already that bright.

The End

Heidi tagged me to do this post about seven things...I just hope I don't repeat too much stuff from my "100 things" post I did when I started my blog! Maybe I'll just expand on a few...

Rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

.............................................

1. So, like Heidi, I love going off by myself into secluded places. I haven't had a chance to do it much since I've been married, and not at all since the kids were born. I took numerous self portraits in said places as well (sans the dress Heidi wore) because I'm vain like that. This one is in Nauvoo.

I'd have to say my favorite period of seclusion was when I lived in Montlake, a suburb of Seattle. Several times a week I'd go sit on a bench under the Montlake bridge to work on my journal or read. When I got really adventurous, I could follow the nearby trail into a section of the Arboretum, which had numerous piers near the 520 bridge over to Bellevue. I'll spare you another portrait (yes I have some) and share this great view:


2. The longest job I've had was at Airborne Express (which later was bought by DHL). I alternately loved and hated my job. I loved: the view of Puget Sound, the stress free nature of my job, the ethnic diversity of my coworkers, the nice art work on the walls, the walk to the ferry and later the bus. I hated: that people looked down on my job station, knowing that I could do much better, +987being bored a lot of the time, feeling like I was in a dead-end job.
This is a view of the two buildings I worked in, on Elliot and Western, respectively. There is now a large sculpture park right next door!


3. I have these weird skin tags on my eyelids...I'm pretty sure I got them when I was pregnant. One of my eyelids is always itchy, and I secretly fear I'll get one on the inside of my eyelids, which will turn into one of those weird African diseases where my cornea will get scratched up and I'll go blind. Aaaaahhh!


4. I own a real sword. I used to ask for one for Christmas when I was a kid; my dad got me one when I was seventeen or eighteen (when I didn't want one anymore). It is still at my parents house, and probably ruined with rust. Oh, I redecorated my horrendous bedroom shortly after this photo was taken!



5. I was never one to have random crushes on lots of people (well, until around the time I started dating Joseph) but I did have two or three major crushes that lasted for years. Every once in a while, I still think about a couple of them. I realize I wouldn't really have been compatible with any of them, but its strange to remember how obsessive I was about it. Seriously. I would have been scared of me if I was them.

6. um.... this is a picture of my senior class in high school. Can you find me? Hint- I'm in the lower half.


7. Along the same vein- I've drawn class pictures three times: in sixth, seventh, and twelfth grade. My sixth grade teacher thought I was offering the drawing to her when I showed it to her, so I don't have that one anymore. But here's my seventh grade core class! (You can't find me in it because I drew myself and my friend Emily in a different section of the paper that wouldn't fit in the scanner. Glossy...you're on the top row.) The kid on the bottom left is saying, "New Kids on the Block Suck!"



Lets see, do I know seven people who haven't done this yet? I guess I'll tag:
Kiera
Glossy
Cardine
Julie
Warnser
Nettie
Kara
Tirzah
not that any will do it...will you?

Pet Peeves

Everyone has to have a post about pet peeves, right? I was originally thinking of doing a Top Ten list, but realized that wouldn't be enough. However, doing a top 100 list might be over the top, and people could perceive me as being overly negative. But I find that I have far less patience and am more easily annoyed as I get older. Hmmm, Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Pet Peeves with driving:

• People on Cell Phones- I don't care if you think you drive safely while talking...you DON'T. I've been in cars with phone drivers and witnessed their erratic swerving, and I've almost been run off the road at least half a dozen times by those who don't even realize they did anything.
• No Turn Signals- Doesn't it drive you nuts when you're waiting for a car coming the other direction, and at the last minute they turn with nary a signal in sight? Usually they're on the phone.
• A car behind me- this is probably my own personal thing. I don't care if they're tailgating or not, I hate cars being behind me, it makes me nervous. Go ahead and get in front of me, I don't care if you're going too slow. Just get out from behind me! (I don't do freeways.)
• When the driver yells at other cars for doing the same thing He..oops, I mean they do themselves. Joseph.
  

Pet Peeves with People:

• Reading over my shoulder, or standing behind me in general.
  
• Someone not looking at me when I'm talking to you.
• Adult men who are addicted to video games, especially when they have a family of their own (No, this is NOT my husband, thankfully!)
• Those who think in general stereotypes, ie "Everyone who listens to that type of music is like..." or "Everyone of that political party must be..." If someone makes a statement like this, I immediately feel dislike for them. Sorry.

Household Pet Peeves:

• A wet washcloth wadded up in the sink...eww, mildew!
• Dishes full of water in the sink. I don't care if they're not washed, just please rinse them and stack them to the side, not in the sink.

Pet Peeves of the Random Sort:

• People blocking the whole isle at the grocery store (or walking too close behind me)...but then, too many people at the store stresses me out anyway.
• Too much background noise. I prefer to drive the car with no radio, and to not have the tv on before 7:00. Of course, Elora has learned to turn it on anyway. I once lived with someone who had to have the tv on all the time, even if she wasn't in the room. It drove me crazy! Its probably been years since I've had headphones on for any type of music.
  
• Having the curtains closed during the day. Especially in the Northwest. It drove me nuts when my roommates would keep the curtains shut so it wouldn't glare on the t.v. I don't care if I can't see the show, let the light in! They didn't agree.

There are many, many more things I could mention, but I don't want to offend all of my readers, just a few is good enough for me. Now I suppose I'll have to do a positive post to balance this one out. But not today!

costumes

Which one is which? This year Elora got to be a clown for Halloween. Actually, she got to wear the very same outfit I wore for Halloween when I was little! So can you tell which ones me? Okay, so one picture has a distinctly early-80's feel to it. And in the other the clown costume is starting to fall apart.
But you can tell we're related, right?

Story Time

Elora and Isabelle had a secret.

Every day, their mommies put them down for a nap at three o'clock sharp, tucking them in carefully with a kiss and a hug for luck. What their mommies didn't know, was that every day at three o'clock sharp, Elora and Isabelle became Super Babies!

Each afternoon, they would meet together above the clouds, capes flapping in the wind. They had already had endless adventures together, but they were always excited to meet again for another grand escapade.


But today was different. When Isabelle saw Elora flying into view, she was surpised to see that her cousin had brought someone along this time. He too had a cloak, bright orange, and Elora was holding his hand as if helping him fly for the first time.

"Isabelle," Elora said proudly, " I'd like you to meet my brother, Joshua! Turns out, he's a super baby too!"

Isabelle waved at her new cousin. She'd heard all about him from Elora, of course, but this was the first time they'd met in person.


"Wow, Joshua, I didn't know you were super too... this is great! You're going to love playing with Elora and I. With no parents around, we can do anything we want!"

Joshua grinned bashfully. "Hi Isabelle." he giggled and flew in a little circle.

Elora turned to Isabelle. "I thought maybe we could teach him the ropes today. You know, show him what being a super baby is all about." she took a sip from her super sippy cup then tucked it back into her cape.

"Oh sure," replied Isabelle. "Lets see, what should we do first? I know, how 'bout we take him to our hang out?"

"Thats a great idea!" exclaimed Elora, clapping her hands in delight. "You lead the way!"
With that, Isabelle shot straight up into the sky, rapidly disappearing from view.

"C'mon Joshie, we better catch up or we'll never hear the end of it." Elora grabbed Joshua's hand and raced after Isabelle.

Soon they had left blue skies and fluffy clouds behind as they were surrounded by the black void of space. Distant galaxies twinkled just at the edge of view, and a barren red orb soon loomed ahead. Joshua was staring around in awe.

"Wow, this is amazing!" he gasped.

"Yeah, we like it." laughed Elora. "What do you think? We like to come here every once in a while when we need somewhere to chat. The only problem is that it gets way too cold!" Elora had already pulled on a light jacket and she wrapped herself with her billowing purple cloak as she spoke.

Isabelle started to tug her cloak around herself as well. "Brrr," she shivered. "I'm not wearing my warm jammies today. And look at poor Joshua! Maybe we better go somewhere warmer."

"Yeah, you're probably right." agreed Elora. "Lets go down by grandma's house, its plenty warm down there. Lets go Joshua...oh, watch out for stray asteroids."

Joshua blinked and looked at the red planet once again. He'd have to remember this place!
The three cousins whooshed back to the blue and green expanse spread below them, skimming through the damp clouds until the orange-red rocks of southern Utah were visible below.



"So, what else to we super babies do besides fly around?" wondered Joshua aloud, as he sat down on an outcropping of sandstone.

"Oh lots of stuff!" replied the two girls together.

"But first, you have to find your super power." Added Isabelle.

"Do you have a super power?" asked Joshua in surprise.

"Sure do! Watch."

Without warning, Isabelle suddenly emitted an ear piercing shriek, causing a few minor boulders to bounce down the surrounding cliffs, as Elora and Joshua cringed and covered their ears .

When Joshua dared to remove his hands and look at Isabelle again, he was surprised to see that two small furry animals had lept into her waiting arms. They seemed somewhat shaken, and were shivering with fright.

"I love that trick!" laughed Elora.

Isabelle smile proudly. "I can summon the animals, " she explained. "See!" She held forth the quivering critters and shook them a little to emphasize her point.

"Whoa, thats...great?" Joshua said uncertainly.

"Oh, thats nothing," said Elora. Wait till you see what I can do." She took a few sips from her cup then knit her brows in concentration. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the red rock around them was disappearing, being replaced by a lush green forest. Joshua looked around the dappled glen in confusion as Isabelle knelt and released her animals into the thick underbrush.


"So, what did you just do?" asked Joshua as he reached out to feel the moss covered tree nearest him.

"I used my imagination, what else! I just happen to have a SUPER imagination. Pretty good, huh!" Elora patted the tree next to her and took another swig from her cup.

"Well baby brother. Now that you've seen what we can do, what can you show us?" Elora looked at Joshua expectantly.

"What do you mean?" asked Joshua.

"You know, your Super Baby power. What is it?" asked Isabelle impatiently.

"Oh. Um. Well, I can make a pretty stinky diaper. Oh, and I can spit up pretty good." Joshua put his hands on his hips proudly.

Elora and Isabelle exchanged sidelong glances and giggled.

"Hmm, maybe we'll save your super powers for next time." Elora said, patting him on the back consolingly. "After all, you're still pretty new at this. In the meantime, lets go into town and grab a cup of milk before nap time is over. Did everyone bring their civilian clothes?"

The babies quickly changed, but the two girls couldn't help but laugh when they saw what Joshua had brought.

"What? This was all I could find!" he protested, as he tugged his pants up to try and cover his bare belly.

"Don't worry, " laughed Isabelle. "I brought some extra Mardi Gras beads you can wear. No one will even notice you're a Super Baby."

And with then the three babies headed off to their next great adventure.

Happy Birthday Elora !

On Monday Elora the saucy girl turned two years old! It's a strange paradox...it seems like she's been around forever and should have turned two a long time ago, yet it also seems weird that two years have already passed since she was born. Either way, we're glad to have her.
I hope she had a good day. Joseph took the day off from school and work so we could all spend time together. We went on a little hike in the morning and took some family pictures. We went to the same canyon where we took those pictures at the first of the month. Amazingly, all the trees we had used in our pictures then were already devoid of leaves.
At least there were some more spots to still take pictures! Yesterday we had a hailstorm, so I'm sure now all of these trees are pretty bare as well. Perfect timing.


We then came home and decided to have her cake and presents outside, since I had forgotten to decorate the night before. We decided not to have a party with other kids for another year or two. (partially because I had lots of bad birthday experiences as a kid, and I'd like to postpone dealing with parties as long as possible!)
Elora loved her sunglasses and wore them all day, which perfectly complimented her cool fluffy scarf from grandma.


Her big gift was a bright red tricycle. Ever since we've moved here 2 1/2 months ago, she's been stealing all of the other kids' outside toys and bikes, so we thought this would be the perfect gift. But when Joseph brought it out with great fanfare, he was greeted with, "NO! I want another present." But I think after she realized this was HER bike, she liked it quite a lot. (It looks like all the other ones on the street.)
The funny thing is, whenever she'd tried to steal another kid's bike, we'd been saying, "We'll get you a bike on your birthday." So when she woke up that morning and I told her it was her birthday, she said matter-of-factly, " I get a bike on my birthday. Where's the bike?' It was pretty funny.
And when we brought out the cake she said, "Now sing happy birthday to you." I guess she remembered the video we made of my birthday in June. Smart girl!
We spent a few hours playing together on the toys, and she got to have pizza for lunch, one of her favorite foods. After her afternoon nap, daddy played with her on her trike until it was too dark to see. What a good day.
Elora has a strong personality- just like her mom- and I get frustrated and impatient with her way too often, but I sure am glad to have her in our family!
Happy Birthday, Elora.

Fall Pictures

On Monday I went out with Elora and Joshua to take some pictures. I was thinking I needed some two-year old pics of Elora (even though she won't be two for a few weeks) and maybe a few of the two of them together.
There is an awesome trail in a canyon not too far from here, that Joseph and I discovered Sunday evening. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to go back!
I could have planned a little better and had the kids wear matching colors, or made sure that Elora's cute curls show, but oh well. The pictures still turned out pretty well, if not exactly perfect. Here are a few of my favorites:

If she were just smiling this one would be perfect.


I love this one..except for Elora's big shoe right in the front!

She was totally fake smiling.


Stupid piece of grass in the front! I wish I had photoshop.


I love the layout of this one; I just wish they had their previous expressions here. (She sees a bee by my camera.)



I love this background

After about an hour, Elora kept wandering off and Joshua was crying, so I guess we were done. What a pretty day.

Humanity

So have you seen the add on your 'dashboard' page on Blogger, telling you about the picture thing? Apparently, you can go to this site and it has an ongoing slide show of all the recently uploaded photos from everyones blog. Everyones. And if you want to go to the blog that the picture came from, you just have to click on the picture.
What do you think of this? I know some people would freak out to think random people could be looking at their pictures. (I think if you have your blog set up to be private, it doesn't work.)
I can see mischief coming of this, you know, people coming to your blog to write obnoxious or mean comments.
But on the other hand, I think its actually really cool. I watched it for a few minutes, and it just makes you feel more a part of the human race around us. You know, by seeing whats important to other people, and whats going on in their lives RIGHT NOW.
It kind of makes the world seem a smaller place, you know? I like it.

In other news...this is Elora reading to Joshua. I thought the funny thing about this was the page on her book says, "Being a big sister is the best!" Of course, the next day I took this picture:


Looks like Joshua is learning to defend himself from his sister's attacks! (Note the hair in his fist.)

5 things Meme

I stole this off someone elses blog, but I thought it was kind of fun.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I was in my second year of college at Southern Utah University as an Art Major.
2. I was not dating anyone.
3. I was still living at home...wow, was my life boring or what?
4. I was 19 years old
5. I was taking some cool pictures for a self portrait I would paint later.




5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Be nice to Elora, maybe take her out to play.
2. Find out if Joseph can still register for a test, or if he still wants to.
3. Maybe go to store for Graham Crackers and Milk.
4. Email my dad back...he emails everyday.
5. Find out if the corn maze is still open this week.
(I think we've skipped the interesting part of my life, judging by this list.)

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. Ice cream, Ice cream, Ice cream. With jam or orange juice.
2. McFlurries with oreo
3. Apples
4. Strawberries....sometimes dipped in chocolate.
5. bananas

5 songs I know the lyrics to:

1. The hymns/ childrens song medly I sing to Elora every night for bedtime.
2. You're so Vain, by Carly Simon
3. American Pie, by Don McClean
4. Most oldies, because my dad worked at an oldies station and made tapes for our vacations.
5. "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies

5 things I would do if I were a Millionaire:

1. Save money for a killer retirement full of traveling.
2. Build, and furnish my dream house.
3. Put away money for my children’s education.
4. Give my mom money to buy a house, pay off my sisters debt
5. Not tell too many people because every one would hate me if I didn't give them some.

5 Bad habits ( I kept some of these from the other persons blog, as I'm guilty too.)

1. Letting my dishes sit in the sink to long.
2. Taking naps when the kids do instead of getting things done.
3. Not spending enough time playing with my children.
4. Being critical of others faults while ignoring my own
5. Downplaying my own talents.

5 things I'd never wear again

1. Tight jeans
2. my wedding dress...for one, I don't think it fits.
3. those little hoops to tie up the corner of a long t-shirt into a knot
4. My big glasses I wore in middle school. Thank goodness for stylish frames and contacts!


5. Fluorescent clothing.

5 favorite toys

1. My teddy bear named Playful
2. My pound puppy named Brownie
3. My Cabbage Patch Doll that my mom made..I'm sorry I took it to D.I. Mom!
4. My Pink Bike with the banana seat.
5. My Slip and Slide, even though it never worked very good and I always got hurt.

I am tagging Kiera, Cardine, and Julie. Or anyone else who wants to do it!