Some Thoughts About Christmas

Before this Christmas season began, I knew I wanted to do things differently. I was afraid we were falling into the trap of Christmas becoming a gift giving free-for-all. Growing up the only religious experience I connected to Christmas was an occasional visit to Midnight Mass with my Grandpa. I don't really remember doing things for others or focusing on the reason for the season, and I want things to be different for my children.

I decided that we would do an advent calendar that had an activity for each day. Some of the activities were fun, like baking cookies or making a craft, some were simple like reading a Christmas book, and others were focused on giving, like picking out gifts for kids on the angel tree or shopping for your sibling. We also spent a descent amount of time talking about the nativity in our front room and why we have Christmas.

As a result, it's not even Christmas yet, but I feel like we've had a great holiday. We didn't go overboard buying gifts for the kids. The kids learned about the joy of giving to others and made some new connections between Christmas and our savior. Overall I think we're on the right path and I couldn't be happier.

Our family wishes you a very Merry Christmas. We hope you take a moment this season to ponder the greatest gift of all, that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Soccer Saturdays Begin!

Ryan recently started playing his first season of AYSO soccer. He's not a real competitive kid, but he loves the kids on his team and running around after the ball. We now spend a portion of all our Saturdays at Crossroads Park for his games, and I have to admit, it's really fun. The kids at this age are so entertaining--they have such a good time and sometimes they really make you laugh! His team, the Sharks, plays pretty well and most importantly he's having fun and learning how to be part of a team.

(These pictures we're taken during his first game)

Dancing Queen

The first week of August Annie started taking her first dance class. It's a combination tap/ballet class and she LOVES it! She loves the cute little outfits, the tap shoes, the props--pretty much everything about it! It is fun to watch her get so excited about something at such a young age. This picture was taken of her on the morning before her first class. And yes, she always looks this cute.

Quilts for My Cousins

This summer I've been doing my share of quilting, and I LOVE how both of these came out!

The first one is a Dr. Seuss quilt that I made for my cousin Tara's little boy Jackson. His room is done in Dr. Seuss and I had some Seuss fabric so I thought I'd see what I could come up with. The result is my favorite of all the quilts I've made so far. I added some fun details like quilting a star in each of the pieced squares and I think it came out darling.

The second one is a simple tumbler quilt that I made for my cousin Kayce who is having her first baby this fall. I love all the fabrics together, and this was the first time I did a pieced backing which I think really adds something.

Now I'm working on a fun transportation quilt for Ryan. It's going to be a twin size, the largest I've attempted so far, and I can't wait to get it finished.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Opening presents on his birthday morning

Checking out his new legos

Birthday King!

More presents!

All of his birthday party friends. This is the best one we got--I guess that's what happens when you have a group of 4 year olds!

Obviously I'm a little late in posting this, but on July 1 Ryan celebrated his 4th birthday! He actually had an entire birthday week celebration that included a special shopping trip and dinner with his grandparents, lunch with Daddy, multiple nights that included ice cream and of course a big party with all of his friends at Bounce U.

I say this every year, but I can't believe my baby boy is four! He is an amazing little boy and we feel so blessed to have him as part of our family. Here are a few things about Ryan;

~He is extremely kind. When his sister is upset about something (which is often) he always tries to figure out what she wants or tries to comfort her.

~He has a great vocabulary of big words, all of which he uses correctly.

~He loves school and homework. Each month his preschool teacher sends home an optional homework packet and he insists on doing the whole thing the very first day. Every time.

~He loves video games--Super Mario Brothers is a favorite on Wii and his DS.

~He loves mint & chip ice cream, In & Out cheeseburgers, broccoli and rootbeer.

~He is a wonderful helper around the house.

~He is very thoughtful.

~He loves to laugh.

Happy Birthday, Ryan Taft! We love you so, so much!!!

Scrap-tastic!

When I started quilting about a year ago, one of my concerns was where in the world I was going to store my quilting stuff. I don't have an extra room or even a specific area of my house that I can devote to sewing. So I decided then that I would limit myself to one big Rubbermaid tub for all of my fabric. So far I've stuck to that, but the tub is getting mighty full, so I decided to try to use up some of my scraps.

I made this quilt for my friend Jacqie's new baby girl. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out because I really like quilts that are systematically laid out. But I ended up loving this --very pink and very fun! Other than the hot pink sashing (which is also the fabric on the back) everything came from my big tub. Hopefully baby Julia will love cuddling up with it!

Myrtle Beach

Back at the beginning of May we spent a week in Myrtle Beach, SC. We planned this trip about a year ago, because even though we are close to the lovely beaches of California, I like to visit new places.

My parents came along with us which was a nice treat for everyone. The kiddos sure loved having Grammy and Papa around.

Anyway, I was a little nervous about how the kids would do on such a long flight. But not to worry, they were awesome. On each of the Phoenix/Atlanta legs, Annie had a few minutes of crying right before she fell asleep. Like, 3 minutes max. (Of course during those three minutes we got lots of rude looks from cranky old ladies. But I behaved myself and didn't say anything!)

The place we stayed was amazing--right on the beach with great pools and fun stuff for the kiddos to do. And Myrtle Beach itself was fantastic--it's definitely a tourist town, but it's very family oriented. I've never seen so many miniature golf courses in my whole life!

This was the first vacation we've taken that I can remember where I didn't feel like we needed a vacation to recover from our vacation. We did lots of relaxing, sleeping in and lounging. It was perfect! Now that we've been back a while, I'm even happier that we took the trip when we did. A week after we got home Bryan took a position as CIO with two companies that are merging, 3 days a week. Of course he's also still running his business, so we are currently in week 5 of 12-14 hour days and then doing more work when he finally gets home!

Anyway, here are a few hightlighs of our trip:

Aboard the USS North Carolina

Annie while swimming. What a cutie!

Ryan's favorite evening activity--laying on the back of the couch, playing Super Mario Brothers on the DS!

Ryan & Annie on the USS North Carolina

Bryan and the kiddos

The kids on our way home. Don't you love their shirts?

The view from our room

Grandma Betty Turns 85!

Earlier this month, Bryan's grandmother celebrated her 85th birthday. Bryan's mom decided to throw a big party and invited family from all around. Bryan's cousins from Vegas, his sisters from Oregon and Texas, and grandma's sister from Montana all made it down for the big celebration. We had an absolute blast and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with everyone, especially the crew from Vegas. Fun times!

Ryan and Annie with Aunt Melissa

A Coke and a Smile!

Four Generations

New Orleans

At the beginning of the month I went with Bryan to Cisco's Partner Summit in New Orleans. Initially we weren't so excited about the location--we would rather have gone just about anywhere else. But we decided to make the most of it since it's probably not a place we'll visit again.

During the first two days, Bryan was in conference sessions so I shopped Magazine Street and walked the French Quarter. There were lots of great little shops and I really enjoyed myself. The day we got in it was stifling hot but the rest of the time we were there it was absolutely perfect weather, so being outside walking all day was a treat!

The highlight of the trip was that Bryan's company was named Cisco's Small Business Partner of the Year for the western region. We were both pretty excited about that.

We also managed to eat at Emeril's New Orlean's restaurant, and it was absolutely fabulous!

About the pictures:

~The pictures along the top are inside the Catholic church pictured behind the Paul Revere statue. It was an absolutely gorgeous building and I LOVED the stained glass!
~The middle picture is of Bryan and I taking a carriage ride back to our hotel one night
~The cemetary is a random one I happened to come across while walking through a neighborhood!
~The crazy dragon head is actually in front of someone's front door. The guy out front was a reporter taping when we went by.
~Benjamin Franklin statue
~Mardi Gras tree in the airport

Finally, Another Quilt Finished!

I have been working on lots of quilts lately, and I have quite a few in progress, but I was glad to finally get one finished because it's been a while! I made this one for one of Bryan's and my friends who is scheduled to deliver a baby girl tomorrow. I loved this fabric from the first time I saw it and I didn't want to chop the prints up too small so I just did a really simple design. I love how it came out though, and the best part is that the back is done in really, really soft flannel. Also this is the first quilt where all of my mitred corners looked really good. If you don't quilt or sew that probably means nothing to you, but for me it's been the hardest part of quilting to get right. I think the old adage that practice makes perfect is true, and it's nice to see that each one is getting better!

February Fun

Even though Bryan and I aren't big on Valentine's Day in terms of a romantic celebration, we do make it a big deal for the kids. Earlier in the month Ryan and his friend Noelle spent an afternoon decorating heart cookies. I don't know if it's the difference between boys and girls or between being 3 1/2 and almost 5, but it was interesting to see how different their cookies were. Noelle's were really cute and Ryan's just had all sorts of stuff slopped together. Regardless of how they looked, they tasted great!

On Valentine's morning the kids had fun with their new treasures. They both got new PJ's, bubbles, a cool light up ball and some candy. Annie got a new fancy dress (she is all about fancy dresses) and Ryan got a new game for his Leapster which has provided hours of entertainment, as seen in the last picture of the kids together.

January in Review

I can't believe that January has already come and gone! I had to go through my pictures and my calendar to see where the month went! Mostly it was comprised of getting back into a normal routine after the holidays.

I have decided that this year I really want to focus on simplifying our lives as much as possible. To that end I spent a lot of time in January cleaning out our garage, closets and cabinets in an effort to get rid of stuff we don't need. I'm one who cleans up and cleans out frequently, and I'm still always amazed at how much stuff I found that we don't really need. It has gotten me to start really questioning my purchases as well because I realize all those things had to come from somewhere!

One event worth noting is that Ryan officially started Primary in January. I was called as a primary worked at the end of December so it's fun to be in there together (I don't actually teach his class, but we are both in junior primary and I sit behind him during Sharing time).

I guess that's it! This month I'll work on getting my camera out a little more often and doing some things that are a little more exciting!

2011 Goals

I've always been a goal-oriented person, but that past couple of years I've been so caught up in the day-to-day craziness of life that I haven't done a lot of goal setting. All that changes now, however, and I'm getting back on track. I feel like when other people know about your goals you are automatically more inclined to work toward them, so here are the things I am working toward this year:

· Go to the temple once a month
· Date night once a month
· Go to the gym three times a week
· Walk Jackson twice a week
· Make a quilt to donate
· Take two quilting classes
· Run Pat’s Run in April
· Follow household budget and add a specified amount to savings
· Read the scriptures or something church-related every day

What are your goals for the new year?

2010 in Review

I'm not one for doing Christmas letters, but I have been thinking a lot about the past year--it was a good one! We took some fun family trips, got Ryan potty trained (YAY!), Annie outgrew her milk and egg allergies and clawed her way back onto the growth chart and into the normal range, Ryan started preschool and Bryan had an extremely successful year business-wise, even with the economy on the skids.

As for me, I started doing two things I never though I could--running and quilting. As much as I have tried, I cannot love running, but I can now run 5 miles without any problem. For me that is HUGE. Running has always been my personal holy grail, and mentally it's been a really good thing.

Quilting kind of came out of nowhere. In February I decided to make a little patchwork blanket for a cousin who was having a baby. I got the top done then had no idea how to finish it. My friend Rachel (a.k.a. quilter extraordinaire) helped me get it tied and bound and gave me a few words of encouragement--"you can totally do this." I believed her, went out and bought a book of quilt patterns for beginners, and therein began something beautiful. I have never before had a real hobby, but I really, really love quilting. For a former career woman who sometimes feels like my daily accomplishments are less than significant, being able to make something beautiful is very affirming.

Here are a few of the fun things I've made this year:

Christmastime at Disneyland

I've been to Disneyland a LOT of times in my life, but never at Christmas time. I'd heard that the lights and decorations were amazing, and since the kids really like lights, we decided a quick trip was in order.

We invited Bryan's parents to come with us, and were so glad we did! The kids loved having Grandma and Grandpa there, and it was nice having 4 adults and only 2 kids (Bryan and I even got to ride the Matterhorn --what a treat!). The weather was amazing, especially considering it was December. It was actually so warm that I had to buy a t-shirt because I was dying in my lightweight sweater!

Everyone had a ball and even though it was a really quick trip--drive on Friday, Disneyland on Saturday and home on Sunday--we're really glad we went!