Our Grand Adventure

Here are some pictures from our vacation up in Grand Lake over New Year's. I know, I know, they are way old but they're still fun. Troy wrote this:

Some of my family waiting for me to put the camera away so we could go have some fun.

Stephanie at the top of some mountain we climbed.

View from our cabin’s front door.

The bottom of Mary Jane’s bunny slope.

A very suspicious looking animal.

A couple curious Norwegian horses.

Samantha and her younger cousin making a horse jealous.

Sleigh ride through the Winding River Resort property.
Total length of ride: about 45 minutes.

Burping horse.

Rachel at the marshmallow roasting fire after the sleigh ride (and after she sprained her knee on the bunny slope).

Amanda reaching the snowy summit of Mt. Snow Bank at the Barn.

100 things I've done in my life.

I stole this from Cousin Holly's blog.

The red is stuff that I have actually done.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Swam with Sharks

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Hugged a goat

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola (a ski gondola up a mountain)

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen a Shaker community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason (not from my husband!)

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a hot air balloon

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Book of Mormon or Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Had your heart stop

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

Four, Four, Four, Four Round 2

Stephanie's lists of Four

Four places that I go to over and over:
Walmart

The Kids' School

The Church Building

Walmart

Four favorite places to eat:
Johnny Carino’s
Black Eye Pea
Outback
New Dynasty

Four places I would rather be right now:
At the movies watching Twilight

Scuba diving in Cozumel

Downstairs

Wherever my husband is

Four TV shows I watch all the time:
Heroes
The Office
Survivor

Pushing Daisies

Four of my favorite books:
Twilight Series

Jane Austen Books

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Agatha Christie Novels

Four movies I would watch over and over:

Lord of the Rings

Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)

The Lake House

Pirates of the Caribbean

Four Places I have lived:

Anaheim, CA (Disneyland!)

Aurora, CO

Parker, CO

Umm. . . that's it

Four places I have been on vacation:

Cozumel (see banner picture)

Illinois

Boston/Lake Winnipesaukee

New Mexico

Four, Four, Four, Four

Troy's lists of Four

Four places that I go to over and over:

Yellowstone

Elizabeth, CO

Aurora, CO

Mountains

Four favorite places to eat:

Johnny Carino’s

Black Eye Pea

Outback

P.F.Changs

Four places I would rather be right now:

Getting a root canal

Standing in front of 10,000 head of stampeding mad cow infected bulls with razor tipped horns, angry killer bees flying out their nostrils and bad breath

At the Star Trek convention (just kidding, I’d rather be at work)

Anywhere tropical with white sand beaches and crystal blue warm water with no one within sight and sound except my family and friends.

Four TV shows I watch all the time:

Heroes

The Office

Modern Marvels

Ask This Old House

Four of my favorite books:

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

In the Heart of the Sea

Dune

Watership Down

Four movies I would watch over and over:
Lord of the Rings
Joe Vs. the Volcano
What Dreams May Come
Pirates of the Caribbean

Four Places I have lived:
Annandale, VA
Portugal
Cape Verde
Parker, CO

Four places I have been on vacation:
Cozumel (see banner picture)
Bahamas
Boston
New Mexico

Four places I would rather be right now:

Yellowstone
Skiing in the mountains
Swimming in the Caribbean
Canoeing in the Amazon

25 Random Things About Christmas

To celebrate the 25 days of Christmas, I thought I'd tell you 25 random things about my experience with my favorite Holyday.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I always try for wrapping paper and end up with gift bags




2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial that smells real, that would be perfect




3. When do you put up the tree? The day before Thanksgiving (we just can't wait!) BTW Snoopy has got to be one of the best animated characters, ever. Go ahead, try to prove me wrong.




4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as possible after Christmas, we get soooo sick of it, probably because it's up for 6 weeks.




5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it!




6. Favorite gift received as a child? Two homemade dolls that my mom made for me




7. Hardest person to buy for? Troy, he doesn't want me spending any money on him




8. Easiest person to buy for? Jacob ("Oh, let's see dinosaurs or, umm, dinosaurs?)




9. Do you have a nativity scene? Two, a cheap one I bought at Walmart that I really, really love, and a handmade wooden one that my parents brought back from Israel




10. Mail or email Christmas cards? If I ever got around to it they would be mailed, oh and the best Christmas cards anyone has ever gotten. See how much I love you all?




11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I plead the Fifth




12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story ("Daddy's gonna kill Ralph-ie!)




13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As late as I possibly can, the stress makes the holiday so much more enjoyable!




14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but I recycled a water bottle once




15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's divinity (I can't ever get it to set right), Orange Sticks, Fudge




16. Lights on the tree? Blinking




17. Favorite Christmas song? "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" by Trans Siberian Orchestra (Da, da da dum, Da, da da dum)




18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. For days and days. A blizzard is good right then. Four feet. . . or more. I'm good with that.




19. Favorite Christmas Memory? Troy saving all his pennies to buy me a Josh Groban cd and some orange sticks, even though we had agreed no presents since we couldn't afford it.




20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel, a pretty gold one with feathery wings and long, sparkly ribbons




21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? All on Christmas morning, I love surprises




22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Not enough time to do all the fun stuff I want to do




23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Every year the kids make new ornaments for the tree. I love to reminisce when we get them out each year to hang on the tree.




24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey with all the fixin's and rolls, rolls, rolls




25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Nice brown leather boots and/or a clean house. Either one will do.

Oh, and here's for all those who feel the same as I do.

Merry Christmas!

Update

So I really, really did not want to start a blog. I've been resisting for years. But my kids all decided they were going to start their own so I thought, great, now I'm the outdated mom (insert eye roll here). I gotta keep up with my own kids, at least.

Here's the update on us. Troy is still working at EchoStar (Dish Network). He is currently looking for a job where he is appreciated for his multitude of talents, though. This weekend he is going on a trip to California with all his brothers (he has 5 of them). He should have a lot of fun. . . I'm jealous, I want a trip!

He just built some shelves in the garage and I'm bugging him to build more. He's very useful for that sort of thing.

Rachel and Jacob are taking classes online this year. They are loving it, too! Their teachers and curriculum are online, I just have to keep them on task. Rachel is really into reading, lately. She read all the Twilight books and is currently in the middle of one of the Warriors series. Her birthday is in February so she is looking forward to going to church dances.

Jacob loves to draw. That is probably one of the biggest understatements you've ever heard. His favorite thing to draw is dragons. We have boxes and boxes of his drawings in our house. He's also really into cryptozoology. If you don't know what that is, you should ask him. He prides himself on being almost as tall as me. He's only 5'4" and I'm 5'7" so I can still take him.

Amanda is a fifth grader in the Gifted and Talented class at school this year. She was so used to being the smartest kid in the class, the oldest kid in the class, the first one done with all her assignments, the fastest reader, etc. that when she moved into this class, which is fifth and sixth graders combined, she had a real identity crisis. She's doing great now, though, and is really excited that there are other LDS kids in the class. She's making friends and influencing people, or so the saying goes.

Samantha is in Third Grade. Her teacher, who was Amanda's teacher a couple of years ago and has had Rachel and Jacob in to help out every week, keeps wondering about her. She's as smart as the other kids but didn't seem to have the motivation that the others do. The first few weeks of school we couldn't get her to read anything. All of the sudden, though, and just like my other girls, she decided that she wanted to be a reader. Now she wins almost every reading challenge each week (they're supposed to read at least 100 minutes a week - she usually reads over 300!) She tried to read Twilight before the movie came out but couldn't make it. Still, she's over halfway done!

So, now me. . . I've had some fun this year. Troy and I learned how to scuba dive and we went down to Cozumel with his family for a scuba trip. I almost died but it was really fun. I got released from my calling as the Primary President in the ward. I'm now the Relief Society Secretary. Quite a change but I'm loving it.

I'm no longer doing videos. I've switched over completely to photography. It's a big relief to be able to focus more. I still want to focus it even more on just wildlife photography, but the portraits make money so that's what I'm doing. I enjoy it and all but I'd rather hone my skills in just one area. As you can see, no picture of me with this part of the post. That's why I became a photographer, so I don't have to be in front of a camera (he, he, he!)