Newport Beach

Crystal Cove State Beach, December '09 I loved these colors! Which one would look good on our family room walls?

One of the perks of coming to the beach on a cold and drizzly day in mid-December: a lot more seashells to find.

I gather by his face that Todd suspects me of taking a few too many photos.

I really was freezing. Todd graciously said that I looked like a nun? after my first picture, so for this shot I took off the hood I had cinched around my face. It's actually reminding me of most of my mission pictures taken between Nov. and March; scarf, pink nose, same coat, same damp cold, same forced exposure to the elements.

And this just reminded me of a funny story: A few weeks ago at dinner, Todd mentioned the MTC and then explained to Parker that the letters stand for Missionary Training Center. After a pause, a big, "OOOhhhhhh!" from Emma. "All this time I thought it was the empty sea!" And she started laughing. "I thought you were just out in the middle of the ocean, paddling this tiny boat all by yourself!"

It was pretty funny. And could this possibly be a reason why whenever I've asked if she wants to go on a mission, I get a very quick "no"?

We spent a long weekend in Newport Beach in December staying at a Marriot timeshare we had first booked around 18 months ago! We had various postponements, but finally had to use it or lose it. Except for the almost non-stop rain, we had a great weekend. In addition to the beach, we went to the Irvine Spectrum where Emma got to try ice-skating for the first time. The boys and I watched, and below is a picture of Truman giving fives to the skaters as they came around. At first he would duck down so that only his arm showed when anyone skated by except for Emma and Todd. He gradually got to the point where he would show his face as strangers gave him five.

Cute father/daughter moments. Todd wore out before Emma did. The other kids and I killed time by eating funnel cakes and looking at puppies in the pet store. They were so adorable that I actually got to the point where I was 25-30% in favor of getting a dog.

I also lost Truman and was completely stressed out for five minutes. That has got to be one of the top ten worst feelings as a parent when you've been looking for a few minutes and you really have no idea where your child could be. Anyway, sorry to taint the good times. We eventually found him! Yay!

No triple Salchows yet, (and yes, I just checked the spelling on that) but she had fun. Can't wait for the Olympics!

This year was our first with two Christmas trees. Some girls in our neighborhood were fundraising by selling trees, so we got a tiny, real tree that the kids were in charge of decorating, and set up our pre-lit beauty in the living room. It was so nice to have the smell, the colored lights, and the keepsake ornaments on display. Graham's first Christmas!

(I still want to paint the family room, so I'll take any suggestions out there. The living room is Benjamin Moore Philadelphia Cream, but I'm leaning towards something cooler here. Thoughts? The sectional is kind of a moss brown.)

Emma's Webkinz get taken for a ride. They are like family since we know them all by name and celebrate their birthdays, as well. Emma's two best friends are also Webkinz fans. They have a club where they communicate by mail (the stamps are disappearing) mostly about what they have made or will make for their pets to wear, or when the club will meet again. The penguin shown here was a visiting friend.

Thanksgiving 2009 in St. George: Perry (a second cousin), Truman, and Tyler at the little, little kids table.

Emma, Makayla (Perry's sister), and Parker at the young-ish kids foosball table, and Todd and I rounded out the mid-adolescent to teenager table, while everyone else was grown up.

Parker got a place on "The Pyramid of Success" at school for "Hard Work." When I can find the paper in my oh-so-organized filing system, I'll share what his teacher wrote about him.