Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Now that Christmas is over, so are Treasure Tuesdays.  How does “Toss-Up Tuesdays” sound until I think of something better?  How apropos since today’s post is a catch up of sorts.

A newly adopted tradition that I swiped from Gab (thanks Gab!) was the Christmas Card Map.  This year we tracked where our cards came from.  The teacher in me ate up the educational aspect of it and the kids were eager to spot the mail lady fishtail her yellow jeep down our street  with our precious parcels everyday.  Marking the map was popular enough to cause more than one wrestling match.

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California won by a landslide with Utah and Idaho in a close race for second.  It was exciting to see that 15 states and 2 countries were represented.  What a fun tradition!

The husband revisited one of his favorite parts of living in Utah on our recent trip and captured it on video. ( There was no helicopter or chair lift involved.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QJmtAMIH_g]

There you go Honey. You finally made “The Blahhhg”.

And finally, I won THIS from Lindsey the other day.  I am very excited since one of my resolutions this year is to unleash my inner crafter (assuming I have one).  I guess we’ll soon find out because now I must Pay It Forward.  Here’s the deal:

pay-it-forward

–Be one of the first three bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me. (Don’t cringe just yet.  It’ll be good)

–Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

–The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

–When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Get Ready.  Get Set.  Comment!!!

The Holidays in Review…

January 3, 2009

I started this blog hoping it would replace journaling and scrapbooking.  A few months ago it occurred to me that as a journal it was doing the job, but I didn’t post enough photos to adequately consider it a scrapbook.  So, in an effort to quell the guilt of not being a “real” scrapbooker, I’m throwing the pictures up of our holiday season.  So, feel free to scroll away…

Christmas Eve was spent with some good friends around the corner.  We had scrumptious  food, a hilarious white elephant auction, and our favorite games.

will-gestures

3-girls

everyone

We started a new tradition this year.  It consisted of booby trapping the kids inside their rooms to prevent them from waking up too early and getting a peek at what Santa brought.  This new tradition being a last minute stroke of genius on my part, we didn’t have much to work with in terms of tools.  So we fastened a string onto the door of one bedroom and tied an assortment of metal measuring cups and spoons to the other end hoping that when the door opened, their escape plan would be foiled by all the racket.  (In theory).  The other door was blocked by a spare mattress and a chair.  We proved to be sneakier than the kids.  They waited patiently for us to come get them, oblivious of the danger that lurked outside the doors.  Now that they’ve caught on to our dastardly plans, we’re hoping they at least attempt to come out of their rooms early next year.

cups

mattress

door

Christmas morning.  Despite Santa cutting back on the loot this year, everyone seemed to have made out well.

family-room

erik

jack-camera

jack-dummy

will-star-wars

maddy-pictures

A few days later we packed up and headed south to Utah to celebrate the new year with my mom, my sister, and her family.

3-kids

earring

fondue

marshmallows

quelf

mom-and-jennifer

jamie

ornament

wii

will-sleeping

And in case you weren’t lucky enough to spend 6 hours in a car packed with miscellaneous belongings and four bored-to-death-because-we-didn’t-bring-the-car-with-the-DVD-player kids, here’s a little sampling of the fun I captured with my nifty new Flip camera.  Now.  BE GRATEFUL!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jSZvZvbxvo]

(I’m posting this a day early since I have a feeling tomorrow may be a nuthouse)

OK, first the good.

ice

footprints

Have I mentioned that Idaho is a unique place to live?  Living out in the country affords many opportunities not available in the confines of a city.  For instance, it snowed here in Idaho.  A lot.  And it’s been cold.  Very cold.  We accumulated enough snow to reconsider getting a second 4-wheel drive.  Yet, I have not seen hide nor hair of a snowplow anywhere but on the highway.  That leaves our neighborhood the perfect setting for doing things like this:

truck-sled

maddy-jack-sled

me-raft

Uh Oh.  Someone got left behind.

will-snow

The Bad:

Is it just me or does it seem like every year there’s  someone sick at Christmas time?  Well, this year it’s Will’s turn to be feverish, drippy, crabby, and miserable.  He’s been that way since Saturday and we’re hoping by tomorrow he’ll be much improved.  Keep your fingers crossed!

sick-will

I’m just gonna throw this next one in with the bad because I think it’s just about time that these two blonds get a haircut.

erik-reading

jack-molly

And the Ugly:

Know what happens when the kids are all out of school and you spend the day playing in the snow and baking the Christmas Eve desserts?  Your house experiences neglect and in turn, revolts in the form of dirty laundry piles, sinks full of dishes, floors just pleading for a vacuum and rooms in want of a cleaning lady.  Lest you think my house always looks photo-ready, here’s a little glimpse of what we’ll be workin’ on before the big day arrives.

laundry-room-messy

dirty-dishes

laundry-room-messy-2

locker-messy

messy-kitchen

messy-office

messy-room

Just keepin’ it real.

Happy Wednesday, thanks for stopping by and have a Wenderful Christmas!

Memory Monday

December 22, 2008

kids-in-front-of-gate

Charlotte and I figured that this is the oldest picture in the stack, dating back to about 1895.  Just to give you a little perspective, here are a few things that happened in 1895:

  • Volleyball was invented by W. G. Morgan in Massachusetts
  • George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile
  • World’s 1st movie theater opens in Paris
  • 1st cartoon comic strip is printed in a newspaper
  • Frederick E. Blaisdell patents the pencil
  • America’s 1st auto race starts; 6 cars, 55 miles, winner avg 7 MPH
  • The first professional American football game is played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club (Latrobe wins 12-0)

While all that was going on, in a tiny town near Vienna, these scrappy looking kids posed for this photo.  Here’s the story:


The five children are my grandmother and her siblings around 1895 in front of their house in a tiny village south of Vienna, Austria. From left to right are: Ferdinand, who later emigrated to Milwaukee, USA; Karola, the oldest girl, who never married, although I was told she had an unhappy love affair in her youth; Emil was the oldest, and he joined the military and became a lieutnant as far as I know; he got married, and his daughter married an American soldier after WWII and moved to Los Angeles; next is Marie (or Mitzi), who married a rich older banker who died soon and left her all his money; and, finally, Josefine, my grandmother, the practical one. Two other siblings, Laura and Paula, were born after the picture was taken.

So, it turns out that the Mitzi in this picture is the very same Mitzi in last week’s post.  Remember her? The one in the wedding photo (the one preparing to board the Titanic – not really but doesn’t she looked like she could’ve been?) with the gigantic hat on.  Turns out she was able to snag the richest guy around, help out her siblings, and live out a comfortable life with her only daughter.

Happy Memory Monday!

We are loving all the snow that blew in over the weekend  and are so happy to be done with school for two whole weeks!  Just one more trip to Target and WinCo and Santa will be welcome with open arms! How about you.  Are ready???



Fact or Fiction Friday

December 13, 2008

I’ve been so bored lately.  There seems to be nothing to do at this time of the year.  Nowhere to go, nothing to make, nobody to visit, nothing to buy.  You know how it is.  Bored…bored…BORED!

So, as I was sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I decided to google my name.  Into my google search I plugged,

“Wendy wants”

Here’s what I came up with:

  1. Wendy wants a new dress but her mum won’t buy her the one she wants.  Well, since I’d rather wear a skirt than a dress and since my “mum” is no longer the proprietor of my clothing, I’d say that’s “Fiction”.
  2. Wendy needs a little time. This is definitely “Fact”.  Time is something I could use more of, especially at this time of year.  I haven’t finished my shopping, or wrapping, and Christmas seems to be coming way too fast this year.
  3. Wendy needs help to join the US Cavers Forum . Not sure what the US Cavers are but I’m guessing it has something to do with dark, moist, cold places and if you’ve read about my fear of being buried alive, you’d know this is “Fiction”.
  4. Wendy Needs to Wake Up! This morning as I was dreaming I was flying over Hershey Park, I was rudely awakened by my 13 year-old daughter who flipped on the lights and exclaimed,  “Mom!  You need to wake up.  It’s already quarter to 7!”  So, I guess this falls under “Fact”.
  5. Wendy needs beer. That’s funny. I’m sure the consensus of my family is that sometimes I could use a drink of something stronger than water, especially at this time of the year when I feel like I’m drowning in ‘to-do’ lists and am nastier than usual.  But, since I don’t drink alcohol, I’d have to put that in the “Fiction” category.
  6. Wendy needs every measuring cup and teaspoon she can find. “Fiction”. I’m really trying hard not to bake more than necessary this year.  See the last post about this year’s Christmas card.  I’ve only baked one batch of sugar cookies which are waiting for little people to decorate them.  If my neighbors are reading this (Sherry), don’t expect anything edible from me this year.  My hips can’t afford it.
  7. Wendy needs to know that doing whippets can cause frostbite of the nose. Holy Toledo!  What in the world is a whippet?  And how do you do one?  I’ll blindly stick that one in the “Fiction” slot as well.
  8. Wendy needs a Sewing Machine. No, I do. not. need. a sewing machine.  I have one.  A nice one.  And it hasn’t seen employment in many years.  And probably won’t in many more years.  “Fiction”.
  9. Wendy needs time and space. Fact.  See #1.  And I’m a space person.  I like my elbow room.  I’m a little claustrophobic as well.  So definitely “Fact”.
  10. Wendy needs to add passion and talk a bit more about herself and her experiences and the things that make her angry. LOL!  Passion is good. I think I talk plenty about myself in this here blog and it takes a lot to make me angry.  Right, honey?  (Just nod your head)  Since this is my blog, I get to choose where to put this  one.  And I’m labeling it “Fiction”.

Happy Friday!