Kicking off the Christmas Season

A few weeks ago we went up to Prescott, AZ for the city's annual light festival and program. It was the first time since moving to Arizona that we've needed to pull out our winter coats. Noelle didn't even have a winter coat that fit and I made her wear the one I bought that is two sizes too big. The program was short and concise and as they read the story of the nativity they would turn on the lights in the park. It wasn't Temple Square, but it was a nice start to the Christmas season.

Since then we've made a couple of drives through our neighborhood to check out the lights on the houses. I guess since its warm here everyone puts up lights, except for us. When we get home Noelle informs us of her displeasure with our lack of lights.

Christmas Caramels

Back in the day when we managed to live in about 600 square feet and our lives were less complicated I made my first batch of caramels. It was to be used as our "neighbor" gifts. So I pulled out the biggest pot I had and went to work. Little did I know that all that sugar and cream boils for eternity and can make a pretty sticky mess. My biggest pot wasn't big enough and my longest spoon not long enough. I remember holding onto the very tip of that spoon hoping not to incur any more burns to my fingers. I'm not sure it ever really made it to the "soft ball" stage, but nonetheless they were really yummy. That event resulted in asking for a much larger pot and longer spoons.

Fast forward six years later to today when I tried to make another lovely batch of caramels. Its not a super complicated task, however once you get far enough involved you must "stir constantly." I'm really good at stirring and recalled the events of previous attempts. I was not going to let this fail. When it got about three degrees from done Noelle informs me that she needs to go potty. I had a small conversation in my head that went something like this:

"Should I take her to the bathroom or tell her to wait until I'm done with caramels? But what kind of lesson am I teaching to my potty training toddler? The caramels will be fine."

After the quickest stop in the bathroom I run back to my bubbly pot and start stirring to see I've finally reach the temp I've been waiting for only to find that we've got some extra brownage on the bottom of the pot. They're still delicious and look pretty, but that is a tough lesson no matter which way you look at it. Needless to say, we've not had to change Noelle's clothes all day long. Now that's worth a caramel.

Practicing for Christmas Morning

Noelle has been doing her best at rehearsing the times she will attempt to wake up on Christmas morning. As her mother I've been rehearsing taking her back to bed. It never goes as planned, for either one of us, however we still endure. This morning was especially rare. 5:15am wasn't that bad, considering we've had all hours. Of course there is the crying for water and being sad that she has to get back in her bed, but I left the door to her room slightly open as part of my own tricks. When she decided to get up again I think she smacked into the door expecting it to be closed (first complication), then she came into our room and just stood looking at me. I hate having a shadowy figure staring at me while I try to sleep, its just creepy. I finally asked her what she was doing and her words were, "You go away." For Noelle this is the sure sign that she would like privacy, in the bathroom sense. Seriously, don't we all? After explaining that it was my room and that she was welcome to leave she walked out the door for a few seconds maybe minutes, I was in and out of consciousness so I can't be sure, to tell me that she had indeed pooped. Being so wise she won't sit after such business and just stood there, that same shadowy figure, until I told her to go and find the wipes and a diaper. No I didn't get up and turn on any lights for her, but miraculously she found what she needed and we continued on with the task. Hopefully we can improve our system in the next week and keep our fingers crossed for seven o'clock.

Merry Christmas

I thought I would start this holiday season off by giving many of my closest friends and family a computer virus. It was one of those unintentional gifts that just seems to keep on giving. One of the real disappointing kind of gifts. So I'm truly sorry if you got some strange email from me and tried to open it. Next year I'll shoot for rocking horses and not Trojan horses.

And That's What I Get for Posting

While being thankful and feeling so happy to be ironing my tablecloth, Noelle comes into the office and says, "Look I have lipstick."

She is then asked to hand over the yellow hi-lighter. I figure I can take care of that in a minute with a baby wipe. Noooo sir. She then comes in with this face. And that's why we're thankful for Noelle.

I don't remember giving birth to The Joker.

Things to be Thankful For

Well this day started out pretty well considering how thankful I am for GoogleReader and all the posts I've already read to get me right into the Thanksgiving spirit before I go and attack my kitchen in full force, starting with the dough for rolls. Thanks to friends and family for putting up their own lists of things to be grateful for and the reminder that it doesn't take much to find joy in our lives if we just stop and check ourselves out. Here is my short list of things I'm thankful for:

Boo - For the past seven months we've been able to hang out more than ever, really. If someone had told me long ago we'd do that I would have laughed and said it would never work, but it did and now that he leaves every morning, I really miss him. He's a hard worker and a great dad.

Employment - It seems so cliche, but if you only knew.

The Internet - This is my window to the world and it doesn't even make me sad to say that. I love shopping here, keeping up with friends, and just generally finding information that I might not otherwise know.

NPR - I often say, "Everything I know I learned from NPR." Its so nice of them to have interesting people on and to let me listen in to their conversation. It has served me well in many capacities for carrying on a decent conversation with someone who is way, way smarter than I. Thanks NPR.

Family - As my sister says, we have a zillion siblings and many parents. Luckily we all seem to like each other pretty well, and miss each other when its been a while since the last visit. Thanks to my mom who used to remind us to be thankful for a dad. (It was the 80's and it seemed deadbeat dads were a hot topic and thankfully we did not have one of those, but sometimes needed that reminder.) Thanks for in-laws who love and accept us, despite how different we might be from them.

A House - We've been apartment dwellers for a long time, so moving into a house was a big deal. Loudness , stomping and all other forms of irreverence could ensue without a thump from a neighbor or the gentle comment of "Wow were you guys having a party last night?" Our house has also allowed us to have people over more than ever. We have room to host friends and family, especially for our Thanksgiving feast. That makes me happy.

Heavenly Father - Blessings really do come, even if its not on our time. But its ever so important to remember where they come from and why. For that I'm thankful, even if I don't always know it.

Gettin' Ready

I was reading on Facebook today that someone was looking for an opinion on a good poster. One of the suggestions was "Rise and Shout, The Losers are Out!" I love it. I'm already planning on sending my zen thoughts to the Utah football team while I sleep tonight. Here's to a great game tomorrow, Go Utes!

San Diego

This past weekend we took a trip to San Diego. It didn't take much coaxing to convince Boo that we needed to end our extended summer vacation off right. We did everything the cheap way, you know, eBay, discount travel sites, etc... We ended up paying next to nothing for tickets to our choice of the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park. We did the wild animal park that is a zoo/ safari. Noelle thought it great and liked to have some freedom to get out and roam a little bit. We rode the carosel, played in a children's discovery land, saw some really amazing birds and animals then took an African safari tour.

After our zoo experience we checked into our "super" cheap Super 8. There was actually not a single super thing about the whole hotel experience. I told Boo we should have asked to cash in some Marriot points from his dad and move down a couple buildings. Too little too late by then. The next day we headed out early (to get out of our sweet digs) to Balboa Park. I've seen it posted online as the Central Park of the west coast. We got there early and had no troubles finding parking and making our way around. We visited many of the gardens, played in the fountains and took in some sweet people watching. Parks never disappoint.

After some much needed afternoon naps we headed out to watch the Utah football team take down the San Diego State Aztecs. Honestly, the game was kind of sad. I'm pretty sure that there were more Utah fans than SDSU fans. I guess they could make the argument that Qualcom Stadium is ginormous, but really... It was fun however to be part of the Utes awesome season this far.

Driving home we took a different route, the border route. Needless to say it was an interesting site to see.

Who says you can't survive in the desert...

Found this little guy all huddled up on my front yard the other night. Was worried that he would end up in the road...and wondered what I could do to prevent that...

...there are so many tasty rabbit recipes on the net!

Where did all the cookies go?

I was really looking forward to eating a couple of Rachel's spice cookies the other day when I came upon this scene. "Where did all the cookies go?" I asked Noelle. This is the look she gave me. Notice both cheeks are full and all the remaining cookies in the background GONE!

Happy Halloween

It was hard to decide which costume to use, but when it came down to deciding, Noelle went with WALL-E. I was kind of shocked at how many people knew what she was - despite it being all over the costume.

(She's such a big kid carrying her candy bag)

We had a fun Halloween with the Weeks. We ate yummy homemade chili and fried up some doughnuts then went out trick-or-treating for a couple of blocks. Even though they only live a few blocks away, their development knows how to rock Halloween. In their neighborhood for the most part the people come out and sit in their drive ways or on the porch and wait for the kids to come by. A lot of people decorated their front yards quite elaborately.

Boo and the Weeks' pet gorilla, who really liked to steal candy from unsuspecting kids

We tried to snap a self portrait and the first one was hideous, but by the second Noelle was done. So I'm dodging her Tootsie Pop while trying not to drop her.

Noelle's Papa got her a Halloween shirt and a pumpkin. Her shirt says "My magic power is being cute!" He made us promise to take a picture for Grammy of Noelle with her pumpkin. So this is for you Gram.

The video is so you can get the full effect of WALL-E's glowing eyes walking down the street. She was a very focused trick-or-treater.

Getting Into the Halloween Spirit

This past week we've been gearing up for trick-or-treating and trying to decide which costume to wear on Halloween night. First we had a neighborhood/park group Halloween party complete with fingerling hot dogs, bubbling punch and other scary treats and activities. After searching Hell's half acre looking for orange tights (not to mention the web and mall) we donned the chicken costume equipped with new orange tights and bows. She makes a cute chicken.

After we got home she was modeling her new orange legs for us.

For our ward camp out/ tent-or-treat we were asked to bring costumes with a camp-like theme or something made out of recycled type goods. Boo took this to heart and has been working on Noelle's camping costume for the past week or so. Being that one of her newer obsessions is Wall-E the robot, Boo made a Wall-E costume from cardboard, duct tape, Gatorade bottles, paper cups, spray paint, and a few other crafting items found around the house.

This was the first real test before tent-or-treating and already she was tired of us taking pictures.

All week Noelle has been asking to "see" Wall-E, obviously wanting to see with her hands. However, Boo knows how destructive she can be and only let her check him out under strict supervision. It only took a few tries to secure his head, but the end result was awesome. We got a lot of Oohs and Ahhs and i can only imagine what the lit up eyes looked like as we traveled through the woods from tent to tent. The camp out wouldn't have been complete without tin foil dinners, campfire stories and some fun activities for the kids.

Destructo

Noelle came into the office about five minutes after I had just brush and flossed and said, "Look Mom, a flower."

It smelled good and the way she was holding did look similar to a bouquet of pretty blue and white flowers.

However, I do need to replace my container of floss. Nothing is safe anymore at our house. Nothing. (However, if my parents dressed me in Punky Brewster PJ's I might destroy stuff too!)

Practicing for Halloween

Noelle is practicing her Chicken Dance skills so that when she dons the entire chicken costume on Halloween, she'll be ready. (Don't mind the accompaniment)

Weekend Update

On Friday we went costume hunting. I think we narrowed it down and all we need is a pair of orange tights. Harder to find then you might think. Noelle is going to be a chicken. We bought the costume at a super discount last year in hopes that it might fit for this Halloween. The pants are too short and will cook her inside out anyway, hence the need for tights. (the top half of the costume will cook her inside out too, thanks Arizona.) While out on our tight hunting excursion we stopped to get some ice cream from Cold Stone (or Stone Cold as I usually refer to it for all you WWE fans.) On our way back to the car we were discussing the amount of crickets in the flower beds and the strange looking antennae sticking out of a hole in the cinder blocks. This was our exchange:

Boo: "I think they're cockroaches."
Rach: "It looks like there are two of them."
Boo: "Maybe they're mating. Are they mating?"
Rach: "I don't know what cockroaches mating looks like."
Boo: Spits into said flower bed - cockroaches scatter - very fast.
Rach: "Holy cow those are huge!"

Yes giant cockroaches, running for their mating lives. Dis-gust-ing.

On Saturday I got my crafting groove on and made some fun things at a church craft day. The last of said days ever. Stupid men don't know what women like, so let's cancel their craft day, forever. Lame.

I did learn some new stuff and, gee whiz, just what I need a new hobby, rub-on transfers. So cool.
Boo was the clean-up crew. No typo, he was literally the clean-up crew and so excited about it.

We watched the Red Sox lose in the 7th game of their series, which means that baseball season if officially over for me. Hooray! Time to concentrate on college football.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye...

We have finally endured what seemed like the longest drive home in the whole history of my life, to and from Utah in a whirlwind trip. We drove straight through and I (Rachel) nearly killed my family. Its just really hard to be the waitress of the steel cage, getting the fallen sippy cups, stuffed animals, dressing and undressing Barbie, as well as making sure all electronics are well and functioning. I'm pooped. I kept trying to convince Boo to let me do some driving, but I know he hates taking on the waiter role as much as I do. Its very hard to imagine doing this drive again for the holiday season.

While in "Zion" we took in some conference, tried to cure our colds, went to the zoo, a birthday party, played with our dog friends, and shoveled nearly four tons of rocks and dirt. That was a lot of shoveling. Luckily the weather was nice, the company fantastic, an overall eventful trip. Thanks to all the family that hosted us and entertained our baby. We love you all and will see you sooner rather than later.

Noelle and her dog friends, Jack and Eddie, the Merry-go-round at the zoo and a peacock who wanted to eat Goldfish crackers from her hand. (The turkeys at the zoo where trying to make their way over to the crackers but I think they got lost within the tables at the food court.)

Although the drive home consisted of certain movies being watched multiple times, a couple of stops for leg stretching and a few minor meltdowns, I'm sure we'll recover quickly.

Also, a side note...Boo passed the Arizona bar exam, hooray!!!