Christmas in Fairfield

Christmas 2016

                  We had the greatest Christmas! It was full of dress-ups, mandarin oranges, luminaria, books, birthday candles, and gratitude.  It's such a wonderful thing to celebrate the birth of Christ with a 2 year old.  I see things from a child's perspective, and I try harder to keep it simple.  Joanne knew for weeks before Christmas that it was all about Jesus' birthday and that we would have cake and candles and sing happy birthday.  She was so excited about that.  She understands so much more than I expect her to, and she teaches me so much.  From her thoughtful prayers to her noticing in pictures of Christ that "Jesus has owies", Joanne is one observant special girl, and it's an honor being able to raise her.

Riding her bike in the usual outfit. 

Wings, dress, gloves, crown, necklace - the whole package.

Reading with Grandma.

Opening her "ducks" from Grandma.

When I was little we called our pajamas "ducks" because Joseph had duck pj's when he was young with ducks on them. That started a tradition that even carried to when I was around.  So fun that now Jody and Marian have their own ducks. Thanks Mom for making them!

      Do you see the wardrobe change? This purple dress is the best present ever given in the history of presents.  A few weeks ago we were skyping Lucy and her girls.  Jody started crying about wanting Elna's purple dress (we had no idea what she was talking about) so Elna went and put a purple dress on to see if that would make her happy.  Jody just cried and cried wanting that dress.  I heard about it long after the skype conversation was over.  Little did we know that Lucy and Elna talked and decided to send Jody the dress for Christmas.  To say Joanne was happy in an understatement.                                                                                THANK YOU, Elna! 

Grandma made diapers for Jody's dolly.

All wrapped up in the dog blanket Lance got me.

Looking fabulous with one of Joanne's new tu-tus. 

Marian and Papa

Happy birthday Baby Jesus!

What a wonderful Christmas! Thank you Mom and Papa!

Roadtrip

December 23, 2015

           We decided to spend this Christmas in California with my parents.  We were careful about when we left due to weather - and we left at the perfect time.  We hit a few hours of bad roads and some snow, but they only slowed us down a bit.  We were so grateful that the weather was good enough to get there safely.

           My oh my, Fourteen hours in a car with a toddler and baby is long.  But I planned the trip to a "T".  I had a lot of DVDs I borrowed from Lance's sister Andrea - a fun treat that doesn't happen at home.  I also bought toys from the Dollar Tree and wrapped them - so Joanne could open a present when she  needed a boost. I had treats and games and high hopes that she would at least take a nap. We left at 4:00 am to ensure that Jody would go back to sleep.  Ha. Yeah, that didn't work.

That girl didn't sleep until 9 hours into the trip! 
It was a lot of work to keep her entertained and not whining.

Sweet Marian - on the other hand - was perfect. She slept almost the whole time.  I sat in the back for part of the time to keep her entertained, but she was definitely the easy one on this trip.

Lance drove the whole time.  He was a trooper.  
Needless to say, we were SO happy to finally make it to Fairfield!

Christmas With Grandma Shelley

December 22, 2015

       Because we were going to Fairfield for Christmas, we had a mini Christmas with Grandma Shelley the night before we left.  

It was so fun! 

Grandma Shelley got Jody a Y-bike! 

We are obsessed! 

She also got princess cookie cutters for play-do. 

Thanks Grandma!

Joanne helped Lance open his gift.

That's the sign of a good gift!

Look at that smile!

This is a "Bug-a-Salt" and is a gun for shooting flies.

It's hilarious and works like a charm.

Look it up on youtube for good videos of it in action. 

Meanwhile, Marian was happy as a clam.

McLarens Visit!

December 22, 2015

          One of the reasons I love living in Utah is that it's a hub for a lot of people.  So many people have family here - so I get to see them too! This was the case when the McLarens came to our house! They stayed for lunch and we had time to catch up! It was fun to see their little boy, McInnis!  He has grown up so much! I can't wait to see what their next little boy looks like! (Marielle is due in February, so we won't have long to wait!)

          Marielle and I first met when we both auditioned for the BYU harp department.  We were both blessed to be the two harpists to get into the program that year.  Our friendship grew over the next years at BYU together. One of the best parts about majoring in harp at BYU is that there was a strong feeling of camaraderie in our group.  There were usually only seven or eight of us and we, amazingly, didn't have a lot of competition between us.  I am so lucky to be friends with such amazing people! When Lance and I were married, Marielle came to Fairfield and did all of our flowers and did my hair for the wedding.  She did an incredible job! What an incredible friend!

        Now Marielle and McKay are the owners of an ice cream parlor in Payson.  It is a great vintage "Shoppe" that is about 10 minutes from my house. They now live in Texas, but because Payson is so close it means I get to see her when she's in town.   What a treat! 

Thanks for coming over Marielle and McKay!

Marielle and Marian. 

McKay reading to Jody and Marian. 

These two were being so cute together here!

Later Jody had a hard time sharing...shocker.

Bye Daisy

December 14, 2015

         Daisy has a new owner.  We made a hard decision and decided to give her to someone who could run and play with her more than we can.  Between our having Marian and Lance's hours at work, we have not been able to give Daisy the time she needs. We realized that we were always going to be busy and Daisy would never be a top priority.  The decision was hardest for Lance, but all of us agree that she will be happier with a family that can be with her more.

     We haven't told Jody - and she hasn't asked about her yet. So we are hoping she will be OK. (Because Daisy has been outside in her kennel most of the time, Jody isn't used to constantly seeing her.) Out of sight - out of mind.

Such a sweet puppy.

Lance and I are confident that there is no better dog for kids than Daisy. 

To say she is patient is an understatement.

The family who got Daisy is a hunting family. (Can you tell?)

They hunt three times a week (!!) and have kids that will love her. 

They had to take the kennel down during a snow storm.  

Dress Ups

December 2015

      Our little Joanne is SO into dress-ups. All day every day. And not just one dress will do. She wears at least two dresses at once along with accessories.  She is a girly-girl and I love it! 

Her suitcase full of dress ups, an Ariel dress, fairy wings, and a witch hat. 

Her Ariel dress mixed with purple and blue petticoats.

Then she adds a purse. 

Fancy Nancy right here!

Meanwhile, Marian is absolutely perfect in every way - happy just watching Fancy Nancy!

Dinner at Lynn's

December 2015

Uncle Lynn invited us and Camilla over for dinner. We had a wonderful time!  Thanks Uncle Lynn!

This is right before we left. 

Lynn and Marian

Camilla reading to Jody.

Thank you Lynn and Camilla for loving our girls!

Our Piano

December 17, 2015

       Back in August, Norm Ortiz, my piano teacher back home, found a piano that I could have for free. The piano is a 1918 Worlitzer Grand.  It's beautiful! Lance drove down to Fairfield in Lynn's truck for Yosemite so that he could bring the piano back.   The BYU HFAC  piano tuner, Keith Kopp, checked it out and told me that it needed a lot of work and it would cost quite a bit.  Finally we were able to pay for it.  He came for almost a full day and worked on our piano.  It was so fun to watch him work. Now the piano works and we are THRILLED!! 

He had to pull the action out to repair it.  

This guy knows his stuff! 

It is so great having a working piano in my home!!  Thank you Mr Ortiz!

Goodbye Brittany

December 12, 2015

       Brittany Hooper, one of my wonderful friends from my days in Spanish Fork, is moving to North Carolina.  We will miss her but it's a really really great thing for her family - and she is getting an incredible house. So Jamie Wiser, Brittany and I -  and most of our kids - got together for lunch at Zupas the day before she left.  (I got the best Veggie Sandwich.) We had such a great time.

     I was only in Spanish Fork for a little less than a year but I made the most wonderful friends while I was there.  Brittany and Jamie invited me to do everything with them. We went on walks together, had game and movie nights, babysat for each other, and conforted each other during hard times.
These girls are such gems and I'm so lucky to have them in my life!

Left to right: Brittany, Reese, Jamie, Audrey, Joanne, Me, Marian

These girls love each other!