Ouch

Last Sunday at our family dinner, I realized how loud kids are when they get together.  There was a little wrestling/brawling going on when I went to investigate the yelling.

After volleyball on Monday, I went to my brother's place.  We heard some shrieking from Lincoln and when we found him, he'd fallen over the tub and was holding himself up, completely stuck.  I had to laugh that he could get himself into this situation.

One night this week, something beeped on my phone after I'd fallen asleep.  I was laying on my stomach and my phone was near my head on the left.  As I reached for it with my right hand, my arm was in the way and I gouged myself.  Ouch!

I finally took down my Christmas stuff, so my front room is back in order.  My visiting teacher's were coming over, so I had to put away the disarray that had been my house for a week.  VTs are always so helpful, aren't they? ;)

I got to spend this weekend with Audrey for her birthday celebration.  So what if her birthday was in September.  ;)  We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then had a sleepover.

Perfect for a little karaoke the next day.

Just a shot for fun... the horses that live at the end of my street, right by my church.  I'm loving the snow-capped mountains.

Fun and Games

One thing that I love about being back in Utah is getting to see my adorable nieces and nephews all the time.  My mom always cooks Sunday dinner for us, so we gather at her house weekly.  These little men are the cutest things.  I could seriously just sit and watch Ganon for hours... he makes me laugh and laugh with how excited and full of energy he is.

Monday, after my women's volleyball games, my parents and I went to Subway for some eats.  As I left, I realized I was so close to my friend Amy's house, so I stopped by to say hello.  She made me watch the rest of Once Upon A Time with her and got me hooked on that show.  Then she nonchalantly asked me if I wanted to make some pudding.  How did she read my mind?  ;)

Tuesday, I was able to test random knowledge with some of my favorite peeps at trivia night.  Something that we liked in Boston and found out they actually do it in SLC too!  We came in fourth place!  That sounds impressive until I tell you there were only five teams.  At least we didn't come in dead last.  ;)

Just a little share of my workplace.  I made those snowball decorations for our Christmas party and had to keep a few for my office.  Also notice the cookie fortunes (which I seem to collect) and my dolls from Bolivia (nod to my heritage).  And... I work in Excel all the time.  My team will tell you that I'm obsessed with it.  I'm not... completely, but, you really can do such amazing things with it.  ;)

Friday, my friend Nancy joined me at the U of U Red Rocks gymnastics meet against USU.  Really, no competition... the U has Olympians on their team.  Amazing to see the things they can do with their bodies.

Saturday, I helped my brother Patrick with his move.  When it was time to say good-bye, Ganon was so adorable saying, "come see me again."  Love that little man.  He just melts my heart.

Welcome 2012

I know I have been MIA for a while. I plan to still go back and post some highlights from the last year and a half, but for now, just moving on.  I also started a new thing my friend at work told me about: My365.  A picture a day for the year on my iphone.  Just be warned I may or may not post something for every day... ;)

I rang in 2012 at a mid-singles party at Noah's.  I have to admit that I was not looking forward to it.  I haven't been to a giant event like this in years, wasn't sure I would know anyone besides my friends, and they can be torturesome.  Fortunately, I had a fabulous time.  I ran into a bunch of my Boston friends and we brought out all our retro moves on the '80s dance floor.  I also ran into people I knew when I lived in Salt Lake five years ago... great surprises.  It has been a long time since I had so much fun at a dance.

The next night I helped my friend Amy put together these animal print panels for her African-themed living room.  We just stretched material and batting over frame pieces.  Not too hard and they add the finishing touch to the room.

I had to go back to work on Tuesday and when I came home the light and fan were on in my living room.  Can I just say creepy?  I walked around to peek inside the windows, then called my friend as I walked in to make sure no one was waiting for me inside.  It turns on with a button, so I must have brushed against it that morning.  Still weird.  I've only had one other freak out since I bought my house.  I came home late one night to discover I hadn't closed the garage that morning... and no, I don't lock that inside door.  I had also just heard some bad news about a friend being attacked and I was in tears going inside.  The perks of living alone.

Thursday was the first night of a co-ed volleyball league I'm playing in with my friend Destin.  I don't know why, but just in the last couple of years, it doesn't scare me to play defense against strong hitters anymore. I think it suddenly clicked how to read hitters and I can anticipate where the ball is going a little better.  Anyway, our team is off to a great start... we won all four of our games!

Mollie, my old roommate in Boston, is passing through town and I was able to go to dinner with her Friday.  So good to see her and catch up on our old friends.  AND we had yummy Italian (my favorite) at Macaroni Grill.  Bonus!

Saturday was Russian Christmas so... С Рождеством!  My friends and I used to have breakfast when I was living in Boston and came home for Christmas (seemed to be the easiest time for us all to get away from our families), so that's what we did yesterday morning.  Yummy omelets and hash browns.

 In the afternoon, I watched my nephews for a few hours while my brother packed  (they're moving next week).  Ganon wanted to play "hide-seek" but every time I said, "ready or not, here I come," he would come running out of his hiding place.  After a few of those, I decided to make him look for me.  Sometimes he would come straight to me, but if he didn't, he'd start asking, "Char-Char, are you? Char-Char, are you?"  So cute to hear his squeal when he found me.  :)  My nieces were there for pizza dinner and we played a Disney Music game. I love getting to spend time with my family.

Back in the Motherland

I arrived safe and sound in Moscow yesterday. I was able to see my Russian companion from my mission, Sister Gorbunova. She conveniently moved to Moscow two months ago. Miracle, right? After a quick stop at home, we went to Red Square and some of the sites around there. I will post more later, but just wanted you all to know I was safe. :)

More Beach Time

One of my favorite things about not working is being able to go to the beach during the week when it's not so crowded. I also need to take advantage of living near the ocean before I'm back in Utah. I'm so glad Mollie is a fan of the beach too. :)

Seuss Sculptures

On the way to Palmyra, James mentioned that not only was Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, but there was a sculpture garden dedicated to him there. Of course, I begged for us to stop there on the way back. So fun to see life-size characters, especially Sam from Green Eggs and Ham, my favorite book when I was little.

Palmyra Port

We camped overnight in the fairgrouds and this was the sunrise we awoke to...
We tried to go to a diner for breakfast, but apparently we are early risers and they weren't open yet. It did help us stumble onto this pond and dock on the Erie Canal.

Next, we decided to go to the Sacred Grove while it was early and there wouldn't be many people.
We ended up staying for a long time, walking all around, reading the Joseph Smith story and singing. I loved the peaceful feeling there.
At the Visitor's Center, we found a sculpture of Joseph Smith that James' uncle made. He actually has a very artistic family that has made many art pieces for the Church.


Trina met up with us at that point. She grew up in Palmyra, and was a great tour guide. We went to the top of the Hill Cumorah...

...grabbed some lunch at the cute cafe we'd try to go to earlier that morning...


...and toured the Grandin Printing Press, where the first edition of the Book of Mormon was published...

...before Trina took us to her favorite ice cream joint. I told you she was a great tour guide. ;)

Hill Cumorah

Some friends and I drove to the Hill Cumorah Pageant this weekend. When we were nearly there, we spotted this beauty of a truck. The kid was totally nice and told us he special orders these tires from the military. He even let James climb in for a picture.

At the pageant, we ran into Hugo and Trina, who both just randomly happened to be there as well. I made everyone try salt potatoes. If you are ever there, get some... they're delicious.

I attended the pageant once before, in 1998. Many things have changed, but the Spirit was the same. Amazing. Below are Lehi at the Tree of Life and Alma at the Waters of Mormon.

Houghton Pond

My cute friend Sharla and I decided to go for an adventure yesterday. While driving through the Blue Hills, we stumbled across this pond. It was a little chilly for swimming, but it looked like a fun place to have a picnic activity.
So fun to catch up with this girl!

Freedom and Fun

Thursday, we finally finished the Freedom Trail. Ethan didn't love this part of the trip, but I hope he learned something he will remember. The humidity and hot weather probably didn't help. :)

My stubborn Ethan. ;)

The interactive museum at the USS Constitution Naval Yard was a big hit.

Here you tried to balance on the mast like a sailor would. I don't know if someone would be trying to throw you off like Jess did, though.

On Friday, we finally went to Six Flags... the thing Ethan had been looking forward to all week. Probably all summer. ;) He was in roller coaster heaven.
We all got some henna tattoos. My first ever. So fun for summer.

We ended the trip, Saturday, with a little New England original, candle pin bowling. The pins are straight instead of round, and you get three little hand-sized balls each frame. Our scores were not very high... it's harder than it looks.

I'm so glad you came to visit, Ethan and Jess. Love you guys!