Sweet Living

Last week we conducted our annual gingerbread house making/decorating tradition. Every year the engineering structures, designs, and decor seem to get more elaborate and more time intensive. The tree house, frat house, led lit shingled house, Boston clock tower, barn, and Boston Temple (entries from last year and post #2) were topped by a nativity scene, a house with dormers and stained glass windows, Sarah Palin's Alaskan igloo, a Dutch windmill, and a lighthouse with actual an light. I can't wait til Louis can join in the fun of building and decorating instead of just trying to touch and destroy everything he can reach. =)

The Nativity Scene

Palin Ice Rink (with the 4 Palin kids enjoying it)

Palin Igloo (with Todd, Sarah & Trig)

The house with dormers and stained glass windows
(dormers on the other side - not pictured)

The Dutch Windmill

The Light House

Good Genes

So I guess the word's out about baby #2 on the way. Melissa wants the sex of this one to be a complete surprise. I guess that's cool since I really wanted to know when Louis was incubating.

I really don't need to be worried, I guess. As long as it's healthy. Besides it's got a good gene pool in which it's coming from - I mean just look at the smile on this kid.


Louis is saying a lot of words now. He mimics a lot and that is pretty scary considering...

Anyway, I got this forwarded to me a while ago. Hope you get a kick out it as I did.

KidsAreQuick
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TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the
floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we
didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
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TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's
cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his
father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________

Big Ups to...

A couple weeks back I was listening to the radio and heard something I needed to do a double take on. I reached for the dial and turned it, only to turn down the volume. I guess the DVR has me trained, for better or worse. At least this wasn't as bad as when I drove halfway to work when I only needed to run down the street to the supermarket. If you think this is bad ask Maverick (MB) about time warping in the Walmart parking lot - you'll get a good laugh. It's times like this that I think that it would be really cool to have a rewind button for life. Wait, isn't there a movie about this? Maybe this idea isn't so novel after all.

Anyway, doing things like this makes me realize how patterned sometimes my life can really be. For many things this is nice. It's controlled and secure. This however, has heightened my awareness of how spontaneity is really nice and refreshing at times. I have renewed energy to be and do that, which has been great. Here's an example:

Playing "What it would be like to be Homeless" with Louis on Thanksgiving. We're grateful for our warm house and beds

Later that day we played "Bee Keeper." We're also grateful for our respective professions.

You might've thought that my examples of being spontaneous would be pictures of flowers or a wonderful meal or something nice I did. Well, sorry folks, as you can tell we don't really like to get uber sappy on this thing.

Here's some pics of the wonderful lobster catch/dinner we had in August though.

Regarding my radio and supermarket experiences. I am sure (at least I hope) I am not the only one with these short term memory lapses. Please don't tell me its age is catching up to me. Sometimes I feel that way though. One instance where this was evidenced was in our annual ward Turkey Bowl. I absolutely love playing football but I can't move as quick as I would like to anymore.

Anyway to round out this random posting, I need to refer back to what I initially started blogging about; the radio. When I needed to take a double take that day, it was because I heard that Malden, YES MALDEN, was named best place in the state to raise a family. For those that don't believe me, I've provided links here to prove it. Suck it Trebek...


http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/11/1110_best_places_for_kids/22.htm
http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO94813/

AH, Malden....

Bell Rock Park, around the corner from our place.

And for those that are looking to find out just "how expensive those things [kids] really are..."

This was the first and still my favorite question that I was asked by a friend who had recently discovered he was going to be a father.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/11/1115_costof_kids/index_01.htm?campaign_id=yahoo

Graviditas

Yep, we are expecting another one (as most of you already know). I'm sure you're all so excited to see weekly belly pictures, updates on my mood and food cravings, and hear my deepest, innermost thoughts and feelings on being a vessel of life. TOO BAD. You'll be getting none of those things - especially the belly pics. My 5'1" frame does not make carrying a a child to 42 weeks (when Louis was born) a pretty site. You'll just have to use your imagination.

Anyway, the deets are:

16 weeks

Due: May 24, 2009

Free Will

Louis is finally walking. He had been taking steps since his first birthday (two and a half months ago), but refused to use it as a real mode of transportation. James could bribe him with candy to walk across an entire room, but as soon as the candy was in his mouth he would plop down and start crawling. About two weeks ago, he finally decided to abandon his speed crawl and convert to walking. The toddling around is adorable, but I do miss hearing the booming sound of his crawl he had perfected for the last seven months.

Also, here are a few pictures of Plimoth Plantation we visited last month. Like many people who have visited, James was particularly disappointed by the size Plymouth Rock (and yes, strangely they are actually spelled differently).

Naked Cowboy

Louis was loving life the night our friends brought over these cowboy boots.

I can't wait until we can use these pictures to embarass him.

VOTE

We get to vote today!

It has been interesting to me to discuss the election with James and see how we differ in our political thoughts. As we discussed who and how we were going to vote on different candidates and propositions on the ballot it was evident that we think about politics in a very different manner. James thinks about politics and candidates with his heart and gut. His presidential candidate was decided because he ‘just didn’t feel good’ about voting for the other guy. Mine was decided by his views on one particular issue that is important to me. Sometimes we come to the same decision by our different thought processes and sometimes we disagree. I love it when James has a strong opinion on a political matter that is completely opposite of me. I like that we can be in a country (and a marriage) that can have good discussions on issues and ideas that will affect our government.

I love that we have the right to be participants in the political process. I know I’m geeky, but I always get a little emotional on election day. I look forward to voting , especially for presidential elections even though I’ve only lived in states that are always decisively for one party. Even though some may say my vote in those states ‘doesn’t count’, I still get a little rush of emotion when I get to vote.

Happy voting day everyone.