The Christmas Letter That Didn't Go Out

I'm sure many of you know how bad I am about sending out Christmas cards or letters. Really, I am very jealous of people who do these so well. I just never know what to say without boring people to death or bragging about my son. The crazy thing is that I buy Christmas cards EVERY YEAR; I just never get around to sending them out. But I think they are a great way to sum up the year and let friends and family know what is going on in your life.

So, here's what our Christmas letter would have said if I had actually written one and sent it out.

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas! As the year comes to a close, we wanted to let you know we are thinking about you and hope you are doing well. We have appreciated the friendship, love, and support you give to us and want to let you know what is happening with us.

I guess I should start with Tyler, since he is the center of our lives. He is getting so big (he's 21 months old), which brings mixed feelings of sadness about how quickly he's growing and joy at watching him learn and grow. He talks almost nonstop, even if we can't understand everything he says. He says a lot of words now like doggie, mom, daddy, one, two, cool, wow, I love you, hey, no, Sadie, beep, park, go for walk, and many more. He's quite the comedian and will do anything to make us laugh; he keeps us very entertained. He's definitely a daddy's boy and absolutely adores Chris. He follows him around the house when he gets home from work and runs to him for safety when I try to put him in bed or change his diaper. We feel very blessed to have him our family.

Early this year, Chris won a bid to do the plumbing for a big construction project in Hurricane. Since last year had been a slow, difficult year, we felt this was the opportunity Chris had been waiting for and were very excited about it. After praying, going to the temple, contemplating, etc., we received confirmation that we should move to St. George to start this project in August. So, we put our house on the market in May and moved to St. George with Chris' brother and his young wife in July.

Unforunately, the project was put on hold 6 weeks after we moved here, and we don't know when or if it will start. Our home still hasn't sold due to the down housing market. But we still feel like we are where we're supposed to be and we're doing what we should be doing. Luckily, we have had just enough work to keep our business going and our bills paid, but we wonder how much longer we can keep going.

At the close of this year, we wonder what is in store for the Hood's? We face the difficult decision of whether to keep plugging along with our business until the economy improves, or to close our business and look for other opportunities. Only time will tell.

Although, this has been a roller-coaster year (or, two years), we feel we have been very blessed, even if it hasn't been in the ways we had hoped for. We have witnessed small miracles, and we have felt love, concern, and support from our family and friends. We know our Heavenly Father knows who we are and is watching out for us. We've found that through good times and bad, we still love each other and are grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also look forward to the new year with hope and optimism. We hope you feel the blessings of our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ as well. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

Love,
the Hoods

Christmas Day

Christmas was fun, busy and stressful this year. We went up to my mom's house a couple days before Christmas, because we sort of missed the snow and wanted to drive around and see lights on trees, other than palms, accented by the snow. We also needed some Christmas cheer, since this has been a difficult year for us.

Christmas morning we woke up to the snowy blizzard outside my mom's house. It was nice and relaxed with Chris, Tyler, Becca, and my mom. We only took a couple of gifts up for Tyler, since I didn't want to overwhelm him or have him spread all the pieces to his toys out at my mom's house. (Mostly, I didn't want to have to haul everything up there, just so I could haul it all back home.)

All of my family, except Mike and his family (who were blizzarded in at their house), came to my mom's house for the usual Christmas brunch. It was filled with the usual craziness of talking adults and laughing, playing kids running throughout the house. The grandkids did their usual gift exchange, which was very fun to watch (kids are so sweet with excitement over opening gifts). Tyler got a stuffed dog, which fell asleep hugging on the drive home. He loves dogs; infact, his favorite word is doggie (second favorite is mom, although he prefers dad).

Unfortunately, our trip was cut short due to worries about the storms. As soon as the kids had finished opening their gifts from my mom, we had to start heading home in an attempt to avoid a bigger blizzard and huge storm between Beaver and Cedar City. We were sad we didn't get to visit my grandparents or Chris' grandparents. Luckily, we made it home before a monsoon-type storm hit St. George a couple hours after we got home. Apparently, they ended up closing the I-15 between Beaver and Cedar City later that night and didn't open it again till the following day, so we did luck out coming back when we did.

When got home, we finished opening Tyler's presents and had a cozy Christmas barbeque dinner (despite the monsoon outside). Although, it was a small Christmas for us, we had a great time watching Tyler open his gifts. After opening each gift, he exclaimed either, "Wow!" or "Cool!" ("Cool" is his new word.) Kids make Christmas so much more fun. I don't know what we'd do without him.

Holiday Cheer

Today, as I was doing my mid-morning walk, I decided to walk through the mall parking lot for a short cut on my way back home. Unfortunately, I witnessed the craziness that this holiday can cause. Apparently, one guy had stolen another guy's parking spot. The 75-year old guy claimed he had been waiting for over 5 minutes for that parking spot. The 65-year old guy claimed he didn't see him waiting and said he'd been waiting for it, too. From my perspective, I honestly hadn't seen the 75-year old's blinker, but I was a annoyed (at first) for him, since this has happened to me before.

BUT! It didn't end there! Nope, the 75-year old guy kept spitting out a long list of swear words and telling the 65-year old to move his car or he'd beat him up. The 65-year old got out of his car (he being big a man big in stature - 6'5" and average weight) and asked him why he was yelling so much and what did he say he was going to do? The older guy rolled up his window leaving a crack and held up his pepper spray through the crack with a warning. The 65-year old said he wasn't going to argue anymore and told his wife to come out of the car to go into the mall.

Now, you may think this would end it. BUT, you'd be wrong. As the 65-year old couple was walking into the mall, the 75-year old man, who hadn't moved his car an inch (still parked behind the other car preventing him from moving even if he ever planned to), got out of his car holding a knife or some other sharp silver object and had decided to vandalize the other car.

However, the 65-year olds had turned around and started shouting at him through the parking lot that he better not touch their car or they would report him (They had his license plate number). The 75-year old still using his long list of foul words said he every right since they had stolen his parking space, which he kept mentioning he had waited for over 5 minutes for. He kept inching closer to their car with his sharp, silver object in hand each time they turned around.

Finally, the 65-year old wife came back towards the car as she was dialing for the police. When the 75-year old saw she was calling the police, he too started dialing the police. I finally walked away as I heard him tattling, "These people stole my parking space and wouldn't give it back."

I felt safe that the police could now deal with this holiday "cheer", and probably have a good laugh over it at the station.

Why had I stayed so long? Well, for the entertainment of it, and in case they needed a witness (in case anyone was killed over this parking space stealing incident).

THE KICKER IS: The parking lot wasn't full. Just six spaces down, there were plenty more spots. It's not like University Mall or SouthTowne Mall, where you may have to drive around for 30 minutes to find any parking spot. IT WAS JUST A CLOSE SPOT!

Ages have been guessetimates, used only to show how even seniors get upset over silly things.

The lesson I learned: shop online!

Our Christmas Tree

We put our tree up 2 1/2 weeks ago. Tyler has done a little redecorating since; for some reason, he can't seem to stay away from the sparkles and lights. He loves the tree, and always exclaims, "Wow!" every time we turn the lights on. I don't know where he got the "Wow!" stage from, but it is very cute and very sincere.

Let It Snow!

Surprisingly, St. George does get snow. It snowed all day on Monday, but nothing stuck. Then it snowed again all day on Wednesday and all night. We used these opportunities to drive around and look at the lights, so it would feel more like Christmas, which was a fun family outing.

Thursday, we woke up to a measly 2 inches for all that snowing effort. I had to laugh when I heard that schools had closed down due to the snow. For two inches??? You've got to be kidding me. (Later, I learned they don't have snow removal equipment here in St. George).

A lady at the doctor's office said it hasn't snowed like this in 17 years, so people here don't know how to drive in it. What??? It was only 2 inches. I was skeptical that it had really been 17 years, but, when I asked my neighbor friend about it, she said it's true. Apparently, it may snow briefly like once or twice a year, but it never sticks.

Chris isn't happy about the cold weather, which he says is what he wanted to leave behind when we moved here. He keeps walking around the house saying, "Just my luck. It snows worse than it has in 30 years just because I moved here." I never told him 30 years. As for me, it was only 2 inches, and I liked that it made things feel more like Christmas (Christmas lights on palm trees and cacti just doesn't quite do the trick for me).

Quirky Tag

I've been tagged. I guess I'm supposed to reveal 6 of my quirkiest quirks. Unfortunately, I have more than I can write, but here are some of my biggest oddities.

1. I look out the front window a few times a day for no reason at all. I don't know why I do this. I guess I'm just waiting for something exciting to happen.

2. I am OCD about light switches, hangers, and chapstick. Before I go to bed every night, I have to make sure all of the light switches are down (which can sometimes be difficult if there is more than one switch for one light). Unfortunately, the dumb electrician who wired our current house has made this impossible in the kitchen, family room, and downstairs family room. Chris likes to play tricks on me with the light switches, which drives me batty. My hangers have to be the same colors as the item of clothing that is hung on them, and my closet it arranged by color. My lips must be moistened to the perfect moistness. April and Chris will be happy to know I have relaxed a bit on this chapstick obsession. I do have several tubes of chapstick around the house, though.

3. I hate celery. I know this isn't really a quirk, but I had to get that off my chest.

4. I'm crazy about numbers. I mean really crazy. If I see numbers, I'll add them, subtract them, multiply them, rearrange them, ..... dwell on them till I go crazy...........or get a result I like.

5. I look at my own blog daily as if there might be something new or exciting on there. Usually, there isn't since I haven't written anything.

6. I use my bra as my secret pocket (for money, my cell phone, or keys). Chris and Tyler know my secret. My sisters think it's gross.

Well, I hope we're all still friends now that you know my secretest secrets. That's me. A little kookoo with a little normal in there too. I hope you'll want to share, too. Jill, cousin Anjella, April, Michele, and anyone else who might read this.

Wow!!!

While we were in town for the weekend, Chris and I decided to take Tyler to see the lights at Thanksgiving Point. My mom came along with us, which was fun, too. One the way there, Tyler got in a grumpy mood because he didn't want to sit in his car seat. No matter how hard we tried to get him excited to see the lights, it didn't work. He whined and cried and whined and cried. I was beginning to worry that it wasn't a good idea to go to see the lights with him being a miserable little pain. But as we drove into the opening where the lights started, Tyler finally looked up at the lights and stated, "Wow!!!" with so much excitement you could tell he meant it. He said "wow" a few times while we drove through the light displays. It was very cute. I didn't really think the lights there were that spectacular, but having a little child there made it so much more fun. Christmas is definitely better with kids around.

Two Thanksgivings

I love Thanksgiving. I love what it stands for - Gratitude (for making it through another year). I love being with family. And I love the food.

Since, we got married, Chris and I have started a tradition of doing our own Thanksgiving meal either the Sunday before or after Thanksgiving. This year we did it before. It's fun because I like to cook, and I am trying to find the best recipes to our favorite holiday dishes. I think I have found my favorite apple pie recipe (I actually got it off "Take Home Chef" - very yummy) and my favorite yam recipe. I'm still working on finding a really delicious stuffing recipe, though. Chris mainly just loves the turkey and potatoes. He kept wanting to go home from church early, because he was so excited. It was worth the wait. And the leftovers are wonderful, too.

We went to my mom's for Thanksgiving. This year it was just us, Mike's family, Becca, and my mom. For some that may sound big, but it was small for us since it was an off year for the rest of the family. It was a nice, quaint group for a wonderful meal.

Now, it's time for Christmas festivities to start. Woohoo!

Ma'am???

Yesterday, as I was walking home from church, a man passing by said, "Hello, Ma'am." Ma'am???...Ma'am??? I didn't realize I had become a Ma'am. What happened to the days when I was called "young lady"? I can't figure out why something so simple bothers me so much. For some reason, Ma'am seems so old to me (and proper). I don't feel like a Ma'am. Unfortunately, I can't think of a better way to be addressed. But, surely, there must be a better way.

Anyway, if you pass me on the street, please don't call me Ma'am. I prefer "young lady" or something younger sounding.

Happy 6th Birthday, Mom!

Even though she is our mom, she still seems like a young lady to us kids. This year was a, let's just say a "notable" birthday for her, so we kids decided to through her a special birthday party to celebrate. We went with the theme of a Six Year-Old Birthday Party. It was a surprise, so we sent out our invitations hoping no one would spill the beans.
My job was to get her to the church where the party was being held without her finding out why we were going there. At 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday, there aren't many convincing ideas to get her to a church without any suspicion. How about telling her I need to go to a wedding reception??? At 4:00 p.m.??? No, that would never work. What about inviting her to Jennifer's ward's Super Saturday (since it was at a church Jen's stake)??? Again, at 4:00 p.m.?? Too suspicions and unbelievable. What about a craft fair? At a church??? Needless to say, ideas were sparse. We finally ended up settling on making Jennifer tell my mom her kids were in a ward roadshow. It took some coaxing, because we Sego's are terrible liars, bu Jennifer pulled it off. Chris pretended he didnt' want to go, because that is very believable (he went to the church by himself and met us there). Then Tyler and I went with her to the church. It was a surprise for her, even though she did recognize some of the cars in the parking lot.
Our party was filled with fun kids games and mom dressed as a princess (sparkling tiara, wand, cape and all). We played musical chairs, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, pinata, and all. We handed out prizes to the winners just like you would at a kid party. We even had a craft table to make our own wands if we wanted. For dinner, we had pizza, breadsticks, and a kid birthday staple--cupcakes! It was fun to see my mom and our adult relatives playing kids games and just have a good time. I think everyone who came had a good time....being a kid.
Happy 6th birthday, young lady, MOM! We love you!!!

Little Sherlock

I have been very excited for Tyler's first real Halloween experience. Although I did dress him up for Halloween last year, well, due to some unfortunate events we don't talk about around our house, no one actually saw him last year. So, I have been excited to dress him up and take him trick or treating. This year he went as Little Sherlock Holmes (and believe me he was even more adorable than these pictures show).

We had a rough start............meaning Tyler didn't want to wear his hat or costume. He cried when I kept putting on his hat for one little picture. Please just one little picture to share with Grandma. Pleeeaaaasse!

Pllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssse. I'll give you a treat.

We almost gave up, but, as most excited parents, we decided to go along with our plans. We started out at the Red Cliffs Mall (since our ward didn't do a trunk-or-treat). He was tugging at his hat as we walked in. He was mad at me for making him wear the costume, so he would only hold daddy's hand as we walked. (I tried not to take this personally).

The first store we came to..........what? Tyler was stunned........and stared while the lady dropped some candy into his pail. She gave him two pieces since she felt bad since he looked so cute and didn't have any candy.

Next store, again he was bewildered - why were people giving me candy? By the third store, he had understood that his costume was helping his cause. He was getting candy for wearing his costume. The rest of the time, he walked proudly through the mall, holding tight onto his pail. And not to mention, a little proud of his costume.

We finished the night off by going trick-or-treating to a few of our neighbors houses. Tyler had a blast. Daddy gleamed with pride (and I mean gleamed). Mommy was happy, too, to share this first Halloween experience with her little buddy.And, this morning, he put his costume on again. Apparently, he had so much fun, he wanted to do it again. So he put on his coat and even put on his hat, and came up to me gesturing me toward to the door. Then he went up to daddy, grabbed his hand, and pointed to the door to go out. Mr. Wonderful and I have been laughing about this all day. What a cutie!

This was last year! For those of you who missed out (which is everyone).

???Halloween Tradition???

Ever since we got married, Mr. Wonderful and I have wanted to start a tradition of carving pumpkins. Last year we bought the carving kits, but never got the pumpkins. But this year we were really serious about starting our tradition. We have talked about it for weeks and even planned what each of us was going to carve. I even bought a baby pumpkin for Tyler to paint.

Last Monday, I suggested that we carve our pumpkins for Family Home Evening, but Mr. Wonderful said the pumpkins would wilt before Halloween. I disagreed! He felt Halloween day would be the perfect time to carve them, since he would be home and we'd have all day for Halloween fun. So, Halloween day came, and we became very busy running errands, getting ready for the trick-or-treating, cleaning the house, and who knows what else.

........And here are our pumpkins.......still uncarved. We still haven't started our "tradition"....., but I guess we're getting closer since we at least got the pumpkins this year.

Mommy's Little Helper

Tyler is getting so big. He loves to follow Chris and I around and try to do the things we do. Last night he helped me make dinner, and he was so proud of himself. I just had to share. He didn't even spill anything or get himself dirty. What a big boy. Sometimes he even helps me pick up his messes.

I Have Skills

About once a year, I get around to doing something homemaker-ish. Tuesday was that day for me. I had some grapes I had picked at my moms house, so I buckled down and did it. I canned!!! I'm so proud of my skills. I only had one casualty (one jar broke in the boiling canning stage). I'm still skilled, though. Right??!!

There are more canned jars in the box. I promise!

The Big Debates

For the first time in my life, I find myself in the position of an Independent. I suppose that makes me one of the people targeted in the debates. I keep hearing everyone say that this is the most important debate ever. To some extent, I think to myself that I have heard this same statement every four years since I have been able to vote. Of course, it's important to vote. Every election, particularly Presidential, is important for our country. And, it's true, I do feel this is the most important election of my lifetime, so far.

So, I have watched every debate(mostly thanks to a wonderful invention called the DVR). I admit I have never watched so many debates for one election, and, honestly, it has been painful at times. Debate #2 between the presidential candidates was by far the most boring. I thought the mediator in Debate #1 seemed the least partial towards either candidate; however, the mediator for the Vice Presidential Debate seemed the most partial, leaning toward the Obama/Biden camp. Debate #3 was the most personal and seemed to provide useful information. Here's my summary of each debate:

Pres. Debate #1- I thought it was annoying that Senator Obama kept referring to Senator McCain as John, which seemed a little disrespectful. And to make things worse, he called him the wrong name a few times (Tom and Jim). I thought it was funny that they both kept taking longer than the mediator wanted them to on certain issues.

Pres. Debate #2- Boring, boring, boring. The whole walking around thing was making me dizzy and distracted from who was talking. I didn't hear anything new, so I turned it off less than halfway through. I thought it was funny that the mediator had to chastise them several times for ignoring when he told them their time was up.

Pres. Debate #3- There were definitely personal attacks going on in this one. On the split screen, Obama mostly looked smug and snotty, like "I can't believe I have to answer questions like this." McCain blinked a lot and looked a little uncomfortable on camera. I thought it was funny that McCain told Obama he wasn't running against Bush and that, if he wanted to, he should have ran 4 years ago.

Vice Pres. Debate- Really, I thought this one was the best one of all. I am a fan of Sarah Palin. She's the one who entices me to consider McCain, who I think is a liberal Republican (almost a Democrat). Many people expected her to do poorly, but I thought she did a great job of expressing her stance on issues. I will say that towards the middle I kept hoping she'd stop going back to the energy issue, which thankfully she did. I did like that she made the point clear, though, because that is her biggest strength. Senator Biden generally looked stiff and condescending. I really thought he went in thinking Palin was weak & beneath him, like he'd win the debate without any effort. She proved him wrong

All in all, I'm still stuck without answers. Stuck between the thought of whether to vote for the best candidate or whether to vote for the lesser of two evils. Obama is so radical with his Socialist plans and outrageous budget spending that I would never vote for him (not to mention his many affiliations with crazies - William Ayers, ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezco, Michelle Obama, just to name a few). I guess that makes McCain the lesser of two evils, by a small margin. Palin makes that margin a bigger, because she isn't tainted by the special interest groups and other political craziness in Washington DC.

However, I do wish they had let some of the candidates from the independent parties participate in the debates. I think it it crazy that we are being pushed into voting for one of two parties only. Especially, since both parties seem to be heading in the same direction, even if one is heading there at a slower pace. Where are the true believers in the constitution? That's the debate. I still haven't found the best candidate. That's my dilemma.

Baby It's Cold Outside - Up There.

Tyler and I made a quick jaunt up to our old house last weekend, since Chris had been finishing up a plumbing project up there for part of the week. I missed my family, and, well, the Fall weather, too. I also had to do some things to prepare our house to rent it out since the market is down and we can't compete with all the houses in foreclosure.

So, I left the nice 95 degree weather to make the trip to experience the "Fall" weather, since it is my favorite season. I don't know what happened, but all we got was winter. Brrrrrrrrrrr! Apparently, I missed the one week of Fall, because it was snowing and cold. I was so dillusional in thinking that it would be close to as warm there as it is down here that I packed only one long sleeve shirt and pants for Tyler. No Coat!!! And, for myself, I only packed sandles and short sleeved shirts. Crazy! Needless to say, I was cold.

We went to the Witches Festival at Gardner Village. It was fun, even if it was cold and windy. Then we drive through the canyon to look at the beautiful leaves, but also got a good view of snow.

The trip was short, but well needed. We came home to 66 degree weather (I'll take that any day over 40 degrees).

Four Tag

Four Places I Go Over & Over Again:
1. The mail box, because who doesn't like mail? Unfortunately, all I get is bills. Here in our neighborhood, the mailbox is centrally located in the neighborhood. I don't know why they do it that way here in St. George.
2. Target - It seems like I'm always needing and forgetting something.
3. Walking - It's fun to walk everywhere around our new neighborhood. I tried riding my bike a couple of times, but then I realized we live on a hill, so everywhere is downhill from our house. It's great when I start out, but, when I'm tired and coming back, it's all up hill. Terrible! Especially with a bike trailer in tow. Walking is great, though.
4. The Park - Tyler loves playing on the grass and going down the slide. Plus it's in walking distance (about 1/3 mile away), so I don't have to waste gas.

Four Favorite Places to Eat:
1. My Mom's Sunday Dinner - because I don't have to cook and I don't have to pay. Not to mention it tastes good.
2. Joe's Crab Shack - Unfortunately, there isn't one here in St. George. But I love crab!!! Yum!
3. Jeanette's Crab Shack - I buy crab when it's on sale at Smith's and I cook it. Yummy!!! But it leaves a stinky mess if I don't clean it up quickly.
4. Cafe Rio - I love the salads (pork barbecoa, pinto beans, cilantro vinegraitte dressing).

Four Places I'd Rather Be:
1. Hawaii - who doesn't want to be in the perfect weather of dreamland?
2. Ireland & England - I've only been to Ireland once, but it is so beatiful and green there. I'm sure England is similar, too. The people are also so nice. And it's a place for princesses and Jane Austen fans.
3. On a cruise to the Mediterranean - I've never been there, but I think it would be fabulous and relaxing. What better way to visit that part of the world.
4. Disneyland - It truly is the happiest place on earth (for me).

Four TV Shows I Watch All the Time:
1. The Office - I love dry humor. The Season Premier was hilarious.
2. Ghost Hunters - Creepy, but not evil scary. I would say Chris makes me watch it, but I really find it interesting.
3. Project Runway - That's probably the only reality show I would ever want to go on. I'm completely addicted. My sister and I keep wanting to do our own challenges utilizing fabric from my mom's sewing room (some of the fabric is so old it's in style again).
4. Glenn Beck - He's funny and very informative.

I tag April, Michele, Libby, and Julie

Tyler's New Trick

Well, my little smarty-pants (or rather no pants) has taught himself a new trick. For some reason, lately he has decided he doesn't like to wear diapers if he can help it. Six weeks or so ago he started stripping off his shorts and then his diaper. After finding him bare bummed in his crib after his nap with let's say the contents of his diaper smeared all over him and the sheets, I knew I had to take action. So, as a smart parent (I thought I was at least), I decided to dress him mostly in onesies when we stay home all day. Well, the young Houdini figured out how to remove his diaper from under his onesie. He was walking around commando for 10 minutes or so before I realized his new trick. Stumped again! When did kids start getting so smart?

Bored

Tyler is taking a nap, and the house is mostly clean. The office work is done. The clothes are folded. For some reason, I can't think of anything else to do. I'm bored!!! So, as I'm playing with my computer, I discovered something somewhat interesting. Our computer has a built in webcam. A feature I didn't really think about or care about when we bought the new computer. But somehow, at this very moment, it seems interesting. Who knew computers could be so fun?

I may or may not have played with the sizing feature to try to make myself look thinner.

Movie Day

Lake Powell - Wow!!!

Well, we decided, since we are so close and we needed to get out of the house, to go to Lake Powell last weekend. Chris had never been to Lake Powell before, but had seen some pictures that made him very curious to see it. And, I had only been to Lake Powell once when I was about 10 years old, but had remembered it as a really neat place. So, we packed up the boat and headed out on our one-day adventure. We decided to invite Chris' brother and his wife along as well.

It only took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there, but the drive was amazingly scenic. Who knew there were such beauty just around the bend from our home? But, the most amazing sight to see was Lake Powell itself. It really is a unique place to visit (and easily get lost in). Red rock cliffs on both sides of the many channels. Blueish-green (or, rather, torquise) water that was so clear you could see the bottom in some places (rarely, since most of the lake is hundreds of feet deep) and so warm we could swim in it without the slightest chill. So many channels that go to canyons and beaches that, although there were thousands of other people there, it felt like we were one of the few lucky ones to be there.

The place is so huge, there was no way we could see it all in one day, let alone two or three (if we had the time). Thank goodness they give you a map before you head out on the lake, because it took all of us to navigate to get out of the dock and then again to get back to it. We all wished we could have stayed longer, because there was so much more to see.

Chris drove most of the time.

I sat back & relaxed most of the time.

Tyler played some of the time.

And slept the rest of the time.

All in all, I think we all had a great time!

Thank goodness I had a camera with me this time.

The Olympics

Everyone else seems to have blogs on the Olympics, which I feel like I have mostly missed this time around. I'm usually a die-hard when it comes to gymnastics and swimming events, but every time I try to watch I get stuck with boxing, wrestling, basketball, or volleyball. So, today I discovered cable has the Olympics on other channels, too. Yeeeaaahhh! After searching for hours just so I could meet my own patriotic Olympics quota, I found something that sounded interesting: Synchronized Swimming. All I can say is I found it quite creepy. Robotic movements of legs (and crotches) in the air with no heads or bodies. It was weird. I didn't like. Now, since I served in the Ukraine, I typically root for the Ukrainians after the U.S. But not to be rude, the Ukrainian swimmers were very manly looking. Whoever designed their head pieces (still talking about synchronized swimming here) must not have liked the girls much, because it made them both look like balding (in the Fryer Tuck sort of balding sense) old men, which made it even creepier. Sad, sad, sad. Not a good start for my Olympics viewing time.

I did catch some reruns of yesterday's gymnastics wins by some of the U.S. girl's team and one U.S. guy. Good save for today. Now that I know the strategy of finding the better events, maybe I can catch some of the better stuff or at least record it on the DVR. Too bad I've missed Michael Phelps wins.

Anything for a smile

I don't know why, but this video makes me smile, so I decided to share. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

Roughing It

Well, I just got home from the Sego "Camp Trip". Now, we Sego's use the term "camping" very loosely when we talk about this annual trip. My mom started this annual event two years ago, perhaps for my benefit (because prior to that my family really did go camping and had a tough time convincing me to come along).

It's not that I'm a snob; I just can't cut it (the whole camping thing I mean). I just simply don't like to be dirty or feel dirty. And I don't like to sleep on hard things, even if there is a ever deflating mattress separating me from that hard thing called Earth. Then add the prospect of getting bit by bugs, smelling like camp fire, and having to fish for your dinner. No thanks! So usually, I just stick to day trips in the beatiful outdoors, which I can truly appreciate while I'm clean.

So, the family has upgraded to "roughing it" in a cabin. Now, even here, the term "roughing it" is used loosely, because my mom seems to find the luxury cabins, which I am not at all opposed to. This year, we "camped" in Timberlakes (above Heber). We "roughed it" in a 4500 sq ft, 3- story cabin, where each couple had their own room with a comfortable queen bed and fluffy couch. We could have watched movies in our own rooms, but come on, you don't watch TV when you're "Camping". Instead my nieces and nephews did their annual pajama fashions show one night and a, I fear new tradition, of a play. My niece Amy wrote a play of her own version of Peter Pan, which turned out cute because of the kids, who played 2-4 roles each in the play except Amy who was Peter Pan. Very entertaining!

Anyway, we loved it. Tyler walked around the place like he was in Candy Land, like he owned the place. He loved it! He loved having other kids around, which sometimes makes me feel pressured to have more very quickly just so he can have playmates all the time. Oh, the pressure. But he loved being around all the kids and getting so much attention from my mom, Becca, Jen & Craig, and the others. I honestly feared he might not want to go home. But, it was nice for me, too, because I got to relax for a couple of days.

So, now we're home and back to the daily humdrum. No more "roughing it" for at least another year.

Yeah, and, as usual, I forgot my camera, so I'm left to try to beg pictures off my more responsible family members. Thanks a ton, Becca!

This is Becca with Tyler and Greta (Julie's daughter, who is 2 1/2 months younger than Tyler). Some people say they definitely look related. What do you think?

Fishies

Today, Chris and I decided that since we had nothing better to do and since Las Vegas is so close ( less than 1 1/2 hours away) to drive out to see the Bass Pro Shop. My sister had seen one in Missouri and had told me they were very cool, even cooler than Cabela's. Now, I personally do not think Cabela's is that great of a place to visit, but Chris looks at it like it's his little Disneyland (well not quite that great, but you get the point). But my sister truly thought the Bass Pro Shop was cool, so it must be.


Honestly, it just reminded me of Cabela's. They do have a couple of small waterfalls, sharks, swordfish, and other large fish hanging from the ceiling, and a really huge, cool aquarium. (If you're in the area, it's nice to visit; but don't make a special trip to see this place).

Tyler loved the aquarium. He also learned a new word, "fishies." All I did was point to the fish once and told him what they were. After that he would just stare bewildered into the glass tank and say, "fishies", over and over and over. We must have stood there for over an hour just staring into the tank while he pointed and called to the "fishies". Even after we walked away, all he could talk about was the "fishies". I am truly a proud parent; I love all the new words Tyler is learning.

My only regret: I FORGOT MY CAMERA TO CATCH THE MOMENT!

Here are some pictures from the Bass Pro Shops' website. Unfortunately, they didn't have a picture of the aquarium, but this second one is of all the sharks, swordfish, and other large fish hanging from the ceiling.











(As a side note, I have heard the one in Missouri is twice the size and twice as cool).

Tyler likes the Water

Tyler has learned a new word, which he says all day long. He has been practicing it every day. He goes around the house saying, "Water, water, water." He points to the tub and says it. He points outside and says it. Apparently, he's obsessed with water (this he gets from me).


He loves bath time and would stay in there for hours if daddy would let him. He has even figured out how to turn on the water, so he's never deprived of more warm water.

And, now he loves the pool. The house we're living in has a private pool, which is AWESOME!!! Tyler loves floating around in his airplane floaty and splashing. Sometimes, he thinks he a big person and that he should be able to walk/swim freely in the pool without assistance or floating devices. Although, we think this makes him brilliantly smart and cute, it worries me as well. Luckily, the pool is completely fenced in and Tyler can't open doors yet. For now, we love our daily visits in the "water, water, water".

We've Moved!

Well, Mr. Wonderful has convinced me that we must move yet another time (this is the 4th move for us in our 3 years of marriage). I wasn't excited about the change, since we had been in our home for 19 months and I had really liked it there (despite the tedious commute to get anywhere). But opportunities speak, so we packed up and moved (I packed boxes, he moved them).

As many know, construction is slowing drastically in the north, so business was very slow for us. After scrapping for work to stay alive in Utah and Salt Lake Counties, we (as in Chris with me benefiting from it) received a big opportunity to sign on with a big project down south. It's something Chris has dreamed about since he started his Plumbing business, so he's been really excited for it. Who was I to scwelch his dreams? And, anyway, after this crazy long winter we've had, I welcomed the idea of moving to a warmer climate. So here we are in St. George and loving it, so far.

after a grueling move and unpacking for the past two weeks, our new home is settled at last. It took a little getting used to the new house for Tyler, but now he's running the place as if he's always owned it. And we have a guarantee that we'll be here for at least 2 years, since we had to sign a two-year lease. So no more moving for at least that long. As for St. George, it looks like the project will take about 6 years to complete, so we'll be here for at least that long.

So, what is St. George like? HOT??? One of my cousins told me that Jay Golden Kimball had said that if he owned a house in St. George and a house in "Heck", he'd sell the house in St. George. Now, I'm not sure of the validity of this statement by said person, but St. George can be hot (it's true). But honestly, it doesn't seem much hotter than up north. We had a little cold front last week, so the weather didn't get above 98. This week, however, the weather is back on track (105-110). Thank goodness we have our own pool!!! : ) And, I USE IT EVERY DAY!

So, if you ever make it down south, feel free to stop by! We miss all of you (family, friends, and others). We hope to see you soon!

With a face like this....

it's no surprise, he usually gets his way.

Tyler's Trip to the Zoo

On Saturday, we decided to take Tyler to the ZOO for the first time. For me, it seemed like the same zoo I remember from my rare (once every 5 years) visits. The animals in the same places. The hot sun beating down on us. The animals you really want to see always hide. Did I mention it was HOT!!!!

For Tyler, it was something new. He mainly just liked to point at the animals, try to stand up in his stoller, and talk or yell at the animals. As far I could tell, he liked the cheetah best (because he pointed and talk to it the most). He also liked the monkeys. But he just stared at the rhino.

In the end, we knew when it was time to go home. . .

I Can Be Cool, Too

So, I recently noticed that I am not as cool as most people I know. I am behind the times. Way behind. It seems like I am the last of my friends to create my own blog. But here I am and now I realize that it takes commitment and time to be cool. As technically savvy as I thought I was, I've come to the realization that must have been one of the the "talents", "skills", "brainpowers", (or whatever you want to call it) I lost in the production of my son. For example, it has taken me over an hour just to come up with a name for my blog and a format. Now, my brain is shot and my time is up (Tyler is awake and I'm sure slathering his entire body with Vaseline or pulling out every single baby wipe from it's container or some other form of mischief). Maybe tomorrow I can work on a "special format". But, let me be honest with myself, I've never been a good journal writer, so hopefully this blog will be put together sometime in the next six months. HEY, I'M COOL. (I hope).