Don't Mess With Mom

January is pretty much my least favorite time of year. Inversion in Utah is high and temperatures are low - it's 23 right now. The kids get stir crazy and so does their mom. Lest you think I got stir crazy enough to actually hit my Anushka, she actually fell at her grandma's house and hit her eye on the fireplace hearth.
Here are some things we've been doing to try to break up the January tedium:

• TRAINING - BB is working toward biking Lotoja, which is the longest single-day bike race in the country: 206 miles from Logan to Jackson. I have soccer starting in 2 months and two of my friends and I are going to team up for a triathlon in Vegas. Also, I started a circuit training class - I never knew all the muscles INCLUDING the ones under my armpits that I didn't even know existed could hurt at the same time. But, I love the class anyway. Sore muscles make me feel like I've done something.
• READING - The Good Reads web site has given me a 'To Read' list a mile long
• PHOTO CLASSES - Since it's been mentioned recently that a good camera does not a photographer make, I am taking a photography class right now and learning that all those settings on my camera's dial actually do make a difference.
• SNOW PLAY - The up side to the weather is that the kids can be entertained for hours with a shovel and some snow clothes. Since we've had so many snow storms lately, shoveling is starting to feel like an actual winter sport. It's something I should be doing even as I type.

A few other things to note. President Hinckley's passing has left me feeling very introspective this week. I don't think any GA has ever had such an influence on my life as he. Truly an angel on the earth. I feel happy for him for 3 reasons: 1- He can FINALLY rest! I remember being in college more than 10 years ago and hearing his grandson talk about traveling with his grandpa and how exhausted he would get - I can only imagine how tired he was after the last 10 years. 2- He was active to the end of his life and never ended up dependent or incoherent. He deserved that. 3- He is again with his adorable wife. They showed a clip of him at her funeral that nearly broke my heart. So, I'm so happy that he is with her again. He left some big shoes to fill.

I got a biopsy on my ear last week that was probably a little bit of skin cancer (I find out tomorrow) - so all you fellow 80s sun-worshippers - keep a good lookout.

My kids continue to delight me. We have had to put locks on Diggity's bedroom door as well as the fridge and freezer. He does things that are straight out of 'Calvin and Hobbes' and though he tests my patience daily, I adore that little boy.

Lots of Snow Play These Days

Hope it's not yellow...


BB and I just returned from a weekend with some friends down in Bryce Canyon National Park. We snow shoed and hiked around the park as well as up on the rim. Hiking wasn't the best idea since some of the trails were not packed at all and we ended up in snow up to our hips. But a good time was most definitely had by all!




I don't think the word 'spectacular' does this justice but it was truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Let me also just make a plug for our friends' Inn. We stayed there two nights and felt pampered like crazy. If you're ever heading down to Bryce, check it out: http://www.stonecanyoninn.com/index.html

Christmas Let-Down - Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh.....

I am sitting in my living room - on which I really worked all month to keep clean and dusted and it is now truly in the shambles. There is tissue strewn all over. The kids are sniffling, BB is sniffling, I'm sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching... - you get the idea. And it's all ok. We made it through Christmas. We hit the neighborhood parties, the ward parties (including Liberty Ward's 100th b-day), the family parties, we hosted Christmas Eve, soup and salad at one of the afore-mentioned neighborhood parties and one very lively group of Young Women during a progressive dinner party. We burned a boatload of CDs for our extended family stocking stuffers. We spoke in church on Sunday. And we even managed to read Luke 2 on Christmas morning. Whew...

The kids had a ball, got more than they needed (I realize I am not really in favor of starting shopping too early - I just forgot some of the earlier things I got).

BB had the month off and I think he's looking forward to the break of going back to work.

Here are some December highlights:

All of the second cousins got snazzy gloves and slippers at LB's family party.

Anushka and Diggity did a great job of helping us get the tree up and, after a few initial mishaps, we didn't lose many ornaments this year.

Anushka's most oft-requested activity was iceskating. So, one night we packed them up and headed downtown for iceskating and temple square lights. She did pretty well for her first time and didn't even have to hold onto the wall for a few minutes here and there.

Temple Square - actually the Main Street Plaza attached to Temple Square.

So, we wish you all a happy, HEALTHY 2008. I'm going to take some NyQuil...

Happy Birthday Daph the Duck

My Top Ten Favorite Things About Daph (in no particular order)

1- She's the only person with whom I've paid for an entire meal in change (mostly pennies) - Taco Bell - the day before pay day.

2- She is fabulously forgiving - we went to elementary school together AND were roommates and she still likes me.

3- Daph is a great sport at games - especially Phase Ten :)

4- I don't think I'd be part of the teriyaki (or blogging) community without her.

5- She never forgets robin eggs for blue tongues.
6- Birthday breakfast every year...

7- 99 nights of the X-Files baby... (remember the fat sucker???)

8- One of the greatest nights of my life would never occured without her being on the run from the law or her dad or whomever. All I know is that night was one of the nights I truly felt like I was on a tv show!

9- I'm pretty sure there were some classes I never would have survived (or gone to) without her (especially that Shakespeare class in college).

10- She's my oldest friend...

White Sands, Arches, Monument Valley...

BB is off for the month of December - yeah. How can you take a month off of work and not go anywhere?? He recently got me a new camera for my birthday so we wanted to test it out.
Here are some hilights:

Diggity at White Sands, NM - seriously one of the coolest placest we've seen. Snow white sand dunes in every direction.



A view of Monument Valley on the way out. A storm was coming in. Monument Valley is located in Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. It is on Navajo land and is considered sacred. Outsiders are allowed off of the main roads only with a Navajo guide. Some of the most famous Westerns with John Wayne were filmed in this valley.

Anushka at Mesa Verde in Colorado.

The kids hiked all the way to Delicate Arch - not the easiest for those little legs - but well worth it.

In addition, we headed down to El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. It was a lot of driving (again) in five days but a lot of fun. It was fabulous to get out of the 20 degree cold for a few days - 70 degrees in White Sands...

We Lost The Bet

UGH! 4th Down and 18! You'd think we could stop them with those numbers! BB and I escaped to Logan right after the game ended - but this is what we came home to today. Our friends even got our neighbor's car (I guess since it is red and was in front of our house it was fair game).

Top 10 Ute Moments

So, tomorrow is the BIG GAME.

It feels a little bigger to me than usual for a couple reasons. First, the heartbreak loss last year - ugh. Still gives me a pit in my stomach. Second, if the Utes lose, my house will be decorated with byu blue. Remember my toilet papering friend Tamara? Well, she is also a HUGE byu fan and we have a bet. So, as I consider tomorrow's game with nervous knots in my stomach, here are my favorite Ute (not necessarily football) memories:

10- 1988 - The beginning of my senior year in high school, the Utes, led by Scott Mitchell, FINALLY beat byu (and beat them badly - 57-28) in football for the first time in I don't know how many years. Actually, I just wickied it and it was the first time in 9 years.

9- 2003 - Utah 3 - byu 0. In Provo. Beat them and also broke their 'scoring-at-home' streak.

8- Ute Women's Basketball. I'd have to go with the Kim Smith era - she was amazing with a basketball. My favorite players, however, have been Shona Thorburn and Julie Krommenhoek.

7- Alex Smith/Andrew Bogut. Only school EVER to produce #1 draft picks in football and basketball in the same year.

6- Utah Gymnastics. Enough said.

5- Jimmy Soto/Josh Grant dancing their way around the Huntsman Center after beating byu and winning the conference title in 1993.

4- 1993/1994: Utah 34 byu 31. In 1993, that 55 yard field goal was something I'll never forget. I was watching it at work on a screen that was about 12". It was still amazing.

3- 1998 NCAA basketball finals with Andre Miller and Michael Doleac. I think that was also the year that byu went like 1-28? heh heh heh

2- The 2004 Season. 12-0. The cherry on top of the conference season was the 52-21 victory over "the team down south" even after some player named Collie predicted that they were going to come up to SL and "Put the hurt on the Utes."

1- Fiesta Bowl 2005. We went to the game in Arizona - even with the nosebleed seats, I wouldn't have missed it. The only bummer was that we had to play Pittsburgh. Final score: Utah 35 - Pitt 7.

I'm hoping that this top 10 list will change after tomorrow's game. Either way, I'll post pictures of the winner's decorations.

GO UTES!!