This week in photos

We were excited to finally see snow again this weekend. Here's the proof. Amber was sick. She had a hard time breathing for a few moments on Friday, so I took her outside to open up her airways. She just laid down in the snow, all bundled up. She loves the snow, and just couldn't resist making a simple snowman. Within minutes of going in the house she took a 4 hour nap.

Saturday, she seemed a bit better, so we decided to all go play outside. The snowball fight was shortlived due to the snow shovel in Rich's hands. My Dad suggested we take the girls out snowmobiling in the fields just behind our house. Amber loved it, Kate endured it. Grandpa "babysat" sleeping Jess by keeping the baby monitor near his side while he worked in the shop.

Jessica loves pickles. Pickles of all things!! Okay, she just sucks on them; she doesn't really eat them. I just love watching baby fingers work.

This is a new favorite past-time at our house. The instruct me to jump when the get to us, because it makes Jessi laugh even harder.

100 things

I found this list on my friend/mission companion, Kaerlig's website. I thought I'd play along.

1. Started your own blog- Check.
2. Slept under the stars- I have, but I prefer sleeping in a tent. I get cold easily. Rich always wants to leave the fly off the tent, I usually beg him not to.
3. Played in a band- Never. I have no skills.
4. Visited Hawaii- When I was 3. Does that count?
5. Watched a meteor shower-
6. Given more than you can afford to charity- It seems with how tight things are, I do this every month with tithing and fast offerings...but we always pull through.
7. Been to Disneyland- We went with Rich's brother, sister, and their families, plus my in-laws a couple of years ago. I think I enjoyed it the most.
8. Climbed a mountain- Of course.
9. Held a praying mantis-
10. Sang a solo- Does a trio count?
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris- yes, in 1992 with my parents, to pick up my brother from his mission.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea- That sounds cool/frightening
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch- yes, digital scrapbooking.
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- numerous times on my mission, I think
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables- Yes, it's a love/hate thing.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. I wasn't that impressed. Now, the Egyptian tombs. Those were cool.
20. Slept on an overnight train- I've never been on a train but I have "slept" on a bus several times in Bolivia.
21. Had a pillow fight- Who hasn't?
22. Hitch hiked- Never have, never will
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. I'm honest to a fault.
24. Built a snow fort-
25. Held a lamb-
26. Gone skinny dipping-
27. Run a Marathon- Does a half count?
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse-
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset- I try to see as many as I can.
31. Hit a home run- Me, really?
32. Been on a cruise-
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community. Very cool!
36. Taught yourself a new language- I learned Spanish, though I can't take all the credit.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied- My mantra is "I have sufficient for my needs."
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing- Love it!
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David-
41. Sung karaoke-
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt- A favorite weekend excursion. I also recommend stopping along the roadside it Yellowstone, pointing and trees, and counting how many cars stop.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant-
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight- Yes, in Cancun with Rich. What memories.
46. Been transported in an ambulance-
47. Had your portrait painted-
48. Gone deep sea fishing-
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Why so many questions about France?
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling- Snorkeling in Cancun. I really should have become scuba certified before the trip.
52. Kissed in the rain-
53. Played in the mud- At the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point, yesterday.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater-
55. Been in a movie-
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class- Not really. But I do a lot of turbo kick-boxing.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen-
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason- while courting Rich
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma- Once.
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp:
67. Bounced a check- 10 years ago. How embarrassing.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- I tried to give my kids my favorite dolls & their many accessories at Christmas. Note the word tried. The rejection stung.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar-
72. Pieced a quilt- Half a quilt. I just gave it away to someone on freecycle.
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone-
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle-
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person- That really should say "been to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It's a great backpacking trip in February.
80. Published a book
81. Bought a brand new car-
82. Walked in Jerusalem-
83. Had your picture in the newspaper- When I was two.
84. Read the entire Bible- I have to say no. I haven't drudged through the whole Old Testament.
85. Killed and prepared an animal for eating-
86. Had chickenpox- When I was 3
87. Saved someone’s life-
88. Met someone famous-
89. Joined a book club-
90. Lost a loved one- Grandparents, aunts, & uncles
91. Had a baby- Three times.
92. Seen the Alamo in person
93. Swam in the Great Salt Lake- Nasty!
94. Been involved in a law suit
95. Owned a cell phone-
96. Been stung by a bee-
97. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
98. Learned to play an instrument- piano & cello
99. Sat on jury duty
100. Had a pet rat- My roommate did. Shortly after, I got a pet dwarf bunny. It was so cute!

It's a great reminder that I live a blessed and rich life.

Photos

You can see more by clicking on my link to Picasa Web Albums-Kerri on the right. It ways it was updated 1 year ago, but I updated it today.

Baby Jess is growing up.

Jessica learned to sit up this week. She doesn't seem to mind the toppling that goes along with the new sitting. Her favorite things this week are:

1) the sound ba, ba, ba (now we're racing for mama & dada)
2) babyfood peachers (she giggles every bite)
3) the cat, Jingles (it's no use trying to feed her when the cat's around).

Captivating my heart

Summer of 1998 there's a journal entry in my journal that reads something like this, "I've planned a backpacking trip in the Tetons. Everyone's backed out except this boy named Richard." I distinctly remember kneeling by my bed at my parents house, praying about this backpacking trip. Really, I was smart enough not to go backpacking alone with some guy I didn't know. I felt a clear assurance that I should move ahead with the plans and things would work out. In the end, our newlywed friends Phil & Anita Toone, who introduced us went along with us. We had a great trip. I don't remember many of the details, except Rich's fascination with the plentiful wildflowers. He picked one of each kind and stuck them in his baseball cap.

The next few months we hiked, camped, rock climbed, rapelled, downhill skiied, cross country skiied, spilunked, mountain biked, did two photo scavanger hunts (which won us ski tickets), went to concerts, the homecoming dance, etc. I was thinking he was my kind of guy. I was impressed with the way he interacted with my roommates, helped my sister move, worked at the temple as an ordinance worker, and treated everyone with the upmost kindness. He made me happy, and I didn't feel like I had to put on any fake pretenses around him. I didn't have to pretend to be happy, but most of the time I was.

It took me a couple of months to admit, at least outloud that I thought he liked me, or even more that I liked him. He fell in love before I did, but was patient.

On my 23rd birthday I made cheesecake and threw myself a last minute birthday party. I invited my friends (Rich thought too many of those friends were boys). I loved it. Rich spent the evening watching the contenders. I spent the evening impressed that he quietly cleaned up and did the dishes while the party went on. He later admited he was just out of his comfort zone and was finding as escape.

One afternoon, after our courting had turned serious, I found this partially finished pencil sketch in his bedroom. I was in awe. My heart was captivated. (Actually, I think I snuck in his room to steal his dirty clothes & wash them. I washed his heap of clean clothes. See, the boy really needed a wife.)

I found this sketch in the back of our closet this weekend, while doing some deep cleaning. I enjoyed showing it to our girls and assured Rich that I would keep it forever. He abandoned it years ago because he wasn't happy with it. But it's still a treasure to me. I informed him, that is he ever has a desire to take up pencil sketches again, I'd treasure sketches of our girls each as toddlers.

Family Time

We just returned from a wonderful 4 day get-away with my family. We stayed in the shoot-out barn near Ashton. It was loads of fun! It had seven bedrooms plus a loft with a dozen bunkbeds. I love love love spending time with my family. I was especially excited to spend time with my sister Alisa, who lives in Alabama. She's the best big sister in the world. She is compassionate, kind, selfless, well-rounded, and she's an amazing mom to boot.

Everyone ooed and aahed over our baby Jess and her cousin Ryken. I was napping one day and heard Jessica hollering louder and louder. Everyone thought she was being so funny. They thought it was even funnier when I told them she was hollering for something to eat. Jessica is so easy to travel with. She's perfectly happy, tired or not. Literally, if we put her in a dark room she goes to sleep.

The kids enjoyed constant movies in the theatre room. Occasionally we made them come out to eat or do crafts. Okay they played too, but they really did get their fill of movies. I almost feel like I haven't seen Amber or Kate for a few days.

Grandma made a dancing skirt for each daughter and a reversible batman/superman cape for each grandson. Way cool!

The 30 mile per hour winds confined us indoors most of the time. The wind made it impossible to heat one side of the lodge. In an effort to compensate for the wind the furnaces were kept running continually and the other side of the lodge became unbearably hot. The wind finally broke on Saturday and we were able to escape for a snowmobile ride. We pawned our kids off and had a great ride. (Thanks guys for watching our kiddos). I love the speed, the snow, and the flying effect of snowmobiling. I don't think I've been on a snowmobile since I was pregnant with Kate 4+ years ago. And that, obviously wasn't a real ride. Amber, and her cousin Jacob were the only kids who braved the wind and got outside. The reward: a ride with grandpa.

Games, games, games. No one else brought any, because they knew we'd bring plenty. Rich gets a game for Christmas every year. We played Blockus, Settlers of Catan, Great Dalmuti, Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride, and Carcassone. I didn't like games when Rich & I got married, but I've learned. Rich is really tough competition though. He has a "winning" reputation and he lives up to it.

Grandma bought the grandkids matching jammies for Christmas.

I wanted to get a picture of the littlest kids lined up in 5 highchairs, but it didn't happen. We also enjoyed pool, table tennis, reading, late night talks in the kitchen, and way too much food. The weather messed up our plans to snowshoe, cross country ski, sled, and enjoy the hot tub. We did let the kids put on their swimsuits and play in the jetted tub to compensate.

My family is simply amazing. Thanks mom and dad for making this happen. Everyone worked to make the week fun, but not stressful. All the cousins played together without excluding anyone. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.