Asking For It

The 'new' roller blades from the DI could NOT wait for spring. The boys have been roller blading in the basement against my better thoughts. I've told them they have to wear helmets and pads, and I have to admit they've had a blast. Luka hops around after them on her hoppity hop, and Brett has enjoyed dusting off the old rollerblades with them. (HE is the one I worry about really). This is all after Amy told me not more than a month ago how she broke her leg skating in a basement as a kid! What am I thinking?! (okay - I'll admit Clay even talked me into putting my rollerblades on for a minute. Turns out I'm just as bad as I used to be in college when I took up rollerblading to impress my cute boyfriend :)

Field Trip to The Children's Discovery Museum

One fun thing about homeschooling Tucker through the Alpine Online program is the frequent field trips. There is one about once a month. And to make it even better, our whole family gets to go together to these events. This last one was to the Children's Museum and the kids had a blast! The last time we went, Luka wasn't old enough to do much so it was fun to watch her do a little exploring too.

Ode To The D.I.

A lot of people know I love the DI. There is a lot of junk at the DI and a lot of overpriced stuff. BUT, there are some awesome things too! It's like a treasure hunt. Where else can you find rollerblades for $3, or a Strawberry Shortcake house for $1? A cute corner shelf for $10 or a little people house in perfect condition for $1.50? Adorable heels for $5 and a new rainjacket for $4? I've bought stacks and stacks of books- most for $.25 to $.75. And I won't even show you how much of my clothes and Luka's clothes have come from the DI, but you wouldn't believe it. I LOVE the DI! If only I could apply my DI bargain hunting skills to my Grocery Shopping - for some reason finding a deal at the grocery store is not my forte'. Maybe it's because I'm too busy finding my boys to find those deals! :)

One Fabulous, Wonderful, Weird Night

Have you ever seen someone back their car into a car being driven by this guy? Yeah, I hadn't either until Friday Night. Brett took me to the Tree Room at Sundance for dinner. He managed to get the last reservation opening for the weekend somehow (it was busy because of the festival). Anyway, it was AMAZING. He even had a dozen roses in a vase sent to the restaraunt so they were on our table when we got there! I could have died (Who are you and what did you do to my husband!!)! After dinner we were getting in the car when we saw somebody back their car into another car in the parking lot being driven by Mr. Robert Redford himself. We just heard him yell out the window, "Don't you look!" several times. Then the people who hit him got out and were looking at the damage, the lady loudly said, "You're Robert Redford!" Well as soon as she said that it got quiet and the next thing we knew the people drove off, Mr. Redford parked his car (a Honda hybrid in case you're wondering) and marched into the building. Brett and I, being very American, watched him jump out in his trendy newsboy/ beret cap thing and then drove over to check out his car. It was so funny. I never would have thought myself as a person who cared about celebrities, but it was like we were compelled to watch. I mean I got back out of the car to stare! It was like a train wreck (well car wreck actually) I couldn't look away! :) I felt REALLy bad for the poor guy who backed his car into Robert before we knew who it was. Then I felt REALLY REALLY bad for him. So there is my account of our exciting weekend. More excitement then I've seen since a demolition derby. Turns out if you leave the house now and then, you might see some crazy stuff. :)

Grandpa

It's almost been a year since my dear Grandpa passed away and he has been on my mind constantly lately it seems. I'm glad because I NEVER want to forget him. I never could of course. He was the most amazing man I've ever met. If I had to tell someone who reminds me most of Grandpa, first it would be my Grandma Lu. They are one and the same. Then I would say President Hinckley. He always reminded me of Grandpa because they were both so funny, both had the spirit of the Lord so strong you trusted EVERYTHING they said. I guess what I'm trying to say is I miss you Grandpa! Thanks for being so wonderful!

5 Years Ago in 2005 . . .

The other day I got to thinking about my January 2005. At the time I felt like my life was over. My poor little baby was on oxygen, my husband was working full time and going to night school in Salt Lake. I felt VERY alone. But then I got to experience the joy I felt when I found out we could finally take Clay off of the oxygen and monitors. No more sleeping on the living room floor. I could actually take my two month old baby into another room without dragging cords and a monitor behind me! Looking back it hardly seems like I really lived that - it's so weird. Five years can be a LONG time! My little guys were so cute! Turns out I was blonde that year. :) And my little fragile baby grew up to be my cute, crazy, and HEALTHY Clay. I need to remember that sometimes. Life can be really hard, but you survive and learn and grow. I guess God knows what he is doing. :)

Rock Hunt

Tucker has been learning about rocks and minerals in science. He has shown a lot of interest in rocks so on a whim on Saturday we headed west to see what we could find. Somewhere between Vernon and Eureka we headed off road. We hiked around for a few hours. The kids had a blast. They brought back pockets full of 'sentimental value' rocks. They did find a few really cool rocks. Some had fossils in them, and Clay found two fist sized rocks that had white crystals. It was hilarious. He said, "I found a giant crystal!" And of course we didn't believe him. Jokes on us - he did. It was even more funny the second time when re REALLy didn't believe him and sure enough he found another one. We haven't determined their mineral yet but Tuck has a Smithsonian rock and mineral guide so we're working on it. Really, all in all, it was a lot of fun!! I didn't expect it to go that well, but the kids LOVED it. Guess we'll probably be doing that again. :)

Not Expected

We got an offer on our house! It was low by about $20,000 and even though we countered I seriously doubt anything will come of it, but. . .it's an offer! :) Our first one. Maybe our house will sell. . . huh.

Not a good idea. . .

. . . to fall asleep in the evidence!

When I went to Target I was determined. Get in, get the perscriptions, and get out (all of my fellow Target addicts understand how difficult this can be). But I was determined! And then I saw this- a swimsuit that looks like a ballerina! Ahhhh, I couldn't help it. Why do I feel like I must buy everything for my little girl? I have a serious problem.

Slippers

For Christmas I gave myself slippers that my Mom meant to give me for Christmas over 15 years ago. My Mom bought slippers for me a LONG time ago for Christmas and then when Christmas came, she couldn't find them. She told me about it later and I'll admit, I was disappointed. I've always been a slipper person. Well, it kind of became a joke that when something was missing it must be with the slippers. This last fall she actually found them buried in a box under some Halloween stuff and in a bag. I don't know what the bigger miracle was, that it took this long to find or that they still fit (I've had big feet for a long time!) The best part- they are the warmest and most comfortable slippers ever! :) Plus I haven't had slippers shaped like something since I was a kid.

Christmas

Christmas was a lot of fun. Luka didn't go to bed until 11:30 which is normal for her lately, so it was a late night, but luckily the kids didn't get up until 7:00. Then the race was on. Clay and Luka both seemed to love what Santa brought the other one as much as their own gift. Luka keeps commandeering Clay's Diego Set and Clay keeps playing restaurant with Luka. He even informed us that he was going to be a chef when he grew up. I had just got done congratualting him and encouraging his budding aspirations when he then continued by adding that he was going to be a chef at Artic Circle. Big Dreamer!:) But they were very cute playing together. I love Christmas, and I know it is weird but I also love cleaning up all of the Christmas 'stuff'. Its funny how things that are festive and fun turn into clutter over night :).

The Best Time For A Bath

We've had the stomach flu at our house this month. It was just the 24 hour flu for Clay and I, but poor Luka had it for a few days. It was NOT fun. Our washer and dryer ran pretty much the entire time she was sick. Luka also took several middle of the night baths to feel better. She was being so silly and we were so tired that I couldn't help but grab the camera. It was the one nice moment of a few not fun days.

Christmas Catch-up

We have had a very busy Christmas time this year and, of course, most of the time I forgot my camera. But here are a few pictures of things that we did. We had a lot of fun at the annual Henriksen Christmas Party at Grandma Lu's. Tucker got to be Joseph with his cousin Audrey being Mary. He thinks Audrey is pretty cool so he was happy about that. Tucker also recited 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' which he has worked hard to memorize. And I took a picture of Grandma's tree which can't even come close to doing it justice as every single ornament on it is special and full of meaning (Bridget did manage to make my picture more interesting :) ). We also got to spend time with Brett's family when they came out for a weekend. We went and saw the lights. (I left my camera in the car so all I have is a picture from the car as we left ). And we went to the Living Aquarium with Brett's family, which was really neat, but of course I didn't have my camera. We also made gingerbread houses like always. This year because I have been so busy we opted to do it the traditional Henriksen way with graham crackers. Usually we make individual gingerbread cakes and turn them into houses, but the kids didn't notice the difference since they're only in it for the candy anyway. By the way candy absolutely, positively does make kids hyper.