Toothy and Toothless Smiles

Nicholas,  8 months old

Ava,  5 years old

Love Letters

I am not a sentimental person by any means.  I don't get attached to inanimate objects, and I definitely do not hold onto things.  With that being said, I have somehow managed to save all of the letters that were ever written to me since the 3rd grade.  Letters from my best friend, Becky Pollan, who moved to Texas when I was 9 years old.  Letters from my Finnish pen pal, Kaisa. Letters from my mom, my grandma, and my sisters.  And, letters from my high school boyfriend, Jess. 

As I was reading through Jess' love letters that were written on loose leaf paper with a # 2 pencil and folded into small squares, I couldn't help but reminisce about the simple, carefree life that we lived while dating in our youth. 

Mandy Dearest,

......I am so sorry that I didn't carry your books to fifth hour, but I did not hear the bell until the tardy bell.  I don't know how to make it up to you - maybe you can think of something.

.....If you have a chance, please call me tonight so I can hear your voice.  

.....Are we going to do anything on test days together since we only have half days, or are you going to have to study all day?

......I'll be thinking about you.

Love,
Jess

Ah, to be 18 again and not have a care in the world (except for mid-term exams).  That was the easy life-- having Jess carry my books to and from my classes, cheering for him at his soccer and baseball games, going out on dates on the weekend...

Life isn't quite as carefree as it once was, but I wouldn't trade 10 (almost 11) years of marriage and 4 children for the world.  I love my sweet Jess!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ava the Acrobat



I used to climb up the walls of my narrow hallway as a child.  So, it was no surprise to me when Ava started climbing up the door way to her room about 7 months ago.

She has a lot of arm strength.
She'll climb to the top of the door frame and let her legs swing while holding on.



I love watching her.

 

She'll make a great gymnast!



Casualties of War(ren)

Split eyelid, goose-egg on forehead, and chapped, bleeding lips to boot!

Our poster child for accident-prone children.

Several years ago, I studied the life and teachings of  President Wilford Woodruff.  I distinctly remember learning about all of the injuries and accidents that this man suffered and miraculously lived through. 

My son, Brahm, is only 3 years old but has already suffered a number of injuries that have taken him to the doctor, the quick care center, and the ER countless times. Before Brahm, we had never made a single trip to an emergency room (or quick care for that matter) with any of our children. The most recent of his accidents occurred while my husband and I were watching the LDS Christmas Devotional. Brahm and Ava decided to play in the adjoining laundry room, and unbeknownst to Jess and me, the two climbed on top of the washing machine. Brahm consequently fell, and his head was pinned between the washing machine and countertop.  When we rescued him, blood was gushing everywhere.  Jess rushed him to the quick care center where his split eyelid was glued together.  To add more insult to injury, Brahm climbed up the shelves in my pantry the following morning and again, fell.  A huge goose-egg formed on his forehead. 

Every time my son injures himself, I think about President Woodruff.  I'm not sure if Brahm is accident-prone, if he is careless, if he is trying to keep up with his older siblings, if I have slow reaction time, or all of the above.  I'm just glad that he seems to recover well from these little casualties.

Sleeping Beauty

I posted this picture of a sleeping Brahm in a previous post.  Since then, I have caught him napping in more strange places and/or strange positions.

In the family room.

In the kitchen.

On the steps.

My favorite- on the table. 
I will write more about his black eye in another blog entry.

(Post) Christmas Vacation

McCall, Idaho

Brahm taking in the scenery while riding in the car.

Ava dozing off with her doll, Mandy, in hand.

Room with a view.

Tubing in -2 degree temperatures.

Smokejumper Station

Killer icicles.

Gold Fork Hot Springs.

Simon swimming in the dead of winter.

Brahm enjoying his hydrotherapy treatment.

104 degree water.  14 degree weather.

Pizza and card playing at night.

While out driving one night, we immediately pulled over to take a picture of this 50 ft. beauty.

After Christmas, our family decided to take a last minute trip to McCall, Idaho.  We spent three days and two nights vacationing in this Winter Wonderland.  Our drive up was a little treacherous due to a lot of falling snow, but we arrived to our motel safe and sound.  In preparation for our trip, we made a list of activities that we wanted to take part in that included: tubing at the Activity Barn, watching the torch parade and firework show at Brundage Mountain, eating at the Pancake House, and swimming at Gold Fork Hot Springs.  We unfortunately missed the torch parade and firework show due to a car accident that clogged up the winding, narrow road that leads to Brundage Resort.  But, we were able to add something new to our activity list the very next day!  On our way back from the Hot Springs, Jess pulled too far over to the right to accommodate oncoming traffic.  Our front right tire got caught in the three feet of snow that had been plowed to the edge of the road.  Jess frantically tried to pull the car out, but our minivan was dragged into the snow bank.  Many kind people stopped to help us.  One woman noticed that we had children in our vehicle and gave us tangerines, carrots, and apples to hold the kids over until help came.  The tow man who rescued us told Jess that he had never seen so much snow fall in such a short period of time since he had lived in the surrounding area of McCall. 

Besides this little fiasco, we had a lovely time playing together and making memories as a family.  Our motel had an indoor heated pool and hot tub that the kids warmed up in after tubing in -2 degree temperatures. We enjoyed larger-than-life pancakes and great take-out pizza at local eateries. We laughed about the communal dressing rooms located inside a yurt at Gold Fork Hot Springs.  And, our motel room included a view!  The icicles that hung from and weighed down the electrical cord outside our window gave me great anxiety. 

Our drive home from McCall was full of breathtaking views of a world covered in white.  We have already decided to spend our Christmas of 2011 in McCall. 

On a side note, I chopped off all of my hair.  Yippee!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ava's preschool toilet paper tube nativity.

The gingerbread train assembled by Daddy and kids.

Gramee Rosenthal's hand-knitted stockings that hung by the chimney with care.



Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

Christmas cards galore.

Nicholas posed with our poinsettia.

Christmas Eve.... the calm before the storm.

Christmas morning.

Brahm riding his new bike in the kitchen.

Simon assembling his hexbug habitat.

Nicholas trying out his new walker.

Ava and Simon on the "jump"-oline.

The Christmas of 2010 came and went with the blink of an eye.  My children wrote and mailed off their letters to Santa very early on in the season.  They were excited to receive cards back from Mr. Claus and his elves (thanks to my amazing mail carrier!).  Simon asked for piano music and a scooter.  Ava asked for a doll and a hexbug.  Brahm asked for a hexbug as well.  I love my children.  Such simple requests.  Thank goodness they don't watch normal TV programming inundated with commercials for the newest and greatest toys.  Instead, they solely watch PBS- no ads whatsoever. 

As I was preparing the Christmas Eve dinner, I reminded Jess that he needed to change his casual clothes to something nicer.  My husband gives me grief every year during Thanksgiving and Christmas, because I make him and my children dress up for dinner.  I don't know what the big deal is.  Dressing up two times out of the year for a special dinner doesn't seem unreasonable to me.  And, it doesn't bother my kids either.  But, it annoys my husband.  So, Jess talked me into starting a new tradition.  Instead of dressing up, we decided to wear our Christmas pajamas to dinner.  Everyone was happily on board with this.  

After the kids went to bed, I had a few more presents to wrap and stockings to fill.  I had to be tricky this year and wrap Santa's gifts with different paper than that used on the gifts that Mommy and Daddy were giving to the kids (the kids questioned this in the past).  I decided to use brown paper which is actually very hard to wrap with, because it is so thick and sturdy and won't stay taped.  Of all the gifts that I bought this year, I loved the stocking stuffers the best: pistachios, oranges, piano music, books, hexbugs, and wooden whistles/harmonica.

We shared our Christmas morning with Gramee and Grandpa Rosenthal via Skype.  They were able to watch the kids open all of their presents in the comfort of their home in Las Vegas.  We spent all of Christmas day in our pajamas watching movies, playing games, devouring yummy Christmas treats, and napping.  For dinner, I used the ham bone from the previous night's meal to make split pea soup. 

As a child, the end of Christmas was so depressing.  There was nothing to look forward to.  But as an adult and mother, I look forward to life calming down and children going back to school.  And, I tend to eat far more healthy when there aren't plates and bags of Christmas treats tempting me at every turn. :)