The Christmas fun.

Well this week was spent between 2 states, 3 if you count layovers.
We had a nice Christmas with the Liddeke part of the family and all of the kids got some great presents from tea sets to new babies to high chairs for olde babies. Alisabeth made out major. She got bath toys, books, stuffed animals, and clothes. Our Christmas draw also went well, however it was interupted by poor Lisa getting a bad pain in her side and having to be taken to the hospital. She was fine, but we ended up doing the draw without her because there were several families that wouldn't be able to make it back for a rematch. I ended up with seashell earings. Jason got an etcher. We both also got chocolates and other goodies. On top of all of that dinner was absolutely wonderful.
Jason's mom's birthday party was also fun. She had burst the surprise and knew we'd be there, but oh well. We had steak dinner and lots of noise from more kids than adults!
We also got to see some friends and enjoy re-making aquaintances.

Then we had the infamous trip to Florida. Jason and my mom and Al left a day before me becuase they were driving. This meant I had the whole house to myself and Alisabeth. . . so what did I do? Cordend off most of the house and let her play while I slept! I'm such a great mother aren't I? I made sure she had plenty of food and water :)

Flying with her is great, if only she had enough room to move. That's what frustated her most. She wasn't bothered by pressure or height or people or anything. We took plenty of snack foods and she ate them all on the trip. She did amazing I think because she wasn't even willing to take a nap, so the whole trip was on only the night before. It was only when we got on the airplane that was smaller than my room that she became aggressively annoyed at the lack of movement. That trip was a bit long, but that was the final leg, so once I got off the plane Jason took her and I was able to just relax a bit.
Our time here has been nice. Teri (my aunt) came in the same day that Jason got here and so we all stayed at her house for the week. The whole time she was here her daughter lovingly brought over the twins (8 years old) and they spent the whole trip at grandma's. It was neat being able to spend that much time with them because I don't know them very well. They are sweaties, however I can already see the little defiant streak that will give their mother headaches galore when they hit their teenage years :)
Christmas here was also a blast. Every year seems to be different but none of the parents were directing anything so I just started handing out presents with names on them and everyone started opening all at the same time. I enjoyed it but about half-way through both my mom and Teri were protesting that we should have been opening one at a time because they were missing the kid's gifts. I told them "oh well." My aunt Willa was also able to make it down for a few days so we had a nice little gaggle of Gardner girls running around making trouble.
Finally yesterday everyone left, the twins went home and Jason and I were left alone in Teri's house until tomorrow. Jason and my mom and Al leave tomorrow evening and then I'll move over the my Nana's house until I leave Tuesday morning.
All in all Florida is wonderful. It's been slightly humid, but the weather was so nice that we haven't even needed a sweater. Jason and I raked up a pile of leaves and Alisabeth spent about an hour just sitting in it playing with everything. It was so cool.
We got lots of pictures, but I forgot to bring them with me so I'll add them sometime soon.

As a side note I also got a new digital camera from aunt Willa. I guess she's had it for like a year waiting to give it to me. I was supposed to keep it quiet and pretend like I had had it forever, but I was so excited about it that it didn't happen. I read all the manuals and started snapping pictures with a fervor I've never had before. . . then I found the color setting which allows you to black and white everything except one color. Oh that was so much fun I spent about 2 hours playing with it taking pictures of everything from Alisabeth and family to random shots of the kid's legos :)

I'll include some of the better ones there too :)

That was our week in a nutshell. It was a blast. I hear Rexburg was a little inundated, and I can't say I'm sorry I wasn't there. Back to Tucson . . . guess I'll have to dig out my sweater again :)

Tis the Season . . .

Well we had a great week. I really enjoyed cleaning for two days solid and moving all of the furniture in the house. I did, however, feel bad about not being able to help the neighbors. There were so many people moving!!! The whole face of the ward will be different by the time we get back.

We ended up flying out on time and had a great trip. I was nervous because of all the snow that was dumping onto Rexburg at the time, but the plane just waited 45 minutes to be de-iced and everything was fine :)

Alisabeth did great on the trip. She loved looking out the window and flirting with the stewardess and other passengers. We were in the Salt Lake airport for an hour and it was just enough time to take her up and down the escalators about 15 times and replace all of the magazines in the racks 3 times. We also got a jamba juice type thing and spent the next flight hiding it from Alisabeth who would go insane until she got some if she saw it. She had quite a fun time throwing tantrums :)

We used the monkey harness which is basically a baby leash. That was great because she kept wanting to go up the down escalator and that just wouldn't have been fun for anyone.

Once we got to Tucson it was a blast too. She was naked by that time, having played with ice cubes and being soking wet. So I had to change her while we waited for the bags to come, then it was off to lunch with my mom and Al and we've been zooming around since. We were even able to go to Jason's mom's "surprise" party. That's the only thing we've taken pictures of, so those are below.

For those of you stuck in Rexburg or other snowy areas. . . hahahahaha.

The average temp seems to be around 65 degrees and it's mighty cold here. I keep forgetting to bring my jacket with me :)

The roads are perfectly clear of snow, and it's a good thing because the drivers and a bunch of not so nice people. If they had ice on the road, I think 1/2 the city would be dead right now.

We're excited for our first of several Christmas' tomorrow night and who knows what else.

Oh, and the carmel turned our alright, but a bit dark because of the old brown sugar for those who wanted to know.

Love you all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

3 Days until Christmas starts!!

Wow what a week!

I thought I was the bomb when I got all of my finals done by Wednesday morning. Seriously, how could life get any better than just being able to kick back the rest of finals week and chill out? HA! Our neighbor went into labor Friday night and 1/2 of our apartment complex had to move out Friday and Saturday!

We spent almost all of Friday helping one family or another either with babysitting or packing or moving. It was a full day of service and at the end of it I was exhausted. We repeated this on Saturday with a little less helping because I was beginning to feel sick from not having a jacket the day before while the door kept getting opened and closed.

It got much better on Saturday night, we were able to go to the Galusha Christmas party which was a blast. The getting there was not so fun because of the snowstorm that had come into town, but Jason had purchased chains and we put them to good use getting in and out of Rexburg and Shelley. this year's event was at Fred's house and it was huge and beautiful! We played games and ate lots of food and just basically enjoyed ourselves. Alisabeth spent the entire 50 minute trip there screaming at the top of her lungs for some reason and then was great during the party. After we got in the car and started driving she started up again, but by this point she was so exhausted that she conked out after about 10 minutes. She's getting molars in and her canines at the same time. I have a feeling that this is the cause of much of her discomfort, but I think the rest is that she hates being restrained in her carseat especially when she's tired. Saturday she refused to take a nap because we were doing so much stuff that she was too wired.

Today most everyone is gone so church is going to be empty. Alisabeth has a runny nose anyway so I am probably going to come home with her since I'm not feeling too hot either and we don't want to get all the little kiddies sick. Luckily the other teachers who never show up are actually going to be there and have agreed to do the lesson so it really can't be a more perfect day to be out of commission.

I am quite excited for this upcoming week. We only have three days and here's a rough list of what we have to accomplish:

Dismantle every carpeted room and get everything off the floor

which entails cleaning everything as we go and finally getting a bunch of stuff organized.

Clean my kitchen which has been ignored hopelessly for the second 1/2 of the semester

Get the laundry done and pick out the trip clothes and get them packed

Did I mention that one of our large suitcases is already filled with the presents and

things we're bringing home? I also have to seperate immediately the stuff I want to take to

Florida so that I don't have to repack.

Sort through my stuff and give 1/2 of it away to DI.

Go through Alisa's stuff and figure out if anything still fits her.

Organize the old baby clothes that don't fit her to prepare for the next one.

Finish a couple of Christmas presents

and . . .

get ready for Jury duty in Tucson because they found out that I'd be home for Christmas and decided to make sure I served my country during that time :)

All that plus make sure my 1 year old feels loved and wanted and gets her naps.

I can't wait to begin!

I am really excited for this trip though to be in Florida for Christmas and then to be able to spend New Years in Tucson is going to be a blast. I can't wait for everyone to see Alisabeth, and for her to see everyone, especially her little cousins. She's really into babies her own age right now. She be-lines for them and cares nothing for parents if they're around :)

The week before finals!

T'was the fall semester and all through the class
Not a creature was stirring not even for gas
The grades all were placed on the gradebook with care
In hopes that the students still would be there.

The students were nestles all full of dread,
With visions of planerides and trips in their head.
And me in my jacket, and my group in their place,
Had just settled in to finish this race.

When out of the agendas arose such a clatter,
I dropped my jamba juice making a splatter.
I rushed through my days, it was gone in a flash,
Tore through the homework, closed books with a smash.

The sunsets and days I completely ignored,
Assuming that I could be nothing but bored.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the week before finals, and holidays dear.

Looking back through the weeks so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
This year the holidays wouldn't be lame.

The excitement for travel and family to see,
Crowded out tests and places to be.
Replacing the void with things most important,
my husband, my God and my most tiny infant.

The spirit of Christ arose in my heart,
and I knew in a moment I couldn't be tart.
My giving increased and my heart knew no bounds,
I felt joy and peace in ever increasing mounds.

I hope that you've seen from the story I've written,
The importance of life that isn't too distant.
Take time every moment and of every day,
"I love you, I need you" is not hard to say.

Our week has been a good one. Too many of our friends are beginning to pack up. Everyone who is leaving needs to be out of their apartment by the end of next week, so they've got to pack and plan while studying and stressing for finals. If it were up to me I'd give them at least a week to get out, but that's just me. As it is we're losing our friends the Jimenez who have stood by us in thick and thin. We're losing the Edens who have become a part of our lives. (Though they aren't moving far). We're also losing the Wadels and the Sielers, both of which have been here since before us. It's a hard thing each semester to watch people we know and love move away. I can't say I'm not excited for the day when we graduate and leave, but it's hard to watch people go. Especially the Jimenez. They've been watching Alisabeth since she was two months old. She loves them, and though she's not going to really understand why she never sees them anymore I'm sad for her.
Other than that it was a great week. Jason and I were able to take a ride on the last night of the IBC group's horse-drawn wagon rides. It was a neat experience. Alisabeth enjoyed watching the world pass by. It was one of the nicer nights, so despite the 20 degree weather we were able to sip our hot chocolate and enjoy the trip with some neat people.
We also made caramels . . . again. But this time was a disaster. We wasted A LOT of money. One batch got cooked too much, one didn't get mixed right, another was taken off the heat too soon and the last batch somehow wasn't right either, but I can't figure out why on that one. All in all it was frustrating. I want to do it again, but it takes time to do it right, and it needs to be done without 2 and 1 year olds running around without naps at lunch-time. It's sad to say, but every time we tried to do it one of the 5 children was screaming about something or other. I am usually one to say a few kids never hurt a cooking experience, but this time I think the distraction was a leading cause of not-workage.
Jason went back to the doctor this week and was told that he's still on the brink of needing physical therapy, so we're still waiting for that to pan out. The insurance paid us for his glasses and the car though so we've been able to get our savings back where it needs to be.
Jason has also started his own business, it's a wrecked computer misfits and car fixing shop. He runs it out of our pantry using the schools internet and phone system and his old uniforms to get discounts. So far it's been working well :) He's fixed brakes, an XP computer and done some troubleshooting for the neighbors. Plus he has a few positive leads for the future. :)
Alisabeth has been growing like a weed. She lost her belly this week, shot up a few inches and sprouted a few new teeth. It was an exciting couple of nights as you can imagine. She has also begun repeating words. She has been identified saying "Theresa," "Alena," "glasses," "uh-oh" and "no." She also sucessfully identified a mommy, daddy and baby in a photograph and could point to each one in turn as we asked her to. Needless to say I was almost overcome with joy at my little girl :)
My classes are wrapping up nicely. I am almost finished with my on-line class, done with all the homework that needs to be turned in in any given class. . . taking one final each day of the week next week. Then it's FREEDOM!!!!!! I can't wait to see Tucson again. Hopefully we'll even have time to fit in a trip to the zoo for Alisabeth's sake.